2013.05.22 - Flying By The Seat of Your Pants

Classes finished earlier in the day, but here in the Xavier Institute it's not necessarily the end of the school day. There's all the clubs and after school activities for those who aren't busy working on assignments or just socializing. No clubs in the gym today, however, which is why Pixie chose today to use the facilities and work out. She might not be the most academic student, but she takes her place on the X-men quite seriously and has been working on increasing her stamina and agility for when she goes on missions. It can't all be danger room training and today she's just making use of the balance beam. Dressed in a sports bra adapted to allow her wings to flutter free and a pair of shorts, she's attempting to test her gymnastic ability. Barefoot and trying to retain her balance on one foot on the beam. For someone as flightly as Pixie, trying to stay still for any length of time is a challenge of its own.
While Jubilee doesn't often need more practice when it comes to her own gymnastic skills, today's one of the times she does. She's recently had some difficult times in the Danger Room, and her agility definitely could help in that regard. Spending so much time (trying to) study has been slowing her down.
So in she comes, clad in an athletic bra of her own and a pair of stylishly baggy sweats. She pauses in the doorway of the locker room to test the floor, wincing as her nearly bare foot touches it. "Uck... cold!"
Pixie looks across towards Jubilee as she hears her voice and grins brightly. She raises her hand to give a wave, apparently forgetting she's currently precariously balanced on her toes. "Hiiiiiiiiiiack!" she squawks, as the greeting turns into a panicked yelp as she loses her balance and takes a dive. Not very far, however, as iridescent wings beat rapidly, keeping her aloft as she sheepishly bobs in the air beside the balance beam. She clears her throat, embarrassed, and tries again, giving a little wave. "That is, hi!" she repeats.
"Whoa!" Jubilee, seeing the winged girl lose her balance, dashes forward... only to see her /stop/ falling and hover in midair like a pink-capped hummingbird! She giggles in nervous relief and hurries over. "Hi," she replies, offering her hands to steady the other girl. "Good thing you've got those wings! That could've hurt!"
Pixie grins vaguely and hovers lower, alighting carefully on the ground and giving an expansive shrug. "Oh, it's okay, people always say I just bounce anyway," she says brightly. "Anyway, we're supposed to be able to handle bumps and scrapes, right?" she adds, in a rush. Her dignity might be dented, but her enthusiasm isn't.
"Still not something I'd want to test," Jubilee opines, with a warily curious look at the chattering girl. "Falls /hurt/, whether we're supposed to handle bumps and scrapes or not. I'd rather avoid scrapes than handle 'em."
She bows her head and smiles. "But enough cautionary words. I'm Jubilee. Want a partner? Maybe we can both learn from each other!"
Pixie nods enthusiastically. "I know. I'm Megan. You're with Doug's group a lot, aren't you? I really need to try and do more with the other Young X-men, but I guess some of the classes have clashed and anyway, I was away visiting my family in Wales for a couple of months, so I've spent a lot of time trying to catch up since I got back, but I don't really like the academic stuff anyway, although it's not like I /hate/ it, I'm just not very good at it," she concludes. It's quite impressive, really. How she can speak without break, sentences blurring into one another. Apparently she's learned the ability to exhale and inhale in one constant flow, like a bagpipe player. She grins brightly and abruptly. "What did you want to try?" she asks quickly.
Jubilee's blue eyes widen, and she regards Megan with some amazement. "Okay... I'll /try/ and answer that. What I heard, anyway. Yes, I'm with Doug's group a lot. I haven't noticed a lot of clashing, but I'm not really in any of the cliques, so I don't tend to be in the middle of stuff. I'm glad you got a chance to see your family, and I know how you feel about academic stuff." She breathes a sigh, as if relieved to be done. Hopefully. "Did I get it all?"
Hearing the question, she pats the balance beam. "Well, you were trying to practice balancing, and as it happens, I could use a little practice, too. Let's start with that, and we can work outward as the mood takes us, okay?"
"Oh, like, clashed like they were on at the same time, not clashed, like, had a big fight," Pixie clarifies quickly. Or probably doesn't. There's some kind of sense in the sentence if you can interpret Pixie-speak. "I haven't had any fights with /anyone/," she says brightly. "People just run away instead," she says with a flash of a smile. Apparently she's aware that she can be a bit... intense sometimes. She doesn't worry to hop up onto the beam instead she just hops up into the air and almost smugly hovers over to balance herself on the beam with both feet before extending a hand to assist Jubilee up, if required. "I'm not sure any of this helps any of the combat stuff," she admits. "But I guess it's worth a try."
"So far I've been lucky enough to avoid fights with any of the students," Jubilee admits. No, she doesn't look like that idea was clarified any, but she's not going to push it. "I'd rather fight bad guys if I have to fight," she adds, with the slightly resigned air of someone who has indeed had to fight. "Wish they'd run away from me."
She tenses to hop up onto the beam... and blinks as Pixie flitters up and perches on it. "Okay... not good for leg strength, but it works." She takes the hands and clambers nimbly up, alighting on one foot immediately. "Balance is good for anything," she replies reassuringly. "If you can't control your body, you can't really fight, either. Let's work on that." She extends one arm and her other leg, balancing herself expertly.
Pixie nods enthusiastically. "Okay, you obviously know waaay more about this stuff than me. I should probably try to listen more," she admits, sheepishly, then attempts to mirror Jubilee's pose. She's actually silent for a few seconds as she tries to concentrate. She wavers slightly, her wings suddenly fluttering as an aid to balance, then appears to find her center of gravity. Her tongue pokes through her lips as she focuses hard on trying to stay steady.
"You're doing fine," Jubilee encourages with a smile. "Just don't try to go too fast. Slow and steady is the key." She lowers her foot and takes a slow step towards Megan, her balance steady and sure. "Good job! You're doing great, Megan."
Pixie hums to herself and attempts to shift the position of her leg, while retaining her balance. Toes pointed, she holds herself in a gymnast's pose, but doesn't have quite the same level of ability as he new partner. "I should have tried to get a partner before now," she says, grinning, then wavers as her concentration breaks. She squeaks, but then regains her balance, arms extended. "The X-men told me I need to learn how to be more agile on the ground, not just in the air. I guess this might help, right?" she asks, looking to the more experienced girl for confirmation.
"Definitely!" Jubilee stops, slowly leaning forward and extending her arms gracefully, lifting her leg behind her into a ballet position. From the side, she might look like a low Y. "The better your balance, the faster you can move, because you're not stumbling. Just concentrate... you'll get to where you don't need to, but it's part of the training, to learn to balance without effort."
Pixie's eyes widen slightly as Jubilee demonstrates her gymnastic skill, but it doesn't appear to hit her confidence too much, as she cracks another wide grin. "I'm beginning to regret giving up ballet lessons now," she admits. "I should have stuck with it. I was always wanting to be a swan, now I'd be a total shoe-in for the role of the role of the Sugarplum Fairy!" she observes cheerfully. She tries to remember some of those exercises that have been long lost in her candyfloss maze of a mind and raises her arms slowly above her head and extends her leg behind her. She manages to retain her balance, but she's not as secure in it as her partner.
"That's the spirit," Jubilee replies, stifling giggles. The other girl's infectious good cheer is hard to fight, so she doesn't try. "But if you get sugarplums all over the bar, it'll make it hard to balance!" She lifts her head, looking into her partner's eyes and smiling. "Don't get nervous; you're doing great!"
"I'm not nervous," Pixie responds cheerfully. "I'm just /rubbish/." She doesn't appear to be too worried about things, despite her mild self-depreciation, however. She slowly returns her foot to the beam so she's poised on both feet, then steps backwards and slowly attempts to lower herself down onto a crouching position on the bar, while retaining her balance. She helps herself by keeping both arms extended, but there's still a few wobbles as she settles into position. "Now I just have to see if I can still stay poised and elegant like this when someone's trying to shoot me," she admits with a grin. "Usually waaaaay easier just to teleport behind them and hit them on the head with something. I don't think I'm about to win any fights with my awesome balancing ability! But if I don't get knocked on my bum as much I'll be happy!"
"A big part of body control's knowing when /not/ to move, too," Jubilee points out cheerfully, watching as Pixie steps back and slowly (and slightly shakily) drops into a crouch. "Good job! Staying on your feet's always a great thing to work towards. It's hard to get bruises from ground you /don't/ hit."
She follows Pixie's example, raising up and taking a step back... and stumbling as she steps on the bunched ankle of her sweats. She sways, snapping her arms out to keep her balance. "Fudge... stupid pants. Well, that'll teach me to take my mind off what I'm doing," she mutters wryly, blushing a little.
Pixie flashes a grin. "One reason to wear shorts while you're doing stuff like this," she observes breezily. Then she makes an attempt to rise to her feet. She wobbles about half way, steadies herself, then wobbles again and this time tips. There's another squeak of panic and wings blur and she drops off the bar, then bobs back up to hover next to the balance beam. "Oh, poot," she says, crossing her arms over her chest as she bobs there, sticking her tongue out.
"Funny, they didn't help much that time," Jubilee teases gently, reaching over and tapping the hovering Megan's nose playfully. "But that doesn't make 'em a bad idea." Keeping her balance, she hooks her thumbs into the waistband of her white, black-trimmed sweats and stretches it out to loosen the drawstring. Then she drops into a crouch, sliding the pants down to her ankles as she goes. Letting go, she steps forward, leaving them on the bar behind her. Her workout briefs are bright pink with white trim, to match her sports bra.
She offers her hands to Megan again, this time from the beam. "Try again? Or have you stood still long enough?" she asks, teasing again. She can see the restless energy in her pink-haired partner.
Pixie hovers closer to Jubilee, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Heeeey, you're, like, really confident for someone balancing on that thing and who /doesn't/ have wings," she observes, bobbing in the air. She can't even stay still when she's in flight. She whistles innocently and flexes her fingers. "Bad time to find out if you're ticklish!" she threatens, playfully.
"Well, it's not like I've ever... oh, no! Spare me, terrifying spectre of pixie-ness!" Jubilee says, interrupting herself to playfully cower away from those flexing fingers (perfectly balanced, of course). "I don't have wings... I don't even have pants!"
"Uhuh. Like that would stop me!" Megan responds with mock wickedness. Although she doesn't make the most convincing supervillain. Something about the shocking pink hair and wide grin negates any air of menace. It'd be like being attacked by a stick of candyfloss. "Pixie does not accept pantlessness as a plea for leniency!" she says, one hand on her hip as she shakes her fist, attempting to channel supervillain.
"I had a bad feeling Pixie wouldn't," Jubilee admits, trying for wide-eyed and frightened, and only managing to look poutily manic as she fights down a smile. "Jubilee has nowhere to go, and nothing to plead." She nearly loses it as the fluttering Megan shakes her fist, and has to turn away, her hands over her face.
Pixie giggles and bobs closer, then settles back down on the beam beside Jubilee. She steadies herself and then crosses her arms over her chest and remarks cheerfully, "I don't think dropping your pants is a recognized combat technique." There's a split second's pause as Megan's brain catches up with her mouth and sets alarm bells ringing and she abruptly colors, her cheeks turning almost as pink as her hair. "Okay, I /totally/ should have thought that one through before I said it," she admits hurriedly.
Jubilee has a few seconds to gather her wits as Megan returns to the beam. But she nearly laughs again when Pixie puts her foot in her mouth. It's another second before she can turn around, still trying not to smile, even though she's blushing. "No, it's probably not," she admits, once she can speak again. But those blue eyes are dancing with impish light.
And then she steps forward, leaning down and catching hold of the legs of Megan's shorts. With a quick tug, she pulls them over the other girl's hips and lets them drop around her ankles. "But dropping /your/ pants might be!"
"But I'm not weari...ACK!" Pixie just has time to yelp before Jubilee makes a grab for her. She tries to take a step back, gets tangled in her shorts and topples off the beam with a comically wide-eyed expression. Wings start to beat, but too little, too late, and a second later there's a thump as Megan hits the thick mat under the balance beam. Looking down Jubilee will be treated to the sight of Megan in a tangled heap, wings fluttering and pink spotted underwear pointing towards the ceiling. "Very funny," Megan remarks, her voice slightly muffled by the fact that she's face down in the mat.
And... *THUD*. "Oops," Jubilee says, looking down at the heap of pantied Pixie on the floor. At least the mats cushioned her fall. The California girl grimaces in sympathy and vaults down to the floor, kneeling next to her fallen partner. "Are you okay, Megan?"
There's a moment's pause and then Pixie rolls onto her posterior and attempt to wriggle back into her shorts before anyone else walks in. "That's just cheating," she complains, but she doesn't appear to be hurt - or too upset, judging by the wry grin playing around her lips. She manages to get herself back into the shorts without any further attacks on her dignity, then turns to the girl kneeling by her side and grins wickedly. "So I don't feel too bad about doing THIS!" she says suddenly, raising her palm to her lips and /blowing/. Ever wondered what Jubilee might be like hopped up on hallucinogenic pixie dust? Time to find out! Although in Megan's defense it's only a /small/ dose.
"Cheating? Says the girl with the polka-dot undies who can /fly/?" Jubilee ripostes... and that's as far as she gets, because there's suddenly dust in her eyes! And in her nose, and her mouth, and her brain...
The young mutant blinks, looking around dazedly. "Wha..? Megan, where'd you go?" she asks the room in general. "And where'd the /room/ go?"
She stands unsteadily, as if she's trying not to put too much weight on her feet. "Gotta be careful... these clouds don't look too supportive! But where's Megan? Did something happen to her? I don't see her."
Pixie giggles and manages to hop to her feet, using the balance beam for support, and rubs her bruised elbow. She watches Jubilee for a few seconds, then sneaks up to the Californian girl and slips her arms around her waist, grabbing her. "Here!" she exclaims brightly into her ear. "Don't worry, it'll wear off in a few minutes," she says cheerfully. Jubilee might be seeing something entirely different, but Megan keeps hold of her to make sure she doesn't freak out too much. She giggles. "Clouds, huh? That's new! What, no pink ponies?" she asks, brightly, then her mischievous grin widens. "Hey, if you're walking in the clouds, why not try /flying/ instead?" And just to disorientate her fellow mutant entirely, Megan's wings blur as she takes flight, her grip tightening around Jubilee's waist as she lifts her a few inches off the mat. "Wheeeee!" she exclaims.
"Megan?!" Jubilee's voice sounds frightened as well as startled, and she looks around wildly, finally focusing on the pink-haired imp. "What'll wear off? And is this you? You look... /regal/," she says, blue eyes widening.
And then the other girl starts asking questions. "Pink ponies? No, but I did see a... a huge pink teddy bear sitting in front of me," she admits. "After the clouds, that didn't seem so strange."
Apparently, that's not a good suggestion for Jubes. "/Flying?!/ But I can't fly! I can't... whaaaaAAAAAA..!" The Asian's protest segues into a frightened yowl as her feet leave the ground!
Pixie eeks as Jubilee starts to panic as she draws her into the air and they quickly land again with a soft thump. "Aw, sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out," she admits, apologetically. "Don't worry!" She keeps her arms around Jubilee's waist, however, hugging her and rests her chin on Jubilee's shoulder. "It's just my pixie dust. It makes people... see stuff. But it'll wear off, promise! Just close your eyes for a minute," she says, sounding worried now and somewhat mortified at how frightened Jubilee sounded.
Jubilee at least has the presence of mind not to struggle, letting Pixie hold her up as they touch down. She hugs herself, her arms resting atop Megan's. "I can't fly... I can't fly... I don't want to fall," she whispers, shutting her eyes at Megan's prompt. Her hands slip down, clasping those of her partner. "Please don't let me fall..."
Pixie starts to get a bit panicky herself and she rocks Jubilee gently, trying to comfort her. "I'm reeeallly sorry," she says, biting her lip. "I didn't think you'd be scared." She tightens her grip, attempting to give Jubilee more support. "You're not going to fall. It's okay. You're still standing in the gym, the floor's right there!" she says, hurriedly. "It's just my stupid dust."
Jubilee doesn't fall silent, but at least she's only murmuring something under her breath, letting herself be soothed by Pixie's voice. Gradually she does stop talking, just standing in Megan's close embrace. But she doesn't let go of Megan's hands.
As Megan stated, the effect of her pixie dust doesn't last long in such a small dose, but there's a worrying few minutes while she tries to keep Jubilee grounded. Most of which she spends apologizing and sounding more and more mortified at herself. She knots her fingers through Jubilee's and keeps holding onto her hands tightly, determined not to break her hug until normality has restored itself in Jubilee's mind.
It's a few minutes until Jubilee's shivering stops, and she gets a look around again. "Whoa... no more clouds?" she murmurs, blinking and flexing her hands, feeling someone else's under them. "Megan? Is that you?"
"Yep, just me," Pixie says brightly, obviously fighting to keep the worry out of her voice. "Are you okay?" she asks quickly, not moving to release Jubilee right away and supporting her in her arms. "It'll take a few minutes to wear off," she says optimistically. "I didn't expect you to react like that," she adds, apologetically, a frown on her usually upturned lips.
"That's me, the lightweight," Jubilee replies with half-cheerful weariness. Being the smallest person in the senior high part of the school has plenty of drawbacks. "It's okay, I think. Maybe no more dust?" She glances down at those supportive arms, and below. "Did anybody come in while I was tripping out?"
Pixie shakes her head quickly. "Nooo. I probably would have got into so much trouble for using my powers out of the Danger Room. I should know better," she says guiltily. "You're okay, right? No more fluffy clouds or unicorns?" She follows Jubilee's gaze downwards and cracks a faint grin. "Um... ready for me to let go now?"
"No clouds... never any unicorns, though I did see a big pink teddy bear that wanted to hug me. Like Beast-sized big," Jubilee replies, managing a slightly shaky smile. "I think I'm steady now. You can let go. Unless you're enjoying yourself," she adds teasingly.
Pixie lets go quickly, but flashes a guilty grin. "Well, I am a cuddler too," she admits, her cheerful tone returning. She steps back, giving Jubilee some space and peers at her. "I'm, like, really really sorry," she says again. She doesn't hold back with her apologies. "I don't think I'd better use my dust again like that. Some of the other guys have been saying I should use it to make them high, but now I know that's, like, a really bad idea," she concludes, firmly.
"Apology accepted, Megan. But honestly, I don't mind cuddling," Jubilee admits, turning and seizing the opportunity to hug Pixie back. But she keeps it quick, since the other girl's kind of sheepish right now. "That's probably a good idea, though, especially with a school full of kids with powers. I keep a tight lid on my stuff, but some of ours have some serious control issues, and seeing clouds and unicorns might just make 'em worse!"
Pixie grins sheepishly and leans into the hug with Jubilee, but retreats again quickly. She wraps her arms around herself, obviously still feeling guilty and her wings flap rapidly, lifting her a few inches off the ground, where she bobs uncertainly. "Ohmygosh, I hadn't thought of that," she admits. "You have, like, firework powers, right? That could have been messy! No more dust for you!"
"Fine by me! I don't think I ever want to walk on clouds again," Jubilee agrees, stifling giggles. "Maybe we should call it a day for gymnastics, though. I'm still feeling a little shaky." Though not bad, really, for someone recovering from a mind-altering substance.
Pixie's lips curl into a frown again and she starts apologizing again rapidly. After a near constant stream of sorries, she finally appears to run out of breath for once, giving Jubilee a moment to gather her thoughts as she ducks down to scoop up Jubilee's sweatpants and hold them out to her. "You'll probably need these before you go anywhere," she says rapidly. "You might be a bit fuzzy headed, but always remember what my mum told me - 'Always make sure you're wearing a clean pair of pants when going out in public!'"
"Megan, really, it's okay! I totally forgive you!" Jubilee protests, blinking. "It's not like you know I was gonna freak. I'll be fine once I get my head together." She looks around. "I keep thinking I'm forgetting something..."
And then Pixie holds something up that reminds her that she's parading around in her pink workout briefs. "Oh... that's it," she murmurs, blushing and accepting the sweatpants. "I thought it was chilly in here," she adds as she steps into them, just to play up the moment.
Pixie flashes a quick grin as Jubilee eases her worries somewhat and adds, "Probably a good thing Iceman wasn't around then," she adds perkily, before bobbing back closer to Jubilee again. "Maybe we could try doing this another time?" she asks, doing her best impression of a puppy as her eyes go wide and appealing. "You know, without the tripping out and without the pantsing?"
"/Definitely/ a good thing Bobby wasn't around," Jubilee corrects with a conspiratorial grin. "Even if he /is/ kinda cute... sometimes."
She blinks mock-owlishly as Pixie offers a chance at more practice. "Aw, but the pantsing was fun," she protests. "Well, 'cept for the crashing part. That didn't look fun at all. Maybe when you're on the ground?" She tries the sidelong bargaining look, the one involving an almost-shy smile. "Could we still include the cuddling? Or at least hugging?"
Pixie eyes Jubilee owlishly and black eyes blink rapidly, then she just grins. "Sure! If we do okay in the training, cuddling can be the reward," she says with a light giggle and an expressive shrug. "We should definitely hang out more," she says enthusiastically. Megan's always on the look out for new friends who aren't scared off by the sugar rush.
"Deal! And I'm totally down with hanging out more," Jubilee replies, with an answering grin, offering her hand upwards so Pixie doesn't have to come down. "Maybe after our first practice? I'm thinking that should be next time we can have the gym to ourselves."
Pixie nods and hovers closer to Jubilee, only a few inches above the ground. Some people fidget from foot to foot - she flies! She flashes another grin and instead of taking Jubilee's hand, she dips down and give the other girl another quick hug. "It's a date!" she says brightly.
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