7740/I'm Not Sure If You Remember Me, But...

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I'm Not Sure If You Remember Me, But...
Date of Scene: 05 June 2019
Location: Midtown, Manhattan
Synopsis: Summary needed
Cast of Characters: Human Torch, Crystal




Human Torch has posed:
Johnny Storm had just finished doing a livecast on social media for posing with some fans on what he liked to call a 'Pop Up Torch' where he'd suddenly show up as the Human Torch, flame off, and then hand a few free shirts from his own fashion line out (Free advertising!), as well as sign a few autographs, pose for pictures with fans, and generally keep up the idea that the Four were still around, still involved, and still a Big Deal.

The smart phone was now tucked away, and while there were still a few stragglers snapping pictures, or trying to get Johnny's attention, he had more pressing matters to attend to. Like, the hot dog vendor. A few more pictures, another few waves before he departs, nicely, and with style, separating himself from the stragglers and orders himself a dog with everything.

Crystal has posed:
It's been a long time since Crystal was in New York City. But it's not the sort of place that's easy to forget. As she makes her way through the streets, she finds it coming back to her. North here, west here. That deli is still open? Interesting. The sounds grow more familiar, the scents cutting through the almost overwhelming levels of pollution in the air.

That part, she could have done without.

But once she made it here, there was exactly one person she knew she could reach out to. And conveniently, said person has a tendency to broadcast his existence on the broadest band possible.

So as Johnny is walking away from the hot dog stand, Crystal falls in behind him, waiting until the crowd has dispersed before she clears her throat. "Excuse me?"

Human Torch has posed:
"Hey, babe, sorry you missed the event," Johnny says, not quite turning around yet. Not until he gets his new york certifiably awesome hot dog with everything, and turns around.

Only to promptly drop it in complete surprise. For once in his life, mark this down on your calendar, Johnny Storm doesn't have anything to say.

"Crystal?" He asks, quietly. Just staring. Then, he's smiling that huge, warm smile. "Crystal! Wait. Wait! What are you doing here!? I thought - you couldn't leave?"

The hotdog is forgotten, and he moves quickly to her to take her arm, escorting her to the side. "Is something wrong? Do you need our help?"

Crystal has posed:
Crystal looks aggressively normal, in every way except for that odd coloring in her hair. But then again, there are always strange hairstyles in New York. Plain dark skinny jeans, a loose-fitting white t-shirt, and light-weight, tailored black jacket could fit in on anyone from a college student to a yoga mom. But when Johnny turns around, she breaks into a broad grin in return, laughing as he goes immediately to crisis mode.

"//We// are fine," she assures first, setting a hand to his forearm. "Keep walking though, please, people are going to find it //very// odd if you look serious." There's a teasing note in her voice and the tilt of her smile as she starts down the street again.

"I couldn't leave. Before. But...well, the world is changing. Circumstances may be changing."

Human Torch has posed:
"Changing /how/?" Johnny was the hottest hero around, not the brightest. Not that he was dumb, just a little slow on the uptake sometimes. Still, he starts walking down the street, perhaps forgetting that he's holding Crystal's arm in a very familiar manner.

"I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again. Reed was all 'we don't have any reason to go to the moon', and wouldn't listen to reason." Because pretty girls are the /best/ reason to go to the moon. It's just that Reed isn't cool enough to see it.

"Anyone else here with you?" A brief glance around for any of the others that the Four had met on that little adventure they had.

Crystal has posed:
"Just me," Crystal says with a small smile. "Well. And Lockjaw, but for obvious reasons I'm not exactly walking him around the city on a leash." She walks at the comfortable pace of someone with a destination, blending in with the foot traffic.

"I mean, things...change. I mean that we may have managed to stay secret for thousands of years, but the world is getting smaller and smaller. That it may have already gotten too small for our purposes." She looks over, quirking a brow.

"I'm saying we might not be able to hide for much longer."

Human Torch has posed:
"Wait. You're going to --," Johnny blinks, "Really? Wow." He looks flabbergasted. Shakes his head, "I mean. I guess it makes sense. I think you should've done it a long time ago. We have way more wicked cool parties down here," he agrees, charitably. Again, he grins.

"You know. It's just really good to see you again. No matter the reason. Do you have any idea how hard it was knowing that the most beautiful girl I'd ever met was all the way up there on the moon?" He sighs, dramatically to emphasize the point.

"We'll have to stop and get ol' Lockjaw some treats, though. Ha."

Crystal has posed:
"Yeah, so, about the moon part..." Crystal clears her throat, looking just a little bit sheepish. "We might have been slightly exaggerating when we told you that. Just, you know. In the interest of honesty."

She puts her hands in her pockets, looking over with her best guileless smile. It almost works. But then, it's clear that she's grown up quite a bit since last he saw her. There's a new gravitas there, a competence and certainty that speaks to a wealth of new experiences.

"Lockjaw will absolutely appreciate treats, though. But what about you? It seems like you've been living the heroic life you were dreaming of."

Human Torch has posed:
"Yeah," says Johnny, grinning big, and puffing up a little bit, "I'm kind of a big deal. We all are. We helped set the stage for a lot of - well, heroing. Laid the ground work. And we're still mostly active. At least when Reed isn't laid up in the lab."

But that makes him think, "You have a place to stay? We have a whole building. If you and Lockjaw need somewhere to crash, our home is your home."

A pause, as suddenly her words catch up with his brain. "Slightly exaggerating about what?" Curious.

Crystal has posed:
"The moon." Crystal wrinkles her nose, one eye squinting shut with a sheepish smile. "That was...kind of Karnak's idea of a joke, and we sort of let it go longer than we probably should have."

She pauses, then takes one hand out of her pocket to set it on his shoulder. "We weren't on the moon, Johnny," she confesses. "It might as well have been, but it's here on Earth. So. Sorry about that."

Human Torch has posed:
Johnny frowns, thoughtfully, then shakes his head. "I suppose," he remarks, "It's kind of like Spider-Man. You couldn't reveal your real location, not even to us, because if it /did/ get out, and too many people, or the wrong people got curious at the wrong time, it would've caused problems."

Johnny gets there in the end, usually. He squeezes Crystal's arm, reassuringly. "I didn't think he had a sense of humor." Karnack certainly didn't laugh at any of Johnny's jokes. Which certainly makes him suspect in Johnny's eyes for a lack of humor.

Crystal has posed:
"Oh, he's got one," Crystal chuckles. "It's just awful, and usually at the expense of someone who has no idea he's making a joke. Exhibit: we live on the moon." She looks back over at him with a rueful smile, lifting one shoulder in a shrug. "It takes some getting used to."

"I do have a place though," she adds belatedly. "But thank you. Luckily, diamonds make excellent currency still, and when you can manipulate the structures of elements..." She trails off, smile quirking. "We're sufficiently funded. There are just some preparations that need to be made. Queries that need answers."

Human Torch has posed:
"Oh." For a half-second, Johnny shows his disappointment, but then he's bounding back, with a chuckle, "Well, just don't flood the market, pretty lady. And, if you need someone to show you around, introduce you to people, get a foot in the door, you just let Johnny Storm know. I'm all yours," he promises.

"And," he says after a moment of thought, and a bit more seriously, "I'll keep everything on the down-low until you're ready to do whatever you need to do. I'm here to help, Crystal."

Crystal has posed:
"Thank you." Crystal stops walking long enough to lean over and wrap her arms around his neck in a tight hug. It may have been years, and she may have changed, but some things don't. "I really appreciate it, Johnny. Honestly, just knowing that there would be //someone// here who I knew and I could trust made all of this a lot easier."

She reaches for his hands when she lets go, smile crooked. "I definitely thought about you. What you were doing. What sort of adventures you might be having. You're going to have to tell me about them, you know."

Human Torch has posed:
If Crystal can't share a room in the Baxter building with them, well, stories and sharing some time with her, he guesses, is a pretty good alternative. "You don't even have to ask twice," he agrees, hugging her back, and taking her hand when she reaches for his. "You'll get to hear all of them. Though, just remember, whatever Ben tells you isn't really what happened." Because, well, Johnny might be incentivized to leave out some of, or most of, his embarassing moments.

"I don't suppose you've been up to anything fascinating since we last saw each other?"

Crystal has posed:
"Oh yes, I'm sure Ben would tell lies," Crystal smirks, starting to walk again, though she doesn't let go of his hand. "I've been training," she answers. "In everything. My powers, of course. Fighting and tactics with Gorgon. Diplomacy with Medusa. History and more tactics with Karnak. More fighting with Triton..."

She reaches up to ruffle a hand through her hair, thinking it all over. "Attilan is not a place that deals well with change. Which is ironic, for a society that's almost entirely determined by change. Change is who and what we are. But the idea of coming out to the world...that's a terrifying one."

Human Torch has posed:
"There's plenty of reasons to be terrified," agrees Johnny, still holding her hand as they walk down the street. Once in awhile, someone can be seen pointing, or looking at Johnny curiously - but he's no Hollywood Star.

"It's a whole new world. A bunch of idiots. Selfish people. Bad people. Greedy people. There's pollution, and there's corruption. And there'll be people trying to take advantage of you."

Then, he smiles. "But, there's reasons to be excited, too. Like, meeting old friends. Seeing new things. New wonders. Going new places. Making new allies. Discovering things about yourself you never knew you had."

An exhale, "Trust me. Going into space for the first time? That was - well. That was terrifying." Then, a ball of fire appears in his hand. "We had an accident. And, then I could do this. And then, - everything changed. I changed. Ben. Reed. Sue. We all did. The world changed with us."

Crystal has posed:
"//So// much pollution!" Crystal exclaims, wrinkling her nose. "I did forget about that part. I mostly just remembered the adventures, and the rush of it all. Also the pizza," she admits, glancing down the street and then looking back with a flash of a smile. "There's no pizza in Attilan. There's precious little meat, for that matter."

When the ball of fire appears in his hand, her smile deepens as she raises a finger, spinning it in a circle to make the ball spin as well. "We were so surprised to find you," she remembers. "We didn't expect there to be others like us. Now it seems like the world is full of them."

Human Torch has posed:
"Lots of them," agrees Johnny. "Sadly, I think they're all needed. But, that reminds me. I left my lunch back there. Pizza? You got it. C'mon." He leads Crystal a bit further down the street to where a shining red Ferarri is parked, and he unlocks it. "We're going to the best pizza place in the city to celebrate your arrival. We'll get an extra one for Lockjaw."

Crystal has posed:
"Well, if you insist," Crystal grins. "I haven't had pizza in //years//." She follows him over to the car, smile slipping crooked in amusement when she sees it. "Yes, that looks about right." It takes her a moment to figure it out - it's been a long time since she used a car, too - but after a second she gets the door open and slides inside, closing the door behind herself. Hopefully before any curious Human Torch fans get a picture of the mystery girl.