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P.O.V. - Roger - Talent Training - Last Class of the Day

Dr. Tamner ushered me through the vault-like door and into a 5x5 meter room. After my discussion with Nick I was expecting a lab or medical setting and was left disappointed and on edge as it appeared to be little more than a bunker converted into a holding cell. She gestured towards the lone raised surface jutting out from one wall. The bed, if it could be called that, was nothing more than a white, plastic slab with a raised bulge at one end that served as a pillow. The floor, walls and ceiling were covered in a matte black rubber coating that reminded me of spray-on liners I had seen in pickup trucks. There was a single drain mounted in the floor that appeared to be of the same white plastic as the bed and the cold L.E.D. lighting that emanated brightly from recessed fixtures in the ceiling did little to ease my rising discomfort.

"Ok, disrobe down to your underwear and have a seat over there. Oh, and how's your larynx coming along? Would you say a sentence please?" I cleared my throat hesitantly and began to remove my shirt as I said "I'm running on less than an hour's sleep today, I really think it would be best to postpone this." She cringed at the sound of my voice but seemed unfazed by the words themselves as she responded. "Does it hurt when you talk?" I shrugged and said "A little, but not much. It sounds worse than it feels. I'd really like to ditch the tablet. On top of everything else I'm starting to get 'special needs' wisecracks." The doctor frowned and her tail flipped. "Well, that's... uncalled for. That aside, I didn't see any inflammation yesterday when I checked it and if it doesn't hurt much then it sounds like you're far enough along. Keep your talking to a minimum and don't yell. After a few days you should be sounding more like your old self." I nodded and turned to place my folded pants on top of the pile of clothes at the foot of the bed.

With a note of surprise, Dr. Tamner said "I see there have been some changes in the light patterns in your fur. It would be best if you would inform either me or Ms. Thurlington when you first notice them." I looked myself over but couldn't see much out of the ordinary except for the muted flickering that reflected my anxiety. "I uh, flicker like that when I'm nervous. It seems to happen at a lower threshold than it used to but it's not new." She walked to the end of the bed and picked up my clothes and shoes as she commented. "That's good to know but I was referring to the light in your tail, it seems to be migrating up your spine and spreading out into the gray fur. It's all the way up the small of your back." I twisted around and craned my neck as I replied. "It wasn't like that the last time I saw it, which was yesterday morning after I showered. This morning I didn't really look back there."

The doctor turned to leave and said "I'll update your records. Now, just sit down and try to relax. We've only recently finished this room, you're our first full test subject. Wait, that sounds bad. What I mean is we've been testing the systems here on animals, and each other, and everything is fully operational. You're simply the first student to train here. We'll be in constant video and audio contact and we have remote sensors for everything from heart rate to skin temperature. You'll be totally safe and you don't have to worry about accidentally affecting people through these walls." I squinted and cocked an ear at her. "Not that I don't believe you but, how do you know that? You just said it's a new room and I've never tried it. I don't want to hurt anyone." She started for the door just as Jack arrived carrying a plastic barred pen with a chicken inside it. "Hey kid" said the Wolverine "brought you a roommate." The Lioness exhaled forcefully at Jack's comment. "Just put #386 on the floor Mr. Ward and Roger, try to stop worrying, everything will be fine." And with that she was out the of the room.

I eyed the chicken questioningly and voiced my concerns to Jack. "You saw me this morning Mr. Ward, I was up until almost 6 am. I really think we should postpone this... and am I expected to zap that chicken because I am not zapping a chicken." He shrugged his broad shoulders and replied as he set the cage on the floor. "Don't ask me kid, I just work here. Try to take it easy, all you have to do is lie there and follow instructions. Then again they might ask you to stand so watch out for your roommate. If you do zap her, don't overdo it. I like my chicken juicy." He slapped my shoulder firmly and licked his muzzle before leaving me alone with #386. The door swung shut with a pneumatic hiss and the sound of metal on metal as the locking mechanism slide into place.

I sat self-consciously at the edge of the slab and awaited orders. At least I had enough advance warning to know to wear my lone pair of boxers today. I can only imagine doing this in those damn Mink briefs! Who knows how long it will take them to calibrate the equipment and what not, might as well lie down. I was so exhausted that the bed felt as if it was slowing moving after I closed my eyes. I'm beat. If this doesn't start soon it's going to turn into a sleep study.

P.O.V. - Ms. Thurlington - Observation Room

"Look at these brain wave patterns, he's almost asleep! It might be best to postpone this, I'm not sure how accurate the baseline will be under the circumstances." I said as I glanced up from the screen. Mr. Burwell's voice responded from the speakerphone. "It's imperative we have something on record. Even if the accuracy leaves something to be desired it's still better than what little we have so far. We'll make a note of his condition in the log. Now, are you confident you can raise and lower the barrier fast enough to be able to affect him while still protecting yourself and the others there with you?" Jack and Dr. Tamner entered the Observation Room and shut the door as I replied. "Yes and no. I've only seen him 'go off' once and it didn't really match the reports we have from previous incidents. If he follows the pattern I saw then I think we'll be fine. If it goes more along the lines of what happened at his church or his old school then I'm not so confident. I'm still trying to sort out the discrepancies between the initial scouting report and what we've observed first hand. That pulsing light show you saw before he fell asleep is indicative of the central problem we've been having." Dr. Tamner jumped into the conversation, leaning towards the speakerphone. "We've been discussing the matter and decided our initial impression needs revising. He's not connecting and disconnecting but rather he's continuously connected and the blank spaces are created when the energy momentarily collects and is then released, like a capacitor in an electrical circuit." "Or, to put it another way..." I interjected "it's like a continuously running faucet but he's putting a bucket under it and then dumping the bucket when it gets full. I think he's trying to suppress not only various emotions but also any connection to his deviances whatsoever. We're hoping to answer a couple major questions today. 'How is he doing it?' and 'Where is he storing the energy?'"

"Very well..." said Mr. Burwell "but I don't want to take any undue risk. If not for some rather severe arm twisting from a certain colleague I would not allow the barrier to be down at all so have no hesitation in putting it up at the first sign of trouble. Even though all of your vital signs are being monitored I want you to keep an eye out for any indications of an influence. Alright, let's wake Roger up and get this started."

I tapped a button and the barrier shielding the observation window descended. The sound woke up Roger and he rolled his head to look at us through the safety glass. Although it could be set to operate as a one-way mirror I thought it might put him at ease if he could see us. I smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring manner and said "Hello Roger. I want you to know that we are aware you're concerned about your level of exhaustion but we don't think it will be a considerable risk. Hopefully this won't take long, just do your best and remember that we're all nearby. For starters we'd like you to stand in the middle of the room. Try to clear your mind and relax."

Roger got to his paws and stood in the middle of the room facing the glass as he spoke with a raspy tone. "Ms. Thurlington, I've been wanting to talk with you. That safety-valve cabin trick you taught me isn't working right, I did it last night and the after-effects had me up until 5:30 this morning. I really think it would be best to just undo what you've done and stop doing that stuff altogether. Everyone keeps telling me to relax but it's hard knowing that, at any moment, you might go pushing my mind all over the place. The only time I've really lost control is in your office when you were using your talent on me." My ears went back and I felt a flash of humiliation and anger at having the scene replayed in front of my coworkers. "Roger" I said "You know that's not true. What about the incident at the church? You almost killed one person and sent several others to the hospital. And that's just one example. I admit there's still some fine tuning to be done and I'm sorry to hear that you were up so late but while I realize you may feel violated we have to consider not only your safety but that of your friends and everyone around you. When this is over and we have our private session I'll be sure to go over all that with you and iron things out. Now, let's get back on track. As I was saying, try to clear your mind and relax."

Judging by his expression it was clear he had more he wanted to say on the subject but kept it to himself as he crossed his arms in front of his bare chest and drummed the fingers of one hand idly against his arm. I momentarily forgot the glass was set to two-way and began to gesture in an attempt to focus my talent to help him unwind. His ears perked forward alertly and then snapped back while his upper lip twitched at the corners. He obviously knows what the gesturing means, I'd better shift the glass to one-way viewing. I activated the window's privacy function just as black bands interrupted the flashing glow from his fur to run up his back, over his head and down his face and ventral side. At the same time the lighting in the room took on a rolling, strobing quality that created an imagined sense of motion. Worried things might be getting out of control I focused harder and fought against the rising interference. The surprising display suddenly stopped as Roger jolted and uncrossed him arms in alarm and I immediately withheld my efforts to avoid pushing too far as the resistance dramatically decreased. He seemed as shocked as those of us in the Observation Room when he spoke. "Sorry, I uh... that's a new thing. Look, I don't mean to be difficult, but I'm a wreck right now. It hasn't even been a week since the accident, I just started taking my classes, I've barely slept and now you've got me locked in a vault that could pass for an interrogation chamber while you f#ck with my head! And, 'oh by the way, we need you to relax.' Are you f#ckin' kidding me?!"

The rolling black bands were gone as well as most of the flickering. His aura had shifted to a smoldering blue white light that looked like smoky heat waves coming off of his fur. "I've seen that one before." commented Jack "When he went after those guys picking on Josh. But that bit with the light-sucking black pattern, that was something else!" Dr. Tamner cued the microphone nearest her and said "Roger, we know this is stressful but at the very least stop yelling or you'll be stuck talking through that tablet forever! Look, let's compromise, if I can get Ms. Thurlington to promise not to use her talent on you while you're here will you agree to follow our instructions?" I shot Laura a dirty look and she shot one right back as I hissed "How do you expect to safely get any results without the use of my talent?!" The Fox scowled and retorted "By TALKING with him! He's not stupid! Even if he can't see you he'll be able to feel his emotions swinging around!" Jack cut in "Maybe it's coincidence but doesn't it seem odd that all of sudden you two are screamin' at each other?! It looks to me you're feeling a lot like Roger. Come to think of it I wouldn't mind punching a wall right about now."

Mr. Burwell exclaimed through the speakerphone "Put the barrier up!" I smacked the button and, in the span of less than a second, the observation window was blocked by the protective barrier. The safety glass lit up like a monitor and provided an identical view of the room via a camera. Roger's emotional state was obviously deteriorating quickly. His vitals were rising, his aura was smoldering brightly and his tail curled behind him. I practically screamed, "That's it! I'm calling it. This is over!" I slapped the mic button "Roger, we're calling it off. As soon as you can get settled we'll bring your clothes and let you out."

_Damn it! I screwed up, and in front of Burwell... of all times! It's not fair to pin this on Roger but I doubt they've forgotten what happened with Jeremy, that was only a few months ago. If this all comes back to me it could really look bad._I turned off the microphone and looked to my colleagues. "We should all record how we're feeling right now and also consider how we were feeling when we interacted with Roger before this even started. It's clear his deviance is still evolving, we need to determine if this is something new or something that has simply gone undetected until now."

Dr. Tamner was already typing at her terminal and nodded as she spoke. "I have to wonder, did Roger really cause this? I mean, emotional influence is your talent Sarah, not his. You've mentioned how his talent interferes with your own, is it possible that caused some sort of splatter effect, distorting your original intentions and sending them back towards us?" My rage initially peaked at the accusation but I brought it under control as I considered her words_. Damn it Laura! Ok, she gave me an out though, just go with the interference angle._I made an effort to sound casual and clinical as I replied "We'll have to look at our vital signs and check the time stamps for any changes to see if they correlate with anything happening on Roger's side of the equation." Mr. Burwell's voice emanated from the phone. "We may not have gotten what we expected today but we certainly have plenty of new questions and an enormous amount of data to sift through. Let's give Roger a chance to recover and try again the day after tomorrow."

P.O.V. - Roger - Counselling Session with Ms. Thurlington

She's late... probably discussing her favorite brain-washing techniques with Dr. Tamner! Maybe I should... "I'm sorry to keep you waiting Roger." said Ms. Thurlington from behind me. I turned to face her from my position at the counter in the Admin Office and said flatly "It's fine." She seemed a little rundown herself as she fished her keys from her purse and led me around the counter to her office. As she unlocked the door she suggested "Why don't you step over to the cooler and get yourself a cup of water while I set my things down?" I nodded and took my time. I filled the paper cup and lapped casually at its contents while I looked around. Mrs. Patterson worked busily at her computer terminal but the office was otherwise devoid of activity. I guess I better get in there, I've stalled about as long as I can without making it obvious. Cup still in hand, I trudged into the office and closed the door behind me.

"Please have a seat Roger. I'm sorry I don't have one of those couches like you see in a psychiatrist's office on TV. I'm sure you wouldn't mind lying down after such a long day." I appreciated her effort at levity but I was so dead tired I barely managed a thin smile as I slumped into the chair and slouched down. I cleared my throat and said "I'm sorry the training session was a failure. Oh, and not to be controlling but when you have a hand out of view like that I tend to assume you're frying my brain." She quickly pulled her left hand from her lap and rested it on the desktop as she replied with a snap "Roger I..." She cut herself short and took a breath before continuing with a sense of forced patience in her voice. "I wasn't 'frying your brain' as you put it. I wasn't doing anything at all, I often rest my free hand in my lap. You are a very smart, observant person and I'm sorry if you feel as though I've been tricking you or trying to sneak something past you. You know that any adjustments I've made have only been done with everyone's best interests in mind, including your own. Before you leave today I'd like your permission to work on the problem you mentioned with that safety-valve technique but other than that I'm not going to be using my talent on you in any way. I'll keep my hands where you can see them. If I absentmindedly drop one of view just remind me and I'll pull it back, alright?" I could tell her day wasn't much fun either and decided riling her further wouldn't do either of us any good, nor did I have the energy for a protracted battle, so I simply nodded and apologized.

"I'm sorry, maybe it would be best if I got shipped off to a foster home. I'd probably just end up in some craphole of a school back in Phelan where I'd get picked on until I finally exploded and wiped out half the student body. Then I'd end up in jail and it'd only be a matter of seconds before someone pulled some crap there and then ZAP, the whole cell block would be wasted! After that the government would probably fly me off to some unfavored nation and have me put 'enemies of the state' into comas." Ms. Thurlington's ears splayed sympathetically. "No one can say that you lack imagination Roger! Honestly though, we would never 'ship you off' because you didn't perform in a way that we expected during a training a session. Now then, there's so much ground to cover since our last session on Sunday afternoon I hardly know where to start."

She scratched at the side of her muzzle as she tipped her head back in thought and then smiled. "I know! Your order from Penny-Mart arrived. See that box in the corner behind you, near the window?" I turned to look and noticed a box over 1 meter by 1 meter in size. "You mean that big box? I only ordered a pack of underwear, they must have screwed up the order." Ms. Thurlington pulled open a drawer in her desk and produced a pair of scissors. "Here, why don't you open it and check?" I accepted the scissors, slit the tape along the top of the box and folded the cardboard flaps back to reveal its contents. After scrounging through packing materials and various interior boxes I realized the pattern. With a sigh of exasperation I said "This is the stuff I put on my wish list. I must have clicked a wrong button somewhere. I'm sorry, do they have free return shipping?"

Ms. Thurlington handed me a dark blue envelope and said "Here, this goes along with it." She looked tired but there was a kindness behind her eyes and perked ears as I tore open the envelope and examined the card. The thick cardstock was deep navy blue and the cover bore the school crest in raised silver relief. A folded white page was affixed to the inside of the card where an embossed gold font declared "Welcome to Burwell Academy." The statement was surrounded by countless signatures, many of which were accompanied by short comments. I had to tilt the card this way and that to read them as they were randomly written in every conceivable direction. The card must have been passed around and those that received it later had to get creative with whatever free space was left in order to squeeze in their message. I recognized ones like "I want to say more but I don't know how to say it so... Thanks -Josh" and "Wishing you the Best -Theresa" and "Things will work out kid. -Jack". But there were also many people I didn't recognize, saying things like "I'm jealous of your tail! -Cindy" and "Fight the establishment! -Rob".

After the long day and so much stress the gesture caught me completely off guard. I rubbed at the corners of my eyes and fought the lump in my throat as I looked up at the counselor. Her voice was soft as she said "I know at times you may feel as if the world is against you Roger but I think you might be surprised to find out how many lives you've touched since you arrived." I swallowed and found myself at a loss for words as she continued. "Alot of people really care about you here. Everyone was so anxious to chip in that we greatly exceeded the cost of your modest wish list so we threw in a few surprises. In fact, don't let on but some of your friends are working on something really big but it probably won't be ready for a few days." I took a drink from my paper cup and tried to clear the emotion from my rough voice. "It's hard to find the words... I uh... thank you. I'm sorry I've been such a challenge. This is... really..." Sensing my struggle she picked up the conversation. "Let's put the card aside for now and you can rummage through the box after we've had a chance to go over a few things, ok?" I nodded and looked down at the card a final time before setting it aside and, in so doing, found Nick's signature. His name was written with gentle, neat curves and the dot over the 'i' was replaced with a heart. My name was inside the heart.