Xaviers!

Shane looked over the grounds from atop the dorms one final time before moving back. His botanical simulacrum of a leather jacket unfurled and morphed into a pair of leafy gargoyle wings and he took a running leap off of the building. He managed to gain a little altitude before he lost control and fell towards the lawn. With a sickening crack, he collided with the earth in a broken, twitching tangle.

After a moment, he began to untangle himself with more disturbing wooden cracks as what passed for his bones un-broke. Slowly he sat up and snapped his head back on straight.

He coughed up some milky "blood" and groaned, "Fuuuuuck that hurt..."

[open]

Aiden had seen Shane jump of the roof and had, barely, suppressed the urge to slow clap as events unfolded. Instead he decided to try and be... somewhat friendly. He jogged over to where Shane was un-breaking and seeing that Shane wasn't dying slowed down to steady walk.

"Do students here often jump off of buildings to test their abilities?" Aiden asked looking at Shane seemingly unperturbed by the multitude of unbreaking limbs. He offered a hand to Shane to help him to his feet.

Shane grudgingly accepted the help and rose fully to his feet.

"Only when the Danger Room is offline and they regenerate," he answered in a similar attempt to play nice.

"It doesn't hurt falling several stories?" Aiden asked.

"Of course it bloody hurt. I'm not a cartoon character like some polymorphs around here."

"Ah, so jumping off rooftops to certain doom is a common practice here then?" Aiden asked smiling slightly.

"You just missed the corpse wagon," he responded.

Shit. Are we frenemies now?

Aiden was somewhat used to working with rivals.

"And people wonder why we think all of you here at Xaviers are mad," Aiden said amicably. "Can you make your limbs hollow?"

"That is how birds do it, isn't it? Well, the bones anyway. Yes, I probably could."

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps some sort of tail for balance as well..."

"Probably a bigger wingspan as well," Aiden said, "Maybe around 7 to 10 meters. Though that's only if you want to be some kind of plant dragon."

"I was actually going for gargoyle. Something from reality as a model might be more achievable, but I'd prefer to look cool doing it if I can get away with it."

"Unfortunately, I think physics will decide how cool you get to be," Aiden said, "I once ended up about elbow deep in dirt when I decided to do a practice HALO jump without a parachute."

"And you call us mad," he chuckled. "I'm actually impressed."

"I knew I wasn't going to get injured," Aiden said, "It was just embarrassing. I didn't realize the easiest way to impress you all was through feats of strength."

"No, no, it's the brazen disregard for what I assume are the rules. I take after the Yanks like that."

"Ah, well some rules are meant to be broken," Aiden shrugged nonchalantly. "Like the one forbidding climbing the statue of Lord Magneto."

"Seriously?" he laughed. "Bloody hell... wait... how big is the thing?"

"372 feet," Aiden said, "We climbed it at night to avoid patrols."

Shane's wings folded around him and began turning back into a jacket.

"And why were you avoiding patrols? Up to no good were we?" he asked like a fish on a hook.

“Climbing the statue is a criminal offense,” Aiden said, “Even for nobility, but climbing the statue is a... unofficial, and frowned upon, Praetorian initiation ritual so no choice really. My training unit went at night. Twitch disrupted motion sensors and pressure plates on the statue while Nox kept them from seeing us by manipulating shadows. I carried a Praetor badge to the top of the statue, so we could prove we’d been. Afterwards we went AWOL to get incredibly drunk and then tattoos to commemorate the whole affair.”

"My temper would probably make me a shitty soldier, but the booze and tattoos I have experience with. Well, alright, booze and tattoo. A regrettable tattoo I thankfully lost in my plantification."

Shane Marsh wrote:"My temper would probably make me a shitty soldier, but the booze and tattoos I have experience with. Well, alright, booze and tattoo. A regrettable tattoo I thankfully lost in my plantification."

"Probably would," Aiden smiled. "You haven't been a plant for that long then?"

"For years my mutation was just plant control. Then last year I had a car accident and it internalized. A survival mechanism apparently. The process didn't actually finish until a few months ago. So I'm pretty new to this polymorphic thing and to not looking human. Though the latter doesn't bother me like I expected it to."

"Maybe I'm just tired of self-loathing," he admitted.

"I'm somewhat surprised that you cared," Aiden said, "You don't seem the type to care about appearances much."

"I used to, but that vain little wanker died in the accident. His ghost may linger, but the new me doesn't feel like there's enough time to waste on preening. Second chances and all that."

"Ironically, I'm likely to live a very long time."

"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger is quite a bit more literal for you then," Aiden smiled.

"Indeed," he responded.

"You know, I don't think I actually know what your power is."

"I can amplify my physical abilities," Aiden said, "I become faster, stronger, and more durable for a period of time. The more I amplify them the shorter the duration."

"Impressive. So how far have you pushed it? Past surviving that skydive?"

"I picked up a tank and hit another tank with it then threw said tank at another tank," Aiden said, "When we ambushed a mechanized cimpany pursuing mutant refugees."

Aiden paused for a moment.

"I also got hit by a missile once, which I dont recommend.

"Jesus. How long does that insane level of amplification last?"

"Not very long one to two minutes at most, so I only use it at that level for shock and awe tactics or ambushes," Aiden said, "The mechanized company retreated within two minutes of engaging them. I rode in a commandeered APC for the rest of the mission."

Aiden left out the part where they'd caused over 50% casualties in those two minutes, but international news had covered the incident. Very shaky video had circulated along with the news broadcasts.

"At the lowest level though I can stay amplified for roughly an hour."

"So that's what a Praetorian does then? Defend refugees?"

"Frequently," Aiden said, "Praetorians perform the same functions as most militaries so we guard diplomats and embassies, defend against military threats targeting Genosha or mutant communities. We also deal with anti-mutant terrorist groups targeting Genosha."

Aide paused for a moment.

"We also build schools, provide medical aid, disaster relief, and skills training. Or we protect volunteersproviding those services."

What generic military pamphlet did you get that speech from?

No. Don't be a dick, Shane.

"You're quite devoted, aren't you? I... think I can respect that."

"Are you not? The X-teams require a certain amount of devotion don't they? A belief in what you do is right," Aiden asked.

"You might have a point," he said with a small, proud smile. "And I did fight a space alien at least in part for my country."

"And what was the other part?" Aiden asked.

"To halt their plan to promote anti-mutant sentiment and use the conflict as a weapon. I hadn't known going in that there were going to be brainwashed 'terrorists' there."

"Brainwashed terrorists?" Aiden asked.