Megan and Laurie: Powers Training

[x-welshpixie.livejournal.com]

Laurie looked at her watch as she knocked on Megan Gwynn's door, she'd
promised the teachers she would help with the girl's training,
considering her abilities were the closest thing they had to similar
powers and what had worked for her, should work for Megan

Gwen, it's Laurie, I was asked to help you with some powers
training."

Megan bounded up to her door and yanked it open, both excited
and nervous about the day's training ahead.

"Hi Laurie!" she greeted the X-men Trainee. Megan wasn't sure if
they were going to be indoors or outside, so she had an extra jacket
with her. She hoped she wasn't going to totally embarrass herself, but
that's why she was getting training with her pixie dust, right?

"Glad you brought your jacket, it's a bit nippy out there,"
Laurie said, gesturing for Megan to go ahead of her. "We'll be training
out on the back lawn today. Don't get too excited though, as you've got
to learn a few things before you go throwing your powers around."

"Okay," said Megan, slowing to a reasonable walking pace so she
could talk and walk at the same time. The school seemed very quiet this
gray, Sunday morning. The back lawn would probably be deserted.
"Will I need an air cleaning filter?" she asked, remembering her
conversation earlier in the year with Yvette.

"I suppose it depends on how comfortable you feel with your
powers," Laurie replied, looking over at Megan as they walked. "I used
one when I first came here because I couldn't turn my powers off till I
learned more control. Do you think you'll be in danger of not being able
to turn them off?"

"Hmmm... Well, I can't say that I'm totally comfortable with my
powers, but they're not totally dangerous either." She paused and
thought for a minute, as she was so often apt to do. "I'll admit, I'm
embarrassed whenever I accidentally use my dust. It makes people
hallucinate and it's way too hard to explain to non-mutants why
everyone's face suddenly looks all melty like a Picasso painting."


"I'd say that's a pretty standard reaction," Laurie replied with a
wry smile, thinking back on some of her early issues with control. "No
one likes having things be completely out of their control. They key is
practice, which you're getting now, and to not panic if things do
happen. We can talk to Dr McCoy if you really feel that you need one
however. "

They'd reached the part of the yard that Laurie had decided would be
their training ground for the day. She pointed to one of the yoga mats
she'd already laid out previously in the day.

"I'm going to teach you some meditation techniques to start with,
and then we'll move onto you trying to keep a hold on things in a
stressful situation. After that we can work on conscious control of your
abilities. I admit that last part is usually the most fun, but I'll try
to make the other ones not entirely boring"

Megan approached the yoga mat curiously and sat down. She had no
previous experience with meditation, and was intrigued. "I don't know
how to meditate," she admitted, looking up to the gray, cloudy sky.
There were little patches of sky poking through. "Do you really empty
your mind of all thoughts?"

"Not really, at least, I've never been able to," Laurie admitted,
settling herself into a seated position, but not yet the traditional
lotus. "Mostly you just try to focus in on one thing, or a place that
makes you feel calm. I'll talk you through it the first time."

"Okay," said Megan, feeling more relaxed now. Focus on one thing.
She could do that, right? "We had this big tree in our yard, before a
storm wrecked it. My dad built me and my sister a tire swing in it.
After she got too big to play on it, I would just hang out on it by
myself, after school. I'd just sit on it, and swing really slow, and
just forget about everything that was going wrong."

"That's perfect," Laurie noted, placing her hands palm up on her knees
as she gazed steadily at Megan. "Now, close your eyes, and imagine
yourself at that tree. Can you see the tire swing?"

Megan closed her eyes and pictured the tree. It was tall and straight,
not good for climbing. A tire, warped into a vertically elongated shape
from years of use, hung from a thick yellow rope. "I can see it."

"Good, that's very good," Laurie murmured, keeping her tone modulated
and soft as she led Megan through her first meditation exercise. "Now,
think about how it feels under your hands, about the sort of day it is.
Can you feel the sunlight, or is it cold there?"

"It's warm. The swing is pretty hot. It's... summer. It feels like school is
going to be out soon. It's like... nothing can go wrong now."

"Now, hold onto that feeling, and open your eyes," Laurie said softly, smiling as she watched the younger girl.

If they could keep her in that moment while she used her powers, then she would find control much easier. Laurie had learnt over time, trial and error that it was calmness that allowed her a greater range of choices with her own powers. She very much hoped that Megan would find the same was true of hers.

Megan slowly opened her eyes, feeling the warmth of the remembered summer day and the glowing feeling the memory had captured.
"That was cool. I feel... collected," she said softly, trying to hang onto the good feeling.

"Good, it's working how it's supposed to then," Laurie said, giving Megan an encouraging smile. "Now, are there any questions you have? I'll take you over the meditation for a day or so, and then we'll talk to Hank or one of the others about getting you some time in the Danger room to start developing your dust powers. Otherwise, we'll continue with the meditation for today till you feel you've had enough."

"Hmmm.... I can't think of any questions right now. I thought it was going to be a lot harder," said Megan happily. It was a lot easier to focus on something calming than trying to focus on nothing at all. "Okay, I'm ready for more. And I can't wait to try out the Danger room."

"I'll talk to Dr. McCoy today then, and we'll see about getting a spot in the Danger room for you," Laurie noted, relaxing herself into her mediative position. "Alright then, close your eyes, and we'll continue."

Megan smiled, then relaxed her face muscles and settled back into the meditation.