AlertForce History 1988-90

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1988-1990: NEW JERSEY

Gamemaster: Jeff G.

Timeframe 1988-1990

Team Members:

Ice Avenger

Thermo

Protector (leader)

Jack of all Trades

Loup Garou

Mantis

Trickshot

Wall

Number5

Truth

Sabrina

Dreadnought

HQ:

Same as in Era II. The New Jersey mansion was destroyed on October 18, 1990, by the Marx Corporation.

Principal Villains

Beep Beep

Wheelie

Forte

Perpetual Motion Man

Plasmagician

Lord Transient

Mind Splitter

Living Magnet

Vulture

Malcolm the Great

The Ebb

Claymore

S-F robots

Master Blaster

Omegans

PLOTLINES:

Marx Corporation:

Early in Era III, it was learned by Alert Force that the Sentinel, Minutemen, and S-F robots, which had long been wreaking havoc throughout the world, all had their origin in the same place: the Marx Corporation, a world-wide conglomerate. Alert Force then made it their business to seek out and destroy Marx installations wherever they found them. This obsession led Alert Force to infiltrate and destroy Marx facilities all over the world, even under the Atlantic Ocean, and a satellite in Earth orbit. The ocean floor facility was protected by a powerful force field which took the combined efforts of all Alert Force members to penetrate. During the attack on the satellite, Alert Force confiscated a prototype Marx spaceship capable of unimaginable speed. The ship was repainted and used well into Era IV for Alert Force purposes (The ship was eventually destroyed by a bomb planted by a Viper agent during challenged combat with Jack). Unfortunately, after all of Alert Force's attacks, Marx implanted in every robot they manufactured an overriding directive to attack and destroy all Alert Force members on sight. This conflict would eventually almost destroy Alert Force, and would cause their move from New Jersey to Pittsburgh, late in Era III, when the New Jersey Mansion was destroyed by Marx robots. Marx also (partially) caused the team's move from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles in Era IV.

Alien Invasion IV (Omegans~caitians):

In Era Ill, another set of would-be alien invaders arrived at the planet Earth. This time, however, the aliens, a race of cat-like humanoids called the Caitlans (also sometimes called Omegans) stated their intention as one of peaceful trade in order to land peacefully and gather infonnation before launching their attack. Alert Force was designated by the President as a liaison to these creatures (because Alert Force had several aliens as members over the years, and also had experience dealing with aliens [see Alien Invasions 1-III). The Group of Caitians which visited Alert Force Mansion in Em III managed to fool every member of Alert Force except Dreadnought. Caitians were the very same race with whom Dreadnought's home planet had been fighting an interplanetary war for generations. Although he could not convince the other team members of it, he suspected the Caitians' intentions from the beginning. Dreadnought set about doing everything in his power to expose the Caitians as evil. When the Caitians gained diplomatic immunity from the Government, Dreadnought was branded a criminal for his actions against the Caitians, and was not cleared until his suspicions were fulfilled by the Caitians' surprise attack on Earth from the various locations which they had infiltrated, including Alert Force Mansion itself. After a ferocious battle, Alert Force was able to clear their home of Caitians, and went on a global crusade against the marauding aliens. But, to this day, it is unknown whether Earth is completely free from the Caitian invaders.

Tidal Wave:

Hal one day alerted the team that a huge tidal wave of unprecedented magnitue was heading for New York Harbor. Under the Protector's leadership, Dreadnought, Thermo, and Mantis were able to save the day. Dreadnought procured ten empty oil tanker ships and flew them far out to sea, in the path of the tidal wave. Thermo created ice braces, to form the tankers into one long wall. Mantis split into several forms for speed, and coiled strong cable around the ships, using the coils and his magnetic control to further reinforce the barrier. With the bracing, and the combined force of Dreadnought, The rmo and Mantis holding the barrier together, the force of the tidal wave was reduced enough to prevent massive loss of life on the New York waterfront. Property damage was still severe, but Alert Force's efforts kept the casualties in the single digits

Some funny notes about this adventure are on the back of Protector's character sheet, shown to the left.

Time Vortex:

A group of three villains which Alert Force fought during Era Ill was called the Time Pirates. They were Malcolm the Great, Forte, and the Ebb. Their origin is unknown, but it is theorized that they are actually from the past, since they use archaic language and weaponry. However, they have the ability, when working in concert, to warp time and create vortices into which they can travel or send others, which sends them or others to various points in time and wreaks havoc with the normal timestream. It is unknown whether this is some manifestation of mutant ability, or whether they possess a device which causes this effect. In any event, they became enemies of Alert Force, beginning when Alert Force thwarted their attempt to rob a federal gold depository early in Era Ill. From then on Alert Force was harried by these tenacious criminals. Late in Era Ill, they committed perhaps the most shocking act whicn has ever occurred to any Alert Force member. While fighting Alert Force, they had fought the team to a standstill, and had left only Ice Avenger, Jack of all Trades, and the Wall standing. The Time Pirates joined their powers and created a vortex of unimaginable magnitude, and enveloped the heroes in it. Ice Avenger, Jack and the Wall eme~ed in an altemate timeline, in which the history of Alert Force was not as they remembered it, and in which, although they had existed, they had been missing for eight months. The most notable changes in the timeline which Jack, Ice Avenger and the Wall were thrown into were (1) the Inventor was not a villain in this timeline, and in fact was an Alert Force mamber; (2) Mr. Mystico had never existed; (3) Flasher had never been killed, had never been married to Ice Avenger, and was actually a villain called Copy. Numerous other subtle differences were noted, as well. They never found a way back to their own timeline, and have existed ever since in this new reality. The Time Pirates were never seen again.

Death of the Wall:

The Wall's arch~nemesis had always been Pounder. One time during Era Ill, the Wall got a call on his hero hotline number. The caller reported that Pounder was attacking a New York City subway station. The Wall rushed to the scene, only to find that the call had been placed by the Pounder himself, in order to lure the Wall into battle. The Wall was stronger than Pounder, and his growth power gave him an edge against Pounder, as well. After a battle which caused untold damage to the subway and the streets and structures above, Pounder was defeated, but not completely, as he managed to retreat and escape the Wall. One fateful day, not too much later in Era Ill, Pounder got the best of the Wall once and for all. Most of Alert Force was out of town, and only the Wall was at the mansion, except for the young team of mutants which Ice Avenger had taken in and was training. That team consisted of Truth, Justice, Bulb, Fever, Brainwave, and Sabrina. Pounder selected that day to attack the mansion. Somehow, Pounder had found a way to magnify his strength tenfold. His abilities were so inflated that even the Wall was no match for him. After an epic battle which registered 5.9 of the Richter scale within a twenty mile radius, Alert Force mansion was in ruins. Bulb, Fever, Justice, and the Wall lay dead. The Wall had bought escape time for Truth, Brainwave, and Sabrina at the cost of his own life. Pounder has yet to be brought to justice for this heinous act of murder.

MEMORABLE SUBPLOTS:

Jack in Libya:

In one of the most unpredictable moves of all time, Jack decided to take the team's salvaged SR-71 Blackbird Jet and attack Libya. Even his formidable flying skills could not elude all of the missiles launched against him, and he was shot down. He managed to elude the ground forces sent out to capture him for eight days, surviving in the desert with no provisions or water, but had to surrender eventually or die of thirst. He was a Libyan prisoner for seven weeks of torture until he was rescued by his Alert Force teammates. The reasons for his actions have never been adequately explained.

Hmmm... The Odds Are Against Me:

One of the most charming and colorful of all villains which Alert Force has battled over the years is the Plasmagician. The Plasmagician is a would-be conjurer who commits minor crimes, his ever faithful giant rabbit, Fighto, always at his side. Not really much of a threat to Alert Force, the Plasmagician has proven over the years to have the uncanny ability to elude capture. Somehow, through his card tricks and puffs of smoke, he always picked the right moment to utter his trademark line: "Hmmm.... the odds are against me," twirl his handlebar moustache, and beat a hasty retreat to avoid capture. Eventually and finally apprehended after Thermo created an iceberg the size of Montana to crush him into submission, the Plasmagician promptly pulled a Houdini act and escaped from prison. His current whereabouts are unknown.

Beep Beep!:

Another all-time favorite villain of Alert Force is that loveable Cydops, Red Eye, or "beep beep'" as he is affectionately known. Red Eye is some kind of mutated humaniod who has only one huge red eye (hence, the name). He has the ability to fire a ruby laser bolt of surprising intensity out of that eye, however, as well as super speed. More of a mad, tortured creature than a villain, Red Eye would frequently attack Alert Force with only the telltale "beep beep!" to warn them of the impending onslaught. Red Eye was apprehended by Alert Force and currently resides in a maximim security detention center (incidentally, Red Eye is one of the few villains who actually remains behind bars to this day).

The Wall Destruction Company:

The Wall's powers gave him unique abilities in the area of destructiveness. He decided to try to capitalize on this fortuitous circumstance, and founded the Wall Destruction Company, whicn specialized in demolition of just about anything. His rates were competitive, and his time from start to finish on any job beat any of his competitors cold. His company achieved a modest level of success which was cut short by the Wall's untimely demise.

Saturday, March 25, 2006