MISSION: RELEASE THEM BACK INTO THE WILD

[initiates]

Date & Time: April 27th - May 1st
Location: Wollongong, Australia, 2464.
Characters: All voluntary transports + maybe a few drafted ones.
Summary: Make those stay-at-homes leave their nerdcaves! My god, do they even know what sunshine looks like???
Warnings: none planned, will be updated accordingly!

The city is old, dark, and very, very quiet. A good deal of the buildings are crumbling and old, but the ones that are actually inhabited glow like candles in the dusk the Transporter has dropped you into. All of these buildings are infested by wiring pouring in from every angle, ensuring that each inhabitant in his or her little block of a room has every modern convenience available in 2464.

There is no one on the streets, no public transportation, and even cars look scarce. But that doesn't mean there's no movement. Maintenance drones, controlled remotely, run deliveries or work repairs. Armed law enforcement drones patrol on rounds through the city, although their mechanized attention is mostly turned outward. Still, they might come to investigate a ruckus within the city limits. And if the persons causing the ruckus don't respond to peaceful attempts to get them to cease, the drones might attempt to subdue them with paralyzing technology and haul them in for a night in the city jail — another dark, unused place.

If you get hungry, there are entire warehouses dedicated to the production of foods. It can't be that hard to sneak in and collect a meal, right? Or you can hack into the system and order whatever you want, if you're good with that kind of thing. Or you can just scavenge—or fast for four days, maybe—if thieving and hacking aren't your style.

And somewhere around here, in those glowing, secluded towers, behind the legions of automated drones, live the reclusive citizens of Wollongong. The methods are up to you, as long as you can get them to come out and breathe the fresh air somehow.

[[ ooc; Mission details are here! This will run from 27th of April to May 1st, with those on the mission returning to Exsilium at the same time that the new arrivals show up. It's an optional mission, but if you'd like your character to go along that would ICly sit it out, feel free to say that the Initiative drafted them for this one.

There aren't any teams or structured threads to this one, so go wild! ]]

Comments

[quisling]

[ Getting a better look at her face now though things click into place pretty quickly. Kaede, the girl who's father was here from a world where super heroes actually existed.

Though that did raise the question of why he let her travel out here on her own? With drones patrolling the area it wasn't like it was the safest place you could send your child.

He smiles at the question though. ]

No, I'm definitely not.

[ A short pause before asking ]

Is it safe for you to be out here on your own, Kaede?

[copia]

[ —oh! The voice definitely clicks a name into place, and she closes the distance between them so their voices don't catch the attention of another drone. She smiles as she stops before him. ]

Hi! I didn't recognize you from so far away, sorry about that. And no... [ She looks away for a moment. ] It's not, but I'm simply trying to do what the Initiative asked me to do, and just be careful about getting into conflict with the drones. [ She looks back at him, moving her hair out of her eyes. ] How has the mission been going for you?

[quisling]

[ He's biting his tongue and avoiding making any comments on the Initiative and their "requests" for help. He will be honest about one thing though. ]

It hasn't... I didn't actually come here to help the Initiative with their mission. I came here to see what I could do for the people that agreed to go on it.

[ Which in this case means making sure people have access to food, and aren't being harassed by drones for the most part. ]

[copia]

Ah. [ Gosh, he really is charming in person! Swoon. ] Well, that's sweet of you to do. Did any of your friends come along, too, on their own or being drafted like myself?

[quisling]

[ Frowning remembering the conversation he had to have with his girlfriend to convince her not to come along on this mission. He's not sure if this is going to be a repeat thing, but knowing Euphie it's unlikely he's going to be able to talk her out of every one of them.

The other girls didn't seem to come along either, Lelouch on the other hand... ]

Yeah, one of them did, but I'm sure he came by choice. He's not the kind of guy to cooperate if he doesn't want to.

[ The fact that they drafted a kid to do something like this speaks volumes though... ]

What about you?

[ Her dad had to at least have come with her, right? ]

[copia]

He sounds like someone the Initiative might have trouble with later on, which is fine with me.

[ She rubs her arm nervously before linking her fingers in front of her. ]

I am with two friends who did volunteer to come, and one of the Heroes from my world also came on his own, although he didn't know I was coming. My dad is not in Exsilium anymore.

[quisling]

[ He smiles at her first comment, but he can't say he disagrees with it, but it's gone by the time she mentions the fact that her dad is gone.

She did mention she was going to prepare herself just in case the Initiative did this, and the fact that they didn't care enough not to pull a stunt like this... but he hadn't actually expected them to do that. ]

They actually sent him back?

[copia]

[ A nod. ] About a week or so after I showed up.

[quisling]

What were they thinking?

[ His hands clench into a fist and shakes his head just once. The Initiative really does seem to be doing everything in their power to look like that bad guys to the people they're bringing here. Are they this stupid, or do they really just not care about how bad they come across to the people from other worlds, since in the end they were all expendable to the Initiative, weren't they?

Why else would they force a kid like her to come out here in the first place? ]

How have you been doing since then?

[copia]

[ In a deep and mocking tone: ] "Oh, they're no use to us now. We can send them back, totally!"

[ She sighs and clears her throat, moving her hair from her face. ] I'm fine — I mean, it isn't the first time I've had to be separated from my dad, since we live in different cities back home. I just have to remember that this is different, because I can't call him or anything like that.

[quisling]

[ He's forcing a smile at her mocking the Initiative. It's a painfully true statement though. At least she's taking it all in stride. That's more than you can expect from a kid. ]

Yeah...

[ There's a short pause here before he adds in. ]

Hey, Kaede? I know it's not the same, but if there's ever anything I can do to help you out let me know. Not just now either while we're on the mission, I mean any time.

[copia]

[ It's easy to take it in stride when the parental figure is always disappearing or canceling plans at the drop of a hat. It doesn't make the bitterness go away though.

His offer catches her off-guard. She puts on a genuine smile, nodding once. Sure, she has the Mekakushi Dan to fall back on, but it is always great to have someone outside of that group. ]

Thank you, Suzaku! I will definitely keep that in mind.

[quisling]

[ His smile is less forced now too. It's still hard to actually be genuinely happy hearing what's happened with her lately, but he is glad to be able to help. ]

I'm glad.

[ Oh and... ]

For the time being mind if I tag along with you until we come across another group at least?

[ In other words... mind if I keep an eye out for you until I'm sure you're safe with other people? ]

[copia]

Ah, sure! [ She gets to walk around with Suzaku the Teen Cutie too!? Perfect day aw yeah. ] Most people are completing the mission on their own, though, so we might not run into a big group. I know the campfire is where most people are at any given time.

[quisling]

[ He's glancing to the side but it's true he doesn't see anyone else around, and everyone he's come across so far has been working on their own. ]

I noticed. It's probably easier to avoid the robots they have guarding the area that way.

[copia]

[ She starts to walk, sliding her hands into the pockets of her shorts. ]

I destroyed a few of the drones with someone, but I think it depends on who you might be with and what they can do.

[quisling]

[ Well that's... weirdly comforting to hear? That she can at least take care of herself enough to take out these robots. The look of surprise on his face makes it pretty clear he didn't expect her to be able to though. ]

You took them out...?

[copia]

[ Another nod! ]

You got it. It's a good thing my dad showed me some tricks he used in his fighting, and then of course my NEXT powers, too.

[ She claps her hands together. ] And speaking of NEXT powers, don't freak out if a drone suddenly rounds the corner — it won't see us.

[quisling]

[ Right the powers the heroes and villains of her world have. Something like that would come in handy at a time like this. However when she mentions a drone his head snaps around to look where she's talking about, hand moving to the hilt of his sword.

That's not exactly and easy thing to not worry about. ]

What?

[copia]

[ She waves her hand at him when she sees him go for his sword. (She is also just realizing that he has a sword on his person. A sword! Talk about dashing indeed. *swoon*) ]

No no! I mean in a moment or so, because I'm sure we'll run into one, but it won't see us. Watch.

[ To him, it will look like she's done nothing except make her eyes glow blue. But to anyone — or anything — around them, she has revealed themselves to the world. It takes a moment for her, seeing as how it is not her natural power, but she reactivates her NEXT powers, causing her eyes to light up blue again, and now she herself has seemingly vanished from Suzaku's sight. ]

[quisling]

[ So this wasn't some psychic powers picking up a drone moving towards them then, huh? He relaxes his grip on his sword and watches with a bemused expression as her eyes glow and suddenly--

She's gone...

But did she actually teleport herself out of there, or is it clocking of some sort?

He's keeping his eyes trained on the spot she was standing a second ago. ]

That's... impressive. I can see why a drone would have trouble with you.

[copia]

[ Psychic powers picking up drones in their immediate vicinity would be awesome, but she has yet to meet someone who wields that power. She carefully moves up ahead a few feet before she drops the cloaking, and waves at Suzaku from her new position. ]

See? It's pretty handy, especially for this mission, but it's not permanent. If someone with a different ability touches me, then I can't utilize this invisibility one anymore.

[quisling]

[ He's turning fast as soon as he gets the hint of movement when the invisibility drops. Impressive doesn't even begin to cover it. ]

Sounds like it could get tricky... What happens if you make contact with someone who has invisibility for a second time? Do you pick their power back up?

[copia]

[ She nods at his question, and once Suzaku has closed the distance between them, her eyes glow blue once more to hide them from plain view. That way, they could continue talking and a drone couldn't ambush them easily. ]

That's right, and then I lose the use of the previous power. It's great because I get to experience all types of powers, which is great! But I can't really master them unless the original NEXT— person is by me almost all the time, like my dad. [ She huffs for a moment. ] Although my dad's Hundred Power is annoying sometimes.

[quisling]

[ He notices the glow and glances around to see if things look different around them... ]

Not to mention the problem of losing a useful power when you could use it the most and getting something you don't want in its place.

[ Attention back on her now. ]

What's his Hundred Power do exactly?