Designate: White, Isabelle alias Whisp, please lie back on the table and breathe at a normal pace. The scanner will move from your toes to your head and back again. Once that is complete, Designate: Sikorsky will initiate empathic scanning and collect deoxyribonucleic acid sample by swabbing the interior of your mouth. The procedure should take no longer than three minutes, and does not, Designate: Mack, Alex alias Psyforce, require any disrobement. Designate: Sikorsky can scan through apparel.
Michael laughs at the pair dueling mock light sabers.
So Professor, what will be be doing while the others get checked up? Can we go see the Danger Room?
If I can practice in a place I can't hurt others, maybe I really can control the beast
They are so young. Do I really have the right? Do I have any choice? Magnus is going to get us all killed if I don't do something. The two years I was away have cost us all so much.
Actually, Michael, I was thinking that now would be a good time for you gentlemen to get into uniform. And while you are being examined, it will be the ladies' turn to change. Once everyone is dressed appropriately and Sikorsky has given the go-ahead, I will introduce you to the Danger Room together, as a team. The Professor says, indicating the way to the subterranean locker room. Once you've all seen its capabilities, I will run some individual sessions before any group sessions, giving you each a chance to focus on your... individual issues for the first week of training. We will need to move quickly into team-building exercises, whilst continuing individual training in the background.
Iz lies back on the bed, nervously glancing at the other girls as the machine lights up and begins moving slowly from her toes upward over her body. "Well, here goes...
As Michael laughs, Jack sweeps his air saber across Vincenzo's midsection, twists and mocks a force choke on Michael. Catching a bit of Xavier and Michael's conversation, he turns back to Vincenzo and, brings his hands to his side and bows.
"Suitin' up! Awesome. Really looking forward to checkin out this danger room business."
Michael plays along and pretends he is choking for as long as Jackson keeps it up, though a bit behind the Professor so he doesn't see.
So how will the suits interact with our powers? Will it change its fit as I grow and change? Does it go further than that, like augmenting our abilities?
Jackson stands in front of the locker room mirror, checking himself out, striking various poses
Yeah, I don't know if this'll fly well for me in the long run, but it'll do for now. But DAMN do I make this look good. Wait til the ladies check me out!
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The examinations proceed exactly as described by Sikorsky, and the ladies are released with instructions to get changed into their uniforms and the boys summoned for their physicals. Once that is all completed, you meet outside the big round door with an X on it: the entrance to the Danger Room.
The Professor has entered a nearby chamber, which he has told you is the control center for the room. The door spins into the wall, revealing a metallic chamber about the size of two football fields.
While in her new uniform Alex pulls the material which snaps back on her side.
"This stuff is tighter then the cheerleader uniforms. You boys better don't have any dirty thoughts or something larger than a chair will come flying your way." Alex says as she accusingly points towards the boys.
At the end of the examination and when the girls finally have their outfits on (No matter the awful color palette.) and both boys and girls are waiting outside the Danger Room doors, it is easily discernible that Julia is not very comfortable in the material. It feels too thin, this can't keep it all in. What if I end up causing someone to go into toxic shock because they brushed against me by accident?!
Still fidgeting when the doors open, Julia, who gave herself the handle Catalyst during registration, peers into the huge room, stunned by the size of such a place, "I suppose we won't have to worry about accidentally ripping holes in the walls in such a space."
After Alex makes her announcements to the boys, Jackson has a bit of an "a-ha!" moment...
Man, who is this girl kidding?! No one's gonna wanna look at her in that outfit
He steels himself, ready to dodge whatever may come his way.
She turns back to the others but picks up the thoughts.
Hmm thats a first. Normally jocks can't think of anything but sex when they see girls in cheerleaders outfits. Guess he's gay or something. It explains the macho behaviour somewhat. Overcompensating to avoid notice, thats what the gay football players did anyway.
He puts on his uniform, but where Jackson checks himself out in the mirror, Michael only pauses long enough to straighten it out.
Huh. This makes me look...better. I look like less of a nerd in this. Hopefully, I don't end up ripping this when I transform.
Michael steals a glance at Alex as she passes in to the control room, finding it hard not to think of her in uniform and in compromising positions after she passed a moratorium on dirty thoughts. Catching himself he thinks. You know its not nice to punish us for what comes to mind naturally, especially when you draw attention to it. It's like punishing us for thinking of school buses or sunflowers when you tell us not to think of something yellow.
But all that melts away when he the door turns revealing the Danger room
Whoa...This is amazing. How does this work?
Iz relaxes after her examination, curiously watching Sikorsky and the machine as its light plays over the other girls and they have mouth-swabs taken. As they leave the examination room she surreptitiously checks out the boys in their uniforms before following the professor to the locker room. After changing, Iz - now "Whisp", joins the others outside the Danger Room in her tight-fitting uniform, standing with her arms self-consciously crossed over her small chest. As they wait her face grows progressively redder... Oh god, why do they have to be so tight. I mean it's OK for the others, they're all,... developed. I must look like a twelve year-old in this thing. What're we going to be asked to do now? I really hope this suit works like the Prof. said. I don't think I could stand shifting through my clothes like last time. Oh god the boys'd see everything. Oh god, oh god, oh god, - I don't think I can do this."
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Danger Room. The Professor's voice booms over an intercom. The door closes behind you. In this room, you are the X-Men. Even when you are alone in this room, you are part of something larger, part of a team. In this room, I am not your friend, not your counselor, not your den-mother. I am your leader. I expect my orders to be carried out without delay or discussion. In the field, your lives and the lives of your teammates will depend on how seriously you take the training that will take place in this room.
There is a soft hum, and the room... changes. No longer a big metallic chamber, you find yourselves on the bustling streets of New York City. People stream down the sidewalk you stand on, although they give you a fairly wide berth and plenty of strange stares. Taxis, trucks, cars, and bicycles travel the streets, accompanied by plenty of honking.
Instinct:
Psyforce:
The Danger Room uses sophisticated technology to simulate practically any environment or scenario imaginable. As some of you might suspect, this technology is not terrestrial in origin. Treat the situations presented here as real, for they are the closest thing to reality we can simulate. Treat the room as a game and you will be unprepared for reality.
As the room starts to shift into a cityscape, Kid Wonder jumps into a defensive stance, looking around and analyzing what exactly is going on. He looks to his sides to see how his fellow X-Men handled the change.
His mind is swarming with numbers as he subconsciously calculates the distance of the vehicles, buildings and people.
This is... kind of neat
Alex stands at the ready and uses her force field power (takes dc 20 to notice). She also tries to manipulate a nearby object (i.e. pushing over a can or tossing some trash about, nothing flashy) to see how this strange environment reacts to her powers.
Nothing is real here, but why are they looking at us so strangely.
"Nothing is real here, they have no minds. I guess we could go crazy with our powers and no one can get hurt but ourselves."
Once the room disappears, to be replaced by the city streets of New York, Iz relaxes somewhat. Although there are now many more people around, she at least feels less like she's the focus of everything. It feels weird to be back in the city in the uniform, but the presence of the others reassures her somewhat. As "Kid Wonder" (Oh my god, I can NOT believe he called himself that!) assumes his defensive pose, Iz looks around curiously. "What's wrong Jackson? It seems just like the city to me. Nothing to worry about other than being caught out after curfew."
Michael starts moving through the crowd "It even smells like the real thing!"
Though that whole leader thing. I know he is helping us, but can he really expect us to follow him with out question? We know exactly nothing about him. Oh crap, he can hear me!
-Posted with Wayfinder
"What's wrong Jackson? It seems just like the city to me. Nothing to worry about other than being caught out after curfew."
He looks over at Whisp, and then looks down at himself and realizes that he's tensed up. He eases up a bit and chuckles "S-sorry, it ain't everyday that the room you're in warps into New York City, yknow? Can't help myself...sometimes my body just does that".
Julia shakes her head at the voice speaking in her mind. If only things were ever that simple. It is only a matter of time before someone gets hurt because my lack of control on what my traitor genes let me do.
As the Danger Room fires up and makes it feel like they are instantly teleported into the midst of downtown New York City. Julia looks around as already it seems Vincenzo is walking off, "Remember what the Professor said. Treat this as the real thing. So don't go walking into traffic unless you really can withstand being plastered over the hood of a car or truck." The young woman looks nervously around at the crowd that parts around them before testing out if the personal bubble follows her as she sets out after Vinny.
Looking around towards Twitch and Catalyst and then back to the group, Jackson finally relaxes "Yo, so it's everyone for themselves? Gonna see if I can find that one pizza joint I went to last time I was in New York. Check y'all later."
He crosses the street, failing to look both ways.
He ain't gonna hurt us with this thing. He's probably jus showin off.
Iz glances over at Alex and shrugs, turning to follow Julia and Vincenzo. "So you're saying these people aren't real?" as she passes a streetlamp she reaches out to touch it. "Sure feels real. I wonder if they react properly?" as they pass a middle-aged business man hurrying past, she turns... she shouts, watching to see his reaction.
Alex laughs at Whisps attempt to scare the fake persona.
"Yeah, they aren't real at all. I can't tell what this room is going to throw at us though. We should be careful. AND NOT SPLIT UP AND RUN OFF INTO THE UNKNOWN LIKE SOME PEOPLE! Ugh I'm sounding like Julia."
Alex follows after Izzy, not knowing what to expect she keeps her bubble up around herself.
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The Professor's voice comes over your intercoms Whisp, you are to use codenames when in uniform. Even a first name could result in exposure to the school and its students.
How fast is Twitch running off?
Kid Wonder steps in front of a taxicab. The driver attempts to stop He leans out of the cab, yelling Watch where you're going you freak!
The business man startles and then gets red-faced, sternly saying to Whisp Young lady, do your parents know you're here, dressed like that?
-Posted with Wayfinder
Whisp nods at the Professor's instructions. "Ok Prof. Feels a bit weird to call people the codenamed though!" When the businessman confronts her she grins, People're always telling me what to wear. Sounds just like grandma,.. 'why don't you dress properly, like a good girl. You'd be so pretty in a nice floral dress.' - gag. In response to his words she straightens up, trying her best not to feel like all the people (They're not even real so why do you care?) are looking at her. "So, Prof. What do you want us to do? Are we just having a look at what the room can do, or do you want us to, like, try to use our abilities or something?"
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Twitch moves faster than Catalyst's admonishment, zooming off at a thousand miles per hour. In the blink of an eye, he disappears into the city. Her words carry over the comms, however.
Twitch soon finds himself with a choice: try running on water or find a bridge. He can see the coastline of Jersey off in the distance.
Well maybe that's what we are supposed to do...if we are going to treat this as the real thing, we should try doing this tactically
Michael starts to move off, inhaling deeply and angling his ears trying to get a scent or sound (or sight, if he has line of) off of whatever could have caused it. He tries to get Jackson's and the others attention non verbally, but ops to "shout" to Alex, focusing his thoughts on her, or trying to at least.
You can send thoughts too, right? It would be an excellent idea to use you as a go between for nonverbal communication.
(-1 per 100 feet on auditory and visual. -1 per 1000 feet on olfactory, both olfactory and auditory are now accurate and acute, so I should be able to pinpoint and identify something as well as looking at it, though with the benefit of a radius sense)
"What the hell? - Well I'm guessing that we're supposed to have a go at dealing with whatever that was! We should probably stay together and see if we can get a look before we do anything. What do you guys think? Al,... err. Psyforce, can you contact Twitch from this far away and get him to come back?
As the Taxi manages to brake, Jackson aggressively, though mockingly, slams on the hood and yells (in his most obnoxious, nasally New Yorker accent)
"I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' he-!"
He gets cut off by the boom and his mind springs into action. He darts off, running towards the disturbance and calls in over the comm system
"What was that? Twitch, did you catch that?"
"Whisp, Instinct, Catalyst, Psyforce-- keep your eyes and ears open and stay safe. I'm headed up that way now, I'll tell y'all what I see when I get there."
He runs down the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians left and right and shouting for them to move out of his way. It reminds him of his morning conditioning, when his father would wake him up before sunrise and have him run uphill, with weights. Not a normal thing to do, no, but something he's now thankful for.
Sigh, I guess they figured it out anyway now
Alex switches her to mental communication (has 1 mile radius).
"Right everyone this is Alex, if you speak your thoughts you can all mentally communicate with eachother. However, the range is limited, Vincienzo is out of reach and I cannot scan for trouble at the same time. Though I doubt anything here can be picked up anyway. We go investigate the explosion TOGETHER, no running off individually."
Over the comm system Alex calls out "Twitch, come back to the rest of us immediately there has been an explosion a couple of blocks from here."
She focuses her abilities and with her force field still active she lifts of the ground slowly. Guess now is a good time as any to try it out
Alex slowly gains speed and starts flying to the incident (power 2 so 120 ft per round I guess?).
Iz, watches as Alex slowly rises into the air and begins moving quickly towards the cause of the explosion. Amidst the shouts of the crowd she knows she won't be able to be heard so she tries to send mentally.. "Hey Al. I didn't know you could do that. Too cool! Her own forward progress hindered by the crowd she thinks for a moment... Ok so I guess we're supposed to be trying out our 'powers', so maybe I should have a go too? OK, first, don't really want to hurt anyone... seeing a nearby postbox Iz runs over and vaults up onto it. Ok, now how did it happen last time? I guess I wanted to make home base. So if I really, really want to do it, it should just happen. But how do I do that? OK, let's see. Kind of hard. Maybe if I just concentrate?
For a few moments she stands on the bin straining, Oh god, this is so embarrassing! All the others make it look so easy, and here I am stuck on a bloody postbox. Come on, for %^*&'s sake you can do iiiiit... Suddenly, she feels herself,.. shift, her form replaced by a bright blue-tinged ball of light that streaks up into the air, leaving a blur of brightness behind her, rapidly approaching Psyforce and then passing her. Ohhh, Myyyyy, Goddddd. This is amazing!... "Hey guys, Check me out!" The blue light changes direction and swings back around Alex, circling her so as not to get too far ahead. "I don't think I can go any slower than this, but wow! This is awesome!/
Seeing Whisp zoom around, Alex can't help but smile "Haha, showoff!!!"
I think I can go faster if I focus less on my shield, let's see...
Alex hovers a little, trying to focus her powers and shifting her attention.
Ok let's try it out now.
Alex continues flying and now at a much higher speed! Even flying circles around Whisp now.
"Haha, this is amazing, not having to hide our powers! I can go even faster I think! Don't worry Izzy, you can just hover as well if you like, just hold it back a bit."
Seeing both Alex and Iz bolt through the sky, Jackson briefly slows down in amazement before picking back up in speed
"Damn! You girls make that look easy!"
Gotta find me a way to move fast like that.
Seeing Whisp zoom around, Alex can't help but smile "Haha, showoff!!!"
I think I can go faster if I focus less on my shield, let's see...
Alex hovers a little, trying to focus her powers and shifting her attention.
Ok let's try it out now.
Alex continues flying and now at a much higher speed! Even flying circles around Whisp now.
"Haha, this is amazing, not having to hide our powers! I can go even faster I think! Don't worry Izzy, you can just hover as well if you like, just hold it back a bit."
Julia starts jogging down the street in the direction of the flash as both comm and mental conversations start rolling in. The sight of Whisp and Psyforce floating by causes her to shake her head at the spectacle of them both. Julia touches her comm as she continues attempting to slip through the crowd unnoticed, "Does anyone have visual on the source of the incident yet?"
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Instinct: Your senses sift through the crowds, focusing on the epicenter of the blast.. beyond the fear and adrenaline surrounding it, you make out a smell... ozone, carbon, metal, a really expensive cologne, and under all that, the smell of burnt flesh. He hears his voice (see Whisp and Psyforce below)
Twitch: You are too far away to have seen it, but you do get the comm signal.
Whisp and Psyforce: as the first on the scene, you see what Instinct smelled: A half dozen or so police cars, officers strategically using them for cover. One had been overturned and half blown up. In the center of the street, a man in some sort of armor and a green cape stands, his voice booming, full of pride, and with a slight European? accent Von Doom demands an audience with the ones you call the Fantastic Four.
Upon seeing the sight Alex communicates what she sees to the others telepathically.
"Some sort of german crazy man in armor calling himself Von Doom. How should we proceed?"
I probably need all of my power to deal with this guy...
Alex thinks as she hovers some distance away from the guy
Hearing Psyforce's description, Jackson racks his memory
...German crazy man in armor...calling himself Von Doom? ...nah, never heard of the guy