xp_logs | Pietro and Crystal - Run Like the Wind

Pietro finds Crystal to suggest a powers related idea. Unfortunately for Pietro, Crystal is still not happy about the way he and the other X-Men returned on Saturday evening, and she's not immediately sold on his idea.

Super-speed was good for many things, and one of them was tracking people down very quickly without having to bother asking anyone for help. Pietro found Crystal in the library after what was even by his standards a short time searching. He settled into the chair across from her. "Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked, a mischievous smile on his face. "I've just had an idea, and perhaps if it works we could celebrate over dinner."

"I hope that it does not involve nearly getting torn into miniscule, unrecognizable pieces," Crystal said, not looking up from her textbook. "I hear that being involved in explosions is considered a normal way for X-Men to spend their time. In the same way, it is common for mansion residents to somehow vanish mysteriously without anyone knowing where they are."

"No pieces, recognizable or otherwise. I said--" Pietro broke off abruptly. "No, I didn't say I was sorry for worrying you, did I? Blast. I did mean to say it, and I am sorry. I wish I could say it won't happen again, but you're right about the quantity of explosions."

"Worried? Did I say that I was worried?" Crystal pretended to be engrossed in what she was reading. "Why should I have been worried? You are Pietro Maximoff; you can outrace explosions. Oh, wait." Her head didn't move, but her eyes darted up to look into his. "You. Were. On. A. Plane. Explosions on the ground, fine... but did it have to be while you were on a plane?"

"Well," Pietro replied a little lamely, "the plane was where we happened to be when they started shooting at us, and we couldn't really message on ahead and ask them to wait. I'm no happier about it than you are--it's much trickier to move the shrapnel out of the way in a tight space like that." He offered her a hopeful smile. "Forgive me? I'll try very hard to be properly on the ground before the explosions start next time."

"I shall do my best to be kidnapped for less than a day when that happens, then," Crystal informed Pietro, "and this will be without being brainwashed or possessed." She smiled slightly and closed her book. "What is this idea of yours?"

"Ah." Pietro brightened. "Well, it's another possibly beneficial way our powers could interact. You see, usually when I carry a passenger, I have to be very careful how quickly I accelerate, and where I top out. Accelerate too quickly and the g-forces knock my passenger out; go too fast, and the wind makes breathing difficult, rips clothing, there's debris problems, all manner of complication. But," he continued, raising a finger for emphasis, "the passengers I'm usually stuck with can't control the wind, and you can. I'd still have to watch my acceleration, but I think you ought to be able to push most of the wind away. I could run faster without risking harm to you. Sound workable?"

Complications... debris... difficulty in breathing... knocked out... He thought? She ought to be? Most? Forget Nathan traipsing around the mansion in dark clothes while wielding a sharp object capable of emitting psi-bolts... Pietro wanted her to what?!

"I, ah... how fast are you talking about?" Crystal asked. "On my own, I have never flown faster than 185 kilometers per hour." Maybe she could fly faster than that, but there had never really been a reason to try.

"Really." Pietro's eyebrows went up. "Well, that's better than I thought. Still, I think we could probably improve on those numbers .. ." His voice turned reproachful. "Really, Crystal, you ought to know by now that I won't willingly put you in danger. Myself, yes, perhaps, when I have to, but not you. If we do this, and I see you're in the slightest distress, I'll slow down. Carefully."

"I know that you would never want to hurt me. I trust you." Crystal noted that he hadn't answered her question but let it go. "All right then; I will go change into something a bit more appropriate for high-speed travel and we can meet outside in about ten minutes?"

"Sounds perfect." Pietro smiled. "I'm glad you're willing to try the experiment--I have high hopes for it."

* * * * * * * *

Crystal showed up wearing a pair of designer jeans and a shirt that was nice but covered more than the one she had been wearing earlier. She didn't really have any clothes that weren't designer clothes. "Unlike the people you carried in Kansas City, not to mention some of the residents here, I am not smelly, drunk, crazy, or suffering from exposure," she told Pietro with just a hint of a smile.

Pietro smiled back. "And also unlike the people I carried in Kansas City, you won't be riding piggyback. It's undignified, not to mention uncomfortable." He paused. "If this works, I was thinking we might go to this little restaurant I know in rural Ohio. This very nice Bulgarian Roma immigrant couple runs it, and the food's very nearly as good as my mother's cooking was."

What if it does not work? Crystal had to wonder, but she didn't want to voice her thoughts. "You want to run... while carrying me... all the way to Ohio? I know that running such a distance is nothing to you... well, at the very least, this will be interesting to try, and the restaurant sounds very nice."

"It's a little slice of home, in a lot of ways. I don't eat there nearly as often as I'd like--it's still something of a reflex not to establish a predictable schedule or pattern of behavior, I'm afraid." His forehead wrinkled. "Are you truly all right with this? You seem a little concerned, still, and I don't . . . I thought this might be fun."

Crystal nodded. "Yes, I am fine. I apologize, I am acting in a rather silly manner. You have carried people before; this is not something new for you, and I know you would not have suggested it if you thought it would possibly harm me."

"It's also entirely possible that I'm rushing you because I'm generally impatient and I am used to this," Pietro chided her gently. "If you need me to slow down and explain myself better, you should tell me, or I might not notice."

Was he attempting to reassure her or send her into a panic? Crystal simply nodded. "Ok."

"Would you like to take a couple of laps around the grounds to test the theory before we set off cross-country?" Pietro ventured. "I would like to find out how fast we can comfortably go, eventually, but I don't want to just charge off at full speed right from the off--the important thing is that you're comfortable."

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea," Crystal agreed. This way, they would know if Pietro's latest experiment would work before they ended up in Pennsylvania. That would be more than a quick flight back for her.

"All right then." Pietro relaxed slightly, and a half-smile drifted across his face. "Now, would you prefer I picked you up, or you float over?"