|
   |
The dog days of summer. Hot and humid. Which makes finding ways to cool off important. When you're on a private estate with a private lake, it's not that hard to do. Not when you're the Iceman. A two story tall ice structure sits back a ways from the edge of the lake. This is to give someone plenty of time to pick up speed as they slide down the ice chute before it angles up again and launches you into the lake. Several of the kids who either didn't go home, didn't have a home to go to, or are back already are using it to great delight. Bobby, dripping wet in a swim suit, is lying on the towel on the grass off to the side a bit and watching to make sure everything stays under control.
*
Between setting things up for the school, meeting mutants in M-Town, fighting off invading giants, and searching for her sister, Crystal has been spending a good deal more time in the city the last few weeks than she's used to. It seems to have caught up to her now, though, as the young Inhuman has fallen ill with the effects of the pollution. Even the Institute itself is a threat, full of students returning for the school year and bringing new and exciting viruses with them.
She's a bit on the pale side as she makes her way out to the lake, wearing a semi-sheer white cover-up over a dark green bikini. "Bobby," she greets with a weary smile as she approaches. "It looks like everyone is enjoying themselves."
*
Bobby looks over to give Crystal a smile. "Hey Crystal. You look like hell. What's up?" He glances back at the kids and nods. "Yup. You should give it a go. It's fun. After the tenth time, I got tired but the kids are still going strong."
*
"You know," Crystal laughs softly, laying out a towel next to him, "You're not supposed to tell a lady when she looks like hell. In case you should ever need to know that." Stifling a cough with one hand, she fiddles with the towel until it's in place before stretching out next to him.
"I've spent too much time in the city lately, I think," she admits. "I'm afraid it isn't very good for me. Maybe once some of the children are finished I'll give it a try. The lake might be a nice relief."
*
"I'll keep that in mind. But why would being in the city not be good for you?" Bobby asks curiously. "You're not a telepath." Cause all those thoughts everywhere. "Actually, I wanted to find you so you just showing up saves me some hunting."
*
It isn't long when Erik makes his way out to the lake as well. Carried under one arm is a basket bearing a pitcher of iced tea and some glasses. A towel is draped over his shoulder, and aside from the Italian swimsuit (think Bond, Casino Royale) and a healthy layer of sunscreen, he's lacking in clothing.
As he approaches, he eyes the giant ice structure behind his aviator sunglasses, and a rueful grin forms on his face. "I wonder who we have to thank for that," he remarks, looking Bobby's way as he approaches.
*
"I don't do well with pollution," Crystal explains, tucking one arm beneath her head to prop herself up more comfortably as she looks over to Bobby. "Or viruses, for that matter. I come from a relatively isolated place. We just don't have the exposure to various toxins. And it seems I've reached my limit for a bit."
She looks over toward Erik with a small smile as he approaches, raising a hand from her towel to wave him over. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" she asks Bobby. "I'm a captive audience for a bit here."
*
Bobby, propped up on his elbows, tilts his head back all the way so he can see Erik approaching upside down. "Hey Erik. No idea. I just walked out here and there it was! Must be ice fairies." Grinning, he looks back over at Crystal. "I was wondering if maybe sometime I could borrow Lockjaw. It might be on short notice so I don't if you have a way to get in contact with him quickly."
*
Erik's smirk grows wider still at Bobby's retort, though it softens into something more familiar, even bordering on love struck. It quickly shifts into concern at her paler than usual color, so he approaches in silence and sets his towel out next to hers, before settling the basket nearby. "Iced tea?" he offers.
*
"Iced tea sounds perfect, thank you," Crystal smiles warmly back at Erik, reaching a hand for a reassuring touch to his arm as he settles in. "As for Lockjaw, Bobby, that's a little more complicated. Honestly, we don't entirely know how he knows when he's needed and where. It seems to work better with our family, but even then he doesn't always show up when you think he will. What sort of short-notice trip do you expect to be taking like that?"
*
"Iced tea would be great." Bobby answers, sitting up. Head cocking slightly to one side, he studies Erik's expression and looks over to Crystal's and then to the arm touch. And then he grins. Nope, not gonna comment. "I can't tell you." he tells Crystal. "Really. It's national security stuff and hopefully that kind of quick response won't be needed but if it is, it needs to be damn quick."
*
It seems there are some things that may not go discussed tonight. Suffice it to say that, Bobby speaking of national security has Erik feeling concerned. Either the guy's joking (not at all unlikely), or he's replaying mistakes Charles and Erik made when they were younger. Dire mistakes.
He goes about pouring the drinks and handing them out; to Crystal first, then to Bobby, before taking one for himself. "Care to ice us down a bit?" he requests, still refraining from comment.
He settles in on his side, angled to face his friends with his body propped up on one arm. Crystal's reassuring touch is met with another smile, similarly soft, a far cry from the stern nature he often presents.
*
Crystal stills momentarily at Bobby's answer, though she covers by taking the iced tea and sipping. "I'm not certain I can make that promise, Bobby," she says slowly. "And if it's a matter of national security, then it seems as though you would want something that's very certain."
*
Bobby reaches over to touch a finger to the glasses in turn which promptly frost over as the contents drop to just above freezing. "Well, I told them not to depend on it." he says with a nod. "SHIELD, I mean. You did hear they recruited me and Alex? Well, mostly Alex originally since he's the one whose name they got somehow. But I was there when the guy showed up to talk to him. The Prof checked them out and they're sincere about their intentions." Which means he sifted through their minds. "It's less spy stuff which would have been cool and more stop this from hitting the fan which is a lot more scary."
*
"SHIELD?" Erik asks. It would seem that, if he has heard of them, he's hiding it. Or, perhaps, he simply doesn't really believe that they exist.
*
"I know you'd talked about someone who'd found out who Alex was and you and Charles were going to speak with them." Crystal props herself up on her elbows, brows furrowing slightly as she frowns. "It's good to be helping," she muses. "It's good to stop bad things from happening. I just know that there are concerns about government involvement. On the one hand, secrecy protects us. On the other hand, sometimes you have to take control of how you're seen if you don't want to become a victim."
*
"Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-enforcement Division." Bobby recites. "I wonder how long someone spent trying to come up with something whose initial spelled shield? They should have tried harder. Anyway, they're part of NATO so not really the government. Least, not any specific one which I think is important. And get this… Captain America is part of it! They've also got some negroes so they don't discriminate. And yeah, that's part of it Crystal. It'll let them work with mutants and come to know us. Not that we'll be inviting them over or anything. We're being very careful about not letting them find out about here."
*
There's little Erik can do to hide his discomfort. Suffice it to say, he hasn't had the best experiences where government and mutants are concerned. Granted, he can appreciate Bobby's enthusiasm, and he shares Crystal's feelings that it is good to be helping, but there is a part of him, a very large part, that will never trust the government.
"It also provides a way for you and Alex to determine whether their intentions are ill toward mutant kind." It just comes out. He isn't apologizing for the direct manner in which he says it, either. "Thank you," he adds, regarding the freshly frosted glass, and takes a pleasing drink from the contents.
*
Crystal takes a drink, reaching out for Erik's hand at his discomfort. "Captain America sounds promising, at least," she smiles faintly back at Bobby. "But in truth, I have mixed feelings about engaging with governments. It doesn't take much, but one person knows something, and then another person does. The information spreads, and before you know it, it's no longer a secret."
*
"That too, Erik." Bobby agrees. "We're not assuming they're on the side of angels where we're concerned. Even if the Prof rummaged through their heads, things can change. Better we keep an eye on them. Carefully." he adds to what Crystal says. "Like I said, they're not finding out about the school."
*
Erik certainly has his doubts. "Sometimes," he mentions, glancing from Bobby to Crystal, then back again, "the best of intentions have a way of backfiring." It's a warning, to be sure, but he gives Crystal's hand a squeeze and adds, "Still… better this, than to have them come at us with paranoia and guns."
*
"That," Crystal says quietly, "Would go ill for them." Sitting up, she scoots over to lean against Erik, taking a deep breath of the clean air away from the city. Normally she wouldn't be quite that open with her affections, but it seems she's worn a bit thin at the moment. "If it's a matter of life and death, Bobby, and you can reach me, I'll bring Lockjaw," she compromises. "There's a better chance of me reaching him, regardless. But I can't in good conscience throw him into something alone without knowing what he might face."
*
"So anyway, I told em not to rely on it but if it was really an actual we need to be there five minutes ago emergency, I might be able to get us there in time." Bobby says then grins. "You should have seen their faces when I said it was a teleporting dog. I'll tell em the dog's… partner insists on coming along if so. But they're going to have a problem with that. Unless you want to join too?"
*
Erik certainly doesn't mind such affections. As far as he's concerned, the whole bloody school knows about them already. He rests a hand upon her shoulder, massaging gently.
"We ought to consider developing some kind of radio communications system," he remarks. "The military has it. Short range, unless we can find a way to use long distance wire taps, which… as I understand correctly, could be risky. But it would certainly beat finding a public phone and ringing the Institute's main line."
At Bobby's last, Erik looks to Crystal with eyebrows lifted.
*
"I am not that sort of government agent," Crystal laughs softly to Bobby's question, shaking her head. "But I know how to deal with them. I understand if they're concerned. But if they want badly enough to be somewhere to use the services of a teleporting dog, then I suspect they will be in no position to negotiate." A smile quirks then, spreading despite herself until she laughs more freely. "You should have seen Charles' face the first time I told him."
*
Bobby grins even more broadly. "That would have been great to see. But yeah, I'll let them know that the dog comes with a person. Leave it up to them. You're right though; if it's an emergency they don't have much choice about it. And yeah, Erik. We do need that badly."
*
"Unfortunately," Erik says, "I am ill equipped to develop such a platform." He smirks ruefully at that, before considering all that's being spoken of. "You know," he contemplates, "offering the service of a teleporting 'dog' does give us something of an advantage."
*
"It was priceless, and I shall treasure the memory always," Crystal grins to Bobby, holding a hand over her heart. "Communications are certainly something that would be helpful," she agrees, though it's almost as though she's holding something back there, thoughtful. Whatever it is, she's distracted by Erik's comment, looking back with a quirk of her brow. "He isn't Pan-Am," she drawls.
*
"No, he isn't." Bobby agrees. "But he would still be incvredibly useful. And not just as transportation. As Erik said, it would give us something they need even beyond our own abilities. Being able to go anywhere in the country in an instant? Or anywhere in the world?" he asks Crystal.
*
He certainly didn't mean it as a blanket statement. Crystal's response earns a raised eyebrow from Erik, who shifts just so. "No," he answers. "He certainly isn't." He sighs deeply, and turns away to contemplate the glass of iced tea held in his free hand. "This line of thinking…" His tone goes quite serious. "It's dangerous."
*
"It can be," Crystal agrees with Erik, though she has her own reservations. Still, she tightens her grip on his hand slightly. "Where I come from," she explains to Bobby, "We believe that the powers that people develop are based on the needs of the people. If someone can teleport, it's because there will be a need for it. If someone can lift a great deal of earth, then it is because it will be necessary. Flight. Strength. Every person fulfills a need. From that point of view, it isn't dangerous to see powers as…something useful. When you begin to see them as commodities, though…"
*
"Being a mutant is dangerous." Bobby points out. Erik surely knows this. Then he shakes his head at what Crystal says. "Not a commodity, no. He'd truly be helping people. Whatever other reason there is, there's also that. But there's other things too. They want to use us. Of course they do; we can do things most people can't. So far, they want to use us to help people which is wonderful. We want that too. But we're also using them to help our people. To keep them safe. So it goes both ways."
*
Erik nods his head, while simultaneously grasping Crystal's hand a bit tighter in response. He looks deeply toward Bobby, an understanding commingled with reservation.
There comes a long silence, which is eventually broken. "If there ever comes a day when that changes… when they no longer respect us? When they seek to use us as commodities, or worse, make us slaves?" A darkness comes over him. "It will not bode well for them, and they would be wise to know that."
*
"No one is going to make you a slave, Erik," Crystal murmurs, pressing a kiss to the back of his hand. "Lockjaw is just a special case, Bobby," she explains with a small smile. "I wouldn't allow anyone to take advantage of him, and that means that where he goes, I go. Luckily, my current situation aside, I'm generally well able to take care of myself," she concludes, the lightness of the words somewhat spoiled by another coughing fit.
*
Bobby looks at Erik and nods once. They're in agreement there. "Just how smart is he?" he asks Crystal. "Is he as smart as we are? He must be telepathic right? How else does he know where we want to go."
*
Erik smiles at the kiss, but there is a sad nature to it. He's escaped slavery before, and a part of him wonders whether the numbers on his arm are enough to really paint a picture for her, for anyone, of what exactly he went through as a boy.
Talk of Lockjaw earns a more honest grin. "I do believe, Bobby Drake, that he's just as intelligent as the three of us." He gives Crystal a knowing look.
*
"He is at least as intelligent as we are," Crystal agrees with a laugh. "Though as he has some difficulty expressing himself, it's easy for people to see a large dog and dismiss him for it. Sometimes I suspect he plays to that, too. As for telepathy, honestly, we don't know. If it is, I think it's not quite so clear-cut as it is for people like Charles and Jean. He doesn't always go where you want him to. Sometimes you find yourself instead where you needed to be, even if you didn't know it."
*
"Thought so." BObby says with a nod. "He has to be. As smart I mean. Sounds like he's what do you call it? See things at a distance so he doesn't teleport into things? Maybe he can see the future a little too." Who knows what a mutant dog can do. "Well, ask him then. Let him make the choice. After all, I wouldn't want someone else deciding for me."
*
"I suppose," Erik answers, "that only Lockjaw truly knows."
With that, he sets his iced tea down and leans over to give Crystal a kiss on the cheek. Then, with a mirthful grin, he rises and goes running for the ice sculpture, fit to climb it and give its chute a good run.
*
"I'll talk to him about it," Crystal promises Bobby, tipping her cheek up to Erik's kiss. "In the mean time…" As Erik takes off running, she stands up a little more slowly, pulling the cover-up over her head. "I'm going to spend a little bit of time recovering. And the lake looks just perfect for it."
*
