riverview | Video;

[ If the state of the office is any indication of the state of the department, the city is in trouble.

The room is papered from floor to ceiling in layers of maps, diagrams, post-its and technical drawings. What table surface isn’t covered in coffee cups, take-out boxes and junk food wrappers is home to more of the same, held down at the corners by pieces of half-finished robotics projects repurposed into paperweights. Three different colours of marker express problems, ideas, arguments, formulas, jokes and doodles over every inch of the large windows looking out over the city.

It’s been a long forty-eight hours, and the three men standing in front of the camera are in only slightly better shape than the workplace disaster zone around them. A giant topographical city map covers the wall behind their backs, dotted with push pins and bits of string radiating out from the centre.

Off camera, a voice many will recognize as Clark Kent, reporter for the Riverview News and volunteer camera-man: 3, 2, 1, and rolling.

Left; Michael sits on the edge of a desk. Seemingly in his element in the midst of chaos. Focused. He pins the camera with his eyes before speaking. ]

This is Michael Scofield, Structural Integrity Project Lead of the Wall Research and Development Department.

[ Center; Tony blinks, pulling his gaze up from the paper he was scribbling on (honestly, paper) to pay some attention. He’s not in great condition, with electrified hair and dark circles under his bright eyes, but manages a tight smile.]

Uh, Tony Stark. Um, I do what he said, except different because I deal with weapons and defense and-- Whatever, I work with these two in order to keep this place as safe as possible from the shit that is out there. [ A gesture behind him, to the map on the wall.]

Well, mostly out there. Because thanks to this shit that--

THAT-- [ Right; Ray seems to realize instantly how loud that just was, laughs, and then tones his volume down a little. ] --Michael will tell you all about, in a second. [ There’s one clear meaning to the quick and slightly confused look he’s giving Tony: I thought we talked about this?!? ]

Right. [ Can you hear him rolling his eyes, Ray? Can you? Because he is, even as he steps back with a huff. ]

But hi! I’m Ray! Tony and I are both Perimeter Defense Engineers and Coordinators — haha, that’s kinda funny, it’s like we can coordinate each other or something — anyways! [ Back on topic. Anyone who’s able to see them right now can probably tell … Ray’s overcaffeinated. ] We’re here to ask for all of your help.

[ Michael stands up, pushing both Tony and Ray off to one side, and out of the way of the city map. He’ll be illustrating the key points of the following report with a laser pointer. ]

Two days ago a breach in the wall exterior was discovered. One thing people should know about the wall is that it’s not a solid mass. Within the wall is a network of maintenance tunnels for internal repair and reinforcement, many dating back to the wall’s inception. With the latest defense improvements, as well as the addition of the outer fence, most of the tunnels were sealed, but a few were left intact for research and development purposes.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the recent power outages. Riverview’s utilities are largely automated, self-sustaining, and renewably resourced, with the majority of treatment, processing and distribution occurring beneath the city.

We don’t know the exact timeline, or scenario, but we can hypothesize that in the past six months to a year, a local predator got inside one of tunnels, and through it was able to find access to the city’s underground infrastructure. There, it bred. Both Tony and Ray performed fly-throughs, and estimate the number of offspring somewhere in the range of five-hundred to a thousand.

It’s impossible to tell how much damage has been done without clearing the area. A failure to act may result in a loss of power and vital resources to Riverview. That’s where you come in. We’ve tried several methods of mass extermination, but with the risk of contaminating the city’s water supply, our options are limited. Our best bet is to gather a force large enough to do a full-scale manual extermination.

We’ve brought our findings to the Riverview council and they’ve granted us as many of the Perimeter Guard as they can spare, and clearance to seek assistance from the general public to fill in the gaps. We’ll need people who can exterminate, people who can perform urgent repairs, and people skilled in first-aid.

I’ll be performing structural integrity tests as the extermination progresses to ensure the safety of the operation. Please keep explosions and seismic damages to a minimum. You can volunteer here, or at your local Perimeter guard.

[ Michael steps back, giving Tony and Ray the floor again. ]

I will be looking for people to help make repairs in critical areas, trying to keep the power grid operational and the attacks minimal. I need people who are good with electrical engineering, work quickly, and can handle themselves in a fight if need be.

[ There is a pause before: ] Steve, I’ll message you about some things later.

[ Then Tony ducks out of the camera’s view, possibly for a shower, possibly for more coffee. He doesn’t return. ]

[ Ray waves to Tony as he leaves, like that’s normal, even if Tony can’t see him doing it. But then he focuses on the camera again. ]

I’m looking for chemists, city planners, maybe some … runners? [ Lightbulb moment. Really. It’s the best idea he’s had all day. ] Yeah, runners.

I’m so close to finding a formula that can put the monsters to sleep, instead of the rest of us. [ aka Ray is stuck and he refuses to admit it. ] And they’re in an enclosed space! We have to be able to use that and build some kind of delivery mechanism. Just- you know- without … knocking out all of our friends who are fighting the monsters ... instead of the monsters themselves. Anyways. Let’s do a team up!

[ Michael can't help but smile at Ray. Now that everything is more or less said and done, he almost looks as tired as he feels. Still, he keeps his head up and eyes focused. ] This is our city now. Let’s do our best to keep it safe.

What Michael said. And uh, just remember. When fighting monsters, safety is number one!

[ The 'Underground' Mission will be available as a prompt in the next TDM! Anyone and everyone is welcome to take part, make up their own related missions, etc. This plot was a collaborative effort between the players and the mods, thanks guys! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I may be able to help with the delivery of the formula, depending on what form it takes when it's complete.

[Wanda doesn't feel certain she could influence the minds of non-humans, but she's used her powers when dealing with gases before. Her telekinesis would likely work almost as well with liquids or containers if necessary. Not everywhere in a tunnel system, but at least in part of it. Enough to make a difference, she'd hope.

And if it ends up being outside the scope of her powers, she can fight. The monsters here are squishier than robots, thankfully, and more easily handled.]

[ All the responses that came back were so fast that Ray nearly misses that this one's for him. And he recognizes Wanda too, from the feast and the stories she was willing to tell him. ]

Wanda!

[ Now that they're off the main broadcast, he has a cup of coffee in his hands. ]

I'm hoping to make it into some kind of gas. Seems the most practical. The only hitch is ... I'm not sure I can isolate the part that affects us too. Which means it might need to be a liquid spray.

[Despite the gravity of the situation, she smiles all the same at seeing his response. Her face hasn't been welcome back home recently and the change of pace is appreciated here.]

I can't help with your isolation issues but I can help distribute it in gas form. I'm not certain the same methods would work with a liquid spray but I could try, or shield others using the spray if nothing else.

[She pauses a beat.]

And I can fight. [But there aren't many who here probably who could move gas through tunnels the way she could with her powers, probably.]

[ Right. Gravity. Ray recognizes, he just- he's just never had a moment where he didn't believe they'd all pull together and get through this. ]

That's fantastic! [ A grin tugs at his lips. ] Though- wait- what kind of methods are you thinking?

[ And then she mentions she can fight, and he nods. ] I'm sure Michael will be glad to hear that too. [ A beat, before Ray's realizes that it kinda sounds like he isn't for some reason, so he has to fix that. ] As am I.

Thank you.

[But what methods, indeed. There are people here who know what she can do, teammates and the like. There are people here from another world who know another version of her as well, and undoubtedly they're aware she has powers. She's used the publicly fighting, there's no reason to be too cagey when there are monsters to be fought and a city to protect, right?]

I have powers that I've used to draw gas out of a building before. I could use the same abilities to flush your formula into the tunnels ahead of a team, possibly. I'm not certain that it would work as well as a spray but as I said, I can fight and put those same abilities to other uses.

[Up until the Sokovia Accords she'd been training with all of the Avengers to make the use of her powers, to think as flexibly as she could with them, learn to use them as an extension of herself. While not a brute force herself, her powers make up for that more and more.]

[ So it's not like Ray's never seen something crazy before. There's a lot of strange things that pass through Star City, including serums that make people nearly impervious to pain. Assassins who may or may not come back from the dead. But he hasn't really directly talked to someone about powers before. ]

Like-

Magical powers?

[ It's not that he doesn't hear the rest of it. He does, but Ray is a very curious individual. Even if he has as formula that really needs his attention right now. ]

Sort of. It's a long story.

[One she doesn't want to get into on the network for all to see. There are some here who know her, and some who know a version of her and she doesn't want to broadcast more than she has to.

Enough people have seen her using her powers against monsters beyond the fence to know she can do things, she doesn't want to explain the hows or the origins.]

The point is that I can help, if you'll take it.

[ Right. He gets it. Or at least, he thinks he does. ]

Absolutely I'll take it. Thank you Wanda, for offering.

[ He smiles, softly. She can tell him about it later, if she feels like it. But right now, he won't push. There's a formula to fix, after all. ]

I'll contact you as soon as I have something ready. 48 hours, tops.

I'll keep an ear out for your call then, Ray.

[And until she hears from him, she'll do what she can to help contain the creatures and keep them from causing any civilian casualties.]

Thanks. We need all the help we can get.

You're welcome. It's good that you three were able to work together to come up with a viable plan of attack.

I'm not going to say it was easy, but we pulled it together in the end.

Did you have any experience with situations like these before you arrived here?

Zero.

Then it's all the more commendable what you three have pulled together.

I'd love to give myself a pat on the back, but I was just doing my job.

This is what they hired us for. I couldn't turn a blind eye and still collect my paycheck. Not if I wanted to eventually sleep at night.

And is that all you did this for? Your paycheck?

No.

This is my home now. That means the people here are now my people.

I'm sorry, no offense was intended. I had misread your earlier comment...

[She doesn't know him, and the phrase "just doing my job" and the implication that he couldn't not do his job and still get paid had given her the wrong impression. His response had corrected her, at least.]

Don't worry about it. I'm not offended.

You were right. This isn't just a job, it's more than that.

It is, I agree.

I won't keep you long, there's work to be done, but again, thank you.

Video;

un: scarlet, video;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

end on your next?

o7

@outis

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject