Xavier made no sense. He was so aloof and positive. Did he take anything seriously? Was he not some superhero in the making? That carefree energy and his stupid perfect smile were just so… augh! She should find him more annoying, but she was annoyed because she did not find him as annoying as he clearly was.

Naturally, as the metaphorical dust settled, (they should have really brought dust into the gym for added effect,) Xavier stood as her opposite, alone on the battlefield. Bracing her ball, she anticipated him to make some goofy comment.

She should not have. He was fast. Praxi had the misfortune of needing some setup. She pulled her body back, trying to move as quickly as she could manage to set up her slingshot. The red orb was pulled back, and just before she could release the weapon with full force--

A ball came screaming in and struck her stretched out form. The problem she failed to foresee: she was too stretched. The ball struck her and her body burst into stray slime bits, leaving her red ball to lob harmlessly into the air a few feet until it dribbled on the ground.

What was left of Praxi’s core was little more than enough for her to make a small, beachball-sized ball of goop, retaining her dark green core and two dark green eyes glaring at her vanquisher. The tiny ball deflated a little. ”I… have been bested. Teacher, I am sorry. I think I need some time to collect myself before our next game.” Literally, considering puddles of Praxi dotted the playing field.

As he landed on his feet, a look of triumphant victory plastered on his face that slowly morphed into abject horror as he realized what he'd done. Slime was everywhere. He'd exploded her.

He'd killed Praxi. He quickly ran over, sliding to his knees and stopping before a small slime pile, his eyes wide as he tried to think of what to do. Did... did you give green goo girls CPR? What would CPR even do in this instance. God, that was a stupid thought!

Suddenly, a different pile of goo started talking, and he jumped to his feet in surprise, scratching the back of his head in mild embarrassment as he looked around at the mess. "Praxi! I'm so sorry! I guess I got carried away. Uhm... How can I help?"

He would go about trying to help her collect herself, clearly feeling very guilty for putting her in this state. How did one collect a Praxi? Using a mop seemed pretty dense, but he couldn't exactly scoop up pieces of her with a hand... That wasn't exactly appropriate either. He would be as respectful to her boundaries as possible in helping out.

"Do you need to see Doc prof? I threw that ball pretty fast..." He hadn't been thinking. She was a strong opponent, so he'd ended up getting a little too competitive. Silently, he admonished himself for his behavior in his head.

After the initial surprise of her goo ball shape conceding to the blonde Adonis, he stuck close by, trying to offer help or assistance while she collected enough globules of herself to regain a mostly humanoid form. She was considerably shorter than she was moments earlier, which made Xavier dwarf her, but at least she was not just a defeated bubble.

For someone who defeated her, Xavier was being way too sympathetic. Demigods were never merciful, but she had to accept this well-intentioned musclehead was not a demigod. He was just an enthusiastic young man whose mutation was invisible and who was (annoyingly) undeniably handsome. Maybe she was no better than Amethyst with her assumptions.

Praxi's head swished from side to side. "No, I'm okay. I almost never really feel pain, as you'd know it at least." If she was reduced to her core, that could lead to some agony, but no sense in sharing her weaknesses. She did not trust Xavier that much. "I can just pick up my pieces and if you had really reduced me to... well, if I was too exploded, I would just sort of... go to sleep. And my body would slowly regenerate." Her form had many drawbacks, but she saw that as compensation for being virtually invulnerable.

"It is a cool power you have," she admitted. "I guess there'd be a lot you could do with it. So... well, why be an X-Man of all things? Is saving humans really the thing you'd want to do most?" He could probably be a rich athlete. He would have been praised in Atlantis. If he just wanted praise, why do something that was a greater risk and often for people who did not care about him?

He was put slightly at ease as she notified him that she didn't feel pain. She would reassemble with time, it seemed. Still, he felt sorta useless fussing about as her pieces slowly becace whole once more. "That's pretty cool, huh? Jumping into danger isn't so scary if nothing can really hurt you!"

He wondered silently what he would be like with such an ability. So many sacrificial dives would take place!

The tall youth smiled as she started to take on a more recognisable shape once more, but his brow forrowed a bit when she asked him if saving people was what he wanted to do most.

"Eupraxia, I don't want to save humans... I want to save people. It doesn't matter to me if they are mutant or human, they are all people. Saving just one person can make so much good happen in this world. If I become one of the X-Men I can save even more lives. I believe we are here to do good, and this is how I can do my best good." The would-be hero accentuated the statement with a firm nod.

"What about you...I haven't asked: What do you want to do?" It was sorta a big question to just spring on someone, but there it was. It seemed while they chatted the next round was starting without them on the other side of the court. The coach probably figured teams might be a little more balanced if either both of them, or neither of them were playing. After all, he was a powerhouse, and balls stuck to her, so she just caught almost every throw toward her.

Xavier understood her power; it was something she took advantage of in Atlantis. Guards did not know how to deal with her unique abilities, which encouraged her to get involved when guards harassed kids on the streets.

Maybe Eupraxia was jaded, but she struggled with the notion of nobility for the sake of it. Maybe what she did in Atlantis could be argued as noble, but she saw it as survival. The gorgons were her people, and she was in a position to protect them. If she did not do it, those kids would suffer.

Xavier thought like that, but he was not saving "his people." Or he was, but they were all his people. Mutants, physically mutated, humans. Maybe some of them would be bad. He did not seem to care. In fact, he flipped the question around to Praxi, making her think about what she wanted. "I've... never had to think about that. Most of my life was spent avoiding capture and saving other street kids from getting captured. I... guess I always liked that. Knowing I kept those kids from the Necropolis." Or the terrible things that happened to Celeste. "That always felt like the best way to use my powers. I never thought of using them to save people who weren't... like me." Gods, that sounded awful when she said it like that.

Maybe she had to be willing to involve her beliefs in this new world she was part of now. "Hey Xavier... um... how did you end up as a trainee? You know. Hypothetically, if I was interested, maybe, you know?" Near the end, her mumbling became harder to distinguish, because was she seriously considering this?

He listened intently as she worked through the response to his question, smiling widely as she talked about her past. "Wow... That sounds rough... You were brave, though! That last part came out rough when you said it, right?" He heard her hesitation, and it made the smile on his face ever warmer.

"That's because deep down, people know what the right thing to do is. You just have to let yourself do it, even if it doesn't help you. That's what I beleive." Yes, Xavier was one of those fools that believed the people were intrisically good. Sometimes they just needed to have their best pulled out of them.

She spoke again, pulling his attention. As she sort of started to mumble, he leaned in to hear better, leaning in more as it got harder to distinguish. He stood tall again once the message was recieved, and reached a hand behind his head, chuckling a little.

"Ah, well, actually, I'm not really a trainee yet. I will be soon, I think! As for how to get started, I talked to Shin! I guess letting any teacher know you are interested would be a great way to go! I think you would be amazing if you joined; your ability to so cool!"

There was something annoying about being around good people. They made you want to be good, or maybe they reminded you that you could be good. Xavier was annoyingly infectious in his altruism and it left Eupraxia wondering if she might be meant to keep up the work she did when she was an Atlantean street rat trying to survive.

"Okay golden boy. Or... I mean, your hair is golden, I assume, based on the shade of, er, green." Moving on, failblob. "Maybe saving people gave me a sense of purpose. And maybe I should treating humans like the enemy..."

Xavier was enthused by the prospect of her joining him as a trainee, and he made no effort to contain his praise for Eupraxia's abilities. Something about him complimenting her made her vibrate nervously, her swirling greens darkening. "Oh, um, thank you. I appreciate that. And you are impressive. Your powers," she corrected stiffly. "Maybe when all is said and done, I'll be there to have your back when you go do something goofy and reckless and heroic." She got the vibe he would give her opportunities to do just that if they were going to be the X-Men's newest trainee pair.

His smile widened a bit as a eyebrow lifted at her calleing him golden boy. "Yup, I'm a blonde!So, you see in shades of green? That's interesting! Wait, huh... How do you know you only see green? If your vision is monochromatic couldn't it be... any color?" He saw her moving on, and allowed the moment to pass, even though he was fascinated.

"I guess I don't view anyone as my enemy... There are people that will do bad things out there, I haven't seen any evidence that any one group does any more bad than any other group. So i'll stop the people that do bad things, and save the people that need to be saved." He felt like it was really simple when you viewed it that way. He liked simple when it came to morality.

He tilted his head a bit as she seemed to vibrate a bit. Her compliments lead directly to him rubbing the back of his neck bashfully and chuckling. "Thanks! I think you've got me figured out! I look forward to being goofy, reckless, and heroic alongside you!" The whistle blew again. It was time to run laps! He perked up again as there was a collective groan.

What? Was he the only one who loved running laps?