Rebuilding [Open]

[hfm_npcs]

[A few days after the Nox escaped the sewers and the Mayor sends out her missive, construction crews are on site at the college campus, beginning repairs on the sinkhole. While they're grateful to the outsiders using their magic to keep the Nox away, they're still a little leery of them. With everything that's happened, can you blame them?]

[Whether you're there to help with construction or security duty or just walking by to see what's going on or to bring your hardworking friend lunch, it's definitely an interesting place to be. Maybe someone has theories about how the Nox got out of the sewers...]


[OOC: This is a mingle log! Feel free to start your own subthreads and talk things out. Let us know if you don't want NPCs in your thread; otherwise, you'll probably get some.]

Comments

Agent Texas [Open]

[a_shadow]

[ Tex had been working security on the college campus ever since the incident that happened there, and on this particular day she's patrolling in the vicinity of where the construction crews are working—and that's not surprising, considering the chances that some new disaster could happen there. As far as Tex knows, she has no magic to speak of, and she's annoyed with the distrust the locals hold for her and other outsiders.

One thing that's really getting to her is the curiosity among the bystanders, who keep wandering a bit too close to the construction site. She walks purposefully toward one such person and gestures with an arm. ]

Hey, you! You want to fall in a hole? Get away from there!

[ She's really starting to lose patience with these people. ]

aaron: hey buddy pal bro friend homie do you maybe want to calm down

[exuviiated]

[Well, Aaron's just as much a bystander as the cityfolks clustered in nervous flocks around the construction site, but he's got more curiosity, more nerve than they do, and has been inching closer until finally going as close as he could.

--which was when Tex interrupted him. He takes a defensive step back and raises both hands.]

Hey, hey, I'm-- I'm just looking, I'm-- I'm guessing you're one of the transplants too?"

[Transplants meaning one of the kidnapped soldiers.]

sorry about the delay on this!

[a_shadow]

[ Tex has the distinct advantage over all the other people in the area in that she's housed in a large black robot. She's not in danger of getting hurt if she falls into that hole. She's not exactly taking risks and getting close like Aaron did, though.

When he speaks, her helmet tilts in Aaron's direction. ]

Yeah, I'm a transplant all right. I guess they're bringing in kids and everyone, huh?

[hfm_npcs]

Hey!

[And that's the foreman of this construction project, up in Tex's face and between her and the teenager she'd been yelling at.]

You're here to take care of the Nox, not the people. You leave them to me. Got it?

[a_shadow]

[ Tex isn't one to be cowed by the likes of this guy. And he doesn't seem to know her job description. ]

I'm here to secure the area for the university. That's what they're paying me for.

[ She has the advantage in being housed in a large black robot. She just stands there, arms crossed, posture tall. ]

[unrecovered]

[Wash has taken the Mayor's office up on their job offer and is here to watch the hole and take out any Nox that decide to go exploring.]

[Of course there's other security here. Of course. He'd known Tex was in town - Freesia is a much smaller city than he'd like, especially now that he's stuck here with someone who's tried to kill him more than once, depending on the version - but somehow he'd done a pretty good job avoiding her so far.]

[This is what he gets for volunteering.]

[He hangs back and watches her yell at someone getting too close to the hole for comfort. For a moment, he hopes that she won't recognize him out of armor - but that's stupid, and not something he can count on. Might as well prepare for their eventual conversation, once she notices him. He's definitely not going to be drawing attention to himself if he can help it.]

[a_shadow]

[ She notices him, all right. She saw him out of armor only a couple times back during Freelancer, and he doesn't look as fresh-faced anymore, but she recognizes him. But there's no reason to confront him, no reason to draw attention to their past connections.

She's continuing to patrol the area, though, and he's still here after a few circuits. He must be working the area too. So next time they go to pass each other, she just nods. ]

Washington.

[panspermia]

Yeesh.

[ Greg hadn't actually seen the damage firsthand until now. It's not like this is the first time there's been damage left behind from a Nox attack, but this feels... different. ]

I guess... they got tired of using portals...?

[raisethemoon]

...ought I to fly down the hole?

[She's gonna fly down the hole]

[panspermia]

Uhh!

[Dont! Fly down the hole!]

I'm not sure if anyone should be heading down there by themselves.

[hfm_npcs]

I don't think so...

[Heather looks at the hole in the ground doubtfully, and at Greg even more doubtfully.]

I mean they've been down there for a while. I guess they got tired of the subways?

[panspermia]

Even they get tired of hanging around in the dark all the time, huh?

[He sighs, and scratches at his beard.]

Hey, look on the bright side. At least we know where to look out for 'em.

[ In front of a school. Not... the best silver lining, he can admit. ]

[unrecovered]

[Wash figures he might actually get some information if he goes back to the site, and he may as well get paid for it. To that end, he's taken the Mayor's office up on their job offer and is back at the sinkhole in a somewhat official capacity. He's people watching as much as he is watching the hole - only one of them has movement.

Kind of a quiet afternoon, which is a good thing right now.]

[hfm_npcs]

[Quiet, but not dull. A grouchy-looking thin man strides up to Wash.]

Aloysius Booker. [And that's all Wash is going to get by way of introduction.]

I need to ask you some questions for my records.

[unrecovered]

[Well this guy looks like a ton of fun.]

Agent Washington. What kind of questions?

York - OPEN

[goddamngrenades]

Look I can get stuff to you with a margin of error or I can get stuff out of the hole and in that nice, big, taped off area for random debris so you can clear and build up the ground there and not, I don't know, risk everyone's heads. I'm for the latter. Less likely to get stuck in a wall again that way.

[ It takes a little leaning on the point, that yeah carrying people around would be QUICK but also could end poorly before he manages to wrangle a right to slip into the sinkhole and start teleporting out debris, clearing rooms, and dragging shit out of the way so they have a clear area to work in.

Now and then he sags by the taped off area of increasingly large piles of shit that needs moving, taking a breather or swigging from water. It isn't heavy lifting but that doesn't mean it's simpler. ]

[unrecovered]

[Look who brought extra water bottles for his poor overworked friend. Isn't he thoughtful.]

Having any luck avoiding walls?

[...thoughtful in some respects, at least.]

[goddamngrenades]

Ha ha.

[ York rolls his eyes, taking the water with a grunt of thanks. ]

Yeah. No more suddenly teleporting when I"m startled either, I'm getting the hang of it. You?

[a_shadow]

[ Tex is working security for the university and not involved with the construction per se, but she's been tasked with patrolling this vicinity and notices York as he's working. It's the first she's seen him, though she's aware he's in town. ]

Now this is a set of talents I wasn't aware of before.

[goddamngrenades]

[ He locks up for a moment- she's around. He's known she's around. He hasn't been avoiding her so much as ignoring that she's here and he's here and that might mean some shit he doesn't wanna think about.

So.

He pastes on a smile as best he can and waves, nice and casual. ]

Well you know how it is. You wake up here with magic.

Leonard McCoy [ Open ]

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

[ Lunch for his friends? How about lunch for everyone? McCoy's spent the better part of the morning in the kitchen, working through a long few hours of prep on a grill, by an oven, whipping up boxed and bagged lunches for the construction crews and failing them? Everything will freeze pretty well and keep for Wash and Casey if they like.

Noon rolls around and he rolls up, large box of baked hand pies and wrapped sandwiches and even a bucket of Granny McCoy's fried chicken on hand for those feeling peckish.

Don't even charge anything, just sets it out for whoever wants to grab a bite. ]

[unrecovered]

[Bones has the best timing. It's been a pretty slow day on Wash's end - which is good, because he's here to make sure the Nox don't take another field trip out of the sewers - and he's definitely ready for lunch. He gives the open hole in the street one last look and heads over to Bones' setup, grinning.]

You have the best timing.

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

It's something I'm known for.

[ Bones offers a crooked smile, pulling out one box in particular to hand off to Wash. Double serving fresh fruit, extra protein. Everything a growing super soldier needs. ]

How's it look'n?

[hfm_npcs]

[Someone is definitely interested - not only in the food, but also the person behind it. She definitely isn't part of the construction crew, though. She wanders over, slowly but purposefully, and looks over the food - lingering over the pies, especially - before looking up at Bones.]

Impressive spread. You make all this yourself?

[oldfashionedfutureboy]

Yes ma'am.

[ He sits back after doing one last count of the pies- enough for everyone to have one, maybe two if they don't mind splitting some of the smaller ones. Tomorrow he'll have to bring more. ]

This looks like hungry work and we can use all the good PR we can get.