Stop Looking So Surprised

Participants:

abby4_icon.gif magnes_icon.gif

Scene Title Stop Looking So Surprised
Synopsis Abigail visits Magnes to find out the truth behind the red scarf.
Date June 14, 2010

Gun Hill


With his appointments off for a few hours, and Elaine out prowling the morning city, Magnes has chosen around 10 AM for some 'me' time. They just got Rock Band the day before, and he's simply doing vocals with the songs they downloaded, and dancing with the microphone. "And now it's like baby baby ooooh!" he sings loudly before spinning around once, shifting from side to side. "Thought you'd always be miiine!" He's in a simple white tanktop and some black jeans and socks, clearly having not fully dressed for the day yet. Anyone near his door could easily hear the singing, and while he's not a bad singer, the song itself is… well… yeah.

The song itself is not what Abigail ever envisions magnes singing and it not something that would make her customers thrilled when and if they ever play in the rebuilt bar. The first knock went unheard, then second barely, the third one has her knuckles white from whapping them on the door hard along with a yell of his name. If this was a regular apartment building, the pink haired woman is pretty sure that magnes might have had complaints.

"Magnes! Open up!"

Magnes drops the microphone and quickly shuts the game off, rushing to the door after brushing his hair back a few times… then a pause and he makes it messy instead. He's a bad boy who disobeys all the rules and has messy hair! Yeah! "Coming!" The door is swung open, and he stares down at the pink-haired Abigail. "Ah, uh, it's you. I mean, hey! Did you bring baked goods?" He looks down at the scarf, rubbing his eyes a few times with one hand. "What's that?"
"I did not bring baked goods" Apologetic in her murmuring, the scarf in question draped around the back of her neck. Her own white tank top and jeans, she's bearing a purse and not much else. "Next time I'll remember to bring some with me Magnes. Can I come in?" Which of course, he's not about to refuse and she takes advantage of him eyeing the scarf and slides past him. So it is something.

"You know what it is Magnes. So stop looking so surprised. Anyone else here?"

"No one's here, and this is the line." Magnes does not look happy, closing the door and locking it behind him. "It's bad enough Claire got sucked into that all, but I'm not letting them make you do all of that craziness too. I'll die first before I watch you be one of them." He holds his hand out, motioning his fingers for her to hand it over. "Take the scarf off, it's over, I don't care what you say. You might not know everything, but this is not something you want to be doing, I'm not going to let it happen to begin with."

"Weren't you the one that came to me the other week, spouting off about this Magnes? Why can you do it and I can't? For that matter, what on earth are you doing running around the streets in costume and being all super heroish? A full white costume Magnes with markings and your face obscured? Please tell me, that that isn't true because you got a presidential pardon and you're working for Tracy Strauss. Do you know how bad that will look for Tracy if you get caught being a masked vigilante?" The scarf is kept where it is, a defiant look on her face.

"Messiah is not what I was talking to you about, it's completely unrelated. They're a crazy bunch of terrorists like PARIAH, I don't care if Peter is leading them or not, going out and just… killing a bunch of people is not going to solve anything!" Magnes reaches out, gripping his hand around the scarf, but he doesn't make any move to actually take it. "You are not going to do this. Once I go to the Ferry, once I tell Eileen and everyone, we're going to stop this." He looks to his entertainment center, eyes wide. "Oh fuck, I said that out loud…"

He releases the scarf, then starts rushing to his costume room, opening the door and motioning her over. "In here, like, now, this is not a game. We can't talk out here, you should know why."

In truth, abigail doesn't know why. Peter is leading Messiah. The man who's living in her apartment, she drives beside him day after day is leading the group that is… oh sweet Lord. Was this what he kept trying to tell her and yet… he never gets it out. And there's Magnes again, going to play spy and defect.

The surprise is on her face, possibly can be attributed to magnes's declaration of defection and not that he just blabbed to her what the hell the scarves were about and she stomps off into the costume room.

Magnes closes the door and quickly rushes to his computer. This room has rack upon rack of costumes in plastic bags, with a computer sitting in the corner of the room. He unplugs everything, and proceeds to take the batteries out of all the electronics he has sitting on the desk. "That vigilante stuff can wait, we can talk about that later, this is more important."

His voice lowers to a whisper when he walks back over to her, letting out a slow sigh. "I said all of that out there, in front of the television. I don't know if Rebel's always spying, but I could have potentially screwed myself. I was just… shocked, seeing you wearing that. But Rebel can't be everywhere, I'm sure he trusts me a little, but I'll have to put that to the back of my mind. This room should be fine, I made it so I could easily unplug and have a place Rebel can't spy."

He glances back down at the scarf, then up to her eyes. "Abby, Messiah's dangerous, no matter what they say. They have this crazy plan, an entire hit list of people they think need to die in order to make the world better. They've got a whole group being brainwashed into being extremists who need to go out and attack the government. You wouldn't be with them if you knew that, that's why I'm telling you now."

"I'm not with them Magnes"

THe truth falls from her lips easily. "I told Peter I needed to borrow his scarf, he thinks I wanted it to match my outfit. He's not the kind of guy who knows me well enough to know that I don't tend to accessorize or color co-ordinate stuff like scarves" Heat, starts to work it's way into the room and it takes her a moment to realize it. Radiating off the young woman and not a heater or radiator or vent.

"Shit" Abigail closes her eyes tight, prayer after prayer muttered under her breath till it starts to settle down. "Don't get me angry right now Magnes. I really don't need to be angry. But I am. You seem to have forgotten about you wanting to do the same thing for the company. Go in, find out stuff, come out and pass it off. look how well that turned out" Breathing, think happy calm thoughts, puppies in flower fields, Rhett playing with Scarlett, church on sunday and singing. calming thoughts.

"That's not why I went into Messiah, Abby. It's not like that, this was different. At first I went in to see what Claire was doing, then the way the group was sold on me, it really seemed like they were doing good work. Then recently, only a few days ago, there was this big meeting where they revealed this crazy plan. I was honestly all for it, I was… in the Ferry on a Messiah mission to take a little girl named Liette somewhere safe. But I was on the wrong side, I realize that now, I was wrong… you have no idea how wrong I was. I have to tell the Ferry everything, I have to make this right." Magnes backs up a bit at the heat, holding a hand out toward her.

She can feel the familiar feeling of shifting weight washing through her for a moment before it's gone back to normal. "What's wrong, Abby? What's going on?"

"Nothing is wrong with me Magnes, everything is as it should be. I'm having control issues. I should have taken a stupid pill before coming over here. This isn't about me. Leave Messiah Magnes. No good can come of this. None. Please don't try to make a martyr of yourself and try to get information. If they're willing to do all this, if you defect Magnes, do you not see that they will likely try to kill you, to keep you from telling the Ferry stuff?"

Abigail pinches the bridge of her nose, then lets go when it hampers the breathing Huruma taught her. "Please tell me you have a fire extinguisher, if not, I need a cup of water"

"I'm planning to call a Ferry meeting as soon as I can to tell them everything, I am going to leave Messiah, but I have to find out how the Ferry want me to handle the situation. You always tell me not to be rash and do things on my own, right? Well I'm not doing anything until we have this meeting." Magnes tries to reassure her, but seems clearly worried about whatever's going on with her.

"What do you mean control issues? A fire extinguisher?" He's not understanding, but he heads out into the kitchen for a moment, coming back with a small extinguisher and a tall glass of water in the other hand, offering it over. "Something is wrong. People don't just suddenly get hot enough for you to feel it standing next to them, not unless they're, well, any conditions would involve instant death and possibly the worst fever in the history of the world."

"It's not wrong if that's how it's supposed to be Magnes" Extinguisher is kept close. "If I start smoking, hit me with it. I'm sure your roommates will have clothes I can borrow to wear. Peter will understand about his scarf. It's not like he can't borrow Huruma's or Claires" the list could go on, only a few she knows. The water is taken, slowly drank.

"I don't want to hear more about Messiah. BUt when you're ready, find me and let me know, and I'll go tell the Ferry. It will be less conspicuous about you" The heat has tapered off but she's not taking chances. Not in someone elses home.

"Now. Costumed super hero fighting? On the streets and in an underground fight club? I thought you were smarter than that Magnes. I don't have healing anymore to fix you"

"You're Evolved again? But… heat? Wait, how did you even get an ability again? Sorry, you don't have to tell me, it's just… this is really weird." Magnes moves a hand to her forehead, but doesn't actually touch her, he just keeps it hovering there for the moment. "I'm not going to hit you in the head, Abby, but I can use my ability to stop anything really bad from happening. And… we'll talk about you telling them."

He sighs, finally dropping the Messiah subject. "I know you can't fix me, Abby. But I can't keep ending up in the news with my face all over, it's just not safe for everyone I know. I'm not wearing a mask to be a superhero, I'm wearing a mask because I'd be doing the same without one. It's for privacy. I don't care how silly you think it is or how dangerous you think it is, this is going to happen, and I have a financial baker and an informant to help me, as well as a few allies. This is what I meant the other day."

He stands up and opens the door again, motioning to the couch now that they're off of such a sensitive topic. "As for the cage, I use that to train myself against different abilities and test what I've learned from the people who teach me. I'm not the kid who was captured with you a year ago, I can take a beating. I fought Evolved-killing robots for crying out loud. And today I'm going to another man who's offered to train me to move and fight without my ability, and get over that weakness I have."

Abby jerks herself away from any touch before it can land on her. "Don't touch me" Even if he doesn't actually do so. "And no, you can't stop it from happening or anything really bad Magnes. Just drop it." Out of the room she goes, taking extinguisher with her and water. "And what happens when you show up with bruises magnes? Bruises in places you can't account for and regularly."

"Not to mention that people have guns and that at some point, if you get pictured in your costume, people are going to know. a bunch of people already know about the costume thing. It was how I found out. Only so many people have an obsession with comic books and the people portrayed within, who can fly and wield an ability like you and a red scarf Magnes. Things add up, your personality will add up and be a red flag"

"Boxing membership, another trainer I intend to work with. She owns the cage place. I intend for that to be the excuse, more or less." Magnes sits back on the couch and lays his head back, seeming almost exhausted by the whole situation. "I know people have guns, it's not as if I didn't think these things through. I've got that covered. And I also figured a lot of people would assume it was me and possibly figure it out, but people like you aren't really a problem, the problem would be me ending up all over the news like I used to. It's not about playing hero and having a secret identity, it's about not being Magnes J. Varlane the public figure. I have a plan though, one that might take care of everything all at once. It's a legit plan, so you don't have to worry about anything crazy."

"Magnes, I and others, always worry about your plans because they tend to be crazy" She points out, not taking a seat. "Have you thought that this person who wants to 'teach' you might just be wanting to see how you work, who you are and mess with you? Use what he can learn about you against you in this.. fight.. ring" God, that alone makes her sick to her stomach, that he participates in that.

"Sometimes I think you assume I don't think at all, I mean… Alright, let's go back to the premise that I am a comic book nut who's read thousands of comics, if that's the case, don't you think I'd assume something like this could be some sort of information gathering scheme or trap?" Magnes tilts his head to look at her, though it still lays back lazily. "There's not one person on Earth who knows every function of my ability. Different people know bits and pieces, but I'm not stupid enough to tell everyone everything, or tell people things in a way that could be pieced together. No one at all knows the actual range of my ability, that's a complete secret.

Finally he sits up, pulling his knee up on the couch to face her completely. "This is basically how it is, I'm going to keep doing this, I have thought this through, I have supporters no matter how unsavory some of them may be, but… What if I promise to keep you in the loop, more or less at least, and let you meet people I work with occasionally, to put your mind at ease. I'll even take you to this man I'm going to train with today. You can be my Pepper Potts, Abby."

'Magnes" Lips purse, she doesn't like the idea of him doing it at all, the same as he didn't like the idea that she might in any way, be linked with Messiah. The scarf is taken from around her neck and shaken at him, forefinger pointed at it. "You didn't like me with regards to that, I don't like you with regards to this fighting thing. Do you understand that you've set up this double standard? That I'm a delicate wiling flower in as much as I tend to lean towards you not sometimes not having a brain cell in your head and getting in way above it"

"Would you feel better if I stopped the cage fighting part?" Magnes asks as he tries to keep the situation from completely exploding, figuratively and literally, his tone and demeanor staying casual and calm. "Because if you wanted that, I would stop it. But the vigilante part isn't going to stop, and I'm working hard to make sure I'm prepared for the potential consequences of that. I'm as inclined to this as you were to healing people. You felt like you had to heal a wound when you saw it, you felt it was your duty."

"I can't sit on my ability and not use it the way I feel it needs to be used. Even if you disagree, can you at least try and relate to how I feel? I'm not going out there to fight the government, I'm going to help people and stop criminals, and I'm willing to show you that I'm preparing and setting things up properly, by letting you in and trusting you."

"My healing didn't hurt people Magnes, nor did it trend towards getting me killed. Don't you even think to bring up Staten island as a contention point. We both know that was something different." He's willing to give up the cage fighting. Would that do good or would that hinder him? WOuld it help him?

"I know, Abby, I know. I'm just saying, this is about feelings, feeling as if your ability is a sort of calling that you can't ignore. Whenever I try to be normal, I still end up in the news because I end up flying in and saving people or something. So if I'm going to do this, if I can't run away from it, I'd rather embrace it and do it right than try to stuff it in a closet and occasionally do it in a half-assed way that'll eventually get me badly hurt."

Magnes closes his fist, squeezing it tightly as he looks down at it. "There is no way I could ever guarantee that I'd stop this, people are always going to need my help, and I can't just sit on my thumbs. So I'm trying to train, pool my resources, get help, fill these gaps and get people to tell me what these gaps are. Don't you understand that I'm trying to do this the right way instead of the way I would have done it in the past?"

She does. Deep down she does. The same as Helena never understood healing everyone who came into her patch, she won't understand Magnes's deep down need to do this. "If you're going to do it, my momma says, then you darn well do it at a hundred and fifty percent, or you don't do it all" Down onto the coffee table she plunks herself, resigned. "Who's this man you're going to see? Does he have an address. If you'er going to do this Magnes, you're going to do it smart, you make sure someone knows where you're going, if it's someone new or the first few times, and that if you don't show up or make contact at an appointed time, they at least know where to start looking, do you understand me?"

"I understand, Abby, and I agree." Magnes smiles, seemingly pleased by the turn in the situation. Never in a million years would he have predicted it, so he quickly grabs a pen and a paper from the table, writing an address and a name before handing it over. "Alexander Suvorov was his name, at least the one he gave at the fight. Don't know for sure if it's his real one, I mean, I used a fake name at the fight myself. Mister E. Nigma." he snickers at the alias, sitting on the edge of the couch now. "He was my opponent, Logan shut my ability off and the man said he could teach me to fight without it."

There's a wrinkle of her nose. Sounds Russian. She's not done good with Russians. The address is circumspect too. "When are you going to see this person? and really magnes, that's a stupid name. Hard enough for people to take you seriously if you jump around in your costume, but even I have seen batman" Thank you Mel and Al.

"Take the name… " She digs something up. "David masters, or something like that. I'm pretty E. Nigma is copyrighted too"

"My costume name is White Knight, and if I'm not going back to the cages, I won't need another alias." Magnes stands and peels his tanktop off, then starts heading to the bedroom. "I see him in… probably an hour or so. I should probably get dressed. You wanna come? I can leave a note for Elaine and give Daphne a call. She'd be able to check on us at the exact time I designate."

"I have nothing else better to do today" abigail mutters, turning her attention to her bag to make sure she brought her tazer. "Just bring a bag big enough to bring your little extinguisher there will you?"

"Yeah, sure. And while I'm getting dressed, you mind filling me in on your ability? I mean, you know I'm not stupid, I know enough about science and physics to at least offer a little insight, maybe." Magnes closes the door behind him, starting to shuffle things around as he finds what he's going to wear.

"I do mind Magnes. Last I need is another person telling me what to do with it and how to do it. When I'm comfortable with telling you, then I'll tell you. I hadn't intended on telling you Magnes, but you got me upset and I can't handle it upset" She at least stopped radiating heating. "Come on, hurry up and I can take you to this address, I got a car again"
Elaine has connected.

"You know I wouldn't tell you what to do, Abby. But alright, I'll wait until you're comfortable." Magnes steps out wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt with a red X-Men X on the chest, his black jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. He loads up a backpack with various things, including the extinguisher, then slips it onto his back.

"Alright, I've gotta write Elaine a note." He grabs another piece of paper, writing, Went training with Abby, be back soon. XOXOXO "Let's go."


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