Hello folks. Sorry with the long delay, but I've been tied down with my work at college. I hope you all are still interested in this fic in spite of the pace it's been going at. I'm hoping to fix that though. Anyway, for those of you who have wanted to see Raiden in the Danger Room, look no further. This chapter has that! Anyway, on with the story!
Chapter 13
The Danger Room
All the X-Men and New Mutants were gathered in the Rec Room, which made the room pretty packed. Everyone was seated, either in chairs and on sofas or simply sitting on the floor. Xavier had told everyone he had to give them all a big announcement and everyone was anxious to know what it was. Hopefully it wasn't anything bad, like a major issue with Magneto, who for some reason hadn't done anything big to them over the past couple of months, or a report of anew member who had powers that defied the known limits of mutant abilities like Wanda Maximoff, the insanely powerful Scarlet Witch.
There was no real order in how people seated themselves. Everyone sat where they wanted to, and that was how they liked it. All the X-Men, all the New Mutants were there and they patiently waited for this major announcement that Professor X had to give them. It was then that Professor Xavier, Logan, Ororo, and Hank came in, the four faculty members of institute.
Everyone was conversing with each other, so Charles spoke up to get everyone to quiet down. "Alright everyone," said Xavier, "Settle down. Settle down." After a few moments, everyone had quieted down enough so that Xavier could be heard. "Alright everyone," said the professor, "I've summoned you all here because we have some important matters to discuss. Matters regarding what we will be doing in regards to training over the duration of this two week-long spring break from school."
Scott and Jean couldn't help but notice how a couple of the new recruits let their faces fall with a sense of disappointment, especially Bobby, Tabitha, Jubilee, and Roberto, who happened to be the most spunky, and the most mischievous of all the New Mutants. Scott, for one, found it humorous to see the mischief-makers get a little disappointment in return for all the annoyances that they caused around the mansion, usually on a daily basis. He'd lost his temper with them more than once in the past, but they seemed to shrug it off like yesterday's news. Maybe losing time to cause trouble would be a more effective approach to this.
"I think the professor hit a soft spot," Scott whispered to Jean, who sat beside him with his hand on her shoulder.
Jean smiled at him with he loving curve of her lips he just couldn't get enough of. "I think they'd be better off training that icing up the floors or rigging sandwiches with explosives." She winked at him.
Scott smiled in response and winked back, even though he knew his red shades would block it from her sight.
"Now," Xavier went on with his little announcement, "you all have two weeks ahead where there will be no school to occupy your time, myself and the rest of the faculty have decided that an increase in training is in order."
There were several groans at this from the new recruits, but none of the senior X-Men did any. Simon noticed this and turned to Rogue with some curiosity. "Do the younger kid around here not like to train?" he asked her.
Rogue merely nodded before replying. "Oh, yeah," she said simply and left it at that. Simon needed no further information. Most young kids he'd been around preferred to have fun rather that do important things. He suddenly realized that all kids in their mid-teenage years were more alike than not, regardless of whether or not they had an X-gene.
"But, we're improving, Professor," protested Bobby, "We're doin' just fine! We don't need the extra training!"
Logan looked at Bobby with a look of skepticism. "Yeah, so ya can use the time to ice up even more floors and showers, kid? I don't think so."
Logan was giving Bobby his penetrating predator gaze, the one that was like an actual wolverine eyeing its prey in the Arctic wilderness.
"But we can do just fine the way we're going now, Badger!" this other protest came from Tabitha.
Logan was about to respond, but Hank beat him to it, hoping to prevent Logan's Spartan personality kicking into the old army drill sergeant mode once again. "We think that since you're all growing up nice and quickly as you put it, that you can use this time to do more beneficial, more constructive activities."
Xavier wheeled himself closer to the students, hoping that they would take it as a sign he was going to speak. And they did, for everyone's eyes rested on him. "For the next couple of weeks, we're going to doing some special training sessions every other day. I do believe that several of you," he motioned to the New Mutants, "have been hoping for the chance to prove how capable you are in the field." Xavier gave a smile at that, knowing that that was indeed the truth. And seconds later, a couple of the new recruits spoke up.
"You mean we're actually gonna use the Danger Room?" asked Ray, sounding a little excited for it. Ray Crisp was a bit of a hot head, but was always ready for a chance to prove himself.
"Let me put it this way," said Xavier, "Starting tomorrow, and every other day after that, both the X-Men and the New Mutants will be holding training sessions together at the same time, and as one unit."
A lot of people's eyebrows rose at the mention of that. Some, like Amara and Sam, looked uncertain, for they were not entirely sure where they stood with their powers. The more enthusiastic ones however seemed excited and were already making assumptions.
"But, what if we're not ready for it?" asked Amara, sounding a little unsure.
"Oh c'mon Mara," said Tabitha, smiling at her friend, "We gotta get our groove on, show 'em some girl power!"
"One purpose of this new trial run is to see which of the New Mutants are ready to shoulder more responsibility and duty here at the institute. I've noticed that some of you are rather spirited, but lacking in your self-discipline. If you show considerable improvement and discipline in this runs, I will look into increasing your ranks here."
"Are you going to move any of us up to the X-Men?" asked Roberto, sounding eager.
"Not yet," said Xavier, "another reason for this new system is to see which of you are ready to begin advancing through the ranks towards the X-Men. But until we've done this for a while, I am making no further decisions."
"So when do we start?" This was the most edger sounding voice yet, and it was coming from Jamie Madrox, the youngest of everyone present. That got him a look of discouragement from several of the older New Mutants, Berserker and Iceman. "Forget it, Jamie," said Ray, looking cross, or at least trying to and doing a mocking job of it, "You can't handle it!"
"Hey!" Jamie shot back at him, trying his best to look formidable, "He said all of us and that means me too!" He was starting to get angry. The others were treating him like a little kid while they considered themselves the top of the food chain. When were they going to stop that and be supporting like good teammate were supposed to be?
"Yeah?" asked Bobby in a skeptical tone, "Since when?"
"Since a long time ago!"
"Sorry, Jamie, no rough housing with the big kids!" Jubilee jumped it, adding even more pressure to Jamie's already stressed mood.
Simon was watching the whole exchange, and could see how upset Jamie was. He considered leaping in and telling the others to back off, but he held himself back. He'd leapt into situations that weren't his business in the past and that often got him into trouble and embarrassment. That was last thing he wanted, to make himself look like an idiot in front of the entire institute.
"All right, that's enough," said Ororo calmly, hoping to avert a verbal battle.
"Now," Xavier talked up again, "Today, we'll be doing some basic training. The X-Men have a Danger Room training session in one hour, and the New Mutants have one hour of training with Hank after that. Be sure you're all ready by then." With that, Xavier wheeled back towards his other three teachers.
Across the room, Simon looked at Kitty and Kurt, who were sitting close together. Not in the romantic sense, but as good friends. "Why were those others blowing Jamie off like that?" asked Simon, gesturing to Ray, Jubilee, and Bobby.
Kitty let out a sigh. "It's sort of a tradition for them," said Kitty, "They exclude Jamie from almost everything because he's the youngest of the new recruits. It's like, totally a daily thing around here."
"They do that in everything?" asked Simon, not liking the sound that.
"Everyzhing," confirmed Kurt in a serious tone, "Even movie vatching."
Simon was about to comment on that when Logan's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, kid." The Canadian's gruff voice snatched Simon out of his thoughts in an instant. He snapped his head around until he located the provider of the message.
"Huh?"
"Yer trainin' with the X-Men starts today. Be ready in one hour." Simon's eyes widened with surprise and his mouth dropped open, a look that Logan found amusing. He gave Simon a wolfish smirk, one that meant he was about to push someone to the limits. The others noticed it as well, and could tell Simon was going to get his first taste of Wolverine-style training.
"But, Mr. Logan," protested Simon, "Don't you have a "brand new" team or "beginners" group here? I don't think I'm ready to start training with the senior students."
Scott was somewhat surprised at Simon's reaction. Most students here would have jumped for the chance to be with the X-Men in a training session. Yet, Simon was trying to avoid it. Why was that? What was going through that guy's mind? The New Mutants were looking at Simon with confused looks. He was being offered a chance to train up there with the big leagues and was hesitating? What was his problem?
"The Prof thought it over," Logan responded, "And he decided that the best place for ya is to train is with us. And if he says that you can handle it, you can."
"Handle?" it sounded to Simon like he would barely make it through when that word was used. "Pardon me for saying so, Logan, but did it ever occur to you that I have no experience with powers whatsoever? I really think I shouldn't….."
"Look," Logan gave Simon his no-nonsense-no-arguing-with me-anymore look, the one he used to make sure people got his message didn't object anymore, "Chuck decided yer better off with the X-Men. If you make it, you make it. If ya don't, you'll get moved. End of discussion. Now go get into yer uniform and report to the Danger Room in one hour." With that, Logan turned and left the room before another word could be exchanged.
Simon could only shake his head. He didn't like the sound of Danger Room. He hadn't the faintest idea of what the room was, but it sounded uneasy for him.
He made a mental note not to argue with Logan anymore in the future. From the sound of his codename, Simon had a feeling that an angry Logan was not a safe thing to have around. He'd read up on wolverines for a school report and had learned they were dangerous predators, despite their relatively small size compared to other animals. A codename carried with it a representation of the bearer, and a "wolverine" made him think of a dangerous fighter in battle.
Scott and Jean noticed Simon's look and walked over to him. Scott placed his hand on Simon's shoulder. "You okay?" he asked, "You look a little tense there."
"Scott," Simon said slowly, "I need to ask a question."
"Sure. Ask away."
"This training you do, is this training really training or is it military-style boot camp?"
Jean chuckled at that remark as Scott smiled. "You really gotta expect some hard stuff from Logan, Simon" Scott told his teammate, giving him a smile of knowledge, "He's a man of high expectations. He goes by extreme steam and high try. The term "easy" isn't really in his vocabulary."
"So this IS boot camp then," Simon decided out loud, "As in train until you're ready to drop dead."
Jean and Scott couldn't contain their chuckle at that. Nor could Kitty or Kurt. "You really got to stop worrying, Simon," said Kitty, giggling at Simon's worried expression, "You're starting to sound paranoid, which I personally think will give you some major problems."
Simon looked at her with defiance in his eyes. "Sometimes, Miss. Smarty Pants, being aware can keep you from getting into serious pickles."
"Or give you an ulcer," Jean retaliated, looking confident in her answer. Kitty and Kurt laughed even harder.
Simon couldn't think of comeback on that one. He decided to let it go.
"Trust me, mein fruend," said Kurt, "The Danger Room iz alvays scary on the first time. But it'z az normal as a gymnasium after you get used to it." The first thing Simon wanted to do was deny what the fuzzy elf said, but the logic was infallible. The first session of anything was always the hardest. After that, it got easier and easier.
How comforting," said Simon sarcastically, "Okay. Got it. Next question. Where's my uniform?"
"It's in your room," said Scott, automatically, "The Prof put it out on your bed just this morning."
"Then I guess I better go get ready," said Simon, and walked off to change into his uniform. The rest of the Senior X-Men, Scott, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Evan, and Rogue also left, leaving the New Mutants to themselves. The conversing started the instant the X-Men left to go change, the main topic of which was the new training sessions.
"It's about time we get to train with the others," said Roberto, "We can really show them what we're made of."
"You said it," agreed Ray, "It'll nice to show them some real mutant power is."
"Yeah, but remember last time," said Sam, thinking back to where they tried to do the Danger Room on their own, "We came out of there trashed and torn."
Ray, Bobby, and Jubilee thought on that, but pushed it aside, remembering the real reason for it. "Yeah, well, we could have done better if a certain Multiple hadn't messed it up," Bobby looked at Jamie dangerously, a hint of aggression in his eyes.
"You know," Ray added, looked even more ready to pounce than Bobby, "We never did repay Multiple for that little stunt he pulled on us."
Jamie gulped. He remembered the look they had given him after he had paid them back for giving him the cold shoulder in trying the Danger Room. Lucky for him, they had been too tired to attack him, but this time, he didn't have that to work in his favor.
"Oh, ye leave him alone!" said Rahne, "Ye probably had it coming anyhow!"
Jubilee and Bobby looked at Rahne with a somewhat look of surprise at her outburst and her sudden rush to help Jamie. None of them were actually expecting her to do that. Jubilee, as Rahne's roommate thought she knew all about the little redheaded Scottish girl. But she suddenly reasoned that she hadn't seen all sides of Rahne's personality. She made a mental note to expect the unexpected with Rahne.
"Trust me, Rahne," said Bobby, "If you say the misery he put us through, you'd be anxious to get back at him yourself. Take bite out of him." The last sentence was spoken with some real fierce emotion, and Jamie could really tell how much the others wanted to take bite out of him.
"Besides," said Jubilee, trying to sound reassuring to her friend, "We were only concerned for his safety. We could handle it but he couldn't."
Sam Guthrie, who hadn't really spoken up until, looked surprised at Jubilee's comment. Right now he didn't exactly feel as uptight at Jamie the minute he'd found out it was him who cranked up the Danger Room levels on them. Sam had never really been one to hold a grudge, and this time was included in that.
"Says who?" Jamie challenged, "Since when are you guys ever concerned about my safety. If you were really so concerned about safety, then why'd you try the Danger Room to begin with. I mean, why do you think they call it the 'Danger Room?'" despite being the youngest of the New Mutants, Jamie was usually the most logical of them on certain occasions.
Jubilee looked at her boyfriend. She looked like she was having a mental turmoil with how to overcome Jamie's statement. However, Bobby, ever so confident and proud of being literally the coolest New Mutant, said, "Since when do even know the rules of safety I'd like to know?"
At that, Jamie, brow went more wrinkled than a slept-in sheet and walked out of the room, scowling. Rahne could tell Bobby had pushed the little guy to his limit of tolerance, which was something he was doing more and more of these days. She knew, without a doubt, that whenever someone kept putting down and underestimating a person, that person would catch up to them eventually. And she couldn't wait to see it happen to Bobby. The Scottish lycanthrope gave Iceman a look of disappointment, and then left to go after Jamie.
"Maybe we were a little too harsh on Jamie," suggested Sam, "Rahne did have a point."
"Oh come on," Ray objected, "Multiple should be thanking us. We're keeping him safe from Danger."
Sam looked at the wild-haired berserker with a look of confusion. What was Ray talking about? Keeping Jamie out of danger while the rest of them rushed into it themselves? Where was the logic in that? If anything, that could indicate they were becoming hypocrites.
Jamie was steaming. Now, he was boiling under his skin with anger. Time and time again the others had left him out simply because he was the youngest. Then were they going to get the message and let him be one of them instead of the kid of the group. He'd thought about it over and over. Maybe it was his powers that were a factor included. He would not have been surprised if it was. He'd often thought of having a cooler power than simply making a 3D mirror image of himself to look at that could move on its own. Duplication was the lamest power on the block. Even a limited from of telepathy would have sounded more appealing than multiplying. He'd often wished to have powers like Scott's, Kurt's, even Evan's. But when would that happen? Like never.
And of course, there was the fact of whom they had done it in front of. Simon. They had a new guy here, and he had found of how Jamie was treated her because of his age, and possibly his incredibly weak and useless power, on his very first day as an X-Man. What was next? A banner saying, "Jamie is the youngest, so don't include him?" Jamie would not have been surprised if Simon thought that. He hoped against hope he didn't. Jamie had known Simon had seen it, for he had heard him whispering questions about it to the others. The other New Mutants were making putting him down something of a display for all to see, and Simon had been their first customer, even if it was involuntary.
"Jamie?" a girl's voice colored by a Scottish accent reached Jamie's ears, snapping his frustrated thoughts out of his head. He turned to see that the girl was, not surprisingly, Rahne. The accent was pretty much a dead giveaway, much like Kurt's was when you heard him speak behind you.
"Oh, uh-hi Rahne," said Jamie in greeting, silently cursing himself for his slight stutter at the beginning. He wasn't even sure why that stutter was there to begin with. "What's up?"
Rahne looked at him with concern in her green eyes. "I saw ye was upset by the way they wuir treating ye," explained Rahne, "I hope ye weren't too upset by it."
Jamie was a little caught off guard by her words. For more than one reason too. Most of the others here had seen him get treated like the little kid of the group, which he absolutely believed now. He'd been the "little kid" from day one. The grownups had made sure he wasn't in too strong battle simulations, for they were concerned with his safety. However, they were genuine in their concerns. The others however seemed to enjoy making him feel weak. He'd heard it so much that he was actually starting to believe it.
"I'm just so fed up with them treating me like a wimpy little kid! They do that to me every single time I try to join in. EVERY SINGLE TIME!" Jamie all but spat the words out like a foul-tasting glob of bad food, which gave Rahne a crystal clear message to how he felt.
She gave Jamie a sympathetic look. "I understand how ye feel," she said kindly to him, "But ye really shouldn't let what they say get to ye. Yuir better than that."
Oh, how much Jamie wanted to believe those words. It was hard however, he'd learned that. Jamie had heard many times before that sometimes the best source of encouragement was from within one's own self. But there was the thing with outside encouragement. It was so much more influencing and powerful if it came from outside. It showed others had faith in you, not just yourself. The more people that had faith in you, the more confident you became.
"DO you really think so?" asked Jamie, feeling his face grow a little warm with the attention Rahne was giving him. He hoped she wouldn't notice.
"Aye know ye would do great things to make them eat thuir words," said Rahne, referring to Ray, Bobby, and Jubilee. She smiled a friendly smile.
Rahne could fully relate to what Jamie was feeling. She was youngest of all the girls of the institute, and that gave her first-hand knowledge of what that was like. There were times when she wanted to join in a few things the other girls were doing, but she'd been turned down. That had only happened once or twice, but it had happened nonetheless. Jamie, however, go the real rotten side of the coin. Things were so much more rotten when males, in all their arrogant natures, made it seem like a game where there were no rules. She had never experienced that, but she understood it.
"I just hope that Professor Xavier and Logan give me a chance this time," said Jamie, "I think I've been left behind in the dust too long."
"Well, Aye hope ye do to," Rahne responded. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw Jamie's cheeks go the faintest shade of pink. She wasn't entirely sure, but it could have been a blush of sorts.
"Well," Jamie said, finding the attempt to keep the stutter out of his voice surprisingly difficult, "Thanks, Rahne. I feel much better now. Thanks for saying that. I really appreciate it."
Rahne smiled her warm smile again, her large green eyes displaying the same "you're welcome" message as her lips. "Yuir welcome," she said unnecessarily, but it only added positive effect. With that, she left and went off to do her own thing.
Most of the anger at the others had left Jamie, and now he was feeling better. At least someone around here had faith in him. Rahne Sinclair did. And it really made a difference. He vowed to himself once more that he would make sure he would make the others eat their woods. Maybe even Rahne would encourage them.
As he thought of Rahne, he started to think different thoughts about her. She was a fearless, energetic girl, always ready to do things and have fun, which made her a great friend. But still, those big green eyes, soothing smile, and lovely red hair of hers. It really made her beautiful.
Wait. What was he thinking? They were friends. Where was there room in that for romance? What if it destroyed their friendship? He couldn't risk that. But still, those beautiful green eyes, and lovely red hair.
The first thing Simon did once he was inside his room once again after leaving the meeting about the training session was to look for the uniform Scott had mentioned to him just minutes beforehand. Uniform was a word he'd never associated with before with this school. But if training was involved, as Professor Xavier, Logan, and the others had referred to so many times, then maybe the uniform was simply the kind of uniform used to let everyone one know what team he was a member of.
Upon Simon's bed rested a medium-sized box, typical of the type clothes were stored in after being tailored. Simon crossed his room opened the box. He looked inside to see a neatly folded uniform waiting to be worn. Simon couldn't tell what exactly the uniform looked like and guessed he would have to wear it find out. Simon took the suit out of its box, and then undressed himself and pulled on his X-Men uniform. After that was done, he went to his mirror to see.
The uniform was a form-fitting suit, jet black all over, except for a large navy blue patch that covered his shoulders and chest and ended in point over his solar plexus like an upside down triangle. A bright yellow belt with a buckle that displayed a black X on a red background secured it around his waist. The shoulders bore two yellow triangular pads that presented the same logo as his belt. Knee-high crimson red boots and navy blue gloves completed the outfit.
Not bad, thought Simon. He let out a small laugh, finding his uniform better looking than he had expected. Not bad at all.
Backing away from the mirror, Simon tried a few of the moves he'd learned over the years in martial arts to see how his costume moved with him. He tired some uppercuts, a few flying and roundhouse kicks, and even some quick rounds of tai chi. The suit moved gracefully with him, never chafing or rubbing, allowing free and total movement, and was as comfy as could be. He took one last look in the mirror, over his shoulder to see how he looked from behind. He noticed that the back of his uniform had the same navy-blue shape as the front.
Simon then left to go in search of the Danger Room. Simon suddenly wondered, for about the umpteenth time, as to why the Danger Room was called the Danger Room. It sort of reminded him of the term "funhouse" which was called a funhouse because it was so much "fun" inside. But Simon didn't exactly like the kind of feeling the word "danger" put into his system.
As Simon walked through the hallway away from his room, he suddenly realized that he didn't know where the Danger Room was. He'd seen the upstairs and lower levels enough to have pretty good idea of where rooms and main areas were, but he hadn't set foot in the technologically enhanced levels, such as the hanger bay and such, since his arrival the night before. He had to go find someone who could point him in the right direction.
However, his idea had him reluctant. Simon liked to be the kind of person of the self-sustaining kind. Relying on anyone other than himself was something he tried to avoid as much as possible, for he'd had trouble trusting others except for those he knew very well.
Simon had just rounded a corner when he ran into a most unexpected sight. Professor Xavier was coming from around the corner, straight down the corridor to some unknown location. Simon froze in his tracks to avoid bumping into the Professor where he sat.
"Professor!" Simon said in slight surprise, "I didn't see you there."
Xavier merely smiled warmly at Simon's surprised expression. "That alright, Simon. That wasn't the first time I've had someone accidentally almost run into me in the hallway."
It was amazing how Xavier's warmness could make a person feel better. Simon felt his embarrassment leave him immediately and he straightened himself out. The professor seemed to take notice of Simon wearing his uniform. "I see you found the uniform I placed in you room," said Xavier pointedly, gesturing to Simon's outfit.
"Yeah," acknowledged Simon, "I'm really liking' the suit." He spoke the last part with sincerity.
"Well, I had hoped you would find it satisfactory enough," said Xavier, smiling "I had that uniform designed specifically for you in relation to your powers."
Relation? To powers? How the hell did that apply to a costume? A costume was a costume was a costume. What did powers have to do with it? Simon's brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?" asked Simon, sounding confused.
"That uniform," Xavier elaborated to Simon, "is constructed of a material composed of unstable molecules. It will help when you use your powers and change your physical structure into either your energized state or armored form."
Simon still didn't get it, for he'd never imagined a fabric made up of unstable molecules. "I'm afraid I still do get it," he said.
"Well, Simon," said Xavier, "I'm sure you know that you have the ability to change your bodily tissue into a form of matter." When Simon nodded, Xavier went on. "Well, you're not the only one here who can do that. A few of the New Mutants, Iceman, Magma, and Wolfsbane, can do that as well. Because their forms change when they use their powers, I designed a special fabric made of unstable molecules that would be altered along with themselves when they used their powers. Since you can do the same, I made a uniform for you out of the same substance."
Okay. Simon was really starting to get confused now, mainly by what the professor was talking about in the terms of the three New Mutants he just mentioned. What forms was he talking about? He made a mental note to ask the Prof about that later on. As for the unstable molecules part, how did that help?
"I take it you're wondering how to get to the Danger Room, Simon?" Xavier told his new student, sounding like it was a normal everyday thing.
Simon's eyebrows shot to his brow, surprised that the professor had figured out what his problem was so fast. For a moment, he felt like accusing the professor of reading his mind without permission, but stopped himself in time, remembering Xavier say he never entered another's thoughts without permission.
"Yeah," answered the blond-haired teen, "I'm kinda lost here. I don't suppose you could show me the way?"
"Certainly," said Xavier kindly, "In fact, I was on my way there right now."
"How come?"
"As headmaster of the institute," Xavier explained, "I must oversee the training sessions, both while they're being prepared and also when their underway. I can give the students advice and also monitor their progress. Now, come with me and I'll show you the way."
Xavier then turned and wheeled his wheelchair down the hallway, Simon following behind him. In a minute, they came to a small elevator that was like the kind one finds in an office building. Simon couldn't see any buttons on the wall to open it, but then he spotted a pad that looked roughly the size and shape of a human hand. What was that for?
Xavier pressed his hand flat against the panel, and then a red-lighted line traveled up and down it, then the light next to it turned green. At that same instant, the doors opened. Simon was kind of surprised to see that the elevators here used handprint codes to unlock them. This mansion had more security than he previously thought.
"Please," Xavier motioned to the inside of the elevator, wheeling himself in. Simon joined him. Once they were inside, the elevator started to move.
As the transport moved downward into the more secretive levels of the institute, Simon came to a realization that he should have come to earlier. He was going to be taught to use his powers. In actual combat. With real danger, real opponents, real scenarios that could result in a no-win situation where someone could be hurt or worse. And to be honest, he was very uncertain. And a little afraid.
Ever since Simon had seen the beams of blue electricity those years ago, nothing could have shocked him more than that. Nothing. All those times he spent away from his house and other people, high in the mountains in secluded forests, was so he could get his head together in all that. And there was also the part of him using his powers away from human eyes, trying to understand it more.
But Simon had always been afraid of his powers raging out of control in view of the public. He didn't want other people to see him using them, even if he was saving their lives. They would see him as a freak, for sure. Who in their right mind would want to have a guy who was like a walking nuclear laser cannon around? Then again, who would want to BE a walking nuclear laser cannon
Now here he was, about to use his powers openly in a school where using mutant powers was as ordinary as doing homework. Simon was uneasy about that, his apprehension growing with every step he took. He'd told himself over and over not to use his powers unless he could do it without being seen. And now he felt like he was breaking his own first law. Would he be able to pull this off, like others had undoubtedly done many times? Or would he lose control of his powers and hurt the others students or something even worse?
Professor Xavier's psionic powers gave him a clear feeling of Simon's emotions. The feelings of uncertainty, apprehension, and confusion were as plain as the nose on his face. Xavier could sense that Simon was uneasy about the Danger Room. Most all his students had felt that way before their first session. However, Simon seemed a little more so. It would have been easy to enter his mind and see why. However, it would have been a violation of privacy. So he simply asked the question.
"Are you alright, Simon?" asked Xavier, "You seem anxious."
Simon turned his head to face Xavier as they continued down towards the Danger Room. Simon had thought that he could hide his emotions if he kept his "mask" up. He had tried to, but Xavier could still sense it. Was he becoming transparent in that way? No. This was a telepath here. He had said he could sense emotions of others. He realized that trying to hide your emotions around this guy would be impossible to do.
"Only a little," said Simon, cursing himself for his slight pause before he responded, which was a sign he was more nervous than he was letting on.
Xavier looked at his new student, and could tell he was trying to hide something. The penetrating gaze Simon saw on the professor's face was enough to make you think he could read your mid even if he wasn't a telepath.
"Okay," Simon gave in, "I-I don't feel right about using my powers. I mean-sure I can do some non-harmful things with them, but for the most part, I either destroy something or make a real mess of things when I use them. This is the first time I'm gong to be using them outright."
Anxiety and confusion were clear in Simon's voice, and Xavier didn't even have to use his telepathy to detect it at all. It laced every word Simon said. "I understand your feelings, Simon" said Xavier, "but try to understand, we're only doing this so that we can learn how to help you. Each of our students has needed unique help with their powers, considering how different their powers are from another's. And we need to know how to help you as well."
"I'm not sure I understand," said Simon.
"Simon," said Xavier, "I'm sure you know that I chose to place you on the senior team here at the institute?" Simon nodded. "I did that because I thought it was the best place for you here. However, you must understand that you will have to have rather extensive training in order to become accustomed to senior X-Man responsibility and duty. It will not be easy, but we will all be here to help you. Once you've completed this session, we will then figure out how to proceed. Now, you had better join the others, they're waiting for you." Xavier gestured towards something and Simon noticed that they were in front of a massive metal door, above which it read DANGER ROOM in large red letters.
Simon looked at the big doors with apprehension. Goodness knew what lay behind them. It was a surprise in the biggest of boxes. Simon had never liked surprises, but he had long figured out that with the X-Men, surprises were going to be a daily thing to deal with.
The blond teenager took a deep breath, and then the doors opened, allowing him to step inside. Simon Valley would not be his name for the next hour or so. Now he was Raiden.
Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Evan, and Rogue were all standing in a group inside the Danger Room, awaiting their latest member to join them. All of them were dressed in their uniforms and ready to rock. They had been informed earlier that the Danger Room had been given some major modifications over the last few weeks, adding some new programs and features that Professor X thought could help them prepare for their fights with the enemy even more than before. What they would be going through today would be some sort of run where they would have to deal with hindering obstacles along the way. However, their instructors had not mentioned what kind they were, traps of massive proportions or mobile drones agile enough to avoid their attacks
"Where's Simon?" asked Kitty, "He, like, should have been here by now."
"Professor Xavier just sent me a message that he's coming in a few seconds," said Jean, "He just wanted to give some a few words before he had his first session. Nothing bad or anything. Just a little side-tracked."
Standing tall and confident in his uniform, Scott Summers was more than ready for whatever the professor or Logan had to throw at him. The large yellow X on his muscular chest marked him as a true X-Man, the first of them all. Scott was anything but the average teen for he spent hours training in the Danger Room when he wasn't slammed with schoolwork or cramming for quizzes. And the fact that he was going to have a new member on his squad, well, that would spice it up even more. Challenges were something he welcomed
Rather than wondering about the team, Rogue was wondering how she herself was going to get through this. There were the occasional times, no, many times, that she wished she had more than simply her absorption power to rely on in training sessions. All things considered, her powers really were great tools for turning the odds in the X-Men's favor in battle against other mutants, for she could fell an opponent and juice herself up with the fallen mutant's powers.
But, in the Danger Room, she couldn't really do that unless she felled one of her own, something she hated doing regardless of circumstance. She often felt like an ordinary human training high-tech boot camp style in the Danger Room. Maybe if she had some extra weapons in her arsenal, she could feel more secure and able. But Fate had spit on her from day one of her life. She had the most screwed up powers on the block easily.
"Ah hope Logan doesn't go all deadly and lethal on us," said the southern Goth, "Weh can't really do better if he kills us all."
"No kiddin'," said Kurt, "But I don't think he'd really do zhat to us."
"You should talk," grumbled Evan, "I'm a city kid, not some street fighter. I really think Aunty O and the Prof should let me use my skateboard on this one"
Scott and Jean looked at Evan with a non-believing look. "Not a street fighter?" asked Scott sarcastically, "That doesn't fit with what you pulled on Simon the other night. You looked like you were enjoying fighting when you weren't even supposed to be doing it."
Evan looked at the field leader, who was standing with his arms crossed. "Well," Evan stuttered, remembering the long chat he had been given about that with Xavier and a week of extra chores for not following Scott's orders, "I just got carried away."
"Yeah, like you do on every other mission we go on or training session we do," said Kitty.
Before anyone could comment on that, the doors the Danger Room opened and Simon walked in. Since he was the last to arrive, everyone turned to see him. Simon tried to focus his sights on something other that the gazes of the other X-Men, but found it hard. Having many eyes on him always made him antsy to some degree.
, "Sorry I'm late," Simon announced, "I got a little side-tracked."
"Ve vere hoping you vould be here," said Kurt, sounding teasing.
"Hey, nice suit," said Kitty, eyeing Simon's attire, "Does this mean you're an X-Man and not with the New Mutants?"
All Simon did was shrug. "I suppose. I think I'll know for certain once this session is over," he replied.
"You didn't blow anything up by accident did you?" remarked Evan, chuckling. However, when Evan saw the disproving looks the others were giving him, he stopped. He then looked at the person who was the object of his remark, who looked even more displeased than the others did. "I'd appreciate it if you kept your cracks about my powers to yourself if you don't mind," Simon said coldly in a soft and dangerous tone, his face saying "watch what you say about me around me."
Evan smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Sorry, man. Just slipped." A few of the others groaned.
Rogue was taking a minute to check out Simon in his uniform. She couldn't help but notice how the spandex suit displayed his athletic, well-built body, indicating he really kept himself in shape.
Simon had taken the opportunity to scope out the others in their uniforms, seeing that each of them had their own unique style. Simple yet stylish. He liked that sort of attire. But when he saw Scott's uniform, he was really attracted to the visor Scott was wearing. The golden frame holding it in place looked like real gold, and the single lens looked like it was a sheet of ruby. Simon suddenly saw the visor looked like a single, glowing, crimson eye, like that of a true, one-eyed Cyclops.
"Radical shades, Scott," Simon commented, eyeing the unique eyewear.
A remark like that was something that Scott was not expecting from Simon. Usually, he was hassled about his shades. "Thanks," thanked Scott, "Well actually this is my battle visor. It's what I use in battle. I never wear it in daily life."
"Ah," responded Simon, "Now I know why they call you 'Cyclops.' Because that visor looks like a single eye."
"Got it in one," said Scott, smiling.
After diverting his attention from Scott, Simon couldn't help but take the opportunity to check out Rogue in her uniform. When he had seen Rogue for the first time in her black pants and shoulder-less purple top the other night, he had though she looked shapely and attractive. But her uniform was something totally different. In the form-fitting suit, she looked as sleek as an otter. Every curve of her body was perfectly displayed by the tight material. He would have looked a few more moments, but he quickly diverted his gaze so that she couldn't catch him staring. After all, he was here to train, not to just look.
"Okay, squirts," Logan's voice suddenly echoed through the Danger Room like a bear's roar, "We're gonna run a level 4 sim here, so be sure do be on yer guard. We're gonna do a sim with combat drones in a hostile landscape, so get ready for some tough terrain and no-man's land examples. Your goal is to get everyone to the end before the six-minute time limit is up." Logan sounded slightly amused, which the others, except Simon, knew that he was looking forward to seeing them struggle through this new scenario. Few things amused Logan more than seeing his students struggle and come out exhausted and tired from over exertion.
After hearing the raging Logan speak as if amused by a clown, Simon looked over at Scott who he saw was standing without the slightest bit of fear. "Hey, Scott," asked Simon, "What does Logan mean by 'combat drones?'"
"There's going to be machines that have snare lines and paintball shooters," said Scott, "We sometimes train with paintball shooters before we actually use real energy blasters."
Simon thought on that. He was relieved that they would use paint bullets, but the mention of actual lasers later on made him slightly uneasy. But he pushed that away. "Oh, and Simon," Scott's voice reached his ears again, "remember, we're in a training session now, so remember to use codenames and not our real names."
The codename rule flared back into Simon's mind. Had he forgotten that rule already? So many things to remember as an X-Man. He was glad that he had asked everyone his or her codenames earlier that day, for he didn't want to mess up in that way during a session.
Just then, as everyone suddenly noticed, the room around them shimmered and shifted, as it water-like ripples were engulfing the entire environment. Then, the whole scene changed from a futuristic seeming gladiator's arena into what looked, for goodness sake, like a barren landscape filled with purplish rocks and soaring scarps and landforms. Overhead, purple pink clouds floated across a dimly lit sky like cotton candy.
"This is a holographic environment," Jean explained to Simon, seeing his surprised face, "The professor uses this sort of thing in many of our training programs."
Simon never got the chance to guess on that, for just then a group of flying drones suddenly came flying towards them from the sky. They looked like flying metallic spheres, with weird protrusions that looked like spider legs coming out of them. Some were simply blunt ended and others were tipped in what looked like grappling hooks and claws. They came on quickly, and once they were in range of the X-Men, the drone started firing.
The X-Men scattered as the first hail of paint bullets rained down from above. Everyone managed to avoid getting hit as the paint volleys splattered the ground, dotting it with messy orange smears.
Scott, his battle instincts already in full throttle, was the first to react. After rolling off to the side and then regaining his equilibrium in a kneeling position, he pressed his fingers to the activation button on his visor. A tremendous blast of ruby red energy fired from Scott's eyes, striking the drone dead center. The blast blew the drone apart, tearing it up like it was tissue paper, pieces of wreckage raining down to the ground.
Hmm. He'd be a handful at an optometrist appointment, Simon thought as he saw Scott use his powers.
The seven mutants quickly regrouped as the remaining drones came swooshing around for another attack. The group let loose another round of paint bullets, the orange pellets darting towards the targets. Jean however, was ready, and immediately raised her fingers to her temples and shut her eyes tightly. Half a second later, her psychic energies formed a formidable psionic force field around herself and her teammates. The paint pellets splashed as they hit the shield, which was as strong as any titanium steel barrier.
As Jean kept the pellets from reaching them, Evan raise his arms and shot his spikes at two of the drones. The pointed spear-like tips of the spikes punctured the drones' metallic casing with ease and then came out the other side of them, leaving a smoking gaping hole in their main bodies. The two impaled drones fell, the damage taking them out of the fight.
"Come on, Raiden," Scott suddenly called out to Simon, who seemed to be trying to figure out what to do. Simon looked at Scott when he heard his X-Man name. "We're in training now," Scott told him over the sounds of the drones and the ruckus of the damage, "This is about learning how to use our abilities. You have powers too. Use them," Scott told him as he took another shot at the flying drones.
That was all Simon needed to hear. Looking up at the flying groups of drones, firing away with their guns, Simon's eyes and hands glowed blue with fiery power. Reaching out with both hands, he unleashed a beam. The beam hit its target, creating a large fiery explosion that destroyed the targeted drone as well as the two next to it, the shockwave of the intense blast pushing three of the other drones away. Cyclops and Spike took the provided opportunity to take the remaining ones out with a few spikes and optic blasts, turning the machines into smoking scrap metal or computer chip shish kabob.
Simon saw that the explosion that beam caused was a little larger than he had expected. He needed to use something less deadly until his skills were higher. I better keep the power levels lower for the time being until I get a better hang of things, he thought to himself.
"That groups down," Scott called out to everyone, "let's get a move on before more show up." With that, Scott turned and started to take off down the purplish canyons and stalagmite-like rock spines protruding from the ground. Jean was immediately behind him, and the others soon came to it as well, everyone running towards the end point, edger to get there before the timer reached zero.
"Incoming!" Evan suddenly shouted, pointing up at the sky. The others looked to see another swarm of flying drones hovering in the air and gliding down to target them. Three of the drones already had their guns up and aimed, and once they were in range, the volleys started flying.
Kitty and Kurt were out of Jean's range, and Jean found herself too far away from people to use her psychic shield. Kitty immediately used her powers to get hit, but yet at the same time, not get hit. The molecules of her body shifted through the spaces between those of the bullets, which was like the bullets passing through thin air. The bullets hit their target, but Kitty was not even touched by them.
Kurt, as usual, did his trick of in-the-blink-of-an-eye transportation. He bamfed out of the way, and quickly dodged the bullets, leaving the drones confused as to why their target suddenly vanished without a trace.
Scott let loose an optic blast at one drone, sending it to the junkyard for serious repairs. As more paint pellets flew, he used his blasts to shoot them out before they struck.
Jean quickly erected one of her telekinetic shields to stop the bullets from reaching her, then she quickly used her telekinesis to seize two drones in powerful fields of psychic power. Holding the two in solid grips, Jean then clapped her hands together, and the two drones held in her powers did the same. The two drones crumbled and dented as they collided with each other, crushing under the stress like tin cans, and then they fell.
But as before, even more drones popped up to replace the ones fallen in battle. They came on with their guns up and firing away. "Man, these things just keep coming and coming," Simon commented.
"Well what did yah expect?" asked Rogue, giving him a look and knowing smile.
After seeing that look, Simon mentally kicked himself. "Do I really need to answer that?" he asked her.
Rogue's grin grew wider.
Out of the corner of his eye, Simon saw a drone raise its gun and aim it at Rogue and himself. and the effect it had on him was like a light switch for dangerous action. "Look out!" he sprang and Rogue and used his weight and momentum to push her out of the way. The two mutants tumbled to the ground just as the drones' attacks passed through the space they recently occupied. Rogue suddenly found herself lying on her back with Simon on top of her. She looked up at him, with a look of surprise on her face, to see him looking down at her with a slight smile on her face. Rogue wasn't sure if it was because he was proud he had stopped her from getting hit or if it was a simple "just thought I'd help you." Either way, she felt a slight tinge of heat rise in her face. She sort of felt embarrassed by this, being rescued by someone else simply because she had no powers of her own to use as long-distance offense. But Simon was new, so he didn't know that.
Her thoughts were cut short when another drone flew up behind them. Since Simon's back was to it, he couldn't see it coming. However, Simon had noticed Rogue's eyes shift and spot something behind him and he turned. His left forearm turned blue with energy just as the drone fired. Simon brought up his arm, and his fisted hand then molded itself into a glowingblue shield. Simon raised his shield arm in front on Rogue and himself. The volleys struck the shield, but not a one made it past it. Instead, they splashed and dripped off.
After the volleys were gone, Simon turned his arm back into a normal hand, then he raised his right arm, which was now energy. But instead of forming a weapon, Simon fired it as a thermal beam. Theblue heat struck its target, and the drone grew so hot from the heat that it melted, hitting the ground with a loud PLOP as a flaming pile of glowing orange metallic jelly.
Simon helped Rogue get to her feet, but the time was cut short when two metal cables ending in triple-clawed grips snared both teens. Once wrapped itself around Rogue's legs and yanked, bringing them out from under her. The other seized Simon around the waist.
"What now, Raiden?" asked the goth, seeing that they were both in a tight fix.
"Hang on, Rogue," said Simon. Simon's eyes glowed, then a beam shot from them at the snare line holding Rogue down. The beam quickly melted the point it hit, and the tentacle dissolved in half, the half not connected to the drone going limp and it was easy for Rogue to free herself from its grasp.
Simon looked up at the drone holding him. And an idea formed in his mind. Simon grabbed the snare line with both hands. An outline of blue surrounded his form, lightning surrounding him as Simon focused on his powers to be electrical. Just as quickly, thebolts traveled up the cable, the metal conducting the electricity, like a wire. Once it reached the drone the immense charges overloaded the drone's circuits and shorted them out. Sparks flew and smoke billowed from burst out compartments as the drone fell. Simon was kind of surprised on how that idea worked. First time an it worked.
"All right, that's it for this group!' Scott called, "Let's move!" and took off for the finish again. The others didn't even have to ask why. They gathered their wits and took off as well.
"Keep your eyes open," Jean called, "Watch from more drones!"
"Could we have ground-based machines waiting for us?" asked Kitty.
"Logan never said we would have to worry about that," Evan disagreed.
"Always expect the unexpected, Spyke," Scott called over his shoulder, "We have to be ready for anything."
"Kind of like that?" Simon pointed to something up ahead of them. The X-Men were running down a path towards a large circular platform that they had to reach in order to successfully complete the exercise. They had to get every single person there to pass. If a person went down, then they had to be carried to levitated or teleported or whatever to there in order to pass anyway. But now, the X-Men found themselves, cut off from their goal by a series of ground-based drones. Apparently, Scott had been right in that they had to be ready for anything. Unlike the flying drones, moved towards the X-Men on long spidery legs like tarantulas on the attack.
"Whoa!" Kitty, "Logan never said we'd face drones like that! They really upgraded their robots for this one."
"What was yer first clue?" Rogue remarked.
Just then, as the spider drones moved forward, three appendages suddenly extended from their metallic bodies, each of them ending in a blaster-like mechanism. These drones had three guns each, not just one.
"Three guns?" groaned Evan, "That is so wack, Man."
"Your complaining is not helping us, Spyke," Simon growled at Evan, annoyed for the second time in five minutes by his attitude and wisecracks.
All three of the spider, ground-based drones raised their weapon-armed appendages. And the next instant, the firing began.
"Take cover!" Scott yelled.
Everyone dove for cover behind the rock formations that lined the path. And they did it not a moment too soon. The drone's paint bullets flew past them in a massive hail that would have been unavoidable if there had been no cover. Raiden, Rogue, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat hid behind a large cliff of rock, as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Spyke hid behind another on the opposite side.
Scott and Jean looked around the corner, just a titch to see what was out there. A split second after they did, a stream of paint bullets darted past them. They had to quickly pull their heads back to avoid getting caught in the onslaught.
"Three of them," Jean told Scott, "And they're closing fast."
"How are we gonna get past them," asked Evan.
Scott thought hard for a second. If they tried to go all out firing on them, they could destroy those drones fairly easily. Hell, he and Simon could easily take them all out with a few well placed energy blasts, but they could easily be hit if they did that and since everyone, even those who were hit, needed to make it to the end, they could risk getting hit, because that would slow everyone down, and the goal was for no one to get hit.
Suddenly he had an idea. Maybe if they distracted the drones and lured their attention into one narrow range of attack for a short time, then they could be vulnerable to a surprise attack. And they also had the perfect person to take out electrical devices.
"Guys," Scott called out, trying to talk fast in order to lay out the plan before the drones got too close, "I have an idea. Nightcrawler. Can you teleport Shadowcat behind them?"
Kurt looked confused for a second at Scott's question, as did Kitty herself. "I think so," he called back, "Vhy?"
"The rest of us are going to distract them. I need for the two of you to get in up close behind them and take them out. They won't be able to react that quickly."
The two younger X-men looked confused, but quickly put two and two together. "I'm on it!" Kurt shouted out to Scott to let him know he understood. He then turned to Kitty, "Ready, Kitty?" he asked her.
The Brunette nodded readily. Wasting not another second, Kurt grabbed Kitty's hand with one of his three-fingered ones and then BAMF, they were gone in the trademark sulfurous smoke of Kurt's personal dimensional wormhole opening and closing.
"Ok, people," Scott called out, "Let's give Shadowcat and Nightcrawler the cover they need."
Jean quickly erected the largest psychic shield she could to give everyone protection. As the hail of bullets splashed against the barrier, Scott fired a few optic blasts to make things tough for the drones. Simon fired a few of hisblasts to add some kick to the punch, and Evan of course, let his bony arrows fly like he always did.
As the drones struggled to fend of the formidable attacks from the other X-Men, Kurt and Kitty suddenly appeared behind them. Since the drones couldn't hear, they were unaware of their sudden appearance.
Kurt immediately leaped onto the chassis of the first drone. Seeing several large power cables snaking in and out of the metal exterior, he grabbed them and pulled. When they didn't give, he pulled harder. The cables popped out of their sockets, live wires smoking and sparking with raw electricity. With the sudden loss of power, the drone began to quiver and shake with malfunctioning spasms, its weapon arms going limp. Seconds later, the drone gave out entirely and fell to the ground.
While Kurt was busy, Kitty let her molecules and solid structure go ghosty. She leaped up to the drone in front of her and allowed her body to pass through. She felt neither pain, nor pressure, nor shock or jolt as she phased through the inner computer work, but the drone was getting the short end of the stick. Kitty's phasing made the circuits intermix in ways they were never meant to, and the power to flow through components never meant for such purposes. And as a result, a firestorm of turbulence raged throughout the drone's systems, making everything do wrong at once and then a total blackout followed as the drone, sparking and smoking, fell flat.
As Kitty phased out of the drone, she then walked through the legs of the other one, making them give out and short circuit. Once it was no longer standing, Kitty phased through its body, finishing it off totally.
"They're down!" Kitty called out.
The other X-Men then emerged from their cover and were then back on the path. They then started to run towards their teammates.
But something else was waiting. No sooner than the other five X-Men were on their way, three more spider drones emerged. This time, from behind them.
The others hardly had anytime to react, for they acted even before Kurt or Kitty could shout any warning. The drones fire out their may clawed tentacles at their targets. Evan and Rogue were seized as another two busied themselves with Scott and Simon. Jean was on her own as well.
Kurt and Kitty were about to quickly take off but, they got a surprise attack of their own. Two flying drones, traveling quietly, had charged up their paint guns and let them have several volleys of paint onto them. They didn't notice them until it was too late.
Kitty let out a shriek as she felt he paint splash her, staining her uniform with orange. Some of it landed in her hair, and she was totally pissed about that. It would take her several showers to get it out. Kurt felt upset too. Not only was he out of the game, but he would now look like blue and orange Dalmatian rather than a fuzzy blue elf.
Simon and Scott struggled to get out of their predicament. But they were having trouble. The tentacles that were holding Scott prisoner were holding him so that he was facing away from the drone and couldn't aim his visor at it. As for Simon, he was wondering what power would be best to free himself with.
"What now, Cyclops?" Simon called to his teammate, trying to get his eyes pointed in the right direction.
"I can't get free," Scott answered as he tried unsuccessfully to pull the metal tentacles away from his neck and torso, "I could get rid of this drone if I could just aim my visor in the right direction. Raiden, can you get me loose?"
Simon looked and saw that the tentacle holding Scott was within arms reach of him. Ha could easily do it. "Yeah, sure," Simon answered, "Hang on."
Simon raised his right arm, and morphed it into a glowing blue blade shaped like a crescent. He swung the blue blade at the tentacle as best he could. The blade sliced right through the tentacle like a hot knife through butter, seperating the portion that held Scott from the main body.
Once the arm was cut off, Scott dropped to the ground along with the tentacle that had held him. He pushed the offending metal arm away and then quickly turned to the drone, which was sending out another tentacle to snare the young deputy leader. But Scott was ready. He fired an optic blast at one of the drone's legs, ripping it clean off the main body. Then he fired a second blast at the drone's body, which punched through the metal like a battering ram through a door. The drone would bother him no longer.
As Scott was busy, Simon had turned one of his arms into a blue sword and the other into a blue double-bladed axe. He hacked at the tentacles, freeing himself in the process. After he managed to fall to the ground, he ran to one of the drone's legs and gave it a double slash with both weapons, costing the drone a limb. As the drone struggled to hold itself up with only three of it's four legs, Simon reformed his hands, but kept his energy going. He merged both of his hands and let loose a beam that filled the drone with unstable magnetic charges. Seconds later, it was reduced to disintgrated fragmets.
Scott and Simon gave each other approving looks of congratulations, but then they turned to help the others. Jean had managed to force the tentacles off herself, using her telekinesis. Then she forced the drone back with a massive blast of the mental force. After the drone was a safe distance away, Cyclops and Raiden gave the beast a double combo of energy blasts, extradimensional red force and organic blue power pulverizing the target with annhilating flashes.
Simon looked at Kurt and Kitty, and saw they were splattered with orange paint. "Nightcrawler and Shadowcat have been hit," he reported.
"We have to free Rogue and Spyke," Jean objected. She pointed to the drone holding the other two.
"Raiden," Scott suddenly shot at Simon, who turned to face him. "Double blast on my mark." Simon nodded. "Now!"
Scott fired a red optic blast from his eyes as Simon unleashed a blue heat beam from his arm. Simon's beam struck first, instantly melting the center of the drone's body. The plating grew red hot, then began to run down in viscous rivers of molten metal. The two halved of the drone began to push against each other as the sides melted and squished each other under the weight. But then Scott's force beams struck where Simon's heat ray was melting away the metal, and the force sheared the drone in half, the already soft metal coming apart like wet clay. The tentacles dropped Rogue and Spyke.
With that, the two quickly climbed to their feet as Scott, Jean and Simon rushed over to lend a hand. Just the drone cavalry was just around the bend, and four flying drones came swooping down like birds of prey. They were already firing and the blasts would have taken the X-Men out of the game had Jean not used her telekinetic field to protect them.
Spyke was already locking and loading his spikes as the drones came down hard, and the arrows flew like spears at a wild deer. The pikes took the paint blasts, but the drones themselves were long gone before they could strike.
One of the drones armed its snare line and fired at Rogue as it roared past. The drone's aim was perfect. It caught Rogue around the torso and pulled her up as the drone hovered overhead.
As Evan was trying to take down the other three drones, Scott, Jean and Scott looked as Rouge struggled to pull herself free. Simon was wondering what she should do. Which effect would be safest for Rogue? He suddenly realized he couldn't shoot a beam. He could hit Rogue, she was too close to the drone. He could hurt someone. God in heaven. Why didn't that occur to him in the first place? He couldn't do it.
"Rogue's been snared," Jean exclaimed. She turned to Simon. "Raiden, shoot that drone down with one of your beams."
" I can't," Simon objected, "I might hit Rogue!"
Rogue continued to struggle, but she couldn't get herself loose. Simon just stood there wondering what in the world he could do. He couldn't risk hurting someone. He'd be violating the promise he made to himself long ago. But what else could he do?
Scott was about to tell Simon that he had to do something when he saw the drones coming around for another pass. And their guns were raised. Scott and Jean saw this and immediately moved, trying to get to cover. But Simon was too busy wondering how to help Rogue to notice.
"Raiden! Watch out!" Scott called. But Scott's warning reached Simon's ears too late. The paint volleys were already flying and by the time Simon turned to see what the problem was, he felt several pellets of orange goo strike him. Orange paint splattered over him, his chest, legs, arms, and head. After the shots had passed he looked more like a paint monster than Simon Valley.
And seconds later, a loud buzz echoed through the Danger Room. The timer had reached zero.
Everything and everyone froze. The drone that was holding Rogue let go of her and she dropped to the ground. The holographic world around the X-Men shimmered with static and then vanished, leaving them in the Danger Room. The trashed drones lay there in ruins, and the seven teens were left to consider their failure to finish the exercise successfully.
Everyone looked around them, assessing the situation, all of them breathing hard as their chests heaved in and out from the workout. Kurt and Kitty walked back their teammates, both of them with orange paint on them. Kitty was trying to get some of the orange slime out of her hair, but was having limited success. She would need several showers to get this out. Kurt was feeling similar, only his problem was that he had fur all over his body and that would be hell to wash out.
Rogue by now was back on her feet, for the drone holding her was gone now. Simon stood there in his painted state. Evan was groaning too, for he too had been on the receiving end of some paint blasts.
"I guess we didn't make it," said the skateboarding teen.
"You think?" Simon groaned, wiping thick gobs of paint off his face.
"Man weh totally messed that up," Rogue grumbled, clearly in a bad mood at the failed exercise, "Weh really shoulda been going there."
Just then, the doors to the Danger Room opened, and Logan, Ororo, and Xavier all came in. They looked at their students with teaching eyes.
"Simon, what the hell happened?" asked Logan, his question telling Simon he had seen it all. Logan had a series of emotions on his face, but anger and aggression weren't among them. However, it was evident that he wanted to know what had gone wrong with Simon not reacting fast enough.
"Hesitated," Simon answered honestly, hoping not to get too rough a lecture from the feral Canadian.
"As in, ya though too long before you made your move," said Logan. It was a statement, not a question. Besides what better description for hesitation was there?
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it all up," Simon responded, breathing slightly harder than normal due to his physical exertion.
"Well, Kid," Wolverine told Raiden in a teacher-like manner, carefully studying the newest X-Man, whom he thought to look quite humorous with all the splashes of orange paint on him. "Here's your little lesson of the day. When yer with the X-Men, time and slow reflexes are your enemies."
Simon considered how to respond to that. Logan had a point in every sense, and there was no way he could deny he could have acted faster. But since he was new to this X-Man stuff, he had acted as best as his knowledge of his powers had allowed. But if he said that, it may sound like he was making an excuse. And Logan definitely didn't look like the type of man to make excuses at.
Lucky for him, the others stepped in. "Your not too upset are you, Mr. Logan?" asked Kitty, "He was afraid of accidentally hurting Rogue."
Logan looked at Scott and Jean, who nodded in acknowledgment. "Shadowcat's right," said Scott, "Raiden didn't act fast enough because he wasn't sure of what to do without risking the safety of the team. No real harm in that."
The X-Men could just barely see the slight smile that seemed to cross Logan's lips as he thought about that. They had a point. Now came the task of making that reactions time much, much shorter.
"Alright, ya got the point there," he answered. He looked back to Simon. "I'll accept that this time, since this was yer first session, but we're gonna have to work on that reaction time now." Logan's eyes were hard, like they normally were, but he had a slight smile on his face.
"Got it," Simon let out.
"Well," said Xavier, "That's enough for today. If you all can get yourselves cleaned up, we can get ready for the New Mutants." With that Ororo, Logan, and Xavier left the Danger Room, leaving their students behind to themselves.
Scott came up to Simon, who was looking down at himself. "Man," Simon complained, looking down at himself, "My first session on my first day and I already messed up my uniform."
"You really shouldn't worry about that," said Jean, "This stiff washes out easily."
Simon seemed to take a little comfort in that. Scott then placed his hand on his shoulder. "Sorry if I cost us the exercise," Simon told him.
"Not to worry," said Scott, "You did good. Better than I was expecting in fact."
Simon looked a little surprised by that. He was half expecting to get a lecture from the young field leader, but not that. He then smiled appreciatively at Scott. "Thanks, Scott," he said, "I appreciate that."
AS the team gathered around a few others joined in the conversation. Kurt was looking at Simon's paint splashed body, which was more orange than his own. "I don't know if I speak for zhe rest of uz," said Kurt, "But you do look good in paint."
Simon whirled around at the fuzzy elf, his eyes wide with surprise. Kitty and Evan however, started giggling. Even Rogue seemed to smile a bit that that. "Kurt," Simon groaned in an exhausted tone.
"Well you like, do," Kitty added, still giggling that pretty little valley girl tinkle of a laugh she had. Simon swore that while he was here, Kitty's valley girl antics were going to drive him crazy. Rogue seemed to be thinking the same thing. Goths and Valley girls probably were the biggest contrast in character around.
"Well, come on everyone," said Scott, "Lets hit the showers."
"Good to me," said Jean.
"Me too," said Kitty.
"Me three," added Kurt.
Evan was already headed out.
As the others started to leave, Simon walked over to Rogue, who was scratching her hair with a gloved hand. "Are you alright?" he asked her.
"Yeah, Ah'm fahne," said the southern girl, "ah was just caught off guard when that drone snared meh."
"Well, I'm sorry if I didn't free you in time," said Simon, "I wasn't sure what power to use."
Rogue looked at Simon with confusion in her eyes. Not sure? How did that work? Suddenly she was angry with him, but seconds later she understood. Simon was probably unsure of what was the safest thing to do. And with energy-based powers, who could blame him? Rogue could relate, for she had had to make choices like that regarding her powers in the past, to either use them to save one or more lives, or not use them and risk losing more of herself.
"Ah understand," she said softly to him, "Well, weh should go." She didn't hear an answer right away and looked to see that Simon was looking away from her. As she followed his sight, she saw he was watching Jean and Scott walking out of the Danger Room, and Jean had her arm around Scott's shoulders and Scott had his arm around Jean's waist.
Rogue immediately felt a tinge of envy rise up in her, seeing Jean Grey, the popularity queen get more attention than she needed, but seeing her touch Scott was the hardest part to live with. She chewed on her lip to avoid saying anything bad.
"Those two are an item, aren't they?" asked Simon.
"They're inseparable," Rogue answered, which was true. But as she looked at Simon, she saw there were signs of hurt and longing in his eyes, or maybe envy. Were those signs that he was ill at ease with some part of seeing Jean and Scott together? But what was it? She had trouble coming up with a good guess, for not much about him was known. Suddenly she remembered that redheaded girl in that photo from the other night in Simon's bedroom, the one who looked much like Jean. Was it possible that that had something to do with it? But if it was, what was it?
"Simon?" asked Rogue. He turned to face her. "Are yah alright?" she asked sounding concerned.
Simon quickly nodded his head. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Why?"
Rogue was about to comment on the fact he seemed far away and hurt, but she pushed that aside. It just felt right not to do that sort of thing. "Ah was just wonderin'," she said simply. Were the signs of her envy of Jean and Scott showing as well? She hoped Simon couldn't pin something like that on her.
Simon seemed to accept that. With that, they left to Danger Room to hit the showers.
Well folks, there's this chapter! I've noticed that my chapters are starting to get longer than need be again, so I'll try to fix that in the future. I hope I haven't done too much damage that way. Anyway, the next chapter will be up soon! And remember, the more reviews I get, the faster I update!