Participants:
| Scene Title | Older and Wiser |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Magnes and Abby reunite, older and wiser. |
| Date | February 20, 2019 |
It's not that hard for Magnes to find Abby. With everything going on, it's taken him a while to get around to informing her of his back to the living status.
At around February 20th is when he shows up at Elmhurst Hospital, showing up at around the time he heard she gets off. He leans against the wall outside the door, long black coat buttoned up and strange seamless black boots. At first glance, he doesn't look anything like the Magnes she knew. His long curly hair goes down to his shoulders, he has a little bit of facial hair, and overall just carries himself differently.
He allows himself to stay outside in the cold with his thoughts, figuring she'll be out soon. He didn't bother trying to get her number, the 'I'm back from the dead' reveal is probably a conversation best had in person.
There’s been a few folks coming back from the dead. Parka on, scrubs with maybe some flecks on them that will come out in the wash, she’s taking off her badge from around her neck and with a wave to someone else as she leaves through one of the side door, she’s head toward a bus stop. Gas after all is expensive and the weather is inappropriate for riding a bike means she’s going to have a wait. Probably why she seems to be heading towards some place to get a hot cup of something while she waits.
She is, unfortunately, oblivious. No hat or gloves, she is her own heat source these days and anyone coming near her gets to feel that now that she’s outside and automatically kicked up her own temperature to compensate for the winter weather.
"You still look the same." Magnes says from behind her, very silently walking, thanks to gravity and all. "No, I'm not from the future, or an alternate reality, or a clone… well, okay maybe that part is a long story. Anyway, I'm me, I'm back." He holds his arms out, presenting himself.
Tadaaaa~!
"I'm seven years older and I'm suffering a deep level of secondhand embarrassment as I remember every embarrassing thing I ever said or did around you." he admits, laughing a little. There's something a bit worn out about his tone, and his eyes clearly betray that he hasn't been sleeping much, or particularly well. He doesn't maintain the carefree tone that she knew him for very well, but he's clearly trying.
The problem with men talking while making no sound when creeping up behind people means that it gets people on edge or doing things like holding a bar hand up, skin glowing red with the promise to errupt into flame. That palm is still outstretched when she realizes who it is, the red promise of fire still there. But the look on her face is less anger that someone might be trying to do something, and more relief followed swiftly with jubilation. “Liz said you were around.”
"I've been dealing with a lot of stuff, so I haven't caught up with people as quickly as I should have. But… I don't want to close myself off from everyone. I worked so hard to get back, I need to see my friends." Magnes says, as if trying to convince himself. He does take note of her palm, taking a step back, but he doesn't mention it. "It's crazy, to have a singular purpose in life for seven years, and then one loss makes it feel so empty."
Oh right, the palm. It fades back to normal looking in shade and the air around them returning to abigail levels of normal. “Sorry. There’s been some creepers. They think we carry drugs on us as we leave. Walk like normal Magnes, so you don’t get mistaken.” Like he just did. “I’m gonna get something to drink while I wait for the bus, want to join me? Kasha’s home but she’s got the sitter.” She explains. There’s a moment, she falls silent taking in the man before her and trying to reconcile it with what she knew. “You look good with the longer hair.”
"Sorry, I've gotten used to sneaking around, used to having to either avoid something or escape something. That and… sometimes I don't realize when I'm doing that." Magnes admits, but when he walks now, she can actually hear his footsteps. "Sure, we can get something to drink."
"You look good with… well, let's not kid we already know I'd think you looked good covered in red paint." he says with a little chuckle. "I could fly you home after, but I get that flying isn't for everyone."
“It’s been a long time since you flew me anywhere.” She points out. “Should get you to fly Kasha.” There’s a though. But she offers her arm out to him. “Liz said you’d gone tripping through time, on a lovely scenic route that you probably wouldn’t want to talk about half of it but that you were back, had a kid, and could use company now and then.”
Magnes takes her arm with his, a bit more athletic than in the past, which isn't particularly obvious just by looking, given the large coat and all. "Yeah… that's putting it lightly. We've been through a lot. I even met a version of you, she saved me after I got stabbed with hedge clippers years ago. She was a paramedic, so I guess not that far off."
"But yeah, I have a kid, Addie. Her mother… she didn't make it. We made it here, but something happened. And now I just… I don't know what I'm doing. I was with her for seven years, we were engaged. Losing her is the worst thing I've ever felt, and I've felt some pretty bad things while I've been gone…" He looks down at her, curious. "How about you? I know you've got Kasha. But how's life?"
‘Bet you she still healed.” Abby smiles. “Kinda weird to think of other me’s out there.” There’s a nod at the loss of Addie’s mom. “Liz said you guys were working on trying to find her. How is she doing? Her arm settles easily in his, looking ahead of them. “We’re doing good. Life’s… different. I’m at Elmhurst. Nurse there. Pretty soon I’ll be a nurse practitioner and won’t need a doctor telling me what to do most of the time. Kasha’s a whole whopping nine, going on ten. She’s gonna be taller than me, but then, this was a given.” She smiles wider. “We live in Williamsburg. I managed to get a brownstone that was in need of renovations but the bones were good,s urvived. So, we’re been fixing it. Got our room done and the kitchen. Rest is still a work in progress. You?”
"Yeah, she still healed. She's the only other Abby I interacted with much, though it was pretty brief because this was back when we still cared about keeping our cover. It's strange seeing you without healing, but it's probably for the best. Three different Kazimirs have made life far more inconvenient than it needed to be for me, so I don't want you to be a target. I'd rather… avoid having to fight him ever again." He stares down at his free hand, a thought clearly crossing his mind for a moment.
"We'll get Addie back. I know she's okay, because they know that if anything happens to her, I'm going to show up with a small army. But Addie… she's amazing, intelligent, she started learning other languages at an early age. I don't know if she has Elaine's ability, but…" He shakes his head, smiling. "Being a dad is great. It's tough, but it's great. I can't even look at a kid without wanting to do dad things anymore."
“Please tell me you take her gravity skating yes?”
"Of course, I took her to do as much as I could. Read her books, played those little kid video games with her, Elaine made me learn to do her hair. I walked around with her on my back a lot, I like to keep her in my orbit." Magnes' face lights up when he talks about his daughter, all of that exhaustion and grief melting away when it comes to being enthusiastic about his child. "I spoiled her a lot, probably bad. I might go back to spoiling her when I get my new place."
“Yup, you were not a delivery boy. You were a dad, just waiting.” Abigail laughs. “Just, don’t spoil her too much. Make sure you lay down rules and follow them.”
"Elaine went through a lot of trouble to make sure I didn't just play with Addie all the time. But I also remembered a lot about the Lighthouse Kids, having to teach them lessons. I'd love to meet Kasha, though I feel like I want to adopt every kid I see lately. I just want to be everyone's dad." Magnes lets out a long sigh, staring up at the sky for a long moment. "It's crazy how different things are. I remember when I could barely talk to you without getting jealous or saying something stupid. All the stuff back then always felt like the end of the world to me. Becoming a literal black hole and feeling your consciousness connect with infinite universes changes your perspective a lot."
The black hole comment gets a raise of brows in confusion. “Pardon?”
"That's how it all started. I was augmented and had some sort of hypnotic trigger, then I turned into a black hole. It was… not fun. My ability expanded to the point that I could feel everything, it permanently changed me in a way. I can still feel the sun and the moon, right now. I always can, I can't stop that. I feel them pulling against me, pulling you." Magnes explains, though he seems calm enough about it, he's had enough time to adjust. "And after that, there was a time I stood between universes, when I had to force open a hole. It wasn't easy, it took a lot of people working together. But I stood in between it all. When I did, I felt everything, like a oneness with creation. That feeling used to drive me crazy, I'd lose my mind, but after a while I learned to keep it together, I could really appreciate it for what it was."
"I know that you're Christian, at least the last time I checked." he notes, staring over at her. "I've never said this to anyone, but if there was ever proof of something greater than all of us, some divine, incomprehensible force, I just can't help but think that what I felt and experienced is some kind of proof of things far beyond what any human could possibly understand. There aren't scientific models for the vastness of what I felt, for how connected I felt."
“You lost me at… black hole.” The he felt something akin to a divine being, or something, she can understand that. “I’m.. sorry this happened to you?” She’s a little unsure if she should be or not. There’s a concerned look. “Are… you still a black hole?”
"I sure hope not, or else I think I'd be slowly eating the planet." Magnes laughs a little, then smiles and shakes his head. "Don't worry, becoming a blackhole is… very involved. I'm normal, or at least as normal as I can be. My senses are just a little expanded, and my ability is a little more complicated than I originally thought. But… I'm okay. I've experienced a lot, but I survived, I'm stronger for it. I have a better understanding of my place in the world."
He looks thoughtful as they walk, his mood at least shifting to one of his older, more familiar talkative moods. "I think that I appreciate things a lot more. This is the only world that we have, this is the world where our families live, our friends, most of our memories. I lost a lot of people, and a lot of people stayed behind in other worlds, but… I learned that you can't replace someone."
Shifting his arm to lift her hand slightly in his, he says, "I met another Abby, but you're the Abby I have memories of, the Abby who was basically my entire world when I was a kid. Things like that, that's what I learned. It means more than any science or black holes or anything like that."
‘Sounds like while your scenic tour was hard, you came out the other end stronger Magnes.” The coffee shop looms, overpriced beans, late at night, soon to close. “And it sounds like the sooner we find elaine, the better, so we can put her back up on the pedastal.”
"I know that I'll get Addie back, but… I'm not sure that Elaine is even still alive. And if she isn't, I'm not sure that I can ever feel that way again. But, at the end of the day, I'll keep my promise to her. Protect Addie, make sure she's happy, do everything that I can. If Elaine is alive out there somewhere, I hope that she knows I'm doing that." He bites his bottom lip again, hooking his arm around her's again. "You can get me caught up on your life while we drink coffee. I can't even imagine what you did during the war. Then I'll fly you home."
“Everyone wants to know what I did.” Abigail looks to the shop, opening the door. “Nothing Magnes. I high tailed it to Canada with Kasha then came home when it was safe to. Lived down south, testified, went back south then came back here. But, I can tell you more if you like. Come on, treats on me and then we’ll head ot my place and you can meet the great and mighty Kasha. And the cat. The fattest cat in New York City that she brought home.” There’s coffee to drink, probably end of day pastry to buy and consume. And a boring quiet life in Canada and the South.