Alex's New Life: Next Generation Chapter 20
Anybody want to know what's in the wreck room? Alrighty then, let's take a look. As always don't forget to donate to Nifty https://donate.nifty.org and feel free to send any messages to sithspawn78@yahoo.co.uk
Chapter 20
\\\ Nick ///
I didn't know what to make of the room. It was essentially just a big barn with a lot of open space and support columns strategically placed to hold the roof up. In all the empty space though were loads of random items scattered around, from oil drums to scrap cars, a couple of engines, scaffolding poles, weight plates, tools and even a few anvils, which I'd never seen outside of cartoons.
"So what do you think?" Lucas asked as we stepped in and he closed the door behind us.
"It's...uh...nice...I mean, I like what you've done with the place." I replied, not really knowing what kind of reaction he wanted. Lucas just chuckled.
"It's not meant to be homely you dope, this is just stuff for us to play with. When we decided to tell you about this my dads stocked up this place with more stuff for us to use. Go ahead and take a look around." I looked at him sceptically as I didn't really see the need to. "I mean check everything out, see how hard or heavy everything is. It'll make everything seem more real when I start showing you stuff."
I started to wander around to see what else I'd missed on my first glance. I saw loads of chains along one wall, all of them different thicknesses and colours. There were various sized padlocks around as well so I wondered what he had planned for those. I went to check out the oil drums to see if they were full but they were all empty and dry, which was a relief. Even though there was nothing in them they were still really hard to move and made a resounding dong type noise when I hit my knuckle on one of them. There were two cars in there as well; both without any glass in the windows and one still had all the tyres intact. Neither had engines in them though. There were also a few other vehicle parts, like an axel from a bigger truck with two wheels on either side, making it look like a large barbell; and a few old tractor tyres were scattered around as well. I had an idea when I saw one of those so I squatted down and tried to lift it.
"What're you doing?" Lucas asked as he came over. He'd taken his hoodie off now so he was just wearing a t shirt. The barn wasn't exactly warm but it didn't seem to be bothering him at all.
"I'm trying...to flip...this over..." I panted as I gradually eased it up a few inches from the ground before giving up and letting it drop. "Ok...I give up...I've seen people do that in videos but I didn't realise how hard it was."
"What like this?" He reached down and with one hand he just flipped the tyre up onto its end, leaving me standing there open mouthed, then he just smile and turned it around so we were just facing the treads. When it was upright I was amazed that it was slightly taller than I was, and almost as wide as my shoulders. "Wanna see something cool?" He asked, and I got the feeling I'd hear that a lot in the future. He then did something I never expected. He positioned his hands like he was about to open two sliding doors and then drove them into the middle of the tyre before pulling them apart and tearing it in half.
"HOLY SHIT!! That wasn't even hard for you was it?" I asked.
"Not really, no." Lucas blushed. "Only thing I hate about doing stuff like that is it messes up your hands." I was expecting his hands to be cut or calloused but instead they were just dirty. He wandered over to a table in the corner where he'd stashed some hand wipes to get rid of the grime and soon they were clean as a whistle. I held his hand to look at it and there wasn't even a mark. You'd never know they'd just torn a huge tyre in half a few seconds ago.
"Your hands are still so soft." I said in awe as I stroked his palms.
"Yeah, not like yours from strumming that guitar." He cheekily replied while looking at my slightly rougher fingers. I must've looked offended when he said that as he lifted my hand up to kiss it. "Don't feel bad, I love them touching me however rough they are." After a few more kisses he led me over to one of the oil drums. "Want to see what it's like to be strong?"
"Huh? How?"
"Ok, what I want you to do is stand behind me, that's it, now reach around and put your hands on...WHOA not there!!" I had to laugh as he pulled my hands away from his crotch. "I meant put your hands on the back of my hands. Ok, now push really hard."
Lucas had his hands either side of one of the oil drums and as I pushed against the back of his hands I actually felt them start to move closer together as the metal distorted under his power. It was kinda fun to feel like I was actually doing the work as Lucas moved slowly to give me more time to feel like it was more of an effort. The sound was like nothing I'd even dreamed of as the metal seemed to screech in pain as it tried to resist. After the side walls warped inwards a little more Lucas eased up and took his hands away.
"How cool did that feel?" He asked, turning around to see my gleeful face. "Shall I finish it off?" He didn't wait for me to respond; he just turned to the barrel again and lifted it up before crushing the sides in more and then grabbing the bottom and scrunching the whole thing together, almost like an accordion. There was no real attempt to fold it in any symmetrical way; it was just like he was effortlessly screwing up some foil. When he was done he just held up a metal ball the size of my head with one hand and then dropped it on the floor with a resounding clunk. I went to pick it up and even though it still weighed the same as it did before, it was a little easier due to being a less unwieldy size and shape.
"Wow." Was all I could say as Lucas still looked kinda embarrassed.
"So you're not freaked out by this?" He asked.
I thought about it for a second but I honestly wasn't. "I suppose I should be but...I dunno, it's kinda cool and because I know it's you, I'm not really worried."
"Really? You're not worried about me hurting you with it?"
"Why, are you going to?" I asked and he looked a little uneasy.
"Not intentionally, but it could happen by accident." He replied, looking at the ground mournfully.
"Ok, so are you worried about me burning your house down?" He looked up again, clearly confused. "Think about it, I could try to cook you a romantic meal and set fire to the kitchen or put some candles out and set fire to the curtains. I'm not intending to but it's always a risk isn't it?"
"I s'pose..."
"So as long as we're both careful then there's nothing to worry about is there?" I said, and then gave him a peck on the lips. "How strong are you anyway?"
"Honestly, we don't know. I mean, there's nothing in here I can't lift or crush but there's no real way to test our strength fully. For all I know I could lift a mountain up, but the logistics of doing that is impossible."
"Wow, really?"
"Yeah, I might even be able to shatter the Earth with one punch but I don't really want to try it cos I think my dads might tell me off." I was trying to be in awe of him but the way he said that just made me burst out laughing. "Come on, let's try something else." He led me over to the scrapped car that still had the wheels attached. "Do you know what it's like to lift a car up?"
"Sure. Stand back, I'll show you how it's done." I replied, lacing my fingers together and stretching my arms out in front of me. Lucas gave me a sceptical smile which started me laughing again. "I'm kidding, I'd be lucky if I could push that out of here on my own."
"How about I show you what it's like. Now it's a bit tricky at first so stand back." I did as I was told as Lucas bent down by the side of the car and positioned his hands on the sills along the edge. He started to lift the car so it was leaning to one side and then, as it got higher, he was able to sort of walk his hands along the bottom until he was positioned in the middle of the car and it was fully off the ground. "Ok so come over here and stand in front of me. Right now hold your hands up as if you're lifting the car."
"Like this?" I asked, reaching up with my palms facing upwards. It was weird, standing under a car for the first time. I mean mechanics do it all the time but at least they have a hydraulic rack or something to take the weight. Here I was with just a teenager holding it up and, even though I knew I was safe, it was still a little nerve-wracking.
"That's it, but just move this hand over a bit so it's directly under there." As he was saying this he took one hand away to point at where he wanted my left hand to go.
"Are you seriously just holding that up with one hand?" I asked in amazement as he started to blush.
"Uh...yeah...it's not really that hard. Anyway, are you ready to take the weight?"
"Am I ready to what?" I was suddenly very nervous about having a car dropped on my head.
"Don't worry; just keep your hands up." I did as he said and he gradually lowered the car so I could actually feel the weight pressing onto my hands. Even though he had the majority of the weight I still felt a little strain, like I was actually holding it up myself. "How does that feel?"
"This is amazing!! I've seen characters do it in comics and films but it's awesome to do it yourself."
"Yeah it is pretty cool. It took a little practice to get used to how to pick one up. Ask your dad about the time I tore his bumper off; that wasn't my finest moment." Lucas grinned. "Ok, now get out from under here so I can put it down." I let go of the car and backed out so Lucas could gently lower it to the ground.
"Wow."
"Is that all you're gonna say?" Lucas asked as he handed me a wet wipe before cleaning his own hands up.
"What would you like me to say?"
"I dunno, add a bit of variety." He chuckled. "Christmas is coming up so I could get you a thesaurus if you like."
"Nah, I've never been a fan of dinosaurs." I replied and I saw the look of confusion on his face before it turned into a smile.
"How the fuck did I not see that you were related to Luke?" He laughed as he tossed the wipes back on the table.
I just shrugged my shoulders as I thought of something else. "There's a few things I don't get about all this though, I mean, like how do you dance with the girls and not accidently pull their arms off or throw them through the ceiling?" He let out a sigh and before I knew it he casually picked me up and sat me on the roof of the car. Even though I'd seen him easily lift the car and crush a barrel it was still weird to feel him move me around so casually. He bent down to pick up a sledge hammer from the floor and then hopped up onto the car with me. I wondered what the hammer was for but before I could ask he simply pulled the metal away from the wood and threw the handle, almost like a spear, so it embedded itself in another oil drum with a massive clunk.
"It's been tricky you know? The hardest thing about all this is keeping it under control." As he was talking I noticed he was squeezing the hardened steel in his hands like it was silly putty. "Sammie and I spent years getting used to this strength and trying not to wreck everything we came into contact with. That's why we didn't go to school when we were younger, because our dads didn't want us to accidentally hurt anyone."
"That must've been lonely." I said.
"Sort of, but it wasn't that bad. Our dads were here and your dad and uncle came over quite a lot, not to mention our grandparents, so there were always people around."
"Yeah, but did you see many kids your own age?"
"Not really. We saw Ben a few times over the years but that was about it." I think he could see me looking sad and gave me a reassuring smile. "It wasn't that bad. My nan taught me my first few dance steps and it was fun to learn to control my strength to keep her safe at the same time as moving to the music. She was a really good teacher and pushed me to try as many different styles as possible, especially ones where she could join me to teach me more about working with a partner safely. Turned out I was quite a natural as well so I've been doing it ever since."
"So Sammie, did the same but with the drums?" I asked.
"Yeah. I'm assuming you've heard Adrian call her a skin smasher or stick snapper, that's because she was really heavy-handed at first. Your dad and DJ actually helped her soften everything down."
"Wait, my dad can play the drums?" I was stunned by that news.
"Yeah, he's pretty good as well. He taught Sammie a lot of Jazz beats using brushes instead of sticks so she could play gentler, before moving her onto the hard rock stuff." I couldn't believe it, as surprising as it was to find out my boyfriend and his family are super strong, it was even more of a shock to find out my dad was actually musical. I was definitely going to have to bring that up next time I saw him.
"Wow." I couldn't think of anything else to say but then I felt the car wobble a little as Lucas was laughing. "Fuck off!! It's not my fault you keep coming out with these amazing things."
"I'm sorry; I probably shouldn't be taking the piss." He replied before gently pulling me in for another kiss.
"So how is Sammie strong as well? I thought you both had different dads." I asked when we parted.
"We do, but both of my dads can do this stuff." My childhood hero was also super strong? Holy shit!! How was that even possible?
"So...are they...like...cousins or something?" I asked awkwardly.
Lucas just laughed. "Nah, my dad...Alex, was just a regular teen until he met DJ but then something screwy happened and he was able to transfer it across to my dad."
"Hang on, so you're telling me you could give me super strength?" I was starting to get excited now, I mean; how cool would it be to be as strong as the comic characters I loved?
"Not exactly. What happened with them was a one off that's never happened in our family before or since. My great grandpa looked into it and still has no idea how it happened." I was disappointed to hear that but deep down I hoped we could look into it some more in case there was something his great grandpa had missed.
"I've got another question. Can you be hurt? I mean physically."
"Sure, although not as easily. I mean, our skin and bones are tougher so we don't do any damage to ourselves if we crush something really hard or hit something, but we can bleed and bruise, although it takes a lot and heals quicker." He dropped his improvised stress ball and hopped down off the car before helping me back down as well. "Wanna test it?"
"Um...ok...how?" I asked and he started to look around until he found what he was looking for.
"Here, try this." He said, handing me the end of a long scaffolding pole. I could barely lift it as it was so unwieldy so he quickly took it back before casually snapping the end off to give me a section which was just over two feet long. I lifted it again and it was much easier but I still felt a little uneasy.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it." He replied but before I could do anything his face lit up like he'd thought of something else. "Hold on, let's make this interesting. Gimme that a sec." I handed the pipe over again and followed him to the corner of the barn where there was another table with all sorts random items scattered over it like horse shoes and Lego bricks. He soon found what he was looking for and picked up a handful of nails. The next thing I knew he was easily pushing them through the hardened steal of the pipe with his thumb. He might as well have just been pushing them through cardboard for all the effort he was showing. Then he rubbed the other end of the pole between his hands, the way you would if you were trying to start a fire with a couple of sticks, and when he'd finished that end was much thinner, almost like a handle. When he was done the thing looked positively lethal but he just smiled and handed it back to me.
"Umm...I'm really not sure about this." I said, still looking at this instrument of death in my hands.
"Come on, I trust you. Just hit me in the stomach with it as hard as you can." He then stripped off his shirt and stepped over into a clearer area so I had more room to swing but for the moment I just stood there staring. This was the first time I'd seen Lucas without a shirt on and for some reason I felt a shiver run down my spine as I suddenly felt nervous. Dancers are usually quite toned but still fairly lithe, yet Lucas almost looked like a gymnast. He had full pecs, strong looking shoulders and arms, and an incredible set of eight cobblestone abs leading down to his Adonis belt, which seemed to be pointing straight down to the ultimate prize. He looked absolutely stunning but it was now starting to sink in that there was a lot of power in this body.
"Are you ok?" He asked.
"Yeah...sure...I just didn't know what to expect is all." I replied.
"Not disappointed I hope." He said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously in a way that showed off his bicep more than he was probably intending. All I could do was shake my head, but the uneasy feeling never went away. "You ready to hit me with that thing?" He could see me wavering and probably thought I didn't want to hit my boyfriend, but in truth it was like I didn't want to face the consequences. "Trust me; it'll be fine, just swing it as hard as you can."
I held it with both hands and reared back. As I swung it towards Lucas I could see that he wasn't even tensing up for the blow but he just stood there casually smiling. I closed my eyes as the pipe connected with is body but I heard the tremendous thud followed by him crying out in pain. I opened my eyes as I let go of the weapon and saw Lucas doubled over with his arms wrapped around his stomach, still holding the pipe in place. I was panicking now, not knowing how to help him, but before I could do anything else he just stood up with a smile on his face, dropping the pipe on the floor.
"Gotcha!" He said with an amused smile and I felt my heart begin to beat again.
"You bastard!! I thought I'd really hurt you then!!" I yelled swinging a punch towards his shoulder. Just as it connected he turned his shoulder away and I quickly realised that if he'd chosen not to move it would have been like hitting a wall.
"Sorry, I was just having a little fun with ya. I told you it wouldn't hurt. See, no damage." He said, pointing down to his gloriously ripped and completely unblemished midsection. I picked up the pipe again and was surprised to see that the nails were all warped and the pipe itself had flattened against his abs, leaving the impression of them crushed into the metal.
"Ok, so no damage, but don't make me do that again." I felt a mixture of fear and anger as I said that but I don't think he noticed. He closed the distance between us and threw his arms around me for another make out session.
"So you're still not freaked out?" He asked after he released his grip a little.
"Of course not, how could I be?" I asked defensively. We were still close together so I tried not to look at his body and just concentrated on his face, knowing that would keep me sane. "This is probably the craziest thing I've ever seen, but you know what I like best?"
"What?"
"You're not showing off or trying to act superior like some people would; you're still just the sweetest guy I fell in love with, just with super strength." Even though I felt a little reassured as I said that, I could still feel myself shaking a little. It felt like I was lying to him as I knew I loved him, but something was still gnawing away at the back of my mind. Lucas stood there open mouthed for a second and then suddenly burst into tears. Oh crap!! Had he noticed I was trembling? Didn't he believe me? "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked as I held him in my arms, trying not to let my body betray me.
"I never thought I'd hear someone say they loved me, especially after they found out the truth about me, but here you are, totally accepting everything about me; even though I never thought I stood a chance with you after Brandon tried to turn you against us all." He sobbed more and I felt my body relax a little with relief. We held each other tightly until he pulled back slightly to look at me. "I know I said I don't know how strong I am, but...I think my love for you is stronger."
I looked into his eyes tenderly. "Lucas I...I just want you to know...that that was the cheesiest fucking line I've ever heard." I burst out laughing as Lucas looked shocked for a second before joining in.
"Shut up!" He whined as his face turned red.
"No seriously, if this dancing thing doesn't work out then you could go into writing for a soap opera." My fear had melted away slightly as he'd reminded me why I had fallen for him in the first place.
"Fuck off!! I've never done all this mushy stuff before so gimme a break." He was laughing along with me now but still embarrassed.
"There's one thing I don't understand." I said after I stopped laughing.
"One thing?" Lucas asked, raising his eyebrow doubtfully.
"Ok, one thing I specifically want to understand now then." I took a deep breath and readied myself for the question I knew I needed to ask. "If you're so strong then how are you putting on more muscle? And how did DJ get so big."
"I was wondering when you were going to get back to that." He replied with a smile. "Do you want me to show you or tell you how we do it?" I felt my nerves kicking in again. I had an idea of what it could be but, even though I'd seen a lot today, it was too crazy to be what I was thinking.
"Show me...no wait...tell me...no...show me..." I couldn't make my mind up but before I could decide properly Lucas just suddenly erupted with muscle. The fear hit me like a freight train as my body was paralysed in terror. My brain just seemed to shut down and the last thing I remembered seeing was his worried face rushing towards me as the world went dark.