August 8 - Three's a Crowd
Title: Three's a Crowd
Author: Vashti (tvashti)
Fandom: Eureka!
Character(s): Jack Carter, Xander Harris, Andy, Jo, Fargo, Allison, Buffy
Rating: PG
Summary: GD is safe, Fargo faints, and bunnies have been sent to their doom.
Length: ~1360 words
Disclaimer: Only the words are mine, and that’s probably up for philosophical debate.
Notes: Sequel to Average Joes.
Jack Carter shared a smile to light up a room with his new "bestie", as the young man had put it two mechanical-barnyard -animal-robots-gone-wrong ago.
"That was some nice bazooka work there," Andy said with enthusiastic, but genuine, cheer to ex-Army Ranger Xander Harris. He shook the young man's hand as Jack Carter patted him on the back.
"What can I say? Me and long-range weapons make with the happy."
"You should see him with a rocket launcher," Fargo muttered from somewhere behind them.
Jack tossed a dirty look over his shoulder. Fargo had been random little asides like this since he and Harris had barreled into the craziness at Global Dynamics, a giant EMP (well, something fancier than an EMP but that was basically what it did so...) carried between them and a ridiculously large energy weapon strapped to Harris' back.
"Actually, I am pretty good with a rocket launcher," Harris said in a placating manner. "How'd you know?"
"Um..."
Jack just knew this had something to do with them screwing up the timeline and crossing the interdimensional Rose bridge...thing. But they were all pretty settled into this new timeline, more or less. Now was so not the time to for Fargo to revert back to form.
"As the head of GD I've seen the specs on your eye and I know how important it was that you recover clarity and depth-perception," Fargo said so quickly he was nearly tripping over his words. "Seeing you handle the energy weapon and that bazooka, a rocket launcher just seemed like your kind of weapon."
Dusting off the plaster and silvery flakes that coated her lab coat and blond hair, Dr. Summers approached them with a grim smile. "He's not bad with a modified compound bow either. You really should let me tempt you into joining my beta test team, Ranger Harris."
Fargo was all but vibrating. Jack shot him another quelling glare, but it wasn't doing much.
Harris frowned. "Uh, is that what I'll look like every day?"
Dr. Summers laughed, a bright, happy sound totally at odds with her expression moments before. "Probably not. Not unless you want to try out these babies." She reached into her lab coat and pulled out a shimmering pair of long translucent gloves. They were so pale and small, they had to have been made for specifically.
She turned to Fargo. "I know you hate it when pet projects go wild, sir, but at least it gave me a chance to do a field test of my hand-to-hand gloves in a controlled environment." At Jack's and Harris' snort, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, somewhat controlled environment. Strength, endurance and durability all amplified by a factor of ten. I'd say that's a successful test. And also, no more bunnies," she added with a grin.
Fargo passed out.
Which was when Allison and Jo decided to make an appearance. "What happened?" they said simultaneously. Allison dropped to her knees beside Fargo.
"Um, I inadvertently found his happy place?" Dr. Summers volunteered.
Jo shook her head. "That sounds so wrong."
Dr. Summers could only shrug. "Anyway, I'm gonna go back. I kinda left a trail of robot bunny entrails behind me. Which sounds grosser than it is. Mostly, I'm hoping to get to the good stuff before the other labs scavenge the parts," she said perkily. There was something a little disturbing about her obvious joy, but Jack had long ago given up on the idea that any of the scientists in Eureka had even a passing idea of what normal people considered fun.
Jack, Harris and Jo waved her off as Andy cringed and wrapped his arms protectively around his middle. Noticing the movement, Jack frowned. "You all right there, buddy?"
"I'm...fine. Just fine." Andy unwrapped his arms with some reluctance. Turning in the opposite direction from where Dr. Summers had gone, he went a few feet, whistling as he did so.
"O-kay," he and Harris said at the same time. They shared another smile between them. "Hey," Jack said, "the upside of this mostly happening at GD? [Bar/restaurant] is probably still standing. Wanna get a beer after this is all over?"
Harris nodded. "Sounds great."
"Jo, up for a beer after?"
"Hmm?" She pulled her attention away from her comm. "Beer? Yeah, sure, but it'll probably have to wait until tonight."
Jack took a look around, this time with Jo's position as chief of security in mind. "Yeah. I can see that."
"Hey," Harris said. "You wouldn't happen to know if Optometry survived the Barnyard Battle, would you? Using the EMP twice has really put the whammy on my prosthetic eye."
Jo glanced down at the tablet in her hand. "Assuming all the scientists stayed in their labs, I think you're okay for a tune-up." She glanced up. And stared for a second.
Harris looked down at himself. "What? Did one of the ducks duck-guano me?" He spun around, trying to check his back.
"No, I..." Jo shook her head. "You're fine. You just...you look like someone I knew. From before Eureka."
"Oh." Harris offered her a lopsided smile. "I dropped out of high school and went right into the army. If you know anyone in the service--"
"I used to be in the service," Jo said, her voice steadier.
"Army?"
"Yeah."
"So maybe we crossed paths."
Jo nodded. "Maybe." They simultaneously came forward to shake hands, plaster dust showering free from Jo and a sprinkling of silver flakes drifting from Harris.
"You gonna be in town for a while?" Jo asked.
"Couple of days. Even before the EMP screwed it all up, the eye still needed some calibration."
"Good." Jo shared a look with Allison, who had helped a now-conscious Fargo to his feet while the exchange was going on between the former soldiers.
Jack frowned. He knew that look. He did not like that look. "Hey, so, uh, Jo...Fargo...you still need us? There's still robot chicken parts on the road to GD."
"I'm good here," Jo said. "Fargo? Dr. Fargo?"
"Uh..."
Allison not-so-discreetly kicked his heel.
"Yeah. We're good. Thank you for all your help, Sherriff."
"Yup." Jack turned, waving at Andy to come over. "Harris?"
The young man nodded. "Let's go."
"Call me if you need anything. My phone's..." Jack frowned and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It had rebooted, post-EMP but it was doing strange things. "On second thought, call Andy. Or text me. I think I'm still getting text messages." His frowned deepened.
Smiling indulgently, Allison said, "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."
Standing outside GD, surveying the damage left behind (and the scientists who were, as Dr. Summers predicted, scavenging the for anything that hadn't been destroyed), Jack put his hands on his hips and dropped his head. "Somehow it always looks worse after we've stopped the latest disaster."
"There was that one time with the soap," Andy reminded him.
Jack looked up at him and scowled. "Please don't remind me. The hair on my left calf is still luxuriously full of body."
Both Andy and Xander took a peak at his lower legs.
"Oh stop it you two! Okay, forget what I said. Beer first, cleanup after."
Harris raised his hand. "I second this motion."
Andy raised his hand in kind. "I don't need to drink liquids, but I concur."
"Good," Jack said, nodding. "To Carpe Diem's we go." He turned to his deputy. "Andy, correct me if I'm wrong, but we don't have a truck, do we?"
"Uh, no Jack. The robot chickens swarmed it a mile out of town."
"I'm up for a good walk," Harris declared.
"I guess we all are! Yay!"
"Don't worry, Carter. We'll get you that beer soon."
"Please, God, yes."
They were a good twenty minutes into their walk when Jack got a text from Allison: Ranger Harris is from the same tv show as Drs Summers & Osborne.
Neither Andy nor Harris gave him a second look when he swore a blue streak, although Harris did ask if they should turn around.
"No! Absolutely not! No."
Andy and Harris did share a look then. Which Jack chose to ignore.
Fin[ite]
Notes2: I still haven't gotten to what I wanted with this, but I don't know if I have anything left in me. :-\
Author: Vashti (tvashti)
Fandom: Eureka!
Character(s): Jack Carter, Xander Harris, Andy, Jo, Fargo, Allison, Buffy
Rating: PG
Summary: GD is safe, Fargo faints, and bunnies have been sent to their doom.
Length: ~1360 words
Disclaimer: Only the words are mine, and that’s probably up for philosophical debate.
Notes: Sequel to Average Joes.
Jack Carter shared a smile to light up a room with his new "bestie", as the young man had put it two mechanical-barnyard -animal-robots-gone-wrong ago.
"That was some nice bazooka work there," Andy said with enthusiastic, but genuine, cheer to ex-Army Ranger Xander Harris. He shook the young man's hand as Jack Carter patted him on the back.
"What can I say? Me and long-range weapons make with the happy."
"You should see him with a rocket launcher," Fargo muttered from somewhere behind them.
Jack tossed a dirty look over his shoulder. Fargo had been random little asides like this since he and Harris had barreled into the craziness at Global Dynamics, a giant EMP (well, something fancier than an EMP but that was basically what it did so...) carried between them and a ridiculously large energy weapon strapped to Harris' back.
"Actually, I am pretty good with a rocket launcher," Harris said in a placating manner. "How'd you know?"
"Um..."
Jack just knew this had something to do with them screwing up the timeline and crossing the interdimensional Rose bridge...thing. But they were all pretty settled into this new timeline, more or less. Now was so not the time to for Fargo to revert back to form.
"As the head of GD I've seen the specs on your eye and I know how important it was that you recover clarity and depth-perception," Fargo said so quickly he was nearly tripping over his words. "Seeing you handle the energy weapon and that bazooka, a rocket launcher just seemed like your kind of weapon."
Dusting off the plaster and silvery flakes that coated her lab coat and blond hair, Dr. Summers approached them with a grim smile. "He's not bad with a modified compound bow either. You really should let me tempt you into joining my beta test team, Ranger Harris."
Fargo was all but vibrating. Jack shot him another quelling glare, but it wasn't doing much.
Harris frowned. "Uh, is that what I'll look like every day?"
Dr. Summers laughed, a bright, happy sound totally at odds with her expression moments before. "Probably not. Not unless you want to try out these babies." She reached into her lab coat and pulled out a shimmering pair of long translucent gloves. They were so pale and small, they had to have been made for specifically.
She turned to Fargo. "I know you hate it when pet projects go wild, sir, but at least it gave me a chance to do a field test of my hand-to-hand gloves in a controlled environment." At Jack's and Harris' snort, she rolled her eyes. "Okay, somewhat controlled environment. Strength, endurance and durability all amplified by a factor of ten. I'd say that's a successful test. And also, no more bunnies," she added with a grin.
Fargo passed out.
Which was when Allison and Jo decided to make an appearance. "What happened?" they said simultaneously. Allison dropped to her knees beside Fargo.
"Um, I inadvertently found his happy place?" Dr. Summers volunteered.
Jo shook her head. "That sounds so wrong."
Dr. Summers could only shrug. "Anyway, I'm gonna go back. I kinda left a trail of robot bunny entrails behind me. Which sounds grosser than it is. Mostly, I'm hoping to get to the good stuff before the other labs scavenge the parts," she said perkily. There was something a little disturbing about her obvious joy, but Jack had long ago given up on the idea that any of the scientists in Eureka had even a passing idea of what normal people considered fun.
Jack, Harris and Jo waved her off as Andy cringed and wrapped his arms protectively around his middle. Noticing the movement, Jack frowned. "You all right there, buddy?"
"I'm...fine. Just fine." Andy unwrapped his arms with some reluctance. Turning in the opposite direction from where Dr. Summers had gone, he went a few feet, whistling as he did so.
"O-kay," he and Harris said at the same time. They shared another smile between them. "Hey," Jack said, "the upside of this mostly happening at GD? [Bar/restaurant] is probably still standing. Wanna get a beer after this is all over?"
Harris nodded. "Sounds great."
"Jo, up for a beer after?"
"Hmm?" She pulled her attention away from her comm. "Beer? Yeah, sure, but it'll probably have to wait until tonight."
Jack took a look around, this time with Jo's position as chief of security in mind. "Yeah. I can see that."
"Hey," Harris said. "You wouldn't happen to know if Optometry survived the Barnyard Battle, would you? Using the EMP twice has really put the whammy on my prosthetic eye."
Jo glanced down at the tablet in her hand. "Assuming all the scientists stayed in their labs, I think you're okay for a tune-up." She glanced up. And stared for a second.
Harris looked down at himself. "What? Did one of the ducks duck-guano me?" He spun around, trying to check his back.
"No, I..." Jo shook her head. "You're fine. You just...you look like someone I knew. From before Eureka."
"Oh." Harris offered her a lopsided smile. "I dropped out of high school and went right into the army. If you know anyone in the service--"
"I used to be in the service," Jo said, her voice steadier.
"Army?"
"Yeah."
"So maybe we crossed paths."
Jo nodded. "Maybe." They simultaneously came forward to shake hands, plaster dust showering free from Jo and a sprinkling of silver flakes drifting from Harris.
"You gonna be in town for a while?" Jo asked.
"Couple of days. Even before the EMP screwed it all up, the eye still needed some calibration."
"Good." Jo shared a look with Allison, who had helped a now-conscious Fargo to his feet while the exchange was going on between the former soldiers.
Jack frowned. He knew that look. He did not like that look. "Hey, so, uh, Jo...Fargo...you still need us? There's still robot chicken parts on the road to GD."
"I'm good here," Jo said. "Fargo? Dr. Fargo?"
"Uh..."
Allison not-so-discreetly kicked his heel.
"Yeah. We're good. Thank you for all your help, Sherriff."
"Yup." Jack turned, waving at Andy to come over. "Harris?"
The young man nodded. "Let's go."
"Call me if you need anything. My phone's..." Jack frowned and pulled his phone out of his pocket. It had rebooted, post-EMP but it was doing strange things. "On second thought, call Andy. Or text me. I think I'm still getting text messages." His frowned deepened.
Smiling indulgently, Allison said, "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."
Standing outside GD, surveying the damage left behind (and the scientists who were, as Dr. Summers predicted, scavenging the for anything that hadn't been destroyed), Jack put his hands on his hips and dropped his head. "Somehow it always looks worse after we've stopped the latest disaster."
"There was that one time with the soap," Andy reminded him.
Jack looked up at him and scowled. "Please don't remind me. The hair on my left calf is still luxuriously full of body."
Both Andy and Xander took a peak at his lower legs.
"Oh stop it you two! Okay, forget what I said. Beer first, cleanup after."
Harris raised his hand. "I second this motion."
Andy raised his hand in kind. "I don't need to drink liquids, but I concur."
"Good," Jack said, nodding. "To Carpe Diem's we go." He turned to his deputy. "Andy, correct me if I'm wrong, but we don't have a truck, do we?"
"Uh, no Jack. The robot chickens swarmed it a mile out of town."
"I'm up for a good walk," Harris declared.
"I guess we all are! Yay!"
"Don't worry, Carter. We'll get you that beer soon."
"Please, God, yes."
They were a good twenty minutes into their walk when Jack got a text from Allison: Ranger Harris is from the same tv show as Drs Summers & Osborne.
Neither Andy nor Harris gave him a second look when he swore a blue streak, although Harris did ask if they should turn around.
"No! Absolutely not! No."
Andy and Harris did share a look then. Which Jack chose to ignore.
Fin[ite]
Notes2: I still haven't gotten to what I wanted with this, but I don't know if I have anything left in me. :-\