revivalproject | Obsolete

WHO: Tony and open!
WHERE: The university, the mine hole...?, the beach caves
WHAT: Fixing the zombie problem
WHEN: Through the October biohazard event
WARNINGS: Gore, probably! Zombie stuff.

a. the beach
It was quiet, like the sand and the fog that hung so densely over the water cushioned any sound. Even Tony's footsteps, which had been so trudgingly heavy to Tony's ears on the road, were deadened as he reached the beach, and the creak and rattle of his armor as he moved was softened to static, like the hush of the waves. The fog was thick enough here that he had to pause and squint through it as he broke through the treeline, trying to spot the shape of the radio tower that should have been a clear landmark. It was leaning, precariously. If anyone not yet accounted for had made their way down here, and Tony suspected they had, to keep the water to one side and away from where the zombies must have been congregating around the sounds and lights of the city, the tower might not have been working for them. Tony hissed, and started a jog toward the caves, slowed by the heavy metal, and the regular ring of the scabbard at his side bouncing into his armored thigh.

It was only as he was hauling the weight of the metal up the rocks that he heard it. He had to stop, sweat from the effort quickly chilling in the cool air to raise goosebumps along his skin as he listened. A slap-slap-slap, like someone running, barefoot across the stones, echoing in the caves. Not the shamble of the zombies struggling to animate their limbs. Tony took a breath, could feel the call at the back of his throat, and it came out as a sigh when he realized it wasn't just one set of footsteps. Slap-slap-slap-slap.

The fog didn't seem so smothering as Tony turned to climb quickly, the clanking of his armor like an alarm and every rattling breath a siren.

b. the mine
Littering the city with as many posters as possible to draw people to the safety of the university was only really effective if the entire zombie horde didn't descend on the same building. And it was temporary, armor against a battering that had to be redirected. On a small scale, that was easy; Tony could spot movement in the fog, and shout, "Hey, come and get it!," or bang a metal fist against a concrete wall to ring like a dinner bell. Any sound, any movement, and they'd come lurching after him, immediately distracted from whatever had been driving their struggling brains a moment ago. As a mass, though, they were formidable.

The bigger problem was, even Tony's fireworks had been confiscated. The more complex devices, with controlled chemical reactions, timers, pressurizers, remote controls and kill switches, all of those were all his, and all immediately useless in the dead city. What their alien babysitter recognized as more computer, or less immediately as explosive, suddenly didn't work like the systems Tony built were sensitive to the whims of the weather. And what he needed, something that just blew up if he threw it hard enough, had to be built again, against the hope that whoever was keeping his toys away from him wouldn't notice for long enough.

The top of the greenhouse provided a clear vantage point over the gaping void that was the hole in the earth where he was supposed to die. Making a quick explosion, that was easy; Tony could assemble a grenade with his eyes completely unfocused, staring into the darkness all the while, until he had the mass drawn back by his shoulder in a slingshot to send in a perfect arc toward that emptiness. Most of them exploded before they reached the mine; some hit the wall a few feet deep, and rained fire into the depths of it, a silent lightshow at this distance. They were all as effective as Tony thought, drawing huddled groups of zombies toward the commotion, managing to lure a few of them over the edge. As a mass, though...

There had to be some way to set up a show.

c. the university
D.A.T.A.'s aperture looked dull and still. Watching over the grounds would be his job right now, if he wasn't in Tony's lap, his motherboard exposed to search fruitlessly for some loosened wire, sign of discharge, warped board, that could be fixed to bring him back to life. Instead, it was Tony that glanced up occasionally, his muttered apologies long since fallen silent, peering out into the dark through the narrow gap at the top of the window's reinforcement. The view was always the same. A dense carpet of fog, swirled by slow, jerky movements, and a brilliant ceiling of stars. The thunder continued to rumble, like it came from the fog itself, the stormclouds clinging to the earth. Tony barely heard it anymore, like the occasional pop from the candles flickering around the foyer. His busy hands slowed as he watched the stars with longing.

It was the strange light that darted between them, fizzing like lightning, that snapped his focus down to an unfamiliar movement outside by the gates. It wasn't loping or shambling, but moved with awareness. Intent. D.A.T.A. bounced as he hit the ground and Tony vaulted himself off of the ladder he was perched on to see over the barrier, then went sliding to a stop on the polished floors in front of the lever that he had to haul up and over to crank the doors open. They groaned, and thundered like the fog as they reluctantly parted, pouring light out into the night. Tony cut through it like a shadow, and could feel all of the hungry attention snap toward the signs of life. He didn't hesitate, winding back and pitching something into the sky, where it popped with a shriek and a flare of light, exposing him just long enough to wave impatiently to the figure in the dark while the zombies tracked the noise with their dead eyes.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Because of course a boy from Tony's world was going to be like that. Tae sighs. You can see on her face just how ridiculous she finds it.

"Without his abilities?"

That did kind of sound dire, when the alternative was that Wiccan could just will a zombie into a bouquet of flowers, and Tony had just let him go out there into hordes of them with just the power of natural law to rely on. Tony's focus flicked toward the door, and remained there while he tried to smooth the guilty set of his own mouth as he argued, "Are you telling me you can't do your job, just because the lights went out?" Sure, Tae was lacking some equipment that made the process a hell of a lot easier. That didn't make her years of experience useless.

Could a boy will a zombie into a bouquet of flowers? How terrifying. Granted Tae doesn't know the full expanse of the young man's powers, so she should be terrified and surprised. And then she would likely move on.

"I'm saying that microscopes are not wonderfully effective without sufficient light. Something I'm sure you are aware of."

Tony's nose wrinkled, clearly not expecting that kind of deflection to his argument. He'd have to respond in kind, with his fingers drumming on the counter and head tipped with a challenge. "Okay, tell you what, I'll do the medical care then and you can just make yourself comfortable," he suggested. "I don't know the difference. My bandaging is probably going to look the same as it did before the fog."

Tae laughs at the very suggestion.

"My darling, it's quite alright. This is the sort of distraction that is wise for me to experience. Keeping people alive is my duty. My purpose here. You put your genius mind toward our defense."

With a wry smile, looking pleased that he could make her laugh with a glimmer of challenge in his eye yet, Tony pressed, "What--spiritually?" Whatever Tae's guiding purpose, he took it as a suggestion that he should get his ass off of her work area, sliding back down and pulling her bags across the counter to assess what she was working with instead. "Or is that just, you know, you've done the math, assigned everyone their roles, you've got yours and I've got mine, and you've got to tell me who you think is just here for eye candy."

"I have seen you around enough to know that you are the sort to throw himself into danger for others. I just do not have the energy to chide you for it for a change," Tae admitted with a shrug. "Already your defensible location makes me feel like I am correct. Though you are quite eye candy. Too bad it's out of stock."

"Maybe I do it for the chiding," Tony pointed out, slouching over the bags where he propped himself on his elbow, to turn a coquettish smile on Tae. At least someone thought his location was defensible. It was from there even still smiling that he flicked out a finger from under his chin, pointing out, "I knew he'd be on your mind there. You were supposed to say Jon. He's a little sweet treat, full of eyes. Come on."

"And I will gladly chide you later. But I have a zombie infection to try and solve," she reminds him. So she'll chide him for recklessness when that's cleared up. But she does meet his smile with one of her own.

Though hers is so tired looking.

"He is indeed a treat all his own," she agrees. "You both are. One sweet, one sour, and together a good match."

Tony wasn't so sure that was true anymore, so he only gave a tight smile and breath of a laugh before he was pointing down at the bag he had rested on to ask, "Is that what all of this is for?" He hauled himself back up, both hands flicking out then and instructing, "Eat, catch your breath. I'll go see if there is a bed made for you, and I'll find something to wipe this place down with." There was definitely enough parts in the shop to turn the kitchen into a reasonable medical theatre if he could sneak down there while Tae got her rest. By the time she was ready, he'd have the windows fully sealed to amplify the light inside without alerting the hordes, and surfaces cleared. If she was going to cure this thing, Tony had to do his best to help.

"A lot of it is medical supplies, but some of it is research materials, yes," Tae agrees. "Normally I'd leave potential virology stuff to Dr. Wesker, but I have not seen him since this began."

Which was hardly surprising. The man must be having the time of his life, though she did not know that.

"A bed? There are beds here?"

There is such hope in her eyes. Oh Tony, you'll be tied for her favorite if you have a bed for her.

It wasn't clear if Tae's tone was just from her exhaustion, or if she was worried about not seeing her colleague, but Tony guessed at a murmured reassurance, "He can handle himself. He knows what he's doing." If anyone was out there managing handily, it was the guy who could outrun a laser.

Tony responded to her hopeful expression with a confused light of his brow and chuckle, hands open in welcome. "What do you think I've been doing this whole time?" he asked. A secure base was just a smaller death trap if his team wasn't properly supported. "You probably won't even have to bunk with anyone. I'll bring you a tally of volunteers, anyway, it's nice knowing the number."

No one could out run a laser, clearly. What a silly suggestion. Good thing she doesn't hear that thought. She wouldn't know what to do with it.

"Being pretty, watching the door, dragging the imperiled out of situations they put themselves in."

She looks at him, momentarily confused over volunteers, and decides it's because she's too tired to figure it out.

"I think a rest might do my head some good."

Tony's smirk was finally almost a familiar one, with a toothy edge that suggested she might regret being so generous with her compliments before he was indicating with his chin toward the food he had presented her with. "Unpack a bit, show me what you're working with so I can get you set up," he suggested before he was sauntering away to check which beds were empty or needed tidying. If Tae was weary enough that he found her asleep at the kitchen counter when he made his way back, then she couldn't have weighed more than a few bolts. Tony could get her somewhere comfortable either way.

OH, right, food. She remembers it now, reaching for it and pulling it close. She should eat some. As a doctor she is certain of it. So she forces herself to getting some into her mouth and ultimately down before she answers.

"I should do that. Yes. Forgive me, it's...."

And before she can say more he's gone. Wow, she really was delayed. Alright, she can work with that. She starts to nibble at the food while unpacking, which is not the most organized process.

She does, though, fail to stay awake. Takes a moment to sit down and relax and... Just falls asleep right there.

Obsolete

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