Spectrum's Comments: Trapped in the strange "arena" our heroes try to escape.
Crusaders # 22 - "Fighting Makes the World Go Round..."
The heroes find themselves assembled inside Madison Square Garden.
Imperial - "So, now what?"
Void - "Something is coming!"
Suddenly, the roof of the structure is collapsed in. As the dust settles, a number of figures can be seen in front of the heroes: Thunder & Lightning, Grond, Vibron, Sunburst, Oculon, Bulldozer, and Titaness are assembled before the group.
Firestar - "Wow... Things just keep getting weirder and weirder...since I doubt that such a large group of 'real' villains would be found in this realm, they must be illusions."
Starshine - "Come on, Firestar! Let's show them what the girls can do!"
Imperial - "If these bozos ain't real, then this should be real entertainin'! It's been a while since I've been able to really let loose! Come on, Nomad, let's show the babes what we can do! Yo, Vibrator, your tail is ours! Let's Get'm Nomad!"
Nomad - "I'm with you, my man!"
Firestar and Starshine take to the air first, with Imperial and Nomad flying forward from he other direction.
Under a combined blast of fire and light energy, Oculon is dropped. Meanwhile, Vibron is attacked by a blast from Imperial. He appears stunned from the attack and the suddenly is smashed by a piece of the roof falling in on him.
Sunburst - "You may have drawn first blood, but we are no pushovers!"
A sudden burst of fiery energy erupts around Freon. He drops under the force of the attack. Meanwhile, the Titaness suddenly shoots up to 15 feet tall. She moves in on Ranger.
A ghostly white hand emerges from Void's hand and reaches out toward the approaching Grond. The large green creature roars in pain, as the hand grips the monster around the head.
Meanwhile, Bulldozer moves to cut off Enforcer from the rest of the group. He strikes at the blue and black-garbed hero and slams him with a powerful fist. Enforcer is knocked back into a far wall. Before he can recover, Lightning appears nearby and blasts him with a bolt of electricity. Enforcer is stunned.
Lightning - "I have him set up, Thunder."
A moment later, the Thunder sends a reverberating boom throughout the Garden. Enforcer is unconscious before he lands.
Bulldozer - "These guys are wimps! We're gonna slaughter 'em!"
Imperial - "Slaughter this, skin-head!"
Bulldozer is blasted by another attack from Imperial. Meanwhile, Starshine circles the combat, still in the air, and flies in behind Sunburst and fires. The villain is covered in energy and sent flying.
Starshine - "I got him!"
Nearby, Ranger and Titaness exchange blows. Neither hurts the other much with their first attacks. Ranger is quicker than the tall villainess and strikes again, but still his blows have little effect.
Firestar swings back and fires a beam of energy at Lightning. He is knocked back from the force of the energy. Seeing this, Thunder flies into the air, straight at Firestar.
Bulldozer - "I'll pulverize ya fer that, ya little twerp!"
Bulldozer hefts a section of the fallen roof over his head, preparing to toss it at Imperial. However, Spirit happens upon the scene at this time and blasts the villain in the back, still invisible.
Bulldozer crashes to the ground, the debris crashing down upon him. Spirit turns visible at this point.
Imperial - "Great move! Awright, who's next?"
He sees that Nomad is finishing off Vibron, so he turns to the recovering Sunburst. He fires at the villain, but misses. Sunburst retaliates, missing also, but setting fire to the Garden.
Meanwhile, Grond is roaring at the top of his lungs, attempting to throw off Void's ghostly hand. Obviously, he is taking great amounts of damage as well.
Starshine - "We've got this ugly goon between us, Imperial. Let's finish him off."
Together, Imperial and Starshine gang up on Sunburst. Both attacks miss, however. Sunburst does not miss. His energy rips into Imperial and sends him flying across the Garden. He lands amidst a group of seats and doesn't appear to be stirring.
Grond, but this time, is swinging wildly and blindly in pain. His flailing fists smash into the Titaness, who strayed too close in her battle with Ranger and she is sent hurtling away, straight at Nomad. He is unable to avoid the large projectile and is smashed to the ground under her size and weight.
Firestar avoids the incoming Thunder and manages to blast Lightning again, as he recovers. He appears to be out of the fight. However, by now the fire is raging amongst a large part of the Garden.
Ranger - "We need to get out of here. This place is going to be coming down around us in no time."
Spirit moves in and attacks Grond, after turning invisible again. Grond refuses to fall, however.
Firestar - "Ranger is right!! We need to get out of here. Everyone grab someone who's fallen. Let's get moving!"
Starshine - "I can cover us."
Starshine lands in front of the scrambling heroes, between them and the villains. She hesitates a moment and then gestures. A cascade of energy beams erupts from her hands and slam into the villains. Thunder falls and the others are blasted back from the number of beams.
She then joins the rest of the heroes outside of the Garden. A moment later, they watch in horror as the entire structure collapses in upon itself.
Ranger - "Look, everyone. Our surroundings have disappeared again."
Sure enough, nothing but a large white plane can be seen, in addition to the burning remains of the Garden.
Imperial - "Oh, I hurt all over. What hit me?"
Nomad, Freon, and Enforcer remain unconscious for the moment.
Firestar - "I think Enforcer had a viable point. Maybe we should attempt to test the limits of this 'Arena', for lack of a better term.
Spirit - "What shall we do?"
Void - "I think I must point out that each of those that we faced inside the structure were previous opponents, as well. In fact, they made up a large number of those opponents."
Ranger - "Who can fly in this group? Who's the fastest to test out this theory?"
Starshine - "I am capable of flying between New York City and Arizona nonstop."
Spirit - "I can achieve some considerable speed as well."
Firestar - "Very well. I want the two of you to see how high you can fly."
Imperial - "Look for the 'ceiling', then?"
Firestar - "Exactly."
The heroes and villain watch as the two soar into the air. They soon disappear from sight, although Starshine holds back some to stay with Spirit.
A few moments later, the two land again.
Imperial - "So, what did you find?"
Spirit - "Nothing."
Firestar - "We flew as high as we could. The air became too thin. But there was no sort of barrier, or anything that sent us back."
Imperial - "So much for that idea..."
A few moments later, the three unconscious ones begin to recover.
Nomad - "Shee-oot! Talk about a funky dream."
Okay, so now what?
Spectrum's Comments: Below is a private E-mail that Enforcer received.
To N4SIR:
Out ahead of you, you see a large laboratory filled with various machinery and controls, as well as numerous men and women in red and purple uniforms, some covered by white lab coats.
You find that you cannot move and actually your field of vision is shrouded all around by some sort of impenetrable blackness. Most of the sound is muffled.
After a moment, a few of the people seem to notice you. They point to various things outside the field of your vision to your left. You can barely make out the words of the woman who is closest to you.
"...again! We don't have enough power diverted to the capsules. We'll need to divert..."
Just then, the encircling blackness seems to close in about you. Slowly at first, then it begins to rapidly cut off your vision. You still cannot move. In moments, everything is blackness. Then, you awaken, back with the rest of the heroes at the end of the post.
SUBJ: Spirit.......... FROM: CORRIN 07/19/89 S#: 425409
Wondering if we have any control over these Illusions Spirit will concentrate on making an Ice Cream in his hand? Personally I say we sit here and do Nothing Except Perhaps Meditate or Concentrate on breaking through these Illusions? The last thing I truly remember is getting Knocked out by those Silly Robots, So I assume I'm either still unconscious and this is a nightmare or I'm Under someone direct control. Maybe if we pinch ourselves we will wake up ;)
SUBJ: Firestar
'Well done, Starshine! Well done all of you! Even if those villains were only illusions, they sure put up a heck of a fight!'
'Now to the problem at hand: getting out of this weird world. If this place has no limits, then we can run for as long as we want and get nowhere. Perhaps this place exists only in our minds? That would explain how people and places known to us could exist in such an illogical order. As I stated before, the power to run such an environment must be enormous. If we could find a to overload their power generators we might have a chance to get out of this alive.'
I'll turn to Nomad.
'Tell me of your 'dream', Nomad. Was it similar to Rangers? What about the rest of you who were knocked out? The key to our freedom might lie in what you dreamt about!'
SUBJ: Imperial
'Dream, shream! I just want out of this loony bin!'
Imperial walks away from the group in disgust over the current situation. After a few moments, he returns. He appears to be unusually tired.
'Look 'Star, you appear to brains of this outfit, so I'll go along with what every you come up with.'
To Starshine:
'I'm sorry if I offend you earlier. I tend to get a little carried away at times.'
Now if we could only conjure up a bar... I, for one, could sure use a drink....
SUBJ: ENFORCER FROM: N4SIR 07/22/89 S#: 847449
When Enforcer come to he will attempt to keep himself away from the action putting all the pieces together.
"Firestar!! I have a theory. I think that this is a collective dream of sorts. We seem to be fighting to stay unconscious when what we should be doing the opposite. By losing consciousness we reenter the real world, while as long as we are in this dream state we continue to fight what ever villains are dreamed up for us."
SUBJ: Ranger FROM: Deslock 07/25/89 S#: 792903
"I believe that Enforcer has got the right idea. It seems that each time one of us loses consciousness we awaken from this nightmare. It also seems to raise some concern on the part of our captors; I recall there was quite a bit of activity when I seemed to be awakening. Perhaps if we can concoct some method by which we are all rendered 'unconscious' at the same time, we could overwhelm here ability to cope with the situation. I'm tired of fighting phantoms, I want a shot at our captors."
Crusaders #23 - "Dream Warriors"
Ever so slowly, the surrounding landscape begins to return. All the familiar sounds can be heard as well, however there are no people, and no movement. It is unnerving.
As Spirit sits down to try and form some ice cream with his mind, Nomad tells of his dream.
Nomad - "Well, there was this lab, like. And people workin' on machinery and stuff. They started watching me and then I woke up."
Starshine - "Wild..."
Imperial - "So, what do we do, Firestar?"
Firestar - "I think that Ranger and Enforcer may have hit on something. I think that this IS a collective dream, for lack of a better word. We may be able to force our way out of here."
Void - "What do we need to do?"
Nomad - "Knock ourselves out?"
Firestar - "Just a moment. Spirit? Have you had any luck?"
You can all see that the answer is negative.
Spirit - "Nothing..."
Freon - "Then we DON'T have control over this freaky place."
Firestar - "I'm not so sure..."
Just then, Void whirls around, pointing at the still burning Garden. Everyone turns to look.
Starshine - "Oh my God....!!!"
Like a massive green tidal wave there is a rush of creatures coming straight for our heroes. There are about 20 of the creatures and they all look like Grond.
Imperial - "It's raining four-armed monsters!! Who came up with this?!"
However, there is not much time to react. A wall of ice blocks the wave of the Grond's, but they easily smash through it, sending ice shards hurtling everywhere. Imperial and Firestar fly forward. She blasts one with fire, but two others leap up and grab her, pounding her unconscious. Imperial is dealt with just as easily.
Ranger - "Wait a minute! Maybe we should let the knock us out."
Nomad - "Are you kidding me, man?! No friggin' way!"
He activates his glowing forcefield and gestures. A beam erupts from the field and engulfs one of the Grond's. Starshine retaliates, as well, opening fire with a machinegun-like burst.
One of the Grond's is dropped, but the rest begin to swarm over the heroes. The onslaught is overwhelming. Each of the heroes quickly falls in turn. In moments, it is over and then there is only...
BLACKNESS
Slowly each of you opens your eyes. You can each see that you are in the area described by Ranger, Enforcer and Nomad.
There is debris everywhere. Machines spark and hiss all around and numerous men and women in red and purple outfits lay scattered about.
Each of you are in an individual compartment with a clear barrier in front of you, although most of them are broken and shattered. Also, each hero is restrained about the wrists and ankles. A headpiece is on each of your heads with numerous wires coming out of them, most now burnt away and hanging loosely.
There are heroes and villains alike in this place. They include: Imperial, Enforcer, Spirit, Ranger, Firestar, Starshine, Nomad, Void, Freon, Yellow Eagle, and Plasma Paladin.
So, now what?
SUBJ: Firestar
'Wow... It appears that fate has lent a hand. Time to make use of the opportunity given us.'
Firestar concentrates and burns free of her bindings. Seeing the technicians are all unconscious, she'll help free those heroes unable to free themselves.
'Okay, people, we're still going to have to work together to get out of this place. We seem to be within an active Genocide base. But with the accident that happened, should give us an edge. Here is the chance that we wanted, Crusaders! Now let's get the hell out of here!'
I'll take to the air and lead the team out of this room. Woe to any who try and stop us...
SUBJ: Ranger FROM: Deslock 08/08/89 S#: 824669
I'll free myself of my bounds, and then go about helping Firestar free the others.
"Anybody got a score card? I don't recognize all these people, and I wouldn't want to free a potential enemy."
I'll inspect the area to see if there's anything immediately useful about (like a map of the base), and then check on the techs to make sure that they're all in fact unconscious, but not in danger of dying.
SUBJ: Spirit..... (R) FROM: CORRIN 08/12/89 S#: 95670
Spirit Wakes up and Looks Around Hmmm.... Well at least this makes sense. Well I never saw a Lab without a Computer terminal so he looks for one. If he Finds one he does what he Can to pull Info from it About the base and its Purpose. He then sees if he can deactivate any of the Security Systems and get us a Path out of here.
SUBJ: THE ENFORCER FROM: N4SIR 08/12/89 S#: 95859
"Oh man. My head hurts. What happens now? My only question is when did this happen to me? (To GM: is my shoulder wounded?)
After being released from the sleep chamber I will move to a computer and attempt to enter a virus to destroy all the data they may have discovered on all of the heroes.
Crusaders #27 - "Return of the Crusaders"
You find yourselves inside a Genocide Lab. As Firestar and Ranger free the rest of the captives, an explosion racks the base. None of you doubt that this base shall exist much longer.
The machinery is this room is smashed beyond repair. You will learn nothing from the computer. Enforcer's shoulder is not wounded, it was only imagined in Genocide's Arena world.
Firestar - "With the exception of Freon and Void, the others are all heroes. Many of them are members of the Crusaders, such as Plasma Paladin and Nomad."
Plasma Paladin - "Yeah, I was on my way to our meetin' when these bozo's grabbed me!"
Ranger - "I strongly suggest that we get out of here!"
Firestar - "Obviously, the best direction to go is up! Spirit, would you please make a reconnaissance in that direction?"
Spirit - "As you wish, Firestar."
The Spirit turns intangible and floats through the ceiling. In moments he returns.
Spirit - "We've got two floors to go through before we hit the surface."
Enforcer - "How do you propose that we get out of here?"
Firestar - "With the firepower here, we should be able to blast our way out. Beats running around the base trying to find the exit. All together now!"
Several energy beams assaults the ceiling. There is a small explosion and the ceiling now has a large hole in it.
The process is repeated on the next floor. Upon climbing/flying through the hole, you all find yourselves in a forest. More explosions rack the base. Those of you who fly carry those who don't.
No more than a minute passes before there is a tremendous explosion. The fleeing heroes are caught in the shockwave of the explosion and hurtled into the underbrush.
As you all regain your footing, the Genocide Base goes up like a small volcano.
Starshine - "Wowers..."
By the time you can take a good look around, Freon and Void are gone.
PRIMUS arrives in full force over the next hour. They explain that the Crusaders had been missing for a week. Some of you even longer. You all wearily board a PRIMUS transport and are flown back to New York City. The Genocide base was located in deserted area of Pennsylvania.
Upon returning the Crusaders Mansion, the team is reunited with the other team they met, Equinox. Since you've been gone, they had a different adventure involving Genocide and a mutated bear.
The Equinox base was destroyed in a fire and since the Crusaders were missing, Felicity asked the members of Equinox to join. Lord Liberty also recruited a new heroine while you were gone.
Here is the current roster:
Crusaders Members:
Firestar (Leader)
Imperial
Lord Liberty
Strikeout
Sorceress
Monarch
Starshine (NPC)
Plasma Paladin (NPC)
Nomad (NPC)
Nightengale (NPC)
Yellow Eagle (NPC)
Free agents:
Jade Panther
Enforcer
Strongbow
Ranger
Spirit
Basically, I would like to know which of you are going to accept the offer to join the Crusaders, providing that your already not a member. Also, this is the first time that some of you have met, so would you please introduce yourselves to the others.
Also, some game time will pass before the next story line begins, so if there is anything that you would like to do in the meantime, post that too.
Spectrum's Comments: Nope, it's not your imagination. Crusaders jumped from #23 to #27. With Crusaders and Cplus merging, I kept the Cplus numbering but eliminated the plus. Things were rushed at the end to get the merger to mesh together. As noted above, some folks were now gone. I don't know what happened to Jack O'Lantern. He just seemed to vanish. Panther also dropped Starshine as well.
SUBJ: Firestar
'Welcome to the Crusaders all of you! I am Firestar, the elected leader of this band.'
Before you stands a fairly attractive young woman with bright blue eyes and long blonde hair. Her costume consists of a shoulderless red body suit with black trim. She wears high, golden yellow boots and gloves.
Firestar will then proceed to met and chat with all the new people here. Recalling seeing some of them when we fought the vampires.
'It's good to see you again, Lord Liberty. I see that you brought a new Crusader to the fold. You're more than welcome here!'
Firestar thinks that she'll become fast friends with Strikeout since they are almost the same age. The Sorceress also appears to be in our age group. As is Starshine. I'm going to like having some other girls around!
Firestar will speak at length with Lord Liberty learning what transpired while we were gone.
With the large number of heroes present, we should be able to deal with multiple problems.
As soon as we're able, I'm going to call a meeting to see if we can weed out some problems that we got side tracked from.
One such problem is locating Lightwarp, original leader and founder of the Crusaders. It appears that Genocide was not responsible for his disappearance. I don't know where we should look for him next.
Anyone have any ideas?
SUBJ: Ranger FROM: Deslock 08/30/89 S#: 818301
"I've already met most of you, either through Equinox or our recent battles with Genocide. As you may have noticed, I'm your basic Kung-Fu type. I work as a detective, so I may be able to help you locate your missing member. This also means that, although I have a lot of latitude in my work schedule, the NYPD does expect me to show up now and again. I like the company, and am willing to hang around here, if it's OK by you."
After my brief intro, I'll move around and meet some of the new faces. I'll also head over to see my old Equinox companions, working my way over to Nightengale.
"Good to see you, Chris. From the looks of the new headpiece, I'd say you had a tale to tell. We'll have to swap stories later. Right now, I've got to speak to Firestar about their missing person."
I'll head over to the Crusader's leader when she is free, and see what information is available concerning Lightwarp's disappearance.
Gm Notes:
In response to Ranger:
Nightengale - "I am pleased to see that you are well, Martin. Yes, well have to take later on. Perhaps over dinner?"
Firestar will proceed to explain how Lightwarp disappeared. The Crusaders were called in to help capture an alien, octopus-like creature that had escaped. In the ensuing melee, Lightwarp was struck by the creature and knocked back over a building. By the time the team went to look for him, they could find no trace of him.
SUBJ: Sorceress
'Thank you, Firestar. I indeed feel very welcomed here.'
The Sorceress is young a very attractive young woman. Her costume is blue and she wears a dark blue cloak.
'I have had some trouble with my conjurations before, but I feel that my skill is improved. My magic is at your service.'
Wishing to be by herself, the Sorceress will slip out of the meeting area and wander the mansion.
SUBJ: Strikeout FROM: Kityana 09/03/89 S#: 124542
::looks around and steps away from LL side extending her hand to Firestar::
Hi! Its a real pleasure ta meet ya.
::smiles and steps back beside LL and keeps quiet ( treasure this cause I may get loud after a while :D):: ( Description time :) ) Strikeout wears a costume identical to the stripped baseball uniforms and on the back where the team name usually goes she has Crusaders instead. She wears a baseball hat and keeps her hair in a ponytail.
SUBJ: MONARCH (R) FROM: N4SIR 09/03/89 S#: 848806
One of the taller males in the area is wearing an all white body suit with gold boots and gold bracers. His head is partially covered by a cowl with what looks to be a gold band crown. His face is not covered and seems to resemble a cross between Errol Flynn and Robert Redford. His hair is brown and wavy. His costume also sports a gold cape with a red lining. Most people are some what taken back by his stature and his appearance.
"I am known by the media as Monarch. It is by this name that I have grown accustomed to answering too. I am pleased to me you all. However, there is a pressing need that I must attend to. An unknown criminal is mutilating many wayward indiviuals. I have promised my assistance to the local constabulary. I hope you all will excuse me. Would someone let the Lady Sorceress know of my plans. Good Day."
Unless stopped Monarch will begin to fly towards the precinct where the homicide investigation is being headquartered.
SUBJ: THE ENFORCER FROM: N4SIR 09/03/89 S#: 802426
The Enforcer stands barely 6'1" is of medium build, although many inside the base lift and move far more than any highly trained weight lifter. He is wearing a blue and black costume with the top cutting a 45 degree angle across his chest with the two colors on either side (he has one draped in black and the other blue) he wears black gloves, boots and belt. He is masked wearing a sort of black paint or make-up around his eyes. He also carries a pair of batons. "I appreciate the offer to join your group Firestar...However, I seem to work better alone. And you folks usually are fighting bad guys that are a little out of my league. I do hope though that if I ever can be of any assistance that you will contact either me or my assistant CINDI. Or allow me to call you if I am ever in over my head?" Enforcer after saying his goodbyes will begin his trek home.
SUBJ: Jade Panther FROM: Panther13 09/03/89 S#: 414167
The Panther is a well-muscled and yet sleek looking individual. He wears a dark green costume covering his whole body, and white gloves, boots and belt, and has a white design on his mask giving the impression of a cat-like look.
The Panther remains fairly quiet and reserved. He will introduce himself when asked.
"I am known as the Jade Panther, and am not a member of either group. I got mixed up in the attack on the Equinox base, which I didn't even know existed at the time. I was doing some work on the case of a friend of mine, who some of you know as Gadgeteer. Anyway, one thing led to another and I went along for awhile, but I'm not sure I belong here."
The Panther fall back to silence, slipping toward the back of the room and leaning against a wall, keeping an eye on everyone here.
SUBJ: Strongbow FROM: AREION 09/04/89 S#: 836412
The well-muscled Indian brave called Strongbow stands to the rear of the company, apparently deeply troubled about something. Most anyone who has taken notice of him is quite surprised when he speaks up. He gave no indication he heard you.
"I too am not a member of this team. To my kind, such pledges of allegiance are sacred, not to be taken lightly. I cannot...will not, soil the honor of my ancestors by allying myself with those of whose moral fiber I am ignorant of."
Strongbow fixes his gaze on the teams' resident martial artist; an unspoken
question passes across his vision.
"Still, there are matters that need attending to, things that I...can not do alone. For a time, you may consider me a companion, nothing more."
"I am unfamiliar with this city, If someone could direct me to the nearest place of nature, a park will do, I would be grateful"
After getting directions or ignored for a sufficient period of time, Strongbow will douse the gem and hit the streets. He will set up a small camp where he is least likely to be disturbed by passers by or local authorities.
BTW: Strongbow is 5'11" about 235\ with black hair and brown eyes. Veins
bulge from his well-muscled arms and legs, just visibly pulsing in time with his heartbeat. A traditional Indian headdress, with feathers that trail most the way down his broad back, adorns his head. The only clothing he wears, is a cattlskin loincloth and boots (light brown). Strapped to various parts of his body are three traditional weapons of his people; a tomahawk, bow & arrows and coup stick. His most visually dominant aspect is a glowing blue gem blazing on his forehead. The light it gives off seems to emphasis and amplifies his physical prows.
When the gem disappears so does his headdress and he appears a full 50\ fighter.
Spectrum's Comments: Next time out, Monarch continues to investigate the dead bodies with bits of machinery in them. Finally, someone was taking this sub-plot seriously!