WELCOME TO NEXUS.

[Travis]

[Inaugural Post]

Every once in awhile, you just gotta eat.

Kitty is a girl who has been blessed with a naturally fast metabolic speed, so she doesn’t have to really worry about what happens when she overeats. Of course, this "mutation" wasn't a mutation at all, but just the luck of the draw when it came to genetic coding. This morning, she had gone for a jog around the grounds, opting to get some fresh air. The weather outside was nice, and hey, why not utilize the spacious area surrounding the Institute?

Having been there since she was a young girl, Kitty had found the best path that got not only the best work out, but also had a stopping point directly into the kitchen once you finished. Wearing a sports bra and short shorts with her hair in a lengthy pony-tail, she instantly made a beeline for the kitchen once she finished her run.

Grabbing a small towel that was sitting on the counter, Kitty stopped in her tracks when she saw a face that she wasn’t entirely familiar with. Sure, she had seen the person from time to time, but since she had been gone there had been a massive amount of people coming in and out of the Institute and Kitty wasn't totally sure that she was caught up with who everyone was.

"Oh, uhh, hello." She said, giving a small smile. She took the towel and wiped off a few beads of sweat from her forehead, quickly walking past the person standing against the counter and over to the refrigerator. Opening the door, she stuck her head inside, feeling the cool waves of air brush against her face and helping to cool her down a bit. Realizing that this may seem a bit out of the ordinary for someone who wasn't as familiar with Kitty, she slowly pulled her head out and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry 'bout that," Kitty added, reaching in and grabbing a water bottle. Hearing a small *ding* from the microwave, her attention went over to the source of the noise. "I think your food is ready." She said with a small smile, motioning over to the microwave with the water bottle before unscrewing the top and gulping down a few swallows. After her thirst had been quenched, Kitty set the bottle down on the counter nearest to her, leaning up against it. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Kitty."

[XxBroadband]

He felt like an idiot hoping the food in the mansion was free. Even if not, he'd pay for it, but that still didn't stop the shame blushing his cheeks as he looked around for something to eat. The mansion certainly had a well stocked refrigerator and cabinets at that. While he certainly didn't starve with just his father taking care of him, he wasn't used to the abundance of food that could be snatched within fingers reach and come back later to still see plenty left. He decided on a ham sandwich--cold meat seemed to be in plenty of supply and had to be cheap.

...A warm ham sandwich sounded better though. Thank goodness for microwaves.

Broadband stood near the counter, placing his bag of belongings beside him as he eased his body against the lip of the surface. He was glad the kitchen was empty. No one was going to catch anything on fire and hopefully no one was going to pop-up and call him names--again. He ran a hand through his green hair, mumbling more to himself than anything audible. He thought this place was supposed to be more accepting of mutants, but all he'd witnessed was confrontation on one level or another. He guessed no matter where he went, high school would always be nearby.

The side of Broadband's face began to glow, lighting up like a fluorescent bulb beginning to gain strength. Images flickered in front of one of Broadband's brown eyes while the other glanced at his sandwich in the microwave from time to time. Television had a nice way of relaxing him. Maybe he could find a good movie here in New York, or at least something to entertain himself with. The screen in front of his eye flickered on and off every time he mentally switched to a new signal. Friends was on; maybe he could stand and watch that for a few moments.

In fact, he did just that, unfortunately oblivious to Kitty coming into the kitchen. Only when the microwave dinged did the screen disappear from his right eye and the sides of his face stopped glowing.

"I think your food is ready."

"Ah!" Broadband jumped, eyes jerking to the face that spoke to him. His hand clutched his chest once his feet landed on the floor and his head bowed down in exasperation. "Sorry, I was... distracted." He must forever be destined to be the most awkward student in this school. How annoying. Still, he gave a nervous laugh and lifted his head up again. The lady probably wanted to use the microwave, even though she had a water bottle in her hand. Broadband opened the microwave, touching the plate with his bare hand as melted cheese ran down the warm, soft bread.

Hot!Hot!Hot!

The plate clattered back to the microwave's flooring as Broadband waved his hand to cool his skin off. Thankfully he hadn't burned himself, but he was on the verge of doing the 'I Nearly Burned My Hand Off' dance. He breathed in through clenched teeth as he tried to find an oven mitt. He managed to find a towel, carefully taking out his sandwich and sliding it on the nearby island. He tossed the towel down and flexed his fingers.

"I--I'm sorry?" Didn't she say something during that embarrassing fiasco? "Oh, right, Kitty! I'm Broadband. Awkward Broadband... And Rambling Awkward Broadband right now." Broadband went to the sink to run cold water on his hand, sighing in the sudden relief. "Sorry. I'll get out of your way soon. The food is... free, right? If not, I'll pay for my sandwich! I hope I didn't take someone's ham..." Stop it! He gave another inward sigh. "Were you out running? You look... sweaty." Wait, was that something he should be properly saying to a girl? His dad always said compliment one, not insult them! Broadband flinched letting his eyes close, calming his nerves. He gave a timid smile and opened his eyes with more confidence. "I'm not normally this awkward." He let out a nervous laugh. "It's nice to meet you, Kitty. Are you a... teacher... here?"


God, that water felt good.

[Travis]

"Sorry, I was... distracted."

With an amused smile, Kitty reached over and grabbed the water bottle she had previously set down on the counter. As Broadband gave a small and nervous laugh while manuerving the microwave, she couldn' t help but keep her eyes glued on him. Something about how nervous antics was endearing and even though she felt a little bad that he was so nervous with her appearance, she also was finding a lot of humor in it. Watching as he burnt his fingers and dropped the plate, she winced in empathy, knowing that it must've hurt pretty badly.

"Sorry. I'll get out of your way soon. The food is... free, right? If not, I'll pay for my sandwich! I hope I didn't take someone's ham..."

"Oh, totally. As long as you aren't like, breaking and entering the food is there for the taking." She says, taking a small sip of water in between thoughts, "You aren't a burglar, right?" Kitty added, looking over at him with her eyes squinted in a playful fashion. With a small chuckle, she screwed the lid of her water bottle down and set it back down on the counter once more.

"Were you out running? You look... sweaty."

Reaching up, she pulled out the hair tie and let her long locks of brunette hair fall freely, running her fingers through it with a smile. "Yeah, I usually go for a morning run every day, and it's been awhile since I've been on the mansion grounds and able to really go all out here. It helps to have unlimited kitchen usage at my fingertips afterwards, though it may be doing more harm than good if I over engorge myself!" Kitty said, laughing a bit afterwards. Thankfully she rarely had to worry about her weight since all the training she puts herself through.

As he ran his fingers under the water, she was happy to see that he was doing something to try and soothe the physical pain he was going through. Kitty was sure that the mental pain of embarrassment was much worse, but unfortunately there wasn't anything she could do to alleviate it. She could, however, help with the physical pain. She turned around, reaching into the freezer and pulling out a small ice pack. The lithe twenty three year old walked over beside Broadband, now standing within a few feet of him and offering the ice pack in front of her.

"It's nice to meet you, Kitty. Are you a... teacher... here?"

"Me? Oh jeeze, I'd be afraid to see me as a teacher. I was actually a student here not too long ago. I kind of...did my own thing for awhile though, but I'm back now and helping the X-Men." She explained, nodding her head slightly, "What about you though? What's your story? Enjoying it here so far?"

[XxBroadband]

That was a relief. At least he wasn't breaking and entering. Getting an invite at least made sure he was welcome, but who bought all this food? Sure teenagers eat a lot, but they weren't going to eat all of what he saw. There had to be more people around that what he's expected, but then... why didn't they come help in the dormitory? "No, I was invited. I've got the invite somewhere..." His hand went to patting his bag, fishing out the paper and putting it on the counter for verification purposes. Not that it'd actually help, maybe?

At least Kitty wasn't looking at him like he was insane. He'd seen a lot of that today.

Shadowcat was the first adult he'd seen at the mansion. And honestly, she wasn't that bad too look at. You know, sweaty and all... Oh God. The mind of a teenaged boy could be absolutely horrendous, with thoughts jumping from one thing to the other, especially with hormones in play. He immediately diverted his attention to the faucet, hoping the cold water would cool him down too. This is what he got from being cooped up in a house looking all different than the others. He'd become too awkward in social settings. He'd have to find a way to remedy that.

"Me? Oh jeeze, I'd be afraid to see me as a teacher. I was actually a student here not too long ago. I kind of...did my own thing for awhile though, but I'm back now and helping the X-Men."

"Oh, that's... good." Don't look at her chest. He turned toward her again, smiling, keeping his stare unwavering at her face. Letting the information settle, he supposed it was true then--the X-Men really were here. He still wasn't sure what the X-Men were, but he sussed out enough information they were an important group of people, mutants rather, where others aspired to join them. The thought of Jeb stating as such was enough to make him forget about Kitty's sweaty exterior. Stupid Jeb making him feel and look like an idiot without even trying to stop it from happening.

"What about you though? What's your story? Enjoying it here so far?"

"Well, I turned different then found out I was a mutant. A Charles Xavier sent me the invite, and here I am." A very abbreviated version, but it would do. He found the towel, drying his hand, and lay the rag on the lip of sink. "And I wouldn't say I'm... enjoying things so far. I've had someone catch my bed on fire, blamed me for acting irrational about it, flung across the hall, then as soon as I catch my breath, I'm being called names." He frowned, going back to his food and sitting at a stool to eat at the island. "I've barely been here two hours, if even that. But at least," he stared down at his plate, "there's free food."

He took a large bite of his sandwich, savoring the creamy texture of cheese meshing with the ham. Ah, the smallest things in life...

"Did you have an easier time when you were a stud--?" Broadband flinched, a pain shooting through his temple. "S-sorry, is there powerful computers or something, nearby? This mansion has a lot of... signals in the air."

[Chloroplast]

[Inaugural post]

Sunshine, an essay by Theodosius Dobzhansky, and a sun bed; these were all that Beth needed to pass the afternoon in perfect, peaceful bliss. While the midday sun was at it's highest, she had merely rolled onto her front and let her mostly bare back soak up the rays instead. Perhaps Shadowcat had even managed to jog past the relaxing teenager, but if she had, then Beth was just far too absorbed in Dobzhansky's theories in evolution to even notice. The only thing to disturb her reading however, was the faint yet distinctive smell of burning wafting towards her. At first she panicked that it was something to do with herself, which was silly really all things considered. It was a human reaction though, soon clarified by the fact that she was indeed, perfectly fine. So, an eventual glance to the upstairs windows of the mansion resulted in the source of the stench. From within, she could hear faint and multiple voices, raised for a moment, before they calmed down to echoed utters. It was therefore apparently nothing for her to get worried over. Whatever it was, it was under control already. It was only her concern if the entire mansion was burning down, or her own room for that.... 'Nah!' Shrugging that thought aside, the young mutant returned to more important things. Namely, her essay.

'Mutations and chromosomal changes arise in every sufficiently studied organism with a certain finite frequency.' Feet kicked to and fro as she read mentally aloud to herself. 'And thus constantly and unremittingly supply the raw materials for evolution. But evolution involves something more than origin of mutations. Mutations and chromosomal changes are only the first stage, or level, of the evolutionary process, governed entirely by the laws of the physiology of individuals.... If only all humans shared Dobzhansky's fascination. Ugh! Why won't this nasty smell go away?!?'

Pausing a moment, the rather irate Beth reached for her trusty water bottle, rolled over onto her front, and sat up. There was still a burning smell lingering heavily in the air, and it was irritating her already dry throat along with her nose. Alas, as she tilted the grey plastic bottle to her parched lips, only three, single drops, fell upon her tongue. 'What! Empty, already?' Sighing at her own over-indulgence, she flung her long, lean legs over the side of the bed, and slipped her bare feet into plain white sneakers. Stooping forwards to tie the laces, when she sat up, she felt her groaning stomach tighten a notch. When was the last time she'd eaten? Breakfast? 'Mm... Okay, may as well fix a snack too?' If she was lucky, the kitchen would be empty, and she could get back to the joys and wonders of Dobzhansky in less than five minutes.

Or, maybe not. Beth clearly heard a younger male voice in the kitchen as she approached, but her protesting stomach and thirst urged her to just roll her eyes, take a deep breath, and barge on through. Well, maybe not 'barge' but, she couldn't help feeling like she was intruding on something as she casually stepped through the doorway. Best to just avert her eyes completely from the conversation by the sink, and head straight for the large fridge instead. Of course, the lingering smell of warm bread and bacon made her stomach do flips.

"S-sorry, is there powerful computers or something, nearby? This mansion has a lot of... signals in the air." Beth heard the young man say, before she quietly opened the fridge door and retrieved two bottles of water from the side door. Setting one down on the counter top, she wasted no time in twisting the cap off the other, and quenching her thirst in one, long gulp. Ah, much better. Pivoting on her feet as she contentedly drank, her vibrant green eyes settled on two students – at least she presumed them to be students – at the sink. Even though Beth had been a student at the 'school' for longer than some of the others - a week to be exact - there were still plenty of faces that she couldn't place names to. Looking at the brown-haired girl though, she wasn't quite so sure if she was a new student, or a teacher, or what? Although, at least one quick glance at the other girl's attire didn't make her feel so out of place in her plain, grey, cotton shorts and white, halterneck top. For once, her light, mousey-brown hair sun kissed by lighter, dirty blonde strands, was pinned back into a messy bun at her nape. Only a few strands escaped, marring what was essentially, a very mature style.

Next, her neutral gaze shifted to the boy eating the sandwich. He was definitely new, and... 'Wow.'. Green hair? Grey-ish skin? One brow arched at the defining features, and she took a moment to survey the new student like a scientist might observe a new lab rat. A lab rat who probably knew exactly what it was like to fail at 'blending' in with humans. What a relief for the fellow, genetically challenged young woman!

'I guess I don't have it half so bad,' she realised, quite humbly. 'Poor guy. Wonder what he went through before coming here? Hmm... that sandwich looks good.' Indeed, despite her prolonged and perhaps rude staring, her high-sugar levels soon diverted her attention away from the mystery of mr.green, to mostly just pondering what to fix for her own lunch. Stepping forwards, she leaned forwards on the middle island surface. A light green vein line beneath her olive skin, was already creeping a path down from the left corner of her lips, down to her chin. From there, it forked into two thinner lines down the center and side of her neck, before disappearing behind white fabric gathered at her collar.

“Um... Was there a fire upstairs or something?” The tall and lean girl abruptly asked. Her upper-middle class voice containing a melancholy, or even nonchalant tone. “Because it seriously stinks like a barbecue outside. And... I'm sure I heard a girl screaming too.” Pausing a moment, she tilted the bottle to her lips again, and after taking a shorter sip, added an after thought. “Hope it didn't damage anything... or anyone. Some idiot playing around with matches?' Shaking her head with a little tut, the bottle once again lifted. At this rate, she'd be drinking it all before even starting on lunch!

This post has been edited by Chloroplast on Jul 6 2012, 09:17 AM

[XxBroadband]

Broadband looked up to see someone younger walk into the kitchen. He barely had a chance to register her presence by the time the signals at the mansion caused him to flinch. Looking to Kitty for answers, the one he suspected to be a teacher quickly excused herself and walked out, leaving Broadband to stare, completely baffled. She must have had something important to do? Frowning, but continuing to his sandwich, he picked it up with one hand, took another bite, and shamefully forgot about the other girl in the room until she spoke.

“Um... Was there a fire upstairs or something?”

Broadband looked toward her and swallowed.

“Because it seriously stinks like a barbecue outside. And... I'm sure I heard a girl screaming too.” She took a sip of her bottled water. “Hope it didn't damage anything... or anyone. Some idiot playing around with matches?"

Broadband was mortified. Beyond mortified. No one had screamed except for him. He seriously sounded like a girl?! His silver skin kept the blush on his cheeks from appearing too prominently, but he finally stopped scathing his teeth against his bottom lip in embarrasment before he spoke. "There was a fire, sort of." It was a fire, but not a fire, just a blue flame that looked like fire, but it just didn't burn anything like fire. Yet it smelled like fire. Jebediah had no clue about anything. Stupid Guthrie.

"That scream was me." He let out a nervous laugh before sighing. "One of the students decided to show off and caught my bed on fire that wasn't really a fire. Another girl who could control wind put it out, but in the process, flung me across the hall. Cue the scream." Now he had to live with being called a girl. This day was progressively getting worse by the second. Finally taking a nice look at the girl, she seemed relatively normal with her long, mousy brown hair. He did notice the veins across her face, green and prominent like a moss-covered spiderweb. But he paid little attention to it. Seeing his own face in the mirror countless times had desensitized him to physical mutations.

"I'm Broadband. Nice to meet you."

He ate the rest of his sandwich as the speckled part of his face began to glow a white light. It was a soft hue; not as bright as it would have been if he was projecting an image. He projected the voice to make it seem like it was projecting from his plate--the last thing he was really concentrating on.

"Hello, welcome to Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. If you're a student, please proceed forward into the living area for a tour of the mansion that is currently starting. If you are not a student, please wait here and a faculty member will assist you shortly. Thank you and have a pleasent day."

"The tour!" Broadband nearly forgot about it. The glow in his face died down. "I, um, can project sounds and stuff from radiowaves. I just got here, so I think I'm going to the... living area..." It was in that direction, right? He hoped so. He quickly grabbed his dish and put it in the sink to remember to wash later. "It was nice meeting you! Or maybe I'll see you at the tour!" She was a student, right? It was hard to tell at times. Rushing over to pick up his bag, he headed towards the living area to join the congregation of students.

tbc: Broadband - Living Area // Touring Greatness Pt. 1

[Chloroplast]

There was an intentness to Beth's expression as she listened to the green haired boy's response. Lips pursed in a straight and serious line, while completely charged, harlequin-green eyes focused unblinking on him. 'Hmm... a sort-of fire? How can a fire be sort-of?' Her mouth gave a little twitch as she tried to fathom whatever that meant. As long as the wielder of that so-called 'sort-of fire' stayed away from her, then she didn't really care about the details. Ironically, despite the all-important sun being a big ball of burning gas, she didn't exactly welcome the idea of ever being physically burnt. Understanding her mutation was paramount to her, and knowing that plants didn't exactly like fire wasn't exactly comforting.

"That scream was me." Brows instantly lifted over her alerted eyes, while her soundless pout formed a more obvious 'oh!' shape. Oh indeed and, surely not? Her hand lifted to rest fingers against her mouth; instantly regretting her former words – screamed like a girl. 'Great. Now he's going to think I was being mean on purpose. Ugh. I didn't mean it in a bad way! But... he did sound...quite girlie. But... ugh. How was I supposed to know boys are still capable of screaming like that!?'

Indeed, her younger brother hadn't made that sort of sound since he was, what? Ten? Her gaze lowered both bashfully and thoughtfully, while the obviously embarrassed boy continued to explain. Screwing the lid back on her water bottle, her eyes flickered back to him to show that she was in fact listening to his explanation, but barely lingered for longer than a second.

“Um... r-right. Yes. I... see why that would be... um... yeah.” 'Talk about awkward.' Wincing slightly at her tied tongue, the curves of her trimmed nails tapped against the work-surface as she searched in vain for something else to say.

"I'm Broadband. Nice to meet you." Ah-ha! Wait... Broadband? 'What kinda name is that?' A weak smile flickered across her serious mouth while her brows lowered into a light frown as she processed various things at once.

“Yeah. Cool. I'm Beth.” Her stomach gave a low groan. 'And hungry,' she reminded herself. Yet she only managed to take one retreating step back towards the fridge, before the boy's mutation revealed itself. Whoah... was he actually glowing? Her fascinated eyes blinked twice, and then, suddenly, his plate started to talk!

"Hello, welcome to Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. If you're a student, please proceed forward into the living area for a tour of the mansion that is currently starting. If you are not a student, please wait here and a faculty member will assist you shortly. Thank you and have a pleasant day."

"The tour!" The sudden exclamation almost made Beth jump out her skin. Instead, her shoulders gave a light jolt. She'd been focusing so intently on the bread plate after all, and had barely even begun to register the message itself. 'Oh yeah, the tour. Almost forgot. Wow! How did he do that?' On cue, as if he'd just read her mind, he explained briefly for her eager ears. "I, um, can project sounds and stuff from radiowaves.” Staring, waiting for a greater explanation while her sugar-fuelled mind was already racing with the scientific possibilities of this little revelation; he, in the mean time, rather disappointedly changed the subject altogether...

"It was nice meeting you! Or maybe I'll see you at the tour!" Gaping silently in a rather stunned 'way too much information to process at once' manner, Beth merely watched as he raced to retrieve his bag.

“Um...Y-Yeah. Maybe.” She uttered, still not quite sure if she wanted to even go on the tour. After all, she'd been at the mansion for almost a week already, so she knew where the very basic essentials were. Besides that, all her stuff was still outside, and it would be such a shame to waste such lovely weather. Plus, she was hungry. Plus, she still wearing shorts, which didn't really seem like the right thing to wear on a school tour. Her mother would flip... she could see it now, and hear her orthodox voice even; scolding her for not dressing 'appropriately'. Then again, she really wanted to ask when classes were going to begin properly. If a teacher was leading the tour then it was a golden opportunity to ask questions. Were there enough students registered yet? And! What if this tour was meant to be compulsory to show them around properly? Come to think of it, she was sure one of the adults had mentioned something like that when she first arrived. Wincing, she lifted a hand to her troubled brow. 'Geez, don't give yourself a headache,' she told herself sternly. 'You're seriously complicating this.'

Pressing her front teeth down on her lower lip, Beth stepped back to the fridge and retrieved a fresh, red apple. Yes - she could eat that on the way back outside, gather her things up, and hopefully be in the living room in time for the tour. Nothing said she had to stick around to see stuff she already knew about.


[TBC: Living Area – Touring Greatness Pt. 1]

This post has been edited by Chloroplast on Jul 16 2012, 02:15 PM