The Danger Room

[Ruby]

Danger Room

:: Caught in the air, snatched with such force and slammed around like a rag doll. Any lesser being- human, mutant or otherwise would be DEAD now. But Ruby's threshold of pain was MUCH higher and her durability was such that it enhanced her seeming immortality.::

:: The punishment she was taking right now though was rough. It left her momentarily stunned as she hit the ground and almost immediately, her struggle to recover was obliterated by::

white noise generator.....AGGHHH!!!

:: she'd been through this before. it was a technology frequently used against psionics of varying natures...but it would only go so far!::

:: she was close enough to the leg of the Mandroid. ONE touch...and that leg would be GONE, reduced to DUST, leaving the robot severely damaged and handicapped. But before she could do THAT...::

UGGNNNN!!!! WHAT!?....

:: the touch of this creature brought a feeling she RARELY experienced. It wasn't anything she'd encountered before in the "Old World" BUT she'd seen things LIKE IT in NYC since the night of the Citadle Meltdown::

OW!!!

I rather LIKE my arm in TACT thank YOU!

:: she screamed with defiance::

:: The creature did her a FAVOR, snatching her up and away from the field of the white noise generator but as it was about to snap her arm...she cried out as she reached her other arm over to hold on to HIS arm for support.::

:: And then, with her physically fit form and aided by levitation, she SWUNG her lower body up and across, SLAMMING her high heeled boot into it's jaw and mouth, destracting it long enough to make it lose it's grip & leverage on her arm. It was enough for her to gain enough "wiggle room" to free her arm from his grasp.::

:: It recovered almost immediately, attempting to slam her into the ground. She reached forward and held ON to the creature though with her arms AND legsas she dragged it down to the ground with her. It may have had peak human strength but SHE was stronger than any peak human. And Sharon had taught her that when an enemy gets THAT CLOSE to you...they can be turned from the aggressor into the VICTIM.::

stay loose. turn with the creature. let the creature take the brunt...of the FALL

:: they CRASH down to the ground, Ruby landing on top of the creature.::

::Coughing::


i need to get out of here...

::Ruby is shaken...despite her durability and resilience, she's taken quite a bit of punishment in a confined space. the PAIN of the attack from the creature JOLTED her back into focus when she was snatched from the the Mandroid's field of attack, but it was still coming...still with

that infernal noise....i need...

SILENCE!

:: she still on the ground with her back turned. in one burst of speed, she turns back and lunges across the ground like a jungle cat. grabbing the leg of the mandroid in mid step. shutting her eyes and gritting her teeth, it only takes a SECOND for her to reduce that lower part of the leg- in mid step- to DUST as she slides underneath and behind it.::

:: Because of the sheer size of the mandroid, Ruby could not hope to reduce the WHOLE of it to dust but all she needed was ONE area, one spot! and with that...the robot FALTERS and now, without a lower leg to complete it's step, it lurches forward, FALLING DOWN and crashing on top of the creature, banging itself up pretty bad::

::the white noise generator is damaged::

FINALLY!

:: She exhales with a mix of relief and annoyance as she slowlyl gets to her feet.::

I have one chance... I've devoted much of the energy i recently metabolized into enhancing my durability...I HAVE to make this count! But i dont even know if it'll WORK!

:: the creature was already pushing and clawing its way from under the wreckage of the robot::

Is all that roaring REALLY necessary!?

:: she asks with a hint of sarcasm as the creature renews its approach. She narrows her blue eyes and directs a portion of her energy to psi shield. but not around HER. a globe forms INSIDE the creatures MOUTH. SHe continues to channel her energy...now clutching her beautiful ruby pendant, drawing on ITS special reserve for her as well. She makes the black hued globe GROW inside the creatures mouth, expanding until FINALLY it's jaws snap and its head EXPLODES with a sickening squeal and splatter of ...whatver it was inside that ugly thing::

UGHHHHH

:: Ruby leans/falls back agains the wall, breathing heavily, clutching her ruby pendant. She is now shaken and FATIGUED, having spent so much of her energy in what she was sure was one of her most desperate and violent attacks YET.::

Okay...that's ENOUGH.

:: She says, still winded.::

I've had ENOUGH, Cameron! This was supposed to be an EXERCISE...not faces of DEATH.

 

[Prophet]

As Cassandra experienced a brutal onslaught by the Mandroid, Cameron watched her. He intentionally made this simulation far more brutal if only to show her that in contrast to the Bestiamorph scenario, sometimes she would not have the sprawling landscape of an island at her disposal, and that in certain situations she would find herself in places where danger lurked around every corner.

Still SHE had the benefit of experiencing some of these things only in simulation, where as when HE and the founding members of The Six where in the Citadle, at least for Cameron, he found himself incredibly outclassed and fought HARD just to keep up with others, and of course to SURVIVE. Had he NOT been a part of the rag tag team of "heroes" he most certainly would have perished in The Citadle.

After being beaten and throttled like a rag doll, she came back with FULL force even against the White Noise generator and the brute strength of The Shadow Demons, the same beasts that attacked him, Vivica and Alexis in The Rainbow Room during their first caper. All of three of whom were rescued by a timely assist by Alison.

She took out a leg of the Mandroid and was able to disarm the white noise generator as she delivered a surprising manifestation of her abilities to use her PSI Shielf OFFENSIVELY within the mouth of the Shadow Demon, destroying it utterly.

There was another reason for the brutality of this scenario. Many times in battle, adrenaline pushes a person to new heights, and historically looking at himself, high stress situations often forced you to look at WHERE you draw your power from. He was a person driven by PASSION, and when he was TRULY passionate about what he was doing, he couldn't be stopped...not even in DEATH. Even THERE he was still able to assemble SOME part of his psyche to be trapped in the Astral Plane, hoping to find his sister. Morgan was driven by her desire to be IN CONTROL of a situation and when PUSHED, she drew on her ANGER to give her strength. Everybody had their trigger point and when they were able to truly tap into that, it make them incredibly stronger.

Box people into a corner and find out what they were truly made of...And Cass had done just THAT.

Cass: I've had ENOUGH, Cameron! This was supposed to be an EXERCISE..not faces of DEATH.

The Danger Room returned to it's natural state as Cameron came on through the intercom system.

"Well, Cass..Take it from me, hang around any of us long enough and DEATH will be a face you will come to know QUITE well.. Excellent job at utilizing other aspects of your abilities and truly FIGHTING your way out of the "box" I placed you. That scenario was to teach you to truly think on your feet when space is limited and you are cornered. You executed your attacks FLAWLESSLY and with purpose.. and I have to say, your durability has surprised even me... Now.. are you ready for my notes? Or would you like to experience one MORE scenario?? It's up to you!"

 

[Ruby]

Danger Room

:: Cass continued to lean back against the wall even as the space around her changed back to its original and natural state. This was a welcome sign.::

:: She continud to breathe heavily, but her breaths steadied and slowed to a normal pace. Even with her higher threshold of tolerance of pain and high level of durability, she had her limits and she had expended quite a bit of her metabolized psionic energy to maintain a higher level of durability as she took such punishment in the last scenario.::

::THAT, coupled with her to-the-wire efforts, left her needing a BREAK for now. How KIND of Cameron to OFFER her a say in the matter!::

oh you mean I get a choice? oh Cameron you're all heart!

:: She thought in a rather prickly voice in her own mind as she held on to her ruby pendant and let her head rest against the wall now.::

....WELL, since you're being so nice as to let ME pick, I choose to stop now.

Even Sharon said there's such a thing as going over board.

You've made your point...just like Sharon...and I get it....really I do. But I hope I made a point too. I might not be sorceress supreme or or anything like that...but I've survived 8 decades so far...I can...and I WILL FIGHT to protect myself.

Still...I can no longer deny the wisdom in what Sharon said about the need for training and for learning battle skills.


:: She looks up at Cameron who's high up in that control booth::

What are your notes then? Are you going to tell Sharon I'm a lost cause??

 

[Prophet]

Cassandra: ....WELL, since you're being so nice as to let ME pick, I choose to stop now.

Cameron smiled for a moment.

Cassandra: What are your notes then? Are you going to tell Sharon I'm not a lost cause?

"Give me a moment, Cass.."

He left the Control Room and a few moments later reappeared in the center of The Danger Room right beside the psychic succubus.

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Cass.. you did good today.. but allow me to wax poetic for a moments, will you?"

He began to pace back and forth around Cass trying to find a way to put into words what he was thinking.

"Cassandra, you have a lot of potential and i've seen that today in these scenarios as well as getting updates about your training sessions with Sharon. Being a member of this team is an HONOR...and the only way you are going to get the respect you are after...from ANY of us.. is to LEARN and ADAPT. We have worked together for a long time..I've been with Morgan and Alison since the night that we constituted The Six and destroyed the Citadle..and the horrors of THAT place were child's play compared to what we were to suffer later."

[he began to pace in the opposite direction, moving his hands a lot as he walked]

"Outside of being a team...we are a family. A family that has had A LOT of bad things happen to us over the years. We've lost lives, we've suffered incredible loss on a scale that nobody BUT us will ever know..We've seen the humans who have suffered to align themselves with us MURDERED and ressurected as BEASTS...as CREATURES of abominable porportions. I've lost one of my older sisters...my MOTHER...and along the way...nearly ALL of us...HAVE died in the line of fire..."

Prophet stopped walking as he faced Cassandra, placing his hands on her shoulders, continuing his little "pep" talk to Cass. There were things that she needed to hear.

"This is why at times...we will come across as HARSH and unforgiving...it's because we HAVE to be. We may have all of this success and these seeming glamorous lives..but those were battles that were HARD fought to win. And outside of all of that..our TRUE destiny lies within protecting the world from the things it has no power over...Do NOT underestimate what I am about to tell you. Your potential IS great..but overall..outside of today, you're inconsistent. And inconsistency...leads to DEATH. With everything we have going on? We CANNOT and WILL not babysit somebody who isn't up to snuff, and if that means a Sentinel bashes you into the Earth and destroys you completely...then that's what it means..."

He slowly let go of his hands on her shoulders as he gave her a smirk and continued.

"We aren't The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants..but we take care of those who can take care of us. You fortunately have the benefit of having many favorable people within our group supporting you. Others have NOT been that lucky..so ACCEPT their gifts, their words and their training.. and DO NOT COMPLAIN. I don't care if you feel like Morgan Victoria wants you DEAD..don't say a word. Because at some point you might find yourself in a terrible position and the ONLY person around to save you? Might just be her... Don't learn the hard way like I did."

And with THAT.. Cameron nodded to his new teammate, turned around and began walking towards the double doors, EXITING The Danger Room.