Aberrant: Mutant High - Homework...?[Complete]

[Stargaizer]

Click to reveal..

This happens after the events in oil and water and any other New Year fic

Josh huffed again. He'd much rather have been in the physics lab probing the mysteries of his power, or even the mundane mysteries of the universe. Heck, he would've settled for repeating a famous experiment, or even just a really cool one.

But no. Instead of being in the warmth and comfort of the lab, he was out here in the cold of the tennis court. Prof. Jensen had been kind enough to alert the grounds crew that he'd need the courts cleared and the ball launcher primed and ready to go. Of course, that was as far as her kindness went, and it wasn't really so much of a kindness. It was more like someone making sure the spikes in your iron maiden were well sharpened...

Josh shivered as he rolled through the gate to the tennis court. The sun was out, but it was far to weak to warm Josh any. Of course, he had on a nice thick black coat and winter pants, snow boots (though they'd never actually touch the stuff... unless of course he wrecked and fell out of his chair), gloves, scarf and toboggan, but he still felt cold. He'd been born and raised in New York, but after his 'accident' he hadn't really been out when it was cold... or hardly at all.

But here he was, outside, against his will, being forced to, in essence, play tennis with himself. Prof. Jensen called it power practice; she said it would help him. He thought that furthering his studies would help him more, and it was something that he was good at... but Prof. Jensen said that he made enough time for that as is, that this was his homework and so it actually effected his in class learning, and that no matter how much he begged, she wasn't giving him the keys to the lab and she had a life so he had to leave.

Josh started up the tennis ball chucker and wheeled to the opposite side of the court. He figured that the sooner he got this done, the sooner he got to go back inside. He waited just a little bit before the little, yellow, fuzz covered balls hurled towards him, and started trying to bend their trajectories and stop them in mid-air before they could smack him.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja and Alex, both tall and blond and ridiculously good-looking - and damn anybody who makes the first Barbie and Ken comparison! - just exited the back of her residence hall on the way to the lake. Alex had mentioned his 'troubles' in passing, and she had been heading down to the lake to skate anyway, so she'd offered to help out and keep him company. Not that she was interested in him in that way. Certainly not!.

Sonja had a pair of skates hanging around her neck, an aluminum hockey stick in hand, and a gym bag over her shoulder containing several stacks of pucks. The two of them were just passing the tennis courts, snow shimmering with melt from Alex's solar emanation, when Sonja cocked an eyebrow at the snow banks pushing against the chain link fence and the soft ka-thunk, ka-thunk of a ball-thrower.

Sonja nodded a question at Alex, then they made their way to the surprisingly clear tennis court, seeing the boy in the powerchair facing off against the ball-thrower with nothing but a... but nothing. Sonja knew who he was, and was quite surprised to see him outside.

"Hey, Josh! Didn't expect to see you out and about in this weather," Sonja, the super-athlete, called out in cheerful amazement. "Great to see it. What does Ms. Jensen have you up to now?"

[Stargaizer]

Josh had just stopped a tennis ball about ¾ of the way between himself and the ball chucker. From where it fell in relation to the rest of the balls on the ground, he was getting better. Besides the balls on the court directly between him and the chucker, there were several off to either side, some as far as the very edge of the court; there was even one buried in the piled snow directly behind the chucker. Of course, there were also several on the ground at the bottom of his chair, one stuck in the fence directly behind him, and even one still in his lap… so apparently he was still working on not getting hit.

Josh groaned at his concentration being interrupted, but cheered up almost immediately after once it registered why it had been interrupted. The fact that it was someone that actually wanted to talk and interact with him… socially… put a smile on Josh's face. And it had nothing to do with either of their well insulated features.

“Hey!” Barbie… er… what the heck is your real name? GAH! Oh well, just play it off. Maybe the other guy will refer to her by name.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cold out here today, not a whole lot of solar activity this year. Should make it a chilly winter…” Stop geeking out or these people are just going to say ‘well, nice to see you around, we’ve gotta go’ and split. Talk laymen… just think of it as that ‘extracurricular homework’ Ms. Jensen was trying to get us to do…

ka-thunk

…we’ll have to tell her about this tomorrow. Not only did we power practice, but we…

THWAP

Josh’s internal monologue was cut short by a fuzzy, yellow ball to the chest. At that he waved his hand, and with a sound like someone kicking it, the ball chucker turned so that it pointed away from him and the new comers. Then he started wheeling over to meet them.

“Yeah, it’s really cold, but Ms. Jensen says that I need to practice my abilities, and she said that until I start taking the initiative, she’ll come up with ways for me to do it. So here I am, freezing my chair’s seats off, trying not to get hit by tennis balls. What about you two? Look like you’re headed down to the pond.”

[GDP_ST]

"Well, the lovely Ms Jensen seems to disagree with you." Alex grinned a trifle ruefully at Josh. "There was rather too much solar activity in the sophomore common room just before New Year, so I've got to practice my abilities too. Mainly so I don't vaporise holes through walls when trying to light a candle."

He stepped forward and offered Josh a hand, the swirling haze of his luminescence stealing away some of the biting cold as he came closer. To the science geek, the aura appeared strikingly similar to a star's corona, the way it shifted and roiled. He briefly wondered how it would look through a spectroscope.

"Alexander Andrews." the sun-god-made-flesh said with a smile. "Pleased to meet you officially. Trying to break up cafeteria brawls doesn't count." he added with a wink.

[Stargaizer]

Josh almost made a reply about solar activity, he was even ready to cite sources when he realized Alex was just messing with him... and intelligently at that.

Alex had no idea how good of a 'first impression' he'd made.

Then he noticed the corona, and was already making plans for getting him into the lab so he could study Alex's aura.

Alex's introduction cut short his planning, and Josh rolled forward and took his hand. "Josh Stephens, nice to meet you... that was you in the cafeteria the other day, wasn't it?

And, let me guess... glowing corona, vaporizing holes in the wall, lighting candles... control light? Perchance EM radiation, though I would guess possibly restricted to the visible spectrum, maybe with a little infrared.

Am I close?"

[GDP_ST]

"Pretty close." Alex smiled. "It's actually full-spectrum sunlight, ultraviolet rays and all. The cells of my body take in ambient energy of all kinds and change it into sunlight. Prof. Jensen is still working with Doctor Chase to figure out exactly how. But when I was lying on the scanning array they sounded very excited. I'm trusting that's a good thing."

He looked at the tennis ball hurler, then at Josh, an friendly yet impish light entering his sparkling blue eyes. "So am I right in guessing that your power practice involves stopping furry balls hitting you in the face?"

[Stargaizer]

Josh listened to Alex's explanation, devising all sorts of experiments that they could do to test his abilities and their extents.

"Pretty sweet. You know, Ms. Jensen and I have been developing experiments to test the limits of my abilities as well as to discover how they actually work. I'm sure that between the three of us we could do the same thing for you.

As for me, I can control motion, either through direct manipulation of an objects momentum or through application of gross kinetic energy. So, my training is both magnitude and reflexive training... either stopping them before they hit me, or deflecting them away from me before they hit me."

With that, he chucked up the ball that was in his lap, and at the top of its' arc it shot off away from them, towards the other end of the court, as if someone had hit it with a racket. Then Josh shrugged at his demonstration, as if it wasn't that big of a deal that he could, apparently, violate the known laws of physical motion at will.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja listened to Alex and Josh introduce themselves and their capabilities with an amused smile, then she turned a look of exaggerated shock on Sunshine.

"Oh, my God! You're one of them!" Sonja cried, pointing at Alex accusingly, struggling to hide her grin. "I mean, you look normal - well, you know what I mean - and you talk normal, but you're really one of them."

"I don't think I get your meaning..." Alex said, mouth quirking in a confused smile.

"A geek! Squint. Egghead. One of them." Sonja brought the back of her wrist to her forehead, and sighed in dramatic dismay. "And so we lose another of the beautiful people to the brainiac crowd. 'Tis a cruel world."

Her theatrics done, the young amazon eyed the tennis balls scattered about the court, then flashed Josh her incredible smile. "Seriously, Josh, you would give people fits, playing tennis. Talk about adding some spin. And you're right, me and Alex were heading down to the lake. I got a couple of stacks of pucks for targets and there is less for him to accidentally burn, other than ice. You're free to join us if you want. You'd have some company and I'm a lot more accurate then the ball-chucker, so you won't get hit, ever."

Striking a pose and gesturing at herself grandiosely, she added, "Got more settings and I respond to voice commands too." She took in Josh's chair, then glanced over a shoulder, studying the path down to the lake, before turning back to him, an offer in her vivid indigo eyes. "If the path isn't clear, I can carry you and your chair without any trouble. So, what do you say?"

[GDP_ST]

"You respond to voice commands?" Alex's tone was mild, but the spark of playful mischief in the blue eyes he flicked over to her was infectious, dangerous... and a little breathtaking. He grinned a little then and looked back to Josh.

"We could do some team stuff, too. Work on doing stuff together. Sonja's strong and fast, I can fly and manipulate energy, and you can bend physical forces. It'd be more fun than just pure solo practice." Alex's smile turned thoughtful, his eyes going a little distant. "I think working together will be important in the future. Might as well make a game of it while we can."

[Stargaizer]

Quote:

Sonja listened to Alex and Josh introduce themselves and their capabilities with an amused smile, then she turned a look of exaggerated shock on Sunshine.

"Oh, my God! You're one of them!" Sonja cried, pointing at Alex accusingly, struggling to hide her grin. "I mean, you look normal - well, you know what I mean - and you talk normal, but you're really one of them."...

"A geek! Squint. Egghead. One of them." Sonja brought the back of her wrist to her forehead, and sighed in dramatic dismay. "And so we lose another of the beautiful people to the brainiac crowd. 'Tis a cruel world."

I get it, I get it already. I'm not a socialite and I'm not a beautiful god or goddess. Let it go already. Either you're here because you want to be, so none of that matters, or you're here out of pity for me, in which case you can just keep walking.

Outside, Josh visibly 'dimmed'. He couldn't completely keep the emotional blow, that Sonja had never meant to give, hidden, but at least he could keep it from spouting out and driving them away. He could deal with a little bit of unintentional pain, if it meant that he didn't have to spend his time alone, and he could keep his own personal solar heater near him... what? it took the edge off...

Josh listened Sonja's offer to carry him and his chair, which was completely out of the question. Even if she could, he wasn't about to let her.

Then Alex piped in, and started the wheels turning in Josh's head.

"Sonja, I think the threat of getting hit was part of the plan. But, I think even Ms. Jensen would agree with Alex that cooperative training would be better... especially since I've already done about a hour or so of solo practice."

He started wheeling towards the path down to the lake. He overshot the path, going further on by, almost to the point of making Sonja and Alex think that he'd decided to go back inside.

Then he stopped and turned around, facing the path, and they could hear some beeping coming from the chair as he messed with some of the buttons on the control panel. "Sonja, no one gets the pleasure of carrying me in my chair. I'll meet you down there..."

Come on, it's easy... just get a running start, then... you've altered the momentum of everything from a car to a ball bearing to a tennis ball... you can do this...

There was a short pause and several deep breaths that put to lie the bravado of his previous statement. Then he started forward, at a speed that neither of them knew his chair could reach. And just when the chair reached the edge of the sidewalk, it came to a sudden and complete stop.

Josh was another matter; he shot out of the chair. And just when it looked like he was going to face plant in the snow, he shot off like a rocket into the sky...

At least he was heading in the general direction of the lake...

Click to reveal..

When Sonja and Alex make it down to the lake, they'll see a large crater in a snow bank next to the lake where Josh made his landing. They'll also see where he dragged himself over to a bench where he'll be sitting, absolutely glowing from his accomplishment (and the adrenaline involved therein), and completely covered in snow. He'll be patiently waiting, and surprised at any concern for him that they show.

[GDP_ST]

Both teens watched their fellow mutant as he started to arc out of sight, their mouths hanging a little open. Alex blinked and looked at Sonja, azure eyes meeting indigo as he grinned wryly.

"Better bring his chair. I'll catch him up." With that there was flicker of lens-flares in his aura, a *swoosh*, and the glowing youth took off fast enough to kick up snowmelt from where he'd been standing, the suddenness of his departure leaving residual warmth behind.

As he streaked over the fields and buildings at 180 miles per hour, drawing more than a few stares from those below, Alex followed the arc of Josh's 'flight', noting the unnatural slowing of paraplegic's descent and relaxing a little as the plummet took on the aspect of a controlled fall. He slowed down as he realised that the kid wasn't in danger.

As Josh dragged himself onto the bench, heart thumping and wanting to whoop from the exhilaration of it all despite the snow melting into his clothes, Alex came in for a markedly more graceful landing a few feet away, bringing his feet down as he slowed and not even stumbling as he transitioned from flying to walking. He grinned back at Josh, nodding in approval as he sat down next to him companionably.

"I have one question." he began, deadpan, gazing over the lake as the warmth of his glow dispelled some of the chill in Josh's face and hands. "How were you going to get back without being carried?" His gaze slid sideways to Josh as a faint smile curved his lips.

[Stargaizer]

Josh laughed out loud. It was an easy laugh, not a nervous one, or even one born out of something humorous. It was an excited laugh, and it was easy to tell that he didn't do this often.

The laugh didn't last long, and when he finished, he looked over at Alex. It was easy to tell that this flight had really buoyed his spirits. "All I did was transfer the momentum of the chair into me, and then I controlled my kinetic energy... mostly... so that I was actually flying!" Josh laughed again.

"While it wouldn't be as much of a head start, I can create momentum where there is none; so I can launch myself off of this bench, straight up, before I start messing with my kinetic energy. Heck, after I get enough practice, I might even be able to just start flying from a sitting position... without a running start..." With that Josh re-enacted his take-off with his hands and the accompanying sound effects such as a screech (when his chair suddenly stopped... even though it didn't screech to a stop) and the typical woosh of him flying.

After that, Josh just sat there, recovering his breath, and metaphorically glowing at least as brightly as Alex was actually glowing.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja was about to tell Alex to get his chair while she raced to catch the catapulted Josh, when she realized, with its motor and power source, he probably couldn't manage the chair. Besides, with a flaring of light, Alex was already airborn.

Sonja walked over the chair, shaking her head with a grin. That was one way to get to the lake. She settled her gym bag on the seat, then placed her hockey stick across the arms. Getting a good and solid grip on the chair, the amazonian sophomore effortlessly raised it to shoulder height and then gracefully loped through the snow at a pace that would tax a formula 1 race car - she didn't want to go too fast on the snow and burdened with the chair.

Sonja caught up to Josh and Alex mere seconds later, carefully setting the chair down next to the bench. She joined them on the bench, sitting next to Josh on his otherside, her grin and eyes sparkling with amusement as she caught his re-enactment.

"That sounds pretty damn awesome, Josh, and looks fun to boot. Thought, if nothin' else, you'd need your chair for the flight back, but I guess not," Sonja said.

Sonja stood up and picked up her stick, slinging the gym back over s shoulder. She stomped backwards on her skates, beginning to head down to the ice. "Plannin' to stay on the bench, or gonna join us on the ice? By the way, can you do that trick only for yourself, or can you launch others with it? Because, I'd be totally willing to take a trip." She seemed excited by the idea.

Down on the ice, Sonja glided across the surface with fluid effortlessness. She set out several stacks of pucks, then turned back to the two boys watching her from the bench, a question in her posture, offering to come back for Josh and his chair.

"So, how did you want to do this?"

[Stargaizer]

Josh thanked Sonja for bringing down his chair, then scooted over from the bench onto it. Luckily he remembered to turn the speed down, to its' lowest setting, before he tried moving around. He eased out onto the ice, making sure it would hold his weight. The ice groaned a little bit, but not nearly enough to make anyone worry.

Then he headed, slowly, over to Sonja, figuring that it would be easier to talk when they weren't several yards apart. Of course, Josh completely forgot that the coefficient of friction of ice was next to zero, and so when he let go of the stick of his power chair to stop it, it just kept sliding on; heading directly for Sonja. Josh quickly pulled the stick back, making the wheels turn in reverse, but all that accomplished was to start him spinning out of control. Sonja, being the super athlete that she was, was easily able to sidestep the spinning power chair, but it proved a point: power chair wheels + ice = not good for control.

After he'd stopped himself, and moved himself into conversational distance of Sonja via his powers, he answered her directly. "Well, if he has the capability of vaporizing walls 'n such, I would suggest not putting his targets on the ice. That way he doesn't structurally weaken what we're standing on. The shore should be ok, right? As for my practice, you could just shoot the pucks, down the lake, slowly at first, and I can try and alter their course.

Of course, once Alex gets better, between the two of us we can give him moving targets..." Josh shrugged. It was about the best idea he had... though for right now it wasn't very cooperative. The way he ended and shrugged showed that he was open to other ideas.

[GDP_ST]

"How's this for an idea?" Alex came drifting out over the lake, thrusting his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he stood on air about five feet above the ice beside Josh and Sonja. "Sonja hits some pucks well downrange, that way." He pointed. "Josh, you situate yourself about fifty feet down there and try to steer the pucks to where I'll be, over there." He pointed at another point that would effectively put each teen at the point of a triangle. "My position's near the edge of the lake, so I shouldn't compromise the ice much, especially once I get my blasts scaled down to just taking out the pucks. I'll only aim at pucks that come within, say, fifteen feet of me. That lets Josh work on his accuracy."

He smiled at Sonja, then Josh. "How does that sound for an exercise? You can throw in random elements as well, as it occurs to you."

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Works for me."

As Josh and Alex moved into position, Sonja spread out her array of pucks, so there would be less time wasted in between shots. When they gave the sign that they were ready, Sonja began hitting the little black disks.

She began off easy, hitting some pucks gently along the ice, others skipping across the surface, and some lobbed in high arcs through the air. Randomly, she would call one out for Alex and backhand a puck his way. As they started getting the hang of it, beginning to grow comfortable with the pace, Sonja raised the difficulty.

She added knuckle shots to her repetoire, the pucks bouncing wildly with varying velocities. She shots came harder and harder, and both boys were grateful that the amazon's accuracy was remarkable. One puck that Alex missed hit a tree with enough force to be embedded in the frozen bark. She traded shots between Alex and Josh more frequently, and when she did call them out, the didn't always name the right person, just to keep them on their toes.

[GDP_ST]

Alex found it hard going at first, having some trouble getting the right level of intensity in his shots. The first four were waaay too powerful, vaporising puck and ice and leaving steaming, bubbling temporary hot-springs in the lake's covering. The next two shots had too little power, scorching but not otherwise harming the puck's surface. Then he got it about right, frying the pucks and only melting the surface skin of the ice.

Aiming wasn't too hard: as long as his reaction-time was up to it he could hit the pucks. It was simply a matter of look and shoot, so to speak. Sonja's knuckle shots added more challenge to the process. Just because he could see the puck didn't mean that he could focus the lased energy quickly enough to hit before it's random bouncing meant it was no longer where he'd aimed. The ray of solar heat was emitted at close to the speed of light, but that didn't mean his reactions were that fast. The one that hummed past him came right on the heels of another that Josh had fed his way, and Alex hadn't been able to turn his head fast enough to score a hit. When he saw it strike splinters from the tree behind him, he blinked and shook his head before turning back to the exercise, narrowing his cerulean eyes and silently resolving not to miss another.

[Stargaizer]

Josh was a little nervous at the idea of a triangle... it meant that he'd have to change the direction close to 120 degrees every time. The most that he'd ever been able to consistently change had been 60 degrees, and only semi-consistently been able to get 90 degrees. Though, once they got into position, Josh realized that if he was able to get to the pucks at or before 1/2 way between him and Sonja that he'd only have to rotate them 90 degrees or less.

Even so, while Josh was able to get most of the pucks aimed at Alex, the rest of them ended up somewhere in the snow between the two of them.

Then Sonja started tripping things up, and while Josh barely got a piece of some of the first knuckle pucks, once he got over the shock, he diverted them just as efficiently as he did the ones before.

Regardless, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to get all of the pucks aimed at Alex. And while this was great practice for Josh, Sonja and Alex were going at a pace that was unsustainable for Josh (especially seeing as how much he'd practiced before they showed up). After about 10 or 15 minutes of practice, Josh started to visibly wear out, and after a couple more minutes he had to rest.

"Guys, I'm worn out; I gotta take a breather. I'm just going to go right over here and rest a little, you guys keep on working." And with that he used some of the last of his reserves to push his chair over to where it could get traction by itself.

[Sonja Bahaar]

"No problem, Josh - yeah, I hadn't thought about how long you were already at it." Sonja skated around the lake, retrieving the pucks she could see with deft flicks of her hockey stick. "Good job, both of you. I was thinking you guys would have a harder time hitting a small, fast target like the pucks. Glad to be proven wrong."

Sonja picked up speed, her footwork and stickhandling impeccable, her fluid movements entrancing. Soon, she was moving at a pace that was well beyond anything achievable by humans, her long pony-tail streaming behind her like a silver banner, sharp turns throwing high waves of shredded ice. Her indigo eyes glowed in the sheer joy of movement. Josh found himself following her incredible form, trying to calculate her velocity and mass (in the most complimentary way he could), to determine the formidable momentum she was displaying.

"You still game, Alex," Sonja called up in friendly challenge as she skated by, "or have I tired both you boys out already?" Though her cheeks wore rosy from the cold, Sonja wasn't even breathing hard, seeming capable of continuing for another hour, another day, another week, without needing to rest.

[GDP_ST]

Alex pondered for a moment, gauging how tapped his reserves were as he followed Sonja with his eyes. Josh might have viewed the sight through the lens of physics and mathematics, but Alex's appraisal was not nearly as... cerebral. Though, admittedly, his concentration was admirable.

"I can carry on for a little while." he said as he jolted himself out of the reverie caused by Sonja's posterior as she skated away from him. He smiled at her as she skidded to a graceful stop facing him. "Or we could all take a break. I've pretty much got the hang of aiming this thing," he tapped his head with a grin, admiring the rosy tint to Sonja's cheeks. "Other things I need to work on aren't really team-game stuff. Flying aerobatics, for one." He thought for a moment, brain ticking over behind those brilliant blue eyes. "Unless you want to try a race scenario? How fast can you run, flat out?"

[Stargaizer]

Josh listened to the two of them from beside the bench where they'd started. "Alex, once I get some energy back, if we could find some hoops or rings or something for you to fly through, I could create a moving areal obstacle course for you. You know, like one of those 'fly through the rings' sort of thing."

Josh thought for a moment then spoke to Sonja. "Hey, do you know if we have a stash of hula-hoops or anything like that around here? And maybe we could take a lunch break, let me recharge and let us all thaw out... 'cept for Alex of course. Do you ever get cold?"

[Sonja Bahaar]

Originally Posted By: Alex

"Unless you want to try a race scenario? How fast can you run, flat out?"

Sonja returned Alex's smile with a playful grin, seeing his eyes roving her figure before returning to her indigo orbs with admirable control, and barely suppressed a giggle.

"Race? I don't know, you do fly, so it might be a little unfair..." Sonja's grin widened with the silence, before continuing, "After all, last summer, I broke the sound barrier, and that fall, they clocked me at over twelve-hundred and fifty miles an hour. I don't think I'd want to go all out on the snow, but I think I can still give you a decent challenge, hmmm?" Sonja did giggle at the expression that crossed Alex's face after her revelation.

Sonja skated to the edge of the ice then leapt, landing on the bench with a fluid grace, then began unlacing her blades. "A food break sounds scrumptious right about now, Josh." She slapped at her tight, tiny waist and laughed. "Seems I'm always craving some carbs, and I still don't know where they all go - don't answer that!" she finished with a raised finger and a half serious scowl for the two boys.

With her boots back on, Sonja stood up with a luxurious stretch, then picked up her hockey stick and gym bag. "Hoops? Yeah, we can get some of those from the second gymnasium, they're stored with the gymnastics equipment." Sonja glanced down at Josh and his powerchair, a slight curve to her lips. "You have enough juice to fling yourself back up the path, or you need a little help?"

[Stargaizer]

Josh looked rather sheepish at Sonja's question. "I don't think so... besides, there's too many hard things like sidewalks and buildings up there for me to fly into... I need more practice before I go flying into a civilized area.

Would you... mind...?" Josh didn't finish his sentence, but it was obvious that he was asking her to carry both him and his chair.

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Not at all, Josh. Here, can you just hold onto my stick?" Josh nodded, taking the aluminum shaft in hand and holding it across his thighs.

Sonja moved in behind the chair, bending slightly at the knees, getting a firm grip on the hubs of the wheels. Then she stood up in a single fluid motion, breasts pressed firmly into the chairback, and it was clear that the weight of chair and student was ridiculously easy for the Barbie-figured amazon to bear.

Sonja glided through the snow with an astonishingly smooth stride, Josh getting a view from about two feet higher than he was used to. Sonja glanced up, over her shoulder at Alex, shooting him a grin. "You comin' Sunshine, or do I need to carry you too?"

[GDP_ST]

"Oh, I don't know. That's a fine offer. Definitely has it's attractions." Alex grinned back at her, before laughing and launching himself into the air. He took up a position slightly above and to the left of Sonja and her passenger, drifting along above the snow and trailing warmth as they headed for the cafeteria. He looked down at Josh and smiled.

"To answer the question, yes I do get cold. I just get cold less easily, I suppose. Shedding sunlight has benefits." He smiled, his breath frosting in the air. "If I stand still, the air around me has a chance to heat. Moving around, less so. In a sub-zero blizzard, I'd probably still want to get out of the weather. I might just last a little longer than the next guy, though."

[Stargaizer]

Josh wasn't entirely comfortable with Sonja carrying him. Heck, he was completely uncomfortable with her carrying him; but this was the only way he'd probably get back up to civilization and food. I mean, he could've propelled himself back up if his life depended on it... he was pretty sure... but it'd take more out of him and leave him in a worse state than he was willing to put himself in over training.

So he grinned and bared it.

He looked back at Sonja and quietly said thanks. It was soft enough that it was meant for her ears and her ears only. Though how she chose to respond was entirely up to her.

Then Josh looked up and replied to Alex. "That's cool. Good to know." What he said next was for both of them. "Do you think that we can try the aerial acrobatics somewhere where I can get my chair myself? Perchance the soccer field out in the east lawn?" Josh tried to move as little as possible, trying to keep his center of gravity as steady as possible to help Sonja in her carrying.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Alex must be great for keeping the bed warm... For a brief, terrifying moment, Sonja thought she had said that out loud, but neither of the boys said anything, so she was pretty sure she hadn't.

At Josh's quiet thanks, Sonja gave him a small smile and a nod, silently telling him to think nothing of it. Josh saw a brief flash of melancholy in Sonja's bright eyes, but it was gone before he had a chance to really consider it, her good cheer back as if it had never gone.

Though Josh tried his best to stay still, after several steps, he realized it didn't matter, she stayed steady and smooth all the way back to the path. Sonja's strength was so phenomenal, her balance so remarkable, Josh was pretty sure she could have handle him and his chair as easily with one hand - using both was more for his benefit than her's. Very soon, with the chill mitigated by Alex's solar aura, the trio made it back to the path, and Sonja set Josh's chair softly.

"The soccer field ain't a problem, Josh. They play enough games and stuff on it, that the snow is packed down reasonably well." Reaching the cafeteria, Sonja held the door open for Josh, then waved Alex through. "After you, boys."

[GDP_ST]

"Oh no." Alex's eyes twinkled as he firmly took hold of the door while Josh rolled through, his tone at once playful and brooking no refusal. "You may be able to bench-press a Buick and run faster than most fighter jets, but it'll be a cold day in Hell before I'll have a pretty girl hold the door for me, 21st century or no. Call it Old World conditioning and curse me for a chauvinist if you like, but food and warmth await." He gestured with a sweep of his hand, his smile at once dazzling, impish and irresistible. "After you."

[Stargaizer]

Josh rolled through the door with a slight smirk on his face. "Well, would one of you go ahead and come on in? You're letting all the warm air out?" And with that he rolled on up to the food line, hoping that they would both follow him.

He got a nice helping of meat and starch and went light on the veggies... again. After getting his drink and a nice, large, icing encrusted (several) pieces of cake, he rolled over to a table that was easy for him to get up to but small enough that the three of them couldn't get too distracted by other people.

Once at the table he saw that his two beautiful partners were both still at the line (probably making goo-goo eyes at each other... oh brother), he piped up, "Hey, come on you two! Food's getting cold!"

[Sonja Bahaar]

Normally, Sonja didn't go for all that Old World Courtesy junk. She knew she was a gorgeous girl, if not quite to what extent, so the gesture was nothing new to her, but she was a strong woman and didn't mind showing it, if not flaunting it.

Still, when Alex smiled at her like that, all thoughts of rebuffing him flew right out her head, a rosy tint rising to her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold. "If you insist," she answered with a crooked, surprised and flattered smile, gliding pass him with an unnecessary sway to her hips.

While she took her time filling up a heaping plate of meat and lasagna, and then a marginally smaller plate for various desserts, Sonja unzipped her jacket, covertly thrusting out her chest, breathing deeper than was strictly necessary. If he's gonna make me blush, I'll return the favour. Moving down the line, she shot him a sly pout.

"Do I really look like I can only bench a Buick?" she inquired, flexing her arms in a double bicep pose, the sleeves of her jacket growing tight over shapely - and surprising - swells of feminine muscle. She shook her head in mock sorrow. "I guess I'm gonna have to workout harder then. Unfortunately, Lawrence Hunt doesn't have any school buses handy, so whatevah shall I do?"

At Josh's conjoling, Sonja blew him a raspberry. "We're comin', we're comin'." Sonja superciliously filled her large cup at the soda fountain then regally sashayed to the table he had chosen, an arrogant tilt to her chin. But her eyes sparkled with mirth as she bit into a slice of ham.

[GDP_ST]

Alex was fast on his feet mentally, quick to banter, and seldom caught flat-footed. There are, however, limits at which even natural wit and charm desert one. His eyes flickered over the swell of muscle on her arms, but let's be honest: when someone as stacked as Sonja Bahaar is breathing deeply with her arms up and out like so, there are more urgent points to consider, as it were. "I dunno." Alex replied, momentarily forgetting himself and staring. "They look pretty healthy to me." He blinked, horrified realisation sweeping over him. Sonja got that blush, a ruddy rising of color that turned the tanned countenance deep bronze.

"Uh... That is, you seem pretty healthy. Not them. I mean, yes they're fine! But I was talking about you. Being healthy. For someone that doesn't have a school bus around to bench. And stuff. Right, shutting up now." Embarrassed, he turned to load his plate with lasagne. What the hell happened there?! She just thrust her boobs at me! If I'd been standing any closer I'd have risked an eye or something! And I reacted like a right daft bastard. Smooooth. What if that'd been Violet? He frowned a little as he moved to follow Sonja across to the table Josh had grabbed. Well, for one thing, Violet wouldn't have done that, interesting as the notion is. Certainly not in the lunch line. Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Okay, lesson learned. Expect the unexpected. His eye was caught by Sonja's sashaying chassis as she reached the table. And keep your eyes UP!

He sat down with his practice-partners, uncharacteristically quiet as he started in on his lasagne.

[Stargaizer]

As Josh ate and relaxed with his new found friends, they could see the color and energy return to him. Apparently he noticed the color that had come into them as well. "I know it was cold outside and warm in here, but shouldn't your faces have flushed while we were in the biting cold? Do I look as red as the two of you?" He shrugged. "Guess that's what we get for practicing outside in the dead of winter in New York, right?"

Overall, though, the conversation was minimal as all three of them shoveled food into their faces as if they hadn't eaten in days. Who would've thought that bending the physical laws of the universe to your will would make one so hungry?

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja sat hunched at the table, face red as a beet, eating her meal as if she hadn't eaten in days. She didn't dare to look up, she could feel the eyes turned her way. Oh God, oh God, oh God! I can't believe I did that! What was I thinkin'? Jus' because his smile makes you feel like you're gonna melt through the floor, you had to see if you could do the same to him? 'Neca's right, I am just a stupid Barbie Doll!

Barbie Sonja ate her food as if it was a race, barely pausing to chew. The boys were only halfway done their meals when she was trying to swallow her last mouthful, washing it done with the last of her drink. She meet their eyes only for a quick, embarrassed glance before picking up her tray and gym bag.

"Mmnnhgphmmnhuh Munhnphmufn <cough!> mye," she mumbled before taking a deep swallow and repeating herself in a rush, "I'llgetthehoops, meetyouguysonthefield, bye!"

She swiftly dumped her trash in the garbage then rushed for the door, each step faster than the last. Throwing the doors open with almost too much force, Sonja took off like a cheetah for the second gymnasium, each stride a long, graceful bound.

[GDP_ST]

"Well... That went swimmingly." Alex said half to Josh, half to himself as they went on with their meal. Poor girl. It doesn't matter how distracting she is, I could have been nicer about it rather than filling the air with awkward. He looked over at Josh, who shrugged as he took another large bite of cake.

"I think I'd better go talk to her. Assuming she's not in the next state by now." Alex said as he downed the last mouthful of lasagne and stood to go and dump out the rest of his tray. "I'll see you at the field, Josh." He gave the wheelchair-bound genius a smile as he sauntered out of the cafeteria.

He found Sonja in the second gymnasium storage room, muttering quietly to herself as she gathered the hoops for their afternoon training exercise. He settled one glowing shoulder against the doorframe and, leaning comfortably, knocked on the open door.

"Knock-knock." he added unnecessarily. Golden highlights from his aura sparkled in his blue eyes as the platinum blonde Amazon looked around to see him standing there, handsome lips crooked in an apologetic smile. "I was wanting to say 'sorry' for acting like an ass back there. You caught me by surprise, and I handled it poorly. That wasn't very nice of me, especially as you've been nothing but nice, friendly and helpful in my experience."

[Stargaizer]

Josh wondered at what he'd said to make both of his practice partners leave in such a hurry (and so soon after one another). He finished what he was eating, dumped his tray, and convinced the lunch staff to make him a sandwich that he could take with him.

He made his way out the doors, and not seeing any recent footprints heading in the direction of the soccer field, decided to wait for them over there (instead of trying to track them down and possibly missing them).

[Sonja Bahaar]

Feeling the gentle warmth fall across her back, Sonja sighed. She slung the stack of hoops over her shoulder, then turned around, slouching fetchingly against the wall, her remarkably long legs unconsciously shown off to advantage. Facing the luminescent Adonis she was sharing the storage room with, her deep indigo eyes widened as she suddenly became acutely aware that they were completely alone.

"You don't know what your smile does to a girl, do ya?" Damn it! I said that out loud! The voluptuously athletic teen sighed again, pinching the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "I didn't mean - Really, Alex, you don't have to apologize for anything, 'kay? You were makin' me - And I wanted to see - Gah, nevermind! Honestly, Alex, you behaved better than just about any other guy that has ever been even remotely in that situation with me, even though I was pretty much shoving the 'twins' in your face. I'm actually grateful you keep it to gawking rather than groping." Her lips bashfully bent into a quarter smile. "You'd look terrible with broken hands."

Sonja pushed herself off the wall with an effortless smooth grace that would shame a panther and nodded at the door. "Look, Alex, can we, uh, just both agree we're sorry for whatever reason and move pass this bit of awkward? I'm sure Josh is going to think we got lost, or... something." Alex readily agreed with another smile she didn't need right now and a hand indicating that she should lead.

Walking to the soccer field, Sonja decided to try bring something to Alex's attention that he seemed entirely unaware of. "Um, you just, er, manifested and became all glowy and stuff pretty recently, right?" With a devastating inquiring arch to his brow, he nodded and Sonja continued, her voice low for his ear alone.

"I hope this doesn't too conceited, but I've always been pretty hot, the tallest and most...developed in my grade. 'Neca hates me for it. But my mutation has always been active, to one degree or another, at least that's what they think." She tilted her head at him as they approached the soccer field, seeing Josh waiting in the distance, her appraising gaze frank and direct.

"You might want to take a look at some pictures from before you started spreading sunshine wherever you go and after. You might notice some changes other than the obvious." She gave him an inscrutably feminine grin, then turned away and waved at Josh.

"Hey Josh, we're here. How did you want to set-up the rings?"

[GDP_ST]

Alex pondered over what Sonja had told him while they got things set up for the exercise, gaze distant as his hands did was was asked of them. "You don't know what your smile does to a girl..." "...notice some changes other than the obvious..."

He'd looked at himself after the accident and subsequent manifestation, of course. He'd wanted to see the glow in the mirror. Everything else had seemed in order... Hadn't it? His hair was still blond, eyes still blue, teeth still even. His tan had become a little richer and darker, but he put that down to the constant sunlight. He racked his brain, trying to think how he was different now. Other than the obvious, of course.

The problem was that Alexander Andrews had always been good looking. As a small child, women cooed and fussed over his tousled blond hair and deep blue eyes. People had always reacted positively to him. And, of course, being sequestered in an all-boys private school for most of his developmental years did little to prepare him for female attention. Oh, there had been cooperatively produced plays and co-ed dances with the nearby all-girls school, but these were heavily-chaperoned and a 'safe' environment to learn social skills. So he'd learned to flirt and such, but without any real risk of things getting complicated and serious. He knew he had a way with others, but regarded it as a natural consequence of enjoying their company. He liked people, and people had liked him right back. Makes sense, right?

So. That left Alex here. Seventeen years old, in a co-ed establishment with plenty of attractive young women around, as personable as he'd ever been, and somehow refined by the activation of his mutant genes. It wasn't surprising he'd missed the alterations, because from an objective viewpoint they were miniscule. The changes were hard to define, and he'd been more interested in the glow and the flying than anything else. But a subtle enhancement can have a powerful net effect. Alex's hair was more golden, his eyes more iridescent blue, his skin was clearer and without even the slightest blemish. He wasn't too-perfect in an eerie way. He was, to quote the old tale, 'just right'. So it was hard for him to visualise what Sonja was talking about.

So he remained thoughtfully quiet, musing over what in the hell was so different about him. And whether it was a bad thing or not.

[Stargaizer]

Josh was happy that the two of them hadn't made him wait all that long in the cold snow before showing up, red faces and all. Though, now with them being outside, the color in their cheeks might've been from the snow. What's going on between... you know what, never mind. I don't want to know, and if I'm getting in the way, I'm sure they'll let me know, one way or another... sheesh, couples... Josh wasn't entirely for sure where he'd gotten the idea that they were couples, but it seemed to explain their actions since they'd left the lake, and it also explained why they'd been going to the lake together in the first place.

Josh thought for a moment about Sonja's question. "If you put them all in a straight line, it might be easier for Alex, but the ends might be a little out of my range, or hard to control. It might be better for me if you put them in a wide circle around me. It might be a little harder for Alex, but you could keep busy turning my chair for me... if you wouldn't mind." Josh's mind flashed back to the New Years party and their dance together... and everything that'd happened afterwords...

"So, whatever you two think would be best is good for me. We'll make it work." Josh was ready to go again.

[Sonja Bahaar]

"We don't want to make it too easy for Alex, now do we? He should have to work for it. Let's try the circle, Josh."

Sonja walked by his side and they headed out onto the field, just in case his chair got stuck. Once they reached the center, Sonja took a look around, then casually tossed the hoops in a broad, near perfect circle, the brightly coloured hoops standing out clearly on the pristine snow.

When Alex pointedly glanced at the several hoops she still held in her hand and the unzipped bag full of hockey pucks over her shoulder, Sonja only arched a pale brow, a faint grin playing across her delectable lips, as she moved behind Josh, placing a hand on the back of his chair, ready to move him as needed.

"I'm allowed to thrown in a few tricks of my own, aren't I?"

[GDP_ST]

"As long as you don't throw them too hard." Alex quipped back. "I don't think I'm up to handling surface-to-air hockey pucks travelling at triple digit speeds."

"Stop being a baby and get flying." Sonja grinned at him. Alex threw up his hands in mock-surrender, chuckling.

"Alright, alright. Just try not to hit the face." He said with a mischievous smile. "Or I'll run crying to Violet, and then you'll be sorry." He stuck his tongue out, then grinned and, without waiting for a reply, took a step and launched himself into the air. He performed a quick spiral around Josh and Sonja before rising higher into the air, hovering at about fifteen feet above the circle of hoops.

"How's this, Josh? I'm ready when you are."