Participants:
| Scene Title | No Damsel |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Melissa and Magnes discuss matters of life and death, while Sable keeps it classy. |
| Date | March 25, 2010 |
Magnes' Apartment
After giving Melissa a call earlier in the day about coming over and discussing her attacker, Magnes spent a good portion of his afternoon sanitizing Sable's room so she doesn't end up sick after Kendall's long stay in there. When he finally calls her in, she can see that he's been at work on her room for a while during Kendall's stay. She's got her own queen sized bed, and her room is covered in music-related posters unlike the comic ones in the rest of the apartment. She has a nicely sized HDTV with the satelite hooked up, but he's left the room empty enough for her to add her own touch to it.
"I hope this is good, I wanted you to really feel like this is your room." He smiles, wearing a vintage white Super Friends t-shirt and some old blue jeans. He apparently doesn't intend to go out yet, these are house clothes!
Melissa didn't sound too thrilled on the phone. The patient person apparently can hold a bit of a grudge. But she shows up, wearing all her cold weather gear, but no bandage this time, which shows off the nicely healing GASH across her forehead that looks as though it hurt. And it did. And so she stands there, tugging her knit cap off and rapping her knuckles on the door. Still not looking too thrilled.
A sanitization performed despite various protests on Sable's part, who insists, in various colorful ways, that she's slept in places that would straighten Magnes' hair and then promptly re-curl it. So she paces outside while she waits for the all-clear, and when Magnes finally ushers her in, she pokes her head in, like she's not sure she believes it's /quite/ ready, or that what she'll find inside won't look like, hell, a hospital or something. She sniffs, trying to detect lingering smells of disinfectant or other things she associates with locational purging. No such luck. Real, middle class people use pleasant smelling cleaning agents. She catches sight of the TV and shakes her head.
"Oh no. Nooo nooo, nooo way. Shit boy," she eyes Magnes, "I /hope/ this is all some elaborate fuckin' plan involving your carnal desires, because otherwise you are just a simple moron for being so goddamn generous. That," she points, "Better be, like, 'our' TV, and thus an excuse to bust into my digs whenever your addled self pleases." She'd go on, but there's a knock on the door, and she switches, lightening fast, to a mad grin. "I'm'a get that!" she announces, and bounds over to the front door, skids to a halt in front of it, and pulls it open. "Varlane and Sablestein, attorneys at… helloooo…" she begins, smartassedly, before actually getting a look at Melissa and trailing off. Her smile is crooked. "You looking for him, hon? Cuz I /know/ I'd remember if we'd met before."
"If I wanted to get in your pants that badly, I'd just drop out of the band. Besides, I've got the living room TV and the TV in my room." Magnes calls out from Sable's room, once the front door is already answered; meaning Melissa could hear all of that. When he finally decides to come out, he peers at the front door and starts floating over. "Oh, hey, Melissa! This is Sable, my room and bandmate."
Seeing someone not Magnes has Melissa's brows lifting as she studies the woman for a minute. Then she glances over to Magnes, and back to Sable. "Guess I am. Nice to meetcha," she offers with a smile. After all, it's not Sable she's mad at, so why be cold to her? Then, to Magnes, "You wanted to talk?"
Sable takes Melissa's hand and, improbably, lifts it to her lips, kissing it an a genteel manner that does not fit well with the rest of her person and persona. "Make mine double, hon," she replies, whatever /that/ means. If it's awkward, and Sable doesn't seem to be /trying/ to make it awkward, but it might still be, it's not for too much longer. She lets go of Melissa's hand and steps aside, giving the two acquaintances room to eye each other, and to converse. Still, she's not going anywhere. This all looks way too interesting.
Magnes smiles at Sable's greeting, then flicks a hand when Melissa enters so he can close the door with the invisible force of gravity. "Yeah, I'm sorry about the other day, not telling you anything. I didn't know who that guy was, and I wasn't entirely sure if I should tell you what I thought. But I feel if I don't tell you, you'll try to fight him."
He moves to lock the door, then starts heading to the couch and waves the two over. "I'm not saying anything for sure, because I don't know. But everything you told me, it sounds like Gabriel… I mean, Sylar. If it is him, and I'm pretty sure it is, even though he's supposed to be dead, you can't fight him. I fought him before, you will die if you try it."
Well that wasn't something Melissa was expecting, and her head tilts. "Uh…make what a double?" she asks, stepping into the apartment. Then, despite Magnes waving her over, she stops and narrows her eyes at Magnes. "Are you kidding me? I don't care who the fucker is. Or do you miss the part where he tried to kill me?"
An explanation of Sable's comment, more confused than genuinely cryptic, will have to wait, because there are evidently bigger matters at hand. The yellow-eyed girl folds her arms as she follows the conversation without much context, though she does note the gash in Melissa's head, giving a sympathetic wince and a shake of her head. Magnes mentions Sylar, which should, like, shock her or something, but around Magnes it's either be-shocked-all-the-time or just roll with the punches. Sable chooses to roll, as always. There is a temptation to say something along the lines of 'should I leave'? But the chance of a 'yes' answer is actually too good for her to take the risk, so she keeps quiet, eavesdropping in plain sight.
Magnes crosses his arms, just silently staring at Melissa for a moment. He remembers when he used to say killing Gabriel would be no big deal. "Oh yeah, Melissa? What're you gonna do when he takes all your senses away? What'll you do when he turns into smoke and you can't do a thing to him? Do you have any idea how many abilities he has, how easily he could kill you? I tried to kill him once, and one slip up nearly got me killed."
He knows he has to make an impact, really prove his point, so he leans forward, steeples his fingers, and stares at her very seriously. "I usually don't tell people things like this, but I can feel the weight of every organ in your body as a whole, the sum of your parts in weight. If I were actually touching you, I could destroy those parts. And I barely register as a fraction of what Gabriel could do to you, as far as I know he might even have my ability somehow. I'm not saying fighting him is a minor hazard to your health, that you might get hurt. I'm saying you will die, and it's suicide. Do you understand that? I mean this with more sincerity than anything I have ever said to you; please don't try to fight him."
Melissa simply stares at Magnes for a long moment, her expression hard, serious. "If this is all you invited me here to say, then there's no reason for me to stay any longer. He comes after me again, I won't just sit around and let him kill me." She looks to Sable and nods. "Was nice to meet you. Good luck with the band," she says, heading for the door.
"Woah woah woooooah!" Sable says, ducking towards the door and interposing herself, "Look here, this isn't precisely any of my goddamn business, right?" she says, arms extending in an exaggerated act of exit-guarding, "But, like, this sounds like some serious shit what needs to be, fuckin… worked out. And speaking as no one else but a fellow /human being/, with an interest in the welfare of my /other/ fellow /human beings/ may I ask… what the fuck is going on that anyone would want to lay an unkind hand on a pretty young gal such as yourself?"
"Wait there, Melissa." Magnes heads into his room, but he continues talking from there, to answer Sable's question. "Gabriel's ability, his original one, gives him a kind of hunger. He has the insatiable urge to understand how things work. This includes people's abilities, so he steals them."
When he returns to the room, he has a gun. "This is a heavily modified .45 caliber Strayer Voigt Infinity 1911 semiautomatic. It has a double-slack rail frame and an SV IMM Open pistol extended compensator barrel," It's a Company gun. "You shoot him with this if he comes after you, preferably in the head. You shoot him, disable him, and run. Pride, shame, none of that matters in combat. You do what you need to do and get the hell out of there. If a nuclear bomb doesn't kill him, none of us can."
Melissa glances at Sable when she decides to block her exit, and her head tilts. "I have no idea why he wants to kill me. I didn't really have a chance to ask." She looks back at Magnes, at the gun, then back to Magnes with a wrinkle of her nose. "I am not touching that thing. I don't even want to know where the fuck you got it from. And you really must think I'm stupid, Magnes. Which is very unflattering coming from you. I'm also very sick of men trying to act like I need them to protect me."
Mel makes another start towards the door. "Your…whatever he is…is just being stupid. I thought I came here to find out about the person who tried to kill me. He apparently just wanted to play the white knight. Too bad there's no damsel in distress. So please. Move."
Sable remains an obstacle just for the moment, though she casts a glower at the gun Magnes produces. "Oh, ferchrissake put your fuckin' pistol away. Jesus, fuckin' boys…" she casts a look at Melissa, "Okay, yeah, so… I'm gonna step clear now and you can be on your way, but I beg you to, like, momentarily consider that however right you are on general principle that maybe just maybe this is something that requires more, like, careful consideration. Speaking again, human being to human being, perhaps this is not the time for /any/," she shoots a glare at Magnes, "Of us to be half headed or half cocked about matters of life and death. So, like, Melissa. Maybe, if Magnes here agrees to stow his big ol' gun for half a fuckin' second, would you consider maybe sitting down a sec and explaining what you're precisely planning to do? Because, even as I've just met you, I'd think it a shame not being real confident about your means of taking whatever sumbitch harmed you to task."
"This is Gabriel. It's not a matter of trying to protect you because you're a girl, it's trying to hammer it into your head that Gabriel is on an entirely different level than any of us. At one point at least Peter could stand up to him, but his ability's not what it used to be." Magnes removes the ammo cartridge to see if it's loaded, then slaps it back in. The safety's on. "Gabriel is practically a god, do I have to say that to get you to comprehend why you should let someone offer you some help? The fact that you're not dead is a miracle. Everyone else is going to tell you the same thing, so there's probably no point in me beating the dead horse here, so I'll just ask you, what do you want me to do right now?"
But with Sable's words, he sighs and heads into the room, putting the gun away where ever he puts it, then walks back out, crossing his arms. "Alright, I'll do things Sable's way, I'll stop freaking out. Let's all talk then."
Melissa shakes her head. "No, I'm going to leave, just as I intended. Because I'm not planning on doing anything. Which Mr. Hero over there would know if he just stopped to ask rather than assuming I was going to go chasing after Syler like some dumbshit." She looks back to Magnes, and it's a decidedly unfriendly look. "I'm not the one he hurt the most that night, Magnes. I'm just the only one well enough to bitch about it. So stop trying to force help on me. If I want it, I'll ask." Then she gives Sable an expectant look, clearly waiting for her to move away from the door.
Sable does step aside, as promised. "Hell, girl, I won't stop you," she says, "I mostly know not to play chicken with a loca-fuckin'-motive." She folds her arms, looking between Melissa and Magnes, "I realize this shit ain't group therapy, but you sure you both can't just, like, explain yourselves? Because I've rarely seen people manage to say so much and actually talk so little. Jesus. The kid's worried, Melissa. And why the fuck shouldn't he be if he's got no idea what's going on and you don't tell him? Not that I blame you since he's barely given you a chance to say 'boo'."
"I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to just… assume things. I just don't wanna lose another friend. Like I said, I fought Gabriel, and I just felt like… I don't know." Magnes frowns, standing there watching the other two, then averts his eyes to the floor. "Friends getting murdered is very real to me, so yeah, I freaked out a bit when I thought you might be going after him. I'm sorry I didn't just talk to you, and I hope that apology isn't too late."
Melissa stops with her hand on the door knob, and she shakes her head. "I told him everything I know, Sable. He just jumped to conclusions rather than asking. And another friend who just doesn't want to lose me try to browbeat me into giving up everything I know, abandoning the people who depend on me." She looks at Magnes over her shoulder. "I'm a big girl, Magnes. And a smart one. Something to remember for next time." She mimes tipping a hat to Sable, then the door is opened, and she steps through.
Sable nods at Melissa, as if there has been some sort of tacit but profound understanding that has passed between them. It would certainly be cool if it did. In reality, though, the real moment of moving human emotion is one she's not directly involved in. Sable cranes her neck to catch glimpse of Melissa as she leaves, before using the tip of her foot to push the door shut and turning to Magnes. "So… did you fuck her? Because, like, that /totally/ sounded you two fucked." Important questions first, apparently.
"Just once. If you tell anyone, including her, she will kill me." Magnes says after a few minutes, when he doesn't hear her walking down the hall anymore, then he just flops back on the couch and turns the TV on. "We don't really have a thing going. She said after that one time we can't do anything like that ever again. No big deal, I'm getting used to this whole celibacy thing anyway. Come over here and watch TV with me, I'm all stressed out now."
"For the record? /Nice/, dude," Sable says, thumbing over her shoulder, indicating the now departed Melissa. She moves over to the couch, vaults the back and lands with practiced ease, throwing her hands up behind her head and leaning back. "Secret's safe with me, no worries. And don't sweat it, okay? She's gonna stay alive just to /prove/ that she doesn't need your help. She's just gotta work out some heavy shit, from the looks of it. My real concern is…" she turns her head towards Magnes, "Celibacy? What the fuck's that? Since when?" she squints at him, "Have you found Jesus? Maybe behind the dresser when you were cleaning out my room? I thought I might have lost him back there."
"Girl I was regularly doing stuff with, the hot red-head? She's got that Evolved flu. And girls aren't exactly falling into my lap right now, so I'm basically in a forced celibacy." Magnes shrugs with a sigh, starting to flip channels. "It's alright, like I said, I'm getting used to it. Lately I'm just thinking about all the crap happening on the news."
"That's harsh," Sable says, scowling, "I hope my incredible musical genius doesn't count as, like, an Evolved mutation or whatever. I don't want to get sick. You taking precautions? That friend of yours, the one who crashed… he didn't have it right? Because I need you to be alive and fuckin' well, understand me?" She frowns at the TV. "Like the world didn't have enough on its mind."
"Why do you think I kicked you out of your room? Just in case you're Evolved, I didn't want you catching anything. But don't worry, I took precautions and I had my EMT friend help. We'll be alright." Magnes sits the remote into her lap, then lays his head back, groaning slightly. "I've gotta admit, not having an outlet for stress and frustration is getting to me. I'm gonna try to start blogging and see if I feel better, so I don't end up punching someone in the face, or worse, getting a hooker. God, of all people, who'd have thought I'd be addicted to sex and violence? Must be my repressed upbringing."
"Hey, hookers gotta work too," Sable says. After a moment she adds, smirking, "Bet you'd have a hard time with a working girl anyhow. She wouldn't let you kiss her. Bet that'd throw your whole game off." She cricks her neck, picking up the remote and starting to languidly switch between channels, no more decisive than Magnes was, "What would you blog about, huh? Weekly excuses to pull out a fucking piece? What the /hell/ was that about? I mean, whatever, it's not like there's kids running around here or anything, but what else have you got on hand that maybe I should know about?"
"I have a hard enough time being told 'It's just sex'." Magnes grunts at that, then peers over at her with a look that says 'I'm trying to see down your shirt'. "Well, don't tell anyone of course, but… I've got two of those guns, one sniper rifle, smoke bombs, tear gas, pepper spray, a sword made of Damascus steel, a metallic pole I strain with sometimes, bullet proof vest, and a box full of ammo."
"Fuckin'-A," Sable says, rolling her eyes, "Okay, how many sex toys and shit do you have stocked away, then? If you're also addicted to sex?"
"Huh? Oh, like those things Delilah has… I'm still learning how those things even work. Except the time I was with Melissa, the only times I ever have sex is at Delilah's place. Never did it in my own room before." Magnes is still staring, since they're still on the topic. His brain's wandering. "I still don't really see the point in toys, I think I still do pretty fine by myself, or using my ability."
"So really, you're more about violence than sex?" Sable concludes, "Seeing as you're armed to the fuckin' teeth, but got nothing to compare on the screwing side of things. Sad, man. Very sad. I can understand the need to pound someone's head once and a while, but love is the word, man. All I'm saying is, unless you're the screwing equivalent of Bruce Lee, you shouldn't think it's fine to be unarmed, know what I mean? Or, like, sure, whatever, sometimes I guess a dick alone will do, but there's stuff you can buy that can open up whole new possibilities," she grins, "I was getting with someone, down in Connecticut, had a whole goddamn warchest. Beautiful to behold, just beautiful."
"Violence is easy to come by, sex doesn't just fall out of the sky, unless I was some hot guy, like Francois or Teo. But me? I'm not the kind of guy most girls go for, in looks or personality." Magnes might have confidence in some ways, but in other ways… well. "I could buy you stuff and you could show me how to use them, y'know."
Sable chuckles, "I think I'll leave you education to your hot friend. Correction: /one/ of your hot friends," she says, "Just make sure you ask, arright? You need to leave a lasting impression on your groupies, once we get the ball rolling."
"Yeah, I'm kinda missing her. Maybe I should visit her, I'm just a bit afraid of catching that flu." Magnes stands, heading into his room. "Why don't we play a few songs? I think my singing voice is getting a lot better, and I've got a lot of songs I wanna practice for our first gig."
"If you need a wingman, I'll come with. I'm pretty fuckin' sure I'm not Evolved or anything. Unless, like I said, /impossible musical genius/. 'Course, I dig if you need 'alone time'." Sable has let the channel rest on a VH1, and she is watching the guitarist for ACDC race about stage and rock out on his guitar. She watches with a serious fixity, one that breaks when he suggests they practice. "Yeah. Hell yeah. That's the way to handle stress. Let's do this."