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| How Soon Is Now?; Tag: Jean | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 7 2010, 03:45 AM (332 Views) | |
| Bobby Drake | Jul 7 2010, 03:45 AM Post #1 |
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Date: 15 May 10 Time: 1:34pm Winter had just about had enough of the null cuff these goody two shoes fuckers slapped on him. It didn't take him long to come up with a plan. Going to the infirmary and duping some nurse to take off the cuff for a few moments, which would be long enough for him to run off. Ruby was getting too damn comfortable in this hell hole. He could stay if he wanted, but Winter didn't want to stick around null cuffed and sticking around these do gooders. He would sneak back later to see if Ruby was going to leave or stay later on. Winter made his way down to the infirmary, holding his head. After walking through the doors he sat down on the nearest bed and told the nurse gruffly that his head hurt. The nurse asked him a few questions but when Winter had said, 'It started to hurt when the cuff came on, it's gotten worse since then' that the nurse took off the cuff to see if he'd feel better. He told her, “Much better.” Moving quick he pushed her down and quickly headed out the door. Running at first but slowing his pace when he started to see the others around. Keeping a steady pace Winter headed outside. He wasn't much of a strategist, that part was usually up to Ruby. It was when he reached the gardens he slowed his pace and wondered what he would do next. Most moves that were made was usually because Ruby told him to. So it was go back and be cuffed, or run off and run the risk of leaving Ruby behind. Scratching his head Winter walked slowly to think about what it was he would do. |
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| Jean | Jul 7 2010, 04:30 PM Post #2 |
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When the call came in from the rattled trainee nurse, it was more conformation that she was the only grown-up left in the Xavier Playgroup Institute, and one of their charges was making soggy-diapered waddle for freedom. :: I’m sorry, Jean, he just pushed me down and took off :: the girl thought to her, dread and panic giving her thoughts a bitter edge. At least he hadn’t done anything more violent than a shove, which was a relief. :: Don’t worry about, Annie, I’ll take care of it. :: she reassured her then turned her thoughts to finding their stray lamb. She’d had a few talks with him, and perhaps it was just his face, but she couldn’t picture their jokester, even one from the other side, as a lethal threat. She pinpointed him in moments, he was trying nonchalance to escape, taking his time as he strolled up from the basement complex. After asking herself, where will he go now, she headed for the garden; it was away from people and that was what appealed to this Bobby, the need to be alone. Flying out of her office window, it was only took a moment to reach the garden. As she lurked behind a tall hedge, waiting for her quarry to amble by, she thought about the differences between him and their Bobby – their Bobby, the jokester who always loved playing to an audience, and this sullen Winter, who only wanted to hide away from people, like a sulky, angst-ridden teen. Unfortunately, her traitorous thoughts threw Ruby into the mix… Ruby. It shouldn’t have been surprise that all of his “gang” took their cues from him. He had never really matured, never grown out of the “me me me” stage and neither had they. “Winter,” she said as she stepped suddenly into his midst, “nice day for a walk,” she began pleasantly. “Good idea, I’ll join you, but it looks like you were in such a hurry to get outside that you forgot your bracelet.” |
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| Bobby Drake | Jul 8 2010, 12:05 AM Post #3 |
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A voice behind Winter had caught his attention. It took him a moment to remember that the red head approaching him was this world's Marvel. Or more accurately Jean Grey-Summers. He took a breath of air to calm himself down. No matter how kind she would ever approach him Winter would always see her first as Marvel. The scary as fuck, and just as ill-tempered as he was, telepathic, SHEILD bitch. The snow wielding mutant had to admit to himself compared to the Marvel he knew, Frost in either world, and Grey-Summers he preferred the goody good version. She told him that she'd join him in his 'walk' and that he 'forgot' his 'bracelet'. Looking away from Grey-Summers, Winter mumbled back to her, “Yea sure... whatever you gotta say to sleep at night.” Most of the time Winter's attitude was tamed down by Ruby. Sure Frost could read whatever thought crossed into his head but for the most part he was calmed down by the boss. He wasn't a fan of the blonde telepathic slut, or the blue one who pined and pined only to fucking bail on Ruby. All these fucking whores who stopped by for a one night stand was annoying as hell. At least this red head was tolerable. Didn't mean Winter was going to jump at the chance to be all buddy buddy with her. Great... now I gotta be stuck with- goddamnit, I shoulda just kept going. Come back for Ruby later. Like he would even go. Bet she's got him wrapped around her finger. Winter didn't really think it through that Jean could have very well read his mind. He didn't really care, all that he was being a part of now was someone else's life. So whoop-dee damn do, another reminder as to why he wanted to get back to their world as fast as they could. |
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| Jean | Jul 8 2010, 05:11 PM Post #4 |
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Jean half-smirked at Winter’s snotty little comment; if he wanted to be sarcastic, she could certainly oblige… and give it back to him with both barrels. “I appreciate your concern that I get a good night’s sleep,” she lied, the sarcasm in her words as light as a feather, rather than like Winter’s, layered on with a trowel. “While the opportunity to place my trust in the hands of an unremorseful career criminal with a hair-trigger temper was certainly tempting,” she continued blithely, as though they were just a couple of pals chatting about the weather and what might be for dinner in a few hours, “in the end, though, considering all the pros and cons, I’m satisfied with the arrangement. I consider Bobby Drake a good friend of mine and I’d hate for him to come back to his life and find himself staring down the wrong end of a fifteen year stretch in a SHIELD prison cell for multiple counts of assault, battery, theft, endangerment, destruction of property, and possibly attempted murder charge two, depending on how much they’ll want to pile it on; with only a flimsy ‘yeah, it was me but not really me’ story to offer up to the judge.” She cocked an eye at him, “That body you’re walking around in is only on loan, and for Bobby’s sake, it’s my responsibility to make sure he gets it back in as good a shape as he left it.” Jean had been slowly walking around Winter as she sketched out the disastrous trouble that he could land Bobby in, and idly gazing around the garden. Nonchalantly, she leaned forward and sniffed a large purple blossom that she didn’t recognize and reckoned that it was one of Avery’s special creations. “However, never let it be said that I’m unfair; if you find it too troublesome to wear the cuff, you can choose to be confined to a 6 X 10 null cell for the remainder of your time here,” she told him with a disarmingly warm smile. “I’ll visit with you regularly and make sure you have enough books to read. I’m sure the time will just fly by.” |
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| Bobby Drake | Jul 13 2010, 04:15 PM Post #5 |
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Winter clenched his teeth down on top of one another. It wasn’t that she had told him what was constantly being told to him at the school, or that she told him if he didn’t want the cuff then he’d be a resident of their little fucking prison, or even that she’d be keeping him company. It was her pleasant sounding voice. At least when Marvel was being a bitch she had the voice to match but with this it just felt odd, fake even. She nailed it though he was a criminal, and who would throw a kind word to him, or a kind tone towards him? At least the other red headed who gave him a knee to sensitive areas had a goddamned tone. But Grey-Summers was truly different than the woman he knew. He felt himself being very annoyed at it, if she was going to threaten a cell stay she could at least yell and be a bitch about it. That and Winter was getting damned sick and tired of hearing ‘that’s not your body, you’re not our Bobby, you’re only here temporarily, that body’s on loan. He knew that, he wasn’t a moron. Sure he never went to high school but that shit was not his fault, doesn’t mean it made him a complete fucking moron. Winter started to gather up a slight chill in his body temperature, “Do you really think I’m that stupid? Like I don’t know? If anyone would have a fucking clue that I’m not in my body it’d be me. I don’t need you or anyone else telling me otherwise.” He looked in the opposite direction away from her. Not caring too much that he was walking with Marvel. |
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| Jean | Jul 13 2010, 07:15 PM Post #6 |
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Winter’s sullen outburst began with Do you really think I’m that stupid?...” and went on from there. Biting back an answer to his question that the young man probably wouldn’t want to hear or appreciate the humor of, Jean merely nodded along with infuriating patience and saintly understanding; they were a deadly combination in any argument. “I like what you said about you not being stupid and I’m glad you realize that you aren’t. A lot of the time, people forget to stop and really consider a situation,” she said and paused, giving him a moment to do a little reconsidering. “Have you ever made a mistake, I mean, pulled one hell of a boner that later on, thinking back on it, you just want to put your face in your hands and wonder how you could’ve done something so bone-headed, and you ask yourself,” Jean tilted her face up to the sky and raised her hands in a pleading gesture, “What in God’s name was I thinking?” Dropping the pantomime, she swiveled her gaze back to Winter. “Wouldn’t it have been great if, before you pulled that prized boner, you’d stopped and thought… thought really hard about it? Winter,” she said with a deadpan seriousness, “this is that time. “So far, you only pushed Annie down, something that wasn’t very nice, but hardly a capital offense. Turn around and go back before that boner happens,” she said as she got in his way and pointed back to the school. “It’s that way.” |
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| Bobby Drake | Jul 14 2010, 04:27 AM Post #7 |
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As Grey-Summers replied to his statement he never met her eyes. As she started to talk about making a bad choice he listened more carefully, and felt her gaze fall on him. He slowed down his pace even more as she was finishing, mentioning that pushing that one nurse, while not nice, wasn't a capital offense. The redhead then stood in front of him and pointed to the school. Stopping in his tracks and looking at her pointing to the school Winter thought like she said to. Not meeting her eyes he turned around to look at the school. “It's too damn hot out here. The 'boner' move was taking the walk in this fucking heat.” He didn't want Jean to hold any sort of satisfaction by being right. Winter also didn't Ruby to know, that was for certain. It would probably not happen though. If that nurse didn't say something, it would have been Grey-Summers to snitch him out. He shoved his hands into his pockets, which incidentally enough when their Bobby had first arrived at the mansion whenever he thought he was going to be in it deep would do the same thing. During time the Bobby Drake who would take on the codename Iceman had grown out of it. He had more confidence in himself to stand his ground when in deep trouble. Even during KICK. The same was not said for Winter, he was at best a childish, moody, ill-tempered, criminal who was stuck in the wrong god damned world. He didn't want to ask her if she was going to tell Ruby or not, worried it may give her a thread or eight to hold against him. There was no way he was going to give her any fuel for blackmail. Winter still had a problem separating Jean Grey-Summers and Marvel. |
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| Cyclops | Jul 14 2010, 08:34 AM Post #8 |
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He was growing too comfortable here, but that didn't mean he was growing soft. Quite the contrary. Ruby'd never felt stronger, physically. He wasn't a particularly athletic man back home. He was a skinny gangly kid, and as he grew up, his activity found new ways to be hampered-- his shattered knee that gave him the need for a cane, his dependence on pills, liquor. The most exercise he ever got, to be honest, was his very energetic romps with Emma, or Lorelei, or whoever struck his fancy for the night. Ruby was very good at expending his energy in that fashion, because, much like his counterpart, he was a perfectionist. He would do whatever it was he did to exact standards, or he would practice it and practice it until it met those standards. Why should the act of taking a woman to bed, even one of the occasional prostitutes and call girls that warmed the sheets for a time, be any different? But, in this place, things were different. This world's Scott Summers was used to an active lifestyle, even when not fighting to save the world. He worked hard to keep himself in shape, not just because exercise was healthy, not just because he needed to be fit to fight, but because his wife was absolutely gorgeous, and she deserved for him to present to her a pleasing appearance. He was not fashionable, not a genius, not a rich man or a pretty boy, but he could keep himself someone she found attractive. It wasn't too hard. Ruby, now trapped in this body, found himself interested in maintain this physique, keeping up with Scott's exercise regimen. Like the counterpart, though he'd never admit it, Ruby was being to develop a taste for the ache after strenuous, healthy activity. He was beginning to want the sweat of hard work, as opposed to the pampered existence from before. Plus, let's call a spade a spade here. Ruby hadn't gotten laid since he came here. While he was pretty certain he could talk this version of Emma Frost into a meaningless fuck, the gangster had some semblence of honor, as sketchy as it might seem to those who didn't understand. Technically, he was a married man, this body was married at least, and while he wouldn't bat an eye at taking advantage of his charm and ambition to woo some hopeful banker's wife in order to get a secret or two, when it came to fucking over Jean Grey-Summers, the Marvel who was not Marvel, he felt that it was taboo to entertain the notion. After all, he had nothing to gain from it, at the moment. Maybe if he found a way to stay her, he could have the thrill of the hunt. That would never happen if he fucked around on her. She wasn't one of his girls. She was something else altogether. At any rate, Ruby was taking advantage of his mobility and strength to jog around the grounds, his thoughts on how to get home, or how not to get home, wondering what his people were doing without him, wondering if they were better off without him, hating himself, hating his counterpart, wanting something more, knowing he deserved something less. He ran fast, ran hard, as if by the pounding of his feet on the dirt, he could make the earth suffer the way he felt he had. His fists were clenched tight, and his face was grim and hard beneath the sheen of sweat. So intent was he on this metaphorical attempt to flee everything and run towards everything, that he almost missed the sight of Winter, in the body of his counterpart, walking with Jean, in her own perfect form. Ruby's eyes narrowed. What the fuck did those two have to talk about, he thought jealously, though if you asked him, there was no green eyed monster here. "Hey," he called out, as he joined them, wiping his forehead with his forearm, careful as always not to dislodge his glasses. He wore his null cuff, but it was not turned on. He'd bypassed it, the way he always did. Most of the people here didn't know that he wasn't their leader, but what would they do when they found out? He suspected, probably incorrectly, that not all of them were going to let him explain before he was a spot on the far wall. Because of that, he'd be fucked with a pogo stick before he walked around unarmed. "What's going on?" he asked, looking at the two. He caught sight of Winter's hands shoved in his pockets, and Ruby knew there was no way to do that with the Null Cuff on. He smacked the kid on the back of his head, abruptly, "Where the fuck's your cuff, Winter?" |
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| Jean | Jul 14 2010, 06:31 PM Post #9 |
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‘It was too hot,’ that was all he had to say. If Jean been the kind of person who indulged in mindless violence, she’d have smacked the back of his head told him not to be such a ninny. Not that the way he acted was completely his fault, he was a product of his environment; he was Bobby, after all, Winter had the potential to be everything that Bobby Drake was, for good or bad, mostly good though. Fundamentally, Bobby, both Bobbys, were followers and eager to please, it was only a shame that Winter chose to please… “Ruby,” she said with a deadpan voice and cocked eyebrow, as the man himself made a bee-line for them. Glistening with sweat and his chest heaving, taking in huge lungfuls of air, she could almost forget, almost convince herself that he was Scott, not Ruby. "What's going on?" he asked. Jean sent her eyes to Winter and cocked her head, waiting to see what he’d say. Ruby had Scott’s body, and so, looked exactly like Scott, but the smack to the back of Winter’s head showed that even though Ruby could wear Scott’s skin like a suit, he wasn’t Scott. The words of protest started to form on her tongue but died before being said; she wanted to see this dynamic in action first. |
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| Bobby Drake | Jul 16 2010, 12:02 AM Post #10 |
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Fuck… Winter thought as Ruby approached. He asked what was going on, “Nothin, Ruby. Just talkin.” Jean stayed silent as he smacked the snowed mutant on the back of the head and asked about his cuff. Taking one hand out of his pocket to rub the back of his head Winter couldn’t shoot back a reminder as to how much he hated it whenever he did that, with a passion. He shot a glare for a split second and wiped most of it off of his face. Ruby knew how much Winter hated that shit. But Ruby was going to do what Ruby wanted to do. There was no one who could change his mind, in their world at least. He wore the cuff, did the duties their Scott did, and actually worked out. Winter could almost swear he was even cutting back on drinking and smoking, it wouldn’t have surprised him. His response to Ruby's question about his cuff came off the top of his head. The first thing he could think of and he fucking hoped that Grey-Summers would follow his lead. “That's what we were talkin bout. Practicing shit or whatever...” Winter shrugged it all off like it was just another thing in this damn world to deal with. “That's it.” He said as he lowered his hand back down and shoved it back into his pocket. Winter was a much better liar than his counterpart. It rolled off his tongue easier than it did for the Iceman. |
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| Cyclops | Jul 16 2010, 01:31 AM Post #11 |
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She didn't like his treatment of the snowy mutant, and Ruby narrowed his eyes. She didn't know the kid like he did. She didn't know that Winter was an asshole, that the years of isolation and misery kept him trapped in an entitled, anti-social, immoral childhood. Ruby thought maybe it was hypocritical of him to point out Winter's faults, when he himself had the same in spades, but fuck it, what Winter, and most of his gang didn't do, was adapt. They needed a firm hand, they needed a firm hand or they were going to lose their focus. For all the ways he had failed them, he knew that without him having tight reins, they'd be lost, or in jail. They might even be dead. Maybe Jean didn't appreciate it, maybe Winter thought he was just out to embarrass him, who really gave a fuck. The fact was, Ruby was going to survive and he was going to teach his kids what he felt they needed to survive too. And, if they weren't able to show the amount of control that would keep them that way, he'd beat it into them. But, looking at Jean, and knowing what the people of this world were like, he thought maybe there was a better way? Too bad though. It was too late for most of them, definitely too late for Winter, who was hopeless and helpless because he had no interest in changing, evidenced by his clear lie. Ruby, who was not born yesterday, was neither fooled nor impressed by the lame attempt to cover up whatever nonsense the kid was trying to pull. He pulled his cigarettes out of the pocket of his sweats, and lit up, while he looked between the two, suspiciously and probably a little more jealous than he had any right to be. "Uh huh," Ruby said quietly. He turned to Jean, and said, "You wanna cover for this little prick, Jean, or is he going learn the hard way that sometimes doing whatever the fuck you want lands you in the pen?" |
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| Jean | Jul 17 2010, 09:26 PM Post #12 |
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Winter may have been a better liar, in that he didn’t telegraph obvious clues, like stuttering, shuffling his feet, or averting his eyes from the person at the other end of the whopper being told, but his lies were still as transparent. And now they were both looking at her, wondering which way she’d fall; she could almost believe that they had staged this to test her honesty… almost. She gave Winter a hard, straight look. “I’m not saying that I’d never condone lying or that I haven’t ever lied, but I chose my moments and never risk my reputation on feeble ones that are blatantly untrue. In future, if you must lie, try to stick as close to the truth as possible, that will give your lie more credibility. For example, you should have said that the cuff had been malfunctioning and I was staying with you until it could be repaired. Following your lie, his next thought would have been – why train out here in the open, being a potential danger to the other students and possibly spied upon by SHIELD, when we have multi-billion dollar facility down below. And what would you have said to that, hmm?” she shook her head. “Think before you talk next time,” she said sternly, though not unkindly. “And you,” she turned her gaze on Ruby, “he’s lonely and homesick. You made them dependant on you in your world, but have you been paying him enough attention? Have you been helping him cope with this new situation? Back where you came from, you only trained them enough to be useful at whatever task was needed for your next job; surely, you see that’s not the case anymore. Also, Bobby’s body is much more highly trained, with stronger powers than Winter knows how to deal with. Right now, he’s like a scared kid behind the wheel of a Ferrari, a danger to himself and everyone else. He won’t listen to anyone besides you,” she crossed her arms, her fingers beating a restless tattoo against her arm, “but have you talked to him about training with his new abilities and focusing his attention on something besides sullenly trying to escape?” She asked, knowing full well that he hadn’t. |
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| Bobby Drake | Jul 18 2010, 02:47 AM Post #13 |
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She might not have unkind and stern, it didn't meant Winter thought of her of any less than a bitch for ratting him out to Ruby. Not only that but by calling him a scared kid. Goddamnit he wasn't a fucking needy child, and would never admit to being scared. These fucking people, he had enough of them. She was right that he wanted to go home, but he was done with these goody toe shoes assholes. If Ruby didn't get pissed off here and now, there was nothing to hold him back when they get back to their world. His wrath was more feared than whatever could be imagined that Marvel would do. Winter didn't want to leave, and he just didn't know what would happen to him. After Jean flat out told Ruby that he had tried to escape he could hear a death march playing in his head and sighed quietly as he looked of elsewhere. This fucking place... Winter waited to hear Ruby throw a fit, smack him upside the head again, anything really. He saw the way he looked at them and how he talked, Winter saw it before on Ruby, Frost, the blue traitorous bitch, he was jealous. Throw something that screws you over to a jealous Ruby, rest assured there was going to be hell to pay. He stayed quite, hating the world they were in more and more. It represented a life that could have been but wasn't their's. It was a fucking tease, and no matter what any of them could have done it would never be their life. Winter looked at Ruby to said with a bitter tone, “I don't need any of this shit. Yea, I was gonna try and leave this place, and come back for you later. Mar- I mean Jean stopped me. I'd say I'd be shocked that you already hadn't tried. But...” He shot a quick look at Jean and then back to Ruby, “I'm thinkin you were stopped long before I got here.” Winter kept his hands in his pockets but balled his fists up as the temperature around him got just a little bit cooler. |
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| Cyclops | Jul 18 2010, 03:52 AM Post #14 |
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Jean went off on them both in that damn calm way of hers, infuriatingly casual, carefully constructed and formulated to push every single button. She was damn good, damn good, and if Ruby didn't hate her so much, if he didn't want her so much, if he didn't hate himself so much, he might be impressed by the way she so skillfully handled them both. Fucking hell, what a world this was, what a fucking world this was. She scolded him for not holding Winter's hand and Ruby smoked his cigarette, in silence, not speaking, just keeping his eyes on the woman, "You done?" he asked, in a curt tone, "Because I am not a big believer in mollycodding these idiots in my employ. They're fucking criminals, Jean, not students who are having trouble learning algebra. If I cuddle them, it makes them weak." He looked at Winter, "Then again, seems my methods have only made them stupid, so maybe I should rethink how I treat this pack of strays I'm saddled with..." He looked back to Jean, "When I get home that is." But then Winter got an attitude, cocky and arrogant, throwing accusations that made his blood boil. Ruby looked slowly over at Winter, "The fuck did you just say to me?" He turned and faced the kid, puffing cigarette smoke in his insubordinate's face "No serious, what the fuck did you just say? You thinking I've gone soft over some woman, here? You think I'm just going to roll over? You tell me what the fuck is out there for you? You know this world? You know what the fuck to do there? No money? No connections? You'll be cowering in some garage again, whimpering about how no one understands, you, no one likes you, no one cares about you. Cry me a fuckin' river, Winter, a frozen ice flow. Or you could trust that I ain't steered you wrong yet. You wanna get back home, there's sure as shit no way back through those gates." He turned away and then, paused, turning back, "Oh, and by the way," he backhanded the kid hard enough to send him sprawling, "Don't you fucking talk disrespect to Jean, ever. She's trying to fucking save your worthless life. Maybe you better start listening." |
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| Bobby Drake | Jul 18 2010, 07:28 AM Post #15 |
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JP BETWEEN WINTER AND RUBY After the back hand to his face Winter fell to the ground, and saw red. His instant reaction to the hit made him not hear a word Ruby had said. As fast as he could Winter stood up and rushed towards Ruby, tackling him to the ground. As he ran for the tackle he shouted, “You son of a bitch!” Winter body temperature dropped to a low in a flash and his body started to turn blue from the cold. Bits of snow and ice were starting to form at his shoulders when he moved to punch Ruby in the face. Ruby's first reaction, surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, was not to whip off his glasses, even though his powers were activated thanks to his cracking the lock on his cuff, repeatedly. The last time he had allowed his anger cause him to whip the ruby quartz shades off his face, Jack died, and while the world was likely better off without Jack, Ruby had, out of some sense of conscience or regret or some other emotion too complex to understand, been loathed to use his powers ever since, at least not directly on a person. Not even on this upstart punk. So tackled he was, but not helplessly so. As he fell backwards he brought up his knees, planting his feet firmly in Winter's gut, kicking up and over so the boy went flying over his head. He rolled into a low crouch, thanking the martyred Saint Scotty Boy for training his body so damn well."You think you can take me, Brat? Come on and take me. I killed my mentor, why shouldn't you do yours?" Winter grunted as he hit the ground. Listening to Ruby as he talked, he moved to stand up. “Cause you need me. You needed all of us. But now you got this shiny new life here, you don't fucking care!” He rushed over to punch Ruby in his smug face. He never wanted to hit Ruby more than he did now. Ruby caught the punch and kept a grip on the kid's hand. "I do care, you stupid brat," he growled, "Why the fuck do you think I'm staying here? That I am obeying the fucking rules? Look around you, you piece of shit, look at what you are here. Look at what I am. Rahne, Blur, Ghost, for fuck's sake. You're all better here, you're all fucking better." He released the kid and shoved him away. "Because of her," he jabbed an accusing finger at Jean, and then dropped his hand, "Because of him." He glared at the two, "Because he's better than me, and if I can learn to be just half of what he is, maybe, you'll be able to a normal fucking kid back home instead of a walking pile of slush. Maybe if I stick around here, and do what the hell I'm supposed to do, maybe things will be better for you. Things that I can't give you with just money." Winter scoffed at Ruby, “I am having a hard time believing that. Ruby, the hardest man out there, actually has a soft center... and is envious of another guy. Not only that but the other guy is himself.” He shook his head, “I've said far far worse to Lorelei and Frost. You've never had a reaction enough fucking knock me down. Or fucking threaten me.” The snow and ice that was covering his shoulders spread towards his arms and torso. “You better face it, Ruby. This isn't your life! It never will be! You only care when we can help you get money. Being here means being better trained.” “You never asked me or anyone before how all of this makes us feel. And we never bothered to tell you because we're grateful to you! We owed you our freedom from whatever hell we were in! Even me. And no matter how many times I told you I hated it when you fucking swat me in the head it doesn't matter. You do it anyways, because you will do what you want to do! Hell I bet even fucking Ghost can tell you I hate it when you do that. Anyone who would care would listen and stop!” Winter started to swing for Ruby again. And, this time, Ruby let himself take it, let the kid punch him in the face hard, something that he had sworn would never happen after Jack was shattered. It hadn't. No one had ever laid a finger on him that he didn't allow. He allowed this though, his head rocking, and his glasses flying from his face. But, Ruby kept his eyes shut, kept them clamped as tightly as Scott Summers had when he came to this place as a boy. "You don't know a damn thing about me," Ruby said, spitting out a mouthful of blood, "You don't fucking know a thing. All of you kids, Beta, my golden boy brother, all of you think you know who the hell I am... How the fuck can you when I don't even know... and it has nothing to fucking do with Jean... or Marvel... or even Emma. You want to know why the hell I took you kids in?" He didn't rise from where he was doubled over, made no moves to find his glasses, "Do you think I need the money you kids can get for me? I have almost two hundred pounds of pure diamond, uncut, untraceable. You have any idea how much that can net me? A hell of a lot more than anything you can steal. I took you kids in because you would have died without me, and I taught you to steal because it was the only way I knew to give you power. It was the only thing I knew how to teach. It was the only thing I was ever taught." Ruby let Winter hit him. He exhaled heavily, and Ruby responded. Lowering his eyebrows to Ruby's words. Winter was still angry, but not for the same reasons as before. He was angry because he couldn't hold the same reasons as before. He was wrong about Ruby. Maybe entirely, but most defiantly for a majority of what he thought. Winter sighed and shook his head. He then walked over to where his glasses flew and picked them up. He set them on top of Ruby's hand, and took a few steps back. He didn't want the same kind of kumbya crap these people had going on here but having never known before how Ruby feels in his gut it took Winter by surprise. No... this is horse shit. It has to be... He thought it had to be some sort of trick. Ruby doesn't get this deep, in cases like this he'd call it being soft. “What makes this so different? You never told us before how you feel, why now?” Winter didn't believe he could touch a nerve in Ruby like he had. No one ever had that kind of power over Ruby. He was the hardest man he ever knew, so what made today different? "Because I didn't know things could be different before now," Ruby muttered, putting the glasses on, "I didn't know that there was any other way to be," He straightened, spat out another mouthful of blood and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "I'm not very smart, Winter. I'm not educated. I'm not kind, I'm not generous. But I took in a bunch of kids, and what did I do? I made sure you knew how to read, to write. I made sure you had food. I made sure you had clothes, cars, toys for the little ones, anything you wanted, anything you fucking needed, everything that I..." He squared his shoulders, "I'm a fucking piece of shit, Winter, and I never fucking knew it before now. You happy? You wanted it out? You wanted to know why I haven't run? Because I want to be a better person, but sure as hell not so I can be a better thief. I'm already the best there is at that. It's the rest of it I'm a fucking failure at." Winter stood silent during and after Ruby replied. “Not really... you did well keepin us out of SHIELD's hands... keepin us safe. Making sure Frost didn't make me brain dead.” The last part wasn't meant to be a joke, his tone remained serious. It was a definite possibility, she very well could have. God knows Winter was an ass enough to deserve it. Looking down for a second he saw his hands hadn't changed back from being icy cold blue. Winter hadn't made a full transformation to ice and snow. Thinking he was stuck as he was he exhaled sharply and muttered in a low tone, “Sorry...” There was still a lot to be pissed off about; to Ruby, his partially form of sloppy ice, snow, hard freezing flesh, and the world they were stuck in. But it didn't change the fact that he was wrong. He didn't know if Ruby would shove that more into his face that he was wrong, but then again it seemed there was a lot he didn't know about Ruby Summers. "Don't apologize," Ruby muttered, "Just fucking trust me, ok?" He lit another cigarette to replace the one that had been knocked to the ground during that first tackle, "Trust that I am trying to make things right ok? Be patient, and learn what you can while you're here. If it can make you better, it's worth a little inconvenience. Ok? Winter, just learn what Bobby knows, and maybe when everything is fixed... maybe you'll be more than I taught you to be." Winter looked up at Ruby and nodded to him. |
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2:22 PM Jul 11