WHO: Cess and Teddy. WHAT: Goofing around with their abilities/figuring that shit out. WHERE: Walking back to campus from Nebula, and then at the gym. WHEN: Monday evening.
Cess hadn't been wearing the image inducer to work. Her emotions were all over the place: now, she was just as nervous about putting it on after Warren sent it to her as she had been excited to read about them in the library. The only person she'd told had been Rahne, and even though she trusted her, Cess could never seem to find an opportunity to show her how she looked -- how she used to look. She wasn't even sure she could handle seeing herself in the mirror. Even if it made her feel better, it was a temporary fix. At night she'd have to come home, turn off the hologram, and face who she really was.
When Teddy asked her if she wanted to try out her abilities, she hesitated. Actively focusing on what her metallic form could do would mean acknowledging it. Everyone who found out what she was had only told her how cool it was, though. Why was she seeing someone (something) else entirely?
That evening during her shift at Nebula Cess had been stiffer than usual, less talkative. No drinks were spilled this time around, but her mind was obviously somewhere else. Warren's comment about the T-1000 had affected more than she realized; most nights she awoke in a cold sweat, imagining her face being split in two, taking multiple bullets to the chest, her arm being cut off... Sure, in some twisted way it was really cool, but she wasn't sure she wanted it. Any of it. But, again, she wasn't wearing the image inducer that night. She didn't know what she wanted.
As she and Teddy made their way back to campus she wrestled with these thoughts, though she tried to put on a good face. She only realized that they had walked most of the way in silence when they had turned back onto campus. Cess bumped his arm with hers as they walked, her hands stuffed in the kangaroo pocket of her sweatshirt, and offered her friend a small smile. Maybe her thoughts were transparent enough she wouldn't have to explain herself.
She pursed her lips sarcastically, trying to lighten the mood though she wasn't able to keep a completely straight face. "So, Hulkling, like, what do you do, anyway?"