Protection (Ten Forward Lounge)

[morphitudinous]

There were two ways to gauge Billy's stress level: as he worked later and later into the night, the pages of discarded notes would build up around him, and his hair would start to stand on end. Considering his frizzy-haired and paper-surrounded appearance at the moment, he'd clearly been at whatever he was doing for a while.

What was he doing, exactly? At the moment, he was kneeling on the floor in front of a round table. There was a doll standing in the center, a stuffed bear wearing a belt with a button next to the buckle. He reached over and pressed the button, producing a blue bubble around the bear. Billy tried to pass his hand through the bubble, and he met solid resistance.

Excellent. He then picked up a screwdriver and tried to pierce the bubble at varying speeds---it blocked most of his hits with a solid bounce, but the light still broke too soon, sending the bear tumbling to the ground. Billy scooted to the other side of the table to pick it up, frowning. "All right, we'll need to prioritize upholding the integrity of the shield. Nothing I haven't done before."

He gave the bear a quick squeeze before removing the belt, picking up his screwdriver and wire cutters for another go. He was getting closer to producing an acceptable defense, surely? He hoped so.

Comments

[raavashing]

"Oh. I can stop that. I can control the heat of my body just like I can control the power of fire," Wan grinned, not at all worried. "My blood won't boil. I don't need a suit."

[morphitudinous]

"Maybe magic can do anything that science can..." Billy mused. "I'm sorry---I don't have personal experience with magic, so that tends to come out as extreme skepticism. I hope I haven't offended."

[raavashing]

"If it was magic, I might be offended," Wan smirked and leaned forward, resting his arms on the handle of his teapot. "But it's not magic. It's just the power of the elements. Completely natural."

[morphitudinous]

"Still nothing explainable by my understanding of science," Billy sighed, confounded. "But I guess it doesn't have to be. I'd like to see the outcome of your experiments, but I'll probably still worry."

[raavashing]

Wan laughed at that, "Good to know. I'll try not to do anything that really makes you worry. Or anyone else worry. I just want outside the City-Ship for a little while. But tell me more about you and this thing you're making. I've talked enough."

[morphitudinous]

Billy felt a little awkward taking about himself...but he could deal with it for a little while.

"I can activate a device that enhances my natural strengths," Billy started, gesturing to the miniature belt buckle on the model. "It's great help in a crisis. The one problem is that the power links itself to my life---if the device that grants the power is damaged, I could die. So I intend to patch that weak spot by making myself harder to hit."

He does another demonstration----solid pen-poke at the model, and his pen is bounced off.