Julian, Fred, & Johnny (Back Dated to Wen. Evening)

[x-nothungry.livejournal.com]

Julian becomes aware of Johnny's existence, and the younger mutant is introduced to the other boys in the New Mutants





Between the absence of the two suitemates he'd yet to actually meet and the weighted silence of the space itself, the living room did not come across as the most welcoming place in the world. It was, however, far more hospitable than his own pale, undecorated bedroom and so it seemed the better place to curl up with the last chapters of Shōgun and kill some time. Johnny flopped out easily upon the couch that was far longer than he was, silently considering that he'd have to accost a certain Canadian professor for another book if his own belongings didn't show up soon. He smiled to himself and opened the book, beginning to scan the pages. Where had he left Anjin again...?

Having just finished his workout, Julian was in desperate need of a shower. He entered his suite, his towel draped across his shoulders and a sports bottle on his lips, draining the last drops of orange flavored electrolytes from it before casually tossing it to the side. He headed towards his room and noticed that something was off about the living room-there was a stranger on the couch. He stopped and took a step back, ready to push the stranger against the wall if need be, but not wanting to make the same unwelcome mistake he had with Fred. "Who the hell are you?"

It wasn't the sudden, harsh tone of the older boy that shook Johnny from his intent focus on the paperback, but rather the uncomfortably familiar sensation of panic that was triggered at the base of his skull mere moments prior. A prickling flutter of nerves that he could read with no exactness but which left him with a conviction to put some quick space between him and the dark-haired young man who had only just come into view. He was moving before Julian finished getting his words out, a spring forward and an adept flip over the opposite arm of the sofa putting a fair distance between them. Now on his feet and in full view, he hardly appeared to be any kind of threat: thin and startled and half a foot shorter than the telekinetic.

The sense calmed and it took the white-haired mutant a moment to digest the question, let alone realize who the older boy likely was. But when he did, he cracked an uneasy smile, "...A wuss, apparently." He silently reassured himself that whatever had triggered his danger sense had been a fluke, though his tense muscles didn't seem entirely willing to believe him, then added, "And your new suitemate, I think."

'Why do theynever tell us about these things?' Julian sighed and let go of the energy he'd been building up, ready to push the acrobat out the window if need be. "Okay then. Sorry, thought you might be here for something a little less entertaining. The last new guy we had in here almost got pushed through a wall- or at least he could have if he hadn't been unmoveable." He knocked on his room door and opened it up to spot Fred with his headphones on. "Hey, Fred! We've got company." Julian turned his attention back to the shorter and younger boy.

Fred, who had been listening to Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet, looked up and silently acknowledged Julian. He cast his headphones aside and moved through the door, where he occupied a majority of the area of the opening. He looked from Julian, to Johnny, and back, "Yea. You're the new kid. Johnny, right?" He looked to younger boy, then back to Julian, "Jules, Ms. Van Dyne told us about him coming like, last week. Don't you remember? You were playing Street Fighter on the couch..."

"Jan told us when I was playing Street Fighter? No wonder I didn't remember." Julian smiled and dropped his aggressive posture completely. He casually approached their new suite mate, extending a hand toward him, "Johnny is it? Julian Keller, welcome to the mansion."

Johnny lingered near the far side of the sofa while Julian made his way to the bedroom door, pushing it in to reveal a boy much larger than both of them (possibly combined) and seemingly occupied with his headset. Their conversation gave him a few things to ponder, most notably who this Ms. Van Dyne was and whether being overlooked for a game of Street Fighter was an insult or a perk in the form of a fellow gamer, only speaking up as their attention returned to him. He nodded, lifting his hand to meet Julian's as it was offered and answering them both together, "Johnny Gallo, yeah. Nice to meet you guys." His hesitant smile spread into a light-hearted grin, "So...what was that about shoving people through walls?" Maybe his danger sense hadn't been so far off after all.

Fred smiled a little, which was a lot for the oversized mutant. He reached up and tussled Julian's hair some. When he stopped, he looked back at Johnny "Julian thought I was an alien when we first met. Little misunderstanding. Totally my fault really..." Fred scratched the back of his head and looked down, a little embarrassed as he recalled the incident, "He hit me with his mindpunch thing, and it sent him flying back,"

"Hey, c'mon, I didn't fly back and if it wasn't for you being immovable, you would have been through a wall." He pointed at the closed door to Johnny's room, "That wall to be precise."

Fred shrugged, "Hey, I'm not the one who overreacted in the first place," he said, and moved to look at the door Julian had pointed at. "I only over reacted because I thought you were a giant dragonfly coming back to finish what it started...and that sounded a lot more sane in my head." He looked at Johnny, "See there was this- um, well, you kinda had to be there."

An alien. A giant dragonfly. Even without being there, the bizarre mistake in identity was enough to earn blatantly-worn amusement from the pint-sized teen as the others inspected his closed door. He seated himself easily upon the arm of the sofa, "Well, whatever the case...I'm far from 'immovable', so I'm glad you held back." He feigned a humorously exasperated look as he tucked his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, "I could handle the broken bones, sure, but I think another stay in that infirmary would spell death by boredom."

"I guess I have been lucky to keep out of there then. Don't suppose you've spent much time in there either, Fred- seeing as you're invincible and all." Julian smiled at his big roommate, and plopped down in one of the more comfortable chairs spaced throughout the room. "So, John, what are your powers?"

Johnny smiled sheepishly and pushed back some of his unkempt hair. He was unaccustomed to being called 'John' and it made him feel very young somehow. "You already saw them: super agility and limited precognition, a 'danger sense'." He looked between the older boys, "...Telekinesis and invulnerability, right? I think I'm a little out of my league here."

Fred rolled his shoulders, "I'm also hard to move, and I can lift heavy things." He nudged Julian, "And Jules here can glow in the dark,"

Julian rolled his eyes and flicked Fred off, giving him a friendly chuckle, "Precognition? See, Fred- now he might actually get lucky and beat me sometime." He turned to Johnny, "Do you play?"

The white-haired mutant grinned, "What, Street Fighter? Yeah. And when I beat you it won't be because of luck or flighty precognition either." It was a playful challenge, but a challenge just the same.

At first, Julian didn't know what to say, a raised eyebrow was his only reply. He looked over to Fred, his mouth opening slightly, "I think that was a challenge."

Fred smiled broadly, and his larger than average mouth showed all his top teeth, "You think that was a challenge, Jules? He might as well slapped you with a glove, man,"

"In that case, I guess we should head to the rec room-" he made a mental note to get the suite a new TV set as soon as he could get to a Best Buy. "I'm Ken though, my only rule."

Johnny hopped down easily from his perch, more than ready to follow his older teammates to the recreation room and quipping back, "You can
have him. Vega and I will be glad to take you on."

Fred scoffed, "You people. You know, there are other characters. If you keep playing the same characters, then where's the fu-" he just stopped himself and sighed. He knew when a fight wasn't worth fighting.