They don't make jukeboxes like they used to...

[rememory]

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To reach the unreachable staaaaaaaaaar....

From the kitchen that she'd designated as the focal point for de and reconstruction, Sabine barked, "Mimi!" and then choked out a laugh that was half a sob. Man of La Mancha had always been one of Byron's favorite musicals.

"What? You can't build without music and you don't have a boombox!"

"No one has a boombox anymore. Don't make me regret manifesting you." She shook a finger at the showgirl ghost who was lounging on the back of the couch like it was a baby grand.

Unrepentant, Mimi went on singing,

To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star.

"I love that line, don't you?" Mimi teased not just Sabine but Scott, even though he was out of earshot.

"Zip it, or it's Tsura's turn," Sabine snapped, cringing at the reference to their chaste, but far less than pure love.

"What was that?" Scott emerged from the next-door apartment through the hole he'd put between them to make testing the walls for support beams easier. There were two more like it in the filthy foursquare they'd chosen to turn into a community area -- for the time being.

"Nothing. Mimi was just asking your favorite musical so she could sing for you. Isn't that right, Mimi?" Mind-to-ghost she sent #Don't even contradict me.# Forbidding it with power was the simplest of her abilities, but Sabine didn't abridge her free will.

Mimi just laughed and laughed, sticking to Impossible Dream until the next person joined them Then she started in on songs from Annie:

It's a hard knock life for us!
It's a hard knock life for us!

Sighing, Sabine shot Scott and the newcomer an apologetic look then shrugged helplessly. "It's not like she's wrong."

[ooc: Gathering post! Sabine and Scott are clearing out a group of four apartments to start with to make a communal kitchen, dining, sitting area on level D. Mimi is audible and vaguely visible as a holographic figure of a showgirl with an indistinct face. She won't interact unless you ping me and ask for her. Will, Molly, Marie, Jack, Sebastian, Nick, Porthos, Maggie, all got a message inviting them for potluck and construction. Anyone else can have heard from them or have seen the 'excuse our dust' sign and stop by. Feel free; all are welcome. Tag Sabine with a note in the subject line; all other tags are top levels.]

Comments

Sabine

[wgraham]

Will hadn't expected this exact scene when he'd received his invitation, though he wasn't sure what he'd been imagining instead. The only person he could see when he entered the space at first was Mimi, whom Will remembered from their meeting a few days before. Mimi's face shimmered as Will smiled at her, the gesture returned, but she didn't pause in her singing.

He could hear something that sounded like construction, and he assumed Sabine had someone helping her knock down walls to make one large space out of several smaller ones. He wasn't sure how big this gathering was intended to be, but he hoped there wouldn't be too many people. He'd finally purchased some different clothes (the ones he'd gotten back from quarantine were his pajamas) and his glasses had appeared (though Will had no idea how) in one of the drawers in his room a few days ago, so he felt less out of place than he had. Still, he didn't know many people on the station, and he could feel anxiety starting to mount.

"Hello?" he called out, the bottle of wine he'd purchased in the marketplace in hand. Like his better half, Will wasn't known for his cooking; an offering of alcohol was always a better bet where potlucks were concerned.

Re: Sabine

[rememory]

"Will!" Sabine's response to his tentative greeting was all but gleeful. Her mind was still a mess, but with rest, and Scott present (and the bond she'd suspected Jean of suppressing beginning to grow in) to stabilize her, she was capable of much greater coherence and brighter emotions.

For his sake, however, as she approached, she quieted her smile to one more on the tender side than the brilliant wattage his presence called forth in her. As she had wth Scott, she'd taken to Will immediately and it informed every aspect of her being when she was with him. "Ciao, caro. I'm glad you've come. Tell me, how are you?"

Re: Sabine

[revisor]

Scott wandered out in her wake, watching the other man with interest. Anyone who'd made that much of a connection to Sabine so quickly was probably worth getting to know. "Welcome to our humble abode," he said lightly.

[wgraham]

Will opened his mouth to respond to Sabine's question, but pulled up short when the other man approached. He had an earnest face and an open expression, held himself with confidence and strength. There was an edge to him that Will had a difficult time reading, but he didn't feel threatened in the slightest. On the contrary, the guy had a protective sort of presence about him, a quality that made Will qualify him generically as a good guy.

"I like what you've done with the place," Will quipped, attempting to use humor to cover some of his twitchy nervousness.

"Will Graham," he said then, offering his hand in introduction. As he did, he turned to Sabine, adding, "Thank you for the invitation, Sabine."

[rememory]

"Will, this is Scott Summers. Scott's a--" The pause before she supplied "--dear friend from home" was too slight to alert most people to any particular emphasis, but Will wasn't most people. To the contrary, she'd met almost no one as perceptive ever, and she fully expected he would understand she meant to nuance 'friend' and request a certain extension of Will's compassion for her to Scott.

Of course, Scott could introduce himself and of course, he didn't require defending, from Will of all people, but in her way, Sabine was as protective of the people in her life (especially the men) as Dani. It said more about her feelings for Scott than anything else that she'd chosen to make the introduction for him--and Scott certainly knew her well enough to realize it, but she brushed her hand over his forearm affectionately for emphasis.

After, she took a step toward Will and leaned up to brush the most delicate of Continental kisses of greeting across his cheek, and took the opportunity to murmur, "You needn't stay long, caro, if the gathering becomes too much for you. I mean to invite you and Molly for dinner as soon as I've tracked down anything worth making an intimate meal of."

[wgraham]

Will caught the intention in Sabine's pause immediately, not a falter in her speech but rather a hint to him, an unspoken nod to the conversation she and Will had shared the day they'd met. This man was important to Sabine, though not the soulmate Sabine had mentioned, the one with whom she shared a bond like the one Will and Molly possessed. Still, the body language was clear: Scott and Sabine were close, possibly even more attached to each other than either was allowing themselves to recognize.

The kiss, after the introduction, was unexpected but Will didn't back away as was his instinct whenever anyone who wasn't Molly got close to him. Instead he felt a calm descend as Sabine leaned close and barely brushed her lips against his cheek, the true reason coming as she whispered reassurance and understanding into his ear. He nodded minutely when she drew away, their eyes meeting and Will's comprehension and gratitude passing between them.

"It's nice to meet you, Scott," Will said once he'd broken eye contact with Sabine. "A dear friend of Sabine's is definitely someone I'm glad to meet."

[revisor]

"Good to meet you, too." Scott proferred a smile no less sincere for being brief. "Seems like the only way to make this place tenable is to find good company. And since I tend to trust Sabine's judgement implicitly..." He gave her a sideways look that was just this side of deadpan impudence. Mostly, just to make her smile.

[rememory]

Smile she did, but that did tend to be inevitable around Scott. For all he said he and fun never occurred in the same sentence let alone the same space, she adored having his company. That he'd meant to make her smile made her feel all the more buoyant.

"Hark, you," she teased, borrowing Betsy's accent for the moment.

[wgraham]

Will found himself smiling as well, taking in the way Sabine and Scott interacted, how fond of each other they obviously were. "Good company can be hard to come by," Will agreed, nodding at Scott and meeting his eyes for a moment. There was something there that seemed a little unusual, but Will couldn't put his finger on what it might be. Still, he didn't feel any animosity or deceit coming from the man, and though trust wasn't implicit, Will felt no reason to fear or distrust him.

"Sabine said you were from home," Will said, working to start a conversation. "Have you known each other a long time?"

[revisor]

"A few years now," Scott said, his lips twitching in a smile again. "A few very tumultuous years. You know, the kind that feel like decades when you look back on them. Not meaning that in any kind of bad way, of course," he said, before Sabine could mock-scowl at him. "But suffice to say, the comparative peace and quiet around here is a bit jarring."

[wgraham]

Will did understand that, in a way; the last few months before he'd been taken from his life hadn't been smooth or easy either. Those days felt simultaneously so far away and yet still clinging to the insides of Will like a poison, memories that stuck in his head and showed their faces when he slept. But it had gotten better, and Molly was entirely to thank for that.

"If this place is peaceful, I'm not sure I'd survive where you two came from," Will said with a dry sort of laugh. "Though it probably means you're both good in a crisis," he added. "Remind me to stick with you if anything goes sideways."

[rememory]

"Technically," Sabine offered with an impish sort of smile at the opportunity to sing Scott's praises. "Scott is exceptionally good in a crisis. He's been leading a team of superheroes on and off since he was a teenager." Playful in company comfortable for her, and always willing to lead others into comfort, she bit her lip and turned an absolutely adoring, teen-crush sort of smile all the long way up at Scott.

"He's saved my life a few times over, including teaching me to defend myself--" And battle tactics, but that wasn't really a topic she wanted to get into right now. "I owe him everything. Don't I, hero?" She batted her lashes a little less than playfully, a little more sincerely flirtatiously.

It wasn't at all a put-on for Will. Rather, like this kitchen project her performance was part of a concerted effort to help remind Scott that he was useful and she did need him. Otherwise, he'd start brooding and she'd have to take more drastic measures.

[revisor]

Scott actually blinked at Sabine's batting lashes. "Yes," he said, his voice not quite dry as he looked back at Will. "I am her knight in slightly battered and rusted armor. As for the superhero thing, don't let that worry you. I try to remember that not every problem is a nail." Steel-blue eyes slid sideways to Sabine, amused, and a little smile tugged at his lips.

[wgraham]

For Will it was a little like watching a television drama, the scene unfolding in front of him making it very plain how Sabine felt about Scott, both in her admiration of him and her attachment to him. Scott, for his part, seemed a little off balance, though Will doubted it had anything to do with his not returning her feelings. It probably had more to do with him not knowing what to do with those feelings, and that was something Will sympathized with. It was more than a little convenient that Will's girlfriend could read his emotions from him directly, rather than relying on him to articulate them.

Though, knowing Sabine, she could see what was going on in Scott's expression just as clearly as Will could. He hoped that Scott didn't feel outnumbered.

"Superhero as in someone possessing super powers?" Will asked, meeting Scott's eyes.

[revisor]

"Yes, but not the type I can safely demonstrate in our current surroundings," Scott said, and focused, just a little; it was enough to make ripples of crimson appear in his eyes for a moment before he relaxed. "Concussive force blasts," he said. "I haven't tried them since we got here. Doesn't seem like the best possible idea, all things considered."

[wgraham]

Will, typically the kind of guy who studiously avoided prolonged eye contact, found himself staring at Scott's eyes, at first sure he'd imagined the flash of red he saw in them. But then he puts Scott's words together with what he saw and the cover of a comic book comes to mind, a yellow and blue clad figure with a red lensed visor over his eyes. Will has never read a comic book in his life, but he did once meet Harry Potter, so it's more than a little feasible Scott is that hero Will remembers.

"Your... concussive force blasts," Will repeats, the words feeling funny in his mouth. "Is there not a way to control the strength of them?" he asked, hoping the question didn't sound skeptical or rude.

[revisor]

"I have generally good control these days," Scott reassured him, wondering if Will was worried. "Unless my mind's commandeered or something similar, I'm not going to blow out a wall or anything like that. Although," and he frowned a little, "whoever sent us here sent something to help, in case my control was ever compromised. Which I still think was odd."

[wgraham]

"Sent you something to help?" Will wondered, curiosity piqued. "What sort of something?"

[revisor]

"Ruby quartz glasses. I used to need them, before my lack of control was... fixed." The twist of Scott's mouth at the memory of how that had happened was brief; he liked to think he'd put that particular set of experiences well behind him at this point. "Which suggests that whoever's responsible for us being here knows rather a lot about us."

[rememory]

The twist of Scott's mouth echoed in Sabine's stomach, not powerfully but enough that she was aware of it. She shifted her weight so that she stood slightly closer to him, close enough for him to feel the heat of her body against his arm.

"Knows a lot, and has nearly unlimited access to our rooms at home." She glanced from Scott to Will and explained, "My cat was waiting for me in my quarters." How they had gotten in and out of the castle to do that without being stopped or detected had been a topic of much conversation between she and Scott those first few days.

[wgraham]

"My glasses appeared here too," Will replied, and he hadn't spent much time thinking about how they'd come to be here when they'd shown up in his drawer, but he was starting to realize it was much more strategic than random or incidental.

"And something else, a personal item that I certainly didn't have on me when I fell asleep the night before I came here," Will added. "But something I'd felt remorse about having lost once I realized I was probably stuck here."

[rememory]

"It does bespeak an intentionality, design rather than happenchance," Sabine mused but as much as she'd learned about strategy from Go and from Scott, she didn't seem a logic in it. "It's a bit as if a not quite human intelligence is trying to lull us into a false sense of security without realizing it's actions only raise suspicion."

Abruptly unnerved with her own imaginings--a human zoo--she glanced the long way up at Scott for reassurance before glancing a bit worriedly toward Will, too.

[revisor]

"Oh, I don't think there's any doubt that it's very much by design," Scott said bleakly. "What bothers me is that it's not surface-level knowledge of us in at least some cases, which suggests... insight into our thinking." Psionics of some sort, was what he would have said if they were home. "Which opens up the possibility of any planning we do being subject to the same insight."

[wgraham]

Will looked from Sabine to Scott, could see the worry and caution in both their eyes. "I don't think we'll do ourselves any good letting ourselves get comfortable here," Will agreed.

"The entire thing seems to have a design to it, though so far I haven't been able to remotely discern what the end goal might be," he went on. "Why would someone bring us here and, essentially, give us the tools we need to live a life in this place?"

[rememory]

Sabine glanced at Scott and sighed then, turning her focus to Will. "The only answer I have is that they need us for something." She had discussed with Scott the possibility they were dealing with the Time Breakers or something similar, and he agreed it was a possibility. "It is an unusual group that came in around the same time as us."