Players:
Summary: Two superspeedsters make friends.
Date: February 6th 2010
A meeting of (very quick) minds.
Rating: Log Rating. [ PG ]
Xavier Mansion - Weight Room
All the weight machines are powered by hydraulics, you set the weight you want and your bench-pressing that many pounds, or even tons in some super strong students' cases. Punching bags, stair machines, bicycles, treadmills, weights, and anything found in your standard gym can be found here.
The faint sounds of metal against metal sounds from the weight room as Heather tries to give herself a workout. She is pushing against one of the hydraulics powers machines with her legs, but doesn't really seem to be that into it. She appears to be more bored than anything else, but she knows that if she's going to prove herself to her squad, she has to toughen up a bit. Currently, she wears generic workout clothes issued by the school, instead of anything too dreadfully clashing.
In the final stages of her exploration of the school Chloe has been checking out the various training facilities. Skipping along at a pace which would make any passing teachers have a heart attack. "Hello? Anyone in here?" She asks in her slightly awkward slow talk from the doorway. Curiously poking her head inside.
Heather immediately grabs her tape recorder as she hears sound, lifts it up to record. She rapidly says, though a bit quietly, "Hello, I'm in here." Then raises the tape recorder to play out, slowed down for the convenience of the slow voice, "Hello, I'm in here." She stares towards the doorway with unblinking eyes and continues to press against the machine.
Chloe snaps her fingers and begins bouncing up and down. "It's you!" she declares at what she considers normal pace. "And I can understand you! Yay!" Suddenly she stops and coughs. "Uhm.. Sorry about that. I got a little carried away. You must be Heather? I met your roomie yesterday and she told me about your tape recorder."
Heather eyes Chloe for a couple of moments and says, "Oh, you're a fast-worlder. I've never met anyone else in the fast world." She cautiously puts her tape recorder down and stops pressing against the leg weights. Most people would say she's pressing too fast for a real workout anyways. Even to one sped up, Heather's motions are quick and jittery, but at least not unnaturally so. It seems that's just how she's always been. "I've never heard about you. Are you new? And yes. I'm Heather Brown, codename: Timeslip."
"I'm Chloe. I got here… I think it's yesterday," She replies with a smile, moving into the room and peering around. "What's a fast-worlder? Nickname for someone who is always going faster than everyone else?"
"Yes, it's kind of a nickname. It's easier to think of them as disconnected worlds for me," says Heather, a curious expression. She gets up off the machine and walks over towards Chloe, eyeing her suspiciously. "Are you for real? I haven't talked to someone like this in forever."
Chloe frowns. "Why wouldn't I be real?" she wonders, offering her hand for shaking. "If I really really try I can process normal conversation. It hurts like an axe to my head but it's do-able. So they still feel like one world for me… Even if it's a world where everyone is really rude and keeps me waiting all the time."
Heather takes Chloe's hand and smiles, "My dad is an illusionist. When I was a kid, he'd play mind games with me. Sometimes, it's hard to tell what is real for sure." She nods her head quickly (even for in her faster frame of reference) and says, "Everyone is awfully rude, but slow-worlders can't help themselves. It's the nature of the thing."
"That sounds really messed up," Chloe offers, shuddering at the idea. "But I can assure you that I'm real. I'm so glad we're roughly on the same level. I would have been so depressed if it turned out we both had incompatable speeds and had all the same troubles with each other that normal people cause."
Heather nods her head at that, "Yes, that would have been terrible. But I guess that I wasn't really thinking about it, so it wouldn't have made me depressed." She smiles cheerily and says, "But I never even thought I would meet someone in my time. I'm kind of jealous that you can force yourself to understand people. I can't even hear some people when they're speaking. Their vocal frequency falls out of my hearing range."
Chloe laughs. "I wonder if it's because we're doing the same sort of thing via different methods? My speed is all biology based, so perhaps I have some way to inhibit whatever bit of my brain is going so quickly?"
Heather says, "Oh, maybe that's it. I can't do that. I'm just totally normal, but moving in a different timespeed. I guess it's a bit different, but I still appreciate talking to someone kind of like me. It's felt like so long! How long have you been in fast-world?"
"Around two weeks. Although it's quite hard to tell," Chloe answers with a frown, wandering around the weight room. "The first few days are a complete blur though thanks to a mishap with some prescription medication I was taking. I'd sue for the misdiagnosis, but that'd mean admitting publicly I'm a mutant."
Heather nods her head, "Two weeks? Those are strange weeks. I've been timeshifted since I was thirteen in slow worlder time. I'm sixteen now." She tilts her head slightly and says, "What were you diagnosed with?"
Chloe blushes slightly. "They thought the initial stages of my mutation were ADHD, so I was given a some uppers to 'fix' me. But because my biology was much much faster when the mutation finished the drugs took effect in a huge burst."
Heather nods her head a couple of times and says, "They tried all kinds of drugs on me in the white prison. They didn't seem to understand that I work differently than they do. I think it is what they do to mutants like us. They can't figure out what's wrong, because they are only thinking in slow-world."
"What's a white prison?" Chloe wonders, running her fingers over various bits of equipment. "It's not demon related is it? I've heard some fairly nasty things about them since I got here. That and one of the.. I think he was an instructor said basically everyone wants us dead. Which was nice of him."
Heather shakes her head and says, "I was kept in something like an asylum since I manifested until I came here, a month or so ago. It has nothing to do with demons." She shrugs and sits down on one of the benches. "It was very lonely and boring. Sometimes the doctors would talk to me through the glass. The school brought me here. They said that they could help me better than that place ever could. I think I agree."
Chloe shudders. "Anything is better than being kept in a cage. I think I'd rather die," she states solemnly. "Do you have any other powers that link up with your time control? I think I'm slightly tougher than normal, so I won't die if I run into a wall, but that's about it."
Heather shakes her head, "I don't think so. I don't get hurt if I run into things. My body reacts to the world the same way a slow-worlder's body reacts to the world. If I'm running and I bang my knee, it really smarts, but not much more." She shrugs and looks down at the floor, "I'm very strong, too, but that's just because I can apply more force in a shorter amount of time. I can't hold things up very well, just lift."
"That's kinda cool. You don't have to worry about grazing your leg and spurting blood like a fountain," Chloe offers brightly. "Is that why you're training? To improve on how much you can lift?"
Heather chuckles, "Well, I still spurt blood like a fountain, but it's a short burst. Like a spritz and then it's done. My body mends itself in my timeframe." She looks at the machines and says, "Honestly, I'm training to kill time. I finish my assignments too quickly, and sometimes having conversations just doesn't work. And I want people on my squad to respect me, so I do want to get better at what I can."
"Which squad are you on?" Chloe asks curiously. "I can't remember exactly which one I'm assigned to, but I think the Head teacher runs it or something? The only teacher I've been warned about, typical huh?"
Heather says, "Corsairs. That's the one that I'm on. It's run by Professor Scott Summers. He is very serious, but so am I. I think he's the head teacher…" She tilts her head slightly and says, "Were you assigned to my squad?"
Chloe blinks a few times. "Maybe? I was having trouble paying attention when they did the talk about squads. I tend to find my mind wanders a lot. But it'd be very cool if I was. Especially if there is an intersquad relay race. We'd clean house."
Heather grins, "Oh, that we would! Well, it sounds like we are, from how you described it. It would also be good to have someone I can actually talk to normally on the squad, for our training sessions."
Zack is dressed in a tight t-shirt and sweat pants, wth a towel over his shoulder the large teen shows up to work out on some weight equipment, with a huh he looks up and around.
"Having a normal conversation like this, with two different people in one day? I have to say I think I'm going to faint with sheer joy," Chloe admits, talking in turbo speed.
Heather tilts her head and says at super speed as well, "There's someone else you had a normal conversation with? Who is that? I think it's wonderful. It felt like it's been fifteen years since I talked to someone normally. It's incredible." She picks up her tape recorder and, at high speed, says into it, "Hello." And then, the tape recorder plays, a slower, "Hello" for Zack's benefit. She turns towards him, blinking a few times rapidly.
Zack blinks at the sound…what did Chloe say it was before? A buzzsaw? Ya that sounds about right, listening for just one moment to the two talk he lifts a hand up, "Uh, uh, hi…" he says, a faint blus hto his cheeks as he tugs at his t-shirt a small bit, "How you guys doing, "i'm just gonna lift some weights if that's all right?"
"You know… We have totally got ourselves an instant secret language. I think he said his name was Cloud? And it seemed like a new trick for him and wasn't something he could maintain," Chloe says to Heather in super secret tubro speak. Before slowing herself to add "Hi again Zack. Didn't mean to be rude, I was just a little excited to talk normally!"
Heather uses her tape recorder to pick up everything that was said in 'normal' speed and then plays, "Same here. I am doing well today. And it's fine if you lift weights. I was doing the exact same thing a few moments ago."
Zack nods his head a bit, "Well don't worry if you're actually gonna talk betwee the two of you in that fast talk, that's ok, no worries…" he says with a thumbs up, the large teen moving over slowly towards the hydrolic setup and he will set it right at 7 tons, and there's a large grinding and pressure will set up and get ready to provide that ammount of force.
"You can both feel free to blame me if your training suffers," Chloe offers, repeating herself again at each speed. "I think it might be my calling in life. Hmmm it might actually be easier to talk and repeat myself slowly like this. Much easier to work on my timing, especially hearing it on the tape as well."
Heather watches Zack set the machine at seven tons and she says to Chloe in fast-speak, "That's a lot of weight. I can't lift that much weight, even with my legs. No way." She says, and then repeats for Zack through the tape recorder, "I am Heather Brown, codename: Timeslip."
Zack phews and his fingers will work back and forth and he chalks them and he squeezes and looks at the bar, looking at the two finally, "Oh I'm Zack, it's nice to meet you really…" he says as he settles down on the bench and takes a deep breath…and he pushes the weight up, near his max, he's trainining his upper limits as he slowly reps up.
Chloe hmmms. "Does everyone have a codename?" she wonders in both speeds. "I was asked what I wanted mine to be… But I couldn't think of anything good. So I just went with Etoile, which means star in French. Just about the only word outside of Savate terms I know despite my mom trying to make me learn /forever/."
Heather shakes her head and says, "I figured out what my codename would be a long time ago. Lots of people here don't seem to have one. Etoile sounds like a good one." She plays the same message on her tape recorder.
Zack shakes his head, "I don't have a codname ether, I got nothing…" he says with a light lick of his lips as he keeps working the bar of the weight room up and down, his muzles blge as he eeps trying to push it.
"I think it might also be a ballet term too… But anyway codenames for someone who has awesome strength," Chloe begins pacing back and forth. "Nothing springs to mind which isn't likely to be in use by someone."
Heather tilts her head slightly and then plays on her tape recorder, "I can't think of any that haven't been taken, myself. Hmmm… Maybe you should ask the internet."
Chloe nods in agreement. "Perhaps we shouldn't distract him while he's lifting something so heavy?" she muses. "Say do you find computers awkward too? Or is it just me… They just don't respond in time and it ends up being slower than finding a book and looking things up."
"I search and peck. I was never taught how to type properly, which helps me a bit using computers, I guess." It's kind of unusual for her to say that, but hey, that's just how it is. "I find that I tear the pages of books to easily when I turn them."
"I wonder if I was doing that too and just didn't notice," Chloe wonders, biting at her lip. "I guess I'll find out when I get a very annoyed text message from home. What kind of things are there to do for fun around here? And is it really true girls are in the minority?"
Heather nods her head rapidly, "Girls are very much in the minority. It's an unusual proportion, I guess, but that's how it worked out here. Maybe two to one? Straight boys to gay boys is an equally unusual split. I think it's fifty-fifty, there."
Chloe blinks. "So basically straight guys are the minority? Weird… Very weird. I'm almost glad that I can't imagine dating anyone now."
Heather shakes her head and says, "Well, actually, straight girls are in the minority. Gay guys and straight guys are roughly even. So if you want to date, you still have your pick." She scratches her head lightly as she considers it, "Dating here is complicated anyways, I think. Best not to think about it."
"Can you honestly imagine having a relationship with someone from the slow-world?" Chloe asks with a shrug. "I like those terms, fast and slow world I mean. You mind if I start calling them that too?"
Heather shakes her head, "No, go ahead. You're from the fast-world. You can use the same words that other fast-worlders do. And… no, I find people from the slow-world to be awfully dull. I'm not sure on the mechanics of romance between a fast-worlder and a slow-worlder. It would be complicated."
Chloe nods in agreement. "I'd considered polyandry or something, but the idea just seems a little awkward. Especially considering the potential for people to get jealus," she informs. Then after a brief pause (by fastworld standards) she turns bright red. "I mean I only considered it because I had to spend an entire week home by myself without anything better to do than worry."
Heather furrows her brow and shakes her head quickly, "I've thought of such things, but they were mostly fleeting thoughts. In the white prison, that's all I could do. I could just think and think and think. And yes, I think people would be very jealous. I just need to find someone nice in the fast world and one would do fine for me."
"If I could stand computers I'd suggest making a fast-world dating website," Chloe suggests with a grin. "You put in how fast your world is and other bits of information and then it matches you up from the very limited dating pool…"
Heather laughs, "Oh, that would be such a useful resource, wouldn't it? Hello, I'm Heather. My fast-world factor is five point zero nine. I like the sound of bells, cooking new things, logic problems and strategy games. Send me an e-mail!" She smiles and shrugs, "It would be so limited, but useful. I like talking normal. My tape recorder works, but it's not ideal."
Chloe giggles. "It could even have an 'origin' box. So you can figure out if any kids you have will be fast worlders too or if your hot date is likely to glow in the dark."
Heather claps at that idea, looking off a bit at the sound of her own clapping, and says, "Oh, that would be super! This should be made. All kinds of fast-worlders would appreciate it." Heather is becoming much more animated, if just as jittery and awkward, as the conversation continues on.
"Any ideas who is good with computers?" Chloe wonders, drumming her fingers against the wall. "I suspect we'll probably get a fair few false positives too. People who sign up just for a joke. Still worth doing just to try connect with others like us."
Heather shakes her head, "I don't really document other people's interests, but this school is full of all kind of people. It would be pretty straightforward to find someone who is good with computers." She tilts her head slightly and says, "Yeah, I guess there'd be a few people, slow-worlder normals, who sign up as a joke, but… yes, I agree that it's worth it."
Chloe nods. "I'll ask around then. Although it might give people some very weird ideas, but hey that's half the fun right there!"
Heather nods her head, "Yeah, it would be really very neat. So, what is your fast-world factor, anyways? I imagine it can't be the same as mine, but I think we're both talking pretty naturally."
"Well… I'm six times faster than the top end of a normal human… So six?" Chloe offers after a moments consideration. "But because it's all biology that means I'm stuck eating /lots/ more."
Heather nods her head quickly, "Six. Well, I guess it's good that I was always quick to talk when I was younger. That goes for your perceptual systems too, right? I just hope that I'm not too slow-worldy for you. I eat quite a bit, too, but it gets burned off very easily."
Chloe nods in return. "It goes for just about everything, although thankfully I don't eat six times as much food. Honestly? You're plenty fast enough for me to feel comfortable chatting with. I think if I'd gone as long as you have without talking like this I'd have… Probably run away to live in a cave."
Heather frowns and says, "Well, living in isolation isn't all it's cracked up to be. And I guess you're only one point two times faster than me. Which is a non-significant difference. You may talk however fast you please with me." She shrugs and says, "To think, this conversation could have been more than five times longer if you were a slow worlder. Goodness. Would you like to be my best friend?"
Chloe beams. "Directness, I like it! I'd like that. I wonder what slow worlders would say if they knew how quickly we'd become friends? No-one seems to quite understand that for us a whole day lasts almost an entire week." She sighs and rolls her eyes. "The only thing which bothers me is that I still sleep in the same pattern as before. Do you find yourself getting tired at several points throughout the day? Or can you stay awake until it gets dark?"
Heather shakes her head, "I can't stay awake until it gets dark. I just sleep five times a day. Sometimes, I just record some of my classes and then go to sleep on my desk. It's much quicker that way. Especially for the professors who I can't even hear." She smiles and says, "Isn't it strange how they don't notice? I guess they've only ever seen slow-world. We've seen both. It's easier to understand."
"I'm probably going to be awake all night thinking about the weird little differences between the ways we've ended up like this," Chloe admits sheepishly. "It's sort of like the reasons for having beer and tea."
Heather smiles at Chloe and says, "Well, it must be so shocking to meet a fast worlder like you. If you manifested two weeks ago, you were experiencing three months. That's a long time of isolation. So of course when someone talks to you on your own terms, it would get your mind going! I know that I'm feeling like I'm buzzing with energy right now, despite it being past time on a sleep."
"I didn't quite experience the whole first week," Chloe says with a shrug. "I think I lost several slow world days while I recovered from blood loss and malnutrition. As it took a degree of trial and error to work out how much to eat and when. But it was still the longest I've ever gone without people to talk to or Tv I could watch." She sits on a bit of gym equipment. "On the plus side it was plenty of time to work out how to speed up my mp3 collection."
Heather nods her head quickly and says, "Well, my mother is a booster, so my first few hours were difficult." Couple that with the fact that her parents are supervillains, and there's reasons why Heather might seem a little bit damaged. "It's good that you managed to speed up your music. I like music, but I've never sped it up correctly."
Chloe shrugs. "It's not perfect… But I got it close enough and then I guess my subconcious tweaked my speed to tune in," she replies. "Must have been tough. You didn't just have to get used to one level of fast world, instead you had to try get used to one and then before you're even done you're stuck in a different setting again."
Heather nods her head, "Well, I'm just glad I didn't get stuck in the booster touch scenario. I thought I'd be stuck like that forever. At the time, my fast world factor was approximately four hundred. It was only for a few hours, but you can probably do the fast-world translation for it." She shrugs and tilts her head back and forth a few times. "There was no tape recorder good enough for that."
"Subjectively…" Chloe scowls while she's forced to do math. "Just over two weeks for every slow world hour? I don't even want to begin to think about what that must have been like. This might be a personal question but do you age naturally? Or is it slowed to some extent?"
Heather shrugs and says, "I think it's slowed. Look at me. I look like I'm fifteen or sixteen. In slow-world terms, I'm sixteen. I've experienced about 30 years so far. I'm guessing my ability is keeping me from aging."
Chloe blinks a few times, then gasps. "Holy… Why did it not hit me before now? By the time I finish high school I'll have been here for eighteen years give or take… I could be as qualified as the person teaching most of my classes…."
Heather nods her head, "I've felt that my last fifteen years of experience were a total waste of time. Hopefully, I can make up for it in the coming years. Do you know, yet, if you're aging normally, or if you're being slowed from aging?"
Chloe shudders. "I have no idea… It hasn't been long enough to tell. Now I really am going to be up all night worrying. I might find myself burning out by the time I'm old enough to buy my first beer. Not that I think drinking would be a great plan given my weird metabolism."
Heather shakes her head, "Oh, no, probably not. Your body seems like it reacts differently from mine to chemicals, from what you've told me…" She scratches her head lightly and says, "I sincerely hope that your power has spared you from aging."
"So do I.. I think I'll try find out next time I'm able to talk with the schools medical experts," Chloe decides, looking a little pale. "Hopefully they'll be able to let me know for sure either way. If I age like a slow worlder then I think I'll try studying hard, if I age faster it's partying from here until I'm too old to walk."
Heather shrugs and says, "Regardless, you either have eighty years of experience ahead of you or you have four hundred and eighty years of experience ahead of you. In either case, it's a lot to experience. Slow-worlders just will not be able to appreciate it, but you will have the same time to experience the world as them."
Chloe laughs. "Perhaps I'm just greedy then? Now that I've gone and assumed I'll be having the bigger number the normal 'prize' seems a little… Lame. I want plenty of time to take up some of my planned hobbies, like scamming slow world people at speed chess."
Heather smiles and says, "Do you play chess? I am very good at it. I would love to play against someone who doesn't waste all my time staring at the board. And I hope that you get to accomplish your goals."
Chloe coughs. "Nope I've never played in my life. I figured I would learn first and /then/ scam people. It was a pipe dream sort of thing… Mostly I'm good at physical sports, savate and I dabbled with various forms of dance."
Heather smiles and says, "You should teach me those things. I always thought it would be too difficult to do sport activities, since nobody could teach me properly." She runs her fingers through her hair, detangling it on the way. "I can teach you to play chess and a lot of other games like that."
"Sounds like a plan. Although if my dad finds out I'm helping someone learn savate he'd never let me hear the end of it," Chloe laments, shaking her head. "He thinks I'm going to someday take over the family business or maybe marry someone who will…"
Heather frowns slightly and says, "What is your family business? Teaching savate? If so, it may be difficult to take over, given your situation." She smiles cheerily and says, "Well, I'm cutting into my sleep time quite a lot now. I really should head to my dorm room. It was excellent meeting you!"
Chloe nods. "I'm actually looking forward to these squad training sessions now! Have a nice sleep. No doubt I'll cya around sometime in the distance future."
