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Where is it, where is it, where is it…don't they even believe in the Dewey Decimal System?
Lorraine is poring through the shelves, trying to find what she needs to know. That feeling of helplessness was still in the back of her mind, like an itch she can't scratch. She HAS to know.
"Come on…come on…they HAVE to have SOMETHING…"
"If you're looking for something, you could ask. I do have the library memorized." Because of /course/ Tessa does. Also she really needs to stop being sneaky! …whether or not she's doing it on purpose. And then, "Hello, Lorraine."
Lorraine JUMPS, whirling around and grabbing the armrest of the chair near her. "JEEZ!" She takes a breath, then says, "I'm getting you a cat collar with a little bell…sheesh…" She straightens up, then says, "…okay. Does this library have any books on…welding techniques…architecture…construction…anything like that?"
Sage is dressed in her usual, business-like attire. With her pink-tinted glasses. "You're not the first person to make that threat." Of course, nobody has yet forced a cat bell on her. Tessa crooks a finger and leads Lorraine around two stacks of books to a darker corner. "Over here. Just a solitairy shelf, I'm afraid… but the contents do seem useful."
Lorraine follows. She's not really serious about putting a cat collar on Tessa. Although it WOULD mean she could hear her before she got a Tessa-induced heart attack.
She smiles as she looks at the spines of the books in the shelf. "Elememtary Welding Techniques…Tools of Heavy Construction…Beginning MIG Welding and Metal Fabrication…" She nods, pulling the books from the shelves. She stops, then looks at Tessa, her smile slipping. "I…have a good reason for needing these…listen, do you have time to talk? I…need to talk to someone about this, but I don't know where to start…"
Eyebrows lift. "You're sure you want to talk to me, of all people? I got the impression my… " She gestures at her.. impassiveness. "…was a detriment." That aside, she nods slightly. "I do have time. My marking for the evening is finished, and I have eaten. I had intended to do a bit of research, but that is for personal interest more than anything academic."
Lorraine chuckles. "I think you're interesting, and a good listener. Besides, I'm not put off by it." She takes a breath, then sits down on the couch nearby, putting the three books she picked on the floor next to her.
"Okay…where do I start? I was…well, I was flying, really flying, not just floating in the air. It's…it's a wonderful sensation. I can barely find the words to describe it. Then I saw an explosion offshore and I flew over to find out what it was. And there were these two ships, and they were both in trouble…"
"I try." She of course spent a good chunk of her professional life as a listener. One might not expect that quality of an assistant to a business tycoon, but she developed it rapidly. Her head tilts to one side, curiosity in her eyes, but she does not interrupt.
Lorraine clasped her hands together. "One of them…there was this big hole in the side, from an explosion. And I could heat the metal so I could bend it easily…but I didn't know how to weld the metal back together, to close the hole. I was just…staring at it, and I didn't know what to do. I could focus heat, but I didn't know the right…technique, I guess. Finally, I just…stretched it and pulled at it, like taffy, folding it over and pressing the folded metal together and hoped they would just…STICK, you know? It worked, but BARELY. They were still leaking, but the bilge pumps could handle it until they got back to port. And I felt so…FOOLISH. Like I thought HAVING the power worked as well as USING it."
"You shouldn't feel foolish," Tessa assures. She eventually takes a seat… but it's fairly obvious she is more comfortable standing, hands folded behind her back. It takes a long minute for her to get comfortable on the couch. "It worked, did it not? You got the ship to dock?"
Lorraine looks down at her hands. "I was lucky. Not good. Not trained. Just lucky. It was able to limp back to port. I spent the entire night trying to figure out how to do it differently. In the end, I realized I need to lean how to do this sort of thing. Use my powers in ways that are effective. My father suggested I look at welders to see how they did it, but the few I did find thought I was crazy or just weird for wanting to know how it is done. So…I have to rely on book techniques…and hope I can learn that way. I also have to figure out other ways to use this kind of heat in various ways. Because I can't be ignorant like that again. Someone could have drowned…WOULD have drowned if I messed up."
"While I think the desire to learn is admirable, you cannot overthink things. You'll drive yourself to madness that way." She lifts a hand before anything more can be said. "Don't argue with me," she insists. "I'm stubborn. And a telepath," Tessa reminds.
Lorraine looks up to her, smiling crookedly. "Sure…whatever you say, Tess." She takes a deep breath. "Anyway…is there someplace here I can test my powers with doing stuff like welding? Maybe like a junkyard, or a machine shop, or SOMETHING like that…?"
Sage considers that a moment. Nobody's actually made her aware of the Danger Room, so she cannot bring that up. "All I can think of would be outside. I worry with such heat applied to your surroundings… "
Lorraine smiled. "I did find an old juckyard near the southern end of Manhattan. I didn't know welding, but I was able to learn how to focus the energy into a beam about two inches wide that was incredibly hot. Enough to cut a Buick in half."
"Perhaps we should go there and make sure you get in some practice." Yes, she said 'we'. "I could be of some help in determining what your limits are. Besides.. safety in numbers."
Lorraine smiled. "Like…right now?" She stands up, looking eager for the first time. "I mean, if you want to…can you fly or something, or would you like me to carry you?" She looks to the door, looking as if she is restraining the urge to just run outside and CHANGE…
"I cannot fly. Until now, I rarely considered it a detriment. … Though I think the question becomes 'can you lift me?'" Because she'd just as soon drive herself and Lorraine down to this junkyard. "Do you know the address?"
Lorraine grins. "I can lift you. I am strong enough to lift people. And I can recognize it. I saw it from the air, so I can find it again. Let's go!"
She is unable to restrain herself any longer, but didn't want to risk doing it in the library.
She moves quickly to the door, beckoning to Tessa to follow her as she makes her way to the door, barely able to make it outside before she cannot suppress the need and gives herself over to the Change. It is like a soundless explosion as Lorraine is consumed with nuclear fire, and then FireHawk is standing in her place, gleaming and glowing with energy.
Sage follows. Of course she does. But she doesn't quite rush. She stops to grab a long coat and some gloves. Because even if things are warming up, it's still a little chilly outside. She slings her coat around her shoulders once she's outside. "I'm not sure which part of this you're more excited for."
FireHawk exhales in a rush of breath, and the air is suddenly very warm around her. "It is…oh, I wish I had the words." Her wings enfold around Tessa, sliding under her body as she lifts Tessa into her arms. "All right…hang on."
And then she lifts off, leaving a thin trail of atomis fire that dissipates after a few seconds…
Sage would have perhaps preferred to examine those wings a little more closely before she got up in the air but… Well, she's up in the air. She holds on, and is perhaps a little too thankful she can't look at the ground. Not that she's aware of any fear of heights, but well, if anything could trigger that, flying high above the ground like this…
FireHawk can fly pretty fast. She once clocked in at 300 MPH. Unfortunately, she doesn't want to risk that speed carrying a passenger. Normally, she can atomize anything in the air in front of her, but her control isn't that good. She doesn't want to risk incinerating Tessa if she miscalculated. So, she goes at about 45 MPH, fast enough to be at the junkyard before too long.
The tips of the wings brush lightly against Tessa, ruffling in the air, proving to be solid constructs. It isn't too long before they descend again, as FireHawk lands in the middle of a large scrapyard, resting on the hard-packed and oiled dirt path, carefully lowering Tessa to the ground.
Sage is grateful to be on land, even if the wings were - inadvertantly or not - demonstrated to be harmless to her. "Thank you," she says simply as she hops from Lorraine's arms to the ground. "Shall I dictate the terms of the exercise? I already have some thoughts in mind for what I'd like to see you do."
FireHawk steps back, bowing with one winged arm crossed in front of her. "You may so dictate, Eminent Sage." She giggles softly, a sound like resonating crystals.
Sage doesn't quite roll her eyes, but there's… something about the way she looks. Some minute expression. "You're beginning to sound like my students." Nevertheless, the way she holds herself suggests someone who is used to being listened to. Like a teacher. "What came to mind is strength and duration of the heat you can manifest. Given I can estimate the melting point of some of the materials here, we'll start with that…"
FireHawk moves towards a rather forlorn-looking Stutz-Bearcat, taking a deep breath, then says, "Just tell me what you want to see me do…and I'll do it."
Sometimes, you have to train in the ways you have available to you.