Issue 1 Downtime

It was amazing what you could justify to a mother who wasn't really paying attention to her charge card charges. For example, "Mom, I need $100 for school supplies I wasn't expecting" does sound like a reasonable request. And if she doesn't look at what the charge is actually for when her credit card statement comes (as you know she never does), it avoids lots of awkward questions.

Granted, in this case, it really was school supplies Alex had needed. However, it might have been hard to explain to her why he needed twenty feet of steel i-beams delivered to the school, hence the evasiveness. Questions always were... uncomfortable where she was concerned.

He spread plastic out where they were delivered, knowing from experience that the initial syncing wasn't going to be pretty. ANd, sure enough, it wasn't. His body (and training suit, which he'd made sure to wear this time) turned the same grey-black color as the cut ends of the steel, and when he exerted any control over the i-beams, there were always trace bits that he COULDN'T affect. In this case, paint, and some trace forging materials. They all feel onto the plastic as he made the steel itself flow off of it, folding the plastic up and carrying it over to the dumpster before coming back to the glob of steel.

All right... I can do this. No need to rush it over if someone comes out... no need to make an ass out of myself... He touched the steel, and the first thing he did was step into it. And... sure enough, just like the other day in class, he couldn't get the leverage to step out of it again. All right. No one around, let's figure this one out.

The first test was just turning back to his human form. That worked easily enough, although he was still stuck in a ball of iron, his feet unable to bend through the gaps to get out any more than someone could get out of hardened cement. But at least I can- oh. Duh. If I'd thought about it for half a minute the other day... He synced with the steel and, made it flow out and open up around him, which he reflected would have easily worked the other day in class. If, y'know, he'd thought about it.

Shaking his head he got ready for the next test. Confident that he could get out of the metal now, he made it flow up around him- or was it into him? It was hard to tell. Everything was steel now- was there any difference between the steel that had started as him and the steel he'd picked up? Weird thought. He'd have to think more on it later. Right now was the practical, not the theory.

With the steel absorbed up into him, he started walking toward the cliffside, which seemed the best place to do this. And so, anyone who came out onto the grounds would find him, looking somewhat larger (though still strangely proportionate) than usual, walking across the grounds. ANyone who looked closer would see that his skin (and clothes, in this case) seemed to bubble and ripple strangely as he moved.

Christie was out for a jog, and slowed down as she came up on Alex. "Hey." she said "How are you doing?"

"Good, I think," Alex said as he walked, trying to keep track of everything he was doing. Tellingly, a stream of iron tried to shoot out his back, but he got it back under control and pulled it back in. "Dammit... decent, I guess. Yeah, that'll do."

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Practicing," Alex said. "Was wasting too much time trying to work more metals, so I'm just trying to actually learn how to work with what I've got. And what I've got is a shitton of steel."

"Ok." Christie said "No offense, but you look weird as all crap."

"Yeah, I'm kind of hoping that's one of the things that changes when I get the hang of this," Alex admitted. "Do I get some 'this is the first time I've done this' slack?"

"You would, if you weren't out here on your own."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"No one to help you out if you get turned into a statue." Christie said "Just as a random example."

"Oh fuck you," Alex shot back. "That sort of shit's the reason I'm doing this out of the way."

"What happened wasn't Tommy's fault." Christie snapped.

"I never said it was Tommy's fault!"

"Yeah, but you're out here by yourself."

"Yeah, instead of in there where everyone else can come in and act like everything I'm doing's dangerous or something." Like Brigid.

"I guess." Christie said "But why not at least do it in the DR?"

"Oh, that's even worse, then I'm recorded looking like an idiot when I try to get the hang of this."

"And there is an alert that goes to the infirmary if you get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt. It's not like I'm sparring with Sentinels or anything."

"Ok, have it your way." Christie said "how long were you going to be out here?"

Alex shrugged. "Dunno, depends on how hard it is to make this actually work like I want. It's nothing big, I just don't want to look like a moron next PC class."

"Ok." Christie said "I should make my next lap in about 15."

"You know where I'll be," Alex said. Least she isn't making a big deal out of it. That's something.

Frowning in concentration, he looked around at the cliff. "All right, here we go," he said, picking one particular large stone outcropping. He focused on his own shifting form for a moment, trying to get a handle on what he was about to do. It took him a while to get the tweaking of his power right, but finally he threw his arm out, like he was throwing a baseball, and a stream of iron shot out from it, striking the stone hard enough to chip rocks from it. "All right... that's a start..."

Christie jogged off, looking over her shoulder a couple of times.

As she jogged off, she'd see him repeating that move several times, trying to get it right.

Next, making sure no one was looking, he tried it without doing the throwing motion. Which, of course, still worked. Okay, this is progress...