tushanshu | 10° VIDEO

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[There's a pause before Johnny's face appears on the screen, bent over to press the buttons. Once he confirms that the screen is on, he straightens and makes sure he's in frame, wearing very basic clothes.]

Aw, Reed. You shouldn't have! It's a little small, but I admit, I like what you've done with the place.

[He waits a beat, as if Reed might actually respond.]

There are two obvious possibilities for why I'm here. One, the Emperor is a crazed fan who abducted me to find out if The Torch is really as hot as they say he is – I am, by the way – or, two, I'm actually dead, they're lying to me, and I have a motorcycle and a pile of women waiting for me somewhere.

[A split-second pause.] I'll tell you what. If it's the first option? You can come find me. If it's the second, let me know and I'll come find you. Until then? This Fire Sector is like home, sweet home.

Johnny out.

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Johnny?! Ohmigosh, you're here!

[Nita is leaning way in to her console, peering at Johnny in surprise.]

You must be a fan! Autographs are five dollars, but I'm sure we could work something out if you're a little short on cash.

Johnny Storm, you knock it off. [Seriously, jeez.] It's nice to see you, too.

[..Well this is awkward.]

Do I know you?

[Nita frowns, but this isn't the first time at the rodeo, and she blows a puff of air into her bangs in exasperation.]

Ugh. I'm getting really sick of this alternate timeline stuff.

Don't tell me I never called.

[She knows she dated Johnny in her own alternate future (that is now her past) that she will never experience because time travel is a bitch, so she's not going to claim to be out of his league. But it's tempting.]

It wouldn't have mattered. I have Sue's number, too.

Now you have to tell me about yourself. I'll buy you a drink and everything.

All the bars here are really sad, even before rationing kicked in.

Your place then?

[Johnny.]

Sure. Water 3A.

I'll be there in five.

Jeez, take your time, why don't you?

[Nita gives him a wry look, then disconnects before he can say anything. She knows how to deal with Johnny Storm.]

[And Johnny's there in two minutes, just for that. He lifts a flaming hand to knock on her door and pauses, extinguishing the limb before he drops his knuckles on the wood. Then, being Johnny, he also tries the handle; if it's unlocked, he'll just be letting himself in. After all, she's expecting him!

By nature of rushing over, he's left standing only in his Fantastic Four suit, the first set of clothes he bought already charred to ashes.]

[Nita's of the opinion that if someone takes something of hers, they need it more than she does, so she doesn't bother locking her doors under ordinary circumstances.]

Hi, Johnny.

[She stands up to her full not-very-impressive height, which makes her several inches shorter than he is. Nita's barefoot and wearing a green-scaled swimsuit, and she's obviously not human, with pointed ears, strangely high-arched eyebrows, and small white wings at each ankle.

What she really wants is a hug, but this isn't her Johnny Storm, so she just offers him a hand to shake.]

I'm Namorita Prentiss.

[He glances around as he enters, giving a quick "hey" as soon as he catches sight of her. Johnny closes the door behind him. Stepping forward, his eyes travel the length of her body and, still smiling, he makes no move to offers his hand. There's a hint of apology on his expression as he replies.]

Johnny Storm, but I guess you already know that. So don't take this personally, but I need to ask what you are and what kind of powers you have before I shake your hand.

[Nita lets her hand fall back to her side, doing a good job hiding how much having another friend reject her hurts. Intellectually, she's aware it's a different Johnny, but it doesn't help much.]

"What" I am? [Kind of a jerky way to phrase it.] I'm Atlantean. I can fly, toss a city bus, and take a punch from Ben Grimm. [She doesn't mention the breathing water thing, because she doesn't consider it a power.]

In my universe, our families go way back. [Leeeeet's not get into details just yet...]

So you were born with your powers.

[He offers the assumption, waiting for her to confirm it. It's not a personal attack so much as it's the Torch being careful. Last he checked, his DNA is messed up and he's swapping powers with his friends. It seems better safe than sorry to risk swapping with someone he doesn't know at all. If she confirms his suspicion, he'll offer his hand to shake.]

In your universe? What do you mean? You're friends with Sue?

Yeah. [Nita's not sure why that makes a difference, but she accepts the handshake with her own firm grip.]

My cousin has known you guys for ages. When I first came to the surface, he asked Dr. Richards and Sue to look out for me. [Sue's asked Nita to call her by her first name and Reed hasn't, hence the difference in how she refers to them.]

[Johnny stares at her expectantly as they shake hands and then for a moment after. When nothing seems to happen, he glances down at his own hand. He snaps to make a small fire appear about his hand and then snaps again to extinguish it. He smiles.

Then his attention returns to her.]

Uh huh. So your cousin knows Reed? I would have remembered your face if I'd met you before, Rita. It's not exactly a face you forget.

[His smile widens with his slight lean, flirting a little while still trying to get the important information.]

[Oh my god, Johnny.] Nita. You should probably try to get a girl's name right if you're gonna flirt with her.

[Ain't even mad. It's Johnny, so this is standard operating procedure.]

Actually, Namor's more Sue's friend than Dr. Richards'. [This is not technically a lie.]

Lucky for me you're a generous woman.

[Anotehr smile. But then his smile wanes slightly. Sue doesn't have friends that Johnny doesn't know about. Especially not male friends.]

I didn't realize she knew any Namor. They must have had some kind of a falling out since he wasn't invited to the wedding.

Uh.

[Nita is going to get herself into trouble with this conversation, because she's just not a good liar, even by omission.]

If you've never heard of him, Atlantis might not exist in your universe, or maybe it never made contact with the surface.

There you go again. What do you mean my universe? You're saying that you're from some.. parallel universe or something?

[He gives her his skeptical face. Silver men on surfboards eating planets is one thing, but alternate universes is a whole other deal. It's not unfathomable. Just hard to believe.]

[Nita returns his skeptical look. The Fantastic Four are always time traveling or visiting alternate universes or other dimensions.]

Well, yeah.

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