Mysteries and Gossip (IC)

[alderwitch]

"We'll see," Alex said stubbornly. "I know we're related somehow. I think that gives me a certain responsibility to look out for her interests. I don't think she makes good choices all the time. I know she's our age but she seems young. Kind of sheltered, you know?"

Alex put the sample in the bottom of her desk door and shut it, "I mean, she talks a big game but I think she's a lot more fragile somehow. And, uhm, I can feel her. In my head. Just like Mike."

[Electra]

"Sometimes people make stupid choices," Erin pointed out. "But that's what makes you learn things." She had the abrupt thought that maybe she and Alex had had this conversation before, except in the future, and that was enough to make her head start to hurt a little. "You hear Mike in your head, but that doesn't mean you're responsible every time he does something dumb. And her entire world just did blow up. You probably haven't seen her at her best. You could leave well enough alone for awhile. Like observing a science experiment."

[alderwitch]

"I don't see anyone as a science experiment," Alex said, obviously a little hurt by that accusation. She looked down at her hands, her eyes dark, "I'm not like that! I know everyone feels like my observations are intrusive but I can't help that seeing emotions for me is like seeing colors for everyone else. I've shut down my senses as much as I can and it's even worse with a psychic link to magnify it. That's why I don't go making them willy-nilly with people."

[Electra]

"That's not what I meant," Erin said immediately, sitting on the edge of her desk and looking over at Alex. "I know you don't intrude on people's brains if you don't have to. All I meant was that sometimes things develop the way they're supposed to if you just keep your hands off and watch them. There's nothing wrong with keeping an eye on things and wanting to help, but I don't know if you should feel like you've got to be responsible for her. Especially not if we're here partly to be learning to be responsible for ourselves when we're heroes."

[alderwitch]

Alex nodded and her expression smoothed out into its usual earnest lines once more, "A little knowledge never hurts. Who knows, we might be able to get her back home? I mean, a non-blown up version of her home. I don't think it'll change how I treat her if I know how we're related."

[Electra]

"I don't think it will work that way," Erin said, "for the same reasons you told me about my world. It doesn't work like that..." She clammed up, realizing she was almost saying way too much. "But maybe she can learn to be happy here. She's already joining Eddie's band or something like that, and she seems to not be too worried about living here. The school will take care of room and board, even if not much else." Erin slid off the desk and started pacing the room. "How do you feel about her? Besides like you should help her out?"

[alderwitch]

Alex gave the question deep consideration. She always took questions about her feeling rather seriously and these feelings were all exceptionally difficult to sort out. "It's complicated. The way I build these links, they're all layered with emotions and when Zoe's ripped through my brain, it came with emotions attached to it. Protective, mostly. A little possessive which feels kind of weird."

Alex wrinkled her nose, "It's not really like how I feel about anyone else. The swearing stuff drives me up the wall. I know she's smart. There's a lot of deja vu there too. Like watching her talk is like something I've seen before, but of course I haven't."

Of course she'd seen those gestures before. Zoe had a lot of the same quick arm movements that Alex used when she got excited.

[Electra]

All of that made bizarre sort of sense to Erin, but she couldn't say anything about it, which left her a little short on words. She fished around for something to say for a minute, still pacing laps between the door and the beds. "That must feel weird," she finally said. "Are you okay with it? Maybe you could shut it down if you don't want her in your head like that. You don't even know her."

[alderwitch]

"I thought about and sure feels weird but I couldn't help but think how scary and lonely it would be if I lost that connection with Mike" Alex admitted as she started to braid her hair up for bed. "I figure my own discomfit is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things. I can adjust to it."

[Electra]

"Maybe that's something to talk to her about," Erin suggested. Breaking off her pacing at last, she went to her closet and started changing into her practice uniform. The end of tutoring sessions meant a few hours less study time every day, but her physical training hadn't slacked off any since the start of the school year. "If you're not the person she started the link with, maybe it feels uncomfortable to her, too. Or maybe she'll at least tell you something more about how the link came to be formed in the first place."

[alderwitch]

"I'll talk to her about it. She's no psychic so if she needs help with it, I'd be glad to yeild to her comfort level on it." Alex agreed as she finished braiding her hair, "I am going to give her a bit before poking at her on anything. She's going to crash hard eventually. You can only put things in a box for so long. Training with Archer?"

[Electra]

"Solo tonight," Erin replied, zipping up her costume and snugging her hair back behind the blue and gold cloth band that finished her uniform. "Archer likes to give me a few days between sessions in the wringer. Lull me back into complacency and all that." She stopped for a moment with her hands in her hair, thinking. "Well, there's an idea. I forgot to tell Mike that I looked into finding a baseball simulation in the Doom Room. There is one, if you just program it not to run the brawl in the fourth inning. Maybe that's something we could do that would be fun and not horrible." She nodded satisfied, then finished dressing and secured her bat to her belt. "You heading to bed?"

[alderwitch]

"Sounds like fun!" Alex agreed enthusiastically, a wistful tone in her voice. Sometimes she envied her more physical friends their capabilities. The grass was always greener, after all, "Probably, I have classes early tomorrow. I still haven't had any sort of training in the Doom Room outside of team stuff. While it's nice to think that maybe I'm just that good, they probably just haven't started remedial training yet."

Alex chuckled self depricatingly. "Have a good time"

[Electra]

"What do you need with the Doom Room?" Erin asked with a negligent shrug. "Your powers are in your head, and you know how to use them perfectly well. I think it's the same sort of exercises, you just use your abilities again and again and again until either you break or it becomes second nature, or maybe kind of both. Trust me, you're better off without dealing with what Mr. Archer would throw at you in there. He's a sadist."

[alderwitch]

"Yeah, it's all practice, practice, practice. Mostly I work with a special advisor on the high end power stuff. I'm sure that they'll test me in there eventually though. It sounds like it happens to everyone. I know Seven's been in there for, like, solo stuff. I'm not really eager, honestly. I don't really like fighting." As committed as she was to this carreer choice, it was true. Alex would be much happier if there was never a need for her to be in a super hero battle again. She was simply pragmatic enough to know that was probably never going to happen, "But, good luck with your training. I'll let you know when I'm going to use the lab."

[Electra]

Erin nodded. "Sounds good," she agreed. "I don't know how to work any of that stuff, but I can keep a lookout or something. Couldn't hurt to have backup." She picked up her water bottle, opened it, smelled it to make sure it wasn't nasty, then tossed it in her bag. "I'm going to hit the library after this, so I won't be back till morning. Sleep well." Shoving her books into her knapsack, she tossed it over her shoulder and headed out at a brisk clip.