alltheheroes | Thought I could do this on my own

Thought I could do this on my own

The last encounter between Tengu and the superhero team had created a lull in the blazes that had seized one Krei Tech property after another, but no peace lasts forever.

Frame and armor no longer marred by damage sustained in the collapse during his last escape, the robot has emerged from his hiding in the city of San Fransokyo to make a new move against Krei Tech. This time, his target is one just beyond the city limits; a place more removed both from the city and from nearby structures. Despite the advantage of a location with distance from where he has usually been active previously, this building happens to be one of his more crucial targets.

He hopes there will be some delay in finding him after spending so long inactive in the field. The setup alone will require significant time to orchestrate for the fire to sustain until the building collapses without spreading. Normally the distance to surrounding structures might be enough to go about this haphazardly, but this particular lab has a fairly significant stockpile of chemicals he has to avoid in storage. He has to burn not only within a perimeter, but maintain an internal secondary perimeter to avoid causing an explosion.

On top of that, there had been two extra security men on guard compared to the usual force for a building of this particular square footage. Thankfully, the two of them were easy enough to add to the line up of unconscious men he had already transported to a separate property and left restrained to be found in the morning.

At this point, he has already made major rearrangements of larger machines down on lower levels, using the mass to create an internal barricade of sorts, and has opened select windows and doorways while shutting all others to create the necessary airflow with observation to the current direction of wind and anticipated pressure flow for the remainder of the night. That same breeze from a window passes over his black shell unfelt as he focuses on the wiring beneath the wall panel he had already removed forcibly. One of the many circuits he had selected is in the corner of the catwalk on which he stands currently in the second level overhanging the main lab. His tactic of overloading particular circuits within the underlying power grid of the structure would help him to best control the flames he intends to ignite.

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It was a matter of watching, waiting, and upon seeing a piece fall in to place- taking action.

The students knew that there had been an attack on the system, and that Callaghan wouldn't be able to watch over them while he worked on getting it back up to full capacity- and, more than that, improve its security. What they didn't know was that after getting the basics up, he had decided to let it stay in its reduced state while he followed his own projects. Some were his personal upgrades, others were simply obligations to his classes and the school-

But in that came discovery.

And uncertainty.

All of that led him here, doing something which was undeniably stupid; at minimum, he should have brought his armor. Instead, garbed in black with only the bare-minimum of necessities for this excursion, Robert was hauling himself up and then through the open window, hoping he'd gotten there in time-

-and there he was. It was. And if Callaghan hadn't made enough noise with his climb, then his foot coming down on to the metal catwalk would no doubt announce his presence.

It would become immediately apparent that Callaghan had managed to sneak up on the robot immersed in his work when Tengu actually flinches at the sound and vibration of the suspension on which he stands. His reaction is swift, dropping his delicate grasp on the wires from within the wall to hastily grab the panel he had torn free and raise in front of himself as he turns to face his reverse. Intending to defend himself with the panel from any incoming attack he freezes into stillness when rather than finding the superhero team...

He finds Professor Callaghan standing at the far end of the short catwalk at the open window.

The bot stares for a mere silent second, then lowers the panel without yet releasing it. While the teacher lacks his armor, Tengu knows better than to assess him as anything less than a threat.

Slowly he lifts one hand up to touch the side of his helm, the visor at the front separating at a command with the lock opening. It creates just enough of a space at the top and bottom seam for air to pass, and thus allow sound out. In an unfamiliar synthesized voice, the bot speaks with an echo from inside of his armor.

"Why are you here?"

He'd gone over this in his head; ways of dodging, avoiding, escape any sort of initial strike- ways to try and convince the other to stay, if they chose to run. This, too, had been thought of- and in response, Callaghan raises his gloved hands, palms forward, a pacifying gesture meant to also show that he's nothing to hide.

"To talk. I'm alone, unarmed, and relying on your claims of not being out to hurt people to assure my safety."

That, with the subtle raise of his chin, is a challenge; are you going to prove him wrong, Tengu, and put him in danger?

Challenge accepted.

Head tilting forward slightly, the bot turns it to look down as he leans to drop the panel with a clatter to rest upright against the rail support nearest to him. Releasing the makeshift shield is a show of his commitment to his claims. Assuring the panel settles, Tengu then straightens his frame to stand tall, looking along the path to Callaghan as he states quite bluntly his thoughts on that reported purpose.

"I have nothing left that needs to be said."

I͖̜͓̣͍̰ͭ͑͌̈̽͋ͪ̚ͅ'̛͖̗̞̫̬̫̳ͨͪ͟͞m͚͍̟͐̅ͬͪ̓ͧ ͯ̈͊̓̃҉̶̪͍̪̠̦s̊ͭͤ͏̶̳̱̫̬o̸̗͈̪̘̍̀͋ͪ͐ͧ͑͜r͖̰̟͎̻̘̣ͥ͐̽͑͂̉͐ͯͨ͟͞r͕̝͓̓̿̆͌͋̈̂͘͡ỳ̸̘̣̠͊̀ͥ̏ͦͥ̃̍͞,͓̠̠̜̙̼͕̥̖̿͊ͩͨͣͥ͑ ̴̙͎͙̯̣̖͌̐̔̈̋͋̚̕͟ͅP̛̖͈͎͖̪̅ͮ̏̇͑̌ͯ͠͡ͅṟ̺͈ͯ̌ͫ͒ͩ́͠ŏ̜̊̌f͔͖̔̂ͫ̓̅̒ͬ̓͠eͫͮͧ͐ͮ҉̱̝̯͇̮͓s̗̣̣̬̝͈̮̓ͥ̇ͩ̅̈́͒̒̎͘s̵̖̣ͬ̉̿ͣͬ̚ͅo̷̢͈̺̖̲͇͔ͥ̏ͥ̅̓̿́ͅr͈̫̗̠̰ͥ̑͑͡.̄̌ͧ͋ͨ͏̸̴̗͈

Step one, complete; no attacks on either side. Callaghan relaxes, but only slightly; the hard part isn't over, yet.

He shifts his weight, both feet on the catwalk now as he straightens and rests his arms at his side. It's one of the few times he's seen Tengu through anything but another's camera, and he's certainly never seen him up close like this, much less still. Most of the time, he's on the move,, avoiding some sort of attempt at capture or pursuit...

"Give me five minutes of conversation and I'll pretend your activity tonight never reached my scanners." Not that Tengu needs to know he tracked him down by other means, but- the offer's there. One night, one fire, completely unaccosted and unopposed. They both know that Callaghan couldn't stop him on his own (though he could probably put up a decent obstacle), so that doesn't even need to be said.

The bot allows his own arms down in mirror of Callaghan, easing to show no physical resistance to the presence of the man even if he wants him to leave so that he can continue with his work.

Then Callaghan makes the offer for a trade of minutes and information for a chance to remain unhindered by the students through the remainder of this particular endeavor. It is exactly what he wants, and Callaghan is aware of that. Five minutes however will be a long time to fill, especially when in an exchange with a man as sharp as the professor.

Consideration is made, and he takes the risk that allows him to maintain a greater degree of control with the situation.

His head bows in a single, slow nod, "I accept. There is some information I must withhold for your safety, but I will remain honest throughout the next five minutes and attempt to be more...forthcoming."

"Understandable."

And he's a man of his word; assuming Tengu keeps him, he's willing to keep the students out of this. They'll assume his scanners in their current state couldn't pick up the information; if they don't ask, there's no need to say otherwise. And if they do ask- well, new programs are bound to have a few bugs, aren't they? Things he's only so certain about, and not willing to risk them on in case they were needed elsewhere...

"I'm still looking for a reason to trust you fully, Tengu, but I believe we do share a common foe."

No need to name who, either. And while the Big Hero 6 haven't exactly made any attacks against Krei- Callaghan's wariness and personal ~~hatred~~ dislike of the man have kept them from working too closely with him. Krei's noticed, and there's been some not-so-subtle hints of 'you're either with me or against me'.

And while Robert isn't sure he'd prefer an arsonist as an ally, if the enemy of an enemy is a friend...

For his part, Tengu does not mind how Callaghan handles the students in keeping them in the dark regarding this particular target, but he does not want them near this site if it can be helped. If anything goes awry, chemical fumes could be released and he would have to act quickly to contain the leak amidst the blaze.

To be able to stay close after being able to take enough time to do this right will make everything go much more smoothly.

Though it pains him, there is no fluctuation to his voice when he replies with a tilt of his head, "Likely because I have not made effort to earn your trust. Involving anyone else in what I must do would place them at extreme risk."

"This one-man war isn't very winnable unless you plan on changing your tactics."

After a moment's hesitation, he takes a step forward- slowly, mixing a casual attitude with wary observance. Then another step, ready to halt the moment Tengu begins to draw back. He's pushing at what boundaries are in place, testing them, trying to see what is and isn't 'allowed' with this odd little meeting.

"What started you on it, for that matter?" A brief pause, and then he furrows his brow, choosing his words carefully. "The timing is...odd. You can't blame me for my initial suspicions."

The first step forward is not met with any response, but the second step is enough to get attention from the bot. That tilt of his head vanishes as he snaps his head upright with a mild sense of alarm, but initially Tengu seems tolerant of the approach even as he measures the distance between them to the last millimeter. So long as a full meter separates him from Callaghan, he won't make any movement to retreat even as subtle tension increases within his frame as a result of each step closer.

Choosing to ignore the commentary on his choice of strategy due to being unable to elaborate on all of the particular reasons for its selection, the robot does answer the direct query if with hesitation.

"...I can't fault you for holding to the possibility I was connected to the fire at the college. It did influence my approach." A pause, then, "As for why I am after the company, I admit it's personal. I lost everything because of Krei."

I̴̝̭͈̟̯͗͗ͩ͡n͔̞͔͉͇̫͍̔͐̄͗̄ͯ͗ͥ̂́͘̕ͅc̨͉͓̥ͦͦ̌̓̚lͣ̀̾̔̈͠͏̩̪̯̼ͅư̳̼̝̦̣͒͛ͣ͘͜ḑ̴͍̲̱̲̤̯̉ͮ̌̆̉̋ͧ̒ǐͮ̓ͭ̏͏̞͇͉̻̻͡n̡̲̠̣͓͙̞̮̉̓͂ͤ͂ͯ̇g̛̈ͨ͑͝ͅ ͕͇̒͋͂͟͝ỹ̮̭͉̬̙̯̠̙ͤͦ̉̒o͕̯̩̞͑̓̕ứ̵̫͓͛̍ͬͅ.̱͍͍̭̪͒͛ͮ͆ͅ

As Callaghan comes to a full halt a bit over that meter away, he can't help but think what he, too, has lost. It tightens his expression, and he could so very easily draw a line of connection between his and Tengu's.

"So you're taking everything from him," he ventures again, before pausing...and then slowly, neurally, continuing. "Will that include his life?"

By the time Callaghan comes to a stop, there's a slight curl to the robot's frame with those large, heavy hands held up closer to the hips by a mild bend in the elbows, a soft curve of the trunk, and a dip of the head. Tengu is rather tense having such a short of a distance between them, but the two-point contact with the catwalk surface has not been altered.

Silently, the bot takes this chance to gauge how Callaghan is dealing with this confrontation in terms of physiological signs of stress in a scan looking for elevated blood pressure, increased heart rate, raised levels of cortisol, and so many other markers.

At the venture there is no immediate response, then the bot shakes his head firmly in denial of the option of taking a life, though his tone is tinged by bitterness, "No. I have no intention of killing or even physically harming Alistair Krei. And while I have considered taking more from Krei, I set out to destroy his corrupt company and that's it."

He hesitates, then more softly adds in an almost subdued manner, "This is not about revenge."

There's an elevated heartbeat, of course. For all his projected attitude, he's tense, but it's a focused tension that he's keeping at bay for now. Still, all signs point to him being coiled like a snake; ready to strike, but only in self-defense.

His posture, at least, isn't aggressive. Though how knows how quickly that could change?

"At this rate, you might not even have to do so directly," he points out. "You're pushing him to a point where he's getting desperate, and likely to resort to desperate means."

And now he's moved on to the next point;

"He's tried to 'hire' the team. We said no. I think he's hiring others."

That tension in the man gives the bot a sense of uneasiness, but at least he seems to have halted in approaching for now. Callaghan had reported himself to be unarmed but to come alone directly to meet, even with peaceful intentions would be foolish without some defensive measure. It takes a conscious effort, but for his part, Tengu lowers the force output in his motors to a more static level of support, correcting his posture. Arms relax once more as he straightens the neck joints, tipping his head forward instead to keep his cameras directed to Callaghan even as he allows his torso to retain a hint of the curve.

Hopefully, by settling his stance, Callaghan might calm down somewhat. He cannot risk letting himself get emotional lest he start to lose control of himself as he has previously, and potentially compromise his anonymity. Here, with Callaghan in front of him and speaking with him, he has never been in greater danger of losing his mask.

To what Callaghan says, the bot actually hums in thought before he answers, "Directly or indirectly, I will accept whatever methods are effective without compromising my parameters. Although it has taken longer than anticipated, I expected Krei would eventually escalate his own defensive measures. It is...logical that he approached you and your team given our history of encounters."

"...for what it's worth, however, I am glad you declined."

Both attitudes are carefully calculated, then; for whatever body language is perceived, even subconsciously, Callaghan's own changes little. But he is very much serious, with little of his old ease- he's hardened, since the fire, with fewer and fewer opportunities to smile and laugh like he used to.

This isn't one of them.

"We're trying to capture, not kill." No point dancing around the point; they want Tengu dead just as little as he wants them dead, it seems. "But I doubt whatever goons Krei hires will show the same restraint.

"Will this make a difference?"

In his treatment of the goons, of them- Robert Callaghan isn't a fool. Just as there's an elevated risk to Tengu, there's some to them, as well, if they try to throw themselves in the middle of this.

A faint hitch in his voice synthesizer sounds, the whisper of noise barely audible to humans. Much like a pause in breathing, the electric supply to the synthesizer cuts briefly at the question regarding how Tengu will respond to the alteration of desired results with the change in opponents. He manages to resist looking down or away from Callaghan, but a passing twitch of his digits at one hand sneaks through his control.

Voice forced even, he responds, "For myself, no. My function will cease after the collapse of the corporation should my efforts prove successful. This I knew from the beginning. I will maintain restraint when I defend myself, and won't be diverted from my goal."

"In regards to your team...I highly suggest they allow me to engage the additional hired help and restrain them before attempting to capture me themselves. That is if they remain committed to my capture. I do not want them targeted in crosshairs."

Interesting.

"The team is working on plans." He's working on plans - he's not sure how many of them understand the weight of everything that's going on - and that's good enough, for now. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't share them."

A pause.

"What do you mean, your function will cease?"

Developing plans is indeed a specialty of the team mentor. For the students or Callaghan to be unprepared for nearly anything within the realm of possibility would be a shock.

The question for clarification is given a silghtly hurried response, trying to move the conversation forward to something less personally uncomfortable, "If I do bring Krei Tech down, my objectives will be complete. My presence will no longer serve a purpose and my program, and related files, will be erased. It is the same for all machines."

On some level, it's almost a relief to hear they won't have to deal with Tengu forever; Callaghan's growing more and more disturbed with the thought of this becoming his retirement. To say nothing of the others, devoting their lives to all of this- or more, to the concept of these heroics in general.

On the level Callaghan plays far closer to chest, it's far more distressing. On the clinically selfish part, it's a loss of knowledge- he'd give much to study what robotics have gone in to all of this, and the thought of them simply deleting themselves seems like such a waste. But even closer still, deep within...

It feels like something in his chest has dropped through the floor.

Through will alone, he keeps composure; there's a flicker in his expression, but only that before it sets and tightens, metal jaw clenching as though to offer stability. "None I've ever programmed. Which leaves the question as to who programmed you."

The question seems odd to Tengu. Callaghan should have already anticipated the answer he has for him.

"That is not information I can share," the bot states plainly with a coolness to the words that covers much more discomfort. He doesn't want to think about it again. It doesn't matter how he came to this form of consciousness when no one will be made aware of the depth of his program.

Immediately after however, he tilts his head slightly to one side, "As a warning, approximately half of the allotted time has passed. Please continue."

He really should have known. That expression tightens a bit more in an unhappy grimace, mostly aimed at himself for the slip...and time-wasting. And to think, there's the possibility of him being wrong, and that this is in fact a real threat...

"Fine, no specifics- can you at least confirm you're not a product of Krei or his employees, current or former?"

It may be a bit closer to playing 'twenty questions', but- it's an attempt at recovery.

Head easing to neutral, the bot answers straight, "Neither my construction nor my programming are the results of any work by anyone associated with the Krei Tech company either previously or currently."

This is definitely not an elaborate insurance scam.

Good enough. "And why do you think tearing it to the ground would be a better idea than simply forcing Krei out?"

It's a logical idea; cut off the head, and the company won't stay nearly the same. Unless, of course, the poison runs all the way through, but- with this attempt to play at devil's advocate, all to understand the way the other thinks...

He needs to understand these motivations.

He needs to understand the mind.

Somehow, this question is almost calming to Tengu. It stirs a memory from the background, the same voice he recognizes as Professor Callaghan echoing from inside his code with words of guidance.

A right answer doesn't mean much if you don't know how you got to it in the first place.

Initially, the bot remains stoic and still as he begins to explain, but by the time he has reached halfway through, his hands start to move along with his words in minute versions of gestures to accompany his thoughts, "There were numerous factors to consider when Krei Tech was identified as an active threat. Most pressing of course was the matter of time. The time tables set for plans, for progression on projects within the company created significant limitations to options available. To stop certain actions, an effective method had to be employed prior to set dates. With that in consideration, the potential of removing Krei from his position within the company is made inert. It would be difficult even without the pressure of time. Alistair Krei is not technologically gifted as you and your students are, but he is extremely socially intelligent. The man is considered charismatic even by his competitors, and he has sufficient funds to bolster his image further. Within the company itself, he has significant support from his closest staff members, and to a lesser degree, support from those he employs at most, if not all, levels within the company. He is a very smart businessman that has put into place numerous incentives for his employees to build loyalty and devotion to the success of the company as a whole. Krei does not look only at the bottom line and profit, but maintains sustainability that brings in longer term profit at a higher rate."

Dropping the gestures with sudden realization of his motion, the bot finishes, "To the point, extracting Krei through manipulative means would require significant time and very extensive planning with a deeper understanding of the internal mechanisms of the company. At Krei Tech, he has built himself up as a visionary leader and one that may be beyond reproach."

It's actually far more informative than Tengu might have thought.

Callaghan tilts his head, listening attentively; it's a subtle shift, but with his hands moving to just behind him, it's not far from a stance he'd wear when listening a student describe their project, or try and 'sell it' in the first place.

It's logical; he can't deny that. Which means he needs to counter that logic with further opposition, a familiar role to expose flaws in the plans-

"And everyone he employs? You avoid the direct injuries, but the losses he's taking, he's passing straight on to the workers. Lives are being lost, if indirectly.

"What keeps you from spending that time? Assume you weren't being chased- would you?"

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icon is inner callaghan, outer is that emote u know what im talkin bout

The best emote

D: D: D: D:

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