Who: Jean-Paul Beaubier and Victor Borkowski NPCs: --- When: April 12, 2010 Where: Xavier's School, Victor's Room and then they take flight What: JP finally pays a visit to his troubled fan, Victor. Rating: PG
It had not been horribly hard to find the school. Jean-Paul must have flown over it numerous times on his way to Canada. He circled the air a few times, catching the lay of the land. Nice. Really, truly a pity he'd not gone to a place like this, and his Beta teammate, Box, had.
He'd called ahead to let Xavier know he was coming via air a couple minutes ago. He landed on the grass and looked around, walking toward the building.
Victor was sitting holed up in his room, trying to catch up on his homework. There was too much of a chance of being bothered by another student or having to make polite conversation with someone if he stayed in one of the common areas. He could have done his work outdoors, but it was cold and he was just as likely to run into someone there. He could have camouflaged himself, but that would have been incredibly tiring.
So there he was on his own, going through his Algebra worksheets. His new arm still ached at times, but it seemed to function with the same precision that the old one had. This was definitely a good thing, but it also meant that he couldn't weasel his way out of homework. He had caught up with the backlog for the most part, but the mere act of catching up had him feeling like it was a serious slog to get through his more recent assignments.
He let out a deep sigh, resting his chin in his clawless hand as he tried to remember what Professor Summers had gone over in the last algebra class.
Whisking up the stairs to the right room the Professor had told him about, JP paused and looked at the inside of the place. My, it certainly was nice. Again, sure beat his upbringing.
He reached in his shoulder bag to pull out a jacket to put over his Avengers' uniform, which he wore partially because it's what he wore all the time when he flew due to its aerodynamic material and in case his civies may let the boy confused. After nodding and saying 'Bon Jour' to a passing student, he knocked on the door of what he was told was Victor's room.
Victor let out a loud groan of exasperation. Why couldn't people leave him alone? Why? The only person who should have been anywhere near that door was Quentin, and he wouldn't have knocked. Therefore, Victor had to assume that it was someone there to talk to him or bother his private time.
He yanked the door open with his strong arm, a full glower ready for the person on the other side. However, this wasn't a student. He blinked, taking in the sight in disbelief. It was Northstar! "Oh...my...God..." For a moment, he felt a heady rush of glee, but then the gears in his mind continued turning. If he's here...if he's knocking on my door...then he'd actually read--oh God I'm going to be sick...
Jean-Paul stood there grinning at the green boy - and goodness, he wasn't kidding, he was quite green, like his old teammate Marrina from Alpha Flight. " 'Allo? You are Victor, are you not?" He said to the aghast boy.
And no pun intended, but the boy did like a little green around the gills. Perhaps JP should have made sure the boy was not feeling sick before visiting. No matter, JP's immune system was stellar, having to do with the superspeed. The worst it ever got was a cold for an hour - one of the most miserable hours he ever had in his life.
"I'm sorry it took so long to come see you." He started. "But..." he tilted his head, "are you feeling all right?"
"Yeah, I...I'm Victor," the green boy managed to stammer out, still looking completely dumbfounded. So apparently not only had Northstar been reading his emails, he'd been reading then long enough to apologize for the delay in coming to see him. His brow furrowed in confusion. "I...I...wow. You're really Northstar."
He didn't know whether to hug the man or camouflage to keep from making a further ass of himself. He smiled, clearly appreciating the visit even as he averted his eyes. He murmured a shy response. "I didn't think you actually read my emails..."
"I hope I am, I'd hate to think there are two of us..." JP paused. "But my twin sister is similar enough. And then there's Piet- ah, nevermind. Yes. It's me." He leaned in the doorway a bit and looked beyond. "Did I catch you at a bad time? Or can I come in? You're ah... schoolmates are looking at me funny." He caught a glimpse of one and waved courteously.
He decided that the emails were something to be discussed privately. They were personal and the boy was feeling embarrassed enough, it seemed. "Or would you like to go somewhere? I could fly us."
Northstar was giving him the option to leave the presence of the student body for awhile? Yes, please! He was smiling more brightly now. "If we could go somewhere. That'd be cool." And he'd get to see Northstar's powers in action! He turned, grabbing his sweatshirt from off the bed. He took an awkward moment to pull it on. He couldn't wait for the summer when he didn't have to worry about pulling long sleeves over his misshapen arm!
"That is quite an arm." JP took notice, titling his head to take a closer look at it. "If you like, I have connections in the fashion design world who can make some alterations for you, if you like."
He pulled out an extra visor for the boy. "You will want to wear these. I go rather fast."
"I've been trying my hand at altering stuff. Just it still gets sore." Victor murmured sheepishly, feeling stupidly starstruck. Of course Northstar had connections in the fashion world! The perplexing thing was that the man was standing here telling Victor about it. He shut his mouth, dutifully putting on the visor.
"Can you handle high altitudes?" JP felt a need to ask. He really needed to talk to the boy, not ask him silly stuff like this, but JP's slight claustrophobia was kicking in, so that was his excuse. But, in reality, he was trying to figure out this kid. He knew a lot from the notes, but JP knew that what you write and how you act are two different animals.
He looked past Victor and to the window. "Shall we take the other door out?" He tossed the boy a smile. Doors were out. Windows were in.
"I'm not afraid of heights, if that's what you're asking...." High altitudes were for, like, airplanes and mountain climbers and stuff right? Victor was excited at the prospect of seeing Northstar's world the way Northstar saw it--at speeds and altitudes he could only dream of. He glanced from the man to the window and back, his eyebrow raising with each pass. "That?"
JP walked to the window as slowly as he could and opened it. "Ahh, yes, that's about right. You have nice open air out here." And he put his arm on the window and held out his hand. "Ready? We'll start off slow."
This was what JP knew he could do - fly, go fast, impress... it was the other stuff he actually felt quite nervous about.
Victor smiled, a little bit of apprehension slipping away. He was going to go flying with Northstar--oh man he was going to rub this in people's faces later! He stepped forward, grabbing onto Northstar's hand.
JP gripped one hand and pulled him out the window, then gripped the boys waist floated there for a moment. "One tap means stop, right? Oh, and take a deep breath. I'll stop soon." He said. Without waiting for an answer, JP headed up then out. He went fast for a minute and stopped to see how the boy was doing.
Victor did as he was told, and then in practically a blink they were zooming away from the school. It was incredibly terrifying but so epically cool that he couldn't complain. He was glad he'd been told to take a deep breath, otherwise the wind would've been solidly knocked out of him at the speeds they were going.
When they stopped, he caught his breath, an honest smile on his face. "That was awesome!"
And that smile warmed JP's heart. Sure, it was an ego boost, but JP had the ability to make this boy happy, how can anyone be unhappy with that. "Any particular place you would like to go? The beach? a mountain top? Atop a high building? Or would you like to just wing it?"