9696/Practice makes Perfect (or Pear-shaped) in the Danger Room

Practice makes Perfect (or Pear-shaped) in the Danger Room
Date of Scene:	21 October 2019
Location:	Danger Room - X-Men Base
Synopsis:	Shannon and Triage win a bet that Jubilee and Kurt placed.
Cast of Characters:	Triage, Jubilee, Nightingale, Beast

---

Triage has posed:
Chris waits outside for the enormous doors to the Danger Room to open. He wears a typical casual ensemble of tennis shoes with good traction, sturdy jeans with reinforce knees, a dark sweat shirt with the logo of a local jazz club printed on it, and his usual sunglasses perching over his eyebrows for quick deployment outdoors. He idly shifts a new quarterstaff, testing its balance.

Jubilee has posed:
The doors swish open to reveal Jubilee and Piotr in the Danger Room. The fire cracker is dressed in a pair of black leggings and a snug black workout shirt that clings to her athletic frame. The Chinese American woman has already worked up a sweat, and that is due to the multiple balancing beams and tumble bars, rather than the hunky Russian who has joined her.

"Hey, Chris! Nice seeing you. Shannon on her way too?" She asks as she plops down on to a mat, then leans forward to grab one of her feet as she stretches out.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon isn't too far behind Chris, dressed casually instead of in her 'bumblebees'. No, she's just opted for straight-legged light blue jeans, her worn, white sneakers, and a plain white t-shirt. However, given where she was headed, she's opted to pin her long, pale gold hair up in a bun at the back of her head, keeping it out of the way. The quarterstaff gets a raised eyebrow from her, and she stops in her tracks, holding up her hands with a quirky smile on her face. "Away put your weapons, I mean you no harm!"

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy was going to train himself a bit, but seeing that the room is in use, he first ducks into the control room to watch and see what's going on. His own hidden stash of Twinkies is broken into for a snack as he catches up.

Triage has posed:
Chris turns and grins when he sees Jubilee. "This is better than the gym, and Shannon here should flex her wings a bit to be sure that everything is in good order after recent events." He catches a glimpse of Hank going into the control room, and waves.

Jubilee has posed:
Since it seems her hunky Russian boyfriend is going to quietly trickle out of the DR, Jubilee lobs a towel in his direction. Then, to the two new faces, she gives them a smile. "Cool. Glad to see you both. Hey, Shannon, I got a bet going on with Kurt about you. He thinks you can do a hundred pushups in a row without an issue, I said no way because you got noodle arms. I got twenty bucks and a case of beer on this. No cheating, wings tucked against your back. I wanna see how many you hit." She says with a grin on her face. "Whatcha looking to work on, Chris? I see you got a stick with you."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon bursts out laughing, and just shakes her head. "Tie the wings if you have to, but the bamf-meister is going to win that bet." Indeed, it's pretty safe to say that, while she isn't exactly ripped, she hasn't got noodle arms, either. "It's a matter of pride now, Chris. I've gotta try. Besides," she adds, chortling. "I could do with the exercise anyways. Don't worry, I'll think of something to call in on my end when I win."

Game on.

Shannon takes to the floor to start in on the push-ups. Full-on pushups, no sissy kneeling ones, keeping her wings tucked in tightly.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy sees that it's apparently not combat, but just ordinary exercises, and so he saunters on down and in. Taking the last bite of Twinkie butt as he steps in, he smiles. "Good afternoon. Watch her knees." he says, winking at Jubilee. "Good motivation there."

Triage has posed:
Triage grins when Shannon immediately accepts the challenge. He looks up to the control room and requests, "Can we get video as evidence, so that he won't challenge the victory?" he asks. Then he looks at the weapon. "It's a new quarterstaff. Occasionally, they do break or wear in other ways. I should learn some other weapons, perhaps even a non-lethal ranged weapon, so that I'll be more useful at things like the disruption at the coronation." He glances back to Shannon and then adds, "Since I can't fly ..." He twirls the quarterstaff.

Jubilee has posed:
"I'm the one who thinks she can't hit a hundred. Kurt is the one bragging that she can. If she hits a hundred, I'll take you guys out to ice cream." Jubilee says as she gives another long stretch of her body, then lip wibbles as she watches Hank eat the last of the twinkie. "Haaaanky paaaanky.. don't have one for me?" She needs a sugar high. As Shannon starts to get into it, she looks impressed as her brows lift upwards. "Aw, hell. Kurt likes that expensive German crap too." She says in regards to the beer.

Nightingale has posed:
     15... 16... 17... the count continues to go up as Shannon keeps at the push-ups. It was a matter of pride now! "Ice cream it is, and I'd start planning on it!" Good. After recent events, she needed to burn off some serious anger. Damn it all, she was not going to let the blue elf down, no way and no how!

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy chuckles as he takes a running start, and does a roll into standing back up. "Sorry Jub, they're upstairs. We'll grab you one after this session." He looks to Triage. "Quarterstaff can be lethal if you're not careful, of course."

Triage has posed:
Triage nods and positions himself above Shannon's head. He sets aside the quarterstaff, kneels, and joins her in counting with occasional encouragements. "18 ... 19 ... good job ... 20 ... 21 ... You can do it! ..." He claps his hands to provide a rhythm. "It can," he answers Hank. "When I was here a couple of years ago, I had decent training in martial arts, both with and without weapons. The courses on biology and anatomy help you to learn where you can hit safely without lethality. I'm up to a brown belt and I plan to push further with that, too."

Jubilee has posed:
"Hey stick boy, you just gonna watch her do it or are you gonna hop down there and gimmie a hundred?" Jubilee calls over to Chris with a grin on her face. "I got double scoops that she can beat you." She is enjoying herself far too much. As Hank goes about bouncing around, she goes 'pew' and fires off a sparkler in his direction to give 'him' a bit of motivation to move it or have a scorched butt. "Afterwards, maybe the two of you want to do some sparring with me. A little bit of two on one against an X-Man." She says with a lift of her brows upwards.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Hey, last I checked, we're all on the same team here!" 25... 26... 27... the count goes on and on, with the mansion's resident winged healer not showing any signs of stopping or slowing down in her quest for that ice cream! Some things were worth a little suffering, and that was one of them. She chuckles, grinning at Chris. "You can't do it! Ha!" The game was afoot!

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy laughs and does another leap, grabbing onto a high pole to do a crude swing, brute forcing the physics. "We're on the same side, but we're not all on the same team. Technically."

Triage has posed:
Chris grins. With Shannon nearing 30, he leaves his staff, sheds his sweatshirt to reveal a sky-blue tee-shirt, and drops prone onto another mat. "Don't offer ice cream unless you can buy the store!" he calls to Jubilee. Accepting the wager. with his hands in position, His legs go rigid and he begins to pump rapidly, pushing himself quickly and repeatedly to form neat triangles.

Jubilee has posed:
"Oh, I can buy the store. I'll just use Summer's corporate card and say it's for supplies." Jubilee says as she tips a wink to Hank. He knows. HE KNOWS. She has done things she is both ashamed and proud of in regards to corporate cards and 'supplies'. The swimming pool full of chocolate is no urban legend.

As she tracks Hank moving through the poles, she continues to send one blast after the other as the colorful plasmoids pop and crackle around him. "Good job, Shannon! Keep it up. Feel free to give up at ninety-nine so I can win this bet and I'll /hook you up/. Three scoops, maybe even four if you pretend to be in pain and you tug at my heart strings a bit."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just laughs and keeps on with the push-ups. While there is a little bit of sweat starting to bead on her forehead, she's not slowing down or giving up. "Kiss my wing feathers, Jubilee! I'm not stopping till you have to buy out the whole store!" Yeah, right! Let someone 'throw' the bet? Oh, it wasn't just a matter of pride, but now also one of honor! 40... 41... 42... yes, that magic, number. 42. 43, 44....

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy doesn't have any sort of gymnastics landing when he comes back off of the poll mid-swing, but instead odes another roll and hops onto his feet. "Shannon! Where did that come from?" he says of her comment to Jubilee.

Triage has posed:
Chris is behind Shannon on count but closing quickly, muscles throughout his arms and shoulders pumping and hands spread like claws on the mat. "39 ... 40 ... 41 ... 42 ... And thanks for all the fish!" he counts. "43 ... 44 ... 45 ... 46 ... 47 ... 48 ... 49 ... 50 ... Halfway up the mountain! I can see the ice-creamy summit! ... 51 ... 52 ..." His tee-shirt is slightly darker in the middle back and a bead or two trickles down his upper arm, but he continues. "When we win, we should invite the school for a party!" he offers.

Jubilee has posed:
"Kiss your wing feathers? What is that? The adorable Care Bear Christian version of talking shit? Girl, give it to me. Dig deep! Tell me to suck on a plasmoid!" Jubilee says as her hands crackle to life, creating a ruckus of explosions about her in colorful blasts. Maybe she can distract one of them and throw off their groove! "Wooooah, oh! You're haaaalf waaaay there! Wooooah-oh! You don't got a prayer!" She sings out teasingly to them. Despite her laughable attempt at being a drill sergeant, she really is impressed by the pair's effort.

Nightingale has posed:
     Okay, now it was time to dig deep. Instead of trash talking, she takes her inspiration from the sparklers bursting in cascades of colors and twinkling lights above the mats, and... is that actually singing? She's using the tempo of the music to pace herself, and ensure she has the best possible chance of meeting the challenge!

"So tell me, do you wanna go?
Where it's covered in all the colored lights
Where the runaways are runnin' the night
Impossible comes true, it's takin' over you...."

     60, 61, 62, 63... she might not finish first, but she was going to finish!

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy takes a deep breath and swigns his arms to and fro to stay loosened. Coming up beside Shannon, he chuckles. "Not the song I'd use. Keep those knees up."

Triage has posed:
Where Jubilee uses the song to taunt, Chris turns into encouragement for himself and for Shannon. "Oh! We're halffway there! Oh-oh! We're livin' on a prayer! Take my hand, baby, we're over halfway there! Oh-oh! Livin' on a prayer!" His arms continue to pump, muscles flexing madly and his breathing in pace with the rhythm, inhaling at the peaks and exhaling at the troughs. "69 and doin' fine! 70 ... 71 ... 72 ..." Then he calls to Shannon, "Let's win it for the kids!"

Jubilee has posed:
"Hey now, I didn't say I was doing anything for the kids. I'm just buying you guys ice cream." Jubilee laughs as she watches them both sing to keep their motivation up. Leaning in to whisper to Hank, she says, "Spoiler alert, I was gonna buy them ice cream anyways." She tips a wink to him. "Okay, after they finish, which they clearly are gonna do, what's next? I don't want to beat their arms up too much. They'll need them for mid-terms. You know, in case anyone forgot that we're actually still a school here."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Better bust out that corporate card, 'cause you're gonna need it for all the ice cream!" Oh yes, Shannon was starting to feel it, evidenced by the sheen on her face, and the droplets trickling down her face to drip onto the mat below. She keeps humming the song, the beat enough to keep her on track. 80... 81... 82... 83...

     "Knees up, and what song -would- you use?" She's definitely got more color in her face now, the fitness challenge more than enough to get the blood flowing.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy looks to Jub and chuckles, before walking between Shannon and Trigage. "4 and 5 and 6 and 7..." he starts counting off, trying to give both of them a cadence. "Lock those knees, make sure to get those elbows bent. We're talking real pushups. Keep it going."

Triage has posed:
Chris grins, welcoming the incentive of Hank watching them. "88 ... 89 ... 90! Ten more to go!" he calls, feeling the burn, his tee now heavier with sweat, arms and forehead glistening more than it does when he is healing critical wounds. He closes his eyes and concentrates on the rhythm and motion. "How about 'We are the Champions' Shannon?" he asks, breathing hard. "94 ... 95 ... 96 ... 97 ... 98 ... 99 ..." With a final surge, he lofts his rigid body. "100!" He holds his position for a moment and then slowly, eases to the mat. He whistles and turns his head to look at Shannon.

Jubilee has posed:
Folding her arms over her chest, Jubilee watches them with a wide grin on her face. "Good job, Chris! Way to show those underclassmen how it's done. COME ON SHANNON! DON'T YOU $@#$@! QUIT ON ME." She shouts down towards the girl, clapping her hands in time with each one that she completes. "You got this! DO IT FOR THE ICE CREAM!"

Nightingale has posed:
     98... 99.. 100! Okay, so maybe she didn't finish first, but Shannon sure did finish! Her descent to the mat, however, is a little less graceful than Chris', and she faceplants. "Urgh... IT WAS WORTH IT!" She's sprawled out in a very undignified position, immortalized in the digital records of the danger room in all her sweaty, shaking sprawlage. But it didn't matter. She'd done it!

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy claps his large hands exaggeratedly, and snickers. "Well done. Amazing what some motivation will do. Now we expect both of you to train at this level every time, going forward. We know what you're capable of."

Triage has posed:
Chris rises to hands and knees, and then hops to his feet and grins at Hank. "Thanks for the motivation. It's always good to hear instructors' praise." he says. He heads for the rack of towels by the door to the danger room, and grabs two, one for himself and one for Shannon. He returns to her mat and kneels beside her. "I think that we have another challenge, Shannon, but for the long term. That definitely wasn't light duty. How do you feel?" He offers the towel.

Jubilee has posed:
"Oh, I'm making that one a meme. Gonna call it 'bug that hits the window too hard'." Jubilee says as she takes her phone out to snap a pic of Shannon in that position, then taps along the glass as she chuckles to herself. "You guys freaking killed it, and now I'm gonna use Hank's credit card to buy Kurt expensive German beer and buy you guys a shit ton of ice cream. So, after dinner tonight, you all get hooked up with the sweet flavors of Rocky Road, Triple Fudge and whatever else I can throw into a shopping cart." She says as she starts for the doors, snagging a towel and flipping it over her shoulders. "I'll catch you guys later! Parkour class this Saturday at nine by the way!"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon flashes Jubilee the universal salute, from her sprawled-out position--but she's laughing. "Great. My life as a meme. Get sent off to school, become a meme. Nice, Jubilee, nice." She giggles and just stays there catching her breath. "Ohhh yeah, ice cream par-tay tonight! Woot!"

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy laughs. "Yeah, you're done. Both of you. Hit the showers. And go eat something and drink a lot of water. Take care of yourselves, kids."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon pushes herself up to sitting, and wipes the sweat off her forehead. "Hydration. Right. Good idea." She gets to her feet, taking a moment to catch her breath, and... phew! Yeah, definitely time to hit the showers. "Ugh. Yeah, I'm heading back to my dorm and washing up. See you later, then?"

Triage has posed:
Chris pats Shannon's shoulder. "We've earned the showers and that ice cream whenever Jubilee is ready to pay." Then he offers, "I'll meet you in the kitchen for mac' and cheese, hamburgers with the works, an after that, root beer floats. My treat." He grins.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon wrinkles her nose and laughs, plucking at Chris' hand and moving it off of her shoulder. "Ugh, I reek. Need that shower, like... NOW." She heads for the door, shaking her head. "You know, we're going to undo all the good this training did, with all that junk food...."

Triage has posed:
Chris allows Shannon to remove his hand, and sniffs. "Hey! We earned that reek," he teases. "As for the treats, it only means more training later. You should be able to run now that you're back to normal duty. And you can fly again." He nods. "I'll see you soon."