First Lesson (Freddy)

[Freddy Hunter]

>"You're new at this. Don't be discouraged, all right? I'm pretty impressed so far."

The words which he so frequently heard from his coach and so stereotypically craved from his father now coming from his gay mutant power control teacher manages to put into perspective the idea that maybe he will not be able to just hide his power and get away as a normal human. While this realization stings, the fact that he has heard that someone is impressed boosts his morale. After all, that means that even his genes are doing something right, doesn't it?

The small smile of a kid being simply happy for praise creeps into the corners of his lips, as it always does when he is faced with compliments, try as he might to stop it. Freddy does not comment, however, and nods decisively when he sees what is coming up. Obstacles, troopers, and a shiny form of "X marks the spot."

The troopers run at him, so he starts running at them. Raising a moving force field in front of him, big enough to shield him from anything directly in front, Freddy merely keeps on going, intending to crash into the trooper.

However, the man is obviously not as stupid as the single-minded blokes from video games and dodges the boy, jumping to the side and turning around, aiming his gun at Freddy.

Before even having enough time to think of an appropriate swear word (which is a considerably small fraction, seeing how there is only a limited amount of curses a fifteen year old can be exposed to), the feeling of danger so close by (because he doesn't want to find out what happens when he gets killed in a simulation that is so realistic in its feel) makes an even deeper instinct come out and pull Freddy's personal force field about him. The bullets come, hit, and bounce back, and Freddy smiles cockily and just keeps on going.

Next are two walls very close together, with the space in between filled with more troopers. Running up to the wall, Freddy paused for a moment to make sure his body field was holding up, and then came up to the hallway. As soon as he did, the bullets came, and as soon as the bullets came, they went back, ricocheting off the impenetrable, vacuum-tight field.

Running through the small corridor, Freddy does his best not to look at the results of his very video-game like attempt at solving things, realizing a bit too late that in the real world, the enemy won't just neatly disappear in an amusing and colorful series of pixels.

He goes on, and the shiny goal is in view...along with a very long chasm, a very high wall, and a very large number of the generic troopers previously encountered.

But an even greater obstacle presents itself even before Freddy manages to arrogantly step forward. Namely, the breath he has been holding begins to struggle to get out, but the body field he has up does not show the slightest intention of allowing this. He turns to find Josh, but doesn't see him in the narrow passage, instead finally laying eyes on the corpses...and promptly starting to panic.

Taking a deep breath ends at the attempt stage, and he begins gasping for air and trying to scream, but the sound does not go far beyond the field. Freddy realizes he has sealed himself in a hermetic bubble, with little chance of getting out. The fear grows.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Josh runs after Freddy, intent on watching how he solves the problem of getting safely through the room. This particular room was designed to be rather difficult for new students. The cocky ones dive in and get picked apart in the crossfire. The timid ones take too long and are backed into a corner. Freddy seems to be striking a balance... so far.

As Freddy runs through a small gateway up ahead, it slams shut in Josh's face. He blows out an annoyed breath. The program was trying to separate them. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten to specify that this was an observation session. Shrugging fractionally, he dives through side corridor, tossing a pair of simulated enemies into the wall at breakneck speed.

After a minute or two, his pathway converges back with Freddy's. The goal is just ahead of the two of them, but Freddy is... Josh narrows his eyes. Freddy's mental sense is fading in and out, and the boy is on his knees, choking.

"Freddy... what - -?!" Josh casts around for an explanation. Wait... his force field is suffocating him! They'd just talked about how his control wasn't very good yet -

Josh reaches out to Freddy's mind, intending on plunging the boy into unconsciousness with his telepathy. That would likely switch off his field and let him begin breathing normally again.

Wait. His eyes widen. The problem was that he wasn't controlling the fields at the moment. So there was no guarantee that it would work, and having an unconscious Freddy in a airless bubble was even worse than having a conscious one.

Freddy... listen to me. Hold on! I'll get you out of there... one way or another. Josh desperately casts around for a plan, and an idea forms. He closes his eyes and raises his hands.

Across the room, obstacles, mental plating sections, even enemy troops all rise into the air. As they reach Freddy, Josh throws them as hard as he can into the boy's force field. The impact leaves some things dented and mangled, and he lets the destroyed pieces drop to the ground.

Come on... he's a new student. Any time now... Freddy's lack of training meant that his stamina should be giving out at any time now. The trick was to make sure not to throw anything at him after the field dissipated.

[Freddy Hunter]

He sees Josh, finally, and sees him mouth something, but the words don't reach his ears. He tries to say that he's choking, but it doesn't quite roll off the tongue as easily as one might expect. A sort of a haze sets in and Josh becomes a cloudy figure.

><Freddy... listen to me. Hold on! I'll get you out of there... one way or another. >

The words comfort a bit, but the last phrase he could really do without. One way or another implies that there are ways he would not enjoy perusing to get out of the force field.

I'd like it to be alive and healthy, please? he thinks back at Josh, though his voice fades a little, even the inner, mental one. The last thing he expects, however, is having an object hurled at him. It bounces off the force field, and sends Freddy a bit off to the side. He finds time to frown and send a general impression of "what the hell?!" towards Josh's mind, or at least hopes he does, before another object hurls him back the other way.

He manages to force himself to get on his knees before another hit sends him sprawling on his back. Luckily, he doesn't feel anything but the force sending him down. Deciding against moving, thinking that perhaps Josh has gone bonkers and doesn't really intend to teach any more, Freddy waits for the onslaught to end. He'll choke soon anyway, so he will avoid the pain of being crushed once...

That's it! he realizes what Josh's plan is, and tries to get in the way of the objects, now slightly amused as he sees one of the troopers heading for him.

In one final blow, he is sent sprawling on his back again, but he feels the force field let off, and suddenly he's free. His lips part and he inhales deeply, hungry for air, exhaling and repeating the process for a few seconds before bothering to try to get up. Freddy rolls onto his side, and then pushes himself into a kneeling position.

"Thanks...you saved my life..." he mutters between gasps as he tries to stand. It takes a few shots but he finally manages to get on his feet, only to sway a little as dizziness sets in. "Whoa..." he mutters sauntering a bit before finally catching his balance.

He takes some time to stabilize, start breathing again, though the fatigue from the exercise and the destruction of his force field makes him gasp every now and then. Finally, he looks up at Josh, a bright smile on his face, as if death had not come very close to him in the past minute. "Do you guys do this for each other all the time? I mean...not this, obviously, since you'd know when to turn the force field off, but, like, save lives and stuff? What's the next exercise?"