We Found Steel! Part 6

"Can't you do that a bit faster Sac?" Devoto complained

"Could you make ice steps into the sky your first time?" I shot back. "Give me a chance." I'd already cut through like twenty of the icing walls in this maze of a place. What did he expect? For me to be an expert after like thirty minutes of using these abilities?

"I've given you twenty-two."

"And I'm getting faster aren't I?" There was only so many icing walls I had to cut through. It just didn't help that the elevators and trap doors slowed our progress. It wasn't like I was taking a month to get through all these barriers, if anything we'd been at this closer to seven minutes.

"You're doing fine, Issac." Steel encouraged, as he leaned against a wall I wasn't cutting through. Again, bad news. Steel didn't lean. What had Surge done to him?

"Sure, fine, if that he's doing fine in taking forever to cut through these while Surge is somewhere in the building."

"If you want to switch me places Devoto that's totally fine with me--ha!" A blast of fresh air met me as another hole disintegrated in front of my glowing hands. The city skyline shown before us. A thrill ran through me. I'd done it! Ha! And no Surge breathing down our backs yet either. "Freedom!" I turned back to Steel. "Now we can just fly out of here and--what's wrong?" They were both looking at me like I'd missed something.

Steel smiled, but it had a sad undertone to it. "I can't fly, Issac."
I nearly fell out of the building. "You can't...what? Of course you can!"
"He can't." Devoto confirmed. "Guess we get to use my ice steps huh?" He brushed past me.
I barely noticed. Steel. Steel could fly. He'd always been able to fly! Unless. "What did Surge do?" I demanded.

"I thought that obvious, Sac." Devoto called out. "Come on, help him out."
"He took my powers." Steel said showing me his right wrist. On it was a bracelet that looked like, like my collar. "With this on, I'm like any other person in the city."
My heart sank. I shook my head, but I recognized it. But even normalized Steel would never be like any other person. "Let me guess." I said limply.  "You can't get it off."
"Not yet." He replied putting on an air of cheerfulness. "Good thing I learned to drive right?"
"Sure, whatever, I'm sure we're still walking most of the way to the tower. Come on Sac, help him down, before I get one of those bracelets around my wrist too."

Layters!

-->Issac

I couldn't just sit in the plastic hut for forever. Who would want to? I had new freedom! The foremost after being able to blink, had to be the ability to actually twist my head. I had a neck again!
I may have made myself a bit dizzy at first, just twisting my head back and forth, luxuriating in that refound movement. Of course, all the twisting, let me get a glimpse of my new body. I had no idea what it was. Okay, so I knew it was a rodent of some kind. But I definitely wasn't a mouse. I only had a stumpy little thing of a tail, not the long things I'd seen in cartoons. But I was okay with that. Having a tail would have been more of a challenge to master I think.
And I know the fish form had a tail, but really, that was like my legs merged together, not an additional appendage.
In any case, I had enough to master as I stumbled out of the hut I'd magically gotten into. Having not had use of real limbs for months, I felt like a toddler learning how to walk for the first time. Or crawl.

At least I seemed to pick it up rather quickly. Once I got the concept of crawling around in my head. My other senses, not so much. I may have known that I was human, but that thought quickly faded as the rodent's brain kicked in. Sounds, sights, smells. I had to explore, burrow, dig around.
And of course.
Find food.
It took me a couple of rounds to find that. A silvery bowl full of seeds and pellet food.
In eating, I almost felt human. Though I never stuffed my cheeks full of food. I could sit back on my back legs and use my front paws to get food into my mouth.
My change must have made me ravenous. Because I had intended to 'store food' out of this new found instinct, but I ended up emptying the bowl, pellet food and all without my cheeks retaining any of it.
Instead of feeling sleepy after stuffing myself, I had more energy then ever. I went around and around the glass box. Trying to find something to do. Some way to find my crew. But there were no exits here. And I couldn't understand that. I remembered a system of tubes for the rodents to crawl in, and looking up I could see them. But, I couldn't see a way to get to them.

~Wow. You're way more energetic then I'd anticipated.~ The girl's voice resounded in my mind. ~Almost as energetic as your friend Larry when he made the change.~
I turned in a circle before finally spotting her. I stumbled my way to the glass. She looked slightly different from my fish view. More clear and colored without the water lens to filter things out. ~What did you expect?~ I asked pressing a paw to the glass. ~Have me freak out again?~
~Oh you're freaking out.~ She said with a laugh. ~You're just not as panicked about it this time.~ She put a finger up to mine. The tip was probably triple the size of my paw.
I felt the fur on my back try to stand out of habit from when I had had a sail fin. ~I'm not stuck breathing water. I can blink! Of course I'm over the moon with this.~
She grinned at me. ~Well that's good to hear. You do seem a bit more comfortable in this form. Surprising considering you haven't been in it that long.~
~It's a step closer to being human.~ I said fervently. And the day when my ears would stop twitching would be a blessing. ~But I do want to know...what am I?~
She raised an eyebrow. ~You don't know?~
~I'm not good with animals.~ I replied back defensively. 
~I thought you would since you robbed a pet store.~
~I focused on the stuff, not the animals the stuff was for.~
She sighed, shaking her head. ~Tsk Tsk Fishy Thief. You need to do better research.~
~I'll remember that next time I can use a computer.~ I shot back. ~Can't you tell me though? What am I?~
~Maybe in a while. For now you should rest.~ She said after a moments consideration. ~You're going to over tax yourself at this rate.~
~OH COME ON!~ A sort of chattering sound came from my mouth, startling me. I could make noise now?
Her eyes lit up. ~Oh, now that's cute.~ she teased. ~You may have gotten even more adorable then you were two seconds ago.~
My ears laid back. ~I'm not adorable!~ I denied, making the sound again.
~Me, and all the little kids will disagree with you.~ She gleefully replied.
~Whatever.~ I turned away from her. ~How do I get out of here? ~ I asked to change the subject. ~I've seen the tunnels.~ And frankly, being able to remember that their were tunnels was just as thrilling to me. I wasn't discovering anything 'new' in this rodent form and it felt amazing.

~A couple of days.~ She said, a hint of her laughter in her voice. ~My mom wants to make sure the change goes over smoothly. So we're keeping you separated from the others until she's satisfied that there were no ill effects.~

I glanced around the cage my ears laying back. ~A couple of days?~ I repeated incredulously. ~I've already explored this place twice over! What am I supposed to do in here until then!~ Nothing would be new, like that fish tank had been.

She winked at me before turning away. ~Oh, I'm sure your rodent self will figure that out soon enough.~

#Henry

Trouble

I'm in trouble.

Serious. Serious trouble.

Why?
Because my mom had to talk to Jake's mom.
And Jake's mom had to mention that there would be a neighborhood camp out next month.
And My mom had to say that I love camping.
And then they had to agree that I would go camping.

Which would have been great and all,
But I can't go camping during the campout!

Yet, I can't give my mom, Jake, or anyone the real reason why I can't go.

Which means...no real excuse....equals no real reason not to go, which for my mom equals me going to the campout.

This IS BAD.

Unless...I find a way to get out of it.
Perhaps I feel a bit of a cold coming on.....

Catchya on the Flip Side!

Danny

Not a Righty

I didn't get out of the house right away.
Why?
Because Jake's mom called that dinner was ready,
and you don't miss his mom's spaghetti casserole for any reason whatsoever.

I also strongly strongly believe that it may be the only food in the Nuri household that doesn't end up on the walls. As contradictory as it seems. I mean, spaghetti, meatballs, sauce. It's a total recipe for a food fight. Yet, all the kids, even the little three year old, dug in with hardly a squabbling word.
And I have to admit. The food was delicious. Just the right combination of meat and sauce to balance out the noodles and the cheese. I have no idea how it worked in the casserole format, but somehow it did.

"I never realized how clumsy you are with your right hand." I remarked as we returned to Jake's room after dinner. "You nearly dumped the plate on your lap, and you've had like your whole life to practice it?" Apparently, Jake wasn't safe to use his burned arm even in his own home. Not in front of the little ones at least. And after seeing how talkative the twins were, I could understand why.

"I may have had most of my life to practice," he agreed. "But, my brain isn't wired for being right handed. It's like only being able to carry a tune in a bucket, I may be able to sing, but it won't be good."

"So you can use your right hand, just not well." I shook my head. Comparing hands to songs, not something I would have thought of.  "Seriously Jake, you need to get out of here." How could he have put up with it for so long before now, I have no idea. I would have begged my parents to move the first chance I got.

"Oh, I plan to." He muttered. "As soon as possible."

Catchya on the Flip Side!

Danny

 

A Circus

Jake's life is totally hectic. I don't know how he even finds time to think, let alone a space to call his own.
I say this, because I finally suggested that I go over to his house, instead of mine.
I mean, he had to be getting tired of always coming over to my place after practice.

Wrong, I was so wrong.
My home, with just my parents and I in it, must seem like a haven to him.

Because Jake's home is like a circus on steroids.

Even locked up in his room, we could still clearly hear at least three of his sisters, screaming up and down the hallways. Not to mention the bass of a guitar, coming from the basement, among a ton of other sounds. I would have gone crazy within a day.

"How can you live like this?"
"Like what?" He asked  
"In all this noise?" I replied, wincing as the toddler in the family let out an ear piercing shriek from the kitchen.
He shrugged. "You get used to it."
"No, no I don't think I would. Surely you have some cousins visiting or something?"
Jake shook his head. "No, my older brother and sister live out of state at the moment."
"...Out of state...and there's...how many siblings do you have!"
"Nine." he said simply.
"Nine." I couldn't imagine it. "You sure there aren't twenty down there?"
"Ha. Sometimes I wonder. The twins and my younger brother seem to multiply on some days. But no, there's only the seven of us in the house, well besides my parents."
"No wonder you never invited me over here before."
"Well I figured someone would get your glasses from your face within ten seconds if I did."
I laughed. "I managed to avoid that, barely." The twins would have succeeded if I hadn't ducked in time.
"We'll see if you're as successful when we head out." He replied simply.  
I rubbed my hands together. "I sense a challenge. Bet you two laps I can do it."
"Be you three you can't." 

Catchya on the Flip Side!

Danny