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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Oct 15, 2006 1:45:00 GMT
Josh sneaks stealthily down the hallway.
God. If I get caught, John is in so much trouble.
Their little plan was likely an exercise in futility, anyway. How do you sneak out of the house under the watchful… mind? of the world’s most powerful telepath? Josh had no chance of concealing even his own mind from Professor Xavier, let alone anyone elses'. Maybe he’ll be sleeping…
If Dr. Grey catches me, I’m going to be in so much trouble. Josh smiles a little to himself. He was lucky that there was another telekinetic mutant at the Institute. In fact, he was starting to look upon her as a bit of big sister… his own family was across the country. He frowns slightly. As of late, Dr. Grey’s telekinesis seemed to have increased exponentially…
He shakes his head. If I don’t concentrate, Mr. Summers will catch me! Josh skulks down the hallway, and hears a voice around the bend. Crap!
Fortunately, he’s at his destination - Marie’s room. Knocking quietly, his sense of urgency builds as he feels a presence move closer through his telepathy…
<Marie? It’s Josh. Mr. Summers is coming!> He peers around the corner, and sees the teacher at the end. With a tilt of his head, he telekinetically knocks against the door behind Scott, prompting him to spin around and open it.
He presses his back against Marie’s door, hoping she didn’t fall asleep waiting.
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Post by Rogue on Oct 15, 2006 1:59:35 GMT
The light knock on the door is what Rogue's been waiting for. Laying in her bed, still fully dressed from earlier in the day, she rises and hurries over as the mental voice whispers in her mind, urging her to hurry. The room's lit by only a single lamp off to one side of the room, but it's plenty for her to see by.
She opens the door and grabs Josh, tugging him inside before the teacher can see them, and closes the door, fast.
"Don' call me that." she says simply, with a slight look of annoyance, because Marie is her old name - she's Rogue now, and she doesn't know how he even knows that name, anyway. Either John or Bobby probbably slipped up, and mentioned it. It wasn't supposed to become school-wide knowledge. But then a half-smile replaces the annoyance after a second.
"I w's beginnin' t'think y'weren't gonna show."
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Oct 15, 2006 2:17:43 GMT
> "Don' call me that."
"Ah. Sorry..." Josh isn't quite sure what to make of Mar-Rogue, sometimes. Bobby and John don't insist on being called by their codenames (though John is very in love with fire...) and he doesn't even have a codename. Well, there was Marvel Boy, but that was a joke. He decides to not make it an issue.
> "I w's beginnin' t'think y'weren't gonna show."
"My stupid roommate wouldn't go to sleep. He's having problems controlling his metamorphing and keeps changing into weird stuff..." Josh huffs in annoyance. "Anyway. Mr. Summers is out there... how are we going to get to John and Bobby's room?" He walks over to the door and holds a hand to his temple, reaching out with his telepathy.
"I can't tell if he's there or not..." I really need to practice with my telepathy more... Josh looks at Rogue unhappily. "What do we do?"
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Post by Rogue on Oct 15, 2006 2:31:11 GMT
"My stupid roommate wouldn't go to sleep. He's having problems controlling his metamorphing and keeps changing into weird stuff..."
She laughs slightly, amused by the image of Josh's roommate - whoever he is, she hasn't met him, that she knows of - morphing into a fairly literal version of "weird stuff". Like what, aliens? Random household objects? She decided to make it a point to find out, later on, just for the possible entertainment value of it.
"Anyway. Mr. Summers is out there... how are we going to get to John and Bobby's room?"[/color]
She reajusts her gloves, watching with almost amusement as he moved to the door, one hand on his head in a fairly steriotypical motion that she'd seen Xavier do a few times, when trying to probe her mind - something that he claimed was made harder by the roaming psykes. It seemed like the gesture was meant to amplify telepathy or telekenesis. It had no effect on her touching abilities - not that she's tried it, of course, just an assumption.
"I can't tell if he's there or not...What do we do?"
She tips her head towards the window. "G'out the back way?" she suggests, moving to her window. The almost-sheer dark green curtians are already open to let in the extra light from the moon, so she simply lifts the window open, and pokes a head out. She's climbed out of this window several times - usually when she was feeling fairly insomniac and wanted to be outside, and she'd go sit by the lake.
She turns to look back at him. "Think you can lift one'a us up, once we get under their window? Or you wanna do tha' head-thing an' wake 'em?" she asks with a grin.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Oct 15, 2006 4:10:08 GMT
“Hmm. Climbing out onto the overhang should work.” Josh steps over to the window and peers out. It looks nice out. “Then we can climb into their window and Mr. Summers will be clueless, as usual.” He grins a little and lifts a leg up.
Things are going well until he stumbles a little on the drop over the sill. He catches himself and looks up sheepishly, then looks across the roofing. The drop itself is not very far, though, so he assumes it should be fairly simple to get into the other window.
“I can spot you on the way out, no problem.” He taps the side of his head. I just can’t spot myself to save my life.
This better be worth it. If I have to clean out gross petri dishes for a week I'm not going to be very happy...
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Post by Rogue on Oct 15, 2006 6:41:07 GMT
“Hmm. Climbing out onto the overhang should work... Then we can climb into their window and Mr. Summers will be clueless, as usual.”
He startes climbing out, and almost falls, but recovers quick enough to save himself the fairly painful fall-bounce-and-roll to the ground, to both her shock and almost-amusement.
“I can spot you on the way out, no problem.”
She nods. She's climbed out several times, this way, but still, that's a little reassuring. "M'kay. Jus' don' le'me die, o'I'm hauntin' ya." Not that death is that imminent, but it feels right to toss in a casual joke.
Once he's firmly on a reletivly safe surface, she starts out the window, glad she chose jeans this morning when she'd gotten dressed, even though she hadn't really known what this night would entail. Jeans were a whole lot better for climbing out windows than skirts were.
Though being barefoot wasn't that smart - she'd forgotten shoes, having been in bed, and not wanted to have them on... Dang. Oh well, she wasn't going back in now for them. She could handle going barefoot - or maybe borrow a pair of the guys' shoes, if they had any that didn't smell utterly disgusting.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Oct 15, 2006 21:51:31 GMT
> "M'kay. Jus' don' le'me die, o'I'm hauntin' ya."
Josh smiles a little at that. He wraps her in an invisible telekinetic net, paying attention to catch her in case she slips. Fortunately, all goes well. As she sets her feet onto the shingles, he motions down the overhang, and begins padding as silently as possible across it.
This is likely the riskiest portion of their little escape. Dr. Grey and Mr. Summers' suite was directly below their bedrooms, and though she wasn't nearly on par with Professor Xavier, even Jean should be able to detect one of her favorite students walking across her ceiling... Josh tamps down his mental prescence as much as possible, but he knows little about the process. In fact, he can't do much besides 'talk' to others with it at this point. It was hard enough to block everyone out to start with...
He arrives at the guys' window, which is about even with the top of his head. He taps twice with his telekinesis. "John?" He whispers in a low voice to avoid being overheard.
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Post by Bobby Drake on Oct 15, 2006 22:55:14 GMT
Bobby is typing frantically at his computer when the tap on the window comes. Damn! Still haven’t finished! The paper for Xavier’s Ethics class isn’t actually due until the end of the week, but he’d wanted to get it done early to have some time for review.
He considers begging off on tonight’s “mission” so he can finish it, but finally decides not to… John and Marie would both tease him mercilessly. Besides, he’s not sure he likes the idea of the two of them spending the night together without him… not that he thinks anything would happen or anything (or at least, not that he’s going to admit to it – he’d made the mistake of almost implying that once and has no intention of repeating it), especially not with Josh around, it just makes him uncomfortable.
So he saves the file and shuts down his computer, grabs the bag he’d packed earlier, and opens the window.
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Post by Pyro on Oct 15, 2006 23:10:52 GMT
This is, John thinks while he’s packing what he considers sharable from his alcohol stash into a rucksack and waiting for the others to arrive, one of his better ideas. Things have been boring to say the least since Ice-boy and the incredible human leech officially started dating, since he’s no longer the third point of a triangle and instead a third wheel, which is irritating as all hell. It’s about time they did something, something wild and random which has nothing to do with his roommate angsting over how he can’t touch his girlfriend or his best mate telling him that there’s now some stupid mystical line which can’t be explained but must never, ever be crossed. Something totally Pyro (he’s been tossing around the idea of a codename for a while now, and that one seems to work, though he’s not ready to ask that they use it because it’s just… weird) and not remotely John (who, it seems, is becoming a sad loner. Scowl. Why he’s letting that bother him, when he’s so keen on being untouchable, is a mystery, but it’s stinging regardless of whether or not it should).
Of course, the fact that it’s totally Pyro means that Bobby’s not exactly jumping over backwards to get involved – something about an ethics paper which rings a bell somewhere in the recesses of his mind with all the unimportant stuff but isn’t worth worrying about – but whatever. Once the kid’s got a shot or two of Jack’s (because damned if John’s going to buy cheap shit, even if it’s just to down) inside him he should liven up… hell, clapping eyes on M-Rogue (he reminds himself that it’s only Bobby who gets to use her name real now… well, only Bobby and Logan, but even infatuation doesn’t quite merit evisceration by adamantium) should be enough, because whenever she’s in range this bizarre thing happens which John can’t quite understand (even less understandable is why the completely justified annoyance this sparks feels so much like jealousy) and Bobby’s rendered totally docile and malleable, which, with the twisted mind he’s learnt lurks behind Rogue’s quiet front, makes for some interesting shit. Or did, up until that all went to hell. Stupid fucking hormones and teenage romance and all that jazz.
There’s a tap at the window – a tap which can only be Josh, even though John’s fairly sure they agreed on the door (whatever. Despite being the obvious ringleader it’s not like he’s going to morph into *Scooter* Summers, insisting they all follow his plan to the very letter) – and he checks the bag for the last time, slips a spare bic lighter or two into his jeans, and is on his feet. Bobby gets to the window first, somehow (shit, is super-speed one of his powers now? The kid always seems to be everywhere at once, especially when everywhere is in John’s way), but it’s John who, grinning, respectfully but firmly grabs the space when it opens and leans out to *welcome* the others.
”So you made it? Guess you have balls after all, Dalton.”
Oh yeah… Josh. Forever stuck as the new kid of the group - not one of their select little family, which is always going to be the sacred trinity, but with a gift for TK which comes in useful when they’re sneaking out like this. Josh gets a half-smile, which for John counts as overly generous when it comes to welcomes, but it's Rogue who gets the offer of a hand before Bobby can object.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Oct 16, 2006 1:14:06 GMT
> ”So you made it? Guess you have balls after all, Dalton.”
Josh gives John a rather devious grin in return. The other boy could be a pain in the ass, for sure. He had a smart mouth, but was somehow extremely satisfying to be around. Possibly just his penchant for making his own fun when none was readily available.
"I wouldn't miss it. Things have boring around here lately." He looks over at Bobby. "Hey Bobbs. Ready to have some fun?"
He glances up at John again. "Mr. Summers is out in the hallway, so we had to get creative. And we'd better get out of here soon, before Jean or the Professor catch us." Jesus. If we were all normal, this would be so much easier. Granted, the escaping from two stories up would be more difficult. Josh poises to climb in after Rogue is through.
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Post by Rogue on Oct 16, 2006 10:51:08 GMT
Rogue tosses Bobby and John a grin, accepting the prooffered hand with her own gloved one, and climbs inside the window. She moves over to give Bobby a hug in greeting - a careful hug, of course. No need to pus an end to the night early, then looks from one to the other.
"S'I was nev'r real clear on th' whole schedule of th'night - what're we doin', exactly?" She asks with a raised eyebrow, noting the oddly-shaped sack nearby and wondering just what's in it. Looks like bottles to her, and that most likely means drinking, because what else would they sneak out with?
She's only really been drunk once before - back home, with one of her friends, back before she became dangerous. It had been a random act of teenage rebellion at a sleepover - and she can hardly remember any of what happened after the point where she fell off the bed laughing. At what, she doesn't remember, but it must have been funny.
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Post by Bobby Drake on Oct 16, 2006 18:07:33 GMT
Bobby tries not to be annoyed by John edging him out in greeting Marie, or at least not to let it show. Sure, they’re all friends, and he doesn’t want to be one of those obnoxious guys who gets jealous whenever his girlfriend (Girlfriend! He still can’t actually think the word without wanting to do a little dance of enthusiasm. Sure, the whole untouchable thing is awkward, but he’s sure she’ll learn how to control that soon, and in the meantime it’s nice just holding hands and stuff.) pays attention to anybody else, but even so it bugs him to watch her and John flirt interact, for reasons he doesn’t entirely understand.
Her hug mollifies him, though, and he returns it more emphatically than usual, then takes her gloved hand in his. Without consciously paying attention to it, he keeps a fairly fixed distance from her as they hang around the room… far enough to reduce the chance of an accidental touch, but close enough to mark them clearly as a couple. The effect is reminiscent of nothing quite so much as a dog trained to heel, though Bobby would be mortified if anyone pointed that out.
> " Hey Bobbs. Ready to have some fun? "
Bobby returns Josh’s grin. "Yeah, I guess so. Almost done with Professor Xavier’s term paper, could use a break. Oh, which reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about it, um, later." Xavier had assigned him to propose ethical guidelines for the covert use of telepathy, and Bobby’d surprised himself by coming up with something fairly cogent but figured it couldn’t hurt to run it past an actual telepath before turning it in. But talking about school now would just get him teased, so he lets it drop.
> " what're we doin', exactly? "
"Yeah, I wasn’t real clear on that myself." He turns to his roommate curiously. The only thing he knew for sure was that it involved drinking (and he promised himself he was going to take it slowly this time, since the last thing he wanted was a repeat of last Christmas’ fiasco), but John had been pretty tightlipped about details. "What’s the plan?"
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Post by Pyro on Oct 16, 2006 21:44:32 GMT
Oh yeah, the plan.
Of course he hasn’t filled any of them in on it – it’s easier that way to pretend he knows exactly what he’s doing, and harder for any of the resident mind-rapists to pick up on details and thwart whatever scheme he’s cooked up. And this way Bob can’t it’s less likely anyone will pull out last minute, because one thing he’s learnt from dealing with kids (and they are kids... next to him anyway... well, maybe not Rogue. But Bobby, definitely. Josh he’s not yet figured out) is that it’s better to go in stages, and wait until they’re blind drunk before springing the final surprise.
”The plan is, we get the hell outta here before Scarlet picks up on what we’re doing and sends either Monocle or Monobrow to come stop us. The rest I’ll fill y’in on once we’re out of range.” He glances round the motley crew, flashing them a final grin (and if that lingers on Rogue for a second or two longer, then it’s coincidence and hardly noticeable anyway) before heading to make the descent. ”Still with me?”
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Post by Rogue on Oct 16, 2006 23:54:27 GMT
”The plan is, we get the hell outta here before Scarlet picks up on what we’re doing and sends either Monocle or Monobrow to come stop us. The rest I’ll fill y’in on once we’re out of range. Still with me?”
Staying beside Bobby, hand in his, she tries to puzzle out just what - or, rather, who - John's talking about.
Monocle, Monobrow..? Scarlet, she's assuming, is Jean, simply because it's logical. So the other are obviously strange nicknames he's chosen for other teachers, and she decides to simply drop it, and gives a small nod.
Hopefully whatever it is will be fun. Of course, knowing John, it will be, at least mostly. Until something bad happened. But that was just part of the adventure.
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Post by Josh Dalton Worthington on Oct 17, 2006 0:06:23 GMT
> Oh, which reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about it, um, later.
"Sure, if you think I can help. I'm finishing mine up, too." The paper was for Xavier's Ethics class - and seeing as there were little ethical arguments inherent to the use of telekinesis, Bobby had to have gotten something having to do with telepathy. Sometimes, the fact that he actually had telepathy floored Josh, let alone pondering the ethics of it. So far, he'd had little luck using it offensively.
> Still with me?”
Josh bites his lip a little. He had no problem sneaking out on *Scooter* Summers, but Jean was an entirely different story. Would she pick up his guilty thoughts in session tommorrow? They were set to do some practicing in the Danger Room. We're kids. We're supposed to do this kind of thing. And seriously, the Mansion was dead during summer break. Well, I'll just have to be cool about it.
So he flashes a confident grin and says, "Hell yeah. Here's hoping that 'Monobrow' isn't prowling around outside. Can I carry anything?"
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