Chapter 73 (1/2)

”We're going to put your power through its paces,” Matilda announced, as soon as their accord was made.

Well, that was fast. Best not to give up his cover, though, no matter how fragile.

”Upgrade.”

”Excuse me?” Matilda asked. Her pleased expression had morphed into angry irritation with alarming haste. Did she think he was already reneging on the deal? Probably best to clear that up. Dan disliked the woman enough when she was trying to be polite, he could scarcely imagine how horrible she'd be when well and truly pissed off.

”I have a mutated upgrade,” he repeated slowly, carefully emphasizing every word, ”as is specified on my official records.” Unsaid was the fact that he would have to be profoundly stupid to directly contradict those records in any sort of unsecured setting. He hadn't yet admitted to being a Natural, no matter how many implications Matilda had made, nor did he plan to. Especially not here, in this run-down old dojo.

Understanding emerged on Matilda's face, followed immediately by a more subtle frustration. ”Ah. Of course.” She didn't bother to disguise the roll of her eyes. ”We're going to put your upgrade through its paces.”

”Neat.” Dan nodded in acceptance. ”How and why?”

”With a series of exercises, and because we need to establish a baseline. How else would we measure your progress?” Matilda paused, evaluating Dan with a frown. Her fingers cupped her chin for a moment, and she nodded. ”To begin with, I'd like to focus on the most obvious difference between your mutation, and the standard short-hop.”

His veil would normally be Dan's first thought. It was the most obvious thing that set him apart, that made him unique. Matilda, however, had no idea that it existed. Which meant: ”My ability to blindly teleport.”

”Safely,” Matilda corrected sternly. ”Your ability to blindly teleport safely. Any idiot with an Alpha version of the short-hop can blindly teleport. It's surviving the process uninjured that makes you special.”

Dan frowned at the mental images her comment produced. Death by telefragging had to be... messy. ”Right. So how are we”—His fingers made air-quotes—”establishing a baseline?”

Matilda held up a finger, signaling him to stay, then walked back to her office. Dan could barely make out the sound of a drawer opening, before she emerged with a large jar of— Marbles? The older woman walked onto the mat in the center of the room, cradling the jar. In a single, smooth motion, she dumped the marbles onto the ground. They rolled merrily along, blanketing the floor like cartoonish caltrops.

Dan stared in bewilderment. ”Um.” The sound of glass rolling against wood filled the room as the marbles tumbled off the rubber mat. ”I hope you aren't expecting me to pick those up.”

”Don't be absurd,” Matilda scoffed, with another roll of her eyes. Her foot swept through a tightly bunched group near her, scattering them like bowling pins. ”You'll be teleporting into the empty space between them.”

Dan eyed the floor, and the many obstacles upon it. He'd never really thought too hard about his power's ability to safely navigate the world. The reason had always seemed obvious. He wanted to teleport to an open area, so that's where his power took him. Matilda's fascination with what seemed to be such a straightforward function puzzled him.

But fine. If she wanted to waste her time, he'd humor her. It's not like he was revealing anything she didn't already know. Or, at least, highly suspected.

The older woman ushered him into the dojo's office, a spartan thing, devoid of decoration and comfort. She produced an old sweatband, holding up to Dan's eyes.

”Use this as a blindfold,” she explained, moving to stretch it over his head.

Dan quickly stepped backwards, catching hold of her wrist. ”Hold up! Why am I being blindfolded?” A not insignificant part of him expected some sort of attack, the moment he couldn't see.

Matilda huffed in irritation. ”To prevent you from seeing your surroundings, obviously.”

”Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Dan drawled back. If she wanted to be snooty, he'd eagerly return the favor. ”How does that help your little experiment?”

Matilda took a calming breath, rubbing the bridge of her nose. With another heavy sigh, she said, ”Your power clearly does not need your sight to function, however it's entirely possible that it provides some kind of contributing factor. This should help narrow it down. You'll teleport around the room, avoiding the marbles as best you can. If you don't lose a foot, we'll know for certain.”

”Hey!” Dan protested half-heartedly. He had exactly zero fear of losing any part of his body while using his power. He was fairly certain that, should he will it, his power could safely bring him inside a concrete wall. Marcus had postulated that Dan wasn't teleporting, so much as swapping positions with whatever already existed. Air, water, stone, dirt. His power literally rearranged reality. He was pretty confident that it could handle a few glass marbles.

Matilda patted his shoulder unenthusiastically. ”I'm sure you'll be fine. Now, stay in here, while I go rearrange the marbles. When I give you a shout, try teleporting into the center of the room. Make sure the blindfold is on when you arrive.”

”Sounds fun,” Dan grumbled, settling the sweatband over his eyes. He heard the office door open, then shut, followed by silence. Feeling slightly paranoid, Dan peeked out at his surroundings, half-expecting Matilda to still be there, staring at him.

His paranoia was unjustified, thank goodness.

”Okay! Teleport to the center of the room!” Matilda's voice boomed out from beyond the door. Her pipes could give Gregoir a run for his money.

Dan sighed to himself, before slipping the headband back on. He'd play along for now. Maybe the upgrade analyst could actually teach him something new about his power. It was her job, after all.

He pictured himself in the center of the dojo, feet firmly on the rubber mat, standing in open air, facing the exit. He could feel the moment he changed locations. It was a sense beyond his surroundings, beyond the sudden temperature change, or the sounds of the road, or the spongy mat beneath him. Dan had changed locations, and he knew it.

A mocking clap was his reward.

”Congratulations, you appear to be in one piece,” Matilda droned into his ear from a distant corner. ”Next, I'd like you to teleport to the back left corner, from your current orientation. Try to get nice and snug against the wall.”

Dan wasn't so oblivious as to miss her intentions. Specific instructions, a room he'd barely spent any time studying, and no real idea of distance. Matilda was testing the limits of his power. Beyond that, she was either supremely confident in his success, or utterly unconcerned about any collateral damage that might arise from his failure.

Probably some combination of both. It wasn't Matilda who would die messily, if Dan's power didn't work like she expected it to. Not that Dan thought, for a single moment, that such a thing was possible. If anything, he was growing intrigued at the testing.

This particular exercise was a somewhat new experience for Dan. Though he blindly teleported every day of his life, he'd never set out to intentionally test the boundaries of his ability. It actually took him a few moments to formulate a plan of action; moments that he wouldn't have in a life-or-death situation. Though he'd never admit it out loud, this might actually be good practice. This was something entirely different than what he'd ever done before.

Dan pictured himself in the corner. Not the dojo's corner, specifically, as he couldn't quite remember what it looked like, but the corner. The one behind him, and to the left. It was an idea, a direction, a command. That corner. He envisioned the feeling of his body wedged against the wall, both sides pressing against him, with open air in front of him. He thought about the hard wood beneath his feet. He held these images in his mind, and pictured himself there.

The world shifted, his location changed, and something immediately felt off. Not dangerous, but different from what he had pictured. Dan could feel a hard wall pressing against his right side— Something unsteady jostled against his left. He wiggled his elbow, pushing against the obstruction. The object rocked slightly, back and forth.