Post Iss. 1 Downtime - Shapeshifting Brawl

[Juma Ngomo]

"Have you ever managed to glide?"

[Will Stanton]

Will glances over at Sara again. "Not on my own, but I did do a hangglider once."

[Juma Ngomo]

"We could also try filling you with helium."

[Will Stanton]

Will took the idea at face value. "I suppose that would work. though I dunno how much control I'd have..."

[Juma Ngomo]

"You would be at the mercy of the wind. I suppose that would be a potential synergy attempt, but you would not have much control over flight at all. It is probably better to try for a form with controlled flight."

[Will Stanton]

"True. Plus, my common sense wouldn't like me blimping out," he said, pointing at Sara.

[Juma Ngomo]

"You may wish to develop your own common sense, it is useful from time to time," he smirks. "Well, lets see. Can you create limbs with extra joints, or tentacles?"

[Will Stanton]

"But my current sense is so good looking!" Will pouted.

"Hrm," Will thought. "I CAN, but I haven't had much practice. Making them's the easy bit; controlling them..."

[Juma Ngomo]

"Extra joints would certainly throw off most opponents, and the added reach can help either keep them at a distance or simply allow for more leverage."

[Will Stanton]

"Yeah," Will thought, looking at his arm, and extending it, forming a second elbow joint. "Feels weird, though..."

[Juma Ngomo]

"I can imagine. What is your strength like now?"

[Will Stanton]

"Right now? Not very much, but if I were to increase muscle mass like so," Will said, as his frame added more and more muscle--until he winced for a moment.

"Ah! Ow. Right, second elbow. Muscles need to work differently, one second..."

[Juma Ngomo]

"That must be handy. Is it actually muscle that you are creating?"

[Will Stanton]

Will paused. "You know, I'm not quite sure. I assume it is; but there's always the question if I'm really flesh and blood at all or not..."

He looked a little discomforted by the question.

[Juma Ngomo]

"If I cut you, do you not bleed?"

[Will Stanton]

"If you tickle me, do I not laugh, if you poison me, do I not die, etcetera, etcetera," Will laughed.

"Shylock aside, it's more complicated than that. Sure, I bleed right NOW, but I don't need blood, y'know? And is it actually blood or does it just look like it, etcetera, etcetera. It's all very confusing."

[Juma Ngomo]

"I can only imagine. Well, just don't start leaking hydraulic fluid."

[Will Stanton]

"I certainly could. I could also leak cherry cola, if you'd prefer."

[Juma Ngomo]

"I'd rather you didn't leak at all," he laughs.

[Will Stanton]

"Great for parties. Stick a tap in me..." Will laughed.

"Or, better yet, don't."

[Juma Ngomo]

"Well then, shall we pick something to practice? Solo, competitive, or cooperative?"

[Will Stanton]

"We've got an odd number, maybe cooperative would be best?"

[Juma Ngomo]

"Hmm.. perhaps something unusual. Have you ever run in a three-legged race?"

[Will Stanton]

"In a what now?" Will said, cocking his head to the side. "I assume you don't mean, like, with ropes and another person."

[Juma Ngomo]

"Actually, I do. Something analagous, anyway. We can set up an objective to reach, perhaps go through some of the obstacle courses, with a requirement that we must maintain unbroken contact the entire time."

[Will Stanton]

"Oooh. I thought...no, never mind. That's a pretty good idea, actually--Sara and I once ran through one of the courses, but we didn't give ourselves a restriction like that--might be interesting."

[Juma Ngomo]

"I've completed all the obstacle courses, at least, all the ones that were at the New York campus. I'm working my way through the newer ones here. I've never tried it with a handicap like that though."

[Will Stanton]

"Well, let's give it a go. What's the worst that could happen, don't answer that."

[Juma Ngomo]

"In here? Unless we do something willfully stupid, we should be fine. Hmm.. I would suggest that either you or Sara starts in the middle. I need at least one hand free to be fully mobile." Juma speaks a few commands to have the Danger Room set up an introductory obstacle course from the standard series. He adds to that the requirement that should contact between the students be broken, the course ends and re-sets. He's not a programmer, but he's had enough experience with the Danger Room to know that just asking in plain language is all it normally takes.

[Will Stanton]

"I'll be in the middle, then, as I don't actually need to use me arms," he said, wrapping one arm around Sara.

[Juma Ngomo]

Juma takes the other edge. "This course is pretty simple, no moving obstacles. Are you both ready?"

[Sara Stanton]

"I suppose." Sara's arm turns to stone and narrows as it sneaks around Will's waist a few times.

[Will Stanton]

''Whenever you are''.

[Juma Ngomo]

"Then lets begin." Juma steps forward, flowing with a simple economy of motion. He sticks with the feline/human hybrid form to begin, and the three soon approach the first few obstacles. It's easy enough to climb over a low wall and only a minimum of coordination is needed to leap the first moderate pit, but after the pit is a rope grid to be climbed up about ten feet. Sara and Will could probably take a short-cut to the top, but Juma needs to either climb or be pulled up.

[Will Stanton]

"Cargo net, huh?" Will smirks, before realizing, uh, both his hands are occupied.

"Hrm. I'm not strong enough to just toss you up there. Yet..."

As he says, he begins to grow, straining a tad to reach a full ten feet tall. With Sara and Juma still 'tied' around him via arms and legs, he should be able to just essentially place the two at the top--or, at the very least, get them close. Then, he'll shrink back down so the others can easily pull him up.

[Sara Stanton]

As Will Juma and her up she wraps her free arm around the top and 'anchors them there to pull Will up.

[Will Stanton]

With Sara as anchor, Juma and her easily pull Will to the top.

"Ow. Lifting two people is heavy."

[Juma Ngomo]

For his part, Juma shifts back to human, briefly, then into an eagle/human hybrid. He's a lot lighter in that form and it helps ease the burden. Once at the top of the platform, there is a pole to slide down the same distance just climbed.