Nica and Scott - Important Matters
Aug. 20th, 2018 05:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsNica finds Scott in her sunbathing spot and asks him a Very Important Question.
Since summer had started, Nica had been spending any free time she had during daylight hours outside, absorbing as much sunlight (and its accompanying bands of EM wavelengths!) and then using that stored energy in Generation X training programs in the Danger Room. Today, however, when she arrived at the poolside patio, she realised she wasn't the only sun-worshipper out. There was the very person she wanted desperately to impress and not just because he was a leader of the X-Men. He was who she aspired to be - calm, in control, an example to others... Swallowing her nerves (and thanking her stars he wasn't a telepath), Nica approached his lounger. There was a very important topic she wanted to raise.
One of the biggest problems Scott found with his powers was the way his body demanded sunlight, soaking up the warming rays like a sponge. It wasn't quite so bad in summer when he could relax by the pool like this but when the weather eventually turned it would drive him into the converted beach, and while that wasn't bad, the...limited space started to get to you after a while. Although, that was a problem for a few months down the line, for today he had his cool drink, a good book...and a visitor who was coming up behind him. A smile pulled up the man's lips as he turned the page of his book, waiting a moment before speaking, "Some weather we're having huh?"
"Sure is." Nica paused, unsure of how to start things, and decided to plunge right in. "Sir? May I talk to you about something? If I'm not interrupting?"
The book made a soft thud as Scott laid it down on a nearby table, slipping a bookmark in between the sun bleached pages as he leaned forward on his seat, his legs swivelling to the side as he gestured at the lounger next to him. "I'm never...ok I'm rarely...I'm not doing much of anything right now but, just...take a seat. Please for me? Looking at you is making me worry about my posture, just relax and let me know what's up? Is this about learning to drive?"
Nica blushed a little but took the invitation and perched on the side of the other lounger. "Actually, something a bit more... well, just more. I've been working hard all summer on my powers and I think I have enough of a handle on the whole electro-magnetic spectrum thing to finally do this." She swallowed, her mouth abruptly dry, and she clasped her hands together to hide the slight shaking. "I'd like to join the team. The X-Men."
That phrasing caught Scott off guard, the man sitting forward in his lounger as she span slowly to face Nica, planting his feet on the ground as he stared at her cautiously. "I see...pardon me for asking, but why?" It had become almost a standard question for the man, but the last thing he wanted was people feeling they were obliged to join the team for any reason. Or maybe worse joining the team for the wrong reasons. He'd rather ask them up front and see where that took him.
"Because I have to do something. All of this, inside these walls..." She waved her hand at the grounds. "We're safe here. But there's so many that aren't, who need help. And I'm not cut out to be a detective or part of the Underground or whatever the hell it is that Domino and her friends do. But I do think I'm cut out for the team. I'm smart, I'm disciplined and I can follows orders. Or give them, if it comes up that I need to. I know I'm still learning about my powers, but like I said, I think I know enough now to be useful." She met Scott's gaze squarely. "I can help you. And more than that, I want to."
The girl had obviously thought about it, that much was clear but...more and more Scott was finding that eagerness wasn't always enough for the X-men, "You're certainly smart enough and capable enough to join the team," he allowed nodding at her, "and you can take orders," Nica had arrived at the mansion already well accustomed to that, "but are you ready for everything else that comes with it? Would you leave a friend behind to complete a mission, would you stay behind yourself?" Scott glanced down, his voice falling slightly, "We've been remarkably lucky, but putting on that uniform, don't get me wrong, it's a death sentence. One day we're all going to put ourselves in a situation we can't survive, I've seen friends stand in front of their deaths, people who never asked for it giving everything to lie broken in the dirt. Are you ready for me to go to your father, to tell him that was your fate, or tell someone else's parents that's what happened to their kid?"
Nica glanced off over the pool and beyond that, the green of the mansion's grounds. Her hand moved up to pull a set of dog tags from under her shirt. "My mom died serving her country when I was just a kid. Dad gave me these so that I'd always have something of hers with me, and every time I take them off at night or put them on again in the morning, I think of her. I wish more than anything that she was still with us but..." She looked back at Scott. "I'm proud of who she was, what she did. I know this isn't a game or a chance to be a hero. I know it's dangerous and there's a good chance that I could be killed or watch someone I care about being killed. But if my life can mean that others can go on living and not be afraid, then it's worth it." She smiled gently at Scott. "I already talked to Dad about this. He'd rather I just did all the normal college student stuff and left the fight to others, but he understands. And he'd be a giant hypocrite if he said otherwise, being in the Marines."
"Parents can be...irrational when it comes to their children, or those they see as their children," Scott allowed with a nod. "What your dad's going through, well to be honest that 's what we're all going through to one extent or another everytime we see any of you stepping out into danger." The man gestured back at the mansion, "We want to protect you, I remember that you all felt we were coddling you a little and not telling you everything, because honestly we aren't. No-one wants to expose kids to the horrors of a situation, and at time I feel like I have am mansion of kids...oh god I'm turning into Charles." THe man gave a laugh before inclining his head at Nica, "Don't be to hard on your dad ok? He's just trying to do what's best for you, and to protect you from the world. We should all be so lucky to have someone who wants to do that for us."
"Oh, I know. And I appreciate it, having someone look out for me. But as much as Dad might grumble - and he has - he knows that I'm serious about this. He knows he can't protect me forever, not unless he's going to lock me up for the rest of my life. And it's the same here, at the mansion. This place... it's a haven away from all the bullshit out there. But to keep it that way, to give everyone the chance to have that, well, some of us need to step up." She met his gaze squarely. "And that's what I'm doing. Stepping up."
It was honestly a better reasoning than Scott had had when he started this adventure, fighting Magneto and the Brotherhood was really something that Charles had wanted, and that Scott has just fallen into doing. It had been what had been expected, and so he'd done it, and everything that had happened since then had simply been a continuation of that. The newest recruits, Nica, and Tandy before her they all seemed to believe in the dream, to want to step up for idealistic reasons. It wasn't anything physical that made Scott feel old, even now there were few people at the mansion who could hope to beat him, but that idealism, the ability to believe so strongly in a dream, that got to him. Still..."Well, I can't argue with that. As long as your dad is happy to sign off on you joining then I see no reason to stand in your way." The man straightened, a easy smile resting on his lips as he held out a hand, "Welcome to the X-Men, Nica."
Since summer had started, Nica had been spending any free time she had during daylight hours outside, absorbing as much sunlight (and its accompanying bands of EM wavelengths!) and then using that stored energy in Generation X training programs in the Danger Room. Today, however, when she arrived at the poolside patio, she realised she wasn't the only sun-worshipper out. There was the very person she wanted desperately to impress and not just because he was a leader of the X-Men. He was who she aspired to be - calm, in control, an example to others... Swallowing her nerves (and thanking her stars he wasn't a telepath), Nica approached his lounger. There was a very important topic she wanted to raise.
One of the biggest problems Scott found with his powers was the way his body demanded sunlight, soaking up the warming rays like a sponge. It wasn't quite so bad in summer when he could relax by the pool like this but when the weather eventually turned it would drive him into the converted beach, and while that wasn't bad, the...limited space started to get to you after a while. Although, that was a problem for a few months down the line, for today he had his cool drink, a good book...and a visitor who was coming up behind him. A smile pulled up the man's lips as he turned the page of his book, waiting a moment before speaking, "Some weather we're having huh?"
"Sure is." Nica paused, unsure of how to start things, and decided to plunge right in. "Sir? May I talk to you about something? If I'm not interrupting?"
The book made a soft thud as Scott laid it down on a nearby table, slipping a bookmark in between the sun bleached pages as he leaned forward on his seat, his legs swivelling to the side as he gestured at the lounger next to him. "I'm never...ok I'm rarely...I'm not doing much of anything right now but, just...take a seat. Please for me? Looking at you is making me worry about my posture, just relax and let me know what's up? Is this about learning to drive?"
Nica blushed a little but took the invitation and perched on the side of the other lounger. "Actually, something a bit more... well, just more. I've been working hard all summer on my powers and I think I have enough of a handle on the whole electro-magnetic spectrum thing to finally do this." She swallowed, her mouth abruptly dry, and she clasped her hands together to hide the slight shaking. "I'd like to join the team. The X-Men."
That phrasing caught Scott off guard, the man sitting forward in his lounger as she span slowly to face Nica, planting his feet on the ground as he stared at her cautiously. "I see...pardon me for asking, but why?" It had become almost a standard question for the man, but the last thing he wanted was people feeling they were obliged to join the team for any reason. Or maybe worse joining the team for the wrong reasons. He'd rather ask them up front and see where that took him.
"Because I have to do something. All of this, inside these walls..." She waved her hand at the grounds. "We're safe here. But there's so many that aren't, who need help. And I'm not cut out to be a detective or part of the Underground or whatever the hell it is that Domino and her friends do. But I do think I'm cut out for the team. I'm smart, I'm disciplined and I can follows orders. Or give them, if it comes up that I need to. I know I'm still learning about my powers, but like I said, I think I know enough now to be useful." She met Scott's gaze squarely. "I can help you. And more than that, I want to."
The girl had obviously thought about it, that much was clear but...more and more Scott was finding that eagerness wasn't always enough for the X-men, "You're certainly smart enough and capable enough to join the team," he allowed nodding at her, "and you can take orders," Nica had arrived at the mansion already well accustomed to that, "but are you ready for everything else that comes with it? Would you leave a friend behind to complete a mission, would you stay behind yourself?" Scott glanced down, his voice falling slightly, "We've been remarkably lucky, but putting on that uniform, don't get me wrong, it's a death sentence. One day we're all going to put ourselves in a situation we can't survive, I've seen friends stand in front of their deaths, people who never asked for it giving everything to lie broken in the dirt. Are you ready for me to go to your father, to tell him that was your fate, or tell someone else's parents that's what happened to their kid?"
Nica glanced off over the pool and beyond that, the green of the mansion's grounds. Her hand moved up to pull a set of dog tags from under her shirt. "My mom died serving her country when I was just a kid. Dad gave me these so that I'd always have something of hers with me, and every time I take them off at night or put them on again in the morning, I think of her. I wish more than anything that she was still with us but..." She looked back at Scott. "I'm proud of who she was, what she did. I know this isn't a game or a chance to be a hero. I know it's dangerous and there's a good chance that I could be killed or watch someone I care about being killed. But if my life can mean that others can go on living and not be afraid, then it's worth it." She smiled gently at Scott. "I already talked to Dad about this. He'd rather I just did all the normal college student stuff and left the fight to others, but he understands. And he'd be a giant hypocrite if he said otherwise, being in the Marines."
"Parents can be...irrational when it comes to their children, or those they see as their children," Scott allowed with a nod. "What your dad's going through, well to be honest that 's what we're all going through to one extent or another everytime we see any of you stepping out into danger." The man gestured back at the mansion, "We want to protect you, I remember that you all felt we were coddling you a little and not telling you everything, because honestly we aren't. No-one wants to expose kids to the horrors of a situation, and at time I feel like I have am mansion of kids...oh god I'm turning into Charles." THe man gave a laugh before inclining his head at Nica, "Don't be to hard on your dad ok? He's just trying to do what's best for you, and to protect you from the world. We should all be so lucky to have someone who wants to do that for us."
"Oh, I know. And I appreciate it, having someone look out for me. But as much as Dad might grumble - and he has - he knows that I'm serious about this. He knows he can't protect me forever, not unless he's going to lock me up for the rest of my life. And it's the same here, at the mansion. This place... it's a haven away from all the bullshit out there. But to keep it that way, to give everyone the chance to have that, well, some of us need to step up." She met his gaze squarely. "And that's what I'm doing. Stepping up."
It was honestly a better reasoning than Scott had had when he started this adventure, fighting Magneto and the Brotherhood was really something that Charles had wanted, and that Scott has just fallen into doing. It had been what had been expected, and so he'd done it, and everything that had happened since then had simply been a continuation of that. The newest recruits, Nica, and Tandy before her they all seemed to believe in the dream, to want to step up for idealistic reasons. It wasn't anything physical that made Scott feel old, even now there were few people at the mansion who could hope to beat him, but that idealism, the ability to believe so strongly in a dream, that got to him. Still..."Well, I can't argue with that. As long as your dad is happy to sign off on you joining then I see no reason to stand in your way." The man straightened, a easy smile resting on his lips as he held out a hand, "Welcome to the X-Men, Nica."
