Quentin, Angel, Jess, & Julian, Tuesday afternoon

[xp-erverse.livejournal.com]

The Gen X mentors meet with Quentin to talk about the telepath's "conscientious objection" to self-defense. Any attempt at discussion is an exercise in futility.


The unbearably long winter had finally given up, but it had taken so much of spring's time that it seemed to just lead straight into summer. Quentin Quire wasn't going to complain, though. Despite his solitary nature, he enjoyed being outside, so he'd put on a pair of white square-leg swim trunks, doused himself in sunscreen, and set himself up down by the pool for a little R&R.

He was halfway to falling asleep (and probably turning into a burnt red mess, so thanks for disturbing his peace) when he felt the increasingly familiar pinging sensations in the back of his head. In the month he'd been here, he'd learned how to at least start to open up his mind to the psychic ether, and even if he still couldn't actually enter a mind, he at least was growing more sensitive to the presence of other minds around him.

The signatures were only vaguely familiar, though, and he couldn't identify them until he peered over his sunglasses to get a better look at his unwelcome visitors. He groaned loudly when he saw them. The three Generation X mentors, all coming his way.

He at least had good taste, Angel had to admit as they approached one of her favorite places in the mansion. The loud groan echoed toward them, and her lips quirked into a small smile as she raised an eyebrow. "Don't be so excited to see us, kid," she quipped as she flopped down in the chair next to Quentin, the picture of relaxation and peace. "We might get a complex."

Julian stood next to the water's edge with his back to Quire, he'd not wanted to gang up on him, but was concerned too. From an objective standpoint, he understood where the young man was coming from, but from his experience, there were no conscientious objectors in this war. Checking his phone he noted a dozen new emails in five minutes, his work was never done. Patiently, he listened to what would unfold between his partners and the boy.

Quentin just slid his sunglasses back into place, settled comfortably in his seat, and yawned loudly. "You wanna move a foot to your left, Jones? You're blocking my sun."

Jessica raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You can catch rays later, Quire, after you hear us out." She responded firmly. 'God, I don't know why I'm here. Angel and Julian are much better at this sort of thing.' She thought with an internal eye roll before she focused back on her charge. "We're here to talk about your refusal to participate in training." She answered. "Care to tell us what's up?" She asked.

"What, you mean the training to be an illegal children's paramilitary force so we can go out and support your war against the flatscans and bad muties? Pass."

Julian scoffed, a bit too loudly, and had the sinking feeling that all eyes turned towards him. With a sigh, he turned around, putting his phone away. "Quentin, it's not illegal to teach people how to defend themselves- and no one wants you to fight in any war. Your abilities can be dangerous if you don't learn how to use them- if you want to avoid a fight in the long run...train."

"That." Angel jerked a thumb at Julian. "You don't want to fight? Fine. No one's gonna shove you in a uniform and stick you out on the frontlines. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't know how to defend yourself. You can't solve every situation with sarcasm."

"Watch me," Quentin snarked. "Look, I'm here to learn how to control my telepathy. I've got my lessons with Chuckles and Frost. Why should it be up to me to learn how to keep violent shitty flatscans - redundant, I know - from trying to hurt me? Wouldn't your time be better wasted making them not want to kill us in the first place?"

"Quentin, my associates here are right. Learning to defend yourself is not a bad thing." Jessica stated. "Besides, humans aren't the only things that can hurt you. Trust me." She continued, her voice growing soft. She brushed back a lock of hair before clearing her throat. "Plus, we're not teaching you to defend just yourself. We're teaching you to use your powers and skills for the betterment of others too. To defend those that cannot defend themselves. I used to be like you, you know. A prickly, generally unpleasant, snark knight. But you know what? I learned that fighting for the good of those around you feels good. And without getting all Lifetime, I think that you'll find it feels good too." She finished.

"Bitch, you've gone way past Lifetime," was Quentin's automatic reply, and it wasn't until he actually said it that he realized just what he said. But as he was constitutionally incapable of backing down, he sat up and continued. "So, okay, tell me. How are we supposed to defend ourselves in a world that will literally go to any length to murder us? Say I'm walking down the street one night, and a couple of flatscans decide to take out their daddy issues on me. Let's say I do things your way, fight back and get away from them. What do I do next? Go to the cops? In the off-chance that those flatscans weren't pigs themselves, they're just gonna go find them to give 'em a medal for trying to do God's work. Or do I just leave them, and let them do worse to the next mutant who has the gall to breathe the same air as them?"

"Alright, well let's go back to your plan then," Angel said conversationally. "What was it, again? Make them not kill us in the first place? Honestly, that's a brilliant plan. We'll just go out and change the mind of every single ignorant person in the world. It won't be too hard, I'm sure." The sarcastic note was light, but still noticeable. Hey, the best way to get through to someone was to speak their language. And Quentin was fluent in sarcasm.

Things were unraveling quickly, Julian subtly put up the thinnest barriers between each of the parties that he could manage- on the off chance either of his co-mentors lost their cools. All that could be seen of the walls was a slight green sheen to the air, barely perceptible unless you were looking for it. Clearing his throat he pressed on, "Quentin, I get your resistance to this, man- really, I do. Let's just put the other stuff aside for a moment- let's say those two thugs come at you, and yeah, they might be cops, all three of us have had run ins with the police." Waving a hand dismissively, the male mentor pressed on, "But instead of it just being you, you're with someone."

Letting the set-up take root, Julian paused before continuing, looking to Angelica briefly to ensure she wasn't starting to glow, "You go do your training with Professor Xavier and Miss Frost, maybe," he shrugged, "maybe you take care of yourself- but what about your companion. Our training can teach you how to protect others, how to protect yourself, and how to avoid getting into the situation in the first place. The last thing I want is for you to join the X-Men- no offense, Angelica- but I want you to be safe." He didn't want to let the boy have a chance to retort and pick apart the hypothetical, but he wasn't going to abandon his team-mates. With a sigh, Julian pushed off the ground slightly, his eyes beginning to glow. "That's all I have to say on the matter- just think about it," he floated out toward the pool slightly.

"I don't have much else to say. Like I said, I know what it's like to be angry. And Julian's right, I've had some bad run ins with humans and mutants alike. Bottom line? Everybody should know how to fight to defend themselves and others. And when you wise up to that, Quire, I'll be here to help you. Even if you are kind of an ass." Jessica offered with an affectionate grin.

"You all must be so embarrassed to have wasted your time coming out here to spout gibberish instead of anything useful or intelligent." Quentin offered them all - but particularly the floating drama queen - a healthy dose of side eye. "Next time you all want to listen to the sound of your voices, go find someone who hasn't grown out of their kindergarten superhero obsession. Like Morales."

Angel stretched her arms over her head, looking up at the sky for a moment before pushing herself up. "I'm not embarrassed at all," she informed Quentin, the picture of casual. "Feel a bit sorry for you - you're gonna get your ass kicked again and that could've so easily been avoided - but if you've elected to make it not our problem then I'm not losing any sleep." She looked over at Julian and Jess. They'd have to regroup. Maybe talk to Xavier.

This clearly wasn't going to work.

"Enjoy the sun, Quentin," Julian said dryly, starting to drift further into the sky. He had hoped that maybe the three of him rushing Quire would work, but wasn't surprised that it hadn't. Making a mental note to follow up on this with him one-on-one. Looking to Jess, "Coming?"

"See you around, Quire." Jessica offered with a wink before she began to follow her fellow mentors.

"Go to Hell," Quentin replied pleasantly, settling back down for a hopefully not-to-be-disturbed nap.