12493/Binary is the easiest language to learn

Binary is the easiest language to learn
Date of Scene:	25 November 2020
Location:	Jeremy's Room (West Halls), Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Jax visits Jeremy and the two bond over conversation. The goth may have found a bromance.
Cast of Characters:	Jax Miller, SpyderByte

Jax Miller has posed:
Another day done. Somehow knowing your teacher is a superhero does make the time fly a bit faster than usual, and Jax finds himself in a very good mood. The evidence? There's a rhythmic knocking on Jeremy's door... so rhythmic, in fact, that it's practically a drum solo.

SpyderByte has posed:
It's later in the evening and Jeremy is settled in his room in front of his computer. As usual, the lights are off, leaving only the glow of the three displays mounted on the wall below a dark purple glowing box. The young technopath is currently typing away at the keyboard as he drills in line after line of code on the display in front of him. To the left is several camera feeds of the city, to the right is a incognito browser opened up to the dark web under a ghosted VPN. Not that he needs it with his powers, but he enjoys fiddling with the extra layer of security.

At times, he will glance over towards the camera feeds. This particular one looks like The Punisher is doing some type of shootout with masked figures. He squints his eyes, fingers tapping along the keyboard.

"I s-s-see t-thaaa-t-t y-you haaaave a s-ssss-sssamauri t-t-too."

When he rarely uses his actual voice, it comes out in a harsh stammer, as if pulling each word out was a challenge. At the sound of the knocking, he glances upwards for a moment, catches Jax's signal from his phone in the area, then smiles. He rises up and heads over to the door to open it up. Today he's wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, a simple black t-shirt and his leather collar around his neck. He also has a case of bed head as his hair is stuck up in a few places.

<< Hi! >> His voice comes out from an Alexa speaker set up near by.

Jax Miller has posed:
"What up?!" Jax, dressed in loose, custom stitched jeans, a round necked shirt covered by a loose hoodie, and a pair of paw-print socks, lets himself in when the door is opened. "Figured I'd come see how you're doing, 'cause it turns out we're neighbors." Hmmm. Yeah, that's been obvious for literally weeks now, so... fishing for a reason much? His eyes, used to very dim lighting, takes in the room and come to rest on the triple monitor setup.

"Whoa, sweet rig. Custom build?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Yes. Miss Grey financed it for me. It's very top of the line. Thirty grand of hardware built inside. She wanted to make sure that I would be at peak optimal efficiency for when I work. >>

Jeremy gives a bright smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

<< It has everything I ever wanted in a computer. I was able to modifiy the operating systems and firewalls to make myself nearly undetectable. The networks that Xavier's has is crazy fast. Everything is instant. >>

He sways a bit on his feet, brushing some long bangs away from his face. << I'm glad you came over. I don't get a lot of company. That's my fault though. I don't invite anyone over, actually. I should. I guess I'm just always so busy. >>

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Really?" Hmmm. Never invite anyone over? Odd that Jax chose to invite himself over then... with the flimsiest of excuses. He grabs Jeremy in a brief one-armed bro-hug on his way past, and then kneels by the computer, looking at it owlishly... like a kitten watching a washing machine on the spin cycle. You know he's intrigued, but he probably has no idea what's going on.

    It holds his attention for at least ten seconds... that's practically an eternity.

    Then he springs back up, and grins towards the technopath. "But can it run Crysis?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Really. It was nice of her. >>

Jeremy thinks he is still talking about Miss Grey's generosity. Looking into the case is like a wonderland of technology. There is two top of the line video cards that are considered professional grade. A water coolant system. Multiple LED cabling to give it a bit of personality.

<< Yes, it can run Crysis. It can run every game. It can crunch teraflops of data within seconds. I have been able to overclock every aspect of it through both the BIOS and my powers. Right now I just use it for archiving and surveillance. I'm not much of a gamer. >>

Curling his arm around him in return for a hug, he seems to brighten up a bit, that is until Jax is completely past him.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Seems a bit of a waste. But you could be big in the eSports league if you wanted to be." It was, after all, a legitimate sports league. Not quite one that Jax aspired to, but cyber athleticism is a thing that requires a different kind of muscle that, let's face it, the cat mutant didn't possess. "You should check it out."

    Pause.

    "What's a teraflop? Sounds like something you wear to the beach."

SpyderByte has posed:
<< A teraflop is a unit of computing speed equal to one million floating-point operations per second. One teraflop is equal to one trillion gigabytes. >>

Jeremy gives a bit of a giggle.

<>

Settling into his chair, it looks to be an expensive and top of the line office type. It curves instinctively to his back. It has multiple dials beneath to create a customized sitting experience.

<< You're so cool, Jax. Everyone likes you here at the school. According to social polling and farming of data that I .. am totally .. not doing .. you are the second most popular boy in school. >>

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Pffff, popularity." With a twitch of his ear, Jax hops onto Jeremy's bed to watch him at the computer. It's only fair... people watch him on the court, or in the diamond, they'll watch him on the pitch... so why not watch another expert in their own arena? That's not just good manners, it's educational. And when it comes to computers, Jax has a few things to learn.

    "Sooo... not that I care or anything, but... ehmmm..."

    Yeah.

    "Who's the most popular?" His ears have swiveled slightly to the side and have that curious half-tilt that implies an attempt at being sly. Honestly, he'd always lose at poker.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Jesse Frye. Senior. His powers is that he can breathe underwater, so he spends a lot of time swimming. He looks like a Aqua Man and the cute guy from Twilight smashed together, but with gills. He's been here for six years. He's running for class president. He is going to win in a land slide. He's really cool and nice and really works hard. I'm going to vote for him. >>

Jeremy is always honest. As he glances over at the computer, he gives a motion of his hand towards the keyboard as the lines of code begin to unravel again in bright green and white font upon a black background. He gives a blink of his left eye and the camera feeds cut out, followed by a loading bar of an archival.

<< When he graduates this year, you'll be the most popular boy I'm sure. >>

Jax Miller has posed:
"Sounds like a cool dude, never seen him before though." Jax makes himself comfortable on the bed. Hopefully Jeremy isn't allergic to cat fur, because it'll be there for a while. "I'll give him my congratulations when he wins class president."

Blinky green and white code! Oooh. "What's all those squiggles and symbols and stuff?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< You should. He really likes you by the way. Fan of your dad. He has a lot of Bill's merchandise. He's born and raised in Buffalo. >>

The amount of 'stuff' that Jeremy knows about people may be terrifying, or uncomfortable, but he speaks as if it's no big deal. If you put it on the Internet, most likely he's going to know about it.

Looking back to the computer, his lips press together tightly, then clears his throat.

<< Oh. It's just work. Busy work. A project for Miss Grey. Nothing exciting. You would find it boring I think. >>

He taps a button on the keyboard to shut the screens off, then rubs the back of his neck with his fingers. Looking over towards him on the bed, he gives a half grin. << So you came over to say Hi to me? >> He asks, his phone's tone lifting up a bit happily.

Jax Miller has posed:
"Awesome! I'll have to hook him up with a few tickets and some merch. Maybe a meet and greet." With a 'mrowl', he turns onto his back and looks at Jeremy upside down, tail thumping slowly. "Y'know, I should take people up to the stadium for the games. Look for fans, know what I'm saying?"

As for the rest... he blinks at Jeremy. "Boring? Nah, there's not a lot I find boring. There's something exciting in everything. I mean, you had a full on surveillance camera on, and that didn't look like a standard OS to me, so... could be fun?"

SpyderByte has posed:
Pressing his lips together, Jeremy gives a glance towards the door, then back to Jax. He rubs the back of his neck, giving another squeeze of his phones.

<< Oh. I was just archiving some activites that was caught on a city feed. The Punisher got into some type of combat situation involving what appears to be .. um.. maybe .. ninjas. There was some other metahumans that I did not recognize who appeared to be on site. I am just logging and recording the data in case it may be mutant related. The Punisher doesn't take prisoners. He blows people up. I just didn't want you to see it. >>

Sliding out of his chair, he heads over to settle down next to him on the bed, peeking down at him with a curious smile.

Jax Miller has posed:
Jax looks up, without much surprise and certainly without apprehension at Jeremy. "Ninjas? You know, until last week, I'd have said you're making it up as you go along, but... seen some shit now, man. If you say there's someone called the Punisher out there fighting Ninjas on the down low, I'll believe you."

A few moments after, Jax stretches out. He seems to do that a lot, and always seems to enjoy it, must be a feline thing. "Why'd you look at the door? I mean, I guess I'm the last one here to find out what's going on, so... " Blink. "Oooh, unless you're doing something secret even in a secret superhero school?"

SpyderByte has posed:
Shrugging his shoulders, Jeremy glances down and away at his phone again.

<>

The tone of the modular voice sounds so sad when that comes out. Obviously he wants to talk about it, but he can't. A lonely world he lives.

<< I'm sorry. >> He looks like he means it too.

He presses his lips together, then lets out a sigh as he leans backwards as well on the bed, turning his head to look at him.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Why not?"

    It's an innocent question, asked by a teenager who, really, hasn't seen much of the world yet. Or, more accurately, hasn't been flattened by the world yet. "It sound like you want to. And who am I going to tell? Another superhero? I mean, unless it's something super secret, there's a good chance they know already. Never bottle things up dude, 's not good for you. Besides..."

    Rolling over again, Jax wraps an arm around Jeremy and grins. "I probably won't understand half of it anyway."

SpyderByte has posed:
Rubbing the back of his neck, Jeremy presses his lips together tighter now. He takes in a deep breath, then lets it out.

<< We told you about the New Mutants last night, how we're a group of students that are hand picked by the staff to have additional training in our powers, combat, defense, security. There's only a handful of us. About six or seven. We are not meant to become the next lineup of X-Men, but there are several students that really want to be. I'm not one of them. >>

He taps his fingers together gently in a nervous and anxious manner.

<< And if others found out that the X-Men have asked me to work with them for a secret mission, it would upset them, or make them jealous, or perhaps they will see it as favortism. But I have a particular set of skills that is designed for this situation, and .. because of my past ... and things I have seen before. They don't want to expose students to .. what it is that I am discovering. We're just kids, but they were desperate .. because this .. what I am doing .. it's so important. >>

He screws his face up into a bit of emotion, anxious. He gives a loud 'sniff'.

<< Just don't say anything to anyone, please. I shouldn't have even said this much. I just am not good at lying in real life like I am online. >>

Jax Miller has posed:
Stress. Anxiousness. Jax is very sensitive to those emotions, like all cats are... and like all cats, he knows only one solution to that kind of problem. Strong arms wrap around Jeremy and attempt to wrestle him to the bed, then encircle him in a tight hug. Positive pressure! A gentle, relaxing purr! There, all the ingredients to the feline cure for anxiety.

"I'm not gonna tell anyone. 'cause you asked me. An' I'm kinda glad you don't want to be a superhero, because I don't want to be one either and I don't want to feel like the weird one, y'know? You... you're going to be some kind of super programmer, the next Bill Gates or Lex Luthor, or even the next Tony Stark. Either that or a cryptocurrency billionaire. And all of that is just as cool as jumping around in a cape and tights and fighting people on a roof top."

SpyderByte has posed:
As he is drawn into his arms, Jeremy wraps his arms around him in return as he squeezes him tightly. He buries his face in against his shoulder for a moment, then lets out a soft noise of content. His fingers brush through the soft fur along his arms in a gentle manner.

<< Maybe. I've been told that I am a hero in my own way. By Supergirl of all people. She and I are good friends. I have worked with her before. She even asked me to join her Junior Justice League. I guess I'm an honorary member. But I don't want to put on a costume and leap around rooftops. I like being the techy guy that sits in his room feeding intel through ear pieces and navigating through tricky maps. >>

He presses his lips together, then brushes his hand along Jax's chest for a moment, hesitant.

<< If you could find out you could lose your powers and be normal again .. would you do it? To not be a cat? To look like a normal boy? >>

Jax Miller has posed:
    "I can see you do that. You'd be awesome at it. Surrounded by systems you've built yourself, feet up on a second chair, finding out who the enemies are and trashing their credit rating at the same time..." Jax smiles, keeping Jeremy in a warm, comfortable hug. Yes, he's the tactile type, but so far his remedy for stress has always worked. Fingers through his fur only earn another purr, and then...

    ... the question.

    The same question he's asked himself hundreds of times over the years, usually when someone has managed to say something that finally got under his skin. Would he?

    "Hmmm. Normal? But I am normal." Jax smiles, looking into Jeremy's eyes. "I'm normal for me, just like how you're normal for you. I was born like this, literally, I've never been anything else. But I got lucky, see? I've always known, I've never been able to pretend I wasn't like this, or never thought I wasn't like this because I looked like everyone else. I've always looked like this, so I've always known. I'm normal. I'm me. Why would I want to be someone else?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Like Mister Universe from Firefly. >>

Jeremy says with a smile upon his face as the speakers from his phone speak softly.

<< You are normal, yes, in every sense of the word. But what if you could have your mutant DNA reversed? You'd lose your fur, your tail .. your ears. You'd look like .. a human .. Would you do it though? To look like me, or someone else? >>

He fidgets a bit as he asks the question, keeping his hand over Jax's chest, right over his heart.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Hah! Remind me to get a brown trenchcoat. That's the only kind of superhero you'll catch me be."

    Under Jeremy's hand, Jax's heart is thumping. It's always a bit faster than a human's, so it's hard to tell if it's going particularly fast right now or if that's just the way it always gallops.

    "Nobody made me into who I am, or what I am. I'm just me. Besides, without my tail I'd fall over, none of my shoes would fit if I had normal feet and I wouldn't be able to slam dunk from the three point line from a full stop. Why would I wanna change that?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< .. Because there is a group out there that just created what they are calling a cure .. and they're kidnapping mutants and depowering them.. >>

Jeremy says softly as he lets out a sigh to him.

<< And I got intel on them. It's what the staff wanted me to find and deep dive. There are people out there that wants to remove the mutant gene from existance. On the dark web, there is rumblings now of mutants eager to lose their powers. Some of them look ... you know.. like you.. not like a human. Some are embarrassed. Some want to live a life without being harassed. You're one of the lucky ones. Son of a famous NFL player, grew up in the spotlight. But there are others out there that get beat up, hurt, killed ..for being different. >>

He sighs softly again as he nestles in his arms.

<>

Jax Miller has posed:
    Strong arms squeeze again, the hug getting fractionally tighter. "That sucks!" Yup, Jax has strong opinions on this.

    "We're not sick. There's nothing to cure. And when you have to kidnap people to give them what you're calling a cure, newsflash, that's not a cure. They can go and... and shove that.... awwrgh!"

    The purr is so loud that the walls practically vibrate. So does most of Jax, in sympathetic harmony. Now he knows why his friend looks so down! Bullies! Evil people! His vocabulary lacks the emotional maturity to find a proper noun for the miscreants!

    "I'm gonna ask Mister Summers and Miss Grey if they mind me appearing in a 'Mutant and Proud' ad or something. Get it plastered all over the NFL and the NBA, sponsored by the Bills and the Bulls. Y'know, the whole 'real athletes don't tolerate bullies' poster program they used to do, but for the sake of mutants this time. Mutants like me, who can't hide. Who shouldn't have to hide!"

    Turns out there's more than one way to be a hero...

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I don't think you should. It could potentially expose the school. You should be /really/ careful. If the Reavers or Friends of Humanity make you a target, they will stop at nothing to kill you, including your friends. They are evil and crazy. You don't .. know .. what it's like under the surface. There is so many people ready to go to war because they're scared of us. People like Magneto and this Metaforce has fanned the flames for years and now people want to fight back to protect themselves. They don't see you as a really cute cat boy who can slam dunk a ball. They see you as the enemy. >>

Jeremy tightens his hold around him tighter.

<< I have helped expose governments that tried to pass anti-mutant bills. I've seen live feeds of people beating us with baseball bats, cutting us open, blowing us up like we're toys. Children also! Just because we are different. Now they want to stick us with needles and take away who we are. >>

He gives a loud sniff, rubbing his cheek into his chest a bit, his face looking distraught.

<< These scientists have some government backing too. Our own country. People that we vote to protect us want to remove us. No one will care about your Ad, or your mutant pride campaign. All it does is make the angry even more angry. And the only thing I can do is try and gather more evidence and pass it on to Miss Grey and Mister Logan and hope that they can stop them quietly before it goes public. >>

Jax Miller has posed:
    Still purring, for the sake of Jeremy, Jax puts a hand on the back of the other teen's head and holds it close against his chest. "See... I hate to say this, but... you're wrong."

    "I mean, not about some people being dicks. They are, I know. I've met them. But people do care that I can yeet a ball from the halfway line and get nothing but net. They care I can climb the backstop and jump to catch what should have been a home run. They care I can run halfway across the field before the blockers even recognise what play we're using. Because sports, dude. It's like... a universal language."

    There's a short pause, and then the cat kid tries to put it into words. "I mean, not everyone who hates mutants hates mutants because they have a specific reason to be scared, right? They just hate mutants because they've been told mutants are bad, mutants are evil and mutants are dangerous. Okay. Some mutants like to blow stuff up, and that's not helping. But try telling ... a... a Buccanneers fan that mutants are evil when their team is playing the Superbowl and half the players are mutants. Y'know, it's hard to convince people mutants are a problem when they're helping you win, when they're visibly on your side."

    Now he looks down at Jeremy, with a soft smile. "You think I've never had to deal with bullies? Or with people who didn't like me because they thought I was dangerous? You know how many times I got kicked off a team because they had to replace a ball I'd accidentally clawed? But when you've got this angry guy climbing down the bleachers yelling that it's disgusting that a mutant is being allowed to play with his kid, you know how many people will yell at him to shut up, because that kid just scored his third goal, and the team is /winning/ for a change?"

    "People are scared. Sure. But I want to show them they don't need to be. I mean, we've got Andrea Jackson, we've got Dazzler. But that's show business, that's music. Kids listen to their music and know mutants aren't scary. Now imagine how many more people watch sports. Now imagine how many people are going to learn mutants aren't scary because, hey, mutants helped their team win for the first time in like decades."

SpyderByte has posed:
There is a shake of Jeremy's head as he pushes himself upwards. He blows his bangs away from his face and stares down at him for a long moment. He presses his lips together.

<>

He reaches out to brush his fingers along Jax's fuzzy cheek, then settles them against his jawline for a moment. He offers him up a smile from behind the veil of red and black hair that dangles in front of him.

<>

He lets out a soft sigh to himself.

<< They carved words into my back, cut me up really bad. I recently had the scars healed by one of the doctors here, but I guess I'm just trained to always feel scared now, see the bad things. This is the only place I've ever felt safe. >>

Jax Miller has posed:
Ears droop when Jeremy makes that confession. Jax's expression falls from his eternal smile to something closer to 'lion about to strike'. In one swift instant, his arms have wrapped around the technopath and pull him in close, practically enveloping him in a warm, safe cocoon of fur.

"You are my friend, and nobody is going to hurt you ever again."

SpyderByte has posed:
As he is swallowed up in his arms, Jeremy curls his arms about him in return. He lets out a muffled noise as he is buried in the fur and muscle of the cat.

<>

He squeezes him tighter, brushing his cheek against his gently as he curls his fingers about to hold him closer. He takes in a deep breath, then lets it out.

<< You feel so soft and fluffy. >>

He lets out a small giggle under his throat.

Jax Miller has posed:
"I am soft and fluffy, that's just who I am." Jax smiles and holds his friend close.

"Didn't I just say that? And that's all I want to be."

SpyderByte has posed:
<< You are very soft and very fluffy. >>

Jermey gives a smile down at him, sliding his fingers along his fuzzy cheek gently, then over the cusp of his ear. His cheeks redden a bit. Leaning forward, he gently boops his nose against his, followed by another small giggle.

<>

Jax Miller has posed:
Ears perk up, and Jax's expression changes to what can only be described as a comical 'oooh'. Booping noses... well... that's a sure sign of friendship. An instant later there's a bright smile and a lick in return, followed by another tight hug.

"You'll figure it out. You're smart, a lot smarter than me. You can be whatever you wanna be."

SpyderByte has posed:
Smiling at the lick, Jeremy's cheeks flush a bit brighter. He revels in the tight hug between them, his own arm holding him tightly in return. He gives a bit of a wiggle, followed by a happy sigh. He leans in and presses a kiss to his cheek, then settles in next to him.

<>

Jax Miller has posed:
"There is always time..." Squeeze. "... for a good cuddle. Never forget that."

With his slight height advantage, Jax tilts his head up and lays his chin over top of Jeremy's head, completely engulfing the technopath. "Mhmmm. Cats know how to handle stress. And sadness. So just relax and... well, relax. I've got you."

SpyderByte has posed:
As he is buried in kitten, Jeremy lets out another giggle as his arms wrap around him higher. He holds him close, giving out a low rumble in his throat of amusement. <>

He reaches out with his hand to brush against his tail, stroking through the fur for a moment. << You want to show me how to play ball? >>

Jax Miller has posed:
    Purrrrr.

    As Jeremy relaxes, so does Jax, and it seems he could be happy to stay there like that for /hours/. But an appeal is made. A request he cannot ignore, a quest he must embark upon! "Happy to, but on one condition..."

    Oh dear, here it comes.

    "You'll have to teach me maths."

SpyderByte has posed:
<>

Jeremy smiles to himself as he draws his fingers along Jax'x back, performing a few equations by memory.

<< This one is the quadriatic equation. >>

He can't help but tease a bit in the tone that comes out of his phone's speakers. He gives him a couple of more pets along his back.

<< Let's do it tomorrow. I have a half day. >>

Jax Miller has posed:
"Oooh." There is a huge Jax grin. "That, my friend, is a date."

12493/Binary is the easiest language to learn

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