[center][h3][color=palevioletred]Kaylee Everose[/color] & Coleman St John[/h3][/center][hr]

“I’m not a mutant.” Cole answered. His expression was unchanging, looking straight at her. “But you already knew that.” He relaxed back a bit, shaking his head: “It’s something else entirely.” Things would have been a lot easier to explain if she had seen Heidi. He considered his words again, but still decided to just go with whatever came naturally. “A while back I had an accident on my last bike, way before I came here,” He said. “I still can’t remember certain parts of my life before that, but that was when things changed.”

Kaylee started as Cole said he wasn't a mutant. She tilted her head slightly and nodded as he made a valiant attempt to explain. It was overwhelmingly apparent that he was unsure where exactly to start. Kaylee sensed the difficulty in Cole's hesitation, not as willful but slightly overwhelmed. She looked him in the eyes; she waited a heart beat with their eyes locked, she moved toward satisfying part of her curiosity surrounding this man.[color=palevioletred] "Alright. This seems like it would be easier for you if I just asked questions until my curiosity is satisfied. If that's the case how did you get this power?"[/color]

Cole drummed his fingers again for a moment. His lips were pursed. There was a wave of relief that crashed headlong through his mind into another that screamed [i]STOP[/i], but the cat was out of the bag, or very nearly. He breathed in and rested his head on the back of the chair, exhaling through his nose and looking at the ceiling for a moment. “[i]Power[/i] isn’t the right word.” He said, bringing his gaze back down to her. “It’s more like a [i]calling[/i].” He crossed his arms and thought some more. For so long he had wanted, [i]badly[/i], to tell someone; for someone to be able to at least listen. There would likely never be a more receptive setting than the Institute, but even with Kaylee, past reservations still flooded his thoughts and whether or not the information he was going to give her would put her in danger. With some hesitancy, he continued: “It wasn’t long after my wreck that it first happened, like I just knew what to do.” He said. “Out on 40, it couldn’t have been too far east of Barstow, middle of night, like 3am or some, ungodly hour. It was a guy in a McLaren sportscar on his way back from Vegas.” Cole shook his head as he recounted the vision. He feigned difficulty in the memory, but it was actually easy to recall. His expression became a grim determination and he looked ahead at the desk no longer focused on Kaylee, but on the scene that replayed vividly through his mind. “He was some Arab prince, cousin of a cousin, or some bullshit like that, he trafficked children.” He finally looked back up at her directly in the eye. “I’m not talking about... like our students here, I mean [i]kids[/i], little babies even. Don’t ask me how I knew,” He said. “I just [i]knew[/i].” His hands had become slowly clenched into fists on the desk. “I ran him off the road, the car flipped a buncha times after the nose dug into the sand.”

Kaylee was unfamiliar with this part of his background and listened intently.[color=palevioletred] "And they call us monsters. What happened in the first wreck?"[/color] She sensed that was the important part of the conversation. As much as she'd love to hear about how he brought the scum to justice she felt that whatever happened in the wreck was far and beyond important. 

Frequently it was traumatic events that caused a latent mutant gene to activate and Kaylee was determining if that was the case with Cole. He'd been through a lot. More than he should and be this well put together. As she waited for him to answer her eyes took in his expression, his presence and what he revealed as he spoke.

Cole thought about it for a moment, relaxing a bit. It wasn’t the line of questioning he expected and he was a little relieved her rational side was catching up to the conversation. She was analyzing the information. Even though he [i]said[/i] he was not a mutant, to her it didn’t necessarily [i]prove[/i] anything, which brought back the question of what role he was actually playing in the grand scheme. He knew he was right, but he also didn’t know what that meant. He shook his head. “I don’t remember much,” He said. “I was on the Coastal, but I woke up lying in the ditch, just for a minute because I can remember seeing the stars, the next thing I remember I was in the hospital.”

Kaylee’s brow puckered.[color=palevioletred] “Nothing else? That is odd. Usually a manifestation is a bit more jolting than that. Then again it could be explained by the fact that you have a very controlled demeanor. I actually get to see your aura very often. I thought it was due to your control. So you [i]knew[/i] about the trafficking small children, and that was the first instance of your power. Was that all? Just a knowing? Your aura has more than one color that normally indicates to me multiple facets of power.”[/color]

Kaylee enjoyed talking about the subtle differences in powers. She had years to figure out what was what color in a person’s aura. She had been stunned with the complexities in Cole’s aura. It was such a wondrous combination of colors that she had broken through her normal reservations.

“I dont know.” Cole replied. “If I try to think back on it, it’s like I was just, [i]there[/i], like [i]put[/i] there, like the memory just sits in my mind on its own.” He said. “I can remember certain things before it happened, like how to ride or where things are in the grocery store, but people and some of my family memories, I had to…” He paused in some consideration. “I kinda had to [i]relearn[/i] them, almost like they were new to me. It’s weird.” He gave a small smirk as she talked about his color aura. It was interesting, but something he had no concept other than her words. The way she and some of the students could see the world was completely opposite to the way he could. “I guess it was about a month after that, and no, I don’t just know all at once. It’s a feeling that builds up, like I said, it’s not a power. When the time comes, I can’t deny it. That’s the way it was when I left you at Avalon.”

[color=palevioletred]“That sounds more like it controls you. As if it possesses you when it has to. Interesting. Almost like what happens to Una when she is unconscious. Do you lose complete autonomy? Is it like a runaway horse that you can’t control? As if you were the rider at it’s every whim?”[/color] Kaylee was fascinated and she leaned into the conversation.

“No, it’s not that at all.” He said. A part of him felt a twinge of warning in his subconscious to be careful what he said next, but the words continued on. “When it happens,” He shook his head again, unable to hide a look of almost satisfaction. “I’m almost glad,” He said. “It’s not something that just happens, it’s something I [i]get to do[/i].”

Kaylee tilted her head.[color=palevioletred] “That’s good. So what does this have to do with you setting fire to Nocturne?”[/color] She was following but more in an esoteric way. His answers weren’t straight out evasions and he skirted the line of the answer not actually being an answer. She had nothing to call him on and he was letting her get away with a lot more questions than she was answering.

“Fire is just what happens when I get there,” Cole said looking back at her. “It’s not a reason, whether it’s Nocturne or a scumbag out in the desert or wherever.” 

Her look turned intense.[color=palevioletred]“Alright so what [i]exactly[/i] happens?”[/color]

[@Almalthia]