Sept 4th - X-Men Assemble

by **Laura Kinney** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:43 am

"Anybody is free to try and swim through the course and complete it that way." she says as Tosh is pulled underwater by an huge tentacle.

by **Samantha McManus** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:44 am

"But most of the baddies won't be building a bizarre obstacle course for us to get through."

"Well, except for the really weird ones."

"The goal is to get through, aye?"

She blinks.

"Oh. Tentacles."

by **Tereza Rozanov** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:45 am

"Okay, that's twisted... I like it."

by **Onyx** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:48 am

Onyx winces, "That never ends well."

"And do not be so sure, Ms. Morrigan," Onyx says. "A man named 'Lazer Frag' once held me in an obstacle course based around a laser tag arena."

"He was not one of my mentor's more....impressive villains."

by **Toshiro Narumi** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:57 am

Several things then happened in sequence. A mechanical octopus flew out of the water and exploded. There was a series of blue flashes under the surface. Something exploded underwater. Bruce climbed out at the far end only to be pulled back in. More flashes. Yet another explosion. Finally he clawed his way up to the end and thudded heavily onto his face.

"I'm okay!" he announced, hand raised in an okay sign before flopping down.

"Just... gonna lay here... for a minute..." he panted.

by **Samantha McManus** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 12:58 am

"...that is going a bit too far for the first date."

by **Nash Riley** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 1:05 am

Nash laughed "Poor robot octopuses, just didn't know who they were messing with."

by **Onyx** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 1:12 am

Onyx claps, "Wonderful work, sir."

by **Nash Riley** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:20 am

Nash walked up and made his run next.

The pendulums and rotating platforms didn't seem to give him any trouble. He seemed to be already moving off of any dropping platforms before most even noticed they were dropping. There was only one close moment when he suddenly pulled back and was just inches out of the way of a jet of water.

Though it wasn't as flashy as some of the others, he made it to the end of the course with no problems.

by **Laura Kinney** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:41 am

"And now you've learned that the room adjusts to what it knows about you. If you turn into a giant shark it'll try to match it. Although I would like to remind Samebito that this is an obstacle course and smashing through the obstacles is not the intended method of completing them. Next one won't be as fragile."

by **Toshiro Narumi** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 3:46 pm

"You said cheat," Bruce smirked from his spot back at the wall, arms crossed casually.

Then he turned back into Tosh. "Sorry..." he said sheepishly.

by **Laura Kinney** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:27 pm

"Oh don't worry, it counts. I can admit when I've been outsmarted or outmuscled." she says with a smirk that suggests she's probably coming up with ways to get Tosh back for that.

by **Haley Crusek** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 1:05 am

Haley fidgeted nervously in her training uniform at the start of the course, bits of conversation from onlookers, mental and otherwise buzzed in ears and through her mind. She chewed her lip as the course seemed to be resetting itself and jumped a bit once a starting horn announced the start of the course.

She ran through the first part with an impressive amount of skill, though she quickly realized once a hidden swinging pendulum nearly shoved her off the course that the computer may have just been letting her get complacent. She managed to stay on the path only by using her TK to lunge forward through the air, landing in a crouch with a thud much louder than her tiny frame could possibly create.

Haley slowed her pace considerably as she resumed her trek, eyes darting about looking for danger.

by **Narrator** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 1:38 am

Haley is doing fairly well, but from the look of things the bridge to the next platform is just a large padded cylinder.

By the diagonal stripes on it, she can tell that it's rotating.

Periodically, water jets set into the walls buffet the space above the cylinder. It's going to take some timing.

by **Haley Crusek** » Sun Jun 07, 2015 2:05 am

"Ah hell..." she swore stopping to try and get a sense of the timing of the jets. Between her pounding heart and the mental buzz in the room, it wasn't working especially well. She grit her teeth, narrowed her eyes and just started jogging, starting to will a bit of a bubble of telekinetic force around her to keep the water at bay,

by **Narrator** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:35 pm

It was a solid plan, but solid objects are easy to get a telekinetic grip on compared to water, which offers little coherent substance to hold on to. Some of the water-jet is scattered but enough of it goes through to knock Haley off of the platform and into the water.

by **Haley Crusek** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:44 pm

Haley sputtered and swore as she surfaced and began swimming to the edge of the pool.

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 3:51 pm

After everyone goes, to varying degrees of success X-23 loudly claps her hands to get everyone's attention.

"Alright everyone, nice job. The goal for next week is for everyone to pass this course. Samebito, Sphinx, you two smartasses get to do the aerial and aquatic ones. Those of you who cleared it, start training with the next difficult one. Room's set up to give you access, there's an online sheet where you can sign up for time-slots and you can always team up. Now, to wrap this up we'll do some light combat sparring. Computer, load training dummies."

The room flickers and the obstacle course disappears. In it's place a whole bunch of blank mannequins appear.

"They won't fight back, but they do move. Just show me what you've got to work with."

by **Tereza Rozanov** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:07 pm

Tereza's style was unpolished and no nonsense, but she obviously had a some experience. X-23 would probably catch hints of Russian Special Forces training in how she preferred to go through some of her motions, though it was woefully incomplete. No part of the dummy was safe either, above or below the belt. Oddly enough, she shied away from her powers.

by **Michaela Havlin** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:09 pm

In human form, Michaela exhibited the bare basics of self-defense training she'd picked up at the Institute, but it didn't look like she'd progressed much beyond that. As a three-headed dog, she was a bit more proficient, putting all three of her heads to use in feints and holds.

by **Toshiro Narumi** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 4:23 pm

Tosh's human self-defense skills barely qualified as basic and hardly ever even landed a blow. It was really pretty pathetic. However as Bruce the Sharkman, he landed many a devastating blow. If anything, he was hitting too hard and would probably kill or at least seriously injure a normal human opponent.

by **Carlos Vasquez** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 5:44 pm

This was right up Carlos' alley, and he bobbed and moved with the dummy, striking vital points again and again, consistently.

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 6:53 pm

X-23 walked along the rows of people sparring with the simulated computer opponents with a critical eye, watching everyone a fair amount of time before passing judgement and moving on.

Tereza Rozanov wrote:Tereza's style was unpolished and no nonsense, but she obviously had a some experience. X-23 would probably catch hints of Russian Special Forces training in how she preferred to go through some of her motions, though it was woefully incomplete. No part of the dummy was safe either, above or below the belt. Oddly enough, she shied away from her powers.

"Promising, but raw. Don't forget about your power."

Michaela Havlin wrote:In human form, Michaela exhibited the bare basics of self-defense training she'd picked up at the Institute, but it didn't look like she'd progressed much beyond that. As a three-headed dog, she was a bit more proficient, putting all three of her heads to use in feints and holds.

"Lacking, but that might not matter. Excellent coordination with your power, keep it up."

Toshiro Narumi wrote:Tosh's human self-defense skills barely qualified as basic and hardly ever even landed a blow. It was really pretty pathetic. However as Bruce the Sharkman, he landed many a devastating blow. If anything, he was hitting too hard and would probably kill or at least seriously injure a normal human opponent.

"Catastrophic, one way or the other."

Carlos Vasquez wrote:This was right up Carlos' alley, and he bobbed and moved with the dummy, striking vital points again and again, consistently.

"Now we're getting somewhere. Excellent technique and discipline."

by **Carlos Vasquez** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 6:54 pm

"Only so much," Carlos said, weaving for a moment, "one can learn from taking on mute dummies, though."

by **Samantha McManus** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:06 pm

Sam seems to have no real knack for this. At least most of the time. Every so often she manages a vicious, well-directed hit. She's even angling her fist just right.

It's fairly random when she manages it though. It can't be more than one out of every three swings, so it's probably a fluke, right?

by **Toshiro Narumi** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:11 pm

Laura Kinney wrote:"Catastrophic, one way or the other."

"That's good right?"

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:32 pm

Toshiro Narumi wrote:"That's good right?"

"If you're fighting things that can take it, then yeah."

Carlos Vasquez wrote:"Only so much," Carlos said, weaving for a moment, "one can learn from taking on mute dummies, though."

"That's because you're not learning, you're showing me where you're at. If you want to learn something you're free to stick around after class and go a round or two with me."

Samantha McManus wrote:Sam seems to have no real knack for this. At least most of the time. Every so often she manages a vicious, well-directed hit. She's even angling her fist just right.

It's fairly random when she manages it though. It can't be more than one out of every three swings, so it's probably a fluke, right?

"And you..." she's about to berate Sam when she notices the pattern she'd previously written off as dumb luck on Sam's part. "Hang on. Do that again. The exact same punch, keep repeating that a couple times.

by **Carlos Vasquez** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:33 pm

"If you're willing to show me," Carlos said, with a flash in his eyes. "I'd love to see if I could handle you mano a mano."

by **Samantha McManus** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 7:46 pm

Sam gives Laura a weird look, but then does as she asks. She doesn't seem to be able to reproduce it on demand. Some of the time she seems too cautious, like she's worried about hurting the dummy. Some of the punches are about what you'd expect for an unskilled teenage girl. Still, about a third of the time, she really nails it. It's not exact. The order is random, but it's there.

by **Onyx** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:27 pm

Onyx had been trained to take down opponents quickly and her use of fighting technique...made that very apparent. Onyx's first hit practically went through the dummy's chest and she followed it up with a throw that put it on the ground with her foot on its neck. Her eyes flickered with a bright light as she tapped into stored up energy, plastic and metal cracking underfoot as she applied her full strength.

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:31 pm

Carlos Vasquez wrote:"If you're willing to show me," Carlos said, with a flash in his eyes. "I'd love to see if I could handle you mano a mano."

She gives Carlos an acknowledging nod before turning back to Sam.

Samantha McManus wrote:Sam gives Laura a weird look, but then does as she asks. She doesn't seem to be able to reproduce it on demand. Some of the time she seems too cautious, like she's worried about hurting the dummy. Some of the punches are about what you'd expect for an unskilled teenage girl. Still, about a third of the time, she really nails it. It's not exact. The order is random, but it's there.

"Well, you know what you're doing, but you're still messing up more often than not. Try to figure out what you're doing right when you do and try to focus on that. And stop trying to spare the dummy. Maybe you could show her how to hesitate a little." she adds, glancing over at Onyx. "Just so she doesn't end up breaking all their bones every time she takes someone down. It's not about the most force you can bring to bear but finding the right amount."

by **Samantha McManus** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:35 pm

"I don't... really know what I'm doing," she says. "But practice makes perfect, I guess."

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:39 pm

X-23 looks pensive for a moment, then whips around and throws a punch at Sam out of nowhere.

by **Samantha McManus** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 8:48 pm

She certainly isn't inspecting it. Once she realizes it she does get her hands up to block, but not very effectively as she takes the hit, her feet skidding on the floor.

"...what'd you do that for?!"

As she recovers her stance... it's not the same stance. It's much tighter, more disciplined. It's like a different girl is standing in front of Laura.

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:08 pm

"You've got the right instincts. You're just standing in your own way." she says, shifting her own stance and moving in on Sam with another punch. She's leaving herself deliberately open to have her attack deflected, though that might not be immediately obvious.

by **Samantha McManus** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:12 pm

This time, Sam seems to be reacting almost as soon as Laura's posture shows that she's getting ready to swing. Her pupils are dilated, and she bats away the blow.

"So what, you're just going to keep hitting me?"

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:21 pm

"What if I will?" she asks, following the momentum of her redirected arm and spinning around to bring her other fist down on Sam. She's not going all out, but putting enough effort into it to make Sam think so without straight up overpowering her.

by **Samantha McManus** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:31 pm

Again this time Sam is moving as soon as Laura is. If anything, it's eerily like it's a choreographed fight in that respect, though it's not obvious where she's getting the script from. Laura telegraphing that much seems to have upped the ante, with her bringing up an arm to deflect and trying for a punch to Laura's gut herself. This is definitely the vicious, assured form Laura saw before.

by **Laura Kinney** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:41 pm

She makes a token effort to dodge, but at this point she's too committed to the bad form and just takes Sam's punch to the stomach. Not that it seems to bother her horribly much, but she still takes a step or two to the side before standing up straight.

"You might not even realize it, but you've got fighting instincts. Just a matter of bringing them to the front."

by **Samantha McManus** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 9:43 pm

"Oh geez, I'm sorry! I wasn't... I wasn't going for that!"

Her stance is quickly lost.

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