csyphrett

Re: Teen Guardians The Guardians 4:25 pm 'Great,' Emp mentally intoned as the group walked towards him. "Please everyone, those people are going to need your help. Get some water, hoses anything." He hated to try this right now as he needed to be focused on the area just in case she was still here. He'd be an easier target. He tried to project the emotion of concern towards the people hoping after his plea for help people might actually be concerned enough to help Pusher with the flames. "What's going on?" was the general question. More and more of the neighbors joined the crowd around Hardball and Emp. He looked at them, well at least for now they where going to maybe listen. "We're looking for a murderer that uses explosives on her victims. She calls herself Heartbreaker. Has anyone seen anything strange before tonight?" "No." One of the men looked around. "Everything's been quiet. You seem kind of young to be looking for murderers." Some of the local wives and daughters arrived, wondering what was going on. "What happened to the Devoreauxs' house?" "Look, that's a skull." "I can't believe this." Patty made a wider sweep, starting to include those places where someone might be overwatching the area--and looking for Hardball as well. If she had blown up the house--Heartbreaker would want Hardball to see it... Patty didn't see anything out of the ordinary. That suggested she had triggered an automated ambush, or a means to destroy Blanche's identity. No one can claim you're a villain if you're dead. "I know this will be hard to explain, the murderer was in that house. We believe it was a shape shifter." That was a lie but to these people it was likely easier to believe than Blanche herself being the killer of her parents. "Any information, any at all would be welcomed." At least with the shape shifter lie this might get someone to speak up about things that they might have actually noticed differently in house hold. So far he was lucky these people didn't seem to recognize him. That or his costume had been changed again without him realizing it. EMP's power activated, attracting all the women standing in the crowd. They began to press in on him, and Hardball, but mostly him. Some of them started to work out of their own clothes. "Agnes, what are you doing?" An octogenarian looked befuddled by his wife's behavior. "I'm getting me some fresh meat." Agnes responded, exposing her wrinkled body to the world. "Come here, big boy." Tachyon rounded the corner--and almost tripped herself as her jaw hit the pavement at the impromptu strip show on the street before them--and despite her semi-immunity to his powers, felt...the pull as well... ...She laid on the speed and swept him into her arms, slowing from his weight and her speed, yet taking him out of the line of naked folks... ...And around the corner twice and into an alley... ...Where she deposited him on his feet. "Wow...was I like that?" she panted, her cheeks a bit flushed and her eyes dilated slightly. "Y-yeah. First timers usually are." He smiled at her. He could still feel the power around him even as he silently cursed himself for not being strong enough to keep his power from triggering with so many people talking to him. At least now he remembered why he preferred to leave when the crowds showed up. Her right hand traced the musculature of his chest and her left guided his to her buttock-then her eyes began to clear slowly-but she didn't move his hand from where she guided it. "Where you able to find anything?" He kept his eyes on her, they where soft betraying the tone of voice he was using trying to work the effort to get his power back under control. "No, nothing," she said, closing her eyes and breathing deep, taking charge of her body and emotions once again. "Wow...sorry." She moved her hands to his arms-and stood on tiptoe and kissed him firmly on the lips-then broke it. "That wasn't you, that was me, okay?" she smiled. "Anyway, no, nothing, she had to be watching, but I didn't find her anywhere--and inside the house..." She shook again and folded into his arms. "It wasn't good--it was a pure trap--anyone else going in probably wouldn't have gotten out, but I can give a good description of the energy she uses for the explosive, not that that helps us figure out how she does it, but its something, anyway." She still hadn't move his hand away from her butt. Eric could feel the texture of her body where she'd left his hand and even as she was coming back down from the empathic burst he couldn't help himself against his own hormones. He gave her butt a bit of a goose before letting go. Tachyon gave an obligatory *eep* and smiled at him. Eric returned the smile with an impish grin. "Well I guess for now we better stay away from the group of people near the fire. Don't need a repeat of old people throwing themselves at me." Patty nodded. "right--stay here--I don't know if Hardball will listen to me--I hope he does, but...we need someone to question those folks, maybe someone saw her leave-and maybe someone knows where she went." She turned to go-then turned back and again stood on tiptoe and her lips brushed his cheek. "I'll be back--are you staying or moving on?" "Well you asked me to stay here so.. I guess I'll wait here for you to get back. Still if she thinks we where killed in the fire with her parents we might have the element of surprise on her if she tries to attack the captain." Tachyon smiled up at him, "Thank you," and then frowned. "I'll tell Hardball that, too, okay? I'd forgotten about the Captain what if he's coming in and she's waiting for him right now." The women snapped out of it, the husbands had questions, and Hardball was stuck in the middle of the crowd with everyone looking at him. "Right," said Hardball, "now that the horny housewife situation has been averted, might I suggest that the we all try to forget it ever happened and concentrate on containing the house fire before it travels to one of your properties. I know you have questions, but unless you want one of them to be 'Why did I stand around asking questions while my house was under threat' you should leave them all till later. First thing the men need to do is clear the cars from the streets so the firefighters can bring the truck in, first thing the ladies need to do is recloth themselves so the police don't have even more questions. As for me, I'm going to see if there are any survivors inside, 'cause that's what heroes do." He turned and walked purposefully toward the raging inferno. If Heartbreaker was the kind of psycho he took her for her 'replacement' would still be alive in there somewhere so that HB could revel in her agony. (Plus if HB was watching, and was as obsessed with him as she claimed she might slip up in an attempt to save him). Hardball saw that the house had blown in from the multiple explosions. Half of the fire had been put out by Pusher. He didn't see or hear anybody moving in the blaze and smoke. Pusher and the hasty bucket brigade Hardball asked for seem to be containing the fire. The pitching machine can see two blown apart beds lying in the shattered walls. Both have the remains of bodies on them, one just seems to have two adults, the other a teenage girl. What's left of them are on the bed. The girl vanished in a trail of dust and debris; a moment later, she, vibrating at speed, appeared next to Hardball. "Hardball," her voice had a vibrato to it that was caused by her hiding her identity, "Eric can't question these folks--I couldn't find Blanche, Heartbreaker anywhere--someone needs to questions them, find out if anyone saw anything, like her leaving--maybe someone saw her leave in a car or going a direction or something." She frowned. "And Eric said maybe she's looking for the Captain and stuff and I don't know when he's due in is that today or tomorrow and didn't someone warn the cops about him and her and what she might do and isn't it presumptuous of her to think that we were all caught up in the big boom or just you I can get you out of here and there that'd be a big surprise if you want but you don't have to just offering a suggestion." By way of answer Hardball turned from the sight of the burned corpses of what were most likely Heartbreaker's parents and some innocent child who she had chosen to take her place. Tachyon couldn't tell, given his usual manner toward her and his full face mask, but he seemed even more harsh than usual. For one thing he'd stopped calling her Rabbit. "Tachyon. How many people can you carry while you're at full speed? If it's only one take Pusher and get to Andrew Jackson High School as quickly as possible, since that's where the Captain is supposed to be making his dedication. I'll take Emp and go to the docks in case he's still there. The team who finds him calls the other. It may also be a good idea to have the Captain checked over by a doctor in case HB has already introduced the explosive to his system." He then strode of toward the direction that Tachyon had come. "On it." Tachyon zipped away, coming up behind Pusher. "Gotta go I'll splain on the way." She lifted him--he was heavier than Eric--but still, she could carry him, barely--and accelerated to full speed--that was seriously cut back with the excess weight--and she 'flipped gears twice, building up to speed--and burning more energy, energy she was rapidly running low on. "Hardball said he and EMP would go to the pier for the Captain on the in-case he was coming in, but wanted us to intercept at the school--he's due for the ceremony there as well." "I can swim through molecules." Pusher looked back, thinking he might have put most of the fire out. "It's not as fast as you, but it can get me through the city." "Just lighten yourself and I'll do the transport--I don't know how much time we have do you know how much time we have I'm going to have to stop for food or something pretty quick anyway." "Lighten myself?" Pusher looked down. "I guess I can do that." He activated his power, slipping inside Tachyon, so he can hold on while she ran across the city. Eric continued to wait, he wasn't sure how far Patty had taken him after her run but he was sure that at some point they'd be coming this way to let him know what was going on. There where at least two turns and then this alley way. Patty's speed increased, "Thanks!"...until they hit the school. "hungry," she almost whined. "Gotta get something to eat." "Go ahead." Pusher slid to his feet, cutting off his power. "I'll look around." "Back in Five." Tachyon hit her speed, cranking it up--and raced through the drive-through of the local fast-food, ordering nearly twenty dollars of food off the dollar menu; paying for it, she found herself a quiet tree and--for her, quite daintily but to the outside observer, literally shoveled the food into her mouth, tossing away the wrappers thirty seconds later--and, sated for now, pressed on the gas and headed back for the school, actually arriving almost a minute earlier than she'd predicted. "What's up? Find anything?" "The school's closed and the ceremony doesn't start until the day after tomorrow." Pusher pointed at a sign with the date on it. "He's probably dead on his boat right now." Eric's phone rang/vibrated. He saw it was Hardball calling. "Meet me at the bike. We're going to check the captain's boat to see if he's still breathing and your girlfriend and Pusher are taking the school." The phone went dead It would have been nice if he'd told me where his bike was, thought Eric. Eric knew that which direction Hardball had entered the area in to catch up with them. His bike must be along that line. Additionally he was only a block and a half, maybe two blocks away, and could still see the smoke above the trees to show him where to go. "Well, this should be fun." Eric fumed at the phone before using the grapple gun to get a bit higher, sending off his own message to Hardball. "Meet you at the pier." It also included the address for the boat in case Hardball didn't already know it. He preferred his own mode of travel and it would prevent a long delay in meeting up. Part of him was also annoyed that Pusher was more of a help to Patty then he would be at the school. Stupid powers. He sighed before laughing himself in the swings at full speed, at least since he'd been there once before getting there again would be a bit faster. The houses were for the most part one and two story. EMP spotted the destroyed Deveroux house and its crowd on his first swing to get altitude. A few minutes of traveling with his line gun allowed him to reach the vantage point of the dock he was at earlier. Police were in evidence below. At least his word had been taken seriously enough. Eric watched from his vantage point for a while seeing what he could make out from a safe close distance. He didn't want to give the police a different target than Heartbreaker. However he did send a text message to Hardball warning him of the police around the docks. He didn't need his friend getting caught and arrested by the police either. The police bundled an old man into the back of a police car in the parking lot. They tossed a gym bag in with him. Then the caravan took off. Nariko 5:10 pm "I think we should try and get some sleep, Nariko." Mr. Miyama closed down the gate room. "We have a big day tomorrow." He led the way out of the massive chamber. She nodded and followed, asking on the way out with a touch of wonder, "Just how *many* worlds can be reached via that gate, father?" "I don't know." Mr. Miyama walked, hands behind his back. "We're always discovering more every time we cross over." Nariko followed, feeling quite comfortable and safe in her father's presence. "How many have you found so far?" "About twenty." Mr. Miyama put the alarm system on as he headed up to the living areas of the house. "We observe first before we go in so we go somewhere else as much as possible." She nodded, obviously both curious and intrigued by the whole thing. "Are we going to go to a new world *this* time, father?" "We hope to. I don't know how the police will react to us leaving town after your kidnaping. They might not like it." She frowned, obviously a bit annoyed at the police. "Well, what do they *expect* us to do, father? Just sit around and be a sitting duck for whoever did this if they decide to try again?" "I don't know." Mr. Miyama smiled. "The police don't always seem rational."

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... I dont know if this is the right thread but I got the first collection for PS 238 by Aaron Williams. It's awesome. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Finished Balefires by David Drake. Its a book of short stories, some of which have been collected in other books before. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 13 "Higgins." Enoch traced a letter into the marching line with a smile. "I think it's time for Dr. Krueger's latest son to provide a distraction." "Magistracy Tower?" Higgins knew that other groups were busy across the globe. Naturally the UN's team would strike for the head if it could. "Yes." Enoch smiled as he watched the flowing letters. "Silver and the Chemist are being dealt with as we speak. The others might as well go too. Then we can deal with the other protectors of the Earth." "Understood, sir." Higgins nodded at the strategy. Eliminating potential threats one at a time before they joined forces was a time honored tradition. "Is there anything else?" "A glass of milk, please." The butler nodded. He left the office long enough to fetch a glass of milk. Then he walked to the screens behind the desk. A snap of his fingers produced the geneticist's lined face. "Higgins? Higgins. What can I do for you?" Krueger didn't look happy to see the saturnine face at the other end of the video phone call. "The young master would like your latest project to demolish the Magistracy Tower, and kill everyone inside." Higgins raised an eyebrow at the wince his request had set off. Krueger seemed squeamish for a mad scientist. "It needs to be done as soon as possible." "I'll send him, but I think it's too early." Krueger looked off screen for a second. "He should have a better than even chance of succeeding." "We'll let you know what happened." Higgins cut the connection. "Better than even chance." "His prototypes were less than that." Enoch smiled. "If he can kill or cripple just one, that will help us when they try to stop my father." "What happens if they try to stop you first?" Higgins stood with his hands behind his back, looking down on his sitting charge. "I have you here to protect me." Enoch grinned at the butler, keeping up with his work as they talked. "I expect you to be my shield. That's why you were bound after all." "I wouldn't say that." Higgins kept his staid exterior intact. "Demons are perfect man servants." "We'll see how perfect you are if the Magistracy stumble on our little nest." Enoch made a dismissed gesture. "Don't think about crossing me." "Wouldn't dream of it." Higgins walked to the door, walking through after a bow of his head. Enoch looked at the door, moving the swirling lines along with strokes of his finger at the right place. Higgins seemed to be carrying out his duties with the same capability, but something was emerging from underneath the veneer. The heir didn't like what he was detecting when he interacted with the butler. Higgins was showing signs of breaking his oath and double-crossing the two writers. If that happened, their plan would be disrupted depending on where the butler applied his treachery. Perhaps he should be removed. Enoch thought about it, but realized as long as he was helping to merge the Earth with the alternate, he couldn't act on his suspicions. One major act to break the ritual would mean everything would have to be restarted. Surprise would be gone if he did that. Higgins would have to be watched for now. If he had to act against the butler, hopefully it would be after the spell was completed. That was the best he could hope for at the moment. Enoch wrote in more missing letters to change reality around the world.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... They're advertising a second book already, Barbara. Council of Evil, I think. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Read the Spider book. The Robot Titans of Gotham are three different novellas collected together. The first two feature the Spider, hunchbacked defender of justice, versus men in power armor and bats that kill with a bite. The third features another pulp hero, the Skull Killer, that uses disguises and brands his enemies with the mark of the skull as he battles the Octopus, a man intent on making monsters and using them to blackmail the city. CES

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Read The Unknown Soldier collection from DC: Wartime stories of the man no one knows but is known by all. Buso Renkin 1 by Nobuhiro Watsuki: The start of a manga story about a kid who has his heart replaced by a device that becomes a weapon to fight monsters. Working on Song of Susannah by Stephen King and The Spider: Robot Titans of Gotham by Norvell Page. CES

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 12 The Persian sat at the controls of the CORPS jet. His constant checking of instruments betrayed a certain urgency to anyone who knew him. Crys shouldn't have took off without the rest of the team. "We're coming up on our landing zone." The Persian used onboard cameras to pick out an empty field. He flipped the wings so the engines pointed straight down. "Ready, Pers." The Graft stood by the door, waiting for the plane to land. The Persian checked his instruments one more time. Everything seemed ready to go for a landing. He could make out a shimmery veil and a small village beyond. Flying things filled the air. He didn't want to fly into an attack since the jet didn't have weapons. "The Empty isn't responding well." Martina looked sick in her blue coverall. The Persian looked over his crew. He judged they were ready to deal with the threat. He just didn't know if they had the capability. "The mission is to get Crystalmach back and shut down whatever is causing this interference." The Persian eased the jet down on its landing gear before shutting the engines off. "We'll be crossing open ground, so we won't have any advantage of surprise." The Persian went over his options before stating them, looking for the easiest deployment that would ensure victory. "Cowboy, you're our front line. Believer and Blood Knife, I need you to watch our flanks. Graft will look after Empty until her powers come back up to speed. That's the best I can come up with until we know more about our enemy." "No problem, Boss." Cowboy's voice was a rumble to match the jet when in flight. "Let's go before they try to break in to take care of us." The Persian nodded. Cowboy, dressed like a hero from a western movie, pulled his Stetson low over his bovine face as he pushed the jet door open. He jumped down, growing another two or three feet before he hit the ground. The minotaur paused for the others to unload before heading toward a hill in the distance on the other side of the village. Believer dropped down, hand on the long barreled pistol holstered at her hip. The white cross on her black body armor glittered as she moved to the left. Her eyes sought out any unobvious menace while she waited for the flying birds to test her mettle. Blood Knife landed lightly, and walked to the right. His hand glowed lightly as he moved forward. His World War era fatigues turned him into a shadow moving with a round lamp in his hand. Goggles protected his eyes and worked as a mask. The Graft grabbed the door frame with his artificial third hand, while holding Empty around the waist with one of his normal hands. He swung down gently, poncho swinging slightly around him. He needed something like that for full use of his symbiote. A shirt meant something trying to hold his third arm to his chest. The Persian jumped into the air, hovering over his team. He was the only member of his team that could fly. He and Charles had talked about adding several fliers to the team, but so far had been unable to agree on who to try to recruit. Cowboy ballooned up, attracting the attention of the flying birds with his huge stature. Smokey breath snorted from his muzzle as he walked forward, each step the length of a football field. His fingers clinched into fists as big as elephants. The flock descended, firing curlicues of fiery clouds at the giant suddenly appearing in front of them. One hand crushed several with a swing like a man swatting flies from the air. He spotted an outline of something that might be a castle. He waved at the ground forces as he stepped over the village. The Persian pointed his wrist laser at any flying birds that tried to regroup to come after his team. He blasted a couple of them to keep them moving away as fast as possible. The burning things screamed in fury as they circled in the air. The ground forces crossed the boundary. The Empty became a black oil covering its host's body. Martina drew the Graft in, vanishing in the night air. She returned moments later for Blood Knife and Believer. "We're all up by this castle, Persian." The Graft's voice sounded cheerful over the radio line. "Looks like a small army is getting ready for Cowboy. Ugly things if you ask me." The Persian dialed up his vision. He could see the four at the base of the wall, but not the castle itself. The Graft stood there, smiling under the cloth mask he wore over his eyes. "We need Crys." The Persian considered his mission. "Get in and find her. Cowboy and I will try to keep them busy." "Can do, Persian." The Empty took them inside the castle, out of their android leader's sight.

Re: The New Circle

Re: Quote of the Week from my gaming group... The Gm posted a small delay while he waits for posts from some players. I said, "Dead again and blaming you." CES

Re: The New Circle 2 Character Name: The Laugh Real Name: Ronald Edgar Nationality: American Hair/Eye Color: brown, brown Place of Birth: Santa Monica, CA Date of Birth: 5/31/1931 Height/Mass: 5'8", 190 pounds Cost Characteristic Value 5 STR 15 30 DEX 20 20 CON 20 40 BODY 30 10 INT 20 20 EGO 20 8 PRE 18 2 COM 12 PD 3 ED 4 20 SPD 4 REC 7 END 40 STUN 47 OCV: 6 DCV: 6 OECV: 6 DECV: 6 Phases: 3,6,9,12 Cost Powers and Talents (END) Invisible to sight in shadows or darkness (-½), OIHID (-1/4) 11pts Toughened body: 75% Physical Damage Reduction 60 pts OIHID (-1/4) 48 pts Suppress Electricity 60 pt Multipower OIHID (-1/4) 48 pts 4u Electrical Drain: 6d6 suppress electricity 30 pts, AOE (+ 1 circle) OIHID (-1/4) 48 pts 4u Knockout: 12d6 Int Drain 60 pts, OIHID (-1/4) 48 pts Resistant to gases and poisons: Life supports all poisons and chemical warfare 10 pts OIHID (-1/4) 8 pts Cost Skills 3 PS: law 13- 3 KS: law 13- 3 KS: criminal underworld 13- 3 AK: Los Angeles and surroundings. 13- 3 Deduction 13- 3 Criminology 13- 3 Streetwise 13- 3 Combat driving 2 TF: Motor vehicles 2 WF: small arms 3 Stealth 13- 3 Shadowing 13- 3 Electronics 13- 3 Lockpicking 13- 3 Paramedics 13- 3 Oratory 12- 10 + 2 DCV 8 Contact: Volter the mob boss 11- 8 Contact: Wesson the detective 11- 150 Points Disadvantages 25 Watched by LA police department 14- 25 Watched by LA gangs 14- 15 Vengeful 20 Looking to Prove Innocence 15 Secret Identity 10 Reputation: Crooked Prosecutor 11- 15 Rivalry: Max Stein Mob Fixer 25 DNPC: Norma Lee, Nosy Reporter 11- CHA Cost = 155 Total Powers Cost = 123 Total Skills Cost = 72 Total Cost = 350 Background Information: Ronald Edgar studied law, joining the Los Angeles District Attorney's office after working as a patrolman. He began a meteoric rise, hoping to be the next DA. Everything looked just right. Others opposed Edgar's chosen path. He was convicted of taking bribes, and sent to prison. It was a brutal few years, but Edgar held on, winning respect by standing up to anyone who got in his way. Several of the mobsters in lock up with Edgar worked an early release for him, putting him back on the street. They wanted an agent that could move in circles they couldn't touch. Edgar agreed in the hopes of clearing his name. Edgar uncovered several plots, exposing some to the public while keeping one to himself. The public didn't need to know about the Monk juice and effect it gave anybody who drank it. He uses the juice to keep himself ahead of both sides of the fence as he looks for a way to clear himself. Quote: "There's nothing in the shadows." Personality: Edgar is borderline obsessed with proving he was set up. He has spent hours doing jobs to get closer to the people who hurt his career. He pays back slights as much as he can without revealing his hand. Appearance: Edgar is a man with a normal build, usually dressed casually. His other self is covered in moving shadows whenever he drinks the Monk juice. Powers: The Laugh is invisible in darkness, can suppress electrical activity, even in a human brain. His chemical power source renders his skin tougher than usual as well as giving him a resistance to other toxins that might invade his body. Plot Hooks 1) Los Angeles, never a crime free city, has suddenly began to suffer a criminal surge in burglaries as people report a man who vanishes in shadow as he moves from place to place across town. Plot Hooks 2) Ronald Edgar, a convicted ex-prosecutor, appears on camera to accuse a man running for president of framing him 50 years before. The official laughs the accusation off, but Edgar is found dead of unnatural causes soon after. Plot Hooks 3) Criminals are becoming invisible and breaking into places thought impregnable. A stool pigeon coughs up someone is supplying these criminals for a cut of the take. None of them have dealt with this Laugh face to face though. GM's note- This character is roughly the same as the hero known as the Mocker created by Steve Ditko.

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 11 Jerry Silver lit a cigarette, frowning over the status board. Emergencies lit up red spots all over the world. Other heroes were handling some of the problems. It just wasn't enough. "Looks like an invading reality to me." Maker's voice drifted to him from far away, cutting through his thoughts. "Excuse me?" Silver took a drag on his cigarette, looking at his chief technical advisor, his only technical advisor. "The initial start up is where I sent the Chemist." Maker wore her black and silver armor without the helmet. "I am positive the outbreaks are some kind of spreading contagion from that point." "How sure?" Maker looked at Silver. The look itself was enough to tell him that he had said something wrong. He puffed on his cigarette to buy some time to think before he said anything else. "Since that seems to be the source of the problem, and the Chemist is there already, I want to step over and take a look for myself." Silver congratulated himself for isolating cause and effect. "The teleporter can't lock down over the area." Maker checked her wrist pad. "Some kind of boundary broke the beam every time we tried to recall the Chemist." "Just put me in somewhere close." Silver took one last drag on the cancer stick before stubbing it out. "Get the rest ready and come in close enough for a rescue." "I don't think you should go it alone." Maker crossed her arms. "Me big chief." Silver pulled on his hat. "You lackey. Start lackeying." "I see you and Kevin Reilly have been hanging out together." Maker raised her eyebrows. "We'll put you down as close as possible unless your pattern gets ripped apart. If that happens, it would be bad." She paused as if in thought. "Bad for you anyway." "If anything happens to me, I will hold you responsible." He led the way to the teleporter control room near the operations and meeting rooms. His eyes wandered over the control surfaces, taking in the display of mechanical aptitude that he couldn't understand or imagine working as well as it did. Maker plugged into an outlet, nodding at the computer data the machine fed her. She sighted in on the outskirts of the expanding circle. A small pulse activated the beam. Silver broke apart into his basic molecules, flew to orbit, bounced from one satellite to another, then snapped together outside of a wood and straw town straight out of a Robin Hood movie. Silver lit another cigarette as he walked into town proper. The Chemist would have come this way, probably stopping at the inn to talk to someone, and then went looking for the big kahuna. Silver just needed to figure out which way that would be. The magistrate looked around, walking along the dirt road. He spotted a pile of stone fragments, one of which looked like a hand. It looked like Chemist had started up the hill from the wrecked gargoyles. The electric man followed at a slower pace than before. He spotted the castle appearing out of the darkness ahead. He could have sworn it hadn't been there before. That must be the place. A guard let out a cry as soon as Silver was close enough to be seen from the battlements. He let loose a lightning bolt at the big mouth, satisfied that his primary question had been answered. The Chemist had arrived at the castle, and the people were trying to stop him from checking on what was going on. Spears rained down from above. Silver sent a shock in the air that knocked the wood aside as he thought about how to get inside. This was where the brain was, and that was the reason he had to find out what was going on with the Chemist. Silver pointed at the wooden drawbridge blocking his way. Lightning punched a hole through the wood. It wasn't big enough. He fired again. That gave him something to walk through. He kept an eye out as he stepped inside. He was used to unfriendly welcoming committees.

Re: The New Circle The Laugh 1 Mo Kilby roamed Los Angeles and the towns the city was already swallowing as it expanded in the fifties to be the center of the West Coast. Crime bosses were feeling the pressure as the police force tried to clean out the corruption that had stained its reputation. Kilby was trying to avoid any flatfoot who might try to put the cuffs on him. He had already been on the move for three days, looking for a place he could hide out until the heat was down. Mo stopped at a hot dog stand, hoping to get a bite to eat and make a few calls to see if he could get a lift out of town. He couldn't stay on the run forever. Mo got the dog first, trying to decide who to call. He settled for calling a guy the gang used for odd jobs. He wasn't affiliated, and wasn't in the rackets as such. He took care of things sometimes when the big guys needed help. Mo had a headache after dealing with Edgar. The guy was all over him about breaking the law. Still he was supposed to come to pick Kilby up. A ride out of the county would be just the thing even if he had to put up with Edgar. A car rolled up to the stand. It matched the description that Edgar had given for the getaway car. Kilby couldn't see the driver. He walked over to make sure it was the right vehicle. The driver stuck a hand out the opened window and waved. Mo walked to the door, harsh words forming in the back of his mind. He noticed that the streetlights around the car had dimmed, but didn't think anything about it. "Hey pal." Kilby leaned into the window, still unable to see the man clearly. "I'm in a hurry." A pale hand closed around Mo's arm. That was his first clue that he had made a mistake. He tried to pull away, to run. Instead everything went black. Kilby vanished into the darkened car. The automobile rolled off, allowing the street lights to work again. Mo Kilby woke up on the steps of police headquarters, surrounded by officers, and some newspapermen. His last memory was wondering what was going on with Edgar. Rough hands dragged him to his feet. "Got a cell waiting for you, Kilby." Mo recognized a captain he had crossed a few times. "Looks like that tip was on the money. Once the news gets to the DA, he will probably kill himself trying to get here." "I haven't done anything wrong." Mo tried to break free of the hands holding him up. Cuffs wrapped around his wrists in a pinching grip. "Tell that to the judge." The captain smiled. "You're just the example we've been waiting to use. Thanks for giving yourself up." "I want my lawyer." Mo tried to shrug the cops off. "I want my phone call." "You'll get your phone call." The captain made a let's go gesture with his thumb over a shoulder. "Take him inside and book him. Put him in the tank for a while." The assembled crowd dragged their captive inside where he could undergo everything that went with an arrest and a wait for someone to bail him out. The captain watched them go, smiling. They had been looking for Mo for a while. Sending him away would make the streets a little safer. The captain started inside, having waited for the men to clear the lobby. A sound drifted to his ear, causing him to turn his head. He didn't see anyone. He shook his head and went inside the building. The night was still young. Maybe another fugitive would arrive out of the blue. The sound repeated itself after the policeman had gone. Laughter echoed along the street for a moment. Then it faded away.

Re: The New Circle Character Name: Sun Man Real Name: Bara of Mystia Hair/Eye Color: Brown, brown Place of Birth: Mystia Date of Birth: 52707th day of 25002 AS Height/Mass: 5'9"/175 pounds Cost Characteristic Value 10 STR 20 51 DEX 27 20 CON 20 30 BODY 25 5 INT 15 20 EGO 20 5 PRE 151 COM 12 PD 4 ED 4 20 SPD 5 REC 8 END 40 STUN 45 OCV: 9 DCV: 9 OECV: 6 DECV: 6 Phases: 3, 5, 8, 10, 12 Cost Powers and Talents (END) 19 Life Support Space (self contained breathing, low pressure, vacuum, high pressure, high radiation, intense cold, intense heat.) Sun Flight 42 pt multipower 4u Flight 21" 42 pt 4u Faster than Light Flight 32,000 ly/year x 2 42 pt Sun Beam 60 pt multipower 6u Energy blast 12d6 60 pt 6u Ranged killing attack 4d6 60 pt 6u Flash 12d6 versus sight 10 Flash Defense sight Cost Skills 3 Navigation: Space 12- 3 AK: 1000 Worlds 12- 3 AK: Known Space adjacent to 1000 Worlds 12- 3 Streetwise 12- 3 Stealth 14- 3 TF: spaceships, shuttles, hovercar 3 Combat Pilot 14- 3 Shadowing 14- 3 Systems operations 12- 3 WF: energy pistol, energy rifles 3 Electronics 12- 3 Computer Programming 12- 12 Survival: Space, urban, arctic, wilderness, desert, oceanic 12- 30 + 6 cvs with sunbeam multipower 3 Bump of Direction 150 Points Disadvantages 15 Secret Identity 20 Hunted by the 1000 worlds Empire 14- 20 Believes in Freedom. 20 Protective of the Empire 15 Hunted by Space Pirates 11- 5 Reputation: Starfaring energy man 8- 15 DF: Harsh Glow 20 DNPC: Empire 14- 20 Rivalry with other Space Heroes CHA Cost = 162 Total Powers Cost = 157 Total Skills Cost = 81 Total Cost = 400 Background Information: Bara of Mystia was an ordinary traveler, working his way across the empire on one tramp freighter after another. In the 1000 Worlds, a person is his job. You are not allowed to pick anything else. Bara's latest craft was attacked, and he was sent tumbling in space through a holed hull. He floated in the wreckage, using emergency gear to survive until he floated to a planetoid. He was able to use some of the surface of the rock to generate fuel and oxygen to travel further. His exposure to hard radiation and the chemical processes changed Bara into a solar generator. He learned to channel his energy into flight, then fiery blasts. He knew that he could never return home like he was. He would be registered as a weapon and unable to do anything other than that. Bara adopted a masked identity so that he could remain free, and roam the spaceways as Sun Man. Quote: "Gravitas 9 is that way." Personality: Bara had to take some time to adjust to his free status. Since then he has come to the conclusion that the Empire takes away any choice, predetermining what people could be when they could be so much more. He has grown to oppose that way of thinking, as much as he has started opposing the pirates that attack the shipping. His stance on Imperial policy has made him a traitor. Even the notion of opposing policy on life mission determination makes him a criminal in the law's eyes. Appearance: Bara has glowing skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. He normally wears a blue space suit with a blacked out helmet to prevent his face from being seen. He has added a sunburst symbol to the chest. Powers: Bara is a flying energy blaster, able to break light speed. He can fire two types of heat at targets, preferring to use his more powerful attack on inanimate objects. Plot Hook 1) The 1000 world has been destroyed, absorbed by the various other space governments. Sun Man has become legend among the survivors. Now their quest for their hero has brought them to Earth. Plot Hook 2) Earth has been declared part of the Empire. Terran based heroes are asked to defend the world. Can they stop Emperor Sun Man from ruling as he wants. Plot Hook 3) Observatories from around the world has noticed streaks of light across the sky that do not belong to any known object. Constant mapping has determined the streaks are crossing the nearby space almost at the same points. The problem is the object is shaped like a man. GM's Note: Sun Man is based on Steve Ditko's Starman that shared space with Plastic Man in the Eighties, in Adventure Comics.

Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it... Finished Gate of Bones and Knuckles & Tales Gate of Bones by Emily Drake has moved the Magickers to a medieval world but the two sides are fighting, and the Dark Hand thinks it has the advantage when Jonnard discovers he is a gatekeeper and opens the Gate of Bones. Knuckles and Tales by Nancy A Collins has some offensive language and adult situations but the stories are generally pretty good. Billy Fearless comes off as a Jack Tale with a stupid Jack who succeeds anyway. Cancer Alley has a man deciding to bring his family to a public relations meeting. Of course he has to summon them from beyond. Junior Teeter and the Bad Shine has a small town murder mystery. CES

Re: The New Circle Sun Man 1 "This is Shuttle 93-R." The pilot couldn't keep the fear out of his voice. "We are taking heavy fire. I repeat we are taking heavy fire." Shuttle 93-R transported cargo between planets in the same system. There had been reports of pirates, but no one ever thought it could happen to him. Then it did, and you were running for your life. The pilot continued to issue a may day as he spun his ship through a series of complicated maneuvers to keep from being blown apart. He knew it was a matter of time. The imperial authorities should be coming to his rescue. He couldn't remember a spot worse than this. A streak of light shot by the fleeing shuttle from the front. The pilot wondered who had fired a torpedo at him as he continued. It had to be a torpedo. That was the only thing that fit a man-sized projectile traveling in space. That had to be the explanation. Otherwise he had just seen a man in space without equipment flying like a bird. That was an impossibility and grounds for a psych eval if he reported it. Still something was back there, making the pirates duck and weave. Their firepower had been diverted into stopping it. He poured on the power and ran. He didn't know how long his helper would last, but didn't want to be around when he was blown out of the sky. The shuttle spotted help in the distance. A course change was requested. The pilot happily complied. The small craft descended below the armada, two fighters joining it. Those pirates were done for. Missile and energy beams swept the sky behind Shuttle 93-R as the authorities expressed their displeasure with the space bandits. The would be thieves were forced to stand to and give up as several of their smaller ships were blown apart by concentrated fire. A streak of light flew by the shuttle, a hand waving at the pilot for a moment, then vanished out of the system. The pilot told himself he would not report that. He liked flying too much to give it up over a hallucination. 93-R settled on its pad, dust billowing out from underneath it. Loaders and a patrolman approached as the doors swung open. The pilot shut everything down as the handlers waited to approach and unload the cargo. "I hear you had a bit of excitement upstairs, Captain Hoge." The patrolman inspected the interior of the shuttle as the port workers did what they were paid for. "Line ships report some kind of anomaly before the battle." "I wouldn't know." Hoge hooked his hands in his belt so he couldn't see them shake. "I was too busy trying not to get killed." "I will still have to pull your computer files." The patrolman held out a key for the locked nav shell. "You'll have to sign for it and wait until the end of our review." "I understand." Hoge pulled the wafer and handed it over. "Can I ask what the anomaly registered as?" "That's classified." The patrolman put the memory away, took a signature for it, then turned to walk away. "The review shouldn't take long. You'll be back in space in no time at all." "Thank you." Hoge watched the patrolman walk across the pad. He looked at the cargo being checked in. At least he had some pay until he could take to space again.

Re: [Rifts HERO] Kuznya (Smith), Mystic Russia I have never worked on a conversion, QM, but Palladium character classes can be done as package deals in champions in my opinion. I know Nusoard Graphite had a host of stuff that he worked on RIFTS hero game. CES

Re: xialin showdown Page 11- "Good afternoon," said Jade as she bowed, then she said, "I wanted to know if someone here can help me with a ghost problem I am having." "We do have someone we can lend you." The high priestess looked around. "There she is." The elderly woman walked over to where a young girl worked on trimming some bushes with a clipper. They spoke for a few moments. Then the high priestess came back. "She has agreed to help you." The high priestess stood, hands behind her back. "Where is this ghost?" "Thank you very much. Now as for the ghost, he is at my family's Tea House. I will be glad to take her over there as soon as she is ready," said Jade with a smile. "Please be careful." The high priestess looked around. "We don't one of our maidens hurt." "Do not worry. I'm sure there is no one at the Tea House right now so we should be alone, and if there is, I will send them away first before we get started. I will keep her as safe as I can," said Jade. "Thank you." The high priestess half turned as the young dark haired maiden walked up the path with a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder. "Kagome, this Jade Lee. Miss Lee, this is Kagome." "Good afternoon, Kagome. I am very glad that you are willing to come and help me and my family with our ghost problem," said Jade with a grateful smile on her face. "I will do the best I can." The young maiden adjusted her quiver and bow. "We should go." "Yes, you are right. We should," said Jade. She bowed to the High Priestess and then turned and headed for her car. Once they are in the car, she headed for the Tea House. Kagome rode along in the Jaguar silently. She nodded when she saw the two story restaurant. Tape was across the front with a closed for remodeling sign hanging from it. Pieces of the railing around the second floor eating area were gone, smashed aside by the ghost. "It appeared on the second floor?" The shrine maiden concentrated on the building as Jade drove toward it. "Yes it did," said Jade as she parked and turned off her car. She looked at Kagome and asked, "Are you ready?" "Yes." Kagome pulled an arrow out of her quiver as she held her bow in front of her. "Please stay behind me." She entered the building softly, notching the arrow so it was ready to shoot. "Sure if that is what you want," said Jade as she followed Kagome inside the Tea House. The shrine maiden made her way upstairs, frowning at the ripped up floor boards, the smashed furniture, and the broken railing. "I sense two things." She looked around, bow at the ready.

Re: The Magistracy's Legion 10 Jeff Ashcroft looked around the cemetery, hating being stuck at a photo op when he should be busting someone for a dirty deed. That was why he signed up for the School in the first place. He didn't like being pulled away for a job the Secret Service should be doing. "I thought you would like the break, Jeff." Aaron Stark walked over, dressed in the rig he wore as the Watcher. He led the School's other team. "I'd rather shoot myself." Pointer straightened his tie, looking at the crowd. "We have trouble." Triple's voice drifted in over the team intercom. "Looks like big trouble." Stark looked to the left, dialing up his helmet. He spotted Triple, or one of Triple, floating in the air. Something was coming out of the ground. "Looks like zombies." Watcher dialed in a better view. "Looks like everything buried is trying to get out of their graves." Ashcroft had argued against having both teams for the ceremony and speech making, argued against having any of them there, recommended the Secret Service wholeheartedly. Now he smiled. This was something he liked dealing with better than hot air politicians. "We need to clear the cemetery of civilians." Pointer pointed one of his imaginary pistols at something reaching from the ground. "Fliers make that a priority. Blasters and tanks converge on the President, until he can be gotten to safety." Triple soared down, forming a triad around the President. Each one of the parts wore a plain coverall with the number three on the chest and back. Only the three basic colors; red, green, and blue, were different so others could tell the parts apart. Pointer felt a small amount of relief as he pulled the trigger on a corpse that finally made it halfway out of the grass. Nothing was getting past Triple. Now they had to take care of the rest of the people in the graveyard. The problem was the two squads of the School only had three fliers among them, and Triple was one of those. Holo, trailing sparks in the sky from his glowing body, and the Replacement, wearing stealth black from head to toe, were carrying noncombatants over the metal fence that surrounded the cemetery as fast as human bodies could bear. Pointer moved to keep the area in front of him clear. Watcher was on his right, using the laser in his helmet to burn corpses. Fortress and Granite had taken one side of the invisible circle, ripping up zombies with their bare hands. Fortress, holding at twenty feet tall, was scooping up the decayed bodies by the handful. Granite was a short and stocky rock. He had to wait for the undead to get close enough for him to smash them apart. There was an explosion of soundless light in the distance. Pointer squinted. One of his guys was out there shepherding civilians. The Saint looked at a zombie and it exploded. His mystical glow was outweighed by the priest's collar around his neck. "We're holding the other side of the grounds." Puma Sai sounded calmer than Pointer felt. "Air support would be cool." Puma, Currenta, Poster Girl, and the Beatnik had been walking the grounds. They had been glad to be spared the boring speeches after their obligatory one picture. Now they were on their own. "Triple." Pointer spoke into the miniature com in his sleeve. "Get the chief out of here, then help the others." "That's a go." The triple men floated over the fence, holding the president with invisible bonds. They released their grip on the other side of the fence, then flew off.

Re: Golden Age Superheroes as Pulp Heroes Challengers of the Unknown were four adventurers who were nearly killed in a plane crash. They decide they are living on borrowed time and should do what they can to explore and adventure. They have been around awhile, adding members, saving the world, sometimes changing over to Vertigo horror. CES

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? kay. I'll put it in sometime and check it out. CES

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? I have seen Serenity already. I liked it. CES

Re: A problem with Annie Oakley Annie Oakley, the ghost rustler. AO: Quick and the Dead AO at the OK corral CES

Re: What Have You Watched Recently? Watched most of the Firefly DVD set I bought. I can understand why most fans say this show was killed by the executives at Fox. CES

Re: Three years later... group hunted can sometimes be used as a motivating factor. No player is going to want to be hunted on his own if he can call a friend CES