ArchivedLogs:Better Options

Better Options
Dramatis Personae Gabriel, Jackson, Micah
In Absentia	23 December 2013 Gabriel's abilities aren't treating him so well...
Location <NYC> Village Lofts - Rooftop - East Village
It tends to be windy, up here, but the presence of plastic table and folding chairs suggests that nevertheless building residents occasionally make their way out to this rooftop. With a good view of Tompkins Square Park less than a block away it's a good spot for city-watching. There's a railing around the edge, though it might be possible (if /unwise/) to climb over it to the narrow concrete ledges beyond and from there to the fire escape. Centrally, someone has broken down crates and constructed a small raised-bed garden up here, barren in winter but filled in three other seasons with a small assortment of herbs and vegetables. The concrete wall that rings the roof has been decorated, painted in vivid bright shades by some artistic hand to add colourful cheer to the rooftop. The mural shifts in terrain One wall sports a beach, flecked with grass and seashells and driftwood and shore birds. Beach transitions into meadow, colourful with wildflowers and butterflies and dragonflies; meadow shifts into snow-capped mountains, subsides into piedmont and sprouts into a verdant forest on the fourth, alive with animals. Tonight in NYC, it's been raining. Whilst it isn't at the moment, it is cold and damp, and the weather is in overcast at the time. Standing on one of the ledges of the roof is Gabriel, looking down at the city below and breathing softly. He's looking unhealthy, being much skinnier than usual, pale in color, and having blood on his nose and face. Another noticeable fact is that he keeps vibrating back and forth, shifting in and out of space without moving. Dressed in a t-shirt and pants, with socks, completely terrible for the weather, Gabriel just keeps staring down, a note sticking out of his back pocket, as he takes another deep breath. It's cold and damp and kind of dark but Jax brings /with/ him a wealth of light and warmth, very /brightly/ glowy when he steps out onto the roof. He's not dressed like he's planned to be out here for long -- or maybe he's pared down his clothes /just/ in case any of them light on fire. Just a Rainbow Brite t-shirt and faded old jeans, rainbow hoodie in his hands though he leaves this on one of the wooden poles in the garden. The light coming from him is almost too bright to look at, and gets only brighter as it shoots upward. For a moment the sky over the apartments is lit brilliantly as though it is daytime; the light explodes into a dazzling /shower/ of firework-like sparks, colourful and trailing ribbons of bright light before they fade. Jax's clothes have at least survived intact, the glow under his skin fading down to a mellow pale light as he picks his sweatshirt back up, now shivering where he wasn't before. "Okay. Okay wow -- oh, wow, sorry." He only /now/ notices Gabriel once the fireworks have passed, dipping his head sheepishly and starting over towards the other man. "Hey, honey-honey, how're -- you don't look like you're feelin' so good, oh gosh. Is everything okay?" The door to the roof remains ajar, just a crack, after Jax exits. Micah stays behind, peeking through the space held open by his prosthetic foot, holding a fire blanket in his arms /just in case/. It has been a long day, but he's finally dressed in not-work clothes, his Doctor Hooves T-shirt, faded jeans, sneakers, and mussed hair intended for relaxing at home. And...maybe a little fire prevention detail. He steps through the door when the light show ends, blanket held out in his hands like a parent with a towel, waiting to wrap up a small child getting out of the bath. “Hey, hon. That was actually...really pretty. Any singein'? Need a pat-down?” Moving closer, he notices Gabriel only when Jax speaks to the other man. “Oh...hey, Gabriel, hon. Maybe y'shouldn't be that far out there when it's all rain-slick this high up, yeah?” As Jax speaks to him, Gabriel turns his head over, body still vibrating on and off, showing immense discomfort and pain. The blood drips all from his nose to the bottom of his face, showing he's been bleeding quite a bit, as he sighs. "Hello Jax. I'm not okay.". He turns back looking over the alley, sighing again. "I'm dying. Mutation's out of my control, doing me in. Don't have long. A day at best before my systems collapse, I'd say.". Gabriel glares down to the ground before, steadying his feet as he inches closer, precariously. "But I'm not going to let it kill me.". Gabriel remains calm, as he points his hand down to the ground below. "I'm not going to suffer through this. I'm going to deny it that right.". He cracks another sigh, before looking towards them. "So...you might not want to be up here.". "Thanks," Jax says with a quick smile to Micah; still shivery perhaps as much from the /abrupt/ expenditure of energy as he is from the actual weather, he's more than happy to be wrapped up. "Think my sleeves got a little singey but I'm alright. -- Whoa. /Whoa/." He's suddenly forgotten the blanket, actually, hurrying over towards the wall. "Hey -- hey. Honey-honey --" There's clear concern in his tone. "How do you -- how do you know that for sure, sweetie, there's -- have you been to a doctor? You know, down at the Mendel Clinic they got /real/ good doctors, whole medical center /just/ for treatin' folks like us, you don't gotta --" He draws in a slow breath. "And school, too, Gabriel, you /know/ they know lots about mutants there, did you even -- call Dr. McCoy or nothin'? We can -- how about you come down here an' we can figure out some other options for you, aright?" "'Welcome, sugar," Micah returns with a quick nuzzle against Jax's side as he wraps the blanket tight around him. He's still holding on when Jax hurries off, and rather than thinking to /let go/, he just hop-jogs alongside him. "Gabriel...come on down an' we can try an' get you t'somebody /right now/. I can drive y'out t'the school. Or maybe Dr. Saavedro's free an' could swing by. He's done emergency house calls for us before... Y'gotta let us /try/ t'help before just acceptin' that this is gonna kill you, hon." He frowns at the blood on Gabriel's face. "If y'step down, I can take y'right inside an' try t'control some of that bleedin'. Get y'dried off an' warmed up." Gabriel shakes his head, without even looking behind him. "Because my power's almost killed me before. I was young, just discovered it. So, as any child with something like super-speed would do, I abused it. Almost died, it was tearing my body apart. That's what happens when you break the laws of physics.". Gabriel sighs again, looking towards them, still shifting. "It started yesterday. I tried calling for help, phone slipped from my hand. Was barely able to get up here. I've lost a lot of blood. There's a lot more in my apartment.". Gabriel laughs, though it's not really a happy one. "To be frank, McCoy was the one I was going to call. But I don't know if I'd make it. What if you guys can't help me? What if I just die anyways? It seems easier this way. More practical." "That's -- that's a whole lotta what ifs, honey-honey, an' any one of them the answer could be that we'll find a solution an' you'll get to have a long an' happy life. But you do this now that's the end of options. Ain't no chance of anything anymore. It's --" Jackson draws in a breath, looking from Gabriel downwards, and then back up. "I know it's scary. My own power, Gabriel, it's -- it's /dangerous/, and it's near killed me a few times now. But there's options, there's people who know what they're doing and I know they'd want to try an' help. Micah's got a car, we can' take you in straightaway to try an' get this under control." “That's exactly it, honey. You've survived this before. An' y'/don't/ know what'll happen. There ain't no sense doin' this if there's a chance we can help it, hon. If y'ain't even /been/ to a doctor yet. There's still so many options.” Micah's fingers clench tight fistfuls of the fire blanket that is wrapped around Jax. “Y'can't just give up before we get a chance t'try, honey. Let us try.” "But..". Gabriel looks at them again, and then looks back down off the ledge. It seems as if he's about to jump. But instead, he is shifting, slowly getting himself off the wall, sighing. "You're right. I can't give up. If I die, I die, but..I've never been one to give up, why now..?". He approaches them, sighing. "I just hope you're right.". Jax is shivering still beneath the blanket, and his weight sags faintly back when Gabriel gets back down. "Okay. Okay, sugar. Let's get you to the Clinic straightaway, I'll call Io an' see if he can't make an emergency appointment." He slowly extricates a hand from the blanket, starting to reach towards Gabriel but stopping, uncertain of how /safe/ touching him in this state is. "S'there anything we can get for you, might make this easier?" Micah holds his breath as Gabriel shifts, not realising he has done so until the man steps back onto the roof and it comes rushing back out of him in quick sigh. “Good...good, hon. We're gonna figure this out. What could help? Gettin' a blanket 'round you? Some water? Some cloths for your mouth an' nose?” He finally releases his grip on Jax's blanket and moves forward to shepherd the other man toward the door. “You okay with me puttin' an arm around your shoulders or a hand on your back, honey?” "That'd be nice, yeah, thanks.". Gabriel's still shaking, as he nods to Micah, before turning to Jax. "If you could call my parents..they're probably worried. We were supposed to chat yesterday about Christmas and I missed their calls...I can give you the number, but I can't dial it myself.". Gabriel also nods when Micah offers to give him some assistance, and if Micah does, he'll feel Gabriel shaking. Gabriel's still corporeal, but he's moving fast enough that it's almost super-speed, vibrating immensely. "This Dr. Saavedro...is he good?" "He's good, yes. He's been helpin' out down at the school for a bit now even before the Clinic opened. Helped out a lot of kids there." Jax walks ahead of the others, blanket still draped around his shoulders. He holds the roof door open for Gabriel and Micah as he pulls out his phone. "'course, honey-honey. You can talk t'them an' I'll call Doctor Saavedro and. We'll see what we can do about gettin' this worked out." Micah wraps his arm around Gabriel, supporting under his arms to let him lean as hard as he needs while they walk--regardless of whatever level of buzzing comes from the other man. "We'll get you all cleaned up an' wrapped up in a warm blanket. Jax'll make your calls an' we'll go straight t'the van an' out t'the Clinic, okay? The doc's amazin'. He's done all kindsa work with special abilities, an' he was one of the folks as figured out that whole zombie plague. Helped come up with the cure. He's good at comin' up with answers fast for unusual things. There's some hope in this yet, honey." He guides Gabriel through the door back into the building and onto the elevator, aiming for their apartment. Gabriel nods towards them, sighing. "I hope we can work this out. I don't feel like I have long.". With Micah's aide, he heads through the door. "If I can help it, I'm not going to die.".