Log: Yvette & Laurie

[x-wallflower-.livejournal.com]

Backdated to April 29th

Laurie finds Yvette writing out her report for Lakshmibai Raj, and the two talk a bit about Yvette's role in the X-men.



Laurie yawned, finger brushing her hair as she wandered into the situation room. She hadn't yet had a chance to write up her report on what had happened, but had decided to take some time off from helping Hank and Amelia in Medlab in order to get it done. It wasn't that she disliked reports, in fact she found paperwork to be soothing in its way, she just had so many other things to do as well.

She noticed Yvette right away and smiled at her former roommate, "Hey there."

"Hello." Yvette looked up from the computer she was working on with a smile, before frowning at her screen again. "Is the report-writing always so hard?" she complained. "I am finding it hard to be saying 'I was owned by a spider-robot-man' in the fancy words."

"I use a thesaurus," Laurie admitted with a grin, sliding into a seat not far from Yvette, but far enough away that the other girl wouldn't feel that she had to be careful. "I need to remember to tell Amanda how well Nico did, she and Fred really kept their heads there, well, except near the end anyhow."

"What happened near the end?" Yvette asked curiously. Fred especially was foremost in her mind - her friend didn't need any more bad things happening to him just yet.

"Fred lost control," Laurie said, frowning as she started to type out her report, she hadn't liked having to use her powers like that, not on someone she knew. She'd had more then enough of that sort of thing a long time ago. "I think I'm going to suggest he work on that particular type of situation in his powers training classes. If he'd kept his temper, I think he and Nico wouldn't even have needed my help at the end. As it was, I had to sedate him to stop him from killing the man."

"Oh." Yvette's eyes dimmed as she realised that yes, Fred had had more bad things happen to him. "It is lucky, then, that you were there, to stop him before he did something he would regret later." Which brought to mind Kevin and his own offensive powers use. "I hope Kevin is all right, also. He saved me, from the spider-man."

"Fred will be okay, Hije. It's better to know how you'll be in a crisis so you can train yourself out of bad habits then to not know at all," Laurie said, noting the change in Yvette's eye tone, using her old nickname almost subconsciously in her attempt to comfort the other girl. "What happened with the spider-man?"

"Something for the New Mutants to be training with, perhaps?" Yvette suggested with a worried smile - Fred had something of a temper and this wasn't the first time he'd let it get the better of him. "As for the spider-man, Callisto and I, we were trying to stop him and his giant friend from destroying the train engine. He and I were fighting on the roof, but he had the electric shocks also and was better trained for the fighting. I almost fell off the train and he came after me, but Kevin saw us and..."

Yvette paused, not sure if she should say it or not. It was going in her report, however, so she probably ought to. "He used his powers on the man's face."

"Has he talked to anyone?" Laurie asked, knowing how Kevin felt about his powers, especially after what had happened with Jono. It must have been like his worst nightmare, what he'd had to do. "And thanks, I'll put the recommendation in the report that Fred's New Mutant work should focus on anger and stress management. I hadn't even thought of it, to be honest."

"Perhaps to Jean-Paul, or maybe to his art counsellor, but this is Kevin. He is not such the open book, yes?" Yvette gave a little sigh. "I feel like I put him in the position - if I had been better at the fighting, Kevin would not have had to save me."

"Maybe," Laurie admitted, giving her former roommate a thoughtful look. "Or it's just as likely you'd have still needed his help. Being able to fight well when you need to is never a bad thing, but sometimes things are completely beyond our control. If you're going to blame someone, I'd blame the people attacking the train, not yourself. You know, you were always pretty good getting me to see reason when I was being stubborn, you might want to talk to him, make sure he talks to someone."

"I will make sure," Yvette replied, although her thought was mostly that she would ask Mr. Beaubier to make sure, since they were in a relationship now and she had no doubt Kevin would listen to him. "And I have asked Mr. Logan to help me with the hand to hand training. If I am to be the good X-Man, I need to be able to protect people, not the other way around, yes?"

"Logan will definitely do that for you, did you ask Garrison as well? He's tough but he won't push you beyond what he thinks you can do."

"I did, but I think he is still recovering from being burned," came the answer. "When Kyle is well enough, I am sure he can help me also."

"I'm sure he will," Laurie replied with a smile, typing in several more notes. "So, are you going to be okay learning to fight hand to hand? You’ve taught yourself to be very careful not to hurt a person, that’s going to be hard to get past.”

"It is, how you say? The nail on the head," Yvette replied with a slight roll of her eyes that wasn't visible beneath the glow. "It is very hard to be teaching myself not to be so careful. Mr. Logan says I do not have the killer instinct, but I want to be able to protect myself and my team and the people we save, so I must be learning one, yes?"

“Logan has a slightly skewed point of view, I don’t know if you should always take everything he says to heart,” Laurie noted, a frown briefly settling across her features before smoothing out into a more genial expression. “Did he say why he thought you had no killer instinct?”

"I hold back, as you said. It is as if I do not want to hurt even those who are trying to hurt me first." Yvette sighed and leaned on her hand, elbow propped on the edge of the desk. "It is very frustrating."

“How do you actually feel when you’re fighting?” Laurie asked, trying to think of how best to help her friend here. She felt that in this particular case simply asking the right questions and listening to the other girl was the best thing she could do. “Both in training, and when you were fighting the spider guy?”

"In training, I am trying not to hurt anyone," Yvette admitted. "It does not feel real, like it is just the game, yes? Only, then I have to be fighting the real people, and I still do not want to hurt anyone. Only they do not listen when I say there is no need to be fighting."

“Well, probably the first thing you need to do is start treating training sessions like they’re life and death, weird as that may sound,” Laurie noted with a wry smile, she’d had much the same problem herself when she first started training. The difference between the Danger Room and real life was pronounced, even with all the technology they had. That had been besides the issues she’d initially had with over-achievement complexes and needing to prove herself to everyone else on the team, something they’d never actually asked her to do. “Otherwise, what role do you see yourself filling in the X-men? What is it you most want to do?”

Yvette blinked. "I have not really thought about it that way. I joined because I wanted to help people - I suppose I have been expecting someone to tell me what it is best that I do." She shrugged a little and looked down at her gloved hands. "After all, there is not so much I can do with my powers but fight hand-to-hand, yes?"

“You know better then that,” Laurie chided her friend, but her tone, and the look in her eyes was kind. “Your powers are useful for fighting, yes. We all learn to fight because of the world out there; we can’t always guarantee that we won’t have to protect people from others or themselves. But powers alone don’t make an X-man, and it’s certainly not everything you are. The trainers can give you pointers, and you’ll probably go through a whole ream of tests, but they tend not to tell people where they fit unless they absolutely have to. It’s better if the person chooses for themselves, and unless you choose something spectacularly badly suited to your skills, they’re happy to have you in a position you feel comfortable in. As to only being able to fight hand-to-hand, I’d say you’re wrong there as well. You just have to start thinking outside the box a little bit, that’s all.”

Leaning back from her usual crouch in the chair, Yvette cocked her head at Laurie. “So, if you had someone with my skills, what would you say I could do? I know there are things I can do that aren’t fighting – that is why I am in Red X. But what about the X-Men?”

“Would you rather be support, or out the front?” Laurie asked, turning around to face Yvette fully. “I know you think you can only be useful for fighting, but think about it a little, what are you happier doing?”

Yvette thought about it, then shrugged. "I do not know? I do not have the medical training that you or Crystal have and I am not good with computers or technology. I can be sneaky and very quiet and I can climb things that are difficult for other people - perhaps I would be good at doing the same sort of things Mr. Sefton does, only without the teleporting?"

"Just what I was thinking," Laurie noted, glad that Yvette's thoughts were close to her own. While she would make an excellent front line fighter if they needed it, Laurie thought she would do much better as a forward scout, someone who could move in smaller, or more covert places then some of the other X-men. "Your work with Logan makes you perfect for being able to move through places silently, and without leaving a lot of trace. Your skin also makes you an excellent canditate for moving in situations that might be toxic for those of us who are squishier. You could probably even learn how to pick locks with those fingers of yours."

"You think so?" Yvette blinked, having not thought of that before. "I did not even think of doing such things." She grinned a little. "Although, it is easier to cut through the lock than to pick it, if I am concentrating."

“Sometimes you want to be able to lock the door again though,” Laurie said with an amused grin. “But that’s basically right, and I’m pretty sure if you asked the others they’d be willing to start training you for something like that along with all the general training we get. You’ll still need to be able to fight, but like I said, it’s only one facet.”

Yvette smiled then, and nodded. "I will. Thank you, Laurie, it is helping a lot."