[Thursday, October 30th. 11 PM] [The show must go on. And it did.] [It took a while to get the crowd back in and settled and calm down the cast and crew, but the AD gave a hell of speech, telling them that they had a show that could last a while on their hands, and not to give the attackers what they wanted by folding and letting the show be ruined.] [Cheryl, despite being tired and banged up from the fight, gave it her all, belting out notes with a voice that would've given Merman (the fishy one) a run for her money, while Josie, rather appropriately, vamped it up to high holy heck.] [And, at the end, the crowd cheered. Not all of them, mind. But most, and rather enthusiastically at that.] [Cheryl and Josie have taken their bows, and now Cheryl, still in disguise, is back in her dressing room.] [Mini Start] * Abby is leaning forward on her forehead, or rather, his forehead, against the top of her vanity. She groans and says quietly to herself, "Thank you Lord, it's over." * Abby rests there for a moment, then leans back in the chair and looks up at the ceiling. "It's... nothing if not interesting." She pauses, then sighs, murmuring, "Not that sort of interesting..." [The door burst open, and Josie, still in costume, bursts in, slamming the door behind her and leaping around the chair and into Cheryl's lap. "Holy shit! They liked it!"] * Abby nnghs loudly as Josie slams into her lap, hands going to the vanity to keep herself upright. She swallows and manages to day, "Y-yeah... d-did a good job of it, huh?" ["The AD was watching the critics section, and he said most of them were standing and clapping! The fucking *Times* critic was standing and clapping! You know what this means?"] * Abby half-smiles and quips, "I'd say 'the death of good taste', but have you seen Daytime TV?" [Josie waves dismissively. "Have you seen half the stuff on Broadway? I can do Shakespeare later in my career." She pauses. "Later in my career. I'm gonna have a fucking career!" She hangs her legs over the side of the chair and kicks them out in excitement.] * Abby smiles a little and says, more quietly, "That's... really good for you. I'm glad to hear it." [Josie looks at you oddly for a moment, and a grin slowly spreads over her face. "I thought so. And now I know for sure."] * Abby tilts her head. "What's that?" [She pokes you in the forehead a couple of times. "Are you the one with the staff or the one with the awesome coat?"] * Abby starts, then says slowly, "I'm not sure what you're asking, Josie." [Josie tilts her head, raising an eyebrow, then wriggles around in your lap a bit. "The equipment feels real, but c'mon. They wanted to kill the leads. That method guy summoned three people: me, the staff woman, and the red chick. Which means one of them is you."] ["Or both, I guess. Some kinda Wonder Twin thing maybe?"] * Abby nnhs uncomfortably, then says, "Fair enough." He smiles slightly. "Does it really matter, tonight?" ["Not especially, no. You saved my ass and gave me a career." She pauses. "The lack of excitement also gave it away. If you were the real understudy, you'd be over the goddamn moon too."] * Abby laughs faintly and grabs her by the sides. "Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm very happy. But it's been a long few days." * Abby helps slide her off her lap, if she's going. [She goes. "So what are you, anyway? Some kind of magic theater spirit, come to the city to save the world and make it big on Broadway?"] * Abby laughs faintly and stands slowly. "Rampart, actually." * Abby then winks. "Which you'll figure out eventually, so it's not like I'm telling you anything. " [She whistles. "... so wait, that means you're teammates with..." She pauses, brow furrowed. "... ah. So my being called in wasn't a lovely bit of serendipity after all."] * Abby smiles slightly, then pats her on the shoulder, before saying quietly, "Wasn't it? Don't question your blessings, Josie." ["True. But I'm guessing that Shockwave guy didn't suggest me because he really wanted me to get my big break."] * Abby is silent a moment, then offers, "It wasn't him that suggested you." ["Oh?"] * Abby smiles slightly. "Yes." She then rubs her neck. "Anything between you two is between you two, yeah?" You... had the drive, we had the name. Sometimes things work like that. [She shrugs. "Hell, ended up fine, so what does it matter?" She looks back up at you, and smirks. "So I'm guessing this was a limited engagement for you?"] * Abby nods a little and smiles faintly. "Regretfully. I'll cover if I need to... but we can get the understudy back in place, hopefully. For a show like this, I... doubt there will be any difficulty." ["I doubt it too. Just hope they don't let that Disney stiff back in to play your role. That guy couldn't act dead if you shotgunned him in the temple."] [She goes silent for a moment, then clucks her tongue. "Damn shame. Two of them, actually."] * Abby lets out a slight laugh, then says, "Oh, actors are a dime a dozen, Josie... no need to regret that." ["Not what I meant. First damn shame is losing you. The real understudy's good, but not nearly as good as you were."] * Abby is silent a moment, then says quietly, "And the second." It's not even a question. [She grins, a bit of a twinkle in her eyes. "Second damn shame is that my celebration plans for this evening are no longer feasible."] * Abby looks down and just replies, "I'm... sure you'll find someone." * Abby chuckles a little. "The energy's just... alive." [Josie waves dismissively. "Ain't the same if it ain't you. I'll just have to celebrate the other old-fashioned way... with lots and lots of alcohol."] * Abby swallows and murmurs, "I'm... flattered." [Josie looks at you for a moment, then strides over, grabs you by the shirt, and lays one on you.] * Abby starts as she's pulled up from the reverie, eyes wide... and then after a short moment her hand comes around, aggressively, and grips Josie by the back of the head, before she presses into the kiss for a few moments. And then just as forcefully pulls her head away and steps back, taking a deep breath. [Josie goes silent for a moment. "I believe... that wasn't half bad." A smirk.] * Abby smirks back. "Was wondering if anything'd take you aback." She stretches slightly, then walks over to grab her duffel bag. "Met you the entire way today, Josie. Sure wasn't gonna back down now." ["Bah, I'm an actress. I'm all about range." She grins. "Stay safe."] * Abby chuckles faintly and replies, "Yeah, I'm sure." She picks it up and slings it over her shoulder. "In another lifetime, maybe, Josie. But not this one." [Josie waves, and leaves, shaking her head. "Figures. Meet a nice guy with a big staff, but..."] * Abby lets Josie get nice and gone, before saying, quietly, "Later, alright? Later." And then walks out herself, closing the door behind her. [Meanwhile, up the rafters, Method Man watches. "I believe... that was really hot."] [Well, okay, not really. But that would've been pretty funny.] [Actually, Abby walks out into the cool night air, sore but proud. There's no business like it, after all.] [Mini End]