xp_logs | Log: [Cain and Julio]

Cain gives Julio the promised tour of the rock quarry where Julio will begin training. And gives Julio a push in the right direction.

The heat of the early morning sun reflected off the stone surface of the quarry, making it far hotter there than normal. Combined with the humidity, it was stifling. Cain was showing Julio the quarry, where he and Lorna would be practicing his powers. Julio mopped his face with his t-shirt and struggled to keep up with the older man. He hadn't slept at all the previous night. He'd been far too wound to up to even consider it, instead going through his stack of books. He realized he'd spent the whole night reading when he looked up and noticed it was dawn.

Cain glanced over his shoulder at the kid. Hard to believe this scrawny little boy was responsible for damn near leveling a major metropolis - Cain caught himself in thought. Caused it, yes. Responsible, another story altogether. But even if San Diego hadn't been Julio's fault, it was the school's job to try and ensure it wouldn't happen again. Both by keeping the kid safe, and by teaching him how to use that power properly.

"Get a move on, son," he drawled, picking up the pace as they crested the curve in the path that took them to the height of the quarry's northwest face. Lazily, Cain leaned on one of the safety railings by the lookout. "Rocks ain't going nowhere, but the sun's liable to set if you take any longer."

Julio glared at the man's back and trudged miserably up behind him. "I believe I am out of shape," he wheezed when he reached the railing. "This never used to bother me." And it wouldn't have today, if he wasn't going 36 hours without sleep at this point.

"Yeah," Cain grunted, "you kids these days and your video games and music television. But now that you're up here..." He passed Julio a canteen and waited for the boy to take a drink before pointing across the wide quarry to the other side. "Now, you ain't got to worry about any big break-the-world shit here, nearest fault line ain't for over a hundred miles. But they figure it's about time to see what you can do when you're trying to work your mutant mojo."

He shrugged, nodding at a draw in the far wall caused by the spring erosion. "See if you can't do something with that."

Choking a bit, Julio turned and fixed Cain with an incredulous look. "I don't think I can," he finally managed. "The only time I have ever been able to 'do something' is when I am being threatened. No offense," he craned his neck to look in Cain's eyes, "but I do not want to be threatened."

Cain rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath. "Great. One of those. Look," he sighed. "Chuck says the problem most of you kids have with your power is that you're scared of it. Ain't nothing to be scared of. It's... okay, way I hear things, your old man runs guns, right?"

Julio visibly straightened, his pride taken down a notch. "I am not scared," he said flatly. "I am still new at this, si? And yes, my father 'runs guns.'"

"Then you been around enough not to be scared of them, yeah? Because you know how it is. Gun ain't nothing to be scared of, it's how you use it. Same as what you got inside you. Use it proper, respect it, and it's yours." Cain shuddered imperceptibly, trying not to think of his words sounding like Cyttorak's taunts to him about using his power. "You control it, it don't control you."

Julio clenched and unclenched his fists. He remembered what it felt like, on the platform, as control slipped away from him. Every nerve felt like it was on fire, and behind him a city had crumbled, while he felt every second of it. He pushed those thoughts away. He would get control, and then he would personally crush that helmeted psychopath if it was the last thing he would do. "Control. Yes." Julio muttered to himself.

Cain nodded, filling up a small tin cup with water and placing it on a nearby rock as he watched the far side of the quarry. "So get a hold of yourself, whatever you gotta do, and just let it rip. Ain't no bystanders or property out here to worry about."

Julio nodded and closed his eyes. Every time he had used his power, it felt like there was a pressure, building up somewhere in his head and chest. Getting pissed off had caused the pressure to build again, but still wasn't enough. He couldn't push it out. He sighed, frustrated.

Laughing, Cain shook his head. "You look like you're trying to pass a ten pound turd," he teased Julio. "Unless you're deciding to try and start a career as the Incredible Crap-Man, you might want to try a little less on shitting a brick and more on moving some dirt. Come on, daylight's burning."

Julio didn't open his eyes, but he clenched his teeth so hard a muscle in his jaw twitched. He would show this overgrown son-of-a-bitch. But first, a little experiment. Carefully he pushed off his shoes and stood barefoot on the ground. The buzzing in his ears got louder, and he wiggled his toes.

Connection. He smiled, and the ground rumbled.

Cain flicked his eyes over to the cup of water, watching the concentric ripples on the surface. The kid's doing it... he thought with a small tinge of pride. Covering a smile with his hand, he feigned a yawn. "Kid, a little rumble's good, but come on. I've had farts that moved more rock than that. Show me what you got."

Julio didn't even hear the older man, the connection he was feeling was so strong it drowned out his other senses. The ground here was old and sleepy, shifting only a few millimeters in the last millennia or so, but there was still power here. Lots of it. He unconsciously raised his arms. Like all energy, it had to go somewhere. Finally opening his eyes, he saw the face of the quarry wall and pushed.

The air rippled with seismic vibrations and the rock face of the quarry wall cracked.

The cup of water bounced off the rock next to Cain as the sound of the landslide washed over them. "Hot damn!" the giant X-Man exclaimed, moving to stand behind Julio. "Left side now. Focus, or whatever. Do that again."

The smaller boy took a step back, slightly stunned. "That was..." he trailed off, grinning, "that was so cool!" His muscles felt rubbery and weak, and his heart was pounding like had just been sprinting. He closed his eyes again, trying to steady himself, looking for that thread of connection. The pressure was still there, but weaker. He grasped at it clumsily, hands shaking. The ground rumbled again as some of the power slipped away from him. He cursed quietly.

Squinting, Cain looked over Julio's head at the far rock face. Some dust was rising, and tiny pebbles were shaking loose, but nothing spectacular. Which was probably normal - Chuck had made it clear that Julio hadn't tried to use his power since San Diego. But something this powerful couldn't be kept bottled up.

"Don't worry if you can't do it," he said quietly, "You're new at this, kid."

Julio dropped his arms to his sides. He felt incredibly tired all of the sudden. He stripped off his t-shirt and mopped his face with trembling hands. "Feels like I just ran several miles with weights strapped on," he mumbled.

Cain smiled. "You know, I'm supposed to take you by to see Doctor Voght when we get back. Tell you what, if you ask me, you made steps today. I'd say that's worth a reprieve." He nodded down towards the school. "Go on, if the doc asks, you were healthy enough to lose me in the woods. Day like this, a body shouldn't be poked and prodded in a damn infirmary."

Julio smiled weakly and nodded. What he really wanted was sleep. Finally. "Gracias- thank you." He stumbled like a drunk man putting on his shoes, and slung his t-shirt over his shoulder as he started down the path out of the quarry.

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He would get control, and then he would personally crush that helmeted psychopath if it was the last thing he would do.

Get in line kid. I have first dibs.