2007-08-21: You Need A Themesong

Starring:

Cass_icon.gif McAlister_icon.gif

Summary:

Ali comes by the labs in order to discuss her training and get some answers about Ramon.

August 21st, 2007:

You Need a Themesong


Bat Country Labs

Bat Country Labs is slowly but surely being put together the way Cass wants it to look. Boxes and books are starting to get organized, desks and chairs put in the right places. It's still a work in progress, but it's starting to look more professional. Still nothing like a lab, but less like a storage room. Cass, black framed glasses resting amidst her curly and wild hair on her head, is perched precariously on a desk pushed up against a wall. Currently, she's trying to push pins into a large sign that reads 'Welcome to Bat Country!' for everyone to read. It's harder than it looks, as the wall is not really conducive to pinning. "Gosh darnit, /stay/!"

And the smell of… is that.. it is. Coffee! And … danishes! FRESH danishes.

Diet? What's a diet? AHAHAHAH.

Ali pokes her head around the door, and starts off with, "Hey, anyone…" A blink, and coffee, danishes, and … is that a /stick/? Yes. yes it is - get set aside quickly, and she's bustling over to help. "No falling! You're the doc, not me. No broken bones, right?" The grin, though, is wide anyway.

Diet? Cass has never heard of the term. Okay, once in awhile she'll pretend like she's on some sort of diet, but that's mostly so she can get out of something her family cooks that she doesn't want to eat. Danishes never fall into the category. Ali showing up at her side doesn't startle Cass like it maybe should, but she'll take the help. "You'll get used to my falling thing," the woman grins at Ali. However, with the other woman's help, she manages to /not/ fall and break something. The poster, on the other hand, while it stays for a few moments, flutters to the ground again once there's no one there to physically hold it against the wall. With a sigh, the bookstore owner shrugs and rolls it up again. "I'll make it stay someday. Maybe I just need a lot of double sided tape. Or maybe I could just hire people to stand there and hold it up all day." With a grin, she shrugs and slides the sign into a protective tube, letting it rest against the desk. "And I'm not really a doctor. Just…a curious soul." She pauses to collect herself and then turns to Ali. "So, how are yo doing today, Ali?"

"I can think of some seriously lazy college guys who would want nothing better. Be great work for 'em." Ali grins, widely - "I. /SLEPT/." This is offered with a note of triumph. "My community service ended yesterday. I didn't have to watch the sun rise. Hallelujah, his noodly appendage has touched me, hail bob, get slack.." She winks. "And I don't have to smell hospital food. This is a serious net win."

She's heading back for the food she /did/ bring. "Cheese plain, or raspberry and cream cheese? You get stuck with one or the other - they're from Eddie's, down on a hundred-and-twenty-fifth. Yesterday's, but so what, right?"

So what, indeed! Never one to pass up free food - danishes, no less - Cass follows Ali and the smell of food. "Oh, just plain cheese is fine by me. Thanks, Ali. Haven't really set anything up for convenience down here yet. Soon there'll be a coffee machine and an entire drinking set made out of beakers and test tubes." Is she joking? The impish grin on her face doesn't show. It's the same as when she told the DJ she wanted a cheese danish. "Sleeping is good, I would definitely recommend at least six hours a night. Or during the day, if that's more your speed." Of course, with the schedule she heard that Ali takes, who knows when the woman sleeps. Now, at least, it should be easier for her. "Glad to hear it. Hospital food is something terrible." That's something she knows from experience. "No accidents?"

"No. Well, not since I broke that poor kid's arm." Cheese danish selected, and proffered. Check. So's a cup of what smells supiciously like a mocha latte. "So. Funny thing - " Ali proffers a wry grin. "This guy shows up in the Den the other day. Big guy. A little scary. Real sweetheart, though, in the end - he said you sent him. A Mr. Gomez - " There's an undertone of something much more serious. "you /did/ send him, right?"

Oooh, coffee. Something else that Cass can't turn down. Or, well, she prefers tea, but coffee is the next best thing. Pulling off the lid, the med school dropout takes a whiff and smiles. Chocolate. The question, though, raises her eyebrows just a little. She remembers telling Ramon about Ali and their arrangement to have everyone checked out before they started to frequent her labs. And, she /knows/ that Ali can make her tell the truth. But, that's not the point. "Ramon," she says, putting the safety lid back over the paper cup of coffee. "It's not…it wasn't really a /sending/." There's a frown as she thinks about how she can explain that. "It's kind of this place's version of health insurance forms. I'm sorry, but this isn't a normal lab…I'm sure you've gathered that."

"No. No.. I just wanted to be /sure/." Ali turns back for her own food - "Seriously, doc? I… call me skittish. Ever since I figured this out, there's been a lot of /strange/, and I really just wanted to be sure he was with you… and.. you know. Not with somebody else. That city council chick or the plastic cage people. Whatever." Her smile returns in full force. "You I trust. Jack likes you."

There's a wry expression on Cass' face at Ali's respone. Just the corner of one her lips quirks up into a half-smile before it returns to something more serious. "Yes. He's with me. I trust Ramon like you trust Jack." Even if Ali doesn't seem to be upset about the intrusion, the idea /does/ upset Cass a little. Should she be doing things like this? It seems underhanded. Trading privacy for safety? IS she becoming like the people she's fighting? It's all one huge moral dilemma for the woman. However, that internal struggle doesn't show at all on her face. Instead, she stirs her cafe mocha and shakes her head. "I just…I have to be careful. Because of the people with the plastic cages and who knows what else. I want to make sure that everyone who comes here is safe."

"I don't blame you." Ali wanders to a chair, dragging with her her own coffee and one of the raspberry danishes. It's a vice. "Me? I figure you should be paranoid, at least a little. Don't worry about it - besides. He's a really nice guy, and… I think I made a real friend. Don't have many of those - it's nice." She drops in that chair.

"I don't think I said anything.. you know. Bad. To make him .. do. Anything. And in the end, he left and gave me his card - I.. like him. Really nice guy. I see why you trust him."

Right behind Ali is Cass. Picking a chair opposite of the other woman, she rests her danish on her knee and keeps a hold of her coffee. "I hate being paranoid. Human beings aren't supposed to have that prey drive. Makes me feel like a rabbit in a hole or something." Funny, since they are in a basement. "He's a very nice guy. And a good friend to have. I'm glad something good came of it." And she genuinely does sound it. "That's good. That's what we're here for, anyway. To make sure you know what you're saying and how you're saying it. I've started to think up of some things to test you. But, I'd also like to go into some real detail about what was happening around you when your ability manifested in a way you didn't want it to. Most things like these are circumstantial and /very/ environmentally charged."

"See.. that's the thing. I don't /know/." Ali frowns, sipping at her coffee. Thoughtful. "I can think back and… I don't know really when I wanted it to, or if I didn't - or if it's the wanting things that makes it happen. I know the one time it really did /nothing/ I wanted was when I told one of my friends… hell if I remember exactly. I was stressed, and a little panicked, and the next thing I know she's trying to spoon."

"That's okay," Cass smiles, quickly reaching out to secure a slipping danish from her knee. It's done automatically, as she's still thinking things through, putting together strategies in her head. "We'll start with that, then. Stress. It makes sense. Abilities, evolution, mostly happens because of things like that. Those with abilities to help us survive, to make us better, those are what get passed along, those abilities get stronger and better until we have something much like we see now. It's why we started walking on two legs, why we have thumbs, how we managed to take over most of the earth." She pauses, blinking. "Okay sorry, I'll try not to do that too often. The whole speaking like I'm narrating thing. It's just a fascinating subject. As I was saying, I'm going to start putting together a series of tests to see when your ability kicks in as an instinct and not as a conscious decision."

"No - it's okay. It's interesting." Ali is quick to reassure - but, she points out, "I.. know it happened /more/ by accident. I nearly killed my roomate a few weeks ago." She takes a breath. "I got pissed off - we were arguing over a cat, of all things, and then - I told her to go take a flying leap. We live on the ninth floor, and have a terrace."

Cass' eyebrows raise significantly when she hears the story. "Right. So we'll add high emotional situations on the list as well as stress. Though, I guess, they're kind of the same thing. She's okay, I'm assuming?" Because, well, she can't imagine Ali being so calm about the situation if her roommate /had/ taken a flying leap. There's a worried tinge to her tone, though. "What I'm planning…it may get rough on you. Because I can't just /pretend/ to get you stressed or emotional. In order to make sure you know what you're doing in those situations, I've got actually /put/ you in them. I just want to…warn you of that before we continue anything."

"I'm tired of hurting people - or worse." Ali is firm - "If you have to beat the hell out of me, I don't care - if I can figure out how not to.. you know. Hurt other people. I can't keep stealing people's decisions from 'em - it's not right. Hell, the only reason Jack gave me a job is because… I think.. I … er. Told him to." She runs a hand through her hair.

"At.. the risk of sounding really lame? I'd.. kind of like to know that my friends really are my friends, you know, instead of people I've somehow managed to tell to like me for some reason. that just.. isn't right." She adds. "Most important thing, though? I have.. to find out if being on the radio is gonna end up being trouble."

Cass' eyebrows raise significantly when she hears the story. "Right. So we'll add high emotional situations on the list as well as stress. Though, I guess, they're kind of the same thing. She's okay, I'm assuming?" Because, well, she can't imagine Ali being so calm about the situation if her roommate /had/ taken a flying leap. There's a worried tinge to her tone, though. "What I'm planning…it may get rough on you. Because I can't just /pretend/ to get you stressed or emotional. In order to make sure you know what you're doing in those situations, I've got actually /put/ you in them. I just want to…warn you of that before we continue anything."

"I'm tired of hurting people - or worse." Ali is firm - "If you have to beat the hell out of me, I don't care - if I can figure out how not to.. you know. Hurt other people. I can't keep stealing people's decisions from 'em - it's not right. Hell, the only reason Jack gave me a job is because… I think.. I … er. Told him to." She runs a hand through her hair.

"At.. the risk of sounding really lame? I'd.. kind of like to know that my friends really are my friends, you know, instead of people I've somehow managed to tell to like me for some reason. that just.. isn't right." She adds. "Most important thing, though? I have.. to find out if being on the radio is gonna end up being trouble."

"I'm /not/ going to hurt you," Cass says firmly. There is a fine line of what she's willing to do in the name of science. If she starts hurting people to get results? She might as well work for the Company. "What I'm thinking of doing is asking someone to test your stress levels, turn it up a bit to see how you handle stress. See if we can find a way to make it so even /when/ you're under those circumstances you won't lose control." Smiling, she takes sip of coffee. "It's not lame. Don't worry about that. I think….being on the radio isn't going to be a problem. Just…I wouldn't recommend requests of call-ins." For now, at least.

"Yeah, you know - I tried that. I suggested talented people send in stuff - because, apparently, I'm /brilliant/." Ali rolls her eyes. "So the pile of junk I got from people that /think/ they're talented is pretty tremendous. And fun. I should bring some of the videos by - the naked duct-tape performance artist guy is a /hoot/. How I'm supposed to show /that/ on the radio? NO clue. Maybe I'm supposed to play the impassioned screaming, or something." She grins, then - "So. That little experiment didn't work. Or if it did, I couldn't tell you."

"See, your problem there is that everyone thinks they're talented." Cass smirks a little when she hears the story about the duct tape performance artist. "That I would actually see. We should make a party of it. Bad bands and artists party. We'll all dress up in bad eighties outfits, get drinks and pile up on a couch. I think it's brilliant." Finally, she picks up her danish from her knee and takes a small bite. She chews a bit and thinks. "But, honestly. I want you to tell me what you want to get out of our…if I call them sessions will you think I'm a total creep?"

"Not unless you hit on me." Ali winks, and props a leg up on the arm of the chair. Decorum, thy name is not Alyssa. "I.. " There's something she leaves out, true, but this is genuine, and carefully said. "I want to learn how to get this under control. Look. I.. I don't have a /right/ to use this .. whatever it is.. without good reason. I have to be able to be /sure/ it's not.. you know. Frivolous. I don't want to go through life just because people /have/ to do things for me, or because I'm spoiling myself rotten - it's .. I cannot /do/ that to people. I just can't. Maybe I'll find something good to do with it later - but right now? I just.. want to make sure I'm not doing /wrong/. You know?"

"Sorry, I've got a boyfriend." Cass laughs and takes a long drink of her coffee. There's a bit of a frown. "I'm going to be honest with you, Ali. I'm going to work with you and try to make sure that you /know/ what you're saying when you're saying it. But…it's never going to be an exact science. There's no magic fix for this. It's never going to go away and you're /always/ going to have to be careful about what you say." Her face is still serious. "The very fact that you /worry/ means that it's going to be less likely you're going to do something you regret. But…I can't promise you that you're always going to know. You're just going to have to trust people."

"I trust people. I don't.. sort of.. uh. Trust /me/." Ali does manage to look positively sheepish. "Cass? I was awakened to the possibility that everything I /thought/ I'd done - I .. might not have. I mean, did Randy Edwards ask me to my senior prom because he /wanted/ to, or was it because I spent a day or two dropping rather forceful hints? Howabout my roomie? She packed up /quick/ after she graduated - " She shakes her head. "Did I pass my orals on my own merits, or was it because the rating board had no choice at all? I'd like to know this stuff. The only thing that keeps me believing maybe /some/ of it's real is the fact that my ratings are getting better - and you know.. right now? I don't even know if /that's/ real."

"That's what I'm talking about when I say you have to trust people." Cass amends her statement. Smiling, she takes another bite of her danish and sighs. "What you're going through…it's extraordinary, that's true. But it's all in the realm of human experience. There are people /without/ your ability that have those /exact/ same questions about their life. Think of it as being gifted with /really/ big boobs. Now, those exact same questions can be asked. Did Randy Edwards ask you to senior prom because he liked you? Or because of your breasts? Did you pass your orals because you were smart or because the teacher was staring at your chest? You can't go through life questioning /every/ move that you make. Then you'll never get anywhere. You'll never make any choices." She sighs and swallows. "What I'm trying to tell you is that you may /never/ know. I'm going to /try/ and work with you, try and make sure you're always conscious of what you're saying but we may never get to the stage when you /never/ say anything you don't mean to."

"Well, sure. Okay. I can live with that - if I have to." Determined Ali is determined. "But I'd /really/ like to avoid having new friends wanting to take a header off of a nine story drop. That'd be nice, one way or another - and if it's coming through the radio? I need to know - that's new job territory. I can .. if I screw up, if it's one person? I can fix it. Can you imagine if I told most of New York that they should just up and move out if they didn't like it here?" She pauses. "The councilwoman chick knows what I can do - and she's Petrelli's campaign manager. This gives me the /willies. I /dj'd/ a party for her. All pump and rally for him."

That frown just doesn't go away. This is a serious discussion and there are serious people involved in it. Cass finishes the last of her cafe mocha and rests the empty paper cup on the floor by the leg of her chair. "That I can try and help you with. That's what I opened this place for. I just want you to know the realities before we start. The last thing I want is for you to come in here with unrealistic expectations. I'm going to try /everything/ I can to make sure you don't make people take nine story long dives off of buildings. But, there's only so much I can do." That's important for her to know. Then, she frowns. "Nathan's campaign manager?" It doesn't take much for her to stretch her imagination to wonder why a woman running a campaign would want to know a woman with Ali's abilities. "That's just…wrong." She frowns. She can't imagine Nathan letting something like that happen. "I'll…talk to Nathan. I'm sure he'll help."

"Yeah, well - I don't think she was planning on using me then, but I have this… vibe. You know?" Ali adds, carefully. "There's.. this other chick I know that's… sort of more of a problem. I'm going to make a point of making sure she doesn't know I'm talking to you. And I don't like it, but .. she's nice. She really is, but she's in with some people that aren't, and I don't think them knowing about.. you. Is a good thing."

Nodding, Cass munches on her danish and listens to what Ali has to say. Once her mouth is clear, she adds, "I'm a fan of going with your instincts. It's why they're there." So, she /definitely/ will talk to Nathan about his campaign manager the next time they talk. Hopefully glean some useful information that way. "I'd…appreciate it. There are people who already know about me that seem to not like the fact that I walk a different line."

"Good for them." Abruptly protective, if still grinning, Ali points out - "You should introduce me sometime. Let me talk to 'em."

She sips at her coffee - "I didn't expect I'd get on the radio and end up feeling like I'm in a spy movie. Between that and the whole spider-man-uncle-ben thing? It's been an interesting couple of months."

Cass affords Ali with a grin of her own. "Now, that's not the point." Even if she might agree with it superficially. That's not the point! Like she said. "Oooh, I think you should always pretend like you're in a spy movie. It makes every day much more interesting." She knows from experience. "Believe me, I'll agree with the last couple of months, thing."

"I should get me a themesong." Ali laughs, and hops up, then. Well. Okay. Not so much 'hops'. More, controlled lounges out of the chair and vaguely stands upright. Comfy is hard to give up. "So when do we start?"

Tilting her chin up, Cass follows Ali's ascent with her eyes. "I think you should. It really starts to bring things into focus when you've got a themesong for yourself." Grinning, she doesn't quite stand up yet. She still has a half-eaten danish balanced on her knee. "As soon as I can talk to someone to help us out." The person she has in mind is a little unable to get a hold of at the moment.

"Fair enough - call me at the station? My cell's unreliable, but I'll always grab a call from you there." Ali stuffs her hands in her pockets, that grin widening. "I know yours. Themesong. You are a Halen chick, right?"

"Will do." Cass polishes off the rest of her danish in quick order, brushing the crumbs off of her pant legs. "Halen?" Maybe she's not a Halen chick if she doesn't know what it is. "I don't know. Am I?"

"80s, huh?" Cass' eyebrow raises. She's not quite sure if she likes where this is going, but she'll go with it. "I am a sucker for The Cure. And, it's okay. I kind of fail at being a spy at any level, so it would be very fitting for me to have a spy theme that also doesn't work as a spy theme. Projects are always good." With a laugh, she stands and moves to see Ali to the door.

"I'll figure it out. I got faith." Ali grins, and looks back. "Let me know when to.. you know. Show up. Or maybe I'll just bring danishes by once in a while." A slight shrug. "And thanks, you know? I get the feeling I'm gonna be telling you that a lot."

"I do, too." Cass grins about the faith comment. "I will, don't worry. As soon as I figure out what I'm going to do." It's not easy to plan a regime, sessions with situations that have never been done before. "You're welcome, Ali. We'll talk soon." Then, she lets Ali out and moves back to try and figure out the mystery of how to make a sign that doesn't stay stay.

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