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Fighting is fun, running is fun, flirting is fun, reading a good book, fun, recovering in the X-men's medical bay, not so fun. Pietro has been down here for 7 hours and has already made a mess of things. It's like a clean homeless person moved in. On Warren's side of the lab everything is normal. On Pietro's side of the medical bay there are stacks of books from the school library, stacks of empty cereal bowls, piles of discarded twinkie wrappers, cardboard fast food boxes, the bones from a whole chicken, and a stack of eight pizza boxes. Recovering makes a guy hungry.
Pietro spent the last hour laying in bed tossing and turning, unable to sleep because the sedatives won't work on him. Wearing a pair of gray sweatpants with burn bandages over his left arm and shoulder but no shirt, the silver haired man is bored out of his mind. He's read all the books, he's got no one to talk to and his only roommate is the guy who can sleep through anything.
Pietro knows this because he actually banged two bedpans together at one point to try and wake him up. Now the speedster is just bored silly so he steals all the soaps he can find in the school until he has enough different colored soaps to make Professor Xavier a hand carved chess set out of soaps and chess board made with alternating colored soaps as the squares.
He's working on carving one of the dark green Ivory Queens laying in his bed. There is a four foot tall pile of soap shavings at the side of his bed where he flicks them off with each movement of the kitchen knife he is using to carve the items. His side of the medbay looks a lot like a hurricane hit it. There is a pyramid of glass soda bottles against the wall in one part of the room. Honestly, it's just a mess. A board Pietro is a bad Pietro.
In steps a woman in low heels, a trim fitting, black and white gingham dress, and a stack of books in her arms. This is Xi'an (or Shan, or Karma). She looks properly diminutive and Librarian-like… until she spots the state of the Medbay. Her eyes go wide as she takes in the details, and stares at Pietro, mouth open. "What… what are you doing?" she asks, after a moment's delay. "Oh mon Dieu…" she says, slowly shaking her head. "Monsieur Maximoff, you are supposed to be sedated and /resting/!"
Looking over at the young woman, Pietro gives her a confused look, "This is resting. I was just making a gift for the Professor. Such a nice man." he says then he goes back to carving. A bar of ivory soap is chipped away at small slice by slice and before her eyes becomes the rough shape of a queen chess piece. Little slices of soap fly into the air like a wood chipper in action as he turns the material in his hand. "I'm not fighting or running or lifting anything. This is as resting as I get." Mutants make the worst medical patients. Also Warren has flowers, and kittens drawn on his face in marker because… well.. He was there.
"Oh? Oui? And a hundred kilos of soap walked themselves to you in the Medbay?" Karma asks, her brows lifting as she continues to stare at the man. "/Resting/ means laying in bed," she insists, as she makes her way over to the man. On the table beside his bed, she first sets down the four or so books she's brought down, and then scoops up the ones he's already finished with. Or, well, presumably finished with. "I was told you get… bored," she says. "And believed you would like something to read," she adds, with a soft smile. "I am sure the professor will find it… to be a good gift," she decides, charitably. She's not yet checked on Warren and seen Pietro's handiwork.
Pausing in his work Pietro eyes the books then the woman then the books again… Ok. He might stick around a little longer. "It was just a little fire. I'm fine! I just needed to heal before my sister saw me. She likes to take all the guilt for herself. She is greedy like that." he says in his strange accent. It's not from any one place, more like a mesh of a lot of places. "But thank you. I do." he says then he looks back at the sculpture and resumes whittling on it finishing the piece before moving to the next one. He says while carving, "What's wrong with him?" motioning his head to Warren. "Coma?"
Karma stands beside Pietro's bed, having just dropped off books. She looks back to the man, and there's a faint frown on her lips. "Just a little fire," she echoes. "Because you are obviously quite susceptible to such trivial things… as little fire." She is unimpressed. Scolding, almost. A bit more gentle than that, but certainly in the realm of scolding. Karma looks over then, to Warren. The blue man in bed. "I am not certain… He arrived yesterday. Professor Xavier has sedated him." And then she pauses, and squints. "Is that a kitten…?" she asks, as she steps towards the man.
Lorna came down the stairs to the medbay. Her plans had included spending the night at Kaleb's apartment. And well, that had been just chummy and swell until she'd woken up and been told her half brother was in the medbay making a nuisance of himself. She had rolled her eyes and grumbled, but she was going down to see him. What a good little sister.
In her arms was a stack of thick books, and two bags of snacks. She knew Pietro ate literally all the time, it was one reason why she was so chill with her nephews eating a small truck load of food every day. Of course that meant Kaleb was being roped into the visit too. And since he'd wanted to meet her older brother, strange man that he was, she was making it happen.
"Pietro, are you pestering people 'cause you're bored again?" She offered dryly as she stepped down and into the medbay proper.
The medbay has seen better days. Pietro is almost done though, he's almost carved the entire chess set for Xavier then he'll clean his mess up and leave… really… he's going to leave the place with attractive women, free food, tennis courts and a pool just… any day now… "Is old Carastani tradition. You paint the face of the sick with happy things to keep them company in their dreams. Helps them find their way back." There is no such place as Carastan.
Kaleb looked very, very under rested and was perfectly content to hide this behind sunglasses and his general mask of disinterest in the world. His interests did exted to seeing how his buddy was doing and generally keeping Lorna happy by agreeing to things that didn't tweak his ethos. she had books, he had one sketchbook, and a drafting pencil behind his ear, and was dressed (tired or not) in suit slacks with pressed seems, vest tailored to match, shirt roled to the elbow, and a simple, but smart tie to compliment. The Jr. Executive League did well teaching this kid.
Karma squints as she hears those words, then slowly looks back over her shoulder. "I know when people are lying, Mr. Maximoff," she says. Which isn't technically true, but she /could/ know if she wanted to. She looks back to Warren, considering the man, as Lorna steps in. Karma's eyes lift, and she smiles. "Ms. Dane," she says. A considering look is sent to Kaleb, then she looks back over, towards Pietro. "So far, he's only caused a shortage of soap. And made… a mess," she says, with a little sigh, and much put-upon gesture. All those shope shavings! Her attention swings back to Kaleb. "Is it… Mr. Miller?" she asks. Likely Xi'an would have been part of a new student selection process in some way.
Looking up from his soap carving Pietro nods to the new arrivals. Maybe he should be carving Lorna something as an apology to her. When is an apology enough for trying to turn someone into a vampire? At the time it seemed like a really great idea. He was going to save her from being so slow and mortal. He was going to make her forever. He was doing her a favor… at the time. Now everything is just awkward and uncomfortable. "Sister." he says in greeting because nothing else seems appropriate.
Lorna shot Pietro a dry look, and settled the bags of food at the foot of his bed. Her gaze swinging toward Xi'an and offering a sheepish smile. "Sorry about Pietro." She offered dryly, and glanced back at Kaleb. She bit her lower lip, and exhaled a breath. Green eyed gaze swung back to her half brother and she held out a thick textbook.
'The Art of War'. "Father had me read this when he freaked out last time and had me under house arrest for three weeks. Maybe it'll keep you occupied for like.. half a minute." She offered and then nodded to the bags. "I brought cookies, which I baked. They're fine," She started defensively, "And a bunch of chips and stuff." And then she paused.
"Pietro, this is Kaleb Miller, my boyfriend." She nodded back at the suit clad young man. "Kaleb this is my older brother, Pietro."
Kaleb looked to Xi'an and nodded slightly. Everything about his body language being rather guarded. "I'm one of them." He was going to give his name to specify which but Lorna did introductions. He side nodded to her filling in that detail. "Starting come fall. Warren." He nodded to his unconscious pal giving him deference at least. He looked to Pietro though and arched an eyebrow, "Heard of you. If the book doesn't work you could try buildig card houses?" Because the faster you go the harder those get to build.
"You are just one person, Mademoiselle," Xi'an says to Lorna, with a soft smile. "We'll not hold you responsible for Pietro. At least not just you. We'd need many to shoulder the burden," she says, in those delightfully french-accented words. She then looks back to Kaleb, then over to Warren. "You know the man?" she asks.
Smiling at the news of Lorna having a boyfriend. Pietro does what all good brothers should he congratulates them.. "Wonderful news! Good choice. Kaleb Miller, good name. Strong. Hard working. The kind of name that belongs to the kind of man who would never hurt another man's sister. That is the name of the kind of man who enjoys having two hard working hands and strong legs. A good name. " he was so close to doing it right but the old country in him won out and he just had to be overprotective. Not like Lorna couldn't take care of herself.
Looking over at Lorna, Pietro says, "Thank you. Especially, thank you for trying." trying what? To be normal? To find love? To forgive him? Trying to make cookies that aren't horrible? He's just going to leave that vague. He's not good with feelings. Fighting yes, expressing emotion, not so much. Runs in the family.
Offering an olive branch to the new bo, Pietro reaches over to the side of his bed and picks up a box of colored markers then tosses them lightly across the room so they land on Warren's chest. For… reasons… "I agree, no one should take the blame for me but me." because Pietro is a manly man who follows manly philosophies… with kittens and flowers.
"Wanda takes more of the blame on him, whether anyone wants her to or not. I'm just filling in." She offered with a shrug. Then of course, as Pietro started in with usual overprotectiveness? Lorna colored pink and made a point of unloading stacks of cookies, and sodas. She knew how much her brother could eat. And she wasn't going to stop him from being overprotective. It came with being the baby of the family. Especially her family. At least he wasn't threatening to throw him into an oncoming train.
As Pietro thanked her for trying, she reached out to poke him. "Hey, I brought you boring dry textbooks. I'd hold off on the thanking for bit. If I have to suffer tata's extra classes, then someone should share in my misery." She'd slipped into using the Polish term for papa so naturally, after all Pietro at least was family, and he wasn't likely to tease her over using the other language. Not like the other students had.
Kaleb would probably demand the train stop on his say so. It'd end poorly, but Kaleb was not shy about aserting his will on the world, even in that scenario for a very, very short period of time. As it turns out while Lorna was turning pink in the face from embarassment Kaleb just watched Pietro with that same disconnected expression expecting and weathering the formatlity. Few things got an emotional response out of him and Warren pretty much tapped him out for the month with his return. He went as far as agreeing with Pietro, "Yeah good name like the kind of man that believes in the dignity of our people and the kind of name that brokers flak from no one. So yeah, good deal all around. I'd say it's working out well. That aside I pretty much hurt everyone by prolonged contact with my personality. I can't help that, but I don't blame ya." He looked to Lorna and nodded. To Xi'an he paused and his brow furrowed with some trace of human concern. "Yeah. Warren and I sorta grew up together. Family friend. I was the um… one that got him out of the facility that did this. he did the rest."
Xi'an gives Kaleb a considering gaze, as Pietro speaks to the man. A smile slips across her lips. Family stuff is the best! Especially when you don't have it. Poor Shan. Womp womp. "You're right, Pietro… he does have that look to him," she says, pleasant enough. Probably sounding a whole lot less overprotective! Of course, when Kaleb actually responds, Xi'an's brows go up. She stares for a moment, then glances back to Pietro, to Larna, then back to Kaleb. She'll say nothing. For the moment. She looks back over to Warren, and she can't help the concern on her features. "Have you spoken to the professor, Kaleb?" she asks the young man. "Thank you… for whatever you had done to bring him back to us," she says, wholly sincere.
Listening to the new boyfriend go on about anyone who knows him long enough gets hurts Pietro can relate and he gets a smirk on his face that Lorna can probably identify as the 'Pietro is trying really hard not to make a snarky comment' face. That comment of course being that women really -do- seem to find men who are just like their fathers.
Pietro looks at Lorna as he imagines it… school with.. Him. Pietro hasn't spent a lot of time around their father lately but he can't imagine that being trapped in a classroom with him would be fun, "Condolences. Do you need.." he tries to think of the words in english. It's not something that comes up a lot for him, "A study-buddy?" he asks offering to help her with her classes if she needs it. See! He can be sweet, kind and considerate! Of course she should probably say no because studying with the most impatient man alive would be a real challenge for them both but they do need to spend more time bonding. Do the right thing and endure study time or do the easy thing and not fix the frayed bonds of the family? It's a hard choice for Lorna but at least he's offering.
Lorna glanced side long at Kaleb and elbowed him lightly. But she didn't say anything else in regards to Kaleb's comments on his personality. She bit her lower lip and as Xi'an asks about the Professor she nods. "Yeah, we talked to him when Warren was brought down here and sedated after his… uhm, arrival." She wrinkled her nose.
"I suggested that taking mutants with the ability to heal and adding metal to them sounds an awful lot like Weapon X with Logan and his son. But it's not adamantium." She knew the difference inately, she was her father's daughter after all. Even if daddy dearest was rarely around these days other than to grump and up her training.
Her focus returned to Pietro and she cracked a smile. "I dunno, are you any good with geo-physics and advanced theories in it? Kaleb promised to help me with French. I'm supposed to learn it along with Italian, and stay on top of my German and Polish language lessons. I'm pretty sure, I'm going to blow through the entire undergrad program in a year at this point. I swear, tata only gave me a week off this summer from training and lessons."
Kaleb would have probably found Pietro's snark oddly flattering. Probably a discussion best not started. His focus was still on Xi'an and he seemed to sober a bit biting his cheek thoughtfully staring at his inert buddy there. Not that he was close with anyone but he respected the hell out of him. The look was a bit hollow with a bit of a nod before looking to her, "Should have done more, but I worked with what I had. I mean I wish…" He stopped himself from sliding into tangents and then shook his head looking to the instructor, "I dunno. I'm glad he's back." Curious he looked to Lorna and Pietro not wanting to interrupt that. It was important to her and that was a family thing.
"All too easy to look backwards and say what should have been. You are alive. Warren is alive. I'm happy," Xi'an says, and her smile shows it. What a lovely smile! She then looks aside, to Lorna and Pietro, then back to Kaleb. "I work with new students. If you wish to call or stop by… please do," she offers.
Xi'an looks back to Lorna, and smiles. "Glad you have help with the French. It is very important," she says, smile turning to a smirk. "If you want any help before the semester begins, well… I am easily bribed."
Pietro says, "I am not versed in this subject. I can be in an hour." see. Best brother ever! "But I would not want to step on toes. I will learn it for you and if you get stuck, you call, yes? " he says then he looks over at Warren, "What, exactly, is wrong with him? Was he always blue? Did a secondary mutation express itself?" see, he can be smart. He just hides it. "He's too old for it to be his primary manifesto." so close. "He looks like a man in ice. Not enough air in his blood?" Warren is probably dreaming about catching air in his wings right now, among other things.
Lorna stepped to the side as Kaleb's words of 'I wish' trailed into nothing and without glancing his way, reached out to hold his hand. Then her attention returned to Pietro and she blinked. "Uhm, sure. If you're bored. Likely easier than my re-reading the same passage four or five times in confusion. Tata has me using advanced textbooks that focus on magnetism. He wants me to figure out how to bond the molecules together using my powers and figures if I understand it from the textbook it'll somehow make sense." She made a face, her nose wrinkling up. Did Magneto push her in her training? Absolutely. Did she learn something from it? Of course.
Did Lorna complain like every other teenager on the planet? Oh yes.
Then as the topic changed to Warren again she sighed, dragging her free hand through her hair. "He wasn't always blue no. He could pass before if he hid his wings. He was actually uhm.. quite handsome. At least Julie seemed to think so. Now he's got metal wings, feathers.. I dunno how. I guess it's down to whatever they did in that lab.." She trailed off, biting her lower lip. She knew experimental labs were something touchy in her family. Wanda had already given her the 'I never had a childhood' speech over it.
Kaleb jsut shut off his feelings like a kill switch as he'd gotten almost too good at doing. It was a lot safer than getting worked up, angry, and endangering Warren and everyone else damamging the equipment and exploding overhead lights if someting went wrong. In case. Just in case. His hand wrapped around Lorna's automatically though
"They said there was an accident during the phase three of… I dunno. They said he stopped breathing at one point but fixed it and then there was a ..reaction…plasmoid…plas… I dunno. Kellan took my chem tests. But they took him apart to just amputate everything they could and then started to work with some… organic ..metal…thing." he was bad at this. Having no technical experience, no field experience, and being blindsided with one's worst nightmares? Yeah he did alright all things considered. "Had to watch the implementation when they were pulling the, um, bone pieces outof his shoulder blades." Echo just liked void of emotion and just blinkig at Warren remembering the details he didn't want to, but he did, because someone had to. Warren couldn't do that alone."
Pietro says to Lorna, "Ah, I can see your problem. He is trying to make you learn about your powers as he did. But you do not see things as he does. He sees only solid things. He sees metal as a thing to be bent and crushed under brute force. I was like that when I first learned to run. I pushed harder and harder trying to force my legs to move faster and faster but I hit wall. Could not run fast enough. Then I stopped trying to move my legs, stopped thinking of the mechanics and just ran. That is the secret that most mutants never learn. It is not about controlling powers, it is not about mastering, it is about building relationship with powers. Trust them."
Pietro picks up a metal spoon and cleans it off then chucks it at his sister, not super-fast but pretty fast.
"Don't see the metal as a solid thing, see spoon as potential. Metal is hard for your brain to bend because so much of life metal must always be what it is. Air-plane must be air-plane, bridge must be bridge, spoon must be spoon." he explains.
"The part of you that controls your powers, it does not care what things must be, it only cares what things could be." he says then he picks up a metal lid from one of his soda bottles and throws it at her to. "Put these two things together in your head and trust power to show you what they could be. To unlock power, let go and just run. "
Lorna wrinkled her nose as her brought up the very real point of how her father trained her. How she'd hit a road block and had become ever more frustrated as day after day, she hit the same one. Unable to do what she knew, according to the textbook and according to her father, she was supposed to be able to do. It had been something out of grasp. Then of course, as the spoon and then soda cap was chucked her way, they both caught in her natural magnetic bubble. They floated in the air around her, and as she raised her hand, they floated around in an idle twirl.
Her gaze swung back to Pietro and she frowned faintly. "I can bend spoons, Pietro." She muttered dryly, but she knew it wasn't what he was getting at. Her gaze shifted back to the two bits of metal floating before her and frowned. "I can't just let go Pietro. Not here. There's too much metal stuff." Her father had never let her practice inside without him present. It was why he'd built a scrap yard for her in the woods. Well beyond her range to rip apart the house.
The two bits of metal settled into the palm of her hand and she shook her head. "It's too dangerous for me to let go."
Talk of advancing one's powers? Karma will keep quiet. Her own story to how she got to where she is… well. It wasn't through training! But then metal starts flying, and her eyes go big. She takes a half step back. "Oui, inside the Medbay… is not the place to push one limits," she says, seeming to so intuitively take over as the protector. Of the school, of Lorna, of… well… "Especially not with Warren here, like this," she murmurs out, concern seeping back into her features.
Kaleb didn't move as Lorna had one hand and was being confronted with life lessons. He may be terrible with things like emotions and and no personal connection with contact but he'd accepted what it was to her and thus, he stayed giing her hand a faint squeeze. Quietly, and with all consideration he gently offered, "Yeah can we be careful? I eman I am pretty certain if he gets hurt? I'm gonna take on the whole damn room and I really don't wnat to be that asshole." It was so dispassionate and matter of fact and really? He was tired. He just wanted things to be okay, really. "Lorna, your brother may have a point. I eman the harder I focus on mine the more erratic it becomes. Likewise? You got a place to work on that an of you want I mean I'll go with you. I can't do diddly, but if you want."
Pietro shrugs and says, "When you're ready, we will all go somewhere that it is not dangerous. Whoosh! Big, open desert. No one to hurt. As long as you fear your powers there is reason to be afraid. When you start trusting them, not force but treat them like friend, then they will always protect you and do what you want. They are you, they want you to be happy. Keep telling them you can only be happy if you are controlling them because they are dangerous and they will be. They do what you want. Key is to want what you want, not want what you fear." he says "Try talking to them in mirror. I thank my speed for helping me save people and kill evil all the time. It's good. Healthy. " then he starts eating cookies. End of lesson for today. Enough pretending to be a mature person. It's cramping his style.
Around a mouth full of cookie the speedster says, "Mayvy youw wooking ath it wong. Mayvy he neeth mowr powar." he says then swallows, "His batteries are low. He needs to be charged. You said he has metal wings, right? Metal doesn't run on carbs." and he knows a thing or two about carbs, "Hook battery up. See what happens?" he suggests all super-scientific like before munching down on more cookies.
Lorna scratched at the back of her neck awkwardly, her powers gently moving to put the spoon and bottle cap aside. "Tata has a scrap yard in the woods for me." She paused, and bit her lower lip. "I use my powers all the time for regular stuff, Pietro. But I am so not talking to them in a mirror. That's just weird." She wrinkled her nose faintly and shook her head.
"And I mean. If you want to come see me yell at bits of scrap metal sure." Then her gaze swung toward Warren's still form and back to Pietro as he mumbled around a cookie. She frowned.
"No, he does not need a battery. The only metal on him are those wings. There's no electricity. I'd know if there was." Electricity was afterall, just an alternating current that powered or was powered by magnetic forces. She'd gotten that much down pat. "You're not hooking him up like a battery."
Karma shifts, looking just a touch more uncomfortable as the advice from Pietro rolls out. A frown starts to cross her lips. "Powers need to be respected," she offers, quietly. "For some of us, even simple uses of what we do can do great harm," she adds.
And if the conversation of powers wasn't troubling enough, Pietro's next suggestion has her eyes going wide. "You will not hook him up to a battery!" she insists. "You are not a doctor, Mr. Maximoff," she reminds, as if the man was somehow unaware.
Kaleb chortled at Xi'an's words, "Ain't that the truth." He looked to Lorna and gave her hand a wiggle to get her attention and said only, "Hey, it'll happen. There's no deadline." He didn't get involved withthe rest as it didn't have to do with him, and all of the needs of the day were met. He did have to wonder to no one in particular, "Think Jay'll be okay?" This? This did concern his as much as he'd love to make it not sound that way. Then again he did about come to blows with him on the lawn.
Pietro shrugs and says, "Not a doctor. This is true. Just throwing out ideas. As other sister likes to say, if nothing is working, try something else." he says between munches. Man can he eat. It will be one item at normal speed then when everyone looks away, 5 at super-speed.
She's going to talk to her powers in the mirror. Pietro smirks as he pictures it. She is going to do it. If only he has a film camera but where would he get one and the film, and have it developed and how would he get it into her bedroom without her noticing… too much metal. If only cameras weren't so big and expensive! Curse you capitalism! Wait, what were they talking about? Fortunately he can get sidetracked in the time it takes normal people to move between one word to the next. "Fear is enemy. That is all I'm saying." he comments then goes back to eating.
Lorna shot Pietro a look, as if she were considering just what he was up to in those heartbeats where he was munching down on the cookies and other various snacks she'd brought him. But she didn't say anything about it. "That's a thought, we could talk to Wanda about what happened with Warren. I mean, she's got magic and that's gotta help some how right?" A pause, and she tilted her head to the side.
Then her attention shifted back to Kaleb and she squeezed his hand, she hadn't let go since she grabbed it before. And she smiled lightly his way. "I'm sure Jay will be fine."
"I'd like to hear from Professor Xavier before anyone pursues anything," Xi'an says, with a look between Pietro and Lorna. Always cautious. "Not that I have any say over the matter," she adds. There's one more look sent to the man laying in his bed, then she takes a breath, and steps back. "I'm heading back to the library," she says, as she moves to scoop up a stack of books. The ones Pietro has finished with. "Just call up if you need anything else to read, Pietro," she says. Then she looks to Lorna, and gives a small dip of her head. "Ms. Dane." Then Kaleb. "Mr. Miller." And with that, Xi'an will start for the exit.
Pietro suddenly says, "Good idea! Wanda! I'll go find her! She'll help. It is an emergency. The more heads the better, yes?" then he, his shirt, his shoes and those books Lorna brought him are gone in a ear popping woosh that makes the trash around his bed scatter across the room blurring past Karma as she goes to leave. Sure, he could have called her on the phone but then he wouldn't have an excuse to get out of having to clean up his mess.
At least he left two cookies for whomever gets the job of cleaning all that up. He's so considerate! Maybe it'll be something Lorna and her boyfriend can do together! A bonding experience! All he knows is it's the past and the past is behind him, where it belongs.