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Summary: Nigel Cranks up his Training Sim under Logan's supervision.
Date: April 30, 2013
Log Title: The Mark 5
Rating: R
Xavier Mansion - Danger Room
A product of Shi'ar technology, the room generates apparently solid, realistic imagery by manipulation high-resolution force fields and holograms. The walls and floor appear as a steel room until a program is turned on. Overhanging the room in the center is a control Room managing the room's mechanisms to oversee the exercise while ensuring the subject's safety.
The main doors to the danger room are sealed showing the room in use. However access to the control booth is still open. Given the flash of explosions and the maniacal laughter echoing through the room it's obvious that Wildcard is doing what he does best, wreak havoc. A simulation of mutant town lays in a smoking ruin along with the wreckage of about a half dozen Mark II sentinel robots. The living toon still duking it out with 4 others that have taken various stages of damage. Nigel's laptop sits on the control console with several files brought up onto it's main screen.
If Nigel knows it or not, Logan's been sitting up in the control booth for quite some time, smoking a cigar. He knows Charles would never allow but Chuck isn't here and he can't help but do it to get Emma's gears grinding. He's found Wildcard's choice of simulation from enemy to location interesting but he knows he's probably not going to take down all six Sentinels. Heck, even he couldn't take down six of them on his own. Occasionally he looks through the files on Wildcard and only one word really comes to mind from the training and files - undisciplined.
Wildcard slams into the wall going through it after the impact from one of the robots, though before the dust settles he's bounding back out of the hole. Grinning from ear to ear his hands retract into his jacket and with a metallic *Thud* a pair of anvils on chains fall out. Going into that tazmanian devil spin he rockets towards the robot that struck him and the two collide with the sound of tearing metal as sparks fly and the toon tornado zips upwards leaving a path of battered and torn armor in his wake. When he reachs the head the spinning stops and he grabs the robot by the skull. He arms stretching as he leaps up 30ft, his feet increasing in size and suddenly covered in large steel boots he shoots downwards like a rubber band to cave in the top of the bots head, leaping off as the mech falls. The files on his computer are links to the school database on other superhumans, more specifically thier powers and combat tactics. Files are loaded up on Speedball, Reed Richards, Mystique, and Wolverine.
The file on Mystique is quickly closed followed by his own file, he doesn't like people reading up on him even though he knows their are plenty of records at the school. Eventually the raspy voice of Logan comes on through the speaker system of the Danger Room. "What are you doin' to challenge yourself? Right now it looks like you have it set on easy mode."
Wildcard stops at the sound of the voice "Computer halt simulation." As everything comes to a stop he cracks his neck and looks towards the booth. "This is just practice, don't know the full extent of my changes yet after that incident with the Omegas at the school. Course if you want a show I can arrange that…" He thinks for a moment "Computer reload simulation, access additional file "Cable Protocol 1" Enemy count 1 unit, configuration.. Mark 5." The computer begins to process the request, if Logan checks the system it seems that several months ago Cable uploaded new specs to Wildcard's Sentinal combat sim, adding future versions of the sentinel robot that don't exist in this time yet.
"That was a show, if you're goin' through them that easy it ain't practise." Logan says looking at the settings. He makes sure the Sentinel's programmed with it's learning abilities and will adjust accordingly to Nigel's powers. He just wants to see what the kid will do when it comes to a challenge.
Wildcard stretchs and waits for the sim to start "Sorry, keep forgetting I'm dealing with a one-trick pony. You've probably never had to practice a new move or some new variation of your powers. Just full speed ahead and hack and slash." He watchs as the cityscape resets and the wreckage from his previous sim fades away, only to look up as the new looming model of the Mark V sentinel rises up. The sim shows the units specs, heavy weaponry, adaptive powers, self-repair, advanced scanners, technology that won't exist in the world for decades. Cable seemed to have tailor made this unit specifically to fight Wildcard.
There's a growl that escapes Logan's throat and he takes a long drag off his cigar to calm himself down. He can't let one of the students get to him like that. "Keep talkin' big Bub, an ego don't make you the best." He doesn't bother getting into it with Nigel, Logan knows what he's had to learn and that he doesn't just rely on his powers but also his skills. He doesn't have any need, or desire, to prove himself to the kid.
Wildcard flicks one hand calling up his mallet. "Never claimed to be the best, might be one of the most powerfull students in the school right now but unlikely the best. I just have to work the hardest. The staff doesn't understand my powers so I'm left to figure out most things on my own outside of the basics and non-powered lessons. If you've been snooping in my laptop you've seen I have to piece my strategies together from fragments of supers that have powers similar to aspects of my own. I don't have an ego, I've just learned to stop taking shit from people that don't know me and have no idea what I have to go through to improve, so grab a beer and we'll see how good I really am." He looks up at the robot and there's a moment in those eyes that rarely happens.. doubt. "Never fought one of these before, this aughta be interesting. Computer begin simulation."
"Everyone's different on how they improve kiddo." Logan says and at the suggestion of grabbing a beer he regrets that he doesn't have any down here with him. "Even two people with the same powers still have their differences." Logan has fought the Mark V before and he won't ever claim it was easy. He won't ever claim any Sentinel fight he's been through has been easy.
As the robot begins to move Wildcard bursts into action, his lower legs curling like springs as he bounces down the street rebounding off cars and walls to avoid the initial energy blasts from it's hands and springs up to give it a crack on the head, only to have the hammer reflected in a burst of blue energy. A second later an energy beam from it's eyes strikes him full on and sends him hurtling back down the street to slam into the asphalt, still smoldering as he gets up. "Ow… defensive shielding. Good to know." Tossing the hammer away he brandishes his old standby, the bazooka and fires a barrage of red cartoonish rockets towards the mech. Several of them shot out of the air and the few that hit doing no noticable damage to the shielding.
Logan stays quite and doesn't say anything as he watches. He's not getting any enjoyment out of seeing Nigel have a hard time, he actually finds it curious. Watching this he can actually learn the boys limits rather than watching him steamroll over something easier. He puts out his cigar and stands up, walking over to the window to get a better view.
The Sentinel is already adapting to Wildcard's powers. It's reaction time inproveing to match his speed and relfexs, it's weaponry recalibrating to be able to actually inflict damage to his unstable molecular form. For the next few minutes the Living toon breaks out his usual arsenal of tricks, anvils, hammers, explosives, high-speed impacts. Nothing even doing so much as phase the large
robot. Though there is somthing different, there's no laughter, no jokes or one-liners. He's focused and each attack varies in some way from the others. Might make somone wonder how much of his looney-toon shtick is really just an act. He's taken several hard hits and is actually showing physical damage to his toon form that isn't regenerating right away like everything else has.
Now this is interesting to Logan, this is the side of Wildcard he wanted to see. What happens when he's faced with a situation where he needs to think and use actual tactics beside 'hit 'em really hard'. Before it was like this was all a game to Nigel, a giant playground and now it's a new ball game. Logan's not interested in a win or lose scenario here but how well Nigel can improvise.
Seemingly on the defensive now Wildcard backs off, only to manifest a crowbar and pop off a nearby manhole cover. Stretching one arm back he fires the cover at the Robot like a giant slingshot but as the Sentinel swats it from the air Wildcard is nowhere to be seen, the attack having been a diversion. Scanning the area the Mech aims towards the ground and fires several times at a target obviously getting closer to itself, before the ground beneath it suddenly explodes causing it to drop up to it's knees in the street. Wildcard pops out of a manhole behind it and rush forwards, one arm stretching as he grabs a power line that's been knocked down from the fighting and jams the live end against the defensive shield causing a blinding flash and a shower of sparks. The Sentinel's head turns a full 180 and blasts him again but the damage has been done.. it's sheilds are down.
Finally Logan's voice can be heard over the intercom system. "Careful, these models can spray liquid nitrogen to freeze you solid." He's not telling the program what to do or altering anything, that would defeat the purpose but giving Nigel a heads up might be able to help. Once the session is over, then he'll bring up what he wants to with Wildcard but until then, he's content with watching.
Wildcard rises from the crater the sentinel just blasted him into and presses his attack before it can repair it's shields. He already seems to know he can't puncture the armor this thing has so in a likely surprising display of tactics he's targeting the joints. Sparks fly as a manifested chainsaw is jammed into the back of one knee to foul the locomotion as it tries to pull itself from the hole it's stuck in. The liquid Nitrogen does come into play actually freezing one of the toon's arms. Though he simply pulls the frozen apendage off and another pops into existance in it's place. He seems to be waiting for somthing as he continues to dodge blasts and jab in counterattacks where he can get them to keep it off balance.
There's one thing Logan's starting to question in regards to Wildcard….what need does this kid need of training? What need does this kid need of friends or even a team. He can do it all it seems. Even Logan can't grow back a new arm that quickly. He's a lone wolf, he knows it's sometimes easier to do things alone but most of the time, you need friends, people you can trust in a fight. With the way Nigel works, Logan can tell the kid doesn't think he has a need for others in a fight.
The limits are starting to become rather obvious the longer the fight drags on. Wildcard can't do any direct damage to the Sentinel, he's starting to slow down as he takes more and more punishment from somthing that can actually hurt him. When he's facing conventional odds he's practically unstopable, but he's not used to actually getting hurt and it shows. It's taking him longer and longer to recover each time he's hit, as the fight drags on to the 20 minute mark he seems to honestly be getting tired. Though he finally seems to get the opening he was looking for as the ground shakes and the sentinel begins to take to the air. Rushing directly into the red-hot exhaust of it's thrusters he calls up a pair of cartoon bombs and stretching his arms jams them directly into the engines, a pair of explosions obscuring him from sight for a moment. As the smoke clears the sentinel crashs to earth, it's legs intact but smoking as the blast probably wrecked the internals. Wildcard staggers from the cloud smoldering and missing his hands.. which are taking more time to grow back then normal.
At this time Logan stops the simulation, leaving everything frozen at it is instead of just letting the Danger Room return back to it's usual steely walls. About a minute later he enters the room and walks over to Nigel dressed in his typical jeans, white wife beater. "You did good Kid. You're right, you probably are one of the most powerful students here, but don't let it go to your head." Meaning
the compliment. "You're like me, used t' workin' alone."
Wildcard closes his eyes as the sim stops and grits his teeth as he focuses, he hands finally popping back into existance. He's visibly panting for breath as Logan walks up. "Most sims that would give me a challenge would steamroll the other students, so yeah I usually practice alone. But I know my spot on the team, I'm the meatshield, the guy that runs out front screaming "hey look at me!" and taking the hits to give the other folks time to do what they do. The headmistress has based most of my team training sims off of yours." He looks to the Sentinel "Man am I happy those aren't going to exist for a while yet. This honestly hurts…"
"Never say they don't exist yet. Time is a funny thing, 'specially if you're a Summers." Logan says not sure the kid will get his little joke. "Here's somethin' I'll tell ya kid, most of my trainin' simulations, ain't really for trainin', their for blowin' off steam. If I don't, it ain't pretty." He finds a spot and sits down, pats a non-existing pocket on his chest before looking up at the observation room. "Left my jacket upstairs." He grumbles. "And yeah, they might steamroll the other students but if you were with them, whatdaya think would happen?"
Wildcard turns back into Nigel, who interestingly enough sports brusies and welts in spots where Wildcard took hits that actually damaged him. Leaning against a mailbox he ponders that "Depends on the sim and who I'm working with. I know a handfull of students well enough to be able to give them openings while I draw the fire."
"But do you trust them?" Logan asks Nigel. It's a simple question and he's mostly asking because he knows how long it took him to trust the X-Men. He can see some bits of himself in Nigel, mostly the loner part.
Nigel cracks his neck and winces… "Ow… yeah most of them. Course I don't know much about the new additions like Amunet. The team sims lately have just been a grab-bag of whoever happens to be out of their rooms so it makes it a little more difficult."
"What happened to your mandatory danger room sessions three times a week?" Logan asks Nigel. From what he's seen Danger Room sessions are three times a week with a rotating team, so you get the same group to practise with once a week. That's what he's seen most of the other students doing. "When I run sessions, that's usually how it goes?"
"Like I said, the school doesn't understand my powers and doesn't really know how to handle them, so I mostly practice alone. I get mabye one or two team sessions a month when somone gets an idea for a sim that needs somone to take alot of abuse and keep on trucking." Nigel looks for a spot to sit. "Besides after the whole mutant registration thing most of the student body thinks I'm a terrorist nutjob and won't work with me."
Logan lets out a laugh and shakes his head. "Kid, do you think the school understands the powers of every student that comes in here? Lemme tell you something, we don't. Some student's got it easier and get power we've seen before but others don't. But right now what I'm hearin' is you're makin' the choice not t' join in with your scheduled session's and just go it alone and with a group if you feel like it." He frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. "When I first came to the X-Men I wasn't too keen on workin' with a team, even though I ran with Alpha Flight before that. It was different. Workin' with a team doesn't just strengthen your powers, no matter how easy the trainin' might seem, it's worth it workin' with others. Trust me."
Nigel chuckles "So not to change the subject but since we're on the teamwork topic let me ask you somthing that's been bugging me for a bit. What WAS the solution for the part of that team sim you ran that we got stuck on? I mean there had to be some combination of our powers that was supposed to work in the right fashion but I've poured over that last bit for over a week and damned if I could figure it out. A hall of lasers with no discernable source capable of firing on multiple high-speed targets from any direction and angle with an undiscernable targeting system.
"Toad Junior can camouflage herself, they were based off of movement, sight. If she went through camouflaged she could have gotten found a switch to turn 'em off. Catboy would have made it through if he didn't get distracted by the girl's screamin' if I remember correctly." Logan explains. "It wasn't supposed t' be easier though."
Nigel shrugs "And I simply could have plowed through it and switched it off as well. But yet Amunet having a power spasm kinda derailed the whole thing since the goal was we all had to make the trip and she was kinda.. well not worth a crap while having a breakdown."
"Then it would have been you doin' everythin' and the team just followin' ya. How's that workin' as a team?" Logan says looking up at Nigel. He's used to looking up at most of the student body. "Sometimes the goal ain't always kill everythin' in site but how to work together. Chuck used t' get quite upset when we didn't work as a team."
Nigel nods "Like I said earlier that's my place in the team dynamic.. to take the hits and keep on coming so the others don't have to. Had there been a part where stealth was mandatory then that would have been Amunet's department.. of course I also didn't know she could camoflage until you brought it up."
"Well it ain't no use beatin' a dead horse, I said what I needed t' say that night." Logan's not going to lecture the kid or go off on him since he's already expressed his feelings. "So are you workin' and trainin' hard cause you're one of the many kids here who seem t' wanna be an X-Man?"
Nigel shrugs "Right now I don't know what I wanna be, the only thing I know for sure is that whatever I end up as I wanna be as good at it as I can manage. If I'm going to be damned for being a mutant than I might as well go whole hog and learn to use my abilities to thier fullest extent. Up until a couple months back I didn't have full control over myself.. my powers were unstable and unpredictable and letting wildcard loose was somthing I had to do sparingly since I couldn't fully dictate his actions. Now I'm in the drivers seat and it's taking some getting used to."
"Good t' hear you got better control when your not, it ain't a good thing." Logan knows all to well from experience. "You should start takin' my hand to hand courses, it'll help out in quite a few ways I'd imagine. Give ya some discipline. I gotta run though Kid, gotta date with a six-pack." It's not easy to tell if Logan's being serious or not.
Nigel nods "I'd been taking the self-defense courses The former student Connor had been teaching, but havn't seen him since the registration fiasco. I'll definately be there, always good to know how to defend yourself without the powers since mine require a full transformation. Have a good night, I need a few asprin and a nap after this session. Feel like hell." He stands a stretchs again, looking back to the frozen bot a moment before simply stating "Computer End Simulation." and heading to the booth to get his laptop as the scene fades away.
