(OOC: Continued From Hubcap Paradise)

IC:
The night was slightly cool, reflecting that fact that the seasons had only just left winter in favor of spring. Traffic along the Brooklyn Bridge was relatively light, at least for this particular bridge, but there were most deffinately still cars going by. Up above the semi-busy road was the elevated pathway designed for both walkers and bicyclists. As always at night, large spotlights were shining on the bridge's towers to highlight the artistic side of the structure.

"Think you can manage to walk a straight line after those beers?" Jacen teased his blond companion as they strolled along the bridge, "Or do you think I need to carry you?"

This was the beginning of what Jacen hoped would develop to be more than a friends with benefits relationship. Sure he and Lori had enjoyed the showers and physicalness of their relationship, but spending so much time together had begun to make him wonder whether it was possible the could have more.

Finally as they neared the center of the bridge Jacen made his way over to the railing and looked out at the city and all of the well lit buildings that made up the beautiful skyline of New York City. "I heard right." Jacen said quietly, "It is quite a view."

"No, you do. You mess everything up." She wasn't accusing, more informing. "I should have remembered about hanging around you. Nothing but trouble." And she was sure one to talk, but really. She couldn't charge around him, her natural magnetic field was nada. She couldn't hold her liquor around him either, apparently her excess was usually burned away by her kooky metabolism which of course, was normal around him. Lori chugged the last of her Heineken anyway and settled the bottle on the table. She grabbed the last piece of broccoli for the road and wiped her hands one last time.

"Yes. Yellow. But I don't think I've seen vendors selling yellow lingerie." She steadied herself against the doorframe as he held the door open for her. "I'd think you'd want to see blue anyway. Besides," She jabbed her finger at his shoulder, "Doesn't matter what color it is really, just gonna come right off. That frilly stuff doesn't last very long."

The night was chilly. She didn't realize it until they were nearly to the bridge that she was only wearing a tee shirt and jeans. A short sleeved tee shirt. Those beers could only keep her warm for so long and it certainly wasn't long enough. She yawned into her hand and folded her arms.

"Think you can manage to walk a straight line after those beers? Or do you think I need to carry you?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "I walk however I please." Actually the walking was helping her work off a bit of the tipsy. "Don't like being carried when I have two capable legs and feet." Truth was she hated being carried. It was the same as being helpless except worse: you were at someone else's mercy while being helpless.

He made them walk all the way out to the middle of the bridge and by the time Jacen was leaning up against the railing, Lori was quite frigid and not nearly drunk enough to pretend she wasn't.

"I heard right... It is quite a view."[/i] And for the first time in a long time Lori looked up. She took her eyes off the pavement and looked out across the water at the little lights. She'd seen it all before. They were just little lights made by current passing through resistive material, powered by fossil fuels and owned by the humans who would probably never get people like Lori and Jacen. Yeah. Great view.

"Well, from what I understand the key to buying a woman lingerei is to make sure that it's something that she'll wear. After all, guys appreciate pretty much all of it." Jacen said with a grin as he shot a comment right back at Lori. The fact that she hadn't seen any vendors selling it didn't particularly phase him. After all, wasn't that was the internet was really for? To find the unfindable? "But you do have a point about it not staying on very long I suppose. I guess I better stick with the yellow bikini huh."

As Jacen stood looking out over the water he was also watching Lori out of the corner of his eye. From the ever so slightly sour expresison on her face it was no great leap to figure out that she didn't particularly care for the view. Apparently having some type of relationship with this woman was going to be harder than he thought. So far he hadn't discovered a single thing that she particularly liked other than showers and sex. Maybe there really was no chance of anything developing between them but he wasn't ready to give up yet. The game had only just begun and there were plenty more things to try. Of course, that relied on her being willing to try other things but he'd deal with that problem when he came to it.

Was that a shiver? Turning his head ever so slightly Jacen began to watch the young woman a little more closely. There was no discernable shaking going on in her body but she was crossing her arms over her chest as though trying to stay warm. And actually, it was a little cool out. "Damn!" Jacen mentally cursed himself, "Why didn't I think to bring a jacket?"

Walking over to Lori, Jacen slipped an arm around her as though it were the most normal thing in the world. As self reliant as she normally was there was no way he would even dream of making a comment about her being cold, especially with no jacket to offer her, so that meant he needed to play it off a different way.

"So tell me, since you obviously aren't big on scenic overlooks, what do you do for fun? I mean, obviously you have to do something other than rob banks and shower with strange men. Care to give me a hint here?"

Men. Men and their meat and their lingerie. It seemed like Jacen was a man's man with his tap beer, police job, and bikini fantasies. "Bikini's don't make for good swimwear. It's more for laying around like a schlub." Or getting a tan. Reading a good book in the sun in a bikini didn't sound half bad. Oh sun. How she missed it.

She tried imagining one of Claude Monet's later pieces from his life where he played with cozy autumn sunlight and haystacks. It looked so warm there even if the scene was dilapidated by the man's failing eye sight. She wished she were there.

And then she was. Lori gave Jacen a questioning look, but let it slide that he had essentially done a yawn-and-stretch. Proximity was fine, even better when she could be a warmth leech as every woman was trained from birth to be. He said nothing even when she settled against the solidity of his side and put an answering arm around him. It was just weird to stand with no reciprocation of any kind.

"So tell me, since you obviously aren't big on scenic overlooks, what do you do for fun? I mean, obviously you have to do something other than rob banks and shower with strange men. Care to give me a hint here?"

She breathed a long sigh from her lower lip. "No, it's a good view, but... it's just a view, you know?" But she was just stalling for time really. She felt inclined to defend herself. She hadn't gone into the bank with the intention to rob it! Well, okay, she had, but not on that scale! But even beyond that fact, it irked her that she cared what he thought. Another sigh.

So what did she do on her own time?

"I like soccer. Tennis, of course. I like to run and lift weights and be outside." Her breath rose like foggy spirits up toward heaven. "The Met is nice. The old masters are there and they have a decent collection. Been here all my life and I don't think I've been more than twice. Also..." a thought occurred to her. "It's hard. Mutation is a lot of what defines me, defines us. I want to show you things I'm interested in, but I can't. I take a lot of interest in what I can do and how I can do it better. Maybe not shooting cars at the Empire state building, but it's always more exciting to see circuits happen rather than see it in a book." She was all about the doing. Getting out there and trying was infinitely better than just observing. Even if it ended in failure, to try... that was divine.

"Like a schlub?" Jacen asked with a slight grin, "I dunno... I betcha we'd both look pretty good after laying out in the sun and getting a nice tan."

A part of Jacen was amazed that Lori hadn't said anything about his arm being around her and he was even more amazed that she seemed to actually be snuggling just a little bit closer. Was she doing this just because she was a bit cold or was she doing it because she actually liked him? Or then again, maybe it was because she was bored and didn't know what else to say or do.

"Well... if you're really interested in showing me what you can do then why not just show me?" Jacen asked after a moment as a sly grin touched his lips. Scanning the bridge the man's sharp eyes picked out the exact item he was looking for. An old broken down junker with some type of note in its window, probably telling the highway patrol that a tow truck woudl be coming for it the next day.

"See that old car down there?" Jacen said as he pointed toward the vehicle, "Think you can catapault it over the island and get it in the river on the other side?" That would give the old battered vehicle a terrific splash down in the river that ran between New York City & New Jersey. If she could do it it would not only help her learn her own power and abilities but it would give her a chance to show off to him without actually damaging any property.

Lori followed Jacen's instructions with ever increasing disbelief. "I'm not a miracle worker, Jacen" She chuckled, Roebling would be rolling in his grave if he could hear this. "When I mentioned lobbing at car at the Empire State building, I was thinking of making an improvisational rail gun and the conditions aren't right to make that," she pointed to the junker, "go all the way over Manhattan. Sorry, bub, just ain't happening."

Her eyes flicked back and forth across the air. Lori often followed her mental calculations as if they were actually being typed out for her to see. "Into some rich fatty's house, maybe, but over it would take a lot more than I got. Can you imagine the magnetic field required to accelerate the vehicle across the lower end of the island? The trajectory's not right, first off, even discounting that, the car would have to reach the correct velocity plus what would be lost to wind resistance all before it left my range."

A better idea dawned on her. She'd been dreaming up a way to try it, and though conditions wouldn't be perfect there either... it was easier to pull off than car lobbing. Lori realized she'd probably just dumped a lot of technical thinking onto Jacen. She cringed slightly and peeked up at him. Boys didn't like getting out thought. Hopefully he was secure in his strengths because this was typically the point where she'd be getting the skepticism or confusion.

Better to not let him dwell. "I have a better idea." Her eyes lit up. "You'll love it!" She slipped her arm from Jacen's back down and along Jacen's arm she started to walk, her hand slipped along his skin until it landed securely in his hand. "We'll have to work around your mutation, but it'll be worth it, no property damage or anything, promise." And that was all true. She was legitimately excited to lead Jacen to an abstract sculpture she'd always dreamed of invading. It wouldn't work for her, she'd prefer something a little less public for her first flight.

Lori pulled Jacen toward the Manhattan end of the bridge, of course those well-to-do's were getting the sculptures, but hey -- they were supporting the arts at least.

It wasn't far from the bridge, luckily. She never would have attempted this by foot had it not been. The bridge alone was a long enough walk that less in shape people would be huffing and puffing from her speedy pace. "Ta-dah!" She waved at the helix-like coil as if it were the most magnificent structure in the world. "Now here's the ghetto part. If you could turn off your little voodo, we could do this like civilized people." She wiggled the fingers of her free hand at Jacen as she said the word voodoo. "But since I understand the hardships you're facing, you can climb up about," She did a quick approximation of height. "Five rungs of this beauty and you'll get a nice surprise." She tapped him on the booty and grinned. "Hop to."

As Lori begin her lecture about exactly why it was impossible to accomplish what he had asked all he could really do was quirk one eyebrow up in surprise. He didn't know much about magnetic field but his time in the army had most deffinatley taught him about trajectory and velocity. After all, part of his training had involved knowing how to fire bazookas and shoulder fired rockets. Unfortunately, other than the military he had rarely met anyone that understaood those principles as well as Lori obviously did.

Gripping Lori's hand Jacen followed along behind the young woman with a questioning look in his eyes that made clear the unspoken question in his mind. What was it that Lori thought was such a great idea? At least on the positive side of things she was promising that there wouldn't be any property damage.

Finally they arrived at what was apparently their destination and all Jacen could do was look at the object in wonder, awe, disbelief? No, if anything it was more like stunned surprise. This was it? This was what they had walked such a distance for? Lori had wanted to show him this twisted piece of metal?

"Uh... looks artsy." Jacen ventured slowly, "So you like modern art?"

And then, without the slightest hint of explanation Lori told him that he needed to climb up it about eight or ten feet. Jacen almost opened his mouth to complain but decided against it at the last moment. He wanted to give her a chance to demonstrate her abilities and besides, that pat on the backside was kinda nice.

"So what is this thing?" Jacen asked curiously as he grabbed onto the metal and began to make his way up it, "Some kind of art deco jungle gym or something?

"I do enjoy some modern art, outsiders like Henry Darger make for a fantastic read, but that's not why we're here." She loved that he didn't argue, he just got to climbing. "Surprisingly, you're not too far off. Looks pretty deco to me." Art History was one of her majors after all and she would be ashamed if she couldn't place a piece in a period.

Lori positioned herself at the base of the statue, back to the ground and a hand on either side of the coil. "This is a perfect example of how coils make magnetic fields additive." The moment he was far enough away she could feel it. The confidence and power. She turned on the juice. "Hope you don't have too much metal on you." She also hoped he could let go of the rungs of the coil because he was going up.

"A coil not only makes the field additive, but directional. All paired electrons will always make a weak diamagnetic contribution to the material's response. And you, sir, like water, wood and most other organic compounds, are diamagnetic."

Assuming he let go, he would float up and up, faster and faster until he reached the top of the magnetic field. Then he would stop, but the lighter and more responsive metal things would try to keep going. Because of the coil, she could probably keep doing this for some time... and it was fun. She'd have to try that on her own some day.

((Levitating Frog))

Jacen raised an eyebrow at Lori's artistic commentary as he continued climbing. He had only mentioned 'art deco' because it was one of the few art terms he knew. He didn't particularly know what it meant but occasionally it did make him sound smarter.

"Hope you don't have too much metal on you."

"Uh..." Jacen muttered as his mind suddenly kicked into high gear, trying to remember any and all metal that he had on his person. There was his belt buckle and keys in his pocket. Along with those two items it was probably a safe bet that his cell phone also had at least some small amounts of metal in it though not to much.

"How much is too much?" Jacen asked before suddenly he felt a tug on his body and he was floating up into the air. "Whoa!" It was probably the wierdest thing that Jacen had ever experienced, besides that time so many years ago when a mutant had healed him and saved him from death. Being levitated up to the highest point on the metal structure and then floating in mid-air was amazing and scary all at the same time.

"Maybe this is a stupid question but... does this only have an on/off switch or can you gradually lower or raise someone?" Jacen finally asked after a few minutes of floating. He wasn't asking to be let down quite yet since the floating in mid-air reminded him a lot of the experience of high altitude sky diving. Once a person had fallen a certain distance they reached maximum speed and it no longer felt like you were falling but instead felt like you were simply floating. Without the right monitors to keep an eye on altitude it would be easy for a diver to be deceived and wait to long before they pulled the cord that would release first a small parachute to slow then descent and then another cord that would release the main chute to give them a safe landing. Which, since he was thinking about sky diving...

"Have you ever been sky diving Lori?" Jacen called down to the blond woman from where he hovered above the earth, "Would you be interested in that kind of sport?"

She smiled. This was fun, right? Levitating your boyfri-- She narrowed her eyes and unconsciously pumped more juice into the coil and Jacen went higher, his belt buckle pulling hard.

"Hm. On/Off typically covers it, but I'll try to be gentle. It's my first try at this." She wouldn't want to squish her new boytoy yes, boytoy was much more appropriate. No sense endangering an future fun for her. "Just uhh--- let me know when you want to come down. Enjoy the view since you like that so much."

She flexed her hands against the cold metal as an official sounding voice echoed across the small park. Oh, maybe he didn't have all the time to enjoy the view.

"Sky diving?" She considered it briefly. "Never really considered... could be fun." And in the mean time she worked on trying to eeeease Jacen down a bit. He perhaps dropped an inch or two before she had to just shut it off completely. Subtly and finesse... not really her style. "oops." In fact. It probably wasn't the wisest thing to be laying straight under a man who was one moment floating and the next plummeting feet first toward her face.

Lori's comment about on/off was worrisome but at least the view was pretty interesting. That and the fact that completely floating was probably one of the most comfortable positions that a person could ever be in. If only there were a way to float while sleeping. That most assuredly guarantee a person the best nights sleep of their life!

"Huh... wonder if we could package something like this and sell it as a bed. The one of a kind Floating 3000, or something like that." Jacen wondered to himself. Right then he heard something and with a quick scan of the park he could see a solitary figure coming toward them.

"Looks like we've got some company Lori." Jacen said, failing to notice that he had gone down a few inches while watching the intruder, "Maybe I should..."

Jacen knew the exact moment that Lori cut off the power. It was the instant change in the pit of his stomach that told him he was going from floating to falling. Reaching desperately Jacen reached out and snagged one of the metal pieces with his hand, grunting out slightly in pain as his arm jerked as he pivoted down to slam against the side of the sculpture. The force was enough to make his hand lose grip and he fell backward, twisting as best he could as he tried to avoid the blond woman that he knew was below him.

Bracing himself with his arms Jacen was able to cushion his fall at least a little but he still hit the ground pretty hard. For the most part he'd manage to avoid Lori, just barely clipping one of her shoulders with his arm as he went down. "Ok... we definitely need to work on the dismount." He muttered as he slowly climbed back up to his feet, shaking his head to clear away any cob webs that might have developed.

"Maybe next time we can work on the acceleration idea. A nice ramp, maybe something lighter like a moped instead of a car. I bet you can clear the island." Jacen offered, as the approaching figure began to shout a little more insistently, "But that should probably wait for another day. I bet I can beat you to the truck!"

The words were easier to understand the closer the man with the flashlight became, "You kids~! Get offa there! This ain't no jungle gym!" Luckily the man seemed to have a slight gimp and the golf cart Lori knew to be his typical mode of transport was no where to be seen.

And when Jacen fell, Lori only had time to scoot to the side to give him a better shot at not smashing her. In the end his elbow connected with her shoulder, but she couldn't complain. She'd had worse, and she couldn't say that she didn't wholly deserve this one. Not only had Jacen fell toward her like a sack of bricks, but his field apparently did form a globe around him, extending into the ground if he were on it.

"Maybe next time we can work on the acceleration idea. A nice ramp, maybe something lighter like a moped instead of a car. I bet you can clear the island... But that should probably wait for another day."

"Yeah, I'm still set on attempting the impromptu railgun. I've measured my tesslas before. If I'm at full capacity and don't mind a drain at the end, plus find a way to complete a circuit between the steel beams on the bridge, I very well could lob a car." Because setting up a ramp and downgrading to a moped just seemed so passe. She brushed off her back unconcerned, by the night guard's calls.

"I bet I can beat you to the truck!"

"I'll just bet you can." She rubbed her shoulder as she made her way to her feet. She considered her chances as she slipped back through the tight coiling metal piece. Not drunk, not even tipsy, but she was wearing those boots that were a half size too big, but did come with a fantastic steel sole.

"You again!? Get outta here!"

She grinned and took off back toward the way they came. It'd be a long jog to the other side of the bridge so she tried to pace herself to save up for a mad dash at the end. If her shoes didn't trip her up, she had a good chance of touching the car door first and taking the win Second Grade style.

So Lori still wanted to attempt it with a car. Well, that was OK with Jacen but they would still have to find a way to set up some sort of ramp. He didn't think he particularly liked the idea of a vehicle barreling into someone's house or business because he had encouraged Lori to experiment with her power.

"You again!? Get outta here!" The approaching man yelled as the two of them began to run off.

Within just the first twenty yards Jacen was already impressed by the young woman's running style. Instead of taking off at the mad dash that burned through energy like there was no tomorrow, Lori was playing it smart and instead setting up a steady pace that would eat up the distance as they made their way across the bridge. That of course made Jacen wonder exactly where she had learned to run so well. Had she been in track during high school? There were lots of people that enjoyed running but few knew how to do it right. That took either an innate gift or training and there was no way to tell which category Lori fell into. At least not until they reached the truck and were able to use their lung capacity for talking once again instead of just running.

***

Jacen's legs were beginning to burn and it seemed like he couldn't get enough air in his lungs. Even running as often as he did for exercise, a jog over the Brooklyn Bridge was no laughing matter. Especially when you weren't wearing the right kind of clothes for running. Cowboy boots were not meant for running and neither were denim jeans. In fact running in cowboy boots was a good way to tempt a sprained ankle but Jacen stubbornly clung to it as he continued to push himself to keep pace with the blond chit of a girl that had challenged him. This was a matter of honor! A matter of pride! No self-respecting former Ranger could let himself be beat by some little blond, even if she was sexy as hell!

***

It was the final thirty yards and both runners were stubbornly pushing forward. The last minute burt of energy had come from both of them as they increased their speed and tried to pull away from the other. Lori's steps were deffinately falling quicker but Jacen's longer strides were helping to keep things even. Right as they neared the truck Lori seemed to move just a touch ahead as she reached out for the vehicle.

THUMP!

The sounds were so close that it would take an instant replay to tell the winner. Jacen stod, hand on the side of his truck as he breathed in deeply, trying to get in enough air. True Lori's body had been slightly ahead of his but with his longer reach it had been close... far to close to call.

"Nice... nice run." Jacen said as he dropped his hand and began to walk away from the truck, his muscles quivering ever so slightly as he began to go through the motions of a cool down. It was never a good idea to go straight from all out exertion to a complete stand still and now he was going to try and slow down his heart rate before ever getting in the car.

"Tie?" He asked, ignoring the ache that was growing in his very soar feet. Never again would he run in cowboy boots... never... again. In fact, this experience was good reason to get rid of all cowboy boots. Even his work boots would have been better for running than these unruly things!

"Rematch... sometime?" Jacen asked as he wiped the sweat off his face with the sleeve of his polo shirt, "Loser buys the winner a gift of some type?"

Blisters were more than a threat, but a definite consequence of this little stunt. Shoes that did not fit properly did not stay put properly and therefore rubbed places where they weren't meant to rub, socks or not. Lori had trained for this moment, trained for getting away and outrunning her opponent. She had to know that she could make it, shorter legs or not, because she relied on the knowledge that she would hopefully be faster than the guys chasing her. It was a good test to see if it would work, and she wasn't wholly disappointed.

She pushed herself because to do any less was to roll over and just let him win, and that definitely wasn't her style. The only problem was that their fingers touched the slick paint of the car at almost indeterminably different times. Of course she held her opinion of who won to herself. She knew she'd pulled ahead at the end, but just didn't have the breath to gloat or call for a rematch.

Jacen strode away and Lori allowed herself to bend at the waist with her hands at her knees for a brief head-pounding moment. She needed water in a way that only alcohol before a long run could demand. She nodded to his question as she forced herself to stand and stretch her hands upward to make sure she wasn't impeding her breathing process. "Yeah, rematch." She coughed into her hand, still trying to catch her breath. Stupid... long... bridge.

She had to pace around a bit, pulling her legs up behind her to get the tingly feeling to go away, but in a matter of minutes she was almost feeling normal again. She felt warm from the run, but the sweat she'd accumulated did nothing to help with the wind so as soon as she decided she wasn't dying, she opened the passenger-side door.

"Knew I should tried out for the force. I can keep up with any of you guys." One short finger waved in Jacen's direction as she leaned back against the seat. Even though she was a mite breathless still, she was in good shape.

When his legs finally stopped shaking and he stopped feeling like he was breathing like an old man, Jacen made his way back over to the truck. His feet really, really hurt and that meant he needed to get out of these cowboy boots as quickly as possible. While standing outside the truck Jacen jerked off the boots and then opened the door to climb inside. Setting them offending footwear on the floor behind his seat, Jacen buckled his belt and then started the engine, sock clad appendages pressing against the appropriate pedals.

"You can keep up with most of us." Jacen admittted as he continued to try and slow his heart rate back down to an acceptable speed, "But I bet if we both show up ready to run I can clean your clock." Rangers were some of the finest physical specimens in the military and it was a matter of pride to prove that he was still just that good. Sure, maybe he'd been out of the military for a couple of years, but his time at S.W.A.T. hadn't let him go soft. Nope. He was still just as touch as ever.

"Maybe a few extra jogs would be in order though." Jacen admitted to himself though he wouldn't share that kind of information out loud, "Just to be on the safe side."

As Jacen drove it suddenly occured to him that he didn't know exactly where to go. Without even thinking about it he had begun to drive back to his apartment but then was no reason to think that Lori was going to be spending the night at his place.

"Care to come over to my place for a drink or do you need me to drop you off somewhere else?" Jacen asked, glancing over at his companion before returning his eyes to the road, "You're welcome to crash at my place if you need to. I'll even be on my best behavior. Scouts honor."