fandomhighdorms | The roof, mid- to late-afternoon on Monday

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The roof, mid- to late-afternoon on Monday

Yeah, so she'd spent a good chunk of her weekend sitting outside and staring off into space. That certainly didn't mean that she couldn't do that now, up on the roof, as long as she was dressed warmly and still made it to Caritas on time for the gig that night.

She was still seething a little about Pippi, and still trying to wrap her brain around her vision and Bel. There were things to think about.

This wasn't emo. It was thinking.

Hm. She should work on her song, some, too. . . .

[ooc: another long, slow day at work and I have 3 hours left. Open!]

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Cassie made it to the roof, poking her foot around, mopily.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey."

"What's up?" she asked.

Nadia shrugged. "Not much. I'm just thinking, you know?"

She nodded. "Me too," Cassie said.

"This is a good place for that."

"Yeah," Cassie said. "You want to talk about your thinking?"

"Pippi seems to think she's my mother. Yours?"

"I think I told Teddy it was his fault he was almost experimented on by a psychotic," Cassie said. "And I think I might believe that's actually true."

Nadia's expression went completely blank. "And how would that be his fault?"

"Cause if he'd just gone along with the registration act he wouldn't have become an enemy of the state," Cassie said.

Nadia was silent for a long moment. "Okay. I think I need to let you know that I'm not entirely certain that I can continue this conversation with you without wanting to throw you off the roof."

Cassie looked over at Nadia, startled. "It's true! Resisting only has gotten people hurt and killed! What's the point in trying to stand up for some stupid ideal if it only does bad!"

". . . you're not helping your case for not getting thrown. Are you saying that no one should ever try to accomplish something if it's going to be hard? That, oh, say, Mahatma Gandhi should have just left well enough alone and left the Indians to be ruled by the British as second class citizens?"

"Ghandi wasn't fighting for the right for stupid secret identities!" Cassie said. "And there's no way you can take me."

"Yeah, I think I have to end this conversation, now. Because whether I can take you or not, I'd rather not actually try, since I don't want detention or expulsion and I have a gig tonight."

"Well, at least I now know you're a bitch awake as well as asleep," Cassie said, crossing her arms and turning her back to Nadia.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Nadia finally exploded. "Are you listening to yourself? You're honestly saying that it's Teddy's fault he was essentially tortured because he refused to compromise on his ideals? Dios, what is wrong with people lately?" She jumped to her feet and started pacing. "Have you ever been experimented on, Cassie? Have you ever been locked into a laboratory and had things injected into you that made your body react in ways beyond your control, no idea why or how or what might be planned next or when the agony will end. . . . No one deserves that. No one. And the only person whose fault it is, ever, is the sick freak who's doing the experimenting. Got it?"

"He wasn't actually," Cassie said. "And you know what? I don't need to know what it's like to be experimented on. I've been kidnapped or almost kidnapped by more than enough screwed up freaks to know that kind of fear. And you know what? It was specifically because everyone knew my dad was a superhero that this happened. And I still think we shouldn't be allowed to hide. Because we have to give up that freedom so that we can catch the freaks who want to hurt people, the freaks who killed my dad!"

Yeah, she was shouting while crying, at the end there.

"Yeah?" Nadia was shouting back. "How? How does putting yourself and your loved ones in danger by letting the world know that you're a superhero help you catch bad guys?" She stalked right up to Cassie now. "There are reasons for secrets, Cassie. To protect yourself, to protect your country and your family, to keep them from the hands of people who will use them against you."

Never argue secret identities with a spy.

"And what about the six hundred people that died when Nitro blew up in Stamford? How were they protected?" Cassie asked.

"How would they have been any safer if everyone went around announcing who they were? Do you think bad guys are going to go around with a card saying 'hi, I'm a villain, planning to do evil things and kill lots of people'. Shit happens, every minute of every day, in every universe. And some of us have the ability to make less shit happen, and to do that, we have to have secrets. It's just a fact."

"You have no fucking idea what you're talking about!" Cassie said.

"You don't know the first thing about me. And you obviously don't know a damned thing about secrets. I told you I didn't want to have this conversation. I told you it would only make me mad. And frankly, I've had about enough of that. Go. Away."

"I have just as much right to be here as you!" Cassie said.

Nadia was tempted to point out in a juvenile way that she was there, first, but decided against it. "Fine." She strode for the door, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides.

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The roof, mid- to late-afternoon on Monday

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