Of Hearth and Home

Chapter Twelve: Danger Zone

"I don't think you know vhat you're getting in to here." Kurt grinned.

"Yeah." Bobby supplied from just beyond Derek's left elbow. "The danger room can be tough."

Derek smiled. The concern was a welcome change from the silence he most often lived in. And with Rogue's recriminations only an hour old, he was actually thrilled to still be at the mansion.

Beast raised his head and caught Derek's attention. "We are only doing one session tonight." Hank informed him. But before we begin, I want to ask – How many sessions do you think we'll need to get an accurate range for your powers?"

Derek raised two fingers, spread slightly apart, with the back of his hand facing Beast.

"Two?" Hank asked puzzled. "Normally, we need at least three to gauge the average control and strength levels."

Derek curled and then straitened his fingers again.

"Two it is." Hank agreed, turning back to recalibrate the machine.

Derek tapped him on the shoulder. Hank stopped what he was doing and turned to face him.

Derek held up his index finger alone.

"Yes, just one today." Hank told him.

He shook his head slowly and displayed the single finger again. Then he made fists as though he were boxing.

He held up two fingers again and tapped the side of his head.

"One physical and one mental?" Hank guessed.

Derek smiled and so did Kurt.

Bobby rubbed his hands together greedily. There was an air of excitement in the room and he was thrilled to be included.

"Okay." Hank said at last. "We're ready when you are."

"Let him have it Beast." The gruff voice made all their heads turn. "I don't need to be the only guy he's sore at."

Logan curled one side of his mouth in to a half smile.

Derek leaned his head back and cocked it questioningly.

"Sorry about the misunderstanding Kid. Let's see what you can do." Logan eyed Derek to gauge his reaction.

Derek nodded slowly as though he was still thinking something through. "Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends." (1) He said at last as his normal smile now returned.

He slipped out the door, down the stairs, around the corner and down the hall to the massive metal doors of The Danger Room.

They slid open with a massive click and a mechanical hiss.

The room was huge and empty, but he knew – that was to change. Scott had shown him the simulator this morning and explained it rather well, despite his total inability to follow Derek's conversation or comments.

"Whenever you're ready." Xavier told him over the loudspeaker.

And when Derek nodded, then flashed a double 'thumbs-up' sign, Xavier keyed the control to begin the simulation.

"I programmed this matrix to overlay itself on a delay that shifts it's pattern every four seconds, with a random one second pattern shift every third cycle. It'll be the hardest pattern he's ever tried to keep up with." Hank smiled. He was particularly proud of his programming. It had come as an inspired rush first thing this morning.

"Isn't that like cheating?" Bobby asked.

"It does seem a little unfair." Kurt agreed.

The door hissed open behind them.

"Did he do it yet?" Multiple stuck his head in to the room.

"Yeah, did he?" He asked again coming this time from the opposite side of the door.

"We're dying to know out here!" He exclaimed again as a third version poked it's head up at chest level between the first two.

"All right." Logan got his attention. "Just pull yourself together first. We've already got a crowd in here. We don't need another one."

All three Multiples broke in to the same wild smile and shifted together as they pushed through the doorway. The one who entered the room swatted the door pad with a wide grin and the door hissed shut.

"This is gonna be so cool." He looked at Bobby who was suddenly feeling less special about having been included. "You can't even see his fingers when he gets moving on the piano. He's fast." Multiple volunteered.

He is? Kurt wondered. How fast is he?

But the action had begun and they all fell silent as their eyes turned to the floor below.

Derek stood in the middle of the room. The ceiling was rimmed in bright white lights, and despite being a considerable distance away, he could feel their heat from where he stood.

The room hummed with an inner power as the systems came to life. Panels slid open along the walls while trap doors sprung open in the floor.

Mechanical arms grasping dangerous beam weapons slipped in to view out of the walls and drew their focus on to Derek.

Large spinning columns had emerged out of the floor. They appeared to be covered with spikes and studs. These too were on metal arms that hefted themselves towards Derek.

"He's not doing anything." Kurt noticed.

"Uh-ho." Logan saw the circular section in the center of the room begin to move clockwise. The very same section that Derek was standing on.

The weapons went to fire and the spinning shredders moved in a geometric unison towards him but Derek held his ground as the floor began to spin beneath him.

"I'm aborting the exercise." Xavier announced reaching for the control. "He must not under …"

And just then, when it already appeared to be too late, as the beam weapons were readjusting to his position and ready to fire …

Derek whinnied loudly like a horse and stamped his foot once in front of him, as though counting to one.

A faint 'pop' sounded beneath the floor and Derek smiled. The shredders began slowing on their own and beginning to droop lifelessly at the end of their mechanical arms.

The beam weapons still held a charge, but the targeting sensors refused to provide any acquisition data as the power slipped from the room and they too fell lifeless on their mounts.

A high pitched whine was the only sound to be heard, and as it slowed – growing ever fainter – the danger room lights winked out one by one; each accompanied by the cooling hiss of the bulbs.

"What just happened?" Multiple asked. "What did he do?"

"I have no idea." Hank was shocked. "None."

"He tripped the breakers. Manually." Xavier shook his head as he spoke. "Shut down the whole room."

And as if to illustrate his point - the lights in the observation room went out completely, bathing them all in shadows. A second later, the control panel lit itself with a faint blue glow.

"Back-up's still on?" Logan snorted.

"Emergency power. In here only." Xavier said as he checked the softly lit meter on the control board. "He tripped the whole room."

"He was only over the breakers for … a fraction of a second!" Beast was dumbstruck. "They're under the floor and mounted to a plate that's spinning the other way …"

Xavier couldn't help but smile as he turned to Hank. "Makes you wonder what he can do with is mind, doesn't it?" He quipped.

They turned their eyes back down to the danger room floor to find that Derek had crossed back the way he had come and was forcing the big metal doors open by hand.

With one great shove he made a crack large enough for his abnormally thin frame to slip through.

"Ahh, Professor?" Kurt ventured. "This door isn't working either."

Xavier keyed a switch on the soft blue control panel and the door made a loud 'clink' but didn't move.

"Logan? Hank? If you would be so kind?" He prompted.

And Logan pulled while Beast pushed, and the door slid all the way open.

"That was cool!" Jamie resisted the urge to split himself in to pieces and run around the mansion telling people what had just happened. "He stopped the room!"

Logan stopped in mid motion towards the door and cast a glance at Xavier. "He did, didn't he?"

Xavier nodded. "He's the only person who has had less difficulty than Kitty on their first session." He looked chagrined. Almost everyone knew that Kitty walked right through her first session without a single difficulty or concern. It had forced Xavier to invent new tactics just for her.

"Wait till I tell her." Bobby smirked.

Kurt stood back as they left. He turned back to the now empty danger room. It was lit only by the thin strip of the barely open door.

Something about the whole scene seemed very bloodthirsty to him. The precision of the attack was a part of it. But there was more.

It's dead. He realized, looking out at the twisted shadows of the defunct attack mechanisms. He went for the kill – first thing.

Kurt steadied himself. A tripped breaker is a far cry from being a murder. He reminded himself. But … still…Like Mr. Logan says … Kurt swallowed nervously.

… 'instinct is instinct'.

1) ELP – Karn Evil #9 (2nd impression)