Bab 41: Training Woes
(Third Person POV)
"Rise and shine, you two! It's time for training!" Nolan yells as Carter gets up from his desk. He had been spending the night working on Project Silicone.
After getting ready, Carter heads to Mark's room and knocks on the door.
" Hey Mark, it's time to go. don't wanna have dad on our butts on the first day." After saying this all Carter could hear was Mark groaning out some attempt at the English language but soon enough Mark came out of his room.
The two then headed downstairs and saw their father prepping some coffee, which they both accepted.
" All right, you two. Today is going to be a day where I teach the basics, and let me tell you here and now that it's not going to be easy; there's just going to be a pain, and there's going to be blood. I'll be with you both every step of the way." Both Carter and Mark nod with utter and complete seriousness in their expressions.
Nolan, after shooting up in his Omni man uniform picks up the two as he flies away to the outskirts of the city of Chicago. And after a couple of seconds, he comes to a stop.
" All right, boys. In five seconds, I'm going to let you both go. I want you both to try to steady yourselves and not hit the ground, understand?" They both nod once more as Omniman counts down.
"5, 4, 1." After skipping the countdown, he lets go, leaving Mark somewhat tumbling in the air while Carter heads downwards to ensure his brother doesn't hit the ground.
After stopping in mid-air, Carter, let's go, to which Nolan gives Carter an approving nod.
" Good work. It seems you two can steady yourselves well enough. Now, the key to flight is to understand that you can't just walk without thinking about trying to balance. You both are baby flyers now, and you must think about standing upright and simply focusing on the direction you both want and need to go. Now watch." Nolan then proceeds to do some air tricks, from a front and back flip to multiple rolling maneuvers.
" I think I'm getting sick just watching him do this, Carter," Mark says as Carter watches on, analyzing every minuscule movement.
Unlike Mark, Carter is able to use X-ray vision. He can see the individual muscles that Omni Man flexes and contracts when he flies, as well as the individual brain cells that interact to direct three-dimensional movement.
Soon enough, however, Omni Man finishes his demonstration and returns to the two boys.
" Right now, I want you to try to do the same." After saying this, Mark and Carter are not before moving away from each other in order to not slam into one another on accident.
While he initially seemed to struggle slightly, he adapted and began doing multiple in-air backflips, front flips, and loop-de-loops.
Mark, on the other hand, is stuck spinning in the air, trying to reorient himself. But as Carter tries to head over to Mark to help him study himself, a hand reaches in front of him, stopping him. As Carter looks at Omni man, he simply shakes his head, bidding him to only watch.
Carter's face is frowning as he watches Mark struggle to fly, but after a couple of minutes, Mark is able to do the basics of a front flip.
Nolan, seeing enough, says, " OK, you two seem to be getting it. Follow me."
Omni man then flies straight up into the air, and Carter has to help Mark reorient himself before following after him.
As the two catch up, Omni Man, the more experienced flyer, continues his explanation: " It takes energy to continue to fly, so it's best to use our own momentum to keep up the pace. The best way to compare our ability to fly is like a muscle. You have to let it relax, sometimes, so as not to wear yourself out."
With a slight smile on his face, Carter simply nods as Mark flies a bit faster away from the two.
With a small smile, Carter goes to catch up to him, with Omni man staying as Stoic as ever as he flies in front of the two.
" Right, now we are going to try landing. The best way to explain how to decrease your speed is that you need to learn how to pee your pants on purpose." A proverbial record scratch could be heard as the two looked at Omni man almost disbelievingly.
"You're joking, right?" Carter hesitatingly asks as Omni man smirks slightly.
"Well, it's the best comparison. You spend your whole life trying not to be your pants, but now you just have to let it go." He then stops, to which Carter and Mark do the same.
" Now, I want you both to try to land on the ground one at a time. Remember, you just have to let it go and stop Carter; you go first." Nodding his head, Carter then looks over to Mark, who gives him a small thumbs-up and encouragement.
Carter then looks downwards and flies down, building speed due to the increased effects of gravity and his own increasing speed. Omni man raises his eyebrow right before hitting the ground. Carter simply lands on the ground as if nothing ever happened.
After landing on the ground, Carter gives Mark the same thumbs up, and Omni man gestures for Mark to start his turn. After taking a steady breath, Mark begins to fly downwards with Omni man close behind him.
Carter, who is currently on the ground, then narrows his eyes as he sees Mark, who is seemingly either unable to or unknowingly continuously flexing his muscles.
" OK, Mark, you can slow down." Omni man says as they descend, but Mark just goes faster and faster.
" Mark, you need to slow down. Mark, you just need to stop. Just stop!" But Mark, with his eyes wide, struggles to let go. As he covers his face to avoid pain on impact, he suddenly finds himself stopped right before hitting the ground.
Looking up, he sees Carter holding him by the scruff of his shirt with a placating smile on his face as if saying it's OK. After placing Mark on the ground and helping him up after he trips and falls on a rock while trying to land, Omni man next to both of them gives them an unreadable look.
" Well, I guess we can call that a landing. Carter, next time, you need to let your brother hit the ground; he's not going to learn if you keep him from the pain."
" I'd rather my brother not land face first on hardened ground, Dad. Besides, that face is his only redeeming feature." Mark tries to slap his brother for that, but he dodges the hit, and Mark only sighs in disappointment.
" Well, you may be right about that. Carter and I do appreciate your care for your brother. You both need to learn now we're going to basic combat. I need you both to try and hit me." Mark seems almost flabbergasted at this request but soon enough begins to psych himself up.
Carter then forms a basic stance, which Omni man immediately criticizes: " Your stance is a bit too wide. Carter, your muscles are too contracted. You can't fight if you're that stiff. Watch me."
Omni man then takes a stand similar to that of a professional boxer, and after a couple of seconds, Mark is able to replicate it.
" All right, you too can try to hit me." Mark then immediately tries to go in for a punch but overextends, leading him to trip over Omni man's extended foot. Carter attempts to go for a gut shot, which almost does land if Omni man doesn't grab his hand and toss him away.
But before Omni man could comment further, Carter was already behind him and slammed into his back, sending Omni flying through multiple trees.
Mark, after getting up and seeing what just happened, yells out, "Dad, are you good?!"
As if answering him, Omni man appears in front of Carter faster than anything he could've seen before. He slams his fist right into Carter's stomach, launching him up into the sky.
But right before he had taken the hit, Carter was able to block the blow to his gut with his right arm and immediately tried to re-orient himself before flying back down at Omni man with Mark immediately trying to grab Omni man in order to keep an in place but before Carter can connect, Omni man grabs Marks hands. He slams his fist right into Mark's chest.
The blow, harder than Omni man had expected, lifts his hand up to stop Carter as he checks on Mark.
Carter then flies over to where Mark is and checks on his physical condition.
" Possible fractured ribs, as well as a couple of ripped muscles that you almost killed him with that shot." Nolan, however, seems almost indifferent, but after a couple of seconds, his features soften as he kneels down to check on Mark.
"You..you..hurt..me." Mark gasps as Nolan places a hand on his shoulder.
" I know, Mark, but not everyone is going to pull their punches. You need to learn to take the pain, and I'm sorry I shouldn't have hit you so hard, at least not yet. Carter, when you stop for this for the day, your mother will be angry. If we stay out any longer, your mother will be worried now. Carter, are you able to carry him back?" Carter nodded, his expression almost blank, but the worry was still present.
Carter then carefully picks Mark up while also placing his fingers on various points of Mark's body in order to keep his muscles from crushing the injured bones. Nolan seems almost surprised by the efficiency Carter showed but stowed questions for later.
The three then returned to their home without another word. It did take slightly longer to return, as Carter was going slower to avoid aggravating Mark's injuries. Eventually, Mark was lucid enough to fly back on his own.
(Carter POV)
That was way too close.
It seems that my increased skill in using the superpowers has already led to a change in the timeline in the original show Mark was hurt. But it wasn't this bad.
In the original, Nolan only knocked the air out of Mark. Still, if any of those fractured bones had gone any further, they would've punctured Mark's heart, which, to be honest, I blame myself for as I assume Omni man was taking it a bit more seriously because of the proficiency I showed.
It almost makes me forget that the person I'm flying right next to is a man willing to eviscerate anyone and any target within seconds. And I could tell just from a few blows I exchanged with them that while there was an impact, it wasn't enough.
I have yet to use my telekinesis, but I'm going to have to keep that to myself, at least for now, until I can find someone to explain the ability.
Thanks to our race's healing factor, Mark was able to jump back from the damage, but I could tell he was still hurt. But not just hurt. He's also angry. I can tell.
As we landed back at the house, Mark opened the door and walked upstairs while Mom walked over to check on me.
" I take it wasn't a perfect first training session?" I was almost tempted to retort, but Omni man placed his hand on my shoulder and replied.
" We went a bit far today. They're going to need it if they're going to get into this life." With a narrow gaze, Mom almost stares him down.
"And how far is too far to you, Nolan? Carter, honey, could you go check on your brother, please? I need to talk with your father." I nod and head upstairs.
Entering Mark's room and closing the door, I could clearly hear Omni Man's frustration with our lack of progress. As I shut the door, I saw Mark sitting on the bed with his head down in disappointment.
" Are you doing all right, Mark?" after not getting an answer, I sit down next to him and place a hand on his back, just letting him know I'm here.
" Do you think I'll be able to do it?" Mark asks me in a saddened tone of voice.
" Do what, Mark?" I asked as softly as I could.
" Do you think I'll be able to do what he does?" Looking him over, I'm almost unsure how to answer.
Taking a deep breath, I look around his room and his various comic book posters. " No, I don't think you'll be able to do it just like he does." After hearing you say that, Mark looks up in sadness, but I continue.
" Mark, we may be his sons, but that doesn't mean we're carbon copies. Eventually, we will have to get along without him and do our own thing. We can't keep living in his shadow forever. Besides, I know you have what it takes. You already have previous experience after reading all of these comic books. Think of this as your origin story and first training arc." Mark then slightly smiles as he wipes some tears from his eyes due to the pain.
" You really know how to cheer me up, Carter?" I shrugged as he chuckled while holding one of his favorite comics about a superpowered dog. I believe it's about a dog with a superpower.
"Well, I would rather not see you change for school, so I'm going to head to my room. Just know that I'm here, and if Dad doesn't have time to train with us, we can train together even if he's not here. We... I am here." Mark the knots and heads in his shower, and I leave his room with Mom right outside the door.
" That was a nice thing to say to him. Did you get that for one of the books you like to read?" Shaking my head, I reply.
"No, it was actually a quote from another hero, probably one not even Mark had heard of." Debbie then puts her hand on my face as I look down at her.
" You both have grown up so fast. I remember the night your dad told you both about you two being aliens. I can almost remember your expression. In fact, you questioned it so hard that he actually had to fly in front of you just for you to actually believe him." Oh yes, from my memories, it seems. I was very questioning, even as a child.
" Well, just don't go around talking about my embarrassing past. Please. Mark already has enough ammunition to use against me anyway." She simply smiles and heads back downstairs as she herself prepares to go to work, as our training did occur in the early morning. But with my enhanced hearing, I could almost hear her question as to why Nolan seems so different today.
As I turned towards my own room, I took the prize I had received from my pocket: one of my father's skin cells that I had received from him during the spar.
I placed it in a container I had on me and took it with me into my warehouse after closing my door. As I placed it in the scanner, I began the process of decoding his DNA.
While I may have the same DNA, it will change as I travel through more worlds, and I will need pure DNA samples to continue studying them.
But for now, I need to get ready for another day at school, and I just hope that Mark is in a good enough headspace not to break Todd's arms if he messes with him.
(By the way, since the jump has reset, feel free to send me recommendations for the three wishes he gets from the genie bottle. Although make sure the wishes aren't too ridiculous. By the way keep commenting and keep reading. Thank you very much.)
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone