2011-03-02: Power Trip

Players:

Chloe_icon.jpg Theo_icon.jpg

Summary: Theo and Chloe discuss powers, and Chloe tells about her desire to take a trip around the world on foot.

Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2011. 4:12pm.

Log Title: Power Trip

Rating: G


Xavier Mansion - Courtyard

Surrounded on three sides by the school, a large courtyard forms the front yard. The courtyard leads right up to the door of the mansion. Yellow square stone slabs cover the ground where the grass would be. The most noticeable thing about the courtyard is the large statue of Jean Gray, aka Phoenix, in the middle as a memorial. Benches surround the outside of the statue so students can sit and hang out in the courtyard. There are two paths leading off the courtyard, one to the left and the other to the right.


There aren't many places a girl can listen to some music and relax in private on school grounds, but when you fancy yourself as an expert climber and have a cybernetic hand it certainly expands your options. Which is partly why Chloe is perched at the top of the schools flag pole. The other and somewhat more important reason being that someone bet her twenty dollars she couldn't stay up there an hour without falling off and she needed some extra spending money for a new dress….

On top of a flag pole certainly fits the bill to get away from people, but Theo can hear the music all the way in his room. In fact, that's where he was when he looked out his window to spot the speedster on her perch. Proto exited the dorms first, heading through the quad and to the courtyard, followed by Theo. "Hey Chloe!" the technopath calls out. "What're you doing?" He adjusts his hoody, no backpack over his shoulder and a pair of blue jeans with sneakers, staring up the flagpole at the peculiar getaway location. "What are you doing up there?" he asks, shielding his eyes from the sun's light as he looks up at the girl.

Between the wind and her music Chloe could barely hear herself speak, let alone hear Theo shouting. She does at least spot him walking out and staring, because when you've been sat in one place for almost six hour subjectively your eyes tend to wander. "What's that?" she yells. "I can't hear you! Give me a minute and I'll be right down." Sure enough when the minute is up and her bet one she does indeed come down. The quickest (and to her mind most fun) way, landing with a thwump that would damage the stone slabs if they hadn't been designed for life at Xaviers.

Theo lets a smile cross his face, with one eyebrow quirked. "I was just wondering what you were doing up there," he answers. "I'm actually kinda surprised you stayed up there for the whole time it took me to get here from my room." Proto, meanwhile, encircles the place that Chloe landed, camera examining her feet. "Hello, Beautiful. Your landing without injury is improbable. Have you sustained damage?" the robotic voice asks. "Chloe!" Theo tells the bot. "Her name is Chloe." He turns a little red. Apparently somehow Chloe's name got changed in the database. "He got in a fight with the school defense system a few days ago," the boy explains quickly. "Still getting him back to normal."

"I'd been up there for the best part of an hour. It was a little tricky at first I must admit, the wind is pretty strong up that high, but once you get used to the swaying it's quite nice. Almost like being on a boat," Chloe explains cheerfully, dipping down to smile at Proto's camera. "I'm fine. It's really not a very long drop and terminal velocity is far less terminal for me. Although the landing kinda smarts if you mess up." She springs back to her feet and shrugs. "So aside from giving the teachers headaches by setting off the silent alarms what've yah been upto lately Theo?"

Proto clicks a picture at Chloe when she smiles. "Okay," is the simple response. The technopath shrugs to Chloe's question. "Been working," he starts with a rather drab response, but then suddenly remembers that he has done something very exciting at work, and his tempo quickens significantly. "Oh! I just put forth a major proposal for Stark Enterprises! Tony loved it. I came up with a solution to create a new low energy and highly efficient mass transit system that would create jobs for mutants, and put them in a positive light for business owners so that mutants would be seen for the good they can be to an economic system while not taking jobs away from regular humans to create envious situations thus creating a positive environment for the acceptance of mutants in culture!" And a breath. Theo is clearly rather excited about the event, not to mention proud. He said all that in one breath, and in a speedy run-on sentence that Chloe might appreciate better than most people would. He bounces a little as he tells of his accomplishment, hoping that she'll find it at least somewhat interesting.

Chloe giggles. "If you've pitched the idea that mutants like me and Heather could carry people on our backs then you'd better think again!" she teases. "Is this like a train thing? I mean you do kinda like them and unless you've been hiding a secret love for buses I can't imagine what it could be."

Theo laughs, "Yeah, it's the mag lev train. It's even faster than you. But the problem is it costs like a million bucks for just one mile of track. However, if Stark Industries utilized mutants with job specific powers instead of machinery, they could offer excellent wages for those powers, and still save boatloads of money, dropping the price to less than half of that." He beams. "So you and Heather would just have to transport goods instead. You could be a delivery girl!" Since that's better. "Anyway, the trains would use less than 20% the energy a plane uses, and would have absolutely no exhaust."

Chloe frowns. "Won't you have to knock down all kinds of buildings and parks to connect places up?" she wonders. "But yeah it does sound like it'd be better than everyone using cars. Which would mean it'd be safer for me to run on the streets!" With a sigh she adds "You should see the new training stuff Quicksilver has had me trying. I swear some of it is just to make me look stupid! Like vibrating my molecules through a solid object aka Chloe runs face first into a wall. Or running on water, codename Chloe goes splish. But still it's not like I haven't picked up a ton of useful stuff. Fast world combat tricks and my endurance has never been better."

"Bet that makes everyone in your bushido class jealous," Theo adds. "Does he really make you run into walls?" he asks. "It'd be the best thing ever to have superspeed, you have the coolest power. I've been wondering if I could link my mind to a supercomputer if I could have super thinking speed, but it still wouldn't be the same as being able to run on water." Proto seems disinterested in the conversation, and begins wandering toward the mansion, something Theo doesn't seem too concerned about. "So are you liking the training over all? Or would you rather just stick with the combat part?"

"Bushido isn't really all about the fighting and right now I'm just at the most basic level. So my power hasn't come up yet," Chloe explains with a shrug. "Well, once. It was padded and I don't actually feel pain when it's important, so it didn't really hurt or anything. Running on water is /very/ hard, I managed one step once before I sank. You kinda have to skip yourself across the surface at my speed, because I can't step fast enough to make the water behave like a solid. Maybe someday I'll be fast enough to manage it properly though." She rolls her shoulders and paces back and forth. "He does have a lot of knowledge which is worth me learning, especially how to cope with the downsides of the power and things to watch out for. Like if my ability to digest food doesn't improve in step with my energy use I might need special high energy suppliments, that sort of stuff."

"Yeah, I guess, I never thought about that," the technopath says. "Since my power is all mental, it doesn't have any real physical requirements. My power's not nearly as fun, though, either. Having to listen to Addison drone on about mental focus and control makes me want to tear my ears off, though." The technopath leans up against the pole. "I sometimes wonder though, when you're moving at superspeed, it's not fast to you, right?" he says. "It just feels normal. But when you talk to me and walk around at our speed, it doesn't look like you're moving in slow motion. Do you just get the hang of moving at exactly one sixth your normal speed? Or do you like, turn off your power mentally?"

Chloe waves her hand. "Nope it feels normal to me and even when I talk at your speed I still think and see at the same rate. I guess it's a little of both really. I've been told that I'm altering the biochemical processes in my body instinctively," she replies. "But I also had to train myself to physically cope with it without getting muscle cramps. It still hurts a lot of the time even now, because my body ends up with either too much or not enough of things. Biology isn't my strongest subject but I kinda figure the cells I'm slowing down don't pass on things to the surrounding ones as well when they're slowed. If that makes any sense?"

Theo shrugs. He really does understand biology stuff fairly well, like the rest of his classes, but he doesn't want to show off his nerdness too much. "Well, that's good, I've always worried that it would bore you to talk to me because I sounded Alllll sloooowww mooootionnn," he moves his arms as people do in the movies when they are in slow motion. "And I'd hate to bore you," he adds. He fidgets for a moment with his fingers, before letting them drop again.

"I've had to pick up the knack of thinking about other stuff while I chat to people," Chloe admits sheepishly, peering off to make sure Proto isn't playing poke the laser turrets or anything similar. "Because even if I can make people sound right I'm still thinking faster. So I get bored waiting for people to finish saying things if I'm not also say… checking the surroundings for escape routes in the event of a zombie attack. Or finding a word which rhymes with every word someone says and yet is also relevant to the conversation, although that game is /really/ hard. I might suggest it for Heather though she would probably find it all kinds of fun."

"I'll just have to start using the words orange and purple more often around you to keep you on your toes," Theo says with a grin. He shoves his hands in his pockets, and follows Chloe's gaze over to Proto, who is examining the flowers that have not quite bloomed yet. "I think Proto is doing some botanical research," he observes. "You have a favorite flower?" he asks.

Chloe shakes her head. "Not really. They're okay to look at I guess but they don't really /do/ anything. Trees are better, 'coz you can climb them and they're much more majestic," she says, grinning at the robots antics. "Oh and you can try, but some words are excluded by the rules. Like and or the. Because it would make the game utterly dull trying to rhyme every single word. How about you? Are you into nature much?"

Theo grins, "I used to be in Boy Scouts back in Virginia," he confesses, as if it was a horrible thing. "I know it's kinda dorky, but I liked going camping and stuff. We'd usually go on a weekend camp out every month." He rolls his shoulders, "Since coming here, I guess all that stuff kinda dropped to the side. So I just walk back in the woods, and pretend I'm camping for a bit ever so often, and try to forget that the school is just a stone's throw away." He lets out a laugh, "Kind of ironic, considering my powers. If I had been born two hundred years ago, I could've been a mutant, and nobody would have ever known."

"You'd have probably ended up with a different power," Chloe ventures. "I mean the way powers don't fully kick in until we're old enough implies to me that they're not quite set in stone, if that makes sense? So if you'd got your power in the past you might have ended up able to control more mechanical technology or something." She shrugs. "Just a silly little theory I've come up with since coming here. Too many people with powers that reflect who they are or the surroundings they spent lots of time in."

"Well, I never did anything with technology before I came here," Theo says, "Hate to shatter your theory. I just worked on trains with my dad in my spare time. Not the fancy ones, either. Just old freight engines. When I figured out what my power was, I decided I might as well get some use out of it, rather than have all this headache for nothing. Tony has helped a lot with teaching me to use it." Of course, Tony isn't a mutant, he's a super-genius. "So if you could've picked what your power was, what would it have been? Would you have gone with superspeed, or something different?" He's looked away from Proto, and the little robot grabs one of the sprouting bulbs by the base, pulling it up from the ground.

"Did anything except lived surrounded by it all your life," Chloe counters, pulling out her cellphone as an example. "Phones, televisions, microwaves and all kinds of stuff. If I'd known my life would end up like this I think I'd have probably picked superspeed yeah, although maybe I'd have tried to get regeneration thrown in as an optional extra. Regrowing my hand so I didn't almost bleed to death would have been way better. Of course then I wouldn't have the coolest mp3 player in the school."

Theo reaches out for Chloe's bionic hand, if she'll let him. "Can I see it? It's way cooler if you had my power. I can hear every little movement inside of it. And all your mp3s of course, but each joint moving, every nerve impulse translates into something with it. You're lucky we had Forge to build you a new one." He suddenly is aware of Proto's activities behind him. "Proto! Put it back." The robot glances back at Chloe and Theo, and places the plant back in its place. "I swear he's like a puppy," he mutters. "So if you could pick your perfect guy, would he need to have superspeed too?" he asks. Loaded? Definitely.

"I'm not sure any puppies have caused as much trouble with the security system," Chloe teases, holding her hand out grudgingly for inspection. "Personally? I'm kinda happy not having your power along with it. Can you imagine how annoying it would get having every movement of your fingers echo in your head? It would drive me insane /so fast/." When the topic of guys comes up she frowns. "To be honest I don't think I'm all that bothered about dating, at least not right now. I just wanna finish school and then travel the world for a bit. then figure out if I want a regular job or to try the superhero thing."

"Well that's no good," Theo contests, prodding a little on the back of Chloe's bionic knuckles. "We all know you'd make a great superhero, but what good is traveling the world if you don't have anyone to enjoy it with you? You're only young once, ya know," he suggests. "My parents got married when they were eighteen. Enjoyed the rest of their lives together. Had eight kids. I mean, they were never rich or anything, but they went out and did things together all the time. Traveled a bit when they first got married, then came back to Virginia where they both grew up."

Chloe splutters. "I'll bet they did with eight kids," she exclaims, before wincing. "Uhm sorry. That was probably not a thought you wanted to have in your head." She frowns and adds "I considered taking Heather along, but I don't think travelling the world would be a great idea for her. Or the world… And no-one else could really keep up with my schedule. I plan on every country in South America first on foot."

Theo laughs, "Hey, it's not like I don't know they did it," he answers, releasing the girl's hand, albeit hesitantly. "Sign of a healthy marriage if you ask me. So what? You just gonna go visit all these great exotic places, and then every time you see something that takes your breath away, you'll just talk to yourself about how nice it is? Maybe take a picture?" He shakes his head, and taps the back of his noggin against the flag pole. "You think you're bored with how slow people talk, think of how boring it'll be with nobody to talk at all?"

"I'll meet people along the way," Chloe points out confidently, flexing her cybernetic fingers. "I plan on learning every language I need before my trip. I'll also be working as I go to make the money I need for food so there will be plenty of things to keep me busy. I thought about it and the trip probably wouldn't work with someone at slow-world pace. It could literally take /years/ to finish, simply getting to Mexico would be a huge undertaking and would cost a small fortune in food and accommodation costs."

"I think it'll still cost you a small fortune in food costs," Theo comments with a grin. There's something rather disappointed about it, though. "Well, maybe you can take a video phone, and then you can share the moment with people even if they're way back here," he says. "I think it'd be cool to visit South America. But I guess I couldn't keep up with your schedule, you're right." He sighs quietly, trying not to let his frustration with the matter show.

Chloe shrugs. "Maybe I'll arrange to meet people in various cities if I get lonely," she concedes. "Have people fly out for a vacation at the same time I'm dropping into that part of the world. Catch up, share stories and stuff. I hadn't planned on taking anything high tech with me, but I guess a decent cellphone might be handy. Especially one with maps loaded into it. Getting the battery charged might be tricky, but like you said being able to film cool stuff would be nice for sharing things later on."

"Yeah," Theo says, seeming to lose steam on the topic. "Well, I guess that'd be good," he answers her suggestion. He shoves off from the flagpole, putting his hands back in his pockets. "Chloe…" he pauses for a moment, as if there's something significant he has ready to exude. "I hope your life is everything you hope it will be. You're the most fantastic girl I've ever met." He looks at the ground, and then back to her for a moment. "I got some studying to do, but I'll catch you later for practice."

Chloe blinks a few times at the declaration, then blushes. "Uhm…." she murmurs. "Thanks? Practice, yeah… I'll cya later. I better go collect the money for the bet." She gives the top of the flag pole a longing look, then with a brief wave springs off to take one of her short cuts. Up the side of the building and away.

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