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[infamousdelsin]

He hates this place. He hates that he can't leave. He hates that he can't get to the Akomish. It's the first time since Augustine hit them with her concrete power that he's actually felt helpless, and it's a terrible feeling.

He paces his new apartment tensely for a long moment before he swears and runs out the window. He climbs up the side of the building, then hits the roof. There's a neon sign not too far away. Maybe if he drains it, he can try to beat the city's weird Mobius effect. With neon, he can run at the speed of light, right? So maybe he can beat this.

He makes his way to it, heart kicking up in excitement. He can do this. He can do this.

He reaches the sign, holds his hands out—

And stumbles back with a gasp. His hands feel burned, and even as he looks, he can see the red marks start to fade. He pants softly and looks at the sign.

"What the hell!?" he demands. "No. No, no, no, no, this can't be happening." He reaches for the sign again, and lets out a pained sound. He curses and walks in a tense circle as he shakes out his arms.

He's lost neon. How? He hasn't gained a new power, not since concrete . . .

Delsin feels his stomach sink, and he looks around. There are no DUP nearby to drain it from. But he needs to know. If he's lost that, too, then he really is screwed. Because without concrete, the Akomish are going to die. And everything, all of it, even losing Reggie . . . it would have been for nothing.

Delsin shakes his head and he runs for the edge of the building. He needs a TV. If he can drain video, maybe he's still got a chance. He leaps off the edge of the building and lands on the sidewalk beneath it. He gets a few odd looks from the locals, but he ignores them: he's on a mission.

[[ Set to pre-bees, shortly after Delsin arrives in Darrow. He's just discovered that he lost one, possibly three of his Conduit powers and it's freaking him out. He's not on a rampage, but he's definitely on the verge of panic and will need to be calmed down. ST/LT welcome! Closed to top-levels ]]

Comments

[cagedlamb]

Elizabeth was one of the people he landed near. She just stared in shock momentarily, because people falling from the top of buildings typically did not simply land and walk away. Then she noticed the look on his face.

"Delsin!" she called out, hoping he would turn.

[infamousdelsin]

It's not every day Delsin hears someone call his name. He got used to it in Seattle. Hell, girls were asking to have his babies, and that's not boasting: it's just truth. People would call out to him on the streets for his work against the Dupes. And, okay, he didn't exactly revel in the attention, but he's come to realize that he misses it now that it's gone.

So when someone calls his name, he does stop, and he looks around. He almost doesn't recognize her. Then he nods.

"Oh, hey, Liz," he says. He clears his throat and steps closer, looking tense, maybe even nervous — but not at all injured from his jump off the roof.

[cagedlamb]

Elizabeth had seen a bit of something when they first met. A hint something was there. She hadn't really known what it was, but apparently it included being able to fall from heights that would certainly at least break someone's legs. When he turned, too, she got a better look at his face. Something was off, and she wasn't sure if she even ought to ask. It wasn't like he knew her well. Still, if she could help -

"Hey, are you okay?" she finally asked, concern overriding her curiosity over what she just saw (for the moment).

[infamousdelsin]

He looks away again. He knows he's an open book, but— He sighs.

"No," he says honestly. "Look, I, um. There doesn't happen to be some mystical sorta lost-and-found here, does there?" Please say yes. He needs his other powers back.

[cagedlamb]

"A - mystical lost and found?" Elizabeth asked, eyebrows furrowing. She had no idea what that meant, and she was pretty sure that had nothing to do with the fact that she had been locked away most of her life. "I've...never heard of one. Does this have something to do with you falling from the sky just now?"

She could dance around the subject, but it felt better just to ask.

[infamousdelsin]

He sighs: he didn't think so. Then she asks her question, and Delsin looks up at the sky.

"I didn't— I didn't fall from the sky," he says. "I jumped from the top of this building." Hey, it's a distinction, and he's cranky, so semantics it is. Then he shakes his head and curses softly. "Hey, I'm sorry, Liz," he says. "I'm not mad at you, I shouldn't— I shouldn't be taking this out on you."

[cagedlamb]

"I'm quite sure that's unusual either way is my point," Elizabeth said pointedly. A feat no normal person could do, to say the least. But he apologized, and her expression softened. Despite the surprise, she seemed wholly unaffected by the fact she had seen it. Being around Vigors made it hard to be surprised. Waving away the apology, she asked, "Have you lost some ability you used to be able to do?"

[infamousdelsin]

He nods mutely. "Maybe two," he adds a moment later. "Maybe three." He looks at his hands. They glow orange, and black smoke swirls from his elbows, down to his palms, growing thicker as it goes.

He closes his hands into fists: the glow grows brighter and the smoke thicker. Then he looks away and drops his hands, and it all stops, dissipating around him.

"I don't know what to do," he finally says.

[cagedlamb]

Elizabeth wondered if his powers were powered by something, like the Vigors needed Salts. The way he was reacting, it didn't seem like he had needed anything to use his...abilities before.

"At least you have something still," she offered, though she had no idea what the something was. "Did you need something to make the other ones work for you before?"

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin shakes his head. "Not exactly." That's not true, though. He needs a source of the matter to drain, like the neon sign. He needs a Dupe to drain concrete from, because he's not a natural concrete Conduit, so not just any concrete will do. And he needs— "I need a TV," he adds. For video. Geeky little Eugene and his nerdy video power. Delsin just needs a TV to drain and he might still have at least one of his possibly three missing powers. It'd be something.

[cagedlamb]

"You need a...television?" she asked, not quite believing what she had heard. Elizabeth had come across people with powers beyond just Booker before, but she certainly never heard of a power whose source stemmed from that. Still, in an attempt to be helpful, she suggested, "There should be one in your apartment, shouldn't there? There was one in mine."

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin shrugs, then nods. "Yeah, there is, but uh. I'll prob'ly break it, so . . . better not use that one." He has the sinking feeling he won't be able to absorb the video from it, anyway, and just the thought of that being true has him frustrated. He can't imagine how he'll react if it's actually true.

[cagedlamb]

"Well I would offer mine but I don't want you to break that one either," she said, raising a brow. What exactly he was going to do with them was beyond her. "There's a store that sells them, I think, not far from here, but - I'm not sure it's right to break them without paying."

Wrong, but probably his only option. He seemed upset enough that Elizabeth did feel sympathy.

"But if you want, I can probably show you where it is," she offered, crossing her arms against her chest. "If I may ask - what exactly do you do to the television? It won't explode, will it?"

She didn't want anyone getting hurt because of it, if he was going to pick one that was out in the public.

[breakthroughs]

It's an impressive leap, all things considered. Shikamaru spots it from a distance, where he's been smoking a cigarette on the roof of a nearby building, and recognizes it as a sport that many people proclaim to play in the city. Parkour, they call it.

Shikamaru prefers to think of it as the fastest way of traveling, but he's not picky about names.

Still, the man leaping around seems to show more than a hint of nervousness, which is what drives Shikamaru to make his way back to the street, similarly leaping off of walls and electric poles.

"You okay?" he asks as he drops onto the ground, his footfalls silent.

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin almost doesn't hear him: he's so focused on his his mission that the words sort of delay in registering. He skids to a stop when they penetrate, though, and looks around to figure out where it had come from.

When he spots the guy, he swallows. "Yeah, sure," he lies, and he doesn't even lie well. It's not like he doesn't want to talk to someone. It's not like he doesn't want help. But he has no idea what's going on with himself, and he needs to figure it out.

[breakthroughs]

Shikamaru raises a brow skeptically, noting the way that the man swallows thickly, the rise and fall of his breath, the flush across his cheeks. None of these things really suggest that someone's okay, but at the same time, 'okay' is a fairly subjective descriptor.

One that Shikamaru offered, so as not to overly pry.

"You don't sound like you're doing very well, to be honest," Shikamaru shares, hands sliding into his pockets. "I've watched you leaping by for a while. You're not running away from something, are you?" Shikamaru turns his gaze in the direction that the man appeared from.

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin shakes his head. "No. I need to find something." He looks around, wanting to find a TV shop of some kind — anything to help him figure out if he still has video. He'd use his own TV, but. Well. He'd probably break it out of sheer rage if it doesn't work. "Look, I gotta go, so if you want to talk, make sure you can talk and run."

[breakthroughs]

Whether or not the man really intended to make such an offer is up in the air, but Shikamaru isn't a man easily dissuaded from his curiosity — at least, when the effort required is as low as this. He might not be as fast as the great legends, but compared to most people he encounters in Darrow, the standard speed of a shinobi is enough to keep up.

He hopes that holds here.

"I'm familiar with the layout of the city. Might be able to help you find what you're looking for," he says, one hand pulling out from his pocket, holding a pack of cigarettes against his palm. He hasn't decided whether or not a smoke's appropriate right now. "But by all means, I can run. Lead the way."

[infamousdelsin]

Without neon, Delsin isn't abnormally fast, so at least the guy won't have any trouble keeping up. He heads off, taking a slow jog to start so he can keep an eye on their surroundings. Even if he just spots a billboard showing off a movie trailer, or an electronics store with TVs on display in the window, that'll do.

"I'm looking for a TV," he says, then clarifies, "Any TV. Preferably one that doesn't belong to anyone. I just— I need to know if I've lost one of my powers."

[breakthroughs]

Shikamaru's mind immediately turns to the various bars that are currently open around the city, but the disadvantage of a bar is always how crowded they can be. He's found some pretty shady people lurking around as well, regardless of neighborhood. The mention of powers leads Shikamaru to think that they should probably pick a better place than that.

"I know a place that'll work. Secondhand electronics," he says, crooking his finger before turning a corner down the street. "They'll be closed at this hour, but they keep some of the televisions on all night, and the security cameras in the place aren't actually recording. Ideal spot to test things out."

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin follows after him. "Shit, awesome," he breathes. He just hopes this works. His people need him, and if he's lost neon and video, he can almost guarantee he's lost concrete, too, and. He's not sure he can deal with that.

They make their way to the electronics shop and he looks at the TVs. They're set up, right against the glass. So easy to feel, except . . . he can't. He presses his hand to the glass and focuses. The pixels on the screen seem to pop a little, and Delsin feels something shove against his hand: an invisible concussive force that is his own powers, denying him access to something he can't control.

He feels his stomach drop, and he's so fucking tempted to punch the glass in rage. Instead, he turns and fires a heavy smoke shot at a nearby trashcan, sending it a good ten feet into the air. It lands with a heavy clang and rolls into the street.

[breakthroughs]

Shikamaru's brows raise sharply when the trash can practically leaps into the air. He could stop it, if he wanted to expose some of his powers, but the fact remains that this guy is practically a stranger to Shikamaru, and keeping his abilities mostly hidden might come in handy later. Just in case they're ever on opposite sides of a matter.

"Wow," he remarks lamely, reaching into his pocket for his cigarettes. Pulling one out for himself, he holds the box out for the man. There's the possibility that he doesn't smoke, but the gesture's worth making nonetheless. "Looks like you just got a major disappointment handed to you. Sorry about that."

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin sighs, pacing in tight, uneven circles. He shakes his head at the proffered back. Remarkably, he doesn't smoke. Well, he smokes, but not— whatever.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do, Man," he says roughly. He scrubs the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I'm losing all my powers!" And that's not an option for him. "People are counting on me," he adds, voice breaking, "and I'm stuck here without the powers I need the most to help them."

[breakthroughs]

Arching a brow at the break of the man's voice, Shikamaru can't help but be reminded of Naruto, and of the panicked anger that Naruto often showed when he found himself pulled away from his comrades at the front lines of a battle. Naruto's all too willing to put his own safety aside for the sake of protecting others. There's a streak of that which Shikamaru observes in his current companion.

Calmly, Shikamaru raises a cigarette to his lips and dangles it lightly between his teeth.

"You haven't lost your powers for long. At least where I'm from, there's plenty that can end up suppressing a power temporarily. It doesn't mean you give up, and it doesn't mean that you blame yourself for the things that you won't be able to do for a while. What you focus on instead is how to get those powers back, or even work around them if you have to," says Shikamaru. "You've got the drive. I'm sure you can find a solution."

[infamousdelsin]

He shakes his head. "You don't understand," he insists. "I need Augustine's concrete power to save my tribe. The doctors told Reggie: the only way those concrete shards that bitch put in are coming out is with the same power they were used to go in." He swallows hard and looks at his hand, letting it fill with smoke. "I had it. For a fucking second, I had it, and now I'm here and it's gone."