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After her initial examination the doctors put Megan into a private room for observation.  she's only there about fifteen minutes before her mother comes in.  It's obvious from the look on her face that she has been worried since getting the call.

Her mom hugs her tightly for a long time before finally letting go, "I was so worried.  I saw on the news about the explosion at the lab and then the hospital called."  Megan has never seen her mother this worried before.  "They said they want to keep you here for 48 hours.  something about you getting doused in chemicals or something."  Megan's mother takes her hands and holds them tightly, "I'm just glad you're alright."

Megan was happy when her mom arrived at the hospital, but that mood quickly shifted when her mother mentioned the hospital wanting to keep her there longer for observation.  “48 hours!  But the first game is tonight!  I can’t miss that!  Besides, while some chemicals might have spilled on me, I got drenched almost immediately by sprinklers, so that should have washed anything off, right?”

"Honey, I know the squad is important to you, but this could be serious.  I'll check with them and find out, I'll be right back."  She hugs Megan again and leaves the room in search of her doctor.

a couple of minutes later her mom and one of the doctors come back in.  He looks at her chart for a minute and then sits on the edge of the bed.  "Megan, I'm doctor Welby.  Your mom says you're a little worried about why we're keeping you here.  Something about the sprinklers, and I understand that no one really likes hospitals, but we really need to keep an eye on you.  when you were brought in your heart rate was pretty high, and your temperature.  Although you seem to be fine, it's best to keep yopu here in case anything is wrong and we just can't tell yet.  Okay?"

"It's just a couple of days hon.  The squad will understand, I'm sure of it."  Her mom tries to be reassuring.

Megan frowned as the doctor explained the reasons for keeping her here, though she felt perfectly fine.  “Maybe,” she replies to her mom’s comment, “but I still feel like I am letting them down by not being there when all this is the fault of that stupid lab and the watery guy they had there and not being smart enough to plexiglass over their stupid labs.  I hope dad has called someone from his old firm about suing them already.” 

She looked back over towards the doctor as she asked, “what about Sarah and the other students that had gone down into the lab to help me?  They having to stay here over the weekend as well?”

"None of the other students sghowed any signs of injury.  They're being sent home.  If you want to see them I can check to find out if they're still here?"

Megan thought for a moment before she replied.  “Yeah, I would, particularly Sarah.”  Then after the doctor had left she suddenly realized something and looked over at her mom.  “I don’t look like a drowned rat or anything still do I?  You have a mirror handy?  I don’t want to look like a complete mess.”

Megan's mom smiled and reached into her purse to get her compact.  "You certainly feel like yourself."  She says.

Sarah follows the doctor through the building relieved that Megan wasn't disappearing in some X-File style coverup.  When the door opens she sees Megan and her mom who she remembers from years back.  She smiles at Megan, "Hey, you still doing okay?  They letting you clear out of here soon?  We've just been standing around in the lobby waiting for somebody to say we can go home, or more likely, back to school." 

She makes a sour face at that last notion.  She turns to Mrs. Howell, "Hi uh,"  she almost calls her Erin, or Megan's mom as she used to, "Mrs. Howell.  It's good to see you."

"Megan, I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Colin Crow. I guess you already know Calvin. He's today's hero, since he got you and all those people out from under all the stuff that had fallen on you. Mrs. Howell, pleased to meet you. Cal, Sarah, Megan, do you mind if I take a pic of you for the school newspaper?"

After he takes the photo, or if they would rather not, Colin sits near Megan's bed. Then he gets an idea. He looks around the room, searching for a mirror, or a reflecting surface. He's not sure it's the way those visions work, but does it hurt to try?

Megan's mother shakes each of your hands.  "Thank you so much for being there for Megan."

Megan used her mom’s compact to straighten her hair out some and put it back into a ponytail since the water had pretty much messed it all up.  She also quickly made sure that the little makeup she normally wore was not running all over the place and if needed wiped it away.

When Sarah came in followed by the others, she gave them a warm smile.  “I am doing fine Sarah,” she replies to her best friend from years before, “but unfortunately I am not getting out of here anytime soon, some stupid nonsense about wanting to observe me the next couple of days because some chemicals got spilled on me, not as if the sprinklers wouldn’t have washed it right away.”

She then turned to Colin as the other teen introduced himself.  “Hi Colin, that was pretty brave to jump down into that mess, especially for someone you don’t know.”  Looking over at Calvin as Colin mentioned the tall football player, Megan gave him a wide smile.  “Hi Calvin, this was an interesting way to finally met.  Sorry these stupid doctors aren’t going to let me go home so I can be there to help cheer you on for the game tonight.  I am sure you are going to amaze everyone.”

Megan’s head suddenly turned toward Colin as he mentioned getting a picture of the them all and she quickly shook it.  “No, please don’t take any pictures.  Last thing I want is for everyone at school to see me in this hospital bed, not to mention I must look like I went down with the Titanic or something.”

Colin is about to object, but then he smiles, resignedly.

"Ok, Megan. Nevermind. But you still have some points over Kate Winslet."

He checks on his camera though. He was holding it when all the chaos began, and he wonders if he was lucky enough to inadvertently take a shot of the water man. He wonders if he survived, and what they did to him in those labs.

((OOC: Make a craft roll))

OOC: Visual art check: water man photo? (1d20+3=11) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=601204)

Fate roll (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=601208) for Colin to get a photo of the water man.

Colin checks his camera and finds a decent picture of the water man right before he grabs Megan as a hostage.

A bright smile appears on Colin's face, and he cuddles his camera like he would a good dog.

"I got him!" he nearly shouts, then, lowering his voice to a whisper "I got him! Look!"

He shows his friends the little screen of his camera. The water man that attacked them is about to grab Megan.

"They will have some explaining to do now, won't they? Should I send one to the Tribune or just give it to the police?"

Megan's mom shudders slightly when she looks at it.  "That must have been terrifying for you kid to be there.  What happened to him?"

Colin shrugs.

"I'm not really sure. The guards came out of the elevator behind us, and shot him with lasers, or something like that. He... exploded, and the explosion sent Megan over the rail. Then the sprinklers went off and drenched everything, so it would be hard to say what was left of him. We were more concerned with Megan and the people below anyway." he ends up with a loud sneeze, covering his mouth just in time, and dropping his glasses as usual.

Cal, smiles bashfully, and almost looks away "Well, I think i'll dedicate this win we're sure to have to you, seein' as you're in the hospital and all, a-and i'll get everyone to come and see ya if, that is, if you want them too?"

Sarah looks down at her shoes... still damp.  "Ugh..  I have waterguy in my socks... I am so throwing these shoes away.  My feet feel violated."  She thinks about it...  "Do you think your dad's lawyer could put in a good word for a new pair of shoes?"

Megan looks over at the picture that Colin managed to get as she replies.  “I would send a copy to both, and another to my father!”  She exclaims.  “Sorry about not wanting the picture now Colin, how about we have a rain check?  We all meet up sometime Monday for one?”

As Colin was explaining to her mom about what had happened with the weird water guy, Megan focused on Cal as he spoke to her.  His bashfulness was rather charming in away, not to mention his Texan accent.  “Wow, that would be so great.”  She replied with a smile.  “That would be nice to see some people that aren’t doctors or nurses this weekend, as long as you come back as well.”

When Sarah speaks up about the water in her socks, Megan looks over at the other girl as she said.  “You think in your socks and shoes is bad, don’t forget, he was trying to drowned me, I had water from him in my mouth and up my nose, talk about truly gross.  But why wait on a lawsuit that may never happen Sarah?  I’ll buy you some new shoes, whenever I get out of here that is.”

Sarah turns a little green at Megan's reminder of the attack.  She shakes her head.  "No don't worry about my stupid shoes.  It's not like they were expensive or anything.  So you're stuck here for a couple of days?  Tomorrow I can bring you some schoolwork for fun if you like or maybe just some magazines?"

Cal's face noticeably lights up as Megan says this "Sure, i'll get everyone to come on over, and i'll be with them"

Megan's father, his chief of staff and another man come into the room.  Megan's father hugs her and kisses her on the forehead, "I came as soon as I heard.  How're you feeling sweetheart, and who are all these folks, friends of yours?"

"Yes, Mr. Howell, we were there when she was attacked. I managed to take a photo of the water man and Megan says I should send..." he sneezes again "...I should send you a copy. Can you give me an e-mail address of yours?"

Megan feels bad that Sarah seemed a bit embarrassed about comparing their two experiences with the water man, which really had not been the blond teen’s intention.  “Don’t worry about your shoes?  Why shouldn’t I Sarah?  You jumped down into that smoky, possibly burning lab to help me, someone you really haven’t talked to in years.  Going with you to get you some new shoes is like the least I can do.”

Sarah’s comment about bringing homework was a bit depressing to Megan, she did not really feel like doing homework in this stupid hospital, but seeing as they were trying to keep her here till Sunday, she figured she might as well make use of the long stretches of time by trying to do some homework.  “As much as I hate to say, having some homework to do is probably a good idea while I am here, otherwise I will find myself soooo far behind come Monday.  But some magazines would be nice to.”  She adds the last with a smile.

Smiling again at Cal as he mentioned he would bring others back with him, she was about to reply when her father entered the room with a small entourage.  Megan gives her father a little hug back as she replies.  “I feel fine really, not that those idiots at the lab had anything to do with that.” 

When he asked who the others were, Megan shook her head slightly.  “Dad, don’t you recognize Sarah?  I know it’s been a couple of years, but she was only like my best friend back in grade school.”  She said as she indicated the other girl.  “This is Colin Crow, like he said, he managed to get a picture of the nutcase that caused all this mess.   And this is Calvin Stewart, he’s the new quarterback on the football team.”  Megan continued, pointing to each boy in turn.  “They all jumped down into the lab I feel into to help me and the other people in the lab, even though there could have been a fire.”

"Oh, right, Sarah."  Megan's father says shaking her hand.  As megan introduces the other kids he makes sure to shake everyone's hand and smile.

((OOC: Colin make a Will Save DC 12))

"I have a meeting with the police and the CEO of Lawson in a few minutes.  We'll get this thing figured out in no time."  He turns to Megan's mother, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Erin, why don't you let Ralph take you home?"

Erin Howell smiles, giving her husband a hug, "No.  I'm going to stay here with Meg.  You take your meeting and we'll see you later."

Donal nods, hugging his wife, then Megan again, "You hang in there sweetheart, I'll find out what really happened and be back as soon as I can."

With that Megan's father and associates leave the room.

“What really happened?”  Megan said just as her father and the others had exited the room.  “I think we were there and have some idea of what happened.”  She found her father’s apparent attitude at this a bit annoying and then had a realization.  “Mom, do you and dad own any of Lawson Labs’ stock?  Or did dad ever represent them?”

"I'm not sure honey.  I'm sure what your dad meant was that he was going to find out who that man was and what he was doing there.  The news said that there was a paranormal and that there might have been some ultra-terrorist involvement in the attack at the lab.  You know your father, he likes to have all the facts."

Sarah grins at Megan, "Hey Meg, I think you're dad meant why an angry puddle poured out of the elevator in the first place.  Which is a pretty good question I think.  Maybe something Colin can tell the Tribune to ask when he shows them the picture."

OOC: Shaking Mr. Howell's hand - Will save (1d20+2=13) (http://invisiblecastle.com/find.py?id=602155)

"I guess he doesn't need the photo, then. Maybe the labs had surveillance cameras." Colin shrugs. And then sneezes again.
"Maybe I should go call my mom and tell her to bring me dry clothes."

The room door opens and a man comes in, "Sorry to interrupt,"  he holds up a badge, "Detective O'Brian, Chicago PD."  He says, "I'm here to pick up Colin." 

Colin looks up, a little surprised.

"Uh, hi Chris."

Cue little awkward moment of silence as Colin thinks how he should introduce Chris to his friends. A friend? His mother's boyfriend? Then he remembers what he told Sarah in that moment of silliness before jumping into the labs and he smiles, blushing a bit. It's time to accept it.

"Chris, these are Sarah, Calvin, Megan and her mother, Mrs. Howell. Christopher is my mom's partner."

He picks up his camera and the rest of his stuff.

"Megan, I'll be back with Calvin and the others to show you the pictures of the game. Mrs. Howell, it's been a pleasure. Calvin, see you later. Sarah... can I borrow the journal? I'd like to look into it a bit more. If I discover something, you'll be the first to know, ok? Well... goodbye. Let's go, Chris. Mom was busy?"

Sarah smiles and waves Colin off, "Keep it as long as you want.  It's an old aticle."

ERIN: "Oh, your mother is a policeman Colin?"

CHRIS: (Clearing his throat) "No, she teaches history.  I think what Colin meant was that I'm a friend of the family."

ERIN: "Oh.  Are you investigating what happened at the lab by any chance?"

CHRIS: "No ma'am, not directly.  Paranormal Crimes Division is handling that, because of the appearance of a paranormal.  Oh"  He says, looking at Colin, "I ran into Sylvia and Kel downstairs, they were looking for you.  They're in the hall."  He looks back at Megan and her mother, "They're with the school paper, so I guess at some point they'll want to ask Megan and the others about what happened.  You want to postpone or do you want to talk with them Megan?"

Megan's mother looks at her and puts a hand on her arm, "You feel up to that honey or you want me to ask them to leave?"

OOC: That was totally unintended! I meant... oh well.


Colin becomes fiery red as he realizes the confusion the wrong choice of word engendered.

"No! Well... I mean... my... Sylvia and Kel. I'll go. Bye."

He quickly retreats out of the room, looking for his friends, cursing his mouth.


OOC: So nothing happened when I touched Megan's dad? That's... refreshing. ;)

Megan wasn’t sure who the police officer was talking about, having never met these other two.  “Well, I guess they can come in if they really want to, but I already was going to met up with Colin next week for any pictures, they could always ask questions then.”  She replies.

"Ok."  O'Brian begins, "I'll let them know it's okay to come in."  He steps into the hall for a minute, then returns with Sylvia and Kel.

Colin props himself against the wall of the corridor, taking a moment to think, to sort things out. It's been just a week, a single week and way too many things happened. He sighs, as his thoughts are a little into disarray.

I'm getting a cold. I'm getting a cold and Chris probably thinks that I'm stupid, or that I am ashamed of him, or that I don't want him to be with mom. I saw daddy. He was there, I could see him, and there was other people too. He was looking at me. Was he trying to tell me something? I have saved people. That woman wasn't breathing anymore, and I have saved her. And my friends... Kel, Calvin, Bruce. They all have something special. Maybe Seth and Megan too. And Sarah. Sarah is.. something else. Yes there are prettier girls, probably, but Sarah... Sarah is special. I have a journal of parapsychology in my bag. I have to do research into native american magic. As if I was a shaman or something. Then again, there was that blackbird. Where was today that blackbird? I have to go at the game and shoot some photos. I have to ask that guy about using his photo. I want to go home and sleep for a week. I'm getting a cold.

He doesn't notice as Chris passes by, but he sees Sarah and Kel. He can't look Chris in the eyes, so he doesn't look at them as he greets them.

"Hi Kel. Hi Sylvia. I guess the news move fast."

Chris O'Brian puts a hand on Colin's shoulder, "You okay guy, you seem a little out of it?"

"Yeah, I'm ok, it's just... a bit too much too fast... do you get it?" another loud sneeze "That and I could use some dry clothes."

Colin takes his last kleenex and blows his nose. "And I'd like to talk with you. But later."

"Ok."  Chris says, then louder for the room.  "It was nice to meet you, I wish it had been under better circumstances, but I need to get this guy home and dried off before he cathes his death."  He waves and then heads out with Colin.

"Guys, I'd like to tell you everything, but I have to go. You can ask Sarah and Calvin, though. I've got a photo to show everyone we weren't dreaming,  and this" he quickly scribbles something "is my number if you need it. I'll be at the game later. See you!"

"We're reporters," Sylvia says solemnly.  "News moves only as fast as we do."

"If you could keep this brief, I'd appreciate it."  Megan's mother says.

((OOC: For ease of posting you may press the Big Red Recap Button and say OOC that you tell them what happened, or you can post what you say.  I will assume that you leave out references to lifting massive weight and breaking steel doors.))

OOC: But that's my favorite part!!! *just kidding*  I don't say boo except that I have water guy in my shoes and that I was really happy that all of us were okay. 

((OOC: I'll assume that everyone tells their tale and Kel and Sylvia leave to make it back to school in time to get to the game.  I'll leave this open since Cal told Megan he'd be back and Megan is gonna be here another couple of days anyway.))

After the other students had left, Megan checked her cellphone, if it is not working (due to the sprinklers and all) then she asks to borrow her mom’s.  She then asks her mom to get her a drink of water and while her mother steps out, calls Lisa’s cellphone.

The phone only rings twice before Lisa answers.  You tell her it's you (you're using mom's phone), "Oh my godddd.  We heard something had happened to you, are you alright?"

“Yeah, I am fine.”  Megan replies.  “But the stupid doctors want to keep me over the weekend for ‘observation’ because of some chemicals that spilled on me.  I’m really sorry I won’t be able to make the game tonight, which totally sucks.”

“But there is actually some good things that came from this mess, one of which is the fact that Cal was on the fieldtrip and was one of the students that jumped down to help me and the lab workers.  He just left a bit ago, and had promised that if he wins the game tonight he would dedicate it to me and also to come back by and visit this weekend as well.”

"Ooooh.  So you did meet him, even if it wasn't really the best way."

"We'll miss you tonight, but I'll try to get out there to see you tomorrow.  Is there anything you'd like me to bring you?"

“No, I think I will be good thanks to my mom and an old friend who was also on the field trip that will be getting me school work and some magazines.  Just having you come by would be great if you can make it.  I know you guys are going to be great tonight, just wish I could be there as well.”

"It's only one game right?  You'll be back next week I hope."

"I'll try to get over there Saturday then."

Around 1PM Saturday Lisa arrives at Megan's room.  Megan went to sleep around 8PM Friday night and didn't actually get up for good until about 11AM Saturday.  The nurses woke her every hour and checked her pupil response, but other then that she slept like a rock.

"Hey there."  She says, giving you a get well card.  "We missed you at the game last night.  Cal was AMAZING, totally amazing.  17 to 7, we so smoked Larkin.  Sorry you couldn't be there."

Megan brightened up when Lisa arrived at her room.  “Hey, good to see you.  My parents and brother came by this morning, so my brother told me a bit about the game, it sounds like it was a great time.  God I wish these doctors were such worrywarts and had let me go yesterday.” 

“I wonder what things will be like Monday?  I can just bet the rumor mill around the school is working overtime with the events of this stupid fieldtrip.”

(OOC not sure if you were planning on making it important, but Megan’s father never came back after his meeting to mention what had come of that)

OOC: Dad would have been quiet on the subject, unless Megan pressed.  If she did he'd explain that until the official police investigation is complete they can't do much, although the company indicated that it would likely be willing to settle any lawsuits out of court.

"Oh, there was a buzz all day Friday after it was on the news.  It must have been horrible, I'd have tottally been terrified."

"I talked to Lance Harbor, the team's top receiver.  He said that after the trip here he'd talk to Cal about you, try to get the four-one-one of wheather Cal is interested in dating or not."

"So, tell me what happened."

OOC: You can just say you tell her what happened.

After telling Lisa about the totally terrifying (and gross) experience, Megan then focus back on what the older girl had mentioned regarding Lance and Cal.  “That sounds like it will be great.  This craziness might not have been the best way to officially meet Cal, but I don’t think it has turned out so bad.”

"Hey, with that score maybe the team will think of you as a good luck charm or soemthing."

Lisa spends some time catching Megan up on gossip and news around the school.

"Oh, those two girls we saw at the mall the other day, well the Freshamen, the one you knew Laura I think you said her name was.  She's hanging around with some loser from Oak Park now.  I guess those Larkin boys had better taste then we thought."

“As long as they don’t think I have to be laid up in the hospital to be the good luck charm.”  Megan replies with a grin.  When she hears the next bit of gossip she shrugs, having half forgotten about the girls they had seen when out shopping earlier in the week.  “I guess they do.”

"I still think it's weird they had a crowd of guys around them.  It's just wrong somehow.  I even asked my brother if he thought she was cute, and he wasn't impressed.  Although, he has strange taste in people."

“Well, I hadn’t mentioned it before, because Laura never struck me as the sort of girl that would do it, but there could be another reason those two had all the boys gathered around them.”  Megan said with a distasteful tone.  “But it is probably just one of life’s mysteries.”

"No.  there's an answer.  I'll figure it out, trust me."

"So, next week it's a Saturday game at home, so you'll have an extra day to practice.  This is soooo gonna be an awesome year."

“Yeah, I guess.”  Megan replied, not really all that interested in why some boys from another school would be hanging around two girl’s from her school.  She perked up more as Lisa went on about the next game at home.  “That’s good, I am so looking forward to actually getting out there with you and the rest of the girls.  From the sound of the first game, I think your right.”  She smiled about the prospects of a winning football team to be cheering for through the year.

Around  2pm, the shape of Cal Stewart appears in Megan's doorway, he's in an excellent mood, as can be seen by the grin on his face the size of the Grand Canyon, he's obviously stil really happy about the result on Friday. "Hi there Megan" he says "Am I okay to visit now?" he asks.

"Oh."  Lisa says, "Uh, I should get going anyway.  I'm really glad you're okay Megan."

She gets up and heads for the door.

Megan looks up from the textbook she had been reading with a wide smile of her own.  “Hey Calvin, your more than okay to visit.  I heard you were awesome Friday night!  I wish I could have been there and seen it.”  She looks over at Lisa as the other girl gets ready to leave.  “Thank Lisa, I’ll see you Monday.”

"Shucks, it was nothin' really" Cal says, with an embarassed smile "We did do real well though, as i'm sure Lisa told you." There's a small, almost awkward pause before Cal speaks next "So, how're you feelin?"

“Yeah, she told me some, but I wouldn’t mind hearing about it some more, seeing as it was you out there as it was and Lisa couldn’t always be watching the game.  I am sure the excitement of the game is very different when you out in the middle of it.”  Megan replies with a grin.

When he asks how she is, she just waves her hand dismissively as she replies, “I’m good, don’t even know why they bothered to keep me here.  I am betting the lab people were trying to get the doctors here to be extra cautious, just to make sure any possible claims against them are as minimal as possible.  My dad said they seemed interested in settling things out of court, which isn’t a big surprise.  But I wonder if it is even worth it at this point, I guess I’ll talk to him more about that later, when I can get him to sit still for more than two seconds.”

"Well, i'm not all that much of a talkin' person" Cal says " I tend to  let my actions speak for me I suppose, and as for describing the game, well i've never been all that good at describing stuff to other folks, I guess I just leave that stuff up to the reporters" he pauses,  searching for the right thing to say "I'm real proud of how the team performed, we seem to be gettin' on real well, and we mesh really well, so this here victory won't be the last i'm sure"

 "I just hope you won't be in the hospital for the others" he adds quickly, flashing a smile to go with this statement.

“Well, there certainly is a lot to be said about being man of action, but you might not want to be too quick to dismiss talking.  Around here, there are likely more than a few girls that will find your accent just adds to your charm.”  Megan said with a grin.  “Don’t worry, it will take a lot more than watery super-terrorists and malpractice fearful doctors to keep me away from the other games.”

Cal smiles once more at the compliment "Well thanks" he then glances at the clock up on the wall, and says "Aw man, i've gotta go, I promised my Dad this would only be a short visit, 'cuz we need to be doin' some chores around the house, if I can visit again i'll try and make it longer okay?"

Megan was a bit sad to hear that he had to leave so soon, but understood having to go home to help his parents.  “That’s okay, I understand.  It would be great if you could, but don’t worry if it’s a lot of trouble to get out here.  We can see each other again at school after all.  Which has me thinking, I should talk to my mom and have you and your family over for dinner.  After all, you helped rescue me.”

Cal lights up at the thought of having dinner with Megan "Well sure, i'll ask Dad, and i'll talk to you about it when we get back to school, is that okay?"

“Yeah, that sounds great.”  Megan replied.

"Cool, well i'll be seein you later" Cal then turns with a smile, and leaves the hospital room.

Sunday afternoon Megan's parents come to get her.  The doctor's give her a clean bill of health and sign her out.

On the ride home her father explains that the police are still investigating, but it seems that some super-powered individual decided that the company would make a good target for his rage and attacked it.  Security was trying to detain him and there was an unexpected reaction to their stun guns that caused him to explode.

After they get you home your mom takes you to your room.  "Honey, if you feel sick or anything don't hesitate to let me know.  I know you don't want to be in the hospital, but if there are any after effects of tis thing, you need to let me know so we can get you treated right away."