Mutants and Masterminds: The Galactic Guardians!

[michael]

*PREPARE INCOMING SHIP FOR DOCKING*

In your tenth hour of waiting, the automated voice sounds throughout the station. Hoping for returning Guardians, but taking nothing for granted, you ready yourselves and head to the hangar bay. The door to the craft opens to reveal a somewhat battered Panoplia, and a wave of relief washes over you. It is short lived, however. As soon as she lays eyes on you, she lets out a mighty bellow.

"Betrayers!"

Her movements are almost to fast to follow, and in an instant she has bashed Marcus to the ground and pinned Halo to the wall, her spear against his neck.

"We invite you into our home, and you arrange a distress signal to draw us away! We are ambushed, and the station's power is turned off, preventing us from using our emergency transporters! You will tell me what you have done with Paragon and our other missing Guardians, and who has plotted this attack, or you will all be bled dry!"

[reefwood]

Marcus, his head spinning violently while laying practically motionless on the floor, spoke up between pained breaths, "Ugh... I think... the only one... who may have any real answers... is laying unconscious in the medical bay. He wasn't invited... to this party... but the ones who betrayed you... it was those freaky twins." As the room starts to spin slower, Marcus can't help but realize how with every meeting, the Guardians have screwed him in one way or the other. First the Gorilla with that mind trap of a test, then the brainiac and oaf, followed by the fake Paragon, and now this lady. These people are supposed to keep the world safe?

[OOC: If P makes any hostile motions toward Marcus, he will turn into gas.]

[michael]

"Bah! You have the gall to blame our comrades?!"

Keeping Halo pinned with one hand, the surrogate-god uses the other to swing the butt of her spear towards the prone figure of Marcus. A loud clang echoes through the chamber as the spear swings through the now vaporized fireman and slams against the floor. Muttering a curse under her breath, she turns her attention towards the third figure in the room.

"You! Blind-man! Your friend mentioned a fourth culprit in our medical bay. You will lead us there, and you will talk on the way! If you give me anything but strict obedience..." She returns her spear point to Halo's throat. "Well, you should be grateful you won't be able to see what I will do to your companion."

[Rabbit]

Halo’s hands instinctively go to the spear pinning his neck against the wall. Once his mind catches up it begins assessing the situation. First off it was clear that there was little he could do physically to fend off Panoplia. Second, she threatens the only two allies up here in space without much effort or much hesitation. So she cannot be trusted, and one way or another she would pay.

“!Tu hice sin darme cuenta!” Halo says through choked windpipes, before switching to his second language, “Where is the ape who thinks? Better than this raging amazon!”



[My attempt at Spanish may not have been perfect here; translation = you act without thinking]

[michael]

Halo chokes out words that are ignored by his attacker, and watches as his companion manages to escape into gas form as this mad heroine strikes at him a second time. He is assessing his limited options when the voice of a familiar primate sounds in the minds of him and his companions.

I'm here in the ship, Halo, and I appreciate you thinking about me. However, you must all must do your best to not provoke Panoplia any further. It has been a trying day for us all, but perhaps her most of all, and she is close to her breaking point. Should she lose control, I assure you that the danger would extend far beyond your own safety. What she needs is a friendly face to calm her down. I know you are not responsible for our misfortunes, and I believe she will listen to me. Unfortunately, Pan's helmet blocks out all mental assaults and communications. While it proved invaluable during our ambush earlier this evening, it is decidedly inconvenient now. Marcus, I'm slightly bed-ridden at the moment. If you would be so kind as to come and help me out? Then we'll straighten up this misunderstanding.

[michael]

Marcus searches through the ship for Dr. Gorilla, and is momentarily frozen in shock at what he finds. Laying on a bed is a form that has no business being alive.

On his right arm, everything from elbow to wrist is absent, yet blood still pumps in a steady rhythm to the detached hand through the air, as if carried in invisible tubes. The rest of his body is in much the same state. Gaping wounds that should be gushing remain clean, chunks of flesh hang in mid air, yet the blood vessels within them continue to perform their function. Deep gashes that would be fatal to almost any creature crisscross his body, held together without sutures.

A voice sounds in Marcus's mind, bringing him back to the task at hand.

I imagine I must be something to behold. As you can see, my telekinesis is a bit occupied at the moment, or I'd carry myself out. Provided I maintain my concentration, there should be no risk in moving me. Just... be careful with the loose bits. Off we go now!

[reefwood]

Marcus breathed a silent sigh of relief as the spear passed harmlessly through his gaseous body. She couldn't hurt him. Or detect him. Of that he felt fairly certain. Otherwise, someone like her wouldn't just let up. The Dove and Drago, however, were still at her mercy. What could be done to help them? If he had paid more attention to what the masked man had been doing on the computer... well, no, Marcus probably still wouldn't have known how to work that to his advantage.

Aug 18, 2009 19:22:51 GMT -5 michael said:

Unfortunately, Pan's helmet blocks out all mental assaults and communications. While it proved invaluable during our ambush earlier this evening, it is decidedly inconvenient now. Marcus, I'm slightly bed-ridden at the moment. If you would be so kind as to come and help me out? Then we'll straighten up this misunderstanding.

[/i]
[/quote]
The intruding voice of Dr. Gorilla was not exactly a comfort, but it wasn't nearly as startling as hearing voices in his head would have been earlier in the day. What a day. Unsure of how this ability worked, Marcus tried thinking, loudly, "Dove?! You getting this? Try to stall. Walk slow or something while I find our more agreeable host." Not waiting for a reply, Marcus zipped into the ship in search of Dr. Gorilla.

Aug 19, 2009 18:01:05 GMT -5 michael said:

Marcus searches through the ship for Dr. Gorilla, and is momentarily frozen in shock at what he finds. Laying on a bed is a form that has no business being alive.

A voice sounds in Marcus's mind, bringing him back to the task at hand.

I imagine I must be something to behold. As you can see, my telekinesis is a bit occupied at the moment, or I'd carry myself out. Provided I maintain my concentration, there should be no risk in moving me. Just... be careful with the loose bits. Off we go now!

Laying eyes on a victim of a house fire could be enough to wrench the steeliest of stomachs. Marcus had pulled out a few people who should have been dead and several others who weren't as lucky. None of it compared to this. Not even to the morbid stories exchanged with EMTs. Working around so much pain and death, you had to share or it would drive you crazy.

Snapping back to the moment, Marcus shifted from gas to water. He took hold of the bed and began to wheel it out of the spacecraft.

[michael]

"Walk faster, maggots, or you shall be walking to your grave!"

Halo and The Dove had been trying their best to stall the fearsome Panoplia, but it was not an easy thing to do when dealing with one so enraged, particularly when they must carefully avoid angering her further. However, as the Dove sensed the forms approaching behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently their efforts had been enough.

"Stop it Pan." The voice of Dr. Gorilla croaked. "Let them go."

She turns, and her face contorts with rage and she fixes her gaze on Marcus. "Scum! You dare bring him out as a bargaining chip?!"

"This man has no ill intent. He carries me because I asked him to."

"But these people-"

"Are telling the truth. And you are a better person than this."

She sees her friend watching her, his face stern yet caring. Drawn out silence fills the room, a tension that finally breaks with the clattering of a spear hitting the floor.

After another moment to let the nerves of the room settle, Dr. Gorilla speaks up once more. "Well, that was exciting. Now that things have calmed down a bit... We were all headed to the medical bay, correct? I'd very much appreciate continuing in that direction."

[michael]

Over two weeks has passed since your ordeal with the Galactic Guardians, and your lives have gained a sense of normalcy again. (Or whatever passes for it.) After what you went through last time, it is with mixed emotions that you receive another message from Doctor Gorilla.


Hello all. I thought you might appreciate an update on things.

Our mysterious stranger still hasn't remembered anything about himself. He's aware he came here warn us of a threat from "Chronus," yet still has no recollection of who or what Chronus is. Interestingly enough, he does know quite a bit about me, and Pan, and even all of you. Scattered knowledge, but detailed. All the signs point to time travel. It's not unheard of for the memories of chrononauts to become scattered, and I daresay it doesn't take much of a detective to spot the etymological connection to the threat he warns us of. My money's on him trying to stop a dark future from ever coming into being. That's how these things usually go. We're planning some tests to determine the exact nature and extent of his powers later today. We were only waiting until I had finished healing.

Which reminds me, I finished up the last of my operations yesterday, and I dare say I've surpassed myself. Once my hair grows back, you won't even be able to see the scars! Self-surgery always is the most satisfying. In fact, I was both doctor and patient in the world's first human-to-gorilla vocal cord transplant, you know. But I'm just rambling now.

In truth, I have more pressing reasons for contacting you. Our search for Paragon, the real Paragon, has come up with nothing. He and his squadron have vanished without a trace, over half our total members gone. Other Guardians are still on a mission in another dimension, and may be out of contact for quite some time. We've requested temporary reinforcements from the Galactic Council, and have been ignored.

As of right now, Earth's chapter of The Galactic Guardians consists of a talking gorilla, a hyper-violent hoplite, and, possibly, a mysterious amnesiac with as of yet undefined abilities. On top of this, we're dealing with a traitorous child genius with undetermined motives, the unknown group that ambushed us, the enigmatic Chronus, and all of the regular difficulties involved in protecting the planet. When we first contacted you, it was merely to meet you, in order to have better relations with non-Guardian heroes. But now... We need you. Will you help us?

(Mikey, I know your character was looking for a fresh start. If you want him to have joined up with the Guardians right after the events of the last post, that's fine.)

[michael]

So what has everyone thought of this post game sequence? I hadn't planned to have one, but I've really enjoyed writing it and fleshing things out. I was thinking of doing the intro/outro of my next session in the same way, just doing a quick post every day or two, leave it open for you to reply to but not necessary. Would you be interested in that?

Also, Harry, how does one go about moving a thread? I wanted to set up a M&M roleplaying thread and move the pre-game letter and this sequence to it, but I don't know how to actually move a post.

[Enric]

I've enjoyed reading this stuff, though I don't know how consistently I'll feel up for posting. By all means, though, if you prefer to do your intros and whatnot this way, I think you should go for it.

As for moving specific posts, there isn't a readily apparent way to do that, so you might be stuck with cutting and pasting into a new thread. I'll keep looking around and talk to you about it on Monday.

[Rabbit]

I posted another Character Profile. I ran the idea by michael first and he was into it. I like the idea of having more than on hero to choose from as we do these adventures. and like michael mentioned in a side conversation, we can rebuild (for the first time) the Galactic Guardian roster with characters that can be interchangable between NPC and player characters. ;D

[reefwood]

I have enjoyed the online posting, and Dr. Gorilla cracks me up.

Also, I put it on the calendar, but I will be out of town from Sept 10 - Oct 10.

[michael]

Aug 28, 2009 13:55:10 GMT -5 reefwood said:

I have enjoyed the online posting, and Dr. Gorilla cracks me up.

My desire to do more with Dr. Gorilla was pretty much the driving force behind that entire scene, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[reefwood]

Aug 12, 2009 19:40:14 GMT -5 michael said:

EDIT: [So I tried to send this as a personal message to all of you, but it kept telling me that enric wasn't an appropriate user-name. Anyway, I might show up at 6 to Mikey and Franco's to go over some character creation, then run over to Harry's at 6:30 to pick up the stuff I need. See everyone tomorrow.]

Meant to mention this a while ago... to send a PM to Enric, it has to be addressed to "admin" instead of his regular handle.