Nuclear Fallout (TAG)

[Alice]

There wasn't enough time. Not enough.

The villain was down. Cuffed. Containment was coming. Surge stared at the football--the villain "Atom-atic" had literally used a football--as it's timer ticked down the seconds. It was too complicated. Too dangerous. Too radioactive. He didn't have time to disarm it safely.

He ran outside and stood on the lawn of City Hall. This was going to hurt, but he couldn't do it indoors.

He tucked the football into his stomach, and waited for the timer to tick down.

5

4

3

2

1...

What would have been a deafening explosion that irradiated not only City Hall, but several blocks around it, didn't go anywhere. There was a slight wooshing sound as energy tried to escape, to blast out and cause havoc, but it got pulled into the living dynamo that was Timothy Smith. 

He straightened, then doubled over again as energy arced from his left shoulder to his right bicep, like a solar flare. He was too full. Too much energy. At his limit. He couldn't hold it all in very long.

He wasn't about to waste time. He took off, flying straight up into the air.

"Okay, so, uh, Alice, Icarus, Star Woman, hell, even The Phantom, I'm... yeah I'm gonna need some help? Because I'm going to be unconscious in a decaying orbit in about... oh, twenty seconds. So yeah, I'll need someone to catch me."

Alice couldn't hide the concern in her voice. "What? Tim what are you--" 

He cut her off. "No time. I'd really like to be caught, but if I can't... well, it's been fun."

Anyone looking up at the Astaria sky would see a bright flash, as the energy contained within Surge let itself out. And then what would have been mistaken for a meteor by many people. 

A purple-black streak soared up and intercepted it. "This is The Phantom. I've got him. Going to land hard but I'm going to try to put myself between him and the ground, but we're going to need medical attention immediately."

Alice again had trouble keeping the emotion out of her voice as she responded. "I'm already calculating your trajectory and directing paramedics to your landing zone."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alice messaged several people as soon as she could. Ivan, Scott, Monica, Honos, Orion, Adara, all the people Tim was closest to.

--> Tim's been hurt. He's at Oregon State Hospital. I can't get in to their systems, they upgraded. I don't know how he's doing, I can't just ask them. I didn't want you to find out from the news. Please, please check on him and tell me how he's doing. Call me. Or let me on your phone and get me inside. Something. He hasn't responded to anything I've sent him. I think he's still unconscious. Please, I'm worried.

Alice was a nervous wreck. If Tim died... she didn't know how she'd take it. She handled the last death of a friend so wonderfully, after all.

Monica Stane, Honos Black

(Posting order determined by who replies first)

[Monica Stane]

She'd heard about it from two sources - one of which being Alice. The Phantom had been injured as well but that stubborn man was most likely already insisting the focus be on getting Tim better rather than himself. Scott and Ivan had either been the first to arrive at the hospital or not long after the first along with who she thought must have been Tim's girlfriend, Adara. Lisa and Julian had arrived the same time she did. Her eldest children were at the receptionist desk with the redhead she assumed was Adara. Ivan was close to Scott's side, looking about an inch away from grabbing onto his brother's arm. Scott looked upset - understandable but her gut told her there was more to it. Adara looked downright pissed off. "I'm sorry but the ICU is for immediate family only," the receptionist's voice reached her as she and her youngest children approached. Ah, that explained Scott's frustration. "I'm his girlfriend for fuck's sake!" Adara snapped. "He doesn't have any immediate family," Ivan hissed. Monica simply chose to ignore this and start to walk toward the door that her children were being denied entry too. "You can't go back there, ma'am!" She turned around to snap and perhaps even intimidate the receptionist - "no" was not something she was used to receiving - but found Scott had moved and held an arm out to block her. Her eyes met her eldest's and the moment was brief but a silent message was still sent. Threatening the receptionist wouldn't do them any good, logically she knew that. It'd just get her and possibly her children kicked out of the hospital. Monica looked away, attempted and failed to swallow her pride, feeling the eyes of her children on her and noting the way Adara seemed to be just as ready to start lobbing around threats. She took in a breath and huffed it out before turning toward the receptionist again, Scott standing close enough that she knew he worried he'd have to get between them. Her tone still held more ice than it should have but she managed to say, as politely as possible, "Is Doctor Richards working today? If so, tell him Monica Stane wants a word with him. Now."

... why did love put a gun in my hand? In my bed, in my head, in my hand. was it for redemption? was it for revenge? ... valkyrie Honos Black Monica, Ivan, Scott, Julian, Lisa, Adara 374 words n/a

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[Orion Black]

Orion is not having a good day. First he was called down to calm down and take home his firey son after dealing with a homophobic secretarywho constantly hit on him. Then traffic. Fuck traffic. Then, when he got home, he noticed he received a text and learned that his son can burn through his phone and 6 inches of earth due to said text.

"Fuck me." He murmured. After calming his son enough to get in the truck to go to the hospital, he responded to Alice. Well, he gave her access to his phone and let her know they're coming because the child of his son's godfather needs to be there. Fuck, did he submit the papers?

"Where is Timothy Smith?" Orion spoke firmly to the receptionist, holding his son's steaming shirt to make sure Honos didn't run through. "I'm here to see my son's godfather and one of my people as the prince of the Blaecwood throne. Could I have his room number, please? Or his current status, should we not be able to visit at the current moment?" He didn't notice his beau or the rest of the Stanes. Not when he's more focused on his son crying and begging to see his Uncle Tim-Tam, on the fact that he's very much green in rage regardless of how he's trying to hide it, and the need to see Timothy. He did tap his phone twice, as a way to let Alice know they're there.

-----------------------------------------

Honos found out through a classmate about Tim. The classmate laughed and joked about the man possibly dying. Said classmate now has a 2nd degree burn for a black eye and a busted nose. He didn't regret it. Not one bit. Not when they might be right.

Once home, he checked his phone, terrified that Alice might've messaged him. She did and he burned his phone when he screamed. He doesn't like family in hospitals. Most died in there. He can't have another gone too. It took longer than normal for his papa to calm him down. But by the time they showed up, it was 20 minutes since the text was sent.

Honos noticed Ivan and Scott. He noticed a few other people that he didn't recognized but he didn't care. He needed to get to his Uncle Tim-Tam. He needed to see him. Now.

[Alice]

The air in front of the receptionist, and the entire entryway even, shimmered slightly for a moment before retaining an altered color. She'd erected a force field, an impassable barrier. She shook her head from the other side.

"No. That man is a hero of Aegis and I am not letting anyone in to see him unless they can give me official documentation proving that they're immediate family. He is not going to be assassinated by some floozy claiming to be his girlfriend on my watch." she said with a pointed look at Adara.

Alice texted everyone again.

---> Someone put in an earbud or something so I can talk and don't have to text. They're not giving me anything. Cracking the hospital's new encryption is going to take too long, and nobody is giving me any information. All I know is he was taken in in critical condition and was unconscious! Hell, the Star has more goddamn information than I do and they're claiming he punched an alien space ship!

Alice was trying hard to stay calm. She was venting stress by screwing with the Astaria Star's computer systems and scrambling their stories and headlines, delaying the publishing of anything to do with this. She was going to keep them busy until there was an official statement and until she could get in somehow and see Tim.

Monica Stane

[Monica Stane]

Of course her question regarding Dr. Richards wasn't answered. She should show her badge - no, what good would that do? She needed to call - no, he'd been injured too. He was likely being treated somewhere else. He wouldn't be able to answer his phone. Besides, Ivan had probably already tried calling him after texting his boyfriends what had happened. Then someone else came to the front desk with a teenager. Monica's eyes went to the child first, noting the steam, the way he'd clearly been crying - perhaps this man was here to get treatment for the teen but this wasn't the emergency room. But then he spoke Tim's name and she knew her children's eyes were on him as well as Adara's. She also noted the green tinge to his skin. Perhaps that was power related? One could never be certain in this city. Adara didn't seem too surprised - either she'd met them already or been told about these two. Lisa and Julian seemed to mirror their mother's confusion. Scott and Ivan looked very surprised. All seemed to note that throne comment. Monica frowned faintly. She didn't recall hearing anything about royalty moving to the city. "Orion? Honos?" Scott said - Oh, so that was why he was confused. Her two eldest clearly knew this man and teenager. That gave her even more reason to look into them later. Then the receptionist spoke. Adara's eyes widened, clearly taking a moment to process whether she'd heard correct. Four sets of dark green eyes and Monica's own soft, brown eyes hardened as the forcefield went up but not necessarily because of that but rather the woman's words. "You should be careful how you speak to people during your job," Monica said carefully and evenly, already knowing who she was going to talk to about this. No, he wasn't a part of the hospital but his position likely gave him enough influence to get that woman fired. "Especially people who are clearly upset and worried. If you don't want to deal with people, get a new job." "Mom," Scott's voice was a warning. She knew that tone. "Contact Aegis," Adara snapped at the receptionist, "The Pillars know about me and can verify I'm his girlfriend. Unless you want to keep being a bitch, I suggest you do your actual job." Ivan's eyes moved toward Orion and Honos - though who was which, Monica didn't know. Scott's hand found its way onto his brother's shoulder, his own eyes glancing toward Orion and Honos before meeting his mother's gaze. He nodded toward the front corner of the hospital. She followed Scott, who guided Ivan, Julian and Lisa on their tails. A quick glance over his shoulder to make sure they were far enough away and Scott turned to the rest of his family, each of them lowering their voices. "Did you know they knew Tim?" Ivan asked, voice strained. Scott lightly shook his head. "No and I'm guessing you didn't either." "Who are they?" Lisa asked. "Scott's boyfriend and his boyfriend's kid," Ivan answered. All eyes went to Scott. "Your boyfriend's green," Julian pointed out, arching a brow. "That - I... Apparently," Scott sighed, running a hand over his face and through his hair. He glanced back at the receptionist desk, the others following his gaze. Adara looked pissed off enough to start a fire. "Royalty too," Monica added, earning confused looks from Scott and Ivan. Both seemed to take a moment to process that and simultaneously paled when they did. That's right, hadn't she heard from them that one of Ivan's boyfriends was related to Scott's? "But how do they know Tim?" Lisa asked, "Didn't your boyfriend, uh...?" "Orion," Scott supplied. "Right, Orion - didn't he say Tim's his kid's godfather?" Ivan's hands started to glow white and he quickly hid them under his arms. "Tim would have told me if he knew someone well enough to be made their kid's godfather." "I trust Orion," Scott stated, earning a glare from Ivan. "And I trust you'd be easy to lie to and fool," Ivan snapped. Scott opened his mouth but closed it when Monica cleared her throat. Arguing wasn't going to help after all. "We need to figure out how to get past that forcefield," Julian added, steering the conversation back to what he likely felt was more important at the moment. Scott and Monica exchanged a look. "I can try to sneak in another door," Lisa offered, "It can't cover the whole building." "I can transform and go in through vents," Ivan added. Scott and Monica exchanged another look. Scott sighed. "No," Scott said, earning a confused look from Lisa and Julian and an outright glare from Ivan. He held up his hands in front of him to stop the snaps he knew were coming. "Look, the receptionist is--" "Going to be fired," Monica interrupted, "Continue, sweetheart." Scott let out another sigh. "But we knew this would happen if Tim ever got seriously hurt. Just like we knew it'd happen to him if one of us did. It's how hospitals work. We just... We have to wait. It sucks, I know, but eventually either we'll get updated or Aegis will update Alice and she'll update us." "Your brother's right," Monica said, then nodded toward the receptionist's desk where Adara, Orion, and Honos assumedly still were. "You should tell them that too." This time Scott groaned. She knew he was tired of being the responsible one but it was what he was best at. "Yeah, I will," he said before turning on his heels and heading back over toward the desk.

... why did love put a gun in my hand? In my bed, in my head, in my hand. was it for redemption? was it for revenge? ... valkyrie Orion Black outfits tbd 933 words notes

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[Orion Black]

"...'lo rosebud" He spoke weakly, face bleeding to his normal skin tone and turning pale. He was about to talk to Scott but heard the insult towards Adara. He growled and bled green, eyes glowing a poisonous green.

He glared at the receptionist and pulled out his phone. He saw the text from Alice and fished out his ear buds while slamming his phone in front of the woman with a picture showing Adara and Tim, both laughing. Honos took it the one time he met Adara.

"I respect your concern for Timothy as you have heard the story about someone trying to kill their partner beforehand. That was me. I was the victim. But that woman right there ain't no floozy nor does she plan to kill her boyfriend and I suggest you apologize to her right now before I have my lawyers drag your ass through the mud for slander. Do you understand." He snarled, putting an earbud in and snatched his phone back, calling Alice.

-----------------

Honos just watched this happened, numb and clinging to Orion's shirt. He sees familiar faces of Scott and Ivan, but he's processing none of it. Not since he's been prevented on seeing Tim. He trusts his papa to figure it out and to keep him safe, so he allowed himself to just...be there. That is until he was handed an earbud and saw the phone call.

"...Alice?"

[Alice]

The receptionist crossed her arms, a nametag reading "Karyn" easily seen now on her cardigan. "I never said she was a floozy. You assumed. I'm not apologizing for anything and nobody is getting through here until I see some paperwork."

Alice, meanwhile, instantly picked up when Orion called. "Oh thank GOD, tell me what's happening, how is he? Are they letting you in? I can't see anything, I can't get into the cameras, I can't hear anything, I don't know what's going on!"

Over at the Star, a server overheated. Random glitch. At least that's what they'd think.

"Where are you guys? Are you inside? Is he still unconscious? I'm not getting any info from Aegis at all, we set up a system where things can lock me out if I get too emotional. I'm really emotional right now. Talk to me. Tell me what's happening because I can't see a goddamn thing unless there's a camera and I can't hear a goddamn thing unless there's a microphone. Where's the Stanes? They're not on the call. Why aren't they on the call too?"

Alice took a deep "breath" to calm herself a bit. Really, just a few cycles of pause, but a "breath" was essentially what she was doing. "Sorry. Freaking out. Talk to me. Tell me what's happening. There's... Tim put something on his private server? Something encrypted, locked up. It's got a countdown timer and every time he checks in with me it resets the timer and I'm... I'm scared of what's inside it. I don't want the timer to hit zero."

Monica Stane

[Scott Stane]

There was so much going on, so many questions left unanswered - hell so many left unasked. And not all of them were related to Tim's situation. He hadn't realized Alice had sent texts to all of them until he'd seen everyone arrive. And now that he'd processed the fact that Tim apparently knew and was pretty close to Orion and Honos, he was really hoping Alice had just texted Orion and not Honos. A friend being hurt seemed like something a parent should tell their kid, at least to him. He reached the receptionist's desk in time to catch the last bit of Orion's words - something about lawyers - and instinctively reaching up and giving Orion's shoulder a gentle but firm squeeze like he would with one of his siblings. "You did call me that," Adara snapped, seeming to hold herself back from saying words Scott assumed would get her kicked out of the hospital. "Thank you, ma'am," Scott interjected, hoping to get in the way of any more hostility on both ends. "I apologize, we're all just worried - We'll get out of your hair now." He kept his hand on Orion's shoulder, eyes falling onto Honos with concern before moving to look to Adara. "We're not going to find out anything. Best we can do is hope Aegis is able to update Alice soon and then she can update us." Of course he didn't know that Orion and Honos had called Alice. "We all just need to calm down and it sucks, but we need to wait." He felt a small breeze his the back of his neck and removed his hand from Orion's shoulder, turning partly to look around. The doors hadn't opened. His eyes met with Lisa's across the room. He nodded to Ivan then nodded toward the door. Lisa elbowed Julian to get his attention and Scott looked around, knowing the two of them would get Ivan outside before he would lose control of his powers. His eyes fell onto Honos again, hearing footsteps returning to his side, knowing it was his mother. He lightly bit down on his lower lip before looking to Orion again. "Should he be here?" he asked, voice low, not wanting the teenager to overhear and also not wanting to make it obvious that he thought the answer was no. Hospitals were never pleasant places but he was certain there was a chance Honos was dissociating based on how he appeared. "Maybe you two should head home...? Alice can update me when she hears from Aegis and then I can update you."

... feel the weight of the world over me tonight. if i break, if i break down this time, hope you know i tried ... atlas Orion Black outfits tbd 430 words Switching to Scott's POV instead of Monica's. 💚

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[Orion Black]

Orion relaxed and calmed down when he felt Scott grabbed his shoulder. He leaned back a bit and closed his eyes, taking a deep breathe as he listened to Honos and Alice talk.

He looked back at Scott, skin vaguely green and eyes tired. "Hello, rosebud." He smiled. "Honos best stays here, or things might be worse with him. Hospitals and family in it ain't good for him, but it comforts him if he can see them safe." He explained at the question.

He walked away from the counter and snagged Scott's hand, leading Honos towards the chairs. He knows his son is more focus than before but didn't notice that the teen was dissassocisting too.

"I know I can get in, once I get the documents proving that Tim is Honos' godfather. And since I'm his father, I'd be going in too. But I know that Adara and Ivan are more important to Tim than myself, so I can substitute myself for them. Does anyone know how to get Alice into the system? She can't get in and is basically blind and deaf on everything that's happening. Honos is talking to her right now. Does anyone wanna pop in and use my earbuds?" He asked those around him, tired.

"Oh, I'm Orion and this is Honos" He smiled, holding his hand out to Monica.

-------------

Honos took a deep breath and focused on Alice and her voice, feeling more grounded and not lost. "Uh...we haven't heard anything about Tim. I heard a rumor that he's in a coma and it's a bad one at school, but I don't know if that's true. Do you need help getting into the server? I'm sure dad will let me use his phone to help me help you hack the server?" He offered, babbling a bit.

"Do you think that countdown is a protocol on if he dies? Like hidden messages for those he cares about? I know my grandmother has that and I know the triplets do too. Was planning to do it myself, honestly. But yeah, what can I do? How can I help?" He asked, snagging Orion's phone and pulling up some hidden sites and servers, ready to listen to Alice.

[Alice]

Karyn looked smug as the group largely turned away, and didn't respond to Adara's accurate accusations. She sat down back behind the desk, but kept the shimmering transparent purple-blue field up.

"I need official documents before anyone gets in." she repeated again.

Meanwhile, Alice was still venting frustrations and trying her best to find out exactly what was happening. "I don't know what the countdown is. It's some encrypted file and I don't know what's in it, but knowing Tim and his flair for the dramatic its some sort of "Hey so I'm dead" message and I don't know if I could handle seeing that right now. He's not dead. He's not dying. He's fine. He'll be okay. Have they let you guys in yet?"

She once again tried to wirelessly tap into the hospital servers, but ran into the firewall again. "I can't get into their system remotely. They've upgraded the firewall and encryption since the last time I got in. I misspelled every doctor's name in their system because I was bored. I need a direct connection, ideally a terminal that someone left logged in, but if I can get around the firewall protecting the system from outside connections I should be able to get past the internal firewall just fine. Unless they updated that one too."

In Alice's perception, she looked at the file on Tim's server, counting away. "I think he set some kind of trigger for the countdown to speed up too. It doesn't show up like this usually. We have... twenty minutes, maybe? before it opens. Also why aren't any of the Stanes on this call? Did they all forget their phones or something?"

Scott Stane