Westbrook Academy for Metahumans: Forums

James smiled as he finished thumb tacking the last of his stack of red papers to one of the bulletin boards in the Science wing. This would get his name out there, and would also be a good ice-breaker for when he wanted to meet new people. He wondered if he'd get in trouble for posting these things up in the school, but decided that even if he did, it would be well worth it. Besides, it'd be fun along the way, and the punishment couldn't be that bad...could it?

Posted on various bulletin boards in the hallways of the school is a red piece of paper with bright white lettering on it which reads:

"Are you wondering if that cute girl you want to ask out is going to say yes? Are you afraid you haven't studied enough for your next test? Do you want to know if the cast of LOST will ever make a comeback to explain what in the world happened on that show?!

If so, you need the expert help of James Walker, Professional Seer Extrodinaire. With his polished balls of crystal and razor-sharp skills, he can help you with any of your worries about the past, present or future!

Free cupcakes on your first visit!

Dorm: Third Floor, Room 319
Email: james.t.walker(at)gmail.com
Phone: 429-9912

Grinning, James looked at his handiwork, nodded and took a step back. If nothing else, the promise of free cupcakes would definitely bring people in. Of course he wouldn't charge anyone. This was merely a way for James to get to know the people he didn't get a chance to see on a regular basis.

The boy shaped robot walked with such a natural gait no one would have suspected it was artificial, if not for its face. It slid over to the bulletin board Idly posturing exactly as a living person would, a hand on its hip perhaps even slightly feminine. She had seen this sort of thing on television with crystal balls and eastern motifs, incense and dim lights. Parlor tricks and slight of hand these people were like magicians they were performers and often con men. She laughed a bit on mute the robot was completely silent but it jiggled with the humor. Letting the thought go as quickly as it came, what used to be unbelievable happened everyday in this city.. happened everyday just on campus.. just in one classroom. There was always a meta or a magic user willing to show you the impossible at the drop of a hat. She wanted the impossible now, imagined he would tell her about how her life was rather boring.. Imagined him looking into a crystal ball and saying something like..

"oooOoooOOoh.. very interesting.. your spirit animal is the dolphin!"

This time she laughed without mute and the robot played the part of her body nodding a bit as she did so. Entertainment purposes only, there is no destiny or fate there is probability and circumstances. She sighed a little and decided to go see this guy and find out what thread in the past or future he found the brightest. If not only to disprove him and re-enforce her own thoughts.

Heading off towards the guys dorm she caught a glimpse of a student she had never seen before, they were staring at her.. at the robot. It was a cold stare devoid of empathy and she felt it and her mood dropped a little as she turned the corner out of sight.

James was sitting in his room, reading a small leather-bound book which was entitled Of Second Sight, Visions of the Hereafter and Beyond when the knock came to his door. He set the book down after marking his spot with a small piece of red satin cloth and went to greet the visitor. When the door opened to the image of a robot, James' usual confidence was frozen for just a few moments. Well...this was a first.

Smiling, he let the robot into the room, which was still in the process of being unpacked. A few boxes were scattered about in the corner, though he already had posters and the iHome unpacked and set up. A kid had his priorities after all. Clothes could wait.

"Come on in." He said, leading the robot over towards a low, fold-out card table which had a small object covered in a red felt cloth directly in the center of it. Snagging his desk chair and sliding it over to the table, James took a seat on the far side, while allowing the robot to walk the short distance to the near side of the table as was presented to it. "There's a fold out chair underneath the table, but I have a feeling that you may not want to use it..." He said with a small grin. Leaning back, he crossed his legs by placing the ankle of his left leg on his right knee and looked up at the Robot. "So, what can I do for you today? I'd offer the cupcake too, but you may not want it right now."

Brooklyn nodded at the offer of the chair and quickly moved over to the seat. The servos made only the slightest whisper of activation as she did so.

Arranging the drone in the chair was an easy task and soon it sat looking forward. "Hi!" it said. "I'm Brooklyn this is my guy shaped robot drone, those cupcakes look really good. I thought you could do your thing you know um see the future or.. read stars.. or bones.. cards.. you know that sort of thing" She could have gone on and on since she read a Wikipedia article on the way up the stairs about hucksters in the 1950s that did this sort of thing. For all she knew he could read the patters on the circuit boards and come up with a thread that way.

"Right! So Brooklyn the Cyborg!" James paused a bit and leaned over. "Are you a cyborg? It seems everyone at the school is a cyborg, or at least that's what Roach keeps telling me." He said with a smirk. "So, you want to know your future hmm? It'll be a little bit difficult because you're not actually physically here you know?" James said, rolling his hand a bit as he talked, not quite knowing if he should be looking the drone in the face, or if there was a camera hidden in its chest, or shoulder, or somthing. He was actually surprised that the robot didn't break the chair under its weight. Wasn't that a surprise!

"As for bones and cards and such, that's for the con artists and fake-Jamacians who peddle out on infomercials and stuff like that. Real Sight is much less flashy than that. Though, flash helps people feel they're being taken seriously since all I really need to do is stare at you or a piece of glass for a couple of minutes. But now I'm rambling and getting off topic...So!" James said, finishing with a smile and leaning forward. "Let's see what your drone will be up to then shall we? I can at least do that, and then maybe I can swing by where you actually are and give you a real reading."

With a flourish of the wrist, James pulled the red felt cloth off of the table, revealing a small red/orange tinted crystal ball sitting on a silver, or perhaps chrome because chrome was cheaper, dais. Looking down at the crystal, James waved a hand over it while his eyes grew distant. To the cybernetic eye, there would be no perceiveable change to the crystal, though there was a stirring of magical energies in the room. "Alright let's see....okay, I see this drone...he's out in Perez Park. Looks like you have him out to enjoy the scenery or something...he's mostly just wandering arou-....wait...There's a kid...Little boy. About eight or so. He's running up the hill...and there's...well, I don't know what it is, but it looks like a person made out of mucus." James related sternly, his brow furrowed. "Your drone has no weapons...but it's running towards the boy. You point up the hill and the boy keeps running. Then your drone leaps at the mucus-thing, tackling it back down the hill. Uh oh...There's more of 'em. And uh....um....I'm sorry to say this but...uh...the drone won't be coming back from this trip..."

James looked up at the drone with a sincere look of sadness on his face. "I'm sorry."

She sat quietly through his reading with fascination. At the end she looked up from the crystal and into his face.

"Do you know when this might happen? I need to know when this will happen... I need to be there. Does knowing screw it up.. will I not be there now.. "

The Drone looked like it was getting ready to run out the door, it's voice was urgent and even.

"It's possible that this could end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy." James said with a sigh, leaning back. "But there's no real way of knowing exactly when it'll happen. There aren't any clocks or watches in the scry to tell me so. The best I could guess is sometime after noon judging by the shadows of the trees on the ground."

James regarded the drone with a frown, unsure of how to proceed with the information. "Knowing what is about to happen always makes the future hazy. You're faced with a choice on whether or not to go there now, or have your drone avoid the place entirely. It could happen immediately, or weeks from now. There's no sure-fire way to be certain. If you feel that strongly about it, then you could send your drone there now. Perhaps my vision showed me the actions you took because of the vision you got here now. I'm not certain that the actions save the boy, or if the actions your drone takes are even needed to save him." Steepling his fingers mysteriously and leaning forward, James looked at the drone carefully. "In the end, you have a choice to make."

"I need you to draw the area.. can you? quickly.. just. close not perfect .. just close enough. If you get two axis right I can find this place, and the boy.. anything you can remember"

The drones head bobbled and its vision drifted off towards the corner of the room as it stood up. Brooklyin had unhooked from the drones main sensors and was searching for topographical surveys of Perez.. and she was finding them. A few minutes later she snatched the hastily drawn map, if one could call it that and was out the door. The drone navigating around the corner with more precision that most would think. She was in Perez in less then twenty minutes, listening to the police band and having Intuition go back and listen to it for the previous week.

Referencing the crude map Brooklyn and the computer narrowed the location down to three possible spots and she went from one to another to another relentlessly.

James was left sitting in his room the door ajar twenty minutes prior. Surely more would go to him, if not for the mystery then the cupcakes.