18693/Tennis anyone

Tennis anyone
Date of Scene:	28 July 2024
Location:	Tennis Court
Synopsis:	Tennis is harsh mistress.
Cast of Characters:	Piotr Rasputin, Ororo Munroe, Negasonic

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Piotr Rasputin has posed:
It was Sunday morning, and Piotr Rasputin was on the tennis court. There was a machine set up on the other side, which was half full of neon yellow tennis balls. At irregular intervals, it was spitting them out with force, from multiple angles. No doubt Hank McCoy, Forge, or one of the other more engineering inclined X-Men had modified it to make it more effective.

Piotr Rasputin was a towering figure at six and a half feet tall, which would probably make him a very good tennis player, if he had the speed and skill... which he did not. He wasn't bad, but he would not be challenging for a place in Wimbledon anymore soon. He had on a white polo shirt, white shorts, white socks, and white shoes, so he would look the part at least. But a few of the balls sailed passed him. Not all, but enough. The machine may have also been set on a higher setting than he was capable of dealing with.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe has quietly walked onto the tennis courts, so as to not interrupt Piotr, who is doing his best at tennis. She is dressed in all black (of course) but has her tank top and tennis skirt ready for the experience, so she too arrives to try this weird sport. She watches Piotr for a moment (try to) whap the balls back from the tennis X-Slinger machine Forge designed. Or was it Henry?

She raises her hand and a slight breeze blows one of Piotr's tennis balls back through the air from his awkward volley and it perfectly lands on the line. It's in! What a great shot. She chuckles.

Ororo walks back over on the other side near the X-Slinger and waves hello to Piotr, "Pardon me for interrupting, Piotr. Care to hit some?" she asks him.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr felt the breeze. It played at the collar of his shirt, and he looked over to Ororo Munroe, who was decked out in contrasting colors. He gave her a complex look. He was amused that she had cheated to help him remain in the lines, but he was upset that she had cheated. It was one of Piotr's classic looks that he gave many of his comrades.

Stepping back, a ball whizzed passed him, and he shifted the racket from one hand to the other so that he could reach into his right pocket, and press a button on the remote control to stop the machine. Moving towards the fence, he steered the balls into a corner with his racket, "Da, I would like that, Ororo. I am still new to this sport." Had she wanted to play hockey, ski, or swim, he would her man. But tennis was a rarer sport in Russia, especially for someone from a backwater like Piotr.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe holds up her hand and waves him off as he gives her that 'look', then motions to the court, "Do not worry, I believe the breeze has died down," she explains helpfully, meaning she won't be trying anything funny to make him upset. She pushes the X-Slinger out of her way and takes her position correctly opposite of Piotr.

"I was given this racket as a gift and I have not used it much," Ororo reveals honestly.

Maybe she felt guilty and grabbed the racket to use this morning, or was just interested in trying something outside her regular routine. "I will serve. Get ready," she warns him. She uses some beginner form but does hit the ball with some minor strength over the net toward him!

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"Da," he said, and took his position opposite her, knees bent, torso bent slightly forward, eyes on the ball.

Piotr had rudimentary technique. Power was not an issue. This was a man who routinely, albeit in his empowered form, threw Wolverine and his heavy skeleton, at their adversaries. In human form, he was still built like a brick house. But he wasn't going to use every ounce of his strength against Ororo.

Managing to get to the ball, he lobbed it back up, higher than he had intended. It was going to go in if she didn't deal with it, but there was more than enough time to get there.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe has stepped toward and kept the red racket in front of her, poised to jump on any quick return that might come at her. She comes up from her poised stance, looks up at Piotr's high lob, and steps back as it BOINKS off the court near her. She whaps it back at him which is easy to do with the return she was given. Her outfit has contrasting white stripes on it and it flutters as she hits the ball.

She deals fairly with the ball, hitting back at Piotr, but not trying to be a velocity machine, "Come! Do your best!" she lets out encouragingly.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr wasn't quite sure what he should do while waiting for the return lob. It was one of those things that you gain with experience. So he stood, poorly positioned. He really needed to think of this in more combat terms. So when it came back towards him, he ended up having to dive, throwing himself horizontally, in order to catch it after the bounce with his blue racket. He skidded the entire left side of his outfit against the hard surface, but didn't dwell on it, getting up, fighting to be prepared for a return should he succeed. He wasn't able to do his best on that one, as it went wide, and she scored the point. But on his neck effort, after she served, he would do much better, sending it full force, right back down the court.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe walks over to get the ball that Piotr sent wide and takes a moment to walk over to him in order to say, "Good! Your effort is commendable," she says in that usual way Storm does to comfort and be friendly, "But here, look. Keep your feet like this," she demonstrates, adding that little comment like a good mother. She nods her head and returns to her side of the court.

Maybe she doesn't know all that much about tennis, but Ororo tries to her best to boost her friends up in everything. She waits for his serve which he hits with a WHA BAM and she nods her head in approval, thinking it a much better attempt. She steps back at the quicker serve and her weak return doesn't really look that good. She's able to return a few more of his hits but he eventually wins the next point against her, "Very good," she says finally.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr's outfit now had tennis scars, as it was dirty on one side where he had dove. With the break in play, he took her instruction, repeating the way she stood after she demonstrated. Ororo could be such a mother hen to the X-Men at times. "Thank you for your instruction, Ororo."

With another back and forth, and him growing into his comfort with the sport, he gained a point. When she compliments him, he adds on, "I have a good teacher."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe smiles slightly and approaches the net, "This is much better than a machine," she tells him, "But I have forgotten my water," she adds. She looks to the side of the tennis court where some might be but she walks over and doesn't find any water. She grabs a small lil tennis towel and returns with it to Piotr, giving it to him.

"Another go? Or you have some other business?" she asks him.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
It was nicer and more random, to compete against a flesh and blood human being, not that there was anything wrong with artificial life forms. "It is important to remain properly hydrated during rigorous physical activity." When no water could be located, he offered her his bottle, "please, use mine." The bottle in question was Xavier issued, with the school's logo on it, and 'Piotr' written in black sharpie above. Watching her towel herself with the X-Towel, because why not put an Xavier logo on everything, it was his school after all, "I am not currently engaged in any business activities."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe takes the X-Water from Piotr, "Ah good, thank you," she tells him and has a sip of water. She nods to what he says and gives the X-Water back after wiping off the top of the bottle with the X-Towel, "Not busy? Okay, one more," she instructs him. She raises her racket and smiles.

Ororo walks back to her position on the court. She bends over to take one of the fallen tennis balls, takes position and serves it up like she did before to Piotr. She whaps it just right this time over the net!

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr accepts the Xavier branded water bottle from his teammate in the X-Men, before setting it down on the bench, next to the court, of the Xavier estate. Neither one of them seemed to be wearing school issued clothes, but they were available for purchase in the gift shop, for faculty, students, and parents of students. The man knew how to squeeze every penny. It was a wonder that the tennis court didn't have a big 'X' in the middle. No doubt Hank said it would be confusing for the lines.

Taking up position on the other side, he caught her whap with a grunting return of his own, sending her scrambling towards the far right hand corner of the court.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe and the large Piotr are both playing tennis on the X-Mansion back court, whapping the tennis ball back and forth, having got the hang of it (eventually) instead of lobbing the ball at each other. She runs forward to get the next volley, whapping toward the corner.

Ororo is trying to win this last point but not trying too hard, as she doesn't want to embarrass Piotr. Course Piotr is having success whapping it at her, so there is that challenge.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr Rasputin was having trouble with the lower shots, since he had to get down there. Anything going straight over the net, or rising, was much easier for him to handle. He was running across the court, trying to deal with the crosses, while playing brinkmanship with her, trying to see who would tire first. She had agility and greater experience, while he had power and reach.

In the end, the Sith colored racket over came the Jedi one, with Piotr having to dive towards the front of the net to recover, but that shot failed, with the big burly Russian crashing face first into the net. The ball did go up, but it sailed harmlessly out of bounds.

Negasonic has posed:
Of all the X-Men that Negasonic Teenage Warhead tended to... provide constructive criticism towards, Piotr Rasputin was one of those she actually something resembling kindness for. Just... don't let anyone know.

She had a rep.

She also thought Ororo was badass, so when she heard that there was a game happening on the court, she meanders over that way with her half-shaven head and dark makeup, wearing her casual clothes - that is to say, a loose pullover, denim jeans, and sneakers. All black, of course.

And as she strides into the area, it was where the ball was sailing out of bounds, Negasonic - even with her eyes turned down towards her phone, easily snatching it out of the air with a swoop of her hand. "Don't go easy on him. He can take it," she says, giving the ball a blind underhand toss towards Storm.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe rushes forward to deal with Piotr's last shot but it lands out of bounds disappointedly. Or would have if Negasonic didn't snatch it out of the air. She catches the ball from her and walks to the net to give it back to Piotr. She looks at him as she says, "Are you alright, Piotr?" she asks. She offers her hand in case he needs it to get up off the court.

Ororo turns her head and looks at Negasonic, "We had a good game," she tells her, "How are you doing this morning?" she asks the girl.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr only bruised his dignity with that effort. By the time Ororo had retrieved the ball from Ellie, Piotr had gotten up. There was a curious redness on his face, shaped by the marks of the net when he crashed into it. "Da, I am quite all right, Ororo, but thank you for asking." Looking over at Ellie's arrival, "she has not been going easy on me. But she is more skilled. Would you like to join us, Ellie?" She didn't seem to be dressed for it, but she could as is, or it would be a simple matter to change. Getting up, he moved over to her, holding out his racket, "perhaps you can do better?" Oh, a challenge.

Negasonic has posed:
"Didn't know you were into tennis, Colossus," says Ellie, glancing up from her phone with a sharper glance when he calls her 'Ellie'. But she lets it slide for now, her thumb sliding over the touchscreen of her device.

"I'm doing okay, Professor Storm," she says. "How are you this morning?" she asks.

She waffles at the edge of the court, before she shrugs her shoulders.

"As in, play the game as well? We could do doubles, but... we're one short for that," she says, her nose scrunching up in those moments as she waves the offered racket away.

"And I'd have to change. And sweat."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe nods to what Piotr, "Good Game, Piotr," she tells him again. She motions Negasonic closer and onto the court, "It is alright, we are not keeping score," she explains.

Ororo offers Negasonic her cute red racket after she dismisses Piotr's offer, "Are you sure? Take my place," she offers.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
"It is a recent inquiry," Piotr replied to Ellie in that thick Russian accented English of his. He did catch the sharper glance at the use of her given name. He would ask her what she would prefer he call her in private later. His eyes remain on her as she waffles. "Yes, as in play. Regular exercise is important for maintaining body mind balance. It is good for the heart, your overall health, and creativity. Do not worry yourself about attire. There are clothes in the clubhouse, as well as towels and showers to allay your concerns about perspiration. It will be good, yes?" He was fine with playing with or against them. But the suggestion of doubles had him thinking. "With the size of this school, we should be able to find a fourth."

Nodding back to Ororo, "you are a worthy victor. There is much I can learn from you." When she offers her racket to Ellie, he pretends to be shocked, "or if I could find another racket, I could do this two handed." He stretched out both arms, and he did have an impressive wingspan.

Negasonic has posed:
A roll of Ellie's eyes at what was offered. "How about you both try again, and I can keep score for you?" she says.

A glance towards the clubhouse, and her eyes narrow. But eventually, well... she gives a shrug. "And I'll go change in the meantime," she says. A crinkle of her nose. "I live in the poolhouse, so that makes things easier..." she says, letting her gaze cut across towards Ororo.

She regards the taller woman.

"I'll be right back," she says, before she turns and goes off towards the clubhouse. She was never the smiley sort of young woman, after all.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe shakes her head like a mother hearing an outrageous comment from her kid, "Piotr, you can not play two people at once," she comments, "I think a lot of people are out. That is why they are not outside exercising," she adds.

Ororo puts her hands on her hips as Negasonic tells them what's going to happen, looking fairly stern as she contemplates Negasonic's directions. She then looks sidelong at Piotr as Negasonic walks off, "I suppose I could go again but I am getting tired," she mutters.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr gave Ororo a wry smile, at his joking suggestion that he could play them both at once, especially in light of the fact that he lost to Ororo alone. "Da, you are right, of course. You often are." He looks to Negasonic, explaining the situation and how it would play out. He wasn't sure whether it was more amusing, or Ororo's reaction to it. He mimicked Ororo's stance, hands on his own hips, but a far gentler and warmer expression on his face. Was he the good cop to Ororo's bad cop here? "Then why not rest up, enjoy more water, and," a glance to the departing Ellie, "show her the error of her ways."

Negasonic has posed:
And in a few minutes - she wouldn't leave them hanging for so long, Negasonic Teenage Warhead comes out in tennis shorts, and the t-shirt that she had worn under her pullover. It was dark black, and advertised a metal band of some sort.

And she bore gifts in the form of water bottles.

"Did I hear when I was leaving that you are getting tired?" she asks of Storm, offering the water bottles to both.

"I hear that happens when you get older. Age sets in, and you lose a lot of your energy."

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe gives Piotr a look now as he mimics her, and takes the X-Water bottle from him. She grumbles as she has another drink, "Oh Piotr," she complains. She gives it back to him quickly.

Ororo then waits for Negasonic to make her presence known and she looks at the girl sternly as she says, "I am fine, young lady," she replies. She then turns about to head back on the court, "Take your place. Piotr can show you where to stand if you have forgotten," she explains. Jab jab.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr had been enjoying this. It was all in good fun. But Negasonic Teenage Warhead raised the stakes with a jab at Storm's maturity. He looked between them, being handed his water bottle back from Storm, and shortly thereafter, handed a new one from Ellie, "thank you," he did say to both. He clutched them under one arm, and handed his racket to Ellie, whispering, "we have excellent medical facilities." He meant that to encourage her, that anything that came, they could probably deal with it, rather than an attack on her capabilities. He did show her his stance, the one that Ororo had shown him earlier, "good luck," and then he headed to the side, suddenly wishing that there was a sturdier bunker for him to go into.

Negasonic has posed:
What? Negasonic Teenage Warhead said something mean and inappropriate towards an authority figure?!

It was very out of character for her, indeed.

Either way, with her half-shaven hairstyle, she lets her eyes flick between the two adults, accepting the racket from Piotr with an easy sort of casualness to her form. "I remember seeing a YouTube video about how to play tennis from time to time," She says.

A glance over her shoulder towards Piotr as he says that, before she turns her attention back towards Storm, lifting her chin in a flick.

She actually has never physically played tennis before. This will be painful.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe has taken her place on the court and is using extra care to make sure she's ready to deliver the whapped ball to this Negasonic. It starts to get cloudy in the sky and rumble a bit as Ororo grips the measley tennis ball in her hand. Hmm, that's strange. "Just keep your eye on the ball and do not get distracted," she replies like a good mother, even after getting insulted.

Ororo serves with some effort (WHAP!) right over the net and sends it right for the girl (BOINK!).

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr took a seat on the bench, setting his water down next to the one that Ellie had given him. Looking up, he could see the weather changing, the clouds forming, and the rumble. "This does not look good," he silently mouthed to himself. He looked back to Ororo, who right now looked like both of the Williams sisters combined with Zoe Saldana into some kind of super tennis player, who was simultaneously warm, funny, and patient.

Negasonic has posed:
Negasonic squints towards the sky as it starts to cloud up, the look on her lips pursing downwards a bit more as she gives her chin a flick. "Are you getting distracted, Professor?" she says.

"It's starting to get a bit stormy already..." she says, with a hint of smug victory in her tone. She was getting to 'ro.

Right for Ellie? Well, the woman did have X-Man training, so she does jerk backwards. Only for the ball to strike her right in the forehead. Bonk!

"... don't you like... lose points and have to let me walk a base if you hit me?" she asks, rubbing that spot with her other hand before she stoops over to pick up the ball.

She gives a *very* inexperienced underhanded serve back towards 'ro.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe shakes her head disappointedly and puts her hands on her hips as the ball bounces off Negasonic, "No. Come, try again. You are not active enough," she tells her, whatever that means. She doesn't seem pleased either way, with the result or Negasonic's reponse.

Ororo sighs and watches the ball for a moment patiently BOINK off the court before hitting it back. Right at the girl! Watch out! She looks over at what the heck Piotr is doing, thinking he tricked her or instigated this whole deal maybe.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
Piotr began this day on his own out here, just hitting balls shot at him by the X-Slinger, when first Ororo, and then Ellie, came to join him. He played no part in getting Ellie to rag on Ororo, so naturally, he is completely at fault, and must have somehow manipulated them with the skill of a supervillain into this situation.

He looked concerned when Ellie got struck in the face, rising up from his seat on the bench, but when she seemed okay, and served up a volley of her own, he sat back down. Oh no, another one was heading straight at Ellie again. She really shouldn't have made light of Ororo's age.

Negasonic has posed:
This time, however, Negasonic sidesteps the incoming ball, bringing up her tennis racket to *whack* it back towards the other woman.

"Ha!" she says, her tone of voice full of victory from that. She was watching out!

"So how long have you been playing tennis for?" she asks, tilting her head back towards the other woman, watchful and her eyes narrowing. Uh oh. She was taking it seriously now.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe eyes Piotr smugly and appears to not respect his skill at supervillainy, shaking her head again. She gives him the pointy finger for good measure.

Ororo probably didn't expect Negasonic to hit a ball, not back at her anyway, "Two calendar years," she answers after Negasonic thwacks the ball back, "That is better!" she replies.

Ororo gets (mock) distracted and hits the ball back up in the air, failing to return it to Negasonic. Awww. She squints up at the ball as she (mock) loses sight of it for a second, and the ball somehow arcs back down straight for Piotr! Watch out! Falling ball! "My mistake, watch out!" she calls out.

Piotr Rasputin has posed:
These two women were waging their own little war out here, and Piotr risked getting caught in the crossfire. "I have been practicing for three weeks," he explained during a pause after Ellie asked how long Storm had been doing this. "Still a beginner."

It took some getting used to having balls flying at one's head. Losing sight of one of them, he did not expect it to arc, contrary to its original trajectory, and fly back down straight to Piotr. He got hit on the noggin, and heard a 'my mistake, watch out,' as he collected it, tossing it back, and rubbing his short black hair.

And people thought testosterone was bad.

Negasonic has posed:
Maybe there was a little bit of that look in Negasonic's eyes, the way that she squares her shoulders up as she sees the ball go elsewhere. "I'm pretty sure that means that I win, right?" she says to Ororo, her eyebrows raising.

Negasonic wasn't the kind of person to smile, but there was the hint of it in the corners of her lips, and the square of her shoulders.

Snatching the ball out of the air, Ellie brings the ball up to kinda bounce it on the racket.

"Do you wanna give up while you're ahead?" she says.

Nonetheless, she serves the ball back, aiming it towards a spot near Ororo's side.

Ororo Munroe has posed:
Ororo Munroe is plopped in the side by the sly Negasonic because she's watching Piotr's reaction to the previous ball. She frowns at Negasonic. That's not very sportsmanlike. She grabs the ball off the court and walks back over to Piotr, looking disappointed in this whole situation, "Are you alright, Piotr? My mistake," she says to him again, "I believe that is enough tennis for today," she mutters as she stands there on the side.

Ororo raises her chin and looks over at Ellie, "I believe we are tied, young lady," she comments, "I think that is enough for today," she adds again if she couldn't hear.