Kevin understood her meaning that sometimes you just had to mentally reframe the bad things. But he didn't seem to have thought much about how his powers worked and how they may grow over time, Lee thought as he mentioned how he drained electricity devices.

Lee wasn't sure how much Tarin had thought about it either based on how he was talking about Kevin's powers.

Still, it was true that having to plug his phone in was a pretty small price for being able to protect himself.

"Electricity is just another form of energy," Lee pointed out. "Right now you just drain nearby batteries. But that seems to be what powers your shield. What if, in the future, you learn to control what you drain? You could carry a portable battery to drain leaving your phone battery charged. Or what if you will be able to pull in more to make your shield stronger?"

Lee sat and watched those words sink into Kevin's mind and the possibilities unfold. "Those are really cool ideas. How did you come up with all that so quickly?"

Lee just blinked at Kevin. Did he really think she had come up with that off the top of her head? "I didn't, Kev. I've been thinking about your powers since the day you got them."

Lee had clearly put a lot more thought into Kevin’s powers than Tarin had. That made sense, Lee liked to have everything figured out so that she could plan for different eventualities.

Carrying a rechargeable battery seemed like a genius way for Kevin to eventually power his shields. ”Car batteries will be a good backup too, once you can figure out how to pick and choose a power source.” Tarin thought for a moment, ”Though I wouldn’t do that on a regular basis…might make people mad if they end up needing a jump.”

Kevin seemed surprised that Lee had come up with that idea, but he thought she’d thought of it on the fly. Lee quickly corrected that train of thought and Tarin had to smile a little bit, ”I’ll bet she has a lot more thoughts and ideas too.” Tarin said, ”Your Mom is good at lots of things, but one of the things she’s best at is thinking of all the possibilities.”

Train went on to suggest car batteries, once Kevin could isolate a source. Which was a good idea in an emergency. Car batteries had to be able to hold more charge than just a power pack. And there always seemed to be cars around the city. Despite how horrible it always was to actually drive here.

Batteries were one thing, but if Kevin was able to tap in and draw from the electrical grid…despite how everything had gone during the merge in the middle of the camp breakout, Lee could still remember the feeling of there being energy to draw from everywhere. From the lights above their heads illuminating the blood bath to the wires running through the walls of the buildings.

If Kevin could one day tap into that, he would never have to worry about not having the energy to pet his shield unless he were literally in the middle of nowhere.

And then Tarin told Kevin that she probably had even more ideas. Lee simply shrugged; Kevin had been given more than enough information to think about without adding everything she had considered about his powers.

But as Tarin continued speaking, less eyes dropped to the puzzle again as she grabbed another piece at random to see if it fit anywhere.

That was one of the things he thought she was best at? Though Lee had to admit, with the amount of time she spent thinking, and worrying, and planning, it did make sense.

"I know you try to plan everything, but how can you plan for what my powers are going to be like, mum?"

Lee shrugged as she finally found where the piece in her hand went: with another single, unattached piece. Well, it was something. "Well, it's definitely a lot easier now that we know what your powers are," Lee replied after a moment. "But in some ways, your powers seem similar to mine. So that gives me ideas of how yours might grow."

Lee didn’t say anything when Tarin pointed out that she probably had all sorts of ideas. He knew that she did, but if she wasn’t going to share anymore she probably had a good reason.

Regardless, Tarin watched as Lee worked on the middle of the puzzle and reached out for another piece of his own to start trying with the other pieces that they’d already put together. All things considered, Tarin still thought they were making really great progress, but they’d slipped into a bit of a lull with all of Kevin’s questions.

Eventually Kevin spoke, asking how Lee could plan and think about his powers and Lee pointed out that in some ways Kevin’s powers were like hers.

Tarin hadn’t really thought about it that way, but Kevin’s powers did have a lot to do with energy. A different kind of energy than what Lee dealt with, but energy all the same. Come to think of it, Kevin could take that energy and manifest it solidly. Kind of like his Dad could…Kevin’s shields weren’t visible…yet, but maybe down the line?

It was all very interesting to think about and as Tarin found a likely place for his puzzle piece, tried it successfully, and grabbed another one to work with, he wondered how Kevin would digest Lee’s suggestion of the similarities.

Kevin seemed to be mulling things over, ”I guess that makes sense…” he said, ”Because of all of the energy stuff. “

Kevin sat there for a few more moments, then leaned forward and grabbed another puzzle piece, still holding what was left of his apple in his other hand. ”I just wish it wasn’t all so complicated.”

It took a few moments, but Kevin did agree that it made sense their powers had similarities because they both had something to do with energy.

"I wish it didn't have to be so complicated for you, either," Lee said, looking up at her son. "But life is complicated, sweetie. Whether you're a human or mutant."

"You don't have to worry about all of those what ifs about what your pet's might be in the future. All you need to do is learn about the powers you have now. The more that you learn about them, the better you'll be able to use them and the more prepared you'll be to naturally handle any growth or change that comes."

That had to be true, right? At least for Lee, as she had gotten better at controlling the flow of her siphoning, she had gotten more aware of how much and what direction the energy was coming from.

"I'm thinking and worrying about all that because it's what I do, isn't it?' Lee went on to ask, making fun of herself a bit. "So I can be as prepared as I can be to help you. Because I'll always be there to help you. No matter what the issue might be."

Tarin could empathize with Kevin, finding out that life was wildly complex was one of those coming of age traditions that would have been nice to do away with on some levels. The problem was that the complexities of life were the same things that could make it really good.

Lee articulated it far better than Tarin could have so he took the opportunity to pay attention to the puzzle and kind of pretend like he wasn’t there.

She did a great job though. It was easy to get bogged down in ‘what if’s’ and Tarin realized the slight mistake he’d made earlier in bringing up all of the possibilities. With the day Kevin had already had, thinking of all of that had the potential to be really overwhelming.

Lee poked a little fun at herself and Tarin shook his head as he grabbed another piece to place it. Maybe Lee was really good at planning things and thinking of all of the possibilities, but in Tarin’s very limited experience Moms just worried. It was like it was part of the job.

When Lee said that she’d always be there to help, Kevin made a face, but he nodded his head in acknowledgement. Even if it made the teen uncomfortable, it was important that he knew. Looking at Kevin now it was absolutely wild to Tarin that he’d only been a little older when he’d left home. Not that he hadn’t had some of these same conversations, for some reason they just hadn’t stuck.

”I know Mum,” Kevin said, ”And I know you’re really good at figuring things out. I am glad I don’t need to think about future stuff now though, that would be a lot.”

Tarin nodded, thinking again that he’d kind of screwed up earlier with his musings.

“I can start trying the battery pack idea though…dunno how I’d make it work…but I bet I can figure it out. If not, at least I can charge my phone when I drain it.”

Kevin actually made a face when she told him that she would always be there for him. But he nodded. Of course he knew that she would be there for him for the normal things, but she meant it when she said no matter what the issue was. Because, Lee hoped against hope, she had already dealt with worse than what Kevin would face.

And yes, the 'future stuff' was a lot. There were so many ways that his powers could potentially grow, so many different things that he could try doing with them. It was a lot even for Lee. But Kevin really did not have to worry about any of that until it came to pass, whatever 'it' might be.

"If you would like to start trying the battery pack, you definitely can," Lee told him. "There's no rush for that, though. But when you are ready, we'll get you a good one and you can try experimenting with it."

That's really what Kevin's life regarding his powers for probably the next couple years at least would be: experimenting.

Turning her attention back to the puzzle, Lee let Kevin have the space to think or to ask more questions if he wanted. As he said, this had been a lot. A few different times.

All things considered, Kevin was handling things incredibly well. Tarin wouldn’t be surprised if in the coming days he had more questions, wanted more clarifications, and maybe had some feelings about some of the things he’d heard. It really had been a lot..even as an adult it had taken Tarin some time to wrap his head around some of the things that Lee had told him. It had taken Tarin years to figure out his powers, and he couldn’t be sure how much of that he’d have figured out on his own and how much had been forced.

Kevin liked the battery pack idea and suggested he’d be trying to figure out how to be selective about the source he used to power his shield. Tarin nodded to himself at the suggestion. Next to simply learning how to bring the shield up and down at will, that was probably the next logical step. There was no rush though, Kevin didn’t realize it, but he’d have his whole life to figure out his powers.

The conversation waned and Tarin followed Lee’s lead, quietly working at finding pieces and finding their place as the puzzle rapidly filled in. Kevin hadn’t contributed in a while though and was just sitting and thinking.

”I think I’m gonna go back to my room.” he said after a few more moments like that and stood up, looking at Lee, ”I’ll try not to surprise you with my shield anymore.” he said to Lee before heading to throw the apple core away and head back to his room.

Once he was there, Tarin looked up at Lee across the table and shook his head a little, ”I’m not sure I was ready for round two there…but I think that went okay, right?”

The table grew quiet once more though only Lee and Tarin appeared to be working on the puzzle. Kevin was simply sitting there.

Finally, kevin said that he was going back to his room and standing up. Lee had a feeling this was how the next few days were going to go. Kevin coming out, asking a few more questions, and then disappearing back into his room to think.

To be honest, that might end up with him spending more time out of his room than normal.

Then he said that he'd try not to surprise her anymore by coming out with his shield up, and Lee smiled up at her son from where she was still sitting. "Thank you, sweetie," she said as he made his way to the kitchen first before his room.

Only once Kevin was in his room with his door closed did Lee look up at Tarin. Who started speaking at that point.

"I think that went very well for how it could have gone," she agreed with him. "And I told you that he hadn't seemed to be very freaked out by what he heard, didn't I? Shocked, surprised, and confused, yes. But not really all that freaked out."

Lee seemed pretty pleased with how things had gone. She also didn’t seem to think that Kevin was freaked out by what he knew now either. Tarin wasn’t so sure, but Lee definitely knew Kevin better. Tarin was just going to have to trust her on this point. He could do that. ”Well, that’s a relief…” he said simply.

Reaching for another piece as he found the right spot for the one he had been holding just a moment before, Tarin thought through the last little bit and shook his head.

“I didn’t mean to upset you earlier…” he said, eyes still down on the puzzle, ”When I said it wasn’t a big deal…”

Frowning for a second and choosing his words carefully, Tarin looked up, ”It just seems so strange to me that people haven’t been doing that forever….” he paused and shrugged, ”I know we’ve talked about it before…but yeah, I’m sorry.”

Tarin didn’t really know why that particular moment had stuck in his head, he’d just gotten the feeling from how Lee had responded that he’d said something wrong and wanted to clear the air.

At least he could think now, mission accomplished on that front.

After Tarin said that it was a relief that Kevin wasn't very freaked out, they quietly worked on the puzzle for a little bit before Tarin spoke again.

Looking up at Tarin a small crease formed between her brows. As he said how weird it was that people hadn't just been offering at least some energy in the morning when she was literally without.

Then he apologized. Though Lee wasn't sure whether he was apologizing for how he had pushed the fact that he thought it was no big deal, or if it was because she really hadn't gotten that from others.

"I…Yeah," Lee said as she turned her eyes back to the puzzle. It really was kind of messed up that it hadn't been done. "But it's alright."

Lee agreed with Tarin about…something. Whether it was the fact that it was weird that nobody had ever offered her energy when it was obvious that she needed it, or if she was simply acknowledging his apology Tarin wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter though, he’d pushed enough and made enough silly mistakes for one night. If Lee wanted to talk about it more, she’d talk about it more.

That said, the silence stretched a bit, but it was a comfortable silence as they continued to work at the puzzle. It had been an absolute emotional roller coaster of an evening and the silence was a bit of a balm for all of the sore spots that talking had brought up. Talking so freely about merges and spirits and everything else was almost completely foreign to Tarin and his every instinct was to shut down when the topic arose…he just couldn’t do it when Lee or Kevin asked questions though. They were wrapped up in everything with him and the least they deserved was his honesty on those topics…or the closest thing to honesty he could give.

The pieces were going together more easily now as more of the picture started to become obvious and Tarin couldn’t help but laugh a little bit, ”We’re actually going to finish this thing tonight, aren’t we?” he asked.

It was nice sitting there working on the puzzle with Tarin. It was quiet now, but the quiet was comfortable. Comfortable and nice.

This was definitely something that they were going to need to do more of, Lee thought. Which meant that more puzzles were going to be needed.

Then Tarin laughed and Lee looked up at him as he mentioned he thought that they were going to finish the puzzle that night.

Lee smiled as she looked across the table at him. "Yeah, I think we might," she agreed. Then thought that she would mention her previous thought.

"It might be a good idea if we look into getting more puzzles. This has actually been nice to do tonight."

Lee agreed that they were likely to actually finish the puzzle and Tarin nodded as he continued to hunt and try pieces. It really did seem to be getting easier as they went and as the puzzle came together Tarin couldn’t help but think that if this was one of the toughest ones they currently had, they’d need to get some more that were more difficult.

Lee seemed to be on the same page and Tarin nodded as she pointed out that they’d need to get more puzzles if this was something that they wanted to do more. It was nice to have a hobby like this that didn’t require a ton of brain power but did grant a sense of accomplishment and even a little instant gratification as the picture came together.

”I’d like that .” he said, putting another piece in place, ”But if we’re always this efficient we are going to run out of closet space real quick.”

It was a funny thought, the coat closet, linen closet, any other closets full of puzzles.

”The battery pack is a really good idea, “ he commented after a few moments, ”I'm not surprised you came up with it, but it would solve Kevin’s biggest current issue and gives him something relatively safe to work on…”

Lee laughed when Tarin mentioned that they were going to quickly run out of closet space. "Maybe it's a good thing I don't actually use my room much," Lee said. Because it was true, she really wasn't using her bedroom for much of anything other than storing her clothing and changing. If she was sleeping, it had been with Tarin in his room.

So what would it really matter if there ended up being a pile of puzzle boxes in her bedroom?

"Thanks. But you're not?" Lee asked when Tarin said that he wasn't surprised.

Then Lee shrugged. "And that's kind of what I was thinking. Plus it would be a quicker way to answer a few questions about his powers."