Post by Chance on Sept 15, 2006 15:08:06 GMT -5
The walls were washed with white and the light was reflecting off them like the morning sun. Michael squinted, trying to concentrate, but it was too difficult. How was he supposed to concentrate when the room he was in was so distracting? He rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying to get his mind to focus.
"Okay, times up," a woman in a long white lab coat said. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun and her black wire-frame glasses made her blue eyes look intelligent. She glanced around the room, pacing back and forth, her hands neatly folded behind her back.
Altogether there were fifteen students in the room. Two of them were bald and one of them had a head that was three sizes too large. For the first time in his life Michael felt oddly normal. His own blond hair and blue eyes truly stood out in the sea of mutants. Perhaps that's why Fury wanted him so bad.
It was so weird. Just three short days ago Michael was at home at the Institute, working his team and trying to better himself both academically and mentally. But then he was called down to Xavier's office. Apparently Nick Fury, the head of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division) and coordinator of the Ultimates was in need of Xavier's assistance. Actually, he was in need of the assistance of several psychic mutants, and so naturally Xavier contacted Michael.
But apparently Michael was not as powerful as either Xavier or Fury had originally anticipated. The woman walking around the room had just given the task of locating twelve red boxes that were hidden around the large complex known to the military as Star Gate. But out of all twelve, Michael had only managed to locate one, and even that was a guess at most. Astral projection was definitely his weakest ability, and so projecting around the building was useless. So, as she began to question the students, he sighed and hung his head.
"Cartigan," she called and three girls snapped their heads to attention, their chocolate colored ponytails snapping against their necks.
"Yes ma'am," they said in unison.
"Were you three able to find the boxes?" Her tone was sharp, and her eyes piercing. She looked so serious that Michael almost started laughing. But the Cartigan triples didn't so much as flinch. Without wasting a moment's time they replied,
"Yes ma'am. There are three in the northwest corner, one on each of the six sub levels, one in the north tower, one in the star lab and the last one is here in this room ma'am."
"Very good, very good. Of course, I won't tell you if you're right until I've questioned all the others, but I'd like to know how you went about accomplishing this task."
"We used telepathy ma'am." The Cartigan girls spoke like one single unit. Michael felt shivers run up and down his spine. "We located the soldiers who hid them, broke down their psychic defenses and retrieved the information."
"Very ingenious girls, excellent." The woman actually smiled, and for a moment her icy face showed a shimmer of pink. But, her skin immediately blanched when she turned toward Michael.
"And you Mr. Brosley? Have you found all the boxes?"
"Well, ummm, you see," Michael wasn't used to failure. He always did what he was told and he almost never made a mistake. Why hadn't he thought of telepathy? It was such a simple solution...of course he didn't have two other brains to help him break down psychic barriers, but he still should have tried. "I was trying to astral project...but that's not really my specialty and so-"
He was cut off by the woman whose eyes were now red with fire. "So you gave up?" She gave him a sickened look and then turned to address the group. "Ladies and Gentleman I show you the great and powerful Mindwarp of the X-Men!" A snicker washed across the class and Mindwarp felt their thoughts rocketing into his head. He closed his eyes wished that Caity hadn't been sent on a mission, that she had been here for some emotional support.
"That's enough!" The woman said silencing the group. "That was simply a preliminary test of your psychic ability. We will be taking a ten minute recess and then meeting at the "Core" for a lecture. See you then!" With that she waved her hand and a door appeared in the white wall. The kids stood up from their white tables and made their way to the door, Michael quickly hurrying to get out of there. "Except for you Mr. Brosley, I'd like to see you for a minute."
Michael groaned. Of course, how embarrassing. His first day and he was kicked out. The Professor would be so proud. He approached the deck slightly nervous, but trying to keep his own psychic shield up. He was talking to a psychic after all, and he didn't want her to pick up any empathic waves.
"So you're Xavier's student correct?" She said removing her glasses and allowing them to hang on a silver cord around her baby blue turtleneck.
"Yes ma'am, that's right." Michael said, trying his hardest to hide his fear.
"Nick Fury has said alot about you. He's said that you're powerful, stronger than any normal-level psychic. In fact, I have here," she fingered through some files in a manila folder, "that you're an Alpha Level mutant. That's pretty astounding for a teenage telepath, and even more for someone that can't even find some red boxes." She arched an eyebrow and gave him a quizzical look. "So, unless our data is faulty, which I promise you it isn't, you should be able to handle this, correct?"
"Correct Miss--er---,"
"Miss. Alehandra," she said with a slight smile. "Now go join the others and show them what you got." Michael smiled, he sensed that her cold attitude was nearly a front and he nodded and headed out of the room.
"Teacher's pet," the Cartigan girls snickered as Michael left the room, his beaming smile suddenly turning upside down.
"Thanks, um...what exactly are your names?" He looked them up and down. Completely identical, to the last follicle.
"Carmen, Carmella and Cristine Cartigan. But together we are known as Matrix."
"I should have known," Michael said rolling his eyes. "Psychic triplets that function as one."
"Do you have a problem?" Carmen asked, her eyes lit with a strange glow. "Because we won't hesitate to knock off the competition."
"Competition?" Michael was confused.
"Oh my God, he doesn't even know," Carmella laughed. "Are you a complete moron, or do you really just not pay attention?" Carmen added.
"We're all competing for a spot on the Ultimates. Their recruiting a new psychic, and the winner gets the position. Although, all the other will be given smaller positions here in the Star Gate building." The third sister, Cristine said this, a calmer and kinder tone underlying her words.
"Alright, sounds cool I guess," Michael said, walking with them toward the "Core."
"It sounds excellent. So you better not get in our way, now come on girls, let's go talk to that boy with the big head. I bet he's going to be our biggest problem." And with that the Cartigans were off, and Michael was left by himself wandering through the metallic hallways of Star Gate.
Built in 1987 the building was originally created to train psychics to be spies against the Russians during the Cold War. Mutants were practically unheard of then, and so the military worked quietly recruiting people with strange psychic gifts. This original team of 6 was originally called "Star Gate" and so the program was aptly named. However, with the advent of the mutant in the late 1990's the building became the center of extensive psychic research and recruitment. The building is located in an undisclosed location, somewhere in the American Northeast. From the outside it resembles an observatory, but inside it's gigantic. A mammoth of a steel structure, it extends down into the ground to add an additional six floors, and it also has at its core a giant "cerebro"-like machine that works not only to heighten the trainee's psychic abilities, but to harness their collective energies and power the entire facility.
Now, the government hopes to gather a new wave of trainees, and so Michael and the others have assembled in the center of the giant dome-shaped room, known as the "Core," waiting for further instruction.
"Welcome my fellow psychics," a man wearing a black suit spoke after a good three minutes of commotion. "My name is Doctor Ludwig and I am the head instructor of the Star Gate academy. Although this is in fact military run, as you can see the various soldiers standing around protecting us, this is also a school, a place were you can train to better your psychic abilities and heighten you're powers. And, most of all, it is an opportunity to give back to your nation, to use your powers to help us uncover information and prevent terrorist attacks, foresee natural disasters, and save the lives of millions of Americans. And so, we urge you all to take an active role in your schooling here. As a reward, the top student will be granted a position with the Ultimates, and the next 80% will be offered jobs here, working for the nation at Star Gate." He finished his speak and looked out at the group. It didn't take a psychic to sense their mood. "Are you all awake out there, or did someone psychically paralyze you?" He laughed at his own joke but no one save for the Cartigans thought it was funny.
"Well, no time to stand around," Miss. Alehandra said moving in front of the students. "I'll take half of you with me down one floor and Dr. Ludwig will remain with you here, in the "Core." Will the following names please follow me?" She read off a list as she turned and headed down a passage way. Although she was well out of ear-shot the list played telepathically in their minds:
<Will agents: Psyche, Vibe, Honesty, Matrix, Telekid, Link, and Mindwarp, please follow me?>
Having heard his name Michael quickly wheeled around to follow her. He hoped that this challenge went over better than the others. The last thing he needed was to mess up again.
"Okay, times up," a woman in a long white lab coat said. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a bun and her black wire-frame glasses made her blue eyes look intelligent. She glanced around the room, pacing back and forth, her hands neatly folded behind her back.
Altogether there were fifteen students in the room. Two of them were bald and one of them had a head that was three sizes too large. For the first time in his life Michael felt oddly normal. His own blond hair and blue eyes truly stood out in the sea of mutants. Perhaps that's why Fury wanted him so bad.
It was so weird. Just three short days ago Michael was at home at the Institute, working his team and trying to better himself both academically and mentally. But then he was called down to Xavier's office. Apparently Nick Fury, the head of the government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. (Supreme Headquarters International Espionage Law-Enforcement Division) and coordinator of the Ultimates was in need of Xavier's assistance. Actually, he was in need of the assistance of several psychic mutants, and so naturally Xavier contacted Michael.
But apparently Michael was not as powerful as either Xavier or Fury had originally anticipated. The woman walking around the room had just given the task of locating twelve red boxes that were hidden around the large complex known to the military as Star Gate. But out of all twelve, Michael had only managed to locate one, and even that was a guess at most. Astral projection was definitely his weakest ability, and so projecting around the building was useless. So, as she began to question the students, he sighed and hung his head.
"Cartigan," she called and three girls snapped their heads to attention, their chocolate colored ponytails snapping against their necks.
"Yes ma'am," they said in unison.
"Were you three able to find the boxes?" Her tone was sharp, and her eyes piercing. She looked so serious that Michael almost started laughing. But the Cartigan triples didn't so much as flinch. Without wasting a moment's time they replied,
"Yes ma'am. There are three in the northwest corner, one on each of the six sub levels, one in the north tower, one in the star lab and the last one is here in this room ma'am."
"Very good, very good. Of course, I won't tell you if you're right until I've questioned all the others, but I'd like to know how you went about accomplishing this task."
"We used telepathy ma'am." The Cartigan girls spoke like one single unit. Michael felt shivers run up and down his spine. "We located the soldiers who hid them, broke down their psychic defenses and retrieved the information."
"Very ingenious girls, excellent." The woman actually smiled, and for a moment her icy face showed a shimmer of pink. But, her skin immediately blanched when she turned toward Michael.
"And you Mr. Brosley? Have you found all the boxes?"
"Well, ummm, you see," Michael wasn't used to failure. He always did what he was told and he almost never made a mistake. Why hadn't he thought of telepathy? It was such a simple solution...of course he didn't have two other brains to help him break down psychic barriers, but he still should have tried. "I was trying to astral project...but that's not really my specialty and so-"
He was cut off by the woman whose eyes were now red with fire. "So you gave up?" She gave him a sickened look and then turned to address the group. "Ladies and Gentleman I show you the great and powerful Mindwarp of the X-Men!" A snicker washed across the class and Mindwarp felt their thoughts rocketing into his head. He closed his eyes wished that Caity hadn't been sent on a mission, that she had been here for some emotional support.
"That's enough!" The woman said silencing the group. "That was simply a preliminary test of your psychic ability. We will be taking a ten minute recess and then meeting at the "Core" for a lecture. See you then!" With that she waved her hand and a door appeared in the white wall. The kids stood up from their white tables and made their way to the door, Michael quickly hurrying to get out of there. "Except for you Mr. Brosley, I'd like to see you for a minute."
Michael groaned. Of course, how embarrassing. His first day and he was kicked out. The Professor would be so proud. He approached the deck slightly nervous, but trying to keep his own psychic shield up. He was talking to a psychic after all, and he didn't want her to pick up any empathic waves.
"So you're Xavier's student correct?" She said removing her glasses and allowing them to hang on a silver cord around her baby blue turtleneck.
"Yes ma'am, that's right." Michael said, trying his hardest to hide his fear.
"Nick Fury has said alot about you. He's said that you're powerful, stronger than any normal-level psychic. In fact, I have here," she fingered through some files in a manila folder, "that you're an Alpha Level mutant. That's pretty astounding for a teenage telepath, and even more for someone that can't even find some red boxes." She arched an eyebrow and gave him a quizzical look. "So, unless our data is faulty, which I promise you it isn't, you should be able to handle this, correct?"
"Correct Miss--er---,"
"Miss. Alehandra," she said with a slight smile. "Now go join the others and show them what you got." Michael smiled, he sensed that her cold attitude was nearly a front and he nodded and headed out of the room.
"Teacher's pet," the Cartigan girls snickered as Michael left the room, his beaming smile suddenly turning upside down.
"Thanks, um...what exactly are your names?" He looked them up and down. Completely identical, to the last follicle.
"Carmen, Carmella and Cristine Cartigan. But together we are known as Matrix."
"I should have known," Michael said rolling his eyes. "Psychic triplets that function as one."
"Do you have a problem?" Carmen asked, her eyes lit with a strange glow. "Because we won't hesitate to knock off the competition."
"Competition?" Michael was confused.
"Oh my God, he doesn't even know," Carmella laughed. "Are you a complete moron, or do you really just not pay attention?" Carmen added.
"We're all competing for a spot on the Ultimates. Their recruiting a new psychic, and the winner gets the position. Although, all the other will be given smaller positions here in the Star Gate building." The third sister, Cristine said this, a calmer and kinder tone underlying her words.
"Alright, sounds cool I guess," Michael said, walking with them toward the "Core."
"It sounds excellent. So you better not get in our way, now come on girls, let's go talk to that boy with the big head. I bet he's going to be our biggest problem." And with that the Cartigans were off, and Michael was left by himself wandering through the metallic hallways of Star Gate.
Built in 1987 the building was originally created to train psychics to be spies against the Russians during the Cold War. Mutants were practically unheard of then, and so the military worked quietly recruiting people with strange psychic gifts. This original team of 6 was originally called "Star Gate" and so the program was aptly named. However, with the advent of the mutant in the late 1990's the building became the center of extensive psychic research and recruitment. The building is located in an undisclosed location, somewhere in the American Northeast. From the outside it resembles an observatory, but inside it's gigantic. A mammoth of a steel structure, it extends down into the ground to add an additional six floors, and it also has at its core a giant "cerebro"-like machine that works not only to heighten the trainee's psychic abilities, but to harness their collective energies and power the entire facility.
Now, the government hopes to gather a new wave of trainees, and so Michael and the others have assembled in the center of the giant dome-shaped room, known as the "Core," waiting for further instruction.
"Welcome my fellow psychics," a man wearing a black suit spoke after a good three minutes of commotion. "My name is Doctor Ludwig and I am the head instructor of the Star Gate academy. Although this is in fact military run, as you can see the various soldiers standing around protecting us, this is also a school, a place were you can train to better your psychic abilities and heighten you're powers. And, most of all, it is an opportunity to give back to your nation, to use your powers to help us uncover information and prevent terrorist attacks, foresee natural disasters, and save the lives of millions of Americans. And so, we urge you all to take an active role in your schooling here. As a reward, the top student will be granted a position with the Ultimates, and the next 80% will be offered jobs here, working for the nation at Star Gate." He finished his speak and looked out at the group. It didn't take a psychic to sense their mood. "Are you all awake out there, or did someone psychically paralyze you?" He laughed at his own joke but no one save for the Cartigans thought it was funny.
"Well, no time to stand around," Miss. Alehandra said moving in front of the students. "I'll take half of you with me down one floor and Dr. Ludwig will remain with you here, in the "Core." Will the following names please follow me?" She read off a list as she turned and headed down a passage way. Although she was well out of ear-shot the list played telepathically in their minds:
<Will agents: Psyche, Vibe, Honesty, Matrix, Telekid, Link, and Mindwarp, please follow me?>
Having heard his name Michael quickly wheeled around to follow her. He hoped that this challenge went over better than the others. The last thing he needed was to mess up again.