etrayalogs | [Closed] King of the Monsters!

Entry tags:

[Closed] King of the Monsters!

WHO: Heather Mason (

ingestion), Accelerator (

levelshift), Harold Finch (

ornithologist).
WHEN: Post-mission in April.
WHERE: The junkyard, the library.
WHAT: A double feature at the library.
NOTES\WARNINGS: None so far, will update as needed.

[This wasn't how Accelerator expected to be spending his day. Digging through the junk yard? Fine, yeah. Fixing up some video equipment with Harold? Sure, that actually sounds fun. Watching old movies with Harold? He isn't actually all that interested in movies (especially Godzilla), but it's fine, Harold wants to do it. He has no problems with any of that, but there's an unknown quantity of one Heather Mason that Harold has thrown into the mix and he isn't sure how to feel about it.

He doesn't know this girl aside from 'has a van' and 'didn't know what an SNES was.' He isn't all that interested in socializing with other people, but Harold wanted them to go find the equipment needed for the movies so he's going along with it. It's better than telling Harold no, skipping the movies and sleeping for the rest of the day, right? Right?

Sadly, it's also a good distraction from stewing over the recent mission. Most of it had been tolerable: he's desensitized enough to violence that things like the Colosseum hadn't bothered him, and he's smart enough that the more intelligence-based challenges weren't too tough. The need to perform for points was aggravating, but he was able to lean on theatrics that he's familiar with to get by. No, the real problem were those memories pulled out by the VR headset challenge. He wasn't keen on reliving what was dragged out of him, and even though they're back in Etraya they're still fresh in his mind, weighing heavily on him.

He's trying not to let it get to him. Hence agreeing to the movies.

He arrives at the junk yard early, having taken the trolley there on his own. It was a quiet trip, which he's grateful for, and shifting his weight from his crutch he takes up a spot against the fencing. Waiting there at the entrance, he pops open a can of coffee and starts drinking.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( after the intensity of the last mission, heather was on the edge for the most part. she now had a ghost hanging over her shoulder— the woman who killed her father was now here in etraya. so it was reasonable to understand why she might not be in the best mood these days. still harold had asked her for a favor and while she had already done a big one for him, this one was far too easy. far too easy to say yes to and help out because despite her being a typical teen the only people she yielded to easily were maria and harold.

she had shown up to the junkyard in her usual fit— the orange shirtless turtleneck and green skirt, but on her back she had her katana from home just in case. etraya was mostly harmless but something about the threat of claudia showing up left her wanting to have an edge. she wasn't as early as accelerator but she was there on time to spot the silver-headed boy leaning against the fence with a coffee can in hand. politely, she decided to make a joke. )

Hey, get one of those for me too? Or am I to envy you at a distance?

[The joke only makes Accelerator raise an eyebrow, taking another sip before lowering the can. He's keeping a straight face.]

They're at the convenience store if you want any.

[In other words, he only brought the one can, and he isn't sharing. Sharing his coffee? The very idea is unthinkable.

Stepping away from the fence, he glances towards the sword on her back before he turns to hobble into the junk yard. Might as well get this over with.]

You think we're gonna get attacked out here? [He waves the hand holding the coffee can at the sword on her back. The weapon hasn't gone unnoticed, and he's kind of wondering if he should've brought his gun.]

( although she'd normally be just a bit miffed at being dismissed like that, all she can really do is shrug at his words. it's nothing she wouldn't have said if the tables were turned so she decided to ignore it for now.

at his question though, she pulled the katana from her back and held it before her, holding it with both arms. )

Not really no, I actually figured I could use it to smash up some junk or something while we look around for what we came for. Actually-

( with a bit of a smirk, she looked at the can in his hand. )

Are you done with that? Toss it at me so I can slice it in half.

[Well, smashing useless junk up with a sword seems like a reasonable enough use for it. Accelerator isn't sure if that counts as practice or whatever, since he isn't familiar with swords, but if she has it she may as well use it. Better than letting it sit and collect dust, and then being unused to holding it during some mission where it's necessary.

Her casual use of the weapon also means he doesn't need his gun, which is good. He isn't in the mood to be wasting bullets on some ridiculous junk yard monster, he'd used a lot of them back during the train mission, and he hasn't gotten around to asking Aurora for more.

Glancing down at the can, he gives a small shrug.]

Here.

[He takes the last few gulps of coffee in the can, then tosses it her way. Have at it!]

( although he hadn't given her much warning, when the can came flying in the air, she immediately swinged the katana downward, slicing it in half. it was a freshly sharpened blade, given to her in nearly new condition despite how much she had used it in that town. once the pieces fell to the ground, she began to walk closer to the other, holding out the sword to him from the handle. )

Here, your turn, and don't say it's lame or you don't want to. You know you want to cut up shit too.

( there's just a bit of a shit-eating grin on her face, but she's clearly very harmless. just doing her best to get along with the other for harold's sake. )

[Oh, she actually knows how to use the damn thing, that's kind of cool. It also makes sense, why bother having a sword in Etraya if you aren't going to use it.

At the offer, he pauses and goes silent.]

.........

[He stares down at the sword, scowling, sorely tempted to turn her down. Weapons aren't really his forte in general, especially not melee ones that require an amount of dexterity that he one hundred percent does not have without his ability. The only reason he's good at using a gun is because he bothered to put the effort into it out of necessity.

But it might be good to hold one of these stupid things and see what it feels like. Better to be prepared, given how unpredictable Etraya can be.]

Fine.

[Instead of reaching for the sword, he taps his free hand against the choker around his neck, switching his calculation assistance device from normal mode to esper mode. He's telling himself the additional support is so that he doesn't accidentally hurt himself, but. Well. It would also be dumb to end up doing something really embarrassing, and his arm strength is kind of nonexistent.

Then he grabs the sword, expression still moody as he takes a few steps away from Heather and mimics how she had held it as best he can with one hand.]

This thing from Aurora?

( this entire time she's simply watching him with gentle eyes, curious to see how he'll react and what exactly he'll do. she's never once seen him before here, but there was something about him that seemed to say he was far from being a new arrival. he most likely was similar to riz― both introverted and shy, not quite seeking the company of others willingly. yet that observation didn't feel quite right other.

there was something else but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. so instead she kept a close eye on him to ensure he didn't slice his own arm off by mistake, and kept her own arms folded for now.

it wasn't until she saw him tap that choker around his neck that her eyes grew wide with curiosity. so it was true― people with powers were around. )

Yeah, but it's from back home. What about the choker, that from Aurora too?

[He gives the sword an experimental wiggle, to test the weight of it and how it feels in his hand. With his ability he's picking up on how the blade shifts air molecules around, cataloguing it in his brain in case he needs that data at some point.

Once he's done that he looks around for some junk to slice up. Her question makes him pause, and his mouth forms a thin line.]

... Yeah, sort of.

[More of a replacement from Aurora since his calculation assistance device from home doesn't function here, but that's a technical detail he doesn't want to get into. In fact, he doesn't want to talk about it at all, so he tries steering the conversation back to the sword.]

Anything I should avoid using this thing on?

( being a girl with her own array of secrets and questionable things she often didn't want to share with others [her past was far too full of complexities and riddles], she simply kept an eye on him before she too focused on the sword. she's sure whatever that choker was, had to do something with his world and if he didn't want to share well—

she wasn't going to force him. not when coming here was a favor to harold after all and he was the only adult not from her world that she respected enough to act civil for. so with a shrug she decided to answer him a bit more playfully. )

Well I mean I'd be a little concern if you tried it on like metal or bricks you know?

( because clearly accelerator, you're smarter than that. )

And no live animals of course, I'd be even more concerned. How about we head into the junkyard and see what's around?

[Right, don't be a dick and break the sword, and don't be a dick and kill some poor animal. He can handle that, no problem.]

Yeah, fine.

[He lowers the sword, carefully adjusting it in his grip so he can switch his choker back to normal mode without cutting himself. There's no point in wasting his time limit wandering around. Once he's done that, he turns to head into the junk yard.]

We're probably gonna need a couple of TVs and DVD players, in case we need to cannibalize them for parts.

[He isn't sure what Harold already has in the way of equipment at the library, so it's better to be prepared. It'll save them multiple trips back here looking for specific parts.]

( it's not like she was trying to be rude or assume he was the type of person to do such things, but frankly you never knew with people. the amount of individuals she ran into here that seemed to lack knowledge about something as simple as a party, made her more cautious in regards to assuming what people knew and what they didn't.

thankfully he seemed to take her request well enough for her to trust him to hold onto the katana for now. she began to walk ahead of him, right to the gate of the junkyard before opening it up for the both of them. )

Ah in that case I should have brought a cart....

( unless accelerator mysteriously had one hiding around. )

Well whatever, we'll just have to keep an eye out for the newer looking stuff right? less chance of being a dud hopefully.

[He follows after her, and as they head in he's keeping an eye out both for stuff he can try cutting with the katana, and the DVD equipment. There's a lot of electronic junk lying around, so he figures the latter should be easy enough to find.]

Yup. Plus, it'd be really annoying watching Godzilla on an old CRT tv instead of something newer.

[He jabs the sword in the direction of exactly that, a CRT tv, though its screen has been broken.]

Godzilla? You know about that?

( although she was aware there were several people around here from different worlds and times, she wasn't quite sure who knew what and what similarities there were between her world and others. it's possible he knew about it from the library as harold's world seemed somewhat similar to hers, but it was worth asking.

in the meantime heather followed behind him, she kept her eyes peeled for anything that could be useful. eventually she found a long cable with inputs for audio and sound, and she stopped to tug at it. )

I wonder what this leads to....

( the cable was under a large pile of trash, clearly connected to something. )

[Accelerator gives a simple nod at her question. Not only is he familiar with Godzilla, he's familiar with kaiju and tokusatsu movies!]

The country I'm originally from made Godzilla. I've seen some of the newer movies.

[Not the original though, which spurred all of this. Harold wants him to see it, and he's kept his misgivings about watching a kaiju movie to himself. It isn't Harold's problems, it's his own baggage.

He stops when she speaks up, glancing over curiously at the pile of trash. The cable looks promising.]

Do you need me to move that shit out of the way?

Japan?

( so it seemed that so far their worlds were at least vaguely similar and while there were a million questions she could ask, for now she simply returned her attention back to the cable.

she approached it more closely, bending down at the knees before grabbing it and inspecting the output connectors. with very little rust to them, it so far seemed they would at least work but given her own limited experiences with modern technology [coming from 2005 and all], she wasn't too sure if her opinion could be relied upon.

so when accelerator asked her that, she looked up at him and debated briefly before nodding. )

You can but don't whack me with the katana if this ends up being a dud. I'm not sure sure how reliable these cables are going to be but they do look relatively clean.

Yeah. I don't technically live there anymore. [City-states are complicated like that.] We mostly get Japanese tv in Academy City, though, and the culture's largely the same.

[Accelerator inclines his head slightly as he watches, eyes flicking over to the pile of trash. It doesn't look difficult to deal with, since they seem to be the only ones in the junkyard right now.]

I think I can manage that.

[His tone is dry as he steps over, again adjusting his grip on the katana so he can safely hit the switch on his choker. For this he isn't even bothering getting a hand free, all he's going to do is tap the pile with the toe of one foot. Specifically, tapping some old hunk of metal that most of it seems to be perched on. All of it flies straight up into the air and comes crashing down about ten feet away.]

( although heather doesn't quite understand the full extent of his words at all and had no true way to understand what he meant by academy city, she still gives him her full attention and nods. she may not understand but that didn't mean she didn't care about what he was saying—

and while he might have been just a tad bit sassy with his own introduction and words, there wasn't much to drive any ire out of her. at least not yet. not when he was willing to help her with this.

with a soft breath, she was about to reply but instead she stood up and moved behind accelerator, eyes focused on the junk before them. immediately her eyes shifted towards him, noting how he once again touched his choker. while she had powers at one point [many lives ago], seeing them in person being controlled without issue was an interesting sight. it was enough to even leave her mouth hanging just a bit as she saw the debris scatter across the junkyard and come crashing down without issue. still, without hesitation, she began to run towards the uncovered cable to find it attached to a retro vhs player. )

Hey get over here, and put the katana down for a second. I think this thing might still work but it looks too old. I need your opinion!

[He isn't really expecting her to recognize Academy City. In his entire time being in Etraya Accelerator hasn't met a single person who has been familiar with the city, so at this point he's used to it.

Anyways, he should probably be a bit more careful with moving this stuff around, but whatever. There isn't anyone around to get caught in the crossfire, and all this stuff is junk anyways, so it's probably fine.

(Plus, it's kind of fun getting to break stuff without worrying about hurting anyone.)

Curiously, he sets the katana down and switches choker modes again before wandering over to the player Heather is indicating. Inclining his head, he squints at it.]

Holy shit, that thing looks ancient. [He reaches up, scratching his head. Is it for VHS? Betamax? He isn't sure, he only knows that betamax cassettes looked similar to VHS ones. There may be some other format he isn't aware of, who knows. Harold will probably be able to tell what it is.] It won't play DVDs, but it might be useful for parts. Start a pile, I can carry it all back when we're done.

[He gestures at the ground near the pile of junk, before he starts pushing some more stuff away with his foot, looking for anything else that might be useful.]

I think you're right....and that's all we can really do right? Start a pile of stuff we collect and see what Harold thinks about it all.

( so without hesitation, heather rose up with the vhs player in hand— grunting just a bit given how heavy it was before she began to move with it towards the ground accelerator pointed out. she bent down using her knees, setting it down there for now.

with a smile she turned towards him and decided to make a brief joke before returning back to digging around for more items. )

Hopefully Echo and Aurora don't have a thing for vintage junk, would kinda suck if we couldn't find a more modern dvd or vhs player.

( it's subtle but meant to keep things light as they work. as such, she did eventually begin to wander around, kicking a few pieces of junk here and there as she went on. )

Yup.

[Harold is the expert here. They're just doing the heavy lifting.

.... Well, right now, Heather is doing the heavy lifting. He'll quit being useless once they've found some more stuff.

He snorts at the joke, wandering over to another pile of junk to examine it for anything worth taking. Carefully, he takes a few steps into it, poking at spots with his crutch first to make sure the stuff he's stepping on is solid.]

Who the hell knows if Echo cares. If Aurora did, I bet our earpieces would be bulky radios instead.

[Echo's AI does have preferences (see: Eos), but Aurora has been pretty accommodating in keeping things relatively modern. He's grateful for that, being used to advanced technology. If they were stuck in some retro era he isn't sure what he would do.

After a few moments he pauses.]

Hey, I think a found a tv. It looks like it's still in one piece. [It looks like a relatively new CRT tv, but the screen isn't smashed and it just looks dusty, so he figures it's good enough for what they need.]

( thankfully for them both the effort it took in foraging around for used items and assessing their value in terms of modernity was no shoulder off her back— in fact it seemed that there wasn't much that seemed to get heather down. she was able to deflect a bit of his snarky attitude with ease, but given she could serve it right back, it was for the best for them to be on more neutral terms right now.

at his snort though, she laughed in return imagining such a sight. the entirety of etraya walking around with a box strapped to the side of their heads was a funny thought really... )

Oh? Kind of like this?

( don't mind her picking up a piece of trash and nearly gluing it to her head as she played around. soon enough though when he brought attention to the tv, she dropped the box and bolted off to his side to take a good look at it. )

Yeah it does, needs a little cleaning but could be worth hauling it with us. I actually borrowed Gorgug's van to come here so if you think we can carry it out, we'll drive it out?

[Her screwing around isn't totally inaccurate, he thinks. Not that old radios are common back home - hell, he's only ever seen those giant old 80s cell phones in pictures and never in real life - but he's sure she has the ridiculousness of it down.

(Harold would probably be appalled at them making fun of old technology, but teens are going to teen.)

He looks down at the tv, giving it an experimental poke with his foot.]

Yeah, that should work. Let's get the pile started, then I'll haul all of it to the van.

Don't poke that thing too hard, wouldn't want to break it before we actually got to try it out.

( although her words might indicate some kind of scolding behind them, her tone is all but. she's still rolling with a more playful demeanor, keeping a small smile on her face as she spoke to accelerator and began to get to work.

―

by the time the two had gone around the junkyard and gathered up what they could, they had managed to come up with a large and vast pile of different items to haul off to the van. from cables, various dvd players, a few tvs, and other items that could be cannibalized and retro fitted to see if they worked for the items they found. it had been a few hours now since they first arrived and by now heather was coated in a fine layer of dirt to her person a bit of sweat. despite that though she looked enthusiastic about their finds and was more than ready to call it a day.

so she went around looking for accelerator before she finally came across him and nudged him on the shoulder a bit. )

What do you say? Quitting time? I think we've been out here long enough and I'm starting to get thirsty.

[It isn't a full scolding, though Accelerator still frowns a bit as he pulls his foot back. Thankfully, without his ability activated he's weak as hell, so the chances of him accidentally breaking something they don't want broken is minimal.

Digging through the junk yard is hard, tiring work. By the end of it Accelerator is sorely missing having his reflection up constantly, to avoid sweating and getting dusty. It certainly made parts of his life easier.

They've done a good job, at any rate. There has to be more than enough stuff for Harold to work with, so he's good with wrapping things up. At the touch he takes a pointed step away from her and nods slightly.]

Yeah, fine.

[He's tired and wants another coffee, so he turns and heads over to the pile of equipment they've accumulated.]

You're gonna want to stay back.

[Casually, he hits the switch on his choker (the light changing from green to red), and retracts his crutch. Then he starts carefully piling everything together, like a game of jenga, and once he has things squared away he scoops all of it up as if he's lifting a bunch of pillows and not a bunch of heavy video equipment.]

( before she could even ask what he meant by 'stay back', she's already being moved back by the sheer force of his incredible speed and strength. she wasn't a stranger to the world of powers [a past life or two she had them herself] but she hadn't seen something like this. she could have sworn she saw him looking tired and sweaty, eager to call it quits and thanks to the mechanism of his collar, there he was—

moving like a mad man running on pure adrenaline and caffeine. it was a sight to behold and heather was left with a surprised look on her face. nearly gawking really because by the time he scooped it all up and held it, she stood there for a moment mesmerized.

finally though she spoke. )

Remind me to call you the next time I move.

( which surprisingly had been once already. )

Alright....follow me then I'll lead you to the van.

[Accelerator clicks his tongue quietly. Normally he wouldn't be using his ability on something like this, but it's for Harold. He can't exactly come all the way out of the junk yard and haul all this equipment back to the library. At the very least he'd need help from someone like John, and it'd take multiple trips. Harold has better things to be doing with his time, so this is just practical for him to help out.

It's just practical. That's what he repeats to himself several times, before noticing Heather is staring. He just frowns a little.]

Yeah, fine. Can you make sure the path is clear?

[Because if his feet accidentally hit anything he won't trip, he'll send whatever he touches flying. Potentially in Heather's direction, and he doesn't want to inadvertently hurt her.]

Yeah sure.

( unfortunately for heather, she didn't quite realize [or remember] what it felt like to be stared at for using powers, for being different. truly her gaze was one of admiration but soon she looked away, a soft blush drawn from embarrassment settling on her face. it didn't take her very long to realize that subtle little click was of annoyance and while normally she would be more humorous in her comments—

they were here for harold's sake. she had to be calm and behave, after all he was a dear friend. )

I'm on it.

( and on it she was— she immediately began to move before him, holding her katana down towards the ground and using it to skirt away any random objects as she led him towards the gates of the junkyard. )

So uh....how long have you known Harold for anyways?

[He appreciates the lack of sass, at least. Just because he's used to being put in the spotlight because of his ability doesn't mean he particularly likes it. This isn't even a good use of his ability, hauling junk is something a regular human who isn't skinny as a twig can do.

He'll follow her, quiet for a few moments.]

Six months. [That answer is coming easily. He still remembers the day they met, when Harold was investigating one of the companion bots and he teased him about it.] Why, how long have you known him?

That sounds about right, maybe a bit longer? I met him last year in October when I first arrived here.

( although the memory felt like a far and distant dream given her altered state of mind during that time, she remembered fondly how kind he had been to her in a very gentle and non-direct way. it took her some time to realize what he had been doing, but when she realized he had been helping her to protect her from being taken advantage-

well she knew he was a good person worth befriending from that day on. for now though she simply smiled lightly at accelerator as she continued on clearing the way. soon they were at the gate of the junkyard and she kicked it opened, letting out a loud 'huzzah' in a playful manner. )

See that van on the right? That's Gorgug's van, just gotta open the doors in the back and load everything in. Easy enough, right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Closed] King of the Monsters!

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

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject