ArchivedLogs:Goop

Goop
teenagers are gross
Dramatis Personae Kisha, Peter, Sebastian
In Absentia	2013-02-27 Peter, Kisha, and Sebastian meet in the woods. Peter is doused with vinegar and jumps into a lake.
Location <XS> Forest
The sound isn't particularly loud or frightening -- but it is *distinct*. A dull 'POP' that echoes out from the woods -- like a fire-cracker going off -- followed by... a moist *SPLRT*. And then, a boyish yelp. And then... much lower, and perhaps just on the verge of being inaudible: "OhGod." Those who come to investigate will discover something that defies immediate explanation: Peter Parker is glued to a tree. His glasses are dangling crookedly on his nose; he's wearing his red hoodie, blue jeans, and a t-shirt with Boba Fett and Darth Vader taking the place of Samuel Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. And the majority of his torso -- lower *and* upper -- is currently *plastered* with a whitish gray goop that has 'splatted' around him and the tree trunk, securing his hips, shoulder, neck, and right arm to the bark. There's more of the stuff -- well, *everywhere* -- it seems to have exploded outward from a trunk at the center of the grotto, where a soldering kit has tumbled off to the ground, along with a box of curious looking cartridges... and the remains of a small, recently *exploded* contraption -- what looks like some sort of miniature metal 'squirt-gun'. It's split open at the seams. To anyone arriving on the scene, Peter would proceed to blink owlishly -- before stating, with surprising calm: "There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this." Sebastian is not arriving from the direction of the school. He comes from the direction of the lake, water still glistening damp on his spiky black hair. He's a bright splash of color in the woods; purple corduroys, light pink shirt with a picture of Fluttershy on it that reads simply 'yay' underneath, a cheerful yellow Funshine Bear hoodie unzipped over top. He has been ambling kind of lazily through the trees but the /pop/ speeds his steps faster, hurrying towards the source of the noise. He looks up at Peter, black eyes wider. "Um -- you -- okay?" he ventures, squinting at the tree. "That's not what you meant to happen, right?" Cuz at this school you can never be sure. Distracted from her own secret project by the popping sound Kisha makes her way over to investigate, making just about as much noise as is humanly possible despite her best attempts at stealth. She's dressed in her black pants and plain black t-shirt combo despite the cold with streaks of mud up her arms. Realising stealth is perhaps not an option at this point she ducks out from the bush she'd attempted to sneak up to and shakes her head with dismay. "Dare I ask...." "Ohman, SEBASTIAN," Peter says, clearly relieved at the sight of him. He figures it must be Sebastian because Shane would probably be making some sort of terrible joke right now. Peter proceeds to wriggle. "No, this isn't -- are you wet? Oh you were _swimming_. Oh right there's a lake -- LISTEN." Peter wiggles his currently pinned hand. "There is a school-bag besides that tree stump over there. There's a big bottle of vinegar in it. Could you, uh. Get it? And, uh." How to phrase this politely. "...douse me with--" "OH. Oh, Kisha. Hello! Hi," Peter says, and now he puts in his most pleasant, nothing-at-all-is-going-on-here smile. "Hi, um, fancy meeting you out here!" He shoots another look at Sebastian, mouthing the words 'VINEGAR'. Attempting to do it all sneakily. Probably failing. "I'm just -- we're just -- EXPERIMENTS. With science. Nothing unusual, perfectly ordinary." "Sometimes I swim," Sebastian agrees with a small smile and a brief flapping twitch of the gills at the sides of his neck. "You, um, you want to be doused in -- okay." He scoots over to the tree stump, crouching down to rifle through the bag. "Um, this," he says, a little awkward, "isn't some kind of, like, bondage thing, is it, because -- I mean it's okay if it /is/ but there's safer ways to --" He bites down on his lip, shooting an uncertain glance to Kisha. "Hi, Kisha." Kisha tilts her head. "Peter you do remember that time you told Ivan about the vinegar while I was right there next to you?" she asks curiously. "Although I guess maybe you have other things on your mind right now..." She rubs at her arms, which seems to add to the coating of mud rather than clearing it up. "Sebastian right? Is it true you've something of an interest in robotics? Only I'm doing a little dabbling myself and was wondering if you knew any good places to find parts." "I--what? Bonda--NO!" Peter says, and now his face is as red as a turnip. "I mean, no, this is _science_, I am just doing -- look I just need you to douse the gooey stuff in vinegar, okay?" Peter wriggles a bit more. The vinegar is in a clear plastic half-gallon jug; it's almost filled to the brim. "Also, uh, be careful with my left shoulder? It's still healing -- and I _need_ it to be all healed up by the end of this week, otherwise Hive --" Mouth snaps shut. He looks at Kisha. "Oh. Right. Right. YES. This is just, uh. A continuation. Of that experiment." This is absolute truth. Peter's still very uncomfortable about this entire situation, however. As to robotics: "Ohman Spencer -- uh that's Sebastian's little brother -- he has a spider robot named Jerusalem, he is pretty _awesome_." Peter continues to squirm on the tree. "But, uh, he's made out of K'Nex." "He's made out of a lot of metal too. Um. We made him together. Spence and I." Sebastian pulls the jug of vinegar out of the bag, unscrewing the cap and frowning uncertainly at Peter. "I said there was nothing /wrong/ with it I just, you, tied yourself to a tree." His frown deepens at the mention of Hive, lips pressing together thin as he carefully starts tipping vinegar over the gooey mass. His nose wrinkles. "We're still trying to figure out how to make Jerusalem actually build webs. Mostly he just climbs on things and takes a lot of pictures. I know some places," he adds, with a shy smile to Kisha, "but they're in the city. There's trips on weekends though." Kisha bites her lip. "I'm not sure I can wait that long. I... erm... /need/ to work on my idea now," she flashes a smile. "Why it's practically keeping me awake at night!" To try fend off the cold she begins circling the tree Peter is stuck in. Taking careful note of anything left out before anyone gets the chance to hide it. "You can relax you know Peter. I'm not really interested in whatever it is you're trying to hide. Although I think maybe you should be more careful with whatever this is, you cover too much of your skin and you can die you know. Unless this is porous perhaps?" She ducks down to get a closer look at the exploded doohicky, hmms and picks it up. "Okay, maybe I am slightly interested. Some kind of high pressure nozzle and canister arrangement?" "Yeah I mean I guess you're right, there's nothing _wrong_ with it, but that is _definitely_ not what I was trying to do," Peter says, his cheeks still a bright red. "This was -- I was working on something and the cartridge _exploded_. It totally wasn't supposed to do that." Moments after the vinegar hits it, the goo starts to bubble and gently hiss -- growing softer, moister -- simultaneously melting /and/ evaporating. Peter's right arm comes free; he reaches for the jug of vinegar to take over. "Oh, man, _thank_ you." He begins dousing. And _boy_ does it stink. At the mention of Jerusalem building webs, Peter actually blushes /harder/. "Ohman, uh, building _webs_? That is _nuts_ I don't think anybody but real spiders can do--" When Kisha picks up the nozzle, Peter briefly panics, pouring vinegar even *more* quickly. "That is -- it's -- just a dumb idea that doesn't even work!" Peter exclaims. "It's --" A look to Sebastian, now, then back at Kisha: "-- a super-glue gun. For glueing things. To other things." "Well, you're going to have to wait," Sebastian says with a quizzical frown, "the weekend's only a couple days away and there's not really any good places for robotics stuff in town here. What are you working on?" His nose is wrinkling even further the more vinegar comes out of the jar, and he steps back as soon as Peter has taken over, hiding his face in the crook of one arm. "Well," he says, glancing over Peter, "it worked. You were good and glued." "Or I can improvise," Kisha points out with a shrug. "I'm currently working on UAVs, although I might need to build a three-dimensional printer at some point to speed up construction. This whole news story about a drone attack in the middle of New York got me hooked on the idea. Did you know there have been several projects for blimp drones the size of football fields? Not that I'm thinking of anything quite that big just yet, first I thought I'd try replicate something called the Aerovironment Switchblade." Following claims of the device being a 'super-glue gun' Kisha frowns at Peter, then holds the nozzle up to her eye. "I'd return it if I were you. Faulty nozzle assembly, caused to you to blow your load all at once." She has the good grace to wince at her own joke, before adding "For the record if you don't want me looking then you could just ask, rather than insulting me by making stuff up. I have used a glue gun before you know. Hell I've built one." "It isn't supposed to be like a *bomb*," Peter says. Peter's torso is now slipping free; he slides back down to his feet -- the excess 'goo' stretches like a rubber band, connecting him -- he drenches it in vinegar until it begins to separate, thinning and snapping like a dozen separate strands of taffy. He looks at Kisha, now, eyebrows *grinding* together -- then back at Sebastian, then back to Kisha. His voice tinier, now: "UAVs? Why would you -- um." Oh, man, /Peter/ stinks now. Red-faced, he stoppers the jug of vinegar. "Thanks, Sebastian," he says. Then he eyes Kisha, still looking... well, Peter doesn't do _suspicious_. But he's clearly uncomfortable. "...why would you want to _build_ one of those things?" Sebastian is still looking at Kisha a little bit quizzically; perhaps, now, a little bit warily, too. "I am one hundred percent sure that building an /explosive/ drone is /way/ against the rules," he says, cautiously. "I am pretty sure the teachers will count that as a weapon. You can get expelled for that, you know." His words are a little muffled, the sleeve of his sweatshirt still held up against his nose. Kisha glances between the two boys and shrugs. "Only if you make the explosives. Otherwise it's just a remote control plane that can only land by crashing," she points out swifty enough for it to be a pre-planned response. "Is it really so weird that someone who turn up at school with more tools than clothes in her bag would take an interest in flying drones when there's already rumours going round they're intended to kill mutants? Know thy enemy and know yourself as Sun Tzu said.. I think he said it anyway, or something which translates to that." She holds out Peters goop-gun. "And even if I wasn't genuinely curious I would have /totally/ pretended just to find out why the fuck everyone here is acting so suspicious." "I'm not -- I'm not _suspicious_," Peter says, and he snags the goop gun with his good hand -- glaring at it, as if intent on displacing all of his frustration on the sloppily soldiered together contraption. "I'm just -- you know those things are _crazy_ dangerous, they move _crazy_ fast, and --" And Peter is pretty sure he is not supposed to know that. "-- that's what I read about them, anyway. Uh." He looks back to Sebastian, suddenly fidgeting with the device, apparently wanting to change the subject: "How is your dad doing? Him and Hive have been kinda..." Shifty-eyed look. "...tense." Awkward shuffling. "Um," Sebastian says, a little awkwardly, "I know every student in this school and, uh, trying to replicate explosive drones is by /far/ the most suspicious thing I've heard all term. There's plenty of other UAVs you could model after that /aren't/ built to kill people, if you were just interested in remote control plains. And no, it's not weird you'd take an interest, but it's, um, a little creepy you'd want to build them." Sebastian frowns down at the ground at Peter's question. "Yeah, tense," he says, nose wrinkling. "Things have been kinda a mess. He's got a lot on his plate." Kisha ponders, then glances around, then finally (and very quiety) replies "It's not like I have much of a choice. My being interested in something pretty much requires me to try build it. The not sleeping thing is not /entirely/ my power... There is a technical aspect and it is very... demanding." She coughs. "But that's my own personal concern, which is why I've been trying to keep it discreet. Believe me I have no desire to get blown up again." "Well, uh, you should probably leave out the part of them being based on _explosive_ drones then," Peter says. "I mean, there are plenty of UAVs that are just -- like, built to carry hazardous materials away, or to take pictures, or even to just -- be awesome." Peter's going for his backpack, now, slipping the vinegar jug inside of it; the case of cartridges soon follow. "So, like, your power is you _have_ to build things?" As he hefts it up with his good arm, sliding it over his shoulder, he suddenly looks to Sebastian. He looks... concerned? 'Conflicted' might be the word. He reaches, then, with his good hand, to touch Sebastian's shoulder. "I just wanted to tell you -- uh. I think it's... it's going to be okay. Somebody I know is --" A look to Kisha, then. "-- involved. And he said he's -- he's _totally_ going to look out for your dad." Sebastian relaxes at this explanation, if only slightly. There's still concern in his expression as he considers Kisha. "You should probably talk to a teacher about that," he says, slowly, "I mean, they're here to help us learn to /focus/ this stuff. If it's something you can't help they can probably, um, help you help it. So you can build things you /want/ to build. And not /have/ to build things that'll get you expelled." His shoulder tenses up for a moment under Peter's hand, more startled than anything else. His mouth opens, and then closes, and then opens again. "I -- I mean, a lot of people are involved and I think they all look out for each other?" He's studying Peter, now, with the same uncertain concern. "You do sort of miss the big perk of building a replica of a mutant killing UAV," Kisha remarks cheerfully, volume back to normal. "It means you have a controller which probably works with the ones the bad guys use. Not that I'm actually building the same model because I don't know enough about the actual drone." She resumes wandering round the tree that's covered in the remaining goop. "God this stuff is vile. You might want to jump in the lake before you head back." Peter pauses at Sebastian's point. His nose wrinkles; suddenly, he looks down at his shoes. "...oh. Yeah. I, uh. Guess you're, uh. Right." But then! He perks up a bit, looking at Sebastian: "But I still think it'll be okay! Because...!" He realizes he has no idea why he thinks it'll be okay. "...um, if -- if there's anything I can do..." He frowns, peering at a point that is just past Sebastian's head. "Your dad's really cool," he finishes, "and so are you guys and um I should go get a shower because ohGod I stink." He starts shuffling back toward the school-grounds. He glances toward Kisha, eyebrows jamming together again: "Controller -- like, controlling the -- uh, oh. So, like, if you _knew_ what the drones looked like, or how they worked, or..." Peter is thinking, now. Even as he moves back to the school-grounds. "Maybe I can -- ask around, and find out if anyone knows..." "That's -- not how those controllers work, is it?" Sebastian says, slowly, "I mean, we're not talking about a TV or an RC helicopter you can buy at the mall. I'm /pretty sure/ the kind that kill people aren't that suceptible to, uh, just being taken over. I mean, you can have a controller that's sending out signals on the same frequencies but something like that'd probably be encrypted against --" He bites down on his lip, frowning as Peter starts shuffling away. "Anything you can do? Uh." His hand scrubs against the back of his neck. "I don't think this is the kind of situation you can -- I mean, last time Shane and I tried to get involved --" His gills flutter rapidly, his expression sinking into something a little more strained. "You /should/ jump in the lake," he says instead, a little more brightly, "it's really nice in there today." "Silly question, but does the lake have sand on the bottom?" Kisha asks, feigning casual interest. "It is how the controllers work if you build the exact same type, but yeah swapping to the right frequency is tricky. There have been reports of people hacking military drone feeds though. It can be done if you're dedicated enough." She sticks her hand in her pocket and pulls out a Swiss army knife, which she than uses to try snip a sample of goop. "There's always a solution if you devote enough time and effort to a problem." The goop resists the edge of a knife, but not for long -- it's resilient, but with a steady sawing motion, it eventually -- reluctantly -- begins to give. "A lot of them are autonomous," Peter mentions, although if he's talking about UAV drones in general -- or the murder-drones in *particular* -- he doesn't say. "They --" His eyes shift back to Sebastian. He's stopped walking toward the school; he's now looking at the lake. "Oh. Maybe that would be better, I mean -- I kinda don't want to have to explain the stink, and..." "...wait, wait. You -- you went _back_?!" Peter seems to have just got this bit. He's now almost _gaping_ at Sebastian. "It's kind of muddy on the bottom," Sebastian says. "Lot of muck, lot of rocks." He shrugs, but he's looking at Kisha thoughtfully. "If they're autonomous then a remote control probably wouldn't work, right?" he's saying, with an almost disappointed tone. "-- Do you really think you could make a controller to control one?" His gaze shifts to Peter, and for a moment he is quiet as his gills flutter again, quicker. "Yeah. We went back." He doesn't sound particularly enthusiastic about it. His blue skin has managed to shade itself a hair paler. Kisha resumes suspiciously glancing around. "In theory, and I tell you this in confidence, I can make... how to put it... pretty much anything since people started banging rocks together to make fire," she explains. "The newer something is the trickier it is. I guess because fewer copies have ever been built, but that's pure speculation. Just a matter of getting the raw materials and taking the time." "They might have a video feed you could pull. And probably some overrides. But it'd all be -- you'd need to know the /software/, not the hardware," Peter says. "I mean not like I'm an _expert_ or anything I just think UAVs are kind of awesome, and -- you _went_ back," Peter repeats, like he's still struggling to reconcile this new piece of information -- the stare he's aiming at Sebastian is hard, and long, and kind of intense -- especially for someone as prone to flippancy as Peter. "Oh man. Dude. That is -- that is _hardcore_. That is _crazy_ hardcore. That is -- oh man I thought your _dad_ was hardcore but that is -- " The intensity melts, giving way to shock and incredulity. Peter's good hand jumps up to grab at his own hair. "Dude, how did you get to be a family of _badasses_?!" Then, to Kisha: "That is a pretty cool power I mean I basically just jump really high maybe you could build like an ANTI-MURDER-DRONE okay that's a dumb idea because I think anti-murder-drones would just be like murder-drones that murder drones and oh my GOD dude that must have been _terrifying_ I'd want to hear about it sometime but only if you are cool with it I mean dude _dude_ you gotta be all sorts of traumatized and I totally don't want to make you uncomfortable and I'm going to shut up and go to the lake now." "That's /really cool/," Sebastian is saying, wide-eyed, but then, "-- but, yeah, I think actually controlling a /different/ one would be -- a software problem not /just/ --" He bites his lip again, shoulders squaring a little uncomfortably. "-- I mean, that's /really cool/," he says again. "Cuz those things are probably going to kill people and if you could --" He looks away, hand rubbing against his neck and his weight shifting from one foot to the other. Peter's rambling makes his brow furrow, slightly. "I mean, there were /people/ in there. Who could've died. We just wanted to --" He shrugs, stiffly. "I'll tell you. Some other time." "There is an entire secondary conversation going on which could really use a context for the new girl," Kisha notes, tucking the dried goop in her pocket. "But I'm going to go out on a limb and assume it's something traumatic you're not ready to discuss openly. On the topic of automated drones they will definately have a receiver still, because they'd need to be able to receive abort codes and suchlike. Otherwise if it ever malfunctioned and targeted the owners..." She begins twirling her hair around her finger. "Look, worst case I can't control one. But if I've built one I'd know /exactly/ what they're capable of. Turning circles, sensor vulnerabilities and pretty every weak point. Speaking of them killing people... erm do either of you know if the school has any sort of radar?" Peter is KEEPING HIS PROMISE. He said now was time for him to shut up and go to the lake. And so that's what he's doing -- even if Sebastian's comment about people dying makes him stiffen, and he clearly wants to say _something_, but, uh... he settles for giving Sebastian a silent nod. And a look back at Kisha -- he follows this up for a shake of his head. And then he's darting, for the lake. NO FOLLOWING. Peter needs to clean the stink off of him. The goo remains -- splattered just about *everywhere*. Peter doesn't seem intent on cleaning it up, actually. "It's kind of a long story," Sebastian says apologetically, "um, and kind of a horrible one." He shrugs, tucking his hands into his pockets and watching Peter head off. "I -- I mean, yeah, I think the teachers have access to things like that but I haven't seen any just, uh, lying around. I -- /guess/ you could ask?" He doesn't sound entirely certain of what the results might be. "Learning what they can do would be pretty great even if they couldn't be controlled. I mean. I don't really want to be exploded, that doesn't sound fun -- um, sorry," he adds hastily, ducking his head sheepishly. "I guess you'd know?" She did say she didn't want to be blown up /again/. Despite the mud on her arms it's pretty obvious that Kisha is probably being serious about the explosion, the burns go from her wrists up. "I may have had a slight mishap involving my power, the school science fair and an as yet unidentified device. I was mainly wondering about a radar system because of the only reason I could think of for locating a combat drone factory in the middle of a city. Which is you intend to use them locally and in large numbers..." Sebastian shivers at this suggestion, his arms tightening against his chest. "Yeah," he agrees, brows creasing into a frown, and then, quieter, "Yeah." He fidgets, shivering slightly in a brief breeze. "You could ask," he says, again, "I bet some of the teachers would, uh, be interested to know what's going on with this stuff /too/." His frown remains as he looks back towards the school. "I should get back in. I think it's gotten colder. Um. Good luck with --" He doesn't entirely seem certain with what. He looks at the mud on Kisha's arms, and offers her a hesitant smile before turning to head off. Kisha chuckles. "I'm digging up clay," she explains cryptically. "Anyway it was nice chattting with you... And for what it's worth I hope whatever you're worried about gets better soon." And with that she's off back to her hole in the ground.