Scrapyard Angels Act 1 Chapter 14

Jinx's little stunt would have me and my family visit the cause of Jinx's newest obsession, Cindy. Our trip there would be a fun distraction from the contract I made.

There we were in Bob's workshop with me tinkering away outside after I borrowed some of Bob's older tools, Jinx playing around in the dumps and Vi keeping watch. Bob was out visiting a colleague of his leaving us with only Cindy.

Cindy sat beside me smiling nervously as Mr Floofington snored near both of us. I decided to allow Jinx to bring her pet over to show her the follies of her ways.

Sure the beast was friendlier than usual thanks to looking like it was well fed, probably being able to muscle out any rats from their lunch. Vi was a bit apprehensive about it, I didn't like it, and Whump absolutely hated it but Jinx loved it and I didn't have the heart to say no especially when Jinx apparently just takes it to the dump to feed it.

It was scarily smart as well as Jinx easily commanded it. We could touch it after Jinx made sure to remind it that we were "family". I do not trust it one bit

"I never knew they grew this big" Cindy replied as she eyed the Plague Rat warily. Floofington was tied to a nearby pole but it looked like it could just easily snap the pole.

"Yes, indeed. Still think it was a good idea to tell Jinx about Plague rats without discouraging her?" I asked while trying to make an electromagnet. Simple enough right? Just run a coil around a piece of metal and it'll start attracting metal?

"I already told you, I just described to her what a plague rat is! I didn't expect her to actually get one and tame one all by herself!" Cindy defended herself

"Well now we're stuck with Floofington"

"You guys seem fine"

"Jinx was so much calmer before"

"I just made her more outgoing"

I rolled my eyes as I went back to doing stuff. I had the makeshift electromagnet attached to my crystal via the wire loop in my belt

"Boring! Make it spark or something. Are you going to be a Voltician?"

"Aren't you supposed to talk Targonian?"

"Nah, they got bored. They're so… primitive. They don't like gears!"

I snorted at that. Well Pantheon was just a literal spear chucking warrior while Leona was a Solari something. They can be quite conservative considering they're persecuting the Lunari heavily.

"How often does Jinx go down here?" It might have been a bit of a mistake leaving Jinx back at our home and expect her to stay part

"She comes like every other day. One day we were working and then suddenly Jinx just came out of the sewers!" Cindy animatedly replied as she pointed at the manhole Jinx supposedly come out of

Well, I did show Jinx about the service tunnel map. I didn't expect her to use it to go down to Bob's workshop. Still, a smart decision on her part considering it's far safer than going down here alone above ground

"Thank you for keeping Jinx entertained" and Safe which was left unsaid

"Oh that? Pfft, I should be the one thanking you instead! She makes my day way more fun. She could make for a competent funsmith one day and not just those quacks who tinker with things like monkeys with a wrench."

"That she could be. She's one smart cookie"

"Speaking of cookies, you still have one? Jinx kept bragging about it earlier"

I rolled my eyes before shaking my head "Nope, I have this though" I replied as I gave her a piece of candy to appease her.

"Gimme!" She eagerly grabbed the lemon drop. For a few moment we had silence before she said "So have you heard the news?"

"The bombing in the Veraza district?

"No, the other news! Pops has been scaring me about kidnappings happening again."

I frowned at that. That was new and so something I haven't heard about. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey Cindy, if it isn't too much, can Jinx stay here most of the time? I'll be sure to pack her lunch so it wouldn't be a bother to you guys"

"Well that'll be up to pops but I'm sure he'll be fine so long as I don't teach Jinx chemtech… but he didn't said I couldn't teach her basic engineering!"

I smiled at that before I got back to work.

I placed a magnet nearby my electromagnet, a simple iron nail wrapped in copper wire. I had the two on the table just far enough from each other that the magnet wasn't pulling the iron nail. I concentrated on the crystal and poured in my mana, letting it burn bright

There was a loud spark before the nail and the magnet was violently flung apart. The iron nail slipped through the coil and rocketed away towards the nearby wall while the magnet did the same.

Everyone heard the sound as Floofington jumped in alarm and ran off, snapping its leash in the process, while Jinx and Vi took cover.

I grabbed Cindy as the magnet ricocheted against the sheet metal wall of the house. We hid beneath the table for a while before we both peeked up from our hiding spot

The nail flew off to who knows where while the magnet laid on the ground wobbling after being flung away from each other.

"That… wasn't supposed to happen" I whispered as I tried to wrap my head around just what happened.

"Maybe it's repealed?" Cindy cautioned as she picked up the magnet. I shrugged before pulling out the embedded nail.

"Take two?" I asked as I redid the coils around the nail

"Let's tape it down?" Cindy suggested as she pulled out a roll of tape.

"You know what, let's make a shield first"

With the help of Vi, we managed to make a makeshift barrier. Jinx was off to the side comforting Floofington.

I doubled the length of the wire. That should add more resistance but then again, this was magical lightning so… might as well. This time around, I was writing things down.

"So in theory this should weaken the electromagnet right?" I said out loud as I peered out of the cover. Thankfully, I remembered which magnetic pole was facing the magnet when we first tested things out

"Just get on with it!" Shouted Cindy as she covered her ears.

"Three, two, one!" I counted down before I sent a current down the line. There was a spark before the two magnets clanged against each other. It should have been the end of it until the magnet decided to act weird as it ripped itself from the weak tape and started floating.

It was an utterly baffling sight as the thing floated with the electromagnet on top while the magnet was pointing down.

"No bang?" Asked Jinx as she stared at the thing. Even I was expecting a similar result from earlier but things just got a lot weirder.

"No bang…" I cut off the power and the two pieces came back down to the surface of the table. Some people would have been fine with that but I felt like I haven't really completed the entire makeshift experiment. Sure the poles were probably just different but this magnet was acting way weirder than anything I could think off

I did one more run, this time flipping the two magnets so that the other pair of poles were facing each other.

I counted down, peering up from the shield until a moment that would be embedded in my mind happened. The same damn spark happened before the nail and magnet were flung away from each other. This time the electromagnet just stayed up in the air instead of flying off. It was far weaker this time around but the results were clear as day.

We did the test again and again, trying different configurations but for whatever reason, the electromagnet rejected one pole but was attracted to the other. No matter what position I did, the result was the same. Finally we brought out a compass.

"There's no way this could only have one pole" I said as I looked at the compass

"It kept flinging the other pole around so it must have only one pole" replied Cindy

"Well, lets see if it's that the case"

"Are you betting against me buster?"

I snorted before bringing the magnet close. I figured out pretty easily that I could regulate the power of the magnet as I was the source of the electricity after all so the needle wasn't in danger of flying off towards me… I hope

As I circled around the magnet, the same pole kept pointing at it. Even if I started with the other pole, it still ends up in the same pole it's attracted to. Over and under and side to side, nothing could make it change.

One thing was clear, I accidentally made a monopole and I don't know how it even works in the first place. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. It might just be the find of the century but now what? Jinx however gave me an idea thanks to one innocent question

"Can we make wings out of them? I want to fly!"

"Jinx you're a genius!" I kissed my sister in the forehead, making her blush and giggle before looking back at the flying magnet. I wasn't really sure if it was a monopole magnet but it was as well be one plus I wasn't complaining that it could somehow float.

My head was awash with ideas, ideas of fantastical device and inventions that I thought were out of my reach. It might be more magic than technology compared to the masterpiece made by the like of Hiemerdinger but it'll be something that I created with my own two hands.

I added another goal to my list of things I wanted to do, Flying just became one of them. I will not be just floating above the Grey and its poisonous cloud but it will be a powered flight that could reach even beyond the clouds. I will touch the sky and it'll be only a matter of time

While I dreamed of touching the sky with my family, I wasn't going to be a modern day Icarus that fell to his death just because he ignored his limit. I will rigorously test this device until I reach my limit and break through it to reach my potential

With copper coil on one hand and a weird crystal on my belt, I went to work. Metals of all shapes and sizes were made into monopole electromagnets, testing things just to see what would happen. My experiments were crude but they're merely baby steps on the way to progress.

Time passes by quickly. Before I knew it, it was already getting late and time for us to go back home. With the sound of Old Hungry echoing in the distance, it will soon be night time.

We left Bob's workshop soon after saying our goodbyes with Cindy and Jinx hugging each other like sisters.

"You guys can always come back here ok? Especially my bestie Jinx!" Cindy said as she nuzzled against Jinx's cheeks

"Cindy! Space!" Jinx shouted but she looked like she wasn't too keen in getting Cindy off

It was honestly a touching thing to see. It was also comforting knowing that there was at least another person in this world that cared for Jinx.

The walk back home gave me time to think. All it ever did however was give me more things to think about. There were so many questions and things I could pursue now but I had to remember to take one step at a time. I couldn't exactly fly just yet but soon, I would be. It just a matter of effort now