A small, shamless tribute to Lorne, the Host.
Binary and Nova had gone out on one of their window-shopping trips, taking their requisite time 'away from the guys', they said. Binary had found Scott and Norrin in the hangar bay still. Norrin seemed to be the soul of patience, checking out every system Scott requested, while Scott was hidden beneath the shuttle.
She'd been oddly sincere for once, suggesting they get out and go enjoy themselves. Norrin had simply declined quietly. Scott hadn't heard, or more likely, was pretending he couldn't hear them, though he was also likely in the middle of a large pile of shuttle pieces, going over every system, as there were still some homing signals trying to get out.
It might seem obvious to have Nova take a look, but Carol imagined Scott wasn't exactly in a state of mind to hang around her at the moment.
Scott wasn't brooding (much), though understandably he wasn't really going out of his way to be around Nova. He had talked to her when she had spoken to him, again, in shorter, quieter answers, but he was trying to deal with the way things were.
However, Carol was doing her part to try and alleviate the heavy tension going on, taking Nova to a club called Karatoth. She and Scott knew the owner, a rather odd alien named Loren. She and Scott had helped him out when a few thugs tried organizing into a protection racket, taking them down and turning them in.
That had allowed the fledgling club to grow into the bustling, eccentric place it was today.
Nova had been trying to make things up to Scott, but the realization had set in that there was no going back to the way things were before they'd stolen the shuttle. Binary's insisted upon shopping trip was a much needed break in the shipboard tension. And, in having B truly alone, maybe she could talk to her.
All the security at the club door was mildly amusing, but nothing could compare to the club's interior. It looked like a caricature of an Earth club. The more she studied it, the more she saw a lot of Earth style. "Am I wrong, B… Or is does a human run this place?" she asked the woman next to her as they strolled across the room towards the bar.
"You're so close, kitten, and yet you're so far away…" remarked a light voice, accompanied by arms being draped across hers and Binary's mutual shoulders. "Hey doll. Who's your hot looking friend?"
Startled, Nova looked over her shoulder at the Skrull – the flamboyantly dressed Skrull, to be precise – that had draped himself between them. But Binary wasn't hurling the man across the room, so Nova gave it a minute.
Binary seemed amused, and almost as though she'd expected this. "Loren, this is Nova. Scott finally managed a successful recruitment drive. He'll probably stop by later and say hello."
"This is Loren, Nova. He's an old friend of mine and Scott's."
She even planted a slight kiss on Loren's cheek before moving for a table. "I'll have my usual, and she'll have one too." A quick glance was cast over at Nova. "Don't worry, you'll like it."
Loren returned the peck on the cheek, and then released Carol, turning to hold Nova out at arms length a moment in order to study her. Seeing her still startled expression, he laughed, gesturing at himself. "Harmless. Really. Pleasure to meet you. I'll get your drinks, and we'll dish. My lucky night." He winked and wandered off towards the bar.
Watching him depart, Nova got a slow grin on her face, and flopped down at the table with Binary, still looking shocked-and-amused. "Was that… really a Skrull?"
Carol couldn't help but laugh. "Amazingly. But I'd swear he picked up a human mind or soul somewhere along the line. He was trying to establish this club several years ago, only some local thugs were trying to form a protection racket. He'd kept refusing to pay what they asked, and they finally decided to kill him and take it anyways. They met a certain visored mutant we both happen to know that night, and that was that. Loren got his club. I met him later on down the line, but he's a good friend."
Loren returned a few minutes later with a trio of drinks balanced easily in his hands – another Earth touch, they had little umbrellas in them. Falling easily into one of the remaining chairs, her beamed at them both, then focused in on Binary. "So, girlfriend, tell me what's up, down, or… y'know. Other." He paused, taking a sip of his own drink, and nodded towards a stage at the other side of the room. "And what can I put you down for? You are here to sing, aren't you?" There was only a slight hint of 'because-that's-the-only-reason-people-come-to-visit-me' in his tone, and it was mostly in jest.
Binary gave a mock disgusted groan. She'd been on the stage only rarely. She explained quickly to Nova, who wouldn't get the reference. "Loren has an unusual ability, besides snazzy fashion sense. And for a Skrull, let me tell you, that's extraordinary by itself."
A light teasing grin faded from her lips before she continued. "Loren can see glimpses of your future when he hears you sing. You put your heart and soul into it, and he can see where they might be sometime soon. He got me to sing a few times, and it's never been very interesting, though it was good to know I wasn't dead yet."
She smirked wryly to punctuate that last remark.
"What can I say, precious, you lead a dull life," Loren remarked, still beaming over the rim of his glass. He was obviously quite pleased to see Carol, and just as pleased to make a new friend in Nova. His red eyes flickered across the room briefly before returning to them. "So it's settled, then. You're both going to sing for me? Good. I'll find you a nice duet. Meanwhile, drink up. Those two are on Loren." Draining the last drops from his beverage, he stood. "This is the price I pay for stardom. Busy, busy…" Smooching Carol on the cheek again, he meandered away.
"That was… interesting," Nova said quietly, giving her drink a light sniff. "Uh… When did we agree to sing?"
"Far too soon for my liking, which would be never."
Carol chuckled quietly. "It's not actually that bad. He'll be sure to regale us with the gory details of what he saw later, and even if you're tone deaf and offkey, you'll sound better than some of the screechers that get up there. Not to mention, we'll never see any of these people again."
Somewhat in a devil-may-care attitude, Carol rose, headed for the stage, clearly expecting Nova to follow.
The head bouncer started into a patented Mean Scowl routine at the rough-looking figure approaching, half-hidden in shadows. The green, scaly face broke into a broad, toothy grin when he recognized the telltale visor and emblem on the man's chest.
"Guess I can start feeling safe after all, Cyke. You ain't grown another foot since I saw you last."
Scott smiled a bit good-naturedly, remembering the bouncer from many years ago, he'd been with Loren from the start. "I'm not a teenager anymore either, Ch'od. Humans aren't exactly plants."
A few more pleasant exchanges later, Scott was allowed in. A few waitresses who'd been around tossed Scott a few 'warm' smiles, despite having tried for years to make him melt like putty in their hands, only to be rebuffed.
There was an alien act finishing up on the stage, and it seemed there was supposedly some big duet coming up next.
Introducing Nova and Binary on the stage, Loren's keen eyes picked out the missing member of the small group. After he handed over the microphone to Carol, he stepped down off the stage, making for 'his' table in the back, a little away from everyone, catching Scott's eye and inviting him over with a gesture.
Meanwhile, Nova and Binary were started making their way through an almost ancient number from Earth. They didn't sound that bad, once Nova started to relax and the tension dropped out of her voice. As Carol had said, they'd never see any of these people again…
Quirking a wry grin up at the stage, and Nova in particular, Scott settled into the table Loren had. Maybe talking with Loren might help. He was trying to get back into the routine of things, only it was difficult. He'd never cared about anyone the way he cared about Frankie before.
"How's the club going? I see you managed to talk B into singing again. I'm impressed." Scott himself had sang on the stage only once, and Loren had told him that he had seen one thing – that Scott couldn't do what he was doing alone. He needed friends.
"For a universe that's not so fond of humans… Everyone's a sucker for a little Earth razzle-dazzle in disguise…" he said with a chuckle. His eyes were on the stage, but Loren was more than capable of dividing his attentions. Slouching in his seat a little, he motioned towards the bar, signaling for a refill on his drink, and for his companion to be waited on. "Ah. My darling kitten Carol. She didn't put up near as much of a fight this time…" Loren chuckled, folding his hands on the edge of the table. "Meanwhile, you seem to have done well for yourself, Scotty my friend. Where, pray tell, did you pick up the gorgeous redhead?" Lorne grinned a bit wickedly. "Nevermind, I'm sure it will come out when you sing for me…"
"She's actually a former Herald of Galactus. And..uh…I kinda didn't exactly pick that one up." He launched into a tale of how he'd met the Surfer and Nova, and left out a few things, though Loren had been around enough that he'd likely pick up on it. Despite that Frankie had shot him down thoroughly, his feelings weren't as easily changed as though turning lights on and off. He'd just have to adjust to being around her. He didn't want to have to treat her solely like a teammate, but maybe that was the best approach until he could get a grip on himself.
"Keep swinging, slugger. You're nowhere near the ninth," Loren advised with a brief wink towards Scott before his eyes moved back to the stage. As a rule, he wasn't in the habit of sharing anything he saw when a person was singing with anyone else. But this was young, human love, and it was so sweet… In the next few moments, a waiter brought over another umbrella drink for the host, and took an order from Scott. When the waiter had walked away again, Loren nodded to the women. "Visit more often, Scotty," he said seriously, "This is a nice break on the ol' eardrums."
Scott exhaled. "Maybe. It's just readjusting in the meantime that takes time and effort." He'd have to, though. He couldn't keep alienating Frankie like he had been. He'd try asking for her help in finding the homing devices. Norrin would undoubtedly love the break after the way he'd been acting over the past couple days.
"I'll try to. I know B loves the club. Neither of us are really at home on Earth anymore, and I don't think Nova is either. But it's nice to see a piece of it way out here, though," he grinned.
"Scotty - Someday, I'm going to marry that woman… It breaks my heart when you keep her away." Loren said with a smirk, obviously admiring Binary, and most likely in jest. He let the sentiment trail off as the waiter reappeared with Scott's drink.
Chatter was fairly neutral from there until the end of the song, when Loren said teasingly, "So how about it, my pirate friend… going to get up there and assail my ears one last time before you take your little harem there back out into the void?"
Binary was on her way back out to the club's main floor with Nova, stopping by Loren's table again. "So where did Fearless Leader run off to?" She trailed off as a few music notes started playing.
"You let him sing again, didn't you? Dear God in heaven, save us all…."
She was mostly kidding, though. She hadn't been here the time Scott had sang before, though the very thought was amusing.
She settled into a chair alongside Loren, gesturing for Nova to do the same. "Sit down and enjoy the show. You probably won't see Scott sing again in this lifetime or the next."
Nova was torn between grinning at the thought of Scott singing and feeling guilty all over again for what had happened between them the other day. Settling in the chair on Loren's other side, she bit her lip figuring she could do both. She still hadn't gotten those precious few minutes to talk to Binary. She was starting to think she wasn't going to.
As Cyclops started to sing, Loren let his gaze slide from Scott to his fiery audience, doing a bit of channel surfing, so to speak.
"Well, he's no Sinatra, but he isn't bad," grinned Binary. Scott had selected the more classical tune 'Witchcraft' to sing along to, and was making a reasonable effort at it. He apparently knew the general advice Carol had given Nova, that it was likely no one here would ever see him again, and to have fun.
"You ok there, Frankie?" Carol could see the indecision written across Nova's face, and they hadn't really gotten the chance to talk about anything at all. Being the only other woman on board, they had to rely on each other for 'girl talk'.
Loren's eyes quickly flickered back to the stage, and the Skrull looked positively riveted, giving them a little privacy, if only for appearance's sake. Nova either bought it or figured she had nothing to loose as she'd already bared her soul to the alien, as she said quietly, "I… hurt the boss' feelings without meaning to, B… I'm not quite sure how to make it up to him…"
Binary shook her head. "Don't try to. He told me what happened, and as you might expect, he's a bit sore over getting shot down after pouring his heart out to you. That's natural. But I will tell you this – he'd rather hear your honesty than find out you'd tried telling him what he wanted to hear in some form of obligation…or 'making it up to him', as you say. Just give him some time. He'll come around."
Carol winced slightly. She knew all too well how it felt to find you'd been living a lie. After becoming a playtoy for the son of a god, and tossed aside when he'd grown bored with her….she was glad Frankie had told him the truth. She didn't love Scott Summers that way, but he'd been her friend when no one else would be, and she didn't want to see him get hurt.
"I…" Nova trailed off and sighed. She hadn't meant for what she'd said to be an absolute-and-final-no-way-in-hell sort of thing. Just that he'd caught her by surprise.
"My sweetcakes there has the right idea," Lorne said, his red eyes sliding away from the stage again to fall on the fiery young redhead. "Give it time." He paused, and leaned in a little closer, putting his hand on her arm. "Gold star for speaking your mind, kiddo. Not so gold on the speaking your heart. You know that thing you were searching for? Well you've found it, not lost it, I can tell you that much. So put those worries out of your head, okay? There's a good girl."
Nova stared slightly at him as he leaned back into his seat comfortably watching Scott once more, and then looked at Binary for a moment, a confused and somewhat startled expression on her face for a few seconds before she let her eyes wander back towards the stage.
Smirking slightly, Lorne leaned towards Binary. "I can give you yours now or later, kitten. Later, maybe? In the back room after we close?" The Skrull winked, once again teasing.
"You'd have to wrangle a three-day pass outta the would-be Twinkletoes up there." Carol smirked. She could tease too. And tease or no, that would be about as feasible as convincing Galactus to give Nova and Surfer their powers back.
Scott had finished his song, and left the stage. He didn't garner much applause, not that he expected much, mostly a favor for his friend, and maybe for himself, able to let go for just those few moments.
"I'll have my bouncer haul him into lockup for three days, if that's what it takes." The alien leaned in a lot closer to the blonde, murmuring, "When you're finally ready to make the trip, sweetcakes, you'll be welcome. So don't let anything stop you." He left it vague – one of the problems with being prescient was that one had to be careful not to give too much information. He knew that she'd figure it out on her own.
Loren applauded good-naturedly as Scott approached the table. "Bravo, bravo – Next time, a trio, how 'bout it?" The Skrull raised his glass in a sort of toast to the three humans at his table. For a moment, he had an almost sad look in his eyes, but he brushed it away. He'd seen things he couldn't tell them. And for once, he'd seen a little of himself. "So how long are you crazy kids hanging around here?"
"Can't hang around, I'm afraid. Or rather, we shouldn't. We just….ah….acquired some hardware that's a wee bit hot, and certain Kree officials would not take kindly to hearing we were here."
As though collecting himself with a bit of effort, he paused. "Nova, I was wondering if you could help me find those homing signals. I think I've been wallowing around down there long enough." He lips curved in a slightly self-effacing smile.
Unlike most Skrull would, Loren didn't gloat over the Kree's loss. He just grinned and remarked, "Yo ho ho, a pirate's life for… Well, not me, but you kids have at it. Far be it from my needs to stand in the way of carting off hot merchandise…"
Nova, on the other hand, still looked a little pensive, and started slightly when she was spoken to by Scott. "Huh?" she asked, fixing her gaze on Scott, belatedly processing the request. "Oh. Sure, boss! No problem," she said, smiling a bit sheepishly at her distraction. Maybe she could do a little something with Loren's advice.
"Well, B, don't let the silver-tongued Skrull keep you too long. We should be underway in a few hours. Loren, I'll see you as soon as I can shake the heat off my back," he smiled faintly. Loren was a friend, despite the fact that all facts might suggest guys like he and Loren would never get along.
"No worries, Skipper. I don't want to become an accomplice, so I won't hold her up… for long."
Somewhat struck by spontaneity, Nova gave the alien a small hug of gratitude. "It was nice meeting you, Loren," she said softly. "And thanks."
"Just make sure that captain of yours remembers he promised to visit, and we'll call it even," the Skrull said with a grin.
"Deal," Nova replied, and left the club with Scott.