10151/Progress and Progression

Progress and Progression
Date of Scene:	22 November 2019
Location:	Jay and Brad's Room (West Halls), Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Jay's saved from homework by Brad with news!
Cast of Characters:	Icarus, Haunt

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Icarus has posed:
It had been a long day. Classes first then working at the club for a few hours. Thankfully they had teleporters at the school. It meant there was no travel time between the two locations, otherwise there would be even more hours eaten up out of his day.

Jay was in his dorm room, sitting at the small desk on his side with a laptop open and a text book open in front of him. He had his elbow propped on the desktop and his chin atop his hand. His eyes were half lidded as social studies was not a stimulating topic at this time of night. Course, was it ever?

Haunt has posed:
The door unlocks and opens quietly. Voices from the hallway flow into the room for the moment, then the door shuts again. "Bunch of guys out in that hallway," Brad reports. Trust the invisible man to be able to do recon very, very efficiently. Or to be able to slip past the whole situation without having to engage with it, at any rate.

Brad is, of course, entirely invisible: at first. Then, midway into the room, a plate appears, with multiple pieces of pizza on it. He snares paper towels and approaches Jay's desk.

What that means is that the paper towels and pizza plate seem to sort of offer themselves temptingly. Eat uuuuus.

Icarus has posed:
Hearing the door, Jay sits upright rapidly. It's that telltale movement that shows he was about to doze off but he doesn't want anyone to know it. Like Brad was going to judge him.

Turning and seeing nothing, he then hears the voice that is so familiar now. A moment later, flying pizza! Honestly, that's a pretty cool looking trick. "Man, that smells good." When it is offered, he takes a piece of pizza off the top and immediately shoves it into his mouth. "Mmmmm." At least he swallows before he tries to talk. "Tastes as good as it smells."

Haunt has posed:
Brad laughs. "You can have half. Take a towel from me and pull another slice off. There's pepperoni on the bottom if you dig," Brad says, waggling the towels a little. Should Jay reach out, the towels will dance back, but relent soon enough. It's friendly only, giving the other boy a hard time briefly.

"What're you up to?" Brad asks. He can't tell what Jay is doing; there isn't sarcasm in the question. A book and papers could mean a lot of things, or a phone could be on a video: Brad's just going to ask instead of guessing.

Icarus has posed:
"I'm coming to a conclusion. Social studies sucks. I mean they try to make it interesting but I just want to go to sleep during class. Homework too." Jay does work on snagging that towel, laughing softly as he finally captures it when Brad relents.

Then the digging through the stack for that slice of pepperoni. He sets both down on the desk atop the paper towel.

Haunt has posed:
The plate then wings away towards Brad's desk, set down there, the towels tossed nearby. Brad has a few things on his desk: no computer, but some various other things, including The Backpack, a sweatshirt he wore yesterday. "I think they're still deciding what to do about my visual impairment for classes," Brad says. "But I think I start after the holidays."

Brad sits in his desk chair, picking up a piece of pizza to eat. "I have /news/, too," the invisible teen says, with evident barely-held excitement.

Icarus has posed:
"Makes sense. Going to have hardly anything next week and then Christmas break coming up not that long after. Probably have to get records from your old school or homeschooling. Or both."

Jay hears that tone and spins around to focus on where Brad is. Or at least where he thinks he is thanks to floating pizza. "What sort of news?"

Haunt has posed:
"Okay, let me eat this pizza before I do a visual demonstration," Brad says, laughing. Then he pauses, taking a moment to think that over a little more. "Actually, no. Let's do this the other way around. It's made me dizzy, so." Brad puts the pizza back down on the plate.

Brad adjusts in the chair. There's just silence, but it may be very evident that the invisible boy is, in fact, doing something. Perhaps concentrating.

Icarus has posed:
"Made you dizzy?" Jay echoes, wondering what it could have been. The pizze settles down. Which means he now has no idea where Brad is other than his chair hasn't shifted, so he probably hasn't left the chair.

"If you are about to spin in circles, I've seen that trick," he teases.

Haunt has posed:
"Damn, guess I need another trick?" Brad's suddenly visible. He's sitting in his chair backwards, forearms crossed and loose against the raised back of the chair, with his eyes closed. He has his sharp new haircut from the selfie Andrea sent to Jay, but it isn't gelled this time. It's more of a fluffy faux-hawk of sandy hair coming forward across his left eyebrow. He's dressed in a snug white tee, and some comfortable lounge-pants in dark blue. Socks are on his feet: mismatched, a black and a white.

Brad is very clearly focused, with his eyes pressed shut, light brows low but not knitted. He's breathing slowly and carefully.

Icarus has posed:
As Brad appears, Jay actually jumps slightly. That was /not/ what he was expecting at all. "WOOHOO!"

The exuberance is real as Jay is suddenly fully awake and paying very close attention. No backpack as it is on the desk and powered down. No smaller nullifier of any type he's seen before or he would've been visible to begin with. Which means... "You can turn it off now? You figured it out? Tell me everything!"

Haunt has posed:
Brad reacts to the sudden hoot cheering with laughter and a grin, eyes flicking open for a moment before he rapidly shuts them again, as if the room were painful to look at. Oops. A moment later Brad flickers once and returns to invisibility, vanishing again as he sat back.

"Well it's not ... I mean. Obviously it's not amazing," Brad says, embarrassed, well aware that he's plunged back into invisibility. "Ms. Braddock and I worked for hours last night. It's just like... if you were constantly clenching your teeth all the time. I have to get out of the habit."

Icarus has posed:
"What do you mean it isn't amazing?!" Jay demands, obviously thinking that Brad has lost his mind if he thinks otherwise. "You haven't been able to make yourself visible for a few years now, right? And now you already can without having your powers nullified?"

He shakes his head a bit. "Seems extremely amazing to me. Glad she was able to help you out. So with practice, you'll be able to do it longer is the theory?"

Haunt has posed:
Brad makes a soft laughing sound, but naturally a lot of it is contained, and with the invisibility, it may make Brad just seem silent. "I meant, it's not amazing to only do a few seconds," Brad says, though his tone says otherwise. He's very happy; he's downplaying it instead of bragging. Sounds like he's grinning a lot though, it's in his voice!

"Yeah, though, NO nullifier. So I still have my telekinesis. Having both that and seeing is making me really dizzy." Brad considers. "Can we try just turning your lamp on low, and I'll shut the main light off?" Brad stands, crossing towards the main entryway, to grope for where he figures the light switch probably is. It's pretty small and hard to find, as it's part of the wall to his senses.

"Ms. Braddock and I went through my memories, how my powers first started. Things I thought I'd just forgotten, details from it. How the blindness started. She has mind-reading powers. It seems so obvious now, I feel dumb for not figuring it out."

Icarus has posed:
"Sure," Jay reaches out to turn on the little lamp by his laptop. He does close the lid on the laptop though. Maybe he'll finish the homework later, or during his free period in the morning. He's not going to tonight. First cause it was boring and second cause Brad's new control is too good not to be celebrating it.

"So that helped you to learn how to turn it off? How did your memories help with it?" he asked, brimming over with questions.

Haunt has posed:
Brad found the light switch, hits it. "Did I get the lights?" Brad asks. It feels so ridiculous to ask, in a way, but better to just ask, and not be ashamed of his blindness. He returns towards his chair, finding it equally well in the lowered lighting.

"Yeah. We narrowed it down. She has telekinesis also, so she could tell that I was doing it. I can make other things invisible," Brad explains. "Like the pizza. But it doesn't feel like that when I do it to myself, so I didn't know. It's more like when I fly. I'm sort of... hyper-aware of where I am. It has to do with how I think about myself. I know that sounds weird."

Icarus has posed:
"Yeah, lights are off now," Jay verifies. If he thinks it's strange, he doesn't show it. Just makes sense to him. Not that Brad can see it, yet. But if he can turn invisible and his eyes slowly build up, maybe he'll be able to tell soon!

"I didn't know she was a telekinetic. I knew she was a telepath. I don't take her class so haven't really dealt with her much." He considers the explanation. "So you just are thinking about it too hard and that's making you turn invisible?"

Haunt has posed:
"It's emotional too, for me, so that was making it muddy," Brad admits, but settles into his chair. It's slightly faster, this time, his calming breath, and then reappearing out of invisibility. He squints a little, and cautiously opens his eyes down and away. "It's like... releasing a grip on something in my head that I didn't really see that I was even holding. Or you've got a song stuck in your head and you just hum it all the time? I'm switching songs. I don't have a comparison, I'm sorry."

Brad's visible now, though, so his expressions show up. His eyes were unfocused, but as he apologizes they move and seem to register on Jay's location, possibly even his face, in the dim dorm room.

Icarus has posed:
"That actually makes sense," Jay says. "If you get stuck in a rut and just need to get out of that rut. Easy to fall back into it again, comfortable. But eventually you just make a new path. I'm just so happy for you."

He looks over Brad, examining his expression and trying to get used to the face. He's seen him, of course. Pictures from the haircut day. When he had that backpack on. Just he was far more used to a pile of clothes. So strange that was the familiar thing to him. "You...able to see a bit more? You seem to be looking right at me."

Haunt has posed:
"It helps when I'm not walking around." Brad is sitting pretty still and carefully, it may be noted. "I was testing a lot today. I get queasy if I do too much, and the brightness is harsh. It's fairly clear to me where you are, though. Which is... I mean. It's been very very dark for years," Brad says, his voice starting to break. He stops talking instead, and flickers twice, like a strange film reel skipping. He returns to visibility though, instead of the other direction.

"It feels like my telekinetics and vision are clashing. I have to sort it out. How to sense you but also to see, and not feel like they're 'off' and the world is spinning." Brad swallows, and starts to grin like an idiot. He has large bright smiles; a winning feature that was destroyed by his mutant power. "I'm so happy, though, dude. Like. I'm sort of having trouble believing it."

Icarus has posed:
"Believe it! I'm looking right at you. Kind of like the haircut. It's growing on me," Jay muses, teasing a bit. "Not enough I'd ever do it myself but it's good enough."

The smile from Brad is infectious , meaning Jay is now grinning like a goof himself. "I'm glad we found you. Got you here. So happy that they've been able to help you start conquering some of these challenges. Told you they were good."

Haunt has posed:
Brad laughs, lifting a hand to his hair, raking some of it up and forwards. It's quite punk rock, with the grin that Brad gives meshes with it. The invisibility muted Brad's showy quality: for obvious reasons. "I still haven't seen it. But it feels fun. That's what counts."

Brad turns very carefully, shutting his eyes as he does it, to reach back and get his pizza plate. He pulls it in front of him, and then attempts to carefully eat it, shutting his eyes for part of doing so. "The girls suggseted highlights and things. I was like, naaaaah. Nobody's gonna see it anyway. Also I think highlights are sorta girly," he says, shrugging.

"I was unsure, because of the nullifier backpack thing. But like. I think it helped me know how it felt in my head to not have my telekinetics going, too. So maybe it's all the things together. I mean, if the dream is to see and have telekinetics I can control? Maybe I can get there. It's /happening/."

Icarus has posed:
The suggestion of highlights has Jay's face scrunching up, a bit horrified at the thought. "I think it looks fine as is. It was done differently in the picture Andrea sent me. More styled up. Guessing gel or something." Jay just wears his natural so he's obviously not one to vote for highlights. Something Brad will eventually be able to focus on.

"So your eyes and TK are all sending signals and that's making you dizzy?" He does pick up his own pizza again, chowing down once more.

Haunt has posed:
"Yeah, they gave me gel or something sticky," Brad describes with a little hand motion, as if rolling mushy gel in his fingers. Gestures normally lost to invisibility, but are a little deliberate now. He can show it with his hand, and expect to be understood! "This is just clean." Brad eats one of the slices, but then just puts the plate back on the desk: without turning this time. Telekinetics.

"I'm guessing that. It's like motion sickness. Like going on a spinny ride at a park as a kid," Brad says. "I hope I get another lesson with ms. Braddock or Ms. Grey soon. Maybe they can help with the spinning. Until then I'm gonna work on my eyes. Get some quiet time, look at things." Brad smiles across at his roommate.

Icarus has posed:
"Something you haven't gotten to do in what probably feels like forever," Jay theorizes, figuring Brad will correct him if he's got it wrong. He finishes off the first piece of pizze and moves right into the second one. Saved the pepperoni for last cause it's the best.

"Since it seems to be working, cause I can still see you, I'd think they would plan to work with you more. One of them at least. Not sure what other telekinetics are on staff." He thinks a moment. "You probably can leave a note for either one and see if they want to meet up soon or wait a bit to give you time to work on your own."

Haunt has posed:
"I haven't gotten to gel my hair OR ride a ride in ages," Brad laughs. "Here, at this last one. I've made myself queasy," Brad offers, shutting his eyes. He abruptly disappears, invisible instantly. The plate of pizza coasts over to join Jay at his desk. Brad moves, the sounds of him pulling himself up his ladder to his loft bed.

"If you're feeling kind, write a note for me about it. I'll put it under Ms. Grey's office door tomorrow," Brad asks. "Turn the lights on if you want; I'm going to try to rest the dizzy off. ...Still worth it."