The Mexican Consulate | Evening

[knife_bender]

Just because they had an invitation physically did not mean that any of the four people creeping towards the consulate had any actual business being here. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be too busy valeting cars and walking in arm-in-arm with their dates to notice these highly-suspicious people sneak their way through the parking lot.

"So what's the plan?" Lila asked as they crouched behind a car. She was trying to make it seem believable, still, that she was just along with all of this for a lark, but she had to keep reminding herself that she probably needed to be a little less steady when she ran in heels, and that boosting herself up and over a wall needed to look a little less natural when she did it. Escaped mental patients, particularly in this time period, weren't usually known for their agility.

Oh well. Maybe no one had noticed.

Diego	Diego was not particularly a fan of the suit they had found for him, but on the bright side at least he wasn't in a schoolboy uniform. Could've been worse. "We infiltrate, we identify, we extract," he said. "Double time." Did he learn that from his dad or TV? You decide.
Annie	Annie, who was barely resisting the urge to adjust her dress -- look, even in 1963, she kind of had a brand to adhere to -- nodded slowly so as not to disturb her carefully-styled bouffant. "Got it." Which either meant she understood the plan perfectly, or that she didn't want to make Diego explain himself further at the moment and was just going to follow his lead once they were in. You decide.
Lila	Lila had no such reservations, and turned to Five for an explanation. "What the hell's he talking about?"
Five	The tactics? All Reginald. The lingo? Ridiculous television, but possibly that idiot SEAL friend of his. "Find the old man and get out fast," Five said, keeping an eye peeled for security.
Diego	Hey, you leave Steve and his silly lingo out of this. "That's what I said," Diego said, rolling his eyes. "On me."
Lila	Lila watched as Diego hurried off, followed by Annie, and turned again to Five. "After you." No reason. Just being nice. That's the kind of person she was.
Five	Five didn't move at all, instead he gave her a thoroughly unimpressed look for whatever the hell she was trying to do here.
Lila	Well. That sure was a whole look. "What, I can't be polite?"
Five	"Cut the crap," Five said, shifting forward into her space like the little psycho he was. "My dimwitted brother might buy your bullshit, but I don't trust you for a second."
Lila	God, it would be so much easier to just kill him. But she had orders. And apparently her mother had some kind of soft spot, or something. "O ye of little faith," Lila commented dryly, keeping her expression totally neutral.

Diego	It was too damn crowded in here. Yes, he knew it was a party, but he had a mission to pull off, damn it. "I don't see Dad anywhere." There were, however, a lot of ugly suits.
Five	"Just keep an eye out for the Majestic Twelve," Five said, coming up behind him and Annie. "I got the upstairs." He paused before leaving them to it. "And Diego? Try not to do anything too stupid." If Kennedy showed up and you said one single word to him, he would have to murder you.
Lila	Lila plucked a champagne glass off the tray of a passing waiter and let out a soft laugh. She might have been -- well, fond of him, but it was nice to have someone else around to rag on Diego and his whole...everything a bit. But no time for sentimentality, now. She had a Majestic Twelve to look out for (and, much more importantly to Lila: a Number Five to keep tabs on.) And so with a little smile, she slipped away, blending into the crowd. Don't worry. She'd be making her way upstairs shortly.
Annie	Annie, meanwhile, paid Five's comment all the attention it deserved: none. Instead, she followed the cue of the couples around them, and slipped her arm delicately through Diego's before also snagging a drink from a waiter. "This is probably the weirdest date we've ever been on." Like Annie wasn't going to try to make the best of this by calling it a date now that Five and Lila were breaking off doing their own things. Please.
Diego	"Oh, god, let's not say anything involving my dad is a date," Diego said, making a face. "We're on a mission. Undercover as people on a date." There. Better.
Annie	"Sure," Annie agreed easily, deciding she didn't need to point out that they tended to have a lot of date/mission crossover. He was right -- this wasn't just dress-up time, even if this was kind of the most fun she'd had since landing in the 60s. "Well, you cleaned up really nice for our mission, then." They all had. Well, Five had been Five about it, but it had been sort of fun teasing up her hair. (Lila had, tragically, not been interested when Annie had offered to do her hair for her, too. So much for bonding.)
Diego	"So did you," he said, looking at her appreciatively. "I don't know what kind of magic you used to get your hair like that."
Annie	"Hairspray," Annie told him, shifting her drink to the other hand so she could gently pat her hair. "I probably blew a hole in the ozone personally, though." She leaned over -- not up, thanks to the sadly non-matching pumps she'd picked out that were giving her heels a boost -- to press a light, chaste kiss to Diego's newly shaven cheek, and used the opportunity to look past him. "I don't really see anyone suspicious in here." Though, like. Annie was totally just looking for some weirdo in a monocle. Belatedly, she realized she didn't know what Lee Harvey Oswald looked like, and...well, shit, it wasn't like she could just Google it now. Hopefully Diego didn't, like, spot him (or God help them, the President -- though maybe he wasn't here in Dallas yet?) and they could just focus on sinister monocles and such.
Diego	"Me either," he admitted. "We could dance. You know, to blend in. Get a good view of the room." And to dance, he liked doing that in general.
Annie	"Twist my arm more," Annie teased lightly, setting her glass down on the closest surface and trailing her hand down his arm to take his hand. "Actually, don't, I think they probably frown on that here." This was a pretty, like, fancy place. Annie felt more on display and prone to being judged than she did on television as Starlight, right now.
Diego	"I mean this is Texas, in 1963," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor. "All of these people probably have guns on them just as a part of their outfit, so I should stay on their good side."
Annie	Annie, aware that this was 1963 (and pretty traditional on this front, anyway), was more than happy to let Diego do all the leading here. "You don't think they had to check them with the valet or something?" she wondered, sliding her hand up to his shoulder with a smile. "I mean, maybe it's like a coat check, here." Annie had been to Texas in the present and honestly wouldn't be surprised if they still had gun checks and she'd just never noticed.
Diego	"If we're lucky it'll be like that." Diego knew himself well enough to know the likelihood of this ending smoothly was low, even with his great plan. He moved to twirl her, since the dress called to be twirled in, really. "This 60's thing really suits you." Diego hadn't had much of a chance to try out the fashions...aside from asylum chic.
Annie	"The clothes have been the one kind of fun part about all of this," Annie admitted, twirling so her skirt flared out even as she made sure to scan the other dancers. "And I really like your new look. Can't say that enough." Literally. She'd probably already made it pretty clear a few times over.
Diego	He smiled. "Didn't really have a choice in the matter, but thank you." Weird how they wouldn't let him near sharp objects to cut his hair! Diego glanced over to the side for a quick second, doing a double-take when something caught his eye. "No way."
Annie	Look, did it matter how this whole hair situation had come about? Not to Annie, especially now that the asylum was behind them and he'd taken the beard down a bit. (Though, like, she would never have called 'being institutionalized in the past' as the reason the twins' hair prophecy would come true, for the record.) She followed Diego's gaze, trying to figure out what he was looking at. And it took her a second before she recognized what she was looking at. Or, really, who. "No way," Annie echoed, full-on staring. "Diego, she looks like...." Well, he clearly knew who she looked like.
Diego	Yeah, he was well aware of who she looked like. Not that he was actually paying attention to what Annie was saying. He pulled away from her and started approaching the woman that had caught his eye, not really sure of what he was going to say when he got to her. "Mom?" Probably not the best thing to say.
Grace	Grace lifted an eyebrow, but looked amused. "Never heard that one before. Everything all right, hon?"
Annie	Annie had trailed along after Diego, torn between not wanting to intrude on a very weird situation, and feeling like she absolutely needed to, because -- yeah. That was probably not your mom, Diego? She might have looked just like her, but this woman didn't sound like the Grace Annie had met. "Diego," she ventured, staying a half-step back. "Her accent." Which was probably a pretty strange thing to say, too, but she at least knew they were coming across weird, so she offered a smile, a wave, and a slightly-shy, "Hi," to the blonde woman who couldn't possibly be Grace.
Diego	At least she was in no way being as weird as Diego. "You're real." Sure, the accent was weird, but still.
Grace	Okay, now she looked more concerned. She looked between Annie and Diego and wondering if this was some newfangled swinger thing. "If this is your idea of a come on it's not going well."
Annie	"It's not," Annie said, and oh God, if she had known what Grace was wondering -- like, mortification did not even begin to cover it. "You just look like someone we know, sorry." Which was, you know, a polite and plausible explanation for weird-ass behavior and all, but Diego had also called her 'Mom,' clear as day, so there was that.
Diego	Actually, Diego being a complete weirdo might have helped them out on their mission. "Do you know a Sir Reginald Hargreeves?"
Grace	Grace smiled, more comfortable now that she knew she wasn't being hit on. "Reggie? He's my date this evening." Now everyone think about the implications of that.
Annie	Oh, Annie was, and she'd kind of already privately wondered whether that had ever been a...factor, with Diego's dad and the android he'd built for his children in the totally random shape of a gorgeous woman. But like, now, with Grace (or whatever this woman's name was) standing here in front of them, talking in that darling little accent and saying Reggie -- that was way too much concrete detail for Annie. So she just hoped her face didn't look as horrified as it felt (it probably did) and focused on the important part. "So he's around here?"
Diego	Diego was not as good as hiding his horror. He was actually quite terrible at it. "Your date? Ugh..." He tried to shake it off, knowing Annie was trying to get some actual information but...ugh. "Sorry, it's just a lot to process. The thought of the two of you, I can't picture it in my head. That is...that's nasty." He might throw up.
Grace	Grace was giving them the weirded out look again. "Y'all are a little odd, aren't you?"
Annie	"A little," Annie agreed with a bright, easy smile -- both because it was clearly true and because it was probably the least remarkable answer she could give. She took a step closer to Diego, laying a steadying hand on his arm. "We're, um. From out of town." Hence their lack of Texas accents! Brilliant improv, there, if she did say so herself.
Diego	"What she said," Diego replied, still looking a little unsettled. "Do you know where he is?"
Grace	"He said something about a quick meeting and he'd be right back," Grace said, playfully rolling her eyes. "That was twenty minutes ago."
Annie	"Men, am I right?" Annie contributed fondly, moving to loop her arm neatly through Diego's with an answering roll of her eyes. "It's always just a 'quick meeting.'" Not that Diego had ever left her standing around waiting for him at a party -- that was actually way more Annie's move -- but this was a lead. And Annie felt like she needed to steer, here, just a little, since Diego seemed a little understandably...thrown off.
Diego	He was just a tiny bit thrown off, yes. "Never good to keep a lady waiting, Diego said, looking past his mother to the staircase behind her. "Um, Grace? It was nice to meet you." Did she actually introduce herself? Diego couldn't remember.
Grace	No, she hadn't. Which was why she looked even more confused. "Well, if you see Reggie tell him I'm looking for him."
Annie	Yeah, and neither of them had given their names, either, but more importantly -- this woman's name was actually Grace? So Reginald had built a robot in this woman's image and named her after her? "We sure will," Annie assured her, smiling and brushing off that confusion. "Thanks so much. Enjoy your evening." And given that they didn't need to keep confusing this poor woman, that seemed like their cue to let Grace be and skedaddle back to the dance floor -- or, at least, look like that was where they were skedaddling to, so she was doing a little gentle, literal steering now.

Five	With Diego occupied with the downstairs and hopefully not once again messing up the timeline entirely... Five made his way upstairs to follow after whatever it was their father was getting up to. Which, of course, meant secret conspiracy meetings that would probably set Diego off. Naturally. He looked around before teleporting closer, finding himself in a closet to listen in. "The president is continuing to make inquiries into Roswell and other crash sites, gentleman. And, as you know, we cannot allow him to get his nose into our business. I've confirmed the motorcade will indeed be turning left on Elm Street," one of them inside the room said. Yeeeeah, best that Diego not be here for this.
Reginald	No, this would set Diego off on a "I told you so" tirade that could be heard from space (if anybody had landed on the moon yet). Especially considering who was in on this meeting. "Gentlemen, this plan of yours seems ill-timed. It's going to be a turkey shoot."
Five	Which was exactly why Diego couldn't be here. "Dad?" Five muttered, still somehow surprised to hear him there.
Reginald	Reginald's head jerked towards the closet. He picked up a poker from the fireplace and approached where he heard the noise. Whoever taught you how to be sneaky sucked, Five.
Five	Well, you did suck, Reginald. It was true. Five teleported out of the closet before he could get caught, finding himself out in the hallway. Right in front of one of the Swedes. "Shit."
A Swede	That was a pretty unfortunate place to end up. The Swede in question reached out to grab Five by the shoulders and slammed him into a nearby wall.
Five	Maybe it was karma! He teleported out of the Swede's grip before he could do it a second time, reappearing behind him to bring him down to a shorter level with a kick to the knee and then attempted to choke him out. You know, this was way easier as an adult.
A Swede	Way more effective as an adult as well. It took a little bit of effort, but the Swede was more than able to escape the grip of a child trying to choke him out. It would have been a little humiliating if he couldn't. He had siblings around that could laugh at him, you know.
Five	Siblings were the worst like that. Luckily for Five, he could teleport away again before he could get hit. Or would if he his proverbial batteries weren't pretty drained already. Instead he was left in place with a much larger and stronger opponent to face. "Oh, shit."
Diego	Diego made his way upstairs in time to see Five getting the shit beat out of him by one Swede. Wait, weren't there three of these guys? "Fiv--" One of the other Swedes made his appearance, coming up behind Diego to choke him out.
Annie	It shouldn't have been surprising at all that Annie was right behind Diego on the stairs. Stupid heels making her just that little bit slower, though, and she'd kick herself for that slowness plenty, later. "Hey, asshole!" she yelled, immediately throwing herself at the Definitely Not a Fucking Milkman who was currently choking her boyfriend. She shoved one hand into his face before sending an audible surge through the building's power and blasting him. That was probably gonna leave a mark.
Another Swede	The Swede who got burned let go of Diego to cover his face with both hands, screaming. Which his brother did not take kindly to. Clearly not perturbed over the idea of hurting a girl (even if it was 1963), he bolted towards Annie, intent on tackling her into the wall. Or window. Whichever she hit was fine with him.
Annie	Annie should have been so lucky as to hit the wall. The wall would have smarted, but she would have been able to keep fighting. No, instead she was pushed right into the window, and while Annie managed to kick one of her feet into the man's stomach in retaliation, all it really did was propel her further. So with a yelp and a shatter of broken glass, Annie was abruptly gone, leaving her yellow shawl snagged on the window and billowing her wake.
Diego	"Annie!" Logically, he knew Annie could survive a fall out a window. Still, it was jarring to see your girlfriend fall out a window. He didn't have much of a chance to try to go after her because burned Swedish guy recovered and went back to choking out Diego.
Lila	And who should come up the stairs and chance upon all of this but Lila? She'd been skulking around for a bit, trying to figure out where these Majestic Twelve were (and, fine, taking advantage of the seafood tower a bit -- institution food was not good, shoe bacon aside) and lo and behold, all the action was up here! She juked towards Diego, instinctively going to help him because he was her friend, even if she would never willingly use the F-word herself, but caught herself. Five was at the other end of the hall. She had a friend, for once in her life, but...Mum's directions had been crystal clear.
Diego	"Lila!" Diego managed to choke the words out, still struggling against the Swede's hold. "Lila, help me!" He was soon swiftly punched in the stomach by his brother. Which, ow. He was still stabbed.
Lila	Lila stood there, weighing her options and wanting very badly to go over there and help him -- it would be easy, honestly, given the dimensions of the hallway and the chandeliers. She was already forming a plan. "Protect Number Five at all costs." But she had orders. And so she broke from where she was staring at Diego and turned to the other end of the hallway, kicking off her shoes so she could parkour herself up the wall and grab onto one of those very chandeliers and kick Five's blond assailant in the face before wrapping her thighs around his neck in a choking grip. Just normal escaped mental patient things. In 1963. Like you see every day.
Five	Oh yeah, totally normal behavior there! Five wasn't going to be extra suspicious now. But, hey, it got him out of being pummeled to a bloody pulp there. Which he appreciated in the moment, getting to catch his breath as she kept the guy distracted.
Lila	After a bit of a struggle, Lila felt her center of gravity shift enough that she actually tipped backwards to pull the Swede with her, flipping him over her head and body with her legs with a loud grunt. She knew from experience that it would take the gent a moment to recover, so thankfully she had the time to catch her own breath and offer a dry, "You're welcome," to Five.
Five	Which meant he was giving her that suspicious look again before launching himself forward at the Swede in question in order to tackle him out the already shattered window. Only to catch sight of dad and... mom??? Never mind that now. He got himself together enough to teleport out there to catch them before they could leave.
Lila	Lila drifted over to the window after him, frowning thoughtfully down at the couple below. Hmm. No time to waste, though. She scurried back down the hall to grab her discarded shoes, and didn't pause at all this time as she met Diego's eye and...turned and ran down the stairs. No room for confusion there, no. She was explicitly leaving him on his own. Best of luck, friend.
Diego	What the fuck? At least Lila ditching him gave Diego a surge of anger he could use to kick the Swede that had been punching him in the knife wound away. Then he used what strength he had to slam the guy choking him into the wall several times until he let go. Between the slamming and Annie burning his face that guy seemed down for the count. The other guy, however, was getting back up. Not that Diego minded. Now that he wasn't being deprived of air he was in the mood to kick somebody's ass. "Just you and me. Show me what you've got."
A Swede	The remaining Swede could do that. He had spent the better part of the last couple minutes punching Diego in the stomach, after all. He swung at Diego, this time aiming for the head. If he had known about the shanking he would have gone for the stomach again.
Diego	Diego ducked, using his position to get his arms around the Swede's torso and slam him into the window. The glass shattered, and the guy's arm went out, but sadly Diego was not going to get revenge for Annie by shoving him out the whole thing. However there was a hefty looking vase, and Diego grabbed that to use as a weapon. The Swede ducked once, twice, but the third swing connected with a loud crack. The vase shattered and the Swede was down. Diego dropped the remnants of the vase to the ground going to the window that Annie had fallen out of to see if he she was okay. Instead he was distracted by a familiar looking figure heading towards the car. "Dad." Ohhh he fucking knew it.
Five	Not now, Diego! Five skidded to a stop as his teleport was off balance with how drained he apparently was. Reginald was getting into a car and he wouldn't be able to close the distance to him without a little time to recover, so instead, he shouted, "Ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ!" And hoped that registered with the man.
Reginald	Well. It wasn't every day a child in knee socks was yelling Ancient Greek at you. But that wasn't what made Reginald pause before getting into the car. And he definitely got into the car after the pause. He was not going to be encouraging that kind of nonsense, thank you.
Annie	And just in time to catch that retreating car came Annie, looking like -- well. Like she gone through a second-story window and landed in a scrubby bush. Though, you know -- look, Ma, no scratches! At least there was that? It also made her feel better that she'd gotten a good kick in on the blond guy who'd landed outside as well, on her way to trying to find the others. "Were those words?" she asked, carrying one shoe as she wandered up (the other had been too deep in the bush to retrieve) and pulling a twig out of her ruined bouffant.
Diego	Diego didn't get to hear the Greek, but he did get to see his father drive off. Well, fuck. At least Annie was okay! He knew she would be, but still. Falling out a window.
Five	"Ancient Greek," Five replied absently as he watched the car disappear on them. Then, once he caught sight of Diego out of the corner of his eye, added, "You know, I'm starting to get the feeling Dad's avoiding us."
Lila	Lila just sort of trailed over to stand with them, already self-consciously rubbing her neck a little. Ugh. Awkward of you to not just...die or go away immediately, Diego. Maybe he hadn't noticed her completely hanging him out to dry back there? "Hate to be the boring one, guys," she commented lightly, already leading the way like she assumed they'd go with her, "but I think it's time to get the hell out of here."
Five	Why thank you for reminding Five of your continued presence, Lila! "When you say 'we' who exactly are you referring to?" Five asked, turning on heel to look at her.
Lila	"Not a lot of ambiguity in that sentence," Lila noted, looking around and avoiding eye contact with any of the three people looking at her. She was covering them, that was all. They had to get out of here.
Five	"Listen, I don't know who you are or where you came from, but wherever it is... I'd advise you return posthaste," Five said, not nearly as trusting as his brother there.
Diego	"She's right, Five," Diego said reluctantly. "We have to get out of here." Though 'we' in his head was changing considering how the last few minutes had gone.
Annie	Annie nodded, glancing toward the sound of approaching sirens. She could buy them some time, if they needed, but it would be better if they got out of her cleaner than that. As cleanly as they could with at least two broken windows involved and scraps of yellow chiffon everywhere. "Sooner would be better," she added quietly. And, like -- she didn't know what had happened upstairs, but clearly something had Lila on the defensive here. Not a great look.
Lila	"I just saved your life, you kinder-shit," Lila snapped, suddenly furious at his ingratitude. That had been a hard choice for her, Five. "If I hadn't stepped in, all that'd be left of you is a blazer and some bloody socks."
Five	"And that's the problem," Five replied. "You're too good. You ask too many questions. You know too much. And you fight like you know what you're doing." Which was no joke against those Swedish assholes.
Diego	"He's got a point." And you ditched him, Lila. Blatantly ditched him! There was eye contact and everything!
Lila	"So I know how to handle myself and that makes me the bad guy?" Lila felt like she really should have a better strategy than this -- there was definitely a way to invoke their daddy issues or something and make her continued presence their idea -- but right now her feelings were a little hurt. And she was kind of tired. It wasn't exactly easy to beat up large men, even if she looked cute doing it.
Five	No, no. Daddy issues were less effective when Five had A Mission going. Well, unless it was just Diego. Then it was all daddy issues. And mommy issues. Issues in general. God, Diego, just learn to aggressively repress and channel it all into murderous rage. "Whoever you are, you are just in my way. If I see you again, I will kill you," Five said before finally giving into the need to get the fuck out of there with all the panic they caused.
Annie	Annie didn't really feel the need to threaten her, similarly -- Five had really said it all -- but Lila also wasn't really her focus at the moment, here. Lila, as far as she knew, hadn't been stabbed in the gut recently and then had to fight off multiple aggressive guys. So once she'd established that it didn't look like Diego was bleeding through his shirt, she reached up to give his arm a little squeeze, met his eye to give him a look that clearly said she'd see him in a second once he settled up this Lila business, and started off after Five. Still carrying one shoe.
Lila	That little display did not exactly help Lila's smarting feelings. "Diego, we need to go," she said, because -- well, they did. Focus on that. Ignore all that betrayal stuff.
Diego	"I was getting my ass handed to me back there." Yeah, he was man enough to admit it. Also it was very obvious. "You helped Five, not me. Why?"
Lila	"Because he's a kid, and you're a man," Lila sputtered, not expecting to have to actually account for those actions so directly. "Bloody act like one."
Diego	Diego huffed and shook his head. "You know, I'm used to dealing with liars, Lila, but I like it better when I know what they're lying about."

[NFI, NFB, OOC is A-OK. Taken from TUA 2x04 "The Majestic Twelve" and preplayed with defenderofdesmoines and apocalypsehow]