Update Author Note (7/17/12)
I've made some more revisions to this chapter. The overall bulk of this chapter remains the same, but with some changes to it. This really shouldn't take all that long. Chapter 6 should be finished hopefully soon as well.
Mike stared at the elevator doors nervously, for some reason he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that plagued him. The more Mike thought about it, the more he felt uneasy. What was this Danger Room actually like? From what Jamie told him, the good Professor used it to help his students learn about their powers. A thought just occurred to him, why would someone as young as Jamie need to train?
He spared a quick glance at the brunette boy standing next to him. Jamie was smiling at the door, waiting for it to hurry up and open already. The blonde simply smiled to himself. They stepped into the elevator when its doors opened with dull hiss.
"Ready?" Jamie asked, smiling.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Mike muttered, leaning against the metal railing.
Briefly glancing around the small elevator, Mike turned his gaze to the preteen again. There was something about this kid standing beside him. He barely knew him, but he felt surprisingly comfortable around him. The blonde teen couldn't explain it.
Maybe it's just my imagination? He thought.
Turning his gaze from the younger teen, the blonde found himself staring down at boots he was currently wearing. Would it kill them to pick any other color beside yellow? He could feel Jamie's eyes on him. Needless to say, it was making the blonde feel slightly uncomfortable.
"...Is something wrong?" He asked, looking at the young boy from the corner of his eye.
Jamie shook his head. "N-No, I was just wondering. Are you nervous about your Danger Room session?"
"Well, maybe just a little. With a name like the 'Danger Room', what's not to be worried about?" The blonde chuckled tiredly. Leaned his head back against the metal wall, he sighed. "To be completely honest Jamie, I'm not sure if I want to do this."
"...You okay?" Jamie asked, almost sensing his apprehension.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Mike lied, avoiding his gaze. The blonde jumped when he felt the younger teen wrap his arms around him.
"...You'll be fine, don't worry."
Mike froze. The younger teen hugged Mike around the middle, offering him an encouraging smile. Before he knew it, the blonde found himself returning the hug. At that moment, he finally realized what the strange feeling from earlier really was. Was this what it was like to have a friend?
"Thanks, Jamie."
The elevator reached its destination as the two teens pulled away. The blonde stepped out into a small circular room filled with various monitors and machines. He could see the Professor off to the side talking with someone he wasn't familiar with. Sensing that they had company, the two adults turned to see Jamie leading Mike over.
"Ah, hello Michael." Charles greeted smiling. "I apologize for doing this so early in the morning, but I thought we could get a head start on learning the basics of your powers. Thank you for your help Jamie."
"It was my pleasure, Professor." The preteen grinned.
"Hello, Professor Xavier." Mike greeted quietly.
"Did you have any problems sleeping last night?" Charles asked kindly. He took in the blonde's overall appearance, noting the small bags under his eyes.
"Not really. I only woke up once last night, but went right back to bed." Mike retorted, leaving out the part of his moonlit stroll last night.
Charles simply smiled at him. "I'm glad to hear that. How are you today?"
"I'm not sure, really." Mike admitted sheepishly. "The whole being able to generate dark energy still kinda freaks me out. But the idea of being able to control gravity terrifies me."
The Professor nodded, knowingly. "That's understandable."
Mike turned his head to look at the person standing next to the Professor. She was a tall woman with long stark white hair, light blue eyes and mocha colored skin. She wore a white sleeveless blouse, a long purple skirt and dark brown sandals. What really caught his attention was the variety of different earth tones that comprised her outfit. They complemented her dark complexion perfectly.
She offered him a warm smile. "You must be Michael Soletta. You're just as handsome as Jean said you were."
He felt himself blush. "Uh, t-thank you. ...And you are?"
"My name is Ororo Munroe. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." She extended a hand out to him. "I'm one of the instructors here at the Institute."
He reached out to shake her hand. "It's nice to meet you too."
"The Professor has told me a little bit about you. I trust that you're enjoying your stay at the institute?" She asked kindly.
"Yes, ma'am." The blonde smiled timidly. "The Institute does seem to be the best place for me, at least for now."
"Now that you are here, I trust that Jamie has informed you as to why I had him bring you down here?" The Professor asked, getting straight to the point.
The blonde nodded.
"I know that it's a little early, but I'd like very much to test your powers." Charles reached over to type something on the console next to him.
"Test my powers, you mean i-in the Danger Room?" Mike asked, shifting his feet awkwardly.
Charles simply nodded. He didn't need his telepathy to tell that the blonde was nervous. "Yes, if it's all right with you."
"...But what if I fail?" Mike looked down at his feet. He didn't even try to hide how nervous he really was.
"Michael, there is no grade for this." Charles reached out to place a hand on Mike's arm. He gave the blonde's arm a reassuring pat. "This is merely a way to measure the full extent of your powers. That way we'll know what your particular needs are, and what we should do to accommodate them."
"Okay, I'll try." Mike sighed. The blonde looked to Jamie, who smiled and gave him a thumps up. "But I'm telling you right now, don't expect much."
Ororo chuckled, reaching out to place hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, child. Just take your time, and do your best. Just remember you can go at your own pace, there's no rush."
"Jamie, would you mind showing Michael to the Danger Room?" Charles turning his attention to the console nearest to him. He typed down a few commands into the computers.
"Sure thing, Professor!" Jamie grinned, eager to be of use.
The young teen grabbed Mike's hand, pulling him eagerly towards the elevator. The blonde allowed the younger teen pull him towards the door. The kid had quite a grip for someone his age. The two adults waited for the elevator to close before exchanging amused looks.
"Ah, friendship." Charles mused, smiling.
"Agreed." Ororo smiled, brushing a loose strand behind her ear. "I'm sure this bonding experience will do them both some good."
The telepath nodded, putting in some last minute commands into the Danger Room's main computer. "Let's just hope for the best."
(-)
Mike stood under the observatory deck, looking around his current surroundings. There really wasn't that much to it. Other than the light fixtures under the observatory, it was just an empty metal room. He looked at the observatory above him. He could see Charles and Ms. Munroe looking back at him from the window. If he squinted hard enough, he could make out Jamie's form standing next to the telepath.
Mike took a few breathes to calm himself. Okay, remember just keep calm.
It was now or never.
"Okay, we're going to start off with some simple exercises." Charles said calmly. "Let's begin with testing your telekinetic like abilities."
The Danger Room gave off a very faint humming sound. The metal walls changed into a medium sized room with a navy blue tile design. Looking at his new environment briefly, the pale teen turned his attention to the observatory deck. It pretty much remained unchanged. Returning his gaze back to the front, he watched ten wooden boxes finish materializing around him.
Mike took a deep breath before letting it out. "Alright, here goes nothing."
He focused his attention on the first three boxes. He raised his arms out in front of him, slowly closing his eyes. Thinking back to last night, Mike tried picturing the boxes in his mind. He concentrated solely on the first three boxes in front of him. The pale teen could feel the familiar surge of energy pulsing through his fingers. He slowly spread out his fingers, letting the familiar energy surge to his hands. He heard the wooden boxes creak lowly.
He cracked an eye open hesitantly.
Upon seeing the boxes outlined by the familiar black energy, the blonde let out the breath he had unknowingly been holding. Moving his hands in one fluent motion, the boxes trembled slightly and started to float off the ground. He flicked his wrist sharply, sending one box flying through the air and watched it smash up against the far wall.
"Good, now that you've established a link, I want you to try and extend your control to the remaining seven." Charles instructed calmly. He kept a close eye on the monitors that showed the teen's energy output. "While you reach out to the other ones, I want you to try and keep your hold on the ones you already have."
Mike nodded his understanding to them. With his right arm, Mike reached out with his hand and closed his eyes again. Clearing his mind again, he tried picturing the remaining seven with the two already under his influence. The blonde could feel the energy building up in his fingertips. Mike felt the energy spread outwards to his desired targets. He winced slightly as the energy wrapped around the boxes. It almost felt like his limbs were being stretched out. Slowly raising his arm, the remaining boxes soon started to levitate as well.
"Excellent, you're making good progress so far." The telepath praised. He typed something on a nearby keyboard, and quickly glanced at the teen's energy output. The readings so far were good. He had noted a small spike when Mike had reached out to take control of the other boxes.
"So far, so good." The blonde muttered tiredly.
Releasing his hold on the boxes, he watched them fell back to the floor. Mike paused to look at them for a moment. A small smile appeared on his lips as an idea popped into his head. The blonde curled his hand into a tight fist, feeling the dark energy flow into his hand.
Without warning he quickly unclenched his fist, letting the energy fly out of his open palm. The blonde watched as a discharge of black energy struck the boxes closest to him. As soon as the energy made contact with his target, the crates exploded violently.
"Whoa!" Mike yelped in surprise.
He looked down at his hands, watching the dark energy crackle around his fingers.
Taking a quick glance at the remaining boxes around him, the pale teen smirked slyly. Thrusting his arm out to a crate in the corner, the crate levitated towards him. The pale teen sharply on his heels, and threw his arm back before throwing it forward.
The crate flew through the air, just as Mike lifted his other arm up to follow the airborne object. His left hand was glowing with dark wisps of energy, which seemed to crackle around his fingers like small surges of electricity. Without batting an eye at his target, the dark energy shot off his palm and made contact with the crate, causing it to explode.
"He's a natural." Ororo mused, watching yet another crate being destroyed.
Charles nodded in agreement. "Indeed. He's being showing a lot of self control. If he were to practice daily, I'm sure Mr. Soletta shouldn't have that much trouble with controlling his powers. Although, we should still be mindful of his emotional state."
"Why should we do that, Professor?" Jamie asked, speaking up for the first time during the entire session.
"An excellent question Jamie. You see Michael's powers act a lot like Ms. Munroe's. Both of their powers are tied to their current emotional state." Charles explained, typing away at the console in front of him.
The young teen raised an eyebrow raised in confusion. "I thought that applied to all mutants, not just Ms. Munroe?"
The Professor chuckled lightly. "Well, in certain ways it does. But in this case, Michael's powers are directly influence by his emotions. Strong emotions, such as anger or fear, could make him lose control. But at the same time, it's quite possible that his powers will become that much stronger."
"So, if left unchecked, he could lose himself to his powers?" Ororo assumed, keeping an eye on the blonde teen below.
"It's possible, but all we can really do is just keep an eye on him." Charles said, watching the blonde teen as he levitated another wooden crate. He soon made short work of it by quickly clenched his left hand into a fist, causing the crate to be crushed like a soda can.
Mike breathed heavily, wiping some sweat off his forehead with the back of his gloved hand. Glancing down at his hands, the pale teen slowly clenched them into fists. The energy seemed to come on command now, all he had to do was clear his mind. The blonde slowly unclenched his fist, watching the dark energy fade from his hand.
"Not bad for my first try." He chuckled, letting out a small satisfied sigh. The room started to hum again as the destroyed crates faded away. The intercom crackled to life once more, drawing Mike's attention away from his hands.
"Now that we've done some tests with your shadow telekinetic abilities, I believe that it's time to move on to your Gravitokinetic abilities." Charles suggested, typing in a few commands into the Danger Room computer.
The blonde teen raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word. "Gravitokinetic?"
The telepathy cleared his throat before continuing. "Yes. For this part of the test, we're going to examine your ability to manipulate the gravity around you."
The room started to expand outward, giving the blonde more room to move around. Around him various large and small objects materialized in front of him. Mike looked to at various crates and metal trash cans with a blank expression.
"Now, I want you to try decreasing the amount of gravity of these objects." The telepath said, watching him expectantly.
"Yeah. Easier said, than done." The blonde snorted, under his breath.
The pale teen didn't have much experience with his other power. The dark energy seemed to be the easier one to call on. In theory, it was most likely possible that it could work the same way. He turned his gaze to the trash cans.
If that was the case, then maybe it just might work. He thought. Closing his eyes once again, the blonde teen breathed in deeply then exhaled quietly. Picturing the trash cans in his mind, he reached out with his left arm and let his fingers spread apart.
At first he didn't feel anything, the usual tingling feeling he got when using the dark energy didn't come. The blonde's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. He tried again, but got the same results a few seconds later. He had pictured the trash cans in his head, but the energy wouldn't come.
Wait a minute. The blonde thought, opening his eyes slowly. Maybe just thinking about them isn't enough.
An idea popped in his head, instead of simply picturing the trash can in his head, maybe he would have to picture them levitating. He scoffed at the thought, but something in the back of his mind kept nagging him to at least give it a try.
Worth a shot, I guess.
Closing his eyes again and clearing his mind, Mike imagined the trash cans in his mind. But this time he tried imaging them levitating in the air. Free from the strong pull of the earth's gravity. That's when he felt a very small tingling sensation at his fingertips. It wasn't very strong, but he could still feel it faintly. The more he thought about the feeling of weightlessness, the tingling feeling slowly started to travel up his fingers.
He could faintly hear the trash cans creaking lowly. Cracking an eye open, Mike looked at his hand. The blonde's gloved hand gave off a very faint purple tinted glow. His eyes traveled over to the trash cans. The rusted metal was also giving off a similar purple tinted glow. The pale teen raised his outstretched arm, hesitantly. The trash cans began to rattle lowly, and slowly started to levitate a few inches of the ground.
The blonde teen felt a smug smile tug at his lips.
A small sense of satisfaction swelled in his chest. He actually felt proud of his own personal accomplishments for once. Making a swift motion with his left arm, the metal cans shot into the air and simply levitated in the air. Turning his attention to the wooden crates, the pale teen made a small waving gesture with his right hand. The purple glow extended itself outwards to the crates. With another small gesture, they also joined the metal cans in the air.
"A little bit more work, than I originally thought. But well worth it." Mike reached up to wipe another bead of sweat from his pale brow. It was then that small wave of dizziness hit him without warning. He stumbled backwards, trying to regain his bearings.
What was that just now? Was it because he tried to control too many objects at once, or was the fatigue from last night finally getting to him? Luckily, the wave of dizziness had stopped as soon as it started.
"Michael, are you alright?" Charles asked concerned.
"Y-Yeah, I just zoned for a minute there." Mike felt himself nod, trying to soothe the small headache that was forming. He ran a shaky hand through his pale hair.
"Are you sure? We can stop here, if you're feeling tired." Charles suggested.
"Professor, I'm fine. Let's just continue, please." The blonde assured, turning his attention back to the task at hand. He was trying very hard to snap in annoyance. Mike just wanted to get this done and over with. "Okay, what do you want me to do next?"
"You're making excellent progress today, Mr. Soletta." The telepath praised. It was simply amazing. In such a short amount of time, Mike learned how to harness his shadow telekinetic powers and to use his gravity powers. "There are a few more things I'd like to test. But for now, I want you to try increasing the gravity gradually."
Mike nodded his understanding.
Raising his arms up, the blonde focused his attention only on the crates. He felt the energy build up inside his body as a dark purple aura illuminated his body. Making a slight hand gesture, the purple tinted aura started to glow harshly. With a casual twist of his left wrist, the crates shook violently and hurtled towards the ground with surprising speed. The crates shattered violently upon impact with the floor.
The blonde waited for the small cloud of dust to settle before approaching his handiwork. The ground around the smashed crates was cracked in a spider web like design. Bending down to look at the cracked tile, Mike whistled lowly. "Okay, maybe that was a little too much."
Looking over his shoulder, he stared at the trash cans still levitating in the air. They seemed unaffected by the increased level of gravity. Reaching out to them with his hand, he could almost feel the difference in gravity. While he had drastically increased the gravity on the crates, the gravity around metal cans had remained the same.
How can I describe it? He thought, alternating his gaze from the destroyed wood and the floating metal. With the crates it felt like a pulling sensation, but with the cans there's no feeling at all.
Pushing his body into standing position, the pale teen cocked his head slightly. Is this what weightlessness feels like?
The blonde made a dismissing gesture with his hand. The purple glow faded from his gloved hand and trash cans altogether. When the glow faded from the trash cans, they fell as the gravity around them returned. They landed with a loud clang on the tiled floor, and rolled harmlessly around him. With a small waving gesture, the metal cans once again glowed with a purple aura. The blonde snapped his fingers loudly as trash cans creaked lowly.
"Alright, let's try this again."
The pale teen reached out with his hand towards the trash cans. The purple aura shined brightly around his gloved hand. The metal started to creak even louder, the purple aura glowed faintly around the metal cans. Mike slowly curled his fingers, the metal clanked loudly as they pressed down on themselves. It wasn't long before the rusted trash cans were crushed flatter than a pancake.
"Much better." Mike smirked, satisfied with his accomplishment.
Willing the purple aura to fade from his hand and flattened metal, Mike sighed loudly in relief. The navy tiled room began to fade, taking the destroyed crates and flattened metal with it. He was once again in the empty room he started out in. The pale teen wiped the sweat off his furrowed brows. He brushed a damp lock of hair out of his eyes.
"We're getting some interesting readings on your Gravitokinesis. I'll show you after the test." The blonde teen turned his head towards the observatory. For some reason, he didn't like the way that sounded.
Interesting readings, huh? He thought, reaching up wipe away the sweat trickling down his forehead. The iron weight of fatigue was starting to make itself known. He rubbed at his eyes, trying to fight the feeling of exhaustion that currently plagued him. At least the test was over now, maybe now he could back to his room and sleep some more.
"Now that we've seen what you're capable of, I think it's time to move on to the second part of the test." Charles said, typing in a few commands into the computer. "For this next part, I'm going to test how well your endurance is with some combat exercises."
"Nani?" The blonde stuttered. The color drained from his already pale face, leaving him as white as a sheet.
The Professor chuckled. "Don't worry; it's just a standard test we give to all new recruits. While this is only an exercise, please be aware that you are in a minimal amount of danger."
Oh, you've gotta be kidding me? The blonde groaned.
Combat exercises? This wasn't what he had signed up for when he agreed to come here. But knowing how to defend yourself was also pretty important. Especially if the situation should ever arise. Despite taking a few self-defense classes back home, Mike really wasn't that good at hand-to-hand combat.
He didn't have much time to debate this as the room hummed to life once again. The pale teen saw a dark green sentry robot materialized a few feet away from him. Eyeing the robot warily, the machine simply stood there with its head down. The combat drone's hand twitched slightly as it came to life. Slowly lifting its head, the blonde got a clear look of the drone's face. The drone's face was completely blank, aside from a small red circle that probably served as the machine's eyes.
"Well, so much for going back to bed." Mike muttered, moving his body into a defensive stance.
(-)
Rogue walked into the crowded kitchen with a tired yawn. Making her way straight to the fridge, the southern belle looked half-heartedly at the contents in it. Too tired to care, she grabbed an apple off the top right shelf. She ignored the loud chatter around her, taking a seat on the nearest vacant bar stool. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see some of the recruits off to one side.
"Hey, have any of you seen the new guy, yet?" Jubilee asked in a hushed voice.
Rogue rolled her eyes, taking a large bite out of her apple. She had to listen to Kitty grill her for all the 'juicy' details on the new guy last night, and now this? Why did everybody have to be so damn nosy around here? Seriously?
"Well, Rahne and Jamie got a good look at him when they came in last night." Amara chimed in, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Speaking of Multiple, I haven't seen him all morning." Bobby leaned back in his chair. "Not that I'm complaining."
"Well, what did Rahne say?" Jubilee leaned in close.
The southern belle snorted, going back to her apple. Taking another bite out of it, she slid off her chair and moved to the opposite end of the kitchen. Hopefully, she wouldn't be dragged into the conversation if she kept her distant from the gossiping recruits. Sliding into the seat next to Kurt, Rogue watched him crave up the waffle on his plate.
"Morning, Rogue." Kurt greeted, stuffing a piece of waffle in his mouth.
"Morning, fuzz ball." She retorted dully.
Kurt raised an eyebrow at the southern belle. "Is something the matter, Rogue?"
"Not a damn thing, blue." Rogue grunted, taking another bite of her apple. "I'm just peachy."
The German teen shrugged, turning his attention back to his waffle. "Well, if you say so."
The southern belle propped her head on her hand, examining the remains of the apple listlessly. That annoying valley girl had almost kept her up half the night, trying to get her to spill what she knew about the new guy. She scoffed at the very thought of her roommate. The kitchen door slid open with as a tired looking Scott and Jean trudged in. Behind them was a loud, talkative Kitty following closely on their heels.
"Kitty for the last time, we don't know where he is!" Scott snapped, clearly aggravated by the petite girl's unrelenting questions.
Rogue snorted sourly. "Well, speak of the friggin devil."
"But you guys were, like, the last ones to see him last night!" Kitty whined disappointedly.
"So that automatically makes us his keepers?" Jean asked irritably, rolling her eyes. "Maybe he heard that you were looking for him, and decided to flee for his life."
The petite brunette huffed and turned sharply on her heel. She headed straight for the fridge, and began taking random things out. The two eldest teens smirked before taking their seats at the table across from Kurt and Rogue. Scott stifled a tired yawn with the back of his hand, while Jean rubbed at her throbbing temple gently.
"Well, everybody seems to be in a good mood this morning." Kurt chuckled lightly. He was met with twin glares from the girls at the table.
"Shut up, Kurt." The three teens snapped in unison.
They watched the younger teens quickly file out of the dining room to get ready for the rest of the day. As the door closed, the room was quiet with the exception of the birds singing outside. Kitty took a seat on one of the bar stools. A steaming bowl of oatmeal in one hand and a bottle of honey in the other. Kurt stuffed the last of his waffle into his mouth, and moved to go put his dirty dish away in the sink. He turned the faucet on to wash the plate in warm water, and placed it in the dishwasher.
"So, does anybody have plans for the rest of the day?" The German teen asked, breaking the silence.
"Not really." Scott answered, getting up to grab an apple off the counter. Kitty smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but Rogue glared at her darkly.
"I swear to god, Kitty." Rogue scowled, giving her roommate a murderous glance. "If the next words out of your mouth are about the new guy, I'm gonna kick ya three ways to Sunday."
The petite girl huffed angrily. "Well, excuse me for, like, wanting to make him feel welcome."
Rogue snorted rudely. "I'm sure he's looking forward to that kind of welcome." She muttered, under her breath.
"What was that?" Kitty glared at her.
"Knock it off you two." Scott groaned. The last thing he wanted to do was break up a fight, especially this early in the morning. "He'll come downstairs when he wants to. Besides, going from one time zone to another can be pretty exhausting."
The two roommates ceased their glaring with a huff. The older brunette sighed tiredly, while Jean and Kurt snickered to each other. Kitty looked around the kitchen lazily. Usually there would be at least one adult in the room at all times.
"Has anyone seen the Professor yet?"
All of them shared a look before shaking their heads. Usually the older telepath was already in the kitchen when they came down for breakfast. It was very rare to not see him already here reading the paper at the table.
"I haven't seen Ms. Munroe yet either." Rogue added, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
Scott and Jean exchanged quick glances. "They're probably still on the grounds. Jean can you che-"
A low rumbling filled the air as the kitchen began to shake violently. The sound of shattering glass filled the air as plates and other glass objects fell to the floor below. The rumbling was quickly replaced with the lows sound of an explosion going off below them. The five teens quickly shot into action, grabbing onto whatever they could get their hands on.
The harsh vibrations caused the doors of a nearby cabinet to push open, sending expensive China dishware falling to the tiled floor. Jean was the first one to response. Immediately reaching out with her telekinesis, she tried to save as many dishes as she could.
The shaking had finally ceased, leaving the room quiet once again. The red haired teen casually waved her hand, willing the dishes to move back into place. With another wave, the doors closed tightly. All of them exchanged cautious glances at one another.
"O-Okay, like, what the heck was that?" Kitty asked cautiously. She placed her bowl of, now cold, oatmeal on the counter.
"Gee, Captain Obvious. If I had to guess off the top of my head, I'd have to say an explosion." Rogue answered sarcastically. The petite brunette shot an angry glare at the southern belle, who returned it with an annoyed scowl.
"Give it a rest already, you two." Scott ordered sternly. He was already making his way out the kitchen door. "Judging from that explosion, it probably came from the Danger Room. Let's go make sure that no one was hurt!"
The four teens rushed after him, and made their way towards the nearest elevator. They ran down the adjacent hallway before reaching their destination. Kurt reached over to a small keypad, typing the controls in a certain order. The elevator doors slid open with a low hiss. After managing to cram into small elevator, Scott reached over to the elevator controls and pressed the down arrow. The elevator jerked before slowly making its descent.
"Anyone else get the feeling that it was just Mr. Logan?" Kitty suggested nervously. She leaned against the hand rail, shifting her feet nervously. The older teens shared an amused look.
The southern belle rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't surprise me, if he did."
"Trust us on this one Rogue. We've both known Logan for a while." Scott said matter-of-factly. "But I highly doubt that he could actually pull that off."
"Well, not yet at least." Jean added with a small smile.
"Didn't he just get back, from wherever he went, last night?" Kurt asked.
Jean thought for a moment before nodding. "I think he got back around eleven actually."
The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened as the teens walked out, but stopped short. The main fiberglass window was severely cracked in a spider web like design. Overall the window was still intact, but the extent of the damage made it impossible to see out of it. Luckily, the rest of the windows were left undamaged during the blast.
Scott was the first one to recover, and cautiously stepped forward into the control room. He looked to the side, spotting both Charles and Jamie off to the side of the control room. Charles had an expressionless look on his face as looked at something in particular.
Scott was at his mentor's side in an instant. "Professor! What happened, are you and Jamie alright?"
"We're alright, Scott." The telepath answered, turning his gaze away from the window. He offered the tall brunette a reassuring smile. "Luckily, the fiberglass managed to protect us from the explosion."
Jean and Rogue walked over to stand behind Scott, while Kitty and Kurt went to examine the damaged window. The German teen simply whistled at the damage. The petite girl eyed the glass nervously, afraid that it would shatter if she looked at it the wrong way.
Jean wordlessly walked over to Jamie and gently placed a hand on the preteen's shaking shoulders. The young teen tensed at the touch, but look over his shoulder at the tall redhead. She smiled kindly at him, and gently pulled him into her arms. The small brunette wrapped his arms around her tightly, seeking her comfort.
"It's alright, Jamie." She soothed quietly. The red head gently drew small comforting circles on his back. She slowly guided him over to the other side of the control room. Rogue shot the preteen a sympathetic glance before turning her gaze to Charles.
"So, what the heck happened down here?" Rogue asked, cutting straight to the point.
The Professor turned his attention back to the window. "We were testing Mr. Soletta's abilities to see where he currently was with his powers. However, I didn't realize just how hard he was pushing himself until it was too late."
Scott and Rogue shared a look before moving to look down into the room below them. The color drained from their faces at what they saw. The floor was littered by multiple damaged combat sentries and drones. Scott noted that some of them were slashed in various different ways. Some of them were cut down the middle, while others from the waist up.
Rogue noticed that the center of the Danger Room was left undamaged, while drones outside the center were crushed like tin cans. Ororo was currently putting out a small fire in the corner with a small rain cloud that she conjured up.
Something in the right corner of the Danger Room caught her eye. Something small was huddled closely to the wall, as if it was trying to disappear. It was a small figure dressed in a blue uniform with their legs drawn up to their chest. They were holding their head tightly in their yellow gloved hands. It was hard to tell, but it looked like they were sobbing quietly. Almost like a scared child clinging to their mother during a thunderstorm.
That someone was Michael Soletta.
8/11/12
Well, that makes the last of the revisions. Which means I can rest easy knowing that I can freely write chapter 6 without going back to make revisions. Well I've started writing for chapter 6, so hopefully I'll get it out soon. Thank you for your patience.
Until we meet again,
-Cyprin-san.
Translations:
Japanese:
Nani?
何? (What? Informally)