2013.03.27 - Stranger Than Fiction

Scenes from an Italian restaurant...
Some days work just drags on forever, even when it's a job you love to do. It's Spring fever that's doing a number on Fern's head today, distracting her with the desire to get out and explore the city while it's nice. Sure, it'll get nicer. But she's came here in the fall, and has seen more than her share of snow and slush. It doesn't help that Fern just knows the city streets are teeming with people out and about, and none of them are her. So, she might be a little less cheerful today, but with her, that's probably still more cheerful than most of the citizens of Metropolis. She looks at the clock and sighs. Not even 2 yet. Longest. Day. Ever.

The door of the restaurant opens and Gabriel walks up to the hostess' station. After a quick whispered conversation the hostess leads Gabriel up to one of Fern's tables.

The hostess is none other than Anita herself, owner and surrogate mother to all her employees and many of their friends. After she sees Gabriel settled she catches Fern's eye to make sure the girl knows there's a table just been seated, holding up one finger. "Thanks, Mama," Fern calls warmly to her, distractedly grabbing a menu and lightly squeaking her way over to... "Hey, Gabriel!" The welcome is warm and surprised, and she leans to give her neighbor a quick and awkward hug in greeting.

Gabriel chuckles lightly as he accepts and returns the hug. "I hear that they make great cannoli here. So I decided to see if that was true and try the rest of the menu as well. What would you recommend?" He doesn't even bother opening the menu, instead clearly prepared to go on Fern recommendation alone.

Fern grins, "Well, if Julius was here making pizza today, I would recommend that. But he's not, so I say definitely go with the lasagna. There's even some of Anita's fresh rosemary bread left to go with it."

Gabriel laughs and shakes his head at the silly waitress, "Well, I guess I'll have to make do with lasagna. What a shame." He offers the menu back with a smile then asks, "Think they'll give you a break to keep me company while I eat? I hate eating alone without a TV or a book in front of me and I forgot both..."

There's a nod as Fern takes the menu and she replies formally, "Excellent choice, sir. I shall have it for you forthwith." She giggles, losing the part, and chides softly, "Sensory overload. One of these days your head will explode, Gabriel." Her head jerks toward a table of three, businessmen to judge by their suit and tie corporate uniform. "My last table is just about done. Then I'll come keep you entertained." She starts away, but stops and looks back, "What do you want to drink?"

Gabriel thinks about the question put forth to him. After a long moment he grins and answers, "How about a tall, chilled glass of milk? That way I'll already have it for the canolli after lunch."

"You got it, sunshine," Fern says, doing that finger gun thing at him with a wrinkle of her nose. She veers her path to catch the businessmen's table, pausing to talk to them for a minute. They might be regulars, because they seem pretty familiar with the redheaded waitress, and there's laughter from two of them as she takes out her order pad, adding up their total before ripping the check off to leave for them. The third guy doesn't look as amused as his companions... joke at his expense? She turns and moves quickly, pushing through the kitchen doors, her voice drifting out "Order in, Manny!" In a minute she's returning with a tray, heading for Gabriel's table. "So hey, I wanted to catch you and ask you," she starts, unloading the tray on his table. Rosemary bread, butter, glass of water, glass of milk and silverware wrapped in a cloth napkin. The tray is tucked under her arm. "Where'd you disappear to the other day? I lost you in all the confusion."

Gabriel takes the bread and starts to spread a generous amount of butter onto it giving the task an inordinate amount of attention. Finally he looks up at Fern and says, "That conversation might be one you might want to have while you're sitting down..." then bites into his bread and chews on it slowly, making all the appropriate expressions of enjoyment.

One red brow arches as Fern looks at Gabriel. Another one of 'those' conversations? She glances over to the other table, catching Third Guy looking at her across the room before he can manage to look away quickly. Then the trio are standing, leaving the check and money on the table. She looks back to Gabriel, "Lemme ring that out, and I'll be right back. And I'll sit down." Again, she turns briskly, squeaking her way over to grab up the check and money, calling after the men, "See you next week, guys!" She looks over the money, nods, and pushes it into one of the pockets of her uniform before heading back to Gabe's table. Sliding in to sit across from him, the empty tray set aside on the bench seat, she fixes her eyes on her upstairs neighbor. "Ok. I'm sitting."

Gabriel looks around the restaurant. Seeing that there are very few people seated at the booth and tables of the main room he turns back to Fern and asks, "Can I have your hand for a moment, please?"

Fern frowns lightly seeing Gabriel cast around the room, but she trusts him, and holds her hand out across the table. "Look," she says lightly, her frown easing, "If you're going to make a pass at me, I've already got enough going on." It's a joke!

Taking advantage of the privacy afforded by both the booth they are sitting in and the sparse number of customers in the restaurant Gabriel takes Ferns hand in one of his while saying, "You might want to look away for a moment." Then he focuses on the contact itself. A few seconds go by, then a few more, and then Gabriel's body goes all wobbly, suddenly looking like a giant, flesh-colored amoeba. This state of gel-like existence last no more than a second or two before Fern is sitting across from Fern. With a grin she says, "I wouldn't hit on you any more than I would hit on my twin sister, Ferny." The second redhead tilts her head a bit to the side and watches for the reaction...

She's not a willfully obstinate girl... sometimes... but Fern ignores Gabe's advice, watching him as her hand is taken. There's nothing for a few seconds, and then.... whoa. Gabriel turns into the Blob then into... her. She seems to take it incredibly well, staring for a few beats, then reaching over for the glass of water she'd brought him, and downing half of it. With her eyes back on Gabriel.... herself?... she nods. "Well. That's a neat trick."

Gabriel/Fern smiles brightly as she nods, "Well, at least we know you have a strong stomach. But to answer your question... She-Hulks twin? Me. PLease keep this information to yourself. I don't generally broadcast that I can do this..." It could be bewildering to some. Gabriel is an identical copy of Fern, down to the voice. But all the mannerisms, both vocal and physical, are comepetely Gabriel. And they do show he's rather worried about the possibility of his abilities becoming too public.

If she could hold it together seeing the aftermath of torture on someone she once cared about, Fern can hold it together through anything. This? Cakewalk. She nods to her double, raising her hand to make an X over her heart with one finger. "Safe as houses. Promise." She studies him... her... a moment, then her eyes widen. He's got her body on. "You keep your hands to yourself," she says sternly, only half joking. That shows in her smirk, as she sits back comfortably against the padded seat. "So when did you find out you could do this?"

Any kind of amusement slowly fades out of Fern-two's face, replaced by the kind of expression one might see on someone remembering a particularly bad recurring nightmare, "What I just did? About two and a half years ago. That I was a mutant and had powers? About three years ago. And it wasn't a pleasant experience." If Fern thinks back on what little he's told her of his past she might remember him mentioning having arrived in NYC a little under three years ago.

There's an understanding look on Fern's face and she nods. Although she's honestly got little experience with the whole mutant/superhero thing and is remarkably normal herself, it's a story she's heard several times now. "I'm sorry for that, Gabriel." Her words are soft and sincere. "And you... what? Just touch someone?" There's a beat and something occurs to her, "Heeeey. What about that other Angel you were talking about?"

Gabriel hides his reaction to the memories and to Fern's answer to it behind another change, returning to his natural state. As he solidifies back into Gabriel his expression is set in a mischievous smile as he nods and answers with a simple, "Yep." before moving on to explaining a little more, "As far as I've been able to discover I don't need to touch someone, I just need to be able to see the... Or it, I can change into any living being. But when I touch someone to do it I'm an /exact/ copy. When I do it by sight alone its... different. I don't know how to explain the difference except by saying that its not a perfect copy." He takes another bite of his bread, finishing off the slice he'd spread butter on.

"Don't eat all the bread before the lasagne gets here," Fern says absently, even though Gabe's only had one slice. Her reaction, all in all, is probably a clue as to why she's being woo'd by two of the Xavier Institute mutants. She's curious, not afraid, and treads lightly with her questions. "So any living being? Even animals? That would be kinda cool."

Gabriel tilts his head at Fern then looks at the kitchen door then back at her and in mock severity says, "Yeeeaaah. Where /is/ that lasagna?" then he returns to the conversation proper, after taking a drink from his glass, "Any living thing. I'm thinking I could probably do plants too but I haven't been brave enough to try. With animals and even insects I think the same way I always do but plants don't have /any/ kind of brain so I don't know what would happen or if I could turn back..."

Fern mock scowls at Gabriel, "You can't rush perfection." Her face eases immediately, that curious look back. "No, if you aren't sure you can change back, best not to do it. What could you do as a plant, anyway? Hang around someone's office, maybe, but you could do that as a fly, too." She looks at him, considering. "How do you do it? Just concentrate?"

Ok, /that/ particular question bares some consideration. And it takes Gabriel some long moments to answer in which all he does is scratch up and down on the bridge of his nose as he thinks. Slowly, he answers, sounding unsure even then, "Well... I just kinda of /feel/ what it would be like to be that person or that creature... When I'm touching its almost like a part of me flashes through the subject and comes back with... a mold? Its really hard to explain but I guess, yes, focusing is as good a way as any to describe it..." The question actually seems to have confused him some, as if he'd never really stopped to think about it.

Fern is patient while Gabriel thinks, not actually -staring- at him, but looking at him thoughtfully. She nods, "So, it's not something that happens accidentally? You have to do it on purpose?" There's a noise in the background, a soft *ding* that most people never notice in the restaurant, but it gets Fern's attention. "Hold that thought, sunshine, I'll be right back." She slips from the table, squeaking back into the kitchen. After a moment she's back again, with a plate of hot lasagna and a fresh glass of water. The plate is placed before Gabriel, "Mangia." Then she slips back into the booth, to wait for the answer to her questions.

Gabriel rolls his eyes right before the little bell rings and thensettles down to wait for Fern to come back. When she arrives with his lasagna he takes a long, appreciative sniff then starts to work on it with fork and knife, "Thank you kindly. And to answer your question, not always. If I'm startled or surprised too badly by a touch, especially if I'm already under stress, it can happen spontaneously. And for some reason then it happens without needing to keep contact nearly as long as when I'm doing it on purpose. Less than a second usually is enough when its an involuntary change..." Again, he seems confused by this. Connecting the dots might lead someone to think that what little training he's done with his powers has been on his own and a lot of things about them are clearly a mystery to him still.

Connecting those dots might lead Fern to wonder if any of her friends who are Mutants might have any advice for Gabriel. But she won't 'out' him, she's promised that. And really, maybe they wouldn't know any more about it. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask a question or two of the people she's especially close to. "It sounds like it could be kinda scary sometime," she says slowly, thoughtfully. "Especially if it happens when you aren't expecting it to." Sometimes she envies her new friends their abilities, unlike many people who find them threatening. That's no so much how she feels right now. Mostly, she's concerned for Gabriel, but doesn't quite know how to show that. Instead, she sticks with the familiar. "How do you like the lasagna?"

The answer to the last question takes some time in coming. Definitely because Gabriel has a large bite of said lasagna currently in his mouth. Once he's finished chewing he grins, "Do I really have to answer that last one? Its delicious." He supports that statement by immediately taking another large bite of lasagna before even thinking about her first statement and then he waggles his head from side to side while he chews. The answer comes later, "Sometimes. But it happens a lot less than it used to at first so I don't worry too much about it."

Fern nods, then smiles and puts voice to a question that she's asked herself often. "Is there anyone normal in this city besides me?" She just shakes her head, "Even my upstairs neighbor. Sheesh."

Gabriel's mischievous grin is almost evil as he says,"Maybe you're one of us too and your power is simpley to attract metahuman beings." He leans forward slightly and looks deep into Fern's eyes, pushing his plate slightly to the side so he can put his elbow on the table and rest his chin on his hand. "I'm suddenly feeling an irresistable urge to ask you out on a date... What are you doing after work?"

Fern rolls her eyes and only just manages to resist the urge to kick Gabriel under the table. "As if my life isn't complicated enough?" She laughs, good humored despite the underlying truth to that question. "I think I should get that on a t-shirt. Metahuman Magnet."

Gabriel laughs as he tucks back into his lasagna, dropping all pretense to flirtation, "Well, you never know. Mutant powers are a mysterious thing." Bitting into more of his food he hums happily before taking a big drink from his milk.

It would appear, judging by her uncertain frown, that this concept not only hadn't occurred to Fern, but it's not pleasing. She shakes her head, dismissing it. "I'm just an aspiring actress from Ohio. That's about as mutated as I get." She eyes him, eating enthusiastically. "You might want to remember to breathe, and not when your mouth is full."

Gabriel laughs as he waves a dismissive fork at his companion, "Its good, lemme'lone." Then he winks as he cuts another piece off the surprisingly quickly disappearing lasagna. "Speaking of complicated. What've you done with all your suitors?" And in his mouth the piece goes.

Fern scowls across the table at Gabriel again. "Two of them. Not 'all'." The scowl turns to a sigh, and a distressed look. "I have to make a decision. They're best friends and putting it off isn't good for them." This time there's no humor under her words, and she looks truly unhappy. "Maybe neither, that would be more simple." She sighs again, pushing to her feet. "I'll get you a refill on your milk. And make sure there are a couple cannoli put aside for you."

''A day or two after Gabriel's surprise visit to 'Fern's' restaurant there's a knock on her door. By the time she opens it all she sees is one of those little gift bags, black with bright primary-color polka dots. Once she digs out all the tissue paper she finds a bright, emerald green t-shirt with "Metahuman Magnet" emblazoned on the front in big, white block letters.''