Posse Comitatus

[Dragon]

John politely turned away as Mr. Brocius attended to the nosebleed.

"Carlos, Mr. Brocius and his associates are conducting a study into mutant-human relations," he said. "He's going to ask you a few questions about your experiences on- and off-campus with non-mutants. I'm just here to moderate."

He nodded toward the Praetorian employees to let them know he was ready to continue.

[Jack Brocius]

"Sorry about that."

Jack frowned at the crimson-dabbled kleenex, folding it inward on itself to conceal the blood before throwing it in the rubbish bin.

"Just enough dry winter air upstate to get me raw I'm afraid."

He returned to his seat, collected himself, and started from a new sheet.

"Carlos, tell me a little bit about yourself. About the first time you discovered your gifts, and how that affected your relationships with friends, family, and society."

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos smiled, as if to say 'no problem'.

“When I first discovered my gifts,” he repeated, laughing a little to himself. Clearly he was comfortable with discussing his mutation.

“I don't know. I never had many friends anyway. I've got this... passive bad-luck vibe. I don't know when it kicked in really. People just thought I was a jinx until, uh, one day I was fighting with this kid, after school... he was talking trash about my sister, so I decide to do something about it and – BAM!”

He clapped his hands together. “I'm on fire. The kid ran like hell, thought I had a bomb or something. Everyone was freaking out all over the place, saying it was some sign from God.”

[Jack Brocius]

The Praetorian employee mulled over the Mexican's words.

"You said you didn't have many friends? How about enemies?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

It didn't really occur to Carlos to wonder why he was being interviewed. If John Rhee was happy for him to be questioned, he'd go along with it.

“I guess, but that was before people even knew I was a mutant, you know? My parents pulled me out of school after the whole exploding-hands incident.”

[Jack Brocius]

"I see."

The ginger-haired Praetorian was scrawling notes this time. Jack continued.

"Then what happened? From the incident until your enrollment at Cullen."

[Carlos Calaveras]

Another shrug.

“It was only a couple of weeks before I got transferred. People didn't really like that I was around still, so I just tried to keep out of their way... stayed in the house until Mr. Daniel's got everything approved.”

[Jack Brocius]

An arch of an eyebrow.

"Stayed inside? You're just a kid. Didn't it chap you that you couldn't go out and play, horse around, or such?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

“With who?” Carlos frowned, a little confused – though, admitedly, slightly amused by the idea of horsing around.

“People avoided me even worse than before.”

[Jack Brocius]

"Anthing more than ignoring? Any threats against you? Against your family?"

Trying another angle, Jack continued.

"Have you talked much with your family since leaving the country?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

“We don't really talk. My dad wasn't happy that I got taken out of school.”

Carlos paused for a moment, rubbing at his chin.

“I dunno if they got threatened, really. I get letters from my sister sometimes, but she never mentioned anything like that.”

[Jack Brocius]

"And your time at the Institute? Have you experienced any acts of hate against you or a friend? How much time do you venture off campus?"

The Praetorian flipped a page over as he spoke.

[Carlos Calaveras]

“Uhh...”

Carlos passed one hand back through his hair, as he rifled through his memories. He looked over to John, frowning a little.

“I don't think so? Just the usual stuff... I don't go off campus much, anyway.”

[Jack Brocius]

"You sound like a better student than I was. I could never wait for the weekend and to get away."

Jack smiled politely.

"One more question. Where do you see yourself in five years? In ten?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

“I... got no idea.”

Carlos smiled lopsidedly. To his credit, he was being honest.

“I always wanted to be a comic book artist. Maybe doing that?”

[Jack Brocius]

"Comic books, like superheroes and such?"

Jack smiled, setting his pen down.

"My favorite was always Iron Man. Do you have any drawings?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

“Yeah, superheroes. Don't have many sketches left... I lost my old sketchbook on the way here, and my new one isn't even half full. Don't have a lot of time to practice, with school and friends and everything.”

Carlos shrugged, yet didn't seem too unhappy with the situation. After all, he had a good group of friends and a good future ahead.

“Got to admit, though... I never liked Tony Stark.”

[Jack Brocius]

"That's understandable. He's a complex character."

Jack gathered up a folder and a business card, and passed it along to Carlos.

"Thank you for your time and your answers. I want you to have this. Just some reading materials and things to think about. My card is there too, and if you have any problems with any harassment or discrimination off campus, we'd like to hear from you."

[Carlos Calaveras]

“Okay. Think I can probably handle it myself though, eh Professor?”

Carlos tossed a wink in John's direction, though the gesture didn't seem to be appreciated. With a salute, he said his good-byes and left, with Brocius' card and 'reading material' stuffed into the back pocket of his jeans.

[Dragon]

John gave Carlos a cordial smile, quite willing to pass off the comment as an off-hand joke. "Thanks, Carlos," he said.

The door swung shut, leaving him alone with the Praetorians. He waited quietly as Brocius and his colleagues took down a few more notes.

After a few more seconds of silence, he asked, "I hope you're finding these interviews helpful so far, Mr. Brocius?" It was more an idle courtesy than anything else - he doubted he'd get anything more in return.