Scott & Gabriel - Powers Training

[x-velocidad.livejournal.com]

Scott makes an important discovery about Gabriel's powers that involves a pool. Gabriel does not take kindly to the way that discovery is made.

As he stood in what was probably the most intimidating enclosed space known to man (or at least what had been billed that way), Gabriel tried to remind himself that he'd asked for this. That he'd talked to Jean, then talked himself into talking to Scott, then stupidly agreed when Scott suggested they head straight to this room now.

Still, even though nothing had totally happened yet, he was nervous. Because he had no idea what "teach me how to use my powers better" really meant in a school full of would-be superheroes, and he was way less enthusiastic then, say, Miles, about the prospect of any of this.

The only thing keeping him mostly calm was that whole comforting-DILF thing that Scott had going for him. The older man looked at ease here, comfortable in a way that Gabriel found fairly reassuring. "You know," he said after a second of staring at Scott, "I'm sorry, but I totally wasn't listening to what you just said. Too distracted by wondering how a place gets the name 'Danger Room.'"

Scott smirked at the question, "Hold still," he warned Gabriel as he punched a set of commands into the tablet he held in his hand, "Although considering your powers you should be pretty safe." As he spoke a pair or spinning saw blades fell down from the ceiling on either side of Gabriel bracketing him in as a flame thrower flared to life over head and a pair of lasers shot across the room highlighting the entire scene with an eerie green light. "That's my standard demonstration package," Scott noted with a smile, "We use the room for training, and we like to make it as realistic as possible. You know what they say, 'Train hard, fight easy'."

"What about this is realistic? When am I ever going to be in this situation?" Gabriel tried not to jump as the room sprang to life. His eyes were probably the widest they've ever been. "Your wife - who, by the way, you are a very lucky man - totally told you not to go easy on me. This is hazing, sir."

"I really am," Scott agreed, "Gotta remind myself hat everyday. Besides this isn't hazing, this is just me showing off a cool toy to someone new. Hazing would be getting you to clean it with a toothbrush or something.. And I'd never do that," especially not now that the DR could clean itself. The blackbird on the other hand... "It's also pretty important to say this is a dangerous room, and people shouldn't just come in here without someone with them who knows the systems. I find the spinning saw blades are a pretty good way to make that point."

"Yes. Point made. Despite what you might have heard, I do not have a death wish." Gabriel tilted his head up to look at the flames. Some school this was turning out to be. "So, this is how people here learn how to use their powers? Just seems a little, you know. Extreme."

"Not initially," Scott corrected him, "A new student would take part in group activities and one-to-one mentoring activities. They're only allowed down hear to hone their powers. Unlike you who already have a good handle on how to use your powers. And students never face the upper level programs, it's more of a tool for working on teamwork and more novel uses of your powers in a controlled environment."

"Oh good." Gabriel wasn't entirely sure he'd been listening, given how much energy he seemed to be putting into trying not to move so he didn't die. "So what about people like me who, like, need more control? Or discipline or something." He risked turning his head toward Scott. "I mean, I know what I'm doing, kinda, but it's not like I totally understand it."

Scott pushed a button on the tablet causing all the implements to slide back into the walls, "It's the same thing," he assured the younger man, "We're not gonna ask you to out run a laser, or avoid an obstacle course of flying saw blade. We just want to get you comfortable using your powers in a variety of situations and as you say work on your control. The only reason we're down here is that it's a completely controlled environment so there's nothing to distract you or get in your way."

"Okay," Gabriel nodded. "Well, so you know, my powers experience is limited mostly to, like, getting to the bathroom before my roommates, cutting down the time between bars and, you know." He waved a hand. "Shenanigans." He went on the assumption that Scott had been briefed by his wife. "So that's what we're working with here."

"That at least shows that you have a steady level of control over your powers," Scott smiled, "The majority of people who come here can't even do that much with their powers so you're not starting from scratch." Scott pushed up his sunglasses, "trust me control isn't something that can be underestimated. We can start with something simple. Just how fast are you?"

"Everyone keeps asking me that." Gabriel shrugged. "I don't know? I haven't really - how do you measure that? I don't carry a speedometer or anything."

Scott grinned and gestured to the Danger room walls, "We have those already set up, you're not the first speedster we've had at the mansion." Scott punched up a program on his tablet and the floor started to rise with a grinding noise. "Here you go, one obstacle course sans flame throwers and evil giant saws. You know, I could be a comic book villain. Just run through the course and the speed cameras will pick up on the speed."

"Uh huh." Gabriel watched, wide-eyed as the room started to change before him. He tiled his head, trying to take stock of the room before him and ignoring the nagging voice in his mind that insisted he was not going to leave Xavier's alive. "Okay," he looked at Scott for a second. "Just run through the course." He closed his eyes for a second, then took a tentative step forward before breaking into a run as the world slowed down around him.

Scott watched the blur as it sped through the course before resolving itself into a Gabriel shaped person near him. "There you go excellent," that didn't seem to cause you too many problems," he told the younger man holding up the tablet so he could see it, "The cameras even managed to get a recording of you as you ran..." Scott's voice trailed off as he stared at the screen. Something seemed off about the image on the screen, it didn't look like Pietro or any of the other speedsters he'd ever see footage of. It was the hair and clothes he realized. "I've just got one more test for you," he told Gabriel as he headed for the door, "Let's head to the swimming pool, I want to see you run on water."

"Pool?" Gabriel looked up at Scott, then back at the tablet, then up at Scott again. "Can I do that?" He brightened. "That'd be kinda cool. I never really tried it before. Never had a reason to." He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead. "Lead the way, wise one."

***

Gabriel tossed a towel onto a nearby chair and looked out at the pool in front of him. "So, what, you've got killer sharks you're gonna throw at me now? This place is a full-service evil lair, right?"

"Killer sharks, please," Scott scoffed good-naturedly as he dropped into one of the poolside deckchairs, "What do you think we are? We have fully trained killer giant squid waiting for you in there."

"I can't tell if you're kidding. Johnny already got me with that whole mutant-fish-boy-in-the-lake thing." Gabriel cracked his knuckles. "So, what, then? Run across the pool?" He eyed it a little warily. "Seems too easy."

Scott grinned, "Good, you're learning," One more person who had established a healthy respect for the evil incarnate that was Scott Summers' mind, "We actually do have a kind of fish man who frequents the lake," he mentioned off handedly, "But now, no trick, no traps. Just run along the water. It's harder than you think."

"Uh huh." Gabriel stared at Scott for a second, then looked back at the pool. He knew how to swim, and he could run faster than any man ever should, so he wasn't sure what it was he was worried about. He backed up quite a few steps and tried to concentrate, closing his eyes as he activated his powers. For now, that was his ritual - perhaps with more training and control things would get easier.

When he opened his eyes, he made a tentative move with his hand to confirm that he was sped up. Yep. Checked out. He took a tentative step toward the water before breaking into a full out run. He was at a healthy jog when he finally reached the edge of the pool, took one step in, then sank into the pool.

Scott still couldn't see Gabriel but the splash quickly alerted him to what had just happened. "So can't run on water then, interesting, very interesting," he mused to himself as he offered the younger man a hand out of the pool, "that answers that then."

Gabriel eyed Scott warily from the pool. "You do not look nearly surprised enough." He took the offered hand as he lifted himself up on the side of the pool. "Which makes me think you knew this would happen."

"Lets go with suspected," Scott replied passing the younger man a towel and his tablet as he sat down. "Take a look at the tablet, it's got a picture of you running and Pietro, one of our old speedsters, running. It was the clothes, his are being pushed right back by the wind, yours don't look any different from a normal person running." Scott leaned back in his chair as he continued musing, "Don't quote me on this, we'd have to get Jean to run some tests on you, but I think that you aren't actually moving super fast. I think instead you can control time around your body, in essence you experience time at a enhanced rate. But within that field you're moving at an absolutely normal speed."

"Well, that sounds..." Gabriel just shrugged. He took off his wet t-shirt and tossed it on the chair. Actually, Scott's theory explained a lot, not that he wanted to delve into it. "Putting aside that you totally knew this would happen, which I will not forget, I don't really know what that means. Like, I'm not moving fast objectively, but I'm moving fast relative to everyone else?" He rubbed his head with a towel.

"I didn't know, just suspected," Scott countered with a smile, "But you've pretty much got it. As far as your body and anything it touches is concerned you're not moving any faster than I would if I were to start running. It's just," Scott pursed his lips as he tried to think of a good way to explain it, "you can speed up how quickly you experience time. How much do you know about relativistic physics?"

"I'm a high-school dropout out who works at a bar, Scott."

"Science fiction these days gets a lot of facts right," Scott explained dropping into teacher mode, "Basically time goes slower when you're in a fast moving object. A clock on the ground and a clock in a jet will show different times at the end of a journey even if they're synced up at the start of the journey. That's kinda like what happens to you but in reverse. Instead of experiencing time slower you experience it faster."

Gabriel tried to keep his face blank as the gears turned in his head. His body wasn't exactly moving faster, but it felt like it was. Which is probably why he came out of extended speed binges with premature five o'clock shadow. And why he looked older than 19. Maybe he was literally aging faster.

That was all too much to think about, and it certainly wasn't something he wanted to discuss in too much detail. Not with Scott anyway. So after a bit of silence, he just nodded. "Okay. So, what, I'm slowing down the world around me? Could I speed it up too?"

"I think so," Scott mused as he considered the question, "We'd need to run some more...scientific test. But theoretically speaking I don't see why you wouldn't be able to use your powers the other way too. Slow yourself down while the world sped up around you."

"Blech, tests." Gabriel frowned. He draped the towel around his shoulders. "So, what? More time in the Danger Room? I know you went easy on me today, and I'm all about training my powers, but I'm not sure I can handle your level of Scott Summers-meets-Machiavelli-abuse on a regular basis."

Scott smirked, "I don't make a habit of putting people in situations where they might end up in a pool," he objected, "but it really depends on you, I can set you up a regime to work on expanding your powers, or we could work on mastering the powers you have right now. The tests, that's a medical thing, but I can help you to put together a regime for your powers if that's what you want to do."

"Let's work on the ones I have," Gabriel answered after a second. "I don't - more control is good," he nodded. "There have been times where I, like, get stuck in warp-physics-relativity-speed or whatever you want to call it. Doesn't happen a lot, but I want it to stop." Plus, maybe more control would help him with the other thing. "I'm sure we can work some experiments in. You're a crafty guy."

Scott nodded, "I can work up some scenarios which could help you with that, improving your mental control of your powers in different situations. There are a few exercises that seem to help a lot of people control their powers. We just need to find what works for you. Never seen relativistic warp speed before, but we do thrive on the unusual around here." Scott grinned, "Oh, I'm sure you'll be tired of all the experiments and tests soon enough, they do help us and you understand how your powers work and what causes them. The more you know the better prepared you are."

"Work on your pitch, buddy. That all started to make me sound like a little bit of a lab rat." Actually, he felt like a bit of one, seeing as how Scott basically drowned him in the name of science. And that didn't sit right with him. He glanced at the pool, then back at the man. He made a show of patting down his pockets. "Aw, fuck. Do you see my wallet in the pool?"

"You brought your wallet when you were coming to the Danger room," Scott asked in surprise, "That's probably the first time I've ever heard anyone decide to do that," he commented as he peered over the edge of the pool. "It doesn't look like it's in here, did you leave it in a locker outside the Danger Room maybe?"

"I always carry ID with me in case I die in a freak accident, and they have to identify my body." As he trailed off, he focused, trying to change the speed of the world around him instead of speeding himself up. Mental gymnastics aside, when he'd managed to do whatever timey-wimey thing he was supposed to be able to do, he darted behind Scott and shoved him toward the pool.

"And you've seen a lot of freak accidents in your..." that was all Scott managed to say before he felts someone push on his shoulders and the pool came rushing up to meet him with a loud splash. The X-man pushed himself to the surface of the water spluttering and trying his level best to level a glare at Gabriel, a look which was spoiled by how frankly ridiculous he looked with his sodden hair flopping down around his head. Scott tried to hold the glare for a second longer before his lips quirked up into a smile, "I might have deserved that," he admitted.

"You almost certainly did."