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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Taicho!? Wait, what does that one mean? "Super cool and awesome leader guy"?

[He knows from Accelerator's tone that he doesn't really mean this to be flattering but he's going to take it that way, anyway. And he only knows "sensei" - sorry, Accelerator.]

Anyway, you have to think out of the box, Donnie. [He points to the sides of the elevator door.] Blind spots there and there. Aaaaand... [He points up.] Blind spot up top!

[Yeah he's basically suggesting they suspend themselves from the roof. It's not really a serious suggestion. Though, now he wonders if he could do it...

This isn't really the time or place for finding out though.]

[He has regrets already.]

No.

[Maybe in a loose translation, which he is definitely not going to say. Nor is he going to give the actual definition.

... Besides! Donnie has a very good point! Not many places they can hide in here! Though, as he follows Leo's gaze upwards he sees the emergency escape hatch.

He taps his foot again, altering the car's vectors, and the hatch pops open soundlessly.

There we go, blind spot.]

[With each place Leo points out, Donnie looks. No, he can't argue with that, and he blames his impatience on the exhaustion that continues to lurk, waiting for the chance to spring on him again.

He could probably manage to stay up top with the aid of his battle shell. His aching shoulder won't be great for hanging on anywhere for long otherwise.

And then Accelerator acts like he's Mary Poppins or some magician, causing the hatch above to open. Donnie blinks before looking at the other two.]

Well, that works too.

[Dang, he just popped that open with a tap of his foot! He really does have pyrokinesis (nope)!

Leo only looks somewhat impressed, though, because he has to keep up appearances that he's annoyed that Accelerator stole his thunder.]

Yeah, sure, and get crushed against the roof like in all the movies.

[He's just giving Accelerator a hard time with that one. It's not a bad idea, if they end up in a crowded hallway.

Speaking of which... The elevator starts to slow.]

Alright... be ready. It's show time.

[Please, he isn't nearly as powerful as most of the magicians back in his own world!

He scowls a little at Leo for the smarm, having thought it was a pretty good idea (also, getting crushed by things has never, ever been an issue for him, so he didn't think about it). At least Donnie appreciates it.

Anyways, with the elevator slowing he sidles off to the side, though it doesn't make a ton of difference with all the bags he's hauling. If there are people on the other side throwing them won't be an option, so he's just going to have to stick to air blasts if they have to fight.]

Unless this elevator's suddenly hauling itself beyond its normal speed capacity, getting crushed shouldn't be an issue. There's undoubtedly fail-safes installed in the event of an emergency, not to mention there should be considerable space above and between the elevator roof and any present ceilings.

[He's just a bit anxious, let him blather a bit. But with things slowing down, he knows it's game time and so he prepares himself.

While Accelerator moves to one side, Donnie moves to the other, gesturing towards the top with Leo before pointing at his own shoulder. His brother would be better off getting the drop on anyone from above, and at least now he has somewhere to brace himself against.]

You’re sucking the fun out of it.

[That’s directed at Donnie for ruining several tense elevator scenes for him from now on.

He does get what he’s being told, though, being both the least bogged down and least injured, so as the elevator slows to a stop he hops up high enough that he can grab the edge of the hatch and shimmy his way up. Now if anyone comes in he can drop from above.

It’s all the element of surprise they’re going to get. He hopes it’s not actually needed…]

Seems like having an extensive knowledge of elevators is a useful thing to have.

[He appreciates the info dump.

The elevator comes to a stop as they all get into position, and the doors open soundlessly. There's no one on the other side, which is great! Accelerator furrows his brow, not taking a look outside.]

.... I'm not getting any soundwaves from out there.

[He can pick up on ones that can't be heard by regular means too, so unless there's something out there that doesn't make any soundwaves at all the hallway is in fact completely empty.]

[Donnie pokes his head around the door at Accelerator's observation, blinking.]

Huh.

[He lowers his goggles for a quick scan, eventually easing out of the elevator.]

Look at that. We...are all clear.

[Leo waits until Donnie confirms it before poking his head out of the hatch.]

Seriously? Oh, our luck is never this good…

[Leo drops out of the hatch (quietly, even if Accelerator weren’t dampening the sound), coming to peek around the door, too.]

…Maaaaybe they realized someone breached the lower floor and went to look?

[Well, whatever it is, Leo doesn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.]

Let’s not waste this super weird but convenient chance.

If it's a trap it's a good one.

[If neither he nor Donnie are picking up anything strange, then they have to be in the clear, right? He steps closer to the elevator doors, and even after looking out into the hall he doesn't even notice any radiation that's out of the ordinary for the building.

It's unsettling, given the whole nightmare floor business. He'd like to get out of here ASAP, especially since his choker's battery time is ticking down.]

Which way do we go?

Edited 2023-05-29 23:27 (UTC)

[Donnie's poking at his computer, head cocked as he tries to tap into security frequencies.]

I think you might be right, Leo. Sounds like everyone's been rerouted.

How're you doing for time, 'Rator?

[He brings up the building map, ignoring the headache as he juggles windows.]

Straight down, make a left and then...right at the second branch. There might still be guards posted at the exit but if I rig one of the alarms to go off, it might be enough to get them to investigate.

Great - do that and we’ll hope for the best.

[Leo steps out of the elevator fully and starts down the way Donnie indicated, keeping quiet as he goes.

If they make it out of here now unscathed it will be a miracle, and yet it seems like that’s about to happen.

Even though they couldn’t hear or sense anyone, he still takes his time to check for any sign of another person before waving the other two forward.]

[Thank god, no nightmare floor round two.]

If we can get out of here fast I should still have enough time to drop this shit off at your place.

[He might uber or walk home after that, just to be safe and depending on how far away their place is from his.

With that answer he goes silent, trailing after Leo and keeping his calculations focused on noticing anything out of the ordinary. It's really weird, paying this much attention to his surroundings.]

[Nodding once at Leo and then at Accelerator, Donnie follows once they set forth.

He leaves the other two to handle keeping an eye out while he works on where the most ideal place will be to set the alarm off that will get any lingering guards away from where they are and where they want to go.

Just a little longer and they'll be out of here. He's narrowed down security feeds.]

I've got eyes on our egress route. Two guards.

Once we're at that last turn, hang back until I set things off. I'll give you the all-clear.

[Leo gives Donnie a thumbs up at that and leads them to the last turn, then stops, signaling for Accelerator to stop, too.

They'll just chill here while Donnie does his thing.

If this works, they can get back to the apartment, stow this stuff and then... what? Maybe Leo shouldn't let his mind drift too far off, but he's thinking maybe a blanket nest in the living room and some Lou Jitsu films at low volume. The kind of thing he used to do with his brothers as a kid when one of them had a nightmare.

Focus on getting out of here, and then worry about that. He stays still and quiet while waiting for Donnie to enact his plan.]

[Accelerator is counting down the seconds. It feels like slow going, but he's been judicious with his time in esper mode. It's a complete 180 from how frivolous he had been that night with Kihara. He supposes that's a good thing, that he's been able to change.

He stops when Leo signals to, and while he keeps his attention mostly on their surroundings, he does glance over to watch Donnie tap away at his computer. Damn, this is so impressive. He knows Last Order can unlock doors with her electromagnetism, he kind of wonders if she could use it for hacking stuff like this.

... If she can she'll probably figure how to do it, eventually. That'll be a pain to deal with.]

[Donnie's thoughts are in the moment, he needs all his focus on the present, as much as he'd like to look forward to getting home. But they're almost there.

He wants to get them out safely, and that's why he's not taking any chances. The adjoining hall is too open that he'd rather not risk them getting caught between guards all drawn to the position he's aiming for just to clear their way out. His countdown is quiet before he sets things off, and distantly, one can hear the alarms sound off.]

Come on, come on...

[Donnie watches things for a few seconds, and then gives it a few seconds more just to make sure no one else is coming from the other direction.]

-okay, go..!

[He doesn't have to tell Leo twice - he heads for the door and opens it, giving it one more look to be certain no one is around before motioning for Accelerator to come through.

Once they're all through he goes ahead and pulls out his good katana just in case - for a quick getaway or a fight, he's ready for either. He's rested up enough that he could at least get them down the street, if they needed to put distance between themselves and pursuers.

So far the coast is clear, though, and he puts his energy into moving.]

[Shit, it almost feels too good to be true. Accelerator darts through the door when Leo indicates, making a concentrated effort to stick with the two of them this time instead of just going on ahead.

Look at him! He's learning, it's great. Doing an actual stealthy escape and not just smashing down walls and not giving a crap, it's kind of absurd to him that he isn't just doing the latter.]

[Goggles up, Donnie moves after Leo, and then lets himself drop back to bring up the rear. True, he's not sure what good he'd be able to manage if they did run into any opposition but he still feels better keeping an eye out on their six since Accelerator was doing all the literal heavy lifting.

He knows soon they'll be out of range and the security feeds will go back to normal, but by that point they should be well away.]

[Thankfully Accelerator is not just smashing down walls and not giving a crap, because it makes this much easier.

Leo leads them out of the compound and watches for cars as they get to the road outside. Central City is significantly sleepier at night than New York, especially since the pod people outbreak, and this part of town in particular doesn't host much night life, so the roads are largely quiet when he approaches. One car turns a corner and trundles away, and then they're clear to move.

Leo moves to an area way from any streetlights to cross. There's an alleyway running between old office buildings just across the way - get into the shadow of that building and they'll be just about home scot free.]

[With Donnie redirecting the remaining security guards and keeping the cameras on loop their path out of the facility's compound will be infinitely more straightforward than it was getting inside. It feels almost too easy, mostly because setting off the nightmare magic system pulled the majority of guards away giving them a clear path. It isn't likely something that can be repeated.

They make it outside, at any rate. The fresh air and darkness of the streets are a welcome change, Accelerator is realizing as they make their way across the street and into the alley. It's far enough away from the compound that once they make it there he's setting some of the bags down before leaning against the wall and hitting the switch on his choker to save some battery. The pain from hitting the wall comes flooding back and his legs are shaking, which is all to be expected.]

[As much as Donnie won't feel completely clear until they've all made it back to the apartment, they hadn't all been at 100% even before they left, and that adrenaline rush is wearing off. But they're far enough now that he doesn't feel like anyone's noticed them, and as he sees Accelerator slow, he does as well, turning to just make another quick sweep of their surroundings as he steps over towards the esper.

Stopping is probably worse because now all the exhaustion has a chance to flood back, but with Accelerator working on a time limit, Donnie's not about to say anything there. He grimaces slightly at the obvious changes once that choker's turned off, but he remains away from the wall because he has a feeling if he lets himself relax now, he won't want to move.

He looks ahead after Leo, moving to heft up one of the bags over his non-injured shoulder. ...yep, definitely bumping up scraping together a new method of transportation on his list.]

[Leo moves ahead to make sure they’re in the clear that way, before he comes back to where Accelerator is resting. His adrenaline is still up and he doesn’t want to lose it yet, so he bounces a little on the heels of his feet to keep his blood moving.

Leo has always had a lot of energy and it’s one of the things working in his favor tonight.

Like Donnie, he grabs one of the bags and tosses it over his shoulder. He can grab a second if he really needs to.]

Well… that was… surprisingly easy. Wow! [He gives Donnie an elbow nudge.] Maybe we should consider changing careers!

[Leo is, of course, joking. He’s good on heists for a long time now.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject