12515/So .. this is our gym.

So .. this is our gym.
Date of Scene:	02 December 2020
Location:	Gym - X-Men Base
Synopsis:	Jeremy shows David and Jade the gym and meets up with Professor Logan.
Cast of Characters:	SpyderByte, Aegis, Rattlesnake (Reese), Gecko, Wolverine

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SpyderByte has posed:
Now that the Thanksgiving holiday has passed and classes are back in session, it's every day school life at Xavier's. Save a few interesting student situations involving pranks and powers, this feels very much like a normal school, with the exception that fellow peers may be covered in fur, or walking around on fire, or they have wings. At some point, a staffer felt it would be a good time to give the two newest Seniors a tour of their state of the art and over the top gym that is built within the school.

Jeremy and Xiomara of the New Mutants got picked with the task. Both of them could use some socializing as it is. Jeremy, mostly. Even though the gothic technopath has made great strides in opening up, he still sticks to his computers more than people.

<< So .. this is our gym. >>

The digital voice of the Goth comes from the phone he holds with the speakers set mid-high to carry through the long hallways. As the doors swish open, they reveal a gym that is designed for superheroes and their student body. There is equipment everywhere, followed by a section for gymnastics, another indoor pool tucked away in another room with a hot tub for soaking, weights, cardios, a handball court, and another section with a 'ring' for martial arts training.

It's no Danger Room, but that would be the point. The lanky Senior is dressed in a pair of black joggers and a long sleeved smoky gray shirt. No chains or dog collars or even a trench coat. That would be weird for a gym.

Aegis has posed:
Why was she picked? She kept telling them she was not one of the New Mutants. yet, Madre de Dios, they kept putting her on assignments like she was! Xio strolled along with the rest, her mass of hair pulled back atop the back of her head in a super messy bun/ponytail thing that really was rather like a rat's nest in appearance. She'd dressed for the gym at least. Gray yoga pants with a tank top, along with a pair of sneakers covering her feet.

"Jeremy, me getting put on this? Is that someone's way of telling me I ate too much at Thanksgiving?" she demanded as the entered the room. Her accent was very much Puerto Rican, thanks to the influence of her father.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    Rattlesnake's impressed.

    You can tell by the way he's looking around with a huge grin on his face, eyes all atwinkle like a kid at Christmas. He hasn't seen the Danger Room yet, so he doesn't have that frame of reference. What he does have is a lifetime of living in gyms. And this is probably the most impressive one he's ever seen.

    Today he wears a tight black cotton tank top, and a pair of red Muay Thai trunks that might raise eyebrows because of how short they are. The Thais like to show a lot of leg, the more the better. It's a macho thing with them, like 'here you go, you can kick THIS much of my leg, I'm tough as nails I don't give a fuck.' But to Westerners they just look like short-shorts. There's a heavy gym bag slung over his shoulder as well, and it's bulging outward in every direction almost comically, as if it were stuffed full of gear to the point where the zipper won't even close all the way.

    "So what do you charge for membership?" he laughs, not expecting a serious answer.

    Then he throws a punch or two at the air, bounces on his feet a bit. "Ready to put in some work if y'all are. I told this chick I was gonna teach her how to punch and kick," he grins at Jade Green, and playfully shadowboxes in her direction. "I can hold pads for you guys too if you want."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade laughs a bit when David throws a few punches toward her. She also reflexively leans away and lifts one arm as a guard.

     "Hey, I'm not the bag, you dork."

     There's a big goofy grin on her face as she speaks. It only fades a little as her attention turns to the rest of the gym. The tomboy stretches and then reaches down to pull her 'Bad Boy' hoodie off, revealing a black muscle shirt and sports bra underneath. For a brief moment, there's a flash of her six-pack.

     "Okay, so uh, what are we starting with? I'm not used to working out with others."

SpyderByte has posed:
<< OH. It's not an assigned workout. You can do whatever you want. Have fun as long as it's safe. Our ... teacher, Professor Logan does courses here for combat, as does a few others in various routines. Mister Wagner and Miss Jubilee does acrobatics also. They are so cool. Miss Braddock is an actual ninja. That's poggers. >>

Jeremy looks around the gym, then rubs the back of his neck a bit as he scuffs his foot on the ground.

<< I don't do combat training. I have a different skill-path. A lot of cardio and working on ... learning how to use weights. >>

He's a skinny thing, though over the last few months he's starting to gain some type of muscle definition. It's not a lot.

<< Oh. You got put on this because Mister Summers knows that at some point I won't know what to say and you could wing it. Also, Mister Summers wants to speak with you afterwards. >>

Dun dun dun.

<<I can watch you fight though. I like the UFC. Anderson Silva was really cool. >> YouTube clips.

Aegis has posed:
The words that come out of her mouth are not meant for polite company. Of course, she isn't a polite girl. "Dios Mio, now what did I do?!" Xio demands to know as she moves over to do exactly what she does for a workout in a room like this. She sits down. On a bench. Over by a wall. Her workouts generally involve dancing and her fighting didn't have a style.

That wasn't entirely true. She was used to fighting on the streets so Street was a style, right? It was in her mind at least.

"You won't run out of things to say, Jeremy. I have confidence in you." She did look over at the question David had voiced. "Membership involves being a student. That's about it. Just if you join the superhero club, then you get the better toys. Or if you start hanging out with the superhero club, then you get lumped in there with them even when you aren't one. Hell, I'm more the opposite end of that spectrum. Brotherhood or whatever the bad guys are called these days. At least, I was. Until I got caught and cut a deal." There, all her details summed up and she can concentrate on other things. Like her phone that comes out of a pocket along with a pair of ear buds.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David notes Jeremy's awkward body language, and it makes him smirk and give him a little nudge on the arm. "Yo, you never know when you might have to knock a dude out. Just sayin, offer's open."

    Then he gives Jade a sideways nod, in the direction of the ring, and turns to mozey on over there. "Let's wrap hands and do a little warm up, then I'll bust out the pads and we'll do the basic basics."

    He practically skips toward the ring, it should be noted. Apparently he's been antsy to train, in some way shape or form, after being so abruptly separated from his normal regimen. When they get there he drops the heavy gym back and squats down to unzip it, fetching however many pairs of wraps he'll need. At least two, one for him and one for Jade.

    He glances upward from his gym bag, notices Xiomara sitting apart from them looking at her phone. "Ey, mi vida loca, you comin?"

Gecko has posed:
     Jade's big green eyes are on Xiomara as she speaks. She doesn't offer much more than an understanding nod since she doesn't know what else to do.

     Then Jeremy gets a grin from the girl. "Dude's right, but running away has worked pretty well for me up to now."

     With that, the tomboy turns and follows Reese over to the ring. She stops next to him and holds up her hands at the mention of wrapping them. She offers them to David for his inspection, where he might notice the subtly reptilian claws growing out the tips instead of nails. "Uh, can I even do that with my hands like this? I could, like, cut them real quick?"

SpyderByte has posed:
@emit << I've been beat up a lot. I've come to terms that I'm a wimp and it's better to just never leave my room. >>

Jeremy is a glass half-empty kind of kid.

<< Besides, I can tell your iPhone to self-destruct in your pants and blow your nuts off and part of your upper thigh depending on pocket placement if I needed to. Way easier than being punched in the face. >>

His lips give a twitch upwards for a moment before he follows after them to the ring. He'll at least watch. Or supervise.

<< You didn't do anything wrong, Xio. It's a good talk. I think. He sort of smiled. I know it was hard for him to do so. >>

He gives a few hops on his feet to loosen his ankles, then goes about into a round of awkward stretches. At some point he'll get the form down.

Aegis has posed:
"Smiled? Mr. Summers?" Xio stares at Jeremy in a way that obviously shows he must be punking her here. There is no way Mr. Summers smiled. Well, not unless Miss Grey was in the room. He would sort of sometimes smile from time to time in the hallways but she always felt it was required since it was a school, not out of a desire to do so.

At the call from David, the glance from Jade and the fact even Jeremy was going over, she heaved a sigh and pushed back up to her feet smoothly. Back into her pocket with the phone and earbuds as she walked over. "I'll just watch. Why are you taping your hands?"

At the question from Jade, she looked more closely at the other girl's hands and let out a low whistle. "Chica, those would come in handy on the street."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    "Well see, you got a bunch of teeny little bones in your hands and wrists, like pebbles, and the wraps secure em together. Even with the wraps on you can still break your hand on a dude's skull, ask me how I know this--" he smirks. "--but if you're gonna be hittin shit for a few hours straight you'll be happy you put em on."

    He gives Jade's hands a thoughtful look, when she presents them. "Nah you should be alright, worst thing I can think of is your nails prick into the wraps when you make a fist."

    With all that said he takes one of Jade's hands in his, whips open one of the handwraps and gets to work wrapping it. He does so slowly, and stops to explain to Jade what he's doing and why, so she can do her other hand. While doing so, he grins at Jeremy.

    "Some of the toughest dudes I know got beat up a lot," he says. "That doesn't make you a wimp bro."

Gecko has posed:
    Jade's eyes grow wide as she listens to Jeremy, although a trained eye will spot the joking nature of it. If not, her next comment probably gives it away despite the deadpan tone of it. "Is that what happened to them?"

     That goofy grin of Jade's grows wide after her own joke, but also because of Xiomara's comment. She nods to the other girl as she lets David do as he pleases with her hands. "Hah. Yeah, I got a lot of experience with that."

     For now, that's all the tomboy offers on the subject. After that, Jade patiently lets David finish wrapping her other hand, but her foot bounces up and down in an antsy fashion from sitting in one pose for too long.

SpyderByte has posed:
It's hard to tell if Jeremy's modulated voice is joking or not. It only has a few variations of tone, but he is working on it! His body language is guarded as usual.

<< No, something else happened to them. A lot worse. >>

There is a glance over to Xio for a moment before he looks back towards the ring. He rocks a few more times on his feet once he finishes his round of stretching. He's at least loosened up.

<< Maybe you can show me a few things about fighting also. I guess it won't hurt to learn something. I should defend myself. >>

There. Progress. He leans in and bumps his shoulder to Xio's.

<< It was an awkward smile. I could hear his face crack. >>

Aegis has posed:
At the glance from Jeremy, Xio gives him a brief, almost feral, smile followed by a quick wink. But nothing is said by the girl about what happened to those who had hurt the young technopath. Hopefully the other two are too busy with the wraps to notice.

She finds a spot by the corner of the ring to settle in and watch, leaning against the cornerpost and watching the goings on. "I guess that makes sense for training. If you'll be doing it for hours," she comments to David. "But I am guessing this fighting teaches you to do so without wraps too? Cause you don't got time for that shit when it gets real." She knows about the little bones all too well. She's just never formally trained so never tried to protect them.

Then back to Jeremy. "That sounds more like it, for Mr. Summers. I mean he's damn good at what he does but the man needs to find some joy somewhere."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    "My man!" David grins wide, and claps Jeremy on the shoulder. "Aight, let's getcha wrapped. Mister Miyagi gets two pupils today hee-yah."

    He seems pretty pleased with himself.

    "There's only one kid I knew who never wore wraps," he says to Xio, as he finishes wrapping Jade's hands and goes over to Jeremy's. "Crazy-ass Russian dude, he came from a Kyokushin school. Those Kyokushin guys don't wear any gear at all, no gloves, no headgear, not even a fuckin mouthpiece. They just slug it out it's crazy."

    After wrapping Jeremy's hands he does his own, then he breaks out the jump ropes, tosses one each to Jade and Jeremy, and sets a round timer on his phone. Five minutes skipping rope. Then a no-stop circuit; jumping jacks, pushups, high knees, lunges, crunches. Five rounds of those, 30 seconds each, no break. Enough to work up a quick sweat.

Gecko has posed:
    Jade has to fidget with the jump rope since her hands are both wrapped. Once she gets it, she stands at the ready. Once the timer starts, Jade starts jumping and swinging the rope. Her dark hair bounces down in front of her face repeatedly, and she tries to huff it away with her breaths.

     The rest of the exercises fly by, and Jade builds up a subtle sheen of sweat on her skin. She doesn't look worn out at all.

     "Okay, can we do punches and kicks already? That's why I came out."

     Jade crouches for a short moment just before her body hurls itself up in an arch over the ring's ropes. Jade lands in a crouching position; then, she bounces back to her feet. The ropes creak as she spins around and leans over them on both arms, looking awfully proud of herself.

SpyderByte has posed:
As he takes the jump rope, Jeremy starts on it easily enough. The rest of the workout is almost laughable at how badly he performs. He is still getting the ropes of a real workout beyond casually jogging on a treadmill and learning how to use some hand weights. Supposedly he has increased his typing speed by two words per minute in the last month.

<< I can do some punches. I'm not very good though. I just hit the bag with our trainer. >>

Those noodle arms of his are not putting much power in anything, obviously.

Aegis has posed:
Xio for her part pipes in here or there. Otherwise, she just spends her time in the corner watching and picking up any tips that might be given verbally.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    Rattlesnake's been through enough group workouts to lead one of his own, especially since it's just two people. And the fact that Jade is much more physically adroit than Jeremy actually doesn't slow the lesson down much. He just takes turns holding pads for the two of them, rather than have them pair up. There are a couple of things he covers first; how to find your stance, how to connect with a punch, which knuckles strike the target (the first two), how to measure the distance so you don't whiff, and blah blah blah. Then it's on to combinations.

    One-two

    One-two-three

    One-two-three-two

    One-two-three-four

    Every few minutes he stops and breaks down what the punches are supposed to look like; this is how you jab, this is how you cross, this is how you have your elbow when you throw that hook, good good, yup. But the explanations are succinct, and lead right back into more drilling.

    "You don't have to be big to do damage my man," he tells Jeremy, as he catches the boy's punches on his focus mitts. "Delivering force aint the same as flexing your muscle. Just because a dude is big doesn't mean he knows how to hit."

    To Jade, he whoops in elation when her hard punches crack against the pads. "Dayum! You're gonna hit like a fuckin truck when I'm done with you."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade slowly improves on her technique with repeated corrections. She does have a fair amount of raw power behind each hit, even without perfect form.

     When David compliments her punch, it makes her cheeks redden and puts a lopsided grin on her face. Jade offers him a slight shrug before she throws another thunderclap of a strike. Once her turn is over, the tomboy lifts her arms flexing them both in a half-self-mocking fashion before taking a seat on the ropes.

     During Jeremy's turn, she listens carefully with a serious expression. "Sorry, you had to go through some shit."

     "I found out about my healing cause a guy snuck in my tent with a knife one night. Thought I was dying at first. There was blood everywhere," she says.

     The ropes creak as she rocks slowly back and forth, looking downward. She shrugs her shoulders in response to the New Mutants program. "I guess."

SpyderByte has posed:
The mechanics come easily enough to Jeremy. He just has no real power, that, or he has a ton of confidence issues which prevents him from putting power in. He is not very quick on his feet, or with his follow throughs, but he at least is able to hold his fists up, move in with his shoulder, swivel his hips, move with his feet. It just looks like a clumsy chicken at times.

<< Mostly when big guys hit me, they know how to hit. >>

There is almost a sad tone to the digital voice from the phone that is strapped to his arm so he won't have to hold it. If rumors have circulated by now, the young Goth has had a rough time. A trip through juvie ended with him being sent to a hospital. There has been other whispers. Darker whispers of what else happened to him during his time.

<< Mister Logan will like you. You two will probably be in the New Mutants program soon enough if you wanted. >>

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    "Yo that's why this is a good idea right here," says David, as he catches Jeremy's jab-cross. "So the next time it happens you can bang back."

    The deadpan way in which Jade explains how she discovered her healing factor makes him wince a little. "What happened to him?" he asks. "You do some ripgut shit with those sharp nails?"

    The workout continues, to the point where all three young people are likely to be covered in a sheen of sweat. But David shows no signs of slowing. The thought of Mister Logan, AKA the one and only Wolverine, liking him is a thought he's sort of relishing, grinning as he turns the possibilities over in his mind. I mean, who better to train with than mister I'm The Best There Is At What I Do, right?

    "What is it?" asks David, when the name New Mutants comes up. "Is it like, legit superhero shit?"

Gecko has posed:
     Jade shrugs as she looks down in thought. "Something like that."

     She wastes no time changing the subject after that. "If only all my problems could be solved as easily as that guy though."

     The tomboy hops down off the ropes and stretches out. If one were to look, her bandages' palms are red with a small bit of blood. Possibly from her claws digging into her hands when she tightens a fist and punches. The girl pulls her sneakers off and stretches her legs.

     "I'm gonna show you a trick," says Jade with a cheeky grin.

     She throws a rapid flat kick against the pad, tugging her foot back as quickly as it hits. First, David might feel an even more surprising amount of power behind that kick, possibly enough to lift him off the ground. Secondly, when the foot pulls back, the pad goes with it like it's glued to her foot.

    

SpyderByte has posed:
Shaking his head, Jeremy explains,

<< No. The New Mutants are hand picked students that are exceptional in areas of powers, leadership, teamwork, academics, or a blend of those skills. We have extra curricular work that we do after classes in the Danger Room in which we train to use our powers together. It's mostly leadership development as well. We work with new students to the school to help them feel accepted, we put together the school activities, but we also work together to better prepare us for the outside world. >>

There is a thin press of Jeremy's lips as he rocks back and forth on his feet.

<< The original New Mutant team was a superhero team. Young X-Men. They went out on adventures and would get into a ton of fun. But .. some of them got hurt really bad. One of them was killed in action. After that, they changed the program to be more of a leadership club. Miss Grey made it very clear that this school will no longer be about creating children soldiers and more about creating good citizens. Sometimes the X-Men will recruit one of us for a lighter mission of sorts. I work with them in regards to data gathering, research, tracking and technology manipulation. But I can do that from my bedroom and I don't have to put a bumblebee on. >>

He pauses.

<< Oh. That's our .. uniforms. All black but with gold boots, gloves and a utility belt. It looks cool with my trenchcoat. But the New Mutants gave me my first friends ever. It gave me a real sense of belonging now, instead of being a scared mouse in my room on my computer >>

As he watches Jade and David mess around, his lips twitch upwards with a small giggle in his throat. << You have sticky feet! That is so cool. >>

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    When Jade's kick hits David's focus mitt, his hand flies back like he just tried to fire a Desert Eagle one handed. He lets out a funny shout of alarm, like a 'Woa!' and is blinking in confusion when he looks at his now empty hand. Did the pad fly off? Well no. It's stuck to her foot.

    "Remind me to roll with you next," he says, with a grin. "Jits combined with that sticky-hands shit you do will be awesome."

    He -was- listening to Jeremy, up to that point, and the distraction might have made him miss a few of the details, but he gets the general gist of what he's saying.

    "Sounds cool to me," he says, nodding. "I mean if they think I should be in it, or whatever."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade grins with rosy cheeks and shrugs. She kicks her leg gently, and the pad flies off it back to David to catch. Her head turns to Jeremy, still smiling. "Yeah, I guess, but so's what you do."

     The tomboy strikes a very recognizable pose, with one hand pointed at her discarded hoodie -- middle and ring finger pulled to her palm.

     Nothing happens.

     A snicker shakes the girl's frame a bit before she jogs over to it. "I fuckin' wish I could do webs like spiderman too."

     The girl rustles her hoodie about as she pulls out her phone and taps at it for a second before sending a message to Jeremy. She stands up with a toothy grin. "There, that's you, bro."



     Jade finishes by crossing her arms like the image and subduing her grin as best she can.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I am a hacker, yes. One of the world's most notorious at one point. I took down multiple government officials for trying to slip anti-mutant laws and bills into policies. I did it all when I was about fourteen, and then the FBI caught me. I was such a newbie with my powers. Now I'm a ghost. Invisible. But they still know my name. Spider Bite. >>

Jeremy flops down on to a bench, giving his fingers a few flexes as he stares down at his hands. He shrugs his shoulders upwards.

<< I think they would want you, David. They do require everyone to have some type of control over their powers first. I know your telepathy is very new and untrained, but you are a great fighter and thus you obviously pass the physical requirements. Our teammate, Indira, is also a fighter. She is a kickboxer and a electrokinetic. She has control of lightning and electricity. She can generate a ton of energy and fry people. Our other teammate, Ted Gammage, is a brick level mutant. Incredible super strength and invulnerability. He can take a semi to the chest at full speed and not even feel it. He's as gentle as a teddy bear, but if he lands a hit, you're going to make the ER very rich. You guys have met Shannon. She is a healer and flier. Trained mostly in recon. She's been in the program for two years now. >>

He ponders for a moment in thought. << Then me. Obviously. Xiomara doesn't know it yet, but Mister Summers is going to offer her a spot on the team. She has deep gang ties, street smarts and rogue like skills. Her power is adaptive shield manipulation. She can absorb kinetic energy and transfer it in the form of a shield to protect herself, or a teammate. She is learning to manage multiple shields at once. She also gave me a really cool tattoo. It's blacklight blended. >>

Toeing the ground with his foot, he gives a bit of a smile.

<< We stopped a bank robbery once when we were out shopping. We were very efficient. No casualties. >>

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David, remembering the condition Shannon was in when they last encountered each other, frowns a little and cants his head to the side curiously. "So if you're not out doing cape shit, like officially, how'd Shannon get hurt?"

    After asking the question, he slips off his other focus mitt and goes over to sit by his gym bag and unwind his wraps. When Jade strikes her pose for Jeremy he laughs, even though he doesn't see the message she sent him.

Gecko has posed:
     When Jade sees David taking off his wraps, the girl drops onto her butt, sitting lotus style. One by one, she lifts her hands to her mouth and gnaws off the wrappings like an animal, occasionally switching to cut them off with her claws then yank them off.

     "That's a pretty awesome resume. I wouldn't be good for shit like that; I can barely take care of myself."

     On the last hand, Jade is flinging her hand about like crazy as her sticky hand sticks to the sticky tape. Eventually, her foot stomps on it, and she yanks the hand away. Which then leaves the strip stuck to her sticky-foot.

     "Oh my god!" huffs Jade in frustration.

     It takes time, but she finally gets it off. With the bloody tape balled up, she tosses it over to David to collect with his. Her palms don't seem to be injured despite the signs of blood.

     The tomboy jogs over and hops onto the ropes near David, bouncing up and down on the bottom one. "How long you been doing this MMA stuff?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Oh. Shannon gets hurt because she just throws herself into danger. She can't help but try to help people. Her powers of healing absorb the victim's injury into her own body. So if someone gets stabbed and she heals them, she takes the stab wound upon herself. She also has as rapid regeneration so the injury won't last as long, but the pain is still there. She has good intentions. >>

Jeremy is sitting on a bench, unwrapping his own hand wraps as he uses his teeth to tug at it, though it's awkward and he isn't having an easy time with it. His voice comes through the phone strapped on his arm as he is a non-verbal communicator.

He gives a small giggle at Jade as she is fumbling about and getting the bands stuck on her foot.

<< Does that happen a lot? >>

Wolverine has posed:
Occasionally at Xavier's, the sound of a jet landing on the tennis courts can be heard. This means that the X-Men are back from one of their missions.

Very very occasionally, the sound of a Harley-Davidson skidding across the tennis courts and crashing into the bushes can be heard. This means that Logan is back from Harry's.

Most of the students who have been around for a while have learned to pay no attention to either noise. It's all part of life's rich tapestry.

Judging by the screams of the JV Volleyball team, and the angry shouts of a gravelly-voiced Canadian, it appears that the latter scenario has occurred.

Visible through the windows of the gym, the wheels of a sideways motorcycle are still spinning though the engine is off. Underneath it, the man that students sometimes ironically refer to as 'Professor Logan' is sprawled out like a soggy piece of roadkill.

But then his eyes pop open, and he awkwardly clambers out from under the bike, and yells at the JV Volleyball team to stop staring at him and go read some books.

He appears to be fine, and the bike is probably salvageable. With each step, he looks more steady and his limp is completely gone by the time he's shambled his way past the windows of the gym, and disappeared near the gym's door.

A loud metallic crack can be heard, as Logan pops his neck back into place, and then the gym door swings open, revealing a short, hairy man with beer breath and flecks of gravel stuck in his forearms.

"You kids here for the Zumba class?"

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David is sort of smirking at the shredded, bloodied hand wraps Jade passed back to him. They're a lost cause, so he just wads them up and stuffs them in the gym bag for now, making a mental note to chuck them later on.

    "Since I was about this big," he says to Jade, holding his palm parallel to the floor at about knee height. "Ever since I could walk I've been puchin and kickin, hehe."

    "Yeah I kinda got that vibe from her when we met," he says to Jeremy, on the topic of Shannon. "She just seems like a big-hearted type, you know? That superpower suits her I think."

    Then a motorcycle crashes loudly nearby, and he wheels around, startled. He hasn't been here long enough to know what the other kids know, so when Wolverine walks through the doors to the gym he's like... Starstruck. "Oh shit it's him!"

Gecko has posed:
     Jade's grin turns self-conscious as Jeremy giggles. The girl laughs a little and nods. "Sometimes, yeah. When I get stressed or frustrated, I have trouble controlling it."

     Her big green eyes turn back to David as she listens to him describe his upbringing. "For me, it was all about drawing. I was so bad at it, and I didn't want to practice fundamentals."

     The tomboy hops off the rope and jogs over to the corner to pick up her sleeveless hoodie and phone, throwing the former back over her body. Black with a gold font that says, 'Bad Boy.' Her gaze shifts to the entrance when a man enters, one that looks familiar, but she doesn't recognize him immediately.

     "Who is it?" she whispers to David.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I know what that is like. Being stressed and frustrated. >>

Which for Jeremy, is all the time. Stressed. Anxious. Like a twitchy dog.

He rakes a hand through the top of his black and red painted hair, blowing some of the strands away. Instead of his usual goth regalia, he's wearing a pair of black joggers and a long sleeved shirt. Something to work out in. When David makes his statement, he glances over at the incoming professor.

<< Hello Professor Logan. >>

He straightens up quickly, even giving him a quick bow forward. He's in the self-defense class. Always bow. Shoes off. Don't make direct eye contact. Never mouth off. Not that he can speak well anyways.

<< We are not here for the Zumba class. I was showing the new students the gym. This is David and Jade. David is one of the top MMA fighters in his age and weight class with a nearly perfect record! I watched some of his fights on the Internet and built quite a detailed analysis of his fighting style including gaps and areas of opportunity if you wish to review it, sir. >>

Sorry David. He just .. he does this.

<< Jade is a self-regenerating mutant with lizard mechanics and natural weaponary. Both are classified as Alpha levels. >>

Sorry, again.

Wolverine has posed:
"Sorry 'm late. Just got the text from Dazzler askin' me to sub for her. Was out, doin' my -BRAAAAAAP!- Crissmis shoppin'."

There are worse ways to humble brag that you've got Dazzler's phone number. Let's just hope that this year's Christmas gift to the student population isn't steak knives again.

Logan looks pretty much recovered already, and his inebriation rarely lasts the entire trip back from Harry's unless he's 'really' serious about it. Looks like he'll have shrugged his hangover off in about... a minute and a half from now.

The door closes behind him, and he makes his way toward the group with the sullen attitude of a substitute teacher who doesn't like kids, teaching, gymnasiums, or group activities.

He's a sweetheart, really.

"Oh."

Looking from one student to the next, Logan sniffs the air as if he's appraising them while sizing them up. The beginnings of a growl start to rumble in the back of his throat, but he pushes this back down along with any residual bile from his beer and crash-induced stomach shakeup.

"Well... shit. Maybe I'm early." He looks a bit confused now, but at least he seems to be done sizing up the new students. He already sized up Jeremy a while ago.

"Any of you kids ever killed a man with yer bare hands?"

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    "It's Wolverine," David whispers back to Jade. "X-Men. Baddest of the bad motherfuckers."

    Jeremy's appraisal doesn't elicit any bad feelings from him, quite the opposite. He looks a little pleased that his classmate went to the trouble of getting the tape on him.

    "I haven't killed anybody, but I've knocked a few dudes out," he says, with a sheepish grin.

Gecko has posed:
     Jade's eyes widen for a brief moment when it finally clicks who the man is from her memory. "Oh shit, okay."

     "Alpha, is that strong?" asks Jade. Jeremy's assessment seems to confuse her. The girl climbs back up onto the boxing ring's ropes, balancing on the bottom rung as she leans over the top one again. Her green eyes flick into reptilian slits for a moment as she appraises Logan in her own way. They quickly return to normal as she chews on her lower lip idly.

     Logan's question only seems to take her by partial surprise as she looks around at Jeremy and David as if searching for a clue if Wolverine's joking.

     When she doesn't seem to find one, she turns her head back to Logan and, in a deadpan voice, says, "Maybe?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Not with my bare hands, but indirectly based upon shifting of political assets and manuevering of targets to gain a tactical upperhand. >>

Jeremy tugs the rest of the wrap free from his hands, then gives his fingers a slow flexing. It's obvious he hasn't killed anyone with his noodle arms. He's the poster child of that werid goth kid that lurches about the school and keeps to himself. Mostly.

To Jade's question, he gives her a smile, then blows his bangs away from his face. Whuff.

<< There are multiple levels of mutants based upon class and power levels. Omega is the highest. The last Omega student to make their way through our school was Josh Foley. He goes by Elixir. He can heal and kill with his bare hands by just touching. He's in college now studying biophysics. He was an X-Man for a brief moment. I got to meet him once. My body used to have a lot of scars on me that was gouged with a knife. He took the scars away with just a touch. Rumor is he can cure cancer, AIDS and maybe replace limbs and potentially bring people back to life if he is ever to hit his peak. From Omega, there is Alpha. Which is where most mutants will find themselves in based upon what type of power levels they have. After that, there is Beta and Delta, which are mutations that do not serve much purpose outside of cosmetic or physical limitations. Such as being born with fur and that's it, or being born with five fingers, or three eyeballs. >>

He pauses for a moment and wrings his hands together.

<< Yes, we are very strong, which is why Xavier's is here to teach us how to be responsible mutants, because some of us can really do terrible things if left unchecked or untrained. >>

Wolverine has posed:
"Hm... guess it's a start. Shame about Foley leavin' though. Coulda used him."

One of Logan's out of control eyebrows arcs, pushing up the lines on his forehead. He doesn't have nearly as many lines as he deserves, but he's got enough. Jade's answer seems to give him pause, but not in a negative way. If anything, it seems to be close the answer that he was hoping for.

"Only askin' 'cause I'm puttin' a little team together. I need the best of the best, but the trouble is that Summers has already recruited the best of the best fer his little Geek Squad."

He pauses, a look of disgust on his face, though it's not exactly obvious what he's disgusted about. Here's hoping he'll provide more exposition.

"Every year, Summers' team wins. 'Cause he always registers early and knows the rules to all the team sports. Meanwhile I get left with the ash and trash, and don't even come in THIRD! But not this year, goddamn it!"

Now the growl's back, and the hair on his forearms and the back of his neck starts to raise as he spits out his challenge between gritted teeth.

"So I need a team of KILLERS! Ones who don't need any UNIFORMS, or... PERTECTIVE EQUIPMENT! 'Cause I ain't got those things and I still ain't registered!"

"Whadda you kids know about... Co-Ed Flag Football?"

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David listens to Logan's proposition carefully, his face calm, stern even, because obviously he's building up to something super serious and important that (duh) he can totally help with.

     Then he lets out a laugh, like 'Co Ed Flag Football' was the last thing he was expecting to hear from The Man himself. "I call receiver," he grins at Logan. "They ain't gonna catch me coach."

    

Gecko has posed:
     Jade's expression is as stern as David's for what feels like forever. Her brows furrow as she tries to predict what Wolverine is about to ask them to do. But when the final words fall out, and she realizes what Logan is actually talking about, she busts out laughing with David. It's too unexpected not to.

     The girl leans down then shoots up into the air. Her body flies out of the ring in a perfectly balanced flip that lands on her feet a few feet from Logan.

     "Hell yeah, I'll play football," says Jade.

     Little claws pinch the edges of her cut-off sleeves and quickly tug in opposite directions, popping her 'Bad Boy' hoodie. Jade's lopsided grin has a few teeth that are a bit sharper than they should be.

SpyderByte has posed:
<< I can be the team manager and coordinate plays based upon everyone's skill-levels. Mister Logan, make sure to get Indira Bhandari on your team. She's an athlete and a kickboxer. She is very tough and also creates a static discharge about her. So .. people get shocked when they touch her. It's a power she can't turn off, so it gives her a tactical advantage on the playing field. She should be our running back. You also may want to recruit Alexander Evans who's mutant power is perfect aim. He also can't turn it off. He has won fifteen dart competitions in two years and is currently on the archery team. He can be the quarterback. >>

The amount of knowledge and insight that he has on the students should be terrifying. He probably has a extremely large color coded database.

<< With David's telepathic ability to instantly predict his opponents actions, he most likely will be able to score multiple touchdowns as long as he is not being covered by Jason Feenix. That would be his direct counter being that his mutant power is muscle memory duplication. The trick would be to line up two wide receivers next to him so that way he will be forced to duplicate one while the other would get the ball first. >>

He slides his phone off his arm and begins to scan through various files with a glance down at the screen.

<< Give me fifteen minutes and I can pick the most optimal lineup based upon what students are left over currently and unclaimed from waviers. >>

Wolverine has posed:
Nodding confidently along with Jeremy's assessment, Logan feels better about this year's chances already. Sure, he doesn't know what Jeremy is talking about, or who some of those kids are, or how to play flag football, even. But he knows how to put the fear of Logan into any players who don't score enough... touchdowns?

"Yeah... that's pretty much what I had planned. Pretty sure it's 3 on 3, so the trick is to get like... some real big fuckers that are good at football. Most of the big kids we got at this school... they ain't so athletic."

Ahem. Glob Herman.

"The MOST important thing though, is we gotta keep this a SECRET! Otherwise Summers'll make his team practice MORE!"

Holding up one of his hands and making a tight fist, Wolverine extends a set of claws with an audible -SNIKT!-. An overreaction, but it gets the point across.

"So... mum's the word."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David's eyebrow shoots up as he gives Jeremy a sidelong glance. It happens when he mentions some kid with muscle memory duplication or something like that. A perfect counter? That's a little freaky. But hey, the good news is he's on our side I guess.

    Not for flag football. Just in general.

    The popping of claws, from both Jade and Logan both, make him grin in a sort-of goofy way and nod his head. "You got it sir. Omerta. Code of silence. I ain't sayin shit to nobody."

    He notices, after making this affirmation, that he still hasn't unwrapped his hands all the way, so he gets to finishing that and generally re-packing his gym bag.