Marvel: 2010-09-27 - One Freaky Weekend: Simone and her Empathy

It is early afternoon and Simone is outside on a large blanket under some trees. She's asked Jono to come out and help her some more with her current empathic 'gift'. She's finally gotten the hold of making shields and keeping out most unwanted emotions. It isn't perfect but it's given her enough peace and confidence that she's ready to start experimenting with what is possible. She hopes to get her own powers back, but she isn't about to waste this opportunity to see just what can be done..so later she can help Sio..and if not.. well she'd best be prepared to deal with this new reality.

The last few days have seen a very relaxed Jonothon. He's even laughed more often. Never having to worry about power build up and possible destruction has lifted the world from his shoulders. Not that he thinks it will last, but he's not foolish enough to waste his time in angsting about that. And so he's sitting on that blanket, resting back on his hands. It's a beautiful day, and he's enjoying the chill breeze. Couldn't feel that with his powers. To be sure a calm Brit makes experimenting with powers one hell of a lot easier than those with forceful emotions. "What did you want to try?" He asks after a few moments.

Simone tries to ignore that nice little breeze. It makes her wish she could fly again. "Well, would you feel comfortable playing guinea pig for a moment? I think I'm ready to see just how aggressive this empathy can be.. I'm hoping it's more than Councilor Troi .. the way I understand it..some empaths can influence others as well as detect what they feel."

There's some apprehension for this idea, but Jonothon still nods his approval. He believes he can trust you. Having his emotions toyed with doesn't sound a lot of fun though. "Do you want me to shield while you do, or leave myself open?" Since it'd be one hell of a lot easier to alter his emotions if he isn't fighting it.

Simone mmms "I'd say don't fight it.. I'm more interested in finding out if it's possible rather than how successful I can be at it. I think it could really help in a lot of ways.. though I'm not sure about the ethics of it.. Siobhan is always so at everyone's mercy.. I thought perhaps if she could project an aura of calm about it.. it could help her and anyone around her in a fit?"

"Oh, I see lots of reasons for it." Jonothon agrees. "Xavier keeps trying to get me to control minds, so I can learn how it's done and protect myself from it." A roll of eyes, for that's a skill he refuses to learn. That will cost him in the long run, but it's a price he's willing to pay. "If Siobhan doesn't know she can, then she's never going to realize what she could be doing to others. So have at." Doesn't shield and lets you do as you will. He's curious too. What will it feel like?

Simone is going to warn him at first. "I'm going to try a negative emotion okay.. I'm sorry in advance, but it's one that's most likely to be noticed in any strength.." and she closes her eyes to begin to concentrait on sadness. She thinks about the sorrow she feels over the loss of her wings.. it's quite potent and so recent (and current!) that it isn't at all hard to summon up and experience. Then she imagines radiating the feeling, pushing it out of her own heart and into any vessel around.. trees, the grass, Jonothon, even any wild life that might be there. It's more than just the thought, she pushes it the way she would if she were trying to sustain or control her psi wings.

A tension builds in the young man, and for a brief time it's the only sign that anything has occurred. Jonothon shifts his weight, motioning sharply with a hand, "Stop." The word is colder than he means, hard. Shields are thrown up and he cuts everything out. Soon the teen is holding his head, very nearly drooped low enough between raised knees. "Bloody hell, Simone." And yet there's sympathy there. "Does it hurt that bad?" Gathering his wits, he lifts his head and looks to you. "And Christ, I'd say for certain you can alter emotions."

Simone is bitting her lip at this point, her lashes wet when Jono finally speaks out, she feels some sort of strange 'rebuff'. She opens her eyes and expells a gasp as she 'lets' go of the empathic switch. Ow. She rubs her eyes briefly and brushes her hair out of her face. "sssSorry!! " she rasps, wincing "Sorry..I wasn't sure I could do it at all.. so sort of put all in.." she sighs with a shrug. "..and yea..it sucks that bad.. " she whispers out quietly.

Jonothon is quite determined not to cry too, but there's a sniff as he straightens. Nope, not crying. No, sir. All he can do is look at you for a melancholy moment, knowing that to bring the pleasure back to your life would bring back his misery. Nothing either of you can do about that. "No need to be sorry." He assures as he drags fingers back through his mussed hair. Dropping a little, he rubs at the back of his head, and attempts to gather his wits. Not to mention the shards of his good mood. Ow. "You tried too hard, but I can't blame you." Neither of you knew for sure. "Okay.." After he's sorted himself out and lowered shields. "Try again?"

Simone nods. "Thanks.. I was going to ask..." she's not about to make Jono feel that kind of pain without sharing the elation that is having wind beneith one's wings. She closes her eyes again and thinks about the last time she flew for just the fun of it. The feeling of the sun upon one's back and skin, the sensation of warm breeze along down feathers and primaries. It's unbridled freedom, distilled into joy. She doesn't push quite as hard, and this time also tries to 'aim', and so thinks of just the brit as she sends out the emotion.

It's rather too much of a set of extremes for the young man. "Stop.. Christ, Simone." And yet he can't stop himself from laughing. "Did you have to use extremes?" This time he can't help it, and Jonothon is rubbing the tears from his eyes. So going to have a headache once this is done. "I think we can safely say that you can share emotions, just as much as you can feel them. You're hitting bloody hard though, gel. It's like getting hit with a bat in the head. Sorry."

Simone grins and laughs. "Sorry..." she shrugs. "I'm not good at mediocre.." she sighs. "Guess I was trying too hard again.. " she sheepishly says. "I guess we are pretty lucky Sio hasn't learned to project then.. " she adds, looking down at her finger nails.

Jonothon shrugs, head leaned against one hand. "Can't fault you, gel. Not like I'd have known to start soft either. Mind not trying another? My head is bloody pounding. This was too extreme a switch. If we try more subtle things, I'm sure it'll be a totally different story." And he won't notice as well. "As bloody are." Lucky Siobhan can't do this yet. "That poor bird would have is all fluttering around the moment she spots Alex." He rolls his eyes at that. "Can you imagine Alex's ego if everyone started loving him like that?" A smirk, for Jono is amused.

Simone nods "Naw I think you've had enough and me too.. that's hard to do.." she admits. Then she grimaces and shakes her head. "Oh..yea that's something I don't want to ..ahh witness.. incredibly embarassing to ..share those sort of emotions when you shouldn't. " she wrinkles her nose. "And I'm not sure Alex would like it if the boys started google eyeing him too." she laughs

"Are you bloody kidding? That'd be the best part." Jonothon says of Alex's reaction to the guys wanting him too. Not that Jonothon wants to be oggling, but he's not concerned about it either. There's a grin about the embarrassing parts too. "Guess you can't spend any time with Kurt until this changes, eh?" That'd be witness to something he doubts you want to be sharing. "Speaking of that, did you notice Scott didn't come home the whole weekend? And he said he was at his girlfriend's." There's some approval there. "Wonder if he'll be able to relax some now."

Simone laughs softly and shrugs. ".. um.. " no comment about hanging out with Kurt. But she blushes a little. "Any way.. yea.. I'm guessing he just wanted to help her out.. it was probably very disconcerting.. I don't know Joan well enough to know if being blue and fuzzy would freak her out or not. Scott was kinda in a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation.. if he left while she was in this situation she might think he didn't care about her.. and of course the team? who knows what we'd all think right?"

Amused that he got you to blush, the teen doesn't dwell on it. "I've never met her." Jonothon reminds. "I'm kind of surprised Scott didn't bring her to the school. This whole secrecy thing is bollocks if it means you can't bring someone you care about here for some help." A shrug for he knows he's not likely to change any of that. "Wouldn't it be better to be near Kurt, who does know about teleporting? Like I've been helping you?" Since he can shield and what not.

Simone mmmms. "Yea, but I think it's less about our secret and more about hers.. I thought she was human..but apparently not.." she comments. "And she isn't interested in playing hero.. which I do respect..but I'm rather curious as to why if she's THAT darn strong. She could be a real boon to our efforts." she says with a shrug. "I just hope she doesn't accidently teleport herself into a tree or something. " she shudders.

"Doesn't change the fact having her here helps both only Joan, but Kurt." Jonothon shrugs, practical that way. Rather like he really should go help Clint, but the teen doesn't even really know where to begin. That and he's afraid getting near the Avengers will make his powers return. Jono is going to enjoy being human while he can. "Maybe Scott didn't know she was that strong." Mulling things over. "Christ, I hope not too." For both their sakes. "Speaking of powers, how is Siobhan holding up? Lily and I both have no powers now. We have it easy."

Simone nods and rests her hands on her knees. "I really dunno but .. they've gotta find their own way..and I dont' want to poke Scott about it too much. He needs Joan.. he bottles so much up, if he's not careful it's going to make him sick. That's how guys end up with heart attacks." she shakes her head. "I think she's doing okay. I'm going to see if I can't teach her how to manifest the wings later.. I hoping it'll give her some confidence.. and if she's lucky she'll be able to fly a bit in the danger room. I'm not sure she's ready..and I sure don't want her to do what I did.. " she laughs. "I think I'd get into trouble." she grins slyly.

Jonothon can only agree about Scott, who he considers his best friend here at the school. "I'll ask him about it." Because Jono won't pressure the other teen about it. "He sure has been happier since they started dating." Which he is very glad for. As for Siobhan, there's a question, "You sure you want her learning to fly only to have it taken away?" A tilt of the head, for all the Brit is looking tired. "We've got to assume this isn't going to last, and look at how the loss makes you feel? I'm not sure you should teach her, but not like I'm going to try and stop you." Meaning? He doesn't believe it's his place to tell you what to do.

Simone shrugs. "I honestly don't know. There's so many pros and cons for and against it. I don't want to rob her of the chance to do it.. I mean, how many of us get that? Kind of a better to love and lost than never to have loved at all.. and we don't know this will go away.. It's very cruel all of it.. and I really want to ..slap.. whoever..or whatever is responsible."

"Cruel, even for those of us who got the better end of this deal." Jonothon agrees. He'll have his hated life back when this is over. "Well, your choice, your powers." A shrug and he smiles, stretching out on the blanket because laying down makes his head ache less. Stretching some, he pillows his head on an arm and looks to you. "I'd help you slap, but it won't do any good. I'm still bloody fucked when my powers return."

Simone frowns. "Maybe? if our powers do return.. maybe you'll be.. I dunno.. reset? we don't have to assume that we'll be back to the status quo.. do we know who ended up with your powers yet?" she inquires softly.

The young man gives you a look for that. "It doesn't work that way. And even if it did, I get to go through that hell all over again as it eats my organs? Yeah, thanks, gel, that's a brilliant idea." Jonothon bitter? No... Not a bit. As for who? Well, he nods. "One of the Avengers no less. Wasn't told who. Just know the poor bloke is blowing holes in walls down in the city, and likely getting a bloody headache from his new telepathy." A roll of eyes.

Simone sheepishly looks back at him. "Sorry hon.. I didn't mean like that.. I was more thinking you've got more control now.. you know what's happening.. maybe things would turn out differently because of that." she says, playing with her shoe laces.

There's a shake of the head about that. He really doesn't mean to take it out on you. "I've been getting the blasting under control, but now there's a new effect showing up. "The day before this change I was in the danger room with Scott. We were running a session in this jungle, and all the plant life around me got pressed down. Like a bloody crop circle the length of my arms reach. I couldn't do a thing about it, and Scott even said at one point he could feel the effect. No, just when I get a handle on something, I'm screwed again. I'm not one of the lucky ones, gel. Not like you."

Simone pokes him in the shoulder with a finger tip. "You aren't screwed Jono.. you've got complications and challenges.. but I still don't think it's hopeless. Hard? yes.. but not a wash.. " she says trying to convince him of her believe.. and no, she won't try to use any empathy on that! Just her convictions.

Jonothon regards you from where he lays, "Says the pretty lady with the angel wings." No, he's not buying it. "You can enjoy things I only get to watch other people do. Things you take for granted, the things many of you don't even think about and then make me watch you do it.. Simone, are you really that bloody clueless? Honestly, just me sitting here talking to you.. I can't do that with my powers either. I didn't want these powers, and I don't enjoy them."

Simone shrugs. "I know.. i know.. it sounds really hypocritical.." she sighs. "But would you rather I be honest or just let you pout?" she says bluntly. "I am sorry it is so unfair Jono.. and if I could change it ..I would.. "

Brows arch, but the young man only smirks at you. "Gel, if I was truly pouting I'd still be sulking in the basement back home. I've been working my arse off to learn this, to not hurt anyone, but that doesn't mean I have to bloody well be happy about my lot in live. I don't get to be pretty and fly. So you can stuff your honesty." It's almost pleasantly said, for all he's not really feeling that.

Simone smirks at him shaking her head. "You are a confusing man." she tells him. Darn these complicated people! "But that is kinda my point.. I'd say this to any one with a " she pauses, looking for the right word. "devistating ability like yours. You don't want to hurt any one.. that's admirable..and it's obviously really good ah.. incentive? drive for you.. But you do have abilities maybe you don't like.. but some where there's got to be something you do like about what you can do.. or maybe what you might be able to do.. it sounds like that .. crop circle stuff? did Scott or the Professor say it might be emerging telekinesis?"

Jonothon can only shrug. He's not at all angry with you, just tired of the false silver lining people keep feeding him. The teen really hates his powers. About the only thing he's found to enjoy are the swims he can share with Lily. "No, they seldom tell me anything." Either Scott or the Professor. "Probably because there's so much to learn that they keep adding to the pile and I'll not be able to handle it." A smirk for that. Does at least have a somewhat rational idea, even if it's probably wrong. "Scott seemed familiar with the effect, so I'm assuming it's telekinesis in some manner. The Professor said that's what my body was made of."

Simone nods. "oh.." she comments regarding Scott and the Proff. At least she shares! probably more than what Jono cares to hear. "Well if it's telekinesis.. it's possible you could fly right?" she suggests, letting the idea hang there.

He actually snorts about that one. Doesn't believe that. Sorry, Jonothon's a pessimist about his powers. "Gel, just stop, please? When I can share ice cream with my girl on a regular basis simply because we want, when I can use a phone, or even simply laugh out loud, I'll start thinking about the good things. For now, I'm far happier without."

Simone nods. "As you wish." she says simply. She doesn't see why it couldn't happen. Attitude she's found is the biggest difference when it comes to success or failure.