14090/Happy Harbor: Spring Science Fair 23'

Happy Harbor: Spring Science Fair 23'
Date of Scene:	01 April 2023
Location:	Gymnasium - Happy Harbor High School
Synopsis:	The Happy Harbor Science Fair is here...and yes, per usual there was CHAOS.
Cast of Characters:	Morrigan MacIntyre, Richard Stadler, Tommy Shepherd, Xiomara Rojas, Michael Hannigan

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Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
IT. IS. SCIENCE FAIR TIME!

The Happy Harbor High School Science Fair has been something that has been a staple for the school since it opened. It allowed the teens to exercise their imaginations while inviting others from around the state to also show off what they could do. In the end, it was a good time. Unless there were giant ants involved that made the Headmistress cry in her shower later, but that's not important!

They have guests in from all parts of the country today given some of the entries and this year is set to be one of the biggest. Hopefully Morrigan has enough money to cover scholarship costs. (Don't worry, she does.).

The gym has been streamlined to help with the flow of traffic for judges and those that are looking over displays. There is an absence of Declan and Delia today, but Tyler is hanging around one of the check in tables as he's helping with that part of the event. He very rarely talks outside of offering people pleasantries.

Morrigan is currently around and showing some of their guests where certain things are. Plus she's keeping an eye on some of the more worrisome experiments that some teens have brought in. Because lets face it...something always goes wrong with this event. She's not expecting this year to be different.

Though she could hope!

Richard Stadler has posed:
Going wrong? Well, that was science, wasn't it? Not that Stadler was afraid of a little mishap, here or there. He knew were the fire alarms, fire extingishers, AED, first aid kits, and exits were. So long as there wasn't someone with a small nuclear device they cobbled together from a home chemistry kit this weekend, certainly he was prepared for all eventualities.

He really liked to think that. This school was doing very well in throwing him outside context curveballs, however, so what else could he do but expect the unexpected?

Currently, he's roaming the fair, well polished shoes clacking slowly across the wooden slats on the gym's floor as he observed one project after another. The tablet he was marking down his notes and judgements on was a bit new-fangled compared to a good old fashioned metal clipboard and a Skilcraft pen, but it had been easy enough to get the hang of. Occassionally, he'll stop and ask a few questions to one of the more eager looking students. Sometimes testing knowledge, other genuninely curious about the project itself.

Lord, some of the kids here were smarter than he was, he knew it.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    At one point, Tommy probably had a reputation of his own not all that dissimilar to Declan and Delia's. Not at Happy Harbor, but at previous schools, where his presence at a science fair of all things would raise some eyebrows (and blood pressures). Today, though, he's just an onlooker, milling around the tables and taking in the sights.

    Mostly he's hoping to see a few things blow up, as science experiments are wont to do, but he's not going to be doing any of the exploding himself. Best behavior, that's right.

    He's wearing casual clothing since he's here, you know, casually; color-block hoodie, jeans, and a new pair of sneakers whose soles haven't started to melt yet. His hat marks him as a fan of the Red Sox... the Worcester Red Sox, that is. You'd really have to know your Minor League teams to recognize the insignia.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
The fact that Xiomara wanted to be a scientist of sorts was something that was not commonly known. She wanted to study biology, her own mostly, and take engineering to build things, but she was leaning more and more toward biology and genetics.

None of that had anything to do with her science fair entry. The truth was, she hadn't taken the idea of a science fair completely seriously, because she hadn't fully understood the point. So what she had decided on for her entry was extremely simple.

Eight avocado pits in water with toothpicks to hold them in place forced to listen to Halestorm, Broken Peach, and Ramstein over and over again. They had grown quickly, healthily and sprouted out into actual ready to plant trees. So that's when they were all moved into one large kiddy pool full of the best dirt the earth had to offer, she'd made sure it was full of all the nutrients avocado's needed, got UV lights to ensure the proper amount of 'sun', and kept the music going.

Standing there now she was dressed partly in the schools uniform, the shirt and jacket, and a pair of black jeans with her usual knee high combat boots. Next to her was a Coleman's 16 ft. x 42 in above around swimming pool with eight avocado trees planted in it. The trees were each about 40 inches in height, and the ground around them was marked with rocks of different colors with actual names on them... yes, she named the trees.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
It is indeed Science Fair time. While Mike may not be a student, parent, science teacher- hell any type of teacher at all. That he's here at a school science fair is COMPLETELY NORMAL. Really. Even Liaisons for the music industry could have an interest in science.

Although as he's walking around with one of the higher end, working phones out, directed at each of the presentations and none of the students involved, it becomes apparent he might be here on behalf of another. For those catching a glimpse to the 'phone's screen screen, they may even notice the ever present image of a video call in the making.

The musician's not really dressed up. Save for the chilly temperatures outside there was little consideration to the outfit. He didn't even bother taking off the knit cap upon entering the gym.

The nerve.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's been dealing with the usual questions from those that are visitors. Are students allowed to use powers. What happens if they do use powers and all that stuff. Morrigan's tried to assure others that the use of powers of school grounds is prohibited except in dire circumstances that could happen. And with the way of the world, it could very well happen.

The red head has been trailing after a group of overly nosey parents that are 'unofficially' judging some of the students for what they are doing their projects on.

"I bet they taste horrible. All that bitterness." Riordan whispers from her side as he walks with her. One minute there is blank space and then the next is the womans Herald. "Rio, that's rude...but probably accurate." she whispers back to him. "I just want to make sure they don't ruffle too many feathers." she tells him.

Richard Stadler has posed:
Stadler does pass some people he knows, of course. Hannigan is... a bit awkward. He does give a nod, and a slight wave of his hand, but he hadn't spoken to the man at length since their chance meeting at Columbia, which left things a little bit awkward (and, let's face it, Richard was wearing a suit and tie for this; knit caps? Pffft.) They might be heading in the same direction though; it's certainly possible

And there's Tommy, too. He get's a slightly stern look, but given that he wasn't developing anything as... dangerous as his reputation suggested, certainly it wouldn't be a problem. Certainly.

Morrigan gets a nod as well, and a respectful, "Doctor MacIntyre." Good to lend some gravitas to the boss when guests were about. And that leads him right past...

He, of course, stops in front of Crush's rather large set up on the floor, and he can't tell what he's more suprised at; the nature of the experiment, or the fact that she actually had the school's blazer on. "Crush. Good to see you, and this certainly looks like it took some effort." He notes, peering up at the pool itself, and then over at her exhibit. "Quite the set up... I... admittedly was not expecting full fruit trees like this. Avocados, in this climate; remarkable." He notes, holding up his hand. "But. This is a science fair. What sort of data did you collect from the music you played to them?" He asks, formally.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    Hoooooooo boy does that group of adults look particularly nauseating to deal with. Tommy decides to steer well-clear of them, which unfortunately means also steering clear of the Headmistress since she seems to be following after them.

    Nosey parents and someone with Tommy's background are not a good mix. Same goes for nosey parents and someone with Tommy's particular dislike of authority figures. Which is probably why he bristles slightly at the nod from Mr. Stadler and immediately turns on his heels to head in the opposite direction. Suffice it to say there are multiple reasons why he should stay away, so instead he moseys over to Xiomara's experiment, hands in the pockets of his hoodie. And yet somehow in circling around tables, he ends up right where Richard is standing!

    Brush it off, Tommy. Act natural. "And when do you think you'll be knee-deep in guac?" he asks Xiomara, peering down at the plants with a curious gleam to his eyes.

    Or maybe he's just hungry. Yeah, that's probably it. Was that his stomach growling, just then?

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
Crush tries not to look too overly excited and since someone has actually asked, she reaches over and drops the curtain that she set up behind the trees. On it is the information about which bands were used, which is honestly just posters for the bands printed right on the curtain, which is actually just a king sized sheet.

"All over the internet people talk about peas growing to classical music," she explains to Mr. Stadler. "Classical music bites, so I did a full on, one year of growth to metal music."

Now she moves around the trees, the pool being circular of course. "Each tree was subjected to the same songs, every day, usually on repeat," she continues. "The control," she rolls out a smaller tree planted in a large pot on wheels. This one is only around 30 inches in height. "Was grown as the same time, but no music, just... there. It had to be bored." That's right... nine avocado trees.

As Tommy comes up she offers him a nod, maybe an odd sort of smile as she rolls the ninth tree around in front of the rest. "Unfortunately, it takes avocado trees three to four years to produce fruit, so these babies got some time left before we can make guac," she replies with a hint of regret in her tone. "When the time comes though, I'll call ya so you can get in on the fruits of the labor."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Richard's quiet nod and wave is not ignored. And in the same awkward manner in which they were delivered is the same manner in which they are returned. There's the slight sound of protest emitted from a speaker as the phone bobs a bit from the action causing for Mike to look away just as quickly. Perhaps a reconciliation is not in the cards right this moment.

While the path of the exhibits was eventually going to lead Mike there anyways, the sound of the various music acts playing around the plants does cause for the musician to turn his head to look in that direction.

About three volcanoes, a convincing recreation of an ant-sized nuclear reactor, and a display containing some questionably sealed petri dishes later, Mike too joins the gathering at Xio's project.

"Compliments to the music selection." Mike comments to Crush, giving a small smile as he directs the camera towards the plants. "Although are you factoring in the influences classical music has in the development of the metal and rock variants? The camera moves over to focus upon the band information listed. "I think in another time you'd might have favored Berlioz. Bit of a rebel in his own right."

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's 'cut off from the rest of the pack' as some would say. But the women she's trailing after stop to look at a booth that is on the end of the rows of tables towards the end. They all start gossiping very loudly about the particular student being expelled from the high school they are representing and there is a pensive look that starts to break out on the Doctors face.

She steps forward and excuses herself around the gaggling of women that are chatting, "Did you say the student is expelled from their school?" she asks them.

One of the women turn to look at Morrigan with a bit of an offended look, "Didn't anyone let you know?" she sniffs at her.

Oh no. "No. I'd not been informed or I would have politely directed them back home." she explains. Then she's turning to head towards the teen and their display that has a good crowd around it. Given it's dealing with electric currents one could wonder why.

"I apologize, but this display can't be shown if you are expelled from your current school. I'm sorry." she explains to the teen. Which he doesn't take too well to.

Because he almost immediately freaks out. Sending a shower of electrical sparks everywhere and knocking over his table as he tries to get away.

It's honestly like well orchestrated chaos...just now with more sparkles and a lot of screaming started.

Richard Stadler has posed:
Don't think that Rick doesn't notice Tommy's bristling demeanor, and the quick turn around from Stadler's direction of travel. It certainly isn't /good/, but Tommy wasn't causing trouble, so he'd have to let it go like water rolling off a duck's back. Until he ends up in front of him anyway. All right, that was just a bit funny, and he had to give a small smile at that. But

Back to Crush's display of information, and the honestly heartwarming eager nature of her presentation. "Well, I might disagree with you on classical music, but that's a hypothesis to test another time." He notes, following along with Xio as she circles the pool itself to show the trees off. "I see you did look at how a certain playlist would influence their growth. Excellent to control what was tested, and, /well/." He remarks, as she brings out a /ninth/ tree. "A control! And it certainly does disprove your null hypothesis." He notes, quickly jotting something down on the tablet in front of him."

Oh, wonderful, more people circling back where it would be awkward to talk to. Nothing to it but to move forward and see if some off this could be broken. "It's... certainly an interesting observation in terms of music history, certainly, but I don't think there's an argument that both have different structures at the present time. A new experiment showing the difference in growth between musical genre's would certainly be interesting however..."

He frowns a moment. "Well, assuming you go in that direction; Honestly, have you thought about taking the fruit over to Syracuse once you have it? I met some people at CUNY who were running 4H; I could ask-"

AND THERE WAS THE CHAOS. Stadler can hear the commision, then the suddeen sparking arcs of electricity, blood draining from his face. "Hell. Crush, protect your trees. Shepard, there's a breaker box in the door marked 'electrical'. I don't know what cricuit it's on; flip the main. I'm going for an extingisher."

He's off at a jog to grab something to fight a potential fire. Though given the fact that someone will have to coordinate with a fire department and outside authority, chances are he'll be run ragged until the situation is resolved.

At least it's tradition.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    "Oh that's, like, forever from now," Tommy says with a sad lilt to his voice, looking on with his eyebrows drawn together at the copse of trees assembled in the pool. That noise sounds again, a low grumble, and Tommy's hands clench against his midsection from inside the pockets of his jacket.

    Yep, that was definitely his stomach growling.

    He's useless when it comes to all the science talk so between that and the hunger pains, his attention starts to wander. Head all but on a swivel, that's when he notices that the newcomer is holding some sort of video call. Or maybe recording, Tommy doesn't know which, but either way he turns away from Michael so that there won't be much of him to capture except the back of his head; at least that's his intention, but then down the line of tables something starts to happen, and he's being told what to do.

    Naturally there's some bristling at that, but Tommy starts off at a very human-speed jog, aware still of potentially being recorded, to go find the breaker. As of yet he has no idea this isn't anything but a minor electrical emergency.

    Of course, once he's out of sight he puts on the super-speed so he's already turned the breaker off and is strolling back to see what happened.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
The last bit of the presentation is handing out a flyer with pictures of the trees at various stages throughout the year, and a list of every song played. Crush put some work into this, quite a lot really for avocado trees.

"I'll try listening to this Berloiz fellow," she says to Mike with a slight shrug, passing out a few more flyers.

"I based my experiment off the Mythbuster's, who already proved that music of any kind causes plants to grow better," she then says to Mr. Stadler. "I might consider doing another experiment, but it..."

Chaos. The trees were just trees, and although she loved then, they weren't as important as people. Immediately taking note of who is in the direct line of the electricity, Crush drops the flyers, takes one aimed jump into the line of fire to grab up the teenagers who were about to get shocked and then jumped away to safety without a single word. Apparently Mr. Stadler's, 'Be nicer' and Superman's mentoring influence on 'being a hero' had kicked in.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike nods to the suggestion of a follow up experiment. "If there's any difference you could probably break down what the differences are between the song selections and go from there. An-" The loud protest from the phone followed by the screaming causes for Mike to stop. Turning his head he looks over to the screaming student.

Mike looks to the camera of the phone. "Sorry Hank." Hanging up, the musician starts moving towards the screaming. Spotting Morrigan he approaches her first "What happened?"

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
It is after the dust settles that most might notice that the sparks actually come from the student in question. While he's not from Happy Harbor, they are using...or have out of control powers. Plus the added sparks from the circuitry added to things. There's already people moving towards them to help out. Apparently the kids name is Melvin Stanford and has a history of...lashing out.

Do we need to wonder why?

The teens aren't scared of Crush jumping in, more thankful that the other is there to help them. Riordan moves to catch the flying table and makes sure that no one is hit with it. One less injury on the board.

Morrigan had moved quickly to try to push the gaggle of Stepford Moms away from the area and there are a few sparks that land in her hair. Which causes it to start smoking at the ends.

Thankfully there is no other sparks since Tommy and Richard thought quickly to turn things off and grab an extinguisher to help with putting things out.

Meanwhile, Melvin has been headed off by a few teachers from the gathering. "He's probably scared, don't stress him out anymore, please." the Irish woman states in a calm tone. Then there's a look to Mike as he comes over, "Apparently someone forgot to mention they were expelled and snuck in to do their science project still." she frowns as she makes sure that the ladies and others are okay.

There are a few singes and things, but nothing too serious.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
Once the teens are safely out of the way, Crushes attention moves to the direction the kid went. Her new instinct of 'caring' was bubbling over, but she was the last person who should go after him.

"He shoulda been allowed to show his exhibit," she sort of mutters, as she starts to make her way toward Mike and Ms MacIntyre. "Even if he couldn't win, he did all that work... oh well."

Once she reaches the adults, she stops her muttering to ask, "Want me to go after him? See if I can calm him down?" Again, the fact that she even offered to help another living, breathing person was a sign of the changes the Czarnian was going through. She wanted to help his kid, not because she had to, not because someone was telling her to do it, she wanted to help because /she/ felt she should.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    Huh. So it wasn't a bad generator or a... something something electrical wiring that Tommy doesn't understand. Hands in his pockets, he remains on the edge of the crowd, watching with an expression frozen into impassivity.

    Mostly because he's a rolling ball of emotions inside and doesn't want to show it. This is a little too close to home, and he takes in a slow, deep breath. He looks left and right, trying to get a sense of the mood of the crowd, how likely they are to turn on this kid just having an emotional meltdown. In this moment he's more likely to intercede to help this... Melvin, than he is to try to assist any of the onlookers.

    So after a moment he pushes his way through to the front and turns around, looking for Morrigan. "Can't we clear these people out any?" he asks. "He's probably just overwhelmed and needs some space. Nothing good will come of him being stuck in the middle of this crowd." That tone of voice... it's nearly Tommy begging. Just shy of it, really.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Ah." Mike gives a nod, glancing in the direction of a few teachers heading off to stop the student. He frowns, "Well, there is a lot on the line. Competition's pretty high when it comes to scholarships." he pauses, frowning as an odd thought comes to mind. "I wonder...were they expelled for a legitimate reason or was it more because of - this?"

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a look to Xio and there's an apologetic look, "It's more for safety reasons than anything having to do with winnings." she tells her gently. "There is a bit of a look to those who have roped Melvin off and there is a nod to Tommy, "Yeah, lets go get him and see if we can get him some air. I don't think anyone was seriously hurt." she states.

She then turns to the crowd that's gathering, "Ladies and gentlemen, I do apologize, but due to safety reasons we're going to call the event done. We'll announce winners and things at another time." she speaks loud enough to let her voice carry, but not be yelling. "If anyone needs medical attention or is feeling off please see one of the doctors on site before you leave and we will take care of it." she adds.

"I'm guessing we'll have to ask. I didn't get an email from their school stating that they were expelled, but it could have happened recently as well." she admits to Mike.

"And if everyone could back up from Melvin we're going to get him some air and see what the situation is. We appreciate the cooperation in this." she states as she lets Tommy and others go see if they can lead said teen off to get some air...and a quiet moment.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"Or it could be nothing more than a rumor." Mike assesses. Considering the amount of people advancing towards Melvin, it didn't make sense to add to the dogpile. "I can tell you from first hand experience that there's no age limit to the target of those" He glances back to where the sound initially came from. "...Before this happened, did he have a good chance of winning the scholarship?"

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    No super speed is necessary here; Tommy only has to take a couple of steps before he's asserting himself amidst the people trying to crowd Melvin. "Scuse me," he says, New Jersey accent playing up a little extra as elbows his way past the dispersing crowd to get to Melvin.

    To whom he only offers a "Hey man, you hungry? Let me take you to the vending machines, they stock the good stuff here. Government money, you know?"

    Yeah, that's the angle he's going with. Melvin's a teenager, and teenagers are always hungry.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
With permission granted, Crush breaks off from the adults of Happy Harbor and moves toward the gaggle of people around Melvin. She's calm, perhaps more calm than anyone has ever seen her before. There's no anger, no hint of her usual rage or aggression, instead it is replaced by a near tranquilness.

"Hey there, that was a great exhibit, totally unfair they wouldn't let you compete," she states as she inserts herself into the group and actually offers the kid her hand to shake. "Names Crush, wanna go with Tommy an I for some burgers, or pizza?"

There's nothing scary in her tone or body language, that is unless one of the adults tries to reinsert themselves between her, Tommy and Melvin... it's not going to happen. This kid needs a break... the alien and mutant were going to make that happen.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a look to Mike and there is a bit of a nod to that, "It could be." she tells him. "We'll get to the bottom of it and go from there with everything. I just want to make sure he's not hurt and that no one else gets spooked." she states. Most people are heading out as it was. Cleanup would be tomorrow. "I'm not sure how close to the top three he was. I'll ask the judges this evening after we've sorted everything out." she adds.

She leans in to whisper something to Riordan and nods towards Tommy, Crush and Melvin. Rio then starts over to them. He worldlessly produces a fifty and hands it over to Tommy, "Have fun." he tells the group and then he's off. He gives a pat to Morrigan's hair, "You've been singed." he tells her with a very disapproving look. That makes her laugh, "I've been dead before to. Lets get everyone out safe and sound and then I have homework to do. I'll send Benvy to make sure no one bothers the teens." she points out.