As he walked, Blake thought back again to Wyatt’s comments at Westy’s the night before.
“I like color. To me, it would suck to lose color like that. And gray is so not a color. It's like... a hue or a tone or something. It's light black, which lightwise is the absence of color, and dark white which pigmentwise is the absence of color. And pigmentwise, black is all colors -- I know, I know. But still -- gray isn't evil or nothin'. It's just... not a color. Not to me.”
Lightwise, pigmentwise, or otherwise, it just wasn’t a color to Wyatt. And Blake supposed it wasn’t really a color to him either. He’d seen in color before his mutation had kicked in and he still remembered it clearly. He remembered it so clearly.
As he neared his destination, he recalled the conversation with Chris and Wil that had pointed him in this direction.
“Hey Blake, just curious but have you ever gone to Studio B? Their power suppression thing might let you see in color while you're there...”
“Sports Complex's like that, too.”
The Denton High School Sports Complex, to be more specific. He’d looked into it. With your student ID, you could go use some of their facilities for free. They were all power suppressed.
He wasn’t sure what to expect. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to pull ethereal energies over into the material plane, and he probably wouldn’t be able to shift things on the material plane over into the ethereal plane (and thus, wouldn’t be able to turn them gray). But would he be pulled back into the material plane completely? What would happen to his vision?
He was used to seeing a kind of dual vision. He could see almost normally on the material plane, except for that small detail of everything being gray. But he could also see on the ethereal plane, and what he saw there was very different. The ethereal plane consisted of ethereal energy. The energy was everywhere, and it’s all that seemed to exist on that plane. It was kind of like a liquid or a gas in a way, swirling and flowing all over the place. Except currents of energy could flow in different directions through one another without interfering, which was a bit weird. And it wasn’t opaque, he could see through them for a good distance. Sometimes energies coalesced into a “spirit” and those moved more as a sort of energy “clump”, but they were still indistinct and lacked any sort of form unless he pulled them over into the material plane. Really though, the dual vision was pretty distracting. He generally tried to tune out what he saw on the ethereal plane, but he didn’t usually have much success. At least it didn’t give him headaches anymore like it had for the first week or so.
Toby had wandered ahead, passing through the walls into the building. There were no walls on the ethereal plane. Louis was off to his right, slightly underground. There was no ground on the ethereal plane, either. If he phased back into the material plane fully, would his two spirit “friends” lose interest and wander off? That gave him pause.
Only one way to find out. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door to one of the training rooms and stepped inside...
...and looked around at the gray people wearing gray clothing working out with gray exercise equipment.
Shades of Gray
Re: Shades of Gray
Blake stretched a bit as he waited for Mrs. Levitt to start their session. Dawn Levitt was the Powers Specialist Blake had been working with. She worked with students who had empathic or empath-like abilities, which was a bit weird since Blake wasn’t an empath, but whatever. His powers apparently worked in an empath-like way.
“Okay, I’m ready up here,” Mrs. Levitt’s voice came from the speakers which were mounted somewhere near the observation window. They were in the bunker in the bunker, of course. Blake was standing in the center of the room, alone. Mrs. Levitt was in the observation room, possibly alone or possibly not. Hopefully alone, so there’d be a smaller audience if he screwed up. “We’ll continue working on flight. When you’re ready, let’s start with having you try to stay in the air. I’ll send some distractions at you. You can respond to them however you like, as long as you stay airborne. Ready?”
Blake did another stretch and smiled, then lifted up into the air. It was getting much easier for him to get in the air and stay there. His flight was made possible by his presence on the ethereal plane. He simply “grabbed” on to a “current” of ethereal energy and held on. Where the current went, he went, too. Holding on was getting lots easier. The challenge he was having was moving from one current to another to move where he wanted. And even when he did that, he was limited to the speed of the ethereal energies he was holding on to. He let an upward-moving current lift him about eight feet off the floor, then grabbed onto a current that was mostly staying still for the moment. “Okay, I’m ready!”
In response, a panel opened on the north wall and five small metallic spheres floated into the room. Each was about the size of a grapefruit. Blake knew from experience that they’d give you a small zap if they touched you, enough to startle and distract you but thankfully not enough to actually hurt. Of course, falling to the ground when they startled you kinda hurt...
One of the spheres started flying at him, then another, then another. They moved quicker than he could, but he was able to switch currents to avoid some of them. Others he just let hit him--holding onto the currents when distracted was starting to become second nature. He managed to catch one and tried throwing it at another, but that didn’t work so well, they both just flew straight at him in response. He still managed to stay airborne though. After a few more minutes of deflecting and dodging, the spheres pulled back and came to a stop toward the edges of the room.
“Great job, Blake!” Mrs. Levitt’s voice came through the speakers again. “You seem to be getting a lot more confident about staying in the air.”
“Yeah! It’s getting pretty easy to hold on,” Blake smiled broadly. “I don’t even have to think about it all of the time anymore.”
“Think you’re ready for more of a challenge?”
“Sure I am! What’s next?”
“In addition to staying airborne, I want you to avoid getting hit. Think you can do that?”
“I can try,” Blake let a current carry him towards the center of the room, then nodded. “Okay, I’m ready.”
The spheres started moving again, slowly enough that Blake could dodge them pretty easily by grabbing hold of the appropriate currents. They gradually picked up speed, and then they were joined by five more spheres from a panel on the south wall. Soon Blake was struggling to find currents that would move him quickly enough out of their paths without getting him hit by other spheres flying nearby.
Then five more spheres joined the fray. Several came hurtling at him, and he could see that any of the quicker currents available to him would probably pull him into the path of the other spheres. If only there were a faster current moving towards the left! Blake nearly let dropped from the air in surprise when a very strong current blasted through from his right, carrying his current very quickly to the left. He found himself almost at the wall, well clear of all the spheres.
The spheres all came to a halt and Mrs. Levitt’s voice filled the room again. “That was fantastic, Blake! And you just set a new speed record.”
“I did?” Blake looked over at the spheres, then back up to the observation window. “What’s my new record?”
“42.7 miles per hour. Your old record was 18.1 miles per hour. Any idea what went differently?”
“Um... I dunno? A strong current came in out of nowhere and carried me over.”
“Think about immediately before that. What were you thinking and feeling?”
“Uh... well... I was thinking about how the currents weren’t moving fast enough?”
“Anything else?” Mrs. Levitt’s voice was, as always, very patient and encouraging.
Blake thought about it for a few moments, continuing to hover in the air. “I guess I was also thinking that it’d be nice if... it’d be nice if there were a faster current... and then it happened!”
“Think you can think that again?”
Blake thought about a current taking him across the room. “Um... I am, nothing’s happening.”
“How were you feeling when you thought it before?”
“Um... I guess I felt... well I really wanted it to happen. I dunno, maybe a bit of frustration?”
“Maybe if you tried to feel like that again?”
Nodding, Blake tried to really want a current to carry him across the room. At first nothing happened, and then he kinda... well he wasn’t sure what he did or how, but somehow he pushed with it and suddenly the currents were carrying him across the room. “Woah!”
“That’s great, Blake! What do you say we try for another practice round?”
Blake grinned. “Let me at them!”
The orbs started zipping about the room again, and Blake began to fly.
“Okay, I’m ready up here,” Mrs. Levitt’s voice came from the speakers which were mounted somewhere near the observation window. They were in the bunker in the bunker, of course. Blake was standing in the center of the room, alone. Mrs. Levitt was in the observation room, possibly alone or possibly not. Hopefully alone, so there’d be a smaller audience if he screwed up. “We’ll continue working on flight. When you’re ready, let’s start with having you try to stay in the air. I’ll send some distractions at you. You can respond to them however you like, as long as you stay airborne. Ready?”
Blake did another stretch and smiled, then lifted up into the air. It was getting much easier for him to get in the air and stay there. His flight was made possible by his presence on the ethereal plane. He simply “grabbed” on to a “current” of ethereal energy and held on. Where the current went, he went, too. Holding on was getting lots easier. The challenge he was having was moving from one current to another to move where he wanted. And even when he did that, he was limited to the speed of the ethereal energies he was holding on to. He let an upward-moving current lift him about eight feet off the floor, then grabbed onto a current that was mostly staying still for the moment. “Okay, I’m ready!”
In response, a panel opened on the north wall and five small metallic spheres floated into the room. Each was about the size of a grapefruit. Blake knew from experience that they’d give you a small zap if they touched you, enough to startle and distract you but thankfully not enough to actually hurt. Of course, falling to the ground when they startled you kinda hurt...
One of the spheres started flying at him, then another, then another. They moved quicker than he could, but he was able to switch currents to avoid some of them. Others he just let hit him--holding onto the currents when distracted was starting to become second nature. He managed to catch one and tried throwing it at another, but that didn’t work so well, they both just flew straight at him in response. He still managed to stay airborne though. After a few more minutes of deflecting and dodging, the spheres pulled back and came to a stop toward the edges of the room.
“Great job, Blake!” Mrs. Levitt’s voice came through the speakers again. “You seem to be getting a lot more confident about staying in the air.”
“Yeah! It’s getting pretty easy to hold on,” Blake smiled broadly. “I don’t even have to think about it all of the time anymore.”
“Think you’re ready for more of a challenge?”
“Sure I am! What’s next?”
“In addition to staying airborne, I want you to avoid getting hit. Think you can do that?”
“I can try,” Blake let a current carry him towards the center of the room, then nodded. “Okay, I’m ready.”
The spheres started moving again, slowly enough that Blake could dodge them pretty easily by grabbing hold of the appropriate currents. They gradually picked up speed, and then they were joined by five more spheres from a panel on the south wall. Soon Blake was struggling to find currents that would move him quickly enough out of their paths without getting him hit by other spheres flying nearby.
Then five more spheres joined the fray. Several came hurtling at him, and he could see that any of the quicker currents available to him would probably pull him into the path of the other spheres. If only there were a faster current moving towards the left! Blake nearly let dropped from the air in surprise when a very strong current blasted through from his right, carrying his current very quickly to the left. He found himself almost at the wall, well clear of all the spheres.
The spheres all came to a halt and Mrs. Levitt’s voice filled the room again. “That was fantastic, Blake! And you just set a new speed record.”
“I did?” Blake looked over at the spheres, then back up to the observation window. “What’s my new record?”
“42.7 miles per hour. Your old record was 18.1 miles per hour. Any idea what went differently?”
“Um... I dunno? A strong current came in out of nowhere and carried me over.”
“Think about immediately before that. What were you thinking and feeling?”
“Uh... well... I was thinking about how the currents weren’t moving fast enough?”
“Anything else?” Mrs. Levitt’s voice was, as always, very patient and encouraging.
Blake thought about it for a few moments, continuing to hover in the air. “I guess I was also thinking that it’d be nice if... it’d be nice if there were a faster current... and then it happened!”
“Think you can think that again?”
Blake thought about a current taking him across the room. “Um... I am, nothing’s happening.”
“How were you feeling when you thought it before?”
“Um... I guess I felt... well I really wanted it to happen. I dunno, maybe a bit of frustration?”
“Maybe if you tried to feel like that again?”
Nodding, Blake tried to really want a current to carry him across the room. At first nothing happened, and then he kinda... well he wasn’t sure what he did or how, but somehow he pushed with it and suddenly the currents were carrying him across the room. “Woah!”
“That’s great, Blake! What do you say we try for another practice round?”
Blake grinned. “Let me at them!”
The orbs started zipping about the room again, and Blake began to fly.
Re: Shades of Gray
Blake waited while the phone rang, part of him hoping nobody was home to answer. If he could leave a message saying he called, he would get out of talking for several more days possibly... but he really did need to ask about buying a tent.
The ringing stopped and his brother’s voice greeted him. “Hello?”
“Hey Dakota, it’s Blake. Are Mom or Dad home?”
“Uh... yeah, one sec.”
Blake heard Dakota put the phone down. Then he heard him yelling across the house for Mom. Nothing to do but wait.
“Blake!” Looks like Mom found the phone. “I was just in the middle of making supper. How are things?” Her voice had a bit of a forced cheerfulness to it that grated on Blake’s nerves.
“I’m good.” Might as well get straight to the point. “The school’s doing an overnight camping trip tomorrow. Can I buy a sleeping bag?”
“A camping trip? With other students? Is that wise? Didn’t you say some of the kids there can catch on fire?” Oh right, he forgot to on the Mom-freaking-out factor.
“Relax, Mom. It’s going to be chaperoned by one of the teachers, and everybody who’s going has their abilities pretty well under control.”
“How well is pretty well?”
“Mom. If they were a danger, the school wouldn’t be sending them camping.”
“I don’t know, Blake. How much does a sleeping bag cost anyway?”
“Uh... let me check.” He brought up MegaMart’s website and searched quickly. He heard frantic movement on the other end of the phone and what sounded like a pot of water boiling over... best not to comment on that. “Looks like I can get one for about thirty bucks.”
“I guess that’s not too bad. You’d better use it more than once though, that’s a lot of money to spend to buy something for one use.”
“I’ll make sure it gets lots of use, Mom. Thanks!”
“So did you go to church on Sunday?”
And that is why he was hoping nobody would answer the phone. “Uh, not exactly.”
“What does ‘not exactly’ mean?” Definitely a tone of displeasure there.
“Well, I spent some time looking around at some church websites trying to find someplace I thought I’d like but couldn’t find one right away.” Blake did a search for churches in Paragon City as he talked. “So instead I just listened to the sermon on one of their websites.” One of these churches was bound to have something like that...
“What did the Pastor preach on?”
“Oh, uh, it was very edifying...” Had to stall for just another moment... aha! “It was about Paul and taking up your cross. Good stuff.”
“Well, make sure you go to church for Easter. You don’t want to miss Easter Sunday.”
“Yes, Mom. I will.”
“Good. Well, I need to finish supper, we’re having spaghetti tonight. Make sure you call on Easter. I’ll keep praying for you.”
“Thanks Mom, I will.”
“I love you, sweetheart.”
“Yep, love you too. Bye.”
He clicked to hang up and breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn’t too bad, all things considered.
The ringing stopped and his brother’s voice greeted him. “Hello?”
“Hey Dakota, it’s Blake. Are Mom or Dad home?”
“Uh... yeah, one sec.”
Blake heard Dakota put the phone down. Then he heard him yelling across the house for Mom. Nothing to do but wait.
“Blake!” Looks like Mom found the phone. “I was just in the middle of making supper. How are things?” Her voice had a bit of a forced cheerfulness to it that grated on Blake’s nerves.
“I’m good.” Might as well get straight to the point. “The school’s doing an overnight camping trip tomorrow. Can I buy a sleeping bag?”
“A camping trip? With other students? Is that wise? Didn’t you say some of the kids there can catch on fire?” Oh right, he forgot to on the Mom-freaking-out factor.
“Relax, Mom. It’s going to be chaperoned by one of the teachers, and everybody who’s going has their abilities pretty well under control.”
“How well is pretty well?”
“Mom. If they were a danger, the school wouldn’t be sending them camping.”
“I don’t know, Blake. How much does a sleeping bag cost anyway?”
“Uh... let me check.” He brought up MegaMart’s website and searched quickly. He heard frantic movement on the other end of the phone and what sounded like a pot of water boiling over... best not to comment on that. “Looks like I can get one for about thirty bucks.”
“I guess that’s not too bad. You’d better use it more than once though, that’s a lot of money to spend to buy something for one use.”
“I’ll make sure it gets lots of use, Mom. Thanks!”
“So did you go to church on Sunday?”
And that is why he was hoping nobody would answer the phone. “Uh, not exactly.”
“What does ‘not exactly’ mean?” Definitely a tone of displeasure there.
“Well, I spent some time looking around at some church websites trying to find someplace I thought I’d like but couldn’t find one right away.” Blake did a search for churches in Paragon City as he talked. “So instead I just listened to the sermon on one of their websites.” One of these churches was bound to have something like that...
“What did the Pastor preach on?”
“Oh, uh, it was very edifying...” Had to stall for just another moment... aha! “It was about Paul and taking up your cross. Good stuff.”
“Well, make sure you go to church for Easter. You don’t want to miss Easter Sunday.”
“Yes, Mom. I will.”
“Good. Well, I need to finish supper, we’re having spaghetti tonight. Make sure you call on Easter. I’ll keep praying for you.”
“Thanks Mom, I will.”
“I love you, sweetheart.”
“Yep, love you too. Bye.”
He clicked to hang up and breathed a sigh of relief. That wasn’t too bad, all things considered.
Re: Shades of Gray
Blake drummed his fingers on the desk next to his laptop. He should probably call his family since it’s Easter... but he could probably get away with just sending an email. That’d certainly be much easier. He opened up his email and started a message.
He’d spent a lot of time that past week looking into churches. He’d considered Founders Falls Christian Fellowship. From their website, it sounded like it was kinda similar to his church back home. Their service had contemporary praise and worship music, and their website referenced Scriptures about lifting of holy hands, praying in tongues, laying on of hands and anointing of oil, and all that sort of stuff that his home church did. But he wasn’t sure he really wanted to go to someplace like his church back home.
So he looked into other kinds of churches. He had known there were lots of denominations, but he hadn’t really realized just how many “lots” meant. He could probably spend months trying to get a sense for what each of the churches in Paragon City were like, and that was only including those with websites!
He’d finally decided that he’d try the Steel Canyon Unitarian Universalist Church. From what he’d read online, Unitarian Universalism wasn’t really a Christian denomination, it was kinda like a melting pot for anything and everything. Their services incorporated and celebrated aspects of many faiths. They didn’t really specify what you had to believe, they let you find your own path. A lot of that sounded pretty appealing to Blake.
So, that had been where he’d gone, and it was pretty cool. The sermon had definitely had a Christian undertone to it--with it being Easter and all. The reverend had spoken on “doubting Thomas”, drawing on the passage where Thomas wouldn’t believe Jesus had risen until he had seen it with his own eyes. He talked about how many of us today are like doubting Thomas, not believing what we haven’t seen or experienced ourselves. The sermon was maybe a quarter of the length of the sermons his pastor had given back home, yet it still somehow felt more relevant and engaging than his pastor’s sermons.
Of course, he was pretty sure his parents would not be pleased at his choice of churches. So he’d have to dance around the topic a bit... which was much easier to accomplish in email. He started typing some more.
- Hi Mom! Happy Easter! I hope you guys are all having an enjoyable Easter.
He’d spent a lot of time that past week looking into churches. He’d considered Founders Falls Christian Fellowship. From their website, it sounded like it was kinda similar to his church back home. Their service had contemporary praise and worship music, and their website referenced Scriptures about lifting of holy hands, praying in tongues, laying on of hands and anointing of oil, and all that sort of stuff that his home church did. But he wasn’t sure he really wanted to go to someplace like his church back home.
So he looked into other kinds of churches. He had known there were lots of denominations, but he hadn’t really realized just how many “lots” meant. He could probably spend months trying to get a sense for what each of the churches in Paragon City were like, and that was only including those with websites!
He’d finally decided that he’d try the Steel Canyon Unitarian Universalist Church. From what he’d read online, Unitarian Universalism wasn’t really a Christian denomination, it was kinda like a melting pot for anything and everything. Their services incorporated and celebrated aspects of many faiths. They didn’t really specify what you had to believe, they let you find your own path. A lot of that sounded pretty appealing to Blake.
So, that had been where he’d gone, and it was pretty cool. The sermon had definitely had a Christian undertone to it--with it being Easter and all. The reverend had spoken on “doubting Thomas”, drawing on the passage where Thomas wouldn’t believe Jesus had risen until he had seen it with his own eyes. He talked about how many of us today are like doubting Thomas, not believing what we haven’t seen or experienced ourselves. The sermon was maybe a quarter of the length of the sermons his pastor had given back home, yet it still somehow felt more relevant and engaging than his pastor’s sermons.
Of course, he was pretty sure his parents would not be pleased at his choice of churches. So he’d have to dance around the topic a bit... which was much easier to accomplish in email. He started typing some more.
- I’ve had a good Easter so far. Church this morning was nice, the pastor talked about doubting Thomas and the resurrection. They had a kind of lunch fellowship thing afterwards that was nice, the people were all very welcoming. I’ll probably go back there.
- Thanks for letting me get the sleeping bag. The camping trip was a lot of fun and went really well. We camped out on a beach. It’s been a pretty quiet week but it’s been good to relax and get settled in a little more.
- Anyway think I’ll let you go, time to go get supper. Love, Blake
Re: Shades of Gray
“Good afternoon, Blake.” Ms. Wilson smiled as she let him into her office and they each took a seat. “How have you been since our last session?”
Blake shrugged. “Good I guess? I mean, not bad or anything. I’m getting a pretty good handle on flying, that’s a lot of fun. And there’s lots of fun people here to hang out with. Spring break was great, I got to go camping with everybody and everything.”
“So you’re making friends then?” Ms. Wilson noted something on her notepad.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess so. I mean I’m not like, best buddies with anyone I don’t think? But I think I’m starting to get to be friends with a few people. I think maybe I creep people out sometimes though. Like when I turn something gray, or when I talk about the spirits, or make them show up...”
“How does that make you feel?”
Blake grimaced slightly. What a stock psychology question. “Sometimes it’s annoying. Sometimes it’s fun.”
“How so?”
“Well, it’s fun to show people what I can do. A lot of times people are impressed or think it’s cool. It’s also fun to freak people out a bit sometimes. Usually people around here are pretty cool with stuff even if it freaks them out at first. But, I dunno, it’s annoying when you can’t even eat without making someone uncomfortable. I’ve started just turning my food all-the-way gray so that it doesn’t get into that weird part-gray, part-faded color state that happens sometimes, that seemed to make people even more uneasy.”
More notes were made on the notepad. “How do you handle it when someone’s uneasy?”
“Um... Well sometimes I just ignore it? Other times I guess I kinda make a joke out of it. Like, if I turn something gray on purpose to kinda make a show of it, then it’s easier to handle the reactions and it seems like other people can handle it more easily too.”
Ms. Wilson nodded. “I find that people are generally more at ease with things that are predictable and under control.”
“Yeah... and I can’t really stop making things I touch turn gray after a while.” Blake frowned a bit. “And people really don’t seem to like gray. It’s not even a color.”
“How do you feel about gray, Blake?”
“I hate it! I... uh, I tried going to the Denton Sports Complex... since it can suppress powers and stuff?”
Ms. Wilson looked faintly concerned. “And how did that go?”
“It sucked! I could only barely sense the ethereal stuff, it was like... I dunno, muffled. That part was kinda nice I guess? I don’t think I could’ve moved anything between the planes though. But what really sucked is that I still saw black and white! I thought it was supposed to suppress stuff like that! Why didn’t it work for me?”
“Power suppression is a complex technology, Blake. Most powers can be safely suppressed, but some can’t be. Some individuals need some aspects of their metahuman abilities in order to survive. And some things aren’t the sort of thing that can be easily or safely taken away in a suppression environment, such as fur or large size. In your case, you’re partly phased into another plane.”
“So it takes away all the good stuff, but leaves all the crap? That blows!”
“Well, what if it had let you see colors again?”
“That would have rocked!”
“Would have it really?” Ms. Wilson raised her eyebrows. “How do you think you’d have felt leaving the suppression?”
“Well, that would’ve sucked I guess. But at least I would’ve had a break.”
“Many people who have had such experiences would disagree. After having such a break, they found that it was harder again to deal with the consequences of their abilities. It reminded them of what they couldn’t have. Power suppression is too expensive and unwieldy to apply to everyday life.”
“Well, one day it probably won’t be... And maybe they can also fix it to suppress my stuff the right way too, right?”
“Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.” Ms. Wilson’s voice was sympathetic. “If they do, I’m afraid it won’t be any time soon.”
“Oh. Yeah...” Blake frowned. “ I guess you’re right.”
Blake shrugged. “Good I guess? I mean, not bad or anything. I’m getting a pretty good handle on flying, that’s a lot of fun. And there’s lots of fun people here to hang out with. Spring break was great, I got to go camping with everybody and everything.”
“So you’re making friends then?” Ms. Wilson noted something on her notepad.
“Yeah, yeah, I guess so. I mean I’m not like, best buddies with anyone I don’t think? But I think I’m starting to get to be friends with a few people. I think maybe I creep people out sometimes though. Like when I turn something gray, or when I talk about the spirits, or make them show up...”
“How does that make you feel?”
Blake grimaced slightly. What a stock psychology question. “Sometimes it’s annoying. Sometimes it’s fun.”
“How so?”
“Well, it’s fun to show people what I can do. A lot of times people are impressed or think it’s cool. It’s also fun to freak people out a bit sometimes. Usually people around here are pretty cool with stuff even if it freaks them out at first. But, I dunno, it’s annoying when you can’t even eat without making someone uncomfortable. I’ve started just turning my food all-the-way gray so that it doesn’t get into that weird part-gray, part-faded color state that happens sometimes, that seemed to make people even more uneasy.”
More notes were made on the notepad. “How do you handle it when someone’s uneasy?”
“Um... Well sometimes I just ignore it? Other times I guess I kinda make a joke out of it. Like, if I turn something gray on purpose to kinda make a show of it, then it’s easier to handle the reactions and it seems like other people can handle it more easily too.”
Ms. Wilson nodded. “I find that people are generally more at ease with things that are predictable and under control.”
“Yeah... and I can’t really stop making things I touch turn gray after a while.” Blake frowned a bit. “And people really don’t seem to like gray. It’s not even a color.”
“How do you feel about gray, Blake?”
“I hate it! I... uh, I tried going to the Denton Sports Complex... since it can suppress powers and stuff?”
Ms. Wilson looked faintly concerned. “And how did that go?”
“It sucked! I could only barely sense the ethereal stuff, it was like... I dunno, muffled. That part was kinda nice I guess? I don’t think I could’ve moved anything between the planes though. But what really sucked is that I still saw black and white! I thought it was supposed to suppress stuff like that! Why didn’t it work for me?”
“Power suppression is a complex technology, Blake. Most powers can be safely suppressed, but some can’t be. Some individuals need some aspects of their metahuman abilities in order to survive. And some things aren’t the sort of thing that can be easily or safely taken away in a suppression environment, such as fur or large size. In your case, you’re partly phased into another plane.”
“So it takes away all the good stuff, but leaves all the crap? That blows!”
“Well, what if it had let you see colors again?”
“That would have rocked!”
“Would have it really?” Ms. Wilson raised her eyebrows. “How do you think you’d have felt leaving the suppression?”
“Well, that would’ve sucked I guess. But at least I would’ve had a break.”
“Many people who have had such experiences would disagree. After having such a break, they found that it was harder again to deal with the consequences of their abilities. It reminded them of what they couldn’t have. Power suppression is too expensive and unwieldy to apply to everyday life.”
“Well, one day it probably won’t be... And maybe they can also fix it to suppress my stuff the right way too, right?”
“Maybe they will, maybe they won’t.” Ms. Wilson’s voice was sympathetic. “If they do, I’m afraid it won’t be any time soon.”
“Oh. Yeah...” Blake frowned. “ I guess you’re right.”
Re: Shades of Gray
Three times a week, Blake had time reserved in the school’s music practice room that contained their drum kit. It was a standard five-piece kit. Back home, he was used to practicing on a four-piece kit at church and an ancient three-piece kit at home, so he was enjoying having the additional toms to work with.
He wasn’t formally taking lessons, but Mr. Herbert had been nice enough to sit in with him twice and give him some advice for practicing. He was working on adjusting how he held his sticks, and trying to use his wrists and fingers more and his arms less. It was pretty weird watching Mr. Herbert show him exactly how he played it wrong versus how it should be done, but it was still very helpful.
So for the first half hour of his practice, he generally practiced what he liked to call “the boring stuff”. That meant working his way through exercises in a practice book that Mr. Herbert had lent him, playing along to a metronome and trying to refine his technique. He had a feeling Shayne would scoff at him for using the metronome... but fortunately she hadn’t dropped in on him while he was using it yet!
The second half hour of his practice was “the fun part”. That was the part where he put his headphones on, turned on some music, and just rocked out. It was the part where he also tended to lose track of time because he was enjoying himself so much.
He was jamming along to MxPx’s Shut It Down when he was startled to a stop by Marie Weaver shouting “Blake!” from the door. He hadn’t noticed her come in. She pointed up at the wall clock, which showed that his practice hour had ended two minutes ago.
Pulling his earphones out, he gave Marie a friendly nod. “Hey Marie, sorry, I didn’t see you come in. Uh... I’ll just clear out so you can practice.”
“Thanks, Blake,” she said with a slight smile as she took a seat at the piano. “See you tomorrow in history?”
“Yeah, see you then.”
As Marie started her warm-up exercises, Blake quietly stowed his practice book and drumsticks in his backpack. He liked his new drumsticks. They were solid black and on the heavier side, good for rocking out with. He hadn’t been planning to actually get them when he saw them in Rock Candy, but Shayne had surprised him with them later that evening. He reminded himself yet again that he should get his nemesis something in return at some point, though he had no idea what.
Leaving the practice room, he started walking back to the dorms. He’d had a pretty good day. The weather had been really nice for his morning run. He was pretty sure he’d aced the algebra pop quiz thanks to Lucas’s advance warning, and he’d gotten a B+ on his the history essay that was returned today. His other classes had been pretty low key, and even the school’s pepperoni pizza he’d had for lunch hadn’t completely sucked.
His good mood waned a bit as he thought about the coming weekend, though. His parents and younger brother were flying in very early Friday morning, that way they wouldn’t have to spend extra to stay in a hotel Thursday night. At least they were only staying until Saturday evening, instead of Sunday like a lot of people’s families.
Screw it, there was plenty of time to be miserable come the weekend. For now, he was just going to enjoy the rest of his day.
He wasn’t formally taking lessons, but Mr. Herbert had been nice enough to sit in with him twice and give him some advice for practicing. He was working on adjusting how he held his sticks, and trying to use his wrists and fingers more and his arms less. It was pretty weird watching Mr. Herbert show him exactly how he played it wrong versus how it should be done, but it was still very helpful.
So for the first half hour of his practice, he generally practiced what he liked to call “the boring stuff”. That meant working his way through exercises in a practice book that Mr. Herbert had lent him, playing along to a metronome and trying to refine his technique. He had a feeling Shayne would scoff at him for using the metronome... but fortunately she hadn’t dropped in on him while he was using it yet!
The second half hour of his practice was “the fun part”. That was the part where he put his headphones on, turned on some music, and just rocked out. It was the part where he also tended to lose track of time because he was enjoying himself so much.
He was jamming along to MxPx’s Shut It Down when he was startled to a stop by Marie Weaver shouting “Blake!” from the door. He hadn’t noticed her come in. She pointed up at the wall clock, which showed that his practice hour had ended two minutes ago.
Pulling his earphones out, he gave Marie a friendly nod. “Hey Marie, sorry, I didn’t see you come in. Uh... I’ll just clear out so you can practice.”
“Thanks, Blake,” she said with a slight smile as she took a seat at the piano. “See you tomorrow in history?”
“Yeah, see you then.”
As Marie started her warm-up exercises, Blake quietly stowed his practice book and drumsticks in his backpack. He liked his new drumsticks. They were solid black and on the heavier side, good for rocking out with. He hadn’t been planning to actually get them when he saw them in Rock Candy, but Shayne had surprised him with them later that evening. He reminded himself yet again that he should get his nemesis something in return at some point, though he had no idea what.
Leaving the practice room, he started walking back to the dorms. He’d had a pretty good day. The weather had been really nice for his morning run. He was pretty sure he’d aced the algebra pop quiz thanks to Lucas’s advance warning, and he’d gotten a B+ on his the history essay that was returned today. His other classes had been pretty low key, and even the school’s pepperoni pizza he’d had for lunch hadn’t completely sucked.
His good mood waned a bit as he thought about the coming weekend, though. His parents and younger brother were flying in very early Friday morning, that way they wouldn’t have to spend extra to stay in a hotel Thursday night. At least they were only staying until Saturday evening, instead of Sunday like a lot of people’s families.
Screw it, there was plenty of time to be miserable come the weekend. For now, he was just going to enjoy the rest of his day.
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