3286/A Troubling Message

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A Troubling Message
Date of Scene: 08 September 2020
Location: Turtle Lair
Synopsis: Terry O'Neil's dead man's switch delivers sad news to Donatello.
Cast of Characters: Donatello, Terry O'Neil




Donatello has posed:
    Like other evenings, Donatello has been seated at his computer for a few hours now. His energy has been maintained by the bluish glow of his computer screens, as well as the emptied contents of a few nearby cans of a popular energy drink. His typing is furious, though one key sounds like it is being repeatedly hit -- likely the backspace key, struck quickly in order to correct the kind of typos produced by typing on a human-sized keyboard with three, large turtle fingers.

    Donatello's work receives a brief interruption -- the first in hours -- in the form of an e-mail notification. The turtle squints his eyes and leans closer to the screen, as if that would provide more clarity. He clicks the message to bring it up on one of his screens...

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The e-mail comes from a familiar e-mail address: vorp@vorpalcat.com. Terry parked that domain the moment he had decided on what his codename would be, because he had heard horror stories about some other heroes who did not think ahead far enough, and then had to pay embarrassing amounts of money to get their domains from people who had not only parked the sites, but had also uploaded content that was... not exactly what some of those heroes wanted associated with them.

Subject: Urgent from V

Body:

Hey, Donnie. I'm sorry to bother you - you're probably busy fighting ninjas or creating intelligent mechanical life as we speak (read?), but I've got some bad news. I'm sorry I can't tell you in person, but that's kind of impossible. The video will explain everything.

There is a link to a private starkdrive video file in the message, ominously titled DeadMSwitch2020.mp4.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's eyes trace the words of the e-mail, a deep line of consideration forming in his brow. He reaches to the side and grabs one of the energy drink cans. He moves it to his lips, tilts it, and then flips it upside down in order to try and empty every last drop. Empty. The turtle sighs and tosses the can. It's been a heck of an all-nighter.

    Okay, it's Terry. Fighting ninjas, creating intelligent mechanical life. Yup. In fact, Donatello has been spending this time coding improvements to Miyagi, a burgeoning neural network running on his computer systems. It's been somewhat helpful, to date, but generally just produces a lot of heat and fan noise. It will improve.

    Donnie continues to read the contents of the e-mail, finally reaching the bottom. A video to explain everything. Okay, then. Click.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Donnie!"

Terry takes up most of the screen, leaning on his kitchen table and looking at the camera. He looks somewhat tired, "My favorite ninja. I hope you're doing well. I hope your brothers are doing well. Even that grump, Raph." He chuckles, "I swear I think he hates my guts. But that's neither here nor there."

He runs a hand through his unruly red hair, which falls in waves around his face. "Sorry, man. I've been doing these videos all day today and it's.... kinda heavy to think about. I think I'm starting to get slap happy after so many, so I hope you forgive me."

He reaches for something off-frame, and comes back with an energy drink, which he tilts back. "These probably haven't helped, either! I think I'm crashing."

He takes a second to collect himself, and then he says "So. Remember the Brainiac invasion? I'm making this video not too long after that. 'cause I almost died during that. So I thought to myself... Terry: What happens if you die for real, and then you don't tell people stuff you wanted to tell them? So I found this thing called a dead man switch service and... well."

He gestures, "If you're getting this video, Donnie, it means that the switch got triggered. Something, or someone, prevented me from putting in the code at the designated interval... so there's a chance I'm not dead. But there's also a pretty good chance that I might be. You'll be able to tell from the news... and April." He takes a second to gather his thoughts...

Donatello has posed:
    As the image of Terry appears, Donatello raises his brow and reaches for the last remaining energy drink. He opens it up and takes a sip before leaning back in his chair. This should be interesting, at least.

    The video goes well, at first. Favorite ninja. Raph hates his guts. Yeah, maybe. As Terry indicates his energy drink, Donatello looks down at the one he holds himself. Uncanny! But then, Donnie squints again, slightly suspicious of the Cheshire Cat. "What..." he mutters, comparing his own can to the one on the video. It could be a coincidence, but could also be a trick. Still, the video moves on and so does Donnie.

    At the first mention of 'die', Donatello leans forward in his chair. 'Die for real' gets some more of Donatello's attention. He takes another sip of the energy drink and sets the can down on his desk. 'Chance I'm not dead' is given a nod of consideration from the typically level-headed turtle. Not being able to put in his dead man code is a perfectly reasonable explanation.

    "Miyagi! Find news articles with all mention of Terry O'Neil or Vorpal or Cheshire Cat, minus any mention of Wonderland," he suddenly calls out with some authority.

    Nearby, a dot matrix printer begins its song. Donnie reaches over and peels the paper off of it to read it quietly. "'We got the afternoon...You got this room for two...One thing I've left to do....'" he mutters. Donatello frowns. The lyrics for Your Body Is A Wonderland. Donnie crumbles the paper up and tosses it. Miyagi needs work. The turtle sighs and turns his attention back to the video.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"So... a couple of things." He touches his index fingers together and swivels a little in his chair, "This is gonna be hard for April. Mom and I are the last close biological family she has left- and mom's gonna be wrecked, so she won't be able to be much help to Ape. That's where you come in, Donnie. You're family, too."

He shakes the can and then sips what last drops are inside before continuing. "April considers y'all like brothers. I have to admit that I /hope/ that by the time my untimely death happens..." he hmms, "I hope it was untimely. I mean, what's the point of making this video otherwise, right? Not to mention that if a lot of time passes I /should/ update them once in a while. Man, that's gonna suck... anyways. I was saying that I hope that by the time I get sent to that big scratching post in the sky, that I might have earned the -right- to be regarded like that by you guys. I've never had brothers before. I was an only child." He grins, "I did have a stuffed tiger that was also my imaginary friend. Probably got influenced by that Calvin and Hobbes strip that runs in the papers, but I digress. A lot." He waves a hand, "April's going to need you guys to be there for her. You're her family, so fam- I'm entrusting you with that. Just keep being a good brother to her, Donnie. I hope that by now I've gotten to meet your father, but if I haven't, send him my regards. Which will probably puzzle him. Also, tell Mikey he's great, and tell Raph I think he's not so bad after all." He pauses and grins, "That will really cheese him off..."

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello's attention is split between the video and his nearby surroundings. While listening, he's idly picking up energy drink cans, moving items into position, and so forth. This diversion has made him acutely aware of what a pig-stye his work area has become. There will be time, later on, to give Terry a hard time about his dead man's switch. But then....

    April...

    The mention of April seems to resonate with Donnie. If Terry was simply unable to deactivate the dead man's switch, April would be fine. In fact, by this point, this whole mess would have been sorted out. But...then again, Terry would have sent a follow-up message explaining the mistake. Donatello hitches his breath and stops tidying up. His eyes become fixated on Terry's digital image.

    Family. Brothers. Stuffed Tigers. This is becoming all too real to the young turtle. This is serious.

    Donatello reaches up to wipe away some moisture that has accumulated underneath his bottom eyelid and remains quiet as Terry continues. He takes in a deep lungful of air and lets it out in a measured, controlled way.

    Terry's mention of cheesing Raphael off earns a half-hearted chuckle -- really it's just repeated interruptions in Donatello's exhale. It's not true laughter.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
@emit

"I haven't met Leo yet, so I don't know what to think of him. He's your brother, so he's probably cool in his own way. Anyways... that's my bequest. April. There's some more stuff..." he taps his chin.

"I'm not going to lie, the world isn't a kind place most of the time. You know that. But it's also not totally a raging vampire. You know that too. You're frighteningly smart. So I'm going to tell you something, even at death's doors. I do think there's hope. For you, for me, for all of us. Some people will look at you and say mean-ass names. Those are the people who don't count. Others, like April, will be willing to know you for the truly unique people that you are. Those people, you put in your pockets 'cause they're the ones who count. If I had my way, we'd live in a world where you guys could walk around without anyone so much as double-taking at you, and you'd come over to my apartment for a pizza party and then we'd all head over to the beach and watch April fail at trying to surf." He smiles a little.

"That's not the world we live in, but it's the kind of world I was hoping we can bring about. Has it happened yet?" He waits a few seconds in silence.

Donatello has posed:
    The mention of Leo earns a quick tuft of air from Donatello. While he's no Raphael, it's fair to say that Donatello doesn't share Leonardo's mindset in all matters. Cool in his own way, though? Yeah, that's pretty fitting. Donatello nods at the computer screen, as if to offer confirmation.

    As the video Terry details the world and its tendency to produce people that like to fire names at people they don't understand, Donnie raises his brow and nods his head a couple of times. Nerd. Freak. Those tend to be the common ones.

    He takes a breath. Has it happened yet, the video asks? Donnie stares at the screen for a moment or two, waiting for it to continue. Mikey would have replied, probably, but Donnie just waits for the next part of this.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Probably not. The wheels or progress run slower than April getting her driver's license- ask her about that sometime, it's an O'Neil trait, we all drive like Visigoths-- Anyways. Even if I'm not here, there's plenty of others trying to make it happen, so... Donnie. Don't give up hope, okay? You gotta see it through now that I'm not here. So's you can tell me all about it later," he says cryptically. "I know. I know. Unscientific. But I've seen things. And experienced some myself. I'm pretty convinced that we don't stop existing entirely after our bodies do. Maybe it's true- and if it is, I'll see you again someday. But that's neither here nor there."

"Point is, keep being brilliant. Keep doing the right thing. Don't let your spark go out, and you'll be fine, Donnie. And if your family ever needs help that April's resources can't cover... bring this video with you to the Titan Tower. If it's still standing, the Titans will help, if you ever get into that dire of a problem. Because I was a Titan, and Titans are family. And you're also family."

He purses his lips, and says "I guess that's it, Donnie. You be well, you be good, and remember..."

He raises his hand, palm facing the camera, and his fingers do a crazy dance where they try to move this way and that, and he clearly doesn't manage it. "Ack I can never get this fucking thing right!" he chuckles and, physically using his other hand, he moves his index next to his middle finger, and his ring finger next to his pinkie, thumb out, so that it's a good recreation of the Vulcan greeting. And, potentially, a turtle hand.

"You will always be my friend. Peace and long life."

He reaches over and the video goes black.

Donatello has posed:
    For the meat of this, Donatello remains quiet, just staring at the screen and taking in the information. He reaches up to wick away another line of tears spread across his lower eyelid, but otherwise just sits there.

    When the video reaches the end, Donnie watches the image of Terry try its hardest to form what could only be described as a human impression of the mutant turtle hand. The gesture earns a smirk from Donatello, which then follows into a slight frown. If only he could make the world understand that it's not he who watches Star Trek -- a different brother, perhaps.

    The video goes black. Donnie takes another deep breath and lets it out. While he and Terry had not spent a ton of time together, this was a blow. And April would certainly be hurting. Donnie empties the rest of his energy drink into his mouth, slams the can down in a way not too dissimilar to when someone chugs a soda, and stands up. He begins to move towards the exit of the Turtle Lair, where his bo staff and purple headband hang. It's time to go see April.