Basketball practice (Open)

[Warren Worthington III]

> " I'd love to see what people have to say about you and Josh. "

Warren chuckles. "It’s mostly fiction, but hey, it’s a free Internet. I check it myself from time to time… all I can say is, if my life were that exciting I wouldn’t have the energy left to play basketball. " Truthfully, there are times that it irritates him… especially lately, when the absence of real gossip about him has inspired the tabloids to make up their own. But there really isn’t anything he can do about it. Besides, he’s gotten a lot of use out of his minor celebrity; the gossip and lies and death threats are part of the price he pays for it, and on balance it’s an acceptable one.

> " You know, you grew wings for a reason. Sure, maybe not for playing basketball, but I wouldn't be opposed if you wanted to use them. "

Warren laughs outright at that. " I’ve got to admit I’ve never considered the possibility that my mutation is part of Fate’s plan to make me a superior basketball player. But it would be silly… here, I’ll demonstrate." He walks over to the basket and stands in front of it, facing Matthew, with his wings outstretched to their full six-meter extension, forming a wall of muscle blocking the basket. "Kinda takes the fun out of it, right? Besides, it’d only be fair to let you use your powers, and then you’d be back to playing on your own… and even barbecued I’m probably too stringy to make good eating." He folds his wings against his back again and moves in for a more traditional defense as Matthew starts dribbling.

" Which is why we have the ‘no powers on the court’ rule in the first place. And don’t apologize for being tall… just wait until the ‘scurrying through narrow pipes’ competition later in the year, I’ll kick your butt there!" He grins broadly, then turns and waves a greeting to Storm. " Or you could join Matthew’s team… I figure he’ll have to pass to you at some point just to be polite, and you I can block!"

[Ororo Munroe]

The invitation throws Ororo off guard for a second. It's been some time since she's played any basketball. She tended to jog and swim for her exercise, along with all their work in the Danger Room. That doesn't mean you should turn them down, though.

Perhaps this would be a good chance to get to know Matthew a little better. He'd kept to himself mostly since arriving. Warren was a naturally outgoing - though sometimes, she questioned the 'natural' part - person, so she had spent a fair amount of time with him in the last half year.

> Or you could join Matthew’s team… I figure he’ll have to pass to you at some point just to be polite, and you I can block!

"Why not?" Ororo sets the watering can firmly onto the ground. She unlaces her heeled short-boots, and takes off her socks. Padding onto the court, she stretches her neck and arms.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about afterwards, Warren, so don't go flying off." She says this with a slight smile, and takes up a position next to Matthew. "Ready?"

[Matthew Craft]

Matthew stands back and watches as Warren blocks the net with his massive white wings.

"I bet, if I tried really hard, I could probably still get a shot in...if you don't mind a broken leg and a few snapped ribs." He grins and bounces the ball a few more times.

"It’d only be fair to let you use your powers, and then you’d be back to playing on your own…." Sheepishly, Matthew rubs the back of his head.

"And I'm sure I'd be nailed for puttin' craters in the basketball court." He palms the ball again and digs his fingers in so that he can hold it will one hand.

"Just wait until the ‘scurrying through narrow pipes’ competition later in the year, I’ll kick your butt there!" Matthew pauses and shoots him confused and worried look.

"I...uh..." Then he starts to laugh. "I'm not even going to ask." Matthew had long since learned how to deal with sarcastic and humourous remarks, especially those that resembled his sister's (though Warren's made more sense and were much more tastefully employed). To avoid getting sucked even farther into the tangled mess of jokes and cracks, he knew it was best simply to back away.

Matthew smiles as his teacher accepts the offer and tries, futilely to spin the ball on his fingertip. The ball manages to revolve once before wobbling and toppling off. He catches it as it bounces back up to his hand.

"Ready?" Miss Monroe asks, taking her place next to his comparatively enormous body.

"Sure thing. You wanna start, Miss 'Roe?" Matthew passes off the ball to her so that she can begin the two on one.

[Ororo Munroe]

> "Sure thing. You wanna start, Miss 'Roe?"

Ororo nods once, and accepts the ball from Matty. She dribbles it for a few seconds, and then darts to the left, a move which Warren blocks easily.

"You've caught me out of practice. I don't get out on the courts much anymore..." Yet, the experience is oddly refreshing. Being stuck in her office all day was a bore. Things like this reminded her she was alive! And I'm not even 30! I'm got responsibilities now... that doesn't mean I'm dead.

She laughs in joy as she pivots on one foot, trying to escape Warren's reach. "Warren... you are a persistent, I will give you that." Quickly, she attempts to toss the ball to Matty.

"Matthew! Think fast!" The ball leaves her fingertips and soars through the air.

[Warren Worthington III]

> " Warren... you are a persistent, I will give you that. "

He laughs as he blocks her second attempt. " Persistence is the key to victory, right? I could swear I heard someone tell me that once. " He’s having more fun playing with one of the faculty than he’d expected to, though in retrospect he’s not sure why he’s surprised… the truth is he’s probably got more in common with many of the faculty here than he does with most of the students. Especially the inexperienced ones, the ones who are here to be protected from the world while they figure out what they’re all about… he likes them well enough (well, most of them, anyway), but it’s like they’re living in different worlds sometimes.

Still, he wonders what’s on Ororo’s mind. It seems unlikely that she’d joined them just to play basketball… maybe she’s worried that Matthew will get too excited? He seems to be doing OK, though. Warren wonders just how big a crater the boy could actually leave behind if he put his mind to it.

> " Matthew! Think fast! "

Surprised by the pass, Warren flips a wing out reflexively to intercept it. Then he blushes and ducks his head, embarrassed. " Whoops! Sorry, force of habit. Yours, Matthew…" he tosses the ball to Matt and gets ready to block again.

[Ororo Munroe]

> Persistence is the key to victory, right? I could swear I heard someone tell me that once.

How appropriate for today. Perhaps Josh is rubbing off on him... reading my mind, Warren? Ororo watches Warren pass the ball to Matthew, who begins to dribble it, backing off for a moment.

She puts herself into position for the next play, and then glances over to Warren. "Believe it or not..." Ororo affords a small smile at this, "I actually came out here to talk with you. I'm sure you remember a conversation we had when you officially enrolled at the Institute. You came to a decision that we both felt was best, at the time. I was curious if you'd reconsider."

Ororo looks straight at Warren. "I think you'd make a great addition to the X-Men, Warren. What do you think?"

[Warren Worthington III]

> " remember a conversation we had when you officially enrolled at the Institute. [..] I was curious if you'd reconsider. "

Warren blinks at that. Conversation? Surely she can’t be referring to –

> " I think you'd make a great addition to the X-Men, Warren. What do you think? "

Except, apparently, that’s precisely what she’s referring to, and Warren stands bemused and flatfooted as the ball sinks into the basket… he doesn’t even notice who threw it.

"What do I think? I…" …think you’re insane!, a well-established habit of politeness prevents him from saying. "…I, um…" …don’t consider beating up mutant terrorists part of my job description!, which also goes on the pile of things not to say, "…I’m flattered by the offer, naturally, but…" …prefer not to be shot at more often than I can avoid, thanks.

He pauses for a moment to seriously consider the offer… it’s the least he can do for her, after all.

But really, nothing seems to have changed since he first arrived. Sure, part of him wants to be out in the field with Josh instead of waiting back at the Institute to find out if he survived one mission or another… but he’s just not cut out for commando operations. He can handle himself in a fight, sure, and he’s a useful scout in the open air, but he’s no mutant powerhouse and there’s no shortage of fliers on the team already, so it isn’t like they need him. If anything, they’d need to spend half their time protecting him.

Although in the privacy of his own mind he has to admit that’s only part of the problem. The other part is he’s not really comfortable with how the X-Men operate. They’re necessary, as they proved at Alcatraz and elsewhere, and Warren has enormous respect for their willingness to go out there and do what needs doing, but… a secret team of paramilitary civilian mutant vigilantes? That’s a pretty scary notion, when Warren thinks about it carefully. Not to mention that his wings are pretty obvious, and he’s well enough known that it wouldn’t be secret for long.

Of course, it would be a different matter if the X-Men were…
…were…

"Ororo… tell me something. Have you ever considered taking the X-Men public?"

[Ororo Munroe]

Storm watches Warren's reaction closely. She'd agonized over whether to even try approaching him again. One part of her said to leave well enough alone, but she was interested in putting his mind to work. He'd demonstrated over and over how sharp he was, and she wanted his input on some of their tactics and procedures. Despite his reluctance in Danger Room scenarios, Warren was also a decent fighter. It wasn't his fault that his mutation wasn't specifically offensive.

>…I’m flattered by the offer, naturally, but…

Hmm, too bad. She'd figured he'd turn her down once again. Then, one more card to play...

> Ororo… tell me something. Have you ever considered taking the X-Men public?

As she opens her mouth to throw out her final option, Warren beats her to it. She blinks, and her mouth closes.

I'm impressed. Your mind works even faster than I thought. A smile spreads across her face. "I have, in fact. The problem is, I'm not an expert in public relations. You, on the other hand, have a lot more experience in that area than I do." Ororo lets that sink in for a second.

"I'd love to have you on the field team, but I know that you've got projects that send you all over. That's okay. What I would like you to help me with is figuring out a way to make the X-Men public that isn't going to make us publicly reviled." She opens her hands. "Is that a little more to your liking?"

[Warren Worthington III]

> " I'm not an expert in public relations. You, on the other hand, have a lot more experience in that area than I do. "

Warren nods. She’s being polite, of course, making it sound like he’s way better at dealing with the public than she is when Warren knows she’s a fine public face for mutantkind, but her basic point is sound – it is something he’s good at, and he’s already been working along those lines… there’s no reason he couldn’t be doing so in a more official capacity alongside the X-Men. And he'd much rather be doing that than trying to be some kind of commando/adventurer/comic-book superhero type... that kind of lifestyle just isn't for him.

> " What I would like you to help me with is figuring out a way to make the X-Men public that isn't going to make us publicly reviled."

Warren frowns thoughtfully, the basketball game forgotten. He’d never really thought about the PR problem from this perspective before, but thinking about it now… "Well… hm. We’re going to be the lightning-rod for a lot of anti-mutant sentiment however we spin it… Henry and I already have to deal with that… but if we handle it right we won’t make that any worse…. Hm. Actually, if we play up the ‘organization’ angle we might even diffuse it a bit… hm…" he trails off, lost in thought for a few minutes, then returns. "Any objection to finessing the membership roster for public consumption? I’m not sure we want to put Logan in front of reporters… or, well, in front of anyone at all, if we can help it. Anyone not willing to go public with their identities we probably just shouldn’t mention. It’ll call attention to the Institute, naturally, but the cutaways Professor Xavier set up should take care of that…" He appears to be talking to himself at this point, working through potential obstacles.

Will Josh want to go public? Guess it can work either way... just a lot more work if he doesn't. Wonder what his folks will think? he wonders idly, then shakes his head to clear it... this is bigger than Josh or his family, though they're probably a good representative example. Maybe we could do a private announcement to family and friends beforehand... refine our message and keep them from finding out from the evening news... control their exposure to the press...

Finally he nods. "Yes, I think this could work. Let me write something up, run it past my PR advisors… we’ll probably just want to put them on staff; don’t worry, they can keep a secret… anyway, I’ll write up a proposal and run it past you and Dr. McCoy first… in… um… give me about two weeks?"

He turns back to Matthew apologetically. "Sorry… ‘fraid I lost track of the game. Um…. would you be terribly offended if I bowed out? I’ve got some ideas on this public-grand-opening thing I’d like to start working on…"


(( OOC - I think I'm done on this thread -- either of you want the last word? ))

[Bobby Drake]

(( OOC: This thread can probably be archived. ))