10891/Definitely a 'Perfectly Normal' Gym Session

Definitely a 'Perfectly Normal' Gym Session
Date of Scene:	27 January 2020
Location:	A gym in suburban New York City
Synopsis:	Trini and Piotr discover that each other is more than meets the eye.
Cast of Characters:	Colossus, Yellow Ranger

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Colossus has posed:
    "I am tellink you, Piotr. No. Nyet."
    Nevinsky says sternly as he puffs on his cigar, the small white-haired man with the thick chest and stern features seems to waddle as he walks, so ripped and contorted with muscle. In his eighties yet seemingly almost half that age, the tiny octogenarian stomps around his gym strutting like he owns the place.
    Which he does.
    He is trailed by another countryman, much taller and almost as strong seeming. Piotr Rasputin follows along, frowning as he moves. "I understand, Mr. Nevinsky. Really I do."
    Behind them the gym is fairly busy even as this time of the night. Heavy plates are clanking as a quartet of men from Little Odessa work out and psyche each other up to heights of fitness. Along one bank of walls three young women are running on the tread mills. And in the center of the room two youths are dancing around each other throwing punches in a boxing ring. The whole place is active, busy, and has that weird smell of sweat and old newspapers.
    "But I am only home these last two days and I find I need to be able to contribute in some form." Piotr's blue eyes follow after the old man as he gathers towels and tosses them into nearby bins. "You have seen me, yes? I get along well with people, da?"
    "You scare them, Piotr. You intimidate them."
    "Me?!" Piotr says incredulously, even as the old man nods.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
One such treadmill-runner is an Asian young woman, barely eighteen, wearing a yellow jumpsuit. She's been running steadily for over an hour, gradually increasing the speed. She's trying to get a good workout - hoping that in this crowded place nobody would notice that she's been going for quite some time. She perks her ears up at the argument with thick Russian accents, but the treadmill's facing away so she has to rely on ears. Wondering what's going on - seems a nice place. Wishes she could find a super bar on the down-low but not so easy."

Colossus has posed:
    Thankfully the other runners near to Trini only run for about ten minutes each. Just small parts of their overall workout. They sometimes come and go, though she may have gained a sidelong glance from the men working at the free weights even as they thump each other on the shoulders and snarl encouragement back and forth in Russian.
    Behind her, she'll hear Nevinsky again, his raspy rough guttural voice mangling English worse than Piotr, his accent pronounced and unrepentant. "Da, you, Piotr."
    "Bozhe moi, but why?"
    That causes the old man to stop and to turn, to shift his focus away from the others and to look nervously about. He steps closer to the young X-Man and grabs him by the arm. Voice lowering, the Yellow Ranger may not hear him utter unless she perhaps lowers the speed on the treadmill slightly, or just has a strong sense of hearing. But what follows is murmured in illicit tones.
    "For the last time, Piotr. You know what happened. The damage was expensive, and I thank you for what you did for us. And my family. But there are those in this neighborhood..."
    The old man straightens up and frowns looking around then slips into his native language, "Oni nenavidyat mutantov."
    Few would pick up on that, but then that last word does have a clearly recognizable word within. 'Mutant.'

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan doesn't know Russian. She knows Chinese, English, French, and a touch of Kree. But does recognize that last word. She oftentimes wonders if she's technically one herself after bonding with the Sabertooth Tiger coin. But no matter. She finally shuts down her treadmill and heads over to get a drink of water, wiping her brow to get the sweat off with a towel, walking past the two arguing Russians. She grabs a cup of water and takes a long slow drink, listening to see if there's more as she's gazing in their general direction.

Colossus has posed:
    The next few words are in English, "I am sorry Piotr." As the much taller man looks at the short older one. But then at the least Nevinsky sighs slightly and he waves a hand in the direction of the tall muscular Russian, gesturing absently. "Bah. Perhaps... something on the weekends. I will see. And I will be callink you."
    To which Piotr smiles a little, extending a hand toward the old man. "Thank you, Mr. Nevisnky. You are very kind."
    "Da, da, I am. And a fool." He waves a hand. "Go and... finish collecting the towels for me. Make yourself useful you mountain of a lump."
    "I will, Mr. Nevinsky. Thank you." That said he smiles and accepts the towels the older man had already gathered and then turns away, starting to walk across the room. Picking up a few off a wooden bench, and then moving in Trini's direction.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan nods as she tosses a towel into the collection bin. She then murmurs, "Are you okay? I heard what he said to you." She sighs softly as she tsks. "I have good hearing." She's being rather quiet. "Don't worry. I'm a believer of the rights of everyone." She smiles wryly. "Just thought I'd see if you needed anything."

Colossus has posed:
    Piotr straightens up, and to be fair he does fit in with the environment at least. He's wearing black sweat pants and a tight white t-shirt that clings the his torso closely. His jacket is left over on the rack near the door, but with his physique and the way he holds himself, Piotr seems to belong in a place like this.
    And then he smiles as Trini offers her few kind words, giving her a nod as he accepts the towel and pushes it further into the bin he now carries under his one arm, shifting his grip so it rests on his hip.
    "You are very kind." He cocks an eyebrow as he looks off after Mr. Nevinsky and then continues walking, reaching up to grab a towel off of a half open public locker. "But if I am to be working here is it not me who should be asking of you if you need anything, Miss...?" He asks of her name politely even as he walks.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan murmurs, "I'm fine. I just.... thought I'd say hi. I'm Trini." She offers her hand to him. "I like this place. I'm in New York to visit - checking out colleges y'know, and just wanted to get a good workout done." She then murmurs, "Your name is Piotr, right?"

Colossus has posed:
    "Da," He then shifts the bin to the other hip and accepts her hand, giving it a firm shake but... gently. As if afraid of overpowering her grip. He leans forwards and nods, meeting her gaze. "Piotr Rasputin. Errand boy and gopher for the moment. At your service." His lip twists a little as he starts to walk a little more, but then pauses.
    "Are you far from home, Trini?" He looks to the side over his shoulder toward her. "What made you choose Mr. Nevinsky's gym? Not that it is a bad choice. Just you do not remind me much of the usual clientele he seeks."

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan shrugs. "I'm from Starling," she states. "As I said, I was checking out some potential colleges and just saw this gym and thought it was a good idea to pop in." She ponders. "Maybe a bit of weightlifting would be nice." She smiles as she heads over to the bench and starts with a hundred pounds, settling down, and benches it easily. "Yeah - that's good stuff...." She is moving back and forth, doing ten reps then setting it back down.

Colossus has posed:
    "You should be having a spotter, one moment." He says to her as he walks, his sneakers squeaking a little on the gym floor as he continues across the room, still picking up and gathering towels here and there. It doesn't take him long in the greater scheme of things. Perhaps five minutes or so, leaving her to herself to work on the weight bench as she seems inclined...
    But once he has all of the towels in the larger hamper he returns and leans over her bench from above, looking at her upside down. "Shall I help?" And if she accepts the offer he will position himself properly with hands under the ends of the bar, just offering another level of safety as she goes through the repetitions.
    "Are you an athlete?" He asks, by way of making conversation as it's important... when one works out, one must be able to talk.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan nods. "Yes - I've been physically active all my life. I'm a black belt in kung fu - and I love various sports like volleyball. There's even a basketball championship trophy in my high school with my name on it." She then gets up after the set and gathers more weights. Now it's 150 pounds. And she starts benching it. She's doing it slower and with more effort... as if it's difficult for her. A trained eye, though, could tell that she's hamming it up a bit and she's having no actual trouble.

Colossus has posed:
    "That is impressive," Piotr tells her as he continues to stand there, watchful, attentive. It would not do for him to allow one of Mr. Nevinsky's paying customers to have an accident on his watch. That would be a quick way to a short career. But he is good at it at th least, even as his eyes flit back and forth to each of her arms.
    And indeed, it is curious. Her physique does not seem to be built quite enough to be able to handle such weight, yet there are no tell-tale quivers in her musculature. No hint of fatigue or tension. It's almost as if she could do this or hours at a time.
    "You are quite an accomplished young woman." He says, thoughts perhaps elsewhere in that instant before he adds. "I have played some volleyball as well." At school. "And my friends have taught me some judo, but that is all."

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan finally settled down. "Well - my parents were a constant inspiration. As are my friends." She smiles softly. "Want to go a round? I can spot you?" she asks as she gesutre to the bench after she rises up. Glances over at the weights again, but decides that literally benching more than her own weight would cause too many eyebrows to rise.

Colossus has posed:
    A low rumbling chuckle is given as Piotr holds up a hand and shakes his head slightly, "I am here to help you. If Mr. Nevinsky caught me he would call me a slacker and a wastrel." Though he does add a _little_ more weight to her bar, leaning down to take up two plates and then clanks them into place, bringing it up to 170 pounds.
    "One seventy, is too much? Perhaps you can push and reach higher?" He asks her as he hefts the bar up again and lets her take a seat again should she so wish.
    "This way I can work, and still keep up good conversation with a nice young woman at same time, yes?"

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan nods. "It's fine," she states. She's quite sure somehow that your trained eye can see that she can handle it. "Oh - yeah. This is actually quite fun. I should get my own bench press bench but no place for it." She is benching it as easily as the 150, not 'faking' it anymore as she does a whole set then sets it down as she sits up. She smiles faintly. "Push. Right."

Colossus has posed:
    "I am thinking you are a smidge bit stronger than you present, Trini." Piotr says with that same casual smile, though he does not seek to push her further or to out her secret. Instead he gives a nod to her. "Very good, excellent work!" He offers louder, so it can carry and the others around them might well take mark. She has done many good reps. But if the others looked closer they might well see she hasn't really broken much of a sweat.
    "Is there anything else I can get you?" He asks with a smile as he moves towards one of the nearby trash cans and casually considers it, as if thinking about emptying them. "You have water?"

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Trini Kwan nods. "I'm fine," she states as she goes to the exercise bike. "Thanks for the talk, Piotr. You should get back to work now." She hands you a card with her number on it to talk later as she gets to pedaling.