Hate the Road

[François Laffont]

Franck seemed to understand that not everyone might feel the need to help those around the way he did. Franck just had to. It was an impulse that went beyond the simple fact that happy people around him made him happy. Already before he had his power he felt that need for those around him to be good and happy. Now he simply had even more motivations for that to happen.

Franck smiled but he somehow felt as though Oliver was making fun of him. He didn't seem to be, at least Franck perceived nothing that could be described as such but it was also clear that Oliver must like his power even more right now just because it was not constantly on like Franck’s. It was something a lot of people, upon hearing what his power was and how it affected him, thought so Franck couldn’t really blame him. If one knew how much of a burden such a power can be, it sure was him.

He realised however that he didn’t know what Oliver’s power happened to be. “Does it really?” Franck replied as Oliver claimed their mutation made them better than humans. Franck could not think like that. He wanted to be human, not be something more. “Someone has a naturally lovely voice, or a sixth finger or is much taller than the average, does that make that person more than others? We got those strange abilities and it’s thanks to our genes but we’re still humans. I don’t know if that means we evolved faster than the rest of them and if that means one day we would all have some power or if the natural evolution genes make with each generation just didn’t go a little crazy for us and we ended up like this. I’m not a scientist, I don’t really get all of this.”

Oliver seemed certain of what he was saying though. To him, they really were better. He had someone else telling him something almost similar once. A young girl. But she came from a cult. “I guess we’ll have to agree on disagreeing about this.”

[Oliver King]

"That's the thing though," he said, his head tilting. "We have more than regular humans." No matter how you turned it, it was true. Whether or not that was a good thing was entirely up to whoever to decide. To Oliver though, it meant that they were better, because more was better than less. It was clearly a very short-minded way to be thinking, but it was rarely rare to have a mutant think of themselves as superior. It came with the territory, he supposed. "We have something they don't. We have something they will never have. Our mutations come from our DNA being mutated, or evolved; however you want to look at it, but at the end of the day, we still have something that they don't, thus we have more."

"I suppose you're right." It was clear that the boy didn't share Oliver's opinion, which was fine. He wasn't here to justify himself. He didn't even see a need to. He believed what he did and he didn't feel ashamed about it. Just as he doubted the boy felt ashamed for disagreeing. He wasn't so arrogant that he didn't think that it was possible for people to disagree with him. In a way, he even respected people who could.

In this case though, he couldn't help but to think the boy was far too naive for his own good. Ah well, he supposed the world needed good people in order for there to be a balance. Having too many cynicals would surely make things dull.

[François Laffont]

“More doesn’t necessarily means better,” Franck pointed out. But he felt like this was useless. Clearly, Oliver had an opinion on mutation Franck was not likely to change. Franck wanted to see himself as part of the world, with the rest of them, not as someone superior in some way. He felt there was something dangerous about thinking you were superior. It wouldn’t be hard to sacrifice people then, since they were under you. Franck could not do that. He simply couldn’t.

The way he expressed himself, Franck was not sure if the guy was brilliant or read some very scientific way to justify their superiority. Whatever it was, a voice inside his head still screamed it was wrong. Science tended to be heartless. They had to. Franck, however, was all about the heart. Their purely rational thinking rarely was compatible with him. He preferred not to say anything else on the matter. Having a fight over this when they could, just as he said, simply agree on the fact they disagree seemed like a waste of time. And Franck disliked fights, both verbal and physical. Since it would not be possible for them to change the other one’s view, it was best to leave it at that.

“Don’t mind me asking, but what’s your power? I don’t remember you saying it,” he asked Oliver. They talked a little about his and some of the downsides of it but he didn’t remember hearing Oliver say anything about his own ability. Obviously, it was not something that was constantly on, judging by the way he talked of it but that still left hundreds of possibilities.

[Oliver King]

"In my opinion it does," he replied, brows furrowing. Clearly, they disagreed. Oliver was in no mind to change the boy, and clearly, the boy had no interest in changing Oliver. Now, Oliver would have preferred the boy agreeing, but from what he'd already known about the boy... From the naive way he carried himself and the purity and goodness his heart enraptured, he'd already known there was no point. The boy had already proven every rumor that flew around him, and as such, Oliver realized that there was nothing here for him.

He had no reason to hang around the boy or become friends with him. There was nothing to gain from this. He couldn't further himself by using the boy, and in a way, he figured, that was probably for the best. This kid had some powerful friends, whether or not he was aware of it. He had both the Bellefonte twins in the palm of his hand, and he did jack shit about it. Such wasted potential.

He could control the school if he so wanted. 

"Invisibility," he replied with a shrug. He saw no reason to hide his power. It wasn't a secret. People could easily enough find out. It wasn't one of those powers that people often bothered to look twice at. It was just another power that few people cared about, and Oliver was fine with that.

[François Laffont]

Franck might wish Oliver thought differently but he would also not force him to change his mind or accuse him of everything just because their opinions differed. Still, Franck would express his point of view just like Oliver gave his. It was almost like a debate, except there was no one standing in the middle to say which one was the best orator and won it. Because, really, it was not that kind of debate where one would win over the other. “There are some things you don’t want more of. And I’d say we are still flawed. Some of us have powers that are likely to kill us at some point. If we’re the next step in evolution, clearly we are not a completed one.” He didn’t like that thought though. Without wanting to say they were perfect, he didn’t want to consider mutants as inferiors to mankind. To him, none was superior. They were different, maybe, but none was better.

Oliver’s attitude shifted slightly though after this discussion. On the outside, it was impossible to notice anything different but Franck was able to read people better than by simply looking at them. Something inside was different. Like he lost his interest or something. As if Franck just passed a test and failed it. Since he had no idea there was any test going on right now, he was quite puzzled about this.

The way he talked of his power proved it further. He said it, just like that. one word and a shrug to explain it all. Sure, invisibility was pretty self-explanatory but he got not shame or envy or pride in his power. Like that didn’t matter. “Really?” Franck wished he could say something else, like ask a question to show his interest or say it was an impressive power. But he couldn’t think of a question and thought saying something would only sound fake. “Interesting,” was all he managed to say. And he felt bad for he wished he had said more.

[Oliver King]

"Not once did I say we were perfect," he pointed out. Nor had he said that there weren't some bad in it all. He'd simply stated that because they had more, they were better. Not perfect. Not flawless. Better. "And evolution has always had its downsides. Look at humans; there's still those with disabilities, mental and physical, and they were the next step in evolution." The boy could find ways to attempt at trying to disproving his opinion, but Oliver could likely go head to head with everything the boy tossed at him.

Smirking slightly, Oliver tilted his head as he studied the boy's features. From the way his lips moved to the way his eyes focused. It was interesting, in a way. That the boy had nothing else to say about the matter and simply went for something simple and safe. He supposed, that alone, said a great deal about the boy.

"Mmmhm," he replied in turn, the shark-like smirk never wavering from his lips as he continued studying the boy. "Really, really." If the boy had nothing he wanted to say about the power, Oliver wasn't about to tell. In the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter. He had no interest in discussing his power with someone who at the end of the day, didn't really care. 

[François Laffont]

Oliver was right, he didn’t say they were perfect. But better, didn’t that mean closer to perfection? “Maybe you’re right and we are the next step in the evolution of mankind. But I still cannot consider myself as better than anyone else just because of this. It’s part of who am I but that’s all it is. I don’t think it makes me better or worse than anyone else,” Franck replied. He was not attacking Oliver’s views. If he wanted to take a scientific approach and come to the conclusion they were more evolved, he would be able to prove his point and nothing Franck could say would change it. That didn’t mean it would have him change his idea on the matter though. He could not tolerate it if people acted as though they were superior to someone just because they had something the other lacked.

Franck didn't think there was much to say about Oliver’s ability. he did blush, feeling embarrassed at how he said ‘really really’ in reply. This probably had been a ridiculous thing to say but it came out without him being able to prevent it. Franck was not the kind of person who got real curious about people’s power. He was more interested in their personalities and their power had little to do with it. He wouldn’t question about his power. And since the only thing that came to his mind was asking if he was like The Invisible Man, he preferred not to say anything at all.

He didn’t want it to go awkward between them though but it would be if they left it at that. “Is that why you came to me? To discuss powers and the place of mutants in society?” If that was the case, Franck hoped he had not hoped for him to join the boy in his view of the world. He had a sheepish smile at the thought. “Hope you enjoyed the debate.” Because clearly they would have to disagree on that matter.

[Oliver King]

"Each to their own," he shrugged. "You're allowed to have your own opinion - as am I. I suppose that just makes you all the more... interesting." The last word was spoken with an almost wicked grin. No, he didn't think the boy was particularly interesting - at least not in the way Oliver had hoped. Now, he was sure the boy was interesting enough overall, but this interaction seemed rather pointless now.

"I came because I was curious," he replied with a shrug. "You're well known around here, what with the circle of friends you have. Your name gets brought up a lot - I simply wanted to see what all the fuss was about." He was hardly surprised that this kind of person attracted others. He was friendly, easily approachable, but also the kind of person who stood up for himself. He wasn't all that surprised that he'd gotten so high up in the social pyramid as he had, though he also suspected that the boy didn't care.

Such wasted talent - such wasted opportunities. Someone with this boy's social standing could easily turn it all around and have the entire school at the palm of his hand, but that wasn't in his personality. He was far too good.

[François Laffont]

Franck arched an eyebrow, surprise showing up through his eyes as Oliver called him interesting. It was at least what he figured it meant, although he might also consider it was this debate that was interesting and not him in particular. “I’m... glad you liked it. Most people don’t like when the one they talk to have opinions this different to theirs. They don’t seem to think you can get along with someone if you don’t think alike,” Franck replied. Was Oliver expecting a reply to this? Probably not. But Franck felt like the other guy complimented him and it was not like him to at the very least thank the person for it.

Franck nodded as he explained why he took an interest in him in the first place. Franck didn't get that many people coming to him because of his connections but he also could not say it never happened. “I suppose this came as a disappointment though, non? This circle of friends and I don’t have more power than this.” Franck had a little smirk while saying that, something that might come off as weird for someone who knew him well. That didn't seem to be Oliver’s case so he might not think much of it. “I’m not an ambitious person. Truth is, my place in any social circle is more that... that of a confidante. I became their friend not because I wanted to elevate in society but because they finally found an ear ready to listen to them without judgement or asking something in return. I know what it can bring me. I just don’t care,” he explained, shrugging at the end to further prove that he really didn’t care about the power it gave him. If he got a place in the student council, it was Elsa who chose that. And he stayed because he wanted to help if he could and because apparently people trusted him enough to think that he could.

Another smile crossed his lips, one that could likely be one a shark could give the fish, if the shark was actually more like a dolphin. Looking like a predator was really not something Franck was good at. “I do get something out of this. Just maybe not what you’d want to get out of this. My successes, I prefer to think they came only thanks to me and not because of this friend’s money and that friend’s influence.” He didn’t know if Oliver would understand though. He seemed the kind of person who believed that the end justified the means.