When Kenny flicked the switch for superspeed, the world distorted around him. Everything zigzagged into rhombuses that crumpled into each other until they slurried into a mess. All sound became garbled. The air settled so thick that it washed over his skin like he was pushing through freezing water. The only things that remained the same were his own body and whatever he touched. On top of all that, he would get lightheaded and nauseous.
All of that was why he usually only sprinted in short bursts. The only time he could go all out was when he was on the track as he was now.
Submerged in that distorted world, color scrambled into a special kind of darkness. The only certainty was his feet hitting the rubber beneath him. The first time he could not turn it off, it was a nightmare. But by now, it was his way of tuning out the rest of the world.
The bad part was when he had to slow down. He braced for what was to come as soon as he made the final corner of his final lap. After he crossed the line he veered off the track over to a tree so that all the backlash could finally spill out into the grass while the light and color of the world returned to him in a tidal wave.
He felt a soft hand give him some firm smacks on the back to help jostle out the leftovers. The final smack was accompanied by a jolt that rebooted his nerves while a stellar wind blew away the fatigue in his muscles.
With this combination, you could exercise forever so it's no wonder Hannah and Aaliyah are both so jacked. You can’t usually tell with Aaliyah but her signature dresses hide the gun show underneath. Still can’t imagine her getting in a fight even if she looks killer. Being in shape does help with mutant abilities so maybe it’s for that? Hannah snapped thunder in front of Kenny’s face.
“Hey, you still with us? That was amazing, I couldn’t keep up at all—you were just a streak passing us by out there,” said Hannah. They were supposed to run together but that fell through when Kenny lapped them a few times.
“Really? Can’t you bolt faster than light?” heaved Kenny, “and you don’t get like this either.”
“Yeah, but I don’t have any control over bolting. It’s like committing to a jump—” Hannah looked down at her shoes that were floating off the ground, “Ok bad example, point is, I have a start point and an end point and I can’t stop between them. Even with Electric Waltz, I can’t make any fine movements and I get slowed down anyways.”
“Electric Waltz? You… name your moves?”
“Oh yeah, electricity is so versatile, I have to name everything I can do with it so that I don’t forget. So Electric Waltz is when I bolt multiple times in a row like this,” Hannah transmuted into pure energy then bolted above the tree, then forward, then to the ground, then back where she started, “and then there are the Amethyst super moves where I discharge a lot of energy. Amethyst Promenade is when I make a huge lightning storm directly in front of me and Amethyst Marley is when I discharge in all directions. Sparking Shimmy is the electromagnetic field I use to fly and I can spread it to other objects.”
Kenny, still panting, “I’m more surprised you don’t use that as part of your brand. Sounds like some marketable stuff you got going on.”
“Hey, that's not a bad idea! Hey, Aaliyah, do you name your moves?”
“No?” Aaliyah lowered the water bottle and raised her eyebrow, “I just… do it?”
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“What about your energy transfer,” asked Kenny, arms outstretched to further brace against his dizziness,“ does that have a name too?”
“Yep, it’s called Circuit Tango! But enough about me, you took a stance like a real sprinter out there, did you run track?”
“It was for a scholarship and it just so happened to build up endurance for my power. My brother brought me onto the track right after tutoring and everything fell into place from there. Speaking of, how do you exercise Hannah? I can’t imagine anything putting up resistance against you.”
“I go underwater. My energy output dissipates harmlessly around me as I train to release more of it and the water pressure acts as my weight with more pressure the deeper I go. When I drowned, Aaliyah was there with the revive. ”
Kenny wanted to say something about that last part but instead, his voice cracked a yelp when something cold and hard poked his shoulder. He flipped around only to see nothing but the chill air.
That air crystallized to reveal a glaring cyan core that continued to unfold into sleek silver plates, connected at the joints by grey coolant hoses, on top of a grey gambeson. The eye-slit and palms shared the same luster as the core. The repulsors in the boots kept it hovered off the ground with a soothing hum as the grass beneath swayed under the stern breeze. Unseen hydraulics whirred with the slight shifting of plates as the arms raised to the sides. This is the Little Boy!
“But wait, there’s more!” Garrick said clear as day through the helmet.
His fingers snapped and pointed where two drones crystallized. They had the same glossy curving metal, cyan blood, and humming repulsors as the Little Boy suit. The drones stooped to hip level then flew to Kenny and Aaliyah. The drones had fingerprint scanners which upon use opened a compartment with pistols. Kenny drew the pistol: it was of the same sleek silver design as the rest of the line.
Where he once held out his tongue for the drip-feed of content with the rest of the thirsty masses, Kenny now held the bleeding edge of technology in his hands like a kid given a happy meal.
“Hey, am I not getting one?” whined Hannah.
“No, you already have built-in tasers. WhiteOut wanted the cryo-pistols distributed. These are for self-defense; you will not engage in any situation unless ordered to. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!” Kenny stood at attention. Aaliyah had her pistol laying in her palm as she stared at it as if she did not hear him.
“Ahh, they look so cool. Literally. Hey Kenny you think this is cool too, right?” asked Hannah.
“Oh, uh, I guess so.”
“You guess so? You had a binder full of costume ideas with detailed backgrounds for all of them so I know you’re a fashion diva at heart. We need your expertise!”
“Hannah,” said Aaliyah, “he’s probably still adjusting to being displaced so abruptly. He’ll open up when he feels comfortable.” To her side, Kenny was hemming and hawing himself, fluctuating with his hand over his mouth as if some undulated force was trying to escape his body. Finally, he pulled his hand away and let the force burst out.
“That suit is based! It’s like a frost knight come to life. I thought the Fat Man armor was amazing before but this blows it out of the water. The way the whole panoply shifts in tandem with every flexible movement would take a symphony of machinery. The material in the glove and gambeson insulates you from the cold even with the cryogenic energy coursing all over you. Those repulsors in the boots are so subtle it’s like you’re levitating. Forget science fiction, this is science-fantasy made reality!”
Garrick continued to levitate in the air for a moment. “Based is good right?”
“I think so. I see it on my Bouldr a lot.” Garrick clapped his gauntlets together.
“Well, that’s all the boss wrote on that. Hannah, you’re coming with me.”
As he twisted away, his armor and the drones decrystallized into nothing. Hannah waved before she finally bolted away. That left Kenny and Aaliyah on the open track field that was made all the more lonely by the empty stands that overlooked them.
Seems like everyone not on the Pantheon tried to give both newcomers a wide berth, though to Kenny it seemed like Hannah never noticed this as she gets into other people’s personal space regardless. The other mutants did not want to be associated with volatile variables. Their strength lent them to serving as testaments to the safety of even the most powerful mutants but it only takes one mistake, even an accident, to prove that they are untrustworthy and none of the others wanted to be dragged down by association.