3324/Keeping In The Loops

Keeping In The Loops
Date of Scene:	11 September 2020
Location:	Copperpot Diner
Synopsis:	Donatello fills Sally in on recent events and a possible new threat to mutants.
Cast of Characters:	Sally Pride, Donatello

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Sally Pride has posed:
It wasn't easy finding a place to eat in New York that wasn't going to freak out over a few patrons being not-human. But sometimes, if you weren't worried too much about how fancy the food was, you could find a place that at least was indifferent as long as you paid like everyone else. The coffee was strong, you didn't have to wait for 'breakfast hours' to get greasy eggs and cheese, and while the quality might not be the greatest the quantities made up for it if you had the appetite to stomach it.

Case in point, Sally had been on her third, maybe fourth grease fried egg, ham and cheese sandwhich when she got a message. She dug the special phone out of the inside pocket of her jacket, popped it open to look, and sent a quick message back with the hand that didn't have greasy diner grease all over it. Gulped down the end of the coffee, left the money for the bill and a nice sized tip since the place put up with her, and headed outside.

The lioness actually walked partway around the block before doubling back from the other side and into the alley, so it wouldn't be super obvious where she was going before she finally walked up near the back of the dinner, finishing off the end of the sandwich as she did.

The Ninjas were going to their ninja thing, and Sally didn't really blame them for wanting to keep a low profile like that. Not with how much flak the Mutanimals catch from time to time with their less... subtle approaches.

Donatello has posed:
    "Hey, Sally," one of the shadows calls out. A figure begins to form in the darkness as Donatello steps into the evening light! His voice is a bit hoarse, but familiar. "Thanks for meeting me."

    Donatello has looked better. His eyes are swollen, a little cloudy, and surrounded by dark rings -- bags under his eyes. His purple face mask hangs loosely at his neck. His breath reeks of energy drinks. The turtle manages a smile, though it seems to be hiding another sentiment.

    "How are you?" he asks. It sounds rehearsed, as if it's merely the first step towards something more important.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride pauses in middle of finishing off the last few bites of grease fried toast crust. It's hard to tell if it's at the off sound of Don's voice, or the smell on his breath with it.... Though most likely the former. The latter probably isn't unusual considering what she'd seen techs guzzle down to work those triple research shifts back in the days in the lab.

"I dare say better than you look," the lioness quips, then flicks the remenant of food in her mouth. "If it wasn't for the purple still on your neck I'd almost mistake you for Raphael after a street brawl." She pauses again for a moment, this time to pick a bit of egg out of her teeth with a finger-claw. "And wouldn't want to see what the guys that -lost- looked like."

Witty remarks aside, she tucked her hands in the pockets of her coat for the moment. "What's up Donny?"

Donatello has posed:
    Better than you look. Donatello's brow rises a touch at that and he reaches up to rub his eyes for a moment. "Yeah," he replies. "I know, I know. I've been up for, uh, a couple nights, now." He takes in a lungful of air and then lets it out slowly. Normally, Donnie would probably take exception to being compared to the more violent Raphael, but he doesn't make a point to refute this point, tonight.

    "Well, I wanted to tell you about something," he begins. "But, first..." He pulls a folded sheet of paper and unfolds it, revealing its edges contain the tell-tale holes of a dot-matrix printer. He hands it over to Sally for her consideration. It's a print out of a recently published news article.

Sally Pride has posed:
"That's a lead-in line if every I heard one," Sally comments on the 'but first' remark. She however pulls a hand back out of the pocket to take the paper, giving it a good flick to finish straightening it out... and trying not to snicker at the obvious older tech evident in the old fashioned guide spindle holes. The turtle is working with what he can get his hands on, don't knock him for it.

The brief amusement at the dot matrix paper quickly fades as she reads the contents of the sheet though, actually snarling softly at the portion about a lion before settling into a general unhappy grimace. "This is.. more than mildly disturbing that this sort of thing is going o--"

Sally stops a beat at the last few lines. Eyes narrow. "Beast of the Bronx" she re-reads. She's got a pretty good idea who that was referencing too. "Well, damn. If someone was able to subdue her..."

Donatello has posed:
    "They hit her with a truck," Donatello replies, his eyes lowered. His voice is tired, yes, but there's a pain hidden in his words. A lump in his throat. Donatello takes another deep breath and then brings his hands together at his waist. He looks up from the ground to watch Sally for a moment, his eyes reflecting just a bit more of the light than they were a few moments ago. "Um, so..." he begins. "This guy. This Dominic Dominic. I've been trying to find out what I could. Exotic trades. Pelts. Ivory. That kind of stuff."

    Donatello clears his throat. "And now he knows about an even rarer kind of animal. The mutant kind," he explains...

Sally Pride has posed:
".. Yeah, that would do it. Though it'd have to be a big truck." Not to make light of the situation. Sally has just seen what that girl can do, getting Mack smacked would probably just be bruises and a concussion to put her out.

The lioness closes her eyes and sighs softly. "The kind of hunter always looking for the bigger, more profitable challenge." The paper is partially folded between two fingers as Sally gestures with it. "And exactly the sort of person Null would hire if they felt he could do the job their own Thunderlizard has been failing at." She pauses to consider, tapping the fold of the paper against her cheek. ".. Is there enough of the Foot in operation to hire bounty hunters? They're more your guys' turf to know."

Donatello has posed:
    The sadness telegraphed on Donatello's features is suddenly replaced with a look of horror. His eyes widen and his mouth drops open a touch. "The Foot," he whispers, taking in a breath. "Sally! I didn't even think about that. If the Foot were to know about this..." His voice begins to stammer a bit as he processes Sally's point. They might hire these criminals out to re-capture Kainashi.

    Donatello looks down at the ground again, bringing his hands up to hold his head on either side. "I'm not sure," he admits softly. "We haven't seen them that much -- not for a while. Not lately." Without looking up, Donnie begins to fasten his purple face mask in its proper space, covering up his eyes a bit.. The stammer in his voice might suggest why.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride cringes a little when it becomes clear Donatello hadn't considered that. Though that means it is good she brought it up. "Yeah... wouldn't put it past whatever remains of them. Especially if they want a middleman to keep laying low." Then her tone changes to try and be a little more reassuring. "Don't sweat it. Your head brother is a sharp one, he or your master have probably considered it even if you didn't."

The paper is flicked around to fold it back up and then tucked away in a pocket. "And I appreciate the effort to keep me in the loop. I can fill in the rest of my group, and the more we have aware of the guy the harder it will be for farther antics to go unnoticed." Hopefully. There's always a hopefully, but Sally is wisely not going to say that outloud.

It probably doesn't need to be said, anyways, as they're both likely thinking it already.

Donatello has posed:
    "Yeah," Donatello agrees quietly. He lifts his head and takes another long, deep breath. "Yeah, it's important that they know. I don't think this is the last we're going to be seeing of this guy." But then, a touch of that Raphael comes out. "But, it's also not the last he'll be seeing of me."

    Donnie brings a hand up to cover his mouth as he clears his throat. "So, now you know. I'll keep you updated if I learn anything new. I've got Miyagi on it." As the turtle takes a couple steps to go, he looks over his shoulder at Sally. "A neural network I've got at home -- it's been researching this Dominic Dominic ever since it happened. So far, it's just a lot of computer fan noise and heat." There's a shrug. "But, I'm not done." He likely has some more sleepless nights coming up. More energy drinks.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride opens her mouth as if about to ask about the name when Donatello fills it in on his own. "Ah. Your own personal AI in the works." She nods. "The same if we come across anything... More likely sooner than later if Null gets involved."

If they did hire a bounty hunter, would she maybe be able to get Ballista to realize she's just being used and thrown aside when no longer useful?
She'd rather not that sort of trouble be the way to find out...

That and she's got a more immeadiate concern. As Donatello turns to leave she reachs over to put a hand on his shoulder briefly, more of that consouling 'big sister' aspect of being a group oriented species showing through. "I know it can be hard at times like this... But get some -real- sleep when you can. A caffiene crash in middle of a fight isn't going to be pretty if it happens." But she takes her hand back afterwards, knowing it's not going to be effective to try and argue over. Best she can do is at least keep it in the back of his own mind.

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello nods his head at Sally's description of Miyagi. He allows his eyes to remain closed for just a touch longer than a normal blink. Those eyelids are heavy. "Yeah, I read something online about Tony Stark having one, so why can't I? I started working on it a while back, but I thought maybe now's a good time to try and make it functional."

    He manages a weak smile as Sally shows her concern. "Thanks, Sally," he replies. "I'll try. I just...I have to find this guy." He reaches up to cover a yawn before faking one last smile. "Take care, okay? I have a feeling this is just the beginning." With that, Donnie reaches up to grab a nearby fire escape ladder and begins to climb up -- the first step in a rooftop trek back to the Turtle Lair.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride recognizes the name (who DOESN'T?) and smirks a bit. "If anyone else can figure it out, its you. Just give that brain of yours a rest now and then." That's about all she can ask, she knows it's not likely to happy until he's satisfied he's accomplished something... She watchs him make his way up to the rooftops and out of sight. "Good thing I already ate," she mutters to herself as she turns to make her way back around the block to where she left her car. "That would almost be enough to ruin an appetite."