Practice
If you could turn into any animal, what would it be? Gar remembered playing that game in middle school.
Most said birds so they could fly. (And peep through windows.)
Lots said Dogs because they loved their furry 4-legged protector/snuggle mate.
Most of the girls said a Cat for the same reason so many boys said Dog.
Gar said a Horse, just to be different [No wonder I ended up a loaner.].
But now that he hade a choice, Gar just don't know. His mind was drawing a blank. Letting logic dictate, he should go with something he could move around with some familiarity, like a monkey but he wanted something bigger for his first conciouse choice.
Remembering the blood memories of Garfield's trip to Eastern Africa with his mom to help at a new reserve starting up with the purpose of reintegrating circus animals into the wild, Gar pictured a Silverback Gorilla the young Garfield had seen.
He remembered the slow cautious movement of the arms leading the huge body. The super shaggy arms and the short hair body rippling with muscle, the deep intelligent eyes almost hidden by a ridged forehead.
Leaning back, Gar let his butt settle on the ground with his now short legs still providing balance. Opening his eyes, he could see a massive forearm held in front of him with a paw that naturally curled his fingers in, almost to a fist. Green shaggy fur proved it was his arm, as he waved it around like a kid with a sparkler.
Turning to where Monkey was last, he tried to tell him excitedly that he did it, only to hear grunting and broken whooping with a deep gravely undertone.
Realizing that a Gorilla doesn't have a voice box as refined as a human, Gar reached out with his mind {I did it, I got it with my first try!} Not containing his excitement at all, he didn't care what age he was supposed to be. This was cool.
Replying out loud Monkey says. "Yes, very impressive, but you forget I already saw you turn into a Bear with pure emotion leading the way, so this doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment to me."
"For now, you will have to think of the animal you want to be but when you get really good with The Red, you will change to the most optimal form with emotion and will alone. Visuals won't be necessary!"
"Now get up and move around, get familiar with this form and its strengths and weaknesses."
Moving to stand, Gar forgot to place his hands on the ground and naturally, he face planted. Placing his fists on the ground, he did a pushup and worked his legs to get a feel for the balance. Gar refused to look at Monkey as he heard him lightly chuckle.
After about 15 minutes, Gar started getting comfortable in this body, [I have to say I am amazed with how strong it is.]
Hearing that a Gorilla is 6 times stronger than a human is one thing but to feel the power is something you just can't imagine or put into words.
Gar decided to let loose a bit and did the chest thump and let me tell you, when a Gorilla is smacking his chest, it is an adrenalin rush. He is ready to cut loose on anything that is dumb enough to challenge him.
Feeling a little fuzzy around the edges Gar solidified his mind to make sure no impulses were coming from the body. After a brief thought, Gar relaxed the image in his head and felt his body flow back to normal.
If you have ever driven or been a passenger on a trip with a lot of time on the freeway, then you know what it feels like to go from 70 mph to 35 mph after hitting a city street.
Everything feels slow, and Gar's arms and back felt WEAK, like he barely had the strength to move around. Gar had to stretch his arms and move around again to get used to his base attributes once again.
Looking at Monkey he asked. "Was that the top strength for an average Silverback?"
"For the most part, yes. When you morph you will take on the near-perfect specimen of what you change into, but your own base body strength translates as well."
"For example." Monkey continued "If you are of average human strength, you will be at top changed form strength." But the stronger your base body is the more it will translate in the Morphed form."
Wanting clarification. "So, if an average human changed, he would be at the peak 6 times stronger than a human as a gorilla. But if say Dwayne Johnson changed into a Gorilla it would be 9-12 times stronger as a Gorilla?"
"Yes, that is a great example," Monkey replied. "Now pick some more forms to morph into."
Wanting his first 4-legged shape change to be one with good balance, Gar went with an African Lion.
Once again, the sheer power of the animal surprised him, Gar felt like a compressed spring just waiting to be let go. He was amazed at how the tail helped balance him and the way his claws dug into the sandy ground for traction was just amazing.
Unfortunately, there were no trees for him to climb nearby.
After a time, Gar noticed Monkey staring at him as if analyzing something. Well,Gar thought that was the look on his face. "What's up?" Gar asked
"You are having no trouble holding these shapes at all are you? I know I said it would be an easy start, but I wonder if it is because you are here with just your mind for your first changes or if this will continue when you take control of the body you are attached to?"
"Why don't you go ahead and push yourself with going from shape to shape, maybe throw in a few that are of significant size difference like and elephant then to a mouse."
It felt a lot like a rowboat to be honest, Gar would tense up with his grip on the Red then pull and then change to the first shape he imagined. When ready to change again Gar would revert to his natural shape by letting go and think of his next animal by tensing up to pull again. If the animal was of significant difference, then it seemed like he needed to pull harder and for longer before the change occurred.
After about 15 changes in a row, Gar had to stop and take deep breaths trying to recover.
Gar was both breathing hard and thinking slow, like he had a fog in his head reminiscent of a hangover.
"That was actually a rather impressive performance for your first session their young Gar. As I said earlier it may be because you are in a purely mental form for your first changes so keep in mind that doing rapid changes in an actual body may feel different."
With that reminder, Gar realized he was still in a very bad position as far as his new body goes. Locked up in a tube with drugs being pumped into its veins and a monster named Psimon in daily overwatch.
Wondering if he could get a mental training arch, he asked Monkey.
"Hey Monkey, can you or The Red help me train my mental powers? I have a telepath watching over me that can probably stop me in my tracks and mentally force me to watch that She-Hulk show until I lose my will to be a man or some other less obvious mind tricks that make him an evil mastermind."
"Sorry Gar, The Red is not interested in the sentience of the life forms in the universe just the form itself. If you notice, when you take a shape that is the one you get of that race for all time. Just like you can't change your human form because it's the one you mentally have."
"If you change into a Silverback again it will look identical to the one you first used plus or minus some muscle mass your base form adds."
Monkey continued "The individuality is lost in The Red, left with only instinct. The Cosmic purpose is usually very focused on the specific aspect. Any animals with mental abilities have to train in them, they aren't instinctual."
Not too surprised by Monkey's answer, Gar pushes. "What about you Monkey? You are more than instinct, aren't you?"
"True but I am a portion of The Red, not its flow. My purpose required intelligence, so I was made aware of certain things to help my ward for lack of a better term. Now that I know you are separate from him, I assume The Red will address this issue. If it allows you to continue to have access to its flow that is."
Looking around, Monkey continues. "Not every individual that has access to The Red gets the attention of the Parliament of Limbs after all. Garfield Logan himself has lots of potential but his mental state is rather weak, stemming from loss in his early life. But I am hopeful I can help him overcome this weakness and he can then become the leader a representative of The Red needs him to be."
Suddenly something Monkey said hit Gar. "What do you mean if I'm allowed continued access to The Red?" He said with a sinking feeling in his stomach.