3/25 Instance: Mind Busters

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: before Dancing Partners


Cecilia: Cecilia wandered down the halls towards the art department, poking her head in rooms to see if she could catch sight of the redhead she wanted to see.

Cecilia: Normally she'd ask the very best in the business to help her with this kind of thing but unfortunately Professor Xavier was asleep- again. So she'd have to settle with the next best thing. "...Hey," she said, finally coming across her in the music room. "You have a minute?"

Rachel: While she had entertained the idea of playing a few songs Mayday had suggested on bass and possibly the piano, Rachel hadn't actually gotten around to any of it. Instead, she was laying on her back on the piano bench, singing along to the song she had playing through her phone, face flushing slightly at Cecilia's voice.

Rachel: "Of course," she answered over the music, reaching to shut it off as she pushed herself up to sit. She raked a hand through her hair, frowning at the specks of glitter as she asked, "What's up?"

Cecilia: Cecilia laughed at the blush. "I didn't catch you listening to Glee did I?" She sat down on the other end of the piano bench. "You're aware of what happened at the Hellfire club the other night? That this Quent guy is probably a murderer?"

Rachel: "Oh, fuck no..." she answered with a snort, shaking her head, "Eminem. Paige isn't a huge fan of rap or metal or... Well, just about anything I listen to," she shrugged, "So, I try to make the most of my opportunities... which are actually plenty at the moment."

Rachel: At the other two questions, Rachel pulled a slight face, sighing a bit, "That... kind of sucks. He's... Nevermind. Anyway, I've heard shit went down, but I haven't gotten any details."

Cecilia: "Eminem's pretty fly," Cecilia said. "I like 'The Warning', 'Without Me' and 'Purple Pills' and, well, a lot of his stuff." She laughed but it died quick as they continued discussing Quent. "Not much to tell, we basically witnessed him delivering a mutant woman...for the slaughter."

Cecilia: Cecilia frowned. "He's a telepath and he likely has other mental abilities...we can't know if he knows we know but we tried to play it cool." She looked at Rachel. "What I'm more concerned about though is when I face him I won't be prepared for a mental attack and I was wondering..."

Rachel: "Yeah, I think I have too many favorites of his to list, but Stan, Rabbit Run, Sing for the Moment... Though, I guess some credit has to go to Aerosmith for that," Rachel commented. She stared down at the keys of the piano and lightly ran her fingers over them as she listened, shooting Cecilia a look as she asked, "You were wondering how to deal with one of those...?"

Cecilia: "Yeah," Cecilia confirmed. "I mean, I know not being a telepath myself I'll never be fully equipped to handle that sort of thing. But considering what happened to...Ankka..." She hesitated for a moment "...twice...I thought I'd be smart to learn some ways to prevent it from happening."

Cecilia: Cecilia looked away. "...It might not seem it, but my powers are very dangerous. The things I do now? Not even half of what I'm capable of. Shield bubbles in the brain, slicing people in half, spikes through vital areas of the body, domes that ricochet bullets back at people...I can't...let someone take control of my mind and use that against anyone on the team."

Rachel: Rachel let the comment about Ankka slide, though she unconsciously reached up to rub at the shoulder Darren had impaled after she'd shocked the shit out of him using the massive Finn. A bitter smile played on her lips for a moment as she considered her own potential - the power to destroy cities with a thought. She made no move to comment on that either, simply nodding.

Rachel: "Well, I mean... You're right about the telepathy thing. It'd definitely help if you had that ability," she shrugged a bit, "I'm not... I don't really know how well I'll do teaching anything to you, but I'll try..."

Cecilia: "That's all I'm asking," Cecilia remarked. "...I've heard of shielding? How does that work?"

Rachel: "That's actually your best line of defense," Rachel replied, pausing as she tried to think of how to describe it, "It's like a... Well, it's like a shield around your mind that guards psychics from seeing into your mind. I always pick up surface thoughts, but I guess with shields you can't always gather what the thought originated from... if that makes any sense."

Cecilia: "I think so..." Cecilia said, frowning. She didn't care much for things of the mind, they were so... in-quantifiable. Symptoms, diseases, sewing flesh back together, stopping blood from leaving the body. These were concrete problems she could deal with. Mental illness and subjective realities...she'd rather roll in barbed wire.

Cecilia: "So how exactly does that work? Do I just...think quietly? Or do I do something else?"

Rachel: "If you want to think quietly, go right ahead. I'm not going to complain," she shot her a slight grin. "It's a bit more complicated than that. It's like imagining a wall surrounding your mind, protecting all your thoughts and memories and such. Except it doesn't necessarily have to be a wall. It's something that makes you feel safe or secure. Personally, I like to use fire."

Cecilia: Cecilia thought a moment. What made her feel safe now? Well that was easy. "Try now," Cecilia asked, picturing one of her force fields surrounding her mind.

Rachel: Rachel gave a slight nod and took in a breath as she focused her attention on Cecilia's mind, grasping for it with her own. She did encounter the shields, but she was relatively sure she could push through them. She was undecided as to whether she should or not. After a moment of worrying her lip, she asked, "How hard do you want me to push you?"

Cecilia: "...Not enough to leave me comatose?" Cecilia said, raising an eyebrow before snapping down on her tongue. "...I'm sorry, that wasn't fair of me."

Cecilia: "Quentin won't go easy on me, I'd say as much as you can without it being dangerous, I need to know what it's like to have my mind intruded so I can recognize it and fight back so...your call there."

Rachel: "I'm used to it," Rachel mumbled in reply, blowing out a sigh. She pushed against the forcefields enough for it to be noticeable but not painful, stating, "I'd suggest thinking about something specific, and I'll work toward guessing that as opposed to picking up whatever once I get through the shields."

Cecilia: Cecilia nodded, grimacing slightly at the press towards her mind...it was not a sensation that you could describe easily but it was unmistakable. Like a muscle pulling inside the head, whereas letting Rachel in willingly had been unnoticeable. She thought hard about her shields while simultaneously thinking about a Greek phrase Stavropaulos had taught her.

Cecilia: HÄ phýsis oudèn poieî hálmata. Nature does not make sudden jumps.

Rachel: Given Cecilia's inexperience, it didn't take much for Rachel to locate a weak point in the other girl's shielding and worm her way through it, the Greek phrase coming to the forefront of her mind. Once she'd gathered that, she immediately scaled back her presence, not wanting to pick up anything else. "Try again."

Cecilia: Cecilia drew in another breath. Trying again to encause her entire mind. Ktêma es aeà . Possession for eternity.

Cecilia: When she felt Rachel slipping in again then though she tried a more underhanded form of defense. Immediately she brought up the memory of a rotting dog corpse in La Perla. Picturing it's tiny body writhing with maggots as it lay forlorn on the street by her home.

Rachel: "If I hadn't seen worse, I'd find that far more off-putting," Rachel commented, her face twisting in disgust. "Also, that might look appetizing to cannibals..."

Cecilia: "I gotta a lot worse," Cecilia remarked, eyes hard. "But I was trying to spare you. If you prefer I make it harder though..."

Rachel: "I've seen and done enough I don't think I need to be spared," she shook her head, fingers lightly tracing the keys in front of her. After a moment, she gave a shrug, "It's up to you though."

Cecilia: Cecilia nodded. "Again then." This time she had an array of bad memories to pull up. She rapidly cycled through them too, to make it more chaotic. Blood spurting out of a hole in a hispanic man's chest, the blood crusted drains in the cannibal building, the feeling of the glass slicing into her scalp in Traskland, the overwhelming anger as she shattered the window of her dorm. She made these thoughts loud.

Rachel: The bits and pieces of memories seemingly flashing before her eyes were especially disorienting when coupled with how forcefully they were being pushed at her, the anger practically choking her. It had been amazing how she was able to juggle something similar with all the minds she'd been able to pick up before her powers had been contained, however that wasn't the case now.

Rachel: While she could likely press on, pushing her way through it all with enough effort, Rachel opted not to and simply nodded, "That's a pretty good start. Makes it hard to focus."

Cecilia: Cecilia grinned a little at that. "Fabian had a sister with telepathic powers. He's mentioned a few times he used to think of disgusting things to keep her out."

Rachel: "Well, whatever works," she managed a slight grin back, "You really have to focus on it for a while, but it eventually becomes a habit."

Cecilia: "...I'm foreseeing a headache after all this," Cecilia said wryly.

Rachel: After that barrage of images, Rachel gave a nod, "Yeah, me too."