I12: Awkward Perspectives

[Will Stanton]

Will helped Bear into a private room in the med center, to get her out of the bustle of the confusion. "Alright, we're there. Very good. Keep walking a few more steps..."

[Byrna Cooper]

Bear made her way in, slowly. She eventually ended up in a chair.

"I feel.. Blank.."

[Will Stanton]

"Blank?"

[Byrna Cooper]

"Blank.. I can't quite describe it.. It's like I'm not suited or unsuited for anything.. Depressed, maybe?"

She slumped down in the chair.

[Will Stanton]

"Interesting...and a little discouraging, but have no fear, we'll get you right as rain....or something close to it, anyway," Will said, walking a slow circle around her.

"I took you in here so you can have some space to focus -- and some privacy. This can be pretty...discouraging and gruesome at first, if you're new at it."

[Byrna Cooper]

"Will, you are starting to gross me out.."

[Will Stanton]

"I'm sorry," Will apologized. "I...just am kinda trying really hard not to freak out myself at the moment."

[Byrna Cooper]

"Why? You're the one with my body.. The body that doesn't need willpower to be stable.."

Bear stood up, as her hair proofed out like her normal, yet still clay, hairstyle.

[Will Stanton]

"Yeah, but it's...you know, ONE. One body.

My body...what you have there...you have no idea..." she whispered.

[Byrna Cooper]

"I'm getting the idea..."

She frowned, bringing up her proto-arms to look at.

[Will Stanton]

"Here, let me give you a hand," Will said, taking one of Bear's arms in her own.

"You're going to have a harder time than I am," she said, massaging and kneading Bear's proto-hand, "because I came upon this gradually -- you're getting hit all at once.

Here---feel as I'm doing this? You can do this to -- it's all mental control. You can feel my fingers going through you, right? Don't think about it like that -- think about it like you're going AROUND them, rather than me moving -- think about it as if YOU'RE the one causing the motion. Don't think about your own hands and fingers like a person -- that has all kinds of crazy bones and skin and capillaries and fingernails, and that's going to be tough. Think about it like a drawing you're going to put on the fridge. Very simple. Abstract, even.

Feel my fingers going through your hand here. Feel that, and know that you have just as much power over that little bit as you do over everything else -- every single bit of you is yours to control."

[Byrna Cooper]

Bear nodded, or appeared to nod.

Feeling will's hand, she attempted to feel what will hands must have been feeling, and trying to map it onto what she was feeling.

Her hands began to harden, more detailed.

[Will Stanton]

"That's good, that's good -- you can use this as a mold, if you want, but don't strain yourself too much right away."

[Byrna Cooper]

Bear nodded, just trying to replicate the feeling along her arm...

"It's tough.."

[Will Stanton]

"There's a lot you don't think about. And, of course, there's no reason to replicate everything, but you'll find surprises sometimes -- like, pores. The human body really is both complicated and disgusting."

[Byrna Cooper]

"I'm beginning to find that out.." She said, looking at her hands, now with five fingers each. Five undulating fingers each.

"Eww! ... Sorry.." She said, trying not to imply Will's body was unsettling.

[Will Stanton]

"OK, OK --- it's OK. Just, erm...just relax. Here, I have an idea -- you said you felt tense and dirty, right?"

[Byrna Cooper]

Bear nodded, feeling a little guilty for referring to it that way.

[Will Stanton]

"Slip out of the x-suit, too. Don't feel embarassed -- a, it's my body, and b, I don't think you're good enough to form anything embarrassing, anyway"

[Byrna Cooper]

After a few moments, bear slowly nodded. She did resemble a block of clay more than anything else.

"Okay.. I trust you."

She then slipped off the uniform, a little clumsily.

[Will Stanton]

"Alright, this might feel a little weird, but this will help relieve tension -- so go with it. Don't worry -- no one else is in here."

Will cracked her knuckles and went over to Bear, and began, for the lack of a better term, kneading the clay, working it through her hands to make it more pliable and flexible.

"This should help you loosen up -- get nice and limber..."

[Byrna Cooper]

Bear nodded, letting herself try to relax.

"That does feel good.."

[Will Stanton]

"That's my dirty little secret," Will said, getting a little more extreme on the folding and kneading. "It's not just that I'm comfortable as a boy or a girl -- there's...I dunno, something about EVERY form. A universe of experiences, all waiting to be achieved. EVERYTHING feels good, if you're prepared for it. Makes me a little bit of...I dunno, a weirdo, I guess."

[Byrna Cooper]

A grin appeared, and actually stayed in place.

"I remember the first fight we had on the same x-men team.. You turned into a bench. And a lamp. And a coat. And a box. Something new every few seconds, it seems.."

[Will Stanton]

Will continued kneading, a bit harder.

"I don't talk about it much...but then, it's hard to even put into words. My senses...your senses...CHANGE when you're changed. A box...a towel...a chair...a cog...a table...water....there's a million possibilities, each bringing with it a million new experiences. It's...life-affirming. It's almost spiritual. That's what hurt most about the Black Air attack...with someone trustworthy behind the controls, it could have been heavenly. Instead, they perverted it...turned it into a blasphemy.

But, then again, it's weird for your X-team leader to give a briefing as a hatstand or gerbil, so moving on..." she said, a bit abashed.

[Byrna Cooper]

Bear was starting to feel better, as the areas will was tending to began to smooth out and become firmer.

"I've always been in awe of you, Will.. Everything you do, all the shapes you take.. It always seems so easy for you, so versatile."

[Will Stanton]

"You're doing good," Will said, beginning to help the clay separate into something resembling a humanoid form.

"It's not easy -- and, frankly, it's easy for it to go wrong. You should have seen me in high school..."

[Byrna Cooper]

"I can imagine.." Bear said, smiling.

She looked at her arm, feeling the change. It did feel pretty good, like a pleasant tingle.

She marveled as it began spreading up her arm, and back down her other arm and slowly down her torso.

"I.. I think I'm about to lose my decency.." She stammered, as she scrambled to put her uniform back on.

[Will Stanton]

"Right," Will nodded. Then, exactly what she said hit her.

"Oh! Right!" she added, turning around.

[Byrna Cooper]

As soon as she was able to secure her uniform in place, she turned around. Displaying an almost perfect replica of the person in front of her. She still resembled clay, but in a harder, smoother form, almost marble-like.

"I.. I think that's it. I don't really feel another change coming right now.."

[Will Stanton]

"Well, if you feel one coming, it's OK -- sometimes it's easier to go with it. Sometimes a simpler form can be easier to hold. And if you need any help -- and I mean any help, any time of day or night, you call me, and I'll come running."

[Byrna Cooper]

"Thanks, will." Bear smiled, moving up and giving her a hug. She felt very warm and fleshy, like she normally did. Just not the right way, wisually.