2013-03-06 YXM: New Students, New Team?

The Danger Room.
Even in its apparently inactive state it could be considered a bit foreboding. Sure the walls look plain, but they have a reflective metallic sheen to them like they possibly could do anything, at any point in time.
And yet this room is known to those that even know of its existence for /training/. For helping mutants, most notably the X-Men, to become the best they can be, both as a group, and as individuals.
Thus maybe it's that bit related to training as to why certain individuals... Teens really, students at the school above, were called here. Maybe, just maybe, they're in for some form of 'special' training?
Well, Jocelyn knew she was getting a trip to the Danger Room. Enough of the adults had mentioned it to her. So, her summons hadn't been a total surprise. The girl arrives in her usual garb of a long-sleeved purple shirt, jeans, black gloves, and sneakers. So the teen walks in and meets wherever they are directed, looking around the room quietly. "There...is a lot of really techy stuff in here, isn't there?" Jocelyn comments to nobody specific. That's her very scientific term for what she sees in the Danger Room: Techy Stuff. Otherwise, she's waiting for further instruction regarding what was going on here, even if she was certainly taking a moment to just look around the place.
Cessily comes through the door into the Danger Room, swinging her arms, a bounce in her step. She's decked out in her uniform, a red and white crop-top with the X-logo worked in, matching full length pants and gloves. "Absolutely," Cessily says, tilting her head. "But you didn't call this..." she says, looking up towards the control room. Nobody obviously there, but then again, is there ever?
Kitty Pryde is a Danger Room veteran. Look at her: arms folded, standing with one shin crossed over the other. All she needs is a rasta hat and a 'TOO COOL FOR THIS PLANET' badge. It's not exactly the most ready pose in the history of self-defense, but really, all she needs to do is keep her wits sharp and most dangers won't even...
...wait for it...
...faze her. "Probably a surprise team-building drill. The X-Men do them all the time," Kitty says, not /meaning/ to be all 'I'm a trainee X-Man,' but doing it anyway.
Cracking his knuckles, Doug Ramsey selects the Jurassic Park scenario. "Well, boys and girls," the young mutant says as he presses the button. "This is a pretty simple scenario. Grab the flag, and the game ends. And don't hold back, if you know what's good for you.
Glancing at Illyana, Doug grins at the Limbo sorceress. "Just expect the unexpected, of course, eh?"
Victor (Anole) was not a Danger Room veteran- but he'd cut his teeth in Siberia, and the south Pacific. He's wearing a training uniform in black, red and silver- X on his chest held proud and high. He looks between the others, and towards where the Flag might be. "Just capture the flag?" he asked, eyeridge raising quietly. "That's it?" he frowned, a little disappointed. He might not be expecting dinosaurs, of course.
The dark-haired girl with her eyes covered stands apart from the rest. Not enough to be considered 'excluded', but certainly enough to not be near anyone or mistaken as 'one of the team'. No, the uncomfortable-looking girl has her arms folded about her mid-section and is 'looking' at the floor, scuffing at it with the toe of her boot. Her outfit stretches from neck to her toes, mostly yellow with black stripes down the middle and the X-logo on her belt. Even her hands are covered in gloves.
"Tech. Tech. Yes. More tech than the US Army. Pardon? Much more. Illusions, but cause pain."
She mutters, seemingly to herself, her fingers digging in slightly to her biceps. Grab the flag, as simple as that, right? Sure it was, except when one had no advanced combat training whatsoever outside of perhaps a game of capture-the-flag. A game she already had apparently known the outcome to! If she knew the outcome of THIS little exercise, however, Ruth wasn't letting on.
Instead, she just tap-tap-taps the tipe of her toe against the ground. "I do not think I can I do it. Sorry. Another will have to. Yes. No."
There's someone else here. Someone else who technically has been here for a while now. Someone wearing an all black sleeveless body suit with a big X on the left breast.
Yes that's right, Laura Kinney a.k.a. X-23 is here, and appears to have been here. And yet as the others arrive she blinks, that is before she slowly starts to drift closer to the group, while still keeping her distance.
Meanwhile as that button is pressed the sim begins. Sort of. The Danger Room shimmers and changes, morphing into an almost idyllic meadow. Only at maybe 100 yards away, there's what looks like a cliff face. And maybe a half dozen feet from the edge of the cliff, there's a flag pole sticking up with a flag on it.
Jocelyn doesn't have a cool uniform yet. Man! Talk about totally clashing with the rest of the team! Well, it wasn't as if Jocelyn could do anything about that right now. Instead she just pulls in enough kinetic energy to ramp up herself up to 'fully charged'. That was going to be needed here, not that she really wanted to get too up close and personal with dinosaurs. Not to mention that, unless she missed her guess, there was a distinct lack of ranged firepower outside of herself. She didn't know what Kitty could do, and she only had some idea of what Blindfold could do.
Like Vic, she'd cut her teeth in the Artic, and knew enough to be cautious. There's no way it's that easy," Jocelyn says, looking around for anything out of the ordinary with her energy sight, making particular note to scan the skies and the area behind them.
"Vic, might not be a bad idea for you to do that stealth thing you do so good," Jocelyn suggests. A pause. "There's something over that cliff, but well down there," she adds. "Can't tell you what, but something is there. I don't suppose anyone can just levitate that flag over here, huh?"
"Of course not," Cessily says to her green compatriot. "That's the fun of it," she says, winking. The silver girl turns as the room resolves around them, and she looks across the meadow. Cessily tilts her head and turns and... "Ah!" she startles. "Laura. Hi," she says, eyeing the clone from a distance. Cessily looks back to Jocelyn. "I can get down the cliff, no problem," she says with confidence.
When Laura enters, Kitty narrows her eyes. It's simple enough to parse: Laura is a teenage girl who can be closer to Logan than her, and doesn't even have to earn it the same way. It's all very psychodrama, which is to say, very X-Men. "Hm," Kitty says, turning her attention toward the flag, and then giving Doug a look. "Whichever of us gets there first owes the other a Coke," she notes, with the gravity of tactics.
"Just so you know," Doug goes on to continue. "This isn't just a team building scenario. This is the first meeting of a new team. A training team. If you want to be, consider yourself Young X-Men. Now go capture the flag."
Of course, this being the Danger Room, things weren't going to be -that- easy, Kitty...
Nodding, Vic thought outloud. "That could work." He said, "I can probably regroup from a hit a little quicker.. And I don't need to go all the way." he smiles brightly when Laura approaches, "Hey, Laura!" He, at least, is happy to see her. But, they got history involving mutant haters, and beat-downs. "Right, so, if we're going to be a team we need to go in together." Vic states to the rest, and he begins to walk forward carefully. "LEts spread out, and get that flag!"
If Kitty has an issue with Laura, she may very well want to say it. Or something. Then again, if she did, she might learn a thing or two that she might consider... Odd.
Either way though, there is a slight nod from the clone girl towards Cess at that greeting, and Anole, before in turn the rest likewise get looks of acknowledgement from Laura.
All though as that 'order' to spread out is barked, the clawed girl pops said claws (from her hands anyways) with a *SKNIT*. That is before she sniffs the air and scowls.
"Something is here..."
Of course as the closest thing the group had to 'adult supervision' heads to the control booth, that's when things start to become interesting. For the grass that is around people moves slightly, like there may very well be something... Scratch that, multiple somethings moving around in it. And then... There's something like a roar. A loud roar. Before the ground shakes ever so slightly and something starts to run towards the X-tends from /behind/.
What is that thing? Well, let's just be glad there's no lawyers here, or toilets in sight. Otherwise this T-Rex might have to stop for a bite!
Meanwhile, a little over 100 yards away, that flag flaps in the breeze.
Young X-Men, huh? Not a bad team name. Short and to the point. Jocelyn wouldn't complain about that.
Rumble Rumble Rumble...
That wasn't good.
"First the Kool-Aid Man, now a T-Rex? This week gets better and better!" Jocelyn curses as she darts quickly off to the side and towards the flag, letting her heightened agility guide her over the shaking ground. Pulling up plenty of energy, Jocelyn launches a pair of kinetic blasts aimed at the thing's head, trying to stun it at the very least. She really wasn't sure how much damage her blasts would do to a dinosaur. At the very least she might make it lose focus, she hoped. Because, really? She did NOT want to get anywhere near melee range with that thing. She knew that was a fight she was sure was not equipped for!
Mercury's plotting out the line to the flag. Maybe through the grass, or the trees? Silver's not known for being stealthy, but it /is/ elusive! That'd be good. "Right, us," she says to Laura, as if it's obvious. But then a rumble. Mercury looks down, then up and she gasps. "Ohmygosh!" Cessily exclaims. Her arms morph and grow out into long scimitars.
Kitty notices the ground rumbling. It's a simple process of looking straight down: she does not shake /with/ the earth. As soon as the scenario went live, she went intangible. It's just less messy. Problems with X-23 are momentarily forgotten, and her joke to Doug is coldly rebuffed (or is it?). So -- business. "It's just there to distract us," Kitty says, "you know, make us flip out and then have to fight it rather than going for the gold." Kitty begins to move, intangibly, toward the flag. It is through superhuman effort that she is able to be blase about tyrannosaurs.
"Well, it looks pretty damn serious to me." Anole states, as he ghosts out into nothingness when a t-Friggin-Rex appears. He moves through the grass, and fast. He has no intention of going for the 'glory' of getting the Flag. No, he'll run in front of the T-rex , crouch and wait for it to be /just/ over head. Its sensitive stomach? Vic jumps, attempting to cling there just below its tiny, useless little arms and big bulgy undercarriage. His big clawed fist? Well. It was time to see just how tough holographic dinosaurs really are. "Get the Flag!" he shouts, again.
It's not just a T-Rex though!
But we'll get to that in a moment.
Laura meanwhile nods at Kitty before she tries to grab Cess, and tug.
"She's right." is all that she can say as she tries to charge after Kitty.
All though as Laura does, something jumps out of the tall grass at her. What is that something? The same thing, or at least the same kind of thing that starts to come at Anole from the grass.
Here's a hint. They're almost human sized, walk on their hind legs, and have very large, very sharp claws. ANd more than often the one you see is /NOT/ the one going to try and kill you.
Yes, that's right, they're Velociraptors. But while Laura is fighting one of them, two two near Anole appear to try and 'kick' him even as he goes after the T-Rex's stomach.
Said T-Rex though is hurt. The blasts to the head appear to stun it, or at least cause it to stumble for a moment. But the strike down below causes it to make an almost roar like sound.
Of course the people who may be going after the flag itself like Kitty may have problems of their own. For the flag appears to be rising. As it does, the pole it's hanging off of appears not only to rise, but is revealed to be above a crows nest, which in turn is about a giant /red/ sail... And said sail is rising as well as a /ship/ a flying red pirate ship rises up, and starts to slowly move /away/ from the cliff.
Oh, lovely. Jocelyn looks around as Velociraptors start popping up. How do you deal with dinos? Jocelyn has one idea as she starts darting towards the...pirate ship. Pirate ship? She starts cycling, pulling in some thermal energy from the air, and starts firing off red hot blasts of energy at the creatures, taking aim at the ones plaguing Vic, having noted where he was with her sight. "Vic! Ship is leaving!" Jocelyn calls even as she starts moving towards the ship quickly. Velociraptors are fired upon with thermal energy, trying to send them scattering with burst and blasts.
"ABout wha...." Cessily gets yanked hard by Laura. Damn, the girl has a grip if nothing else. The two go tearing outacross the field. "Run!" she shouts in encouragement, apparently entirel unnecessary since the others are doing the same. The silver mutant scrambles and trips, breaking free to Laura's grasp. She rols and her body morphs like a liquid as she rolls with it, just like she was taught. She pops back up to come face to face with a Velociraptor! Of all things! It takes a second for her brain to process it. Cess slashes at the dino's legs, then gets back to her feet and starts running again. "Anybody have mermaid powers!?"
Kitty whirls around to /glare/ at the change of situation -- the velociraptor one, that is. "Don't scatter them!" she yells over at Jocelyn. "They'll circle around you! Anyone who can shoot anything, try and group them in together!" Kitty looks over at X, distaste forgotten in the heat of Danger (Room). "And once they're bunched up, you take them out!" She doesn't ask if X-23 /can/ take out raptors. She just assumes. "Damn, none of us can fly," she mutters, looking back at the ship. "Betting you can't stretch that far, huh, Cess?"
Red Rage Misting, Anole is stuck to the creature as he strikes it once, twice, moving towards a third hard strike before he's tugged off by the raptors, now he was just struggling against the pair of reptiles. He showed them his claw. They, undoubtedly, show him theirs. He hoped his was scarier. "Alright, I heard you!" he tries to wrap that big hand around one of the raptors. Should he managed to catch it, it be used as in impromptu club against its fellow dino. KerThud. Unfortunately, one DinoClub just won't protect you against a BUNCH of dinosaurs. Just the one. Vic is quickly overwhelmed- he's got the scent of blood on him. "Guys, forget me and the dinosaurs- go for the ship and the flag!" he shouts it. It was easy to shout, why? Because he was being overwhelmed by those creatures, and dragged into the underbrush. Before he's 'out' he throws his raptor club as hard as he can towards the bloodied T-Rex.
There is no water down below that red pirate ship. Instead it appears as if floating on air. And it just keeps rising. Slowly, but it is going upwards. But as it rises, and the bulk of the ship starts to rise above the cliff, the body comes close, practically scrapping against the side of the cliff. And on top of that, there appears to be a ladder built into the side...?
Of course as the others deal with there things, and as Anole deals with a pair of raptors and the T-Rex something happens. Possibly because of his actions... Heck, more than likely because of his actions.
Yes, that's right, the T-Rex /FALLS/. And it falls on those Raptors. /AND/ it doesn't get back up.
Laura on the other hand gets what Kitty is saying. Thus there's another *SKNIT* as her feet claws pop out, and she launches herself at the first Raptor that she can. And then another. And then well... Hopefully people do keep trying to bring them towards her, because there's a lot of blood, and violence that can't be shown without an NC-17 rating. But the short of it is that Laura makes quick, and efficient work of the lizards that come her way, and she does it with almost an efficient manner that still looks a lot like raw, unchecked... Violence..
She's not the only one that deals with their dinos. For the one that Cess slashes falls, and doesn't get back up.
The ones that Jocelyn blasts likewise are hit. They're even sent flying. And these Raptors when they hit the ground don't get back up, or even really move.
Some of those raptors are doing just what Kitty said they'd do, and they're starting to circle Jocelyn, trying to get chance to take a shot at the blasting girl. "Got a plan for that". Jocelyn crouches down, stopping her blasting briefly, and lets out a short ranged burst straight up, knocking over the raptors that were surrounding her with a wave of thermal energy. The girl stands up and starts herding velociraptors towards Laura with timed blasts and bursts. Here you go Laura, plenty of things to slice and dice! And if Jocelyn pings a few off in the process, well, that's okay too.
Then the T-Rex falls. Well, Vic was certainly getting the award for Biggest Trophy of the Day. Even if he did have to sacrifice himself in the Danger Room for it.
Jocelyn is making her way, as she herds, towards the ship and with the rest of the group. "Laura and I up last?" she suggests.
Cessily rolls through a raptor, only to get caught in Jocelyn's heat blast. The metal teen melts briefly before refinding her shape. "Careful!" she warns, and gets back to running. The ship. Anole said to go for the ship, so....
Cessily flings herself off the cliff, using her forward momentum and strength to jump as far as she can. It won't be enough. Not unless her stretching arms can manage to grab the side of the hull. She can do this...she can do this....
Kitty watches Cessily jump, and frowns. She can do it. She can do it. "I assume you can cover your own entrance," Kitty says to Laura, because Laura is part Logan, which means her competence level is frankly disgusting. "But as for you," Kitty says, grabbing Jocelyn by the arm, "Take a breath and hold it."
It probably tingles -- no longer being tangible. But Kitty holds on tightly as she jumps over the side of the cliff and takes Jocelyn with her, just as the hull of the ship comes so perilously close -- the idea being to go clear through the hull and into some inner compartment, should one (hopefully) exist. It's a pity she doesn't have x-ray vision to go with that phasing.
Maybe, just maybe it's a good thing that the Raptors are falling. And falling as quickly as they are. After all between what Jocelyn does, and what Cess does, and of course Laura, they aren't getting up.
All though as Cess reaches for the ship, she should be able to reach it, and may even be able to pull herself up onto the main deck. Which means that the flag is just... Up. If she can somehow get up the main mast.
Not too far away though, Jocelyn and Kitty phase through the outer hull, they find themselves in a room. A rather nice looking room. Like a living area. There's a few tables, and chairs that all look nice. Heck the place is clean and orderly. But most importantly there's a stair case in the back of the room that looks like it leads up and out. All though at the other end of the room there's a door, and it sounds like there may be someone on the other side of that door...
And outside? As Laura finishes dealing with another Raptor, she turns, and starts to run towards the ship, claws first. Then once her claws dig into the side, she starts to use them to climb up. But unfortunately, unlike Cess, she did end up a lot lower on the hull.
Oh, and since this /IS/ a pirate ship, there is a small treasure chest in the compartment Jocelyn and Kitty end up in.
Whoa. That...was a rush. "Well, that's probably better than my jumping plan," Jocelyn responds while they're incorporeal. She scans the room and points at the door and holds up a single finger, then adds in a whisper, "Has a second form or something. He can become more powerful". Must be a boss from the Final Fantasy series. Then her head whips around and she stares at the chest. Out come...her lockpicks. Yes, she brought lockpicks. She never leaves home without them. "I promise this is more than raiding the treasure. There's something strong in there I think we can use," Jocelyn tells Kitty in a whisper as she attempts to pop the treasure chest open. It should only take a couple seconds. She was pretty good at this lockpicking thing.
And if it turns out bad like she thinks it might? Well, she'd just absorb it. That was her plan at least. Or it might be her whole plan, depending on what she found.
Kitty and Jocelyn make it through the air and into the ship. Cheaters. Cessily's got her fingers stretched out, tendrils worked into the hull of the ship as she hangs there. Cessily stretches her head around and looks down, below her and to her right, to her earstwhile teammate. "You okay, Laura!?" she calls.
Kitty lands right on her bottom, even though Jocelyn doesn't. Sometimes, even the seasoned vets take a fall when they ghost-jump into pirate ships. "I hope his second form isn't another dinosaur," Kitty whispers back. "Or his first one, for that matter." While Jocelyn tends to the treasure chest, Kitty goes intangible again. She puts a finger to her lips, to mime a silent 'shhh' at Jocelyn, and then begins to creep up the stairs toward the voice, to slowly, slowly phase just enough of her face through the door to get an eyeful--
As Laura uses her claws to climb up, Laura shouts back to Cess, "Go! Get the flag!"
And to be honest, there's nothing on the deck to stop her. All she has to do is somehow get up to the top of the mast, to the flag. And considering all the ropes connected to the mast, not to mention the hand holds that appear to be carved into the mast itself, anyone who gets out here has a few options to do just that.
Down below, the treasure chest pops open as its lock is picked, revealing...
Action figures. A /LOT/ of what looks to be action figures. Well over a hundred. Maybe even two hundred. Each one is different. But most of them are each mostly a single color, with maybe a dose of a second or third color forming a pattern on them. Some are red. Others are blue. Or yellow. Or black. Or pink. Or green. Or white. And yes, there are some that are still other colors too, but they're in the minority.
Either way, as Kitty sticks her head through the door, she finds that she's probably face to face with another human. A guy to be honest. One who blinks. Then scowls. Then flips open his cell phone with one hand, before he pulls out a little red figure that looks like it could be one of the ones from the chest. Only once he does that, he morphs into a hero covered in red spandex and a helmet!
"Let's make this showy!" is in turn said before he starts to bring up a gun...
Jocelyn turns her head at the sound of the man's declaration, noting the change in energy signatures. She readies herself a blast of kinetic energy, but doesn't launch it yet. "Just tell me when," Jocelyn says, not wanting to blast Kitty in case she solidifies again on this side. However, she was primed and ready to shoot in case somebody came bursting through that door. She shuts the treasure chest, having noted the action figures inside. She wasn't stupid enough to grab one of those or absorb the energy from them. No, absorbing unfamiliar energy could lead to bad things, and Jocelyn wasn't about to do that unless she had no other choice.
"Right, Right!" Mercury calls. Okay, so, there's a hull and a line and it all should be mangable. Cessily's body bends and flows, forming a flat slick along the outside of the hull, then flowing up along the side. Mercury blorps her way onto the deck and makes for the main mast, slithering up it like a silver mutant snake.
A gun rises, Kitty's eyes widen, and the teen's face pulls back, out of the door. She gracefully tumbles down the stairs, which is mostly a means of getting out of firing range as quickly as possible. "When!" Kitty says to Jocelyn, without hesitation. She adds, to herself: "Did Doug program this? I need to have a talk with that boy..."
And nothing stands in Mercury's way as she climbs up. All though is that something or someone up in the crows nest? Or maybe that's just a shadow as the flag flaps in the wind.
Laura meanwhile pulls herself up onto the deck of the ship. Then she rushes towards the mast as well and starts to climb up that as well.
And if Jocelyn and Kitty need a quick way out, then don't forget that stair case at the other end of the room! After all it goes up!
Oh well, as Kitty falls back, that door is kicked open, and then the gun that guy in red is holding is fired a few times, but the shots appear to go wild. As if they are meant, for the moment to be more for show. A warning if you will.
When? WHEN! Jocelyn just lets loose a large blast of kinetic energy, attempting to smash into the guy. She wasn't actually afraid of the bullets - she was bulletproof herself at this time - but that didn't mean she wanted to get shot. "No idea," Jocelyn responds to Kitty's comment. "There's a bunch of action figures in that chest. Charged with, well, superheroes' energy". Make of that what you will. She was focusing on knocking out the captain at the moment.
Unaware of the battle going on below, Mercury winds and flows her way to the crow's nest, reforming as she comes over the side, first the hint of a human form, then increasingly defined until she's herself again. She tries to reach up and grab the flag.
"Action figures charged with--" Kitty repeats, looking something between disgusted and agape. One wrong turn and this is the Young X-Men's most Reichian adventure yet. "C'mon, Cess, Laura, get that flag," she mutters. She goes un-solid again, ready to wade through the firefight.
And as Jocelyn cuts loose, something happens. For before her attack can strike that red pirate... He vanishes? And so does the ship?!?
And as Kitty cheers on the people outside, the whole room starts to change.
And as Laura continues to climb, something happens. Before she can even reach the crows nest, the mast fades away with the rest of the ship, and she falls down, landing flat on her ass in the 'reset' Danger Room.
For as all of that happens, Cessily manages to grab the flag and pulls it free, the simulation ends, and the room resets, with most people fortunate enough to end up standing on the ground as it does.
All though then a voice chimes in, an electronic voice not belonging to any of the students or teachers, saying, "Tutorial level completed. Raise difficulty to Level 1 and restart?"
"One of you got the flag?" Jocelyn says, glancing over at Cess and Laura, cringing as Laura takes a fall and lands on her rear. Well, the girl would be alright, Jocelyn suspected. However, the girl otherwise remains silent on the matter for now.
"I did!" Cessily declares, her hand actually still up in position to hold the flag, that no longer is there. "Good work! That was....good..." she says, lowering her arm slowly. "I'm not sure it adjusted right for you, Laura," Cessily speculates. Laura chewed through the dinosaurs in a way she doubts the rest of them could have.
"NO," Kitty replies to the computer. She fixes her ponytail, and looks over at Laura and Cessily. "Good work," she says. "You guys didn't have to deal with, like, goofy boys' toys on the above decks, did you?"
And as Laura gets up, she tilts her head at Kitty with an almost questioning look. That is before she glances at Cess as if unsure what Kitty is talking about.
"No."
Of course after doing that, she does nod at the silver girl before saying, "Good work."
Yeah. She doesn't comment on it being 'adjusted' for her.
Cessily shrugs faintly. "I didn't. I just can't believe I made that jump. Sooooo..." she turns and makes for the door. "Ice cream raid?"
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