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Summary: Rashmi goes to thank Theo for saving Lucas, but finds that Theo is the one that needs saving now.
Date: April 14, 2010
Log Title Call Me Crazy
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Holding Cells
Three cells line each wall each with an energy barrier that can be switched on and off with those with the security codes. The tech here is advanced and not something an average person can figure out. Inside the cells there are degrees of powers suppression, depending on who it's holding. There are cameras monitoring those held in here so there isn't much privacy. Each cell has a bed and a toilet in it and those held in here would be feed regularly. The door leading to the rest of the mansion is made of a thick, heavy steel, and is locked securely by advanced electronic means.
The power dampners are on in the holding cell. If Theo were in his right mind, he'd thank the teachers for the kindness. He's not, however. There are pages strewn across the floor of the holding cell. There's numbers written everywhere. He was previously comatose, but now, he's very awake. He also doesn't seem to have a good grasp on decency. He's wandering the cell in his t-shirt and boxers, the rest of his clothes piled in the corner. He twitches his head, shaking the marker in hand. "Binary, 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 6 1 0 0 0 1, does not compute!" He grabs an already spent piece of paper, and scribbles down the numbers. He clenches his teeth, and tears the page.
There are benefits to being known as an exceptional student, doubly so for striving to follow the rules as often is possible. Among those perks, the relative ease in finding a teacher willing to allow the student a visit to the holding cells, provided the person in question isn't a clear and present danger. Thus, it's with a smile and a nod of thanks, shored up by a promise to hit the panic button if needed, that Rashmi creeps down the hallway toward Theo's cell, brow deeply furrowed in concern at the incomprehensible mutterings heard within. "Um… Theo…?"
Theo doesn't immediately answer. He is muttering something unintelligible as he wanders across his cell again. Suddenly, and without warning, he spins toward Rashmi, a moment of clarity. His eyes meet hers for a moment, and then he exclaims, "Heximal: 4 2 6 5 1 3 9 2 4 1 5. Does not compute." He doesn't seem bothered by the fact that he isn't completely dressed. He turns away, and scribbles on another used piece of paper, stands back, and then pulls at his hair.
It's hard not to start, when someone turns around and fixes you with a very mad-scientist stare. Even harder, when the mad scientist is wearing only a shirt and boxers. And as worried as she is, as distracted by trying to piece together the whys, wherefores, and WTFs of Theo's condition, Rashmi doesn't even bother to try and hide it. "Theo," she repeats, gently and carefully, "it's Rashmi…. Um…. what *happened* to you?"
Theo paces back and forth a little more. "Gotta figure it out! Gotta figure it!" he says back to her. "I can't see it, it doesn't work." He leans forwad, leaning his head against the clear wall. He seems to understand that she's there, but still completely consumed by whatever is on his mind. So much that even his mildly OCD manner is completely ignored by the scattered mess around him on the floor.
"Okay, but… Figure *what* out, Theo? I can't understand what you're talking about, I'm sorry…" Shaking her head, she presses a little back against the wall, perhaps visible only by the movement of the hair around her shoulders. "What are you trying to figure out?"
"My brain. Your brain, brains." He suddenly looks like he has an epiphany. "Senary: 101-6, 111-6 105-6 122-6. Does not compute." He punches the wall with his left hand, the same one holding and using the marker. It's wrapped, apparently injured somehow. "I saw Mike. It works. It has to work. Mike exists, there must be a system." Not to mention that the things that Theo is babbling about is not something found in any freshman level school course. He looks at Rashmi, as if he's on the verge of becoming hysterical. "Why can't I see it Rashmi?"
It takes a moment, to piece together the deeper meaning of Theo's answer, but in a flash the lightbulb goes on, and the bright smile of understanding is almost immediately wiped away by a horrified, ashen cast to her face. "Oh, God… No, Theo… Trust me, you don't even want to try. I don't think anyone *really* gets that, except maybe Forge and a few other unbelievably smart people. I mean, there're a couple things I picked up… but, mostly it's that a lot of what makes Mike work? It's not all in our reality, you know…?"
Theo's eyes look back up. "No! I SAW Mike. I really saw him. It's there. Four demensions. He takes the marker, and draws a box around where his head is on the side wall, and makes it a picture of a three dimensional prism. He draws a stick figure in the middle. "Where is Mike?" he asks. "Mike is here," he points at the space inside of the box, but outside of the stick figure. "It's in my head, I can't get it out." He speaks quickly, as if in a mild panic.
Rashmi simply shakes her head, clearly not grasping the bulk of what Theo's trying to convey, the horrified dismay only growing deeper. "No, I…" There's a pause, and a sharp blink. "….Theo. Did you take those extra classes on shutting out mental attacks…? Because, um… I think maybe it would help to try that, now…"
The young technopath stops, he stares at his picture without blinking for several seconds. "Mike attacked me?" he asks. "That bastard! I thought he was kinda nice." It's as if he doesn't remember what happened to get him where he is. He draws a second picture around the first, a round circle. He turns it into a large stick figure. "Mike is here," he says, placing the tip of the marker on the box again. Now the box is inside of the head of the larger stick figure. He takes a deep breath, a nervous one. He looks back at Rashmi. "I gotta get him out," he whimpers helplessly.
"No no, he didn't attack you, Theo," Rashmi says quickly, with the unmost conviction. "But you say he's in your head, so it's probably really close to the same thing, right? So… Maybe I can help you push it back." At first, her voice is specilative, but after a couple moments of bottom-lip-gnawing, she nods to herself. "Yeah… yeah, it'll probably work, a little."
Theo turns his back to his picture, and runs his hands through his hair. He slides down the wall, smearing the marker as he reaches the floor. He shivers once. It's not that he's cold, he just is rather overloaded, and it causes a tremor. He looks up at Rashmi, not saying anything, but rather expectant, waiting for her to explain her strategy.
Rashmi nods slowly, settling herself to her knees on the other side of the door. "Okay, Theo," she begins, her voice low and gentle, "I know this is really, really, hard, but… I'm going to need you to trust me, okay? Just, try to do everything I say, and maybe it'll help enough that you can think a little, until I can talk to Addison about taking away that memory. Do you think you can trust me, Theo…?"
Theo just stares back. He is looking at Rashmi, but it's clear he's NOT looking at Rashmi. He's not looking at anything. His left hand is twitching, it appears he's quietly trying to run numbers again. He furrows his brow. "No, you better not wait for that. Trust does not compute." he says. "Just get him out," he begs again. He looks down, his hand has written a quaternary sequence on his left thigh.
Rashmi nods slowly. "Okay… but I need you to do, everything I say, all right? First… close your eyes." Shifting a bit on her knees, tugging the side of her skirt out from under to make it a bit more comfortable, she pitches her voice… strangely. Lower than usual, as though saying something of utter urgency, but unhurried. As though she were relaying Truth, gleaned from some great and sacred temple. "Close your eyes, and imagine yourself sitting there… sitting in the middle of a big, dark, empty space… It's not cold or warm, there… there's no light, but you can see yourself, just fine. Your hands are still, and your breathing is slow and relaxed…"
The boy closes his eyes, drawing up his knees and resting his forehead upon them. He listens, and tries to do what she says. "It's still noisy. I can hear the numbers," he says. They're all around me. His breathing is slowing, but he doesn't seem relaxed, though his face is a little hard to see, buried in his arms and his knees.
"I know they are, Theo… That's because you can't stop thinking about them, because they're a puzzle… And your mind doesn't want to let it go without solving it." Drawing in a deep breath herself, Rashmi continues to speak, in that low, gentle, utterly sincere voice. "But now you're going to push the numbers away, Theo… All around you, there's this glass bubble. Just barely big enough for you to sit in, and it's not comfortable at all. The numbers have been squeezing it so hard, you have to curl up just to keep from getting hurt. But now…? Now you're going to fix that. Push the bubble out, Theo. Watch it get bigger, the more you push."
"But I won't know the answer, I can't lose," Theo protests. He tightens his grip on his knees, clenching a little tighter. Very appropriate to what's happening in his mind. "What if I forget the numbers?"
"You're not losing, Theo," Rashmi says smoothly, shaking her head. "You're just putting the puzzle aside for a little bit. If you want to, you can figure it out more later, but right now you need to take a break. The numbers are squeezing too tight, Theo, and they're going to hurt you. Don't push hard, Theo. Slowly and easily. Like you'd slide a book across a table. Push on the bubble, and make it grow."
Theo doesn't answer. Slowly, his knuckles go from white back to their normal color. The muscles in his arms and legs start to relax, though it is slow, over the course of several minutes. Occassionally a tremor will run through his wiry frame, and he'll lose a little ground, but he's getting there.
Through it all, Rashmi watches, relief warring with an almost heartbreaking sadness, that anyone would have to endure such a trial. Whatever emotions are suffusing her thoughts, however, don't touch her voice. "Very good, Theo… Push the bubble out, until you can stand. Then, until there's room to walk, in. Make the bubble the size of your dorm room. Inside, you have total control… fill it with whatever makes you comfortable, safe, secure. The numbers are on the other side, Theo, and they can't get in to squeeze you. But if you want, you can walk right out to hear them… You have the power here, Theo, you have the freedom. The bubble can't fail, unless you allow it to."
Theo lets out his breath. He lowers his knees, and slowly tilts his head back to rest upon the wall. "It is bigger, Rashmi," he says, his words a little slurred they are so relaxed. He lets out a small laugh. Then he's silent. His body relaxes a little more, until it's apparent that he's not just relaxed.
He's asleep.
And he probably is in great need of that.
