Murderworld: Tessa, Kitty, Nolan
Mar. 23rd, 2018 12:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainNolan has a vision about Murderworld, and the three of them get researching to try and make something of it.
Usually, when Nolan had a vision, he reported to the infirmary as quickly as he could. This time, however, once he could pull enough of his brain together to function, he barely thought to save his work and sign out of the computer in his office before heading straight for the Professor's. On his way there, he texted Shaun with trembling fingers, a simple, Where are you? He had no immediate answer, and when he reached the Professor's office, he was unsurprisingly told to come in before he even knocked.
Some thirty minutes later, Nolan pushed into the workshop he shared with Kitty, expecting her and Tessa to either already be here, or to be on their way, following the telepathic message Professor Xavier had sent them both, instructing them to please meet Nolan there.
Nolan, who looked harried, to say the least, pale and nervous in a way he wasn't normally. His hair stuck out in a way that was not studied, and his shirt was half-untucked from his waistband. He looked nothing like his usual, well-put-together self, and with good reason. He had had much more important things to worry about than his appearance, in the wake of his vision.
Kitty was already there, looking agitated and on edge. She swiveled in her chair as Nolan came in, pulling the screwdriver from her mouth. "The Professor said to meet you here. The Professor has never told me to meet anyone anywhere. What's going on?"
Entering just a few moments behind Nolan, Tessa appeared more agitated than usual--though even that was still a faint crack in her typically glacial facade. "Professor Xavier has gone to Cerebro, but he suspects countermeasures may have been employed," she reported. "Our task will be to utilize more conventional means of intelligence-gathering." With that, the cyberpath seated herself at the nearest computer terminal and began tapping out an speedy rhythm on the keys as she began winnowing through the more obscure corners of the internet.
Nolan hadn't been sure what the Professor had told either of them, but at least Tessa seemed to have gotten a full update. "Some students are missing - probably missing." It might just be a coincidence, after all. There was no way of knowing when in the future it would happen. And it was only now dawning on his foggy brain that he would now have to tell Kitty about his visions.
First things first, he took a seat at his station and booted his two laptops, ignoring the way his hands were still shaking a little. Then he turned back to Kitty. "You never asked what my mutation was. I get visions. This one might be happening now. Shaun and Percy - maybe others. They're in danger."
"Right..." Kitty absorbed slowly, her eyes widening a little bit. Of course, she'd never asked because it had seemed like Nolan hadn't wanted to share, but now...well, she supposed his hand must have been forced. Pushing to her feet, she crossed across the workshop to a huge locked cabinet she'd had bolted in place. She reached through it, her hand phasing out as it passed through the metal.
"Okay. First things first," she told them as she drew out a pair of wirelessly connected smart glasses. "I've been working on something for a while that might help you guys with the scouring. I started this for Tessa, because her brain moves so much faster than a conventional processing unit. But when Nolan got here, I realized that he's totally got the chops to use one too. These are just prototypes, but they should make the search a little faster since they access eye and finger movement to allow you to navigate the internet."
The clatter of Tessa's fingers on the keyboard came to an abrupt halt, and she regarded the offered technology with something like wonder for a moment before--almost eagerly--slipping them onto her face. The glasses lit up immediately, and the cyberpath's fingertips twitched, her eyes moved scant millimeters one side or another--it was clear she was quickly coming to understand this new, significantly faster interface. "Katherine Pryde," she all but breathed, her very slight movements silent now, in contrast to the staccato of her conventional keyboard, "you are the most consistently amazing individual I know. Thank you."
Nolan reached out for the glasses, mouth agape, but then dropped his hand, and shook his head. "I'm touched. And can only agree with Tessa's assessment," he added, with a brief appearance of his soft-dry smile. Consistently amazing was Kitty, through and through. "But I'm afraid I wouldn't be much use with them right now. Not so soon after..." After a vision, but for some reason, he didn't want to finish the sentence, as if it might drive home exactly what was going on with his brain.
Kitty watched Tessa with a light in her eyes, relieved that the glasses seemed to be working for her so well. Then she turned to Nolan...and her eyes widened suddenly in realization. "Oh. Right. I...of course. That was dumb."
She set the second set aside and nodded, biting her lip. "Well, you know. When you want them."
Nolan nodded. "Thank you." If meeting her gaze was a little difficult right now, it was not at all about the glasses themselves, who he was convinced were a small marvel. "Tessa, would you..." He winced slightly. "Extract what useful information you can from my memories of the vision?" It would certainly be more efficient than him trying to think through the fog in his brain.
Never mind think through his fear for Shaun.
The cyberpath's slight movements stilled, and she turned back to Nolan; line of sight was not specifically necessary, but exercising the telepathic aspects of her abilities in such a way required more effort and attention on her part, and every advantage would be helpful. Also, it would probably be more reassuring to allow Nolan the illusion that he was the sole object of her attention for a few moments. A faint halo of purple energy appeared around her temples as she began sifting through the tangled mass of impressions, quickly building them into something comprehensible to conventional mental processing. "Shall I transmit the information to Kitty directly, or will we simply describe what you have remotely discerned?"
Kitty sat back on a stool, staring at all of this, not sure she'd ever seen Tessa do...whatever it was she was doing. "Um. Whatever's easier for Nolan."
"I'm not in much state to describe anything efficiently," Nolan dryly answered. Tessa, however, could handle either option herself. "Think of that first option as a data dump," he told Kitty. "Into your brain."
The psi-energy emanating from Tessa's brow and temples flashed briefly, and she carefully slotted the information she'd parsed from Nolan's fragmented vision into the forefront of Kitty's mind. "This is the quickest option," she reasoned. "And time is most likely of the essence. Anything we can do to expedite the recovery of our fellow students should be attempted. I will attempt to mitigate any brief disorientation that may ensue."
Kitty’s eyes widened as the images were transferred into her mind, and she sucked a sharp breath. “Okay. That’s. New. And disturbing - is that a giant pinball machine?”
"I think so," Nolan confirmed, looking pained. "I'll try and help. If there's anything - simple - you'd like me to do..." It cost him, having to admit how much the visions affected him to Kitty, but there was no place for his injured pride now. Not when Shaun's life was on the line, and that of other students, too.
"My apologies," said Tessa to Kitty, inclining her head. "I should have made a greater effort to familiarize you with this method of data dissemination. Perhaps there will be opportunity to address that oversight in the future."
To Nolan: "Would it be excessively trying for you to check the state power grid? The students could not have been taken long ago, and the fact that this video is broadcasting live limits the distance they could have been transported in secret. Moreover, the nature of the apparatus being utilized in their ... confinement will likely present a significant energy drain. I will cross-check purveyors of industrial-scale electrical generators, in the event our opponent attempted to evade such detection by powering this facility privately."
Kitty trotted over to Nolan's set up. "How about, I type, you tell me where to go."
Nolan wasn't sure that he would even be able to do that with any type of efficiency, but part of him still balked from admitting the extent of the seizure's effect on his brain, especially to Kitty. So instead of admitting defeat, he nodded, moving out of her way. "We can try." Maybe he would manage. Besides, Kitty's own skills would likely make up for any lapse in his thinking process.
And if anyone was going to be using his computer, it might as well be Kitty.
Usually, when Nolan had a vision, he reported to the infirmary as quickly as he could. This time, however, once he could pull enough of his brain together to function, he barely thought to save his work and sign out of the computer in his office before heading straight for the Professor's. On his way there, he texted Shaun with trembling fingers, a simple, Where are you? He had no immediate answer, and when he reached the Professor's office, he was unsurprisingly told to come in before he even knocked.
Some thirty minutes later, Nolan pushed into the workshop he shared with Kitty, expecting her and Tessa to either already be here, or to be on their way, following the telepathic message Professor Xavier had sent them both, instructing them to please meet Nolan there.
Nolan, who looked harried, to say the least, pale and nervous in a way he wasn't normally. His hair stuck out in a way that was not studied, and his shirt was half-untucked from his waistband. He looked nothing like his usual, well-put-together self, and with good reason. He had had much more important things to worry about than his appearance, in the wake of his vision.
Kitty was already there, looking agitated and on edge. She swiveled in her chair as Nolan came in, pulling the screwdriver from her mouth. "The Professor said to meet you here. The Professor has never told me to meet anyone anywhere. What's going on?"
Entering just a few moments behind Nolan, Tessa appeared more agitated than usual--though even that was still a faint crack in her typically glacial facade. "Professor Xavier has gone to Cerebro, but he suspects countermeasures may have been employed," she reported. "Our task will be to utilize more conventional means of intelligence-gathering." With that, the cyberpath seated herself at the nearest computer terminal and began tapping out an speedy rhythm on the keys as she began winnowing through the more obscure corners of the internet.
Nolan hadn't been sure what the Professor had told either of them, but at least Tessa seemed to have gotten a full update. "Some students are missing - probably missing." It might just be a coincidence, after all. There was no way of knowing when in the future it would happen. And it was only now dawning on his foggy brain that he would now have to tell Kitty about his visions.
First things first, he took a seat at his station and booted his two laptops, ignoring the way his hands were still shaking a little. Then he turned back to Kitty. "You never asked what my mutation was. I get visions. This one might be happening now. Shaun and Percy - maybe others. They're in danger."
"Right..." Kitty absorbed slowly, her eyes widening a little bit. Of course, she'd never asked because it had seemed like Nolan hadn't wanted to share, but now...well, she supposed his hand must have been forced. Pushing to her feet, she crossed across the workshop to a huge locked cabinet she'd had bolted in place. She reached through it, her hand phasing out as it passed through the metal.
"Okay. First things first," she told them as she drew out a pair of wirelessly connected smart glasses. "I've been working on something for a while that might help you guys with the scouring. I started this for Tessa, because her brain moves so much faster than a conventional processing unit. But when Nolan got here, I realized that he's totally got the chops to use one too. These are just prototypes, but they should make the search a little faster since they access eye and finger movement to allow you to navigate the internet."
The clatter of Tessa's fingers on the keyboard came to an abrupt halt, and she regarded the offered technology with something like wonder for a moment before--almost eagerly--slipping them onto her face. The glasses lit up immediately, and the cyberpath's fingertips twitched, her eyes moved scant millimeters one side or another--it was clear she was quickly coming to understand this new, significantly faster interface. "Katherine Pryde," she all but breathed, her very slight movements silent now, in contrast to the staccato of her conventional keyboard, "you are the most consistently amazing individual I know. Thank you."
Nolan reached out for the glasses, mouth agape, but then dropped his hand, and shook his head. "I'm touched. And can only agree with Tessa's assessment," he added, with a brief appearance of his soft-dry smile. Consistently amazing was Kitty, through and through. "But I'm afraid I wouldn't be much use with them right now. Not so soon after..." After a vision, but for some reason, he didn't want to finish the sentence, as if it might drive home exactly what was going on with his brain.
Kitty watched Tessa with a light in her eyes, relieved that the glasses seemed to be working for her so well. Then she turned to Nolan...and her eyes widened suddenly in realization. "Oh. Right. I...of course. That was dumb."
She set the second set aside and nodded, biting her lip. "Well, you know. When you want them."
Nolan nodded. "Thank you." If meeting her gaze was a little difficult right now, it was not at all about the glasses themselves, who he was convinced were a small marvel. "Tessa, would you..." He winced slightly. "Extract what useful information you can from my memories of the vision?" It would certainly be more efficient than him trying to think through the fog in his brain.
Never mind think through his fear for Shaun.
The cyberpath's slight movements stilled, and she turned back to Nolan; line of sight was not specifically necessary, but exercising the telepathic aspects of her abilities in such a way required more effort and attention on her part, and every advantage would be helpful. Also, it would probably be more reassuring to allow Nolan the illusion that he was the sole object of her attention for a few moments. A faint halo of purple energy appeared around her temples as she began sifting through the tangled mass of impressions, quickly building them into something comprehensible to conventional mental processing. "Shall I transmit the information to Kitty directly, or will we simply describe what you have remotely discerned?"
Kitty sat back on a stool, staring at all of this, not sure she'd ever seen Tessa do...whatever it was she was doing. "Um. Whatever's easier for Nolan."
"I'm not in much state to describe anything efficiently," Nolan dryly answered. Tessa, however, could handle either option herself. "Think of that first option as a data dump," he told Kitty. "Into your brain."
The psi-energy emanating from Tessa's brow and temples flashed briefly, and she carefully slotted the information she'd parsed from Nolan's fragmented vision into the forefront of Kitty's mind. "This is the quickest option," she reasoned. "And time is most likely of the essence. Anything we can do to expedite the recovery of our fellow students should be attempted. I will attempt to mitigate any brief disorientation that may ensue."
Kitty’s eyes widened as the images were transferred into her mind, and she sucked a sharp breath. “Okay. That’s. New. And disturbing - is that a giant pinball machine?”
"I think so," Nolan confirmed, looking pained. "I'll try and help. If there's anything - simple - you'd like me to do..." It cost him, having to admit how much the visions affected him to Kitty, but there was no place for his injured pride now. Not when Shaun's life was on the line, and that of other students, too.
"My apologies," said Tessa to Kitty, inclining her head. "I should have made a greater effort to familiarize you with this method of data dissemination. Perhaps there will be opportunity to address that oversight in the future."
To Nolan: "Would it be excessively trying for you to check the state power grid? The students could not have been taken long ago, and the fact that this video is broadcasting live limits the distance they could have been transported in secret. Moreover, the nature of the apparatus being utilized in their ... confinement will likely present a significant energy drain. I will cross-check purveyors of industrial-scale electrical generators, in the event our opponent attempted to evade such detection by powering this facility privately."
Kitty trotted over to Nolan's set up. "How about, I type, you tell me where to go."
Nolan wasn't sure that he would even be able to do that with any type of efficiency, but part of him still balked from admitting the extent of the seizure's effect on his brain, especially to Kitty. So instead of admitting defeat, he nodded, moving out of her way. "We can try." Maybe he would manage. Besides, Kitty's own skills would likely make up for any lapse in his thinking process.
And if anyone was going to be using his computer, it might as well be Kitty.
