Hatfield stops in a solitaire street. The jeep arrives some minutes later to the place and the team reunites again. Hatfield with a smile on his face, hands the comic to his friend. That is the moment in which a beeping starts to be heard and a pattern of red lights starts glittering in a way they disappear progressively.

THE PAST

The insects leave Night Skull's visors, and he gets in his vehicle, waiting only until he knows who else is loading up. "Mind the supply box in the back."

He finished flipping the switch, and his engine roared to life. "Let's hope they aren't in a chasing mood after what we did to Hive. I can't outrun a hover with wheels."

Once all who were gonna be in it were in it, he was driving out of the smoke, across the now pothole riddled road thanks to Proton, and on his way to the next rendezvous point.

--------------------------------------------

"And of course it is a bomb. Or some kind of alien clock counting down." Night Skull popped the claws from his bionic hand. "Do we have a reinforced hole we can put this down for further study, or do I need to disarm it?"

He was studying it while talking, and his ion blaster popped out from the top of his right arm. "Because I advise the latter... debating between severing the points of electrical contact or just shooting it."

OOC:
20:24, Today: Night Skull rolled 81 using 1d100.  Electrical Engineer, base TN 40. Attempting to understand blinking lights.
20:25, Today: Night Skull rolled 31 using 1d100.  Demolitions Disposal, base TN 84. Presumption it is a bomb and disabling.

So, this is an interesting duo of results. If it is anything other than an explosive, he does not understand its function. If it is an explosive, he likely knows exactly the safest way to disable it, even if that means "Hey, put it over there so I can shoot it with the energy counterpart to a shotgun blast." Which could lead to hilarity if it is not an explosive.

I think he'd pass the disposal check on anything except a -60% penalty or greater.

I am granting a few moments for everyone else to offer an alternative theory to "I've seen the ending of Predator and know what those lights mean." Because there are other possibles.

Persistent if nothing else Alana continues to fire on the hovering thing as long as it remains within her limited field of fire, likely not more than 3 or 4 more shots, but enough to send them on their way in style.

Once that is done, and the dust starts to settle she transforms back into her humanoid form, then from there into the same tesla roadster racing car which she uses to regroup with the rest of the team and or pick up any stragglers on their way to the fallback point.

Hatfield says, "I'm gonna open a hole to the mid-Atlantic. It'll take me between half a minute and a minute. If you ain't disarmed it or blown it up when I get the hole open, we can toss it through and close the hole."
Then the master of time and relative dimensions in space begins to concentrate and form a grapefruit-sized hole in reality.

---

Communication Rift in a single dimension will take 3 melee rounds of concentration and 50 PPE (already spent). Would be big enough to shove a comic book through, but not much more.

Gonna make a secret roll which I will show you later to determine the exact time in which the bomb will detonate. I will give you hints whether McCoy plan is the better or not. 3d2-2 melee rounds to detonate. This is life, you save the day or there are consequences to face. A result of at least 3 means Hatfield plan works otherwise you will know.

In reply to Patricus (msg # 112):

Don't see the roll Alloy.

Patterns now:

//////////

Patterns after one round of casting:

///////

"You have just over thirty seconds as of now." Night Skull sat down and got to work, speaking while his hand hovered over the mechanism, picking at precise points with the claws to cut the connection routes. "It's hard for me to tell how powerful this will be. If it is modern, like plastique, we are in luck. I can just throw it away. But with nanotech? Hard to say."

"So." He studied it, hoped was correct, and kept picking. "Get clear, or focus on containing the blast. I'm the only one who has nothing to worry about. If I am wrong, I will leap one hundred feet into the air and disperse myself over a wide area. I'll otherwise be fine."

OOC: 01:58, Today: Night Skull rolled 16 using 1d100.  Demolitions Disposal, base TN 84. Here's hoping.

Well, maybe I just disarmed an alien bomb. That was luck.

Crusader stood by very close. If everyone else failed he will wrap his rubber body around the device and absorbe the blast.

Whatever is Night Skull doing to the device is of no use. Tampering with this technology fortunately do not detonate explosion.

Patterns started:

//////////

Patterns after one round of casting:

///////

Patterns after two rounds of casting:

////

Loose Cannon closes his eyes and starts praying.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:17, Thu 28 Sept 2023.

"Anybody able to launch this thing several hundred feet into the sky?" Night Skull pulled his combi-rifle and readied the 40mm underbarrel. "I'm going to attempt a controlled detonation. Now someone with a deadballer's arm, pull!"

He hoped he was not going to miss with this, because he wasn't getting a second shot.

07:27, Today: Night Skull rolled 9 using 1d20+4.  Aimed shot with grenade launcher, assuming someone throws it into the air.
07:28, Today: Night Skull rolled 7 using 2d4.  x10 potential damage via grenade to potential explosive.

Hopefully, this will be like shooting a nuclear warhead with another explosive. It disables the nuke... although now you have a breached nuclear weapon and radiation leaking out. But the point is that this should work, if it is what it looks like. Hopefully the high-tech bomb needs a specific sequence to work, and blowing it up prematurely works. If not, well... at least we made an effort to try to save lives.

Of course, if no one throws or launches it, then I just end up standing around, looking very dramatic here.

1) YOU ARE NOT THE LEADER OF THE GROUP SO YOU MUST WAIT FOR APPROVAL OF THE REST OR APPROVAL OF THE LEADER TO TAKE SUCH A DECESION THAT WILL ENDANGER PEOPLE AROUND. 2) DEFINITELY YOU COULD NOT INTERPRET THE PATTERNS MOVEMENT. THE ROLL I MADE RESULTED IN ENOUGH TIME FOR IMPLEMENTING McCOY'S PLAN (A NICE LAST SECOND SAVING) BUT IT SEEMS YOUR IMPATIENT WAS JUST TO PUT THE TEAM IN A BIG TROUBLE AND WAS JUST TO DESTROY THE NARRATIVE I HAD CREATED, I SAY "WAS" BECAUSE YOUR ACTION IS DISMISSED AND IT NEVER HAPPENED.

23:49, Yesterday: Secret Roll: Patricus rolled 3 using 3d2-2.  Time of detonation.

In reply to Night Skull (msg # 119):

If the roll would have been 1 round to detonate I for sure would have tell you that you have one round to dispose the explosive and in that case your desperate action would have been a much dramatic option, totally suitable with the circumstances.

By the way Night Skull, how old are you?

Crusader held up a hand, "Let's give Hatfield's plan a chance. I think my body can absorb the blast if he doesn't have enough time." He watched Hatfield and the counter, waiting until the last possible moment before attempting to smother the explosion.

[Private to Patricus: Boss I don't think NS was trying to be a jerk. I think he was just playing into the short time theme and wanted to help.]
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:12, Thu 28 Sept 2023.

If we had a pond or something i could get more water to absorb the blast, and potentially short circuit the mechanism if it is electricity.

If need be i can carry it to the ocean myself.


Lyndsey looks around to the others who have better ideas, like sending it to the bottom of the ocean.

The spell is finally cast and a portal is open to the mid of atlantic ocean. A few seconds remain in the alien countdown pattern.

Hatfield doesn't hesitate shouting "throw it through" as soon as he has the rift ready.

Crusader grabbed and threw the comic through the rift, elongating his arm through, dropping the comic, and pulling his limb back. "Good work, Hatfield. You saved us. Good work everyone. We saved Alloy and got away with our lives. That is a win."

With everyone safe, and nobody on the clock, but a lot of bodies to move around Alana turns into a much easier to sit in white passenger van so the group can return to their base easily and draw a minimum of additional attention.

Some micro seconds before the portal closed the device exploded and an inofensive thread of light could be seen from the closing point of the portal to the sky.

You listen some blocks away the noise of sirens and you see a couple cavaliers flying to the location where Hal's house is.

I second that, but the only casualty we had was Hal's comic-book. That is a shame, now there is one less copy in the world.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:31, Thu 28 Sept 2023.

From the floorboard of AlanaVan Hal mumbles weakly...

"Probably counterfeit anyway...."

...and then he could be heard snoring faintly. "zzzzzzzzz"

That is a pity about your prized book.  I hope it was not to expensive.

Year 1
Month 1
Day 18
Spring

Hal's house is totally remodeled and finally Loose Cannon has accepted his friend invitation to stay with him. Kindly, Alloy shows the new resident everything he needs to know about the house. In the house tour Alloy allows his friend to enter his bedroom, his most private place, his sanctuary.

Here it is LC. My bedroom. I confess you are the first person in ages to enter it.

Loose Cannon keeps in silence as he goes across the place looking every detail.

It is awesome. It smells so good.

LC's sight was caught for a picture of a woman hugging and joining her head next to Hal's. Loose Cannon looked truly bewildered. Then he looked another picture of the same woman but this time alone with a huge smile.

Do...you...know Grace?

Grace? Oh no, you have to be mistaken, she is Matilda, my deceased wife, I told you about her.

B-ut she is not dead, s-she is Grace. Sorry Hal's probably I am mistak...

Where did you meet this Grace?

In G-Genesys...you know...t-the time I lived in Genesys. She is my m-mon, at l-least that is what she said.

Alloy remained astounded by several minutes, in total silence, walking from time to time around the bedroom. Then took out his cell phone and wrote in the Reading Club chat.

Boys, prepare yourself, Justice Front is paying a visit to Maximillian Valentine.

BE HERE IN 30 DAYS FOR THE SHOCKING REVELATIONS.

PALLADIUM COMICS OCTOBER SOLICITATIONS

JUSTICE FRONT #2
Written by Kevin Simbieda.
Art by Patricus
$1.25 US | 32 pages
ON SALE 10/4/23
Matilda Stewart, Alloy's deceased wife seems to be alive, at least that is what Loose Cannon says. But is this woman, Grace, the same woman Hal loves? Genesys's CEO Maximillian Valentine has a lot to explain and Alloy is looking for a lot of answers. The Justice Front is with Alloy in this but they have to solve the first problem of all, how to get to him. Moreover, the introduction of a new villain.