Marching to the Beats(IC)

[Semi-Autogyro]

For a moment John looked older and weary as he acknowledged Subitos' statement while glancing over the large tome. "True. I have enough enemies as it is."

"Hmm. I think I disagree to some extent with that assessment. Lady Liberty tends to fall into a very grey area of understanding. Is she the envoy of the United States of America or physical avatar of the concept of freedom? You would have to ask her which it is, but it might be a little from both. Using the Germanys' envoy as an example again: the Shieldmaiden herself oversees threats to her citizens and lands and does not care about the politics so long as Germany remains Germany, and will even go against the government in the situation that it is knowingly harming its citizens." He leaned forward, "Though it does make sense that envoys look for like minded individuals. One, it is easier to work with someone who shares your ideals. Two, it might be that it is easier for them to grant powers that way. Third, and I do not mean this negatively, is that the envoy has a lesser chance of an unsuitable officeholder." John gesticulated with one hand idly.

"The Shieldmaiden informed me that she usually chose public servants like police officers, paramedics, and the like as her avatar since they like her are protectors. Otherwise, if she chose someone like say, me, she could feasibly taint her essence since the bond goes both ways."

[Ari]

Leaning on his elbows that were propped up on the table, Subito listened with occasional nods as the clone hero outlined the flaws in his assumptions, looking chagrined at how mistaken he had been.

"Well...darn. I get what you mean by 'unsuitable officeholder'" he commented wryly "She's all but said more than once that if I hadn't gone jumping after that guy in the factory she'd have appointed my big sister as her bearer. She'd have been way stronger than me. But she was watchin' the family anyhow so..." he shrugged "Better'n nothing I guess."

At the mention of 'tainted essence' he blinked "Wait..you're saying that if they connect or are borne by someone not suited, they might change just because of that? How do you mean? As in they take on the traits of their bearer? Could that mean maybe other outside forces could change them as well, besides the nation changing? Also, did you learn all this from the Shieldmaiden? She sounds pretty grand."

[Semi-Autogyro]

John half-smiled at Subito, noting wryly. "You were chosen to be the physical avatar of your nations spirit. That is better than nothing, indeed."

"I do know of envoys being magically and/or technologically warped, in an attempt to bend them another will. That has an effect, regardless of how non-human they seem to be. It could outright destroy them, if they are forced to things against their very nature. Could you imagine Lady Liberty participating in slavery?" John looked like he had recalled something. "Such a thing might cause a schism in the envoy in an attempt to save itself, for example the Lady Liberties during the Civil War?"

"If I had to hazard a guess about the physical officeholder affecting the envoy, think of it as looking out a window. One window only, and there are no other windows present. The window represents the physical officeholder and their outlook and view on the world. Sure, there are other sources of information like the internet or other people. But those are being mostly seen through that window. It is much easier to control a person than it is an envoy. With proper misinformation and misdirection, you could make the bearer do things that even the envoy would not typically foresee." He leaned back in his chair. "I do think that it has been used to start wars by using people who strongly believed they were protecting their nation. Gavrilo Princip who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, was a Serbian nationalist."

"The Shieldmaiden was very informative and forthright." He did not care to mention that she was extremely chatty and....handsy. He shuddered a bit at that memory. "Once we stopped trying to incapacitate each other that is."

[Ari]

"I meant I was better than nothin', but that's a fair point too." Subito agreed blandly, nodding along.

The strange splitting of Lady Liberty in the late 1800's was very familiar to him, and he winced at its being mentioned once again. "Yeah, enmity and schisms within nations would do that to their..envoys, as you call 'em. That business the other Lady Liberty was up to with the American Civil War is still brought up people to this day. You can imagine by who" he said darkly.

He frowned slightly at the window analogy "Well sure, but the spirits can tell stuff about the world around them besides by how their bearers see it. Me and the Blue Dame disagree on stuff all the time, and rarely agree entirely on politics and society. She hears what I hear, and sees what I see and all, but she often perceives it in ways I never would have. She thinks you'd look amazing if you smiled, for example, and leaned back a litte" he declared, looking up at the ceiling with his face set in a solemn mien, the face slowly erupting in uneven shifts of his muscles before grinning outright as the unheard scolding apparently began. Shaking his head quickly he laughed "Alright, alright! Okay, sorry. Back to what you were sayin'." he tapped at the book for a moment, thinking over what John had said with obvious concentration. After a half a minute he swung his curly head back up to speak to the clone.

"Wait, d'you think Mr. Princip and those guys in the Black Hand were encouraged by his country's "envoy" in some way? Is that a thing that can happen sometimes?" he sounded more than a little nervous at the idea.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John gave a rueful bark of a laugh. "Morgan and Victoria have assured me that my smile is quote 'downright unsettling' and would 'probably give small children nightmares'. As for the other inquiry, Vigilo Confido. It is something of a character quirk."

"But back to the issue at hand, there is another method but I do not think you or the Lady would approve of it. It is where the envoy completely is in control of the body, and uses the corporeal form as a puppet to enact their will upon the world. It is something more commonly seen in historical religious figures, but it would depend upon the nature of the envoy. These might see a human body as little more than a tool, meant to be used and discard when no longer serviceable." He pointed at a map of the Caribbean that was on the page. "You would have to ask an expert, but depending on the local beliefs and customs of the indigenous population it could have been acceptable to have the 'spirits walk the land'."

[Ari]

"That...that sounds like somethin' she's pretty fiercely against, yeah. El Dama Azul isn't big on using folks like robots." Subito agreed quickly looking deeply unsettled, the mere idea a chilling one to him. He tilted his head to one side for several seconds, frowning as he considered what he had learned so far "Also, by religious figures who do you mean? Only ones I know of would be the loa and their chevals, or the story of Balaam."

Sitting further back in his chair he added with a more cheerful grin "Thanks by the way, John. This is really helpful. I hope I can help you out sometime." he looked at the book, especially the political map of the Caribbean during 1900, suddenly lighting up and whipping his chair next to John's with a clatter of wood on the hard floor, a gleam in his eye "I've got an idea: what if I went to where that knight disappeared and..I dunno, subsumed my will into hers or whatever, that'd increase the connection between us, and then I could fond out what happened back then!" he looked eagerly at the reserved clone, hunched slightly forward with excitement "Whaddaya think? I think that could work!"

[Semi-Autogyro]

"Gospel of Mark chapter nine: 'And he asked him, What is thy name? And he saith unto him, My name is Legion; for we are many.' I could cite further examples, but possession is not exactly a rare occurrence according to the religious texts and historical documents that I have read." He had read those for other reasons, but that was not the point.

John waved the thanks off. "Do not concern yourself in the matter. I am happy to help others, especially outside my areas of expertise. Before I came here, my opinion and viewpoints were deemed inconsequential. So it is a thankful change that others, including yourself Mister Subito, bother to ask for my assistance. That in itself I deem to be a worthy repayment of my time." John then gave a look at Subito that was commonly reserved for Morgans' more inane plans at his sudden idea.

"If you do choose that course of action I hope that you bring along others in case that something unexpected might happen. I would also suggest further research than just taking verbatim from one source. The idea has merit, but I caution for looking before leaping in scenarios with unknown variables such as this one."

[Ari]

"Oh yeah! I thought you meant like God or other gods doin' that, not lesser spirits like demons or angels." Subito explained, nodding vigorously at the mention of Legion. "I'm not too sure about other religions, but I bet there's something similar in at least a few of 'em."

The chastising look John leveled at him was exactly the kind of glance he had been getting for years from his sister and cousin, and as a result he was rather inured to the 'steely eyes of disapproval' technique. He shrugged casually at the clone hero's warnings "I'm going to do a lot of that, John! It'd be kind of dumb to go all the way back home, fly up that mountain and find out trying to connect fully with her makes my head explode or somethin'. You've really put all this in a new light! There's stuff to work out, and a lot of it I'll probably never really understand, but if I can find out who that Knight was, and why she won't tell me about it, I'll be happy!" he beamed enthusiasm at his schoolmate, patting him heartily and reassuringly on the back with a powerful arm as he turned his attention back to the hefty book, frowning suddenly "Hm. You know any..well, what I'd call wizards or something that live around here? I'd probably need a few tips on connecting to the higher spirit or whatever I'll need to do."

[Semi-Autogyro]

"Good. Too many of our classmates tend to be 'leap before they look' types as the saying goes." He stoically accepted the pat on his back, since he saw it coming and Subito was not displaying any hostile intent.

The clone hero then frowned for a second. "I must confess that my expertise when it comes to magics is limited to how to counter it than the application you seek. I defer to Morgan or Etain in the vast majority of situations that involve arcana of one type or another. Their residence called Parkhurst might have some applicable tomes on the subject if you ask them." John stroked his chin idly, and when the solution presented itself he snapped his fingers. "Ah. There is someone who could probably help. I recall Morgan mentioning to me that he was receiving some training from another tenet at Parkhurst, who is a necromancer. More than likely he would be able to easily assist you."

[Ari]

'Now then, take after this young man, and you will do quite well as my Herald. Yeah, wish I looked like that...wait...eh, nevermind.'

"All things considered, I'm pretty amazed any of them are like that." Subito said with obvious amusement. His eyes lit up as John gave his advice about who to ask "Yeah, I've met Morgan! Pretty sure I can find him around campus and talk to him about it, but if all those people are there..." he looked at the book for a moment and suddenly closed with a flick of his wrist, looking with great excitement at the blonde boy "I'll ask Morgan about seeing them, and if he says yes, I'll be able to solve the first real, honest to God mystery I've ever come up against! Thank you so much John, you're the best!" he cried, embracing the other Claremonter passionately and kissing him warmly on the lips, beaming with a rush of adrenaline, put the book back in his bag, and set off for his room with a wave. "See you later!"

Then he realized what he had done. His face suddenly grew ashen, and he stared at John in horror. "I-I'm so sorry I..."

Then he ran up the stairs, heart pounding and his brain whirling with horror.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John for his part was about to wave off the thanks and was not expecting...that. The blondes' body went straight as a ramrod and about as unresponsive as the other teen went about his business before realizing what he had done. By the time his mind had finished attempting to compute what had just transpired, Subito was long gone. John reached and rubbed the bridge of his nose, letting lose a sigh before staring at the ceiling. His own social ineptitude aside, John was currently more concerned about why these things happened to him and how to best salvage the situation. Packing up his computer, he dropped it off in his room before going to Subitos' door and knocking on it.

"Mister Subito. I believe some clarification is needed at the moment. I would like to iterate that I am not bearing any ill will about the incident and would like to speak to you further on the matter." The lines were delivered Johns normal, crisp, professional tone. "Please open the door."

[Ari]

It took a few seconds before a nervous "Okay, I-yeah, just a sec." answered, and the door opened, Subito still looking a little pale, and much less assured than he had been only a few minutes ago. He stepped aside with a gesture for John to enter, and sat on the edge of his bed, looking nervous. Chancing a look up at the clone hero he ventured "So, um...what did you want to discuss 'bout it?"

The room was mostly bare on his side, though a small desk occupied the space between his bed and the wall beside the door, and was surprisingly neat and tidy. A few icons of saints were carefully arranged around a crucifix on his side of the wall, next to a wall-sized poster of the first Liberty League.

[Semi-Autogyro]

John stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "You do no need to worry about any social fallout or reparations from what occur, I will keep the matter private and there were no other witnesses." John then pulled out the chair from a nearby desk and sat facing Subito. "This trust extends two ways, Mister Subito, as this occurrence has left me little choice in revealing some personal matters so that you fully understand where I am coming from." The clone paused to let that sink in before continuing.

"I do not care about your sexual orientation or that you might be somehow attracted to me. The fact of the matter is that I can never reciprocate those emotions regardless of their source. As a result of my powers and training I am rendered what could be called...sterile when it comes to emotions and the brain chemistry thereof. I can mimic their appropriate physical reactions for better blending in of social situations, but those are what they are: a facade. In addition, I have been...conditioned to ignore any and all sexual impulses and drives." John shook his head, averting his gaze. "It might be best to think of me in terms of being asexual. I have zero interests in procreation or relationships with others, period."

John had returned his gaze back at Subito. "Do you understand?"

[Ari]

Subito looked more than a little relieved when John explained patiently that he wasn't interested. Nodding to show he understood he looked down at his hands folded on his lap, thinking quietly before speaking again. "Thanks, Mr. Smith. For, uh, not being the kind of guy who flips out at stuff like that." he clarified hastily "I, uh...look, I'm not gay." he said flatly, blushing deeply as he said it "Just..I got excited, is all. That and you're really good looking, as I'm sure you've been told a billion times already." he added, rubbing the back of his head.

"I'm still sorry for doin' that. I mean, it's kind of frowned upon to kiss people out of nowhere like that, and for good reason."

He looked back up, obviously discomforted by John's recount of how he had been augmented mentally "You were altered so that you wouldn't be..distracted like that? That sounds horrible. I know it's normal for you, but still." he said, jumping heavily off the bed and leaning against it. There was a pregnant silence as he cast about for something, anything to say, at last managing

"I'll make sure that doesn't happen again, and do my best not to be awkward around you in future. This was really not how I hoped that would end up" he admitted with a sheepish grin before he smiled more genuinely "But anyway, thanks a lot for your help with the studying John. That's something I'm really interested in, and it's great to talk to people about that stuff, 'specially folks like you."

[Semi-Autogyro]

John sat quietly as Subito talked and got the matter out in the open as opposed to letting it fester. "Trust me, Mister Subito. It would be readily apparent if I was somehow displeased with you or bore any ill will about the situation. Accidents happen. Some people get lost in the moment. There is nothing wrong with acting on impulse as long as you learn from it." John stood and walked to the door. "This is all water under the bridge. No need to feel awkward or be anything else than yourself."

The clone hero opened the door. "I am always willing to help. Knowing ones' history is a sure way to avoid the mistakes of the past. Good day, Mr. Subito." The steady cadence of his stride sounded down the hall as he left the teen to his thoughts.

[Ari]

Breathing a sigh of relief Subito nodded as John spoke his last, and marched out. "See you later, Mr. Smith!" he called after the other boy. He watched as John walked quickly out of view 'Man, Katy wasn't kidding about what he looks like from the back...wait, what?!' he started, shutting the door quickly and slamming against it, staring in silent horror at the wall. 'Damnit, why am I thinking about him like that? Perhaps it is as simple as you being attracted to him?' he gritted his teeth, sliding down to the floor. "I'm not gay, I-I'm not!" he said with sudden anger, cheeks flushing as he squeezed his eyes shut. He muttered a bitter curse as he found himself replaying the memory of his kiss with John, leaping to his feet, clicking on the desk lamp and flipping back open the book as he hunched over it, forcing the thought of the clone's soft lips and sweet breath away as hard as he could, trying to drown it in a sea of history...