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Post by Tekka King on Jun 23, 2010 19:31:12 GMT -5
Tekka blinked at the purple bat that Jess had become. Noting with amusement that purple mutations seemed to be the common link between those that breathed in the smoke. Her mind wandered over to what John would end up looking like at the end of it all. Purple fins and gills perhaps? Despite Jess's startling appearance, it was just a little funny to think of. Just a little.
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Post by jernus on Jun 23, 2010 20:21:54 GMT -5
Kage stared at Jess's new form. Why, he wondered, was purple the theme? The giant decided to let it go. It could have just been coincidence. As the bat flew upward, the scene segued to Sam again, as he worked away at the table of chemicals. The inventor was just about to drop one mixture into another when there was a very loud scratching from above him. He crossed the lab to the computer, fingers finding the keyboard and flying over it so that the monitor showed a view of the driveway. Jess's mutated form crouched there, clawing at the pavement desperately.
"What in the name of Newton is that thing?" Sam breathed. He pressed a couple more keys, causing the bat to become illuminated by a harsh spotlight. A microphone was then ejected from the wall, and the strange-haired teen spoke into it. "Hands up, intruder! Who are you?"
"It's me, Jess!" screeched the bat. Surprisingly, his voice still sounded a lot like Jess. "Let me in, Sam!" The inventor looked rather perplexed at this, but he reached over and took the white remote, turning a dial on it and pressing the red button on the wall.
"Hold on," he said in a bit of a wary tone as he stepped onto the platform, which looked a lot smaller than it first had.
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Post by Tekka King on Jun 23, 2010 21:41:33 GMT -5
'In the name of Newton?' While it fit his personality, it didn't seem like a likely catchphrase or anything. It didn't quite roll off the tongue. Still, there was the question on whether or not there was a cure for Jess's mutation. Tekka blinked, would Sam see his friend in trouble, or see just a side effect of an experiment? After all, he hadn't been incredibly alarmed by Abby...
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Post by jernus on Jun 23, 2010 22:40:38 GMT -5
Something about Sam seemed... strange to Kage. Perhaps the scientific part of his brain was draining his other mental areas somehow... On the screen, the inventor had produced what looked almost like a PDA, but as he neared Jess with it, it emitted a light that passed overe the bat's face briefly. Sam looked down at it in astonishment.
"I... don't believe it..." the teen said, pocketing the machine. "You really are Jess! What happened?" The mutated group member beheld his friend with a look of mild annoyance.
"What else could it be?" he asked. "It had to've been the gas from Machine I." Sam looked down and sighed.
"That leaves only John..." the inventor lamented. "Let's hope he hasn't mutated, too."
"Stop hoping," replied a metallic voice from off-screen.
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Post by Tekka King on Jun 23, 2010 23:05:04 GMT -5
Tekka noted the metallic voice with a healthy level of curiosity. Now who would that be? Another villain or someone on a video screen? Either way it would be revealed soon.
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Post by jernus on Jun 23, 2010 23:17:57 GMT -5
Kage wondered a good deal on whose voice was being projected that way... until Sam and Jess turned around and saw what looked to be a man in a futuristic suit of armor. Red eyes peeked out from inside the helmet, but the new arrival didn't seem to look all that malicious. In fact, its posture greatly resembled...
"John?" Jess asked, his voice worried. The metal man nodded solemnly, but Sam looked skeptically at him.
"Prove it." This caused the robot to sigh.
"You never take off your wristbands because you want to hide the scars on your wrists..." it began. Kage grew a bit worried himself. "that you got when you were trying to get your contact lens out of the sink in biology lab." The bat looked at Sam, a bit puzzled. Sam looked ready to explain, but the metal guy wasn't done. "He wears contacts 'cause his eyes are really -"
"All right, I believe you!" bellowed Sam.
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Post by Tekka King on Jun 23, 2010 23:29:16 GMT -5
'Colossus' was the first thing that hit Tekka's head when she spotted John. It made sense though, he was covered from head to toe in metal, and that was almost exactly like Colossus's power from X Men. Ah, the wonder of relics. Still, now she was curious as to what the contact lenses meant for Sam's eyes. If it was just a sight problem then he wouldn't be so eager to shut John up about it.
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Post by jernus on Jun 23, 2010 23:53:11 GMT -5
The screen faded from outside Sam's house to inside the lab, where all five people were gathered. Sam and Roy were normal, but the other three remained in their mutated states. Of course, this made sense. Changing back was most surely difficult at first.
"Right," the inventor began. "So all of you have superpowers... I told you guys not to breathe that stuff in." John looked at him, his red eyes sardonic.
"You gotta admit, Sam - that warning was kinda last-minute."
"Besides, it's not like having superpowers is a bad thing..." put in Jess. "Is it...?"
"We have normal lives to live, Jess," Abby reminded him. "There's not much good in having superhuman abilities if our parents don't know where we are."
"It'd be a lot easier if you just changed back..." mused Roy.
"How did you do that again...?" Sam asked, retrieving his notepad. The redhead lofted a brow.
"Just thought about it," he answered. "Don't all superpowers work that way?"
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Post by Tekka King on Jul 2, 2010 21:35:54 GMT -5
Tekka would have chuckled if she had actually heard someone say that on the street. Some powers (to her knowledge anyway) didn't work like that, you just had to restrain yourself as much as possible to keep from freaking people out in public. Or in private, depending on what one considered to be private.
Especially since the others had gotten powers as a result of the backlash of the first transformation. Who knew what other effects would happen.
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Post by jernus on Jul 2, 2010 21:53:58 GMT -5
Kage had to think about Roy's statement. As for some heroes, like Superman, or perhaps Cyclops, their powers had to be restrained. However, being a hero meant a new experience than being a civilian, so there wasn't much to go on. Besides, Roy wasn't a very bright character, so far as the giant could tell. On the screen, Sam was looking at his friend, eyes doubtful.
"As much as I hate to say it..." began the inventor. "I think that's the only lead we have." He looked at his friends and shrugged. "Everyone... think about being normal." Abby and Jess's faces screwed up in concentration, while John's eyes glowed intensely. As this happened, the only female's hair began to grow again, and the knives receded from her wrists. Within seconds, she was herself again. Jess and John, however, showed no results. Sam scribbled something in the notepad. "Well... it works for half of you, at least..."
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Post by Tekka King on Jul 2, 2010 22:09:31 GMT -5
Looked like the two with the more dramatic changes had been unable to reverse the effects. Maybe that would play a bigger role later, and Jess certainly would take this worse. After all, John looked like he was in a suit of armor (to a certain extent) but Jess looked rather demonic. It wasn't like either of them would be able to pass as normal, but Jess certainly had it worse, and he barely knew Sam and the others.
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Post by jernus on Jul 2, 2010 22:22:50 GMT -5
Kage was a little concerned for poor Jess. Granted, the whole dark look was kinda cool, being that it was the edgier-looking type of hero, but unless this was like the Fantastic 4 universe, superheroes couldn't just traipse around as members of society. While the wanderer was musing, Sam was parousing his notes on Machine I and its subjects.
"Roy, my notes say that you didn't feel like you had to be yourself..." said the scientist off-handedly. The redhead nodded and snapped his fingers, turning instantly into the monochrome maniac.
"I just thought about being myself again..." he explained. With another demonstrative finger-snap, he was once again the athlete. "and I was me." Abby nodded in understanding.
"That's pretty much what I did," she shared. "When I'm in that... other form, I don't feel like I'm in my own body. It's really weird."
"That's probably the problem, then..." reflected Jess, spreading his impressive wings and hovering for a second. "I can't speak for John, but I don't feel like this isn't normal. Even the wings aren't awkward."
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Post by Tekka King on Jul 2, 2010 22:37:34 GMT -5
Well that was strange, why in the world would it feel so natural? Well, it would probably be explained (or theorized about) soon enough. Tekka'd get an answer soon enough.
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Post by jernus on Jul 2, 2010 22:59:36 GMT -5
Something about Jess suddenly seemed just a bit suspicious to Kage. If Roy and Abby were able to distinguish the consciousnesses of superhero and human, why was the new kid's mutation different? Kage hadn't the time to think, however, for John was explaining his own experience.
"It's like I can use this body to move, and somehow speak," stated the metallic human. "But... I don't feel attached to this body." Sam flipped through a few pages in his notepad and tapped something with the pencil.
"John, were you wearing your hat when Machine I opened?" asked the scientist. John's eyes glowed again, but it was more like a rhythmic pulsing.
"I... took it off when I got down here, I think," answered the robot. "It's in the laundry hamper at home, but I don't need anything washed 'til Sunday. Why?"
"I have a theory," explained Sam simply. "Whatever you do, don't wash that hat. Try putting it on when you get home." Jess looked at his new friend incredulously.
"How are either of us supposed to get home?" he inquired in an irritated tone. "I'm a giant purple bat, for Pete's sake!"
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Post by Tekka King on Jul 2, 2010 23:20:26 GMT -5
Well, Jess certainly was having the worse of the reactions. Though it was probably understandable considering there wasn't an option for turning back offered to him. Still, the fact that he had felt comfortable in the body was nagging at her brain...
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