Variant Earth 13 E Mail Game Archive Number 23

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 08:52:56 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

> "You will RUE THE DAY!"

" Rue the day? Does anyone really talk like that?"

> (snip masque speak) 

Crimebuster looks at the cackling mage, looks over at the dragonkin, then
back to the mage.
He turns to Rebound and asks "Island X? I hate missing the joke."

> (snip magus speak)

"Stoney grabs his cold powers from water right?  If that is the case then I
definitely agree
with an island.  Fighting a dragon in a cave is something that those silly
knights 1000 years
ago used to do.  I, for one, have no wanting to end up as some overgrown
lizard's S'More snack.
I am in for travelling to...Island X....Whatever or wherever that is."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2001 16:13:30 -0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

>> "You will RUE THE DAY!"

> " Rue the day? Does anyone really talk like that?"

(Real Genius refernce noted)

> (snip crimebuster stuff)

He turns to Rebound and asks "Island X? I hate missing the joke."

"That was a joke?  I thought someone stepped on his foot the way he was
hopping around.  Anyway, an island is fine, but I could cause all kinds of
havok if I let loose in a cave.  But in the interest of the team and well, I
don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a few days on a deserted
isle to recover from the past few hours."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 12:10:47 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari smirks. "Then howcome we saw both of ya in the same place at once?" 

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 21:57:06 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

As you all file through yet another mystic portal of Masque's creation,
the lot of you feel the stark difference in climate between the cool,
dark arsenal-in-miniature that you were previously occupying and the
incredibly hot, steamy tropical isle that you've just landed on.

It's beautifully sunny out here - not a single cloud in the sky, in
fact.  You're all on the soft, sandy beach just feet from the ocean,
which is as blue as can be, and spreads out in all directions, save for
behind you.  There, of course, is a large brown hunk of rock.

It seems to be the core of this island, surrounded by a small amount of
palm and coconut trees (a tropical island grove, if you will) - and
that, of course, is surrouned by the ring of beach that you're all
standing on.  That's it, save for the wizard on a reclining beach chair.

You can tell he's a wizard because, even though he's in this incredibly
tropical vista, he's wearing a a pointy purple hat with stars and moons
on it, one that has 'wizard' written on it in sequins.  He's also
wearing similar bikini underwear, but we won't go into that.

Anyway, upon seeing all of you materialize, he stands up, folds his
chair, and looks at Masque in a way that would indicate that he's
attempting to inhale a nickel-sized object through his nostils.  While
making THAT face, he then says "Well, I never...!"

And vanishes with a *poit* sound.

It would seem that more than a couple of people would think that this
small tropical island is something of a perfect vacation getaway - not
just the mage who brought you here.  That, of course, is when the gecko
has to open his big mouth again.

"Augh... the sun... the sun!  I'm drying up... must... have...
water...!"

Once he manages a drink (even if he has to reach the salty water beside
you by stretching his tongue to ridiculous limits), the gecko stops and
sits on the ground, beings that he's wrapped up in mystic bands to the
point that his legs are immobile.

"Feh.  You lot aren't going to do any good, here.  Like the boss is
gonna be dumb enough to fall for this.  Bunch'a stuper-heroes who just
happen to be hanging out on Gilligan's Island with a techno-zombie hand
and a captive, yet mystical and magical gecko as their hostage.

"Mm hm.  Why don't you guys just paint 'I'm stupid' all over
yourselves.  Well, maybe just you, wizard."  The gecko stops to lick its
eye ball for a few minutes, and when it's done, it starts in again.
"Oh, and that's probably just an illusion flying towards you now."

Looking around, you can all spy a red streak in the distance, circling
the island at the very edge of the horizon.  What do y'all do???

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 22:04:00 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

You go to fire on the Sweeps when the duo instead fire upon you - well,
one shoots at each of you, at any rate.  Moebius takes a shot to the
hand, causing her to emit a bevy of four letter words - some of which
even YOU haven't heard before!

Meanwhile, you take a shot to the thigh, and suck up a good Remarkable
(30) Armor Piercing Energy damage - almost hit you in the bean bag,
there.  And it stings, too... you're not used to not having that handy
dandy force field generator dingus anymore - not yet.

That's when you fire back, and basically only manage to dislodge the
four Sweeps from each other; luckily, one was already smushed, and
another can't transform itself; the shot you made knocks it down for the
count, as far as you can tell, for it just... drops.

They look at each other, and start to laugh.

And then both aim at your car!

What now?

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 22:07:23 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

"Can't think of anything, really.  Nope."

So, since Ken's drawing a blank (he's about as good at dealing with
ultra-psionic baddies as you are), he just tags along for the ride
(presumably back to the hospital yet again).  Upon arriving, you find
that some of the officials have been replaced by reporters.

LOTS of them.

They're swarming all over the darn place and taking pictures of everyone
and everything in the area.  Ken gets out an looks at this ungodly
spectacle, and frowns.  "Gaah... any other time, I could just fly us up
and over this gaggle.  Now what, Jinx?"

!

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 23:18:41 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Gunslinger winces and has his own bevy of four letter words for the pain he
felt.

> (snip combat)

Opting for a more tactile approach and an effort to rely on his luck, he
flies in close, real close. Trying to use their size against them he zips in
and out and up and down and all over the place, like a fly if you will.
Taking aim at one, he slows enough for a decent shot and fires a force blast
at the tin man.

(init=6; aim=84 yellow; effect(damage)=72 yellow; dodge=65 green)

> They look at each other, and start to laugh.

> And then both aim at your car!

"Fuck!"
Glancing at the the aim of the two things, a thin film of sweat seems to
appear on his forehead.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 2001 23:45:11 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

"Ooooooo...I sure hope they have coconuts here, I love coconuts."
Smirking at the plethora of sword-wielding folk he iterates;
"I do hope someone brought something sharp?"

> (snip serene description and whatnot)

Simply beaming, Masque approaches his fellow brother-in-arms.
"I say there brother, you wouldn't happen to have any coco......Oh drat!"
Masque deflates a bit when the Wizard disappears.

> "Mm hm.  Why don't you guys just paint 'I'm stupid' all over
> yourselves.  Well, maybe just you, wizard."

Kicking sand in the lizards face, Masque states again, only a bit less
sarcastic this time;
"I do hope someone brought something sharp?"

As an afterthought,
"I have never had lizard onna stick before. I bet it tastes a bit like
chicken."
And then true to form, he loses his train of thought when food becomes the
topic of conversation, albeit Masque's own conversation.

"Although what I could really do with, is a nice stack of pancakes. I love
pancakes. We could fashion some Coconut syrup and have a
nice.....warm...glass of coconut milk. If we could find a chocolate tree
around here I bet we could make some nice treats with shaved coconut. I
really don't care for the shaving part though. One could lose more fingers
that way. i say.....anyone got anything sharp?"
Masque snickers. Wizards never tire of a good one-liner. That's 'cause they
can only come up with one at a time, at a long time. They say it's a one in
a million chance, even if it's not funny. Pancakes, Clean underwear and drab
humour..that's what they are all about. Oh and a very refined fashion sense.

>The gecko stops to lick its
> eye ball for a few minutes, and when it's done, it starts in again.
> "Oh, and that's probably just an illusion flying towards you now."

Masque eeps.
"Eep!"
Throwing up his shield he disappears....
and then a Horse appears, a rather uneasy looking horse as an invisible
Masque mounts it. Nobody ever said he thought that through.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 15:15:05 -0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

Rebound groans, "So much for the island vacation..."

>Masque eeps.

Rebound quickly drops the grenades he had been carrying and starts making a
number of rudimentary slings of his strands, wrapping a grenade in each.

"Ok, folks, we don't exactly have a whole hell of a lot of time to plan this
out.  Can anybody hit this thing from a distance?  the best I can do is
fling some enhanced grenades at it and hope they do enough damage to the
wings to bring the beastie to ground.  That is, of course if it keeps it's
distance.  If it comes close, I've got a more personal touch in mind."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 21:49:56 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"I think an Ice blast might work but from this distance I don't know but
the water helps."  Stone cold says as he move into the water and focuses
to blast the beastie the a sharp glacier.  (Rolls: 74, 59, 93, 41, 60)

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 00:15:46 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx would snap her fingers and tell Ken to lay low for a bit. Making sure
her probability field was down (thus making her a walking bad luck magnet),
she'd make her way over to one of the news vans and wait for "news" to
strike.

If something suitable happened, she'd use the event as a distraction so she
and Ken could make it into the place unnoticed.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 13:36:04 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari, for what it's worth, breaks out her Defenestrator.  Damn handy piece of
equipment, that...

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 23:28:36 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    "Actually," Magus answers as the faint smile melts away, "The joke was
more towards the idea that these weapons were possibly magickal. The quality
of their craftsmanship rules out that possibility almost entirely."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001 23:54:43 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    Surveying their surroundings as soon as he appears on the beach Magus,
blissfully ignores Masque's initial rantings.

> (snip masque speak) 

    Eyeing the relaxed individual more than a bit warily Magus' hands rest
upon the pommels of his two swords even as he begins to approach the man. Of
course that's right about the time that a certain deranged mage crosses
directly in front of him in a path straight towards the sunning man.

> (snip masque speak)

    Shaking his head slightly Magus reaches a hand up to rub his eyes
slightly.

> (snip gecko-speak)

    Pausing for a moment at the gecko's words Magus stands silently debating
exactly how much he agrees with the lizard in regards to Masque himself.

> (snip masque speak)

    A muted, low growl akin to a slight sigh barely drifts upon the salty
winds of the beach at the new motto of Masque's. At least for the next ten
or so minutes anyway.

> (snip more masque speak)

    A slight widening of his slitted, emerald eyes occurs at Masque's
initial comments on food. Almost as if a bit of worry at what the words
entail.

> (snip lots more masque speak) 

    Brewing in his own frustration as Masque continues and continues and
continues to mindless spout about food and such Magus holds his tongue. The
seething and raging feelings within him finally reach a point beyond silent
control at yet another repetition of his new catch phrase. In an amazing
display of skill the twin bastard swords appear out of their sheaths and
presented before Masque. Of course they are pointed towards him and not
offered in so much as a necessarily friendly manner.

    Of course that friendliness is all but vanquished as Magus roars at
Masque mere inches from one another's face, "YES I HAVE TWO BLADES OF
EXTREME SHARPNESS AND YOU KNOW IT, MAGE!! BY IO SHUT UP ALREADY!"

    Just as soon as they appeared the blades return to their respective
sheaths. Not a mark or threat remaining on Masque's person.

> (snip gecko speak)

>Rebound groans, "So much for the island vacation..."

    "Indeed," Magus responds even as he strides towards the waves lazily
rolling onto the shore.

> (snip masque action)

    "Io save me," whispers from Magus at the sight of Masque's tactical mind
in action.

> (snip rebound speak) 

    "Bring it down into the ocean if possible," Magus responds as he now
stands up to mid-calf in the warm, salty water, "If Stone's control of the
winter's breath is as great as he claims then once the wyrm is brought down
you should encase her immediate area to prevent escape. It will then be only
a matter of finishing her off."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 06:27:00 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Masque's eye wander a bit as Magus stands right in front of him, Masque
never was any good staring contests. He spots something and walks around
Magus , leans over and picks something up. Returning to Magus, he  holds out
a coconut and says in most meaningful tone;
"All you had to do was ask."

That's when his head turns slowly towards the gacko as he makes his comment.

> >The gecko stops to lick its
> > eye ball for a few minutes, and when it's done, it starts in again.
> > "Oh, and that's probably just an illusion flying towards you now."

and then (see below)

> >Masque eeps.
> >"Eep!"
> >Throwing up his shield he disappears....
> >and then a Horse appears, a rather uneasy looking horse as an invisible
> >Masque mounts it. Nobody ever said he thought that through.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 12:58:02 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

"I'm all for making this easy, but I've never tried this before, so wish me
luck, and anyone who has a clue how to hurl these things is welcome to join
in.  Just grab them by the ends, not anywhere else or you might get a rather
sticky, unpleasant surprise.  And remember to pull the pins BEFORE you
launch the things."

That said, Rebound picks up one of his sling/grenades and begins swinging it
over his head with both hands testing the torque, and keeping a firm, sticky
grip on it while he practices his release point.  He is, of course, leaving
the pin in the grenade for now.  He will continue practicing until the
dragon approaches close enough to be hit by one of these things.  He will
then stop, pull out the pin, offer a small prayer referring to David and
Goliath and proceed to launch his RPG...that is Rebound Propelled Grenades
for anyone keeping track of that sort of thing.

(Init: 8, Hitrolls: 76+30 karma, 43+30 karma, 21+30 karma Dam: 61, 81, 46
Anything else: 94, 54, 30, 81, 73)

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001 21:44:25 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

Stone Cold proceeds to continue to hurl ice shards at the beast coming
toward them.  (Rolls:  79, 34, 99, 51)

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 14:01:08 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    Resisting the overwhelming urge to kick the mage while defenselessly
bent over to lift the coconut Magus simply walks towards the ocean's waters.
Asked years from now about this battle the draconic warrior-mage would say
that for the briefest of moments he wondered whether it would be possibly to
drown himself to escape Masque's presence.

Subject: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 03:37:23 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

You all prepare for the worst.

Ari, you break out the Defenestrator.  Rebound, you rig up the RPG's.
Masque, you've got the coconut (and you're invisible).  Crimebuster is
doing... something with sharp implements, I'm sure (didn't hear from
ya).  Magus, you've got your mad-on.

And of course, you fire the first shot, Stone Cold.  Standing here in
the very edge of the ocean, you can actually feel the moisture being
sucked out of that body of water as you collect enough of it to hurl a
large hunk o' ice at the circling monster.

You chuck it as fast and as hard as you can, and hit the thing square in
the back leg.  It warbles in the air for a second or two, and then stops
circling altogether.  It does look like it's getting bigger, though -
that's when you discern that it's coming right towards you!

You launch your second ice chunk at the beastie as it approaches, but
right when it looks like you're going to tag the impossibly large flying
reptile as it makes a bee-line for you, it vanishes.  It makes an
audible pop, even.  You even see a a spout of water rush up to it.

Or where it was just flying, at any rate.

The water jet strikes your icy projectile, and is totally dispersed by
it, and the ice then sails off to render air conditioning for any fish
that happen to be in the immediate area.  You're not quite sure what
happened there, but it would seem that the dragon is gone.

If only for a little bit.

Then it gets quiet, real quiet.  Not supernaturally quiet, mind you, but
so quiet that you all forget you're not breathing until you have to
again.  When respiration resumes, the only sound you hear aside from
yourselves is the soft gurgling of the shore before you.

And the wind as it gently blows your hair (or snow, or whatever) around.

All except for YOU, of course, Crimebuster.  You seem to have found
yourself suddenly quite tasty to some sort of pest or another, as
something keeps landing on the back of your neck and biting you, even
though you keep shooing it away.

Every time you hit... whatever it is, it makes a fly-like buzzing and
then nails you again.  Cruddy bugs.

Anyway... it's definitely TOO quiet all of a sudden.  What next?

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 03:45:38 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Right when you snap at Ken, who's ogling the scene before him, you hear
a dread voice in the air - sounds rather familiar.  "CONNELL!  I see
you, fool - did you think I wouldn't be monitoring the Tee Vee?
Ingrate!"  Looking up, then back down, you hear Dick say "Ah, hell."

You hate this... you'd have sensed him if not for that damn Normalizer.

He then does some funky finger thing at Ken's abdominal region, and says
"Huzzah!"  With that, you see a small metal object burst forth from what
would appear to be Ken's small intestine - and he makes a face like he'd
been kicked in the bean bag ten times over.

"Mother Fucker!"  Ken then punches Dick in the head round-house style,
flooring the psi just in time to get utterly crushed from above.  You
barely see the other psi moving, as hard as he slams into Ken from above
- and then crushes the concrete below him, of course.

The concrete crater is still smoking, but you can hear laughter issuing
forth from within.  "Heh heh HEH heh heh... that was easier than I
thought it'd be.  Looks like I got the drop on you, you stupid git.  Now
that I got rid of you, it's time to deal with Mindwatch!"

"Heh HEH heh!"

You can see a vague outline of the man now, as a small army of reporters
has rushed forward to get the first view of... whatever just fell from
the sky (they don't know) for their respective networks.  What next, oh
power-negated one?

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 03:55:25 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

You zoom around the two operable Sweeps and confound them enough that
they stop aiming at your car after all; they've seen you wipe out half
their number, and aren't about to take you lightly any longer - even if
you are just a pathetic fleshling worm.

They both twist and bend around as you zip around them, trying to get a
bead on you while not catching each other in a crossfire, and while they
have to worry about this, you do not; you manage to tag the one in the
head quite hard with your g-blast.

This causes the robot's head to explode, and in its final act, it fires
its laser gun, striking its fellow on accident.  Of course, Moebius
managed to actually hit the one that you DIDN'T shoot immediately
thereafter, much to your amazement (and hers).  She finishes it off.

"Hah!  Target practice my ass, chump!"

So.

You're sitting there amidst the wreckage of four burning robotic hulks,
who LOOKED rather impressive but didn't seem to have all that much
substance at hand.  In fact, it was almost... too easy to deal with
these guys.  You can't help but wonder how tough their boss is.

At which point you remember that that thing's still on the road.  What
do you do about him, as well as the giant transforming dead robots
you've got laying about the I-10 interchange here?  Or do you do
anything - hm... decisions, decisions...

Subject: [v13] A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 05:37:17 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Ahh, hyperspace.

You can really feel the love as you sail through interstellar space in
your hyperspace pocket, feel the streamers of tachyon-based energies
coursing over you as you traverse the immense geography between the
stars.  It's a rush that you rather enjoy, really.

Even if you're doing so on business.  You can still remember the look of
joy on the Extra Solar Enterprises middleman's face as you agreed to
take on the job, can almost see the look of relief as the nervous sweat
he'd been generating finally stopped.

Apparently none of the man's other regulars wanted the job - which suits
you just fine.  After all, ESE pays ungodly well to fetch the things
strewn about the cosmos that they so love, and are basically at the
mercy of folks like yourself that can cross space so easily.

And will do so without spilling the beans.

Now, not all of 'em are spaceworthy mutants like yourself, oh no; some
of them have their own ships, some of them are those oddball psis who
can bend space and time to their whim, and at least one of 'em said he
was some sort of bona fide deity or something.

Too bad he didn't have the bean bag to take this job, then.  Riley was
offering five million for this one, including hazard pay - which meant
that the amount you'll get paid depends on how many alien beasties are
between you and your objective this time around.

You just hope they're relatively small today.

Anyway, you continue to daydream the day (?) away, until you finally
arrive at your destination:  a free-floating, rogue planetoid about
4,800 light years from earth.  According to Riley, the thing apparently
formed in some unknown solar system long, long ago.

Why it wound up leaving, he didn't know (or wouldn't say), but a bizarre
combination of thick greenhouse gases and extreme geothermal activity
has made the place capable of supporting life even without a sun to pump
energy into the thing - if you can breathe methane.

It always amazes you that the ESE folks know so much about the universe,
but can't be bothered to pick up the stuff they want themselves; it
doesn't bother you, of course (you could technically retire today, as
much as you've made from them in the past), but it's still odd.

Almost like they're too lazy to do the hard work themselves.

Regardless, you finally hit the atmosphere of what is, to you at least,
an unknown, unnamed planet, one that has that which you seek:  a sample
of some extradimensional liquid that temporarily alters the quantum
frequency of any matter it touches.

It's timeline hopping in a bottle!  Of course, according to the sensor
reading the ESE guys gave you, the fluid is several miles under the
surface of the planet, meaning that it either formed (or was made) in
some ancient laboratory, or was put there for a reason.

Guess you'll find out soon enough.

As you coast into the atmosphere of the odd, isolated planetoid, you
notice the light level going up rather quickly - and that's not just
because of the friction you're generating during atmospheric
penetration.  Seems like it's getting redder all around.

Once you get past the intense cloud cover, you find that you're only
about a quarter of a mile from the surface - which is just covered with
gobs and gobs of hot lava.  Flying about, you pass volcano after
volcano, lava stream after lava stream.

Eventually, the ESE sensor indicates an area of more solid ground, one
that seems rather close - relatively speaking - to the stuff you need to
find.  Naturally there's a cave mouth there, one that leads into the
earth at about a 45 degree angle...

And is real dark.

Popping on a flashlight, you see that there are no horrible thingies
with way too many legs waiting for you (not yet, anyway), so you head
on  in (assuming you don't admire the rather angry red vistas around you
any longer), making your way underground.

You head on for a good fifteen minutes this way, feeling the heat slowly
increase as you do so (good thing temperature extremes doesn't bother
you all that much).  At about that time, the cavern branches out, a
three way fork in this subterranean road.

Which way do you go?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 08:49:00 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari keeps frosty-cool, but definitely on alert.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 09:18:45 -0500
From: "Charlie S Clay Jr." <cclayjr2@juno.com>

Stone Cold:

He moves out of the way dodging to form a platform to float on the water.
 (Rolls: 72, 54)  He keeps his eyes on the sky to see that nothing is
there.  "What the!?!?"  He then focuses his radar to track the beast
readying an ice blast for as soon as it reappears.  (Rolls: 84, 69)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 14:36:19 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

"Shit, Now, where'd she go?   I hate dragons.   I hate magic.  SHIT! The
grenade!"

Rebound quickly realizes that he has an armed grenade with no target and
does the only thing he can think of at the moment.  He tosses it straight up
as hard as he can muster, hoping the grenade will go off high in the air
leaving the group unharmed.

"Heads up, it's about to rain shrapnel!?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 17:34:33 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    Warily staring at the suddenly nonexistent dragon Magus clenches the
twin blades a bit tighter.

>Or where it was just flying, at any rate.

    Striding further into the ocean Magus now stands almost to mid-thigh
curiously investigating the sky and ocean for sign of the wyrm's presence.

>(snip missing dragon)

    Magus bobs slightly in the water before disappearing underneath the
waves utterly.

>(snip background gurgling water description thing)

    No sign of Magus is presence as he remains under the salty waters of the
ocean.

>Anyway... it's definitely TOO quiet all of a sudden.  What next?

    Oddly enough, almost alarmingly so, Magus still has not surfaced from
his initial dive.

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 18:34:41 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

[I thought the normalizer only effected Jinx when she was in contact with
Ken? Oh well, my bad.]

Jinx yells to Dick to destroy the normalizer, if he doesn't hear her or
doesn't react in a timely manner, she'll take a shot at the device, hoping
to destroy it. If for some reason, she can't get a clean shot (even if it
means taking Dick's hand off), she'll take her shot at the crazy ass psi who
just stomped Ken.

OOC: 9 + Modified for Initiative, 62 to Hit, 98 for Damage (full auto if
aiming at the psi, single shot if at the normalizer), 58 Dodge, 78, 52, 65
for any other rolls.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 08:53:25 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

( OCC: This is what happens when you get placed on projects at the last
minute....sorry for the delay)

"Lets see...there's me, theres the dual wielding badass over there (pointing
at Magus) I'm sure Ari could come
up with something if she wanted, Stoney could make and ice-something....so
yeah, I think we have that covered. Ouch...
what is that ?"

All except for YOU, of course, Crimebuster.  You seem to have found
yourself suddenly quite tasty to some sort of pest or another, as
something keeps landing on the back of your neck and biting you, even
though you keep shooing it away.

Assuming that this....whatever it is is just bug sized he tries to splat it
with his hands.
If it is <much> bigger than I think it is,  CB takes out 3 Stun Shuriken and
tries to....quiet it.

"Remind me again why we chose the friggin tropics? Bugs apparently love
me...."

(OCC: Rolls: 95, 22, 88, 46 INIT: 10.  Sorry about the delay again guys,
working for a living has its drawbacks sometimes :)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)>
Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2001 19:53:05 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

And then there is an audible thud, right near the horse in fact. A puff of
dust and a Masque shaped imprint in the sand is all that can be seen.
"Bugger that. I hate Dragons!"
 
> (snip crimebuster setup)

Masque notices the agitated Crimebuster and then without any warning he lets
an eldritch bolt fly...at the fly. He knows better.
"It's the Dragon, it's the dragon, it's the dragon..........!"

(Spending karma, he sure don't wanna hit Crimebuster, 39....spending 56
points to get a red, he nails the thing and gives it a woppin', 10 points of
damage, 46)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 06:51:11 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

(hey, I wrote a book)

As you descend under the waves, Magus, you can hear Rebound screaming
about something, though you're not quite sure what; by the time you're
that deep, you're out far enough that the ocean sounds around you drown
him out.  Of course, being under water doesn't help either.

You move about with fluid grace (as it were) beneath the ocean surface,
looking around for that which you cannot find above - that, of course,
being the author of your current misery; more or less, at any rate, even
though you took that which your opponent wanted more'n anything else.

As you drift about amidst the various sea-based life forms under the
waves, you see a significant portion of the surface above you suddenly
turn to ice - definitely an odd occurrence to be sure, but you can
quickly trace that back to the efforts of Stone Cold, and keep looking.

On top of the water, Stone Cold, you secure yourself on your icy sea
platform (trickier said than done, for a guy made out of rock), but
somehow you manage a supreme balancing act, and stand in the middle of
your combat base there in the (previously) warm water.

Looking around, you can't see anything other than the great blue skies
of this tropical area, wherever that goofy magician managed to drop you
all off.  Your radar only seems to pick up that Magus fellow, who's
walking around on the ocean floor.

And everybody on the island proper.  Now that you've got your balance,
you look to see what Rebound's yelling about, and see that he's thrown
something in the air - something that goes boom - and how!  One of his
grenades seems to have gone off prematurely.

On the island, you duck as your projectile rains fiery shrapnel down
upon you, Rebound, and see that the others are dodging bits and pieces
of the grenade that you de-pinned (apparently) prematurely.  Luckily,
though, it looks like nobody got hurt.

You acted just in time.  You're not sure what sneaky trick the monster
that's trying to kill you all (or are you all just trying to kill it?)
is up to, but it seems to be feeling you out, looking for possible
weaknesses, or egging you on in hopes that you'll make a mistake.

Looking around, you can see the others look just as nervous.  Ari's at
full attention, waving her Defenestrator at every tiny movement or sound
made by the gentle breeze that's not-quite managing to cool you all
off.  But then, with vanishing giant reptiles, it pays to be a bit
paranoid.

You're looking around, Ari, but you don't see any sign of the red, scaly
beast that seems to have a mad-on for you (or the people you're hanging
out with, at least).  Not a peep since it disappeared there a second ago
after charging willy-nilly towards Stone Cold.

Everybody seems to be just as wary as yourself, even poor Och, who took
quite a shot to the head during your previous conflict, the one with all
those Cobra goons.  He may not have a Defenestrator (even one only
half-charged), but he's brandishing his golden axe at everyone.

And everything.  He's scanning the skies, the beaches, the trees, the
mountain behind you, and even the rest of you for any sign of imminent
mayhem.  Of course, he stops upon spying Crimebuster, who seems to be
having some sort of bug-based problem.

You're just trying to mind your own business, Crimebuster, and finally
get rid of the pest that keeps biting you in the neck.  You tap it once,
twice, even, giving it a glancing blow or two as it dodges around your
hand in its' attempt to smush it.

When you feel it land on the side of your head, you get ready to grab it
once and for all, your years of martial arts training having helped you
to get a bead on the offending insect's 'attack style' at last.  Before
you can nab it, though, you hear Masque shouting quite rapidly.

You can't see the wizard, though, as he's turned himself invisible.
That's when the blast of eldritch energy arcs right towards you, and you
almost - almost - lose your composure as the energy courses between your
head and your hand, leaving your fingertips (and some hair) smoking.

You see the look in his eyes, Masque, and think that that may have been
a bad idea.  He's got bad thoughts going on in there, Masque; you can
almost feel the six different ways he's planning on hacking you into
little itty bitty pieces - invisible or not.

He DOES have a hard core blade, you know.

However, before anybody can say anything, you see a blur of motion
behind the hapless Crimebuster, a nasty, make-you-feel-uncomfortable red
blur of motion, one that indicates that there was a teeny tiny red
dragon standing on the side of Crimebuster's head mere moments ago.

And that it didn't like getting blasted, oh no.  By the time it stops
being a blur of motion, you can distinctly tell that the thing is a
tall, tall beastie - at least thirty feet tall, all scales and fangs and
claws and sheer, unadulterated menace.

And you've all got pretty, glittery toys.  And dragons are notorious (at
least in literature and whatnot) for liking such things - especially
when you take one away from them.  It then inhales mightily, as though
it meant to suck in the entire atmosphere in one shot.

(The Dragon, she rolls a 9 for initiative, and looks like she wants to
make fritters out of the lot of you.  What's your next move, everybody?)

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 07:04:26 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

(heh... yeah, sorry if I didn't make that too clear there Bil - my bad)

You yell to Dick, but he doesn't seem to be all that with it right now;
Ken definitely took Dick down with one punch, for all his vaunted
psionic training.  Just as well, really... you hate them psis anyway.
Especially the one that just nailed Ken.

You can't see the Normalizer unit that Dick extracted from Ken either,
so you aim towards the smoking crater where the man was just standing
moments ago, and let fly with a full-auto burst of magnetically
accelerated goodness.

Or badness, considering the effect you just had.

Not quite expecting trouble, having just nailed his apparent
arch-nemesis, the guy in the hole literally didn't see your assault
coming.  He makes a wet splatchy sound as you liquify most of his face
and frontal mass.  Looks pretty grisly.

The sad part is that he even stands there for a second or so, reeling
from the fun as if the parts of him still not-pulped didn't realize that
the rest of him had gone missing.  Eventually, though, reality catches
up with the guy, and he falls down dead.

That's when the other two Mindwatch people leap out of the hospital
(well, they run from the entrance, at any rate), and kick their action
into high gear.  One of them puts his head to his temples, and suddenly
everybody's not paying attention to the horror show before them.

You just hope some of those cameras weren't broadcasting live or
anything.  The other one, a redhead with her hair in a ponytail (as
opposed to her fellow, the big 'brick wall' looking guy), runs up to you
as soon as she sees what happened.  "Are you okay?"

"I can't believe you managed to neutralize him so quick...!  This'll
make it easy for us to get him back... home... for his second trial!"

?!

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 12:41:08 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

"Son of a..."

Rebound reacts as fast as he can (getting fried the first time was enough),
he gathers a handful of his modified grenades, yanks out a pin or two and
tosses the whole lot as hard and fast as he can right down the beastie's
throat.


"Inhale this, you overgrown gecko!"

He then will charge towards the left side of the beast to continue the
assault.  Um, I mean "fully warranted defensive action."

Rolls: (Dice don't fail me now...Init: 9 - oh boy, Hit: 73+30 karma, Dam:
64+30 karma, Others: 72, 63, 45, 35,94)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 09:06:14 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

You friggin rule...."fully waranted defense action." You sound like Israel's
"We hit back first"

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 09:26:51 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

Upon realizing the little singe is going to be nothing compared to what is
coming, CB dive rolls toward the dragon
in hopes of getting too close for the wyrm to fry (roast?) him, and to
scatter the team so that one blast does not do it for all of us.
As he dives, he draws Achira and gets ready to start kickin some dragon
tail.   If he can get close enough, he tries to climb up the dragon to get
shots at it's head.

(OCC: I am assuming that I am near enough to pull this off. If I am not, CB
will dive to the side, draw Achira and open fire)

(OCC: Sorry about that previous post, meant to be a person to person  ;-)

Rolls:74+50 = 124 , 88+50=138, 43+50=93, 98(!)+50=148 Init: 7)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 09:34:23 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

"YES!"
Seeing the menace in Crimebusters eyes, he moves to the other side of the
horse, quickly and quietly. A disembodied voice comes from the other side of
the horse.
"Sorry about that Chap."

> (snip dragon fly surprise)

A bright shining scythe-like object appears on the side of the horse Masque
is on and appears to hover there and then it  appears to speak.
"Blast, I was so hoping I wasn't right about the fly. Aim for the soft spot
under the belly, boys...and umm girls. I saw that in a movie once. I for one
am gonna aim for somethin' else though."
Mounting his horse he charges towards what he thinks are the giblets, even
if it is a she, it still hurts.

> (snip description of impending doom)

Turning to shoot around the thing, he comes to a dead stop and stands for
bravely in a cowardly sort of way. Although none of you can see this but
there is a tell-tale trembling of the hook and a floating gecko and severed
magic hand (both wrapped heavily in mystical bands) he has just produced.

"Now...um...Miss Dragon? You wouldn't want anything happening to these huh?
If you fry me, you fry this stuff, hmmm?"
One might get the impression that Masque might need a change of underwear
after all this.

(Init: 7 mofo)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 10:46:22 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari goes into a tuck and roll and tries to get alongside or behind the 
Dragon, and then will try to "aim" the Defenestrator as best she can for next 
turn.... Hopefully, the rest of the gang will provide some cover for her....

Subject: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 17:26:30 -0000
From: charlie_chicanery@yahoo.com

> Which way do you go?

Down, duh

Got two miles to cover, so I go the way that leads into the planet,
but ditch the flashlight, and pull out the power staff.  I kick that
thinger on and let it glow for me.

Gots to make like Samus and smash me some aliens.  Even if i have no
screw attack

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2001 14:40:52 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"OHHHHH DAMN!!"  Stone Cold blasts ice, cold and frost at the reversing
turbo fan.  As he increases his weight, cause if this doesn't work, he
will instantly decrease his weight which should launch him up into the
air out of the way.  (Rolls: 95, 64, 37, 72)

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 19:07:35 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx looks around suspiciously muttering, "This was too easy..."

Nodding to the Mindwatch people, Jinx goes into full military mode:

"Right. Get a containment unit for the perpetrator, or what's left of him.
Keep on the look out for anything suspicious.

This was too easy. He might still have some tricks up his sleeve or spleen,
or whatever.

Any of you healers? We have two men down. Your man will be fine, but Ken
could be in very bad shape. I want to see him up and kicking ASAP.

A tertiary assignment will be to keep this whole shindig under wraps. We
might have had tapes, or worse live feeds. Do whatever your people can to
keep this from showing up on every television in America."

Pausing for a moment to overlook the carnage, she'd spout off, "Ya got
that?"

[OOC: rolls, if necessary: 97, 42, 84, 55]

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 20:39:23 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Firing a force blast at the ground right next to the wreckage of the robots,
in an effort to blow the fire out with the sheer force-wave, if you will, he
merely claps his hands together and grins.
"Road rage my ass! I need their tech. I need to make a call."

Dialing 411 and getting a number to some towing company near this particular
spot, calling said number, he asks.

"I need a flatbed. A big one and no questions asked. Because none will be
answered. ........"
Listening some....
"No, I don't have a credit card!"
Listening some more...
"No, I can't pay by check over the phone."
Listening some more...
"Yes Yes...C.O.D.....that I can do, trust me I ain't gonna leave...i need
what I want picked up, I will not leave."

Turning towards Mobeius and smiling that I need you to do something smile he
says, buttering her up first of course.
"Iam impressed, that was some good shootin'. Glad to say yer on my side
hon'."

Hoping that did the trick he asks her.
"Now when this truck shows up, is there any spell you have in yer head that
would allow for us to bamboozle the driver. Like say for instance , make him
believe that this rock here is a ruby or some priceless jewel? We don't, I
don't, have much cash on hand... Maybe a ruby or two. And we are gonna need
that when we get to this guy who can help me with the car. "

(Theoretical answer)

Gunslinger moseys on over to his car and starts replacing the flat. He's got
the time, in more ways than one.
When that is done he meanders on over to the robots and starts inspecting
them. He does have a technical aptitude ya know.

He is still wondering why he has never seen these things before. They
definitely didn't come from this planet, that much he can tell.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 30 Jul 2001 00:05:37 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    Magus, swimmingly quite easily under this world's oceans, seems to
onsider a moment his next choice. Glancing upwards at the icing ceiling
prevading his local means of egress only causes him to dive deeper
under the waves and further out to sea. Of course the thought that their
newest companion suddenly disappeared under the waves without
resurfacing by now doesn't seem to bother anyone. And oddly enough
the thought of swimming further away from the island while leaving
everyone else remaining on the beach together doesn't seem to faze
him all that much right at this moment either.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 03:06:02 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

You almost feel like everybody's standing there in horror, Rebound, as
you spring into action well before everybody else.  By the time you've
thrown the grenade 'package' at the giant red reptile, the others start
to react - but you manage to make a basket right as your foe fires.

The grenades explode right as the flow of eldritch flames issue forth
from its massive, gaping maw, causing a spectacular explosion directly
in front of its face; naturally, this does little to improve the
disposition of the improbable beastie any.

"ARRRH!  Kill You!  KILL!" it screams.  In your minds, anyway.

That's when both Ari and Crimebuster then roll (literally) into action,
catching it with supplemental attacks as it reels from both the sensory
overload and the physical impact of the multiple grenade explosion in
front of its big ol' head.

Crimebuster leaps onto the beastie's tail and starts running up its
back, while Ari lets loose with a Defenestrator blast that doesn't quite
have the desired effect.  It makes an amazingly loud "TOOT" sound, but
the force of said sound is deflected off the dragon somewhat.

It still sways the monster, of course, making its current,
grenade-induced wobble much more pronounced, but the force of the big
ol' sonic boom sprays off your foe onto the sand below, shooting
hundreds of pounds of the stuff into the air, and all around in general.

Mostly away from the dragon, of course, and towards everyone else.  All
save for Crimebuster, who is having a heck of a time navigating the
wobbly back of the dread monster.  He makes it in time, though, and
makes a staggering blow to the back of the dragon's head.

"Aurgh!", says she.  Again, in your minds.

The thing falls forward with a loud sandy 'flumph' sound, and though it
is laying on its stomach, limbs splayed akimbo on the ground, it's not
out of the picture yet.  Those of you still in front of the monster can
see that it's eyes are still open.

And moments after striking the ground, they lose the glazed, beaten-down
look and turn positively red with rage.  That's when it sees Masque, who
walks up to it in its moment of grand ignomity, and moves towards its
unseemly bits (or lack thereof).

(gimme an Intuition FEAT roll, Masque)

The dragon squints at you, wizard, and looks like it's prepared to say
something positively scathing, when it get struck in the side of the
noggin by an ice wedge from afar.  You see its eyes roll for but a
moment, and when they straighten out anew, they're now glowing red!

Your foe leaps onto its two rear legs, and bellows out in a mad, mad
rage, spraying the blue skies with a massive glaze of orange flames.  It
looks very, very angry - so much so that, when Och runs up to it in an
effort to remove some of its toes, the dragon lashes out.

Jurassic Park T-Rex Style.

It moves with blurring speed and accuracy, snatching up the diminutive
pal 'o yours in its mouth, causing the man to drop his golden blade,
something you'd never expect HIM to do, even when partially et as he may
be, limbs flailing as they stick out.  He's not dead though - not yet.

You can hear him making 'mmmhph' and 'mrrrhglmummmf' sounds from within
the beastie's grenade-charred mouth.  That's when the dragon takes to
the skies again, moving with ridiculous speed.  And then, finally, the
lot of you hear the monster's voice in your head again.

"Insignificant insects!  I will not play this juvenile game of yours -
much less on your terms.  You wish to keep my servant and the totem he
carried?  So be it; I will just keep your tiny ally for myself.  I
consider that a fair trade, after all."

"I'm sure this one will taste much better in the long run, at any rate."

Meanwhile, Magus, you were minding your own business under the waves,
when you started to feel the effect of Stone Cold's massive platform
bobbing up and down in the water; it actually tugged at you due to the
sheer mass of the thing and the size of its movements.

That was when the metal rain started; you could make out tiny bits of
steel, still carrying the remnants of smoke trailing on them as they
sank into the water.  Immediately thereafter, you noted the rain of
sand, as though earth itself was falling from the sky in bulk.

You get the impression that the others found the dragon.

What next, all y'all?

(oh, and Crimebuster, if'n you want to hang ON to the dragon through all
that, gimme one hell of an Agility FEAT - wasn't sure if you'd try or
not)

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 03:13:55 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

The trio of Mindwatch agents look at you with that 'who the Hell put you
in charge look' for a second, then realize that you're telling them to
do exactly what they should be doing, so they get on it anyway.  The
first two do, anyway; Dick's still out cold.

Even without powers, Ken must pack quite a punch.

At any rate, they remove the telekinetic / metapsionic uber-deadly psi
guy from the crater he made, and the lady there gets to the negation of
his powers.  "I can keep him from healing up while I concentrate on it,
but he'll eventually pull himself back together."

As she says this, her friend goes about the blanking of everybody around
your person's minds, causing them to forget this whole mess.  "We are
not the super powered maniacs you're looking for...", he says.  Seems he
thinks he's got a sense of humor or something.

That leaves you to pull Ken's carcass out of the hole.  And I mean
carcass.  You know he has that inexplicable ability to not-stay dead,
but looking at him in a dead state is quite a bad thing - and it doesn't
look like he's getting better, thanks to that damned Normalizer.

Assuming you step on it or otherwise smush it to tiny bits (after
liberating it from Dick's unconscious, veritable death-grip) you feel
your own super human capabilities pulling themselves back together, and
while you think Ken's will come back too, you dunno about that.

Not for sure anyway.

Anyway, once Dick wakes up finally, he goes to get the Mindwatch team's
vehicle, basically an unmarked black van, and load it up full of bodies
(Ken's and that psi's; you find it odd that you still haven't even got a
name out of either him or these jerks).

They then wait for you to get in, and drive off.

Que?

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 03:22:33 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Moebius looks at you and grins.  You don't like that grin.

"Tell you what, bucko.  I'll help you get what YOU want if you give me
what I want.  You never did hand over that book of portals.  I want it.
I'll give you a copy, but I want it.  You do that little thing for me,
and I'll make sure this towing person or whatever gives you your toys."

She lets you think that one over while you change the tire on your car.

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 03:34:35 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Duh, eh?

Okay, so you head on down the center passage way, as it seems to be the
one that leads to the relative heart of the planet; the one on the left
winds up, and the one on the right seems almost level.  Of course,
you're no miner, so what do you know?

Anyway, you're minding your own business, when after about an hour of
descending into the gradually warmer rock, you come across something of
a geode-like chamber.  There's crystalline growths all over the
spherical surface of the chamber, which reflect your staff's light well.

And there's Wendell Wherever.

You're not quite sure what happened to the guy, but it definitely
involved something corrosive happening to his upper head and torso.
Something that also happened to lay a bunch of eggs in his lower torso,
coincidentally right where the flesh stopped dissolving.

You're starting to see why nobody else wanted this job.  Wendell was
quite a card, having invented his weirdo 'space warp' harness all on his
own, and had freaky-weird ray-guns that pulled power from the fabric of
the universe itself.

He was the toughest guy you knew that worked for ESE.  Was.

It's too bad that whatever decided to et him and use him as a gruesome
sort of birthing chamber either took or smashed all his fun toys.  And
if it was choice number one, you get the impression that you're gonna
have one Hell of a hard time getting your sample of the secret sauce.

As you prepare to move on, you hear a shuffling in the corridor that has
been burrowed out on the opposite side of the chamber, the kind of
shuffle that can only be made by thingies with way too many extremities
- unless it or they - are just lacking them entirely.

What'cha gonna do now?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 06:06:44 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

> (gimme an Intuition FEAT roll, Masque)
70.....green

Now what?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 06:34:51 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"I don't think so witch."  Stone Cold lets loose of a massive ice blast
sucking water from around him.  (Roll: 87+40 karma."  To try to bring the
thing back down.  "He is one o' our he stays you die, it is simple don't
ya think."  He is feeling the strain of generating this much ice as never
before.  'Damn this thing is huge.'

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 12:57:07 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

"Hey, Crimebuster, lop off a wing while you're up there!"

Rebound will throw strands at the nearest wing in an attempt to gumm it up
and prevent the beastie from flying away.(Hitroll: 62)

(Why do I have this image of Rebound flapping up and down with the beat of
the dragon's wing all of a sudden?)

> (snip dragon speak) 

(assuming Rebound missed or was ineffective)

"Um, Masque, can you get me up there on its back?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 09:13:04 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

>> (oh, and Crimebuster, if'n you want to hang ON to the dragon through all
>> that, gimme one hell of an Agility FEAT - wasn't sure if you'd try or
>> not)

(OCC: I'm a HERO! OF COURSE I TRY IT :-)

>> "Hey, Crimebuster, lop off a wing while you're up there!"

CB mumbles to himself "I have a better idea". Seeing Och in the thing's
jaws, CB does his level best to drive the dragon headed katana through this
things skull, whether it is in flight or not. He will NOT let this thing get
away with one of his teammates.

(OCC: Thank god for all that karma...Agility Roll +100, others +50.  Agility
FEAT: 92+100=192, Other rolls: 77+50=127, 43+50=93, 68+50=118, 16+50=66)

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 17:43:13 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx would definitely destroy that nullifier thingee, pulling in her
probability field so she wouldn't be causing any stray Concordes to come
crashing down on the scene.

After things got cleaned up, Jinx would jump in the back of the van with
Ken's body and wait quietly for them to arrive at their destination.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 19:17:19 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Masque hops on back on his horse and gestures frantically and calls forth
another 5 horses and leaves them be hoping the others will know what they
are for as he charges up and at the Dragon. Tying off the hand and gecko to
the horse and readying his scythe, he Garbles some sort of mage battle cry.

"You bitch!. That dwarf makes some derned good pancakes, I ain't havin' you
takin' him away from us."

Hearing Rebound's plea for help, he whistles for one of the horses to trot
or fly to Rebounds side. then he strikes when he is by the dragon. Aiming
for the neck.

"Hoggoth, You helped me once before, let's try this again....."
"Ayiiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyiyyiy!"

( 5 intitiative, 83 ....yellow hit, 64....green damage (if it's evil, armor
ignoring), 58....-2 dodge)

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 19:30:55 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Gunslinger smiles inwardly, knowing full well what and who he is dealing
with. A female version of himself. Neither one willing to make a move until
they see what's in it for numero uno.

> (snip moebius speak)

Standing up and wiping his hands on his trenchcoat, he smile at her in much
the same way she did at him.

"I forgot all about that little book. What makes me think that you will keep
your end of the bargain? I don't exactly have much to bargain with myself
you know. And I suppose you already know that huh? Well all I can do is
trust you. I might as well start trusting people sometime. Now is as good a
time as any."

Slowly handing over the book, he draws it back quickly.
"No, I think i will give it to you when i can see you hold yer end up first.
'Cause if you can't befuddle this guy then that leaves me nowhere.. I WILL
give you the book but first thing when we get to a town i want a copy. Got
it?"

Gunslinger lets her mull this over as he wanders off to inspect the Robots.
What do I see and find?

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 08:19:32 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Moebius looks at you long and hard, and shrugs.  "Very well,
Gunslinger.  Just make sure that you do, indeed stick to your end of the
bargain."  She doesn't bother with an 'or else', but you get the
impression that the lady could make your life miserable.

After all, she's a lot like you:  a time traveling, dimension hopping
mercenary, and most importantly, quite vengeful.

Anyway, you finish changing your tire in this godawful heat, and after
sitting inside the car with the a/c on full blast, you go to take a look
at your previous antagonists.  The four of them seem to be of a highly
advanced design, being vehicles that can change into robots.

Though I suppose 'advanced' goes without saying.  You can vaguely tell
offhand how bits of the change works, looking at the ones in a vehicular
mode versus the ones in their humanoid mode, but it would take you quite
some time to break down the specifics of this process.

You're guessing that by swiping from all four, you can likely manage to
get at least one fully functional hover unit out of these guys, if that
is your intention, though most of their weapons and such seem to have
been mangled in the process of your fight.

Shouldn't take you too long, assuming that their boss doesn't come
looking for them...

As that thought crosses your mind, a flat-bed truck pulls up alongside
your car on the shoulder of the I-10, luckily complete with a tarp to
cover up these guys whilst you transport them.  Though a location may be
tricky; it's not like you have anywhere to PUT these things.

When he starts bellowing out for someone, Moebius approaches the guy and
hands him something.  He then makes her sign a clipboard, and after she
does so, she looks at you and grins.  He then goes to start the truck's
loading mechanism up, while she just sits on your car.

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 08:29:07 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Dick drives the lot of you... somewhere, you're not quite sure, but you
distinctly recall not seeing snow-covered mountains when you got in the
van ten minutes ago.  He stops and gets out, and when he does a
bone-chilling blast of arctic air enters the unmarked black vehicle.

The others then issue forth from the van, and take the currently dead
psi with them.  Looking around, you see that you're nowhere near the
city you'd just been occupying, and are somewhere DEEP within some
high-up mountain range.  Your ears just belatedly popped.

They drag the guy into some sort of complex off to the right, away from
what would appear to be many, many more parked vans of a highly similar
color scheme.  Before you can follow, though, the big, brutish fellow
with the actual telepathic powers tells you to chill out here.

Assuming you wait, you find that Ken finally wakes up, and though he
looks somewhat groggy, he seems fine.  At least physically; he don't
look too happy.  "Damn.  Why does this keep happening?  Just because I
heal fast doesn't mean I SHOULD get flattened every five minutes...!"

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 12:07:01 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari starts jumping up and down, waving her arms in a fit of fury.  "HEY!  You 
bring Och back!  We know where you live, sister!"

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 01 Aug 2001 20:16:24 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

(Assuming he's not dangling behind the dragon, which admittedly is a lot to
assume right now)

Rebound mounts the horse still rather unsure of how to "drive" one of these
things, so he just tries to point it in the general direction of the
dragon's underbelly.  Once he gets there, he'll leap off of the horse and
attach himself to the beastie's belly face-first and begin to quickly
increase the corrosive nature of his...well...stuff. All the while, thinking
to himself...Man what I wouldn't do for a squadron of A-10's right now...

"Enough, dragon!  I have seen enough carnage in my short life, hell, I've
caused a fair amount of it, but there's no reason we have to keep fighting
like this.  Land back on the island, and we can discuss this like
intelligent beings."

Rolls: Init: 4, Hit (full body latch-on): 76, Corrosive Damage: 41, Agility
type thingie: 63, anything else: 39, 87, 98

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Wed, 1 Aug 2001 18:15:35 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx would just sit and "chill" as she was instructed, trying to tell what
hemisphere she was in by looking to the position of the sun.

~Damn gateways or teleportation or whatever!~

She'd smirk when Ken woke up, wandering over to check him out, "Hey, welcome
back to the living, Ken. It's not too pleasant dragging your sorry corpse
around...but then, I doubt it's great being that sorry corpse, too.

"We're near some Mindwatch base. I pulped the asshole who stomped you with a
few shots and Mindwatch has him under wraps for now. We'll probably be
getting a visit from someone shortly."

After a moment of experiencing the arctic chill, she'd pipe up, "Yeah. We
better get that visit...I'm freezing my ass out here!"

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 10:03:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Charlie Chicanery <charlie_chicanery@yahoo.com>

> What'cha gonna do now?

First off, I smash those eggs.  I ain't having no ugly
alien monster bitch giving birth to it's little alien
monster things in MY friend.

Then, I make sure I collect anything Wendell's got,
wallet, jewelry, etc...  I'm not leaving anything for
these things.  His family'd appreciate having his
stuff back, I think (no, it's not for me).  Though I'm
not taking his body back - that'd be too much.

Then I crank the power staff up to 'puree', narrowing
the phase of the light it gives off until it produces
everybody's favorite cutting laser - on a stick.

THEN, I go see what the ruckus is all about!

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2001 13:17:15 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    *By Io,* he silently curses to himself.

> (snip rain of steel bits and sand chunks)

    Creating quite an odd scene considering he's standing at the bottom of
the ocean Magus  rubs at his eyes wearily and shakes his head slightly as if
to wave off the impending migraine.

>You get the impression that the others found the dragon.

    Having finally made his way to one of the outer edges of the large,
floating ice platform Magus lifts towards the surface. A sharp, taloned hand
cuts into the icy surface as he pulls himself above the ocean's waves.
Rising to his feet he looks first upwards as a veritable mountain of solid
ice attempts to strike at a rather harried dragon further above. Seeing
little to no means of crossing the distance easily Magus stares about him
impotently. A low, steady growl barely coming forth from the pit of his
being lost all too easily on the breeze and sounds of battle raging around
him.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2001 22:17:15 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

As Ari jumps up and down in furious anger, you fling a glob of stuff at
the dragon, Rebound, and manage to tag the beast.  Of course, it's
moving ridiculously fast, and thus starts to pull you along with it -
for a few seconds, anyway.

Your line actually snaps by the time you've dug a foot-deep trough in
the sand with your feet.  It seems the monster is too darn fast to
simply gum up - and since you did coat a wing totally with your ooze,
you get the impression that wings aren't the only thing moving it along.

After seeing that you've failed, Masque then generates a large number of
his bizarre, otherworldly flying horses, one of which you mount in a
hurry - only to see the mage already up there, facing the dragon with
his weird, eldritch hook o' magic energies.

Or trying to, at least.

The monster seems to be doing some sort of aerial dance as it tries to
avoid Masque's mystic scythe, but it doesn't have such options regarding
Crimebuster, who's climbing around on the back of the thing's neck at
this point, despite the massive air resistance pushing him back.

You see him thrust with his sword at the back of the crimson-scaled
reptile's head, and as soon as his blade strikes, the dragon explodes!
You feel a massive rush of heat, Rebound, followed immediately
thereafter by a massive rush of cold; that's when the iceberg hits you.

It seemed to be headed right for the dragon, but then she went away.

The giant hunk of flying ice then causes you to explosively deflect away
from Masque and the horse that had gotten you so high up - and far away
from the island below.  You get the impression that even though you're
about to hit water, that it's going to hurt - lots...

Meanwhile, Masque, you were about to hit the dragon when it simply...
ceased to be.  Seems nice and tidy, really - big explosion, tiny bits of
dragon slowly drifting down to the ocean surface, but you can't find any
trace of either of your missing compatriots.  No smoking feet, even.

Meanwhile again, down on the ocean surface proper, you lug yourself out
of the depths onto Stone Cold's ice platform, Magus, and see the
immediate aftereffects of your enemy's apparent disincorporation, and
can even make out Rebound flying into the distance - the hard way.

                                  ***

Elsewhere, you wake up in, Crimebuster.  You feel like somebody worked
you over with a pile driver - lots.  As your vision adjusts to the dark,
you can see Och is next to you, and that both of you are in a cage
suspended about twenty feet from the ground.

Looking around further, you see several people working on some sort of
device near you, something designed to open a panel on this pyramid
shaped steel chamber you're in, something that looks a lot like a really
big ray gun (TM).  They seem oblivious to your presence.

Where to now, everyone?

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2001 22:25:10 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Sun?  It be not quite-dawn yet.

Ken looks at you and sighs.  "Oh, good.  Here's your gun, by the way."
He hands you the thing, but it looks just a wee bit beat up; but then,
it was on him when he got slammed from on high.  "Doesn't look too
broken... sorry about that."

He then sits there and sulks.  "S'not right, though.  I should've been
able to deal with that turkey before he even got to earth... me and my
big stupid powers.  I don't even know how to use the damn things right.
I need to change that before anyone else gets hurt... ugh."

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2001 22:34:49 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

You smash the alien egg-things with your power staff, causing this
greenish-black ichor to ooze forth from them nastily.  The odor
terrible, drowning out even the godawful pall of sulphur that surrounds
you.  Sometimes you're glad you don't need to breathe all the time.

After you snatch Wendell's stuff and crank up the amperage of your power
staff, you finally see the horror that awaits you:  it's a big mass of
tentacles, all surrounding a jagged maw with two separate rows of teeth -
one horizontally inclined and one set vertically.

It looks like it's built to take down and kill anything that moves, no
matter how wiley and tough it may be.  It gurgles at you in some sort of
throaty manner, and in your head you hear "Foolish human.  Kill my wee
youths, will you?  I'll kill you - they were next year's lunch!"

It lunges at you.  How now brown cow?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 05 Aug 2001 07:31:06 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

(Ummm...ouch?)

Well, I guess Rebound will do his best to increase his wind resistance on
the way down and maybe slow his descent a bit, but once he gets close, he'll
turn feet first and present as little surface area to the water as possible.

(The new fishing method rolls: 27, 68, 96)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 05 Aug 2001 05:53:39 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari freaks out. "Oh SHIT!  Och!  Crimebuster!"  Spinning, she points at
Stone Cold.  "Make us a raft.  We've got to get out there and find our
pals!"

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2001 06:46:32 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"No problem."  As Stone Cold begins to freeze the water around them to
make a raft for them to float on.  "We gotta get the wizard back."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2001 10:48:28 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    Sighing ever so slightly at the sights around him Magus looks around for
others in any immediate danger.

> (snip rebound stunt)

    Seeing no one but Rebound's current plummet into the ocean below he
carefully watches the figure's descent.

> (snip ari exclamation)

    Checking his equipment quickly to be sure of it's security to his person
he says nothing.

> (snip stone cold jibba jabba) 

    "Watch out for Masque and anyone else. I'll fetch Rebound," he states
just as he leaps off the icy platform. Sinking below the surface easily due
to the armor outfitted onto himself. As he disappears from everyone's view
he begins to make his way towards Rebounds area of impact.

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2001 18:51:17 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Gunslinger blows her a kiss;
"Yes ma'am."

> (snip sweep description)

Smiling inwardly, Gunslinger hopes that he can make this work, provided he
can get away with it of course.

> (snip moebius payment)

Walking up to the man, he asks him,
"I am gonna need some storage, better yet, can I have the truck?"

(theoretical response, if the guy says yes, then I take the truck and will
drop him off outside his town, otherwise i'll follow him to wherever he is
from or wherever he is going to take the ....stuff)

Giving Mobieus a thumbs up he walks to the car, produces the Book and tosses
it on her lap.
"Thanks. Who says I am selfish?!"

(This is like a choose yer own adventure)
If i take the truck, I have Mobeius follow me in my car and keep on heading
to find that guy i need to fix the beast.
If I follow the guy...well I follow him and then figure out what to do next
depending on what happens.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2001 19:10:19 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

"Bugger that!"
Masque steadies the horse and cocks his head as if listening for something.
He makes an attempt to scan for any magical energies.
(21...blast that. He fails)
He quickly locates the macguyvered raft and the stranded team and flies
around looking for Anyone missing, not locating them he heads towards the
raft. With the rest of the Horse's in tow he lands.

"Hi guy's. Nearly thought i was gonna die. Whatta rush there. I could do
with this heroing ...it's kinda fun. Going up against dragons and whatnot.
You don't get much of that these days. I remember when a fellow couldn't
walk around the corner without a glorious fight with a dragon...or was it
that i remember someone telling me about or did I read it inna
book...hmmmm..."

Masque seems lost in thought...

"Oh yeah....the dragon ain't gone. It was an illusion of sorts. So who's
left ? I am not seeing any surly looking lizard fellow or the bouncy guy.
What about the guy with the knives?

 Noticing the worried faces, he quickly adds,
' I don' think that och is dead yet. He is a dwarf after all. Besides the
dragon needs something to bargain with. We have...."
Masque flicks the gecko on the head and sneers,
"This."

Eyeballing their current mode of transportation, Masque nods at Stone Cold,
"Nice raft, but I can't say it's got much in the department of speed. I got
these, we can take these if you like?"
He motions towards the horse's

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 5 Aug 2001 19:56:55 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"Then lets get going.  I can blast behind us to make us go forward but no
speed is guaranteed??  Any betta ideas??"  Stone Cold asked.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 09:00:52 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

(OCC: Any damage there or am I just sore?)

>> (description of area)

Shaking his head CB turns to Och and whispers "Hey, you ok?"
<< Theortical Och response space >>.
He mumbles loud enough for Och only to hear "I wonder where the heck we
are...."

CB looks around to make sure he still has Achira. Assuming that is the case,
he will look for
the lock to his cage. If it is not he scans the room looking for his stolen
katana.  And gets really mad.
He checks his secret pouch for his stun stars.

Realizing that the only way out of this revoltin' perdicament (sp
intentional :-)is through the lock to his cage,
he silently praises his misspent youth. He has picked a lock or two but not
enough to have
any real talent in it. He will attempt to pick the lock with his stun stars,
pending any real objection from his dwarven companion.

(OCC: CB continues to try the lock pick until it either works, he gets
caught, or Och gets a better idea.
 53, 62, 67, 36, 12(ick) )

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 06 Aug 2001 13:28:57 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

(Ummm...ouch?)

Well, I guess Rebound will do his best to increase his wind resistance on

the way down and maybe slow his descent a bit, but once he gets close, he'll
turn feet first and present as little surface area to the water as possible.

(The new fishing method rolls: 27, 68, 96)

(Rebound's own personal musical interlude on the way down...knowing this may
very well be his last trip.  He never was a very good swimmer.  May as well
entertain himself for the last few moments.)

"Believe it or not, I'm walking on air.  I never thought I could feel so
free.  Flying away on a wing and a prayer, who could it be?  Believe it or
not, i's just me!  Ohhhhh, Believe it or not, I'm walking on..."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 09:50:52 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

 "You are sooooo going to get smacked if you don't stop.  And I don't
care if you blow my arm off.  I am not trying to relive the 'Greatest
American Hero'.  Stone Cold said with a smirk.

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 20:40:21 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx would grimace at the sight of her damaged gun, making sure it wasn't
about to blow up or anything. If it wasn't in danger of exploding, she'd
slip it into her holster and sigh, shaking her head.

~Gonna have to make a trip to the D.A.A. to get that repaired sometime.~

"Right. Training, eh? Well, I can probably hook you up with some people who
can help you with that, Ken. You've got a lot of power packed into you and
we've seen what happens when that power gets out of control. So, you've got
the motivation and I might be able to find the tools...all we need to do is
find the time."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 05:23:54 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

You touch down in the water - sort of - at the end of your ballistic
arc, Rebound.  Of course, the impact with the water causes quite a
detonation, though the water has enough give that you sink a good twenty
feet below sea level before the liquid flows back to greet you.

You stat to pull yourself up to the surface, when you realize that
you're not alone.

You find Rebound easily, Magus, thanks to the spectacular landing he
just made on the ocean.  Assisting him to the surface, you can see him
rubbing his feet as though they were really, really sore all of a
sudden.  At least he managed to survive his fall, though.

The two of you start to swim towards the island, but stop when Masque
picks you up with his bizarre, flying horses.

Once the three of you then make your way to Stone Cold's arctic raft,
you meet up with Stone Cold and Ari, who are understandably not happy
campers right now.  But then, considering that two of your group are
missing (or dead dead dead), that's quite understandable...

Speaking of which, did anybody remember to grab Och's golden axe?

                                 ***

Elsewhere, you manage to rouse Och, Crimebuster, but you can see a trail
of small holes in his arms and legs, presumably where he'd been
'grappled' by your reptilian foe recently.  They still look rather
fresh, so you're guessing that you haven't been here long.

"Rrm."

He pulls himself together some, and then whispers back "I've got three
guesses... though the first two don't count."  Meanwhile, as you perform
your personal inventory, you find that you do not, in fact, have your
sword handy; but then, Och's missing his axe, too.

Seeing the look on your face, and having no intention of staying here
forever, Och doesn't say anything as you remove a star from your pouch
and get to work on the lock keeping you in that cage.  You manage to
spring it in no time, opening the thing to the chamber outside.

(but then, the lock WAS quite old and rusty-looking)

Now, you've just got that twenty foot drop to deal with...

?!

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 05:34:14 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Walking up to the trucker, you ask your question and receive only a
chuckle in response.  "Hey pal, I'd be glad to sell you my truck, but I
don't really think that you gots that kind of cash - at least, unless
your girlfriend there has a lot more rubies handy..."

"I can definitely take you wherever you need to go, though - that's no
problem.  What your gal there gave me is more than enough to cover, oh,
about 1000 miles worth of road, easy.  Or, if you need storage, the boss
runs one of those self-serve warehouse things..."

(theoretical response space for YOU)

After that exchange, you walk back over to Moebius, and she gleefully
accepts the book of portals.  She then opens it, turns to a specific
page, and withdraws something from it.  "Thanks.  I'll make you a copy
here soon enough, eh?"

?  (just waiting for a theoretical response type thing, then we MOVE)

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 05:41:33 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Ken just look at you and frowns.  "I appreciate the offer, but this
can't wait any longer.  Every minute I've got this stuff and don't do
anything about it is another minute something horrible can happen to me
- and then, to everybody else around me.  Even you and your pals."

"I've gotta go somewhere, somewhere REALLY far away, and figure out what
I can do - and then what I should do with it."  He stops to think about
it for a second, and then continues.  "I can definitely give you a ride
to... wherever, first, if you need one."

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2001 12:40:05 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

Rebound drags himself to his feet, winces, and promptly falls back down in
the soft sand with a heavy groan.  He lies on his back and bemoans their sad
state.

"Let's see, we're on some island in the middle of nowhere. Ken's in the
hospital. Jinx is MIA. Och and Crimebuster are gone with the dragon and are
probably lunch by now.  I hurt so much I can't even stand up.  I guess we
chalk this one up as a big loss."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 08:45:45 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"So are you two finished swimming so we can get the others?"  Stone Cold
smirks dispite being pissed.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 11:48:29 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari didn't.  Eep.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 14:25:59 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

Crimebuster, for the first time since Och has known him, grows visibly upset.
"I swear, if they did anything to that sword..." and allows his voice to trail off before he says something Master Lee would not approve of.

He growls in a low, gutteral voice to Och "That dragon chewed you up pretty good... I'm in the mood to kick some ass and get some answers here, you up for it?"

<< Och response space >>

>> (snip och 'speak')

"I just got blown up and teleported by a dragon, I lost my sword and wound
up in a cage... a 20' drop is nothing." He says to himself, trying to keep himself collected.

Assuming he is not over boiling hot lava or anything, CB will leap out of
the cage, trying to land into a diveroll-handspring martial arts combo.  Hoping to avoid detection, he will wait as long as it takes for no one to be looking at the area he can leap to, which is hopefully
away from the ray gun.

If Och is too hurt to drop down, Crimebuster will suggest Och wait in the
cage until CB can find a way to lower it.

(OCC: Rolls:99(!) 85, 78, 43, 24)

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 18:39:47 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx nods slowly, looking Ken over for a moment before speaking, "Yeah...I
guess you do have a point there. Well, I don't see any harm in leaving these
schmucks to their own devices. Sure - let's get the hell out of here.

So, you gonna carry me or something? I have a feeling we have a good
distance to go before we hit the US..."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 7 Aug 2001 19:21:54 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

"Ahoy there landlubber's!" Masque says in a gruff voice as he holds a hand
over his eye.  "Arrrrrrrrrr!"

Upon reaching the others and assuming we head back to land Masque once again
attempts to gain some sort of grasp with the metaphysical here and locate
anything inherently magical, namely some sort of trail or something to help
us find where the others are.  (78...much better)

And then he holds up the Gecko like so many bunches of grapes and says unto
him: "Now you little rapscallion, there are those who want to eat you and those of us who want to torture you. I, however, want answers. I am sure any one of these folks would be more than happy to relieve me of my burden and do as they wish with you. Right about now I am inclined to do that. Now either talk or suffer the consequences." Masque adds with a touch of cynicism,

"Arrrrr matey?"

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 18:22:44 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Gunslinger thinks about the prospect of not being in control of his newfound
cargo and comes to a conclusion;
"Alright Mister, you can follow us to L.A. I ain't gonna like it but it
seems I have no choice. Just follow me and I will even slow down for you."

> (snip moebius speak)

Gunslinger leans in the window and smiles.
"Oh no sister, The WHOLE book, not parts of it."
He swipes and makes a grab for the page she just tore out.
(84...yellow).

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 20:40:56 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

    Magus, careful by his own standards, hefts Rebound up out of the ocean
like the hundred odd pounds of wet meat that he is at the moment. Oddly
enough it's at that moment when Rebound's masked face lays heavily facing
towards the draconic man that he notices the fact that Magus seems to be
inhaling water as he forces himself and the masked, explosive one to stay
afloat. Afterall he is still draped in medieval style armor roughly from his
neck to his feet as well as holding Rebound's soggy self above water enough
to prevent his drowning. Regardless of his choice in swimwear he seems to be
doing the exact type of thing that would end up drowning the lot of you if
any were in his place.

> (snip rebound speak)

    "Dragon's don't actually prefer humanoids all that much for their
meals," Magus states reassuring before destroying any hope for that
completely, "Of course there's nothing actually stopping such a choice of
dining either. Besides it could be worse. Masque could be close enough for
us to actually have to hear his prattlings."

> (snip masque speak)

    "I cursed myself," Magus states flatly at Masque's arrival even as he
hefts Rebound upwards out of the water and across the back of Masque's
personal magical mounts.

> (snip masque speak squared)

    Studying the trance-like state that Masque slips into for a moment
Magus' eyes light up with a blink. Which promptly forces him to interrupt
Masque's entire attempt, "I have the feeling that you're attempting to track
her usage of magical energies. Correct?"

> (snip masque speak cubed)

    Magus glares towards the gecko intently before speaking in a completely
indecipherable, at least everyone that's not a gecko, tongue for all to
hear.

>Speaking of which, did anybody remember to grab Och's golden axe?

<OOC: Assuming we do return to where Och dropped it and providing no one
else seems to take notice of it then it's a fairly safe assumption that
Magus will snatch it up for the time being. Whether that happens is up to
you, Denny.> 

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date:    Fri, 10 Aug 2001 20:42:51 -0700 (PDT)
From:    Charlie Chicanery <charlie_chicanery@yahoo.com>

> It lunges at you.  How now brown cow?

'HEY!  You the crappy alien that ate my friend?  I'm
SO going to eat your brains for that!  Bring it.'

i wait for the tentacle thing to get up close n
personal, and then i go to cut off a tentacle or two
for good measure.  

i guess as a deterrent or something.  Not that i
intend to let it go after it backs off...  m gonna
avenge Wendell - i'd have wanted him to do the same
for me if that was me all digested on the floor.

A couple rolls:  42, 91, 3, 826 (hah - kill the 8)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 13:10:18 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Hm...

You cast your magical detection spells, Masque, but in the end they fail
to determine just where that dragon may have gone to, if it did in fact
go somewhere.  Even assuming you could detect sorcery with a global
range, what you're looking for'd be lost in the din.

There's magic all over, you know.

The two fellows you're with, Rebound and Magus, are apparently joined by
Stone Cold and Ari back on that small tropical isle, whereupon Magus
grabs Och's special, golden axe.  He seems to have a particularly hard
time hefting the thing, as though it were made of spent uranium.

Anyway, the five of you are just sort of ... there, recovering from your
fight with the beastie that so recently ambushed you with guile, magic,
and all kinds of surly indifference.  Aside from missing two of your
number, you're otherwise okay.

I s'pose the simple question is where you go from here...

                                  ***

Elsewhere, Crimebuster, you find that you're not over boiling lava; in
fact, it seems you're over a regular, steel-tiled floor.  Leaping down,
you land with ease, if with a slight 'clank' sound.  Och follows
immediately, not wanting to be caged any longer.

He makes a much more significant 'CLANK' sound, but those two fellows
working on the apparent ray gun dingus don't seem to notice in the
slightest.  They do open a panel by the gun, though, allowing the waning
sunlight to stream in from outside.

You can hear the distant, distant sounds of city life filtering through
the now-open window, and the two guys start talking amongst themselves.
"Joey, you know you're not supposed to open that window.  Top secret
installation - hello!"  To which the apparent Joey responds "Feh."

"S'hot in here."  You do notice that the air is rather stuffy here, as
though it receives little ventilation or circulation whatsoever.
Anyway, in addition to the construct holding that ray-gun looking
device, you see two doors leading out of this area.

Additionally, voices are issuing forth from the one, if indistinctly...

(if that's a word)

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 13:26:25 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Okay, Charlie.

You lunge forward at the big tentacular monster, and give it what for;
you manage to tag one tentacle and lop it clean off with your power
staff; you fail to hit more than one, however, leaving the alien horror
more than enough personal weaponry with which to strike back at you.

And it does, immediately after shrieking at you in rage for so pruning its
extremities.  In your mind, at least, you hear "Arghh!  For that you
will pay, meat - oh, and how very slowly you will do so!" as the thing
gurgles in agony due to the injury you've inflicted upon it.

It lashes out at you with several tentacles, one of which hits home by
wrapping around your ankle and yanking - hard.  This causes you to fall
flat on your back, and you feel dozens of those crystals lining this
chamber pierce your back flesh - stings like heck.

You take a total of twenty points Edged Attack damage from this alone.
It looks like the monster's planning on reeling you in and then chewing
you up real slow-like; you can see its two sets of jaws quivering in
antici-pation over the idea.

Doesn't look good to YOU though - not at all...

?

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 13:39:00 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

You lunge at the tiefling chronomage and attempt to steal that which
she's removed from the book, and find that she's too fast - even for
yourself.  "Sorry, Charlie - that's my ticket home, should I want to go
sometime.  My portal key - get your own!"

Upon looking at her hand as it pockets ... whatever that was, you can
see that it's not, in fact, a page from the book, but in fact a bookmark
of some sort; you remember seeing it when leafing through the book of
portals on more than one occasion.

Of course, it's obviously not JUST a bookmark, otherwise she'd have just
gotten another one.  Mysteries abound.

Anyway, mister trucker gets said truck started, and waits for you to get
going, so's he can follow you wherever you wanted to go.  L.A. was your
original destination, was it not?  'Course, now that you've got shape
changing booty, that could change or something...

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 13:49:46 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

"Well..."  Ken look at you for a second, then at your guns, then at you
again.  "... I'd carry you, but one misplaced hand could get me dead -
so how about a piggy back ride?"  Assuming you agree, he lets you hop on
back, and then gets ready to fly.

"Hang on..."

With that, Ken rockets upward.  At the rate you see the ground moving
away, you're guessing that you've easily accelerated fast enough that
you should've been pulped - though you don't even feel it, really; must
be a side-effect of Ken's power.

"Took me awhile to figure this trick out, but I can spread my
invulnerability to someone else if I'm in contact with 'em... keeps you
from getting burned up by air friction, or needing to breathe..."
Sounds like he's still talking, but it just got harder to hear him.

That's because before you know it, you're in space!  You can't help but
marvel at the view as you sail through the upper, upper atmosphere.  You
realize that, as you kind of figured, you were somewhere near Nepal or
Tibet - at least upon looking down.

Of course, before too long, you're streaking over America, towards New
York City.  Once you get low enough, you can hear Ken talking again.
"...aah, there we go.  Anyway, I'm guessing you want dropped off in the
city before I take off - unless something else sounds good."

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 13:53:22 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"Ok anyone have any ideas.  Now would be a pretty good time ta share."
Stone cold says as he increase the size of the platform slightly and add
additional ice to it to keep it from breaking in this tropical
environment.  (Rolls: 64, 89, 72, 28, 99)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 20:08:46 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

> Studying the trance-like state that Masque slips into for a moment
> Magus' eyes light up with a blink. Which promptly forces him to interrupt
> Masque's entire attempt, "I have the feeling that you're attempting to
> track her usage of magickal energies. Correct?"

"Ackkkkk..........Yes!" Masque shoots Magus a look that only Masque can
give, which is a bit of a combination of iritable confusion with a dash of
surprise.

"At least that's what I was trying to do."

Masque tries to get a bead again but can't seem to locate anything anywhere.
"No matter, My spells are not powerful enough to discern where the Dragon
teleported to and there is too much magical interference, what with the axe
and you and the residual Dragon magicks."

> Magus glares towards the gecko intently before speaking in a completely
> indecipherable, at least everyone that's not a gecko, tongue for all to
> hear.

"What, What?! Would you like this little gecko? Would you like that little
gecko?" Masque asks as he pats the thing on it's head.

Masque sits down on the beach and starts sifting sand through his hand. A
bored mage is a restless mage. Trying to think of some way to find his lost
friend's he catches a glimpse of Magus trying to heft Och's Golden Axe. And
if by magic he stands up...and then promptly falls back down. Cursing his
various belts and Robes he stands up a bit more carefully this time and
approaches Magus.

"Arrrr Matey! I got's an idear."
He activates his magic sensing and reaches out and touches the Axe.
Then he tries and locates Och's magical signature...like a bloodhound if you
will.

He tries too ways...one in the real world and then in the Astral.
(real world 58......green) (astral world 78....yellow)

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 20:22:25 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

> "Sorry, Charlie - that's my ticket home, should I want to go sometime.  My 
> portal key - get your own!"

"Fine Fine...I tire of this inane game. I just want to get my car back to
what I am used too. How long is whatever you did to that guy's head gonna
last? Hopefully till we get to L.A. right?"
Gunslinger can tell she is about to give some sarcastic remark on how she
really knows how far away that is , so he beats her to the punch.
"Well, well, well. Who's the Clueless berk now?"
With that he puts the car in gear and drives up next to the truck and
motions for him to follow.
After driving for about fifteen minutes and forcing moebius to listen to
Neil Diamond he says to her.
"Incidentally, L.A. is about 15 hours or so away."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 20:34:54 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

(in the interest of speeding the plot along...)

As you reinforce your icy barge and make it ever larger, Stone Cold, you
can see Masque settling down on the beach of the island you so recently
fought the dragons on, and attempting do do magic.  The results of his
efforts don't look good, though.

                                 ***

You sit down and use your magic on the axe, Masque, and determine that
it is impressively magical.  Then, attempting to reach outwards with
your spell, you find yourself running into the same problem you did
moments ago; he's just too far away, or there's too much interference.

Or that spell just don't work that way (heheh).

So, you find yourself meditating astral-style, doing the cross-legged
Yoga thing as you free your conscious mind and allow it to search
unfettered for some trace of Och.  Were you a telepath, you may have had
some hope of seeking his mind in this mess of mental energies.

Or he's just in a very, very well hidden location.

                                 ***

The rest of you notice Masque returning from his sudden trance with that
look that says he didn't have any luck.  That just leaves the ol' 'now
what?', I suppose...

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 20:47:17 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Moebius looks at you and shrugs.  "Well, I imagine it will... after all,
I didn't use any magic to make him do what you wanted, other than that
of free commerce.  I have no illusory spells - my magic don't work like
that.  He'll be fine, assuming nothing else fun happens."

You wish she wouldn't have said that.

You really do.

Not the part about her having apparently REALLY paid the man in rubies
to get him to haul your captured / deactivated Sweeps, as you can easily
consider that worth the book of portals she wanted, but the simple fact
that she has just inadvertently jinxed you both.

'Cause you know she's right.  You attract weirdness in this plane.

Lots.

Sure enough, you come across some sort of brou-ha-ha about an hour
later, one between four robots; two of them seem to be made out of
motorcycle parts, and the other two from purple spacecraft bits, one of
which looks quite like the four things you recently beat down.

Naturally, they're firing particle beam weapons at each other from
opposing sides of the I-10, using wrecked cars and such as cover and/or
shields, or (in the case of the purple robots) as crude missile
weapons.  Some of them cars are even occupied...!

However, things go funny when one of the purple robots, the one you
don't recognize, looks at oncoming traffic (you), and his jaw drops
slack.  He starts stammering, saying something about "Prime..." and
fires maniacally on the truck that's hauling your Sweeps.

The driver hops out in no time, though his red truck gets totalled in
the process.  And i mean totalled as in the whole cab got melted down
into its component particles.  Makes you glad he wasn't shooting at you
- a LOT.  Now what?!

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 20:51:13 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

> Or he's just in a very, very well hidden location.

Masque mumbles something to himself and then absent-mindedly starts jerking
the bands holding the gecko up and down so as to let the thing hit the
ground every few seconds and he starts pacing.

"No good Magicks! I thought that we were friends. I tell everyone about you
and you helo me out in times of crisis. Sheesh. I am almost ready to start
using ..using...using ..."

Masque appears to be having some sort of internal struggle with his addled
and already bifurcated conscience.

He says through clenched teeth, "technology!"

With that he opens a doorway back the Magic sucking building in new york and
waits for anyone who wants to go through.
He sits down next to it and looks....forlorn.
"People...the only thing I can think of is that building where the Dragon
might have been before we came here."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sat, 11 Aug 2001 22:19:21 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"Not in a real hurry to wait for the beast to come and attack, but I
don't know a thing about hunting dragons?  So anyone feel free to jump
right in here."  Stone Cold says looking at the group.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 05:51:40 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

ooc.....this is for stone cold...since you seem oblivious to the happenings
around you. No offense man but pay attention to the other posts, not just
from denny, they might be helpful huh?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Sun, 12 Aug 2001 16:30:42 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

OCC: Sorry about that, seems the posts crossed each other.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 01:32:01 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

>"People...the only thing I can think of is that building where the Dragon
>might have been before we came here."

Rebound shrugs, and heads for the portal, stepping rather gingerly on his
sore feet.  It's rather quite comical watching him put pressure on a foot,
wince, and quickly put pressure on his other foot...only to wince again and
start the whole process all over.  He hums the venerable tune "If I Had a
Rocket Launcher" the whole time to keep his mind off of the pain.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 00:34:40 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari shrugs.  "Ionno.  We need to find Och an' Crimebuster pronto, tho.  Hey, 
gimme Och's axe.  I can keep it in my backpack."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 09:37:45 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"Do you need a hand?"  He was trying not to laugh, but he understood
'pain'.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 17:38:13 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

"Hand no.  Foot yes."  Rebound smiles behind his mask despite the pain, he
knows it's no time to rest.  "Don't worry about me.  Worry about Och and
Crimebuster.  I can at least fight back, but I'm not too sure how they'll
fare unarmed against this dragon.  If they aren't dead already..."  His
voice trails off into contemplation.  If only there was some way to find
them..."Did anyone notice if either Och or Crimebuster wears a digital
watch?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 13:43:30 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"I thought Crimebuster wears one, Och I don't think so, outside of his
pancake fetish."  Stone Cold smirked and went through the portal.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 18:32:46 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

>"At least that's what I was trying to do."

    "Then perhaps you'd rather consider...," Magus begins but stops abruptly
upon noticing the other glazed look in the magick wielder's eyes. The one
akin to focusing the mana flow into the magickal arts as compared to the
standard glassy eye look that seems permanently attached to the wizard's
gaze.

>"No matter, My spells are not powerful enough to discern where the Dragon
>teleported to and there is too much magical interference, what with the axe
>and you and the residual Dragon magicks."

    "But that was what I was attempting to tell you. Why not simply focus on
shorter distances and more specific trails?"

    "Afterall your world doesn't seem to have a large population of dragons
or dwarves. Perhaps then we could trail the flow of magick that would trail
such a creature as that crimson wyrm."

>"What, What?! Would you like this little gecko? Would you like that little
>gecko?" Masque asks as he pats the thing on it's head.

    Magus simply glares at the gecko.

> (snip masque speak)

>"Arrrr Matey! I got's an idear."

    "Gods help us," Magus states.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 18:41:18 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

>The two fellows you're with, Rebound and Magus, are apparently joined by
>Stone Cold and Ari back on that small tropical isle, whereupon Magus
>grabs Och's special, golden axe.  He seems to have a particularly hard
>time hefting the thing, as though it were made of spent uranium.

    Magus hefts the weight of the golden weapon in his hand casually
attempting to adjust to it's cumbersome mass.

> (snip masque speaking)

    "No signs at all of their passing," Magus asks almost rhetorically.

    "If only I was still capable of gestalting our magicks together then
perhaps we'd have a better chance at locating the fiend," he ponders aloud.

> (snip masque speak)

    Magus stands on the beach even as the others begin to depart once again
through the summoned portal. Lost in thought as it were.

>Ari shrugs.  "Ionno.  We need to find Och an' Crimebuster pronto, tho.
> Hey, gimme Och's axe.  I can keep it in my backpack."

    At Ari's sudden command Magus glances down at her, "I believe it's
better with me for the time being."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 18:50:24 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari shrugs.  "Whatever, pal.  I was just sayin', my backpack can hold all 
kindsa stuff, and if you're havin' trouble with it, then hey, let's put it in 
there.  Besides, I'm Och's friend.  So there."  She sticks her tongue out at 
the dragon-y guy in a fairly silly and petulant way.

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Mon, 13 Aug 2001 21:01:14 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx would agree to jump on Ken's back, holding on for dear life.

Once they could speak again, she'd agree to being dropped off in the Big
Apple, "Right. NYC it is. I've got some people I can contact there. Hey, is
there anyway I can get in contact with you? There'll be a lot of people
who'll be relieved to know you're up and kickin' again, but they'll be a bit
disappointed you're going to be disappearing again."

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 11:17:43 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

Crimebuster motions to Och to follow him for cover. Gliding silently across
the cold steel floor, he tries to find a machine or wall unit to hide
behind for the moment.  Once that is accomplished, he points at the goons
and says "We will have to take these 3 out fast. I don't want alarms going
off over our heads here.  You get the one on the left, I will get the one on the
right.  I'll meet you in the middle. "  With no question as to his mindset
and immediate goal, CB adds "Try to leave the last guy conscious....I want my
sword back."

If they cannot find cover, CB motions to Och that he will take the one on
the right, giving Och the one on the left.

He then attacks the one on the right.  He will use his martial arts skill to
try to disable the man as quickly as possible, going for nerve clusters and
the solar plexus to stop shouting.  As soon as that one is down, he turns to
the middle on and kicks that one's hand away from the alarm he is reaching
for.

(OCC: Don't they always?)

(OCC again: If I can attack 2 goons in the same round, I will do that.
 Rolls (+50 on all of 'em): 62+50=112, 88+50=138, 10+50=60, 93+50=143,
86+50=136)

Subject: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 22:05:41 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

As you all issue into Masque's mystic portal, you leave behind this
warm, beautiful, and unnamed tropical isle for that cold, ugly, and dark
Cobra arsenal on the 24th floor of the Chrysler building, returning from
whence you came.

Even the reconstituted office air is less pleasant.  But you're back.

Looking out the peepholes, you can see that all of the telemarketers
have since left the building.  The call center outside this bizarre room
is completely devoid of human - or any other - life.  Now's as good a
time as any to get out (or get up, or get down, or get funky).

Thus far, your options are many.  You can leave the building, or
continue to search it for signs of your foe - or at least your missing
compatriots, should they still live.  You seem to have freedom of
movement, though, so what do you do with it?

                                 ***

Elsewhere, you and Och sneak up on the two worker-guys messing with that
big ol' Ray Gun (TM); there's only two, not three, as you said in your
post (just f.y.i.).  You fell the one with a smart jab to the neck, and
indeed kick the other's hand away from said alarm.

Och just watches you fight, since you seem even angrier than he is; he
must think letting you blow off steam is a good thing.  That leaves you
with the one conscious, impressively surprised Ray Gun Techie.  "Aah!
Monkey from nowhere!!!"

Och takes exception to that comment, and his hand moves.  Now, dwarves
are short folk, but they still have the same basic... parts as regular
folks.  So, when Och's grip comes to rest around the Ray Gun Techie's...
paraphenalia... the man's definitely ready to listen.

"Now.  Shut up and talk.  Or I may get... annoyed..."

This indeed shuts up the Ray Gun Techie, at least until he can stammer
forth "What do you want to know?"

!?

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 22:18:59 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Ken looks like he's not sure what to say upon pondering your question,
Jinx.  "Well, not really, unless I'm telepathic too, and don't know it
yet.  I figure this is for the best - though it's not like I'm not
coming back, Jinx."

"I just need to figure out these powers once and for all - and find out
whatever happened to poor Reaper... he's still out in space somewhere.
If anything, just let Rebound know that I'll be back soon enough, and
that I'm glad he was around from the start of this mess."

Before you can say anything, you see a distinct cloud of smoke issuing
forth from the Chrysler building; at least, you see it after the big
blast that seems to have shattered a decent portion of one of the top
floors there.  Of course, there's tons of cops already on the scene.

You can see their cars below.  And fire trucks.  And all kinds of
unmarked black sedans that, were you anybody else, you wouldn't even
think twice about.  Of course, there's also the small procession of
oddly familiar military vehicles headed towards the building, too.

Can't be a coincidence that you found out Cobra was hiding out here just
earlier today...

(or is it?  yeah yeah)

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 08:55:11 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

"First, that is not a monkey holding you by the short hairs, that is a
dwarf.  A hurt dwarf. A dwarf that was hurt by something
YOU area part of.  And he is my friend.  I want to know what the deal with
the dragon is, who you people are,  how we got here, where
*here* is and..." Crimebuster gets in very close so there is no mistake here
"....I. Want. To. Know. Where. My. Sword. Is.  You have about
10 seconds to convince me not to toss you out of this building.  Go."

If the techie refuses to talk, CB will nod at Och to provide
some.....encouragement.  Nothing permanent or fatal.....just a little
constricting.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 10:21:00 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari makes sure nobody's really paying attention, and then jams a few guns 
into her magic backpack.  A submachine gun or two, maybe some pistols.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 18:03:50 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

Rebound moves out into the telemarketing department and begins to boot up
one of their PC's.  "Everyone cross your fingers and hope that this thing
has an outside connection.  And Masque, well, um, just look at something
else..."  Rebound will do his best to circumvent any network passwords he
encounters.  If he does get through, he'll try to get to the field agent's
internet connection for his former employers.  If he can, he'll go the GPS
tracking section, and call up the error logs, convinced that if Crimebuster
was wearing a watch, that the sudden (and large he assumes) change in the
locational data will show up as an error, and thus narrow down his search
for his missing teammates.  As he taps away at the keyboard, he'll continue
to mumble to himself about how he'd much rather be dealing with a computer
than a dragon.

OCC: Here go the REALLY hopeful rolls: Getting past network passowords:
46+25 karma, Getting into database: 61+25 karma, finding/using the tracking
data: 79+25karma...anything else that happens while he's plunking away: 38,
68, 58

Once he gets done (assuming he was at least able to get to an outside line -
otherwise it just doesn't matter), he'll motion for Masque to join him on an
aside...

(conspirationally) "I need you to do something for me.  I know it's not in
your nature, and may well conflict with your beliefs, but this is real
important.  The computer I used has to be destroyed.  I don't just mean
broken.   I mean gone.  Nothing left.  Can you handle that?"

He will then turn back to the assembled group and relay his findings (if
any).  "OK, we've got to get moving and I mean quick.  I used that computer
to get to a pretty sensitive government database.  They'll be sending in the
goons awfully damned quick."

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 19:22:50 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx nods at Ken, "Right. Got it...I'll let him know. You go do what you
need to and come back in one piece and I won't have to go out and find you
just to kick your ass all the way back here!"

With the sound of the explosion, Jinx would try to make her way to the
Chrysler building to survey the damage and see if her compatriots were
involved in the mess.

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 15 Aug 2001 23:43:02 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Masque shrugs his shoulders in an understanding yet hopeless sorta way.
"I simply don't think it's in the cards. That is if I were to use cards.
Never could stand for them. Mumbo Jumbo if you ask me. I mean what can they
really tell you......?! "

Masque produces a deck of Tarot cards from somewhere and throws them up in
the air.

"Ooooooooo...Death....Like that's surprising. Rather quaint huh? Sure the
tourists love them but a real practitioner would use your gizzard and
then...Oh boy... what a future that person would have. A bit short really."
Masque picks up the death card and flourishes it in a mad way.
"Death! Booogey Booogy Booogey!"

One with some insight into the human mind would guess Masque is irritated.

Then he walks through the portal.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 00:18:50 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

> Once he gets done (assuming he was at least able to get to an outside line - 
> otherwise it just doesn't matter), he'll motion for >Masque to join him on an 
> aside...
        
Masque looks around in the ever popular "Who me?" sorta way. He actually takes a step backwards as if this were a call for volunteers. "I don't wanna."

Eyeballing his gun-mad comrades rifling through the... rifles, he actually moves to rebound's side.
        
> (conspirationally) "I need you to do something for me.  I know it's not in 
> your nature, and may well conflict with your beliefs, but this is real 
> important.  The computer I used has to be destroyed.  I don't just mean 
> broken.   I mean gone.  Nothing left.  Can you handle that?"
      
Masque erupts in laughter. 
"Ha! You think that's against my beliefs? You got me all wrong friend. It's your lucky day. Destroying computers just happens to be one of my beliefs."

Masque grins so wide it seems to be taking up his entire face. That's when you notice a faint smell in the air.  Kinda like eldritch. And wouldn't ya know, Masque's body is crackling with a purple energy and it all seems to be flowing right towards his outstretched finger. 

He then says kapow...
"KAPOW!!"
...and let's loose eldritch bolt after eldritch bolt at the infernal machine until it is sufficiently melted and then winks at Rebound and vanishes the remains.(sending them straight into Hoggoth's realm. he'll know what to do with it).
        
He fishes around in his pockets and produces the Death card and throws it with so much movie quality slow motion right onto the spot where the computer was and it just happens to land at the right angle, face up and a little gleam from the gloss just happens to catch your eye, Rebound. "THAT is what I believe in."

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 00:40:27 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

"You know about that thing you said earlier? About nothing else happening?
Well I wish you wouldn't have said that."

He points towards the angry mob of tin cans up ahead.

> However, things go funny when one of the purple robots, the one you
> don't recognize, looks at oncoming traffic (you), and his jaw drops
> slack.  He starts stammering, saying something about "Prime..." and
> fires maniacally on the truck that's hauling your Sweeps.

"Shit!"
Gunslinger absent-mindedly switches on the non-existent 'Flight' button and
curses as the wipers go on.

> The driver hops out in no time, though his red truck gets totaled in
> the process.  And i mean totaled as in the whole cab got melted down
> into its component particles.  Makes you glad he wasn't shooting at you
> - a LOT.  Now what?!

Stopping the car and jumping out with Guns drawn he opens fire at the Robot
that shot the truck.

(init=7, Aim=93, Damage, force blast= 70yellow, dodge=54 green)
"You Mother Fucker!. I keel you! Mobeius take down the other one. I think
the wierd Robots are on our side...for now at least."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 13:20:44 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

OCC: Masque looked like he could use a bit of a release there :)

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 20:34:45 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

As Ari stalks away firmly entrenched in her child-like behavior Magus
turns to Masque and inquires of him, "Does she wish for me to eviscerate her?"

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2001 20:37:25 -0400
From: "Nathan Gecko" <nathangecko@yahoo.com>

>"Death! Booogey Booogy Booogey!"

Magus stands silently observing the mocking reply to his attempted aid.

>One with some insight into the human mind would guess Masque is irritated.
>Then he walks through the portal.

Almost statuesque in his stance Magus remains standing perfectly motionless as it appears everyone files through the portal. Thus leaving him alone on the island.

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 13:58:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Charlie Chicanery <charlie_chicanery@yahoo.com>

> Doesn't look good to YOU though - not at all...

Heh.

Suppose that since i don't seem to have dropped my
power staff, i'll just let it reel me in a little
more, and then give it a little photonic indigestion.

That'll teach it to try and eat me me me.  Scummy
alien thing.

"Hah hah, alien swine!  Taste the power of my Power
Staff!"

i would say something swash-buckly at this point, but
being on my back, that just don't seem right...

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 20:50:26 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

(good thing I gots these new Chessex dices... since you forgot to roll)

You deftly shove your power staff into the maw of the malicious
malefactor bent on consuming your consumables at the last possible
moment.  You felt its fetid, rank, and all-in-all god-awful hot breath
bathing your face in an odoriferous cavalcade mere seconds ago.

Now the creature is reeling back in pain and horror.  It seems like it's
trying to convey some sort of curse or another upon you (or perhaps your
mother) telepathically, but it would appear to be in way too much pain
to articulate that insult clearly.

Even telepathically.

It then scrambles off down the corridor from whence you came, and
(assuming that you don't pursue the betentacled monstrosity) leaves you
all by yourself.  That's when you feel the tremor.  Seems like this
island in a sea of magma isn't as stable as it first seemed.

Again, assuming that you don't pursue the extra-terrestrial thingie
further, you continue on down the path that was so rudely interrupted by
this giant geode, and eventually come to a sort of magma stream flowing
across the ground before you.

You can fly over it and continue, of course, but you could also travel
up (or down) the side passage that the magma seems to have bored into
the rock all around you.  After all, it's not like YOU have to worry
about being melted by such sundry things as a rock river, you know...

?

Subject: Re: [v13] Puzzle Palace Shenanigans
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:01:57 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

It so happens, Jinx, that said explosion occurrs before Ken manages to
take off for interstellar parts unknown.  As such, when you make it
plain that you fully intend to follow the cause of that blast to its
source, Ken decided to join you.

Allowing you to hop on piggy-back style once more, Ken then races up to
the building with impossible speed, only to...

(see next post)

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:23:09 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

(quick question for Masque:  do you leave your portal open enough for
Magus to follow - or does anybody check to see if he's coming along?)

You actually manage to get into your target computers rather easily,
Rebound - almost too easily.  You noticed that you received NO
resistance from the networks on THIS end, and little on the other; it
went incredibly smoothly - as though these computers do that often...

At any rate you did, in fact, come up with quite a few anomalous
readings on the G.P.S. front, quite a few of which seem to be centered
on this building.  Checking the time, you see most of 'em line up to
those amongst you that ARE wearing digital watches.

Two other ones left here and came right back shortly before yourselves -
you're guessing that could be the two of you that've gone missing; now,
if Crimebuster has no digital watch, then there's just one (which'd
obviously be Och then).

Two MORE were reported having quickly blipped to eastern Asia, and then
just returned to the City mere moments ago.  Interesting, that.

At any rate, you then tell Masque what you need to tell him, and watch
as he perpetrates his little destruction-of-private-property party all
over the computer you just used.  There was so much noise that you
hardly noticed Ari stuffing all those guns into her special bag.

Mere seconds after Masque banishes the charred, broken remnants of the
computer to the pristine, orderly realm of his primary extraplanar
benefactor, you hear screams issuing forth from a small room nearby.
Suddenly, two fellows come running out - in a panic!

"Oh god oh god!  The NSA just managed a trace back to this call center!
The failsafes have activated.  For fuck's sake run!!"  These two guys
are dressed in blue, Cobra style garb, though they lack helmets and face
masks; in fact, other than the blue uniform, they look normal.

Well, as normal as sun-deprived network technicians that regularly break
into top secret government computer networks look, anyway.

Before they get anywhere near the lot of you, the room they just came
from, one presumably holding the servers for this little operation,
explode - spectacularly!  The blast, too powerful to be contained in
such a small area, erupts into the call center proper.

Good thing everybody already left, eh?

The flying, flaming bits of steel, motherboard, and of course masonry
settle all around you, though none of you manage to take any damage from
the blast - no thanks, of course, to the fact that a) you had plenty of
cubicle-style cover, and b) you all ducked in time.

Shortly thereafter, the fire suppression systems go off, dousing the lot
of you in cold, cold water; makes you miss the tropical isle you just
left mere moments ago.  Anyway, while the smoke and the jets of water
from above obscure your vision, you can still see outside.

Looks like that blast blew a hole right through the walls of the
Chrysler building itself!  Naturally, you can hear a wicked din of
sirens and such outside, presumably from your last fight in the
building; you get the impression that this area's quite HOT.

That's when, of course, Ken flies through the hole your shenanigans
inadvertently caused, Rebound.  With Jinx riding piggyback!  "Boy, I
can't leave you guys alone for five minutes, can I?"

                                 ***

Elsewhere, you find your sudden pal to be quite incredulous,
Crimebuster.  "What do you mean, we hurt you?  We're the friggin' Army -
we don't hurt anybody without authorization!  This is a goddamn
ridiculously top secret installation you're walking around in."

"I'm sure you've got the wrong address..."

Just then, you feel the ground beneath you shudder, and hear the report
of a significant blast filtering in through the tiny window next to you
and your hostage.  Och looks around, then stomps his feet.  Twice.
"Huh... now that's odd.  We're not actually on the ground..."

!

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:35:40 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari waves to Jinx and Ken.  "Hey, people.  We'd better beat feet.  Big time 
goverment shenanigans dead ahead."

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 21:38:08 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Moebius just says "..." as you reply to her comment about your rotten
luck, but definitely cringes as the big purple robot blows up the truck
behind you.  "Damnit!  I just paid for the use of that thing!  Grr!"
Not that she can do much about it.

That's when, of course, you stop the car and start blasting at the
fellow who just trashed your spare parts' ride.  You tag him in the
torso with a gravitic force blast, actually pushing it to it's knees.
"Interesting... an earther with as much bite as his bark."

"Let's see if you can face Cyclonus and live, germ!"

The apparent Cyclonus looks like it was about to shoot you with its gun,
but then decided against it at the last second, opting to simply step on
you with his impressive bulk.  "Die, human!"  It doesn't quite pull off
a decent stomp, but does clip you with a powerful kick.

You actually suffer Monstrous (75) Blunt Attack damage from the swipe.

And feel like you broke something.  Namely all of you.

Meanwhile, Moebius goes after the other robot, the one with the
multitude of minions that you'd swiped for spare parts, and takes a shot
at the thing with her eldritch bolt of temporal energies.  The robot
moves MUCH faster than its minions, though.

"Foolish gnat - you face Scourge!  Prepare to meet your maker!"  This
one, this Scourge, then blasts Moebius dead to rights with his heat
beam, which causes her to be engulfed in flames instantly.  At the
center of the conflagration, though, you hear her chuckling.

"Izzat the best you got, you ugly thing?  Prepare to feel my wrath!"

"Mu hu HEH heh heh!"

You can't quite see what the time-lost sorceress is up to, but you get
the distinct impression that it's not going to be pleasant.  Not at
all...

What next?

Subject: Re: [v13] Tropical Isle Assault (or something)
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:12:37 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

<O.O.C. Sorry fer the late replies ppl, I was outta town for a few days and
denny posted before i... sheesh>.

Masque clasps his hands together and wanders back to the group.
"You know Magus, some of these people might be of some...."
He looks around and then under the table and shelves and then back to the
portal.
"Bugger that, he ain't here."
Walking into the portal and sticking his head the other side he eyballs
Magus standing there.

> Almost statuesque in his stance Magus remains standing perfectly
> motionless as it appears everyone files through the portal. Thus leaving
> him alone on the island.

"Yoohoo...looks like yer the rotten egg. You coming or what?"
Masque  looks at Magus expectantly.

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 22:29:37 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

> You actually suffer Monstrous (75) Blunt Attack damage from the swipe.

> And feel like you broke something.  Namely all of you.

Gunslinger crumples to the ground and tries to keep his composure.
Rolling quickly outta the way, he stands and fires his boots into overdrive.

Flying by the Time travelin' Motorcycle things he hollers at them,
"Don't just stand there starin', give me a hand huh?"

..and he opens fire, again, on his attacker.
(9 init...63 yellow aim...91 red force deal...33 green dodge)

He then flies clear of Mobieus, he's afraid, very afraid.

Subject: Re: [v13] Re: A Beginning... (Charlie Chicanery)
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 00:29:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Charlie Chicanery <charlie_chicanery@yahoo.com>

> ?

"My mother?  No, YOUR mother!  Biznitch."

i don't care if i ruined it's year, i don't have to
put up with insults like that.

i would follow, of course, but i don't trust this
place to last that long.

Anyway.

Since i'm supposed to be heading deeper into the earth
(or ergrult, or whatever this planet is called), i'll
flow with the magma.

Over it, at least.  Not with it.

Just because i can take the temperature doesn't mean i
want to be pulling solidified metal out of my
underwear later tonight.

i figure i'll see if i can find some sort of "magma
fall" or something, some sort of significant downward
path into the ... planet.  Such as it is.  Stupid
unstable planet.  Next time i charge double, and
that's a fact.  And see if i come back to this girly
place again.

If i don't find any such lucky breaks, i'll eventually
wander back after fifteen or so minutes, and resume
the original path i started on.

Or just consult the sensor i brought along or
something.

Yeah, that's it.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 09:48:38 -0400
From: scott.greengold@ey.com

>> "I'm sure you've got the wrong address..."

Crimebuster, having as bad a day as he can remember, is in no mood for
Hearing I-Can't-Tell-You-Because-It's-Policy.  He is hoping that it shows on his
face that all he wants is answers. What he REALLY wants is to know where his sword is.

"We did not come here on our own. Something you are working on here brought
us here. I woke up in that cage up there" Cb says, pointing to pre-noted bars.  "And I want to know what how I got there.  You have one more chance to start talking before my pissed off friend starts.....squeezing.  I am only going to ask once more. What are you doing here, how did we get here, where *here* is and
Where...Is...My...Friggin...Sword? "

>> "Huh... now that's odd.  We're not actually on the ground..."

"What the hell was that?" He says, to both the squeezer and the squeezee.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 15:36:23 +0000
From: "Rebound ." <v13Rebound@hotmail.com>

>Ari waves to Jinx and Ken. "Hey, people. We'd better beat feet. Big time
>goverment shenanigans dead ahead."

Rebound smiles at seeing Ken up and moving.  "Hey welcome back, buddy!  You
don't know how glad I am to see you're ok.  Ari's right, though, and the
feds are going to be crawling all over the place soon, BUT we're not going
anywhere."  Rebound pauses to take a breath and jumps back into his
rapid-fire delivery.  "Och-and-Crimebuster-have-been-taken-prisoner-(or
lunch)-by-some-fire-breathing,-teleporting-dragon.

They're-in-this-building-somewhere,-and we-gotta-find-them."  Rebound pauses
to take another breath, sizing up the general reation around him.  "If no
one has a better idea, we'll have to search floor by floor and hope we don't
have to beat up the entire FBI in the process."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 15:53:37 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"Can we go anywhere without the hold danged place blowing up."  Stone
Cold looks around trying to get a grip on this, but smirks as this is the
life that he has chosen.  'Oh well he thinks.'  "So where is the big
horny toad?"  He says aloud.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 18:10:49 -0500
From: "Albedo" <albedo1@home.com>

Jinx would nod to both Ari and Rebound, taking a look around the scene.

"Right, so we have team members who are MIA. This building should have an
internal security system? If we can get to the central hub, we might be able
to take a look around the building using the cameras rather than doing a
floor-by-floor search."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 19:52:03 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

> Shortly thereafter, the fire suppression systems go off, dousing the lot
> of you in cold, cold water; makes you miss the tropical isle you just
> left mere moments ago.  Anyway, while the smoke and the jets of water
> from above obscure your vision, you can still see outside.

Masque reappears through the portal (hopefully with Magus in tow) and looks
around and produces an umbrella from his robes. One would sware he had a
version of Ari's bag, only in Wizard robe form. Only problem is, he doesn't
really produce anything useful. Opening the umbrella he simply states,
"Interesting weather we are having here."

> Looks like that blast blew a hole right through the walls of the
> Chrysler building itself!  Naturally, you can hear a wicked din of
> sirens and such outside, presumably from your last fight in the
> building; you get the impression that this area's quite HOT.

"Well no wonder, You guy's let the weather in. Inside is not a place for
weather. That belongs outside. What kind of world do you think we would be
living in if we went around letting all kinds of strange weather in? My
pappy always said that You shouldn't answer the door for just any type of
weather. Heck, sometimes we would have to hide behind the Fat lady until the
weather would give up and go next door....."

> That's when, of course, Ken flies through the hole your shenanigans
> inadvertently caused, Rebound.  With Jinx riding piggyback!  "Boy, I
> can't leave you guys alone for five minutes, can I?"

Masque decides this would a good moment to relay the immediate events.
"You know, it's raining in here. You might need your rubbers."
And then he erupts in laughter.

"Rubbers!.hahhahahahhahahahhahahahahah"

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 20:01:30 -0500
From: "Christopher Acers" <cacers@home.com>

Masque looks at Jinx and Ken with irritation.
"Get it...Rubbers....? Don't forget your rubbers...hahhahahhhahahhhahah"
        
Seeing that they have no sense of humor, he tells them what he found when he was here earlier.
"See, we don;t need the camera's. I have an idea where they are. Likely at the top. I cased the place earlier and i couldn't get my spirit too high up in the building. It was like something was draining my magic away. Likely the Dragon though. I hate Dragons."
        
Seeing the look on thier faces as he mentions the Dragon he adds, "Yeah, we're still fighting the Dragon. The derned thing took Och and Crimebuster. But I got the talking gecko." He brandishes the Gecko.
        
"I am assuming the Dragon is roosting here, up top, since this is where it flew to after blasting us all in that hospital. He begins to look for the stairs. Turning to the group, he addresses them,'You guy's coming? The last one there......well...is left alive I guess."

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 21:25:25 EDT
From: EmarZero@aol.com

Ari just stands there, somewhat deflated looking, and is soaked.  As soon as she gets a chance, she'll change into dry clothes, pulled from her backpack.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2001 20:45:58 -0500
From: cclayjr2@juno.com

"You know I could check the building just as fast then hopefully make it
back without gettin' fried?"  Stone Cold said putting his hand into he
wall.  Glad that he could still phase.

Subject: Re: [v13] Chrysler Building Assault Redux
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 00:09:39 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

(Note:  Since Magus' player is tempo-rarily indisposed, I'm just not
dealing with events surrounding him yet; we'll work all that out as soon
as he's able to post again - that way he doesn't inadvertently get left
out of the fun by y'all blowing things up, etc...)

Ken gives you the thumbs up, Ari, and then (once he lets Jinx disembark
off his back) shakes your hand, Rebound.  "Yeah.  I still have a couple
of things to deal with, but it seems the guy who came back to earth with
me - a real bad apple - has been taken care of.  Lots."*

After he listens to you (and Masque) getting him up to date, he then
frowns.  "Well heck, let's go get 'em!  We can tear this place apart if
we have to - but we aren't letting this thing get away with eating our
friends!"  He then stops, and adds "Or just kidnapping 'em."

"Either way, you're all right... we need to beat feet.  I don't think
the cops will cause us any real problems, as long as we take care of the
problem before they find us.  And, they can't find us if we're not at
ground zero of this mess, y'know..."

Anyway, after Masque attempts his joke, and after all of you make your
suggestions, I suppose all you need to do is decide what'cha want to
do.  There's quite a few possibilities, so I'll just wait for y'all to
make up your minds, and we can go from there, eh?

* Ken is, of course, referring to the super powerful psi that got
banished by Mindwatch to the center of the universe way back when, and
tore up Ken's and Reaper's ride home; he's the guy that caused Ken to
fall back to earth in a huge ice ball, splatting 'poor' A.S.9.

Subject: Re: [v13] A Beginning... (Gunslinger)
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 00:30:29 -0500
From: Firebomb <firebomb@technohol.com>

Once you implore the two junky robots to give you a hand, they do indeed
do so.  One, the somewhat female looking rusty robot, holds up a sign
that says 'applause' on it, and the other one claps mightily with its
big metal arms, emitting a rather loud, clangy sound.

You don't like these guys already.

Before you know it, though, the loud, clapping one picks up a Buick
that's stuck in the snarl these robots' fighting has caused, and opens
the door to the vehicle, saying "GET OUT" in a deep, hollow, and
somewhat Austrian sounding accent.

When the driver leaps out, the 'bot then tucks the car under its ample
arm, cries out "Twenty Two, Forty Seven, Nine, Pizza Hut Hut HUT!" and
charges Cyclonus.  Cyclonus fires at the junky cycle-robot with his gun,
causing the Buick to instantly rust, but he gets nailed anyway.

After he comes to a halt, some fifty yards after flying through the air,
Cylonus growls in rage.  "Pah!  With the assistance of this over-powered
meat, we'll never get ahold of the temporal sequencer!  Come, Scourge,
let us return to Cybertron!"

Scourge, however, has his own problems.  Those, of course, being
centered on Moebius, who is still cackling madly within that fireball
Scourge nailed her with.  You can see her moving rapidly, but can't
quite tell what the sorceress is up to.

Before you know it, she comes running out of the conflagration, moving
at what you can only describe as ridiculous speeds.  She's a veritable
blur of motion, but you can see her using her sword - something you've
never seen thus far - to repeatedly hack at Scourge's legs.

She then yells something about "entropy" or some such (even the words
are sped up), and gives him a powerful blow.  This causes... bad, bad
things to happen to the robot.  You see bits and pieces of him popping
off all over the place, including several fingers!

That's when he decides that, even though you're 'just' humans (as far as
he can tell, all you organic types look the same to him), he probably
should call it quits.  "Gaah... defeated by fleshlings... the
ignominy...!"  Scourge then changes into his hovercraft form.

As he moves into the air, Cyclonus follows him quickly, himself changing
into this slick, forward swept wing-style aircraft.  You pelt him but
good, causing him to almost crash, but then he picks up enough speed at
the last minute to arc back into the sky.

That's when, barring any super sonic flight on your part, the duo takes
off for (apparently) outer space.  Looks like you won.

Even if you lost your transport for them there captured Sweeps.

?!
