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Summary: Tyler bumps into Magneto in a hallway and the two have an interesting conversation. In the end Tyler has a lot to consider about himself and also about a project that could open up all sorts of interesting things for him to experience over the summer.
Date: June 11, 2011
Log Title: Interesting Prospects
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Hallway
//The hallway is decorated in the same fashion as the Lobby with a wooden bench on each side of the room that blends in to the walls. There is a plaque on the wall indicating students who helped defend the school. Four doorways lead off this room and an Elevator designed to blend with the decor of the room can be seen a the far end of the hallway. //
Magneto enters the mansion, in uniform and cloak as he touches down on the front steps, purples and reds flowing to charcoal gray and crisp white as the outfit shifts to a business suit. He waves the front door open, half in one outfit, half in the other, and by the time it shuts behind him, he's looking like a normal business-suited man, intent on whatever has brought him to the Xavier Institute today.
Wandering around from room to room off the main hall is a blonde haired teen dressed in cargo shorts, sandals and a t-shirt that could be described as someone splattering it with a bunch of dark colors. In Tyler's hands is his iPod as he's shuffling through tracks to find something interesting to listen to and as such he's not paying attention to much of anything save for when he glances up to check out what room he's wandered into now.
Magneto would give the teen a nod… if the teen were actually looking at him, which he isn't. He'll leave the boy be, then — he has several issues to discuss with the Institute staff and his time is not infinite….
Problem is, his path crosses Tyler's, at the point where Tyler has his head down and Magneto is looking in a different direction….
Tyler hums with the occasional thump-thump-thump sound effect until he quite literally thumps into someone. "Ack! I'm so sorry!" Quickly yoinking the ear buds out of his ears and taking a step back. "I should have been paying attention…" His words trailing off as he realizes whom he's bumped into. The iPod slowly starts slipping out of his hand heading towards the floor.
Magneto is big and solid and actually not that surprised to be run into — this is a school. Such things happen. He looks down at the young man and raises an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon," he says. "Have we met? I am Professor Lensherr. You are…?" He starts to offer his hand for shaking, but he turns the gesture into a flick of the fingers, which wafts the iPod back up. "Also, you dropped this." He dangles the iPod in front of Tyler's nose. (To break that 'deer in the headlights' stare, of course.)
A deer in the headlights is a pretty accurate description for the poor teen who is quite literally freaking out on the inside. "I err ummm…" Quite nervously Tyler reaches up to pluck the iPod out of the air to hold onto with a death grip. Words fail him so he shakes his head, no. With a bit of anxious fumbling of the iPod he shoves it and the earbuds into a pocket of his shorts then swallows hard before giving up his name, "Tyler Hayworth, sir."
"Mister Hayworth. Well met." And is that a faint crinkling around the eyes, amusement at Tyler's expense? Would the Master of Magnetism sink so low?
If so, he doesn't make it easy to tell. "I don't believe we have met before, young man. You are new to the Institute, yes? Tell me, how do you like the place thus far?" He has stopped and is Paying. Attention. to Tyler; perhaps his business here is not so pressing that he can't spare a few moments.
"I'm really sorry, sir." The apology is given a bit better than a moment ago for what it's worth. Tyler's heart is racing so fast its a wonder it hasn't run off without him. "No, sir. We haven't met before. I…I've been here about a week." This is incredibly awkward and entirely his fault so he sucks in a breath and tries to behave like he has some sense. "I'm really liking it. The people are cool and Jono was showing me some stuff the other day which was wicked awesome." He waves a hand, which one can see is slightly tremulous, "Are you alright? I'm really sorry for not paying attention."
"Ah! You've met Mr. Starsmore. An excellent young man, and crafty." Magneto lets himself smile. "I enjoy his acquaintance. I do not know that the same can be said of him." The smile turns a little more humorous.
"A week. Not long, then. I assume, however, that that is long enough for the staff here to have assessed your powers and given you a training regime for them. Tell me, what do you do, Tyler Hayworth? What gift has the X gene brought you?" He's not paying attention to the quavery voice or the trembling hand. And he just waves at the extra apologies. Yes, yes… now on to more interesting topics….
Tyler nods about meeting Jono. It's interesting to know Magneto's view of Jono and vice versa. "Yeah, he mentioned he trains with you or something like that and that you know a lot which makes you the most excellent teacher for things." Having nothing to do with his hands he stuffs them into his shorts pockets to keep from fidgeting anxiously. "Yes sir they've given me a training schedule. The gauntlet was nerve wracking," little bit of a giggle there. "Gift? I'm not sure I can think of it like that. I bet everyone says that but seriously? It erm…I'm…" lowers his voice, "I twinkle." That sounded lame! Tyler tries again. "I shift into a form made up of cosmic matter and energy. Stars, dust, gasses. I twinkle."
Magneto does a passive magnetic sweep over Tyler, casual and almost unconscious — cosmic matter and energy? Does the boy have an odd magnetic signature because of this? "Indeed? That sounds intriguing, and unique, as well. A non-solid form can be useful. Do you have control over these energies, too? Can you, for instance, fire them at someone, or do you have the capability of tracking energy? How about the composition of things, such as the air around you or an object that you, in your dusty/gaseous form, might enclose? Can you determine that?" Rapid-fire questions: Tyler has managed to get Magneto interested in him.
The sweep won't pick up anything as Tyler is not in form. If he were however in form Magento would be able to detect a strange magnetic signature as stars(star matter) puts out an electromagnetic field. "It's pretty solid sir. I mean if you could touch me it's pretty solid though if you look at me, well…everything moves. I'm sorry that I don't know how to explain it better." There are so many questions that Tyler can't keep up nor does he have the answer for some of them. He however attempts to do his best in response while shifting on his feet. "I'm working on control but yes. I can't track energy I don't think. I can fire blasts at people that aren't pleasant. I'm not so sure about enclosing things either." An uncertain shrug after that. "I hover around trying not to destroy things because I've this aura that is massively cold that it freezes things solid, severe frostbite and such."
"'Massively cold'. It sounds, young Master Hayworth, as if you might be an energy absorber. Cold is a lack of energy; if you cause cold, it may very well be that you do so because you are drawing the energy out of whatever it is you are near. Do you know if the staff here have considered that possibility?" Magneto makes a note to discuss the matter with them, whether the answer is 'No' or 'Yes'. An energy drain can be a deadly power.
Tyler frees a hand up to rub at the nape of his neck then drops his hand down to his side. "That's a really cool point. I'm not certain about that to tell you the truth, sir. I've always assumed that since I look like space trapped in a human shaped bottle and that I pew pew stars and space stuff that I was as cold as space is." There's an uncertain shrug of his shoulders. He really wished he had a more intelligent answer to give the Professor.
"Space absorbs energy and matter via the principles of equilibrium. You might consider studying that facet of science, in pursuit of self-knowledge. —If you have time, of course." It being summer and all. Magneto isn't blind to what teenagers prefer to do during the summers.
"Speaking of which, perhaps you might assist me with an idea I am considering. Mr. Hayworth, what are you planning on doing with yourself this summer?"
"I hadn't thought of that," Tyler says even though it's more to himself than to the professor. It's still strange that he's talking to someone he's only seen on the news who gets depicted a villain 90% of the time and is being really helpful at the moment. "I really should research that. I've been afraid that I might loose control some how and either cause a black hole or a supernova or something and it would suck but suck way more if I were in the cafeteria or generally around other people." Even though it's the summer Tyler will read as much as he can because figuring himself out is his number one priority. Even more so than hitting the amusement park when he gets home.
Me? That's the look of awe that Tyler is giving Magneto at the moment. How can he help the professor when he doesn't know a whole lot? "I'm heading home for awhile to see my parents and to meet Kierans family. I won't be there the whole time though as my parents know I need to be here more than hanging around at home. If…if I can help you with something I'd be honored to do so."
Magneto smiles and bows his head. "Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to help." He straightens and considers for a moment, studying the young man's face. "Yes, you need to be learning about yourself, and seeing your family is important, as well. But the world is large, and as you might know, I have sovereign powers over a small portion of it, in the land known as Genosha. As you might also know, Genosha has had some unfortunate and difficult times recently.
"If I were to offer summer credit for special projects. I am thinking of practical applications, such as digging wells, repairing fences, or planting fields. Would you or anyone you know be interested in such activities?"
"Yes, sir. I keep up with the news as best I can as my father makes sure that he knows what's going on in the world. Is the rebuild going alright?" Tyler relaxes a fraction though it's clear he's not all that comfortable around Magneto. This won't stop the teen from being polite and respectful even though the professor is a very imposing man. "I would love to help even though I've no experience in doing any of that and I can ask around to see if anyone would like to help if you'd like."
"I think that the fact you would 'love' to help is answer enough; I have not made up my mind on the matter as yet, but that there is interest? That is important to know. Thank you, Mr. Hayworth." Magneto gives him another nod. "And don't worry about a lack of experience. Genosha needs assistance at all levels — from clearing debris to building bridges. From growing food to stocking libraries. I am sure you could think of something to do that would make you happy, and would make Genosha happy, too."
Tyler offers a smile, the first since he ran into the professor, "You're welcome. I like being helpful and in this case it's for a really good cause." The teen seems to have perked up a bit now and his eyes hold a twinkle of happiness as his personality starts to slip out. "I've never been anywhere before other than coming here. I think it'll be neat to not only see someplace else in the world but be there to make things better. I know you're just considering it all right now but I really appreciate the offer to come help. I'll do my best at whatever I end up undertaking that you can count on, sir."
Magneto's own eyes crinkle in amusement. "Perhaps you might consider working up a project proposal, then. What would you like to do? To try? Think big, young man, because if you come up with something truly interesting, you might be able to interest others into helping you with it. Do with them what you might not feel comfortable tackling on your own."
"Heh, that might be a minor problem," Tyler frowns at the mention of drafting up a project proposal. "I don't know exactly what you mean. Could you give me an example? I wouldn't use it as an actual proposal just to give me an idea of what you might be looking for." School work is not something he's too terribly good at though he always does his best. If he must come up with a project and outline all that out to be able to go to Genosha he'll sit down and work on it till he's satisfied that it's good enough to turn in.
"An example." Magneto thinks for a moment, then nods. "You might propose to build a bridge over a stream, installing a culvert beneath to help control the flow of water. You would need several people to assist with such a project — people to dig, people to build, people to research the engineering such a project would require, or at least to acquire the plans.
"Another project idea: plant a field of fruit trees. People to research the trees that will grow in the area you will plant them in, people to plant them, people to care for them until the trees establish themselves. — You see? Keep the project simple in scope. Genosha needs everything, and anything is welcome."
Tyler listens carefully to the ideas that are presented and the first one seems to be too much for the teen to deal with. He's no understanding of how to build a bridge but perhaps that was the point. To find something one is utterly clueless about then to figure it all out and present it as something that could be done. "Thank you for the examples. I think something like the field is easier for me to understand but I'll come up with something. Can I mention this to anyone or no? Not recruiting anyone just in passing or if I'm babbling about ideas."
"You may mention it, but do say that the matter has not been okayed yet. The Institute staff may have objections to students participating in such activities, and more, the US government may have objections. But that doesn't mean you can't put together a project proposal anyway. If nothing else, I can take such plans to Genosha and give them to people on the ground there. We have a dearth of planners, too — ready-made proposals are almost as useful as the teams who bring those proposals to fruition." Magneto smiles. "And I would give summer credits for the proposals, too."
"Neat!" Tyler bounces once on his feet with exuberance. "I didn't want to tell my boyfriend or my parents and it be something that I shouldn't have mentioned. I'll make sure to tell anyone I mention it to that it's not a done deal sort of thing." What to do though is the problem. There will be quite a lot of thought spent on this subject and hopefully after wracking his brain for an idea for ages he'll come up with a decent one. "Credits would be awesome too as I've lost a few this year. I'd blame it on everything that happend and being a freshman but I can only blame myself for the fail." A hand is extended out towards the professor. "Thank you for the theoretical opportunity, and for posing a buncha questions that I've got to figure out about myself."
Magneto extends his own hand and clasps Tyler's in a firm grip. "You are quite welcome, Mr. Hayworth. And thank you; this conversation has been very interesting, and I hope, profitable, both to my country, and to me, personally." He bows his head. "I look forward to your ideas. Genosha can never have too many new ideas."
Tyler beams as he shakes the professors hand. There's an air of excitement that means the teen has already spaced a few things in regards to the conversation but the important things haven't been forgotten and one thing in particular. "I hope I can come up with something useful." Tyler starts to turn to take his leave from Magneto and stops, "You know, you're actually pretty cool. Nothing like what the news depicts. Just proves that they're uber biased on stuff." Tosses another toothy grin while flipping his hair out of his eyes with the quick shake of his head. "Nice to meet you, sir! I'll let you get back to your whatever you were going to do before I nearly knocked you over." If not stopped Tyler will pivot on a foot and walk off down the hall fiddling with his iPod though he's making sure to watch where he's going this time.
