I12DT: This Might Become A Problem

[Benjamin Brant]

Ben took a seat at a table, setting his tray down. Where he had been holding it had deformed slightly.

Ben was glowing. It had started off benignly enough, a low level glow he couldn't turn off. Now he was looking fairly bright and things were starting to heat up. Literally.

His currently plan was to wear a lot of black and hope no one noticed. In a school full of mutants and instructors trained to notice things.

It was a brilliant plan. Ben was very proud of it.

[Alex Carpenter]

Alex sat down across from Ben, his oh so healthy (read: pizza and cheeseburgers) lunch on his tray, a large caffeinated drink in his hand. "Hey, Ben," he said, his late-morning countenance speaking of a night that had probably gone on too long playing video games that kept his roommate awake with explosions.

[Benjamin Brant]

"Morning Alex," Ben says, still managing to sound disgustingly chipper, "How've you been?"

[Alex Carpenter]

"Eh, pretty good. Enjoying being myself again," he said, before taking a long drink of his soda.

"Could you turn down the glare a little bit? Too early for things to be that bright."

[Benjamin Brant]

Ben looks a bit embarrassed, "Sorry. I'm sort of....well, stuck."

[Alex Carpenter]

"Stuck? I... oh. Well... ok, don't lose the glare, then," Alex allowed, not sure what else to say.

[Benjamin Brant]

"Sorry," Ben says, "I know it's sort of annoying. If you want, I can go sit somewhere else."

[Alex Carpenter]

"What? No! Cut that out, it's not that bad," Alex answered, feeling a little bad for bringing it up now.

[Benjamin Brant]

"Okay," Ben says, "But just tell me if it's too much, alright? 'Cause it's been getting worse all morning."

[Alex Carpenter]

"Maybe it just seems like that because you're wearing black?" Alex suggested. "Makes the glow stand out more?"

[Benjamin Brant]

"You think?" Ben says, "I was wearing black 'cause I thought it'd cover it up."

[Haley Crusek]

"Not really working," Haley said cheerfully, plopping down next to him. "But who the fuck cares--everyone has bad power days. Just let me know if you're going to explode or something so I can put up a TK bubble around Alex and me."

[Benjamin Brant]

"I'll do my dang best," Ben says, "...Sorry for the language."

[Alex Carpenter]

"Have you, ah, talked to anyone about it yet?" Alex asked, slightly nervously.

[Benjamin Brant]

"I don't want to be a bother," Ben says, "Besides, it's not that bad."

Ben tries to eat a spoonful of cereal but immediately spits it out.

"Blech. Hot milk."

[Alex Carpenter]

"Hot? Where did you ge-" And that was when Alex noticed the warped tray. "That isn't 'not that bad.' How're your clothes not singed?"

[Benjamin Brant]

"Heck if I know," Ben says, "I'm guessing it has something to do with heat rising."

[Alex Carpenter]

"How long's this been going on?" Alex asked, looking concerned.

[Haley Crusek]

"People here are kinda good at helping. And you like..,don't want to explode."

"Well...I don't want you to explode at least..."

[Benjamin Brant]

"Just since last night," Ben says, "And I'm pretty sure it's harmless."

That's when a napkin catches fire.

[Alex Carpenter]

"Shit!" Alex started turning to iron, reaching across the table and grabbing the napkin, crushing it into his (non-flammable) hand before anything else could catch fire from it. "Anything different about last night?"

[Benjamin Brant]

"Oh, dang, I'm real sorry," Ben says, "No. Nothing out of the normal, y'know?"

[Haley Crusek]

"I think you should probably talk to Ms. K or Mr. Gabriel, or like, any of the teachers before you melt or set more things on fire, dude."

[Benjamin Brant]

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ben admits.

[Haley Crusek]

"They're both pretty cool one on one. And Ms K probably already adores how little you cuss," she smirked.

"But really...it's cool. We all have issues. Do you know how much shit I've broken this year with my brain?"

[Benjamin Brant]

"I guess I'm just a little worried 'cause I heard if you can't get your powers under control, they ship you off to a mutant prison on some island," Ben says, "I know that sounds silly and all, but...ya gotta wonder what they do with the dangerous mutants, right?"

[Haley Crusek]

Haley choked on her orange juice, trying not to chuckle.

"Dude, no. That's if you like...do it on purpose, repeatedly. I've screwed up lots. If they sent us to prison for that, it'd be pretty fucking crowded."

[Alex Carpenter]

"You're having a bad power day, you're not, like, a criminal or anything," Alex said, jumping on the 'defend Ben' bandwagon.

[Benjamin Brant]

Ben smiles, "Thanks. That really does help you guys."