2007-03-25: We Shall Never Speak Of This Again

Starring:

Cass_icon.gif Elena_icon.gif Jaden_icon.gif

Summary: Plans come together for Cass, Elena and Jaden. With a little sexual harassment, costumes, and secret tunnels. This log is like crack o'clock, but better.

Date It Happened: March 25, 2007

We Shall Never Speak of This Again


Enlightenment Books

The evening rapidly descent upon Manhattan and before Cass knew it, it was almost closing time. She's talking to the last straggling customers and starting to shelve stray books, but really her mind is on that large tube that was delivered earlier in the day marked 'open privately'. Since she hasn't been in private since then, she has yet to open it. And the curiosity is killing her. Finally, the last customer is ushered out the door and the woman rushes to the back room to open that tube. Popping open the top, she shakes out it's contents to find pages of slippery papered blueprints. Blueprints of /her/ store. With a batcave designed underneath it. And next to it. With a tunnel leading off somewhere. What. What. A note flutters to her feet and she snatches it up. Oh my God. He was serious.

When Elena enters the store, she almost plows into the door. She was using her rollerblades, and she looks pale. She didn't know who to talk to about this. She didn't know if she should risk calling anyone else about it, but Cass was always a source of comfort - probably because she spent her time surrounded by books. She enters the shop. She'll take off her rollerblades later. "Cass, listen," she says breathlessly. "Peter called me and—" She pauses, catching sight of the blueprints in her hand. Her urgency dies, her curiosity-induced ADD catching the plans in her hands and giving the woman a befuddled expression.

This is going to be weird. Well, not really. Because moments after Elena's entrance, comes another one. One more quiet. One more stealthy. One… that comes with a hummed version of the Mission Impossible Theme. WTF. A hooded figure drops and rolls between the open door and pops up, sliding his back against one of the bookshelves. He looks left and right, gaining more momentum as the music flows from his lips. He's not alone. He's got a package in his arms. Well, it looks like it could be a gift or something, but it's not. It's actually… NONE OF ANYONE'S BUSINESS.

He rolls again, smooshing the box underneath him as he gets closer to where Cass and Elena are. He peeks his head around the corner. "Psst! Is the coast clear?"

Does he have shoe polish under his eyes? Oh what the hell mang…

Cass blinks in total surprise when Elena /rollerblades/ into her store. Not only is her brain totally broken by this turn of events, there's a girl in rollerblades in her store. Didn't she lock the door? It's highly possible that she forgot. "Elena?" She quickly drops the plans onto the desk. They automatically curl back up like a poster, but it's possible that Elena say what was on them before that happened. The note is still in her hand, though. "Peter? Peter who? What?" And then, some masked figure comes rolling into the store humming the Mission Impossible theme? What? Her brain hurts just the more for this. "I…what. Yes! The coast is clear! Who the hell are you and why are you wearing a mask?"

She doesn't see it, she was so addled about what she heard. However she pauses when Jaden……appears costumed. Elena turns around, and stares at the guy who looks like he's in mission impossible gear. Her hand is up, pointed towards him. She was already high-strung today, with kidnappings and serial killers running lose and everything. This guy might be a criminal! But when he asks if the coast is clear, she relaxes slightly. She squints at the guy. Something about him was familiar. His voice was familiar…….and the insanity.

"Shhhhh!" Jaden pops up and looks around, before sliding over towards the counter and swings the big ol' box up. There's a red bow on it. "Hey, Sidekick. Didn't see you there." He flashes a smile and pushes the box over towards her. "Your uniform. I came by the 'Bucks, but you were straight Speed Racer outta' there. Anyway, I didn't have your measurements so… I had to wing it. If you need uh… changes?" He reaches up and cups his imaginary boobs to indicate what he's talking about, "Let me know. I'll have my stylist hook it up."

Again, he's turning his attention back to Cass. "What? Oh!" He reaches into his pocket as he pulls his hood down and comes out with a napkin. He gets to wiping the shoe polish off and shakes his head. "Shoe polish. No biggie." He smiles as he realizes that there's blueprints underneath his elbows. "Oh! You got it! Sweet! I wasn't sure I delivered it right. I can't ever trust myself." This probably sounds crazy. Because, well, they don't know about his SEKRIT ABILITY. Ahem. "What do you think? Cool, huh? I even put in a stereo system to bump our theme song, when we get one, during crucial crime solving moments." He's -too- excited about this.

"I…" Cass starts to say something, but she just can't. There are no words. Literally. Her poor brain, already stretched so thin is very close to just snapping into a million pieces. This is a feat, to be assured. "Mr. Cain." She looks down at the note that he mailed her and then over at the blueprints. "I…I didn't think you were actually serious. Wait. Theme song? Crime solving? What?" She just shakes her head in disbelief. "I haven't actually gotten much of a chance to look over them. I opened this up literally moments ago."

She is presented with a box. "……." Elena takes it slowly, but she's looking at Jaden like he's insane. Well, not like. IS. Still, it was nice of him to get her something. "…..Mr. Cain I haven't even…" she says. After all she hasn't even said yes to his job offer yet. And she still works at Starbucks! Plus she didn't know a THING about being a publicist, was he nut— nevermind. Crazy question. As Cass turns to talk to Jaden, she puckers her lips a little bit at the package. But curiosity gets the better of her, and she undoes the ribbon and opens the box….

…to find…..

A cape.
Boots.
And a…

She pulls out the outfit, and just stares at it a little bit. "…………" There are no words. None.

(seen here)

Jaden actually shudders. Twice. Like he just got shot by Kryptonite bullets or something. "Please… ugh…" He stumbles, grasping onto the table as he tries to hold on for dear life. Doubling over with overacting pain, he just can't help himself, "Don't… don't call me… Mr… Cain…" He coughs a little, trying to stop himself from becoming an old man. Apparently, being called Mr. or Sir is something of a weakness of his royal superness. "It's Jaden."

As he gets over his weakness attack, he glances over at Elena and smiles. "I know. You love it. Custom made, baby." He flashes a big ol' smile. "Try it on! Go go go!" He gets to waving a hand to try and shoo her off somewhere, before he turns his eyes back to Cass. "I got the whole thing planned out. We can start breaking ground as soon as you want. This is gonna' rock so my different types of Pokemon, it's not even funny." Where the hell does he come up with this stuff. He pulls out a highlighter and rolls open one of the blueprints, "I was thinking here or here for swinging bookcases." He circles a couple prime choices for locations for an entrance to the CassCave.

If Jaden were the weather, he'd be a hurricane. Hurricane Jaden Cain. Nevemind that they all have women names. Cass can't but just gape at him and his enthusiasm. It takes her awhile to find her voice again. "I…Mr….Jaden…" She's trying to get all her synapses firing at normal rate again. Finally, she takes a deep breath and steadies herself by grabbing a hold of a back of one ofher chairs. "I…look. I don't know you, Jaden. And I /really/ appreciate….Elena, don't change into that. Please. I want to be able to look at you later." Ahem. Continuing on. "Anyway, I do really appreciate your offer. But the research and clinic I want to open isn't something that can be accomplished by being an underground secret lair. It needs to be open to the public. What would be /really/ helpful is if I could just use a few rooms at your new hospital. Then I could get started right away and you wouldn't have to worry about all this building stuff."

"Hospital? What hospital? I don't have a hospital…" Jaden frowns up, trying to get his brain to remember what this girl may be talking about. Then he remembers something on Entertainment Tonight about himself and, "Oh! That hospital!" He shakes his head and raises his hands, waving them somewhat frantically. "Nonono. You don't wanna' be in there. Trust me." It almost sounds like he's creating some sort of bad medical facility. But, well, he's not really even sure what he's building, but that's beside the point. At least he's managing some sort of response.

"Alright, look. What if we like… just build you one next to here. And then, well, we can maybe just have a small sub level tunnel that runs from your facility, which will be next door, to well… an undisclosed location?" He's trying to reach a compromise here. Or something.

Cass eyes Jaden. Now that he's not quite as frantic, it's easier to talk to him. "I…I don't want to be in your new hospital? But it'll be right by all the labs and the testing. And did I mention the being able to start right away?" She frowns and looks down at the blueprints that were just mailed to her. "An undisclosed location, huh? Where is this undisclosed location?" Apparently, Cass doesn't believe in the definition of undisclosed. Or at least not in this case. "And why are you so adamant on opening it up right next door? I mean, unless your hospital is already filled to capacity, I really think it would be easier to just start up there." For once, she's a little suspicious. This is like a blessing that fell into her lap and while she's trying to make the best of it, she wants to make sure that she's not selling herself to the mafia or something.

"It's undisclosed because if I tell you and my enemies get a hold of you, after a grueling and painful torture session, they'll break you and find out there the tunnel goes and then I'll have to worry about infiltration issues. And, well, I'd rather take the fight to them, rather than actually have them showing up out of surprise." He, well, seems to be trying to tell her something without really telling her. Could be some kind of Superhero Code. "I mean, since, well, you're not going to be my Sidekick so much as you'll likely have to patch me up after my countless battles with supervillains…" He pushes away from the counter and moves over towards the wall that leads to the building next door. "What would you say if I could get that building over there, renovated and rebuilt for you in two weeks? Would that be right away enough for you?" Pause. "Make it a week. One week."

"So, what, it goes to your secret hideaway?" Cass isn't really all that dumb, but even she is saying it in a joking manner. In fact, she laughs. I mean, come on. Secret hideaways? Tunnels? Swinging bookshelves? This can't be for real. However, he seems so serious. "You're…you're being serious here. You want to actually do this? I think…I think that would be impossible to build it all in week. Look…I…I don't know why you're doing this. But the research I'm planning on doing. It's not really lucrative at all. In fact, I doubt it'll make any money whatsoever. And the equipment that's needed /is/ expensive. That's why I was hoping to get some rooms at the hospital. So I could mooch off of them." Straightening, she watches him as he paces to the wall. Crossing her arms in front of her, she's trying to figure this all out. "I'm…I just don't see why you're doing this."

She is still staring at the costume, Elena gaping at it. She had to be dreaming. She should wake up any second now. She glances at the boots…..well. THOSE she would wear. She's just not sure about the rest of the outfit. But when Cass poses her questions to Jaden, she looks up at the young CEO curiously. "She has a point," she says simply. "I mean, I don't doubt you have money to burn and everything, but what you're proposing is kind of huge. Plus….well. Not so secret. That and Cass still needs to run her business. She can't just close down for a week. Plus I think any regulars in the store would be suspicious if she puts a sign out that says 'closed for renovations' to cover up the work, only to open back up to look exactly like it was pre-renovation."

"I know a guy at Extreme Makeover. I can make it happen." Jaden's hardly even really listening. Since, well, he's too busy feeling aroundon the bookshelves and what not. He's definitely trying to figure out a way to make this happen. "Okay, okay! I got it! We'll open a clinic. Research clinic. Whatever you wanna' call it. Right next door. It just so happens that, well, you decide to work there too." He looks over his shoulder at Cass. "So the secret stuff will just have to lead directly to the clinic. That way, if I ever get beat down too much, I can like come get patched up." Jaden cracks a smile and looks around once more before setting his eyes on the bookshelf. "And with Sidekick over there handling the publicity issues, no one will ever suspect that we're a team of superheroes fighting to protect the city from the evils that lurk within." Right?

Cass nods at Elena. She makes sense. Sense is good and something that seems to be in short supply in this conversation. "I…wait…what? Did I miss something in this note where we became superheroes fighting evil?" Since she's still holding that piece of paper, she scans it again, fully expecting there to be very tiny print that says so that she just happened to miss. This is just one of /those/ days. "I'm not sure I quite understand what's going on here."

"There's a problem with that," Elena points out to Jaden. "To open a clinic, you have to have physicians. -Licensed- physicians. New York has a medical board that oversees all that stuff. It's like the Board of Bar Overseers for New York lawyers, only for doctors. Running something like that when the practitioners who run the place aren't licensed doctors is…well. Illegal." She smiles slightly. "I think that's why Cass wanted kind of a timeshare in the new facility you're funding, because all that stuff's taken care of." Including the power bills and the equipment. "It's just simpler that way." She pauses. "Though if you really want to do the secret thing, I think you can just maybe add a couple of 'secret rooms' in the hospital accessible to you and who you want to have access to it only, and put the secret entrance someplace else…someplace that's closer to the site. Like…I don't know. Buy the cafe next door to where it's going to be or something, or a diner or a restaurant. It doesn't have to be Enlightenment Books."

"But that's not FUN!" Jaden sighs and turns around, leaning back against the bookshelf and just shakes his head. "You guys are missing the FUN part of all this." He looks over at Cass and blinks. "I didn't send you the Heroic Team of Justice Memo? My bad. Basically, we three are about to save the world. Me, Sidekick and… well, whatever you decide you want your heroic name to be. Though, I guess you could just be an accomplice. If you don't really want to fight crime. Like Alfred. With boobs." Jaden looks back over at Elena, who seems to be ruining all of his plans. Not kosher. "Okay, so, we'll get some physicians. We'll take some out of the hospital. Maybe grab some Med School graduates. I went to a party once. Grey's Anatomy times a million. Hot nurses and everything." He shakes his head to focus. "Nobody would ever expect a clinic to be one of the secret entrances to my awesome lair. Which I've yet to name, but it has to be something so sweet." He frowns as he realizes something. "Why are you not in costume yet?"

That's right. Elena's finally bringing some reason to all of this. While she does want this clinic to happen, she's worried about Jaden's own motives about it. "Yes. What Elena said." She raises an eyebrow at Jaden. "Crime fighting isn't really supposed to go into the fun category. It's dangerous and…well…illegal, too. My heroic name is Cass, thank you very much. I don't need another one." She sighs and drops the note back on top of the blueprints and puts a hand on top of her head. Maybe this is to try to keep it from exploding. "And no one would suspect a secret entrance from a hospital, either."

"Fine. You know what? Fine. Arguing will get us nowhere. Just…" Jaden sighs and pushes away from the bookshelf, stomping his way over to the counter and starts snatching up his blueprints. They get stuffed into the nearest trash can with the quickness. So much quickness. "That's the last time I try to do something cool around here. Just keep your little boring bookstore. You can have your room at Hospital De Boring and I'll just find somewhere else to patch myself up when I get hurt trying to save you and your families." He starts to pulling the hood back up on his head. "Sorry I bothered you with my stupid ideas." Oh man. Now they've hurt his feelings.

"Jaden…" Now Cass kind of feels bad because he was very excited about this idea and now he looks so forlorn. Men really never do grow up, do that? Heading over to the trashcan, she plucks the crumpled blueprints out of the trash and flattens them on the counter. "Look. The clinic idea was good, but it needed to be thought through. There's a lot to think about before you execute a plan. If you're going to need to be patched up, a hospital is the best place for you to go. Not only would it be better equipped, but it will also be less suspicious." She can't believe she's giving him advice on how to be a superhero. "But if you're serious about letting me use some rooms in your hospital, I would really really appreciate it. So would a lot of other people, I hope."

"And if you really want some sort of secret ….bat cave…" Elena chimes in from where she is, propping her chin on her hand and smiling faintly at Jaden. "Well…..why don't you just have it built at your house and have the tunnel go through the rooms in the hospital you're loaning out to us? I mean, Bruce Wayne had his as part of his mansion, right?" Maybe the comparison with Batman would work since he seems to be a fan of the Caped Crusader. A sympathetic glance is cast onto Cass, but she can't blame her. Jaden -did- look forlorn, and she ….actually kinda wants to hug him to cheer him. Must be the Justin Long puppy face.

"I got it. I swear I got it!" Jaden looks like he's just gotten the greatest idea in the world. "I'll pull a Bruce Wayne and build a secret lair underneath my house! It'll be SO FREAKIN' SWEET!" There's too much going on in his wacky mind and he's sliding over to where Elena is and reaching out to touch the fabric of the outfit he brought her. "You guys are right. The hospital will be so much better. And you…" He points over Elena's shoulder as he moves behind her, his fingertip aimed directly at Cass. "… can have whatever rooms you want. How many rooms you want. Anything you want." And now it's time for the catch. "As long as she wears the costume."

"Wait isn't that what…" Cass is /pretty/ sure that what Jaden just said is exactly what Elena just suggested moments earlier. But, she's not about to correct him right now as he's cheered up again and offering her as many rooms and whatever she wants in the hospital if she makes Elena wear the costume. "I…" She looks down at that skimpy outfit and then over at Elena again. Oh, weakness. This is like the best deal ever. But, then, finally, sense comes knocking on the door again and she shakes her head, frowning at the boy billionaire. "Jaden! No! That's like sexual harassment or something. I can't make her wear something she doesn't want to wear."

Her face scrunches up. She tries. But when she sees the look on Cass's face, and Jaden's face, and the costume, Elena GROANS. Oh god. Oh god. What is she doing? She snatches the box off the counter and she gives Jaden a -look-. "Fine. I'll do it. But you better make good on this, okay? Shake on it— no. No. PINKY SWEAR on it." She holds out her hand, pinky finger extended. The pinky swear is as old as time, and just as sacred. "Promise, Jaden?" She looks him right in the eye, her face an expression of stubborn determination. She….will model the femme-Robin costume. And she will PRETEND TO LIKE IT. ….and she will cry on the inside and pretend this day NEVER HAPPENED.

"Pinky Swear? Awesome." And there's the linking of his Pinky with Elena's. It's almost like marriage or something. "This is gonna' be so sweet. Hero and Sidekick. Together. Kickin' ass. And then, when we get beat up, we go to Alfred and she applies bandaids and snuggles. Perfect." Jaden's happy as a lark and completely doesn't even realize that he may have been doing some sexual harrassment. "I swear this isn't just some evil plot to get you in a hot costume. I just wanna' make sure it fits before I get the Kevlar version made." See? He's thinking about protecting her assets more than he's thinking about those assets in the first place.

"….Kevlar version," Elena repeats. And she shakes her finger with Jaden once before she murmurs to Cass. "Dude. You're Alfred." And with that, she turns around, and walks to the backroom so she could change into the red, yellow, green, and black mostrosity in her arms. Oh my god. The things she does FOR SCIENCE. The door closes behind her.

"I'm…wait. I'm not Alfred. Why do you always try and make me the old British guys?" Cass sighs. Then, she panics a little. She feels like she's coerced her friend into doing something horrible. It's like she's willingly pimped her out to Jaden. "Wait! Elena, you really don't have to do this." But, she's already gone to change. Putting her head in her hands, she just shakes. "Kevlar version? I…Lord, what do you expect to be /doing/? In those?"

"Well, I don't really know of Nomex exists. It could just be a DC Comics thing. If it does, that'll be MUCH better, because it's also fireproof. As for the Kevlar, it'll have to be weaved in around the vital areas, so it doesn't become to heavy on her. She's heavy enough up there, if you know what I'm sayin'." Jaden thinks about telling Cass about his uncanny ability to look at women and correctly assess they're measurements, but it was only useful that one time on Howard Stern and… well.. yeah. "We're going to be fighting crime, duh. And people like to carry guns nowadays. So I figure, if we're going to do it. We might as well do it in style." He pauses and gets this weird smile on his face as he looks at Cass. "Waaaiiiiit a minute. You're jealous." He deduces. Probably wrong, but nonetheless. "You want a costume too! Hmmmm. Let's see…" He brings a finger up to his lips and looks at her, assessing the figure.

When she emerges, she is…NOT a happy camper. This is the first and ONLY time she is wearing this thing. Unless it's the boots. So she emerges from the back room, Elena stomping out and into the store and planting her hands in her hips. She's a little pink on the cheeks, probably because she's so incredibly embarassed. But she has the short skirt on, the sleeveless bodice, and the high boots. The cape is strung around her neck and she's trying NOT to look down at her neckline. She is hoping, HOPING that the next time her father does his mind-dive trick that he does NOT come across this image. EVER. "There," she grumbles. "Happy?"

Bump. Squeak. Something seems to be plastered on the window of Cass's store.

She turns around….and stares at a bunch of customers that were JUST coming from the Secret Lair, if their nerdy purchases were any indication. The Nerd Alert has sounded off. The only thing that would make it worse is if they were having an anime convention nearby.

Somewhere, God, or the Powers that Be, are pointing down from the heavens, LAUGHING.

"….Oh. My. God," she says, horrified.

"Wha…I do /not/ need a costume." Cass groans at Jaden when decides to start designing in his mind's eye. "I am not jealous. I'm fine with being regular old Cass who will do her research quietly in whatever rooms you let me have." She frowns. "You're not actually being /serious/ about this crime fighting, right?" That's because she can't really condone that…or Jaden dragging Elena right into the middle of it. Speaking of Elena, the moment that she emerges from the back room, Cass just bogles. That's the most ridiculous thing she's ever seen. And while she feels absolutely horrible for putting Elena through this, laughter starts to bubble up from her stomach. Quickly, she covers her mouth with her hand to try and stifle it, shove it back down where it belongs. But, as soon as she sees those Secret Lair customers in the window, she loses it. She doubles over and even has to hold onto the edge of the counter in order to keep herself from dropping onto the floor. "Oh God, Elena. I'm so sorry. Take it off now. Seriously," she manages to gasp out between fits of laughter.

"That's… kind of hot." Jaden has forgotten about the costume for Cass and is paying more attention to the fact that there are on-lookers. He curses himself and moves to try and stand in front of Elena! "Whoa! Hey! Secret Identity! Dammit, you're gonna' need a new costume now. This one's been tainted. They didn't see your face, did they?" He's too busy trying to look at her and how hot she is in it, as well as trying to keep her from being made as the soon to be awesome costumed vigilante… well, let's just leave this alone here for a moment. "We're gonna' need a team name. Something awesome. Any ideas?" He's pretty sure that they've agreed to this already. Even though they haven't.

She's staring at Jaden even as he valiantly flings himself between her and the window. So she doesn't have to wear this? Awesome. That was kind of sweet. In a very….dorky/geeky sort of way. "…thanks Jaden," Elena says, a half-exasperated, half-amused expression on her face. But she does look incredibly mortified still, even as Cass LAUGHS HER HEAD OFF. "Hey! What the hell? I'm whoring yourself out for your clinic and you're LAUGHING?" she demands. But despite herself, she can't help but bite back a grin. No. MUST LOOK STERN AND SERIOUS. Otherwise they'll get used to this. With that, she turns around and flies back to the backroom to change. Oh god. Oh god. Must get this off now.

Thank /God/ Jaden has forgotten Cass' costume. She's pretty sure whatever it is she will /hate/ it. After a few deep breaths, Cass manages to get a hold of herself, a giggle only escaping here and there. Then, finally, she can be serious again. "A team name?" Luckily, Cass doesn't need to change into any ridiculous looking outfits nor anything else for that matter. "Woah. Wait a second. Jaden, what you're talking about here is fighting crime and being a vigilante. That's…illegal. And not part of the solution. Haven't you read The Watchmen?" She, of course, has. Good friends working in comic bookstores have it's advantages. "I'm sorry, Elena. You're right." She offers her friend a sheepish grin, but still thinks that may have been the funniest thing she's seen in awhile.

"No. Watchmen's lame." Jaden quips before he turns back to the window and narrows his eyes at the window. There's nerds. "Hey! Shoo! Go away! Nothing to see here! WIIIILLLLLMAAAAAA!" He's hoping that will scatter those damn fools, as he turns his eyes back around to Cass. "I already got yours planned out. I'll be tricky trying to kevlar it up, but since you're Alfred, you may not need to actually participate in the fighting of crime." He flashes a smile. "Illegal? It can't be -that- illegal. Batman does it. And I'm pretty much the closest thing this city has to Bruce Wayne so…." He holds his hands out to his sides, shrugging slightly. "… I'm above the law. Right?" He flashes a big ol' RICH KID grin. "This is gonna' be so sweet. I'm… I'm gonna' be Batman." Daydream Sequence!

Cass frowns. "Um…there's not really shades of illegal. There is illegal and there isn't illegal." Oh man, this was too good to be true. She knew it. "I…no. I don't participate in crime fighting, Jaden." All she wanted was a facility to do some research and to be able to help evolved people come to terms with their powers. Why does everything have to be so…difficult? "Just because you have a lot of money doesn't make you above the law." Of course she had to get herself mixed up in some kid who wants to use his money to be a comic book hero. "You could use your money in a lot of other useful ways, you know. Donate to the hospitals, the police force, charities. You don't have to jump about in a costume."

Sadly Elena KNOWS someone who does that, and she's trying to get him to stop. She emerges from the back room, pushing her hair back as she walks over to where all of them are, folding her arms over the counter and peering at Jaden. And then she looks at Cass. "What are we talking about now?" She also sets the box down on the wood. But she's keeping the boots, damn it.

"She doesn't think I should stop crime. She thinks I should just give away all my money to charities and the police and sit at home and become a fat slob named Fred and never do anything fun with my life." is the explanation that's given to Elena, since she asked a question that clearly did not need such an answer. Still, the answer is mostly true. "Maybe we should go with black. Black would be hotter. We could do this whole Matrix thing." He pauses and looks at Cass. "OH WAIT. That's right! You don't believe in helping people! I forgot! HOW SILLY OF ME!" The sarcasm is all over each and every syllable. Each and every one. And then there's some rolling of his eyes. "This. This is why you're Alfred."

Okay, Cass wants that hospital space, but she's not about to risk her friend's life for it. And she's not going to just roll over for some rich kid who thinks he can buy his way out of anything. "No, of course, you should go out and fight crime and get shot in the face. Because that is /totally/ fun." She's not yelling. Cass doesn't really yell that often, unless she's /really/ angry. But her tone is cold. The sarcasm is given a roll of her eyes. "Yes, because by becoming a vigilante I would really be /helping/ people. Because violence really is the solution to violence." So now she's probably lost that space she wanted, but she'll find something else.

"Oh god, another one?" Wait. There's another one? Elena glances over her friend, and then to Jaden. What's with boys and running around in costume trying to save the world? That was comic book stuff. This was real life. "You're not bulletproof you know," she says, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, she's only saying what she does because she doesn't want you to get killed. I mean, kevlar can only go so far. And it's not like you can fly or have super strength or…………" She pauses. Wait a minute. She -looks- at Jaden. "….or can…you?" Oh god. Is Jaden…?

"God, I wish I could fly. That would be so sweet. I'd just be like WHOOSH! And that would be totally awesome. I'd be so super. It'd be sweet." He sighs and shakes his head. "But no. I can't fly. I can't really do… anything. It's my gift and my curse. I tried to get bit by a radioactive spider once. Didn't end well. Threw up for a week straight. So gross. Mom's got pictures." He shakes his head, not really wanting to relive the memory of all that nonsense. "I'm not… god, why do you have to be so difficult? Jesus H. Manson. All I want to do is help. But, y'know what? You're right. Fine. Forget the whole thing. Just… go ahead and do your little Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman thing and help people get over their colds. I'll go back to sitting in my big ass mansion, counting money and waiting until I'm allowed to speak my mind. Half past never." He's not going to go back on his word. And with a sudden glance at his expensive watch. "I should get going."

"I…wait…radioactive spider?" It's really hard for Cass to keep her snark going with Jaden. It's because he keeps throwing her train of thought right out of the window with just about everything he says. "I know you want to help," she sighs. It's impossible for her to keep any sort of cold tone with his haughtiness. Now it's just tired sounding. "I'm not Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. I don't have the hair. And it's not colds I'm trying to fix. It's genes." If she's going to ruin this, she might as well ruin it at full tilt. "Yeah, you can speak your mind, but so can I."

"Whatever. You want your hospital rooms, you got it." Jaden shakes his head and starts to make his way to the door. He doesn't even get the whole 'genes' thing. He's probably thinking about fashion designing or something. Which is the only kind of jeans he knows. Sighing, he looks over at Elena. "Hey. Sorry about the whole costume thing. Wish it could've worked out better." He's almost pouting and it -does- look like he's sorry. He's just made a fool out of himself for no reason. A lot of no reasons. "I'll uh… be in touch about the whole publicist thing, if you're still interested. But you might not have much to do. I think I may just take a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really. Long vacation."

"Sure," Elena says. Aw, she does feel bad. She scrawls out her digits and hands it over to Jaden. "It's the least I can do for all the help and everything. I'm….I don't really have much experience with press releases, but I can help out with that whenever you want me to look over something. We're just really really grateful that you're agreeing to loan us a few rooms in the facility." She quirks a small smile. "As for the costume thing, it's no big. I'll be laughing about it tomorrow. Just a lil' something to make my life more colorful. I'm sure when I'm sixty, I'll be looking at this memory fondly."

Curses, Jaden. Cass tries to stick to her guns because she /does/ think that she's right, after all. "Thank you," she replies to him sincerely. He looks like such a kicked puppy, that she steps forward to try and stop him before he reaches the door. "Look, there's a lot of ways to help people, Jaden. And you can even wear costumes for some of them. I just don't know if becoming Batman is the way to go." Another sigh. "If you ever need any patching up, I /will/ help." It's the oath of a doctor to never let anyone needing medical attention go untreated. "And I'll still talk to Nima for you - the owner of the Secret Lair. I can give you her number if you want."

Jaden stops. Kicked puppy was definitely in the cards. But it was also true. Not an act. But when Cass says something to the effect of something great… he gets a much bigger smile on his face. "Oh. My. Goth. You're a genius! You're a genius!" He laughs to himself and shakes his head, reaching up to rub his forehead. "I can't believe I didn't think of this before! Batman is NOT the way to go. We're in New York. Not Jersey." He reaches for the door handle and yanks it open anyway. "You guys. Stay in touch. I've just got the best idea in the whole cosmos. Seriously." He flashes a big ol' grin, pocketing Elena's number with the quickness. "Coming Soon. Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning." Oh. Damn.

"…………" The fact that Jaden has an awesome idea makes her shudder with something— no. Not something like fear. Fear. When Jaden closes the door behind him, still wearing his Mission Impossible gear with the shoe polish under his eyes a la Solid Snake, there are no words. Elena continues watching the space where the crazy CEO had been standing earlier. At least, no words save for four. "….what have you done?"

Cass blinks. Well, that certainly cheered Jaden up. If only she knew what she did. "I…what?" Jaden is out the door before she can stop him. "I…oh God, I have no idea, Elena." She frowns and looks to where he just exited. "But…I think it kind of made sense to me. God, does that mean I'm going insane?" Moving to the counter, she starts rolling up the blueprints that were left behind. No good to leave those lying about. "If you don't tell anyone I gave him his brilliant idea, I won't tell anyone about that costume. Deal?"

She grins, and flashes Cass a thumbs-up. "Deal," Elena says, propping her chin on her hand and watching the rest of the empty store with her eyes. "….let's….just never speak of this day again. But we have our space. That's one thing down, I think."

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