The training equipment had been set up to perfection by Scott and Logan, who had spent hours making sure it worked fine. The machined had been designed to fling out numerous sharp-edged discs at the same time. The aim was for the mutants to block all those discs before any hit them, thus keeping their powers and reflexes sharp.
"Ice-boy, you're up first!" Logan said.
"Hey, it's Iceman," Bobby protested, but no-one seemed to notice.
"Go, Bobby!"
Scott pressed the activator button, and bright red discs promptly came flying out, cutting through the air with a sharp whizzing noise. Bobby planted his feet firmly on the ground and bunched his hands into fists, shooting out a steady, broad beam of ice at the discs. Within a second, they were frozen in ice balls, dropping helplessly to the ground. Bobby drew back a little, then he swung back his arms and aimed several more ice bolts towards the other discs. Ice fragments begin to litter the ground as Bobby worked at top speed, clearly enjoying every moment of it as he attempted to show off as much as possible, especially to Jubilation. The last three discs came whirling towards him at top speed, and Bobby, loving all the attention he was sure he was getting, created a swirling ice slide and manouevred himself on it skillfully, laughing aloud as he iced down all three discs, before somersaulting off the slide, dropping a bow to the audience.
"Show off!" Rahne chuckled, shaking her head.
"OK, Roberto, you're up next!"
"Oooh, now Rahne will get to see her sweetheart in action," Amara whispered to Tabitha. It was common knowledge that Roberto and Rahne were far more than just friends. Even Rachel was aware of that.
One by one, all the mutants were called up to demonstrate their wide range of skills. Rachel watched everyone closely, taking note of their methods and abilities. All of them were already highly skilled, and seemed to lack difficulty completely. Drawing in a deep breath, she let out a steady stream of air through her mouth, clenching her fists. She would be called up last, that she knew. She knew for certain that she would have no difficulty in stopping the discs easily, but her power control was still an issue. It was the first time since joining the Institute that she would have to use her powers with other people present. Could she do this? If anything went wrong, it would be her new friends who bore the brunt of it.
"OK, Rachel, you're up next."
I can do this! I can do this! Rachel kept telling herself. It's just like the times when I trained with the Professor. Nothing different.
"Ready, Rachel?" Scott enquired.
Rachel nodded. "Ready."
Rachel braced herself and held her hands out in front of her, eyes fixed on the machine. Scott pressed the button, and then Rachel was confronted by the flying discs. This was not too difficult, she thought. Her power rose up strongly in her, and she sent out a blast of telekinetic energy, suspending all the discs in mid-air before dropping them. The next batch of discs came flying; again, Rachel tackled them with ease.
"Impressive," Logan remarked with approval.
Scott kept the machine going for another minute, watching Rachel closely. She was handling everything pretty well for someone who was trying it for the first time. Now all that was left was to see how quickly she could response to surprises.
"Good job, Rachel." Scott smiled as Rachel took down the last five discs and watched the machine closely. Another minute or two passed, and no more discs came whizzing through the air. Deciding that it was over, Rachel turned her back on it and headed off to the side.
Without warning, five more discs came flying out. Kitty yelled out a warning, staring at her friend with shock and apprehension. Rachel heard her shout, and in a flash, she whirled round in the blink of an eye, thrusting out her arms. There was an almighty blast of energy, and a gigantic black cloud emerged, striking the machine head-on with a tremendous KABOOM! Bits of metal and wires and springs spread up and out like a fountain, striking the ground with dull thuds. Gasps of shock permeated the air, and time seemed to stand still for a brief moment. Rachel still had her arms stuck out in front of her, her eyes wide and shock-filled.
"Rachel, I think you really didn't have to go that far," Kitty said shakily.
"I – I didn't mean to blow that thing up!" Rachel sucked in her breath sharply, and suddenly, another telekinetic blast exploded without warning. Rachel thought she might go into panic mode, and struggled to remember Xavier's advice. It didn't help much; everyone was staring at her as if she had just turned into a monster, and Rachel felt their emotions with blinding clarity. All of them were extremely nervous, and Rachel could hardly blame them.
Gah! Did this have to happen when EVERYONE was here? Now this will confirm that I'm really a freak who can't even handle a mild surprise!
Jean cleared her throat and struggled to clamp down on the rising tension before it exploded like a bomb. "Everyone, don't you worry. That was just a machine; it can be fixed. Off to the pool now for the next round."
No-one moved immediately. Rachel remained standing where she was, apparently still in shock. Most of the mutants were looking either scared or unsure. It seemed that Rachel's uncalled-for and unexpected show of power had robbed them of their wits. Jean took in the situation at a glance and sighed before clapping her hands sharply.
"Don't just stand around there," she barked, assuming command efficiently. "It's just a machine, not a pot of gold. Off to the swimming pool now. I'll take care of this."
Muttering amongst themselves, the mutants finally departed.
"I really didn't mean to do that," Rachel whispered, once her comrades had gone. "Jean, you have to believe…"
"It doesn't take a telepath to know that," Scott replied kindly. "The Professor already told us that you might have some issues with controlling your powers. That's something lots of us have to face, anyway. So don't worry. I'll clean up the mess. Maybe you should go back to your room and take a break."
Rachel chewed the inside of her mouth uncertainly. "Perhaps I can help you clean up," she suggested awkwardly.
"Um…" Scott flashed Logan a meaningful glance. "Thanks, but you needn't do so. I think a time out would benefit you more."
"Of course." Rachel's insides tightened, and she felt her lips pinching into a straight line. "Forgive me. I forget sometimes that I can be more trouble than help."
"Rachel, I didn't mean…"
Rachel held up a hand to stop Scott's flow of words. "Save it, Scott. No point trying to console me with honeyed words. I know myself better than that." With that, she drew her hood over her head and teleported back to her room before Scott could open his mouth to respond.
Damn, damn, damn! Back in her room, Raven shut the door quietly and threw herself onto her bed, holding her head in her hands. She cursed herself mentally, screaming at herself for her stupidity. Why had she let herself get so startled that she had ended up loosing that amount of power? She should have stayed calm and controlled, and treated the discs as a mild obstacle, not as some sort of danger that could have ended her life. But she had. She had startled herself and let those emotions out, and in doing so, she had exposed her ugly side.
Why must this happen? her mind screamed. Why am I always this way? Was the Professor's training all in vain? I thought I could do better than this!
"Professor? Can I come in?"
Xavier turned his wheelchair round, already knowing that Jean was about to see him even before she had knocked. His face was most grave, and Jean knew he already knew what had happened.
"No-one is to fault Rachel for what happened," Xavier begin, without giving Jean a chance to speak. "That was not an intentional doing on her part."
"Yes, I thought so," Jean agreed. She thought back to the scene when Rachel had been so startled, and hesitated before asking her question. "Professor, did you feel the change in her at that moment? When the shock came, I thought I felt something in her briefly, something other than shock. It was as if there was a darker side in her striving to emerge. Was I imagining that?"
"Not at all." Xavier frowned and drummed his fingers on the armrest. "I felt it too at that moment. Something in Rachel snapped, and I sensed a fairly powerful, darkish side almost arising. It was quelled quickly enough, though."
Jean shivered to recall that feeling. "What was that?" she whispered. "I never felt anything like that before. I've always known that Rachel was somewhat…odd and mysterious, with a lack of control over her powers, but I never knew there was something like that in her. It was like a monster trying to emerge from a cage within her."
"Oh, yes." Xavier's gaze drifted to the wall behind Jean's red head, distant and thoughtful. "Oh, yes. There is a monster waiting to escape her, alright."
Yes, I know that Rachel's personality here is quite different from the original, so just to let you know, this takes place BEFORE she goes to Azarath to learn to control her emotions and that kind of stuff.
