Forge and Julio, Dodgeball. Sort of.

[x-forge.livejournal.com]

In which Forge hits things at Julio with a cricket bat. For Science.



Julio knew where Forge could be found most days. If it wasn't his room it was the kitchen, and if it wasn't there it was his lab. And if it was his lab, well, good luck getting his attention. The first time Julio had even encountered the inventor, he'd had his headphones up to '11' and was completely oblivious to the outside world. However, it had been recommended to Julio that expand his sources for his continued powers training, and Julio was always exceedingly diligent when it came to his powers studies. So Julio went looking for Forge, and he also came prepared...

Forge, as expected, was in his lab - but instead of headphones, a series of small spheres were orbiting him, each blaring loud music in a constantly whirling cloud of surround sound. His goggles were pushed down over his eyes, and he was alternating between running a handheld blowtorch over a dismembered bionic arm and 'typing' on a holographic keyboard projected by the spheres.

Completely unaware of Julio's presence, Forge's head rocked with the blasting beat of the Euro-metal, utterly engrossed in his work. Luckily, he had put the torch down on the bench when Julio sounded the air horn, the drone blasting out even Forge's high-volume music and sending the inventor jumping into the air like a Tex Avery cartoon.

"Holy mother of all bastards what in the hell was THAT?" he shrieked, clutching at his chest in alarm.

"Greetings," Julio said cheerfully. "I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time?" The younger boy casually slid the airhorn behind his back and grinned.

The orbiting spheres drew in tighter as Forge pushed up his goggles to glare at Julio, before spiraling up into a recessed compartment in the lab's ceiling. Hefting the arm retrieved from one of the Reavers, Forge carefully replaced it in the shatterproof security case before returning his attention to Julio. "Just trying to unravel a technological mystery. There's someone almost as brilliant as I am out there, and I am vexed that I have no idea who he is. Regardless," his expression changed from consternation to curiosity as he clapped his hands and turned dramatically towards Julio, "what can I do for you, mi amigo?"

"Well," Julio said as he popped out the earplugs he'd put in before sounding the airhorn. "It's part of my powers training. It's been suggested to me that you might be able to provide another perspective on ...defensive aspects of my powers?" He pocketed the earplugs and rubbed one of his ears. "You remember how I could use it to see in the dark, yes?"

"How could I forget?" Forge responded wryly. The memory of trekking through the sewers during Day Zero and fighting bio-mechanical zombie things was not on his list of experiences to put in the Happy Fun Time Scrapbook. "Has to do with your sensitivity to seismic vibration, yes? A sort of... tremorsense through stone?"

"More like sonar," Julio said, pointing to his head. "It's like a bat. But, not like a bat. You know? Anyway, I'm getting pretty good at it and it's been gently suggested that I explore more applications of it. I figured, since you were the guy to go to for 'new and exciting applications' I'd give it a shot. Call me paranoid, but I like to cover all my bases when it comes to my powers."

Forge made a noise of acknowledgement, tapping his fingers on the surface of the work bench, which projected a list of scrolling numbers into the air between the two men. "Danger Room's booked for trainee time, but I think I could come up with something. Head out to the back lawn, I'll be there in a few."

"Excellent, I shall see you there," Julio knew, deep down inside that since he was arguably putting himself in a position of vulnerability, that using the airhorn was probably not the best idea. But really, sometimes, he couldn't help himself.

A few minutes later they were out on the back lawn. Julio had removed his sandals and stood barefoot on the grass, his normal stance for training. He had his blindfold in his hands, twisting it as he waited for the young inventor. "All right, what do you got for me, man?"

Forge dumped the contents of the golf bag that he'd towed behind him onto the lawn. The sight was almost like a sporting goods store had vomited onto the grass; a pile of soccer balls, croquet mallets, bocce balls, and various other athletic fixtures made a disorderly pile sprouted on the lawn while Forge grinned madly.

"You know the saying, if you can dodge a ball..." he began.

Julio sighed. "Just so you know, I have my contacts in, and if you hit me in the head and one of them gets lodged in my brain, my girlfriend will kill you. Horribly." He tied on his blindfold. It wasn't strictly necessary anymore, but it kept him from cheating.

"All right. Hit me. Metaphorically speaking."

Forge awkwardly tried to kick a soccer ball between his feet, succeeding only in almost tripping himself up before reaching for what looked like a short, wide oar with a handle. I don't know what this is or why Marius has one but it looks useful, he thought as he wound up and smacked the black-and-white sphere in a low bounce directly at Julio.

Julio's spatial sense had expanded with his constant practice, now, not only could he tell that there was something heading towards him, but it was spherical in shape, and lightweight. Instead of dodging, he jumped up to me it, bouncing it off his chest and then catching it on the top of his foot, sending it back at Forge.

"Okay, that was a gimme. Now let's try something a little faster..." Forge said as he twirled a croquet mallet and lined up one of the fist-sized wooden spheres on the grass. This was a game he was pretty sure he understood, having seen Crystal play it with the other royals often. Simple directed transference of kinetic energy in a nonelastic collision - games based on physics were simple, he'd decided.

Drawing the mallet back, he swung once - totally missing the ball -then recovered himself and swung again, sending the hardwood ball airborne in a low arc at Julio's shins.

That one Julio dodged with almost preternatural grace, wincing as he felt it go by. He could sense it bounce into the grass harmlessly behind him.

"Not bad, not bad..." Forge murmured, spinning a basketball on one finger while he walked over to one of the hard bocce balls. Flipping it up with the flat edge of his prosthetic foot, Forge kicked the bocce ball at Julio, but at the same time silently tossed the basketball into the air in a lazy arc.

Julio hesitated for a split second, and then reached out to catch the basketball. It hit his palms with a hard smack, and then he yelped as he barely dodged the bocce ball. It clipped the side of his ankle, and he dropped the basketball and hopped as he rubbed the knot of bone. He cursed. That was going to bruise.

Forge laughed, leaning on the croquet mallet. "Okay, assault over. There's only so much they'll allow me to abuse my peers in the name of science," he quipped, then cocked his head. "So out of curiosity, how do you do that?" he asked. "Do you have to, like, think about it or is it just passive?"

Julio pulled off his blindfold and blinked at the sudden brightness, rubbing the corner of his eye so as not to mess up his contacts. "I can't think about it too hard, or otherwise I lose it. I just sort have to relax."

Forge made another hmph'ing noise and absently bounced a croquet ball off the end of the mallet repeatedly as he pondered. "Admittedly? Seismology isn't my forté. But if I had to guess, whatever force you emit through the ground to exert your power, you've got some kind of tactile aspect to it. Doesn't seem to be as sensitive through the air, though. You were totally all ninja with stuff on the ground, a bit less so with the basketball."

"It can be, but I have to do this," He held up a hand and send a small, subtle pulse through the air. It gently mussed Forge's hair as it passed by him. "That's the sonar part. Totally passive it had to be on the ground, yes."

"Huh," Forge said, losing his rhythm with the mallet and dropping the croquet ball to the ground. "So it's not like that lame Ben Affleck movie at least. Really, blind ninjas? Weak."

Julio pffted at being compared to Ben Affleck. "Please, I am much cooler than that tool. No, I can't use my powers if I want to use that sense either, remember?" He sent another wave at Forge, this one feeling more like a gentle shove.

Forge stepped back and shook the mallet in response. "Okay, okay. Don't make me kick your ass with Science, Quakey-Boy."

Julio bent and scooped up the bocce ball and tossed it into the air, catching it on return. "All right. You'll think of other ways I can use this?"

"Dude, of course. It's what we're all here for, right?" Forge replied instinctively before realizing that he actually meant the words. Helping other mutants explore their abilities, using his gifts and intelligence in coordination with others...

"Holy crap," he said after a moment. "This must be what Charles feels like all the time."

"You might want to check your shower drain in case you start going bald," Julio drawled.