Getting the lay of the land

[Franklin Shinnick]

Franklin clad in a simple hoodie and jeans, walked down the halls of Xavier University's student dormitory with the duffel bag that contained all of his worldly belongings slung over one shoulder. He had no clue where he was going and simply followed the buildings electrical lines until he found the room that drew the most current. More current usually meant more people, and this time was no exception. The room contained a handful of the electrical storms that he recognized as being fellow humanoids. Franklin easily identified this as being some sort of commons room from the sound of joyful chatter and the rectangular tempest in on corner that he recognized as being a television. This was not the type of place that he would usually spend his time, but he needed to get to know how this school worked if he was going to properly develop his skills.

[Basil Benson]

One such cloud was sat in the bay window with a book cradled in his lap, writing out notes.

A box was clipped to his belt that Franklin could ID as some form of personal device, and he had a set of earbuds, only one of which was in.

He looked up at Franklin, and seemed to smile.

"Hello. You're new?"

[Franklin Shinnick]

Franklin looked them up and down before responding. He had lost his ability to see facial expressions and physical objects years ago, but he could still read body language. He was able to ascertain that whoever this person was that they seemed to be relaxed and most likely writing something based on their posture. "Yes I am new." was the only words that he could think to say. The last time he had talked to someone other than his witch of his mother was when he was 12, and that had ended horribly.

As Franklin continued his study of what he guessed was a fellow student, he noticed a small box at the person's waist that he guessed was probably a MP3 player. The device appeared to being running low on juice and he reflexively removed his right glove and placed his hand on the electronic. He felt the usual tingle as electricity left his body to recharge it. Once it appeared to back to full power, Franklin simply replaced the glove.

[Basil Benson]

Basil's head tilted to look at his Zune, curious as to what was up.

"Oh hey, thanks mate!

I'm Basil Benson, welcome to Xavier's." It felt a little disingenuous to say given his own opinion of the place, but he wasn't about to rain on the new kid's parade.

"You're.... some kind of living battery?" He asked.

[Franklin Shinnick]

"I guess you could say that. You're uh welcome." The last sentence was an after thought. He wasn't use to niceties but he needed to learn them if he was to survive here.

"The name's Franklin. What can you tell me about the place?"

[Basil Benson]

"Mmmm... weeeelllll." Basil paused trying to collect his more positive thoughts on the institute.

" Food's decent by most standards. The library is pretty eclectic, and a lot of people say the gym is top notch.

Also there's some business about superheroics or something? I don't know, it sounds like an awful lot of work to me." His tone was a common one among Brits, a joking sort that never came with a laugh because that would imply they found themselves funny. Which would be very impolite indeed.

[Franklin Shinnick]

Franklin subconsciously touched his glasses, "I'm not much of the reading type." Ever since he had lost his ability to see in the light spectrum at age 12, he had been forced to read books via braille. He had absolutely no problem with the system of writing. His problem was that is was an obvious sign that he was considered blind by most people's standards. If people knew of this disadvantage, they would consider him weak and use it against him. He was not weak and he was no longer a victim! He may have been forced by genetics to be this way, but he wasn't going to let this curse to rule his life.

"Super heroics?" He didn't care about being a hero, what he care about was learning to better control his affliction. That way he could confront the man he had sentenced him to a life of torture. He would make Brimstone pay for daring to conceive him.

He suddenly realized how much to the long flight from America had wore him out and he struggled to hold back a yawn. "Where do I find out where I am to bunk?"

[Basil Benson]

"Did they give you admission papers?" He asked. " There should be a number on there I could help you find."

[Franklin Shinnick]

Franklin tried to hide his embarrassment and the fact of the blindness as he reached into his pocket to pull out the folded paper. He had been handed what he assumed were admissions paper when he had first arrived at the school but he didn't truly know. He had only been able to make it to the dorm because the secretary had pointed him in the direction when she handed him the paper.

"They gave me these." Franklin handed the papers over. He hated that he needed someone else's help. This made him feel weak and he couldn't afford weakness.

[Basil Benson]

Basil took absolutely no notice of him not reading it himself. Indeed, with his position as a library assistant with the university, he was used to reading others note at this point.

"106. Ah! You're with Toshiro.

Hope you like nerd stuff." He joked. "Toshiro is one of the science kids."

[Franklin Shinnick]

A roommate? This gave Franklin pause. He had never shared a room with anyone in his life. There is no way he could trust some random person he was assigned to stay with. Even more importantly, how can he keep them safe from his curse. One wrong move and he could kill a potentially innocent person.

"I assumed students got their own room."

[Basil Benson]

"I thought so too considering that is the norm here in the UK. I'm sure our headmistress has some backwards logic for it." Basil refrained from pointing out how backwards all of her logic seemed.

"But if you're getting stuck with some rando, you could do worse than Toshiro Narumi."

[Franklin Shinnick]

"What can you tell me about Narumi"? Franklin double checked that no skin was showing. He would have to make the best of the situation while being extra careful to not let his affliction hurt anyone.

[Basil Benson]

Basil talked as he lead Franklin.

"Toshiro is 18, a first year student like nearly all of the students here. He doesn't have a major yet, but based off his checked out books and what I've seen him do in emergency scenarios I suspect he'll probably choose something science-y.

He's from San Francisco, California and runs in the nerd crowd as previously mentioned. "

[Franklin Shinnick]

Franklin was so preoccupied with the thought of increasing his control of his curse that he didn't even think about being an actual student. "How's the electrical engineering studies around here?" It was the only class he could think of that would be of actual use to him. More he could understand electricity, the more he could understand how to use his affliction.

"What crowds do you have around here?" He asked this as an after thought. He had no intention of socializing but it would probably serve him best to appear as a regular student.

[Basil Benson]

"Don't know about electrical engineering, but Toshiro would. And I've yet to hear anyone complain about class quality."

Basil had to think about the second question.

"All the usuals. Rich kids, prep kids, nerds, alternative kids, hippies, stoners....

I would say the only special social circles around here are the superhero kids, or as they call it, 'The Teams.' "

[Franklin Shinnick]

These superheroes could be the key to getting stronger, plus they might have some leads on Brimstone.

"What do you know about these Teams? How does one get a spot on them?"

[Basil Benson]

"You'll need to try out, and have decent control of your powers.

Oh, and a deathwish of sorts." He joked.

[Franklin Shinnick]

Franklin removed his right glove and placed his hand on the nearest wall. The lights in the hall began to glow brighter. "I have some experience with THIS."

As he removed his hand, the lights returned to normal. He replaced the glove before he spoke again. "Death will have to wait. I have an appointment first."

[Basil Benson]

Basil's head seemed to look up to acknowledge what he'd done.

"I see." He replied, but didn't add much more to his commentary on the other's ability.

He did however comment on the appointment.

"As I hear it, Death doesn't wait for your dental crowns to be placed mate."

[Franklin Shinnick]

Franklin's voice became cold. "There is someone more deserving who will go before I do."

[Basil Benson]

"And yet still, a great deal more souls that some would qualify as undeserving that will go before all of us.

That's the thing about death, it doesn't discriminate. We as a collective species just pretend that because we can cause it, we can make it do our bidding. Telling ourselves these lies makes us feel better about our place in our world.

But the truth of death is that death is like an abandoned cat. it comes when it feels like it, at it's own whim, and takes whatever, whomever, it feels like taking. It cares not that it's apathy for the human condition causes humanity distress. Why should it? In truth, the human treats it with equal disdain, only calling upon it when it suits them to do so. " So far, it seemed as if Basil was deliberately avoiding picking up what Franklin was laying down...

But then...

"I don't know what happened to you, but I will tell you this Franklin.

This school allows things that I frankly do not agree with, but if you've got some kind of revenge plot in your head, they also won't take kindly to you using the teams as your tool for revenge. They believe themselves heroes, and heroes tend to try to avoid outright murder at any cost.

and that's presuming you can even get it past them, because if I can see right through you, the team's telepaths will sniff you out in seconds."

His tone was neither admonishing nor angry, but matter of fact.

[Franklin Shinnick]

Basil's comment piqued Franklin's interest. "What does this the school allow?"

Franklin stopped walking and turned to his new acquaintance. "Some actions are unforgivable and the only one way to ensure that they never happen again. No one deserves to experience the pain I have felt. It's not revenge Basil, it's justice."

[Basil Benson]

Basil refrained from answering Franklin's question.

"And you think you have the ultimate moral authority to define, on your own, the difference between revenge and justice?"

[Franklin Shinnick]

"I can't speak for what is or isn't moral, only on what my motivations are. I am prepared to accept whatever consequences my actions will bring me. I won't let anyone else suffer, no matter what it costs me. My life means nothing."

[Basil Benson]

Basil's face remained neutral. It was clear to him nothing he could say to the other boy was going to persuade him, and why would it? They'd only just met.

"I should introduce you to Miriam Bell, you two have loads in common." Basil commented, refraining for further chatter on the subject.

[Franklin Shinnick]

The duo arrived outside the door that was to be Franklin's home for the foreseeable future. The electrokinetic reached for where the door knob should be and paused. He did indeed need to work on his interpersonal skills. He spoke without turning back to his guide.

"Thank you for your help...... and the conversation. I look forward to meeting Ms. Bell. I will see you later Basil."

[Basil Benson]

"You're welcome. Take care Franklin." Basil replied, giving a two finger salute and walking back towards the common room.