5215/Training for Trouble!

Training for Trouble!
Date of Scene:	16 February 2021
Location:	Training Gym
Synopsis:	Megan confronts Illy about a little problem in limbo. Paige and Roberto dance around the Situation.
Cast of Characters:	Megan Gwynn, Illyana Rasputina, Roberto da Costa, Paige Guthrie

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Megan Gwynn has posed:
Only or say or two had passed since Megan had made the risky decision to banish a symbiote possessed Shannon to limbo, surely for the best for everyone involved. Since then she had tried to get in contact with Illyana but had had no luck so far. It didn't help that she's slightly fearful and wary of the Queen of Limbo either..

The evening finds her working out in the training room, quite thankful for the tips that Sam had offered her, and she was running a circuit, running along balance beams, leaping through hoops, dangling off monkey bars and leaping and spinning off the pole at the end..It was quite a rush, and good for building up her endurance. It's nice that the room is currently occupied only by herself..

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
What's good for the goose may not be good for the Russian firebird known to be as tempestuous and unpredictable as a cat, save one endowed with flight, sorcery, and the occasional insight into the future.

Truth told, trying to find Illyana can be difficult. She rarely stays on campus for any length of time. Coming and going makes for an incoherent schedule, though perhaps the previous day appearing out of Scott's office gives some indication of where she might be. Or Megan can put out borscht from Yuri's Hut down the road and hope for the best.

Best or worst. However it flows, that's entirely in the blind gaze of destiny. Choose how one will but eventually it leads to a crossroads. And the path leads to the training room, where a girl all in black and icy blue highlights leans against the door for however long she has been there.

Megan's performance and her athleticism is observed with arctic eyes, and when it comes right down to it, the audience of one doesn't have to say much. Or much move.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn lets out an excited whoop,as she swiftly glides through the routine, hav g diligently worked at this long enough that it is becoming second nature to her, She has worked especially hard on focusing on physical fitness, having told Sam that she tends to rely too much on her wings while paying little attention to her physical prowess. Honestly, it's easy sometimes to get lazy when you have wings, and so she is not even using them during this routine.

It takes her a few minutes to realize that she's not alone, that she's being watched..

Waaaaaait, is that..."Illy!? Ack!" she yelps in surprise, so distracted, that she actually hits the bar that she was supposed to dick under, nipping her head enough to lightly bruise it. "Ouuuch!" she helps again, rubbing her head..So embarrassing!

Stilll, Illy'a watching her in that creepy way, and seeing Megan like this is sooooo awkward for her. Geh! She straightens up and shrugs, trying to act like it's nothing. "How long you been standing there?!"

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Those lessons of mastering body rather than strictly social elements, mind, or even soul matter. Sam's not entirely wrong. Practice may not make perfect, but it certainly improves muscle tone, reaction time, and strength. All those good things that could make the difference on a battlefield against an enemy who flings metal feathers or has arms that shoot lava. True fact, dodging a gout of molten rock and flame makes a few more crunches or laps around the track that much more worthwhile.

A few minutes and the world can turn. Fall apart, or begin again.

The Russian blonde barely moves. Even the rise and fall of her chest is minimised. Exaggerated gestures are for others, not so much her or her countrymen. Where Piotr can sit by the wayside lost in his art or his thoughts for hours, the icon of Rodin's famed /Le Penseur/, she is the missing half of that famed sculpture. The standing woman to the thinking man, perhaps. Both places probably lead to Hell. Megan's fall is short at least. The bruised bounce earns not so much as a raised eyebrow.

"You rang," she states. It's brutally matter of fact, direct, and devoid of much beyond a flat statement. "Long enough."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn regards her with wide eyed curiousity, and perhaps a bit of wariness too. Her relationship with Illy has always been...Comolicated. But hey, at least they're not at each other's throats, right? She laughs nervously, trying to casually rub her stinging head.

"Oh...Right! I did, didn't I?" she flushes, either from her recent strenuous workout, or cuz Illy's so damn scary. "Oooooh, you got my message...Good! Errr I mean..." welll, goodish. Better now than later, may as well get this over with..

"Soooo...." she bites her lip. "I kinda...Ported a dangerous symbiote possessed Mutant into limbo as a last resort cuz she was too powerful and was about to blow up a block flat and us along with us and I'm really really sorry but I figured it was for the best so.....so...!"

Phew, she's just about to run out of air after all that running and talking super fast, and she actually pauses for a moment, huffing and puffing...

Roberto da Costa has posed:
"I'm not sure I get what or why we'd come here to practice dancing. We totally could have done all MANNER of practice in your dorm room..." Roberto walks hand in hand with Paige as they enter the training gym. For all his bluster about being here he's dressed for the gym in a white Nike t-shirt that lightly hugs his muscular frame along with a pair of black athletic shorts that show off he tanned and toned soccer player legs and sneakers.

What ever else he was going to say is kept in check as he looks up to spot Megan and Illy already in place and training. A wave is given to the pair as he looks from them to Paige, "See, this doesn't look like dancing. We're here to fight, right? You brought me here to beat me up?" Smiling he squeezes her hand before its released and he whistles to get Megan and Illy's attention, "Hey! Can we join in on this action or what's going on?"

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"Yeah, I know what kinda dancing you'd wanna try in my room. The lambada is offlimits mister." Paige says as she squeezes his hand as they walk inside together. "This is a PG dance. Maaaaybe PG-thirteen depending on the mood. That means, hands on hips, not higher, not lower."

So demanding.

As she spies Magik and Megan, she slows to a stop and lifts her free hand upwards. "Hey guys. Don't mind us. We're just practicing for the Sadie Hawkins dance. I'm not going to let him talk his way out of it. Not until we make sure our bodies are synched up." Pause. "And not in the way he obviously wants to be."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The blonde girl isn't particularly imposing in the way a seven foot tall Russian built like a nuclear submarine might be. More Vasilisa dancing in the forest, though she still blocks the doorway out or in. A casual lean against the border could lend the faulty impression she relies on the wall to hold her up, but that's far from the case where Illyana is involved. Her tongue remains behind her teeth, that cool visage unsmiling, a neutral mask.

It probably makes Megan's half of the conversation that much easier to conduct without interruption. For there isn't one, giving the Welsh mutant all the time in the world to speak her thoughts or do a few jumping jacks, possibly plan that vacation to Barbados. World domination? It might get the equivalent reaction, a measured blink.

The people coming up behind her are heard, certainly; Berto's voice she can pick out at a distance, Paige's a little less familiar in cant and lilt, but still distinguished. A Brazilian Portuguese accent is just as unfamiliar as an Appalachian one, to Russian ears anyway. But therein rests something vast, stirring in the dark under the ice, a sidelong look cast over her shoulder to the pair not exactly friendly. Not murderous, but certainly troublesome. Sliding sideways allows them past, it's invitation enough from Illyana.

"You met a mutant possessed by an alien." Factual, her tone. "A creature in control of her mind or in agreement with it. One who was attacking a building." Pause. "Da?"

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Goood grief, she sure is scary, especially when she says nothing. What *is* going through that tortured, scary mind of hers? Is she plotting some evil scary thing to do to Megs...Orr...Or....?

"Gah!" she hacks, her throat dry and on fire even, after a long and sweaty workout. She's definitely gonna need a cool shower and lots of water...Water water water...Dammit, where'd she put her bottle? Is she Gonna - I dunno - turn her into a friggin' *frog* if she turns her back on her, or....?

Nope, nope, need water, surely she'll allow her one lousy dr--oh, hey, are those voices?Hah! She's saved! Surely Illy won't toad her or feed her to her demons, or...Something..In front of other students, right?

Ahhh, there it is! She takes a looooong gulp of water, nearly choking on it before glancing to the new comers cheerfully waving and smiling at them. "Hii, Paige, Berto! Please do come in, I was just having a nice, *friendly* chat with Illy..."

She glances back at Illyana then, calming down a little and nods when she *finally* talks! "Okaaay, I know it's pretty convoluted and stuff but..,.Yeah!"

Roberto da Costa has posed:
As the couple passes Illy, the Brazilian gives her a smile and a playful wink of greeting. "Lam-bada... Hrmm, never heard of it." Roberto is teasing Paige as he looks back towards her and reaches for her hand. "Maybe you need to show me the dance, so then I'd know what NOT to do." That hand is given a light tug as he tries to bring her closer even though there is no music to dance to just yet.

Looking back as Megan greets them, he gives her a wave and a laugh, "A friendly chat?" Looking to Illy he nods a bit and then looks to Paige, "Does that look like a friendly chat face to you." He hooks a thumb back towards Illy then slips away to make sure Paige is between him and the Russian he was just teasing.

"That sounds like some interesting stuff though, seriously. So... Are you sad you did this deed or happy or... What's the outcome? It was for the good of all right? To protect us all from this thing?"

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"Boy. I'm about to throw you around the gym." Paige says with a smirk at his teasing. She takes his hand in his, stepping up closer and into his personal space before her free hand settles on his hip. "Okay, let's see if you know how to do a simple two step. May as well warm up."

As she tilts her head to the other pair at the question, she glances from Megan, then to Illyana. "Um.. that looks like Illy's usual chat face to me." Illy has a great RBF so it's hard to know if it's actually friendly.

"So, you lobbed someone into another dimension? I didn't know you could do that. That's pretty cool." She says as she nudges Roberto backwards to steps, then starts to circle as she steps back two steps. Cha-Cha-Cha.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
When it comes to an actual poker face, actually having a face made of stone might be the only advantage over playing Illyana. Really. Demons are known for bargaining and not letting on their moods. Funny how that illicit gambling night never took off. Possibly not worth the consequences with precognitives, psychics, and crazy people around.

Megan may be choking down water, but she isn't transformed into an African bullfrog or a pot of snails. "A friendly chat," she replies, and that slow undulation of movement begins, gliding off the wall. A few steps to throw them into an orbit around the pair of dancers on light feet, though any calculated study for longer than a few seconds might realize Illyana isn't dancing. Those are different forms, deliberate and poised, drenched in a martial aspect. Maybe it's the only one she knows. But she leaves Roberto and Paige a significant berth to move around, trodding on one another's toes, without stepping on hers.

"Nyet, quite clear, Megan." That name breaks into splinters on the diamond edges of her Slavic accent. A murmur becomes a near, dry whisper. A stretched space of sorts, a lengthened pause that threatens to snap under its own weight of anticipation.

"Why did you release this greatly destructive threat into my home?"

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn by contrast, is quite terrible at poker faces, or anything even remotely close to them. Really, is there any surprise that she and Illy don't exactly see eye to eye?Theyre like, polar opposites. Like, totally!

She winces visibly as she studies Illy's face for signs of a reaction, but dang it, she'd literally have more luck with a rock! Still, as the couple start to dance, Megan skirts around them too, keeping them between herself and Illyana as much as possible, eyeing the Russian warily.

And then she goes and says it...Megan is quite grateful they're not alone, cuz she'd probably be a squishy snail right now..As it is..lShe laughs nervously at the dancing pair, trying to lighten the situation. "Heh, you two are so cute together, aren't they, Illy? Er......!"

She'd say more, but when Illy compares Limbo to some warm, cozy little cottage complete with soft velvet pink sofas and a warm crackling fireplace (Ok sooo Megs has a very very vivid imagination!) she swallows again, nearly tripping over her own feet..

"Meep! I'm sorry! Just..She was about to flatten an entire block, and kill all these people and I figured she'd be less of a threat in a wasteland among angry demons than among innocent helpless people, at least until we can find a way to separate that slimy icky alien thingy from her....Annd I know exactly where I left her and I'm sure your, uh, 'friends' can handle her..?"

Meep, she's gonna kill her, isn't she?

Roberto da Costa has posed:
He's been teasing Paige and acting like he doesn't know how to dance. But once she starts to fall into step the Brazilian picks up on the silent beat she follows along with the dance she' doing. Roberto falls in time, easily shifting in to lead their dance. One hand slides to the small of her back where it rests, the other holds her hand lightly as they move.

Smiling he gives his dance partner a teasing waggle of brows as they dance. He seems to want to give Paige his full attention but Illy's reaction or lack of reaction draws his attention and leaves him distracted enough to slow in his dance. He gives his dance partner's hand a squeeze and then slips away to reach for Illyana as she spins about.

They were teammates and now friends which means Roberto picks up on her mood right away and tries to make sure he keeps her from violence, just in case its where her mind is headed. "Come on Illy, show Paige how we can cut a rug..." Looking from Illy to Megan he does his best to keep the pair apart while occupying the Russian's attention.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
As they move together, Paige shows that she 'did' pay attention in Allison's dance classes back in the day. She moves easily along with him, not stepping on his toes once. When she listens to Illyan and Megan, she steps to the side when Roberto slows down and lets her go. When he reaches for the angry Russian, she takes a few steps to the side, grimacing for a moment.

She glances Megan a silent look, 'I got your back'. That's not a confident silent look between them, but it's at least half-encouraging.

"Well, it sounds like Megan was trying to keep everyone safe. Obviously there was no intentional disrespect, ma'am." Is she supposed to Ma'am Illyana? Right now, she's definitely a Ma'am.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The digitigrade legs aren't in evidence, and given the smooth contours of those dark pants, any such transformation would have precious little to hide behind. Woven metal cracks open along countless fissures, emitting indigo light around the bleeding edges that heave and drop like lake ice driven against a wintry shore. The jagged relief of the pauldron spins all the way down her arm, girding plates supple enough to mirror every articulation that Illyana might possibly envision. Doubled black tines slice through her hair, severely angled back; the harsh crown gleams like an ophidian eye, pitiless in its reflection of those within.

By the sun steps in. Snatching her wrist leaves her whipping on her axis, swerving into Roberto's lead somewhat by choice and somewhat by sheer force. He's hard to ignore when he wants to be found, though clutching hold of her is not a pleasant experience. Undulating wave of reforming metal notwithstanding, the bloodied energy of Limbo mixing with the arcane power locked in her body bends reality badly at the margins.

How seductive a dance is it when traipsing through a minefield? Paige and Megan might well be seeing the floor shift a little under her feet, a mat replaced by raw stone, another patch flowers in violet, a third sand.

"'Sorry.'" An echoed word as her lip curls. The sorceress' eyes bleed, streamers of pale light rolling down her cheeks like tears. "An uncontrollable, violent alien unleashed on my subjects. My servants." The hard-bitten words aren't fully doused in Russian, but the vibrating rage starts to bend the edges of the training room where shadows recoil from her, driven out of the area. "Possibly /my friends/."

But hey, they're dancing, right? Sadie Hawkins, eat your heart out! Strictly Come Demon?

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn's eyes widen as she watches Illyana, well aware of her capabilities, what she could do to her if her patience is tested to its limits. She's experienced it first-hand herself, so long ago in limbo..Why, she was one of her victims, used as a pawn in her twisted scheme, as fas as she is concerned..

Megan was a scared, lost little girl back then. It was also her first kill. Oh yes, she's well aware of limbo and its denizens, but maybe she kind of understands Illy's concerns..Didnt she grow up among those demons? Weren't they like..Like family to her?

Megan swallows, tensing for a fight. And she may be easily mistaken for a silly ditsy sparkly faerie girl, but maybe, just maybe there's more to this pink haired, unicorn loving girl than meets the eye..

And maybe there was a reason Illyana chose *her* to forge a new soul sword from. She nods slowly to Roberto and Paige, glad for their presence and support, smiling faintly to them before levelling her gaze on Illy.

"Illyanna.." she clenches her fists, taking a couple of breaths to calm herself down. She'd fight her and not back down if she had to, Megan's always had an unknown fierceness of her own, even if she'd likely lose such a battle. Even so..

"I understand your...Concerns, and I'm sorry for teleporting her into your..Your home like that.." Megan narrows her dark faerie eyes, an almost fierce look in her eyes as she stands her ground. "But please understand that I had few options. I could not risk putting the lives of hundreds in danger, not when none of us could even put a scratch in her, besides.."

She smiles, a look of confidence touching her usually cute and innocent features. "She may be possessed but I know there is an innocent girl in there somewhere, who has some level of control. I'm certain we can get through to her in time, please just trust me for once. I've already talked to Ms Frost about detaining and sending her to the brig once we wear her down enough so that Frost can help her, and I'm putting a team together who can resist her kinetic abilities. I know we can do this, with your help, so please just trust me.."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto grits his teeth, his grip firm even as he feels the shifting under his hold. He could do more but it isn't needed, yet. So instead he spins with her, away from Megan and Paige as he keeps his gaze locked on hers, trying to force Illy to be grounded in the moment, in the here and now and not to be swept up in the emotions that threaten everyone in the room.

His grip tightens as he grits his teeth to fight the vertigo and overwhelming force that is coming to bare. "Its ok... Illy, we can go and help. Relax now." Roberto is no stranger to fiery emotion and it's him that people are usually trying to talk down. But he speaks to his friend from the heart, his voice lower, for ears alone as he seeks to soothe her.

He hasn't powered up yet but he's ready, still strong in this form and watching as he goes quiet as Megan talks, letting her words be heard as he tries to keep his friend grounded, from going any further and hopefully from striking out.

Paige Guthrie has posed:
"We can all go and help out. We're all X-Men, right? We can do this. Th' old school New Mutants and us .. uh ... Generation X." Paige says with an amused smile on her face before she glances down at her watch as it beeps. "Ah, shoot. Ah' gotta go! Forgot ah' got a Facetime call with Ma and the littles back home."

As she heads out through the door, she gives a wave to every one. "It'll be an adventure! Ah' always wanted ta' go on one." To Hell? Sure, why not.

"Good luck, Megan! Bye, Illyana, Roberto."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Fury's a dangerous thing. Cold and incandescent, a searing presence reaping its due through the veins. Illyana steps in and out of Limbo where she parallels Roberto's movements, for shadowing him through a dance isn't especially different from sparring with someone. The flowering portals shrink and die as the training room seethes, her projected response a bittersweet stain.

Paige's flight, in some ways, makes it easier. A snap aside to watch that retreat with a predatory gleam at war behind the channelled fireglow in her eyes. One less player on the board: the briefest twitch of her fingers locked around Roberto's wrist loosens a fraction. He hauls her back from the edge of wrath dancing on oblivion's edge, but the cost is there, as she tips her head forward, meeting his gaze with her own.

"My realm is not a place to abandon threats. Mutants. People." Words chosen rashly, words chosen deliberately, needling to slide under the skin and hurt the conscience. "Of all people, da Costa, would I ever inflict that? Tolerate that?"

Digits clench and loosen, the constriction grinding bone on bone, but it's an impression tethering the cleaner flame to the darkest impulses shrieking behind a Dyson sphere enclosing mind, the shattered soul. "How can it heal when evil is done? Good intentions still lead to Hell, Gwynn. You cannot afford the price of it, can you?"

Silence, then, the only recourse for suppressing the bending anger that invariably wants to manifest itself in the sharpest edge, the flame-burnt retort.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn blinks at Paige, nodding to her, smiling weakly as she flees. Silently she hopes that Robert won't follow suit. "I know...Sorry, Illyana. It won't happen again. It did happen though, and I am taking steps to correct it." she nods to Roberto, "Thank you, for stepping in..I should get changed, get cleaned up and head to bed..It was nice seeing you and Paige, you make a really cute couple." with one last smile to Berto, and a curt nod to Illyana, Megan is only too eager to flee the room, and the judgemental and harsh gaze of the latter..