Participants:
| Scene Title | The Once And Future Son |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Monica collects a couple recruits for an important mission. |
| Date | October 21, 2011 |
JJ's Apartment
Ninjas work best at night. So do ninjas' sidekicks.
It took jimmying a window and shushing Luther as he made his way up the fire escape, but Monica made it into JJ's apartment without getting either of them arrested. The blinds are pulled, the lights are off and she sits on a kitchen counter with a glass of water and a handful of crackers.
While this may be a very strange situation for a normal persn, Monica seems unsettlingly comfortable with breaking into someone's apartment, sitting around in tha dark, and helping herself to their stuff.
Not being arrested is good. Luther is actually pretty good with the climb up the fire escape like he's done plenty before, but he's not entirely too comfortable with being an accomplice to a B&E. Yet. Here he is. "Forgot to bring a cake," he remarks to her once he's found a place to lie in wait. Somewhere behind Monica, because he wouldn't want to get kicked in the head or something.
The apartment isn't big — it's a small studio, in fact, so there's not so much a bedroom but a bed corner that's very artfully separated from the rest of the room with a Deadpool shower curtain (This is why they stay at Adel's apartment). There's a noise of the bed creaking as JJ sits up — the would-be ninjas are very quiet, but maybe his spidey sense is kicking in.
He gets up — the bed creaks slower than it would if he wasn't suspicious of something. He doesn't have weapons — those are secured at work. So it's an alarm clock he picks up as his weapon, pulling it from the outlet before he pulls the shower curtain swiftly, the alarm ready to be hurled.
Sometimes he wishes he was Howard. Or Hannah. Or Calvi- no that's going too far.
"Oh," he says, eyes widening when he sees his mother and a stranger across the length of the studio in the kitchen corner. "Is this your impression of a bitch eating crackers?"
"Shh!" Monica says to Luther when he speaks. But it's too late. When JJ sees them, she puts her hands up. "Don't shoot," she says with a grin. She looks at the crackers, then back at him, "Hopefully a bad impression." She hops down off the counter, leaving her snacks behind. "Sorry to drop in on you," she notes, "I meant to let you sleep." Not everyone has her patience for waiting around, though.
"Oh, um. This is Luther. He worked at Redbird with me. Luther, this is JJ. He's my son." There's a pause before she adds, "From the future."
Oops, right, this was supposed to be a quiet thing. Luther hushes but it's too late now that JJ's awake. The sound of the shower curtain pulling aside turns his gaze. He straightens, seeing the clock lifted and readied to throw, but at least it's nothing gun-shaped pointed at their heads. "How did you know he was asleep?" he asks Monica after a beat. And once they're introduced, he takes a step forward to offer a hand out. But more importantly, there's a pause as the gears start to turn. Son. Future. Wait, what? "Your… son?"
"You didn't frontload that?" JJ says with a grin. Luckily for all present, he doesn't sleep in the nude, because that would have been awkward, but instead in boxers and a t-shirt. He glances at the clock, and laughs with some embarrassment before setting it down. "If you were actually a bad guy, I could say something clever like, 'Your time is up!'
He moves out of the little bed corner, picking up a robe that's draped on the curtain rod to pull over his shoulders.
As he wakes, though, things click, and his expression shifts to worry. "You really shouldn't be here though. You lose my number?" he tells Monica, before offering a hand to Luther. "Hey. JJ. Nice to meet you. You guys want coffee, Red Bull, or beer?"
"I forgot, it's been a busy few weeks," Monica says with a crooked smile. She looks at Luther, nodding to him. "He traveled back in time to change the future. You know? You know." He knows. JJ gets a look for his pun, but a chuckle a moment later. She can't resist a good pun.
He brings up an excellent point, though, and Monica looks apologetic. "I know, I'm sorry." Because he would definitely be in trouble, too, if she was found here. "I didn't lose your number, lost my phone. When they put me in Eltingville." Of course, she isn't there now. "I just wanted to check in, you know? Come see how you're doing. And have coffee, since you're offering."
Luther's hand shake is warm in the physical sense, polite in the social sense. And the response for the pun is also a look, but with a sense of humor behind it. "Luther, pleasure," he says to the intro. He's still eyeing JJ a little bit given this new information about time traveling children. But give him a moment. "I'll take a beer," he says a little belatedly to the drink offer. He glances back to Monica, leaning on the counter with his elbows. "Is this all also because of Hiro?"
"Oh, shit. You're okay?" JJ says, frowning at the news that she was in Eltingville. "How the hell'd you get out? Do I wanna know?" He does move to where a Keurig sits, the magical coffee provider, to put a mug in and push a button. 2011 is amazing, despite the fascism.
The beer is gathered from the refrigerator — a bottle of some local microbrew. That done, host part played, he moves back to lean next to Monica, close enough to touch shoulders. "Sorry for the mind blow, Luther. It's been a hell of a trip." There's a faint smile at that. "So… what do you need? You probably should not be in the city proper. I can probably get you to where the boat people are." That's code for Ferry, guys.
"Of course I'm okay," Monica says, as if there was never any doubt that she'd make it out of there. "Got caught a little earlier this time around, but." The question of how gets a little smile out of her, just a little tug at the corner of her lips. "I rode out on the underside of a van. After a month of reconnaissance. I didn't even have to punch anybody."
She looks over at Luther, giving him a sympathetic smile. "Hiro isn't the only time traveler out there." Which might be bad news, but she doesn't seem to think so. But when JJ gets to the point, she looks between the two of them, her expression growing serious.
"We're gonna tear them down. The Institute. Richard-who-isn't. And save Peyton. Us and the boat people. I thought I'd ask if you two want in." That is the question. But her moment of seriousness passes when she bumps her shoulder against JJ's. "You know I need rooftops. Ruins aren't my speed."
The beer received with a nod of thanks, Luther takes a swig and is silent for a moment of appreciation of the microbrew. "There's a lot going down, I've been told, but you didn't tell me you didn't punch anybody getting out," he notes at Monica. Does he look surprised she didn't? Maybe a little. OK a lot. But there's a little smile there, genuine and everything, of pride and admiration. Of course then things get serious and Luther sobers. "It's a lot to do," he muses aloud, his rumble staying level and calm at least for now. But there's also so many questions that bubble into his expression when he looks back at JJ and Monica both. Together. Still trying to work stuff out. "Not that you have to answer, but, how old're you, JJ?"
Once the mug is done brewing, he hands her the cup that says I <3 New York because he's a tourist in his own right. "Cream and sugar," he says, pointing to a little tray that no doubt Adel bought, with tiny little creamers and sugar packets. "That's a lot. You, uh, talked to the others about it?" Cardinal and Liz and that crew. "I'm game." It's a simple enough, ready enough answer.
JJ's pale green eyes move to Luther, and he grins. "Real answer? I won't be born until 2015. But I'm 26, you know, chronologically — biologically — speaking. How old are you?" The smile widens at the last, though, because he probably only means it as a joke. "You guys want anything to eat? Shower? How long you been out?" The last is addressed to Monica.
Monica perks up (haha) when she's handed the coffee. Her hands wrap around it for a moment or two before she grabs some cream to pour in. "I have. It's a joint operation. Two pronged. Boston and Alaska. I'm heading to Alaska. That's where Peyton is." She seems prepared to go on selling it, but when JJ turns out to be willing, she relaxes into a warmer smile. "We need a way to get in touch with you without, you know, attracting attention. We're still in the safehouse."
She smirks over at Luther at his question. "He's from the future," she reminds, "but yes, it's weird. He's older than I am. But, you know, family's family." Which is her whole thing. "I've been out… a couple days. I have had a shower. It was magical." Speaking of magic, she sips at her coffee. Which is also magic. Coffee was terrible in Eltingville.
Luther's brow creases when JJ reveals his birth year because, really, that's wild. He also perks when the offer of food and showers are mentioned, but it's a tentative perk. There's serious business and battleplans being discussed, so he remains quiet and sipping at his beer as Monica goes on. "You're going to have to catch me up on this future stuff," he says quietly. "Maybe on the way to Alaska. It's a long way there, unless… unless you've got some tricks up your sleeves."
"It's complicated," agrees JJ to Luther's perplexed look. "Basically the future is pretty bleak and we came back to change it. But it's getting bleak here, too, so we need to change it faster." He drums his hands behind him on the counter, musing over Monica's words. "Yeah. I have a new burner, and Lene can always get a hold of me, too."
Back to Luther he smirks. "I don't personally have a teleporter up my sleeve, but Walter's the one who bounces us through time and space. I don't know where everyone else is falling in."
His green eyes go back to his mother's face. "You know I'll be there. Just… once I go AWOL that'll burn my connections. It'll be worth it, if we stop everything." He tips his head. "You know in 2011 you can take a shower every day, right?" He's teasing.
"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to explain it to you. Well, as much as I understand about what's going on. We're going the old fashioned way." No fancy powers for this trip. Monica nods to JJ as he gives his synopsis. "That's the long and sort of it. And Richard, our Richard, he's all about changing futures, so that's what we're gonna do."
Monica looks over at JJ and puts a hand on his arm. "You don't have to go. I mean, we'll get it done. I just know you guys came for this, so I wanted you to have the option. You can stay home and stay safe if you like."
Of course, at those last words, she eyes him. "Watch it, Dawson." But it's only a playfull chiding.
"In 2011, those with a shower can shower every day," Luther says around the mouth of the bottle, but don't mind him he's just being humorous. Or maybe facetious. The man slips back to the serious side as he watches mother and future son. "Miss Monica, I doubt your son's the type to be staying home and safe. Kind of in the genes." Not too serious, though, as evidenced in the crooked smile he gives the pair.
JJ's smile slips away at the offer to stay safe, and he shakes his head. "I turned in the safe card a long time ago, Mo-" the sound starts the same, but there's a pause before he says, "Monica." He knows 'mom' is just a bit too weird for the young woman, even if she's been easy going with it all. "I'm in it if you're in it. I wouldn't be able to sit home and watch everyone I know go off while I play Skyrim or something, you know?"
He glances over at Luther and nods. "Well. Mi shower es su shower, amigo."
It's true that Monica can accept a lot, but 'mom' is maybe a little too much. But her expression turns a little bittersweet. It's a hard situation for him, too. To have his mother, but not. "Most people just call me 'Moni'," she says, to the bother of them. Mom or Miss Monica, neither seem to sit right with her. And she knows that Luther's right, he won't sit out. And she won't ask him to.
Her hand reaches over to JJ's arm, giving it a squeeze. "I know. But, you know. It's a lot to lose."
Luther keeps his chuckle low, a hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "Old habits are hard to break," he says with a nod. The man takes down another few swigs of beer so that the pair can work through the pseudo-awkward part of this. "Do we know," he adds in after that bit of pause, "how we're doing it? We're not exactly the guns blazing types, I'd assume."
"There's more to gain," JJ says quietly, with a shrug of one shoulder. It's simple enough math to him. He puts one hand on hers and squeezes.
He turns to Luther and shakes his head. "You're the one who showed up to ask me for help so I don't know. But I'm not the one who makes the plans in our little Time Travelers Club. Sorry." He grins. "Look, let me throw in some food for you two, and we can catch you up with what we know."
"We'll get a sitrep before go time. I'm not tactics either, I'm kung fu." Monica swings her legs lightly and her gaze turns to JJ. "She would be proud of you," she says, gently. It's quiet, but easy enough to hear. She straightens up after a moment, though. Probably at the mention of food. "Oh, good. I'm starving. He is, too." For all that JJ offers, she hops down off the counter to help. Details get put on the back burner for now.