* We met Griffin when she first arrived at Professor Xavier's School for
the Gifted*
**For anyone confused, this story takes place when most of the X-Men are in
their teens**
Part II- Danger Room
The bed was soft and comfortable. There was more then enough mattress for her not to be able to feel the harsh springs underneath. She turned off the overhead light voluntarily, something she was not surely accustomed to. The only light came from the outside hallway, and it was a soft orange glow that reflected off the rich wooden walls almost like a fire. There was a large window behind her, one that allowed her to look out into the main courtyard in front of the building. There were no high fences when she looked out and no steel barriers between her and freedom.
But she knew she would never want to leave. For the first time for almost as long as she could remember she wanted to stay inside, she actually felt safe inside a building.
There was noise outside, the other students were coming up to bed, it was getting late and most of them took advantage of every spare minute to have fun on a Saturday night. Griffin barely moved when a boy entered her room.
Scott walked in hoping he would find her there. He thought she was pretty, but wasn't attracted to her anymore then that. It was the mystery around her that made him intrigued as to who she was. He enjoyed a good mystery. No one knew her name, no one knew where she came from, she didn't talk very much, and never displayed any type of power. And she had been there for two weeks. In fact she seemed the most normal and different out of all the students there.
She sat up on her elbows and watched as he was outlined in the orange light in her doorway. "I'm Scott Summers. They call me Cyclops."
"Griffin." The girl responded simply.
"Is that your name, or what you go by?" he asked.
"It doesn't really matter, whatever you'd like it to be." she said, not wanting to delve any deeper to the origins of her name.
"Well, some of us are going down to the Danger Room for a midnight work out. If you'd like to come you're welcome to join us." He said with a smile.
"What's the Danger Room?" she asked.
Scott led her down the main corridor of the school, one she had already seen. But then he took her through doors she had never even seen, and down passageways she thought were not meant for children to go down. It was here that her mind began to swim in memories that she thought would soon be forgotten. The walls were polished and white, the floors were immaculately clean. But Scott didn't recognize her discomfort, so he kept leading her onto the training facility beneath the school.
The Danger Room wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. It was a steel box with strange machines jutting out of not only the walls but also the corners and the ceiling. It was a room that utilized all of the latest computer technology to facilitate the training of abilities. Griffin had been in many of these before. But even as she wanted to run away something kept drawing her forward. Like when an elite gymnast sees a pair of uneven bars, their best event, they can't help but what to give it a go. The automated door opened smoothly and Scott walked her in.
There were several people already inside the Danger Room. There was an auburn haired girl, she recognized as Jean Grey. Everyone knew who Jean Grey was; she had to be one of the most successful students at the school. She was also the most popular; she was one of the only telepathists who everyone trusted not to pry into their minds. There was a darker woman there with white hair; she was older then the rest of them, but not by much. There were two other boys there as well. One could control flame, while the other had super fast speed. Although Griffin didn't interact much, she knew they called themselves Torch and Bolt. Scott stepped forward and introduced her to them.
" Everyone, this is Griffin. She's going to be practicing with us today." He said Griffin stepped quietly forward, offered a friendly smile and shook hands with everyone in the room.
" The program will be run in thirty seconds." Jean said to Scott and Griffin, " Difficulty is set at six."
" Get ready," Scott said to Griffin, " we usually don't set predictability on our practices, anything can happen."
But Griffin wasn't really listening, and no one was really waiting for her to answer him. Griffin looked around and though none of the weaponry was moving yet, she could hear which ones were gearing up first, including the mechanized arm right above her head. " Ten seconds." Jean said. Griffin counted them down carefully and silently.
" Okay, now look out." Scott said right as his own counter hit one. But he said it to empty space behind him. Griffin was already up in the air, over fifteen feet. The mechanized arm that had once been above her was now under her reaching out for Scott, who was concentrating on the razor- shooting weapon in front of him.
Griffin had two seconds to assess the situation, and watch as the others scrambled and focused most of their energies on two sequences at once. Griffin on the other hand was already calculating which weapons she would attack, in what sequence, and what they did so that she could have the entire room mopped up quickly. She landed gracefully atop the smooth mechanical arm and gripped a cylindrical piece of piping along its side and with superior strength pulled it out. The result was her getting the hollow pipe loose and splaying vital wires out of the arm. Instantly the arm died, but before it could give way she used it as a platform to propel herself to the next obstacle.
Scott was occupied with blasting away the blades being shot at him with the deadly accuracy of his laser shooting retinas. But while he was aiming for individual blades, Griffin ran up with speeds faster then those of a bullet, she held up the pipe and a fired blade got lodged right in the tip. Using this as a makeshift sword, she jumped upward and diced the firing nozzle of the weapon, then slashed out the power mechanism. Before Scott could realize that the weapon was out of commission, Griffin had already dashed off to the next weapon, one with multiple, spider-like arms that were all reaching out trying to grasp hold Jean Grey.
She was artfully using her telekinetic powers to deter the arms from getting near her and in turn tangle themselves with each other, but she failed to get anywhere in stopping them from attacking her completely. Griffin dashed forward, dodged an arm that reached out for her and cut the fingers to pieces. She jumped past the wreckage and onto the next set of arms that was attacking Jean. She made quick work of them with her "sword" and then leapt off for a finishing round with Torch and Bolt.
Torch and Bolt were the most effective of the others in the Danger Room, there were working together to defeat a massive rocket-launching machine. Bolt dashed around the machine causing the sensory array to send rockets needlessly exploding in random settings around it, trying to hit the ever moving Bolt. In the meantime, Torch was setting small bon fires here and there to draw the heat seekers away, while his other hand melted away at the machines control panels. Griffin, watched as several missiles aimed her way, but her eyesight was to good for it and she was too quick, she dodged them effortlessly. She easily slipped to where Torch was burning away at the machines controls and gave it a powerful kick, the metal broke away and with a strong downward swipe of her blade, all the circuitry was torn away.
She jumped high into the air and backward somersaulted to the center of the room, where she stood on a small pile of her wreckage and looked around. Her ears listening for anything she could have forgotten and her eyes piercing the destroyed rubble for anything left to be taken care off. She wasn't even breathing hard as the others approached her, knowing full well what she had done. She looked downward at her hand at the sword in her hand, and she dropped it.
As it clattered to the floor, the sound echoed in her mind. She looked around the room at the destruction she had caused, and the faces coming toward her became a blur. Before any of them could say anything, she was already gone. Griffin cloaked herself, and disappeared before their eyes. She took off and ran out the automated entry in the Danger Room, she ran down the corridors and up the steps and out of the mansion. She ran so fast the only thing that could be seen was the dust trail being kicked up behind her on the dirt drive. She leapt over the main gate in a single jump and was off into the night, all so quickly that the clattering was still ringing in her ears.
No one knew what to say, especially when Storm came out from the observation room, and said that the program had finished its run in less then five minutes.
Part II- Danger Room
The bed was soft and comfortable. There was more then enough mattress for her not to be able to feel the harsh springs underneath. She turned off the overhead light voluntarily, something she was not surely accustomed to. The only light came from the outside hallway, and it was a soft orange glow that reflected off the rich wooden walls almost like a fire. There was a large window behind her, one that allowed her to look out into the main courtyard in front of the building. There were no high fences when she looked out and no steel barriers between her and freedom.
But she knew she would never want to leave. For the first time for almost as long as she could remember she wanted to stay inside, she actually felt safe inside a building.
There was noise outside, the other students were coming up to bed, it was getting late and most of them took advantage of every spare minute to have fun on a Saturday night. Griffin barely moved when a boy entered her room.
Scott walked in hoping he would find her there. He thought she was pretty, but wasn't attracted to her anymore then that. It was the mystery around her that made him intrigued as to who she was. He enjoyed a good mystery. No one knew her name, no one knew where she came from, she didn't talk very much, and never displayed any type of power. And she had been there for two weeks. In fact she seemed the most normal and different out of all the students there.
She sat up on her elbows and watched as he was outlined in the orange light in her doorway. "I'm Scott Summers. They call me Cyclops."
"Griffin." The girl responded simply.
"Is that your name, or what you go by?" he asked.
"It doesn't really matter, whatever you'd like it to be." she said, not wanting to delve any deeper to the origins of her name.
"Well, some of us are going down to the Danger Room for a midnight work out. If you'd like to come you're welcome to join us." He said with a smile.
"What's the Danger Room?" she asked.
Scott led her down the main corridor of the school, one she had already seen. But then he took her through doors she had never even seen, and down passageways she thought were not meant for children to go down. It was here that her mind began to swim in memories that she thought would soon be forgotten. The walls were polished and white, the floors were immaculately clean. But Scott didn't recognize her discomfort, so he kept leading her onto the training facility beneath the school.
The Danger Room wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. It was a steel box with strange machines jutting out of not only the walls but also the corners and the ceiling. It was a room that utilized all of the latest computer technology to facilitate the training of abilities. Griffin had been in many of these before. But even as she wanted to run away something kept drawing her forward. Like when an elite gymnast sees a pair of uneven bars, their best event, they can't help but what to give it a go. The automated door opened smoothly and Scott walked her in.
There were several people already inside the Danger Room. There was an auburn haired girl, she recognized as Jean Grey. Everyone knew who Jean Grey was; she had to be one of the most successful students at the school. She was also the most popular; she was one of the only telepathists who everyone trusted not to pry into their minds. There was a darker woman there with white hair; she was older then the rest of them, but not by much. There were two other boys there as well. One could control flame, while the other had super fast speed. Although Griffin didn't interact much, she knew they called themselves Torch and Bolt. Scott stepped forward and introduced her to them.
" Everyone, this is Griffin. She's going to be practicing with us today." He said Griffin stepped quietly forward, offered a friendly smile and shook hands with everyone in the room.
" The program will be run in thirty seconds." Jean said to Scott and Griffin, " Difficulty is set at six."
" Get ready," Scott said to Griffin, " we usually don't set predictability on our practices, anything can happen."
But Griffin wasn't really listening, and no one was really waiting for her to answer him. Griffin looked around and though none of the weaponry was moving yet, she could hear which ones were gearing up first, including the mechanized arm right above her head. " Ten seconds." Jean said. Griffin counted them down carefully and silently.
" Okay, now look out." Scott said right as his own counter hit one. But he said it to empty space behind him. Griffin was already up in the air, over fifteen feet. The mechanized arm that had once been above her was now under her reaching out for Scott, who was concentrating on the razor- shooting weapon in front of him.
Griffin had two seconds to assess the situation, and watch as the others scrambled and focused most of their energies on two sequences at once. Griffin on the other hand was already calculating which weapons she would attack, in what sequence, and what they did so that she could have the entire room mopped up quickly. She landed gracefully atop the smooth mechanical arm and gripped a cylindrical piece of piping along its side and with superior strength pulled it out. The result was her getting the hollow pipe loose and splaying vital wires out of the arm. Instantly the arm died, but before it could give way she used it as a platform to propel herself to the next obstacle.
Scott was occupied with blasting away the blades being shot at him with the deadly accuracy of his laser shooting retinas. But while he was aiming for individual blades, Griffin ran up with speeds faster then those of a bullet, she held up the pipe and a fired blade got lodged right in the tip. Using this as a makeshift sword, she jumped upward and diced the firing nozzle of the weapon, then slashed out the power mechanism. Before Scott could realize that the weapon was out of commission, Griffin had already dashed off to the next weapon, one with multiple, spider-like arms that were all reaching out trying to grasp hold Jean Grey.
She was artfully using her telekinetic powers to deter the arms from getting near her and in turn tangle themselves with each other, but she failed to get anywhere in stopping them from attacking her completely. Griffin dashed forward, dodged an arm that reached out for her and cut the fingers to pieces. She jumped past the wreckage and onto the next set of arms that was attacking Jean. She made quick work of them with her "sword" and then leapt off for a finishing round with Torch and Bolt.
Torch and Bolt were the most effective of the others in the Danger Room, there were working together to defeat a massive rocket-launching machine. Bolt dashed around the machine causing the sensory array to send rockets needlessly exploding in random settings around it, trying to hit the ever moving Bolt. In the meantime, Torch was setting small bon fires here and there to draw the heat seekers away, while his other hand melted away at the machines control panels. Griffin, watched as several missiles aimed her way, but her eyesight was to good for it and she was too quick, she dodged them effortlessly. She easily slipped to where Torch was burning away at the machines controls and gave it a powerful kick, the metal broke away and with a strong downward swipe of her blade, all the circuitry was torn away.
She jumped high into the air and backward somersaulted to the center of the room, where she stood on a small pile of her wreckage and looked around. Her ears listening for anything she could have forgotten and her eyes piercing the destroyed rubble for anything left to be taken care off. She wasn't even breathing hard as the others approached her, knowing full well what she had done. She looked downward at her hand at the sword in her hand, and she dropped it.
As it clattered to the floor, the sound echoed in her mind. She looked around the room at the destruction she had caused, and the faces coming toward her became a blur. Before any of them could say anything, she was already gone. Griffin cloaked herself, and disappeared before their eyes. She took off and ran out the automated entry in the Danger Room, she ran down the corridors and up the steps and out of the mansion. She ran so fast the only thing that could be seen was the dust trail being kicked up behind her on the dirt drive. She leapt over the main gate in a single jump and was off into the night, all so quickly that the clattering was still ringing in her ears.
No one knew what to say, especially when Storm came out from the observation room, and said that the program had finished its run in less then five minutes.