Cyberlad
Half Pint
Ezekiel
PatientBean
Mao Mao
Retired
Qia
Festive
mickilennial
AndyCMaybe something like HZEs interacting to enhance fast twitch muscle fibres or something.
#pseudosuperscience!
#pseudosuperscience!
Hound55 Member
Create-A-Hero RPG GM, Blue Bringer of BWAHAHA!
STATUS: A Perpetual Motion Engine of Anxiety and Self-Loathing 2 yrs ago
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Recent Statuses
2 yrs ago
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A Perpetual Motion Engine of Anxiety and Self-Loathing
Bio
So there I am, in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, at about 3 o'clock in the morning, looking for one thousand brown M&Ms to fill a brandy glass, or Ozzy wouldn't go on stage that night. So, Jeff Beck pops his head 'round the door, and mentions there's a little sweets shop on the edge of town. So - we go. And - it's closed. So there's me, and Keith Moon, and David Crosby, breaking into that little sweets shop, eh. Well, instead of a guard dog, they've got this bloody great big Bengal tiger. I managed to take out the tiger with a can of mace, but the shopowner and his son... that's a different story altogether. I had to beat them to death with their own shoes. Nasty business, really. But, sure enough, I got the M&Ms, and Ozzy went on stage and did a great show.
Most Recent Posts
Only note I'd have would be finding a way to tie HZEs into the power description.
The foster system is just completely awash with hyperhuman kids...
I am going to kill Nate with how this sheet has plagued me all morning. I finally got it to agree with me. Finally.
Worked fine for me...[/b]
btw congrats prcu folks we've officially made it past 1/2 the way to a 100 ic posts
It's been a good fifty.
Location: Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean
The Homecoming Trials: # 1.51 Team Bonding - Basic Introductions: "Mouth Meet Foot, Foot... Mouth."
Interaction(s): Calliope - @PatientBean, Hayleigh - @Kuro, Iñigo - @Mao Mao... Background Cassander - @Lord Wraith
Previously: Biology 101 - Introduction to Flirting
Yeah, he'd screwed up. Trying to take a peek around the yurt he was using for cover, to catch a glimpse at her reaction and facial expression, she looked... down. Maybe not crestfallen, but certainly disappointed with how things had played out.
Now whether that was because of the poorly delivered flirtation or not, he was unsure of, but it certainly wasn't remedied by his suggestion that they check in on everyone else.
Bloody dickhead. She was struggling to open up, you read it right and weren't overly forceful in poking and prodding clumsily - tread carefully and listen... and then you decide "Hey you know what would be a good idea? LeT's cHeCk iN wItH eVeRyOnE eLsE." Idyut.
Stop. Giving. A. Shit. Be cool. There's time to fix this later on. Hell, you're sharing a tent. And since we're going to have our own thoughts on everybody, there'll doubtless be something to discuss. 'Bonding' over team bonding, so to speak. It'll all work out.
Unless she decides she likes someone else here better and decides to ditch out and go with someone else after that piss-poor display... No second chances then.
A cold shiver ran up his spine, confronted with this new terrible possibility. Which also made him confront the fact that it was too late - he did, indeed, care.
But they were all already paired up, Jim-Bob wasn't going to allow some bullshit scuffle or petty argument kick off over people baselessly deciding to switch tents. He'd make people pick-n-stick just to avoid all that. Surely?
Calliope sighed audibly and began to walk away. Banjo wrapped up his "final check" and quickly fell in behind in as casual a pursuit as he could muster.
Now he was pretty much at the mercy of who she'd choose to approach, for who they'd be dealing with. He prayed to whatever deity who would still actually take his calls that it wouldn't be Trace, and was relieved when he saw it was the blonde girl in the wheelchair he'd seen around the traps and... someone else. Had he just completely forgotten this other person altogether? Had they always been here? Realising that Calliope was the only person whose name he'd cared to remember amongst their group from initial introductions, it immediately seemed plausible.
"Hey, do you need any more help? We got our tent up and figured we would come and check on everyone else. You know, get this whole bonding thing started. I'm Calliope, by the way."
"Evenin' thrillseekers," Banjo kicked off with an impression that no-one within a thousand miles would pickup on. "Banjo here." He gave a little three finger wave with his thumb and two forefingers. "There are no tools. Whole thing sets itself up. Piss-easy, if a bit unfulfilling in terms of soul. Got a lever, tucked just under that fold." He said as an aside, giving a conspiratorial wink to the blonde girl in the wheelchair who was inspecting the tent bag.
"Don't tell this one that, though." He said sticking out his tongue and gesturing at Calliope. "Reckon she thinks she's got herself a real Crocodile Dundee to up the tent." He joked.
Too soon, dickhead. Still raw... She's still disappointed with you...
Sparking and disruption caused the group to look over to the side, just in time to see Sparky McGee's hands spark blue, and his tentmate take to the skies and fly away.
Swap tent-partners, no... but he might just let someone go from one tent to a vacant spot in another.
And now Banjo was watching a vacancy open up as this guy flew over the horizon.
"Well, shit..."
Now whether that was because of the poorly delivered flirtation or not, he was unsure of, but it certainly wasn't remedied by his suggestion that they check in on everyone else.
Bloody dickhead. She was struggling to open up, you read it right and weren't overly forceful in poking and prodding clumsily - tread carefully and listen... and then you decide "Hey you know what would be a good idea? LeT's cHeCk iN wItH eVeRyOnE eLsE." Idyut.
Stop. Giving. A. Shit. Be cool. There's time to fix this later on. Hell, you're sharing a tent. And since we're going to have our own thoughts on everybody, there'll doubtless be something to discuss. 'Bonding' over team bonding, so to speak. It'll all work out.
Unless she decides she likes someone else here better and decides to ditch out and go with someone else after that piss-poor display... No second chances then.
A cold shiver ran up his spine, confronted with this new terrible possibility. Which also made him confront the fact that it was too late - he did, indeed, care.
But they were all already paired up, Jim-Bob wasn't going to allow some bullshit scuffle or petty argument kick off over people baselessly deciding to switch tents. He'd make people pick-n-stick just to avoid all that. Surely?
Calliope sighed audibly and began to walk away. Banjo wrapped up his "final check" and quickly fell in behind in as casual a pursuit as he could muster.
Now he was pretty much at the mercy of who she'd choose to approach, for who they'd be dealing with. He prayed to whatever deity who would still actually take his calls that it wouldn't be Trace, and was relieved when he saw it was the blonde girl in the wheelchair he'd seen around the traps and... someone else. Had he just completely forgotten this other person altogether? Had they always been here? Realising that Calliope was the only person whose name he'd cared to remember amongst their group from initial introductions, it immediately seemed plausible.
"Hey, do you need any more help? We got our tent up and figured we would come and check on everyone else. You know, get this whole bonding thing started. I'm Calliope, by the way."
"Evenin' thrillseekers," Banjo kicked off with an impression that no-one within a thousand miles would pickup on. "Banjo here." He gave a little three finger wave with his thumb and two forefingers. "There are no tools. Whole thing sets itself up. Piss-easy, if a bit unfulfilling in terms of soul. Got a lever, tucked just under that fold." He said as an aside, giving a conspiratorial wink to the blonde girl in the wheelchair who was inspecting the tent bag.
"Don't tell this one that, though." He said sticking out his tongue and gesturing at Calliope. "Reckon she thinks she's got herself a real Crocodile Dundee to up the tent." He joked.
Too soon, dickhead. Still raw... She's still disappointed with you...
Sparking and disruption caused the group to look over to the side, just in time to see Sparky McGee's hands spark blue, and his tentmate take to the skies and fly away.
Unless she decides she likes someone else here better and decides to ditch out and go
with someone else after that piss-poor display... No second chances then.
with someone else after that piss-poor display... No second chances then.
Jim-Bob wasn't going to allow some bullshit scuffle or petty argument
kick off over people baselessly deciding to switch tents.
kick off over people baselessly deciding to switch tents.
Swap tent-partners, no... but he might just let someone go from one tent to a vacant spot in another.
And now Banjo was watching a vacancy open up as this guy flew over the horizon.
"Well, shit..."
- - -
Shut up Tad, ...
...we all know you're a virgin.
...we all know you buy your shoes at Best and Less.
...we all know those curls are implanted pubic hair.
...we all know sexual dysfunction is not a personality trait.
...we all know you're the reason your parents are divorced.
...we all know you think Bieber is acceptable.
...we all know you smell like failure and cheese.
...we all know your town would never have you back.
...we all know you're the human embodiment of Jessica Black's 'Friday'.
...we all know you're the reason the McRib is seasonal.
...we all know America grows stronger in your absence.
...we all know good taste dies with every breath you draw.
...we all know just because you're a pussy doesn't make you a certified gynaecologist.
...we all know you're a virgin.
...we all know you buy your shoes at Best and Less.
...we all know those curls are implanted pubic hair.
...we all know sexual dysfunction is not a personality trait.
...we all know you're the reason your parents are divorced.
...we all know you think Bieber is acceptable.
...we all know you smell like failure and cheese.
...we all know your town would never have you back.
...we all know you're the human embodiment of Jessica Black's 'Friday'.
...we all know you're the reason the McRib is seasonal.
...we all know America grows stronger in your absence.
...we all know good taste dies with every breath you draw.
...we all know just because you're a pussy doesn't make you a certified gynaecologist.
Location: Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean
The Homecoming Trials: # 1.44 Biology 101 - Introduction to Flirting
Interaction(s): Calliope - @PatientBean
Previously: How to Stall Assembling a Self-Assembling Tent Because of Hotness
Calliope really was stunning. Distractingly so. But Banjo continued to play it cool as best he could. If she had any interest in him at all, and he suspected she did. After all, she approached him - man, that really came out of nowhere though, didn't it - and there were a few moments he suspected he'd almost caught her checking him out. Particularly checking out his rear end, when he'd put the tent down and turned back quickly to offer his name. At first he thought maybe he was picking up on something he was hoping for, rather than something that was actually happening, but then too many things seemed to fall into place to make it seem just a coincedence.
Still, play it cool. Hell, after all, if there was anything that drew him to her in the first place it was probably that, yeah? Confidence bordering on cockiness. Banjo bein' Banjo.
"This school is...interesting to say the least. I've never been to a school like it with such stringent rules and dress codes. Granted, it wasn't like I didn't have my own set of rules governed by my father. Looking a certain way, acting a certain way. Everything had to be cookie-cutter perfect otherwise we didn't hear the end of it. Hell, the whole thing at the town center was because..."
Hup, there it was again. Family. And more to the point, the father. Guess that made some kind of sense. Daddy issues. If you could bio-engineer "Daddy wouldn't approve" in a laboratory, Banjo was pretty sure he'd be looking at a clone of himself. He'd have to thank the old man later, because if Calliope WASN'T perfection, then he'd damn sure come up with a close enough approximation of it, far as he could tell...
Then she quickly pulled up on her comments, and it left him feeling self-conscious and guilty for his own lewd thoughts. "Never mind. Suffice to say, I think we all have our pasts and reasons for being here. As nutty as it might seem, I think you have it right. At least being a Hyperhuman here won't get you kicked out or shunned by society." He got a sense she was trying to open up to him, and that it wasn't easy. But maybe that she would with time. It told him he'd played it right before. Don't probe, don't poke. Just listen.
"Yeah, looks like prime weather for me then. And I agree, our powers seem to complement each other. Or, at the very least, won't hinder the other. Provided you don't give off intense heat and I am nearby. Though not all heat is bad."
There it was. Boom. Jackpot. Clarification. Pieces all fell into place, and it wasn't just hopes or wishes. Shit. Oh shit. A comeback. Hit a comeback, before the timing's misse--
"Couldn't imagine myself giving off intensity or heat if you weren't." he fired back with a smirking grin.
What the fuck was--? Was that good? Did that work? I mean it was something. Fuck it. Sell it. Confidence and keep moving. Good ol' Banjo bein' Banjo. Say that shit and keep moving. Nothing to see here. Don't linger at the scene. And why the fuck do you give a shit? You never give a shit.
He dropped the smirk, but kept the grin on his face as he circled the yurt ensuring it was properly self anchored and in tact.
"Well, whilst I would more than happily keep chattering away to you all night, I s'pose we should probably make the most of what little time we have getting to know the rest of these jokers. Looks like we got our tent done first anyway. Probably give a decent 'in' with some of the others who might be struggling. Worst comes to worst, at least 'this' feels pretty good and solid. Least I know one person's got their head screwed on right."
Stop giving a shit. Does she know that you're into her? She knows that you're appropriately into her. Stop this. She flirted, you flirted back. She was letting you know she's into you, you let her know you're into her. I mean she didn't seem to cringe terribly. She didn't hurl herself off the cliffs. Knock it off. You did fine. Did it seem like you ran away? No, she knows we have to speak to the other people.
Goddamn it. You have to speak to the other people. The people where it probably won't go as well because they didn't necessarily like you going in.
"Well, shit..."
Still, play it cool. Hell, after all, if there was anything that drew him to her in the first place it was probably that, yeah? Confidence bordering on cockiness. Banjo bein' Banjo.
"This school is...interesting to say the least. I've never been to a school like it with such stringent rules and dress codes. Granted, it wasn't like I didn't have my own set of rules governed by my father. Looking a certain way, acting a certain way. Everything had to be cookie-cutter perfect otherwise we didn't hear the end of it. Hell, the whole thing at the town center was because..."
Hup, there it was again. Family. And more to the point, the father. Guess that made some kind of sense. Daddy issues. If you could bio-engineer "Daddy wouldn't approve" in a laboratory, Banjo was pretty sure he'd be looking at a clone of himself. He'd have to thank the old man later, because if Calliope WASN'T perfection, then he'd damn sure come up with a close enough approximation of it, far as he could tell...
Then she quickly pulled up on her comments, and it left him feeling self-conscious and guilty for his own lewd thoughts. "Never mind. Suffice to say, I think we all have our pasts and reasons for being here. As nutty as it might seem, I think you have it right. At least being a Hyperhuman here won't get you kicked out or shunned by society." He got a sense she was trying to open up to him, and that it wasn't easy. But maybe that she would with time. It told him he'd played it right before. Don't probe, don't poke. Just listen.
"Yeah, looks like prime weather for me then. And I agree, our powers seem to complement each other. Or, at the very least, won't hinder the other. Provided you don't give off intense heat and I am nearby. Though not all heat is bad."
There it was. Boom. Jackpot. Clarification. Pieces all fell into place, and it wasn't just hopes or wishes. Shit. Oh shit. A comeback. Hit a comeback, before the timing's misse--
"Couldn't imagine myself giving off intensity or heat if you weren't." he fired back with a smirking grin.
What the fuck was--? Was that good? Did that work? I mean it was something. Fuck it. Sell it. Confidence and keep moving. Good ol' Banjo bein' Banjo. Say that shit and keep moving. Nothing to see here. Don't linger at the scene. And why the fuck do you give a shit? You never give a shit.
He dropped the smirk, but kept the grin on his face as he circled the yurt ensuring it was properly self anchored and in tact.
"Well, whilst I would more than happily keep chattering away to you all night, I s'pose we should probably make the most of what little time we have getting to know the rest of these jokers. Looks like we got our tent done first anyway. Probably give a decent 'in' with some of the others who might be struggling. Worst comes to worst, at least 'this' feels pretty good and solid. Least I know one person's got their head screwed on right."
Stop giving a shit. Does she know that you're into her? She knows that you're appropriately into her. Stop this. She flirted, you flirted back. She was letting you know she's into you, you let her know you're into her. I mean she didn't seem to cringe terribly. She didn't hurl herself off the cliffs. Knock it off. You did fine. Did it seem like you ran away? No, she knows we have to speak to the other people.
Goddamn it. You have to speak to the other people. The people where it probably won't go as well because they didn't necessarily like you going in.
"Well, shit..."
- - -
FYI, anyone curious about that Banjo playlist I mentioned before...
The monument to the Australian music industry
...and Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun.
Andrew "Banjo" Olyphant - P.R.C.U
The monument to the Australian music industry
...and Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun.
Andrew "Banjo" Olyphant - P.R.C.U
One of the "football friends" Rory had brought a throwball. Because of course he had. He supposed the only surprise was that both of them hadn't. He'd seen Rory raise an eyebrow when Calliope asked if he wanted to share a tent. Banjo had wanted to mouth "I know! I have no idea either, right?" but instead he just kept on hauling the tent bag with a grin on his face. The view certainly didn't hurt in terms of keeping his behaviour in line. And he supposed the cliffs were alright too.
Location: Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean
The Homecoming Trials: # 1.33 How to Stall Assembling a Self-Assembling Tent Because of Hotness
Interaction(s): Calliope - @PatientBean, The Ball
Previously: Upsticks In Five to Ten
Banjo was looking through the tent bag. The thing didn't look like any kind of tent he'd put up in the past, but he'd nut it out okay. How complicated could a tent be? He started digging for instructions.
"Came here kind of by choice, kind of not. Home life was....testy to say the least. I mean, when you destroy your town's city center and make it look like a winter wonderland in the middle of a New Mexico summer, you tend to ruffle some feathers. Ice, in case that wasn't clear, is my power. I haven't practiced with it too much, but I imagine I can do a lot with it. I made it snow back home."
Quite a lot to unpack there. Her speech had a clipped tone in its pattern that suggested she didn't expect any questions. Comment about her home and family suggested there was more there, but she wasn't comfortable sharing it yet. Which was fine with him. He got how family could hurt you about as well as anyone. It's why his attitude was mainly "Fuck those people" in regards to his own. He'd love to track them down just to tell them he'd never needed them and spit in their faces. But her situation sounded more complicated, and not everyone was as evolved in their "Fuck you people" thinking as he was.
He considered telling the story of when he'd killed all the toilets and plumbing in the City Center of Cobra back home, to her. But that was more an amusing anecdote and something he actually took a sick sort of sense of pride in the humour of the situation than anything... and let's face it, Cobra wasn't his home.
Cobra was a town of about a couple dozen people. They don't build Town Hall's for towns with only a couple dozen people with hundreds of acres of land on their stations. They make do. In this case the local pub.
The Butler had to leave a hefty couple of strips of rubber behind to get the pair of them out alive after Banjo had cherry bombed the toilets and the keg lines. Not out of anger or malice... he was mainly just curious to see if the explosives could still work under those conditions.
There was now about about a football team's worth of people out in rural South Australia who were in favour of corporal punishment in the case of a very specific child, who could attest to the fact that cherry bomb's do indeed work in those conditions.
So yeah, that didn't sound like the story to tell. So instead he just nodded and tried to seem understanding.
"What about you? Here by choice or force?"
He chuckled at the question. "I've never been ANYWHERE by choice. Now what I've done when I've gotten there... that's been ENTIRELY Banjo." He grabbed his chest as if to accentuate the point.
"But I've been bounced around damn near every eligible boarding school in my country growing up. I've just now heard that for whatever reason, this situation's a little more permanent than any of my previous schools." He placed the tent.
"So it looks like I've got to make THIS one count and work for me. Still, it could be worse. As far as I can tell nobody's planning any major harm to me because of what I am... Australia's not quite so progressive yet on Hyperhuman Rights. And I mean, the actual school - as far as school's go - I probably couldn't ask for anything better, even if the kids seem a bit crazy with the school pride. I mean, if I rattle out of here, I'm a known-hyperhuman - just because I actually got admitted here - whose references include DOZENS of schools over my entire education - more than half with less than sparkling things to say about my disciplinary record. What other university would accept that?"
He straightened up and thought about it all. Really let what he was saying wash over himself and take effect like he hadn't until now.
He might not be able to go back home again.
Which seems a weird thing to think for someone who doesn't have a fixed place he thinks of as "home". Just the broader concept of being able to drive the open roads and go to wherever on the Australian continent he so choose. To not be able to go back.
"Well, shit."
He popped the yurt and it gradually began to unfurl and take shape. The stray football rolled into the base of the yurt.
"But ice... That's good. That works fine with me. I'm not bothered by extreme temperatures, it's part of my whole package deal, so feel free to absolutely cut loose if it's just you and me. Also," He said, gesturing to the oncoming dark clouds. "Storm's coming, so unless this is some hyper-manmade thing they're doing now to get all low pressure regions out to ensure good weather for their trials, it looks like you're going to have plenty of moisture in the air."
Calls of "Little help!" came from behind, in regards to the lost ball. Banjo sighed.
"But as for me, mine's a little tougher to describe. I... feed, I guess... on sunlight and ambient heat. It makes me... more. Stronger. Faster. I think clearer. But it's easier to show, than tell..."
He did a quick check to make sure everyone was at a safe distance and then drank deep of the late-afternoon, early-evening sun. His breathing quickened and halted, and his body turned black. Muscles and sinew re-knitted within his flesh and his synapses flared and fired from the exquisite sensation. His body stopped seizing and he regained control after the initial change. A splendid orange corona started surrounding him, and a cool breeze seemed to exude from the windward side of him as he dropped the local temperature about a half a degree.
He pointed down to the football and then gave a thumbs-up. He powered down and picked it up.
He gestured to the further boy to get ready, waving the ball up, and kicked the ball high as he could in his direction. A booming punt. Hyperhuman strength-assisted.
"Reckon even without your help, that 'un might come down with frost on it." He said, referring to the altitude he'd put on the ball.
"So feel free to call me a dickhead for being overly forward since we've only just met, but it seems to me that if nothing else our powersets are pretty compatible. I don't know what's going to be ahead of us in the Trials... but if the group is told to split up for any reason - groups of sixes, groups of twos or threes - maybe we'd both be best off watching each other's backs?"
He gestured to the tent that was now complete.
"At least that's the way I see it."
The ball came down cold.
"Came here kind of by choice, kind of not. Home life was....testy to say the least. I mean, when you destroy your town's city center and make it look like a winter wonderland in the middle of a New Mexico summer, you tend to ruffle some feathers. Ice, in case that wasn't clear, is my power. I haven't practiced with it too much, but I imagine I can do a lot with it. I made it snow back home."
Quite a lot to unpack there. Her speech had a clipped tone in its pattern that suggested she didn't expect any questions. Comment about her home and family suggested there was more there, but she wasn't comfortable sharing it yet. Which was fine with him. He got how family could hurt you about as well as anyone. It's why his attitude was mainly "Fuck those people" in regards to his own. He'd love to track them down just to tell them he'd never needed them and spit in their faces. But her situation sounded more complicated, and not everyone was as evolved in their "Fuck you people" thinking as he was.
He considered telling the story of when he'd killed all the toilets and plumbing in the City Center of Cobra back home, to her. But that was more an amusing anecdote and something he actually took a sick sort of sense of pride in the humour of the situation than anything... and let's face it, Cobra wasn't his home.
Cobra was a town of about a couple dozen people. They don't build Town Hall's for towns with only a couple dozen people with hundreds of acres of land on their stations. They make do. In this case the local pub.
The Butler had to leave a hefty couple of strips of rubber behind to get the pair of them out alive after Banjo had cherry bombed the toilets and the keg lines. Not out of anger or malice... he was mainly just curious to see if the explosives could still work under those conditions.
There was now about about a football team's worth of people out in rural South Australia who were in favour of corporal punishment in the case of a very specific child, who could attest to the fact that cherry bomb's do indeed work in those conditions.
So yeah, that didn't sound like the story to tell. So instead he just nodded and tried to seem understanding.
"What about you? Here by choice or force?"
He chuckled at the question. "I've never been ANYWHERE by choice. Now what I've done when I've gotten there... that's been ENTIRELY Banjo." He grabbed his chest as if to accentuate the point.
"But I've been bounced around damn near every eligible boarding school in my country growing up. I've just now heard that for whatever reason, this situation's a little more permanent than any of my previous schools." He placed the tent.
"So it looks like I've got to make THIS one count and work for me. Still, it could be worse. As far as I can tell nobody's planning any major harm to me because of what I am... Australia's not quite so progressive yet on Hyperhuman Rights. And I mean, the actual school - as far as school's go - I probably couldn't ask for anything better, even if the kids seem a bit crazy with the school pride. I mean, if I rattle out of here, I'm a known-hyperhuman - just because I actually got admitted here - whose references include DOZENS of schools over my entire education - more than half with less than sparkling things to say about my disciplinary record. What other university would accept that?"
He straightened up and thought about it all. Really let what he was saying wash over himself and take effect like he hadn't until now.
He might not be able to go back home again.
Which seems a weird thing to think for someone who doesn't have a fixed place he thinks of as "home". Just the broader concept of being able to drive the open roads and go to wherever on the Australian continent he so choose. To not be able to go back.
"Well, shit."
He popped the yurt and it gradually began to unfurl and take shape. The stray football rolled into the base of the yurt.
"But ice... That's good. That works fine with me. I'm not bothered by extreme temperatures, it's part of my whole package deal, so feel free to absolutely cut loose if it's just you and me. Also," He said, gesturing to the oncoming dark clouds. "Storm's coming, so unless this is some hyper-manmade thing they're doing now to get all low pressure regions out to ensure good weather for their trials, it looks like you're going to have plenty of moisture in the air."
Calls of "Little help!" came from behind, in regards to the lost ball. Banjo sighed.
"But as for me, mine's a little tougher to describe. I... feed, I guess... on sunlight and ambient heat. It makes me... more. Stronger. Faster. I think clearer. But it's easier to show, than tell..."
He did a quick check to make sure everyone was at a safe distance and then drank deep of the late-afternoon, early-evening sun. His breathing quickened and halted, and his body turned black. Muscles and sinew re-knitted within his flesh and his synapses flared and fired from the exquisite sensation. His body stopped seizing and he regained control after the initial change. A splendid orange corona started surrounding him, and a cool breeze seemed to exude from the windward side of him as he dropped the local temperature about a half a degree.
He pointed down to the football and then gave a thumbs-up. He powered down and picked it up.
He gestured to the further boy to get ready, waving the ball up, and kicked the ball high as he could in his direction. A booming punt. Hyperhuman strength-assisted.
"Reckon even without your help, that 'un might come down with frost on it." He said, referring to the altitude he'd put on the ball.
"So feel free to call me a dickhead for being overly forward since we've only just met, but it seems to me that if nothing else our powersets are pretty compatible. I don't know what's going to be ahead of us in the Trials... but if the group is told to split up for any reason - groups of sixes, groups of twos or threes - maybe we'd both be best off watching each other's backs?"
He gestured to the tent that was now complete.
"At least that's the way I see it."
The ball came down cold.
- - -
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