Players:
Summary: SOMEONE set off Scott's car's intrusion alarm. Mike, Cloud, and Dunstin are caught on camera.
Date: February 27, 2010
Log Title Car Alarmed
Rating: PG
Xavier Mansion - Garage
Home to various cars of teachers and X-men, the garage can house at least twenty vehicles. There is also an area that has a auto body shop set up so students and teachers and work on their cars. Almost any tool a mechanic needs can be found in this garage.
Sleep in the garage overnight? Nonsense. Why would Mike ever sleep in the garage, when he has a perfectly good room with a roommate and … oh yeah. Roommate who is either asleep or gone to class. So Mike's here, where he feels a bit more at home. He's over in the shop part of the building (you may have seen something similar on Orange County Cycles) and is crafting some sort of a fender-shaped thing.
Cloud is heading out to check out the school garage and to see what cars are there, hes dressed in a white t-shirt, pale blue jeans, red sneakers and has a two inch steel band around his wrist, he is in no way considering a joyride because that would be bad, fun, but bad. He walks in and looks around at the different cars, but doesn't spot Mike yet.
It's been a day of exploring the school grounds, Dunstin's been around quite a bit of the place and now he's peaking into the garage. His he a car junkie, not really, but he does own one, back home, in Rhode Island. He looks around and nods as he sees Scott's car and can't help but go over and look at it, which is when he spots Mike. "Hey Mike, Hey…person I don't know." He says to Cloud.
Mike looks up when the door opens, waves absently to Cloud, and returns his attention to the work he's doing: putting JUST the right curve in this piece of metal. It involves using a machine that makes a considerable amount of noise too. BRAABRBARBAARBRARRBRRARRPPATATANG. A floor-mounted reciprocating hammer, where do they come up with these things anyway?
But the noise stops when Dunstin comes in; Mike lifts the safety goggles away from his eyes and makes an "ahah!" noise.
"That's the headmaszter's carr. You might not want to breathe on it. He's possessivve."
Cloud is alerted to Mike's presance by the noise which makes him jump, "Hey Mike", his voice probably isn't heard over the noise, he looks round when Dustin comes in, "Hey there, I'm Cloud", he would offer his hand but is distracted by Scott's car, "Whoa, so this is Summers' car?"
"I don't plan on driving it, just looking. I don't have my license yet." A few more months and counting for Dunstin. "Hey, I'm Dunstin." Says the kind of nerdy looking kid in his button down shirt, jeans and glasses. He can't help it, he just has 'dork' written all over his style. "Apparently, according to Mike. It's not bad, I like my fathers car more."
Mike glances along the curve of the piece of metal, then compares it to a full-size drawing on a nearby table.
"This is good enough. So guys, what brings you here? I'm working on car parts. Obviouszly."
He puts down the fender and turns off the metal-shaping tool.
Cloud waves at Dustin his eyes still on the car, "Hey Dustin", he doesn't comment on his dorky look, he was one of he few guys back home who didn't pick on the dorks, he was broght up better than that, but he does note the use of the word "Father" rather than "Dad", he turns to Mike his hand on Scott's car, "I'm just checking out what cars this place has".
"I haven't gotten a chance to explore the grounds of the school so I was doing that today. Finally got to see the stables, I can't wait for spring." That way Dunstin can maybe do some horseback riding, right now in this cold weather, it's not a good idea. "I don't know much about cars, but I can't wait until I get my license." Dunstin knows /expensive/ cars and thinks that they're the best cause well, that's what the price tag sayz.
"OK, one fender down, three fenders, one hood, one rear panel and two quarter panels and the top sections to go, and… man this is gonna take a long tiime."
Mike says resignedly. What fit of optimism made him think he could put together a 'vette body from scratch anyway? Well, partly that he's helped do fiberglass fab before at his Papa's garage, and partly that working on cars is one of the few things that he really still enjoys the same way now.
"So have you seen anything you didn't expect? I was surprised by the cemetary myszellf."
Cloud looks round at Dunstin, "You ride horses, my sister does that, i tried it a couple of times when i was younger but i kept falling off", he turns to Mike raising an eyebrow, "This place has a graveyard?"
"I…didn't really hang around the cemetery, I just kind of walked passed it quickly." Dunstin voice sounds a little uncomfortable talking about it. "But the Hedge Maze, that surprised me. I mean really, a school has a hedge maze? That's friggin' awesome." He walks over a bit to see more of what Mike is doing. "Wait, are you building a car….from scratch?!"
"Sure, why not? Just the car body though. Jamesz has to come up with the chassis himsellf. He already has the engine, we've been worrking on that for class, but …" and he modulates his voice down, "keep it confidenntial, I know he won't be able to find a body for it. And he won't fit well. Soo, a little cusztom work."
Cloud wanders over to where Mike and Dunstin are standing to have a look as well.
"Have no clue about chassis and all that stuff." Dunstin admits, he's not a car guy. Not really. "Is it true that they won't let us have cars here as students?" Maybe he can see if his father can pull some strings when he gets his license…no he shouldn't, it's not right.
Mike points to the piece of metal, "That'sz the first part of the puzzle. I'll cover that with fiberglaasz and then put it together with the reszt of the partsz, do a fix-patch to make them one piece, where they're szupposed to be. The hard part is finding the different metal partsz."
(There's a bit more to fiberglass fab than that, but Mike doesn't want to over-share today.)
He puts it into a locker as he answers Dunstin's question. "Students cannot have vehicles stored on campus for space reasons, I got an exemption because I have to merge with one every day or my power goesz wonkyy. But there'z two garages back in Westchester where students have kept their carsz."
Cloud nods, "My parents pay for my car to be stored in Westchester, but it costs a bundle", his parents way of trying to make his new life easier, he turns to Dunstin, "How long before you get your licence?"
"About three months, then that's a cool option…wait…you have a car?" Dunstin is getting idea. "I dunno if it's weird to ask but Six needs to get his stuff from Maine and we were trying to find someone who could drive up there, maybe a road trip one weekend?" It's just a thought. "I'd pay for all tolls and gas money." He then winces about the garages. "I dunno, do you really think you can trust those guys at a garage?"
The robot boy ponders for a moment. Could totally help with that trip, but has only the provisional learners' permit - 16 is almost a year away, darnit. So couldn't drive with these guys anyway, gotta have an adult.
"Why wouldn't you trust them? You should check with their other clients first but yes, you can trust most garagesz to keep your car safe. The long-term storage is uszually in a completely enclosed area anyway," Mike says.
Cloud nods, "Yeah i have a car, i guess i could drive you guys down there, if you're willing to chip in for gas and stuff", he hasn't met this Six guy but who doesn't love a roadtrip, he shrugs, "The garages seem pretty reliable to me".
"My father never trusted them with his car, which is why my father always had our chauffeur drive when he had to leave the car somewhere." Dunstin says as he hasn't heard great things. Dings that can happen, possible joy rides, who knows if you can trust them. "We'll see what happens when I get my license, no use worrying now."
Mike nods. "I'll have a license some day. Next year."
He finishes cleaning up his work area, and walks over to the motorcycle parking. His own bike is the red 1968 BMW. Looks a bit old but still quite pristine. Or perhaps, well-restored.
Cloud walks back over to Scott's car, he really wants to take it for a ride, but he cant afford to get kicked out.
Dunstin finds a place to go sit down and looks at Mike. "So, why is it you got an exemption to have a car here?" After all he doesn't know what the metal-man's powers are. "So what do you two do around here for fun…well besides build cars in your case Mike." He says with a smile.
Mike pats his motorcycle. "Not car. My bike. Mama thought it should be a car but Papa read the rule about not allowing student vehicles and he decided if they were going to ask for an exzemption it would be better for it to be smaller. This isz why," and he takes the collar off his neck, clips it around the front fork under the steering wheel, and touches the handlebars. A VROOOM sound can be just heard coming from him when he vanishes. The motorcycle shifts, changing from a 68 BMW street bike to a Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R. Worlds fastest motorcycle, according to the literature.
Mike's voice comes out of a grille on the instrument cluster.
"I do this. I merge with vehicles. Tried going without for a week. It was horrible."
Cloud shrugs, "I used to play football, but this place doesn't have a team", he walks over to watch Mike's demo and grins when the bike changes, "Whoa, you gotta let me have a go, please?"
"Woah?! That's neat!" Dunstin says at viewing Mike's powers. "Why would you want to ride him, he's in the bike, that'd kind of be…weird." To Dunstin that'd be like riding on a person who could turn into a car, it's just…freaky to him. "Football? I never got into it. There wasn't even a football team at my last school."
"Actually I don't mind being driven, but I promiszed my parents I wouldn't let anyone drive me until I learned how to not make them be addicted to it."
The bike says that in a semi-embarrassed tone of voice, "I try to make my driversz part of me, I don't know how to sztop it yet."
SO not explaining the whole "better than sex" part of this either.
Cloud shrugs, "He looks fast, i like going fast, but moving at high speeds under my own power is very draining", he raises both his eyebrows in shock, "You try and make the drivers part of you, like absorbing?, with my powers that could cause all kinds of trouble, so bad idea i guess".
Dunstin says, "Wait, so what do you mean by addicted to it?" Dunstin doesn't get how someone could be addicted to driving a vehicle Mike's possessed. At Cloud's words he looks over at the other teen. "So what are your powers? How could that cause trouble with yours?""
"Yes, very bad idea, Cloud absorrbz energy and essence, it's cool but I bet it could be aa bit unpredictable," Mike answers, and then the motorcycle is just another BMW and Mike-the-robot is standing next to it as he clasps the collar back on his neck. "But da— Darnit. I miss driving around. A LOT. I thought about doinng it in the danger room, but there'z too many squad things, the X-Men using it too… I wonder how much power that thinng uszes."
Cloud nods, "Mike's got it pretty much right, here, i'll give you a quick demo", he opens to bonnet of Scott's car and places a hand on the battery and absorbs some electricity, he closes the bonnet and holds out his hand palm up which is now crackling with electricity, "I can only do it six or seven times a day, what do you do?"
"You can't just drive outside of the grounds, like the back roads? I mean I don't think I remember seeing many houses on the way out here." Dunstin says honestly. "Woah that neat Cloud, I bet you two have an easy time in the Danger Room." He's heard all about it but he has no clue how he'd be useful in that kind of environment. "Me? Oh, I control luck via the dice."
Mike grins …inside. "Hey, do you still play D&D, Dunstinn? I wouldn't mind bringing a heallerr to the party. Alszo, I hope someone else rolls for you?"
Dunstin reaches in his pocket and pulls out a d12. "This, I roll the dice, the lower the number the worse the luck, the higher the number the better. It's random, but stuff happens when I roll." Dunstin looks at Mike and shakes his head. "No, I won't be, I use a computer now, a program, to roll dice. Mainly because I don't want to risk it when I play anymore. It doesn't seem to effect it when I use a computer. I know Cam and Six are probably gonna play, I'll put a notice up but you're welcome too." It's cause Dunstin believes in the physical action of rolling the dice. "If you wanna see how it works, I can show you."
Mike is totally … curious. "Welll… what does 'luck' mean? Should we do this inn here or outsziide?"
Cloud nods, "Sounds cool, lets see", he scratches his head, "have you tried doing it with cards?"
"It means luck and no, it doesn't work with cards." Dunstin says as he looks around and just rolls the d12 on the floor. It rolls and stops on a '6'. It's not good but it's the high end of bad. "Aw crap well at least it's not a '1' like when I was in the lobby." And right after he says that the alarm starts going off loud and clear on Scott's car.
Mike winces. "THAT is not going to help things at all."
And Scott's car has that nifty smart system you can only turn off with the special keyfob. Well, if he isn't here to turn it off himself in 5 minutes, it may shut itself off. And Mike's been expressly forbidden to merge with Scott's car too, so he can't turn it off that way.
Cloud slaps a hand to his forehead, "Fuck, this isn't good", he runs back over to the car, "How the hell do i turn this thing off, draining the battery should work right?"
Dunstin puts his hands over his ears and yells "Sorry" over the alarm system. He knows if he didn't roll the dice, the alarm wouldn't be going off. "See, that's what I mean by luck, good or bad. It all depends. That was bad luck."
Mike sais, totally nonchalantly but loud enough to hear, "So do you ever use a larger size of dice? If rolling a one is bad, what would it do if you were rolling a D100 instead?"
He yells over to Cloud, "DON'T TOUCH IT, you'll make things worse!"
Cloud shouts over the noise, "Not your fault, just bad luck", he looks over at Mike, "Then what do i do?"
Dunstin nods. "Yeah, it just means that there's different odds…well not odds but..you know what I mean. d100's are just a pain, the largest I carry is a d30, but the d12 was just what I pulled out." Dunstin says looking at the car. "I don't know what you do, just hope that Headmaster Summers doesn't kill you?"
Mike nods, "OK, So it has to be a single die? You couldn't roll a pair of d10s instead?"
Because that's totally what everyone else does because the d100 is too big. Of course there was that special floating magic-8-ball d100 some goober brought to a game once, but after nobody would heal him or give him spell buffs, he started using the right thing. Still … "IT SHOULD SHUT ITSELF OFF IN A MINUTE OR TWO," Mike says, then returns back to the matter at hand, "So have you thought about, like, having different dice in a bracer like in that old book Andre Norton did?"
Cloud is looking all over the car for a way to turn off the alarm, if he can't find one he'll drain the battery.
Dunstin nods. "Yeah, I can roll percentiles if they're rolled together as one dice." He looks around and then looks at the car. "Sorry, I gotta run, I gotta call my father tonight before it's too late. I'll talk to you later MIke and it was nice meeting you Cloud." He says as he takes off.
Mike grins internally. "LATER DUNSTIN! CLOUD, DON'T TOUCH IT! Leave it alone and it'll shut off…"
He strolls out the door himself, realizing that running away would be a bad thing. Maybe he'll go tell someone the car alarm is going off.
Cloud waves to Dunstin then follows Mike out.
