HANDYSPLOSION [open to multiple]

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew is snooping, but he's not getting very far with it. The trouble with absurdly powerful, government-sanctioned entities is that getting inside the base of such an organization tends to be a bit more complicated than showing up with a forged Health and Safety ID card. Of course, he could probably get inside very easily if he simply went up to the front doors and announced himself, but somehow he doubts he'd be likely to come back out without making a grand production of escaping, and he doesn't want to be too late coming home and make James worry.

The other trouble with Romac is that they're too smart to have anything interesting going on outside. After quite a bit of loitering -- more loitering than is probably wise -- all Andrew's seen is fairly ordinary people going in and out of the building. Disgruntled at their failure to be even the least bit interesting, Andrew finally gives up in disgust and decides to walk to the rebel base in order to say hello to a few people and use their private library.

He makes it less than halfway to the park before disaster strikes. Later, Handrew will be mortally embarrassed that the crisis didn't come about because some Romac agent spotted him and decided to make trouble, or because he had to run to intercept an alien, or even because someone got it in their head to mug him. No, this disaster occurs simply because neither Andrew nor a certain speeding taxi driver happens to be looking in the right direction at the right time. As the meta-crisis steps out into the intersection of Lexington and 59th (against right of way, if he'd bothered to notice), there's a deafening screech, an impact, and Andrew quite unexpectedly shatters.

The reflex to use his power when surprised likely saves his life. Twelve tiny Andrews are scattered across the road a moment later, all of them stunned to one degree or another. As they recover and realize what's happened -- and hear the yells of a few people who saw -- they all take the same course of action:

Run.

Unfortunately, very few of them run in the same direction. There's no plan or pattern to it, and very quickly the Andrews scatter to the four winds -- or at least to the four corners of the intersection. There are a few shouts (even New Yorkers tend to notice when someone explodes next to them) and one person even stoops and tries to grab one of the four-inch-tall Andrews, but he has quite a bit of experience in running for cover.


[OOC: Let me know where you want to encounter one or more Andrews, and I will write up an explanation of how he got there. The accident occurred at E. 59th St. and Lexington Ave. (the game map might help you here), and the Andrews have gone in every direction. Some Andrews will take advantage of the nearby subway entrances; depending where he enters he could do as he intends and go northwest, or he could get on the wrong train and go northeast, which would take him past Romac housing. Really, anything is possible -- though he's trying to get to either the Rebels or the TARDIS, he could get lost in any direction, or stay stranded near the intersection. Just write a tag indicating where your character encounters an Andrew and I'll work it out (or you can PM me or ping me on AIM if you want to hammer it out together). He'll be staying in twelfths, since merging into sixths would make him a foot and a half high, meaning he'd be still too small to get around without trouble but too big to go unnoticed. There might be multiple Andrews traveling together, so let me know if you want two of them.]

UPDATE, November 14: Nine Andrews are accounted for so far. One Andrew each currently reserved for Lucy, Spike, and Topher, meaning no more Andrews are available.

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[bluesuit_handy]

HE'S GOING TO BE EATEN BY A HAWK. Somehow, of all the possible outcomes of his little accident, this was one Andrew had not taken seriously. He regrets that now. Mostly he expresses this regret by continuing to scream and thrash, not really thinking about the consequences of actually escaping the bird's clutches now that they're thoroughly airborne.

The arrival of something black, flowing, and apparently loquacious does not do much to ease his mind. On the contrary, it completely derails him a second time. Andrew at least stops thrashing in order to stare, his mouth flapping wordlessly.

"What?" he asks in utter confusion. Then, for good measure, "What??"

[wildmage_daine]

It's a relief when he stops struggling. Daine wonders if Andrew has stilled on his own, or if Secret has had the good sense to restrain him a bit. Either way, she's not about to look; she has a feeling that if she puts her beak anywhere near him (even if it remains shut), he'll panic all over again.

"Not hawk," Secret explains, using his little arm to point up at Daine. "Wildmage. Friend."

[bluesuit_handy]

Under normal circumstances, Andrew would likely understand immediately. As it is, it takes his brain several long seconds to tick over and analyze this tidbit of information, during which he continues to stare at the...thing.

"Daine?" he asks, halfway between feeling incredulous and feeling terribly betrayed. "Did it ever occur to you to warn me?" he asks loudly.

[wildmage_daine]

Now she does tilt her head to look down at him. Hawk faces don't really do 'apologetic,' but she does let out a soft cheep as she rides a thermal above Bethesda.

The darking cringes back a little at Andrew's shout, and then it flows forward, eager to placate him. "Daine can't talk. Has to..." it pauses, as if searching for the right phrase, "save strength. Found one Andrew, brought to TARDIS. Found you. Many more Andrews, aaaaall over." It makes an expansive gesture with its arm, then reaches forward to give Andrew a little pat. "Fly to TARDIS now. Flying fun!"

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew is really trying not to look down at this point. At the moment, he's aided in this endeavor by several unanswered questions that encourage him to go on staring at the talking blob. Namely, what or who is this talking blob? He turns his head to watch its 'hand' when it pats him, somewhat disconcerted now that he's had a chance to think about the messenger as well as the message.

"And you're her spokesperson?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

[wildmage_daine]

Secret bobs its little head in a nod. "Secret," it explains, gesturing to itself. "Darking. Stay with Wildmage."

Startling as being picked up by a hawk must have been, at least it's a fast way to travel. They're already circling above the TARDIS, their descent slow, but steady. She could drop a good bit faster, of course, but she's tormented this little Andrew enough for one day. Plus, with less wind rushing past her ears, it's easier for Daine to make out Secret's little chorus of "fun fun fun fun fun" as they circle down toward the treetops.

[bluesuit_handy]

"What's a darking?" Seriously, Daine has a lot of questions to answer. Or, alright, maybe mostly just that one. Andrew looks down at last when the trees below start to look bigger (and when Secret starts to chant), and lets out a short laugh of relief when he sees the TARDIS below. "I hope you're not prone to foot cramps!" he calls to Daine, shifting a little in an effort to relieve pressure from around his waist.

[wildmage_daine]

"Friend," Secret replies cheerfully (and unhelpfully). Further explanations can wait; it'd waste even more time if they had to spell it out for every single Andrew they find instead of waiting for him to put himself back together and then going through it once.

And oh, foot cramps, just what they both need. Your lips to the gods' ears, Daine thinks disapprovingly. Perhaps it's just as well that her gods probably aren't listening, but that doesn't rule out any mischievous native gods. Not that there seem to be any of those, either, but better safe than sorry.

The last few yards of her descent aren't as graceful as they could be - hawks are wonderful at catching and carrying, but keeping their quarry alive and unbruised isn't often part of the plan, so she has to take extra care not to drop too quickly. Once she's a scant few inches above the ground, she releases her grip, dropping Andrew onto the fluffy heap of the discarded bathrobe. Then she backflaps a little so she can land without landing on him. Folding her wings, she lowers her head to give him a concerned once-over. He seems relatively unscathed - physically speaking, anyway.

[bluesuit_handy]

"Whose friend?" asks Andrew, impatient with the non-answer. As for keeping him unbruised, she's probably already failed at that -- though fortunately the energy cloud around him is enough of a buffer to prevent any serious damage so long as she's mindful of those claws.

He's too distracted to ask any more questions as the ground comes rushing up at them. A relatively slow descent it may be, but from his perspective they're well on their way to crashing into the ground with half Daine's weight on top of him. "Uh, Daine?" he calls out uneasily when they're a foot or two from impact. Now it's really rushing up at him, and he cringes and shouts again, "Daine!!"

Not knowing what to expect, he doesn't tuck and roll when she drops him. Again, though, the energy field saves him, aided by the fluff of the bathrobe. He lays on the fabric for a few moments, stunned.

"Again," he says when she pokes her head in close. "A warning might have been good."

[wildmage_daine]

"Wildmage," the darking confides. "Andrew!" Well, it's one Andrew's friend, which is as good as being all of the Andrews' friend, as far as Secret is concerned.

Daine lets out another soft cheep, then lifts her wings in a shrug. How much warning did he need? He knew they were coming in for a landing, and he knows she's not exactly at liberty to speak with him (and whose fault is that, hmm?). Still, she didn't mean to upset him, and she carefully nudges her beak under his arm so she can help him get to his feet.

"See?" the darking squeaks from where it's still curled around Daine's leg. "Fun!"

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew scrambles to his feet, instinct dictating that he try to get away from that giant hooked beak even as she uses it to help him up. He stands, stumbling on the robe, and looks down at it in minor confusion.

"...Thank you," he says belatedly. Because yes, she did just deliver him to the TARDIS, though it wasn't exactly the way he would have chosen to go.

[wildmage_daine]

It's not exactly what she would have preferred, either, but she didn't have many options. Until someone comes up with a smarter way to do this, she's just going to go ahead and do it the questionably intelligent way. Still, she gives him a blink of acknowledgment before turning to the TARDIS door. Secret flows back up her leg and disappears into her feathers as she nudges the door with her beak (the most polite way of requesting entry that she can manage in this shape, really). She's not sure if the ship left the door cracked for her, or if she's just expecting Daine's return, but either way, the door swings open.

Daine's first thought is to usher Andrew in and then go back to the search, but then she decides that she might as well see if they've made any progress on their end. She lets out a short cry to announce their arrival, then steps inside, talons slipping occasionally on the glass. Drat. It'd be easiest to just fly up to the console, but the blowback would probably send Andrew sprawling, so she just opens her wings for balance and waddles makes her way over as carefully as she can.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew goes against those instincts from earlier and slips through the door right underneath Daine. She passes him soon enough -- even on foot, bigger is faster in this case. He scurries up the walkway, bemused at her decision not to fly up to the console.

"Doctor?" he calls.