395/Happy Harbor: Science Fair

Happy Harbor: Science Fair
Date of Scene:	01 April 2020
Location:	Gymnasium - Happy Harbor High School
Synopsis:	Happy Harbor's science fair goes off without a bang...or wait...several bangs!
Cast of Characters:	Morrigan MacIntyre, Samuel Morgan, M'gann M'orzz, Xiomara Rojas, Dane Whitman, Jemma Simmons, Naomi McDuffie, Gabby Kinney, Alexander Aaron, Alton Schmidt, Daniel Hastings

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Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
It is time for the SCIENCE FAIR!

For SCIENCE!

The gym has been set up for the science fair that's being hosted now that everyone is back from Spring Break. It's one of those normal things that schools have. But, there are some trepidations that something might explode, which is every teachers concern when one thinks kids are going to mix chemicals. These guys were smarter though. Morrigan's given the judges a clipboard with basic things to check for on them and they've been tasked with checking out what the teens have to offer.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    For someone who has never gone to a regular school before, Sam jumped into the deep end both feet first. First the prom, now the science fair... There's even rumors he might be trying out for a football team, should one begin to form. And there's no doubt that he's put some thought into this... he's been working for /weeks/. Probably he's one of those students you worry about when this time of year comes around, and his name on the list might have warranted a surreptitious check of the school's liability insurance. There's certainly no denying that he's aiming to make a splash. His booth takes up most of a corner.

    And he seemingly couldn't decide between projects, so he brought several.

    Dressed in his usual outfit with superbly polished boots, he has nevertheless opted to dispense with the usual hoodie, substituting it for a T-shirt that from the front warns people 'Stand back! I'm doing SCIENCE!' while the back enjoins the casual observer that 'I'm a high energy physicist. If you see me running, try to catch up!'

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
    Megan Morse's entry is fairly innocuous at first, until you get closer. Two plastic tubs are bathed in the purple glow of grow lamps, leafy green plants sprouting out of each. The soil in the left tub has a distinctly reddish tint, even under the lamps, but otherwise they're fairly identical. The posterboard behind them bears the title 'Could Mark Watney Have Survived?' in large block letters, along with a few pictures of the planet in question. This likely clarifies things.
     The posterboard goes on to clarify what exactly the experiment was (Comparing potatoes grown in simulated martian soil with added manure from the local garden store vs topsoil), Stats about the composition of each type of soil, pictures taken over the last couple months, and finally the results. A jar sits in front of each improvised planter, the 'Mars' jar containing a slightly smaller but still perfectly servicable potato. The redhead herself is standing next to the display, clad in one of her many NASA T-shirts and jeans, nervously awaiting the judges.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara Rojas did not join the Science Fair- but here she is, standing not so far from Megan's table. She's here for moral support, obviously, although her grades aren't *terrible*. The only A she's got is in Spanish- but she's a native speaker, it was an easy class. The rest? She just does homework and studies everyday she's in detention- which is fairly often, given her penchant for getting into scuffles with some of the more unkind teens in the school. As it turns out, threatening an orphan who was formerly homeless with a civil suite is not particularly effective.

    "It looks good." She offers over to Megan, "I hope you win."

Dane Whitman has posed:
While he might be qualified enough, Dane Whitman has managed to avoid the dreaded Judge's duty, largely because he threw himself on the "chaperone for Prom" grenade prior to the break. That said, it hasn't stopped him from coming by to play spectator, mostly because he's genuinely curious as to what the various students might have come up with. He probably won a couple of these sorts of things when he was a youngster, but then again he wasn't going to school with supergeniuses.

In any case, after a glance over the array of exhibits, he moves over to stop beside Morrigan, giving a smile and a nod and a greeting.

"Doctor MacIntyre. So far, so good?"

He'll take a closer look at the individual exhibits shortly, he imagines.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's not a judge! But she's been roaming around, talking to parents who have shown up. She wasn't sure who else would be showing up with their projets, but, everyone looks really good for the moment. The bright eyed woman gives a look to Dane when he greets her and there's a warm smile to go with things, "Everything is going alright so far. Nothing is on fire." she tells him. "Anyone you're looking forward to seeing?" she asks.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "Thanks, Xio. And thanks for being okay with me having the setup in my closet." Meg had had to line the bottom of the door with blankets to deal with light leakage. Turns out that the best time to turn grow lights on and off doesn't link up with when people sleep. "I'm really glad you're here." Grinning, she leans over and rests her head on the taller teen's shoulder.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    Another spectator is visible...one that seems entirely too happy to be walking amidst high school science fair projects. And, really, only a few might actually recognize the 20-something newcomer as one Jemma Simmons, SHIELD scientist. How she learned about the science fair is anyone's guess...but she seems absolutely thrilled to be there.

    Not like Jemma is there to be a judge or anything. No...this is something that she considers fun.

    As exhibits catch her eye, Jemma walks over and talks to the presenter. The distinct lilt of a British accent carries as she speaks with not only enthusiasm but a great degree of detail. And...the next exhibit that Jemma finds herself drawn to is the Martian exhibit. "Oh! A simulation of growth upon the surface of Mars! How novel!" Brown eyes shift to Megan, regarding her with a smile. "But, I imagine your findings indicated that the particular strain of tuber that grew would have been too toxic for human consumption, yes?"

    No, Jemma didn't look at the findings initially. She just asked the question, as if she already knew the answer.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    On the table in the corner, a ball bearing is going round and round a complicated track made out of a series of rods, its speed controlled by a simple potentiometer while Sam shows off the simple principle of close contact magnetic acceleration. Above the track, another ball bearing hangs suspended in the exact center of a metal hoop, without any supports or wires. The whole mess is wired up semi-professionally, and occasionally the teenager will flick a switch, causing the first ball bearing to jump the track and get caught by the metal hoop, while the second falls to the track and starts to run it in the opposite direction.

    Honestly, it's just something he built to impress the easily impressed.

    So it's perhaps a bit disappointing that many people instead stop to gawk at the second project, a set of robotic legs roughly half the size of a human, which terminate in a padded seat with controls on the arm rests. The Robo-skeletal Mobility Device, or RMD seems to have lost its official name to the nickname most visitors are assigning to it... the 'Leg Chair'. Honestly...

    It's so much of a disappointment that he has barely dared to take the cover off the AMD, the Aerial Mobility Device. Or Jetpack by any other name, although no combustion engines or fuel tank appears anywhere on the backpack sized contraption hooked onto a stand. He'd expected that to be his showpiece... but more people are interested in Bear sitting in the chair of the RMD. Sigh...

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
Not being a part of the science fair herself, it'd be something she didn't really want to miss. After all, this school had all this advanced stuff and students, Naomi wanted to see what they came up with. So, dressing in her normal fashion, along with her new glasses, she walks into the fair to look around, trying to see who and what everyone is up to. She doesn't really know a lot of people yet but maybe she can make a few more friends. She ends up stopping off at Samuel's spot first, looking at him first with a smile and a wave.

"So..." She looks at teh rods and the ball bearing and then the 'leg chair' and then back to Samuel before looking again and pursing her lips briefly before repeated, "So...what is all this?" She asks and smiles at him, "It all looks very sciencey."

Dane Whitman has posed:
"Besides you?" Dane replies to Morrigan with a wry smile, before he gives a slight shake of his head, "None in particular and all of them together, I guess. Haven't been teaching classes long enough to have a clear favorite, but I can tell there are a lot of bright kids here." He gives the gym another once-over and chuckles, "Looks like some of them are definitely shooting for high marks in presentation, if nothing else."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xio's arm slides around Megan's middle and she just stands there quietly with her Girlfriend. Her head shifts to rest on top of Megan's and she just seems quite content to stand there in silence as they wait for the judges to come.

    "Ain't like I gotta lot of clothes to put in there. Anyways, you needed it for your potatoes." Xiomara says, "Small thing, really."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "Well, We can put things back now. I'll just have to take the grow lights back to the science lab And we can try making french fries! ...But we'll have to not share the 'Mars' potatoes with everyone else." <<I think humans have issues with Chromium, and Martian soil has a lot of it.>> Meg leans into Xio's side, looking at the other experiments from her spot. "...I kinda feel a bit inadequate with some of what the other people did though. Like..." She gestures towards a real Jetpack, magnets, and some kind of.... leg chair.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Dane's answer surprises Morrigan and there's a bit of a blush to that, but she gives a dip of her head to him. "Yes, some of them are definitely shooting for high marks. It will be fun to see who gives the best talk about their project." she smiles to that. "I think a few of our other judges might be overwhelmed." she muses as she looks to a few new faces with clipboards.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Sciencey?" Yup, Sam raises the Eyebrow of Judgment at Naomi for using that word, but is soon back to his usual smiling self. He's staying near his projects, keeping the table and the bulk of the engineering wonders between him and the crowd, leaving a good part of the corner behind him free to retreat into if needed.

    "It is a bit, I suppose. Just a quick demonstration of the principles of magnetic propulsion, and how the right timing can keep the ball bearing on the track even going at speed or at a steep angle." He demonstrates, by turning the potentiometer dial, adding more power to the coils under the track. The current is picked up by the timing circuit, which changes the speed at which the magnets get switched, as indicated by a series of LEDs under the track. Yes, it's the same principle the US Navy has been using to build their new battleship railguns. "Honestly, I was hoping it would distract people from the RMD, I built that as a joke. But everyone's taking it seriously ..." Which makes him wonder just how much Bear's charisma has to do with that.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
"Well, for one, your dog." She gestures to Bear and then looks to Samuel direclty, "And for two? Sitting down and getting something else to walk you to places? I mean, already sounds amazing to me." She laughs a little to herself, pushing the glasses up her face a little and then looking at the original experiment he spoke of. She watches as everything is adjusted and then nods, "Yep, those sure are magnets and they sure are doing things." She nods to him and then grins wider, "Very sciencey."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney was one of the newer students since Spring Break had come to an end. Newly enrolled, and looking to try to make up credits for missing a good chunk of the year. She passed a lot of the placement tests relatively well having been apparently home schooled all her life but that didn't mean she didn't have areas to make up in. Attending the Science Fair and participating was her first big step in that.

"This way, careful," she urges Alexander whom she'd nabbed to help with some of the manual labor of getting the project here in the first place. Coming through the double-wide gymnasium doors is a push cart with a very large plywood base fixated atop it. And ontop of that? A colorful rendition of the Yellowstone geothermal pools.

It doesn't take long to get to where she'd been told to set up, and she helps nudge aside some back boards she'd already set up to make way for the larger Alexander to get the large project there in the first place. She was way too tiny to manage it solely herself.

"Perfect!" She declares with a clap of her hands and a broad grin. "Thanks for the help! I just need to do a few tweaks and then get the demonstration set up."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Push cart enabled, Alexander Aaron makes his way through the doors, leaning to one side then the other to gauge the clearance of the vessel and its cargo. He tilts his head as he leans over that cart, both hands on the bar pushing it. "Next time maybe give some thought to ergonomics?"
    The cart wheel squeeka-squeekas as he wheels it further in. "S'why I made mine primarily a reading project. You put a lot of reading and research into the project, and the teachers sort of gloss on by. You get a B. Volcano you might get an A, but it's a hassle."
    So spaketh the wisdom of Phobos.
    That said he follows along after her and then /hefts/ the volcano into its place on her table.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Always a fan of fries with some cheese and bacon on them. I think I got a blowtorch under the sink, we can use that to fry up the bacon. That's the best way to do it." Why, exactly, Xiomara has a blowtorch under the sink in her dorm isn't said- but it's there.

    "So, yeah, Fries look good to me." Xiomara states, nodding her head slowly. <<Honestly, I'm not really sure how I'd deal with that- but... I've probably eaten worse.>> The Czarnian states over to her equally alien girlfriend. "Anyways, you'll do fine. You put a lot of work into this, either way, you get fries afterwards, right?"

Dane Whitman has posed:
"Maybe we should give Bear a special award." Dane muses to Morrigan, spotting the dog on a...walking chair? That'll be worth a look here in a few moments. No doubt among the other experiments Samuel has set up. "How many prize categories do we have, anyway?" He queries of Morrigan, canting his head curiously as Alexander and Gabby wheel in...ah, that looks like it'll be entertaining. Also a pretty novel presentation for an old classic.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    The question Jemma asked just hangs there, unanswered. No matter. Jemma doesn't let a lack of an answer stop her. She does take a moment to look over the findings officially, offers a short nod as the results were exactly as expected, then flashes another smile to both Meg and Xio as she steps away.

    Where to wander to now? The setup for the sizable volcano gets a wry smile. Definitely something to check out later. But first, the collection of projects taking up a sizable selection of prime gym floor real estate and the presenter of such, one Samuel Morgan. Jemma takes her time to walk over as she examines the various feats of engineering. "See, now this is something that Fitz would be interested in."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"It's not my fault the layout of Yellowstone isn't really condusive to a small scale project. I mean if I wanted to be inauthentic maybe," Gabby reasons only to give another nod when he sets it down on the table. "Perfect," she again states before stepping forward to dig through the box of the rest of her supplies. A pair of goggles is pulled out and offered to Alexander while she slips her own into place. "Here, you might want this for the demonstration." Then she tugs out a slightly oversized chemistry apron, and gloves to pull on herself. Overkill for a science fair volcano.

"You've got time to look around if you want to," she adds as she dips down to crawl beneath the table setting up a few items that were no doubt to help make the project what it was supposed to be. Her head pops up occasionally in case anyone comes by asking questions in the meantime.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Another shake of the head at the repeated use of 'sciencey', but before Sam can launch into another explanation, they're approached by Jemma. Or, as he knows her, Agent Simmons. He tries hard not to let that show in his expression. "Shame he couldn't make it then?" The teenager offers with a smile. "Anything I might elaborate on, or is this entirely straight forward for you? I'm sorry the ceiling isn't higher, or I'd have taken the Aerial Mobility Device for a few demonstration flights, but as it is, I'll probably take a bit of a walk with the RMD later to demonstrate the self balancing capabilities."

    And he nods to Naomi. "Being walked around might make all the difference when you're out hiking, but I was primarily thinking about people currently bound to wheelchairs. Too many places just aren't accessible."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "...Right. ...Why exactly do you have a propane torch under the sink again?" Hey, Meg wants to know. "...Hang on. That's what I was eating when we first met. Remember? At the burger place?" Xio gets a gentle nudge in the ribs, M'gann's smile widening. Jemma gets a greatful nod. "Yeah, You'd have to do some chemistry work that I don't entirely understand to get chromium out of the soil. ...Or plant something else first. Sunflowers, maybe. They concentrate heavy metals and stuff from the soil."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "You're such a nerd," Alexander pronounces the damning judgment with the aplomb of the truly lazy. Though likely without any true underlying malice. But he nods toward Gabby once she's satisfied with the placement as he accepts the goggles and sets them in place.
    Off to the side he now stands, arms folded over his chest and presenting a most dour image as of the needed role of henchman for Gabby's mad science. He even tries to look intimidating with a sort of glower for his pale features, the wild mop of blond hair lending at least some credence to him being imbalanced if not entirely frightening.
    "Oh no," He answers, "I wouldn't want to miss it. I figure you've got a fifty fifty chance of it exploding before you want it to."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Yeah." Xiomara says smiling over to Megan, "I remember." she offers next, "I make'em better than Big Belly Burger though. We gotta get some oil to fry'em, though. Or we could fry'em in fat or somethin, that works, too."

    "A blowtorch is one of them things you'd rather have and not need than need and not have." Xiomara answers simply.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a smile to that, "We're just doing a simple first, second and third place. Cash prizes to all. So we'll see who starts buying more supplies after this." she nods. "I figure all of the judges can gather at the end and give us their votes." she smiles to that.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
A smile to Samuel and she shrugs, "Hey, it's not my area. More power to you if you know all that." She then looks over at Jemma and smiles to her, "I don't know who Fitz is but I'm glad to hear he would...like it?" She asks and then chuckles before offering, "I'm Naomi." She nods to the woman before looking back to Samuel's project, "It all sounds cool, just don't expect me to fully understand it all. I can see how useful the chair legs might be, doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy that over a chair with wheels for myself."

Dane Whitman has posed:
"Seems fair." Dane replies to Morrigan, giving her a nod and a smile, "Guess I'll have a look around." And with that he starts a circuit of the room, pausing here and there to look over several of the exhibits, asking a few questions here and there, but he's got no clipboard, just his own curiosity. So before long he's coming around to where Gabby and Alexander are dealing with the Yellowstone mockup, and he takes a moment to look at his watch before asking, "So what time does Old Faithful erupt?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney finishes her out-of-sight preparations beneath the table only to stand with a small black jug in hand labeled 'Halloween Smoke Machine Fluid'. It's this she then pours a small amount into each of the sunken geyser formations to create a pleasant little waft of smoke making it seem as if they were indeed steaming hot thremal pools. It was a bit of a cop out using the premade fluid but she knew a kid who had some. Why not? The added effect was cool and completely harmless.

"There. It's not going to go off until I pull the slide out of the center. I created a drop for it so that the two parts won't interact with each other until it's moved. I mean, it's basic, but it'll work! And won't blow up early," she adds aside to Alexander whom she sticks her tongue out at. NYEH.

With that she puts the folding screen behind the table back into it's proper place showing her work on posterboard explaining about the Yellowstone Supervolcano that had gone unerupted for hundreds of thousands of years.

Satisfied she moves to stand by her project on the opposite side of Alex bouncing on the balls of her feet waiting. It gives her a chance to look over the other items here as well. "Wow. I'd say mine's small potatos but they actually have potatos," she mumbles thoughtfully. Right until Dane comes over causing her to grin SO much wider.

"Any time you guys want! It's only good for one go though."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    Before she answers Samuel, Jemma does catch the comment about what sort of chemistry would be needed to extract the chromium. And, being Jemma, she replies. Turning back to Meg, Jemma offers in a completely conversational tone. "A heated carbonate-hydroxide extractant can be used to completely extract lead chromate in the absence of a soil matrix. But, really, I am sure you would have discovered that on your own with enough time." Jemma waves off the comment as if it was perfectly understandable, then adds "Oh, but you are perfectly correct on the use of sunflowers as a detoxifying solution! A brillant and simple solution. Too bad the film makers didn't have someone like you there to advise them."

    And then, Jemma turns back to Samuel. "Oh, he is impossible to get him out of the lab when he is working on something. And yes, he would be right at home with the engineering marvels you have put together. I quite like the Aerial Mobility Device, but I am sure others are drawn to your other mobility demonstration." Naomi gets a smile as Jemma offers a bow in greeting. "Nice to meet you, Naomi. I am Jemma. Or, as Samuel might know me, Dr Jemma Simmons. Or just plain Simmons to others. But feel free to call me Jemma."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Alexander peers to the side, eying where his own little text-based science project resides with its unimaginative white and black posterboard and the title being a simple, 'THE MANIFESTATION OF SOCIETAL ZEITGEIST CONSTRUCTS FROM LATENT PSIONIC RESONANCE!' which leads into a series of papers able to be flipped through on the poster-board with an elaboration about the various aspects needed for such to be attained. Perhaps a labor of love, but dry as the desert.
    Yet he looks back and tilts his head at Gabby, nodding along with her statements and her addressing the judges, though perhaps not really paying attention until finally he leans forwards and tells her, "Just make it go boom."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     <<Just give me a little warning before you spark it up, though. Fire and I don't really get along.>> "Well, I don't think he had enough time to grow a crop of sunflowers before planting the potatoes. But it's a fun story." Meg gives a friendly nod as Jemma moves on, before looking back over to Xio. "...I handled that well, right?"

Dane Whitman has posed:
"Well, I guess we should probably get a couple judges over here to witness it, right?" Dane notes to Gabby, giving the girl a grin and flagging down a couple of the clipboard-bearing teachers to come have a peek. It's telling of how rapidly the school is hiring that despite barely having started teaching classes Dane cannot fairly call himself the "newbie" teacher here anymore.

As some of the judges start to assemble, Dane does take a moment to study Alexander's posterboard, actually taking a whole lot more moments to read through at least one of the papers, not looking like he's glazing over at all.

He does glance toward Alexander with a bit of a wry expression after he finishes mostly-reading the presentation.

"Clever choice of subject matter, Alexander."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara continues to stand there, mostly quiet- looking over towards the Jemma, "I think so. I mean, I ain't never been to a science faire before, so.. I'm just makin' a guess." She explains, with another little squeeze. "I didn't know that stuff about sunflowers." she continues to say. <<Yeah, no problem. It won't take long to fry up the bacon with the torch.>>

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "Doctor Simmons is a leading expert on biology and chemistry, among other things." Sam explains to Naomi, probably entirely unnecessarily. But he hadn't expected a SHIELD representative to actually show up. Which, in hindsight, was probably a bit naive.

    "I had great hopes for the AMD. I'm using a series of linked ducted fans to provide propulsion, powered by electromotors. So no fuel, no chance of an explosion, and roughly equal lift capacity as traditional ram jets."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    A small smirk blossoms on Alexander's features as he murmurs, "Call it a passion project." Though he crinkles his nose a little as if not entirely enjoying the subject matter. That said, however, he keeps his place near to Gabby's monstrosity, arms still folded over his chest. Then he nods to Gabby and raises both eyebrows as if to tell her, 'Well get on with it!' but perhaps not quite as rudely.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney reaches down to the box beside her table to pull out some more goggles which she then offers to Dane, and anyone else nearby that might want them. "You may want to step back more," she suggests matter-of-factly. "At least six feet, maybe more." With that she moves back behind the table to reach down grasping hold of what appears to be posterboard slid beneath the entire display itself. It's this she holds tight to when she begins to explain.

"Everyone knows about Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park. There's actually two vents for it: One to the North, and then 'Old Faithful' itself. While it's a great tourist attraction, far beneath it lies a supervolcano that has gone unerupted for hundreds of thousands of years. Though we're still a ways off from the next potential eruption, the fallout of such would be devestating to the entire continent and repurcussions of it's explosion will be felt world-wide."

"This demonstration is to show just a portion of the potential violent fallout of such an eruption."

With that the tiny brunette yanks back the posterboard using her weight behind it to pull free. There's a little sound of something splashing. It's the only warning before the eruption occurs....

Two geysers shoot ten feet into the air spraying the foamy, frothy concoction of Mentos and Diet Soda which splashes back down over not only the project, but anyone nearby, including herself. Alex. And any others unfortunate enough to be in the blast radius even though she warned them away. Gabby stands there with arms raised as she helps offer the appropriate sound effects of, "BKOOM! BOOM! PSHHHHBAAAAANG!"

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    At the mention of the pending eruption of the volcano, Jemma takes a quick glance over. However, rather than walk towards it, like the judges seem to be doing, Jemma actually takes two steps back. Still perfectly within conversational distance. And, fortunately, just outside of the blast radius as the soda and Mentos reaction splashes near where she just was.

    And, amazingly enough, Jemma keeps chatting to Samuel. "Oh, I am sure that Fitz can give you some guidance, should you want it in regards to maximizing the output ratios of your motors while lessening weight factors, to allow the AMD greater range and mobility. You should ask him when you see him next time."

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     "I didn't either, I only learned about it in biology class. It's pretty cool. They even use them to clean up after nuclear accidents." Meg turns to watch Gabby's speech, standing on her tiptoes a little better to help see over the crowd. ...She misses casual flying. And then there's soda everywhere, incuding on her, and the magic smoke is starting to escape from her grow lights. "Crap!" Particularly eagle eyed bystanders might notice that both arrays go dark BEFORE the redheaded teen dives under the table... But that's totally because the surge protectors tripped! No telekinetic unplugging going on here.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    And through it all, through all the frothy mentos infused explosive diet coke goodness, Alexander stands there arms folded unrepentant as he looks around making all the eye contact, nodding his head a little with such casual defiance as to almost be comical.
    Then, as the soda falls and hisses and trickles across the floor all around them, he says simply. "That's right, that just happened."
    And, to be fair, his research is all a bit moistened and spattered and sopping. He doesn't seem to mind.

Naomi McDuffie has posed:
A blink and she looks over to Jemma with mild surprise, "So a real scientist amongst all these experiments. This all must be really behind where you are I imagine." She nods her head, "What with being a leading expert and all that." She then smiles over at Samuel and then at Jemma before saying, "I'm gonna go check some other stuff out and let you two talk shop. I have no idea what most of what you are saying means so I don't wanna intrude." She smiles and looks over to Samuel again and gives a thumbs up, "Very sciencey." And before he can react, she leaves her tease and turns just in time to jump back and blink at the fluid flying everywhere. For just the briefest of instances, her eyes flicker with some internal glow but all that mess over there and she just gets some on her shoes. SHe then starts over to get a closer look at Gabby's little fun, careful to not slip and fall.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Ah. There it is.

Morrigan had been talking to another group of students when the explosion happens. And for a moment, do her eyes glow? Maybe.

The group of judges is covered in soda and foam and there's a few seconds delay before one of the women in the group lets out a sob as her suit is ruined with the concoction.

"Well...time to avoid an incident." she whispers to herself as she heads over to lead the judges AWAY from the mess.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's a spectacular display, to be sure. The soda goes high enough that some of it manages to splash Sam's set-up in the corner, where a spark from the unshielded potentiometer box indicates that it has lost its battle with conductive liquid. The coils short and for a moment, the ball bearing on the track goes so fast that the eye can barely follow, and the teenager reacts with the speed of a striking snake, knocking the track slightly sideways. The ball bearing escapes the confines of the track at the next junction, and shoots off towards the gym wall, where it punches a small hole through the concrete wall and, presumably, either disintegrates or keeps going. With a nonchalance bordering on the unbelievable, Sam switches the experiment off. "Perfect demonstration of surface expansion, that." he comments, and smiles back over to Jemma.

    "I'll look him up next time I'm near the lab. It'll be good to see you guys again anyway."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Suddenly, Xiomara is alone- as Megan goes under the table. Her eyebrows knit together, and then just as suddenly she's soaked in foamy diet coke with a mentos flavor.

    Xiomara just stands there, shocked a moment, before her anger starts to rise.

    "You got cola all over my leather!" Xiomara shouts- turning towards Gabby. "Do you know how hard it is to clean leather?!!" she says, already steaming as she growls and stares at Gabby- her breathing growing heavier as she struggles against herself from just going full rage mode.

Dane Whitman has posed:
Dane slips on the offered goggles, moving back to precisely the six feet mark. As it so happens, that's not quite far enough. Dane gets hit with a healthy(?) dousing of...well, he knows what it is momentarily, as enough of it gets on his face to make it inevitable he's getting a taste of diabetes.

To his credit, he doesn't really flinch, with his hands casually in his pockets and a bit of a rueful smile on his face. It's a far more amused and measured reaction than a few of the judges who didn't take the "further back than six feet" advice, as well as some of the other innocent bystanders caught in the Great Eruption of 2020. There is some language that's probably going to get some PTA complaints, a few people flailing around for anything to try to wipe up the sticky solution coating them, and all sorts of general mayhem. At least one person slips on the wet floor and falls on their derriere. Not likely any serious injury to anything but their pride, though.

And there's Dane, hands in pockets, glancing up to make sure there's no more incoming, his head and shoulders pretty well-soaked, save for his eyes, and a mostly-amused expression on his face.

"Maybe a little overboard on your choice of fuel for that one."

He -does- flinch at the sound of a magnetically-accelerated projectile shooting a not-so-far-off wall. Or at least rapidly turns in that direction to see what's going on. That didn't sound good.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Meg emerges from under the table having 'unplugged everything', and winces a little at the sight of angry girlfriend. "Xio, it's okay. I've got a secret I learned from my aunt that'll get anything off anything. Including leather." She starts dabbing at the droplets with the sleeve of her own hoodie, which does indeed seem to be soaking up the worst of it. Meanwhile, she's pushing comfort and reassurance through the link she shares with the czarnian. <<Don't worry, I'm having my hoodie eat it. I can't get /all/ of it right now, but you'll never know it happened if we can get out of the room for a few minutes.>>

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan shoos the judges and then she hears Xiomara and there's a wince. Well, she was hoping that no one wanted to hit anyone with a table. "Alright, I'm sorry about that everyone, if anyone has a dry cleaning bill just send it to the school and I'll take care of it personally." she tells the gathered crowd that is now...foamy.

"Miss Rojas, we can help with the leather as well. Team effort and all of that." she tells the Czarnian.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Totally soaked and dripping and unrepentant about what small role he has played in Gabby's eruption, Alexander keeps his arms folded and glowers. Glower glower. Entirely comfortable and at ease with his hair all soaked and his t-shirt all sopping. Harumph.
    "I think that's an A for effort." He nods solemnly and then extends a hand a foot above Gabby's tiny height. "Rock me, lil momma."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney considers the absolute wreckage of the area a moment with a mixture of a pleased grin, and thoughtful consideration. "I probably should have just gone with the one liters," she realizes well after the fact. Woops. There's not a lot of time to react when all hell starts to break loose from the various reactions of people. The judges led away with a call after them of, "Sorry! I did warn!" and a nod of agreement with Dane's assessment of her fuel for it. Ah well. At least it was nothing honestly, truly volatile.

Glancing over at the sound of a ping and concrete getting punched she mumbles, "Was that a rail gun? ... Cooool."

When Alex offers the high-five she doesn't even look: Just hops up to high-five him with a clap of her hand. The more pressing issue at hand was Xiomara going ape shit. "Actually I do, but with it this wet it'd be best to hose off with water and then re-treat and condition the leather later... I really didn't expect it to go that high!" Okay. Maybe it was a misjudgement. "Sorry!"

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara is on the edge. She can't help but be angry- it's something about her Czarnian physiology that just can't be denied. But she's fighting it, at least. <<I need to go somewhere else.>>

    Between Megan and Morrigan, Xiomara is at least partially placated. "I stink like diet soda and mentos!" she shouts again, turning away from Gabby to look towards Megan and Morrigan. "Fine! FINE!" she growls as she walks towards the door, "I'll be outside!" she says again before SLAMMING the door open with such force that she's surely bent the frame a little. Xiomara Rojas is one strong punk girl.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    By the time anyone is looking, Sam is already re-wiring the track. The controller has, alas, given up the ghost and joined the Great Equation in the sky, but that doesn't mean he can't demonstrate the principle of stepped power another way. Trip the breaker, cut the circuit, get out the wire cutters, plug in the soldering iron and get out his emergency reserve circuit breaker set. In ten minutes, nobody will know anything happened at all... Oh, and a spare ball bearing, the other one is ... elsewhere. He honestly hopes nobody noticed that, but he does give Jemma an apologetic look, mouthing 'Oops.'

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Meg reaches out towards Xio as she goes, before slumping a little. ...Well crap. She wants to go comfort her girlfriend, but at the same time... Judges. She needs to be there to do her presentation. <<I don't know if I'm free to go yet, but if you get to our room quickly, the pair of sweatpants on the floor there is also some of my organic clothing. It should clean up anything before it stains.>>

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a nod to Xiomara and then has one of the judges that wasn't covered in foam approaching her. She then gives a smile to the news that they bring, "If you could finish up with the judging on Miss Megan and others, that would be very helpful." she states with a grateful dip of her head. Then the Irish woman is making the rounds again, making sure that everyone is okay, offering apologies and...

Was that a railgun?!

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    Jemma may be a good scientist, but even she has her limits. After all, she's biochem, while her engineering partner is not here. So, when the short causes the linear motor demonstration to suddenly accelerate to lethal velocity, it certainly wasn't something Jemma expected, unlike the volcano. And, fortunately, Samuel was there to deflect the trajectory. Still, there is a sudden gasp from Jemma as both hands clutch over her chest. "You....built a railgun and brought it to a high school science fair?" The normally pleasant British tone is on the verge of indignant. "And...you thought that only having one power limiter was enough of a precaution?" That tone is threatening to slip into some sort of teacher mode...one only used rarely when Jemma is dressing down subordinates in her lab. Fortunately, for Samuel and others, that tone seems to dissipate as Jemma takes her hands and pushes them downward, palms to the floor, as she essentially stuffs the rising anger deep down.

    Perfectly normal reaction.

    With a clearing of her throat, Jemma levels her gaze to Samuel as she speaks cooly, but certainly politely. "I would recommend that you speak to Fitz about this when you do decide to visit the lab. I am sure he will have some words of advise for you in regards to this." And...if Fitz doesn't, Jemma will make sure that he does.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     M'gann winces a little at the palpable anger radiating off of Jemma, before shaking it off when the Judge approaches. Okay. She'd practiced her spiel, and everything still worked except for the grow lights. ...Which weren't really nessecary for the whole thing anyway. Okay. The speech goes fairly well, the martian teen able to walk through her inspiration, her testing, and the difficulties actually using real martian soil on mars would cause. The sunflower solution gets mentioned, of course.

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton was gonna have a project. Really, he was.

But then a bank got robbed, a train nearly went off the rails, another bank got robbed, thugs attacked someeone on the street...and it's been one thing after another, and he never found the time. Oh well...

He'll still come by and enjoy everyone else's projects, though. Maybe they'll have some cool stuff he hasn't seen yet.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney looks minorly deflated given her project -- Which was SO cool! -- Had been a bit overzealous and soaked way too many people and other projects. With a sigh she reaches beneath the table where it seems it was one of the few dry spots. Ah, the benefit of being covered by a tablecloth. A roll of papertowels is brought out to begin mopping up the messs. Or trying to. This was going to take awhile if this was the means she went to for cleaning.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Outside the gym *someone* is making a lot of noise. The kind of noise that's made when someone is kicking the crap out of a trashcan.

    Better the trashcan than Gabby, of course.

    The language is a mixture of English and Spanish- a long diatribe against diet coke and mentos- a truly fantastic voyage of anger and creative swearing.

    The sound of a piece of wood cracking. A few more loud THUDS against a trashcan.

    And then, quiet.

Dane Whitman has posed:
Dane peels off the goggles, wincing a bit at how the edges stick a little, and hands them back to Gabby, "Dunno how that's gonna shake out on the scorecard, kid, but it was fun to watch." He gives Gabby a grin, "But I have a feeling your next project is gonna be a detailed observation of the absorbency of a standard mop. From the closet over next to where the bleachers end. Pretty sure it's unlocked and there's a bucket with it." It's said with a more joking tone than threatening one, though, "Now if you'll excuse me?" He moves over to a central location and shouts, letting his voice carry over the din. He's used to shouting over hordes of Crusaders in the midst of battle, he's pretty sure he can manage enough to get their attention,"

"HEY! LISTEN UP!"

And once most folks' attention is on him he continues:

"We apologize for the trouble, but we're going to take a short break to let students and guests clean up and recover their projects as best they can! So judging will resume in twenty minutes! If you feel the need to have any of your concerns addressed by a faculty member, you can feel free to come talk to me! Thank you!"

Hopefully that takes a little heat off Morrigan, since she probably has more to deal with than just a few irate parents and distraught students.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "It's not a..." No, Sam bites down on the retort, even while he's soldering on the new manually stepped power supply, parallel chaining the circuit breakers. Now is not the time to be pedantic, now is the time to look busy, look competent, and look contrite. "I didn't know about the volcano or I'd have waterproofed it."

    Still, he expects to get 'words of advice' from Fitz on his next visit, and hopefully that'll be the last of it. Nobody needs to know why he was actually building these things... aside from the RMD which really was just a joke. "Can I offer you a ride in the RMD? I promise it won't run away by itself, fall over or jump uncontrollably." Because he watched everything Boston Dynamics had done, and made sure to learn from their failures.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a look up from what she was doing when Dane speaks up and there's a grateful look, but she goes back to fielding things with the parents in attendance and a few other things. She also hears Xiomara outside and there's a deep frown, she should go check on her.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney holds up a crumpled handful of soaked paper towels to give them a most displeased glower. "Bounty lies." Quicker picker upper indeed! The handful is tossed into the nearby trashcan which itself was a bit soaked but still available to be filled with actual trash as needed. It's Dane's remark about where to find the mop and bucket that earns a slightly thankful smile. "Yeah, that's probably a safe bet. It was fun though! Just..." And here she shrugs helplessly.

Making her way out from behind her display table she's careful not to slip on the sticky mess of soda that coats the floor on her way to the janitor closet. Thankfully it is indeed unlocked so she can wrestle the mop and bucket out. Best to clean the fallout.

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton, thankfully, appears to have arrived after science projects have exploded, gone boom, soaked everyone, or whatever. Well, it pays to be late sometimes. This would appear to be one of those times. Railgun, volcano...yeesh. How'd a railgun get allowed in here? Well, whatever. Stark built the school, he can afford to build 10 more like it if he wants to.

He also notices Christine isn't around, so...nothing for him to cheer on, really. Might as well enjoy the chaos.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Did someone say rail gun? It's random words like these that murmur down the hall and get Daniel's attention in his classroom. He'd wanted to come to the fair but was behind on grading papers. Now.. well.. the papers can wait. As he comes into the gymnasium, he can see subtle signs of chaos that suggests 'something' went awry and he starts looking about for.. ahh Dane looks like he's taken charge of the madness. Let's go find out what's going on.. "Did someone say rail gun?" He inquires quietly. If the rumor wasn't true there was no need to start one.

Dane Whitman has posed:
"Accidental Coilgun, actually, if I had to guess based on the brief glimpse I got of the experiment." Dane replies quietly to Doctor Hastings, not for the ears of others. He's managed to break away from one group of complainers whose concerns were jotted down in a mostly-dry notebook that Dane procured somewhere, Names, why they were here, what the nature of their problem was. Even the ones he felt frivolous he took down in detail. Some folks just want somebody to hear 'em. "Might want to see if you can get a couple of the drier students to go into the locker rooms and start breaking out the towels for folks." He grins just a bit, "The clean ones. You might need to specify that."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    The hands reach over to tug down on Jemma's red sweater, while she herself straightens. "hmm, no. No, that will not be necessary." She doesn't add anything assurities to its safety because, well, she just witnessed a coil gun demonstration. And yes, she will be corrected by Leopold about how it is a coilgun as opposed to a railgun and Jemma will have to listen to all the minor distinctions as to which one is which. Which...is not a situation she looks forward to. "I certainly appreciate that you are taking steps to retify the situation. Take this as an opportunity to know that, when experimenting, it is best to try to visualize every eventuality before actually performing said experiment. However, that being said, it is rather difficult to anticipate a reaction with certain reactants and an extreme amount of potential surface area for said reactants." With that, there might have been a wink dropped to Samuel before she offers a small smile....

    ...which disappears into a mixture of shock and concern as she overhears the mixture of Spanish and English in the colourful juxipositions being given. And...understanding exactly what is being said. A flash of rogue colours Jemma's cheeks as she realizes that, while not physically possible to shove that much of soda and mentos into certain....areas....of the human anatomy, she didn't want to be around if any attempts were made. And certainly, Jemma was not going to repeat what she heard in good company.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It's a anatomically improbable that anyone can do as Xio suggests so vehemently. Sam shrugs to Jemma, noticing that slight blush, nodding his head over to the source of the sound. Clearly he understands every word of that, but isn't terribly surprised. "Teenagers."

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    Xiomara is just waiting outside for now. Laying under a tree. Staring at the sky. Frowning deeply- She's got a rock in her hand that she's running her thumb along- a smooth bit of stone she's just rubbing at. Trying to breath. Trying to calm herself. Trying to get her mind OFF of events of the evening. She came here with Megan, she's not going to leave without her.

Alton Schmidt has posed:
Alton doesn't speak Spanish, but he knows invective when he hears it, and feels his battle partner is probably in a foul mood. Well...best to leave that alone for the moment. He can invite her to bash badguys later, maybe that'd help burn off some steam.

Alton continues to go around and watch the science projects. It's pretty interesting, some of them at least.

M'gann M'orzz has posed:
     Judging complete, Meg makes her way outside and settles down next to Xio. She doesn't rest her head on her girlfriend's shoulder though, there's still a bit of coke in her hair. "Hey you. ...Mars fries tomorrow, Ice cream tonight?"

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    There's a wry nod given from Dan to Dane and the physics teacher wanders off, snagging a student or two from the track team on his way. They aren't gone too terribly long given that this is the gym and the locker rooms are attached. A myriad of towels are dispensed. Mostly to the floor to start mopping up the madness. Once that's underway, Daniel meanders back to Dane. "Do I want to know whose project it was.. or do I even had to guess." His eyes start tracking through the crowd.. for Sam.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
    "Let's just go back home." Xiomara says quietly. "I'll.. figure something out when we get there." she mumbles, standing up and walking towards the dorms.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"It was mine." This admission comes from the small raven haired girl who was wearing a chemistry apron, goggles, and gloves while pushing a mop that was taller than her over the floor. Gabby offers Daniel a guilty little smile along with a shrug as she works her way past trying to clean up the mess she'd caused.

"I kind of misjudged how much and far the Mentos and Diet Coke fountain would go. It was for a display on the Yellowstone supervolcano," she explains with a sigh. There's a little giddiness to her voice when she says, "It was glorious. And awful. Just like the real thing."

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan returns after Dane takes the show over for a few, apparently the higher gods were appeased for the moment. "Gabby, we can get someone to clean the rest of it up." she smiles to the small raven haired girl. Morrigan then sees Daniel and Dane standing together and she heads their way, "So...judges handed in their score cards, do you have yours?" she asks Dane. Then she gives a smile to Daniel, "Doctor Hastings, good to see you." she states.

Dane Whitman has posed:
"I bet you'd get it in one." Dane replies to Daniel, "Probably not his fault, directly. If I were guessing, I'd bet some moisture shorted the power regulation." He grins a bit as Gabby makes her admission and description, and nods in affirmation towards Daniel, "Probably about as disruptive as the real thing going off, too. At least in relative scale." He chuckles and then looks to Morrigan, "Uh-oh, didn't think I was judging but based on my cursory observations...." He flips open the notebook, and jots down a few quick notes "in order" before tearing the page out and offering it towards Morrigan.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
    Okay.. Gabby's confession has Daniel relaxing as Dane whispers likely words. He smiles at her and does his best not to chuckle. "On a grand scale of cosmic events, I'd say the Yellowstone supervolcano erupting would definitely rate a 1.. but since we're here on earth, you're probably right." He winks. "I'm almost sad I missed it. Ah well. Here's good luck to you, Miss Kinney." With a thumbs up, he steps aside.. himself curious as to how the students will fare.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances up to Morrigan with a nod as she finishes one final swipe of the mop. It wasn't her fault she was so darn small and mops were so large. Unweildy things. "Okay, thank you. I'm sorry I made such a big mess." The mop is splashed back into the bucket with a small puff of breath and she reaches up to push her goggles back. Peel them back. She was a bit sticky herself from the mess even though she wore protective gear. There might be a dry spot on her somewhere.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    "Yes, well, don't forget that you are one, too, Samuel." Jemma again flashes a smile. "Now, if you would excuse me..." With that, she circles away from Samuel, along the edge of the splash zone, until she reaches the gathering of what she assumes are teachers. But, it isn't to the teachers that Jemma talks to. Rather, Jemma directs her comments to the goggle-clad girl, smiling brightly as she leans down. "Now that was some explosion, my dear. A much more effective reaction than the standard baking soda variety and variably more dramatic for the effect you seemed to have had in mind. I will admit, it was *very* exciting." And infinitely safer than standing next to a coilgun. "Though...it is a tad sticky, isn't it?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "I'm sure to remember when people keep reminding me." Sam mentions in an undertone, flicking the breakers of the new maglev track and restarting the experiment. By now, however, he notices a certain... deliberation on the part of the people with clipboards, and realises that the time has come for his work to be evaluated. Time to hear the verdict...

    Which he intends to do in style.

    He climbs aboard the RMD, puts on the seatbelt and pats his lap for Bear to join him. Once both teen and canine are aboard, he starts up the contraption, which rises a few inches as the actuators cycle, and grabs hold of the joystick controls. *Clank* *Clank* The leg-chair steps away from the corner table, walking as smoothly as any human.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan converses with Dane for a few moments and then after a moment she gives a nod of her head. Satisfied with whatever was spoken on. "We have our winners, if everyone would like to gather around for just a second?" she states. Then there's a clank, clank...and of course it's Samuel!

She looks at him for a moment, then chuckles as she looks back down to her cards, "In third place, and winning one thousand dollars to go towards their research or towards college expenses, Samuel Morgan." she grins to that. "You offered a lot of impressive things today, Mister Morgan." she tells him.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney didn't really know Sam. She was still new to the school after all, but when he clanks on over with his walking chair, she grins broadly. Moreso when he's named a winner. Pumping both hands in the air she breaks what might be an othewrise stoic moment with a cheerful cry of, "WOO! GO SAM! You're a winner!"

And you know what? She sounds honest-to-gosh honestly happy about it. There was no mockery in her tone--Someone won, and she got to see their stuff. That was COOL.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Wait, there were prizes involved? Sam blinks at the realisation, and grins over the side of the chair to Gabby. "Thankya!". The RMD kneels in one fluent motion, the nearest it can get to a bow, and then straightens back up. Third place? He can live with that, and eagerly waits to hear who won second and first.

    He has high hopes for the supervolcano.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
    Shifting to stand at her full height, Jemma offers light applause as Samuel's name is announced. No other commentary is given for the moment. She is simply awaiting the rest of the results. She does, however, offer Samuel a nod of approval.

    Then, back to awaiting the rest of the results.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a smile once third place has been announced and she then moves along, "In second place, making a very big splash, Miss Gabby Kinney. Who will receive three thousand in regards to research or towards college tution." she gives a smile and a round of applause to Gabby. "You did very well with your research, we have to remember that this is a learning process and we all have miscalculated at times." she grins.

She gives a few moments for the applause and cheering to quiet again and then there's a look around, "First place goes to Miss Megan, whose research went above and beyond in a lot of ways." she states. "And no, she didn't automatically win because of potatoes." the Irish woman gives a grin to that. "First place gets five thousand in the form of a research grant or in college tution." she explains.

"Let's give a round of applause for our winners." she states as she steps back.

Daniel Hastings has posed:
Potatos? Now Daniel looks intrigued. He starts looking about until he spots Megan and then meanders towards her display. Naturally, he's adding to the applause given to the winners but when he sees the display.. well.. he can't help but chuckle. Yes. This one would have been his pick for winner as well.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
The noise Gabby makes upon hearing that is likely not audible to a lot of senses. Somehow she manages to make that high pitched squeal anyway as she spins around and pumps a fist into the air before beginning a very hyperactive shimmy-in-place dance. Just imagine if this girl got ahold of sugar. Or had drank that soda. "Sweet!" And then the first place winner, the potatos she'd also seen earns another whoop of exultation even if M'Gann wasn't there herself at the moment.

"This was awesome!"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    When the other winners are announced, Sam heartily applauds. No, he doesn't mind that a potato has beaten his maglev... it was a /good/ potato! And quite frankly, he got the best prize of all; the Simmons nod of approval.