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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[Thiiiiiis face, Leo. This face.

At Donnie's suggestion he shifts away from Leo, making sure that any physical contact is removed before switching his choker to esper mode and back to normal mode quickly. It's only a couple seconds, enough to doublecheck his body's vectors and make sure he isn't bleeding internally or anything ridiculous.

He's fine, so he extends his crutch and moves to stand.]

Let's go, then.

[And it turns out, even when you don't have broken bones, throwing yourself into a fucking wall when you're a fragile little twig sucks!! It sucks a lot!! Doubly so since Accelerator's pain receptors are still pretty underdeveloped thanks to his ability. A whole lot of unwanted pain rips through his body, and he bites back one very loud curse as he lurches to his feet.

He's still fine, he's just a bit of a baby and is definitely going to feel this in the morning.]

[Exhausted as he is, sleep is the last thing Donnie wants to do. He doubts it'll be pleasant dreams for any of them, but at least the thought of going back to somewhere more comfortable and familiar is something to look forward to.

Nodding at the other two, Donnie braces himself for the process of getting back on his own feet. Watching Accelerator manage to do so makes him hesitant to try just yet, but they were risking a lot recuperating in the hall. After what they'd gone through, the prize better be worthwhile!]

Oh, I'm gonna hate this...

[He mutters, finally forcing himself forward, wincing as he moves his right arm to push against the wall. His shoulder's probably going to be one big bruise but at least it isn't dislocated. He can thank his battle shell for that.

Up, he's up! His toes curl in slightly at the cold floor while he keeps a hand on the wall in case his balance decides it's not set after all, but all in all, it's progress.]

[Leo watches the other two struggle to get up, then gets his own feet under him.]

Man, haha, must suck to not have a shell, hu-aaaaahhhhh crap I definitely pulled something.

[Leo groans and rubs at the back of his neck and shoulders. His shell may have saved him from getting crushed but it didn’t save him from the whiplash.

He’s on his feet but at what cost.]

[Yeah, even with his crutch he's going to take a moment to lean up against the wall. It's sorely tempting to switch back into esper mode and manipulate the vectors of his nerves, but he should save it until they're actually at the point of stealing stuff, not walking down a hall.

Even though he wants to curl up into a little ball and cry. Goddamnit, this hurts almost as much as that level 0's punches.]

Fuck you.

[That's coming choked out between clenched teeth, automatically and with no real malice behind it. In fact, he's actually glancing over at the two of them... kind of concerned?]

... Did either of you crack anything?

['Crack' seems more appropriate than 'break,' since their shells and plastrons would've taken most or all of the impact.]

[Donnie winces at Leo's reaction before shaking his head. Wow, what a set they make right now. Sadder still was the fact that all the physical damage was more or less self-inflicted, not that he was going to blame Accelerator for it. He'd take this pain over being stuck in that room any day.]

Thankfully, no. But if my battle shell can't handle the impact from a wall, what good would that be?

[He manages to scrape up some of that usual ego and pack it into a smirk as he reaches back to tap at his shell. Lessons were learned after facing the Shredder!

...that smirk lasts for all of two seconds before he's hastily lowering his arm to wrap a hand over his shoulder.]

Just a little tender. You okay there, 'Rator?

[Seriously, what kind of ninjas are they that they’re this shook up after hitting a wall?]

Nothing cracked here, so, tensile strength is… stronger than the wall. [Is he using that right? No. Does he care? No.

He’ll just look at Accelerator after Donnie asks that, waiting for his response.]

[Okay, that's... good. Still, he's feeling irritated with himself for that stupid mistake. It's like with his reflection - when he doesn't pay attention limbs get broken.

Donnie gets a little nod (thank god for that battle shell), while Leo gets a huff.]

Your shell has higher impact strength than the wall. [Does he need to correct Leo? No. Is he doing it anyways? Yes.

He is also pulling away from the wall even though he doesn't want to. It sucks and is painful, but he's going to suck it up.]

Nothing's broken. [Totally fine over here!

(He is going to be sooo bruised in the morning.)]

[To be fair, they were put through a mental tenderizer before the wall. Donnie's certain they would have faired better if their reflexes had been as sharp as they usually were.

He does slide a look at Leo, staring a moment before he glances at Accelerator once the esper supplies a response. Ah. Okay, that makes more sense then. Sort of. ]

That's good at least. Fun a project as it might be, I don't have the time to be building everyone body armor.

[Or the resources. But aches and pains aside, at least they're here to solve part of the resource problem.]

Well gentlemen, shall we continue?

I was going to go light on the selection, depending on what we find, but after that, I think we're entitled to a little more for our troubles.

Uuuugh, why does physics need so many words?

[He will not remember that.]

You better take whatever you want, because I’m never coming back to this place. Not even if I have something to recycle.

[He shakes his arms out, then starts down the hall. Might as well lead. Though he’s careful not to go too fast for Accelerator’s sake.]

After this we stick with trash and junkyards no one gives a crap about.

[If he was in a better mood he'd smirk at that. Physics coming in clutch! As it is he just follows the other two, definitely going slower and leaning more heavily on his crutch than normal.

He'd actually really like to tear this entire building down after that room, but he's going to refrain from saying that out loud.....]

There just better be crap worth stealing here. I'm going to be pissed off if it's all useless garbage.

[..... Okay, he might actually tear the building down if that happens.]

Ohoho you're not the only one.

[The flat look that falls across Donnie's face doesn't betray his own thoughts entertaining leveling the place, starting with that stupid magic trap.

He's fine with not going regular speed though, still adjusting little by little. ]

But otherwise, yes, agreed, Leon. I'll be glad to never have to set foot in here again and if I entertain any thoughts that might suggest otherwise at any given point in time, smack me.

[Immediately Leo is smirking back over his shoulder.]

The power you’re giving me, Donald.

[Leo will remember this!

As a member of the Alliance, he should probably object to the destruction of a building, but as it is Leo doesn’t say anything. As long as they evacuate the security staff, he honestly doesn’t care if this place is destroyed.

Seriously, theft deterrent or not, who has a room that does that!?

He gets to the door first, listening close for any signs of a guard. From what they observed, the guards stay on the upper floor, but Leo wants to be prepared.

When he doesn’t hear anything, he carefully opens the door.]

[They'd be doing the city a service, really!

Accelerator snorts a little at the two of them. Listening to more twin banter is welcome, since he's a tiny bit nervous there's going to be another trap or something through the next door.

Luckily, there's nothing. When Leo opens the door they'll find the reason they went through all of that: stuff.

It's sort of like a big warehouse for just about any electronic equipment you could ask for. There's a section over in one corner where appliances are being temporarily stored before they can be broken down. There are shelves lined everywhere, with bins containing batteries, computer parts, old music players, old cellphones, video game consoles, receivers and tuners for different kinds of signals, and a plethora of smart technology like lights, doorbells, and security cameras. There are bigger rolling bins on the floor containing even more things. There is more than one section assigned to old super weaponry and superhero and villain technology.

It's an engineer's dream.]

[Finally, the moment they've waited for. It clearly surpasses Donnie's expectations, that's for sure.]

...you know those old movies where people are searching for some ancient buried treasure or really old important artifacts from lost civilizations and they finally find it? I think this is exactly how it feels right now.

Holy truffle mac and cheese...

[He stands in awe at the sheer amount of tech just sitting there awaiting processing. It's like a weird dream come true that he never knew he had, at odds with frustration that there's just so much and it's not being used!!!

Well. He'll fix that.

As soon as he, you know, stops staring and unsticks himself from the floor.]

Edited 2023-05-27 16:38 (UTC)

Whooooaaaa…

[Leo may not be a tech guy, but even he knows what they’re looking at is pretty insane, especially with Donnie’s wide-eyed reaction. Immediately, and maybe unsurprisingly, his eyes are drawn to the weaponry section, and he can’t help but be curious about how it works.]

Okay, I guess I get it - it would be real bad if one of the Central gangs got in here and got access to… [He waves his hand at the weapons.]

But we aren’t a gang, so… let’s go, boys!

[He gives Donnie a solid slap on the battle shell to get him moving.]

[Oh thank god this wasn't a complete waste of time.

That's what's running through Accelerator's head when he sees the setup. This is excellent, as long as they can get out of here in one piece they're going to make out like bandits. Literal bandits.

After a few moments of awed staring he's going to shift his bag around, unzipping it and pulling out the smaller bag meant for the Society's cut. Probably easier to get that out of the way first, and it would be kind of horrible if he simply forgot to steal them stuff, too. He can't imagine that would go over well.]

[The glare at Leo is mostly out of reflex, quick to vanish as Donnie hardly needs the extra incentive to venture forth, even if he did need the jumpstart.

It is probably a good thing none of this is plugged in because he's going to be touching. Everything.

A pair of long appendages unfold from his battle shell, each grasping a rolled up bag which unfurl with a shake. Donnie grins as he grabs them to sling over his uninjured shoulder as he starts forth.]

Okay, rule of if 'it looks cool and doesn't take up much space', grab it. Otherwise if you think you can manage to remove any motherboards or things out of their external housing without compromising the functions, go for it. If you need a second opinion, hollar.

[There's so much to look at that he's not sure where to start. He'd love to just pack up this whole room and take it home with him.

Donnie drifts over to some of the bigger pieces of equipment, eyeing company logos before he starts prying into panels to have a look inside.]

[Leo has lived with Donnie long enough that these instructions are not entirely wasted on him. He heads in a different direction than Donnie and Accelerator and starts grabbing anything that looks shiny and cool.

Among the motherboards he managed to pry out of their cases, he heads to the weapons, grabbing what is definitely an old grappling hook and something that looks like a stun baton. And a few other little things that look neat.

He also grabs one of the less busted game consoles so he can bug Donnie into fixing it later. After the day he’s had he thinks he deserves it.]

[It's more than enough instruction for Accelerator. He's got a general idea of what's valuable in stuff like computers, so it's just a matter of picking through everything.

He wanders off, starting by gathering anything that looks particularly expensive for the Society. That means opening open cell phones and removing any precious metals, and stuffing his smaller bag full of some of that more advanced looking tech. Once he's done with that he switches over to the larger bag for Donnie. Anything that looks welded closed is getting broken open with a light tap of a knuckle, and he has to do little more than brush his fingers over any smaller interior parts to pop them out.

He'll be switching his choker between modes to save on battery, but it is nice to be able to finally go into esper mode after everything.]

[There's more than enough here to help him kickstart a new lab and workshop. Now and then he lets out a gleeful cackle at some find or another, and one shouldn't be too surprised to see him wrapped around equipment that seems way too big to stash let alone move as he tries to figure out the most important components he can remove from it.

He is not above picking through some sound systems, because he doubts he'll ever get a chance to find anything this mint at a junkyard.

It's easy to get distracted from seeking out particular items of interest but it's not difficult to find a few cameras of varying sizes and motors from some discarded drones. When he eventually makes his way to the weapons section, he has his goggles down again as he starts dismantling larger constructs.]

[Leo eventually exhausts what he knows to grab, so he heads to where Donnie is and drops his half full bag by him.]

Finish filling this up and I’ll carry it out. I’m gonna find us a way out of here.

[Given how big some of this is, there has to be a freight elevator or something somewhere. Leo goes off to scout out the sides of the room and any doors out that he comes across to find an alternate route.

He so wishes he could just portal them out of here. Man.]

[The cackling is what gets Accelerator looking over every so often. It's one thing to like technology, it's another to sound like a mad scientist when you're in a whole room full of it.

........ Then again, this was the guy who didn't hesitate to suggest installing a laser in his crutch......

Things to think about! Anyways, there isn't anything he's going to be looking for for himself. Some of the weaponry does look neat, but if he's going down that route then either the laser or something lower tech that's easier to maintain and replaceable seem like better options.

Then again, he knows he should go down that route, after what happened with Kihara. It won't take him very long to fill his two bags, so after he does he's going to go back over to those bins and start looks stuff over.]

[A metal appendage gives Leo a salute, even as Donnie himself remains head and elbow-deep in cables and other miscellaneous connectors.

Eventually extricating himself from that mess and closing the thing up so no one knows it might be missing some key components, Donnie deposits his gathered materials into the bag Leo's left before slinging it over his shoulder as he drags along the other two. Oh, he is definitely going to make good on filling up the rest of Leo's bag

After catching a glimpse of that game console, decides to add a couple more. Why have one system when you can make one to play ALL the games!

He adds a few phones, figuring it can't hurt to make backups and he doesn't trust anything offered by the guilds to not have some strings attached. While he's not sure how feasible an entire secure network would be to put together, he's at least got some options to be explored.]

Urf. I wish there was an easier way to transport anything bigger. Too bad there's nothing we could just drive out with, but that would for sure draw attention.

[Meanwhile, Leo is so used to the cackling he doesn't even acknowledge it. That's just normal Donnie behavior (though still a potential sign of demon possession).

He keeps hunting until he finds a large double door at the back that looks definitely suspicious. It can be unlocked from the inside, and when he sneaks out he finds what they were hoping for: an elevator.

He's not entirely sure where it lets out - he'll need to pull up the blueprints again and figure that out. But it's definitely promising.

Prize found, he heads back, grinning ear to ear.]

Good news: there's a freight elevator after all! Now we just have to make sure we're not going to ride up into a mess of guards and we're all set to get out of here.

[With what looks like some kind of extremely retro ice gun in his hand and after switching his choker back to normal mode, Accelerator aims it at nothing in particular, checking the weight and feel. The only time he's used a firearm was the night of September 30th with that massive shotgun, and in comparison a small handgun-sized weapon like this feels a lot better.

(He isn't about to fall on his ass from the recoil like the shotgun. Also, whoever made it went hard on the aesthetic, and he can appreciate that.)

It's still a little heavy though, and he puts it back.]

We'd get more than just a police response if we showed up with a fucking tank.

[He still can't believe they have a whole goddamn tank back home. They're mutant turtles made to be soldiers in some world takeover plot and that is the thing he's never going to get over.

Turning his choker back on, he scoops his bags up and heads the rest of the way over to where Donnie is and where Leo is approaching.]

Even if we do, that's better than having to go out the way we came in.

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