knightinshinarmor: (say my name)
Remy Lebeau ([personal profile] knightinshinarmor) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2026-01-06 11:22 am

Basic Training, Tuesday

Class met -- as it would every week, most likely -- in the Danger Shop. (Gambit was basically guaranteed to call it the wrong thing every time he talked about it; why was it a "shop" here and not a "room"?) Today it was left neutral when the students arrived, the walls bare and a plain landlord-beige. Just a big empty space ready to be filled with possibility!

Or at least robot drones.

Gambit, suited up in his full working uniform, complete with ridiculous "X" branded accessories, stood leaning against his bo staff, and gave the students a cheeky wave as they entered, counting them up and looking for anyone who might be missing. "Bonjour," he greeted when it seemed everyone who was coming had arrived. "Some of you I know. Some I don't. I'm Gambit. King of Thieves and more-than-occasional professional superhero. I'm here to introduce you to some of the basic training drills I and my fellow X-Men do on a regular basis to keep ourselves in full fighting shape. To do it right, though, I gotta know what each of you can do. So that's what we're doing today."

He pushed himself upright from his lean, gave his staff a spin, then hit the button that caused it to collapse into something pocket-sized and tucked it away, replacing it with a deck of cards that he idly shuffled while he spoke.

"Your job today is to show off. Let us all see what you can do. Maybe you have special powers, like me. Maybe you don't, but you've got skills: great aim, say, or acrobatics. Maybe you just got a lot of cash to spend on goodies and want to use them to save the world. Superheroing, she takes all types."

He flicked the top card of his deck up between his index and middle fingers and charged it, causing it to glow a fabulous fuchsia that matched the breastplate of his armor. "Me, I make things go 'boom'." He flicked the card away. Sure it enough, it burst in a bright flash against the wall, leaving a scorch mark that would vanish once everyone's attention was elsewhere, thanks to the Danger Shop's safeties. He flicked another card up between his fingers and pointed it at one of the students. "How 'bout you?"

[open class is open!]
afraid_of_marshmallows: Nathalie Emmanuel in 4 Weddings and a Funeral (Sad - Head Bowed)

Re: Show off!

[personal profile] afraid_of_marshmallows 2026-01-07 08:21 pm (UTC)(link)
No. No she absolutely did not. But this was very much the point of the class, so Arden steeled herself a bit and said, "I, uh. Made blocks of air, like, harder? Kinda like a shield or a wall or something. So when the disks hit them, they broke because they were weaker then the wall."

She was more telling her feet this rather than the class at large, but hey! Progress!
afraid_of_marshmallows: Nathalie Emmanuel as Ramsey in Fast & Furious (Smile - Soft)

Re: Show off!

[personal profile] afraid_of_marshmallows 2026-01-07 08:40 pm (UTC)(link)
She had been so very tempted! But she was supposed to be using this class to get more comfortable with admitting she had magic to people!

On the other hand, considering how uncomfortable she was right now, she could only go up, right?

But she was still a people-pleaser at heart, and so the praise did actually have her peeking up at him in time to see his smile. And even draw out a small smile of her own. Weak and barely formed, vanishing away quickly, but it had existed!