-Kyle-
"You there! What are you doing?"
Experience keeps him from freezing on the spot. He tucks the folder under his arm and turns around with a dull expression. A pretentious looking man in a lab coat wearing giant green glasses scowls at him.
"Working," he answers flatly.
"How dare you take such a tone with me!" The man exclaims. "Don't you know I am the Foundation's Branch Chief?"
It figures that it's management that gets in his way. Not breaking character, he gives only the signs of a put out, overworked employee.
"What can I do for you, Branch Chief?" He sighs and slumps his shoulders.
"You can start by telling me what you're doing with that classified information!" The Branch Chief demands.
"It's needed for cross-referencing," he shrugs. "I don't know any more than that. She didn't say."
"Project SK-47," the man hisses, "of course she would think to one-up me!"
The Branch Chief begins muttering lowly, and he fights down the desire to start cackling. He settles for an impassive stare.
"Carry on, then," the man eventually says. "Just know that I, Faba, will be the one responsible for the miraculous breakthrough! Tell that woman to leave the file on my desk once she's through. I will be reviewing the notes for any errors."
Branch Chief Faba strolls away with a flourish, and he's positive he's no longer faking his flat expression. How is such a person in management? While a good thing for him, he pities the actual employees who have to put up with that.
He counts to fifteen before opening the folder back up. Grabbing a camera from one of the outfit's many pouches, he quickly goes through each paper. He keeps an eye on the door this time.
Not that he's certain he can hide the evidence of his activities fast enough. More likely he'll have enough time to launch an ambush before needing to flee.
He only relaxes once he's filed the folder back into place and finished his glance through the room's computer. He sort of questions why it's not password locked but figures that the clearance needed to get into the labs is password enough.
Ms. Wicke's secretary had been very helpful in getting him access, not that anyone knows that.
He leaves Lab B only to be met with an environment suit, a stack of papers, and a, "Take these to Lab A, no time to explain."
He blinks down at the papers in his arms before watching the scientist run into the room he just left. Unable to do anything else, he makes his way to the other laboratory.
Thankfully, there's no one there to explain himself to. He sets the papers onto the desk and eyes the examination table in disgust. It's been used recently.
Lab A supposedly contains nothing relevant to the information he seeks, but he feels compelled to give the room a look-over anyways. He's not sure what he'll do with any of Aether Foundation's dirty secrets, but it can't hurt to collect it anyways.
It doesn't take long before the true horror of this room is uncovered. Unlike Cosmog—the tortured subject of Lab B—who has been reported stolen, the pokemon in this lab is still here.
And, according to the file in his hand, is still being tortured.
He looks from the examination table to the cages lining the wall to the pokeball locked inside the secured crate. Memories of watching Team Rocket mistreat pokemon surface inside his head. Jace's disappointed face follows after.
"No, I just got a new pokemon," he moans. "Today even!"
Wide eyes staring at him through a metal cage. The soft whining of a young Growlithe that can't move. The fear of being in an alien world and just wanting to go home. Stop the pain.
Before he can really think it through, his finger hovers above the crate's keypad. Various escape plans flit through his head, each one ending in a wave of pokemon battles.
"This is a terrible idea," he mutters, typing in the override code. "The alarms are going to be triggered, and I have to somehow go up a level."
The pokeball is released with a soft hiss. He shoves it into a pouch and runs out the door. The alarms go off before he can make it to the room with the elevator. He begins mentally cursing up a storm.
A higher-up had been notified the moment the passcode went through. He has to admit, whoever they are, they have excellent reaction time to unauthorized use of equipment.
"Hey, you, grunt!" A female employee rushes out from one of the other laboratory rooms. "There's been a breach in Lab A! Have you seen anyone unusual?"
He keeps the surprise off his face. Luck may just favor him yet.
"There was someone dressed oddly," he says, thinking about Faba's green glasses. "He claimed to be someone important."
"Of course he did. Which way did he go?" The employee asks.
"I saw him heading for the elevator," he replies, thinking quickly.
"He's heading for the outside," the employee says, aggravated. "Quick, with me! We're going after him!"
"Understood, ma'am," he hides a smirk behind thinning lips.
He follows the woman to the elevator, keeping his body slightly tense as a sign of nerves showing through. The elevator stops one floor up at the docks.
"We'll make sure he doesn't take a boat out of here," the employee tells him. "Spread out and search!"
He adjusts his hat and looks at the docked boats thoughtfully. He was going to have his pokemon get him out of here, but this is a decidedly better option.
He's going to need the keys however. He begins the search and spots his target not long after—a frustrated looking man with a ring of keys attached to a belt. He releases Noctowl, and a finger motion causes the pokemon to fly up high.
"Who's got the keys to the X150?" He asks, approaching the man. "They're in danger."
"I do," the man snaps. "And what do you mean by in danger?"
"Hypnosis," he says.
He catches the body before it can slam into the concrete. He gently lowers the man to the ground and grabs the entire keyring. Noctowl hovers above his shoulder faithfully.
"In danger from me," he tells the unconscious man cheerfully.
He waits until there are no eyes on the X150 before jumping into the unmanned boat. He's going through the keys one by one when he gets a surprise.
"What are you doing?"
He rolls his eyes and tries another key. Nope, that one doesn't start the ignition. He's down to four now; the key has to be one of them.
"What does it look like?" He asks without turning around.
He gives it ten seconds. He's surprised when it only takes seven.
"Wait, you're the intruder!" The woman from earlier shouts.
"Hypnosis," he says, turning around.
Noctowl flies down from the rack above, eyes glowing. The woman doesn't throw out a pokemon in time, and he gives the ensuing blank stare a considering glance.
"I have gray hair," he says after a moment, "and gray eyes."
This should help warp his features in the employee's mind. He didn't go through all that trouble with the cameras to get caught out now. Gray's close enough to his actual coloring that it shouldn't be too much of a stretch.
"I have just revealed myself to be Team Rocket," he continues, "and I am battling you with my zubat."
If the woman's imagination takes that phrase and runs with, so much the better. If not, it's no real loss. He recalls a memory, and a moment of ridiculousness seizes him.
"Prepare for trouble!" He says, striking a pose. "Our boss has plans for this pokemon, and no one's getting in Team Rocket's way!"
Nothing but silence answers him, and he can feel Noctowl's judging stare from above him. He rolls his eyes again and throws the blank-eyed woman off the boat. He winces when the employee hits the dock hard enough to bounce.
Well, Team Rocket's not exactly the gentle type. It should help with the cover story if nothing else.
He goes through two more keys before the boat's engine finally roars to life. With an Air Slash on the line connecting the boat to the dock, he takes off as a handful of screaming employees wave their arms behind him.
He allows himself a satisfied grin once out on the open sea. Since he has the keys to the other boats, it'll be too late before anyone manages to catch up.
Once they're out far enough, he cuts the engine. He recalls Noctowl, who's been hanging on to the console with a tight grip, and releases Mantine into the water.
"We're going surfing," he tells the pokemon. "Just like we practiced earlier, okay?"
The pokemon lets out a happy burble, and he beams down at it. Definitely a worthwhile investment. It takes some tricky maneuvering, but he manages to get onto Mantine without taking a dip into the sea.
Mantine manages to get him to Melemele Island without any issues, and he makes a mental note to get the pokemon a treat later. He's seriously impressed by its stamina; they'll win the next surfing contest yet.
His clothes and the unconscious employee are right where he left them. Changing out of the uncomfortable jumpsuit is an amazing experience and wrapping his beloved jacket over his shoulders is a lot like coming home.
"There you go," he says, propping the man against a tree. "You were just taking a nap after battling Team Rocket."
It was risky, but he's got a new set of blackmail, more information on a way home, and a way to erase his and Jace's existence from the Aether Foundation if needed. Honestly, this would be mission accomplished if it weren't for one thing.
He releases the newest addition to his team into the motel room. A nightmare of a creature digs its claws into the carpet, head shaking.
The pokemon lets out a shrill noise, eyeing him in clear distrust. He relaxes into a non-threatening posture while keeping a hand close to the pokeballs hanging at his hip.
"Type: Null," he mutters. "What an awful name. It's like you're nothing."
He examines the creature's fresh scars and mishmash of body parts. The terrible files of subject BK come to mind. This man-made pokemon was never meant to have a real name.
He lets out a thoughtful hum. Well, the first step to an acknowledged existence—
"What do you think of 'Scotty?' " He asks.
He takes the noise following the question as a positive reply.