Interview (open)

[Warren Worthington III]

(( December 2006, before the Baxter Building thread, a few hours after From Russia, With Love, on the Institute grounds. Open! ))

At first, Rasputin’s sudden passivity bewilders Warren, but after a while it seems clearer. He really wasn’t kidding when he’d said earlier he was only attacking because he’d been told to; he really was just following orders. And now that he’s decided, however abruptly and for whatever reason, to ignore those orders, he’s suddenly at loose ends waiting for someone else to follow.

Which Warren finds more than a little disturbing, but he can’t very well boot the kid out on the street – especially not after effectively promising to protect him from his ex-employer. Like it or not, Rasputin has become his responsibility. Which pretty much means getting the Institute to take him in as a student… Warren can’t see placing him in a foster-family under a new identity in his current condition.

Of course, that depends on confirming that this isn’t some kind of trick. Warren doesn’t think it is, but he’s notoriously succeptible to mentalists – and not in a good way. So, we take this slow.

Which is why, after a certain amount of frantic logistics and putting off of police, Warren finds himself on Institute grounds, near the half-frozen lake, carrying on what is undoubtedly the weirdest interview of his life so far.

"So… Nikkolas. Or do you prefer ‘Rasputin’? Or perhaps ‘Nikita’? Anyway… I guess we’d like to know a little about you. Where are you from? What are your goals? In particular… how did you come to start working for Magneto, and what changed your mind? "

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

The past few hours have driven Rasputin from insanity and back, literally. Before the whole mental invasion of Warren's mind, things were easy for him. He knew what he wanted, how to obtain it, and he was pretty set in his ways. But now that things have changed, he was his true self, if you could call it that. He hadn't been without his mental constructs for a very long time, and dealing with all of this was pretty intense.

He had just been taking blind orders for Magneto, doing whatever the he wanted. Though attacking Warren was his first big mission, Magneto had him do some other minor things. Rasputin, or Nikkolas now, was just a lost soul trying to find a place to fit into.

Nikkolas hadn't given Warren any reason to trust him, or any reason to take him in. Warren was a kind soul, and Nikkolas could see this without telepathy. He would give Warren a reason to trust him and wouldn't let him down. Though he would stay out of his memories, thoughts, ect, he would still use Warren's mind to help him communicate with English as he did with whom ever he made contact with.

Warren had brought Nikkolas to the Institute where he resided. Nikkolas didn't know much about the Institute except that it was the enemy of his old 'employee.'

"So… Nikkolas. Or do you prefer ‘Rasputin’? Or perhaps ‘Nikita’?"

"Whatever you'd like to call me. Nikkolas will be fine though. I am from Omsk, Russia. I left there after the murder of my mother and father to Moscow where I saved money to make it to America." He paused, these memories were painful for him to recollect. Remembering all of the hardship he went through was tough. He took a deep breath. "I didn't really have any goals but to fit in. But, I would really like to learn how to use my power better, and to develop it. I've taught myself as much as I can." He was excited for a moment, the prospect of bettering his power was exciting. "Magneto was a quick fix to being on the streets. You see, I had to put in place mental blocks to keep my undesired emotions under control so that I could survive. I had to do what I had to do to make it. If you don't believe me I'd me more then glad to link my mind to yours. I just want to fit in."

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Josh steps out onto the wide stone porch overlooking the lake, glancing back at Jake as he does so.

“I have reservations about this. He attacked Warren mentally and made him jump through a window! Rasputin said he was sent by Magneto to punish Warren and me for our actions at the Brotherhood Headquarters in November… but why wasn’t Toni targeted?” He considers for a second. “No, I think this was Magneto trying to get to me through Warren…” Josh looks away at this, and his voice becomes quieter. “And that scares me to death.” After a moment, he continues.

“Anyway, I had to dive into his mind to do some translating work - based off of something you taught me, in fact - so I got a snapshot of his mental state. His entire mind is just wrong. It’s fragmented, blocks everywhere. It kind of reminds me of Rogue, except unhealthy, and seemingly self-induced. Any clue what that could be?” Josh questions. He steps down the stairs leading to the lake with his mentor. He sends a reassuring mental touch in Warren’s direction.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " Magneto was a quick fix to being on the streets. You see, I had to put in place mental blocks to keep my undesired emotions under control so that I could survive. I had to do what I had to do to make it. "

That catches Warren’s attention, and he nods cautiously. It does make some sense… Warren’s met people who had to turn their consciences off temporarily to get through a difficult period. Yes, but they didn’t do it intentionally… that has to make a difference, doesn’t it?

> " If you don't believe me I'd me more then glad to link my mind to yours."

He manages to avoid actually jumping back or anything equally rude, but his distaste for the idea is still obvious. "No, I don’t think that will be necessary. And, frankly, I’d have no way of distinguishing what I saw in your mind from what you wanted me to see, so it wouldn’t do very much good… I’m afraid this is one of those trust issues that needs to get handled the old-fashioned way. "

Which is an interesting realization, given how quickly he and Josh had come to trust each other. He’d attributed that primarily to Josh’s telepathy, but of course if he hadn’t had the faith to begin with, the telepathy wouldn’t have helped, any more than it does here – after all, when dealing with someone who manipulates perceptions, how can he trust his own?

He puts that line of thought aside for now… the truth is he can’t, so he has to rely on his telepathic partners to handle that end of things, while he concentrates on the “old-fashioned way.” He’s tempted to interrogate Nikkolas about the details of Magneto’s operations, but that wouldn’t help much with the trust issue either, and besides he probably wasn’t told anything much… that seems to be Magneto’s style. And getting into the details of things he did, or what happened to his parents, might just set the kid off again.

So he takes another tack. "Well, I don’t know how much you know about the Institute, but essentially that’s why we’re here… to give young mutants an opportunity to learn about their powers and how to use them. Although you seem to have that part down fairly well, from what I’ve seen" he adds wryly, looking over his glass-torn clothes. It looks worse than it really is; the blood is from cuts that have mostly healed by now… still, combined with the residual damage from the Paris incident the other day, it doesn’t look good. Note to self: No more flying through plate-glass windows. It never ends well.

"So maybe we can start with you telling me what your power is, exactly? Not that I’m an expert on psychic abilities, but – " he cuts off as his enhanced hearing picks up Josh’s conversation from the porch, then adds " but we’re about to be joined by someone who is, and we can see where we are." It’s a little odd conducting this sort of business outdoors, but given the current semi-demolished state of the Institute it seems like the best option.

> " I think this was Magneto trying to get to me through Warren… and that scares me to death."

Warren is pretty sure Josh didn’t intend for him to hear that, and after some thought decides not to respond. The truth is, it scares him far more than it does Josh… not just Rasputin, or the Brotherhood, or Magneto, but the whole “X-Men” gig.

When he’d arrived at the Institute he’d never meant to sign up for being targeted by mutant-hating soldiers and insane psychics and mobs of machine-gun toting clones and everything else that’s been going on these last few weeks… all he’d wanted, really, was to be somewhere where it was OK to have wings. He’d gotten more than he’d bargained for, both good and bad, and he wouldn’t trade back for anything in the world… but that doesn’t make dealing with the fallout any easier.

[Jake Sheppard]

This is not the first time Jake’s been less than pleased with his new status as ‘possibly not as totally inept as we thought’. Following The Frost Incidents and all that jazz anything psychic can no longer be passed down the chain of command… sigh. It was inevitable, maybe, that the literal Head Mastery would catch up with the other headmaster-y duties eventually, but where does that say he has to be happy about the situation? Call him old fashioned – because if those ‘Effective Teaching’ articles Moira keep sending him are anything to go by, hands-on is very much the *modern* thing – but potentially being thrown through a pane of glass (or worse, maybe, once this guy figures out that he’s something more of a threat, and simultaneously more breakable, than Warren) is not much incentive to try and make friends…

< I think this was Magneto trying to get to me through Warren
… and that’s sort of the main problem, isn’t it? A wasted childhood in front of the Idiot Box with its Saturday morning cartoon marathons prepares you, sort of, for codenames and secret lairs and all the cool stuff that makes you want to grow up to be *insert name of popular character here*. They don’t say anything about the shit that has to go down before the good guys can win… or the fact that there’s nothing in the ‘real’ script which says they have to. But that’s all a little more bleak than he’d like, and his tone stays breezy and quintessentially ‘Jake’ – ”You think we can complain to the superhero union? Because I’m fairly sure we didn’t sign up for any of that”

(Saying anything more helpful… isn’t really something he can pull off, because much as they’ve been jokingly riffing off the Yoda/student dynamic when things aren’t going to hell he can’t pretend superiority over Josh in anything other than age and job title. Talking seriously about the X-team business without coming off either patronising or - given that he’s safely behind the front line and basically a glorified secretary and clean-up team as opposed to an actual hero - just plain idiotic, isn’t going to happen any time soon, so he sticks with what he knows).

< … based off something you taught me, actually
Oh good, something paid off at least. That raises a trademark half-goofy, half-charming grin, which he pulls back to something nearer knowing and wry (hopefully, though goofy-charming probably still wins out) – ”Oh really? Wa-hay, excellent” – and Jake has to stop himself launching into running down techniques and stuff because now is not the time and the place. But… hell, he’s allowed a glow of pride at the mentor thing working out, right?

< His entire mind is just wrong
Yes, back on task, and into nodding knowingly and frowning and doing all the other stuff that implies he’s somehow a serious academic with a handle on what’s going on, and not just someone who happened to be in the right place at the wrong time and now finds himself cursing his ability to bullshit. He sort-of understands what Josh means… sort of; back when he’d been arsing his way through psychology, the whole ‘oooh, this mind’s broken’ thing had come up plenty of times. In Josh he can see the mirror of his own confusion at encountering anything that different from the ‘normal’ mental landscape, and can’t resist adding a ”Yeah, s’weird isn’t it?”, given that he’s in conversation with someone who would understand just how weird it really is.

< Any clue what it could be?
”Um… Hmm.” – ‘no’ isn’t what Josh wants to hear, right? – ”Some sort of… self-induced complex post-traumatic… dissassociative… thing?” (yeah, does that sound as crap outside of his head? Oh well). He regrets adding ”Can’t say anything more without seeing for myself” (more out of habit than anything else) almost as soon as the words are out, because that’s committed him to at least getting to this guy’s mind and given why he’s being called in he’s not especially thrilled at the prospect…

As they head over to the lakeside where this unusual interview-come-assessment is taking place he’s aware that discussing this out loud might not be the best idea, and so instead sends a mental poke – Is there anything else I need to know? – and keeps his fingers crossed that the reluctance doesn’t come across in his ‘tone’. He has to remind himself not to let the stunned look Warren’s condition inspires, or the deepening of his sense that this is far from a good idea, register for more than a moment before they’re replaced with the manner usually reserved for newbies and parents. Warren seems to have made a start, and so perhaps introductions are best left to him… besides, not having to worry about words means he can concentrate more on the looking like he knows what he’s doing.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> ”You think we can complain to the superhero union? Because I’m fairly sure we didn’t sign up for any of that”

Josh’s dour mood brightens at the comment. Thanks, Jake. “We ought to give them a piece of our mind. Where’s that raise we’ve all been promised, anyway? And what about those same-sex couple benefits that everyone else has been getting lately?” His tone is teasing.

> ”Oh really? Wa-hay, excellent”

He nods. “I can try to show you what I did next at our next lesson, as long you don’t know French. If so, we’ll have to pull Ororo or Warren in for another language.” Josh feels proud that he has something to share. Most of what they’d gone over so far had been Jake showing him the different facets of telepathy, with repeated warnings that he wasn’t all that much more experienced than Josh was. Josh had to disagree, because Jake appeared to know a lot more than he gave himself credit for. Maybe the reason their relationship worked so well was that Jake was a lot more like an older friend than a teacher.

> ”Some sort of… self-induced complex post-traumatic… dissassociative… thing?”

Josh suppresses a laugh. And, sometimes, he’s totally unable to translate his knowledge into actual human speech. “I was thinking the dissociative part, as well. He seems to flip between different emotional states, rather than personalities, though.” Jake’s psychology class was useful for something, apparently.

> Is there anything else I need to know?

Right. Um… just be careful. He’s awfully manipulative, and like I said, seems to have major mood swings. Tell me if you need my help for anything… including tossing him into the lake. Josh eyes Jake out of the corner of his eye as they approach the others.

As they arrive, he sidles up next to Warren. “Hey, hon.” Josh tries not to let Warren's torn clothing bother him. The cuts had been minor, and with Warren's enhanced healing, were almost gone anyway. A part of him is still upset about it all, though. He turns to Rasputin, and indicates Jake. “This is Jake Sheppard, our headmaster. Jake, this is Rasputin.” Let the fun begin…

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

No, I don’t think that will be necessary. And, frankly, I’d have no way of distinguishing what I saw in your mind from what you wanted me to see, so it wouldn’t do very much good… I’m afraid this is one of those trust issues that needs to get handled the old-fashioned way. "

Nikkolas sat and listened to Warren very closely. It was apparent, even without mind reading, that Warren really didn't trust him at all which was ok, because who would trust a psycho/lunatic especially after attacking him. "I understand completely." He paused for a moment taking a breath. "Trust is earned; I will do my best to earn it."

"Well, I don’t know how much you know about the Institute, but essentially that’s why we’re here… to give young mutants an opportunity to learn about their powers and how to use them. Although you seem to have that part down fairly well, from what I’ve seen."

Nikkolas knew little to nothing about the institute, except that it was were Magneto's opposition resided. He had no idea that it was a place for mutants such as himself, to learn about their powers and to tame them. "No, the Institute that I was familiar with, was the enemy. Sounds more like a...school. My power isn't very tame, and will take me over if I don't master it."

"So maybe we can start with you telling me what your power is, exactly? Not that I’m an expert on psychic abilities, but – but we’re about to be joined by someone who is, and we can see where we are."

"My power allows me to see into the minds of other, and take control of them if I will it. I-" He paused as two figures seemed to be approaching. He sat quietly, waiting for them to say something. Jake and Josh came into Nikkolas' line of sight, and Josh introduced Jake as the 'headmaster'. Nikkolas quirked his eyebrow, this man didn't look old, or anything like the headmaster off of Harry Potter...Nikkolas stood up timidly, extending his hand for a hand shake. "I am Nikkolas Alekzander Blagetovich, or Rasputin. You may call me whatever you'd like." He didn't smile, and was extremely nervous.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " No, the Institute that I was familiar with, was the enemy. Sounds more like a...school."

Warren blinks at that for a moment, startled. He’d always assumed – in retrospect, foolishly – that Magneto’s “brotherhood” had their own reasons for doing what they did, and knew what they were championing and what they were opposing. Certainly, after events like his destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge, it’s difficult to imagine anyone joining the man without knowing he was a zealot bent on spreading terror and destruction… certainly, Allerdyce seemed to know what he was signing up for, even if he later changed his mind.

But now that Warren thinks about it, he supposes it’s not impossible to simply “fall in with the wrong crowd,” as his mother used to say, without really knowing the big picture. Especially if you’re a young foreign-born psychotic. Which puts a whole new perspective, not only on Nikkolas, but on the Brotherhood in general. They’d “recruited” Nikkolas away from the Brotherhood mostly through a fortuitous breakdown of those strange mental blocks of his, but perhaps a more targeted public-relations campaign could repeat their success on a larger scale?

Not that this is the right time to worry about that issue, but Warren makes a mental note to think about it later. "Yes, that’s exactly right… it is a school. Although we do other things as well when we need to, like the rescue operation your former employer was so put out by."

> " My power isn't very tame, and will take me over if I don't master it. "

"Well, then, " Warren grins and stands back up again as Jake and Josh join them, "your timing couldn’t be better. Jake here is our local expert on telepathic training regimens."

[Jake Sheppard]

< Where’s that raise we’ve all been promised, anyway?
”Hold on, we actually get paid for this now?”

< … as long as you don’t know French
”Ooooh no. Je no… par-lay… franco-speak” Jake grins somewhat apologetically at the unnatural contortions he’s no doubt just put a fine and dignified language through, but… yeah, not his strong point. ”Seriously, enough trouble getting English out straight most of the time” He’s as excited as Josh seems, and chooses to ignore the side of him which wants to point and laugh at how he’s all hyper-bouncy at the prospect of learning something new from his *protégé*… because the shift into model academic and expert is a big one for an acknowledged waster and general good-for-nothing. But whatever; there is a buzz, dammit, and it’s fun, working with Josh. Yes, he said it, fun. So there. Very few things about holding down a real job can be said to be anything other than irritating chores, but the mentoring thing’s taken – far more than he ever thought it would – as his enthusiasm for ‘The New!Spinny-Chair Project’ (which may well count as ‘the one DIY kit he’s actually completed’, and yes he bloody well is giving himself bonus points based on the lack of handy numbered instructions and flat-packed bits) serves to prove.

Waxing lyrical about Josh, however, only really highlights how little he’s looking forward to the prospect of another student, because this whole ‘mutually beneficial friendship’ where Josh teaches him almost as much about things as visa versa (and where, even more weirdly, he’s something like motivated to go away and bother learning new stuff in order to pass it on rather than just blagging) isn’t going to happen twice. No, knowing his luck this is going to be a complete high-maintenance nightmare…

< Right. Um… just be careful. He’s awfully manipulative, and like I said, seems to have major mood swings. Tell me if you need my help for anything… including tossing him into the lake.
… yeah, that sounds about right. Fan-bloody-tastic. He makes a mental note not to do anything stupid (despite fearing that’s rather like telling himself not to breathe… ho hum), takes a deep breath and, still smiling the self-assured smile of those securely in charge (so forced his cheeks are already starting to ache), delivers what should – fingers crossed – be a totally professional and confident handshake… not that he thinks the newcomer is paying much attention, or will remember anything other than his own nerves; hell, he comes a close second to Laurie as far as jumpiness goes (though hopefully this guy doesn’t have a tigress of a mother to back him up…). Not nervous enough, though, to suspend his disbelief that this is indeed the headmaster, but hey, Jake's getting used to that and almost, almost doesn't notice.

Jake still isn’t quite au fait with the policy on names – something else he has to check – but it’s Rasputin the others are using, and something about comparing him to the Mad Monk just seems… right.

Might as well continue with the redundant greetings, because protocol is always a nifty little handrail, isn’t it? ”Jake Sheppard, Maverick or… well, just Jake. Whichever.”

< Jake here is our local expert on telepathic training regimens
He’s probably already in past the point of no return, but Warren’s comment sort of closes down any remaining hopes of not ending up taking responsibility for Rasputin, and it takes a lot to turn the half-wince into something breezy and still suitably on-task. ”I think my esteemed colleague might be pushing it a little as far as ‘expert’ goes but… yeah. I’m the resident ‘Master of Heads’ as well as, erm, headmaster. So… – okay, fishing for something… anything… seriously, what do we do now? – ”Let’s start with yours. What is it you… do, exactly?”

… Okay, so the end's a little blunt and… blah. But it’s not a bad approximation of *knowing what he’s doing*… right?

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

Nikkolas shook Jake's hand firmly. He wasn't exactly sure about this guy, was he really going to try and help him or was he a more powerful psychic then Josh, and was going to 'teach him a lesson'? A small seed of anger seeded itself in his mind to grow if not controlled. He turned at looked to Warren, then to Josh before looking at Jake again. These two wouldn't bring him to someone that was going to push him further then he already was. He took a deep breath and sat down.

"Let’s start with yours. What is it you… do, exactly?”

Nikkolas looked at the man awkwardly. What an...interesting way to start their conversation. "Well," he started <I hold certain properties over the mind.> He was still using Warren's English skills since he really had no grasp on English. "I merge with another's mind, take control of it. Though I take complete control of another's mind, I can still perform basic tasks. I also have telepathic powers. I rely heavily on my telepathy to communicate with others. For example, I am using Warren's grasp on English to be able to communicate with you effectively right now. There is much about my power that I don't know though, that is why I'm here."

That was quite a mouth full. He had just basically poured everything that he knew about his power to Jake. Hopefully the 'head master' would be able to help him. "You're the professional here, so take a look if you'd like. There is nothing really else that I know to tell you." He looked at Jake, hoping that he would be able to help him, and accept him into the institute.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> For example, I am using Warren's grasp on English to be able to communicate with you effectively right now.

Josh is startled at this revelation. He is? Extending his senses outward confirms Rasputin's statement. How could I not have noticed that? The only thing he could think of is that he's been on edge ever since they returned to the Institute, and stress tended to foul up his sensitivity.

Or Rasputin's telepathy is naturally subtle. It made sense, since Rasputin's powers seemed to be more stealthy than himself, Jake, Xavier, or Jean's. Frankly, he had no idea what the extent of the guy's powers were. He'd originally thought it was just mind control, but the fact that he'd been able to duplicate a technique he'd only experienced once was impressive.

It's too late, though, and Josh's natural protectiveness kicks in. He steps in front of Warren slightly. "Did you ask Warren for permission to do that? Things are a little different around here compared with the Brotherhood. It's considered bad telepathic manners to go groping around in other people's brains without their consent." His tone is slightly accusing.

[Warren Worthington III]

> "Did you ask Warren for permission to do that?"

Warren blinks a little at Josh’s sudden protectiveness, and his immediate inclination is to try to smooth the moment over… except that, as he thinks about it, he realizes Josh is right. Accessing his linguistic centers to communicate more easily isn’t a big deal, and he’d probably have agreed to it if Nikkolas had asked, but he hadn’t asked, and that’s a bad habit to get into.

He chuckles at his own thoughts, remembering how the very idea of having his mind “snooped” used to bug him when he first arrived at the Institute. Of course, it’s a lot like being stared at – it matters who’s doing it and why. Warren may be an open book to Josh, but that’s hardly an open invitation.

More seriously, it’s yet another indicator of the problem they’re about to sign themselves up for. Letting Allerdyce back in was one thing; at least if he goes rogue again and torches the Institute, we’ll know it. This kid could subvert the Institute without anyone noticing… Lord, given the weirdness in his head it’s possible he wouldn’t know it. This is, he realizes, the moment in the movie where everyone in the audience yells “Idiot, this is a bad idea!” at the screen.

Except, really, what alternative do we have? If the Institute starts turning away powerful mutants just because they’re potentially dangerous, they’ve turned into nothing but a mutant social club… their whole purpose is to give mutants an opportunity to control themselves. Not to mention it’s purest hypocricy: Nikkolas is no more dangerous than Xavier himself was… less so, really, if I take that whole killing-every-human-being-on-Earth thing seriously.

Besides, even if Nikkolas turns out to be the case they can’t handle, who else is there who can try? The CIA would love to get their hands on him, no doubt… so would any government intelligence agency. Or corporation, come to that… he’d have been the wet-dream of Worthington Industries’ industrial espionage division. And then there’s the Hellfire Club, and Emma Frost – whatever she’s up to since her “demotion” – and Magneto’s Brotherhood and probably a half-dozen other mutant groups with various agendas. But not one of them would be interested in anything other than using the kid to further their own goals. There are days when it’s clear who the good guys are. Not as many as I'd like there to be, but still, there are days.

He shrugs, relieved it’s ultimately not his decision to make, and waits for Nikkolas’ response.

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

Nikkolas is caught totally by surprise by Josh's outburst at him. Institute mannerism hadn't been taught to him, and he had no idea that he was doing something wrong or offensive. Mannerism for Nikkolas was different then what Warren and Josh may be used to. He raised himself for the means of surviving: he needed to communicate with people, so he did what he needed to.

He put his hands on his face. How had he already screwed up, and in front of the headmaster!? He bit his bottom lip violently and closed is eyes tightly. He was biting he lip so hard blood began to trickle out from it. The whole thing was getting very overwhelming for him, he felt like a caged tiger at the zoo. He took a few seconds to breath, whipping the trickled blood with his hand.

But now things were different, he wasn't completely on his own anymore. He had potential friends, a potential place to stay, and a potential to learn. It was inevitable, he'd have to learn English somehow, and how to communicate with others without using his powers. Immediately he broke the link with Warren's mind, his whole grasp on the English language went away as quickly as the link.

>"Did you ask Warren for permission to do that?

Nikkolas looked down at the ground, he would try to make right of this whole situation the best he could. "I-" his thick Russian accent was very apparent. "I zid not know, I am veing very sorry. I vill try zhis on own"
(Translation)
(~I did not know, I am being very sorry. I will try this on [my] own.~)

[Jake Sheppard]

< < I hold certain properties over the mind >
Given that he’s used the whole *oooh, spooky voice in your head* thing to freak people out before (because hey, anything that gives you an edge, right?) it’s instinctual – if probably not all that wise – for Jake to raise an eyebrow and coolly bounce back < Mhmm, right… >

< I merge with another’s mind
Yep, definitely his domain. Jake glances over at Josh before returning his attentions to Rasputin with the sort of encouraging nod perfected by those professions who pretend to be oh-so-enthralled in hearing how you feel – Josh’s discomfort with the intrusive side of telepathy, though something they hadn’t exactly discussed (heh, Jake, discussing complicated and sensitive matters? Pfft), had nevertheless become fairly evident, and the fact that such powers had been turned on Warren was never going to sit right.

< Though I take complete control of another’s mind, I can still perform basic tasks
… and now would be Jake’s turn to feel somewhat less than comfortable with Rasputin’s powers – in his experience, complete control was a total nightmare and retaining a remote consciousness remained a distant dream. Gulp. Of course it’s not exactly a surprise that there are more powerful telepaths out there – hell, Josh is probably on course to become far, far greater than he could ever hope to even vaguely touch upon – but that sort of power in someone who is, by all accounts, totally nuts and built on a hair trigger? Not good.

His mind’s already swimming with questions as to the specifics – exactly how Rasputin takes that control, whether it’s an invasive internal presence or something more subtle, questions as to range and degree of control and countering potential mental resistance and a million other factors which filter in to make each power unique – and attempting to phrase some of those into a question which accounts for Rasputin’s apparent lack of understanding (which is another worry, because that means experimentation to figure it out, and… no, that’s scary), when something else the newcomer has to say cuts all that off.

< I am using Warren’s grasp on English to be able to communicate
Oh hell. The first spike is one of kicking himself for not noticing, and then of what if it really is that subtle? nerves… and after that comes the real punch to the gut; Josh. No doubt he’s about to explode.

< Did you ask Warren for permission to do that?
Seems like things are on course to spiral wildly out of control. And regardless of the Institute Policy and suchlike, on a basic level he can’t disagree with Josh; if someone like Rasputin comes in thinking he can do what the hell he likes with people’s heads… well, that has to be a recipe for disaster, right? But this really isn’t the best idea, exploding at Rasputin, if he really is as unstable as Josh’s reports suggest, and Jake’s torn between crisis negotiation and making for the sublevels and hoping that’s sufficient protection from the fallout. < Josh, ixnay on the ovokingpray the ychopay. Easeplay? > He tries to keep his mental tone light, let Josh know he’s still on his side and it’s just not the time or place, though there’s a creeping edge of desperation. < I’m kinda attached to this brain. Don’t really fancy having it re-arranged today. >

< I zid not know. I am veing very sorry. I vill try zhis on own
… oh-kay then. What was that?

Whatever he was expecting, it certainly wasn’t this self-debasing, stuttering capitulation. It’s almost disappointing (except that it really, really isn’t), coming from an agent of ‘the Big Bad’ (former agent, Jake reminds himself, he’s here to join Team ‘Not the Bad Guys’, after all) – where’s the fight, the attitude? This is… okay, it’s sort of pathetic, and really, really hard to know how to react to. And there’s no one he can defer to and avoid the issue, really, because the buck ultimately stops here. Okay, fine. Let’s just get through this.

The first problem is getting over the language issue, of course. The obvious answer, so it seems, is to take this ‘inside’, because he can at least broadcast in broadly-speaking *meaning* rather than *language* even if Rasputin can’t quite respond like that (though given the speed at which he picked up the trick Josh was so proud of, who bloody knows?). Plus he’ll have a better shot at noticing if Rasputin tries anything. And really, the whole point of calling him in was supposedly to get into the guy’s head. But… well, he’s not looking forward to it. Not in the slightest.

< Ok, so this is probably easier. > Jake tries his utmost to send the psychic equivalent of a breezy smile along with the words as he sits back, letting nothing slip of the apprehension or of his mixture of intrigued-shock and something nearer repulsion at how out-of-sorts the mind he’s contacting seems – Josh was right, it’s totally fragmented. < I’ll relay our conversation to my colleagues, if you have no objections > (and if you have I’ll do it anyway, because damned if I’m tackling you alone. But hey, we’re playing nice) < Josh is right; we put something of a premium on mental privacy here. After all, it’s all about learning the hows and whens of your power, right? >

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

Nikkolas was very frustrated with the whole situation now, and he knew if it kept escalating that he would loose what little control he had over his mind. Why couldn't Josh see that this was a misunderstanding; that he was only trying to communicate. It wasn't like he knew that he wasn't supposed to tap into other people's minds for help. That's what he'd always done. Nikkolas didn't want to burn any bridges, or have any unnecessary enemies. He sighed, putting his fingers tips on his forehead, massaging it roughly.

< Ok, so this is probably easier. >

Oh God yes, it was much, much easier for communication. Not to mention, thoughts thought quicker than words being spoken, especially in their situation. <Yes, this is easier then me trying to speak.>

< I’ll relay our conversation to my colleagues, if you have no objections >

Nikkolas didn't mind if Josh and Warren heard what he said, and he wouldn't tell the headmaster no if he did. If he was going to get into this Institute, he knew he had to go through the headmaster, and it seemed that the opinions of Josh and Warren held great reservations in Jake's head. <No, I would rather they know what we're saying. I have nothing to hide from anyone.> Or at least anything that he knew that he didn't have to hide; Nikkolas was unstable at the moment.

< Josh is right; we put something of a premium on mental privacy here. After all, it’s all about learning the hows and whens of your power, right? >

This statement inspired some annoyance in Nikkolas, and it would probably be apparent to Jake. His nostrils flared slightly <I don't understand what I did wrong, truthfully. No one informed me of 'rules' of using my powers, it's not like I attacked him.> He paused, trying to calm down a little. <I know that he was just trying to protect Warren's interests, but I wasn't hurting anyone.> He processed the second part of Jakes comment, <I understand, and apologize for my intrusion, and I know I have to learn English...eventually.>