A/N: Chapter 5 is here! And FINALLY with some action! I must say that I have plenty of plot outlines ready that contain LOTS of action, but it'll take a while to get there – I need to introduce all the little plot ties first.
Secondly, thank you very much to nellybell515 and Stephanie STARK for reviewing! I understand what you mean about Charlie/Charles, but Charlie will be called more and more of his codename once more action starts, and Charles is primarily Xavier. A lot more of my OC's will be introduced next chapter, but beloved X-men and women will be brought in too. Enjoy!
Chapter 5: The Danger Room
I spent the rest of the day discussing.. or rather trying to discuss the Danger Room with Charlie and Reya, but both seemed more interested in the basketball game on the screen. Whenever I managed to pull their attention away from it, they were to cryptic with there answers. "Just wait until tomorrow, don't wanna ruin the surprise" Charlie said with a wink. Eventually I gave up and we went to dinner.
Annabell appeared at dinner, now looking a little better. She was still quiet, but not so much as before. Reya seemed to have forgotten all about the argument and chatted on and on. I really wanted to know where Bastion was, as he still hadn't shown up, but I decided against it at a glance at Annabell. The last thing I wanted was her crying again.
In the end, I decided I wanted an early night after the late one the night before. I climbed back into bed and laid in the dark, waiting for sleep to come while my side throbbed slowly and deliberately. Finally, I drifted off.
The next morning I was awoken by Charlie again, and was ushered into the shower. Once out and changed, Charlie grabbed his books and we left our room. There were more students than I had ever seen walking the hallways, all in groups chatting and laughing or running to first morning lessons.
"I've got to escort you to the Subbasement, just so you don't get lost. Perfect for me, cos' I get to miss out on the start of Professor Summer's history lesson" he said with a grin that made his brown eyes sparkle.
"Subbasement? So is that like.. below the mansion?" I asked as he steered me through the door under the grand staircase, as if we were walking to Xavier's office.
"Bingo. Its.. well its something. Xavier must have spent a serious fortune building it.. Its the base of.." he bit his lip as if he were going to say something, and then began to laugh as we stopped next to a set of wide oak doors with a metallic X printed above them. "Well, hopefully you'll find out"
I sighed in frustration with more of the secrecy. Charlie leaned past me and pressed a button that I hadn't even seen, and the X became illuminated by a faint blue glow. The oak doors slid open to reveal the inside of a metallic elevator. "After you" he said with a dramatic arm wave.
"Are you excited?" Charlie asked, pressing the SB button. At once the elevator descended smoothly.
"To find out what all this secrecy about the Subbasement and Danger Room are? Yeah! Anyone would think you guys were some secret superheroes" I said with a laugh. I noticed Charlie's grin spread a little wider.
The elevator doors slid open again with a slight hiss; and my mouth fell open. The Subbasement was the complete opposite of the grand, traditional mansion upstairs. Everything was bathed in a faint blue light from the strips of blue on the ceiling and walls. The walls were smooth, shiny and metallic, and the floor was tiled and white, almost sterile. From what I could see, the hallway we were in went round and curved.
Charlie began to laugh at the amazed look on my face as we stepped out, following the curve round. We passed various circle shaped doors, emblazoned with an X. "Danger Room is just around here... I'm sure you'll get to explore the rest of this with time"
"But.. but how? Why?..." I stuttered.
"Well, Xavier likes to make sure we have somewhere safe and controlled to practice our powers. And the other rooms all have other purposes, but thats up to him to tell you" he said with a knowing glint. Ten minuets later in which I marveled at the place, we reached one of the doors,which looked most like all the others, and Charlie stopped.
"This is as far as I take you. Good luck bro, and have fun" he patted me on the shoulder and turned off back towards the elevator.
I turned to the door, and stepped forwards. The X broke in half and the doors slip open again, and I stepped into what looked like a observation bay. Everything was metallic, blue and tiled just like outside. But there was a wide set of consoles and controls that spanned one whole stretch at the other end of the room, and a huge sheet of glass or plastic that enabled you to see into a massive... absolutely massive room. It took me a second or two to notice Professor Xavier's metallic chair, he turned at my entrance and beckoned me over.
"Good morning Max, how are you?" I simply nodded at first and then stuttered into speech.
"I'm.. I'm fine thanks Professor"
"Excellent. I can tell you are thoroughly surprised" No shit! I thought, before hastily reminding myself I was next to a formidable psychic. "Ah Logan, is everything ready?" Xavier said as a set of doors I hadn't noticed opened, admitting a tall, burly and gruff looking man. He had a fuzz of facial hair and black hair streaked with white. The way he walked over to the two of us gave me the distinct impression this guy was a brawler.
"S'all done Professor, all rarin' to go for the new squirt" he grunted. He sounded just as intimidating he looked, but I still felt my eyes narrow... squirt?.
"Now now Logan, that will be enough. Max" he turned to me "This is Logan, he teaches Danger Room sessions and gym at the Institute. Logan, this is Max, our newest student" I held out my hand with a polite smile, but Logan simply glared down at my hand before smirking.
"You ready to bust some bots' up?" he asked.
"Errm.. well I don't actually know what I'll be doing" I replied, going slightly red.
"Not to worry Max, I will explain. The Danger Room" he gestured to the massive room beyond the plastic viewing screen "Is a very useful function at the Institute. Our residing inventor, scientist, general genius Hank Mc Coy is extremely proud of it. It enables us to create and generate various situations under controlled conditions that enable students to practice their abilities. Thanks to holographic projectors and a detailed database we can create almost any scenario, while being able to change the level of danger" he stated, very matter of factly.
"We use bots' for everyone to smash up when there practicin'" Logan said, striding over to the controls.
"Bots'? As in robots?" I said slowly.
"As in robots, yeah. They take a bit of a beatin'.. and they give out as good as they get" he said over his shoulder with a dark laugh as he fiddled with some of the buttons. I felt myself gulp.
"Logan, stop scaring Max. Ignore him Max, Logan is exaggerating. We use hand made drones to stimulate fights. And we can also choose which setting they're damage protocols get set at – obviously as its your first session they will be at the lowest setting – you'll feel nothing more than a slight burn from the lasers" Xavier said with a reassuring smile. All the same I felt my stomach flip... lasers?.
"But.. Professor... I've never used my powers willingly. Like I told you.. I always woke up and I'd used them. I won't be able to do a lot unless I black out.." I said quietly, with a rush of humiliation.
"That was before, but in most cases instincts kick in and your powers will be forced to surface. The point of the Danger Room is to simulate dangerous situations in which students would have to use there powers" he stared his dark eyes at me and seemed to sense my apprehension. "Really Max, don't worry. If it all gets too much for you, just simply tell us and we'll halt the program immediately" something about the way he spoke soothed my nerves a little.
"Up and runnin' Xavier! Ready for Maxy boy here" Logan called – I noticed that the small screens on the consoles were all alert and the controls were making various beeping noises. The Danger Room was also now lit by huge strip lights.
"Excellent. Now Max, if you follow me over here..." Xavier spoke as his chair hovered over to another door, which opened onto a decent sized changing rooms of sorts. Xavier motioned to a leather black all in one suit with padded shoulders, knees and elbows. "These are the uniforms we wear in the Danger Room sessions, they're kevlar lined and soften blows and so on. You'll also find a small radio ear piece, put that on and come out when your ready" with that he hovered back out.
With slightly shaking hands I removed my plain black tee and jeans and slipped on the suit. It was surprisingly comfy and warm, and fit better than expected. I hooked the small ear piece into my ear and pulled out the thin wire mouthpiece. I observed myself in the mirror.
Despite my nerves I did have to admit; "I look kinda good" I said aloud with a small smirk. It was high collared and complete with black gloves and boots, all with a vibrant band of yellow. On my chest, a large similar yellow X stood out.
"When ya finished admirin' yaself Maxy boy, you got a session to do" came Logan's gruff bark from the door. I stopped halfway through observing my behind in the mirror and felt my face practically burn with embarrassment. With a whimpered 'sorry' I rushed past him. He laughed gruffly, too.
"You look quite the part of a X-man Max" Xavier said happily with a smile. I frowned.
"X-man?.."
"You haven't told him yet huh?" Logan inquired.
"Don't worry Max, I'll get round to explaining that later. Please, enter the Danger Room" at his word the set of doors Logan had entered earlier opened. With a smile of encouragement from Xavier, I strode through the doors and onto a wide platform of metal which descended into the huge room.
I stepped off and looked around – it was all tiled floors and huge metallic walls. I noticed that around the top and bottom of the wall there were small round machines that remained stationary at the time. I heard Xavier's strong, commanding voice crackle into life in my ear piece.
"Now Max, we normally start students off with a simple program. The scenario we are about to run is a standard maze program – you are to traverse the maze and find the flag. You will encounter the robots Logan mentioned earlier, and a few other obstacles" Xavier explained calmly. I felt my heart begin to increase its beat.
"Alright Maxy boy, Danger Room is goin' live now" Logan's voice cracked through my ear.
At once the small round projector type devices around the top and bottom of the huge room sparked into life, all revolving to different angles, projecting a harsh light that forced me to shield my eyes for a moment. Once I adjusted to it, I found myself staring at a sprawling expanse of walls that made up a maze. Sections of the floor were rising up slowly to create the maze, they were a little taller than me. I gasped – in a matter of moments the once empty Danger Room was now a huge criss cross of walls.
"What ya waitin for squirt? Get in there!" Logan barked into my ear. I stumbled forward slowly, entering the maze.
I reached my first fork after five minuets and stood completely lost at which way to take. "Xavier? Logan? Which way do I go?" I said into the mouthpiece.
"Well if we were to tell ya everythin' it wouldn't be much of a challenge would it Maxy?" Logan grunted back.
I turned to look either way when a blue shot of light whizzed past my head, leaving a small scorch mark on the wall next to me. I spun round to find a tall, metallic human looking robot standing on the left side of the fork, its arm raised to fire another laser. I ducked as it shot over my head. I had barely stood up when another laser fired. With a few choice swear words I ran to opposite way, reaching another fork and dashed down the left, hearing the metallic footsteps of the robot behind me.
What the hell was I supposed to do? I had no idea how to use my powers? Suddenly feeling very lost I raced left again, only to almost collide with a dead end. I spun round and found myself facing the robot. Its red eyes gleamed as it fired more lasers, coming closer. I was now backed against the wall, dodging scorch marks.
With a desperate shout I lunged past the robot and sped back the way I came, only to find another robot blocking my way.
"Shit!" I shouted as I ducked another laser, which made a satisfyingly crunchy noise as it collided with the robot standing behind me. I was trapped, and I had to get the flag and finish. With a shout of effort I threw myself at the robot, bringing my gloved fist around to connect with its head.
It didn't do much, not even denting the metal, but it threw the robot off course, and it fell into the other's line of sight, a laser smashing a hole clean through its head. Taking my chance, I began to run.
"Only so many times you'll be squirmin' outta tight spots bub, step it up" Logan growled through my ears as I turned.
"And do what? I don't know how to use my powers!" I shouted back, breathless as I almost banged into a dead end again. I could hear the footsteps of more robots from around the corner. I stood still for a second, desperately thinking of something to do.
I threw myself against the wall, holding my breath and waiting for the robots to turn into the dead end. Going by the increasing sound of the footsteps, I timed my jump so that I had surprised the robot and threw my whole body against its metallic frame. We both crashed into the maze wall, the robots head snapping at a strange angle.
I picked myself up, feeling slightly proud of myself when I felt a stinging sensation in my shoulder. A small red mark was smoking in the material. I barely had chance to look up to see three robots approaching, all arms raised. More lasers flew at me and I flattened myself to the floor, another singing my elbow.
But I soon realised on the floor was a easy target, and soon I was scurrying backwards on the floor shouting, trying to stand up. My feet were thrown from beneath me as the tiles I was standing on began to separate. It was a trap!
Ignoring more burns on my back I raced forwards and swore again. I had run straight back into the dead end from a moments ago. I stood, heart hammering and head racing. I could tell Logan to shut the program off, and it would all be over... but I hadn't even found the flag, nor had I tried. I cursed my pride as the robots rounded the corner.
Desperation seemed to kick in as I ducked lasers. My panic was building, and I noticed, so was a large headache. It was like an echo in my head, different from any other headache I'd ever head. A resounding gong, but the far off echo that twanged my nerve endings.
And then I looked down and felt my jaw drop. My hands were glowing vivid purple, and tingling as if a thousand pins and needles were surging through my arms. Instinct took over, and without thinking I threw my hand forward towards the middle robot, which with a churn of metal was thrown backwards, finally smashing into the far maze wall in a shower of metal parts.
I felt a gleeful laugh escape me as I stared down at my purple hands once again, but a laser burn to my arm brought me back. With a purposeful thrust of my arm again, the second mutant rose up into the air and followed suit of the first robot.
I felt so in control, and I had a new type of adrenaline running through my veins. Never before had I done this, but it felt so good to be doing it, and not passed out on the floor. I sidestepped another laser and decided to try something new.
I thrust my hand forwards again, but tried my hardest to channel the tingling through my hands. Successfully, a blast of purple telekinetic energy burst from my hands and collided with the robot, who fell in a shower of sparks. "Whoa! This is what I'm talking about!" I whooped as I stood still, still amazed.
"Yeah, whoope-dee-doo Maxy, but you might wanna' get ya ass into gear cos' you still gotta find a flag" Logan barked.
With a bemused grin I raced forwards, and followed the maze, coming to a few more dead ends. I blasted a few more robots out of my way, but I was still coming up short of finding the flag. I stopped to catch my breath at a cross shaped junction when I heard the tell tale of lasers being fired. I threw myself against the wall and spotted the robots across from me.
As I raised my hands to throw some telekinetic blasts a new sound reached my ears. Out of the corner of my eye I something descend from the ceiling and felt the gust of wind as it dropped. I barely had chance to turn to see the large steel ball, attached to a massive chain, swing and smash into my bruised side. I let rip a pained roar and landed a few feet away in a heap.
"Fuck!" I shouted, trying to stand up and wincing with the pain. "Don't tell me yer givin' up already bub" came Logan's voice.
I ignored it, trying too hard not to sob at the pain in my side. My side had been relatively better this morning and I hadn't even thought about it.. until now. And with a sickening feeling I saw the huge ball come swinging back for another shot, as well as the robots now advancing.
"I.. don't.. think so!" I shouted through my teeth, grunting with the effort of standing still as well as focusing my telekinesis on the ball. With a lurch the ball missed me by inches, and swung round, full circle to smash the torsos and heads of the robots clean off the legs.
"That was harder..." I gasped to myself, mentally letting go of the ball which smashed down one of the walls. Gripping my side, I noticed the flash of yellow behind the rubble of the smashed wall.
There, flapping in a non-existent breeze was the flag!. I forced myself to move forwards, step by step, almost falling over the rubble. It was surrounded by four walls, with a small gap. As I approached the flag, the ground gave an almighty shake.
"What now!" I shouted, the pain in my side and head becoming irritating. As I turned towards the gap, I saw a huge ball, much like the one the chain, rocketing through the small gap. I gulped and threw myself into action.
With what felt like an almighty effort, I raised both my arms, the pounding in my head now reaching a crescendo. Slowly, the rolling ball began to rise up, inch by inch. It was taking all my effort not to pass out from the headache. "Get... LOST!" I roared, and with a fling of my hands, the ball flew over a few walls before smashing into the tiled floor and crushing surrounding walls.
With a rasping breath that seemed to take forever I fell against the pedestal and gripped the flag. "I'm done" I said faintly into the ear piece before I fell into black.
For the second time in three days, I awoke with a gasp, shooting upwards. I had to catch my breath, as if I had been underwater for a long time. "Stay calm Max" I heard the familiar voice of Charles Xavier.
Once I had my breathing under control I properly looked at where I was. I knew I was still in the Subbasement, because the wide room I was in was bathed in blue light, and it was eerily sterile. I was laying in a comfy hospital bed in the corner of the room, and there were other beds spaced out along the other side. A array of machines sat next to each bed, and I realised by the wires coming from cold pads stuck on my bare chest, I was hooked up to one.
Xavier hovered closer to my bed, scanning my face with those dark eyes. "How do you feel?"
I took a second to answer. How did I feel?. Well, my headache was nothing but a very dull.. echo now. And my side felt ten times better, even if it did throb a little. The memories of the black out pain in my head and side flashed back, as well as what I had done in the Danger Room. I'd used my powers! I'd got the flag!. "I'm fine" I said quickly "But the Danger Room? What happened?"
"You overexerted yourself a little. That usually happens when you first start beginning to use your powers, your body isn't used to it. I would also assume that the fractured rib you have was sustained before the session, because the traps weren't set to do that much damage" he said. I noticed a bit of sternness in his voice and felt myself falter under his gaze.
"Errm yeah.. we had a pretty violent game of volleyball Saturday..." I trailed off.
"I'd have appreciated it if you had told me before Max. That would have made it possible to ensure your side wouldn't have been touched" he said slightly sharply. I felt my head hang and I muttered a sorry.
"Thank you Max" he replied, his voice back to its calm, commanding but kind tone. "Now, the program automatically shut off once you removed the flag, and you passed out. Logan came down to get you, and we brought you here – the Infirmary" Xavier motioned the room.
"Hank has managed to tend to your rib as best as possible, but even with the technology we have here we cannot perform magic. The recovery process has been sped up considerably, but still take it careful for the next few days. You have some painkillers too" I noticed the bright blue pills on the bedside table.
"So.. how did I do? In the Danger Room I mean?" I asked. From what I remembered I had smashed several walls. The doubt must have shown on my face because Xavier laughed.
"Don't worry, what occurred today is nothing to what some of the other students do. Logan particularly, has a reputation for destroying the Danger Room as much as possible when he is in a bad mood" Thats not hard to believe, I thought. "But thats what its there for. The Danger Room can take a lot, and can repair itself"
"Repair itself?" I gasped.
"The Danger Room, the Infirmary, Cerebro.. all have been enhanced thanks to Shi'ar alien technology. The systems are very much ahead of the times" he said simply. Once again, I felt my jaw drop. Was there anything not cool about this place?.
The doors to the Infirmary slid open, and in walked what I could only describe as.. an animal. Tall, well muscled and blue and furry, the humanoid looking animal strode in wearing a lab coat, glasses and even carried a clip board. Xavier turned to greet him with a friendly smile.
"This is Hank Mc Coy Max, genius and inventor of the Danger Room and so on. He also teaches sciences and mathematics at the Institute" Hank strode over with a friendly bow.
"Greetings Max, its my pleasure to finally make your conscious acquaintance. I hope you are feeling better?" he said, his voice surprisingly soft and well spoken for such a intimidating appearance. I simply nodded, a little dumbfounded.
"Excellent. Now, you are free to leave once you feel better. But I must warn you, to not exert yourself too much. You must also take one painkiller in the morning and night for the rest of the week" Hank explained.
"Xavier, I've been meaning to talk to you about the hydraulic thrusters for the X-jet... I'm beginning to think we may need Forge to come in again to have a look" Hank sighed. Who knew hydraulic thrusters could bring such frustration?.
"If needs be, then I shall speak to him later. Hank if you would, I need to talk with Max" Xavier said politely. Hank bowed again and exited.
"He looks a bit like Wagner... just... bigger..." I said, gazing at the now closed doors where Hank had stood.
"Professor Wagner Max. While I don't mind Xavier, I insist all students refer to the Professor's by the proper title" Xavier said, a bite of sharpness in his voice again. "But yes, they both have similar physical mutations. Although they are not alike at all, Professor Wagner can teleport – Hank is gifted with animal like strength and a brilliant mind"
"You've met Professor Wagner?" Xavier asked. I realised that I had been scowling into the air thinking about how harsh and cold Wagner had been.
"Yeah.. me and Charlie went to Fencing yesterday" I said, fighting the tone of scorn in my voice.
"Max, I don't have to be a telepath to see you didn't like what you saw of him" Xavier stated.
I shuffled slightly, sitting up. "Well.. he didn't seem to like me. He knew about my rib and still insisted I practice with him... and he didn't fight fair. I had no idea what to do and he was teleporting all around the place. Even Charlie said he was a bit... horrible" I said quietly. I felt awkward telling tales, it wasn't something I done, but something about Xavier made me want to tell him everything. It was like he was a councilor or some sort.
Xavier didn't say anything for a while, but sat and registered the information. It was like I could see the cogs and wheels turning in that brilliant bald head of his.
"Professor Wagner has been... distracted at the moment Max. The recent death of his long term partner has affected him deeply. Please do not take much notice of his attitude at the moment" I could hear the solemness in Xavier's voice, but something about the way his eyes narrowed slightly led me to believe he had other opinions.
Stumped for words I didn't reply. Whatever had happened in his personal life, I was pretty sure he should have taken leave or something. And I was also pretty sure that the loss of a loved one didn't turn you into a malicious, spiteful and cold person. Unless he had always been that way.
Xavier broke my thought pattern by carrying on to speak. "Now, to answer your earlier question – you done fantastically in the session. You caught the flag, you done it in a good time, and most importantly you used instinct and initiative. It is something that sometimes takes a long time to come to the students"
"Even before your powers finally began to surface, you used what you had to defend yourself. And you then went on to utilize your powers in a most impressive manner – you seem to have quite a grip on telekinesis already Max" I beamed proudly.
"Do you remember what I mentioned about X-men before?" he asked. Nodding, I sat up straighter.
"Well, while the Xavier Institute is mainly a Institute, it is also home to something else" I could feel a little hum of excitement in my belly as he went on "The tutors here were once part of a team of trained mutants called the X-men. They were to protect mutants and human kind alike from threats and danger, in the hopes that eventually human and mutant relations will be improved and mutants will be accepted into society. Superheroes, if you would" he said with an amused smile.
"We select particular gifted students to partake in a training program which sees them honing there skills, to possibly become the new rank of the X-men. While we are mutants, we are not god, and thus cannot be all over the world at the same time. Sometimes, issues arise that mean the original X-men must leave the mansion, leaving students unprotected and the surrounding area open for attack from the many enemies the X-men have made" What? I was sat up properly now. I mouthed the word wow.
"You are being offered a place in this program, due to your Danger Room session. And I believe you have great potential. Obviously, you are free to decline. And you are free to drop out at anytime.. but think about it" Xavier bowed his head politely to me and turned to cross the room and exit.
"I'll join!" I blurted. "I don't even need to think about it Xavier. I want to prove myself.. I want to be in control of what I'm doing" I gushed. Xavier inclined his head for me to carry on. "Ever.. ever since I found out I was a mutant, I've been scorned and put down by my parents. They only see what happens on T.V, with riots and mutants going haywire. But Charlie convinced me that not every mutant was like that, and since being here.. I can see that. I want to prove to my parents, and more importantly, myself that we can do good" I said rather quietly. It was the first time I had told anyone about that.. but it felt good to get it off my chest.
Xavier regarded me with a smile and with a hint of pride in his voice went on. "I'm very glad, and very touched to here that Max. Something tells me you will enjoy the program. I must ask that you attend private lessons with me every evening this week. Could you come to my office tonight after dinner. Now, I'm sure Charlie and everyone else are itching to hear about your Danger Room session, and you now have some good news to deliver. Lunch should be being served about now"