Icons
Crisis on Earth V
Being a solo play with Abraham Cadabra, Honeybee, and Demiangel. Crisis on Crusader Citadel would require more updating than I want to do to move to the modern era, so I did this instead.
Guest heroes are from Icons Origins (Rogue Thorn is the Crimefighter; Somebody is the Shapeshifter) with a couple of changes: I gave the Crimefighter an extra level in Martial Arts so she could stunt; made the shapeshifter’s Transformation into Transformation (people).
I will put Icons versions of the V&V characters on my Google Drive and in the Facebook group; the ideas belong to Jeff Dee and Jack Herman.
A note from halfway through: Oh my god this feels like a slog. So much to set up before I get to the next fight. And from later on, it is over 10000 words, once I subtract character descriptions. Maybe a bit less without footnotes. Gah.
A note from the end: If this were a story, I’d cut half of it. It’s long: about 11000 words. But done.
You might notice weird text things because I started off with different names for all the characters except the Uncanny Justice ones, and then I said, “Come on, it’s not like I’m going to publish this!” and changed them back…except I missed some. So Shocker had the alternate name Amp and when I changed it back, words like tamper suddenly became tShockerer — I think I got all of those, but maybe not.
All of the character translations I did are in the Facebook ICONS group. I should put them on the wiki as well.
- Chapter 1: Sent to Center City
- Chapter 2: Who’s who
- Chapter 3: Citadel application
- Chapter 4: Briefing
- Chapter 5: Manning Enterprises
- Chapter 6: Where They Are
- Chapter 7: Assaulting Crusher Citadel
- Chapter 8: There’s No Place Like Home
Chapter 1: Sent to Center City
Demiangel lifted the robot. While Abe was deactivating it, Demiangel said, “How long is the Society going to be away?”
Abe shrugged. “Governments, even ones on other planets, move slowly. Probably not more than another week. —This is a non-standard design, and it’s inferior to the stuff that Mark Zero could steal. Hell, it’s inferior to the stuff he has stolen. Honeybee?”
Honeybee said, “Seems clear. Got a line on a real headquarters for us yet? I don’t really like being the house-sitter of superheroes.”
“Sure it’s clear?” said Abe doubtfully. “Their files say this guy is tricky.”
“Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, Abe,” said Honeybee.
Demiangel said, “I just… I mean, yes, this is community service for me but it’s also learning and I’m not sure you guys are really teaching me things.”
“Is this really the time?” asked Abe. “Can we talk about this after the mission? Honeybee, you’re in the building?”
“All alone except for the mysterious device on the floor with the octagon-shaped plate. Like a camp stove with a stop sign on it. I am flying beside it, not over it, because I’m not stupid. Also, this mission is a wash, so let’s at least hear him out.”
“You too?” Abe said. “Then we’re coming in.” Abe nodded to Demiangel, who dutifully shoved the door open. “No wings,” Abe told him. “I’m sure the fire control systems are still working.” Then he said, “I’m sort of sorry because the cold kind of seeps into your bones.”
“And you get to wear a coat; we're in skintight costumes,” said Honeybee. “Are you guys getting static? Because I am. Starting just now.”
The building had once been a box store: inside it was cavernous, with big blue and white tiled flooring and empty shelves everywhere. “Keep an eye on the octagonal plate,” said Abe. “We’re getting static, too.”
Abe spotted the octagonal dish with Honeybee beside it. Near the dish, the static got worse. Abe started, “Listen, do you guys—”
And then there was a flash of white.
#[1]
“Halt, miscreant!” came a contralto woman's voice.
Warmth and light were the first things Abe noticed. Suddenly they were outside. Uh-oh. Moved. Teleported? Not a good sign.
They were in a city park and it was definitely spring, not winter. Abe couldn’t spot the miscreant, but there were two costumed individuals near them, both presenting as female: one with a cape and a utility belt, one in a pink-and-white bodysuit.
“Are we really outside?” asked Demiangel in a lower voice.
“Illusion or teleport, I don’t know,” murmured Abe. “Who’s the miscreant?”
“I think I am,” said Demiangel.
As if in answer, the pink-and-white one stretched like taffy until her hand was wrapped around Demiangel.[2]
“Don’t worry, sir!” she said to Abe.
The caped one said, “There’s another one, shrunk! Watch out. I’ve got you, Crusher!” She drew a flattened stick thing, not quite a boomerang, and threw it toward Honeybee.[3] There was an audible sound as the stick collided with the shrunken Honeybee.[4]
Honeybee[5] flew behind Demiangel and switched on her external speaker. “I’m not Crusher. Wait a second. Let’s talk.”
“Somebody, press the advantage!” She pulled out another stick, this one resembling a boomerang, and tossed it up high; it curved through the air turned around.[6] It missed Honeybee but nailed Demiangel in the back.
Because they thought he was a bystander, Abe avoided casting the spell for his mystic shield. Instead, he ran toward the two costumed figures, hoping to talk to them.
The pink one flowed along her gripping arm and tried to solidify her hold on Demiangel.[7] Demiangel said, “Hey! I mean, dost thou grab one of my exalted stature?” He flexed his muscles and her grip loosened.[8]
“Oof! He’s strong!” said the pink-and-white person, presumably Somebody.
Demiangel sprouted his flaming wings and rose into the air.
“Rogue Thorn, they’re tougher than we thought.” said Somebody.
Honeybee said,[9] “Look, clearly there’s been some sort of mistaken identity,” but she also whacked the stretchy one with her venom blast.
Abe reached the caped one — Rogue Thorn — and said, “They weren’t attacking me.”
“Just a second, citizen!” The caped one somersaulted to one side to avoid being hit and pulled out a small grenade, which she tossed at Demiangel.[10] She missed easily and it plummeted to the ground; Abe was prepared for an explosion but instead the grenade started bubbling and spewing fire-retardant foam onto the grass. “Crap,” muttered Rogue Thorn. “Homemade,” she explained to Abe.
Abe said, “No, look here,” and put up his shields and started to chant.[11]
“Rogue Thorn, the shrunk one stung me with something that hurt!” The stretching one finished flowing to that spot, then tried to swat with a hand like a flyswatter.[12] It grazed Honeybee, but she rolled with it. “I really don’t feel so well.”
“Sorry. It’ll wear off in a while, but you’ll probably be unconscious by then,” said Honeybee.
Demiangel threw a spear of flame at the caped one’s feet. “I could have hit you, but I forswore. Cease and let us speak.”
“You don’t look like any of the Crushers,” she said. “All right. Somebody, stand down.”[13]
“I’d rather lie down. Whew!” She took a long-legged step and ended up beside Rogue Thorn.
Abe said, “Your name is Rogue Thorn?”
“My superhero name. You know, like ‘Justice is the thorn hurting the unworthy.’”
Demiangel came to light beside them and his wings vanished. “Cool,” said Demiangel. Both of them did a take at his change of tone.
Rogue Thorn said, “If you don’t belong to the Crushers, are you heroes? Do you want to join the Crusaders too?”
Honeybee appeared beside them. “We’re an existing group, Uncanny Justice. Fill us in.”
“First,” said Abe. “Tell us the date.”
“April second,” said Rogue Thorn.
Somebody added, “Nineteen eighty-one.”
Chapter 2: Who’s who
A coffee shop gave them a small back room. Abe, Honeybee, and Somebody had tea; Demiangel and Rogue Thorn had coffee. There was a plate of pastries and coffee cakes. “On the house,” Rogue Thorn said. “I saved the owner from a mugging last week. Just, you know, don’t go crazy.”
“I love the danishes here,” offered Somebody. “He makes them himself.”
“We never had a Center City that was a metropolis,” said Abe. “So parallel dimension rather than time travel?”
“I hope so,” said Honeybee. “Time travel is nasty. All the paradoxes.”
“Sorry,” said Somebody automatically. “You’ve traveled time?”
“World War II thing. I teamed up with my great grandmother.”
“Wow,” said Rogue Thorn. She looked at Honeybee with new respect.
Abe shook his head. “Other dimensions mostly. But there’s usually a congruence of some kind or a needy local mage.” They looked blankly at him.
Demiangel offered, “I was dead once but I got better.”
Somebody said, “Your world sounds much more interesting.” She was looking at Demiangel with adoration.
Honeybee said, “Tell us about this world. The Crusaders can get us home?”
“Sure!” Abe kept looking at her, and finally Rogue Thorn said, “If they can’t, they know somebody who can.”
Abe sighed. “All right. Where are the Crusaders?”
“Well, they’re missing. That’s why we’ve been stepping up. I convinced, uh, Somebody here that somebody had to stop the Crushers.” She frowned. “Somebody might not be the best name.”
“Sorry,” said Somebody again.
There was a knock at the doorway. The barista was there. “I have a party of six coming in and I need the room.”
“Sorry,” said Somebody a third time.
Chapter 3: Citadel application
No one at the Harmon Building paid attention to four costumed people (and Abe) coming in to the lobby. “There’s a special elevator,” Rogue Thorn told them.
Trying to get into the elevator got them a recorded message (“that’s Manta-Man speaking!” said Rogue Thorn) that said the members of the Crusaders were all occupied and they should use the red hot-line phone. The red phone in the lobby connected them to TEACHER, who asked them to leave a message.
While Rogue Thorn was leaving the message, a woman and two men came in; the men were carrying bulky camera equipment and hand-held lights. They started setting up near the special elevator, and the man with the lights came over to them. As soon as she spotted them, Honeybee shrank down and hid. “We aren’t even supposed to be here,” she reminded Abe and Demiangel over the communicators.
“I saw the costumes. Superheroes?” he said to Demiangel.
Demiangel looked over at Abe, subtly shaking his head. “The women are. I’m visiting.”
“You’re wearing a costume.”
“This old thing? Hardly a costume,” said Demiangel.
“Suit yourself,” the man said. He turned to Somebody. “Do you mind waiting to talk to Miss Anderson? Maybe on camera.”
“No, I’m an…a superhero. Trying to be.”
“Great! We’ll talk to you after we’re done.”
Jessica Anderson checked her appearance in a mirror while the man told her about Rogue Thorn and Somebody. She nodded, handed him the mirror, and said, “Check the lights.”
Then she was poised and concerned. “I’m here in the lobby of the Harmon Building, Ed, and all is unnaturally peaceful.” She said little in the piece that Uncanny Justice hadn’t heard from Rogue Thorn and Somebody. She finished up. “Where are you, Crusaders? The city needs you. Jessica Anderson, WCTV, at the Crusader Citadel.”
“And…cut.”
“Did we get it?” she asked.
“Perfect,” said the cameraman, and as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Anderson was headed over to Demiangel. “Not him,” said the lighting man. “The women.”
“Pity,” said Anderson. “Her first; pink will play better. Concentrate on them. Later, we’ll do bumpers with me and reaction shots.” The lights shone in Sombody's eyes, and she blinked. Jessica said, “What’s your name?”
“You can call me Somebody. My name isn’t important.”
Honeybee muttered, “Not if they’ve got a hero named ‘Manta-Man.’”
“I see. And you are looking to join the Crusaders?”
“We both are. Rogue Thorn and me.”
“What can you do?”
In answer[14] Somebody’s face changed: her chin line altered and her nose became more pert. She pulled up her mask and she was a copy of Jessica Anderson. “Will that look good?” she said, her voice mimicking Anderson’s.
Taken aback, Anderson said, “Uh…yes.” She moved her head to beside Somebody and said, “Have you got us both in frame? No camera trickery here, people. She really does look like me.” Somebody pulled her mask down and her face relaxed into its regular appearance. “And why are you here?”
“We’re both here to offer our help to the Crusaders. Rogue Thorn can say it better.”
Off-camera, Anderson was grinning; a new superhero was a major scoop. She directed the cameraman to point at Rogue Thorn. “Name?”
“Rogue Thorn. As in ‘Justice is the thorn hurting the unworthy.’” She grinned.
“And what do you do, Rogue Thorn?”
“Whatever I can, Ms. Anderson. The Crusaders have the most experience taking on the Crushers so we’d rather help them. If they’re not available, the Crushers still have to be stopped.”
“Newtronics and Bennett IC have already been subject to thefts. Do you have any idea what the Crushers are up to?”
“I couldn’t share them on air,” said Rogue Thorn. “I have to talk with the Crusaders, of course, or the police.”
“That would be Detective Victor Broyko, head of the Crusher task force.” Rogue Thorn nodded. Though Anderson tried to get more out of her, Rogue Thorn gave nothing else. Eventually, Anderson thanked her.
“It’s a shame the big guy isn’t a hero. Think of how he’d look on TV!” she said to her cameraman.
Demiangel overheard and blushed.
“We’re just visiting,” Abe said. “Heh. Okay, maybe that’s a reason to indulge. But! No interview.”
“How do we all get to Detective Broyko?” asked Honeybee. “Demiangel and I can fly but what about the rest of you?” Abe waited until they were outside, and then he asked Rogue Thorn and Somebody.
“Maybe a taxi?” said Rogue Thorn. “I have money, and there’s a payphone over there.”
Abe sighed.[15] He led them around the building into an alley and spelled up a car.
“Wow. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Somebody.
“I presume that’s the Abe-mobile?” asked Honeybee.
Abe blushed. “My mother’s 1995 Toyota Corolla. It’s the car I learned to drive in.” To the two local heroes, he said, “Our time is about forty years in your future.”
“Toyotas don’t look like that here.”
“I don’t know any cars from nineteen-eighty-one.”
Rogue Thorn got in the front passenger seat. “We are going to attract some attention. Fortunately it’s not far.”
“Good. My mother habitually kept the car at a quarter tank and I think that’s what I created it at.”
“Why don’t you ever do this for us?” asked Honeybee privately.
“First: it’s a 1995 Toyota Corolla. Second, you can both fly,” Abe muttered. “And third, if I go unconscious, I don’t want the car to disappear at speed.”
Chapter 4: Briefing
Broyko met them in the hallway of the precinct office. “Thanks for volunteering. I don’t realize how much we rely on the Crusaders until they aren’t there. Two other members of the task force will meet with us.”
“Just two?” asked Rogue Thorn.
“We all have other jobs, too. In here.” Broyko held the door for the ladies, then went in. Demiangel followed and Abe entered last.
“This is Detective Carmen and Detective Murphy.” The two men in the room lifted their hands in greeting. “And you are?”
“Rogue Thorn.”
“Somebody. Stretching.”
“You don’t want to give us a name?”
“No, that’s the name. Somebody.”
“All right,” said Broyko doubtfully. “And you?” he said to Honeybee.
She looked over at Abe and Demiangel. “We three are visitors, but we need the Crusaders to get back home, so we’ll help.” She shrank down, then back up. “Honeybee. Shrinking. Venom blast.”
Abe let Demiangel go next. “Demiangel. I do a fake angel thing when fighting but I guess I don’t need to here. I’m strong and I fly.”
“Good,’ said Broyko.
“We need somebody who can take on Bull,” said Carmen.
“Just call me Abe,’ said Abe. “I do a bit of magic. Support.”
Carmen and Murphy looked dubious, and Broyko said to them, “We need everyone.”
“Who’s in the, uh, the Crushers? Who are we likely to face?” asked Abe.
“You don’t know about the Crushers?”
“When I said we’re visitors, I meant another dimension,” said Honeybee. “We probably have the same broad strokes of history — the United States of America, for instance, and World War Two — but we’re ignorant of details like who the individual Crushers are.”
Broyko blew through his moustache. “That makes a bit more to explain.” He reached for a map tube, pulled out the contents and unrolled them on the table. “The Crusaders are gone. They went through the procedures so we’re not talking abducted. While they’ve been gone, the Crushers have hit some high tech places, Newtronics and Bennett. The only other place left that has the kind of parts they’ve been stealing is Manning Enterprises.”
“On the edge of town?” asked Rogue Thorn.
“The same. We reached out to their head of operations, a Mister J. B. Curtis, who kindly gave us floor plans. If the Crushers keep their current schedule, they’re going to hit Manning tonight. Our plan is to ambush the Crushers when they come. Curtis has agreed to let us put our staff inside. Some of the Crushers are mercs—mercenaries—and super besides, so my SWAT teams would probably die. I’d rather put in people who have a chance.”
Abe took out his camera and photographed the first floor plan. “Camera,” he explained to the detectives. “Honeybee, Demiangel, you should take pictures too.”
“You can just text them to us,” said Demiangel.
“Can’t,” Honeybee said. “No phone infrastructure here. Our phones don’t work as phones.”
Abashed, Demiangel took out his phone and took a photo.
“We expect these five Crushers: F.I.S.T, which is a merc in a suit of powered armor he stole; the Mercury Mercenary, who’s a superfast soldier of fortune; Vulture, who’s a kind of bird guy, wings and talons—he just escaped from prison; Bull, who’s a big guy, and a merc. Kinda slow, though.”
“Gets mad at the color red,” said Rogue Thorn. “I read he destroys anything red bigger than a breadbox.”
“Bring spray paint,” suggested Demiangel. “Be a shame if someone were to paint Mercury Mercenary red. Keep them both busy.”
“I like that,” said Rogue Thorn.
“We can do that,” said Broyko. “Anyway, the Shrew is a ferocious female boxer.”
“Kind of a sexist name,” said Honeybee.
“Oh, God. Are you a Women’s Libber?” asked Murphy. The looks on Carmen and Murphy’s faces suggested their ears were about to turn off.
“We all are,” said Abe. “Things are different where we’re from.” Rogue Thorn looked at Somebody and grinned.
Broyko looked confused, and visibly decided to accept it. He unrolled the second map and described the contents of the building. “We don’t know what they’re after, but our guesses are the warehouse, here” — he tapped a big room that took up half of the floor plan — “or, if it’s experimental, up on the second floor, in the electrical engineering lab.
“The computer components are here, on the first floor, and here, on the second.”
“Can they see in the dark?” asked Honeybee.
“F.I.S.T. has night vision built into the armor. I don’t think the others can. Why?”
“So they won’t cut the power.”
Rogue Thorn said, “Maybe they will. There’s emergency lighting. If I were them, I’d cut the power lines and the communications before going in. Keeps the security guards from calling the police. Sure, you can beat up the police, but why bother when you don’t have to?”
Abe and Demiangel nodded. Rogue Thorn smiled.
Somebody added, “Sure. And the Crushers clearly have some kind of plan in mind; there’s no street value for the components they’ve stolen. They’re planning something.”
Demiangel said, “Are we sure that these are the Crushers who will show up?”
“No,” admitted Broyko. “This is the group that did the last two jobs, so we figure it will be them, but there are another eight or nine Crushers.” Broyko blew through his moustache again. “On the other hand, they know we know they have to hit Manning Enterprises. So they might be prepared for an ambush.”
“There are about fifteen,” said Somebody. “I wrote a little song to help me remember.” She sang in a reedy contralto:
“Mocker leads in mocking
while the Shrew she does the socking
and the Shocker handles shocking with his lightning bold.
Hornet’s got the sonics
while the Mar’onette’s psionics,
with the Stormlord lording weather whether hot or cold.“The Mace strikes hard for loot,
and F.I.S.T. has got an armored suit,
and Bull destroys whatever if whatever he see’s is red.
Vulture’s birdie talons,
Temper takes your mental balance,
and the Merc’ry Merc is speedy and he wants you dead.
Hopscotch jumps the places
while Efreeti burns your faces
and Bloodloss causes fainting but we don’t know how.”
There was silence after she was done. “I know it’s not very good.”
“It’s great,” said Abe. “Is Bloodloss a vampire?”
“We don’t know,” said Broyko. “He’s new.”
“How tough are the walls? Of Manning Enterprises?” asked Demiangel.
Broyko said, “Tough. The lab contains some dangerous experiments sometimes. Bull can punch through them, but it will probably take four or five punches. Why?”
“You're right, Demiangel,” said Abe. “The stairwells are chokepoints. From the lab, there, Bull punches a hole in the outside wall and jumps down with the components. From your description, they don’t care about property damage. He’s not fast enough at punching through the wall that they do it by default, but it’s a backup plan.”
Abe suggested, “If they don’t meet superpowered opposition, they split up: two take the ground floor and three take the second floor. They get it done faster.”
“But if there’s opposition, which there will be” said Rogue Thorn, and Somebody held up her hand too, “they gang up on us, try to knock us out.”
“What I think they’ll do,” said Abe, “and it’s only a guess, is they’ll park back here” — he pointed to the north side of the building. Vulture stays outside to attack any police coming in. The others go as a group to the warehouse, get any stuff there. If there’s opposition, they fight; if not, they split up, one group heads upstairs. Warehouse group probably includes F.I.S.T, because flight’s an advantage in there.”
Honeybee said, “Do they need all the parts? Or is it just nice to have all the parts?”
Broyko shrugged. “No idea. Dr. Patrovich could tell you; he’s on his way to fix TEACHER but he won’t be here until early tomorrow morning. He has to take a red-eye to get here.”
“Never mind,” Honeybee corrected herself. “They’re committing the crime. We assume they need the parts.”
Demiangel said, “Abe and I can dress as security guards.”
“But your costume!” said Rogue Thorn.
“This old thing? I just threw it on.” Demiangel grinned. “I have power-resistant underclothes. I don’t need to wear a robe.”
“I could be a guard, too,” Somebody said.
“Good idea,” said Abe. He glanced at the detectives. “Apparently they’ll suspect something if they see a female guard. Do you impersonate men, too?”
Suddenly a second Broyko was sitting there, in Somebody’s costume.
“If we’re wrong…can we block open the door between the warehouse and the rest of the building? Because Honeybee will be in there, but she’s the fastest of us…if she can get through doorways.”
“We can do that. How big should it be?”
“Ajar: Just six inches,” said Honeybee.
Broyko nodded, then blew through his moustache. “Rogue Thorn, you and Somebody gave interviews to Jessica Anderson earlier today.”
“Yes. So?”
“New superheroes in town is a big story. She was going to lead with it tonight. At least some of the Crushers watch the news.”
“Ooop,” said Rogue Thorn.
“Sorry,” said Somebody.
“We’ve made a deal. She won’t report on you yet, but she and Mr. Curtis will be with one of our SWAT teams, so she can report live.”
“What are the odds they’ll get in the way?”
“Reporters?” said Demiangel. “High.”
“We’ll have to make do. We three have radios to talk to each other. I’ll give you the frequency.” He wasn’t going to give them the frequency of the private channel.
“You guys got any other tricks up your sleeve?” asked Broyko.
“Maybe.”
“They’re kinda experienced,” muttered Somebody to Rogue Thorn. “Makes me feel like a newbie.”
“We are newbies,” murmured Rogue Thorn back. “This is the big league.”
Chapter 5: Manning Enterprises
“Bored,” said Demiangel. “Bored, bored, bored.”
“Being a security guard is no fun,” said Abe. “It’s been almost an hour since your last round; grab the time clock and take a look around.” He ignored the flashing red light that indicated that the door to the warehouse was open.
“May I?” asked Somebody, currently disguised as one of the regular security guards.
Demiangel said, “Of course. Take a walkie-talkie.”
Then the lights cut and then the emergency lights came up. “Ah,” said Abe. “It’s showtime.” Over the communicator, he said, “Ready?”[16]
“Warehouse secure,” said Honeybee.
“Electrical Engineering lab secure,” said Rogue Thorn.
“Somebody, do the rounds.” He picked up the phone, a big ivory plastic thing. There was no dial tone. “Okay, phone and electricity cut.”
“But we know—” started Somebody.
“But we have to act as if we don’t know. Go out, act like it’s a power failure. Don’t forget to use your flashlight.”
Somebody nodded and headed out of the security office. She was about to head up the stairs when the door on the back wall blew in.
Into the walkie-talkie Somebody said, “Back door.” The sound of her own voice startled her and then she remembered that she was in a man’s form.
Abe presumed she was calling them. “Remember to press the button,” he said. “What blew up?”
Somebody felt the blush, and she pressed the button as she said, “Back door, and not the warehouse.” She backed away from the door and remembered that she was carrying a gun. She pulled it up and pointed it in front of her. “Halt and identify yourself,” she said loudly.
A man in powered armor was there. “We will control the vertical. We will control the horizontal.”
“Oh, god,” said another man. He appeared suddenly, and he was holding a pistol pointed directly Somebody. “Nobody remembers that show,” he said. “We’re here to get some stuff. Interfere and you die; let us go, and you might live.”
Somebody’s walkie-talkie spoke up. “Do not engage,” Abe said. “Do not engage!”
“You heard the man,” said a young woman as she strolled in. “Do not engage.” She was wearing a sweater and skirt, but the boots were heavy and for stomping.
A huge man, one whose head brushed the ceiling, followed her. “Can Brute have Scooby Snacks?”
“Carry the items and you get Scooby Snacks,” the powered armor man assured him.
Somebody managed to press the button and said, “F.I.S.T, Mercury Mercenary, Shrew, and Bull.”
“How nice,” said Mercury Mercenary. “You recognize us.[17] But you have shown too much presence of mind. You can die now.” He squeezed off three shots[18] that hit Somebody in the chest.
“Do not engage!” Abe’s voice came from the walkie-talkie.
Somebody lay on the corridor floor with “his” eyes staring at the ceiling. She was unharmed because of her rubbery body, but they didn’t know that.
“You didn’t have to kill him,” said F.I.S.T.
“I didn’t have to not kill him,” said the Mercury Mercenary. “Look, he identified us and he had the presence of mind to hold the walkie-talkie button. Could have been trouble. Let’s go.”
They marched past Somebody’ body. F.I.S.T said, “Bull, you and I will go upstairs. Merc, you and Shrew take the computer room. Better clear out the security office first.”
“Done,” said Mercury Mercenary, and disappeared.
Shrew swore and said, “I’ll be stuck with carrying again, won’t I?” She jogged down the hallway.
In the security monitor office, Abe said, “Crap! Gig’s up.” The mystic shield appeared around him and he ducked behind the chair while chanting another spell.
The Mercury Mercenary was standing in the doorway. “I don’t think I know you,” he said to Abe. He squeezed off three shots to Demiangel, who obediently fell down with a soft sigh. Abe hoped the deflected bullets weren’t anyplace obvious. [19] “Now that it’s just you and me, you tell me who you are.”
“Tell me your name and I’ll tell you mine.”
Merc shrugged. “I don’t need to know it that badly.” He fired three shots at Abe.[20]
The bullets did nothing;[21] they dropped to the ground without bouncing: just fell.
Demiangel surged up and grabbed Merc’s foot,[22] yanking him to the ground and placing a hand over his throat. “Oh, I don’t think so.” He squeezed once.
Out in the corridor, once everyone had passed by Somebody, she resumed her normal appearance. Abe and Demiangel can handle them on the ground floor. Bull is the biggest threat. She tiptoed upstairs.
Shrew got to the computer room door, and stepped inside. Maybe someone worth fighting. Who’m I kidding? A computer dweeb. Hardly worth fighting.
The operator chair was empty.[23] Hmm. Computer guy must be in the bathroom. Well, I have things to do. She pulled out the paper with the diagram on it. She took a moment to orient herself. Rather Fisty showed me instead of me guessing; Mocker’ not nice to people who make mistakes. Unless you’re one of his pets. Ah. That’s the one I need.
She bent to work.
Upstairs, Bull slammed open the door to the Electrical Engineering lab. “Which one?” he demanded of F.I.S.T.
“Plugged into the test equipment over there,” said F.I.S.T. Bull stood there. F.I.S.T. sighed. “That one. Wait; I’m getting a weird radar signature.”
“No waiting,” said Bull. “Want Scooby snack!”
Rogue Thorn bounced out. “Snack on this!” She[24] remembered Bull’s weakness and leapt over a lab table to F.I.S.T. who chuckled “You didn’t even hit me.”
F.I.S.T. fired at her[25] and the blast caught her, though she tried her best to twist out of the way. The blast sent her spinning into the wall, below shelves of equipment.
Ow, she thought. Move, move, move!
Another squeeze from Demiangel and Mercury Mercenary went limp. Abe said, “Good work” to Demiangel while removing guns and clips of ammunition.
”I’ll meet you in the computer room,” Demiangel said.
Abe put the last clip in his pocket. He said to the unconscious Mercury Mercenary, “Tch. You just like guns,” and left.
In the lab upstairs, Honeybee arrived. She saw that F.I.S.T. had Rogue Thorn’ red cape on. The proper thing to do is get Bull to face F.I.S.T. She moved so F.I.S.T. was between her and Bull, and she fired.[26] Bull spun to see the source of the attack.
He didn’t see Honeybee; he spotted F.I.S.T, with Rogue Thorn’s red cape hanging on him. He roared and attacked F.I.S.T., who hadn’t noticed the cape yet, and slammed him into a wall.[27]
“Wait, what?” asked F.I.S.T. “You’re crazy. I’m leaving because you’ve gone nuts.”
He backed up to the door, but it was blocked by Somebody. “Don’t leave yet,” she told him. “We haven’t been introduced.” She thought, I hope that was up to Thorn’s standards for quippy lines.
In the computer room, Shrew was disassembling a casing by punching it when Demiangel came in. “Be with you in a second,” she told him. “You won’t feel a thing. Hey…your back is smoking.”
“Probably from these,” Demiangel said, and extended his wings. He stopped them before the fire suppression system turned on.
Shrew’s face it up. “A real fight! Let Merc carry stuff; you and me are gonna dance.”
“Sure,” Demiangel said. “Come out in the hall and get me.”
“I’m not so dumb I’ll fall for that,” Shrew said.[28] She twitched as she stood there. What if someone else fights him? He should be mine. Ah, hell, the others can get everyone else. She bobbed and weaved out to the hallway, making sure that her aiming ability was as high as she could make it.[29]
His punch came awfully close, and she grinned. He is definitely worth my time. And cute, too. I’ll try to avoid his face, then.
Over the communicator, Abe said, “I can see Demiangel engaged with Shrew; how are things with Bull and F.I.S.T?”
Honeybee replied, “Bull’s beating F.I.S.T. up, Somebody’s keeping everyone inside, so I hope this is the only room with the property damage. We could use Demiangel here once F.I.S.T. is down.”
“Kinda busy,” Demiangel muttered. “Okay,” he said to Shrew. “So you’re fast.”
Abe started another spell — Titania’s Spiderweb.[30]
“So are you, cutie,” Shrew said. “After I beat you, you wanna give me your number? We could spar.” She[31] tagged him with a jab.
Upstairs, Honeybee looked at the two of them and decided to shake up F.I.S.T. a bit more.[32] She maneuvered again to get F.I.S.T. between her and Bull and fired again; F.I.S.T. suddenly whirled. “Who did that?”[33]
Demiangel said, “Actually, why am I punching you, when I can back up and hit you from a distance?” He backpedalled and threw a spear of fire at her.[34] He missed and hit the wall. The fire alarm started ringing.
Shrew laughed. “That’s why.”
Abe thought, So much for minimizing property damage. He cast the spell[35] and a set of spiderwebs settled on Shrew. He said over the communicator, “No flames, please. These are flammable.”
“Hey, sweetie, this isn’t fair!” said Shrew to Demiangel.
“I know,” Demiangel said. “Neither is this,” and he punched her.[36]
“Is that the best you can do?” she said, and swung at him.[37] It was a solid hit, but Demiangel shrugged it off.
Abe sighed and cast the spell again, layering her in more webbing.[38] Demiangel lightly tapped the base of her skull and she was unconscious.
Upstairs, Rogue Thorn realized that the cape would fall off sooner or later, so she brought out the spray can of paint[39] and managed to spray F.I.S.T’s chest as she passed by.
Bull punched again, hitting the armored man with his full force.[40]
F.I.S.T. fired at one exterior wall. “I need to get outside!“ he cried out. ’Must surge my armor!”[41]
Honeybee decided to try venom,[42] but that had no obvious effect.
Rogue Thorn decided to try and keep F.I.S.T. from leaving; she looped her swinging rope over one of his feet.[43] I wish I was wearing my fireproofed cape! Those boot jets have a range!
Somebody decided that she could try and cover F.I.S.T’s eyes (well, visor).[44] She stretched one hand out and clapped it over his eyes.
“Hate red!” Bull screamed as he hit F.I.S.T. again.[45] Thorn heard something inside the armor break as the armored figure flew back into Somebody and the wall, jerking Thorn off her feet.
“I need! To get! Outside!” said F.I.S.T. He flew toward the hole he had made, willing to enlarge it with his body. He moved out, spraying parts of the wall outside and dragging Thorn with him, still at the end of her swing line.
Rogue Thorn moved quickly to avoid hitting wall or trees while F.I.S.T. was gaining altitude. She reached into her utility belt and pulled out a magnetic homing beacon.[46]
“I’ll get her,” radioed Honeybee and she went out the hole. “SWAT teams: stay put. Part of the fight is moving outdoors and we don’t want you hurt.”[47]
“I’m here, but on the other side of Somebody,” said Demiangel. Somebody flowed to one side and let Demiangel in.
“Red defeated! Bull wins!” said Bull, and looked around. “Now…all of you!” He moved up to Demiangel and threw another punch.[48]
Demiangel easily sidestepped it. He said, “Why don’t we calm down?”
“No! Fight!” said Bull.
Demiangel shrugged and[49] hit Bull with his full strength.
Somebody had already stretched to block the hole in the wall.
Outside, Rogue Thorn was trying to shimmy up the rope. F.I.S.T. had noticed her; he was flying low to try and catch her in the tops of trees when suddenly she was cut free. A dark shape eclipsed the moon; she recognized Vulture and she was falling.
Suddenly Honeybee was half-size and pulling up on the rope. “I’ve got you! Hold on!”
“Thanks,” said Rogue Thorn.
“Vulture and F.I.S.T. flew in different directions, so we’ve lost them,” said Honeybee.
“Well…I wouldn’t say that. Got a tracker on F.I.S.T.”
“Good job!” said Honeybee.
Rogue Thorn beamed.
“That’s good! Felt that!” said Bull. “Now I hit you!” Bull took a mighty swing [50] and Demiangel sidestepped it and dealt an overhead blow that knocked Bull down. [51]
Abe thought, I guess I’m not going to try to make Bull calmer with this going on. Bull was too powerful for anything physical he knew. He couldn’t remove Bull’s invulnerability without also removing Demiangel’s. He settled for a light spell. At least he could make it easier to see in here, and maybe blind Bull in the process.
Bull crawled to his feet and said, “Why you not fall down?” He swung again[52] more wildly and missed.
Abe completed his spell and the room lit as bright as daylight. Demiangel hit again,[53] solidly, and Bull collapsed. Demiangel shook his hand and said to Somebody, “You did that, not me.”
“I saw you!“
Demiangel shrugged. “We’re leaving this dimension sooner or later. You could have done it by swelling yourself up all muscular. You could have done it, so we’re going to say you did do it.”
Abe said, “I agree with this plan.” To the communicator, he said, “Honeybee? How are you guys doing?”
“Thanks. It seems wrong taking credit.”
“You’re not taking it, I’m giving it.”
Honeybee’s voice came over the communicator. “They flew off. I’m coming back.”
On the asphalt of the rear parking lot, Jessica Anderson was already showing the hole in the wall. “—damage caused by F.I.S.T, who got away, but the other three were apprehended by the new heroes in Center City.”
“Go ahead,” said Abe. “Thorn will be here in a moment. Honeybee’s putting her down out of sight.”
Somebody stepped up to Jessica Anderson. “I heard you wanted to talk to us.”
“How did tonight go?”
“We did okay for a first time. Sorry we didn’t get F.I.S.T. but we will.”
Rogue Thorn jogged up, fastening her cape. (Honeybee had found it on the ground.) “Sorry, Ms. Anderson, work to do.”
Anderson asked, “I thought you wanted to talk to the press.”
“Not while we have Crushers to catch.” Rogue Thorn guided Somebody back into the building and sprinted up to the top floor.
Behind her, a man was wailing about the wall. “They call this no property damage?”
“We haven’t got a lot of time,” Rogue Thorn said. “Honeybee, you here?”
Honeybee appeared beside them. “I am.”
“I got a tracker on F.I.S.T. but I don’t know how long before he notices it. If you’re the fastest, can you find out where he is?” She showed Honeybee how to work the tracking device.
Honeybee took the tracker, and took off.
Broyko took them all away. Back at the police station, Broyko offered them cots. “You can sleep, but we gotta find the Crushers.”
“Working on it!” said Rogue Thorn.
Chapter 6: Where They Are
It was nearly dawn[54] when Broyko escorted in Honeybee. She said to Rogue Thorn, “Have you actually used that tracker much yet?”
“No,” admitted Rogue Thorn. “I got the plans from Popular Electronics.”
“It is such a pain to triangulate— I have a couple of ideas on improving it.”
Abe cleared his throat. “Not to interrupt too much, but the location of F.I.S.T.?”
“We should have realized it,” said Honeybee.
Broyko said, “You’re torturing me.”
She nodded. “Okay, I’ll give.” She handed the tracker back to Rogue Thorn. “Crusader Citadel.”
Somebody’s and Rogue Thorn’s shoulders sagged. “They have it, then. They’ve defeated the Crusaders.”
“It’s that bad?” asked Demiangel.
Somebody nodded.
Abe said, “No, the Crushers are not acting like people who have already won.”
Rogue Thorn looked at him.
Abe insisted, “The kind of people you told me about, when they really finally win, they’re going to shout it from the rooftops. So they want something else. The thefts are part of that. What do they want?”
“To finish the job,” said a masked man in the doorway. He was dripping wet.
“Manta-Man!” exclaimed Rogue Thorn. She offered her seat to the newcomer.
He smiled. “Normally I’d let the lady sit, but it’s been a bit of a rough week.”
“Where have you been?” asked Rogue Thorn. “You’re wet!”
“Unrelated. Thunderstorm outside,” he explained. “I’ve been unconscious for most of the last week. Shocker and Bull ambushed me. The storm caused the base to shift to emergency power for a moment. When I woke up, I was in our own infirmary in one of the coma tubes we use for critical injuries. I had enough awareness to slip my oxygenator on, and that let me breathe clean air instead of the hibernation gas we use. I was able to use the storm to get out without being detected.”
“I knew you’d get free,” said Rogue Thorn.
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Abe said. “I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
Honeybee said, “They put you in the tube with your oxygenator on you?”
“Not intentionally. They removed my standard one and found an extra.” He shook his head. “What I don’t talk about is that I am somewhat paranoid about suffocating, and I carry three. One is obvious and the other two are not. They missed the third one.” He looked around. “I know the detectives but I don’t know most of you.”
“Rogue Thorn. Big, big fan. And this young woman goes by the name of Somebody.”
“I might change it,” she mumbled.
“These three are just visiting from another dimension”—she tried to make it sound casual and didn’t quite succeed—“and go by Abe, Honeybee, and Demiangel.”
Manta-Man shook their hands. “Now,” said Manta-Man, “I need to eat, and I need to identify myself definitively. I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone is dubious of my identity or the way I escaped.”
“They don’t know you like we do,” said Somebody.
“Still, we need their help to defeat the Crushers, so I have to prove myself.” He looked at the three of them for a long moment. “You’re the ones I have to prove it to. Suggestions?”
“I’ll go along,” mumbled Demiangel.[55]
Honeybee said, “Abe?”
“The spell I know only reveals if he believes what he’s saying. If Marionette convinced him that the sky is red, for instance, the spell would tell us he’s telling the truth.”
Honeybee said, “You were able to detect her mental blocks on the other Crushers we brought in. So you cast two spells: look for mental tampering, and if there is none, check for ‘truth.’”
“Still not definitive,” Abe pointed out.
“It’s what we’ve got. You can have velocity or location, Heisenberg says, but not both.”
Manta-Man grinned. “A scientist?”
“Physicist originally. Abe?”
Abe said, “I have to figure out how to do this. Have your meal.”
Manta-Man spoke quietly to one of the detectives, who left the room. Abe was aware that everyone was looking at him.[56]
Abe said, “I’ve got it. Stay seated, but face me.” He dragged a chair over, and said, “Look into my eyes while I chant the incantation.” He held Manta-Man’s hands in his, and chanted the spell. “Great,” said Abe. “No tampering that I can find. And one more spell. Once I finish the spell, state who you are. Just Manta-Man is fine; the spell doesn’t have the nuance to deal with secret identities.” Abe chanted again.
The man said, “I am the superhero known as Manta-Man.”
Everyone looked at Abe. “He truly believes he’s Manta-Man.” Abe stood up and dragged the chair back. “So what now?”
“Beside the fact that your supervillains are lame,” said Demiangel.
“Inexperienced. They’ll get worse,” said Honeybee. “To misquote Newton, ‘If I have been worse than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.’”
“And we’re facing some of those giants,” said Manta-Man.
Detective Murphy came in with a bowl of soup. “One of the uniforms donated his Thermos of chicken noodle soup.”
“Perfect. I haven’t eaten in a week, so I shouldn’t abuse my stomach.”
Abe said, “Any idea what the Crushers want?”
“Control of TEACHER. It’s connected to a number of important computers and databases. Dr. Patrovich—the designer of TEACHER—could tell you more. They haven’t got control yet or I wouldn’t have been able to escape.”
An older man walked in with Broyko, and made a glad sound when he saw Manta-Man. He hung his wet coat and umbrella and air-kissed Manta-Man’s cheeks. “Manta-Man! They said you had just appeared.”
“Dr. Patrovich! Word gets around. I just escaped, actually.”
“So tell me now. They insisted I drive because the storm has closed the airport, and instead of going to my hotel, the police bring me here. Why? How can I fix TEACHER from here?”
They quickly brought Dr. Patrovich up to speed. Broyko gave him a list of the stolen computer parts. Patrovich read it, chewing his moustache, and then swore in Polish. “They are building a quantum difference engine.”
“A quantum computer?” asked Honeybee.
“I use the older word because this is customized to TEACHER’s security system. The key is that it factors extremely large numbers in parallel. The key is calculated as the product of two primes; that’s our trap-door function.”
“Ah. We did that on our earth. That's secure if your devices are slow,” said Honeybee.
“Who is this woman?” demanded Dr. Patrovich of the room.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that,” said Honeybee quickly. “I’m Honeybee. You’ve done marvelous things with that antiquated hardware.”
“Antiquated? TEACHER is of my own design,” huffed Dr. Patrovich.
“You’re not winning friends here, Honeybee,” said Abe. He was working hard not to grin. “We’re effectively from forty years in the future,” said Abe, hoping to mollify the man.
“I’m very impressed,” Honeybee assured him. “I mean, I wouldn’t mine bitcoin with it, but…” She shrugged. “Let’s hope you escape that particular fad. Given your transistor density, it’s brilliant.”
“How would you do it?” asked Dr. Patrovich.
Abe said, “We have an urgent situation, here, and I would like to get back to it.” Manta-Man nodded. “Dr. Patrovich, can you give us a time frame?” Abe said. “Then Honeybee can give you tons of ideas. But don’t get too impressed, Doctor, she’s a physicist. Her math is tainted.”
Honeybee stuck her tongue at him.
“With this equipment? Once they have built the quantum difference engine, a week at most. If they had some parts I designed for Manning, then it would be days or hours,”
“They tried to get them,” said Rogue Thorn.
“We stopped them,” Somebody said. “Er, all of us. Not just us two.”
“You’re going to have to break into the Citadel,” said Manta-Man. “That’s the only way I can see.”
“The floor just under the Citadel is residential, right?” said Honeybee.
“That’s right.” said Manta-Man.
“The map says there’s a storeroom there. Who has the home right under that?”
“No one. It’s very difficult to rent rooms right under a superhero headquarters. You’re thinking that it would be an ideal place to break in?”
“Sort of,” said Honeybee. “Abe, can you carry us in?”
“I’d rather not.”
“You do this kind of thing at home.”
“At home I have deals negotiated with the people and powers involved. Here I don’t know them.” He turned to the others. “Every dimension is a cluster of…call them realms. A dimension has its own heaven, its own faerie, and so on. (There are exceptions; they don’t apply here.) The raw power I’d need to teleport all of us in would attract attention from the denizens of those realms. We don’t want that.”
Honeybee was clearly dissatisfied by this answer. Manta-Man said, “I’ve seen some of this with Evergreen. Is it possible you could use her rescue as a reason?”
Abe held his palms up. “I can ask. Tell me everything you know about Evergreen’s allegiances.”
It didn’t take long to tell, even while eating soup. Then Abe found an overgrown closet for privacy. [57] “Uh, don’t come in unless I call you. Time is often different for them, and wouldn’t want you caught in a temporal skew. Also, if I do ask you to come in, I might ask you to do something unusual, like come in with your jacket on inside out. If so, just do it.”
Rogue Thorn looked at Honeybee and Demiangel. “Magic,” said Honeybee.
“You learn to go with it,” said Demiangel.
Rogue Thorn stayed outside the door, listening. “Sounds like two men…no, two men and a woman. Glasses clinking.”
Somebody said, “There were no glasses in there.”
Demiangel nodded. “Told you. Magic.”
Half an hour later, Abe came out. “What time is it?”
Honeybee gave him the time.“Same day, just half an hour later.”
Abe re-set his watch. “Good. I was in there almost a week.” He saw a cup of coffee. “Negotiating takes time.” He said to Honeybee, “The local Shaylah says hello.”
For some reason, Honeybee blushed.
“And…?” asked Rogue Thorn.
“It’s dinner time for me. Is there any of that soup left?”
In the end, they decided to order in.
#
“Faerie,” said Abe over spring rolls. “They’ve never heard of our dimension, but they’re familiar with the concepts. Fortunately they have a counterpart to Oberon.”
“The Oberon from Shakespeare?” asked Somebody.
“The inspiration, rather. Our version is my father-in-law. Ex father-in-law.”
Demiangel said, “Oberon was your father-in-law?”
Abe said, “Did I not just say that? We have their permission, but we have to do it at dawn” — he looked at Rogue Thorn.
“Four hours from now.”
Abe nodded. “Four hours from now, and we have to free Evergreen.”
“We will,” said Manta-Man. “Now you need to know what the rooms are.”
Chapter 7: Assaulting Crusher Citadel
Forty-five minutes later, Honeybee told Manta-Man, “Go nap. You look practically dead on your feet.” She caught Abe stifling a yawn. “You too. I guess they don’t let you sleep in Faerie.”
Near dawn three cars drove into the underground parking for the Harmon Building. The heroes took an ordinary elevator and got off at the floor under the Citadel. There, one of them produced a key and they went into an empty condominium.
There they took off their coats and Manta-Man paced out the distance. “Here,” he said. “This should be under the storage room.”
“Good. With this many people, my range isn’t great.”
“The storage room is monitored.”
“That’s why we’ll be invisible,” said Abe. “Gather round me.” [58] He cast the spell. “I can’t keep this one up forever, but it should get us into the computer room.”
Demiangel felt someone press against him, shivering slightly. “Nervous?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Somebody. “But excited, too.”
“You’ll do fine. Remember the plan,” he said.
“When it all goes pear-shaped, remember the priorities,” Honeybee said. “We have to get Evergreen out, or there’s a diplomatic incident with people you don’t even believe in.”
“A moment of quiet, if you please?” asked Abe. He cast the spell…
…and they were in a dark room.[59]
The heroes knew that Mocker and F.I.S.T. probably didn’t need to sleep. (The armor could keep F.I.S.T. awake with stimulants, so F.I.S.T. had to want to stay awake. Mocker was an android.)[60]
Abe whispered, “If you’re not okay, talk.” He avoided the sibilant letters. There was silence, so he said, “Manta-Man?”
The door of the storage area opened. Everyone moved stealthily[61] toward the computer room.
The sliding door was held open by a rock.
Demiangel forced it open the rest of the way. Mocker looked up at the now-open door and they heard from behind them, “Great, they’re not looking! Attack now.”
Abe dropped the invisibility.[62] He said to Mocker, “You do sound stuff, right? So forgive us if we don’t look.” He darted inside to the left and blasted the sleeping Mace[63] with fire.
“That’s not very sportsmanlike,” said Manta-Man.
“I know,” replied Abe. “But Mocker alone will be tough enough.”
A voice came over the intercom. “I see them, Mocker, and I’m calling the others.”
“Shocker!” said Rogue Thorn.
“Excellent,” said Mocker. “We can last a while against these buffoons. Manta-Man, this was the best you could find to join your new group? A Little Red Riding Hood wannabe?”[64] He fired a blast from his hand, but it hit Somebody instead of Manta-Man; her body shook and absorbed the shot.
Rogue Thorn somersaulted over to Mocker and tried to kick him in the solar plexus.[65]
Mocker said, “You’re new, so you probably didn’t know I’m an android and resistant,” said the Mocker. “So stupid!”
“I know you’re an android. The pumpkin head gave it away, gourdie,” she replied.
Demiangel pushed his way through and said, “Hey, Mace, you should get up and fight,” and hit the prone man,[66] who slumped again. “What?” he said to Manta-Man. “I told him to get up.”
Mocker laughed. “These new Crusaders of yours behave more like the historical Crusaders.”
Somebody stayed outside the room to watch for the other Crushers.
“Abe, we’re going to have a talk,” said Manta-Man. He activated his electrical aura and shot a lighting bolt at Mocker[67] and wreathed him in lightning. The android laughed. “It tickles!”
“Hornet!” called out Somebody. There was a hint of a quaver in her voice.
Abe ducked back into the hallway, chanting a spell. I hope they described the powers accurately, because I’ll be pooched if they didn’t. [68]
They could hear Shocker’s voice throughout the headquarters. “Vulture! Wake up! They have Manta-Man with them!”
They heard clicking. “He’s opened the stairwell doors!” said Manta-Man. “Now all of them can get here.”
Rogue Thorn thought, Great. And I can’t seem to hurt him. Well, maybe I can at least disable his sonic abilities…[69] She reached into her utility belt and pulled out her white noise generator. “If I can’t hurt you, maybe I can slow you down. How do your powers work near a white noise generator?” She flipped it on.[70]
“Give me that, wannabe!” Mocker grabbed for the generator[71] and missed.
“Not so wannabe now, gourdie,” said Rogue Thorn as she dodged aside.
Demiangel said, “I’m curious about how tough you are now.”[72] His punch stunned the android for a moment.
#
Honeybee flew up the stairs; Vulture flew past her, but did not see her. Hornet was on level one, Vulture on level two. From what Manta-Man said, Shocker’s probably on level three. So maybe Marionette’s on level four? I’ll start there and work down.
In fact, Marionette was closing the roof doors after letting someone in. Stormlord, I’ll bet. Honeybee ducked behind some equipment so they wouldn’t see her.[73] “After you,” said Stormlord.
“You never want to go first,” Marionette said.
“I don’t want to be in the way of your commands,” he said easily. They both laughed and walked past Honeybee without seeing her.
#
Somebody enlarged her hand to grab Hornet’s wings, but her hand passed through him. “Didn’t expect me to be phased, did you? Huh?” The vibrating of his phasing gave his voice a humming insect-like whine.
Vulture appeared from another corridor, screeching “Where is he? Where is he?”
Hornet looked at Abe and at Somebody, and only one of them was wearing a costume. Hornet attacked her.[74] A vibratory blast hit her arm and shook her entire body. “Hey…that tickles!” she said, unaware that Mocker had said something similar.
Manta-Man used his lightning gun on Mocker again and then said, “I’ve got him. You deal with the others; I’ll try and get TEACHER under our full control again. But Rogue Thorn — leave the white noise generator!”
Abe finished casting the spell[75] and suddenly Hornet looked as if he were encased in aspic, even though he could still move fine. “Had a foe with vibration powers once. Let’s see if this is as useful against you.”
“What have you done to me?” Hornet said.
“Little spell involving the music of the spheres,” said Abe. “They absorb all your vibrations.”
Vulture suddenly appeared, diving straight for Manta-Man. He hit and knocked Manta-Man over, driving him into a console, while swiping with his talons.[76] The electric aura around Manta-Man sparked crazily and Vulture yelped and backed off.[75a]
Shocker’s voice came through. “I’m still plugged in, Manta-Man. You can’t do anything while I’m plugged in…and you’re all down there while I’m up here.”
Rogue Thorn did a spinning kick aimed at both Mocker and Vulture.[77] Both of them collapsed: one with a wheeze and one with a sigh. “I do bear some grudges,” she muttered. “Even if it’s not healthy.”
Manta-Man said, “I’ve borne a grudge before.” He checked his wounds quickly.
Demiangel said, “Good one, Thorny. You guard Manta-Man while he works; I’ll check the hall.”
He stepped into the hallway and deliberately unfolded his wings of flame.
“What are you doing?” asked Shocker.
#
Honeybee said to herself, I’m going to have to fight them both, aren’t I? She darted in before Stormlord and[78] zapped Marionette with a venom blast. Hope that works or I’m out of it.
Stormlord saw her and immediately faded from view. Wind started howling up the stairwell, hammering with gale force; Honeybee was thrown up against the wall.[79] Marionette was also blown against the wall and (fortunately for Honeybee) knocked out.
#
Manta-Man opened the console he had been thrown against.
“Can I help?” asked Rogue Thorn.
“Keep guarding that door.”[80]
“Demiangel, check that noise in the stairwell,” said Abe. “Somebody, you better take care of Hornet; I can’t do anything else while I’m holding him.” This was not strictly true, but it could become true at any moment. “How you doing, Shocker? We’ve already dealt with three of you, and the fourth is coming soon.” He hoped they had dealt with Mocker and Vulture.
“I’ll manage,” came Shocker’s voice. “You had someone in the stairwell. Very clever. She’s facing Stormlord now and it looks like an uneven match.”
Demiangel headed to the stairwell to help Honeybee, only to come face to face with F.I.S.T.. He punched the armored man.[81] “You’re. In. My. Way,” growled Demiangel.
The fire sprinklers started to spray water from the ceiling of level one.
#
Honeybee looked but Stormlord was invisible[82] to both her nightsight and her regular sight. But Honeybee could see more than in the dark. I’ll bet he has an astral form, black and ugly though it is.[83] There.
She fired. She thought she hit him — he jerked like he was very surprised.
She could sort-of see him reach out of the stairwell, and she heard the roof doors opening again.
Downstairs, Somebody wrapped her arms around Hornet[84] and squeezed.
Hornet struggled like a madman[85] but couldn’t break free.
F.I.S.T. backed up, almost to the stairwell door, and fired his blaster.[86] He missed. There was a faint “Oh, no” from inside the suit.
Abe kept concentrating on the spell, but walked toward the Infirmary door. His deal with Faerie was contingent on rescuing Evergreen, and she was in there. Somebody would finish off Hornet…eventually…and he wanted to be able to dash into the Infirmary as soon as he didn’t have to maintain the spell.
He was glad his duster was waterproof. Water from the sprinklers was running down his face.
There was an anguished scream over the speakers. “Not my love!” cried Shocker.
Where did that come from? wondered Abe.
#
F.I.S.T. was still in the way. Demiangel punched again[87] and knocked him into the stairwell. The whistling noise was coming from above.
#
The force of the wind was great but if she got bigger, she presented more surface area. She pushed her flight to the limit and made it through the door — but once out of the wind, she shot up and into the opposing wall.[88]
“Uh, guys?” she said into the communicator. “I can’t take another one of those.”
“Coming, Honeybee.” said Demiangel.
Meanwhile, Somebody squeezed hard this time and swung Hornet against a wall.[89]
Hornet struggled again and managed to loosen her grip.[90] “Uh-oh,” she said.
“You can do this,” Abe said. “Hit him against the wall one more time.” He looked over to the stairwell. If Somebody would just finish, I could help Lauren.
#
The infirmary door clicked. “That locks it. You will not get to her,” Shocker said over the intercom.
Somebody hit Hornet against the wall one more time, and he slumped unconscious. “I did it!”
“Good job!” said Abe and dropped the spell. “Honeybee—Lauren! Concentrate on the sound of my voice. You can do this. You can beat him.”[91]
Demiangel said, “Do you want me to punch you up the stairs? Because that’s where I’m going.”[92]
“Just fall, darn you!” F.I.S.T. fired again…and missed again.
#
In the hangar workshop, Stormlord said, “But now the doors are open, so you can be hit by lightning!”[93] A bolt of lightning arced down into the chamber, so close that Honeybee could smell the ozone…but it missed her.
“Stormy, did you forget that invisibility doesn’t work in the rain?” He stiffened as the sound of the “venom” coursed through him[94] and then he fell down.
“He’s down,” she said. Exhausted, Honeybee grew to full size. She just needed a moment to rest….
#
It took a moment, but Abe cast the teleportation spell again.
“I have complete control over the systems!” said Shocker over the tannoy. “You will not take my love away.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Abe muttered. “But other people love her too, doofus.”
#
“Her or you,” Demiangel muttered,[95] and missed the first punch, shattering a section of wall. The second landed, though. There was a high-pitched whining sound coming from the armor now.[96]
“Ouch!” said F.I.S.T. inside the suit. “Never had to use the life support stimulant systems before. But now I’ve got you!” Unfortunately, that power beam missed again.
Oh, hell. I’ll just grab him and take the armor apart. But Demiangel’s grab missed.
“Now I’ve got it!” The power beam actually hit Demiangel.[97]
#
Abe figured out the tube based on Manta-Man’s instructions and opened Evergreen’s, rolled her out into his arms. She was surprisingly heavy. Okay, hitting the gym once we get home.
Fire retardant foam began to issue from nozzles low in the wall. “Put her back in there or she’ll suffocate!” Shocker said.
“You wouldn’t do that to her,” Abe said, and disappeared with her, teleporting away.
In fact, he had only taken her to the empty condo they had started from, but Shocker had no way of knowing that.
#
Demiangel said, “Enough is enough.”[98] He grabbed F.I.S.T. and put him in a hold with the blaster pointing away from him. F.I.S.T. tried to escape[99] but couldn’t this time. Soon he fell unconscious.
Demiangel slung F.I.S.T. over his shoulder and headed up. He met normal-sized Honeybee on the third floor.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m just really unsteady right now, and I can’t fly at all.”
“I’ll carry you. Let’s get Shocker while Abe is opening infirmary tubes. This door or the other door?”
“Shocker can see us either way.” She shrank down and he put her on his shoulder. “I’m good. Let’s do this thing.”
Lightning splashed at them as they came through the door.[100] Demiangel absorbed it with only a small grunt. He flew across the room to Shocker and[101] punched him solidly, knocking him back through the emergency communications console to the far wall.[102] That one punch was all they needed: Shocker was unconscious; blood dripped from many tiny cuts and sizzled when it hit the floor.
“Well,” said Honeybee. “That didn’t take long.”
Chapter 8: There’s No Place Like Home
Two-thirds of Uncanny Justice plus Rogue Thorn, Somebody, Evergreen and Manta-Man were gathered in the Citadel kitchen. They were waiting for the police to round up the Crushers and them in the ominously-named “Cellblock Omega.” Honeybee was in the main computer room, assisting Dr. Patrovich.
“It wasn’t right,” Manta-Man was insisting.
“Look, if I had a magic spell that turned the air into chloroform and knocked them out, would that have been okay? (I don’t have such a spell, Thorn, so you can sit back down.)”
“I…suppose.”
“And we were outnumbered. So eliminating one piece of opposition before it could be put on the board, well, that made sense.”
“Not to me.”
“Perhaps not. But there are lines that I won’t cross. I wouldn’t have killed him or crippled him. Otherwise,” said Abe, “well…banish me from your dimension.”
“Hah,” said Rogue Thorn.
“We’re not an A-list team, like you are,” said Demiangel. “We just…get things done.” He shrugged.
“Within limits,” said Abe. “We often deal with the odd or with magic, and clear boundaries are important with magic.”
“But I don’t know,” said Evergreen. “If the spirits of Faerie never heard of your dimension, how am I supposed to get you home?”
“I don’t think you are,” said Abe. “Nice folk, your Faerie, but they don’t actually care about me.”
“Your stated goal is to leave. Not a lot of incentive, there,” said Evergreen.
“No,” said Abe, “I think they wanted you free.”
“But why me?”
“As a guess? You have another purpose, and we were just a convenient tool to keep that on track.” He looked around. “I mean, that’s Faery all over.”
“So that’s it?” asked Demiangel. “We’re just stuck here?”
“It’s not so bad,” said Somebody.
“No, there’s a kind of congruence that brought us here, but it’s not magical. It’s scientific.” Abe pulled a notebook from a coat pocket and sketched someone out. “Recognize him?”
“I’ve been investigating his death!” said Manta-Man. “I think it’s connected with the Mocker; there was a mass murder just after Mocker appeared. Employees of Newtronics, Bennet, and Manning Enterprises were together and were killed.”
“Mocker had been messing with files while waiting. He had added that to his early pictures, then crossed it out,” said Abe. “I think it’s his original head.”
“But it’s Mark Zero,” said Demiangel. He explained to the others, “The villain we were originally after.”
“Other-worldly duplicates, like your Oberon?” asked Evergreen.
“Maybe,” said Abe. “But I think Mark Zero came from here. In fact, I think Mark Zero and Mocker are from the same line of androids. Mark Zero is, I think, earlier. He wants to get”—Abe gestured around him—“home.”
“So the murdered technologists were involved in the creation of Mocker…and this Mark Zero?”
Abe nodded. “It’s a guess, I know.”
Rogue Thorn said, “Massacre of technologists? That was…the lower level of the Joshua Salmon building. Manning has owned it for years.”
Manta-Man said to Rogue Thorn, “Interesting trivia in your head.”
“Enh. You never know what’s going to be useful.&rdquo. She blushed. “I was researching Manning’s holdings for something else. In my mundane life.”
Abe said, “I suspect that Mocker has been going back there.”
Rogue Thorn said, “He won’t tell us anything. He hates us.”
“We don’t have to ask him. We just have to go.” He looked at Manta-Man. “From Curtis’ comments earlier, you often show up at Manning Enterprises. Do you have a way for us to get into the Salmon building?”
“I might,” said Manta-Man.
#
Rogue Thorn flipped on the fluorescent light. Scraps of yellow police tape still stuck to door frames. Traces of body outlines in chalk still decorated the floor. Honeybee was already floating in the room, full size, rubbing her hands together between pulling tarps off consoles.
Dreamweaver had invited herself along and Blizzard had said, “I’ll go.” Manta-Man, Rogue Thorn, Somebody, and the members of Uncanny Justice were there.
“I’ve been over this floor,” said Manta-Man.
“I’m sure you have,” said Abe. “But thank you for bringing us.”
“Why didn’t you invite us?” asked Blizzard of Manta-Man.
“The massacre predates you by quite a bit,” Manta-Man said.
“Also it’s his private brooding place,” guessed Dreamweaver.
“See?” said Abe to Demiangel. “It’s not just our group with the snark.”
“Hey, look at this stuff,” Demiangel said to change the subject. “Half is antique and the other half is mad science.”
Honeybee said, “Ooh, I want one of those,” she said, pointing at a piece of equipment that looked to Abe like every other piece of equipment. “I wish I’d seen the Mark Zero teleporter better.”
“I’m not sure how much it will help. Mark Zero’s was cobbled together out of parts he could steal,” Abe said.
“Exactly,” Honeybee said, as if that proved something. “I’m going to power it up.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” asked Somebody.
“No,” snorted Honeybee. “But I bet that Manta-Man didn’t do that. We need to change some parameters here.”
“Be on your guard,” said Manta-Man.
The consoles lit up. Nothing else happened.
Honeybee muttered to herself. “Okay, they were using current as a substitute for direct measurement.” She studied the console she was at, then touched a switch. “Duh. Not pressure sensitive.” She fiddled with it, found the direction to slide it.
“You have-pressure sensitive switches?” asked Manta-Man.
Demiangel nodded. “And computers built into our phones. You’ll get them.”
“It sounds like a utopia,” said Somebody.
Abe snorted.
“My conclusion is that they were trying to build an industrial android,” said Manta-Man. “Human-shaped because then the equipment doesn’t need to be replaced.”
“That explains the dexterity tests over there,” said Dreamweaver. “What?” she said to Blizzard. “Because I’m a psych student, I can’t know things?”
Blizzard said, “I didn’t mean that. Really.”
Honeybee called Manta-Man over and asked him a question in a low voice no one else could hear. He answered her, then turned back. “Quiet, you two. Another switch being flipped.”
An inner wall separated in two: it had been drywalled over; the drywall broke open. A separate room was revealed.
“I guess Mocker was trying to hide it,” said Demiangel.
“Look at the floor,” said Abe.
Unlike the rest of the rooms, where the floors were a uniform beige tile, the floor in that room was dark and light tiles, built up a handspan higher than the rest of the rooms.
“Looks like a teleportation chamber to me,” said Demiangel.
“Is that what a teleportation chamber looks like?” asked Rogue Thorn.
“Well, the last one we saw looked like that. But the technicians here didn’t think so,” said Honeybee. “From the labels here they thought it was an incinerator of some kind.”
“That doesn’t make me want to go in,” said Demiangel.
“I’ll do it,” said Abe. “Give me a token from each of you, and I’ll try to communicate magically. If I can’t, there’s Mark Zero’s teleporter.”
“Abe,” said Honeybee. “Dude. You’re not invulnerable at all.”
“Mystic shields,” he said. “More than you. And Somebody wants Bill to ask her out, so I can’t send him. These guys are local…so it has to be me.”
“Wait,” said Demiangel. “Somebody wants me to ask her out?”
“Yes, she does,” said Rogue Thorn.
Somebody hit her on the shoulder and then said: “…Yes,”
“You’re trying to be noble or something.” said Honeybee.
Abe shrugged. “Enh. A bit of Manta-Man rubbed off.”
Rogue Thorn said, “I’ll monitor the park where we found you.”
Demiangel said, “No. We all go or none of us goes.”
“You sure?” asked Abe.
“Well, I wouldn’t mind if it were tomorrow.” He smiled at Somebody.
[1] Randomly roll for awareness, high to low: Abe, Demiangel, Honeybee
[2] Freebie, no roll required. Demiangel gets a DP.
[3] Another freebie; Honeybee gets a DP and takes 5 Stamina
[4] Initiatives: Honeybee 11, Rogue Thorn 10, Abe 9, Somebody 8, Demiangel 7
[5] Activating There Is no one like me and spend a DP for Recovery
[6] She spends a Determination Point, activates “Justice” to counteract the -2 difficulty. 5+1+1 < 8, though, so it hits Demiangel. He takes one Stamina.
[7] We’re going to say that she got a partial last time, so he’s at -2 to defend. 4+0 = 6-2, so no change.
[8] He might not make this; Strength 8+1 wrestling -1 > Stretching 7 . So he gets free.
[9] 6+1>4. Affliction is 6+0>3.
[10] Does it hit? 5+1+1-4 < 7
[11] Going to cast Binding, level 5. 5+2+0>5.
[12] Call it a +2 for area effect, costs 1 DP. 4+2+2 = 5+2+1
[13] No need: the Affliction roll fails so badly that the effect ends.
[14] She spends a DP and stunts the Humanoids extra.
[15] Vehicles power, level 5. Intellect 7 +2 +2 > 5.
[16] I could assess everyone but Honeybee and F.I.S.T. +1 difficulty for darkness, but instead, I’m going to give them a +1 bonus so there’s less math.
[17] Best possible roll: 4+5 > 4+0, so Somebody is not successful at hiding things.
[18] 4+2+1>4 to hit.
[19] Demiangel would fall down anyway, but Merc hits, at 4+2+1>6.
[20] Good shot: 4+2+1>5+1. The bullets bounce off him but they hit.
[21] Initiatives. Honeybee 9, Demiangel 8, Bull 8, Abe 7, Vulture 7, Rogue Thorn 6, F.I.S.T. 6, Somebody 5, Merc 5, Shrew 5
[22] 6+2+1>4, so full hold.
[23] Intellect roll, difficulty 4: 4-1<4, so Shrew fails to notice something wrong.
[24] Heat of the moment? Does she remember Bull’s weakness? 4+0 > 3; yes. And she succeeds. 5+2>4+1
[25] F.I.S.T.: 4+2+1 > 5+1 The spinning away thing is just for flair.
[26] She gets 5+2+1 > 4, so Bull feels the hit (it’s equal to his Damage Resistance, though)
[27] 4+1+1>4+1, so F.I.S.T. takes 8 damage, which his armor absorbs, but now his armor is DR 7.
[28] She’s got to roll against her own Willpower for her “Something to prove” quality; she gets 5-2<5, so she is going to follow him.
[29] Will Demiangel hit her if her Prowess is 8? Well, 6+0<7+1, so no.
[30] That’s Intelligence 5+2+1>6; he does it correctly.
[31] Easy to hit: 7+1+0>6, so moderate hit. He takes one Stamina.
[32] Honeybee hits: 5+2+2>4, but no stun. Still, his armor is now DR 6 next page.
[34] Alas, he misses: 6-3<4.
[35] 5+0>4, so only a partial hold: Shrew is at -2 and can’t move.
[36] He spends a DP and activates Bad Past for +2 to hit. 6+2+1>7. He hits her. She takes 8 Stamina.
[37] She gets 7-2+2> 6; he takes 5-4 Stamina.
[38] Another moderate success, but now she’s in a complete hold.
[39] They talked about this so no roll is needed; however, Coordination to hit: 5+1>4; a moderate hit.
[40] 4+2>4 is a hit, armor absorbs 7 of it.
[41] Each hero in the room gets a DP because he’s pushing; he manages to blow a small hole in the wall (8+0>7, but not by much; the wall is now Material 6. He’ll need to widen the hole to get out.
[42] She hits, barely: 5+2-2>4, but the Affliction has no noticeable effect: 6+0<7. Still, not a bad enough roll to end the tests.
[43] Call it binding: Thorn hits, but it’s a partial hold at best.
[44] It sounds like an improvised dazzle. She hits okay (4+2+2>4+1), and has F.I.S.T. blinded so long as she holds on…
[45] 4+1+1>4-2; that’s 8-6 Stamina damage. And slam: 8+3>7; F.I.S.T. is slammed into Somebody and the wall.
[46] Does she have it? 5+3>5; yes. Does she hit F.I.S.T. with it? 5+1+3>4; yes.
[47] This time the Affliction roll totally fails (6-3<7) so it doesn’t continue.
[48] 4+1-3<6, major miss.
[49] 6+4 vs 4+1. No stun, though (8-2<8).
[50] Ooh, bad roll: 4+1-2<6
[51] 6+3>4+1, major hit, but just a moderate success on the slam.
[52] Another bad roll: 4+1-3<6
[53] Brilliant roll: 6+5>4+1, so stun, and gets a major result on that.
[54] We have five PCs and the module recommends some of the Crusaders, and there are six. Roll a d6: 4. That’s Manta-Man.
[55] He’s got a Quality that plays into this acceptance. He can have a DP.
[56] First, Average (3) Detect Mental TShockering, and he rolls 7 (5+2+0), which is > 3. The other spell is Detect Telling Truth, also Average. For this one, he rolls 5+2+2>3.
[57] He’s going to stunt it, but with Maneuver: He’s got to make a persuasion roll (willpower) against difficulty 6. I’ll allow him to use his Occult skill because he’ll have to use his knowledge of fey creatures. He manages, with a 10>6 (6+2+2).
[58] Invisibility 4, Burst: Difficulty 6 (I’m altering the difficulty by +2 for every Extra and -2 for every Limit). He rolls 7, so everyone within extended range of him is invisible.
[59] Teleport F.I.S.T? 2+2>2, so they’re unFISTed.
[60] Hornet and Vulture are spelling each other in the elevator shaft; we’ll say Hornet’s in there now and Vulture is roosting in the gymnasium. F.I.S.T. is paranoid about everyone else so he’s awake and has recharged his armor. He’s spending his time in the armory. Everyone else is as described in the module, though some of them are asleep.
[61] Everyone is mostly quiet except for Abe and Rogue Thorn, who manage only 3. However, Shocker’s attention is split too many ways, with him getting a 2 (4-2) to notice.
[62] Initiatives (this will be long) Abe 11 Vulture 11 Shocker 11 Rogue Thorn 10 Mocker 10 Demiangel 9 Honeybee 8 Somebody 8 Stormlord 7 F.I.S.T. 8 Hornet 7 Marionette 6 Manta-Man 6 The Mace 5
[63] He hits, and does 5 Stamina.
[64] He targets Manta-Man but a 5-4<5. Let’s say the blast hits someone…roll a D5 (Honeybee has left because of The Plan); gets a 4; that’s Somebody. Her Damage Resistance absorbs it.
[65] Marginal hit: 4+2-1=5; that 2 damage and his Damage Resistance absorbs it.
[66] Glad The Mace is prone: 6-2>2 He’s out.
[67] 5+4>5; no stun effect. Manta-Man gets a DP for the attempted block but marginal success, so I’m going to say that the attack is halved (to 3) and then damage resistance removed 2.
[68] Level 6 Nullify, vibration control only; difficulty is only 4, because of the limit: 6+0>4, so next page he’ll have it.
[69] She wants a level 5 thing (Nullify Burst, sound only) and the odds of succeeding on a roll are low, so she spends a determination point and has it.
[70] Sonic powers are now at -5 ranks in the room.
[71] His Prowess is 4 and a grab is -2, so 2 versus her 7: He rolls a 1, big miss.
[72] Well, 8>3. The block is automatic, and works to eliminate 1 of the punch. So that’s 7 strength, and it’s a good enough hit for stun; subtract Damage Resistance as well, so that’s 5+3 vs 6, and Mocker is stunned for one page.
[73] She gets 9 for stealth.
[74] He’s got 7 to hit, so 7+1>4 (her coordination), but her Damage Resistance absorbs all of it.
[75] 6>5, so he nullifies Hornet’s vibratory powers. That would include the force field, if it were up.
[75a] GM offers Manta-Man a DP if it damages the computer. Manta-Man takes the DP.
[76] He hits: 5+3>5, so Manta-Man takes 5 Stamina but no stun. However, Vulture takes 6 from Manta-Man’s aura.
[77] A stunt based on her Martial Arts. Puts Burst on her attack, Activating Masked Mystery. 4+3+1> either of their prowesses.
[78] She gets 11>5 on the affliction, and rolls poorly on the Affliction roll: 6-2>3. Marionette takes 6 this page.
[79] We’re not rolling to hit; she weighs only a few grams, and this is from Incredible Weather Control. She takes 7 Stamina, and she’s automatically slammed. She’ll activate There’s No One Like Me and spend a DP for recovery, though.
[80] Manta-Man is also going to recover, using the Quality “Leader of the Crusaders”
[81] 6-1>4, so no slam but 8 stamina…soaked up by the armor, which Frank has spent hours repairing. And suddenly it’s down to 7.
[82] GM offers a DP if she lets him be invisible to her darkvision as well. She accepts.
[83] She has an awareness of 1 for astral forms, but (a) there’s no one else conscious in the stairwell and (b) he’s not trying to hide. So she activates No one else like me, 1+2+3>3 so it’s her normal Coordination versus 1 for him. 5+2+1>1 by quite a bit. No stun, though (6>4 is only a moderate success).
[84] She’s going to spend an Activation for +2 to hit, with “Some Things Never Change”, and gets 4+2+2>4, for a full hold. And she squeezes. That’s only 3 Stamina, but he has no defenses.
[85] Bad escape attempt: 4-4<4
[86] Anyone else would be -1 because of the sprinklers — that’s why Demiangel activated them — but he has radar. 4+2<6+1.
[87] 6+4>4 by a lot.1 Stamina gets through; no stunning effect, though; armor is down to 6 now.
[88] She spends one advantage to push her flight (There is no one like me) and then has to recover from the 7 stamina damage using (All I want is a normal life).
[89] That’s activating the same Quality for +1 to Strength, and hitting for another +1, for 5 more Stamina.
[90] He got 4+1>4, so it’s now a Partial Hold.
[91] That is using your Leadership to give her a DP, which she will use for recovery, using “Never too late”
[92] He’s going to stunt Fast Attack using his “bad past” Quality, and punch twice. Both hit, so he does 9 damage and the armor stops 6. Well, 5 in the future.
[93] But not with that roll. 5+2-4<8
[94] She needs an advantage because she really wants this to hit, so Tactics to get the advantage: she has fastened herself to his clothes so he also is where the lightning goes but she is taking the disability on Flight” to get it. Fortunately: 6+2-5+2>3. Marginal success on the affliction roll, so he takes 3.
[95] The first punch just barely misses, and the second is a moderate success.4 Stamina, and armor down to 4.
[96] He’s going to recover “Suit repair systems” and Demiangel gets a DP. But he fires the blast and misses again: 4+2-2<6+1
[97] 4+2+2>7 so Demiangel takes 3.
[98] Activates “Bad Past” for +2 to grab, which is good because he rolls 6+1-2>4. And he squeezes twice (with Fast Attack). That’s 9 damage, and the suit is currently stopping 5 points of damage. Next page, 4 points.
[99] 7+0<8+1
[100] He’s got +2 to hit because they have to come in the doorway; 3+5+2 hits, even though Demiangel has a defense of 7 (he’s flying). No slam happens, but Demiangel takes 2.
[101] 6+1>4 for the punch, and gets the maximum slam result (8+4>4)
[102] Since he went through something, I’m going to apply the console’s material (4) as extra damage. Shocker’s out.