xp_logs | Matt and Frank: Challenge accepted! (Backdated)

Frank meets Matt. And (unexpectedly) doesn't get his ass kicked.

Frank wasn't a natural gym goer. Nature had blessed him with funky genetics and a close personal friendship with all things woody, but it hadn't given him much of a sense of physical drive. Still, he was in a new place, now. Might as well take a look. He stuck his nose in, his ever-present cup of coffee in one hand, and examined the place.

The gym was a place that Matt visited pretty much daily. His father had been a professional boxer and he had grown up in gyms (though much more skeezy ones than this) and he'd done gymnastics pretty much his entire life. He couldn't compete due to both being a mutant and blind and he was much too tall to be a serious competitor anyways, but none of that stopped him from enjoying it. It also did not stop him from being batshit sometimes.

Swinging from the trapeze on the ceiling (like he wasn't supposed to without supervision outside of class), he built up momentum before releasing the bar and performing a tuck and then a double full before grabbing the stationary high bar and swinging around on it a few times, coming to a full stop in a handstand. His heart raced, but he'd done it without breaking his head open! Score! Releasing his elbows, he dropped into a pike to swing around again.

It took a few moments for Frank to pick his jaw up off the floor. It had still been accelerating when it hit the ground. As he dragged himself back to the realm of coherent speech, he managed a choked "...dude," before gulping all his coffee in one go and stepping into the gym properly. "That was fucking awesome."

Matt might be able to hear heartbeats from a ways away, but that was only if he was paying attention and right now, his attention had been solely on what he was doing. Therefore, he hadn't heard the new guy come in. He swung around and adjusted his grip, then dismounted with a flip, landing on his feet several feet away. "Eh," Matt downplayed it, pushing his hair from his face, "If I'd had more momentum I could've probably flown farther." Or killed himself. Whichever. "You're the new guy."

"Yeah. Frank, usually, but new guy works too." He put his mug down on a bench by the door and stepped in. "I'd hate to see you really trying," he adding, indicating the vertical bars with a nod of his head. "Is that what you do? Like, super-kinesthesia or something?"

Matt went to get his water bottle and took a long swig, "Enhanced senses," he corrected, "Which does help, but I started gymnastics when I was a kid, before I went blind," he waited to see if Frank asked the inevitable question.

There was a pause. Gears turned in Frank's head. "You..." he said, picking his words with care, "are Matt. You had the room I'm in before I did." There was another long pause. "Okay, I need to go and get my crowbar, right? Because if we're doing this right, I want my weapon of choice. By the look of things I'm gonna need it."

"I'm Matt," he agreed easily, "And I did. Hence the most likely unattractive sound proofing. And you can get your crow bar. I'll still win," he didn't mention his time in juvie for assault.

"Dude, short of giving me a nuclear arsenal, you're TOTALLY going to win. This is not going to be a win-lose kind of fight. We are doing this," and here Frank's voice took on a dignified and hallowed tone, "as a social experiment." He walked out onto the mat, rolling his shoulders as he went. "Our experiment is, "at what point of getting his ass kicked does Frank stop giving a shit about his rep and call uncle like a little bitch?" I look forward to solving this experiment. I think it will be funny."

"Or not," Matt replied, sitting down and stretching out. "It's not a fair fight. And I don't really want to hurt you," he had no reason to. "Besides, enhanced senses or not, if you can turn into wood, that hurts. I'm not super strong or impervious to pain or anything like that."

Frank paused on the mat. "Wait, really? I thought an epic ass-kicking was gonna ensue." There was a beat. He stepped off the mat again, a little disappointed without quite knowing why. "Well. Okay. Um." Another, slightly more awkward beat.

"It's not a fair fight," Matt explained. "And you don't have all your facts. But you're welcome to tell everyone you kicked my ass and I'll agree," he stretched, legs open and chest to the floor. "You'll take self defense here anyways. But I'll show you some moves."

"...That'd be nice, actually," replied Frank after a moment. "I think I need to work on that side of things anyway. I don't really have any... you know... experience? In that sort of thing?" He watched Matt's stretching with a politely impressed air, but didn't say anything.

"Not much of a fighter, I take it. Just bravado," unsurprising. Frank didn't come off as a fighter. "What grade are you in anyways?"

That... was perhaps more hostile then expected. Frank raised an eyebrow. "Eleventh," he said, calmly. "That an issue?"

"Just curious," Matt replied. "I just realized I had no idea. I get to be the lone senior still, which is kinda fun. Layla's a senior too, but she's doing a study abroad leaving me all alone." It wasn't really an issue.

"Must be nice," said Frank, easily. "You get to be the... what's the phrase? 'Big man on campus'?" He smiled to take the sting out of it, before realising how futile that was. "How long have you been here? At Xaviers, I mean?"

That caused Matt to think for a minute, "Two years," he replied, "this month actually. I was a freshman. Did summer school to catch up to where I should be and graduate on time. You okay being here?"

"Yeah, so far. Place doesn't seem so bad." It wasn't quite the truth- he wasn't slotting into his new home as easily as he'd like- but he was still a little unsure of Matt, even if he did like him. "Not like I could stay where I was, anyway," Frank added, tone carefully devoid of any bitterness. "My school didn't take too well to having a mutant in the ranks."

"Happens," Matt agreed, sadly. He hadn't had that problem, but it was a common one. "I don't know where I'd've gone if I couldn't be here. I'm a foster kid, but not for much longer," not once he turned 18.

"Huh." How many kids, a small part of Frank wondered, aren't as lucky as Matt? Mutants in foster care probably didn't do well. He felt a little flame of anger at that, but he brushed it from his mind. Now was not the time for a repeat of Angelo's wall. "Guess this place worked out pretty well, huh?"

Matt nodded, "Everyone has different experiences, but for most of us, this is the only home we have," there were some who had homes with families, but not too many.

"Huh." Frank stared off into the middle distance for a moment. Thoughts flickered through his head about the life he was part of now, and the people like him who'd suffered from it. Then he shook it off, and turned back to Matt. "Don't suppose you could show me some of those moves you were talking about?" He might need it some day.

"Yeah, sure," Matt stood, facing Frank. Placing his hands on the other teens shoulders, he said, "Now move my hands."

Frank raised an eyebrow. He was just about to make a snarky comment when he remembered Matt hurtling around the balance beams, and wisely kept his mouth shut. Instead, he reached up and tugged at Matt's wrists.

"That's all you got?" Matt challenged. His arms flexed a little, but his hands didn't move. "Move my hands. No powers. I'm not using mine to keep them on you, you can't use yours."

Oh. Oh, now that was just rude. Frank growled a little, took hold of both of Matt's wrists, and yanked as hard as he could away from himself. At the same time, he stepped backwards smartly, hoping to distance himself.

Annoyingly, Matt simply stepped forward moving with him, "Okay. Clearly, that's not working. Bring your arms in and up between my arms, then push outward," Frank could pull all day and Matt wouldn't budge. This way though, he had no choice. It was very effective and very simple.

Frank tugged one last time, listlessly, before doing as he was told. Surprisingly, it worked. "Huh. Okay, so how come that worked but pulling at your wrists didn't?"

"Physiology," Matt explained, placing his hands back on Frank's shoulders. "My wrists and shoulders can flex up and down as my fingers can grip your shoulders. They don't go side to side without breaking. Use more force this time," this was a great move to know because it modified well to block offensive attacks too.

Frank nodded and did as he was told. It seemed a little easier this time. "Huh." He considered for a moment, before a crooked grin crawled over his face. "...Cool."