Cold Meets Hot

Posted on Thu Apr 6th, 2023 @ 23:03 by Cameron Johnston & Jonathan Monroe & Kaylee Ashton BSc
Edited on on Mon Apr 10th, 2023 @ 23:52

Chapter: Prologue: Dawn of Avalon
Location: Various
Timeline: After sentinel attack
2316 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

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Following Cameron through the castle, Kaylee was interested to meet another member of faculty. From what Cam had told her, this one was the English teacher and had heat based powers which would be quite the contrast to her ice powers. “So, is Jon a bit of a joker like you or is he more serious like Phoebe or Claire?” She asked, trying to get a glimpse of the man before their surprise meeting.

It was funny how things played out sometimes. The last time he'd tried to set up this introduction, Jon had been ridiculously elusive. Cameron suspected he'd spent the afternoon in a certain coffeeshop in town that ran adjacent to a bookshop but he had no proof and had simply settled for trying to show Kaylee where most of the other main classrooms were, for context purposes. The events of the past couple of days had eradicated all memory of a promise to follow-up on this introduction, and with Cameron himself spending most of the first few hours out of action, there just hadn't been time until now. Hadn't even crossed his mind until Kaylee had tentatively brought it up again. Their initial conversation felt like it had taken place a whole year ago.

"He's got a sense of humour," Cameron replied generously, "But he's definitely more thoughtful and sensitive than some of us." He stopped to consider that further. "Or so he tells us."

“Sensitive. Hmm so i probably shouldn’t burst in and throw a snow ball at him while yelling ‘think fast’. He might not take it too well” Kaylee said as she thought of the implications of a potentially overly sensitive fire bug. A sudden burst of emotion could cause him to catch the room they were in on fire. She had some experience with this herself, though freezing an entire room didn’t cause as much lasting damage.

"Oh, I think you should definitely do that," Cameron declared, rounding a corner to start leading the way up the stairs to the second floor. He was putting money on Jon being in his classroom, if not the library, if not some other quiet corner where he thought he'd get away from interruptions for a while. This was why he had friends like Cameron; to keep him grounded and in touch with reality. "But only after I grab a camera to capture his reaction."

“Oh no. You can play your games by yourself. I think i need to get to know everyone before getting on their bad side” Kaylee said as she followed Cam around. “Especially someone who can turn up the heat. I don’t do too well when it gets hot”

"Capturing whose reaction?" Jonathan appeared in the doorway of the room up ahead, leafing through a book in his hands. He glanced up at Cameron and his companion. "Leading more of the new staff astray, Cam?" he added, with raised eyebrow.

"More? This is my first attempt, don't make me sound fickle like that." Reaching behind him to usher Kaylee forward, Cam added, "And since I know you've not stuck your nose outside of a book to make the effort, I thought I'd bring the guided tour to your doorstep. Kaylee Ashton, Jonathan Monroe. Another science nerd for Reagan's corner," he added, which might not have been so complimentary had the mutant not sound half proud of the fact, "You're getting outnumbered here, old chap."

Stepping forward, Kaylee extended a hand towards Jon, “it’s good to meet you. Cam’s told me a little about you” she said, focusing her powers into her hand a little just in case Jon’s powers caused his body temperature to be higher then ‘normal’, just like her own caused hers to be lower.

For Jonathan, most hands were cold to the touch, but Kaylee's even more so than usual. He glanced down with momentary surprise as he shook it. "All the greatest hits, I'm sure. Don't believe a word that comes out of this man's mouth, Kaylee, it's generally safer. For everyone."

"And I was just done telling her what a credit you are to the Institute." Cameron shook his head in mock disappointment. It had taken, if he was honest, somehow longer to get Jon to warm up to his sense of humour than it had taken to get Reagan to admit she had one, at least in the early days when it was just them trying to help Claire figure out a way forward. And that didn't make sense, because warming to things was practically the guy's entire shtick. It had taken Cam a little while to realise that trust and a sense of contentment weren't standard amongst other mutant's experiences, and whilst it had made him all the more grateful for his family's acceptance, it had also doubled his efforts in making sure all their new faces felt welcomed. "Here I am, facilitating the merging of two elemental forces, and this is the thanks I get."

Looking at Cam with an annoyed expression, Kaylee turned back to Jon, “well, since the subject was brought up so tactfully, my ability is Cryokinesis.”

"Cold manipulation." Jonathan motioned to his hand. "Explains the chilling handshake." He glanced at Cameron. "So, what? You're about to make all kinds of 'fire and ice' puns, right?" He looked back at Kaylee. "Sorry about him. It's an unconfirmed mutation, you know? He can't help himself."

Holding both hands up in defeat, Cameron took a step backwards as a sign of his willingness to withdraw. "It made sense to me." And though he could sometimes be accused of being too energetic, or too enthusiastic, or whatever else it was that the others said of him of behind his back, Cam's furrowed brow was an indication that he had actually given some thought to this. He had found another mutant who had made the execution of his powers easier, wouldn't have even tried to claim he'd be half as successful without Bridge. It didn't take a telepath to know that Jon worried about his powers and Cam had sensed a similar vibe from Kaylee. The pair of them had the capacity, as far as the other mutant was concerned, to alleviate each other's concerns but maybe he'd missed a vital component in his scheming.

“Don’t worry, I know he’s harmless. Though he has hinted that your powers are related to heat. I was thinking that we could use our opposing elements to help us train to control them. Does that make sense?”

"Yeah." Jon's eyes flicked back to Cam, who already knew about his hesitance, then back to Kaylee. "I just...uh, try not to use my powers around other people. For their own safety. I'm sure you understand..."

"More than you know" Kaylee replied as she held out her hand with the palm up. Focusing her mind on her hand, Kaylee used her powers to reduce the temperature of the air above her palm. After a moment, a thin layer of ice covered Kaylee's hand, "can you do something similar with your abilities?"

Jonathan watched the ice form over her hand. In the back of his mind, he was subjected to a mental image of a teenage Rebecca, all beautiful and clear-skinned one moment, then blistering and burned the second. He could see Cam's expectant face out of the corner of his eye, willing him to at least take one step in the right direction.

"Something similar, yes," he said, mirroring her palm-up pose. With a little flick of the wrist, a lick of blue flame sprouted from his hand. He moved it closer to Kaylee's slowly. "I don't want to hurt you," he said quietly, "But I suppose if anyone might be able to..."

Arms folded across his chest, Cameron tried his best not to look too pleased with himself and utterly failed.

Focusing on keeping her hand cold, Kaylee waited until Jon’s hand was close to hers before slowly turning her hand over and placing it above Jon’s fire. She could feel the warmth of his fire on her arm but her own cold skin and her ice powers kept the heat at a tolerable level.

Hesitating for a moment, Kaylee quickly brought her hand down onto his and grabbed hold of it. As she did, her ice quickly melted into water and some of it even turned into a thin column of steam. Taking a few breaths in and out, Kaylee began to laugh a little, “it worked,” she said as she felt the warm skin of Jon’s hand on her own. It was still warm but not as hot as it probably should’ve been. Quickly looking up at Jon, Kaylee tried to gauge how he was reacting.

Jon was still hesitant, but he breathed out when he saw that Kaylee was smiling. It was welcome relief to be able to touch someone without having to really concentrate not to leave an impression on their exposed skin.

"Yeah..." he murmured, taking a moment to appreciate the uniqueness of the moment. His eyes met Kaylee's cheery, happy ones for a moment then quickly looked away, feeling a little embarrassed that they weren't alone in that moment. "All right, Cam, you can stop grinning."

"Physical impossibility," the other mutant declared, his entire stature radiating satisfaction. It wasn't often he got to one-up his friend but, more than that, Cameron was pleased to see a solid theory unfold in such practical success. He cherished his synergy with Reagan; if he could find a teammate that accentuated Jon's talents in the same way then he'd consider it a job well done.

Catching the changes of expression that was playing across Jon’s face, Kaylee felt something in her chest before Jon broke eye contact to speak to Cam. Looking down at their hands still clasped together, Kaylee slowly let go of Jon before taking a step back, “well, at least that’s a start. It’s a small comfort to know that there’s someone here that could defrost whatever I accidentally cover in ice if I ever lost control.”

Jon inwardly winced at the notion of losing control. A path he had consciously and deliberately avoided for a very long time. Often at his own cost. "Let's hope that never happens," he agreed, feeling an awkward silence just starting to brew. "Well, I should get back to preparing classes..."

Kaylee nodded, "Me too, maybe we could organise something a little later?"

Stealing yet another glance at Cam, who was undoubtedly scheming all kinds of ideas into this interaction, Jon allowed an affable nod in Kaylee's direction. "That would be fine." To avoid prolonging any further awkwardness, he backed up another could of steps. "Excuse me..." he added a mumble, and disappeared back into the door he had previously emerged from.

Watching Jon walk away, something deep in Kaylee’s heart urged her to go after him, but all she could do was stand where she was. Looking down at her hand, she gave a smile as a single tear fell from her eye onto her palm. Her hand was still warm and pink, just like a normal person’s skin. After a moment, Kaylee’s smile started to fade as her skin slowly returned to its regular pale white. Clenching her fist, she turned to Cam and gave him a hug, “Thank you, Cam.”

Cameron, who was very sure he was going to receive an earful eventually about unsolicited and unexpected introductions, was a little taken aback by the sudden show of affection. "Uh, you're welcome? I mean, don't thank me yet, he doesn't have a great track record with the touchy-feely stuff. It's just...." He reached up to rub the back of his neck, staring at the door his friend had disappeared through and likely significantly unaware that he had created anything worthy of heart issues. "We're a team, you know?" He looked back at Kaylee and smiled ruefully. "I don't think anyone deserves to feel like they have to work alone just to keep others safe."

Stepping back from Cam, Kaylee turned her head to look at the door Jon had gone through, “yea I know, but…for the first time in a while, I may have found someone who I can relate to on more then a surface level” she said before turning back to Cam, “didn’t you see that expression on his face before I grabbed his hand? His powers have caused him to harmed someone before, just like mine have. I know we couldn’t be more different, the whole fire and ice thing, but I think this……maybe……” she said as she faded off into her own thoughts, unconsciously turning back to face the direction Jon had gone.

The swing of his gaze back and forth between the wistful woman and the empty doorway saw Cameron finally join the conversation somewhere closer to the actual vibe that had seeped in. A slow partial-grin of devious encouragement was tempered by the genuine warmth in his eyes as he nodded slowly and turned to stand beside her, facing the same way she was staring. "And he's really cute too."

“Yea…” Kaylee said almost dreamingly before her mind caught back up. Quickly turning back to Cam, she gave his arm a punch, “hey, don’t you start. It’s going to be confusing enough for me to figure out what this feeling is without you poking me”

"Just remember me when you're choosing bridesmaids, that's all I ask."

At this rate, Cam realised, grinning whilst curling away in anticipation of another assault, being able to move fast might be the only thing keeping him from spending the night in the loch.