[Closed] King of the Monsters!

[levelshift]

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.]

Comments

[levelshift]

[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.]

[ingestion]

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. )

[levelshift]

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.]

[ingestion]

( 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?

[levelshift]

[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.

[ingestion]

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.

[levelshift]

[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.]

[ingestion]

( 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.

[levelshift]

[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.]

[ingestion]

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?

[levelshift]

[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?

[ingestion]

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?

[levelshift]

Hm. I think he's been around for about that long, too.

[He doesn't think Harold was around to see Eos's city or Im'mari, which would mean an October arrival. It's probably a good thing too, since both of those things had been pretty awful.

As the van comes into view he sighs a little.]

Great. This'll be faster than taking the trolley back. [That thing is so slow.]