Justin Rhodes (iron_hide) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-04-30 16:06:00

Entry tags:

inactive - justin rhodes, team - avengers, toni rhodes

Brother-Sister Act
Justin arrives at the Manhattan apartment, checking over the address that Mom gave him one more time. He probably should have called to see if she'd be home, but he'd rather she not find a reason not to see him. Of all his "family", Toni is probably the most affected by his appearance, and the person he's spoken to the least of his immediate family. She's checked on him while he was asleep, and helped him out here and there, but they haven't really bonded or anything. He's not sure she wants to, and if it turns out he'll be leaving soon, he could be wasting his time.

But he's never had a sister before, and there's a part of him that needs to know what that's like. This is one of the few upsides to Tina being out of town on business for work; if she was here, Justin might make an excuse to leave and go see her so that he doesn't have to confront this.

Anya says she's cool, so she's cool. he thinks.

Justin knocks on the door and waits for an answer....and hoping he doesn't run into Rhodey's wife.

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	toni_rhodes 2010-04-30 09:38 pm UTC (link)
	The Rhodes are not often home at the same time, between Rhodey's work as a combination executive and trouble-shooter for Stark Industries, and Monica's salvage business, so today, Toni is the only one home. She used the security cam to check who was at the door, then went and opened it. "Hey, Justin," she said. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-04-30 10:03 pm UTC (link)
	"Hey, Toni. You look nice." he offers, standing in the doorway. "Did I come at a bad time? I can leave if you aren't up to company." he says. He looks a bit nervous, but he's trying to fight it down. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-04-30 10:33 pm UTC (link)
	She smiled. "Thanks," she said. "You're fine. C'mon in." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-04-30 10:40 pm UTC (link)

He enters and takes a look at the apartment, seeing something of his father's style in the place. Of course, it bears a woman's touch, which makes it seem a bit more like a home.

"Thanks for seeing me. I...heard about what happened to you. Apparently, I got here around the time you were missing. Talked to...Rhodey about it. He was about a step away from armoring up to go find you himself, but I guess things turned for the better before he needed to.

The big man loves you like crazy, but you know that. And you probably know that Anya and Steve saved my life the day I showed up. You've got great friends, Toni." he says, taking a deep breath.

"And, if you want or need it...you've got me, too." Justin tells her.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-04-30 10:58 pm UTC (link)
	Toni's smile faltered for a minute at the mention of what had happened to her, but she pushed past it. "I do," she agreed. "They're the best." Especially Charlie. She wished she'd been able to say good-bye. She smiled. "Thank-you, Justin." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-04-30 11:00 pm UTC (link)
	"No problem at all. So, I came over here on a fact-finding mission. I don't know anything about you, and that needs to change. Are you just hanging out here today, or do you have plans?" he asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-04-30 11:06 pm UTC (link)
	"And I don't know that much about you either, come to think of it," Toni replied. She shook her head. "No plans. We can hang out here or head out somewhere, if you want." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-04-30 11:11 pm UTC (link)
	"I'll tell you anything you want to know. I saw a Chipotle down the street. You like burritos?" he asks. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-04-30 11:27 pm UTC (link)
	"Sounds good," she said. "Like them a whole lot," she added. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-04-30 11:46 pm UTC (link)

Justin smiles, and opens the door for her. "See, if anyone couldn't tell we're family by resemblance, our love of Chipotle would tip them off." he grins.

When they arrive, he picks up the tab for food and gets them a table.

"Okay, Rhodey clued me in that you're a mutant." he says, lowering his voice. "So you don't need to worry about telling me that. Let's start at the beginning.

What's your middle name, if you've got one?" Justin asks.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-04-30 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	He did look quite a bit like Dad, she had to admit. She had some of his features, but mostly took after her mother. "Don't have one," she said. "You?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-05-01 12:05 am UTC (link)
	"Anthony. And yes, I got called Tony all the time when I was a kid...up until Uncle Tony died." Justin says somberly. "One day, I think everyone made an unspoken agreement to call me Justin, and I went with it." he says. "What do you like to do with your spare time, besides drag Anya out of the lab?" he grins. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

toni_rhodes
2010-05-01 12:41 am UTC (link)

Uncle Tony, dead? She'd known Justin's reality was... less than great, but...

She shook her head to clear it. "Heh. I've been called Toni pretty much my entire life. Sometimes I barely remember to answer to Antoinette."

She smiled. "Plenty, really. But I like to go sailing a lot. Mom and Grandpa Rambeau taught me just about everything there is to know about running a boat."

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iron_hide
2010-05-01 12:48 am UTC (link)

"Sailing? That's probably the coolest thing I've heard in awhile. I've never actually been to the ocean, not even since I got here. Where I'm from, you don't go near the water. Period." Justin says.

The Sea King wasn't on Osborn's side where Justin was from, but Namor was as likely to turn a person over to Osborn as he was to kill them himself for intruding on "his" lands. From the bits Justin has heard, this world's Namor isn't exactly a peach, either, though not as bad as his counter-part.

"Also, I have a heart condition, so I wasn't allowed to do a lot of strenuous activity. I'm trying to fix that, but it's slow going." he says.

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	toni_rhodes 2010-05-01 01:12 am UTC (link)
	"It's great," Toni said. "If it floats on the water, I can pretty much make it go. We should get you out some time." She nodded. "Uncle Tony's made some pretty big strides with fixing stuff like that," she said. "And we've got some of the other smartest people in our Rolodex. We'll get you fixed." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-05-01 01:19 am UTC (link)

"I've been going over some of the strides that Stark Industries has made in several fields since I got here, and it's official: Uncle Tony's a genius. Anya is, too. She and I built a Zero-Point Energy module recently and it looks like it's working out well. I'm pretty fond of the lab, so you'll probably find me there, if I'm not out and about." he says.

"Speaking of...are you seeing anyone? I'm not going to get all Big Brother over it, so as long as the guy, if there is one, respects you...you won't hear a peep out of me." he says.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-05-01 01:44 am UTC (link)
	Toni frowned. "I... was," she said, after a moment. "Charlie Rogers. We'd gone out a couple times, but really hooked up over Spring Break. And now..." She sighed. "Now I don't know if I'll ever see him again." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-05-01 01:50 am UTC (link)

Justin felt bad bringing up something that upset Toni. He silently kicked himself, but offered his little sister words of encouragement.

"I don't know Charlie, but I have to believe he's as smart as his old man, and he'll come back to you. Have faith, Toni. When he gets back, he's going to come looking for you, so you just have to keep yourself together until then." Justin tells her, smiling.

"If it makes you feel any better, my girlfriend is out of town for work, so I kind of get where you're coming from. What does Dad think of Charlie?" Justin asks.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

toni_rhodes
2010-05-01 02:16 am UTC (link)

"It's hard," Toni admitted. "But I've been trying to stay positive."

It hurt. They'd finally sorted out their feelings for each other, and on that last night before they'd gone home, had been as close as it was possible for two people to have gotten. And then... he was gone.

Toni smirked a little at that. "I think Dad was a little surprised I went for a white guy, but he likes Charlie. Adults usually do."

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-05-01 02:22 am UTC (link)

Justin laughs a little at Toni's choice of words. If that's the case, then Rhodey must have done a double-take upon first hearing about his son with Pepper Potts.

"Hey, he'll probably be home before you know it, and then you won't even remember missing him like crazy. Steve mentioned Charlie a few times. He sounds like a good guy." he says.

"In the meantime, what kind of music do you like?" he asks.

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	toni_rhodes 2010-05-01 02:40 am UTC (link)
	"He is. He's the best," Toni said. "Jazz, mostly," she replied. "Little bit of rock and roll too, some heavy metal." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-05-01 02:43 am UTC (link)

Justin smiles widely at Toni's mention of Jazz. He grew up on it himself, and finding a club that plays all Jazz here in the city made him happy.

"I love Jazz. Grew up on it back home. I've been trying to get used to some of the other music here. Country is pretty good, as is R&B. Tina, my girlfriend, took me to a Jazz club last month, and we had a great time." he says.

"Maybe you could set my new iPod up with some stuff you listen to so I can try it out?" he asks.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-05-01 08:44 pm UTC (link)
	Toni grinned. "I grew up on it too. Good old fashioned New Orleans Jazz and Ragtime. Grandpa can still play a mean trumpet." She nodded. "Sure. I've got gigs of it on my computer." "What about you, Justin? What do you do for fun?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-05-02 12:17 am UTC (link)
	"Well, I work in the lab, or go out with my girlfriend. I used to restore classic cars with Uncle Tony when I was kid, but I don't have the means to do that right now. Probably not for awhile, either. But I could always use a few new hobbies, just like anyone else." he chuckles. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	toni_rhodes 2010-05-02 12:41 am UTC (link)
	Toni made a face at his mention of a lab. "Work in the lab?" she laughed. "What're you, a Stark?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)