Hearing Jin deny Luke's offer to take her shopping hadn't changed Gabe's envious mood. Her response not only discouraged Luke, it discouraged anyone else from asking her to go shopping. So now not only did Gabe not confidence, he also didn't have a chance. And he thought girls [i]liked[/i] shopping! 

Looking down at the floor, the Bat-Prodigy thought of ways to get his mind off girls. There were movies to watch. Always movies to watch. There was a new addition to the Speedy and the Seething series, and Gabe was busting to watch that one. He'd gotten hooked on the series back in Gotham, and had watched all of the current movies a grand total of twenty-one times. But they weren't the kind of movies you'd want to watch alone, and Gabe was looking for a way to get girls [i]out[/i] of his head, not in. So instead of searching for a girl other than Jin to ask to the movies, Gabe found himself turning towards Magnus, who was staring at his credit card in a confused expression.

"Hey, Magnus? Do you think you'd want to watch a movie? Just to, uh, hang out and stuff, y'know?" asked Gabe. Man. He was as awkward with boys as he was with girls.

The sound of someone else speaking his name brought Magnus out of his momentary reverie. He turned to look at the speaker, surprised to see it was Gabe. The fire-wielder hadn't really spoken to him much, and Magnus had always figured that he had probably been more preoccupied with Jin. Gabe always gave off a funny smell when he was around Batman's other ward. The sorta smell an alpha male would give off when approaching a suitable mate. The sorta smell that Plasticman had recently started giving off around her too, a situation which could get complicated fast. 

Still, it had been so long since Magnus had experienced real human contact. His one sided conversations with Fate weren't exactly fulfilling, and Hawkman hadn't been the most sociable of late, ever since the death of Hawkwoman. Understandable, really. Bare seconds past before Magnus answered.

"Yes!" he almost barked it, not even bothered what they were going to see. Not that he had kept up to date with Hollywood's trends as Fenrir. 

Gabe jumped back in his chair, momentarily taken aback by Magnus' excited reaction. He hadn't expected the former wolfman to be that enthusiastic about watching a movie, but hey, he'll take whatever he can get. And so it was then that the teen bolted up onto his feet, grimacing slightly at the pain that followed.

"Okay, awesome. Let's, um... Go to the movies now, buy the tickets there, save some time to buy snacks. That sound good?" he suggested between moments of discomfort.

Magnus looked on with concern. Gabe looked to be in some amount of pain still, grimacing as he got out of his chair. It was a trial that the savage metahuman had never experienced, even if he had put up with tortures that would kill a normal man. His super-human regenerative abilities usually had him healed up in no time. Still, it looked uncomfortable to say the least. 

"Sounds good," returned Magnus. He hoped his short replies wouldn't cause offence. He still hadn't mastered English, but since he had become human again his taciturn nature could come across as churlish, when in reality it was because of his embarrassment at his lack of skill in communicating. 

"You can lead. . .I don't know the town well," he continued with a shy smile.

Gabe broke into a grin. [i]'This... Is going to be [b]fun[/b],'[/i] he thought as he walked towards the hallway, occasionally limping from the pain that was emanating from his mostly-healed bullet wound. He signalled with his hand for Magnus to follow, also nodding at the rest of the team, in a moment of polite farewell.

"Alright Magnus, follow my lead. We're going to tear up this town," said he, a newfound confidence surging through his pain-filled body. The pain was suddenly masked by a feeling of light-heartedness, one which was only achievable in good company.

Magnus trotted behind obediently. The thought crossed his mind that he was behaving exactly as a well behaved dog might, following when beckoned and listening to commands. A slight smile spread across his face. [i]All that time Granny wanted me to become a good little attack dog and all she had to do was turn me back into a human. The irony abounds.[/i]

He hoped it didn't get to hectic though. The last time the pair of them 'tore it up' their base almost got burnt to the ground, and Fate nearly died. Still, what's the chances of that happening twice? 

The two metahumans walked out of the base together, already enjoying each other's company. And so sprung a friendship from the ashes of tragedy.

[b](GG/Sam)[/b]