At last, we were done. School had been a little rough today, more than a little weird. Especially when Sam had me sniff around the gym, as if I were a dog.

At least she was circumspect about it; just the memory was shocking... because apparently I was at least part dog after all; I'd been smelling people. Well, not really people, but guys. Not that guys weren't people, but... yeah, let's just bury that thought.

Anyway, Sam had somehow noticed the smell I was smelling was guy, or more specifically, sweaty guy. Now why that smelled in any way interesting or good to me? No idea. I had the feeling I shouldn't ask, for my sanity; stupid body. I also had a feeling that Sam would tell me later; we'd been interrupted before by the bell.

It was even worse of course, because we had been interrupted and Sam had promised to tell me what it meant later. As if I actually wanted to know.

It was over though, we were going home, and my grades remained high. So high I could probably miss a week and still not lose my grade point average. I wasn't stupid enough to think my grade point average meant something, not anymore, but it was something that would make the parents happy, so it was something.

I had to drop my stuff off, and get my ball, so we were all walking home. Jeanette was carrying my stuff like usual, but I still felt fine. I'd avoided most of my own power, my own brain trying to screw me over, and I was feeling pretty good about that.

Jill would get her day, or rather night, but I wanted to play a few rounds of twenty-one first. Hopefully she would understand; she probably would, she didn't seem to be in any kind of hurry - which was not at all like Jeanette or Crash.

Whatever, it would work out. Even if Jill got angry over the delay, she likely wouldn't go all terminator on me or anyone else. We would have a chance to talk it out. It wasn't like a few rounds would take more than an hour, even if we all played.

The walk was uneventful, my two shadows making messing with me a really stupid idea even if people wanted to; who would want to mess with the CIA and the MCO, probably at once? The MCO even had robots! Crude things that barely worked, but still, they did work. Even if the designs offended me.

Even if they were nothing compared to what I could build.

No, better stay away from that; even just looking at the pictures had brought up some nastiness in that area. I didn't dare try the videos of them in action, or I'd be making a better version inside of a day. Which I could make a better one in a day, those things were junk.

Either way, I doubt they would send those robots to my defense, unless mutants attacked me for whatever reason. There was no reason for any mutant to attack me, since I wasn't donning spandex and rushing around trying to stop any crimes they might be doing.

I mean Jill could net me some attention, but she'd be a cop, so if anything she should bring attention to the police force themselves, who would be using her and have all the infrastructure for.

Maybe I should just put my name down as 'a concerned citizen' for all the official documents regarding Jill. I really should have thought of this before - and it had been percolating in the back of my mind, but it had been pushed out by the thought of building something else, of solving a problem through science and technology. Of making better than I had before.

Even more than my power induced fits, I needed to watch that. What was someone my age, with my experience, doing? Thinking that I could solve all problems by making something or someone to punch people was no better than donning the spandex myself, when you got right down to it. I was never so happy as now that my jet wasn't armed.

There were weapons I could put on it. Weapons of my design, ready to be printed off at my convenience. They were even good, and should therefore never see the light of day.

Jeanette turned, walking backwards again. When had she gotten in front of me? It was clear she knew at least some of what I was thinking. "I'm fine. Nothing to see here."

Jeanette raised a single eyebrow artfully (the left one this time, she usually favored the right) and turned around again.
We were in the yard now, my front door only a few steps away. My friends were still behind me, chatting away, so my feet on automatic had been fast enough.

"You may stay out here," Jeanette told us all: "I shall retrieve your ball."

"Get enough water for us, too, if you can. Or gatorade, that works too." There was very little gatorade couldn't fix, and I'd die on that hill.

"Of course Mistress," Jeanette replied.

Using my key, my android maid disappeared into our house. I could hear the thuds and clumps within as she began to move around.

"So, who is up for some twenty-one? Some horse?"

"I'm in," Ricky immediately replied.

"I'm in," Ralph responded right after.

"Totally in," Maggie said, even going to far as to raise her hand, as if we were still in class.

"In," Sam said at last, with a small smile.

Jeanette would play of course, so that gave us five. Ian would probably take the chance to be alone at home for a bit.

"Excellent." I was really looking forward to this, and I still felt fine.

Jeanette came back out, my ball in her hands and a bag on her shoulder. I could see drinks and wrapped snacks piled within. She pulled the door shut behind her.

I trusted her to do her job. "Thanks. Was Jeeves in?"

Jeanette shook her head. "He was not. He is on his route home, and shall meet us at the park in all likelihood."

Right, he was getting a drone. He must have had to walk or use my bike. Maybe I should get licenses for the androids, so they could drive cars? I could buy a second hand car and fix it up.

"Right, let's go."

They didn't really need my prompting, but we all set off.

My shadows took a moment, almost as if surprised, then followed. Of course they might be surprised; I didn't really go out much anymore. I should change that. Even just taking walks or something, until it got too cold.

It was just so hard to deal with both doing stuff and building stuff. The doing felt like such a waste of time when I could be building actual wonders.

That was the wrong way to think, I knew that. But it was hard to deal with in the moment. My thoughts kept coming around to it though, like a hamster on a wheel, continually second guessing itself.

The walk was nice at least, the afternoon sun a pleasant warmth on skin, the heat sinking into my coat. It was still bright enough to squint, my glasses reflecting some of it at wild angles. I could do the math and determine exactly where, so I did, as a mental exercise. It was a way to pass the time after all, and I didn't really have anything to say.

No one else seemed to have anything to say either, we passed the time tromping along in silence.

The park was not empty. That was to be expected. The basketball court at the park was not empty, and that was very unexpected. Monty, Joe,

Brad and Lyle were on the court, playing two on two. Why were basketball team members here when they could just play at the gym with no problem?

Whatever, the park was public. However, what was an issue is that they were using the entire court, which meant no one else could.
This broke every code! even if you were alone, you were only supposed to take up half the court, in case someone else wanted to play.

Whatever, they would just have to switch, because we were here now.

"The right side," I called. The right side of the old court was the worst side. It had a slightly bent rim that sagged down a little. It was only right the others keep the side with the good rim since they were basically practicing, or at the very least playing seriously.

Ricky knew what I meant and beelined right to the bench set next to the right side of the court, which would be our base camp while here. That would be where the drinks and snacks went, anyway.

Jeanette took her own cue, and altered her own course.

"What are you doing?"
I looked up at the shout to see Monty making his way toward us, the game they were playing stopped and the others drew themselves up behind him.

Monty was looking directly at me, but Ricky took it upon himself to answer... and it was not the best answer to give: "Playing. You know the rules. You got the left side, we get the right."

"Why?" Monty turned to Ricky and cocked his head in an obvious bait. "You're the only one here on the team. I'm seeing volleyball players and kids who sit down for gym. Yet here you guys are going to play?"

Ricky jumped back up and started marching. No good could come of this. "Don't be an ass, Monty. Not everyone can be in the NBA, and it's a park. We just want to shoot the ball some, then leave. Even if we didn't, you know the rules, and if you try and gate-keep everyone's going to hear about it."

Again, Monty looked at me, a piercing glare. It was enough to stop me in my tracks for a moment; when had I pissed in his cheerios?

Whatever, I kicked myself into gear; I'd be backing Ricky whatever happened.

Ralph beat me to it, stepping up almost shoulder to shoulder with my best friend, and right in front of me. "Monty, just go back to your game. We don't want any trouble... and neither do you."

Holy crap, could they get any more confrontational?

Maggie clapping her hands sharply pulled everyone's attention : "Boys, boys, you're all pretty! The fact is this."

She waited a beat and then pointed at Monty and his friends... my former friends. "You are in a public park, and can easily stop hogging the one court we have. It doesn't matter what we do, or why we do it, we have a right to be here. Us being here should not and won't bother you at all, if you just go mind your own business. If you want, we can call the Sheriff and ask his opinion."

Wow, that was... an escalation. A little too much, for sure.

"Whatever," Monty backed down. "Just don't stray into our side."

As if he'd do anything, if any of us did. Jeanette had been suspiciously quiet, but I knew she was paying attention; I could feel her focus from right behind me.

She had a pleasant smile plastered on her face when I turned around, however, her hands crossed in front of her and in plain view.

Sam was behind Jeanette, and gave me a thumbs up; Jeanette hadn't done anything weird.

"We won't, you're safe." Ricky's sarcasm could be heard by everyone, and Monty bristled, but let it go.

Ricky turned around, all smiles as the other went back to their game. "Alright, so who wants to play?"

"We all will," Maggie said. "Sam and I both want to play, I know you want to play, and of course Min wants to play. Jeanette might as well, and that just leaves Ralph."

We all looked to Ralph. "Yeah, I'm playing," he admitted. "Of course I am."

Good enough for me. "So who goes first?"

Usually it was just two or three of us, and we'd rock paper scissors for it. When had I gotten so popular? Had I gotten popular? As a, dare I say, nerd? This was weird, and in no way what all those late night quirky eighties movies had prepared me for.

Ricky had an answer: "We don't need to overthink it; we can just line up. I'll be first, and everyone else can get behind me."

Right, we wouldn't be fighting or jockeying for position; we were all friends. I lined up behind Ricky, with a good amount of personal space between us, and the others did the same. We'd take turns shooting, and the person who shot would get the ball, hand it over, and then go to the back of the line. We'd also start in 3 point land, and maybe we would get closer as time wore on, just for giggles.

I missed my first shot, of course, but that was to be expected since I was out of practice. With no real hurry, I walked the ball down. It had bounced off the bent rim, which meant I'd thrown it too low.

Ricky had made his shot of course, and he would likely win any challenge here unless someone put a hand in his face. What was surprising was that Maggie and Sam both made theirs.

Jeanette did not; her form was terrible. She had clearly paid attention to our technique, but her shot was feet wide and a good half a foot short. She had better range finding than that, surely?

Whatever, I was in no shape to judge.

Ricky made his next shot and passed the ball to me. This time, I swished it, proving my adjustments were correct. I always liked doing that since it meant I didn't have to chase the ball down, but for today, I could probably use the extra steps.

Whatever, it was a nice day, I'd take things as they came; it had been working so far.

Maggie missed, and Sam made her next shot. Ralph hadn't made either of his.

Like me, Jeanette made her second shot, and sprinted over to collect the ball.

"You know it's your coat, right?" Ricky asked. "Your coat is dragging on you."

None of my friends had coats on, Sam had a sweatshirt, and that was as close to dressing warmly as anyone here had.

"I know." How could I not? "But believe it or not, it's cold to me."

I was warm in the lab coat, but when I'd taken it off during lunch, I'd quickly gotten cold. It was warmer now, of course. Yet I didn't feel hot at all.
I wondered if my hair was. No, it didn't matter.

No one else was wearing a coat either, not the couple walking down the street, nor Monty and his friends, or even the little kids over there on the swings. Just another thing that I couldn't really help that made me stand out; it was whatever. Another whatever among many.

It wasn't about winning anyway. Today wasn't about competing or winning; it was about getting out in the sunlight and moving, even if I came in last. Which was possible, since I missed my next shot off the rim again; this time it was the far side that got me. A little too much force.

Or the angle was two point three degrees too shallow, and I should rainbow it more. That would also work.

Shooting rainbows was a risky business, as the ball traveled a longer distance at slower speeds. Made it easier to block; but this was twenty-one, so there wouldn't be anyone blocking my shots.

Jeanette seemed to figure it out too; she made her next shot.

Ricky was still in the lead, but that was to be expected. This round, we all made our shots, and Ricky moved us to the left of center, still on the three point line. That was fine; I was dialed in now.

Ricky was less than impressed by my swish. "Rainbows? Really?"

I gave him my best aw shucks shrug. "It's not a game. I don't have to impress anybody."

Even though I heard snickering from the other side of the court seemed to suggest otherwise. It was fine - I wasn't a player anymore.

We finished our game, and I looked around. Monty and his crew were playing another one, but I caught a few of them looking our way while their own game was ongoing; the distraction even cost Monty a point.

Why was he looking at me? I didn't know what that expression meant. Maybe my traitor eyes weren't showing me all of it? That was possible; I could probably be declared legally blind without my glasses.

Monty turned away quickly, and retrieved his own ball from where it had bounced away.

Jeanette raised an eyebrow when I looked over; which I took to mean Monty had been watching us a lot.

Sam was next to Jeanette, and she was looking over there too, not even trying to disguise it, and as openly hostile as I'd ever seen her. Maybe she didn't like being laughed at? As if they were laughing at her; she was an athletic at least. She'd played soccer in elementary until the team was cut for budget concerns and a lack of players.

There had been protests, of course, but the school board claimed there just wasn't enough interest for the high school team, and that had been that. More money for the football program, probably. Not that I cared. Sam would probably make a decent basketball player, though. If she wanted. Maybe I'd get personal and ask her why she didn't play any sports anymore; the worst she could do is just tell me it was none of mine, right? Right.

We finished up and moved again, to the other side. I missed the next two shots I tried, putting me at the bottom of our pack.
Even worse, all I was doing was walking around and shooting a ball, and I could already feel a bit of strain there. As if I had run laps then done an entire drill in practice... I was fading a bit too fast, and for no reason at all. I hadn't even been too thinky today!

I would play another game. Another round, despite myself.

Ricky didn't took us in to the free throw line, and I made the rest of my shots. I didn't lose, that honor went to Maggie of all people, with Sam and I tying in the next spot. Ralph took the next, and Jeanette made good, taking second. Ricky was of course, at first and that was no surprise to anyone.

"Alright, next game?"

"You bet!" A round of affirmatives followed my own. It looked like no one could tell that my stupid body could already use a breather - except Jeanette of course, who wasn't telling.

She was giving me the side-eye though. I gave her a little wave and smile in return. It was okay, ok?

This time, we started at the free throw line, and that was easy enough. The game went a bit faster now, as Ricky set the pace, running after the ball on his turn after he made the shot and winging a solid no look pass at Ralph.

I wanted to be in on that action. I also wanted to know why Ricky had aimed at Ralph and not me; I was next, after all. Whatever.
Ralph passed the ball to me, and I made my shot. Then I moved, like I would have in the olden golden days, and got the ball before the second bounce. Not entirely like the olden days since I was certainly slower, but I banked a pass at the line and it went where I'd wanted it to go. A solid win in my book.

Then I got out of the way; standing under the rim was a good way to get hit.

Everyone else got into the action too, making it seem more like a drill from a fresh basketball team than a simple game; soon, we were one-upping each other with bounce passes and no-look shots, just to be goofy.

Then the bounce shots started coming in; led by Sam, of all people.

There was no way I was going to hit a bounce shot... but if Sam was trying it, if Maggie was trying it, if even Ricky was trying it (and hitting it, the lucky jerk) then I was going to try it.

I didn't even come close to getting the right height, even if the shot looked good otherwise.

I heard more snickering from the other side; they must be watching again.

Then I heard something that surprised me; a muted "Shut up!" from no less than Monty himself. I glanced back to see the four, heads together, whispering angrily at each other - or rather Monty angrily whispering to the other three.

Whatever; Ricky could get to the bottom of it later if I - if we - still cared.

Thanks to all the messing around, the score was meaningless and soon forgotten, even If I'd kept some track. I'd been in the middle of the pack that time, because I had try -harded just enough to not make me look bad. Try-harded wasn't a word of course, but it should be.
Either way, as I sank my last shot, I was done and I knew it; the bench and some of that water were both calling my name. I broke out of line and headed for them, and while I was watched, no one called me out on it.

I still felt alright, just tired, and I should probably be able to do more with a little breather.

It was stupid anyway. I shouldn't be getting tired just from this, even in the mildest sense. I mean, I hadn't even done anything but walk around, for crying out loud!

My big stupid yet not-stupid brain at work, no doubt. I should go see a doctor and get a more official explanation of what was going on, but did a specialist in such unusual conditions like mine even exist? Something to look into; something I hadn't looked into just yet because I'd been busy just building things like a big smart idiot.

"Hey."

I looked up to find Ricky approaching... the others were still shooting and chatting among themselves, even Jeanette. That meant I couldn't be too bad off.

It was worth the worry, seeing everyone having fun like this. Why they were orbiting me like little planets around a star, I didn't know... but they were happy with it, and that was enough.

"Hey."

"How do you feel?" Ricky asked. I could see the concern he was masking; he was hiding it well enough, but I'd known him for way too long to be fooled.

"I'm fine. Just needed a little break. Water?" I dug a bottle of still chilled bottle of purified water from the goodie bag for him.

He took it gratefully, then sat down beside me. "Thanks, so... are we done here?"

I thought about it a minute. "Nah, I'll be good to go in another five or so. You guys can just play a bit without me until then."

I just didn't get it; there was nothing really wrong with my muscles other than the obvious of not enough mass. Nothing wrong with my cells either... so why did I have so little stamina? I should be able to do this sort of thing all day.

Ricky sounded doubtful: "Alright, if you're sure."

I did feel better already; the water and downtime was helping. "I'm sure. Go sink some shots. Give Monty a reason to be jealous."

That earned a snort: "Too easy, but sure."

He handed the bottle back - half empty of course - and I set it aside so that we'd all know whose bottle it was. Even if Ricky was likely fine, no one wanted to share water bottles if they didn't have to. I'd been told before that sort of thing was normal in my parent's day, but in current year we knew better.

True to his word, Ricky got a little serious, the balls started dropping in.

As for me, I drained my water and then waited. When the ball bounced my way I lunged up, snagged it (the ball almost slipped out of my tiny hand before I could collect it) took two steps, and shot a three. Missed, of course, but I'd been reasonably close. Just a hair too strong this time,

I'd missed half the game, but I'd make up for it this time. Every time the ball was passed to me, I'd be trying a drill with it. Either a long distance shot or a layup. I couldn't jump too high anymore, but I could compensate.

Just like before, everyone else went right into it, running their own drills on their turns. Sam was going right to driving the ball, almost looking like a pro, while Maggie drove the ball then hesitated before trying to sink it from wherever she ended up, a rookie mistake.
Jeanette and Ralph stayed the course with threes, but they did move a little beforehand. Ricky's next shot was a full drive, which he made.
The ball came to me, and I drove it to the other side of the line, mimicking an imaginary defender and turning around for a beautiful fade-away three that would have got nothing but net... if there had been a net.

"Nice one," Ricky complimented. Then he ruined it. "Still a little rainbow in there, though."

Yes, Coach would not approve. Coach could just suffer, however. "Thanks... I think."

Sam walked up to Ricky and punched him in the arm. Ricky winced and rubbed it. "Ow, damn, what are you...."

Too late for that; she'd already walked off again to collect the ball. It wasn't even her turn.

Ralph didn't object as she drove the ball, however, just picked it out of the air after she missed.

I had a slightly more pressing concern: "Has anyone been keeping score?"

Everyone turned to me with blank looks. Even Jeanette, who should be good for that sort of thing. "Right. Are you all done? What say we get out of here?"

Wait, I kinda wanted to do another thing. "What say we get out of here after some swings?"

Sam brightened instantly: "Swings!"

Maggie was already moving to the swing sets. Moving towards the far left one, which was of course the best one, all of us knew that. There was no way I'd catch her now unless I sprinted full out, and I wasn't going to do that.

Jeanette stepped close: "Jeeves has informed me that he has returned, with four different commercial drones. He means for you to decide which is best and then modify it further according to any desires you may have."

Four?!? That was... well, it was a lot of money, but I had it now. "That's fine. We should be back soon. More importantly, have you ever used a swing set, Jeanette?"

I had to ask, she might have touched one when I was asleep or something, even if it was unlikely.

Jeanette's eyes got that blank look that Jeeves sometimes got, for just a second. Then she answered: "No Mistress, I have not. Is there some special way of approaching the apparatus?"

Apparatus, huh? "No, you just sit down in the seat, hold on with your hands, and shove yourself backward with your feet. If you need to, watch me."

Jeanette would have to watch from a bit further over; Sam ended up picking the seat next to the one I was heading for. That left two seats left on this set, and Jeanette picked the one to the other side of Sam.

I showed her what I meant anyway, and she watched both Sam and I push off. "Just use a little force."

My android tried as I flew back; I watched her push a little... and go halfway up. I could even feel it through the connection, that thrumming vibration you sometimes got when people were trying entirely too hard.

At least she didn't go all the way around; I'd done that once as a kid, and the outcome hadn't been very safe. Fun, though. Honestly, it was a wonder any kid survived to adulthood, if my past was to be judged by.

Still, Jeanette calculated the amount of force used, and her next push was more gentle.

I could see the smile, a small genuine thing as the wind caught her hair and she balanced worked on her balance; she was a fast learner.

Sam was smiling too and clearly competing, trying to get higher than Jeanette was, even if Jeanette had no idea.

Oh no, wait, it was clear that Jeanette had at least some idea because her third pass wasn't an 'I'm going to take it easy' pass. It was clearly an 'oh yeah?' pass.

I would just sit this one out. Watching my android and all my friends compete to see who could go the highest without flipping themselves was the kind of train wreck that should be watched from the sidelines for best results.

I should probably stop them, but I was their friend, not their parent. If Ricky broke an arm again, that was his problem.
Come to think of it, why was I worrying? I could regenerate! Sure, it'd hurt, but out of all of us, I was the one able to recover from an accident the best.

Jeanette skidded herself to a sudden stop, and the thrum of the swing set, which was set in concrete, seemingly jumping in the ground, had me half out of the seat.

"We should go."

Jeanette sounded calm, but as serious as I'd ever heard her.

I asked the question before I could properly think about it and stop myself: "Why?"

"I do not recognize that vehicle," Jeanette answered. I only just managed to stop myself from looking, my reading on the more shady side of things coming in clutch. Not that it really mattered if Jeanette was staring at it....

"What vehicle?" Maggie asked, looking around herself. I resisted the urge to facepalm.

"The old white van with an advertisement for "Manny's home construction" painted upon the sides. There is no business named 'Manny's home construction' in the local area, the nearest is nine hundred and seventy-two miles away."

That did seem an awfully long distance to make a house call.

"How can you be so sure?" Ralph asked.

I already knew that answer, of course. "Internet searches. Most businesses that exist have an internet presence, even if it is only a map location and a few ratings from customers."

I still couldn't see the van; that white blob might be it; it probably was, but my eyes were trash, and it was over a block away.

"Fine, fun and games called on account of paranoia. I was feeling like some video games anyway."

Right, Ricky just wanted to crush us. You'd think he'd get tired of it... then again, probably not.

"Alright, close ranks. Let's make sure they can't even see a hair on our veeps head!" Maggie worried me sometimes.

Monty and his crew had reclaimed the entire court again; they stopped as we went through them on our way to get our goodies. At least the goodies were untouched, as best as I could tell. They weren't stolen at any rate.

Jeanette gave me a look and a slight head shake as she collected the bag. So she'd been keeping track, probably, and I was worrying over nothing. I handed Ricky his open water while the others swarmed my maid for the rest of the water she'd packed.

So the others did get tired and thirsty... it just took longer.

We had to walk by the van on our way home, so I would get a good look even if I didn't want to.

"So, what's the plan once we get to your house?" Maggie asked, with no sense of tact.

Now was not the time to answer such a sensitive question. At least not seriously. Luckily I had a backup thing to do: "Well, I'm going to look at those drones Jeeves bought, and see what they are capable of. I'll charge them all up, and we can take turns flying them around."

"Sounds fun," Sam opined with a nod. Her smile looked a little fake to me, and that was fine. She hadn't forgotten that today was supposed to be Jill's birthday.

The van looked like any other, which was probably the point, and seemed to have no one in it. At least that I could see. That really meant nothing, though, since you couldn't see the back from this angle; we'd have to stare into the front, where anyone who was in there would see us too. We were close, but I wasn't risking getting close enough for one of us to get grabbed.

The other tails, the ones we knew, were still following too, so it probably wasn't a big deal. The CIA at least would be on the ball here... wouldn't they?

It didn't matter yet, but it was another reason to get possible drone coverage in the air.