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xp_logsThere's more than one way to use the Danger Room.
The usable area of the Danger Room had been narrowed to a space roughly the size of a squash court. It was a respectable size for the volleyball net that had been erected, its walls whimsically painted with beach-themed murals to match the sand on the court. Curiously, the sand on one side had been raked into the distinctive ripples of a zen garden.
Marius had unironically juggled plenty of balls over the course of his aggressively sporty life, but that was traditionally an activity for his hands. For the purposes of this exercise he was unsure what required more concentration: modulating the intensity of his borrowed optic blasts, or getting his head in the appropriate position to keep the volleyball aloft as he did so. His neck felt like an accordion. Still, he reasoned he was as prepared as he'd ever be.
"Right, then," Marius said as he hefted the ball, "one, two--"
He tossed the ball in the air, and then, unthinkingly, performed a powerful yet very illegal overhand serve. The penalty buzzer sounded.
"Bugger," he swore as the ball sailed over the net. The scoreboard updated its reading to -1 to 0.
Kurt was clinging to the wall, dutifully following the rules he'd been given. As the ball flew towards him, he teleported into mid-air, grinning, to smack it with a foot and send it back to Marius, then returned to the wall. "Try again!"
Marius caught the ball with a gusty sigh. "My apologies," he said to his teammate, or at least the one currently occupying his side of the court, "muscle memory. Shall we give it another go?"
"No worries, this is for fun. And training." April beckoned for the ball with her free hand, the other maintaining a web tether to the wall. "Smack it here, I'll set you up."
"Right." The Australian tossed the ball to April with an easy underhand arc. After a moment's thought he put his hands behind his back and laced his fingers together, locking them in place.
"At your discretion," Marius called.
"Eyes up!" April tossed the ball up, then used a tendril to bat it into a path for Marius to blast over the net. Her feet were pressed into the wall, and she was splitting focus between that and her web to stay in the air.
Eyes up, indeed. The intercepting optic blast was about as broad as the span of a hand and quick as the blink of an eye. The ball had an unacceptable amount of spin, Marius noted -- he'd not gotten the angle quite right, and the blast had been too glancing -- but it did succeed in making it over the net, and Marius' hands remained resolutely behind his back.
They all had their limitations, for such were the rules of the game. For Marius, touching the ball with any part of his body had been proscribed. For April, contact was allowed -- but only to pass to Marius, or to receive a pass in turn. And then there was Kurt, whose ability to pass the ball to himself and teleport at will was restricted only by the edict that he not make contact with the floor.
Kurt tried to intercept the ball, but misjudged its trajectory and groaned goodnaturedly, teleporting back to near the ceiling as it bounced off the ground. "A point to your team, I think."
Marius flashed a grin to April. "Teamwork makes the dream work," he declared, unbothered by the fact the victory merely equalized their score to 0:0. He ducked beneath the net to retrieve the ball. There was a quiet hissing sound as the sand shifted back into its intricate whorls as soon as he'd withdrawn; Marius was not the player the court was keyed to register.
"Second go," Marius announced as he tossed the ball into the air. "Here we- damn!"
The optic blast hit the ball at an off angle, sending it spinning off to the side.
April dove for it, spiderweb trailing her freefall, but she was a few seconds too late as the ball bounced off the ground a split second before she tucked into a roll as she landed. She caught it on the rebound as she stopped, frowning at the ceiling from where she laid on her back. "Too fast, ow." She took a second, then sat up and jumped to her feet. "Point, Kurt." One hand extended into something roughly resembling the end of a tennis racket as she tossed the ball into the air and smacked it with the paddle at Marius.
"Cheers." April's angle had been good, and this volley proved much cleaner: this time his optic blast sent the ball sailing easily over the net. Inwardly, Marius was also relieved he was not alone in his difficulty adjusting to his handicap. Not because he was particularly uncomfortable with looking ridiculous, of course, but because when one was faced with a new challenge there was something very heartening in seeing you were all struggling at the same level.
Kurt, on the other hand, seemed to be having little difficulty with his imposed handicap so far, clinging quite comfortably to the wall. At least until he forgot himself as he went after the ball and allowed one foot to graze the sand.
The scoreboard reflected the update, and April clung to her own wall with knees bent as she waited for the next volley.
Marius scooped the ball from the sand and idly spun it on the tip of a finger. "Not your game?" he called to Kurt. "Of course, without a charming teammate such as mine you're left manning the court yourself . . ."
The younger man tossed the ball, and another ruby blast sent it shooting over the net.
Kurt grinned at him, skittering along the wall into the right position to flick his tail at the ball, then teleported to smack it nearer the net, and then again to get it over. "I am picking it up."
April shot a web out and went flying forward and around, a thick tendril reaching out and smacking the ball towards Marius. "You are! This is a fun workout."
Marius raced to get in a position beneath the trajectory of the ball. "Truly the Brotherhood shall tremble before us on the field of battle. What do you suppose to be Magneto's policy on beach volleyball? Back to you, Mayhem." Marius blasted the ball in her direction for a more efficient return. "Lonely here on the ground whilst the two of you jump about with the greatest of ease. Next time: agility powers."
"Pity you're allergic," April replied, second web flying out so she could bat the ball back to Marius with a solid smack of her hand. "Sooraya's sneaky with her form, I'd ask her."
Marius crossed his wrists behind his back and angled another blast to send the ball back to Kurt. "Never used that sort of shifting before, to be honest. Unsure whether I feel like committing to something that might see me spending three days at the bottom of a dustbin."
The ball came flying back over the net at him. "I am sure she could teach you how to move around in less than three days."
A ruby red blast glanced off the ball, knocking it off course, sending it dropping down towards the net as the optical blast bounced off the rubber surface towards one of the walls of the Danger Room. Only as it touched the wall the blast returned, glancing off the ball again to spin it round as the blast bounced off the ground. Again and again the blast glanced off the sides of the ball, spinning it as it seemed to trap the falling ball in a net of red energy before the rubber toy finally landed on the edge of the net, spinning furiously as it slowed, teetering for a second before falling still, perfectly balanced on the thin edge as Scott continued walking along the wall towards the danger room control room.
"You know, Erik always did prefer soccer to volleyball, but I'm pretty sure he injected iron into the ball so he would always win."
April tracked the ball with sharp eyes, admiring the control it took to leave the ball so perfectly balanced.
Thwip!
A small amount of web shot out, splatting against the ball as she gave a sharp pull of her hand, yoinking it into the air and towards her hands at high speed.
A small smile touched Scott's lips as another blast bounced off the floor, angling up to strike the ball right at the point the webbing held it so it could shear through the webs and send the ball careening up over the net to drop almost gently down in front of Marius.
"It is subtle," Marius said dryly, "but I cannot help but feel a point is being made." The Australian hooked a toe beneath the ball and kicked it up into his hands. He glanced at his erstwhile opponent and gave Kurt a feral smile. "Do you hear that, Mr. Sefton? I think that was an invitation to make this match three-to-one."
"Oh, now, that is not fair!" Kurt protested, laughing. "If Scott is to join the game, I will have to insist he plays for my side."
The clipboard clattered to the ground as Scott turned back, eyes glowing red with suppressed energy like some kind of demon out of mythology as he cracked his head to the side.
"If we're talking about fair, you all might want to get a few reinforcements to even the odds."
The usable area of the Danger Room had been narrowed to a space roughly the size of a squash court. It was a respectable size for the volleyball net that had been erected, its walls whimsically painted with beach-themed murals to match the sand on the court. Curiously, the sand on one side had been raked into the distinctive ripples of a zen garden.
Marius had unironically juggled plenty of balls over the course of his aggressively sporty life, but that was traditionally an activity for his hands. For the purposes of this exercise he was unsure what required more concentration: modulating the intensity of his borrowed optic blasts, or getting his head in the appropriate position to keep the volleyball aloft as he did so. His neck felt like an accordion. Still, he reasoned he was as prepared as he'd ever be.
"Right, then," Marius said as he hefted the ball, "one, two--"
He tossed the ball in the air, and then, unthinkingly, performed a powerful yet very illegal overhand serve. The penalty buzzer sounded.
"Bugger," he swore as the ball sailed over the net. The scoreboard updated its reading to -1 to 0.
Kurt was clinging to the wall, dutifully following the rules he'd been given. As the ball flew towards him, he teleported into mid-air, grinning, to smack it with a foot and send it back to Marius, then returned to the wall. "Try again!"
Marius caught the ball with a gusty sigh. "My apologies," he said to his teammate, or at least the one currently occupying his side of the court, "muscle memory. Shall we give it another go?"
"No worries, this is for fun. And training." April beckoned for the ball with her free hand, the other maintaining a web tether to the wall. "Smack it here, I'll set you up."
"Right." The Australian tossed the ball to April with an easy underhand arc. After a moment's thought he put his hands behind his back and laced his fingers together, locking them in place.
"At your discretion," Marius called.
"Eyes up!" April tossed the ball up, then used a tendril to bat it into a path for Marius to blast over the net. Her feet were pressed into the wall, and she was splitting focus between that and her web to stay in the air.
Eyes up, indeed. The intercepting optic blast was about as broad as the span of a hand and quick as the blink of an eye. The ball had an unacceptable amount of spin, Marius noted -- he'd not gotten the angle quite right, and the blast had been too glancing -- but it did succeed in making it over the net, and Marius' hands remained resolutely behind his back.
They all had their limitations, for such were the rules of the game. For Marius, touching the ball with any part of his body had been proscribed. For April, contact was allowed -- but only to pass to Marius, or to receive a pass in turn. And then there was Kurt, whose ability to pass the ball to himself and teleport at will was restricted only by the edict that he not make contact with the floor.
Kurt tried to intercept the ball, but misjudged its trajectory and groaned goodnaturedly, teleporting back to near the ceiling as it bounced off the ground. "A point to your team, I think."
Marius flashed a grin to April. "Teamwork makes the dream work," he declared, unbothered by the fact the victory merely equalized their score to 0:0. He ducked beneath the net to retrieve the ball. There was a quiet hissing sound as the sand shifted back into its intricate whorls as soon as he'd withdrawn; Marius was not the player the court was keyed to register.
"Second go," Marius announced as he tossed the ball into the air. "Here we- damn!"
The optic blast hit the ball at an off angle, sending it spinning off to the side.
April dove for it, spiderweb trailing her freefall, but she was a few seconds too late as the ball bounced off the ground a split second before she tucked into a roll as she landed. She caught it on the rebound as she stopped, frowning at the ceiling from where she laid on her back. "Too fast, ow." She took a second, then sat up and jumped to her feet. "Point, Kurt." One hand extended into something roughly resembling the end of a tennis racket as she tossed the ball into the air and smacked it with the paddle at Marius.
"Cheers." April's angle had been good, and this volley proved much cleaner: this time his optic blast sent the ball sailing easily over the net. Inwardly, Marius was also relieved he was not alone in his difficulty adjusting to his handicap. Not because he was particularly uncomfortable with looking ridiculous, of course, but because when one was faced with a new challenge there was something very heartening in seeing you were all struggling at the same level.
Kurt, on the other hand, seemed to be having little difficulty with his imposed handicap so far, clinging quite comfortably to the wall. At least until he forgot himself as he went after the ball and allowed one foot to graze the sand.
The scoreboard reflected the update, and April clung to her own wall with knees bent as she waited for the next volley.
Marius scooped the ball from the sand and idly spun it on the tip of a finger. "Not your game?" he called to Kurt. "Of course, without a charming teammate such as mine you're left manning the court yourself . . ."
The younger man tossed the ball, and another ruby blast sent it shooting over the net.
Kurt grinned at him, skittering along the wall into the right position to flick his tail at the ball, then teleported to smack it nearer the net, and then again to get it over. "I am picking it up."
April shot a web out and went flying forward and around, a thick tendril reaching out and smacking the ball towards Marius. "You are! This is a fun workout."
Marius raced to get in a position beneath the trajectory of the ball. "Truly the Brotherhood shall tremble before us on the field of battle. What do you suppose to be Magneto's policy on beach volleyball? Back to you, Mayhem." Marius blasted the ball in her direction for a more efficient return. "Lonely here on the ground whilst the two of you jump about with the greatest of ease. Next time: agility powers."
"Pity you're allergic," April replied, second web flying out so she could bat the ball back to Marius with a solid smack of her hand. "Sooraya's sneaky with her form, I'd ask her."
Marius crossed his wrists behind his back and angled another blast to send the ball back to Kurt. "Never used that sort of shifting before, to be honest. Unsure whether I feel like committing to something that might see me spending three days at the bottom of a dustbin."
The ball came flying back over the net at him. "I am sure she could teach you how to move around in less than three days."
A ruby red blast glanced off the ball, knocking it off course, sending it dropping down towards the net as the optical blast bounced off the rubber surface towards one of the walls of the Danger Room. Only as it touched the wall the blast returned, glancing off the ball again to spin it round as the blast bounced off the ground. Again and again the blast glanced off the sides of the ball, spinning it as it seemed to trap the falling ball in a net of red energy before the rubber toy finally landed on the edge of the net, spinning furiously as it slowed, teetering for a second before falling still, perfectly balanced on the thin edge as Scott continued walking along the wall towards the danger room control room.
"You know, Erik always did prefer soccer to volleyball, but I'm pretty sure he injected iron into the ball so he would always win."
April tracked the ball with sharp eyes, admiring the control it took to leave the ball so perfectly balanced.
Thwip!
A small amount of web shot out, splatting against the ball as she gave a sharp pull of her hand, yoinking it into the air and towards her hands at high speed.
A small smile touched Scott's lips as another blast bounced off the floor, angling up to strike the ball right at the point the webbing held it so it could shear through the webs and send the ball careening up over the net to drop almost gently down in front of Marius.
"It is subtle," Marius said dryly, "but I cannot help but feel a point is being made." The Australian hooked a toe beneath the ball and kicked it up into his hands. He glanced at his erstwhile opponent and gave Kurt a feral smile. "Do you hear that, Mr. Sefton? I think that was an invitation to make this match three-to-one."
"Oh, now, that is not fair!" Kurt protested, laughing. "If Scott is to join the game, I will have to insist he plays for my side."
The clipboard clattered to the ground as Scott turned back, eyes glowing red with suppressed energy like some kind of demon out of mythology as he cracked his head to the side.
"If we're talking about fair, you all might want to get a few reinforcements to even the odds."
no subject
Date: 2024-05-23 04:28 am (UTC)Gotta take wins where he can, guys.
A really fun read that was a breezy focus on action moreso than talking — I especially enjoyed the power limitations on a focus for the game and how y'all engaged with the back and forth moving your characters on the court. Fun to see April using her shifting and webs matched with Kurt's mobility and Marius having to curb his own instincts with a different power.
And then Scott has to show off, of course.
no subject
Date: 2024-05-23 07:42 pm (UTC)