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Tommy moves his gaze from the tentacles for just a moment as Richard recognizes him. He's about to give one of his now defunct award-winning grins when the two tentacles slammed into him. He lets out what can only be described as a screech. But those with sensative hearing may hear the hypersonic frequencies it reaches as Tommy's large ears are blasted with echolocational feedback. The stunned Tommy gets knocked flat on his back, eyes staring upwards in shock as his brain tries to regester all of the new information.

Richard had no idea what had just hit Tommy, two black things? The shriek only added to his confusion. The new sensory information coming from his new extremities still had no cohesion.


When Gaius grabbed the club that had adhered itself to Tommy's shoulder things started to make an immpossible kind of sense. As he watched Gaius grab it he felt Gaius's hand close around it. As Gaius peeled it away from Tommy's skin he felt the suckers loose their grip, one by one, struggling to stay attached.

In Gaius' hand the club of the tenacle has a very different texture than Billy cold and slimey appendages. Its warm for one and the skin while moist, feels slick, like wet pleather or a wetsuit.

The juxtaposition of the images and the sensations made it possible for Richard's brain to organize the sensations into meaningful data. It sent Richard's brain rocketing to the inevitable conclusion. That thing was HIS tenacle! It was part of him!

The fog in his mind began to clear and he realizes what he just did. "That's mine?." New muscles in his back jerk, and the motion is carried down the length of the tentacles, like large musclar whips. The club is torn from Gaius' grasp, the other separates from Tommy's face with a audible pop leaving two rows of red sucker marks on his cheek. The tentacles lay still as Richard stares at them.

Gaius was grateful when Richard seemed to regain control of himself, but the question caught him off guard. Staring at Richard with a twing of nervousness in his stomach, he nodded slowly, hoping the guy hadn't lost his senses from the experience. "Yeah... they are."

He would have said more, even try to comfort Richard, but Tommy's sudden freak-out interrupted everything. Gaius clapped his hands over his sensitive ears again as Tommy shrieked in panic.

"Tommy! Stop screaming!" he cried, but the bat-man had already distanced himself, huddled beneath a tree. Frustrated, frightened, and nerve-wracked, Gaius turned his attention back to Richard, who seemed to be the calmer of the two. Kneeling down beside the old man, he looked him over with concerned eyes. "Listen, can I get you some pain killers? Some water? I know it's nasty..."

Slowly, Tommy's rocking began to slow and then cease altogether. With his lowered breathing rate came an ebb to the ultrasonic flow of noise eminating from his nose. He blinks through watery eyes to see what would be considered positively insane by some, mere fantasy by others. He looks over both Gaius and Richard slowly, but not saying anything. That's all the old man needs, me freaking out on top of his change...Jesus...this is ******** looks away from them both, looking almost ashamed.

Richard was far more concerned about the tentacles than the spindly little limbs sticking out of his side. He had never been fond of squids or water. Later though, he'd deal with it later when he didn't have Gaius or Tommy as a witness. Don't let anyone know how much the site of those ugly black tenacles terrified you. This is a normal day, really. The pain was in his new limbs and his centered around his chest.

"Don't you worry about me Gaius. I'm fine." It was said with far more certianity than Richard felt. "Just finish putting the bulletin board up. I just need a bit of a nap. Its no big deal." He almost pulled the entire speach off until one the tentacles twitched and his look of utter horror flashed over his face. The look was gone just as quickly. He'd deal with it later! "My legs can walk."

He started to shuffle in Tommy's direction. "Terribly sorry about that lad. Are you alright?"

Gaius frowned pensively and watched after Richard. If he'd been a granny, he probably would have been wringing his hands. Not much good at reading signals, Gaius could at least recognize when someone was toughing it out. He had to give Richard props for that, though he wondered just how badly it would come down later, thinking back to his own post-change experience.

"Mental feedback?" he asked in confusion, looking at Tommy, who looked more than a little less than sane with the grin - at least that's what he thought it was, though gruesome with the lack of proper teeth. Shaking his head, Gaius rubbed a hand over his forehead and sighed. "You know what... that's okay, I don't think I need to know... Do you need a hand up, Tommy?"

Tommy stares up at Richard, knowing that tone of voice. He's heard it often back at the Academy and his inner cynic immediately wanted to rebel against it. It was quelled quickly though by his years of conditioning to that style of leadership. He sighs and grits his teeth a moment before accepting the hand-up, doing his best to make Richard do as little work as possible in hauling him up. "Yessir," he mutters out almost automatically. Tommy looks over to Gaius as he does so and back to Richard.

Richard only nodded at Gaius. Then began to walk towards his duplex. He realized his hold on the tentacles as soon as Tommy was out of range. They whipped around angerly, seeking a target to punish for their confinement. Richard stiffened in pain for until they settled, hanging limply from his back.

He forged on, collected his cane from the wood pile and continued on to his duplex.