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"Thank you, sensei. For everything," Horizon tells her. He turns to the team. "Dummy drives and decoy servers, let's keep that in mind when we go in tonight. And thank you. All of you, for doing this with me." He taps a finger against his thigh. "I'll see you all tonight. Let me know if anything comes up."
"I'm bringing a multiport data-stick for siphoning relevant data from her servers, as well as a few backups. It'll take time to sift through afterwards but that's the quick method for getting Lovelace's data. If we have time, breaking encryption to grab the necessary files would be useful. But I'd rather just fill up a bag than pick out all the choice pieces if that's the difference between success and getting pinned down." He turns to his comm, keyed to Whippoorwill. "Sensei, anything you think I've missed from the plan?"
"Invisibility at the least, though I would count on Pallor also being trained in other skills. I have some tactical reflective chaff that can be used to circumvent that if needed," Shin says.
"I was worried it might be Grace. But it makes sense Ne'veah would want to sign up." Shin notes the new information and wishes that they had more time for personal business. He's just glad that Valerie is all right. "We'll hit it tomorrow night. 11:11pm. I fully anticipate that we'll be discovered by the time that we reach the sub-basement. We'll have a way out. Be ready. If you can use your powers to subdue Scythe so we can get her out as well, that would be helpful." He sends out the group message, keying in his mentor as well. Ichi: Tomorrow, 11:11pm, Operation Stone Mother is go
"Don't give them a reason to suspect you until we've arrived. Let's make her regret ever messing with us," Shin tells Valerie, letting her hand go.
"Our target is Lovelace International. Access will be by the 28th floor. Security is light due to renovations, but our target floor is the sub-basement. Elevators won't go down that far, so we'll likely have to create our own entry point after that. We won't just have Lovelace's regular security to deal with either. She's creating her own shadow team, and some of the recent escapees have been added to their roster, willingly or not," Horizon adds as he brings up what information he could get on the named members up on the projection. "Scythe is there, as is Ne'veah. Valence, Pallor, and an unknown girl with hallucination powers. I'm handing out psishields to protect everyone but be aware I'm unsure if her powers are mental or some type of biochemical attack. He turns to the team. [b]"So, our objectives - extract Valerie and Scythe, pull the location of the Instigators from Lovelace's private servers, and possibly more if time permits. Femtite has our quick exit prepped. Any questions or concerns?"
After the initial panic from being awoken by an intruder and relaxing his grip on the stun pen under his pillow, Shin looks at the hazy Valerie briefly and has a moment of fear that he's being haunted by her ghost. "Thank everything you're not dead. Which cat girl? What's the best way to slip in? Have you found out where she's keeping her intel on the Instigators?" He asks, stirred to alertness as he grabs his burner phone and pings the group chat. Ichi: Stand by for mission update Then he takes Valerie by her hands, squeezing them. "More important to me - are you all right? She's not filling your head with stuff like 'they'll never trust you, but you can count on me because I have need of you' or crap like that?"
"Certainly. As long as you and Caio here are also up for a discussion about the future of the team now that we're all here." Shin looks at them both. "Since I'm planning to step down, I need to appoint a new team leader. You two are my top choices. Which also means more responsibility. Including recruitment of new members. I have a short list of new debuts in Halcyon to look into for bolstering the ranks." "However, whomever takes lead also needs to be able to commit themselves first to the team." He looks to Caio. "Do you think that you could put the team before your duties with the Corps if necessary?"
"Public meetings. And again, Gothic doesn't even need to be in the same city district to have a conversation with someone," Shin explains. "But your ears need checking, because Whetstone said he was not sure, maybe a couple times, and you're latching onto it like the last candy in the bag. He's not her personal assistant, he's the best tech expert this side of the law, and he doesn't track my mentor's every move. Anything else, Connie?"
Shin is glad to see Caio show up. Even though he's dreading learning the truth. "Please. And Connie, Whetstone, listen too, because it might provide...insight."
"...I am sorry, Caio. That was...honestly, that sounded like I was taking it far more personally than I should have," Shin admits. He looks a little sick to his stomach. "Did she ever tell you anything about my interactions with her?" He glances at Connie to gauge her own reactions. Though he had to address something from before Caio's spiel. "Gothic never talks when she can converse in someone's mind. It's a psychic thing."
Ichi: Tell me everything
Shin nods. Connie's reasoning was not flawed. And yet there was something he had to address. "Connie? Something I have to address here. All of this is feasible. If Cortex was interested in manipulating Whippoorwill or me to bug or sabotage or otherwise cause harm from the inside, he certainly would have had that chance." He taps a finger on his knee. "But anything like that would have sent immediate red flags. We weren't made into sleeper agents, we were made to forget things. Our memories overwritten and sloppily. Or else I would never have freaked out like I did the night you found me, because I wouldn't have that huge discrepancy about my fight with Caio - because it was about her." "I don't think he cares about infiltrating the Alliance or anything. I think he only cared about bailing his kid out of trouble."
"By inference, I think that Conflux wants to know if you have a way to check if someone is compromised by his powers." Shin says. He's got a tin of butterscotch candies at the ready. "Clocktower works fine, by the way. At least I haven't run into any trouble, though the system is probably different with Iron Federation technology patched into it."
He would have to wait and see if Valerie contacted him soon. Hopefully she wouldn't get herself too isolated. He did feel more than a little awful that she would miss the Hawkins dance. It sounded like fun for everyone. But he needed to focus on the important bits. And Caio's abrupt message qualified. He stares for a couple moments before replying. Shin: I attacked you. I don't know why other than feeling angry with you. Connie believes I was under a mental compulsion from an old comrade of Whipporwill.
Simulations: "Let's not mess with anything involving time manipulation. I still get a little paranoid those Chronowraiths will come back if I so much as step onto the wrong path."
Later on, he finishes his conversation with Percy while keeping an eye on Connie's condition. "Sort of like Connie's trash can. Could it function separately from you?" "On another note, do you have a method to observe people remotely without their knowledge? I get that sounds very invasive but I worry a lot about Valerie being on her own."
Shin was a little worried, but checked the dead drops he'd told Valerie about for messages. He also left her a SIM card at one so she could call him if necessary. Though if he hasn't heard anything from her after a day...well, she couldn't fault his caution for tagging her on their last meeting so he could check on her most recent location. Femtite: "A fast exit," Shin states. "If things go sideways, we need a way out they won't anticipate. Indarius is notorious enough they may have magic countermeasures in place against teleporting."
Shin wasn't worried about Valerie being caught by regular cops. Hopefully she would be insulated by her new identity. He trusts her to let him know if she's really in trouble.
Percy:
"...Okay, first, it's really cool you can shift your body around like that, very useful for infiltration and combat." Shin speaks up as Percy finishes going through a laser detection grid (the one where the lasers didn't use visual light). "A couple additional notes. First, let's get some rest on you because you're looking worse than me right now. Second, how can you combine your abilities with other team members to get a better result? There are things we can only do together we couldn't do alone." Femtite: Femtite sees Shin come over to her after she finishes up her training period. He looks to her and checks some statistics that were being recorded here. "You have zero problems with getting into a facility. I think that's not the part that you need to actually work on," He comments to her. "The problem is that even if you can fly in undetected, you've got no way to smuggle out even a data disk by the same route. So I think that you should consider how you can use your powers to circumvent security to allow the team to access things without tripping alarms. Recon for immediate risks and report back so we have accurate intel."
Ichi: The breakout is already being covered by the Alliance.
Whippoorwill:
"Ne'veah. Great. This could be bad. I'll do my best to pull everyone together. We'll need everyone on deck for this."
Everyone on the team had a new phone delivered to them either in person or dropped off by Shin. That afternoon, a new chat came up on it. Ichi: Our new task will be obtaining intel from Lovelace International.
"...Sorry, I'm trying to follow your train of logic here. If you want to leave the team, I can't stop you. I don't understand why you need to go to South Korea, and to honest, I don't understand the nature of Conway's work and what it all has to do - listen. I'm not going to say anything. This is something that you want, that's important to you, that's great. I'll be happy to celebrate your birthday with you as well." There's a lot more that Shin seems to want to say in this moment, but falls silent instead. "...I have to do some rounds. Drop off some phones. I'll catch up with you later?" He says, picking up his tray.
"I don't know, Maeve. I never know. I'm trying. I think that aside from Connie, I'm the only one left on the team who wants to understand you." Shin looks very tired suddenly. "I can't keep enabling you like this and taking your side. It's broken the team, Maeve. And when I leave the team in a few weeks, it will likely dissolve for good." "Until that time, we're teammates. If you have team business to discuss, I'm all ears. I will support you 100%, like a team leader should. And when I'm gone and you have no one left to lean on to help you fix your mistakes, I hope you'll finally grow as a person. I know you can be better. I know you mean well. And I know it hurts that you keep trying to help and make things worse. But you need to stop trying to fix what can't be fixed."
Shin stares at Maeve for a couple moments, then holds up his phone - which looks different, actually. He slides it over to her, before pulling another phone from his pocket and starts typing. The phone by Maeve buzzes with a message. Ichi: Hold onto this phone.
"...That's business concluded," Shin says, slipping the phone away. "...Maeve. Why aren't you sitting with Chastity and the rest of your friends today?"
"So I have a situation that might make you mad, so please hear me out first..." Shin explains the situation to his mentor and their plan. He includes how the attack on the detention center seems geared to give off the impression Valerie was behind it all. "...so our plan is to find out where Lovelace is keeping her intel, then either smuggle it out or find another means of obtaining it. I get that it's dangerous. But we're past the point of pulling out. I would really appreciate your support."
Shin is actually eating alone today in the corner table. He glances up as Maeve approaches. "...need me for something?"
Shin+Valerie:
"Fair. I don't need another concussion." He hugs her again. "Just be careful. I don't want to lose you. And...the next time we're together like this? I'm not going to hold myself back."
He reaches over and deactivates the privacy buffer, stepping away from Valerie. "Let's make it sound good, at least." "I can't deal with this anymore. It's on your head! I'm done! I've given your last chance!" Shin says in a raised voice, opening the door. He winks at Valerie, before slamming the door shut and stalking off to his dorm. ...Why is my phone suddenly blowing up - what the hell, Connie?!
Shin+Valerie: "She tried to burn you so bad that you'd lose everything. Part of me wants to just fly up to her office and bust through the plate glass window. But that's dumb, and we're smarter than that. We play this right and we can get our intel and force her to cut her own losses."
He reaches up to stroke her cheek with his thumb. "So on the surface, we'll fall out. There's a lot of circumstantial evidence, not enough for anyone to act on. There's some dead drops I've set up for communicating on and off campus as a contingency. I can lend you some gadgets you'll need and can say you stole from me if asked. I am going to have to let the team and Whippoorwill know it's a play for your safety. She's probably going to disapprove but we're asking forgiveness and not permission here." He's excited but also a little nervous. "I'm definitely going to worry about you every day. So don't take any unnecessary risks, okay? Keep me in the loop, and we'll do this together." He leans in to kiss her, before adding, "And just in case she's got eyes on campus, you're going to have to slap me before I leave to make it look good."
Shin+Valerie: "...I don't. But I don't want to lose you in the process either." Shin admits, finishing up treating her burn. He takes her hand gently.
"So I see us having a few options at this point. First is to come clean with Whippoorwill. I can use my back channels to inform her of the situation without tipping off Lovelace, but there's always a risk. The second is that you keep working for Lovelace, I get the team involved, and you help us infiltrate her headquarters to snag her Heartache intel before she can react. And I would be very happy to help you double-cross her. ...The third option is probably to cut our losses and find another way to get to the Instigators. Which is a big setback. But I'd rather lose my answers than lose you." He squeezes her hand gently.
"Personally, I would very much like to do number two, but that really depends on if you can find out where she's got the intel."
Shin+Valerie: "If she set you up, she certainly went out of her way to do so. There's a couple personnel that experienced a sudden exhaustion. So...yeah, I think if we want to clear you for that, I need to know how you got this burn. We're as private as we can be right now, my buffer makes so that you could set off a firework and no one would hear anything. I use it for privacy a lot."
Shin+Valerie: The surprise wasn't about hearing Kylie's codename. It was suddenly realizing that he'd forgotten her in this moment where another feeling had overcome the embers he had left for her. It was bittersweet. It felt like growth.
"I know you did it for me. I love that you did and hate that I put you in that position," Shin says to her. "I also know it's already happened. Unless you got that burn on your back from lying on a curling rod," He tells her, before unclipping the emergency first aid kit from his belt. "Lie down and I'll treat it." He takes some burn cream to apply along with some antiseptic. Though he's only got enough micro-gauze to cover it up barely. "You also didn't cover your tracks well enough. Your ID was logged accessing the dorms this morning, around the same time I got the report about the escape of several powered individuals. Including your friend Scythe." He sighs. "If that's the extent of what's been asked of you, then it's already done. You're not talking to me about the job, but about your payment. How is she planning to give you the information? Another face to face meeting, a dead drop, or an intermediary?"
Shin+Valerie: He pulls her close, but only to hug her. He doesn't let himself do any exploring here and now. "...I thought I was a lost cause once. I thought that I was destined to be Dusk. That nothing I did would matter and I would always end up a monster. And I've had so many moments of despair that made me close to throwing it all away. But the people I surrounded myself with helped me out of that misery. Valerie, you are not alone. You could have robbed First National Bank, blown up the Kirby Dam and kidnapped the mayor's children. I will still believe that you're good. You're willing to compromise yourself for the sake of others, and I love your self-sacrificing nature. It's not too late. Tell me everything. I'll back up your actions with Whippoorwill and the Alliance. You can still have your life. I promise you." He's crying, tears spilling down his cheeks. Hoping that she won't spurn this. Always hoping for the good in someone that he believed in.
Shin+Valerie: "Stop. I'm not going to sleep with you like this." He pulls her hands free of his pants but keeps her close. "You're not a notch on a bedpost or a conquest to me. You're someone I want to be equals with, and screw the rest of the world. I'm ready to fight with you to get what you want. But what do you really want, Val?"
Shin+Valerie: "You get your revenge, what, do you kill her? That's not revenge. You kill her and her friends? What's the plan, Valerie, because you're a badass but alone they'll kill you first, or worse. I do not want to lose another person I love to these a%%#*%!s!"
He looks particularly tormented, fists balled up at his sides. "I'm working towards my future. I'm getting out of the cape business. I want to help you find your future, Valerie. I can't do that if you're dead, or jailed, or worse. You were starting to make friends here. Starting over from scratch. Please don't treat yourself as worthless. Because I treasure you."
Shin taps back a reply. No further action. Report suspicious activity. When he's pulled into Valerie's room, there's a lot that he wants to say. His heart was pumping so fast when he was near her. He had to focus on the important parts. "First things first," He says as he takes out his privacy buffer, places it on her desk, and turns it on. Valerie: "We can't be overheard and no signals can get in and out of this small area while it's on." He breathes out. "Valerie. I'm sorry. I followed you to Lovelace International. I heard your conversation with her. I should have said something earlier, but I-"
His voice cracks before he pulls himself together to continue. "I was afraid I would push you away. And I know you were trying to distance yourself from me because you were probably asked to do something for Lovelace." He looks torn at the moment, between his duty and his desire to help her. "...I don't want you to throw away what you've gained for my need for the truth. Heartache isn't worth that."
Everyone's team comms buzz in an alert to them all. Horizon: Detention Site 29 compromised. Multiple powered individuals at large or abducted. Scythe included.
It's easy enough to look up where 'Tasha' is rooming here on campus at least. He's worried mostly for her safety. If she'd been hurt at all... No, he'd failed her too. He was failing everyone. He had to do something. His mind whirled with the possibilities as he went to her dorm in the early hours of the morning to knock and hope to see her.
Whippoorwill:
Horizon couldn't bear to talk in person with his mentor after the meeting. He'd rushed instead to see Valerie, uncovering something terrible. Which was why he'd left Whippoorwill some txt messages to her in the middle of the night, too worried to sleep.
Horizon: I'm sorry.
Valerie: After his talk with Percy, he knows what he has to do now. Honesty was really the only good path forward for him. He texts her to ask Valerie if they can talk, but also checks to see if he can find where she might have gone through Clocktower's systems. A text back would at least give him a location to try and find her.
"Percy, before we do anything-" was all Shin got out before finding himself floating in a strange world. His reflexes go off briefly, and he suddenly can sense the currents of energy all around him here. It was an insane feeling as he tumbles backwards and stares at his own body slumped in Percy's arms. "What the heck just happened?" He asks in an echoing voice.
Shin: No, I wanted to know if you need to read my aura or something to examine this geas curse that I'm under.
"I didn't get to talk to her," Shin admits. "Did see her this morning." He wants to grill Alden for more information, but he feels this is a dead end right now. He'll have to try and find her in some other way. Hopefully before it was too late. Shin pauses as he sees Maeve's table. He reflects on the conversation from yesterday. Then thinks about Percy and decides to go look for the dragon to check up on him first. He has to prioritize to what he can do now instead of working himself up trying to accomplish what wasn't possible in the moment.
Shin: Percy, you up to grab lunch with me?
Shin is worried. He approaches Alden's table, glancing about the lunchroom. "No Tasha today? I thought she would want to see how her photos came out."
Tasha: Well. He seemed always ready to risk it all for his damn heart. But she didn't seem to be in a place he could reach her right now.
"I'm not going to be a stranger to you. But I'll leave you be for now," He tells her as he backs off. "You're building a better life here. I want to help, but won't step on your toes."
Shin pauses, trying to figure her out. Something doesn't add up to him here. Was it because of the deal she made with Lovelace? Or was this her way of protecting him?
"It was not a bad idea." Shin speaks to her. "I like you, V- Tasha. And I want to spend more time with you. And I don't want to be caught up in the what-ifs of the future."
Shin listens as he warms his hands on his own cup. "I do still care about Kylie a lot. Psyche, though... the version that she and everyone else saw in public, I didnt like," He admits ruefully. "Because she let her powers define who she was and dictate her own ethics and morals to a fault. It wasn't healthy for her, but I still supported her to the end even as I saw how she was letting her body fall apart. The body we literally traveled through alternative dimensions to get back for her. I think that made me so angry." He looks down at the steam rising from his drink. "I don't think she's a bad person. I think she might have gotten the opportunity to get her wish and she did it, becoming only psychic energy and discarding her body. It would be nice to know for sure. But I think I'm no longer carrying that torch for her anymore." He looks at Valerie. "What about you? Do you still feel the same about Rory after all this time?"
"Yeah. I mean, if you're okay with it. You might bump into some of the other team at the base, though I'm sure they might want to say hi. Especially Fem, she's friendly to a fault." He sips from his tea cup, glad he doesn't have to worry about it burning his lips. "Real quick though, I want to know if you want to keep it light for right now. I don't want to stress out or make you stress out by jumping into extracurricular discussions. Especially after being trapped for three days." He looks at Valerie. "So, yes to movies, but keep it on campus? I usually watch on my laptop in my dorm. Though sometimes Connie will crash in."
Shin's got on a tight black turtleneck sweater and jeans, worrying some of the diamond patterns woven into the thick fabric as well. He walks up behind her in line, clearing his throat. "So, how do you like your coffee? I honestly prefer the matcha." He smiles at her. "Got a few minutes before you need to get started for the day?"
Pandora's Box: Well, I can't pretend like I didn't hear all that.
He was torn. Because the right thing to do now would be to call his mentor, let her know what he discovered so they could deal with this together. He was fairly certain once she knew he'd eavesdropped on her he'd lose all the trust he'd built up with her anyways. "Dammit." Hope. Fragile, but worth holding onto. He headed back to Unity Station for a sleepless night of checking everything he had on Lovelace International and any potential leverage he could give Valerie.
One minute of frustratingly trying to figure out how to use the spy app that was on his phone, Shin really wishes Valerie had kept her comm so he didn't need to deal with tech he was still not fully comfortable with using.
Shin is really hoping that this isn't what he thinks it is here. Lovelace, international enterpreneur and one of the best information brokers to be found out there. Chicle worked for her. He has a thought to continue to follow her and confront Valerie. But he knows that she's been looking for information on the Instigators and Heartache. He had to trust her to toe the line here. He did want to make sure he wasn't missing any information and assuming off of bad intel. This did seem like a good opportunity to test out the new laser microphone gadget he'd gotten installed to eavesdrop through windows at a distance. But he'd need to know which window was Lovelace's office. If she was meeting with her at all- No, they were too small time. Chicle, maybe. Did he ever get her contact information? Only Max and Femtite had met her face to face. He needed a number. Surely they had her card? ...Or, since he'd been spinning his gears for the past minute trying to justify doing something after having told himself to trust her, he could just trust Valerie. "...good luck." He comments quietly before walking away and trying to avoid overprotectiveness.
Shin: Just missed you. Let's catch up tomorrow.
Where had she gone off? "Thanks Alden. See you later," Shin tells him. He steps out and thinks for a moment about where Valerie might have gone off. The easiest way to find out was by flying up high enough to get a bird's eye view of the campus. Hopefully he'd be able to spot her that way. He also used an app he'd gotten for the purposes of getting a pin on team members phones in case they needed to find them without their comms. Seemed like she was getting near the skyrail station. Easy enough to get there, landing on the street out of sight before walking and continuing to follow. Who was she trying to catch up with tonight if not him? He was a little worried about that.
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