Champions Presents: Legion Extreme! [Hero 5thEd]-11/04 post extended 11/12!
Broccli_Head
Explorer
issue #2, part I
Legion Extreme Issue #2 :Return of the Destroyer, part II
In this issue…Somnus, Captain Valor, and Darkfire!
**
She ran and They chased. She tore through a dark primeval forest knocking over saplings and underbrush, making a clear trail, but at the moment stealth was a liability. Speed was paramount. Confusion. She only knew that she was the quarry. She changed directions crashing into a briar patch. While a normal person would have been cut to ribbons by the thorns and branches, curiously, even though unclothed, she had remained unscathed. Satisfying yells of pain and surprise came from behind, but then an explosion sounded nearby as her hunters, these in the air, closed. Somewhere ahead she saw an almost imperceptible glow. The forest was thinning and a concrete decision formed in her frantic mind. She saw a cliff directly in her path. The near-blue dusk gave way to a purple night as she exited the forest on this alien world. There! The “energy” again. She homed in and sped as fast as she could while shouts and more blaster fire echoed around her. They drew near. Escape! She reached the edge and dove. A wave of dark blue energy engulfed her and then blackness…
**
“Jae San, we need to get you a costume. Like, you’re one of us. I mean you’re not around for the fights or nothin’, but like your part of the team.”
“No, thank you. I am not one for brightly colored spandex.”
Slipstream wolfed down another few egg rolls. Most of Legion Extreme were sharing a meal--catered by Emperor’s Garden--and attending another meeting at Dr. Lu’s. The apothecary had several rooms behind his storefront, including a large common area that this evening served as a dining hall. Jae Sun ate slowly. Grey Mage had contacted him and said that he would be unable to come to their next “war council”, claiming that there was some planar shifting taking place near Earth’s universe that he had to investigate. He had wanted the mage around to perhaps add some arcane power to Dr. Lu’s attempts to divine where the pine needles he had found on the robots were from. It was strange how things were getting quite exciting around Boston in the last few days.
“Such is the way of the ever-changing frequencies of time. Too many worries.”
“Huh?”
“Ahhh, Jae Sun Lee. You ahh soo right,” added Dr. James Lu.
Slipstream was still confused.
“It is like I have always said,” spoke the detective.
Jae Sun, Dr. Lu, and Anaka Ai Lee all nodded profoundly. Slipstream laughed nervously.
“Right….Like, ‘What is best in life?’” he started in his best imitation of Schwarzenegger’s Conan.
The ringing of bells, as someone entered Dr. Lu’s front door, interrupted his soliloquy.
“More food?” asked Dr. Lu.
Jae Sun shook his head motioning to the score of Styrofoam containers that littered the floor.
“I hope not. Anaka, go with the good doctor and see who comes calling.”
As Dr. Lu entered his shop a man came towards him with an extended hand.
“Dr. James Lu, I am Valor McCoy and I’m pursuing some of my own investigations regarding the transmission of diseases from Asia. I heard that you were a doctor and had an involvement with helping new immigrants to settle here in the Boston area.”
Anaka and Dr. Lu instantly recognized the locally famous Professor Valor McCoy. He was an applied physicist by trade, but it was known that he changed interests like the phases of the moon. He was brilliant but had a short attention span. It was also suspected that he was a mutant. Dr. Lu did not take his hand right away and crossed his arms.
“You heard wrong. We aah closed.”
“Yes, Dr. Lu. I can see that you are closed for business, but I could not help but notice the catering vehicle that just pulled up…What’s that wonderful smell?”
In Mandarin, Anaka pleaded with Dr. Lu, “C’mon Uncle. He’s really a nice guy and he’s famous.”
Then in English, Anaka offered, “Do you want to join us for dinner?”
Dr. Lu glared, “No he does not. Chinese medicine is none of your business. Leave befoh I call da cops!”
“Uncle, be nice. Dr. McCoy come in and join us.”
“No that’s fine. I will return in the morning. Maybe I’ll bring some of my reporter friends to do a piece.”
His voice trailed off again as he noticed something outside. Anaka gently held back Dr. Lu before the old man hurt himself attempting to thrash Valor McCoy.
“Hey, someone else is coming.”
Anaka went into the street with Valor McCoy while Dr. Lu went inside to get Jae Sun and Slipstream. More caterers with more food came spilling into the shop, dropping off piles in front of the always-famished Slipstream.
“Awww man, seconds. You shouldn’t have Jae Son,” Slipstream winked, and the detective ran his fingers through his hair quickly doing some math in his head to make sure his extensive coffers could cover Slipstream’s hearty appetite.
The party soon made its way outside as the van drove away and the companions shared egg rolls and other appetizers on the sidewalk. Valor was talking with a Filipino gentleman who had wandered this way, lost in Chinatown. He had see the van and followed since he had been initially looking for a place to eat.
“Guys, this is Armando Montoya. He teaches at Bunker Hill Community College. You’re not following me again, are you Mando?”
The instructor gave a non-committal smile.
Jae Sun asked, “And you are?”
“Why, I am Valor McCoy. I teach at MIT.”
“Yeah Jae Son, he’s like that famous scientist dude who has that morning show. Wassup Star Trek?”
Slipstream made the move to “high-five” Valor, who did so a bit awkwardly not sure of the proper way of doing so.
“I could be at MIT as well, but I chose not to. Not enough free time,” spoke Armando for the first time.
“Sounds like an inferiority complex to me Montoya,” smirked Valor. “Maybe you should come in and get it checked out.”
This caused a brief pause among all the gathered folk having an impromptu tailgate party in front of the apothecary’s shop. However, talking soon resumed. Only Anaka Ai Lee noticed Dr. Lu’s sudden lurch as he almost passed out.
“Uncle, are you alright?” asked Anaka as he held up the older man.
“Disturbance…in space-time. Dimensional breach…”
Anaka looked confused, but instinctively did a 360-degree pan of his surroundings. To the northwest, he saw what looked like St. Elmo’s Fire appear over the new Bunker Hill Bridge.
“That’s not good.”
Almost a dozen other flashes soon followed the ball lightning. Slipstream saw the effect also and pointed it out to the others. He looked at the pale Dr. Lu as he continued to mutter. Then he yelled, “It’s Legion Extreme time!” and sped towards the bridge.
**
When Slipstream arrived he was incredibly surprised to see a beautiful naked woman with long black hair and olive skin running between the concrete barriers separating east and westbound traffic. Fortunately, the bridge had yet to open and it was deserted save for startled security guards and a few scattered construction vehicles. Strange floating warriors clad like samurai shot at her with alien-looking blaster rifles. They did not slow when Slipstream snapped his fingers sending a blinding flash of light at several of them. As Slipstream stood and gawked, the alien soldiers winked in and out of existence appearing between ten and twenty meters closer each time they re-appeared. A blast hit the woman knocking her to the ground. Slipstream hesitated no longer. He sped towards her and grabbed her. Reeling from the blast, she did not resist. Another shot from the pursuers tore her from his grasp, but before they could fire again, the speedster picked up her near unconscious form and took off back towards downtown Boston. He nearly dropped her as he glanced over his shoulder to get a better look at the hunters. He shuddered. Although humanoid, they weren’t human. Mirrored face-plates under their jingasas and scaly arms glistened in the fluorescent lighting of the bridge. He quickly left them behind.
**
Although not nearly as fast as Slipstream, the other superheroes rushed at their best speed to the scene. Armando ran into Dr. Lu’s. Inside, he headed into a back room. He whipped out his cloak, donned on a mask, and activated the power of the scintillating gem embedded in his chest. He flew out a nearby window towards the bridge, trailing a prism of colors behind. Valor McCoy pressed an imperceptible depression in his wrist and metallic black armor began spreading across his body.
“Captain Valor to the rescue!” he cried and leaped into the air.
Anaka helped the weakened doctor into the rental vehicle and started to drive.
Speeding away towards the bridge, he sighed, “We won’t get there in time, Uncle. Man, I always miss all the fun!”
Dr. Lu only laughed, “Better for me, I think, young Anaka Ai Lee. Drive slowly.”
The caterers from the Emperor’s Garden just stood and stared. So distracted, they were unable to see Jae Sun Lee slip into an alley and transform into The Warwolf. Soon he was bounding across the rooftops towards the Bunker Hill Bridge.
Valor spotted the wolf-beast and rainbow-trailing flier as they passed him.
Are you friends with Slipstream? he sent telepathically out to the Warwolf.
Wait, I know. You’re the Warwolf they showed on the news! I’m glad I found the right group!
Warwolf only looked up, not liking the mind in his head, and snarled. Over a nearby roof, he saw a prism-trailing flying man dart across.
That’s Somnus. He’s another superhero and kind of a rival. You guys going public has sorta brought us all out.
Warwolf chose not to answer and continued leaping. He arrived slightly ahead and landed on the bridge. Somnus and Captain Valor flew among the support cables looking for signs of anyone. Warwolf sniffed and tasted the ozone remnant of blaster fire in the air. Then another scent caught his attention. He inhaled again to make sure, then growled.
“D-soliders!”
Legion Extreme Issue #2 :Return of the Destroyer, part II
In this issue…Somnus, Captain Valor, and Darkfire!
**
She ran and They chased. She tore through a dark primeval forest knocking over saplings and underbrush, making a clear trail, but at the moment stealth was a liability. Speed was paramount. Confusion. She only knew that she was the quarry. She changed directions crashing into a briar patch. While a normal person would have been cut to ribbons by the thorns and branches, curiously, even though unclothed, she had remained unscathed. Satisfying yells of pain and surprise came from behind, but then an explosion sounded nearby as her hunters, these in the air, closed. Somewhere ahead she saw an almost imperceptible glow. The forest was thinning and a concrete decision formed in her frantic mind. She saw a cliff directly in her path. The near-blue dusk gave way to a purple night as she exited the forest on this alien world. There! The “energy” again. She homed in and sped as fast as she could while shouts and more blaster fire echoed around her. They drew near. Escape! She reached the edge and dove. A wave of dark blue energy engulfed her and then blackness…
**
“Jae San, we need to get you a costume. Like, you’re one of us. I mean you’re not around for the fights or nothin’, but like your part of the team.”
“No, thank you. I am not one for brightly colored spandex.”
Slipstream wolfed down another few egg rolls. Most of Legion Extreme were sharing a meal--catered by Emperor’s Garden--and attending another meeting at Dr. Lu’s. The apothecary had several rooms behind his storefront, including a large common area that this evening served as a dining hall. Jae Sun ate slowly. Grey Mage had contacted him and said that he would be unable to come to their next “war council”, claiming that there was some planar shifting taking place near Earth’s universe that he had to investigate. He had wanted the mage around to perhaps add some arcane power to Dr. Lu’s attempts to divine where the pine needles he had found on the robots were from. It was strange how things were getting quite exciting around Boston in the last few days.
“Such is the way of the ever-changing frequencies of time. Too many worries.”
“Huh?”
“Ahhh, Jae Sun Lee. You ahh soo right,” added Dr. James Lu.
Slipstream was still confused.
“It is like I have always said,” spoke the detective.
Jae Sun, Dr. Lu, and Anaka Ai Lee all nodded profoundly. Slipstream laughed nervously.
“Right….Like, ‘What is best in life?’” he started in his best imitation of Schwarzenegger’s Conan.
The ringing of bells, as someone entered Dr. Lu’s front door, interrupted his soliloquy.
“More food?” asked Dr. Lu.
Jae Sun shook his head motioning to the score of Styrofoam containers that littered the floor.
“I hope not. Anaka, go with the good doctor and see who comes calling.”
As Dr. Lu entered his shop a man came towards him with an extended hand.
“Dr. James Lu, I am Valor McCoy and I’m pursuing some of my own investigations regarding the transmission of diseases from Asia. I heard that you were a doctor and had an involvement with helping new immigrants to settle here in the Boston area.”
Anaka and Dr. Lu instantly recognized the locally famous Professor Valor McCoy. He was an applied physicist by trade, but it was known that he changed interests like the phases of the moon. He was brilliant but had a short attention span. It was also suspected that he was a mutant. Dr. Lu did not take his hand right away and crossed his arms.
“You heard wrong. We aah closed.”
“Yes, Dr. Lu. I can see that you are closed for business, but I could not help but notice the catering vehicle that just pulled up…What’s that wonderful smell?”
In Mandarin, Anaka pleaded with Dr. Lu, “C’mon Uncle. He’s really a nice guy and he’s famous.”
Then in English, Anaka offered, “Do you want to join us for dinner?”
Dr. Lu glared, “No he does not. Chinese medicine is none of your business. Leave befoh I call da cops!”
“Uncle, be nice. Dr. McCoy come in and join us.”
“No that’s fine. I will return in the morning. Maybe I’ll bring some of my reporter friends to do a piece.”
His voice trailed off again as he noticed something outside. Anaka gently held back Dr. Lu before the old man hurt himself attempting to thrash Valor McCoy.
“Hey, someone else is coming.”
Anaka went into the street with Valor McCoy while Dr. Lu went inside to get Jae Sun and Slipstream. More caterers with more food came spilling into the shop, dropping off piles in front of the always-famished Slipstream.
“Awww man, seconds. You shouldn’t have Jae Son,” Slipstream winked, and the detective ran his fingers through his hair quickly doing some math in his head to make sure his extensive coffers could cover Slipstream’s hearty appetite.
The party soon made its way outside as the van drove away and the companions shared egg rolls and other appetizers on the sidewalk. Valor was talking with a Filipino gentleman who had wandered this way, lost in Chinatown. He had see the van and followed since he had been initially looking for a place to eat.
“Guys, this is Armando Montoya. He teaches at Bunker Hill Community College. You’re not following me again, are you Mando?”
The instructor gave a non-committal smile.
Jae Sun asked, “And you are?”
“Why, I am Valor McCoy. I teach at MIT.”
“Yeah Jae Son, he’s like that famous scientist dude who has that morning show. Wassup Star Trek?”
Slipstream made the move to “high-five” Valor, who did so a bit awkwardly not sure of the proper way of doing so.
“I could be at MIT as well, but I chose not to. Not enough free time,” spoke Armando for the first time.
“Sounds like an inferiority complex to me Montoya,” smirked Valor. “Maybe you should come in and get it checked out.”
This caused a brief pause among all the gathered folk having an impromptu tailgate party in front of the apothecary’s shop. However, talking soon resumed. Only Anaka Ai Lee noticed Dr. Lu’s sudden lurch as he almost passed out.
“Uncle, are you alright?” asked Anaka as he held up the older man.
“Disturbance…in space-time. Dimensional breach…”
Anaka looked confused, but instinctively did a 360-degree pan of his surroundings. To the northwest, he saw what looked like St. Elmo’s Fire appear over the new Bunker Hill Bridge.
“That’s not good.”
Almost a dozen other flashes soon followed the ball lightning. Slipstream saw the effect also and pointed it out to the others. He looked at the pale Dr. Lu as he continued to mutter. Then he yelled, “It’s Legion Extreme time!” and sped towards the bridge.
**
When Slipstream arrived he was incredibly surprised to see a beautiful naked woman with long black hair and olive skin running between the concrete barriers separating east and westbound traffic. Fortunately, the bridge had yet to open and it was deserted save for startled security guards and a few scattered construction vehicles. Strange floating warriors clad like samurai shot at her with alien-looking blaster rifles. They did not slow when Slipstream snapped his fingers sending a blinding flash of light at several of them. As Slipstream stood and gawked, the alien soldiers winked in and out of existence appearing between ten and twenty meters closer each time they re-appeared. A blast hit the woman knocking her to the ground. Slipstream hesitated no longer. He sped towards her and grabbed her. Reeling from the blast, she did not resist. Another shot from the pursuers tore her from his grasp, but before they could fire again, the speedster picked up her near unconscious form and took off back towards downtown Boston. He nearly dropped her as he glanced over his shoulder to get a better look at the hunters. He shuddered. Although humanoid, they weren’t human. Mirrored face-plates under their jingasas and scaly arms glistened in the fluorescent lighting of the bridge. He quickly left them behind.
**
Although not nearly as fast as Slipstream, the other superheroes rushed at their best speed to the scene. Armando ran into Dr. Lu’s. Inside, he headed into a back room. He whipped out his cloak, donned on a mask, and activated the power of the scintillating gem embedded in his chest. He flew out a nearby window towards the bridge, trailing a prism of colors behind. Valor McCoy pressed an imperceptible depression in his wrist and metallic black armor began spreading across his body.
“Captain Valor to the rescue!” he cried and leaped into the air.
Anaka helped the weakened doctor into the rental vehicle and started to drive.
Speeding away towards the bridge, he sighed, “We won’t get there in time, Uncle. Man, I always miss all the fun!”
Dr. Lu only laughed, “Better for me, I think, young Anaka Ai Lee. Drive slowly.”
The caterers from the Emperor’s Garden just stood and stared. So distracted, they were unable to see Jae Sun Lee slip into an alley and transform into The Warwolf. Soon he was bounding across the rooftops towards the Bunker Hill Bridge.
Valor spotted the wolf-beast and rainbow-trailing flier as they passed him.
Are you friends with Slipstream? he sent telepathically out to the Warwolf.
Wait, I know. You’re the Warwolf they showed on the news! I’m glad I found the right group!
Warwolf only looked up, not liking the mind in his head, and snarled. Over a nearby roof, he saw a prism-trailing flying man dart across.
That’s Somnus. He’s another superhero and kind of a rival. You guys going public has sorta brought us all out.
Warwolf chose not to answer and continued leaping. He arrived slightly ahead and landed on the bridge. Somnus and Captain Valor flew among the support cables looking for signs of anyone. Warwolf sniffed and tasted the ozone remnant of blaster fire in the air. Then another scent caught his attention. He inhaled again to make sure, then growled.
“D-soliders!”
Last edited:
Malachai_rose
First Post
Reading over the story I thought it was pretty funny how players sometimes play the same types of characters no matter what game is being played 
I'm refering to Broc's "Heroes of the Vilhon Reach" story hour (which I play in as well). Lol, just to see if maybe I'm imagining things I was wondering if anyone can guess which characters from the "Vilhon Reach" story hour are playing which characters in the Champions story hour. Ie... Benito = ? Aris = ? Ellysedell = ?
Well I like the write up, looking forward to the next installment Broc
I'm refering to Broc's "Heroes of the Vilhon Reach" story hour (which I play in as well). Lol, just to see if maybe I'm imagining things I was wondering if anyone can guess which characters from the "Vilhon Reach" story hour are playing which characters in the Champions story hour. Ie... Benito = ? Aris = ? Ellysedell = ?
Well I like the write up, looking forward to the next installment Broc
Broccli_Head
Explorer
issue#2, part II
Slipstream literally ran into Anaka and Dr. Lu as they were driving towards the bridge. Fortunately, his superhuman reflexes allowed him to veer away as Anaka slammed on the brakes. Slipstream looped around the block coming to a halt in front of the vehicle. Anaka got out and with some extra gi’s from the trunk of the rental, he quickly clothed the naked woman. He tried to speak to her, but only got a blank stare and some soundless mouthing as she let herself be dressed without struggle.
“She’s very dazed, Anaka. We need to get her back to the shop,” announced Dr. Lu looking over his shoulder.
“Where’s Jae Son?”
They both shrugged their shoulders. Slipstream would rather not have made another tactical decision without consulting the detective, but weighing his options he felt he had no choice but to protect his new city.
“Dudes, I need to get back and finish off the flying lizards with guns before they blow stuff up. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Anaka jumped back into the car and with a screech of the tires, spun it around to head back to Chinatown.
The name Megan came to her. Maybe that was her name or the name of someone she knew. She could not understand the chatter of these humans that had found her and put into her such flabby clothes. Their speech reminded her of the sound of the caged monkeys that the Viceroys of the Empress had displayed in court. There was feeling of shock and betrayal with that memory. Another name came to her from the depths of her amnesic mind: Darkfire. Yes! She was Darkfire. She looked at the humans in the front seat of this enclosed wagon, and felt trapped.
“Who are you? Where are you taking me?”
The old, wrinkled one, looked at her strangely and spoke some more monkey-talk. She had to get out. She pushed on the door of the carriage. It gave under her superhuman strength and tore from its hinges. Darkfire dove from the vehicle and slammed into a mailbox sending letters and papers flying into the air. Anaka pressed hard on the brakes and came to an abrupt halt. He looked in the rear-view mirror to see the door bouncing on the street. A car smashed into the debris and another car crashed into it. Dr. Lu screamed colorful metaphors in Chinese. Anaka got out of the car and started moving towards the rain of paper.
She stood up unscathed leaving some of the North End restaurant-goers dumfounded and speechless. The neon lights, the tall buildings, and the carriages without horses were too much for Darkfire. She pushed a couple of the humans roughly aside and ran into the nearest alley. Anaka arrived in time to see her dart into the darkness and hesitated. Already, some of the by-standers were yelling at him to “Leave the girl alone.” Some of the more macho of the men, egged on by their companions started to move forward as if to restrain him.
Anaka stared at them and tore off his shirt exposing the dragon tattoos. He glowed noticeably.
“OK, which one of you wants to be a hero?”
**
Fortunately, Dr. Lu had more presence of mind than to go after the alien girl alone. He dialed Slipstream.
In no time flat, Captain Valor, Slipstream, Sonmus, and the Warwolf landed between the gang of impromptu heroes and Dragonfist.
“Whoa dudes! Let’s chill out. Legion Extreme’s got this under control.”
Captain Valor attempting to upstage the speedster, stepped in front of him, “That’s correct fellow Bostonians. Captain Valor and Legion Extreme have this situation well in hand.”
The would-be heroes backed off.
The Warwolf showed teeth, not liking the “Captain” at all. However, there was no time for a quick rebuke. Slipstream had informed him of the woman and described the flying aliens, confirming his suspicions. For some reason, the D-soliders wanted to capture her and he really wanted to deprive them and Her, of the quarry.
He turned to Dragonfist speaking in his low guttural voice, “Where did she go?”
Dragonfist pointed and Warwolf sniffed the ground.
“Whatcha got, Scooby?” asked Slipstream.
Warwolf gave him a baleful glare, “Don’t ever call Warwolf that, again?”
“’Kay, Marmaduke. Let’s quit stallin’ and get her before they do.”
Dragonfist took a step back. Slipstream continued to smile cheekily.
Warwolf muttered under his breath, “Amateurs…” and bounded into the alley.
Dragonfist followed and when directed by the lupine tracker took a side alley. Valor and Somnus took to the skies looking from above for signs of the girl below.
“She is close,” came the low growl of the Warwolf to a nearby Slipstream. The Warwolf’s nose twitched, “And so are they.”
In the intersection of four alleys, the heroes saw a D-soldier appear and blast the strange woman with its rifle. The force of the energy blast knocked her through the wall of a nearby building.
“Legion Extreme, attack!” cried Slipstream as he ran up to, and leaped at the nearest D-solider, hitting him with his Quicksilver punch.
The floating, blaster-wielding lizardman flew back.
“Warwolf's pleasure,” grinned the Warwolf as he tore off the bottom of a fire escape and threw it at another.
Screaming "HAKUDEN!", Dragonfist sent a wave of ch'i-engergy from the other side of the intersection, flanking the group of D-soldiers, and driving the one he hit higher into the air. It "popped" from where he had knocked it back, to within ten feet, and fired at him sending him into a pile of garbage, but acrobatically, the martial artist grabbed and did a handstand using a piece of tossed away rebar, finally flipping back to his feet to balance on the thin piece of iron. He did a quick martial pose/punch to re-orient himself and motioned for the D-solider to "C'mon!".
One D-soldier homed in on the Warwolf and shot at him, scorching his fur. Before he could fire again, Captain Valor picked up a dumpster with his suit-enhanced telekinesis, and tossed it into the D-soldier sending another adversary far away into the air.
Darkfire, had not been idle. She quickly recovered from being knocked through a brick wall and looked up. Through the building’s skylight, she spied the shadow of another of her hunters. Wanting to exact revenge as she heard blaster fire and yells from outside, she jumped towards it and suddenly she was crashing through the skylight and punching the D-soldier. She could fly!
Above the fray, Captain Valor examined the battle. These alien warriors were no match for the Legion Extreme guys. Strangely, when they were stunned and defeated, they vanished. Dragonfist and Slipstream had taken a couple of soldiers out each. He watched as Warwolf kicked up a manhole cover and tossed it like a Frisbee into another. He was pleasantly surprised when the alien woman flew through a skylight to sucker-punched yet another. His suit allowed him to see in more spectra than just the visible and he scanned the night sky for other foes. And where the heck was Somnus!
“Guys…uh guys…” he tried to warn his fellow superheroes, but his voice was lost amidst the chaos of combat.
Some sort of hovertank, bristling with guns, materialized above the buildings and tilted so that its main gun pointed towards the otherworldly woman they were trying to rescue. A powerful energy blast emanated from the barrel, driving the woman back into the building. Then the tank floated down towards the rest of the group. Valor fired a telekinetic blast that skipped off the tank’s force field. The resilient alien woman flew from the building she had just been knocked into, and shot a volley of black flame. It too seemed to have no effect on the tank. Warwolf leaped onto the tank searching for an opening. The vehicle appeared impenetrable. As Darkfire tried to fly towards the tank, the secondary gun on the tank’s main turret fired and drove her back. Valor tried another tactic and closed his eyes, searching for the alien minds in the tank.
Slipstream looked up at the hovertank seeing Warwolf impotently punching at the hull. He howled looking for a hatch to peel back.
“This is gonna be crazy,” said the speedster as he to jumped onto the tank.
Warwolf’s eyes went wide as he saw Slipstream begin to vibrate extremely quickly and sink into the vehicle. Once inside, Slipstream let out an energy blast attempting to destroy the tank controls. Static electricity raced through the tank, but there were no tell-tale signs of success. Three lizard-like aliens unbuckled the straps from their gunner’s chairs and drew katana-like weapons as they rose. The speedster, in the confined space, ran back and forth punching his new set of foes. He heard the main turret gunner scream and saw him thrash about.
In his mind, Valor McCoy had convinced the alien that he was drowning. This allowed Darkfire to close on the tank without being shot this time, and bend the main turret, rendering it inoperable. Smoke began to fill the inside. Warwolf jumped away and the tank disappeared.
“Slipstream!” yelled Dragonfist running towards where the tank had been.
“Aww man, they’re gone!” cried out Captain Valor, sensing the mind he had influenced leave this plane of existence.
But then Warwolf heard a yell and looked up. Slipstream was falling from the sky. Darkfire tried to catch him and missed. He landed on the pavement with a hard SMACK!
[End of Issue #2]
Slipstream literally ran into Anaka and Dr. Lu as they were driving towards the bridge. Fortunately, his superhuman reflexes allowed him to veer away as Anaka slammed on the brakes. Slipstream looped around the block coming to a halt in front of the vehicle. Anaka got out and with some extra gi’s from the trunk of the rental, he quickly clothed the naked woman. He tried to speak to her, but only got a blank stare and some soundless mouthing as she let herself be dressed without struggle.
“She’s very dazed, Anaka. We need to get her back to the shop,” announced Dr. Lu looking over his shoulder.
“Where’s Jae Son?”
They both shrugged their shoulders. Slipstream would rather not have made another tactical decision without consulting the detective, but weighing his options he felt he had no choice but to protect his new city.
“Dudes, I need to get back and finish off the flying lizards with guns before they blow stuff up. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Anaka jumped back into the car and with a screech of the tires, spun it around to head back to Chinatown.
The name Megan came to her. Maybe that was her name or the name of someone she knew. She could not understand the chatter of these humans that had found her and put into her such flabby clothes. Their speech reminded her of the sound of the caged monkeys that the Viceroys of the Empress had displayed in court. There was feeling of shock and betrayal with that memory. Another name came to her from the depths of her amnesic mind: Darkfire. Yes! She was Darkfire. She looked at the humans in the front seat of this enclosed wagon, and felt trapped.
“Who are you? Where are you taking me?”
The old, wrinkled one, looked at her strangely and spoke some more monkey-talk. She had to get out. She pushed on the door of the carriage. It gave under her superhuman strength and tore from its hinges. Darkfire dove from the vehicle and slammed into a mailbox sending letters and papers flying into the air. Anaka pressed hard on the brakes and came to an abrupt halt. He looked in the rear-view mirror to see the door bouncing on the street. A car smashed into the debris and another car crashed into it. Dr. Lu screamed colorful metaphors in Chinese. Anaka got out of the car and started moving towards the rain of paper.
She stood up unscathed leaving some of the North End restaurant-goers dumfounded and speechless. The neon lights, the tall buildings, and the carriages without horses were too much for Darkfire. She pushed a couple of the humans roughly aside and ran into the nearest alley. Anaka arrived in time to see her dart into the darkness and hesitated. Already, some of the by-standers were yelling at him to “Leave the girl alone.” Some of the more macho of the men, egged on by their companions started to move forward as if to restrain him.
Anaka stared at them and tore off his shirt exposing the dragon tattoos. He glowed noticeably.
“OK, which one of you wants to be a hero?”
**
Fortunately, Dr. Lu had more presence of mind than to go after the alien girl alone. He dialed Slipstream.
In no time flat, Captain Valor, Slipstream, Sonmus, and the Warwolf landed between the gang of impromptu heroes and Dragonfist.
“Whoa dudes! Let’s chill out. Legion Extreme’s got this under control.”
Captain Valor attempting to upstage the speedster, stepped in front of him, “That’s correct fellow Bostonians. Captain Valor and Legion Extreme have this situation well in hand.”
The would-be heroes backed off.
The Warwolf showed teeth, not liking the “Captain” at all. However, there was no time for a quick rebuke. Slipstream had informed him of the woman and described the flying aliens, confirming his suspicions. For some reason, the D-soliders wanted to capture her and he really wanted to deprive them and Her, of the quarry.
He turned to Dragonfist speaking in his low guttural voice, “Where did she go?”
Dragonfist pointed and Warwolf sniffed the ground.
“Whatcha got, Scooby?” asked Slipstream.
Warwolf gave him a baleful glare, “Don’t ever call Warwolf that, again?”
“’Kay, Marmaduke. Let’s quit stallin’ and get her before they do.”
Dragonfist took a step back. Slipstream continued to smile cheekily.
Warwolf muttered under his breath, “Amateurs…” and bounded into the alley.
Dragonfist followed and when directed by the lupine tracker took a side alley. Valor and Somnus took to the skies looking from above for signs of the girl below.
“She is close,” came the low growl of the Warwolf to a nearby Slipstream. The Warwolf’s nose twitched, “And so are they.”
In the intersection of four alleys, the heroes saw a D-soldier appear and blast the strange woman with its rifle. The force of the energy blast knocked her through the wall of a nearby building.
“Legion Extreme, attack!” cried Slipstream as he ran up to, and leaped at the nearest D-solider, hitting him with his Quicksilver punch.
The floating, blaster-wielding lizardman flew back.
“Warwolf's pleasure,” grinned the Warwolf as he tore off the bottom of a fire escape and threw it at another.
Screaming "HAKUDEN!", Dragonfist sent a wave of ch'i-engergy from the other side of the intersection, flanking the group of D-soldiers, and driving the one he hit higher into the air. It "popped" from where he had knocked it back, to within ten feet, and fired at him sending him into a pile of garbage, but acrobatically, the martial artist grabbed and did a handstand using a piece of tossed away rebar, finally flipping back to his feet to balance on the thin piece of iron. He did a quick martial pose/punch to re-orient himself and motioned for the D-solider to "C'mon!".
One D-soldier homed in on the Warwolf and shot at him, scorching his fur. Before he could fire again, Captain Valor picked up a dumpster with his suit-enhanced telekinesis, and tossed it into the D-soldier sending another adversary far away into the air.
Darkfire, had not been idle. She quickly recovered from being knocked through a brick wall and looked up. Through the building’s skylight, she spied the shadow of another of her hunters. Wanting to exact revenge as she heard blaster fire and yells from outside, she jumped towards it and suddenly she was crashing through the skylight and punching the D-soldier. She could fly!
Above the fray, Captain Valor examined the battle. These alien warriors were no match for the Legion Extreme guys. Strangely, when they were stunned and defeated, they vanished. Dragonfist and Slipstream had taken a couple of soldiers out each. He watched as Warwolf kicked up a manhole cover and tossed it like a Frisbee into another. He was pleasantly surprised when the alien woman flew through a skylight to sucker-punched yet another. His suit allowed him to see in more spectra than just the visible and he scanned the night sky for other foes. And where the heck was Somnus!
“Guys…uh guys…” he tried to warn his fellow superheroes, but his voice was lost amidst the chaos of combat.
Some sort of hovertank, bristling with guns, materialized above the buildings and tilted so that its main gun pointed towards the otherworldly woman they were trying to rescue. A powerful energy blast emanated from the barrel, driving the woman back into the building. Then the tank floated down towards the rest of the group. Valor fired a telekinetic blast that skipped off the tank’s force field. The resilient alien woman flew from the building she had just been knocked into, and shot a volley of black flame. It too seemed to have no effect on the tank. Warwolf leaped onto the tank searching for an opening. The vehicle appeared impenetrable. As Darkfire tried to fly towards the tank, the secondary gun on the tank’s main turret fired and drove her back. Valor tried another tactic and closed his eyes, searching for the alien minds in the tank.
Slipstream looked up at the hovertank seeing Warwolf impotently punching at the hull. He howled looking for a hatch to peel back.
“This is gonna be crazy,” said the speedster as he to jumped onto the tank.
Warwolf’s eyes went wide as he saw Slipstream begin to vibrate extremely quickly and sink into the vehicle. Once inside, Slipstream let out an energy blast attempting to destroy the tank controls. Static electricity raced through the tank, but there were no tell-tale signs of success. Three lizard-like aliens unbuckled the straps from their gunner’s chairs and drew katana-like weapons as they rose. The speedster, in the confined space, ran back and forth punching his new set of foes. He heard the main turret gunner scream and saw him thrash about.
In his mind, Valor McCoy had convinced the alien that he was drowning. This allowed Darkfire to close on the tank without being shot this time, and bend the main turret, rendering it inoperable. Smoke began to fill the inside. Warwolf jumped away and the tank disappeared.
“Slipstream!” yelled Dragonfist running towards where the tank had been.
“Aww man, they’re gone!” cried out Captain Valor, sensing the mind he had influenced leave this plane of existence.
But then Warwolf heard a yell and looked up. Slipstream was falling from the sky. Darkfire tried to catch him and missed. He landed on the pavement with a hard SMACK!
[End of Issue #2]
Last edited:
Malachai_rose
First Post
Man I luvvvv me some Champions. I mean seriously its a great system (very flexible) and it makes for some tight story hours (lol, the fact I play in it probably biases me a little though ).
That was a very cool fight cept for the part where I almost got ported into a nether dimension ruled by some crazy chick.
Lol, I actually did but I looked over at Broc and said "so you up for runnin a extra dimensionl campaign", needless to say he thought about it for like 5 seconds than agreed to give me a Dex check to see if I was able to desolidify and fall through the bottom of the tank before it completely left our reality. As you can see Slipstream made it
). That was a very cool fight cept for the part where I almost got ported into a nether dimension ruled by some crazy chick.
Lol, I actually did but I looked over at Broc and said "so you up for runnin a extra dimensionl campaign", needless to say he thought about it for like 5 seconds than agreed to give me a Dex check to see if I was able to desolidify and fall through the bottom of the tank before it completely left our reality. As you can see Slipstream made it
Broccli_Head
Explorer
Tokiwong said:
Thanks for the kind words Tokiwong.
Glad that you are seeing the posts as scenes. I am trying to convey a comic book storyboard kinda feel and one of these days, one of my players (the one who plays Dragonfist) will do the art! He's already done the Legion Extreme Logo and is working on the cover for the Double-sized Issue #1.
Broccli_Head
Explorer
issue#3, part I
Legion Extreme Issue #3 :Return of the Destroyer, part III
Jae Sun Lee heard a small explosion.
“Spell no work, Jae Sun, but you in luck. I am expert in botany.”
The detective watched as a soot-covered Dr. Lu ran into a back room and began carrying one dusty tome after another and began setting them on a table. Anaka dutifully helped the old man an soon a pile of reference books were opened and the good doctor was browsing through attempting to categorize Jae Sun’s sample.
After about twenty minutes, however Dr. Lu was sound asleep, his head resting on a large book. Jae Sun would have to wait until the morning to discover the origins of the mysterious pine needles he had recovered from the wreckage of the wardroids that his companions had destroyed at Unitron, Inc yesterday. Today had also been exciting with the rescue of Darkfire from extra-dimensional hunters. The super-strong girl was resting now in one of the many rooms above the shop. He would hook her up with Vivian tomorrow and have his administrative assistant take her shopping. Time passed and Jae Sun kept watch.
“Aww man, my achin’ head. Dude, that’s worse than being hit in the noggin’ by your surfboard.”
Slipstream exited a side-room, grabbing his head. “Man, I shoulda stayed ghosty, and—“
“And then ended up in the sewers or tunnels, or solid rock, since you are unfamiliar with what lies beneath the streets and alleyways in the North End. So what happened inside the hovertank? Ahem…Warwolf and Dragonfist informed me of the events in rescuing my new ward, this Darkfire woman.”
“Yay! So we rescued Hot Chick? Way cool.”
He stared into space, glassy-eyed, thinking of Darkfire and her unearthly beauty. Jae Sun crossed his arms, trying to be patient with the recovering Slipstream. The speedster took the hint.
“Well, like I was layin’ down the smack on the lizard-dudes and then I guess the captain said ‘Argahwroarka goh!’ and all these symbols appeared on the console. So I’m like ‘Ahh!’ and I turn into Ghost Slipstream and suddenly I am shoved hard from the tank. Next thing I know I’m fallin’ and Hot Chick tries to grab me, then I see the ground and decide to not go underground. Lights out! She's like a Barbie doll anyway. Well, except with black hair instead of blonde. Too perfect to be real.”
“The hovertank returned to its home plane. You are fortunate that you left when you did.”
Slipstream nodded in agreement and then gave Jae Sun a look of concern.
“Like, did anyone pull away my hood?”
“Do not worry, Warwolf, in his strange way understands the need for secrets. He grabbed you and carried you here to Dr. Lu’s without anyone seeing. I am told you left a nice crater.”
Slipstream smiled. “And the rest?”
“Valor left. He said he had an experiment to run early in the morning. Somnus. They found him passed out on the roof. He says he must have been attacked from behind by one of your adversaries. He returned to wherever his home in the Boston area lies. Darkfire and Dragonfist sleep here, in separate rooms, of course.”
“Of course,” said Slipstream curious about the added comment. “And Sco-, Mar-, I mean the Warwolf?”
“The Warwolf comes and goes as he pleases.”
Slipstream wanted more insight, but the detective offered none.
“Well, I’m a little dizzy, but gotta go.”
Again, before Jae Sun could protest, Slipstream was off in a flash, crashing through the door. Jae Sun winced, knowing the doctor would be upset in the morning.
**
“Vermont! Dude, there’s nothing in Vermont!”
“Exactly, except this rare Northern Blue Pine, and the place where the robots come from.”
Jae Sun held his precious sample for the others to see. An incredulous Slipstream continued to protest.
“I trust Dr. James Lu. He is an expert botanist, herbalist, apothecary, etc.,” defended Jae Sun Lee.
Slipstream reached over and grabbed the baggie of pine needles.
“Yeah, but this ain’t for makin’ tea.”
“Actually…,” Dr. Lu started to chime in, but was interrupted.
“We are going to this state park where these trees are located in abundance. We have no other leads.”
“Well let me talk to Stalwart. I got his card right here.”
Slipstream reached into one of his hidden pockets.
“I would rather not involve the government. I believe that we can take on whatever comes our way especially with our added arsenal.”
Jae Sun motioned to Darkfire, who was listening and only understanding every few words. She had understood that there were bad guys and these people who had rescued her were trying to find their fortress and take them out. It sounded good to her so she nodded her head in agreement. Earlier that day, her and Vivian had gone shopping and Darkfire was now dressed in one of the latest fashions, a black and red pant-suit with a cool broad belt. Vivian, a fashion designer had promised her something more form-fitting after taking her measurements, but at least this was better than the sack she had had to wear the other day.
“So how do we get there?” asked Anaka.
“Not a problem for me, just give me directions and I’m outta here.”
Slipstream made ready to leave.
“The rest of us will need to get there more quickly than a motor vehicle could take us. I will ring Logan Airport and arrange a helicopter ride.”
“Then I’ll meet you up there. I think there’s a Pancake House on the way. I’m hungry.”
Slipstream zipped off towards points north. Anaka helped Dr. Lu gather his field gear and he, Jae Sun, and Darkfire piled into a cab and raced to Logan Airport. He called the numbers that Valor McCoy and Somnus had provided as they rode. Only Somnus met them.
The woman from another dimension closed her eyes until they reached the airport, not liking the confined carriage. However, once they were airborne, Darkfire came alive, enjoying the view from the air and the wider windows. Dr. Lu, in contrast did not, and complained the whole time to Bomoseen State Park. Slipstream was waiting for them when they arrived taking in the spectacular view of the lake. In the blink of an eye, he ran over to greet them where they had landed, in the parking lot nearby the ranger station.
“Took you guys long enough,” he greeted them wiping some syrup from his shiny uniform.
“This is a very strange place for a robot factory,” added Anaka stepping from the helicopter.
“I agree. Still, it is very rural,” commented Jae Sun inhaling the fresh, cool fall mountain air.
Dr. Lu was already mumbling and comparing his sample to the nearest pine tree. The local ranger ran out to challenge them. Darkfire went airborne and the ranger stopped and stared. Jae Sun gave the helicopter pilot instructions, some money to give the ranger and headed after the good doctor before he got himself in trouble. Slipstream zipped back and forth from tree to tree running “point”. Somnus flew into the air to look for anything interesting. Northern Blue Pine grew everywhere and the group wandered following a series of trails.
“There is evidence of old mining camps in the preserve,” commented Jae Sun looking at a trail map that Anaka had procured. “We should head for one of these and do some investigations.”
They all agreed and left the main trail to find one of these camps. Shortly, they came to a large mound that had been strangely cleared of trees. On this hill, rested a cabin, again oddly out of place. Dr. Lu and Jae Sun sent the rest to investigate while they, being less super and more normal, retreated back into the woods where the others could not see.
As James Lu watched, Jae Sun fell to his knees and let the Warwolf come. Soon the 6’6” tall and wiry Chinese man was replaced with 8’ of black fur and muscle. Warwolf snarled as the wind carried a familiar scent to his nostrils.
“Move back, old man, Warwolf smells the enemy.”
**
The Warwolf bounded forward towards the cabin and located a ventilation shaft. As the rest of the superheroes gathered around, the wolfman tore away the grating as if it were paper and slid down into the depths. They followed. The Warwolf felt the battle coming and pounced through the air ducts as his uncanny senses led him. Legion Extreme came to an opening high above what looked like a war room. Six wardroids went about their sinister business. A red metallic robot supervised the group while it manipulated multicolored buttons on a large console. Two quick blue ‘bots buzzed around from panel to panel carrying out silent orders, and three green and bulky ‘droids floated back and forth carrying crates. A blank screen dominated the room.
Slipstream, preferring to strike at a distance, let forth a sonic blast at the leader and then backed away from the opening. The attack only served to get its attention. The robots halted their work and metallic voices echoed through the chamber. The Warwolf, not one for hit-and-run tactics, leaped into the room and attacked the red leader with tooth and claw. His attack also seemed to have little effect. The robot responded with a fist smash of its own sending Warwolf flying into a nearby captain’s chair. The dexterous beast sat up in the chair and went in for another round. However, even as strong as the Warwolf was, he was no match for the concentrated firepower or three wardroids. The blue robots hovered above him and unleashed two furious plasma blasts. As Warwolf fought against unconsciousness, he pummeled the metallic breast of the red robot once more finally making some dents. The red finished the job, cracking Warwolf across the side of the head sending the werebeast sprawling to the ground.
On the other side of the room, Dragonfist had suffered a similar fate. Initially, he had triumphed, jumping in front of and pulverizing a green robot with his rapid Dragonfists. However, its two ‘brothers’ floated over to him and let loose with a series of quick plasma rounds. He deftly twisted and flipped avoiding four of the five shots from the first robot. Unfortunately, this sent him into the five more from the other robot. Slipstream whimpered as he sped past Dragonfist’s smoking form. He hoped his buddy was still alive.
Darkfire had flown into the battle a second too late to prevent the blues from solely targeting Warwolf. One flew below, and she targeted it with her arcane fireballs. The explosions sent it crashing to the ground and into the floor. Taking shots from the red and the other blue, Darkfire flew to help Slipstream finish the greens. In short order, they too were reduced to piles of broken parts. Seeing Darkfire blackened and brusied, and her new clothes nearly shredded, Slipstream took some time to stimulate the molecules in her body to heal some of the damage the robot plasma blasts had caused. Then they returned to the fray.
Slipstream ran rings around the red robot punching it several times in the span of a heartbeat finally knocking its head off. The rest of the body fell to its knees, electricity surging from the joints. Darkfire sent her aerial opponent reeling with her fire blasts. However, it quickly stabilized itself and flew back towards her, shooting her with its own energy blast. The force sent the superhero crashing through the wall and into the bedrock where she lay still. The blue ‘bot began to close, but Slipstream was faster. He sped to the hole that Darkfire’s body had created and revived her with some more hyper-speed molecular adjustment. The alien woman shook the cobwebs from her head and saw the robot closing. She flew directly at it and smashed it to pieces. Unfortunately, the force of the blow sent her temporarily into knockout land as well. Slipstream ran to Dragonfist to make sure that he was not dead and dragged him closer to the rest of the group. Somnus finally flew down and shrugged his shoulders.
“Sorry, I cannot affect the minds of robots, so I decided to sit this one out.”
Darkfire and Warwolf were coming to and Anaka breathed more steadily. They sat or crouched on all fours, grimacing in pain and surveying the damage. Machinery was sparking and hissing here and there and the aftermath of the battle had left the underground room a little smoky. Even with all the debris strewn about, the screen remained undamaged although a piece of the last robot had solidly stuck into the control panel right beneath. Suddenly, the screen came to life and a huge masked face appeared. All the heroes, except for Darkfire instantly recognized the regal, yet sinister apparition as its piercing eyes examined each one of them.
Slipstream began to cry….
Legion Extreme Issue #3 :Return of the Destroyer, part III
Jae Sun Lee heard a small explosion.
“Spell no work, Jae Sun, but you in luck. I am expert in botany.”
The detective watched as a soot-covered Dr. Lu ran into a back room and began carrying one dusty tome after another and began setting them on a table. Anaka dutifully helped the old man an soon a pile of reference books were opened and the good doctor was browsing through attempting to categorize Jae Sun’s sample.
After about twenty minutes, however Dr. Lu was sound asleep, his head resting on a large book. Jae Sun would have to wait until the morning to discover the origins of the mysterious pine needles he had recovered from the wreckage of the wardroids that his companions had destroyed at Unitron, Inc yesterday. Today had also been exciting with the rescue of Darkfire from extra-dimensional hunters. The super-strong girl was resting now in one of the many rooms above the shop. He would hook her up with Vivian tomorrow and have his administrative assistant take her shopping. Time passed and Jae Sun kept watch.
“Aww man, my achin’ head. Dude, that’s worse than being hit in the noggin’ by your surfboard.”
Slipstream exited a side-room, grabbing his head. “Man, I shoulda stayed ghosty, and—“
“And then ended up in the sewers or tunnels, or solid rock, since you are unfamiliar with what lies beneath the streets and alleyways in the North End. So what happened inside the hovertank? Ahem…Warwolf and Dragonfist informed me of the events in rescuing my new ward, this Darkfire woman.”
“Yay! So we rescued Hot Chick? Way cool.”
He stared into space, glassy-eyed, thinking of Darkfire and her unearthly beauty. Jae Sun crossed his arms, trying to be patient with the recovering Slipstream. The speedster took the hint.
“Well, like I was layin’ down the smack on the lizard-dudes and then I guess the captain said ‘Argahwroarka goh!’ and all these symbols appeared on the console. So I’m like ‘Ahh!’ and I turn into Ghost Slipstream and suddenly I am shoved hard from the tank. Next thing I know I’m fallin’ and Hot Chick tries to grab me, then I see the ground and decide to not go underground. Lights out! She's like a Barbie doll anyway. Well, except with black hair instead of blonde. Too perfect to be real.”
“The hovertank returned to its home plane. You are fortunate that you left when you did.”
Slipstream nodded in agreement and then gave Jae Sun a look of concern.
“Like, did anyone pull away my hood?”
“Do not worry, Warwolf, in his strange way understands the need for secrets. He grabbed you and carried you here to Dr. Lu’s without anyone seeing. I am told you left a nice crater.”
Slipstream smiled. “And the rest?”
“Valor left. He said he had an experiment to run early in the morning. Somnus. They found him passed out on the roof. He says he must have been attacked from behind by one of your adversaries. He returned to wherever his home in the Boston area lies. Darkfire and Dragonfist sleep here, in separate rooms, of course.”
“Of course,” said Slipstream curious about the added comment. “And Sco-, Mar-, I mean the Warwolf?”
“The Warwolf comes and goes as he pleases.”
Slipstream wanted more insight, but the detective offered none.
“Well, I’m a little dizzy, but gotta go.”
Again, before Jae Sun could protest, Slipstream was off in a flash, crashing through the door. Jae Sun winced, knowing the doctor would be upset in the morning.
**
“Vermont! Dude, there’s nothing in Vermont!”
“Exactly, except this rare Northern Blue Pine, and the place where the robots come from.”
Jae Sun held his precious sample for the others to see. An incredulous Slipstream continued to protest.
“I trust Dr. James Lu. He is an expert botanist, herbalist, apothecary, etc.,” defended Jae Sun Lee.
Slipstream reached over and grabbed the baggie of pine needles.
“Yeah, but this ain’t for makin’ tea.”
“Actually…,” Dr. Lu started to chime in, but was interrupted.
“We are going to this state park where these trees are located in abundance. We have no other leads.”
“Well let me talk to Stalwart. I got his card right here.”
Slipstream reached into one of his hidden pockets.
“I would rather not involve the government. I believe that we can take on whatever comes our way especially with our added arsenal.”
Jae Sun motioned to Darkfire, who was listening and only understanding every few words. She had understood that there were bad guys and these people who had rescued her were trying to find their fortress and take them out. It sounded good to her so she nodded her head in agreement. Earlier that day, her and Vivian had gone shopping and Darkfire was now dressed in one of the latest fashions, a black and red pant-suit with a cool broad belt. Vivian, a fashion designer had promised her something more form-fitting after taking her measurements, but at least this was better than the sack she had had to wear the other day.
“So how do we get there?” asked Anaka.
“Not a problem for me, just give me directions and I’m outta here.”
Slipstream made ready to leave.
“The rest of us will need to get there more quickly than a motor vehicle could take us. I will ring Logan Airport and arrange a helicopter ride.”
“Then I’ll meet you up there. I think there’s a Pancake House on the way. I’m hungry.”
Slipstream zipped off towards points north. Anaka helped Dr. Lu gather his field gear and he, Jae Sun, and Darkfire piled into a cab and raced to Logan Airport. He called the numbers that Valor McCoy and Somnus had provided as they rode. Only Somnus met them.
The woman from another dimension closed her eyes until they reached the airport, not liking the confined carriage. However, once they were airborne, Darkfire came alive, enjoying the view from the air and the wider windows. Dr. Lu, in contrast did not, and complained the whole time to Bomoseen State Park. Slipstream was waiting for them when they arrived taking in the spectacular view of the lake. In the blink of an eye, he ran over to greet them where they had landed, in the parking lot nearby the ranger station.
“Took you guys long enough,” he greeted them wiping some syrup from his shiny uniform.
“This is a very strange place for a robot factory,” added Anaka stepping from the helicopter.
“I agree. Still, it is very rural,” commented Jae Sun inhaling the fresh, cool fall mountain air.
Dr. Lu was already mumbling and comparing his sample to the nearest pine tree. The local ranger ran out to challenge them. Darkfire went airborne and the ranger stopped and stared. Jae Sun gave the helicopter pilot instructions, some money to give the ranger and headed after the good doctor before he got himself in trouble. Slipstream zipped back and forth from tree to tree running “point”. Somnus flew into the air to look for anything interesting. Northern Blue Pine grew everywhere and the group wandered following a series of trails.
“There is evidence of old mining camps in the preserve,” commented Jae Sun looking at a trail map that Anaka had procured. “We should head for one of these and do some investigations.”
They all agreed and left the main trail to find one of these camps. Shortly, they came to a large mound that had been strangely cleared of trees. On this hill, rested a cabin, again oddly out of place. Dr. Lu and Jae Sun sent the rest to investigate while they, being less super and more normal, retreated back into the woods where the others could not see.
As James Lu watched, Jae Sun fell to his knees and let the Warwolf come. Soon the 6’6” tall and wiry Chinese man was replaced with 8’ of black fur and muscle. Warwolf snarled as the wind carried a familiar scent to his nostrils.
“Move back, old man, Warwolf smells the enemy.”
**
The Warwolf bounded forward towards the cabin and located a ventilation shaft. As the rest of the superheroes gathered around, the wolfman tore away the grating as if it were paper and slid down into the depths. They followed. The Warwolf felt the battle coming and pounced through the air ducts as his uncanny senses led him. Legion Extreme came to an opening high above what looked like a war room. Six wardroids went about their sinister business. A red metallic robot supervised the group while it manipulated multicolored buttons on a large console. Two quick blue ‘bots buzzed around from panel to panel carrying out silent orders, and three green and bulky ‘droids floated back and forth carrying crates. A blank screen dominated the room.
Slipstream, preferring to strike at a distance, let forth a sonic blast at the leader and then backed away from the opening. The attack only served to get its attention. The robots halted their work and metallic voices echoed through the chamber. The Warwolf, not one for hit-and-run tactics, leaped into the room and attacked the red leader with tooth and claw. His attack also seemed to have little effect. The robot responded with a fist smash of its own sending Warwolf flying into a nearby captain’s chair. The dexterous beast sat up in the chair and went in for another round. However, even as strong as the Warwolf was, he was no match for the concentrated firepower or three wardroids. The blue robots hovered above him and unleashed two furious plasma blasts. As Warwolf fought against unconsciousness, he pummeled the metallic breast of the red robot once more finally making some dents. The red finished the job, cracking Warwolf across the side of the head sending the werebeast sprawling to the ground.
On the other side of the room, Dragonfist had suffered a similar fate. Initially, he had triumphed, jumping in front of and pulverizing a green robot with his rapid Dragonfists. However, its two ‘brothers’ floated over to him and let loose with a series of quick plasma rounds. He deftly twisted and flipped avoiding four of the five shots from the first robot. Unfortunately, this sent him into the five more from the other robot. Slipstream whimpered as he sped past Dragonfist’s smoking form. He hoped his buddy was still alive.
Darkfire had flown into the battle a second too late to prevent the blues from solely targeting Warwolf. One flew below, and she targeted it with her arcane fireballs. The explosions sent it crashing to the ground and into the floor. Taking shots from the red and the other blue, Darkfire flew to help Slipstream finish the greens. In short order, they too were reduced to piles of broken parts. Seeing Darkfire blackened and brusied, and her new clothes nearly shredded, Slipstream took some time to stimulate the molecules in her body to heal some of the damage the robot plasma blasts had caused. Then they returned to the fray.
Slipstream ran rings around the red robot punching it several times in the span of a heartbeat finally knocking its head off. The rest of the body fell to its knees, electricity surging from the joints. Darkfire sent her aerial opponent reeling with her fire blasts. However, it quickly stabilized itself and flew back towards her, shooting her with its own energy blast. The force sent the superhero crashing through the wall and into the bedrock where she lay still. The blue ‘bot began to close, but Slipstream was faster. He sped to the hole that Darkfire’s body had created and revived her with some more hyper-speed molecular adjustment. The alien woman shook the cobwebs from her head and saw the robot closing. She flew directly at it and smashed it to pieces. Unfortunately, the force of the blow sent her temporarily into knockout land as well. Slipstream ran to Dragonfist to make sure that he was not dead and dragged him closer to the rest of the group. Somnus finally flew down and shrugged his shoulders.
“Sorry, I cannot affect the minds of robots, so I decided to sit this one out.”
Darkfire and Warwolf were coming to and Anaka breathed more steadily. They sat or crouched on all fours, grimacing in pain and surveying the damage. Machinery was sparking and hissing here and there and the aftermath of the battle had left the underground room a little smoky. Even with all the debris strewn about, the screen remained undamaged although a piece of the last robot had solidly stuck into the control panel right beneath. Suddenly, the screen came to life and a huge masked face appeared. All the heroes, except for Darkfire instantly recognized the regal, yet sinister apparition as its piercing eyes examined each one of them.
Slipstream began to cry….
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