Hogwarts AU: New York City

[serinusniger]

It's been days.

She doesn't know how many. But if must have been days. There's been food, there's been the occasional sleep.

Not enough of either.

Dinah has told them... she can't remember right now quite what she has told them, but it feels like she's told them everything. Like there's nothing in her lefty to tell them. She'd tell them more, if they asked her.

She gave up trying to escape a long time ago. She gave up hoping for a rescue not long after.

Now she's just waiting, and hoping it ends soon.

Comments

[mnt_raph]

Raph shrugs.

"Much as can be expected given the situation, yeah. We good here?"

Mike doesn't so much jump down as he does roll, landing in a three-point position for added effect.

If Renee listens she might hear Casey proclaim her to be "cold as ice, huh?" But Mike seems un-phased. "not where it counts."

[interrogoiterum]

"Willing to sacrifice."

If Renee's getting an earworm, everyone's getting an earworm.

She otherwise ignores Casey and Mike, and nods to Raph.

"All good. So what now?"

[mnt_raph]

The only one of the boys who is not impressed with Renee's turn of phrase is Raph. He just groans.

"Great. Just encourage'em both, why don'cha," he grumbles.

"Well...I got an idea," Casey offers with renewed interest.

"No."

"They ain't even heard it yet!"

"They don't gotta hear it. You know damn well Leo ain't gonna go for it, so just no, Case."

"It's like this..." but before Casey can finish Raph is interrupting again.

"No. Just no. Shut up. No. NO."

"Okay, now I have to know what it is," Mike pipes up.

Casey tries to talk, but Raph covers the taller boy's mouth with his hand...and the two begin to tussle.

[interrogoiterum]

Renee looks at Mike, tilting her head in a question. Does this look as gay to you as it does to me?

Then she steps forward, and presses the tip of her thumb into the soft spot of Raph's neck, just behind his ear.

[mnt_mike]

Mike gives her a scowl.
Don't ruin this for me.

But then she goes and does just that.
Ugh. Women.

Unsurprisingly, Raph has the upper-hand in the skirmish, which allows him to call, "Time," when he feels Renee's hand on his throat. This doesn't stop Casey from struggling to get out of the hold, it just means Raph doesn't let him.

"What?"

[interrogoiterum]

"What's the idea?" Renee asks, without moving her hand.

(And ignoring Mike.)

[mnt_raph]

"I'm tellin' you, Leo ain't gonna go for it. So what's it matter?" Raph tries, and fails to cover Casey's mouth with his hand.

"Oh Dude...seriously?"

A plan that would have worked better if Casey hadn't just licked the entirety of Raph's palm.

Mike...snickers.

"Glaghth. I think we should go," Casey says, grimacing as he tries to will the flavor of what ever he's just gotten a taste of out his mouth. "No one knows you're here, right? And no one who matters knows me. So...we should go."

Mike appears to give this serious consideration.
"It'd be dangerous..."

"But not as dangerous as it would be if you did it."

[interrogoiterum]

Renee steps back, frowning at Casey like he's just made the world's worst joke and she's trying to figure out why it should be funny.

Then she nods.

To Mike: "Yeah, you guys can't go, they know you. But we need more information."

[mnt_mike]

"See?! See! That's what I'm saying, Foreigner knows what I'm talking about!"

Raph baps him upside the head.

"Ow! Cold as ice! The song! That's Foreigner!"

"Raph isn't wrong, Leo would have kittens before he'd okay something like this. How...long do you think he'll still be out for?"

Casey crows when he hears Mike take his side.

[interrogoiterum]

"Couple hours?" Renee suggests.

She tucks her wand back into her trousers, and glances around them before turning back to Casey.

"We've got an hour, I reckon. Can we do it?"

[mnt_mike]

"Renee, you ain't serious. Casey ain't had a good idea...ever."

"Saved your sorry behinds in the clutch on Christmas."

"I don't like it either, Raph, but...anything they can get us, no matter how small, is more than we've got at the moment."

[interrogoiterum]

Renee has already held up her hand in Raph's direction, snapping her thumb against two fingers like a bird snapping its beak shut.

"It's not a good idea," she says, "but it's the one we've got. We need something hitting, I'll come get you. But for now you let me seek, okay?"

[mnt_mike]

Casey manages to get half of a laugh out before Raph painfully twists the other boy's wrist further behind his back.

"I'm pretty sure breaking Casey isn't quite what she meant, Raph," says Mike with a sigh.

"Yeah, don't go messing up my driving arm."

"You're drivin' arm?"

"Agh! Quittit!"

"Do I even want to know?" asks Don from the doorway.

"Probably not, bro. Probably not."

"I had a not-good idea that Foreigner likes!" is all Casey gets out before Raph shuts him up again.

"...er..."

"Hey Donnie," Mike doesn't so much turn towards his brother, as he does pivot. "What'd be more noticeable: A yellow cab with no magic around it at all, or one charmed to the gills to look like it wasn't magical at all?"

[interrogoiterum]

Renee offers Donnie both a 'trust me' smile and an apologetic shrug.

"I'm almost willing to stake my life on the latter," she says. "What say you?"

[mnt_don]

Don looks from Raph and Casey, to Mike, and finally to Renee.
That smile of hers is just the cherry to the crap sundae that is this whole situation.

"...it depends. What're the people in the cab doing? And why are we having this conversation outside while Leo is out cold on the couch? And why is Leo out cold on the couch?

...

On second thought, I don't really want the answers to either of those." He pauses to pinch at the bridge of his nose.

"Casey and Renee want to go to the address in Casey's cab, and you're asking what's the least stupid way for them to do it, do I have that right?"

[interrogoiterum]

"We won't be long," Renee says. "Only while Leo gets his reset. Recon only. And I promise not to kill him even if he's really annoying."

[mnt_don]

Donnie gives her an appraising look, but in the end nods, signally his approval of the plan.

"I don't believe it. I'm the one tryin' to be careful, an' you lot are the ones takin' stupid chances."

"I know right? Hey Donnie? That doohickey of yours get weather reports?"

"Uh, yeah of course, Mike. Why?"

"There snow in Hell?"

Raph and Don groan.

"A'right ya' lug, lemme up. I got places to go an' missions to see." Clearly outvoted, Raph relinquishes Casey, who bounds back to standing. "A'right! Let's get this show on the road!"

"Not so fast, Casey. I don't think sending you guys out there empty handed is the best of all possible plans, so let me see what I've got that might suit your needs."

With no more fanfare than that, Don turns and heads back into the house.

[interrogoiterum]

Renee watches Don go in, shrugging lightly at the sight, because she knows she'll need what he's got.

Then she turns to look at Casey, but addresses Raph.

"Is he going to get me killed?"

[mnt_raph]

"Probably," Mike answers for his brother.

Raph sizes up his best friend, and sighs.

"Not on purpose, just probably on the way to gettin' himself killed."

"Really feeling the love, Raph. Truly."

[interrogoiterum]

Renee glances briefly at her best friend, and shrugs.

"I've had experience not getting killed 'cause of other people's idiocy. Let's go, Casey."

[mnt_raph]

Casey's face breaks into a wide, goofy smile. He shoots two finger guns at both Mike and Raph and then follows Renee back into the house, leaving Mike and Raph just looking at each other.

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

"You say that like there's a good feeling to be had about any of this."

"Ain't you supposed to be the optimist?"

"Yup. Which I think says all that needs saying, don't you?"

Inside Don is muttering to himself as he rummages through one of his bags, while Leo remains knocked out on the couch.

Don looks up briefly.

"Good. You're here. Casey, this is for you." He tosses a small leather wallet Casey's way. Inside is a blank page.

"Confundus paper. Leave your real license here. I want it on the record that I do NOT think this is a good idea, and will not be the one to explain it to Leo when he comes to. Renee? I'm going to give you this."

What he hands her looks suspiciously like a Sonic Screwdriver.

"I call it the McGuffin."

[interrogoiterum]

"I'll take the blame," Renee says generously. "I've already drugged him, might as well set myself up as actually the worst."

She holds the device like a wand, turning it over to examine all angles.

"Have you given this to me 'cause it's so dangerous you don't trust any of the testostermeatheads with it?"

[mnt_don]

Don's eyes dart over to where Casey is entirely engrossed in trying to understand how the Confudus Paper works.

"No, of course not," says Don...all the while shaking his head in the affirmative.

[interrogoiterum]

"Okay, good."

She grins at him, and twirls the thing that isn't a wand in her fingers. "What's it do?"

[mnt_don]

"Transfiguration mostly, though it can also be used analyze matter, so long as that matter is not organic in nature. Really...it works on anything so long as it's not made of wood."

His brow furrows. It's troubling to him that he can't seem to get it work past the wood block.