Agenda
Episode Seven
"Lines"
Adventure - Aberrant - Aeon Trinity
Having learned the stories of how the second World War has reached the United States (with Baron Zorbo's airships) this session explored how one of the members of The Aeon Society for Gentlemen had to return to his home country (The Sleepwalker) to help out in the war against the Nazis. His arrival is welcomed by Madame Prometheus who then gives him a ride on her Invisible Tank to The League of Science's headquarters.
There, he met with the remaining members of The League of Science, whose membership has very quickly declined due to the war. Many members died, with their incredible powers insufficient to avoid the perils brought about by the war. The First English who carried with him the Original Banner that granted him and all who followed him invulnerability was felled as the Nazis opened fire with their rifles and grenades. Somehow, the magic of the Original Banner had been nullified by their basic arms. Jessi of the Future, whose brain was said to be able to calculate so fast the future was a glimpse of probabilities she foresaw, could not mentally and emotionally fathom the atrocities that the war made her witness. The chaos of the battlefield and the thousand plus images of violence she shifted through in an eye-blink was enough to shatter her sanity. She dove headlong towards an incoming tank, and some believe it was to cease the torrent of cruelty in her thoughts. Lesley Lazuli who summoned Spirit Guardians and protected the allied camps could not cope with the horrible conditions that war forced upon its soldiers. She contracted an illness while in the battlefield and while distracted by a vomiting spell, was killed by a German sniper. Veridean Quick, who at first turned the tide in favor of the allied forces with his super speed, was eventually defeated by a barrage of tank cannon fire from German Panzers. The explosive barrage that encompassed the whole area around Veridean Quick was far larger than his speed could bring him. Some say his battered remains were flung out of the blast radius with only his right hand intact and undamaged.
Of the League, only the Gray Web, Madame Prometheus, Captain Normandy Nemo and Terra Obscura remained. And while the three others did what they can to help in the war effort, Terra Obscura refused to participate in any form with what he called a meaningless war, and the self-proclaimed True Elemental of the Earth submerged himself into the ground and was never seen since. The Sleepwalker's arrival was not a welcomed one, as far as The Gray Web would show. The Gray Web claimed to see information itself from what he called The Web, an interconnected energy source of information that tested one's sanity. "Like a million books of light, with words and images shifting with the blink of an eye, I can see what should and could have and what has. And this I know, it was you who should have died, Sleepwalker. But in your absence, your martyrdom did not inspire the rest of the League to victory." He warns the Sleepwalker that he now may find death in the hands of a man who "will take your heart away" and tells him of how he can help, albeit late as he is. The Nazis were winning with what they suspected to be a form of super-soldier program under a Doctor Kharl Vernet, who was originally tasked to use his research in hormones to rid the world of the homosexual "plague." The Web notes the Doctor of having succeeded with a certain Patient 314 in empowering him to super human levels. The Doctor has to be stopped before more of these GottenSoldat are created. Having narrowed down his possible location to three places, the Sleepwalker's incredible analytical mind deduces the Doctor would be at the Buchenwald camp which is deep inside the enemy's lines. Madame Prometheus looks at Captain Normandy Nemo who does agree, "Yes, it is time then to try your new vehicle."The four reach the empty hangar bay and the Sleepwalker realizes what he is looking at once Madame Prometheus switches on the sprinkler system: An Invisible Jet. The two decide to leave at first light and spend the night prepping for the flight. The Gray Web visits him and the two talk about whether or not The Sleepwalker should reconsider The Aeon Society for Gentlemen and return to the League of Science. The Sleepwalker chooses not to reply.
Enroute to Buchenwald on Madame Prometheus' Invisible Plane, the Sleepwalker opts to grab a quick nap. As he sleeps, his dreams haunt him. He dreams he rides a plane of jet black darkness. He soars through the sky and descends upon an ancient ruin, a lone tower that stands at the fringe of a light woods. He soars closer to the tower and sees Nazi soldiers in a frantic panic, unloading their guns at something he cannot see. German soldiers are falling, dying, and blood explodes in flowery patterns. Then, he rises once more, and circles the top of the tower where three soldiers are sleeping. Two wake up after hearing the gun fire and one reaches to wake the third. The moment he hits the third to wake up... the dream ends.
Samuel Warren slips back his mask on and makes his way to the front of the plane. Madame Prometheus admits she didn't think he would wake on his own. But as she shows him where they are headed, the Sleepwalker checks the map and finds a small castle ruin west of the buildings they were headed. He tells her to fly towards the ruin instead and preps for a parachute jump. The Madame shares where she can land and the two decide to rendezvous in a few hours. While the jump is uneventful, it is far from ideal, and the Sleepwalker lands in the woods. He avoids any serious injuries and quickly makes his way towards the ruin. As he traverses a clearing however, a soldier with a rifle emerges and calls out from the darkness. "Flash!" Confused, the Sleepwalker just mutters, "Bang?" and thinking they were warning him, he covers his eyes. Suddenly, he is flung backwards as two people grab his shoulders and bring him down. Then the soldier with the rifle steps on his chest and slams the butt of the rifle onto the Sleepwalker's face. The Sleepwalker wisely feigns unconsciousness and listens in as the soldiers debate on whether or not the the Sleepwalker can be trusted. The Sleepwalker then admits he did not know the response to the code because he isn't military. He directs the soldiers to find his Aeon Society ID and sadly informs them that he's here alone. With the trust restored, the group discusses the tower. As it turns out, Sergeant Powers and his men are very new recruits. Shipped out to the battle even before training was done, the soldiers were all pretty green. Their orders were to secure the tower as a strategic point, which much to the Sleepwalker's suspicion suggested one of them was Inspired. When the Sleepwalker offers to deal with the tower first, the Sergeant, whose nickname was Bacon, reminds him this is a military operation and that as a civilian, it was best he let's them deal with things first.
As they make their way to the tower, the Sleepwalker begins to see something unexpected: As Sgt. Bacon gives his commands, the various members of the squad begin to pulse with Inspiration. The group suddenly pulses and all of them are suddenly moving in perfect synch. Sgt. Bacon it seems is one of the Inspired. Babyface, Cheddar, Willis, Georgie and Gabe quickly move in coordinated focus.
As the group reaches the tower, they find it eerily empty. Babyface and Cheddar head in as the first wave. Willis and the Sleepwalker prep to follow as the second wave. As they head up the tower, the Sleepwalker realizes the Inspiration that guides the team has distance limits! Babyface and Cheddar, no longer within range to receive the benefits, sadly encounter whatever it was attacking the Nazis in the Sleepwalker's dream. As sounds of gunfire erupt from the tower, the Sleepwalker and the rest quickly try to follow. But the shoot out leads to a grenade being thrown out of the window, and the Sleepwalker sacrifices his grapple gun to deflect the grenade midair. Georgie and Gabe make their way up the tower, but sadly this leads to even more gun fire before the Sleepwalker can follow. The tower is littered with ammunition shells and blood. Babyface is found with his face torn off. Cheddar found with his spine ripped out. Gabe is on the ground, with one arm missing, and Georgie tells the Sleepwalker of some massive hulking figure with talons for fingers that leapt out of the window to escape. As Bacon and Willis quickly try to staunch Gabe's bleeding, the Sleepwalker very quickly peruses the files he can find of what was going on here and sees the studies that Doctor Vernet has been doing. Patient 314, it seems, has developed massive musculature development, intense regenerative capabilities, as well as uncontrollable masculine urges especially with aggression. It takes him a beat to merely realize that Madame Prometheus is the next likely target! Since Gabe is losing loads of blood, bringing him to her might also be the best way to save his life.
As Willis and Georgie carry Gabe with them to the rendezvous point, the Sleepwalker rushes ahead to see if Madame Prometheus is well. He arrives to find her standing in front of her Invisible Jet. Madame Prometheus admits she has been hearing the sounds of something stalking in the woods. Before anything else could be said, Patient 314 tears into the scene and charges for Madame Prometheus! Firing three shots into the hulk's open maw, the Sleepwalker realizes Patient 314 can't be stopped with just a few gas pellets. Cupping five into his hand, the Sleepwalker tries to anticipate when to hurl them at the hulk. Being in a clearing meant strong winds that would not allow the gas to concentrate in one location. Madame Prometheus opened her trench coat and raised both arms to criss-cross her bracers together as she declared, "Inside the jet, pull the red level! Now!" The Sleepwalker rushed into the Jet and found the lever in time and pulled it. With a crimson glow, fire erupted outwards from the front channels of the Jet. Amazingly, the fire twisted mid air and curved in the direction of Madame Prometheus. With a smooth circular motion akin to yoga, Madame Prometheus redirected the flames to engulf Patient 314. As the Patient 314 burned, the hulking form not once even screamed in agony. The Sleepwalker rushed close and slammed the pellets onto the Patient's face in hopes that the knock-out gas would impair the healing abilities as well. Unfortunately, it did not. But Madame Prometheus, seeings the green mist being inhaled, realizes the best way to stop Patient 314 was to burn him both inside and out! With another fluid motion, the flames were controlled by Madame Prometheus, and using the stolen fire, made to dance both inside and around Patient 314. As the charred skeleton of Patient 314 fell to the ground, the Sleepwalker decided to make things more certain by stomping down to shatter the blackened skull. Unfortunately, neither of them were aware of what was transpiring back at the ruin. Back there, a hidden panel swiveled open and Doctor Vernet stepped out to speak with Sgt. Bacon. Though Sgt. Bacon at first kept his weapon trained at the Doctor, the Doctor's words about changing the world, ending governments and being free of the chains of others somehow makes the American soldier question himself. Whether it was the effects of a Knack, or a true weakening of his resolve, will sadly be a question for another day. For now, however, the tale ends with the Sleepwalker and Madame Prometheus gathering the injured solider to bring him back to safety. And deep down, the Sleepwalker fears that someday in the future he will find himself facing Sgt. Bacon at opposite sides.
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