I want to be blinded from this dull today​

[levelshift]

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.

Comments

[levelshift]

[He gives a little nod at Donnie in greeting, before proceeding to resist the urge to make a face at where they're going.

The sewers. Greaaaaat.]

I'll turn this thing off when we're down there.

[He walks over and hops down, ignoring the ladder and just altering his gravitational vectors to slow his descent until he reaches the bottom, then moving out of the way.]

[purplexing]

[Donnie can't help but smirk a little. Yeah, it's not glamorous but really, Accelerator shouldn't be too surprised when he'd asked if they knew somewhere private to talk.]

Ugh, even dropping he's showing off.

[Once the esper's at the bottom, Donnie slips down the manhole after.]

[faceguy]

[Honestly for them, this is more normal than meeting in the apartment. Leo just rolls his eyes at Donnie’s comment in agreement.

Leo lets Donnie get clear of the top, then he steps in himself and pulls the cover on over his head. No one sees them go down.

They get to the bottom, and he hops off the ladder and steps forward.]

Chop chop, we’ve got a little bit of a walk from here!

[It’s not too far, but it’s not right next to the entrance they used.]

[levelshift]

[Once down there he's at least extending his crutch and switching back to normal mode, so no more showing off. Time for some good ol' hoofing it that he absolutely hates.]

Where the fuck are we going?

[He'll follow the two of them, frowning.]

[purplexing]

[Well, there's no sense in making it an easy place to get to. After all, the whole point is to have a place that's well-hidden.]

You'll see.

[Donnie answers cryptically, throwing a grin over his shoulder.]

Just...don't expect too much.

[Lair 2.5.1 isn't nearly as impressive as 2.5.]

[faceguy]

Yeah, it’s, uh… definitely a work in progress.

[Leo throws his arms behind his head, appearing pretty relaxed despite the degree to which anxiety is twisting up his gut.]

We have plans, but we’ve been starting from scratch.

[levelshift]

...........

[Accelerator gives them both a very unimpressed look and sighs, muttering under his breath.]

Just tell me, you assholes.

[He doesn't push the subject though. As long as it's private it doesn't really matter, and it really isn't the priority anyways.]

[purplexing]

[It'd be pretty obvious once they got there. Donnie doesn't feel the need to say much more than what they have already.

That said, the sewers can be a disorienting maze if one's not paying attention. Still, it's nothing like New York, so they've had to improvise a lot and put more thought into where they'd decided to try establishing their potential home away from home away from home.]

[faceguy]

[It’s definitely disorienting, especially when they take a few quick turns and switchbacks. They ought to give Accelerator a map, if he ever tries to come down here himself.

A thought for later.

Soon enough they arrive, though. There’s not much in the way of furniture besides the makeshift beds in the passages Leo and Donnie have claimed as rooms. There’s shelving units that they’ve put together in what is going to be their “kitchen” eventually, and Leo flips a switch to turn on what lighting they’ve gotten installed.

He turns around and spreads his arms out.]

Welcome to our lair! It looks a little rough right now, but it’ll get better!

[levelshift]

[It's fine, he isn't bothering to memorize the path they're taking. With the conversation they're about to have he doubts they'll want him down here again anyways.

When they finally arrive he's having several thoughts all at once:

1. This is really sad.
2. It's a good idea to have some kind of hideout that's hard to find. People aren't going to accidentally stumble into this place. Very smart. That said....
3. It's complete and total bullshit that they have to put it down in the sewer. That one really pisses him off.

There's a fourth thought, and it's the only one he decides to vocalize as he steps inside and looks around.]

Only villains have lairs.

[purplexing]

[Right, that conversation. The whole reason they'd come down here. The walk over hadn't really forestalled the inevitable, and even now that they've reached the place, Donnie can't help but feel anxious. Sure, they're just starting out and things are still being worked on but... he wouldn't really disagree if Accelerator happened to speak his mind on how sad it was.

As it is, with the comment the esper does make, the softshell chokes on a laugh.]

And he's still on that..!

[faceguy]

[Leo would have agreed, privately, with that thought too, but the one Accelerator voices makes him laugh, too.]

You know, I don’t think villains should get to own that term. We’ve always called it the lair back home, no reason not to call it that here.

[Honestly, when and why they started calling it that, Leo can’t remember. It’s just one of those things that is the way it is.]

[levelshift]

[Donnie gets a sharp scowl for that. Excuse you, he's only stating facts here.]

How very forward-thinking.

[There isn't really anywhere to sit, so he's just going to wander over to the wall to lean against it.

Okay, here we go. It's like ripping a band-aid off.]

... So.

[Great start.]

There's a bunch of bullshit we haven't talked about.

[God, he's bad at this.]

[purplexing]

[He should be thankful they've cleaned things off around here! But the lack of places to sit isn't lost on them, it's on the list.

Donnie watches as Accelerator finds a place to get comfortable, glancing at Leo before he looks back to the esper. Oh, he knows what's coming and kind of wishes he didn't, but that's the whole point of why they came down here.

He sighs a little, folding his arms.]

...yeah. Kind of figured it was a...mutual unspoken agreement. But at the same time, I guess you wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't think it needed to be addressed. ...and we wouldn't have agreed to meet if we didn't agree to some degree.

[faceguy]

[Leo hopes the look on his face is reassuring when Donnie glances his way, but he has a feeling it wasn’t. He agreed to this, but he doesn’t really want to do it.

Still, he also comes over to settle in against the wall.]

Yep.

[It sounds noncommittal, but he’s trying!]

Might as well get to it.

[levelshift]

[He's silent for a beat. God, keeping up that mutual unspoken agreement would have been the easy path to take, but it wouldn't be the right one. Fuck all of this.

Accelerator's expression is keeping its usual frowniness.]

At this point, it wouldn't be fair to them.

[But his brain is working overtime to find the best way to start without simply diving into the thick of it. That would be confusing, he figures. There are nuances that people from outside of Academy City (and his world entirely) won't know, so he needs to make sure he covers all of that.....

Alright, then.]

If it wasn't obvious, all of those girls were clones. Made from the third-ranked level 5, Misaka Mikoto, also known as Railgun. Judging by the designations they were giving, it was all twenty-thousand of them.

[purplexing]

["Them?"

Donnie has a hunch, but he waits for Accelerator to continue. He arches a brow, steeling himself for the worst.

Clones. He'd somehow pieced together that much. Somehow he hadn't caught the possibility that there actually were that many of them. It makes his stomach turn.

Twenty-thousand. That is not a number you can just blink an eye at.]

[faceguy]

[Donnie manages to keep his silence, but Leo can’t help but react with open surprise at that number. He’d caught on that they were clones, but… twenty thousand? Really? That’s a town’s worth of clones!]

That’s… What? Who would make that many clones of the same person?

[Were they building an army or something?]

[levelshift]

[Great question! Not one he wants to answer. He grits his teeth unconsciously.]

The shitheels running Academy City, dumbass. [That's coming out and he's immediately regretting it, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose.] The experiment that was going to use the cloning technology, the Radio Noise Project, fell through for some reason. I don't know, I never asked what it was about and they never would've told me if I did. Human cloning is banned by international laws, so....

[So that's technology that never should have existed in the first place. To say there's a shady side to Academy City is putting it lightly.]

Anyways, those fucking scientists found a new use for it and made them. But - ... [He pauses, working out this next part.] ... I gotta take a step back. There are a lot of different ways the researchers in the city track esper development and strength according to the Power Curriculum Program, and it's all summarized into one shitty category, the levels. Every esper gets assigned one. It's possible to move up through the ranks, but it isn't very common.

[purplexing]

Lotta good those laws're doing.

[Not that the whole Academy City deal hasn't sounded incredibly suspicious since Accelerator had first mentioned it.]

I don't see any good reason for anyone to be making twenty thousand clones of any one person.

What's the max level and rank?

[faceguy]

[Leo nods in agreement to both his brothers observations.]

And what does that have to do with the clones?

[Shady shit is happening, he gets, but how does it all piece together?]

[levelshift]

[There's no way Radio Noise wasn't some sketchy shit. Now that it's all over, Accelerator regrets not trying to look further into it. After all, who the hell could've stopped him if he tried?

But he didn't, and he can't here, so it isn't worth dwelling on.

Accelerator draws in a deep breath before plunging into something he's deliberately avoided talking about since he showed up here. There isn't a way around it now, though.]

First-ranked level 5 is the highest. So Railgun, being the third-ranked, makes her the third strongest esper in Academy City, and therefore the world.

[Which sounds like it isn't something to shake a stick at, but his tone is dulled, like that isn't impressive in the least to him.]

The lowest level is 0. At level 0 you're technically an esper, but your power is either so weak it might as well be nonexistent, or it is nonexistent. Aside from their AIM diffusion fields they're basically just normal people. That's about sixty percent of espers, so - [Doing the math here without skipping a beat.] - 1.38 million of them. Levels 1 and 2 have really basic power that's functionally useless. Think being able to bend a spoon and nothing else. Level 3s are strong enough that their ability is useful in everyday life, and level 4s have combat potential and tactical value in a military force. A level 5 can take on a military alone on equal terms. There's seven level 5s in existence.

[He stares down at his crutch, and since he's leaning against the wall decides to just take the thing off. He doesn't need it right now, and he needs the distraction of rubbing his forearm so he doesn't have to look at either Leo or Donnie.]

The Sisters are all level 2 and 3. I'm the first-ranked level 5.

[purplexing]

[Well, that certainly puts Accelerator and his abilities in perspective. Now it makes sense why he's said he's able to potentially shake off a bomb. Donnie's eyes widen at the revelation, and he flicks another glance Leo-wards before looking back at Accelerator.]

...and someone thought they'd clone the third highest ranked, military-grade esper on a lark. Except I highly doubt that's the case.

[He shakes his head. They're probably drifting a little off subject and he's not sure how much easier or harder that makes it on Accelerator.

They don't know the why's aside from something highly suspect was probably going on. Donnie knows the question that he probably doesn't want to answer.]

So...what happened to them?

[faceguy]

[Leo catches Donnie's eyes, his own staying more neutral even though he's internally turning this new information over. Obviously, he knew Accelerator had a lot of power when using his choker, and that he didn't always have to use the choker, but learning he was apparently the strongest esper they had is a new layer.

Of course, the big question here is the one Donnie already asked, so Leo doesn't echo it. He just stays quiet, waiting for that answer too, even though, based on what he saw, he already has a few guesses.

Especially given how cagey Accelerator is being.]

[levelshift]

They were used for my development.

[He's spitting that out, like it's left a disgusting taste in his mouth. Once he says it, it's all kind of spilling out. Accelerator had been trying to keep himself controlled, but that mention of the dehumanization of the Sisters and his part in it hits a nerve.]

The thing about Level 5 is that it's the highest an esper can go. Technically it's where I sit, but the reality of it is there's a complete wall between me and the other Level 5s. [He scoffs derisively.] #3 threw everything she had at me, including her signature railgun, and it was a fucking embarrassment for her.

[He shouldn't be bragging about that, he shouldn't. She had only been trying to stop him, she was doing what a good person does, even if that involved attempting to kill him several times. He keeps on going, his shoulders hunching tensely as he rubs one hand over his knuckles.]

Those scientists have done research on a theoretical Level 6, though. It's apparently absolute power, complete fucking invincibility, like God or something, and I'm the only one who can reach it and remain stable. Whatever the fuck that means.

[Again, he didn't ask. He never asked. He didn't care.]

They told me I'd be able to reach Level 6 after either undergoing two hundred and fifty years of the regular Curriculum, or fighting and killing #3 one hundred and twenty eight times. Both of which are bullshit. I'm not gonna live that long, and you can't kill a single person that many times. One they're dead, they're dead.

[Unless.]