Let's Try This Again (Mikey)

[Vincent Meian]

Vincent stood in the training field, watching other students toy with their powers as he waited for his own to arrive. The chill in the air prompted him to wear a long jacket and scarf, though the latter was more for cosmetic use than anything else. It hid the bruises on his face from the cold while keeping him warm enough to be out in the snow. Underneath the jacket was a sleeveless tunic reminiscent of old China; black with a crimson sash and silver threading depicting some sort of design over it. Underneath, he still wore black jeans and athletic shoes. Some things wouldn't change, after all.


Pulling a watch from his pocket, the trainer glanced at the time, his whole hand wrapped tightly in bandages. His unfortunate meeting with another student yesterday had caused severe bruising over much of his upper torso, but his arms and hands had received the worst of it all. So, he'd bound them and was forced into restricting their usefulness for the time being. Fortunately, their activity involved very little use of the hands. Next time, perhaps.


The time was about right. Michael should be here any moment.

[Michael Jones]

Michael was more than a little bit nervous today. It was their first training after that…well. Incident, and he really didn’t want anything like that to EVER happen again. Unfortunately, it seemed as though everyone thought it would be in his best interest to keep training. His teacher was okay and everything, and it seemed like he knew a lot of things, Michael just wasn’t good at things, and he never really would be good at things as other people were when it came to his power thing, because they didn’t have to think about being calm! He sighed and scratched his head, letting himself just calm down a little bit more. He wanted to gripe more to himself, but it really wasn’t the time. Michael knew that he had training in like ten minutes, so he really did have to get his act together and keep it there tied up in a little knot so it wouldn’t just crumble about all around him like a ton of brick.

He bundled up, wearing his thickest jeans and two pairs of socks, along with a pair of running shoes. He had no idea what he’d be doing today, and he didn’t think that boots were really necessarily appropriate for this kind of thing. Rummaging around in his messy room, he managed to find his hat and his mittens, then shrugged on his warm jacket before he finally started from his room, more nervous than he’d like to admit. What if he was told to use his power as strong as he could? He’d have to get angry at something, and he never got angry at something that didn’t look like it would hurt. Like a tree. He couldn’t find anything to be angry at with trees. Maybe he should find something. Michael looked around, and then he showed up on the fields, and before he knew it, he was right in front of his teacher.

“I…I’m here Mr. Meian.”

[Vincent Meian]

Vincent looked down at the boy and tucked the watch back into his pocket before pulling down the scarf and smiling slightly at the young boy. Sean had said that Michael was feeling isolated and pulled away from society, so their training session would be more involved that he normally did right away. He knelt so that his height wasn't too intimidating and searched the boy's face.


"Welcome back," he replied in kind. "Did talking to Dr. Neville help?" He'd hoped it did, and for many people at the school (himself included) it seemed almost immediate that the older man could help them with their problems. He also took the psychiatrist's advice to heart when dealing with Michael now; he needed someone he could talk to, not a teacher that would lord over him in every session. He hoped that the boy might eventually trust him when he said that using his powers was not something he had to be ashamed of; just careful. There were many fields were such a power would be very useful if honed to a fine control, after all.

[Michael Jones]

Michael stared at Vincent as he approached the teacher. He still didn’t really know this person, or really even understand anything about him. He tucked his hair under his hat, mostly to give him an excuse not to look at the teacher. If he got to know Vincent more, he’d be even more upset when he almost blew him up again. It only took someone making him feel really angry for their feet to give out due to large explosions in the ground. He then shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down. Surprise definitely filled him when Vincent knelt down, and the boy gave a small look up. His expression was still kind of guilty.

He nodded a bit at being asked if Dr. Neville helped, and he thought about their session. He did help, even though they didn’t talk too too much about his power, they kind of did talk about him though, and that felt better. Reading comic books and things was fun, and the doctor had shown interest in that, so he was rather pleased. He shifted his feet from side to side slightly. “so…do I have to blow things up today?” He nibbled his lip slightly, nervous.

[Vincent Meian]

Despite the appearance of guilt on the young boy's face, Vincent was relieved that his prompt appointment with Sean had been well-received. He was certain that some good would come of it, considering that Michael was less against the idea of talking than some of his students, but nothing was ever completely destined to happen.

At the preteen's question, however, he shook his head. There would be time for that later. "No, not today," he continued. "Today, we are going to talk for a while and watch some of the other students. You will not be required to use your powers."

There would be time for such things later. Standing from the snow, the tall man brushed the icy particles from his knees before motioning towards down the path between the fields. They would just walk today - no powers, no prying. Just talking about things. The more Mikey could open up to him, the better chance they would have at successful sessions in the future. "Has Dr. Neville spoken to you about seeing you each week?" he asked. "Your training schedule and classes allow for it, if it is something you want to do."

[Michael Jones]

He was definitely a bit confused as to why the male teacher had asked him about his visit, as he thought about it. To Michael, training was all about making your power do what you want. He understood that his power was a little bit different than most people’s, true, but he still didn’t know if it would be good enough to control the monsterish thing in him. He kind of wanted to just figure out a way to restrain it, and not use it. Wouldn’t it be more helpful if he could just pull it in? No one else would get in trouble.

Well, he was definitely surprised when he was told he wouldn’t have to blow anything up. Michael lifted his head up a bit from the ground just to stare at his teacher. His eyebrow raised, now doubtful. “I’m not gonna be…trying to destroy a target or something?” It was kind of hard to think of why this would be allowed. I mean…he was sure that they’d probably be able to take precautions now that they knew what a freak he was anyways.

He thought about the whole idea of talking. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked around at the fields and things. He hoped no one would spread the rumor that he was a problem child. He tried not to be, but since this stupid power came in he was just having issues figuring it all out. He looked a bit surprised at seeing the doctor every week. Every week? Well…I mean, he liked Dr. Neville, sure, but he didn’t know what to think. “Like…just for talking and things?” He’d never had that, certainly. Talking just to him, on a scheduled time. He’d thought before that Dr. Neville was like his dad just in appearance, age-wise. He didn’t want to admit it, but it kind of felt good to be a bit apart from everyone else. “I mean. If you want me too, I guess.”

[Vincent Meian]

The idea that Michael hated his powers was something that had crossed the trainer's mind quite a few times, but it was not unusual. Many students hated or even feared their abilities because of the amazing potential for destruction they could produce; Vincent was among that number for quite some time. However, he couldn't breach those walls surrounding that mentality until he managed to have his cloistered student open up and talk. Forcing the boy to use his powers at this point would be counter-productive, as had been the case during their last session.

The trainer shook his head at the question, confirming the concept to the young student. "No, not today," he replied. "We have time to wait until you are ready to do so before trying again." Michael was young enough that Vincent could spend years training him to accept his powers if necessary - unlike with Lei, time was on his side.

Vincent shook his head again at the response, answering, "The decision is yours, Michael. If you would like to speak to Dr. Neville again, then I will help you arrange a time to do so weekly. If you do not, I cannot and will not force you." The man was adamant about that - if at all possible, he would not force his students to do anything they were uncomfortable with outside of punishments. It didn't help with the inherent trust issues between generations to force that point, and if Michael didn't want to talk, then that was the end of it.

"Let us walk - we will stay warmer if we do."

[Michael Jones]

It was actually a bit cold out today, and Michael was grateful for the warmer clothes that he wore. Perhaps the only reason he wore them was because he was scared he’d impale himself if he didn’t, but you know. Whatever. He didn’t need to worry about that now, and the fact that he didn’t need to worry about it kind of made him relax a lot more. He’d probably be a lot more receptive now that the weight of using his power was off of his shoulders. With that looming over him, there was no way he’d be able to talk until he knew he didn’t have to deal with it at all. Any amount of talking right before he knew he had to use it would just feel like stalling. No, he could just forgo using it at all. He looked at the path ahead of them. It was long enough, most definitely, and he knew that there were other students on either side of it. It was still class time for them, after all. But luckily for him, no one would look twice at him. Not many of them probably knew Michael anyways.

He nodded at the confirmation that they wouldn’t be using his powers at all, and Michael felt a large twinge of guilt run through him at the very next sentence that Mr. Meian spoke. Trying again, because his first time had gone so well. He didn’t know if his parents had been told or forced to pay for any damages or whatnot, so he had no idea how big the ramifications really were or not. He might as well ask a key question anyways. “You’re okay, right? Like, I didn’t hurt you that bad? I mean. I swear I wasn’t thinking of hurting you Mr. Meian.” He really wanted to get it across that this…this thing he could do wasn’t acting on his will to hurt anyone, it was just driven by any kind of upsetting emotion.

He shoved his gloved hands in his pockets, just for a bit more warmth than the sweltering warmth his padded outfit was giving him, and then thought about what Mr. Meian was saying about Dr. Neville. It was his choice if he wanted to talk to the Doctor or not. Well, if he thought about it, Dr. Neville was really cool to him. He was someone that Michael was allowed to talk to who wasn’t supposed to tell anyone else about what he said. He didn’t know if he trusted that to be the case, but he liked the idea that it might be. And it would be scheduled time, so he could just have a time in his schedule where he didn’t have to worry about studying for classes and things. And it would be something where he wouldn’t feel like he was in trouble. Just low-key and stuff. He didn’t answer at first.

When Mr. Meian said that they should walk, especially to keep warm, Michael thought a bit more about what he had said. “Well…I mean. If I have room in my schedule and stuff. I-It’d be fine. I guess.” It might help him, but he wasn’t really sure what would happen to help his power. It wasn’t as though a person could just never get angry. Maybe there was some kind of pill he could take or something.

[Vincent Meian]

The trainer shook his head calmly, though he did give a slightly rueful smile at the idea. Explosions weren't exactly kind to him, given his previous experience in combat zones, but he had not been physically harmed. Merely... startled. "I doubt that you could willingly hurt anyone, Michael," he answered. "However, I thank you for your concern. I sweat that you did not hurt me at all."

Vincent let the boy think it over for a moment before they began walking, allowing the silence to settle briefly before his student spoke of his own accord. "I will arrange that with him, then," he answered compliantly, giving Michael a slight smile. He understood how much help the psychiatrist could be in any number of circumstances - for Michael, he'd just be someone to talk to regularly who wasn't grading him on his progress or expecting something of him. He could basically be a friend to the boy, and perhaps find him other friends in the process.

"Are you enjoying your classes?" he asked, keeping the conversation going as they passed a pair of students throwing snowballs at each other. "Your marks show that you are doing well." There was more to a class than a passing grade, though; good grades meant little if one had no friends in the classroom to celebrate them with. At least, so he thought. The again, he was a little odd for someone of his descent.

[Michael Jones]

He was actually really happy at the response that he got. He was thinking it might just be something along the lines of the male mentioning how it was something that he could always fix, or that maybe it was just a scratch, but he honestly answered that he doubted. Like, actually doubted that he could willingly hurt someone. He knew that he should probably mention that he did hurt someone. He really wanted to be sure that Mr. Meian didn’t underestimate the monster that sometimes kind of…escaped him. Yes, it was a bad way to think of something that was going to be a part of him, but Michael’s view was that it was actually a living entity, and it was like a demon, needing to be expelled from his body.

He walked with Mr. Meian, kind of grateful for the fact that they were moving. He was a kid, and though he tried his best to always be focused and attentive, he still was getting distracted by the various things that were around them. It was still snowy outside, and so he could kind of smell the crisp, clean snowy air. He liked winter, because there was pretty awesome, and really pretty weather. He didn’t much care for fall or spring because they were just generally transition times, and they were kind of ugly to him. He looked up towards Mr. Meian. “He didn’t…tell you anything about our meeting, right?” He was kind of nervous. He didn’t really want to have everything about him known just from a simple meeting. It’d be a little bit hard to handle, because it would mean he didn’t have control of his own information, which was scary.

Was he enjoying his classes? That was kind of a tough one. He didn’t really know how you could enjoy them. You went in, and you left after it was over and you got all your work done. If he answered truthfully, he’d say that no, he did not enjoy his classes. He didn’t have any people to hang out with, and he didn’t really understand why it was so easy for most people to just suddenly decide to be friends. It was really weird. The boy scratched his head, phrasing his response rather…carefully. “Well it’s pretty easy to get all my work done, and stuff. So I’m getting pretty good grades.”

[Vincent Meian]

Again, Vincent shook his head. "No, he did not. Your meetings with Dr. Neville are confidential - only you and he will know what happens during them. He may advise me on how to train you based on them, but he cannot tell me anything about what occurred during that time." Giving the boy a gentle smile, he added, "You may speak freely with him, without worrying if it will reach me or anyone else."

The trainer wanted to be very clear in that fact. Both men involved knew better than to share that information freely - Michael would have complete secrecy if he needed it or not.

The careful response to his question made the tall man curious, so much so that he looked to the preteen with a quizzical look before replying. "While that is commendable, it is not what I asked. Are you enjoying them? Do you find the material interesting?" He wanted to question further, but overwhelming the young man would probably be a bad thing. So, he held back his search for answers until a response could be given.