"You're acting a lot differently than you were at the party," Peter said.
"Ah yes," Kodachi said, weary at the very reminder of the act. "The party."
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"Old habits," Kodachi said vaguely. "Old life. Old me."
Peter had no response to give. For a moment, Kodachi was that melancholy girl he saw looking over the crowd at the fair. Then the moment passed and she hid herself again, in a manner he was familiar with from practice.
"Shall we compare notes then?" Kodachi said.
"Sounds good," Peter said. "Have you examined any blood samples or anything like that? Because I'll admit right now that I haven't."
"A little bit," Kodachi said. "I've lacked the equipment for serious investigation. There are the obvious anatomical differences between us and the bulk of humanity."
What followed was a long discussion on the various discoveries they'd each made about their abilities and mutations, and the possibility of further, unwanted change.
"Are you looking for away to go back?" Peter asked at one point.
"No!" Kodachi snapped in answer. Immediately she repeated herself, less frantic, and then finally in her normal calm demeanor. "No. No. I'd rather die."
"You'd rather die than be normal?" Peter asked cautiously. "You like the power that much?"
"Not the power," Kodachi said. "I know of genetically normal humans that have acheived this much power from sheer training and I was already on the low end of that spectrum."
Peter didn't know how to respond to that particular comment. The idea that there were people that could do some of the things he did without any mutations or alterations was shocking to say the least.
"If not the power, then what?" Peter said.
"I used to suffer from a number of...congenital defects," Kodachi said by way of explanation. She went no further than that. "And you, would you give up the power?"
"I..." Peter said, pausing. "I don't know that I can make that choice. I have a responsibility..."
"There's that too," Kodachi said, sighing. "To return to the matter on hand, do you know where the scientist involved in this life-changing experiment moved to?"
"Sorry," Peter said. "I don't."
"And have you ever considered training in some form or fashion?" Kodachi asked.
"Training?" Peter asked. "You mean like karate or something."
"Or something," Kodachi said. "I plan to look into getting some, myself. Weapons can be taken away, and my rhythmic gymnastics style is somewhat insufficient."
"I never thought about it," Peter said. "I usually just do whatever seems to work. I seem to have an instinct for fighting."
"The change has seemed to bring a hunter's instinct for how and when to move, the spider sense, as it were," Kodachi admitted. "And that is how the original arts were developed."
"I sense a 'but' coming," Peter said.
"But," Kodachi said, rolling her eyes. "That process took several generations. It seems silly to waste that accumulated knowledge and start from scratch. Trust me on this one. You may have the broader and more complete scientific understanding, but in this, I excell beyond you."
"There's a problem though," Peter said.
"And that is?" Kodachi asked.
"Improvement comes from pushing your limits," Peter said. "How do we find someone that can push our limits?"
"I'll make some calls," Kodachi promised.
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(Posted Sun, 27 Jun 2004 21:24)
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