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

[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.]

[purplexing]

[Even anticipating that things were not going to be pleasant does not anticipate Donnie for that knot of dread that's settled in his stomach.

Accelerator's lead-in is enough to twist that knot, everything else to follow only seems to yank it tighter.

It's sickening, but it further puts into perspective the things that have come up in conversation, the esper's reactions, his viewpoint of things.

Accelerator was just another experiment that people wanted to test the limits of, to keep pushing the bar. Donnie looks queasy at the two paths the esper explains had been set before him, hugging his arms a little tighter against him as it's not too difficult to start slotting in the pieces of the puzzle that had already been there.]

...oh no.

[faceguy]

[Leo may not be a math whiz like the two nerds in the room, but even he can put this one together. People only die once - but if you can make multiples of the same person, they can die as many times as you can create them.

So the uncomfortable truth, the one that Leo was brushing up against that day in the room, that is looming over the horizon now, is that they dangled a prize in front of Accelerator's face in return for killing off the clones.

But it doesn't add up.

Because one hundred and twenty eight is not twenty thousand.

The thing that Accelerator is moments from admitting is already shaping up to be bad, but Leo feels in his gut that this isn't the end of it. Why did they need so many?

Why did Accelerator go along with it at all? If he really did.

(Of course he did, or why would he look so nauseous and guilty back in the nightmare room?)

Next to him, Donnie reacts with mounting horror, but Leo keeps a lid on his own emotions. The horror's here, but he won't let it show on his face yet, not while he still needs more information.]

So you agreed to the second option.

[That's clearly where this is headed, so let's not beat around the bush.]

[levelshift]

[The third path, the one actually taken, barely needs to be said at this point. Part of him wonders if he could stop here and just leave - obviously they can put the rest of the pieces together. They are, given what Donnie just mumbled. And since they are, they could just move onto the main reason he's telling them all of this crap.

They really, really shouldn't be friends with him.

He nods slowly.]

Yeah, pretty much. They had the technology for the clones, so that's what I agreed to. Radio Noise wouldn't go to complete waste, and it turns out twenty thousand Level 2 and 3 electromagnetism mass-produced esper clones are the equivalent of one hundred and twenty-eight Level 5 Railguns. They had this massive supercomputer the Tree Diagram calculate all of it out, all I had to do was run through twenty thousand combat trials it came up with and I'd hit Level 6. That's what I was going to school for, the Level 6 Shift Project.

[He pauses briefly there, conscious of his heart thumping in his chest and the growing noisy static in his head. He's keeping his gaze firmly staring down his hands, because if he closes his eyes he's certain he's going to start seeing the ends of those trials.]

The Sisters are all connected by a neural network, they're a fucking hivemind, so every single one of them would gain the memories and experience from each trial.

[No, they'd experience the death of every previous Sister. That's what he means to say, though the implication should be clear enough.]

As time went on they'd get stronger and harder to beat, but I'd get stronger along the way too, and even the strongest Level 3 is nothing compared to me.

[He's still bragging as his tone turns bitter. Why the hell is he still bragging? He isn't sure, and it makes him sick to his stomach that he can't seem to quit doing it.]

They were right about that part. I learned how to use my ability in ways I never thought about before.

[purplexing]

[This is one of those rare instances where Donnie can do without more information, but even as Accelerator continues, there still seems to be one blatantly unanswered question. Or maybe it was obvious?

Maybe he knows the answer. After all, this was apparently all in the name of science. That thought makes him feel cold.

That poor girl and her clones. They were used. But...Accelerator was being used too.

The esper's words clash with his body language, Donnie can plainly see that. Accelerator's not proud of this, even though it sounds like he's bragging. He can't be proud of this, not with what had happened in that Room, not with how he'd reacted.

Donnie can't remember much of what was going on around them then, not any of the details, the accusations the Sisters had voiced, he can barely remember how they'd gotten out. But one thing is clear to him, for all that had happened, Accelerator couldn't possibly be proud of what he'd done or it wouldn't have manifested like it had. He wouldn't have such a terrible opinion of himself.]

...why did you keep going?

[The question that he was hesitant to ask still slips out so easily, quiet like it hoped to be unnoticed and continue to go unanswered.]

[faceguy]

[Leo remembers the girls a little more clearly - the way their touch was gentle, even as they tried to separate them. The way their grip was more like desperation than something meant to restrain.

Accelerator says it like he’s bragging, but like Donnie, Leo sees through it. Accelerator has been torturing himself over this.

Donnie asks the key question, here, but Leo follows up with the other most obvious query:]

And how many?

[levelshift]

[Accelerator is kind of amazed they've gotten this far without the two of them kicking him out. He still hasn't worked up the nerve to look at either of them, so he doesn't know what their reactions are, but he can guess easily enough. His own vision is starting to get shaky and the nausea is getting stronger, so it's got to be worse for them coming to the realization that they've been nice to an utter piece of shit for months.

Donnie's question has him silent for several moments.]

... Because I was getting really fucking tired of just being the strongest.

[This is probably the worst part of it all. He knows how ridiculous and selfish his reasoning is, it offers absolutely no excuse for what he did. He might as well just tell them he didn't do it for any reason at all, because the one he has is worth about the same.]

That's a title you have in relation to other people. I only know I'm the strongest because other idiots have tried to fight me and lost, and that shit gets really boring after a while. So I thought that if I had the absolute strength that came with being Level 6 the idea of challenging me would become a fucking joke. People would be terrified at merely the thought of it, so they'd never do it.

[He stops there.

(There's more to it than that. If he reached that level of invincibility then maybe, maybe people would stop seeing him as some obstacle to overcome, or a way to get clout with their friends, or a goddamned monster. Maybe they'd acknowledge his existence as just another person, instead.

... Except the exact opposite happened. He sunk deeper and deeper, became worse and worse. An even bigger monster than what he'd started out as.)

He doesn't explain any of that. It's still the same core reason in the end: he was a shitty person who didn't care about stepping on the lives of innocent people to get what he wanted. He sucks in another breath, burying his face in one hand. As he expected, images of the Sisters are flashing through his brain.]

The last successful trial was ten thousand and thirty-one.

[purplexing]

[For some reason, the answer Accelerator gives is difficult to really grasp. Again it conflicts with everything else. It sounds like a terrible reason, and yes, a selfish one, but to go so far as to fight that many people just for, what, a title? A rank upgrade?

No. That wasn't it. That wasn't solely it. You had to be desperate for something to put yourself through that kind of hell.

Ten thousand and thirty-one...

Donnie wants to just exit himself from this conversation. It's easier than soaking it in and feeling almost physically ill as he tries to sort out this tangle of emotions, none of them good. It was hard enough dealing with his own. Empathy isn't his strong point, but then neither is being sympathetic. He's not quite sure what to say, or what Accelerator wants.

...no, that's not completely right. Accelerator had been self-condemning from before. This is what's been hanging over his head, why he saw himself as worse than scum, as worthless for effort. He's been trying to rebuild a wall, but he's left so many gaps.

It's easier to get a hold of himself when Donnie fixates on facts. Those he can deal with, at least slightly better. Information is just numbers and statistics. He can put a wall of his own up between that and the emotions that make things all goopy and messed up. Temporarily, at least.]

Was it worth it?

[Donnie looks over again at Accelerator as he asks, sounding more calm than he might actually feel. There's still a lot going on, and his expression is a sad one, a concerned one.]