nagachika | IC INBOX FOR MASK OR MENACE

Duuuuude, melty shoes. I feel you. I got you covered, we'll fix that first. You know where StarkTech is? Get down there like, immediately. I can fix the shoe problem. Bring a new pair.

Supergirl actually mention I contact Tony Stark, so that's definitely a good idea. I don't feel like windin' up flat on my face again due to the bottoms of my shoes givin' out, hahahaaaa.

I bought a new pair the other day. I'll bring them along.

Supergirl? There's- [secret ids wally ffs] There's uhhh a girl here with the codename Supergirl? Wow.

Anyway yeah, I work in the chemlabs. I got something that can help make those a little more fireproof, use it on my own. Should help reduce friction heat. I'm up on the fourth floor, just say you're there to see Wally and I'll meet you in the entrance hall.

Supergirl, Powergirl... it was something like that. I can't really remember, she wasn't around too long.

[He was too distracted by how pretty her hair was, to be honest.]

Fourth Floor, StarkTech building. Got it all down, bud. Thanks a lot for your call.

I'll see ya soon, yeah?

[that's a fair call bro supers are notoriously gorgeous]

Yeah dude, book it over here. Floor it! Wreck the ones you got on as a rite of passage! [no do not do that

Either way, Wally is dicking around on his phone playing Fruit Ninja as he waits for his new buddy to show up. Today is a good day; not only does he get to meet a new speedster (COOL) but he gets to do science (MEGA COOL)! Yessssss thank you Annie for your hookups.]

[He's definitely making a plan to thank Annie later for getting him in touch with what seemed to be one hell of a chill fellow speedster.

Wreck the ones he has as a rite of passage? Bad idea. Really bad idea.

He's gonna do it.

And it's the smell of burning rubber and one sunflower-haired teenager out of breath that announces his arrival.

Give him a second, Wally, he really did floor it to get here after getting off transit to De Chima.]

Whoa, hey! Nice skid! [Except the labs lobby is starting to stink like tires and the receptionist is giving him a dirty look. Wally ushers the guy over to a chair and dumps him in there to catch his breath.] Kick those off, I'll get rid of 'em. [these mofos are going down in the dumpster

When Wally gets back from that he sticks out his hand, grinning.] Hey dude. Nice to meet you in person. D'you know how long it took you to get here from the compound?

[Salvage it. Smile and wave at the receptionist like you didn't just--nope, she still looks pissed. Ah well. Wally doesn't seem too mad, so Hide doesn't see a need to feel guilty. He even shoots his new friend a wide smile.]

--Thanks. I didn't think I was gonna manage a stop, there. [He'll reach his hand back out, shaking the others' hand long enough before dropping down to remove his shoes--they were already out of shape, the rubber on the bottom strained with the force of how fast he was going.]

Nice t'meet you too. And ... ...Man, after I talked, I really should have clocked myself. But I'd give... maybe? Ten minutes or so, with waiting for crosswalks'n stuff. [And people yelling at him for being rude...]

That's not bad, for a congested area. City sidewalks get all crowded and you get bottlenecked, so I'm guessing you didn't go top speed? 'Course, you might have better luck if you use the road, but the drivers around here, yeesh. [Wally keeps chattering away as he leads Hide through security, tossing a visitor's pass his way and passing his badge over a reader to allow them chemical lab access.] We'll have to go out on the open highway sometime, something paved but deserted. You can really get a good grip and tear down those things.

Okay, c'mere. Get your shoes out. [Wally tries to be cool and hop-slide over his desk, but doesn't get enough momentum and ends up having to scoot across to the other side like a stupid. He takes it in stride at least -totally meant to do that anyway- and starts rummaging around in the cabinets for beakers, vials and little bottles of hand-labeled chemicals.] So. Issue here is the friction between your feet and the road plus kinetic buildup equals fire, right? Not good. But without friction you'd basically be ice skating into infinity and that's all kinds of dangerous, so instead of coating all your shoes with teflon you do something completely different.

[Wally spins around, twirling a test tube between his fingers and grinning.] Chemical heat sink and dissipation. Now, this isn't as good a solution as getting your shoes hardwired to do the same thing, but since I don't have the materials or a batrillion dollars to waste, thermal gel is the way to go. It'll siphon off a lot of the heat buildup between both the concrete and the soles of your shoes and help dissipate it into the air behind you. Might leave a heat trail, but nothing crazy. Just like if someone was blasting a hair dryer behind you.

Edited 2015-02-24 08:03 (UTC)

You're tellin' me. You wouldn't believe the glares I get for tryin'a apologise for zippin' by too fast... [Sighs. He thought being a super-human would be cool; but it'd been nothing but trouble lately.] Last time I tried to go full speed on the highway was when I was racin' a guy with a hovervespa, and dude, that was cool as heck. I bet I was going my top speed then--the angry drivers alongside us aside.

[He's already digging into his backpack, pulling out box with his new shoes in it, having been terrified to use them before now because of the whole shoe-melting issue.] I think I'd rather deal with melted shoes than have to deal with running in one spot without friction. How stupid would that look, right? [He flaps a hand at Wally, a good-natured grin running up his face as he places the box on the floor, pulling them out and putting them up on a free bit of counter space.]

'Heat trail', I was worried for a minute that you were about to tell me I was gonna go from burning the rubber on my shoes to leavin' a fire trail behind me. Cripes.

Thermal Gel, then. Got it, logged it. [He taps his temple.] Is it a one-time coatin', or am I gonna have to re-apply it after a few days?

Probably gonna want to reapply. This stuff isn't as effective as I could get back home. [Wally starts putting together the compound, a few drops here and there. Totally not wearing his safety goggles.] You'll probably go a lot faster with these though! Since your shoes won't stick to the pavement after fifty yards. Is your metabolism accelerated too?

[He's definitely not standing entirely close, it's still chemicals and he's definitely not stupid enough to get close to something that could be dangerous, but he's still leaning in a little, watching.]

Heeeeh--even faster? Man, I can't wait to give them a--

['Is your metabolism accellerated, too?' Never had a sentence plunged him in such abashment.] ...You'd not believe how much I have to eat lately, what with this running gig. Groceries have never gouged me as hard as they do, now.

I'd believe it. [Wally gives the tube a little shake before screwing it into a stand over an open flame.] D'you live in De Chima? I'll give you a list of the places that have pretty okay food for cheap. -and I'll give you a website, it's this online store that sells these super-high calorie energy bars, it's like for people who're trying to gain weight really fast. Those are good too.

[This is...nice. Sure, the guy's around his age and all, but Wally hadn't realized how nice it would be to pass on the stuff he'd learned over the last few years. Makes him feel seriously useful.]

[At least he's keeping his hands off of things. Though he's watching what Wally's doing pretty intensely, his hands sliding into his pockets.]

I'm guessing you go through the same thing, then, huh. As for me, no. I live in Government housing in Heropa--but I have a really good friend who lives here in De Chima, so I'll be visiting really often.

I'll definitely accept that website of yours; I like the idea of not dropping nearly my entire paycheck every month on food. What's even worse--I live with someone else with superspeed. [He flashes the other a sheepish grin.]

He didn't tell me until yesterday, though. So I had no idea his eating habits were as bad as mine were until I saw the minifridge in his room.

Dude, [Wally sighs, keeping a very casual eye on the solution,] I hear you. I live with my cousin, from home? He's a speedster too. Trying to keep food in our place is like, I don't even know, man. I wanna hire somebody to just do that, like, it takes up so much time.

Your cousin? What's his name? He might'a already been suggested to me, too, since I made a post about speedsters, but you never know.

[He shoots the other a grin.]

You could always hire a maid. That way you can have someone clean your house AND stog it with food, ne?

My cousin's Bart; he probably did talk to you. Saying "I run real fast" is like a summoning phrase for him or something. [Wally takes the tube off of the heat with a pair of forceps and shakes it a little squinting at the mixture. He takes it over to the cooling station and drops it into a wire holder before closing it into the fridge.]

Ahahaha--a catch phrase, that's what it sounds like. Something a superhero would say. [He flashes wally a grin; shaking his head.] But nope. I'm pretty surprised, I haven't heard of a guy named Bart yet.

Maybe I'll keep an eye out for him on the network. [He leans a little to the side, watching Wally place the heated fluid into the kitchen. A flash of hot and then cold...

Man, he'd never get chemistry.]

[Nah the fridge is because Wally is impatient. He taps his food by the fridge, waiting for the solution to cool enough to handle.] He's on there sometimes. He'd be jazzed to meet you, but he's...fast. Really, really fast. Sometimes he's hard to keep up with.

So if you two were to race then, you're saying you'd lose? [A flash of a grin, a little bit of a laugh.]

Looks like I'm gonna have a lotta' catching up t'do.

Oh yeah, he's already beat me. I can go about eight hundred miles an hour tops, he's a lot faster and he's a natural at a lot of the more difficult techniques. [Wally waits for the sting of admitting that and it...doesn't come. He turns away from Hide and plucks the solution from the fridge, shaking the tube to check the consistency.]

[If Wally had shown a ping of feeling inadequate, Hide would have been two seconds from reassuring him.]

Eight hundred miles an hour...

Yikes, I'm a little dizzy just thinking about that.

[Are you serious.]

Nah dude, you'll get used to it. [Wally measures out a small bit of powder and shakes it into the tube before capping it and just shaking it up like a chocolate milk.] Your brain and eyes and senses and stuff'll catch up, it just takes a little while.

--Yeah? That sounds pretty good. [He's tired of losing track of himself after running for distances.]

Though I think investing in some goggles is gonna come next. Wind's killer on the eyes, too.

Yup. Also, if you can afford it? Night vision. That stuff'll save your life. [Wally uncaps the tube and tries to slosh it around; the gel is too thick and moves like molasses. He pulls Hide's shoes closer and pulls on a pair of gloves.]

IC INBOX FOR MASK OR MENACE

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