StV: Electronic Reflections

Jinx? You're up? What's wrong?

Dave Jenkins blinked at the computer screen. He wanted nothing more in this moment than to type up a quick alert and go back to bed. It was... he glanced at the corner of the screen... a little shy of three in the morning, and nobody in their right mind should be awake right now. Except for Charles. And Maria, though arguably she's never quite in her right mind during thunderstorms. And the new kid, though with any luck he's asleep by now. But this was Dianna, so...

You sitting down? he typed.

The icon rippled to indicate that she was typing, then stopped. He could almost see her hesitating over her keyboard. What happened now? she responded finally.

New arrival. Calls himself Lucian. LOOKS like he was breaking into the school (black clothes, face mask) but Maria caught him on the way in.

Which Maria?

Cloudburst. Stuffed him in the first-floor shower on the girls wing and told him to stay put. Then she took his clothes and came to get me.

There was a very long pause, long enough to make Dave wonder if Dianna had just gotten up from her desk to come see him in person. Then: ...Do I want to know how she managed that? 

Probably not. She says nothing happened, and I believe her. 

Jesus. Why don't we have her on one of the teams already?

I'd have to check her file. I think we were waiting for her to get better control over electricity.

Flag that for me, would you? She'll be more help using her brain like that than she ever will with powers. 

Dave made a note on the pad he kept beside the keyboard. He had half a dozen ways of keeping up with tasks electronically, but there was nothing that quite matched the satisfaction of crossing something off a list on a physical piece of paper. 

Dianna was typing again, so he waited. You've still got the kid's clothes? 

Dave hesitated for a moment, knowing what would come next, and then typed: Yes. 

Good. I'll be right down.

Student: Indigo

Name: Arabella Elizabeth Campbell
Codename: Indigo
Age: 15
Appearance: 5'9" with medium-dark brown skin, frizzy blue-black, and warm brown eyes
Notable Skills: Dance, Gymnastics, Parkour, Aikido, Computer Programming/Applications, Bass (upright or guitar), Singing, Math
Quirks: loves animals and children, touchy-feely, punctual, polite/formal with strangers, afraid of heights

Ara is starting her first year at school, and has tentatively agreed to start dating Iris. (She actually really likes him -- they've been friends for years -- she's just not sure about "the dating thing".) Her mother is Glimmer, and as a result of her background and her (somewhat precocious) control of her powers, she was offered a chance to try out for Team Phoenix. She turned it down, however, on the basis that even if she could control her powers she wasn't ready yet, socially or intellectually. 

As a student and the daughter of a faculty member, Ara is careful to keep her grades in the high Bs and low As. Her real love is physical exercise, followed by music; she has recently taken an interest in programming, and found that she really enjoys the sort of thought-organizing and troubleshooting that goes with it. 

Ara claimed the nickname/codename Indigo in grade school, owing to her blue-black hair. (Her hair becomes more blue, and with lighter-blue highlights, after time in the sun.) As Indigo, she can absorb energy from other people within about one hundred yards of her, using sight to target them. She can use this effect to weaken her targets and put them to sleep, and if she's targeting a fellow anomaly she can also use their energy to power a number of psychic abilities.

Student: Iris

Name: Sebastian Warren Jenkins (goes by Warren)
Nickname: Iris
Age: 15
Appearance: 5'9" with curly, light-brown hair (think Jew-fro) and a narrow face with a high forehead.
Notable Skills: Gardening, raising rabbits, crafts, protest safety, sabotage
Quirks: tries to bond by talking about social justice issues, doesn't really know how to relax, doesn't want to hurt anybody (ever), clumsy (grown a lot in the past two years), loves to dance but doesn't know how

Warren is the son of Jinx, and is in his first year at Saint Vincent's; he's still figuring out how to have a social life with his dad being part of the faculty. His mother is a well-known pro-Anomaly activist who goes by the name of Sunset and is currently wanted for questioning by the FBI; she sent him to live with his father while she "sorts things out" and they remain on good terms. 

While he can be a bit socially awkward -- he tends to rant about social justice and political topics given the slightest opening -- Warren has made some friends and is getting better about recognizing social expectations outside of his mother's circle. His understanding of politics is still somewhat crude and very black-and-white. He is currently dating Indigo -- also the child of a faculty member -- and is trying very hard not to fuck that up. 

His codename Iris comes primarily from the fact that his eyes change colors with his moods; but when his eyes go black, he is also capable of hypnotizing anyone who meets his gaze, and sucking thoughts and memories out of their minds. This is a horrifying experience for everyone involved, and can result in genuine mental damage to his victims (lost memories, alterations in personality, inability to concentrate, nervous tics, etc.) so Warren has been extremely cautious about practicing with it and learning to control it.

Oomph

Okay, interesting week. Much as I've enjoyed filling the blog with characters for the last month or so, I'd like to go back to posting personal thoughts or little bits of fiction. And since it's my blog, I get to do that. 

Not today, though. One disadvantage of doing this whole Self Care thing is that I'm actually going to bed at more sensible hours and making sure I get a solid seven or eight hours of sleep. (Last night's dreams? Secondborn and I had ducked into this weird, maze-like theme park in search of a restroom. There restrooms were on a car on a roller coaster. Like, you sat down, pulled a privacy cover over so only your head was showing, and did your business while the whole thing went through its course. Which, in the waking world, seems like the worst idea ever, but when you're desperate enough you'll try anything.) 

(I've dreamed of that place before, too.)

So anyway, getting a full night's sleep cuts into my Write At Night time, plus we had a few evening activities this week that further reduced my available time and energy, plus our ERP (financial business) system at work has been acting up since late last Friday. 

It's been a busy week. 

We might have the software issue sorted out; I'll find out today. 

Wishing you all a lovely day and plenty of rest.

Public Figure: Adam McGrath

Name: Adam Edwin McGrath
Codename: N/A
Age: 46
Appearance: Tall, muscular, neatly-dressed man salt-and-pepper hair, clean shaven; 6'2"
Job: Genetics Researcher for The McGrath Institute and advocate for human-Anomaly unity

Adam McGrath is one of the top researchers into Anomalous biology and an outspoken advocate for peace and unity between Anomalies and regular human beings. Despite periodic accusations and tabloid articles, he appears to be an ordinary human himself, albeit one of considerable intellect and education, and as such is a highly controversial figure in certain quarters. 

In addition to its research, the McGrath Institute operates a small hospital for Anomalies whose changes have created medical issues for them; the facilities there include purpose-built chambers for Anomalies who can no longer breathe air, or whose presence is inherently dangerous to other people. The Institute is sustained by an anonymous endowment supplemented with a mix of public donations and federal funding, and its scientists are thus much more at liberty to publish their findings without fear of financial reprisals than those of some other organizations.

Student: Star

Name: Jacques Alain Darrieux
Codename: Star
Age: 18
Appearance: White hair, whits skin, pink eyes (albino) 5'11, rangy build.
Notable Skills: Hiking, wilderness survival, naturalist, hydrology and forestry, driving, computers
Quirks: wears very thick glasses; loves board games, card games, and TTRPGs; dislikes exercise; loves swimming and diving; wants a pet cat

Jacques is a student with a goal: he wants to get a position guiding big corporations towards renewable, sustainable practices and conservation of natural resources. He is a determined student and consummate outsdoorsman, with a strong love of nature which he is happy to share with anybody who's interested. He is not opposed to hunting, fishing, logging, and other use of natural resources, but would like to see it done responsibly and has participated in a half-dozen protests to this end. 

His power as an Anomaly is relatively simple: he burns. At low levels, he simply gives off visible light and/or heat -- he can emphasize one or the other, but can't produce either one without a bit of the other. At higher levels of power his aura becomes blinding and searing hot, producing an incredibly destructive ball of plasma around him. Current testing suggests that if he pushes his power too far it could result in a nuclear blast capable of leveling a city (and killing him in the process). At present Star has no way to target or direct his power, so he generally limits himself to minor effects like providing light or warming up cold rooms.

Faculty: Anacrusis

Name: Lauren Ann Hilcourt
Codename: Anacrusis
Age: 28
Appearance: 5'2" with curly red hair, pale skin, freckles, blue eyes
Job: teaches music and art and assists with dance

Ms. Hilcourt isn't an anomaly at all, but one of her first classes at the school decided that she needed a codename anyway (since all the other teachers had one), and after some brainstorming they came up with Anacrusis. She is very committed to seeing her students grow and thrive, and firm in her conviction that art and music are necessary parts of that. In addition to her classes, she does individual tutoring and helps Ms. Campbell with the introductory dance classes.