Issue 1 Downtime

Will opened the door, stepping out of the way so Simon could get around her.

"I've heard this one is pretty good," she said.

"It's a nice change from the XUB's no matter what it's like. And a bit easier to explain than where I work." Simon said, he gave Will a little bit of a look.

"You know, I should be holding that door open for you."

"Why? Do penii give magic door opening powers now?"

"It's the gentlemanly thing to do, Will." Simon shook his head. "But I was joking anyway. Come on, let's find a table."

"Indeed! Over there, in the corner," she pointed, leading the way.

Simon followed closely, though not as closely as he would have with Chloe. He waited for Will to slip into the booth before he sat down with a contented sigh.

"You know, with all the crazy stuff that goes on around here, it's nice just to get out for a night and be normal, you know?" Will might not have noticed at first but Simon's tail wasn't swaying around like it usually did, instead it has been slipped down the leg of his pants to be kept out of sight, wrapping around his ankle.

"Normal's somewhat overrated--but relaxed is good, yeah," she agreed.

"Well yeah. My girlfriend can turn into a dinosaur. Normal ain't got nothin' on that." Simon joked.

"...she can what with the who now?"

"You didn't know?" Simon asked. "Apparently she got into a little fight, and, well... she can turn into a feathered dinosaur of some sort."

"She's cutting in on my act," she smirked.

"Seriously, is she alright?"

"She was pretty shaken up. I mean, this is the stuff we work out in high school, right? But she's doing better. It was pretty emotional for her."

"Good. Be there for her, m'man.


...what Is it with you and shifters?"

"I dunno. I just like sticking it in the crazy I guess." Simon said, covering his mouth in thought, or hiding his smirk.

"I bet you would," she snickered, ordering the first round.

"Well I am a betting man. Especially after a couple of drinks." Simon joked, though they both knew that it would have taken a lot to get him to cheat on Chloe. Especially now that she could have sharp teeth.

"A gambler, are we?" Will teased. "Play-it-safe-Simon? Naaaaaaaah."

"Play it safe?" Simon asked, nodding the the waitress as she dropped off their pints. "Will, the only think keeping me from being as reckless as you is the face that my bits don't grow back on their own." He took a rather generous swig from his beer, rather thirsty after a busy day.

"I know, so I tease," she chuckled, punching him on the shoulder.

"Just makin' sure Will." He said. "I don't want word getting around that ol' Simon is a scaredy cat."

"You ran inside that giant metal crab thing. You're set for life. The girls are envious of your dinosaur."

"Current company included?"

Will just took a sip from her drink, smirking.

"Okay, gotta dial it back. Gotta wait until we're good and smashed before this conversation continues." Simon joked.

"You just want som-a-da-clay."

"Eugh, don't call it that. Then I'll start thinking about jars of playdoh as fleshlights."

"Yeeeeeeah, no. No making your own holes.

Else I just become a gas and poison you. Poison you to DEATH."

"You can do that?" Simon asked, looking rather impressed.

"I just found tried it out...maybe a week or two ago? Still very, VERY nervous about that one. Gas...kinda floats."

"And it can dissipate. Be careful Will, if you get spread all over the whole country, what are we gonna do? How could we put you back together?"

"And now you see why I've only done it in enclosed spaces. I mean, that's scary stuff."

"But pretty amazing too. Christ Will, it's almost scary the number of things you can do."

"Scary? What you mean?"

"Just how much you can do, how powerful you can be. I mean, if you can turn into a gas or machines, what's next? You could make yourself into a functioning rocket, or a gun, or... who knows what. That's a lot of power."

"A rocket? Nah, nah, that's just crazy talk, man. Wishful thinking."

"Why would it be? You can do liquids and gases. I think you can do simple moving parts. A rocket isn't as complicated as you might think. It just involves doing several different things at once."

"I dunno, seems awfully tough to me."

"That's because you haven't pulled it off yet." Simon said, pointing at Will with the same hand that held his pint glass. "You can do it Will. Maybe not yet, but you can do it. I know you can because you can do anything you really put your mind to."

"Eh, I dunno about that. I mean, anything's a pretty broad category."

"Well, you're a pretty broad." Simon sipped his stout.