Danger Room Tango (Open)

[Cyclops]

(OOC: I'll be playing two characters in this thread, so I'll just use the one account.)

::Cyclops trained his eyes on Revenant, no longer thinking of her as Mariella. He had agreed to their little danger room sessions because he knew that she would one day be a valuable part of the team. He raised his fingers to the manual control by his temple, unleashing a crimson beam of energy with pinpoint accuracy. He missed. Good.

Of course, he could have hit her if he had wanted to, any day of the week. But today's exercise was evasion. He closed the slide of his visor for a short moment before firing another beam, trying to catch the young woman in a compromised position, but she evaded with the skill that he had taught her, keeping those green eyes locked on him.

Revenant twisted and turned, starting slowly and keeping her footing as Scott had taught her. She sped up her movements as she closed the distance, finally ending in a roll and throwing a quick punch to her teacher's chin, stopping short to end the exercise. She was drenched in sweat, wearing a skin-tight under-armour workout suit. Cyclops dropped his hand from his visor control and nodded.::

"Good...your reaction times are getting better, but work on your roll at the end. It's supposed to make that strike faster. If anyone is shooting beams at you, it won't be likely that they'll be concussive. You need to put them out quickly. Ready to spar?"

::Mariella nodded, catching her breath quickly as she was in good shape, she squared off with her teacher, raising her hands in the Muy Thai stance that he had taught her.::

"You know that a lady never passes up an opportunity to get hit Mr. Summers..."

::He had her on the ground in a few seconds without causing any real bodily harm. Looking down at her he realized why she had always made him so uncomfortable. Searching the profile of her face as she refused to stay down, he caught a short glance of Emma. He messed up...hesitated. He caught a knee to the ribs and lost his balance before he was pushed to the ground by a swift kick. Mariella smiled that knowing smile of hers triumphantly.::

"I suppose there's a first time for everything right?"

[Nightcrawler]

BAMF Kurt Wagner teleported near the sparring pair. "Good job Fraulien. Few manage to land a blow on our illustrious field leader."

Kurt's mouth was straight, and his face showed none of the mirth in his voice, but his eyes almost seemed to sparkle. "So Herr Summers is there anything hurt besides your pride?"

Kurt allowed his mouth to curve into a sort of smirk, and a challenge crept into his voice. "Perhaps two veterans should show her how it's done, Ja?"

[Cyclops]

::Cyclops stood, not giving any indication as to the lucky nature of the last bout. He nodded to Mariella, the most acknowledgement that he ever really gave. He turned to Kurt and shook his head.::

"That would be inappropriate Kurt...I'm sorry."

::Mariella had gotten her hopes up to see the fight.::

"I wouldn't mind at all Mr. Summers..."

::She gave a slight smile, waiting for his answer.::

"There would be no teaching point in it Mariella."

::Mostly, Scott did not want to expose to Nightcrawler that the blue man was predictable, and a slump fighter. The second reason was that any demonstration of their powers would be unhelpful to his student as he had explained.::

[Nightcrawler]

"Ah Scott always with the lesson in mind." It was alright with Kurt. "That is all right with me."

Nightcrawler guessed that the field leader had a ulterior motive, but that was a pretty easy guess with cyclops he was always focused on the morale of the other X-men. He was so serious, of course Kurt tended to be on the serious side as well, but he was thoughtful and pensive, like a monk.

Cyclops struck Kurt as a general, a Napoleon or Wellington.

The blue mutant thought for a while. "You know who can use some extra Danger Room time. What's his name again? Jonathan...Jonathan Weaver. Ja his powers are formidable but he spends a lot of his time alone with his head in the books. He needs to spend more time with his soon to be teammates. Plus I think he relies to much on his powers..."

Of course Nightcrawler was hoping that Scott would catch the subtext. He knew Jonathan could use more Danger Room time and it seemed that both Jonathan and Mariella could learn from the session Scott was running. And Of course was glad to go and fetch him.

[Cyclops]

::This was why Scott preferred to work with others. He had overlooked the Weaver boy, and was extremely grateful for Kurt's input. He nodded once to Kurt.::

"If Mariella wouldn't mind, I'd be glad to have him."

::He looked to the young woman, silently glad that he wouldn't be spending so much alone time with her, especially now that he realized the reason for his discomfort around her.::

"Let's get him in here. I don't believe I've met him."

::Cyclops nodded to Nightcrawler.::

"Excellent idea Kurt. Do you know what he's doing right now? Do you think you could fetch him?"

[The Weaver Twins]

"Ja, He is probably studying that is what he usually does. I'm not sure if he even sleeps." Kurt bowed with a flourish.

BAMF[/b][/color]

*******************

About a minute later a wormhole opened, and Jonathan walked out. "Mister Wagner said you wanted me." His mouth didn't move, and the words were for Cyclops alone.

Then Jonathan spoke up. "I'm not telepathic. That was a little trick done with sound waves generated next to your ear. So what are we doing today?"

[Cyclops]

::Mariella eyed the young man curiously but politely, standing with her hands clasped daintily in front of her. Cyclops frowned. This did seem like a person who over-utilized his powers. Those mutants unsettled him.::

"We're working on our close quarters combat skills. Mr. Wagner says that you are unfamiliar with that type of thing, correct?"

::He crossed the danger room to a storage locker and pulled out a white belt. On the belt, written in clear, black letters were the words 'Hit me'. Scott turned to Jonah with a smile and tossed him the belt. This was one of the few humorous traditions around the mansion that he actually enjoyed.::

"Belt up rookie..."

::Mariella remembered the belt, but not so fondly. As Cyclops smirked she knew that he was going to make Jonah every bit as good a fighter as he possibly could. However, it was going to hurt. She stepped to one side of the mat as Cyclops made his way back.::

"This young lady is Mariella Map. She's a junior member of the team, and she'll be your new training partner. Get comfortable with her, as she'll be attempting to make you very uncomfortable, very soon."

::Mariella smiled an easy smile as Cyclops smirked. She wasn't so much laughing at his humor as sympathizing with Jonah's position and trying to make him comfortable.::

"It's a pleasure Mr. Weaver."

[The Weaver Twins]

Jonathan placed the belt on his waste. He made his way over to the mat.
"Yes Sir."
Jonathan stood on the mat. He assumed he wouldn't be aloud to use his powers during this session, which would not be good for him. "Pleased to meet you too, Ms. Map." If she was going to call him by his last name he would return the favor.

Of course he wasn't comfortable he wasn't really a social person by habit. I should be studying. Of course getting his body into shape would be a good idea, but his mindset was still in "read and study as much as possible" mode.

He stood and waited for something to happen, unsure as to what to do.

[Cyclops]

::Cyclops circled the two for a second, watching them. He couldn't, in good conscience, throw the boy to the lions immediately. He was going to warm him up first.::

"Revenant...lead him through the warm-up."

"Sure thing Mr. Summers. Alright, Jonathan, do as I do, we'll start with stretches. You should do these or something similar every day when you wake up."

::She led him through a number of stretches, progressing to push-ups and then sit-ups. The warm-up was light, but effective...for a person that was used to it, that is. Jonathan would have slightly more trouble, but would get used to it in about a month.::

"On your feet, X-men..."

::Mariella sprung to her feet with cat-like grace. Scott handed Jonah head-gear and small boxing gloves. Revenant slipped her gloves on and awaited instruction.::

"Alright, Jonathan...as soon as you're ready, go for it. Half power. I just want to see where you are with your kick-boxing. Head-gear's optional, but I'd wear it if I were you..."

::Mariella raised her hands and waited for the boy. She didn't want to hit him, and secretly hoped that with his size and strength he would be a better standing fighter than she was.::

[The Weaver Twins]

Jonathan went through the warm up. It was fairly difficult for him due to the fact that he wasn't used to extraneous activity. But sweat didn't stream off him due to the fact he had caused it to evaporate as it formed, cooling him and getting rid of the sweat.

Once the warm ups were over Jonathan jumped to his feet. He placed the gloves on his hands and put the helmet on his head. Then he walked over towards Mariella.

As he walked his brain analyzed the air patterns. When he got within reach his foot lashed out in the path most likely to be effective. Unfortunately though it was well placed concerning the air currents, it was still a pretty weak kick and would easily be blocked or dodged.

[Cyclops]

::Revenant utilized a side-step and a catch, moving to the outside of his kick and clasping it harmlessly to her side. She brought her free hand in an over-hand strike to the side of his helmet. Knowing that Cyclops would reprimand her for going easy, she cushioned the blow, but made it look worse by pushing Jonathan's leg, throwing him off balance.::

"That was a good kick. It's not really so much your technique we'll have to work on as your strength, speed, and delivery. Good though, try again."

::Mariella remembered things like this from her time in high-school in the self-defense club. She liked the feeling of helping to teach another student. In time, she would learn as much from him as he would from her. She smiled encouragingly.::

"Good kick, you almost had me."

[The Weaver Twins]

Jonathan started falling backwards but as he fell he instinctively reached out with his telekinesis and righted himself.
Jonathan smiled back. "Thanks."

He analyzed the air patterns again, and jabbed twice, as decoys, and went for the kick again. Of course it was as weak as before, but he hoped the jabs he made with his fists would distract her like they were supposed to.

Jonathan was starting to enter that state of mind which most people called a fitness high. Although with his powers the feeling was much more intense for Jonathan. He could feel His heart pumping and the blood rushing through his veins. It felt really good. Jonathan resolved himself to add workouts to his schedule.

[Cyclops]

::Mariella, being a Jujitsuista, instinctively blocked the first jab with a press block, keeping contact so that the second on came as though it was under water. She simply shifted her hips to avoid the kick, turning sideways and letting it slip past her. She stepped away, to the outside of the kick, moving away while Jonathan's foot was still airborne.::

"Good, you're thinking. That's always a good thing, but you can't allow yourself to get predictable. Alright, that's enough of that. Jonathan, I think with your shape we could make you into a pretty decent Karateka or Muay Thai fighter. What do you think Revenant?"

::Mariella began sizing him up.::

"With the way he moves? He could do anything he wanted to. He'll be better than me in no time at all."

::Her sweet, southern voice was complimentary, but also truthful.::

[The Weaver Twins]

"Thank you. Though I was using my powers a bit by analyzing the air patterns and using that to aim my kick and jabs. But other than that and instinctively righting myself I refrained from using my powers." He had to be truthful, integrity was an integral part of his character. If he weren't he would be like Jonah. And if he were like Jonah, inwardly Jonathan shuddered. He didn't even want to try and imagine what Jonah would do in his situation.

And about the fighting style... Jonathan thought for a while before he spoke up again. "I'm not sure I know enough about martial arts to choose a style at the moment."

[Cyclops]

::Mariella smiled her knowing smile.::

"Well, Mr.Summers is a great Muay Thai teacher, and you definitely have the frame for it."

"Yeah...the only problem is, you'd have to learn how to give and take a hit."

::Cyclops wasn't about to let his students get too confident. He was a firm believer in the fact that nobody was invulnerable. He had seen that. However, using what he already knew of Jonathan, most people who got on his bad side wouldn't get close enough for a Muay Thai clinch.::

"And he certainly can't do that if you refuse to hit him Miss Map."

::Mariella blushed slightly, but not much. She would hit him when he was a little bit better, but right now it didn't feel very nice. Cyclops stepped onto the mat and threw a spinning Muay Thai round-house, followed by several knee and elbow combinations.::

"Muay Thai 101...put the other guy on the ground as fast as you can."