Xaviers!

Now that the university wasn't actively falling apart, Katarina was taking the opportunity to explore.

The Rec Center, she had to admit, was in some ways more impressive than the equivalent facilities back home -- they were more spartan, more functional. These seemed more luxurious and relaxing; a product of capitalist excess! or, uh, something. Very interesting.

She poked her head in and around, seeing who was around and getting her general bearings.

((open))

The princess was treated to the sight of a shirtless Chase pulling himself up a salmon ladder. Better late than never.

This was a sight to see, and Katarina rested up against a wall watching Chase's back muscles, and also a little bit of Chase.

Chase made his way back down and dropped to the floor. He began a post-exercise stretch of his back and arms, glistening with sweat. If it weren't for the tattoos and all the scars, male stripper could be his backup career if putting arrows in things falls through.

Katarina gave him a little wolf-whistle from the sidelines.

"Mind if I step in for a set, friend?" Aiden asked politely (class didn't exist on the gym floor in Aiden's mind) walking up to the salmon ladder. He was also shirtlesslike perhaps it was a theme for men at the University? Or maybe Aiden simply enjoyed showing off his well-toned physique? A question for the ages. Aiden had a few tattoos on his arms, on one shoulder his family crest and on the other shoulder a military unit symbol of some kind. He had fewer scars than Chase, generally because his mutation prevented most all bodily harm.

Chase fought down a smirk from the whistle as he regarded Aiden. "Sure. I just finished anyway," he answered as he moved to grab a towel.

"Finished so soon?" Katarina asked, innocently.

Aiden looked over at Katarina and smiled slightly.

""Seems you've got yourself an admirer?" Aiden asked taking a moment to stretch, no point breaking oneself right away. "Can't say I'm not impressed. Didn't expect many here to take physical training seriously."

"Y-yeah," he began, awkwardly covering how unaccustomed to female attention he was, "It's one of the few good habits I... nevermind. It's just... good to be prepared for things like what just happened."

"And this sort of thing happens often around here?"

"This wasn't the first directly targeted attack on the campus since I came here. Last time the Point... well... exploded. The smart kids reversed it somehow. Don't ask me; that hypertech stuff goes right over my head."

"And here my command thought this was a cushy assignment," Aiden smiled.

"Well, I was very impressed by the response of the X-Men. I'm sure that there's nothing to actually worry about here, is there, boys?"

"Perfect safety is impossible. But as long as there are those of us willing to fight to defend this place, I believe we'll get by."

"Well, don't tell that first part to my bodyg...er, Nika. She'll disagree strenuously."

"Seems like we should try to do better than get by," Aiden said, "Then again it would also seem suicidal to attack a campus full of mutants."

"There are suicidal people out there, of course. People with agendas they think are more important than their own lives."

"It the ones with agendas they think are more important than the lives of other people that I worry about."

"You sound like you speak from personal experience."

"Something like that," he answered cryptically. His past may not be a secret, but he didn't want to advertise it either.

Aiden raised an eyebrow at Chase's cryptic statement.

"A member of the X-teams program then?" Aiden asked.

"I am. The physical stuff is all I'm good at really."

"I take it then, that you are not part of that program, Aiden?" Katarina asked, interested.

"Would depend on if they'd trust a Genoshan soldier or not," Aiden said confident he'd pass any kind test they put in front of him.

"You might be surprised by who they're willing to extend trust to. As long as there aren't conflicting interests involved," he said in such a way that suggested he didn't trust people who gave orders.

"And what would those be?" Nika asks from where she's stepped into the room. She's wearing a simple tanktop and calf-length leggings along with the odd metal rods strapped to her forearms and lower legs. She is staring daggers at Chase. Or rather at his bare torso.

Chase looked down towards his chest then back at Nika with a concerned, questioning look.

"What would what..." he began before he figured it out, "Uhh... you actually know what that means... don't you?"

Nika's answer, if it can be called that, is to lift her arms to be parallel with the ground and suddenly rush towards Chase with a speed and acceleration that's well beyond a regular person breaking into a sprint. At the last possible moment she pulls her arms back and tries to shoulder-check into Chase, letting her body get carried by the momentum.

Chase's abilities barely had a chance to kick in before the bodyguard was on him. As such, he only managed to move enough to reduce the impact enough to allow him to recover into a very ninja-like crouch after sliding back several feet.

"Let me explain before you try to turn me to paste, okay?"

Nika does not, in fact, give him a chance to explain. She spins around before coming to a sudden stop and somehow throwing a punch from the opposite direction of what her momentum had been before and with surprising speed for such a sudden reversal.

Katarina rolled her eyes and blew her hair out of her eyes.

"She's always like this," she explained to Aiden.

Chase reacted more effectively this time, catching her arm and attempting to turn the momentum of the punch into fuel for a throw. She was too capable to merely avoid.

Katarina Karkov wrote:Katarina rolled her eyes and blew her hair out of her eyes.

"She's always like this," she explained to Aiden.

Aiden watched the fight with mild interest.

"I would never have guessed," Aiden chuckled. "Should we stop them? Or find something better to do?"

"This could take a while. Something better would be fantastic, yes," she smiled.

Unfortunately for Chase, her arm seems to be on a pretty set trajectory, so trying to deflect it into a throw fails spectacularly when the punch just carries through. He manages to hurt her arm, but the metal brace is fixing it along a set trajectory and connects the punch with Chase's face. Nika keeps stumbling past Chase afterwards, taking just a bit too long to have her power dissipate from the arm-brace.

Chase's training, as it so happens, did not prepare him for that and he spins to the floor in a semi-conscious, bloody-nosed heap.

Katarina Karkov wrote:"This could take a while. Something better would be fantastic, yes," she smiled.

"That drink I promised then?" Aiden asked as Chase fell semi-conscious to the ground. Aiden frowned seeing Chase hit the ground. "Perhaps an infirmary trip first?"

"Who paid you!" Nika demands, standing over Chase and trying hard not to let the bruise forming on her arm distract her. She has her fist pulled back and is standing over Chase in a wide-legged stance as if she's ready to punch, but her arm is shaking a little, even if it's currently being held in place by the charged arm-brace.

"Oh, I'm sure Nika won't rough him up too badly. Let them enjoy their playtime."