Issue #7 - Gemini

Jake nodded a little, "Wow.. And.. you're the White King? Does that put you in charge of it then? Is there a queen? Or maybe some Prince?" He smirked a bit. How strange. A society of mutants? So wealthy and influential. That was where Jake belonged..

"Used to be." Emmanuel corrected Jake. "I used to be the White King and the leader of the young mutant team known as Hellions, but everything changed... when the White Queen betrayed me and advanced her own cause, becoming the new de facto leader of the Circle." He explained, "The Hellfire Circle has inner and outer circles. The Inner Circle consists of 6 mutants. Three Kings, Three Queens. Two mutants for every color in the tri-chess. So there are White King and White Queen, Black King and Black Queen, Red King and Red Queen."

"Tri-Chess?" Jake asked curiously. It all sounded interesting, though. Lots of Kings and Queens though. Jake supposed he didn't want to know what qualified as a pawn.

His eyes studied the interior of the car as they drove. It sure was nice, and Jake really wanted to drive it some time. Looking over his shoulder he looked at Erik, "This car is pretty cool, isn't it?"

"Chess for three persons, instead of white/black you have white/black/red and so there are four pairs of rulers in the Circle to keep things balanced. Every decision has to accepted by at least two of the Royal pairs to come to life. Of course, now that there is no White King - or have they already replaced me? - Adrienne rules as a sole White ruler." He explained some of Helffire Circle's politics.

"Uh, yes, it's great, I, uh, think." Erik smiled and lowered his head, blushing.

Jake nodded and listened. "Interesting..." he said. He had no idea how such a society would function, but if two people had to agree it sort of made sense, majority rules and all.

He looked back over his shoulder at Erik again, giving him a grin and a nod, "I'm gonna own one of these one day I think."

"Where in the world, uh, you're going to get, uh, enough money?" Erik said quietly.

"If he continues to be such a good student he is, he has a lot of ways to make money." Emmanuel smirked.

Jake just grinned, not answering that question. Money would be easy if he wanted it. He could find himself a millionaire. Or billionaire. A hot one. Have his way with them, and buy anything he wanted so easily.

Finally he spoke up, "It won't be hard, I don't think. We have a lot going for us as mutants."

"Surely... uh, you wouldn't, uh... use your powers, for, uh, your benefit?" Erik asked surprised.

Jake shrugged, "Well of course I might use them. I mean, saying I shouldn't use them is like saying I shouldn't smile at someone and use my looks to get help with my homework or something. It is part of me, why shouldn't I use it as long as I don't go too far?"

Erik was stunned, "But...but... it-it's immoral! You can't, uh, use them on people, uh, just because you, uh, have them!"

Jake shrugged a little, frowning a bit, "Its fine.. I mean, not like I'd ever hurt anyone, right?"

He looked out the window again, hiding a smirk. Erik hadn't seemed to have minded when Jake used his powers the other day.

"But, but, uh, controling people is... uh... even worse! It's like, taking away, uh, people's free will!"

Jake nodded a bit, "I guess you're right. But I guess it also depends on kind of what you do, right? And hasn't that always happened? When countries conquered other countries, they didn't give the people there an option. The one who was more powerful just said how it was and ruled things because they were more powerful."

"But it's not this way anymore... it's democracy, uh, yes? It's not survival of the fittest anymore..."

Jake shrugged a little, "I guess you're right. But I guess it all depends on what you do, right? I mean, some people might not mind so much, right?"

"Uh..." Erik seemed confused, "Wh-what do you have, uh, in mind? I don't, uh, understand?"

Jake just shrugged. Erik did seem like an idealist, and it was a little annoying. He liked Erik, but Erik just didn't get it. Reaching out, Jake touched Erik's mind, shifting some easy emotions into him to make him trust Jake, to like him a bit more and make him more agreeable.

"You worry too much," Jake said, "There's nothing wrong with it."


***

Health 2/2
Energy 15/15

Action 1 - 4 into Empathy + Int + 3 modifier = 7 to 'adjust' Erik a bit and help bring him around in this conversation.

Health 2/2
Energy 11/15
Defense 0
Mental defense 4 (Intelligence 2, Empathy 2)
Useful modifiers: Empathic Awareness 1, Psi of the Highest Order 3

Thanks to the copier potential of Emmanuel, Jake easily broke into the boy's mind and instilled trust in the Pole. He looked at him and shook his head, "Perhaps, uh, you're right..." He said quietly. Jake couldn't help but grin to himself. This display of power didn't go unnoticed by Emmanuel, however, as he smirked at Jake and complimented him in his mind:

Clever use of your powers.

Jake blushed a little at Emmanuel's compliment.

Thanks, I think. Its.. alright, right?

But Jake knew it was. He knew he was right. He was powerful, he got to do what he wanted as long as he didn't push it too far. He smiled over his shoulder at Erik, "Glad we agree."

Of course it is. This are our gifts, so why shouldn't we not use them?

"Uh, yeah." Erik blushed.

Great!

Jake grinned, glad that Emmanuel agreed. He glanced over his shoulder again at Erik and gave another mental nudge, increasing Erik's trust and friendship, making him like him. "You're pretty cool, Erik," he said, "It'll be fun working with you."

***

Health 2/2
Energy 15/15

Action 1 - 4 into Empathy + Int + 3 modifier = 7 to adjust Erik a little more, putting him at ease and making him trust Jake more

Health 2/2
Energy 11/15
Defense 0
Mental defense 4 (Intelligence 2, Empathy 2)
Useful modifiers: Empathic Awareness 1, Psi of the Highest Order 3

"Uh, thanks," Erik blushed, "you're cool too..." he replied.

Emmanuel just smiled, as they drove until he stopped the car and the three got out to see an airplane waiting for them. "Welcome, Mr. Sin." One of the men nearby greeted Emmanuel, offering him a handshake. "These are your students? We've preapred the airplane. We can go whenever you're ready." 'Mr. Sin' nodded and all of them got aboard the private plane and it was quite a fast journey. When they finally arrived in Texas, Emmanuel said bye to the rest as the three mutants called out for a cab. Emmanuel didn't bother with talking, so he simply sent the driver a mental image where he was taking them, not minding that he had just violated the man's privacy.

"Ready?" He asked his students.

Jake watched curiously everything that happened. Emmanuel seemed to feel the same way he did about using powers, and for that Jake was glad. It meant Emmanuel would teach Jake anything he wanted... And Jake wanted a lot.

He nodded in response to Emmanuel's question, "I think I'm ready. I mean.. I don't know what to expect really."

"Well, even I don't really know what to expect, to be honest." Emmanuel said, "But we know where they are... not who they are though. I recommend going to a nearby pub to get some information. It's always the easiest way - there you can meet many people with different thoughts you can pick up. Some of them may actually know something you're looking for." He said as they stopped in the nearby town. He motioned for his students to go with him, as he changed his clothes to better blend in. His white suit was now a standard Texas clothes, with a cowboy hat on his head. "Hah, I like it." He laughed, when they entered the building full of people. "Sit somewhere, I'll take a look around." As Jake sat down with Erik, he noticed one of the boys staring at him... quite provocatively. His face was very handsome, his hair short and blond, his eyes blue and he wore a hot pink t-shirt and jeans.

Jake nodded, listening to Emmanuel. He chuckled at Emmanuel's outfit, the cowboy hat was cute, but unexpected on the blonde. Still kind of sexy though. Jake pictured Emmanuel in just the cowboy hat and nothing else, and he smirked.

As they got there, Jake took his seat with Erik, relaxing a little. Then he noticed the boy staring at him and Jake raised his eyebrow, staring back at the boy. As he did so, he made use of Emmanuel's powers, reaching out and reading the boy's surface thoughts.

***

Health 2/2
Energy 15/15

Action 1 - Empathic Mimicry; 1 Telepathy + 2 Int + keeping 2 of the modifier for 5 total to read the boy's thoughts

Health 2/2
Energy 12/15
Defense 0
Mental defense 4 (Intelligence 2, Empathy 2)
Useful modifiers: Empathic Awareness 1, Psi of the Highest Order 2