functioning as a team. She wondered if she could talk Mr. Transport into doing it again. No, even if she could, that wouldn’t be much of a challenge anymore. Alice could float them all up with ease, and Vince would keep them toasty as she did it. Even her own control had evolved to where she could hold and lift a normal person’s body without accidentally crushing them. Strange to think that what had been a nearly insurmountable task only two years ago would now be little more than an inconvenient few minutes. Assuming they worked together, of course.
With a groan, Mary set her head on her desk. She’d been best at moving them along personally, helping each one find their own strengths and talents. Wrangling Roy’s ego, pushing Vince through his fear of himself, helping Alice to stop seeing herself as useless, this was stuff she could handle. Nick had been the one who could move them as a group. He saw the way people fit together, how to use them as a unit, and how to tighten the cogs so that it worked more efficiently. Mary’s chess skills had advanced to where she could utilize each piece for the whole of a greater strategy, but that didn’t mean she knew how to impart in them a sense of unity.
They needed a goal, or a trial, or something to push them back into a solid mass. Right now, they were drifting apart, turning into four people working to graduate, instead of one team. That might work for everyone else, but they were different. The others couldn’t hear the barbs, the angry thoughts percolating in some of their fellow student’s minds, but she could. To much of the student body, they weren’t welcome here.
And if Mary didn’t think of something soon, she doubted they’d be here for a whole lot longer.
* * *
Mary wasn’t wrong about Hershel and Roy’s dedication; at that very moment, Roy was underground in the HCP gym, pushing hard to find his new limit. Only a year ago, the concept had terrified him. Not the concept of running out of strength during a lift, but of hitting the sort of wall where, no matter the effort, his muscles refused to make progress. That had been when he thought such things were permanent, though. Now, he knew better. Now, he understood it was his way of tossing the ball back into Hershel’s court.
In a way, it had become a game between them: could Hershel ratchet up Roy’s potential before Roy hit the wall? It drove them both to train hard, each brother trying to stay one step ahead of the other, to avoid plateaus and continue growing. And they were growing, that was ridiculously evident. Roy’s strength had risen exponentially, and his endurance had nearly kept pace. Even his reaction speeds were improving, though at a slower rate. Hershel had taken up sparring over the summer, the genuine combat experience helping to push up Roy’s potential just as effectively as Hershel’s exercise.
It was a testament to the construction of Lander’s workout equipment that the weight bench didn’t shudder as Roy set down the bar after his final rep. No, there was no question of his strength anymore, even if there were still miles to go. The real hurdle facing him was skill. Despite Owen’s belief that their kind only existed to hit and get hit, Roy saw value in learning to punch and dodge more effectively. He had a feeling they weren’t going to move him up the ranks unless he was able to actually land his blows, and Roy absolutely intended to move up the ranks.
Mary had been right about their dedication, but not about their goals. Hershel was focused on graduation, that much was true, but Roy’s eyes were set on another prize. He’d come here with an undeserved ego and been put in his place. He understood now just how far behind the head of the pack he’d been. But that didn’t mean his pride wasn’t still there. Roy wanted to be on top, he wanted to be the King, to use Nick’s old analogy. This time, he didn’t want
With a groan, Mary set her head on her desk. She’d been best at moving them along personally, helping each one find their own strengths and talents. Wrangling Roy’s ego, pushing Vince through his fear of himself, helping Alice to stop seeing herself as useless, this was stuff she could handle. Nick had been the one who could move them as a group. He saw the way people fit together, how to use them as a unit, and how to tighten the cogs so that it worked more efficiently. Mary’s chess skills had advanced to where she could utilize each piece for the whole of a greater strategy, but that didn’t mean she knew how to impart in them a sense of unity.
They needed a goal, or a trial, or something to push them back into a solid mass. Right now, they were drifting apart, turning into four people working to graduate, instead of one team. That might work for everyone else, but they were different. The others couldn’t hear the barbs, the angry thoughts percolating in some of their fellow student’s minds, but she could. To much of the student body, they weren’t welcome here.
And if Mary didn’t think of something soon, she doubted they’d be here for a whole lot longer.
* * *
Mary wasn’t wrong about Hershel and Roy’s dedication; at that very moment, Roy was underground in the HCP gym, pushing hard to find his new limit. Only a year ago, the concept had terrified him. Not the concept of running out of strength during a lift, but of hitting the sort of wall where, no matter the effort, his muscles refused to make progress. That had been when he thought such things were permanent, though. Now, he knew better. Now, he understood it was his way of tossing the ball back into Hershel’s court.
In a way, it had become a game between them: could Hershel ratchet up Roy’s potential before Roy hit the wall? It drove them both to train hard, each brother trying to stay one step ahead of the other, to avoid plateaus and continue growing. And they were growing, that was ridiculously evident. Roy’s strength had risen exponentially, and his endurance had nearly kept pace. Even his reaction speeds were improving, though at a slower rate. Hershel had taken up sparring over the summer, the genuine combat experience helping to push up Roy’s potential just as effectively as Hershel’s exercise.
It was a testament to the construction of Lander’s workout equipment that the weight bench didn’t shudder as Roy set down the bar after his final rep. No, there was no question of his strength anymore, even if there were still miles to go. The real hurdle facing him was skill. Despite Owen’s belief that their kind only existed to hit and get hit, Roy saw value in learning to punch and dodge more effectively. He had a feeling they weren’t going to move him up the ranks unless he was able to actually land his blows, and Roy absolutely intended to move up the ranks.
Mary had been right about their dedication, but not about their goals. Hershel was focused on graduation, that much was true, but Roy’s eyes were set on another prize. He’d come here with an undeserved ego and been put in his place. He understood now just how far behind the head of the pack he’d been. But that didn’t mean his pride wasn’t still there. Roy wanted to be on top, he wanted to be the King, to use Nick’s old analogy. This time, he didn’t want
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