recolle | closed | don't stop me now

closed | don't stop me now

WHO: Dante (

splinten), and Leo (

commandertoolbelt)
WHERE: Retrospec building in Tisse!
WHEN: 3/4 during the blackout
WHAT: Three boys decide to break into the Retrospec building while there's no CCTV to film them
WARNINGS: None, but will edit if necessary

[After he shoots both Dirk and Leo messages, Dante heads for the Retrospec building. He doesn't know how much time they'll have--after all, don't most places have backup generators just in case of an outage like this?--but this is the best chance they'll have to sneak in. Without electricity, there won't be any of that ridiculous mad libs game holding the door shut, nor will there be cameras recording them... so they're free to poke around and explore to their heart's content.

He's swung by his apartment already, picking up a few things that might help them out and stowing them in a bag he's got tossed over his shoulder. He's got gloves and a dark hoodie on, and all-in-all is ready to do some breaking and entering.

Once he reaches the area, he finds somewhere to sit down to wait. He's not about to loiter around waiting, but neither will he get too far away that he can't be found when they arrive.]

Hey! Over here.

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[ With the power out all over the city, Leo is just another person sitting in the dark, bored out of his mind. Mom’s hard at work, and the youngest member of the Valdez family is stuck at school during the lockdown - which is actually where Leo is supposed to be right now, but he’s always been able to find a way out when he wants one. Dante’s message is as good a reason as any, so as soon as he sees a chance, he takes it.

Getting to Tisse takes some time, but after some wandering, he finds the place. He’s squinting up at the building when he hears Dante and heads over. ]

So what exactly are you expecting to find?

[ This weird app has only just showed up on Leo’s phone, so he honestly has no idea what they’re looking for here. Not that he’s against looking - if this app is going to invade his privacy, he’s definitely happy to do the same to it. ]

[Dante shrugs.]

Honestly, I'm not sure. I went in last month around Founder's Day, but there wasn't much there. A couple chairs, a potted plant... there weren't even wires behind the elevator panel. It looked like it had been set up.

If anything's changed from last month, maybe we'll be able to learn a couple things about what we're dealing with. I don't know what their angle is yet, but I don't want to sit around and wait to find out, either.

Seriously? What’s the point in that?

[ Do the people who make phone apps even have offices? Setting one up for the heck of it and not even filling it with anything is just asking for trouble.

Might as well give it to them, then. ]

Okay, so you know where to go once we’re in? I mean, if that’s all you found before, there has to be more somewhere else.

[Dirk gives a brief hand lift by way of greeting. By this point, he has newly acquired for himself a pair of pointy scalene triangle shades. He has not been explaining this new fashion decision, but they do match well with the round Stiller shades his baby bro is now wearing. Solidarity, maybe?

He shoves his hands in his pockets, glancing building-ways.]

People are getting packages in the mail. Maybe we'll at least find a stamp collection.

[Dante nods at Leo's words.]

Exactly. Maybe this time we'll be able to find something else.

[And then Dirk's showing up, and Dante's momentarily distracted by the shades on his face. He wears his sunglasses at night...

A smirk tugs at he corner of his mouth as Dirk speaks.]

Nice shades. Did they come in one of those packages too? [A thought hits him and he looks to Leo.] Leo, you didn't get anything in the mail, did you?

[He'll wait for Leo's response, then nod and gesture them all toward the building.]

Well, there's no telling how soon they'll get the backup generators going, so let's get moving.

I've got nothing but the app, [ he says, hands in the air for a brief moment as if to prove it. ] I'm starting to feel left out.

And if the backup generators were working, they'd already be up by now. Whatever took out the city's power took out the backup, too. [ He shoots Dante a grin. There's a reason he's here, right? ] Just saying.

We'll send you consolation cookies. Better not to stall, though.

[Which is why Dirk is prompt getting to the door although if lockpicking IS required he will gracefully let Dante or Leo do it? Other people should also get to have fun.]

Good point, Leo.

[Luckily, it seems like they won't need to pick their way in? With the electricity out, the monitor and interactive screen mounted on the doors don't work, and the doors swing open easily. Even though he knows the cameras won't function with the blackout, Dante instinctively glances at them out of the corner of his eye, making sure there's no telltale light recording them as they step inside the building.

Inside, things have changed. Decisively so, since the last time he or Dirk were here. Dante lets out a low whistle upon seeing the tubes filled with colored stones, glowing softly in the darkness.]

Well, looks like they've decided to upgrade the interior design, at least. Let's save that for last.

[After all, it's the biggest, most obvious thing?? Look for the small stuff first, that way if they have to get out fast they won't have missed anything else because they were distracted by the shiny.

Speaking of distracted... Dante's pointing toward the wall where he remembers the elevator being, now a completely blank door.]

Hey, D. Wasn't there an elevator there last month?

Elevators don't just disappear, dude.

[ Leo's not very interested in a blank door, though. What he wants is to get a closer look at the glowing rocks, even if Dante says they should save those for last. Why should they? Who knows when some security guard will come through that door? They shouldn't waste the opportunity while they have it.

So while the other two do their thing, he's just gonna head over there and check those guys out. Maybe see if there's a way to get through those tubes... ]

Considering the control panel was a fake, it is probably the kind of elevator that can just disappear.

[Dirk glances at the weird gems.]

Is anyone else getting Hogwarts vibes here? We just lost ourselves an assload of points for Gryffindor.

[Dante snorts, but there's a grin on his face.]

Gryffindor? You've got high hopes if you think we're not all Slytherin through and through.

[He glances around the room, instinctively trying to see if there's anything different from last month outside of the obvious. Same chairs, same potted plant... his eyes catch sight of the vents, though, and Dante glances to Leo.

Whooooooo appears to be about to touch one of the tubes. LEO... HE TOLD YOU ONE THING. ONE JOB.]

Hey, Leo! Do you think you can take a look at those vents? Dirk and I can check the doors and see if we can get any of them open. Last month none of them opened up, but if we can't get through the doors, the vents might be another option.

[As long as Dirk isn't seeing anything else he wants to take a look at, at least.]

[ Just ruin all the fun, why don’t you. FINE, he’ll leave the stupid rocks alone. For now, but he’s definitely going to check them out again later. ]

Sure thing. [ So he heads on over to examine the vent, pulling a screwdriver from his sleeve. Don’t ask how it fit in there, a mechanic has his ways. ] But there’s no way I’d be a Slytherin. I don’t have that ambition or whatever.

[ And since it looks like he might be able to work the cover off after all, Leo's just gonna start working on the screws in the corners there. ]

Besides, you’re the only one of us that’s evil, Dante.

Hufflepuffs get to live next to the kitchen.

[Nah Dirk is more than happy going over to the doors and trying the locks. He will not go through first because he will not be that guy in a horror movie.]

[Wow, way to throw him under the bus, guys! He is not evil! Dante shakes his head, taking out his lock picks and getting to work on the first door.]

And yet we're all three in here right now trying to find information through dubiously legal methods. What do I do that's evil, Leo?

[He's shifting through the tumblers of the lock, fitting them into place, when--]

Son of a--!

[--a sharp zap! goes through him, running from the doorknob through his tools and into his body. It's not necessarily painful, not for more than the second it courses through his body, but it's more than enough to make him drop his tools and exclaim in surprise. The picks fall to the floor, and Dante scowls as he crouches to scoop them back up.]

The door shocked me...!

What don’t you do, [ Leo replies mildly, moving onto the last screw. Almost there - though even if he does get this thing off, he’s not sure what it will accomplish. It’ll be a tight fit for any of them. ]

Besides, the other houses do plenty of questionably legal stuff.

[ And there goes the last one - just in time for Dante’s outburst. He pauses in the middle of removing the grate, eyebrows raised incredulously. ]

The whole place is empty except for a few glowing rocks, and they rig the door to shock people? Because that’s not suspicious at all.

[ Why kind of spy movies have they been watching? This is so lame. ]

I got the air vent open, though. Who wants to go in first?

Gryffindors are pathological rule-breakers.

[Harry Potter and the Flagrant Violation of School Rules. Dirk starts at Dante and watches the shock as it happens. Well, shit.]

I guess it's my turn to risk sudden death.

[Meaning he'll take the vents. He braces his hands and pushes himself up, all that unnecessary muscle going to good use, and is able to hoist himself part way in. At which point:]

Okay, that's stupid.

[He drops out of the vent.] It's blocked. The air is flowin' but it's blocked.

[While Dirk's trying the air vent, Dante's testing another lock. This time, he's a little bit more prepared for the shock when it comes, so he doesn't drop his picks, and he only hisses beneath his breath in reflex at the sudden jolt of electricity.]

So there's no electricity in the whole city but somehow the doors are set up to shock you if you try to break in, and the air vents have something in them to block people from getting through.

They really don't want us getting in, do they?

[Which only means that there must be something worth finding, right? Dante's just going to go ahead and try all of the doors--not with his picks, he's learned his lesson there--but to see if any of them just so happen to be unlocked. And as a matter of fact...]

Hey.

[Dante grins, looking back at the other two in what dim light there is. Guess who just found the stairwell?]

Going up, next stop second floor.

[ There’s not much Leo can help with over here with Dirk in the air vent, but he’s curious enough to go check out the lock Dante’s been fiddling with. Nothing looks out of the ordinary with it, but of course it wouldn’t. Aside from the glowing rocks, this pretty much like any other empty office building in the city. ]

They could have a backup battery, [ Leo suggests, squinting at the lock as if it will suddenly start spilling secrets. ] A power outage wouldn’t take out a backup system like that if they set it up right.

But Retrospec’s just supposed to be some social media app, right? It’s not like they’d be dealing with a lot of sensitive information or whatever. Why would they even need all this?

[ He’s not expecting to get much further than that. If the doors are locked and set up to shock intruders, and even the air vents are blocked, it doesn’t look like they’re going to find anything useful. And then Dante finds the stairs, and Leo can’t help but feel a little wary. ]

And why would they leave the door to the stairs open if everything else is locked?

Social media apps collect a lot of data that gets sold to various companies and entities. It's used for everything from targeted advertisement to political maneuvering.

[Just. Rattled off casually as he glances over at the situation. Dirk brings out his phone to take a picture.]

[Of course Dirk would know that. Dante nods, not even surprised, but he shoots a grin over his shoulder toward Leo.]

Maybe someone forgot to set the lock when they left. ...or we'll run into another locked door at the top. Worth a try though, right?

[That being said, he's going to go ahead and start up the stairs! ...aaaaaaaaand get about three steps up before something seems to give under his foot, knocking him off balance and pitching forward. Dante swears, trying to plant his foot on the next stair up while also throwing a hand out to catch at the railing, but it's hard to catch your balance when the flat risers of stairs have angled and flattened out into a slide.

His fingers brush the rail, but it's too little too late. Dante manages to twist enough that he lands on his side, twisting the rest of the way to his back as he's dumped down the slide to the first floor unceremoniously. For half a second he stays on his back, the expression on his face more than enough to make it clear just how bewildered he is by what's just happened, and then he's sitting up to whip around and look at the stairs.]

Are you kidding me?

[That didn't really just happen, did it?]

[ .........What the hell, Dirk?? That’s got to be the last thing Leo expected, and it shows in the way his eyes widen. ]

Isn’t that, like, an invasion of privacy or something?

[ What. It does kind of explain the stalker vibes he’s gotten from Retrospec, though.

Okay, whatever, he can worry about that stuff later. As long as he’s not going first, Leo is all set to follow the way up the stairs, except suddenly they’re not stairs anymore. And, well, he can’t help it.

He bursts out laughing as Dante lands back on the ground floor. ]

Oh my god. I can’t believe it, [ Leo says between laughs. He’s trying to reign it in, but if nothing else comes out of being here tonight, that just made it worth coming out for. ] Do they think they’re in a movie or what?

It's covered under Terms of Serv—[Wait Big Brother's presence in your life is not important because HOLY SHIT AND HE HAS HIS PHONE OUT HE IS RECORDING THIS.

Anyway Dirk's laughing and he isn't even trying to reign it in.]

[Dante wants to be mad. Because wow, here he invited them out on this Life-Changing Adventure With Dante™ and these dickwads are laughing at him.]

You guys are assholes.

[But he can't. Because in spite of himself, he's cracking a smile too, unable to keep from breaking into laughter himself. God, this place is ridiculous. Booby-trapping the stairs? Leo's right; apparently they've wound up in some sort of bullshit B-movie with secret agents and cults.]

I can't believe this shit. One of you try.

[He climbs up to his feet, and it's only then that he realizes Dirk's holding his phone up.]

Wait a sec, are you recording this?

Like you wouldn't if it was either of us.

[ Please, Dante, you're no better and you know it. And finally noticing that Dirk is recording this only makes him laugh harder. ]

Dude, you say that like the stairs did it just to spite you. What makes you think it’ll be different for us?

[ Not… that Leo would be surprised if Retrospec did that on purpose. Didn’t Dante brag about having done this once before? ]

Here, I’ll give it a shot.

[ Because if Dante’s going to chicken out now someone else has to step up to the plate. And there is a way to get around a surprise slide staircase. Namely, the handrail, so Leo’s going to hold onto that sucker, just in case, and start climbing. Just as expected, the stairs change again. And even though he adjusts his grip and tries to keep going up the slide using the rail for leverage, he doesn’t get very far before something throws him back and he tumbles right into the wall. The impact leaves him stunned for a moment before he gives himself a little shake and pushes himself back to his feet. ]

They need to find some better spy movies to watch.

I love the spy movie I'm watchin' right now.

[He recorded that too, Leo. He is having a grand time and also? He's not going to take the stairs now.]

I can't believe you two made my baby brother's dreams come true.

[Okay, watching it is definitely a lot better than being on the receiving end. Dante isn't even trying not to laugh when the stairs change beneath Leo's feet, though he does let out a (semi-)sympathetic "oof" when he hits the wall.]

Leo, you okay?

[And now his attention's back to Dirk.]

What about Dave's dreams?

And come on, man, we both tried it, it's your turn. Don't wuss out on us now. I'll even record for you just so the circle of stupidity's complete.

Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, [ Leo says, waving Dante off. He’ll be feeling that tomorrow, but for now it’s all good. Mostly.

Ow. ]

C’mon dude, what kid doesn’t dream of seeing his big bro go flying into a wall?

[ He says as if he would know. But also, Dirk. You gotta. ]

He warned me about stairs.

[He hands his phone to Dante to record and then goes for a sprinting jump. If he's going to die he's going to die parkouring.

It makes it more hilarious when he gets knocked back down.]

[Honestly, he thinks he's probably gotten the best end of this deal, he just had to slide down the stairs, not get thrown into a wall. But predictably, Dante's bursting into fresh laughter again when Dirk goes flying, unable to even keep his voice steady as he speaks.]

Man, I was gonna see if I could climb up the railing next but I think-- [Oh god he can't stop laughing, this was amazing 10/10 best idea they've had all year] --I think I already know what the answer to that'll be.

You okay, D?

[ Even after slamming into the wall himself, Leo can’t help but start laughing again, especially with Dirk’s very Extra sprint up the stairs. And here he’d wasted his time trying to do it the smart way. ]

You could always give it another shot, [ he says, snickering. ] Spider crawl up the walls or something like a real spy.

[ None of them are ever living this down, are they. ]

[Dirk takes his phone back, having nobly completed the triumvirate.]

I'm good. I hope someone else is gettin' a good laugh out of us.

If nothing else, we did.

[Dante hands the phone back with a broad grin, shrugging.]

But it looks like we're not going to get anywhere here. I guess we can go back to those tubes and see what's up with those, since there's nothing else we can get into.

Us and Retrospec. I bet they've got a camera somewhere in here on battery backup.

[ There's no lights he can see to confirm that, but if they really did walk into a spy movie, there should be ways to hide it. ]

But sure, radioactive rocks it is. What do you think is they've booby trapped those with?

If you break the tubes and sit in them, you'll feel physically sick.

[....................]

[..........don't deliver inane ideas in such a deadpan, Dirk, it makes it hard to know if you're serious or not!]

Are you volunteering to test that theory out?

And Leo, for someone who was so ready to touch them earlier, it sounds like you're having second thoughts.

[Not exactly, but since when has Dante ever missed an opportunity to challenge him? So Dante's just gonna head back into the main area, where the tubes are still glowing, beckoning them. What's awaiting them now...]

[ okay what. Leo almost stops short because he honestly cannot tell if Dirk is serious or not, but he’s going to go with “or not” and hope for the best.

Retrospec did kind of booby trap the stairs and doors, though.

Aaaaaaand then Dante is basically daring him to touch the rocks, and you know what? CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. ]

I’m not scared of a bunch of glowing rocks, [ Leo says heatedly. It’s not like he was planning to sit in the tube anyway. ] For all we know, they just threw some glow in the dark paint on them to make the place look more mysterious or something.

[ If it fits in with the spy movie theme they’ve got going… ]

[Yes. It's definitely a joke. Dirk has definitely not smashed open the tube, sat inside, and then got crazy sick to his stomach. He would never.

This also did not give him flashbacks to doing this as a baby.]

It can't be a worse idea than anything else we've done.

All right. So we need a sledgehammer for Dirk to break one of the tubes open with to test his theory. Leo, you wanna open one of these up?

[Dante's coming up to the tube on the far left, examining it closely. There doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary about it--at least, not more out of the ordinary than anything else. It's just a giant tube mounted to the wall filled with glowing stones, nothing unusual about that at all...

He frowns, trying to see if the top of the tube might be able to be pried upward, before lying his hand on the glass proper.]

[ Well, if he’d known they’d be smashing things, he would’ve grabbed a hammer from work. Too late now. ]

Sure, just gimme a minute.

[ It looks like the tubes are just screwed onto the wall like any other big installments like that might be, so taking it down shouldn’t be a problem at all. He’s half expecting another random trick from some lame movie again, though - maybe a smoke screen? Who knows. ]

[This is the point where his conscience kicks in.]

Guys. No. I was jokin'. We should seriously not do that.

[Just touch it like a normal idiot? Dirk isn't because after sitting in them and wanting to throw up, he refuses to go near it again]

[He shouldn't have touched the tube.

For a moment after Dante touches the cool glass, everything seems fine. And then there's a rush of something that floods him, an urge to go, to flee... and yet it's a troubling feeling, because he knows that he needs to go, but he doesn't know where he needs to go. Instinctively he wants to go home, but his mind can't settle on where that is and it locks him in place, indecision wracking him.]

I think it's time to go, anyways.

[Because one thing's for sure: even if he doesn't know where he can return to, it's not somewhere here.]

[ Confused by the sudden change of heart, Leo stops to give Dante a Look. ]

What? You were all ready to break into those things two seconds ago.

If he feels like we have to go, we should go.

[Dirk remembers how he felt sitting in it. Sick, but also desperately homesick. He needed to go home.]

This place fucks with you. We shouldn't test it.

[Dante folds his arms with a scowl.]

Yeah, well, I was ready to break in, and now I'm not. I'm voting we get out of here while we can. If you want to take a look at those stones, do it fast.

[Mostly because if Leo doesn't, Dante's feeling a little bit like he might just get out of there without the other two. It's an urgent feeling tugging at him, wanting him to go, even if it doesn't know where.]

Edited 2017-04-20 01:30 (UTC)

Okay, okay. [ He holds his hands up in surrender. ] No touching the radioactive rocks. I get it.

[ No, Leo definitely does not get it, but whatever, Dante is kind of his ride home. What else can he do? He doesn't know what changed, but he's definitely not going to test these two.

Sighs. ]

Fine. Let's go.

[Yup so Dirk will just head out right the front door and

It's reporters. Oh fuck.]

No.

[Dirk grabs both of the other kids' arms so he can try to just strongarm the three of them through the crowd.]

[Ride home? Who said anything about driving? Dante's itch to go is bad enough that he just wants to run away, because that sense of confusion is still nagging at him, pulling him in multiple directions.

He follows Dirk out the door, and at the same time as Dirk says "No" there's a curse from Dante. What the hell?]

How did they even know we were in there?

[But then Dirk's got a hold of his arm, and they're moving through the crowd, and Dante's just not even going to question it--he's just using a hand to block the paparazzi, shaking his head and refusing to answer any questions.]

No comment. Get out of my face.

[Leo, how're you doing over there...?]

[ Could be better. He’s more or less stunned into silence at the sudden appearance of the paparazzi and Dirk is easily able to steer him through the crowd while he processes this.

Why are they here? Were they expecting this? But that doesn’t make sense if the power’s still out across the city.

To the press, all he’ll say is: ] Isn’t it illegal to harass minors? Go away.

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closed | don't stop me now

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