[2009 – October]
Sitting by the side and waiting for Laura to show up and spar with her, Jean relaxed and enjoyed the chance to watch Elijah train with Arya by her side, who for her part hooted and sang as if to cheer for him.
Her love wore nothing but a loose pair of linen pants as he moved over the wide area inside the training room, his steps almost soundless due to his immense bodily control.
He moved 'comparatively' slow when keeping in mind the actual speed that he was capable of. Still, every one of his motions was carefully controlled and precise.
Beads of sweat rained down on the rough alloy plates that served as the floor, different muscle groups moving as one in a captivating display of harmony and she could feel the minute fluctuations of the ambient psionic energy that let her know of the enormous strength behind each strike.
Jean had once seen someone perform a Capoeira routine and she saw some of this martial arts style in the way Elijah seemed to follow a certain rhythm with his movements.
There was just this fluid style that tied all the different stances together as one whole, which made it seem more like a ritualistic dance than individual stances.
It was a display of lethal grace and an incredibly beautiful thing to watch.
Jean herself had never learned a specific style of martial arts while being trained as a future X-Man. Instead, Logan had just taught them some practical self-defense movements and other stances for hand-to-hand combat.
It was only after she came to the Hellion Mansion and sparred regularly with Laura that Jean had come in contact with the different styles as the black-haired girl was a master of several martial arts.
As such, Jean managed to recognize the aggressiveness and light-footedness of Muay Thai behind some of her lover's movements and in the sharp aura that he exuded. She wasn't surprised with this discovery though as it was Elijah's favorite fighting style, besides pure force control.
Seeing Laura step into the training room from the corner of her eyes, she was ready to put down Arya and approach the girl so that they could leave for another training room to spar when she saw the dark-haired she-wolf pounce forward with unsheathed claws and attack Elijah.
…
I continued my training when I suddenly sensed Laura's approach from behind.
Relying purely on my hearing, I sidestepped her claw swipe while turning sideways and reaching behind me blindly to grab her forearm and exert a minute amount of force along the focal points in her whole arm.
In response, I could hear her grunt in pain as well as the distinct sound of her joints dislocating, elbow and shoulder.
I kept my eyes closed as fully spun around to face her back, knowing that this was by far not enough to stop her attack. And I was right as she immediately lashed out with her high kick at my neck, her Adamantium claws ready to behead me.
It didn't make much of a difference to me though as I felt the air currents around me, the quiet soundwaves her movements created likewise unable to escape my ears.
This wasn't the first time that Laura sneak attacked me as she sometimes just had this urge to vent some of her excess energy so that she could keep her violent instincts under control. And since I was the only one that could escape her sneak attacks unharmed, even if she came at me with the intent to kill, I didn't mind her doing so while we were inside the training rooms.
It had become somewhat of a game between us, even though it often looked as if we were ready to do some serious damage to one another.
In response to her kick, I just raised my arm to deflect her attack and at the same time dislocate her knee through an exertion of precise physical force.
It was one of the combat styles that I favored the most as it required incredible bodily control and deep knowledge of anatomy. It was a style born out of precision, not one born out of lethality.
Naturally, I wouldn't use a lethal style against Laura, since even she was not truly unkillable, not to mention that I enjoyed the chance to spar with someone using this precise style.
Suddenly withdrawing her leg, having only used it as a feint, she spun around with her upper body leaning forward, her other arm targeting my leg, with her claws aiming to cut off my knee.
Not one to be caught off guard, I raised my leg. Not to avoid her strike but to counterattack as my foot moved forward like a poisonous viper and struck her left wrist at a precise angle, deflecting her blow and dislocating another joint.
This time, Laura didn't let out any sound but she retreated a few steps to give herself some space.
Her bright and vigilant gaze trained on me, she locked down her left hand with her legs and violently jerked her arm to snap the wrist joint back into place before using her healed hand to correct the joints in her right arm.
She didn't say anything before she went back on the offense, her deadly claws heading my way once again while a faint smile spread across her lips, anticipation burning in her gaze.
The result though didn't change as she could never come close enough to land a blow before I attacked the focal points in her limbs.
She didn't stop trying though as sweat soon dripped down her cheeks and nose, her breathing ragged.
…
Jean was rather captivated by Laura's deadly display of technique, her Adamantium claws parting the air almost noislessly like the reaper's scythe itself.
She was a like a storm of blades, yet no matter what she did, Elijah stood unharmed as if inviolable.
It was somewhat fascinating to watch and it certainly made her more motivated for her own training, even though the rapid exchange didn't last more than fifteen minutes before the dark-haired was mentally too exhausted to continue.
This didn't mean that Jean wasn't still a bit shocked at the ruthlessness of Elijah's and Laura's exchange, neither of them hesitating to try and inflict pain on the other, despite the fact that they cared for one another deeply.
The two of them had a strange bond that was visible even through the violence with which they confronted each other. Or maybe, their bond was the whole reason that they could face the other in combat like this without having to worry about losing the trust that had been built between them.
Jean didn't quite understand it but she noticed its existence without fail.
She wasn't upset though as she knew very well that this friendship was important not only to them but also for them. It helped them in moments when they struggled with their own humanity or the lack of it. Not to mention that her love would never do something that betrayed her trust in him.
After a short break, she eventually left with Laura to spar in another training room while Elijah went back to his own training.
…
It was a few hours after my spar with Laura that I found myself in Emma's office as the announced guests walked in after knocking and being called inside by her.
"How rare of you to visit my school, Charles.", Emma greeted as the older telepath entered her office with Ororo leading the way, Logan and Hank following behind, their gazes somewhat restless as they looked at me.