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| Somewhere I Belong; Elixir, Angel | |
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| Topic Started: Sep 10 2008, 08:38 PM (492 Views) | |
| Elixir | Sep 10 2008, 08:38 PM Post #1 |
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Time of day: 5:30pm Place in the timeline: September 6th *SLAM* The sound of a fourteen-gauge door slamming against the metal frame it hung from rang throughout the large, men's locker room, its owner glaring at the stainless steel as if he had a vendetta against it. Looking around to make sure he was the only one present, the shirtless golden mutant threw a fist at the same door, causing it to protest loudly once more. Another punch... and another. Josh lowered his fist and his glare managed to become even more fierce as he examined the door, unscathed by his assault. What's the deal? Why do I feel like a loser even here? Josh turned around and fell back against his locker and stared blankly at a wooden bench for several moments while lost in thought over his predicament – finally throwing his fist down by his side to beat on the metal door one last time as he squeezed his eyes shut. These Danger Room things are stupid. I end up feeling like a complete tard every time I step in that stupid crazy room. I mean... I'm in there with nothing to do. There's Callan, who can zap people with her electric powers. Jono can blow things up. Billy is ridiculously powerful and could basically shove somebody's pants up their butt while they're being worn. And Wolverine... well he's just some crazy nutty nut guy that can kill like a hundred people in seconds in a completely dark room. And then there's me... what can I do? Heal people to death? Maybe I should learn to use a gun. He slowly began to slide down the locker until he landed in a sitting position and was able to wrap his hands around his knees. Resting his chin on his hands, he blinked a couple times to keep his eyes from stinging, not understanding why this was affecting him so much that he wanted to cry. After all... this whole thing wasn't worth shedding tears over. This whole thing is stupid. Why do they think that they need to train all of us to use our abilities to fight or use in combat situations? Weapons have been around for a long time and there've been school shootings for years, but you don't see teachers showing their kids hand-to-hand or how to shoot at moving targets. Why do there have to be so many mutant spazzes out there that make it so hard for the rest of us to just have a nice life without learning this stuff? Why can't Magneto just die? Wasn't he dead? I thought dead meant dead. And now he's visiting the school and killing cops and little kids. Josh's mind wandered back to how his life had been less than two months ago... he had a great group of close friends... one of which had been his best buddy since they were eight. Saturdays found him at the mall, or the skate park, playing basketball or X-Box. He'd had a girlfriend who was amazing. An entire football team and basketball team... he had always been surrounded by people and found it easy to make friends with most of them... but all of that was gone now and the dramatic change was taking its toll on the kid. Meh... I just feel alone. All these guys can do this stuff and I don't... I wasn't built like that and I feel like they're all walking away from these things talking about how much they kicked butt and I get this crazy twisted feeling in my stomach, and I'm tired of it. I don't even have a cool code name like they all do... He let out a long, depressing sigh as he stared blankly at the bit of floor between his feet. I'm just tired of feeling like a freak among the freaks, and I hate it. And I don't like throwing pity parties for myself... I don't like being all emo. I just want to draw and feel like I belong somewhere. |
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| Warren Worthington | Sep 12 2008, 01:36 AM Post #2 |
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Technically it wasn't evening yet, and already the day felt like had overly long. Early morning meetings that lasted until midday, followed by the long drive from the city to the Mansion to teach a few classes was how Warren had passed the time until the clock ticked past five and he had some time for himself. He had no functions to attend, nothing to organise, no squad training or mentor meetings and very little marking which all in all was a very rare thing for the winged mutant. Someone else would have chosen to relax in front of the TV or something similar, but after a day sitting in conference rooms, cars and classrooms he wanted to do something active, work off some lingering frustration and restless energy. Usually he would go for a fly, and while he planned on doing that later, right now he felt like engaging in something in little more physical and stress relieving. Knocking the wiring out of a few robotic enemies in the Danger Room sounded like exactly what the doctor ordered. And maybe imagining that some of them was a certain uncle of his wouldn't hurt either. Dumping a pile of essays in one of the desk drawers, he stood up, grabbing his jacket and bag and heading up to his room. He was intending on grabbing his practice swords and heading down to the Danger Room before anyone else stole the free spot. Taking two steps at a time, he moved quickly, throwing open the door to his bedroom and chucking his belongings on his bed. His uniform was down in the sub-basement locker room but he preferred to keep his weapons, practice or not, near by just in case. It was a move that had paid off more than once. He didn't have the offensive powers of Jean and Scott or the brute strength of Hank and so he'd had to adapt and learn other ways to use his natural abilities and mutation to his own advantage. Picking up his sheathed swords, the two swords crossed diagonally over each other, leather straps wound around, Warren was already in motion towards the door. it didn't take him long to jog down the stairs and towards the sub-basement, riding the elevator, leaning his head against the metallic wall for the short journey deep into the deeper levels of the Mansion. The doors opened, and Warren pushed himself away from the wall and strode out into the corridor, making a steady line for the locker room. Entering the changing room, the always unpleasant smell of sweat and slightly old clothing hitting him in a wave as the door swung inwards. Without really paying attention he walked to his locker, placing his swords on the bench and opening the lock, his mind moving quickly between the various simulations he could work on. It was only when he opened the locker door that he realised he wasn't alone. He turned his head, blue eyes coming to rest on one of the students sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around his bent legs. He had met Josh a few times, fleetingly, the Infirmary after the Afghanistan mission coming to mind but he heard about his arrival from Scott, and how badly the newly developed mutant's father had reacted to the news. It was all very familiar but none the less tragic and frustrating. "Hey, Josh. Sorry, I didn't see you there." He said, moving back from his locker and taking a few steps towards the kid. "What's up? Everything okay with you?" Warren questioned, already guessing that no, not everything was okay with the golden mutant. |
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| Elixir | Sep 28 2008, 08:23 PM Post #3 |
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"Hey, Josh. Sorry, I didn't see you there. What's up? Everything okay with you?" On the outside, Josh didn't move for the first few moments... he merely kept staring at the floor as if it were a window into a world that made much more sense than this one – a world that didn't suck. On the inside, however, Josh nearly jumped out of his golden skin; Mr. Worthington's words blindsided him like a Ford F350 hitting a fawn. Sure... he was in the boys' public locker room where anyone could have walked in at any time, but it almost felt like no one would intrude on Josh's solitude right now... as if some unknown force actually made the world stop in its tracks to reflect on the hardships of Josh Foley. Those words shattered that realization. Finally, Josh looked up to finally look at the man who had asked him if everything was ok. Um... no. My family hated me before I was a mutant. Now I'm somewhere between bread mold and a cockroach as far as they'd be concerned if my teachers hadn't mind-wiped them. And now I feel like a tard with a lame power in these stupid danger room things. Even at mutant school, I'm like the nerdy white kid that gets picked last... and I don't even like fighting. I don't want to spend my whole life fighting, but what if that's what I have to do? “Yeah, I'm... everything's fine. Just a long Danger Room session,” Josh lied as he slowly began to stand up. “I think I'll take off now.” With that he quickly brushed past the winged mutant, forgetting the things still in his locker. Suddenly, he froze in place... Mr. Worthington... he was in charge of a group of students... they did Danger Room sessions... maybe he could just ask. Josh finally turned around, “Mr Worthington... um... why do we do this stuff?” Josh... shut up. You sound like a dork. “Actually... nevermind. I'm gonna go.” With that, he turned to leave. |
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| Warren Worthington | Sep 29 2008, 05:16 PM Post #4 |
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At first he thought the student might not answer him, too lost in his own contemplation to register the words or unwilling to get into a conversation. Warren waited patiently until Josh looked up at him, his answer, when it came, was hurried and had the air of brushing off the question and concern. He could relate to that, and perhaps it was the truth, Logan was Josh's mentor after all and the man was not known for going easy on his students. Before Warren could really respond or react, the healer was on his feet and moving towards the exit. "Okay. See you later..." Warren said, a small frown of concern forming on his features, about to speak and let Josh know that if he needed to talk to about anything, the golden skinned mutant could come and find him whenever. Fitting into a new school could be incredibly hard, but doing it while coming to terms with the fact you were a mutant and doing it all without the support of family or friends could be painful and lonely, and Warren simply hoped that Josh knew that however bad it got, he wasn't alone in any of this. He didn't get much beyond inhaling and parting his lips before the younger mutant had stopped by the door and blurted out a sudden question. “Mr Worthington... um... why do we do this stuff." Once more, Warren didn't have time to reply before Josh was on the move for the door again, but this time, Warren took a few steps forwards, following after. "Wait a minute, Josh, don't run off." He said quickly. "What you asked before... I take it by "stuff" you mean the Danger Room session?" It was a guess, but not exactly a huge leap of logic considering where they were and the comment the student had made. Running with the assumption, he carried on to explain. "We do it for a number of reasons. One of the main reasons is that every student needs a safe place to be able to train with their powers and learn control safe in the knowledge that they can't do any damage. Another reason is learning to work in a team and bond with other people in the Mansion, because as I'm sure you've worked out, it can be a big, lonely place sometimes." He gave a brief smile at this point, watching Josh carefully, wondering if he was just going to bolt as quickly as possible, before carrying on. "We also do it because even though not everyone will carry on to become an X-Man, we do have enemies out there who will harm anyone under this roof regardless of age, gender or the powers we possess, either because we're mutants or because we follow Xavier's Dream. The Danger Room sessions are one way of ensuring that all the students have the skills to defend themselves." Perhaps that was a little too much like a lecture for Josh's taste, but it got the point across, and Warren relaxed his demeanour a little bit. "Do they bother you... the Danger Room sessions?" He questioned. |
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| Elixir | Oct 1 2008, 06:04 PM Post #5 |
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"Wait a minute, Josh, don't run off...” Josh paused at the door, his lips tightening in frustration that the teacher hadn't just brushed off his moment of spazzing out and let him go. Maybe he can tell that you're about to spaz out and he wants to help. You're not exactly Mr. Subtlety, now are you? “What you asked before... I take it by "stuff" you mean the Danger Room session?" Josh slowly turned to look at Mr. Worthington, nodding his head in answer to the winged mutant's question. Now came the lecture. "We do it for a number of reasons... it can be a big, lonely place sometimes." Damage? What damage could Josh do to anyone? He fixed things... he didn't break them. He couldn't shoot lightning from his hands, or crush a cue ball in one hand. He healed people. What kind of danger or threat could he possibly pose to the masses? And as far as bringing people closer together, he didn't see it; if anything, he felt even further from people... like the only nerd in a house full of jocks. "We also do it because even though not everyone will carry on to become an X-Man, we do have enemies out there who will harm anyone under this roof regardless of age, gender or the powers we possess, either because we're mutants or because we follow Xavier's Dream. The Danger Room sessions are one way of ensuring that all the students have the skills to defend themselves. Do they bother you... the Danger Room sessions?" Josh hesitated... trying to figure out how he should answer that question. He didn't want to sound like he was ungrateful for the effort these people were putting forth to make sure they were ready for this world, but he just didn't feel like a lot the activities they pushed applied to him – he was a special case. Still... it was eating at him and the older man did ask. “I don't know... well yeah... kinda. It's just that...” he trailed off, unsure of exactly how to say it. Come on Josh... just tell him. “I can't do any of the stuff that my team mates can. Billy can shoot lightning and make forcefields, so can Callan. Even Mr. Logan can take apart a crowd full of people on his own.” He looked at the floor, sliding his toe over it as he fought to continue, “You guys are trying to teach us to defend ourselves, but all I can really do is just whack at someone with a tire iron or a baseball bat or something.” He looked back up at the older mutant, “And you're trying to teach us how to use our powers safely, and I don't understand how that applies to me! I mean, what am I gonna do to hurt someone? Accidentally heal somebody of a cold? Yeah... that'll really make them hate me. Don't you guys just have a crash course Danger Room series that only lasts for a week? It feels pretty pointless for guys like me.” But then again... no one else at the mansion seemed to deal with these feelings. “Or maybe it's just that I'm the only one who can't really participate cause I have lame abilities... I just don't feel like I really belong doing something like that. And I don't know if I feel comfortable with all the violence.” And there it was. At first, it was all he could do to think of something to say, and now that he had gotten started, he couldn't shut up... he felt stupid. |
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| Warren Worthington | Oct 9 2008, 04:39 PM Post #6 |
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Warren could help the small, wry smile that crossed his lips as Josh listed all the things his team mates could do that he couldn't. It was a very familiar problem, one that some of the students at the school struggled to deal with, but also one that Warren personally had dealt with when he first came to the Mansion. He'd be lying if he said it didn't bother him still. He waited until Josh had finished airing his issues before he said anything, recognising that perhaps the boy just needed to vent for a while, uninterrupted. "Believe it or not, I truly understand Josh. I was part of the first generation of X-Men that Charles assembled and useless doesn't really cover how I felt. I mean, look at me, I have wings. Big deal. The most I thought I could hope for was that whoever we were fighting was allergic to feathers, or perhaps very religious. Jean had her telepathy and telekenesis, Scott was basically storing a sun behind his eyes, Mina could blow anything up with a thought. I thought I would always be the weak link." He gave a little bit of a shrug and smiled. "To be honest. I still feel like that sometimes. But I've learnt how my wings can be an asset, and I trained extensively so that I can fight. True, I had to work a lot harder and be a little more inventive with how I fought but it paid off because I've been able to save other people and my team mates on numerous occasions." He paused, looking at Josh carefully, considering whether to continue or not. After all it was him they were discussing, but Warren had learnt that sometimes a lot of the students just needed to know they weren't alone in what they were experiencing, and nine times out of ten they really weren't. "Then my healing factor developed, and that changed a lot of things for me. I finally felt useful, like I could really do some good with this. I don't know if you're aware but my blood carries accelerated healing properties, so I can heal faster than the average person and through blood transfusions, help other people heal. I started donating blood to the Institute and to a hospice for terminally ill children and learnt how to perform a blood transfusion so if anything went wrong in the field, there was something I could do to help out my team mate." He decided to wind it down at this point, acknowledged that he'd probably talked enough. "Anyway, I'm not telling you this for no reason but I just want you to know that there are ways to deal with how your feeling. Your gift is probably one of the most amazing mutant power going, Josh, one of the most useful." Warren hesitated for a moment, considering what could be done; clearly Josh wasn't suited for the Danger Room sessions, though he would still need some training. "Perhaps the Danger Room session aren't the best thing for you all the time, but we're flexible here because everyone's needs are different, so it's possible we could organise some other kind of training for you. I'm not saying you'd be completely out of it but we could work on tailoring something more specific to your unique gifts. I'd have to talk to Logan about this as he's your mentor, but I don't think he'd have a problem with it. If you wanted any extra physical training though, perhaps one on one so you could work out your own strengths and weaknesses, I'd be happy to help out and I'm certain the other faculty would as well." He smiled briefly at the golden mutant. "We're all here to help you, Josh. We just need to know there is a problem. I'm glad you mentioned it to me." |
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| Elixir | Oct 9 2008, 09:06 PM Post #7 |
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Josh wanted to kick himself in the butt. He would have had he the mutant ability to bend his body in such a way, but it looked like a heated inner monologue would have to suffice. That's what you get for not coming to someone sooner, you herb. Here's a guy who's mutant power is that he's got wings... which is cool. Really cool. I mean, how freakin awesome would it be to just open your bedroom window one morning and jump out for a morning flight? Still... it's not like he can shoot poison darts his butt or razor-edged feathers from his wings. Basically, all he can do is swing a baseball bat like me, except in the air. Which is still cool. But here I am bottling everything up inside and Mr. Worthington is basically telling me that he's gone through the same thing. They keep telling me that if I need to ever talk or anything to just come to them, but I guess I prefer just moping like a total loser. He thought about Warren's suggestion about possibly organizing special training for him. Did he really want to alienate himself even more from the rest of the school because he wasn't like all the other mutants? Jason and Billy will be sitting around the lunch table chatting about bringing down a Sentinel and I'll just be sitting there with nothing more to say than about how much awesome triage I performed. What the heck does triage even mean? See... this is what you get for watching crappy daytime TV. You get stuck listening to words coming out of George Clooney's mouth and you don't even know what they mean. That's it... as soon as you're done here, it off to Google for you, pal. Still... the fact remained that he was different... unlike most mutants who could use their abilities in an offensive manner. Perhaps it was time he embraced that difference and found his place. “I don't know... I mean... I really don't have anywhere else to go. I'd kind of like to find my place here; I was just afraid that I wasn't being creative enough with my powers or something. I hadn't really thought that you guys would be open to working out something different. Mr. Logan's been great... I think he kind of gets my predicament, and he's been trying to train me in field medicine kind of stuff, but I'm just feeling like I'm not pulling my weight on the team and I just want to figure it all out.” Josh fell silent for a few moments, mulling over Warren's proposal. “I'm kind of feeling a little better. It feels like everyone else seems to know what they're doing with their powers and I feel like I'm just kind of messing around with no idea what I'm really doing, and I want that to change.” He paused... there was something else... “Oh yeah... and I want a codename. It probably sounds a little dumb, but everyone else has one and I want to feel more like part of everything here. I was trying to think some up the other day and all I could think of were stupid names like 'Healer'”. Not to mention other stupid names like The Doctor, Neosporin, Band-Aid, Regrow, and Pharmacy... but there's no way I'm about to tell him those. |
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| Warren Worthington | Oct 26 2008, 01:54 PM Post #8 |
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Warren nodded as Josh explained about wanting to find his place in the Mansion, confessing his worries and the extra help Logan was giving him. After a pause in which Warren shifted his weight slightly, his wings flexing with a soft rustle as he watched the golden skinned teenager and waited for him to continue. The winged mutant knew it was hard sometimes to verbalise what was going on, especially in the case of Josh were he seemed to be going through a lot of turmoil and indecision, so he remained quiet, wanting to hear everything Josh had to say in his own time and without interruption. Once the younger mutant was finished, revealing how he wanted to change, wanted to have a better idea of using his powers, Warren jumped in. "I wouldn't try to rush yourself into finding a position, Josh, you have plenty of time but it's good that you want you. It would be very encouraging if half your peers were so focused and motivated." He said with a grin, moving on to consider his point about the other students seeming more settled with their powers. "Believe me, Josh, very few people your age know what they're doing with their powers." Warren replied, smiling slightly. "As with a fair amount of situations, there is a lot of talk but not much to back it up. At the moment, it's simply a process of discovery, and the only way you're going to find out about your powers is through trial and error, and a whole lot of practice." He lifted a hand an absently rubbed at the side of his jaw, thinking about what he was like at that age, feeling similar to Josh but hiding it with arrogance and jokes. The amount of times he had felt out of place or as though he was the only one struggling with his powers... It was a hard mindset to break out of, and it was only through exploring the limits of his powers that he had gained any true confidence. Warren waited as Josh seemed to hesitate before speaking again, smiling more openly this time at the mention of a codename. "Codenames... not as easy you might think, right?" He commented. "I can't tell you the amount of "discussions" that surrounded codenames to begin with. We didn't do that well; Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Beast, Angel. They're to the point at least, I suppose." He said, still smiling as he thought about some of the livelier arguments which had lead to the Professor putting them all in detention, mainly because of Jon and himself. "Let's think. Healer's out of the question... so..." He paused, running a few words though his head, waiting until something caught his attention. "Heal, restore, remedy, mend, rectify, regenerate, synthesis. Yeah, this is pretty hard." Warren said, smiling, trying to move onto something less literal. Josh's powers allowed him to heal, to heal injuries that people might not otherwise survive, to give life... rejuvenation. That was a little less literal, like the Fountain of Youth or the Philosopher's Stone, but one, both of those were a mouthful, two, they really sucked and three, Harry Potter had sort of stolen that one. Thinking around that point, a sudden flash of inspiration hit and Warren smiled, looking back at Josh. Philospher's Stone... elixir of life. "Elixir?" He questioned. |
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| Elixir | Nov 7 2008, 04:20 PM Post #9 |
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The golden mutant couldn't help but perk up a little at Angel's indirect claim that he was focused and motivated. It really was probably some of the first really encouraging words he'd heard about how he was doing at the Institute. It wasn't that they didn't try... some of the teachers and faculty around here seemed to need to emphasize how Josh would do well; that he would master his abilities. In time he'd manage to incorporate the fact that he was a mutant with the rest of who he was and find a way to make it work in his everyday life, but not to try to take things too fast. The fact that one of his teachers found his attitude an encouragement did wonders for his feeling of insecurity. His words regarding practice were very true... but he had a significant problem. Sure, there would always be sick people, but it's not like the Institute was a triage center. While he'd had a little bit of experience with a few injuries... his abilities weren't in constant high demand, so there wasn't much he could do to practice. I could always volunteer down at a burn ward or something, but when people start miraculously walking out of a place they were wheeled into with over half their body covered in third degree burns, I imagine people would start asking questions. Maybe I can sneak in at night and just heal people without anyone knowing... like an... angel... Josh, just stop it. That code name's already taken and you wouldn't make it through one night without getting caught. "Codenames... not as easy you might think, right? I can't tell you the amount of "discussions" that surrounded codenames to begin with. We didn't do that well; Marvel Girl, Cyclops, Beast, Angel. They're to the point at least, I suppose." "Let's think. Healer's out of the question... so... Elixir?” Elixir... I don't know. It's a bit of a mouth full. I mean, if some giant robot tentacle were about to whack me in the back of the head and someone was gonna warn me, it'd be over by the time someone got my name over with. Josh thought about it... code names probably weren't the easiest thing in the world to try and come up with. Most of the ones he'd thought up sounded stupid. While he wasn't completely convinced about Elixir, it was much better than 'chill pill' or any of the other fifty stupidly lame names he'd come up with. “Elixir,” Josh repeated somewhat to himself as his brow furrowed in thought, blue eyes cast upon the floor. Finally, he looked back up to his feathered teacher, “You know... I wasn't sure I liked it at first, but I think it really works.” The sullen expression that had been slowly disappearing over the course of the conversation with Warren was suddenly gone, a pleasant smile replacing it, “And it only took you a few minutes to come up with it too. You have a thing for this sort of... thing.” Josh grimaced slightly at his last sentence, but continued on, “Yeah... I think I'll go with it. You've really helped me out a lot. Thanks for the talk Mr. Worthington." He took a couple of steps backward, toward the door he had almost left only moments ago. Josh didn't want Warren to be under the impression that he didn't want to be around him, but the golden mutant was excited by the prospect of finding his friends and telling them about his new code name. |
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2:50 PM Jul 11