Video: the beach

[seriallylucky]

[Masked men are an unusual sight on a public beach, but if you're going to be playing with superpowers what good alternatives are there? Fred's attracting some attention, but he's found a reasonably remote area and most people seem to get that they shouldn't bother him.

The connection is propped up on something a little way back from Fred himself, so as to show him and the ground he's standing on.]

Hey, guys. I think I just figured out what one of those last pulses was. It's... a power, I guess.

[He shrugs; not much else to say before he demonstrates. By which we mean crumbles; in a moment he's replaced by a small pile of sand, pretty much indistinguishable from the sandy ground. The pile wiggles a little and lurches to the side, and then un-crumbles back into Fred.]

And that's about it. I'm pretty sure I should be able to move around like that, if I can figure out how. [He sighs.] It just feels lame, you know? I can make rocks show up, and heal, and... turn into a pile of sand.

Comments

video;

[hotshots]

[ BLINK. You know, Neil shouldn't be surprised at this point, all things considered. Yet here we are. ]

I dunno, that could be pretty useful, actually. How much can you move around after you change?

[video]

[seriallylucky]

[Have another shrug.] Not much more than I just did, at least so far. It's probably like learning to walk, figuring out what all the magic muscle things do and how to use them together.

[video]

[hotshots]

Even if you can't, that could be useful for a quick getaway, eh?

[video]

[seriallylucky]

[puzzled:] How so?

[video]

[hotshots]

Lots of ways. Someone's chasing you? Duck around a corner, behind something. Who's gonna suspect the pile of sand? Or drop through a sewer grate, or... hell, there's a ton of ways to use something like that.

[video]

[seriallylucky]

Oh.

[He thinks about that for a few moments.]

I'll have to see if I can get it to work when I'm not already on sand, because so far it hasn't.

[video]

[hotshots]

...so you can only do it when you're touching it, and just sand specifically?

[moreweaponsthanyou]

So er...what happens if someone carts that pile of sand you turn into and scatters it into the ocean while you're like that?

[seriallylucky]

[Fred blinks.] I have no idea. But I can switch back at any time, so I don't think it's a huge risk.

[Still, now that the idea's been mentioned... it doesn't sound like it'd be a pleasant prospect.]

[moreweaponsthanyou]

Any time lag to it at all? I mean...if you're currently a pile of sand, it doesn't take that much time to kick you over, and if there's a nice strong wind going on at the same time... I think you can see where I'm going with this.

[seriallylucky]

...Yeah, I think I can. It... maybe I should get help and do some tests in the other direction.

[moreweaponsthanyou]

Sounds like a good idea to find your limits, yeah.

[seriallylucky]

Do you happen to know anywhere that'd be safe for that kind of testing?

[Video]

[belphe]

[She watches, fascinated, as he reforms himself]

What does it feel like, being dispersed that way?

[Video]

[seriallylucky]

[He's at a loss. Finally:] Sort of itchy, I guess? Sand doesn't have nerves or anything, so the sensations aren't like anything we've got words for.

[Video]

[belphe]

That's understandable. I would imagine a lot of things that normal people aren't meant to feel can't be described by normal words.

I had just wondered if you were aware of every grain of yourself or if you would notice if a few were lost along the way.

[Video]

[seriallylucky]

Oh. [He thinks about that for a bit.]

I don't think so. A few grains getting left behind or whatever seems like it'd be along the lines of losing a few hairs.

[Video]

[belphe]

I see...

I'm sorry, it must have seemed rude to ask you out of nowhere. It's just that it's vaguely similar to an ability of my own that I'm still trying to get a better understanding of.

[Video]

[seriallylucky]

Really? What can you do?

[Fred's always fascinated by powers like his own, and it may be that comparing notes would help them both figure stuff out.]

video;

[saviorsoul]

I guess it's good for camouflage... ?

[video]

[seriallylucky]

Yeah, maybe. Except even if I don't come out of it on my own, it doesn't seem to last very long.

Re: [video]

[saviorsoul]

Did you remember what the other guy used it for?

[video]

[seriallylucky]

[He shakes his head.] No, I haven't gotten any memories about his powers.

Re: [video]

[saviorsoul]

I really don't get why we keep getting stuff back without any idea of why we have it in the first place. That's just weird.

[video]

[seriallylucky]

Well, maybe why we have it doesn't have anything to do with our other selves - it seems like most of it started showing up around the same time as the first aliens. Maybe there's a connection there?