man your battle stations, we'll have you dead pretty soon

[tadeadshi]

[Panic had run straight through his core when he knew someone had found their safe house. It'd been the best one yet, they had managed to stay there for months now, but it really was too good to last. They still had so much to find and clean up, he wasn't ready. He grabs his bag, the one he kept packed for if they had to run fast, and made for the door but stopped just outside.

It was them. It was the Six, they'd found him and Callaghan. He's not sure how, Callaghan's mods to his collar had jammed their trackers so... It must be something else they used. But if they're here then they could help. They could take over this mess, and he could go home.

Maybe.

Tadashi's throat's gone dry with the dirt and dust kicked up from their landing and scuffle with Callaghan off to the side and he stands watching, swallowing the lump in his throat. Callaghan, that's right, he-- He'd done so much to get them out, he couldn't let the guy just be taken back to prison, he'd be killed from the inside --

He makes a run towards the group, waving and trying to call out but any sound he makes drowned by the shouting.]

Comments

[microbrobotics]

[ If not for the glint of his faceplate, he would be nearly invisible in the darkness; even that is muted, coated in a matte finish that doesn't reflect much light. And the fact that One's here alone, with none of his other friends ... If he wanted to dispose of Callaghan, this certainly would be the opportune time.

But that's not what he's here for. ]

Suit up. I'll route the details to your HUD once you're ready.

[ No "please," no pleasantries. One's persona has always been terse compared to Hiro himself, but this is especially bare bones. Something else on his mind. ]

[pushtheboundaries]

[honestly? that's not Callaghan's first thought. underlying the feeling of prisoner is the understanding that if they wanted him dead, he'd already be dead. there's been opportunities, and-

-well, no. if certain information was found, then cover or no cover...

he blinks at the order, taken aback.]

'Suit up'? In what?

[microbrobotics]

[ He holds up something. A pile of what looks like clothes (though a glance at the material reveals it to be the same tough stuff as One's own) with a helmet on top. Wordlessly, he offers it to Callaghan. Compared to how they started this whole mess ... it's a hell of a lot of trust. But then again, for what One's about to ask here, he has to trust Callaghan. There's no other choice.

And what he's after? It's worth the risk of doing it this way. If he lets the rest of the Six help him, this won't go down the way he wants it to. The way it needs to go. ]

Put it on.

[pushtheboundaries]

[what is...?

Robert accepts it with some bafflement, then, all at once, understands; he looks down from it to One and then back again, brow furrowed with a dubious look. but finally, he nods.]

Wait here.

[he steps back inside, but doesn't completely close the door. mostly, yes, but he steps more out of sight than anything else to give himself privacy. there's some fumbling as he figures out how it goes on - it's so different from his armored coat, more close to the body and solidly so. the helm goes on last, and only after a few more seconds of staring at it and then, a deep breath. this...means many things. he's only certain of a few.

but eventually, he's moving back out to the door. he seems a bit uncomfortable, flexing his arms and fingers in the outfit, but he's at least looking up towards Hiro One for further direction]

[microbrobotics]

[ It's well-made, at least, from a material somewhere between kevlar and carbon fiber. Thick enough to stop bullets, light enough to allow for full mobility. And while it won't hold up to a direct blast the way his usual armor would ... they'll still get through most threats easily enough

More importantly, though, it's damn hard to see in the dark like this. And there's a button on the inside of one hand that activates the circuits. Short bursts of actual invisibility, at least as long as the battery holds out. After a few moments, Callaghan's screen lights up as One activates it. Up comes the HUD and the radio. And then, a few minutes later, images start to appear along one side of the screen. Faces and names, the former obviously taken from security footage while the other is a result of cross-referencing. Some stats, where possible. But mostly, it's a list of criminals that Callaghan should recognize.

One says nothing. He leaves Callaghan to draw his own conclusions at first. ]

[pushtheboundaries]

[that's - clever.

his mask had a breathing filter and a tightbeam radio, but they didn't have the means to get too fancy. this is...for a moment he simply marvels, actually turning his head to try and get a look at things at first before he really gets the hang of it all. he does reach up to the side of the helm to help steady himself - give him a break, he's never had a helmet HUD before - but he does get the hang of it, and he does, to his credit, immediately grasp the implications.

'hnh'. there's a lot that could be said here, a lot that could be drawn, but...how much does he want to assume, and how much does he want to imply, in turn...?]

You've done your homework.

[microbrobotics]

[ One just stands there for a moment, letting Callaghan adjust. They're in no rush tonight, after all. ]

They got my attention.

[ A pause ... the very slightest of hesitations. ]

We're taking them all down. Tonight.

[pushtheboundaries]

[Callaghan can guess why. he never had 'friends' with Yama - Yokai held himself apart, above, answering only to Yama and giving the back of his hand to the rest - but he got to understand the crew nonetheless. these ones...

these ones he wouldn't mind taking down. and yet.]

'We'?

[obviously, he and Hiro are involved.

but that's not what he's asking.]

[microbrobotics]

[ He stands there for a long moment, saying nothing. Despite everything, he's nervous about this; it's crossing a line he told himself he'd never cross, for the sake of what is ultimately revenge ... but his brother. And what they did to his brother - it's beyond awful. Prison is too good for these bastards. He still hasn't decided what, specifically, he's going to do, but... ]

Just us. [ Low and gravelly. ] The others don't know we're doing this.

[pushtheboundaries]

[...]

Should they?

[his voice is carefully neutral. this is not something he is against, but Hiro...

well.

ever since Krei Tech, he's a bit of a mental image; brave, heroic, dauntless. unstoppable. but with that comes that taunt of our programming prevents us from hurting a human being. then again, he'd also seen Hiro's more...vicious side, only so long before that. and these people are...subhuman, at best]

[microbrobotics]

[ He's done much to foster this side of himself - the part that's dauntless instead of daunting. But if anyone knows Hiro's dark side, it's Callaghan himself. The only person he's actively tried to murder in two years.

That's going to change tonight. ]

Do you object?

[ Not answering his question. ]

[pushtheboundaries]

No- I crossed that line a long time ago.

[there's another question here, unspoken; have you? or, perhaps- are you ready to?]

[microbrobotics]

[ There's another uneasy silence. Fact of the matter is that he's not ready, even now, even with no doubt that each and every one of these criminals had a direct hand in violating his brother. If there was even a shadow of a doubt, he left them off the list - prison would be good enough. But everyone he'd seen on screen...

He has to destroy them. Utterly. Completely. ]

Didn't work out well for you.

[ Probably won't work out well for himself. But he no longer cares. Not after seeing those videos. ]

wow that was an amusing typo

[pushtheboundaries]

Maybe you should learn from my example.

[or maybe Hiro needs to look at this from another angle. Callaghan considers the armored form, trying to see past the dark helm, the suit...to remember that this is not just the imposingly armored figure, this is a teenager. a young man who, in his own way, has gone through so much...

too much.]

You've got a tracking device in here, I'm sure. Give me the night, and I can make my own progress on this.

[and Hiro's own hands can be clean. other than holding the proverbial leash, of course, but since they both seem to be in agreement that these men need to be dealt with...]

TEEANGER

[microbrobotics]

[ That ... would be ideal, wouldn't it? Those men would still be destroyed, but Hiro wouldn't have to do it. He could stay clean and relatively innocent. Be able to truthfully tell his brother that he's never, ever hurt someone on purpose as One ...

He swallows audibly; it comes through the distortion as a strange, rasping click. ]

I'm coming with you. [ A pause. ] If you can't handle them, I'll step in immediately.

[pushtheboundaries]

[he's not foreign to the idea of a handler; Yama kept one on him, for a while, and he was constantly aware of being watched. it's part of the reason why he went so deeply in to the persona; he couldn't afford to show mercy, weakness. any sort of little thing that would betray him as being anything but devoted to Yama's word...

but he nods. he can work with this, and it gives Hiro some small false sense of innocent to cling to.]

I'm best at working 'alone', anyway. [or, at least, when he doesn't have to worry about anyone's back other than his own.] Let's get started.

[microbrobotics]

[ Whatever small measure of innocence he can claim at this point. He's already complicit at this point, so really, what does it matter? ]

Come on. We've got a long way to walk.

[pushtheboundaries]

[the little things matter quite a lot, Callaghan has learned. the white lies that are told to keep you sane, at least until you can confront the truth...he follows obediently, silent for a while, because really, what is there to say?

still, it's not long before he speaks up again;]

I have two more questions. [a pause to ensure that he's got Hiro's attention, and then-] Am I still 'Yokai'?

[this is hardly the outfit people are used to associating with that name, and there's hardly any sort of identity to protect - everyone knows that Yokai was once a respected Professor, at least if they bothered to do any sort of digging. but at the same time, the entire persona...it's been crafted to incite the sort of fear that a respected Professor never could.

people see the mask, and they run; you run from the Yokai, and you don't get hurt.

he has a mask now, but it's not nearly the same.]

[microbrobotics]

[ He walks in silence for a moment, thinking. It's a legitimate question, even beyond all of that baggage; he doesn't exactly plan to refer to him as Callaghan in the middle of a fight.

But ... Yokai worked for Yama. Yokai would draw their attention, make the connection to Tadashi even more clear. He can't risk it, not even a little bit. He shakes his head. ]

Yokai left with Tadashi Hamada. He can't return like this. They could figure it out.

[pushtheboundaries]

Most already know he's slipped Yama's leash. ['most'. not all; Yama, of course, knows. Yama's men know. the rest of the world...well, Yokai's targets have changed a bit, for all they know he's still the same old villain.] But if I'm not him, then who am I?

[not Callaghan. Callaghan is...well. Robert Callaghan is, arguably, long gone; lost to the sands and seas of time. maybe someday he can wear his name again with pride, but until then...]

[microbrobotics]

[ Callaghan makes a good point. With all the cleanup work he and Tadashi had been doing ... One opens his mouth, almost relenting. ]

Never was good at names. [ Just look at their naming pattern. Not exactly creative. Though, that gives him an idea ... ] ... Yurei will work. [ He mentally switches the "rei" over to "zero" in his mind, since that's an alternate reading for that syllable, and he expects Callaghan to make that connection as well. ]

[pushtheboundaries]

...Yurei. It fits.

[it gives him an odd sensation, as well, at least when he gives it another moment of thought; rei, indeed. a subtle inclusion, perhaps, and it almost makes him regret his next question.

but there is a whisper of paranoia that lingers with him, spawned from his time with Yama, and he has tried so hard to ignore it as of late. still it lingers, still it warns, still it insists that he is not trusted. he understands that Hiro would have killed him by now if that was his goal, and he certainly wouldn't have done all this to just throw him away, which means that there is only one other way to go;]

So. What's your way of reigning 'Yurei' in?

[microbrobotics]

[ He stops at that. His expression blank even behind the mask, body language fully neutral. A stance he's mastered since taking up the role of a faceless hero; he's damn good at switching over to "creepy statue" at the drop of a hat. ]

Why?

[pushtheboundaries]

[nailed it.

'Yurei' takes a few more steps forwards, then stops as well, half-turning to glance over his shoulder.]

I want to know the difference between a malfunction and something I did. That's all.

[microbrobotics]

[ Oh. Ugh, that's ... even with his lingering hatred of Callaghan for getting his brother into this, even with all the mistrust still between them ... Like hell he'd stoop that low. He just shakes his head, once, a faint tilt to either side. ]

Don't need it.