2895/A Change of Atmosphere

A Change of Atmosphere
Date of Scene:	13 August 2020
Location:	Cafe Lalo
Synopsis:	Nessa speaks with Johnny and Ben about determining who to trust in a complex situation, with a side discussion about hero names that may have marketing potential.
Cast of Characters:	Nessa Donovan, Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm

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Nessa Donovan has posed:
The cafe was a distinct choice: not a diner, but still food. The opposite of Nessa's usual, more on the classy side of things rather than the comfort food and the familiar. She's claimed a table, this one in the corner but close to the windows where she can gaze out at the street, which is what she's currently doing. A glass of white wine sits in front of her, though she hasn't really touched it. Even with her gaze angled towards the window, it actually doesn't seem like she's looking out it as much as just looking thoughtful. Her hands, which rest on the table near her wineglass are surprisingly ungloved.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storms arrives in typical Johnny Storm fashion, a little late, and showy, this time in a lexus SUV, not his typical fast car of choice. He parks nearby and gets out, heading into the Cafe where he was supposed to meet Ms. Donovan, he starts his way over to where she sits, flashing a grin at her as he moves in to sit across from her, "Hello there."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Late and showy is about what Nessa expected, so she doesn't seem too surprised when he shows up. Minus the thought that she wasn't /entirely/ sure he'd just show up. "Hope I didn't catch you after a hot date, the food here is supposedly amazing, particularly the desserts." She taps the table with a fingertip before sipping her wine. "... and I hope you didn't mind that I sort of just... asked." Less of an ask more of a location and time and 'you should be there' message than a pure ask.

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Nah, no hot dates tonight, though I may be in the market for one for an exlusive party coming up soon." Johnny says with a wry grin at her and a shrug of his shoulders as he settles himself in, "Anyway, I figured this must be important. Decide to go ahead with the Ice Bunny moniker?" he teases.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Sounds like the competition should be fierce for your invitation. You should probably film it, I bet you could turn it into some kind of reality TV show," Nessa notes with an amused glance in his direction. The wine gets another sip. "But no, you aren't getting me in an Ice Bunny costume. I sort of just wanted company that wasn't..." She seems to be searching for exactly what she's trying to say. "Maybe I just wanted someone around that I felt I trusted, you know? Going through some stuff."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Maybe I'll put up an add on Twitter, think that would be too weird?" Johnny asks with a little grin before tilting his head a little and giving a nod of his head to Nessa, "Well, company you've got. Want to talk about what you're going through, or just want to hang out and chat?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I mean, are you asking me if it would be weird or are you asking me if it'd be very you?" Nessa gestures towards him with his wine glass. "Because I think it'd be both, but I don't think it'd be a problem. You'd probably find someone willing to put up with you for a night." She grins. It's a good-natured teasing and clearly a nice break from whatever she was thinking about for a moment. "You've done a lot of this whole being-a-hero thing, so I'd like to pick your brain maybe a little. How do you know who to trust? There are just... a lot of people who seem alright and may perhaps be using you, and a lot of people who may seem to be one-dimentionally a 'villain' who help you when they certainly don't have to."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Well, that's an incredibly tough question to answer." Johnny says with a soft hmmmn at her, "How do you know you can trust anyone? Well, usually by how they act, and what they say or ask you to do." he says with a few moments of thought, "It's kinda a gut instinct thing, at least for me -- but I suspect since you're asking the question means you've got some doubts about something yeah? The whole addage of if it seems too good to be true... that's generally the case, in my experience."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I suppose it's just more that my gut instinct seems at odds to a rational thought sometimes. The person I /thought/ to be a good teacher may not be as great a person as I thought and the person who pointed out the deception to me... is not someone many people would trust," Nessa looks into her wine glass, mostly just to have something to focus on. "I just wanted your opinion, mostly because I do trust you and you've actually been in situations that you might have had to face this sort of thing." She looks amused. "I guess you're the most heroic person I know."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm flashes a grin at her, "Well, thank you for the compliment, for starters I suppose." he says to her as he listens, hmmning faintly before nodding, "Sounds like a tricky situation, once I can't really answer completely without knowing who's involved, but I would say that in general be wary, though we've worked with people who most would consider assholes, the Atlanteans for starters, and are generally on a kinda friendly basis with, so there are some exceptions, especially when the greater good needs to be taken into consideration."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Well, if I believe everything told to me, my former teacher is kind of actually a necromancer who's trying to use me and others like magic batteries. Not exactly the nicest of thoughts, but... it's entirely plausible when you get down to the details. However, the source of this information is not..." Nessa seems unsure of how to phrase it, so she sips from her glass before attempting it. "... is not someone I am going to name in case he's listening. But there are plenty who don't have reason to trust him. He's powerful and dangerous and his interests are his own."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Well, if you want." Johnny says with a little hmmn towards Nessa, "I can reach out to some of my magically knowledgable friends for you, see if maybe they can pipe in with some actual expert advice on the subject, especially if you've a powerful enchanter who may or may not be looking out for you that you can't fully trust?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I mean, I shouldn't trust him because he's known to not be trustworthy, but... he pointed out where I'd been tricked and where I should be looking in order to help a bad situation. As far as I can tell, he has no motive in all of it. There's nothing to benefit him in all of this, so... what do you do when someone 'untrustworthy' actually is?" Nessa offers him a smile. "It's less the magic advice and more of the... people advice. People seem to make it seem like 'saving the day' is all about fighting someone who is pure evil and nothing else. But it's not."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Well, it's a lot of compromise and working with people you might not always work with too." Johnny says with a nod of his head, "But sometimes people who's motives you can't figure out, still have a motive. If it's someone who you think, or know, isn't trustworthy, those sorts of folks rarely do things out of a place of altruism. That doesn't mean that they're out to hurt you of course, but they likely have some stake in what's going on, one way or another. Maybe it's using you to get at the necromancer, or maybe it's something else."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Maybe," Nessa notes. "Motives might be unclear but... I think it's worth acting on. I think less people will be hurt if I trust the advice rather than be mistrusting based on who he is." There's a pause. "And aside of the advice, he helped me when he didn't have to. It meant something." She does seem thoughtful, but she offers him a smile. "Sorry, I guess I didn't really have anyone to sort that through with besides myself, and after a while talking to a mirror gets to be pretty silly."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"You know what, Nessa. I have an idea." Johnny says with a little grin, "My advice isn't always the best, right, but I know someone who's the straightest shooter I know, and has more wisdom than you can shake your leg at. Mind if I call him down to join us?" he suggests.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"If you're sure," Nessa raises an eyebrow. "I said I trust you, so I trust your judgement if you think there's someone who can give good advice about a situation." She shifts to lean her back fully against the chair. "I don't mind extra advice in this situation. I'm not usually in... well, anything involving heroics, so all of this is a bit new to me... and clearly /someone/ is playing me."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm flashes a grin at Nessa, "This is someone I trust with my life, so yeah. Plus, I think you'll get a kick out of meeting him." He says, reaching into a pocket to pull out his FantastiPhone and calls someone up, "Hey, think you can meet me down at Cafe Lalo? I have someone I want you to meet, maybe help through a couple of things with me."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Inside Cafe Lalo, Johnny and Nessa are seated at a table towards the back of the cafe, close to the window. While they haven't ordered any food, Nessa's got a mostly full glass of wine in front of her. "Well, the whole 'trust him with my life' part is a decent vouch for his character," Nessa points out. She pokes at her wineglass with a finger, letting the touch frost over the glass. Her gloves remain off to the side of the table, temporarily abandoned.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm rode the subway there. He got a few autograph seekers but this is New York, where people pretend not to care about celebrities in their midst, so he mostly just got a few nods. He's wearing a large trenchcoat and a smushed down hat, not that it disguises him in the least. He smoked a quick stogie on the walk over and finally opens the door to the cafe, taking a moment to maneuver his way in. It's more about girth than height, really. He's wide as the front end of a small car at the shoulders.

He spots Johnny and his ladyfriend easily enough, raising a hand as a few other patrons shout "THING!" at him enthusiastically. He's not exactly hard to recognize.

Johnny Storm has posed:
"I'm positive you could touch him without any issue too." Johnny says with a laugh, it's not hard to notice Ben's arrival at the swanky cafe, and he'll raise his hand towards the trenchcoat clad man, waving a big wave, "Over here." He'll call, glancing over towards Nessa with a little grin.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I'm a little worried you're trying to find people for me to touch, Johnny," Nessa says, her tone fully amused. She does, however, let her attention be drawn away when she realizes just who he's convinced to come. "Are you sure he's not got better things to do than talk to me?" She peers in Johnny's direction. "I mean, I'm not sure /you/ don't already, but I think you'd miss my sass if I didn't bother you." She holds up a hand as a greeting towards Ben. She's well aware who he is, but there's no sense of being star-struck. Maybe there's a healthy amount of respect there, but she's not one to fawn.

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm prefers it that way. He's learned to accept the fawning when it comes, but he'd prefer to just be treated like a person. "Hey there, kid," he says to Johnny then nods to Tessa, "Missy," he says.

A waitress asks if he wants anything and he nods, "Just a cup o' joe in a big cup. I can't be handlin' nothin' dainty. Two cream, two sugars," he says.

He carefully pulls the table out between a booth across the way, one of those wraparound kind and settles himself into it, taking up the whole thing. "So, you Johnny's new squeeze or just a pal?"

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm laughs a little at Nessa's comment, "If either of us had an emergency that needed us, Reed would be halfway through the door telling us to get into the Fantasticar or something." He says, "Don't worry." He then turns his attention fully to Ben as he joins them in his own way, "Ben, this is my friend Nessa, Nessa, meet my old pal, Ben!" he says, "Thanks for coming on down, by the way!"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa seems at ease, offering Ben a warm smile of greeting. The question as to 'squeeze of pal' gets no real answer, just a bit of a laugh. "Pretty sure Johnny's got too many squeezes to name. Whole internet of them." She rests a hand on her chin and she leans against it. "I was asking him for some advice. An opinion, I guess, sort of related to the whole 'help people and save the world' thing. He does seem to value your worldly wisdom enough to call you in, so. Nice to meet you, Ben."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm cocks his head, "Johnny? Value my wisdom? You sure you ain't a Skrull?" he says with a crinkling movement of his massive brow, his stony visage surprisingly expressive. "Ain't exactly a huge favor, kiddo, don't get yer panties in a bunch," he says.

He leans forward a bit, bracing his massive arms across his knees, "I ain't sure I'm that wise, but you ask me a question, I'll tell ya straight."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm grins a little, "That's exactly what I told her, you're not going to sugar coat it." He says, "Anyway, I figured you could use a chance to get out, stretch your legs, get some coffee and all that." He says with a little wave of his hand, "So, Nessa here has a bit of a pickle, she has one person helping her out with something, but this person might be a bad dude it turns out. The trouble is though, the person telling her this has a history of being a shady untrustworthy fellow so she's not sure what to do. Nessa can maybe elaborate on it a bit better than I did."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Well, two bad dudes, as it turns out. Maybe. Person A was pretending to be just fine, turns out Person B says he's an asshole. The information Person B has given seems to be legitimate. It's plausible and it seems to fit what seems to be going on. However, Person B is not usually a trustworthy source because he's not exactly on everyone's list to invite to a party. By that I mean some people would probably try to kill him on sight. So, not everyone's favorite person but he did give me possibly good information when he didn't have to."

Nessa tilts her head in Ben's direction. "So, I was asking for advice. My gut instinct is to go with what Person B said. I don't know his motives, but I was suspicious about Person A in the first place. But if I'm relying on Person B's information... I'm getting tangled up in another spider web entirely. I already technically owe him a favor and I'm pretty sure that's not the best situation to be in."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm stares for a long moment, "Do these mugs have names? Like, person A and person B is very confusin'," he says, then runs a hand along his head, "Sounds like you got yerself a case of the hearsays, right? One fella talkin' trash an' maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong, you ain't sure cause the guy's kinda skeevy his self, right?"

"Well, if we wuz on Yancy Street back in da day, I would've just taken Mr. B out back behind the dumpster and whupped him a bit to make sure he was tellin' da truth. But that probably ain't civilized no more. So what you should probably just do is go up to the first fella and say, "Hey, Person A, I heard some bad shit about you." And you tells him whatever the shit is, I dunno, and then let him either admit it or deny it. An' if he denies it, you gotta decide fer yerself if you think he's lyin'. You can usually tell when yer dealin' with a liar, even if they seems awful upright to start. But bein' direct and just out in the open with it is the right thing to do, because that way, whatever the case, you ain't the one bein' two-faced and sneaky."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Yeah, she thinks Person B is probably telling the truth, for maybe some good reasons." Johnny says with a little nod of his head towards Nessa, "But if she goes with Person B's sort of, I dunno, help? There's a good chance Person B has some ulterior motives, because he's apparently not the sort of person who does things out of the goodness of his heart." He says as he settles back a little, nodding his head a bit as he listens to the advice that Ben offers out.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Well, Person A is Sorcerer Vega, but it's kind of not like you'd know him unless you were in the right magic circles. Person B... is not going to be named because I am legitimately not sure if I said his name if he'd just show up. I'm not entirely sure he's not a piece of toast on someone's plate nearby. Which I guess should kind of tell you a bit about the gravity of the situation." Nessa does seem amused at the thought of the toast, but it's only a brief moment of amusement before she turns back to the situation.

"Vega initially seemed like a mage who wanted to teach other mages. I trusted him at first. If 'B' is to be believed, he's basically trying to use all his students as magical batteries to power something up, sucking the life right out of them. While I did trust Vega, not everything he said adds up, and the magic... certainly feels off. The story seems to fit rather well. So I believe it. It's hard for me not to. But who knows what the other guy wants. 'B' is kind of, uh, hard to read as it turns out."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm runs a hand over his rocky scalp, "You magic peeps is all nuts, y'know that, right?" he sighs. "Usin' people as batteries, fer cripes sake. But yeah, don't go sayin' his name, I don't want any problems with toast," he says. He accepts his cup of coffee with a grin, "Thanks!" he says to the waitress.

"If you think what he's sayin' about this Vega mug is true, then you gotta act on it. Can't be lettin' him drain people fer his own power. That stuff leads to nothin' but trouble. Power corrupts an' all dat,' he says. "I'd say find someone you can trust to back you up, not this B guy, this B guy may be wantin' to cause mayhem for his own reasons. Don't mean he's lyin' or wrong, just m eans you can't depend on him to have yer back."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny glances over at Ben and nods his head, then back to Nessa, "See, told you, straight shooter, good advice, didn't I?" he says with a little grin at her, "Offer's still open to try and get you in touch with someone with wizardly inclinations to talk about these people too, but I don't think I could give better advice on how to handle the situation than Ben here."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"/I'm/ one of those batteries, technically. That's why it feels like a legitimate concern. I felt the magic. It's like someone telling you your toast has strawberry jam and you eat it and it tastes grape and you're like 'hey, this is grape jelly' and they're like 'yeah I said it was jelly', like somehow you wouldn't remember the strawberry part," Nessa frowns, but her frown briefly becomes an amused smile at the thought of toast. Especially someone /being/ toast.

"I think, even if the information isn't fully accurate, it's the safest to assume it is. I don't want anyone hurt by this. There's a /kid/ involved and I'm not letting some asshole hurt a kid. So instinct is to act on evidence, logic is that it's safest. I've got some allies helping in this situation, so I guess I've got them to watch my back." She glances back towards Johnny. "You're right though, he's got good advice." She nods at Ben. "I appreciate the insight."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm shrugs, "Most things are pretty simple underneath. Tell the truth, don't be a jerk, don't hurt people unless you gotta. Or if they're tin-plated jerkweeds who like to play around in capes. Sometimes the best cure is a punch in the mouth, but probably not if he's a wizard, unless he needs his teeth to do his magic stuff, then WAM, you gotta hit 'em just right below the nose in that little lip crease t'ing so's you can break de incisors, see, and it makes 'em talk funny."

He takes a long sip of his coffee, "Also, maybe anybody draggin' children into their crap is probably not the best person. Little kids got enough problems without magick spells and dragons or that kinda stuff."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm says, "If you sort out what's going on with Mr Vega then you've only got one problem to worry about, that being your mystery man." Johnny agrees with a nod of his head, "And yeah, maybe bringing in help that isn't Mr. B is a good idea for that too, that way you won't be as beholden to Mr. B by going to him for help."

"And yeah, Ben's got that no nonsense new york city sage wisdom. You don't just find that anywhere, that's the truth!" He says with a little grin, "And especially not in this century either!""

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa shoots a grin in Ben's direction. "I'd like to see you do that sometime. If you ever feel like punching some giant ice skeleton things, I can point you in the right direction." She does, however, nod slowly at his point. "Anyone putting that kid in danger knowingly deserves to answer for that."

There's a long pause before she looks to Johnny. "About that not being beholden thing." She finishes her glass of wine. "That's the part that I'm slightly worried about. I mean it's /interesting/, but I owe him a favor now. Wasn't for the information, though," Nessa looks back down at her hands. "He asked me what I wanted to know how to do, I answered him, and he told me."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm manages a wide grin, "Missy, I ain't never not been in a mood to punch an ice skeleton. Even before I became the blue-eyed hunk o' mass you see before you now, I'd have taken you up on that."

"Havin' a favor don't mean you don't get no say. If a guy helps me move, I might owe him a favor, but I ain't killin' nobody for 'im, y'know? You got the right to say no if they ask too much, remember dat. Unless it's one o' those legally bindin' soul contract t'ings, in which case...what're you, nuts? Don't sign nuttin' like that."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"They're up in the.. Bronx?" Johnny asks with a glance at Nessa, "The Palace and the evil skeletons I mean." He says, nodding towards Ben, "It might be worth a trip over there though if you want to see what's at the heart of this all.." He pauses a bit though at Nessa's comment, head tilting a little as he looks over at her, "What'd you ask, and what'd he tell you?" he wonders.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Woodlawn Cemetary's full of them. You see anything lurking around there, you punch it. I've got a crew trying to get to the source of things, but they're cropping up all over the place centered around the Bronx. Big ice things, you can't miss them. Watch out for the axes, though," Nessa happily details the situation. Can't hurt to get anyone and everyone who can take some of those things down over there. As for the favor? She chuckles lightly. "I didn't really offer up my soul or anything, no binding thing so much as him saying I owed him a favor. I pointed out that I don't exactly have a lot to offer anyone in terms of a favor, but he didn't seem bothered by that. It's less the soul binding and more the fact that I'd rather have him on my side than be against him."

"I asked him two things, about the whole chiling touch thing, and about the concept of destroying the ice I created. His answer sort of fit both... I'm thinking about it wrong. I shouldn't be focusing on taking it away, so much as it is changing it. I can already take ice and shape it, change its form, he said to just think about where the magic's going, what it's become, and just... make it something else that isn't harmful. It's kind of what I thought but... something about the way he explained it made sense. So I'm practicing, making progress. It was good instruction."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm finishes his coffee and shakes his head, 'Makes me glad my powers is that I'm big an' tough. Don't need nobody how to teach me to use that," he says. "Hell, look at Johnny, he's done pretty well and he ain't never known what he was doin' fer a second in his life," he says, throwing in a bit of a wink to show the kid he's joking.

"I might take you up on some o' that punchin'. Been a while since Vic or Annihilus or somebody tried to end the world in my face, I wouldn't mind the chance to throw a few haymakers here and there. Long as you're sure they're bad - I ain't gonna go bashin' some poor creature what don't deserve it."

Johnny Storm has posed:
The mention of Annihilus has Johnny getting a bit of a distant look, which takes a moment for him to shake off before he pipes up, maybe not as chipper as before, "Yeah." He says with a nod towards Ben, "You missed out on the Braniac invasion - big alien ship stealing up parts of cities." He turns his attention over to Nessa, "That's good news, I noticed you had your gloves off, is that why, you're having luck touching people now?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa smiles wryly. "If only we all got the lottery and got something that didn't require constant attention and training." Her gaze moves from Ben to Johnny. "It's true, he's done pretty well. Pretty sure he knows what he's doing more than he might let on." She stage whispers in Ben's direction. "I've seen his bathroom. Pretty sure the playboy thing is a little tamer than he lets on."

She straightens up. "If the information is to be believed, and I'm gonna act on that hunch and say it is, all those skeletons are taken from the life force of innocent people. I'm really not sure if people get that energy back, but they certainly aren't doing good and they're trying to kill anyone who gets close, so... punch away. There's no chance those things are good."

Her eyes slide down to her hands again. "I haven't really tried, to be honest. But I'm leaving them off so I can try, if someone bumps me or something. The lesson sort of works for everything, so I'm just trying to take whatever reaction I have and turn it into something else. Trial by fire, no pun intended. Doesn't make it any less terrifying that I'm gonna just hurt someone."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm nods, "Givin' a damn about hurting people is way ahead o' plenty o' people, kid. You got it in ya. I'm sure Johnny's already told ya what help we can offer - and some o' the folks we know that can do better'n us at it. We ain't much with magic, truth be told, but sometimes we've had to deal with it whether we liked it or not. Usually cause o' ol' Doc Doom," he says.

He turns his head at Johnny, "Tamer? Don't start goin' soft on me now, boy, yer adventures in babes is one o' the ways I can live vicariously."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Yeah, I've got some people in the JLA I can bring in if you think you need the help." Johnny says, "On the magic side of things. And Nessa's a good apple, we need to still come up with a heroic name for her and a costume. I suggested Ice Bunny last time we hung out." He says with a big grin. "And Nessa here hasn't been able to touch anyone for most her life, It'd be ungentlemanly to try and sweep her off her feet the minute she can touch people!"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Consider me a magic consultant, then. You've probably got better magic connections than I do, but I'm almost always available /and/ I'll bring pancakes," Nessa grins. "I can do, in a pinch. Who knows, maybe I'll end up the second best ice mage on the planet. It's a nice goal to strive for." The mention of the JLA gets a thoughtful look. "I suppose there's a chance it might escalate to that point. I don't know, really. I need to go in for a better look again soon."

She rolls her eyes. "Pretty sure Ice Bunny is a terrible idea, both in name and costume. No one would take me seriously with a bunny tail." As the lack of touch is mentioned, Nessa lifts up her hand and wiggles her fingers in Ben's direction. "Usually wear gloves so I don't accidently touch someone. I've caused more frostbite than I'd like to admit." She rests her hand on the table again. "Pretty sure I wouldn't be top of your list even if I didn't have this issue. How many Twitter followers do you have again? There's your list."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm snorts, "Gentleman? That'd be a new one. But I guess we are gettin' a little bit older now. Hard to live life in the fast lane when your knees start to go, huh?" he says.

"Eh, Ice Bunny's cute at least. People like cute. I bet you could sell toys. But you should call yerself what you want. I just kinda had Thing land on me and it stuck before I had much say."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm says, "That's what I'm saying." Johnny says with a grin, "There's some marketing bucks there." He says, "And my knees are in great shape, thank you very much!" He chuckles a bit before nodding over at Nessa, "Sure, I mean, if I wanted to date everyone who followed me online. Nobody wants to do that though, I mean, not really!""

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"It's kind of rude that it got thrown at you. There's all kinds of names that would have been pretty cool for you," Nessa points out, but she chuckles at the mention of Ice Bunny again. "Pretty sure Johnny meant it less of a cute bunny and more of a..." She doesn't elaborate on that. "I don't think I'll need a costume or hero name or something like that anytime in the near future. I just help some people. I'm only in the middle of what I'm in because it showed up around me. I just feel stupid I didn't see how fooled I was with all of it."

She glances towards Johnny. "You're doing pretty badly at pretending to be a playboy right now. Not wanting to date everyone following you online? But where are you going to find a date to your whatever thing you needed a date for? Twitter will be /so/ disappointed."

Ben Grimm has posed:
Ben Grimm shakes his head, "This is why I don't do none o' that twatterin' or whatever ya calls it. Can't really get a phone that works well wit' my big ol' mitts anyways. I got my Fantasticom an' that's plenty fer me. Video games seem kinda dumb t'me. I can already do lotsa that stuff - I can stop on monsters already as it is."

"And yeah, it...you wanna pick your own name, kid. It took me a while to, uh...handle some o' the baggage that came with my body, know what I mean?"

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Most people who get into this sort of work end up doing it because of circumstance rather than a real desire to." Johnny says, "Ben, Sue, Reed and I were just on a regular old flight to outerspace when the rays hit us. But yeah, if you don't like Ice Bunny, you're totally in a position to start a nickname of your own. The longer you wait though, the more likely the newspaper gives you one instead."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Takes a while to figure out how to deal with being different like that, yeah," Nessa agrees. That's something she's experienced, to a lesser extent. "You make the most of what you've got and you learn to live with it. I've spent a lot of time trying to get rid of it when I really should have just been focusing on changing it. It's not a mistake, it's just different." The thought of names again gets a slow nod. "Yeah, I guess I'd better come up with something or else people are just gonna call me Elsa and ask me to sing in public and boy will /that/ be a nightmare." She pauses, and jabs a finger in Johnny's direction. "And it's definitely not going to happen."