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Post by Bobby Drake on Apr 5, 2007 21:44:04 GMT
While Robert is somewhat curious about what’s actually at the site, Ororo has made it clear that he’s not authorized for field activity in his current condition, and on the whole he agrees with the decision – a more active role runs too many risks of suffering the same fate the Human Torch did.
So his attention drifts somewhat as Tobias and Ororo discuss the logistics, and he makes a quick survey of the auxiliary sensory-cortical units in his range. He’s been satisfied with the results of that project for a while; the units themselves require almost no power to run, are easy to conceal, and record only what he would consider interesting… and a periodic cyberpathic scan picks up whatever they’ve stored, if anything.
This time, the scan picks up John’s presence as he entered the building, apparently on his way to the teachers’ offices. Which is Robert’s cue to be elsewhere… he may have lost much of his sensitivity to emotional nuance, but after their discussion on Valentine’s Day it’s fairly clear even to him that John doesn’t care for his presence very much.
He retrieves his wallet from Bernie’s hand and heads off, forgetting to say goodbye or otherwise indicate that the conversation is over. He is followed by a bewildered Bernie, who attempts somewhat belatedly to explain the whole “frightener” comment, leaving Storm and Tobias to discuss field operation logistics.
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Post by Pyro on Apr 7, 2007 15:56:41 GMT
Ancient Mesopotamia – really, in the grand scheme of things, who gives a shit? Certainly not, despite his best efforts to make a *decent crack* at the *actual studying* part of being a Student at the Institute, former terrorist, legendary bad-boy and all-round hellraiser par excellence John Allerdyce. Why should he care about some long-dead dude with an unpronounceable name doing something-or-other in a country which doesn’t even fucking exist any more?
Unfortunately the ‘great and good’ have decreed that this is something he should care about, and much as he hates having to give a damn, John’s painfully aware that he can’t afford to fail this close to the mythical, mystical Graduation (though the way things are going, he can’t be sure there’s even going to be an Institute to graduate from – some secret government subdivision no one admits exists or other is going to have to actually succeed in blowing them up properly sooner or later, right?). So, much as it irks, the unthinkable is going to have to happen, and – shock horror – he’s on his way to Ororo’s to get some, erm, assistance with this ridiculous project. Or something like, at least.
He can pretend not to notice Bobby Robert making himself scarce, because in order for that to be about him ‘Robert’ would have to still give a damn, right? Right. It’s been… easier’s the wrong word, but definitely a different and more easily ignored sort of difficult since the Valentines’ Day debacle – mostly because Robert seems not to be where he is (which is a pretty unwieldy way of getting around the idea that Robert’s avoiding him, which again implies far more than his flattened effect is capable of), which suits him just fine.
”Hey ‘ro… s’about this fuckin’ essay.” (making an effort is, after all, not the same thing as a personality transplant) ” ‘Cos in between the getting electrocuted – which… didn’t you get shot or something?” – John shrugs, and shuts down that tangent ”That, and… everything else, um… yeah, not going to get it done.” It’s only then that he notices the goth kid – not someone he recognises – and he runs a critical eye over him, before shrugging with a dismissive ‘heh’ and turning back to Ororo. ”Bad time?”
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Post by Ororo Munroe on Apr 12, 2007 5:01:52 GMT
> ”Hey ‘ro… s’about this fuckin’ essay.”
Ororo blinks at John’s approach. I’d forgotten how colorful his language is on a daily basis. Hm…
> ” ‘Cos in between the getting electrocuted – which… didn’t you get shot or something?”
Which reminds her of the riot… where she did, in fact, get shot. Unconsciously, Ororo’s hand brushes at her shirt where the bullets had impacted her uniform. Thanks to the suit’s built-in armor, they hadn’t gone any further than that. The reminder wasn’t particularly welcome, though.
It also reminds her that she’d told John he wasn’t ready to face the Brotherhood and Magneto… and he’d followed the X-Men to Times Square anyway. Ororo supposed it should upset her that he’d defied her orders… but it wasn’t really worth it. To be honest, he’d been an asset (or so she’d been told) rather than a liability, so she was willing to chalk it up to teenage misbehavior and general John-ness.
> ”Bad time?”
“Not particularly. In fact, I was sent a rather mysterious email this morning directing me to an unfinished building in the middle of the country, in upstate New York.” Ororo sizes him up. “I admit that I’m curious, since it came in on my private account and doesn’t appear to be spam. Tobias said he would accompany me; and Jake is sending Josh with us. Care to come along?”
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Post by Pyro on Apr 12, 2007 21:21:39 GMT
”… what, no lecture, and a day off? You’re getting soft, ‘ro” John grins, giving little, if any, sign that he is genuinely somewhat stunned to have been invited along on this little *excursion*… though the reticence he anticipated had more to do with, erm, extra-curricular activities. Because regardless of how well he’d handled himself at the riot – word being that he’d done sort-of-okay (not that John cared about proving himself or any of that shit) – he’d still effectively disobeyed a direct order in turning up at all…
… but whatever; better not to question his good fortune, nor to read too much into the gesture if the Little League are sitting in – who the fuck is this Tobias kid anyway? The mission itself doesn’t sound that promising either – oooh, spooky email, big fucking whoo…
… but it’s still a day off, out of the Mansion, and more importantly an invitation to join the game, even if it’s not a particularly interesting, exciting or important round.
John shrugs – ”Sure, count me in. This an official Spandex Squad sort of outing or are we going incognito?”
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Post by Ororo Munroe on Apr 16, 2007 4:29:56 GMT
> ”Sure, count me in. This an official Spandex Squad sort of outing or are we going incognito?”
Ororo contemplates the question for a second. On one hand, the suits would be useful if a fight broke out. On the other hand, only she and Josh had combat uniforms at this point. John's was still under construction. He might be able to use Josh's spare, but Josh was a little taller, which could cause problems. And they didn't have one for Tobias at all. That decided her.
"Incognito, I think. We should attract less attention, Tobias doesn't have a uniform, and I'm not expecting us to run into a firefight." She lists the options off on her fingers absently. Not that we won't... but I'm not expecting one.
As Josh skids around the corner and enters the foyer, looking slightly rumpled, she nods. "Looks like everyone is here. Shall we?" Ororo sets off for the hangar.
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