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The Exploration Vessel Mardicus hurtled through space at a speed a thousand times the speed of light. It's
outward appearance gave no hint of danger or threat. It's peaceful appearance however was only a mask for
the terror that lurked inside.
"Give me a damage report Masus." the captain ordered tensely. For all he knew, he and his first mate were the
only ones left alive on the ship.
"Communications are down." Masus said. "Engines are still operational, but I can't shut them down.
Navigation is partially down..."
"What do you mean partially?"
"I can find out where we're headed, but I can't change course. It's as if these things were deliberately disabling
our key systems, one by one."
"What about internal sensors?" the captain asked. He was grasping at straws, he knew. But there was nothing
else to hold on to. Even hope had become a luxury he could not afford.
"Sensors are off line." Masus said, frustrated. "But our internal communications are still working." He went
through the systems one by one. The only one still working besides internal communications and navigation
was life support.
Internal security systems had been among the first to go. The door to the bridge was welded shut. That should
keep anything from getting in, but it also trapped them in. "Sir," a hint of panic beginning to creep into his
voice.
"Please hold together Masus," the captain thought. "Don't fall apart on me now."
"What's wrong Masus?" he said aloud.
"Sir, internal communications are still working, but, I can't raise anyone."
"So," the captain said sadly. "We are the last." His melancholy thoughts were rudely interrupted by a loud
bang on the door. Masus' head jerked up.
"They've found us."
"Indeed they have. However," he grabbed his gun from its holster. "They will not do to us, what they did to
the rest." He took one last look out the view screen. His gasp of horror was drowned out by the increasing
volume of the pounding on the out side door.
"Quickly Masus!" A dent appeared in the door. "What is our heading?"
Masus looked quickly at the console.
"By the Phoenix no!" Another dent. "We're headed for Earth. That's a heavily populated planet!" Now the
dent's had grown to bulges.
"Masus, please tell me the self destruct still works." Masus appeared about to answer, when with a great
screeching of metal, the door gave way. Masus grabbed his gun, only to have it knocked from his hand. He
grabbed the creature's arms, and hurled it away from him. He reached desperately for the self destruct
mechanism, but before he could reach it, he felt a stabbing pain in his back and stomach.
Captain Noras watched as his friend was impaled on the creature's tail. He knew he would never reach the
controls in time. There were now five of the creatures in the room, and more were probably on their way.
"If there is any justice in this universe, they will be killed in the crash." He raised the gun to his head, and
pulled the trigger.
The ship continued on its course toward earth. It's peaceful appearance not revealing the awful nightmare
about to begin.
Paige is on the roof of the main building looking at the stars. Angelo and Everett are watching TV. Paige sees a shooting star, but then notices that it doesn't disappear. It keeps descending. Soon there is a flash of light and you hear thunder. The TV reception flickers for a second and you hear thunder.
You hear Emma's voice in your head, "Come to the computer center quickly." Once everyone is there, Banshee begins the debriefing. "A Shi'ar ship has crash landed about five miles north of here. We're going to go check out the ship for survivors, and try to find out why the ship crashed."
Once it's safe to approach the ship it looks like it could be a small scout ship. Upon investigating the ship, they find what at first looks like an entrance. However, the hole seems to have been ripped open rather that blown open. Inside they can determine they are in the engine room.
Allow whoever enters the ship an Intuition feat roll. Success indicates they notice or feel that something is very wrong here. There is some type of item attached to the machinery. Make the players quickly decide what they do. The device is a bomb and it will go off one round after they roll their Intuition, causing MN (75) damage. There's nothing left of the ship after the explosion. The players may figure out that whatever was on the ship the crew didn't want it to get out, but judging by the hole in the wall it looks like it did.
When the players check on the unconscious Shi'ar, they see something on his face. It fits over his head like a mask with eight legs wrapped around his head and a long tail wrapped tightly around his neck. If they touch the thing, it tightens the grip on the man's neck. They will need to take him back to the infirmary for a better examination.
Answer any questions as they examine the patient and the thing on his face. It cannot be pulled off, any attempts only tighten its grip around the man's throat. If they try to cut it off, then yellow acid blood sprays across the room.
At some point, whoever is in the examining room hears a sucking sound. The alien begins to move and detaches itself from the man. It will die if left alone, but run any attacks the players may launch. The man's vital signs are stable and he seems fine.
That night, Jubilee and Monet cannot sleep due to thoughts of the parasite. They can check on the patient or find something else to do. If the players go to the infirmary, the man starts to twitch. Then the twitching turns into convulsions. His eyes open and he emits and eerie, agonizing scream and begins to thrash about. Conversely, if nobody goes to the infirmary, that night screams can be heard down the hall.
A red stain begins to appear on his shirt and his chest starts to bulge. Then with a ripping sound his chest bursts in an explosion of flesh and blood. There, protruding from his chest like a hideous Jack In The Box, is the head of most the horrible creature you have ever seen. The thing is about two feet long with arms and legs and very sharp looking teeth. It immediately escapes through a ventilation shaft before the players can act. A fully grown Alien has made its way into the compound. It finds Emma Frost in her room during the night. If she is a PC it catches her as she's falling asleep. The creature is invulnerable to mental attacks. Frost awakes from a nightmare of the man in the infirmary. He is dying and in terrible pain. As she gets up to leave, she becomes aware of the Alien. It then attacks.
The team is going to need to split up and search the entire compound and grounds for the creature. Let them break into teams and formulate their plans. Suggested teams if Banshee is an NPC are: Mondo and Penance search the lower recesses; Husk and Chamber search the grounds; Monet and Skin are using the computer and watching the security cameras; Jubilee, Synch and Banshee check the buildings. Everyone is given radios to keep in touch. Artie and Leech are left in their tree house. It is likely that Emma Frost was killed in the night. Wait and see if the PC's look for her when preparing to start the search.
If someone is in the computer room and using the security cameras, they find the Alien first. It is in the tunnels below the compound, and has grown quite considerably. The Alien is hanging above the players in the tunnel and will attack.
There is another Alien in the compound and it will drop down on the heroes in the computer room. If at any point Mondo tries to adsorb the Alien, it doesn't work. The Alien will eventually override his thoughts and take over his body.
A third Alien is somewhere else in the building and will find the group searching there. Play out the various combat. Aliens must be played absolutely ruthless and try to kill everything they encounter. The GM must decide how many player character and NPC deaths he is willing to accept to run this adventure properly. One way is kill the NPC's first. There could be any number of deaths as the heroes meet up with the Aliens for the first time.
When everything is over, the players find Gateway somewhere on the grounds. He can take them wherever they want to go. Most likely to someplace safe so they can contact Prof. X. Suggestions for possible casualties are: Banshee, Chamber, Husk, Mondo, Skin, Synch and Emma Frost. Another thing to keep in mind is the impact these deaths will have, which should weigh in deciding who you as GM won't mind killing. Get rid of heroes you don't like, look at is house cleaning for your universe. These are all just ideas. If nobody dies from the invasion the impact of it will be lost, and they will not be perceived as that big of a threat.
Spiderman just arried on the roof of the Daily Bugle. His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of screaching brakes and a woman screaming. You see a woman leap out of the way of a car that had swerved onto the sidewalk and crash into a streetlight on the corner.
As soon as Spidey approaches the car, his spider-sense goes wild. As soon as he gets next to the car, something hurtles out the passenger window right over his head and streaks down the street. The Alien just wants to get away, and will only fight Spidey to do that. The driver Spidey recognizes as Matt, a reporter from the Bugle. He's dead. The body looks like his chest exploded.
Read the following journal entry to the player to set up his current knowledge of what is going in the city.
"Punisher War Journal: Entry #1009- There is something beneath the streets of New York. That little brown monster that someone said they saw kill a reporter. Or maybe it's some gang that's using the sewers and subways as a hideout. Whatever it is, it's preying on the innocent people of New York. And it's punishment time.
"Several people have been reported missing in the past three days. The most recent was a subway train that was wrecked. Everyone on board, was gone. The Engineer, the passengers, everyone. Without even a trace. The only clue were some huge holes torn in the side, and places where the metal had been melted through. "This is the first time that I truly don't know what I'm up against. Therefore, I'm going in armed with the biggest weapons I've got. Whoever, whatever is down there, is gonna pay. Big time."
Let the player choose what weapons he wants to have with him. He can carry two knives, a machete, an extra heavy-duty machine gun with two bandoleers and extra ammo. Two automatic pistols, an uzi and an automatic rifle. These are just some suggested weapons, it's up to the GM to decide how much he can have with him and what types of guns.
The Punisher can start in the sewars where the two workers disappeared. The blood stains say that it was violent, but no sign of a struggle besides that. There are no bodies, no tracks, nothing. After about an hour of searching the tunnels, tell the player he thinks he being followed. You can tell there's more of them up ahead. The Aliens then pounce on the Punisher.
The GM needs to use a number of Aliens that will seriously give the Punisher a hard time, but allowing him the chance to survive the encounter.
The X-Men have been having a hard time sleeping. Wolverine's instincts are telling him something really bad is going to happen. He is outside the mansion where he normally sleeps, and can smell the Aliens. They aren't human or Shi'ar, and are close. He must make a Reason feat roll or his feral side takes over and he goes off on his own. The scent leads him to a man-hole cover, reminding him of the Morlock tunnels.
Xavier is up in his room reading. He's had a strange and unnerving sense of foreboding all night. He and Jean have been having the same disturbing dream, of a huge and terrifying creature that stalked them. They were caught in the dream and died everytime they had it.
Xavier suddenly senses the presence of something in the mansion. He thinks of the Morlock Tunnels as a possible means of entrance. Scott and Jean are over in their cottage across the lake.
The players will soon notice as they wake up to Xavier's voice in their heads that the power is out. Each of the other heroes are in their respective rooms.
Gambit encounters an Alien after leaving his room. The players soon find out about the corrosive nature of the Alien's blood after fighting one. Bishop meets up with Gambit in the halls and are soon attacked by two more Aliens.
Iceman awakes to find one in his room. Storm meets up with him to watch each other's back. Beast and Cannonball meet up with another one as the players work they way towards each other.
GM Note: depending when you want to set this adventure in Marvel continuity, Beast can be substituted with the Dark Beast from AoA as an NPC, unbeknownst to the players.
Xavier's mental message about the Aliens presence also went to X-Force. They were told to keep the Aliens from exiting the Morlock Tunnels. All the team members encounter Aliens throughout the tunnels and in the surrounding forest. Let the players deploy however they want, each group will meet up with the Aliens. This can go on as long as you feel necessary.
After the resulting combat is over, Xavier again reaches out to Cable. Reed Richards has called a meeting of all superheroes who can attend to Four Freedoms Plaza. Pass the word onto any other heroes you meet.
Cloak and Dagger come upon two teenage boys about to mug a woman in the subway. One has a knife, the other a gun. After saving her, she then runs to get on the train. She then screams and runs the other way as a big, black bug exits the train.
Spidey and Black Cat prepare to enter the sewars. Spidey says that, "a priest who was on one of the subway trains to get attacked managed to get away. He put a personal ad in the Bugle asking to talk to me. He told me the passengers had been taken away by monsters that could only have come from hell."
The Hulk is on the subway wondering why he came to New York for vacation. Some loud thumping starts on the roof, then a black bug-like creature rips through the roof.
DD and Elektra meet up on the city's rooftops looking for the Aliens. The GM needs to get everybody to head to F.F. headquarters for the big meeting. If the players don't decide to go there themselves, Xavier can be scanning for heroes and telepathically tell them of they can meet someone else who is heading there.
This chapter takes place if Wolverine went below the city on his own in search of the Aliens. It could be used with any lone hero in the sewars. Logan's senses tell him he's very close, the smell of death is everywhere. The walls of the nest are lined with the bodies of the victims, their chests ripped open from the inside. The things are all around you, but they are keeping their distance.
One of the victim's is not dead. At least not yet. He begs you to kill him before he ends up like the others. The Aliens only watch the character, unless he kills the man. This enrages them and with a screech they attack. The number of Aliens in the fight is up to the GM. Ten might be a good number for Wolverine. Enough to weaken him but his regeneration should keep him going.
This is a part of the adventure that the GM needs to decide if he wants to impregnate one of the heroes with an Alien egg. Wolverines could survive the chest burster's arrival, others probably wouldn't. After the fight he is weakened and may not notice one egg left. The Face-Hugger's leaps onto the hero's face.
If Xavier or Reed Richards are NPC's they can start the meeting. Discussion of what everyone has seen so far would be good to try and learn more about the Aliens. The Aliens have begun to venture out of the sewars and more people are being taken by the hour.
To destroy them, they must destroy the nest. They need to find it first. A possible search team to head back down into the sewars and look for the nest is Spiderman, Shadow Cat, Sabretooth and Dr. Strange. Another strike team could wait here for word of where the nest is and then attack. A third force hits the streets to slow down the Aliens there. These are some guidelines of what the heroes could do, see what the players come up with. The force waiting to hit the nest could consist of: Fantastic Four, X-Factor, X-Force, X-Men, Avengers, Hulk, Firestar, Cloak, Dagger and Venom. Fighting in the city could be Black Cat, Namor, Excaliber, Morbius, Ghost Rider, Karma, Moonstar, Daredevil, Elektra, Iron Fist and Deathlock.
Whatever hero was in chapter 9 is used here. Along the way back out of the sewars he meets the Punisher, who looks horrible after his meeting with the Aliens in chapter 5. The two need to get out of there and to Four Freedoms Plaza, or somewhere to inform everyone else where the nest is.
Wolverine makes it back to headquarters to tell the others where the nest is. If the hero was impregnated by the Aliens, this is the time it comes out. The heros need to kill it before it escapes.
Run combat in the streets as long as you like. The hero's may want to go into the sewars later, back to headquarters, run whatever happens here.
The nest searching group can either find it themselves or the GM can have the Aliens find them. They should be vastly outnumbered in either case, and should call for backup immediately.
The team that found the Alien nest is soon joined by the main strike team. Play out a huge battle here with the Aliens. After the heroes have survived this fight and it seems over, they need to find or discover that not far away is another room with a lot of eggs and the Queen. This is the final conflict, the heroes don't have time to rest or heal, they need to finish the fight here and now.
Surviving this adventure warrants a sizable Karma award. How much is left up to the GM, though a bonus should be given if they role-play well by not allowing their own knowledge of the Aliens affect game decisions before the hero would know the same things.
