Mental Defenses

Summary:
February 19, 2015: Lydia helps Wolf Cub with his mental defenses

New York

hardwire wolf_cub


Characters

NPCs

  • None

Mood Music:
[*<http://insert.video.or.music.link.here>]


Nicholas has been burning the midnight oil again. Or, well, the past 8 pm oil anyway. He's finally gotten his office set up and the other members of the team are more regular sights out at the offices. Just at the moment he's looking over one of the helicopters, Rescue 2, because despite Lydia working on designs to best leverage their partnership with Stark Industries there remains a chance that they'll have to make do with regular old choppers, at least for a while, so he wants to make sure they'll work the way they need to.

***

Lydia habitually works late into the evenings. Eight PM? That's still an early night. She's brought in a fair bit of her own gear, explaining to Nicholas that his current computer system isn't… quite up to snuff for what she needs.

Lydia's phone rings, and after answering she heads to the door. Nicholas doesn't need to ask what's up, his keen nose picks up the smell of Chinese food as she comes back in. Instead of going back to her desk, she sticks her head through the door to the vehicle bay. "Hey. When's the last time you ate?"

***

"Um…" Nicholas' stomach growls and he looks up sheepishly. "Lunch, maybe?" Which was around 11:30 AM for him so it's been a while. He's in a pair of dark coveralls but his fur is smudged with grease from getting up close and personal with the engine housing of the Rescue 2. "How are things going inside with the system upgrade and such?" Beat. "And, not that I'm complaining, but why are you still here?"

***

"Go wash your hands." Lydia says with an almost secretive smile as he asks what she's doing there and disappears back into the main part of the offices. She heads in towards the lounge area, and by the time he's cleaned up she's got the boxes opened with a plate and chopsticks set out for him as she dishes up her own. Beef broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice and a mixed meat and vegetable dish over noodles. Likely way more than she herself would be able to eat. Hell, likely more than two of her would be able to eat. "Servers are still a few days out." She notes, having informed him on the first day that the collection of laptops and desktops he had weren't going to suffice.

***

Nick looks down at his now rather dark brown hands. "Er, right." 'Wash your hands' for a werewolf involves rather more… shampoo than it does for most people and it does occasionally get an odd look or question as to why there are bottles of shampoo in the office restrooms. While he's out, or rather in, he decides to take the opportunity to get out of his coveralls into jeans and a tee shirt. A bit more standard wear for him. It's more than five minutes later when he comes back, but at least he's cleanish.

"You got it from the Golden Dragon, mmm?" He can smell it. "Their egg foo young is the best."

***

"I'll have to remember that." Lydia notes of the egg foo young. "And as to why I'm here? This is where my work is. Where else would I be?" Luckily, she's salary. Not like he has to worry about paying her OT.

Lydia herself is in jeans and a tank top, though she's pulled on a sweater as the office has cooled off without the other bodies in the space. She smells a bit of dust and solder and ozone that's common with computers.

***

Nicholas might worry about that. Privately. In his office. When he's going over the books with Debbie who does most of the admin stuff. But really he's just wondering why she's here when she could be having a life that does not involve a startup. Not, again, that he minds either the company or someone else to do half the things that he hasn't gotten to yet or can't do. "Well, you know, eight twenty five PM is hit the streets or hit the sack time for a lot of people."

The werewolf grabs a pair of chopsticks and loads a paper plate up before digging in. Delish. His… muzzle makes getting his food a bit challenging but he seems to have had lots of time to practice. "Mmmmm, I'd ask if you need any help but I doubt you need fur in your freshly soldered circuit boards."

***

Lydia chuckles, glancing at him. "Ahh, you can smell that can't you? Sorry." She's not actually soldering circuit boards, but either way. The smell likely lingers. Maybe that's what the metallic scent always on her is. "I'm more of a night owl." She certainly doesn't tend to show up before 9am unless he's asked her to for whatever reason. "And I try to avoid the streets." She wrinkles her nose at him, her manner still light and easy. "Too many people. What about you? Aren't you the medic and the extraction expert, not the mechanic?"

***

"Well yes but you've got to learn to do a little maintenance when you fly and what with one thing and another there's some basic things that the birds need. Oil, tune ups, fluids, you know." He shrugs. "We do need a real mechanic eventually though I'm holding off. Because if your designs go through even mostly as is, we'll need to train someone from the ground up. And by we I mean you. Unless you want to take that on yourself." Which hey, if she feels capable Nick won't complain.

"So how are you liking it so far? Not exactly… corporate standard, I know."

***

"Mechanical engineering isn't one of my strongest areas." Lydia admits. Though that still likely means she's got a better grasp of most of the concepts and their applications than most kids finishing their bachelors in that area. A lot of people probably think that designing the units they're looking to field is normally done by one person when in fact it's not. Corporations field whole teams to do things like this, from a wide number of disciplines. Even if they get the OK to use a lot of the Stark tech, an ambulance alone is a huge step beyond 'car'.

"I'm told proper maintenance of something like what we're building needs someone that can sense the machine's soul." Oddly, she doesn't say that with sarcasm.

***

"Mmmmmmm…" Nicholas thinks a bit. "Well… I'll have to think on that one. There are probably a few people out there who can do it. And I have some contacts with some genuinely special people." He blows out a sigh, eyes narrowed and holds it for a moment. Then shrugs. "One more thing to take care of. But hey just getting the damn things built will be cause to break the champagne out."

***

"I'm sure I can manage at least in the short-term." Lydia assures him. "But I'll also have my hands full integrating all of the systems to be able to support the insertion teams." She picks her way through her food, obviously not shy herself about eating. She does watch him as she does so with a quiet sort of interest. "Crazy pilots aside, we're gonna have a lotta dataflow to keep the birds in the air in a firefight-type situation."

***

"So high capacity redundant networks and…" Nicholas has some idea of what it takes to construct that kind of thing. Not as much as Lydia does, of course, but enough to know that it's not something you exactly put together over night. "Well, that's going to be interesting. So long as we don't have too many birds in the air we can make do with a smaller network but if we get larger, here's hoping, then we might just something a lot more advanced than can be gotten off the shelf."

He chews on his food a bit more and then notices her watching. "Er, I got something on my muzzle?"

***

Lydia can't help but chuckle at him. "Trust me, nothing on the shelf is really going to serve your needs. It'd be shoehorning something in and jerry-rigging it to work. Networking though, that's in my wheelhouse." She assures him.

The question gets a shake of her head, no signs of embarassment. "Nope. Just seeing how you…" OK, now she realizes this might sound a bit odd but she finishes with a chuckle. "How you work."

***

"How I work? Waaaay past my bed time." Nick winks as he takes a few more bites of food and puts his plate down. "Or did you mean how I'm put together?" If Lydia's curious about his… physiology and how all the various muscles and joints such function, she'd hardly be the first person. Maybe the first who could say it to his face without blushing furiously.

***

Lydia sets her chopsticks aside and stands up. coming around the table. "How you're put together." She agrees. "Was speaking clearly a challenge at any point? Small deviations from standard often make it so and well, I know this will come as a shock to you, but you deviate pretty hard from the median." She stands next to him for a long moment, looking at him before meeting his eyes again. "Is it OK if I touch you?"

***

Nicholas nods. "When I was twelve. I didn't always have the muzzle. Or the claws… fur since I was six. I went through a… mmmm… I'd call it a growth spurt but more like a mutations spurt. It's happened a few times before but yes. I had to basically relearn how to talk. Took me… almost eighteen months before I was really back to normal."

***

"Er… sure." Lydia seems to have a more or less… professional? interest in him. And… honestly, that's about the least creepy way he's ever been asked that.

***

Lydia's touch is light to start, brushing back some of the fur at his temple. After a moment though her fingers burrow a bit deeper to feel the skin beneath and trace along the obvious lines of muscle and sinew. "Well, it's impressive." She commends him as she continues to explore him, fingers tracing the base of his expressive ears. Her gaze shifts back and forth, observing him even as she keeps talking to him. "It also brings front and center designing with non-standards in mind."

***

That makes Nicholas chuckle a bit, his ears flicking at the touch. Mostly people who ask to touch him are either small children with embarrassed parents (which is fine) or total creepers (which is not). Lydia, speaking of non-standards, seems to have fallen into neither of those categories. "Mmmm, we'll need to be sure we can accomodate both non-standard crew and patients."

Those ears fold back and perk up seemingly with a mind of their own. The way people smile or grimace without thinking about it, that's how he emotes. Which makes sense. He just has ways of doing it that most people don't.

"Glad you approve." He grins.

***

Lydia moves behind him, her fingers still burried in the thick fur. He can feel her mapping out familiar points that are in some instances only slightly different from the norm and others that are radically different. It's not a hesitant or tentative touch either. "Exactly. I don't want to integrate controls that, for instance, you would have difficulty with." Claws. Not always a perk.

Her fingertips find the base of his skull, fingers lightly palpating down the line of his spine.

***

So much of a hassle. Claws can rip things. And tear things. Which is good… unless you don't want them too. And his strength has been an issue too. He's bent and broken more than a few steering wheels and joysticks in his time from getting… overly enthusiastic. The touch on his back is… well, almost medical, really. His ears flick and he turns just slightly to glance behind him out of the corner of his solid grey eyes.

Also that fur? Quite soft. Clearly takes care of it. Which makes sense. It'd be uncomfortable to wear if not.

"So what's your diagnosis?"

***

"Diagnosis usually implies something is wrong." Lydia's tone is amused and she leans to the side a bit to meet his gaze. Where he can't see, however, the tips of her fingers resting against his neck seem to turn silver, shimmering like liquid as she works on initiating the mental link while her other hand continues to lightly explore his fur. "Accomodating for things like your strength, well, that's likely just going to be more expensive materials."

***

"Or learning how to treat the stick like it's made of spaghetti." Nick can't see that and his sense of smell doesn't alert him either since she always smells of strange metals and he's fairly convinced it's just solder. "Which is… probably a less than optimal solution it's true. I guess we'll have to consider that kind of thing when looking for new crew as well." Especially if they develop any systems to enable normal crew members to accompany him into hot zones.

***

The insertion likely would have been more noticeable… except that he gave her the chance to obscure it with those exploratory fingers. While it takes a hell of a lot longer than most telepaths need to establish a link, it's still just a matter of a few moments of him still and quiescent.

Especially given his background at Xavier's, and the standard mental defense training the students get, he'll know the moment she goes 'live' in his head. It's like someone opening a door that wasn't there before and stepping in. Even without doing anything, much as another person in a room with you feels different than being in an empty room, Nicholas can feel that new presence.

***

There's a sudden narrowing of Nicholas eyes. Telepath? He hasn't felt a telepath in his head since he had to be put back together. And what an adventure that was for them though he doesn't know it. Much as his body is part familair and part alien so is his mind, an odd fusion of human thought and animal instinct that isn't even physically constructed the same way as a regular mind, much less in the more abstrect senses. It takes him half a second to realize that there's only one likely avenue this new presnece could have come from… and he immediately twists toward her while beginning to apply some of that anti-telepathy training, seeking the entry point to block it out.

***

Lydia doesn't try to hold onto him, pulling her hands back and away while still holding them up as he moves suddenly. The silvery sheen to her fingers has faded, but given his fur he can feel something at the back of his neck that's not usually there.

Lydia's eyes have gone more grey than blue with almost a sheen of silver to them as she meets his gaze. She can feel him searching, trying to find that door to close but his mental 'shields' are intact. Smooth. Unbroken. "Shhh. It's alright." She says in a soothing tone, hands still held up and away.

***

That presence is still in his head… how is that possible without a breach? The cold pressure on the back of his neck has him reaching up for it to see what it is. He looks and sounds suspicious and concerned. "Lydia…" Her soothing all but confirms that it's her in his head. "What are you doing?"

***

The metal he can feel beneath his fingertips can only really be considered 'cool' because he runs a little warmer than usual. And it's quickly warming to his own body temperature. About an inch in diameter, the smooth flat disk is flush against his skin.

Lydia's already had the time to 'download' the most critical mental tweaks. The ones that will keep him from being able to physically remove the interface or attacking her. He can probably sense that things are being shuffled around in his mental living space as she makes sure he can't tell anyone, either.

"Don't waste time asking questions you know the answer to, Nicholas." Lydia chides lightly. "And finish eating. You were even hungrier than I thought."

***

The brown furred werewolf looks almost hurt as he helps himself to a bit more food and chews on it… "I…" He really does try to take the 'patch' off the back of his neck, but can't make himself do more than feel at it. Small. Subtle. You'd have to be practically burying your face in his fur to notice it. Or feeling in just the right spot and even then it might pass for a scar. "Why?" Is all he manages.

***

As Nicholas turns back towards his food, Lydia steps back up next to him and this time when she reaches out to touch him, it's not in a curious, exploratory sort of way. This time, she strokes the broad head and then turns her hand to rub along one ear with her knuckles. "Because I believe your idea will create a wealth of opportunities for me. To gether information. To control key players in the upcomming conflict."

Lydia's thumb rubs along the edge of one ear, that hurt something she can feel herself even though she knows it's not her own emotion. This time, her voice sounds in his head, her lips never moving. « Relax, Nicky. I'm here to help. »

***

«You call this helping?» Okay, so he's got some practice at thinking at people. Which is good because he's otherwise quite busy eating. She wasn't lying, of course. He had been quite hungry. Werewolves who take early lunches and skip dinner often are. There's a flash of concern mixed with anger from the newly controlled Nicholas as he pushes against 'adjustments' and 'reshuffling' for a long moment, and then just… worry. And a hint of betrayal. He'd genuinely liked Lyida. She'd seemed like a Godsend wrapped up in a pleasant, slightly nerdy package. «Control? Conflict?»

***

Sadly, mental defense classes at Xavier's isn't enough to keep an experienced telepath from some subtle tinkering. She's not changing the way he thinks, just putting a few directives in to make sure he can't let people know she's got a connection to him. "No. I don't call this helping. I'm not kidding about the design and programming work. It's a good idea." She says, her approval something that, with the connection he can feel like sunshine against his skin. Her expression is slightly apologetic as she strokes his head slowly. "I'm sorry." She says, actually sounding apologetic. "I know you don't trust me, but it really is for the best."

***

Lydia's approval feels nice and actually, the stroking on the top of his head does as well. Not that he likes this. In fact, it is slightly worrisome that she thinks his idea was a good one. Particularly because she seems to find it useful. "What… do you intend to do?" He is, at present, stuck with this and can at least be thankful that she isn't altering him (which might be difficult) or hurting him (which would not).

***

Nick takes in a deep breath and lays his plate aside once more before he blows out a long sigh and glances over to the telepath.

***

Lydia's touch pauses on him, still resting on his fur. Her eyes meet his and her brow is furrowed. Her head tilts over to the side a bit, her gaze a bit distant. "Oh. My." Her thumb sweeps back and forth, the gesture an absent one meant to soothe. "Nicky…" Her gaze refocuses on him, and he can taste her concern like a flavor on his tongue. "What happened to you?"

***

Nicky's eyes narrow a bit more. Which is kind of an impressive feat considering he's got no pupils. "I had a rough break." He says quietly. He wouldn't actually believe her concern was anything more than feigned if he couldn't almost literally taste it. And then because he knows she'll ask (and possibly press) for clarification he adds. "Something happened a few years ago. I… didn't cope well. A couple of telepaths had to help me." Given the state of his psyche that is almost certainly an understatement.

***

To Lydia's mental eye, 'break' is entirely too apropriate a word choice. It might also be a bit odd that she asked, and didn't just go diving in to see what the cause was. Clearly she didn't take Telepath Ethics at Xavier's given the way she just plugged herself in. "Yes. I see that." There's a pause and then Lydia leans in and wraps her arms around his shoulders, pressing his head against her chest and resting her chin on the top of his head.

***

Break. Rift. Fracture point. The words that could be used to describe that particular rather large part of Nick's psyche are all sort of… not words anyone would really want to applyp in a sane world. And it is a bit of a surprise to the werewolf that she asked him rather than prodding at it. Which might have produced some unpleasant sensations.. and memories.

"I… um…" Nick isn't quite sure what to do with being hugged like that, and after a moment just sort of stills and leans, mind still spinning. Why did she put herself in his head, assert enough control to… well, assert control and then… proceed to be rather nice to him all things considered? His confusion is probably quite evident. And perhaps a little dizzying.

***

Lydia's fingers comb through his fur, and she's quiet for a long moment just holding him there. Since she can 'hear' his surface thoughts, the ones that most telepaths wouldn't be able to unless they went looking, she knows he's perplexed. The blonde leans back a bit and finally lets her touch fall away. "As you've gathered, I'm a telepath. But my abilities work a bit differently. I'm not looking to do anything to you at the moment, I'm just establishing the connection." She reaches out again to tap the small disk lightly. "I need a physical link. And now was a good time to get it. Aside from making sure you don't try to pull it out, hurt me, or tell anyone about this, I'm not tinkering with you."

***

He'd gathered that he couldn't hurt her. That was the first thing Nick tried, though he wasn't surprised when it didn't work. That's the first thing a telepath would do once inside.

He tilts his head slightly to watch her hand for a moment. "Nothing… at the moment…" Not comforting really. Like being told you're not for dinner. Breakfast though… "Why this, though? And… why me?"

That's the most confusing part. He's not particularly powerful, or influential or… well resourced…

***

Lydia gives a slight smile and tilts her head. "Something might come up, yes." At least she's honest? "Though mostly I figure that will depend on how much you fight me out of spite." As to the why? That's a big answer. "Something is coming, Nicky. And I believe you're going to be in the very thick of it."

***

Spite? Well… she hasn't made him do anything yet that warrents spite. Fight her out of concern for his freedom, life or friends, that's rather distinctly more possible. Nick notes, by the way, that she's still huggimg him about the shoulders (well, shoulder) resting her head atop his and toying with one of his ears. "So that's why you're helping me." And, you know, hijacking his mind.

***

"And because it's a good idea." Lydia says, making sure he doesn't leave that out. "It just happens to be a good idea, that will do a lot of good for people, that has additional opportunities." She pulls away enough that she can look at him consideringly. "Your mind is very… delicate. But I should still be able to make you forget what I've done. To not 'see' me, if that would ease your mind."

***

"So that when you push me later, I find out again." Nicholas says a bit dryly. "No thanks. You'd have to make me forget a lot of training to not notice someone actively poking around in my head. Which…" He waits for a moment seeing if he can feel her reshuffling. Mmmm. There it is. "I assume you will at some point."

The werewolf tilts his muzzle up to look back. "Why are you so concerned with how I feel about this?" There's… less venom in that question than one might think. Because really aside from hyjacking his free will (Which, granted is a pretty considerable point against her) she's not done this at all like he expected.

***

Lydia's smile is a bit wan then. "Because I like you, Nicky. And while I don't expect that you'll believe me any time soon… I really am here to help."


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