Quad-Birthday (Is It A Wonder The Mun's Out Of Present Ideas?)

[forgotten_vows]

Well, it’s that time of year again – the time where four muses all have a birthday on the same day. Johnny Depp and Michael J. Fox, you planned this, didn’t you. At any rate, the Inkwell’s done up in BTTF yellow and red and CB blue and grey, and both movie soundtracks are on the jukebox. Standard rules apply for making merry, so drop in and see if you can actually say “happy birthday” to all four birthday boys.

((OOC: And as suggested by the title, the mun is blanking on present ideas for everybody -- except one, of course. While the other muses assure me it's all right -- "This is just what happens when you give us all awesome presents for our first years here," as Marty put it -- if you could come up with an extra-special cake this year, Gigs. . .))

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[butterflyboy]

Butterfly Boy turns to Forgotten Vows, grinning. “Now, my friends and I have gotten you something that I think you’re really going to like. It’s outside, however, so if you’ll just follow me. . .”

[forgotten_vows]

Forgotten Vows trails along obediently. “Did you get me a carriage? Because the mine cart I found in that one thread with Lizzie getting sick actually works pretty well, I just need to put a sort of roof over it. . .”

[butterflyboy]

“No, this is related to another thread of yours,” Butterfly Boy says as he opens the door. With a little wave, he indicates something sitting in the front yard – an apple sapling in a transplant bag. “Happy birthday!”

[forgotten_vows]

Forgotten’s face lights up. “An apple tree! Thank you! I’ve been wanting one ever since I began my plans for the garden. . .oh, I hope I don’t kill it. . .”

[butterflyboy]

“Well, Lewis helped me get it, so it may be a little hardier than the average apple tree,” Butterfly Boy confesses with a shy laugh. “I wanted to make sure it would be something you could enjoy for years to come.”

[forgotten_vows]

Forgotten Vows claps his counterpart on the back. “Well, thank you very much. I’m looking forward to planting it.”

[butterflyboy]

Butterfly Boy returns the pat. "You're welcome. Happy birthday, counterpart."

[alienlisa]

((So no pressure or anything... :p))

AL and the guys trudge in as normal. All the guys are present and accounted for, though Coulson is on his phone. He does wave to the birthday boys, then politely steps to the side so his conversation won't interrupt the festivities or vice versa.

Data and Clark are carrying two sheet cakes each. They're just big enough so that four different flavors will be enough for everyone. Radu is behind them carrying an enormous showpiece. It has gumpaste figures of the birthday boys in various scenes from their stories (I can't think of specifics right now, so think of something epic and put it here...although AL would like me to state that Butterfly Boy's figure is in a scene riding on Ferdinand).

"Happy birthday guys!" AL sing-songs, then says in anticipation of the question, "Brownie, chocolate, white chocolate raspberry and butterscotch walnut. Personally I can't wait to dig into the raspberry white chocolate one, but that's just me." She grins, then eyes Coulson still on his phone. "Data, how long has he been on that thing?"

Data blinks at her wording but recovers quickly. "If you're referring to the conversation he is currently having on the phone, one hour thirty-two minutes."

AL sighs, then shrugs. "Well, when you have to rebuild an orginization from the ground up, I guess you have to make a lot of phone calls. He did promise me he won't do this the whole time we're here, though."

[museicalmarty]

((Sorry! :P I just completely blanked and you do seem to come up with some pretty awesome cake ideas. . .))

The birthday boys, along with everyone else in attendance (which includes the Secundusians for Butterfly Boy) wave back. “Hey folks!” Marty greets them. “Good to see – holy shit.”

Marty and the three Victors’ jaws collectively drop as the showcase cake appears, featuring the four of them. “Whoa – you really pulled out all the stops this year, didn’t you?” Marty says, going up to examine the little him perched on the hood of the DeLorean.

“I suspect Vic asked her for something a little extra special,” Butterfly Boy smiles, running his finger very gently over the wing of what appears to be a sugar Ferdinand swooping through the sky with his master.

“I felt guilty about blanking on presents – and nearly giving Marty a repeat, good thing Dee caught me – so I may have asked for something extra-special,” Vic confesses, blushing. “Came through in spades, AL – thanks a million.”

“I should say,” DG-Victor agrees, admiring the little him kneeling over the tiny Emily-hand in his part of the showcase. “You can do some truly amazing things with cake these days.”

“Tell me about it,” Forgotten Vows says, smiling at the little figures of him and Alice dancing. “I don’t suppose there’s a way we could keep these. . .” He glances over as AL tells them the sheet cake flavors. “White chocolate raspberry? I might try some of that myself.”

“I’ll stick with the brownie,” Marty says as Data tells them just how long Coulson’s been on his cell. “Oh yeesh – that’s ages! What the hell happened to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Did they blow it up or something for the season finale?”

[alienlisa]

AL grins. "Not a problem. As for keeping them...maybe someone - " She eyes the Secundusians in particular. " - can come up with some kind of preserving liquid that will turn it into a statue. Like those enameled roses the alter ego gives her mom for her birthday kind of thing."

Coulson at that moment finishes his phone call and comes over. "Happy birthday Martys and Victors," he says. "Sorry about that...and no, SHIELD didn't blow up. Not exactly, anyway."

He goes on to explain, trying to Cliff's Notes it but not particularly succeeding. So here we go and in no particular order...
HYDRA infiltrated SHIELD. One of the Agents on his team - Grant Ward - turned out to be a mole. His S.O. - John Garrett - was a double agent and working for HYDRA the whole time.
Company Cybertek is in control of chemically enhanced supersoldiers. They force the employees to do what they say by threatening their loved ones. Included in those hostages was Ace, the young son of Mike Peterson who became a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier called Deathlok. If Mike didn't do what he was told, not only was Ace in danger but his cybernetic eye had a "kill switch" that could be detonated anytime Garrett didn't like what was happening.
Garrett turned out to be the prototype Deathlok as he'd recieved a fatal injury in the past and the cyborg parts was what was keeping him alive, but the mechanical parts were starting to fail and that was why he was so interested in Coulson's revival after New York.
The drug was unfortunately sucessfully recreated by HYDRA (but fortunately there was only one dose) and injected into Garret, causing his deteriorating organic parts to regenerate but also drove him insane (well, more insane than he was).
Two members of Coulson's team - Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmoms - were missing due to being captured by Ward and Garrett. They'd been trapped at the bottom of the ocean inside a cargo box. Upon escaping, they were rescued ((in an AWESOME SCENE!)) by Nick Fury but I didn't tell you that because everyone believes Fury is dead ((as per Captain America: The Winter Soldier)). Jemma's okay but Fitz is in critical condition, but he's alive.
Coulson and the rest of the team, including Fury but you don't know that, infiltrate Cybertek. They free the hostages including Ace, which allows Mike ((in another AWESOME SCENE)) to blast Garrett and then kill him. Or so they thought...because of the drugs in his sytem he came back and killed the men taking him away, but~ Coulson got to disintegrate him with a gun they found in a previous episode ((yet another AWESOME SCENE...he's like "Hey, guys, I found [the gun]! Told you it'd be in here.")).
One of his other Agents - Melinda May - beat up Ward and fractured his larynx and then Ward was arrested and charged for his crimes, which included murder. The supersoldiers will be freed. Without the drugs and once the kill switch eyes are removed, they're just men.
Mike Peterson is free to go and he wants to make amends for his actions and stay away from Ace for now beacuse he doesn't want him to see what he'd become. Coulson and his team will keep in touch as they have means of communicating with him as they can access his hardware and watch his every move.
Also...May was spying on Coulson for Fury because of the possible side effects of the drug that brought him back. Coulson got to confront Fury about that, calling what he did "stupid stupid stupid! And cruel! And very stupid!" but the fact that Fury considers Coulson as valuable as an Avenger kind of shut him up. Fury was glad he did it as Coulson's one of the few people he can trust.
Lastly, since Fury is technically dead, SHIELD needs a new Director to help rebuild it from scratch and to do it right.

"And you're looking at him," Coulson finishes with a small smile. "It's a lot of work and a lot of phone calls." He shuts off his phone. "But I promise I won't do business while we're here. That's just rude."

((Sorry about that infodump...I tried to keep it briefish...I blame Marty for wanting to know what happened, lol, and I left out the parts that they techically don't know about, like the symbols and the origins of their resident hacker Skye))

[deadgirlslikeme]

Lewis and Richard do look very intrigued by her suggestion. "I'm sure we can come up with something," Lewis agrees, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"And we can keep them in the fridge in the meantime," Mrs. Plum assures the boys. "Buy us a little time."

That is one of the longest explanations any of them have sat through -- and this is a place that regularly hosts multiple versions of Doc Brown. It's quite the engaging tale, though, and everyone remains very quiet until the end. "Whoa," Marty finally says. "So -- the double agents are all out of the picture, you're now running the whole shebang, and everybody's saved. Sounds like a hell of a way to end the first season."

"I can't imagine how they're going to top it for the second," DG-Victor agrees, shaking his head. "You're a very brave man, Agent -- or Director now, I suppose -- Coulson."

((LOL, it's all right -- I run into the same problems trying to summarize stuff I love.))

[alienlisa]

"Well, we'll definitely find out," says AL with a grin. "It's one of the few new shows that got a second season." Her wings twitch. "It's gonna have a mid-season break in January and another show about Agent Peggy Carter who worked for SHIELD in the 1940s will air in its place until the break is over - she was Captain America's love interest before he was turned into a Cap-sickle. But other than that, it'll be an uninterrupted season from what we hear."

"Which is good," Coulson adds, "because the breaks this past year nearly killed us." He then smiles at DG-Victor. "Please, call me Phil."

[butterflyboy]

"Well, we're very glad to hear that!" Butterfly Boy says, returning her grin. "You're kind of getting two shows in one, then, with the break. At least you'll have something to keep you occupied while you wait for the present-day activities to start again. I hope Ms Carter's adventures are just as good."

"And that the main show isn't left on a terrible cliffhanger before she appears," DG-Victor agrees with a nod. He gives Coulson an awkward smile back. "My apologies -- it's just everyone seems to refer to you by your last name."

[alienlisa]

AL nods. "Yeah. It's all connected, after all. One big universe, so whatever happens in one may influence the other. We'll see."

Coulson smiles back. "I answer to either, but my friends call me Phil."

"If I may get meta for a moment," AL explains, "the alter ego works with two Phils, so she always writes his last name unless it's spoken dialogue. She doesn't care if someone else uses his first name; it's just weird for her unless someone's talking."

He nods, then shrugs. "Whatever you feel comfortable with." He smirks. "My last name is certainly better than calling me 'Agent'."

There's a collective chuckle from AL and the guys.

[forgotten_vows]

"I wonder if they'll have any time travel, then," DG-Victor muses, looking at Doc and Marty. "Though, having that around without bringing Captain America back, even for a little while. . ." Just seems mean to him.

"I'm almost tempted to call you 'Agent' now," Forgotten Vows jokes. "But I suppose Phil will do." He waves a hand between him and his alternates. "For us, of course, you kind of have to use nicknames. The pleasures of being three -- or more, in some of our other cases--" Looking at you, Docs "--versions of the same people."

[alienlisa]

Coulson's face practically lights up at the idea of time travel. "Ooh, we can only hope!" He really is just a big geek in a nice suit.

He then nods to Forgotten Vows. "The Doctors have numbers, so nicknames shouldn't be a problem. Lisa gave me a rundown of everyone here when I moved in and I took some extra time to learn everyone when I took the time off last party. Sorry about that, by the way, but after what I explained I'm sure you understand why I did." He hopes.

[forgotten_vows]

The others all chuckle. "Well, if it does happen, I expect you to tell me the method and how it works in your universe," Clockwork informs him, grinning. He loves hearing about other worlds' versions of time travel.

"That's true enough," Forgotten agrees, looking at the lineup of Time Lords. "And Vic tries to give all of us unique names -- with a few exceptions," he adds, glancing back at VampDoc and VampDoc2.

"We were created early in her life," VampDoc2 says defensively. "And yes, of course we understand. You had a lot going on, it seems."

[alienlisa]

Coulson nods. "Absolutely."

AL shrugs. "Well I think 'VampDoc2' is better than any alternatives...you could've been called 'Hell Valley Doc' or something."

Coulson gives VampDoc2 a grateful smile. "Appreciate it, thanks."

[8docs_n_1victor]

"That's true, isn't it?" VampDoc2 says with a grimace. "I much prefer the number -- er--"

"No, no, it's all right," Forgotten Vows rushes to assure him. "If you approve of it, I don't have any problems. It's when it's forced that. . ." He stops, swallows. "Besides, it's only PART of your name."

"Right. . ." He turns back to Coulson. "Anyway, we're an understanding bunch. I just hope things improve for you in season 2."

[alienlisa]

AL nearly smacks herself in the head but tries to hide it by pushing her hair behind her ear. "You know...I didn't even think about that. Some mind-reader I am. But I'm glad you're okay with it if they're okay with it. With the Doctors, there's really no other way other than numbers." Beat. "Um...if he regenerates - " She points to Twelve. " - you'll still be okay if the next one winds up hanging around?" No guarantee the Thirteenth Doctor will be one of her guys, nor how long it will be before he does appear (Nine only lasted 13 episodes, after all), but best to find out now. She hopes she isn't making him too uncomfortable.

[forgotten_vows]

You're not fooling Forgotten, at least, but he'll let it pass without comment. "It's all right. It's not like I like to talk about it much," he says, rubbing his upper arm in a move surprisingly reminiscent of Alice. "And I understand -- like I said, it's different if they claim the number for themselves. Still a little strange to me, but. . ."

He manages a weak smile. "I -- I think I will be. I've lasted this long with One through Twelve, haven't I? Just -- be understanding if I have trouble calling him by name." Honestly, he hates that the number 13 gives him trouble still, but there's not much he can do about it beyond trying to desensitize himself as best he's able. (Hell, maybe having a 13th Doctor around will help with that.)

[alienlisa]

AL nods understandingly. "Well, you'll have a while before that happens." She crosses her fingers. "Here's hoping. Starts in August but not sure when...probably after the Inkwell anniversary if I were to hazard a guess. And since there's 13 episodes - " She's trying to help. " - we have a month and some change before there could be any talk of regeneration." She glares at no one. "Personally I hope he lasts as long as Ten or Eleven and not Nine..."

She pauses a moment, then, "If it helps any, you've actually been hanging around with the technical Thirteenth Doctor..." Now it's the later Doctors' turn to fidget. "Shut up, I'm trying to help. I know you don't like to talk about it, but it happened, so there. Anyway, the Christmas Special confirmed that the Doctor actually had two more regenerations than actually originally thought - I know I said during my anniversary party that the numbers weren't screwed up, but I was wrong. One through Eight hasn't changed, but then we have the Doctor who ((*snerk*)) fought in the Time War - the War Doctor. He's the Ninth body. Then comes them." She points to Nine and Ten. "But Ten actually did regenerate again but didn't change his face."

"Vanity issues..." Eleven quips under his breath and Ten glares at him.

AL continues. "Ten siphoned the regeneration energy into a...handy receptacle - " The guys groan. " - and created a half-human clone of himself, but he's stuck in another dimension. Technically - " She points to Eleven. " - he's the Thirteenth Doctor and Twelve is Fourteen. Or, since he's the start of an entirely new regeneration cycle given to him by the Time Lords somehow...he's One."

She waits a beat, then finishes, "Myself and the alter ego plus the other guys here and the Doctors themselves have decided to stick with the original numbering so things don't get more confusing." She points to Nine through Twelve. "Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors." She lifts one hand and then the other off to the side to gesture to nobody. "War Doctor and...well, the clone's been affectionately nicknamed 'Handy', but sometimes I think of him as Ten-Point-Two."

[forgotten_vows]

"Here's hoping," Forgotten agrees, then is forced to hide a tiny wince at her mention of 13 episodes. Stupid -- well, he wouldn't call it a "phobia," exactly. Maybe just unease? "And yes, here's hoping he lasts longer than just that as well."

He takes in the explanation with a little frowning and nodding. "Yes, I think you've said at least some of this before. . .how they kind of like adding in Doctors between regenerations and pretending that's not cheating on how many lives he actually has." He smirks at the others. "No offense intended, of course -- you should be proud that everyone wants you to stick around despite the apparent limit on how long you should. Shouldn't the half-human clone be more of a Ten-Point-Five, though? Since he's half-Doctor?"

[alienlisa]

AL doesn't blame him in the least for being uneasy about the number 13.

She nods. "I probably have...I tend to forget and repeat myself a lot. A goldfish has a better memory than I do."

"You seem to remember what's happened to us well enough," says Five as he gestures to his other selves.

AL shrugs. "I guess that's just the way my memory works now. I can recount almost anything that's happened to most of you guys, but can't remember conversations I had a few days ago." She shrugs again. "Well, someone's usually around to remind me that we've had the conversation before."

"None taken," the Doctors chorus to Forgotten.

"Maybe," AL says to him, "it probably makes more sense that way, but the alter ego's not known for making sense."

...hey!

[forgotten_vows]

Poor Forgotten Vows. He is made of hangups. He smiles and nods at the Doctors. "Good."

"It's all right -- I'm pretty sure that's how Vic's memory works too," Marty jokes. The mun attempts to give him the stink-eye, but -- unfortunately, he really is right on the money. ^^;

Forgotten laughs. "Well, to be fair, if muns and such actually made sense, our lives wouldn't be quite as colorful."

. . .is that a compliment? I'm not sure, coming from him.