Variant Earth 13 E Mail Game Archive Number 16

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date:    Sat, 05 Feb 2000 02:05:00 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You pop the meta-ammunition clip into your mag-cannons, and let fly with the gunfire as Stiletto and his wedge-car parallels up with the
V.A.M.P.  You fire your shot, and you nail the car itself, oddly, but
your shot doesn't go into the driver, as you'd have liked.

Instead, it simply blows a bit more of the front windshield off,
creating a beautiful spray of entropy and flying glass.  "Nice try, you
rag!  Here, have one of my special severance packages!"  With that,
Stiletto flings what looks like a grenade at you.

However, as the thing sails through the air, you see these twin, well,
planes slip out of the thing, one on each side, so that it resembles an
airplane propeller - and with the throw that Stiletto made, it sort of
wobbles in a similar motion.

The problem, though, is that those ersatz blades on the thing seem to be completely transparent, and glowey at the edges, making you think that you do NOT want to touch that thing - and when you narrowly dodge out of its path, it cuts Clutch's twin .50 cal cannons in twain.

That's when things slow down to a crawl, and almost all sound in the
area goes away, leaving nothing but the noise you'd hear when a big hunk of gun fell to the ground from a moving vehicle.  Then, you hear naught but the growling coming from the front of the V.A.M.P.

"You... You... * "

* At this point, Clutch loses it, and utters a profane litany of curses
so virulent and caustic that they cause even you to blush, Jinx.  It
puts you in mind of Yosemite Sam, should he actually be saying real bad
words on one of his tirades, one that just kept going and going...

Before you know it, Clutch has smashed his V.A.M.P. into the side of
Stiletto's wedge-car, and again, and again, and again, and again, and he hits it hard enough, over and over, at seemingly just the right angle that he managed to bend back the thing's micron blade edges.

Of course, he butchered up the V.A.M.P.'s passenger side in the
process.  However, he knocked the wedge-car upside down in his little
tantrum, flipping it over like a poor, defenseless turtle.  Still moving at ridiculous speeds, Clutch then does a bootlegger reverse.

Doing the full 180 degree turn, Clutch causes the V.A.M.P. to stop dead
and rocket forward in the opposite direction.  Now, any heroic-type
person would just pull Stiletto out of his ridiculous vehicle and take
him to the po-lice, but Clutch is just too surly at this point.

He guns the all-terrain assault vehicle into high gear and, after he
crosses the appropriate distance, takes a hard right swerve at the last
second, hitting only the nose of the thing and spinning the silly car
around fast enough to easily incapacitate the poor goon.

Well, if you were spun around with that much force, as fast as Clutch
pushed him, you'd likely throw up and pass out all whiplash'd, too. 
Clutch then does yet another 180 degree turn (without the bootlegger,
that is), and watches the wedge-car spin.  And spin, and spin.

It stops about a minute later, and then you see Stiletto get out, so
dizzy that he can't even crawl, and vomit his lunch out before passing
out cold.  "Yeah, that's right.  Don't need to kill you, just
incapacitate, ya moron!  Ha!  Mess with MY ride, will ya!?"

Then, far ahead of you, you hear a distant rumbling.  Looking down the
street further, you see a white blur moving towards you at ridiculous
speeds; it seems to be playing the French national anthem.  You've got
three guesses who THAT is...

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A beginning... (Ari)
Date:    Sat, 05 Feb 2000 02:13:39 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Och stops, looks at the sack for a moment, and then nods.  "Yes, some
mystic items are that way... so I suppose we shouldn't push it, yes?" 
Och waits for you to come up with such a device, this scarf you speak
of, and then continues.  "It is rather close to here, I believe."

"Shall we?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Planet III
Date:    Sat, 05 Feb 2000 02:15:16 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Er, sure..."  Tammy just shrugs and looks around.  "Anyway, I'm
indifferent.  Cops or burning holes in trees, take your pick.  I think
I'll just sit down here for a minute, to rest my head, if'n you all
don't mind..."

?

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Factoring in a solution
Date:    Sat, 05 Feb 2000 02:25:11 -0600
From:    Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You leap well into the derelict factory, thanks to your whip maneuver,
and find that you are completely surrounded... by rusty machinery.  All
around you, you spy nothing but orange-brown, formerly steely factory
machinery, rusted out thanks to several great holes in the roof.

The ground itself is covered in layers of dust, with what appear to be
long-forgotten footprints trodden into them, a few relatively recent
ones (they're thicker), and a couple that seem to be brand new, as
though they were made... only yesterday.  Or maybe today...

But you don't see anybody, or hear them, and you definitely don't smell
anyone, thanks to the large variety of plants in the area, processing
meat, plastic, corn flakes, and other assorted, sundry bad-smelling
items.  Despite the edge of winter, the smell goes right through.

At any rate, all of the prints go in the same general direction, if that
helps...

  (can you tell that I don't like Sioux City?  Can you?  Can you?  =)

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2000 05:18:15 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You fire a blast of your mysterious chi energies at the fuming figure of
A-Lonse, Crimebuster, but it doesn't seem to do all that much good; in
fact, he seems to act as though it weren't even there!  "Fool!  Your
pathetic light show can do naught to one such as I!"

Before he can continue to gloat, however, he finds himself to be the
recipient of a tirade of insults launched from Rebound - a tirade that
doesn't quite have the desired effect.  "Stupid humans - you know not
that you have already lost!"

"As I have said, the only thing that could deactivate the pistons rising
this barrel of Neutronium into the sky was my control panel - nothing
else!  You have destroyed the only means of saving your paltry society!
You do my work for me!  Ah hah hah!"

A-Lonse looked like he was going to scoff you some more, but he simply
activates his boot jets and begins to ascend towards the barrel of fun.
Before you or your compatriots can do anything to stop him, he flies up
into the sky, exiting the top of this compound.

He seems to be yelling at somebody outside.

Up top, Stone Cold, you've finally built your massive construct of ice;
luckily, being on an island - if a large one - there was more than
enough moisture around for you to build this mountain of frozen water.
You've essentially coated the entire building in a cone of ice!!

You're still not sure that it'll be enough to derail that barrel of
neutronium.  From what A-Lonse is saying, it's heavy enough to knock the
very earth off its orbit, so mere ice may not be enough.  You've done
your best with your ice powers, though, so we'll see.

Unless those guys downstairs can't figure out anything else to do.

"Imbecile!  Fool!!  You think your paltry glacier can stop my plot!?!
Very well, ingrate, feel free to waste your time.  I'll gladly watch as
your world comes to an end... for we only have scant moments to go,
until the barrel drops!  Mu hu hah hah hah!"

???

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Dr. Claw is a wuss!!!
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 08:47:35 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S.9. notices that all of the footprints go in the same general direction,
so he turns to follow them and he is also looking for any other clues along
the way. Hey he's not inspector Gadget, but he is going to do his best.
Intution roll: 47

Subject: Re: [v13] Planet III
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 11:09:08 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

"Actually, I do mind it will be harder for you to keep up if we get too
far away.  Bending down to pick her up.  "Hope you don't mind, you were
just a tad upset when I kissed you before.  I just didn't wanna find
myself under a truck or anything."  There is a shopping district not to
far from the police station unless you all are trying to find the bright
lights?"  Stone Cold.

Subject: [v13] People are people so....
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 11:38:09 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

"Hey, no problem.  I used to be a touch of a wiseass, it still shines
through now and again.  I guess this was just one of those times.  As for
the french fries didn't you ever see the movie Men at Work? I guess they
don't get the classics out in space huh?"

>> As you look on, you hear behind you "Crap.  I'd rather fight them than
>> Cracklin' Mad... eesh.  At least these guys can be reasoned with -
>> they're ORGANIC, after all..."

"I don't think we should approach everyone we meet as a potential enemy.  In
all likeliehood they are like I am.  Honest people who are just trying to do
right."  He knows he is being corny, and is playing it up.  "Maybe they have
run across Pinpoint themselves. I am going to go talk to them"

Pulling  up his own half-mask to the bridge of his nose and around the
bottom half of his ears, Crimebuster then heads over toward the martial
artist.

"Hey there" he calls once within earshot "You, in the blue and black.  Have
you seen a giant, pissed of glowing ball of light?"   Looking around, he
sees the woman holding her temples. "Is she in need of aid?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A beginning... (Ari)
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 13:56:17 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari grins.  "We shall.  Let's go find yer friends, Och."  With that, the duo
set off again, in search of more bizarre adventure.  Woo.

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2000 19:14:09 -0600
From: "Christopher W. Acers" <cwacers@home.com>

Masque nods at Ronin...
His mouth is too full of food to respond...
"Mefbe the ortal ifdex?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Sun, 6 Feb 2000 14:38:40 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

"Indeed it is, Frank," Magus says as he licks his lips and holds his mugh of
Rot-Gut ready for another swallow before glancing at Jesus and his tour
guides, "And it's even better that I get along with my beverage." Of course
Magus is still a little wary of this strange brew after all the stuff was
trying to kill poor old Jesus but still takes yet another gulp of the brew.

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Sun, 06 Feb 2000 15:26:48 -0600
From: "William H. Lockwood" <albedo1@home.com>

[OOC: Denny, I was definitely _NOT_ trying to shoot the driver. Jinx is
trying to live up to her promise to Clutch. No killing if it can be
avoided. Please read my message again to see what Jinx's goal was:

>> "Right, come to mama!" she taunted as she leveled one of her
>> magcannons at the general vicinity of where she thought the engine
>> might be.

Engine, engine, engine. Not driver. Engine.

Anyway, enough of my ranting. The end result was still non-fatal so no damage done.]

Jinx blinks as she looks at the destroyed .50 caliber cannons.

"DAMNIT! We need to find one of those glowing ball thingees again!" she exclaims and is about to continue when Clutch preempts her with his own string of expletives and his berserk driving stunt.

After the smoke has cleared and Stiletto passes out, Jinx quickly tried
to figure out where to go next. That's when she hears Monsignor Frank
barreling down on them.

"Right, ya French bastard. Somehow you're breathing inside that force field. Maybe it lets air through. And if it lets air through, maybe it lets fumes, too," she mutters as she reaches down to snatch up the super soaker water gun filled with bleach.

"Clutch, watch out for this bastard. He's damn fast, try to get him to fly past us on the right if he tries to ram us."

Her plan was to spray the front end of the rocket and its pilot with the noxious fluid, hoping to distract him or incapacitate him with the irritating fumes.

[8 + Modifier for Initiative, 32 to Hit, 52, 100, 63 for any other rolls
necessary.]

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 00:37:41 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

(OOC:  while we're ranting, I suppose I should point out that I did not
say you WERE aiming for the driver, just that you'd have LIKED to.  RE:

> You fire your shot, and you nail the car itself, oddly, but your shot
> doesn't go into the driver, as you'd have liked.

So nyah.  I may've phrased it imperfectly, but feh.  Feh, I say.)

Anyway.

Captain Crotch Rocket doesn't seem intent on ramming the two of you so
much as blasting you with his front-mounted machine guns.  He chews up
the front of the V.A.M.P. something fierce with the things, and counter
to all common sense, Clutch veers right towards him.

"Mon dieu!  Mad American!!  You'll kill us all!!!"  Frank swerves hard
to the right, allowing you to spray him with your bleach, but it doesn't
seem to matter, because his vehicle wasn't built with hard swerves in
mind; it simply flips over.

Again, and again, and again, tumbling like an avalanche of rocketry down
the streets of Los Angeles, taking houses, cars, a police car, and more
than a few pedestrians out in the process.  As his crotch rocket comes
to a stop, Monsieur Frank stumbles out of the vehicle, all distraught.

"Argh, my eyes, my ride!"  He's gripping his face as though he'd been
burned, and wobbling like he'd been locked in a working drier for ten
minutes.  He then falls over, and the police whose car he totaled start
kicking him unconscious.

As the two of you laugh it up over Frank's fate, the V.A.M.P. comes to
an unceremoniously abrupt stop - in other words, you just hit something
that suddenly walked into your path.  Yes, walked.  You see that,
somehow, that strange, Porsche-comprised robot jumped in your way.

This, naturally, brought you to a complete stop, flinging you clean out
of the V.A.M.P. and over the toppling robot, who was bowled over by the
sheer force of your impact.  You land on its face, and it looks at you
with more than a little disdain.

"Man, I am so tired of this game.  I think I'm goin' back home."  Before
either of you can react, however, you see something enter the street
ahead of you, about fifty yards up.  It's a motorcycle.  It's got a
flame job.  And the driver's head is on fire.

At least, it seems so when you look through his visor.  You hear his
engine rev up, as though he were fully intent on running you over, but
before he can do so, a vehicle barrels clean through the small
Vietnamese restaurant to your left!

It looks like a black armored personnel carrier, armed to the teeth with
all manner of strange, last-minute-addition weaponry.  As it comes to a
stop, covered in bricks, broken glass, and take-out food, the hatch on
top of the thing swings open.

Then, a large body thrusts itself out of the opening, in order to awe
you with his presence.  The 'man' looks about ten feet tall, is totally
ablaze, and has claws, horns, and dreadful looking fangs.  "Prepare to
die, mortals!  You now face Minion!!!"

The... well, all you can do is call it a demon, then gets back into the
A.P.C. and starts the thing up again.  You get the feeling that the lot
of you are now in for a world of hurt.  Heck, you're not even sure the
combined might of the three of you contestants can beat this thing.

Now what?

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 00:41:15 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You sip away at the bizarre concoctions, and by the time the lot of you
have finished up, your pals seem to come to a communal consensus that
that this place is no longer fun... you don't know why, but they all
seem antsy to leave all of a sudden.

"C'mon, guys, we got four more wards to hit tonight, and I can barely
walk as it is!"  Jesus pulls himself together and stumbles towards the
exit, not checking (or even caring) whether or not anybody else is
following.  He seems more than a little bit tanked.

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Planet III
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 00:46:09 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Gack!  Hey, put me down!  I do know how to walk, Stoney!  Hey!"  As
Tammy protests, you walk on towards the supposed police folk, though you
have this odd feeling that you're being followed.  Looking around, you
see a man coming out of the trees in your direction.

Well, two, actually, in the guy striding towards you is being followed
by a second, a man who seems to be cringing at the thought of proceeding
towards you.  Or the guy directly in front of him.  It's hard to say.

?

Subject: Re: [v13] People are people so....
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 00:49:24 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You yell out at the martial artist looking fellow, but he doesn't seem
to hear you at first, until after a few seconds, you see him turn around
to look at you, carrying the girl who was, until seconds ago, holding
her temples, but now seems to be protesting being carried.

You still don't quite hear what is being said, of course, but the dude
has noticed you, and so has his friend with the cloak and mask.  "I
don't like the looks of this, man.  What if these three bozos arent' up
to any good?  We're gonna get it..."  What next?

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A beginning... (Ari)
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 00:52:31 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You prepare to disembark on your way to the dank tunnels beneath the
city of New York, but as you begin to walk away from your entry point in
the Big Apple, you hear shouting behind you.  Looking back, you see
three people in the distance, walking towards you.

They seem to be as gaudily dresses as are the two other folks walking
towards THEM.  "Hm... there seems to be something going on, here, Ari.
And some of those people look somewhat familiar.  I wonder...?"  Och
peers through the night at them, but they are rather distant.

Hard to tell exactly what they look like...

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Dr. Claw is a wuss!!!
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 01:00:41 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You see several holes in the rusty machinery around you, as though
there'd been some sort of firefight in the area at some point in the
past; more than one, actually, for the apparent bullet holes are
themselves covered in varying degrees of rust.

About twenty feet into the factory, as you wind your way around several
dead factory hulks, you spy three chalk outlines on the floor, almost
completely washed away by the elements; since it's still winter-like here,
the snow has yet to completely melt and wash 'em away.

The older footprints seem to stop here, but there's some newer ones that
continue on into the abandoned factory.  Following them, you see another
set of chalk outlines, relatively fresh and untouched by nature's wrath,
and divided into five pieces.

Whoever was found here got himself all cut to pieces.  The newest
footprints seem to go even further in, winding their way around quite a
few hunks of rust before they finally stop, at which point you find
yourself a corpse.

It's primarily been preserved, thanks to the chill in the area, and
hardly decomposed at all.  It would seem that somebody shoved this poor
cuss up against a steel pole and impaled him on it, and since it's dull,
you can imagine that it took quite a while.

Also, this had to happen rather recently, as far as you can tell, as no
police types have discovered the body.  They seem to have noted all the
other corpses, so you can imagine that they keep something of an eye on
this place.

Other than the body, though, you don't see much else.

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A beginning... (Ari)
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 08:21:43 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

"Hm?  Someone look familiar to ya, Och?  We can always sidetrack and see
what's up.  Or, if you're in a hurry, we can head straight for the sewers...
wait... sewers... weirdos.  Sewers... weirdos...  Hm.  Let's go see what up,
hey?"  Ari breaks another flustered grin, and turns towards the group.  "At
best, it's nothing REALLY interesting.  At worst, it's a superhero fight."

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Monkeying around.
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 07:47:48 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

Looking around, he looks above to see if there might be any type of hiding place. If so, he is going to take out his whip and make like a monkey and start swing towards it. If not, he will check out the "gentleman bar" and use the pay phone to call in the find of the dead body, and try to block the trace to this place. Then he is going to take the picture of the felon and show it to the bartender and ask him if he has seen this guy in here or around here.

Subject: RE: [v13] Planet III
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 08:54:40 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Rebound turns towards the goon squad slowly waiting for the inevitable.

"OK, here we go, more trouble.  I tell you, the world hates me.  It just
does.  If they want trouble, I am oh so ready to give it to them.  How are
you holding up there Tammy?  If this gets ugly, you might want to step back
if you're not up to snuff.  Hey, Stoney, you think maybe they just want to
talk?  Hey, it could happen..."

Rebound gets ready fight needing little provocation at this point.

Subject: Re: [v13] People are people so....
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 9:41:03 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

"Relax. If  they are up to no good we will know soon enough.  But what we do
not want to do is give them reason to think WE are up to no good.  Just
approach as you would someone asking for directions, since that is what in essence we are doing"

Crimebuster and the Hobo walk toward the "martial artist" while Crimebuster
thinks to himself:  Boy, that guy looks a LOT like Sub-Zero....

Once they reach him Crimebuster says again:

"I am looking for a giant pissed off ball of energy that is probably going
to attack anything that gets in it's way.  That includes innocents. Now, I
ask you again.  Have you seen it?"  Crimebuster tries to keep all 3 of them
in his line of sight, not confident that the Hobo would actually be good
enough in a fight to have his back.

Subject: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 14:29:05 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Yeah, easy for you to say, pal.  Relax... hmph.  Just wait 'till they
sprout tentacles and pseudopods and thingies with sharp poison barbs,
and we'll see how relaxed you are - permanent vacation, man!  I'm
tellin' you, we're in for it now!"

The Space Hobo's nattering serves to distract you to the point that you
almost forget what you were going to say, Crimebuster, when you came
into contact with this trio of flying folk here in the Park.  Almost,
that is, for you finally manage to tune him out at the last second.

After you say your peace, the three of them just sort of look at each
other in a slightly confused manner, as though they were expecting a
fight or something.  Then, the girl in the big martial artist fellow's
arms leans towards the cloaked man, and mutters, "Talk, huh?"

"Seems he's a 'friend' of that thing that shoved us around a minute or
so ago..."  Meanwhile, a relatively safe distance away from this meeting
of the minds, you see that the five garishly clad people have yet to
actually get into a fight, Ari.

"Hm... definitely familiar, Ari.  I just can't quite tell for sure from
this distance, but those costumes are quite similar to some of the
people I went to fight that dastardly Morbis character with.  I've been
nowhere for so long, though, I can't recall perfectly..."

?

- Firebomb

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 15:36:34 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari nods.  "Riiight.  Well, the obvious idea would be to waltz up and say
hello.  Alternately, we can move closer, as I don't have any binoculars, I
don't think...  Maybe this rifle has a scope mode?"  If necessary, Ari will
crouch behind a bush and attempt to find a scope of some sort on the laser
rifle, if she hasn't lost it yet.  Of course, she's going to keep the
"safety" on...  "Och, stand right there, and wait for me to get this thing
working."  Barring any scope, Ari will simply start walking towards the
group, one hand on The Bag.

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Monkeying around.
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 14:38:51 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You see no overt hiding places here in the factory, finding that all of
the would-be nooks and crannies have been sogged down by the water and
snow leaking in through those gaping holes in the roof, thus making any
hiding place non-viable.

As such, you whip out a camera and take a quick Polaroid of the corpse
Popsicle there, and head on over to the 'gentlemen's' establishment
nearby.  Walking in, you find that the place isn't currently open for
business, as there's nobody drinking, and nobody, well, dancing.

Talking to the bar man, and showing him that picture, you actually do
get a response from him.  "Yeah, I remember that guy.  He hangs with a
band of coke dealers that've been in town for a couple of years.  Real
piece of work, that character."

"They stop by here every once in a while, burning the cash they made or
trying to sell their crap, but they pay real good.  I hear a bunch of
bounty hunters got wiped out by their miniature army here a while back.
I'd watch my back if I were you, bub..."

"Hell, I think he might've taken out one of his own guys a bit ago,
'cause that guy got in a scuffle with one of his goons two nights back,
and before I could break it up, they stomped the snot out of him and
drug him out towards the old factory up the street."

"Poor bastard..."

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 15:44:36 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

"See Hobo, sometimes it pays to not go into every meeting expecting a
fight." Looking at all 3 of them, in hopes one might give an answer he says "My name is Crimebuster, and I am one of the good guys.  I guess you did see the being I am pursuing.  Not to sound corny but lives are at stake here.  Which way did it go?"

Crimebuster will then do the one thing he does not want to do...wait. He is
trying to show no rush externally but is getting impatient waiting for an answer.  He knows the longer this takes, the further away Pinpoint is and the less chance he has of stopping casualties.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 16:34:25 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Rebound smiles under his mask...oh, this is going to be fun... He points
straight up and delivers in his best deadpan voice...

"He went thataway."

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Stake Out
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 16:00:34 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S. thanks the Bartender with a fifty and then he leaves. A.S.9 looks
around and said to himself. " Well Mr.Bounty Hunter what are you gonna do
now. He pulls out his cell phone and dials up the cops to let them know
about the corpse, and then hangs up as he drives off. He heads into town
just long enough to get some survillance stuff and rides back to find a
place to stake out for the night and watch for his mark. He also picks up a
local newspaper and checks for any clues there.

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 18:26:38 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

 "Hmm? Time to go already my compatriots?"

> "C'mon, guys, we got four more wards to hit tonight, and I can barely
> walk as it is!"  Jesus pulls himself together and stumbles towards the
> exit, not checking (or even caring) whether or not anybody else is
> following.  He seems more than a little bit tanked.

 Magus smirks, "And worried about my tolerance all of you were. Let us
follow poor inebriated Jesus and visit some of these other wards you keep
talking about. After all I don't think these 'birks' know how to really have
a good time here."

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 20:59:48 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

Crimebuster looks over the masked and cloaked man in front of him.  Slowly
looks up toward the sky then looks slowly looks back into where he thinks
the man's eyes are and says "Are you always so helpful or did you just switch to
decaf? "

Subject: Re: [v13] Planet III
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 21:35:37 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

"I am more than ready to fight, I need something else to do."

Subject: Re: [v13] Planet III
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 21:35:37 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

"Oh please, just calm down were going to a shoe store not a bedroom.  If
that was all I had on my mind believe me I would have told you before
now.  And I would not have been lookin' for you back in the future."
Said Stone Cold.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 07 Feb 2000 22:28:28 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

" Are you kidding did you lose your face or did you neck throw up?  Who
is this clown anyway?  Were trying to help him and your throwing insults.
 Man if I wouldn't have just met you, I lay a smackdown on you that you
moma would feel."  Said Stone Cold.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 8:27:39 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

"Easy there my friend, no one here is threatening anyone.  Verbal jabs do
not need to lead real jabs.  We are on the same side here. "  Crimebuster
extends his hand to the masked and cloaked man "No hard feelings?""

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 08:37:11 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

"Easy there Stoney, I'm sure that...What is that? A Sword? (gazing at the
insulting goon)  I'm sure that Ronin's ugly twin is more than willing to
apologize.  Isn't he?"

Rebound meets the gaze (although you'd never know it) of this new loudmouth
and gets ready for action.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 09:56:06 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

(OCC:  I cut this up hoping to put it back in some semblance of order)

Rebound extends his hand and shakes hands with the stranger, accepting his
apology. Rebound lets this stranger take back a sticky, stringy, handful of
strands that extend back to his own hand.  "They call me Rebound. No hard
feelings."

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 12:11:34 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

"I'm cool Rebound otherwise I would have put the beatdown on him by now
believe me."  Said Stone Cold.

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 12:33:11 EST
From: "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

The Swordsman gives the Mage a bewildered look.

He turns towards the travelers.  "We need to go to wherever it is we need to
go in order to find the portal back to our home.  Is there a list of the
portal locations and where they lead to?"

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 13:49:50 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Thaddeus nods at you both.  "Yeah, the Guvner's portal index in the City
Court would be our best bet for a reliable source of portals to your
home plane.  Oh, sure, Clueless' Square is an option, but you never know
where you'll get to with one of those portals."

"They lead to various alternate timelines, alternate earths, and so on.
Heck, one of those rotters might just lead you to a variant Sigil, and
what's the good of that?"  After answering, Thaddeus orders another
drink, a block of cheese, and a half-loaf of bread to go with it.

Gloria does mostly the same, though with less fanfare.  As she waits for
hers (wondering with more than a little bewilderment how Masque got his
food before everybody else), she speaks.  "So, friends, which of these
locations would you like to frequent first?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 14:21:43 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

           (eek!  lemme try'n make sense out of all this...)

You see a handy, pop-up scope on your Cameron brand pulse plasma rifle,
and when you pull it out, and hide behind the requisite handy bush, you
spy that there are, in fact, five people there ahead of the two of you.
Of course, their meeting seems somewhat terse.

For your reference, Ari, you spy a dude in a black cloak, with a white
mask, the rest of his dark suit concealing the rest of his bodily
features.  He seems to have just shaken hands with one of the new
arrivals, one armed with a blade and dressed like a martial artist.

Of course, he seems to have glue on his hands, for the man left a strand
of gooey stuff on the other's palm, and it looks quite... nasty. A third
fellow also looks like some sort of scrapper, wearing a blue and black
suit that seems familiar, but you don't know where from.

The fourth looks like a somewhat angry jogger, wearing black biker
shorts and the remnants of a sweater, which looks like it's gone through
the ringer these last few days.  She's holding a shoe which seems to
have completely decomposed in a matter of seconds.

The last seems to be completely out of place as compared to the others,
in that he's not dressed in any flashy costume, or any spandex; he
mostly appears to be a drifter, wearing clothes obviously made in the
early seventies, and doesn't seem to have cut his hair since then.

He looks uncomfortable around the others, and seems to be doing his best
to ignore them while watching them intently.  That's why he's just sort
of looking around, almost as though he were pretending to be bored or
something.  That's when he looks your way.

He doesn't seem to see you or anything, but merely half a second after
his gaze passes over you, your gun goes 'ping'.  Looking at it, you see
that the clip has fallen out and shattered, and the bullets have all
spontaneously broken into their component bits and pieces.

After that, the thing starts to shake and buckle, and before your very
eyes, it decomposes into a pile of spare parts and rust heaps, making a
sort of pathetic clangy metal sound as it falls apart in your very
hands.  Very, very unnerving.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the lot of you seem to have come to an
uneasy truce; in other words, no fists have flown.  Still being carried
by Stone Cold, Tammy just shrugs.  "Men... hmph.  He wasn't joking, by
the way, buddy.  That ball knocked us over and flew straight up."

"After our pilot buddy from the future!"

Just then, you all spy a flash of light from up above, and see that the
ball of light that at least two of you know as Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint
has returned to the earth... and for some reason, the strange alien
looks even less happier than before.

"Damn.  Damn!  DAMN!  You damnable, dirty fleshlings!  You have spoiled
my chance to return to the stars, and by my approximation, you lack the
proper means of attaining them yourselves."  Pinpoint pauses, and then
continues, in a flat tone of voice.

"And if I must live on this world, I will not do so while it is littered
with such... refuse."  With that, Crackin' Mad Pinpoint's high tech
carapace starts to crackle with what would to appear to be an electrical
force field, and all the devices on him whir into life.

He seems more than a little bit ready to kill the lot of you...

!?

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 15:19:07 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Rebound, needing no more provocation than that immediately disconnects the
strands attached to whatever his name is and tosses two fistfuls of strands
directly at the glowing ball of light.  He's not going to detonate the
strands, but rather hope they attach to something.  (Maybe he can anchor this thing to the ground)

"It ain't nice to rough up the locals.  Especially when you weren't invited."

{Rolls: Init: 10, Hit: 54+30 Karma= 84, Anything else: 87, 07 (stupid dice), 68, 12}

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 15:29:35 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

GAH!  Ari's jaw drops.  "The bag giveth, the bag taketh away.  Such is life.
Hey, Och!  Any of these characters seem...."  Wooshl.  Hey, look.  It's an
Angry Glowey Thing.

As Mr. Pinpoint lowers down towards the group, Ari stops a little, and looks
at Och.  "Suggestions?  Whatever that thing is, I don't think it's telling
us that Baby Jesus is around..."  Ari will sit tight for a moment, and, if
things get REALLY nasty, she'll go for The Bag.

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Stake Out
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 14:41:28 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

The paper seems somewhat unyielding as far as information is concerned,
mostly delving into matters of crime and current mayhem in town that
seems totally unrelated to your case.  Of course, it does mention the
higher-than-national-average cocaine problem...

You continue to read the paper until about 9 p.m., at which point a gang
of surly looking thugs, about five of 'em, pulls up to the strip bar in
a Caddy and go in... the only problem, of course, is that they're
wearing ski masks, so you can't make out their features...

?

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Bar Popping
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 14:44:26 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S.9 smiles that he followed his "gut" feeling that someone will be by, and maybe get info from them. He parks his Harley and walks over to the caddie to check for anyone inside, if so take him out with a punch, and either way, slash the tires, and zap the bolts with eyebeams. Then he will walk in calmly and be ready for resistance. His plan of action is to question them about his mark, and then rough them up, but if they get nasty early, then he opens up a can of
whoopass on them, leaving one conscious. Then he will break his fingers one by one until he gets something to go on. Well let's give you some rolls shall we. 39,70,43,72,11,69,34,63 that should take care of the action, If not I can get you more.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 15:44:35 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

" Pinpoint !  I knew I should never have cut you out of whatever that damn
prison was.  I will not make that mistake again.  Surrender now and spare
yourself this fight!" 

<< Pinpoint scoffing evil bad guy response space>>

Crimebuster, after shaking the goo off of his glove left by....the masked
man then dive rolls backward getting ready to dodge  while shouting "Hobo!
Get down!" (Roll: 73 Init: 2).  After he comes up he draws Achira Ryushutsu
and sends a Chi blast at one of Pinpoint's Electro-thingies (Roll: 59,  73
for Dam.  Incredible (40) dam) aiming at one of the things that caused the
force-field to come alive.

"You will regret this day...."

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Appendix to : Bar Popping
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 14:49:16 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

Sorry, I didn't tell you what I would do with the rolls. Use my whip to
knock out some thugs while using my eyebeams to disable the guys weapons.
Then go old punch and kick with My Martial arts A skill. Sorry about the
actions not being on the post.

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 16:10:19 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You head out into the (now) night of the Lower Ward, and notice that the
streets are sparsely populated; you don't know if that's an ill omen, or
simply because of the crud being belched into the air by that large
looking facility down the road about a quarter mile.

It would appear to be some manner of blacksmith facility, but on an
almost impossible scale... the thing is several hundred feet tall, and
as such, you can see it giving off ash and smog from here, its eerie red
glow casting a diabolic light on the Ward around you.

Jesus, not caring about whether or not you're following, seems to amble
off towards this great edifice of metalworking, and by the time you and
company catch up to him, you've passed the great Foundry.  You keep
heading on, winding through darkling streets, until you get to it.

It, of course, being this rancid looking Ditch, barely crossable by one
or two pedestrian bridges, which seems to be filled with all manner of
detritus; you can imagine what the local residents use it for.  In fact,
you can almost see hints of a humanoid body or two in there...

At any rate, once you cross the Ditch, you see a marked difference in
the architecture around you.  Before, buildings had a no-frills, yet
durable look to them; here, places seem to be generally built
willy-nilly out of materials at hand.

It would appear to be a shanty town.  Of course, there are a few, more
well built structures in the area, but they seem to be the exception to
the rule.  "Welcome to the hive, berk!  Herein lie some of the seediest
drinking holes in the City of Doors, ready to be plundered for ale!"

Jesus really seems to have lost it, though he IS walking a bit sturdier
than he was when you left Entropy in Bedrock.  You quickly make your way
to an impressively large structure (again), this one having massive iron
pillars that resemble bars at the massive, forty foot arch entry.

"That's the Gatehouse, blood... where folks end up when the majesty of
the planes get's 'em down and drives 'em all barmy-like.  It's run by
the Bleakers, a morbid bunch of nutters who take care of Sigil's
orphans, barmies, and other assorted folk who have no jink."

Right across the street, away from the long line of destitute folks who
are waiting in line to get IN to the place, Jesus leads you into a bar.
The place seems somewhat subdued, after what the man had described to
you when entering this so-called Hive, but hey.

There's about twenty folk in the bar, and they're looking forward to a
stage, wherein the night's performers are apparently entertaining the
customers.  One's got a set of drums, and is beating them rhythmically,
and the other is reading rather depressing verse.

Something about death, madness, and the general injustices of existence
... to which the man gets a round of snapped fingers once he says his
peace.  With that, the barkeep of this unnamed establishment looks at
the lot of you.  "Drinks, a'reddy?"

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Tue, 8 Feb 2000 17:48:54 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

 Magus nods in the direction of the huge factory, "Reminds me of one of me
uncles. Always laying on his back belching fire and brimstone...and he
always wondered why his face was always so warm feeling."

> Jesus, not caring about whether or not you're following, seems to amble
> off towards this great edifice of metalworking, and by the time you and
> company catch up to him, you've passed the great Foundry.  You keep
> heading on, winding through darkling streets, until you get to it.

Leaning in towards Frank, "Me thinks Jesus has had quite a good share of his
limit this night."

> (snip entry into the Hive)

 Magus looks around quizzically, "So we're suppose to rob these poor people
of whatever ale they possess? Why not simply pay them for it like any other
patron would?" Magus smirks to himself wondering if his drinking pals really
think he's that clueless.

* (snip Gatehouse description)
* 
Magus mutters to himself the unusual lingo being tossed back and forth at
him, "Barmy.....Bleakers.....jink....hmm..."

> (snip Bleaknik bar description)

Whispering under his breath, "Great. He's broght us on poetry night.
Feh...lousy bards...always causing problems." The dragon-kin sighs loudly.

> (snip more Bleaknik bar description)

"Aye," Magus can't help but say a little too enthusiastically. "Bring me a
nice strong ale would you." Thinking to himself, "If I'm going to have to
sit around and listen to this ranting whining stuff then I may as well have
something decent to drink to comfort my misery."

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 08 Feb 2000 18:38:02 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

"Well sweetheart it looks like that trip to the shoes store will have to
be postponed."  Putting her down, then converting his body into stone.

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 12:58:00 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You have an ale, and so do your five Indep fellows, but as you drink, an
announcer hops up on stage, and announces the two bards.  "Let's hear it
for Morvun and Phineas, two exquisitely bleak fenris trolls from the
rolling fjords of Ysgard!"

Amid another round of snapping, you hear something that fills you with
dread.  "Yes, folks, since you like 'em so much, the brothers grim,
here, will be doing another six hour performance for your pleasure!  How
do you like that, everybody?"

Ernesto leans over to you, Magus, and frowns mightily.  "Methinks we
came on the wrong night.  Shall we leave before we all grow too
depressed to?"

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Bar Popping
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 12:58:03 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

S'aright.

You mosey on over to the strip joint, disabling the caddy before walking
in, and find nobody in the car waiting.  If these guys are up to some
shenanigans, it's most likely not a robbery; having nobody in a getaway
car would be downright silly for any real criminals.

Walking in, you see the five goons are just sort of milling about near
the stage, and as one of the bar's employees dances on, they seem to be
conducting some sort of business.  Hard to tell what, but after talking
to the bartender earlier, you can guess.

Stepping up to the plate, you begin to question them about your quarry,
which doesn't seem to get quite the response you wanted.  "Never heard
of the guy.  Hey, tough guy, you get satellite with that crap on your
head?  Ah hahahahh!"

This causes his pals to also join in with a round of laughter, one that
ends abruptly when you kick him upside his ugly mug.  Knocking the man
flat on his back and more than a little senseless, you seem to irk the
ire of his pals, who all stand up and get ready to rumble - a lot!

One of 'em takes a swing at you with just his fist, while another takes
a crack at you with the chair he was sitting on just moments before, the
latter actually connecting with you to inflict a whole, whopping Good
(10) Blunt Attack damage.

Sort of unhappy about that, you dropkick the both of them across the
room, and with your strength, that's enough to take them down for the
count - at least for a couple hours, anyway.  That's when the two other
fellows pull guns.

On the floor, their boss screams up at them.  "Kill this ass hole,
already!  I gotta do everything myself around here?!"  One shoots and
misses you completely, nailing some poor slob behind you, who shouts out
"Argh!  My hand!  You (insert expletive of choice here)!!!"

The wounded man then rushes the gunman with HIS chair while the two
thugs focus on you, the second actually managing to shoot you (for
Typical (6) Shooting damage before you disarm him with your laser eyes,
heating his gun up to the point that he can't hold the thing.

Thug #3 then gets smashed in the head while preparing to shoot at you
again, his previous victim more than a little bit angry about having
half the meat in his hand being blown away; he promptly passes out from
sheer shock a few seconds later, but not before getting a kick in.

That leaves you with one fully functional thug, who you then punch in
the diaphragm to knock clean out.  With his thugs rendered unconscious,
the shouting man with the broken nose on the floor screams at you.
"You're a dead man!  You won't get away with this, cable-boy!"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 12:58:04 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You fling your stickystrands at the angry ball of light, splattering it
on both sides, at the base of two units from whence these long, steely
tentacles are telescoping out.  Soon after, that fellow you just met
fires off a blast of energy from his sword.

"Argh!  Damnable human, I will kill you slowly, over the course of
several, um, days, and I will make you feel every... every second of
it!  Yes!  But not yet... you are not my primary target.  That
particular honor belongs to you... Space Hobo!!!"

Though Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint seems to have a poor grasp of human
measurements of time, he nonetheless wants Hobo dead in a bad way,
flaring up with his own personal energies, and blasting away at the
poor, incompetent man.

"Eeek!"  Space Hobo then flees with all the speed a non-fighting person
can muster when deathly afraid, and as such, rockets away at an
impressive clip.  Pinpoint then follows, and since you're currently
anchored to him, Rebound, you get dragged along with him!

Watching this from a distance, Ari, you see that seventies-looking
fellow running, ducking, bobbing and weaving as the ball of light, which
you now see to be decorated with all manner of high tech toys, fires
blast after blast at the poor, frightened man.

Of course, the only problem is that he's running right towards you and
Och!  Your dwarven ally pulls out his magical axe, preparing for a
fight, but what do YOU do?  Speaking of which, what do the rest of you
try before Pinpoint flattens the poor drifter from the stars?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 14:10:59 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

Crimebuster, while glad he is not being fired on, tries to save the Hobo and
follows Pinpoint.  Once in leaping range he powers his Chi down the blade of
his dragon-pommeled katana and leaps high in the air, sword above his head
held woth both hands.  Then with a giant cut he brings the blade down on the
electronics attached to Pinpoint with the intent of cutting through
something that looks important....

Some rolls:  Initiative 6,
Rolls:  91,85,77 (and I am a happy superhero :)

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 14:36:56 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Hoping to stop this madman (thing!?) short in his (its) tracks, Rebound
tries to use his stickiness to anchor himself to the ground long enough
to slow pinpoint down and let everyone else catch up.

If the (hopefully pursuing) heroes catch up, Rebound will detonate the
strands attached to pinpoint to distract/confuse/disorient/injure the
impolite thing.

"Who's your primary target now, flashbulb??!?!?"

Rolls: Init:5,Sticking with it: 48+50 Karma = 98 (smoke 'em if ya got em)
Boom: 96(at last the dice awaken)Anything else: 78,05,100(now I roll it!)

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2000 17:13:47 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari sighs heavily.  "Damn bag."  Reaching into the bag, and rolling a... 72,
(yes!) Ari finds that she's holding...

If it's an offensive device, Ari will spend the turn figuring out how it
works.  If it's defensive, she's going to try to get it to the hobo, either
via tossing, or simply running up and hoping her forcefield holds.

Random Other Rolls: 21, 15, 11 (ooogh.)

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 18:40:48 -0600
From: "William H. Lockwood" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx is just amazed at Clutch's ability to make the V.A.M.P. do things
she just doesn't expect. Then Jinx is amazed that she's flying through
the air.

"OOF!" she exhales as she tumbles onto the robot's face. "Um, sorry
about that...um, sir," she apologizes hesitantly as she looks down at
the robot's chiseled features.

Doing her best to remove herself from the robot's face, she scrambles to
the V.A.M.P., praying that it can still move. Noticing the motorcycle
and then the demon, Jinx swallows loudly, looking to Clutch for any
suggestions.

"Hey, man. I hope this thing has some juice still left in it! If not,
we're going to need to find one of those glowing ball thingees really
quick-like!" she stated redundantly as she tried to hunker down in the
back of the jeep to hide.

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Rough Housing
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2000 21:43:04 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

" Oooh, I'm so scared, Please let me live, Hey I know I will take you out
for dinner, do you like BBQ?" A.S.9 said and then uses his fire breath to
torch a nearby chair. Then takes his whip out and whips it around him and
lifts him up. " Where can I find this guy, NOW? Or Should I just torch you
and ask one of your other buddies instead?"

Here's a few rolls for those actions. 57,6,68,98

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 12:45:28 EST
From: "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

Ronin orders in kind, just following suit.  He answers quickly, hopefully before the Mage can spew any of his craziness.

"I agree that the City Court is our best bet as we need not get involved with any more time travel...."

He gives Masque a knowing look.

"How can we find the particular portal we need and once we do, then what?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 16:53:40 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

Magus mutters under his breath, "....more like from the boring fjords of
Yawns-gard...."

> Amid another round of snapping, you hear something that fills you with
> dread.  "Yes, folks, since you like 'em so much, the brothers grim,
> here, will be doing another six hour performance for your pleasure!  How
> do you like that, everybody?"

Magus groans to himself slightly as he considers whether it would be better
to kill the bards or himself.

> Ernesto leans over to you, Magus, and frowns mightily.  "Methinks we
> came on the wrong night.  Shall we leave before we all grow too
> depressed to?"

Magus grabs his ale and downs the last of it in one big gulp. Slamming the
cup back down on the table Magus looks at Ernesto and with more than a
little enthusiasm, "AYE! Where to now friends? Preferably some place where I
won't feel like gutting myself..."

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 03:14:33 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Roight.  I know another sweet place down a ways, up by Dead Man's
row... you should like it.  Gots a pit to fight in, it does, and there's
this minotaur basher who'll take on anybody who's willing to bet their
lives..."

As you wander out of the nameless tavern, you continue on through this
Hive ward, at night, and you start to notice footfalls behind your
person.  Of course, this is also at the same time you come to the
realization that you and your pals have drank a whole lot of booze...

Enough so that the lot of you aren't likely to be in full fighting form
should things go bad.  And, soon enough, as you turn around, you spy a
good dozen goons following you.  "Not liking your to music Bleakers at
pub?  Sweet up toot fix you, berks then?  We'll eh"

Just listening to the goon makes your head hurt, but looking at him and
his fellows truly offends the eye.  This sorry lot seem to have dressed
from the grand daddy of all hand-me-down bins, wearing all manner of
patchwork armor, weapons, and stylish-yet-useless high fashion items.

As you eye them, they all pull out their motley assortment of weaponry.
"We'll Xaositects you show play to like?  No how"  That's when they
advance upon your persons... what do you do, Magus (as if I really,
really have to ask...)

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 03:14:36 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Bah!  We don't NEED no stinking magic balls!  This hunk of junk may be
built by the lowest bidder, but that was before me'n Steeler got done
with her!"  With that, Clutch throws the V.A.M.P. into reverse, doing
yet another dizzying 180 degree turn, and then steps on it.

"Shoot the thing, a'reddy!  You're our only gun now, Jinx!  Shoot it
before he wipes them other goons out... and comes after us!"  You find
that Clutch was speaking almost prophetically, in that this Minion boob
just ran that robot over, twisting up his legs in the process.

"Ow, man!  You wrecked up my knees... and my paint job!"  The armed and
armored A.P.C. then rolls on after Mister Grimm, but finds that the
strange biker is nowhere to be found, at least in the location he was
occupying a moment ago.

That's because he's following you!  You see the fire in his eyes, even
through that shaded visor of his; you get the distinct impression that
he doesn't give a damn about Minion - not yet, at any rate.  Looks like
the two of you pissed in his Wheaties (TM) one time too many...

Next?

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Rough Housing
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 03:14:40 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Seeing you breathe fire all over the furniture, your (sudden) informant
loses control of his urinary system, and tells you all that he knows.
As far as you can tell, at any rate, because he's gibbering and crying
like a little baby...

"He's... he's... he's at our office downtown!  Honest!  I- I- I- can
give you the address...!"  The man then rattles off a street address
that states you can find your quarry somewhere at 904 4th street.  "It's
right by downtown!  Y-y-you can't miss it!"

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 03:14:42 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

The bizarre creature you've attached yourself to seems to make a passing
effort to shake you off, Rebound, in that the drag you're generating
seems to be slowing it down just enough to allow this strange, bum-like
seventies person to attain a lead in his flight.

"Bummer, man!  It's gonna Kill me!"

Digging your feet into the ground once gravity eventually does its thing
and brings you home, you manage to throw Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint's aim
off enough to spare the poor Space Hobo from yet another barrage of doom
and gloom in the form of raw photonic blasts.

"Get... off... me...!"  The energy being seems to want you to shoo, and
you do once you spy that Ronin-esque fellow run up behind you, ready to
take a swipe at your sudden foe, you do.  Letting go of your strands,
you detonate them to inflict all kinds of damage upon Pinpoint.

He reels and sinks down to the ground, his flight integrity lost after
the Amazing explosion you just caused, and this Crimebuster fellow takes
a clean swipe at the thing with his blade.  He seems to sever something
vital, but in doing so, he had to touch Pinpoint.

Since the photonic energy lifeform was protected by an electrical force
field (and we're talking crackling lines of force, here), the hero gets
something of a backlash upon cutting the thing's power cords (he got
quite lucky with his swipe, from what you can tell).

(quick, Crimebuster - tell me if you can roll a yellow Endurance FEAT!)

Sparking and sputtering, Pinpoint rolls away from you, emitting a flurry
of curses as he does so; he may not know human time measurement, but
four letter words are universal.  The only problem, of course, is that
he seems to have rolled into a pair of bystanders.

Meanwhile, as the strange creature rolls up to your feet, Ari, you've
successfully seized a... device from the sack.  Looking at it, you see
that it consists of a handle, with a stylistically rounded box at the
top, one with 'Thaumatech (TM) brand Personal Defenestrator' on it.

The box has a nozzle pointing forward (as you infer from the direction
the hand grip would indicate), almost like a funnel you would use to
pour liquids - the wide end sticking out.  It's got a simple trigger on
it, as well, where your index finger lies.  Seems easy enough.

As these other folks you were spying on all run up to your position
(barring a failure of Crimebuster's endurance FEAT roll), what do you
do?  All of you, for that matter, as Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint seems to
have a few kicks left in him...

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 7:35:22 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

 (OCC: Thinking that he will probably not like failing this roll Crimebuster
adds 15 karma and rolls......a 61.  With the added 15 karma that gives a 76,
a most solidly Yellow FEAT :)

The shock that went through Crimebuster after severing the power cords sends
him into a momentary haze, not unlike the time he got grazed with the punch
of Dim Mak.  Somehow he made it through that night and he feels a little
shaken now but is confident he will make it through this one as well.

>> All of you, for that matter, as Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint seems to
>> have a few kicks left in him...

Noting that Pinpoint seems a little worse for wear and not quite sure what
to make of the pair of bystanders Crimebuster approaches with a little more
caution than he did the other 3. He notices that while all of the other
non-hero types fled from the area, as well they should, these 2 have stood
their ground.  This makes him more than a little wary as he closes in on the
newly Force Field-less being.  With his sword drawn he will wait to see what
Pinpoint does regarding the newly encountered pair, trying to get toward the
side of the ball of energy in case he needs to interpose himself between it
and the pair of bystanders.  He nods toward the masked man trying to get him
to go around the other side to cut off possible escape routes......

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 08:26:38 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari takes one look at the text, and laughs uproariously.  Pointing it at
'Crackle', she waves.  "Hiya."  Then she pulls the trigger, just wanting to
SEE what this thing does...  As she zaps Pinpoint, she sings lightly to
herself. "...blue canary in the outlet by the lightswitch... who watches
over you?"

The rolls are: 48, 67, and ...12  Yike.

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Going Downtown
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 07:26:44 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

" Thanks for the information, You have such a helpful scumbucket." A.S.9 said as he put the guy down, then he turns and  says " Oh One more question... You aren't gonna call your boss and warn him are you?" Before he can answer, A.S.9. punches him in the head, trying to knock him out. 78 for that roll. Then A.S.9 walks to the bartender and gives him a $100 for the damage and tells him, if he call this guy's boss, He's coming back for him.  Then he runs to his hog, and then drives off downtown. Once getting there he is going to try to get as much info on his protection and the building, before blasting in.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 10:14:04 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Noting that Pinpoint seems a little worse for wear and not quite sure what
to make of the pair of bystanders Crimebuster approaches with a little more
caution than he did the other 3. He notices that while all of the other
non-hero types fled from the area, as well they should, these 2 have stood
their ground.  This makes him more than a little wary as he closes in on the
newly Force Field-less being.  With his sword drawn he will wait to see what
Pinpoint does regarding the newly encountered pair, trying to get toward the
side of the ball of energy in case he needs to interpose himself between it
and the pair of bystanders.  He nods toward the masked man trying to get him
to go around the other side to cut off possible escape routes......

Rebound nodds back at Crimebuster secretly wondering if this stranger will ever introduce himself.  He circles around pinpoint and takes a defensive position hoping that this thing has had enough.

"You have two choices you overgrown glowstick...You can settle
down and take it easy, or I'll have to deal with you as harshly
as I dealt with the last invaders I dealt with.  It's been a real
trying week for me.  Don't make it any worse."

Rebound will sit back and allow this thing to weigh its options before
taking any action.

Any Needed Rolls: 81, 44, 48, 90

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2000 19:20:37 GMT
From: "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

Let's see what a little ice can do.  As Stone Cold throws a few ice daggers
at Pinpoint. (Roll: 74, 83, 02)

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2000 12:57:36 -0600
From: Chris <cwacers@home.com>

"And then there was this other time when.."

> "I agree that the City Court is our best bet as we need not get involved
> with any more time travel...."

Masque looks as if his train of thought just derailed.

> He gives Masque a knowing look.

So instead of trying to re-rail his train, he just hops in a cab and says;

"Righty-o! I do believe we wish to go that there Portal Index you speak of."

> "How can we find the particular portal we need and once we do, then what?"

Masque gives an agreeable thumbs up.

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 15:57:41 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Thaddeus looks at you, prepared to answer, but seems somewhat distracted
by Masque's odd story-outta-nowhere.  "Well, basically, we'll need to
interview with the Fraternity of Order, and hope that those damnable
Guvners can figure out which earthly plane you want."

"There's SO many of them out there, after all.  Then, we just have to
hope that the portal we need doesn't lead to one of their interdicted
planes.  See, if the Guvners think that a plane is a particularly
dangerous place to be, they don't let loose the dark on its portals."

"They keep those portals all to themselves, for 'further study'.
'Course, there's nothing stopping us from 'insisting' that they 'share',
if it comes down to it.  That might make 'em right surly, though, and
I'd call that a last resort move."

"Shall we?"

Once you finish up your assorted meals, Thaddeus and Gloria lead the two
of you to the City Court, at which point you spy several folks who,
despite their quasi-medieval dress, you can instantly finger as lawyers
- they seem to comprise the whole of this 'Fraternity of Order'.

Walking in, you are confronted by two guards, each of which carries a
shield that shows off their apparent faction symbol for the whole world
to see; it's a short, wide dagger with a spiraling handle, over the
background of a spiky, arabic-looking tower.

Gloria then steps up to the plate.  "We need to view the portal logs.
Our friends here are trying to get home.  We have the proper fees all
prepared."  Gloria then whips out five golden coins, about the size of a
dime, which are shaped like tiny cogs.

The guards nod at this, and one of them leads you into a back office,
down a flight of stairs.  That is when you meet a very, very old looking
fellow, about one hundred and thirty years old, with a beard to match -
it dangles down to his pelvis.

The man is wearing expansive red robes, though time has dulled their
brilliant color, and he has a large head-dress on with all sorts of
crystals and other quasi-mystical objects dangling from its
forward-pointing hook.

"Myes, can aie help hyou?"  The guard then explains what the four of you
are looking for, and the man smiles.  "Excellent.  I am something of an
expert on the planes Prime, having studied them for a majority of my
tenoir with the Fraternity of Order."

"Perhaps you can tell me of your world, and I will do my best to aid you
in your journeys."

!?

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Going Downtown
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 15:57:43 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

The bartender nods. "Hey, I don't need no more trouble, so I won't be
makin' no calls.  Won't be lettin' these bozos use my phone, either.  I
don't need their coke-head selves messin' up my joint.  We're too classy
for that."

The looks of the facility beg to differ, of course, but you get the
point.  You leave and make your way to the proffered address in no time,
and spy the place with a quick drive by.  It would seem that there's
three goons on guard on the front porch.

It looks like a simple, two story house.

You see no weapons handy, but they are standing on a porch, and could
likely conceal just about anything out of sight there, behind the solid
porch railing.  The lights are on inside, and you make at least four
more goons within, though there's probably more, out of sight.

The house itself is on a typical, run-down residential street, straight
as though city planning was once an issue, being intersected each block
by a perpendicular street running across it, and the streets parallel to
this one are also chock full of houses.

You catch all that on one drive-by, but there may be more that isn't
readily apparent... what next?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 15:57:46 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You watch as the two garishly costumed warriors surround the strange,
device-riddled ball of light, Ari, but before you can use your newest
bag-granted device, that rocky fellow creeps up on the odd creature and
nails it with twin shafts of ice.

Causing what would appear to be internal short circuits inside it's
combat suite, these shafts are quickly boiled off by Pinpoint's internal
energies, but the damage has been done.  "Argh!!", says Pinpoint,
crackling with impotent fury.

"Damn stupid humans, I will kill you all!  I -"  The ranting energy
spark then stops short, having finally noticed you standing there with a
fully loaded Defenestrator, and seems at a sudden loss for words.  "Er,
hello.  Just kidding, mind you, no harm done, right?"

That's when you pull the trigger.

You feel the thing start to vibrate in your hand, and then you hear the
sound the device makes as you activate it.  It's kind of like the
grand-daddy of all steam whistles, hurting your ears and having a
curious effect on the other people fighting with this strange entity.

You see their hair being pushed back as though they were within a wind
tunnel, and then, out of nowhere, the air between your Defenestrator and
Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint experiences a visible distortion, as though one
helluva shock wave had passed through the intervening space.

The noise makes you momentarily close your eyes in pain, but once you
repoen them, you see that Pinpoint is gone.  Looking around, you spy him
careening through the air out of control, eventually striking several
buildings at the edge of the park.

He ricochets off them like a strange, alien pinball, smashing windows
and other building structures as he rockets through the city out of
control, as though he were a cracklin' mad rubber ball given way, way
too much momentum.

You get the impression that he won't be bugging anybody for a very long
time.  However, though you've dealt with this strange menace from the
stars, you still have these five total strangers to contend with, folks
who seem to have had a bone to pick with the energy ball.

What do you do, Ari?  Same for the rest of you... what's next?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 17:07:13 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari looks at the gun.  Then she looks off to where Cracklin' went.  Then
Back to the gun.  She repeats this two or three times.  "Shit."

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 22:25:48 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

"So what's up wit all of this?  What is really going on?"  Says Stone
Cold, really trying to figure out what is going on.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 22:31:37 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari just looks at the meta-types.  "Sorry.  Didn't mean to rip off your
glory."  Then, in a very cinematic move, she blows across the barrel of the
Defenestrator.  Not bad for someone so unassuming.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 6:40:12 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

Laughing to himself on the inside, Crimebuster looks toward the landing area
of Pinpoint and says  quietly "Lights out"

He looks over at the girl, then looks again back toward where Pinpoint
landed then back at the girl.....reasonably sure that he does not want to be
on the receiving end of one of those shots.  Nodding toward the girl he says "That is some weapon you have there.....would you mind terribly pointing it somewhere else while we introduce ourselves?"

 "My name is Crimebuster and I guess I should go first about who that ball
of light was since I was the first person to run across it"

"Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint is the name of that ball of light.  He was
travelling with that man..."  He says looking toward where the Hobo is
"....when his ship crashed on the Hutchison River Parkway, a short while ago.  I happened to be travelling that way and got out to take a look around and  it came rolling toward me encased in a metal construct that it asked to be cut out of.  I obliged.  He then turned and started to attack him" Said again looking toward the Hobo "I convinced him to not to attack and he left in a rage.  Seeing some military and authority types coming I decided to try and track Pinpoint to
help prevent any....damage. The rest you know"

"I really am interested to know where you got that gun......quite the odd
thing for a woman your age to be carrying.  I was under the impression they
suggested carrying a can of pepper spray for a walk through the Park.  Not that I am complaining"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 08:45:18 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

"Heh.  Name's Ari.  That's Och.  And this... This is my *boomstick.*"  She
smiles again, quite the odd sight  Ari fumbles with the gun for a second,
hoping to find a shoulder strap or something...

> (snip)

Ari looks up from her fidgeting.  "Oh?  Uh... I have a knack for finding
neat toys.  I guess you could say I'm a collector."

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 08:55:51 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Rebound looks at the young woman, at Crimbuster, and finally back at Stone
Cold.  He shrugs his shoulders and sighs.  "I guess it's too late to
question pinhead."

Not quite sure of where to go from here, Rebound decides to introduce
himself and see if maybe he can get some more help.

"You can call me Rebound.  Myself and Stone Cold (he nods in his direction)
have just returned from the...Um...nevermind.  The point is this:
Somewhere, probably in this city, is an alien that calls himself Alonse that
is going to destroy the world as we know it if we don't find him and stop
him.  Any aid you can provide in this regard would be appreciated."

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 9:52:14 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

Thinking to himself that this could help delay that meeting with his parents
after all these years, a meeting he does not want at all to endure, makes him consider this offer.  Looking around at the odd collection of people in front of him he wonders if this is what Master Lee had in mind when he said that helping people was his true path.  Assuming that the fates have been good to him so far he decides to test his luck again.

"If what you say is true then it would be wrong of me to deny you the best
of my ability.  In other words, I'm in.  What next?  Do you think this Alonse is connected to Pinpoint?

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : House Breaking
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 09:02:04 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S.9 looks around and finds a safe place to park his hog. he is going to
try to climb up in the back of the house and then swing in to the area of
his mark and be ready with eyebeams to take out any weapons, his attempt
will be is to secure his mark, knock himout and jump out of the window with
him, all the while dodging any firearm fire. 73,85,58,53,18,33,87,77,

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 18:00:26 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

 "Sounds good to me friends. At least we won't have to listen to some dwarf
talk about how his mother use to make him dress like an elf or something..."

> (snip)

Magus snickers a bit under his breath. Whether it's from his inebriation or
from the fact that someone's actually thinking of trying to rob him and his
friends no one's quite sure.

> (snip)

Magus squints his eyes at the goon and then opens them wide at the
disheveled looking lot of thugs,  "Yea Gods man. If'n you're going to
threaten us then at least do it in a halfway recognizable language. And
while you're at it why don't you learn how to properly accessorize."

> (snip)

 Magus takes a half a step back which looks all too much like a bit of a
drunken stumble although he manages to remain on his feet. He blinks in
disbelief of the goons' advancement, "Xaos-what's-its??" Taking a deep sigh
Magus' hands flash to his side and draw both swords out of their respective
scabbards and holds them in front of himself defensively, "Forget it...gut
now....talk later..."

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 7:32:58 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

"I am no expert but I would guess that your weapon needs a holster if there
is no strap.....My pleasure to meet you.  And you Och"  Crimebuster says
extending his hand first to Ari and then Och.

>> Ari looks up from her fidgeting.  "Oh?  Uh... I have a knack for finding
>> neat toys.  I guess you could say I'm a collector."

Crimebuster holds her gaze trying to discern what she means by collector.
"Well, if that is only part of the collection of ....toys.... you have you would be a valuable ally.  Rebound..." He says, nodding toward him "....is convinced there is an alien who is trying to destroy the world.  He has asked me to join him, which I have agreed to.  I am sure he would welcome you two as well."  Crimebuster says as he looks toward Rebound for confirmation.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 14:35:19 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Rebound nods back.  "Indeed, any help would be appreciated..."  As if a
light bulb just went off in his head, Rebound turns to Och.

"Och?  Good to see you again.  I thought you were lost when the key
exploded.  I know Stone Cold and I were.  What happened to you?  Do you know
where anyone else is?  Do you know where the mage dropped Alonse off?"

Rebound eventually will cease his rapid-fire questioning and await a
response...

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 14:44:24 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

As the lot of you introduce yourselves, Och walks you to you, Stone
Cold, Rebound.  "Excellent!  It would appear that at least three of you
have survived our battle with Morbis!  I was just on my way to that
villain's lair, in order to try and find some trace of you lot."

"Would there be any way that either of you could enlighten me as to what
happened during your battle with the fiendish mage?  After all, I was
removed from the fight thanks to some sort of accident while Silhouette
tried to get us out of the wizard's minion's flood attack."

Meanwhile, that duo's friend, Tammy, sidles up to the rest of you, that
being Ari and Crimebuster.  In regards to your question about Pinpoint,
Crimebuster, she shakes her head in the negative.  "Don't think so...
I'd probably just call it one mean coincidence."

"After the week I've had, I'm pretty darn sure that these things just
happen once you start going around using your powers in public.  I
refrain for five years, and nothing odd happens, and the DAY I start, I
get whipped into the past, the future, into fights with wizards..."

"Eesh."

Once Och hears about your quest for this A-lonse character, he offers
his services to the cause... sort of.  "I'll definitely help you out,
friend, but I must first see if any other members of our former group
survived our encounter with Morbis."

"As soon as I inspect his lair, I will join your search.  Of course, if
we were to all head there together, that could facilitate things..."

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 14:44:26 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

The crowd seems to react oddly to your pulling your blades out.  Three
of them scream like little girls and run away, their arms flailing madly
over their heads as they flee into the warrens of the Hive ward. Three
more pull their own motley weapons, and start hitting each other.

The rest then try to break up the fight amongst their fellows, and only
wind up getting caught in the brawl themselves, fists and makeshift
boards-with-nails-in-'em flyin.  By the time they're done, your would-be
troublemakers seem to have dealt with themselves!

Walking up to the heaping pile of broken goons, you see their leader
look up at you and grin weakly.  "Bah weep grah nah weep nee nee bong?"

!?

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : House Breaking
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 14:44:29 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You invade the back yards of several local residences and make your way
to the house that your quarry is supposed to be in, and then climb up
the back of the dilapidated home with ease.  Looking in the back
windows, you see that most of the rooms upstairs are occupied.

Spying one that isn't, however, you swing in an open window and land
with a slight thud on the hard-wood floor.  Peeking out from the space
under the door, you see that there's nobody walking about up here, and
open the door to get a better look.

You see something of a living room downstairs, with four folks chilling
out to several beers and what would appear to be a homemade...
cigarette.  One of them looks just like your mark, so you leap right at
the man, fists a'flailin'!

Landing on the ground floor with a start, you punch the surprised guy in
the head, knocking him back onto his couch and causing his pals to draw
semi-automatic firearms.  The lot of them shoot at you but, thanks to
your deft moves, you dodge their fire with ease.

In fact, one of the three goons seems to have nailed one of his pals in
the crossfire!  Striking back, you lase the gun clean out of one of the
remaining guys' hand, and as he drops it, your pal Antonio jumps up and
smacks him on the head, causing a small spark in the process.

The fellow then falls unconscious, while Antonio himself looks somewhat
confused.  "Who?  What?"  You punch him in the back of the head,
squarely knocking him cold, and when you do so, you get shot in the back
for your troubles, taking Typical (6) Shooting damage.

Sort of upset about this, as you're being nickled and dimed to death,
you lase the other fellow's gun, and leave him leaping up and down,
holding his hand as he tries to soothe the burning sensation, and
ultimately settles for pouring cold beer on it.

Kicking out the back door, you run for your ride with the unconscious
Antonio draped over your shoulder, and amid a series of gunshots, you
get out of the suburban crime center without a hitch - not even a single
grazing blow further sullies your day!

Well, you have the guy - now what?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 20:53:09 GMT
From: "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

"Sounds like a plan to me.  Retrace our steps and lay the smack-down on his
candy....  Ah yeah.  let's go.  We need to stop by the shoe store first
though."  Said Stone Cold, still thinking about his sole-less friend Tammy.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 16:15:47 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

Rebound does not seem to be too keen on making the side trip...

"So the world is going to end in a matter of days barring our action, and
you want to go shopping for shoes!!?!?!?!!  It makes about as much sense as
the whole situation anyway.  What the hell, let's go shopping."

...but he seems to be ready to go along with whatever plan is created.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 21:21:39 GMT
From: "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

"Just a few minutes man, not long and were back on the case."  Said Stone
Cold.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 17:35:29 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

Crimebuster regards the question of shoe shopping as a bit of an oddity.

"Look, I may be new here but if we have intentions on saving the world and
we only have a short time to do it, I think the time can be better spent than shoe shopping....My apologies to you...." He says referring to Tammy "....but if our objectives are what Rebound said they were then I think we should head directly to the lair that you were talking about Och."

Unless there is more opposition he will then head off with Rebound, Ari, Och
and anyone else who is coming to the lair.

In transit, Crimebuster asks Ari if in her collection somewhere she has
something that could help Stone Cold's friend.

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 18:07:02 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

Magus looks kind of sad and angry at the would be thieves or slapstick
comedian, he can't quite tell at the moment, thinking to himself, "Only
three ran?!? What in Io's name??? It's usually so many more..."

> (snip mayhem)

Magus stands quietly watching the events unfold before him and his friends
blinking in disbelief. Once the foes have vanquished themselves, Magus just
glances at Jesus and the boys dumbfoundedly.

> Walking up to the heaping pile of broken goons, you see their leader
> look up at you and grin weakly.  "Bah weep grah nah weep nee nee bong?"

Magus stares at the being for a moment and blinks not once, not twice but
thrice before looking at the "leader" and more asking than stating, "Bah wee
grah nah weep nee nee bong?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 18:53:43 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari shrugs and grins.  "Why not?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 18:56:25 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari looks in her backpack... "Hey... what size do you wear?  I'm a seven...
I *think* I've got some high-tops in here SOMEWHERE..."  Given that Ari tends
to carry all sorts of things in her Wondrous Backpack, (as opposed to the
Wondrous Knapsack) is there any chance that she has a spare pair of gym shoes handy?  Of course.. they might not FIT Tammy, but it's worth a shot...

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : An Rewarding experience.
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 17:58:40 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S.9 gets out of the suburban crime center without a hitch - not even a
single grazing blow further sullies his day! He pulls over at the nearest
pay phone, first, he pulls out a set of cuffs, he picked up from the store
and cuffs the guy. Then watching the guy carefully, calls his employer to
inform him he has the mark and get instructions from there. After getting
the info, he will take his mark to his hotel and will rest there until he
has to meet his employer for payment. He will most likely stick the guy in
the closet and melt the doorknob after locking it shut.

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 18:48:37 -0600
From: Chris <cwacers@home.com>

Masque's smile's verily;
"A Resort!!...Where at? I could use a good tan, maybe some visual
gratification for my weary eyes..."

Masque stares off into no particular area, all the while murmuring about
someone named Lexxi.

> "Shall we?"

You here some gasping behind you and turn to see Masque. He looks as if
he ran all the way;

"It's about time you folk stopped...leaving me like that, could have
told me you left...."

> (snip description of sage)

"Ooooh.....a fellow Mage, finally!.....Now that's a hat I can dig"

> "Perhaps you can tell me of your world, and I will do my best to aid you
> in your journeys."

Masque Frowns;
"We come from Earth, third planet from the Sun, in the Milky Way
Galaxy...The year is (o.o.c. Bomb...what ever year it is, insert here)
and it is riddled with infernal machines. Computers..."

Masque Spits in disgust;

"...guns, television, info-mercials and crazy diet plans. It is a living
hell for a mage like myself but I sometimes consider it my duty to
inform the populace of that place of the ways of magic. I am a
missionary of sorts. The worst of it is the lazy public, unwilling to
try a new means to exist, one without The so-called wonders of modern
technology....Wonders indeed! Bah I say, wonders in need of constant
repair from the balding, hairy, smelly 'technician'. I think it is all a
contrived conspiracy to keep the people docile. A few good reads form a
Grimoire and they would be perfectly happy if ya ask me...."

Stopping himself he quickly points out;

"But I have to get back there. It's where I keep all my stuff and I did
lose a few friends there and need to make sure they are all right."

Masque stops and scratches his chin;

"Ronin, Do you have anything to add or do you think that about sums up
our pitiful planet?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 18:59:55 -0600
From: "William H. Lockwood" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx hollers and holds on for dear life as the V.A.M.P. roars to life,
swinging her about the rear end of the jeep.

"Right! Shooting things! I can do that!" she exclaims as she checks her
clip in the one loaded mag cannon before hunkering down in the back of
the jeep, trying to get a bead on the A.P.C.

That's when she noticed the motorcycle and its morbid driver.

"Damn. Well, I hate to waste a bullet on you, but you're really starting
to get annoying," she muttered as she changed her arc of fire to train
on the pursuing bike.

Biting her lip, she tried to judge where to position her cross-hairs to
cause the magnetically accelerated bullet to pass through the length of
the motorcycle, tearing through the front fork, fuselage, eventually
finding the gas tank or possibly even the hog's engine.

[4 + Modifier for Initiative, 84 to Hit, 61 Damage, 02, 88, 86 for
additional rolls.]

Subject: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 2000 17:22:53 -0800
From: "Michael Joiner Jr" <ultimental@onebox.com>

OOC:  I *thought* I already posted a response to this one, but perhaps
not...or at least it never came through!  ...limpin' by on a system that
desperately needs a rebuild!...

BIC:

Reaper stares blankly at the options, then turns to Ken as if for some
idea...

<tag>

"Well...whatever is suitable for-" remembering the difficulty the
console-whatever had with their 'race', "for 'creatures' like us I guess...something good?"

He waits, trying not to anticipate what's going to appear before them..

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 15:31:23 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

The man looks back at you, a mad grin spreading across his face.  "Bah
weep grah nah weep nee nee bong!!"  He then pulls himself free of his
compatriots, who have fallen on top of him, and gives you a big hug and
kiss.  "Home friend, you welcome to ! good see"

...?

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : An Rewarding experience.
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 15:31:26 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You call your boss and tell him the good news.

"Excellent, my friend, most excellent!  However, I must warn you that
the man IS quite good at getting away from almost any captivity, in an
almost supernatural fashion.  He's escaped from paddy wagons, locked
cages, even jails - without a single hint as to how."

"As far as bringing him in, all you need to do is get him to Chicago, as
he's wanted for two of his murders in that city, and they can do the
whole extradition once he's done his time there.   Good luck, friend - I
do believe that you'll need it."

Heading to a hotel, you indeed lock the guy in a closet, but he seems to
be waking up.  "Hey, man, you can't do this to me!  I'm not who you
think I am!  I'm not Antonio!  I'm not Antonio!!  I'm not Antonio!!!"
You can tell this is gonna be a long night...

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 15:31:29 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You fire your gun at the likes of Mister Grimm, and one shot seems to be
all it takes; you punch a hole clean through his hog, and cause it to
explode spectacularly.  The thing falls to the ground in a rain of fiery
parts, tumbling forward as it does so.

However, you see Grimm himself hasn't been totally dealt with; he simply
stands up, body a'blaze after he rolls to a stop, and flings a soul at
you.  The thing flies at you, screaming in horror, and before you
register its movement, it nails you dead on in the chest.

You feel the anguish of its existence as it tears through your person,
and the agony it causes you inflicts Incredible (40) Karmic damage...
enough to cause even you to almost drop dead where you stand.  Still
conscious, if barely, you slump down in the back of the V.A.M.P.

"Damnit!"  Seeing you take a hit, Clutch freaks out.  "You are toast,
buddy!"  He does yet another dizzying 180 degree turn, making you think
that these tires have got to be on their last leg, and he floors it,
headed right for the prone Mister Grimm.

"I tried to play this nice, jackass, but you crossed the line.  Shoot
the Jeep (TM) all you want, but don't ever mess with my pals!"  Mister
Grimm sees all too late that Clutch isn't joking, and doesn't move in
time, getting nailed full force by the V.A.M.P.

Grimm's body then flies through the air, bouncing into the pursuing
A.P.C. driven by Minion, and he hits the ground hard.  You can see
though your daze that the man, if that's what he really is, is still
kicking, as he's squirming about somewhat - even after all that!

However, while he's moving, he seems unable to really get up and go,
leaving you alone with that demonic monstrosity that's stopped in front
of the V.A.M.P., almost as if he were daring Clutch to a game of
chicken.  That gives you a bad, bad feeling...

But, before you can say anything, the two vehicles peel out on the
street, and charge towards each other madly.  You look at your driver
pal, and his face seems bent into a rictus of mad glee, or rage, or just
mad - it's hard to tell.

Meanwhile, Minion's A.P.C. starts firing all of its weaponry at the
V.A.M.P., and though Clutch dodges most of it, he doesn't get it all,
and as such, you get nailed with the barrage of rocketry and machine gun
fire along with the street and surrounding block of buildings.

Losing it's vim and vigor, the V.A.M.P. cuts out, and you get struck
hard core by the A.P.C. at about an effective sixty miles per hour.
Before he jumps out of the V.A.M.P., dragging you along with it, though,
Clutch flips a switch under his seat.

"Heh heh heh... call this surprise number two!"  As he pulls you along,
Minion drives clean over the V.A.M.P., crushing it up like a monster
truck would a hapless Gremlin (TM), but as the thing rests on the
V.A.M.P.'s mass, the Joe vehicle explodes quite spectacularly.

After the two of you peek up over the garbage bin you used as ersatz
cover, you see that the wheels of Minion's vehicle have been totaled,
and the thing can't even seem to move anymore.  It just sort of gives
off an automotive whine as its driver tries to make it go.

That's when you hear the ear-bending screaming, and the sound of metal
twisting and tearing eventually reveals its source:  You see fiery
fingertips tearing through the metal of the A.P.C.  In seconds, the
flaming villain that is Minion shows himself!!!

And he's looking right at the two of you...

??????

Subject: Re: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 15:31:32 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Er, yeah", says Ken.  "Maybe a couple hamburgers, and fries, too."  He
seems to think about it for a few seconds, and then adds to the order.
"Earth burgers, i mean.  And fries.  No freaky deaky alien burger things
with squiggly bits, if you don't mind..."

The speaking pseudopod seems to look at you, and then Ken, and then you
again.  "Well, he don't seem to need food, but hokay.  Trace elements
I'm scanning on you, though, seem to show that you're from a curious
little backwater world one of my scouts hit a few years ago."

"So, you want a couple hamburgers, and maybe fries, right?"  Before you
can say anything, Ergx works his magic on the insta-clone device, and in
seconds, you see a fully adult cow get put together out of nothing,
along with a few potato plants.

He then leads the cow into the back, and starts dicing up the potatoes
and produces some cooking oil with which to fry up the fries.  Within
about half an hour, the strange blobby alien has produces four burgers
and a heaping plate of fries for the two of you.

"That'll be twenty credits, m'friends."

!?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 15:31:35 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"That's easy for you to say, tough guy - you're not about to go slogging
through the sewers of NEW YORK CITY barefoot."  Tammy just glares at the
lot of you nay-sayers of the aborted shopping trip, and does indeed take
a sneaker from Ari.

Of course, it's about two sizes too big, and makes her look like she's
about to go bowling, but it does the trick better'n bare feet'n all.
"Besides, that A-Lonse is a pussy.  We kicked him up'n down the street
once, we can do it again.  Peesacake."

"All we got to do is find him..."

Anyway.  The lot of you follow Och back to that tunnel about a block or
two behind the former Direct Action Americans' Manhattan headquarters,
and find that the city crews have cleaned up the rubble caused when that
Ken Connell fellow got mind controlled way back.

Having direct access to the drainage tunnels, you enter with no problem,
and retrace your course through to where you fought A-Lonse the first
time, and you still see the wreckage of his bizarre turbo hover sled
thing littering the area.

This is the spot where Masque teleported the villain up to the police,
but his lair was actually where Morbis kept his, so you continue on
until you arrive at the place, entering with more than a little bit of
trepidation - you have no idea what you're getting into, here.

Walking in, you see that the place is still totaled.  The equipment
that A-Lonse was using to warp the earth's weather systems lies in ruin,
as does all of Morbis' equipment.  However, you see that somebody has
been here recently, for the dust has been disturbed.

Poking about, you find various items have been removed, for there are
empty shelves here and there where the footprints in the dust lead to. A
little bit more searching finds a few working computers, one of which
has some sort of ballistics program running on it still.

T'would seem that your pal forgot to shut his P.C. off.  Playing with it
a bit, you see that he's put together some sort of combination of
explosives and 'kinetic distortion devices' that are intended to
actually knock the planet of its traditional rotational axis!

And, from what you can tell, the vital point in his plan lies somewhere
in northern Madagascar - which jibes with what you found out in the
future, Rebound, Stone Cold.  So, now you know where this A-Lonse is
headed, at least... if he's not there already...

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the lab, you all can hear Tammy flopping about
on her mis-sized shoes, doing so in such a manner that is most likely
intended to annoy one or two specific people.  "Hey, lookie here!"
Tammy picks up an old, ragged book with burn marks on the cover.

"I can think of a few people that might want to get their hands on
this..."

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 16:43:58 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

"Well, looks like you guys did quite the number on his lair for sure.  I
really had no plans... "which is a lie but Crimebuster REALLY wants to go do something else besides head to....ugh....Connecticut "...but northern Madagascar
is a little out of my price range.  How do we plan on getting there? I can
see us walking through checkin, metal detectors, customs etc.... Do we have an alternate mode of transportation?"

> (snip)

"What is in that book that makes it so popular?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2000 16:52:25 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

 Magus feels a most unsettling churning within his stomach as the man begins
to grin. Magus glances over at Frank and Jesus and the rest of the fellows,
"I've got a bad feeling about this..," is all he manages to say before being
assaulted in way too friendly of a way by the stranger, "Ummm.... yeah.... welcome... good to see you too. How's the kids?"  Magus glances over at his friends, "Frank? Jesus? Guys....get'im off of me...guys?!?"

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Bedtime Story
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 08:24:06 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <as_nine@hotmail.com>

Without moving, he lays in bed, and said " Ok, just for grins, tell me your story, but you are staying in the closet." as A.S.9 waits for the story, he pops out his blades and pulls out a whetstone and starts sharpening.

Subject: Re: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 15:26:06 -0800
From: "Michael Joiner Jr" <ultimental@onebox.com>

Reaper hands the creature the card given to him, while examining the
burgers.

Shrugging, he picks one up and takes a bit, looking to Ken to see his
reaction to the meal...

<tag>

He chews thoughtfully, then pivots around to check out the clientele...
"So.." he says around a mouth full, "What now eh?  Find someone with a
ship or somethin' ta get us home?"

<tag>

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 18:33:25 -0600
From: "William H. Lockwood" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx grins wildly as she sees Grimm's bike fall apart around him. But
she obviously got a bit cocky and got slammed for it.

Feeling the karmic backlash wrack her soul she collapsed into the back
of the V.A.M.P., barely aware of her surroundings.

She was able to maintain her grip on her magcannon, though; the piece of
equipment was almost like an extension of her own body.

She smiled weakly to herself as she saw the A.P.C. get totalled through
the blur of her dazed senses.

Once the smoke cleared, she didn't let her guard down, expecting more
trouble. Hearing and seeing the demon rip its way out of the damaged
vehicle, Jinx propped herself up on the nearest bit of rubble, trying to
steady herself.

Trying to shake off her dizziness, she brought her gun to bear on the
huge, evil monstrosity.

~I can't mess this up...I have to do something to stop it!~

[9 + Modifier for Initiative. 80 + 10 Karma to Hit, 87 + 10 Karma for
Damage. 72, 63, 84 for other rolls.]

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 15:04:20 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You feel eyes upon you, Crimebuster, though you know not where from at
first, but you eventually determine that, somehow, the book itself is
peering at you, despite its rather obvious lack of eyes.  "What makes me
so interesting, he asks.  Hmph."

"Pontificious poltroon, I am the single greatest collection of the
knowledge of elemental magics present on this world!  I am the treasure
sought by millions of mages across the multiverse!  I am that which
is... the Infinitum!"

Meanwhile, as you pore over the remnants of Morbis' and A-Lonse's
laboratory, Och answers your questions at last, Rebound.  "I thought it
safe to wait until we were out of danger before speaking of this, friend
Rebound... sorry for the delay."

"Essentially, what happened to me was when Morbis' crony, apparently
this A-Lonse character, flooded the tunnels with water, Silhouette
attempted to teleport me and herself to safety, but I wound up being
banished to some shadowy realm for an unknown length of time."

"I was only recently rescued from that imprisonment by Ari, there, when
she drew me out of her magical sack, in an attempt to save herself from
some undead creature.  I came here as soon as I could, in order to
determine your fates, as well as avenge you, if necessary."

"T'would seem that vengeance isn't necessary, though finding everybody
is... though it would also seem that this A-Lonse fellow must be dealt
with first.  It's always something...  However, once this is all dealt
with, once and for all, I recommend we also locate Ahom."

"He must answer for abandoning us after fighting his war for him..."

Meanwhile again, Tammy walks over to you, Stone Cold.  "Hokay, so we
know that Morbis is dead, and his buddy was here a short bit ago.  And,
we know where he went - so we know where we've got to go, too.  But,
before we go, I'm getting new shoes... these just don't cut it."

"Unless that's a PROBLEM, of course."  She then looks at both of you,
Rebound, Crimebuster, as though she was simply waiting for something of
yours to suddenly need immediate replacing.  You get the feeling she's
not too happy.  But then, she DOES look like she should be bowling...

?

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Bedtime Story
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 15:04:25 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Sure... sure!  My name's Tyler Jones.  Been working for Antonio for
quite a while, see, and this happens every once in a while.  See, some
joker will show up to take him in, and they'll catch him easy enough.
Some hard core mercs hit our other house today, even."

"They took him away, but he somehow got away from 'em, even though they
wrapped him up in duct tape and carted him off to New York, or
whatever.  But then, an hour later, Antonio's back, and we haven't seen
poor Mikey since..."

"And now it's my turn!  I'm gonna disappear!  I'm gonna.... augh!"  The
maybe-Antonio in the closet starts screaming bloody murder, and you hear
him pounding madly on the closet door, trying to get out as though his
life depended on it - and he sounds quite convincing, too.

By the time you get up to investigate, his screaming has devolved into
this horrid gurgling sound, and you see... fluid... flowing out from the
crack at the bottom of the closet door.  By the time you get the door
open, there's nothing left of the guy but his skeleton.

And about a hundred pounds of liquid, organic detritus all over your
floor.

???

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 15:04:29 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

                               (Ronin...?)

The old sage looks sort of confused for a minute, not about your
description of earth so much as your other, nonsensical ramblings; of
course, this is a normal reaction to you, Masque, so you manage to take
it in stride.

Even if Ronin is holding his head in dismay again.

"Ah, I am familiar with that earth.  I will check for you, and see if we
have any record of portals leading there.  The world itself sounds
somewhat dangerous, and portals there may very well be interdicted, but
since leaving people from that world in Sigil would be very bad..."

"I'll see what I can do."

The wizened old man disappears for several hours, and when he returns,
he has a deep frown on his face.  "I do apologize for the inconvenience,
but it would seem that the book containing our portal logs concerning
this earth has been stolen, recently."

"You see, an evil, subversive tiefling and some noseless gunslinger from
your world took it upon themselves to steal that portal log, and as
such, we have no direct knowledge of a portal that would lead the two of
you home."

"However.  My researches have indicated that I may have something of an
indirect route that could lead you back where you belong, though it is
fraught with peril, for the trip itself would lead you through several
planes, some of which have barely been charted by the Fraternity..."

"Would this be helpful?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 15:04:32 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Well, Ernesto and the others would've helped to peel the madman off of
you, sure, but they were too busy laughing themselves silly.  Since help
isn't forthcoming, you have to pull the goon off of you all by yourself,
though your new pal doesn't seem to mind.

"Hello, friend.  My name is Rue-The-Day, and me and mine are men and
women of chaos, the Xa0sitects.  We welcome you to our little patch of
heaven, the Hive, and appreciate your sense of humor.  We see that you
see things like us, even if you don't understand our chaos speak."

"That's okay; it's an acquired talent.  So, what brings you to the home
of the Xaositects?  Surely not business, for we spied you leaving that
Bleaker bar by the Gatehouse, and you looked positively bored... would
you be seeking out... entertainment?"

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 15:04:36 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Slowly recovering from the spiritual assault of Mister Grimm, you train
your gun on the unholy menace that is Minion, and you shoot.  You score,
in fact, for you hit it in the forehead, and seem to take it (and the
rest of the matter above its neck) clean off!!!!

It makes this horrid wet 'splatch' sound as it splatters all over the
remains of its A.P.C., and flails around for a few seconds, as if it
were trying to sort out just what had happened to it.  Minion then waves
its hands where its head was, as though looking for it.

That makes you rather uncomfortable, for several reasons.

That's about the point where you hear a voice in your head, likely from
the headless monstrosity in front of you.  "Foolish human bitch, did you
really think that I need a head to destroy you?!  I can feel your mind!
Prepare to die... slowly...!"

Clutch takes several shots at the demonic entity with his Colt .45, but
doesn't seem to do too much to it.  "Gnat!  You will die after your
woman!!  Begone!!!"  Minion backhands Clutch, sending him sprawling down
the street, and he looks out cold.

Leaving you and it all alone.

Good thing you've got lots of ammo.  Now, you've seen firsthand that
this horror can survive a head shot, and is still advancing on you,
Jinx.  So, what's your next move?  After all, you still have the
advantage; it knows where you are, but no longer has eyes, ears, etc...

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 15:04:40 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"That's what I'm thinking, man.  We should probably see what's what, as
far as where we are, and get us some transportation.  I'm thinking that
the people in charge of this place ought to know where earth is,
assuming that we aren't WAY out there, and show us where to go."

"Then, a ship should do the job.  You think?"

As a side note, you notice that these burgers and fries are, in fact,
quite good.  In fact, it's one of the best burger 'n fries combos you've
ever had, most likely because the source material for your meal was
so... fresh...

But anyway.  What next?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 21:11:25 GMT
From: "Charlie Clay Jr." <cclayjr@hotmail.com>

"Let's go then 'Sweets' since I did promise ya some shoes or boots or
bowling shoes dat fit."  Says Stone Cold.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 16:49:46 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <LohseD@mscdirect.com>

"Unless that's a PROBLEM, of course."  She then looks at both of you,
Rebound, Crimebuster, as though she was simply waiting for something of
yours to suddenly need immediate replacing.  You get the feeling she's
not too happy.  But then, she DOES look like she should be bowling...

Rebound cringes under her glare but resigns himself to the unwelcome
attention as he walks over to Tammy calmly and asks her a short simple
question:

"Did you REALLY want your new shoes to smell like this place?"

He then looks at the book, wondering what they should do with it.

"OK, wise guy...um...er...book,  Can you oh great and powerful book of
grand high poobah knowledge and arcane lore get us to Madagascar and get
Tammy some nice new shoes in the mean time?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 17:19:25 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <Scott.Greengold@ey.com>

"Hmm...talking books.  Interesting. ..."

>> "OK, wise guy...um...er...book,  Can you oh great and powerful book of
>> grand high poobah knowledge and arcane lore get us to Madagascar and get
>> Tammy some nice new shoes in the mean time?"

"Infinitum, you must know who we are looking for. We need to get to
Madagascar and I think you are our only hope of getting there before the week ends.  Do you have such power?"

>> "Unless that's a PROBLEM, of course."  She then looks at both of you,
>> Rebound, Crimebuster, as though she was simply waiting for something of
>> yours to suddenly need immediate replacing.  You get the feeling she's
>> not too happy.  But then, she DOES look like she should be bowling...

"Yeah, there is a PROBLEM with that.  You are supposed to be a SUPERHERO.
This is not about fashion or comfort, this is about stopping a madman.  This is what we are supposed to do best.  Deal with it."

"Can we try and save the world now?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 17:47:32 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

 Magus grumbles to himself, "Bah weep...grr...stupid multidimensional
reality," looking over at the guffawing tour guides he calls friends Magus
speaks a little louder to them, "All right fine laugh it up you misbegotten
tour guides. Next attack you guys handle alone."

> "Hello, friend.  My name is Rue-The-Day, and me and mine are men and
> women of chaos, the Xa0sitects.  We welcome you to our little patch of
> heaven, the Hive, and appreciate your sense of humor.  We see that you
> see things like us, even if you don't understand our chaos speak."

Magus thinks to himself, "Yeah I'm rueing the day all over this place."
Looking at Rue, "Great so all of you and your's are firm believers in chaos,
eh? Reminds me of a compatriot of mine from way back...which isn't
necessarily a good thing. But then again you fellows ARE chaotic so what
does good mean to you, right?"

> "That's okay; it's an acquired talent.  So, what brings you to the home
> of the Xaositects?  Surely not business, for we spied you leaving that
> Bleaker bar by the Gatehouse, and you looked positively bored... would
> you be seeking out... entertainment?"

Magus arches an eyebrow at the Xaositects and then looks back at Ernesto and
the gang, "Ummmmm....companions are we looking for entertainment?" Secretly
hoping to himself that the guys weren't looking for the kind of chaotic
entertainment this insane people would have to offer.

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2000 19:57:42 -0600
From: "William H. Lockwood" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx curses when she hears the voice in her head.

"DAMNIT! Get out of my head! The last guy who did that telepathy crap
got on my list!" she screamed before cutting short when Clutch got
backhanded.

"Right. You. Are. Now. On. My. List." she coldly spoke, focusing
completely on the moment, letting her probability field guide her as she
began to evade the headless demon's lumbering attack.

Once she was in a decent position to attack, she would release a
vertical quick burst (roughly 3-5 shots) to rip from the creature's
groin all the way up to his spurting stump of a neck. As soon as the
last shot had left the barrel, she would again continue to go with the
chaotic flow that encased her.

[6 + Modifier for Initiative, 99 on my Chaos Combat! 75 to Hit, 75 for
Damage, 67, 65, 35 for extra rolls.]

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 00:55:42 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari waves.

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : On the Case Again
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 21:03:35 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <AS_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S.9 looks at the mess and shook his head and said " Now that's a stain."
He looks inside the closet and elsewhere for an escape route. If he finds
something he will follow it. If not, he is going to check out, drive back to
the house and look for more clues to the location of this Antonio, This
Antonio is really starting to piss him off.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 08:30:31 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <Lohsed@MSCDirect.com>

Rebound stares at Ari, puzzled.  Is she waving goodbye, hello, or does she
just want attention?

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 08:44:16 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

As she turns back to looking around, it's obvious that the wave was of the
"hey!  That's ME!" sort.

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 15:09:38 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Well, as it turned out, your compatriots and your new Xaositiect friends
had the same entertainment in mind, and the gaggle of y'all wound up at
that bar with the fighting pit installed within - just in time to see a
fight!

There's some announcer type at the edge of the ring, crying out the
results of the last battle, and you see two men in somber black robes
extracting the last combatant, sans head, from the pit.  He's leaving an
awful streak as the caretakers do so.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, t'would seem that our half-giant pal from
some backwater Prime wasn't good enough to deal with our one and only
Blood Warrior challenge!  Anybody else think they've got what it takes
to beat the right hand of Baphomet?"

Through cheers and jeers, you see this... giant creature thrust up its
blood-encrusted club and leap into the ring, preening like the mother of
all arena stars.  It's big, it's ugly, and it looks almost draconic,
though you know better.

"Well, lookie here, friends!  T'would appear that we've got us another
challenger!"  The beast then bows, and introduces itself telepathically
to the lot of you as Gormund Smiler, Cornugon captain of Baatezu blood
warriors, from the plane of Baator.

"All right!  Seems our reigning champeen's got his work cut out for him
tonight, now, don't it?"  More cheers erupt, as it sounds like one heck
of a scrap's about to take place, and then the Champion enters the ring
from the Hero's door.

He's a big, beastly brute, easily eight foot six.  Has a basically
humanoid shape, but his upper half resembles that of a bull.
Essentially, it's a minotaur, but bigger'n usual.  It looks almost
demonic in nature, and has smoke coming from its nostrils.

And its axe is simply gigantic.  It's as big as you.

The two then get ready to throw down, and you can imagine the bloodshed
that's about to occur.  That's when a man shows up carrying mugs of ale
and such.  "Drinks!  Get'cher drinks!"  Rue-The-Day and Jesus gladly buy
up everything on his tray, and he goes back for more.

Of course, they give you even more drink...

??

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 15:09:43 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

        (sorry about the delay in responding... basement flood)

Tammy looks almost introspective for a minute, and then concedes to your
point, Rebound.  "Okay, you got me there, man.  I just didn't like the
attitude involved, is all.  I think we're all a bit touchy after dealing
with A-Lonse's pals in the future."

"Well, the three of us, anyway.  But, if I'm goin' out to the middle of
nowhere, to save the world and make it a safe place for all the candy
chewin' kids and cute little puppy dogs and the American Way, I've got
to have the right equipment handy."

"Including working shoes."  Tammy pauses for a minute, organizing her
thoughts.  "Besides, I think we've found all we're going to here.  Let's
go, Stoney... we'll meet you folks at that sewer hole in a few minutes -
it won't take me long to get some good hiking boots."

"I hear it's kind of rugged in Madagascar."  She glares at you again,
Crimebuster.

Meanwhile, the Infinitum cringes under the dual questioning of Rebound
and Crimebuster.  "Well, yes.  Of course I have the power to get you to
Madagascar and to summon new shoes for your female friend, but I won't.
You have the power to do that all by yourselves."

The Infinitum pauses while you try and figure this out.  "Shoes can
easily be bought by the credit card that you friend Tammy is carrying
around, along with all kinds of other mundane gear that you may be
needing shortly.  As for transportation..."

The Infinitum pauses, considering the past and immediate futures of all
involved, here, and continued.  "Why should I allow one of you non-adept
types to utilize a teleportational spell within myself, when you have an
interstellar craft at your disposal?"

??

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 16:06:35 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <scott.greengold@ey.com>

Crimebuster looks with a questionable face at Rebound "We have an interstellar craft at our disposal?  That means we should be able to get there in no time at all!  Where is it?"

Looking at Ari waving Crimebuster says "....." and sighs.  A little too anime for his tastes.

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 16:12:53 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <Lohsed@MSCDirect.com>

There is an audible thunk as Rebound's brain finally re-engages.  He
sheepishly reaches into his costume (no, you don't see a pocket) and
pulls out the handy-dandy communicator his pilot gave him.  He speaks
in his best 'Dukes-of-Hazard' accent...

"Hey gouhd buddh, ya'll got yoahr eahrs ohn?"

He waits a moment for a response and then simply asks:

"Would you mind stopping by and giving us a lift back where you dropped us
off?  Say in about a half-hour.  Thanks."

He then walks directly towards the exit mumbling something about how if his
ass wasn't glued on...

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : On the Case Again
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 15:21:39 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You ride back to the house, and see that it is completely surrounded by
police.  As you get closer, you can see why:  the place looks like
somebody shot a couple arsenals at it.  Similarly, the houses and cars
nearby show like signs of being caught in the crossfire.

Several news crews are also on the scene, interviewing the locals.
"That's right.  We've called the cops on these jerks ten times, but they
never did anything about it.  We all knew they were dealing drugs,
running guns, being nuisances.  But the cops didn't do jack."

Meanwhile, the police are giving their usual 'no comment' schtick, and
doing their best to keep people out of the crime zone.  Across the field
of police, reporters, and fed up residential-types, you see a dude on a
jeep.  Looks familiar.

He waves at you.

?

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 16:28:32 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <scott.greengold@ey.com>

Crimebuster hearing that the ride will be a half hour figures now would be
as good a time as any to learn a little more about the new "team mates" he
apparently has found.

Looking toward Rebound he says "I saw what you did to Pinpoint with those
strands, we made a pretty good team.    How'd you do that?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 15:30:49 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You spray Minion again, and again, and again, caught in a flurry of
seemingly random actions while in the grip of your chaos combat, and
when you're done, you reduce the demon to a pile of quivering lumps of
flesh.  It's still not dead, but it's helpless.

It tries to gurgle at you, but you make no sense of its ramblings.

Just then, you feel a rush of air behind you, the kind you get when
somebody manifests in the air from nowhere - with a 'pop' sound.
Looking back, you see the smiling form of Calypso, who laughs at the
deplorable state you've just left Minion in.

"Ah hah hah hah hah!  Excellent, Jinx, most excellent.  It would appear
that, since everybody else has quit or has been wounded beyond active
combat, that you and your Joe compatriot are the winners of this year's
Twisted Metal contest."

"Ah, the accolades, the fame.  Which naturally means you'll have to come
back next year, in order to defend your title.  And, of course, that
also means that the two of you must now collect your prize.  What would
the two of you have of me, oh mighty vehicular combatants?"

...?

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 16:52:28 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <Lohsed@MSCDirect.com>

Rebound turns back to Crimebuster, hesitates for a moment considering what
to say, and answers over his shoulder as he continues out of the sewers.

"It's what I do, what I am.  I'm a walking bomb.  Don't ever offer up a high
five if you want to keep your hand... Things kinda explode when they hit me
or I hit them.  Bullets don't do squat.  Nothing much hurts me anymore.
'least not physically..."

Rebound trails off into silence, his steps perceptibly slower and his gait
resembling that of a refugee trudging towards the inevitable.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 17:03:53 EST
From: Scott A Clay <cclayjr2@juno.com>

"Well I do have my own cards but, if you want."  Talking to Tammy.  "Because book although I would hate to, your lip or rather attitude has me rethinking my vow agains t the burning of books you with me."  Then he looks at Rebound.  "Yeah, the ship?"

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Who's the Man?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 17:33:29 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <AS_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S.9 out if curiosity walks towards the man, being on guard until he can
identify the man.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 18:35:33 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari simply looks around.  Man.  Super heroes.  Real live freaking super
heroes.  And her. Lil' old Ariana.  How in the hell did she get into this?
Oh yeah.  The Bag.  <le sigh.>  If she didn't have it, someone inevitably
worse WOULD.

"Ready to go, Och?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2000 17:10:36 -0800
From: "Michael Joiner Jr" <ultimental@onebox.com>

Reaper pauses, doubletakin' on the burger, then grimacing as he realizes
why it seems so much better. Shaking his head, he presses on.

"Yeah, just gotta figure out where..." He pauses, then closes his eyes,
a smile crossing his face, "Man...gotta hand it to me...here I am with
what seems to be this Cosmic Awareness, and I'm sweatin' our whereabouts
*in* the cosmos!" He shakes his head...

"...'Course, never tried doin' *this* with my awareness..."

He sits back, closing his eyes, and trying to 'feel' the space around him.  As his breath slows, the silvery pattern appears with a glow across his face...

OOC:

Rolls - 65, 33, 86

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 08:16:23 EST
From: "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

OOC: Ronin apologizes for his player who was too stunned by Masque's post
to come up with a suitable reply.  I mean...c'mon!  Have you guys really
read this stuff?  :P

>The wizened old man disappears for several hours, and when he returns, he
>has a deep frown on his face.  "I do apologize for the inconvenience, but
>it would seem that the book containing our portal logs concerning this
>earth has been stolen, recently."

The young samurai shows no reaction except a raised an eyebrow.

> (snip)

Ronin, who has remained largely silent during this discourse, gives the Sage
a dangerous look.

"Quite ironic how the book we need has been stolen from your archives, neh?"

The Swordsman runs a finger along the length of the Thundercutter's sheath,
in a slow deliberate motion.

"Would it be equally ironic to assume that the only other choice my comrade
and I have aside from traversing through life-threatening perils and
uncharted dangers would be for us to find these thieves and to retrieve the
book for you?  Would this not be correct?"

Ronin folds his arms assuming an easy stance, though something hints that he
is far relaxed.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 15:55:07 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Sure thing, pal, I'll just land in the park in thirty.  Be seein' you
lot 'round then."  Once the pilot sounds off, you all begin to make your
way back out of these sewers, hopefully for the last time, and return to
the park.

In regards to your question, Ari, Och nods in the affirmative, and
follows you out.  As you leave and banter amongst yourselves, the
Infinitum decides that it doesn't really like you either, Stone Cold.
"Feel free to try, cretin.  I assure you that fire won't harm myself."

"Flames are but one of many forms of nature that that which is the
Infinitum holds sway over.  But feel free to try."  A few tense minutes
later, you make your way out of the tunnels at last, the air tasting
fresher than you remember.

Even if it is New York City air.  But, Tammy heads off to pick up some
shoes real quick.  "Hey, guys, meet you in twenty at the park.  Don't
worry, me'n Stoney'll be there.  We owe this goon too much to skip out
on the party, natch?"

?

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Who's the Man?
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 15:55:09 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

You walk around the edges of the police lines, and find that the fellow
waving at you, the dude on a shot up, surplus military Jeep, happens to
be none other than Mark Hazzard.  "'Ey."  He just watches as you
approach, completely unarmed (there ARE cops right here, you know).

"I see you're still on the case.  Happen to capture our man, yet?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 15:55:11 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

Ken just watches you with more than a little fascination, as do the
other diners around you, as your power activates.  The energy discharge
across your face seems to unnerve some folks, but nobody flees in a
blind panic or anything, as stranger things've happened.

You reach out with your mind, and feel the cosmos around you.  (I assume
you're trying to figure out where you are, and where home is, right?)
Your awareness tells you that you're in a vast gulf between galaxies,
this way station the only thing for trillions of miles.

Save for a few ships traveling back and forth between the celestial
masses, and either to or away from the station.  Reaching out even
further, you can determine that one of the galaxies nearby is your own,
and knowing what you're looking for, you locate earth in time.

So... you know where it is, now, but still haven't got a ride.  But, as
they say, knowing is half the battle.  What now (after you eat, that
is...)?

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 18:04:45 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <scott.greengold@ey.com>

Upon reaching the surface Crimebuster draws a deep breath through his face
mask and turns toward Rebound, who seems to be the most informative of the bunch of...heroes...he has just met.  His mind kicks into strategist mode and he speaks:

"Ok, we have about 40 minutes before we touch down in Madagascar so I think
some planning is in order. Assuming that this A-lonse is as powerful as I would believe he is it would be reasonably safe to assume he knows we have found the Infinitum and are coming for him.  That being the case we should expect resistance on landing."

"In his lair we saw the remains of the device he was going to use to destroy
the world.  How long has it been since that confrontation?  Knowing his power level do you think he has had enough time since that battle to amass a welcoming committee?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 19:28:04 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari arches an eyebrow.  "Hey, book... Infinitum?  Can you tell me what
*THIS* is?"  As she speaks, she hefts The Bag before her.

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 21:10:20 -0600
From: Chris <cwacers@home.com>

OOC: You should play a normal game with us sometime.....it's ten times
better...hehe

> (snip)

Masque's face contorts for a second, then he pushes his eyebrow up with
his hand... and holds it there.

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Caution: Hazardous Material
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 21:36:53 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <AS_nine@hotmail.com>

" I see you're still ugly, somethings just don't change." A.S.9 said as he walked closer. " I thought I had him, but then I found out there were skeletons in my closet, namely his. So I heard from him that some people were taken out while trying to take him out, was that your guys?"

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 08:59:55 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <Lohsed@MSCDirect.com>

Rebound stops his shuffling gait and replies to Crimbuster in his most
even-toned mission briefing speech:

"You want a strategy?  How's about this:  We know this guy is extremely
heavily involved in technological equipment with a tech level at least five
to ten years ahead of the best that the good old USA can produce now.  Last
time we encountered him, we thought he was just the flunky of the guy we
were really after.  Our mistake granted, but we put him down pretty easily,
so a reasonable conclusion.  He was armed with some sort of defensive field
and several offensive weapons including some long range/remote controlled
equipment.  HE was the welcoming committee.  Therefore, I would expect him
to have spent whatever time he has had available reproducing his technology
and/or improving on it.  Because of all of this, and the fact that
Madagascar is not a heavily developed nation, we should use whatever
electrical/technological sensory equipment that is available on the ship to
try and locate his hideout/base of operations.  I would expect from the
power output that he must require for this, we should search the
electromagnetic spectrum in the 60 Hz range and wherever the biggest spike
is that is not a major power station will be him.  From there, we should
use whatever towing capacity the ship has and pull a large meteor into the
Earth's gravitational field and place it on a trajectory to hit this maniac
right between the eyes at terminal velocity.  sound feasible?  How does
100,000 civilian casualties sound?  OK, so plan 'B'...We find him and pound
him into submission."

Rebound pauses for a moment to let all of this information sink in.

"I am NOT a strategist.  I can get you information.  Given time and
equipment, I can tell you where Rolex # 2781 is in full 10-digit grid
coordinates.  Don't ask me what to do.  I'll do whatever I can to help, but
I am not the one to decide which one of the group to go first.  Last time I
tried to do something like that, I left a man who hasn't even been born yet
to die at the hands of an enemy descended from the same stock as A-lonse.  I
won't make that decision again."

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 9:42:41 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <scott.greengold@ey.com>

Crimebuster takes the info along with the personal information to mean that
Rebound truly wants to help but maybe his scarring is more than physical.  Thinking to himself in consideration, he thinks of something Master Lee used to say, which he shares quietly with Rebound:  "Sometimes being the doctor is the best medicine"

"It is not necessary for you to be a strategist, though it is apparent your
skills do lie in that direction.  If A-Lonse himself is the welcoming committee we should expect a rough landing.  What kind of gear do we have aboard the craft?  Do we have access to hi-end spectrum scanners?

To the whole group Crimebuster says:  "As for the landing I think you and Stone Cold should lead, followed by Tammy and myself.  Ari and Och will take up the
rear guard.  Ari make sure you and Och keep your eye out on our 6. One other
thing, if you get a clear shot with that Defenstration gun, take it.  Seeing what it did to Pinpoint makes me think that that gun will be well served
destroying the shields that are sure to be in place.  Then Rebound, Stone Cold, Tammy, Och and myself can take down the rest of this Techno-despot. Likely his tech will not be as well guarded as his person.  That should be our primary target."

With that he turns back to Rebound and asks if there are shipboard weapons,
in case we need to shoot our way in.

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 13:51:00 EST
From: "Peter Chamers" <lil_blk_duck@hotmail.com>

OOC: That thought frightens me beyond all belief! :)

> (snip)

The young samurai shows no reaction except a raised an eyebrow.

Subject: Re: [v13] the City
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 03:50:30 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"I don't think that I like what you're implying, young man."  The
wizened sage leans back into his chair, pulls out his hookah, and takes
several long puffs from the device.  The smell of tobacco fills the room
as he does so.

"You act as though I were trying to convince you to retrieve the book
for us, in order to let you use it.  I assure you that this is far from
the truth.  You see, we believe that the thieves who stole this book
have fled to the world you seek to return to."

"Thus, if you were to find them, you would already be there - and, I'm
afraid, more likely not to bring the tome of interdicted portals back to
us in the Fraternity of Order.  I suppose we'll have to spend untold
years reconstructing that knowledge from vapors in the ether..."

"Either way, I suppose I should order a crack squad of enforcers to
retrieve the book.  If you can park your heels here in Sigil for six
months, we should be able to trace down which of the many doors in our
fair City was used to enter your world, and the appropriate key."

"Hm?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 03:50:37 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

As you exit the sewers, and the conversation begins, Tammy leaves the
Infinitum with you, Ari, since you have questions of it.  She and Stone
Cold then take off for a clothing / outfitter store, in order to get her
some footgear while you make your way to the Park.

"Well, woman, that which is the Infinitum recognizes the artifact you
wield as one that is almost as old as the Infinitum itself.  You see, I
am a collection of all elemental magic lore created on the earth, mostly
of a druidic nature, so I have existed as long as magic here."

"That item seems to have been created shortly after myself, relatively
speaking, if it is, indeed, native to this plane of existence.  It has
powers you can hardly imagine, though those powers are somewhat
unpredictable in nature."

As the book talks, and you talk to it, the discussion of tactics and
strategy turns to information about the ship that your pilot pal (who
you still have yet to learn the name of) is bringing down to Central
Park as you speak.

By the time you get there, the man has also arrived, much to the dismay
of several joggers, who were blown around by the exhaust that came from
the retro-jet landing apparatus utilized by the ship from the future.
No harm done, though; all that exhaust was just steamy, heated air.

When questioned about armaments, the pilot only describes the twin laser
emitters on front of the ship proper, though he states that he has no
specific armaments available for your use; he has his own gun, of
course, but he's not giving that up.

Anyway, as the half hour comes to a close, Tammy and Stone Cold show up
on time, her sporting brand new hiking boots, Stone Cold having any fun
toys he picked up while there, as well.  As you prepare to board the
ship, you hear a voice crying out behind you.

"Hey!  Wait for me!"  Looking around, you see the Space Hobo running
right at you, Crimebuster.

???

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Caution: Hazardous Material
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 03:50:41 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Yeah, that sounds about right.  See, we bagged him earlier, and were
halfway out of town with the joker when he dissolved.  My guys thought
he just croaked on us so, for payback, they just toasted up the leftover
goons in the place with all their ammo, and split."

"'Course, I've seen enough of these freaky super-types to know that he
ain't dead, and he's using some dumb power or something to somehow get
away from us.  I know it sounds crazy, but almost like a freaky fridy
mind transfer effect, or something."

"Care to join forces to take this goon down, or you still wantin' to do
this all by your lonesome?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 8:40:56 -0500
From: "Scott J. Greengold" <scott.greengold@ey.com>

Crimebuster looks at the ship, looks back at the Hobo, then looks again at
the ship. He calls out to the Hobo:

"Hobo!  I am glad to see you safe.  Remember when I said I did not believe
in karmic debt but you said you did?  I need to call in that debt.  I need
you to keep a secretive eye on Pinpoint. He was knocked that way..."
pointing to the direction the Defenstration blast sent him.

  "I will be back this way shortly, and I expect a full report on where
Pinpoint has headed, if he was taken by authorities or if he left on his own
power. He is one of the most dangerous enemies we can have so we need to
know his whereabouts at all times.  I know you are up to this task. Good
luck."

Crimebuster then shakes the hand of the Hobo and boards the ship.

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 08:44:29 EST
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari looks at the book.  "So... what you know is.. it's magic, it's old.. and
it's unpredictable."  She raises both eyebrows and frowns slightly.  "Thanks, book."  <gee... tell me something I *don't* know> Ari thinks to herself.

> "Hey!  Wait for me!"  Looking around, you see the Space Hobo running
> right at you, Crimebuster.

Ari turns to regard the hobo, and then back to the amassed group of hero-types.  "Well... now I don't feel *quite* so underpowered..."  She shrugs, smiles, and prepares to board the ship.  Running a hand through her hair, she thinks to herself again.  <Christ, girl... what are you getting *into?* >

Subject: RE: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 08:51:43 -0500
From: Douglas Lohse <Lohsed@MSCDirect.com>

Rebound boards the ship and quietly begins quizzing the pilot on the ships
scanning/detection abilities.  After familiarizing himself with the equipment, he calls up a map of the Earth and describes their destination to the nameless pilot (He's much too embarrassed to ask for a name at this point).

Subject: [v13] A.S.9. : Who wants to be a Bounty Hunter?
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 16:27:00 CST
From: "Randy Alexander" <AS_nine@hotmail.com>

A.S.9 still pissed from the loss of wages, he said " Sure, what is going to be the cut, 50/50?" causing one blade to pop out of the bottom of his index finger. After dealing, he tells Hazard about the factory and the dead guy, and the fight at the bar. " SO where do you wanna start Hazzard?

Subject: Re: [v13] Touring the City of Doors
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 19:28:16 -0500
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

"Well lucky us and our blessed timing, eh friends?" Leaning towards Frank he
whispers with a smirk, "What think you are the chances of those horrendous
"poets" being the main attraction?"

<snip cool pit-fight description>

 Magus looks at the group warily as yet more alcoholic enjoyment is thrust
before him, "Never let it be said Magus will not be hospitable and drink
with his friends. Be they new or old friends, they are all simply my
friends." Magus looks around the table with a deadpan expression for a
moment before grinning at everyone, "To the nine hells with that. Let's just
drink like we're thirsty dwarves." With that said he raises his mug and
slams back a huge gulp of the ale.

Subject: Re: [v13] Twisted Happenings
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 20:08:10 -0600
From: "William H. Lockwood" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx kicks at the oozing pile o' Minion a bit, surveying the damage
she's done.

"Hmph. Well, goo-boy, you're still on my list." she mutters before
Calypso makes himself known.

"Ack!" she exclaims in surprise, a bit edgy, turning and wildly flailing
about, her finger repeatedly pulling the trigger of her magcannon.

Luckily (?) she was out of ammunition.

"Next year? But - " she cut off, looking back to Clutch, making her way
back over to him.

"Hey there, big guy. I guess we won. So, what do we want? We should be
careful about this, though; I've seen some stories where wishes go
horribly wrong. You know, like 'The Monkey's Paw,' or something," she
added as she tried to help him up.

Subject: Re: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2000 18:48:05 -0800
From: "Michael Joiner Jr" <ultimental@onebox.com>

Reaper polishes off the last of his meal, sitting back with a satisfied
look in his eye.

"Well...its not pretty.." he starts, looking at Ken, "But then again
- it might not be that bad...just that by 'our' standards we're *way*
out there.."

He looks about the place, "<sigh>", "Now we just gotta figure out which
of these...whatevers...has a ship and feels like takin' us someplace!"

He says this, with the widening eyes of someone without a clue as to
how to start up a casual conversation that involves asking for a ride
spanning trillions (?) of miles...

"Oh, and preferably a 'whatever' that we can communicate with!"

<tag>

Subject: Re: [v13] Coincidence...?
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 17:14:11 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

The Space Hobo looks rather unhappy about the prospect of seeking out or
being anywhere near Cracklin' Mad Pinpoint, but he seems quite serious
about this whole karma thing.  "Er, sure thing, buddy.  I'll get right
on it!"

Hobo then runs off at a steady gait; not necessarily the Land Speed
Record he set when fleeing from Pinpoint to begin with, but he's moving
with a definite clip.  Oddly, though, as he enters the tree line, you
see one tree he grazed with his arm abruptly collapse.

And not just fall over, mind you, but it suddenly looked like it had
been standing there, dead, for about a thousand years, and the slight
contact he had with the thing was just enough to shatter it.  There's
nothing left of the tree but desiccated wood chips and dust.

Anyway, once you're all on the ship, your pilot then takes off, and
heads up in a near orbital trajectory in order to cut time between here
and Madagascar.  You look at the controls, Rebound, and you find that
they seem to be quite simple to operate.

The scanning equipment's controls, that is.  And, they're vocally
operated as well, in case you're not quite sure how to push the push
button inputs.  The pilot explains all of this for you, so you don't
have to figure it all out on your own, making your job even easier.

Now, you just have to pinpoint where in Madagascar Pinpoint has his
lair, and where he's going to try and knock the earth off its proper
rotational axis.  After all, if you fail in that, you're practically
guaranteeing the future you just visited will come to pass...

!

Subject: Re: [v13] A.S.9. : Who wants to be a Bounty Hunter?
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 17:14:18 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Hey, what do you take me for, a two-bit huckster?  Of course it'd be
fifty fifty!  Sheesh, some people."  After listening to your half of the
story, Mark counters with what him and his shop have been up to
regarding the elusive Antonio.

"Well, me'n my crew nabbed the goon and carted him off fair'n square,
shooting up his car and his pals somewhat - but they got in the way, so
that was their fault.  He was muttering the whole time we dragged him
off, but I couldn't hear what he was sayin'."

"Probably on account of the fact that we duct taped him from head to
toe, to keep him from getting away."  Hazzard pauses to light up a
cigarette, and then continues.  "Funny thing is, though, he just melted
on us, kinda like he did to you."

"So here's my idea.  Assuming that he's got some ability to jump bodies,
I say that, when we find the goon, we just grab him and all his pals,
and THEN tape 'em up in separate rooms.  That ought to winnow out any
blinds or escape plans.  You think?"

"As far as finding these idiots, I say we start right here.  Criminals
are stupid, and they'll come back to see what the cops couldn't find and
confiscate.  If they see me casing the place, see, they might then
follow me around."

"That's when you follow THEM, once they split up or whatever, and figure
out where they're at.  I figure that once we find their hidey hole, we
can just frag the place and drag out whoever's still kickin'. I'm sure
our boy'll be one of 'em."

"S'at work for you?"

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Lost in Space
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2000 17:14:21 -0600
From: Firebomb <firebomb@home.com>

"Hm.  I s'pose we could wander around and find a space dock or some
thing... these space stations always seem to have one in the movies.
Unless you've already talked to some people before.  Maybe the people
that put me in that room?"

"I was out, so I don't remember that.  Were we just dumped in there
after appearing here, or did somebody take us there?  I think you woke
up way before me.  Or heck, I guess we could just ask around until we
find out what's what- and who's who...  I dunno..."

You're not sure, but you get the impression that Ken's as confused as
you are.

?
