Superhero Adventures, UK Style

Monday Morning – Akira popped in to tell everyone he was jumping back home to collect some of his personal belongings from the Monastery and that he’d do his best to get back in time for the meeting that afternoon with Sir Damien Dalton. No sooner had he spoke than he’d teleported directly to the railways station to catch the first train to Brichester, just across the border from Wales.

That left Young Sam and Mary to hold the fort but that shouldn’t be a problem should it?

Young Sam took a few minutes with last night’s nightmare fresh in his memory to try and use a language translator program on his tablet, discovering that the language the guards spoke were Carpathian! Seems his dreams may not be dreams after all since he hadn’t a clue what Carpathian sounded like before now… He printed a copy of the translation and decided to have a chat with Mary. As she pointed out Carpathia was an ideal location for a discarded ex-Soviet warehouse.

While they were talking, a package arrived at the front gates. Tearing open the security strip, Mary quickly realised it was research notes written by Tess Challenger-Wildeman and sent over by her older brother Max. The notes were in dense scientific language but thankfully Max had added what he called a ‘cliff notes version’.

The notes read “The Silver Storm Nanites activate by unknown means the meta-gene in people with the potential to become meta-human; non-carriers of the gene (mundanes) are usually rendered unconscious but suffer no other effects. Those with already an activated meta-gene appear to be immune to the effects of exposure.

Those who suffer breakthrough as a result of Silver storm contamination (stormers) can be divided into two categories;

· Infectees: Humans who carry the meta-gene who were exposed to the nanites and have been converted into “Stormers”. The majority appear to look like ordinary people but their DNA structure has been altered by activating the meta-gene. They are generally stronger, faster and smarter and with an increased healing factor with the breakthrough also resulting in additional powers often relatied to any risks or threats the infectee was exposed to at the time of undergoing conversion. Infectees immediately after infection have little or no humanity, emotions or compassion. To ordinary humans they would appear to have the mind-set of a sociopath.

· Mutations: Individuals who were exposed to the nanites but whose bodies have reacted badly to the process. Rather than being converted they are grotesquely and fatally deformed by what is surmised to be the immune system’s failed attempt to combat the process. The process can drive them murderously insane where they will attempt to kill themselves or others.

· Both infectee and mutation stormers continuously produce a unique form of Kairomones after conversion.

At present there is no cure for the psychological effects of becoming a Stormer but in the majority of stormers it does reduce over time.”

Below was a hand scrawled note by the kids’ guardian Jack Wolfe “These nanites would make an extremely efficient ‘first point of contact’ weapon for an invading force; it renders any non-super without a HEV (Hazardous EnVironment) Suit either unconscious or into an insane super forcing any defending supers to have to fight on two fronts – against both the invaders AND stormers! Thankfully there is something in our environment that renders the nanite inert after a relatively short period of time, but that can also be to the invaders advantage…”

While Mary and Young Sam digested that, they took a quick trip to Reading Hospital to show some photos around to the staff that’d worked with and cared for Mallory Brooks.  An hour later they left the hospital having confirmed that Archon was definitely not the silver robot or whatever that had kidnapped Mallory (though it was interesting that one of the nurses had called it a rescue not a kidnapping!) and the other photo was of Mallory Brooks, which the staff confirmed. The nurse who’d made the rescue comment was also the person who’d taken the original photo they had shown around of “Mallory Chao” – confirming that both Mallory’s shared the same image.

The original photo had mysteriously vanished from her phone at the time of the ‘rescue’ by the silver female figure. So what did the fact that this holo-contraption used her image actually mean and why use a disabled girl’s image if she didn’t have to?

Young Sam did note that possibly such a holographic device would be beneficial to Annie as well if he could ever get hold of one.

They’d barely got back from the hospital when their phones rang. Inspector Tolliver was on the other end requesting their assistance.

He explained that a young male had phoned in a location for both the stolen tanks and the kidnapped people giving an address in the Docklands of a warehouse where he claimed both were currently being kept. The costumed kidnappers seem to be in the process of moving to a different location but were still there as of 15 minutes ago. They needed to be quick, unfortunately AEGIS and London Watch were busy with a robbery come siege at the British Museum and of course the Protectors were lost in the ‘incident’. Given this was still under Wessex jurisdiction, were they willing to help?

Oh for Akira to be here! Still… Inspector Tolliver explained he had dispatched a Police speeder to meet them at the nearby park and explained that he felt this wasn’t a hoax; the voice on the phone had been young, male, well-educated with a Surrey regional accent and obviously upset at what he’d uncovered. Unfortunately he’d failed to give any personal details and had then cut the call short.

A quick called to Dalton’s office allowed them to put the meeting off until the following day.

Ten minutes after entering the sleek speeder it set down near to the warehouse where the Police had started to establish a cordon around the area to prevent anyone getting out, with the speeder on standby in case an aerial pursuit was required.
Banshee and Young Sam quickly liaised with the Met’s officers and Inspector Tolliver. AEGIS was on call but wouldn’t get here for at least another half hour at the earliest. They were on their own and Police policy was for normal Police troops to not directly engage meta-humans unless absolutely necessary.

Heat signatures from inside the warehouse had identified six figures on the ground floor near the loading bay area with one other to the rear. There was also another heat signature in the office area above and that was accompanied by intense flashes of heat lasting about a second. No-one was sure what was causing that!

Ok, so despite the numbers it was down to Banshee and Young Sam. It was agreed to infiltrate the building via the upper floor. Mary misted over to the side of the building and found a broken pane that allowed her to enter the building. The table inside was covered in various reports all with the same L symbol.

She opened the window quietly and Sam flew in. Looking at the papers they seemed to primarily be DNA analysis of the kidnapped victims and various research papers in the ‘conversion’ process as it applied to each of them. Hearing a woosh and movement next door, Banshee elected to mist through and see what has happening next door. She entered via the door into the conference room and saw a Foundry Stormtrooper (in the same type of All Environment suit he’d last seen when he and Chrono’d first been rescued from the tanks) using his plasma blaster to destroy even more records. A blast of plasma and all the paperwork (and wood) in the room dissolved into ash. Knowing she only had a few seconds at most, Banshee unleashed a blast weakening the figure causing him to collapse to the ground, his armour completely incapacitated. Solidifying, she removed the helmet and disconnected the backpack while securing (and gagging) the seemingly Aryan male. Using their sub-vocal comms she informed Sam of her success and they agreed Sam would attempt to see what was happening on the floor below.

At that point a white glow appeared in the room and stepping through was the man he’d heard Akira describe had taken Chrono. He looked tired and quickly Sam used the Voice on him to compel him to stop. Forced against his will, the costumed figure grudgingly revealed that he called himself Tempus and was working for an organisation called Labyrinth and had no choice. Why’d he taken Chrono? “He was an anomaly and until I understand why, he had to stay where he was…” Sam went over and holding him he again used his power of suggestion to ask him what the best way to defeat Labyrinth. His reply surprised him “You’d be best to kill me…” It gave Tempus a temporary opportunity and he broke free from the compulsion and vanished through one of his time travelling breaches in space-time.

Time was now remarkably short, being as silent as he could Young Sam moved to the bannister and saw a number of figures below; two were in individual body suits and called each other Dreadnought and Cannon. Dreadnought was accompanied by a couple of armed drones that seemed to be under his mental control.

Another, the bald headed one was walking to beneath the upper floor offices and there were three of the uniformed Foundry personnel as well as three bodies lying just outside the toilets… One of who had mutated into an armoured spiderlike creature with multiple appendages. The three bodies seemed dead but he couldn’t be sure.

Banshee joined him and unleashed a wail that was like a perfect storm in the silent warehouse. The fear forced the remaining three Stormtroopers to collapse to their knees in complete and utter terror and the golden armoured figure joined them unconscious on the ground even as his two drones crashed to the ground with him. The other figure in the full bodysuit (Cannon) grabbed the golden figure (Dreadnought) and throwing him over his shoulder ran beneath the offices firing off a devastating blast at the support column that held the upper floor up and it lurched towards the ground.

Banshee was momentary blasted causing her form to disperse but quickly pulled her gaseous form back together and headed for the rear ground floor.

There he saw the two figures jump through a white coloured breach in space and time having blasted a hole in the rear wall that the bald man jumped through and watched as the last of the Nanite containers was about to be dragged through. Despite the risk of unleashing the tanks cargo, Banshee again focused a blast of weaken at the tanks under chassis and the tank, undamaged, dropped before it can leave the warehouse. The breach closed having taken the two costumed villains away.

As a shot was fired at Young Sam by the last conscious Stormtrooper, Banshee unleashed a wail that took him out. At this point she saw a giant five foot hand attached to an even larger arm stretch through the blasted wall and reach up towards Young Sam on the Balcony above. The bald figure, now 60 feet tall, peered in through the windows and tried to grab Sam. Sam unleashed a blast of fiery breath at the massive digits which sizzled as they suffered second degree burns. “Caught you red handed’ he muttered as he flew down, grabbed the three bodies on the grounds (included the mutated figure of what he now realised was a young girl) and kicked the door which exploded open with the force.

Flying through he handed over what he now knew were corpses, explained briefly that the building may be about to be demolished and headed back flying over the rooftop to attack from the skies. In the meantime Banshee had made her way through the rubble to the back and as Young Sam unleashed his fiery breath once more on the gigantic figure; “now that’s what you call a hothead!” muttered Banshee into the Comms, as she then unleashed a terrorising wail that caused the gigantic figure to cower and shrink back to normal size.

Rushing back inside Young Sam held up the upper floor until several police officers rush in with some support beams ‘borrowed’ from a nearby building site to prop up the upper floor and take over from Sam.

The size-changing figure was bundled into the back of a vehicle and the last conscious Stormtrooper was also handcuffed and marched towards the transport. Before he was locked inside the van he collapsed in what looked like anaphylactic shock! Seconds later he was dead. Quickly examining the body Mary spotted a foul yellow wound-like after image similar to the one she saw on Dalton on the back of the young man’s neck and sensed that he died because something inside him willed him to die as it did. She asked for an autopsy urgently and turned only to see the remaining prisoner and transport van vanish in a bright white light. Tempus! Sam remembered his comment to him that the best way to defeat Labyrinth would be to kill them!

Moving away whilst the Police checked the rest of the prisoners they spotted a limo with blacked out windows on the other side of the Police barricade. As soon as they approached it moved off so Mary and Sam elected to fly up and follow. It reached Kensington where it proceeded to enter an underground garage beneath a large formal looking building. A sign on the guarded gate stated that this was the Carpathian Embassy.

Mary successfully bypassed the two guards and entered the grounds but found the garage doors too well sealed to enter so she elected instead to drift up and check out the windows. Inside one of the top floors she saw a meeting going on and in the middle speaking fluent Carpathian was Dalton talking to a room of taller and sinister men. She again ‘saw’ the sickly yellow aura around the ‘invisible wound’ on his neck and realised that there was another in the room with the same mark. Unable to understand what was being said, she drifted back down and joined Sam outside the Embassy.

Back outside the warehouse the two of them subsequently learnt that all of the Stormtroopers on awakening suffered a similar death to the first despite being thoroughly searched for poisons. But before they can digest this information they were pulled side by Inspector Tolliver who asked Sam if he was aware of anyone who might resemble him or have similar powers?

He explained that the museum robbery that London Watch were dealing with had involved a black scaled meta-human similar in looks to Sam, although wingless, the black figure had cast fire from his hands and with his crew of men in light enhancement goggles (the three eyes of Sam’s nightmares) had vandalised a two thousand year old North African statue of Anansi the spider/trickster god by slicing it in two and when the creature had done so had revealed an amulet which he’d taken and then escaped in a speeder over international waters.

Inspector Tolliver again asked, “you claim that events other that a breakthrough led to your specific powers, could this other figure have also undergone the same conversion process as you?” Sam admitted it was possible but whom? What?

This truly was a labyrinth of events but what did it all mean?

Heading back to Wessex they looked up some information and dates on the Terminus Invasion and Silver Storm and settled down for the night. They had their meeting with Sir Damien Dalton tomorrow.