Flesh and Bone

[Gizmo]

Jill craned her neck upward, stepping around to take in as much of the crystalline canopy as quickly as she could. "Woah. That's a lot of... woah." The sardonic teen blinked several times, impressed in spite of herself. "Okay, so Mr. Fancy Poncho's got serious game," she admitted. More politely, she turned to Supercape. "If you think you could show me how to do some of that... that would be pretty cool."

[Supercape]

Supercape coughed and eyed up the teen. He was just about to launch into a rambling lecture on M-theory, false vacuum states, observer entanglement, and heisenbergian compensation, when it struck him that this young lady may in fact be brighter than she looked, and such information was precisely the kind of information he shouldn't impart if he wanted the canopy to remain existing.

"Its quantum stuff! very strong, very tough, and very very existing!" he mumbled.

He coughed again. "I can shift around atoms and wavestring states. Lots of scientific mumbo jumbo and all that. Don't want to get too technical"

I really don't want to get too technical.

"The important thing is, how do you create that blue stuff?"

[Gizmo]

Jill gave Supercape a flat look at his obvious hedging regarding the make-up of the dome. "Yeah, let's not overwhelm my delicate girlish mind with all those facts, now," she drawled dryly, her mouth compressing into a thin line. "Like I said, the 'blue stuff' is magically reinforced bioenergy. I extend it out like a spiderweb and shore up the gaps with more power. Bulletproof, selectively permeable and sparkly. 'Cause you know how much I love sparkles!" she added with exaggerated excitement, apparently not yet letting go the perceived slight.

[Supercape]

"Ummm, yes... sparkly..." replied Supercape, aware that he had put his foot on it. Ironically, it was precisely because she appeared intelligent that he didn't want to get technical.

He gave the blue ball she had created an experimental poke. Looked solid enough. "Jolly good stuff, that!" he nodded.

"So, the stuff I produce, well, aside from being sparkly and keeping out the rain..." he smiled at her, hoping she would see he really meant no insult.

"Cages, for nasty fellows who shouldn't be let out!" and with a flash, a small cage appeared a few yards away.

"Defensive walls, for when you are getting shot at!" he continued, and with another flash, a wall appeared.

"Bowls, for catching falling things, like maidens in distress!" he winked, as a floating bowl a few metres wide appeared above them.

"And chairs, for when I need a little sit down!" he laughed, sitting on a three legged stool that had appeared behind him.

[Electra]

"In fact, that sounds like a really good idea!" Stesha cut in. "I'm sure we'll be more comfortable back in the house." This time without asking, she teleported all of them into the little plant sanctuary. "Would you mind putting the kettle on, Q... ah, Supercape?" she asked. "The water is in the jug, and the kettle plugs right into the extension cord on the counter. I need to excuse myself just a moment." She headed down the little hallway out of the main room.

[Supercape]

"Certainly my dear" replied Supercape, picking up the jug of water. Peering into it, he slammed together a few subatomic particles and let loose a pulse of microwaves that caused the water to boil almost instantly.

"Damn" he cursed, vexedly "where does she keep the tea. I can never get a good cup of tea. I swear, I should keep a bag of earl grey in my costume!".

[Gizmo]

"...maidens in distress, right," Jill grumbled under her breath, evidently unimpressed. The coltish girl took a seat nearby, crossing her arms over her chest while she waited for Stesha to get back. Should see if Gai can give me some tips; shaping rock can't be that different from force fields. Deciding to make the most of the situation, she called over the the cloaked man fussing with the kettle. "So, did you have any pointers in mind, exercises, something?"

[Supercape]

"So, did you have any pointers in mind, exercises, something?"

"Well, its just mental exercise for me. For you? maybe the same. If its bioelectical, it may just as well feed of your metabolism than your cognition. I guess you know better than me!".

"Aha!" he said, finding the tea leaves and strainer "Breakfast tea, that will do!". He started preparing his long desired liquid refreshment.

"Utility is the key. Sounds like your stuff is a bit more flexible than mine. I keep experimenting. " he formed a pyramid mid air, which floated like a bubble. He gave it a nudge, and it tumbled towards the young girl slowly, as if in zero gravity.

"Try and form it underwater? Try and form it in small spaces, or odd shapes. Contract it, squeeze it, expand it. Push it. If I really concentrate I can make it even stronger, although it gives me a headache doing all the calculations".

[Electra]

Stesha wasn't gone long, and when she came back, she seemed less anxious than she had been, even as she went over to her cozy living-room furniture grouping to curl up on the couch. "If you don't like tea, there's a few soft drinks in the little refrigerator under the table," she offered to Jill, slightly belatedly. "And I think there's a box of cookies on top of it as well, and the rest of the doughnuts," she added, expanding the offer to both her guests. "Help yourselves to anything that looks good."

[Supercape]

Supercape patted his stomach. He was not exactly fat, but he was 40 years old and lead a fairly sedentary life style. He didn't have a rock hard abdomen, and he had to watch that the faint rumblings of middle aged spread didn't become an avalanche. It was primarily by cycling to and from work that he kept his reasonably trim figure.

"Not for me thanks, m'dear" he answered politely. "I'll stick with the tea" he added, handing Stesha a cup.

[Gizmo]

Frowning slightly to herself, Jill recreated the shimmering ball in front of her, placing in between her outstretched hands. With a little concentration she was able to shift it into an egg shape, then a well defined cube. Experimenting, she tried compressing the energy field without lessening its strength, folding it in over itself. "'m good," she told Stesha absently, staring intently at her work, eyes narrowing behind her bandanna mask.

[Supercape]

Supercape nodded approvingly at the blue light, and Jill. "Nice work, if I may so, young lady!".

He peered very closely at the shimmering light "at some point you should actually study this, work out its tensile strength, plasticity, deformity, and so on. Even its mass" he gazed deeply "If it even has any mass, of course..."

"Of course, you may have done that all already - bright lady like yourself, forgive my rambling. "

[Gizmo]

"Tch, yeah yeah..." Jill scoffed, rolling her eyes and smiling a little in spite of herself. Supercape still struck her as basically a ridiculous fop, but at least he was an upbeat and well meaning ridiculous fop. He also seemed to actually know what he was talking about; the teenager had to admit she'd be foolish to ignore his advice out of hand. "Well, I've been figuring out my capabilities, but it's a little tough to pin down specific numbers."

[Supercape]

"Lets have a look then" said Supercape, peering closely at the object. Reaching out with his mind, he scanned for any mass or gravity within the structure. Yes, there it was. No... no... must have been mistaken. There it was, or was it, no..yes...

"Well that's most peculiar" he commented. "Inertia, but no mass. Kind of bends the rules of physics a little. Or a lot. Could do with some study. Quantum, no doubt. Maybe operating on super-refractory dimensional abstractions. "

[Electra]

A small snore from the couch broke into the conversation between the two matter creators for a moment. On the couch, their host had apparently given up on following the conversation in favor of having a little nap. It was a very comfortable couch, and the room was nice and warm, so it was definitely a nice place to have one. Maybe it was even better that way, since the less Stesha knew about quantum physics, the more stable her dome would be.

[Gizmo]

"Well, yeah, dude. Magic. Kinda the textbook definition there, with the physics breaking." Jill expanded the globe, then created a second, identical duplicate, letting each one float above one of her spread hands. A thinner beam emerged to connect the two, forming a cartoonish dumbbell. Grasping the interconnecting bar, the lean girl made a show of lifting the construct over her head. "I mean, it'll stop a bullet in its tracks, but..." She released one hand, keeping the shimmering object raised with the other, then released it as well, letting it float in the air of its own accord.

[Supercape]

"Excellent!" said Supercape "Gravity blind! can come in handy!" he poked the dumb-bell experimentally.

"How does it stop the bullet? dead in its tracks? rebounding it? plastic and deformable strength or rigid? you probably won't need to know all these things, buts its worth thinking about. "

He went to the small kitchenette, and took up a spoon. "It needs proper experimentation, of course. But the first question can be answered, a least provisionally..." and with that, he took careful aim, and flicked the spoon at full velocity towards the blue construct...

[Gizmo]

"It usually just-- hey!" The construct moved to swing down between Jill and the hurled cutlery, but Supercape's aim still proved true as the spoon struck one of the two spheres squarely. It immediately rebounded from the force field and sailed away again, heading with unfortunate accuracy to bounce into the shoulder of their dozing host on the couch. Wincing, the coltish teen cast an accusatory glare in the older heroes direction.

[Supercape]

"Ahem" coughed Supercape "unfortunate bounce, that. Must be a bad bit of turf, so to speak. Then again, been a while since I played cricket. "

"Nevertheless!" he pronounced, waving a finger! "it appears its strength is due to plastic deformity with associated rebound! which is important stuff. If bullets go flying off in all directions, you may harm innocents. On the other hand, this property may in fact be desirable in some circumstances. "

"Important stuff, this science rubbish!" he grinned at Jill.

[Electra]

Stesha jolted as the spoon hit her, blinking awake with a small noise of distress. "What?" She looked around, then picked up the spoon. "Did somebody throw a spoon at me?" she asked, bewildered. Setting the spoon on the coffee table, she sat up and rubbed her face. "Sorry, I must have dozed off for a minute. How are things going in the creation of matter department?"

[Supercape]

"Excellent" replied Supercape, gesturing at Jill's creation "particularly if you fancy working out your upper arms!"

Probably a good thing she dozed off. Less she knows about quantum mechanics, the better. Although as long as she doesn't take a PhD, it should be safe... yes. Should.

"Sorry about the spoon by the way" gesturing at the bent object at her feet. "Oh, and your head" he said, acknowledging the unfortunate trajectory of the rebound.

[Gizmo]

"It only bounced off because you startled me!" Jill retorted crossly, letting the glimmering dumbbell evaporate away. "I already told you, it's selectively permeable; I could let the spoon in halfway and then stop it if I wanted." Of course, that obviously wasn't much help against an unexpected attack, and the teen knew it. More than anything she was embarrassed at being caught unprepared and letting her control lapse in front of their hostess.

[Electra]

"Oh, it's all right, I have lots," Stesha said, a little vaguely. "Of spoons, that is. I only have one head." She yawned, stretching as she rose with her teacup in hand, carrying it back to the kitchenette. "If you two would like to practice throwing things, I could get some balls or pillows for you and you could practice outside," she suggested, trying not to make the suggestion about not throwing things at each other in her house sound too pointed.

[Supercape]

"An excellent idea!" replied Supercape, wiggling his finger again "all in the name of science!"

He opened the door, and graciously let Jill through in a gentlemanly fashion with a polite "madam".

Outside was always a better option in this magnificent world anyway, as long as it wasn't raining.

"Right then. Adaptive plasticity and deformity!" announced Supercape, at his audience of one. "Can you make a big hand, or something like that? something to catch this stone I'm going to throw..." he said, hefting a rock he had picked up.

"Don't worry too much about my aim. Used to play quite a lot of cricket as a youngster. " He hefted the rock "been a while, of course" he muttered.

[Gizmo]

Jill glowered mildly as she stepped through the opened door and out of the grown domicile, still finding the gregarious hero's misplaced sense of chivalry grating. "Magic. It's like fifty percent science, maybe. Sixty forty, tops. " At Supercape's request, the teen formed a luminous, concave scoop shape in roughly the proportions of a massive catcher's mitt, letting it float in front of her. "So you even throw things in cricket? Is that how that game works?"