Participants:
| Scene Title | One Ring |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Sci-fi Geeks In Love — Magnes's formal proposal is perfectly epic (epicly perfect?). |
| Date | April 5, 2012 |
The Roof at Park South Hotel
Magnes is strangely out of character today, though in a good way. He's usually the type to cook dinner for everyone at home, but today he's taken both Elaine and Elisabeth to a bar/restaurant called The Roof at Park South Hotel. It's a bar slash restaurant on top of a roof.
He's dressed up in a fancy purple suit with a black tie over a white shirt, and told the other two to dress up as well, because tonight we will be fancy and eat something called La Danger Dog.
They get a nice table near a contained flame that's behind some glass, though makes sure to get a table that's not too close to the edge, for Elaine's sake. "I know that you're afraid of heights, Elaine, but… you're with me, I literally control gravity. You're both tethered to my gravitational field, even though you can't feel it. So just relax."
There's plenty of people mingling tonight, and the stars are out, something Elaine said that she wanted to see so many times in the Hub. He's paying for them all, for some reason he wanted to bring Elisabeth, even though he doesn't normally just go casually hang out like this with her.
It's nice, though. A night for just the three of them.
Isabelle's always around, but he wants Elisabeth to have time with just them as well.
Elaine’s wearing a long, dark blue dress and matching heels. It’s not her usual and it’s the first time she’s gotten to really dress up in a long time, so she’s enjoying herself and feeling pretty for the first time in ages. She scoots her chair in close to the table, smiling at the other pair.
While the height was a factor, she does trust Magnes and they really aren’t too close to the edge so it’s not much of a problem. Instead, she focuses on the nice ambience of the restaurant. “This is a really nice place, thanks for taking us out Magnes.”
Elisabeth is just far enough into her third trimester at this point to feel really pudgy. But every woman needs a Little Black Dress for any occasion, and the one she's chosen is cute — knee-length and sleeveless with a lacy black shrug around her shoulders and black flats. She's so not attempting any kind of walking in heels — her balance is definitely a precarious thing in heels. She slants a smile at Elaine, winking at the woman and teasing, "I'm trying to decide if he's taken us out in public to tell us he's done something else that one or both of us are gonna yell at him for."
She glances around the restaurant, perhaps feeling a little exposed but not seeing anyone that her parents had known or that she was going to have to dodge. That's a good thing — she's realized exactly how complicated having parents who are known in certain circles in this town can be! "It's beautiful up here, Magnes. Thank you for including me." Although there's a small part of her that feels a little awkward. This seems rather like date night to her!
"It's fine. Back home, all my friends used to go out. Well, I used to take other Elaine out with friends, since she was my first girlfriend who wasn't saving the world and stuff. I just kind of got used to everyone just sort of going out and having fun together." Magnes smiles at Elisabeth, then reaches over to gently press a hand against Elaine's cheek. "I want us all to be close, to share important moments, have good memories, not just the bad or serious stuff."
"Back home, you were never really around me on a personal level, Elisabeth. I've wanted you to get to know me, and I've wanted to get to know you. Not to mention, I want Elaine to get to know my life."
He looks out over the city, just sort of taking it in. "From my perspective, this is all so familiar, it's like walking around on the ground to me. I've spent so much time on the rooftops, jumping around, skating… I can't imagine not having complete freedom to go where ever I want." Then, looking back at the two, he adds, "I wanted to take you both somewhere that looked a little more like how I see the world."
“I certainly hope he’s not about to reveal he’s done something terrible,” Elaine says with a laugh. But the revelation of Magnes’ motives have her smiling. “It’s nice to do something with all of us. I like having the opportunity to just be around people and be myself without worrying that something bad might happen at any moment. It’s nice to be done with that. Or at least to a lesser extent.”
You kind of never get over something like that, after all. “Anyway, I think it’s lovely up here, really lovely. The sky is so beautiful and the view is certainly something.” She can appreciate it, so long as she’s not right on the edge. “It must be pretty cool, bouncing around with that gravity ability. You can do so much with it!”
Elisabeth will likely never quite get over the need to keep her back to a wall and see the whole room. Clocking exits and escape routes. All of these things are nearly as 'normal' as breathing now. But she smiles at Elaine and says quietly, "I honestly can't get over how much better I feel now that we're able to be outside. I always heard that sunlight was really important for humans, but… until your world, I really didn't understand why." The open spaces might be a little vertigo-inducing, but they feel glorious to Liz.
She doesn't say anything about the ability Magnes possesses — after all, it is kinda cool.
"That's true, I can do a lot with it…" Magnes suddenly stands, then reaches over to carefully wrap an arm around Elaine's back, careful of her stomach. Then he begins to slowly float above the roof with her, not too far up, but just enough for her to see more of the city's skyline.
"I always said I'd show you the stars, Elaine, but I can also show you the city, too. Alive, thriving, all the lights…" He lets her take it in, his gravity keeping her secure against him. They're low enough that Elisabeth can hear them, but high enough for it to be a notable difference.
Other people are staring at this point as well, but in a world where people are so open about their abilities, some people start to clap, one guy whistles, as a ring is taken from Magnes' blazer. He holds it up to Elaine, motioning a head for her finger.
It's a solid gold replica of The One Ring, and he smiles at her. "I already asked you to marry me, Isabelle was there for that. But now I thought it was about time I got you a ring. One Ring to Rule them All." he quotes, waiting for her to offer her hand so that he can slip it on.
Elaine almost loses her shit as Magnes floats them up. She clings to him, doing her best not to freak out. She attempts to look at the skyline, slowly relaxing a bit when her body and her mind finally agree and both realize she’s not falling. It’s just in time for Magnes to pull out the ring. She holds up her hand for the ring, blinking a few times.
“You got me the One Ring? That’s so cool.” She geeks out a bit about it for a moment. “Too bad I can’t just go invisible with it on. That’d be incredibly handy.” She takes a moment to admire the ring, which does manage to fit. “I don’t think you could have found anything nerdier.”
Well, as they start to float, Elisabeth isn't entirely sure how Elaine will deal with that one. But there's no screaming. That's a good thing. And then there's a ring. And it's a totally nerdy, geeky one, too. And Elaine is thrilled. Liz can't help but giggle while other people in the restaurant start clapping and whistling, dinging knives on glasses, and assorted other kinds of congratulatory noise. She pulls out her phone and snaps a few pictures, hoping they come out — because honestly, it's the sweetest thing she's ever seen.
Magnes slowly lowers them both down to the ground again, then leans in to gently meet her lips with his, which gets an even louder reaction from the patrons. "I love you." he says after pulling back, staring down into her eyes.
He finally looks around, realizing that there are actually other people, and smiles at Elisabeth. "I don't really know what I'm supposed to do after this." he notes, a little awkward, as usual.
Elaine does look rather relieved once they make it back to the ground. “I love you too,” she says, looking back at him. The clapping and cheers snap her back into realizing there are other people on the roof besides the three of them, but she mostly ignores them in favor of her tablemates.
“Well, you’re supposed to eat dinner with your friends and enjoy yourself, that’s what you’re supposed to do,” she states with a small smile. “I mean, that’s what we’re here for, right? Time together to enjoy how good things can be.”
Liz just laughs at him, she can't help it, as she snaps a few more shots for them. "I'll defer to Elaine here. I have no idea what one does after getting engaged, having never been engaged before! Dinner still sounds wonderful to me."
As they settle back into the table, Elisabeth shakes her head slightly. "Always the showman, M— Ness." Her smile is gentle, though, a sincere rueful affection for the couple visible. It's a habit to be cautious about certain things, and she slips a one-way silence field around their table so that no one outside their table's radius can hear them without impeding what we can hear. "Have you decided on a date? Or are you thinking about waiting until we get home?" she asks, sipping from her ice water.
"That's kind of a good question… a part of me wants to wait until I get home, because with my alternate universe ex girlfriend and my adult daughter from the future, I'm sure that wedding would be a hell of an experience." Magnes can't help reaching over to fix Elaine's hair a bit, always finding some random excuse to make contact.
"Not to mention the fact that we're literally coming back from the dead." He takes a menu, curiously looking it over, even though he checked one online ahead of time. "Adel is always saying how I'm her 'impossible dad'. Coming back from the dead will be one of those things that really inspires faith in a daughter, I think."
"Hey, Elisabeth, have you ever had visions of the future?" he wonders, because, well, why not ask. "During that time people started having those shared dreams, I dreamed my own death, in Adel's alternate future. I was blind, it felt kind of similar to when I was blind while I was augmented the last time. But yeah, Claire shot me, it was… well, it was an experience. Though Claire shot me in the present too, it was an accident and kind of my fault, since I got in the way."
"When I think about it…" he smiles a little, because, well, it all seems a bit distant now. "Getting shot by Claire in two different timelines was probably a sign that it wasn't going to work out."
“It would be nice to have more of M—Ness’ friends be there, the old ones I mean, he’s got plenty of new ones,” Elaine smiles a bit. “Whatever he wants. I kind of just want the chance to look pretty and have a party with friends. A real celebration.”
“This whole timeline thing is bizarre. Seeing different versions of people you know, having some things happen the same way, some things being different. I’m wondering what the me of this world does.”
Elisabeth sips her water as she listens to Elaine, her smile faint. Blue eyes flicker to Magnes at the question, rolling her eyes at his comments about Claire. Quietly, she replies, "Yes. I was affected by that situation. It was … Strange. And it was also about the point where I decided seeing the future was an even worse ability to have than telepathy." Her tone is definitely negative on that power. "Mainly because you have no idea if what you're seeing is something that you literally caused to happen by trying to stop it from happening." Shaking her head, she tells Magnes, "The only good thing that came of that fiasco was meeting the son that I would have had." She has no idea what happened to Joshua, but she has to hope that somehow he is finding some kind of happiness.
"It appears that being unexpectedly pregnant is a theme in my lives — that future, here in this world, and now the me that's me." Liz can't help a faint grin. "Let's hope that despite time having inertia, some things can turn out for the better, hmm?"
"I mean, technically I die and Elaine ends up pregnant. I did it in a sort of… backwards way, but time did kind of inertia itself." Magnes does nod at Elisabeth, about seeing the future. "I can't imagine, but when I'm augmented, like, when I'm really augmented, I go blind and suddenly it's like my consciousness is everywhere, but looking into a portal, or a black hole, it feels like… infinity. Like suddenly I can literally comprehend the very concept of infinity. I think that's what seeing the future must be like, an awareness that humans aren't supposed to have."
"Feeling as if you experienced infinity, it changes you, it's something I'm still trying to come to terms with." Then, staring down at the menu, he decides. "I want La Danger Dog. That's the other reason we came here. Get everyone out, give Elaine her ring, show you all the city from the rooftop, and get La Danger Dog."
“Seems like you got a lot done all in one sitting,” Elaine chuckles. She looks through her menu, trying to find an appealing option. Pregnancy had made her a bit picky. “Are you sure your main objective wasn’t just ‘La Danger Dog’ whatever that consists of.” She checks her menu just to see what it is.
Her attention is pulled away from that as she listens to Magnes explain what being augmented is like. “I can see that. I often wonder what it would be like to see the extent of my ability… what lengths I could go to with it. It seems simple enough and then you start thinking about what it means to communicate and what building blocks there are to real language and it starts getting weird and complicated.”
She looks back at the menu again.
Glancing through the menu, Liz looks intrigued by the offerings. "It kinda looks like that's their specialty, so I guess I'll try it. If nothing else, the fries should be good, right?" She hasn't ever been here, so it'll be an adventure.
She pauses and then asks, "What did you want to do before the Virus, Elaine? I mean… translating ancient languages or translating current languages both seem like really cool ideas to me, but I bet there are a lot of other things — assuming you're even looking to use your ability." There's a brief hesitation and she offers somewhat deferentially, "If I had an ability like yours, I think I might consider going back to college to learn the ins and outs of communication in the brain to … I don't know. Do occupational therapy for people with brain injury or paralysis or what have you to help them communicate?"
She clears her throat. "Not that I would push anyone else into such things. It's just … one of those abilities that seems like it could help neurologists learn so much about how the brain functions." Liz looks a little embarrassed at having offered quite that specific a thought.
"I really want this hotdog." Magnes admits, smiling. "Pushing your ability to its limit, I don't know if it's the same for everyone, but for me it's terrifying. That's why I always told Gillian to only augment me a little. It's only recently that I've seen what happens when she just dumps everything into me. It's scary, it feels like starting to lose myself, especially when a void is open…"
But he listens to Elisabeth now, tilting his head, intrigued. "I was thinking it would be really cool to learn about computer programming, but I guess there's lots of possible paths. I think it also depends on if your ability is some kind of telepathic thing or something to do with how your brain works."
He moves to place a hand on top of Elaine's on the table, then looks back to Elisabeth. "You know, she's been teaching me Spanish."
“Alright, hot dogs all around. It really does sound like it would be delicious,” Elaine says, then glances between the pair. “I do want to do something with my ability. I’ve never considered medicine any sort of field I’d be of much use in, but that’s a really fascinating idea. It makes me wonder what sort of nonverbal communications fit under the umbrella of my ability.”
She nods slowly. “But Ness is right, I think I’m going to look into computer programming. It’d be a good way to make money and to see some of what constitutes a ‘language’.”
Looking thoughtful, Elisabeth nods. "I think it's a wonderful idea." she muses, her mind turning to Alia… the young woman's communications difficulties might be of particular interest to Elaine. "I should introduce you to a young woman I met recently," she comments. "She has a communication dysfunction, but she's also a technopath… I'd be interested to see how your ability would make sense of hers." She blushes a bit. "Sorry…. I'm really nosy sometimes."
Shaking her head, she grins and holds up her water glass. "Congratulations to you both. I'm very happy for you and I'm amazed to be a part of your day."
"LIfe is really weird, I mean, it's so strange how different things have become in such a short time." Magnes raises a glass of some non-alcoholic blue cocktail, and when the waiter comes, he orders the hotdogs.
He waits until the waiter's gone to continue. "I think I'm lucky, I mean, sure, we're kind of stranded harder than anyone's ever been stranded before, but when we return home, we'll be changed, we'll have experiences that can help our friends in ways that we can't even imagine."
Then, looking to Elaine, he laughs. "And I'm probably going to have the strangest relationship drama that anyone has ever experienced."
"Your babies are getting bigger." he notes, because, well, he's said before that he can feel the babies. "Soon Isabelle is going to be a crazy aunt. I need to buy toys."
“I’d love to meet her. It would be fascinating to see what we could do together. I love meeting people who I might be able to help or understand… it’s a very satisfying feeling. If there’s an opportunity, do introduce us. I’d love to see what I can do. And don’t be afraid to be nosy! It’s nice to have someone who presents situations that might be pertinent based on other things they might know.” Elaine looks between Elisabeth and Magnes.
She settles her gaze on the latter. “As long as the relationship drama is between us and someone else and not between each other, I’m totally fine with it. I’d rather not fight with you if I can help it.” She laughs. “I admit I’m excited to see my baby… yours as well, Liz. We’ll have to have playdates.”
Dropping a hand to her burgeoning abdomen, Elisabeth laughs at Magnes. "Of course they're getting bigger," she teases. "So are the people surrounding them." Cuz it's definitely something that's becoming obvious by this point — Liz only has a few more weeks. She nods to Elaine, looking both a little pensive and a little excited. "I can't wait to meet them either," she admits softly. "I don't care about boy or girl… but I did promise the baby's father what a boy's name wouldn't be," she grins a little. There's only one Joshua.
"Play dates would be wonderful. Plus we've got Isabelle and Kaylee to spoil the snot out of them, so… it's good!" Family is good. Liz looks between the two of them and her smile eases to a kind of pleasure in that idea.
"Back in our world, I wouldn't have imagined that we'd be planning families and eating dinner with each other. I guess a lot of things change when you get stuck in an interdimensional elevator with each other." Magnes laughs at that, then just smiles at Elisabeth. "You know, we always talk about the worst case scenarios about back home, but, in all honesty, if you look at history, they'll probably somehow figure out that we're alive eventually. For all we know, they might come over here and save us."
“I never thought I’d have the opportunity to be a mother and to really do any of this again. My best hope was to survive a while and maybe one day see the sky again. So this is an improvement, I’d say. I’ve no expectations beyond this. I wouldn’t know what to expect.” Elaine smiles warmly.
“Not sure how people would figure out you’re alive in another world though.”
Elisabeth hesitates and admits quietly, "Honestly, Magnes? I'm afraid to hope for that. I mean… what if they do figure out we're still alive? That means my father is there, knowing he's a whole world away and unable to do a damn thing about it." She shrugs a little. "It seems … cruel, to keep them in Limbo like that when we don't know if we'll ever get there. In some ways, I hope they don't know we're still alive. At least maybe they can move on with their lives."
She looks down and clears her throat. "I'm sorry — that's a bit of a downer, right?" Elisabeth grimaces. "It's hard for me to think about the people we left behind. We don't even know if any of them survived Alaska." Zeke might have killed all of them. We just have no way to know.
"No, I know, I get that, I think about that all the time. But our friends have always been resourceful, we've survived so many impossible odds. What we faced in Alaska was nowhere near as horrifying as what we faced in the Virus World. I've begun to have hope." Magnes reaches over to gently rest a hand on Elaine's stomach, closing his eyes as if it just completely soothes his mind. "I've begun to have hope about a lot of things."
“I don’t think that’s a downer, I think you’re being very practical. I’d hate knowing someone I cared about was somewhere else and I couldn’t help them. It’s a good thought that they aren’t stuck thinking about you.” Elaine gives her a small nod. “I’m sorry that there’s a lot left in the dark for you and Ness. Eventually you’ll get back, though. If we can get here, we can go the whole way.”
She offers Magnes a smile, putting her hand over his. “Plenty of opportunities ahead of us, I think.”
Soothed by Elaine's perspective, Elisabeth smiles. And she leans back in her seat to rest a hand atop her own bulging stomach, amused when the child within rolls and kicks at her hand hard enough to make it visibly bump. "From your lips to God's ears, Elaine," she murmurs quietly. Because sometimes it's someone else's faith — Elaine's, Ygraine's — that is all that sustains Elisabeth's own. She's clearly grateful for that faith in those moments.
"If we both come back with babies, I think it'll be pretty shocking. It's almost double coming back from the dead, or somethi—" Magnes' eyes suddenly widen as something in his gravity-feels perks up. "What the hell was that, Elisabeth?" he asks, sitting up straight and staring at her stomach. He's not always feeling around, especially not one as mature as Elisabeth's baby, but, well. "Elaine is our baby doing that too?!"
“They’re already going to be surprised you’re back, not to mention with children and people who already exist there.” Elaine says, but she blinks at Magnes in surprise. “Well, yeah. Babies kick. As soon as their little feetsies form that’s all they seem to do. Why do you think I wake up so often in the middle of the night? When she’s real active, you can put your hand on my stomach and feel her move.”
Elisabeth laughs. "That's nothing. When they roll over, it's kinda like watching a ocean wave run across the whole bulge — there's no more round beach ball, it's more like a malformed oval when they're stretching out and the head or butt is sticking way up. It's kinda fascinating," she admits, giggling. "Feels like an alien bumping and jumping around sometimes. I put a book up on there once and watched the baby kick it for like 20 minutes. It was kinda hilarious."
"Holy shit, that's just… crazy. I think my brain's been ignoring it as background noise, but I was paying attention tonight…" Magnes shakes his head, gently rubbing Elaine's stomach. "I can't believe I put this huge thing inside of you that's kicking around."
Soon, their La Danger Dogs are brought to the table. Hotdogs wrapped in bacon and deep fried.
His eyes widen a bit, staring down at it. "Well, I hope this is good for babies."