xp_logs | Miles & Hank, Wednesday afternoon (Reply)

Hank makes his first acquaintance at the school, and Miles gets a new tutor out of the deal.

With school starting, Miles was going to have a lot less time to spend down in the gym. Especially with four AP classes. Whose brilliant idea was it to take AP US History? he silently commiserated. Oh right, his idea. Ugh, dumb. At least he had some free time now to enjoy without being buried in a textbook, so he donned his Under Armor gear, went down to the gymnastic area, plugged his StarkPhone into the speakers to flood the room with new Talib Kweli, and started a simple routine on the rings.

Simple for a man with superhuman strength and agility, at least. How hard is it to swing into a handstand and hold it for five seconds when you are strong enough to hold a motorcycle in one hand?

It was on one of his many rotations that he spotted an unfamiliar face peering into the gym, looking somewhat wistfully at the various gymnastic equipment scattered about. The young man didn't look much older than him, with a sort of lanky gangliness to his limbs that didn't look entirely down to an adolescent growth spurt. He stood there a moment longer and then with a slump of his shoulders turned away and stepped out of sight again.

That was odd, Miles thought. Most people, if they didn't come in to watch him, didn't look do despondent when they walked away. Curious about this stranger, he lifted off his iron cross position and dismounted before leaving the gym to flag down the retreating figure. "Hey! You okay?"

Hank paused guiltily, slowly turning to face the person who had caught up with him. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, I didn't mean to," he offered apologetically. "I didn't realise anyone was in there."

Miles waved off the apology. "Nah, it's cool. Just, you know, wanted to make sure I didn't do anything to offend you when I don't know you. I'm Miles," he introduced himself, holding out his hand.

"Hank," came the reply, along with a rather large hand giving a rather firm handshake. "Those were some pretty impressive moves in there. Your, ah... mutation?"

Such a large hand on an otherwise normal-looking person wasn't the strangest thing Miles had ever seen, but it was enough to elicit a slight eyebrow raise as he returned the shake with an equally firm grip. "Um, kind of," he answered. "My power is mostly zapping people, but I'm also pretty flexible and strong. Mostly practice," he fibbed.

"Zapping people?" Hank tipped his head to one side curiously. "I mean, I'm sorry, I know it's probably not polite to just... ask about things like that. I'll admit I don't really know the etiquette around discussing mutations very well, I've never really had the chance to speak to other mutants openly until very recently."

"I feel you," Miles said genially. "I don't know if there really is good manners for asking. I don't mind. I manipulate electricity, kind of. Like, if I touch someone then I can zap them, and I can cling to walls, and I can move light around or something and blend in with my background. How 'bout you?"

Hank held up his hands again, giving Miles a rueful look. "Nothing so interesting or useful as electrical manipulation and all its affiliated links I'm afraid."

"Just . . . big hands?" Miles heard Peter in his head make the obvious follow-up quip, and couldn't help a brief (very brief!) downward glance. He chuckled to cover up his awkwardness. "Now I feel like I was bragging a little bit there. Heh."

"Well, not just big hands," Hank said, embarrassed. "But I, ah, don't really know the extent of everything else I can do. It's all very... primal."

"Primal?" A sudden realization dinged. "Oh, like Kyle? Have you met him? Tall guy, hairy, claws, weirdly flexible for a guy his size. Or Rahne. She actually for real turns into a wolf. Like, a big wolf. Like that?"

"Not... quite like that. I'm just... good at leaping and climbing things." It looked like it pained Hank to admit these things, though he met Miles' gaze straightforwardly enough. "I've been told I should try parkour."

Miles's eyes brightened. "You should! I don't really know any formal parkour or whatever, I just like to run and jump on things, but it's fun. Gymnastics, too. Mostly self-taught, but it's a good way to test your strength and Mario jumping, sabes? I can show you, if, you know, you want. This place is pretty pimped out for this kind of stuff."

Hank blinked, then gave a good-natured smile. "Well... alright then. I suppose I might as well give it a try."

Miles led Hank back to the gym, where Talib Kweli was still laying it out through the speakers. "Usually you need help to get up here," he said, indicating the rings, "but if you can make then jump, then." Despite the height and the distance from the floor, it took only a single leap to grab hold of the rings. "So what I've been able to figure out from YouTube is that you're supposed to be able to swing around and hold your position for a few seconds. Like this." Miles swung his legs back and used the momentum to turn over and lift himself up so he hung perpendicular to the ground, facing downward.

"That's pretty impressive," Hank said from below him, nodding as if Miles had just explained something very complicated and technical. "What else?"

"This is called an iron cross according to Wikipedia." Miles lowered himself and then held out his arms parallel with the floor, so he was hanging from the rings with his body in a cross shape. "S'pretty hard cuz you gotta hold your body real tight."

"Presumably you don't find it too challenging if you're able to talk throughout," Hank observed thoughtfully.

Miles chuckled and relaxed. "Like I said, I'm strong. There's also this, which I guess is kinda like planking." He swung his legs forward and then back, and straightened his body to be parallel with the ground, as if he were doing push-ups in midair. His face started to redden, the strain finally starting to creep through and show on his face, and he couldn't hold the position more than a few seconds before he lowered himself and let go, landing semi-gracefully on the floor on all fours.

"That was all rather impressive. Especially for self-taught manoeuvres. I had never really thought about using YouTube and Wikipedia to learn skills like that."

"There's lots of great people here but no Olympics-class gymnasts, so you find what you can. It's also good for helping with physics homework."

"Oh, well, if it's physics help you're after I'd be more than happy to offer my assistance," Hank said eagerly then. "It's the least I can do after your stellar tutelage here."

"Oh my God, really? That would be awesome. School's barely started and I'm already behind, and I have to get a 5 on this AP."

"Well I can't promise any particular result but I can certainly help you keep up with your homework and tests. We should agree on a schedule - would twice a week suffice, you think?"

Between classes, his job, Gen X training, and other "extracurriculars," time would be tight. It would probably mean less time down here, Miles ruefully considered. Still, he shuddered to think what would happen if his GPA suffered. His mother's various warnings echoed in his head. "Yeah, few hours a week would be great. Thanks!"

Hank gave him a warm smile - he was obviously far more comfortable talking about AP tests than he was about gymnastics - and nodded. "My pleasure. I'll need a couple days to re-familiarise myself with the material but hopefully we can start soon."

"What can I give you in return? I have a job, I can pay for tutoring . . ."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary. Although..." Hank glanced up at the rings pensively. "Perhaps we could trade like-for-like? Me tutoring you in physics in exchange for tuition in... gymnastics and acrobatics."

"Seems fair. Deal!"