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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Yeah, and I'm the Easter Bunny. Boomerangs and all.

You know, I always pictured you with longer ears.

I left 'em with the tail for the day. [He's going to roll his eyes there.] I guess Torches are mouthier in the future.

Oh good. Another time traveler. Because that's all I need.

What's your name?

And you're from a universe where somehow you're the only Torch in the business. Considering all the stuff I've seen around, can't say I'm that surprised. [Annoyed maybe, but not surprised.]

Name's Toro. Back home I heard there's been more than one Torch to go by that name. From the sounds of it, maybe that's you--or some other version of you, I don't know. It could be some guy name Bob.

What other Torches did you know? Were they part of the same team, the Fantastic Four?

Heard of them from a guy here. He said the new Torch was on their team. But the original was in the act long before he was born. Even before the War.

Who told you about the new Torch?

Do you really believe that, about that old guy? The kinds of radiation I was exposed to weren't even discovered at that period of time and it was only the exposure that I got from outer space that caused this. I don't see how someone on Earth could have been the same way as me so many years before. Besides, the guy's probably ancient by now. He'd need a walker just to flame around.

[Wow, fastest way to get this firebug riled up is to insult the original Human Torch.]

Watch it, that's my partner you're talking about like that! We kicked the Axis' behinds back to their doorsteps and more. Besides, radiation doesn't have anything to do with his powers and he sure isn't using a walker. Androids don't age like that.

Oh, great, so he's a robot with a flamethrower. Big deal.

Are you looking for a fight? Because I'm more than happy to hand you your own flaming behind. [Toro really should think about calming down because smoke is starting to billow from his shoulders and buying a new shirt is going to get him in trouble with Bucky, but he is not insulting Jim and getting away it.]

He's more human than you are. I can't believe somebody like you gets to tote around our name.

Bring it on!

[Except then he sees that smoke and pauses in his aggression.]

Wait.. Do you have powers too?

[That is the most abrupt change in subjects considering how riled up Toro already is.]

Of course I have powers! Weren't you listening when I told you about there being more than one Torch in my time? He and I are a team.

I didn't think you meant you.

How did you get your powers?

[Derailment of the argument has kind of fizzled out his temper. Toro's not really one to stay angry anyway. Now he's just a bit confused.]

Born with 'em. Always been immune to heat. Rest just kicked on one day.

When did it kick in? And how?

I never thought I'd meet anyone like me.

Ah...sure you've never heard the story? They don't even have comic books about it in your world? [Except he well knows how terrible the comics are.]

I was performing one day and Torch flew overhead. My powers reacted to his heat and jumpstarted is all. It's not a huge mystery anymore. [He gets these kind of questions from the press all the time.]

We're the only Torches when I'm from but I get a lot of stories from people around here from the future about stuff that's gone on since.

I never read comics. They were for nerds.

What can you do?

For what...what the heck is a nerd? Some kind of cartoon junky?

And I can do a lot of things, but I don't see how I would have to tell you. They called us Torches for a reason.

You know, like a loser. The geeky kids who don't know how to talk to people and never participate.

I've just never met anyone like me. Can you fly too?

[Still using words he doesn't know to describe words he doesn't know. Nerd and geek aren't commonly heard in the late 40s.]

...Any Torch can fly if they know how to use their powers right. It's just about heating the air around you enough that it can carry your weight.

[Oblivious!Johnny is oblivious.]

How many Torches are there?

[Toro's getting used to future-people not getting it.]

Well, the only real ones are Pappy and me right now. There were some fakes with green flames that were made from this freaky radiation, but they were just robots. Didn't have any minds of their own. Nobody else has mentioned any new ones but you.

And I'm guessing the other guy isn't here. Guess that makes it just you and me.

...No, he's not here. [And that tanks his mood a bit, but Toro is trying not to let it show. He doesn't know where Jim is, what's happening to him back home. It can't be good, but Toro can't do anything about it.]

I haven't seen any other Torches around, but there's a bunch of people here so who knows.

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