Tessa and Midnighter
Aug. 26th, 2013 04:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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om_mainThe two computer-brained kids have a conversation. Points are made; Midnighter isn't that pissed off (relatively speaking): it all goes as well as it possibly could have.
It wouldn't be long before the earliest risers among the students got to the gym, but Midnighter figured he still had at least an hour. And he intended to make the most of the empty gym while he had it, which, for now, consisted of testing the limits either of his strength, or of the punching bag meant specifically for those with enhanced strength. He was going at it gradually, instead of giving it his all; he wasn't certain whether he could pull a muscle, but he was in no hurry to find out. He had wrapped his hands for the same reason, and been thrown by how familiar it had felt. But of course he knew what to do; his file had made it clear that he had been trained even before this started happening to him.
Given how relatively little else there was for his senses to manage, he was aware of someone coming towards the gym before they even pushed the door, and he stopped punching the bag the moment they did, to turn around and face the intruder. "Don't come close," he warned her, and watched her. No turning back to the punching bag until he knew where she was headed.
Clad in a soft gray t-shirt and black pajama bottoms, Tessa looked as though she might have just emerged from bed, except he hair was precisely combed, and her demeanor exuded total-self-possession. In fact, she had come to the gym specifically, at specifically this hour, to evaluate the new arrival now regarding her with such intensity. As she regarded all students that potentially posed a danger to the others.
She cocked her head slightly when he addressed her. And, her tone not so much challenging as curious, she asked, "Or what?"
She had no apparent forcefield like Braddock did, and was not particularly strong that he could sense, either, but it did not mean anything. "Unless you've got something going for you that I can't sense," which he was not ruling out, although his tone did not make that clear, tense as he always sounded, "you don't want to fucking find out."
To all appearances unperturbed, Tessa stepped closer. "No?" she mused. "I think you may underestimate my curiosity." She could perceive his mind running through the scenarios, positing a thousand different ways to neutralize her, cripple her, kill her. But her composure remained outwardly unaffected. "Surely you do not feel threatened by me. Your physical prowess far exceeds my own."
"If that's true, then you really don't wanna get too close," Midnighter retorted. He had stayed in place when she had taken that one step forward, but he had visibly grown even more tense than he had been.
"Your concern for my well-being is unnecessary," she said. "While your are physically my superior, I am still quite capable of defending myself." Tessa took another step forward. "I can demonstrate, if that would put your mind at ease."
"I'd rather you didn't," Midnighter protested, fists clenching. He wasn't afraid of her, he was afraid for her, and even if she by some extraordinary feat could get the better of him... well, nothing put his mind at ease, these days.
Tessa finally did cease her advance, and regarded Midnighter with aloof scrutiny. "I insist. I think it will be useful information for you to possess." She began subtly, at first, as she did not wish to overwhelm his psyche, but rather only to illustrate, as she had said. A susurrus of alien thoughts began to trickle into the augmented teen's mind, slowly at first, but quickly increasing to an insistent chorus--indistinct, like the noise and chatter of a busy city street, but impossible to filter out or ignore.
Midnighter wasn't sure what was happening, at first. But as the sensation grew, he caught on - and had to acknowledge what kind of defense she'd meant. "You made your point, fucking stop that," he snapped, the sensation uncomfortable to say the least, although less so than the knowledge she could get into his brain.
Though the her psychic infiltration had begun slowly, it vanished the moment Midnighter ceased speaking. Tessa inclined her head. "I haven't made my point entirely, no," she said. "My point is that, while I may not be the most powerful or versatile telepath at the Institute, I am almost certainly the most vindictive when provoked. This may prove a useful addition to your tactical calculus."
Take her out first, and take her out for good. That was what Midnighter knew, now, but he had no fucking clue why she was letting him know that. "You think I'll ever have to go up against you?"
"That depends entirely upon you," she told him straightforwardly. "The defense of this school and its students is my primary motivation; as the Headmasters have seen fit to invite you to attend, that would make your protection a part of my usual responsibilities. But I also protect the other students from threats both external and internal. It seemed appropriate to inform you that I will take such steps as are necessary, should you ever do harm to any of your classmates."
And there she went, flipping the tables on him. It made no strategical sense that he could figure out. "If it was about protecting the students from me, you wouldn't let me know how you'd go about it." But if it was about protecting the students from her, then it made sense. And only then.
"You are correct, in part," Tessa nodded. "In one sense, the warning is intended to act as a deterrent. However, I admit that as formidable as my capacity for contingency planning may be, even I cannot anticipate all outcomes. There may come a time when the school will need to be defended from me, though the possibility is a remote one." She shrugged. "But remote or not, it is an eventuality for which I would prefer we were prepared."
"I don't think deterrents would work on me," Midnighter let her know. His brain didn't take knowledge as deterrent, that he had experienced so far. It took knowledge as power; power to better get ready for any option out there. "But now, I'll be ready."
"Perhaps," she tilted her head in acknowledgement. "If there is anything I can do to assist you in you in acclimating to this new environment, please do not hesitate to alert me. Otherwise, I shall leave you to your training."
"Tessa, right?" he asked before she could turn to go. Tam had mentioned her name, and she spoke like someone that had a brain somewhat like his. She didn't piss him off half as much as regular kids; in fact, other than what she'd done to his mind, she hadn't pissed him off at all.
Pausing, the cyberpath studied Midnighter's face for a moment before replying, "In this time, in this place, yes. You may refer to me by that designation." It wasn't her real name, of course. But it was convenient, and she had grown somewhat accustomed to it. Even if she suspected her codename was perhaps a more fitting moniker. One corner of her mouth quirked upward. "It may lack the poetic ring of 'Midnighter', but discretion was my aim in selecting it."
Midnighter really could care less about the poetic ring of his name, sarcastic or not. "I didn't choose it," he simply answered, flatly. It was tempting to ask what he ought to call her in another time, in another place, but if she wanted to let him know, she would.
"Perhaps not, but you have chosen to keep it," she observed. "I suppose I can understand why you would prefer to forego something more nondescript, given your unique personal challenges. It seems unlikely you would have retained it for sentimental reasons."
"Unlikely," Midnighter echoed, on a tone that let on that he would really have said fucking impossible. It wasn't as if he remembered anything to make it about sentimentality.
Tessa inclined her head. "So you retain it to remind others, and yourself, that you are abnormal, and to be treated as such."
"I'll come up with something if I'm in need of discretion," he confirmed. Pick a normal name at random. Who knew; it could happen. Some had come out as mutants; he likely never would. Talk about freaking people out.
"It seems probable that discretion of that kind will be required, someday," she said. "For now, I imagine our primary objective must be restoring your ability to function in a social environment without the likelihood of gross physical violence occurring at random."
"Well put," Midnighter stated, when he really would just have said 'allowing him to cross people in the hallway without having to struggle not to punch their faces in'. "Our?" She'd said the defense of the school and its students; she hadn't said jack shit about helping him. He wasn't sure how she could, or that he would want her to. The fewer people in his mind, the better.
"Your acute aversion to telepathy limits our options," Tessa went on, "but perhaps we will be able to use it as a tool of conditioning. Obviously, we cannot stop your particular thought processes without significantly impairing your effectiveness. But we must find a means of enabling you to function in a normal setting without acting upon the more aggressive of your impulses."
Yeah, Midnighter didn't like the way she was making his business hers. He understood it, for the sake of the other kids, and of anyone he might cross paths with - that was why he wasn't telling her to fuck off straight away - but he didn't fucking like it. "I'm already working on it." It was a more polite kind of fuck-off, coming from him. There was nothing she could do for him, short of stuff he didn't want her to.
Tessa regarded him cryptically for a moment, then said, "Very well. In that case, I wish you all possible success. And I will be available, should you require my advice or assistance." This time, she did turn to leave.
And this time, Midnighter let her, for all that he waited until she was out of range of his senses to turn back to his work-out.
It wouldn't be long before the earliest risers among the students got to the gym, but Midnighter figured he still had at least an hour. And he intended to make the most of the empty gym while he had it, which, for now, consisted of testing the limits either of his strength, or of the punching bag meant specifically for those with enhanced strength. He was going at it gradually, instead of giving it his all; he wasn't certain whether he could pull a muscle, but he was in no hurry to find out. He had wrapped his hands for the same reason, and been thrown by how familiar it had felt. But of course he knew what to do; his file had made it clear that he had been trained even before this started happening to him.
Given how relatively little else there was for his senses to manage, he was aware of someone coming towards the gym before they even pushed the door, and he stopped punching the bag the moment they did, to turn around and face the intruder. "Don't come close," he warned her, and watched her. No turning back to the punching bag until he knew where she was headed.
Clad in a soft gray t-shirt and black pajama bottoms, Tessa looked as though she might have just emerged from bed, except he hair was precisely combed, and her demeanor exuded total-self-possession. In fact, she had come to the gym specifically, at specifically this hour, to evaluate the new arrival now regarding her with such intensity. As she regarded all students that potentially posed a danger to the others.
She cocked her head slightly when he addressed her. And, her tone not so much challenging as curious, she asked, "Or what?"
She had no apparent forcefield like Braddock did, and was not particularly strong that he could sense, either, but it did not mean anything. "Unless you've got something going for you that I can't sense," which he was not ruling out, although his tone did not make that clear, tense as he always sounded, "you don't want to fucking find out."
To all appearances unperturbed, Tessa stepped closer. "No?" she mused. "I think you may underestimate my curiosity." She could perceive his mind running through the scenarios, positing a thousand different ways to neutralize her, cripple her, kill her. But her composure remained outwardly unaffected. "Surely you do not feel threatened by me. Your physical prowess far exceeds my own."
"If that's true, then you really don't wanna get too close," Midnighter retorted. He had stayed in place when she had taken that one step forward, but he had visibly grown even more tense than he had been.
"Your concern for my well-being is unnecessary," she said. "While your are physically my superior, I am still quite capable of defending myself." Tessa took another step forward. "I can demonstrate, if that would put your mind at ease."
"I'd rather you didn't," Midnighter protested, fists clenching. He wasn't afraid of her, he was afraid for her, and even if she by some extraordinary feat could get the better of him... well, nothing put his mind at ease, these days.
Tessa finally did cease her advance, and regarded Midnighter with aloof scrutiny. "I insist. I think it will be useful information for you to possess." She began subtly, at first, as she did not wish to overwhelm his psyche, but rather only to illustrate, as she had said. A susurrus of alien thoughts began to trickle into the augmented teen's mind, slowly at first, but quickly increasing to an insistent chorus--indistinct, like the noise and chatter of a busy city street, but impossible to filter out or ignore.
Midnighter wasn't sure what was happening, at first. But as the sensation grew, he caught on - and had to acknowledge what kind of defense she'd meant. "You made your point, fucking stop that," he snapped, the sensation uncomfortable to say the least, although less so than the knowledge she could get into his brain.
Though the her psychic infiltration had begun slowly, it vanished the moment Midnighter ceased speaking. Tessa inclined her head. "I haven't made my point entirely, no," she said. "My point is that, while I may not be the most powerful or versatile telepath at the Institute, I am almost certainly the most vindictive when provoked. This may prove a useful addition to your tactical calculus."
Take her out first, and take her out for good. That was what Midnighter knew, now, but he had no fucking clue why she was letting him know that. "You think I'll ever have to go up against you?"
"That depends entirely upon you," she told him straightforwardly. "The defense of this school and its students is my primary motivation; as the Headmasters have seen fit to invite you to attend, that would make your protection a part of my usual responsibilities. But I also protect the other students from threats both external and internal. It seemed appropriate to inform you that I will take such steps as are necessary, should you ever do harm to any of your classmates."
And there she went, flipping the tables on him. It made no strategical sense that he could figure out. "If it was about protecting the students from me, you wouldn't let me know how you'd go about it." But if it was about protecting the students from her, then it made sense. And only then.
"You are correct, in part," Tessa nodded. "In one sense, the warning is intended to act as a deterrent. However, I admit that as formidable as my capacity for contingency planning may be, even I cannot anticipate all outcomes. There may come a time when the school will need to be defended from me, though the possibility is a remote one." She shrugged. "But remote or not, it is an eventuality for which I would prefer we were prepared."
"I don't think deterrents would work on me," Midnighter let her know. His brain didn't take knowledge as deterrent, that he had experienced so far. It took knowledge as power; power to better get ready for any option out there. "But now, I'll be ready."
"Perhaps," she tilted her head in acknowledgement. "If there is anything I can do to assist you in you in acclimating to this new environment, please do not hesitate to alert me. Otherwise, I shall leave you to your training."
"Tessa, right?" he asked before she could turn to go. Tam had mentioned her name, and she spoke like someone that had a brain somewhat like his. She didn't piss him off half as much as regular kids; in fact, other than what she'd done to his mind, she hadn't pissed him off at all.
Pausing, the cyberpath studied Midnighter's face for a moment before replying, "In this time, in this place, yes. You may refer to me by that designation." It wasn't her real name, of course. But it was convenient, and she had grown somewhat accustomed to it. Even if she suspected her codename was perhaps a more fitting moniker. One corner of her mouth quirked upward. "It may lack the poetic ring of 'Midnighter', but discretion was my aim in selecting it."
Midnighter really could care less about the poetic ring of his name, sarcastic or not. "I didn't choose it," he simply answered, flatly. It was tempting to ask what he ought to call her in another time, in another place, but if she wanted to let him know, she would.
"Perhaps not, but you have chosen to keep it," she observed. "I suppose I can understand why you would prefer to forego something more nondescript, given your unique personal challenges. It seems unlikely you would have retained it for sentimental reasons."
"Unlikely," Midnighter echoed, on a tone that let on that he would really have said fucking impossible. It wasn't as if he remembered anything to make it about sentimentality.
Tessa inclined her head. "So you retain it to remind others, and yourself, that you are abnormal, and to be treated as such."
"I'll come up with something if I'm in need of discretion," he confirmed. Pick a normal name at random. Who knew; it could happen. Some had come out as mutants; he likely never would. Talk about freaking people out.
"It seems probable that discretion of that kind will be required, someday," she said. "For now, I imagine our primary objective must be restoring your ability to function in a social environment without the likelihood of gross physical violence occurring at random."
"Well put," Midnighter stated, when he really would just have said 'allowing him to cross people in the hallway without having to struggle not to punch their faces in'. "Our?" She'd said the defense of the school and its students; she hadn't said jack shit about helping him. He wasn't sure how she could, or that he would want her to. The fewer people in his mind, the better.
"Your acute aversion to telepathy limits our options," Tessa went on, "but perhaps we will be able to use it as a tool of conditioning. Obviously, we cannot stop your particular thought processes without significantly impairing your effectiveness. But we must find a means of enabling you to function in a normal setting without acting upon the more aggressive of your impulses."
Yeah, Midnighter didn't like the way she was making his business hers. He understood it, for the sake of the other kids, and of anyone he might cross paths with - that was why he wasn't telling her to fuck off straight away - but he didn't fucking like it. "I'm already working on it." It was a more polite kind of fuck-off, coming from him. There was nothing she could do for him, short of stuff he didn't want her to.
Tessa regarded him cryptically for a moment, then said, "Very well. In that case, I wish you all possible success. And I will be available, should you require my advice or assistance." This time, she did turn to leave.
And this time, Midnighter let her, for all that he waited until she was out of range of his senses to turn back to his work-out.
