Seeing as this back and fourth with the despot (or more likely automaton) is getting nowhere fast, Iron Fist wants to try and sense energy.  Maybe if he can see where a power source is coming from, that might be something to plan an action off of.  It probably won't be chi energy, and it might not work at all, but maybe he'll catch something.

Dice Pool:
Team: d6, Living Weapon of K'un L'uun: d8, Mystic Expert: D8

20:39, Today: Iron Fist rolled 6,6,2 using d6,d8,d8 with rolls of 6,6,2.  sense energy.

Total:12, effect: d8
This message was last edited by the player at 03:41, Sat 05 Aug 2017.

Doom Pool (3d6, 9d8, d12) reaction to Iron Fist's attempt to sense energy:
Iron Fist mental stress    d12

Watcher rolled 3,3,4,4,8,1,5,4,2,3,7,3,6 using d6,d6,d6,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d12 ((3,3,4,4,8,1,5,4,2,3,7,3,6)).

Total: 15, Effect: d12
1 Opportunity (available first to Iron Fist)

Attempt fails

Iron Fist concentrates, attempting to sense any type of energy in the immediate area, but his head is so clouded from the chaos that he has been through this afternoon and that he is now embroiled in that he cannot focus enough to get a read on anything here.

“Standing between the survival of your world and its being cast into the abyss? Your beloved city treads on the precipice of destruction yet you say nothing? Your apathy belies your supposed heroism." Doom's voice has lost much of its echo, becoming clearer.

“You ask something of Doom -- to save your city. You offer nothing in return. As such, your concession is this: You shall owe Doom your servitude. Once. In one sole instance at a point in the near or far future, Doom shall call upon you and you shall abide his wish. A request that shall match your abilities. Nothing a... superhero could not withstand, especially those of your stature. Whatever Doom asks that once, you shall do."

Another pair of Doombots appear through their portals, walk in, then step aside.

The cloth areas of Doom's armor shift as he appears to settle into his throne.

"Doom does not require you to bow before him. Your defeat is acquiescence enough. But it is imminently possible to halt the obliteration of your inhuman metropolis. Its future is at this moment in your very hands. Cede and there will be no more destruction... or bloodshed.”

More and more people appear on the monitors behind Doom, as the camera views encounter and close in on more civilians caught in the crossfire of the raging conflict in the city. Another news crew. A half-dozen police-officers who have gotten too close to the events. A group of curious teenagers. A family trapped in a car, with two children trapped in the back. The views jump increasingly more quickly from one to another, signaling that there have become more active Doombots or the conflict with the Wrecking Crew has gone from a zero-sum game to one that is slowing in the elimination of Doombots. The three members of the Wrecking Crew, as seen through the lenses of the flying, battling Doombots, fight as viciously as ever. The Doombots themselves press on.

"Any further harm done to your city will be due to your actions... or inaction. The choice is yours. Though clearly, for you, there is only one."

Doom swirls the chalice in his hand. On the other side, his fingers hover over the large red button on the arm of his throne.

Grandstanding: +8d8 to Doom Pool for Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, Doombots S/C, Doombots S/D, Doombot 6YSN133, Doombot Mob TL, Doombot Mob TR

Doom Pool: 3d6, 9d8, d12 +8d8 = 3d6, 17d8, d12

Carol steps forward.

"I'm pretty sure you planned it this way. I'm sure you hired the Wrecking Crew and got them to punch She-Hulk right where it would become the greatest benefit to yourself. But, you're not the guy who can just ask for help.

"Since you can't ask for help without",Carol finger-quotes and rolls her eyes as disrespectfully as possible,<Purple>"Looking like a weak widdle Doom, and because of your obvious limitations and inability to truly succeed in anything you've ever done, especially against Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four...

"Sure, I'll do you a favor to end this idiotic, meaningless rampage. However, I can only speak for myself."

Just to get her point across, Carol raises her fingers in the European manner if flipping someone off. That someone being Doom.

"The fabrication of mis-truths constructed from your paranoia is matched only by your ceaseless idiocy... captain," Doom drawls.  "If such was Doom's will, you would not exist presently.  You remain here out of Doom's endless mercy.  As far as the interests of Latveria are concerned, that band of ruffians is of your number."

Behind the heroes, the unlatching of the mighty door to the chamber cracks the silence between Doom's statements, then the entry opens.  A silhouette is cast from the outside light of a form lumbering into the room.  As the figure enters fully, the door shuts behind him and the form is revealed as Daredevil, the man without fear.  He cradles his arm, the right side of his body slumping forward.  His leg drags behind him, forcing him into a shuffling limp.  Much of his costume is shredded, revealing so many bruises and lacerations.  A trail of blood follows his slow but determined lurch.  The lower left side of his mask hangs from his face.  "Doom," he coughs.  "You've got to stop this."  He finally arrives to stand among the heroes.  "This city will be leveled if you don't call off your Doombots."

A scoff erupts from Doom's mask.  "The survival of your city and its citizens is of no concern to Doom.  Your terms have been presented.  What occurs next is wholly your decision."

"Then for God's sake, do it.  A lot of very innocent people are about to get very hurt."  Indeed, more people appear on the screens behind Doom, as seen through the lenses of the wild Doombots.  Daredevil turns toward the other heroes.  "We're backed into a corner here."

Doom's fingers tap against the arm of the chair, dangerously close to flashing buttons.  "If you are at all concerned about damage to your city and the people therein, then time would be of the essence."  A sigh rattles from Doom.  "Your silence shall be considered acceptance of Doom's overly generous terms."

Grandstanding: +8d8 to Doom Pool for Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, Doombots S/C, Doombots S/D, Doombot 6YSN133, Doombot Mob TL, Doombot Mob TR

Doom Pool: 3d6, 17d8, d12 +8d8 = 3d6, 25d8, d12

​"Very well," Doom says. His hand, previously hovering over the buttons on the arm-rest, comes down, his armored index finger pressing the big red button at the center of the pad. The buttons light up, the one in the middle becoming a bright, glowing crimson.

The instant that Doom hits the red button, the scenes on the monitors change abruptly. The images do not freeze, in particular those of people before the camera views and the Wrecking Crew, as the figures continue to move, but the view itself that was once wild is now stable. A few of the views burst into static, but even that stops within moments, as each member of the Wrecking Crew gaze at the views with credulity and pause before picking up another chunk of debris to use as a projectile weapon. The people who cowered before the views move again, cautiously at first, not taking their eyes from the threats that have cornered them, and in long moments, eventually move away and out of the range of the view. Shortly, the images are indeed frozen, as those who occupied those views have left the scene and only smoke moves as it rises through debris on many of the screens. Doombots seeing each other from various views do not move.

"Heroes who take no action can hardly be called heroes. Your inertia, your apathy, could so easily be your destruction, and of all of that around you.  You came close to that on this day," Doom says, drawing out his words, taking his time.  "Alas, we arrive at the inevitable conclusion: you agree to serve Doom the favor of his choosing, at one point in the future."

More drones in the room float in from the darkness, positioning themselves, one behind each hero, for six total.

"In return, your city shall be spared. You called this destruction upon yourself, so let it not be said that Doom is not endlessly merciful and forgiving."

An intense light shoots from the largest lens of each drone, shining from the top of the head of each of the six heroes, then scan down, reaching the bottoms of feet within seconds. At the same speed as they appeared, the drones retreat back into the darkness.

Doom presses another button on the pad on the arm-rest.

Once Doom presses the button on the pad, the scenes in the monitors change once again.  The camera views become active as do the other Doombots seen through each.  The androids act with steady, fluid motion, leaving behind the wild, violent actions from before.  They move to lift the biggest chunks of debris and remnants from the buildings and surrounding area, clearing areas where there is usual congestion, from the streets then sidewalks, piling the wreckage in empty lots or where buildings once stood.  Their actions are focused, with no extra movement to betray the concentration on their tasks.  Some take to the sky to move debris to an available space blocks away, while others fly to steady taller buildings and remove sections from the structures that were precarious and ready to fall.  The Doombots are industrious in their tasks, as if their primary function was to clear and repair what is left from an epic conflict, not from being the cause of it.  In another view, a Doombot approaches the prone body of Havok, the hero's costume and body damaged and bloodied to within what is surely an inch.

The Wrecking Crew appear in one view, the three members of the band looking back at the Doombot focused on them, and they slowly put down the debris each had been holding, which is received by a group of Doombots who swiftly take it away.  The face of the felons are once again slack-jawed but this time their fear is replaced by confusion.  They move as deliberately as the Doombots, but not helping clear wreckage.  Instead they look at each other, as if any of them hold an answer, then, with none of them coming up with anything, look back at the Doombot one last time, then back to each other and nod a silent plan, then take off in the opposite direction.  The view from the Doombot follows them as they flee into the distance, out of the way of the Doombots going about their tasks, but does not follow.  The Wrecking Crew shrink into specs as they sprint down the street, then disappear around the corner of one of the last buildings standing.

“You have saved your city," Doom's booming voice calls as the door behind the heroes opens, flooding the room with light.  "Take this as whatever victory you wish.

"But know this, heroes: The war that was once on a horizon is now here.  You will be called to choose your side.  Doom trusts that you choose well, as there will be consequences, most that will be dire beyond imagining."  Looking back on Doom, even as the light from the outside washes over him, his face seems to sink into the shadow of his hood, and soon even the features of his mask are obscured and he makes no further movement.

And with that, the crowd of Doombots leave no room in the chamber for the heroes to linger and out the door they are subtly but assertively pushed, then the door is closed behind them.  In what is left of the reception area of the building, the small army of Doombots that was once considered hostile also diligently go about clearing the debris left from the conflict.  They do anything but acknowledge the heroes as the heroes pass.  The dust has settled enough that the area is clear, not quite yet of rubble, but the space is quiet and calm.

The only sound in what was once the Latverian embassy's lobby is that of the scraping and lifting of debris being cleared away by Doombots. They are expedient, as a good deal of it has already been removed, as much as they are silent, exchanging no sound, conducting their tasks with a unity that would be hauntingly telepathic in humans. Whenever the heroes are in the line of their activity, they move around them as if the heroes are any other inanimate object to which they would give a wide berth. Besides the Doombots, only the dust moves, as it settles, much of it already fallen to the disrupted and cracked ground.

The silence is broken by a scream: "AAARRRGGGHHH!"  A man's voice. Not in the immediate vicinity but perhaps not far.

Next Action: She-Hulk, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Yellowjacket, Captain Marvel

Hearing the anguished cry, Carol takes off after it.

"Somebody might be in trouble, team! Let's try to salvage our reputations by assisting whoever that may be! Anyone who is with me, let's go!"

As the heroes collect themselves and acclimate themselves to this new reality, Daredevil, visibly the most battered of them all, speaks first.  "Okay, Marvel," he coughs.  "I'm with y--," just as his attention is jerked away by the man's scream.  His head pivots in all directions, then he points to a building to the north-west, one of the few left standing, even if just so.  "There!" he shouts.  He could be pointing at either the building or the falcon flying above it.  As any Avengers would know, the bird is no ordinary falcon but Redwing, the Falcon's avian sidekick, now without his master but circling the top of the building.

Carol flies up towards Redwing. For a bird, he's pretty smart so she assumes that Redwing is circling around where trouble is happening, most likely involving Falcon.

Hey, little bird-buddy, what's going on? Timmy fall down a well?

She looks back to see if Daredevil is keeping up. She doesn't want to lose sight of him in case his injuries are worse than they look, if that's even possible, knowing him.

As Captain Marvel flies toward to Redwing, the bird suddenly disrupts its circle pattern and dives the opposite way, toward one of the few buildings in the area still standing, though only just so. Though he cannot speak, Redwing proves an able guide to lead to his master, the stalwart Falcon. The hero lets out another cry, one much weaker than the one before. He lies prone on the roof when Marvel catches sight of him, barely moving. Two projectiles like arrows protrude from the side of his chest, short enough that they must have pierced his body and out his back. Blood covers his chest, bare arms, and legs, fresh enough that it still drips from massive injuries across his torso and onto the hot tar on the roof. His mask has been nearly pulled away completely, as his face is mangled nearly beyond recognition. As Marvel draws closer, he falls down after trying to pull himself up, and exhales what could be a final breath.

Just as Marvel arrives near the fallen hero, Daredevil crests the building to arrive as well, his obvious injuries not appearing to slow him down. He runs toward his fellow hero, not seeming to notice Redwing but perhaps his knowledge of the Falcon being here explaining why he was able to arrive as quickly as an airborne hero.

Daredevil cannot spend time tending to the Falcon before he turns and points over the other side of the building. "There!" the Hero of Hell's Kitchen cries. Just at the moment, a helicopter rises from below the edge of the roof to shoot toward the sky, a burst of a reflection deflecting from its sleek, hi-tech exterior just as the noise of its rotors explodes to disrupt its previous silence.

As the helicopter swiftly ascends to escape in the sky, Carol realizes that she can't leave Falcon's side, not in this condition. However, this helicopter isn't going to escape justice and she's pretty fed up with how the day has been going, so....

KZAAARRRRKK!

Carol lets loose with a massive energy blast right at the rotors.


Solo: D8
Take-Charge Attitude: D8
Energy Blast: D10 (using SFX Second Wind: Physical Stress die to Doom Pool, step up power +1)
Combat Expert: D8

Captain Marvel rolled 5,4,3,7 using d8,d8,d8,d10

1PP to use SFX
1PP to add a die to the total

16 rolled and Effect: d8

3PP left

PS: D10 MS: D8 ES: 0

Reaction: Helicoptro the Undying

Doom Pool (3d6, 25d8, d12) reaction to Daredevil's attempt to damage helicopter, Total: 16, Effect: d8:
Captain Marvel emotional stress    d10

d6,d6,d6,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,
d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d10

Watcher rolled 1,3,5,1,7,6,2,1,3,2,2,3,7,1,1,5,7,3,3,1 using d6,d6,d6,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8 ((1,3,5,1,7,6,2,1,3,2,2,3,7,1,1,5,7,3,3,1)).
Watcher rolled 2,8,3,6,7,8,5,7,7 using d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d10 ((2,8,3,6,7,8,5,7,7)).

Total: 16, Effect: d10

Hero wins tie

Higher reacting Effect die steps acting Effect down, to d6
6 Opportunities (available first to Daredevil)

Captain Marvel's blast rips through the air then the tail of the helicopter.  It barely damages the vehicle, but even when most of the blast glances off its hull, it's enough to force it into a spin, abruptly downward, then crashing to the ground hard enough to cause the surrounding surface to bounce. Sha-KRANKSSSHHH!

Daredevil has made his way to the Falcon, putting his good hand to the avian hero's neck.  "He'll live.  Maybe just barely," Daredevil calls to Marvel.  Then, not bothering to turn toward her, yells, "I've got this.  Check out that chopper!"

Meanwhile, a half-dozen reporters have made their way through the clouds of dust at what was once the Latverian embassy lobby.  They keep their distance from the Doombots at first, then become more aggressive when the robots do not react to their movements. As they clamber over the debris toward the heroes, perhaps less cautiously than they should be, they're asking -- then demanding -- a comment.

Knowing that Falcon is in good hands, or hand, with Daredevil, Carol races over to the helicopter, wary of any possible attacks. She flies towards it, her senses in battle-mode, braced for any attack that blasts forward from the downed craft.

"A wounded animal is the most dangerous one", she thinks, "but that makes me just as, if not more, dangerous."

It's a small but comforting thought.

Just in case I have to roll to get to the helicopter:
Solo: D8
Take-Charge Attitude: D8
Subsonic Flight: D8
Combat Expert: D8

Captain Marvel rolled 8,4,2,2 using d8,d8,d8,d8

1PP to add to the total

Total: 14 Effect: D8

2PP left

PS: D10 MS: D8 ES: 0

From msg #374: "Doom Pool (3d6, 25d8, d12) reaction to Daredevil's attempt to damage helicopter..."

Converting dice pool action to Investigating Helicopter Asset, as it is not necesary to roll to get to the helicopter.

Doom Pool (3d6, 25d8, d12) reaction to Captain Marvel's attempt to create Asset/get to helicopter, Total: 14, Effect: d8:
Captain Marvel emotional stress    d10

d6,d6,d6,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,
d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d10

Watcher rolled 3,5,4,5,2,5,8,3,1,5,5,2,6,6,4,6,5,2,6,7 using d6,d6,d6,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8 ((3,5,4,5,2,5,8,3,1,5,5,2,6,6,4,6,5,2,6,7)).
Watcher rolled 6,5,5,2,4,2,3,6,7 using d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d10 ((6,5,5,2,4,2,3,6,7)).

Total: 15, Effect: d10

Attempt fails

1 Opportunity (available first to Captain Marvel)

Captain Marvel must navigate the area around the helicopter carefully, as a thick mist of exhaust and remnant destruction enshrouds the formerly airborne vehicle. Fortunately, it did not land near people, who are now appearing on the edges, peaking out around corners of buildings, carefully checking to see if it's safe to come back yet, or to get a glimpse of their heroes. The hero makes her way through the fog but no sound comes from the downed chopper. What Daredevil may have been able to contribute is now void, as he is several buildings away, a distance easy enough for Marvel to cover with her flight but too far for the horned hero to help with his superhuman senses. It is only until Marvel is far enough through the mist to see it more-or-less clearly that an absurdity hits: There are no passengers or pilots in it or spilling from it.  It rests still, as if it was never anything but inert.  Like the destruction of the city around it, it lies as wreckage, only to be left or cleared, with no activity of its own.  Once the fog dissipates more and Marvel gets closer, she can see that the hatch on the side of the helicopter is open, as per a military-grade vehicle, though one outfitted with additional armor and technology, none of it offering any help in its lifeless state.  Looking into what is left of the transport, what is traditionally a cockpit is filled with a bank of computers, now crushed from the front end's impact with the ground, with a few buttons left blinking weakly. The body of the thing is also empty of inhabitants but holds a matte-black box, nearly the size of a refrigerator, with wires of all colors snaking in and out of it.  On its side is an LED read-out, modest enough in size to be overlooked but quietly displaying changing numbers: "04" then "03" then "02" then "01"!

Carol is going to chuck the box into the sky so it'll explode harmlessly away from anyone who is in the area.

Let's put together a dice pool, shall we?
Solo: D8
Take-Charge Attitude: D8
Superhuman Strength: D10
Combat Expert: D8

Captain Marvel rolled 7,1,4,1

Total: 7 Effect: D8

2 Opportunities for The Watcher.

2PP left

PS: D10 MS: D8 ES: 0

+d6 to Doom Pool from Captain Marvel's Opportunity

Doom Pool (3d6, 25d8, d12) reaction to Captain Marvel's attempt to dispose of bomb on helicopter, Total: 7, Effect: d8:
Captain Marvel emotional stress    d10

Watcher rolled 1,6,5,2,8,6,4,4,5,7,5,1,4,7,3,2,7,8,7,5 using d6,d6,d6,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8 ((1,6,5,2,8,6,4,4,5,7,5,1,4,7,3,2,7,8,7,5)).
Watcher rolled 2,6,2,8,2,7,5,2,4 using d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d8,d10 ((2,6,2,8,2,7,5,2,4)).

Total: 16, Effect: d10

Attempt fails

Activating Captain Marvel's Opportunity and spending d8 from Doom Pool to Counterattack: d8 physical stress to step up her stress to d12

2 Opportunities (available first to Captain Marvel)

Doom Pool: 3d6, 25d8, d12 +d6 -d8 = 4d6, 24d8, d12

Captain Marvel's attempt to get the ticking bomb from the helicopter is swift but not swift enough.  Just as she comes within an arm's length of the timer, it reads "00" and explodes, a great, destructive force coming from the device and blasting Marvel away from it.  If she were even slightly less invulnerable she would have been obliterated where she stood but her impervious hide holds up, keeping her from obliteration, if only just so.

She spirals for long moments into a black void in her mind, random moments of her life coming from the darkness, to arrive at recent memories in a haze.  She only realizes her lack of consciousness when she starts to come to, opening her eyes to the sky and a pounding headache that is never unfamiliar.  Her vision begins to focus, coming to a figure hovering high above her, a silver suit of mechanized armor, its hands outstretched, pointed toward the remains of what was once the helicopter which she spies is now a block away from her. There is little activity in this former cityscape, save for a man running toward her.  "Carol?  Carol!"  His voice is familiar but Carol's swimming head offers little identification.

She recovers herself, rising slowly from a prone position on the asphalt, among what was once chunks of debris surrounding her now pulverized even further, and smoldering.   When she raises her hands to find them black with soot and looks at her own body, she realizes that she too is smoldering.

The man running to her stops just in front of her, looking her up and down with some amazement.  He wears a purple and black costume, with a mask covering the upper half of his face.  His right arm is bandaged and in a sling.  It's not until he says, "I hope you have some replacement costumes, or you're gonna have to go back to the lightning-bolt-and-sash leotard," that she realizes that this could only be Hawkeye.

Behind him is a man, unmasked but unfamiliar, a plain face and brown hair, unremarkable compared to anyone else.  He wears a beige trench-coat, and a dark blue bodysuit that goes up to his neck underneath it.  He stands a careful distance behind Hawkeye, hands in coat pockets, and says nothing but seems to be taking in the scene with caution.

"It's a good thing War Machine just happened to get here," Hawkeye says, jerking a thumb toward the sky at the flying suit of armor, now lowering to ground level.  "If it wasn't for the force-field repulsor thing he was testing out, you'd be -- "  Hawkeye sputters as his face furrows to seriousness.

He looks around at the wonton destruction on all sides, of leveled buildings and destroyed streets.  "What in the heck happened here?"

Carol sighs. Seeing the debris is localized and nobody is in immediate danger, she finds a cooling hunk of slag to sit on. This is the day, once ended, that is never spoken of again.

Actually, the whole month has been that day.

"Do you really want to hear the whole story?"Carol says as she sits."It's a long and depressing one, and it just has the punchline that The Avengers as we know it...are finished".

But since these guys are her friends, and in Rhodey's case, occasional boyfriend, she tells them the story of the "Avengers'" greatest failures. How no matter how hard they fought as heroes, the odds just got stacked against them until they failed and failed no matter what they did.

"And that",Carol says, standing up again, having caught her breath,"is why it's over for me as an Avenger".

Carol holds up her Avengers identity card, still smoking, and tosses it to the ground at Hawkeye's feet.

YJ sits on some debris in his shrunken form petting his YellowJacket steed's head, "We will need to head to Latveria it seems. Hank wants that tech to shackle Ultron."

He pulls off his hood and in his normal voice, "Just get it done, this debacle has me behind schedule."


He pulls the mask in place, "Just be quiet and let me do my job."

In what was once the Latverian embassy lobby, the horde of reporters swarm full-sized around Yellowjacket’s miniature-sized respite.  Clearly the crisis is over and the world has returned to news stories, live reporting, conjectures and guesses, interview demands, ratings, and advertising dollars.  The other three heroes try to deter the squawking crowd politely, attempting to scurry away to nurse their wounds, in the little space they are afforded.  Yellowjacket, with his miniature size, is able to avoid the clamor, falling under their notice.

At the other site, Hawkeye listens intently to Captain Marvel, keeping his mouth shut for once.  As the dust settles around them, quite literally, there is no need for action so he takes in all the information his sometime-teammate has to give.  She spills what she had seen, when she was above the start of the skirmish then what she had experienced when she got caught up in it -- the Doombots, the Wrecking Crew, the fallen heroes.  The destruction to the city is already obvious enough, with obliterated buildings and what were once streets around them.

When she’s done, Hawkeye finally speaks.  “It's been a long day.  Rhodes and I  can do the follow-ups.  Spider-Man and Cage and Bobbi -- er, Mockingbird -- they’ve been on the perimeter keeping the crowds away.  If this is a safer area now, we could ask them to get Havok and the others.”  He nods to War Machine, who is settling on the ground near him.  The man in the trenchcoat shifts on his feet, visibly uncomfortable in the heat.

War Machine’s voice is mechanized, through his helmet.  “The Wrecking Crew are probably long gone.  But I’ll put out a call to see if they pop up anywhere.”  He raises a hand to his ear and steps back, speaking in an aside to someone else.

“There’s too much that doesn’t make much sense about all this,” Hawkeye says.  “For as much as I know about Doom, it’s not part of his M.O. to cause destruction for no reason.  Even if he was trying to show off, he doesn’t have anything to gain by just trashing the city, especially near and including his embassy.”  Hawkeye scratches his head.  “The Wrecking Crew’s part in this makes even less sense.  You say they weren’t doing anything?  Just standing on the corner, not causing any trouble?  They had no reason to be there until they got in a fight which, well, you can’t really say they started on their own.  But it’s not hard to get them going.”  Hawkeye looks up at the sky.  “This all doesn’t seem random.  But if there was an idea behind all this, I don't think I can put it together.”

Hawkeye looks around.  “We’ll have to figure it out later.  Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. can help.  I’m sure they’ll be happy to come and have to clean up after us again.”

He looks at his feet, where Carol had dropped her incinerated membership card.  “Again?” he scoffs with a smirk.  “Well, you can’t speak for the Avengers.  For as bad as this is, we’ve seen worse.  And we’re still here.”  Then serious.  “Avengers don’t surrender.  Avengers don’t give up.  And anyway, the only one who could break up the band is Cap.”

"We need answers to these questions," Hawkeye says firmly.  "Maybe not today. But we'll get them."  He looks toward the building where Daredevil is tending to the Falcon.  "Right now we need to tend to the wounded.  We'll take Sam back to the Tower -- he probably needs the most immediate care.  We got lucky it wasn't worse than that."

Hawkeye looks in the distance, down the street, as flying cars descend from the sky.  "As if on cue," he sighs.  He turns back to Captain Marvel.  "You go ahead and go.  I'll take care of them."  He straightens to his full height, as if expecting a fight.  "But keep in touch.  I have a feeling the Avengers are going to need you soon."  He nods then the trench-coated man follows him as he strides to the incoming S.H.I.E.L.D. team.

War Machine rises into the air then after a short hop is over to other group, in what was once the Latverian embassy's lobby.  The now-gathered mob of news reporters crowd the small group of heroes, who demur from the flood of questions but still get cornered by insistent journalists.  "Back off," War Machine calls as he lowers himself between the reporters and the heroes, giving his allies some room.  "If you need to talk to someone, I'll give you what I have."  As the reporters jostle forward, the armored hero turns back to Yellowjacket, Iron Fist, and Wolverine, as well as She-Hulk, who is slowly coming-to.  "Get some rest.  You deserve it.  But come by Avengers Tower as soon as you can.  Cap will want to debrief you on what happened here."  Leaving them to exit on their own, War Machine turns back to the reporters and their incessant barrage of questions.

The city settles in the afternoon sun and order is restored, at least for the moment.  Though there has been so much destruction, life is no longer threatened, a victory on its own.  The heroes leave with wounds that will heal, except for the claim on their souls.  Somewhere a maniacal laughter echoes into darkness.


+2 XP to those who started or ended the adventure (all heroes)

For the player’s choice XP award, PM me your choice for the best player from the adventure. Anyone registered for the adventure at any time is eligible to vote. I’ll leave voting open until the next adventure starts. I will give the Watcher's choice XP award once I have the votes for the players’ choice. (Try not to vote for yourself.  It’s bad form.)

As this adventure is now over, do not post to this thread anymore.  But please feel free to contribute ideas and thoughts in the OOC thread or contact me through PM.

Next we'll do sub-plots and the lead-in to the next adventure.

Player's XP Award goes to: She-Hulk
Watcher's XP Award goes to: She-Hulk
+2 XP to She-Hulk

“You meddle in forces you do not understand.”

“I would hardly call these mewling humans 'forces.'  They are but tools to be used then discarded.”

“Then you are even more ignorant than we supposed.”

“And you are even more foolish than I supposed.  You who do nothing when there is power to be gained.”

“Power that holds this universe in a precarious balance.  Power that should never be given to any single wielder.”

“Power that is mine.  I am that wielder!”


ACTS OF VENGEANCE 2 continues!