[
The Battle For Olympus Island
]
Liberty Squad
Tempesta Slightly on the short side, Tempesta stands at five feet and seven
inches tall. He wars a full body costume that covers his entire body. A mixture
of blues, greens, and even some white, all shades that could be found in the sky
or the ocean swirl about the suit, seeming to constantly trick the eye as if the
colors actually are physically swirling. His entire face is covered by the suit,
including even his eyes. A shimmering field that looks like water surrounds him,
at times.
LadyJustice Lady Justice is a stunningly
beautiful pale skinned Amazon of a woman, standing a muscular 6 feet tall. Thick
chestnut hair falls halfway down her back. She is clad in a golden bustier,
tap-pants, and high boots, decorated with a maple-leaf motif. On her wristds are
solid-looking golden bracers, and a grappnel gun hangs from her waist. She
speaks with a clear and confident voice, with a hint of a Canadian
accent.
Guardsman You see a tall man, fully 6'4" tall at
the least, with a lanky, almost thin and wiry build. He is dressed in a very
dark blue bodysuit with red metal bands around the wrists and ankles, as well as
red metal knuckles mounted on the gloves over the actual knuckles of the man,
obviously to make his punches more powerful. The entire torso section has a
design of red and white stripes on it which when laid upon the dark blue
background looks surprisingly much like the British Union Jack. His head is
covered in a full mask with the eyeholes being the only openings, revealing a
pair of brown eyes, and a utility belt with three grenade-like objects attached
to it and a pistol holster with an unusual looking pistol resting in it finishes
the outfit.
Kid Freedom The red-white-and-and-blue
sidekick! The Kid is in his mid-teens and looks every bit the clean-cut youth.
His blue mask and red-and-white costume are highly remeniscent of Capt. Freedom,
his mentor. The kid doesn't carry a shield, however; just a yoyo he tends to
play with endlessly, as well as a beltful of
gadgets.
Capt.Freedom This man is impressive, at 6ft 4
inches, and built solidly, with a superhuman musculature. His features are
covered by a blue mask that has white stars on it. Only his piercing blue eyes
are visible. A red-and-white striped long-sleeved shirt covers his torso, though
it shimmers a bit. His dark blue pants also shimmer, as do the knee-high red
boots covering his feet. He moves quickly, and gracefully, holding a large red,
white and blue shield in his right hand, and wearing a wide red and
white-striped bracer on the left.
Guardian This man is
impressive, standing approximately 6'4" and built solidly, with a massive chest
and muscular arms. His bright red hair is slicked back, contrasting his
steel-blue eyes and enhancing his stong jaw. He wears a royal blue costume, with
lemon yellow overoos, boots and a long, flowing yellow cape. On his chest is a
stylized, red 'G' inside a triangle.
Fantastique A young
woman, somewhat short in stature, in a silver-grey costume, denim by the look of
the material. She's brown-haired, blue-eyed, and lightly tanned skin. Her facial
features are covered with a mask over her eyes, also apparently made of that
denim-like material.
------The Battle For Olympus Island
------------------------------
The Chief
Speaks:
Olympus Island is located at 25.88 degrees north and
85.95 degrees west, in water 10,380 feet deep. The island is an artificial
volcano, created as a test of the experimental "Volcano Bomb" technology. The
test was a great success, and the island grew at the rate of nearly 5,000 feet
per year, reaching over 14,000 feet from the sea floor before
stabilizing.
The lava flow from the volcanos was fluid and
continous rather than explosive. The flow rate during the initial growth stage
was trememdous, great quantities of liquid rock forming a solid column of rock.
Below the surface the sides of the island are nearly vertical, as the lava
cooled the moment it came into contact with the water. Underwater landslides
occur frequently as unstable sections of rock break free.
The
volcano split into three peaks as it rose. The southernmost peak barely breached
the surface, resulting in a wide, flat barrier island of cracked volcanic rock
nearly ten miles long.The two other peaks form the main body of the island - a
medium sized one to the east, and the much larger main peak to the west. The
main island is about 35 miles long, and a bit over 15 miles wide a the
widest.Between the main land mass and the barrier island is a shallow bay,
several hundred feet deep at the deepest.The bay is roughly triangular, with a
mouth about 10 miles long.
The almost entirely uninhabited
northern and western slopes of the main island are made of of barren sheets of
cracked lava, and fall steeply to barren rocky shores. As yet there has been
very little erosion to make the volcanic peaks jagged.
The
majority of the island's surface is bare volcanic rock. The major flow areas on
the larger western peak are dominated by smooth sheets of cooled
lava.
The island is not quite geologically stable. Constant
low-level earthquakes occur as the mass of rock settles on the seabed. The main
peak fumes and steams, and occasional minor eruptions occur.
The man who did
this is none other than the heinous villain, Il Sovrano. You all know him. You
have faced his mental powers, and the incredible ordnance within his flying
Throne. He has somehow managed to created this..Volcano Bomb..and used it to
create the island.
This past month, he has captured several of
the world's finest citizens. Pulitzer prize winners, Nobel prize winners,
scientists, doctors, artists, musicians. The best. Our spies have found that he
intends to rule over that island, and somehow has made a 'Volcano Death Ray'
that will turn the rest of the world into volcanos, killing
everyone.
Your job, Liberty Squad, is to infiltrate his "New
Olympus", rescue the trapped citizens, destroy his weapon, and, if possible,
bring him to justice.
__________
The long flight to the Gulf of Mexico gives our heroes some time to
plan....
Kid says, "So how're we gonna do this,
Cap?"
LadyJustice says, "Ok. What to we know about Il Sovreigno?
He's got powerful mental abilities, and he's a technological
genius."
Kid says, "Mental abilities? That doesn't sound
good..."
LadyJustice nods. "He'll probably try and use us against
each other if he gets the chance."
Guardian says, "He has a lot
of hostages also."
Kid plays cats cradle with his yo yo, "So
what's the plan?"
Capt.Freedom nods solemnly. "Ensuring their
safety should be a priority. Hopefully we can get them clear before we confront
Il Sovrano."
Kid says, "So we sneak
in?"
LadyJustice says, "He's had time to prepare - apparantly
he's buit himself a fortress on the island over the last few years. This isn't
going to be easy."
Guardsman nods, "Yes. We sneak in. A frontal
assault is doomed to fail. Il Sovrano may be an arrogant bastard, but the bloody
lunatic is no fool. He'll have his defenses set up in anticipation of something
along the lines of us trying to stop him. And he _knows_ what we are capable of,
don't forget that."
Tempesta seems, for the most part so far
content to let the others sort things out, for now. Sitting off to the side, he
mostly looks out the window, glancing up towards the other at occasional points
in the conversation.
Capt.Freedom nods. "First, we'll need to
find out where the scientists and artists are being held, and free them. Then
we'll need to find that death ray and destroy it before Il Sovrano has a chance
to use it."
LadyJustice nods. "All right then. What do we know
about his fortress?"
Guardian nods in agreement, "Yes, we will
have to use extreme caution, or the world is doomed."
Kid shrugs,
"It's a failed volcano. Intentionally failed, I
believe."
Capt.Freedom says, "Perhaps... but according to the
briefing, the island is still tectonically unstable. What purpose could that
serve for Sovrano?"
Kid shrugs, "He's crazy as Tojo. Who
knows?"
LadyJustice says, "Perhaps he's using the volcano as a
power source? If so, we might be able to stop his plans by knocking his
generators out" LadyJustice says, "Tempesta - if we can find the generators, do
you think you could flood them out?"
Guardsman says, "Well, for
one thing it might make a hell of a self destruct mechanism. Adolf's Ubertanks
in Africa blowing themselves to pieces like they did would be child's play
compared to an activated volcano should he decide to destroy everything and take
us with him rather than be defeated. Remember, the old chap is completely
batty."
Kid shudders slightly at the memory of the Ubertanks and
the zombie robot commandos.
LadyJustice nods. "Then we have to
stop him directly, before he knows anything is wrong. We can't give him the
opportunity to take everyone with him."
Tempesta peers up towards
Lady Justice at this, chuckling a bit and shaking his head, "Pobably not any
easier'n you could."
Guardian says, "If only we could find out
where the hostages were being held, we need to be able to get them out quickly
in case he should decide to turn the island against us."
Kid
says, "Well, we bash some of his goons and get them to tell us where the
hostages are?"
Tempesta grins now, looking back towards the
window as if trying to follow how close they are, "I got some friends down
there.. will see if maybe they know anything before we're movin'
in."
Guardsman says, "I suggest a more stealthy approach to that
particular problem."
The sounds of the propellors become a little
louder, and out the window, the group can see the plane descending. The co-pilot
comes out from the small cockpit, announcing, "We're dipping, just in case
Sovrano's got radar. We're about 40 miles offa the island. You can see it out
the left side of the plane."
Guardian says, "I could try and scan
the inside of the complex."
Guardsman says, "There is, of course,
a time and place for everything, including knocking out thugs, but let's not
risk raising an alarm before we have an idea of where things
are."
Capt.Freedom nods. "Stealth and speed are our allies here.
The later we can delay the confrontation, the better our
chances."
Kid sleepers his yoyo, "Okay. So... How are we planning
on sneaking in? I mean, I know Guardsman and Cap and I are pretty
quiet..."
LadyJustice says, "Great! If Guardian can find out the
layout of the base, including where the Hostages and Il Sovrano are, we can get
them to safety before he knows we're there."
Kid whistles
~~Jeepers, Creepers~~
Guardian says, "I can try, but if Sovrano
planned on us coming, he might have took steps to block my
vision."
Guardsman says, "It is worth a shot I suppose, though
knowing the fact that he is familiar with us he might have thought of shielding
his base, or at least parts of it, from Guardian's prying eyes. I know _I_ would
certainly do that were I him."
Capt.Freedom says, "That is the
problem. There's very little concealment. The north and west slopes are the most
deserted, though, and it might be possible for us to reach the peak without
being spotted. Or we could look for an underwater entrance.""
Kid
blinks for a moment and looks concerned, "You're -not- him, are
you?"
Guardsman looks at Kid, his mask hiding his facial
expression, "Excellent question, son. I could be, couldn't I?" He pauses for a
second, keeping his eyes on Kid, and then shakes his head, "But no, you can be
quite certain I'm still me, lad."
Tempesta nods a bit to the
Captain, hopping up now as he begins over to the group, "I'll work on an
underwater approach, Cap."
Kid smiles, "Whew. Had me worried
there for a second."
Fantastique exits the cockpit, whistling a
happy little tune. "We're going down, mon amis. Ah! You already knew that. The
windows show this, yes?" She grins, sitting near Captain
Freedom.
LadyJustice looks at the map. "The bay is on the
southeast side .. the north and western sides are all steep rock. He's probably
got a seaport of some kind set up into the bay, so he can bring supplies
in.
Guardsman says, "Steep rock shouldn't be _too_ much of a
problem, depending on how much of a handhold there is
there."
Guardsman says, "I suggest we go in from two directions
however, so as not to all be caught in the same trap should he discover us on
his territory."
Tempesta smirks a bit as Fantastique comes back
out, waving a bit to everyone in some sort of a gesture as he heads back off to
the side. Crouching down near a window, his ducks his head just slightly, the
tips of the fingers on his right hand coming up to his temple as he seems to be
concentrating.
Capt.Freedom says, "True, and the bay is more
likely to be watched. But..." He trails off, nodding to Fantastique and then
turning to Guardsman. "You may have something, there."
Guardian
nods to Guardsman, "Good idea."
Fantastique smiles brightly,
"then we should decide teams, non?" She pats Captain Freedom on the shoulder, "I
choose Monsieur Freedom!"
Guardsman says, "I suggest one group
tries to locate and disable any alarm system, the second group tries to find the
hostages and get them to safety."
LadyJustice nods. "Both groups
converging on the central forthress from opposite
directions?"
Kid nods, "Sounds good!" of course, it goes without
saying he'll be with Cap, unless Cap says otherwise.
Guardsman
nods, "Once those primary tasts are completed we can deal with disabling
generators, destroying deathrays, defeating madmen and what have
you."
Guardian says, "Right Guardsman, I shall like to help free
the hostages."
Capt.Freedom smiles grimly at Fantastique. "Glad
to have you, then. I hope you don't mind the climbing... assuming our group is
going that way, of course."
Fantastique grins widely, "climbing
is no trouble to the Femme Fantastique! I shall stretch myself into a ladder.
With hooks!"
Guardsman nods, "The hostages are likely to be the
more heavily guarded group, so I would suggest Guardian and LAdy Justice both
being on that particular mission, being that they are our heavy
hitters."
~Tempesta senses: An image of destruction and
pain is sent..along with a 'picture' of the underwater surroundings..including a
passageway that leads into the island. 'Longdive', the porpoise, does not know
where it leads, because the water stops and it goes up into somewhere there is
no water.~
LadyJustice says, "Good call. We'll take the
bay approack, and Fantastique and the Captain will take the northern
climb."
Tempesta grunts a bit off over by his lonesome,
seeming to be missing the conversation happening for the most part. Remaining
concentrated though at the time being, his hand remains raised. Longdive tells
him that there have been many boats and many "noisy birds". He was curious, and
saw the "noisy bird" land and it excreted people. A man who flies like a noisy
bird came from the big island over to the little one and then made an egg on the
people.
Capt.Freedom nods and glances at Kid Freedom.
"So, old chum, are you up for a little climb?"
Kid says, "You
betcha, Cap!"
Guardsman says, "I'd say Tempesta should probably
go with the hostage group as well. His water-related powers may come in handy
when the hostages have been brought to the shore. That makes it Guardian, Lady
Justice and Tempesta so far on the Hostage crew, going from the bay,
Fantastique, Captain and the Kid on the rock approach going for the alarm..." He
looks at Guardian and the other hostage rescuers, "With your powers I suspect a
lock or a door won't pose a problem, so I will go with the alarm
team."
Guardian says, "Doors shall not be a problem. I will keep
an ear out for Captain and Kid Freedom's radios, to keep up on your
mission."
Guardsman nods, "Good... Are we all in agreement
then?"
Tempesta coughs a bit as he stands back up now, turning
back towards the group and clearing his throat, "S'fine with me. 'Bout that,
though.. Friend of mine has found an possible entrance under the complex,
through the water. Might be a way to slip in, though no sayin' where it'll lead,
if anywhere."
Guardsman looks at Tempesta, "Hmm... Yes, well,
perhaps you should examine that entrance then, and if it leads nowhere then join
up with Guardian and Justice again after the recon has been
done?"
The co-pilot returns, "Okay, Liberty Squad. Any closer and
Sovrano will hear the engines. Anyplace you all want to be dropped off? The
Coast Guard's about 60 miles north of us and will come in when you radio the
all-clear."
LadyJustice says, "If it looks promising, Guardian
and I can follow him in that way. I can swim quite well and hold my breath a
long time."
Tempesta nods a bit back to Guardsman, "Aye, k.. If
it does lead anywhere, s'pose I'll see some of ya'll inside then, hopefully...
unless... aye, Lady."
Kid gets up out of his seat and paces with
nervous energy, "Cmon, let's give this madman what
for!"
Guardsman nods, "Right, son. Let's get going. I'm not
growing younger sitting here."
The side door to the plane is
opened.
Kid waits for Cap.
LadyJustice says up to
the pilot, "Once those four are out, circle around the island and drop us off
outside the bay, to the southeast"
The co-pilot salutes and says,
"You can count on it."
Guardsman exits the plane without another
word.
Capt.Freedom stands and moves into place. "Good luck, and
godspeed. We'll see you inside."
Kid
geronimos!
LadyJustice says, "God speed. Go for freedom and
justice!"
Guardian salutes.
Capt.Freedom salutes,
and exits the plane.
Fantastique leaps out of the plane,
freefalling before she opens up as a parachute and glides down
gently.
Once the four heroes have jumped out of the low-flying
plane, the pilot does a wider circle, and soon the sounds of the twin-engine
prop is nearly inaudible. The water is actually nice and warm, (for those in
it), similar to a comfy bath.
Guardsman immediately starts
swimming towards the shore... well... cliff, actually, but who cares about the
details?
Fantastique, once in the water, changes into a big raft,
"Climb on, mon amis! I will propel us to the beach where we may be on our
way!"
Kid climbs into the FantastiRaft.
Guardsman
looks at Fantastique, "Your powers never cease to... puzzle me, madame.", then
climbs aboard.
Capt.Freedom had started swimming, but stops and
climbs aboard. "Say, you're full of surprises, Fantastique."
It
is dark although there is a reddish glow on the water, from the still-active
volcanoes. The moon, too, adds its own brightness to the night
sky.
Kid checks his gadgets one more time, just to be
sure.
Guardsman spends the time taken to reach the cliff checking
his grapplegun and grenades.
As the FantastiRaft closes in on the
island, the jagged peaks and craggy cliffs can be made out in the
darkness...just faintly....
Kid fuddles about with his radio,
checking to see any traffic on the island.
Guardsman examines the
wall as they reach the cliff face, looking it over to see how difficult it might
be to climb.
"*skrakk* Unit 2 report. All clear. *skrak* Unit 1.
*skkk* Unit 1. All clear."
Fantastique snaps back to her original
shape once out of the water, looking quite happy with herself. "we have made it
halfway, n'est pas?" She, too, looks up the cliff face, quizzically examining
it. "This should be fun."
The raft gets even closer to the shore.
Near the top of the West Peak is a fortress, built into the cooled lava. It is
highly defensible, and several armed guards walk along the perimeter of it, and
especially near what looks like the entrance to it.
Capt.Freedom
slings his shield across his back and flexes his fingers unconsciously as he
prepares for the climb. "As long as an earthquake doesn't strike while we're on
the cliff..."
Guardsman whispers, "I hardly think fun describes
it. And from here on in, let's be quiet. We don't know who or what is listening.
Sovrano would never just leave his backdoor open and
unguarded."
Kid takes a good look at the rockface, and says
quietly, "Looks easy. Straight shot for the door?"
Fantastique
proudly nods, lowering her voice to a near whisper. "I shall be as quiet as a
little mousie. Possibly even a very large one. Being, I do mean, not just as
quiet as."
--------------------
Meanwhile-----------------------------------------
Tempesta nods
a bit to Lady Justice, waiting a bit after the others, "Okey.. you jus' go ahead
with Guardian there.. if this passage is a no go, then I'll be back out right
soon." Nodding a bit at this, he jumps out of the side hatch now as well, the
wind whipping about it as he flies almost straight down for the water. The water
is too warm for what it should be, but the wildlife who survived the volcano
seem to have adjusted. Some have flourished. There is a faint sulfuric taste to
the water. Longdive shows the tunnel as being near the indentation of the
island's bay.
Tempesta flies just over the water for a bit as he
communicates, looking back up though. Peering about ahead of him, he descends
the short rest of the way into the water, slowing down considerably, but still
moving at a rather quick pace, darting through the water further down and
towards the Island. Tempesta shoots towards the crevice under the complex.
Moving easily about the water, and by no apparent phsyical means, he sets to
making his way in past the flow of still active
lava.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Guardsman grimaces at the sheer cliff, then
shrugs and prepares to climb it, "Nothing for it but to go ahead and just do it,
I fear. The way to go is up, and we do not have all
night."
Capt.Freedom says, "We'll want to stay out of sight if we
can. We need to consider that when we're closer to the
fortress."
Kid nods and unslings his grapple, waiting for the
go-ahead.
Guardsman leaves his grapplegun in its holster for now,
climbing the old fashioned way for the moment at least.
Fantastique fades into the background. Literally. She
matches the color of the cliff, and looks between the others. "I can find the
hand holds and let you climb me." She smiles, quite hard to see unless very
close.
As the heroes get up to about 12 feet below the fortess'
lowest wall, 4 guards seem to hear something. One looks over, "Wha's
that?"
Capt.Freedom lunges upward as the sentry's face appears
over the edge of the walkway, muscles and tendons like steel cable coiling and
propelling him upward like a human bullet as he attempts to tackle the
sentry.
The agent makes an *uffff* sound, then looks at the
Captain, "Big mistake. Get 'em!"
Fantastique snaps up!ward like a
rubber band, landing on the edge of the walkway, grinning widely!, as she keeps
a normal speaking tone, coming into full view, "I am Femme Fantastique!
Surrender now, or face La Dragon Terrible!" With that, she transforms to become
a fearsome-seeming monstrosity, nasty teeth, claws, and a wicked smile. Or a
snarl. It's hard to tell on draconic entities.
The agents see the
dragon and they stiffen, "Gahh," says the apparent leader of the
quartet.
Guardsman fires his grapplegun, the grappling claw at
the end snapping closed on the railing. Keeping the line taut he crouches
against the cliff wall, then kicks out with all his might, soaring in an arc up
and over the combatants on the platform and landing behind one of the guards.
Immediately the British masked avenger drops his gun on the floor and reaches
out for the hapless goon.
Guardsman's arm wraps around the
guard's throat from behind, his other arm holding the man steady by the
head.
The agent seems to be too terrified to notice that he is
choking. He gives a few gasps, though, to indicate his
displeasure.
Kid swings up, trying to make the best of a 'caught'
situation, "Take this, ya goon!" he says, swinging at the nearest
guard
The agent's chest cracks as Kid Freedom kicks into it. He
slams into the side of the fortress and slumps unconscious, his gun dropping to
the walkway.
The remaining three agents seem to be petrified,
though still hold their weapons.
Capt.Freedom straightens up,
pushing backwards away from the man he'd crashed into. "We haven't got time to
waste on hired goons... we need to disable those alarms!" He unslings his shield
from his back, and, in the same motion, wheels around, hurling it like a
discus.
Two agents fall, as the shield expertly smacks into them
*bonk* *bonk* and ricochets off the thrid agent, who wobbles a bit, but remains
standing.
--------------------
Meanwhile-----------------------------------------
Tempesta sinks
down into the water, twisting just under a falling line of the magma as he just
enters into the underwater volcano. Tempesta twists out of the way as the pools
'burp' a gob of lava up, letting it rise past him as he glides further in. He
pulls up again as a sheet of lava falls directly in front of him, keeping a
natural seeming grace in the water as he continues directly upwards now.
Tempesta twirls off as he continues almost directly up, heading just past and
above the falling sheet of lava. Slowing down considerably as he enters a tube
of sorts, though certainly not just stopping, he continues just until the water
ends, stopping completely as he slowly rises, just enough to have his head out
so he can peek about, or if needed, further up.
Tempesta keeps
his arms flat out at his side. His head tipped back as he keeps focused on
straight up, continuing to speed his way through, climbing and climbing quite a
ways.
Tempesta shoots up out of the water after looking about.
Shivering a bit, despite the intense heat, he just continues straight up along
the tube, a number of other tubes surrounding him as he
climbs.
---------------------------------------------------------
-------------------
Fantastique runs past the last
remaining agent, extending her arm to swat him while she goes, changing back to
her base appearance of a wacky frenchwoman.
The radio on the
leader squawks noisily "*Unit 4, report. Unit 4*"
Guardsman
snatches up the radio and hands it to Fantastique, "Answer it... and please...
no French words in the answer, right?
Fantastique takes the
radio, and in her best male guard who would be standing were he not knocked out
voice, answers, "Unit four, all clear."
*Roger that, 4.* skrkkk
*Unit 5, report...
--------------------
Meanwhile-----------------------------------------
Meanwhile, the
plane has circled, and Guardian and Lady Justice are about to go save the
captives!!
LadyJustice looks out the door. "Looks like we're in
position. Are you ready to go?"
Guardian nods,
"Yes."
LadyJustice says, "Tempesta never came back up. I hope he
found a way in. We'll have to hit the bay without him."
Guardian
says, "Yes, I hope he is doing well." With that he jumps out and arrows toward
the water.
LadyJustice leaps out after Guardian. She spreads her
arms and glides down towards the water.
The island is not dark to
Guardian and Lady Justice, both of whom have enhanced senses. The lava fairly
glows. The fortress is not in sight (being on the far side of the west peak of
the main island.) However, from the south, the barrier islands are quite
visible. On the Barrier Island is what looks like a small town, contained
beneath a clear dome. Inside, the obvious movements of the people within are
seen by anyone looking.
LadyJustice says, "Guardian - that town
over there, under the dome - we should take a look at that
first."
Guardian peers at the town, He seems to concentrate on it
for a bit. "Yes, we should."
Inside the dome are 30 people,
wandering about, looking less than happy. One of them is Archaeologist, Tina
Taylor.
Guardian turns to Lady Justice, "We are in luck, those
are the hostages, at least some of them."
LadyJustice nods, "We
have to get in there and make sure they're safe. Hopefully the other team is
having luck with the alarms."
LadyJustice says, "We'll go in low
to the shoreline, and take a closer look. Can you tell what that dome is made
of?"
Guardian nods, "I agree, I will fly low and I assume you
will swim. The dome seems to be a clear field of energy, it is like nothing I
have ever seen."
Guardian says, "There seems to be no guards
inside the dome either."
LadyJustice mutters, "I heard he was
working on something like that. I'll see you at the island". She angles into the
water, knofing cleanly into the waves, then strokes powerfully forward, swimming
athletically through the waves.
Guardian soars just above the
water, he is in the classic Superman pose, one arm forward, one back in balled
up fists.
LadyJustice crouches in the surf, her golden boots
protecting her from the rocky volcanic shoreline. She peers forward at the
mysterious energy dome.
Guardian crouches near Lady Justice, "Any
ideas?"
LadyJustice says, "I can't see what's generating the
dome. You might simply try breaking through it with raw strength, although if
our freinds haven't deactivated the alarms that'll set them
off."
Inside the dome, Tina Taylor's attention is drawn by a
movement outside the dome. o O (It's...HIM!! Guardian!)
Guardian
listens quietly for a moment, "It seems to be coming from the bottom, through
the lava. It seems to be powered by the energy of the
island."
LadyJustice says, "So, it's from inside the dome, then?
We'll either have to knock the dome down somehow else, or figure out how to turn
it off without directly accessing the
generator."
---------------------- Back in the Fortress----------------------------
Kid checks out the door, taking out a few tools, "Lemme give this a
look..."
The system is child's play for Kid Freedom. Apparently
Sovrano intended for his agents to defeat all comers. Kid snaps his tools back
into his belt, "No problem. Just like the Nazi gold mines in
Africa."
Captain Freedom motions the team to move forward. The
inside of the fortress is impressive. Caverns, tunnels and doors leading off in
many directions.
Guardsman frowns and whispers, "Let's move
further in... I can't see anything which would indicate where the control
central for the alarms might be here..." He puts the radio from the guards which
Fantastique handed him in his belt and starts stalking down the
corridor.
--------------------
Meanwhile-----------------------------------------
Tempesta
starts to pour on a bit more of the speed now as he seems to have some ways to
go. The wind whipping about him, pushing him up, up.. but hopefully not away.
Meanwhile, Tempesta has been making his way up through the narrow lava tube
inside the east peak. After a while, it opens into a huge cavern. The noise of
generators is very noisy here. There are 4 engineers manning the
equipment.
Tempesta shoots up into the air, glad to be in the
wide expanse of the cavern now. Coming to a quick stop, the air about him mostly
settles as he just hovers, surveying for a few moments before he speaks through
a masked grin, "I'm sure ya work's been appreciated, but it'd be in ya best
interests to get outta here. Fast." Continuing to hover as he just looks over
the various engineers, fairly convinced they're not too interested in getting
hurt.. just because they are engineers, if anything.
The
surprised engineers begin to run.
Tempesta hums a bit, seeming
rather pleased that the engineers actually listened. Turning mid-air, he scans
over the generator's in the room, continuing to hum. o O (Hope those guys've
been doin' their work... guess now'd be a good time for a wake up call anyways.)
Decidiing on the one of the three in the middle, he draws up both of his arms,
his hands closed to fist as his arms just cross over, and quickly swinging them
back out, unleashing a terrible blast of electricity towards the
first.
----------------------------------------------------------
-------
Fantastique smiles, "we could always ask a Guard
very nicely where this is?" The smile turns into a grin, "Or scare it out of
him.."
Guardsman looks at the Guards, "Don't know if they'll wake
up any time soon", he comments.
Fantastique nods. "But there
would be more inside. If he has only four guards, then I would be very
surprised. And laughing at him."
Guardsman
nods.
The sound of boots marching is heard inside the fortress
tunnel. *clomp* *clomp*
Guardsman says, "Speak of the devil.
Positions, everyone."
Kid moves quickly and stealthilly, getting
his yoyo bola ready.
Guardsman tries to find a likely shadowed
area to hide in.
The two marching guards come around the tunnel,
"So I said, "Larry, I don't really know about that. I mean, who'd wanna see
moving pictures in your house? That's why they made
movies."
Fantastique changes to appear as one of the guards from
outside, walking toward, and aiming for past the sound of the approaching
others. Fantastique looks like a very poor version of one of the guards from
outside.
The agents are too engrossed in their conversation to
notice that they've walked into a group of intruders.
Kid waits
for Cap's cue to throw the bolas.
Fantastique walks past, as
planned, and prepares to hit both from behind, both arms whipping out at their
backs.
The two guards go down without a word, most likely
dreaming of television.
Guardsman steps out from his hiding
place, looking at the two guards, "I believe the point was to ask them
questions, or was I mistaken?" he says, some sarcasm evident in his
voice.
Kid says, "Tapped 'em a bit
hard..."
Fantastique looks sheepish. "..I am tres sorry. I forget
at times my own strength." She resumes her normal appearance again. "I will use
less enthusiasm if we meet more."
**The generator hisses,
sparks and the smell of smoke and sulphur fill the cavern. Whooping klaxons go
off throughout the island. Out on the barrier island, the dome suddenly
vanishes. Meanwhile, the team in the fortress finds that the lights go out, then
dim lighting resumes. From down the far left corridor, a man is heard cursing in
Italian.**
Guardsman grimaces under the mask as the
alarms go off, "I think perhaps the alarm central is a moot point at this
time."
Inside the caverns of the fortress, guards start running
through the corridors. A group of ten come across the
heroes.
Guardsman points towards the direction of the Italian
cursing down the corridor, "Let's go, and go quickly. The confusion caused by
the alarm won't last long. Let's take advantage of it while we
can."
------------ Meanwhile, back at the Dome
-----------------
LadyJustice blinks in suprise. "It looks like
they did something - set off the alarms, but the field is down. Guardian, can
you get these hostages to the Coast Guard boat?"
LadyJustice
glances around quickly, "If we can find a boat, we could load them all in, and
you could carry it to safety!
Guardian looks at Lady Justice as
the dome vanishes, "Yes lets look around and find something
quick.
LadyJustice points, "Over there! That's the boat they must
have brought them in!"
Guardian flies up over the island a bit,
"Alright, everyone to the boat. Lets make haste."
LadyJustice
turns and approaches the hostages, "Evening, everyone. We're here to rescue you.
If you'll all come with me and board that boat over there, Guardian can fly you
to safety."
Tina Taylor comes running up, smiling, "Guardian!
Thank goodness!" She gets serious, "He has some kind of weapon that can destroy
the world!"
Guardian nods to Tina and smiles, "Yes, we are
heading there next. I am glad to see you are okay. Now lets get these people on
the boat and get you all to safety."
LadyJustice says to Tina,
"Do you have any idea where the weapon is?"
Tina nods, "Yeah. I
saw it. In a cavern under the east volcano."
Guardian tries to
help various hostages get on the boat, carrying as many as he can without
hurting them.
LadyJustice says, "Guardian - get the hostages to
safety. I'm going to go and see what I can do about that doomsday device.", then
turns and starts running off across the barrier island, heading towards the
distant eastern volcano peak.
Guardian collects the last three
hostages and puts them on the boat. He then bends down to pick up the
boat.
LadyJustice gets clear of the hostages, then stops, looks
into the sky, and whistles. A few moments later, the sound of great wings
beating the air is heard as a beautiful winged white horse flies out of the
darkness to land next to her. She pats in on the neck, then leaps astride it.
They take off into the air, flying powerfully towards the eastern
volcano.
Guardian muscles tighten and he picks the boat up over
his head, "Hold on everyone." He then hovers off the ground and begins to fly
out over the bay.
The ex-hostages all gasp with awe, as Guardian
easily lifts the boat and they get a ride in the sky.
--------------------------------
-------------- Meanwhile, below, in the fortress
-----------
Tempesta chuckles to himself in satisfaction as the
smoke and sulphur begins to fill the room. Not waiting to be blinded in it, the
wake up call having been issued, he continues to fly, hurrying off towards the
door the engineers took, hopefully into the complex.
3 guards
come across Tempesta.
Tempesta continues to hover, just off of
the ground in the corridor. Frowning beneath his mask as the guards rush out, he
stops in his tracks, folding his arms over his chest. His unhappiness quite
apparent in his voice as he demands, "Where is your so called /Monarch/?"
Spitting out the word, his head cocking to the side as he seems to have decided
they need some encouragement, even if just because they didn't tell him before
he even asked.
The man gurgles and gasp,
"Ggglllarrrr..throne...room" His hand points to a specific
corridor.
Tempesta passes over the guards as they point him in
the right direction, not even stopping to thank them. Hmph. Seeming to be on a
mission of somesort though, the corridor is filled with the wind that sets
Tempesta back into flight again, moving down the corridor that the guard
gestured to, off towards the throne
room.
---------------------------------------------------------
Kid, spotting the guards, springs into action! His trusty
flash bomb thrown...
The agents all yell, blinded. They do still
take up a lot of the corridor with their useless bodies,
though.
Captain Freedom holds up his shield, and then runs into
the mess of agents, attempting to get through. He leaps acrobatically over some
agents, using them as springboards, "Let's go stop this madman! For America! For
the world!"
Fantastique springs into action! Leaping to attack a
number of the guards as she spins around, quite quickly, whipping her arms about
on a small handful of the blinded agents. "Round and Round I
go!"
The guards that Fantastique hit go down in a
clump.
Captain Freedom turns to Kid Freedom, "You're with me! I
have something..special planned for Il Sovrano." He gives Guardsman a nod, and
heads off down a corridor.
Guardsman runs in among the blinded,
moving goons, attempting to grab one by the arm and sending him sailing through
the air at one of his compatriots, "For King and Country", the Englishman
mutters,
The guard makes an excellent weapon, and he and the one
he hits make an *OOF* sound and slide to the ground.
Fantastique
strides forth toward the Italian noises, hearing Il Sovrano being a good way to
find his location so the team can do mean things to him. Like stroke his fur the
wrong way. Or just call him George. She ensures as many are together as possible
before moving in. That way, problems don't occur!
Guardsman
quickly moves up to the door, stopping outside it and crouching down quietly,
peeking through a crack.
The Throne room is large and
impressive, remade to look like something out of the Roman Empire. It is
currently lit with backup system lights, and the moonlight shines through a vent
in the ceiling.
Il Sovrano
Il Sovrano,
when seen up close, is not an impressive looking man. Physically, he stands
about 5'3" and has an average build. His dark hair is long, and tied back, and a
golden laurel is placed up his head in a regal manner. Piercing black eyes match
his hair, and his skin is slightly tanned. He is wearing a brilliant white
outfit with glittering gold accents, reminiscient of a Roman Emporer, with
certain modern touches, like the gold sash that is draped from his left shoulder
to his right hip. In one hand, he carries a gleaming sceptre with a glowing red
gem at its tip. He is seated within a large, flying throne, which is painted
gold to match, and has obviously lethal weaponry attached to all sides, and
propellors on 4 sides, which keep him in the
air.
----------------------------------------------------
--------------
LadyJustice urges her winged steed on. "Faster,
Pegasus! The fate of the world is on our hands! We must find and destroy that
Volcano Death Ray before it's too late!"
Guardian soars into the
sky, accelerating to speeds of over 250 mph and he seems to be going beyond even
that as he and the ship turn to a blur and race for the Coast
Guard.
Guardian comes upon the Coast Guard ship, he brings
himself and his cargo to a halt, sets the boat down, next to the Coast Guard
ship. He looks to Tina and winks as he turns to speed back off toward the
island.
Guardian reaches breakneck speeds on his way back to the
island, his body is a complete blur as he soars toward the fortress. One arm out
in front of him, he seems to be bulleting from the sea, right for the front
door.
LadyJustice continues flying towards the eastern peak. Her
eyes scan the barren volcanic surface for an entrance, opening, or door of any
type.
On the northern face of the east peak is a very obvious,
and very large cannon, sticking out of the cooled lava
rock.
LadyJustice steers her flying horse over the eastern
volcanic peak, as she eyes the great cannon built into the slope. She leaps
acrobatically off the horse, gliding down through the air, aiming at the access
hole visible in the volcanic
peak.
-----------------------------------------------------------
-------
Il Sovrano is currently angry, "Find dem and
bring to me!! I don't stand for it!!" He pounds a hand on the arm of the
throne.
Tempesta doesn't seem quite so discrete as Guardsman and
the others appear to be. Rather seeming really quite angry, he pushes through
the door, stopping just inside of the throne room, and grinning a bit as he
seems to have that Italian temper of his rather cooled for just a moment, "Ciao,
Marco." A kind of shell of a clear, rippling liquid, quite like water, encasing
his body.
Il Sovrano turns to see Tempesta. His face reddens with
anger, and he spits out an angry, "YOU!! You
-dare-!!"
Capt.Freedom's voice booms, seemingly from nowhere,
"No... us!" A moment later, Captain Freedom crashes through the ceiling vent,
flipping acrobatically to land poised on his feet, fists on hips. "The Liberty
Squad is here to bring you to justice, Il Sovrano!"
Il Sovrano's
eyes widen, "No. No. You have stopped me before, but you are not going to stop
me NOW!! I have the ultimate power at my disposal!! The power ofa the Earth,
herself!!!!" and he breaks out into laughter.
Capt.Freedom stands
tall and proud, smiling confidently. "The only thing you'll have at your
disposal, Sovrano, is a padded cell! We've already taken care of your death ray.
Surrender; there's nothing left for you to gain."
Il Sovrano
grips his sceptre tight, "I do not think so, Capitan." The throne glows, the gem
in his sceptre starts burning brightly, and a blast comes from it, heading
towards Captain Freedom. Il Sovrano frowns, as his attack finds no purchase, "I
will kill you de old fashion way!!"
Fantastique enters after
Captain Freedom, looking quite proud and happy and all that. She stands beside
him, hands on her hips, an impressive grin playing over her overly
cheerful-seeming face. "We will prevail, for we have with us le great power of
Justice! No one who acts to destroy everything can win! We will stop you,
villain among villains!"
Capt.Freedom smiles, trying not to show
the strain of resisting the psychic attack. "You've tried before. But your
nefarious schemes are at their end now."
Guardsman aims his
grapplegun up in the rafters, firing it with a *POP* and swinging up there,
letting the reel action of the gun itself pull him up to his intended
hidingplace
Capt.Freedom hurls his shield at Il Sovrano's
mechanized throne, mindful of its weapons. "Where you're going, you won't need
any of that..." The shield smacks into Il Sovrano, knocking the sceptre out of
his hand and knocking him off his Throne and into the walls of the cavern, where
he hits and slides to the floor, looking dazed.
The agents all
look stunned, as their leader is taken out by...Captain
Freedom.
Capt.Freedom raises a hand to catch the careening shield
as it ricochets back toward him, and holds it overhead for a moment. "The will
of a free people will always overcome the manipulations and petty threats of
dictators, in time. Throw down your weapons!"
The agents
hesitate, still holding their guns, but seem to be
nervous.
A low rumble is heard..as if from a
distance..
Guardian soars at the wall of the fortress, pounding
into it like a jackhammer. The wall seems to give with his mighty
blow.
Tempesta looks rather startled as Il Sovrano is knocked out
of his chair. Glancing towards Captain Freedom for a moment, he just nods
briefly as he returns his attention to the nearest uncooperative guard. Shifting
himself just to the side, he sticks out his palm. For the briefest of moments,
that seems to be about all that's happening, before a tremendous gust of wind
roars past him towards the Agent. Can leave the words to the Captain, though
maybe this will help..
The agent flies back, smacking against the
wall and sliding to the floor, unconscious. Meanwhile, there is another rumble,
and the room shakes slightly.
Fantastique smiles pleasantly,
"That can be done without," she decides with a flair, her arm stretching to take
Il Sovrano's scepter from his very much stunned form. She's forced to push
herself farther than normal, but that's little concern to her. A bit of extra
effort goes a long way in doing right!
Guardsman studies
Sovrano's now "abandoned" weaponsthrone carefully from his perch up above. The
throne is a masterpiece of weaponry!! And sturdy!
A loud BOOM
echoes throughout the room as a burst of powdered rock comes from the wall. As
the dust clears, Guardian hovers in the hole. "Miss me?" he says as he looks
over the situation.
Capt.Freedom grins. "Good work, Femme
Fantastique. But from the sounds of it... we'd better evacuate quickly. The
island is unstable, and it sounds like it might be
erupting."
Fantastique nods quickly, "Okay! The playtime, it is
overr!" She calls, "Nous alons, out of the exploding place!" She looks at the
woozy italian bad person. "What do we do with the mean mean leader of
here?"
This time, the rumbling shakes the room,
violently.
Guardsman leaps down from up above, landing on the
ground next to the throne, "We bring them with us, all of them. They're going to
stand trial like any other petty
criminal."
------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile...... in the East Peak, inside the caldera, the mechanism
of a large cannon is heating up so much that the metal is turning a brilliant
red. Banks of vacuum tubes, relays, and switches along the wall indicate that
the weapon is charging.
LadyJustice dives through the air, taking
a controlled plummet through the access tunnel into the Volcano Bomb Gun
complex. She readies her Grappel Gun, preparing herself for a life-or-death
precision shot, as she swoops down to land among the machinery. "No time to
study this in depth - I have to shut this machine down NOW!" The Lady looks
about, trying to spot any critical power line that she can shoot out to stop the
cannon from firing.
LadyJustice aims at what looks like a
critical power junction, and fires her Grappel gun into the heart of the
mechanism. The barbed dart flies true into the critical spot. Sparks fly as the
energy shorts out violently; smoke and flames flare out from self-destructing
switches and the smell of burning insulation fills the air. Its power shut off,
the mightly Volcano Bomb Gun shuts down and begins to cool
off.
LadyJustice says to nobody in particular, "That seems to
have done it. Those rumbling noises can't be good news - I had better see what's
happened to the rest of the team!"
LadyJustice whistles again for
her winged horse. Her Pegasus flies down the volcanic cone, and she rides it
back up out of the Volcano Gun
room.
-----------------------------------------------------------
-------
Capt.Freedom says, "Of course we do. Do we know
what radio frequency the sentries were using? It would help to evacuate
them."
Fantastique points out, "we have not changed the one we
were using."
Guardsman holds up the radio, tuned to the very
frequency used earlier, "Indeed we do."
Guardian hovers into the
room quickly, "Alright, did somebody call for a ride? Fantastique, if you can
turn into a net or something, maybe I can carry you all out of here." He motions
to Femme Fantastique and the hole in the wall."
Capt.Freedom
grins. "Then we can make the call. The Coast Guard should be here soon... I only
hope it's soon enough."
Guardsman speaks into the radio, "This is
the Liberty Squadron speaking. Might I suggest you all get the bloody hell off
this island? I rather believe not a single one of you is immune to volcanic
eruptions and that is exactly what is going on at this moment. Have a jolly good
day, chaps."
A panicked reply is heard from another radio,
*Skkkrk* "We got troubles! It's coming up through the
*******static********
Fantastique nods quickly, "I can. I can be
a very wide rope." She smiles brightly, then winces. "That did not sound very
nice. We should hurry." With that, she becomes a large, wide rope, and makes use
of herself by wrapping about the goons. "Do not be resisting and silly, yes? I
can quiet anyone who is loud."
Suddenly a loud *KEERRRRRAKKK!* is
heard, and part of the floor of the cavern splits. Beneath Il Sovrano, a chasm
opens, wide enough that he falls in. His screams are silenced by the roar from
below, and the chasm starts to glow a bright orange...
Tempesta
grimaces as the crevice opens up under Il Sovrano and he drops in. Shaking his
head briefly, he moves back into the air, using it to carry himself, and two of
the agent's nearest him up into the air. Letting Fantastique and Guardian to
whatever they're doing, he himself begins off towards the hole with the two
fellows in tow, taking them out, to safety.
Fantastique reforms
and shifts so she is now a large glider with a basket beneath. "Guardian, if you
lift me high enough, I can float to safety with everyone
aboard!"
Guardian looks toward Fantastique, "All aboard, lets get
out of here." He thinks . o O (I hope Lady Justice is
alright.)
Capt.Freedom says, "You'd better hurry. I don't think
this place is going to hold together much longer." He turns away and sprints
back toward the doorway, adding, "Don't wait on my account. I can find my own
way out."
A radio transmission from Kid Freedom to Capt. Freedom:
"Hey, Cap. I'm outside. Got a lot of the guards out! This place is gonna
blow!"
Guardian says, "Anyone who cannot fly hold onto
Fantastique, lets move quickly."
Capt.Freedom stops at the
doorway and turns back, speaking into his radio. "Glad to hear that, old chum.
We're on our way out now." He smiles sheepishly at Guardian. "...Never
mind."
Guardsman looks at the Throne, "I wonder if this thing
flies well over water..." Guardsman shrugs, forgets about the throne and graps a
hold of Fantastique... hoping not to get grabbing onto anything... improper for
a gentleman to grab onto.
Capt.Freedom rejoins the others after
making sure the agents are all 'aboard'. "All right. Let's get out of
here."
The heroes and their captured agents manage to make it
out, just as the west peak begins to cough and sputter new lava. It comes
dribbling down the side of the volcano, like a river of
fire.
Guardian chuckles, "Well, fire is not a bad way to end
things, of course I am biased."
And so, Il Sovrano was lost
within the tall volcano, but the hostages were saved. The United
States
government came and claimed the island, redubbing it "Olympus
Island."
|
