xp_logs | Genosha - In The Balance: Access (Reply)

The imprisoned X-Men and X-Force members have reached their limit, and even the calmer and more peaceful captives have a breaking point, or perhaps cards up their sleeves.

The exercise yard was quiet, as it normally was. Most people fell into their own respective groups smoking, talking, or playing basketball or cards. There was the occasional mingling, but for the most part people tended to gravitate towards their own. Not just for safety -- for reassurance. Korvus and Jim were one such pair. They sat across from one another at a bench, playing War in the shadow of the Citadel's walls. It was a nice spot, though not as sought-after as it would have been if the mosquitoes didn't share a similar opinion. However, their bruises presented a compelling reason to spend their spare time as stationary as possible. The air smelled of recently-hosed cement, still steaming in the sun.

They had been going for some time when Korvus threw down a nine of clubs. Jim caught the younger man's eye, then flicked his gaze towards the nearest pair of guards before returning. A long moment passed in silence before the two men dropped their eyes.

Then telepath threw down a jack of spades with his good hand, and reached to claim the pair.

In a sudden burst of intense energy, Korvus stood and raked his arm across the table, pushing all the cards off to scatter across the concrete. "You are cheating! I have seen that card in this game already!" He didn't escalate too quickly. He had to make a scene but allow for a response to come before the fight. He didn't have the energy to wrestle for too long.

"You cut the deck," Jim shot back, almost physically aware of the attention turning on them. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught one of the guards beginning to move in their direction -- not yet hurried, but definitely alert to the fact this might quickly change. He leaned forward and gave Korvus a sneer. "And why the hell should you care about winning a game called 'War', anyway? Shouldn't you be playing 'Conscientious Objection'?"

"When your perception of war is 'unilateral invasion based upon minor evidence and perceived self-centered threat,' I understand what may cause that confusion." Korvus retorted, somewhat awkwardly, leaning over the table aggressively as well.

The older man was on his feet now, his hands braced against the table. The impact shot pain through his clumsily-bandaged wrist, and his head pounded with the effort of channeling impulses that would normally have been Jack's. His broken nose throbbed in time with his heartbeat. "If you don't like our foreign policy, then why the fuck did you move to America? For that matter, why the fuck did we risk our lives trying to get you back?"

"If you do not appreciate the philosophy of pacifism then why are we still speaking!?" Korvus fired back with a convincing amount of anger.

The guard was closing now, and Jim felt they couldn't wait any longer. They would just have to hope the timing would work.

Just as the man began to break into a brisk jog Jim took a deep breath, surged across the table, and hit Korvus dead in the chest.

"Guys, no!" Tabitha shouted as she approached the fighting men, putting herself between them and the guard. "You can't do this, you've got to calm down!" She reached out to touch a shoulder, she couldn't tell which one in the fight, she didn't care.

Her efforts were met with a firm shove that knocked her off her feet, and straight into the guard.

The guard stumbled back as the woman hit him, grabbing her behind either shoulder and guiding her aside. "Go sit on the table, don't stand up." He instructed before approaching the pair fighting. He called out loud enough to be heard. "Break it up or get sprayed!"

Korvus was a little too tied up in the show they were putting on, sprawling out over Haller in an attempt to gain the upper hand without resorting to throwing any strikes. He knew the guards would have some fight training and he wanted things to look realistic.

"All right all right!" Jim hurled Korvus off him; an effort, since the boy actually outweighed him, and there was only a limited amount he could do to gentle the motion. Hopefully it was fast enough their injuries weren't going to be compounded by pepper spray. He scrabbled back, raising his hands the instant he was a respectable distance from the student to show the guard he was done.

"I got it, I got it," he panted, and not for the guards' benefit, "I was just tired of his bullshit, all right?"

The young Indian man rolled to his stomach, putting both hands behind his head. He went out of his way to show his compliance as both the men were handcuffed by the officers responding and then led out of the courtyard.

Marie-Ange had sprung up quickly to rush to Tabitha's side, ignoring the blond woman's protests that she was fine, and looking her over for scrapes. "They will not treat them if they get worse, stay still and let me help!" She brushed away gravel from one scrape with her sleeve and fussed over it. "You should clean this when they take us back to the cells, I cannot get the rest of the dirt out without water."

Tabitha ignore the scrapes and just stared after the two men. "I'm fine, it's okay," she said, attempting to brush away Marie-Ange's hands. "I'm just going to go." She did accept a hand to her feet, but wandered off immediately after.

Marie-Ange tutted, and shook her head, and then brushed herself off before sitting down carefully at one of the benches far away from the guards. They'd only glanced at her before returning their attentions to the men who had been fighting. They didn't even see the keycard that Tabitha had palmed and slid to Marie-Ange while the red-head had been brushing gravel off the blonde's hands, nor did they see the keycard disappear into the depths of Marie-Ange's prison jumpsuit.