Hello, fellow readers! And welcome back to Calm after the Storm! Looks like we have a new element on our hands, people! But before we get into that, what do we have:

johannvanguard: Glad you like it. By the way, was that comment about the accident intentional? If so, *claps* beautiful.

With that said, let us continue!

Chapter 4: Magical Connections

Levin fires one last basic bolt of electricity at a lightning rod Sci-Twi placed outside earlier that day, in order to help him start off with something small, before stopping to take a break. Ever since the discovery of his new powers, the first thing the two wanted to do is test it. So far, they managed to make progress of extending electricity outwards to an extent.

Sci-Twi sat in a chair nearby as she wrote one more note on paper before speaking up, "All right, that should do for now."

"Awesome." He simply said in response as he goes to sit down on the grass next to her, "What do we got so far?"

She looks at the paper she has on her clipboard as she answers, "Well, it's most likely the nervous system that helps conduct the electricity, which you told me activates in motion similar to static. By that assessment, it also heightens your brain to enhance the five senses."

"Considering the little knowledge I have on comic books, they usually say that when the protagonist gets their powers." He casually points out.

"True." She agrees before going back to the notes, "We also theorized that like throwing a solid object, it's possible to throw concentrated energy in a similar manner."

"And we proved just that." He agrees with that before pitching another idea, "Next test, how much power can be focused before firing it."

"Got it." She wrote the idea down immediately after he said that.

He then got up to his feet and stretches a bit, "OK, let's start it."

Going over to a different position that is a good distance away from the lightning rod, Levin then holds out his hands to face each other and focuses to emit lightning into the center. Sparks start dancing around his hands before an outline of a sphere forms in between his palms, but seems to just stop there for some reason. After a few minutes, he stops entirely to catch his breath.

"OK, this will take longer than I thought."

Seconds soon turns to minutes and even hours as Sci-Twi watches him do the same thing over and over again. She understands that concentration is needed for this, but maybe he's missing something? Seeing him lose it again, she gets up to her feet and walks over.

"You all right?" It was a basic question, but it's a start.

"...I'm not sure." Levin hesitates with his answer, "I got the spark going, but it keeps fizzling out."

She took a moment to look over the notes, seeing something that may answer the little problem. "You told me before that your powers work similar to static, right?"

He stares at her after hearing that, having the pieces line up in his head before responding. "Yes... which means it doesn't work on concentration, but motion!"

"Much like rubbing your feet against carpet! The longer you do it, the more of a charge you get!"

"It's a mobile charger!" Levin concludes before sighing, "Sheesh, total brain fart right there."

"You're welcome." He gives her a confused smile after she said that, which she realizes what he said beforehand with a small chuckle. "I mean the charge, not the brain fart."

"You're all right." He shrugs off with a small laugh, "Thanks anyways."

Once she went and sat back in her seat, he got into a starting position to get ready. Set... Go!

He bolts around in a wide circle around where the lightning rod was located, feeling the electricity charge up throughout his body as she watches with intrigue at his increasing speed. After a couple of minutes, he stops in the same position he started from earlier before noticing a cloak of lightning was now surrounding his frame.

"Whoa, tingling." He sums up the feeling of it pretty well.

Looking back at the lightning rod, he readies his right hand by holding his palm back as the sparks converges into a fully formed sphere. The area around him actually darkens a bit before he fires a full-on lightning bolt right at the rod, making it shine like a lighthouse for a moment.

Sci-Twi couldn't help but be in awe at the result, "Wow..."

Levin was also stunned by that little show, only to realize that he still has some of his charge left over. Giving his previous approach one last try, he puts his hands close together to create another sphere of electricity before firing. The result however, was much different.

BOOM!

Instead of a lightning bolt, a big energy burst was unleashed into the air towards the rod, making it shake quite a bit on impact while also hurting their ears a bit.

Once that passes, Levin then lets out an excited yell. "Woo! That was incredible!"

"No kidding..." Sci-Twi mutters while agreeing with him, her curiosity now reaching new heights.

With this new development, this new power may prove to be much more than they realized.


The next day, Shade was currently skateboarding down the street as the noon sun was shining down upon the city. Though, it didn't take long before seeing Sunset casually walking the other way on the same sidewalk. Stopping himself with a bit of style, he kickflips off his board and swiftly catches it as his feet lands on the ground safely in front of her.

"Hey, Sunset." He greets her before walking alongside her.

"Oh, hey." She casually greets him back, "Neat trick you did."

"Thanks. It took a long while to get that down." He admits before continuing the conversation, "Anyways, what are you doing today?"

"I'm going to the nearby comics store." She answers, "Rainbow told me that they are like books, but has pictures for visuals."

"Well yeah, pretty much." He doesn't read many comics, but knows the gist of it. "Sounds like you never heard of one."

She chuckles a bit before responding, "Honestly, no. Though, they sound interesting."

"Wait, how do you-" He then remembers that she's not from this world, "Oh. Well I got nothing to do today, how about I show you around?"

"Sure, I appreciate it." She didn't mind having some company along.

Soon after she said that, the two have arrived at said comic store and took to browsing around. It didn't take too long before something caught her eye as she picks it up to examine it.

"Power Ponies? I thought this was a TV show."

"That series has been in everything. Heck, I heard rumors of them working on a movie for it." Shade clarifies for her.

"Oh, OK. At least the cast here matches the name." She points out, the cover showing said cast being ponies with one exception being a dragon.

"I know, right?" He casually agrees with her before seeing another comic, "What about this one?"

He picks it up to show it to her, who then reads the title. "Keys of Hearts? Isn't that one about a boy who wields a giant key?"

"Yeah. Though, it's more streamlined than the games it was based off of." He wished he was joking, but memories of his confused self playing one of the games said otherwise.

"Do I need to play the games in order to know what's going on?" Sunset brings up a good question.

"Actually, no. Like I said, the writers for this made it simple to follow." Shade answers, "Though, it has its own problems, mainly with characterization and what not."

"I see..." She's doing her best to keep up while becoming more interested at the same time.

Looking around a bit more, she then sees another series that catches her eye. "Ooo, I like the cover on this one."

Shade looks over her shoulder as she held the comic and reads the title, "Doppelgangers?"

The cover features a boy holding an opera mask of sorts near his face while standing in front of a theater stage. The shades were just right in conveying a sense of mystery while also adding atmosphere in a single image.

"I heard about this one." He recalls overhearing some students at school talking about it, "It's about a person who's sorta like a blank slate and uses theater to escape from reality. At least, that's what I got."

After some time, the two find themselves a small collection each and leaves pretty satisfied. Exiting the store, the two were having yet another conversation as they walk down the sidewalk.

"Thanks again for helping out. I'm fascinated with how these differ from books." She has her interests for comics peak at this point.

"Be sure to tell me if you enjoy them." He mentions, "That way, I know which ones are good or bad."

"Makes sense for an upcoming writer." Sunset remembers from their previous conversations, "Though, inspiration can come from anywhere either way."

Shade finds his eyes drifting to stare at her for a moment, which she thankfully didn't notice, before blinking and looking back in front. "Yeah, I definitely agree."


Visor finds himself in a rather interesting place downtown where they sell various items for magicians and the like. He wasn't sure what compelled him to come here today, but didn't mind it as he was currently just browsing around. He saw all kinds of familiar tricks such as card decks, magnetic rings, and even mini guillotines. He eventually finds himself looking through wands and capes when he hears a familiar voice.

"No, not the right shade."

Looking to his right, he finds Trixie looking at said capes, most likely for a new look when she also notices him.

"Visor? You come here too?"

"Honestly, it was more out of curiosity." He admits, "What about you? Getting a different look?"

"First, if I wanted to get new attire, I would go to the boutique." She corrects his assumption before continuing, "And second, I'm... just browsing around."

"Ah, you too?" Visor couldn't help but chuckle at the last part she said.

She simply puts the cape she held away before speaking, "T-That's only because they don't have what I'm looking for."

Visor then remembers their conversation back when she had a show in the mall, specifically her asking him about why he likes magic and decides to shoot the same question back at her.

"I never asked you before, but what made you want to become a magician?"

She was rather surprised at the sudden question, "Why do you ask?"

"I just want to get to know you better." He simply said, which was the honest response.

Trixie was hesitant with this, but then gets an idea. "Tell you what. If you can perform a magic trick successfully, I'll answer your question. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be too complicated."

Visor shrugs before speaking, "OK, your choice."

"Well, Trixie commends your confidence." She compliments him on before looking around.

It took a fair bit before she decided on a deck of cards, handing them over to him. "I'll pull out three cards. Once I do, you shuffle and pull out the ones I had. I'll give you three tries."

"All right." He simply said in response.

Fanning the cards out, he closes his eyes while turning his head away before she picks her cards. Funny enough, all three were aces that gave her a smug smirk on her face before she puts them back in the deck.

"Continue." Once she said that, he looks back before putting the cards back in a deck and shuffles them rather quickly.

But it wasn't like he wants to get it over with, more like he has done this before as she watches with her smirk fading to a neutral expression. Once he finishes, he swiftly pulls the very first card from it and shows her an ace.

"Are..." He started to say before he does something unexpected. Flicking his hand a bit, he reveals that he actually pulled out three cards and all three were the aces she had. "These your cards?"

"...Yes they are." She was rather flabbergasted at his skills before recovering, "You never told me you do magic as well."

"A magician always keeps secrets." Visor states quite confidently as he puts the cards back in the deck.

"Fair enough." Trixie simply says in response.

"So, what inspired you to be a magician?" He reiterates his earlier question to her.

"Well, Trixie came from rather humble beginnings." She starts off with, "Growing up, she has also gone to many magic shows and even met some famous magicians face to face. Though, if I were to say what sparked my love for the flare..."

She pauses for a moment, most likely for dramatic effect or deep in thought, before continuing her story. "My parents threw me a party on my tenth birthday and got a local magician to perform for us. She was excellent as she made even the simple tricks look mesmerizing to watch. Her presence commanded your attention and was... honestly intimidating."

"Sounds like it." He wasn't sure exactly, but he may have heard of the magician she's talking about.

"Anyways, when the party was ending and she was about to leave, I managed to talk to her." At this point, she was reminiscing over the memory. "Despite her stage persona, she's quite nice to her fans. Even told me a piece of advice I still remember today."

Visor was curious about that last part, which was evident on his face as Trixie went ahead and said it. "If you're gonna put on a show, do it with confidence and assure your skills back it up."

"She definitely knows what she's talking about." He agrees with said advice, "From what I've seen, confident describes ya pretty well."

She didn't expect a compliment from him, but gladly took it. "Of course I am."

"Though, arrogant can fit ya too..." He adds, mainly to tease her.

She just rolls her eyes at that, "Geez, I've never heard that before."

"I'm just messing with ya." He reassures her.

After their conversation, the two then exit the store and saw how late it was getting.

"Time flies. And all that jazz." Visor comments on this.

As he does, Trixie notices his motorcycle that he had when he was talking with Aria back then.

"May you give me a ride home?" She didn't hesitate on asking, not planning on walking home at night.

"Yeah, sure." He accepts as he walks over to his motorcycle, picking up his helmet before glancing at her. "Hop on."

"...Thank you." She didn't really expect him to, but is grateful.

As she goes over to get on the back seat, Visor catches something at the corner of his eye and sees another person riding a bicycle passing by. Though, it wasn't the person, but the bicycle itself. The remaining sunlight didn't show it very well, but it looked like-

"Something wrong?" Trixie has already sat down when she notices what he was doing.

"Huh?" He snaps out of his little distraction to glance at her, quickly looking back to see no one there anymore. "...Nothing. Thought I saw something."

Once he puts on his helmet, he gets on and did the necessary precautions before riding off out of downtown in the setting sunlight.

And done! So, what has happened this time? Well...

Levin and Sci-Twi are experimenting with the former's new powers, Shade spends some time with Sunset and Visor gets to know more about Trixie.

That's about it. Anyways, thanks for reading and see ya next chapter!