9721/Students in the Danger ROom

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Students in the Danger ROom
Date of Scene: 23 October 2019
Location: Danger Room - X-Men Base
Synopsis: Professor X works Brian through a Danger Room scenario, then both meet Vi and she is treated to a simulation mountain hike
Cast of Characters: Vi, Isotope, Professor X




Vi has posed:
There is a lot of the school to see for the new student. Vi has only been starting to get to know the school, and the school know her. Samuel Guthrie found out she had no education at all, including reading, so she's definitely starting on a remedial track. Some of the Danger Rooms programs that were created specifically for Laura's socialization might also serve Vi some benefit. Even if she has more experience around others, the slave labor camp serving a Hydra mine and foundry which she grew up in was more like coming of age in a POW camp than it was a normal life.

And so one of the other staff shows Vi down to the part of the X-men base that houses the Danger Room. Her first look at the underground part widens her eyes. "So very unlike the rest," she mentions to the staff member. She still doesn't really know about the X-men, New Mutants, or any of that yet.

Baby steps.

And so she's shown into the control room as the staffer notes the room is currently in use. "You can get a chance to see some of what it is capable of. Everything from the educational simulations I mentioned, to training people's powers," the staffer says.

Isotope has posed:
     Brian had been occupying the Danger Room currently, running a program dedicated to accuracy training. Given his particular brand of energy projection, it came to the attention of himself and the X-Men that it could be different than just a simple beam.

  Multiple glowing blue targets were swirling around Brian, and as he released his radium green energy, the beams ebbed and flowed in waves.

  His accuracy was good, and despite his energy's tendency to seem like it will not hit a specific target, he seems to hit most of them. When it came to the flashy, Brian's mutation had it in spades.

  He was dressed in his isolation suit, black and silver, and it glowed in circuit patterns close to his chest. The one piece suit was made for his specific needs, in order to not discharge energy on accident.

  The Danger Room morphed it's holograms to now make a hall, simulating targets popping out of obstacles and such. Of course, Isotope's statistics were being recorded as well. He was a New Mutant, and had been following a training regimen outside of what a normal student would be subjected to.

Professor X has posed:
Charles Xavier's duties are myriad both above and below the grounds of his Westchester estate. A free period that did not require his efforts as a teacher instead saw him instead within the control hub of the Danger Room providing instruction of a different sort. He sits in his chair, attention focused not on the window but rather a monitor showing Brian's biorhythms in response to the simulation around him. He doesn't seem to move as his voice broadcasts clear and calm through the wall and into the young mutant's mind.

<<Stay alert, Mr. Carrera. Your accuracy is good, but don't lose sight of your periphery.>>

It isn't difficult for him to sense the new arrivals coming, even as they walk down the corridor. By the time Vi and the staff member have arrived, his chair has turned and he is seated facing the door. The smile on his face is amiable and grandfatherly, and he remains quiet as the staffer describes the room's capabilities.

"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Vi," Xavier says, gesturing towards the window, "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. Brian and I are running a simulation right now. Perhaps you'd like to see what it can do for yourself?"

Vi has posed:
The SHIELD forensic dentist estimated Vi's age as probably near to 19. She hadn't known herself, in the documents that Kurt had brought back from the Triskelion when he returned with the girl. She's a bit small, though the jeans and Henley shirt she's wearing fit her well enough to dissuade from the thought she's as young as the students of similar height to her.

"Charles Xavier... this is your school?" Vi asks timidly, and looking to the staffer who brought her down. She gets a nod from the other man, before he departs, knowing Vi is in the best of hands with the Professor there.

Vi looks around hesitantly and her arms go to a self-hug about herself. Flashes in her thoughts, images of a laboratory with her strapped down to a chair. Researchers in white working on computer screens. The control room's own consoles and computer screens seeming to be what dredged up the memory.

"Thank you for letting me come here," Vi tells Charles quietly. She gives a little nod as she moves over to look out the window, and down at Brian below. "This isn't real, he said? It's... light that can be made solid?" she asks, the very notion of it seeming to unreal to her.

Isotope has posed:
     Brian hadn't had much experience with a psychic conversation. So, he opts to respond to the Professor with voice. "Yes sir." He comments, walking down the hallway at a brisk pace, now paying more attention to the sides of his vision. His hands reached out and released waves of protonic energy, each target that he glimpsed and connected with simulated a shattering.

  His heart rate reflected the amount of physical effort he put into his motions. Even now, his suit was saturating him with ultraviolet light in an attempt to replace what energy he has used up in the exercise.

  After a while, the targets became less apparent, glowing less in the corridors and branch rooms, moving more as well, making them even harder to hit. He had more misses at first, but soon he got used to the new wrench in the gears.

Professor X has posed:
"That's right," Charles answers with a faint yet encouraging nod, "They're produced through a science called holography - which is itself derived from two ancient Greek words 'holos' or 'whole' and 'graph' meaning 'writing' or 'drawing.' We use the application of force fields along with three-dimensional light constructs to create - well, whatever we would like. There are measures in place to keep those in the room safe from harm, but it's important that you treat the simulations with the respect and caution you would show the real thing."

There's really no keeping him from teaching, if Greek roots and etymologies may be slightly beyond the grasp of someone yet to master reading and writing in their native tongue. He turns his attention momentarily back to the monitor, reaching out telepathically to peer through Brian's eyes unobtrusively and get a feel for how he is fairing with the simulation. Satisfied, his attention shifts back to Vi.

"This is our school," he corrects gently, "You are here to learn from me, from the other teachers here, and from your fellow students, also. While I appreciate your gratitude, Vi, I'm afraid it's quite unwarranted - you are the very sort of student that this place was made for. If I did not welcome you here wholeheartedly, I'd be a traitor to what I strive for - what we are all striving for."

One well-manicured hand reaches out to press a button on the console, prompting the hard light projections within the Danger Room to freeze in place like a video set to 'pause.' The Professor opts to speak rather than project mentally, his voice ringing through the speakers built into the room itself.

"Brian, would you like to take a break? There's someone up here I'd like you to meet."

Vi has posed:
Vi looks down at the simulation below, watching as Brian deals with one attacker after another. Her brow furrows a little bit. "Why not just call it whole-writing then?" she asks curiously, looking back over her shoulder at Professor Xavier.

Vi looks back to the scenario below, though is listening to Charles as he tells her about the school. Doubts pop up in her head about someone helping others just to help them. A myriad of betrayals over a lifetime are woven in the girl's experiences like an all-encompassing fabric. Struggles to fend off starvation, betrayals that are understood because she'd have done the same in their place. A way of life.

The charity and generosity of the school are nearly alien to the girl as she looks down as the scenario is ending. She turns back to Charles Xavier. "I like it here," she tells him. "I'm sorry about the wall I broke," she adds quietly. "I... wasn't expecting to find someone here, like Samuel."

Isotope has posed:
     Brian stopped to pause as the simulation paused as well. He panted to catch his breath and looked up at the control room. "Sure, Professor."

  After a brief interlude, Brian had made his way up to the control room, a water bottle in his left hand, and in his right, a towel. He took a swig of cool hydration from the sport bottle and wiped his face as he walked in. "I think I am ready for more realism, it's one thing to hit a target in a room, then it is a..." He didn't like the concept of hitting a human or rather a humanoid. But he also knew it was something he had to overcome.

  Where were his manners? Brian looked to the staffer and Vi. "Sorry, hi." He said in a casual tone. "I'm Brian." The towel quickly thrown over his shoulder and the unoccupied hand reaches out in greeting, clad in black leather, part of the suit.

  Other than his slightly sweaty appearance, he was genuinely happy to meet her, as was he also happy to be at the school. His powers had emerged in a violent way, which was not in his nature at all. He owed much to those that came to help from Xavier's.

Professor X has posed:
"I believe you've cut to the very core of academic chauvinism," Charles answers with a soft chuckle, a closed-lip smile creasing the corners of his eyes, "We shall make a philologist of you yet."

The Professor remains still and unmoving, watching Vi as she moves about the room with that innate curiosity of an explorer setting foot on a new world for the very first time. He nods his bald head slightly as he listens to her words, fingers steeped before his face and elbows resting on the padded arms of his wheelchair.

"This place is only bricks and mortar. It is the people within that make it what it is. Don't feel sorry about a damaged wall - considering the alternative, I think you performed quite admirably."

The mention of Samuel garners another faint nod from him, though he says nothing on the subject. Contented to merely hear her words, he adds: "I'd like to hear more about your experiences before you came here. When you feel ready to talk about them."

When Brian enters the control room, the Professor turns his attention to him. He nudges the control stick of the chair forward, whirring a few feet to position himself between the pair as he gestures: "Brian, meet Vi."

Vi has posed:
Several of the words from Charles are lost on Vi, but she just nods along rather than expose her lack of understanding. "Sure. People haven't really asked me very much about it," she tells the Professor. "Though the two men were talking about wanting to go and free the people in Echo," she says, her thoughts making clear she's talking about Samuel and Samuel Guthrie, and there might be surface memories of Samuel wanting to approach SHIELD with the camp's location.

The Professor makes the introduction to Brian, and Vi turns towards him. "You were really good down there," she says. Not really knowing if he was, but to her at least it seemed impressive. When the hand is offered she shakes it. "Vi, nice to meet you," the petite older teen says quietly. "What was it like, being in the room there with those... the people that weren't real?" she asks him curiously.

Isotope has posed:
     Brian smiled as his hand is received in greeting. "Heh, thanks." Accepting the compliment. "Well...it's kinda like VR. But no goggles. And...it can get very real looking." He glances at the Professor, not knowing how much he should say of just how dangerous the room could be.

  "Holograms, you see, when you combine forcefields with three-dimensional light, they can make anything. You want to recreate the grand staircase of the Titanic? It can make that happen. And when you're down there...it can be spread out much longer. Cause it isn't really you moving in a space, more like the space moving around you. So, you could run the Metropolis Marathon down there, and you'd be passing by the Daily Planet and LexCorp, and you can't really tell the difference if the simulation is set to high enough realism." The boy was smart, and tended to ramble when the topic of conversation interested him as much as technology did.

Professor X has posed:
"I'd like to arrange a weekly discussion," the Professor tells Vi, "we'll see to it once you've gotten settled in."

He says nothing more on the subject, leaving the details of this session to be laid out later and in private. There's no doubt that Vi requires a great deal of remedial education to catch up with the other students, but with trauma such as hers it would need to be mixed in with a healthy dose of psychiatric care. Fortunately, Charles Xavier ticked both those boxes.

He is content to remain quiet as the pair discuss the Danger Room and its capabilities, nodding in approval of Brian's astute grasp of the more advanced technological capabilities and specifications of this most complex piece of technology. After a moment, however, he speaks up.

"We can work on developing a more realistic training regimen for you, Brian, if that's what you'd like. For now, though, why don't you take Vi down to the Danger Room? I'll run a simple simulation," he glances towards Vi, "And you can experience it first hand."

He moves the chair back over towards the control panel with a faint mechanical whir. He reaches first for the controls that gauge the safety level of the simulations, drawing the handle down until the projections within could not hurt a fly. He then sets about loading the simulation - the mist-shrouded mountains of inland China. A personal favorite.

Vi has posed:
Vi nods along, following what Brian is saying. Though Professor Xavier will likely catch that to her, she hears, "... grand staircase of the Something?... run the What's That?... passing by the What Are Those?..." One would never know it from her face though. Her desire to fit in is growing, on pace with her realization of how much she does not.

"It's pretty unbelievable," she replies to Brian. "I'd never have realized it wasn't real," she says before looking back to the Professor. "Yes sir," she says of the weekly discussions, meekly holding one hand with the other in front of her.

The mention of the demonstration causes Vi to perk up even more. "So we get to go in there?" she asks the Professor, before looking back to Brian with obvious eagerness. She'll happily follow him down when he leads.

Isotope has posed:
     "Sure thing, Professor." Brian gives an approving smile and leads the way down to the Danger Room's deck. "The Titanic, it...wait you don't know what the Titanic is? Okay, quick synopsis. The Titanic was a famous ship that sank in the ocean back in 1912. It had a beautiful area called the Grand Staircase. The Metropolis Marathon is a race, twenty six point two miles long and it passes the Daily Planet, a news company. It's a big beautiful building with a cool sculpture on top of it." The doors open up to the silver dome that was the Danger Room, quite large in size, but it was about to get bigger, much bigger.

  The mountains were breathtaking, and even Brian couldn't help but be amazed at the view, never been to China himself, he was relatively nerdy, and plenty of Kung-Fu movies just did not do this justice.

Professor X has posed:
"The Danger Room can only accommodate one simulation at a time," Charles explains, "So you will need to make certain to arrange a time when it isn't in use. You'll also need to be accompanied by a member of our senior staff, so they can oversee the simulation and monitor your safety. Generally this area of the grounds is out of bounds without special permission."

All of it is said not unkindly - his intention not to jealously guard the room from the students, but rather to guard the students from the room. The potential for danger within the Danger Room was, understandably enough, quite high.

He settles in behind the controls, watching the monitor as Vi's own vitals appear on the screen alongside Brian's. The simulation itself is harmless, a stroll through the Huangshan in Anhui. A path he'd walked himself in his youth, reconstructed faithfully from his own memories. No monsters or simulated enemies lurk here.

Vi has posed:
Vi listens to the explanations from Brian. "Thank you. I guess it was obvious on my face," she says to him. "I never saw the world outside the fence around the camp I grew up in, until recently," she tells him. "I never heard of a lot of things people talk about," she explains.

The pair arrive into the simulation of the mountains. Vi gapes at it, having seen the true appearance of the Danger Room after Brian's simulation was turned off. To see it as a mountain and not be able to tell it isn't real is amazing to Vi.

She stops to touch things. A tree, some grass, even picking a blade of it. "It is... just amazing," she whisper in awe. Vi walks alongside Brian along the trail. They pass a wooden post that helps mark the trail, and has a metal ring dangling from it, perhaps somewhere might tie off the leash to a pet, or a horse. Vi looks at it and says, "It's like it's real metal," voice again awed. The metal ring which hangs shift towards Vi and Brian slightly, though there isn't any wind to have caused it. "Wow," she whispers.

Isotope has posed:
     Brian walked the trail, the texture of the air was different, thicker, with humidity. "Like I said, if it is at its best, you couldn't tell you were not actually there." He says with a wide smile on his face.

  "Camp, huh? Knowing this place, it wasn't a summer camp type camp. This place...doesn't matter where you come from, or what you did before. I mean, I wasn't some assassin or anything. Just a kid who had one really bad day, no fault of mine. But they took me in, offered to teach me about what I was." He held that very close to his heart.

  "Taught me to control my mutation. And the education...much better than public school."

Vi has posed:
Vi walks quietly, listening to Brian, and then seeming to think about what he said as much as she is enjoying the mountain hike. "It's not something I'm used to, people helping each other like this," she says softly. Trying to keep from her voice how much she's just waiting for the other shoe to drop. To reveal the truth that must be getting kept from her about the place.

Vi watches the mist blow across a valley, pausing there for a few moments before continuing on. "It's a camp, town, I don't know the right word. Hydra makes everyone work in their mines and run a foundry," she says softly. "New people are brought in sometimes, to replace those they kill because they can't work anymore. Or, just because. Some of us are born there. I was. Though my brother hid us with other orphans, rather than risk being sent on the work crews. We pretty much had to steal to get by. They don't given ration cards to those who don't work," she says.

Isotope has posed:
     Brian listened to what Vi had to say, suffice it to say that he was shocked. "That sounds like Wild War Two type sh-" He remembered who was in the control room above them and corrected. "stuff. Messed up stuff, bad stuff. Like...crimes against humanity stuff."

  The sixteen year old continued the walk, wanting to continue. "Well, here is the real deal. I mean, I know you just met me. But people round here know I don't lie or play B.S. games. Xavier's...it seemed too good to be true, but I have yet to see it not be true."

Vi has posed:
The brunette girl looks over to Brian, listening to what he says. Her eyes drop back to the trail they are walking, inscrutable as the same thing she's heard from so many others is repeated. But when something is too good to be true, when it's completely at odds with everything you've known the world to be, how do you let yourself belief it? Especially when it's something you want to believe. Those kind are the most dangerous.

Vi walks along with Brian quietly for awhile. "What is it like, outside of the school? Is this what most people's lives are like?" she asks quietly. "I saw a city, out of the window. Manhattan or something like that? But only for a little bit," she tells him. "What was it like where you grew up? Do you have parents? What do they do while you're here?" she asks.

Isotope has posed:
     Brian's eyebrows lifted with surprise when he is asked so many questions. "Westchester, New York. That's where we are. It is a pretty good place. I'm from Metropolis, not too far from here. My parents are still alive, they take care of my brothers while I'm here. My school thinks I'm dead." He answered just as fast as he is asked.

  "Westchester is kind of like a suburb, but a big one. It's peaceful, for the most part."

Vi has posed:
Vi listens as they hike the trail. She looks thoughtful at Brian's answers, but doesn't ask anymore questions. Vi frequently stops to touch things. Smell them. It's pretty obvious it is still mind blowing to her that the misty mountain scenario is this real, feeling. She pauses at one point as a pleasant wind blows up from the valley, carrying the scent of wildflowers on it.

Vi sees some of the flowers growing up here higher up, and stops to crouch down by them. She picks one and smells it. "It's so beautiful here," she says softly, looking around. She looks up at the mountain tops. "Is there ash in vary many places in the world? I haven't seen any since leaving Echo," she asks quietly.

Isotope has posed:
     A gentle breeze blows through Brian's raven hair and he feels refreshed. "Ash? What kind? You normally see a lot of it after a fire or if you live close to a volcano."

  "It really is beautiful...so was there a lot of ash in Echo?" He asks, feeling comfy enough to ask a question of her for now.

Vi has posed:
The petite young woman walks along, carrying the flower that he picked. "Yes, there was almost always a little dusting of it falling on the best of days. Sometimes heavier. There were three volcanoes, one is further away, only sometimes saw the smoke from it. Echo is down in a valley near them," Vi says.

She looks around. "These trees are so green. I've never seen any like them before. There really aren't trees around Echo. The ash kills them. Even the fields with crops, the plants have to be dusted off," she says. Vi looks about again. "The trees at the school are very colorful. Yellows and reds and oranges. I kind of like these green ones though. It's a very soothing color."

Isotope has posed:
     Brian takes a moment to look up at the mountain. "It's most likely spring here. But outside, in the real world, it's fall, the leaves are dying and falling off for the trees to go dormant for the winter." He didn't mind explaining things. It was refreshing actually. But he was a patient person, and didn't explain things with any pretense.

  "You like green?" Not that he had any say in how his mutation manifested his energy. "I always thought it suited me. Now, it really does." He says, a wide smile on his face, knowing the joke he made was kinda lame and ham handed.