Starbucks and Sketches (IC)

[Cyroa]

The month had slowly moved on. It had been rather quiet, something not everyone enjoyed. The weather was pleasant for the most part, there wasn’t too much work going on around the campus. Most of the student body was away, leaving the campus remarkably empty (for another couple months or so at least). It also meant that finding other folks could be a bit harder than normal. Everyone dealt with this down time a little differently.

Cole wasn’t a hard one to find really; as long as you only looked in a couple places. Namely, his room, the cafeteria, occasionally under a shady tree on a nice day or, the most likely option, in the garage/workshop. He had been there most of the time over the last month. He wasn’t the extreme outgoing type, though he did like talking to people. He was always working on something, either building or designing. And since he barely knew anyone, he'd been free to indulge.

Cole sat on a stool leaning over a bench in the back of the garage. There was a rather broad array of tools and parts splayed out around him on the bench. Wrenches to pipes to wire and microchips covered most of the available space. There was just a small cleared area in front of him as he worked diligently away at a rather small circuit board.

[Azuth65]

Vicky checked for any hint of a 'Do Not Disturb/Experiment in Progress' sign as she carried the frozen drinks into the workshop. Last time she'd come knocking on an experiment in progress, the bruises on her face and arms had taken an entire hour to heal up.

"Cole? Hey, got your mocha frap," she said holding up the chocolate drink. Setting the drink down within reach but out of accidental spill range, she sat on a nearby stool and sipped her own vanilla drink. "So, what are you building this time? Moving from theory to practice on that lightsaber or you working on something new?"

[Cyroa]

Cole looked up, blinking as he pulled himself out of his working mode. "Oh, hey Vicky. Morning, I think. Thanks," he said with a nod to the coffee. He put the microtools down and pushed the small circuit board a little bit away so he wouldn't hit it accidentally. He took a sip of the drink, blinking in surprise at the taste, before turning to Vicky. "Lightsaber? Oh, not this is something else. I built that lightsaber thing of yours about three weeks ago now I think. The design was easy but building a suitable power cell and the modulating field to contain it was tricky given what I had to work with. I really need to build my own tools I think," he said half to himself with a shrug. "But its functional enough. So, what brings you in here? I haven't exactly had a lot of visitors," he said ruefully.

[Azuth65]

"I was curios on how you were settling in," Vicky said. "That and I was hoping to take a look over what you've got on the bench and maybe get inspired for my next short graphic story. Last one was heavily in the fantasy genre so I thought I'd shake things up and go with sci-fi. Figured your bench might have something good, even if it isn't done yet."

She peered over his workspace, neither touching nor even breathing on anything on the table. She pulled her sketchbook out and set it with her drink on a small patch of open space. "If you'd rather work alone however, I understand."

[Cyroa]

"That's nice of you, thanks. I'm doing ok. Spending most of my time fiddling with stuff. Which reminds me," he snapped his fingers, looking around the cluttered bench before pulling out a 12 inch long cylinder; rather plain with a single button switch towards the top. "I said I worked on it. Here's your lightsaber thing. Power cell is likely only good for 10 minutes or so though," he says with a shrug. "It'll cut through just about anything I think...though I haven't tested that yet. I don't have access to rare material of that nature," he said almost apologetically as he handed it to her. "Be careful with what you hit obviously. Hmm...I suppose I could recharge it if and when it burns out of course. It just didn't seem important to make it a self-recharging or perpetual power source...though I might be able to do that," he mused half to himself.

He shook his head and brought himself back to the present. He watched her to see if she thought the 'toy' was ok as he answered. "No no, I don't mind at all. Company is nice. So, you need ideas? About anything particular or just random stuff?"

[Azuth65]

"Thanks Cole, didn't expect to actually see it made but this is pretty damn cool." Looking over the device, she pointed towards the floor, away from anything flammable or valuable and gave the button a push. A purple beam of energy shot from the end of the device before just as quickly flickering and dieing. "Guess the power drains a tad faster than previously anticipated... Oh well, mind I keep this? I think I can add the details to make this look like a real lightsaber in case you ever want to come back to it."

"Nothing jumps at me. Just wondering what you've got you feel like sharing, might spark an idea I can use for a story," she said, opening her book and flipping through her old sketches and towards a blank page.

[Cyroa]

Cole gave a strong frown at the small device as it petered out. "Let me see that," he said, asking really. Once she handed it over, he started fiddling with it. "Must be the converter modulater. Frequency is probably a hair off...," he muttered to himself. He responded to her without looking as he worked. "Of course you can keep it. I have no need for it really. Built it more as a lark, seeing if I could than anything else. Though bear in mind the charge won't last that long, an hour or two maybe, even once I fix the dang thing," he finished with another mutter.

"Ideas? Well, I'm just about done with my bike," he said nodding over his shoulder to the tarp covered vehicle. "It certainly looks different at the moment. Feel free. As for other ideas, I'm surprised you don't have plenty already. Didn't you read a whole bunch of those kids of book or movies? I don't suppose they are inspiriting?"

[Azuth65]

"Normally, yes but you can only draw so many pictures of a Twi'lek lady in stormtrooper armor with a Jedi robe and lightsaber before you feel a need to branch out," said explained, as she walked to the tarp. Lifting it up she let out a low whistle. The vehicle certainly looked futuristic enough.

"Well now, I don't have much but I can see a scene with our hero riding this beauty across a barren landscape. Or ruined cityscape, whichever. So transport is covered, got anything in arms or armor?"

[Cyroa]

Cole muttered a mild obscenity or two at the little device until he finally gave a nod of satisfaction. It still wouldn't last for more than a few minutes of use, but at least it worked now. He turned and tossed the tube to Vicky. "There ya go. Should work any, for a little while anyway." But at least it worked and his 'pride' was assuaged. He shrugged one shoulder. "The bike is modular, able to reconfigure its design as needed. I did it more for disguise than anything else I think." He chuckled. "Sorry, no weapons or armor besides my own suit. Didn't need anything for now. I suppose I could come up with something if I needed for future missions." He paused a brief moment. "There's a thought. Take your own adventures and just 'tweak' them, change the setting and stuff. Instead of Fairies or whatever, change them to machines or aliens with something. Might give you a good basis to build or expand from. Or if you don't want to use your own, read up on past heroic exploits or whatever. In the time I've been out, I think I must have read at least hundreds of them in my free time. Changing the names and stuff, giving it a new spin, might give you more ideas?" He quirked a smile. "I read fast."

[Azuth65]

"Well, there was that one incident in the subway a couple months back involving lizardmen and a ritual...," she muttered thinking aloud. The sound of graphite on paper scratched across the workspace and Vicky began capturing Cole's motorcycle on paper. "Yeah, the lizardmen should be easy enough to convert to aliens. Give 'em high tech weapons instead of the spears and daggers made of rock like the subway screwups had."

Thinking faster than her pencil could keep up, "Your suit, we talking heavy duty power armor like Daedalus's, something just shy of qualifying for mecha status, or something a bit slimmer and more easily transported/concealed? Hmm, that's an idea, hard light projector where the force field actually looks like armor. Most of the force fields I've seen thus far usually just have this vague bubble thing going on."

[Cyroa]

He nodded as she started coming up with ideas, quirking a smile. "Hmm, my suit?" He tried to keep the explanation short and simple; everyone seemed to give him odd looks (well almost everyone) when he did the detailed explanation. "It's actually an high frequency variable energy enhanced project woven though a set of energized as well as energy based nanites," he said easily. "The energy matrix is so 'dense' or 'thick' that it appears to be and functions as solid material. Hmm, I suppose hard light projection might a way of looking at it, despite it not being a photonic source of energy," said Cole, qualifying it a bit. "It isn't really a force field in the traditional sense," he said shrugging on shoulder.

At the sound of his stomach rumbling, it occurred to him it had been some time since he'd eaten. "You want to go grab something to eat? I need take take the bike out anyway," he offered.

[Azuth65]

Vicky nodded, keeping up, albeit barely, with his explanation of how his suit worked. "Nice, though the force field was more in reference to what I'm working on," she replied, turning the page to show a decidedly female-shaped design that looked not unlike a classic medieval full plate armor.

At his suggestion of food, as if on queue, her own stomach rumbled. "I could eat, any thoughts on where to go?"

[Cyroa]

Cole looked at the drawing with interested nod. "That looks fairly doable actually. You could use a couple different emitters, here and here and here," he said pointing. "Or you could actually have multiple generators, here, here and here," he said musing aloud. "This for a story or something you actually want?," he asked curiously.

He shook his head in a negative way. "Not a clue. I've been out of a quarantine for a whopping month and barely left the campus since then. You tell me, what's good here?"

[Azuth65]

"Just for the story. If I somehow ever lost my powers though, remind me to look you up for some tech," she explained.

Thinking for a minute she nodded, "I've been meaning to check out Stan's Super Heroes. I've heard good things about that sandwich shop. That and most of the people I've talked to about the place have mentioned never leaving anything short of stuffed. Given my powers run on calories, I'm curious how well it stacks up to my metabolism."

[Cyroa]

Cole chuckled wryly. "I'll hook ya up. I got wha'cho need," he said, amused, using a silly accent he'd gotten from the internet.

He nodded, pushing back from the bench. "Works for me. The bike will have the directions," he said as he stood up. "Didn't know your powers were metabolism based. Guessing that you use them a lot too," he said with a grin. "I certainly would if I could." He moved over and fully pulled the tarp off the bike. "So, wanna go for a ride?," he asked as he seated himself on the bike with a smile.

[Azuth65]

As Cole straddled his motorcycle, he found Victoria sitting behind him as the light odorless smoke drifted past his face. Her book and pencil were already back in her bag and the bag across her shoulder. "Very much so. Not as fun I imagine flying would be but not being burdened by doors is handy. Before we head out, I assume you have a license and a spare helmet? Mr. Summers would probably flay us alive if we get pulled over for not following basic traffic laws..."

[Cyroa]

Cole glanced over as she suddenly appeared. "A license, yes. A helmet? Seriously? You teleport. I have a insanely advanced suit of power armor. Helmets seem kinda silly, but there's one on the bench next to you if you really feel the need," he said with a chuckle. "Traffic laws? I suppose we could do that," he shrugged, not really concerned. The bike started up with a though, the engine rumbling quietly though the vibrations were there. He gave it a little throttle, easing it out of the garage and down the road. Once on the road, he gunned it a little and the bike took off zipping quickly down the road. The rumble of the engine and the vibrations of power never really changed, indicating the bike wasn't even close to moving at top performance.

[Azuth65]

"Indeed a helmet," Vicky explained 'poofing' over to grab the helmet and put on her sunglasses, "Remember, attention. We don't want it."

She kept her balance fairly well for a motorcycle newbie as they swooped down the road, her snowy-hair whipping behind them. As Cole rolled the bike to a stop at an intersect she asked just over the rumble of the engine, "So, you have a pet name for this ride? I know guys back home who gave pet names to less impressive and/or expensive pieces of hardware."

[Cyroa]

He shrugged. "People don't always wear helmets. I've seen the news and movies where people aren't wearing helmets. 'Sides I'm even keeping it close to the speed limit. We're fine. I wouldn't forgot the rules." He shook his head as the they turned and headed off down a new street, the bike providing the directions. "Actually, I haven't. I was planning on it...just haven't got around to it yet, you know? Was just kind of focused on building it up 'till now."

Neither of them noticed, the pair of eyes that watched them pull into the parking lot...

[Azuth65]

Swinging off the bike, Vicky set the helmet on the rear seat before running her hands through her hair to try and smooth it out. "How do you feel about zodiac or constellation type names? Given how she purred the whole way here, Leo might be fitting."

Entering, lead the way to booth. After getting seated she opened her menu, looking for something that looked good. She was highly surprised to see her name and her boyfriend's on the menu. Her name was tied to a smoked turkey, four cheese, and tomato panini while Crow's was a corned beef and cabbage sub.

[Cyroa]

He powered the bike down, the power cell's hum fading away, as he swung off the bike after her. "Hmm...maybe, sure. That might work. I tend to get more interested in building, I guess. The little things sometimes get forgotten," he chuckled.

He looking around the place, curious as to the sights and such "I actually recognize some of these names and events. Not a lot, mind you. My researched into historic events hasn't been too extensive. Have to remedy that," he muttered half to himself. He perused the menu, settling on a good old fashion cheeseburger, Champion-sized. "Uh...why are you on this menu anyway," he said, making sure no one would overhear that.

[Azuth65]

"Not really sure," she answered honestly. "Nothing high profile sticks out, though those robots in the West End stick out. Or stopping Downtime from robbing a bunch of casinos along the boardwalk. Or the previously mentioned subway incident. Or the pair of ninjas in the museum... None of these I hung around for the press afterwords. Must have been Supercape. Or Fulcrum... You know what, never mind. Regardless, it still sounds like a tasty sandwich."

Folding her menu and setting it aside she looked over at her companion, "So, besides reading history and building motorcycles, got any other hobbies?"

[Cyroa]

Chuckling, he put his own menu down. "Sounds like you've been busy enough to qualify either way." He shrugged his shoulders. "I like learning I guess. Whatever the topic. Just want, need to know I suppose. I love building things, designing them. Or simply taking them apart and fixing them up again. The bike was just a recent idea. I'd read teenagers need wheels so..." he shrugged again. "Beyond that...I don't know. I've got no memory and was in holding for 10 months before coming here. Still working on the hobby thing I guess," he said with a smile. "What about you? I'm guessing you like writing and drawing."

[Azuth65]

"Indeed, there's also gaming, both video and pen & paper, and general Internet nerdity. There's also the school's anime club I joined a few months back," she answered. She paused as the waitress came by to take their orders. "I'm also going to be taking Home Ec this fall for the cooking and sewing aspects of the class, wouldn't mind taking some computer classes either."

[Cyroa]

"I've played some of the video games. Some were kind of weird though. Some were fun. They never seemed hard but then I tended to anticipate the plot and what the computer was going to do without too much trouble. Of course I only played against the machine, not people. Never did pen and paper gaming, whatever that is, but I am very good at chess," he said with a nod. "Sounds like fun regardless. Computers are easy, I can help out easily enough." He shrugged. "I need to figure out my class stuff at some point too," he said half to himself. "I already know I can't take regular classes."