Lil and Inez

[x-diamondlil.livejournal.com]

Lil and Inez meet in the gym and form the Blonde Bruiser Brigade.


Inez's ponytail bounced as she completed another lap of the gym, barely breaking her stride to swing a right hook at one of the speed bags on the wall, making the leather bag bounce and twist with the force as she kept running. It was almost fun for her, in a way. Sure, she could bench-press a quarter-ton without much effort or go out to the quarry and crush rocks, but something as simple as running laps felt normal. No superhuman advantage, just whatever natural endurance she possessed.

And, as she'd been told, it was a far sight better than destroying the weight equipment when she got frustrated.

"Isn't it frustrating running around in circles and never getting anywhere?" Lil called out across the room as she dropped her bag. She never understood the joy in that; the treadmill was acceptable as she had a vendetta against all machines but any real running she did was outside where at least the scenery changed. But hey, if they girl wanted to make herself dizzy... Smirking, the Canadian cracked her knuckles then neck before checking out the weights though she kept her ears open for any response she might get.

Inez perked up at the new voice and nearly fell off her stride when she saw the taller woman across the gym. "You mean, like, literally or did we pick up a six and a half foot tall philosophy teacher while I wasn't paying attention?" she asked as she trotted over to Lil and grabbed a towel from the rack. Brushing sweat from her face, she gave a shrug in response to her own rhetorical question. "Either way, it's something to do, y'know?"

"Literally. I ain't good at philosophy - or teaching," Lil answered, her smile going wider. "'Something to do' is watching a movie. Running around in a circle is training for a circus or something." Regarding the girl closer as she approached, the taller woman stuck out her hand. "Don't think we've met yet. I'm Lil."

"Inez," the younger girl replied, giving a quick handshake. "So if you're not teaching here... lemme guess, a career in black leather and butt kicking?" she surmised with an impish grin.

Lil's ponytail did its own bouncing when she nodded. "Yup. Until I head back up home, at least. Sorta a butt kicking exchange student. Though the black leather's nearly enough to keep me here; Alpha's sub par in the costume category."

"Alpha? Oh! Garrison's thing!" Inez perked right up at the recognition. "Yeah, he mentioned it once or twice. I mean, before his whole Being Dead phase and whatever Finding His Inner Child vision quest he's on now or something. So you're kind of, what, filling out our Canadian quota?"

She snorted at that. 'Garrison's thing?' Heather would have a heat attack. "Something like that. Needed extra training to make the program," Lil clarified, "and they didn't have what I needed so I got sent here. And Gar needed the time home otherwise his sister woulda put him in the ground and made him stay there," she added with a smirk of her own.

Inez shrugged noncommittally. Until she was sure Garrison was going to return, there wasn't any point in doting too much on the lunkhead. "So you're what, like him? All 'lookit me, I'm all super Olympic athlete' type? What's Forge call us? 'Bricks'?"

"Bricks?" Lil repeated with a laugh. "Never heard that one but I like it. Not an Olympic athlete, though; sports aren't my thing." Coordination on a field was something the Amazon still lacked in large quantities. "But yeah, kinda like him. A brick. Or diamond, really."

The thought of having someone invulnerable around made Inez immediately think of her training with Marko. "Cool!" she squeaked out. "Total powers envy here, y'know. Because I totally got gypped there, I think. All the grr argh deadlift a Buick strong, but not so much with the whole bulletproof thing."

"Bulletproof. Laserproof. Fireproof. The whole list of them," she replied, still smiling. "Pretty strong, too, but I can't lift a Buick. Can smash through walls pretty well though but that's not the kinda training I'm talking about. More like team building exercises and the likes." Attitude adjustments and learning to play well with others didn't sound as nice as 'team building exercises.'

"Oh my god, totally welcome to my world," Inez drawled. It didn't sound all that different than the Red-X and New Mutants training. Learn to work with others, be a team, and all the other Hallmark card stuff that they were being taught. Unusually for Inez, she found herself liking Lil right off the bat, so many similarities couldn't be a coincidence.

"Hey, do you know how to fight? Like, is that something they taught you in Alpha whatever?" she asked spontaneously. "Because before he left, Marko - he was this big guy who was like super strong and couldn't be hurt either - was working with me for training and I never had to worry about hurting him, y'know? So I was kind of just wondering, well, the self-defense stuff's fine for the folks like Tat who don't have useful powers, but I just... you ever feel like you can do a lot more than people let you?"

"Beta was the training and yeah, I know how to fight. Uh, Logan - you know him? He trained me for a few years. I had the honor of being his personal punching bag in class. Lemme check with Scott to make sure it's okay but yeah, I'd be up for grappling sometimes. I'm not really a teacher or anything though." Lil had never had a student before and honestly should still be taking lessons herself but if it was okay with Scott... the taller blonde didn't want to do anything that could get either in them in trouble.

"Heard of him," Inez responded, rocking back on her heels and then bending down to press her palms to the floor, stretching. "And I ain't looking to be some black belt or nothing. Just sometimes you've got to cut loose, know what I'm sayin'?"

"Oh tell me about it," Lil agreed with a roll of her eyes. "Finding a partner's tough, too when you're a brick. You got one though if Scott says it's all good - can't get myself shipped back home 'cause I broke a kid without permission," she teased, sizing up the blonde in front of her.

Inez just smirked in response. "Might have to make you eat those words," she teased, stretching her legs and jogging in place. "Let me know what Old Man Summers says, yeah?"

Lil couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, kid, I like you. Not often I find a mini-me running around; kinda frightening even if you're not that mini." She chuckled again then nodded. "I will most definitely let you know what he says."