For lastvoyages: Spam for Gym

[scarlet_discord]

 [Wanda had listened to Lehnsherr's rant and the responses until she had the king of all pounding headaches, and then she had left her communicator behind, changed and headed straight for the gym. If there was one thing she had learned, it was that when you want to hex the Hell out of a Bargemate it's better to scrape your knuckles pounding on the damn heavy bag.]

[But Gods she wanted to smack some sense into him. She had come here with a power reduction so drastic that it had made her almost defenseless, and she had been kidnapped because of that. What made him so fucking special? He needed to just suck it up, stop acting like a tantrummy kid and earn back the right to his powers by showing he could use them responsibly. But he would never have listened if she had brought that up.]

[She finished warming up on the treadmill and forced herself to do her stretches before she attacked the weight machines. Later she'd hit the heavy bag until she stopped thinking.] 

Comments

[grand_lotus]

[Iroh's been looking for Wanda since his last conversation with Valmont, and he knows her well enough to take a good guess at where her usual haunts might be. The gym is the third place he checks, and - never having touched the weight machines - he's wary of saying her name in case he startles her and she hurts herself. So he simply walks over and waits for her to notice him.]

[scarlet_discord]

[Wanda notices him right away, and finishes out her set quickly, then extricates herself from the machine and grabs for a towel.]

Hi Iroh. [Her smile is a bit strained, but he gets one cause, well, Iroh.] Everything okay?

[grand_lotus]

Wanda. [He returns the smile.] Everything is fine, though...we need to talk.

[scarlet_discord]

[She pauses, then nods, her face taking on a slightly grim expression. It's the Barge; she's expecting bad news.]

[grand_lotus]

[He sits down on a nearby weight bench, folding his hands together.]

Valmont has graduated. I imagine he will be leaving the Barge soon, and...so shall I. I wanted you to be the first to know.

[scarlet_discord]

...oh.

[She looks sad, but just as with Parker she knows that sometimes you just gotta go. There's a long pause.]

I'll be okay, but I'll miss the hell out of you. May I visit once I graduate?

[grand_lotus]

[He breaks into a warm smile.]

I would like nothing more, Wanda. It has been an honour to be able to witness how much you have grown, and how much you have learnt, and I would feel cheated were I not able to see you at the end of this part of your journey.

[diedinnewyork]

[Edward Blake. In the corner. Punching bags. He's been there for awhile, and maybe it's not as impressive as his high-and-mighty warden, but he's managing it as best as he can.

He's hitting with his right though. Left hand's still a little sore after his arm was broken. By the time Wanda makes her way over to the bags he's wiping off his neck with a towel]

[scarlet_discord]

[Wanda watches him with half an eye as she works out on the weights. Her gaze is calculating. She knows who he is, knows he may be trouble, and wants to get the measure of him while she can.]

[Finally she's done with the weights, and wipes the machine down with her towel before settling in at a speed bag nearby. Her expression is focused and cold. Inside, though, she's seething enough that now and again a little blue spark appears around her fists.]

[diedinnewyork]

[That's interesting. Blue Sparks. Way too goth. She could almost be a knot-head but that makes no sense. Rorshach would have taken her out already.

Except this place seemed to have made him soft, and for a place that didn't have the information he needed.]

What's a little girl like you doing on a bag like that.

[scarlet_discord]

[She turns a cold eye to him for a moment, and her lip curls. Then she goes back to work--but the whole time she's calculating what she'll need to do to take him down with her powers if it comes to it.]

[diedinnewyork]

...What, are you trying to build up muscle or speed? Come on princess.

[He doesn't touch. He's not stupid and besides she's not half so adorable as other people here. All the same.]

I can help.

[scarlet_discord]

[She directs a cocked eyebrow at him and shrugs.] Right now I'm just avoiding tac-nuking a fucking idiot with my powers.

[diedinnewyork]

[Hands up. There's a slightly mocking edge to it. Slightly. He saw those sparks] Parent or boyfriend?

[That's how how it usually is right? Parents? Or boyfriends?]

[scarlet_discord]

Not you, dude. The one I came in here pissed off at. [She backs off the speed back and grabs her towel, wiping her hands and addressing him.]

There's a guy here who is a genuine supervillain on my world. This version of him is younger and they're trying to get through to him before he reaches the "genocidal asshole" stage. But this guy...has done a lot of wrong and never really paid for it. So when any version of him starts acting like a pompous, fit-throwing, power-hungry brat, I start getting pissed off.

And I'm not supposed to go cursing the living shit out of him, so, I beat up on the bags.

[diedinnewyork]

[His first thought is, it should be me. Because no girl of any sense would feel safe-and his second was wondering where that thought in particular came from.

so instead he listens to the girl talk.]

...You lost me about how he doesn't need a good kick in the ass. Anybody prone to fits of being a power-hungry brat usually needs a good fucking kick in the ass.

[scarlet_discord]

[Wanda wouldn't feel safe...but after a year here she feels...confident. Especially with her anger behind her.]

He does need a good kick in the ass. He needs several good kicks in the ass, and he needs someone to straight up tell him to grow the fuck out of his angry manchild phase. Unfortunately that person needs to be detached enough to make it stick, and that's a Warden job. I could never be detached where that dude is concerned.

[She takes the time to fiddle with the tape on her hands.]

I satisfy myself with knowing that I have ways of taking him out even if he was at full power.

[not_annika]

[Seven is not long after her, though she choose to approach her rather than exercise.] Hello, Wanda.

[scarlet_discord]

Oh, hey Seven. [She keeps working to finish her set, but turns the rest of her attention to her friend.]

[not_annika]

How have you been?

[scarlet_discord]

Okay. Keeping up on things, maintaining. Missing my Barge boyfriend, who is gone now. Pissed off at Erik again, big surprise. Twice as pissed off at my father.

[not_annika]

He does appear to have something of a dramatic flair. [She might say 'drama queen' but she doesn't actually have the vocabulary for that.] Is his reaction related to your anger at your father? [It's really more about the 'twice' than worrying about whether or not there is some transference, which would be unavoidable.]

[scarlet_discord]

Not really. It just stirs it up because it reminds me that even if he wasn't the guy who hurt me, he's still the same kinda bullying, elitist, tantrummy ass I had to deal with.

Also, honestly, why is he whining? It's not like he actually did anything useful with his vaunted powers.

[not_annika]

Professor Xavier feels that the Admiral should restore his powers. It is his belief that removing his powers is analogous to removing his eyesight or hearing. ...I do not...

[Pause to rephrase.] When I was separated from the Collective, I retained many of my Borg components and had an eye capable of scanning beyond the visual abilities normally afforded by human eyesight. When it was removed, I was no less Seven of Nine, I simply adapted. Why it cannot be the same for him, I do not understand.

[scarlet_discord]

[Her eyes widen, and a look of shock, horror and deep betrayal settles onto her face, bleaching her skin and dropping her mouth open.] He...what?

[And suddenly it's like the tension level in the room rises a hundredfold. The lights dim and start to flicker. A faint subsonic rumble shudders the air, and blue sparks start going off around Wanda.]

He did what? He's letting that son of a bitch have what? The man is a genocidal terrorist and my abuser and the worst kind of schoolyard bully, and he gets to have all his powers back because he's Xavier's buddy?

[The wall length mirror shivers and starts to darken itself. Cracks begin to race up its surface. Meanwhile Wanda has disentangled from the machine and is crying openly.]

I toughed it out here with a tiny fragment of my powers, got kidnapped, was scared all the time, couldn't even defend myself, did it anyway, and nobody stood up for me even when it was clear I needed some of my powers back just to be safe. And I forced myself to go through it anyway. What makes that horrible, abusive motherfucker so special that he gets a free pass? What? What?!???

[not_annika]

Wanda. [Her voice is firm.] It is unlikely the professor knows anything about you. He is naive, not malicious. He does not understand.

[scarlet_discord]

No. He knows my whole story. [She's sobbing as she tries to contact her Warden.] What he is is biased. Incredibly biased toward his best friend. The rest of the Barge can go to Hell. He's acting just like the Xavier at home. Exactly like a guy who would stand by and let an innocent kid be abused because his friend was doing the abusing!

I wish they would just disappear!

[not_annika]

I'm certain the Admiral is aware of that. He is unlikely to accede to his request.

[To be honest, Seven's own feelings aren't far away from that. Only reason she hasn't done the job herself because she has no control over that.] They may, possibly.

[scarlet_discord]

I hope not. But this...oh Gods I am so angry. I want to throw Xavier over the side wheelchair and all.

[not_annika]

An understandable reaction. He does seem to be possessed of an ego that doesn't allow for argument.

[scarlet_discord]

I just...I can't keep working out. I can't...

[She sinks to the ground, which starts to blacken, and just starts sobbing.]

That son of a bitch.

[not_annika]

[Seven, rather awkwardly, bends down beside her and puts an arm around her shoulders.] I will stand by you, Wanda.

[hungryanhorny]

[Faith came to do weights; but she recognized someone taking out their anger when she saw it; and she eyed Wanda a moment before walking forward.] Need a spotter?

[scarlet_discord]

Thanks, yeah, I'd appreciate it. [She pauses long enough for Faith to get in place. After working out a little while, she comes out with,] you know, this place is lousy with grown men who like to throw toddler tantrums.

[hungryanhorny]

Yeah? [She shrugged, studying Wanda from the corner of her eye.] I kinda noticed.

[scarlet_discord]

I've been a dramatic bitch before, but damn. [She keeps working, a bit more focused now.]

You see, back home I have family problems that make most people's look like a fucking Hallmark card. Unfortunately there's a dude here who is basically my abuser from another world. I try to keep from hating him, but he's such a douche.

[hungryanhorny]

"Sounds nasty," she admitted. That was from someone with her own... parental issues. Closest thing she had to a father figure had been trying to destroy a city.

[scarlet_discord]

I hope he washes out and disappears. He doesn't deserve a second chance.

[hungryanhorny]

Come on, Red; everyone gets a chance.

[scarlet_discord]

The Barge would be better off with him as far away from it as possible. So would I. I don't need the constant reminder of the man who made me a drugged prisoner for most of my childhood.

Fuck his second chance. He shouldn't have gotten a first one.

[hungryanhorny]

...Staring to think you need to get drunk.

[scarlet_discord]

Yeah.

Probably.

[hungryanhorny]

Come on, Red; pub's open.

[scarlet_discord]

...thanks. I think I may need it pretty bad.

[hungryanhorny]

[She'll keep the pub open for her.]