2013.03.12 - No Lifting Buildings

Late afternoon, and Jocelyn had made her way into Brooklyn with Jessica, one of the girls she'd sometimes tag for a chaperone. She would kill for the day she didn't need a chaperone. However, Jessica was prone to wandering off a bit, especially since she had a new boyfriend she was seeing, thanks to the last trip the two took into the city. However, Jocelyn had needed some shopping done, so that wasn't a hard sell. But, now the shopping was finished, as Jocelyn didn't like to spend too much time browsing, and Jessica had wandered off for a bit with her boyfriend. So, Jocelyn had sent Eddie a text seeing if he was about and if he had any interest in hanging out a bit. Not that Jocelyn was much of a hero, but hey, she didn't know what they guy was up to. If he was busy, the teen would go take in another climbing wall or something like that. She had a little bit of spending cash now.
It is possible that someone who knows Jocelyn may notice that she seems a little bit taller these days. She'd had a small growth spurt, which some people thought was just flatly not fair. That was the need for the shopping. She needed to replace a few items of clothing in her wardrobe.
There was a small delay before Eddie replied to the text, the power-booster saying he'd be happy to come hang out and apologizing for not replying right away. A few mintues after the text exchange, Eddie's on his way to meet Jocelyn. Dressed in his usual attire of jeans, his Captain America leather jacket, and a hommade Speedball-logo t-shirt, Eddie waves when he sees Jocelyn up the street. "Hi!" he greets when he gets close enough. There's a pause when he notices the new height, Eddie looking Jocelyn over. "You g-got taller."
"Hey there Eddie. And yeah. I had a growth spurt," Jocelyn explains. "Grew a few more inches, so I had to do some necessary shopping". Jocelyn holds up the bags with an easy shrug. "I wanted to talk with you a bit, somewhere we won't have too many people listening in," the teen offers. "It's about that fundraiser we were both at, and some other stuff". She had information to pass along to Eddie! She gestures down the street. "Walk a bit with me?" she suggests.
"Lucky," Eddie replies with a smile. He's still short. The bags get glanced at and Eddie smiles. "Sure, we c-can talk," he says, head tilted to the side when the fundraiser is mentioned. He has information to pass along too. "Let's go," Eddie replies, moving to walk alongside Jocelyn.
Walking along, Jocelyn leads them to an area that is pretty low on the population scale. A good place to talk, if you keep quiet. "I got a look at their faces. Got some names, addresses, etc...," Jocelyn replies. "Two of the three, thanks to yearbooks and some of our people's research skills," Jocelyn tells him. "We suspect it's a high school grudge, as they're all kids my age or so". She's rather good at keeping her voice low and only keeping it where Eddie can hear. She's done this sort of thing before.
Eddie's done it too, falling easily back into the 'keep quiet and unnoticed' mindset. A frown forms on his face as Jocelyn provides that information and he nods. "I've g-got an address for one of them. Wiccan used his m-m-magic to get it. They don't life too far from the school," he explains.
"Which one?" Jocelyn asks, checking to see if the information matches up, or if they got the one she didn't get. 
"Wiccan...he's the one from the fundraiser, right?" Jocelyn didn't have them all down for sure, but given the fact that Eddie said magic, she was betting that was him. "Sorry we had to bug out so fast. You know how it is". Certain people had to be really stealthy about their existence, and some more than others.
"This one," Eddie replies, taking out his phone and showing the address to Jocelyn. It would match up with one of the students Jocelyn and the X-Men identified. He nods enthusiastically when asked about Wiccan. "That's right. He's one of my t-teammates," Eddie replies. "It's okay. I know how it is. Me and Wiccan left as soon as we finished fixing up everything that got broken. None of you g-guys got hurt any did you?"
"Got that one. Here's the other one," Jocelyn says, pulling the information up on her phone and showing it to Eddie. "And no, none of us got badly hurt. I tried pursuing them, but eventually all their power disappeared and they got much harder to track without the giant beacon of energy," Jocelyn explains to Eddie. "Still, we have addresses now, so having a conversation with them about abuse of power shouldn't be too difficult". Though that was totally above her pay grade.
A nod is given about Wiccan. "Thought as much. I met another one of your teammates for the second time, too. Ben," Jocelyn says. Since Ben had only briefly been at Thor's. "You guys been at this long?"
Nodding, Eddie quickly copies the address into his phone. "We should um...probably investigate before approaching them," he says. "And maybe try to find out why they're d-d-doing it exactly. Do you have a plan yet?" he asks. "I'm glad you're all okay too," he adds. 
"Ben's an awesome guy," Eddie replies quickly. "Were you two um...working?" he asks, wondering if there was any superheroic action going on. "Well, we've only been a t-team for about five months. Since November. But we've all been doing superhero stuff since before that."
"Not yet. I've left that, currently, to Kwabena," Jocelyn says. Sometimes you had to leave things to the adults. "It's some sort of psionic energy, but not quite the same as any I've seen before. It was really strange," Jocelyn tells Eddie as they walk.
A nod is given. "He's a decent guy from what I've seen, yeah. And no, not working, though he did tell me what mask he wears," Jocelyn comments. "That's not long, but if you've been working on it since beforehand, that helps. I can't say I quite fall into that category yet, not technically". She shrugs a little. They had a slightly different mission. "So, I know you've had it drilled into your head about my group and how we value our privacy. Is it just you, or your team who knows about us?" Jocelyn asks. Her tone isn't really accusatory, but more curious rather than anything. "Some people are concerned, and I want to keep them from flipping out and doing something like banning us from ever visiting the city".
Eddie nods. "I'll have t-to talk to him. Wiccan and I are w-working on a plan too," he explains. "Psionic energy...w-weird. Do you think one of these kids m-m-might be a mutant?" he asks. "They c-could be magic too." 
"He did?" that surprises Eddie a little. He didn't think that would happen so fast. Shrugging it off, Eddie nods. "I've b-been trying to be a superhero for years b-but I've only been Axiom for um...a little more than half a year. Wow," he's surprised it's been so long. When asked about who knows, Eddie tilts his head to the side. "They should r-relax," he replies. "Only m-me and Wiccan know since he was involved in most of the same stuff I learned things in. We're not going to tell anyone, really," he says, smiling.
"It's possible. I can't tell if someone is a mutant or not. Just what energy they're using. I didn't really get any magic vibe off it, like I did from Wiccan or the other magic users I've run into," Jocelyn says. "But, then again, magic is weird. It's even possible they have some enchanted paper, though I think that's not as likely". Hey, she knew magic gear existed!
"I know you're not going to, but I'd rather come and mention it than let some of the crankier members do it, you know?" Jocelyn shrugs and nods about that. "I'm not as paranoid, but some of the others are, and some of them really value people not knowing where to find them". The teen shrugs. "You say you know better, it's good enough for me. I just have to be able to tell them that". Possibly with a telepath nearby to make sure she hasn't been hit with a psychic whammy.
"So, been up to any other interesting things lately?" she asks. "Ben and I ended up at an indoor wall climbing place before I knew who he was. You can imagine how that went," Jocelyn says with a small smirk. Those poor climbers.
"M-magic is really weird," Eddie agrees. "Mimicking it always feels a b-bit strange," he says. "I guess we'll find out what kind of p-power they have when we talk to them," he says, nodding. 
"Crankier than Wolverine?" Eddie's surprised that level even exists. "Him and Nightcrawler already t-told us about how things need to stay quiet there. It's kind of why I haven't asked if I c-could visit sometime. I mean I'd like to sometime just to see what it's like where Vic lives but," he shrugs. "We definitely won't tell. N-no matter what," he says with a nod. He'd probably be willing to let a telepath check him out to make sure he was telling the truth depending on who the telepath was. 
"Well I fought this guy dressed like a giant frog this morning," Eddie replies with a little snicker. "And I've b-been planning a surprise for Vic," he says. "A wall climbing place?" Eddue chuckles a little. "That m-m-must have been fun."
Jocelyn considers that for a moment. "Well...no, crankier than him is pretty up there," Jocelyn says with a shake of her head. "Though he's not that bad if you can earn his respect, I'm told. I get on okay with him. No better or worse than most people I suppose". He did let her punch him once. That was interesting. "Well, let me know if they ever do let you visit. Afraid that one isn't up to me," Jocelyn tells Eddie. "You've assured me at least, do you don't have to worry about me harping on you". She didn't care for it one bit, but rules were rules.
"Giant frog, huh? You live a far more interesting life than I do, Eddie. I'm lucky to just get my schoolwork done and not bash my head trying to figure this stuff out most days. It's really not as exciting as what you normally do," the teenager tells him. She grins. "Yeah. I'm not too bad at it, though I could get better". Her general training helped out a lot though, as she could power past some of the obstacles.
"He is pretty cool even if he is cranky. Teaming up t-t-to fight bad guys with him was um...really intense," Eddie remarks. "I figured. B-but um...if you c-could ask someone who c-c-can make the call, I'd really appreciate it. Or um...who would I talk to about it?" he asks, a bit sheepishly. 
"Yeah. He was jumping around and trying to steal an ATM," Eddie smiles. "I've g-got some school work too. I'm working on getting my GED," since he's not sure he could handle going to an actual school. "I still think you've g-got an interesting life though," he says. "Do you do a lot of climbing?"
"I'll have to find out, honestly," Jocelyn says. "There isn't really a visitor policy normally". Those who had permission just kind of showed up. "So, I'm not sure exactly who to speak with about it". The teen gives a shrug at that. "Though yeah, I've teamed up with him a couple times. Though I don't think I'd want him as my barber". Good way to lose some hair.
"Wow, stealing an ATM? Worst idea ever," Jocelyn says with a shake of her head. That's like bank robbing, except everyone sees you and there's a camera taking your picture when you try to steal it. "Oh, it's interesting, just not as interesting as your's. And no, not really in the traditional sense. I've had to scale a few walls in my life, but not really at a rock climbing place," she admits. "I've actually been working on some flight applications of my abilities," she whispers. "Haven't gotten it down yet though".
Eddie nods. He's fine with waiting to find out the information. When Wolverine being a barber is mentioned, Eddie snickers a bit. "Yeah, I don't think it'd be a g-good idea to get a haircut from him," he agrees. 
He nods in agreement to the assement of the criminal's idea. "He could barely even lift the thing. I f-felt a little bad for him until he started acting like a j-jerk. I kicked his b-butt though," he nods. "I've climbed walls too. There as s-s-some good ones here in the city to practice on," he says. "Flight? That s-sounds awesome!" he replies, grinning wide at his friend.
"Yeah?" Jocelyn says. "Well, I don't quite have the usual freedom to give it a try, but maybe sometime I'll give it a go. Mostly in Detroit it was because I needed to get away from some people who were being a problem". She shrugs a little as they continue walking. "It'll be useful, yeah. I've gotten little bits of it down, but it requires a lot more concentration. Sort of like constantly cycling energy in and out like a circuit instead of just holding it and release it when I need it. Takes more effort than anything else I do," Jocelyn explains.
"Yeah. T-t-to get away from people. And um...it probably sounds stupid but I d-did it as training too. To stay in g-good shape," Eddie admits. "It's helpful in g-getting around the city too. To avoid getting stuck in foot traffic and stuff," he adds. He listens to Jocelyn explain her flight and nods. "It sounds like it's hard. D-do you think a boost might help in g-getting the hang of it?" since it seemed to help Shift out.
"Not here, but possibly," Jocelyn says easily to Eddie. There were too many people around still, and she didn't exactly have a mask to hide her face. "It's pretty decent training. I've done some weird things to stay in shape, but they work well for me, so I figure there's no reason to change my process, right?" the teen adds. She gestures to a side street, one Eddie might know, given his street smarts, as one that's almost always empty. "Here. We'll duck down here. If you're going to boost me, you'll want to be avoiding people too". Since Eddie would get her sight.
"Definitely not here," Eddie agrees with a smile. "We w-work with what we've g-got. I think only finding a b-better process is a reason to change it," like he changed some of his processes now that he's got better resources to work with. He recognizes the street and nods as he follows Jocelyn. "I will?" he isn't sure why. He can boost without mimicking thankfully.
"You get my abilities, right?" Jocelyn says as they turn down the street. "You're going to get my sight. Imagine seeing every bit of energy. The energy I use to move my arm, or gravity, or heat from a person, or a million other sources. It's pretty intense," Jocelyn assures the boy. Also, she could contain any unpleasent explosions if they were in a small area. She had that much control of her power, though she expected Eddie would get some natural skill with it to avoid blowing up himself.
"Not always," Eddie replies. "I c-can boost people but I d-don't always have to mimick them. I just um...can't mimic without boosting. If that makes any sense," he says, rubbing the back of his beck. "You powers do sound intense," Eddie remarks, nodding as he thinks about them and the various heroes they're similar to.
"Ahh," Jocelyn says. "I had it backwards then. My mistake," the girl admits. Well, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Took my brain a bit to adjust to it," she tells Eddie. "But, in the end, it did. Am I remember right that you usually have some automatic measure of control when you mimic?" The turn a corner and stop at a dead end, with no obvious windows or doors. "Okay. Let's try this, and I'll see if I can figure out the principles here. I can see if anyone is coming," she assures Eddie.
"Nothing to worry about," Eddie grins. "I g-got confused when the whole mimicking thing first started kicking in myself," he admits. He nods to the question though. "I get some control. It's weird. It's like the knowledge just...p-p-pops into my head but when I stop it's gone," he makes a little face as he thinks about this but is quick to shake it off. Another nod and he takes a deep breath. Eyes light up bright blue as he lights up with that unusual faith energy and applies a boost to Jocelyn.
Watching that energy around Eddie is always a little weird. 
Jocelyn feels it surround her, watching it apply to her, and she can't help but feel...different. More powerful. Like she can reach a little deeper. The teen takes a deep breath. "Whoa. Give me a second here". She starts pulling in energy, testing herself. She throws a couple punches at the air, and they're just blurs of motion. "I seriously feel like I could lift that building out of the ground and throw it," the teen says, her eyes wide. Ahem. Right. Flight. She starts focusing on gravimetric and magnetic energy, and she lifts off the ground a few inches. She's testing properties, not raw power here. She starts hovering around and moving just a bit, seeing what control she has and how it works on a larger scale. She's less wobbly than she usually is. "Okay, so if I bend it this much that way...," she mutters to herself as she starts circling Eddie, still watching where they came in from, just in case.
"You m-might be able to," Eddie says with a little laugh. He's always happy when people like the boost. The blurred punches got a little clapping out of Eddie, the booster impressed with the speed of them. He stays quiet as he watches because he doesn't want to disrupt any concentration. He turns as Jocelyn floats around him, grinning wider. "How's it feel?"
"I could definitely go faster with this," Jocelyn says. "It feels like...sort of like someone ramped my energy up with a serious dose of caffeine," Jocelyn explains with a laugh as she floats a little bit higher. She looks at the building for a moment. Nah. No testing it. The people inside would not appreciate it. The girl lands after a couple minutes. "Okay, I think that'll help. I got to see how they work on a larger scale. That lets me work smaller now," Jocelyn explains. "Thanks Eddie. I didn't know if that would help or not, but it certainly did".
"Yeah, that's what people usually say," Eddie laughs as well. He makes sure he stays watches Jocelyn, ready to warn her if she gets close to leaving his range. He doesn't want her to fall or anything. When she lands, Eddie nods. "I'm glad I c-could help," he says as he stops boosting Jocelyn. "It looks like you'll g-g-get that flying thing under control in no time."
"Well, I don't know about no time, but it'll be quicker now that I've had a taste of it and able to see it," Jocelyn explains. "And I can really see how that'd be usefuil in a pinch. I'm pretty sure I could do a lot more than normal when things went down with that boost. That's an impressive ability you've got there". Support didn't always get the love, but it was really, really useful in the right circumstance. "Come on. I'll buy you something to eat for your help". She had a bit of spending cash, thanks to Ben.
Eddie just smiles, letting that endless faith of his shine through. He ends up blushing when his powers are called impressive. "Th-thanks," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm just glad I can help," he pauses. "Sure, some food sounds great."
"Works for me. What do you want?" Jocelyn asks as she starts to lead the guy back out of the alley. "I don't know what all you like, I have to admit, and I can't promise Asgardian quality here in Brooklyn," she points out. "Still, they have a few good restaurants in this city," she adds casually.
Eddie follows quickly, smile right back on his face. "I'm g-good with whatever you'd like to get," he says. The comment about Asgardian qquality makes Eddie laugh. "It's really okay," he says. "I um...until Sif found me, I was used to scrounging my m-meals out of dumpsters," he admits. "That's actually how she f-found me the day she t-t-took me in. Pulled me right out of a dumpster by the back of my shirt."
"Been there myself. Sucks, doesn't it? Grocery stores with day old bread were a lifesaver though, if you found the ones who were willing to leave some of the old stock out". Jocelyn continues walking along as she speaks with Eddie. "Though I didn't get plucked out by a Goddess of War," Jocelyn adds with a laugh. "Alright. Let's try a gyros place then," the teenager suggest, looking around for a shop. She didn't really dwell that much on her past, but it didn't bother her that much either. It was what it was.
"I tried those kinds of places b-but I usually got chased away," Eddie sighs. "Coffee shops were g-g-good. And I know plenty of restaurants that throw out g-g-good stuff," he says. "Gyros sounds awesome," the teenage non-mutant replies, smile coming back.
"It's all in the presentation," Jocelyn says. "I could teach you, if you want, though you seem to have things going pretty well now," the girl comments as they reach the shop. Somehow, they always ended up getting food when in the city. "Though as long as you've got a few spots to go to, you're pretty good. You go every day, and they start calling you a moocher," she points out as she opens the door to let Eddie in.
"It's okay," Eddie says. "I f-f-found other ways. It wasn't easy but I g-got by," he says. "We both do," he says. "Moocher is one I haven't had thrown at me yet," he shrugs. "Thanks," he adds as he steps inside. "I'm glad I d-d-don't have to do it anymore."
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