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Dec. 5th, 2021 12:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsKurt oversees Betsy's Danger Room training, and changes it up a bit.
Betsy was not having fun. Rationally she understood why regular Danger Room exercises were necessary but it didn’t mean she had to enjoy them, especially after what had happened when the nanites infested its artificial intelligence earlier in the year. Besides, this particular scenario was once again set in New York and she detested the lack of imagination. She popped her head out from behind cover for long enough to judge the distance to the nearest robot, then took two shots at it with her simulated handgun. Neither one connected.
Kurt was watching from the control room, studying her expression more than anything. "Would you prefer a different scenario, perhaps?" he asked over the intercom. "We have many."
The telepath rested her head against the car she was hiding behind and addressed the invisible voice. “Maybe we could try a different location,” she suggested. “I cannot say I am too motivated to save this city from giant robots. Some might call it an improvement, even."
"I think we can do that", he agreed easily. "Do you have any particular preference for the new location, or shall I pick one at random?"
“Random is fine,” she replied, still unmoving. “Anywhere but New York would be better. Maybe somewhere natural, a forest perhaps? Just… something we haven’t come across lately I suppose, so no crabs either.” The last sentence was accompanied by a small smile.
“A forest backdrop and no crabs…” He started flicking through the library of scenarios. “Perhaps we can dispense with the giant robots, also.”
“I don’t mind robots as long as they don’t have giant heads and delusions of grandeur,” Betsy shrugged. She pulled herself into a slightly more upright position and looked up at the camera she thought gave him the best view of her face. The question she was about to ask afforded her full attention. “You have been with the X-Men for a long time, haven’t you? May I ask you a question?"
"Longer than I care to remember, some days", he said wryly. "Of course you may."
“Are we doing the right thing? Giant crabs is easy but I did some reading after that mission for SHIELD and… I mean, they were building Sentinels,” she made an all-encompassing gesture with her arm to indicate who ‘they’ were. “Is this all worth it?"
"It is a hard question", Kurt admitted. "And certainly, on that occasion, we would not have gone if we were told the whole truth. But overall... yes, I do think it is."
Betsy smiled. She hadn’t honestly expected a different answer from the blue man; in fact that might have been why she had chosen to ask him, specifically. She raised her head to look around her changed surroundings, a surprisingly convincing simulacrum of a leafy green forest landscape. “Alright, let’s get to it. Please do not make me shoot Bambi though. Or his mother, either."
"I promise there will be no deer shot in this scenario", he said with a grin. "Though I would not want to spoil its surprises."
Finally holstering the handgun she had still been holding, Betsy walked cautiously between the trees, ready to jump into cover at the first sign of movement. The forest was almost eerily quiet, apart from the slight crunching sound of wet leaves being crushed under her feet.
Not for long, as the sound of crunching under something else's feet - something much heavier than Betsy - sounded from not too far away. A moment later, she saw what it was as a bear ambled into view.
Bears had a good sense of smell, didn’t they? Betsy had hidden herself behind a tree as soon as she heard noises but the large animal had still gotten closer than she was comfortable with, as her telepathy failed to alert her the way it would have if this was a natural scenario. She flattened herself against the trunk, thoughts racing - her weapon was definitely too small caliber to kill this creature, not that she was keen to do so in any case. She began to look for ways around the animal while also trying to go over everything she remembered about its kind that didn’t come from fairytales.
It didn't appear overly concerned by her presence, so far, snuffling around in the undergrowth - presumably in search of something to eat.
Betsy tried to look around for something that she could use to draw the bear’s interest away from herself. She very cautiously moved out from her cover to grab hold of a large rock and prepared to throw it into the bushes behind the animal, to either startle it away or encourage it to investigate.
The movement caught the bear's eye and it raised its head to look at her, but still seeming more curious than aggressive.
After carefully setting the stone back down, Betsy raised her hand and started backing away, keeping her movements slow and deliberate. “I mean you no harm, boss.” Her voice was low and soothing, even without the psychic reassurance that would have accompanied it if this was a real animal. "I am sorry to invade upon your glade, but if you go your way I will go mine and neither one of us will need to worry about the other.”
The bear made a snuffling noise and started to move slowly away - but paused after a few steps to peer back at Betsy again.
The logical thing to do would be to continue moving away, while keeping her eyes on the bear, but this was a simulation and Betsy had no idea what the goal of it was. She decided to make a wager. “You want me to follow you? Is little Timmy stuck in a well again?"
There was quiet laughter from the control booth at that and the bear almost seemed to nod before wandering a little further again.
Betsy narrowed her eyes, then shrugged and scrambled after the animal. She was unaccustomed to this terrain but just about managed to keep up with the bear as it ambled onwards through the undergrowth.
As they proceeded through the forest, another sound started to become audible the closer they got to the source. Something was squeaking, not very happily.
Slowing down her steps, Betsy looked around for the source of the noise. While so far the bear had been friendly, she was not totally convinced it wasn’t a ruse to get her to put down her guard and become the main course of a bear buffet.
It was coming from the trees, not very far in from the sound of it. The bear turned its head in that direction, snuffling.
“This better not be some weird lesson on not being too trusting,” Betsy mumbled and started cautiously moving towards the sound. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound big enough to cause serious bodily damage, although she had been wrong about that before.
She saw what it was soon enough. A baby bear, at the foot of a tree - and though it tried to back away when it saw her, something seemed to be preventing it.
The low cooing noise Betsy made wasn’t totally voluntary. She glanced back at the adult bear before crouching down and approaching the smaller one with one hand stretched out in front of her. “Hello little one. What seems to be the trouble?"
One of its feet was caught in something, holding it back when it tried to move... some kind of wire, from the little it was letting her see.
Betsy stayed down, slowly moving towards the cub on her hands and knees. She continued speaking in a soft, soothing tone: “Aww, you seem to be in a bit of a pickle there. Don’t worry, we’ll get you sorted out in no time. I won’t let you come to any harm.”
The mother made a low rumbling noise behind her, and the cub looked up and past Betsy, then seemed to relax a little.
“Now, let’s see what’s holding you back,” Betsy said, leaning past the cub to get a better look at what it was tangled in. “Ouch, this looks pretty bad. Will you let me try and get you out?"
The cub pulled again at the wire, more insistently, then whimpered and lifted its free paw, almost as if it was pleading.
This would be easier if she had pliers or something similar. It was a pity she hadn’t thought to add a multitool to her training attire, Betsy mused. She ran her hand along the wire until she found one jagged end and then started unwinding it from around the bloodied paw. “I am sorry this happened to you, little one. Someone must have left this thing behind, just pure thoughtlessness and now look where it’s gotten us. You didn’t do anything to deserve this.”
As she unwrapped the wire, the cub stilled and let her work, as the bigger bear looked on from behind.
After unwrapping the last bit of metal from the cub’s leg, Betsy carefully gathered up all of the wire and dropped it into her pocket. “There you go, I hope that feels better. I would put a bandage on but there’s no way to remove it when the time comes, so I think this will have to do. Try not to lick on it too much, please, little one?" This may have been a simulation but it was the principle of the thing.
As the bears started to amble away, the cub still limping a little, Kurt spoke over the intercom. "Very well done.”
Betsy watched the animals disappear into the forest before raising her head to address the speakers. “I don’t think this improved my small weapons accuracy, but I assume there was a lesson here somewhere. Thank you."
"You were not in the mood for small weapons accuracy, so that can be for another day." He stepped up to the window. "Besides, not every X-Men mission is about fighting.”
“I was not,” she agreed. “I’m glad to hear you say that. There has been a lot of fighting lately, and I get tired. Maybe we’ll have more chances to actually make a difference in the new year.”
"I do hope so", he agreed. "Perhaps we ought to make sure of it, at least in small ways."
“I promise to look for bears and pick up all the trash I find when I next end up in a forest,” she answered with a smile. “But yes, sometimes it’s the small things, giant killer robots notwithstanding."
Kurt smiled back down at her, as the Danger Room doors swung open to let her out. "We have all had quite enough of giant killer robots.”
“I think I should like a shower but maybe you would like to go for tea or other beverage of your choice afterwards?” Betsy suggested rather shyly.
"I would like that very much", he said warmly. "Shall we say meet in the kitchen in half an hour?”
“Yes, let’s. I think they still have some Gyokuro left in the back of the cupboard if no-one has raided it yet, I could make you some if you’d like. See you there.”
Betsy was not having fun. Rationally she understood why regular Danger Room exercises were necessary but it didn’t mean she had to enjoy them, especially after what had happened when the nanites infested its artificial intelligence earlier in the year. Besides, this particular scenario was once again set in New York and she detested the lack of imagination. She popped her head out from behind cover for long enough to judge the distance to the nearest robot, then took two shots at it with her simulated handgun. Neither one connected.
Kurt was watching from the control room, studying her expression more than anything. "Would you prefer a different scenario, perhaps?" he asked over the intercom. "We have many."
The telepath rested her head against the car she was hiding behind and addressed the invisible voice. “Maybe we could try a different location,” she suggested. “I cannot say I am too motivated to save this city from giant robots. Some might call it an improvement, even."
"I think we can do that", he agreed easily. "Do you have any particular preference for the new location, or shall I pick one at random?"
“Random is fine,” she replied, still unmoving. “Anywhere but New York would be better. Maybe somewhere natural, a forest perhaps? Just… something we haven’t come across lately I suppose, so no crabs either.” The last sentence was accompanied by a small smile.
“A forest backdrop and no crabs…” He started flicking through the library of scenarios. “Perhaps we can dispense with the giant robots, also.”
“I don’t mind robots as long as they don’t have giant heads and delusions of grandeur,” Betsy shrugged. She pulled herself into a slightly more upright position and looked up at the camera she thought gave him the best view of her face. The question she was about to ask afforded her full attention. “You have been with the X-Men for a long time, haven’t you? May I ask you a question?"
"Longer than I care to remember, some days", he said wryly. "Of course you may."
“Are we doing the right thing? Giant crabs is easy but I did some reading after that mission for SHIELD and… I mean, they were building Sentinels,” she made an all-encompassing gesture with her arm to indicate who ‘they’ were. “Is this all worth it?"
"It is a hard question", Kurt admitted. "And certainly, on that occasion, we would not have gone if we were told the whole truth. But overall... yes, I do think it is."
Betsy smiled. She hadn’t honestly expected a different answer from the blue man; in fact that might have been why she had chosen to ask him, specifically. She raised her head to look around her changed surroundings, a surprisingly convincing simulacrum of a leafy green forest landscape. “Alright, let’s get to it. Please do not make me shoot Bambi though. Or his mother, either."
"I promise there will be no deer shot in this scenario", he said with a grin. "Though I would not want to spoil its surprises."
Finally holstering the handgun she had still been holding, Betsy walked cautiously between the trees, ready to jump into cover at the first sign of movement. The forest was almost eerily quiet, apart from the slight crunching sound of wet leaves being crushed under her feet.
Not for long, as the sound of crunching under something else's feet - something much heavier than Betsy - sounded from not too far away. A moment later, she saw what it was as a bear ambled into view.
Bears had a good sense of smell, didn’t they? Betsy had hidden herself behind a tree as soon as she heard noises but the large animal had still gotten closer than she was comfortable with, as her telepathy failed to alert her the way it would have if this was a natural scenario. She flattened herself against the trunk, thoughts racing - her weapon was definitely too small caliber to kill this creature, not that she was keen to do so in any case. She began to look for ways around the animal while also trying to go over everything she remembered about its kind that didn’t come from fairytales.
It didn't appear overly concerned by her presence, so far, snuffling around in the undergrowth - presumably in search of something to eat.
Betsy tried to look around for something that she could use to draw the bear’s interest away from herself. She very cautiously moved out from her cover to grab hold of a large rock and prepared to throw it into the bushes behind the animal, to either startle it away or encourage it to investigate.
The movement caught the bear's eye and it raised its head to look at her, but still seeming more curious than aggressive.
After carefully setting the stone back down, Betsy raised her hand and started backing away, keeping her movements slow and deliberate. “I mean you no harm, boss.” Her voice was low and soothing, even without the psychic reassurance that would have accompanied it if this was a real animal. "I am sorry to invade upon your glade, but if you go your way I will go mine and neither one of us will need to worry about the other.”
The bear made a snuffling noise and started to move slowly away - but paused after a few steps to peer back at Betsy again.
The logical thing to do would be to continue moving away, while keeping her eyes on the bear, but this was a simulation and Betsy had no idea what the goal of it was. She decided to make a wager. “You want me to follow you? Is little Timmy stuck in a well again?"
There was quiet laughter from the control booth at that and the bear almost seemed to nod before wandering a little further again.
Betsy narrowed her eyes, then shrugged and scrambled after the animal. She was unaccustomed to this terrain but just about managed to keep up with the bear as it ambled onwards through the undergrowth.
As they proceeded through the forest, another sound started to become audible the closer they got to the source. Something was squeaking, not very happily.
Slowing down her steps, Betsy looked around for the source of the noise. While so far the bear had been friendly, she was not totally convinced it wasn’t a ruse to get her to put down her guard and become the main course of a bear buffet.
It was coming from the trees, not very far in from the sound of it. The bear turned its head in that direction, snuffling.
“This better not be some weird lesson on not being too trusting,” Betsy mumbled and started cautiously moving towards the sound. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound big enough to cause serious bodily damage, although she had been wrong about that before.
She saw what it was soon enough. A baby bear, at the foot of a tree - and though it tried to back away when it saw her, something seemed to be preventing it.
The low cooing noise Betsy made wasn’t totally voluntary. She glanced back at the adult bear before crouching down and approaching the smaller one with one hand stretched out in front of her. “Hello little one. What seems to be the trouble?"
One of its feet was caught in something, holding it back when it tried to move... some kind of wire, from the little it was letting her see.
Betsy stayed down, slowly moving towards the cub on her hands and knees. She continued speaking in a soft, soothing tone: “Aww, you seem to be in a bit of a pickle there. Don’t worry, we’ll get you sorted out in no time. I won’t let you come to any harm.”
The mother made a low rumbling noise behind her, and the cub looked up and past Betsy, then seemed to relax a little.
“Now, let’s see what’s holding you back,” Betsy said, leaning past the cub to get a better look at what it was tangled in. “Ouch, this looks pretty bad. Will you let me try and get you out?"
The cub pulled again at the wire, more insistently, then whimpered and lifted its free paw, almost as if it was pleading.
This would be easier if she had pliers or something similar. It was a pity she hadn’t thought to add a multitool to her training attire, Betsy mused. She ran her hand along the wire until she found one jagged end and then started unwinding it from around the bloodied paw. “I am sorry this happened to you, little one. Someone must have left this thing behind, just pure thoughtlessness and now look where it’s gotten us. You didn’t do anything to deserve this.”
As she unwrapped the wire, the cub stilled and let her work, as the bigger bear looked on from behind.
After unwrapping the last bit of metal from the cub’s leg, Betsy carefully gathered up all of the wire and dropped it into her pocket. “There you go, I hope that feels better. I would put a bandage on but there’s no way to remove it when the time comes, so I think this will have to do. Try not to lick on it too much, please, little one?" This may have been a simulation but it was the principle of the thing.
As the bears started to amble away, the cub still limping a little, Kurt spoke over the intercom. "Very well done.”
Betsy watched the animals disappear into the forest before raising her head to address the speakers. “I don’t think this improved my small weapons accuracy, but I assume there was a lesson here somewhere. Thank you."
"You were not in the mood for small weapons accuracy, so that can be for another day." He stepped up to the window. "Besides, not every X-Men mission is about fighting.”
“I was not,” she agreed. “I’m glad to hear you say that. There has been a lot of fighting lately, and I get tired. Maybe we’ll have more chances to actually make a difference in the new year.”
"I do hope so", he agreed. "Perhaps we ought to make sure of it, at least in small ways."
“I promise to look for bears and pick up all the trash I find when I next end up in a forest,” she answered with a smile. “But yes, sometimes it’s the small things, giant killer robots notwithstanding."
Kurt smiled back down at her, as the Danger Room doors swung open to let her out. "We have all had quite enough of giant killer robots.”
“I think I should like a shower but maybe you would like to go for tea or other beverage of your choice afterwards?” Betsy suggested rather shyly.
"I would like that very much", he said warmly. "Shall we say meet in the kitchen in half an hour?”
“Yes, let’s. I think they still have some Gyokuro left in the back of the cupboard if no-one has raided it yet, I could make you some if you’d like. See you there.”
