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I've Got Your Back; Decibel
Topic Started: Apr 16 2015, 03:06 PM (133 Views)
Undertow
Unregistered

There was something about saltwater that just didn’t compare to freshwater. If you asked any ordinary person what the difference was between the two, there answers would be obvious: “One has salt in it. The other doesn’t.” To Zalek, the difference was far more drastic. It was to him as the difference between fresh, cool air and stale, hot air. He didn’t mind freshwater, but saltwater was more comfortable and made him feel at home. Oddly enough, he craved being in the ocean water. Living on the surface made him miss the small things he’d never realized he enjoyed, such as the type of water he breathed.

It was this very craving that led the blue boy to the lower level of the institute.The Sub-Basement had many fascinating features, ranging from a plane-filled hangar to a state of the art medical facility. However, he wasn’t in need of a flying ride or medical attention. Within this level resided the Danger Room. This room acted as a training facility for all in the mansion. Via hardlight generation, this spectacular room could generate about anything from giant mutant-destroying robots to a peaceful jungle in the Amazon. A water-breathing respirator didn’t satisfy his desire, and the ocean was a bit of a drive away. Taking that into consideration, the lovely Sarah Vale, a skilled technopath and friend, had designed a simulation filled with saltwater pools for Zalek. He found himself using the simulation quite often. The only downside was that he had to have the supervision of an X-Man, staff member, or Legacy Squad member.

He’d put in the request to use the simulation the night prior. He’d hoped that, with the request being turned in so late, he might still be able to get someone to supervise. Sure enough, he had received an alert notifying him of the approval. At exactly 2:45 that afternoon, the Atlantean made his way to the Sub-Basement, quickly finding his way to the Danger Room. He stood silently near the entrance, adorned in his usual skin-tight Atlantean garb, awaiting the arrival of whoever would be watching him. Who would it be? At that moment, a figure turned the corner into the hallway, causing Zalek to freeze. Of course it would have been him.
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Decibel
Unregistered

While he had been assured multiple times that the school’s training uniforms weren’t made of leather and spandex, Theo still felt like he was dressed for a weird, kinky sort of burlesque show. Not that that was any sort of problem, he just constantly felt like the world was just waiting for the right moment to turn into a porno. Of course, that feeling usually subsided whenever he actually got into the Danger Room, but the point remained- it was tight, black, and ready for action.

Theo fidgeted with the bottom of his jacket as he walked down the halls of the subbasement. The request for time in the Danger Room had come through this morning, and he’d volunteered earlier to take the next student request for a session. Just his luck that the one making the request was none other than Zalek, the atlantean exchange student. The pair had passed by one another once or twice since meeting at the lake, nothing more than a nod or a polite hello as they passed each other in the halls.

Theo rounded a corner and saw Zalek standing at the entry bay, his water-breather adorning his head once again. He noticed the boy tense slightly and smirked to himself.

“Howdy, fish-boy,” he called ahead of himself, giving a slight wave as he did. “Ready to get your feet wet?” The last time they’d met, Theo had been tired from a run as well as taken off-guard. This time, he knew what was coming, and it was Zalek that was caught off-guard. How the tables turn… He closed the remaining gap between them and stood at the door to the Danger Room, hands balled into fists and pressed gently against his hips.

“I’m going to supervise your session in the Danger Room.” Theo’s uniform had been modified specifically to help him make use of his powers. The chest-piece contained a state-of-the-art speaker that was moderately flexible, waterproof, fireproof, and a-bunch-of-stuff-he-couldn’t-remember-proof, courtesy of some of the more tech-savvy members of the School. A brace on his left wrist had a number of buttons on it, and was snugly fastened in place with a series of clasps, its wiring clearly weaving its way into the suit to control the speaker. Finally, around his neck there was a raised collar that flared slightly at his shoulders. The padding on the inside made it look as if the flared portions of the collar were meant to be pressed in over his ears, though the extent of their effectiveness was known only to Theo, and whatever geniuses had come up with it. All Theo knew was that he rarely got the chance to use it- those things were a last resort.

“It’s good to see you again,” he said as he opened up the panel hidden in the wall. For a moment, he opened his mouth as if to say more, but when no words came he stayed silent. Instead, the sliding of the huge metal door filled the gap in speech, revealing beyond it the shining interior of the Danger Room.
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Undertow
Unregistered

It was him. Yes, him. At the end of the hall was none other than Theo. The dark-headed boy began walking down the hall, making eye-contact with Zalek. He was completely frozen.

“Howdy, fish-boy,” Greeted Decibel, giving the Atlantean a slight wave. In return, all the young man could do was give a large grin, exhaling through his nostrils as he did so. The same, odd feelings he’d gotten in his stomach the first time they met returned, leading him to glance away for a second. They hadn’t seen each other since that day aside from a slim number of sightings in the hallway. Each glimpse of him he saw sparked this jolt of jitteriness within him. That jitteriness was what he felt at the moment, just at an increased level when compared to those brief moments. Thankfully the stomach knot had folded itself together… yet.

“Ready to get your feet wet? I’m going to supervise your session in the Danger Room.” His assumption was correct. He was going to be the staff member supervising his swim this morning. Great.

“Wonderful. I’m more than ready.” Zalek replied, a happy tone behind his words. Theodore, for some odd reason, lifted the young man’s spirit. Even if he was having a good day, simply seeing just seemed to make him… happier.

As the sound manipulator drew closer, Undertow examined his uniform. It was peculiar and rather fascinating. Many uniforms were fit to aid in the use of one’s powers, so he had found. He hadn’t needed any sort of altered outfit because his was already fit for use in the water. What, then, did Theodore’s do? There was an odd chestpiece and several other gadgets it seemed; what purpose did they serve?

“It’s good to see you again,”

Turning his head briefly, the green-haired man turned his head, his cheeks slightly turning purple as a blush brushed across his face. “It’s nice to see you as well.” He came off cool for the most part. Excitement and anxiousness were among the many emotions he was feeling, though his body language and… other physical aspects only partially reflected those emotions.

He opened the door, Zalek watching his friend open the doors to the Danger Room. They slid open, revealing the incredible training facility. Stepping in, he made his way towards the center of the room.

“Are you ready to get your feet wet?” He asked, smirking. “Your outfit doesn’t make it seem that way.” Pausing, he tried to decide whether or not he should ask what he had in mind; he was going to. “Or did you just come to watch me?”
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Decibel
Unregistered

“My… outfit?” Theo looked down at his uniform doubtfully. Truth be told, he’d only skimmed the training request. The session requests usually had a description attached to them- the students involved, the point of the training, and the name of the Danger Room protocol that was being requested, if there was a specific one. Sometimes students knew what they wanted to do, but not a way to train (‘practice’, ‘test my power limits’, and ‘beat on hologram bad-guys’ were common favorites)… but this was obviously not one of those cases. Probably should have read the full memo. Whoops.

“I, uh… it’s just sort of habit,” he said, following the atlantean mutant into the futuristically-advanced training room. “Go to the danger room, put on the training uniform- speaking of which,” Theo made the most adult-in-charge looking face he could manage, modeling it after the slightly-terrifying scowl that Mr Howlett often wore.

“We’re in the Danger Room, so we’re using codenames.” Codenames were an interesting subject, not simply because people disagreed, but because of the sheer number of ways that they disagreed. Some believed they should be reserved almost exclusively for high-octane combat situations, others considered them a birthright that identified mutants as a member of mutant-culture (which, more and more, was becoming a thing). Some liked the idea of using them only in reference to mutant activities, or things related to mutant abilities, and some thought the entire idea was silly and pointless. Theo liked them because they sounded cool.

Theo made his way over to a panel on the wall beside the door the two had just entered, rummaging in one of his pockets as he did so. When he reached the panel, he pressed a series of buttons, scanned a thumb-print, let a laser scan his eye, and announced his codename into a speaker. In response, an indicator light lit up and the panel slid open slightly, revealing more of the control console. He sighed with relief- thank god he remembered all of the steps. Obviously, this room needed all sorts of security features, given how legitimately dangerous it was, but that didn’t mean that the six steps or fourteen different methods of unlocking it were easy to remember. From inside his pocket, he produced a folded slip of paper, which he opened before pressing a few more buttons on the console.

“So… I’m going to call you Undertow,” he said, reading the name off his slip of paper, “and you can call me Decibel.” He pressed a few more buttons. “And now that the introductions are out of the way…” he typed in the code for Zalek’s requested session and accepted the protocol. The panel was instantly swallowed by the wall, and the door to the Danger Room closed. There was a light hum as unimaginably complex engines came to life.

“Time for…” the scene came into focus around them, “…your training…” Decibel dropped the slip of paper and looked around. The pair of them were at what appeared to be an oasis. A small pond directly in front of them was nearly surrounded by soft, white sand. A small freshwater waterfall idyllically and impossibly perfectly cascaded down the rocky face of a cliff into the pool below, which in turn fed into a series of other small ponds, each one getting bigger and deeper, until the water spilled out into the open ocean. You could see the freshwater flowing out to sea, swirling beautifully with the seawater that rushed in the opposite direction with each gentle wave that stroked the shore. The sun was either rising or setting, Theo had no idea, but the entire scene was painted in a warm, tropical light. The foliage on the trees in the surroundings were lush and vibrant.

“What the… when did we walk into a scene from a Nicholas Sparks book?” He turned to Zalek, slightly bashful. “I think I’m misunderstanding the kind of training you do…”
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Undertow
Unregistered

“My… outfit?”

Zalek scanned the man over just as he scanned himself, a smirk on his face. It was clear that he had no clue as to why the student requested a Danger Room session. From what he understood, most surface technology, unlike Atlantean technology, could not function properly. Instead whatever was being used likely just ‘fried’. Given that knowledge, he could only imagine what would happen if Theo’s suit came in contact with it. It seemed to have some sort of technical advancements in it. Technology at the institute was advanced compared to anywhere else above the water. The labs had provided Zalek with a more comfortable water-breathing apparatus and a way of sleeping fully submerged; surely they were capable of waterproofing other such things.

“I, uh… it’s just sort of habit, go to the danger room, put on the training uniform- speaking of which, we’re in the Danger Room, so we’re using codenames.”

The sea-foam colored lad understood the way habits worked. His life at home was a recurring habit on a daily basis. At the institute, however, his daily habits were broken and drastically changed. Theo mentioned codenames and how, since they were training, they should be using them. Zalek understood the use of codenames in the field, but found it somewhat odd that even on the premises of the institute they were still used. They hid true identities in a sense, but was that needed at a school consisting of one giant family? Perhaps it was just to ensure no accidental revealings happened while out on a real mission. Regardless, Zalek wore his proudly.

Theodore began the activation process for the Danger Room, one Zalek had watched be done many times since his arrival. He watched the faculty member’s every action. For one reason or another, his gaze was captured by this one.

“So… I’m going to call you Undertow,”

Hearing his codename roll out of Theo’s mouth made the student feel warm inside. The codename was given to him after he’d shown off his ability to create large spinning, conflicting currents of water, also known as rip currents or whirlpools. In nature, these were extremely dangerous, capable of plundering any caught within the tide and drowning them.

“and you can call me Decibel.”

The mentioning of his codename made Undertow curious. He knew that everyone’s codename had some relation to a quality of their mutation. Miss Theresa Cassidy was known as Siryn, given her vocal abilities and the allusion to sirens in Greek mythology. Mrs. Russell’s alluded to her metamorphing features. Even his own name alluded to the hydrokinetic nature of his powers. What, therefore, did Theo’s mean? The term ‘decibel’ sounded familiar, but what was the definition and how did it tie in with the man’s powers?

“And now that the introductions are out of the way…Time for…”

At that very moment, Decibel activated the Danger Room startup. The engine roared to life as a bright light flooded the room, causing Zalek to shut his eyes. As he waited, he could practically feel the scene around him changing. The humming went away, being replaced by the sound of water flowing and crashing down into more water. Heat fell upon his bare arms as the effects of the sun began to set in. The cold metal on his barefeet was not warm sand, molding perfectly to his feet.

“…your training…”

Decibel was breathless it seemed. So was Zalek the first time Sarah had shown it to him. It looked like paradise. It was enchanting and drew your mind and thoughts in to its beauty. “Lovely, isn’t it?” Zalek stated, beginning to remove the water-breathing apparatus from around his neck. Theo looked at Zalek, still astounded by the room around them. “What the… when did we walk into a scene from a Nicholas Sparks book? I think I’m misunderstanding the kind of training you do…”

The seaweed green-eyed boy chuckled as he began to step into the freshwater pond. “I don’t know who this Sparks is, but his literature must be lovely. I’ve found that this room is useful for more than just training.” He lowered down completely into the water, allowing the liquid to flow into his gills. Looking at the dark-headed man, he couldn’t help but grin. “When you asked if I was ‘ready to get my feet wet’, I was not joking when I said yes; neither was I joking when I asked about your uniform. I would prefer we not be electrocuted.”
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