A Lesson from History (Shelly, Franklin, Klara)

[A Random Player]

"Nobody in history has ever been treated as badly as mutants." Shelly said firmly. Currently the red girl is in the middle of yet another one of her ideological rants. Nobody at the table could quite recall how the conversation's topic veered to this point but for Shelly Blues, it was yet another opportunity to impart some knowledge to her friends.

"Mutants who can pass off as humans have it the best but people who looks different are forced to live in the outskirts of cities, get significantly less compensation when working, have detrimental bias when dealing with law enforcement, and have the lowest opportunity of any race to get federal aid!"

How much of these "facts" she actually researched properly is up for debate, but Shelly isn't quite done yet. "The way we're being treated is comparable to slavery and child labor in the 19th Century, in some aspects even worse!"

This is definitely not based on proper research. "With slaves at least they're supposed to feed and clothe them. They treat mutants the same way as slaves but don't even give them the same privileges!"

Is this really the topic one should discuss during lunch break? On the same table as Shelly sat Razor, Ziggy, Marie, and Franklin. Perhaps they have something to add to the conversation.

Or maybe not. Students who have spent enough time around Shelly would be used to her episodic rants.

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Leaders are to pursue peace.

[Gordy]

"More powerful than Thor, Hulk or the Surfer."
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Wait, why was Franklin even there? He didn't even go to this school.

Not officially, anyway. But he was serving detention, which meant that he was spending quite a bit of time on school grounds. Today, he was called in early to help clean up after someone attacked the school again. Which meant that he had to come in earlier, but also got a free lunch as thanks.

As he listened to Shelly, it looked like today would have been... interesting. He considered bringing up the mutants under Mao's Communist regime: records about mutants under that era were pretty vague, but they would likely have been forced to serve in work camps, thanks to their abilities.

"What about the Holocaust?" he asked his friend. "Everybody was turned into slaves and eventually killed. Then you had Jewish slaves in Egypt. I know because my family went back in time and saw them." 

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"I can do this!"

[Gummy]

Ziggy looked up as Shelly started another conversation. The class projects had recently turned to discussing discrimination. She listened carefully to what the kid was saying. Some were true, some where not. She tilted her head, her eyes moving over to check on Malik for a moment then back to Shelly. She spoke calmly and with gentleness.

"You have women discrimination, disabled discrimination. Heck, if you were born different in the past you would be drowned or left for dead in the woods. They hunted down women who practised science and killed them by burning them at the stake. Then you have the new Christians who lived in Rome who worked there and eventually put in the Colosseum to be hunted by lions, gladiators or placed on a cross. There are the people who fight for their rights and independence throughout millennium."

Ziggy sighed as she watched Malik walk off with lunch in hand, he just wasn't all there. Her smile dropped for a moment then it came back.

"I look normal as do many others but no matter who you are or what you look like, there will ALWAYS be a bully who picks on you for being who you are. All that is different is how people view it at the time and technology which either raises the people or chucks them out."

She then tilted her head looking at Franklin with a spark in her eyes and a grin slowly spreading across her lips. There was a hint of niceness to her voice but she was also thinking of getting Franklin into more trouble. It was not out of revenge just that she was still a little angry with him and was brainy enough to know she wouldn't get in too much trouble and if she did then she would tell them all about what Franklin did!

"Franklin.... I'm sorry but... could you show her?"

[A Random Player]

The points her friends had brought up were all valid and true, but Shelly would not so easily relent. "All of that aren't happening anymore! And even if we're going back then, none had been treated worse than different looking mutants. Demons, cursed, monsters, hellspawn, freaks, every curse had been used for mutants even on official laws! Mutant hunters used to be sanctioned by the church, and I haven't even started on torture!"

Shelly Blues isn't giving up on her argument anytime soon. Obviously, she hadn't experienced any of those personally but you wouldn't think that from the way she's talking about it. Shelly is a pursuer of knowledge, but she is also a fanatic in terms of ideologies. There was no chance she'd surrender her strongly held beliefs outside of an equally strong and undeniable proof.

Ziggy asking Franklin to show her something did get a reaction out of the red girl though, Shelly tilted her head in slight confusion and curiosity at what exactly she meant for Franklin to show.

RRIIIINNGG!!

Before much else came of it, the bell signalling the end of their lunch break sounded, meaning that they'd all have to return to their respective classes.

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Leaders are to pursue peace.

[Gordy]

"More powerful than Thor, Hulk or the Surfer."
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Franklin wondered what the deal was between him and Ziggy. Things had been... tense since they last left off, when she stormed out of that wizard's apartment with Hellion. He could have read her mind and figured out her intentions with her latter statement, but he wasn't in the habit of violating someone's privacy without permission.

But before he could ask her what she meant, the bell rang. The boy was left watching as everyone rose up from the seats and began to leave. He was pretty down about it; even if he didn't like the Oppression Olympics debate, he enjoyed spending time with other kids. Oh, well.

Since he already completed his detention for the day, and he didn't feel like heading home yet, Franklin thought he'd stick around for a bit. He wanted to check out some books on Scotland in the library, since he had a little something planned there.

"Well, see you guys," he said meekly. "I'll be in the library if you guys need me."

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"I can do this!"

[Gummy]

Ziggy was about to argue back to Shelly but as the bell rang she looked up and sighed. Franklin didn't take the hint, so she leaned towards Shelly.

"Franklin can travel through time. Go see what it was all like."

Sometimes she did have the opinion that boy were just generally stupid. There wasn't anything she could do about it though. Just wait for their brains to mature enough in order to get a good conversation. She stood up and started to walk off then paused as she spotted Malik again through a window. She let out an annoyed sigh before heading off to class. It didn't matter Mister Cassidy was talking to them about history again. The last time it was ... interesting but it wasn't anything Ziggy didn't already know about.

At least Franklin was out of her hair for now.

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Back in 1907.

Klara was darning a sock, she wasn't very good but she was getting better at it with each hole she repaired. Slipping it onto her foot she felt the corse thread at the end but it was good enough for what she needed. Her husband's socks rested by her side, they needed the same treatment but she had ran out of time. She heard the first of the factory bells ringing. They told the people working that there was about to be a shift change. Wiping her hair back with her hand and picking up her head scarf she headed off for another 12 hour shift of sewing buttons. The day before a few of her work colleagues had been promoted as they had finally become old enough to officially work. That meant she had more buttons and button holes to sew than ever before. Unless the boss decided that any new trainees needed couching.

Grabbing the bag by the door she slipped her feet into her shoes, which were still too big for her feet, before heading out the door. It wasn't far but the heat of the day had already started.

[A Random Player]

The rest of the days classes were boring in comparison, or Shelly didn't pay attention to them. Her mind burned with the thought of suffering mutants and what she can do to erase their suffering when she finally gets the chance to make a difference. Professor Xavier had his heart in the right place but he operated far too much on the sideline to make any real difference.

Her head was brimming with ideas: Outlawing violence against mutants, making rules on hate crime more strict... just starting with little changes really.

RRIIIINNGG!!

Before she realized it, the afternoon bell had rung, signalling the students' return to the dorms. The red girl had a few homeworks to work on but the one she's most excited about was her history assignment. There was so much she wants to say when they'll inevitably get to present their work to the class.

First, she'll need to stop by the library for research materials.

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Leaders are to pursue peace.

[Gordy]

"More powerful than Thor, Hulk or the Surfer."
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Hmm. Maybe he'd go after the banshee next. I mean, if he was already in the area...

Franklin's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar sense. Though he chose not to read the girl's mind, he could still sense that unique mind of hers among all the others in the library. Sure enough, he would spot her as she entered the library through the front doors.

Immediately, Franklin raised his hand to hail her over. He was hoping she would sit with him. She was his friend, sort of. And he didn't have a lot of friends in this school, outside of her and Glitter. Plus, word around school was that she needed all the company she could get...

"Hey, Shells!" he said excitedly. "You got homework? Or you serving detention here?"

Franklin placed his book (Scotland: A Concise History) and slid his reading material to the other end of the table, giving the girl some room if she needed to work.

"Maybe I can help?"

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"I can do this!"

[A Random Player]

Those rumors weren't completely unfounded. Shelly was not here to make friends (even if that'd be nice) and she ended up not having a lot of those. In fact, there's more people in the school who hates her guts. The cause of that can be pinpointed to one specific reason, and it was not because she's a bad person...

The red girl came over as she was hailed by Franklin. "Hey Franklin, just need to borrow a few books for my history homework." She glanced over at the book he was reading. A history book about Scotland? Knowing him, Franklin is likely planning some kind of mischief using that information though Shelly decided not to pry.

As long as he doesn't cause TOO much trouble...

And as for his offer to help, Shelly shrugged. Why not? "I'm looking for a book about Mutant history. I'm writing an essay on mutant abuse." And there it was, the exact reason why she was so unpopular among other students. Her research on this topic had been so extensive she could argue about it with experienced historians on equal footing.

The problem was that she argues it with everyone.

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Leaders are to pursue peace.

[Gordy]

"More powerful than Thor, Hulk or the Surfer."
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And there it was: Shelly was writing an assignment on her pet cause. If nothing else, Franklin could appreciate her dedication to her beliefs. Maybe she could even be a mutant rights advocate when she grew up? Heck, with her help, they'd probably avert the Age of Apocalypse timeline.

"Class 900," he told her. "T5.5, Mutants and Other Empowered Groups. The mutant stuff is all near the front desk for easy access, and it all goes backwards from there."

He pointed over his shoulder to the nearest book shelf. Unsurprisingly, it seemed fairly empty; the only students were a giraffe-necked boy and what appeared to be a chicken, leaning against another bookshelf and kissing.

"If you want, I can just beam the knowledge into you head via telepathy. But something tells me you don't like to 'cheat.'"

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"I can do this!"

[A Random Player]

"You can do that!?" Shelly asked, surprised. She paused for a bit, even considering it for a moment. In the end though, her reply was: "I'll pass, thanks though." It does seem a little like cheating but another reason is that the red girl doesn't trust Franklin enough to let him beam anything to her mind.

Shelly went to the bookshelf Franklin pointed out, carefully tiptoeing around the couple so as to not disturb them. Even if they're not following proper library etiquette. None of my business, none of my business. Self-control was a lot harder than expected.

She found a few books that piqued her interest, among them "A Brief History of the X-Gene", "Mutants in 19th Century Europe", and "Mutant Diaries: The Forbidden Love". She took all 3 back to the table, sitting across from Franklin, still not realizing that one of the books she'd picked up had been misplaced from a different section of the library.

She started skimming through the pages of "Mutants in 19th Century Europe", looking for passages she can use as reference for her assignment and making small notes in her own notebook.

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Leaders are to pursue peace.

[Gordy]

"More powerful than Thor, Hulk or the Surfer."
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With Shells burying her nose in books, Franklin thought to do the same. He wanted to learn as much as he could about Scotland before his trip next week. And honestly? There was some interesting stuff in this book. Did you know that Scotland's national animal is the unicorn?

But then, an idea struck him. One that miiiight not have been a good idea. Okay, it was a bad idea. Horrible, really. Even Franklin, who was often reckless in his pursuits, knew that this was too risky and dangerous. Heck, the only reason he was at this school right now was because of such bad ideas.

And yet...

"You know, I could go back in time and find out about mutant oppression for you. It would be easy to go back, say, 111 years and write down what I see. It's the only way to guarantee that your report is historically accurate."

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"I can do this!"

[A Random Player]

Franklin's sudden suggestion caused Shelly's attention to be abruptly ripped away from her book. If she had been drinking, the liquid would have shot out of her nose in a comedic moment. That was simply the level of absurdity of what the boy just offhandedly suggested.

"Didn't you pay any attention to Ms. Rachel's class?" She shouted in a hushed voice, not wanting to disturb the rest of the library. It took the red girl a moment to remember that Franklin wasn't actually a student. "Ethics of Time Travel" was a pretty cut and dry topic, Shelly decided to give the boy a small lecture.

"Travelling through time creates a divergent timeline both at the destination and the point of origin, it's not something we can just do whenever we want! Our actions could change the time period we travel to and in some cases, destroy the timeline." Most of that were Ms. Rachel's words. Shelly had never actually time traveled before and so her knowledge on the topic never extended past surface level.

A part of her was curious about what life of the past was like, and how much of what she's read in books were accurate, but that can't be an excuse to casually threaten the multiverse... whatever that meant.

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Leaders are to pursue peace.

[Gordy]

"More powerful than Thor, Hulk or the Surfer."
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Tsk tsk tsk. Franklin shook his head dismissively. This wasn't the first time he faced opposition to such ideas. (Actually, yes it was. But he always imagined scenarios about it.) He didn't expect Shelly to know of his experiences. 

"Okay, first off: I'm not a student here. I don't take any classes," he explained in his whispers. "Second, I think I know a little bit about time travel. I've probably time traveled more than the teacher! I know the risks, but I also know how to keep the timeline from collapsing."

He looked around the library. Even with their whispering, he had to make sure no one was listening in. Even entertaining the idea would have landed both of them in permanent detention and a call home. Franklin didn't want to be cleaning toilets until not-graduation.

"I can guarantee that nothing will be changed," he told her. "And by the by, Ms. Rachel is my wife in several future timelines. We have/had a son together."

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"I can do this!"

[Gummy]

Klara had just managed to get to her work, as normal people were protesting outside but they would soon disperse but by that time she would be locked out. Trying to get through she was jeered by some people and pushed back but persistence paid off as she managed to get to the steps of the building. As she entered she said cheerily.

"Good morning sir."

He grumbled something back to her as she slipped her shoes off before placing them in the box. It was going to be another hot day but she hoped the heatwave would soon break. She headed for the stairs putting a skinny hand onto the mill post just as she heard.

"Klara?"

She turned and looked at her overseer.

"Yes sir?"

He grumbled something before speaking more clearly.

"I'm expecting new apprentices..."

That was code for children, there was another mutter from him.

"... You can wait for them, show them around then get them working. I'll give you another note for your trouble but you have to finish your work or it will be docked."

Klara tried to hide her smiled so bowed her head and curtsied.

"Yes sir."

She turned back around to the open door as the overseer headed towards his hot sticky office. She looked out waiting for the new kids whoever they were. Once they were in the doors would be shut and locked. She felt the slight breeze on her face as she watched the protesters just as she saw the police come round the corner. They would move onto another workshop soon enough. One of the policemen, she recognised as a neighbour waved to her and she did a little curtsy in return.