Scott and Tessa | Backdated 10/11
Nov. 19th, 2017 11:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainTessa tracks down Scott to get his take on Magneto's declaration. Naturally, this leads to extensive plotting.
It was fortunate that Scott Summers was usually very regular in his habits; with many of the other students, a fair amount of searching--both physically and on the astral plane--would be required in order to locate them at any given time. Scott seemed to prefer a routine and, while it was certainly not ironclad nor utterly without flexibility, it did narrow her search area considerably. It also eliminated the need to resort to psionics, with which he had expressed some reservation in the past.
As such, Tessa had ventured into the garage, and now she walked among a variety of vehicles owned but the school, staff, and the more affluent of the other residents. Locating him was not difficult, given her advantages, and she cleared her throat to alert him of her presence prior to speaking.
"Scott," she said, "I think perhaps it is time we reviewed recent events, with an eye toward coordinating our eventual response."
Scott looked up from the engine he'd been tinkering with. Tessa, right. He couldn't help his constant impression that Tessa was...evaluating him, judging him. Not in a way that was mean, but in a way that was curious. It was eerily familiar, but Scott pushed that aside rather than think about it. "Hey," he greeted, setting down his tools and grabbing a rag to wipe his hands. "What's, uh....what's up?"
"I was interested in hearing your response to the recent nationwide declaration of intent by the leader of the Brotherhood," she told him without preamble. "If you would not object to sharing those impressions with me."
Scott stared at her for a long moment, tossing his rag on the bench and then crossing his arms over his chest as he thought. Finally, he said, "I think he is going to get the rest of us killed with that bullshit. Why, what do you think?"
"I think this development was inevitable, though the timing is certainly less-than-desirable. No group as diverse as ours could possibly achieve a perfectly unified consensus of opinion, and it would be naive to assume that the Professor was alone in gathering emergent mutants to him. It creates additional danger for us, of course, but not to a vastly more substantial degree than that which we faced previously."
He brought up a hand, tapping at his own chin with one thumb as he thought. "I think one or two of them have drank the kool-aid, believe the hype. I think a couple of them are too traumatized to have put a lot of independent thought into it or, to the extent they have, to have any real basis for comparison in doing so.
"I think he is exploiting kids that can be manipulated, and that they aren't all psychos, they just don't know or see a better way." They were him, had his life gone differently, which no doubt played into his own discomfort with the Brotherhood. "Some of them may be lost, but I don't think we can just write them all off."
"Then we will have to proceed with caution," Tessa said. "If any of the Brotherhood can be salvaged, then it is worth our while to make the attempt. Our numbers are too few, and the opposition to our existence too large, for us to expend an excess of energy combating each other."
"We can't afford to go to war with each other in earnest. Not if there is hope to change their minds. Not when we're already outnumbered by non-mutants," Scott agreed. He was silent for a moment then before forcing himself to ask, "What do you know about them? I'm sure you've done some recon." Tessa was Tessa, after all.
Like he'd told Trowa, not all skills had to be offensively oriented.
"I made discreet inquiries with the party attendees of my acquaintance," Tessa admitted. "This data I supplemented with what limited and often contradictory information is available online." Limited, but far from useless; once she screened the obvious bias on either side and focused solely on verifiable facts, in any event. "The Brotherhood has not existed long--at least, not as a group capable of presenting a genuine citywide threat. At the same time, I am under the impression that the group was assembled over a much larger period of time than this school has been operational. Their control and coordination in the field, moreover, is significantly greater than anything we could muster at this time, which, in my opinion, significantly mitigates our numerical advantage. The more powerful members--Scarlet Witch, Phantazia, and Magneto himself--reduce that advantage to nil, with the abilities they have demonstrated so far. And they are extremely close-knit. I do not think it likely we will find any serious cracks in their cohesion to exploit."
It pinged him in a way that might have registered as painful, had he not been focusing his energy on analyzing the data she'd just given him and instead focused on his own emotions. I do not think it likely we will find any serious cracks in their cohesion.... "We need to step up our game. They know each other in a way that we don't, and we will never be able to match them, let alone dissuade them," through force, to the extent necessary, "from continuing this campaign if we don't put in that work. That time."
Know thy enemy and know thyself. "Do you know what the endgame is? Magneto has to know if we go to war with humanity right now, we will lose. So what's his angle?" He had his own suspicions and thoughts, of course, but he wanted to know hers.
She did not nod at Scott's first point; it was as obvious to her as it was to him that this was the case, making affirmation superfluous. They would indeed need to commit significant time and energy to build a field team as capable as the one the Brotherhood now represented. The cyberpath would support such an effort to the utmost of her ability.
His question, however, had Tessa shaking her head, the dark hair that framed her jaw shifting with the movement. "Insufficient data," she told him. "I can only offer supposition, at this time. It is possible that this is a recruitment ploy; Magneto wishes to frame the relationship between baseline species and subspecies in adversarial terms as quickly as possible, in the hope of swaying the unaffiliated mutants who remain submerged in the population at large. Perhaps he is simply deranged, though I personally think it unlikely. And there is a significant possibility that he has conceived a stratagem which I am simply unable to anticipate at present."
He smirked a little. "I'm not sure if it's comforting or disconcerting to be on the same page, when being on the same page means knowing equally little."
One dark eyebrow arched wryly. "I suppose it is possible you could be experiencing both states simultaneously. Comfort and disconcertion are not very familiar to me." But her expression soon returned to its usual, serious cast. "I have been extremely careful regarding the gathering of intelligence on the Brotherhood, up to this point. Do you wish me to pursue more aggressive options?"
Scott frowned in thought as he mulled that over. On the one hand, there was so much they did not know, and that the Professor was not likely to help them learn. He wanted to play it cautious, fine, but Scott didn't like being in the dark. He didn't like not knowing. On the other hand, there was a reason or two for why the Professor was moving so slowly, so carefully. "How likely would they be to notice these more aggressive options?" He asked seriously.
"Variable," she said. "There are levels of aggressiveness, after all. I know have narrowed the vicinity of their base to a fairly small area. Once located definitively, I could attempt to extract the required information telepathically. Though it would be an extremely hazardous proposition." If only for her, personally.
Scott gave Tessa a smirk that was just this side of smug. "I actually know where their base is." He hadn't found it out on purpose, and he wasn't friends with Wanda for purposes of spying. But. That didn't mean he hadn't found it out anyway.
Her return look was utterly flat. "And yet, I still have more useful analysis to contribute. Interesting, is it not?"
"Hey, give me the one," he said, still looking unrepentant. Still, he immediately sobered. "What else?"
"In researching the Brotherhood leader, I have uncovered significant past ties between him and the Professor. I suspect this school was originally intended as a joint venture between the two. I also have reason to believe that the rift between the two began when they initially discovered the existence of the Right, and its victimization of young mutants."
Scott took that in, face blank. "And what do you think happened then?"
"I think there was a schism rooted in how best to respond to this reality." Tessa shook her head. "There are too many holes in the available data for me to offer anything more than speculation, and I am reluctant to travel very far down that road. But I believe this hypothesis fits the available facts."
He nodded slowly, clearly thoughtful. "So Magneto knows this place well, knows the Professor even better. That's an advantage and disadvantage that goes both ways."
"It makes for a very complicated battlefield," Tessa acknowledged. "Still. I do not think the Brotherhood will directly threaten us, if we do not oppose them openly. The Friends of Humanity, however, would actively seek to harm this school and all the students housed here, for no other reason than their genetic status. They are also a common enemy."
Scott nodded again. "And I'm guessing you've been looking into them, too."
She inclined her head. "Of course. They are, I think, an even graver threat than the Brotherhood. Between the legitimization they implicitly receive from Senator Kelly and the dehumanizing rhetoric of Graydon Creed--and the sheer numbers they appear able to marshal--I think that focusing on the Brotherhood would be a strategic error. We should, of course, monitor their activities, but they do not seek to destroy us at present. The Friends of Humanity do."
"We need to defend mutantkind from human assholes, with as little damage as possible, while simultaneously keeping an eye on mutantkind's own assholes," Scott summarized. "No pressure."
One corner of Tessa's mouth quirked upward. "No one ever promised it would be easy," she recited, as though by rote. "But yes," she went on, sobering again, "I suppose that is the most succinct possible appraisal of our present circumstances."
He was quiet a moment, rubbing his chin a bit as he thought. "You've been watching us all, and you're...a thinker. You've been evaluating us." Either consciously or subconsciously, it didn't matter. "Can I ask you a favor?"
"You may always ask," she said, regarding Scott thoughtfully. "Whether I agree or not would depend upon the specific nature of the favor."
"Would you review my training tapes, from the Danger Room?" She'd be well-within her rights to say no. After all, Scott spent a fair amount of time in there, and that was a lot of tape to get through even if she only did the last week or so. He spent at least an hour a day there, usually. And it wasn't as though Tessa didn't have better things to do. "I suspect your analysis would be invaluable."
Tessa offered him a genuine smile then, an expression that was warm, rare ... and fleeting. It was there a moment, then then the cyberpath's features smoothed back into their usual glacial neutrality. "Scott," she said, "what leads you to believe have not reviewed them already? But if it is an analysis you require, I am pleased to oblige. Are there any specific criteria I should emphasize?"
He chuckled. "Sorry, I should have assumed. And no. I don't want to bias your review in anyway. Just...any thoughts you had, strengths, weaknesses, things to work on."
"Trust," she told him without hesitation. "Personally speaking, you are perhaps one of the most highly-developed students at the school, in terms of control of your powers. There are not many present at the Institute who could hope to best you in a one-on-one competition--myself, included. But alone, you are not capable of checking the Friends of Humanity, or the Brotherhood. You require a team. A team you can trust. I do not think that will come easily, for you."
He took that feedback in stoically, stowing it in his brain for further contemplation. Most things came clearer the longer you sat with them, even if you were just working the issue over subconsciously. "It will take a lot of group practices," Scott conceded. He did not trust what he did not know, and he didn't know anyone's combat responses well enough to trust them. Not yet. That would take time, and exposure, and repetition.
"Yes," Tessa agreed. "I would suggest you begin with Bobby and Warren. And perhaps Jean. I can conceive of very little the four of you would be unable to overcome, acting as a coordinated unit." And these were the handful of people with whom Scott seemed reasonably comfortable. A much better starting point than attempting to press him into a group of complete strangers.
He nodded slowly. It wasn't a bad idea. At least as related to Bobby and Warren; Scott wasn't sure Jean would have any interest. Not that he wouldn't make the offer if it came up somehow, but he'd gotten the sense she felt uncomfortable with her level of control. He didn't want to push her on that. Still, though, Tessa's idea was a decent one. "I'll see if I can set something up with them."
"Good," Tessa said with an affirming nod. "And if I can be of any assistance, I hope you will alert me immediately." She studied him intently. "Despite your protestations, I do trust you, Scott Summers. Please do not imagine that this is something easily earned."
He swallowed, but otherwise did not show quite how...touched? Honored, maybe...he was by the sentiment. "Thanks," Scott said, just a touch awkwardly. "And thanks for your help. I really do appreciate it."
"I know," she said. "And that is why I am pleased to provide it. If we are to be better than the Friends of Humanity, better than the Brotherhood, then the first step must necessarily be to help each other as much as we are able. It is only logical."
"And if there's anything I can do for you, I mean...obviously you know where to find me." He was a creature of habit, after all.
It was fortunate that Scott Summers was usually very regular in his habits; with many of the other students, a fair amount of searching--both physically and on the astral plane--would be required in order to locate them at any given time. Scott seemed to prefer a routine and, while it was certainly not ironclad nor utterly without flexibility, it did narrow her search area considerably. It also eliminated the need to resort to psionics, with which he had expressed some reservation in the past.
As such, Tessa had ventured into the garage, and now she walked among a variety of vehicles owned but the school, staff, and the more affluent of the other residents. Locating him was not difficult, given her advantages, and she cleared her throat to alert him of her presence prior to speaking.
"Scott," she said, "I think perhaps it is time we reviewed recent events, with an eye toward coordinating our eventual response."
Scott looked up from the engine he'd been tinkering with. Tessa, right. He couldn't help his constant impression that Tessa was...evaluating him, judging him. Not in a way that was mean, but in a way that was curious. It was eerily familiar, but Scott pushed that aside rather than think about it. "Hey," he greeted, setting down his tools and grabbing a rag to wipe his hands. "What's, uh....what's up?"
"I was interested in hearing your response to the recent nationwide declaration of intent by the leader of the Brotherhood," she told him without preamble. "If you would not object to sharing those impressions with me."
Scott stared at her for a long moment, tossing his rag on the bench and then crossing his arms over his chest as he thought. Finally, he said, "I think he is going to get the rest of us killed with that bullshit. Why, what do you think?"
"I think this development was inevitable, though the timing is certainly less-than-desirable. No group as diverse as ours could possibly achieve a perfectly unified consensus of opinion, and it would be naive to assume that the Professor was alone in gathering emergent mutants to him. It creates additional danger for us, of course, but not to a vastly more substantial degree than that which we faced previously."
He brought up a hand, tapping at his own chin with one thumb as he thought. "I think one or two of them have drank the kool-aid, believe the hype. I think a couple of them are too traumatized to have put a lot of independent thought into it or, to the extent they have, to have any real basis for comparison in doing so.
"I think he is exploiting kids that can be manipulated, and that they aren't all psychos, they just don't know or see a better way." They were him, had his life gone differently, which no doubt played into his own discomfort with the Brotherhood. "Some of them may be lost, but I don't think we can just write them all off."
"Then we will have to proceed with caution," Tessa said. "If any of the Brotherhood can be salvaged, then it is worth our while to make the attempt. Our numbers are too few, and the opposition to our existence too large, for us to expend an excess of energy combating each other."
"We can't afford to go to war with each other in earnest. Not if there is hope to change their minds. Not when we're already outnumbered by non-mutants," Scott agreed. He was silent for a moment then before forcing himself to ask, "What do you know about them? I'm sure you've done some recon." Tessa was Tessa, after all.
Like he'd told Trowa, not all skills had to be offensively oriented.
"I made discreet inquiries with the party attendees of my acquaintance," Tessa admitted. "This data I supplemented with what limited and often contradictory information is available online." Limited, but far from useless; once she screened the obvious bias on either side and focused solely on verifiable facts, in any event. "The Brotherhood has not existed long--at least, not as a group capable of presenting a genuine citywide threat. At the same time, I am under the impression that the group was assembled over a much larger period of time than this school has been operational. Their control and coordination in the field, moreover, is significantly greater than anything we could muster at this time, which, in my opinion, significantly mitigates our numerical advantage. The more powerful members--Scarlet Witch, Phantazia, and Magneto himself--reduce that advantage to nil, with the abilities they have demonstrated so far. And they are extremely close-knit. I do not think it likely we will find any serious cracks in their cohesion to exploit."
It pinged him in a way that might have registered as painful, had he not been focusing his energy on analyzing the data she'd just given him and instead focused on his own emotions. I do not think it likely we will find any serious cracks in their cohesion.... "We need to step up our game. They know each other in a way that we don't, and we will never be able to match them, let alone dissuade them," through force, to the extent necessary, "from continuing this campaign if we don't put in that work. That time."
Know thy enemy and know thyself. "Do you know what the endgame is? Magneto has to know if we go to war with humanity right now, we will lose. So what's his angle?" He had his own suspicions and thoughts, of course, but he wanted to know hers.
She did not nod at Scott's first point; it was as obvious to her as it was to him that this was the case, making affirmation superfluous. They would indeed need to commit significant time and energy to build a field team as capable as the one the Brotherhood now represented. The cyberpath would support such an effort to the utmost of her ability.
His question, however, had Tessa shaking her head, the dark hair that framed her jaw shifting with the movement. "Insufficient data," she told him. "I can only offer supposition, at this time. It is possible that this is a recruitment ploy; Magneto wishes to frame the relationship between baseline species and subspecies in adversarial terms as quickly as possible, in the hope of swaying the unaffiliated mutants who remain submerged in the population at large. Perhaps he is simply deranged, though I personally think it unlikely. And there is a significant possibility that he has conceived a stratagem which I am simply unable to anticipate at present."
He smirked a little. "I'm not sure if it's comforting or disconcerting to be on the same page, when being on the same page means knowing equally little."
One dark eyebrow arched wryly. "I suppose it is possible you could be experiencing both states simultaneously. Comfort and disconcertion are not very familiar to me." But her expression soon returned to its usual, serious cast. "I have been extremely careful regarding the gathering of intelligence on the Brotherhood, up to this point. Do you wish me to pursue more aggressive options?"
Scott frowned in thought as he mulled that over. On the one hand, there was so much they did not know, and that the Professor was not likely to help them learn. He wanted to play it cautious, fine, but Scott didn't like being in the dark. He didn't like not knowing. On the other hand, there was a reason or two for why the Professor was moving so slowly, so carefully. "How likely would they be to notice these more aggressive options?" He asked seriously.
"Variable," she said. "There are levels of aggressiveness, after all. I know have narrowed the vicinity of their base to a fairly small area. Once located definitively, I could attempt to extract the required information telepathically. Though it would be an extremely hazardous proposition." If only for her, personally.
Scott gave Tessa a smirk that was just this side of smug. "I actually know where their base is." He hadn't found it out on purpose, and he wasn't friends with Wanda for purposes of spying. But. That didn't mean he hadn't found it out anyway.
Her return look was utterly flat. "And yet, I still have more useful analysis to contribute. Interesting, is it not?"
"Hey, give me the one," he said, still looking unrepentant. Still, he immediately sobered. "What else?"
"In researching the Brotherhood leader, I have uncovered significant past ties between him and the Professor. I suspect this school was originally intended as a joint venture between the two. I also have reason to believe that the rift between the two began when they initially discovered the existence of the Right, and its victimization of young mutants."
Scott took that in, face blank. "And what do you think happened then?"
"I think there was a schism rooted in how best to respond to this reality." Tessa shook her head. "There are too many holes in the available data for me to offer anything more than speculation, and I am reluctant to travel very far down that road. But I believe this hypothesis fits the available facts."
He nodded slowly, clearly thoughtful. "So Magneto knows this place well, knows the Professor even better. That's an advantage and disadvantage that goes both ways."
"It makes for a very complicated battlefield," Tessa acknowledged. "Still. I do not think the Brotherhood will directly threaten us, if we do not oppose them openly. The Friends of Humanity, however, would actively seek to harm this school and all the students housed here, for no other reason than their genetic status. They are also a common enemy."
Scott nodded again. "And I'm guessing you've been looking into them, too."
She inclined her head. "Of course. They are, I think, an even graver threat than the Brotherhood. Between the legitimization they implicitly receive from Senator Kelly and the dehumanizing rhetoric of Graydon Creed--and the sheer numbers they appear able to marshal--I think that focusing on the Brotherhood would be a strategic error. We should, of course, monitor their activities, but they do not seek to destroy us at present. The Friends of Humanity do."
"We need to defend mutantkind from human assholes, with as little damage as possible, while simultaneously keeping an eye on mutantkind's own assholes," Scott summarized. "No pressure."
One corner of Tessa's mouth quirked upward. "No one ever promised it would be easy," she recited, as though by rote. "But yes," she went on, sobering again, "I suppose that is the most succinct possible appraisal of our present circumstances."
He was quiet a moment, rubbing his chin a bit as he thought. "You've been watching us all, and you're...a thinker. You've been evaluating us." Either consciously or subconsciously, it didn't matter. "Can I ask you a favor?"
"You may always ask," she said, regarding Scott thoughtfully. "Whether I agree or not would depend upon the specific nature of the favor."
"Would you review my training tapes, from the Danger Room?" She'd be well-within her rights to say no. After all, Scott spent a fair amount of time in there, and that was a lot of tape to get through even if she only did the last week or so. He spent at least an hour a day there, usually. And it wasn't as though Tessa didn't have better things to do. "I suspect your analysis would be invaluable."
Tessa offered him a genuine smile then, an expression that was warm, rare ... and fleeting. It was there a moment, then then the cyberpath's features smoothed back into their usual glacial neutrality. "Scott," she said, "what leads you to believe have not reviewed them already? But if it is an analysis you require, I am pleased to oblige. Are there any specific criteria I should emphasize?"
He chuckled. "Sorry, I should have assumed. And no. I don't want to bias your review in anyway. Just...any thoughts you had, strengths, weaknesses, things to work on."
"Trust," she told him without hesitation. "Personally speaking, you are perhaps one of the most highly-developed students at the school, in terms of control of your powers. There are not many present at the Institute who could hope to best you in a one-on-one competition--myself, included. But alone, you are not capable of checking the Friends of Humanity, or the Brotherhood. You require a team. A team you can trust. I do not think that will come easily, for you."
He took that feedback in stoically, stowing it in his brain for further contemplation. Most things came clearer the longer you sat with them, even if you were just working the issue over subconsciously. "It will take a lot of group practices," Scott conceded. He did not trust what he did not know, and he didn't know anyone's combat responses well enough to trust them. Not yet. That would take time, and exposure, and repetition.
"Yes," Tessa agreed. "I would suggest you begin with Bobby and Warren. And perhaps Jean. I can conceive of very little the four of you would be unable to overcome, acting as a coordinated unit." And these were the handful of people with whom Scott seemed reasonably comfortable. A much better starting point than attempting to press him into a group of complete strangers.
He nodded slowly. It wasn't a bad idea. At least as related to Bobby and Warren; Scott wasn't sure Jean would have any interest. Not that he wouldn't make the offer if it came up somehow, but he'd gotten the sense she felt uncomfortable with her level of control. He didn't want to push her on that. Still, though, Tessa's idea was a decent one. "I'll see if I can set something up with them."
"Good," Tessa said with an affirming nod. "And if I can be of any assistance, I hope you will alert me immediately." She studied him intently. "Despite your protestations, I do trust you, Scott Summers. Please do not imagine that this is something easily earned."
He swallowed, but otherwise did not show quite how...touched? Honored, maybe...he was by the sentiment. "Thanks," Scott said, just a touch awkwardly. "And thanks for your help. I really do appreciate it."
"I know," she said. "And that is why I am pleased to provide it. If we are to be better than the Friends of Humanity, better than the Brotherhood, then the first step must necessarily be to help each other as much as we are able. It is only logical."
"And if there's anything I can do for you, I mean...obviously you know where to find me." He was a creature of habit, after all.
