exsiliumlogs | (no subject)

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Date & Time: EXTREMELY BACKDATED TO EARLY JULY
Location: the training room
Characters: PHYSIS and KATE
Summary: hey it's that log I promised King 5974954837684 years ago.
Warnings: gross lateness.

[ Back in Gotham, whenever Kate had too much on her mind it was easy to either slip back into the bunker and work on something, like her uniform or maybe fixing up some bugs in her devices. Or she could take a drive downtown and stop by a club for a couple of glasses and dance until it was time to patrol.

In Exsilium, she was severely limited. It only furthered feelings of entrapment in this world, despite her inability to simply ignore what was going on around her. She could never.

It's in the evening she headed to the gym for a brief workout and to get her mind off everything that had transpired in the past month. The near deaths and the current disappearances of people she knew weighed heavily on her mind.

She didn't think about herself at all and over exerted her body once again, that dreadful tightness in her chest returning as she worked the weight machine. She tried to ignore the pain and exhaustion, but eventually she found herself letting go of the machine in need of a break. She wiped the sweat off her brow and placed the hand against her chest, her breathing heavy and slow. ]

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Well, I hadn't exactly expected to maneuver with it physically. Only to bring practice working at a reasonable level again.

[ she feels a weight rack next to her, and reaches out, one of the lighter ones floating in the air. there's no strain from something this small, but it's where the strain will kick in that worries her. ]

[ she doesn't jump, but the sudden levitation catches her off guard in those few seconds. metas, you can never tell who they are or what exactly they're capable of.

now her attire makes a bit of sense to kate. ]

Telekinesis?

[ physis nods, floating the weight in front of her face, but doesn't move to take it from the air. thirty-five pounds is a bit more than she cares to hold when this is so much easier. ]

We're called Mu. [ a correction of "meta", even if that part hadn't been spoken aloud. ] This is only one of the more common abilities we're granted.

[ kate blinks back in surprise. how did she --

right.

she watches the weight float about, genuinely impressed by her control. she may not know a lot about those sort of abilities, but it must be handy. ]

Mu. Are you from Earth or someplace else?

In my time, humanity had long since migrated from Terra, but it is still the home for each of us all the same, Mu or not. We were...hoping to return, trying to find the way back.

[ carefully, she lifts up another weight, raising them both above her head to spin together in a sort of dance. ]

Is that what you call Earth in your world?

[ she turns up towards the weights, spinning them in a helix. ]

The SD System covered far more than one world, and we had seen many outside it in the years we had been avoiding them. But yes, Terra is the same planet we are currently on.

[ well, it still means "earth" if she remembers right. she's still watching the weights, now with a renewed interest. ]

You're doing a good job.

These exercises are a little basic. I suppose I'm afraid how out of practice I may be.

[ she really should try picking up more, or something bigger, but she's still hesitating a bit. ]

[ she looks toward the heavier equipment in the room. though she would be curious to see how she fares, she's not about to egg her on to do something that may hurt her. ]

A power like that has to be extremely useful.

[ physis hums in amusement. finally, she decides to return the weights to where they started, replacing them with something larger. ]

Usually when I hear a sentence like that, more often it tends to end with "dangerous".

That doesn't sound too good.

[ she purses her lips, focusing on the weight as she moves it through the air. ]

It had the tendency to be unkind.

You haven't had that problem here, have you?

[ she pauses for a moment, because while the initial discomfort passed quickly when blue told her everything, on some level it does still feel a little weird. ]

No. Gratefully, Exsilium has largely been far more accepting.

[ especially now that keith anyan is no longer around. ]

[ kate catches on and says nothing at first, in spite of her curiosity. without her laptop and other computers, she's without mountains of information that used to be at her fingertips. she likes to hoard any and all information, but without blowing her cover. ]

We've got metahumans back home. [ a beat. ] It's the general term for anyone who's not an alien or something else. Lots of people have accepted them, since many of them protect us in return.

We were never given that opportunity.

[ she knits her eybrows, picking up another weight, this one even larger than the one she has in the air. ]

Most of our efforts have always been to escape detection. When someone of the Mu strain is discovered, they'll no longer have a life for anyone to accept.

[ by now, the tightness in her chest has mostly faded and she relaxes considerably more. she can't tell if physis noticed, so she keeps from saying anything or indicating she's partly concerned about her body. ]

Persecution. [ her expression darkens at the mere thought. ] That's awful. I'm sorry.

It's better here.

[ a glimmer of a thought crosses her mind, breaking her concentration. the weights idle and almost fall before she catches them again, gripping the weight rack with a gasp as she eases them back down.

she'd let her exercises take too much of her attention. this whole ordeal and recovery really has made a mess of her focus.

after the weights are in place, she takes a moment to catch her breath before she straightens herself out again. ] I'm missing something, aren't I?

About you.

[ she lets the question hang in the air before she finally speaks up, sounding a touch puzzled. ]

Sorry?

[ she turns to face kate. maybe it wasn't the telekinesis she needs to be practicing right now. she points a finger to kate's chest. ]

Something you're carrying. Or recovering from, perhaps.

[ officially creepy, even if she can tell physis means no harm, her defenses flare up. ]

I'm fine. Just a minor discomfort.

[ she wouldn't need to be psychic to catch that, but it becomes all the more vivid because she is. she shifts a little, trying to feel the situation out. ]

Mm. When did it start?

[ kate waves a hand as if to dismiss the topic. ]

I think I pulled a muscle when working out ten minutes ago.

[ something feels off. inconsistent. ]

One already under a lot of strain. [ is it a question? she isn't entirely sure. ]

[ her discomfort grows as physis presses about it. ]

What are you doing?

[ is she reading her mind? kate's already hating the idea a complete stranger is reading her like an open book. ]

[ physis tightens her brows, facing away from kate, back to the weight rack. ]

Your thoughts are loud. I'm afraid I can't help but hear them. [ this including that one just now, making her a little more self-conscious of the whole matter. ]

[ she's quick to turn away, as if doing so will somehow shield her from further mental intrusion. ]

I have a hard time believing that.

[ it's one of the things about normal people that takes some getting used to. they just aren't used to having their minds read. ]

If I had been reading actively, I'm sure I would have noticed it earlier.

Knock it off.

[ her friendly demeanor sheds away into a colder, paranoid one.

because who knows how far her intrusion can go? there are secrets she needs to keep guarded, for her sake and others. ]

I'm sorry to have intruded.

[ but it's something she can't easily turn off, so it might be best to simply not speak of it again. or, to remove any kind of opportunity, she gives kate a nod and turns to leave. ]

[ it's harsh and she knows it, but she has to protect herself in any way she can.

sometimes, being cold and aggressive works best for her.

she watches her go without argument, but she does call out: ]

Sweatpants and a T-shirt will do fine.

[ phsysis stops for a moment, looking over her shoulder. she gives a quick nod of understanding before continuing her way out.

she'll have the whole walk home to think about what she did wrong there. ]

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