As he left from eating and headed back towards the common room, he was approached by Carver.

Ben

He looks up from his path towards the common room to notice Carver approaching him and stops.

"Can I help you?" he asks, obvious that the man wants to talk to him.

“Ben, I take it you have heard about, and from your parents. I know you have talked to your family lawyer.”

He holds up a hand.

“No, I don’t know what was said, however, I suspect I know some context - and I have had a look at circumstances using my own particular talents and think you might want to know what I saw.”

Ben

"Never turn down information. One of the first lessons of my business class. Please sir, what can you tell me?"

“I have explained this to one other student so I will explain it to you as well. I think you deal in manipulating and perceiving waveforms. Magnetism. Sound. Light. Changing their intensity and manifestation. Most of that side is in the realm of regular physics. Some of the rest, however gets a bit more complicated. Into quantum physics and other, more esoteric sciences. Specifically the ability to perceive and on a limited basis interact with probability waveforms. Are you with me so far?”

Ben

"Of course. Gravitational waves are the basis of my one ability. My teleportation is folding space. At least that is what I believe it to be. Almost like creating a mini Einstein-Rosen bridge from one point to another."

“So you could say, Ben, that power wise you and I are cousins of a sort. So one thing I can view is probability waveforms. View the river of time and the various branches, streams and eddies. It isn’t precisely telling the future. My brain wouldn’t be capable of interpreting things to that level even if things were that stable. But I can see change points, shatter points and some probabilities.”

Ben

He nodded at the man's explanation of his powers. Knowledge was always a valuable commodity. No more so than in his current situation.

Carver

“So certain people are by nature nexuses. Grey would call them ‘Shatterpoints.’ People around whom many different probability lines gather. The large rocks in the stream which, when they move, alter the current of the river significantly. “

Ben

"I am familiar with the theory. We studied it in philosophy last year." he said, waiting to see what Carver's point was. He suspected but it was best to just let the man get it out.

Carver.

“This place. Is filled with them. I showed up here to help when I realized it. I can’t tell you why for many of you, although I can hazard guesses. You are important, in some manner. In your case I would say the obvious connection is your parents. For others it may be different. There is a tangle coming soon, and it could be an ugly one. And I think that you, Ben, will be one of several right in the eye of the storm.

Ben

"If you are going to be in the game, best to be in the middle of it. From what you all have said my parents got involved in all of this because of me. It sounds like I might owe some payback to those that created this mess." he said.

He smiles slightly … then frowns.

“Be very careful, Ben, thinking in terms of,payback. It can lead to quite ugly places if you are not careful. Places you don’t want to go. Places which sometimes there is no coming back from.”

Ben

"I might not have a choice Mr. Carver. At least that is what I am picking up from some of the conversations. Best that I be as ready as possible for that moment."

Carver

“Be ready, Ben. But try not to play the payback game. Make things right, fix matters. Protect others from the same damage you suffered. But remember that the passion for revenge should never blind you. There are some people who are so warped by the pull of the silken cord of their past that in attempting to sever it they tie a new one. You can hate until you see through a chink in their armor, a crack in their shell, nailed down and writhing in self created torment. And then their ending, Ben, is a mercy not a revenge. Revenge damages both the avenger and the avenged upon. Do not let it be your reason.”

Ben

"My parents raised me to be smarter than that sir. Control is important when you deal with something as powerful as gravity so you learn to control your passions early if you don't want to accidently kill someone."

carver

“I am glad to hear that Ben. Revenge is a sucker’s game. “

He thinks for a while.

He sees a twinkle of blue and and image, albeit a faint one, in a mirror on the wall. And Ben is pretty sure no one is there to cast a reflection.

Ben

He frowns and steps into Carver's side, then drops three G's of gravity in the room around them but not including them.

"Someone is here."

Carver

The man looks sidelong at the mirror … and perhaps unexpectedly sighs.

“Carmen. You may as well show yourself completely. Your mother will be upset that you decided to disobey her instructions, but that milk is now spilt.”

The image in the mirror firms up into solidity, then steps through, wincing at the increased weight, leaning against the wall for support.

“Ben, meet Carmen Sorensen. Daughter of Mariel and a troublemaker. In other words, her mother’s daughter.”

She was wearing black jeans and a black sweatshirt, and a bit of a half smirk.

“Hey, Ben. What’s cooking?”

Ben

Upon seeing that Carver knew the girl, he released the increased gravity to unburden the smirking girl.

"Hello Carmen, nice to meet you." he said with a nod. "Movement through reflections huh? Cool."

Carmen

“Oh, not that simple. For example …”

She reaches down, touches an electrical receptacle and then pops out of a nearby lamp.

“Could go through your phone, through a spotlight …”

She disappears in blue sparkles as a radio snaps to life, and her voice comes out.

“A radio.”

And then she appears again coming through the mirror.

“Something to do with energy and waves. I’m sure Big C here or mother could describe it better than me. Not that smart and sciencey myself. It it does expedite my getting around.”

Ben

"Fascinating!" he says, watching as the blue haired girl pops around the room. "Matter conversion to energy and back. Have you tried influencing electronics?" he asked.

Carver

He smiles just slightly.

“Carmen … I’m going to leave this room and pretend I didn’t see you, because I don’t want to have that particular argument with your mother, I’m certain you are in no danger from Ben, at any rate. Ben, just don’t invoke the wrath of Mariel and I’m sure you will be fine. If you need anything, let me know.”

He backs out of the room.

Carmen tilts her head sideways.

“Never considered attempting that. I mean, I don’t know electronics all that well. Mom. She’s the genius. I think that my talents aren’t my brains.”

Ben

"Sounds like your mother has a reputation." he said with a faint grin, glancing at the retreating Carver. "So how long have you been here?"

Carmen

“Well, it IS my home, so since I was born? 17 years. I mean, I guess it was grandad’s home and mother inherited. I usually stick to the parts of the home which aren’t used for …”

She motions around. “You guys, but I have to admit curiosity and all. Especially as I think some of this batch might be cousins or something.”

“As for mom, I mean, she did say her nickname was ‘trouble’ growing up, so …”

Ben

"Well, you don't need to keep away on our account. It is nice to know that there are other kids who live here. Makes it feel less like a prison which is what I kind of thought it was at the beginning."

Carmen

“Oh, I can’t speak for Grey and Kemp and company, but I’m pretty sure mom doesn’t view it that way. I’d say it’s somewhere between rescue, redemption and rebellion. I think she has a barely contained disdain for much of Eidolon’s methods. I can’t say I know enough to say I know exactly why you’re here, but if it was just to be a prison, I’m pretty sure mom wouldn’t be part of it.”

She pauses

“It’s a bit lonely being out of the public school system due to what I am, but not in the Eidolon “powered” training system because she doesn’t trust it. I mean, I do meet other kids but it isn’t the same.”

Ben

"Well you should hang out with us now that we are all here. No sense keeping isolated." he said. "Want to start by heading in to see what we can get as a snack?"

Carmen:

She blinks.

“Are you sure you want to go around with the spawn of the jailer? I mean, if this is a prison she is one of the wardens.”

Another brief pause.

“Hopefully I’m not going to upset mother too much with sneaking in here.”

Ben

He laughs at her last comment, waving her on toward the door with a hand.

"Upsetting our parents is our obligation as their children. I believe I read that in the "kid's handbook" somewhere."

She does walk forward.

“You ever feel like you are living your life swathed in bubble wrap? Mother seems afraid I might break, or fall in with the wrong crowd, or … I don’t know … something might happen to me.”

Ben

"Sure, I think every kid feels that way at some time. In our cases it can well be the truth though. Still, my parents were pretty good about it."

Carmen

She continues to walk along, running a hand along the wall.

“I think it’s more than that with mother. I think she’s afraid she’ll break me. That she’s going to be like her father was. That she’ll somehow ruin me.”

Ben

"If she is worried that she will, most likely she won't. You have to not give a crap to really screw up your child."

Carmen:

“If I could just get her to realize that. And that I actually think she’s kinda cool and if I end up like her it’s not a bad thing in my mind.”

She pauses and looks at him, and laughs.

“Look at me. Spilling my problems to an audience that probably has worse ones than I do. So, Ben, what you in for?”

Ben

He looked out a window as they walked by, seeing the outside world that was currently denied to them.

"Having parents who did what it took to save my life. They were both arrested. I tried to get my mom free but the teachers here stopped me. Brought me here...."

Carmen:

“Oh.”

She said.

“I’m sorry. I uh … I’m sure that … um … I’m sure that they had good reasons.”

She seems flustered.

Ben

He smiled and reached out a hand to pat her arm for a moment and smiled sadly.

"Hey, my parents knew what they were getting into. It was there only chance to save my life evidently. That is what they would have chosen to do so I respect that, if not necessarily who they did the work for." he said, shrugging.

Carmen

“I always wonder how far mom would go. Pretty far, I think.”

Another brief pause.

“So, how are the others here? I mean, bad situation but you for example don’t seem like a hardened criminal. Although I have to admit I don’t have much experience with hardened criminals.”

Ben

"I don't know the others that well yet, we all just recently arrived. They seem like a decent group." he said and shrugged, then laughed at her comment.

"I don't know any real hardened criminals. The acts my parents did...I understand now."

Walking along they find themselves outside the kitchen, and inside Grey and Anne appear to be chatting over sandwiches …

… and a voice comes from the room, that of Grey.

“Ben, Carmen … do come in.”