fandomhigh | Introductory Superhuman Physics, Period 4 [10-7]

"When it comes to the matter of superhuman strength," Jean-Paul began his lecture today, "my options were many and varied. I finally decided, in the interests of fairness, on someone who is not a mutant." He turned on the projector. "Meet the Hulk. Horrible doses of radiation do not always kill; sometimes they turn you into an incredibly strong, tough being with the intellect of a tantrum-prone two-year-old. But I would not take the risk. The Hulk also poses a problem of mass I will not get into at this time. Curiously, the angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets; this perhaps is tied to adrenaline production. No one really understands his biology. He can break tanks and support mountains on his back. Obviously, his muscle structure is very different from a normal human.

"But superstrength is not always caused by superhuman means. Consider the case of Liam Hoekstra, a child from Michigan in a mundane universe who, thanks to a genetic disorder, is capable of feats of strength and agility Olympic gymnasts would envy.

"Your assignment for today is to break into pairs and discuss some of the advantages and drawbacks of superstrength. Begin."

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"Exactly," Peter said. "As long as you have that control, I think you're okay. But if you don't - well then you probably couldn't even touch people without being afraid you'd hurt them. That would definitely suck."

Momoko thought about that.

"You do kind of pull inside yourself a bit, yeah, depending on how strong you are. I'm not as strong as Kaoru, so I just get told I hit extra hard for a girl. She has to be way more careful. I guess that it would be different if you could just, say only be strong when you needed to open a jar or stop a falling elevator or hit a giant robot."

"I'm lucky," Peter said. "I have control over my strength. I'd hate to think of what it would be like if I couldn't hug my brother without worrying that I'm gonna hurt him."

"Oooh. So you can control your extra strength? Is it like a power-up? Do you have to do something consciously or is it automatic?"

"I have to think about it," Peter said. "But I had to work at it to get to that stage. Even now some of my powers I have no control over. They just happen if I want them to or not."

"So, you used to have super strength all the time, and now you've trained yourself to be normal unless you need it? Do you have to keep remembering to be normal and not use it?"

"No, my default is to assume normal." Peter gave a sheepish smile. "I'm told I need to cut that out, that it's better if I train myself to react like someone with powers. But if I concentrate I can call some of my powers up, like strength."

Momoko giggled. "I understand, but in reverse. I got my powers by accident just a few years ago, so I should have normal as my default, but I've always wanted to be a superhero, so I tend to act like I was born with them because I wish I was. I don't get told to act normal all the time only because people are used to me being manic about heroes and battling evil."

Introductory Superhuman Physics, Period 4 [10-7]

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