Hope & Clint | Thursday Afternoon (backdated)

[x-hawkeye.livejournal.com]

Hope and Clint do a bit of experimentation with their respective powers.


"I am ready if you are." Hope said where she was seated on the floor mat, still dressed in the yoga pants and shirt she had worn for self defense.

"Alright," Clint said, turning his back and stepping away from Hope a little. They were trying to see if her ghostly self could trigger his spatial awareness. If he closed his eyes, he could remember exactly where everything in the room was in relation to himself... he just wasn't sure a ghostly projection would register.

Hope closed her eyes, the flower now unfolding easily in her mind as her astral form took shape. Her body made a soft thump as it slumped, but further she didn't give Clint any signal she was there, wanting to see if he would be able to detect her. She did float to his right side for the moment though, a kind of mild trigger.

Clint heard the thump and knew precisely where Hope would be slumped over, but he had no idea where her astral projection was floating. Frowning, he shook his head. "This... isn't quite working. I mean, aside from establishing that I have zero telepathic power or something." Then he laughed a little. "Not that I was expecting any." Opening his eyes, he turned around so he could see Hope's ghostly form and asked, "Can you talk when you're like that?"

Not quite. I can project telepathically, though I do not read minds like Maddie does. Hope explained as she slowly moved to hover in front of him. I can hear what people are saying more or less normally.

"Huh," Clint said, tilting his head to the side. "Cool. I'm pretty sure there's no way I'm gonna be able to figure out where you are to if you move when you're like that. There's just nothing for me to sense. So your astral presence... would be great if you ever needed to spy on somebody." He laughed again. "Can you go through walls and stuff?"

Yes, I can go through walls. Hope quickly demonstrated by floating through the closet where they kept some equipment. I can also... She focused for a moment, her astral form floating closely to the ceiling for a moment. ... control where I hover. Many people look around them, but they do not always look up or down. She quickly lowered herself back to the floor. How does the world look like to you? Does it look different from the way a normal human would see things?

"It's all black and white and shades of gray," Clint answered, watching as Hope moved around to demonstrate her powers. "I see things more clearly, too. Like, whatever you can see clearly from two feet away? I can see it at twenty. The physiology of my eye is really different from other people's."

You see everything in shades of gray? Hope floated closer, sinking to the floor as she 'crossed' her legs. Does that not cause you trouble sometimes? Can you see traffic lights clearly for example?

"I can tell that lights are on and the order never changes so that's not really a problem," Clint answered. "It's more color coordinating that can be difficult. I have to label my clothes so I know what goes with what."

A small wince stole over Hope's 'face'. That would be hard. Figuring that out can already be troublesome when you can see colors. She replied, remembering her own mother explaining color theory to her and how it applied to styling.

"It could always be worse," Clint reasoned, shrugging. "I mean, my actual sight kind of makes up for the lack of color. And like I said, the physiology of my eye is kind of cool. My optometrist said it was like several different animal characteristics were involved and that they'd significantly improved on my eyesight. I don't have a blind spot like other people do."

Blind spot... Hope 'frowned', trying to remember her research after learning about Amy's powers. Isn't that where the nerve connects to the eye and normal humans don't have those things that perceive light?

"Yep," Clint said, nodding. "Got it in one. So really, I can see a lot more and a lot farther than other people, I just don't know what color it is when I see it." He smiled.

Did your optometrist say anything about what type of animal characteristics were involved? Hope tilted her 'head' curiously. I have a friend... she manifested last year and has raptor eyes. She described things a little differently though.

"Yeah - my eyes are kind of... well. Okay, so I can focus better and more clearly on smaller things than a baseline human, sort of like a bird of prey. My optometrist says it's because I have enhanced fovea." It was obvious at this point that Clint was scrounging through his memory for the correct terms. Most people didn't actually ask for details once he told them about his mutation. "And I already told you about the squid comparison - that's because my optic nerve connects from the back. And the muscles of my eye are different, too. My doctor says they're more advanced? The outer ones let me move my eyes independently from one another and the inner ones help me focus better. I have way more rods than a regular person does and way fewer cones. The cones bit is why I can't see colors. Oh! And this is kind of cool - I can see through two-way mirrors because of the cone thing. Something about increasing my visual contrast."

Hope 'nodded' along with his explanation. I think I understand, though I would have to look up the term in my textbook. How about night vision? Does it help see better when it's dark?

"Yeah," Clint said, nodding. "I mean, my doctor says it's basically like when baseline humans use night vision goggles? I see things but there's areas that are brighter? They show up more white for me. Apparently people using the goggles see things in green?"

From a documentary I have seen, it seemed that way. They really have to be careful with light flashes as well, since those are magnified so strongly it can blind you, if I remember correctly. Hope quickly dug what she remembered from her memory.

"I didn't know that about night vision goggles," Clint said. "Really bright flashes of light don't tend to bother me. I mean, if something powerful goes off right in my face, that'd be an issue, but not so much most things. What documentary were you watching?" For some reason, Hope didn't strike him as the type of girl who'd watch military history or weapons development programs like Maddie.

Why don't I pop back in my body first? It talks easier. Without waiting for a reply, Hope 'closed' her eyes and focused on the picture of the flower closing up as the sun went down in her mind and she easily slipped back in her body. It took her a few moments to center herself, but soon she sat up and smiled at Clint. "Honestly, it was not really something I was watching. My father was watching that documentary while I was doing my homework and I caught some of it. I think it was on television around Veterans Day."

"Ah, gotcha," Clint said, nodding. That made a lot more sense. He returned Hope's smile as he said, "So even though testing my powers was kind of a bust, finding out about yours is cool. I guess it all kind of ties in with Genetics & Mutation. Are you enjoying the class?"

"It is challenging since science has never been my strongest suit, but I do enjoy it." Hope smiled. "It's good to understand where our abilities come from and to be able to explain that. I think I might enjoy that most."

"Yeah, exactly," Clint said, nodding. "That's part of why I love science and math so much. That, and it all kind of makes sense to me. English? Not so much. You should've heard the conversation I had with KGibz about Anna Karenina."

Hope laughed softly at that. "English makes it own kind of sense... just like history and art. Thing is, there are many ways to make sense of it. That might be the main difference with science and math."

"True enough," Clint agreed. "Do you get tired, using your powers like that?"

"If I use them for a long time, yes. Often I get a headache beforehand though." She rolled her eyes a little. "Which seems to be the psi affliction of choice. It serves like a sort of early warning system that it has been enough."

"Interesting," Clint said, frowning a little. "Seems like a logical developmental progression." Standing up, he offered Hope a hand to help her get to her feet.

"Thank you." Hope replied as she rose to her feet. "I am not fond of the headaches, but it does make a clear sign enough is enough. She hesitated for a moment before asking: "May I ask you something?"

"Sure." Clint smiled again. "Can't promise I'll know the answer, though."

Hope smiled as she replied: "No, it is nothing like that. It's more... My friend Amy... she is still really hesitant to reach out. But if she... would you be willing to talk with her? I think your mutation is about the closest to hers among people I know..."

"Sure," Clint said, nodding easily. "I'd be happy to. Do you know anything more specific about her mutation?"

"She has the eyes of a bird of prey basically. They look like it too. Can see huge distances and very detailed as well." Hope explained. "I think a major difference with you is that she can see colors though."

"Cool - you want me to talk to her on the phone? Or does she live close by?"

"She is back in Michigan. So probably either on the phone or by email. But I need to talk to her first and perhaps do a little persuading. I did not want to mention the idea to her before I had asked you if you were alright with it." Hope continued to explain things.

"No problem - let me know whenever you get her end of things figured out and I'll be happy to talk to her," Clint said. It was kind of odd, finding out that there was someone else with powers similar to his. Intellectually, he knew that there were probably hundreds of people out there with his mutation, that was just science and probability. But actually finding out that someone he knew knew someone else like him was just... strange.

"Thank you." Hope replied sincerely. "I will let you know as soon as we have worked things out." Though she did know it might take some time before her friend warmed up to the idea. "Now, I don't know about you, but I think I need freshen up a little after class." Her tone shifted to an apologetic note. "My next class starts soon, I am afraid."

"I'm off for the rest of the afternoon school-wise, but I've got training with Logan a little later, so I'll probably just hang out here. See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow, Clint. And good luck with your training from Logan."