Action, Adventure, Excitement, Part 8 Chapter 9 Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 21:43:39 -0500 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011016 >On Sat, 26 Oct 2002 20:41:15 -0500 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011003 >>On Fri, 25 Oct 2K2, Mike Knight Said >> >>/I'm a bit rusty at this, guys,/ Mike sends over the link as Ben >>starts clobberin', /But I'm thinking the best bet from this angle is >>getting around behind the blimp and kicking their back door in. >>Reed, Roland, you know these two better than me, thoughts?/ > >/Excuse me for possibly buttin' in here, I'm sure, but don't we need >to get through these things first?/ /It's called 'planning ahead,' it's what I do,/ Mike sends with a smirk as Ben Grimm does what he does, namely mashing metal Doom toys and flying. Ben ducks an energy beam and Mike adds, sheepishly, /When I plan at all, that is./ ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Thu, 31 Oct 2002 21:17:03 -0600 Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011017 >On Wed, 30 Oct 2K2, Mike Knight Said > >/It's called 'planning ahead,' it's what I do,/ Mike sends with a >smirk as Ben Grimm does what he does, namely mashing metal Doom toys >and flying. Ben ducks an energy beam and Mike adds, sheepishly, /When >I plan at all, that is./ /Uh huh./ "Dhonny" sends while sending half-dozen flame bolts at both the thunder-puncher equipped "Doom-Droids" as well as the incoming "Doom-Wing-Bots" and dodged and evaded energy beams being shot at him from the former. /... And while we're talking about plans, where's that skycycle I asked somebody for?!/ he sends, as a stay shot from the Half-Dragon, Half-Human Torch slagged the final remaining Servo-Guard armed with a "foam-thrower". ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Mon, 04 Nov 2002 14:21:31 -0800 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00011018 >On Sat, 26 Oct 2002 18:37:45 -0500 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011004 >Dodging out of the way of R.R.'s Kirby-Tech box, the Half-Dragon, >Half-Human Torch wove to the left in mid-air and, crossing one arm >over the other, and blasted the other two Doom-bots into molten slag. > >/Sis? If you could take care of that?/ He sends, mentally indicating >the two rapidly plummeting molten chunks of silver and purple metal. > >/While we're all at it,/ He continues to send while flying ever >closer to the Doom-Blimp in the distance, /Can somebody send one of >those unmanned sky-cycles my way? If what I'm about to try works, I'm >going to need it. Heck, even if it doesn't, I'm still going to need >it./ Then: >On Thu, 31 Oct 2002 21:17:03 -0600 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011017 > >/... And while we're talking about plans, where's that skycycle I >asked somebody for?!/ he sends, as a stay shot from the Half-Dragon, >Half-Human Torch slagged the final remaining Servo-Guard armed with a >"foam-thrower". /Gotcha, sib!/ Morgan-Sue calls out, having made sure the falling Doom-bits didn't cause any unavoidable damage. She looked around for an pilotless cycle, but didn't see one handy. Suddenly, the rider of a cycle heading Dhonny's way flies off the back of his bike. It looks for all the world like he was clotheslined, but no clothesline was visible. Which should, to anyone who knows Sue Storm-Richards powers, explain exactly what happened ;-). /There you go, bro,/ the Invisible Highlander sends nonchalantly. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Mon, 04 Nov 2002 22:14:02 -0800 Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00011019 >On Fri, 18 Oct 2002 20:56:22 -0400 >Legion Said As CAoL Message # 00010997 > >>On Thu, 17 Oct 2002 22:30:37 -0700 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00010995 >> >> Meanwhile, D.D. is...smiling. He says only one word. "Blastaar." >>"Fall before the power of the Living Bomb-Burst, fools! And as you >>fail, know that the fate of the Negative Zone is sealed with your >>own! HA HA HA HA HA!" > >Caprice steps out of the ImpossibleRocket while it is mid air. She's >clad in a white poet's blouse tucked into black slacks tucked into >riding boots. Her hair is dark brown, nearly black and pulled back >into a tight ponytail. Her eyes are hazel, and not amused. Somehow >the look is very... british. Squaring off in front of Blastaar she >says in an oddly resonant voice. "We are many, yet we are one. Our >name... is LEGION!" "Bah! It matters not if you are one or a thousand, I shall be your downfall! Entire worlds have fallen to my might!" The powerful (if unsubtle) Blastaar slows, directing his flight-blast at more of an angle to view his foe more carefully. >While the others have undergone various mergers, Legion feels... >something different. Already multiple, she has... snapped into clear >focus. To her it is as if someone finally wiped the vasiline off the >camera lens, and she can /see/. Through everything, in everything she >sees... strings. The very threads of reality. She grabs a hand full >of 'threads' and twists, and several explosions happen early, >avoiding damage to the city below. Another handful, another twist, >and innocent bystanders who were in danger of becoming civilian >casualties are a block away. A faint frown crosses Legion's face as >she tries to figure out /why/ her powers are suddenly so much easier, >which voice inside her is responsible for this. And of course, she's >set up as a lovely target... Blastaar laughs diabolically (in a cliched 60s cartoon voice) as he opens fire... >Mischief leans down, commening to ImposSquee... "Mom's gone and made >herself a target... let's hit whatever goes after her from behind." > >Essex, stuck in the back seat, just sighs. "All I wanted was a quiet >afternoon out...." ...completely ignoring the cute young lady about to ambush him. Then... >On Thu, 24 Oct 2002 10:30:27 -0700 (PDT) >Driscoll Said As CAoL Message # 00011000 > >>On Thu, 17 Oct 2002 22:30:37 -0700 >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00010995 >> >> R.R. merely groans; he knows the Impossible Man all too well and >>has guessed the resident...utterly incorrectly. [Hello, Driscoll,] >>he comments dryly to himself. > > At about that moment, an X-window opens up on the forward edge of >the flying fortress and two figures locked in mortal combat come >tumbling out, followed by a wolf. Driss rolls to his feet and reaches >into his boot for a new squirtpistol of Dip, "This ends NOW >Controller!" > The Toon Controller laughs a long evil snarling laugh and raises a >hand, a blue beam of energy shooting forth to engulf said hand, >vaporizing the pistol and turning the hand into a charred lump of >blackness. R.R. stares as Driss comes...and goes...with a sort of boggled stoicism. /Holy Temporal Paradoxes, Batman./ [Oh dear, not that absurd television series.] [Reed, I'm a big fan, really, but is _your_ life any less absurd?] [...] [Uh-huh.] /Wouldn't be the first time,/ Morgan-Sue sighs. /It's a long story Reed, I can explain later if I get the chance./ /No need, I'm acquiring the relevant material from your spouse's memories,/ Reed replies simply (for him, anyway). Roland merely sighs (tm Seosaidh)... > The Squipossible Bunny comes to a screeching halt in midair and >spins around, turning his own back now tot he fortress as he looks >around for something attackign Legion's back. He twists his head >around to look at Essex with a smirk, "I've sort of given up that >concept myself after Deva. though you've got to admit this is FUN!" Normally Morgan would have scanned for familiar life patterns, but her magics hadn't made the Leap. She reaches out mentally, and is surprised to sense a mini-lens. /Whoever it is has a lens, but Driscoll didn't have one for long./ R.R. raises an eyebrow as Morgan-Sue "pings" the link, then senses an even greater surprise. /Darling?/ R.R. sends. /That little.../ Morgan-Sue's mental tone starts to seethe, then she looks around. /But he seems to be here with Caprice, and ... is that Mischief?.../ /Love? Share?/ R.R. asks simply. ^Unless I'm terribly mistaken, it's that little son-of-a ... rat ... Roscoe's nephew.^ Morgan switches to the private link. She's obviously composing herself, not wanting to let it affect her focus. ^_Squee?_^ R.R. blurts. Morgan-Sue sends an affirmative. ^Hm. As if we didn't have enough problems...but...I don't see that sword, and if he were still Darath the Rat I doubt the Tooniverse would have amalgamated him with the Impossible Man.^ ^Good point,^ Mrs. Greywolf-Storm-Phoenix-Richards concedes. ^But we should still keep an eye on him, and I'm going to want a few words with him later...^ ^Agreed. But fight now, confront later.^ R.R. consults with himself, Roland 'filling in' Reed about how Squee was once a sort of "kid sidekick" to the CAoL who went bad after growing up trapped in a time warp with some nasty characters (including a sorceress named Isla and a necromantic conqueror called Darath the Black), then killing Roscoe, a member of the CAoL [yes, Reed, the wolf we just saw go through that X-Window with Driss, I hate paradoxes] and vanishing with the apparent intent of brooding and plotting revenge. [Roscoe was Morgan's oldest friend, so she's understandably a bit upset. I've flown off the handle with former villains enough times before, however -- Essex up there is one of them -- that I don't want to make assumptions. And I think that's enough of a stint as being Captain Busiek's sidekick Exposition Lad; we have a world-conqueror to foil.] ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Fri, 8 Nov 2002 23:32:43 -0600 Martin and/or Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011020 >On Mon, 04 Nov 2002, Morgan Said > >/Gotcha, sib!/ Morgan-Sue calls out, having made sure the falling >Doom-bits didn't cause any unavoidable damage. > >She looked around for an pilotless cycle, but didn't see one handy. >Suddenly, the rider of a cycle heading Dhonny's way flies off the >back of his bike. It looks for all the world like he was >clotheslined, but no clothesline was visible. Which should, to anyone >who knows Sue Storm-Richards powers, explain exactly what happened >;-). > >/There you go, bro,/ the Invisible Highlander sends nonchalantly. /Thanks again, Sis!/ returned the Half-Dragon/Half-Human Torch as he "flamed-off" his hands and expertly caught the control yoke on the, now "rider-less", skycycle. He then "flamed-off" his entire body, revealing the '80's-era black and white "Negative Zone" FF Uniform, and landed right in the `cycle's single seat. Revving the engine, he flew the bike straight towards the mass of "Doom-Clone" 'Bots still swarming around in the air surrounding D^3's blimp. However, he was not so foolhardy to leave himself completely defenseless as he generated a hollow, near-transparent, sphere of fire around himself and the bike, around which, in turn, orbited R^2's flying Kirby-Tech boxes, as if intent on following their own mysterious and private agenda. As he approaches more closely to the ultra-tech, tricked-out, albeit still antique looking -- even by 1960's sensibilities -- zeppelin, five more "foam-thrower"-equipped "Servo-Guards", along with five of the newer flying-wing "Guardian 'Bots", break away from the pack and dive out of the air towards "Dhonny" and his entourage of flying Kirby-Tech boxes. /Hey Benji-Mike, assuming you've got a enough free moments that you can rub together, is there any chance that you might be able to give me a hand here?/ ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 09:32:49 -0500 Caprice/Legion Said As CAoL Message # 00011021 >On Mon, 04 Nov 2002 22:14:02 -0800 >Morgan and/or Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00011019 > >>On Fri, 18 Oct 2002 20:56:22 -0400 >>Legion Said As CAoL Message # 00010997 >> >>While the others have undergone various mergers, Legion feels... >>something different. Already multiple, she has... snapped into clear >>focus. To her it is as if someone finally wiped the vasiline off the >>camera lens, and she can /see/. Through everything, in everything >>she sees... strings. The very threads of reality. She grabs a hand >>full of 'threads' and twists, and several explosions happen early, >>avoiding damage to the city below. Another handful, another twist, >>and innocent bystanders who were in danger of becoming civilian >>casualties are a block away. A faint frown crosses Legion's face as >>she tries to figure out /why/ her powers are suddenly so much >>easier, which voice inside her is responsible for this. And of >>course, she's set up as a lovely target... > > Blastaar laughs diabolically (in a cliched 60s cartoon voice) as >he opens fire... Legion doesn't even frown as she reweaves reality so the blast inverts back on itself. >>Mischief leans down, commening to ImposSquee... "Mom's gone and made >>herself a target... let's hit whatever goes after her from behind." >> >>Essex, stuck in the back seat, just sighs. "All I wanted was a quiet >>afternoon out...." > > ...completely ignoring the cute young lady about to ambush him. > Mischief twists midair, hitting Blastaar hard with both feet... and a spell. She sends Blastaar flying into his own blast which is now headed back for him. Then, she start falling as gravity takes over. However, in the finest tradtion of comic book Felines she lands on her feet... and on the head of a flying Doombot. She quickly leaps off of it (claws out and kicking it in the head, of course) heading for a safer perch. ================================= Subject: AAE 8: CADD (CAoLers Against D & D) On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 16:12:01 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011022 >On Fri, 25 Oct 2002 23:34:47 -0400 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011002 > >/I'm a bit rusty at this, guys,/ Mike sends over the link as Ben >starts clobberin', /But I'm thinking the best bet from this angle is >getting around behind the blimp and kicking their back door in. Reed, >Roland, you know these two better than me, thoughts?/ /I have given the tactical problem some thought, Ben, and I believe--/ /Short version,/ R.R. interrupts himself, /slingshot maneuver./ Before he can elaborate, however: >On Sat, 26 Oct 2002 20:41:15 -0500 >Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011003 > >>On Fri, 25 Oct 2K2, Mike Knight Said >/Excuse me for possibly buttin' in here, I'm sure, but don't we need >to get through these things first?/ "/Not necessarily,/" R.R. replies. "/Johnny, I want you to fly wing for Ben./" Then... >On Mon, 28 Oct 2002 18:38:06 EST >SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011011 > >>In a message dated 10/18/02 1:00:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time, >>rolandx writes: > >[We will we will rock you >WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!] /Roger!/ the Morgan half of Morgan-Sue laments, /That song won't be released for at least a decade yet. _Please_ try to keep the temporal paradoxes down to a dull roar./ There are two mothers in one head, of _course_ they're going to sound very maternal ;-). > Seismographs across the continet spike as New York stomps through >the last of the chorus and swings into the next verse, and an >avalanche of music driven by an ocean of unified willpower bears down >on the self-styled Master of Sound... who is rapidly learning that >there's a biiiig difference between "sound" and "music." > (Of course, RF is cheating -- what with Bardic Magic, Val Hallen >Power, and the fact that he's got the entire City of New York >telepathically united behind this one song... well, it's really not >fair to poor Klaw. Heh heh.) Actually, Klaw would have had a chance against pure music -- even as much as Roger was wielding. Music is ultimately an artistic form of sound, and Klaw began with the simple expedient of creating dissonant counter-vibration, aka static. Unfortunately for Klaw, magic is another story. All the static in the world isn't going to help when magic, "divine" power, and psychic backlash all come up in a wave straight at him. A moment later, there's a wisp of red-pink smoke where Klaw had been, and the sonic "klaw" that replaces his hand is spinning in place where it fell to the deck of the Blimp. Before anyone can scream "Oh my god, they killed Ulysses!" however, a blip of energy starts to pulse weakly from the "klaw." It appears that the so-called "master of sound" (or what's left of him) is currently residing in his own weapon. Since he's solid sound himself, it was the only place for his mentality to go without having to spend the next year reformatting himself. > And RF pivots slowly, massively, as the mental focus of NYC turns >ponderously towards the *real* target of its ire. > "DOOM," the City intones in glacial fury. >"YOU...ARE...NOT...WELCOME...HERE." > > OOC: Okay, Roland, your ball. I'm sure Dr D&D has *something* up >their sleeve for smacking around upstart cities... OOC-R: Doom? He'd be in trouble. Unfortunately, Roger takes after his dad just a _little_ too much... (ref: http://silver-gateway.com/rc/fi/fi-6.html at the very climax.) Doom looks at the screen in concern. [Hm. This could be a problem.] Within their shared mind, however, Destroyer...smiles. [It will not. I am prepared for this. First, employ _your_ plan.] With a shared nod, Doom flicks a single switch. Across the city, all sound simply...stops. A contingency plan against Klaw, apparently... Of course, this doesn't stop the extant flow of magic and will, any more than Klaw's static could. That's when Destroyer comes in. A wave of light flashes through the city, pulsing too suddenly and too quickly to be prevented. It's over almost as it begins, but the specific rhythm has New Yorkers (already rattled by the absence of sound) facing their own fears very suddenly. Most New Yorkers, being quite strong-willed on the average, are already recovering -- but the link is shattered. (Not to mention they have to deal with panicky tourists... ;^) [Impressive.] [I have a similar psychic device prepared on my own world. Your own physics-based technology, however, was quite up to the task.] [Of course.] Another switch, and sound returns to the city. "I do not strike at children, forever youth," D.D. intones ominously. "However, you have abrogated your immunity by engaging in battle. Farewell." "I don't think so," R.R. replies loudly enough to be heard at the blimp, having built a sonic projector from spare Doombot parts. The Fantastic Defender is stretched out like a rubber band pulled out from an enormous slingshot -- except no slingshot frame is visible. /Ben-Mike! Grab this 'lance' {} here --/ he shares Morgan-Sue's ability to 'see' invisible objects, showing him the large force spike she's created at his request -- /and prepare for Slingshot maneuver three! Dhonny and anyone else who's clear, you're cover fire! NOW!/ With that (assuming no one is interrupted), R.R. sends the Time Thing flying into the Blimp of Doom. Dr. D & D watch with amusement. [They cannot be serious. The Thing's strength is prodigious. However, his force is spread over too wide of an area to--] D.D.'s thoughts are interrupted as the rocky knight slams into the Blimp, force-lance ripping a hole through the armor. "WHAT?!" A moment later, the lance becomes two enormous crowbars, which Ben-Mike can see thanks to the link. (OOC: I assume that he knows what to do with them. ) A moment later, R.R. (who became a literal "flying wing") sails up behind Ben-Mike, throwing out a pseudopod to grab hold of torn metal. "/We have our way in, colleagues. I suggest we take it./" Holding a teleport-fin in another pseudopod, he depresses a brief series of impromptu switches, and Morgan-Sue "transits" to R.R.'s side...invisibly. [Richards,] Doom intones direly. [Hardly,] Destroyer replied coldly. [This was far more a display of tactical skill rather than scientific. I _warned_ you not to underestimate Phoenix!] [Bah,] Doom replied. [A momentary setback.] [I can't believe you actually _uttered_ that hoary cliche.] Doom grimaced and depressed another button, sending hordes of modified Doombots into the breach. [We must retrieve Klaw, and activate our secret weapon.] [Agreed.] TBC... ================================= Subject: AAE 8: Molecular Maneuvers On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 16:29:41 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011023 >On Mon, 28 Oct 2002 18:13:52 -0800 >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011012 > >/*"I had hoped to be able to protect the city from collateral damage, >however it seems that my efforts must be applied elsewhere."*/ Aurora >tells the assembled heros. With that she shifts possition, and >manifests directly above Baxter building. As she does so, the Molecule Man appears above the city as well, taking position high above the Public Library (as he did during his first 'toon appearance). (OOC note: I was able to do that off the top of my head. I scare me sometimes. 8^) >The city has seen the like only a few times before. Galactus, the >High Evolutionary, and 2 or three others. Now they look upon a woman >who might have been the model for the statues of Greek Goddesses, if >those models were over one thousand meters tall and had a nimbus of >light radiating from them. (OOC: A kilometer tall? I hope she's floating _above_ the building. 8^) Owen Reece is a cosmic power. The Molecule Man is a being that can make entire galaxies tremble, capable of rearranging reality itself at his most powerful. However, he is also a mortal man, one who was once a lonely, unnoticed outcast. He has insecurities, self-loathing...and desires. Owen simply _gapes_ at Aurora. Pepe was a greater threat... >*"Molecule man. It MUST be you that Von Doom sends against me. Only >you Galactus and the Celestials have such levels of power, and >Galactus and the Celestials would not serve Von Doom. HMMM... I >perceive that you harbor a desire to conquer this world. "Wh-what?!? I...uh..." Reece glances nervously at the Blimp of Doom. >If you and I battle HERE this world will be utterly destroyed. >Leaving you with nothing to rule. Respect...another bonus from Aurora. Reece straightens to his full height...which isn't all that impressive either. Coughing, he creates a cosmic "avatar" which floats above the city, of approximately equal dimensions to Aurora's. "A valid point," he says, with as much authority and dignity as possible. >Come, let us take our contest elsewhere, so this world will >survive."* Aurora says, her "voice" rolling out across the entire >city. With that she generates a portal to a small uninhabited >adjacent pocket universe. "*As you can see... the entire universe, >where I propose we take our encounter, is empty. So there can be >nothing pre-set to oppose you. The portal will prevent any energies >from exiting that pocket universe and will remain even should you >terminate my existance. After you?"* Reece looks at the portal, then at Aurora, then nods. "Although," he says, almost succeeding at being imperious, "I feel neither the need nor the desire to 'terminate your existence.' I--" Reece begins towards the portal, then stops, eyes widening, then narrowing. "After _you,_ I think." His smile tries to be cool, but it shakes just a bit too much. "Ladies first." ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 16:42:17 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011024 >On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 09:32:49 -0500 >Legion Said As CAoL Message # 00011021 > >>On Mon, 04 Nov 2002 22:14:02 -0800 >>Roland Said As CAoL Message # 00011019 >> >> Blastaar laughs diabolically (in a cliched 60s cartoon voice) as >>he opens fire... > >Legion doesn't even frown as she reweaves reality so the blast >inverts back on itself. Blastaar's eyes widen as his own energies reconverge on his face. Not the most agile flyer, he tries clumsily to redirect himself, but before he can do so... >Mischief twists midair, hitting Blastaar hard with both feet... and a >spell. She sends Blastaar flying into his own blast which is now >headed back for him. "GBLF!" Blastaar tries to scream as he sticks his blast in his mouth. As resilient as Blastaar is, his powers are even more formidable than his near-invulnerablity. He spirals in the sky, trying desperately to right himself. As he's already off-balance, however, he crashes headlong into the Baxter Building, dazed. > Then, she start falling as gravity takes over. However, in the >finest tradtion of comic book Felines she lands on her feet... and on >the head of a flying Doombot. She quickly leaps off of it (claws out >and kicking it in the head, of course) heading for a safer perch. The Doombot (an electro-shocker variant headed for Reed-Roland) has just enough time to process that the proper response would be to try to grab her when she's already leapt away, and its processor is a sparking mess. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 23:33:55 -0800 (PST) Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00011025 >Caprice/Legion Said As CAoL Message # 00011021 > >Mischief twists midair, hitting Blastaar hard with both feet... and a >spell. She sends Blastaar flying into his own blast which is now >headed back for him. Then, she starts falling as gravity takes over. >However, in the finest tradition of comic book Felines she lands on >her feet... and on the head of a flying Doombot. She quickly leaps >off of it (claws out and kicking it in the head, of course) heading >for a safer perch. With Daniel leading the fight, Rob has been watching the lens-link, picking up flashes of the furball that leak out from CAoL members, when he sees Darath-free Squee (healthier for everybody than the previous version), then Mischief...yet not Mischief. A word flows across the lens-link, one that encompasses more concept than any terrestrial language possesses, let alone puts into one word. The closest English translation is, "A young angel, her foe not defeated, but redeemed, that the angels may rejoice at the return of a friend." And even that is little more than a third of the full meaning. As that passes by, Rob takes control for a moment to throw a Doombot in a neat arc, offering another place for the gray panther to bounce, in case she needs to make a sudden change of direction. [What did I just say that for?] ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Molecular Maneuvers On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 16:27:15 -0800 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011026 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011023 > >>Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011012 >> >>The city has seen the like only a few times before. Galactus, the >>High Evolutionary, and 2 or three others. Now they look upon a woman >>who might have been the model for the statues of Greek Goddesses, if >>those models were over one thousand meters tall and had a nimbus of >>light radiating from them. > > (OOC: A kilometer tall? I hope she's floating _above_ the >building. 8^) (ooc: Of course) > Reece looks at the portal, then at Aurora, then nods. "Although," >he says, almost succeeding at being imperious, "I feel neither the >need nor the desire to 'terminate your existence.' I--" Reece begins >towards the portal, then stops, eyes widening, then narrowing. "After >_you,_ I think." His smile tries to be cool, but it shakes just a bit >too much. "Ladies first." Aurora's tinkling laughter, almost a giggle, rings out bathing the world with healing energies. Clearly not laughing at HIM, just the situation. /*"You suspect and fear a trick, or a trap on my part. I cannot say I blame you. Very well, I will proceed you. Yet I caution you, do not try to seal the portal behind me, for that would not prevent me from returning to your world, and at need I could call upon a power that could restore this world and those in it after its destruction at our hands."*/ With that she steps through the portal. Turning around she becons him to follow. /*"Comming?"*/ She asks. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: CADD (CAoLers Against D & D) On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 19:19:31 EST SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011027 >In a message dated 11/10/02 7:19:16 PM Eastern Standard Time, >rolandx writes: > >>[We will we will rock you >>WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!] > >/Roger!/ the Morgan half of Morgan-Sue laments, /That song won't be >released for at least a decade yet. _Please_ try to keep the temporal >paradoxes down to a dull roar./ There are two mothers in one head, of >_course_ they're going to sound very maternal ;-). Roger/Franklin doesn't seem to hear anything. Maybe the music is so loud that it's even blocking his telepathic hearing. Or maybe it's because he's stretched so thing, trying to act as the linchpin uniting an entire city's worth of minds into a single gestalt organism. Yeah, that sounds like a plausible excuse. We'll go with that one. The *good* news is, no-one's really going to remember the song, aside from the fact that it was waaay bitchin', dude. A little detail RF saw to -- not out of any exaggerrated respect for the time stream ("Hey, the universe is big enough to absorb a few paradoxi!"), but because he didn't want to deprive Freddy Mercury & Co of any future royalties. Roger (and Franklin) are thoughtful, that way. > Actually, Klaw would have had a chance against pure music -- even >as much as Roger was wielding. Music is ultimately an artistic form >of sound, and Klaw began with the simple expedient of creating >dissonant counter-vibration, aka static. OOC: Awwww. I wanted to see Klaw crushed by the power of ROCK AND ROLL, BABY! (Ahem) Sorry. To many reruns of "Detroit Rock City" on my hotel's limited cable channels, lately... "Remember: Music is a weapon." >> And RF pivots slowly, massively, as the mental focus of NYC turns >>ponderously towards the *real* target of its ire. >> "DOOM," the City intones in glacial fury. >>"YOU...ARE...NOT...WELCOME...HERE." >> >> OOC: Okay, Roland, your ball. I'm sure Dr D&D has *something* up >>their sleeve for smacking around upstart cities... > > OOC-R: Doom? He'd be in trouble. Unfortunately, Roger takes after >his dad just a _little_ too much... (ref: >http://silver-gateway.com/rc/fi/fi-6.html at the very climax.) OOC: Darn. And I thought I'd come up with something original... > Doom looks at the screen in concern. [Hm. This could be a >problem.] > Within their shared mind, however, Destroyer...smiles. [It will >not. I am prepared for this. First, employ _your_ plan.] > With a shared nod, Doom flicks a single switch. Across the city, >all sound simply...stops. A contingency plan against Klaw, >apparently... RF had actually expected Klaw to try something like this, and had measuers in place -- the New York Mind bobbles a bit, and begins fraying around the edges from the sudden loss of aural input, but by this point the song is so deeply ingrained they can still "hear" it anyway. RF's eyes narrow at the DoomBlimp, and one hand reaches towards it, massive with the power behind it... > Of course, this doesn't stop the extant flow of magic and will, >any more than Klaw's static could. That's when Destroyer comes in. A >wave of light flashes through the city, pulsing too suddenly and too >quickly to be prevented. It's over almost as it begins, but the >specific rhythm has New Yorkers (already rattled by the absence of >sound) facing their own fears very suddenly. Most New Yorkers, being >quite strong-willed on the average, are already recovering -- but the >link is shattered. (Not to mention they have to deal with panicky >tourists... ;^) Under normal circumstances, RF might have been able to react quickly enough to counter the dazzle, but the very act of creating and maintaining the New York Mind has spread his mental resources across the entire city -- his higher functions are like pudding, and the Mind isn't sufficiently integrated, or posessed of enough experience, to pick up the slack. The Mind simply... unravels, and it takes all the of automatic safety mechanisms built into the Mind (as extensions of the same defenses in RF's mind) to prevent injuries to the New Yorkers (and tourists (:)). There *will* be some lingering side-effects, howerver -- for one thing, the RIAA (boo! Hiss!) will note for the next several decades that NYC runs consistently "ahead" of the rest of the nation in musical taste, and has a statistically inexplicable preference for Rock&Roll. For his part, RF rebounds back into his body like an overstressed elastic band, with so much force that his component selves are nearly split apart -- for a moment, anyone looking can actually *see* Roger and Franklin superimposed over each other, before the 'toon merge effect kicks back into play. With a "snap" of dispersing telepathic energies so intense as to spill over into the visual spectrum, RF goes limp and tumbles to the roof of a nearby high-rise. He's only still for a moment, however, before prying himself out of the tar-and-pebble roofing, looking groggy, pissed, and... well... tarred&pebbled. Oh, well -- at least it wasn't tar&feathers... > [Impressive.] > [I have a similar psychic device prepared on my own world. Your >own physics-based technology, however, was quite up to the task.] > [Of course.] > Another switch, and sound returns to the city. "I do not strike at >children, forever youth," D.D. intones ominously. "However, you have >abrogated your immunity by engaging in battle. Farewell." "Like heck you don't!" RF snarls back, raising shields. "I've seen your entire *future,* Doomy, and there's *no* sin so black you won't stoop to it in your quest for power!" That's not entirely true, of course, depending on who was writing Fantastic Four at any given time, but RF isn't just spitting defiance -- he's also trying for some off-the-cuff psychological warfare. Probably no good, but it can't hurt to try... > "I don't think so," R.R. replies loudly enough to be heard at the >blimp, having built a sonic projector from spare Doombot parts. The >Fantastic Defender is stretched out like a rubber band pulled out >from an enormous slingshot -- except no slingshot frame is visible. >/Ben-Mike! Grab this 'lance' {} here --/ he shares Morgan-Sue's >ability to 'see' invisible objects, showing him the large force spike >she's created at his request -- /and prepare for Slingshot maneuver >three! Dhonny and anyone else who's clear, you're cover fire! NOW!/ RF produces a BFG (that's Gun, this time, not Guitar) and takes aim... then time suddenly slows down for him. [Waaait a moment... we're doing this all wrong. This is the TOONiverse. Val Hallen was good, but we got to serious. Time to do what I/we do best...] The gun suddenly changes, taking on truly ludicrous proportions (think Classic Rob Liefeld, here). "HEY! DOCTORS DUMB&DUMBER... PAGING DOCTORS DUMB&DUMBER!" He waits until Doctor DD deigns to spare him a tiny sliver of attention (most of his concentration fixated on the "real" threat presented by RR) before pulling the trigger with a wild yell: "It's SLOBBERIN' TIME!!!!!!!" A blue-and-yellow blur cannonballs from the business end of the gun and plows into the bow of the DoomBlimp... and *penetrates* with a horrible chewing/slobbering sound that almost sounds like *words,* accompanied by the sound of rending metal. Through the viewports a small blue-and-yellow cyclone can be seen caroming around the inside of the vessel, spreading carnage and... eating?!?... everything in sight. RF blows some smoke away from the muzzle of his gun (no small feat, considering the darn thing is some twenty feet long) and smirks. "/Damn, I'm good. Folks, say hello to... The Tasmanian Wolverine!/" Inside the blimp, a Tasmanian Devil wearing a familiar blue-and-yellow costume stops at a porthole, waves his adamantium claws at the onlookers with a cheerfully ravenous gobbling sound, and then goes back to being the best he is at what he does. "/Oh, and by the way,/" RF adds after a moment. "/If *anyone* ever tells Logan about this, I'm introducing them to Murhpy *personally.*/" ================================= Subject: AAE8: And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors.... On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 21:57:58 EST SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011028 MEANWHILE, in the HALL of JUSTICE-- Er, that is, inside the besieged Baxter Building: Younger Franklin, being not-babysat-just-kept-company-really-would-I-lie-to-you by Rio, has been moping about and wishing for some action. Oh, sure, eating ice cream with Rio was nice and all, but an aspiring next-generation superhero can only distract himself that way for so long. (it's a sad comment on his mentality, really -- a beautiful girl and ice cream, and all he can think about is going out and getting shot at. But he's *Roland's* son... whaddaya gonna do?) Fortunately for his sanity, a few Doombots not specifically targetted on FF/CAoL members outside the building were apparently tasked to perform rear-area recon and interdiction operations. The first warning came when a black-shrouded Doombot (special-ops model, heavy on stealth, short on strength and firepower) popped out of the pantry while Rio was dropping the used bowls into the Superatomic Subspace Cyclotronic Tableware Autoclavation System (Reed's idea of an automatic dishwasher) while Franklin-Roger rummaged through the Regulated Environment Counter-Spoilage Storage and Organization Foodstuffs Management Unit (a fridge) looking for a cola or something they could split (despite having had Roger's 375+yr-old libido gone into total shutdown in order to preserve Young Franklin's sanity, he still has this fuzzy image of sharing a single drink with Rio using two straws, sort of like something from an Archie comic). He had just stepped out of the Unit holding a jug of fruit punch when Rio, turning away from the System, noticed the Doombot sneaking up behind him and shouted a warning. As she leaped towards him, he spun about in shock, saw the Doombot coming, and by pure reflex let the spin carry through to slug the Doombot with the jug of punch. WHAM! The jug hit the Doombot with several metric tonnes of force, slamming it out through the wall... and the next wall...and the next... and, well, straight out of the building, the hard way. There wasn't much left afterward. Rio gaped a moment, then looked at FR and his still-intact jug. "Just what *is* that stuff? Concentrated Singularity Fruit Juice?" "Nope," FR replies, checking out the lable. "Hawaiian Punch." Their eyes met over the jug. "Great," they chorused. "We're living in a commercial." A belated beeping from a console on the wall claimed their attention next: the security system warning of several more intruders converging on their location. "How are they getting past the security systems?" Rio wondered aloud. "Umm... I think I trashed the security systems when I punted that last Doombot through the building." "Great. We'd better fort up." A wicked grin suddenly crossed FR's face. "Nah... I got it covered. Watch *this.*" Rio covered her eyes with one hand, suddenly looking like the "before" part of an aspirin ad. "Why do I suddenly have a *bad* feeling about this?" FR took a deeeep breath, held it for a moment, and then released it in a massive bellow: "HEY, KOOL-AAAAIIID!!!!" The far wall of the kitchen blew in to the accompaniment of a basso-profundo bellow: "OH YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!" From there on out, things just got sillier. And stickier -- it wasn't suger-free Kool-Aid, after all... ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: CADD (CAoLers Against D & D) On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 11:15:33 -0500 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011029 >On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 19:19:31 EST >SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011027 > >>In a message dated 11/10/02 7:19:16 PM Eastern Standard Time, >>Roland writes: >> >>>[We will we will rock you >>>WE WILL WE WILL ROCK YOOOOOUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!] On the street below, a portal opens and the rest of the Seven clan and friends step through, David first. The quarter-minbari blinks then shakes his head, Tink comes through just behind him and stops abruptly. ^Oy vey!^ Tink sent to her 'brother/uncle' David, ^I think I blocked out this part of the story.^ David smiled, then snapped off orders, /Aunt Tiara, Tink, help keep people safe from falling debris, just in case something misses the current screens./ /Aunts Molly and Melissa and Walkabout, patrol and rescue ops. Bernice, Aunt Grep, keep the Doombots off their backs should they venture down this far in one functioning piece./ /Have a gun, Mom,/ Tink sent, conjuring a weapon that would do Cable proud out of thin air and tossing it to her. Grep's smile wasn't pretty. Bernice grabbed hold of Grep in a tandem parachute-like harness and they took off after Molly and Melissa who were riding Walkabout's skycycle mode. /Zora, Inyu, be ready to do some healing,/ David told the amphibious woman and the gelfling. /And remember, people, this is a super-hero universe, so keep it dramatic, but light-hearted. Hopefully, we'll get nothing worse than a few startled people and minor cuts and bruises./ >>> And RF pivots slowly, massively, as the mental focus of NYC >>>turns ponderously towards the *real* target of its ire. >>> "DOOM," the City intones in glacial fury. >>>"YOU...ARE...NOT...WELCOME...HERE." [Oh hell,] David thinks to himself, looking up at Roger/Franklin, [Cous, are you really cut out to pull this stunt off by yourself?] >> Doom looks at the screen in concern. [Hm. This could be a >>problem.] >> Within their shared mind, however, Destroyer...smiles. [It will >>not. I am prepared for this. First, employ _your_ plan.] >> With a shared nod, Doom flicks a single switch. Across the city, >>all sound simply...stops. A contingency plan against Klaw, >>apparently... The Sevens all pause at that, /Did we go deaf?/ /No,/ /Keep at it, people!/ then work resumes in silence. > RF had actually expected Klaw to try something like this, and had >measuers in place -- the New York Mind bobbles a bit, and begins >fraying around the edges from the sudden loss of aural input, but by >this point the song is so deeply ingrained they can still "hear" it >anyway. RF's eyes narrow at the DoomBlimp, and one hand reaches >towards it, massive with the power behind it... A small part of David's total mind flashes out from the street corner by the Baxter Building, grabbing the frayed sections and either reweaving them into the common pattern or gently pulling them free as the individual minds need. [Impressive networking, Cousin Roger, Uncle Roland would be proud. Robert Kinnison would be telling Virgil Samms to sign you two up. Though Mentor would have four fits.] >> Of course, this doesn't stop the extant flow of magic and will, >>any more than Klaw's static could. That's when Destroyer comes in. A >>wave of light flashes through the city, pulsing too suddenly and too >>quickly to be prevented. It's over almost as it begins, but the >>specific rhythm has New Yorkers (already rattled by the absence of >>sound) facing their own fears very suddenly. Most New Yorkers, being >>quite strong-willed on the average, are already recovering -- but >>the link is shattered. (Not to mention they have to deal with >>panicky tourists... ;^) David's eyes widen, [Whoa, where'd these mental demons spring from?] He slips in amidst the other defenses, quelling phobias, fears, anxieties and paranoia citywide. As he did so, he slid into the motor-control areas of the brains within the geographic boundaries of the Big Apple and made sure to keep the city flowing safely and normally for the duration of the calming effect. He also used the opportunity to get several million eyes looking for dangers and directing the rescue and healing operations to them. After fighting his third-stage lensman counterpart, this was a relative piece of cake. Of course, he was letting his elders do most of the real work. > The Mind simply... unravels, and it takes all the of automatic >safety mechanisms built into the Mind (as extensions of the same >defenses in RF's mind) to prevent injuries to the New Yorkers (and >tourists (:)). There *will* be some lingering side-effects, howerver >-- for one thing, the RIAA (boo! Hiss!) will note for the next >several decades that NYC runs consistently "ahead" of the rest of the >nation in musical taste, and has a statistically inexplicable >preference for Rock&Roll. As the mental landscape continues to lose cohesion, David stays to ensure everything falls apart properly, then does a check on the component minds themselves, checking for anything out of the ordinary. The taste for Rock and Roll and the desire for the new stuff gives David a small chuckle, [I'll stick with the Beatles.] > For his part, RF rebounds back into his body like an overstressed >elastic band, with so much force that his component selves are nearly >split apart -- for a moment, anyone looking can actually *see* Roger >and Franklin superimposed over each other, before the 'toon merge >effect kicks back into play. With a "snap" of dispersing telepathic >energies so intense as to spill over into the visual spectrum, RF >goes limp and tumbles to the roof of a nearby high-rise. > He's only still for a moment, however, before prying himself out >of the tar-and-pebble roofing, looking groggy, pissed, and... well... >tarred&pebbled. > Oh, well -- at least it wasn't tar&feathers... David winces as he's finishing up unweaving the effects of the psychic combat. [That must have stung.] >> "I don't think so," R.R. replies loudly enough to be heard at the >>blimp, having built a sonic projector from spare Doombot parts. The >>Fantastic Defender is stretched out like a rubber band pulled out >>from an enormous slingshot -- except no slingshot frame is visible. >>/Ben-Mike! Grab this 'lance' {} here --/ he shares Morgan-Sue's >>ability to 'see' invisible objects, showing him the large force >>spike she's created at his request /and prepare for Slingshot >>maneuver three! Dhonny and anyone else who's clear, you're cover >>fire! NOW!/ Mike/Ben nod and ditch/demolish the last of the current crop of Doombots plaguing them. [Slingshot maneuver?] [Watch and learn.] > "HEY! DOCTORS DUMB&DUMBER... PAGING DOCTORS DUMB&DUMBER!" > He waits until Doctor DD deigns to spare him a tiny sliver of >attention (most of his concentration fixated on the "real" threat >presented by RR) before pulling the trigger with a wild yell: "It's >SLOBBERIN' TIME!!!!!!!" [Now he's rippin' off MY tag-lines!] Thing spares a moment to think. > RF blows some smoke away from the muzzle of his gun (no small >feat, considering the darn thing is some twenty feet long) and >smirks. "/Damn, I'm good. Folks, say hello to... The Tasmanian >Wolverine!/" > Inside the blimp, a Tasmanian Devil wearing a familiar >blue-and-yellow costume stops at a porthole, waves his adamantium >claws at the onlookers with a cheerfully ravenous gobbling sound, and >then goes back to being the best he is at what he does. > "/Oh, and by the way,/" RF adds after a moment. "/If *anyone* ever >tells Logan about this, I'm introducing them to Murhpy >*personally.*/" "Tell Logan about WHAT," *SNIKT* "Bub?" If Roger turns around, there's no one there. Down on the street, though, David smiles, having been the culprit of the audible Logan impersonation, complete with real adamantium claw-noise. Meanwhile, as Benja-Mike continues ripping into the Blimp with invisible crowbars, he breaks through to a corridor and looks around. /Eugh,/ BG/MS thinks, /You guys might wanna watch yer step comin' in, there's machine oil 'n metal dust everywhere from that blender that tore through. And watch that flamin', Matchstick./ ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Molecular Maneuvers On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 22:11:13 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011030 >On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 16:27:15 -0800 >Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011026 > >>Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011023 >> >>"After _you,_ I think." His smile tries to be cool, but it shakes >>just a bit too much. "Ladies first." > >Aurora's tinkling laughter, almost a giggle, rings out bathing the >world with healing energies. Clearly not laughing at HIM, just the >situation. /*"You suspect and fear a trick, or a trap on my part. I >cannot say I blame you. Very well, I will proceed you. Yet I caution >you, do not try to seal the portal behind me, for that would not >prevent me from returning to your world, and at need I could call >upon a power that could restore this world and those in it after its >destruction at our hands."*/ With that she steps through the portal. >Turning around she becons him to follow. /*"Coming?"*/ She asks. Reece steps forward solemnly (almost not shivering as he does so). "I would not stoop to such a tactic," he intones. [Besides,] he thinks privately, beginning to wonder what he's gotten into, [I wouldn't have the slightest idea how. I _think_ I've worked out how to get home if I win. God. Galactus? I'm as powerful as Galactus? I knew that Doom took me for a sucker, but was he _right?_] After passing through the gateway, he nods his head in a hint of a bow, then holds out his wand like a fencer ready for battle. The tip shakes slightly. He says nothing, but merely waits to begin... ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: CADD (CAoLers Against D & D) On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 22:58:04 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011031 >On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 11:15:33 -0500 >Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011029 > >>On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 19:19:31 EST >>SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011027 >> >>>In a message dated 11/10/02 7:19:16 PM EST, >>>Roland writes: >> >> The Mind simply... unravels, and it takes all the of automatic >>safety mechanisms built into the Mind (as extensions of the same >>defenses in RF's mind) to prevent injuries to the New Yorkers (and >>tourists (:)). There *will* be some lingering side-effects, howerver >>-- for one thing, the RIAA (boo! Hiss!) will note for the next >>several decades that NYC runs consistently "ahead" of the rest of >>the nation in musical taste, and has a statistically inexplicable >>preference for Rock&Roll. > >As the mental landscape continues to lose cohesion, David stays to >ensure everything falls apart properly, then does a check on the >component minds themselves, checking for anything out of the >ordinary. The taste for Rock and Roll and the desire for the new >stuff gives David a small chuckle, [I'll stick with the Beatles.] OOC: Everyone's a critic. ;^) Dr. D & D smiles. [A distinct improvement.] [Where did..._that_...learn musical taste?] [Roger's parents, no doubt.] [I do believe I will continue to employ musicians skilled in Brahms and Bach.] OOC II: What'd I tell ya? >>> Another switch, and sound returns to the city. "I do not strike >>>at children, forever youth," D.D. intones ominously. "However, you >>>have abrogated your immunity by engaging in battle. Farewell." >> >> "Like heck you don't!" RF snarls back, raising shields. "I've >>seen your entire *future,* Doomy, and there's *no* sin so black you >>won't stoop to it in your quest for power!" That's not entirely >>true, of course, depending on who was writing Fantastic Four at any >>given time, but RF isn't just spitting defiance -- he's also trying >>for some off-the-cuff psychological warfare. Probably no good, but >>it can't hurt to try... "Which future might that be?" D & D replies coolly. "Even discounting alternate timelines with inferior duplicates, there _are_ two of us in here." ["Inferior" duplicates?] [There can only be one true Doom. I am he.] [I am going to _have_ to introduce you to Kang the Conqueror...] >>> "I don't think so," R.R. replies loudly enough to be heard at >>>the blimp, having built a sonic projector from spare Doombot parts. >>>The Fantastic Defender is stretched out like a rubber band pulled >>>out from an enormous slingshot -- except no slingshot frame is >>>visible. /Ben-Mike! Grab this 'lance' {} here --/ he shares >>>Morgan-Sue's ability to 'see' invisible objects, showing him the >>>large force spike she's created at his request -- /and prepare for >>>Slingshot maneuver three! Dhonny and anyone else who's clear, >>>you're cover fire! NOW!/ > >Mike/Ben nod and ditch/demolish the last of the current crop of >Doombots plaguing them. [Slingshot maneuver?] [Watch and learn.] R.R. releases a group of flying boxes to ensure that the Doombots are occupied (though help would be appreciated, of course ;^). >> RF produces a BFG (that's Gun, this time, not Guitar) and takes >>aim...then time suddenly slows down for him. >> [Waaait a moment... we're doing this all wrong. This is the >>TOONiverse. Val Hallen was good, but we got to serious. Time to do >>what I/we do best...] >> The gun suddenly changes, taking on truly ludicrous proportions >>(think Classic Rob Liefeld, here). >> "HEY! DOCTORS DUMB&DUMBER... PAGING DOCTORS DUMB&DUMBER!" Dr. D & D stares at the screen, dumbfounded. [They cannot be serious.] >> He waits until Doctor DD deigns to spare him a tiny sliver of >>attention (most of his concentration fixated on the "real" threat >>presented by RR) before pulling the trigger with a wild yell: "It's >>SLOBBERIN' TIME!!!!!!!" > >[Now he's rippin' off MY tag-lines!] Thing spares a moment to think. /That's our boy,/ R.R. replies with a sigh, having inadvertently picked up the thought (because it's funny ). /Takes after his father,/ Morgan-Sue adds dryly. /Oh, _thank_ you, darling,/ R.R. comments wryly. >> A blue-and-yellow blur cannonballs from the business end of the >>gun and plows into the bow of the DoomBlimp... and *penetrates* with >>a horrible chewing/slobbering sound that almost sounds like *words,* >>accompanied by the sound of rending metal. Through the viewports a >>small blue-and-yellow cyclone can be seen caroming around the inside >>of the vessel, spreading carnage and... eating?!?... everything in >>sight. Latverian soldiers run screaming and Doombots charge into the fray, only to get (literally) chewed up and spit out. The helmets get spit out, anyway -- too bitter. ;^) Dr. DeeDee (pray I don't go there) just holds the bridge of his armored nose between thumb and forefinger and groans. >> RF blows some smoke away from the muzzle of his gun (no small >>feat, considering the darn thing is some twenty feet long) and >>smirks. "/Damn, I'm good. Folks, say hello to... The Tasmanian >>Wolverine!/" /Do I have to?/ Roland (_definitely_ Roland) groans. [Aren't _you_ the parent, Mr. Phoenix?] Reed asks. [It's...complicated,] Roland replies. [Pray you never get written by Scott Lobdell.] Reed just mentally stares at Roland as the battle rages on... >> Inside the blimp, a Tasmanian Devil wearing a familiar >>blue-and-yellow costume stops at a porthole, waves his adamantium >>claws at the onlookers with a cheerfully ravenous gobbling sound, >>and then goes back to being the best he is at what he does. "Agent C. You know what to do," Dr. D & D intones. Then, out of the floor in front of the Tasmanian Wolverine (by way of Canada, apparently ;^), rises...the MOLECULE MAN?!? /Holy GRIFE...when did Owen Reece learn to co-locate?/ R.R. wonders. [Please, _do_ try to control our language.] [Sorry, sir.] Reece Redux points his wand jauntily at the Tasmanian Wolverine. "Here's to putting a spring in your step, beast," he quips, and the deck beneath the Tazucklehead uncoils violently, expelling the Wolver-Taz out before he can do further damage. There are, it should be noted, _two_ gaping holes in the front of the blimp now... ...oh yeah, what happened to the Tazerine, you ask? Well, MM^2 has good aim, it seems, sending the blue-and-yellow-and-chrome-and-brown whirling dervish...right back into Roger's Liefield gun. The gun certainly deserves what's coming to it. Roger, well...I leave that to the gentle reader. *BOOM* "Yah-bh-ah-ah-bh-ah-ah-PBPBPBHHT!" >Meanwhile, as Benja-Mike continues ripping into the Blimp with >invisible crowbars, he breaks through to a corridor and looks around. > >/Eugh,/ BG/MS thinks, /You guys might wanna watch yer step comin' in, >there's machine oil 'n metal dust everywhere from that blender that >tore through. And watch that flamin', Matchstick./ R.R. stretches into the opening, putting his feet on the deck while maintaining four tentacle-like 'arms' to hold gadgets with. "Hm. Curious. As I recall, Doom prefers a much thinner viscosity for machinery lubrication..." He waves a tricorder-like gadget over the fluid, then gives a sudden start. "Ben! Watch out!" And at that precise moment, thick tendrils of black goo lash out like sticky battering rams, filling their air with motes that obscure vision (and adhere to invisible things ;^) as well as striking with considerable force... ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: CADD (CAoLers Against D & D) On Sat, 16 Nov 2002 17:49:30 -0600 Martin and/or Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011032 >On Sun, 10 Nov 2K2, Roland X Said >>"Dhyrclhanc" Said >> >>/Excuse me for possibly buttin' in here, I'm sure, but don't we need >>to get through these things first?/ > > "/Not necessarily,/" R.R. replies. "/Johnny, I want you to fly >wing for Ben./" "/Well... O.K. If you say so Brother (-In-Law) of mine./" returned "Dhonny", sliding the skycycle up next to Ben/Mike's section of the flying bathtub's he could while still maintaining his spherical fire shield. But he kept his eyes on the incoming waves of D&D's flying wing Guardian Robots. >>>>Roland writes: >>>> With that (assuming no one is interrupted), R.R. sends the Time >>>>Thing flying into the Blimp of Doom. >>>> Dr. D & D watch with amusement. [They cannot be serious. The >>>>Thing's strength is prodigious. However, his force is spread over >>>>too wide of an area to--] D.D.'s thoughts are interrupted as the >>>>rocky knight slams into the Blimp, force-lance ripping a hole >>>>through the armor. "WHAT?!" A moment later, the lance becomes two >>>>enormous crowbars, which Ben-Mike can see thanks to the link. >>>>(OOC: I assume that he knows what to do with them. ) >>>> A moment later, R.R. (who became a literal "flying wing") sails >>>>up behind Ben-Mike, throwing out a pseudopod to grab hold of torn >>>>metal. "/We have our way in, colleagues. I suggest we take it./" >>>>Holding a teleport-fin in another pseudopod, he depresses a brief >>>>series of impromptu switches, and Morgan-Sue "transits" to R.R.'s >>>>side...invisibly. " '/Ask and yea shall receive./' " quotes Dhonny, as he fiddles with the Skycycle's control yoke, activating the 'cycle's autopilot, which causes the vehicle to continue to fly straight ahead. Then , with R&R's additional Kirby-boxes keeping D^3's robotic troops occupied, he disperses the spherical fire-shield and "flames-on", flying close-enough to the Doom-blimp to touch it, and throwing a steady stream of bolts of fire and fireballs at the blimp as he approaches the Latverian Dictator's Dirigible, hopefully at least partially diverting the attention of the Doctors. Then, making sure that his appropriated skycycle was hovering 10- or 20-feet below him, he sends /I hope that somebody here is ready to mount a rescue op. if this goes south real fast/, Dhonny flames Nova. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Clobberin' Time! On Sun, 17 Nov 2002 20:20:56 -0600 Martin and/or Dhyrclhanc Said As CAoL Message # 00011033 >On Sun, 10 Nov 2K2, Rob Nishakawa (aka Peter Eng) Said >>Caprice/Legion Said >>Mischief twists midair, hitting Blastaar hard with both feet... and >>a spell. She sends Blastaar flying into his own blast which is now >>headed back for him. Then, she starts falling as gravity takes over. >>However, in the finest tradition of comic book Felines she lands on >>her feet... and on the head of a flying Doombot. She quickly leaps >>off of it (claws out and kicking it in the head, of course) heading >>for a safer perch. > >With Daniel leading the fight, Rob has been watching the lens-link, >picking up flashes of the furball that leak out from CAoL members, >when he sees Darath-free Squee (healthier for everybody than the >previous version), then Mischief...yet not Mischief. > >A word flows across the lens-link, one that encompasses more concept >than any terrestrial language possesses, let alone puts into one >word. The closest English translation is, "A young angel, her foe not >defeated, but redeemed, that the angels may rejoice at the return of >a friend." And even that is little more than a third of the full >meaning. > >As that passes by, Rob takes control for a moment to throw a Doombot >in a neat arc, offering another place for the gray panther to bounce, >in case she needs to make a sudden change of direction. [What did I >just say that for?] /"Angels may fall, but even the smallest child shall lead... "/Agreed "Dhonny", in mid-flight towards the Doom Blimp. ================================= Subject: Re: AAE8: And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors.... On Sun, 17 Nov 2002 20:49:30 -0800 Rio Lancer Said As CAoL Message # 00011034 >On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 21:57:58 EST >SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011028 > > MEANWHILE, in the HALL of JUSTICE-- Elsewhere, in the night sky, two shooting stars rocket overhead, followed by one larger comet, each making a sci-fi "whoop" sound as they pass. Meanwhile, _at_ the Hall of Doom... "Aaaah. I sense...chaos. Wild power. A disturbance in the very fabric of reality," Gorilla Grodd intoned. Luthor, who had been pondering a particularly dastardly yet complex plan to destroy the Superfriends (and for that reason was trying to simplify it for his less intellectually gifted allies), looked up. Sinestro's cold, alien eyes gleamed at the thought of multiversal instability. "What is it, Grodd?" "A nearby universe is becoming unstable. Many powers are intersecting it, which will cause unimaginable disaster unless prevented by those accursed heroes." "Wonderful!" the Toyman exulted. "The perfect opportunity to turn the Superfriends into our _playthings!_" For emphasis, he brandished a Super-monkey with clapping cymbals and a Wonder Woman figure bound in her own lasso. "Wait!" Brainiac cried in a deep voice (this being the only world in which his voice was lower than Grodd's). "My dimensional scanner has detected the source of the disturbance!" "Well?" Luthor snarled. "Out with it!" "One being is responsible for this coming travesty. One who travels with the Callahanian Army of Light," Brainiac warned. The others looked at each other uncomfortably for a moment. "Mrrow. Haven't you come up with a plan to destroy them, Luthor?" Luthor smiled diabolically. "Of course." "But the source of the disturbance...is Roger Greywolf-Phoenix," Brainiac added. There was a much longer pause as the Legion of Doom absorbed this information. "I'd rather spend the rest of my life on Mercury," Captain Cold grumbled. "Me think fighting Roger _great_ idea!" Bizarro countered. "That settles it," Riddler shot back, with a disgusted look at the reverse-Superman. "I'll take a _hundred_ Batmen over another visit from _that_ kid." "All in favor of beating our heads against the Hall of Justice again instead?" Luthor barked. "Aye!" Twelve voices echoed in the chamber. Yes, even Bizarro's -- comic relief is one thing, but suicide is > Er, that is, inside the besieged Baxter Building: > > Younger Franklin, being not-babysat-just-kept-company-really- >would-I-lie-to-you by Rio, has been moping about and wishing for some >action. Oh, sure, eating ice cream with Rio was nice and all, but an >aspiring next-generation superhero can only distract himself that way >for so long. > (it's a sad comment on his mentality, really -- a beautiful girl >and ice cream, and all he can think about is going out and getting >shot at. But he's *Roland's* son... whaddaya gonna do?) *PHBHBHBHBHBHBHBTTT!!!* OOC-M: Roland, I will remind you, was smart enough to get hooked up with Morgan. OOC-R: Believe me, you _don't_ want extended descriptions of R & M's home life -- particularly if you're sensitive to insulin shock. > Fortunately for his sanity, a few Doombots not specifically >targetted on FF/CAoL members outside the building were apparently >tasked to perform rear-area recon and interdiction operations. > The first warning came when a black-shrouded Doombot (special-ops >model, heavy on stealth, short on strength and firepower) popped out >of the pantry while Rio was dropping the used bowls into the >Superatomic Subspace Cyclotronic Tableware Autoclavation System >(Reed's idea of an automatic dishwasher) Reed-mode: Now, the Superatomic Subspace Cyclotronic Tableware Autoclavation System, or SuSCyTAS, is far more than simply an automatic dishwasher. When its sensors are activated, it can both detect dishware of a sufficient level of contamination, transport said items into its cleansing systems, and return them to their proper locations, saving Sue (or myself) considerable time better suited to invention or child-rearing or world-saving. The actual specifications-- Roland-mode (with help from Morgan & Mr. Python): GET ON WITH IT! >while Franklin-Roger rummaged through the Regulated Environment >Counter-Spoilage Storage and Organization Foodstuffs Management Unit >(a fridge) Reed-mode: Ah, the RECoSSOFoMUn-- Roland & Morgan give Reed dangerous looks. He stops, but looks a touch dispirited. >looking for a cola or something they could split (despite having had >Roger's 375+yr-old libido gone into total shutdown in order to >preserve Young Franklin's sanity, he still has this fuzzy image of >sharing a single drink with Rio using two straws, sort of like >something from an Archie comic). Morgan-Sue: Awwwww. ;-) > He had just stepped out of the Unit holding a jug of fruit punch >when Rio, turning away from the System, noticed the Doombot sneaking >up behind him and shouted a warning. As she leaped towards him, he >spun about in shock, saw the Doombot coming, and by pure reflex let >the spin carry through to slug the Doombot with the jug of punch. > WHAM! > The jug hit the Doombot with several metric tonnes of force, >slamming it out through the wall... and the next wall...and the >next... and, well, straight out of the building, the hard way. There >wasn't much left afterward. > Rio gaped a moment, then looked at FR and his still-intact jug. >"Just what *is* that stuff? Concentrated Singularity Fruit Juice?" > "Nope," FR replies, checking out the lable. "Hawaiian Punch." Another Doombot loomed over them, then stopped and did a wild take as a short guy in an unbelievably loud print shirt emerged from the spilled fluid. "Hey, how about a nice Hawaiian Punch?" The Doombot resisted manfully, but the power of the 'toon was too strong. "Sure!" One Superman-worthy uppercut later, the Doombot vanished in a shower of animated stars. > FR took a deeeep breath, held it for a moment, and then released >it in a massive bellow: > "HEY, KOOL-AAAAIIID!!!!" > The far wall of the kitchen blew in to the accompaniment of a >basso-profundo bellow: "OH YEEEAAAAHHHH!!!!" > From there on out, things just got sillier. And stickier -- it >wasn't suger-free Kool-Aid, after all... Unfortunately, at just that moment, a foe phases through the floor, rising menacingly to imperil Our Heroes...the ghoulish Goldigger! (I kid you not: http://www.seanbaby.com/hostess/mrfan1.htm there he is!) "Ha ha ha ha!" Goldigger boasted, sailing right through the gooey power of Kool-Aid that even Doombots could not ignore. "Soon, I shall have all the riches of the Fantastic Family, and nothing will stop me!" "The deuce you say!" Rio snapped back, then blinked a bit at her choice of words. [Oh. Gold. Commercials.] And the curve of his helmet brings a solution to mind... "Eat spongy justice, you reject from a trophy company you!" Rio intoned, flinging her hands out as a theme song played around her and her hands shot forth...Hostess(R) Twinkies(R) Cakes. Goldigger's eyes bulged, then he became tangible. "Mmm! Hostess Twinkies Cakes! Light sponge cake and delicious creamed filling! I can't resist." Goldigger passively allowed the Baxter Building's defenses to coil around him, leaving him just enough slack to munch on his precious "golden" prize. "That's why the villains kept coming back," Rio shook her head at Roger. "They filled them with preservatives," she groaned... ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Molecular Maneuvers On Mon, 18 Nov 2002 18:10:19 -0800 Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011035 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011030 > >>On Mon, 11 Nov 2002 16:27:15 -0800 >>Dane Said As CAoL Message # 00011026 >> >>Aurora's tinkling laughter, almost a giggle, rings out bathing the >>world with healing energies. Clearly not laughing at HIM, just the >>situation. /*"You suspect and fear a trick, or a trap on my part. I >>cannot say I blame you. Very well, I will proceed you. Yet I caution >>you, do not try to seal the portal behind me, for that would not >>prevent me from returning to your world, and at need I could call >>upon a power that could restore this world and those in it after its >>destruction at our hands."*/ With that she steps through the portal. >>Turning around she becons him to follow. /*"Coming?"*/ She asks. > > Reece steps forward solemnly (almost not shivering as he does so). >"I would not stoop to such a tactic," he intones. > [Besides,] he thinks privately, beginning to wonder what he's >gotten into, [I wouldn't have the slightest idea how. I _think_ I've >worked out how to get home if I win. God. Galactus? I'm as powerful >as Galactus? I knew that Doom took me for a sucker, but was he >_right?_] > After passing through the gateway, he nods his head in a hint of a >bow, then holds out his wand like a fencer ready for battle. The tip >shakes slightly. He says nothing, but merely waits to begin... Aurora simply smiles, and then instantaneously adjusts her size to more closely match that of the human sized Molecule Man (OOC: no shrinking, just one cosmic tic she's a kilometer high, and the next just over 6 feet). Then she sits into a comfortable "stuffed" chair that appears just in time for her to not fall on her bum. /*"Now that you have completed the assignment that Von Doom gave you, what do you wish to do? Personally I would like to talk to you. You see I would like to understand WHY you would wish to conquer your home planet. Of course if you REALLY want to fight, we can do that too."*/ She says smiling as a matching chair appears beside Molecule Man. ================================= On Thu, 5 Dec 2002 12:43:02 -0500 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Post # 00008779 >On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 22:58:04 -0800 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011031 > >>On Tue, 12 Nov 2002 11:15:33 -0500 >>Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011029 >> >>Meanwhile, as Benja-Mike continues ripping into the Blimp with >>invisible crowbars, he breaks through to a corridor and looks >>around. >> >>/Eugh,/ BG/MS thinks, /You guys might wanna watch yer step comin' >>in, there's machine oil 'n metal dust everywhere from that blender >>that tore through. And watch that flamin', Matchstick./ > > R.R. stretches into the opening, putting his feet on the deck >while maintaining four tentacle-like 'arms' to hold gadgets with. >"Hm. Curious. As I recall, Doom prefers a much thinner viscosity for >machinery lubrication..." He waves a tricorder-like gadget over the >fluid, then gives a sudden start. "Ben! Watch out!" > And at that precise moment, thick tendrils of black goo lash out >like sticky battering rams, filling their air with motes that obscure >vision (and adhere to invisible things ;^) as well as striking with >considerable force... "What the f--" Ben Seven starts to say before being caught on the jaw by one of the tendrils and sent flying into a wall. Rubbing his jaw, Mike Grimm sends as he stands up, /Yo, Dhonny, scratch what I said before, go ahead and flick yer bic all ya want,/ before he starts trying to tear his way through the tendrils. Yes, he's handling them. When all you've got is two fists of iron, everything looks like it needs a good punch in the nose. ================================= Subject: AAE 8: Dark Secrets and Covert Ops: Two Children of the Lens Versus Hydra (Part 1) On Sun, 26 Jan 2003 23:58:04 -0500 Mike Knight Said As CAoL Message # 00011038 As the mental union Roger had formed finished collapsing, David caught a few flashs of green that drew his attention. Focusing in on these, he mentally frowned. The third-stage lensman sent a private message to Tinkerbell, still erradicating what little debris that the other CAoLers' systems might have missed. ^@Recognize these uniforms?@^ David asked. ^@Predominantly green with yellow belts and harnesses, and green cowls that only reveal the mouth and jaw?@^ Tinkerbell sent back, ^@Certainly, it's Hydra.@^ David nodded, ^@They appear to be using the opportunity provided by the battle to hijack a U.S. nuclear missile. If I recall comic continuity, they're not supposed to have one at this time.@^ Tink nodded, ^@Let me check the dates to be sure.@^ A second Tinkerbell stepped out of an alleyway across from the Daily Bugle, identical to the one standing near David. At her will, and from her perspective, time slowed to an utter standstill, the manipulation imperceptibly to anyone. She crossed the street, entered the building and went into the archives in the basement. Rifling through a decade's worth of papers, she frowned and shook her head, only stopping to steal a doughnut from J. Jonah Jameson's dozen that he'd just opened on his desk before departing the building and returning time to normal just as imperceptibly as she'd done before. ^@Mmm, jelly-filled, my favorite,@^ Tink sent, then added, ^@S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't been formed just yet, though it's very soon.@^ ^@Up to us then, can you break away from what you're doing?@^ ^@No need, the me next to you can help with defending civilians while we go put a monkey wrench in Hydra's plans.@^ David spared a moment to look at Tinkerbell on the quantum level. Where she should have been, there was instead a street sign that read 'Meat Puppet' cohabitating her spacial coordinates. Everything else read as normal. It was like looking at Uncle Nemo, but more silly. ^@You couldn't bother coming yourself? I'm hurt,@^ David mock-scolded. ^@I'll come myself when you tell me why you went back 27 years in our timeline to help look for the kids instead of letting our younger selves take the call. Surely not just because you were only one and couldn't help.@^ David frowned but didn't answer. Tink spared him a glance, ^@C'mon, leave a copy of you there and let's get going.@^ She watched David slip out between moments, leaving a copy of himself there to continue coordinating his small group in their tasks. Unobserved, they made their way down beneath the city streets of New York. Meanwhile, Melissa, Walkabout, Zora and Inyu were looking for any injured that might be around. Not surprizingly, there weren't many, with so much overlapping of shields. Never the less, there were a few accidents from gawkers to tend to, and tourists who weren't used to this sort of thing. While Melissa used her lens to calm a woman from Ohio, Zora gave Inuu a jar of red liquid and instructed her to have the man drink it. The liquid healed the sprain he received from dodging a taxi that narrowly hit him while he was staring skyward. Zora gave their small boy a bottle of Lon-Lon milk, another healing potion from her native world, to heal a skinned knee and elbows. ^@Talk to me, bro. (I'm detecting Hydra's base right where it ought to be.)@^ Tink sent, ^@What's your real motive here?@^ ^@It's ... silly, (Guards.)@^ David answered. Tink nodded, then David noticed a minute fluctuation in time, the terminus of a portal in an adjacent tunnel, and the pair of guards patrolling the sewer ahead heard a noise in the direction of the portal. When they turned to look, two vulcan nerve pinchs brought them both to the floor. Tink unloaded their weapons while David propped them against a wall. She left the empty weapons and the ammunition vanished in what David saw was the opening of that same portal he felt moments ago. David smirked. ^@Smart aleck, using a temporal stunt like that just to make a noise to distract them.@^ ^@Hey, bread and butter for us Time Ladies.@^ Tink beamed. ^@Time Lady, technomage, techno-wizard, Q-@^ ^@I don't think Q would go so far as to call me a Q, we just play on the same scale. Well, maybe I play a bit more on the level of Q children right now...@^ ^@And the level of Arrisian children, let's not forget.@^ ^@Well, we are the only two geneticly and mentally whole children of the Arissian experiment on the Seven line and the Vorlon experiment on -their- telepaths. Aunt Molly's an L2, I reckon, same as Dad, Mom is an L2 also, though Mother has most of the L2 kick-butt tendency. Maybe if they had stayed whole, they would have come out like me, but they chose to divide everything up very early on. They hadn't worked out what they'd be capable of if left intact. (Next patrol, your turn.)@^ Two more guards. David stopped time for them, and he and Tinkerbell blithely walked past and out of sight before returning time for the two guards to normal. ^@What, didn't want to get your hands dirty?@^ Tinkerbell teased. ^@Okay, okay, next set of guards, you get to handle, without the time tricks, and the set after that, I'll do the same. I'm sensing six in each party. Whoever takes them out of the equation most quickly gets a prize, to be determined.@^ ^@You're on.@^ Tinkerbell agreed with a wicked grin. ================================= Subject: AAE 8: Catch-up and wrap-up On Wed, 29 Jan 2003 00:48:39 -0800 Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011041 OOC Note: Sorry about the _long_ delay, folx, but first there was Xmas and then... "I been sick." Well, enough excuses. First, a quick recap: The FAoL (Fantastic Army of Light) had just attacked the Blimp O' Doom. Reed-Roland, Morgan-Sue and Benjamike had invaded through a hole in the blimp (created by "fantastic" teamwork) while Dhonny (The half-Dragon/half-Human Torch) laid down cover fire (literally) in the form of a Nova Flame. (Now we know why he wanted the sky-bike around. 8^) They were battling for their lives against animate lubrication (no, really) and Dr. D&D (Doom & Destroyer amalgamated) himself! The City Folx (the elder Roger-Franklin, Squimpossible Man, the Legion Family, and Iron Rob) were engaged in battle with various Doom-related flunkies, including Blastaar, Klaw and a whole mess of messerschm-- *cough* Doombots. They were pounding them pretty thoroughly (though a duplicate Molecule Man had just thrown the Tazmanian Wolverine back into Roger's Cable gun). They had just recently been joined by David and his Tenchi-esque army. Bat-Rio and Rog-Frank the Boy Wonder, the Commercial Duo, were defending the Baxter Building with the help of Hawaiian Punch, Kool-Aid Man and Hostess Twinkies (I'm not kidding). Finally, Aurora had disappeared into a space/time hole with the original(?) Molecule Man, vanishing from the ken of lesser beings (no, I'm not bringing Barbie into it). In virtually every case, the powers of "combined" heroes are strictly those of the Marvel counterpart. Fortunately, this applies to Doom-Destroyer as well. We now rejoin the FAoL in progress... The Fantastic Three were pushed to their limits as they battled against Doom's living oil slick. R.R. stretched wildly in a contest of fluidity that the lube seemed destined to win. Morgan-Sue's force fields were holding, but they were hardly invisible any longer with dark viscous tendrils writhing all over them. Benjamike, of course, was more than holding his own; the Thing half, at least, must have been having the time of his life with infinite clobbering potential. On the other side of the menacing mess was D&D himself, laughing in archetypal villain fashion. "A pity that your fourth companion could not join us, Richards," the Doctor gloated, "as I was especially eager to see the fluid's dampening effect on his powers!" "Perhaps," R.R. replied coolly, "Johnny had some other effect in mind!" "Bah!" Doom scoffed. [Stop doing that,] Destroyer warned. [Victory is within our grasp,] Doom replied. [Yes, but squeeze too hard and it will slip through our fingers.] "That micro-encephalic teenager wouldn't have the slightest idea how to--" D&D began. An explosion from above rocked the blimp, shaking the oily assailant and giving the remaining threesome an opening. "NO! It's not possible!" D&D roared. /Next he's going to tell us he's invincible,/ Morgan-Sue sent through the mini-lens psi-link. /I don't think we're quite that close to victory yet,/ R.R. quipped dryly. "You forget, old foe, that even aside from Johnny's experience with vehicles, he's sharing a brain with a centuries-old _super-genius!_ This battle is OVER!" "I think not," D&D replied dryly. At that moment, Molecule Man^2 descended on a platform from out of the ceiling. "So, the legendary Dr. Richards," the "Molecule Man" sneered dramatically. "I think you'll find this next trick to be quite the show-stopper!" /Eh? Since when is Owen Reece some sort of showma--/ R.R. pondered briefly, when both he and the second Molecule Man were yanked up through the hole left by the platform! "And now," D&D intoned perilously, "with your leader otherwise occupied, you rabble are...DOOMED! HA HA HA HA HA!" One gauntlet stretched outwards, Kirby dots crackling around it in raw power... Elsewhere. Once the smoke cleared from the Tazmanian Wolverine's catastrophic re-entry, the Elder Roger-Franklin (why no, I'm not comparing Roger to an Elder Being, why would I do that to the Elder Things? ;^), Squimpy (and passengers), Mischief, and Iron Rob could see that between his successive attacks and Dhonny's Nova Flame, the Blimp O' Doom was listing heavily to one side. The Doombots have taken heavy losses, Blastaar is still trying to figure out which Zone is up, and Klaw is nowhere to be seen. Naturally, that means it's time for yet another complication. Several scattered Doombots (scattered as in reduced to pieces) begin to reform themselves, each head cannibalizing parts from other available pieces. The resulting monstrosities include a distended creature with overlong arms and legs, one that flickers as if not entirely there, one crackling from head to toe with energy, and one that's at least twice as wide as its brethren, boasting cybermusculature clearly capable of immense damage. Doom's voice crackles mockingly from the distended robot's head. "I know not what allies of Reed's may have caused this fail-safe to activate, but you cannot fail to notice the resemblance these robots bear to the powers of your so-called friends. Fall, now, to my ultimate retaliatory weaponry -- the FOUR DOOMS!" Insert more evil laughter here, of course. Naturally, there's still "crunch-all-you-want" Doombots for those who don't want a piece of the Foul Foursome. Elsewhere still. As Rio and mini-Rog dispatch their foes with such mighty weapons as Hawaiian Punch and Twinkies, yet another hole (mercifully, not a plot hole) appears in the wall, apparently caused by a wild streak of red and white. This quickly resolves into a crazy, long-beaked bird with chocolate-colored feathers. Immediately behind the bizarre creature comes Namor, the Sub-Mariner! "Ho, manic beast! You shall feel my wrath! IMPERIOUS REX!" Naturally, the hot-headed Atlantean puts his back into a building-shaking swing. Equally naturally, the wild animated bird evades easily, zipping with Roadrunner-like speed from one cupboard to the next, shouting "Hoo-hoo! I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!" as he seemingly searches for his desperately-desired breakfast food. Namor, ever stubborn (and with stamina equal to the task), keeps swinging at the bird; at this rate, they'll demolish the building before Doom can! And what has become of Aurora and the mighty Molecule Man? Only time will tell! (aka I'll get back to you, Dane; it's quarter to 1.) ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Catch-up and wrap-up On Wed, 29 Jan 2003 10:46:52 -0800 (PST) Rob N Said As CAoL Message # 00011042 >Roland X Said As CAoL Message # 00011041 > > Several scattered Doombots (scattered as in reduced to pieces) >begin to reform themselves, each head cannibalizing parts from other >available pieces. The resulting monstrosities include a distended >creature with overlong arms and legs, one that flickers as if not >entirely there, one crackling from head to toe with energy, and one >that's at least twice as wide as its brethren, boasting >cybermusculature clearly capable of immense damage. > Doom's voice crackles mockingly from the distended robot's head. >"I know not what allies of Reed's may have caused this fail-safe to >activate, but you cannot fail to notice the resemblance these robots >bear to the powers of your so-called friends. Fall, now, to my >ultimate retaliatory weaponry -- the FOUR DOOMS!" Insert more evil >laughter here, of course. > Naturally, there's still "crunch-all-you-want" Doombots for those >who don't want a piece of the Foul Foursome. Rob sighs. "I wonder if Doom remembered to program in the important details? Well, only one way to find out..." Letting the Iron Fist fade, he dashes to an alley, climbs up a handy fire escape, and closes in on the Robotic Four from rooftop level. [You have a plan?] [Yes. It'll take some help from my friends, though...] Rob pauses in his descent. /Divide and Conquer, anybody?/ [A very nice plan.] [Thank you, I try to steal from the best.] ================================= Subject: Re: AAE 8: Catch-up and wrap-up On Wed, 29 Jan 2003 19:28:37 EST SkyeFire Said As CAoL Message # 00011043 >Bat-Rio and Rog-Frank the Boy Wonder, the Commercial Duo, were >defending the Baxter Building with the help of Hawaiian Punch, >Kool-Aid Man and Hostess Twinkies (I'm not kidding). But they wish you were. Me? Hey, I *started* that joke... and I ain't done with it yet. Heh heh heh... > Finally, Aurora had disappeared into a space/time hole with the >original(?) Molecule Man, vanishing from the ken of lesser beings >(no, I'm not bringing Barbie into it). 1000kg Peanut Butter ------------------------->Roland (splat) > In virtually every case, the powers of "combined" heroes are >strictly those of the Marvel counterpart. Fortunately, this applies >to Doom-Destroyer as well. And since nobody's ever really figured out exactly *what* Franklin's *or* Roger's powers are (partly, but never totally), they're getting away with... well, not murder, but definitely crimes against good taste. > We now rejoin the FAoL in progress... > > Elsewhere. > Once the smoke cleared from the Tazmanian Wolverine's catastrophic >re-entry, the Elder Roger-Franklin (why no, I'm not comparing Roger >to an Elder Being, why would I do that to the Elder Things? ;^), >Squimpy (and OOC: Hardee-Har-Har, Combination Dad. RF, meanwhile, looks like Daffy Duck post-TNT -- 100% soot coated, except for eyes and mouth. "Wotta revoltin' development this is...." He checks out his precious BFG and winces -- the muzzle has that characteristic Hanna-Barbera "peeled bananna" look common to "tooned" firearms. "Well, that's gonna take more than a coat of paint." >passengers), Mischief, and Iron Rob could see that between his >successive attacks and Dhonny's Nova Flame, the Blimp O' Doom was >listing heavily to one side. The Doombots have taken heavy losses, >Blastaar is still trying to figure out which Zone is up, and Klaw is >nowhere to be seen. Naturally, that means it's time for yet another >complication. A sensor on RF's belt begins beeping, then intones in a synthetic voice: "WARNING: PLOT COMPLICATION. WARNING: PLOT COMPLICATION." "Of, fer -- what *else* could possibly -- EEP! Er, I mean, what else could go *right*?" RF looks around hastily, hoping no Toonological Powers have caught his little near-slip of the tongue. > Several scattered Doombots (scattered as in reduced to pieces) >begin to reform themselves, each head cannibalizing parts from other >available pieces. The resulting monstrosities include a distended >creature with overlong arms and legs, one that flickers as if not >entirely there, one crackling from head to toe with energy, and one >that's at least twice as wide as its brethren, boasting >cybermusculature clearly capable of immense damage. "Great." RF rolls his eyes. "The Faketacular Foursome." > Doom's voice crackles mockingly from the distended robot's head. >"I know not what allies of Reed's may have caused this fail-safe to >activate, but you cannot fail to notice the resemblance these robots >bear to the powers of your so-called friends. Fall, now, to my >ultimate retaliatory weaponry -- the FOUR DOOMS!" Insert more evil >laughter here, of course. "At least he didn't make an Apocalypse joke," RF says thankfully. He begins patting down his armor looking for something he hasn't used yet. > Naturally, there's still "crunch-all-you-want" Doombots for those >who don't want a piece of the Foul Foursome. "Okay, we're gonna have to mop this up fast, and get down to the main course." RF frowns. "The Tooniverse keeps turning force-majeur back on me, so I need a gag -- one I haven't used yet. One that has a connection in this universe..." > Elsewhere still. > As Rio and mini-Rog dispatch their foes with such mighty weapons >as Hawaiian Punch and Twinkies, yet another hole (mercifully, not a >plot hole) appears in the wall, apparently caused by a wild streak of >red and white. This quickly resolves into a crazy, long-beaked bird >with chocolate-colored feathers. Immediately behind the bizarre >creature comes Namor, the Sub-Mariner! > "Ho, manic beast! You shall feel my wrath! IMPERIOUS REX!" >Naturally, the hot-headed Atlantean puts his back into a >building-shaking swing. Equally naturally, the wild animated bird >evades easily, zipping with Roadrunner-like speed from one cupboard >to the next, shouting "Hoo-hoo! I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!" as he >seemingly searches for his desperately-desired breakfast food. Namor, >ever stubborn (and with stamina equal to the task), keeps swinging at >the bird; at this rate, they'll demolish the building before Doom >can! Franklin-Roger, the Co-Existant Kid, grabs Rio and presses a big bucket of Kraaaazy Glue (not, not Krazy Glue, Kraaaaazy Glue -- you need the extra a's, trust me) into her palm. "C'mon, we better start reinforcing this joing before it comes down around our ears!" "Er..." Rio looks dubious. "Shouldn't we try to stop the nutcase and crazy cuckoo bird?" "It'll backfire -- *trust* me. I'm trying to stay one step ahead of the Tooniverse, this time. Oh, and watch that glue, it'll stick...to... oh, darn." Rio grins lopsidedly. "Gee, I've had guys stuck on me before, but never quite this... literally." "Just head for the lab, huh? Dads oughta have some Universal Solvent in the Cosmic Junk Drawer." "Okay, let's go. And watch the hands!" "It's NOT MY FAULT!" Meanwhile, back outside: RF's eyes widen. "Oh. Oh, yeah. The Ultimate Weapon of Marvel Comics. Just need a bit of twist..." He snags a cellphone out of a handy pocket and pushes the button that opens the spring-action lid. A voice on the other end replies immediately: "Acme." "I'm in deep, and I need a gag, stat!" "What do you need?" "Pies. Lots of pies." "I know the ones you mean. Stand by." RF looks at his watch. Exactly 2.038sec later, a nigh-infinite stream of racks emerge from the "vanishing point" of the animation frame and streak past RF at ludicrous speed, ruffling his hair with the wake of their passage. They also take out a bunch of random Doombots, but at this point, who's going to notice? RF grins, and slips on a pair of exotic sunglasses. Murmuring "There is no pie," he grabs the nearest one (which for some reason has developed plaid streaks on its wrapper), a Hostess Dutch Apple, and chucks it in the direction of the Four Dooms. The resulting scramble ties up the Dooms for a good thirty seconds. RF's grin broadens as he grabs several Say-Guns of assorted Hostess Pies and starts flinging them about with abandon. One lands in the hands of the Doubled Doctor, who gazes at it in frank disbelief. "*This* is the Richards/Phoenix-spawns new gambit? *Pastries?* He DARES to mock DO--!" The crunching noise as part of the animate lubricant and several random Extra-Crunchy Doombots stampeded over him going for the pie (Vanilla Custard, for those who care) is too ugly to transcribe here. Foregoing his usual tendency to violence, DD crawls out from under the dogpile, cape and dignity in tatters, but body intact. Another pie lands in his hands. DD casually wipes out several 'bots as the turn in his direction, and examines the pie carefully. [Hmm. A witless strategem, but one not without a certain degree of deviousness.] [Indeed. An annoyance, but a persistant one. The youth may lack either of his fathers' raw power or intellect, but he poses a potential threat from his mere unpredictability.] [Not to mention the means by which he continually finds new ways to distract us from matters that require our full attention.] DD unwraps the pie and munches on it absently. [Yes... even the smallest thorn can lead to an infection, if not treated. I must admit, however, that this is a quite good pie.] [I agree. Perhaps we should simply confiscate all the pastries for ourselves, and consume them. That would eliminate the distraction factor for our forces. We ourselves, of course, are immune to such mundanities.] [Of course. I wonder if there are any lemon...?] [Over there. But it appears we have competition--] "UNHAND THAT PIE IN THE NAME OF DOOM!" OOC: No, I don't expect it to last. But it'll be fun while it does... (:) =================================