CHAPTER 18: The Danger Room
"Arre you surre about thiss, Hank?" Tyger asked, a worried look on her face.
"Of course I am, my dear," Hank replied as he placed thick, padded gloves on her hands and strapped them securely to her wrists. "I can think of no place better to begin your first lesson in 'self-control' other than our beloved Danger Room."
It was evening now. They were alone in the observation deck of said Danger Room.
"I jusst don't like that name," she said, examining her now padded hands. "And arre these things rreally ness'ary? They feel weird."
Hank moved over to the computer and began tapping at the keyboard. "They are indeed necessary as a precautionary measure. Even though the opponents you will be facing are not real, they can still be dismembered by your claws." A small part of his mind absently reflected on the marks on his shoulders. "We are trying to correct that rather antisocial behavior."
She flexed her hands to release her claws, and discovered they could not penetrate whatever material the gloves were made of. "But I don't underrsstand how I can fight ssomeone who is not there."
Hank smiled knowingly. Newbies always said the same thing before their first foray in the Danger Room. "You will understand soon enough, Tyger. Now, if you please?" he asked, indicating the doorway to the left.
Earlier in the day, Tyger had spent a good portion of the afternoon in the gym with Jean, learning the very basics of trying to shield her power (with little success). What Hank had planned for her was quite different from Jean's methods, and her tail twitched nervously as she slowly made her way over and stepped inside the room. She jumped as she heard the door slide close behind her. A chill ran up her spine as she examined her new surroundings. It was a room. A big room. A really, REALLY BIG room. And it was empty. It was solely her trust in Hank which prevented her from running back to the door and pounding on it to let her out.
Hank was observing her through the window, and smiled reassuringly when she looked over at him. Then he punched a few more keys. Words flashed across the screen: BEGINNER TRAINING SEQUENCE INITIATED - SUBJECT TYGER.
Tyger was watching Hank. Then she heard movement and turned to find six burly, menacing punks encircling her. Where did they come from?! she thought as a surge of panick swept over her. As she instinctively crouched into a defensive stance, confusion set in as swiftly as the panick. Not all her senses were registering information. She could SEE them, but she couldn't smell them, couldn't sense any emotions, couldn't hear their hearts beating.
It wasn't until one of them slammed her in the back with with a steel baseball bat that her mind screamed at her that PAIN is REAL and she'd better do something about it fast before she got seriously hurt.
Hank winced as he watched the bat connect with her flesh. #That had to have hurt,# he thought. #Maybe this was not the brilliant idea you had meant for it to be, Blue.#
With a deafening roar, Tyger swung around and slammed a sheathed hand into the side of her assailant's head, sending him sprawling.
Then again, Hank mused. The gloves worked. The victim still had a face attached to his head.
She heard the knife rather than saw it, and dodged its keen edge without even turning to look. She twisted round, grabbed the man's arm and wrenched it, dislocating it and making him howl in pain.
Without missing a beat, she swung the man into the next two attackers who were coming at her, knocking them to the ground.
Someone grabbed her arms from behind, attempting to pin them back. She flipped her head back and was rewarding with a loud 'CRACK' as she connected with his jaw.
With one swift movement, she broke his hold on her. Then she reached up and behind, grabbed the sides of his skull, pulled him forward over her head and slammed him into the floor. The crunching sound relayed to her that he was down and out for the count.
The two men she had knocked to the ground previously each grabbed hold of an arm. She grabbed hold of them and slammed their bodies together. They crumpled to the floor.
She heard a gun fire, felt a bullet fly by mere centimeters from her head. She leapt into the air, summersaulted while arching and twisting her body in mid-air to land facing her assailant. She had heard the gun fire again while she was vaulting, but hadn't been hit. She was only three feet away from him, but either he had lossed his nerve or his gun had jammed. She swung her body, and aimed a flying kick at him. Blood splattered the man's face as the retractable claws on her toes literally ripped the weapon out of his hand. (Hank made a mental note to get a pair of boots for her as well.) The victim's face registered shock and horror as his eyes moved toward his hand. Tyger completed the arc and swung at his head with her fist. He went down on impact.
Tyger was raging, but her anger had not quite peaked. She was still coherant, and was not filled with an overwhelming desire to tear their guts out. She did not have their anger to feed off of since they weren't real people. Not being able to smell the blood probably helped, too.
* * *
Hank watched with his trademark fascination as Tyger dealt with her adversaries. Even though her actions resulted from violent intentions, they still maintained the gracefulness of the dancer that she was. Another part of his mind was also making note of the medical condition of the fallen foes. They were all sustaining survivable wounds, although he wasn't too sure about the one who'd gotten his head smashed into the floor. Even so, they still weren't being ripped to pieces. He compared the results to Wolverine's escapades. As an X-man, Wolverine didn't kill. But there was never any mention of the conditions the poor fools were in afterwards, either. He didn't notice Scott walk in.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Hank jumped, startled. His elbow knocked some keys on the control panel as he whirled around to face Scott. 'INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL ONE' flashed onto the screen, unbeknownst to either of the control room's occupants.
"Oh!...uh...hello, Scott!" Hank stammered. "Just a little...er...late-night rendez-vous in the DR. Nothing to concern yourself with, I'm sure."
Cyclops looked through the window. "Ah, the cat wants to play, does she?" he asked cynically. "I don't remember authorizing her to use the Danger Room, Hank."
* * *
Tyger felt a new surge of panick as her surroundings shimmered and wavered for a moment, and were replaced by an entirely new setting. "Um...Hank?" she called out. "Are you sure about this?" She looked at the window, and saw that he was talking with Scott. She turned back to face her new adversaries. Ho, boy.
* * *
"I apologize, but I was not aware that your authorization was required for a basic training session," Hank replied smoothly.
"You know perfectly well that she shouldn't be in there unsupervised."
"I do not recall becoming transparent, Scott. I am supervising her, or has your faith in my abilities degraded to the point that you no longer consider me qualified for this task?"
"As long as I am the leader of the X-men, I must be informed about such matters. That means notifying me when your cat wants to romp."
"That, fearless leader, was an unnecessary comment made solely out of ignorance. I have set up some beginner scenarios to help Tyger learn to deal with self-control..."
"I don't want to hear it, Hank," Scott snapped. "She is NOT - and the way it's going - NEVER will be an X-man."
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL TWO.
* * *
"Hank? I think...I've had...enough...now!" Tyger managed to say while dodging lasers and other nasty obstacles. "HANK!" What in the world are those two doing?! She could sense their anger, trickling over her, making the fur on the back of her neck stand up.
* * *
"She has proven herself to be uncontrollable and unwilling to let herself BE controlled."
Hank folded his arms. "I am suddenly reminded, Scott, of a certain young hooligan who once followed that description as well."
"At least I never dismembered MY opponents," Scott snidely remarked.
Hank bit his tongue to hold back his original response to that, then replied, "Relay THAT little gem to Wolverine and the countless numbers of bodies that the authorities are still unable to identify."
"Wolverine, for all of his faults, can control himself," Scott commented, somewhat relunctantly.
"You only tolerate his faults because our adamantium-endowned Canuck is always the first to leap into battle, thereby clearing a safe path for the leader who always brings up the rear in every attack."
"What are you getting at, Hank?" Scott asked warily. The corners of the man's lips were twitching, indicating to Hank that he had struck a nerve.
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL THREE
* * *
"Oooomph!!!" Tyger exclaimed as she hit the floor. She could feel the rage building inside her. She drew herself instantly back onto her feet and lunged, fangs bared.
* * *
"The professor understands that it is much safer for everyone involved to keep Logan here. We can help him maintain a semblance of control at the mansion."
"He is a valuable member of the X-men. He is not here to be contained," Scott interjected.
Hank found the fact that Cyclops was defending Wolverine almost laughable. "Yet you are still so eager to give him dirty jobs without any qualms about it."
"Because he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty."
"Yes Scott, he is not afraid of getting his hands dirty, nor is he afraid of bloodshed or mayhem. Admit it Scott! He loves the savage simplicity of battle!"
Scott fell silent.
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SESSION LEVEL FOUR.
* * *
Tyger was frantically trying to get the gloves off her hands. She bit savagely at the material and managed to wrench one of them off. She needed her claws NOW! She chanced another glance at the window again. They were still at it!
* * *
Hank continued. "We both know how easy it is for him to get lossed in blood lust, yet you trust him. How is Tyger any different?"
"It's not like that!" Scott retorted, suddenly on the defensive.
"Why have you condemned Tyger? Is it because she is not intimidated by you? Do you dislike her solely because all your blustering has no effect on her, or is there a REAL reason?"
Scott nearly shouted his response. "She needs to learn control!"
"Yet you are refusing to allow me to train her!" Hank shot back.
"She isn't qualified!"
"She is a mutant!"
"So are Morlocks, but we don't sign THEM up," Scott blurted before he could stop himself.
Hank paused momentarily. Maybe there was more to this issue than Tyger alone.
"Perhaps we should," he replied. "All that some of those poor people need is a break, a fresh start."
"They're criminals and thieves!"
"Of course they are! They are survivors! What normal person would raise a finger to help them? Most of their mutations are such that they cannot possibly lead a normal life. At least YOU can walk down the street without being stared at, but Tyger and myself, what about us? People look at us like we're side-show refugees and Morlocks are in the same position. Have you ever considered that aspect of it?"
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL FIVE.
* * *
Hack...slash...OUCH!...hack...OOF!...crunch. Are they trying to get me killed?!!!
* * *
"I don't think I like what you're implying," Scott said icily.
Hank glared at him accusingly. "The X-men has been turned into a refuge for normal looking mutants while rejecting the ones that don't 'fit in'. Be honest with yourself, man! Do you trust me or even Kurt as much as you trust Gambit? And Gambit, DAMN it all, ADMITS that he is a thief! Aren't we being a bit prejudiced here, Scott my boy?"
"This is not about prejudice!"
"Then what IS it about?"
"It's about suitability, NOT prejudice."
"So what is so unsuitable about her? The fact that she hasn't yet learned control, or the fact that she has a tail?" Hank was getting very, very weary of Scott's intolerant attitude.
"Stop putting words into my mouth! This has nothing to do with her physically! It's her emotional instability that's the problem!"
"By following that criteria alone, fearless leader, you just labelled half the team as being unsuitable for the X-men! How much in property damage has Rogue alone caused during her outbursts?"
"But she hasn't seriously hurt anybody..."
"Oh really? Then I suggest that you inform Gambit that his aches and bruises are all in his head and see how HE reacts to your little piece of medical advice."
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL SIX
* * *
Screw them both, then!!! She thought. Living opponents or not, battlelust or none, her hackels were raised and her fangs were bared. She braced herself against her newest adversaries: human-sized sentinels. Her nose told her that THESE were REAL, and her claws were ready.
* * *
"I don't like being cut-off in mid-sentence, Hank."
"Then allow me to extend my sincerest apologies," he retorted in a not-so-sincere manner. "And what about the tension surrounding yourself, Logan and Jean? That is a rather volatile situation as well!"
"Don't even go there, Hank!" Scott growled.
"And why not? You seem to be taking this issue with Tyger quite personally."
"You are too emotionally involved to be objective, Hank. You're only defending her because she spread her heart AND her legs out for you!"
Hank couldn't believe his ears. Now it had gotten far too personal. Hank's jaw muscles tightened as he spoke. "Are you saying I only want her for her body?" his baritone voice was strained with held-back rage.
"I'M not the one who's incapable of having any sort of lasting relationship with a normal woman!"
Hank was about to lunge for Scott's throat when a sentinal's head flew through the window. They both reflexively ducked and covered their heads to protect themselves from flying glass shards.
"GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!"
Hank leapt for the control panel while Scott blasted open the glass case containing the emergency override lever and pulled it.
Hank blanched when he read the words, 'regular training sequence level six'. He looked at Tyger, blinked, looked at the control panel again in disbelief, then back at Tyger. She was still standing! Of course, her clothes were torn, her fur was ruffled, and she was even bleeding in some spots, not to mention that she was also staring at him with a searing gaze which made him shudder, but she was still standing!
"Er...Scott?" Hank said disbondantly, their recent argument momentarily forgotten.
Scott was not so absentminded. "This was entirely YOUR doing, Hank!" he snarled, referring to the feral state Tyger was in. "So you're just going to have to deal with it yourself!" and he turned sharply on his heel and stormed out of the room, leaving Hank to deal with Tyger alone.
The doorway had opened automatically when the override had been triggered. Tyger stalked through it, ears flattened, claws bared, muscles tensed and tail swinging back and forth menacingly. "WHAT the HELL was THAT?!"
"Er...malfunction?" Hank squeaked.
* * *
Tyger slowly lowered her tired, aching body into the hot, bubble-filled water of the bathtub. She let out a sigh of contentment as she slid down until her head was just above the water-line.
Hank had managed to calm her down (and had proven himself to be quite speedy and agile while dodging her claws). He had explained what had happened as he checked her injuries - all of which were minor - and she forgave him.
#Hmph. Forgave him for nearly getting me killed! And they go into that room willingly? These people are crazy!#
She sighed again as the heat soaked into her muscles, relaxing them. #I really shouldn't have gotten mad at Hank. It wasn't completely his fault, and it wasn't as if he meant for it to happen. But yeah, the 'computer just malfunctioned'...SUUUURRRE it did. Hmmm...I wonder if Cyclops planned all this? I mean, just to get back at me for the FOH thing, I don't know. It COULD be something he could do, but it doesn't FEEL like he would. I just don't know.# She resolved to make it up to Hank somehow for the way she had treated him. #Even so, if he ever wants me to go into that room a second time, it's gonna take the entire team to drag me in, and I'll be fighting all the way.#
* * *
Dr. Henry McCoy was cackling to himself as he scanned over his report. He was beyond fury, had gone past angry all the way to thougtful, contemplative, cunniving. He had put up with Scott's pettiness because of the man's planning and strategic abilities. But the man had crossed the line with that night's encounter.
#He excels as a combat leader, but he harbours a huge mouth when there was nobody shooting at him.# Hank knew as well as everyone else (except for maybe Logan) that Scott's capacity for training in the Danger Room left the group best able to deal with combat. Since Scott had taken over the Danger Room sessions, the team had suffered far fewer injuries and gotten in and out of dangerous situations with minimal fuss - far less than before. Therefore, Hank concluded, everyone trusts his opinions. He chuckled to himself. #And of course, Scott's opinion at the moment is that Tyger is useless and that in combat, she is uncontrolled, uncontrollable, and requires constant looking after.# He cackled again as he viewed a taped section of Tyger's scenario.
#Oh yes, our self-appointed dictator will soon be dining upon his own words...hmmm...mental note: make sure to have salt shaker handy#, he thought and he began to hum softly to himself as he added the last finishing touches to the report.
* * *
Still to be continued. Whaddya think so far? Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated, and thanks for all the reviews we've received so far!
"Arre you surre about thiss, Hank?" Tyger asked, a worried look on her face.
"Of course I am, my dear," Hank replied as he placed thick, padded gloves on her hands and strapped them securely to her wrists. "I can think of no place better to begin your first lesson in 'self-control' other than our beloved Danger Room."
It was evening now. They were alone in the observation deck of said Danger Room.
"I jusst don't like that name," she said, examining her now padded hands. "And arre these things rreally ness'ary? They feel weird."
Hank moved over to the computer and began tapping at the keyboard. "They are indeed necessary as a precautionary measure. Even though the opponents you will be facing are not real, they can still be dismembered by your claws." A small part of his mind absently reflected on the marks on his shoulders. "We are trying to correct that rather antisocial behavior."
She flexed her hands to release her claws, and discovered they could not penetrate whatever material the gloves were made of. "But I don't underrsstand how I can fight ssomeone who is not there."
Hank smiled knowingly. Newbies always said the same thing before their first foray in the Danger Room. "You will understand soon enough, Tyger. Now, if you please?" he asked, indicating the doorway to the left.
Earlier in the day, Tyger had spent a good portion of the afternoon in the gym with Jean, learning the very basics of trying to shield her power (with little success). What Hank had planned for her was quite different from Jean's methods, and her tail twitched nervously as she slowly made her way over and stepped inside the room. She jumped as she heard the door slide close behind her. A chill ran up her spine as she examined her new surroundings. It was a room. A big room. A really, REALLY BIG room. And it was empty. It was solely her trust in Hank which prevented her from running back to the door and pounding on it to let her out.
Hank was observing her through the window, and smiled reassuringly when she looked over at him. Then he punched a few more keys. Words flashed across the screen: BEGINNER TRAINING SEQUENCE INITIATED - SUBJECT TYGER.
Tyger was watching Hank. Then she heard movement and turned to find six burly, menacing punks encircling her. Where did they come from?! she thought as a surge of panick swept over her. As she instinctively crouched into a defensive stance, confusion set in as swiftly as the panick. Not all her senses were registering information. She could SEE them, but she couldn't smell them, couldn't sense any emotions, couldn't hear their hearts beating.
It wasn't until one of them slammed her in the back with with a steel baseball bat that her mind screamed at her that PAIN is REAL and she'd better do something about it fast before she got seriously hurt.
Hank winced as he watched the bat connect with her flesh. #That had to have hurt,# he thought. #Maybe this was not the brilliant idea you had meant for it to be, Blue.#
With a deafening roar, Tyger swung around and slammed a sheathed hand into the side of her assailant's head, sending him sprawling.
Then again, Hank mused. The gloves worked. The victim still had a face attached to his head.
She heard the knife rather than saw it, and dodged its keen edge without even turning to look. She twisted round, grabbed the man's arm and wrenched it, dislocating it and making him howl in pain.
Without missing a beat, she swung the man into the next two attackers who were coming at her, knocking them to the ground.
Someone grabbed her arms from behind, attempting to pin them back. She flipped her head back and was rewarding with a loud 'CRACK' as she connected with his jaw.
With one swift movement, she broke his hold on her. Then she reached up and behind, grabbed the sides of his skull, pulled him forward over her head and slammed him into the floor. The crunching sound relayed to her that he was down and out for the count.
The two men she had knocked to the ground previously each grabbed hold of an arm. She grabbed hold of them and slammed their bodies together. They crumpled to the floor.
She heard a gun fire, felt a bullet fly by mere centimeters from her head. She leapt into the air, summersaulted while arching and twisting her body in mid-air to land facing her assailant. She had heard the gun fire again while she was vaulting, but hadn't been hit. She was only three feet away from him, but either he had lossed his nerve or his gun had jammed. She swung her body, and aimed a flying kick at him. Blood splattered the man's face as the retractable claws on her toes literally ripped the weapon out of his hand. (Hank made a mental note to get a pair of boots for her as well.) The victim's face registered shock and horror as his eyes moved toward his hand. Tyger completed the arc and swung at his head with her fist. He went down on impact.
Tyger was raging, but her anger had not quite peaked. She was still coherant, and was not filled with an overwhelming desire to tear their guts out. She did not have their anger to feed off of since they weren't real people. Not being able to smell the blood probably helped, too.
* * *
Hank watched with his trademark fascination as Tyger dealt with her adversaries. Even though her actions resulted from violent intentions, they still maintained the gracefulness of the dancer that she was. Another part of his mind was also making note of the medical condition of the fallen foes. They were all sustaining survivable wounds, although he wasn't too sure about the one who'd gotten his head smashed into the floor. Even so, they still weren't being ripped to pieces. He compared the results to Wolverine's escapades. As an X-man, Wolverine didn't kill. But there was never any mention of the conditions the poor fools were in afterwards, either. He didn't notice Scott walk in.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
Hank jumped, startled. His elbow knocked some keys on the control panel as he whirled around to face Scott. 'INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL ONE' flashed onto the screen, unbeknownst to either of the control room's occupants.
"Oh!...uh...hello, Scott!" Hank stammered. "Just a little...er...late-night rendez-vous in the DR. Nothing to concern yourself with, I'm sure."
Cyclops looked through the window. "Ah, the cat wants to play, does she?" he asked cynically. "I don't remember authorizing her to use the Danger Room, Hank."
* * *
Tyger felt a new surge of panick as her surroundings shimmered and wavered for a moment, and were replaced by an entirely new setting. "Um...Hank?" she called out. "Are you sure about this?" She looked at the window, and saw that he was talking with Scott. She turned back to face her new adversaries. Ho, boy.
* * *
"I apologize, but I was not aware that your authorization was required for a basic training session," Hank replied smoothly.
"You know perfectly well that she shouldn't be in there unsupervised."
"I do not recall becoming transparent, Scott. I am supervising her, or has your faith in my abilities degraded to the point that you no longer consider me qualified for this task?"
"As long as I am the leader of the X-men, I must be informed about such matters. That means notifying me when your cat wants to romp."
"That, fearless leader, was an unnecessary comment made solely out of ignorance. I have set up some beginner scenarios to help Tyger learn to deal with self-control..."
"I don't want to hear it, Hank," Scott snapped. "She is NOT - and the way it's going - NEVER will be an X-man."
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL TWO.
* * *
"Hank? I think...I've had...enough...now!" Tyger managed to say while dodging lasers and other nasty obstacles. "HANK!" What in the world are those two doing?! She could sense their anger, trickling over her, making the fur on the back of her neck stand up.
* * *
"She has proven herself to be uncontrollable and unwilling to let herself BE controlled."
Hank folded his arms. "I am suddenly reminded, Scott, of a certain young hooligan who once followed that description as well."
"At least I never dismembered MY opponents," Scott snidely remarked.
Hank bit his tongue to hold back his original response to that, then replied, "Relay THAT little gem to Wolverine and the countless numbers of bodies that the authorities are still unable to identify."
"Wolverine, for all of his faults, can control himself," Scott commented, somewhat relunctantly.
"You only tolerate his faults because our adamantium-endowned Canuck is always the first to leap into battle, thereby clearing a safe path for the leader who always brings up the rear in every attack."
"What are you getting at, Hank?" Scott asked warily. The corners of the man's lips were twitching, indicating to Hank that he had struck a nerve.
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL THREE
* * *
"Oooomph!!!" Tyger exclaimed as she hit the floor. She could feel the rage building inside her. She drew herself instantly back onto her feet and lunged, fangs bared.
* * *
"The professor understands that it is much safer for everyone involved to keep Logan here. We can help him maintain a semblance of control at the mansion."
"He is a valuable member of the X-men. He is not here to be contained," Scott interjected.
Hank found the fact that Cyclops was defending Wolverine almost laughable. "Yet you are still so eager to give him dirty jobs without any qualms about it."
"Because he doesn't mind getting his hands dirty."
"Yes Scott, he is not afraid of getting his hands dirty, nor is he afraid of bloodshed or mayhem. Admit it Scott! He loves the savage simplicity of battle!"
Scott fell silent.
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SESSION LEVEL FOUR.
* * *
Tyger was frantically trying to get the gloves off her hands. She bit savagely at the material and managed to wrench one of them off. She needed her claws NOW! She chanced another glance at the window again. They were still at it!
* * *
Hank continued. "We both know how easy it is for him to get lossed in blood lust, yet you trust him. How is Tyger any different?"
"It's not like that!" Scott retorted, suddenly on the defensive.
"Why have you condemned Tyger? Is it because she is not intimidated by you? Do you dislike her solely because all your blustering has no effect on her, or is there a REAL reason?"
Scott nearly shouted his response. "She needs to learn control!"
"Yet you are refusing to allow me to train her!" Hank shot back.
"She isn't qualified!"
"She is a mutant!"
"So are Morlocks, but we don't sign THEM up," Scott blurted before he could stop himself.
Hank paused momentarily. Maybe there was more to this issue than Tyger alone.
"Perhaps we should," he replied. "All that some of those poor people need is a break, a fresh start."
"They're criminals and thieves!"
"Of course they are! They are survivors! What normal person would raise a finger to help them? Most of their mutations are such that they cannot possibly lead a normal life. At least YOU can walk down the street without being stared at, but Tyger and myself, what about us? People look at us like we're side-show refugees and Morlocks are in the same position. Have you ever considered that aspect of it?"
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL FIVE.
* * *
Hack...slash...OUCH!...hack...OOF!...crunch. Are they trying to get me killed?!!!
* * *
"I don't think I like what you're implying," Scott said icily.
Hank glared at him accusingly. "The X-men has been turned into a refuge for normal looking mutants while rejecting the ones that don't 'fit in'. Be honest with yourself, man! Do you trust me or even Kurt as much as you trust Gambit? And Gambit, DAMN it all, ADMITS that he is a thief! Aren't we being a bit prejudiced here, Scott my boy?"
"This is not about prejudice!"
"Then what IS it about?"
"It's about suitability, NOT prejudice."
"So what is so unsuitable about her? The fact that she hasn't yet learned control, or the fact that she has a tail?" Hank was getting very, very weary of Scott's intolerant attitude.
"Stop putting words into my mouth! This has nothing to do with her physically! It's her emotional instability that's the problem!"
"By following that criteria alone, fearless leader, you just labelled half the team as being unsuitable for the X-men! How much in property damage has Rogue alone caused during her outbursts?"
"But she hasn't seriously hurt anybody..."
"Oh really? Then I suggest that you inform Gambit that his aches and bruises are all in his head and see how HE reacts to your little piece of medical advice."
* * *
INITIATING REGULAR TRAINING SEQUENCE LEVEL SIX
* * *
Screw them both, then!!! She thought. Living opponents or not, battlelust or none, her hackels were raised and her fangs were bared. She braced herself against her newest adversaries: human-sized sentinels. Her nose told her that THESE were REAL, and her claws were ready.
* * *
"I don't like being cut-off in mid-sentence, Hank."
"Then allow me to extend my sincerest apologies," he retorted in a not-so-sincere manner. "And what about the tension surrounding yourself, Logan and Jean? That is a rather volatile situation as well!"
"Don't even go there, Hank!" Scott growled.
"And why not? You seem to be taking this issue with Tyger quite personally."
"You are too emotionally involved to be objective, Hank. You're only defending her because she spread her heart AND her legs out for you!"
Hank couldn't believe his ears. Now it had gotten far too personal. Hank's jaw muscles tightened as he spoke. "Are you saying I only want her for her body?" his baritone voice was strained with held-back rage.
"I'M not the one who's incapable of having any sort of lasting relationship with a normal woman!"
Hank was about to lunge for Scott's throat when a sentinal's head flew through the window. They both reflexively ducked and covered their heads to protect themselves from flying glass shards.
"GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!"
Hank leapt for the control panel while Scott blasted open the glass case containing the emergency override lever and pulled it.
Hank blanched when he read the words, 'regular training sequence level six'. He looked at Tyger, blinked, looked at the control panel again in disbelief, then back at Tyger. She was still standing! Of course, her clothes were torn, her fur was ruffled, and she was even bleeding in some spots, not to mention that she was also staring at him with a searing gaze which made him shudder, but she was still standing!
"Er...Scott?" Hank said disbondantly, their recent argument momentarily forgotten.
Scott was not so absentminded. "This was entirely YOUR doing, Hank!" he snarled, referring to the feral state Tyger was in. "So you're just going to have to deal with it yourself!" and he turned sharply on his heel and stormed out of the room, leaving Hank to deal with Tyger alone.
The doorway had opened automatically when the override had been triggered. Tyger stalked through it, ears flattened, claws bared, muscles tensed and tail swinging back and forth menacingly. "WHAT the HELL was THAT?!"
"Er...malfunction?" Hank squeaked.
* * *
Tyger slowly lowered her tired, aching body into the hot, bubble-filled water of the bathtub. She let out a sigh of contentment as she slid down until her head was just above the water-line.
Hank had managed to calm her down (and had proven himself to be quite speedy and agile while dodging her claws). He had explained what had happened as he checked her injuries - all of which were minor - and she forgave him.
#Hmph. Forgave him for nearly getting me killed! And they go into that room willingly? These people are crazy!#
She sighed again as the heat soaked into her muscles, relaxing them. #I really shouldn't have gotten mad at Hank. It wasn't completely his fault, and it wasn't as if he meant for it to happen. But yeah, the 'computer just malfunctioned'...SUUUURRRE it did. Hmmm...I wonder if Cyclops planned all this? I mean, just to get back at me for the FOH thing, I don't know. It COULD be something he could do, but it doesn't FEEL like he would. I just don't know.# She resolved to make it up to Hank somehow for the way she had treated him. #Even so, if he ever wants me to go into that room a second time, it's gonna take the entire team to drag me in, and I'll be fighting all the way.#
* * *
Dr. Henry McCoy was cackling to himself as he scanned over his report. He was beyond fury, had gone past angry all the way to thougtful, contemplative, cunniving. He had put up with Scott's pettiness because of the man's planning and strategic abilities. But the man had crossed the line with that night's encounter.
#He excels as a combat leader, but he harbours a huge mouth when there was nobody shooting at him.# Hank knew as well as everyone else (except for maybe Logan) that Scott's capacity for training in the Danger Room left the group best able to deal with combat. Since Scott had taken over the Danger Room sessions, the team had suffered far fewer injuries and gotten in and out of dangerous situations with minimal fuss - far less than before. Therefore, Hank concluded, everyone trusts his opinions. He chuckled to himself. #And of course, Scott's opinion at the moment is that Tyger is useless and that in combat, she is uncontrolled, uncontrollable, and requires constant looking after.# He cackled again as he viewed a taped section of Tyger's scenario.
#Oh yes, our self-appointed dictator will soon be dining upon his own words...hmmm...mental note: make sure to have salt shaker handy#, he thought and he began to hum softly to himself as he added the last finishing touches to the report.
* * *
Still to be continued. Whaddya think so far? Feedback is always welcomed and appreciated, and thanks for all the reviews we've received so far!