Way Cooler Than Cool

Bobby Drake here! X-men-turned-instructor-but still kicks ass extraordinaire! Watch out for awesome adventures, terrific treks, and potent power puns. Stay cool. (I am. An RP blog for the JGS: Apocalypse Rising RP)

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

[rexspecs-blog]

“Yeah.”  Was a quiet response.  He couldn’t remember ever taking a conversation this close to the edge with Bobby.  Usually it was Wolverine he got into shouting matches with, and Xavier that drew out his inner thoughts.  Even Emma didn’t get a heaping portion of his inner workings through conversation.  He decided it might be a good time to back off, before topics got brought up that would bring the rest of the night too far down.

“Alright, just…you know…keep them aware.”  Scott said.  If it was Utopia, it would be his way or the highway, without question, without quarrel, and without a word to an opposing party.  But he had respect for Kitty, and for Bobby, and Rogue, and Gambit, and Sam, and Paige, and everyone else who chose this place over Utopia.  He had respect for their choices, and their way.  This was their home, now.  Cyclops wasn’t captain and commander here.  He was advisory personnel. 

“I don’t want anyone getting stampeded because they were caught off-guard.  No one has to go out and pick a fight.  Which reminds me, maybe don’t inspire Quire…he seems like the type that might jump the gun on a challenge.”

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

He's looking down at the carpet, and snorts at his last comment. "That's how we get him to do his homework--tell him he can't." A pause. "Sorry I almost lost it back there. I've just spent half my career with the X-men doing whatever you said, even when I didn't like it." He looks back up at Scott. "If I didn't like what you or the Professor were barking, I would just walk out like a brat."

Bobby makes a great show of ho-humming about something before agreeing to an invisible force. "I believe in this thing. I haven't believed in anything for a while--I'm gonna stand up for it." He steps around the corner of the table and extends his hand.

"We cool, boss?"

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

[rexspecs-blog]

“I know, Bobby, I know.”  Scott’s reply was quick and full of coolant.  He put a hand up to calm the other down, and let him know he wasn’t trying to pose as an aggressor. 

“And I understand that.  I’m not the one trying to pit us against each other, that’s Sinister’s job.”  He said, adjusting his visor out of his own frustration.  “I’m not here to take over anything.  I’m not saying run military drills and put a gun in every kid’s hand.”  They already had the guns, but his point stood.  “I don’t want anyone to get hurt here, Bobby.  But that’s not really the way these things tend to go down.”

“But what happens if one of us isn’t around when it happens?”  He asked in all honesty.  “We can’t be watching them every second of every day.  There’s always something that can go wrong.  And with Sinister, he’s probably planning every single option and making sure every trigger goes off at once.  What happens when one of the kids is left to defend himself?  What if they can’t run?  What if they can’t get help, Bobby?  What if it’s just them, alone, with something they were never taught to defend themselves against?”  Scott’s voice was a blend of upset and spokesman.  He didn’t want to make it personal to the two of them, but it was.  They’d all been there before.  They’d been in a place where they had to choose between do or die.

“It’s not fair, and it’s not nice, but it’s life, Bobby.”   

His voice dropped with a sigh.

“Xavier never wanted it for us either, remember?  It just happens.  If a horseman gets triggered and there’s a student in the wake…if we’re not there to help, to fight for them, then what the hell are they going to do?”

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

"I'm not saying they should all just lay down and take it! I'm saying, we don't want them looking for a fight." Bobby's becoming aware that this is slowly leaving the original point of the conversation, and it's making him uncomfortable. Him and Scott have never been the buddy-buddy emotional pals. They had the shoulder clasp of approval and the up-nod of acknowledgement. Bobby always wears a smile, and Scott a thoughtful frown, and neither discuss what's behind either. "We were trained to respond, man. Preemptive strikes were the Brotherhood's crap, and look how awesome that turned for them.

"Or us!" His hand rakes through his hair again. "Any time we ever tried to head a problem off at the pass, it just blew up in our faces. Hank wound up accelerating his mutation, and I cannot even count all the things that went tips up in Warren's life when he tried to over-under on Apocalypse, and--" Jean had tried to force all the Horsemen out the minds of Sinister's victims. But Sinister is a horrifyingly talented telelpath, and Jean ultimately made the decision to forfeit her sanity in exchange for reopening the mental prison where she kept the Phoenix in order to have the power level required to chase the mad man out. "And..." Some things hurt too much to talk about.

He swallows, and ices his hands. Bobby sets them on the back of his neck to help calm himself down. "It just doesn't end good for us, okay?" His voice is much softer. "The trouble that finds us is never as bad as what we find."

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

[rexspecs-blog]

There was a small laugh that escaped Cyclops before he went back to thinking of the different potentials.  Bobby was right.  It really could be anyone for this kick.  With the right spin, Apocalypse or Sinister could make anything sound like a good deal, especially to someone who was looking for one.

“We’re going to have to keep everyone on high alert.  Students, Faculty, everyone has to be prepared to either turn this down or fight the people they care about.”  He offered a saddened look to his old friend.  “I know avoiding this kind of mess is what split us all up in the first place.  Logan wanted a place for kids to be kids, and I know why you agreed with him.  I get it…but, we can’t pretend things are going to be okay because we want them to be.  You know that as well as I do.” 

He was talking to himself more than Bobby now.  Old thoughts coming to vocalization with a disheartened apologetic tone laced into the words.

“If we were anything else, it would have been a great idea.  But we’re X-Men.  All of us.  And trouble sniffs us out no matter how far we go to throw it off our trail.”

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Bobby's shaking his head before Scott is even finished. "Dude, come on. There is no way Kitty is going to let you militant this shit up." The pool stick in laying on the table and his hands are behind his head. "And it's not just her--it's not what any of us want. We'll talk to the kids, give 'em the Don't Talk To Strangers speech, try to drill it home.

"But we are not going to start training them." The look he gives Scott is rather non-pulsed, and while it's out of character for Bobby to take such a hard stance, this absolutely something he willing to throw down over. "If everyone listens, and nobody turns? Fuckin' rad. If Apocalypse gets his hands on them, then we handle it." He shoves one hand in his pocket, and points at Scott with the other. "Alright? Us. The big kids, season vets. Look around you, man." He gestures widly, indicating the school grounds. "We're not ostraches, sticking our heads in the sand over here."

He's getting kind of angry, but a lot of things are coming to a head. Him and Scott never got to hash things out over Australia, or the split on Utopia. Drake's got a lot to say. "We were never soldiers, Scott. We were raised to be guardians. Mend and defend, alright?" He runs his hand through his hair, frustrated. "I--we are not going to have these kids suit up and take down a friend. You know how shitty that is Scott." He's laughter is sharp bark. "Look how it fucked us up.

"That's why this place is even here, dude. So they don't know what it likes to take family out." Bobby's tongue darts over his lips quickly and he crosses his arms, his hands tucked into the pits. He nods to himself, making a decision. "And if that's your plan, to pit them against one of them, then--then get out." He looks Scott right in the visor.

"Or I will make you."

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

[rexspecs-blog]

Scott watched as Bobby sank one after another.   He almost had to laugh.

“You know, Bobby, sometimes I think you might secretly be a genius.”

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Bobby snerks and twirls his pool cue as he comes out his lean, agreeing, "That would be the best kept secret, huh?"

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

[rexspecs-blog]

That was an angle he hadn’t heard before.  It made him lift an eyebrow in thought before looking back to the table.  Hindsight wouldn’t do them a whole lot of good now.  The pieces were falling into play, and depending on which pieces they planned on playing, they were all in for one Hell of a fight.

“Could be, Bobby.  So I take it he hasn’t gotten any better?”  It was hard to see Warren so far away from his own mind.  Angel had undergone a lot of changes over the years, but now he was just gone.  It was like speeding up senility and replacing the ‘back in my day’ with bible camp.

“At least we know Warren’s a potential issue.”  More business-tones, more serious-talk.  He needed to brainstorm.  They needed to know who was next, who was the missing piece that Sinister was so damn persistent about blocking Emma over? 

“Sinister brought up Gentle and Genesis when he was interfering with Emma’s scans.”  He added, “You think he might be gunning for students?  Maybe all the X-Men with real experience are too obvious for his theatrics…or maybe he’s just trying to throw us off the trail.”  He hated Sinister, he was sure of it.  Everything from the core of his personality to the way he weaved his damn words, the man was a nuisance of the worst kind.  “I don’t know what we’re dealing with here, Bobby.  If Rogue’s tip-toeing with Gambit, and Warren’s back to worshiping false idols, Polaris is here, then we don’t have time to play his game. We need to get a short cut to a right answer.”

Scott lined up a shot,

“And fast.”

He hit the cue ball so hard it jumped, making his target recieve a weaker-than-necessary tap in the wrong direction.

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Bobby thinks about Genesis and Gentle. And Ruthie, and Idie. Santo. Quire, Gladiator, Julian, Broo. Some are certainly more likely than others. "It could be anyone," he finally admits. Eyes come back in to focus, and he looks down at the table. "That's the thing about this particular horseman, right?" He knocks the twelve in. "The only real prerequisite is impressionability." Then fourteen.

"War's just an idea.."

Four.

"All you have to do--"

Ten.

"--is change your mind."

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

[rexspecs-blog]

Scott leaned partially on the pool cue as he listened.  The game was only being partially watched behind the red veil he’d always known, most of his attention was keying into Bobby’s story.  It felt a little manipulative, knowing Bobby would talk given the opportunity.  But it wasn’t as though Scott was trying to hide the fact that he needed information.  Bobby would understand.

“It makes a lot of sense, in a ludicrous kind of way.”  Scott replied, eying the table for his own move.  “On one hand, it’s just the left over mutants who didn’t want to stay on Utopia or go solo coming to help out with the school.  Innocent enough, you’d think.”  The three looked clear, with a good bank.  He set up to take the shot.  “But that’s exactly the kind of line up Sinister would go for.  Something everyone else would overlook.”

A clack, and the cue ball sends the solid red into a corner pocket.  “He’s got a thing for games.  It’s not surprising he’s got a piece missing.  For all we know, he’s hanging onto it, so no one else can put together his puzzle before the lights dim and the orchestra gets struck up.”

Fifteen looked like a decent shot.  He didn’t put much thought into it, and it bounced off the felt lining with a dull thud. 

Cyclops backed off from the table, and loosely crossed his arms.

“Notice anything else?  About Sinister’s targets, I mean.  Remy, Lorna, Warren—anyone acting up or out of the ordinary?”

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Scott's move skewed his shot for twelve and Bobby moves around the table for the ten. "I guess the Horsemen have a better shot at making an entrance when the host is upset, someone was saying?" He drinks some more, setting the glass down. He's still looking at Scott though. "So it's no secret why Rogue's in egg shell mode with Remy. It's weird watching them be together so far into the year. Ground hog must've saw his shadow, am I right?"

Bobby flips the pool stick up to aim. "I wouldn't know about Dumb Dane; been avoiding her like the plague..." A beat with a contemplative tilt of his head. "...Which is kind of hilarious, all things considered." He swallows his smirk. "Right pocket." The ten zips forward but strikes the fifteen, slowing to a stop just before the pocket. "S"bullshit," he pouts.

Standing up, he leans heavily on his pole. "I'm actually more worried about Warren." He runs his tongue alone his upper morals for a second. "You know how he was all The Lord this and The Lord that? Well, when Apocalypse actually had control of his peeps, they called him Lord Apocalypse, right? What if," and Bobby shrugs high enough to earn turtle status. "What if this 'Lord' that Warren's been talking to this whole time isn't God. What if it's Apocalypse?"

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

[rexspecs-blog]

“Hard to say.  We’ve been against odds since day one.”

Scott’s punchline had a mild edge of honesty to it.  It’s always funnier when it’s true, or so they say.  ‘They’ were never the ones it was true about, so it was hard to gauge the accuracy of the idiom. 

He walked into the light of the room, figuring he’d stood in the doorway long enough.  It was the first time he’d been back to the school in ages, without Wolverine threatening to pop his claws, anyway.  It was different.  Not a good kind, and not really a bad kind, but it was definitely different.  He’d graduated from this place a long time ago, before he wanted to, before he was ready to, and it took it’s toll.  Not to mention years of hard-earned self-discovery just to come to that conclusion.

Bobby had too, but he’d taken a different road.  Whether it was better or worse, he couldn’t say.  Truth would always be that Scott would have preferred IceMan to stay with his X-Men on Utopia.  He was the only one left from the original team that was still on active duty.  Everyone else was a teacher, or dead, or mentally missing or, in Hank’s case, an Avenger.  Sometimes he wondered what the Professor did, when he thought about the five of them.  Who they’d all been, and who they’d all become.  But Xavier wasn’t exactly static all these years either.  His was the face that changed most, in Scott’s eyes.

“Rack ‘em up.  First one in determines order.”  He said, grabbing a cue stick and walking to the table.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done anything this casually.  He wasn’t even in uniform, which almost made him feel naked these days.  Utopia was always so busy, always something going on in the world that they had to take care of, or clean up after.  He didn’t even know where his old ruby quarts sunglasses were.  His visor was never off long enough to wear them.

But all of the silver lining still had a storm cloud within it’s parameters.  He knew why he was here.  Bobby knew why he was here.  If he was right in his theory, Sinister knew too.  He walked around to the opposite side of the table.

“I hear the Horseman theory was your idea.”

Cold turkey.  No mess.  It was always his method.

And not everything needed to change.

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Bobby snorts at Scott's joke, reminded of why he took up the quips master portion of team. He lets Scott break, because he's been doing it all night, and so he has a chance to lean against the couch and look at his old leader. He perks up at the recognition.

"Yeah," he states with a bit of a pride, his shoulders squaring back and puffing his chest. "Saw this comin' way back." He deflates a bit. "No one wanted to hear it though." A shrug. "I was ahead of my time. Like always."

He steps up to the table with a twirl of his pool stick, mapping out his trajectory on the purple two. "It just..." He shrugs again, not looking away from the table. "Seemed weird. How they were all..." He leans forward, fists on the wood edge. "...coming here, y'know? I mean, with so many, they all could be going anywhere. But no." He stands up again, reading his shot. "They all headed for New York."

Which truly had set weird with him. He'd been playing Seven Degrees to Wolverine in his head when he looked at the staff roster and students, and there had been some dark connections. He tells Scott about his conversation with Remy, and how he initially worried about Julian. "But Juju Beans swung by one Saturday and we played some two-on-two football." He lines up his shot. "And you could trip over Remy's connection with X-23. Center left pocket." He gives that two some spin, and it twirls around the seven for a clean drop. He stands, moving around the table. He looks up at Scott.

"Back on Utopia, Remy made a big show of traveling with her. And I guess X told Jubilee that theyimmediately found their way to Sinister." His expression is one of disbelief. "What are the fuckin' odds, you know?" Bobby chalks the end of his stick, a leg up along the side. "I dunno, dude. It all just stacked up really easy. Then I worried it was too easy, because it's A-Poc, and that guy is stupid difficult all of the time." It's a quick survey of the table and Bobby aims at the four.

"Remy talked me out of it, and I figured, 'hey, this guy would definitely know.'" He gives a disgruntled snort. "Yeah, he would alright--and he did. Played the whole thing low--" Clack! goes the four. "--and everyone just forgot about it--Oh c'mon!" The four makes it in--with the seven. "Damn it. This is why I don't think and do stuff at the same time," he grumbles, reaching for his scotch. He stops before it reaches his lips.

"Oh, dude, do you want some? Liquor cabinet is over yonder."

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And Then There Was Two

The cue ball cracks! against the four.

It shoots off across the green felt, ricocheting off the side, heading straight for the corner right pocket. Bobby's not really looking at it. Logan's too much of a bar man to not have a billiards room, thankfully, and it sits adjacent to the teacher's lounge on the second floor at the backside of the school. It has the pool table he's playing on and a poker table, where Remy clears them all out every Tuesday night. Bobby's knuckles bump his snuffer of scotch as he reaches for the cube. It also has a full bar with elenvty jillion locks on it.

As he chalks the end of his pool stick, his mind starts to drift. Kitty had a staff meeting, letting everyone know Scott is coming to the school onmutualgrounds, and that he would be bringing friends--specifically Emma, Storm and Jubilee. Bobby's been crushing on Kitty for a minute, but he's known her longer: she left some shit out. He'd pestered her about it after everyone had cleared out, but even his best tickle tactics revealed nothing.

So Scooter's coming to town.

Little known fact: Bobby's been an X-man for more of his life than anyone else. Joined when he was barely a teen. It consumed his whole adolescence and, to date, the entirety of his adult life. It's why he dropped out of college; what was the point? He was just going back to the X-men anyway. He tosses the cube down the feltway, and lines up a shot on the six. It was five of them, back in the day. Hank was fuzziless back then. Back then, Bobby looked more like Snowman. When Scott still believed in truth and justice and the good in people. When Angel still had his wings. 

When Jean was alive.

The six pops into the left hole after clipping off the five, which has glided cleaning to the lower right corner pocket. Bobby taps it in. He takes a drink and sets the glass down a little heavy before rubbing his face with his free hand. The break room at the mansion used to be the best. Someone was always in there. Now, Bobby's shooting pool alone on a Thursday night. He pushes the eight ball into the pocket with his hand.

Time's have changed--

The shadow in the door way is the commander of the X-men without confusion. That head gear gives him away every time. There's a short lived moment, where it feels like they're sizing each other up, seeing what's changed. It's been a long time, the stares carry. It's slow to start, but a tipped smile starts to crinkle Scott's face.

"You got another round in you, Bobby?"

Bobby grins at the guy he used to secretly love as an older brother.

"Evens or odds?"

[itsnotchlorine-blog]

Homecoming

[itsnotchlorine-blog]

“It’s… an X-Men problem. I need to talk to Gambit.”

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Bobby blanches at her explanation. "Uh--" He lets out a disbelieving snort. "Think you're on the wrong side of the country," he replies, despite her mentioning of Remy. He opens the door for her anyway, however. "So what?" he asks, deciding that Kitty can at least deal with this bullshit so he can go to bed. Not sleep of course, but lay on it, glaring at things angrily. Probably punching his pillow periodically. "X-Factor not exiting enough anymore? Wanna try the Thieves Guild?" 

He doesn't wait for an answer, instead pointing straight down the hall past the kitchen, where a glass door leads outside. "Remy's been pacing around the quad. He just got back with Rogue though, so if you're gonna have an affair, don't use the front door." And with that, grabs his plate and whirls up the stairs. He needs to collect himself if he's gonna have to be dealing with her. 

It isn't until he's angrily licking the frosting off his plate, sarcastically listing off the things those two would have so much in common that she needs to rush over here immediately, that remembers a conversation he and Remy had previously. One he's going to have to restart.

[itsnotchlorine-blog]

Homecoming

[itsnotchlorine-blog]

 “Bobby. I’m sorry to just show up like this but I really need to talk to - I just have some issues and I needed to - well. I’m here.”

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Bobby's leaning against the door, his temple on the door's edge as she rambles. "What's wrong?" he mocks, noticing she is--for once in her freaking existence--without Alex. "Alex join an underground mutant movement and left you for someone he met there? Oh wait!" He thumps the side of head, in d'oh moment. "That's your thing." Bobby stands back and away, preparing to shut the door. "I'm done with your relationship problems, Lorna. Go ruin someone else's life with them."

[itsnotchlorine-blog]

Homecoming

 The doorbell looked normal enough, at least, she thought as she pressed it.

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Bobby finishes the final touches on his frosting and gramcacker sandwich. It's late into the evening, and most of the students have dragged themselves to their dorms, the teachers all locked away in their offices, grading angrily. Nearly all the instructors had issued quarter long projects, that the kids could turn in any time. Of course, every last one of them waited until the very last moment to turn them in. Bobby, on the other hand, had mostly busy-work, something that could be done in class. And as he remembers the amount of swearing pouring out of Professor Rogue's office, he is oh so pleased he did.

Leaving the kitchen, he expertly side shuffles along the wood floor heading for the stairs, when the door bell rings. What kind of idiot rings the bell of a school? he wonders as he easily spins in a circle, redirecting his fancy footwork to take him towards the front door. He sets the badass sandwich on a side table, and opens the door.

Oh.

The kind of idiot that doesn't know what a pumpkin is. The kind of idiot that didn't understand for years that Magneto is a bad man. The kind of idiot that did the Mexican Hat Dance on his heart. Lorna Dane. 

A moment of hesitation, and Bobby shuts the door. He stands there a minute, trying to breathe, trying not to freak out. His faces ices over, trying to cool the red out of his skin. With a long exhale, he reopens the door, giving her a narrow eyed, bland look.

"What?" he asks deadpan.

[mister-atari]

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Remy, dude. That's kinda douchey, man.

[matterofpryde-deactivated201405]

Not fancy at all, I’d much rather go in jeans and a t-shirt if possible.

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Neato Burrito it is!

[matterofpryde-deactivated201405]

Haha fair enough. How about we do dinner and then drinks afterwards?

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Dinner and drinks, and no tie! I'm all over it. How fancy do you wanna get, babe?

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

No, no. Like, touch…ee. Like how when certain faculty ladies don’t get coffee in the morning they’re kind of axe-murder-y? S’like that.

[rockemsockemsanto-blog]

Uhm… I think I understand?

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Hm. Maybe it's not like that. Moral of the story is, have an awesome time! And if you find plans have changed by the time you're getting in tonight, remember; second drawer.

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

And you totally like it. Enough for a second date? With less ghosties and more bunnies, maybe?

[matterofpryde-deactivated201405]

Definitely enough for a second date.

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

Alright, your turn to pick!

Maybe something less emasculating for me, this time around.

[rockemsockemsanto-blog]

I’m not all touchy about it. I love my powers. Just you know, it’s kinda nice being normal for a short bit.

[waycoolerthancool-blog]

No, no. Like, touch...ee. Like how when certain faculty ladies don't get coffee in the morning they're kind of axe-murder-y? S'like that.