Sooraya and Everett

[xp_dust]

 Sooraya calls in Everett's help when she need a hand with powers training. 

"Jenny?" Sooraya called out softly as they picked their way through the abandoned warehouse, shards of concrete and wood covering the floor. "This place belongs to a sympathizer and it's pretty isolated, so we use it sometimes as an improvised training ground." She explained to Everett. "And since we haven't figured out exactly what it is Jenny can do... better safe then sure."  

Ev looked around as he followed her, grimacing at some of the broken windows . . . and was that a rat scurrying around? The warehouse would serve their purpose, and was remote enough to not pose a terrible security risk, though. This was not something anyone could afford to be elitist over. "She's behind those crates," he muttered to Sooraya when he picked up a trace of the girl's aura. "What's her story?"

"Jenny? It's Sooraya." Once more Sooraya called out, this time in the direction of the crates. "We don't know much. Jenny came to us from the South a few weeks ago. A little older... nearly seventeen I think. When she manifested, she managed to knock out two people and a wall and she ran." Sooraya explained in a low voice as she waited. "She's been very skittish." 

"Jenny, my name is Everett." He used his best non-threatening voice, the kind he reserved for hostage negotiations or talking to his sister's son. He released the restraint on his aura, the soft rainbow glow warmly lighting up the warehouse. "I'm a friend of Sooraya's. And a mutant, too. I hear you want to some help with your abilities."

"Sooraya?" A hesitant figure stood up from behind the crates, long braids with braids covered with dust. "He can really help me?"   

"I think so." Sooraya nodded firmly. "Everett helped me learn new things with my powers and I know he has done the same for others." 

"Everyone's powers can be frightening," he followed, "But if it's okay with you, I can help make them less so. I copy other mutants, see?" He focused on the young woman next to him, and his aura took on a copper-green tinge. His fingertips dissolved, the particles swirling around his hands for a moment before he returned to normal. "If we work together, then I'm sure we can learn control."

Seeing Jenny was still hesitating, Sooraya walked over, sitting down and covering a rich brown hand with her own. "I know it's scary what happened back home, Jenny, but if promise... if you learn to control it a bit, it will become less so. At least give it a shot. If it doesn't work out, we'll just continue to look for a different solution. I promise." 

"Alright..." Jenny mentioned slowly as she climbed over one of the crates and moved to stand next to the glowing man. "What do I need to do?" 
 
"First thing is to see what your powers are exactly. I'm going to synch with you. That's what I call it when I mimic other mutants, like I just did with Sooraya. Here." He reached out his aura to her, observing it, making mental notes, before replicating her power himself, tinging his aura blue this time. Some kind of energy manipulation power, he instantly realized, but with tricky mechanics, not as straight forward as most other energy projectors he knew. No wonder Jenny was so scared. "We may need to bring a Geiger counter next time," he said to Sooraya. "I feel something . . . not <i>dangerous</i>. We're not at any risk of long-term harm. But it feels like there's something subatomic here."

"Got it." Sooraya nodded as she pulled out her phone and made a note. Afterwards she smiled reassuringly at Jenny, who was looking a little uneasy at the mention of a Geiger counter. "We're just trying to be careful, Jenny, and make sure we understand your powers well. The more we know, the more we'll be able to do to help you. And speaking about helping, is there anything you can do right now?"  

"I can feel this kind of pull," Ev said slowly, holding out one hand as if reaching for something. "Kind of feels like Wanda. Like if I pluck it, something's going to unravel. Do you feel that, too, Jenny?" When she nodded, he decided to take the next step, and strike with his borrowed powers.

It felt like pulling a stray thread from the hem of his sleeve, with that mild satisfaction to getting rid of something extraneous. A few feet away from them, the air popped and sizzled, like a store-bought firecracker. A few more pops followed, a chain reaction of explosions that grew with each burst.

"I can see why this is frightening." Ev screw up his face as he reached out again with his power to stop the cascade. "It keeps going if you don't stop it?"

Jenny stared at him with wide open eyes. "I don't even know how to begin to stop it." She confessed. "It keeps going and going till it hurts someone." 

Sooraya quietly moved back, taking a seat on one of the empty crates and watched how Everett coaxed Jenny out. If she could recruit him as a power trainer in the underground... at least to do it more often... 

"Then we're going to start with that and go from there." He winked at Jenny and his aura flared with enthusiasm. "You ready?"

~

They got a good 40 minutes before the two of them were too tired to go on. Jenny was breathing heavily, her face and arms covered with a sheen of sweat, and she coughed whenever she tried to speak, but she was smiling. Ev hid his exhaustion, just giving her a thumbs up and a Gatorade and protein bar from his bag before she left for home, and helping himself to his own before joining Sooraya where she had dutifully and unobtrusively been taking notes.

"So. I don't know about you, but I'm pooped."

"It looked pretty intense." Sooraya agreed. "But it looked like you were making good progress. And I got a bunch of good notes to use." She held up tablet she had been using. "I've several questions for you though, but that can wait till you have caught your breath."  

Ev swigged a third of his drink, and hid a belch behind his hand, before opening the bar wrapper and nodding at Sooraya. "Hit me. And let's definitely remember the Geiger counter next time. I'm reasonably certain there's some antimatter thing going on. It makes sense."

"I've already made a note. The exercises you did with her... are they ones you use in general for energy type powers or were they specific for the type of energy power that Jenny has?" 

"Start out general," he answered. "Energy powers are usually pretty similar. Draw in energy from the outside, metabolize it, and express it in a different way. As destructive as these kinds of powers can be, they're usually what you read on the tin, so they're not too hard to work out."

Sooraya had to laugh, thinking back to when she had first met Angel and she was working out her powers. "Don't tell that to Angel. She used to carry around a fire extinguisher till she gained basic control. But now that I think of it, some of the exercises she used to do are similar to what you did with Jenny."  

"Well, the specifics of control are usually case-unique," he said, nodding in agreement. "And the accidents that follow. But some of the techniques are similar across the board. Breathing exercises, self-restraint, learning to recognize when control is slipping. Did you ever have issues with control? Like, feeling yourself transforming unintentionally if you were upset? I imagine keeping your cohesion would be similar to any other mutant."

"I used to turn into a pile of sand whenever I got the slightest bit startled." Sooraya's eyes were far away for a long moment. "It took me a while to get over that reflex."  

He watched her stroll down memory lane, a faint smile tugging at the edge of his lips, which he hid behind the bottle as he chugged more. "So much of control is psychological, not physiological, so everyone can typically start from the same place. And starting is the hardest part, too, because everything seems so overwhelming. But get over that first hurdle and the rest don't look so intimidating."

"But that is just the step they need some help with often. A place to start..." Sooraya agreed. "That exercise you did with the arm movements... some say it's wrong to rely on movement with control because you aren't always able to use them."  

"They're a crutch, for sure. But it's also psychological. Helps you focus. Get the training wheels off later, once you're comfortable riding. Thanks for asking me to come, Sooraya. I enjoyed that. And you really do great work with these kids."

 

"I'm just glad I am able to help." Sooraya replied modestly, then a tiny smirk appeared on her face. "Does that mean I can call on you more often when I need a hand?"  

 

He laughed. "Any time, dear, any time."