xp_logs | Korvus and Scott: Blackbird Repair

Korvus gets his hands on the Blackbird for the first time while under Scott's supervision.

While he waited for supervision to arrive, Korvus began to pry open the crates in the garage that had arrived with Blackbird parts. He wanted to take inventory. It would be better to know if anything was missing upfront instead of discovering any mistakes in the middle of what could be a difficult task. The crowbar splintered wood and the crates creaked but they offered relatively little resistance to him now that he had his mutation again. Once he had confirmed everything had arrived, he pressed one of the crate tops back on and sat patiently. He was often early and waiting no longer bothered him.

Scott walked into the garage, barely able to conceal the spring in his step, the mansion may still be recovering and recuperating but he was going to work on the Blackird today. As far as the X-man was concerned, one of the greatest pleasures in life, that could few could equal, was working on such an amazing piece of machinery, well apart from flying it of course. "Korvus" he called as he caught sight of the student."Glad you could make it, shall we get started?" he asked looking over at the plane proudly....completely ignoring the dirt and wear that coated the plane.

"I am quite excited to." Korvus said eagerly. "This will be the most complex system I will have had the pleasure to work on."

"She is pretty amazing isn't she," Scott replied as he nodded at the crates. "I see you've already opened up the supplies, so shall we see what we've got to get done today?"

"I advocate we begin with all mechanical deficiencies before advancing to aesthetic or comfort concerns." Korvus offered. "That way she will be capable of performing if an emergency presents." It was difficult for him to refer to an object by a gender but it seemed to be standard for Americans so he tried.

"That make sense," Scott agreed, impressed with the younger man's clarity of mind. "We do want to keep her available in case of an emergency, although this is why we need a second plane, so if one is down for maintenance we can still use the other one." He glanced between Korvus and the Blackbird speculatively, "I don't think there are too many major mechanical faults. Why don't you go on board and take a look?" He'd been impressed by Korvus' mechanical talent before an this might be a good test for him.

Korvus nodded and turned, ascending the ramp into the Blackbird. "I am not capable of installing or adjusting avionics, so I will be unable to evaluate them." He informed Scott before changing the topic. "While we have time, may I ask about the protocol for applying to be an X-Man?"

"That's fine," Scott told the younger man, "if you can spot the then I can fix them." He picked up a few parts and followed Korvus onto the plane. "X-men application? It's pretty much this," he admitted, "You talk to me or one of the other senior X-men. Then we talk to Charles. You're interested in joining the team?" he asked.

"I am. I believe being a mutant is unique in that we are, by virtue of our capabilities, opposed not only with legislation and bigotry but with country scale arsenals." Korvus moved to the very front of the interior, quite methodical in how he inspected things. "We are commodities in a unique way. My time in both Madripoor and Genosha has convinced me I need not just be a capable combatant but an activist."

Scott putt down the parts he was carrying and leaned against the wall of the plane as he observed Korvus. "I'm not wild about defining mutants as commodities," the older man admitted. "IF we start thinkingin that way then it takes away from our basic humanity. You are aware that we're not really activists right? The X-men might be seen as ambassadors for mutant-kind but as a team we're not so much about being activists as we are about protecting mutants and humans from those who would use powers to do them harm."

"And do so actively." Korvus observed, squatting down to look under the primary panel. "That's what I want, to shift from using my abilities only when I am directly and personally threatened to a more active role."

After a moment of silence, Korvus added. "Also, I do not like considering us commodities either but it seems to be the case. The mutate process made it clear that people wish to commodify our capabilities. The Genoshans were attempting to both give rise to a new market and monopolize it. We should not ignore how we are or may be perceived by others simply because we find it offensive." He backed out from under the console, stood, and turned to face Scott. "Primary systems do not show any signs of damage."

Scott stood silently as he pondered Korvus' statement before dropping into one of the flight chairs and motioned Korvus to the other. "You're right Korvus, you we can't just ignore the way people look at us, or the way they treat us but at the same time we can't let ourselves become too caught up in what happened. What the Genoshan's did was wrong, but we stopped them," he nodded at the younger man, "by direct action. That's what we do, it's what we always have done and will do. The Genoshan's weren't the first people to to try to use mutants, to turns us into commodities or weapons, although I will admit they had a new and frankly scary way of approaching it." Scott took a breath before continuing, "You kept your cool throughout everything that happened on the island; if you want to join the team, then we'd be proud to have you join us."

Korvus sat across from Scott, nodding as the man spoke. "I appreciate the trust you express in me by accepting me onto your team. I am very excited about participating."

"I'll talk to the professor and we should have a confirmation for you later today," Scott told Korvus as he turned to start loosening the bolts on a damaged chair. "For now though, would you mind getting me a replacement for this?"

"I would not." Korvus moved away from the cockpit and down the ramp to get the replacement chair, smiling to himself. Not only was he going to be an X-Man but with a glowing recommendation. He was very happy.