Who knew that the DR could be turned into a swimming pool? The place never ceased to amaze Maya. It could transform into virtually anything just by hard light and some programming skills... but even beyond that, it had hidden depths. Quite literally, in this case. After Mirror and Shin had wrecked the old mechanical structures that were likely to kill students, Maya also discovered that the room, much like the ancient Colosseum, could be sunk and flooded for aquatic training purposes.
Which was great, because the trainee she had a private session with was definitely at home in water.

Maya sat at the edge of the newly created pool, dressed ins a blue swimsuit, waiting for Andy to show. The water was not pool-clear, but rather greenish and kind of murky like natural water would be. It was clean, of course... but hard light and programming was going to take care of the parts that natural resources could not.
In this case, some very intriguing parts. Sam would have been proud. Maya was not sure what reaction she was going to get from the trainee... but if he had a mind to try out for the X-men, he had to learn to be ready for everything.

If Andy expected to pass his X-Trainee test, he was going to have to push himself harder than ever before. Train more. Not just in the swimming pool, not just in the workout room, but also in the ominously-named, technologically-advanced Danger Room.

For awhile, Andy hated the Danger Room--the place where he first realized how sucky his powers were compared to those of his peers, especially whenever the simulations were land-based (which they usually were).

It wasn't until he discovered he could do more than just run and swim away from threats that he started to see the Danger Room as less of a torture chamber designed to lower his self-esteem and more of a wonderful (okay, maybe not wonderful) opportunity to exercise both his body and powers in creative ways that could one day save his life or the life of someone else. He had even gotten used to wearing his student training uniform! Sure, it still rode up every now and then, but at least he no longer felt like it was suffocating him. In fact, it made him feel powerful every time he put it on. Like an X-man.

All in all, he had come a long way; yet, he still couldn’t help but feel nervous as he approached the room, always unsure of what to expect. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember the last time a teacher ran the same simulation twice in a row. It almost never happened.

But that was life: unpredictable.

If he wanted to be an X-Trainee, he’d have to be prepared for anything. Which was why he was here, on a Saturday morning, with one of the X-Men finest: Mirror. Strangely, she was dressed in a blue, one-piece swimsuit, which told him the scenario she had chosen for him would have something to do with--

Water! Andy beamed in a mixture of excitement and relief, a wide, toothy smile stretching across his face as soon as he noticed what she was sitting at the edge of: an oversized swimming pool. The water wasn't as clear as he would have liked, murky and greenish, but it was still water.

“Hi, Mirror,” he greeted her with a quick wave before breaking into a light jog towards her. Stopping at the edge of the pool, he took a sharp breath and crossed his arms. “So, what’s the scenario this time? Should I be scared?” he asked with a joking grin as he glanced down at the mysterious water.

Whatever it was, he could handle it!

And really was serious about taking the test to be an X-trainee. He had been working out and doing all kinds of basic training. He was not exactly an overachiever, but definitely dedicated to becoming a member of the team. Given his unique skill set, he was likely to be a good addition too. Mirror saw promise in the guy, even though they did not work much together, and never in a setting this specific before. Maya had to admit, she was proud of her latest design.

>>“Hi, Mirror. So, what’s the scenario this time? Should I be scared?”

"Yes, you should be." Maya grinned, standing up to greet Andy. He looked very excited at the sight of water. "We have been trying to give you a well rounded routine so far, so that you could hold your own even when you cannot rely on your powers in the field. Which is often. But for your upcoming test... I thought it would be a waste not to train you in your element at least once before you take it. Testing a fish by climbing a tree, and all that."

Maya glanced at the murky water. It was deceptively calm. The water was real, and the pool took up most of the width and length of the DR. The rest... was mostly done by hard light and a lot of programming.

"Ready?"

A mixture of surprise and confusion appeared on Andy's face when Mirror said he should be scared. What? Why? How? He’d be surrounded in water the entire time. If anything went wrong, his powers would save him. Sure, he may be a klutz on land, as Mirror and a few other X-Men probably already gathered from his previous sessions, but in the water he was as graceful and quick as a dolphin.

>> "We have been trying to give you a well rounded routine so far, so that you could hold your own even when you cannot rely on your powers in the field. Which is often. But for your upcoming test... I thought it would be a waste not to train you in your element at least once before you take it.”

Nodding, Andy listened intently to every word that came out of the Mirror’s mouth. Everything she said was of great value to Andy, who wanted nothing more than to follow in her footsteps and join the ranks of the X-Men -- or at least become an X-Trainee and figure out his next move from there. After all, he still wanted to go to college and study marine biology. He still had a few years until graduation, though, and in those few years he could be helping people, saving lives, maybe even the world.

That was, if he passed the test...

>> "Ready?"

Andy felt his heart jump. Was he ready? He was a few seconds ago. Now he wasn’t so sure, but he couldn’t let Mirror know that. With a wide, seemingly confident smile, he uncrossed his arms and rolled his shoulders, rotating a crick out of his neck. This isn’t the test, he reminded himself as he nervously turned to face the murky pool water. “Ready.” I think...

The kid was nervous. Maya could tell. He was looking at the pool as if all this was already the test, and not just a training session. Maya remembered being like that, back when she was new on the team and under Sam's supervision. One could never know when a test was a test. Anything could be a test. And when Sam was in the God Room, anything could happen in the DR.
Maya had learned from the best.

Andy was ready. He thought. As ready as he will ever be. Maya nodded, stepping up to the pool before she dove in. She resurfaced a few moments later, moving towards the middle of the pool.

"Alright, Bubbles" she grinned "You're gonna have to rescue me."

Andy quirked an eyebrow in confusion when Mirror suddenly dove into the pool. For a moment, he thought maybe she just wanted to relax a bit before starting their session. That was certainly explain why she was wearing a bathing suit instead of her X-uniform. Smiling, Andy neared the edge and was about to jump in when she told him the objective was to rescue her.

“From what?” Andy asked as he scanned the water for any signs of danger. When he didn’t see anything, he added, “Are you going to pretend to drown? I already have my lifeguard certification...”

Sure, he had been secretly wishing this entire time for her to go easy on him, but come on… How was this going to prepare him for his X-Trainee test?

Maya floated in the middle of the pool, looking at Andy expectantly. The things in the water were not exactly programmed to go straight for her, but it did not make the simulation any less creepy. Now if he would just hurry up...

>>“From what? Are you going to pretend to drown? I already have my lifeguard certification...”

"You really want me to spoil the whole scenario?" Maya arched an eyebrow "Get your *ss in here, rookie, and do so..."

And then Maya disappeared under the surface of the murky water, leaving some bubbles behind.