The Rebirth of Veronica (Phase One)

[craaazyisland]

[ooc: PLOT POST IS HERE! Read it!]

He stalked through the hallways like a shadow, moving too quickly for anyone to keep a bead on him for long. There almost seemed to be a purpose in his movement as he made his way through the dark corridors of the ship, though it was impossible to tell where he was headed. Perhaps the young man whose body had been hijacked was exerting some kind of control, or perhaps Veronica was doing the driving.

Whatever the case, the Tyrant made his way to the City.

He emerged from the tunnels and into the wide open space, at last free of the cramped hallway. He took a few steps into the streets and sniffed the air, smelling human blood. He roared, a horrible and twisted noise, then headed into the streets.

She demanded they all bow to her. They were little more than prey for the Queen in the grand scale of things. These thoughts rang hollow in a primal mind, though, but he knew what he had to do.

They would all die.

Comments

In the Contagion Lab/Engineering

[craaazyisland]

So an innocent kid has been warped into a rampaging nine-foot monstrosity. What's the next course of action?

And does it involve a high-powered plasma cannon?

Re: In the Contagion Lab/Engineering

[governmentninja]

Damn right it involves a high-powered plasma launcher. Which is what Leon just arrived there to pick up, after he checked on a couple of people first.

"Claire, Luis!"

[notlewis]

Luis was the first one he ran into, leaning on a table with a makeshift splint and a bandage strapped to his badly bleeding right arm. The lab was looking a little worse for wear, with one of the tables smashed and all its former contents scattered all over the ground.

"We're all right. Just a little banged up."

[letmelive]

Claire wasn't much further in, sitting on another table with one arm draped around the Linear Launcher that sat in her lap, the other holding a cold compress up to a good-sized bump on her forehead. When Leon came in she immediately dropped it though, exposing the bandage she'd messily taped over the cut accompanying the bump, but she seemed unconcerned enough with her minor head injury, wrapping her other arm around the gun. Almost like she expected him to attempt to take it away from her.

"Any idea where he's escaped to, yet?" She hoped he was still off-grid. Not only did that mean he couldn't hurt anyone, but it gave them more time to get this crazy idea of Luis's to work.

[governmentninja]

Leon gave Luis a concerned look, then focused his attention on Claire. They'd both live, and now that he knew that, he could switch back into full work mode. Next item on the agenda: Get big damn gun.

"No idea yet, but I'm sure he'll make his presence known soon."

He didn't try to take the Linear Launcher, but he did approach Claire and hold his hand out for her to hand it over.

[notlewis]

Luis had already anticipated this, and planned to stay the hell out of it unless his opinion was called for.

[letmelive]

She looked at him for a beat, her tongue in her cheek, before she shifted a little, getting a slightly better grip on the gun.

"You heard Luis's idea, right? About the suppressant?" She knew he had; she'd been reading over Luis's shoulder during that whole 'private' conversation. But the intent of the question was clear enough. She wasn't parting with the Launcher so easily.

[governmentninja]

"Yes, and I told him to put one together. But until someone manages to cobble together a prototype, it isn't a viable option, and we don't have time to wait anymore."

He stepped closer, but still didn't try to take the gun away from her. He knew how she felt about Steve, and how much she wanted to save him, but they were past that point now.

"Claire. I need the Linear Launcher."

[letmelive]

"You don't even know where he is, right now!" she snapped at him, looking off to the side briefly before her eyes were back on Leon. "For all we know he's still aware enough to know what's going on and he's hiding." It was clear that she'd been thinking about this since she woke up after Steve ran off.

[governmentninja]

"Or he's trying to kill members of the crew," he pointed out. "Either way, I need to find him and deal with him before anyone else tries to."

Project Gunsmithery

[morphitudinous]

Over in the Engineering lab, the crew has their orders: build some type of weapon that will stun Steve and administer the suppressant. Preferably both in quick succession.

Since the orders were given, Billy had focused all his creative energy on imagining ways to build the weapon. Obviously the shot would need to be powerful enough to stun someone as large, energetic, and angry as Steve's new form. It would also need to act quickly, before the monster could retaliate.

With that in mind, he summoned any available engineers and frowned. "We don't have too long, but I have a few base designs. I have the injection covered, but I need help with the stunning mechanism."

Re: Project Gunsmithery

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

Angie had come running when she'd seen that they'd need a weapon. Especially one that was going to need to be built quickly. And she was good at that.

"So, basically, we need something that'd take down a raging Hulk." Angie was also an unrepentant comic book geek. "Actually, we might need something stronger than that."

Re: Project Gunsmithery

[bonnypiperlad]

Jamie had hurried down as soon as he had received the summons, and was now standing there with arms folded against his chest, listening to what needed to be done. He wasn't as good as some of the others in terms of skill - but he has built a gun with Billy before, and he can certainly help in some ways.

"Right. Where do we start?"

[morphitudinous]

"The internal mechanisms are simple enough," he mumbles, thinking back on their earlier escapades. "Our original gun was structurally sound, it was the ammunition that was the problem---so we'll need to make sure we have the right suppressant. That suppressant injection also needs some electrical stunning component attached."

Billy's built guns before, but never in a situation as critical as this. He nodded at Angie's assessment, trying to channel that stress into something positive.

He lays out their stored spare gun parts and starts selecting the common ones that any type can use. "We need to acquire the suppressant, design the cartridge to pierce him deeply enough to have an effect, and give it plenty of a stunning charge."

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

After a moment, Angie creates a small holographic projector. One that brings up a schematic of a fairly common design for tranquilizing gun. It seemed a good place to start. "So, the cartridge with the suppressant also needs to have the stunning charge?" That was going to be a challenge. "Any parts we don't have, I can fabricate."

[bonnypiperlad]

Studying the schematic for a moment, Jamie frowns faintly. "So ye want to place the charge in the cartridge itself, somehow. Can it be boosted at all from the gun, or won't that work?"

He glances over at the other two with a slightly apologetic expression. "I can help build the gun, or get the suppressant-thing if someone has it, but I think ye or Billy will have to do the part where ye put the electricity in."

[morphitudinous]

"You're right. It's worth trying to put the stun-shot first and administer the suppressant immediately afterward, but I've been thinking---if we could trigger the electricity immediately upon impact with a force trigger and have the suppressant enter as it pierces him, that could work too"

With that, he sketches up a quick blueprint of what he means, drawing on the available parts. "Let's work on the gun. Angie, can you handle the suppressant cartridge when we get the dose?"

Billy wipes the sweat from his brow, feeling fatigue seep into his stress. Something about this isn't normal, but the devastating energy drain hasn't set in yet.

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

Angie nods. "I should be able to manage that, no problem. As long as I can imagine what it should look like and work like, I can make it." There are very, very good parts to her abilities, as long as she has stuff to work with.

Walls Come Down

[morphitudinous]

((In a separate thread for ease/quickness of backthreading!))

As they finally finished and passed the weapon into the proper hands, Billy had the fleeting thought that this Bond concept was serious trouble sometimes.

His arms trembled as he leaned against the table, and he definitely looked pale. Keeping himself separate and stable enough to finish the job had drained most of of his mental strength and the Power Coin's backup charge---he was in serious trouble.

"Wish I could help...friends injured. Medbay," he managed to say to the other engineers, staggering over to lean against the doorframe.

[bonnypiperlad]

"Billy!" Ignoring the left over debris on the worktable, Jamie rushes over to his friend's side to try and keep him from falling over completely. "Here, lean on me."

Not for the first time, Jamie has to wonder if all the good things that come from the Bond are worth what happens when the other people in it are hurt.

"I've seen this before," he explains in an attempt to forestall any immediate questions from Angie. It may not work, but he doesn't want to waste time with explanations when his friend is as bad off as he is now. He also doesn't want to think about what might have happened to the others right now. First things first.

"It's worse this time, I think. We need to get him to Medbay. Can ye help?"

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

Angie starts, rushing to Billy's other side just as Jamie gets there. There are a hundred questions running through her head, but she just nods and steps back.

This time, what she makes doesn't need more than what she can pull out of the air around her. Under her hands, a floating stretcher comes into existence. "Here. Get him onto this. It'll be faster than us trying to carry him."

[morphitudinous]

Billy's going to be in a world of trouble the moment this passes, he realizes. His eyes widen, prompting him to shake his head, but even that hurts. "It's not that far."

Even as he tries to maintain the shields long enough to get himself there, pushing away from Jamie, the splitting headache worsens. Were his shields strong enough to deal with two critically injured Bondeds at once (and they will be as soon as this is over and the other two catch wind of what happened), it would be just a mild pressure. This? Agony.

Accepting that he won't make it long enough to find out, he focuses the last of his energy on walling off his inner consciousness for survival. That means surrendering here, but he'll awaken again without too much harm done after a deep slumber.

"Look for them," he asks Jamie, slumping down on the stretcher with a moan of pain and a silent prayer, "and make sure Renne gets this." Billy's left fist loosens, revealing a small glowing stone.

One of his last thoughts for the moment is that there had better be a Renne to give it to.

[bonnypiperlad]

"Aye." Jamie is about to try and help Billy over to the stretcher, but is saved from having to do so as Billy manages to make it there under his own power.

He reaches out to take the small glowing stone, although his expression doesn't grow any less worried. In fact, it does the opposite. What if there isn't a Renne to give the stone to? Then what will happen?

He'll try Medbay first. Maybe he'll luck out and Renne will be there. If not, he's going to have to figure out some way to slip free of Angie and try and go to the City to find out what's happened. Somehow, Jamie doesn't think that will be easy.

Curling his fingers around the small stone protectively, he turns to her and says anxiously, "Come on, let's go."

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

Angie looks between them, then shakes her head as she gets herself and the stretcher moving. "I have no idea what's going on, but do what you have to do." Because, obviously, this Renne is important. So slipping away from her isn't going to be difficult.

She's a hero in her world. She understands.

[morphitudinous]

"Thank you," Billy manages to say sadly, finally slipping into unconsciousness with a pained look and a cold sweat.

Only time and the strength of his friends can tell if they'll all recover.