metalogs | I want to be blinded from this dull today

Entry tags:

I want to be blinded from this dull today

Who: Leonardo

faceguy, Donatello

purplexing, Accelerator

levelshift
What: Three children commit light B&E and felony theft.
When: Late May. Probably after that Fantastic announcement, what timing.
Where: An electronics recycling facility in Central.
Content Warnings: Kids committing crimes, body horror, psychological horror, blood, sensory overloading. These kids have trauma, thanks nightmare floor! Will update as necessary.

[With everything going on in Central City - the flooding, the lockdown, Fantastic taking over the Alliance - the smart thing to do would be to delay this whole mission. Or even better - call it off, because even though it should be a (mostly) harmless crime for the benefit of Donnie, stealing equipment meant to be recycled is still illegal. But no, they've made plans, scoped the place out, trained. Dropping things now would be putting all that time and effort to waste, and besides, it should be a simple stealthy in-and-out mission, right? It's a recycling facility, how bad can the security be?

Besides, it'll be fun to stick it to Fantastic. A heist (albeit, a small one) happening right after he becomes head of the Alliance? Now that's fantastic.

Accelerator isn't too sure what to expect. He's been in a recycling facility before, back in Academy City, and the security was incredibly lax. This is a different city - different universe, with different rules. He's a little cautious, since this was originally his idea, and he's the one with only thirty minutes of power to work with. Otherwise he's a weaker-than-normal high school student relying on two very capable ninjas.

It's fucking weird to be relying on other people. He kind of hates it, and he isn't totally sure why, though he can't exactly overthink it right now like he usually would. He's trying to stay focused on breaking into the facility and not fucking anything up for Donnie and Leo. He's even made something of an effort for tonight, with a duffle bag to store equipment (a smaller backpack is inside for stuff he'll grab for the Society's cut) and a black hoodie in case he needs to hide his hair (he isn't sure, white hair just doesn't seem very stealthy).

So far it's going smoothly. With Leo's planning and leadership and Donnie taking care of the security system they're able to sneak in and avoid the paths of the security guards. In fact, it's going so well that it sort of seems like they might be able to get in, grab what they need, and get out with no incidents whatsoever.

Of course, it's absurd to throw all caution out the window simply because things are working out right now. Especially when they run into their first obstacle.

After dodging a few more guards, the trio will come to a long hallway, the only path to their goal without having to pass directly several security stations. Spread through the length of the hall are little red lasers, arranged into one very elaborate grid meant to ward off would-be thieves such as themselves. It's like something out of a spy movie, and it's unclear whether these are the kinds of lasers that will cut a limb off or simply sound an alarm if tripped. Maybe it's both.

Accelerator leans heavily on his crutch, looking thoroughly irritated with this obstacle. His reflection might be actively detrimental here.]

This is fucking ridiculous.

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[Accelerator may not understand Donnie's joke, but Leo snorts.]

Can you redirect the water like a boss?

[This is still an inside joke and maybe that's a little mean, but Leo can't help it.

He walks down the stairs and stops at the bottom, peering around for any more guards, but it seems like they're in the clear there.]

We're getting close now. Man, this has been pretty easy.

[Did he just jinx it?]

Pff.

[Don't mind them, just ping-ponging these right over Accelerator's head, it's fine.]

It's only easy because we don't have anything to lug back yet.

[That's really the part he's still working out, since he's not sure what all they'll find exactly. Well, he'll try to be practical about their potential haul. "Try" being the operative term.]

[Alright, this has to be some stupid twinspeak or something. He looks thoroughly annoyed at this, since being messed with and not understanding it is the pits, but he refuses to get any saltier about it and give them more ammo.]

Tche.

[The entire stairwell seems to be empty, lucky them! At the bottom of it is a single door, so obviously the only way to go is forward.

Since Leo is in the lead when he opens the door everything looks dark, like someone forgot to turn the lights on. There isn't even any emergency lighting, which you'd expect. When he steps through the doorway, though, that's when everything lights up.

... Except maybe 'lights up' isn't the right term, since the place is still dark and dismal. Any lighting seems to come from a vague ball of luminescence in the distance. It'd be a stretch to call it a star, and it certainly doesn't look like any sort of manmade light fixture.

The space is massive, far bigger than the facility itself. There doesn't seem to be a visible second doorway, and as soon as Donnie and Accelerator follow Leo through the one they came through is disappearing. Dust motes float slowly through the air, and there's an eerie sort of silence. Debris and chunks of rock seem to be falling, slowly, and the entire place could almost be mistaken for outer space if not for the fact that it looks more like some rocky, grey wasteland that's been completely and utterly devastated.

Maybe wreckage is a better term for it. Some of the massive debris surrounding them looks vaguely humanoid, even with teeth, though there's only ever one eye-like shape square in the middle of what could pass as a head.

Leo should find it all familiar.]

You're gonna have to be pretty selective about what you want. These bags'll only carry so... much...

[Whatever Leo was trying to say trails off as he enters the room - it's a very familiar scenery indeed, and his breath catches in his throat at the sight of it.

He's back.

No, but he can't be back. How!? When!? Did the Confluence yank him out of the building and put him back without warning? What about Donnie and Accelerator? Did it pull them in with him!?

Some part of his brain, just barely heard over the panic, reminds him of the door, the one he just came through. He spins around to find it on instinct, and when he turns, Donnie and Accelerator will be able to see the near frantic look on his face.

The door is gone.]

No no no no no no no no, we can't be here.

[He takes two steps forward, but his frantic reaching doesn't bring him in contact with any door.]

Okay... I'm trapped. Hah... Haha...

[He seems to have completely forgotten the other two are standing there.]

[With no real reference point, Donnie has no idea what he's looking at the moment they set foot inside. The rational part of his mind is already trying to work out the dimensions of how big this room can actually be, but he doesn't need to ponder long to figure that by all appearances, it looks impossibly huge.

An illusion, surely, optical, most likely. The strangely specifically detailed debris field? Another programmer's strange flavor of design element, applied this time to a holographic projection.

He's about to relay his thoughts on the matter in exactly those words- until he sees the look on his brother's face.

He has never seen that look on Leo's face, and that realization alone is almost terrifying enough.]

-Leo?

[Broken, he sounds broken- "Trapped"-

Donnie's eyes widen, and he turns around sharply to look where the door should have been. Pieces are clicking into place all too rapidly, and he takes in the grotesque floating chunks in a new light.]

Oh no...

[But...it can't be, can it? They can't really be here, who put in that type of money for security that sent you clear to a different dimension??? His logic, he clings to it still. Never mind that this is oddly, terribly specific.]

Leo, Leo! Snap out of it!

[He steps over to grab a hold of his brother's shoulders, make him focus.]

[Suddenly the ridiculously childish security robot is looking a whole lot better! Accelerator has similar thoughts as Donnie when they enter the room - he has no context as to what this place is and means, so he's looking around with a frown, observing all the destruction. Is this supposed to be some security developer's idea of a creepy aesthetic? It feels both like overkill, and like he's missing something here, since those shapes further off certainly aren't just random rock debris. They're very specific.

He doesn't look over when Leo spins around in his peripheral vision, though when he speaks up, that gets his attention. That doesn't sound like Leo, and - oh, that doesn't look like Leo. This is the first time he's seen him look anything close to scared, and it's unnerving. Making it even worse is Donnie's reaction, his concern makes it clear this isn't some bad joke.]

The hell is with him?

[There is so much he's missing here, and now is obviously not the time to stop and try to make them give up some answers. Accelerator remains where he is, pulling his gaze away from the two turtles back to their surroundings, hand on his choker, in case this is meant to be some kind of ambush.]

[Donnie suddenly getting his face causes Leo's eyes to snap back to focus, and the hands on his shoulders are maybe the only things stopping Leo from retreating into his shell to hide from this nightmare. Right, Donnie is here, and Accelerator, and he can't check out because he has to keep them safe, he's the leader and that's his job.

He gives his head a firm shake and tries to calm his breathing before it gets too fast. Hyperventilating would help exactly no one and so he will not.

He reaches with one hand and gives Donnie's arm a squeeze, so he knows Leo's still here.]

Sorry... sorry, I just... wasn't expecting...

[Another deep breath, and he turns his head to look at Accelerator.]

Remember how I said I locked the thing that hurt us up where it could never get out? Well... there is where I locked it up.

[He has to fight himself not to squeeze Donnie's arm any tighter. It's fine, he's got this, he's so got this, he's cool and good and fine and dandy.]

I just don't know how we ended up here.

[Donnie's shaking his head at Accelerator's question, which he mostly takes as rhetorical. His own response is vague; now's not the time, nothing good, he has no idea- fill in the blank--

Leo makes eye contact and that's one load off of Donnie's chest. It's a small comfort, quickly swallowed by the confirmation of just where they are, and it shows on his face.

He steals a look around, looking for signs of what Leo had imprisoned here, even as he tries to hang onto sensible theories. This isn't that place, it can't be that place-

Can it?]

It doesn't make sense.

[Donnie looks back at Leo and Accelerator. Voicing his reasoning, that should help things.]

This can't really be it. There's...got to be some kind of trick to it. I mean, why would a recycling center of all places have access to a prison dimension? And more specifically, this one?

[Right, he remembers that unpleasant conversation. He's wishing he didn't. It would be a lot easier if this place was just the fantasy of some overzealous security system designer.

But no. Accelerator's response to both of them is silence as he processes all of this, alarm taking over his features. He's seeing why the two of them had such strong reactions now. Even if this wasn't that exact prison dimension, the fact that they may very well have been dumped into another universe is frightening. It being the prison dimension is just another layer of horrible.

What in the hell, were they fighting freaking kaiju?!]

Is that what we should be figuring out right now? [That's to Donnie, finally. He gets being logical about this, though his own brain is taking a slightly different, more doom-and-gloom path.] How fucked are we in the worst case scenario?

[Leo lets go of Donnie and turns around, taking in the scenery again. Every shadow, every shift in the debris, catches his eye, leaves him tense and wary, coiled up and ready to strike.

He unsheathes his katana even though there aren't any visible threats, the bag he brought to carry things out with slung over his shoulder to stay out of the way.]

I think Dee has to be right - the Prison Dimension couldn't be accessed just any old way, you have to have the key and you have to use a gate.

[Actually he's not sure exactly how necessary that second part is, but the key is definitely necessary.

Still, logical reasoning is not helping him much when every fiber of his being is screaming at him to run and hide, when every rock and twisted hunk of metal cuts a menacing figure in his brain and the parts of his shell that cracked under the pressure ache and his breathing is getting too fast again-

Deep breath.

And then:]

But if it is the worst case scenario... I won't let anything happen to you guys.

[Even if something happens to himself, it's fine. (He was always destined to die here anyway.)]

[Accelerator is given an exasperated look. Not. Helping.

But Donnie's also frustrated with himself in that he can't give a logical explanation for this. He's still opening his mouth to try and speak his thoughts, work it out between them all, although when Leo speaks, he pauses to look back at his brother.

There! he wants to say. That's the reason! But it still doesn't explain anything, and that's what's eating at him.

And then what Leo says forms a knot in his stomach, nearly jumpstarts a fresh panic.]

No! [He almost startles himself with how forcefully he says this as he grabs at Leo's shoulder again.] That's not happening, there is no worse-case scenario, this can't be the same place. There's got to be a reason for it, I'll figure it out and we can all get out of here!

[Accelerator tries to ignore the look Donnie is giving him, holding back the urge to roll his eyes. It really, really wouldn't help.

The need for both a key and a gate should be encouraging, though he still feels cautious. If this facility is somehow utilizing the Confluence, then....

Then there's a good chance they're all dead. Simple as that.

Sheesh, all this over some thrown out computer parts. He can't believe how stupid of an idea this is winding up to be. He should've kept his mouth shut.

He can do that right now, at least. Arguing won't get them anywhere, even if he doesn't fully agree with them and the situation is tense. Even if his usual detached calmness is settling over him he is a little scared. Here's hoping Donnie isn't just freaking out.

(Though Leo is being kind of cool in a heroic leader-y sort of way, which is an opinion he will take to his grave).]

... Whatever. I'm happy to beat the shit out of anything that's in here with us.

[How forcefully Donnie says it startles Leo a little bit, and he glances at his brother while his thoughts swirl and reform. Donnie wants to solve the problem, of course he does, because that's his whole thing, and Pizza Supreme Leo wants him to solve it.

He's not sure if he can, but he's not going to say that. Hope is a ninja's greatest weapon, so he shouldn't put it away yet.

And then Accelerator is speaking up, and he can't help but crack a small smile, though it's still thin and wary.]

Trust me, Accy, what may be in here with us is stronger than nukes.

[He reaches up and knocks his knuckles against Donnie's, not relinquishing his hilt to give him a proper touch but hopefully getting his intention across anyway.]

I know you will, Dee. We just need info.

[Speaking of...]

Can you see anything with your goggles?

[While he doesn't say it, Donnie's kind of glad Accelerator's there, responding in what seems to be typical of the esper by now. An additional factor, a glaringly obvious shift in their usual dynamic that he hopes can keep them grounded, so to speak. ]

I know, I know...

[He is hanging onto his own nerves by a thread and Leo's being on edge hasn't helped him. His thoughts are running circles because of that, but at least Leo's kind of pulling himself together.

It's enough. It has to be.

Donnie's tension breaks with a careful smirk as he shifts his grip to properly return the fistbump offered, nodding.]

Right, let me just...see what we've got here.

[He reaches up to shift his goggles down, nearly breathing out a laugh.]

-hah! I was right! [He never doubted this for a second, what are you talking about?] This... is some sort of... super convincing illusion. But the room is finite in its dimensions- we haven't gone anywhere, somehow it's masked. We just have to keep going straight ahead.

[Simple...right? Never mind that somehow this illusion has pulled something right out of his brother's head...!]

[In response to Leo's remark, Accelerator makes a face. Inwardly though, he's just thinking that no shit, you know what can survive nukes? Fuckin' kaiju.

Of course, if whatever this thing is is indeed in here with them, he won't let the turtles fight it on their own.

He looks away when they have their little sibling moment, deciding to focus back on their surroundings. It's, you know, less awkward, and he's a bit anxious while Donnie proceeds to do his thing.

But honestly? Thank god he's wrong. He doesn't switch his choker on to doublecheck. It'd be a waste of battery, even if it would only be a few seconds, and he trusts Donnie on this, so it doesn't seem necessary.

Though he does tap his crutch against the ground. The four little legs make thunk noises like they're hitting rock and not the more modern floor of the facility. Definitely a super convincing illusion.]

Great, then let's get out of here.

[Just an illusion...?

Leo feels a rush of several emotions at once: relief, because he's not really back there, confusion, because how is this illusion using something from his own memories, anger that it's doing exactly that, and determination, because if this place isn't real then he isn't letting himself be stopped.]

Yeah. [He breathes through his nose and lets it out, then takes a step forward.] I'm sick of this place. The vibes are totally off.

[Even though he knows it's not real now, the tension doesn't leave Leo, much as he wants it to. That's probably the trauma response - he can't do anything about it right now, though. Get to wherever the door is, get out, get the computer parts, find a way out by going around this stupid room, hopefully, and then he can curl up in his bed at home and have a breakdown there where no one is looking at him.

A perfect plan.

The shifting shadows and floating debris are still setting off alarm bells, and he's not sure how much of it is just his leftover traumatic stress from last time. If this room can reach into his head, who's to say it can't reach into the other's...?]

[Donnie makes a face as Accelerator applies his crutch to the ground. While he can still see it plainly, the sound that he hears just jars with the whole thing. His lips press into a very thin frown.

The why's and how's of the place still concern him. But maybe it's because Leo was the first one in, and somehow maybe it imprinted off him because of that? But this is no technological illusion. Technology couldn't affect them in such a way unless it was paired with scientific means- some kind of hallucinogen combined with special effects? Except he's not picking up any installed devices, otherwise that would have been his guess if not for his goggles and their very specific properties.]

Gentlemen, I hate to say it, but we are in some sort of magically induced illusion.

[He glances from Accelerator to Leo then as he starts to step ahead. At least Donnie can see the actual room and being in front will give the other two a better reference point.]

We're not doing ourselves any favors staying in one place, that's for sure.

Just follow me.

Edited 2023-05-22 07:27 (UTC)

[Fucking magic. Accelerator, despite being on the science side of things, doesn't hate the stuff, but it certainly continues to complicate his life. He doesn't really want to think about how some magic was able to get into Leo's head and replicate the prison dimension, since he still doesn't really understand the stuff....

And he doesn't want to consider this magic source doing the same to Donnie. Or himself. He's had enough people screwing with his head over the years, he doesn't need another. Turning his reflection on to block it out doesn't seem like a good idea, either. What if there's another reaction like with Donnie's mystic tech, but on the entire floor?

He exhales quietly.]

Goddamnit.

[The only good part of this is the possibility that the thing the turtles fought wouldn't be in here. If it is, it'll only be a facsimile.

(And he knows facsimiles are never as strong as the original.)

He clicks his tongue and after throwing Leo an exasperated glance, starts to follow Donnie.]

I can't fucking believe they built all this to protect junk.

[It's so much overkill, especially when it looks like they could be walking forever. Hopefully Donnie is right and that won't be the case.

The start of their walk is, thankfully, without incident. It's deathly silent, only the corpse-like shells of Krang suits floating around to keep them company. That probably won't do wonders for any of their collective anxiety, but at least they aren't getting attacked!

A short ways into the walk, though, there's a slight change. The dusty air remains the same, but Donnie will suddenly be stepping into a puddle that's coloured a deep red. It extends forward, directly in their path.]

Maybe it's not all junk?

[Donnie's inclined to agree with Accelerator otherwise, but he has to wonder if maybe they've accidentally stumbled across a place merely covering up as a tech recycling center. Just what kind of tech might they be housing?

It's a nice but brief diversion of his thoughts, and with the way before him looking clear, he can almost forget that they'd been meant to believe they were stuck in a prison dimension. Eat that magic! Science -with slight use of magical augmentation- prevails again!

Squelch.

The sensation sends a shiver clear through him as Donnie abruptly freezes in place.]

...what was that.

[Eyew, eyew, what did he step in- He knows nothing's there, at least visually, and that's what's concerning. This place has proven to warp things visually and even in relation to sound, but now this?

Oh no, this is bad, this is really really bad-

But Donnie can't not look, just a quick glance, even when at the back of his mind he's yelling at himself NOT to but he shoves his goggles up and the floating darkness and the funky debris fields return within his vision almost instantly. And then below his feet, the sudden expanse of red.

This creeping sense of dread starts growing as he stares almost uncomprehending at the liquid. It looks like... Maybe it isn't-

The sharp coppery tang in the air quickly dashes that hope.]

...oh no, no no no please someone tell me this is not what I think it is, in this case I am willing to be wrong.

[Maybe Donnie is right and it's not all junk. Maybe they've got some actually good stuff hidden in here that they really don't want anyone to steal.

Leo can dream!

He's following Donnie close, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of the Krang, one of its mechs, or anything else even remotely pink, and yet he still misses the expanse of dark red until it's too late and Donnie's stepped in it.

He moves so he can see around him, and immediately his face wrinkles in disgust. That is... definitely a big pool of blood. An insanely big pool of blood, like what the heck even bled out here?

He's thinking that, and then Donnie is freaking out which - okay, yeah. Of course Donnie would not be happy to step in blood.]

...I think it is, Dee.

[He doesn't just think that, but he's trying to soften the blow a little. Not that it will help much.

He grabs Donnie's battle shell and gives it a tug to urge him back out of the pool.]

As terrible as this place is, I have to admit I don't remember there being giant pools, uh... like this. The Krang - the aliens - don't bleed.

[They were just kind of... weirdly solid. And gooey when they used those Krang tentacles. But maybe relaying all that right now is not good.]

Can we go around it...? [But it sure is right in their way, huh?]

[It's the smell that hits Accelerator first. It's familiar, of course, he's shed more blood in his lifetime than most people have even seen, but he isn't expecting to see any of it in a fake dead place like this. And not in this amount.

It kind of reminds him of nightmares he's had, but he doesn't vocalize that. He just stares down at the liquid with a flat expression as Donnie reels and Leo helps him. Then he sighs.

And thinks that hopefully this magic is pulling from Donnie's mind and not his own. He's the one grossed out by it, after all.

(Part of him absently wonders what those things - the Krang, apparently - have in place of blood, but that's something he can ask about later. When they aren't, you know, being faced with a whole lake of it.)]

Doesn't look like it.

[He's muttering that, watching as, as if the blood heard Leo, it starts seeping widthwise, extending so going around isn't an option. It's creepy.]

... I'd offer going over it, but I don't know how my reflection will react with magic involved. I might end up blowing up the room instead.

[When he says that there's a creaking and a groaning, and a scraping noise as the debris floating around them closes in. Apparently the magic doesn't like the idea of any of them going up!]

Edited 2023-05-22 16:45 (UTC)

[With Leo helping unfreeze him, Donnie dances back from the puddle, shaking out his feet despite knowing it probably isn't real. No, it is not real, none of this is real- oh great the weird teeth things are moving above them.]

Blowing things up is definitely going to be counterproductive.

The room's only about forty-five feet across, thirty from side to side. We're only at the ten foot mark, so...we just...have to somehow ignore that there is nothing actually there to step in and just keep moving forward. Somehow.

[Yes, he is trying to convince himself. No, he has not taken another step but he might try with some coaxing.

Gross, gross, gross....]

Yeah, I'm also a no vote for blowing things up.

[The debris moving gets Leo tensing again, and he eyes one of the hunks of armor particularly warily. There may be nothing inside it right now, but that doesn't stop its one eye from giving Leo a shiver of fear.

But he has to focus - they have to keep moving forward, which unfortunately means they have to go through the big puddle of blood.

(Has it really only been ten feet? It felt like so much further...)

Donnie is still not moving, so Leo steps up beside him. He doesn't force Donnie to do anything yet, even though he really doesn't want to be here anymore.]

Let's do it together. [He's talking directly to Donnie now, hand still on his battle shell.] It feels gross but it's not real, so just keep stepping.

[If he has to he'll carry Donnie out of here, but he's already had to put one katana away and he'd rather not have to put them both up. If they can feel the blood he doesn't want to know what else they can feel...]

[Thanks, magic, for making everything complicated!

The shifting of the debris and armour is making Accelerator a little anxious too. It's tempting to switch his choker on anyways and use his ability anyways. Hell, he could try redirecting all the blood so there's a clear path.

It fucking sucks that he's coming up with ideas he can't use. Maybe it's just his brain trying to distract him from remembering his dreams. Who knows, he doesn't want to think about any of that either way.]

Yeah. Plug your nose and count down the distance instead, or something.

[He doesn't know what coping mechanisms would work in a scenario like this, but the counting might be an adequate distraction. It's hard to say, even though he knows it's wrong, he isn't all that disgusted by all the blood.]

Hrgn.

[Donnie however finally manages a nod, shoulders hiking up beneath his battle shell as he steels himself for the first step.

It...is just as gross as the first time he'd stepped into it, and Leo can feel him shudder. But Donnie swallows, taking another step, slowly lifting his hand to bring his goggles down again at Accelerator's suggestion.

In this case actually seeing that there's nothing there isn't helping when all his other senses are screaming about it, but he can see the distance, keep track of the data. It's a distraction he'll try to employ.]

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