Tessa and Billy Backdated

[ax_wiccan]

Tessa helps Billy work on his powers while Billy learns more about Tessa and her past.



When he had gotten Tessa's message, Billy had immediately started to feel anxious, wondering if this training would end up okay or he would just end up making a bigger fool of himself than he already had.

He made his way down to the Danger Room where they had agreed to meet, spying the small serious girl right away. "Hey, Tessa!"

He gave her a small wave as he came to stand beside her. "So, what do you have planned for me today?"

When Billy arrived, Tessa was just placing the finishing touches on the apparatus she had set up near the center of the cavernous training space. It resembled nothing quite so much as a more than typically elaborate lightning rod, with a number of gauges and other monitoring devices built into the base. "Nothing excessively complex," she told him. "First, we will attempt to gain a sense of your maximum possible output. Our other trials will be based mostly on what we learn from this first one."

She nodded at the thin spire of metal and wiring. "When you are ready." So, saying, she stepped well clear to minimize the potential for accidental injury.

Billy stared at the lightning rod for a moment before turning to look at Tessa a little bit embarrassed. "Umm...so I'm not exactly sure how I'm supposed to give it my strongest shot. My electricity seems to be very temperamental unfortunately."

He moved a little closer to the rod and held out his hand, hoping that he would at least get something. Small blue sparks started from his finger tips and he closed his eyes as he tried to concentrate on something much bigger.

"Come on. Come on. Come on...!" A weak current shot out towards the rod and Billy wanted to die. "Sorry, I know I can do better! Just give me a second."

"You may relax, Billy. It is not possible for you to err, in this scenario; we are simply gauging your abilities for future reference. And we may take as long as you need to feel satisfied with our initial results."

Billy glanced at the rod again before giving a more confident nod. "Okay. Let me give it another shot."

He tried to think back on some of the times his electricity had really let loose and focused in on those feelings he had. It had been a lot of terror and being scared, which he wasn't right now, but maybe...

He placed his hand against the rod and closed his eyes. You can do this, Kaplan. His hand sparked to life and while gritting his teeth, Billy sent a large shock through the metal.

"Impressive," Tessa noted. "A substantial improvement, even based on the very basic readings we have available here on the floor. I'm sure the control room will be able to afford even more detailed results." She studied him. "So. What factor changed between your first attempt and your second? Think carefully; it may provide clues to unlocking even greater potential."

He turned back to Tessa and gave a small shrug, though it felt pretty great being able to channel that power when he had intended to. "I was thinking about the other times my lightning went big, I had been scared of being hurt or upset. Kind of a self-preservation instinct I guess? I tried to feel like that again, or at least remember how it felt?"

None of that word vomit made any sense and he sighed as he rubbed his thumb against his forefinger, creating a small spark. "Sorry, Tessa."

She frowned, but waved his apology away briskly. "Apologies are unnecessary. However, an ability that you can only use when you perceive yourself to be danger or in times of extreme anxiety is of very limited use. For now, we will proceed from the assumption that your control can be improved." It wasn't a certainty; the specifics of any given mutation could vary wildly from individual to individual. But to presume the worst without additional data would be self-defeating.

"O-okay." He hoped that was the case, he didn't want to go around in life shocking poor random people or constantly being worried he might kill them. "Do you want me to do another strike or something else?"

"Try again, please," she told him. "If this exercise proves unproductive, we can move on to another."

"Alright." Billy rubbed his hands together as he turned back to the rod, closing his eyes as he tried to focus in on that emotion he had used earlier. Maybe it didn't have to be a negative emotion all the time, he shocked Teddy with the amount of voltage he wanted when they were joking around.

Billy tried focusing on something happier, something that made him excited and he jumped when his lightning shot from his hands to the rod.

Tessa watched impassively, though she did make some notes in her phone. "Interesting. Your abilities do appear to be connected in some fashion to strong emotional reactions. Perhaps that is where we should focus our attention, for now. We can work on removing that element once you are able to create a reliable charge." If that element could be removed. There was much yet to be learned concerning the x-gene and its apparent mass-manifestation among the present generation. Perhaps the somatic and chemical responses which accompanied an enhanced emotive state were key to Billy's gifts, in some fashion.

"Removing my emotions?" Billy asked a little dumbly, his hair starting to stick up from two large charges in a row. "I mean I like pretending to be as macho as the next guy, but I'll be the first to admit to being pretty emotional."

"Nothing so extreme as that," Tessa corrected. "But we should, in my opinion, make an effort to separate your emotions from your gifts as much as possible. Ideally, we would attempt to reach a level of control at which your effectiveness and control of your powers is neither impaired nor enhanced by the presence of absence of emotion."

Billy stared at her for a moment before smiling and scratching at his chin. "You know, Tessa. Sometimes I forget you're just a kid like me. I mean that as a compliment by the way."

"We are of similar physical age," she conceded. "But I suspect our experiences have been very different. Even setting aside the unique perspective afforded me by my powers, the nature of my experiences during my formative years were very different." She did not mention that, had her powers not manifested when they did, it was not likely she would have survived to the ripe age of seventeen. It was not a fact on which she cared to dwell, nor were such considerations productive.

Billy bit at his lip before deciding just to go for it, cause the worst she could do was just not tell him.

"What kind of experiences?" He asked quietly.

She watched his face, for a moment, considering. They were wandering a bit far afield of their intended purpose, but part of her reason for attending the school was to address the social deficiencies now evident in her personality. Perhaps this interlude would be of benefit to them both. "For the year prior to my enrollment at the Institute, I traveled across Europe and the Middle East. Before that, I lived alone in a cave in eastern Afghanistan. If you wish to know more, I will tell you, but with the caution that it is not a pleasant story."

"Alone in a cave?" Billy gasped out, quickly doing his best not to gape at her or anything because that would be so fucking rude after she had decided to tell him. He wondered for a second if maybe he didn't want to hear it, but he had asked and he wasn't going to stop her now.

"Geeze, Tessa, that sounds awful." He put his hands in his pockets and moved closer towards her. "I would like to hear more if you want to tell it."

"It was not a comfortable time," she acknowledged, "but less interesting than I suspect you might imagine. My main priorities were acquiring sufficient food and water and ensuring my own personal security on a day-to-day basis. Conflicts between a variety of armed groups is very common in that region, and the simplest approach was to scavenge the remains of past battles for items of use, and engage in limited trade with some of the stabler villages for anything I could not secure by other means. It was monotonous and unrewarding. But I did not seriously imagine any other way of life was possible for me until I met the Professor."

Billy opened his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words-any words- to say to the fact that the young girl in front of him had lived in a cave and scavenged in a country that had on going war in it. After a while he just closed his mouth and moved to stand next to her, awkwardly reaching out a hand and placing it on her shoulder to give it a squeeze. "Tessa, I'm sorry. I honestly have no idea what to say to that except for sorry. How did you meet the Professor? Did he find you like he did a lot of others?"

She glanced at the hand on her shoulder briefly, but did not shrug it off, or call any specific attention to it. "There is no reason for you to be sorry. You are not culpable in any of these events. And, while I appreciate the sympathy you have demonstrated, I would suggest that there are more appropriate subjects for it. I survived all these experiences, and am here now where I may devote my energy to goals beyond simply sustaining myself across the undifferentiated succession of years.

"As to your specific question, in fact the Professor seems to have stumbled over me by chance. Or, rather, I stumbled over him. He was traveling through the region on unrelated business, and we happened to pass through the same village at the same time. It was my first encounter with another telepath."

This girl was unlike anyone he had ever met before and his urge to show some kind of comfort was being rocked by how bluntly she told her horrific story. Billy chewed on his bottom lip before giving her shoulder one more squeeze and pulling his hand back to himself. "And how did that go? How old were you by the way? How long had you been living in the cave?"

He realized he was rapid fire question and he closed his mouth.

"It was," her attention grew distant for a moment, "a singular event. I do not think that a non-psi can appreciate what can be shared between two telepaths, even in a relatively short span of time." Tessa then appeared to give some consideration to Billy's other questions.

"I am not entirely certain of my exact age, but I would speculate that I was fifteen or sixteen, at the time I met the Professor for the first time. I had been living in the cave for perhaps four years or so before that."

Billy watched her for a moment, surprised how after all of that she was still able to function, or maybe what she had been through helped shape her into how she was today. "And after that? You traveled? With the professor?"

"No," she shook her head. "I rejected his offer, initially. After I had reconsidered, I traveled alone, for the most part."

"Did you know you're amazing?" Billy blurted, hoping she knew how just fucking crazy great she was. "Like, I'm serious here. Deadly serious."

"Your appraisal may be slightly exaggerated by emotion," Tessa pointed out placidly. "There are many here whose abilities and skills are far more impressive than my own. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the sentiment. It is kind of you to say."

"Me? Exaggerate with emotion? Naaah." He joked with a smile, but shook his head. "I'm not exaggerating here, doesn't matter if other's powers are more impressive, you still are amazing to me."

She inclined her head as an indication that she had understood and accepted the ironic nature of his words. Then, "Thank you. I accept the compliment in the spirit with which it was offered. However, I think we have gone a bit far afield of our original purpose for reserving this space today. Perhaps we should attempt a few flight exercises next, as a change of pace?"

Billy immediately withdrew at that suggestion, knowing that out of all his stupid powers, flight was the one that physically scared him the most. "Ah, I mean, I guess we could. I mean, I should try, cause that would be good for me, to learn how to control my powers, right?"

Bleh. Okay. Now, here is where it got a little scarier. Unlike with Warren, Tessa didn't fly, so if he fell there would be no net. "Umm, how high exactly were we thinking here?"

"Whatever attitude is comfortable for you is acceptable," she said, turning to wave toward the control room overhead. At first, nothing happened, and she waved again, her mouth turning down faintly in impatience. Clearly Mr. Corsi's attention had wandered during her conversation with Billy. Finally, the floor plates began to move, solid metal giving way to a mass of soft plastic which began to fill with air. "Try to keep yourself above the safety cushion as much as possible. There are other provisions available if you fall outside the area, but it were best we kept things simple."

Billy frowned when she started waving her hand at the control room, but when the floor started to move and the adult bounce floor came into view, he understood.

"Okay." He let out a surprised laugh. "Okay, this I can get down with more than trying to fly over a metal floor."

He walked out onto the cushions, feeling a bit like he was a kid again, and tried to focus as he closed his eyes. The ability to rise into the air had never been hard for him and soon he floated into the air as his body started to glow blue. He then frowned and opened his eyes, the five feet off the floor not seeming so bad with the cushions. "Alright...are you wanting me to try higher or just float?"

"Before attempting to ascend, perhaps a test of your mobility is in order," she said. "Being airborne affords you an advantageous perspective, but it also makes you a conspicuous target. You will need to be able to maneuver to make the most of this attribute. Try moving from one end of the safety cushion to the other at your current altitude."

"Uh, okay." How the hell did someone do that? If he'd had wings he could use them to shift from one spot to another, but he had no wings so what did he do? Flap his arms? God, that would be embarrassing.

How did JP and JM fly? Billy tried to focus on the few times he'd seen them move in the air, like they had been born to be up there. He tried to focus on moving, the idea of getting from point A to point B, and shocked himself when he found his body floating slowly towards the other side. "Ha! Tess! Look!"

Then he lost it and fell onto the bouncy cushions.

"Very good," Tessa observed. "You have made considerable progress today. Would you care to try again?"

Billy scrambled up, almost losing his balance a couple of times, and nodded to her question. "Yeah! Yes! I would like to try again!"

She could not help but smile at the other teen's enthusiasm, though the expression remained characteristically reserved. "Very well," Tessa said. "You may proceed when ready."