Sam folded his arms as the doors ‘whooshed’ open. ”Heard you ran into a little trouble lately.” Sam said talking about the recent zoo incident. He didn’t know much other than the guy that now makes the new X-person suit had a little trouble. One of the reasons they were in the danger room. One of the reasons.

”So thinking about needing some more suits for everyone. Similar builds to everyone’s personal specifications but was thinking of needing a stealth suit and a snow suit. Had a run in recently in Russia. I stuck out like a sore thumb.” he said flatly. Usually I don’t have trouble when I’m in the snow but, might have had an adapted with me.”[/color] he said scratching his head.

”Needless, some more stealthier options would be nice depending on what we are doing.” the team went where they were needed. ”Was thinking about using this as an opportunity for you to get a little training in. Looking for some new students and figured it might help you get out trouble faster.” he cracked his knuckles, ”If you’re up for it.” he said with a smirk.

Sam had a peculiar way of saying hi to people.

>>”Heard you ran into a little trouble lately.”

Javier paused. He'd been in the Danger Room before, but usually as an observer in the god room, trying to get measurements and data for the team's uniforms. When Sam had invited him again, he assumed that was the pan. For a moment he had no clue what trouble he might be referring to. Then he remembered that he had not personally been around Sam since the zoo incident...

"... oh."

Was Sam upset? Javier was just a tailor, not a part of the team, but he did make somewhat of an appearance with the giant lemur. Sam, on his part, continued on as if they were just chatting.

>>”So thinking about needing some more suits for everyone. Similar builds to everyone’s personal specifications but was thinking of needing a stealth suit and a snow suit. Had a run in recently in Russia. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Usually I don’t have trouble when I’m in the snow but, might have had an adapted with me.”

Back to business, then. Javier, trying to act normal, took out his notepad and started writing down some bullet points. This was work, and this was something he was good at. Designing outfits for specific purposes.

>>”Needless, some more stealthier options would be nice depending on what we are doing. Was thinking about using this as an opportunity for you to get a little training in. Looking for some new students and figured it might help you get out trouble faster. If you’re up for it.”

Javier looked up from his notes. Now he was really confused. Was he here to work, or was he here for... training?

"Oh." he shook his head "I... don't really train. Or fight, really. That was just... an accidental thing. I'm really not the vig... um, combat type."

The note pad came out and some stuff was scribbled down. Sam watched him write for a moment till everything he said sunk in. Javier stopped and looked up at him with a look of confusion. Sam grinned and walked closer cracking his neck slightly with a turn of his head. ”Who said we are fighting? I just need someone to practice with. Great for the body and the mind. What’s that saying? Idle hands, Idle mind?”

Sam turned slightly and threw a kick followed by an uppercut, ”Not asking you to join the team, dress up in one of your suits and patrol the town. Just asking you to workout with me thats all. Not every day you run into someone with super strength. I practice with you just means I’m more prepared for someone with your skill set.”

Another quick jab in the air and he added, ”Why didn’t you tell me you were that strong?” he asked curiously. He had his reasons, he was more than welcome not to explain them. Sam understood wanting to hide some things.

”You helped people because you could. Javier, nothing to be ashamed of. If anything you should be bragging about it. Would have taken me waaaaayyyyy longer to settle that situation. Proud I get to work with someone like that.” he said giving the man a grin and a thumbs up. Sam might have also given the poor Lemur frostbite.

>>”Who said we are fighting? I just need someone to practice with. Great for the body and the mind. What’s that saying? Idle hands, Idle mind?”

"Um, I don't..." Sam made some fighting moves, and Javier took half a step back. He had never really been the fighting type, and being in the Danger Room, which he was aware was capable of conjuring up all kinds of combat and disaster scenarios, he was really getting close to the edge of his comfort zone. Besides, he'd never thought of himself as idle.

>>”Not asking you to join the team, dress up in one of your suits and patrol the town. Just asking you to workout with me thats all. Not every day you run into someone with super strength. I practice with you just means I’m more prepared for someone with your skill set... Why didn’t you tell me you were that strong?”

"I'm..." Why didn't he? He never really considered himself strong, that's why. He knew he was a mutant, and one who had spurts of super strength, but it was far from consistent, and therefore useless. Hell, his adapted boyfriend Booker was more physically fit than Javier was, and Booker was a librarian.

>>”You helped people because you could. Javier, nothing to be ashamed of. If anything you should be bragging about it. Would have taken me waaaaayyyyy longer to settle that situation. Proud I get to work with someone like that.”

"I wasn't really thinking" Javier admitted, tucking his pencil behind his ear and scratching his neck awkwardly "To be honest... I'm not really that strong. Or rather I am, but it keeps cutting out, so... it's very unreliable. Never really been useful to lift heavy things in one moment, and drop them on my head the next..."

”Thinking doesn’t always help.” smirked Sam in response. Snap moment decisions often the best or worst in people. Sam often had to remind himself that he was a good guy and good guys helped. Javier didn’t seem to have the same issue. The icemancer thought it was good to be surrounded by people who tried to do the right thing. It always helped guide his, own decisions.

”Oh? Looked pretty strong.” he wasn’t buying what Javier was selling. He was a mutant with some kind of enchanced strength either Javier didn’t want to have anything to do with the limelight or he just hated the capes he made.

”Sounds more like operator error then.” he said bluntly. ”Look, this is more for my benefit than anything.” Sam said lying, ”I just need someone to practice with is all. Great for stress relief. Who knows you might even give you some clarity with your powers. Don’t want to brag or nothing but I am a pretty good teacher.” he threw another punch in the air.

It was hard to explain how his powers worked - or rather, didn't work. There was no rhyme or reason for how strength worked in one moment, and cut out in the other, even when he would have sorely needed his abilities. Javier felt embarrassed about having such a classic superpower, and having it practically useless.

>>”Sounds more like operator error then.”

He blinked, looking a little taken aback as Sam stated that. Did he just...?

>>”Look, this is more for my benefit than anything. I just need someone to practice with is all. Great for stress relief. Who knows you might even give you some clarity with your powers. Don’t want to brag or nothing but I am a pretty good teacher.”

Javier pursed his lips. He would have agreed to work out with Sam, really, but the kind of working out he was talking about involved... a lot of things other than just weights and jogging.

"Is that... would that even be safe?" he ventured, hesitantly "I never know when my powers kick in or... go away. You are much better trained than I am."

On the one hand, he could hurt Sam by his powers activating at the wrong time. On the other, they could also crap out, and Sam could hurt him with an attack... it just sounded like a bad idea.

”Wouldn’t it?” Sam asked confused. He was Sam ****ing Johnson of course it was safe… especially if someone burst into flames. ”and?” the icemancer asked wondering what the downside is.

”I’m only better trained because I was forced into as a kid. If I didn’t train I couldn’t be around people. They froze.” he said as he brought his hands up into a guard and lowered his stance a bit. ”Trial by Ice?” he asked wondering if that was a good name for it. Fire didn’t make sense to him.

”Partners not opponents.” Sam said nodding to Javier then himself. ”We will be helping each other get better. If I can teach kids that blow things up by touching them I’m pretty sure I can handle someone who can sometimes lift things.” he said a little harshly before laughing.

”It’ll be fine.” and with that Sam jumped forward and closed the distance between the two ice covering his ribs just in case Javier decided to get strong for a moment. Sam started with a punch into Javier’s torso making sure to pull the punch if it made contact. ”Safety is on.” he said as he followed up with an uppercut.

>>”Wouldn’t it?... and?”

Javier blinked, unsure how to respond. Why wouldn't it matter whether this was safe? He was sure Sam did not want to hurt him, and he sure did not want to accidentally hurt Sam. Safety was always important.

>>”I’m only better trained because I was forced into as a kid. If I didn’t train I couldn’t be around people. They froze. Trial by Ice?”

Sam took on a fighting stance again, and Javier tucked his note pad away, since it was clear now that he had not been summoned here for a costume design project. He was still not sure he wanted to do any of this. Learn to use his powers... sure, at least well enough to figure out when and how they cut off. But there had to be a way to experiment with that without punching another person, right?

>>”Partners not opponents. We will be helping each other get better. If I can teach kids that blow things up by touching them I’m pretty sure I can handle someone who can sometimes lift things.”

"I'd rather just... test my powers on something first...?" Javier ventured, but it was already too late.

>>”It’ll be fine. Safety is on.”

It really wasn't. Javier, too stunned to do anything, blinked, and then Sam's fist connected with his torso. It wasn't a strong punch, but it was unexpected, and it made Javier double over as he staggered back. "Ow!"

"I'd rather just... test my powers on something first...?"

That was all Sam needed to hear. The follow up comment caught him a little off guard. ”Ow?” he stepped back a second and waited for Javier to catch his breath. Ice started to coat the underside of Sam’s shirt for added protection. Just incase Javier was super strong and while he fought super strong mutants before he had learned how to counter it. Be faster.

Bummed he never followed through on his punch Sam taunted, ”Ow? You know I hit kids harder than that when we practice. Thought you were supposed to be super strong? So your powers don’t work all the time? Big deal. Focus.” Sam sighed slightly and folded his arms.

”I get your worried about hurting me. Appreciate it. One of the reasons I want you to figure out how to turn it on and off. I’m way more durable than anyone else out there.” Ice coated the rest of his body. ”I have to be. Someone has to do the heroics.” he said getting back into a fighting stance.

”Again.” he didn’t move. His ice armor did without him in it the golem of ice leapt and through a punch. Even if Javier didn’t know it the golem wouldn’t connect the punch.

The punch had not been very painful, but it had been unexpected, and Javier did not really like to get hit even on a good day. There was a reason he had never really done any martial arts. Sam, on the other hand, did not seem like he was going to give up that easily.

>>”Ow? You know I hit kids harder than that when we practice. Thought you were supposed to be super strong? So your powers don’t work all the time? Big deal. Focus.”

Easier said than done. Javier was not even sure what he was supposed to focus on. Could someone just... will himself into being stronger? How did that work?

>>”I get your worried about hurting me. Appreciate it. One of the reasons I want you to figure out how to turn it on and off. I’m way more durable than anyone else out there. I have to be. Someone has to do the heroics.”

Ice covered Sam's body. If Javier had not been about to get on the receiving end of his powers, he would have been fascinated by the physics of it all. But Sam gave him no time. He was still trying to turn this into a sparring session.

>>”Again.”

This time, only the ice moved. It moved like... a golem, of some sort, but there was no person behind it. It aimed a punch at Javier, and, since he really did not want to get punched again, Javier raised his arms, blocking. It was a sloppy move at best, but it did stop the golem's momentum. At least he hoped he was not hurting Sam in the process somehow...

The golem stopped when he met Javi’s block and Sam smirked. There was enough force behind it to knock most people back or at least under the golem. The second Sam took himself out of the equation it seemed Javi’s strength emerged. The icemancer sighed slightly; it meant it be a while before they could spar. He needed more training partners with super strength.

”Well?” Sam asked curiously. The golem didn’t move at first but when no one else moved Sam tilted his head and the golem responded stepping back and bringing a slow uppercut. ”Better hit him back of move.” Sam said mirroring the golem with the uppercut. Sam was punching air but he was at least going to get some kind of exercise out of it.

”He’s not as good at holding back as I am. Just a heads up.” Sam said taunting Javi a little.

Sam was manipulating the ice golem with his powers. Javier had a basic idea of how it all worked; he had been factoring it into the outfit designs, after all. But it was one thing to calculate it on paper, and a whole other thing to be on the receiving end...

>>”Well? Better hit him back of move. He’s not as good at holding back as I am. Just a heads up.”

"Aren't you..." Javier scrambled back from the upper cut "Controlling it?"

How could the golem have less self-restraint if it was just an ice puppet moved by Sam? It made no sense. Also, it was still attacking. Javier held up his arms again to protect himself. What was the point of this exercise? Was he supposed to attack? He could probably smash the ice creature. He'd done harder things with his power. Whenever his power actually worked. Oh well. This was going to end sooner of he tried. Javier gathered his strength and aimed a punch at the golem.

”I just tell him what I want him to do.” Sam said shrugging and watching the golem attack Javier, ”He figures how to do that himself.” he said. His golems if Sam didn’t directly control them were awful problem solvers however because Sam was focused on the lesson the golem seemed to be just as focused on the lesson.

The hole erupted in the golem where Javier had punched and Sam started to clap as the golem who once was moving of it’s own accord now stopped frozen in place now that Sam cut the connection with it. ”Can’t usually pierce the golems with knives and bullets catch in them. However you managed to punch a hole in him.”

The clapping continued for a minute till he got the feeling he was too excited about seeing Javier’s powers in action. ”How’d you feel in that moment?” he asked folding his arms. ”Angry? Happy? Nothing?” he asked, ”My powers can be affected by my mental state. Golem’s are a bit more aggressive and things get colder faster when I’m pissed off.” he explained. ”Maybe something similar happens with you.” he said trying to relate it back to Javier.

>>”I just tell him what I want him to do. He figures how to do that himself.”

Alright, so the golem was not fully... managed by Sam. That sounded bad, but it also sounded like a more superficial connection. One that would not directly hurt Sam if the golem was hurt. Which made sense. Javi was less nervous now about making a mistake, and eventually, he worked up the courage to punch a hole through the block of ice.

Sam applauded.

>>”Can’t usually pierce the golems with knives and bullets catch in them. However you managed to punch a hole in him.”

He did. Javi knew his powers were capable of this, and more, on a good day; the problem was, he never knew when the good day, or good moment, came around.

>>”How’d you feel in that moment?” Angry? Happy? Nothing?”

"Umm... not sure?"

Annoyed, more than anything, but he was not going to tell Sam that.

>>”My powers can be affected by my mental state. Golem’s are a bit more aggressive and things get colder faster when I’m pissed off. Maybe something similar happens with you.”

"I... don't think so?" Javi mused over the question "... I never thought about that before. I just... I usually use my powers when I really have to. Or for... small, everyday things."

He wasn’t sure. Sam folded his arms for a second and thought. Most kids could have figured it out by now. He debated against getting aggressive again but quickly decided against it. The golem seemed to be his best bet for now. Javier at least punched through the golem meaning Sam was on the right path.

”Small every day things? Like fighting a giant Lemur?” he smirked. ”So what counts as small everyday things then? When do you really have to?” determined to help Javier figure out how to tap into his powers. Sam was more curious now than ever.

”Doing me a favor now. This helps me as well. Might have a kid in the future with something similar to what you’re going through. Makes it just that much easier to help them.” he said snapping his fingers. The golem’s hole reformed. ”Care to go again?” he smiled.