Jono's Apartment above the Boards, Sunday evening

[trigons_child]

When the auditions seemed to be winding down, Raven went to Il Pollo to fetch some Italian take out. She dropped off Troy's portion with him, then headed upstairs with her and Jono's food to wait. She happily passed the time playing with Joni.

She hadn't brought his belongings yet; she was just going to just teleport back to her room to get it all when she was ready to surprise him. Of course she had no idea someone had spoiled the surprise, KARLA.

Comments

[furnaceface]

"Where would I even start? I went undercover into Weapon X, I made a stupid mistake, I got caught? And then I spent the next god-only-knows how long doing their dirty work, which, considering the American government's high opinion of mutants, was a fair bit more dirty than you'd care to hear details on."

So blasé. He certainly didn't feel that way, though.

"Leech was at Neverland, Raven. They had him strapped up to a power amplifier and were using him to keep the prisoners powerless, while they walked around with automatic weapons and robotic sentries. He's lucky to be alive right now."

[trigons_child]

Her stomach turned, and his description made her want to throw up all the dinner she'd just eaten. She had to squeeze her hands together so she didn't try to touch him, no matter how much she wanted to. She was trusting Karla's advice, praying she was right.

"He seems fully recovered from that now, at least," she did offer. "That does not make it all right, but it is one thing to be thankful for."

[furnaceface]

"He seems like a little boy who's seen people like him hunted and slaughtered all his life," Jono countered, his voice going a little lower, "but who's still hell-bent on being a little boy for as long as he can. He's safe, for as much as that's worth with sentinels surrounding th'building, but I don't know that he'll ever be fully recovered. You'd have a difficult time finding just one mutant who is."

Hell, these days, you'd have a difficult time finding just one mutant.

[trigons_child]

"Not everyone is like you, Jono," Raven said evenly. "Some are able to let go of their pain and move past it. Leech has seen and experienced terrible things, but he focuses on the joy, not the sorrow."

She really didn't feel comfortable talking like this, but she was trying.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon's teeth grit for a second at that, and then he was narrowing his eyes and looking the other way. That wall there had totally earned itself a good glowering at.

"And is that what you expect me to do, then? Just put it down and move past it, Raven?"

[trigons_child]

"No," Raven said quietly. "I do not expect that. I know it will not be that easy. I still have nightmares of the things I did. I still have not been able to bring myself to return to Azarath and see what remains there. But to dwell on what is past and done would drive me mad."

She dropped her gaze to her lap so he wouldn't see tears starting to well in her eyes. "And so would keeping it all inside. You have to let it out."

[furnaceface]

Deep breath. Hold it. Savour it. Breathing was something that Jono hadn't been able to really appreciate in a while. Doing so right then, if nothing else, was keeping him from raising his voice, or slamming a fist down on the table, or something stupid.

One upside to this body he'd been left with, at least.

"I've been holding the worst parts of me in since I blew my face off, Raven. I can't just... let it out. It's not that easy."

[trigons_child]

"I know," Raven said. She hated this; Karla said it would be hard, but she felt like she was just making things worse.

"But you are not alone. I am here. And I am not the only one."

[furnaceface]

"I know," Jonothon echoed, hanging his head and heaving a sigh. "You're not the only one to tell me, even."

But with all of them, he was resisting. Not necessarily being stubborn. More like terrified. Tired. Hollowed-out and sick and like talking was pointless, because it had no power to actually change anything, unless he was looking to scare the people he cared about the most away.

"And I'll be certain to keep that in mind."

[trigons_child]

Karla was wrong. This wasn't helping.

"I will listen to whatever you have to say," Raven said softly. "I promise you."

She brushed a hand against her eyes and looked back up. "Leech wishes to come visit some day," she said. "I told him I would like to help arrange that. I hope that was all right."

[furnaceface]

"I wouldn't mind," Jono murmured, his eyes still turned down toward the tabletop. "I suppose this means I'll need to start collecting comic books again, though."

This wasn't a complaint, really. It was more like a sad attempt at idle chatter that was falling a bit short.

"Raven, I..." He looked up for a moment, just long enough to see how hard this conversation was hitting her, and then he looked down again, feeling a little more sick and ashamed for resisting so hard. "... Thank you. For getting my things. I didn't think I was going to see any of it again."

[trigons_child]

"I knew how important some of these things were to you," Raven said, managing a little smile. She'd felt it when they'd talked about it before. She didn't know the meaning of all the items, aside from ones like the crown, but she could sense their value to him.

"It was within my power to restore them to you, and I am glad you are pleased," she said. She nodded toward the box. "I think most of your personal items should be in there I will bring your music by later. Karla accompanied me, so you should thank her as well."


[I must sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!]

[furnaceface]

He nodded a little. He already had, of course, but he'd probably do so again once he went through the box and found some of the items that were especially close to his heart.

"I'll be sure to," he replied, softly. "Credit where credit is due, and all that? I'll admit, I'm impressed you two managed to get all of this without incident, really."

[Niiiight!]

[trigons_child]

"Leech was our guide," Raven said, fondness in her voice. "He took us inside and led us to the storage area. We did not see any of the X-Men; they all seemed to be elsewhere at the time."

Which was likely fortunate. Even with Leech there, if they'd run into one of them, she might have lost her temper and told them exactly how they were terrible people for abandoning Jono and not calling her when he was hurt and how they didn't deserve him.

And then Karla would've blown up the mansion.

[furnaceface]

"Meaning there was nobody there for Karla to yell at," Jono reasoned. "I don't think that would have been received well, surrounded by Sentinels, not long after we..." A flinch. A hiss of air through his teeth. "After they found their numbers cut down to nothing."

Jono found himself wondering if 198 was an official count, or if it was an estimation based on just those mutants who had been willing to show their faces after the decimation. If he knew humanity at all, they'd probably be out there with weapons, looking to be rid of the rest now that some bigger force had done most of the dirty work for them. Hell, there were over three-thousand tigers left in the wild and they were considered a critically endangered species.

You couldn't sustain a healthy population on less than two hundred.

They couldn't.

[trigons_child]

Raven was quiet for a moment, watching him, trying to decide what to say or do. Her heart said one thing, Karla cautioned another.

Finally she ventured softly, "May I give you something? Something Leech would wish to give to you?" He was shying away from hugs from her, but he couldn't refuse one from Leech, could he? His powers were gone but hers still worked the same, and she could share with him the memory of the little boy's hug.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon glanced up at her, not entirely certain what sort of something Leech would have to give to him, but not really just out and voicing as much, either.

He sounded only vaguely tentative when he said, "Of course."

[trigons_child]

"Close your eyes," she requested.

She couldn't project the image like Karla could -- he'd have to be sleeping for that -- but she could surround him with a gentle pulse of affection and relief and gratitude and most of all hope, and with it her own wish that he could find that hope as well.

"A hug," she said as she sent the feelings. "To know that you are missed and cared for, and that he is glad you are here and safe."

[furnaceface]

Jono nearly flinched, there with his eyes closed, as he felt those emotions wash over him. Almost shied away, though easing back wouldn't have let him hide from the empathic embrace of a little boy, courtesy of Raven's powers.

Hope was... such a fleeting thing these days, that he almost didn't recognize it at first. Relief and gratitude he knew well enough. He'd felt both so much already just today, learning that Leech was well. Another heartbeat later, he let himself relax, chewing his bottom lip and slumping forward a little. He was not going to tear up. Lord help him, he wasn't.

"I'm sorry I can't return it," he murmured, swallowing at a lump in his throat.

[trigons_child]

"I know," Raven said with a sad little smile. "But perhaps some day soon, when he is able to visit." When, not if. Somehow she'd arrange it, somehow.

"Karla and I promised him ice cream," she added. "We wished to linger there with him, but we thought it best we returned soon." Before some random X-Men caught them there. And to better find out what was going on with people disappearing.

[furnaceface]

Jonothon sighed, and nodded, and wrapped his arms around himself lightly as he opened his eyes and did some more knee-gazing.

"I can't imagine they would have been upset to see either of you there. You did a lot of good for them back when the Church of Humanity tried to make an example of those people."

Jubilee. Angelo. Really, if it wasn't for Karla trying to breathe fire on everybody there because of Annie and her big mouth, they'd probably have gotten an invitation to visit whenever they pleased.

[trigons_child]

Raven shrugged. "That is true," she said. "But I feared my own anger. I thought it easier to avoid triggering it."

Yeah, it probably wouldn't go over well if she got worked up enough to have glowing red eyes. Four of them.

There was also the matter of her teleporting being slightly off, but she didn't want to worry him with that. Perhaps she would go see Dana or someone at the clinic just to make certain there was nothing wrong that she couldn't detect.

[furnaceface]

"... Fair enough," Jono allowed, softly. "Though I think in the wake of M-Day, they've probably all already done enough to make up for any... Any whatever. I'd rather just let it go, Raven."

He'd yelled at Captain Britain, for Christ's sake. He was pretty certain that the X-Men had gotten the memo that Jono was less than pleased with them.

[trigons_child]

"Of course," Raven said, nodding. "I do not intend to seek them out, and even if I did, I would respect your wishes in the matter."

She cast her gaze around, searching for a topic to break any awkward silence. "Do you wish some privacy to go through your belongings?" she asked, looking at the box. "Or...I can stay, if you wish."

[furnaceface]

"My...?" He looked down at the box again.

Right. That was there. And he didn't know that he'd be able to go through it without just losing all dignity and breaking down, or... or wallowing, remembering what life was like before the whole Weapon X mess, or any one of a hundred other things that might result in another 'stop that.'

"I'll... get to it," he said, after another moment of silence. "It's not going anywhere, right now."

He bit his lip a little, and then attempted to look up again.

"It isn't just you," he said, finally. "That I've been... sitting back from. I mean. I... I don't care for you any less, Raven. I don't. And if you feel as though I'm alienating you or... or something... again..."

He wasn't sure where he was going with this, no.

"... Tell me?"