xp_logs | John and Julio - Wednesday Afternoon

Backdated to afternoon because I got eaten by plots. John meets Julio in the kitchen. It starts out all right, but then he has to go and bring up San Diego.

It was here, he knew it was. Ever since the incident the previous fall Julio'd been on the lookout for that... hair that belong to Crystal's sister. It reminded him way too much of a snake really, and he was extremely cautious whenever he entered the main kitchen. Today, he'd seen the brilliant flash of red and ...okay he panicked. Those things really were too much like snakes. So with a broom poised at the ready, he eased toward one of the kitchen cabinets. Perhaps if he moved quietly he wouldn't spook it.

"I think your aim's a little too high." John pointed a finger at the floor with an arched eyebrow.

The voice, when Julio was already wound pretty tight, made him jump and drop the broom. Mercifully he didn't scream like a little girl.

"Ay dios mio" he whirled around to catch sight of the newcomer, clutching at his chest. "Don't do that."

John arched his head back slightly as he regarded the kid. "Scared you, huh," he said, letting out a smirk as he stepped over the broom. He took a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge and poured himself a full glass before taking a seat at the counter. "Is there a rat in here?" He glanced around the kitchen floor before returning his gaze back to Julio.

"No, it is uh... the Hair." Julio scooped up the broom and cautiously opened one of the cabinets. He looked over his shoulder at John. "You have not met the Hair yet, so otherwise you will not understand." Then he belatedly realized that the boy was a newcomer. "You would be one of the many returning people?" He rummaged around in his brain for a moment until something pinged. "Ah!" he pointed, "You are going to help Angel with her powers, yes?"

"Well -- I think it's best we nail down the issue about "The Hair" first," John said. "It seems to me like you have yours intact. And as for mine, I pretty much understand it. The hair gets a little fucked up in the morning, needs attention and all that, gets better after I give it a bit of styling...y'know."

"No, it is one of the Amaquelin sisters. Her power is over her hair. And she likes to send it on errands." Julio ran a hand through his own hair. "It is the creepiest fucking thing you will ever see, and unfortunately I think it needs to be seen to be believed." He sighed and lowered the broom. "If anything, I think we have scared it off." he patted his chest, "I would be Julio, by the way."

Power over hair. Right. "John," he said, lifting the glass up. "...so you got power over...broom or something?" He nodded at the cleaning tool.

"One day, you will see it too. And you will understand." Julio said with graveness of a war veteran. He set the broom back in it's place. Now what was he in here for-- Ah, juice. Right. He got himself a glass and looked sideways at John. After asking around he was fairly well-versed on his history, but wasn't sure how awkward saying: "So Magneto, what a douchebag, huh?" would sound.

"I create earthquakes," he said, instead.

John raised his eyebrows at hearing that. "San Diego. That was you." He let out a bit of a chuckle. "It was pretty cool what you did," he said. "Maybe not so much the death part but the destruction bit was pretty damn impressive. Quite some power you got there."

"Destroying a city can be. . .impressive, yes. The after-effects are much harder to live with," Julio said, looking somewhere beyond the glass in his hand. "Your friend in the helmet got what he wanted anyway, one giant step for mutantkind. Only, now they hate us more, so I am not sure if those were the consequences he wanted." Once upon a time Julio would have said all he was good for was death and destruction, but while he while he was in Kansas he'd had a relief worker clap him on the back and say what an impressive power he had. That time, Julio had actually believed it.

He smirked. "We're growing in numbers. They can hate us all they want," John said. "You're not afraid, are you?" He stood up and headed toward the cabinets in search of something edible.

"Afraid, no," Julio said. He put the glass back in the cabinet, juice forgotten. "But in my experience people who talk big usually are."

"Hell, if that's not a line I've heard a thousand times before. ...almost a goddamn cliché," he muttered out. John found what he needed in the form of LAY'S potato chips. "Here." He tossed Julio a bar of chocolate. "Have a break. Have a Kit Kat."

"Jealous?" Julio said innocently. "That my life was worth more to him than yours? I have heard your story as you have heard mine." Julio put the candy on the counter. He gave John a cold smile. "Really, you have it in you to be very destructive as well, all you need to do is try. So what is stopping you? Afraid?"

John raised an eyebrow, looking somewhat amused. "I think you already know the answer to that," he said. "And just so we're clear -- it takes a lot more than that to rile me up these days."

"Yes, you are a coward." Julio said, nodding. "Why else would someone like you come crawling back here?" Julio turned to go from the boy, knowing that nothing would penetrate his thick skull. And honestly, he didn't care. But one important thing before he left.

"Oh, by the way, Angel? The redheaded girl with microwaves? I believe that you are not fit for her company, but she makes her own decisions, so," he shrugged. "Not much I can do there. But you keep your assholishness to yourself with her, comprende?" And he left without even so much as a backward glance.