8762/Plots and Conspiracies

Plots and Conspiracies
Date of Scene:	21 November 2021
Location:	Raph's Gym
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Terry O'Neil, Raphael

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Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry hasn't been around for quite a few days. The last time all four brothers saw him, it was when all five of them worked together as a team with Kai in order to push people away from a major center of magical disruption. Since then, things had been fairly quiet on the O'Neil front.

Outside of, y'know, Harley finding a magical pen and creating an army of drawn hyena-ninja-men that invaded April's apartment.

But that's pretty much par for the course for the O'Neils.

Tonight, Terry finally makes an appearance. Showing up as his human self instead of his feline version, he saunters into Rpah's claimed corner of the abandoned mall, a duffel bag over his shoulder.

"Yo, Raph!" he calls out from the entrance, "Anybody home?"

Raphael has posed:
Raphael is home, the mutant turtle beating the tar out of a heavy bag, delivering some vicious punches and kicks to it as he weaves around it, fighting an opponent he's only seeing in his mind. He's not expecting anyone to come by this evening, but given that privacy is at a premium when you live in an abandoned mall with three brothers and assorted hangers-on, neither is he shocked by it. He delivers one final shuddering punch to the bag before turning, upnodding at Terry.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Whassup?" He wanders over and grabs a bottle of water, drinking most of it in one go.

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Leo not around right now?" the teen says with a grin, walking towards the turtle. "I had to raincheck on some training with him 'cause Miss Starr needed me, wanted to see when he could have me next."

It was no secret that Terry had asked Leo to train him. As a member of the Titans, he had been blessed (if that was the word) with powers, but he had found out that relying too much on those was a mistake, thus the need for extra-metahuman training.

"Good moves there. You been out and about lately?" he asks, keeping his words vague just in case Leo /was/ around. Terry knew Raphael's secret, and he had promised to keep it. So far, so good. But you never knew when Leo would decide to teach his student a lesson about stealth. He seemed to enjoy doing that. A lot.

Raphael has posed:
"Nah, don't thnk so. He's probably out meditating or some crap, you know how he is." Raph bristles with resentment towards his brother, but he keeps it mostly under check.

"I been keepin' busy," he says evasively, looking around to make sure nobody else is nearby. "Same old, same old, you know how it is."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
The complex relationship between siblings is something Terry is completely unfamiliar with, being an only child. But he is aware of the enormous amount of tension between Raphael and Leonardo. Somehow, though, it manages not to explode and destroy everything in his wake.

How they do it, he has no idea. But he does have an idea of how to navigate those tricky waters. Somehow. "Yeah, I definitely do. Crazy things happening outside."

He purses his lips and looks for a place to sit, "Just on the curious side of things..." he lowers his voice, moving closer to the turtle, "Do you ever do much in Gotham, or do you keep... things to Ny'awk?"

Raphael has posed:
"Yeah, I been to Gotham before," Raphael says, picking up a couple of loose weapons he'd been practicing with, putting them back to their proper places. "Ran into one of the Batkids, I dunno which one. Didn't find what I was lookin' for, but that whole mess with the rats is behind us now."

Slumping down into a chair, he relaxes for a moment before raising an eyebrow at Terry. "Why? Youse thinkin' about goin' on a field trip?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Was thinkin' about it." It's a thing he does unconsciously, sometimes, lapsing into the cadence of the person he's speaking with. Occasionally a chameleon when he's in the field interviewing people, it used to be a survival mechanic in his Catholic Highschool past-- blend in. "I run with some of the bat kids, but they've got their own stuff to do. I'm lookin' at something risky there. A story I was diggin' into a while back that got derailed when I got lost in space..."

Oh, right. For about four months Terry and a bunch of Titans were considered MIA, most likely dead. Because of a black hole.

That's normal, nowadays. "I want to look back at it. Y'know about Arkham asylum, of course."

Raphael has posed:
This piques Raphael's interest, the turtle sitting up and looking more intently at Terry. "So you're sayin' you might need some backup, I gotcha." Space stuff is beyond Raph's somewhat limited imagination, and he lets that part slide without comment.

"But yeah, I heard'a Arkham, not many people who ain't. Biggest looney bin on the Eastern Seaboard, full of the creepazoids the Bat bags and leaves trussed up for the Gotham cops. So what, you wanna break into the place or somethin'?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Somethin' like that," the redhead grins and leans in closer, lowering his voice. "Ever asked yourself why the place seems to have a revolving door? The Bat bags them, but they just break out just like that. And they never seem to get any better."

He nods his head in a random direction, "Y'know Harley. She's told me stories of the stuff they do to people in there. Sure, it's a place for the criminally insane, but they're still /patients/. But there's no healing going in there, and I have to wonder."

He crosses his arms, "Like, why the place doesn't get audited more often? Why aren't there investiagations? I'm sure there's, like, a gajillion violations in regards to mental health standards in there. So I had a crazy idea... and that's that I want to see how things actually look."

He leans back. "From the inside. Scoop of the year. Or next one. Find out what's rotten in the heart of Denmark, if you will. But that sort of operation is dangerous."

Raphael has posed:
"Yeah, hella dangerous," the turtle agrees, voice going low to match Terry's. "Not just gettin' in there, but the place is full of a bunch of Grade-A nutballs coolin' their heels before they break out again. You know Leo's never gonna go for sneakin' in and out that far from the Big Apple." In point of fact he /doesn't/ know this but since when has that stopped Raph from putting words in his brother's mouth?

"So you got a plan for this, or do you just wanna sneak in through the sewers and hope for the best?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well, this is where it gets crazy..." wait it wasn't crazy before? He gestures, "I talked it over with Lois as a potential plan. I get locked up there under a disguise and a false identity- pretend to be an inmate. Which means, of course, I'm going to be completely vulnerable if I /don't/ have an extraction team. If things get screwy. This means having multiple escape routes and people to help, in case they do something to me that keeps my powers down. Being on tranquilizers, for example- I may not be able to escape that."

"I need people I can trust. Who will be my lifeline. If there's a way in and out through the sewers, that can be one of the escape lines. Nobody knows their way around sewers like you guys..." he pauses, "Except Killer Croc. But I'm not gonna ask /him/."

Raphael has posed:
"The New York sewers, yeah," Raph points out. "But that don't mean I ain't gonna help ya. Just means I have to do some legwork, check out the Gotham Sewers, get the lay of the land, y'know. If that means riskin' running into Gotham scum, well, I ain't never backed down from a fight. You got me in your corner, man. Just make sure you got your plan all put together before this goes down, that place gives me the creeps, ain't you know I ain't afraid of nothin'."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Oh, tell me about it. That place is where nightmares go on vacation. Tell ya what, we can both do the mapping of the sewers... with my Rabbit Holes, we can go there and back without having to travel the intervening distance. Nobody'll know we were away," he grins, "and still have enough time to pick up pizza on the way back. That will at /least/ keep Mikey from asking questions, don't ya think?"

Raphael has posed:
"Oh heck yeah, the way to Mikey's heart is a good pizza, or a bad pizza... or just any pizza, really." Raph grins eagerly. "Once we get a good grip on the layout, we can put together a solid escape plan. Hopefully we won't need it, but havin' it's the important thing, yeah?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"That's the idea. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst. I'm not worried, though..." he says, "I will be putting my life in your hands, along some others, but you've always been there to save April from disaster. I know I can count on you--- even when I annoy you." He gives Raph a grin.

He pauses, "Oh, I almost forgot." He reaches into his duffel bag. "I got something for you guys. Back in the summer Leo and I talked while I was tripping balls for, like, days after I almost died. And I remembered the conversation last week. And that put something in my mind."

Raphael has posed:
Raphael has never been one to emote anything but anger and standoffishness, but he he actually smiles a bit. "Yeah, you're an annoying punk," he starts in typical Raph fashion, "...but you're good people. I got your back through and through."

He eyes the duffel bag with another raised eyebrow (or whatever it is mutant turtles have under their headbands). "Whazzat?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"Well," zziiip "Leo mentioned how cold it gets in the sewers come winter. Although now you spend your time up here and have access to heating, you still do go out in the cold for patrols and sewer recon. New York winters suck."

He takes out a sizable bundle, and then something in red. "And he mentioned clothing is a hard fit, so... I know some people in M-Town who want to go into business providing clothing for different mutant body types. I thought I'd help them along with a commission and ... voila." He unfolds the bundle, producing a jacket with a very sizable fit. It seems to have been made to accommodate the pronounced curvature of a shell. "Here's a prototype to keep you guys warm, one for each. There's a letter in your color on each, to mark who's who..."

And he unfolds something black "The issue of pants was a little more difficult because of the waist. And I figured something you wouldn't trip over might be preferable. So these are kind of like... leg sleeves. They're like the compression arm sleeves they wear in basketball. Except for legs. They're black like the jackets to keep visibility low. There's also marching arm sleeves, too, but with the jackets, I don't think they'd be necessary... but it's a prototype. If you have feedback ,the design can be changed."

Raphael has posed:
Raph blinks, impressed by the thoughtfulness of the gift. He picks up the jacket, turning it back and forth and nodding with approval. "Hey nice," he says. He imagines it'll look a little ridiculous, but it's not a bad thing at all. Yeah, the leg warmers look a little ridiculous but the sentiment is in the right place. And they might even be useful.

"Yeah, really nice," he says again, slipping on the jacket. "Don't think I've ever gotten somethin' bespoke before," he admits. "You did good, man, this is nice."

Terry O'Neil has posed:
Terry grins. "Hey, you guys are practically family. I appreciate what you've done for us, and we O'Neils take care of our own."

A pause. "Except when we're being kidnapped, or getting thrown in the middle of chaos, and then someone has to take care of /us/, but you know the gist."

Getting up, he slings the bag over his shoulder. "Try it out, see what you like, what you don't, what works and what doesn't, and adjustments can be made. I gotta go- gonna give Mike and Don theirs... and maybe I can come back tomorrow and we can spar. Provided, y'know, you go easy on me. I've still only been doing this for a year." He chuckles and offers a fist to bump.

Raphael has posed:
"Yeah, sure, we can spar a bit, gotta get you a little tougher anyway if you're gonna be riskin' your neck this much." The hotheaded turtle grins broadly, reaching out and bumping fists agreeably. "Keep me posted on this plan of yours, and we'll make sure it goes down smooth as possible, a'ight?"

Terry O'Neil has posed:
"You got it, Raph!" He glances around, and then says, with a finger to his lips. "And mum's the word, of course. You never know."

And he turns around and walks out, the duffel bag swinging across his shoulders as he heads out.

There's a spring in his step. The Arkham Plan is back in motion. Maybe this time there will not be an alien invasion that derails the whole thing again.

One can only hope.