THROW ZE SVITCH!

[trustycrowbar]

[Gordon had, with carefully-chosen wording, told the fussier medical technicians to screw off when they insisted he should rest after that stint as a tentacle monster. He wasn't going to stop now.]

[It took another night's worth of work between him and Ran, reverse-engineering, coding, sending the prototype signal down to specimen analysis, testing it against a colony of nanites, relaying results, tweaking the signal, sending it back to be tested, over and over again. But finally it worked; the nanite colony shriveled at the dull thrum broadcasted to them in the padded, makeshift soundproof room.]

[Meanwhile the radio tower they'd installed had to be modified, the output strengthened, band narrowed. Mordin handled that, and adeptly. By mid-morning the next day everything was ready. There was no pomp and circumstance, no special little phone signal. They just sent the signal... and watched as the new crop of EVO's slowly collapsed into inert heaps of primordial ooze and confused people.]

[...THEN, he sends a phone broadcast.]

[Video]

Huh, whaddiya know... We did it. We've sent out a signal that completely deactivated all active nanites in a twenty-mile radius! All those EVO's should now be reverting to normal! Now before anyone starts to celebrate remember that there are still damaged buildings and structures out there; make sure everyone is safe before you do anything else.

[Video to JLS]

Okay, guys. Just how bad is the damage this time around?

[Action]

[The scientists are finally leaving the Labs, tired, shambling, and even more disheveled than usual. Gordon is among them, looking exhausted and pale himself but still standing a few inches taller than his wilted counterparts. Still, if anyone needs to speak to him about this whole thing, now's the time to do it.]

((This marks the end of the EVO event, but backtagging is encouraged! Have fun beating up monsters!))

Comments

[nomen_est_numen]

[There's a possibly familiar-sounding scream of abject woe and fear... it sounds a bit birdlike. The phone is dropped onto the floor and there's a series of rattling, clattering sounds followed by a thump. Silence.]

[trustycrowbar]

Shen?

[The phone calls from the floor.]

Nngh... aw hell...

[nomen_est_numen]

[He gets no answer from the bird in question. What'd he do, shut himself up in a cupbaord?]

[stinglikeabat]

[And there's Joachim, dragging home after a very long day, covered in scratches and acid burns. It's going to be real great to get home and get some sleep- oh god something's screaming in the apartment. He kicks the door clean off its hinges without bothering to check the lock.]

Shen? Is that you?

[nomen_est_numen]

[A few feathers are sticking out of the cupboard over there. He's apparently not very good at concealing himself in this state of mind.]

[His phone is on the floor and the carpet is a bit gouged. Hoboy.]

[stinglikeabat]

...Shen?! You'd better be alive in there!

[And not a murderous monster again, either! If this were a horror movie, the creepy music would be starting up right about now... But this is no time for idle thought! Joachim flings the door open wide.]

[nomen_est_numen]

[Inside the cupboard, having displaced cereal boxes and bags of popcorn and cans of soup, Shen is curled up. He gasps audibly and stares wide-eyed at Joachim for a beat.]

Wh... [He gulps.] You're... real...?

[What the hell happened to him?]

[stinglikeabat]

Of course I'm real!

There wasn't anything funny in your popcorn this morning, was there? Come now, let's get you out...

[Maybe reaching for a panicking and cornered animal with a history of violence is a bad idea, but you know what? Joachim is all about bad ideas.]

[nomen_est_numen]

[Shen is not in any mood to be pried out of his hidey-hole, but he's not in any condition to do much about it. He tries to evade Joachim's grasp, half falls out of the cupboard, and then gives up, allowing himself to be pulled the rest of the way out. He sits on the nearest available flat surface.]

There was... a giant caterpillar.... One of those EVO things. It... caused hallucinations. Voices.

[stinglikeabat]

Goodness, really? I'm glad I missed it!

Are you still seeing things?

[What are you supposed to do with a traumatized giant peacock? Get him a blanket or a hot drink or put him in a box with a towel in it...? Well. He'll put the kettle on, that's easy enough.]

[nomen_est_numen]

I... don't think so. Probably because it's gone. It... has gone, right?

[Tea looks like a good idea, he's shivering. Good lord, it's been a rough week Weeks.]

[stinglikeabat]

I certainly haven't seen anything! Word has it they've managed to cure the lot of them!

[Good thing Shen didn't rampage his way into the cabinet with the tea in it; Joachim can tell tea leaves from bay leaves and that's about it. He's still not sure which one of these is good for shock but oh well, the heat's the most important part, isn't it?]

[nomen_est_numen]

That... explains the quiet. Well, relative quiet.

[There is a lot of the stuff in there--Shen's a bit of a tea-collector. But Joachim is right in that it really doesn't matter what kind it is, just as long as it's hot. He'll gladly accept and drink whatever's handed to him.]

Thank you. [A beat.] I take it it's been monster-fighting for everyone?

[stinglikeabat]

[This one has herbs in it. Herbs are good for... status ailments and things, right?]

Monster-fighting, monster-turning-into, some sort of science business... honestly, the last week or so's been like a blur. It hasn't been this active since that whole thing with the Oni! Or maybe that thing with the supervillains. Were you there for that?

[He sounds way too happy about this, which doesn't actually take a lot of happy. ]

[nomen_est_numen]

The supervillains? I was, there, yes. [He makes an amused sound.] I ended up being given the moniker 'The Iron Peacock.' I suppose I came out of that better than Gordon did, in that respect.

[He drinks his tea and sighs wearily.] A blur--that's a good way to describe the last... week and a half.

[stinglikeabat]

Was it that short? It seemed longer than that!

[There's enough water. He could use a mug of herbal beverage himself at this point.]

[nomen_est_numen]

Perhaps it was. I honestly don't know, now. I've the feeling I'll look at the date and be surprised at what month it is. It's been absolute chaos 'round here.

I need a break.

[stinglikeabat]

The last time you started that kind of thinking, you were assaulted by basketball ninjas, remember? Just try not to think too hard about all of it, that's my advice.

[nomen_est_numen]

[Another amused sound.] I don't plan on going anywhere. I think I'm due to stay at home for a few days for some... what do they call it--'me-time?'

[video]

[third_alternative]

[Rex looks like he just spent the last fifteen minutes getting the stuffing beaten out of him. Mostly because he did. He is now broadcasting from the ground, barely propped up on one elbow.]

Well. Looks like it worked. Mr. Six-armed Fang-face turned back into an accountant just now.

Entonces, voy a desmayarse aqui, por favor.

[aaaaaand he faceplants into the ground.]

[trustycrowbar]

You might sleep better if you make it back to your apartment first, Rex.

...

Hello?

[third_alternative]

[Nope. He is out cold and snoring. Behind him, a shirtless accountant stumbles to his feet, looks around in terror, and runs off screaming.]

[the_ko_stands_for_tiger]

Pretty goddamn bad. Whole lobby's gotten trashed. Man, this is gonna cost a FORTUNE to fix!

[trustycrowbar]

[See icon.]

Mmgh, Booster's going to have our collective asses for this. I remember something about this happening before I joined, and you guys were strapped for cash THEN...

[the_ko_stands_for_tiger]

Hey, you can't blame me for this one! I don't know WHO trashed the place!

[trustycrowbar]

[Wow, that's not suspicious or anything. But he has no clue what happened last time, though, and it ultimately doesn't matter anyway.]

I wasn't blaming anyone! Hell, we'll probably never figure out who's responsible because of all the EVOs in the city and no way to connect who turned to what. Best thing we can do is rebuild now. But at least no one got hurt when the building went down... right?

[the_ko_stands_for_tiger]

Yeah, yeah. Not yet, anyway. Bodies are gonna fly when Booster sees this, though. Maaaaan.

[trustycrowbar]

I don't know about bodies flying, but there'll be no living with him for a while.

[Which he kind of has to do. Roommates, n' stuff.]

How'd you guys manage to rebuild last time? Maybe we can take the edge off if he finds us already at work fixing things.

[the_ko_stands_for_tiger]

Let's just say there was a LOT of corporate schilling involved and leave it at that.

[trustycrowbar]

...So you had to pander to sponsors all over because of that. Nngh, fantastic... Well, it can't be that bad, right? Just hawk some toothpaste or car insurance, and we're good.

[the_ko_stands_for_tiger]

I dunno, man, I think the damage might take a little more than a restaurant jingle right now.

[trustycrowbar]

What else could we possibly do to raise funds? This is kind of out of the purview of car washes and charity drives...

[Action]

[longstreakofnothing]

[A tiny voice can be heard from the wreckage of somethingorother.]

"Hey! Hey, lemme out! I'm stuck!"

[Theta Sigma pauses in investigating the rubble for any survivors and tosses bits of this and that aside until he finds....]

[Mittens. Oh, good grief.]

WOT?

"Well don't just stand there squawkin', Skinny, help me out!"

[He can't... NOT help out a kitten. No matter how snide it is. He reaches into the wreckage and works Mittens' back paw free, then picking up the cat and holding him up. Mittens squirms.]

"Hey, 'ey, put me down..."

Sorry, you're too injured to walk. [Into the coat pocket he goes.]

"Feh."

[very_model_of]

Remember, temporary solution. Nanites still present. Second mass activation unlikely, not impossible.

[trustycrowbar]

...I know, Mordin. I don't think if we'll ever be able to get rid of them completely, not without causing more harm than good. But we've got a means to keep a mass activation under control now.

I still count this as a victory, even if it is small. People need small victories, you know what I mean?