3992/A Radical New Home

A Radical New Home
Date of Scene:	01 November 2020
Location:	Landmark Mall (Abandoned)
Synopsis:	The Turtle family and SHIELD meet up to go scout out a new base and home for the gang. An abandoned shopping Mall!
Cast of Characters:	April O'Neil, Raphael, Sally Pride, Vanessa Carlysle, Splinter, Natasha Romanoff

---

April O'Neil has posed:
April had been researching new sites for quite some time now. Her internet sleuthing is next to none, and her contacts are only growing in number as her internet persona continues to gain traction, what with her podcast, website, and social media reporting on news and events in and around the Manhattan area. She's got contacts, and some of them have given her a great option to check out.

So here she is, having arrived at the site of the old Lair to find it in... bad shape, she'd told the others to meet her there, so they could salvage stuff and then set off.

April walks through some of it all, her yellow leather jacket on with a black hoodie underneat it, unzipped over a Jimmy Hendrix labeled tshirt, blue jeans and black boots.

"This new site... it's gonna be great, I really think it'll give everyone a new outlook, a fresh start kinda thing." She's most worried about Splinter's take on it though...

Raphael has posed:
Raphael has already been at the Lair, picking up as much as he could. There have been a few trips to the safehouse Vanessa set up for them, lugging bags full of smaller items he wanted to keep. A lot of stuff had been ruined.

This time, he had the title belt signed by a number of the MMA fighters that April got for his birthday. It's over a shoulder as he stands and looks at the pinball machine, as if wondering how they're going to get it out. IF they can even take it with them. The red-masked turtle is quiet, perhaps even in thought about one thing or another as he waited for others to arrive.

April is the first one he notices, and his attention turns toward her in order to give a silent nod, his expression indicating his subdued demeanor.

Sally Pride has posed:
"Oof, this place really did get trashed." Sally mutters as she walks in, carefully stepping over the remains of the couch that sacrificed itself for their lives.

She shakes her head a little, then heads over towards the lab area. "Donnie had a few things he specifically needs from his shop, and to make sure the AI is locked down tight until we're sure of were you guys are moving to."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa showed up in street clothes, dark jeans and a hoodie, with a small bag slung over her shoulder. As they'd explored the lair to make sure it was safe, she'd had her collapsing bow out of the bag, and the quiver of arrows taken from it and put on her hip. But now they are stowed back inside.

She looks inside a box she's carrying, reaching in and pulling out a squeaky toy. There's a moment's consideration on her face followed by a knowing expression as if she figured it out. It goes back into the box and she closes up the lid, folding the flaps of cardboard into one another to keep it closed. "Got some of them here," she says with a nod towards Sally, of the things Donatello wanted.

Splinter has posed:
Bobbi was skeptical at first when she had been told there were mutant turtles trained to be ninjas living in the sewers under New York City and that they had aided in fighting off the drones that were attacking SHIELD agents. The last part gave them a bunch of cred in her mind. That Natasha was involved and saw it all happen, that made the entire thing a reality.

It was still a difficult to grasp reality, but she was open minded and curious. When she heard that these potential friends were in trouble and had been in battle with someone called 'the rat king', she felt it made sense that they return the favor.

"Romanoff," Bobbi says striking up conversation as they wander through the sewers, "Are they.. small, or big? Friendly? I'm not sure what to expect here. Are they going to be on alert when they see us?"

--

Splinter steps out of the shadows and looks around the destruction of their home. His Shitagi is clean and black, his is a wild mess and his Hakama hides his feet. He rests his weight slightly on to his cane and narrows his eyes. "These were just things. A home is what we make of it," he says more for Raphael's ears than anyone else. He taps a foot on a discarded pizza box on the floor.

He strokes his beard and says, "Other voices approach." His eyes turn toward one particular tunnel, then steps back in to the shadows. He didn't raise mutant samurai turtles. It is from the shadows when he is unobserved that he can best judge the intentions of strangers.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "Big." Natasha notes flatly, staring straight ahead as she walks beside Bobbie. Nat rarely switches off, but after last time she seems a little more focused and alert than usual. "Friendly is... subjective. One was very stern. One... kind of tried to hit on me? The last one was basically if Nadia was a six foot green body builder."
    Natasha shrugs, somewhat helplessly. This is all still very strange, even by her standards. "And as far as alertness goes... if they're actually Ninja, and actually take that seriously... they're basically watching to see if you give them an excuse to kill you. So." Natasha stops at the entrance and regards Bobbie, fixing a kind smile on her face that is oddly eerie in how natural it looks on the normally blank face of the agent, and finishes, "Smile." before she continues on.

April O'Neil has posed:
April smiles at Raph and the MMA championship belt she got him for his birthday. She's holding a box of 'things' that Mikey told her to get, so she's diligently trying to do just that. At Sally, April glances. "Do you have any idea how to... do that?" She asks about Donnie's requests. She's no good with the AI stuff, that's for sure. "I can help box up some of it, if needs be."

A smile is given to Vanessa and April puts her hand on the back of her friend's shoulder, thanking her for being here without saying it, just expressing it as-such.

Splinter's arrival gets April's eyes on him, however, before she looks to the entrance. "I think it's probably our contacts, they'll be helping us get in to the new site to check it out." She says as she steps toward the doorway to greet them. "Hey!" She calls out in to the tunnel. "April O'Neil here! Not an ambush waiting in here, I promise!"

She then puts her hands on her hips and mutters. "Least I hope its them and not murderers..."

Sally Pride has posed:
"We're not going to move the mainframe until we're sure of were we're moving it to." Sally's voice replies from the lab. "I'm just making sure the rats didn't like, chew up wires or anything. Otherwise, for now, it's just safer sitting here." A pause. "It doesn't look like anyone has been here since the attack... but the enemy knowing the location is dangerous enough to stay here longer than needed."

Sally walks back into the main area with one of Donatello's toolboxes under her arm just in time for Splinter to announce people were coming and slip back into the shadows. "Great, now what..."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle looks over to April at the light touch, flashing her a quick smile that also expresses their friendship readily enough. She adds the box she has to the stack to take with them, and glances around the lair. "Well, at least it didn't seem like they were worried about completely ruining the place, rather than just going after the occupants," she says. A fair amount could be salvaged at least.

As Splinter warns someone is coming, her equipment are pulled out of the bag, quiver on her hip but the bow just held collapsed in her hand as she moves over to a side of the room, spreading out compared to whether the others stand. She just waits, letting April handle meeting the new arrivals as she is acting like she knows them.

Raphael has posed:
Raphael starts to put the belt back in the sack meant to keep it in good shape, free from dings and dents. The pinball machine, which has already seen better days, might have had its time come and go. The glass is cracked, one of the legs is bent enough that to say it's tilted would be an understatement, and the score display has a big hole in it. "Damn. I put a lot of hours in on this," he says, frowning.

Splinter comes in to share his wisdom, and Raphael shakes his head. "It ain't just that. Everything I kept, I got some kinda memory tied to it. And this is the only home we've ever had." He leaves that for Splinter and the others nearby to chew on, loading up one final plastic carton of stuff into a travel bag.

His /secret/ stuff, the stuff he believes still only Splinter knows about, is somewhere else, untouched as part of all this. At least there's that.

The warning leads to him eyeing Sally, then April and Vanessa, his hands instinctively going to the pair of sai at his belt. He lets April's announcement cover it for him, but he adds more for them, "If it is, I got some heads I'm lookin' to bust. If that damn Rat King thinks he's gonna ruin our home and never pay for it, I'm gonna show him sooner or later." He avoids looking at the pile of stuff that ended up closest to where he and Leonardo had to fight Splinter, who was not himself at the time.

Splinter has posed:
Bobbi raises an eyebrow at the thought of a six foot green body builder version of Nadia. The horrors. "Which one tried to hit on you?," she asks with amusement on her face. But then Natasha smiles. "Oh, that bad huh?." She takes in a breath and then looks at the heart rate monitor on her wrist. A touch of a button.. 63. Not bad.

Dressed in black pants, black jacket, body armor beneath. She has an ICER on her hip and twin batons on her thighs. A long black split cape hangs from her shoulders. If it weren't incredibly useful technology she'd not wear the cape at all.. capes are so ostentatious.

Stepping in to the destroyed lair of the ninja turtles - it's clear they've been hit on hard times. It looks like an enemy got the better of them. She tucks her hands behind her back and clears her throat. Blonde hair, blue eyes, a confident but welcoming smile.

Bobbi says, "Hey. I'm Morse and this is Romanoff. We're Agents of SHIELD. Thank you for not setting up an ambush, they're usually scheduled in for Wednesdays." She lifts up a hand and says, "We're here as friends. You helped SHIELD..." she says as her eyes rest upon Raphael and widen just a touch more than she wish'd she could control, "...and ahh ...and SHIELD would like to return the favor." An eyebrow is raised though at April O'Neil. Reporter. Here.

--

Splinter sniffs the air a touch. He can sense the degrees of readiness from the two agents entering the lair. Trust is earned and of course his boys did a good thing helping them, but they have yet to return the favor. This is their test.

His best old man act, hunched over, using his cane, he steps out of the shadows once more and says, "You are the friends Donatello has spoken so much of." He looks to April, seeing she seems at ease talking to the international spooks. In his experience, spooks are best to be avoided.

He turns away from the two SHIELD agents, his long rats tail snaking across the floor as he wanders toward Raphael. "My son, I have lived in many homes. The memories remain. It is," he opens his hand as if to reveal a gift, "good for the soul to build when forces have destroyed." Then the hand gently rests on his shoulder.

The old man act used to work on his boys when they were younger, but eventually they got wise to his tricks. As he had hoped they would. Now he reserves the ploy for strangers who he does not yet trust. It is always better to be underestimated. The discussion of the rat king has him draw his tail out of the light and under his hakama. To say it was an unpleasant experience would be a gross understatement.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    Natasha softly answers "The red one." and then tilts her head, "... Though he made it sound like it was on behalf of someone else." There's an ominous thought. They may not yet have met the thirstiest turtle.
    Dressed in the Shield issue bodysuit that now gets labled as her 'costume' just by association with the Avengers - with a pair of unique metal bracers around her wrists - Natasha steps into view and clasps her hands in front of her. She is similarly armed as Bobbi, though she won't tell them the gauntlets are extra weapons if you don't. She inclines her head in a brief nod as Bobbi refers to her, and takes in the room.
    That is a giant rat.
    Natasha was not prepared for the giant rat.
    Luckily Natasha's been... conditioned to go blank-faced whenever something actually draws surprise from her, nine times out of ten.
    "Home is subjective." She offers flatly, "Eventually you learn to settle for the place you're least likely to be murdered." At least that's Nat's experience!
    Man. That is a giant rat.
    Natasha is not sure what to make of his behavior yet.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride perks a pierced ear at the mention of contacts. And sure enough it's two humans that walk in.

Government agent humans. Okay. She was not aware April had THOSE kind of contacts, already. "Interesting..."

They're not hostile at least. Sally actually laughs a bit at the crack about ambushes. That's soldier humor she can appreciate. "But if you have it scheduled is it really an ambush?" She retorts, chortling still, tail flicking with amusement.

Yeah, don't let the giant ninja terrapins and their rat mentor distract you from there being a five-foot-nine lioness in biker clothes over to the side, too.

April O'Neil has posed:
April folds her arms over her stomach then, her eyes going back to her friends and smiling at Sally before she looks back to the SHIELD Agents and giving them an ocular pat-down, so to speak. "Wow." She says. "We could've used you two when the fight went down in here..." She says, showing them both a grin.

"But yes, I'm April, a... reporter for Channel Six News, but I'm not here for anything related to that. I owe my life to thees guys, and I've since sworn myself to helping, because of that, and because they're great people." She shows another friendly smile before she turns to those with her.

She motions at each person with a hand and introduces them by name.

Her eyes look back to the Agents then. "I think we're ready to move out, go check this site out. We can... tell you both about everything that went down here on the way. It wasn't pretty, as you can tell..."

Waiting for everyone to gather up there-after, she'll lead the charge back to the surface and the vehicles they'll use to get to the Mall.

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle watches the two women closely as they enter. As it becomes confirmed they are the ones April is expected, she lounges back against a wall, leaning, but still keeping an eye for the moment. When she gets introduced, she just gives a little wave of her hand towards them.

Vanessa drove the SUV that the Turtles and others got used to seeing her bring to the farm, having it there to help take their belongings to the new location. So she's able to load up boxes and several people for the trip to the Mall as need a ride.

Raphael has posed:
Raphael's eyes center on the SHIELD agents as they make their appearance. Natasha, he recognizes. Bobbi, he doesn't. Regardless, both of them get little more than a dip of his chin as part of a nod. He's still slow to trust outsiders, especially ones he doesn't know well, and..everything is still just on edge.

"That mess wasn't from the attack," he says of a pile of junk over in one corner. "That's was just Mikey not cleaning up after himself." He tries for a moment of levity, but it's just lacking the humor to make it obvious.

Clearing his throat, he adds, "Anyway, I don't think there's much else to grab. Leo's already gone ahead to check the place out. Insisted he had to see it himself first. We.."

Splinter's words register. However, there is a mild yet detectable flinch on his part when the old rat's hand settles at his shoulder, which tenses up, followed by his eyes darting toward his sensei's face as part of a flash of uncertainty. After, a short breath is released and the eyes then dart toward the floor as if in some form of shame. He swallows once, stepping forward in an attempt to mask it. "..should get going," he finishes.

Sally Pride has posed:
"Yo," Sally chips in when she's pointed out and introduced.

She's a little wary of government people just on principle... but if April and others are comfortable with these two, she's willing to give them a chance.

"Yeah, Donnie's room is locked down until we can come back for the rest of the less important nerd stuff." It's less calling Don a nerd and more using casual terms instead of the usual tech babble the two share to not rile their guests' suspicions. Just in case.

Once they've got stuff loaded up Sally climbs into the driver's seat of one of the vehicles. This is what they invite her along for isn't it? It's kinda her jam.

Splinter has posed:
Splinter lets out a soft thoughtful hmmm as his hand disappears inside his sleeve. He looks at his most headstrong son and thinks on his pain. He takes the longest of them to forgive himself, even when others have long since forgiven. One day, he thinks, Raphael may be the greatest ninja of them all - if he could only master himself.

He turns around to look at the SHIELD agents now and notes Vanessa's non-challant posture. He hopes that none of them ever have to live his life to always remain on guard. He hides it well though.

"It is time. We begin a new chapter. Please Miss O'Neil, lead the way." He taps his cane on the floor firmly and then begins to walk with its aid toward the exit.

--

Bobbi stares for a moment at the giant rat.. and the giant Lioness.. and then that curious bow Vanessa is sporting. It takes her a moment, she's not terribly familiar with the vigilante's of Starcity, but then it finally occurs to her.. The Green Arrow. Her expression becomes one of puzzlement and then she pulls her eyes away from her.

Bobbi smirks at Sally's joke and says, "It'd be impolite to let them know ahead of time we're not surprised." She does an about face and begins to head back to the sewer ways and whistles softly to Natasha, "You didn't mention the giant cat and the gaint mouse. Also, I think your turtle crush has other things on his mind.. we should get the lowdown on what went down." She picks up her voice and says to April, "That'd be good thank you, please tell us what has transpired."

Bobbi takes out her tablet and jots down some quick notes and writes 'small bobcat?' on a list of potential equipment they might need. She has no idea how big the 'nerd stuff' might be. She does remember a report about 'unusual phone made by one of the turtles' though.

There's a black SUV parked not too far away. It has a big SHIELD logo on its bonnet.. and on its doors. They were _very strongly_ suggested that when doing operations in New York City that they make themselves as obvious as possible - because no one appreciates spies. In truth, this worked in their favor. People get used to seeing the SHIELD logo, so when they want to go dark.. they take the gear without the logo.

"I have to hand it to you Romanoff. You've out done yourself this time," she says commenting on the bizarre nature of this band of sewer friends. "Are you going to take red out on a date?," she playfully quizzes with a raised eyebrow.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
    "The giant cat and mouse are new." Natasha replies very quietly. This is more to take in than she expected, though she still takes thorough mental note of everything she sees, her eyes lingering a time or two on Splinter. Everyone else here acts like a kid. Somebody taught people around here how to stab things. It's worth keeping in mind. "Hmm."
    Natasha assists Bobbi however she can, but mostly stays silent, except to squint at Bobbi as she speaks, "... There are still at least three more countries I can defect to after putting a CO through a window, Morse. Just something to consider."

Vanessa Carlysle has posed:
Vanessa Carlysle loaded up the boxes into the back of her SUV, and then moved over to say something quietly to Splinter. Sally's hearing might pick it up, though the rest would be hard pressed to catch it. "There's something I wanted to discuss with you, about the Rat King. If you'd like to ride along with me," she says to the elder rodent.

She'll finish loading up the boxes then and move over to slip into the driver's seat and wait for Splinter to get himself settled. Whatever the conversation is about, it seems to conclude by the time they reach their destination.

April O'Neil has posed:
April joins the SHIELD Agents in their vehicle, there's a lot to tell them. She starts off with how she met the Turtles last October, and how it was related to the crime wave going on through Brooklyn then. She tells them about 'The Foot' and 'The Shredder'. All of this is necessary, after all, to establish trust and to give SHIELD a deeper insight in to what the Turtles deal with, and have been dealing with for a long time now.

Eventually, she gets to the Rat King, and the invasion of the turtle lair. April explains that the whole place was over-run with an army of mind controlled rats, and that even Splinter was effected during it.

She tells that the Rat King got away, and that she's contacted someone named 'Edward Nygma' as he said he believes the Rat King is operating in Gotham now.

The drive to the Mall is conveniently just long enough for April to explain all of this, and as they arrive, they find the mall's lights on, with the sun mostly set on the horizon the big building is lit-up nicely, even though some windows are boarded up and some have clearly been smashed. Overall the place still looks 'pretty good' outside.

Once upon a time this mall was filled with people, moving to and fro, carrying bags filled with brand new purchases. These hallowed halls could tell a million stories, if they could talk!

Today, however, the place is in a fair state of 'good' and 'disrepair'. Some looters have been in the mall periodically and some of the storefronts have been trashed because of it. Others are in perfectly fine condition however and sit pretty much pristine like a time capsule all the way back to the yeeear 2012, when the Mall closed down.

In actuality though, a lot of the decor dates way further back in that 2012 though, with some of it going straight back to the 80s. Especially in the food court. Most of the tables and chairs are just screaming retro 80s, along with the signs and 'flare' hanging from the glass ceiling.

The group is entering in to the food court, the lights all on, though all the former restaurants are closed-up with metal gates down over their counters.

"And here we are..." April says, as she steps in through the row of 12 doors, the exterior ones all boarded up, while the interior are still adorned with 'Landmark Mall' logos and information.

"This place is ... well, it needs some work, but it's a fortress, really."

Once inside the food court, O'Neil turns around and spreads her arms wide for them all. "Why do you think everyone runs to these places in zombie movies?" She asks, grinning.

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride catchs a bit of it. Not worried because Vanessa is one of the people proven trustworthy after that hectic night. Splinter is in good hands there.

There's not really a lot to say until they're on the way to the next location. Though she glances over at Rhap a time or two. Eventually it's a point where she can't not say something.

"Nice belt."

Raphael has posed:
Raphael could have gone with April's group. Could have hopped in with Splinter and Vanessa, for that matter. Instead, he takes up a spot riding with Sally, which begins with him looking distantly through the window to watch as they pass by everything. His expression remains as neutral as he can make it, but he can't hide his eyes giving away a sense of loss.

They're really giving up the Lair.

The brothers had begun talking about letting the world know about them soon, but he didn't expect it to be more of a forced thing instead of voluntary. Some choice was taken away from them. Could they have stayed in hiding somewhere? Sure. It would remain to be seen how that'd go.

Along the way, Sally is the one who breaks the silence, and it draws his attention away from the streets, the cars, the people. With it darker, it's not easy for them to see who's in the vehicle. "Hmm?" he starts, adding afterward, "Oh, you saw it. Yeah, uh, April got it for my birthday. Had all the champs sign it." The silence lingers again on his part before he continues after a pause, "You're pretty good with bikes, huh?"

Soon they're arriving at the mall complex, which leads to him squinting. "Did you know about this?" he asks. Maybe Sally was just following. Before much longer, they're moving inside and he has the look of someone both curious and uncertain about this new chapter. "You got us a mall?" he asks April, sounding very much surprised.

Splinter has posed:
"I suppose cat and mouse is better than squirrel and moose," she jests back to Natasha. For 'squirrel and moose' she puts on a bad fake Russian accent. Extra amusing because her real Russian accent is flawless. "You know we'll have to keep that in mind if we ever need to stage a dramatic double cross theatric production to convince someone you've crossed over. A total classic."

Inside the SHIELD SUV is a computer and a bunch of hidden compartments and buttons and weird gear that you'd expect to be unlabelled in a spy car. Bobbi looks over to April and says, "Welcome to SHIELDUV 37, checked out by yours truly from Triskelion fleet control this morning. Some how still not a scratch on it. It's a genuine miracle."

She listens to the discussion about The Foot, about Shredder, about the Rat King. More names being added to the invention. When they pull up she takes out her tablet and jots down the notes to share with Gonzales later. There's a lot going on in the turtle world it seems. The question is - how international are these operations.

Looking at the dilapidated mall that April has chosen she says with slightly concern, "Nat, would you pull up the floor plans for this place?"

--

Splinter turns an ear to Vanessa as she asks to talk to him. Not his favorite topic of conversation, but it might be important. He looks over to Raphael and then makes a small hmm sound, a nod, then joins her in the car.

The ride over he listens to her proposal quietly. There are a few small nods as she talks about the idea and by the time they arrive he simply says, "A wise strategy Copycat. I hope that my vulnerability does not also become your own." He gets out of the car and enters the building.. in to the food court, pondering the notion of zombies. "Ms. O'Neil, this is a very large fortress," is his opening comment about the place.

His strategy thus far had been to keep as low a profile as possible.. but the boys... they were making so many friends and wanted to exist more in the surface world than ever before. Times were changing and supporting them whether they run or fall is the job of a father. This was a decision for his boys to make.

Sally Pride has posed:
"That's pretty cool!.. Our human mainly sits back in her lab most of the time. April seems to be a lot more proactive in helping you guys out." It's getting dark out so Sally didn't bother with her sunglasses. Sure, they look cool being worn at night, but they mess with her nocturnal vision. "Cars are my main thing but I know a good bit about cycles as well. Some of it is just applying the same mechanical engineering to a smaller scale."

Eventually they pull up with the other vehicles. Sally puts it in park and gets out, peering at the building as she closes the door. "Nope, didn't have a clue," she replies to Raph. "Or I wouldn't of been so concerned about having room for the AI mainframe."

She pauses a moment, before following after the others inside. "I wonder if it had a service garage or anything... That'd make dealing with vehicles a bit easier."

She chuckles, finger-gunning at April for the zombie movie remark. "See, that gal gets it. Open space to not get pinned down in, all kinds of left behind useful things to grab. And zombies hate escelators."

A pause. A glance behind herself. "Granted, so do most things with a tail..."

April O'Neil has posed:
April had certainly enjoyed her ride in the fancy SHIELD-mobile too, and done her best not to touch any possible spy-buttons in and around where she'd been seated. She's seen James Bond, she didn't want to be launched out the roof!

Once inside though, she drops her hands down to her hips and just smiles at those slipping in to the new place. She nods at Raph. "Sort've. I mean, it's not /ours/ but yeah." She pauses and looks around as she starts to walk slowly again and point at the place.

"I did a remote piece here this past summer. The owner is a big fan." She smiles at them. "He's sick of looters busting in to this place, and I told him I have a way to make sure that stops happening if he'd be okay with some of my friends ... ya know ... living here, protecting the place. Maybe cleaning it up and personalizing it a bit. He wants to re-open the place some day, but he says it probably won't be for another five to ten years before he'll have the funds to get the subway station downstairs going again, let alone renovate the whole darn place. So, this is a great... option, for where we are now. I think."

A glance is given then to Bobbi. "I just want SHIELD to know about it, and if... you all are offering... maybe help make it awesome? The turtles are /the/ source for information on the streets, and under them. This is a lucrative deal for everyone, all parties."

She smiles again at them all.

"Leonardo is already here too, somewhere." She quickly adds.

Raphael has posed:
"We kinda helped her out when the Foot was attacking her," Raphael explains, still at least somewhat distracted by the place they're in. "We didn't have much of a choice but to take her back to the Lair so she could get some sleep, and.." He gestures with a hand, the universal sign of saying the rest is history. "And what do you mean, your human?"

He reveals to Sally, maybe forgetting for a moment about some of the secrecy he's tried to keep up, "I've messed around with a bike here and there, and Donnie's all into the techy stuff but guess who usually had to fix up the leaking pipes and things. This guy."

An escalator is given a look. It's not moving, which leads him to deadpan, "Looks like stairs to me. I heard some comedian do a joke about that once. 'Out of order. Temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience.'"

April draws some of his attention, eyes passing between Splinter and her. "You sayin' this is like a SHIELD op or something? That they're gonna be around here keepin' an eye on us and everything? I ain't so sure I like that idea." Her explanation leads to a quieter 'Oh' out of him, looking around at everything they can see from the food court, then any signs that indicate the direction to the subway. "That'll be good, yeah. I'd better claim the sporting goods place before Casey does."

Then, a frown at Leonardo being mentioned as already here, already knowing about it. "Yeah, of course he is. Just couldn't wait, could he?" Raphael grumbles.

He motions toward Sally, to get her to follow. "Why don't we find a spot for you too, even if you still got a place of your own. And were you a human first, or a big cat?"

Splinter has posed:
Bobbi looks somewhat surprised. She opens up the plans Natasha found and places a holographic projector down on a stained old food court table top. It presents a network of shop passage ways connected to streets, the underground section, a service area, car park, the main mall hub which they're in now.

"I think may be the owner of this place is a bit optimistic about his chances of rekindly the place. Condemned is a word that comes to mind," she mentions looking at the hanging peeling paint on the walls and ceilings. "This place has seen better days..."

She motions to the various entrances and says, "There are entrances in to some surrounding buildings, on to the street, .. they've been closed up for a long time. I suppose, if you really wanted to operate here, we could help set you up with some covert entrance ways that look closed up but open fro you. We also have some heavy equipment you can borrow to help fix things, change things.. move gear from your old place to here."

She looks to Raphael, the one wearing the red, and says, "We're not looking to tell you how to do things, but we'd appreciate knowing what's going on. If you need us, I'd prefer you k new how to call us than to be left on your own.. though it seems like you have some impressive friends already. Heck I don't even have the media on my side," she says and motions to April with a grin.

--

Splinter looks at the hologram of the building layout and then says to Raphael, "Talk to your brothers. This is a big place. Where we go from here, it is for you four to decide together. I chose our last home to suit my needs, but you were already outgrowing that place before we were forced out."

He glances down a hallway and says, "A little exploration is in order," he says and waits until the SHIELD women aren't watching, then steps in to the darkness and stretches back to his full height. He moves with ease and purpose. If this is where his sons wish to live, he needs to find the best place to call home before Mikey somehow calls dibs.

April O'Neil has posed:
April steps around the food court tables, helping to walk everyone out in to the main corridor of the ground level. She looks to Raph, then to the SHIELD contacts. "It'll be great, perfect, I'm sur eof it." She leans toward Raph to whisper at him. "You'll be like a secret agent now, duh!" She says, flashing him a big dorky grin before she turns around.

"Master Splinter! I wanna show you the dojo---" She pauses and looks around. "Did we lose him already?" She asks. "Well, uh, old people really love walkin' around malls, am I righte?" She asks, doing her own cheesey jokes, as she's one to do.

Bobbi gets a smile then. "You've got a friend in the media now, at least, right? I don't report on SHIELD a lot, but I'd be more than happy to change that, if so desired."

"Come on, let me show you all some of the key place sthat I think you'll like. Sports store and all."

Sally Pride has posed:
"We have a very grumpy scientist as our 'token human'. Mostly biogenetics and such, so has her uses, but Linsday doesn't come out of her lab often." Sally raises a brow a bit, but doesn't comment on Raph's little reaccount other than smiling a bit and "Somehow, I'm not surprised. Plumbing isn't a problem you can fix with circuits and quantum physics."

"Oh hey, it has it's own subway. That's useful for getting back to familiar turf."

Hmm. If these SHIELD people prove to be trustable, she will have to see if they know about Null. Or more likely what, if they're good at their job. Or fill in some of what they don't.

But that can wait until later. She tucks her hands in her pockets as she follows after Raph. "Sounds like another reason to see if there's a service center. Or a hardware store. Our safehouse lacks a proper garage of any sort." And that does annoy her. She answers Raph's other question. "Lioness. But Null was working on how to tailor mutants to specific roles." She's a vehicle operator so, yeah, one can see why she'd be made to be closer to 'human' than some other mutants.

Splinter has posed:
Bobbi Morse raises an eyebrow and smiles to April, "Why thank you though typically we prefer not to be reported about, at all. The less people talk about us the better. Someone else can take the credit." She peers over to where Splinter was and presses her lips together with a hmm. Natasha picked it, it's the rat pretending to be an old man.

"Dojo you say. Nice." She takes out some business cards, black with embossed black. It says 'Dr. Morse' on the title and a phone number. Nothing else. She hands them out to anyone who wants one. "I'm hoping to put together an inventory of what you need and I'll get the stuff delivered as soon as I can. So if something comes to mind, don't hesitate to call."

Raphael has posed:
Raphael finds the sporting goods store, and he uses the blunt tip of a sai to pry open the lock, creating a screeching sound as he lifts the metal gate previously keeping intruders out. "I bet they got some great weight sets here, and heavy bags." He doesn't go inside just yet, though. "We'll have to make sure nobody can just sneak in. Gotta keep it to one or two ways in and out that are just for all of us."

He squints briefly at Sally, pointing out, "April ain't a 'token human,' though. She's our friend, and she's been a big help with a bunch of stuff. I dunno if we'd all be here right now if it wasn't for her help."

He's going to have to check out the subway and figure out if it's on the right path to easily get to his secret stash for his alter ego. He's also going to have to give the entire place a deep inspection for his own satisfaction. Soon.

First, he nods to Splinter before the old rat finds his own way in the place, but he finds himself lacking the words to come up with an answer in time. It's a big change for all of them, whether they call the place their new home or just drop by on occasion.

"A ninja /and/ a secret agent, April? That might be too much, even for someone as cool as me," he tells her, finding the time to come up with another joke. Or maybe it isn't one. As the group gathers together again and gets ready for the tour, he says one other thing to Sally, "I guess that makes us more similar than I thought, if you were a lioness first. Hey, once we've seen everything, we can find you some tools. You'll see a big one once we find Leo, too."

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride chuckles. "Yeah, she is definately more sidekick. Or even confidante." She's making it clear that she's just teasing with some goofy nicknames. "The crazy one with the mask is probably HER sidekick, really."

The 'Leo's a tool' crack gets a proper laugh out of her. "That's one tool I'm afraid even I can't do much with!"