xavier_institute_logs | Dark Clouds, Silver Linings

Entry tags:

Dark Clouds, Silver Linings

Who: Everyone!
What: The news of the day, brought to you live.
Where: Around any TV screen, computer, radio, or newspaper.
When: All week.
Warnings: Reference to major NPC death. If a thread goes into warning territory for anything else, toss it up in the subject line or take it to a new log.

"...not the cure that everyone has been hoping for, but researchers working with the virus ravaging mutant enclaves around the country claim to have reached a breakthrough -- a treatment which can stop the contagion from spreading from person to person. For more on this, we're joined by our medical specialist..."

"...ravaged by riots for the second time this year, District X citizens have been organizing to repair the damage that's been done not only the the buildings and infrastructure, but also to their sense of community. Several people are in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody in connection with the recent outbreak of violence, but few details have emerged so far..."

"...outpouring of grief from mutant communities and their supporters internationally after a high-profile member of the X-men's death was confirmed. Kurt Wagner, known to the public as 'Nightcrawler', was a long-time staff member at the Xavier Institute, rumored in recent months to have been suffering from the virus affecting mutants around the nation and the world. When asked for comment, a representative of the school asked for peace and privacy, and declined any further discussion..."

"...slight drop in mainstream support for candidates Norman Osborn and Graydon Creed attributed to their well-publicized outbursts against, among others, the mutant and pro-mutant protest groups that have been dogging them on the campaign trail. A video taken just last week of Osborn's rambling and incoherent response to a question posed to him by a mutant attendee of a meet-and-greet event went viral, prompting mockery even from some of the other candidates in the primary..."

"...international news, President Kelly has set a date for a new round of discussions with Genoshan leadership. Speaking with the press this morning, he said that he wanted to give his thanks to them personally for the help that their researchers have provided in the past weeks, and to continue making steps towards the normalization of relations..."

[OOC: As always, feel free to react to any of these prompts or even to related things that aren't explicitly posted here!]

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Viti grumbled, letting his head fall.

"Well trying to convince people by talking to them certainly hasn't worked."

"And what, exactly, are you trying to convince them of?"

Viti slowly walked up to Alex, pressed his glasses up his nose with one finger, and looked strait into the young man's eyes. "I knew you guys had gotten sick in District-X before you even got back, but when I warned people nobody listened!"

"Huh. Precog or clairvoyant?"

Sure, Alex was a touch annoyed that someone had known he was sick and hadn't told him, but he hid it behind a calm mask of only mild interest.

"What would that have accomplished other than land us in quarantine sooner? Which, by the way, none of us would have thanked you for."

"My brain absorbs information from the universe, anything from scientific facts to poems from other planets. I don't have a word for that. At the very least, it could have prevented Zancrow and Kaede from catching the disease from Liir. I had hoped to assemble a team to fight the disease using my backlog of medical knowledge, but no one would hear me out."

Alex took a physical step back as Viti described his power. Because oh hell no.

"So you wanted to be the hero."

Clearly not something Alex has a high opinion of.

"And what makes you think your 'backlog of medical knowledge' is better than Dr MacCoy's experience? An ability to pluck facts from the air does not make you a genius medical researcher."

"We could have used both." Viti's brows crossed.

"But MacCoy didn't want that. He wanted to be high and aloof!" Viti threw his hands up in the air in frustration, rolling his eyes.

Viti didn't know it, but his voice started to rise.

"Oh sure, blame the adults when they tell you 'no'. Maybe he didn't want to risk exposing a student with no medical experience to a clearly dangerous virus. How much do you know about how your power works?"

Viti opened his mouth to speak, but for a second he just stood. His eyes became shifty.

"Well ahh...I know quite a bit from hearing about other people who've had it...uhh. Not every detail but I picked up a few things recently and..." His voice was much quieter.

Viti looked up into his thought, but then he crossed his arms and lifted his chin up in pride.

"...I know that distance is no object, so I could've helped away from the virus, but not that I should have. Other people put themselves in danger for the greater good so why shouldn't I?"

"Because you're still a kid!"

Alex sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose, and tried to ignore the headache pounding at his skull for just a little longer. He will probably never agree with Xavier's practice of using students as soldiers, but as long as those students aren't coerced into anything and are fully aware of the level of danger they're signing up for, whatever.

But he still thinks the adults should solve their own fucking problems and leave the teenagers out of it.

"Let me see if I have this straight. Your power is to pluck information from thin air, which has, from the comment you just made, caused some incidents between yourself and others, probably when you voiced something they consider private, which further implies you don't have full control over what you do and don't pick up."

Viti blinked in bewilderment. Just standing there his mouth dropped in aww.

"Holy shit! I did not say that, but that's a perfect summation of what's been happening! My power has been prying into people's secrets!"

Viti suddenly jumped with his two palms raised in defense. "But don't worry your secrets are safe! Professor Aqua, taught me how to shut my power off!" He suddenly raised a brow.

"Wait, what's your power? Can you read minds?"

"No. I don't read minds. I'm just good at reading between the lines."

What exactly his power is, Alex refrains from saying.

"Turning it off is a start. But what about when it is on and you're wanting to use it? How much control do you have over exactly what information comes in?"

[ooc: hahaha I was about to say, Viti is welcome to pry into Alex's secrets, but boy would Alex not like it]

Viti sighed, and looked away. "My power is random, except when I interact with people a filter activates, so that my power only takes in facts that relate to the person I am interacting with. Except, they don't usually seem related. They always seemed like harmless facts from an encyclopedia, until people started attacking me."

Viti sighed again, his voice lowers as his gaze falls to the ground. "Turns out, my power always goes after the very secrets people want to keep most. No one knows why, or even how."

[ooc: yeah, Viti wouldn't do it anyways. He's still a little traumatized from when that dragon attacked him.]

"Thus why you're at Mutant High. Look, kid, you have good intentions and all, wanting to use your power to help, but until your control issues are themselves fully under control, they're probably going to keep saying no."

And dear God was Alex glad Blunt had never heard of this kid. He could think of a dozen ways his powers could have been misused at Blunt's behest.

[ooc: never tickle a sleeping dragon :| or get on Tiamaris' bad side]

Viti stood with his head high again. His eyes darted as he tried to calculate his way out of Alex's words. But he couldn't.

"Alright, fine. I will take the time to master my powers, and I won't bother the higher ups until I do, but just one question."

Viti stepped forward, perhaps too close to Alex's comfort.

"What are your power?"

Oh, it was definitely too close for Alex's comfort, but he just stared down at the younger boy.

"The technical term is 'probability manipulation.' I can affect how likely or unlikely something is going to happen. Within limits."

There was also a weak precog ability and bioenhanced reflexes, but those are directly tied to his probability ability and aren't really worth mentioning.

Viti's pupils dilated, and he stepped back. His eyes opened wider. Viti knew that probability was more than just rolling dice and playing cards. It was a fundamental property of the universe and his mind went wild with the possibilities, but did this person before him know the true potential of his power? If he didn't, was it a good idea to tell him?

Viti sighed again. "I should not waste another moment. My power isn't going to learn to control itself." He smiled weakly and turned away. He was about to walk away, but looked back.

"By the way, I didn't get your name."

[ooc note: You have a way with powers that appear weak, but are actually very strong."]

Alex could tell the younger boy understood the implications of his power. Luckily, his powers fell well short of reality breaking, or even Jones might have prohibited his leaving England. Alex was used to hiding just how much he could do with his ability, as well as its actual boundaries. Better to let people think him limited or unaware of the extent of his powers. It usually worked out better for him.

"Alex. What's yours?"

[ooc: Thanks! I like powers that aren't the usual superhero variety. It takes some fun thinking.]

Viti cracked a smile. "Viti DeFalco."

He walked off.

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Dark Clouds, Silver Linings

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