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--donation bonus (day #15, post 2/5)--
Hector’s creations had always been underachieved approximations. Unless he stopped and concentrated hard for several minutes, he could never make anything more than a crude outline of what was in his head. But this was evidence of a change, evidence that his power had grown stronger than perhaps he thought. A frightening thought, in a way... but honestly, he found it more exciting than anything, as if his iron was now stronger than he was. And if that were true, then he only need catch up to it.

He wanted to try again. More elaborate still. Once they’d returned to the warehouse, he set to work. The rear sandlot provided ample space for just about anything he wanted to try, and the tall fences, weathered as they were, would ensure privacy.

His imagination ran wild with the possibilities. “What should I try to make?”

‘I’m not even sure how powerful you’ve become,’ said Garovel. ‘Why not try for something really outrageous? Something you don’t even think you can do, that is. Establish an upper limit, then work backwards to find where your ability caps out.’

“Hmm... uhh... Oh, how about a catapult? You think?”

‘I was gonna suggest an orbital satellite, but whatever.’

He took a deep breath. He imagined a catapult in his head--or at least something that seemed like a catapult--and then pressed his gloves to the sand.

A slew of metal pillars shot up together. They clanged together, trying to connect with one another and failing, and then fell over in a noisy heap.

‘Huh. Well, that was underwhelming.’

“I don’t... think that was my power’s fault...”

‘Hmm?’

“I just... umm... I thought it was simple, but... I don’t really know how a catapult works, to be honest...”

Garovel stared at him a moment. And then burst out laughing. ‘Great! Real smart, Hector!’

He flushed with embarrassment but couldn’t help smiling a little. “I thought if I just imagined a catapult-shaped... thing, then it’d just kind of appear, but--agh, stop laughing!”