InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "And I'm rollin down the line"

Bobby Drake (freeziepop) wrote in wariscoming,
@ 2010-05-17 21:40:00

Entry tags:

bobby drake, needy lesnicki

Who: Bobby Drake and OPEN
What: Arriving! In his boxers. At night. In December. And being unphased!
When: Night, December 17th.
Where: Random park is random!
Warnings: None. He’s a superhero, c’mon now.

Bobby groaned at the breeze on his face. Damnit, someone must have opened his window. It was Saturday! There were no classes on Saturday, and training wasn’t supposed to happen until later. Ugh, these people could be monsters. He was a teenage boy with nothing to do on a lazy Saturday morning! Why couldn’t they just let him sleep? He bet it was Cyclops. The guy was still so stiff and sometimes seemed to have trouble with the notion that they weren’t soldiers. Although Bobby guessed they kind of were, what with the whole mutant rescue team thing they had going on, but they were also superheroes! Sort of. Okay, so most of the superheroing that they did was as part of one of the Professor’s nontraditional educational exercises, but still. They fought crime, and they had powers! Thus, superheroes.

Hey, if Batman could count as a superhero without powers, they totally counted.

With a groan, Bobby heaved himself into a lazy roll out of bed so that he could go sneak into Cyclops’ room and freeze every pair of his boxers as retaliation for the early wake-up call. Or at least, that’s what he tried to do, but there was a lot less of his bed than there usually was and the next thing he knew he was spilling out onto the grass. “Oof!” Man, that hurt. He really screwed up that-

Wait. The grass? There definitely wasn’t any grass in his room, and he was pretty sure there were no nature-manipulators at the school yet. Bobby pushed himself up into a seated position at the same time as he opened his eyes. “…When did my room become a park?” He supposed it was possible that Jean was playing a prank on him, but he hadn’t pissed her off lately. He hadn’t even “accidentally” stumbled into the girls’ locker room this week! Or redrilled that little hole he’d used to peer in there. He hadn’t even been thinking about it! So this couldn’t be some kind of psychic simulation. Or if it was, it wasn’t Jean’s doing. The Professor could have done it, but would he? It could be a critical thinking exercise…

With that thought in mind, Bobby pushed himself to his feet, abundantly aware of the fact that he was in just his boxers. He didn’t mind. All that training with Cyclops and Wolverine, and the working out with Colossus, had done his teenage body very good. He was buffer than most guys his age and he knew it, and consequently didn’t have a whole lot of modesty about his physique. Besides, that was probably just a condition Xavier had set on the simulation to try and distract him. “Okay, so first thing’s first…” He glanced around until he found one of those newspaper dispensers and then jogged over to it. He didn’t have any money, but there was no need to actually buy the paper. He crouched down and peered through the glass, reading the location and inadvertently catching sight of the date. “Time travel?” That wasn’t something that Xavier would train them for, since Bobby was pretty sure Hank had said it was impossible at the current level of technology. Of course, there was the possibility of a time traveling mutant, so maybe that’s what this exercise was supposed to simulate. He could roll with that.

The next step was to find a payphone and call collect back to the mansion. First step, ascertain your situation, second step, make contact with home base. He really DID listen when Scott talked! …Sometimes.

Okay, so it was night. In December. A good few years in the future, too. And he had nothing but his boxers on. No wonder people were giving him weird looks! It wasn’t his fault that he wasn’t shivering, that was just a perk of his mutation! Still, he was going to have to ask someone for directions to a payphone. “If this is real, I am so getting arrested,” Bobby mumbled unhappily. He really hoped this was a psychic simulation. Silver bracelets didn’t go well with plaid boxers. Then he took a deep breath, ran his hand through his blonde hair to try and tame the bedhead, and started looking for either a payphone or a person to ask about a payphone.

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hellisagirl
2010-05-18 08:45 pm UTC (link)

Needy had been on her way home from work when she spotted the kid running around in his underwear in the park. In the middle of the night. In December. And the weird thing was that it wasn't all that unusual of an occurrence. Okay, so maybe the fact that he was in his boxers was pretty new, but people looking clueless as they wandered around? Not so much. Not since people started showing up from other dimensions or universes or whatever.

Once upon a time Needy would have never gone wandering up to a guy that was wandering around in just his boxers. But, once upon a time Needy had been a pushover that wouldn't have been able to handle herself in a fight if her life depended on it. Those days were long gone. With a bit of a sigh she changed course and headed towards the kid in question. Kid because as she got closer she could tell that he was probably younger than she was. And considering she was just nineteen, that made him a kid.

"New in town?" she asked, brow perked as she got close enough to talk to him without having to yell. If he was a new arrival other people didn't need to hear what all she had to say. It'd just draw too much attention to her. "Or are you just a member of the polar bear club?"

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freeziepop
2010-05-18 08:56 pm UTC (link)

Bobby sighed in relief as he finally heard someone talking to him. So far everyone he'd approached had either made it very clear they wanted nothing to do with him, or shied away before he could even reach them. He'd let them go, because the last thing he needed was for the professor to create some policeman to slap fake handcuffs on him. Xavier was a good guy, but he could be really smug sometimes.

The minute he turned, he decided this was definitely one of Jean's. The professor would absolutely not have thrown both a hot chick and a pun at him like that. Jean, on the other hand, didn't fight fair. Well, two could play at that game. Jean, he thought in what he hoped was a loud mental voice, I am totally going to freeze every pair of panties you own for this. When the simulation didn't end, and the girl didn't turn into a ninja bent on his demise, Bobby began to consider the unpleasant possibility that maybe this wasn't some kind of simulation at all.

"Um." He smiled at her with his best reassuring I-am-not-a-psycho smiles. "Yeah, uh, I guess I am. I was just looking for a payphone so I could call home. You wouldn't happen to know where one is, would you?" It took a supreme force of will, but Bobby did not check her out. First of all, she probably would've spotted it. Second of all, checking out a hot chick when you were in just your boxers would lead to awkwardness of the obvious sort. Plus, he was still trying to be all professional and superheroic, here.

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hellisagirl
2010-05-18 09:11 pm UTC (link)

Needy nodded as he spoke. Man, she had gotten good at spotting the newbies over the last... god, how long had she been there? Six months? About as long as she had been locked up. Jennifer had been dead a year now.

Okay. Not the time to ponder all that stuff. Needed to help this kid out and all. "Welcome to Lawrence, Kansas," she started, figuring that he had no idea where he was if she was as new as she guessed. "I can do you one better than a payphone though. You can use my cell." And with that she pulled open her messenger bag to get it. After digging around for a minute, and having to pull her bowie knife out of the way she finally found it and held it out to him with her other hand as she shoved the knife back in her bag. "Here. Chances are the numbers won't work though. And if you try to take off with it I warn you, I will catch you." She was faster than most, after all. Faster than everyone that didn't have some sort of super power. And she had the whole flight thing. And didn't tire easy, which she assumed went with her healing.

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freeziepop
2010-05-18 09:24 pm UTC (link)

Bobby nodded when she'd mentioned Lawrence. "Yeah, that paper said-" His voice cut off abruptly when he saw the knife. That was a big knife. If it was one of his friends showing it off, he'd have called it awesome. But when a stranger he met in the park just whipped one out while searching for her cell phone? It gave him pause. Especially when he was getting more and more certain that this wasn't Jean's handiwork. Not that a hot chick with a big knife wasn't kind of, well, hot, but he'd soured on that whole vibe after being kidnapped by Weapon X. He still had nightmares about getting recaptured, sometimes.

He forcibly took hold of his mind. Dude. No shit she's got a knife in her bag, it's nighttime in a city. Chill out. Not everybody is a Weapon X operative in disguise. It helped that it was still sheathed, but all the same, he gave it a wary eye and scooted back just a step. "That's, uh, that's a really nice knife," he mumbled, chuckling lightly. "Let me just say I am really, really grateful for your help and definitely won't even consider running off with your phone." Then he took the offered phone, wondering what she meant about the numbers. Why wouldn't they work? She didn't know where he was going to be calling.

That finally got his better judgment working, and he hesitated, brow furrowing. "Hey, uh, I am totally grateful, but why won't they work?" Maybe she was a Weapon X operative. They liked to brag, and it was entirely believable that they had some kind of signal jamming going on. Or it could have just been a 'I can stab you before you can even finish dialing' type of taunt. He'd use her answer as the deciding factor as to whether he tried again or just gave the phone back and tried to run off before she could do something to him.

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hellisagirl
2010-05-18 09:35 pm UTC (link)

"Thanks," Needy shrugged a bit. She really didn't think much of the fact that she kept a knife on her. Especially a big one like that. She liked her big bowie knife. It was way better than the one that she'd used to take out Low Shoulder, then stupidly left at the scene. Not that she really cared where she left it, that band never even existed outside of a retarded movie in this world. "It's a... dangerous city, even though it doesn't look it. I need it sometimes." And that was putting it mildly. Most people would hear 'dangerous city' and assume muggers and the like. She meant demons.

But when he asked why the numbers wouldn't work she frowned a little. "Well, the good news is that they might work for you. If this is your dimension. This might sound crazy to you but there's a lot of people here from alternate universes or whatever. We've been getting dragged here through a seal that got broken and... okay, it's complicated. But the point is that if you got dragged here, too, the numbers won't work because wherever it is doesn't exist here. Or the number will work but it'll go to the wrong place." Wow. She was really bad at explaining shit that night. Usually Needy was way better at this sort of thing. "It's December 17th, 2009, by the way. That might help you figure out if something is wrong or not." After all, she didn't know that he'd already seen a paper.

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freeziepop
2010-05-18 09:50 pm UTC (link)

"Oh!" There was actually relief in his voice. "Alternate dimension. Okay, geez, that's so much better than what I thought was going on." Considering he thought there were commandos all over the place getting ready to drop cover and capture him, it actually kind of was. He offered the phone back to her. "Yeah, those won't work. Unless you guys have X-Men here." The X-Men being public figures at this point meant that Bobby sometimes ran his mouth a little too casually.

He couldn't help laughing a little, and running both hands through his mop of blonde hair. It hadn't quite set in yet that this meant he was lost in an alternate universe without things like money, or ID, or, y'know, pants. He wasn't quite as concerned about the city being dangerous. Muggers vs. Iceman wasn't really a fight that the muggers could win. Although if there were mutants, or people like them in this dimension, then any less morally inclined ones could be a problem.

The laughter faded as it began to register. "Oh. Oh wait." His eyes widened. "I don't exist here, do I?" How was he supposed to survive? Xavier didn't train them for this! He did, however, train them in dealing with fear, and after the fight with Proteus, Bobby was a little more adept at dealing with it than he had once been. "Okay, suddenly being surrounded by evil commandos doesn't seem so bad." He looked to her again, confused. "So...how did you survive here? Or do you have a doppelganger here?" That was theoretically possible, right? He thought so. All the sci-fi stuff he'd ever watched usually threw in some doppelgangers in this sort of situation.

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hellisagirl
2010-05-18 10:02 pm UTC (link)

Needy perked a brow at that as she took her phone back. He seemed way too okay with the idea of an alternate dimension, but then again it was possible that he was from a world that was used to stuff like that. Like the Kingdom Hearts kids were. "Nope, no X-Men. We've got a bunch of Bats, Superman, Spider-Woman, and Ghost Rider though," she said with a quick shrug. "And yes. I know I'm mixing and matching universes here, but bare with me. They all exist here just as much as we do."

This was a surprising kid though. He was handling the news better than half of the adults that showed up here had, and asking good questions to top it off. "Nope. You don't exist here. Not legally, at least. But we've got a complex set up for those of us that show up from other places. And yeah, I do have a doppleganger. Someone that looks like me, at least. But she's nothing like me. She's an actress and played me in a movie."

And that made her think of something else. Needy pulled her bag open again and went for a little interior zipper pocket where she kept extra amulets. "Here," she said, pulling one out and holding it towards the kid. "This'll protect you. This world has crazy demons that'll possess you, but they can't as long as you have that on. And my name's Needy, I'm one of the people in charge of the complex."

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freeziepop
2010-05-18 10:26 pm UTC (link)

Some of those names he recognized. He loved comics, so it was a safe bet that he'd read a lot of those. The other names he didn't recognize. He knew Spider-Man, and considered the guy if not a friend than at least a friendly acquaintance. Ghost Rider, on the other hand, wasn't even close to a familiar name. It was only thanks to his increasing ability to stay cool under pressure that he didn't get ridiculously happy about Superman being here. It was still awesome, but there were more important things to deal with right now.

A complex? That didn't sound so bad. He'd spent quite a bit of time at the mansion, and he actually enjoyed living near friends. If he was being entirely honest, this could very well be an elaborate set up, but the facts were lining up too well for what she was saying to not be true. Besides, the pantsless could not be choosers, and he could always just freeze the place and get the hell out of things started to go south. "Cool. You guys got room for one more?" He considered it a second and added, "Though I should probably get some pants first. First impressions, and all." His eyebrows rose at the actress playing her in a movie. "So wait. Are we all, like...fictional here?" Did he have fanfiction? Did he have fangirls? This was an important question for a teenage superhero!

The importance of that question was quickly trumped, however, when she said 'crazy demons'. The wonder and amusement in his eyes faded, replaced with something a little more professional. "Thanks." He took the amulet with a grateful nod and donned it, apparently not worried about how crazy he looked in plaid boxers and an amulet. "I'm Bobby. Bobby Drake." He fiddled with the amulet for a second. "So...demons?" Xavier really didn't train them for demons, so he needed some information on those things stat.

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hellisagirl
2010-05-18 10:59 pm UTC (link)

"Sure do," Needy said, grinning. "The building still has just under half it's rooms still free, plus it's all set up to keep the demons and shit out." Bobby Drake, huh? Yeah, Needy knew that name. She saw those movies more than once with Jennifer. And Sean Ashmore was pretty hot. Sadly though, this kid didn't look like Sean Ashmore. "Not all of us are "fictional" around here." She did air quotes and everything. She felt they were necessary. "But a lot of us are. And if you're the Bobby Drake that can turn anything into ice, including yourself, then sorry, you're one of us."

She paused at the demons question, trying to think of the best way to explain. "Congrats, you're the lucky winner of a trip right to the middle of the Apocalypse. Seriously. It's a whole us versus demons versus angels thing. The demons you can't just sabby kill, which sucks. You have to trap them in this special trap, it looks like your amulet, and exorcise them. But not to worry, Andrew will totally teach you how to do that stuff. He's one of the other leaders, higher up on the ladder than I am."

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freeziepop
2010-05-18 11:52 pm UTC (link)

"That sounds like a place I'd like to be," he chuckled. There was strength in numbers and the place was defended. Sounded like the best place to be in this particular situation. "Although, uh, I don't have any money. So maybe I can do something for rent until I can get some jobs." Because at his age, he would need more than one to pay even a cheap rent. Probably more than two, unless he could get a ton of hours at whatever low-paying job he managed to land. Still, better than being on his own when there were demons running around.

The fictional thing he didn't have a problem with. The X-Men were crazy huge celebrities in Tokyo, and even though he hadn't gone with Scott, Piotr, and Ororo on that trip, he was more than aware that there had been some fans of his out there. Colossus had apparently been asked to pass on a few numbers. "I can deal with the fictional thing." Besides, he wasn't too terribly ashamed of most of his life, so he didn't have as much to worry about as some might have.

Then she answered his question about the demons. His eyes widened, and almost as soon as she'd stopped talking he squeaked out, "The Apocalypse?!" He winced, kind of embarrassed about how that came out, and tried again after a second. "The Apocalypse. Fighting demons and angels." This was so very far from good that he couldn't even see good anymore. "Okay. That's good. I definitely need to learn how to fight these things." Which wasn't exactly what she'd said, but it was close enough that right now his mind was crossing the wires.

Besides, he was an X-Man. Sitting on the sidelines wasn't really his thing.

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hellisagirl
2010-05-19 12:29 am UTC (link)

"It's rent free, actually. And there's a community kitchen as well as kitchens in all of the apartments, so you'll have food and everything. And... we can probably find someone to loan you some clothes until you manage to snag a job or something to get you your own." She paused then, thinking for a quick moment. When it came to getting things for people, that was one of the areas where Needy could help with no problem. She still hadn't blown through all that money she acquired during that crazy little kryptonite incident. "Actually, if you want we can swing by Wal-Mart. Tell me your sizes and I can run inside and grab you the basics." No, she would not buy him new underwear. That was totally up to him. Or anyone else that felt like giving him a hand with that part.

"Alright, if you can deal with the fictional thing then you're already a step ahead of a lot of the others. Most people freak the fuck out when they find that out." Needy sure did. And she had been at work when she found out about that movie. But then she'd shown up at the movie premier and made a scene. That was fun alright. One of the only good things to have come from the kryptonite.

Ugh. She hated telling people about the whole impending end of the world thing. It was a major downer. But whatever, they had to find out eventually, and the sooner they found out the better. "Yep. It's a situation. We're trying to take care of it. And Andrew and Buffy teach self defense and everything at the complex, and the basics of how to fight the things."

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