Participants:
| Scene Title | Be My Valentine |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Magnes drops by Yana's to deliver the results of his meeting with his father. They have breakfast, and Magnes drops a question that surprises everyone. |
| Date | February 8 |
Dorchester Tower Apartments - Yana's Apartment
Having called last night and discussed appropriate times to come over and if Tuesday is even good for her, Magnes shows up on Tuesday morning, at the agreed time. He knocks on her door a few times after getting buzzed up, wearing laced up black suede shoes, neatly fitting blue jeans, a buttoned up white shirt, and a black suit jacket over that. He's rather semi-casual, holding two folders in his hand as he waits for her to answer the door.
Yana barely knows what to do with herself since her workplace has been cut off from her by the dome. It means that her days are filled with less productive things, much to her displeasure. She would normally be at the lab, toiling away with the latest project, but unfortunately, that isn't happening. So she agreed to meet with him. Naturally, she is busy doing something else when he comes to the door. In this instance, she is actually organizing her shoe closet, making everything meticulous and color coordinated. He is let in by a broad shouldered man, about 6'7" in height and dressed in a black suit, and a chiseled look to his face. He regards Magnes with his stoic expression and invites him in.
"Ah, hello, Sir." Magnes regards him with the utmost respect, not one to disrespect a man whose toes he's stepped on twice apparently, with making dinner. He looks around for a moment, then looks back to the man. "I'm here for Doctor Blite."
Christopher looks harsh. All around generally gruff and quite emotionless about the expression, rather than actual angry. This is his normal state, leaving others wondering if he even smiles. But he doesn't have to smile to be good at his job, which is tending to the things that Yana needs him to. Quietly, he looks down at Magnes, and his strong jaw sets, his mind going over the proper responses he could give. He would much rather prefer conveying things without speaking at all, though that isn't always possible in his line of work. His large frame acts like a second barrier behind the door, as it looks like it might take a crafty person to squeeze past him. Obviously a man who has played contact sports in his high school years.
Just as he opens his mouth to speak, taking the breath to utter words, a voice calls out from behind him. "Thank you, Christopher." Yana speaks, having come from her room to check on the goings on. She knows he doesn't care to speak to strangers if he can help it, so she relieves him of having to do it. "You may show him in." Yana crosses the room, to move toward the kitchen, where some paperwork sits on the counter. Christopher takes a step to the side to allow him in.
Magnes heads in, offering Christopher a polite nod. Walking into the kitchen, he holds his hand out, offering two folders. "I saw my father and discussed the situation. I'll have a chance at a job, and we'll have resources to do our research, if we can show results. One folder is your written proposal, the other are some science grants I've been looking into, but I thought you'd be better at the financial side of things. If we can get a grant, we can get a facility and equipment so we can get the results my father's asking for."
There is a beautiful piece of china on a saucer sitting next to the paperwork she has placed out, with a tea bag neatly right next to it, along with a small pitcher on the other side. As Christopher crosses behind Yana, moving to prepare breakfast, using his height to reach and grab items off of the higher shelves, Yana speaks up, without turning to look at him, "Thank you, Christopher." she words smoothly, dropping the bag into the cup and letting it steep. Christopher gives a nod where Yana can most certainly not see, though it is like one of those unspoken things, somehow she knows he acknowledged back.
For just getting out of bed not too long ago, Yana looks a presentable. She wears one of those fancy silk night robes that is just a little wider in the collar to where it could hang off the backs of her shoulders, causing her to hold it wrapped around her, even with the belt tied around the center. Her hair let down her back, having thrown a brush through it not long ago, leaving it immaculate as always. Without makeup, she looks just about the same, which shows that Yana wears very little on a daily basis.
From the looks of her, if one were into detail with women, Yana is one who is at her softest in the morning. Women having many states, one of which being an angelic and fluffy softness before they put on their daily self, or right when they take it off for the day. "Results." she echos, "Hm, it sounds as if there is a bit of progression. So I suppose that means I will need to move ahead with my next steps. There are one or two things I do need you to keep a look out for. It is time we started securing positions." She takes the folders from him, opening them to take a look.
"Positions?" Magnes asks as he takes a seat near her, eyes briefly scanning over her, but then they move up to secure a position on her own eyes. "You mean, like, places to work? I don't exactly have the money to buy up properties, or even really rent and keep up my own place."
"No, not places to work." Yana shakes her head, "I'm talking about people. Other individuals with certain talents and skills that can assist in producing our results." she takes her spoon, lifts up the pitcher and pours a bit of milk to the tea, stirring lightly before lifting the utensil to her mouth, tasting as well as cleaning he spoon to prevent drips. "I figure that if we unite certain parties to our cause, that have abilities beneficial to the goals, we could establish a rather productive organization. It could take some time, but we have to start somewhere."
Her dreams are big, and as of yet are still contained within her own mind, "An amplifier." She tells him, "Place that on the higher priority list. Now, I know you're limited on what you can do, and your resources aren't quite what they should be for this kind of work, though consider this training in honing this skill. I don't expect you to be perfect at first, or even to succeed immediately, but after a few tries, you'll start to get the hang of it."
"Why do we need an amplifier?" Magnes asks this above all else, seeming more intrigued by that than anything else. But he immediately adds, as if to ease suspicion, "And uh, what kind of talents should I be looking for, other than that?"
"Ah. I've been thinking." While she slides out from behind the counter, carrying her cup of tea with her, bringing it to her lips for a small sip, "And conferring with my siblings as of latewho I believe may want to join in on the venture And they spoke of the essentials, which I believe in this case to be an amplifier." A few steps across the shiny marble floor bring her a bit closer to Magnes, "As it stands, I can rewrite virus particles to speed up replication, slow it down, cause them to target specific cells and make the rarer symptoms more common. I started to wonder, what exactly could I achieve under the influence of amplification? I considered this when we last spoke of Amphodynamine, and the effect it had on you. Of course I don't want the side effects of the drug, so the next best thing would be an amplifier." She is skating around dangerous areas. Already her power is terrifying and could very well be used in so many wrong ways. But to amplify her? "I imagine I could program viruses to do things that they normally would not. Infect cells that they wouldn't usually touch."
She gestures with a flip of one hand, "See, viruses are very picky children, they don't just warm up to any old cell. Imagine, a virus that only infects cancer cells? A cure for cancer. And various other applications."
"I've been amplified by an amplifier before, it's dangerous doing it with your ability. The results are completely unpredictable. I just thought I'd get heavier or the ability to exceed my normal weight limitations." Magnes' tone and expression are very serious, as if warning. "But it turned out I learned that my ability was capable of affecting things at range, not just touch. You control viruses, can you imagine the possibilities that you haven't even begun to predict yet? Things you won't be able to control?"
"I have." Yana nods. When in truth, her demeanor won't allow her to own up to the possibility that she can't control her power. Such a silly notion. Shame on anyone would would even suggest it. "I'm perfectly well aware of the possible errors and factors that might well be beyond my control." She looks up over her tea cup at him with her hazel eyes while taking another sip. "My ability is pretty specific, and viruses do take a while to do any major harm, so I imagine, if anything were to go wrong, I could fix it before something catastrophic happened." Then there is a pauses as she considers, "Of course.. There is the possibility that amplification could cause rate of replication to happen in seconds. Like in those movies, where the dead return to life, when someone is bitten and passes on the virus?" she gestures towards him, "Oh, you know what I'm talking about. Those undead outbreak movies? Something like that, perhaps." Another sip of her tea, "Though I could probably fix it before it got too bad."
The Institute> You're Pretty in Pieces> Odessa says, "They dubbed over it so he says 'How about I take you home and watch I Love Lucy?' So that may be a euphemism I use all the time."
"I don't doubt your intelligence and that you know what you're doing, but I don't think you really see the implications of being augmented." Magnes reaches into his pocket, holding up an ink pen to float above his palm. "You've had years to learn to control your ability to the extent that you can now, but when you've been augmented, it's as if you're manifesting your ability for the first time. Everything goes wrong, you barely have an understanding of what's happening, if you're lucky you'll grasp control quickly, if you're lucky. In the worst case scenario, your ability infects an entire city in a matter of minutes."
The pen suddenly smashes, ink and plastic all wrapped into a tight ball as its gravity collapses in on itself. "The sudden rush of power is not something that you can prepare for."
"Yes, of course." she nods, sounding reserved still in her idea. "Widespread airborn infection was a possibility I considered. As it stands, I can make a virus that was normally only transferred through sexual contact, or direct blood transfusion, to a single touch. It is possible that I might make the viral particles airborne, or simply transfer them directly to a person by proximity or eye contact." Those implications do sound appealing to Dr. Blite however, even though Yana won't outwardly admit it. To her, it is an experiment, and she is very willing to step outside of the realm of scientific ethics for the sake of experimentation.
She watches him carefully with the pen, her eyes only squinting to a narrow once he explodes the pen, looking like she might not be too happy if a mess is made on her floor. Though she doesn't say anything short of a look. "It is possible you're correct, however, I'm convinced that we can make it work. What is the point of the amplification power if it can't be used properly. I don't believe that any ability is useless."
"It's not useless, I just want to make sure that you know what you're doing. I don't want you to have any regrets, or worse, get into trouble. You're one of the few friends I have, and I want to look out for you." Magnes heads over to the sink to wash away the ink, but continues speaking. "What's your opinion of Valentine's Day?"
She'll have to do some more thinking on the subject, though it sounds like she is pretty solidified on the subject. "Thank you for the concern, though I'm pretty confident in my own cautious nature." Her tea is just about empty, which means that breakfast is just about done. Christopher is all about timing, to be sure. So she moves over to the dining table in order to have a seat at the placement of her silverware and plate. "Valentines day? Hm. I haven't really acknowledged it since I've been married. Why do you ask?"
"Well, every Valentine's Day I somehow end up single, and I've always just wanted to spend it with someone." Magnes walks back over to Yana after tossing the pen pieces into the trash, taking a seat across from her. "I know we're just friends and all, but I was thinking we could maybe do something, even if it's just going out to a play or watching a movie. I know it sounds silly, but I've always wanted someone to, well, be my valentine… alright, it sounds cheesy too."
Christopher carries over the pan he had been cooking in, using the spatula to scrape the item onto her plate. After which, he gets up and moves over to the kitchen to return with a container, sprinkling it over her meal. It looks like, crepes with sautéed apples and Gruyère cheese. She is given her small glasses of orange juice and milk as well. This is about the time that Magnes makes his request. Christopher and Yana have the exact same reaction at the exact same time. Both of them pause, raise a single brow with a confused look on their face, and then turn their heads to look at each other. Yana's eyes give a barely noticeable squinting narrow, which conveys something that Christopher picks up on. And then his lips tighten together just the smallest bit while he gives her a bouncing raise of his eyebrow, which would convey a shrug without shrugging, and a message which Yana picks up on.
The conversation is non-verbal, but it is possible to pick up every exchange between the two. Starting with the initial 'What? Is he serious?' from the both of them, to the 'Did he just ask me to be his Valentine?' from Yana, and then 'I dunno. Perhaps he was joking. I'm sure he knows you by now.' from Christopher. Next comes the 'I can assure you he probably isn't.' from Yana, with the 'I'll get the mop to clean up the blood off the floor.' from Christopher.
They look away from each other, and Yana peers at Magnes, "You're wanting me to go somewhere with you on Valentine's day? What if I mentioned that I had a party to go to on that day? Possibly not alone, but.. It is a function." she raises a hand to lightly touch her chin in consideration.
"Then, well, it's perfectly alright. I just thought you'd be a good person to ask. I know Valentine's Day is probably something that's a bit childish to you by now, but it has some personal meaning to me. I didn't expect you to take me seriously, but I don't claim to know you perfectly well, so sometimes I don't think it hurts to take a little leap." Magnes explains, trying to, well, give some context to his rather cheesy sounding request. "No harm done, right?"
"No. No harm done." Yana comments, and then that sounds like it might be the end of that. She even reaches with her knife and fork to start cutting her meal. "And yet, I am almost inclined to feel somewhat sorry for you." she adds. Christopher is bringing over a second plate and setting it at the other end of the table at this time, obviously for Magnes. Again the large man pauses and looks up at Yana questioningly. His dark eyes search the woman for an explanation for what she just said. The words she just spoke are uncharacteristic of her. 'You? Feel something resembling compassion? As unlikely as it is, are you ill?' Christopher conveys to her with first an incline of his brow, then a doubting press of his lips on one side. He looks very dubious to be sure, while he is serving Magnes. 'Ah. I see, it is apart of the deathblow. That is probably it.' Both of Christopher's brows raise in discovery with a single nod from him, and he goes back to what he was doing dismissing his initial question.
"Anyhow.. I'll take your offer into consideration. I can't make a promise that I will be able to accommodate, but I'll think about it." It at least wasn't a no.
"Thanks a lot, Doctor Blite. And you don't have to feel sorry for me, I just asked because I like spending time with you. Getting to know you might be difficult, but it's fruitful. You're an interesting person." Magnes gives Christopher a nod of thanks, taking note of the way Yana is eating, and proceeds to follow her lead.
"I like to think that I am a pretty private and mysterious person." Yana admits, "We all have our demons, and I do my best to ensure mine aren't revealed as of yet. It isn't always so easy to uphold appearances." For one thing, she cannot seem to hide the fact that she does miss her husband somewhat, in many of her actions. As much as she tries to snuff the idea. "Though you have earned a little insight into things I keep close. Small, but it is more than most get." She is taken back to the conversation she had with her brothers and sisters. The meeting was very much like a dark council gathering and discussing the state of the world. They call this a family get together.
"You're only human, you don't have to worry about appearances with me. I'm no socialite, I have every reason in the world to respect you no matter what your flaws may be." Magnes looks down at his plate, lifting a napkin to wipe his mouth. "This is great."
"Christopher has been cooking for me for years. He didn't go to school or anything for it, he tends to watch the cooking shows and picks up things from that." Yana seems to be enjoying her bit as well. "He never fails to surprise me, or disappoint. I don't know what I would have done if we had gotten separated by the dome." she lifts her fork and lightly points it in his direction, "Mm. Did I tell you? I ended up 5 feet from being trapped inside? And I was 2 feet from being cut clean in half by it." shaking her head at the tragic event, "Keagan is trapped in the dome. There isn't much I can do to help him from here."
"Really? That's… kind of terrifying. I mean, I'm glad you're alright, but it's scary to learn when you've come close to losing a friend." Magnes stops eating for the moment, a genuinely concerned look on his face at her. "I'm sure Keagan will be fine, there are some good people trapped in there."
