Chapter 3

I woke up reasonably late on Saturday morning and stretched out, feeling my wings mimic my arms in that otherwise familiar gesture. I had a wash, then put on some of my new clothes, a nice t shirt and jeans. Pausing only to grab Kittybot, I headed down to get some breakfast.

I got myself some cereal and then munched away at it while Kittybot explored the various jars of jam and things put out for breakfast. She seemed especially interested in this metal toast rack that was shiny enough to show herself in there. She ran away from the mirror Kittybot at first then curiously examined it from safely behind the peanut butter. I giggled at her antics and ate my breakfast.

When I was done I put my bowl in the dishwasher and picked up Kittybot then went to see what my parents were up to. I found them in the garden working on their latest project an ancient car called a beetle. It looked horribly primitive compared to modern alternatives but apparently it had been very popular back when my grandparents were young and it was a remake of an older car of the same name. I stared at the slightly battered exterior of the thing and watched as Mum and Dad repaired the damage to the thing. They had found it on one of their trips to the scrap heap where they got a lot of spares and bits and bobs for their various projects. It had been in pretty poor shape all rusted and full of weeds but after a few weeks of work it was beginning to look more like a car.

I took Kittybot into the workshop and began measuring her for her outer skin. Mum and Dad had encouraged my tinkering and allocated me a small corner of their crowded workshop at the end of the garden where I could make my projects. I had never gotten to a completely finished robot before so had never really bothered to give one a finished outer shell. I decided to use some brushed aluminium as the finish Kittybot would be shiny and stylish. I sat designing the shell to attach to her chassis making sure to make it as tough and rugged as possible. I also made sure that I would be able to maintain her and then all her ports would be accessible afterwards. It would be a fine mistake to finish her outer body only to find she could no longer charge herself.

With my plans done I asked Dad if I could use some of their sheet metal. He found me an off cut that I could use, I didn't need much Kittybot was small so only needed a small amount of paneling. Cut out my template and began bending a forming it on the various metal forming machines. Most of the pieces would be flat or have a few angles in but the head required a few curves that took time to get right.

Once I had the pieces ready I prepared to install them, as a last minute addition I added some sensors to the new metal skin to give Kittybot some more touch sensitivity. I carefully shut her down then began installing her skin. Using some specialised epoxy resin and some riveting, I attached the panels, careful to keep them looking good as well and making sure they sealed properly to prevent water getting in. About an hour of assembly later her new outer shell was complete and installed. I carefully wiped it down to remove any dirt and grease or excess sealant. She looked like a stylised shiny metal kitten now rather than a mechanical toy. Careful design had allowed me to hide the seams in the metal, and her access panels were carefully concealed with hidden catches. I gently carried her back up to my room to allow the glue to set before I started her up again. I set her in the charging bay to make sure she could still receive power and remotely checked on her systems. I had wired in her new sensors so she would be able to use them when I switched her back on. It would take a few hours for the resin to cure properly so I left her charging and went to tidy up the workshop.

I saw Mum standing by the car wiping some oil off her hands, "I saw your robot. It's looking very good, Lexi," she said as I came back outside.

I smiled, "I think she's turned out well," I replied.

"The brushed metal look really makes it stand out, and you did a really neat job," she said.

"I tried to make it look as clean and seamless as possible," I said, "I wanted it to look a bit like it was cast out of a single block of metal. You can see underneath that it is several bits, but from the top and front you can't really tell."

"You're getting quite a knack for shaping the metal like that. You'll put some of my boys at work to shame."

I beamed at that. I knew she had very high standards at her work. And some of the people there could do amazing things with metal so she was probably just saying that. Still. It made me smile.

I went inside and began clearing up, taking my plans so I could put them in with my notes on Kittybot. I was careful to make a note of how and where her new sensor systems attached so I would have a record should I need to make repairs. I swept up the various cuttings of metal into the bin, saving any that were still of a useful size, then took my plans upstairs and put them away.

"Lexi?" called Mum from downstairs.

"Yes, Mum?"

"Can you come help me with lunch?"

"Sure thing."

I headed down and helped Mum. Mostly it was fetching and carrying. Since we were having mainly sandwiches, the main effort was preparing a salad. We had lunch, Mum and Dad chatting about how their car was going, asking me the occasional question on what I was up to and how I was doing.

"So have you had any more luck controlling your powers?" asked Dad.

"A little, I still can't make them do much. I spent most of my time yesterday working out how to turn my magnet vision on and off, so I could use that to see what I was doing more easily"

"I'm sure you'll get it with practise. You've only had them a few days, so it might take you a while to learn full control of them."

"Yeah I know, they are just a bit of a nuisance at the moment."

"I'm really intrigued by your ability to see magnetic fields," Dad grinned in that particular way that he always does when something has aroused his scientific curiosity, "I wonder if it is down to particular properties of your eyes, or some sort of telesense that your brain simply interprets as a visual pattern. It also seems very useful for all sorts of things."

"Like what?"

"Well, locating wires, say in a wall, is a simple application. The electric current in a wire generates a magnetic field, so you should be able to see it if your vision is sensitive enough. A lot of gizmo's will do that for you for DIY, but you would probably be able to see exactly where all the powered cables are. You can take that up to buried cables in the ground. Not to mention things like navigating. You can probably see the earth's magnetic field to some degree. I'm sure there are a whole hosts of other applications even without your magnetics power, which adds all sorts of possibilities to the mix."

I hadn't really considered what I might do with my new abilities, merely being focused on turning them on and off. I supposed if properly used I might be able to do many things with these abilities. Still, I couldn't see a way that would make me more friends. Maybe if I started acting all tough and throwing my weight around I could join the supers, though I suspected my powers were not nearly flashy enough for them to accept me. I didn't really like them much anyway. They had been pretty mean to me in the past and seemed so arrogant and insular.

After lunch I decided to have a bit of practise with my powers. I first switched on my magnetic vision and marvelled at the new colours and flows of power I could now see. I could make out some of the global field and see the lines of force flowing to magnetic north. The field of the earth were thin ribbons of power flowing through everything, bending as they approached local fields then carrying on again. I could see small rainbow swirls emanating from the local magnetic forces, like the rings around the wires in my walls and more complicated patterns out of various electrical items.

Looking at Kittybot, I could see the flow of power through her, but also see how her structure interacted with that field. The various metals and synthetics that made up her body interacted with the magnetic field in complex ways.

After some more staring at the various fields around me I stepped away from anything that could be magnetised and turned on my own field. This was the first time I had observed my powers while activating with my vision, and it was quite a sight to see. Flows of lines of magnetic force burst out of me in radiant swirls of colour. It was quite pretty. It was a bit of a shame no one else could see it.

I began practising my control over the field and found that shaping it was now just a little easier after my practise yesterday. I found I could alter the strength of the field and also change its shape slightly. Deciding to see how my field interacted with objects, I turned my power off and found a small metal object. I had a small scrap piece of the metal I had used to make Kittybot's skeleton which had I had messed up, drilling it wrong, but kept in case I could reuse it.

I set the metal on the wooden table a little distance away, then switched my powers on. I reached for the metal with my hand holding my palm about 30 cms above it. I saw my that the points where the field was at its strongest were a ways away from it. I focused, stretching out and I saw the field move as it touched the object. The magnetic field flowed into the metal and start to magnetise it. The force of attraction increased as I stretched the field, till the metal started sliding towards me, eventually leaping off the desk and slapping into my palm. I examined the field for a bit and then tried to reduce it to let the object go. This was harder, but eventually I managed it. The field gradually reduced till the force between my hand and the metal was no longer enough to hold it to my skin and it eventually fell away clattering to the floor. I played about for a long time, placing the metal between two magnetic fields and holding it between them in midair, even managing to move it by adjusting the field strength. I also levitated it with one hand by balancing the force of gravity with just enough magnetic force.

In the process of my exploration I discovered I could focus all my magnetic field into my hands with a little effort. This meant most of me was not magnetic, and also slightly increased the strength of the field emitted from my hands. I was quite pleased with this discovery and my progress to date, so I went down to get a celebratory cup of tea.