Participants:
| Scene Title | The Option of Choosing |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Magnes wakes up the night after some traumatic events, and Veronica sees him off to school. |
| Date | July 31, 2009 |
Fort Hero Infirmary
Fort Hero's infirmary is another incongruous clash between modern and antique. In out-of-the-way corners, bits of old machinery has been shoved — but so much else is shiny and new, or the next best thing to it. The various rooms, from patient beds to an ICU to an operating room and various labs are equippe with top-of-the-line instrumentation. There are some things the base doesn't have, but it has the infrastructure to practically qualify as a hospital in its own right. However, not even the pervasive use of antiseptics in this wing can quite get rid of the scent of damp stone..
It's been a long night, and in all the excitement he's completely forgotten that he was gonna go back for the blind girl. It's morning, around 7am, and Magnes is floating around the infirmary with the thin blanket wrapped around him, sleeping like a person in a space station. He appears vaguely uncomfortable, squirming and mumbling like someone having a nightmare.
Veronica hasn't slept as soundly. One, the cots are uncomfortable. Two, her shoulder makes all sleeping positions uncomfortable. Three, Magnes is floating around whimpering. She sits up on the cot and watches him, trying to decide if she should wake him or not. "Shhh, it's okay, Magnes," she says in a low, soft voice — it shouldn't wake him unless he's on the cusp of waking up, but hopefully that subconscious might hear it and find some soothing in the tone.
"Don't do it, Elvis!" he exclaims before Veronica softly shushes him, which seems to calm him a bit, causing him to curl up. Of course curling up with fresh stitches is a bad idea, and his eyes shoot open as he suddenly falls on his butt. "Ouch!"
"Elvis?" Veronica asks with her eyebrows raising as she hops off the cot and heads to where he's fallen. She offers her good hand to help him up. "You all right, Magpie?" she says softly. "Need some more painkillers? Doc left your prescriptions while you were asleep." There's a couple of pill bottles on the table next to his cot. She doesn't look like she's had any sleep, herself.
"I've gotta get to the academy soon, no more painkillers, I'm gonna be late if I'm not already." Magnes stand, rubbing his butt and walking back over to the bed. "I'm starting to believe that I float when I sleep, like people keep saying. But uh, Elvis is my old roommate, she disappeared a few months back, was a biker. I saw her punch someone's brain out… I was remembering because last night I saw that woman's heart get shot out of her chest…"
"Magnes, I think you should probably lay off the training today, unless you're just listening in class or something. You've got stitches and if you do any fighting or something, you could break them open, sweetie," Veronica says. "And yeah. You float. It's kinda cool. And you can save on mattresses, right?" she quips. "Are you all right, Magnes? Do you want to talk about it?"
"I'll just avoid the fighting then, I can still do everything else. This hurts like hell, but it's not fatal. I worked too hard to stop now." Magnes sounds rather determined, not willing to use an excuse to take a break, contrary to the very beginning of his training. "I'll be alright, I've gotta get used to this, right? And I just remembered I left that blind girl on a roof, I should go check on her when I go to the academy…"
"I'm sure whoever Len sent to take care of it took care of it… best not to do anything without clearance from him. I mean… you probably really shouldn't have been involved in whatever that was, as it was, Magnes. And in case the pain and drugs made you forget anything from last night, in the future call for containment rather than bringing injured people here," Veronica says. It's not a reprimand, just a reminder. "If anyone followed you… well, this whole new facility is pointless, if the wrong people did, you know?"
"I know, I'm sorry, I just didn't think a hospital could do anything for her. And I acted, I wasn't gonna sit around and wait for someone else to come while people were getting hurt. If I had to do it again, jump in front of that girl, get shot, save just one life, I would. I was there, things were happening fast, I wouldn't change my decision." Magnes states firmly, sticking by his choice as he winces and raises a hand to his stitches. "I need a shirt, someone might walk in and see me topless."
Veronica's already got it covered. She points to a pile of clothes she grabbed from his room. "There." She pulls the curtain closed so he can have some privacy. "Don't be sorry. And you were right. No hospital could have done anything. You did what you could. You did a good job, Magnes. Nothing to worry about." She's quiet for a moment. "Are you all right about the Minea thing? You know they wouldn't have done that if it wasn't for a good reason. You'll be okay to see her again? No grudges?"
"I'd kick her in the crotch, but women don't have anything down there, so I guess I don't have a choice." Magnes smiles, but there's clearly still a bit of bitterness in his tone as he walks over to the pile of clothes and pulls on his white Squirrel Girl t-shirt he normally wears at the beach, with Squirrel Girl making a sand castle. "I think this was the first time I've ever tried to shoot at someone. I wish I got a better look…"
The female agent is still not clear on the whole story. "You'll get used to it. Not sure if that's a good thing or not," she says quietly. There's something sweet and soft about Magnes that reminds her a bit of Brian when he was her new partner. Now Brian's so very different. She almost misses the rookie charm she once dreaded. "There's a protein bar and one of those gamer energy drinks you like, over by the sink," she says. "I knew you wouldn't want to miss class."
"Thanks, Veronica. Though don't let the name fool you, it's just soda… well I guess it's no different from energy drinks anyway, they're just basically soda too." Magnes laughs and moves to his pile of clothes again, removing the Squirrel Girl shirt and replacing it with a plain white button up shirt. "I still don't plan to kill anyone, my ability gives me that option of choosing."
"Most of the time we don't have to, Magpie," Veronica says, pulling her sling back over her shoulder. "Sometimes, the choice is made for us. Hopefully you're right, though, and won't have to. But sometimes it's the only way to keep people safe." She sighs a little. "I am beginning to think this healer doesn't work here. If you see them, make sure they heal you, but tell them to call me, all right? I can't stand another day of this freaking shoulder and I really don't want surgery."
"I'm gonna try calling Abby and see if she knows another healer, since her ability doesn't work anymore." Magnes offers, both for Veronica and himself. "Abby healed me the first time I got shot, I remember. That crazy Asian man shot me."
"I don't think she wants me to know who the other healer is. She wouldn't give me his name. And you're her friend. I'm just someone she tolerates, kiddo," Veronica says with a laugh. "But thanks. For yourself, do it. I don't want to impose on her misguided kindness, you know? Be sure to take the antibiotics even if you don't take the painkillers. Finish the course, even if you don't think you need them," the once upon a time would-be doctor advises.
"I will, I'm not the kind of guy who'd skip on doctor's orders, unless it directly conflicts with someone else's safety." Magnes will have to get a new jacket today, there's no way he's wearing his old one. Grabbing the bar and the can of Game Fuel, he heads out, figuring he'll shower at the academy. "I'll see you later, Veronica. And thanks for all the help."