2014.02.22 - 12 Hours of Ninjas

There are times for action, and times for talk. And sometimes, those things overlap. The thing is, it's rarely clear at first glance which is which. Case in point?

The Danger Room. The X-Men Base below The Xavier Institute. For hours now it's been in use. Anyone who tries to enter it will find the doors are unlocked, and they can enter freely. Anyone who enters the control room will find that the safeties have been disabled though (or at least appear to have been, but in actuality they haven't due to the 'hidden overrides' that keep students and less experienced X-Men from being able to have 'killer workouts'), that the sim has no time limit, and it's been going on for /OVER/ twelve hours.

But what is the simulation? Simply put, the whole Danger Room is black. There's absolutely no light. At all. And there's things moving around in the shadows. People. Ninjas. Ninjas that up and rush out at anyone, and everyone in The Danger Room. Ninjas that appear to go right for the kill. Ninjas that once 'killed' themselves, instantly turn into dust, not even leaving clothes behind. And on top of all of that, these ninjas just keep coming non-stop. Sometimes as individuals. Sometimes as large swarms. But they /DON'T/ give up.

But who's in there? Who is fighting these ninjas? Who has been fighting these ninjas? One Laura Kinney. She looks tired. And ragged. But she's still angry. And fighting. For as anyone enters they will more than likely hear her screams of pure, primal rage, and might even have to dodge a couple of ninja corpses that go flying as well, before they up and dissolve...

Nate has been trying to use the DR for a few hours. No, of course he didn't check ahead, but seriously... who is using it at night, all night? The first time he checked and saw it was running, he just went to find something else to do for a few hours. The second, he checked and okay... it was Laura. Now it is the third time, and he is checking that it is still Laura, and it has been twelve hours, and really... there are probably some rules against 12-hours long sessions. That can't be sane even for someone with Wolverine powers.

So he opens the door and peers inside. "What the hell are you doing?" Because he can't see it, but Laura screaming and angry, after twelve hours. Not good.

Rachel Summers has NOT been trying to use the Danger Room. Jocelyn's morning workouts have been providing quite enough exercise and she's not really in the market for any more. However, since a recent conversation with Calvin, she has been meaning to talk to Laura, and following her post-workout shower she decides not to put it off any longer.

A quick query of the Mansion's systems reveals that Laura is in residence, and in the Danger Room, so Rachel heads down to the lower levels, only to find Nate lurking outside and peeking in furtively. Her curiosity piqued, Rachel picks up her pace and walks swiftly to join him, not quite a vision of perfection in an oversized red hoodie and black leggings, her hair still damp and spiked up from her shower. "Hey Nate." She calls, remarkably cheerful this morning. "What's up?"

By then she's close enough to hear the howls from within, and her face sets in a frown. She shoots Nate a look, but doesn't even break stride as she sails past him into the darkened room. Grumbling to herself, she raises her voice and says "Li..."

...and just, JUST picks up on the movement in the air fast enough to get a TK shield in place for a ninja to bounce off. "Ahh!" Rachel yelps and rocks back a couple of steps, before glaring into the darkness, as if it's responsible for her discomfiture. "This is ridiculous." She says to herself, and draws on her powers. Telekinetic fire flares up around her, lighting up the immediate area, and she reaches out ahead of her with her TK, scanning for any more flying ninjas. "Laura?" She calls.

Any more flying ninjas? Well, it probably is a good thing that Rachel puts that shield up as she and Nate poke their heads in. After all, there's maybe two or three that can be seen as that 'fire' causes the program itself to provide some light. And they're even sent flying towards the door. Of course one has its head separate from its body, but still...

Heck, as those lights come on, albeit dimly, it can be seen that there's just a whole horde of ninjas, sort of standing all over the cavernous space.

Or there was. Because as the lights continue to slowly brighten, the ninjas appear to fade away...

"Training." is all but snarled towards Nate as the clawed 'clone' slowly starts to turn and glances at the pair of 'Summers'. She has what looks like swords and arrows sticking out of quickly closing woulnds, and that's on top of her looking totally exhausted. But at the same time she still looks /pissed/. Like she could, and would rip anything to shreds in an instant."Need to be better. Need to..."

She shakes her head.

"Never mind."

Nate crosses his arms over his chest and stares at Laura. "Stop," he states with a growl. "Danger Room, end scenario," he adds. Now, he has about the same level of access Laura does, but the Danger Room almost always responds quickly to that command. So the holograms vanish slowly, revealing the metal walls and good enough light. "Twelve hours non-stop are not going to make you better, just very tired. It is not even a realistic simulation."

The light TK-field that Rachel stretched out ahead of her picks up the next batch of flying ninjas before the light's bright enough for her to see them. This time they don't get close enough to bounce off a shield, instead being batted away in mid-air toward opposite sides of the Danger Room. It's a little showy, but Rachel's still trying to recover her dignity after her startled yelp of a moment before!

As the lights come up a little more, Rachel's telepathy cues her eyes onto the only real person in the room, aside from herself and Nate, and... yeah, that's Laura all right. And considering the state of her, she's looking more like Wolverine than ever. Rachel snorts at the one-word answer to Nate's question, though she looks more than a bit surprised when she sees just how many ninjas were involved here. Nate beats her to it before she can reply though.

"Nate's got a point." Rachel puts in, her voice deliberately pitched lighter than Nate's growl. All three of them growling is unlikely to help. "But I'm guessing he's missed one, too." Rachel says, shoving her hands into the pockets of her hoodie in a deliberately casual stance. Her eyes don't leave Laura, though. "What's this all about, Laura?"

A clawed fist is raised in the direction of Nate and Rachel, before Laura does something odd. She lets out a faint 'heh', and... Smiles?

"I think he missed more than one." is said before the claws, no... All six of the 'clones' claws retract.

And yet, as the program is ended, not only do the lights come on, and the ninjas fade away, but so do all those weapons that Laura has been poked, jabbed, and stabbed with.

"It does make me better. Not as tough as some missions, but still a challenge." is said as that smile vanishes and she goes back to looking nearly emotionless. "And it is realistic. As realistic as fighting The Hand, again."

Then well.... There's a glance at Rachel.

"I need to be better. I need to be ready. not good enough."

Nate blinks at that smile. That is the first time he sees Laura smile. It is weeeeeird. "No battle lasts twelve hours. Hell, most don't last twelve minutes," he explains. "That is not just it... you were," he makes a vaguely annoyed gesture. "Anger," he notes. Of course he understand going blind with rage in the middle of a fight. But not during a simulation, or for twelve hours. "What do you need to be ready for so badly?"

Rachel knows Laura has a sense of humour. No-one could have made THOSE suggestions for what to get Shift as a present without one. Even so, the smile together with the claws sticking out and all the other pointy things sticking in is just a bit disconcerting to Rachel as well. She still smirks a bit. After all, if you can't gang up on your little brother just a bit, then what's the point of life?

Since Nate's still taking Laura to task, Rachel maintains a different tack. "Nate, most of your battles don't last twelve minutes because you can throw mountains at people. Cut her some slack." She knows it's concern, and she glances in his direction hoping he'll pick up from her expression that she understands, but she doesn't want Laura to feel like she's fighting /them/. She wants to know the answer to his question as much as he does, though.

"Your battles never involve what I have faced, and how I have faced them." is said towards Nate. But then, well...

Laura shrugs, and glances away.

"That was not anger. I need to be ready for real anger... And for Logan... And for when they come. Especially if they come here."

Nate glares again, "my battles... you have no idea of those," he steps into the Danger Room. "I didn't have access to my powers at first, not really. No control. I had to fight with guns or my fists." The Danger Room starts changing, but it is not a simulation, it is a psychic illusion/memory. Rachel could block it easily, Laura not so much.

It is a wasteland, and it smells to smoke, a mixture of burning forests, burnt cities and burnt flesh. Sickly scrub struggles to survive among the skeleton of trees and the ruins of buildings. The sky is cloudy and reddish. "Most battles last brief minutes, and many times you know you if you are going to win or lose in seconds. See this, Laura? This is what happens when the X-Men are losing. This is where I grew up, a place without future, or hope. And this is completely different to what you have now."

Ouch. 'You don't know what I've had to deal with' - albeit paraphrased - is never a good card to play with any of the Summers-Grey second generation. Rachel's been determinedly trying to inject a little light into things, as unusual for her as that might seem, but that casual answer from Laura makes her eyes narrow a bit. She feels a distant flare of anger, but tamps it down. Nate, it seems, is not as controlled.

As the Danger Room changes around her, Rachel knows at once what's going on, and her mental defences come up on instinct - before she lowers them again. If Nate's prepared to share this, she won't shut it out.

That doesn't mean she finds it pleasant. It's a different kind of hell than the one she came from, but it can't help but remind her of it. And she has no desire to try to compete with Nate by putting her own world on display. Instead, she walks across to Nate and reaches out to touch his arm, lightly. If this /were/ her world on display, she'd like to be reminded she wasn't alone in it, that it wasn't real.

"Laura, please. Who are they? Who's coming? And what does Logan have to do with it?"

It wasn't often that Jocelyn swung by the Danger Room and there were already a ton of people already in it. She thought she was going to do some testing of a few things when she spots three people inside, one of which is clearly a telepath with a lot of power. That dropped the number of names in Jocelyn's head down to three, from the amount of energy she could see being used. She peeks into the observation room quickly and spots who it is. Then she makes her way down through one of the doors to enter the room.

"Hey. What's going on?" the teenager asks, raising her eyebrows at Nate's dispaly of power. This wasn't something that was normal. She could absorb it away, but decides not to. No reason to, in her mind, to do so.

Even as Nate projects his image, Laura makes a fist.

"And you do not understand." is said to him before she glances at Rachel, before asking, "Let him see..." before she taps the side of her head, as if indicating she wants the male 'Summers' to see what ever she's thinking of. If it happens, what will be shown is interesting, to say the least. But as for the rest...

"Weapon X. The Facility. Others. They want me back." is said before the 'clones' nostrils flare. "They created me. Cloned me from Logan. Trained me. To be better than him. To be a weapon. To /only/ be a weapon."

And of course as Jocelyn wanders in, Laura visible winces.

"Yeah, Sinister created me to be /his/ weapon," announces Nate. He doesn't really care if it is known, since he doesn't do the secrets thing. "Found out lately, there was a mind-block in my memories." He sighs, "but I escaped, and I made a life out of it, even in this," he gestures around; then dispels the illusion, "that hellhole. And again here. I am free, and I am not letting anyone else define what I am. You can't do it either. It will eat you alive."

Rachel catches Laura's meaning before she even taps her head, and offers a quick nod of understanding. "Got it." Of course, Nate could do this himself, but since Laura asked, it's Rachel who reaches out telepathically to skim Laura's surface thoughts and link them to Nate's mind - assuming he doesn't use any of that excessive power of his to lock her out, of course.

When Laura finally gives /some/ small amount of detail about what's driven her to this extreme, Rachel feels she's finally beginning to understand. What she'd do if she thought Ahab was coming after her... the slight shiver is hopefully hidden beneath the oversized hoodie. She lets Nate make the point, though. She's not so comfortable with revealing her own past as he is. "He's right. Laura. You are not ONLY a weapon."

Rachel's on the point of saying, or perhaps doing, more, but then Jocelyn appears - and Rachel very much hopes her friend chooses not to resist her telepathy. The contact is tight and private. << Hey Joce. Bear with us a minute, OK? Things are... tense. >> All that's said in the time it took to glance Jocelyn's way, and Rachel's eyes are back on Laura. "Besides. You live HERE now, right? Anyone who wants you, they have to deal with us too, got it?" Rachel glances around the Danger Room, then back to Laura again. "If you want to spoil their day, maybe training solo's not the answer." She smirks. "Think how much more trouble you could cause with Nate or me at your back."

<< I think I have some idea. I know some of Laura's story. >> Jocelyn thinks that thought back at Rachel so that the woman knows Joce isn't entirely clueless as to what might be going on. Of course, Joce doesn't know if she knows all of Laura's story. She wasn't psychic after all! The woman doesn't offer any looks of judgement or anything of that nature upon the situation or words said that she may or may not have heard.

Instead, Jocelyn just adopts a casual stance, finding a bit of wall to lean against near Laura. Just enough to offer support, but not so that she as pressuring her friend either. She could tell it was a tense situation even without Rachel's heads up. That much was easy to read in everyone's body language, even for her.

Not only a weapon...?

What 'appears' thanks to Rachels help is not as simple as what Nate does. Nor is it exactly linear. Instead, it's almost like memory fragments..

A male voice saying, "She's not a girl, she's a weapon!"

An image of a young Laura standing there, possibly no older than two, already being trained how to shoot a variety of guns...

An image of Laura being strapped down the a table, and being waterboarded, with the cloth on her face having some sort of unique smell that causes a strong reactions of pure, unadulterated, unthinking anger...

Of Laura fighting a bear while what feels almost like some sort of hologram enveloping her, and when she steps out of it, and kills the 'bear', she's beaten by a man in a lab coat, until a female scientist points out that she did it better than 'Him', at which point it can be seen that a hologram that looks a lot like Logan is standing where Laura use to be.

An image of Laura in a martial arts dojo, facing an old man, before she picks up a sword. Only when she does, there's a hint of that odd smell again, and she looses it... Looses all control over her anger and instantly goes into an unthinking killing rage.

All that and more can be seen, if only in faint momentary fragments. But one things is seen over and over. Not a normal girl. Never a normal girl. Fighting. Killing. Killing a lot of people in many places. Training. Things that resemble medical experimentation and torture, often at the same time.

Being kicked out of a helicopter and into a mod of people trying to kill her.

Rage. Anger. Killing. A weapon. It's not a belief. It's a core part of the 'clones' psyche. Who she is. What she is. It's all she knows.

It shows up again with a last image, as that smell comes to mind again, and Laura turns into that unthinking killing machine with people like Josie and Doug nearby, as well as some others, in what looks like the ruins of some sort of lab.

And then, the 'show' suddenly stops.

"I will not let them come here." is then said to Rachel.

And Nate gets a glance.

"I escaped too. But they are still coming. They have already killed others to get at me." And no, Laura doesn't mind Jocelyn being in on this. She knows that the other girl knows some of this. Possibly most of it.

"It is why I need to get /better/."

"Not what I meant, Ray," points out Nate. "All Laura does is training and more training," he looks at the brunette again, closing his eyes at her memories. There is a spike of rage from him, but he clenches it hard. Now he wants to huge her, but... that would likely get him stabbed, or maybe one of her characteristic blank looks. "Stop. You are doing what they want. You are still a weapon... until you stop acting like one. And that is getting better at being a person, not training for twelve hours."

The images that Rachel's serving as a conduit for are brutal. Her face sets, her expression going stony, but she doesn't flinch. If Laura has the strength to share this with them, then Rachel's damn sure going to have the strength to face it and not shy away - even if the torture, the conditioning, the experiments, all of it draws forth Rachel's own memories, from the box in the back of her mind where she keeps them locked away, so that she can function like a normal human being most of the time.

When Laura decides the show's over, Rachel breaks the link with Nate. She shakes her head slowly, a little sadly, as Laura makes her statements. "So what's the plan? When you decide you're 'better', you hunt them...?" Rachel has no idea if Laura has a plan, however crazy it might be, and wants to find out. But then Nate weighs in again, and... she can't argue with him. But based on what she just saw, Laura has no frame of reference for getting to where Nate thinks she should be.

Rachel makes an instinctive decision, and reaches out for Laura's mind again. The Rachel that Laura - and only Laura - sees shimmers, and is suddenly different. Black claw-mark tattoos brand her face, a red, spiked one piece outfit covers her body, and a leash trails from a collar around her neck. The Rachel Laura sees raises a finger to her lips, and her voice sounds in her mind. << I know. >> She says. << I had fourteen years before they took me, Laura, but believe me, I KNOW. You can't win until you let yourself become more than they made you to be. >> Rachel's suddenly 'herself' again, the connection to Laura broken, and she raises a hand to rub at the back of her head. "So how do we help? With both things."

Jocelyn hasn't seen this exactly. She's had some of it described, but she's never seen it. The teenager watches, a frown deepening as the images play themselves out in front of them. Yes, Jocelyn intellectually knew about this. Seeing it was different though. There's silence at first. Then Rachel speaks up, and Jocelyn considers the question. She doesn't see the Hound Marks. Only that Rachel is doing something mentally with Laura, which isn't surprising.

"First, twelve hours of training doesn't help the situation. It wears you out mentally and physically, and this is coming from one of the most training-addicted people in this place," Jocelyn says with a small grin. Honestly, she's probably got more hours logged training than most people over the last year. Top five, easily, she's sure. "As to the question of how to help? Laura, how can we help the most?" Stating how they could help was counterproductive here. It needed to come from Laura. They couldn't force 'acting like a person and not a weapon' down Laura's throat. It just didn't work that way.

And Rachel.... Hits the nail on the head. What little, if any frame of reference that Laura might have, at best, is tainted by her killing. More often than not by loosing control and killing. Thus is not a true reference point for the 'clone' to go by. In fact...

She levels a finger at Nate and simply says, "There is only training."

And yet, as Rachel... Changes(?) even if only for a little bit, the clawed 'clone' looks directly at her, and visibly winces. That is before she simply says, "I do not know how to be anything but this."

And well, at the offers of helping? And of course planning?

There's a shrug.

"I do not know what I will do about them, but I will not let them come here."

"There is living, Laura," replies Nate. He missed Rachel's exchange with Laura, which is probably a good thing. He is already worried enough with the younger girl. "Training is just what they taught you. There is... so much more you should be learning right now." And this is supposed to be a school, isn't it? Figures. Xavier's is great for training heroes, not as good for teaching people to be people.

"Ok, so you don't know how to start. How about you start doing what Ray and Jocelyn do?" Offers Nate. "Just go watch a movie with someone you like, or go shopping; find a boyfriend, and find a hobby. Don't try to be a better weapon, you are already good enough. It is not something worth living for."

Yeah. Rachel was afraid of that. Laura /doesn't/ have a plan, and is training herself into the ground... why? Because she doesn't know what else to do? Rachel has the depressing feeling that's the case.

Rachel's only half-listening to Nate while she thinks, but half-listening is enough. "Hey." She says, and reaches out toward Nate again. This time to give him a light swat on the arm. "'What Ray and Jocelyn do?'" She asks, with a bit of a smirk despite the heavy subjects they've been discussing. "I hope you're not thinking you're getting out of doing any work, here?" She sounds a bit like she's challenging Nate. "Why don't we ALL get out of here, right now?" She turns back to Laura, and becomes a bit more serious. "And when you're done gritting your teeth and hating every minute of it, maybe we can work up a plan for dealing with your bad guys? A real one, in case they don't come at you with a couple of hundred ninjas." Rachel is absolutely serious and not mocking Laura despite the words she chooses.

"Geez. Suggest something easier than getting a boyfriend. It isn't easy you know," Jocelyn comments. The 'class' she'd been in seemed to lack a lot of guys, especially guys who weren't gay and dating members of her other team. Yeah. "But Nate's on the right track," the woman says. But Jocelyn doesn't offer more than that suggestion for the moment, letting Rachel take the lead as to the suggestions. Though she does approve of the idea of hunting the bad guys down instead of letting them come to them. But that was just here.

And here's where there's a head tilt at Nate from Laura, "You want me to do what they do?" Pause. "Hit on Shift? Go shopping? Get drunk? Go to Genosha?" Shrug. "If you say so."

Then well, there's a pause at Rachel, and well...

"They did send ninjas after me. I first met Logan while fighting them."

As for a plan...

That's where the 'clones' gaze drifts from Rachel, to Jocelyn, to Nate.

"Have to find them first."

"No Shift, no Genosha," answer Nate quickly. "The first is Ray having a..." awful taste in guys, but that is an argument he won't start just now, "...just don't, the second was a mission." A nod to Rachel. "Lets go somewhere else, someone is bound to come to use the Danger Room. Because. Twelve. Hours." He shakes his head. Jocelyn gets an odd look. Why would a girl like her or Laura have problems finding a boyfriend? Oh right: If they never get out of Xavier it might actually be a challenge!

Rachel groans when 'hit on Shift' comes up first, and winces at 'get drunk'. Jocelyn's detox regime might have worked, but not well enough for Rachel to want to repeat the experience that led to it anytime soon. Nate gets a sharp look, when he corrects Laura. Somehow she knew what he was thinking without even attempting to read his mind. Go figure. But no, definitely not a conversation for now.

"Somewhere else is good. And let's start with shopping and lunch. We can work up to the rest." Rachel's tone is a bit dry as she says that last bit, then hesitates as Laura points out... "...OK, ninjas. But you're clearly GOOD at ninjas. Time for a change..." She becomes serious again for a moment. "Laura, there are two telepaths here, Cerebro's down the hall, and Nate..." She smiles. "...knows people." She shrugs. "It's a start, but for ANOTHER DAY. Come on."

Rachel spins around and walks toward the doors, then turns back again. Her eyes find Jocelyn first, looking her up and down. "You'll do." Nate's next. "You can sort yourself out." And then there's Laura. "You need to change." Rachel's eyes gleam, possibly with a little more than mischief. "Think about what you'd normally wear out, and... just go with it." Rachel's powers flare, telekinetic fire rearranging the molecules of her outfit into a leather jacket, tee, check skirt, tights and boots. And a moment later, whatever Laura was thinking of, she's wearing too. "Let's go." She tells the others, and resumes her march for the exit.

No, it's because any guy who Googles Jocelyn can pull up videos from her MMA days with her beating the crap out of her opponents. Tends to put most guys off, at least at her age where they aren't always so accepting. Or that had been her experience, at least. The look Nate gives Jocelyn is noted, but she doesn't say anything about it. Though Joce thinks Ray's taste is perfectly fine! Granted, Shift and Joce have a similar background, so she may be biased.

"I've started wandering off to this place that does a board games night sometimes," the teen comments. "You might like some of the games actually. They've got a bit of strategy to them and can be relaxing". Though Laura's nose might be offended at the infamous Gamer Funk some of the more stereotypical guys give off.

Jocelyn then gets to witness Rachel redo Laura's outfit for her with a raised eyebrow. As well as her own. That was something she hadn't seen the woman do before. Interesting. "That has to come in handy," the woman comments as she follows Rachel along.

And here's where Laura blinks at Nate, and then sniffs the air as she looks towards Rachel. "So you did get him a 'redhead in bed' then?" is asked. All though it is asked /AFTER/ he clothing is changed. And well.... It's not really changed much. Black jeans. Plain black T-shirt. Black leather coat. Black combat boots.

"Fine. Somewhere else. Twelve hours is too long. Understood." is said as she follows the others, but she does sort of blink at Jocelyn and the mention of a 'board game night'.

The WHAT? Agh. Some things are better not known! But Nate can hardly tell Laura to shut up. She is already quiet enough. "No, Mouse, you are not getting it. But we will make you understand, somehow. We are telepaths and stuff. Onwards, to Harry's, I think. You must be hungry." His own clothes shift slightly, becoming less like a uniform and more casual. "Then we will make plans."

Rachel grins over at Jocelyn. She's still ever so pleased with that trick. "Now I've got the hang of it, yeah." She agrees, before getting a thoughtful look in her eye... but she shakes her head with a smirk. She won't mess with Jocelyn's clothes without being asked. Revenge would come tomorrow morning at the latest, after all.

Already halfway out the door, Rachel catches Laura's comment and almost yelps, "HEY! NO! LAURA!" Shaking her head again and muttering under her breath, Rachel makes for the surface levels, tossing back over her shoulder, "OK, Nate, lunch first. Don't think you're missing the shopping trip, though!" And she walks faster, getting out of range before he can protest.

Indeed. Rachel had learned fast. Jocelyn would be pleased if she was a telepath and could hear those thoughts. She just offers Laura an easy smile at the crack Laura made. It sounded like humor to her, or at least Jocelyn thought it was funny. "Come on Laura. I didn't grab any cash. We'll get it from our room and meet you guys in the Atrium". And Jocelyn is then moving upwards towards the surface levels as well.