2014.06.02 - The Invasion of Warworld

At the end the Guardians decided to try to be subtle for once. Part of the team, those less likely to be detected by whatever sensor technology Mongul kept in Warworld, boarded one of the gathering starships and sneaked into the world-sized station. Once there they discovered that Warworld, despite carrying over 600 million warriors of a hundred different races, is barely inhabited. The giant war machine is almost the size of Earth, but it has few bodies of water. The population is spread thin and abandoned living areas, factories and warehouses cover the bulk of the surface. Hiding wasn't that hard.

Finding the place where the time-space anomalies are kept took some investigation, but it wasn't very hard either. The real problem is how to get inside. It stands in one of the inhabited hubs, a heavily fortified factory-laboratory guarded by what must be the elite warriors of Warworld. Also plenty of advanced robots that must be Warzoonian design. Once the advanced team finished the scouting, Adam teleported the rest of the Guardians to Warworld. Where they detected? It is likely, so now speed is more important than stealth.

Because the danger of Mongul appearing, Warlock has brought a last-minute recruit: Jo Nah of Rimbor, aka 'Ultra Boy'. His near-Kryptonian power might be enough to turn the tables on the powerful warlord if a confrontation is unavoidable.

Teleportation is not something Jo is very familiar with, none of the Legionnaires had that ability normally that he can remember. The White Witch might have managed it, but she had limits and rarely memorized that spell. Therefore, being teleported made him a bit uneasy. He considered being Invulnerable while being transported, but he does not know if that would have made it more difficult.

When he arrives is a different matter, he says "Invulnerability" just after arriving, in case of attack that power would give him enough time to figure out what would be most effective strategy.

This does not look much like where he had been, but then again, since much of it was in ruins then, he might not recognize it.

For over a week, Moondragon and Rocket Raccoon have been on War World, keeping themselves hidden while exploring an entire world in search of the temporal anomalies or the tech to contain them. Hiding hasn't been so hard. Being stuck here on a world so rife and soaking with conflict has been much more difficult. Heather has been spending a good deal of time in meditation every day, working to keep her mind and spirit strong against the chaotic energies that pervade the psychic sphere of this world. She is very much looking forward to getting this mission done and getting /off/ this world.

Having found enough tech to narrow down their choice to this single location, Moondragon has been rather frustrated with their inability to make further progress. Not even Rocket's small size has been sufficient to allow them to sneak in and get more intel. So in the end, they have taken refuge in the nearest large structure to the fortress-factory, with sufficient view of it to plan an assault once the rest of the team arrives. Then she fell into meditation as they activated the beacon to bring in the team. Better to be focused, right now.

Best not to show emotional weakness.

To say Phyla-Vell was unhappy with the idea of sending Moondragon and Rocket in would be an understatement. Of course, she is of the opinion that she and Moondragon work best as a team, having worked together numerous times before. They each know how the other works, and they can compliment each other. At least, that's her story and she's sticking to it. Still... she does know Rocket is good at what he does, so she leaves the safety of the telepath in the gun nut's hands and tries not to pace the length of the ship while she waits.

For once being the shortest member of the team comes in really handy. Scouting and reconing the War World for their mission objectives. Plus with Moondragon along they can keep in communication via telepathy rather than communits that might be detected. Though eventually it comes down to calling in the cavalry. Rocket focused on scanning the area around where they're holed up with his macrobinoculars. One of his larger but more discrete blaster rifles resting next to him incase the crap hits the fan the moment the others arrive. "They still don't seem alert to our presence. That won't last long. What's ETA on their arrival?" Rocket asks of Moondragon.

Unfortunately Phyla’s quantum bands, as well as Adam’s cosmic power, make them the wrong choice to go stealthy anywhere high tech. Moondragon can turn off her psychic powers, and Rocket’s hardware is not an issue in a planet where everyone is armed to the teeth.

Just as Rocket was asking, Quasar, Warlock and a young man in red and green appear through a portal. Moondragon telepathy guides them flawlessly to their hideout. “Rocket, Moondragon,” greets Adam, “this is Ultra Boy, a time-traveler from Rimbor. He will be aiding us in this task. Moondragon, can you cloak us from the guards?... ah, I see too many robots. But perhaps we can avoid them long enough. I can sense the anomalous matter and those stabilization fields, we are very close, and it is stored near the surface.”

Jo assumes that one of the two he has not met is named Moondragon, and is telepathic like Irma. As we do not seem to be in immediate peril, he says, "Ultra Vision" and starts looking around to make certain we are not under observation...and to see if he sees anything that looks like what we are looking for.

The bald woman in green with her eyes closed, sitting in a folded Lotus-like posture, does not say anything aloud as the team arrives, but does acknowledge the arrival of the rest of the team in her own way. << I see. Very well, we believe we have located the facility in question, but we have been unable to obtain further intel on its internal structure or security measures. >> she projects to the others, as she finally unfolds and stands up gracefully from her position on the floor.

<< You are well? >> Heather sends, only to Phyla, without looking at the other woman or giving any sign to anyone else. She can tell Phyla is agitated, and she makes contact hoping to help her ease down to a calmer, more focused state before things get too harried.

<< Yes. I'll be okay, >> Already she calms down. Phyla 'sends' a smile, mentally, Heather's way, as a form of reassurance. While busily making sure her bands are 'on' - not that anyone could make them fall off with her wanting it - and that otherwise everything is in order on her person. << Thank you for asking. >>

"How should we be proceeding, then?"

With a name like 'Rocket Raccoon' it's easy to tell which of the pair is which. Rocket continues to keep an eye on the surroundings when the others arrive. "Too many robots... then we do it the old fashion way." Rocket glances back with a devious smile as he reaches for his blaster rifle. The one that's bigger than he is. "My way. The fun way. I'll run distraction. The rest of you head for the objective."

Rocket pauses with his hand over the blaster rifle and instead pulls what looks like a high-tech grenade launcher from a large 'duffle-like' bag of weapons next to him. Rocket licks his fuzzy lips and draws a bead on a group of robots down below.


 * FOONK* *FOONK* *FOONK* *FOONK* *FOONK* *FOONK* -- The first wave of 'grenades' will likely all hit their mark given Rocket's expert aim. The magnetized charges affixing to the Robot Bodies... and for an extra ensured affixation mechanical spikes shoot into the chasis. And then the explosions begin.

So much for the stealthy approach. As Rocket blows up half a dozen robots, the living guards among them dive for cover. A second later a large force-field begins to form over the whole factory complex. “This won’t do it,” murmurs Walock, forming a spell to disrupt the shield. “Quasar, take Moondragon inside. Jo Nah, you can see the internal layout of the complex, right? Let Moondragon link up with you.”

Some of the guards are beginning to fire in Rocket’s general direction, but they are not very organized.

The thought of laving Moondragon share his vision centers so she can fix the factory layout in their minds crossed Jo's mind at about the time the Racoon with the big guns started laying down grenades. Apparently it crossed Warlock's mind at the same time. Jo has worked with a telepath for almost two years, he knows how to open his mind so specific parts are more easily accessible. He lets Moondragon see what he can see with his Ultra Vision and a suggestion *Share the layout with everyone*.

Of course, Moondragon links up with all of those present as they begin the operation a bit - or more than a bit - haphazardly. << Alright, Phyla. I'm right behind you. Just follow the path I'm laying out in front of you. >> Said path, of course, is based on data she's pulling fro Jo Nah's mind thanks to his Ultravision. Heather is flying herself telekinetically, so that Phyla is free to take whatever actions are needed to make sure they get through on their part of the mission. << We will leave the way open behind us. Follow when you can. >> she admonishes the others. She then passes along the same layout she's working with, as she hides herself and Quasar from the living troopers and trusts her team to deal with the robots as needed.

Phyla-Vell lifts herself off the ground and follows the path. Telepathy: handy. She glows dimly golden when she flies. Darn quantum aura. She only twitches once when a guard gets a little too close for comfort. << I keep expecting them to detect my bracers, >> she admits, in confidence, to Moondragon. Just in case of course she has already channeled quantum energy through her bracers. Her arms crackle briefly with energy as she follows the path.

Element of Surprise Gone... Check. But that's all part of the plan. As Rocket fires off another round of the grenades into various cover points down below. And then the weapon is discarded for Rocket's large blaster rifle. "DEATH FROM ABOVE!" Rocket yells and leaps from his vantage point, opening fire in a wide arc like a wild madman on the way down. It all looks like the Coon is about to splatter on the ground from his drop when his rocket boots kick on and with a burst of flame from them he shoots over the heads of the likely surprised guards (the humanoid ones at least) ... his rifle never ceasing to spew forth crispy laser death as he shoots past the group. It's clearly a move that he's used before.

Adam follows Moondragon and Phyla into the factory complex, shooting blasts of plasma from his hands at the groups of guards that try to intercept the group. Mostly to delay them, there are too many to fight them in the open.

Once inside it is much easier to overcome the troops. Mongul’s soldiers are not big in organization, behaving more like the gangs of pirates and mercenaries they were when they were recruited. Individually they are quite competent, but their tactics are lacking. Towards the center of the factory complex, where an energy field prevents Jo Nah from seeing clearly, there is a large open space where sophisticated machines are being built. Resistance thickens, and most guards are advanced robots. In a corner of the chamber half a dozen small green humanoids cower, protected by some thugs.

There is also a sensation of cold that is familiar. It is the chill caused by the proximity of the ‘frozen time’.

Jo has dealt with pirates. He can deal with a hundred of those who do not have extraordinary toughness or armor quickly, "Ultra Speed". He is also very hard to hit with the enhanced reflexes that Ultra speed grants him. He can lead enemy fire...if anyone actually gets to fire at him, into hitting some of the robots.

<< We're nearing the central hub, getting thick in here. >> Moondragon sends to the rest of the team, as they come in from the rear. At this point, she's no longer bothering with flight, instead using her telekinesis to enhance her martial skills as she simply goes into a whirlwind of hand-to-hand devastation. She's not much for weapons, but she doesn't hesitate to take them from one foe and use them against another before discarding them, flowing to and fro against Quasar's back as they tear through the enemy forces, making their way to even the heart of the citadel. << Damn. Psions, Warlock. They have Psions helping them. >>

Phyla-Vell doesn't use martal arts. Instead she summons forth her Quantum Blade. Her experience in fighting at Moondragon's side shows here: when the psionicist strikes low, she swings the sword high to catch the enemy or deflect the attack that was otherwise missed. When her sword would be impractical, her other hand shoots a blast of quantum energy to throw the being back. She might move slightly out of sync, but by the end she is back to back with Moondragon again. << Fantastic, >> she mutters. It's a better think to matter than 'how could it get worse?' or something along those lines. Because that's just tempting fate.

While the others are busy inside the facility... Rocket is trying to keep reinforcements from reaching the buiding. That way the group will only have to deal with the numbers inside. Eventually the reinforcements outside get to be a bit too much.... leaving Rocket to have to start retreating into the building towards the rest of the party. An explosive from his belt pouches planted at every junction as he reteats inward. They won't be able to leave the way they came in, but each blast will leave enough rubble behind to buy them extra time. <> He thinks towards Moondragon for her to share.

"Psions would explain this insane idea of harvesting the time anomalies," comments Adam. "This is taking too long, I believe I am close enough to start a transmutation spell that will neutralize the threat. But I will need some minutes.

And although Rocket has blocked the most direct route to the complex gates, soldiers keep coming from other wings of the factory. The place is a large maze of the Warzoonian millennia old constructions and newer or renovated buildings.

The psions are unarmed (not that they are good for fighting) and in fact they wear pretty drab clothes. They look passionlessly as the Guardians mow through Warworld warriors, murmuring among themselves in a complex language that feels almost like binary code to Moondragon when she scans those ancient, cruel intellects.

Jo asks Moondragon to relay a thought, *What would happen if some of Rocket's charges were given a charge of quantum energy by Quasar? It might not do anything, but it might be an interesting result.* In the meantime, he has started pushing on the legs of the robots as he runs by at ultra speed and pulling the barrels of their weapons aside so they point at each other. With luck, most of them will quickly be out of the action, even if he can not hit them hard enough to damage them directly.

<< Everyone form up around Adam, as quickly as you can. We have to keep them off him, so that he can finish the transmutation. >> Moondragon sends to the team, as she and Phyla work their way deeper, through the ranks of the Warworld recruits and elite guards. When Adam finally catches up, she splits with her close battle partner, and they have to work that much harder to stay in touch and in synch with each other, as they are now synchronizing without being in contact with one another, protecting a third party in between them with whom Heather cannot maintain any more than cursory telepathic contact or influence, lest she disrupt his efforts and waste precious time they cannot afford to lose. << Keep up the speed, help us stem this tide. >> she suggests to the newcomer, having witnessed his speed. She's not sure what else he can do, but it will have to be enough.

It's a little harder - okay a lot harder - but they've done it a few times. Phyla's Quantum Blade noticeably lengthens as they separate, giving her a longer reach. Just in case. She relies much more heavily, too, upon bursts of quantum energy to throw foes back, or perhaps realign them with strikes from the others. More than once, her blade surprises newcomers in the guard, suddenly seeing their weapon sliced in twain by Phyla's own. When that doesn't startle them enough, she blasts them into Moondragon's path, letting the psionicist literally kick them around.

Rocket does finally join his comrades in arms... though his large blaster rifle is discarded due to the close quarters. The empty energy clip doesn't help either as he pulls free his twin blasters from his holsters. Backing towards the group as he continues to take shots at the guards. Aiming for any vital spots that he's been able to identify on them. "Miss me?"

It takes the heroes a minute to clear the area, the ranks of the enemy warriors start to thin down, but the survivors become a little more cautious and take positions behind cover to shot the Guardians at range with their blasters and lasers. Bits and pieces of complex electronics are blown to bits by misses and near misses.

“Stop fighting, fools!” Screams one of the Psions, standing up and abandoning his cover. The little guy seems offender by all this violence. “If you damage the tachyon dams the consequences...” Bam! Someone shot his head off. The consequences will remain unknown.

But for a minute it looks like the Guardians are winning! Unfortunately, as Adam said, it is taking too long. The greenish flash of a teleporting effect flares over the room, delivering a huge, yellow skinned humanoid wearing armor. “Enough!” He shouts. “Intruders, Mongul salutes you. You must be truly fearless to attack Warworld like... this. Now surrender, and you might yet live for a time.”

Clearly this is someone who at least THINKS he is in charge here, so Jo thinks it is a good idea for him to be out of commission. Jo runs over at Ultra Speed to Mongul and at the last instant switches powers, "Ultra Strength!"

Jo hits with great force. It might not finish this fellow off, but it can knock out a Daxamite...whatever species this yellow guy is he is going to feel it.

Subjected now to the threat of incoming energy pulse weapons fire, Moondragon must resort to deflecting those blasts with telekinetics reinforcing bits of debris and gear nearby. It's imperfect, and she's sporting a few wounds at this point from shrapnel. But it's the best she can do now that her martial arts is not nearly so useful. Where's that Rachel chick when they really need her? << Oh, plotz. Seriously? Damnit all ... >> Moondragon is not happy to see Mongul. Not at all.

<< Pama... >> Phyla frowns. This can not be good. At all. Trying to help Jo Nah, Phyla uses her quantum energy to create a hand, with which she grasps one of the remaining minions. She spins around (for effect, really) and throws the robot as hard as she can. << Heads up! >> she sends to Ultra Boy, via Moondragon's telepathy. She's aiming for Mongul, obviously.

Mongul is no Daxamite. From what dark pit this space pirate turned galactic conqueror crawled out is a mystery that many have sought to discover, but no one admits knowing.

Whatever it was, they breed them big and strong. Mongul has killed with his bare hands Green Lanterns, Nova Centurions, Strontian zealots, Kheran Lords, Martian heroes and pretty much anyone that has dared cross his path. He doesn’t even bother to try to avoid Jo’s punch, completely convinced it can’t hurt him. The impact shakes the room like the crack of a thunder, and the massive humanoid actually flinches, his head turning at the impact. But he just snarls, and replies with a backhand delivered at super-sonic speed and with strength few Daxamites could match.

A flying robot smashes against his chest a second later. It is pretty much pulverized, and it doesn’t look like Mongul even noticed.

Jo is used to his power switching, as soon as he failed to down Mongul he switched to "Invulnerability." Just barely quick enough, as the blow sent Jo flying through the far wall of the building, the near and far wall of the next building, and the near wall of the building beyond that. Jo shakes off the blow, though the last time he remembers being hit that hard was when the negashpere exploded and He, Superboy, Mon-el, and Supergirl formed a barrier between it and Metropolis.

Well, at least he has a clear path back. "Flight!" he flies back towards Mongul and at the last minute switches to "Invulnerability!"

Let us see how Mongul stand up to being hit by an invulnerable mass hitting at 50000 miles an hour.

Mongul has proven pretty impervious to all of their avenues of physical attack, and Moondragon certainly isn't going to surpass any of those anytime soon. Instead, she draws herself up, focuses her mind, and lays into the Warworld tyrant with the full might of her prodigious mind, hammering him with all the psionic force she can muster. Anything to keep him off Adam long enough for Adam to finish his work. They can't let all of this fail. It's too darn important.

Phyla-Vell knows Moondragon well enough that she can guess what the other woman's strategy will be. Which means her own strategy is more obvious. She turns on her 'defender' role up to eleven and creates a quantum barrier between Mongul and herself, Adam, and Moondragon. She too has to focus and let's be honest, she's never quite taken on someone of the warlord's power, but hopefully she can maintain the extra protection, and with Moondragon playing telepathic problem-causer, it should be enough.

Coming at 65 times the speed of sound usually comes with a surprise to the targets, since that is pretty much invisible. Good thing Phyla has raised a quantum energy barrier in front of the others, the pressure and shockwave alone sends tons of rubble flying in all directions, forcing Mongul troops and psions to run away and hide. More super-tech gets wrecked, of course.

But Mongul is not just a brawler. Despite his brutish appearance, there is a fine-tuned, cold-blooded intellect in his skull, as well as formidable fighting skills. As Jo comes, he punches him down, almost matching his speed with his counter-attack, forcing him several yards into the floor, which shatters like glass.

There are sparks of energy through the walls. Warlock tenses, as if trying to hold back against a force pushing him, but continues his spellcasting.

And then Mongul raises his gaze just as Moondragon strikes. He feels her power, and psychic barriers rise to meet the telepathic blast. Scarily enough, the giant is also a strong telepath. His defenses hold the assault, even though he frowns in pain. “Yes, very impressive. I can see why my troops handled this so poorly... nevertheless, you will fall to me!” He raises a hand and blast Phyla’s energy barrier with a powerful force blast.

Ultra Boy is not seriously hurt by plowing into the ground, just inconvenienced. A quick check using Ultra Vision confirms, Jo has been smashed into the ground directly below Mongul. He switches to "Ultra Strength" and throws the entire section of the floor Mongul is standing on into the sky.

<< Well, that's not good. >> Moondragon responds to the team, as Mongul turns out to somehow be able to resist her most powerful telepathic efforts. Reduced to near uselessness, she does her best to help coordinate the rest of the team, and even snatches up a few fallen weapons from various of Mongul's warriors to help Rocket keep up the fire to suppress them. << If you can't get that spell off, Adam, we need to pull out. We're not only going to fail, we'll end up pawns in whatever game he's playing. >>

The powerful blow pushes Phyla to her knees; the quantum wall flickers and almost buckles, but Phyla focuses herself and manages to keep the energy intact. For now. << I'll try to buy a bit of time. >> The quantum wall suddenly collapses - around Mongul - and turns into a hamster ball of sorts. She may not be strong enough to move the warlord if he doesn't want to move, but she CAN move the quantum energy, and she does so - tossing the ball as far away as she possibly can, before the yellow alien breaks out.

Mongul is sent through the air when Ultra Boy shatters the floor. One thing he can’t do is fly, so he crashes against the ceiling, and falls down, and Phyla tosses him away against the far wall. The warlord curses. Not seriously hurt, but certainly annoyed.

But Warlock curses too, “the stabilizing fields, they are collapsing! I can’t hold the spell!” Too much damage to the machines. That little green guy warned them!

The wall behind Mongul cracks, and the tyrant turns around startled. It is suddenly very, very cold here. “Cosmo, get us out of here, now!” Adam is not even trying to cast anymore.

All clocks stops.

The world goes white, and cold.

ReAlItY ShAtTeRs.

An outside observer, should there be any in the dead Sector 666, would see how Warworld is swept by a wave of white, and a impossible hole opens in three-dimensional space. Sucking Warworld... and sucking everything in several parsecs around: stars, dead worlds, comets and cosmic debris. All gone. Gone faster than light.

Jo staggered from the hole, he is bruised and his nose is bleeding, but he looks better than most prize fighters who are fighting a superior for after this many rounds. He waches as Phyla tosses Mongul again...but then he hears Warlock's cry. He barely has time to wonder if he could escape with his flight before the whitness struck. Jo barely realizesthe sensation is familiar, like the white wave that sent him here, before everything is swept away.