Twenty-fifth Theory [Action]

[i_speak_softly]

[After putting in an obligatory appearance at the baseball game, Donatello is up to some business of his own.

At a certain point during the afternoon, you may find him wheeling a motorcycle from C6 to House 55.

A bit later, you might catch him dragging forty-gallon garbage cans filled with a strange assortment of objects along the same route.

And sometime after that, you may come upon him near the bridge on this path, surrounded by those same garbage cans. Except that they are up-ended now, their contents strewn across the ground. In the center of the mess a bizarre contraption is taking shape.

Question this strange behavior? Watch in silent bafflement? Or maybe just back away slowly.]

((Please indicate at which point you encounter him!))

Comments

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Baseball is probably never going to be my thing, Donatello. And I'm okay with that.

Project? Or are you just being super tough on litter today?

[i_speak_softly]

[That's okay, April. You have plenty of other 'things'. Don will just nod and quirk a smile.]

Parts I've collected. Hadn't had a chance to bring them over from the apartment yet.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah? [Part of April instantly relaxes--a part that's been wound tight since he admitted he had given up on changing his current situation. Maybe this is Don getting back to nice, nerdy normal.]

Planning anything special with them? [Because you are a Junk Alchemist, Donatello.]

[i_speak_softly]

[He sighs.] I don't know. I haven't had much luck building anything, here.

Did you know, when I first got here there wasn't even electricity?

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Well...at least you didn't have to reinvent the wheel. Literally. [Dumb joke. They come out when she's nervous, sometimes. That strange apathy is upsetting. Very upsetting.]

What have you tried making so far?

[i_speak_softly]

It was a close call.

[He'll resume hauling the garbage cans.] I made a lightning rod. It was a spectacular failure.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

[April will join in, tugging at the handle on one can. They ARE heavy.]

Uh...isn't that just a rod that you stick on top of a building? What did you use to ground it?

[i_speak_softly]

[He'll humor your efforts, while secretly hoping you give up soon. They'll never get to the house at that rate.]

Lots of insulation. It was meant to be a barrier disruptor, but all it did was blow up in my face.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

[Still tugging, gamely.]

This barrier--does it emit any kind of frequency? [Yes, she's read about it, and she's heard a little bit about what happened during the earthquake, but there's so much more about the barrier that she wants to know. She hasn't been jaded by experience yet.]

[i_speak_softly]

[He admires your spirit, but thinks you need to learn when to admit defeat.]

Not that I know of.

[before-may.livejournal.com]

There's ways we can test that. We could start by building a simple antenna and receiver. What do we have to work with? [Casting a curious eye at the barrels.]

[i_speak_softly]

[... Well, there couldn't be any harm in just waving an antenna at the barrier.]

[He gestures to the cans.] Help yourself.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Here? Now? Don't I even get my own lab?

[i_speak_softly]

April, I don't even have my own lab right now. We weren't expecting to outgrow our new house so quickly.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Maybe we need to work on that first. Otherwise I shudder to think at the state the kitchen table is going to be in.

[i_speak_softly]

We'll - figure something out.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Hey--that's what we do, right? And...this can is heavy.

[i_speak_softly]

[He'll wordlessly take over the second can. Sometimes those long boring hours of weight-lifting do pay off.]

I wonder if we could keep the apartment, and just use it as a workspace. There aren't so many people here that it should be a problem. I mean, as long as everyone doesn't start doing it.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Yeah, or...I've heard there are labs around. [She trudges along next to him, shooting him a sidelong glance.]

[i_speak_softly]

There's the smithy. It's pretty crowded, though. And noisy.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Hidden labs? [She prompts, flushing slightly.]

[i_speak_softly]

I wouldn't know. I haven't found them.

[after-march.livejournal.com]

We can make our own place. [She speaks in a rush, brushing hair out of her eyes.]

[i_speak_softly]

[Wow, April, you almost sound as though you're proposing cohabitation. ... Cohabitation without other friends and family members, that is.]

A secret hideout, April? Aren't we a little old for that?

[after-march.livejournal.com]

Secret? Well, we've got nothing to hide, right? I just meant, you know--space.