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.

Comments

[aly_brighteyes]

Aly laughs and knocks briskly. "Should I try opening the door?"

[bluesuit_handy]

When no one answers, Andrew nods and gestures. "She'll know we're here by now," he says.

[aly_brighteyes]

Aly nods and shifts her grip on Andrew carefully, pressing on the door and hoping it swings open.

[bluesuit_handy]

The door doesn't even seem to be latched, but opens at the touch of her hand. Inside, a four-foot-something Andrew looks up from the console, pausing in the middle of whatever he was saying. "...Aly?" he says, confused, not seeing the tiny Andrew clearly from across the room.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine looks up from her perch on the little padded seat and smiles at her niece, relieved that she finally made it. She's begrudgingly shifted back into her human shape for a breather, so she's back in a bathrobe and slippers, a mug of cocoa warming her hands. "Hullo, everyone," she says, freeing one hand so she can hold it out in silent invitation to Sarge and Molly.

[edgar_sawtelle]

Edgar glances up at the new arrival, immediately spotting another Andrew - the same size as the one he found - in her arms. Sarge and Molly are also with her, so he figures she must know Daine.

Almondine wiggles a little beside him at the sight of the other dogs, and he signs a release to her, smiling as she quickly trots over to engage in mutual greeting with them.

[aly_brighteyes]

Aly laughs and lets Sarge and Molly loose before waving at the assembled crew. "Shall I put you down, Andrew?"

It's been quite a funny day.

[bluesuit_handy]

"Andrew!" calls the little Andrew in Aly's arms.

The bigger one lights up and comes bounding down from the platform to meet Aly, passing the dogs on the way. "I'll take him," he offers quickly, before the little one can get it in his head to ask to be put down on the floor. He holds out both hands expectantly.

[wildmage_daine]

Daine lifts her mug of cocoa so Sarge can't get his nose in it as she greets the dogs. "Aly, this is Edgar and Almondine." She's told her about them before, doubtless. She's sure she's mentioned Aly to Edgar. It's not every day the rift deigns to drop someone you actually know on your head. "And Edgar, this is Aly."

[edgar_sawtelle]

Edgar smiles and waves in greeting, signing /Hello/ as well to be fully polite. Almondine gives Aly a good sniffing before sitting beside her, serenely waiting for a pet.

[aly_brighteyes]

Unphased, Aly falls back on Tortallan handsigns and returns the greeting, hoping for some universality.

"Just a moment please, Almondine," she promises, handing over the much smaller Andrew before giving her a proper pet.

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew is quite gentle, and Andrew doesn't resist being handed over. Neither needs to ask the other; together they make the decision to let the little one melt into the hands of the bigger, who has by now merged so many times today that he no longer cares who sees. He shoots up half a foot and goes to lean against a railing, looking dazed. "That's -- ohh, that's much better," he says.

[wildmage_daine]

"So that's… six down?" Daine asks, ruffling Sarge's ears. She eyeballs Andrew, trying to figure out how much of him is still left to find. He looks about as tall as he was when he split in two, and she's not sure if she should be pleased that they've recovered half of him or discouraged that they've only recovered half of him. "Looks like we might still have six to go," she says, frowning.

[edgar_sawtelle]

Edgar frowns. Six more? Just how many times can Andrew split?

He strokes Almondine's head when she trots back over to him, looking thoroughly pleased with herself after getting attention from Aly.

/We might have to be a search party,/ Edgar signs to her. /There are more Andrews out there./

[aly_brighteyes]

"Six," Aly repeats. Then she looks over at the boy and tries her Tortallan hand signs. Do you understand my sign language?

[bluesuit_handy]

Andrew frowns, eyeballing Aly and comparing his height to her with a hand held at his own head height. "You may be right," he says, turning to look at Daine. To the others, he explains, "The size change is exponential."

[wildmage_daine]

So, six to go. Daine nibbles her thumbnail, brow furrowed. "I could take another shape…" but she's not sure which would be best for covering the areas outside the park. Hawk would be all right for spotting any Andrews on the street, but she's not sure how many are on the street at this point. Any that have made it to the subways are going to be a lot harder to track, and she doesn't exactly relish the thought of poking around the subway system in a shape with more sensitive eyes and ears than her human ones.

More to the point, though she's loathe to admit it: she might not have another shape in her just yet.

[edgar_sawtelle]

Edgar frowns at Aly as she moves her hands around, trying to make sense of her signs. When it registers as nothing but motions, he shakes his head at her and shrugs, giving her a half smile of apology. He doesn't bother to sign back, as he doubts she'll understand him either.

Instead, he waves a hand to get Daine's attention and signs to her, /We can help,/ and waggles a finger between himself and Almondine.