Participants:
| Scene Title | Mini-Road Trip |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Melissa goes with Abby to get something fixed, and the two catch-up on current events. |
| Date | June 16, 2010 |
On the road again…
Rebel's probably having fun. Or bored. One of the two. Early morning calls to her parents that lasted about an hour, talking about church, work, the bar, bantering back and forth with her dad about the difference between a hybrid SUV that she replaced with another Hybrid vrs Just getting a normal version - Her father still contends that she'll pay more in the long run for running it on electricity and who needs it. Gas is the american way. Back to her mother about Robert and his azalea's that he had dropped off for her and her mothers opinion that if a man can't drop them off themselves, no matter how busy they are, then they're just not good enough for Abby. Abby protested and defended Robert. Momma, you don't know what his day is like. Abby didn't quite know what his day is like, but it's busy enough.
There's many things to do in the hours between waking and work and one of them was to take something that she'd been passed for safekeeping and returning, out to be repaired. It wasn't going to Teo, she'd spent the time since she got it, thinking about what to do with the wolf's head can. Destroy it? She'd entertained that for about an hour before fiddling with it and realizing that…
There is a sword inside it. But she had a plan and it was wrapped up in a bag that usually held her shotgun when travelling with it. A call to Mel to see what she was doing and if she was up for a trip to outside NYC. Research had lead her to outside of the city to a place that specialized in antique repair and had been doing it for a long time. SO in front of the Port Ivory home that was Mel's, Abby lays into the horn, waiting.
When Abby called Melissa, she sounded better than she has in months. Something definitely changed for the woman since the last time, just a week ago, when Mel dropped by Abby's place. When the horn sounds Mel comes out of the house with a laugh, having redone the streaks in her hair, and wearing one of her black corsets along with a pair of leather pants. Yeah, she's back, baby!
She slips into the car, shutting the door then turning to Abby and grinning. "It's a good thing you called me, because otherwise I was gonna come by your place. We've got soooooo much to talk about. But first, what's up with you? Getting the hang of your ability? Fried anyone annoying?" Damn. Where did that energy come from? Has she been taking pep pills? Anti-depressants? It's something anyway.
"Dunking my head in water if I start to get hot works. Gives me a migraine because it's really uncomfortable, but.. " In other words, no. She hadn't. "I got a trigger, one of them. But I can't rely on it to do it and I haven't figured out how to turn it off if I do go fwoosh"
Abigail waits till seatbelt is on and the SUV's gears are shifted and they're off. Hour out of town is the destination. The case laying across the back seat with latches keeping it closed. "Should have known that warm weather would bring back the corsets" Not that it's a bad thing. But Mel knows Abby and Pinky remains quiet on her opinion beyond those few words. "Birthday boy enjoy all his presents? I bet you still have cake leftover and in the freezer"
"Well…you know…I've got a new job," Melissa says casually. "Part of that new job is helping people learn to control their powers. And I'm more than willing to help you. I mean, you're Abby! My best bud! My gal pal! All that fun stuff." She looks around, then leans a little closer to stage whisper, "Though I'll admit, I kinda also just wanna see it. I mean, turning into fire? Freakin' awesome!"
She leans back and grins, watching the view go by. "And yeah, corset time again. I missed not being bundled up like this was the arctic. Kendall…I've barely seen him since that party. He's holed up in his room with the Wii and comics and all that. He's just shocked that so many people brought him stuff. I think it was good for him." Next she's beaming like a proud parent. "He figured out a new aspect of his ability too. You know how he had to draw stuff to make illusions before? He's progressed to just needing a thing. He's got these cards with monsters and stuff on 'em, some game. He played one, and made it appear. No drawing. Even gave me a zap with it!" And only someone like Mel would be proud of getting zapped. "Your present was a hit too, and not just with him. Everyone wanted to play with it before they left. The package from Eileen…not so popular with Kendall, but he's going to be safe, regardless."
"But how's stuff going at work? The repair of the club?" A sly smile curves her lips. "Gotten to spend anytime with your main man lately? Moonlit walks, nights spent curled up on the couch?"
"I think he's the only guy who I know who isn't obsessed with getting a gun" Murmurs Abby, navigating their way off staten via road. TO this day, she still doesn't like it, can't be thoroughly at ease on this island. Bad memories, ghosts that just won't go away and chase around the edges.
"Gonna be a bit before it's started. It's not gonna build itself and I need to find out how to go about repairing it. Part of me wonders if I shouldn't just go city crawling and looking for a new venue. I mean, surely somewhere in this city, there has to be, that's an empty bar. I can stick to renting, move to a smaller place. I don't have to live above it"
The mention of Robert makes her blush. "He spent the night, we watched a movie, watched the Fly with Peter, had dinner. He had some Azalea's dropped off the other day too. We can't touch still but…" But things are working out. "Work is good though. Hows your bar going? The opening is soon yes?"
Melissa stares, blinking a time or two, then she busts out laughing. "Seriously? The Fly? Well that ruins my date night idea. I'll have to think of something creative. But Robert brought you flowers? That's so sweet. Why can't you touch though? Oh, he went nuts last time, right? The thing with your foot?" she asks, glancing down to Abby's feet.
"And my bar…Mmm….This is going to be fun. We're doing a fund raising thing for the grand opening. Cover charge to charity, raffles to go for charity, and the main event…a date auction!" She grins impishly. "Still working on getting volunteers, but it should be a lot of fun, seeing who gets auctioned, and who buys who. Especially if I can get a good mix of people. Some well known names."
"Thought of spamming some community websites and asking for volunteers? What's the charity that's going to recieve the money, maybe they might have some people willing to be your prizes. If I had the bar still I'd offer some stuff for it" Like a VIP night or something of that sort.
"Tell me the night, so I can book it off, make sure that I'm not working that night"
"It's Central Park. I'm planning to go to some of the wealthy individuals in the city, and some of the companies too, like the Linderman group, see what I can stir up." Melissa smiles and nods then. "And I'll definitely tell you. Like I said, best bud. Even when I was being totally emo and annoying, you didn't write me off. I appreciate that."
"Then you want to talk to Robert, or there's uhh.. Kain Zarek. Kain's southern, you might do good with him. Charm the tail off a bobcat. I haven't seen him since I ran across him down in New Orleans a year ago. Can't miss him, I think there's a trail of slime that follows behind him"
She laughs at being best bud. "To think, that months ago, I offended you. Dunno if I'm worhty of best bud but… It's good to have friends and make new ones."
"Robert? You wouldn't mind me auctioning him off so he could go off on a date with someone else? I mean, it wouldn't be a real date, but I hadn't even considered him. He's yours," Melissa says, head tilting. "Kain Zarek…Can't say I've heard of him. Charming would work for the auction though." Her lips curve into another grin. "Yeah, go figure, right? I didn't think I could like anyone who insulted my clothes, but you…You surprised me. Still not always quite sure how I'm friends with a religious type like you, but it works. I'm not gonna question anything that works."
"I'm not as biblethumping as I used to be" And the clothes insulting, well, she hadn't meant for it to come off like that. Melissa wasn't the first to wear a corset, half the girls at the bar did. "Magnes was being an idiot is what he was, when he bought me a corset. For you, it's not undergarments. For me, it's something I'll wear in my boudoir, or under my wedding dress on my wedding day" A shrug of her shoulders as she settles into driving. The car still smells like new.
"If Robert wants to volunteer, then I am far from the last person to tell him no. He's his own man, I don't own him Melissa. If he wants to do it, he has my blessing"
"I know you don't own him. But he's still your guy. If you're cool with it though, then…cool. It's for a good cause. I'm considering auctioning myself off for that reason." Another grin from Melissa and she nods. "Yeah, that was idiotic of him. I just didn't know it at the time since I'd never met you before. Though one of these days I'm gonna get you in a corset, as clothes. Even if it's over a peasant blouse or something. You'd look awesome in one. Especially with the wings peeking out."
"I don't own him, and he does not own me. That's the way of it. We're seeing each other Mel, we're not married. I'm sure he would ask me my opinion, if he thought that doing it would upset me. I'm sure he will ask me, if he doesn't, then he doesn't. It's not like we talk on the phone every day and call each other pet names" She's never done that with anyone. But then again, Caliban is Boyfriend number 2, Deckard never counted. Sorta.
"Maybe, some day. When pigs fly and Hell freezes over and since we'll never know if hell ever freezes over Mel…"
Melissa busts out laughing. "We won't? Then what do you call the last three months?" she teases. "And where are we going anyway? Outside the city I know, but where, and why?"
"There's a antiques restoration place. Third generation family business. If you can reach it, you can look in the case. I got… given something to return to someone, but I'm not going to return it. I know who I'm going to return it to. But I want to get it's outside fixed up first. There's some scratches and marks, and it's old, really old, so I'd rather have someone professionally fix it instead of trying to do it myself"
Well that has Melissa looking intrigued, and she twists around, reaching for the case. "Who are you gonna return it to? And who…mmm…should I ask who gave it to you? Or is that hush hush?" she asks, pulling the case into her lap and opening it.
"I'm giving it to Eileen and I got it from Bella Sheridan" Inside, nestled in green fabric is a black cane, deceptively heavy, and a wolfs head for a handle. "It belonged to Kazimir Volken. The man that I killed. He was like a father to Eileen. I don't know when her birthday is, and I'm not going to give it back to Teo. It may have come from a man with less than stellar morals but… It should go to someone who will do with it, what should be done with it, and not at the whim of some psychotic psychiatrist"
Melissa is just starting to reach for the cane when Abby drops the info on its previous owner, and her hands jerk back. "Kazimir…A very, very busy man, if I do say so myself," she murmurs. "His name keeps coming up these days." She's quiet for a moment, studying it, thinking, then she nods. "I think Eileen will appreciate it." She pauses a beat, then grins. "My birthday's January twenty-fifth, by the way." Oh yeah, this is the old Melissa.
"Do you think she will? Or is this a really stupid thing to do? I can never tell with her, she keeps things bottled up. First time I met her, it was in a deli. I know now why the pidgeons kept crowding right be the window where she sat right? We went out for an hour, fed them the bread from my sandwich and talked. I didn't know at the time that she belonged to a group that was intent on killing the world and eliminating evolveds." Switch lanes, pick up the smoothie cup in the holder with it's sludgy green contents.
"Next time I saw her, Phoenix had kidnapped her and she was hurt, I had to heal her. Third time… Well, I was teleported into the place she was at and I saved her. Someone had gutted her, Odessa had sewed her up as best she could but.. I sat there with Gabriel staring at me for a bit. Bargained two weeks of him not trying to take my ability in exchange for saving her"
Onto a heavier traffic road she turns, they're well onto their way now. "It's how I met Elias. Why he does what he does and takes me places if need too. I came, despite all that they did to me, to my friends, to save Eileen. She was like.. the little sister of the group. Wu-Long, lord you'd pale to see him. nasty but… I had to respect him, he kept his word and any man that can do what he did… I respected Syalr too. keeping to the accord set before I stepped foot in that place."
ORDER: It is now your pose.
Melissa slowly closes the case and looks over to Abby. "I met with Eileen on Monday. I wanted to talk to her about why she sent the stuff to me. The details and all. It led to conversation about Kazimir and his crew. She may have switched sides, but she still thinks he was a good man, just one who went a little wrong. So yes, I think she'll appreciate having something of his."
"I only knew him when he was hell bent on killing the world. I'm surprised she even talks to me, since I killed him. I don't consider what was in Peter, and in Francois as the real Kazimir." Though if she goes by what was in the desert, she hadn't killed it/him. "I'll do it then, give it to her. I had na idea of what to call the bar and thought I'd ask her first, since it's an inside joke, sorta. Kami-Kazi"
Melissa blinks once, then she's once again laughing. "That's horrible! Funny, in a way, but horrible. She might get a kick out of it. Not sure on that. The other day was the first time I'd really spoken to her one on one."
"Kami was what Hiro called what I had, and then.. kazi, Kazimir, I don't know, it's a thought, i'll scrap it, it seems kinda rude. I gotta think of a name, I don't.. izzy's bar burned, and what's going to go in it's place is my bar, so it should have… you know, something I choose"
Abigail looks over with a smile. "She's good to talk to. She's got a good head on her shoulders. We're different, sometimes don't get along, but she's good"
"You really should. Have something you choose," Melissa says with a nod. "It's yours. If you're going to own and run a bar, it should be something you're comfortable with. Something you can be proud of. Otherwise, what's the point? And I'm sure she is and does, I just hadn't had the opportunity. She helped save my ass once though, so I gotta give her the benefit of the doubt for that."
"I'll think of a name. Consult Cat and see what's easier, rebuilding or just taking the insurance money and finding a place close. Don't loose the clients" Away from that cursed ally. "Find a station on the radio will you? I'm not about to subject you to my music and it's going to be about another half hour or so"
"If there's anything I can do to help, lemme know." Melissa grins as she reaches for the radio to switch it on. "And honey, I'm not sure you wanna listen to my music," she says, before starting to fiddle with the radio, searching for something metal-y or gothic. It's certainly not going to be jazz for this girl! And so the last half hour goes by, with Mel grinning like a kid who just got away with something.
It's good to be back.