User blog:ChromastoneandTabby/Tech Cross Character Preview - Teresa Challice

The Tech Cross Character Previews are snippets from episodes of the upcoming series Tech Cross that show a glimpse into a given character's personality. The character showcased here is Teresa Challice, the main protagonist of the series.

Note that these scenes are not final, and may change in some ways by the episode's official release.

Skyjack flopped down on the roof of a building, reverting back to Teresa in a teal flash. She took a deep breath and smiled, staring up at the clouds.

"You know the point of this is to be on patrol, right?" The CrossTrix grumbled. "Why do you keep screwing around?"

"I'm not 'screwing around', I'm helping people!" Teresa replied cheerfully. "You know how long cleaning up that park without alien superpowers would take?"

"You're supposed to be on the lookout for Evolvyrns, not doing favors for random people." The CrossTrix said. "This is asinine."

"Don't worry; if an Evolvyrn shows up, I'll fight it." Teresa hummed. "But don't you think it's nice to help out without having to fight someone to do it?"

"What I think is that it's a waste of time." The CrossTrix tsked. "Why do you insist on putting energy into it?"

"Because...well, it makes me feel good." Teresa said. "Whenever I try to help out or socialize as a human, I'm always super awkward and nobody wants to be around me, but as an alien, I just feel...empowered, you know?"

"Probably because you have powers." The CrossTrix replied flatly.

"That might be part of it, but I think most of it is just...not having to be me." Teresa said. "As myself, I'm not good enough for anyone, but as Tech, I can be whatever I want to be!"

"Within a set limit of ten aliens." The CrossTrix snarked.

"You know what I mean!" Teresa laughed. "Tech is someone totally new! The friendly town hero that helps the community! Someone that people actually like!"

"That's still just you, you know." The CrossTrix said. "Besides, that isn't a good mindset at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, someday, the Evolvyrns are all going to be dealt with, and I'm not going to be around all the time." The CrossTrix said. "If this 'Tech' persona is really necessary for you to feel good about yourself, what are you going to do when you don't have that mask anymore?"

Teresa's face fell as she tried to come up with an answer.

"I...don't know." She confessed. "I guess...I'll just end up useless again."

"Good grief, you're gonna give me a headache here." The CrossTrix muttered. "I mean, I don't have a head, but- look, point is, you gotta do something with yourself. If you wanna help people out with mundane crap using these powers, fine, I won't stop you, but relying exclusively on them to do that isn't sustainable. You have to get your life together sooner or later; your own life, not some made-up persona's."

"...How would I even start?" Teresa mumbled.

"Hell if I know." The CrossTrix's dial played a shrugging animation. "I'm just a watch."