psinex@yahoo.com Strange Attractors 5/25 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's, except for Danny, who's mine. Please don't sue. -------------------------------------------------------- Mass. Acad. Biosphere: 8/27/2003: 08:00 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- "As ye c'n probably guess, ye'll each hae t' try t' cross th' biosphere," Sean told the semi-circle of students at the room's entrance. "This'll nae be easy - th' room's been programmed t' generate obstacles which're supposed t' hinder ye w'out harmin' ye." "The point of this exercise is two-fold," Emma called from the control booth with Stevie and a frowning Tom Corsi. "You will get a taste of your future workouts - Miss Hunter will handle the more mundane physical education portion in the other half of this class - and be able to see how your fellow students utilize their powers." #And embarass ourselves,# Danny thought, looking around at the others nervously. #How the HECK'm I supposed to use MY power to handle this place ... ?# "Erik, you may go first," Emma called with a faint smile. Erik just nodded, walking forward carefully, while Tom muttered, "Did you SEE what he did to the yard when he pinned X-Force ? It's a mess !" "He took charge and prevented bloodshed, Thomas," Emma replied. "Besides, Erik isn't infallible ..." #Just be careful,# Erik told himself, casting outwards with his magnetic sense. He came to a log over a small pond, and immediately tensed up. #Perfect place for a trap,# he thought - - before padded balls filled the air. #They're nonmetallic !# he thought angrily. #Fine - I'm not gonna give up that easy ...# Erik levitated, his magnetic force bubble deflecting the balls, and reached out with another power to crush the cannons firing the objects. "Telekinesis ... ?" Tom asked Emma. "Incredible," Emma nodded, watching Erik make his way forward. "But he's still not quite invulnerable ..." #So much for THAT -# Erik thought - - until a high-pitched whine flooded his head. #ULTRASONICS !?# Erik cried out, falling to the ground just short of the door out of the room. The sound cut out the instant he landed, and Stevie helped him up. "Nice work," she said with a smile. "Most don't get this far in the first place." "Remind me of that when I can hear you," Erik muttered, rubbing at his ears. He rejoined the other Mutants, watching as Ray stood with a defiant expression. "Ready," she called. The Phoenix surrounded her for a moment, but Ray powered down and walked into the woods without a visible power signature. #The traps're ususally keyed to counter a mutant's given abilities,# she thought, noting a series of vines begin to approach her. #So, don't mess up and use them ...# She smiled, dancing and leaping through the vines, landing in a small clearing across from the exit door. #Sonics ? Psi-scrambler ?# Ray thought, trying to anticipate the next "attack." She walked forward, but saw a pit full of pillows appear beneath her. #Just a LITTLE TK-boost -# Ray jumped, but shrieked when a force-bubble surrounded her from one of the nearby stumps. #Counter-psionic material !# she thought, floating to the ground with a frown. "Almost, kiddo," Stevie said, freeing her student with a remote-control-like device. "You had the right idea, though." "Geezh, Aunt Stevie," Ray smirked, "You guys hold all the cards ..." "So shuffle the deck," Tom winked. He headed forward, evading a series of metallic tentacles, and jumped over a pit with a blue glow surrounding him. "A visible probability field," Emma said softly. "So how do we counter something we can't predict ?" Tom asked. Emma just nodded and said, "Watch." Bill yelled when he was picked up by a vine and dropped on top of Tom. "What the - oh no," Tom groaned, falling with Bill into a nearby pit. "She knew our powers cancel each other out," Bill smirked. "Not bad for a broad." He helped his twin out of the pit, not noticing Emma's deathstare. "'BROAD' ?" she hissed. Sean hid a smile and said, "Now, Em ..." "Master Shade's lucky I'm not putting him in with Joe Bailey," Emma frowned. "Speaking of whom - Joseph, Gailyn ?" The Baileys stood, heading into a wooded area and keeping an eye out for one another. "Don't get too far away," Joe called. "I know," Gail said, taking his hand - or trying, when a rope-trap snagged Joe by his feet. He rose, yelling, into the air, and called, "Gail ! I'm sorry I was a bossy jerk HALP !" "Hang on - sorry," Gail giggled. "Bad pun - EEK!" She ducked a series of vines, but found herself caught in them as well. "My TK's not strong enough without you to break free," Joe called. "Same here," Gail sighed. Stevie freed them, and the twins smirked at each other. "Looks like we know what we're supposed to learn - 'teamwork' ?" Joe asked, sitting with Gail. "Wouldn't hurt," Stevie winked. Luna stood, looking around, and forced herself to walk slowly. #Think before you act,# she told herself. #But it seems OK ...# She began to run, noticing a series of pillow-guns firing up ahead. #No problem just turn on the buzzsaw,# Luna thought. Her hands began to vibrate at incredible speeds, shredding the pillows - - until a tall man appeared ahead of Luna. "YIKES !" She stopped vibrating, shrieking when another pit opened beneath her full of a viscous green substance. "Ew ICK ICK - SLIMED !" Luna yelled. The goop dissolved, allowing Luna to climb out and look at Stevie with a weak smile. "I was impulsive," Luna sighed. "You didn't carve up the innocent bystander - you got points for that," Stevie smiled. "Lewis," Emma called. Lew Guthrie stood, bowing to Luna as she sat down, and turned to face the jungle with a swallow. #Gosh ... a real princess,# Lew thought. He walked forward, focusing on the path instead of the pretty girl he'd left behind. #Focus, Guthrie,# Lew told himself. #Gotta be -# He yelled when the trees started MOVING, and he tried to generate lightning. A sudden gust of dry, hot air knocked him over, and Lew's clouds vanished. #No moisture, no rain - no lightnin',# he thought with a sigh. The branches pinned him, but a loud cry and a green glow drove the trees back. "Let mah brothah GO !" Naomi demanded. "Freaky trees - AAUGH !" Naomi cried out, kneeling, when an axe-wielding robot slammed its' weapon into a nearby tree. Lew ran to her, holding her and yelling, "STOP IT ! She gets hurt when th' plants do !" "Oh dear," Emma said, shutting down the test. Naomi stood, leaning on Lew, and sat back down, smiling gratefully at her twin. "Sorry ah int'rupted," Naomi told Sean. "Nae, lass - t'is good t'see ye protectin' yuir brother," Sean said. "'M sorry we hurt ye." "Ya din't mean it," Naomi shrugged. "Ah jes' gotta rest ... them plants're still hurtin' ..." "If you're all right, we'll go ahead ... ?" Leong asked, standing with Nga. Sean nodded, watching as the twins headed into the forest. "I don't see how our powers'll be of any use," Nga groused. "Just watch and learn," Leong winked. He took her hand and pointed at a tree, making it bend and shift. "See ?" Leong whispered, revealing the cybernetics within the "tree." "If we can bend the organic -" "AIEEGH !" Nga cried, hearing a massive ultrasonic beam surround them. Leong let go of her, crying out when steel cables restrained them both. "And of course," he told Stevie bitterly as she freed them, "our powers don't affect inorganic matter." "You're getting the idea," Stevie said. "Remember, you guys're just starting ..." "It'd be nice if we could just get on with it," Nicole frowned. She plowed into the thickets, crushing a series of traps, but finally slammed into a force-field. "Sigh ... she's so blunt," Claud smirked. She opened a transportal in the field, freeing Nicky, but cried out when a gold energy field surrounded her. "Psionic scrambler - UGH," Nicole growled as her force-bubble resurrounded her. Stevie freed the girls, who headed back to the others. "This is depressing," Danny whispered to Ray. "Sort of," Ray admitted as Artie and Leech stood. "But this way, we get to know our weaknesses ..." "Leech is ready," Leech smiled. Artie flashed an image of a dark, forbidding jungle, and led the two of them into the underbrush. "Leech thinks Leech should stay back from Artie -" Leech began. He yelled when Artie was surrounded by a smoke cloud, and random images of terrifying creatures began to appear. "Artie, relax !" Leech called. "Leech will - oh, crud." He found himself stuck in more of the green goo Luna had been trapped in, and pouted until Stevie deactivated the traps. Artie flashed an image of himself floundering in the fog, and frowned. "That was the idea," Stevie said. "You need to see in order to direct your power. The smoke kept you from seeing where to use it." "Let's get it on," Sarah sneered, standing and pulling out her bone daggers before racing Alexa into the forest. #That girl's going to get herself killed,# Alexa thought with a frown. She leapt up, using her acrobatic ability to evade a series of traps, and kept an ear out for more ultrasound. #That's funny - HEY !" A bright flash distracted her, sending Alexa tumbling into a net-trap. A bone-dagger slashed at the bottom of the net, but Sarah yelled as a robotic arm grabbed her. "Darnit - eat bone - !" she yelled, trying to jam a bone into the arm. The dagger splintered, and Alexa landed with a grunt on the ground. "Thanks for trying," she told Sarah when Stevie freed the ossificator. "I do learn from teamwork," Sarah winked. "Daniela ... ?" Emma called. Danny swallowed hard, and headed into the forest with shifting eyes. #They won't hurt you,# she reminded herself. #The worst the others got was a little scare -# A series of robots leapt out at her, forcing Danny to duck, weave and try to keep her cool. "Back OFF !" she yelled, kicking one of them in the stomach. She groaned when her foot became a paw. Danny-bear growled, shredding robots, until they reassembled into a multi-limbed monstrosity and pinned her. She sighed, forcing herself to relax, and assumed her human form while Stevie freed her. "Focus ?" Danny smirked, walking back to the others. "That's a good idea," Stevie suggested. "But not plowing through is another one." "Franklin ... maybe this isn't a good idea," Emma said sheepishly. "I'd agree, ma'am," Frank nodded, smiling weakly. "I don't want to accidentally blow up the biosphere." "Uh-oh," Nate gulped, standing. Ray sent, ~Don't worry. They're not out to hurt us ...~ ~I know,~ Nate sent back. He headed into the forest, keeping his eyes and psi-senses out. #Just don't - # Nate yelled when dozens of tiny bean-bags shot towards him from a myriad of directions. #TK-shield - WAIT !# he thought, running for the door. #They want me to do it -I'd hafta risk the virus running loose ... !# Nate dove past the bean-bags, rolling and trying to leap over a pit of pillows, landing hard on the other side. #Almost got it -# He dove for the door, but found another anti-psi bubble heading for him. #Not THIS time,# he thought grimly. Emma and Sean's faces went pale when Nate morphed his left arm into a blade, shattering the bubble. The boy gaped, slowly smiling, and touched the far wall with his good hand. "I DID IT !" he cheered, jumping up and down. The other kids grinned and ran to congratulate him, while Stevie smiled and Sean and Emma shook their heads. "T'is great," Sean smiled, watching as Nate carefully reverted his arm to a normal shape. "His control is remarkable for ome so young !" Emma said. "Given enough time, Nathan may prove the most gifted of the students. What amazes me is his refusal to let his condition depress him." "Aye," Sean chuckled, watching Stevie start the kids on calisthenics. "T'is hopeful, indeed ..." -------------------------------------------------------- NEXT: Erik and Alexa, sitting in a tree ... so who's the other woman !? -------------------------------------------------------- end _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com