1964-07-21 - That Went Well
Summary: Lorna comes over while Kaleb and Vic are talking to Maximus. Turns out there are unresolved issues.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
kaleb lorna maximus vic 


Kaleb was not at all one to emote, nor was he remotely moved when Max tried to entice him with money or his curvy companion. "You make the mistake of presuming my…" he sought a word for it, "'sentiments'. She is one of mine. She has given me her respect and mine she'll have. I'm not certain having a series of dates in one's life is a benefit any. Expectations beget disappointment. It's all a rather cruel parade don't you think?" An eyebrow arched and his jaw set, though it wasn't in insult or anger and the words remained in all tone polite. "I've honestly never been a fan of people in general, but then I've never actually been able to meet my own either. You kow what they do to us. What those with power have done to yours. Any reasons that are mine aside? She is my people. I will do everything I can to protect my people from being hurt. No one will call me King as they have for you, but it doesn't mean I cannot serve their needs."

*

Vic wanders out of the bedroom he shares with Kellan. He's in gym shorts. Just gym shorts. "Guh, it's too hot to nap," he groans. Running fingers through his mussed hair, he stumbles into the the kitchen and opens the fridge, pawing through it. He pauses, peers around the open fridge door, and says, "…oh, hello."

*

Maximus is standing there, dressed in a mandarin-style suit, awfully close to Kaleb, and they seem to be having some sort of serious conversation. When Vic wanders in with gym shorts, Maximus arches his brows

*

Maximus is standing there, dressed in a mandarin-style suit, awfully close to Kaleb, and they seem to be having some sort of serious conversation. When Vic wanders in with gym shorts, Maximus arches his brows. "Do you live here? YOu both live here?" He gives his head a toss. "Kaleb says he does not want to be King." Like he expects Vic to back him up on this. Then he looks at Kaleb, "You do not need to be King to be a leader for your people, but as far as I know…you are not a spokesperson for them. Do you know how you become that?" He gets close to Kaleb again and lowers his voice, "You just claim it."

*

Kaleb cracked a faint grin that warmed to Maximus like a great cat seeming pleased, "Maybe. Maybe. But I am not free if they aren't so. That brings us to now. I suppose we have a bit in common after all." An eyebrow arched to Vic and he relented, "It's hot. I know." He eyed him with a close curiosity, right side of his head tilted closer. "Still… it seems you know how to find me. Now I'm curious as to what you want."

*

Vic takes the orange juice he was going for out of the fridge and blinks slowly at Maximus. He looks to Kaleb, then back to Maximus. He pours himself a glass of OJ, then puts the container back in the fridge. "You want Kaleb to be a King?" Because that's his takeaway from all this. Putting Kaleb in charge.

He's in the kitchen, wearing only gym shorts. His hair is mussed from a recent nap and he still looks only half-awake.

*

"Yes. You did something to me…in the temple. With sound. There is a long, long story, but…to put it simply, sound harmed me, greatly, eleven years ago. I am curious if…controlled exposure might not be able to…help me." Maximus glances to Vic. "I do not really want him to be a King. I doubt that would go well. But a leader, yes. He wants to lead. He wants to help." Max folds his arms aggressively behind his own back, and then closes his eyes.

*

There was a knock at the door, perhaps a bit of a surprise. She hadn't exactly been invited over, but Lorna was now kinda sorta officially dating Kaleb. Invitations mattered a little less. Besides, they had made plans to hang out later, and she was simply early. Another knock a light rap of her knuckles followed, "Hello? Can I come in? I brought some cookies, also my father made lots of food, and we had left overs." Came her voice from outside the door.

*

Kaleb looked…fucking splendid. It's what he did, he woke up and spent a solid hour putting himself together until it was an execution in utter precision like he was a consumerism elemental. There was a knock and his voice carried exactly as far as he needed it to. He always heard everything or made it appear as such, and was always heard when and where he needed that to happen. His hand waved as if extending his will to bounce the sound under teh door like a rubber ball to her, "My door is unlocked to you, Lorna." He was standing nearly toe to toe with Maximus having a very eye to eye conversation. That light was lit up in his eyes that was now the want to know everything. "You? You were hurt by a sonic?" He paused and there was a knowing nod as he comisserated, "Terrible isn't it? You can't see it, you can't touch it, you can't just make it stop. Yeah. I…can imagine."

*

Kaleb leaned that extra inch forward and didn't actually demand, though it was implied, courtesy was extended anyways as his voice became quiet and he was nearly nose to nose for a moment with Max. "You will not harm her in my house. I would truly have for our meeting to end poorly. I like you. I want to like you. I'd like to continue being able to do so." The implication that he wouldn't hesitate to try to repeat history may be implied elsewise. But he leaned back on heel, because it was polite, and because he trusted him in this.

*

"Hey Lorna," Vic says amiably. Her nephew is chiseled. An Adonis drinking OJ in the kitchen, unselfconscious about the abs just displayed for all to see. When Lorna arrives, tough, he ducks his head sheepishly. "I'll just help you with the food and go put a shirt on." He glances toward Kaleb and Maximus again, and his brow furrows. "No one's going to hurt anyone while I'm here," he says.

*

Maximus was looking rather pleasant until Kaleb decides to threaten him. Then his whole facial expression drops, flattens, and he seems grim. "Look. I do not harm Lorna. I have never /harmed/ Lorna. Her insistance that I am some sort of danger to her, is some sort of teenaged /fantasy/ that she's making up. I have ever done /helpful/ things for her. She didn't have a coat and was freezing. I bought her one. She was crying over a boyfriend, I helped her deal with that at her own request. She was out on a date in a shitty dress…I offered to fancy it up a bit." He works his jaw then looks to Lorna, "I do not know what YOUR PROBLEM is…with me, /Lorna/, but blaming me for things I have not done is unfair and it needs to stop. Its affecting my relationships with people I want to get to know much better. You are singlehandedly causing would-be-friends to threaten me with your baseless crying about me. Grow. Up." He says sharply and pops his chin into the air. This causes his curls to sway against his cheek.

*

Loran entered the apartment, her color high and a smile on her face. She looked for all the world as pleased as a young woman could be. Her arms filled with a brown paper bag and the smell of spices wafting up. Her father had been in the kitchen again and it smelled amazing. Of course, as her gaze swung toward the kitchen first, she flashed Vic a smile, "Tata knows about you, Vic. He said he'd like to—" She trailed off, as her gaze searched the apartment and fell on Maximus and Kaleb, standing closely. The bag slipped from her grip immediately, as she stared, her smile dropping.

She stood, staring as Maximus turned his attention toward her and spoke, her gaze shifting slowly back toward Kaleb. It was then that the apartment, the whole apartment. Shook. As if there was a sudden Earth quake. As if something massive took a step just outside the window. It lasted but a second but when it went, the power in the apartment flickered.

Lorna took a step back toward the door.

*

Kaleb closed his eyes and just felt the building shake. His head dropped and he murmured, "I just try to be nice by minding my own business. Why does every powered person in this city want to try and break my things this week?" It pained him, truly. His head picked back up and one eyebrow went up slowly looking to Lorna asking "Have you no trust in me that you'd walk out?"It was sort of hell having the sound navigate off vibrating surfaces. Note to self: not fun and don't move to California.

He looked back to Maximus and said plainly, "You want my ear you have it. We are not here to dredge the past and if this cannot happen civilly then I have nothing left to discuss." And he heard the arm of his turntable shake from its moorings and hit the vinyl that was on there. His eye twitched and briefly he looked just pained.

*

Vic glances around at the shaking. His orange juice! The food! He busies himself trying to keep things from falling and breaking. "Why don't we all just relax," he says. "Take a deep breath, and think about what we want to do." He glances to Lorna. "We won't let anyone hurt you." Then to Maximus, "I know you've got grievances but can we just talk about one thing at a time?" He looks to Kaleb. Halp. Yes, this is the guy who just looked incredulous at the idea of Kaleb being in charge.

*

"I am quite willing to talk." Maximus reaches over to help Vic steady the food in the shaking apartment so that Mr. Shirtless doesn't lose any of his grub. "And I am and have been constantly friendly. I am tired of this. I am constantly threatened. I have literally never hurt her! Why do you keep thinking I'm going to hurt her?!" Maximus seems highly frustrated at this point.

*

Lorna clapped her hands over her ears, her eyes screwing shut as she struggled to slow her breathing and calm the racing of her heart. Vic's honest suggestion the only thing that Lorna could manage. Even as her powers reacted to her confusion, her panic and the spiral of her emotions. The power flickered again above, but no horrible shake at the building's supports occurred this time.

However literally everything based on steel, on iron, or anything even vaguely paramagnetic, bounced once in her direction. Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip and she fought back a whimper.

"I'm sorry." She squeaked out, before turning and fleeing to put the door between herself and the apartment at large. She didn't go far, the door slammed behind her as she curled up opposite of it against the wall. Putting her head between her knees as she struggled to not have a panic attack.

*

Kaleb blinked and said plainly to Maximus, "Maximus, had I ever thought that? This conversation would have been much different from the beginning. Let's just all relax here, PLEASE." His eyes closed and he took a very deep breath bringing his center back to himself. noscreamingnoscreamingnoscreaming… One hand lift to the other side of his head and he pushed from the door out just a dead zone for sound. He could really only do one at a time especially with the entire building throwing noise at him. To him it was just a sensory assault feeling every jarring sound wave of everything shuddering against everything else. But he drove all the sound to ground around Lorna on the other side of the door. A tank could drop there and no one would know. His other hand covered his right ear and waited for the din to stop. He looked to Maximus helping Vic and said "Excuse me a moment." He was being overly polite.

He did try to open the door, cracked it open. It made no sound and he stepped into the dead zone and walked over to where Lorna sat. He didn't let sound in but he let himself into the space. Italian wingtips carried him over, and he just sat next to Lorna. Was he upset? Yeah. He was not planning on company at all and now there was chaos in the only place of sanctuary he owned. On the other hand, he knew what it was to be totally out of control of one's abilities too. He sat still, with his shoulder next to hers, watching.

*

Vic nods to Kaleb, and he continues tidying up. Poor fellow is subdued, unhappiness at the conflict clear on his face. While Kaleb sits with Lorna, Vic says to Maximus, "I know you're frustrated, but let's just take a moment. Frustration can get in the way of accomplishing what you want to accomplish, yeah? No one's saying don't be frustrated, though. I'm not going to accuse you of anything. I don't know what happened, I wasn't there." He offers Maximus a piece of baklava from a box he has tucked away for emergencies. Baklava emergencies. "Here, this is the best baklava in town."

*

Maximus practically snatches the baklava and takes an aggressive bite of it. He talks with his mouth full and leans against the wall of the kitchen, muttering to Vic. "I was only too glad to see Karnak…and she assumed the worst and punched me in the face. The whole…it seems like everyone just assumes the worst without /actually/ bothering to get to the truth. I should just go back to Attilan and my rooms and just…forget the whole rest of this world. What's the /point/…if she's going to /poison/ everyone I meet."

*

The globe of silence that Kaleb created around her gave Lorna the chance to breathe. To pull back the magnetic pressure that was building up within her and to slowly release it back into the world. Her hands trembled faintly, and slowly she uncurled her balled up body to lean back against the walls. She was breathing hard, in short tiny bursts as if she'd run a marathon.

Her eyes still screwed tightly. "I'm sorry." She whispered, repeating what she'd said before. Her stomach twisted and she pressed a hand against her features, her other pressed flat to the floor between her and Kaleb.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.. to do any of that." She rasped, her throat suddenly dry.

*

Kaleb said nothing. He rubs a dab of blood at his left ear and shook his head at it. He sat there and waited with her to calm down. His hand dropped to hers and gave it a squeeze. He could accept that it wasn't deliberate. The rest of what he had to say? He saved it for another time. Slowly, very slowly, he let the dampening field ease up.

*

"She hasn't poisoned me," Vic says. "I don't know what happened. I just see a very frustrated man and a scared woman and two guys who have no idea what's going on." He takes another piece of baklava for himself. It really is good baklava, made by a Greek chef himself. He nibbles a corner, then adds, "They're afraid, you know. That's all it is. Fear. They assume the worst so that if it happens, they're as prepared as they can be. People spend a lot of the time being afraid."

*

Maximus is definitely having a sulk, a proper royal one, with the frowny corners, crossed arms, looking generally upwards, taking a bite of baklava. "I believe that is true, but…keep this up and everyone will find out what sort of villain I become. I might as well…if I will be treated as one. It will not be me to blame…"

*

Lorna's hand moved to clasp his own, and she shifted on the ground, making to rest her head against his shoulder beside her. Her eyes still screwed shut as slowly, her breathing calmed and her heart stopped jumping like a rabbit in a cage. She remained like that for some time, not saying anything even as her frame relaxed and the grip on Kaleb's hand loosened from the near death like grip she first grasped it with.

Even as he slowly lifted the dampening field, she remained. Calmer. Breathing. Nothing metal had lunged or jumped or even twitched in the last minute or so, when she finally opened her eyes and glanced back to him, lifting her head. She winced at the sight of blood and reached out with her free hand.

"Kaleb—" She broke off, biting her lower lip.

*

Kaleb quietly endured the chaos thrown at his world. He flinched but didn't pull away. His pride worked wonders from keeping him from just going off but it wouldn't fix anything. That in a way Maximus was entirely right about. He shook his head and these things weren't getting much better. He squint looking at her, but leaving his hand in hers. "You didn't mean it, but it happened." It was reality now. He took a deep breath and said tiredly, "You want to come inside?" He flinched trying to get the ringing to stop a bit but waited for that answer.

*

Vic says, to Maximus, "See, that's where we have to stop and have a think. That right there is what people are afraid of. If you don't want to be afraid…" He bites his lower lip, then admits, "I'm just coming at this from a layman's perspective, okay? But if you don't want people to be afraid, don't be villainous." He offers over another piece of baklava. "I know you don't want to hear this, but it's always your choice. I learned that the hard way. Sort of." Old Vic learned it. New Vic read about it on his brain.

*

"I am /not/. That is what I am saying to you. There is nothing I have done…/nothing/. I dare someone to name one thing I have actually done that is villainous. Yet, I am /treated/ that way." Maximus is having a moment, for sure. And he's…sort of right, but he's also just totally ignoring absolutely terrible things that he does on the regular, out of his sense of entitlement. But, that they don't know that he's done those things…his point stands! "Tell me…tell me how you were a villain and you changed it."

*

Lorna pressed her forehead against his shoulder again, her eyes shutting briefly as she squeezed his hand. "Only if you stay by me. I.. I'll try to not bring the building down around our heads." She whispered, slowly lifting her head up again. She bit her lower lip, pushing her hair back from her face. "But we're going to talk once he's gone. Deal?"

Her green eyed gaze scanned over him and frowned faintly, standing up slowly, still unwilling to release his clasped hand with her own. "Kaleb are you okay?"

*

Kaleb watched her and sat there letting her lean. Sure, if that was how he could he useful right now? Sure. He was bad at this part. At teh request to talk when it was over he nodded and stood up. She wanted to keep holding his hand? He let her. His other hand reached for the door and he considered the question to thim to which he replied with a tired sigh, "Not really." He gave Lorna an encouraging nod and walked back in with her. His speech was notably a hair slower than before. He found Maximus and seemed to have picked up on that thread bringing support for his argument, "Yeah, some days I dunno why I bother either. But lo' here we are. Our very nature handed to us." he reached ofer to his ear to wipe the last of the little bit of blood from bothering him. "This is also why I tell people I gave up caring for Lent."

*

Vic leans against the kitchen wall next to Maximus and nibbles on his baklava. He feels a little bad about the technical untruths he's about to tell, but he can't go around letting everyone know he's an infant soul born of magic. Besides, technically, Old Vic did vow to turn his life around, so it's not all lies. Delicately, Vic says, "I used to not care about anyone but myself, and I wanted what I wanted right now. I ended up in prison, and it was unpleasant enough I decided I didn't want to go back there ever again. So I stopped stealing things and picking fights. I turned the other cheek, kept my nose clean. The other inmates didn't like it much. Said I was a brown-noser. They almost beat me to death in the shower. When I woke up from the coma, it was miracle. I got this amazing second chance. I'm not going to waste it thinking more about myself than others."

*

Maximus listens to Vic's tale, with no reason to doubt the truth of it until he gets to know the man better. He's the only version of Vic he's ever known. He nods faintly. Steel blue eyes flick over Kaleb…and the bits of blood on him, then to the held hands. He glances away from that as he asks of the man, "Why are you bleeding? What happened?" A sharp concern laces his tone, along with a general sense of demand.

*

Lorna didn't say anything to Maximus or Vic as she entered, hand in hand with Kaleb. Her green eyes flickered over them both however, and she kept her silence, listening to Vic's story at least with no undisguised interest. It was only after a moment that she let go of Kaleb's hand, moving to the kitchen to find a towel and dampen it in the sink. She wrung it out with both hands, and folded it neatly.

In passing she leaned close to pat Vic's shoulder and flash him a smile before she returned to Kaleb, handing him the towel in offering.

*

Kaleb stopped in the room to assess the damage. Blue-grey eyes looked back to Maximus taking a deep breath going to answer but there was a damp napkin from Lorna. He murmured an earnest, "Thank you." Looking back to Maximus he answered, "Some… things happened in Europe when I was there. Long story short didn't go well at all. Loves to wake me up with my ears ringing like mad. Presently the entire building and everything in it making noise and trying to reach out to too many things at once? Has the words 'summer fun' written all over it. But not really."

He took a deep breath and why he was admitting a frailty to the man he only peripherally knew? He had no clue. A weird part of himself found some fairness in that Maximus offered to him his first weather intentional or not. "Because of recent events I've been burned out on sensory overload. There's a backlash to trying to control everything at once. I'd say I wish I could forget Europe but I don't. It's too important to hold onto." And he learned from Lorna that never really works out well. See? He listens.

*

Vic gives Lorna a warm smile. That he's fond of the woman is almost ridiculously clear. Aunt, but also a peer, and family regardless. But then he grimaces to hear Kaleb's condition. "What can I do to help?" he says. Of course it's what he says. He's just finished telling Max what he's striving to be like in his new, miraculous condition (that part is true). He finishes his baklava, then slips out of the kitchen into his room, to emerge a few moments later wearing a t-shirt. There, now he's not mostly naked in front of a lady.

*

"I know places where the only sound is the breath of the wind…perhaps a few days there…would help." Maximus offers, a bit poetically. There's a grimness about it too though, like he fully expects Kaleb will turn the offer down. He stays put where he was, isolated in the room. He arches a brow with expectation a moment later.

*

Lorna frowned at Kaleb, her expression pinched in concern about what Kaleb had to say. "Will some pain killers help at least?" She asked softly, always softly since she'd spotted the blood trickling from his ear. The urge to call Josh was strong, she knew he'd be in Mutant Town. The problem of course being, how to explain a golden man showing up? Much less with Maximus about.

She bit her lower lip, fidgeting her weight on her heels. There were a million and one questions in her gaze, and it was clear she wanted to know more, but wasn't willing to push. Not here and not now.

*

Kaleb was confused and not unaffected by the people around him asking with a genuine want to help what they could do. This was new territory. It was humbling to his disdain for people in general, and not unwelcome. He cleaned at his ear and actually looked at Maximus admitting, "That, actually, sounds amazing." He shook his head and replied to Vic, "Fix the world so people stop running experiments on us?" He paced himself and thought better of being a cowboy asking Lorna, "I think there's either aspirin in the cabinet or gin on the minibar. Either or both might work." He paused finding the most surface way to put things, "The things haunting me? I seen… things happen to our people while overseas."

He looked to Max and offered a sympathetic tone to him, "Not surprised if they do it to yours too. I don't-" He paused and shook his head, "I can hear them and the sound doesn't go away. It's just gonna take time or… something. Until then I just need to work on mitigating mass input from multiple sources. Just need quiet so I can make my head stop ringing and put my powers down for five minutes but I can't. The migraine would be amazing."

He looked to Lorna with a faint but grateful expression which was stretching his repertoire of expressive emotions by a lot. To the other two offering, "In the end it's jut easier to keep that shit with you and let people just think you're a human hating asshole. People don't want to know, but I wonder, Max, if sometimes we accept the role of being 'the bad guy' so other people don't have to deal with the truth of terrible things." That? That was a conversation that he seemed to want to continue. As much as he hated it he shook his head admitting, "I need to lay down. Lorna if you want to come talk to me about the shoes? I think I can handle that right now." Halfway to the room with the patio he paused and turned to Maximus, "I am glad you stopped by." With a wince he turned to his room and even ignores the drafting pencils on the floor.

*

Vic tells Kaleb, "I'll see what I can do. We'll talk about this later, I hope?" There's a subtle shift in Vic's demeanor. Someone was doing experiments?? On Kaleb. Someone needs a talking to. "Yes, I'd like to get more details. I always wanted to take a trip to Europe, and Billy hasn't taken me yet." He busies himself tidying up the kitchen, and there's a look of determination on his face. Oh yes. There will be talkings to.

*

Maximus grabs another baklava and then strides for the door. The only mercy he has is that he doesn't slam it, but he's obviously bent about something or another.

*

Lorna nodded, moving to rummage around in the cabinet, finding aspirin, and once more ducking into the kitchen to get a glass of water. She moved quickly, with the aid of a lighter step. In fact, she was a good inch off the ground by the end of it, seeming to be well back in control of herself and her powers as she moved back to Kaleb's side. She touched lightly down, biting her lower lip as she looked him over. She nodded to Kaleb's words about lying down, flashing him a sympathetic look. Her attention entirely focused on the young mutant before her rather than on Maximus.

Only as they make it to the bedroom does she step in to offer him the glass of water and painkillers in her palm. "Everyone thinks they're a hero in their own story, Kaleb." She whispered, "No one thinks that what they're doing is wrong. People have the ability to rationalize a great deal.." She bit her lower lip, falling silent. She didn't push for more, didn't say anything else. Simply waited for him to actually lie down. To rest. Where she'd quietly make to sit down beside him and should he allow it, to just as quietly, lay down beside him and reach for his hand to hold with both of her own.

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