7269/Lessons to Learn

Lessons to Learn
Date of Scene:	18 April 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Kid, Martian Manhunter

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Kid has posed:
Well, while J'onn had told Kid he can come to The WatchTower...there were two problems with that. One - the watchtower was in space. Two - he had no idea how to get to space. He wasn't even sure if he would be allowed up there. But where these a will, theres a way.

And in this case, that ment The Halls of Justice. He knew leager where often seen there for one reason or another. So he hoped that perhaps he will bump into J'onn here. It was currently Midday, so there a few citizens around in the area. Kid himself, was in his illusion, well a teenage version of it. He kept an eye out for the man he knew, wondering if he was really about to get psychic lessons from a martion of all things.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn has been asked from two people to teach some telepathy to the one named Kid, and so doing that is actually one of the first things in his schedule, even considered he has not much else to do lately. Entering the hall of justice from the front door, just like any other citizen, J'onn is in fact in the shape of a tall man with black long hair and a quite friendly expression, all on the body of an athlete dressed in everyday clothes. The visit to the place is, probably, all but casual, and that is proven quickly when J'onn's steps bring him not far from Kid, then he gets an idea.
walking out of the crowd into a separated corridor, he finds an empty room, one that is both shielded from the inside and outside. Before entering, he tries to find Kid's mind and subtly add a suggestion there. "why don't you just, get out of that crowd and look for J'onn yourself? Maybe, in that corridor to the right, the one with a staff-only sign in front of it? The one with security cameras, security guards... Maybe they'll let you pass, maybe they won't stop, at least until you go to the fifth door on the right... I'd try, trying that sounds really, appealing..."

Kid has posed:
    Ironicly, due to Kids...lack of Shielding, and the fact he has trouble telling his thoughts/emotions from others, he was....actually very highly susceptable to such influences. It would be easy for less...heroic telepaths to potentially manipulate Kid infact.
    Still, Kid was kid. And if he can't find J'onn here, than he'll have to take a more direct if not subtle approach. His eyes roam the crowded lobby and note the door with the guards...as well as cameras. He can't do much about cameras, but guards are easy. Kid dissappears via an illusion, and like a cat slinks over towards the guards.
    He slips around, and adds a second illusion, one of the door remaining closed, even as he opens it and slips through. The guards none the wiser. Of course none his curiosity DOES kick in.

Kid slowly walks through the hall, noteing the various doors, and tries to peek into them if they weren't locked. But only peek. It would only be the last door, the fifth, that Kid would bother to open completely to see what was inside.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
Just to be sure, J'onn has been watching the scene from the eyes of one of the guards, and is patiently waiting for Kid in the fifth room on the right. The room itself is not very large, being just a square room with a side of approximately five meters in lenght. At its exact center, a metal table is bolted to the floor, with a comfortable looking chair on each side.
One of the chairs, the one facing the door, is currently occupied by J'onn himself that, upon the opening of the door, just waves at Kid. "well mind closing the door after you get inside? Looks like you found the right person, after all... What a luck!"

Kid has posed:
     Kid looks at the room, looks at the size....and than at J'onn. There is a very very long pause. Kid signs o O ("No") with a certain resoluteness in his mind. He...only partially closes the door. Keeping it cracked, his fur stood on end, he hated small confined spaces, and avoided them whenever possible.

But none the less walks forward and takes a seat in the comfortable chair, mostly. And he actually even took a spin in it letting out a chuckle, before facing J'onn once more. He rubs the back of his head before signing "Umm...just want to say, thanks again. You know, for be willing to teach me" notable, Kid was well bandaged up, which after fighting a daximite is no surprise.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn waits, glances at the door, then just nods and shrugs, the door closing completely thanks to a bit of telekinesis. "You're welcome, of course." he says.
studying Kid for a second, J'onn adds "we really need to teach you how to set your mental defenses up, first. I guided you here almost too easily, and when fighting a telepath well, if you don't know how to defend, the fight could be over before starting. What I mean is" he tilts his head to the side "will you please stand up, turn around, clap your hands twice, then smile and sit back down?" the command is a very stupid one, purposefully, but the telepathic suggestion he adds makes it seem such a great idea! Wouldn't it be impressive, to do such an act?

Kid has posed:
     Kid actually glanced behind himself at the door, immediately becomming agited, his fur bristling making him appear larger. He grits his teeth but, doesn't say anything agaist it. He simply looked back to J'onn to listen. When he realizes J'onn had actually guided him, he blinks seeming a bit embarressed.
    And than came the next suggestion. Without even an ounce of resistence he actually does the command. For the most part. That smile at the end turns into a fierce growl before he sits back down. He signs "Yea, yea, I get it. Believe you me, EVERYONE tells me I need them!" he at the moment felt quite dumb after putting on such a stupid performance. But it at least made J'onn point quite clear!

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn nods and smiles slightly "well if a telepath makes you jump out of the roof, because then you'll get more quickly to the street downside..." he shrugs "anyways, usually suggestions work if there's a logical way for them to work. They work more easily if your mindset is not opposed to them. It would take a very strong telepath to make you jump under a train because doing that will bring to you immortality, because your subconscious mind will scream at you hey, if I do that I'd die, not become immortal. By starting to recognize what thoughts would make sense according to your personality and what not, you can start to discern what ones are your ideas, and what ones are not..."

Kid has posed:
    Kid is rather attentive surprisingly enough. He had some expericing giving suggestions. He understood the basic of - if a person is already more inclined to the suggestion, than it more likely to take root and be done. But he never thought about using it as a form of protection, of using and recognizing his own thoughts from a suggestion.
    After a brief moment, Kid signs "Alright. I...think I get it." he pauses "...I am...inclined to exploration. It helps keep me alive...so guiding me here seems to align with myself." he tries to think deeper and signs "...but why the hell would I put on a stupid performance like that whole clapping spinning crap?"

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn smiles as Kid gets the concept easily. "First of all, I belong to the strong telepaths cathegory..." he says "and then, there are several things you can leverage on when suggesting... That depends on where you, place the focus, on what you trick the mind into thinking. Dancing and clapping is stupid, per se, but what if you believed it would impress me? People usually want to make a good impression. If I tell your mind that doing that would impress me, well..." he shrugs slightly "that's where your mental defenses come into play. If you don't recognize the thought as not being yours by its content, then you can recognize it by knowing its source that happens to be outside of your head. Thoughts that are outside of your head are, not yours."

Kid has posed:
    Kid cants his head back and forth. He hears so many thoughts, it was at times a bit overwhelming. He typically just ignored them. But it seems it will be important to try and start differiating. He signs "Alright. So its more than simply, making a suggestion...but putting it in proper context. A more believable context, the more likely it will work."
    With that in mind...he can't help but give it a try. Subtle he can do, as he ebs into J'onn mind and plants the seed "You should probably get Kid a mango and a drink. Seems he had a rough couple days and could do with some food." It was the best Kid could come up with at the moment, not even sure if it would register on J'onn.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn suppresses a smile when his defenses notice a thought coming from Kid, but lets it through and analyses it. "that was actually a good suggestion, yes. And if I didn't have my defenses up, it would've actually worked. It made sense, after all" he smiles now, adding "but well it's more believable to just suggest to grab you some food, and then add the specifics of the food as an afterthought. The mind is more likely to accept it as being your idea,"

Kid has posed:
Kid let out a chuckle before signing "Alright. So bit more vague, bit less specific to start with. Seems simple enough." there a pause as he seems curiouse "You say you come from a catagory of Strong Telepaths. Can you tell what catagory I am in somehow?" he wonders "And well, how do you even start 'erecting' a defense. Do you just analyze all your thoughts or something? And what about things that are not...thoughts persay? Like emotions?" he leans in quite curiouse now

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn looks at Kid and nods, confirming that the concept has been understood by him. "As of now, I'd say you're a mid level telepath, with a few tricks up your sleeve. That gives you versatility at the expense of raw power." he explains. Going back to the previous topic, he looks thoughtful for a couple of seconds before giving his answer "Imagine having your mind surrounded by a barrier, that can filter and unfilter things. Outside of that barrier, place a weblike net of sensors. If something tries to enter, or leave, it will sort of touch your weblike structure. So basically you can then decide if filtering or not that thought, or emotion. Both will have to enter your head, somehow, or leave it if someone is trying to feel for it."

Kid has posed:
    Kid nods, and shivers a moment at the idea. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He tries to imagine this barrier, the web-like net. He was quite good at imagining, but something was clearly...off in a sense. The barrier was full of cracks and holes, and the web like net distorted. In a sense it almost as if Kid was inclined to fight agaist these very concepts, but it was none the less an attempt. At the very least he seems to get the basic idea of it and was exploring the thoughts that get get trapped

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn smiles and subtly examines Kid's mind, studying the barrier from the outside, as well as the weblike net. Nodding he says "that's the basic idea, yes..." closing his eyes for a moment he adds "you're not trapping your mind into the walls, you're using the walls to keep the world outside. And even then, not all of the world, just the ones that you don't want to get inside. It is not a prison, it's a fortress. And it can be as large as you want, so it doesn't constrict you. In there you have all the space you desire, Kid."

Kid has posed:
    Kid signs "A fortress is just a prison without bars." His lip twitches, but none the less he tries to relax, and take the spirit of what J'onn means. He shifts in his seat, agited, but tries to focus. Concentraiting on the last sentence most of all - that in his mind, he had the space he needed. That seems to help the most. The barrier shifts and alters, but it was still difficult for Kid to construct properly. But it was better. The barrier was more stable, but had nurmorouse windows into his mind. But he none the less was picking up on the concept well enough. But soon a thought comes to mind o O ("Why is it a barrier? Can it not be something else? Or is it that most people just think of barriers and walls when defending something?")

Martian Manhunter has posed:
"it can be... But it is you deciding what is and what is not a prison, with or without bars..." J'onn says, leaning a bit backwards on his chair. "It can be everything, I mentioned a barrier because yes, most people think of that when defending. It can be whatever you want, as long as it means it will protect you" he pauses for a couple of seconds "actually, having an unusual defense could also mean that those who want to break them will have to take a few more minutes studying it, and that'd give you an advantage"

Kid has posed:
There a pause. Kid consider this a great deal now o O ("...than I think I will try something") he seemed unsually comfortable speaking telepathicly. He concentrates quite hard, his tongue sticking out and everything as he works to erect something, to build something that not quite a wall.
    It takes a few seconds, but soon enough, his own kind of barrier is erected. A two fold one. The net was replaced with musical rythems of sorts. Where emotions seem to follow the sound of the closest matching rythem. But the barrier? It was to put it simply, a forest city. Twist and turns, light and dark, a natural maze that seems to constantly grow, regrow and shift. The shift itself was atune to a specific rythem...Kids rythem. He seems to have a thing for song. It was far from perfect, fanstical in apparence, but crude in execution, but it had potential to work.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn nods at the realization of what Kid did "that is great... That is unusual enough that will have inexperienced people think twice about approaching such a thing, and experienced ones will still take a bit to figure out how to defeat those defenses." he places both hands on the table "now the next step, is making so that your mind will keep up the defenses even without you consciously wanting it. Or else I could just, distract you physically and then, barge into your defenseless head..."

Kid has posed:
    Kid looks to the hands. He places his own on the table, wondering where this was leading. o O ("Alright. So how is that accomplished? I can hold things for a good amount of time") see his various illusions he upkeeps during all sorts of activities o O ("But...I don't think I have ever tried to subconciousely hold any psychic feet.") he admits. He even seems a bit worried about how good he will be at it. This was definintly new territory for him.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn tilts his head to the side, then asks "do you ever think that you should breathe?" he glances at Kid and adds "you do it automatically, and then when you are in a situation when you need to get more air into your lungs then you increase your breathing rate, voluntarily. That works just the same, your defenses are always up, you just control them when you need to." he smiles slightly "it will come naturally with practice, like an instinct, or a reflex, or call it however you want."

Kid has posed:
o O ("I have certainly thought the opposite in some situations!") he chuckles again. But he seems to get the idea. o O ("So just practice enough, and it should become akin to second nature, or instinct or whatever. I think I can do that. Will sure as hell be nice to have my head to myself for once. Also real good for sensing some particular tasty minds") yea he was getting the sensation of some not messed up people he could feed off of. A use he was definintly inclined too. He suddenly tilts his head o O ("Are other ummm...martians like you? And if you can erect illusions or shapeshift or whatevers, what do you really look like?")

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn considers Kid's words for a few seconds, then calmly speaks "be careful on who you feed on, Kid... Keep to the bad ones, at least, and don't drain them too much..." Repeating oneself never hurt, right? The question however prompts a small shake of J'onn's head "there are no more martians, Kid..." he admits, then slowly stands up, abandoning the shape of the human man in favor of the green skinned, two metres high costumed and very martian version of himself.

Kid has posed:
    Kid grunts o O ("Yea, yea I know. There not as good though") he shudders a bit. It odd to think as some minds tasting better than others. But if your mind is flavored by your thoughts, than it no surprise bad guys taste...well bad. He cants his head as he looks J'onn over for a long long moment. He didn't have any fear of the form, just curiosity. But he knows a saddness when he sees it...and when he feels it. o O ("...I'm...sorry. I uh....know what it can be like, I really do.") While the context may be different, Kid knows well how it feels to be alone, to be the only one left alive after some incident.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
Shaking his head again, J'onn admits "Don't worry, it is not your fault... It's just how things are" he straightens his posture anyways, adjusting the cape on his shoulders and glancing down at Kid "this is my, original form... The martian form, at least"

Kid has posed:
Kid was curiouse, he wanted to ask more, but he was unsure if it was his place. At the very least, humans seemed to be quite private (as he learned the hard way), and so doesn't venture further down that particular path. But he doesn't stray completly either. He drops his own teenage illusion of favor of his own rilla form. o O ("So why do you hide? It not like you can't be mistaken for a mutant or something")

Martian Manhunter has posed:
"because" J'onn explains "it is way easier to interact with humans, if you look like them. And it is not like everyone just loves and is unafraid of this form, you see... It is very, alien." he crosses his arms on his chest, saying "maybe the same reason because you use the illusion of being a teenager, hm?" he smiles slightly, even if that doesn't come out too smiley in his current form "I'm not hiding as a human, I'm just making it easier to interact with them."

Kid has posed:
Kid chuckles o O ("I actually used it since, when I first uh...came to the city, I didn't even know psychic gorillas were a thing. So it was just easier to pretend to be something else. And people don't run away when you look human. Makes it easier to hunt") so semi-close to J'onn own. o O ("Still fair enough. I wonder if you have had as much trouble understand them as I have!")

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn chuckles slightly, sitting again on a chair that looks much smaller now, considering his increased size "I've been trying to understand them for decades if not centuries, and even if I gained a fair amount of understanding as of now, I still can't fully understand them at times..."

Kid has posed:
There a triple blink. o O ("Good lord. Your flippin old! I am just mostly confused by the idea of having to pay for things like food in all honesty. It just seems stupid to pay for things you need to survive.") which is one of the things Kid has gotten in trouble for in the past.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn nods "I am, quite old, for human standards, yes." he admits, then he blinks "well it is just how things work here. Because the one giving you food actually worked to get it and so needs to be rewarded, with that reward he can get other things he needs to survive from people that worked to gain them, and so on... Money is just, a way for humans to give a value to things, so that in theory everyone does his fair amount of things, and those who do more are rewarded more... That is, at least, how things are on a theoretical point of view."

Kid has posed:
Kid snorts o O ("Worked my butt. They just payed so and so money for it as well. That ain't work. Okay sure maybe for farmers, but still. It would make more sense if folks traded for stuff. But that apparently doesn't work well for folks.") he got the concept, but he was stubborn.
     He stands and stretches, still keeping an eye on that door as if it would dissappear. o O ("...let try and put this...barrier thing to the test. Hit me!") he was ready for it. Or at least he hoped he was.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn nods and shrugs "well I said theoretical stuff for a reason..." he mumbles, then nods again "something subtle, something forceful, what do you want to be hit with?" he asks

Kid has posed:
     Kid considers it a moment. o O ("Forceful is obviouse. So let start with subtle, since most thoughts and emotions are not exactly loud") he goes with. He knew he'll be faced with something forceful at some point, but he figure starting with what he is more likely to encounter is a good place.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn tries something easy, its power toned down so that the defenses could actually work. He just sends the suggestion to stand, without trying to mask its presence too much, just addressing Kid's mind as if it wasn't protected at all. It should actually be easy to block

Kid has posed:
Kid certainly hears the thought, and chuckles, since he was already standing. Didn't make much sense for him to stand. And it sort of hits him, he could actually sense the thought. He could feel it trying to press in, but couldn't actually reach him! He pumps his arms happily! o o ("Try again! Come on, challenge me") he let out an odd rumbling sound, as he loved a challenge, a puzzle, or something to build.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn smiles and now focuses on Kid's defense. He starts to shape his thoughts like a rithm, tuning it to the rithm of Kid's defenses, then makes the thought approach Kid's mind and try to enter, with the suggestion to sit down this time because well, isn't standing just tiring after a bit?
J'onn doesn't make the rithm exactly like Kid's, altering it just slightly so that it can be detected, even if not so easily.

Kid has posed:
Kid recieves the suggestion. He actually begins to pull out the chair to sit back down. But than he stops. Why should he sit down? He had already been sitting so much, and it didn't really feel like him either. He pushes the chair back and forth a few times having to REALLY debate with himself if it was his thought or not. His face a multitude of confusion. He in an unsure tone goes o O ("...was...that you?")

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn smiles and nods "you're getting the hang of it..." he says "but you need to be sure" he again reinforces the suggestion, after all, even if it wasn't J'onn suggesting it, the chair is already halfway, sitting would just be logical. It saves on energy, why standing and so using a lot of muscles groups while sitting would be more efficent in this situation?

Kid has posed:
Kid looks at the chair. It was logical. And he could be suing this energy to rest and heal. He again shoves the chair back and forth debating, thinking, competing with many other thoughts. Eventually he does sit down, ultimately failing. But things like this would of course take time and practice o O ("Well! Glad I am starting somewhere") he muses not knowing he failed the stronger suggestion.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn points at the chair and admits "you resisted very well, at first... At the end, you really did what I suggested, you didn't want to sit at the start. But you're doing well." he closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them again "of course, you can't just, mentally debate how you just did, you need to react more quickly... If I were an actual opponent, I would've had all the time to stab you to death while you debated on thoughts that could or could not be yours."
Analyzing Kid's mind again, he says "well now, I'll try with something a bit more, brute force." he chooses an emotion, this time, and then starts to project it towards Kid's mind with increasing force. He goes gradually, so that Kid can feel his own defenses and even feel when they'll fail because, sooner or later, they will just because of raw power strength. The emotion, however, is an extreme happiness, almost bordering on euphoria, that will go away after a few seconds from settling in so noto to be an inderance.

Kid has posed:
Kid nods and chastsies himself for having failed on that front. But at least he did well. None the less he was preparing for J'onn brute force. And well, this might be saddening to sense/feel, but kid automaticly recognize happiness as a forieng emotion. Just the sense of happiness...he wasn't even sure he knew what happiness was. But needless to say his resistence to the emotion was amazingly strong. He just crosses his arms seething with anger, fear...saddness. But it was more akin to him wanting to protect the few little things that made him happy.

But of course, brute force was brute force. It started off slow, the twitch of a lip into a smile. The low rumble of a laugh. The relation of muscle as stress went away. And sure enough, Kid was laughing and smiling and in pure jubilation! While it was of course not THAT much power to use, it would have taken more power than expected to get this emotion through

Martian Manhunter has posed:
"I used an emotion" J'onn says, retracting his mind from Kid's "because something else could've been more painful. This form of attack usually takes the form of just, well, a crushing force. Headaches, pain, blasting a mind is something that is a bit less, controlled than what I did. But you see the general work of defenses against something like it, at least." pausing briefly, he considers for a couple of seconds before adding "these are the basic form of attacks that you can receive. There are others, but I think we've done enough for today, and I wouldn't want to overload your mind with too many informations..."

Kid has posed:
Kid takes a deep gasp of air, once the sensation had subsided. Once he gets ahold of himself, recovering fairly quickly, he nods. o O ("Dearly...noted. Umm...thanks for not going the more painful route") a route he was all too familiar with. It was definintly a great start, and he was eager to practice. o O ("I'll try and practice before we meet again! You won't have it so easy next time!")

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn nods "I expect nothing less from you" he says, shifting again into his human form, at least one of his human forms, namely the one of the long-haired muscular man Kid had seen when entering the room. "do you have questions or shall we consider the lesson finished?"

Kid has posed:
Kid considers it a moment, as he himself takes on his 'Adult Malcolme' illusion. He signs "No, I think I am good. Though I'll write down any I come up with" he promises

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn nods again "very well, then. We're done, for today." he affirms