engnr (engnr) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-11-30 02:56:00

Entry tags:

inactive - harvey hogan, inactive - justin rhodes

Brothers From Another.... Father

He'd met his parents. He'd met Anya. It was finally time to meet his brother. Harvey had gotten it set up through Pepper. Harvey waited for his alternate universe brother at the same coffee shop he'd talked with Anya.

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	engnr 2010-11-30 07:20 am UTC (link)
	"I've been here for almost half a year now," Harvey replied. "So far, it's been good. I got a job and an apartment. And recently, I got on good terms with Pepper and Happy." He'd gotten used to calling them by those names, finally. "What about you? How long have you been here?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-11-30 07:28 am UTC (link)
	"Almost ten months, actually. My dad sent me here to keep me alive and I nearly died on the way in." Justin chuckles. "I still think it's funny that everyone calls her Pepper; that she calls herself Pepper. Mom hated that nickname where I came from. Dad used to call her that to irk all the time." Justin says. "Can I ask where you work or where you're living?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-11-30 07:32 am UTC (link)
	Harvey got a chuckle out of that one. A Pepper that didn't like being called Pepper. "I'm a mechanic over at John's Auto-Repair Shop, and I live two blocks away from there. I've been managing pretty well." He paused and thought about something. "I hope you don't mind me asking--but what did your dad save you from, exactly?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-11-30 07:54 am UTC (link)

It's Justin's turn to go silent and a little pensive regarding Harvey's question. He hasn't had to explain the story to anyone in almost a year. There are times when he wakes up in this world and he can /almost/ believe that it was a bad dream and that he's always been here.

Almost.

"Where I'm from, saying things are 'bad' is an understatement of epic proportions. Some laws got passed that made it nearly impossible for anyone with powers or special gear to operate, if you catch my meaning. People gave up their freedom for a bit of security and ended up with neither, or something like that." Justin says, remembering.

"The President, a real piece of work by the name of Norman Osborn, created his own group of heroes and basically made anyone that didn't work with him out to be the bad guys...which was my parents, and all my aunts and uncles. Anyway, I spent most of my life on the run with my parents, moving from place to place and learning from my Uncle Tony about how to operate his inventions.

After he died, my dad and I picked up where they left off, trying to fix what was broken. Only we failed. When things finally got too deep and Osborn took Mom...my dad kicked off his Doomsday plan. But he built a failsafe into my armor to send me here so I didn't die as well." Justin says.

"The worst stuff I see around here is a thousand times better than a single day where I come from, and I've got family, friends and I met someone special. But...there are days I feel cheated." Justin admits for the first time.

"I'm not as close with Mr. Rhodes as I thought I'd be, or Mr. Stark, though they really do try. And Anya's been great. So has Misha. I'll introduce you to them if you haven't met them already." Justin says, relaxing in his seat.

"Sorry, you didn't ask for all that. I apologize." he says.

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engnr
2010-11-30 08:15 am UTC (link)

"No, don't apologize. I can't say I completely understand how you feel, but I do know that some things just compound inside and come out all at once. We all have something like that that we have to deal with." He wasn't going to be that guy that tries to make somebody feel bad for just Talking About It.

"I think I do understand that last part, though. About feeling like you've been cheated. I got yanked out of my world and thrown into this one before I had a chance to make things right. Or, maybe I couldn't have made anything right anyway. But I don't think I'll ever know now."

He looked a little troubled by the thought. There were still some things he didn't talk about. Then he remembered that Justin mentioned Anya, and that guy, Misha.

"I've met Anya. She's a real go-getter. And I've heard of Misha, but I've never met him. Pepper and Anya have hardly distinctive opinions of him."

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iron_hide
2010-11-30 08:25 am UTC (link)

"Yes, she is. Sometimes you have to be right behind her or she'll just run right into something without thinking about it." Justin laughs.

"I get what you mean about not knowing. I don't like the idea that I'll never be able to tell my dad that I respected him and that I appreciated everything he did for me." Justin says.

"Misha's been pretty cool with me, but he's got a lot of his old man in him, and his old man is very...unique kind of guy. That's the best way I can say it. He also lives with a very unique family situation. I don't know if you've asked around, but this world seems to be a landing point for every dimension.

Something about that really worries me, Harvey, but that's another conversation." Justin says.

"Right now, though, I'm doing my best to appreciate the second chance I received and trying to give back to the people who were kind enough to accept me into their lives without question." Justin says.

"And that means accepting my own family without question as well. I don't know what you did where you're from and that doesn't matter to me, Harvey. I'd like us to be friends and maybe, one of these days, we'll count on each other like brothers without question." Justin offers.

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engnr
2010-11-30 08:34 am UTC (link)

Harvey laughed at that bit about Anya. "I have a hard time not picturing that in my head," he replied.

He was quiet, though, while Justin continued to talk. He liked the first impression he had gotten of his alternate universe brother. He could mirror the sentiment about all of the kind people this world had to offer, definitely. And the last sentiment got Harvey smiling again.

"I can't say no to that," he replied. "But there is one thing I need to know before that gets off the ground; how old are you?"

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	iron_hide 2010-11-30 08:36 am UTC (link)
	"I just turned twenty-four in September." Justin replies. "What about you?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-11-30 08:39 am UTC (link)
	That got a laugh out of Harvey. "I also just turned twenty-four in September. I was born on the nineteenth." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-11-30 08:42 am UTC (link)

"Are you serious? I was born on the fifth. This is crazy." Justin laughs.

"My kid sister, Toni, her birthday is on September 4th. She's only seventeen, but it still made me double-take when I heard it." Justin says.

"Well, at least shopping is going to be easy." Justin says. "Though, I hope I'll do a better job of it for you than I did for Toni. I really botched her birthday."

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	engnr 2010-11-30 08:48 am UTC (link)
	"Hah!" He couldn't help but laugh at the coincidence. "I'm easy to buy for. Anything to do with mechanics or sports, and you're golden. I just hope it's the same with you. I'm terrible at presents." He was curious now, though, about Toni. "Oh? What happened?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-11-30 08:52 am UTC (link)

"I designed a suit for her, since I knew she used to wear one." Justin says.

"Then she mentioned that she's a mutant...and she can discharge EMP's." Justin says, face-palming.

"She got me an iTunes gift card and an iPod. So I'm pretty bad at shopping, too. If it's electronic, I love it. My girlfriend is a mutant, too and electronics are a big thing with her, too." Justin says.

"Wow, we're all gear-heads." Justin realizes. "You think we bleed motor oil if they cut us open?" he jokes.

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	engnr 2010-11-30 09:01 am UTC (link)
	He chuckled at that. "I can see where that could be a buzz kill on a birthday. But you two have worked past that, right?" He took a mental note that electronics were the premium present to get for any present-requiring occasion. "Well if we do, I know where to go to get a cheap fix," he replied jokingly. Yeah, Harvey was getting along pretty well with Justin. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-11-30 09:07 am UTC (link)

"We're good. We're still working on things. She's had to make a pretty big adjustment to account for me, but she's never complained once. Not even when I make short jokes about her." he laughs.

Justin liked Harvey. He wonders now if his parents could have had a child like him if they'd ever had a chance, back at home. Even now, if they're still alive somehow, Justin hoped that they weren't mourning him.

"Hey, do you like steak? I know a pretty good steakhouse or two we could hit sometime if you're scheudule allows it." Justin offers.

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engnr
2010-11-30 09:14 am UTC (link)

"Mom always said I wasn't allowed to make short jokes. I'm too tall to have the right perspective, she said." He chuckled at that. He made short jokes anyway, and they always had a big laugh about it.

"Steak is the best type of meat there is," he replied. "I'd be happy to. John pretty much lets me flex my hours to my liking, so I always have time."

He smirked.

"God bless vegetarians for being strong enough to resist steak, because I sure can't."

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iron_hide
2010-11-30 09:27 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, that just /sounds/ like something Mom would say." Justin laughs.

"The last time I made a crack about her height, she she pulled my ear and then asked me who was taller. It was funny after the pain stopped." he says.

"I hear you on that. My girlfriend was a vegetarian when we met, but after about the second cheeseburger I made her watch me eat, she got curious. She hasn't converted completely, but she'll have one sometimes."

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	engnr 2010-11-30 09:32 am UTC (link)
	Harvey rubbed his ear while laughing, remembering the times when his ear got pulled on, too. They were from two completely different worlds, but that didn't stop them from having a lot in common. It was so weird, but also so relieving. "Your girlfriend sounds like a tough one," Harvey replied. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-11-30 09:41 am UTC (link)
	"She is, man. She's gone through some pretty bad stuff, like us, but she's still a good person." Justin says. "Did you have any brothers or sisters where you're from?" Justin asks. "I grew up an only child in the strictest sense of the words. No other adult I knew had children so they all kind of adopted me." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-12-01 07:45 pm UTC (link)
	"Never had siblings," he replied. "I can't say I didn't want any, but I think it was better that I didn't have any. Mom was too afraid to get pregnant again after she almost lost me." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-12-02 04:17 am UTC (link)
	"I sort of know where you're coming from with that." Justin says. "I was born with a heart condition; between that and all of the issues with our world, Mom and Dad weren't really able to expand the family." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-12-04 11:31 pm UTC (link)
	Harvey was quiet for a moment. "I guess she just can't cut a break in any universe." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-12-04 11:39 pm UTC (link)
	"Yeah. She and Tony don't seem to get a lot of breaks, which is why I'm glad they're both happy here." Justin says. He goes for a shiny change-of-topic. "Is there anything else you want to know about me or the family you've walked into? I don't want to leave you with any unanswered questions." Justin says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-12-05 12:41 am UTC (link)
	"There is one thing I want to know, yeah. You said Tony tried to connect with you, right? Do you think he would be receptive if me? I... sort of have something I want to ask him." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

iron_hide
2010-12-05 01:04 am UTC (link)

"Tony and I have been working on getting to know each other, and things are good. He's not ever going to be my Uncle Tony, just because he's not really that kind of guy." Justin says.

"But yeah, I think he'd be willing to talk to meet with you, man. He's been through the alternate-dimensional relative thing before. In fact, he just got another one a couple of months ago, but Anya probably told you that." Justin says.

"Mom, Anya or I could set you up with a meeting if you wanted to talk to him." Justin offers.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-12-05 02:48 am UTC (link)
	"That would be great, man. I feel like I really need to do something I should have thought about a long time ago." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-12-05 03:07 am UTC (link)
	That sets off a little bit of an alarm in Justin's head. "Hey, is everything all right, Harvey? Do you need something? I mean, we could probably get you in to see him as soon as possible, but if it's something you need right away, I'll help if I can." Justin says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-12-05 03:57 am UTC (link)
	"I... Thanks, Justin. But this is something only the Tony here can help me with." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-12-05 04:04 am UTC (link)
	"All right, man. If that changes at all, let me know. I'll be glad to help out." he says. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	engnr 2010-12-06 09:04 pm UTC (link)
	"Thanks. I'll definitely let you know. I'll do the same for you, if you ever need help." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	iron_hide 2010-12-07 02:22 am UTC (link)
	"Thanks, Harvey. I might need to take you up on that sooner than you think." Justin says. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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