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Did My Time, Took My Chances; Open
Topic Started: Mar 25 2014, 04:39 AM (383 Views)
Nightcrawler
Unregistered

March 21st, 11 am. The Gym.

It took far more time and effort than Kurt cared to admit to get himself here. Months of stewing, weeks of brooding and endless days of staring at things that used to bring him joy. And the person who began the struggle to crawl from the murk was someone he had never seen or spoken to before.

Since that day at the church, the cold embers found a spark of flame again. For the last month and some weeks, Kurt had done nothing more than dedicate himself to a private indulgence. It was quite simple, really. Being off his feet for so long and stagnant, his body had succumbed to the atrophy of inactivity. Square one was the place that everyone started from. Now, Kurt felt like he had finally taken the step to square two. Whether it was jogging along the grounds or sticking to the gym, struggling with weights he had once no problem lifting, the change was beginning to show. With the help of a diet (which he loathed completely), Kurt noticed a slight increase of definition in his form. He was steadily feeling more like himself again.

Plus, it helped to have a fiendish metabolism to burn away the belly fat he had started developing in his idle months. Hank's Twinkies were addictive.

Kurt loomed over the high bar, arms straining as they held his weight above. His toes pointed toward the ceiling, his face toward the ground, a few beads of sweat sliding down the incline of his nose and chin. Garbed in a simple gymnastic uniform, a form-fitting red sleeveless tunic and black longs, Kurt let his arms burn with tension as he bent them at the elbow. His tail adjusted naturally, maintaining equilibrium as he focused on the effort at hand. He could smell the chalk powder on his hands as he lowered himself toward the bar.

With a slow exhale, Kurt extended his arms back to their full length and tilted his toes. The change in balance sent him rolling forward. The length of his body tucked itself in tight, knees nearly bouncing off the wooden bar. His legs shot out, propelling his body forward, and his right hand twisted around. The momentum allowed Kurt to swing sharply back up to a vertical state before gravity lulled his body back to the ground. The muscles of his arms groaned in protest as his body whipped around it like a windmill. Once, his body tucked in close, legs spread to a complete split before his ankles came together again. His momentum slowed after a number. With a tightened grip and a shift of his tail, Kurt returned to the handstand atop the high bar.

"Ow... Vielleicht bin ich zu alt für diese."
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Emma Frost
Unregistered

It had been along time since Emma had spoken with Kurt Wagner, it had been even longer since the two of them had a pleasant conversation. While Emma was working as a double agent within the employ of Victor Von Doom. Kurt found himself in the unenviable position of being chosen as one of the Dark X-Men. A group in which Emma did all that she could to help maintain any sense of themselves while Dark Beast and the Hand did their worst to them.

However irreparable damage was done to their fragile psyche when Emma foolishly got herself arrested while trying to secure Havok and keep him safe while his insane brother insisted on torturing and killing him. During Emma's absence the Dark X-Men ran amok without her mental protection from the Dark Beast a unfortunate situation she regrets to this day. Never the less when Emma returned to the newly built Xavier Mansion following the fall of the Illuminati she found herself far removed from winning any popularity contests, Not that she was in the running for winning before.

That was where Emma found herself today however cautiously moving around the mansion trying to reintegrate herself and try and make any amends she could make with the other inhabitants of the mansion. As she passed by the Gym she heard the unmistakable accent of the Amazing Nightcrawler speak out. Emma then slowly walked into the gym looking up to see him balancing from a high bar. “Alter ist eine luge” Emma said hoping she didn't butcher his native tongue too badly. She was not fluent but she knew a little of enough foreign languages to get her by in some circumstances.

“Are you well, Kurt?” Emma asked softly. She would understand full well if Kurt did not wish to converse with her he would be by no fault of his own entitled to that reaction after what it was Emma has been accused of. However if there was a more forgiving X-Men and someone who would give a multiple time turncoat like Emma Frost at least the curtsey of considering another chance she thought it would perhaps be Kurt Wagner. “It's been a long time. It's good to see you out and about.” Emma added in follow up before going silent.
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Nightcrawler
Unregistered

An itch on the tip of his ear made his head turn a slight degree as he heard the words of his native tongue. It wasn't a perfect translation, but close enough, surely not enough for Kurt to judge someone on it. He knew who it was, however, even before his eyes flicked toward the entrance of the gym. The illustrious Emma Frost slowly made her way into the gym. Regal as always, the divergent woman came to a halt nearby.

Kurt remained above the high bar, the strength of his arms persisting as he trained himself back on the effort at hand. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold himself up, but if what he had done thus far was any indication, it wasn't bound to be for long. Baby steps, one might call them. One day at a time and he was sure to return to his peak condition.

"Well enough," Kurt answered simply before taking a moment to blow at a bead of sweat on the tip of his nose. This was something he had not expected. Emma Frost, for all her regal splendor, walking about the gymnasium. After all that had happen, it was almost surreal. Months ago she had been warming Scott's corpse and directing what was called the Dark X-Men. Their minds had been flayed, stripped of the identifiable markers that made them themselves. Kurt's spirit had been ripped from him. His faith removed and his hope abandoned, Kurt would still never call himself whole again even so many months after the end of the Illuminati's reign of terror. He wasn't sure how he felt about Emma, either. From what he understood, she was the sole reason they were not as rampantly violent as they could have been. For that, he certainly appreciated her participation, even as dark and horrible as it was.

Still... He understood her role. It was necessary. Emma Frost was the last saving grace of their souls.

"Forgive me if I am ambivalent to you, Miss Frost. I believe that feeling is within my rights as one of the Dark Beast's little experiments, though I surely do not meant to take advantage of that happenstance. I hope you do not take the lack of communication in these last few months as an affront despite living in the same house. I have been, ah, distracted." Kurt paused and let his legs spread out into a full split, the flexibility and strength of his arms and back straining as he curled down. Still standing on the high bar with only the strength of his arms, his legs spread parallel over the bar.

"I am quite surprised to find you here after so long, though," Kurt said, his voice strained along with his physical effort. With the world righted up, Kurt looked toward Emma again. "I thought you may have gone to find new grounds. How have you been finding the mansion? Hospitable, at least? It has been... difficult for a lot of us."
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Emma Frost
Unregistered

Kurt would not commit to feeling one way or another towards Emma, and she could not blame him for that she had done both horrible and unspeakable things while under the employ of Victor Von Doom yet may still be a major reason the heroes were able to turn the tide in the war against his Illuminati when she publicly turned on him and handed her share of the Phoenix Force over to Jean Grey-Summers who was able to use the cosmic force to combat the other over powered Phoenix wielders. “It is well within your right, Kurt.” Emma answered.

Kurt also asked she not take the lack of communication between them as any slight. “You do not need to explain yourself Kurt. I myself have not been a social butterfly in the mansion either. 2013 was a sordid year for many of us. I just pray within time the wounds will heal both mental and physical for all those involved.” Nightcrawler also expressed his surprise that she stayed around the mansion rather than finding a new place to call home. “I made Scott a promise, A promise I would return once the fighting was done. His mind was so ravaged, I was surprised he showed me to a room.”

Emma then let out a small sigh as she continued. “Surprised and grateful, As I have nowhere else to go.” Emma's time with the Illuminati brought forth a lot of changes in her life both personal and finical the public outing as a mutant on New Years Day when she alongside Namor attacked New York. Going straight up the Worlds Most Wanted list sent her personal stock plummeting and her subsequent removal as CEO of Frost International. “But I am managing, Some are more forgiving than others whom would seem very content with my head on a pike.”

Emma paused briefly as she then broke off her eye contact with Nightcrawler and arbitrarily looked around the room for a few moments while she spoke her next statement. “That much is to be expected however. And I suppose I can not fault them for that.” Turning her attention back over to where Nightcrawler was Emma continued. “Have you been able to find any peace within yourself since your return?”
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Nightcrawler
Unregistered

The burning in his arms was like a hot venom, bleeding all the way down to his extremities. He could see the veins of his arms bulge in protest of his effort, perspiration giving his layer of fuzz an extra little shine. Kurt was forced to give a small grunt as he shifted his weight from one hand to another, adjusting each grip to feel more secure as he spread his legs over the high bar.

"Praying can only do so much, though," he added. "Even a man who was as spiritual before that cataclysm as I was will admit to that. It takes work and effort to return to the condition we were before. Scott and Noriko are a testament to that. I am lacking in the competitive spirit, so I am a bit far behind in that sense. I intend to remedy that."

He sighed and winced, feeling a twinge in his shoulder. Adjusting himself, Kurt drew his feet in and let his toes kiss the high bar. They wrapped around the flexible wood and found grip, allowing him to finally release his hands from their hold. He rested his elbows on his knees, perched like some sweaty blue gargoyle. "When Scott has a promise, he keeps to it," Kurt said simply.

Kurt allowed himself to muse. "I imagine you have some funds hidden away, Miss Frost, that would allow you to have some where else to go if you were so inclined." His tail flicked in the space beneath his perch, almost pensive. "Forgiveness is what we X-Men seem to do best, otherwise we would not have killers like myself, Scott, Noriko, Siryn, or Northstar lurking about a school. Or Logan, for that matter, and your Illuminati companion Namor. He was skulking about here at the beginning of the year and has returned a few times. He thinks this school as a key point to bringing Atlantis into the world. A charming idea, even if the man is a bit intolerable."

The devil did not break his gaze from Emma as she let her eyes wander. His expression left him. "It took me a long time to find anything. Most of my days were spent listless and aimless. I felt nothing. I could not hope or love, cherish or abhor. The Hand took my faith and feeling from me. But," he allowed a small smile to return, "I have the company and support of friends to keep me rooted. They give me something to strive for; a reason to become myself again. I spent too long brooding on the past year."

Kurt hitched a brow. "Peace, though? I feel a lot of guilt for what I have done. I changed the lives of thousands alongside Scott and the others. I forced someone else's divine direction on them. I do not like the thought of having that capability. Mortals are not meant to hold the powers of a god, be it evolution or the Phoenix Force.

"I am finding myself again, thanks in part to the presence of my daughter. I need to be able to protect her and the future, to prevent it from becoming what it was in her time. You should do the same, Emma." Kurt let himself lean forward a bit, as if to drive his words home. "If you do not have it yet, find a purpose. You wanted to be a teacher once, did you not? You live in a school now. Embrace a purpose. Managing to survive is not a life. Make something new. Find joy in something ambitious. It is working for me and I had my soul ripped from my body."
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Emma Frost
Unregistered

When Kurt had admitted that his prayers could only do so much that had brought a slight frown to Emma's face. While she personally was not much of a believer in a anything other than herself and what she could see for herself. Especially in the world they lived in where people with godlike abilities can change everything at a whim. It still saddened her to see a much once so full of great faith all but broken by the ravages of Dark Beast and his experiments. “In time Kurt, In time.” Emma tried to add reassuringly while Kurt changed positions.

As the conversation moved along Kurt noted about Emma having funds allocated to be able to give her finical freedom elsewhere should she so choose. “You would imagine correctly Kurt. I knew full well what I was in for when I joined up with the Illuminati and certain precautions were put into place to protect my assets. I am still employed by Frost International... Just in a very silent capacity. But I will not be able to live the extravagant lifestyle I had been accustomed too if I want my resources to last. At least for now.”

“In time.” Emma reiterated. “In time perhaps my financial situation will be much improved, Just as I hope your mental well being will. But until then I can not complain.” Then the topic of forgiveness came up with Kurt assuring Emma that was what the X-Men were all about. “For some yes. But what I did I had full control over my mind I knew what I was doing every step of the way, It was mine and Scott's decision to do what we did covertly. Plans were compromised when he was brought into the Dark X-Men. But while you Dark X-Men and Iron Man were forced unwillingly to commit said atrocities... I did what I did under my own free will. ”

“I did what I thought was best for the world as a whole. I did what I thought would be the best to ensure our survival and the fall of the Illuminati. But some mistakes were made, Decisions could have been made better. More cooperation with others could have been implemented. But Victor Von Doom is a scary individual. With a reach far greater than anyone could have ever imagined. Which is why I needed Iron Man covertly hoovering above Scott and I when I would meet with him privately to ensure we were not being monitored. I could not risk ever being found out by Doom as to my true intentions.”

Emma had become so used to trying to explain her actions and rational during the past year she openly divulged that to Kurt despite him not prying simply out of habit. But as she realized what she was doing she stopped herself and apologized. “I am sorry, Kurt. I am sure you do not want to hear my woe is me tale.” Emma then flashed a small smile as she noted back to a previous comment about Namor. “As for Namor he is a complicated man, But he means well. He is just... very under educated as to how things work here away from his kingdom which forces him to come off as a brutish oaf with little tact. But I assure you there is much more to him to that.”

Kurt then offered up some advice for Emma telling her she needed to find herself again and find a purpose for herself. “Indeed, Kurt. Which in large part is why I came back to the school. I originally left with Magneto in the hopes of running his school in Sanctuary and bringing the Xavier way of life to the Sanctuary. That obviously turned out for the worst. But I would like to devote myself back to my one true passion of educating. It's too late in the year to do much now. But by the next school year I do hope to be back in the curriculum. I would like to be thought of as an educator first and a super human second.”
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Nightcrawler
Unregistered

"Free will can be used to lethal and glorious effect, Miss Frost. We are all instruments of our will. If we lose that, are we still accountable for what we have done? The problem with mutant powers comes in discerning when and where we lose our free will. If you admit to it, well..." Kurt fell quiet for a moment, then shrugged. "You and Namor are alike in that respect. There are people who are willing to do whatever is necessary to achieve a greater end. If you had not been the seed Scott planted in the Illuminati before the Dark X-Men occurred, how much worse off would we be? We were lucky to have armies willing to fight against the Phoenix Legion. Even then, we had your piece."

The devil leaned forward on his perch, offering a little smile. "And because of that, we survived. The others might be wary of you for your past, Emma, but I can sympathize with your situation. They welcomed me back with open arms even though I am not the same man, but still they embrace me despite the blood I shed. It is because of your awareness and control over your situation that they judge you poorly despite your intent. People died as a result of your willful action. That is why they judge you."

It was a precarious situation. No one had a clean slate in any of it. Not the X-Men, not SHIELD... No one. It was a grim, grey result, discolored by the forces of good doing wrong to achieve the good. It was a terrible sacrifice.

"I hope Mr. Stark is able to come to terms with your manipulations. I do not foresee any sushi dinners with him any time soon." He gave a light hum. "And on the contrary, I do wish to hear it. For years I had students come to me for confession. Though I cannot grant absolution, if my ears cannot bare to listen to the woes of my mutant kin, who am I to brandish the X for them? Yours is a special case, after all. Yours and Namor both. You were among the most grave criminals in the world, yet both deceived them and escaped with your lives. Count Hank's Stars and Garters for luck, Miss Frost. It is a great thing to have survived the calamity. There are many who did not.

"But, if you do not wish to divulge further, I will not press. I have already come to terms with what has happened. Though I will always feel guilt for what I have done, the most I can do is dedicate myself to serving those who I harmed. My own daughter and students, for example." Doreen and Talia. How he loathed what he did with his own hands to them. Part of him wished Logan had done worse as payback. "Which is why I am here now. Learning to be myself again."

Kurt rolled forward, letting his tail catch the high bar. He hung like that, upside down like some wingless blue bat. "Lord Fish just needs to pluck the urchin from his backside and relax on level with us commonfolk. I have met royalty before and that is a common demeanor for them to possess, but I do not think him ignorant. Just intolerably arrogant. We do not help the situation with our distaste for him, however. He is willing to work with us for his people. Scott would have him thrown to the moon if he could. He visited Scott at the Hand's temple, did you know? I think it has something to do with that."

Kurt let a smile plague his face. "We shall find you a class to teach, then. I will be returning to my position as educator as well. I have discovered I miss it. Even if I cannot return to the field, I intend to return to being a teacher. Absolutely. In the mean time, what do you intend to do? It will be months before the next semester starts. Summer is around the corner. What will you bide your time with until then? Surely not wandering through the halls or spying on handsome devils as they work out, mm?"
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Emma Frost
Unregistered

Emma was always one to look for the easiest solution with the least amount of casualty or destruction to the surroundings. Her choices may never be the most heroic or most respected. But in most decisions she has made she had always done so with what she perceived to be the best of intentions. “My problem has always been and still is, I try to do what I feel is the right thing. But so often it is found to be the least heroic of the options. I am not one for self sacrifice, Why lay down on the wire when you can cut it or find another way around? But as I have grown accustom to saying bad decisions do not always seem so bad when we make them.”

Emma paused briefly to reflect on some of those past decisions. “Could I have done things in life differently, Absolutely. But at the time I always felt as if I was doing the right thing. Hindsight does not always bless my choices. But at the time it seemed like the best course of action to quill tragedy or make a better life somewhere.” Emma had met with Tony Stark to offer apologizes since his release from SHEILD Custody her testimony helped expatiate his release but he still harbored ill will towards Emma for robbing him of months of his life and using him as a pawn in her game of deception.

“I fear Tony and I will never be drinking buddies. But again I say within time I hope he will forgive me for my transgressions and we can get passed what I did to him. While I understand he has no reason to ever trust me again nor would I hold anything against him if he never forgives me for the atrocity I committed against him. I hurt a lot of people while under the employe of Doom. I made decision I will have to live with for the rest of my life. But at the end of the day the only thing that gives me even the slightest solace is knowing he will never again be allowed to rise to that level of power.”

Emma hoped at least she had come to know Doom as a very resourceful man and as a result will live for the rest of her life looking over her shoulder hoping Victor Von Doom is not there waiting to exact his revenge on her for her betrayal. “I do wish Namor and I had been on the same page however perhaps together we could have limited casualty but it was such a sticky situation it was probably best neither of knew what the other was up to. As I said, Doom has immeasurable reach and any hint of betrayal would have been the end of us both.”

When Kurt asked what Emma would do in the mean time she said “I could think of worse things to do than that.” Emma offered up in a joking reply to Kurt asking what she would do to pass the time between and the next school year. “However in the meantime I have a few small projects I am working on with some of the inhabitants of the mansion.” Emma wouldn't divulge the full nature of her project with Franklin at least not just yet that was between her and Franklin. But she also would not lie about the fact she was working with him.
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Anole
Unregistered

Vic walked into the gym. It was one of those rare occasions where he had some free time before lunch and his afternoon classes. He was determined to get an extra thirty minutes on the treadmill that day.

He stopped when he saw Emma Frost and Kurt talking over by the high bar. He wasn't quite sure if he should leave them to their talk and go somewhere else. After a brief pause, he continued to the treadmill while keeping his head down and trying not to look over at them. Despite his decision to the contrary, he kept glancing over his shoulder at them.

On reaching the treadmill, Vic laid his towel across one handle and stuck a water bottle in one of the cup holders. Then he stood there. His left hand on the treadmill. His right on his hip. He looked down at his feet while keeping his back to Kurt and Ms. Frost.

And he thought. On the one hand, he didn't really trust Ms. Frost, and was unsure if he ever would. On the other, Kurt helping Mr. Logan with his combat training had probably saved his life more than once. He was a good person that had proven himself to his teammates and friends time and time again. Didn't he deserve some respect?

Looking back over his shoulder one last time, Vic turned around and started walking over to the two of them, a determined look on his face. When he reached them, he gave Emma a polite nod and said, "Ms. Frost."

He then turned to Kurt, stuck out his right hand, and said, "Mr. Wagner, speaking for myself and the rest of students we would like to welcome you back to the Institute. You were missed greatly." He flashed a smile at Kurt.
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Nightcrawler
Unregistered

Nightcrawler remained hanging upside down, his tail adjusting only slightly to accommodate for his equilibrium. Emma's ordeal was far different than his own. The conscious decision to go out and do wrong for the sake of the greater good might sound like a load of hypocrisy, but Kurt believed that it was founded in sound mind. How many other men and women took dark paths to achieve their means? SHIELD had assassins and killers, governments armies and spies. Infiltration and deceit was a very standard and tactical action when it came to warfare. Moles existed for a reason: they could change the tide of a war and alter history. He did not doubt it wore on their conscience, but the perseverance and dedication to their cause -- as Emma had with the Illuminati -- aided them in the end. So many would deny them that. It was easier to hate than appreciate, after all.

"Time heals all wounds, they say, but that is all they say. Words are wind in the long run and it is our actions that define us. In time, I am sure both of you will find some level of respect here, even if it is begrudging. You will always find a suspicion laid upon you, however. We have to watch our backs and your revolving cloak is what people fear, Emma. So long as you do what you believe is right -- whether it falls in the perspective of the X-Men or not -- pursue it.

"Even we have to respect our foes. The Brotherhood has long been our enemy, though they have fallen off the map since the advent of Sanctuary and the disappearance of Magneto. We may believe them to be psychopaths and killers -- and some of them are, undoubtedly -- but we would be fools to say they are not fighting for what they believe in. They see a future barren and dark so long as humanity exists. At times, we have done the same, but we have never been so brazen as to raze them from this world. But they believe it right, even if in the grand scheme it is wrong, it is a desperation that leads them."

The shifting of doors drew Kurt's attention, his yellow eyes befalling upon the reptilian Anole. It was not unusual for people to come walking in, least of all in a publicly used place like this. He expected Anole to say something, but the boy kept on going toward one of the treadmills.

"Magneto grew up in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. He knows the horrors of humanity in a way we can never experience and he will do anything to prevent that horror from befalling mutantkind, even become the monster that Hitler was." A grim part of Kurt's own history, as a German, it was a crime to even pretend that evil never happened. "But for him, what the Brotherhood does is right. Atrocities have been committed in the name of good for eons. I believe you did what you thought was best for all of us, Emma. And I for one am thankful for that. I would have been a far more monstrous creature in my time as part of the Dark X-Men if you were not there to stop us. We saw what happened when Havok took you. We became those monsters."

Having gone on for so long on such a tense topic, however, Kurt was somewhat thankful that Victor made his way a bit closer. "Hello, hello," Kurt said with a cheerful smile, dangling from his tail still. He reached out a chalk-covered hand and shook Anole's briefly. "Kind of you to say that, though I have been back for a number of months. I have not been myself during that time, though, so I suppose it is still appropriate to say that sort of thing."

Kurt let the muscles of his tail coil and stretch, throwing himself into a quick swing. It gave him enough momentum to arch his back and twist up, at which point the prehensile appendage released the high bar. Kurt swung free and landed on his feet. He gave a bit of a wobble, still not in perfect condition, before he straightened himself out.

"I will need to practice my dismount some more. But, perhaps you can join our conversation here, speaking as a voice of the student body." Kurt gave a light hum, eying Emma out of the corner of his eye. He knew putting her on the spot might make things uncomfortable depending on the answer that they got, but given their discussion, he doubted that might cause a problem. "Like myself, the lovely Miss Frost would love to be a teacher again, Anole. With all that has happened, what do you think about that?"
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