Run And Hide

Participants:

magnes_icon.gif melissa_icon.gif tony_icon.gif

Scene Title Run and Hide
Synopsis Magnes and Melissa discuss Kendall. Tony, Mel and Magnes discuss the attack at the Petrelli mansion.
Date March 22, 2010

The Den


At around noon, after checking on Kendall, Magnes is heading down a hall to the exit of the Den. He's wearing that thick black Venom costume coat, black jeans with flame designs circling around them, and a pair of black snow boots. He didn't intentionally mean to wear all black, that's just kind of how things happened.

Melissa is just coming in, yawning and dressed in all black as well. But then, that's how she always dresses. She pauses when she spots Magnes, and a brow arches. "Hi Magnes," she says, moving towards a chair to start taking off her coat and all, and digging out a black surgical type mask.

Magnes backs up when she greets him, following her back to the chair, then just stands there with his hands in his pockets. "Hey, Melissa. I was wondering…" He has one of those awkward tones right now, but what he asks isn't really that awkward. "What was with the glare last night?"

"What glare?" Melissa asks as she ties the mask around her neck, but she doesn't yet pull it up over her face. No one sick down here after all. "I remember giving you a look, but I didn't glare."

"Well," Magnes shrugs, raising an eyebrow, still rather confused. "What was with the look?" he corrects, waiting for an answer.

"The look was because you were being highly indiscreet. And if you'd done the same thing to me, I would've kicked your ass," Melissa explains, heading into a storage room to check on supplies. "People don't like having others go around calling out information about them, you know. It all goes back to the same principle as telling everyone that you're sleeping with a particular girl. It's bad manners."

"I didn't think it was a big deal, I mean, the guy likes puppets, and I still don't know his name. Plus he keeps saying he's not the guy I think he is." Magnes shakes his head, then leans against a wall near the chair she was sitting on. "Oh well, I'll remember not to do that next time."

Melissa glances back to Magnes, brows lifted. "Okay Magnes, I want you to think for a second here. If he's not the guy you're thinking of, then you're just coming off as an idiot. Because you keep thinking he's someone he's not. If he is the guy you're thinking of, and he keeps denying it, then maybe he's got a reason for not wanting to be recognized. In that case, you calling out puppet guy every time you see him isn't a good way for him to lay low."

"He's definitely the guy, just looks younger for some reason. But alright, I'll… stop that." Magnes sighs, as if the entire subject is wearing on him, then stares down at his feet. "What would you do if your friend was a stripper and you didn't think she really wanted to do it?"

Melissa shrugs. "Depends on the friend, the reasons for doing it, and a slew of other variables. If she really doesn't want to be doing it, then you could try to help find her another job. But I'd make sure she really doesn't want to be doing it before you butt in."

"Yeah, I guess." Magnes doesn't seem inclined on questioning her, instead lifting his legs to cross them in the air, floating there with his hands resting in his lap. "Life, not much you can do about it. I should probably go practice piano or fly around soon, unless Miss Strauss calls."

Melissa sighs and comes out of the storage room to look at Magnes, hands on her hips. "Mags…You know that you don't have to be a part of everything in the city, of everyone's life, to be important or special, right? And you know that you can't save everyone?"

Melissa is all in black as usual, with a black surgical mask hanging around her neck and a white bandage on her forehead. Magnes is nearby, sitting cross-legged while floating in the air. It's noonish.

"I know I can't save everyone, I knew that when me and Abby were kidnapped, I knew that when Isabelle turned up dead, I keep learning that and it keeps hammering into my head." Magnes starts to slowly drift down the hall, seeming to go in the general direction of the exit, but not appearing to be in much of a rush. His drifting seems like more a product of idly floating. "Knowing doesn't make me feel any better, at all."

Melissa smiles faintly. "It's not supposed to make you feel better, Magnes. The truth isn't always pretty, and occasionally it hurts, a lot. But life will be a lot easier for you if you just accept it. I think there's some quote about having the strength to change the things you can, and the wisdom to recognize the things you can't. Or something like that. It's a good quote though."

"Gabriel told me once that I don't trust people to get things done, and I put all the burden on myself." Magnes rights his floating, moving back to the spot he started. "But life just feels as if it's slipping through my fingers. When I get some shred of it, it's gone the next moment. And it seems to be happening to other people too, and I have to watch it. Sometimes I wonder if even you're gonna be here tomorrow."

Melissa smirks. "I'm not going anywhere, as much as some people might wish otherwise. But it sounds like the serial killer was right. You micromanage. It never works. Share the load. Seriously."

"With who, my imaginary friend?" Magnes snickers and floats down to sit in an actual chair, breathing out softly. "But I don't know, I'll just see where everything goes. I have a hard enough time staying in a good mood, so I shouldn't let this one thing drag me down."

Melissa shrugs. "Friends, Magnes. You're not Superman you know. You're not the only evolved in the city. You're not even the only evo who wants to make a difference. And your friends have friends too. I promise, some of us are actually very capable at what we do."

And the sound of a door, and jaunty whistling heralds the arrival of someone new.

"Outside of possibly Tracy Strauss, I don't think I have one friend who trusts me anymore. But that's alright, I'm sure I'll eventually do something with my job, maybe." Magnes is once again not enthused, half-heartedly shrugging before he looks in the direction of the whistling. "Someone's coming."

Melissa sighs and shakes her head. "You're too hard on other people, Mags," she says before she glances towards the door. "Yeah, I hear. It's not unusual. There are several people helping out."

"Just being realistic. I know what people think of me, and I know it's not really in my power to do anything about that without changing everything about myself. I've been there, didn't like it, I like being me. If people hate that, well…" Magnes shrugs again, once more looking in the direction of the exit. "Instead of sitting here ruining your mood, I should probably go out and do something productive."

"That's totally your choice, Magnes. I can't make you stay or go or anything else. I can just offer suggestions," Melissa says, shrugging.

"You know, assuming you're gonna get angry or annoyed doesn't seem to work as well as it does with other people." Magnes doesn't leave, instead he seems to change the subject and calm down a little. "Why are you always so patient?"

Melissa shrugs again. "Hell if I know. I guess I'm just an easygoing person. Or maybe I'm really a saint in disguise and someone forgot to tell me. Who knows?"

"I like it, but, it's hard to get used to. The way you talk to me is completely different than most people." Magnes is continuing to stare at his boots, shuffling his feet together. "Maybe I should hang out with Peter more, he seems to like me."

Melissa goes still at mention of Peter. "He's in the hospital, Mags. Not really prime time for hanging out," she murmurs, moving back into the storage room. She has work to do! Honest!

"Peter, as in Peter Petrelli?" Magnes asks, eyes a bit wide with concern before she heads into the storage room. "What happened? I didn't hear anything, and I've mostly been keeping my news reading to political stuff…"

There's some further noises, and then a bulky figure swings his way down, whistling, somewhat off key. Tony grins, and blows a kiss to Melissa, perhaps a bit sardonically, and asks, "Bad time?"

Melissa shrugs. "Can't help you there. It was in the news. That's how I got this," she says, tapping the bandage on her forehead. She pokes her head out and smiles at Tony. "Not really. This is Magnes. He brought a sick kid in." She pulls out her phone then, tapping on it for a moment, then she offers it to Magnes, showing him the news report on the attack.

Magnes gives Tony a weakly friendly nod, though appears to be distracted as he looks down at the news report. His frown grows a bit, then he leans back and slides his hands into his coat pocket. "So basically they're not talking. I'll have to ask Miss Strauss, she should know something. Well, actually, if you were there, you'd know something too, but I'm guessing this is one of those 'No Magnes' allowed' bits of information." he bitterly adds, then stands and starts heading for the door. "I'm gonna try and find some stuff out. Maybe I can call in a favor and get him healed too…"

Tony frowns slightly, "More sick? Damn…. this is getting bad…" He rubs his chin, "We got any more leads on…. well… anything, really."

Melissa sighs. "Magnes, remember how I said you shouldn't get involved in everything? Besides, this guy tried to cut my head open and kill me. I want a piece of him myself," she says, putting her phone back in her pocket. Of course she's only giving a partial truth. "Besides, officially, I wasn't there. And anyone says otherwise, I'll make them regret it."

She nods to Tony. "Yeah. With this kid we're up to…7? Unless someone's hiding out up there."

"Wait, what?" Magnes stops on his way to the door, looking back at her. "He tried to cut your head open? They said it might be an Evolved incident… what abilities did he use?" He asks this in plural, though only a few people would know why.

Tony frowns, "Who? Who tried to cut your head open? What did he look like?"

Melissa looks back to Magnes and nods. "Yeah, he cut me with his abilities. But let's see…he turned into smoke, use telekinesis, and he seemed to know what my ability was. At least that was how it sounded." Tony gets a sad smile. "It happened quick and he had his face mostly covered. But…stubble, some gray I think, yellow teeth. Taller than me. Wore a baseball cap. No idea who he is, but I want to kick his ass. Bad. My head still hurts."

"Christ, you can't be serious." The turning into smoke and using telekinesis is what gets him. Magnes sounds as if Melissa just told him Santa Christ just came back and brought Elvis with him. "He's alive." And with that, he's marching off to the door even quicker. "Sorry, I've gotta go make phone calls."

Tony grunts, and steps closer to inspect Mel's head, thoughtfully, "How'd you get away? And.. that's a strange combination of powers. I can't really make them make sense. At all."

The bandage on Mel's head is several inches across, running across her forehead partway. "Who's alive, Mags? And like I said, I wasn't there. You tell anyone that I was there, and you'll get to see me pissed off," she warns him. Tony gets a shrug. "I used my ability on him, but it didn't seem to phase him. Then all of a sudden he got all smoky and poofed. Not sure why."

Tony grunts, and then gestures. There's a generic face. Grey stubble. Yellow teeth. A baseball cap. Doesn't look much like Sylar. "Okay. Tell me what's not right."

"I won't tell anyone. And it doesn't matter who's alive. But if you see him again, do not fight him, he'll kill you." Magnes says this as a matter of fact, pulling his hood up and making sure his coat is completely zipped as he prepares to grab the knob. "I'll call you later or something. See you guys." He doesn't seem much concerned with the actual description, but the abilities, that's far too much of a coincidence to ignore for him.

Melissa gives Magnes an incredulous look. "Are you fucking kidding me? That bastard tried to kill me. If I can take him down, I will." She looks back to Tony, considering his new face. "Not so much gray, but it's kinda close. I really didn't get that good a look at him," she says apologetically.

Tony grunts, and the image shimmers, and adjusts. A bit closer now, and then to Magnes, he asks, "Alright. Tell me. Who is this guy? And what's wrong with my image of him?"

"I can't tell either of you anything, because while it sounds like who I think it is, he's supposed to be dead. And Melissa, just don't do anything rash." Magnes is apparently not going to stick around for questioning, because he's out of the door right after that, closing it firmly behind him.

Melissa looks more than a little irritated at Magnes, but lets him go and moves over to a couch, flopping down onto it with a sigh.

Tony lets out a long, irritated sigh, "Fuckin' secret keeping. Bloody typical." Just for a moment his voice is a pure burst of Oz. Then it's back to his normal bland accent, "Alright. Pack a bag. We need to hide you someplace."

Melissa looks at Tony like he's crazy. "What? I'm not hiding. I can't hide. I've got too much going on. Besides, I'm prepared if this jackass shows up again. I made the mistake once of being without a weapon besides my ability, but I won't make that mistake again."

Tony says, "Hell to that, Melissa. You can ALWAYS hide. Your work isn't something that can't be done by anyone else. Your life, however, doesn't get replaced."

Melissa rises back to her feet. It's hard to argue properly when the other person is standing and you're sitting. Or so Melissa thinks. "And I am more capable of handling this guy than the next person he might go after! What if he attacks a healer or something? They have no defense against him. I do," she argues.

Tony says, "Sure… but what if he has another go and you're here. What if he follows you to attack these defenseless folks? So it's them as well as you. Do you want that on your conscience?"

Her own defense doesn't seem to be the key to convincing Melissa. But this new argument? It has Mel going stark white. "Shit," she whispers. "I didn't even think about that. Dammit!"

Tony grunts, "Right. You got some cash? Or do I need to go acquire some resources for you to hide up with?"

Melissa looks offended. "I can handle myself, Tony. You had a good point, but I don't need anyone taking care of me. Big girl and all that. Promise."

Tony says, "Sure. Sure, but this is what I _do_. And if he's looking for you, then perhaps he _won't_ find a chubby forty something who rents a place, eh?"

No, Mel wasn't offended before. She's offended now. "I hope you're not suggesting that you make me look like a chubby forty something. Because I don't wanna live that bad."

Tony snorts, "Just temporarily. I can't keep that big an illusion going for more than a little while, you know. Nobody's gonna want to believe it." He clears his throat, "So. About the cash…?"

Melissa rolls her eyes. "I've got cash. But I'm not leaving my house. No one there but me."

Tony says, "Unless he's there. We find you a roachy hotel for a couple nights. Plenty of them. Then we swing you someplace nicer after that, once the dates of check in are a bit harder for him to trace you by. First day as a fat forty-something. Maybe a second night in a different cheap hotel as a nice seventy year old man. Then someplace nicer as something closer to yourself, so you can pass as your new 'shape' when I'm not there."

Melissa shakes her head. "No. Too many people depend on me, Tony. I'll avoid this place, but I will not run and hide. End of discussion."

Tony says, "Mel! Trust me. I'm a professional deception artist. This is what I do, sugar. This is what I do." </Mal>. "Even if it's just for a few days. And we can maybe set up an illusion of you for him to try and kill….. which will get _fun_. That's how you kill a tiger. You track him with a tethered goat. But no reason that goat has to really be you."

Melissa steps closer, getting right up in his face. "I. Will. Not. Hide. So drop it." Then she starts to move away, heading towards the tenement building, pulling her mask up.

Tony throws his hands up in irritation, "Women! When you're the bloody target, you don't hide yourself someplace you're sure to be found! That's stupid! What about all the people you'll let down if you're dead!"

Melissa stops and turns around. "How do we know I'm the target, hmm? We don't. He came after me at a place I'd never been to before, a place unlikely for me to ever go. There were other evolved there. Several of them. I'm not even the one who got hurt the worst. So tell me, Tony. How do you know I'm the target?"

Tony says, "I don't. But I don't know all the details. I was planning on debriefing you once we got you to a safehouse. Tell me all, though. Tell me about the others."

Melissa shrugs. "One person was pinned under a couch. The other? Knocked out a window. And last I heard? He was in the hospital, still fucking unconscious. Oh, and did I mention that it was the president's house? Ever think that might have been a factor?" Yes, she's stubborn. Heaven help anyone she hooks up with!

Tony says, "Uh… the President…. the president of _what_?" He rubs his stubbled cheek, "… but to be honest, how am I going to know any of this shit, if you don't tell me?"

"The president, Tony. Oval office, command and chief, leader of the free world," Melissa explains. "And you didn't ask! You jumped straight to shoving me into hiding as a fat old chick!"

Tony rubs his chin, "So. The President. Tell me. Do _you_ have a whole damn Secret Service looking to protect you?" He raises a brow, interrogatively

"No, I just have you, my gun and my ability! And the president wasn't attacked. The three of us who were downstairs were," Melissa says, eyes narrowed at Tony. "Besides, I've been makin' a hell of a lot of friends here. Most of 'em evolved. I'm safer than most of the people in this damn city."

Tony says, "Right. So…. we've narrowed it down from 'President' to 'Evolved'." He grunts, "Why opening up your head? If he's got that much TK, why not rip your heart out, if he just wanted to kill you? Or crush your throat?"

"What? Narrowed it…Now you're not making any sense!" Melissa grumbles. "And I have no idea. I'm a pain manipulator, not a telepath. I just know he pinned me to a wall and started cutting at my head. Then he poofed. Besides, if I go into hiding, then all these people who seem to know what the fuck is going on won't be able to tell me."

Tony says, "Narrowed down _who_ was the target. And the _why_. He seems to be after the Evolved, then, rather than the…." He pauses, "What were you doing at the White House?"

Melissa sighs and rubs her hands over her face. "We didn't narrow down anything except for the people who were in the house. And I wasn't at the White House. I was at his mother's house or whatever."

Tony's eyes narrow. "You were at the Presidents Mom's house?" A beat. "Why the hell were you there?"

Melissa lets her hands drop. "Because I'm friends with his brother. And his brother was there. Why are you even worried about that? Wait, never mind. No, let's focus on that." because it's better than going on about her hiding again!

Tony says, "Well, way I heard it, they weren't precisely low key. Which means maybe it was aimed at _them_. Except they'll have Secret Service Security. So… why weren't THEY involved. Too much ain't making sense here."

Melissa nods. "Tell me about it. I mean, how can someone even have more than one power. I've never seen it. Either way, do you still think I'm as much a target now?"

Tony says, "Maybe. Because there's something about this whole telekinesis thing that doesn't make sense." He starts pacing, back and forth, "Why cut your head open? It's the source of the mind. Perhaps he could read your mind if he touched your brain? Hell, I don't know. But you're right. Those aren't a single power. Not any manner of means. I'd say he was an illusionist, but that wasn't an illusion…." He rubs his chin, "Could he hide a real knife to cut your head open, and make it look like a power? Maybe. But why would you want to? Doesn't make sense…"

Melissa shrugs. "I have no idea. And even if he was an illusionist like you, how could he dangle me upside down without touching me? Or send people flying around? That was no illusion, even if he cut me with a scalpel."

Tony grunts, "I'd agree. Which means he's a telekineticist. But what about the rest? Dematerialization? Hell…. that's just wrong. And that's not the least of it. I mean… I assume the secret service _was_ there, right?"

Melissa shrugs. "I don't know. I wouldn't think so since the president wasn't. I didn't see any men in black anyway."

Tony says, "His Mom doesn't have Secret Service protection? Seems… unlikely, you know?"

Melissa sighs. "Tony, you're asking me questions I don't have the answers to. I didn't even know he was the president's brother until after the fact. I'd never been to the house before, or anything. I've told you what I know."

Tony says, "Okay,. So… .who else was there? Who was it hospitalised? I'm assuming they're still alive, so…. can't imagine they were the target."

"Peter is the one in the hospital. But I heard that he was lucky to be alive," Melissa answers. "Anyway. I should go check on the kids upstairs, then check work."

Tony says, "You _should_ get your cute ass ready to vanish for a while. I get the impression that you're gonna ignore me, though"

Melissa smiles and nods. "That I am! But I do promise I'll be careful, okay? Cross my heart."

Tony grunts, "You don't know the _meaning_ of careful, Mel. It's cute, when I'm trying to get you to bed. But it loses a whole lot of appeal when I'm trying to stop you getting yourself killed."

Melissa sobers and shakes her head. "Trust me, Tony. I know how to be careful. After all, I haven't been scooped up to get shoved into Moab Two. I have no intention of dying."

Tony says, "Intention? What the bloody hell has INTENTION got to do with a damn thing? I didn't have any INTENTION of ending up in New York, first time I came here. Didn't stop it happening, did it?"

Melissa sighs. "Tony. I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do. Don't have a heart attack worrying, okay? I'll be fine. Anyone comes after me, I'll drop 'em."

Tony says, "Mel? How do you reckon you're gonna do that? Even if he just has TK and dematerialisation…. well…. flicking on the safety…. pressing the Mag eject….. not being solid when the bullet passes through? That's just off the top of my head. Hell… he could be here, in ghost form, right fucking _now_, and we wouldn't know. You got magic bullets? Your gun is evolved? Then how the bloody hell do you reckon you're going to stop this man?"

"I'm talking about using my ability," Melissa says with a shake of her head. "But I gotta go now, Tony. I'll be around."

Tony rolls his eyes upwards, "Yeah… yeah, whatever. Really. Don't just trust YOUR abilities, though. Trust the rest of us."

Melissa nods. "I do. See ya, Tony," she says, smiling at him before she wanders off to check on her tenants.


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