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| Scene Title | Pizza For Breakfast |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Magnes comes to visit Claire again and this time brings Pizza and it jsut so happens to be her favorite. |
| Date | August 05, 2009 |
Village Renaissance Building Roof
This is a flat roof, the surface grey concrete, which covers a building with enough space for sixteen apartment units on each floor along with elevators, stairwells, and maintenance areas at the center. It can be reached by an elevator and/or staircase near the right edge, a large freight elevator just back of the center, and stairwells centered on front and back of the building. The back left corner holds the large machinery needed for climate control of the interior. Discreet cameras placed all around the edge monitor the roof.
Near the elevator and stairs from the penthouse below is a pair of picnic tables and a sophisticated grill for cooking outdoors and eating when the weather permits. It's covered by an open air tent of sorts for shelter when rain and snow come.
The right front corner, overlooking 4th Street, has a sturdy wooden structure ten feet back from the edge. Here there are outlets for plugging in amplifiers and other electrical devices should Cat choose to come up here and make music. It has a set of glass doors which can be folded aside to allow approaching the edge and closed to protect against weather.
The front left corner features four each of small apple and cherry trees with garden chairs here and there around them, a number of sunflowers, tomato plants, potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, and various other plants chosen for their appearance in pots or planters large enough to hold them. Someone with access to the roof likes to garden, and has been doing so at any chance.
When Magnes woke up in the morning, the pins and needles in his arm were mostly gone, but it still felt a little funny. After a change into his usual semi-casual suit, not the M.i.B one he was wearing on the mission, he shows up on the Village Renaissance roof. There's no sign of Claire yet, but he's almost not even expecting her to show up in the morning; do ex-cheerleaders even know the meaning of morning? He has a Panucci's Pizza box with the usual 'Do Not Tip Delivery Boy' speech bubble next to the smiling Italian man, nibbling on a slice of the still-hot pizza as he sits on the edge of the roof.
Yes, he checked for snipers, because snipers suck.
Yes, Claire is a morning person, not overly perky though. There is the sound of the handle turning with a click and the door is nudged open a familiar bunny slipper, before Claire slips out with a potted plant held in one hand and a mug in another. She doesn't see Magnes right away as she moves to sit the plant against the wall near the door. The poor thing looks like it's seen better days, which is probably why she's bringing it up there.
"There. Maybe a little sun will perk you up." Her tone is light, if a bit tired still. She finally straightens and turns, with mug in both hands. This is when she spots Magnes. Not something she expected. "Hey." She offers as she makes her way to the edge of the roof. "Didn't think I'd see you again so soon." She settles herself on the roof next to him and sips at her coffee a bit, eyes gazing out over the waking city.
"It's nice up here, and I needed a break, life has been pretty, well, stressful, mostly my fault." Magnes opens the box of pizza, motioning for her to take a slice. "I stopped by the place I used to work and made a pizza. I didn't know what kind you liked, so I just made comic Claire's favorite, a supreme." He goes quite for a moment, nibbling his slice as a bit of awkwardness rises. "That sounded a lot worse actually saying it…"
"I think life is meant to be stressful." Claire eyes the pizza and can't help but smile. "You made this for me?" The thought amuses her enough that she sets her mug next to her so that she can take a slice. "It's so bad to eat pizza in the morning." She glances at him with a smile. "Thanks Magnes. Not sure my hips will thank you." She takes a small bite and says, "And lucky you it's my favorite kind too."
"Life isn't meant to be anything but what you make it, but I've made a lot of mistakes, and now my life is at a point where I could easily lose my friends, or easily ruin what seems like a good thing. I guess I'm at a crossroads right now. But up here I don't have anything to blatantly remind me." Magnes watches her eat, always curious to know if someone enjoys his cooking. "Everyone usually likes pizza, and it was no big deal. A real challenge is making a pizza without a big oven and everything you need laid out for you. And, y'know, your measurements don't seem all that bad, a pizza won't hurt." he states, adding a rather roundabout compliment, since of course he's not the best at just outright saying something.
"Sounds like a hell of a predicament." A thumb moves to brush pizza sauce from the corner of her mouth. "I feel like I'm at a sort of crossroads myself." She glances down at the street far below them. "I almost died recently." Okay, she did die… details details. "And something like that really opens your eyes. Other peoples eyes too." She gives a sad little smile. "They are trying to get me to have a normal life. But there is just no room in my life for normal." The words trail off as she realizes she's talking to a complete stranger. Holding the slice up she offers him a brighter smile. "The pizza is great by the way."
"Don't worry, I know all about almost dying; well, mostly almost getting killed. I'd love a normal life, I mean, I don't know your situation or anything, but one day, when all the crazy stuff in the world is over, I think we'll all have that." Magnes suddenly smiles, leaning back and staring up at the sky, just relaxing. He nods at the pizza compliment, then just says out of the blue, "Let's leave the country for a day. I mean, just say screw all our problems for a few hours and go to Australia or something."
Blond brows lift high on her head at the last. "I can think of a lot of people that would have problems with that." she licks her fingers thoughtfully. "As nice as it sounds to escape. Unfortunately, I did that once and…. well…. it didn't go well." Midtown blew up killing so many people. "I'd be afraid that the stuff will hit the fan if I go anywhere. People I care about might get hurt again." There is a shrug and a soft sad little sigh, "Nice thought… escaping," is repeated thoughtfully.
"Yeah, that probably applies to me too. I don't know why life has to, well, be this way. I mean Spider-Man wasn't kidding about the whole 'With great power comes great responsibility' thing. I don't know if you have an ability or not, but I feel like mine, with all the freedom it could bring me, is just becoming a chain." Magnes leans forward, staring down at the morning street, grabbing another slice from the box. "I wouldn't even know if my friends were in trouble, I don't think they're very keen on telling me anything, so I have to figure things out on my own and hope it's not too late to do anything by the time I know."
"That saying applies to so many things." Claire observes softly, "More then just abilities." Picking up her coffee again she takes a long drink of the cooling liquid. "And why wouldn't your friends tell you anything? Isn't that what friends are for? Support and — if they are true friends — help?" Her bunny slippered feet kick a bit in the open space in front of them. "Course, I know how that is. I've felt that way lately. My friends knew all this stuff, and hadn't been telling me. I…. think they plan to clue me in a bit more, but I'm trying not to hold my breath."
"My friends don't think I'm mature, probably don't think I'm trustworthy enough with information. I mean, sure, I can be a bit loose-lipped with things, but never with anything vital. When I tell people things, I tell them what I think they need to know. But it's not like I'll spill something like 'Delilah's big toe holds the secret to blowing up the moon'." Magnes points his thumb back in the general direction of Midtown. "I'm always gonna tell everyone and their dog that the explosion was a conspiracy, that Gabriel didn't do it. Don't get me wrong, Gabriel is an evil person and I think he should be locked up and treated, I've seen him kill, but people deserve to know that he didn't commit genocide, Peter Petrelli did."
Her stomach drops at the mention of Peter and the explosion in midtown. Claire's lips tugs down into you a small frown and she levels a guilty look at her mug. "I don't think he did it on purpose." Doesn't make the loss any less, or even lessen the guilt gnawing at her insides. "You ever think about that? Maybe he thought someone would stop him.. then they didn't." Those last words are so heavily laced with guilt, she can't hide that.
"I don't know, I don't know anything about Peter except for what's in the comics, and I never read up to the Midtown parts, if it even goes that far. I've never been sure of why things happened the way they did. Gabriel kills Ando and Peter shows up and expodes, I know that much from when I went back to 2006." Magnes does admit his own ignorance on the 'hows' and 'whys' surrounding everything. "I just assumed bad intentions were involved, Nathan Petrelli lied. But I have no way of knowing the truth, maybe one day, but right now everyone just talks in riddles and say the equivalent of 'Your Princess is in another castle'. And why wouldn't someone stop him if they could?"
"Maybe other people stopped that person?" Claire glances over at Magnes with a sad smile. "Convinced them to do other things. I dunno.." she looks out at the buildings glowing with the rising sun, "sounds lame when I say it like that." He voice is subdued, her stomach twisting and making her feel a bit ill. "But I — imagine that they would feel horrible for letting it happen." There is a glance to Magnes, it is her life and family he's talking about. "I think Nathan probably lied to protect his brother maybe? Beside, Sylar was a pretty horrible man." Still is in her mind. "I still don't agree with him telling everyone it was done by an evolved and opening that can of worms. Didn't help much, I think it hurt."
"Claire, I'm not completely oblivious." Magnes says as he takes note of her general attitude and demeanor. "Were you close to this stuff or something? I mean, you don't exactly have a poker face here…" He's not pushing the subject any longer, he can tell it's affecting her, he just doesn't know why. "You don't have to give me any details, but I'll leave it alone if it really bothers you."
"I don't know you well enough, Magnes, to give you details of my life." Claire gives him an apologetic smile. He's a nice guy, but… how much do you trust a stranger. "There are too many people in this world that will happily deceive you if your not careful." Reaching for another slice, she does admit, "But I've — heard things… My life hasn't exactly been sunshine and rainbows. And I've been around."
"I don't blame you. Once you've had your bones crushed, blood telekinetically manipulated, and shot twice, you tend to realize how screwed up the world is." Not to mention arm noming, but Magnes isn't gonna let that one slip, flicking his crust into the air, which doesn't seem to fall down, going higher and higher. "Do you ever feel bitter about not having a normal life anymore?"
"Of course," Claire agrees easily, "I tried after New York blew up to have a normal life. I even had a boyfriend. That flier I mentions last time." She's quiet for a moment as she thinks back, "But I couldn't do it. I couldn't I had to come back to New York and help. Seemed like the world was falling about around me and I was being selfish trying to be a normal teenager." Her head turns and tilts a bit as she regards the young man, "How about you?"
"Well, after years of reading comics and wanting to be a hero, there's a bit of bitterness once you realize it's all a fairytale and that having powers will just make your life crumble all around you. I had the greatest few months of my life, then me and Abby got kidnapped and never really had the same kind of friendship again. Isabelle is dead. And, yeah, things just change, and all the power in the world doesn't seem to do me a bit of good." Magnes has stopped eating, his stomach is twisting just like Claire's was a few minutes ago. "I'm not a selfish person, I don't expect anything in return, but how long does a guy have to suffer before he gets a break, if nothing else?" he asks, looking over at her with almost exhausted eyes. "What did either of us do to deserve the crap end of the stick?"
"Pissed off the wrong person?" Claire tries to answer lightly, but it comes out a bit sad. "But we got dealt crappy hands, now we got to try and pick up those pieces and make some sort of life out of it." Her eyes move over his face, studying him. "You knew Isabelle too?" She's curious as this guy seems to know a lot of the people she does. "I was pretty sick when she was found. So I didn't get to say goodbye or anything. I missed the thing for her." she looks down at her lap and frown, blond hair falling in her face, a finger lifts to tuck the stray strands behind her ears. "I knew her for awhile. Like Abby." She sighs softly. "Anyhow, I dunno.. what the breaking point is, but we haven't broken yet have we? That says something." She points out trying to see something positive.
"Well, I haven't broken emotionally yet, at least, but I did have every bone in my body broken. I'm talking around, courtesy of Abby." Magnes slicks his gelled hair back, though it's more of a thoughtful thing than any sort of vanity. "I have this whole look 'cause of Isabelle. I mean, with my personality, you don't think I'd start dressing like this on my own, do you? I'm a Superman shirt guy. When I found out she died, well, I decided to take the last bit of advice she gave me, and actually wear the stuff we went shopping for. She's the first person who really thought I could be more than just a geek who can't talk to girls." There's a pause, then an awkward cough as he rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I still can barely talk to girls, so far you're honestly the easiest to talk to I've ever met, but I'm still expecting to do something stupid at any moment. The ex-cheerleader thing is just a tad intimidating for a guy like me."
There is a little chuckle from Claire and points out, "Ex-cheerleader. I'm not a preppy stuck up teenage girl anymore." Looking over Magnes, she offers up. "And you are obviously growing out of the geeky boy stage. People change." She gives him a half smile and a one shouldered shrug. "And truth be told. I'm not the skater grunge wearing type, but here I am. It's easier to move in these kind of clothes then the latest fashion. Plus I don't stand out as much. I'm not into being the center of attention. I've been there. Not always a good thing."
"Well, no, you're not preppy and stuck up, but I mean, well," Magnes, quickly growing flustered because he can't get the words out, gestures his hands a bit as if it'll suddenly explain everything. "You're not the worst person in the world either." he says in almost a whisper as he stares down at his twiddling fingers, obviously copping out of having to say anything too blunt. Smiling slightly, he adds, "What was that, about growing out of the geeky boy stage?" with a light laugh.
She hasn't checked the cameras to see if anyone's up here right now, Cat's just making her way up to have a break from reading so much about seismic phenomena and maps of fault lines in her effort to understand what magnitude of explosion and where the devices would be placed to make beaches on 34th Street. She's got an acoustic guitar over her shoulder and a fresh cup of coffee in the other. It'd be nice to sit out here and make music for a while. The elevator door opens and she steps out onto the roof, not really trying to be quiet. Her eyes scan the surface and settle on the pair seated by the edge and this gives her pause. Her footsteps halt, she just stands there looking at them. Claire and Magnes. It wouldn't be so good to get spotted by him here, so she does nothing to call attention to herself. Her hope is they didn't hear and won't turn to see.
"Compliment accepted." Claire chuckles shaking her head. "Well, you don't dress the part. Not sure about the hair, yet." She motions at it with the fingers of one hand, the other still holding a half eaten slice. "I thought the style went out in the 50's or something." She gives him a crooked smile. "Not saying it looks bad mind you. Just… a little out of time." She glances at the slice and starts to take a bite and then stops at a thought, "Course fads have a way of coming back. Bell bottoms did."
Magnes has reconnected.
"You think I could be dressing better?" Magnes asks, not sounding insulted, but she is an ex-cheerleader; if anyone would know about fashion, well… "I mean, I don't mind trying something different. I'm just, well, I suck. If there's no comic characters on my clothes, I have no idea what's good or not."
They didn't turn and look her way. Cat still acts not to draw attention to herself and reaches behind her for the elevator button. It's still at the top since she just came here moments before, so the doors open instantly. Walking backwards, still watching to see if they turn her way, she enters the elevator and presses the button to go back whence she came. The doors close, the elevator descends, and Cat has apparently escaped being connected both to the building and Claire, a connection in which it might have come out she gave him a false name.
Once in her penthouse, she goes back to her research on geology with the precog visions in mind. There will be talking with Claire and looking at video camera footage later.
The slice of pizza is set in the box so that Claire can turn and study the man. A hand lifts to rub at her chin as if she's taking his question seriously. "Well.. If the shirt is on of those ringers.. and kind of retro looking, I think you could get away with it." It's then she catches moment out of the corner of her eye and looks over in time to see the doors slip shut. Her brows drop a bit out of curiosity, but then she glances back at Magnes. "Anyhow.. You can still dress geek, if you do it right."
Magnes glances after she does, but mostly shrugs it off and goes back to the conversation. "There's a way to do it right? I uh," He tugs on his jacket, then looks back up at her with a playfully worried look, "Are we gonna have a fashion montage or something?"
Claire laughs at the thought and shakes her head, reaching over she give a little shove at his shoulder. "No.. I'll spare you that. I know how much guys hate all that shopping stuff." She looks thoughtful, "I'll have to see if I can find an example of what I'm talking about, in case you show up again." Resting both hands on the rooftop, she leans forward a bit giving him a real smile. "You know, it's kinda nice being able to just talk to someone and it not be all about…. bad stuff."
"I like shopping, for comics, video games, maybe movies and CDs. But uh, when it comes to clothes, I think the closest I come to shopping is when I pick up a cool geeky shirt." Claire's observation earns a genuine smile from Magnes as well, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, I was thinking the same. Feels like we can just shut the world out up here. I, well, I just want you to know, sometimes people get caught up in situations they don't really have a choice in. I just want you to remember that, alright? Maybe one day you'll know what I mean by it."
"Everyone has secrets, Magnes." Claire says softly, giving him a little smile. "Even me." She moves to brush her hands on her pant legs and moves to climb to her feet. "I should get going back inside. Roommate is probably up and all." She crouches down again to retrieve her mug, staying down like that as she say, "Was… really nice seeing you again and the pizza was great, even if it's not really a breakfast food."
"I uh, you want my number? I mean, in case you wanna talk or want me to fly over or something." Magnes tries to keep his offer as casual as possible, which basically has the complete opposite effect as he stands up and fumbles with his iPhone. "I'll try and bring something else to eat next time. Is there anything you really like, preferably something Italian?"
Looking awfully amuse, Claire starts to say something, but closes her mouth. He's nice enough, but what would he think if he found out who she really was and what she had done. But then she just smiles, "Sure. I'd like that." She moves to kneel on the rooftop next to him and pulls out a simple cellphone. Flipping it open she prepares to enter his number. "As for food… surprise me. Maybe something you like?" Was she seriously saying that to him? What is she thinking?
"Sure, I know something perfect." Magnes, with +1 confidence, turns his phone around to show his number so she can copy it. "So uh, just, give me a call when you're free."
Fingers move over the cellphone keys with practiced ease. "Ooookay… got it." One final button push and she flips the cellphone shut. "I'm always free right now. Kinda in one of those times in my life." She wrinkles her nose a bit and reaches for her mug again. A glance to the pizza, she points to it. "Mind if I take that with me?"
"Sure, I think I've eaten enough pizza for a few lifetimes." Magnes snickers, sliding the phone back into his pocket, then begins to gradually float into the air. "Let's have a picnic in the clouds some time. My ability isn't flying, y'know." he hints, but leaves the answer up in the air, giving her something to think about until the next time they meet.