Another typical quiet night at the mansion, and one of the newest residents was up and about wandering the halls. Being a night person pretty much meant there weren’t many people to interact with. Even with this type of solitude Victoria still loved wandering around her new home.

She loved everything about the mansion. Everything was so pretty from the colorful paintings and flower arrangements to the structure itself. Every night the girl’s red eyes would find something she hadn’t noticed in previous nights and it made her smile. Doing this made her happy and so she would start humming happy little tunes to herself as she strolled.

Her night time walks took her past all the familiar places such as the library and the classrooms, but numerous times she would wander some place new just to see what was there. This particular night her adventure placed her staring at a rather large metal door she hadn’t seen before. It had a key pad and looked very sturdy. Naturally Victoria wondered what would be kept behind such a door. Was it a vault for valuables like a bank, or maybe this was where they put the really bad mutants whose ability was too dangerous. The thought sent a cold chill up her spine.

It was late, or early all depending on who you were asking at this point, to the those who were just getting up it was early and to those who were just going to bed it was late. Sam however couldn’t tell the difference at this point. Every now and then there would be some nights where sleep wasn’t an option skewing his perspective on what was early or late. There wasn’t an emergency that required his attention, at least one he wasn’t made aware of he just couldn’t sleep. The same reoccurring nightmares of ghosts long past gone haunted his dreams and forced him from bed. Nights like tonight he’d do one of two things to help him blow off some steam. Hit the danger room or hit someone in the face who was asking for trouble in the city.

Tonight felt like a good night for the danger room. Passing a few of the kids that were unable to sleep Sam wished them all a good night and then passed a few of the mansion staff who were roaming the halls on the graveyard shift. It wasn’t often but on occasion something could potentially happen with any of the kids mutations, or it was just their teenage hormones. ”Back to your room Simon,” Sam said with his powers locking in on the heat signature that was one of the teenage students who was clearly up to no good. ”Unless you want a few sessions with me in the danger room, is that why you can’t sleep?” Sam asked as he heard the door of Simons room shut quickly and lock behind it. Sam smirked and shook his head and head to the danger room.

Passing the empty rooms and the surprisingly quite kitchen Sam headed down to the danger room where he knew he’d find his happy place a ‘in the moment’ place where he can forget about everything else on the outside like ghosts that were supposed to stay ghost not keep him from his sleep. The elevator doors opened up and Sam looked out into the long metal corridor to the danger room and stopped short when he noticed a little girl he had never seen before staring at the doors. ”Hey there, you are up late… or early… you lost?” Sam said after clearing his throat.

Victoria’s head tilted slightly to the right as she stared at the door and wondered what possible contents were behind its shiny face. What ever it was it must be important. Why else would there be a huge metal door? All the rest of the doors were normal doors like the one to her room or the classrooms. Why did they need this door?

She was so distracted in thought that she didn’t even hear the elevator or even that someone had approached until a voice filled the hall. Jumping with a bit of a startle big red eyes turned to see who was talking to her. “Oh! Umm…it’s not really early or late for me.” A slight pause and a shrug. “It’s just when I’m up. But I’m not really lost. I’m just learning my way around the mansion. I do it every night and try to find things I haven’t noticed before. Is it early or late for you?”

Victoria looked the man over. He was very tall and older than herself, but she hadn’t seen him before. That was something she was getting used to as not many people were up when she was. “Are you a student here too?”

Trying not to laugh when she jumped and turned Sam crouched a bit so he was eye level with both her red ones. She had a paler complexion and blonde hair. Sam tried to match everything he could to the descriptions of all the younger mansion kids he had files for. She wasn’t ringing a bell so he nodded his head to her questions. ”A little of both actually, neither too early or too late and just like you I guess this is when I’m up, trouble sleeping is all.” Sam said shrugging his shoulders and standing up straight again and walked towards the girl and the big metal doors of the danger room.

Once at the doors he turned to her and then answered her next question, ”Little old to be a student here, though I could possibly take some of the college level courses.” Sam said thinking it might be time to get a better education.

Turning his head back to the door before he turned it back to the little girl he knocked on the door of the danger room and then turned to her again, ”You trying to get in here?” Sam asked curiously, ”You know your not supposed to be in the danger room without adult supervision right?”

Leaning over and punching in the access code the giant doors opened up and a dim light turned on in the center of the danger room, a feature that was added to help save cost this late at night while the danger room wasn’t running. ”You want to see what’s inside?” Sam asked before he took a step into the room, ”What’s your name kid?” Sam asked turning his attention back to the little girl.

The girl’s gaze followed the man as he knelt down to be at her level. She listened and acknowledged his reply about being up at this time. It didn’t sound fun to not be able to sleep. Victoria enjoyed her sleep as it always helped her feel refreshed.

As the man walked up closer to the girl and the door she pondered something else. “Are you a teacher here? My teacher is Mr. Holloway.” A cheerful smile spread over her little face. She was grateful for her teacher.

“No! No! I wasn’t trying to get in there. I was just curious what was in there because it doesn’t look like the rest of the doors in the mansion.” Danger Room? This didn’t sound like such a good idea. “I’m very sorry. I’ve never heard of a Danger Room. Mr. Holloway never said anything about such a place.” Visible signs of nervousness took over Victoria’s body.

The man opened the door and the girl could see a single light in the room but there wasn’t anything there. Why wasn’t there anything in…was he going to put her in the room because she’s dangerous? Victoria took a step back. “My name is Victoria. Why is this called a Danger Room?” Her curiosity got the best of her.

”I am a teacher here,” Sam said nodding his head when she asked him if he was apart of the staff. Sam smiled when she spoke of Graves and he nodded his head, ”He is a very good teacher to have.” One of the reasons Sam was more than happy to help him get a teaching position in the mansion, from the first interview he had with Graves, Sam could tell he’d fit in well and judging by the way the little girl mentioned him it was clear she thought highly of him.

She shifted from curious to nervous and it was pretty apparent. Nodding his head though Sam waved her in, ”Why we only let kids in here with adult supervision. The danger room is only dangerous if you don’t know how to use it. Sort of like an oven.” if the oven could eat you, shoot lasers, create giant metal death traps or exploding penguins. Sam however didn’t bring that up for fear of scaring the girl straight out of the room. There was no reason she should be afraid in the mansion and Sam figured the best way to show her there was nothing to fear was bring her into the room and let her see how it works.

”Mr. Holloway did a good job then, we don’t want everyone knowing about this room, but seeing as you are already here, might as well see it in action right?” Sam asked the girl moving into the room a bit more till he realized that she was a little hesitant to enter the room. ”Very nice to meet you Victoria, my name is Sam. I’m the professor of self defense and this room is my classroom.” taking a step forward Sam explained again, ”The room is designed to help hone mutant abilities.”

Sam raised his hand and willed the area around his hand to become cold forming some flakes of snow followed by a larger snowball. Grabbing the snowball out of midair before it fell to the ground Sam tossed it towards the girl shortly after slow enough so she could catch it or step out of the way. ”Come on in Victoria, tell me what’s something you always wanted to see or somewhere you always wanted to go?” walking further into the danger room Sam waved her to follow.

The man proclaimed he was a teacher at the mansion. This made the girl feel a little better. He also commented knowing Mr. Holloway and complimented him. So far the few people who knew her teacher spoke very highly of him and so she felt special to be his student. “I like him too!”

The new teacher continued talking and mentioned that he was glad Mr. Holloway didn’t show the Danger Room to Victoria. He went on about rules and things and how people could get hurt and compared it to an oven. This was a subject the girl could comment on. “I already know how to use an oven. My mother taught me so I could help her.” She wasn’t sure why that mattered unless he was trying to lure her into a giant oven. This only cemented her stance outside the room doorway.

When he finally introduced himself and informed Victoria of what he taught her curiosity started to rise again. This room can help hone mutant abilities? How much could it do when you’re already unbreakable, and how can it do anything when there’s nothing in the room? This was getting more confusing by the minute.

Her attention snapped back into focus when Sam created a snowball and tossed it at her. She easily dodged the frozen projectile, and when she straightened up the look on her face was one of awe. He could make snowballs out of thin air!

Forgetting the discussion about the room the girl stepped inside as she now wanted to know how Sam could do what he did. Could he make other things too? Maybe he could build a whole snowman?

Sam asked a strange question and with the girl’s mind all a wander an image popped in her mind. It was one she had seen on television back in her home. It was so beautiful it had burned into her mind since that time, and her mouth went along with her semi trance state. “The biggest field of flowers ever! So beautiful…”

When she stepped inside the danger room the door slowly shut behind her as standard protocol. She also spoke of a field of flowers as well and Sam nodded his head figuring it would be one a young girl would pick that or a giant pink castle or something along those lines. ”Well Victoria, your in luck the danger room can take us there.” Looking up to the danger room god room Sam yelled, ”Danger room, take us to…. A field of flowers… how about sunflowers.”

The danger room didn’t respond with a sound but the room lit up as the ceiling in the danger room turned into a bright sky blue with white clouds floating off in the distance. A few trees started to materialize in the center of the danger room where Sam was standing as grass and giant sunflowers started to appear. The smell hit Sam’s nostrils first followed by the sight. Seconds passed and the danger room looked like a giant golden field and just as Victoria specified the flowers it seemed went on forever.

Sam shifted his weight and patted a tree next to him and he looked up into the sun filled sky thinking this would be a good place to bring a girl for a picnic. He filed the settings of the danger room scene for later, now he was focusing on Victoria and her danger room tutorial. ”Well Victoria, what do you think?”

She heard the sound of the door shutting behind her, but it wasn’t a sound that frightened her. There wasn’t a loud clang or anything, it as more of a softer sound yet still metallic. Her eyes were still watching Sam as she slowly approached. She kept her distance though in case he decided to throw more snowballs at her.

No more snowballs flew through the air. All Victoria heard was Sam mentioning the room could take them to a field of flowers. No sooner had he said that when he called out some kind of command and almost instantly the room light up with a blue sky with some clouds and the sun. THE SUN! Victoria let out the most ear piercing-blood curdling scream of terror ever as she collapsed to the ground in a fetal position. Arms wrapped around her head and legs pulled in tight she continued to scream horrifically.

The tree he was under provided some shade from the fake sun so he didn’t need to squint till he heard Victoria scream. Turning his body and head Sam watched the girl drop into the tall sunflowers and he looked up to the danger room. ”End simulation!” the danger room quickly changed and the room became empty and darker once again with the lone light in the center of the gray room.

Running over to Victoria not really thinking anything was seriously wrong other than her just freaking out from the sudden change of scenery Sam crouched down and tried to place a hand on Victoria’s head, ”Whoa! Victoria what’s wrong kiddo?” looking up and waving his hand about Sam tried to explain more. ”It’s not real. None of the stuff in the danger room is real. It’s all just hard-light holograms. I’m sorry if they scared you.” he waited till the screaming subsided or she pulled her self out of the fetal position.

It took a moment for Victoria to hear Sam’s voice. Her screaming was very loud to say the least. His voice was worried yet had a tone of calmness. His touch upon her head was gentle yet reassuring. All signs that he cared about her, at least a little bit having only just met.

Sniffling and extremely hesitantly uncovering her head Victoria opened her eyes. Everything was dark again. Immediately she looked at her arms to see how badly she had been…not burned? It was then that she heard Sam telling her that everything was false.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath to help settle herself down. “I’m sorry.” She felt foolish now for her reaction. He must not have known about her special condition. “I…I can’t be in the sun. It burns.” That was a bit of an open ended statement, but it was also the truth.

”It’s alright! Really, this place scared me a bit too the first time I found out what it could do.” Sam lied slightly recalling the stalker bots that Neena created followed by the exploding penguins. Neither of those scared him a lot didn’t scare Sam anymore though he still had a thing against needles. Sam often placed his lack of fear on the environment he grew up in. Having people shoot at you when you’re seven tends to make everything else seem less scary.

”No sunlight?” Sam asked curiously suddenly feeling bad for the girl. ‘Must be why she was up this late, or rather early’ no sun must have meant opposite sleep schedules from the other kids. ”Sorry to hear that, I didn’t know.” Sam said sympathetically as he offered her a hand up now that she wasn’t curled up and screaming. ”That is the beauty with the Danger Room though.” Sam said pointing up to where the sun was moments before, ”None of it is real.” hard light projections but hardly ‘real’.

”Would you like to see it again?” Sam asked curiously wondering if she wanted to see the field of flowers again, ”I can have the moon out instead of the sun if you like. Or would you rather be someone where else?” he asked curiously before taking a few steps back once the girl got onto her feet.

Sam was nice from what Victoria could tell. He talked to her politely and checked to see if she was ok. So she decided it would be ok to answer him more in depth.

Shaking her head she looked up at him while standing up. “The sun burns me more than people with normal skin. So I’m always up at night and sleeping during the day. I stay away from the sun.” Finishing she brushed off her dress.

Sam’s question about seeing the field of flowers again with the moon instead sounded absolutely beautiful to the girl. And Safe! “That sounds amazing! I’d love to see that.” She paused for a moment. “I’ll try my best to remember everything here isn’t real.” A smile and a nod were given to the man.

Sam made note when she explained her weakness to sunlight a little more in depth he nodded his head and listed to her about how her schedule is a little, okay very different from the other kids. ‘Must be rough on her’ thought Sam remembering how alone he was when he was a kid. At least she wasn’t being forced to learn how to use a gun or how to kill. She seemed to be cheerful enough though, which brought a smile to Sam’s face. It was almost contagious.

”Alright then moonlit night with some sun… er flowers.” Sam said as the danger room recognized his voice and did just that. The moon was very big and very bright like they could almost reach out and touch it. While the sunflowers were still bright, a little darker due to the lack of sunlight but still bright enough. ”How old are you Victoria and how do you take classes normally?” Sam asked knowing she mentioned having Graves as a teacher. He was curious to see what kind of classes she was currently enrolled in or if she only had Graves go over all her subjects in a few hours.

Sam shifted his weight as a breeze shot through the field of flowers, he smirked slightly as he looked around. Going a few rounds with a danger room-bot might not be the best idea. He could do it but with all the flowers around, he let out a small laugh and shook his head trying to imagine making Gawain fight someone in a field of flowers.

Seeing Sam smile back gave Victoria an acknowledgement to her allergy to the sun. She knew now that he had a better idea in his head. One more person looking after her wouldn’t hurt anything right?

When the command was given and the room changed to a night time scene the girl’s eyes widened. The flowers were bathed in the brilliance of the moon. It was even more beautiful than seeing it all in daylight…well, for the fraction of time she saw it anyway. “Soo beautiful!”

Taking a few steps through the flowers her fingers spread out to touch the petals when she heard Sam asking her another question. “I turned 13 last month.” Turning around to face the man again she answered his other question. “I was getting private lessons from Mr. Holloway in the evenings. They were all the same subjects he taught in his day time classes, but since he’s been away I haven’t had any lessons of any kind lately.”