Participants:
| Scene Title | Adam Doesn't Know Hiro |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Magnes delivers pizza to Adam in the park, he gets suspicious, they discuss Evolved issues, and Magnes gets angry. Also, Adam criticized Magnes' pizza! |
| Date | April 30 2009 |
// Central Park has been, and remains, a key attraction in New York City, both for tourists and local residents. Though slightly smaller, approximately 100 acres at its southern end scarred by and still recovering from the explosion, the vast northern regions of the park remain intact.
An array of paths and tracks wind their way through stands of trees and swathes of grass, frequented by joggers, bikers, dog-walkers, and horsemen alike. Flowerbeds, tended gardens, and sheltered conservatories provide a wide array of colorful plants; the sheer size of the park, along with a designated wildlife sanctuary add a wide variety of fauna to the park's visitor list. Several ponds and lakes, as well as the massive Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, break up the expanses of green and growing things. There are roads, for those who prefer to drive through; numerous playgrounds for children dot the landscape.
Many are the people who come to the Park - painters, birdwatchers, musicians, and rock climbers. Others come for the shows; the New York Shakespeare Festival at the Delacorte Theater, the annual outdoor concert of the New York Philharmonic on the Great Lawn, the summer performances of the Metropolitan Opera, and many other smaller performing groups besides. They come to ice-skate on the rink, to ride on the Central Park Carousel, to view the many, many statues scattered about the park.
Some of the southern end of the park remains buried beneath rubble. Some of it still looks worn and torn, struggling to come back from the edge of destruction despite everything the crews of landscapers can do. The Wollman Rink has not been rebuilt; the Central Park Wildlife Center remains very much a work in progress, but is not wholly a loss. Someday, this portion of Central Park just might be restored fully to its prior state. //
Adam is sitting on a bench in central park. Apparently he is hungry for pizza and puts in an order for 'bench in central park'. Now he's waiting as he people watches the children play and the lovers dance and the dogs fetch. Boy, is he really hungry for some pizza.
Having asked for identifying features of who he'd be delivering to, Magnes skates through the paths of the park, looking from bench to bench, a few people pointing and laughing at him when they recognize him from TV, which causes him to avert his eyes and awkwardly blush. Finally, with a slight sheen of sweat from the moderately warm day, he stops in front of Adam.
"Excuse me, Mister? Are you the one who ordered pizza? My name is Magnes Varlane, from Panucci's Pizza."
Adam looks up towards the boy as he blocks his sun. He leans back and says, "Why yes, although, they said that the delivery would be a little faster." he cocks his head to one side, "Haven't I seen you on television?" he pauses as he reaches for his wallet, "With Abby. You were jumping up and down like a monkey, yeah?"
"I was protecting Abby." Magnes says with a sudden frown, sitting the pizza on the bench, then taking out a notepad and calculating the price before ripping out a piece of paper for him. "Every woman on the planet saw me without a shirt…"
Adam mms a bit as he takes the paper. He reaches into his wallet, "I dunno about that." he says in response, "In the end, she received just as much attention, if not more. So really…you did it for nothing." he hands the boy some monies and an average tip.
"I know, but I couldn't just stand there and do nothing. She's my friend." Magnes takes his money, counts it, then stuffs it into his pocket, still frowning at Adam. "Is there a reason you're being so judgemental?"
Adam shrugs a bit, "Just commenting is all." he says, "I mean, it's out there for the world, we all have our opinions. Just seems like maybe you might have planned it out better…but I guess you're young yet." he pauses, "Do you want some pizza? I want pizza, but not the whole thing."
"I only had a few seconds to think, I had to do whatever I could think of." Magnes moves to sit on the opposite side of the pizza box, looking Adam over for a moment. "I'll take a slice. But um, you from England or something?"
Adam chuckles, "You might say I'm from all over, but yes, originally England." he reaches in the box and takes out a slice of pizza. He eats it casually as he gets comfortable on the bench, "What's your name, o friend of Abby's."
"Magnes J. Varlane." he introduces as he reaches for a slice himself, staring curiously, almost suspiciously. "What's your name? Oh, and I made the pizza myself." he points out, obviously looking for opinions on his cooking.
Adam chews on the piece, "Well, it's good." he pauses a moment, "I mean, I've no complaints." he turns towards the boy, "Magnes Varlane…man, your parents did a number." he chuckles a tad, "My name is Adam Monroe."
"Adam Monroe…" Magnes rubs his chin, looking down at his pizza for a moment. "Sounds familiar. But nice to meet you." he says with a friendly smile, nodding. "So, there any particular reason you're in America?"
Adam considers this, "Oh, I've been in America for years." he says in response, "I move around a lot and…well, New York was just a nice place to live…I mean, not now, but it was. Though, even now, there's just so much going on what with the whole Evolved Rights issues and what not, it's an interesting place to be."
"All the laws do is make trouble for people I know." Magnes takes a bite of his pizza, moving his finger up to break the long strings of stretchy cheese. It's very much like Ninja Turtle pizza. "What's your stance on Evolved issues?"
Adam mms, a bit. He's quiet for several moments as he chews on his piece of pizza before he says, "I think that the government, through shadowy agencies have made it their duty to control and monitor all the Evolved. And I think that's rather evil, myself."
"See, I agree, but no one ever thinks so." Magnes smiles, since he rarely finds anyone who agrees with his stance on the issue. "Nathan Petrelli, no, Linderman, he made everything harder for Evolved."
Adam chuckles a bit at that, "Oh, it's a much larger cadre of people than you think." he says in response, "Linderman just happens to be the most obvious and out there." he leans back again, "I'm sure they all had good intentions once, but it went awry. And now here we are."
"Yeah, well, nothing I can do." Magnes regretfully admits, folding his pizza and taking a large bite. "Everything's always so secretive, and someone like me, everyone just thinks I can't handle something important."
Adam turns to Magnes quietly and thoughtfully. He's quiet as he studies the boy, "I assume." he says, "That you are Evolved."
"I can't just say something like that to a stranger." Magnes answers, despite having done it a million times to various strangers, but this guy is all… Britishy, could be some sort of foreign spy, or evil Time Lord. "What about you?"
Adam chuckles a bit and doesn't answer the question, "Perhaps, Magnes, the reason everything is so secretive is because you are." he crosses one leg over the other as he finishes his second piece of pizza, "Also, I'm not sure you have it in you to make hard choices."
"I wasn't secretive until…" Magnes pauses, choosing his next words wisely. "I read 9th Wonders, I saw how Hiro Nakamura's life went, I didn't want to make the same mistakes. And what hard choices do you think I'd have to make? I've had my entire body crushed while trying to protect Abby."
Adam purses his lips at the mention of Hiro Nakamura. He shakes his head for a moment, "Suppose." he says, "You met Hiro Nakamura in real life and liked him." which is of course, the case, "But found out, that his actions actually help this government conspiracy. Could you bring yourself to stop Hiro?"
"Why would Hiro be helping the government?" Magnes answers the question with another question, going quiet to go over it in his head.
Adam mms, "Because Hiro," he says, "Doesn't like seeing the big picture." he glances towards Magnes. "If his father is good. And those he contacts in the government are good. Then it must all be good." he pauses, "But, what if the government agency that is responsible for the tracking is built on the backs of these agents and his father….is Hiro still good if he's helping an entity that is essentially evil, even if those he deals with are good?"
"That just means Hiro doesn't know, it doesn't make him evil…" Magnes trails off, then suddenly gives Adam a 'wtf' look, the way he's speaking suddenly setting in. "Wait, are you saying you know Hiro? I mean, he's not real, you know…"
Adam tilts his head, "Or, it means that Hiro doesn't want to know." he says in reply, "Or, it means that Hiro excuses the bad because he only sees the good. That's the problem with your comic book heroes, Magnes. It's all black and white. The truth is, good men must sometimes do bad things to do good. And good men must also sometimes deal with bad people to do good. It's easier in comic books." he says, "There's no big picture." he starts on another slice of pizza.
Magnes is mostly ignoring the pizza now, after finishing his first slice. "You didn't call me out here for pizza, did you?" he asks, suddenly very suspicious. Normal people do not talk like this! Or so he thinks. "Assuming for a moment that I do have an ability, once I master it, I won't have to do things anyone else's way. Hiro knows what he's doing, he's protecting fate."
Of course Adam Monroe talks like this, who's going to stop him, "I don't know you from Adam, Magnes." he says, "I saw you on the television and apparently you know Abby. I just wanted some pizza. You're the one who wanted to talk philosophy. But let's suppose you're right." he turns to Magnes, "Suppose you do have a power. And suppose you do master it." he pauses, "Would you kill a hundred innocent people to save a million? Because sometimes those are the kind of choices a hero has to make. Would you? Could you?"
Magnes suddenly stands up, then rolls to about a foot in front of Adam, staring down. "There's always a choice. Just like you said, everything isn't black and white, there's always a choice, there's always a way to save everyone. And I would never answer such a hypothetical question, I wouldn't know until it came down to it."
Adam nods a bit, "Spoken like a true comic book hero, Magnes." he says in response, "Because there's always got to be a way out." he glances up as he tosses his half done pizza slice back in the box, "But the truth is, there isn't always. And you have to steel yourself for those occasions. And like I said, I don't think you're ready." he leans forward, "If Hiro is protecting fate, what fate is he protecting? He didn't stop the bomb. He didn't stop Daniel Linderman. He doesn't even stop the government. Have you ever asked yourself, why?" he leans back and closes the pizza box, before standing, "It was an ok pizza. I think you might want to try to use a tad bit more oregano. Perhaps you should even try some thyme next."
"He can't change fate, all he can do is keep it together. He loved a girl, and all he can do is go there while Sylar is killing her, because there's nothing he can do, he's tried, she always ends up dead." Magnes stomps one skate against the bench, planting it there. "You don't know what you're talking about, you don't know Hiro, or me, or what's going on."
Adam lifts one side of his lips into a smile, "Alright, Magnes." he says, "Fair enough, I'm just a guy who wanted some pizza." he twirls a finger a bit, "I'll leave you to your comic books then." and he turns and begins to walk along the pathway.
A bit too angry to care about anyone who may be looking, Magnes just pushes against the bench, then leaps high into the air, which could be mistaken for flight. Needless to say, he won't be seen falling by anyone in the general area as he vanishes into the sky.
Adam glances up as the sky darkens for a second and Magnes disappears into the atmosphere. "Interesting." he says to himself before he begins to whistle 'let my people go.'