2014.02.23 - Speed Hope

Training.
What can be said about training? It's something that just has to be done. Even at The Academy of Tomorrow, it has to be done.
And right now...?
Right now one of the training rooms at The Academy is in use. But what sort of training is being done? Well to be honest....
Flight training. The sim is complex. One that quite possibly pushes the abilities of the training room to their limit. It creates an environment where a person who might not have powers that allow them to fly on their own, to fly. And then, there's a bit of a belt with a hand control to cause the actual 'flying'.
Now, why anyone who can't fly on their own would need this sort of training is anyones guess, but there is a girl, one Hope Summers, in there, using the sim, and well.... She's not doing too insanely bad, aside from the fact that she keeps crashing every time she lands. But well, the redheaded teen is scheduled for this kind of training anyways!
----
As julie comes over to supervise the flight training program, someone has gone to try it on her own already - which was only Hope Summers. Eying over the virtual environment and the pseudo-flight gear hooked into the machines she went to get the instructors pad from the wall hanging - where it seemed to float in midair for the open-area coloration of the walls. "Ok, I am a bit late, so if you all mind to gather down here... well, all of you two I mean."
Looking at the only two ho seem to have missed the module, she pulls a pen from her pocket, where it for sure was not before, but that is the thing about dimensional pockets. Since they were indoors, she had chosen the lighter summer version of her Uniform, baring her midriff. "Ok, Hope Summers and Christian Svoboda, right?" she asked, eying the pupils as she told their names "I bet you me both, but just in case: I am Lightspeed, Your Instructor for today. The aim of the training is to fulfill flight course B9.2 without an error or getting hit, but before we do that, we will have to go through all the basics once again."
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The basics? All right. No surprise. Thus no questions asked by Hope in regards to why that's being done. Sure, she rolls her eyes as she's told to gather down below, but... She doesn't comment on what's being done. Not even as she tries to lower herself...
Before...
*Thud!*
All right so the redhead lands on her feet. And almost falls forward onto her face before catching herself. But she does land! This time anyways.
"Understood." is said as she tries to sort of stand there, in her own non-school standard green and yellow 'uniform' (the same one she refuses to let anyone else touch for some reason).
"Just the basics straight up, or the basics with some weird twist?"
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Lightspeed smiles a bit as she looks at the pad "Ok, rule number one of flight is easy: if you fly, always keep an eye on how high you are - because if you loose control, you drop and f you drop really deep... well, I'd say Pestilence could tell you what it feels like, but she didn't survive the fall from her flying horse 8 years ago. So always be prepared to land. To make it easier for you... The first training task will be landing. So if you would please prepare to stable flight, I will move the floor down 5 yards in a bit, so you will likely feel a bit of unease."
Waiting for an ok from both pupils Julie hovered her finger over the button for the mid-air start - which would move them up by the distance in a speed which could turn people's stomachs. "Ready?"
----
There's a slight nod at that 'rule'. Heck, as she hears it, Hope silently adds her own reason for the rule to the list. Not that she'd tell anyone in this room that reason (all though as a teacher, odds are Julie knows it anyways).
But anyways...
The redheaded teen takes a breath, and thumbs the control on her belt, prepping to kick into flight, once the floor moves, before she winks once at her 'classmate'.
----
"Go!" - The moment Lightspeed presses the button, She goes into hover herself, standing on a short bridge of rainbow. Christian however... He did not prepare well and falls forward screaming, until he manages to get himself into a steady position - a yard above the ground and upside down. At least he does not crash into the ground... "And here we see why hight control is cruicial. Can you try to come up to our height Christian?" she asked, giving Hope a wink "And please stop playing a Geisha during class Hope, if I had chosen 4 yards, Christian might have broken an arm or leg. Throwing a guy off balance with a glance is cool at times, but best not do it in training."
----
There's a single, almost lightning fast (or as close to that as a normal appearing, apparently non-powered person can move) movement as Hope's thumb slams down on the switch, activating her flight controls. Unfortunately, it isn't exactly fast enough, so she does bob a bit as she falls maybe a yard or so, before she adjusts and moves up to take the position that she should be in.
All though as Christian falls, she once again rolls her eyes.
"I wasn't flirting to Ma'am. Just trying to put him at ease."
And then well, she bites back several other potential comments. At least for now.
----
"I was just teasing, Hope. Relax." Lightspead explained, as she waited for Christian to get up to the 5 yard hight "ok, now your task is to simply land on the cross. Be sure to stop accelerating at 2 yards and then decellerate quite much till you are at one yard and try to make the last yard with almost no speed. Go into your knees as you touch ground and keep yourself balanced. You got that? Then you can start."
Christian is not too bad at that - his problem seems to he mostly keeping balance in flight...
----
While Christian’s might be keeping balance in flight, Hopes problem is well...
It'll probably be clear in a moment. For as she takes in the instructions as Lightspeed spells them out, the younger redhead nods once, ever so slightly, before taking a deep breath. And then, well...
She flies up?!? Well, only a foot or two, but still. Then she appears to cut out the power of her belt, or at least shuts off its flight abilities, before she starts to free fall for a yard, before cutting it back in at full power, nearly coming back to a full stop in the air, before in turn lowering the settings slowly, letting her go down, before cutting the belt off again at roughly one yard.
And then, with a bit of a *THUD*
She lands on the 'X' with her knees bent. Heck, she almost lands in a crouch, and has her free hand ready to catch her in case she does go down into one.
----
Julie sighs as she lowers herself to the floor, sighing a bit "Ok, that was not too bad but Christian, you need to keep balance. Try again, but this time try to keep your feet under the head, ok? Hope, you should try to work the controls less abrupt. Try small shifts, that is easier for you and the utilites. And you don't need to shut it down at the yard, try to just break yourself in at that hight and descend the last yard slowly, then you don't need to land all crouched up. Ok, Brace yourself for the next try." Lightspeed explained them, pulling out the pad again.
----
There's going to be only so many times that Hope can bite back her snark and the comments she wants to make. As is, she's bitting back another, even as she mutters something under her breath about 'think and move', as if it's something that somehow she's done before.
But, since there's a mention of 'another try' the redheaded mutant girl does work her controls to bring herself back up to the five yard mark.
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Lightspeed waits patiently until both of them are at the starting line again "Ok, You know the drill, on my mark do your best to accelerate till the 2 yard line, break yourself in in the next yard to a near stop - no full power break Hope - and then descend the last yard slowly. Then the actual landing should be easy. 3...2...1... Go!" As she counted out the start, she even did the starting gesture for both of them... And Christian once again did an upside down start, only managing to get upright close to the two-Yard line and turning with the back to the ground as he came closer to the ground.
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Lightspeed follows the descent of both teens, nodding softly "that's much more like it Hope. Christian, I think you should try less to balance yourself with the hands - you rotate the arms in a way that gives you a spin around the axis. One more try, because three's the charm, right? Hope, try to repeat it just like that, maybe go to 90% of hovering on the last yard, that goes less on the knees." Julie encouraged them.
Christian seemed not to learn it really... He could do the ups and downs in the right speed... but any movement sent him into tumbling and rotating again.
----
Lightspeed claps hands to Hope "Ok, that was almost perfect. Christian... I don't like it, but you'll have to take the test on the course next week. You should visit the flight-group on Wednesday." With a few button smashes, she changed environment to the before mentioned course while Christian made his leave. In the air of the 'room' was some green line, which sat the course to go first up and then go through what seemed to be an air-battle from below, two roughly shaped helicarriers shooting at each other in an eternal battle. Then it lead up over the top of one of the air hulks, where an orange circle marked an area where Hope would have to pick up a box. The following part of the course lead through a very tight labyrinth, right through the body of the hovering machine and then came the landing. "Ok, you see the course. The safety settings are high, so you wouldn't feel the impact of the shots, but if they touch you - or if you crash into any of the obstacles, the sim will stop and reset. You think you can do it?"
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"If this belt were thought controlled like any real powers, no problem." Hope spits out before she has a chance to catch herself and stop.
Instead, she frowns as soon as she's done saying that, before she takes in the course as she moves to take her position at the starting line.
"And are you sure you want to be 'that safe'? A little sting or a good thumping might make me learn better."
Yeap... Uh-oh... The snark and sarcasm are now out. Fortunately they're not at full force just yet.
----
"Comeon Hope, I didn't made the settings, that was the teacher's council. And the belts use controls not too unlike those used in Mr. Starks Iron Man armor. If you want to try it with pain on, I have to advise against it, but if you insist on it, It can be done." Lightspeed explained "And some people have to concentrate really hard to use their powers. I had to the first times I could, but it got easier."
----
"And I flew from Africa to New York under my own power, thanks to one of the strongest TKers on the planet."
Yeap, Hope is blurting things out again, without thinking. "And pain.. No pain, your call Teach."
But once the signal is given to go, the snark vanishes, at least for the moment, as Hope up and takes off.
At first, it's a straight line dive towards that 'box'. But as blasts and bursts start to come her way, she does jink a bit, and even does a barrel roll as she pulls to the side a little. But one thing does nope happen. She does /not/ move in any way so that either in full, or part, she is not somehow aimed at the box she needs to pick up.
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Lightspeed zooms up to do the course herself, following Hope on a slightly shifted course - but not on her top speed. She does move at trajectories through the field of fire which might seem to not achieve ground, but whenever such a move comes, it opens her a longer area of direct flight than she would have achieved with a more direct course, until her flight goes up directly at the side of one of the carriers. "You're doing good so far, half the fire-Zone done!" she congratulated Hope, having made her own flying much more easy by evading the fire from one side totally.
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So-far only counts for so much though. Because as Hope closes in on the box, the amount of weapons fire that comes her way increases exponentially. On fact, as she weaves to avoid one blast, her arm out stretched to grab the box...
*BAM!*
A single sizable blast hits her.
If the settings were different, this blast not only would toss her around, but it'd also knock her into the path of several other blasts, which would do a number on her. 
But instead...
The sim resets. And she's back at the beginning.
----
Lightspeed smirks a bit as all is back at the starting point "Be happy that you didn't amp up the settings to pain. A new try?" she asked, pointing up "if you keep yourself to one of the Carriers, you halve the shoot which could hit you as you outmaneuver half of the guns." she advises. "Ready on your mark."
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"Maybe. But if I keep dodging inbetween them I keep their attention on each other, and doing damage to each other instead of me." Hope says with a grin as she takes her position yet again.
That is before...
She's off!
Yet again, the redhaired mutant aims right at the box. Yet again, she plays it fast and loose, trying to also stay inbetween the carriers. Yet again she rolls, and yawns. Bumps and dives. All while focused on one thing.
That box.
----
"In real combat one of those would likely be on your side, Hope." Lightspeed remarks, following Hope again on the side of the Carrier. It is not too hard to get to the box, as nowhere in the rules it says that you may not pass on the outside of the carrier and the sim is programmed just to shoot from one carrier to the other with increasing density towards the upper area.
----
As she continues on, arm out stretched, Hope shouts back, "No! They wouldn't!" as she gets closer...
And closer...
And closer...
Before she snags the box!
All though as she does that, yet again, Hope cuts out the power to her flight belt, letting inertia carry her for the time being, even as gravity grabs her and tries to yank her down hard and fast!
----
Lightspeed nods as she follows, hovering above the carriers, a bit above the fire zone, to watch the actions of Hope and follow her through the labyrinth on the screen, while she slowly descends on the outside of the carriers to await Hope on the end of the course.
----
Yeah. Hope is crazy. Or at least comes off that way, due to how she cut power like that. But fortunately by doing that, she is pulled out of a blast or two, before she kicks her belt back on, and on full. She continues to bob, weave, and twist her way through the labyrinth, before finally, the end is in sight.
There's more than a few close calls as she flies. One or two spots where the calls are so close, it's almost surprising that the sim doesn't up and reset. But it doesn't.
And in the end, as she reaches a spot where the site of the landing spot can be easily seen, she speeds up even more for a bit, for that last leg, before she starts to cut back.
In the end, her landing isn't perfect. She doesn't cut back like she was just taught. Instead, she lands, fast and hard, in a croutch, and maybe even a bruise or two (if not worse, not that she shows it externally).
----
Lightspeed glances on the statistics of Hope's run down of the course and shakes the head slowly "Well well... You did pass the labyrinth with some very tight calls and at high speed... and you almost crash-landed, but it was much better than what I saw when I entered - you used your knees to reduce impact, so I'll count it as a valid landing..." The face Julie made while saying this was just like she was announcing that she failed by just a little degree.
But then she pulls some paper from the pocket and the pen again to sign it with a smile "Congratulations Hope, you did it. You even bested the last month's best time... not the all-time one though, that one seems pretty impossible to beat. 2.5 seconds for the whole course."
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As she sort of stays there, crouched, cradling the box under her arm, Hope takes that all in. She doesn't look up. She doesn't face Julie. Heck, she just doesn't move for a little bit. That is, until finally, she does mutter a few words.
"Get the right person in the building, and I could beat that record. But odds are how I'd do it would be considered cheating."
Then, and only then, does she stand up, and as she does, her legs look a bit shakey. That is even as she finally turns to gaze at Julie, but doesn't say anything else.
----
Julie lifts an eyebrow on that, as she offered her the certificate "You claim you can beat that without teleporting? And how does someone in the building has to do with it?" Julie might be Teacher Assistant, but she didn't got all info. "Still, impressively done."
Category:Log