It takes a few seconds of whispering and nudging before someone walks over, but he's greeted by a very tired-looking DRT operative.  "Sergeant Steven Smith, DRT.  Can I get your name, sir?"  Clearly an esper, he 'ported in and he's too damn pretty to be human.  Hope this one's got a good power for this fuckin' fiasco.

"Lawrence Lopez Lacson, from Quasar Group."

Scan, scan...huh.  Okay.  "Gotcha.  Here for Menagerie containment, it says?  What local support do you need?"

"Yes. If there is a place where I could teleport in cages for the monsters, that would be very good.

My power is movement control and my backlash is difficulty moving. So, I would really want one, maybe two operatives to help me manage the cages. My plan is to have the monsters go inside the cage and the others close it and carry it back. And to prop me up if I overuse my power and become incapable of walking."

"We have a staging ground near Miramar we can use for the monsters, we can shake loose a few operatives for you, that shouldn't be a problem.  Are you okay with being given a wheelchair?"

"The typical way my backlash manifests is that, at moderate levels, I can still stand but need to be pushed or pulled to help me walk, and I have trouble speaking. That's typically when I stop using my power and get guided. But if it's easier for you for me to get into a wheelchair now and get pushed around, that's fine too. I will be as useful with my power on the wheelchair as off it."

Right, he's still pretending that his backlash is physical rather than mental. So maybe he should be less resistant to using a wheelchair.

"We have enough wheelchairs that we can spare one, no problem."  Although if it'd be useful, maybe he should have brought it.  He scrolls through his tablet for about thirty seconds.  "Okay, this should be doable.  I got the sizes on the cages, we'll work under the assumption you'll be wanting space for ten cages.  And you've got the paperwork for the armed guards taken care of...this is workable.  I'll get you two operatives, and that should be everything on our side?  Or are there other considerations we need to be aware of?"

"I might need to bring in more cages if I'm unusually efficient in my power use. But I'll tell you if this is likely to occur beforehand. No other considerations. I can meet with the operatives now."

He nods.  "Happy hunting."  I really hope he knows what he's doing for this one.  Those critters look cute and harmless, and then they rip your fuckin' heart out and bite it.

Lawrence hopes he knows what he's doing! He teleports ten of the cages through and meets up with operatives Sofia Soto and Noah Miller. He instructs them on how to open and close the cages, and how to handle him in case he gets backlashed. Since Lawrence doesn't need the wheelchair right now, some of the cages have been put on it.

Right. Do they have a map of Menagerie monster sightings or sensor reports?

Some people do in fact responsibly report it if they see, say, a teacup piglet with teacup-like floral patterning on it trotting down the sidewalk. Somewhat more of them will do this if they tried to catch the teacup piglet themselves - a civilian can technically stuff a Menagerie monster in a dog crate or a hamster ball no problem as long as they're quick and steady - and then regretted it. (The ones who don't regret it might also report it but they don't want Lawrence there, they want Several Million Dollars or their teacup piglet.)

If he wants up-to-date reports of loose monsters (as opposed to reports of caught monsters or reports hours old where the critter could be anywhere by now) the most promising cluster is over there. Several independent reports of a bat monster; a report of a mammalian nigh-spherical creature; a report and a photo of a sort of Art Deco shiny lizard.

Lawrence and team will go to the most promising cluster. He's not bothering to use his psychic sensor power since between the three of them, they have enough coverage to avoid getting surprised by a monster appearing in their blind spots.

The bat monster seems like it would be the hardest for others to catch. Because it can fly. He'll try looking for it over the other ones.

The bat monster was reported in a mall. It's amusing the children in the play are by doing flips in the air. None of the children have run yet. Their parents are hovering, very tense.

Okay. Here we go. If you mess up then people will Literally Die.

Who knew that PR training would turn out to be materially useful?

"Hi everyone. Playtime's over. Mister Bat needs to go to sleep now, because it's daytime. Come on, Mister Bat, it's time to go." He wants to approach sufficiently closely that he can get it with one short application of his power.

Miller picks up one of the cages, opens it in Mister Bat's direction, and walks closer.

"I don't WANT Mister Bat to go to sleep. Mister Bat should drink coffee like Daddy!"

"His name is NOT MISTER BAT. His name is CHEESE CRACKER."

"It's a GIRL and HER name is Fluffy."

Oh dear. This is already turning out poorly.

He doesn't think bats can drink coffee...there's a smarter way to handle this.

"They need to go home to their cousins," he says, summoning a commscreen and setting it to display the Ontario Monster Park's exhibits, then flipping it so they can see. "You could visit in the future. They live in Ontario, in Canada."

Is Mx. Fluffy Cheese Cracker approaching Lawrence's group or are they staying near the kids?

Mx. Fluffy Cheese Cracker was taking a brief break from aerobatics, hanging from a garland strung between the upper story of the mall, but it lets go to swoop down and do a barrel roll, chittering.

There are two ways Lawrence can use his power. He can give a command with a set time, and the entity will try to fulfill it as best it can within that set time. He pays the cost upfront. But if the time is too short, it will break before the task is finished; and if it's too long, he wastes backlash. He has the option of giving the command with no time limit, producing backlash at a set rate until the task is finished, but the cost will always be more than if he did it with a set time. Though he has the option of aborting the command early.

He should probably have practiced this maneuver on an easier monster first. Oh well.

At the lowest point of Mx. Fluffy Cheese Cracker's dive, he commands it. Go into the cage.

He gives the command with no time limit, but he'll abort if it takes more than ten seconds. Hopefully it will take five or less.

The cage is not far away and the bat monster is nimble, though a couple kids try to catch it as it goes by. It goes into the cage.

Thank goodness none of the kids were able to catch it. Miller closes the cage promptly and labels the cage with the appropriate information, and sets it on the wheelchair.

"The bat has decided to take a nap, now! Sorry everyone."

Meanwhile, Soto will ask the parents if they've seen any other 'unusual animals' and also if anyone needs to go see a doctor.

One parent saw a slightly off-looking pigeon but it flew away and the power is out at her house so her phone was dead and she didn't call it in.

Soto will get the parent's address and put that into the sightings database although since it can fly and it's been a while, it's of very little value. Still, she thanks the parent.

Lawrence and team will now go to the lizard or the mammal, whichever is closest, unless something more pressing occurs.

The mammalsphere is bobbing in the water in a fountain over thataway, the lizard is a bit farther and at the edge of a parking lot.

They'll take a picture of the mammalsphere before approaching. They really ought to have done this for the bat too, for the purposes of Collecting Data™.

Is there anyone around?

Yup, a teenager is trying to hit it with nickels he's throwing into the fountain and someone else is filming it.