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Post by skybright on Dec 22, 2007 0:04:47 GMT -5
"Oh. . ." Marla laughed nervously. "I . . . um . . . well . . . I hadn't really thought about it much. Play cards, listen to the radio . . .
"I'm not a very interesting conversationalist, but . . . well, we could . . . talk, I suppose. Uhm . . ." She flushed.
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 22, 2007 0:11:40 GMT -5
Nate chuckled. "Well, if you're expecting my life story, I hope you don't get bored easily." He grinned. "Cards, though... that could get interesting. I've been learning some new tricks from my dad's... er, right-hand man. From both of his right hands--not that that helps me much."
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Post by skybright on Dec 22, 2007 0:21:24 GMT -5
Marla smiled and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Well, I'm not a professional or anything. But Mother learned all sorts of games on-set, and she taught me most of them when I was a child." She ducked her head sheepishly. "I . . . haven't played with anyone but Marcus in an awfully long time."
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 22, 2007 0:29:39 GMT -5
"In the Army, a lot of times me and the other guys didn't have anything else to do but play cards," Nate recalled with a nostalgic grin. "That's some kinda life--weeks of boredom and strict routine, punctuated by a few minutes of stark terror every now and then."
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Post by skybright on Dec 22, 2007 0:36:07 GMT -5
Marla smiled. "Do you . . . do you miss it? Being in the Army?"
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 22, 2007 0:42:24 GMT -5
"Oh, I... I haven't gotten to that point yet." Nate shrugged. "It's only been a couple of months since I cut loose. Besides--life in the world of underground mutant warfare might as well be the same thing. The routine isn't any different just because my superior officer is my dad."
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Post by skybright on Dec 22, 2007 0:54:58 GMT -5
Marla grinned. "No . . . I guess it wouldn't be."
Then she sobered slightly and glanced out the window. "Don't take this the wrong way, but . . . I'd rather this trip be the boredom and routine rather than the terror. If I had to choose."
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 22, 2007 22:40:05 GMT -5
Nate chuckled grimly. "Trust me, nobody wants the terror part. It's just part of the job sometimes... but it's worth it when you see how you can really make a difference in the world."
He shrugged. "As for this little getaway, I'm fine with it being on the quiet side, myself. This is no kind of situation where I want any trouble. One-on-one against the bad guys is one thing--but not when you've got a civilian to protect."
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Post by skybright on Dec 22, 2007 23:08:06 GMT -5
Marla grinned shyly and ducked her head. "You know, it's funny, but I've never thought of myself as a civilian before." She said, "I suppose I never thought I'd be in a situation where there were anything but civilians."
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 22, 2007 23:40:17 GMT -5
Nate grinned. "Hey, I've never thought of myself as a civilian either--in a totally different way. Having an Army dad, you sort of feel like you were born military." He shook his head wryly. "The funny thing is that technically, I guess I am a civilian now. I don't think I'm ever gonna feel like it, though. Especially in the middle of all this--and especially with Dad in charge."
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Post by skybright on Dec 22, 2007 23:48:24 GMT -5
Marla laughed. "Well, I guess there's still a big difference between all of you and regular people -- I-I mean civilians." She said quickly, flushing.
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 23, 2007 0:00:36 GMT -5
Nate glanced sideways at Marla. "I used to think I knew what 'regular people' were. But that was before I manifested, and I found out my dad was still alive and fighting a secret war, and all the rest of it."
He smiled sadly. "Now I've given up thinking there's any such thing as regular, or normal, or ordinary. We're all human--and that means, one way or another, every mutant and mundie in the world is as different from the rest of their own kind as they are from the other."
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Post by skybright on Dec 23, 2007 0:09:18 GMT -5
"I . . . kind of like that thought, actually." Marla smiled and gazed out the window. "It explains thing a little."
She laughed. "You know, I don't think I've ever known an ordinary person -- growing up around actors certainly didn't help that, I guess."
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 23, 2007 0:26:22 GMT -5
"I guess I still don't know what you mean by ordinary," Nate said with a chuckle. "But I guess... the guys I served with were as close to it as you can get. They kept a sense of humor, even when things looked rough. They missed their families. And they believed in what they were fighting for."
He frowned. "I don't know how any mutant who has known un-powered people--or, gosh, who remembers being one--could ever really want to hurt them. How they can forget that we all just want the same things."
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Post by skybright on Dec 23, 2007 0:34:15 GMT -5
Marla shook her head. "I don't understand that any better than I understand humans who want to hurt mutants for what they are." She said quietly.
She smiled wryly at Nate. "But then, I . . . I never was very good at understanding people."
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 23, 2007 0:53:46 GMT -5
"That's always been a little strange to me, with--uh--people with your kind of talents." Nate looked bemused. "It always seemed to me like people who could get inside other people's heads ought to know all the answers. I mean, maybe not in the sense of knowing all the facts in the world, but... just understanding exactly why a person does the things they do--even if that person doesn't understand it himself--and knowing the right way to respond to it. I used to think..." He shrugged. "I used to think somebody who could do that would never have to be afraid of anybody."
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Post by skybright on Dec 23, 2007 1:04:04 GMT -5
Marla bit her lower lip and turned her head to gaze out the window. "I guess maybe people like Marcus don't have to be." She said quietly. "I . . . it's not quite like that, with me."
Marla shrugged uncomfortably. "I'm not as strong as my brother is." She explained, clasping and unclasping her hands nervously. "I can't really . . . hear or see what's deep down in a person unless I know them already. With strangers . . . all I hear is what's on the surface. Sometimes not even that, if they think quietly enough."
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 23, 2007 1:08:11 GMT -5
"Oh. Well..." Nate grinned. "That's kind of reassuring, actually. I've got things in my head that I don't exactly want getting around."
He considered. "So did your brother tell you anything about my trick?"
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Post by skybright on Dec 23, 2007 1:13:01 GMT -5
Marla turned away from the window and shook her head, looking relieved to be off the subject of her own mutation. "No, but," She grinned crookedly, "He did say you weren't 'nearly as explosive' as your father. Marcus' words, not mine."
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Post by Jordanna on Dec 23, 2007 1:35:18 GMT -5
Nate chuckled. "Yeah, Dad... he's what they call an energy caster. I'm not exactly as showy as he is. I just--sort of have a shadow that can take off on its own. I can show you later."
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