Players:
Summary: Robyn finds Theo to talk about their JRXTC Leader. The two bump into Lucas as they talk.
Date: September 12, 2010. 6:21pm
Log Title: Game Face
Rating: R (Language)
Xavier Mansion - Subbasement
The subbasement is a long hallway ending with a circular door at the end with an X over the doors. In the middle of the hallway two hallways branch off across from each other. The left hallway leads to two large doors that open up into the Danger Room. To the right they lead to where the shuttle is that leads to the Blackbird. There is quite a bit of security down here and a majority of the rooms require authorization to enter.
Mental defense class. Most classes, Theo really enjoys studying for. He really does! Books and equations, homework of all sorts just makes his day. But this homework is different. For a telepath, controlling what they hear is an important part of their discipline. Theo's not a telepath, but he's finding as he grows in his power, he hears more, and it's becoming louder.
So here he is in the basement. The technopath sits on the floor outside of the control room. The room with more electronics than any other place on campus He can easily feel thousands of machines at once, and it's little more than noise to him. He sits cross-legged outside of the door. His eyes are closed, his brow is furrowed deeply as he tries to focus. As a result, he appears rather pissed off.
It's been a tough search for Theo, especially since Robyn doesn't know him well enough to know where he frequents. He's searched the attic, garage, rec room, cafeteria, Theo's dorm and many other places before trying his last resort, the sub-basement. Which Robyn is quite surprised to see that he's actually here, in the middle of the hallway. He was beginning to figure he wasn't in the school. "Hey Theo, sorry to interrupt but, do you have a moment? There's something I wanna talk to you about."
Theo doesn't respond. His teeth bear a little, but it doesn't appear to be in connection with Robyn speaking. He takes in a deep breath and holds it.
Robyn thinks it's just the bad blood between him and Theo and that the other teen really doesn't want to talk to him but it's kind of important so instead of walking away like he normally would, Robyn remains a bit persistent. "Theo, I know we've had our differences but I really gotta talk to you. It's about this JRXTC thing the school is started and I heard you're a part of as well."
The technopath still doesn't respond at first, and suddenly his shoulders relax. "Crap," he says, with his eyes still shut. Slowly, he lets them drift open.
"AAugh!!" Theo jumps as Robyn is seen before him, and he grabs his chest. "Robyn! You can't sneak up on me like that! You scared the hell out of me!" He takes a deep breath. "What do you want?" he asks, getting to his feet and taking a glance down the hallway at Proto, sitting motionless on the floor. Theo doesn't sound necessarily angry, just startled.
Robyn shakes his head. "I didn't really sneak up on you, I called out to you twice." He then shoves his hands in his pockets and sighs. "Well, I wanted to talk to you about this team the school is putting together. I heard you were also in it along with me, Lucas, Jinx and Connor. The JRXTC. I met with the person in charge and it's Selene and…I don't know if you know much about her?"
"Oh," Theo answers. "Sorry, I didn't hear you," he admits, folding his arms across his chest. "They put you on this team?" he asks. Apparently he wasn't aware. "I was meaning to talk to you about her," the technopath confesses. "I only really know rumors. Did she really try to kill you?"
There's a sharp intake of breath before Robyn nods and goes to lean against the wall. "Yeah, she did. She possessed James and when I tried to do something about it, well long story short, she threw me in front of a car. Lucky Forge found me when he did or else…who knows. She also tried to kill Jinx and Lucas. Almost got Jinx also. So yeah, there's a lot of bad blood between some of us and Selene. Her and I…well I can't hide the fact I hate her and I already lost my temper around her once. But, what I wanted to talk to you about is the fact that we're a team, and even though you and I have had our differences I'd like to put that aside and be teammates this year, act like teammates."
Theo shrugs. "Okay," he says, not seeming to think much of it. "I'm cool with that. I'll do my best not to make any gay cracks, but no promises. But I gotta ask, you do know that the team is optional, right?" He starts walking down the hall, and grabs the small robot by the leg, and picks it up into his arms. "Can we go back upstairs? It's really hard to hear you."
Robyn smiles at Theo. "Oh yeah, I know it's optional but to quit would be letting her defeat me again and I'm not ready to do that." There's a certain confidence to his voice that might not have been there a few days ago, hell, even a day ago, when he says that. "Sure, we can go upstairs. It's just, I need you Theo, and everyone on this team, to work together. She's gonna be hard on us, I know it, and we need to stick together or it's gonna be even harder."
Theo hits the elevator button as they reach it. "Except you're playing her game," Theo says. "But if you want to, then I'll help you, but you gotta listen to me even though you think I'm a prick." He hoists Proto up into both hands, adjusting for the weight of the metal robot.
"I know I'll be playing her game but I wanted to be part of this team Theo. I want the training, I want to work harder to get better with my powers. I want to be part of…something like this." Robyn says as he likes feeling like he has a place to belong with people he cares about. This is more than just a 'squad' to him, this something serious and he wants it. "I'm not going to let her stop me from going for what I want. I am going to hate her, and that's a given but I know I'm going to have to listen to her. And as for you being a prick, I wouldn't expect any less. But in return for us listening to you, you gotta listen to us, even when you think I'm just another gay kid."
"I'll listen if you have anything worth saying," Theo answers, getting onto the elevator. He places Proto on the ground. He leans up against the wall of the elevator room. "So, you think you can beat her while you hate her?" he asks. "Ever think that hating her might be what will keep you from beating her? You're really emotional. You gotta detach yourself from the situation if you're gonna think straight."
Xavier Mansion - Elevator
The Elevator was designed to meld with the rest of the schools architecture with its wooden sliding door. There are buttons to select your destination between the floors. There is a soft ding as the doors open.
Robyn looks at Theo before answering and nods. "Yes. I think I can. Cause I have friends on the team, people I can trust to help me do the right thing. I have people I can rely on and…I want you to be one of those people." Robyn is serious about that too, he wants to be able to trust Theo and he wants Theo to be able to trust him. "I know I'm emotional, I know I care a lot but at the same time, I know I have to look past my hate and at whatever task she's giving us. I might break down after a session but during it, I know I have to keep my head calm. And I know I need help to do it."
"No, that's not detaching," Theo argues, hitting the elevator button to send them up. "That's resisting an urge. Believe me, I know the difference. If you break down after the session, then it means you were just containing yourself. Detaching yourself means you turn your emotions off. Look at Selene as if she were a puzzle or a logic problem. If/Then, Yes/No, On/Off. You deal in only facts and absolutes. When I get caught off guard, I can act pretty crazy myself." He grins sardonically. "But you already know that. But when I am prepared for something? You won't get me riled. So try it now. Take a step back from Selene, look at her, and tell me about her like that."
"What I know about Selene that's fact and not from my opinion well…" Robyn thinks about it and how he would describer her without being to personal. "From what I've seen, she likes to push peoples buttons, she likes to get a rise out of people. She's good at it. She's a parasite, or at least with the possessing James and needing him to survive for a bit. She likes feeling dominant and likes to hold that she's better than everyone above their head. She's..she seems emotionless or, sorry, more that she doesn't really care about anyone but herself. She's not going to take a personal interest in the team. It's something she has to do and Connor thinks that she doesn't like it just as much as we do, which could be true."
Theo nods. "Okay," he says. "That's good stuff. If she likes being dominant, then she'll be happy as long as she's dominant, and she'll be unhappy if she's not. If we give a united front on that control switch, we're the ones pushing the buttons." He seems to be processing, and stops the elevator so that it doesn't open at the next floor. "Don't freak out. This is a good place to talk about this so that nobody will listen in. I control all of the machines close enough to hear us," he informs Robyn.
"But at the same time Theo, I don't think she'll be satisfied until she gets a reaction out of one of us. But then, how do you fully understand someone whose as old as she is." Robyn says brushing his hair back. "She told me she's 17,000 years old. So she's definitely got age and experience on her side. And I really don't care if anyone hears us but thanks, for the privacy that is."
"I care," Theo says. "We don't want her hearing what we're saying. If she's as dangerous as you think she is, then this is more than a favor." The technopath runs his fingers across the buttons, lighting them up, but the elevator doesn't move. He turns them off again with his power. "I dunno, would you believe me if I told you that I was 17,000 years old? Why do you buy it? Still, she looks older than us, so she will have some experience over us anyway."
"It's not a think thing Theo, it's a know. See, she possessed James and when we started to figure it out, I had to make sure. I thought by possessing James, I could push out who was in there and free him. I hit a mental brick wall and that's when she decided to push me in front of a car. Then she would pay me visits in the medbay and…well eventually she used to me to try to help her kill Jinx and there was nothing I could do. She can drain the life from people like I can drain psychic energy. I don't know, but, there's a reason Ms. Frost is keeping her around and I don't think it's for sinister reasons."
Theo frowns. "So far, there's few people who I trust less here than Ms. Frost," he declares. Though he's only personally had very limited interaction with her, he seems confident in his judgment. "Never trust anyone who is in a position to hurt you." A rather grim outlook, and a statement that may explain a great deal about Theo's own personality.
The elevator starts again. "From what you're saying, the control thing seems to be a good control point. If we give and take control over our actions from her on a level that seems arbitrary, she'll become stressed. She'll become more dangerous at this point, but we may figure out what her true motives are for doing this. If she's that calculating, she only does things she wants to, so I doubt she's been coerced." The doors to the elevator open, and Theo steps out, Proto getting up to his feet and following.
Xavier Mansion - Atrium
The Atrium is large room with four corridors leading off in diagonal directions to the classrooms and dorms. A large window looks over the front courtyard. The Atrium has also been turned into a social area for students and teachers, with chairs, tables and a television set. Since its a main area of passing, it is encouraged that people keep things to a respectful volume.
Lucas has arrived.
Lucas is sitting in the hallway, wearing a pair of flannel sleepy pants and a wife beater. He's barefoot, wearing gloves, and playing an acoustic guitar. It's a slow, dreamy sort of finger-picked version of Smells Like Teen Spirit. He glances up when the elevator door opens, and he nods. "What up, yo?"
Robyn shrugs. "Who knows if there is even an ulterior motive behind this for Selene, it could just be what Ms. Frost assigned her to make up for what she did, honestly, we don't know. Right now you're just making a lot of guesses, both you and Connor are doing that. Right now I just think we have to make sure to work as a team and make sure to stick together -in case- anything happens. I think we have to work together as a team, and really work towards excelling as a team." At the sound of the music and Lucas' voice, Robyn waves to him. "What's up Kurt Cobain?"
Theo grins. "Now you're making guesses," he points out. "Hey Lucas," he greets. "We're talking about our new special squad leader and how to bend her to our will." It's said as if he were talking about a casual homework assignment. "If she's 17,000 years old, I don't think she'll be interested in 'making up' for things she's done wrong. If I were that old, I'd think I was above anybody elses' judgments."
Lucas nods, continuing to play. He grins at Robyn, "At least you knew the song… Ah weren't sure you would, since it wasn't Secondhand Serenade or Dashboard Confessional," he teases. He looks at Theo, "After sleepin' on it, Ah worry more about Connor than Selene, frankly." He sighs, "This school is failin'."
Robyn takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "No, we can't worry about Connor. We have to trust him and he has to trust us. I think the moment we start not trusting each other is when it's all gonna fall apart." Robyn knows Connor has his issues but he's not going to let that stop him from trusting a friend. "And Dashboard Confessional, seriously, they are so whiny to listen to." He makes a face at that. "And yeah Theo, I am. We all are but my main concern is that we trust each other and work together. Then we can take on what comes, as a team." He knows he is sounding like a broken record.
"What would make Connor a problem? Did she try to kill him, too?" he asks. For Theo, this is an information gathering process, and he's in go-mode. "I agree that we'll need to operate as a team," he says. A far cry from his usual one-man army attitude. "And I wouldn't be surprised if that's the lesson they want us to learn. If so, there's worse objectives we could be subject to. Think about our team. Connor, a hopeless romantic regarding people 'getting along'. Lucas, a guy who walks around with a chip on his shoulder, daring people to knock it off. Jinx, I don't know her well, but I'm sure there's something. Robyn's an emotional pussy. And I'm the loner and labeled as the school's token bigot."
Lucas finally stops playing, laying the instrument in his lap. "Robear, worrying is not the same as not trusting." He looks at Theo, and furrows his brow a little. "…Really?" He tilts his head, and seems legitimately surprised. "Is that how folk see me?"
Theo's description of Robyn actually gets under his skin a bit, being called a 'pussy' is never really meant in a nice way. "Thanks Theo." He says dryly with a bit of annoyance in his voice. "And is that how people really see me Lucas, a pussy?" He asks crossing his arms over his chest. "And Lucas, yeah, a bit. When people first meet you, you kinda have this chip on your shoulder but once they get to know you, it's different. As for Connor, I think he's far from a hopeless romantic."
Theo shrugs with a non-interest. "I call'em like I see'm," he answers simply. "See, you didn't disconnect again. We need to be objective," he tells Robyn. "If you get upset at that, how easy is it going to be for Selene to toss you around like dead leaves in the wind? Don't worry Lucas, that's one of the things I like about you. Though I hope you don't get your ass beat like you did when you and James had that spat. Scared the hell outta me. One thing we should come up with is a phrase or a code word that Selene won't know that we can warn each other if we are heading into the red zone." Theo's mind is already past the conceptual, and he's moving on to strategies for accomplishing the task.
Lucas laughs, "Yeah, Robear. It is. But you should know, you've changed, and it's fuckin' awesome. People will start seein' you different this year." He looks at Theo, "James only beat me because Ah didn't want to burn him alive. Ah can control my powers a lot better now." He shrugs, "Last times James an' Ah fought, he was possessed by Selene an' Ah whupped his ass, savin' Jinx and Robear here." He smiles, "By the way, you'll be happy to know, Ah'm the new school biggot."
Robyn looks at Lucas. "You're the school racist, Theo is the school homophobe." He then looks at Theo. "What I really wanted to do was storm out of the room or punch you across your face when you called me a pussy but I didn't so the fact that I did what I did, that's my self control. I know I'm not going to be able to handle myself in front of Selene. I almost stormed out of the room when she said she wanted to drug me and throw me in therapy, so, I think the code word is gonna be good cause I know I'm going to need it."
"Well, misery loves company," Theo says with a wry grin toward Lucas. "So, disconnection. Think like a machine. I know you're all artsy fartsy and stuff, and you like feeling everything. Well, the more my power has developed, the more I find I'm thinking like the machines I hear around me. You can think what you want about it, but disconnect means you do not make any attachment to stuff emotionally. So if I call you a flaming faggot, you just treat it like I said the sky is blue. If Selene says you're an emo kid that needs to be stuck in a straight jacket, just treat it like she asked you to pass the salt. Don't think about it. Don't stop and examine what it means she thinks, because you don't give a shit what she thinks. Make sense?" Of course, that doesn't say how he's going to handle his issues, but that's another story.
Lucas sighs, "Look, guys… My concern is the problem ain't Selene. A Hellfire Club chick gets handed the position of Head Mistress. Selene, member of the Hellfire Club, gets control and oversight over the most powerful, most experienced group of students here, whom she's already tried to murder. Magneto hangs out on our campus all the time." He shakes his head, "This school is corrupt. It ain't our team."
"I know Lucas, I'm not thrilled about Magneto being here. Ms. Frost, I'm still torn on her. Selene, well, she can burn in hell and I wouldn't be satisfied." Robyn just ignores Theo's words thinking it's more Theo trying to get a jab at him and as much as he hates the phrasing he's using, he's trying to focus on the bigger picture. "Lucas..I don't know, I really don't know. I just know I have at least one more year here and then, who knows."
Theo shakes his head. "You say that like it's some kind of revelation," he says. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Everybody is rotten. Don't be too surprised that the school is rotten too. So we all gotta play the hand we're dealt. Sometimes that hand sucks, but this school is better than a lot of mutants got it. And that's coming from me." Theo's never had a very romantic view of Xaviers.
Lucas sighs, "Ah hate the idea it's rotten." He looks at his guitar for a minute, then back at the other two. "Where's Xavier when you need him…"
"I don't know Theo." As Robyn doesn't believe everyone is rotten. "I gotta head out though, I gotta get my homework done for class tomorrow." He looks between both Theo and Lucas. "Well we're not rotten so we can make sure that we make things go right by us not matter what happes, as a team. G'night Theo, Lucas."
Theo doesn't argue, he just lets Robyn go. "It's gonna be a long year," he says to Lucas. "I just hope this doesn't get me killed."
