Operation: Express Car; [train plot log]

[these_balls]

Who: Everyone who wants to participate!
Where: Goldenrod City, the Magnet Train, Saffron City.
When: November 23rd, 11AM-5PM
Summary: Heist on the Magnet Train!
Rating: Might go up to PG-13, possibly R if exceptional violence of swearing occurs.
Log:

They've spent the last few days preparing. He wasn't sure at first, how this was going to turn out, but the Team is confident. They are confident and now he, Archer, is also confident. He has no reason to expect failure; he tells himself, even if they fail, this will cement them back in the public eye. A threat again. It makes his collar hot to think.

He reviews the plans again, Petrel's notes and schematics, engineering details. Phase 2 will be the most delicate, but he's confident in the abilities of the recruits. The aliens, the outsiders, are strange, but useful. They have skills no other Grunt would possess. Archer recognizes he has been given a tool, and only a fool would fail to use it.

At 9:30AM on November 23rd, Archer sends a message through the Rocket Network. It is short, and simple, and jubilant.

Operation: Express Car START

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It's a nice day out, considering. Cold, yes, but the kind of cold that buries itself deep in the lungs and blows the mind into crisp clarity. Cheeks are red, movements brisk to retain heat, and around Goldenrod's white-dusted Magnet Train station, the energy is thick enough to taste. People in their thick winter coats press together, some alone, some with families and friends, most with their trusted pokémon. The larger creatures are returned to their balls, tragically fated to miss the voyage, while smaller breeds are held in their trainers' arms or scurrying around their ankles.

The station attendants are supervising while customers pass through, touching the microchipped Rail Pass to the card readers and moving in slow, sluggish trails through the gates. There is no shoving; the atmosphere seems too cheery for it, excitement manifesting in the form of loud, vigorous conversation. The train itself is gloriously slick, smooth and polished as a new bullet or a freshly-minted coin, humming with power. We ask our passengers to please mind their electric-types, reminds the stationmaster over the PA, as we seek to avoid any trouble or inconvenience during the ride.

Once you've passed the gate, find a seat and stow away your luggage. Relax, unwind; it's a long six hours ahead.

[[ ooc: I kindly ask that players please DO NOT POST until all the subthreads have been made. Thank you!

GO FOR IT! Remeber to tag yourselves in!

NOTE: YOU CAN NPC ROCKETS IF YOU CAN'T NAB A PC ROCKET FOR PLOTTY FUNTIEMS. ]]

Comments

[chemistryinmotion]

[Wally does not expect to find Robin guarding the bomb. The bomb that Robin didn't tell him about, that wasn't part of the plan. There wasn't supposed to be actual danger, it was supposed to just be a typical beat-'em-up mission, no sweat. Now he has something much more explosive to worry about, and he's got to pretend to distract Robin long enough to let Athrun (and whoever else) defuse the bomb.

He growls in frustration and a vague look of betrayal flashes across his face. NOT PART OF THE PLAN. But there's nothing he can do about that now. He has a mission. So, with his best smirk, it's now time for generic superhero banter!]

You really think you can get away with this?

[hackintheaster.livejournal.com]

[Sign number one things were going wrong? The sudden influx of people on the train who decided they could come defuse the bomb. There were not supposed to be people here, because if there were more people here, that was just more people that kept Robin from actually getting in there to defuse it. And what if they didn't have any training? What if they actually blew them all sky-high? Robin's little internal freak-out was kept on the down low, though, as he gracefully kept out of the way of all the battles springing up across the train car.

That was, until Wally showed up.

Sign number two. So Robin didn't tell Wally about the bomb, because he had honestly thought that danger could have been eliminated before Wally was every part of the equation. But now Wally is there and Robin can see the slight panic, and he feels bad. He does. He should have told Wally but he thought...no, it doesn't matter now. Now...

Well, two points for Wally. Robin definitely had not thought about stalling. So he gives his best villain smirk in return, playing his part.]

We already have! Rockets have already infested the entire train and are stealing more pokémon than you could ever imagine as we speak! Even if you do manage to defuse the bomb, we'll still get away. We always get away.

[He adds a laugh in there for good measure, because that's what villains do. They explain their entire plot and then laugh. Or at least, the really lame ones do, and Team Rocket kind of falls under that lame category, even if this whole train heist thing kind of destroys that whole image...oh well.]

You can't stop us! We've already won!

[chemistryinmotion]

[It takes almost everything he's got not to burst out laughing. Robin is way too good at this for his own good. But he has to keep up the act, make it convincing, or else he could blow Robin's cover, and that would ruin pretty much any chance of finding answers inside Team Rocket.

... Not that Wally doesn't think Conner is capable, but he wasn't exactly trained by the World's Greatest Detective—and Steph... well, Wally still doesn't know a whole lot about her, so he can't exactly put his total trust in her to get the job done, even if she is capable. So it's down to Robin (although it was always just Robin, if he's going to be completely honest with himself), and it's for the sake of the larger mission at hand that he manages to keep the act up.]

Ha! Tell that to your unconscious friends in the other cars! You see, you've all made one big mistake: underestimating us.

[That's when he brings out Junior, completely disregarding the warning from the stationmaster, because, well, at this point a bomb is a little more inconvenient than a little electrical interference.]

It's time to settle this! [Which clearly means a D-D-D-D-D-DUUUEELLL Pokémon battle. Because that's how Johto works.]

[hackintheaster.livejournal.com]

[Robin laughs again at Wally's reply, summoning bringing out Barda in response to Junior. He checks over his shoulder for a moment to see some of the other passengers making their way closer to the bomb, and has to duck to avoid an attack from another battle before turning his attention back to Wally.

His mission can't fail. And if it does, well, if it does Robin has to make sure his loyalty is proven. He can't cause suspicion.]

You should know how this works, Wallace. We send out the weak ones to slow you down. The further in you go, the stronger we get. I hope you've been training, because I would hate to embarrass you in front of your friends.

[The train jolts to the side, the slight turn causing everyone to take a step or two to keep their balance. Barda rears up on her hind legs and let's out something like a roar, excited to be battling. Robin grins, because he's in character. He's a Rocket, and he has to make sure the others know that.]

Barda, double kick! Now!

[chemistryinmotion]

[His eye twitches involuntarily when Robin calls him Wallace—because if there's one thing he hates more than anything, it's that name. In fact, it's simply that name that allows him to start taking this whole act more seriously, really get into the whole "you betrayed me" thing—and it's a little scary how easy it is.]

Yeah? I'd like to see you try.

[Wally and Junior glance at each other with identical smirks, and it's in this moment that the resemblance is uncanny. Then Robin shouts his first move, and they both nod, knowing exactly which move they'll counter with. The command itself is merely formality.]

Alright, Junior, Thunderpunch!

[Junior uses his speed to evade Barda's kicks, and then jolts her backwards with his electrified punch.]

[hackintheaster.livejournal.com]

[Robin notices the way Wally falls into his role, almost nodding in response. This is how it has to be. They are enemies, now. They have to act like it. Even if Robin is having quite a bit of fun with his role in all this. For now, at least.]

Do or do not. There is no try. [He can't help the reference, give him a break!] And I most certainly will.

[Barda takes the brunt of the attack in stride, landing on her feet after she was jolted back towards Robin. For a moment there he wondered if he was going to have to catch her, but she held her own just fine. Barda was most definitely his strongest pokémon defensively, so he had no worries how this battle was going to go. It was just a matter of it holding out.

He just hoped that for however long they had to keep this going, things didn't get...too close. Robin trusted Wally could stay professional, but after their huge fight, he wondered if the wounds were too fresh. For either of them.]

Bite! Go!

[The words had barely just left his mouth when she was in motion again, this time using a few basic maneuvers to get around Junior's attacks before striking with her own.]