Mystic Studies Institute

Jason had spent the drive in silence, staring out the window at nothing in particular, lost in thought. He hadn't even been permitted to attend his own trial in person, fearful that he'd be able to manipulate the courtroom with his power he'd been forced to give his testimony to a camera and hope they believed him.

He'd taken the deal as his lawyer had suggested, it was prison or the Institute and the Institute was likely to be far kinder to the man.

Jason wished he'd had a chance to speak to his parents though. He could still see their faces in the crowd, shattered, hollow eyed. He wanted so much to tell them this wasn't their fault, they'd done everything they ever could as parents, they'd been nothing but loving and supportive. He wondered if the Institute would let him write to them at all.

A dark part of his mind relished in telling him he was born to live behind bars, just like his birth mother.

He'd protested his innocence so many times even he was starting to question it.

Through all of this, he hadn't even had time to grieve.

He was summoned from his thoughts by the monotone words of the driver. He looked out the window and up at the imposing building with more than a little trepidation.
So, this was it? His new home, for who knew how long.

He swallowed hard. "thank you." his voice sounded hoarse, hollow. He was a shell of what he had been a few weeks prior. His dark eyes were sunken and dull, deep shadows betraying how little he'd slept of late. His vividly dyed dreadlocks were tied back into a messy sort of bun to keep them out of his face but his roots were starting to grow through. He looked tired and defeated.

At least he'd been permitted to wear his own clothes and not a prison jumpsuit though.
But the brightly coloured tee seemed out of place with the sombre, fearful expression on the man's face.

He got out the car, raising his head to get a better look at the facility. It was huge, old. It looked, to Jason's mind, like it should be haunted.

he glanced back at the driver uncertainly, then back at the black clad guards. He swallowed again.

Jason followed obediently, head lowered as he warily took in his surroundings.

'the doctor will see you now' huh, he'd heard that so many times in his life. Though usually they didn't have guards, or huge facilities like this.
He wasn't really sure what to make of this all.

Was he about to get poked and prodded like a rat in a lab?

He flinched as the door shut with a very final click and forced a weak smile for the doctor.

"um... h.. hi?"

Leigha looked up from the desk, where she had been checking over important notes on a clipboard, at the sound of an unfamiliar voice. She recalled that a new subject would be arriving that day, and deduced the man who stood before her must be him. "Hello. Jason Carter, I presume?" She said, glancing over the name at the top of her instructions and notes. "My name is Dr. Amerson, and I will be performing a basic check-up and interview. Nothing to be nervous about."

Rising from her seat, she carefully slipped her clipboard into the crook of her arm. "If you would please follow me to the medical examination room," she said, making her way at a slower pace than usual. After all, the facility could be a labyrinth for those who had never wandered it's halls.

Jason nodded. He has a million questions but somehow each and every one of them left his head as soon as the woman started to speak.

He followed her quietly, trying to keep track of the hallways and doors but it was no use. He'd never been very good with directions anyway and this place was a maze.
He seriously doubted he'd ever be able to find his way out again without a guide.
maybe that was the point.

Arriving at the examination room, Leigha held the door open for the young man. He seemed a bit nervous, but so had. It’s when they entered the halls of the facility. She supposed she couldn’t blame them. “I’ll start off with a basic blood pressure test,” she said, taking out a blood pressure cuff. “Just something simple, normal.” As she sterilized the cloth and dial of the cuff, she motioned to the exam bed taking up a large portion of the room. “You can sit, if it’ll make you feel more comfortable.”

After cleaning the cuff, she approached him with short, clipped steps. An air of professionalism was about her, as she began wrapping the cuff around Jason’s arm to take a reading of his blood pressure.

"uh.. o.. okay." Jason stammered, taking a seat on the bed and doing his best to keep still and not fidget.
Blood pressure, that was fairly normal, but the doctor's manner, the stark room and all of this reminded him of his youth and by extention, his parents and the guilt he'd felt since he'd been arrested came flooding back.

"Are we allowed to send letters?" He blurted out suddenly, flitting from thought to thought. "Or emails or... anything."

Was contact with the outside world prohibited? Nobody had really filled him in on anything about this place except that it wasn't prison. At the time, 'not prison' was good enough for him.

After recording the reading from the blood pressure test and putting away the cuff, Leigha turned to face Jason. "Yes, sending letters is allowed, of course," she replied. "We currently only have computer access for personnel, but I can inform you if that changes."

Leigha hadn't thought anyone wrote letters anymore, and was pleasantly surprised someone seemed to care about writing one.

"Contact with those you know will never be prohibited, due to the remote location our communication abilites without an advances system are limited...hence the written letters," she tried to explain in more detail as she took a small instrument from her drawer to use in the next test: a pulse reading.

Jason nodded slowly. It was a relief to at least know he could, when he could find the words, try to explain himself to his parents. They deserved that at least didn't they? Would they even read a letter from him? He didn't know, but he had to try. "thank you..."

He kept his head down as she continued her tests.
His pulse was slightly raised but was that a real surprise given the circumstances?
This close though, something else was interfering. A dull thudding beat, it almost sounded like the man was wearing headphones but he didn't have any on.

Leigha finished the pulse test, noticing something...odd. A thumping beat, mysterious and puzzling. She took longer than usual recording everything, her pencil flying over the paper as she took a detailed recording of her findings.

"Only one more test before we move onto the interview. After that, you can go to your room and do as you please, within reason," she informed Jason. She pointed over to the large scale in the corner of the room. "We need an accurate height and weight measurement."

Jason nodded and slid off the bed, obediently going over to the scale to be weighed and measured. Huh, this was novel, he hadn't had this done since he was a small child.

He tried hard not to fidget but his nerves were getting to him and he was finding keeping still difficult. He'd never been great at keeping still. Quiet yes, still? not so much.
his fingers drummed along to that invisible beat despite his best efforts not to do so.

Leigha noticed how figety Jason seemed, and took note of that, as well as the height and weight measurements.

"All right, that takes care of that. If you'd like to have a seat for comfort's sake you may, or you can remain standing if you wish," she said. "I just need to ask you a few questions regarding your ability. The first of which, is have you had it since birth, or did you develop it in some way?"

Jason took a seat, tapping on his knee as he considered the question. "I ... I don't know... " He admitted. "I don't remember ever like.. not having it... at least in some way." He looked anxious. Talking about his ability wasn't something he'd ever really done before, it felt wierd, like revealing a deep dark secret which was silly given he was a known mutant. Everyone in the country, if not the dang planet knew he had powers.
But it still felt uncomfortable and strange.

Leigha noted that Jason seemed uncomfortable talking about his ability. She'd keep the interview brief, for his sake and for the sake of keeping everything on schedule.

Nodding, she wrote down the gist of Jason's response and bega speaking again. "Thank you," she said. "If you don't mind my asking, what is the extent of your abilities? What do they fully allow you to do, from your standpoint?"

Jason considered that, thinking. "Well uh.." he fidgeted. "I make people feel better... I mean I can make them feel bad too but why would I wanna do that? I uh... I make people feel good. Like.. happy. " He honestly didn't really understand the full extent of his ability, he only knew that he could make people feel different if he willed it.

Leigha recorded his thoughts before speaking again. "Thank you, Mr. Carter," she said. "Now, one more question and you're free to go."

"Has your power ever negatively affected you in some way? Does in drain energy or affect emotions when overused? Is there a limit to how long you cam sustain your power?"

Jason looked thoughtful. He'd never really tested it, he'd taken it rather for granted.
"I... don't really know..." He tried to remember. "I... guess it makes me a bit tired... like running for a bus or something." He shook his head, he felt bad that he wasn't more help. "I... " He tried to think. "It kinda... comes in bursts... does that make sense?"

"It does, actually. More sense than you may think," the doctor spoke thoughtfully. After finishing scribbling on her clipboard, she looked towards Jason.

"And with that, your interview and medical exams have concluded. Thank you very much for your answers amd cooperation. You're welcome to wander the non-staff only areas of the facility, and I can show you to your individual room."

"uh.. thanks... genuinely.. thank you." Jason smiled wearily at the doctor, he looked tired. He hadn't slept well since his intital arrest.

He knew he had more questions, he just wasn't sure what they were. They kept flitting out of head as rapidly as they came up. Damn.

He akwardly rose from his seat. He wondered what the others here were like and how they'd ended up in this place.