[Fiction] Dreams Reborn

[Warren Verona]

With a loud echo loose rubble and wreckage fell on to a pile that rested upon one of several sturdy drop cloths. Warren hardly had the energy to stand but he continued to work, shoveling up smaller piles in Club Babylon’s first floor restaurant and bar. To look at it one would not recognize it from the tattered ruins of a few weeks ago.

The floor, barring the tarps, was immaculately clean. The walls were patched in most places, sanded and ready for paint. The bar was completely broken down and a new area had been chalked and outlined for the installation of a new one. Everywhere through out Club Babylon the look was similar. Every nook and cranny was cleaned and waiting for the removal of the debris and insertion of all new furniture.

He was dedicated to rebuilding Babylon, taking only short breaks and going on little or no sleep. His meals had been so infrequent that his nova metabolism had begun cannibalizing itself again giving him an obvious weary and death-like appearance.

From a counter top behind where the bar was supposed to be a continuous beeping sounded even over the blaring radio playing 2016s latest selection of hard rock.

“Yeah?” Warren answered, his voice shallow and parched.

“It’s all set Mr. Verona. A warehouse at the harbor now contains everything you requested.” Marcus paused for a moment. “Quite an assortment, but I assure you all of it is the finest available.”

A pleased look crossed Revenant’s rather weary face. “Excellent Marcus, again, thank you.”

“Always a pleasure dealing with you Mr. Verona.” His accented voice held so much refinement that Warren could almost see his smile.

The line clicked to a close and Revenant set his phone down on the counter.

From the center of the room a blue hazy gate began forming…

[OOC Note: Revenant's ‘death look’ is measured by his quantum pool. The less he has the more ‘zombie-like’ he appears. With his lack of rest and expenditure of quantum and not enough ‘rest’ to acquire more he is feeling relatively drained at this point. He is currently at 6/39 quantum. And it shows.]

[Long]

Long stepped through the fully materialized gate and smiled to Revenant. "Good to see you Revenant. I trust everything is in order."

He looks around the room at the piles of debris and can easily tell the room is in much better shape than it had been. "You've been very busyy today. I'm at your disposal."

He looks around the room again and nods. "My wife will join us when she is finished, and do not worry she knows all personal grudges and other nonsense are checked at the dor. We're here to help rebuild this place, everything else can wait until another time."

"Would you like for me to begin ferrying the supplies here or is there something else that needs attention first?"

[Warren Verona]

Taking a break from his trademark leather pants and duster, Revenant stood behind ‘the bar’ in high top Nikes and black eufiber jean shorts. His belt buckle however seemed to remain. His shirtless form began moving towards the new arrival, raising one hand to push his hair out from his field of view.

“Well. The Long.” Warren speaks while approaching the giant tiger-nova. “I can’t say we’ve ever been properly introduced. We’re on reputation alone at the moment.” He extends his hand to greet Long. “I am called Revenant, but my friends call me Warren. You may call me either, by just the merit of showing up here and offering you assistance, you’ve gained a measure of my respect. The rest you’ll gain through word and deed. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

[Long]

Long takes Revenant's hand in a firmhandshake and smiles. "I'm a m glad that we didn't meet across the field of battle. That would not have been a good experience."

He shrugs and turns his head to the right. "Velvet is a nice person, she deserves to see her dreams reborn." He looks back to Revenant. "Who else is joining us tonight?"

[Warren Verona]

"We will have Procyon, Singularity, and since I doubt a single one of us men have any taste, Carver will be acting as our interior advisor. Of course, your wife as well."

He released Long's hand, and although would probably never admit it, was rather impressed both by Long's aura of power and his mannerisms.

Looking around, Warren tried to find a good place for them to start. "Uhh, well, until everyone else arrives, I suppose we can try to get these drop cloths out of here. They're prolly about three to four hundred pounds apiece so I can only lift em about one at a time, I have a dump truck rented in the alley that we can carry em to."

[Long]

"That sounds like a plan then." with that Long begins carefully picking up the frop cloth nearest to him, careful to keep the contents from falling out.

With an ease born from quantum fires Long hefted the bag up and carried it out to the dump truck. This was repeated several times as Long and Revenant waited for the others to arrive.

Long looked to Revenant and nodded. "She's going to appreciate this alot you know. In the end this just goes to show how special she is."

He shrugs as he continues. "To help her, novas from all walks of life are putting aside their differences, their grudges, everything. If that isn't special I can't tell you what is."

He goes back to work, hauling out some of the last cloths and then looking around for something else.

[z-Carver]

Carver slips into the room, entering from the basement. Cradled in her arm is a strangely-shaped package, and she immediately clears a spot on the bar for it. As she unwraps the package and sets the lawn gnome on the counter, she says, "There's a bum name Oliver sleeping in the basement. He's a veteran and had a hard life, so would whoever kicks him out be gentle?"

"You brought... a lawn gnome," Revenant states, his voice carefully neutral.

"You want results?" Carver asks briskly, pulling a cigar out and lighting it. She sets the cigar down so that the gnome is wreathed in the smoke. "Then you let me use my methods."

Turning back to the room, she crosses it to give the tiger-man a hug. "Long, it's been too long. How is Timeslip, and the rest of your family?"

"Good, good," Long says, "everyone is a little edgy because of Procyon's speech. But everyone is safe."

Carver nods, Long's unspoken dialogue coming through. "I have to say I'm glad I'm several hundred miles from Procyon now," she admits. Giving Long a dazzling smile, she adds, "You knew I've moved in with Mythic, right?"

"You two gonna talk all night?" Revenant grumbles.

Carver shoots him an irritated glance, then says, "Long, do you know Renee?" She indicates the yard gnome. "And this is Revenant, the mad mastermind behind this plan."

"He is as you say," Renee mutters, as the other two men watch her turn to the statue and nod.

"So, Renee, what can you tell me about this place?" Carver asks him, looking around the room. "What do we need to get for it?"

When he doesn't stop talking about a minute, she grabs scratch paper and starts writing.

[Warren Verona]

In wide eyed wonderment Revenant stands directly to the side of Long. With an eyebrow arched high enough to touch the sun, the slack jawed confusion set upon Warren's face makes the moment picture perfect. He rises up on his tip toes and mumbles from the side of his mouth in Longs direction. "Does it disavow travel myths too?"

Stifling a grin, Long turns away from the lawn gnome and Carver. "We have two left Warren, lets let her do what she needs to do."

"Right. Whatever that is..." He mumbles some more, still absolutely mind boggled.

With immense strength Long hefts up a tarp holding it over his shoulder effortlessly as Warren tugs his rather slowly behind him.

While dragging his tarp past Long he grunts out. "Show off."

[Long]

"You asked that I keep things low-key. I could have simply opened a warp inside and had it open above the truck, but that would look a little off wouldn't it?"

He shrugs. "Besides Revenant, sometimes it does one good to work with their hands. Yes, I have easier methods of doing things, but I think it will be more rewarding this way."

[GDP_ST]

Procyon falls from the sky, a golden streak of light and warmth that seems to banish the concrete gloom of the cityscape. Wearing the same open white shirt and white trousers he was wearing for the press, he alights on the sidewalk with consummate grace, going from blurring speed to a gentle feather-light landing in the blink of an eye. Barefoot, he steps over to the entrance of the ruined club and into the relatively dark interior, his swirling golden aura illuminating the denuded main room in softly flickering and shifting patterns of sunlight.

"Hello?" the glowing Terat called, his voice echoing beautifully in the large open space. Stepping in further, he spotted Carver scribbling feverishly at her notepad and, noting her extreme concentration, didn't disturb her. Instead, he smiles broadly as he pads over to Revenant and Long, noting that the two of them are hard at work.

As he draws nearer, he takes a good look at Revenant. It is the first time he has laid eyes on the nova whilst he was conscious, and the solar godling is more than a little curious to meet the face behind the acerbic chatroom speech.

"Long, good to see you again." Procyon says as he falls in beside the two novas. "And you have to be Revenant. A pleasure to meet you." Procyon extends a hand, unsure if the pallid man will take it as his sapphire eyes lock onto the vivid yellow orbs of the other.

[Timeslip]

An hour into the task, Long cocked his head, looking thousands of miles past the quizzical looks of the other laboring novas. With a nod, he said, “She’s ready. Just a moment.” A small gesture from his clawed hand, and a swirling rift in space opened from a pinpoint at the end of the demarked area for the bar… and through it stepped the exotic and disturbing stars-on-midnight form that could only be one person.

“Thank you, love,” Timeslip said, her whispery voice, echoing slightly out of synch with the now, sending slight shudders up a handful of spines. The warp closed behind her, and she turned her head, taking in both the surroundings and the company in one smooth gesture.

“Carver, good to see you again,” she offered to the candy-striped nova with a nod. “Procyon…” she started, and finally settled for another nod rather than further words directed toward the controversial luminary. The word she had received back from Count Orzaiz on the topic of the golden nova and his remarks earlier in the day had been pretty clear, and not unexpected: watch and wait. “And you must be Revenant. As this effort is being handled at your direction, I’ll need you to show me what things were valued… though I can already see one of them.”

Turning to the back of what had been the bar, Timeslip walked carefully past the markings and material over to a nearly empty frame: the massive mirror that had once backed the rows of alcohol. Her starlight reflected faintly from the remaining shards, and she reached out, both to the mirror and to the small eddy in the stream of time it called its temporal home. By sheer force of will she grabbed hold of that slight flow… and sent it rushing back along its course. More shards appeared in the frame; a few at first, then dozens and hundreds in a massive rush that presented a spider-webbed whole… and then the crazy quilt of cracks disappeared, and the mirror was once again whole. She considered taking it back farther, removing all the patina of age from the silvered backing, the tiny nicks that had formed over years of use, but thought better of it. This is the mirror she knew; leave it as such. The disturbing nova released her grip from the temporal stream, and the mirror was whole once more.

Turning back toward a now-slack jawed Revenant, she simply said, “Show me more.”

[Warren Verona]

“Well, given the size of the new one, we should probably bring it in through the front door. It is in sections right?” Long asked as he and Revenant went over e original floor plans of Club Babylon that was tacked to the wall for everyone’s use.

“Yeah, three sect-“ Warren started.

"Long, good to see you again." Procyon says as he falls in beside the two novas. "And you have to be Revenant. A pleasure to meet you." Procyon extends a hand, unsure if the pallid man will take it as his sapphire eyes lock onto the vivid yellow orbs of the other.

“Well pretty boy decided to show up.” Warren gives Procyon a once over, taking in his white clothes worn to a construction site. For reasons known only to Revenant there seemed to be sort of obvious disdain for Procyon, and it came through with every word, look, and gesture. For a small moment that seemed far longer, Long watched the two men, one with his hand extended in an attempt to be cordial. He prepared himself in case Revenant did something he’s have to make him regret. “Glad you made it.” Revenant says, slamming his hand into Procyon’s wrist locking them tightly. “I… appreciate it, she’ll appreciate it, I mean.”

Yep, and you’ll prolly get another date out of too, must be awesome to be you.

“We have the floor plans posted on each floors.” Revenant starts, trying to clear his mind from wanting to just deck Procyon. “It’ll help us with the arrangements of furniture and whatnot.” The segway was completely out of context and, obviously Revenat was trying to dodge having to speak with Procyon any longer than he had too. “We have a few drop cloths in the VIP Club down stairs and also in the Night Club upstairs. Once we get all the debris out of here we’ll start bringing in furniture and hopefully by then Carver and David the Lawn Gnome will have something for us.”

*****

After finishing the debris the three men leaned against the walls waiting for Renee the Lawn Gnome to share with Carver the secrets of the universe. She was well on her way to needing more paper but Carver just sat and diligently continued to play scribe to… a lawn ornament.

“She is ready. Just a moment.” Long speaks up from in an apparently random thought.

“Bout damn time, now we can get some work done.” Revenant says, pushing off the wall and walking towards Carver, who is really not paying them any mind. Procyons hand on his shoulder stops him.

“I do not think he was referring to Carver, Revenant.” Procyon points Revenant’s attention to the warp gate formed in the center of the room.

The spiral infusion of quantum opened slowly into a vacuum that formed a levitating cone within the room. A moment later the shapely form of the star-scaped Timeslip stepped through.

Ahh, fuck. I forgot he was married to Tammy Taint. I remember her from the Pow Wow, this chick hates me.

“Procyon…” she started, and finally settled for another nod rather than further words directed toward the controversial luminary.

Heh, that’s gotta be awkward.

“And you must be Revenant.” Her sudden attention on him snaps him from his sarcastic thoughts.

“Uhh, yeah, than-” He begins to say, his nether worldly voice creating quite the eerie symphony when mixed the eched whispers of her own, but Timeslip continues on.

“As this effort is being handled at your direction, I’ll need you to show me what things were valued… though I can already see one of them.”

And a miracle happens. Revenat watches as the mirror reforms and reshapes. The glass forms and then finally the cracks that exist within each piece meld themselves into a whole.

“Show me more.” She requested, but Revenant didn’t hear her. He walked forward in a state of surreal bewilderment until he made it to the mirror.

He reached out and touched it, almost as if it would disappear any moment. He traced the outlines of the frame, and even the glass. The four novas stood behind them, their images obvious in the mirror yet he didn’t notice. He completely enraptured by the deed that had just taken place. Even Carver took a break from her note writing to see what why this mirror was causing such a scene.

“She, bought it at an estate sale.” Warren began, they could almost hear the crack in his voice. “It’s two hundred years old. It-” He stammers for a moment, before resting his head gently on the base of the frame. “It was the one thing I couldn’t replace.”

Thank you.

There are times, and places, when it’s obvious to leave a man alone with his thoughts and emotions. This was apparently one of those times as the four novas looked on with an almost awkward silence. He had no smart ass comment, no witty attack, or macho retort.

The time was right, but the man wasn’t. Realising that he was lost in a moment he quickly composed himself (as best he could in his weakened physical and emotional state) and spun around to face them.

“Uhh… wow. That’s heh… handy.” He stated, pulling up his shorts a bit as they continued to slip over his near mummified looking hips.

He looked at Carver, trying not to make eyes contact with anyone who was quite aware that his hard exterior was in the process of re-energizing. “So. Got anything for us?”

[z-Carver]

"Umm..." Carver pulls out a piece of paper with a rough drawing on it and rips it up, setting it aside. "Sure. I've broken up the different things that Renee has ever so charmingly told me. Anyone speak French?"

"Yes," Procyon answers, taking a step forward.

Carver blinks as if seeing him for the first time. "Procyon. It's been a while," she says with a smile. "I'm glad you speak French, because I need you to translate all the French phrases on these sheets of paper. Renee is great, but his English is so-so."

Carver begins to set out the paper in small piles, naming each one as she puts them down. "Chandeliers: there's instuctions on how and where to hang them, and how they were orginally wired. Statues: a description of each and where they were placed, including orientation. Tapestries: a description of each and where they were hung. The fireplace: Revenant's got the black marble - it needs to be hung and polished.

"Now, we come to the hard parts," Carver continues, holding up her last two piles. "First, the counter. Revenant has the mahagoney for the bar, but the Assyrian lions will have to be hand-carved. Probably my job, except that we have another problem which I might be needed for: the murals. They were done by a... Wesley Millon. He doesn't live in Chicago anymore, so maybe Long should go get him; his address is in with the description of the murals. But if we can't get him, or if he's unwilling to redo the work, the best we can do, with our talents, is to do a bas relief of the orginal artwork."

Taking a deep breath, Carver asks, "Any questions? Oh, yeah, almost forgot. Revenant, you ever get Renee's name wrong again, he's walking, and I walk with him. Ok?" She gives her most charming smile to the death nova.

[Long]

Long nods, extending his claws when he flexes his hands. "I'll see what I can do on that score once we are ready to redo the wall."

Long's gaze takes in the entire room, his sapphire eyes blazing. "Stucturally speaking there are no flaws in the building. The attack blackened things, but none of the weight-bearing supports are damaged. The floors are sturdy and stable, even if they need redoing."

He looks at each of the other novas and smiles. "So who wants what job?"

[GDP_ST]

"Well pretty boy decided to show up." Warren gives Procyon a once over, and the Sun King suppresses a sigh at the bristling resentment and sullen glower that is well masked by the disdain in the cadaverous nova's eyes. To Procyon, however, Revenant's emotions are hard not to read. Trying not to react to the flare of jealous hostility, Procyon wonders for a moment if Revenant will actually haul off and clobber him.

Then Timeslip arrives, and Procyon senses her distant greeting and inwardly shrugs. Well, it's not like I expected any different. She crosses over to the mirror, and Procyon watches in quiet awe as the priceless antique reforms itself under the star-filled woman's gentle direction. More astounding, (though he wryly tells himself he shouldn't be that surprised) is Revenant's reaction. Quietly, the radiant godling watches and feels the hope/joy/gratitude radiate out from such an unlikely source.

Stepping forward at Carver's behest, he nods and begins fluidly translating the French notes she seemed to have gleaned from her gnome. As he transcribes them deftly onto fresh notepaper in English, he listens to Carver list off the various tasks.

Without looking up from his scribing, he says "I can easily handle the grunt work, and the wiring jobs too. The true artistry is going to have to go to those better suited." The Terat's voice throbs and resounds softly in the large open hall. "That being said, I'd like to help wherever I'm needed. For now, I'll handle the statues. And one more thing..."

He turns to Revenant, looking at him mildly. "It's plain to see that you have been running yourself ragged. I don't know much about your abilities, but I've heard you can drain people's life essence. If that extends to 'juice', you can have some of mine if you wish." Procyon smiles, his form wreathed in swirling golden light, the picture of divine health. "I have plenty."

[Singularity]

Impenetrable knuckles rapped quietly on door to the outside as it opened, "Pardon my tardiness; a few responsibilities delayed my trip here." Wearing only gray Eufiber shorts over tanned and hairless skin, Singularity glided into the club with a small bag slung over a sculpted shoulder. The impression he gave wasn't one of demon-in-angelic-clothing, unadulterated feral passion, regal godhood, wrath of the undead, or otherworldly gravitas; rather, his almost trademarked air of infectious peace quietly but firmly established itself around the ex-elite.

"It's good to see all of you again," he smiled in his unique and calming way, nodding in turn to friends and acquaintances, "And it's especially good to be in Chicago under less stressful circumstances." He crossed the remaining space between him and Revenant with characteristically inhuman grace and tipped his head slightly in greeting to the de facto host as sincerity filled his voice, "And it's good to meet you in person."

"My apologies; it seems I missed the debris clean up," the silver-hair nova remarked as he scanned the massive room. The bag on his shoulder gave a metallic clanking noise when he gave it a little shake, "However, I seem to be in time to make use of these plumbing tools."

[Warren Verona]

With an icy necrotic tone Revenant glares at Procyon and mutters, “I’ll be fine.” With a look at the room Revenant is rather surprised to see everyone around him, working together for Velvet.

Within the hour Singularity arrived and he was met with a gruff welcome. The six novas, after arguing over radio stations and what to order on the pizzas rapidly fell in line to their appointed tasks.

Revenant estimated that with everyone working together the project would only take maybe three days.

Fate ailed against him however. Little did Warren know that he would never make it to the second night.