The D-Room

Posted on Wed Feb 12th, 2025 @ 2:02pm by Carter McMillian & Head Mistress Absynthe "Syn" Drake & Jaclyn Morrison & Unawakened Kai Irving

Mission: Drake Academy

It was a trying time for the academy, which kept their miniature administrator in near constant motion. It wasn’t exactly easy to replace key members of a specialized team, which only added annoyance on top of the visceral loss of so many friends. Still, she had put Jaclyn off as long as she dared. Her powers were on the worrisome side, and certain determinations had to be made.

Both girls' tests showed that they had the X-gene, however, Kai had yet to display any kind of visible power. It wasn’t abnormal for someone to have powers that weren’t noticeable, but it did raise questions about what was to come, which also called everyone’s safety into question. And it was a mystery that needed some kind of answer.

Syn walked into the control room of the D-Room, and sighed a bit as the doors slid closed behind her. The diminutive dragon lady grew a bit as she walked up to the control panel that faced a bay window that looked out onto a bright, expansive, open room, domed in white, hexagonal panels. In the center stood two short pillars, a dark sphere hovering over each.

“The subjects should be here shortly,” the other woman in the room mentioned, her hands moving over the control panel. She was a tall woman, her thick, golden hair pulled up in a tight, severe bun. She wore a pair of glasses with an oddly thick, black frame, which only seemed to intensify her serious appearance. “I had Carter go collect them.”

The academy’s small headmistress laughed, shaking her head. “They’re people, Milly. Not experiments, not data points.”

Milly’s eyes widened and she shook her head, blushing ever so slightly. “Oh, no, ma’am. That’s not what I meant.”

“I know. I’m just reminding you,” Syn responded with a smile and a nod. Milly’s mind was a bit more ordered than most, and she could often come off as a bit distant and robotic. But she had come many miles since her arrival at the academy.

The doors opened and Kai entered with a smile for Syn.

Behind her, dressed as had become her custom was Jac, in baggy hoodie and jeans. She looked around in silence and seemed to hunch into herself a bit more.

Carter entered next, wearing his usual attire of black combat boots, blue jeans, white t-shirt and black, leather motorcycle jacket. He smiled absentmindedly when he saw his mother. “Hey, Milly,” he greeted his friend. “Did you enjoy the mathematics tournament?”

“It was not as stimulating as I had hoped it would be,” Milly said, offering Carter a slight smile as she worked the console. “But it was at least entertaining.”

The normally small dragon lady turned and faced the three that had entered, offering them a friendly smile from her strange height. She gave a nod to Carter, then said, “Welcome. I trust you are both curious as to what’s going on here.”

She paused and turned, continuing to explain as she motioned towards the large window and out to the expansive room beyond. “This is what we call a Danger Room. Both the materials and design are able to withstand a ridiculous amount of power. We utilize this room for many functions, though team training is the most common. We also use this room to help us to decipher more personal mysteries, such as meta powers.”

Kai looked at Jac. “Ha! I knew it, it's about you and your powers not me! I get to watch.” She sounded very excited about it.

“Ah shush” came the reply from Jac as she seemed to hunch into her hoodie a bit more. But the words had no bite to them.

Carter looked over at his mother. “Shall I show them just how much punishment the room can take, and still stay intact?” He was hoping she'd say yes, as he wanted to show off a bit for Jaclyn.

There was a moment of pause as Syn looked over the three. Her strange, reptilian eyes settled on Carter and she nodded. “Honestly, it wouldn’t hurt for them to see that. It would show that there is little need to hold back,” the headmistress said, turning to face Milly just as she turned to face her.

The white-coated tech held a gossamer netting, spotted over with what almost appeared to be small blue gems. Carefully, Milly settled the odd device onto Syn’s head, then attached a series of larger gems to key points along her forehead, her temple, and to the base of the back of her head. Once the apparatus was in place the gems shifted from blue to red, and Milly’s attention returned to the control panel, which was now monitoring one set of vitals.

Syn turned to the three and said, “Many of the systems that we’ll be running today require the skills of a telepath. And since there aren’t many of us available, you get me. I spend a lot of time doing this, which is why training time in the D-Room is limited.” The dragon lady said with a soft laugh as an odd liquid rose up in the center of the room, taking the form of a tall, high-backed chair, while more moved down from the ceiling, forming a series of strands over the chair.

As she settled into the seat, each of the strange tendrils from the apparatus above sought out one of the gems and attached itself, taking on a soft red glow. Each connection started another string of running calculations, and Syn stretched her neck a bit. “Alright, Carter. When and where?” she asked, and the two pillars in the D-room lowered into the floor, taking the strange black balls with them.

Grinning, Carter replied as he moved to the door leading into the training room. “Let's do fight program seven. I really get to let loose there.” As he finished speaking, his nano armor expanded into position and he ignited. Glancing over at Jaclyn, he gave her a quick wink before he stepped into the training room and closed the door behind him.

Jaclyn and Kai took up positions to watch the events. Kai was all but pressed up against the window.

Jac however was sitting back watching the people in the room.

The futuristic room began to fade from view and was replaced by a frozen wasteland. Looming in the backdrop before the heroes was a massive white capped mountain. The cold wasn’t just real, it was biting. Like being trapped in the Antarctic. The only sound was that of the wind howling and ice cracking. Nearby what was once a small dwelling now looked like it had been through a war. Much of the roof was torn away as though by a massive beast and large icicles sprouted from its walls and insides like a porcupine.

As if this wasn’t enough the trees all around them had been decorated with frozen dead people hung by nooses. In front of the broken home sat in a circle with even more dead people. Seeming to have been killed while trying to stay warm in this place. One of them was still holding a mug of what might have been ale.

Suddenly a broken voice could be heard from inside the building, “Sir Carter! Sir Carter? Is that you?”

At first, Carter was unsure about what was going on. This wasn't The program he had asked his mother to run. Then, he figured that she wanted to put him through the paces, with a new mission environment, while allowing him to demonstrate the durability of the training room.

Hearing the weak voice, Carter moved quickly, first flying a tight perimeter of the ruined home. “Hello?! Who's there? Identify yourself!”

“It is I, your faithful servant Arthur! I am the last that remains of our men.” The voice was strained but displayed hints of a higher upbringing and honor. An Armored man crawled out of the door of the demolished building. He was using his sword to drag himself forward towards his master. “She came at us from the mountain! Nothing of this Earth would pierce her cold heart, my lord.” He was also blind as the old soldier’s eyes had been frozen open.

Then the man rested himself against the door jam just outside. His sword stuck in the ground before him. “Perhaps with your God given powers you can avenge us all, Sir.”

Arching an eyebrow of flame, Carter almost laughed at the simulated knight. Then, he just smirked and decided to go with it. “I'm sure, whatever form of evil befell you, my good Sir, I will send back to the depths of Hades from whence it came.”

Suddenly the mountain erupted like a cryovolcano going off. There was a loud deafening boom followed by the roar of a great beast. Ice and clouds shot into the sky covering everything surrounding the mountain in a freezing fog.

Knowing he had little time left Arthur spoke quickly and with purpose. “She will come from the clouds as is her way, Milord. You can hear the moment before she attacks. I am not sure if that is the sound of her wings or her breath to be honest.” Just like that, having given his Lord what tools he had, Sir Arthur fell silent. His lungs no longer drew breath and his eyes froze over, having succumbed to both his injuries and the cold.

In an instant Carter increased his power output, evaporating the ice and snow all around him. The fog cleared away quickly as well and he rose up into the air, using his own heat to act as an updraft underneath him. His eyes searched for the threat he knew was near.

Jaclyn watched silently as flames whipped through the area around Carter. Impressive to say the least.

It was just as the old man Arthur had said from the clouds in the sky a combination of the sound of wind rushing then a scraping or tearing sound. To ancient people there would almost be no way to describe it. To the modern paladin the sound was likely due to something large hitting mach speeds.

As the massive serpent sped past the flying flame user he could hear her roar, “Vengeance!” Behind her was left a comet trail of cold and frost. Even just being close to the Elemental Dragon of Ice meant challenging the cold.

In the control room, Syn raised a hand to her mouth, chuckling softly behind it. She had opted for this because it would be a challenge for her young charge. Cold wasn’t friendly to fire types, as she knew all too well. And the whole scenario was cheesy and likely to catch him off-guard with the silliness. The diminutive dragon lady had a twisted sense of humor.

Inside the training room, Carter was hit by the arctic blast, as if he had been physically struck. He crashed backwards, down into the simulated dwelling below, crashing through frozen timbers and a mortared stone. He finally came to rest in a pile of debris, half buried in the ruined structure.

As soon as the colder air hit him, his flame had been nearly extinguished. Now, laying there in the rubble, his flame was only barely flickering.

“Ow…” He finally said. Then, taking in a breath and releasing it slowly, he opened his eyes. “Real funny, Mom,” he uttered under his breath, though he knew that she could hear his thoughts clearly.

“You need to be paying attention to your surroundings. I’m of no concern right now, remember that,” Syn said simply, shaking her head. She had her reasons for running this scenario out of nowhere. Yes, it allowed him to utilize his powers to a high extent, but there were other things that the diminutive dragon lady was gauging with this impromptu test.

Climbing back to his feet, he dusted himself off and stepped out of the structure. Slowly, as he looked around the sky, his powers started to regain their strength. “Alright. You wanna play? Let's play.” He clenched his fists and stepped out into the courtyard, keeping his senses open to detect his opponent.

Again came the loud sound of rushing air as the dragon descended upon its prey. This time unleashing a frozen hell along the way. The pillar of cold from Frostwyng’s mouth hit the ground covering a huge area. The circle of impact was rushing at the courtyard threatening to engulf the would be hero of the day.

Kai had stepped back as the fight had started but still stood there staring wide eyes into the room. “Amazing” she breathed.

Jaclyn kept her thoughts to herself. It was scaring her to be truthful.

Though he was a bit more prepared for the attack, the frigid blast still hit him hard, knocking him back again, though not as much. If one could see his face, and read his thoughts, they'd see that he was getting angry.

Unknown to the would-be hero, Frostwyng was not just a behemoth capable of flying the breathing ice. She was also a mutant. She was to ice what a certain mutant was to the electromagnetic spectrum. “You must pay for what happened to my children.” She held her hand out before her and suddenly Carter was encased in a massive block of ice. This wasn’t only bad because the ice was almost absolutely zero in temperature. There was also a chance the hero could suffocate.

For several beats, it seemed that Carter had not only been beaten by the simulation, but he might have been in actual danger.

Kai was beginning to worry, she muttered Carter’s name as she looked around at the various adults.

Suddenly, before anyone could react, Carter seemed to start glowing brighter and brighter. All of the simulated ice and snow started to rapidly melt away, more than that actually, as everything started to evaporate. In the next instant, the room was filled with a blinding flash and roiling flames.

“Don’t you realize young man? You are the destroyer here and I am the preserver! My victims can be revived. Yours are gone forever.” It was perhaps a last slight as the dragon burned or perhaps a warning to a fellow elementalist.

With Carter’s bright flash, the tint on the observation room glass darkened, saving the eyesight of those within as his powers crackled along the invisible shielding that the training room provided. The sensors started bleating at the release of energy, Milly’s calm hand moving over the control panel, silencing alerts and saving the recorded data. “His powers are progressing. Not that the D-Room can’t handle it, or anything.”

Syn had always been impressed by Carter’s abilities. The one thing she was never impressed by, however, was the volatile, flash paper temper that seemed to go along with them. Fire users tended to be hot-headed sometimes, but he had just gone supernova in a scenario that required a bit more thought and control. And he wondered why she hadn’t assigned him to a team out on the streets yet. Still, he had shown just how effectively that the D-Room could contain even an insane level of power output.

The diminutive administrator shook her head and sighed. She would discuss his temper later, as she didn’t tend to admonish her students in front of others, much less her fiery adopted son. Instead she turned to look at Jaclyn, saying, “As you can see, there’s little chance that your powers are going to disrupt the D-Room. And for now, all that we’re really wanting to do is test what those powers are, and how powerful they are. I’m not intending to throw you up against any such scenarios this time.”

“Well thats good because that is just plain... scary” Jaclyn admitted. “I don’t have that control, and ... that was controlled right?”

Syn chuckled and shook her head, still attached to the workings of the D-Room. “It was more or less controlled, though he probably didn’t have to go to that extreme. Still, it was a chance to show you just what that room can take. Don’t worry about having exacting control right now, that comes with time and training. I need to see where you’re at, and your levels are likely far less powerful than they were upon your awakening.”

Inside the training room, Carter now stood in a blank environment, as the simulation had ended with his flash. Sighing to himself, he knew that he had overdone it. Through the telepathic link his adopted mother had created between them when he was very young, he could feel her disappointment. It caused him to feel a level of shame. She had spoken to him numerous times about his temper. He knew it was his biggest hurdle to overcome. Unfortunately, though he had been training to keep his emotions in check, he still lost control from time to time.

Glancing up at the observation windows, he saw Jaclyn looking at him. He suddenly had the worry that his loss of control here would forever turn her from him.

She gave him a slight smile and turned back to the Headmistress. “So I go in there and you make that system attack me?”

“I will not make the system attack you unless absolutely necessary to force an example of your powers,” Syn said with another soft chuckle and a mischievous grin. She winked at Jac and continued, “We’re not trying to frighten you, though, if you can’t seem to find your link to your abilities, sometimes a good jumpscare will make it bubble up.”

Inside the D-Room, Carter caught sight of the slight grin on Jaclyn’s face. It was enough to lift his spirits considerably. It made him want to try again. “Can I go again? I think I know where I went wrong there. I'd like to try and fix it.” He was looking up at his mother as he asked the question.

Syn’s red-reptilian gaze returned to her adopted son and she shook her head. “Your demonstration was fine. You’ll have more time to figure it out another day. I do have other tasks to attend to, so we need to get Jac and Kai in there now.”

Sighing softly, Carter nodded his head. “Alright, I'm coming out.” He then made his way over to where the door was located. As he approached, the computer unlocked the mechanism and the door slowly opened into the room. After deactivating his powers Carter’s nano suit quickly retracted back into his gloves. He then stepped out of the danger room and made his way back to the group.

Nodding his head to his mother, he spoke as if in response to something she had said. “I know, Ma. I need to learn to control my temper. I'm trying!”

Kai’s eyes lit up at the mention that she was to go into the room. “Ohhh can I go first?” She was basically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Crazy, was all Jac could think. After all they went through, Kai wanted to go into that room and let it shower her in what? Lava? Electricity? Yes, definitely crazy.

“You can both go together. We were demonstrating what the room is capable of. My impetuous child has spent many hours training in that room, and is experienced in what can be thrown his direction,” Syn said, glancing towards her adopted son a bit pointedly.

Carter blushed slightly at his mother's gaze. He then grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

The woman’s attention moved quickly back to the girls, however, and she motioned towards the door. “The suits that you will be utilizing are nanite technology that will help us to get more detailed biological readings, and hopefully help us more accurately pinpoint your abilities. Both of you bear the gene, though only Jac has manifested physically. That is unlikely to happen again any time soon, by the way. Awakenings are typically a very violent explosion of power, something more akin to what you will see at the height of your powers. With directed teaching and training.”

When the door slid open for them again, it led down a short hallway to the other door, both looking suspiciously like blast doors. The room was its pristine white once again, and the previous white pillars arose from the ground, two black balls floating just above them, standing out starkly against the sterile seeming surroundings.

“I’ll be gentle. No ice-breathing dragons, I promise,” Syn said, the dragon-eyed headmistress giving them a slight smile, and motioned a deceptively delicate looking hand towards the open door.

Kai eagerly moved forward. "Come on Jac" She said eagerly.

Jaclyn nodded and followed in silence. This had the luck of going horribly wrong.

Carter nodded supportively to Jaclyn. "It's okay. The training room is programmed with failsafes. While it can get difficult, as it adjusts to how powerful the trainee gets, it won't go to lethal levels."

Jaclyn gave a nod, not really 100% sure she felt confident about the whole situation. "Ok... so what do we do?"

"The system will start out with an easy opponent for the both of you. As you increase the power of your attacks or defenses, it will increase its own levels of stay even with you," Carter replied. He took a breath, then continued. "As you gain more control of your abilities, and learn how to be a better fighter, then the system can be programmed to increase the difficulty. Such as strong ger opponents or even multiple opponents. It all depends on how high you feel comfortable going."

"Also," he added quickly. "During this first session, your nano suit will sync up with you vitals, so it can better protect and work with you." He grinned slightly as he said, "It helps to give the AI a name. It will then give you a few different tasks, to help it match up with your nervous, cardiovascular and other vital systems."

Another thing to remember, Jaclyn thought as she looked around the room.

Kai was bouncing on the balls of her feet. "hmm" she considered. "Interesting idea.."

~Truncated~