Mutants were fascinating. It was a consistent truth she had found since she first stepped into New York and her world opened up. There were infinite possibilities that only made the people she met more unique, and she was curious what Kendra’s story was. She was not disappointed.

Astral projection via dreaming? It was hard to wrap her head around the idea that her hand was not grasping another flesh and blood person, but rather an invisible but tangible avatar of a young woman sleeping next to her girlfriend. What did make sense was the teleportation aspect of her powers, which solved the mystery of Kendra’s record-setting puzzle-solving. ”Ah, sae yer sayin’ ye cheated th’ jumpin’ game?” she teased. Conversation was hopefully keeping Kendra from focusing too much on the precarious position she was in. (Of course, it could also distract her from treading carefully, so if things went poorly, Rebecca might have some blame to take herself.

Kendra took another opportunity to apologize for her boldness, but before Rebecca could dismiss it as unnecessary, he felt the body she was leading begin to wobble. Feeling the uncontrollable skip of her heartbeat, Rebecca brought her body low to maintain her balance, and her hand tightened its grip on Kendra’s like a vice. She was worried her new friend might fall, and the risk of being dragged along was real, but she was technically there as Kendra’s guide and guardian, so Becca could not take a selfish stance.

Luckily, neither woman ended up falling, and with some effort, they stabilized. Rebecca sighed, regaining her composure before she returned them to their perilous path. ”Ah’d say watch yer step, bit…” She waved at the total darkness surrounding them, which was a pointless gesture since Kendra would not see it, what with the total darkness surrounding them.

Returning to the apology Kendra was trying to extend before she so rudely almost fell to great bodily harm, Rebecca smiled and explained, ”It's fine, Ah was a footballer in high skale. Thaur ur waurse things than anither hen sneakin' a peek at me in a sports bra,” she admitted. Depending on how binding her last AMA was, she might have been on the hook to be part of some calendar in the future anyway, so the bashfulness of her youth was clearly a thing of the past. ”Ah willnae teel mah girlfriend, an' ye dornt hae tae teel yoors.” Dating women was an odd prospect, because some men would not find it troubling at all to have a girlfriend who checked out other women. Gay girls were sometimes more ready to overreact to what was a harmless glance.

Taking the last steps where the path became less than half a foot wide, Rebecca was quick to hop onto the other side of the trial and pull Kendra along to the safety of stable ground and visibility. Of course, being able to see again did little to change her view of Kendra, but she was sure her companion appreciated seeing her guide and her path once more.

They were in a small room with one door on the right. The door was unlocked, and likely there for their benefit as a respite from whatever might be wandering through the maze. In the small room was a chest torn straight from any fantasy game, made of wood and fastened with a padlock. Magnetism made short work of the lock, ripping it from the clasp it secured, and letting the Scott flip open the lid to pull out…

”Weel, ye waur hopin' fur a weapon. Hink ye can handle thes?” she asked, handing the younger woman a large, dual-ended hammer. It was not so heavy that a woman in her twenties could not carry it, but the stone head had enough heft that swinging the weapon would require some energy. It would put a dent into some of the foes they were bound to run into, however, so in Rebecca’s eyes it was better than Kendra going unarmed. She left the choice up to her.

Kendra let out an audible sigh of relief when they found themselves out of the darkness. That was freakin intense! She thought to herself as she tried to slow her heart rate down. For the last little bit of the dark path she had remained quiet.  The only thing that let Becca know she was even there was the panicked squeezes to her hand every so often.  Ever since her near fatal slip she wanted to concentrate harder on what she was doing.   "Thanks.  I didn't mean to almost break'our necks!"  Kendra cried out from the empty spot beside Becca. 

The truth was that was pretty scary.  Her heart was still beating kind of fast.  It was enough to make her double over and place her hands on her knees to catch her breathe.  For the moment she found herself glad she was invisible and that her companion didn't have to see how much that had shook her.  Kendra leaned up and tried to get herself together before she spoke.  "What's next?"  She asked.  Leaning up for the first time since they left the dark she hadn't noticed the door until just now.

Following Becca through it she saw the chest lying on the floor.  She thought it might be a booby trap.  Didn't Becca say something about booby traps?  She couldn't be sure.  Maybe it was her own paranoid mind anticipating the worst, but she let out a little startled scream when the lock magically twisted and ripped off by it self. Shooting across the room like a bullet!  Shit!  Get it together! At least try not to act like a roob!  To her surprise it wasn't a trap however.  It was a weapon.  And what a weapon it was.  Becca handed her the weapon of great power and Kendra stepped up to take it hesitantly.  She wasn't sure how she was going to wield it while jumping on cobalt platforms or traversing narrow pathways.  This place seemed to be like agility was crucial.

Taking the weapon into her nervous hands it immediately pulled her down to the floor.  She wasn't expecting it to be that heavy at first.  The hammer slammed down with a mighty thud on the cobalt.  Oh upper body strength!  You practical joker!  She thought as she lifted the hammer.  It wasn't unmanageable, but she could see it tiring her quickly if she got into a scrap with it.  "Umm.. Yeah, I'll see what I can do with this badboy."  She said.  There wasn't a whole lot of confidence in her words but she took the hammer which appeared to float in the air on it's own now.

Kendra stepped away from Becca and gave a few practice swings just to see how it felt.  It felt a little better once she had really gotten used to the weight of it.  Ok.  This could work.  She thought.  She still sort of wished that she wasn't invisible.  It'd be nice for her companion to actually be able to see her at the moment.  She still hadn't figured out a trick for getting around that, but she'd love one now.  It was making the whole danger room a lot more challenging for the scot, but she had to just try and hold her own weight and not become a burden. 

It was a challenge judging the combat readiness of a woman who could not be seen. From what Rebecca gathered in her brief hands on experience, Kendra was likely similar to Rebecca in height and build. If that was the case, the hammer she was provided might not be the ideal tool for her to defend herself. The way the hammer dropped to the ground with a thud when handed to the invisible girl supported her assumption, but Kendra made the most of the situation and took some hefty practice swings with the weapon. What Rebecca would not give to see what her new friend looked like in that moment.

The thought made her chuckle and shake her head. ”Nae ideal, but hopefully it'll keep ye safe until somethin' mair yer speed comes alang.” Helpful items would be strewn through the maze, but there were also enemy creatures with weapons of their own to pilfer.

And speaking of enemy creatures… Rebecca’s senses could pick up the presence of metal moving freely in the next room, so it was a good thing in her eyes that Kendra had some way to defend herself. Kendra was going to learn to carry her own weight along with the weight of her hammer. ”Ready?” she asked, before opening the door and stepping into the next room.

The room was not cast in absolute darkness like the hall they had completed, but when they entered, it was too dark to see anything. It was not until both women were through the door that it shut behind them, sealing with non-magnetic metal bars to keep them from backtracking. Lights in the narrow rectangular room started igniting along the walls, revealing the scene before them. If not for the metallic walls and floor, the décor would feel almost like a tavern. The space had large wooden tables with pewter steins, and sitting at these tables were skeleton soldiers.

Unlike their first encounter, these skeletons stood taller, around six and a half feet tall, and they were adorned with leather armor and helmets. Each of them had a weapon nearby or on hand. There was a quiet moment of confusion on all sides, as the girls watched the skeletons, who were looking up and processing the presence of the new intruders.

Of course, then they quickly fumbled to their feet and grabbed their weapons, looking to attack. The metal bones floating around Rebecca increased in speed, both in the way they flew around her and the way they spun like propellers. The first thing was first; two of the thinner looking skeletons had crossbows pointed at Rebecca, as the most visible target.

The archers were honestly one of her favorite enemies; if Rebecca had one “goal” regarding her mutation, it was to hone her magnetic abilities until she could slow or stop bullets. Technically, she could alter a bullet’s path, but with the speed they traveled, her effect was minimal. Arrows and bolts were good practice. As the projectiles flew toward her, she pushed the magnetic field against them, affecting the area with a strong similar charge, robbing the bolts of velocity. They clattered harmlessly on the ground before her charging feet. Rebecca made a move on one of the largest skeletons wielding a sword almost her height. The sword was iron, so it sounded like a fair challenge.

Meanwhile, one of the skeletons, equipped with a small wooden shield and accompanying wooden club, noticed a suspicious stone hammer just… floating in front of the door… Curious, he raised the shield strapped to his metallic wrist and approached…

Kendra stood there awkwardly. She had followed Becca into this room and to her surprise it was filled to the brim with metal monsters. Her eyes went wide. Her mouth hung open. And she couldn't be sure, her mind was so busy trying to figure out what her play was; but she was pretty sure she heard herself utter a tiny whimper. Kendra hadn't been in many fights in her life. Especially not while wielding a giant stone hammer. Becca seemed to already be throwing herself into the fight as she seemed to lung at a metal monster with a large sword. I have to help her fight these! Kendra thought.

She was still invisible, but that didn't matter. She noticed one of the metal monsters turning towards her with a shield. Oh great! No time for a game plan I suppose. Kendra wasn't a great fighter, she wasn't graceful. There was one thing she did very well and that was teleport. She had a mastery over her teleport that almost made her seem like a thing of beauty dashing around the room. If you could even see her that was.  Kendra was invisible, but when she teleported, or blinked as she liked to call it.  She exploded into a cloud of smoke. The smoke was colored the complexion of her pale skin and the bright red of her fiery hair. When she reappeared she was just there. She just blinked into existence at another fixed point.

Kendra narrowed her eyes at the approaching beastie and began to run. Beside her Becca was about to engage in a fight of her own. Kendra charged the shield wielding metal beastie and before she reached him she looked up above it's head.  Kendra teleported. She teleported above his head and came flying down from up near the ceiling with a heavy downward strike of the hammer. She was screaming a guttural primal roar of mostly fear and anxious nerves. The hammer was heavy enough and coming down hard enough to destroy the target. It collapsed in the floor short circuiting and sparking tiny blue sparks.

Kendra's grip on the hammer tightened when she felt a tight grip on her shoulder. She looked over to see one of the bots had grabbed her. Without thinking she teleported. She brought the creature with her.  She had teleported up onto a chandelier. Her weight plus the weight of the creature caused the chandelier to fall on several other bots. Pieces of metal and broken chandelier went flying every which way. Kendra hit the floor. Hard! Her hammer went skittering out of her reach across the smooth floor. Crap on'a cracker! She thought as she scurried to her feet. She didn't have time to think about Becca, one of the bots under the chandiler grabbed her ankle as she tried to flee causing her to belly flop and land hard again on the unforgiving floor.  Umpph!!!!!!!!!

The creature's grip was torturously tight on her ankle.  "Ahhhhhh!"  Kendra cried out.  She feverishly kicked at the thing trying to get it to let her go.  This was survival now.  She wasn't sure how dying in the program would work, but she had to assume that it would be bad.  She stretched out in a frenzy desperately trying to reach for the shield that was fingertips away.  It was something.  The hammer was across the room, that wasn't an option.  The creature's grip squeezed a little tighter and Kendra could feel the tears starting to swell in her eyes it hurt so bad.  Got it!  Kendra grabbed the shield. Turning around quickly and sitting up she bashed the shield over it's head again and again and again until it's grip loosened and finally let go. 

Kendra hobbled to her feet.  She couldn't put much weight on it right off.  The pain shot through her ankle, but she'd manage.  She lost her balance and stumbled into a wall.  Hitting the wall with her shoulder she realized that they seemed to be mostly ignoring her.  They all seemed to be focused on Becca now.  The invisible threat had disappeared to them.  Kendra teleported again.  Exploding in a cloud of Kendra BLINK! She reappeared closer to Becca now.  She was going to face the beasties with Becca.  She realized she still had the shield in her hand.  It was a wooden shield with a sharp metal edge around it.  It was much more manageable than the heavy hammer.  Kendra hobbled back a bit.  It was more about trying to balance her weight to be comfortable and less about backing down from the fight.  She was ready, she was determined.  And there were plenty left to fight.  "Look alive!"  She shouted over the loud metallic droning that now seemed to fill the room.

Rebecca should be more concerned with what was on her plate than what her teammate was doing, but she was the veteran of the course, with a power that gave her an advantage over the enemies they were dealing with. It was Kendra who, for all Rebecca knew, was entering into her first combat situation. For that reason, it was hard not to keep an eye on the hovering hammer that suggested the placement of her companion. The battle-cry did not hurt, either.

The teleporter was using her power to her advantage, and Rebecca could finally follow along with the visible weapon showing where she was blinking off to and from. It was an interesting and useful power, and with proper training, could likely do her a world of good. Hell, it could possibly do the world a world of good if she found the right group to help her along the right path.

She was at the Mansion after all; the place where X-Men were made.

Rebecca just caught the downward descent of the hammer smashing straight through the shielded skeleton before she had to turn her attention to the large beast she was fighting. The sword it carried was massive, but as such, it was very slow. Even without her powers, a nimble fighter like Rebecca could dodge and duck the titanic swipes. That was not to say she was not using her powers; slightly altering the course of a weapon’s movement was an easy and effective way to appear untouchable. It was one of her favorite tricks in a combat situation because it made her seem more intimidating without tipping her hand as to her power set.

…Of course, at this moment, her swirling bone shield did that. Two of the bones she had under her control were spinning behind her so she could use them to intercept crossbow bolts that were still getting fired in her direction. The other two bones were circling her target, waiting for a moment to strike.

She would get that chance when the skeleton swordsman took a strong swing downward. The attack was sideswiped by Rebecca, and the weapon hit the metallic ground with a loud clang. Immediately, her bones flew downward at full force, slamming into the metallic metacarpals of her foe. She timed her axe kick to slam down on the same spot, applying more force to the impact of her attack, and with that area of “bones” being so loosely connected, the whole hand shattered from the beast’s arm.

Smirking, Rebecca wasted no time lifting the sword from the ground, using her powers to aid her in holding the massive weapon. Without magnetism, the impressive weapon might be too large for her to even lift, but her gifts allowed her to carry it as if it were a shortsword.

With her foe now weaponless, Rebecca took a downward swipe of her own. With the weight of the sword and the additional force of magnetic waves guiding it, she was able to cleanly shatter the shoulder, rib cage, and hip bone on the way through the body of the monster.

While Rebecca had been busy, Kendra found her way into more trouble, dropping a chandelier into a mass of enemies. If it was intentional, it was damn clever, but it did result, from what Rebecca could tell, with the young woman in the grasp of a crawling enemy. Her hammer was out of her grasp as well, which was never an enviable position.

Kendra was able to improvise, and that was important in its own right. A shield hovered off the ground, presumably in the dreamwalker’s hands, and it was quickly used to bludgeon the crawling skeleton to death.

The newbie was being put through her paces, but her invisibility thankfully kept most attention off of her. There were still two crossbow skeletons, a skeleton with a dirk, and one with a spear eyeing Rebecca, but if the AI knew fear, it might have known they were walking into a losing fight. Rebecca had a bone shield; she had a person-sized weapon she had full control of; heck, she had an invisible companion. This was basically a geared-out Rebecca, and as her gamer girlfriend would say, they were just trash mobs.

Almost on cue, a circular shield appeared at Rebecca’s side, (which she made note of to keep the swirling bones away from accidentally making Kendra collateral damage.) There was a twinge in her voice that suggested she might not be in tip-top shape, but it was hidden well by her enthusiasm and fighting spirit. Also, she might have just made a life pun in the face of their undead enemies, and that was its own brand of admirable confidence.

She nodded and advised, ”Ah’ll take th’ knifey one an’ th’ tois marksmen; ye can hae th’ spearman.” Honestly, Rebecca could have dispatched all four with her current equipment, and in terms of priority, the dirk skeleton was less of a challenge than the spear-wielder, who was physically larger and had a reach advantage with his weapon. The decision was less about practicality and more to see what Kendra could do.

Worst case scenario, Rebecca would help patch up any spear-related injuries.

Okay so things were not ideal. Running at him head on was out of the question. She was having trouble putting weight on her foot. Still, she felt a sudden wave of confidence. Back in her bed her body was becoming restless. It was all of the fighting. 

 There was a certain curious thing that happened to Kendra while she slept. Her brain wasn't like most people's. Most people got to sleep and recharge their batteries. Kendra's brain was always active. The never ending flow of conscious awareness can play hell on your psyche. It can effect the chemistry of your brain. On particularly restless nights she found that the impulse control centers of her brain went off the rails a bit.  The lack of full REM sleep caused her mind to become a bit 'overactive.'

When this happened Kendra's astral form saw those changes directly. She was more cocky and confident. She did what felt right in the moment and mostly that meant whatever seemed like the most fun. She didn't think about the consequences, because she didn't care about the consequences. She didn't suddenly become a bad person with this new altered mental state, but she definitely became more of a risk taker. She had a name for this persona. Dream. Dream was a girl looking to make a mistake. Dream was a girl who was more interested in what was fun than what was practicle and she had pension for theatrics.

A smile spread across her face. Her body back in her bed was already forming bruises. A deep purple bruise formed on her ankle on not only her astral self, but also on her sleeping body writhing beneath soft sheets in room 206. Her body tossed and turned with every bump and tussle.

Kendra was no longer in the room with Becca. It was the same astral body, but slowly more and more of her 'Dream' persona filled her restless mind as the fighting went on. Her smile was wide, her eyes narrowed as she stared down the spearman. "Hey Tinman! That spear for me?' She taunted. She slowly crouched and picked up a severed robotic arm. She was filled with a brazen cockiness that wasn't there moments before. Her mind flooding with dopamine and adrenaline. 

Clutching the arm in her hand, she thought about her attack.  The robotic arm was holding a small ax.  Suddenly she was gone. She teleported to right beside the spearman in the air.  She came flying down with a hacking slash.  The ax in the robot hand sparked off the side of his neck, but didn't do much damage. Dream hit the floor but landed in a slide as she hooked it's foot with the ax attached to the robot hand and yanked it out from under him as she slid away.  She didn't bother to stand She simply looked up and teleported above him.  Gripping the robot arm a little higher; more on the handle of the ax and less on the arm itself now, she came flying down.  She buried the ax in the back of it's neck.  There was an explosion of sparks that flew up and caught her face.  It stung as singe marks formed on her sleeping body back in room 206.

"Hey Becca you need a hand?" Dream asked as she stood up confidently from her triumph. Kendra's persona Dream was a competent fighter unlike her usual clumsy self.  Dream didn't have many inhibitions.  She didn't fear risks, she challenged them meaning she did things that Kendra simply wouldn't do.  Dream teleported herself over to one of the tables that the metal monsters had been sitting at. 

 She was sitting on the table itself and watching Becca fight.  She had cool powers, up until now she had been to busy to really see them in action.  If she needed a hand she would gladly lend it, though she wanted to see the girl at work.  She was quite cute after all.  Dream eyed her beautiful companion and leaned back on the table fully expecting a show.

Rebecca could have made quick work of the knife-wielder, but she chose to take her time; she was going to gain nothing from dropping a massive sword on the inferior enemy. There was still plenty to gain watching Kendra in action (kind of.) The sword hovered behind her back and her spinning bone shields were hovering between her and the crossbowmen, so she split her remaining focus in two directions. The focus necessary to keep her alive was invested in dodging and weaving quick knife swings, but the rest of her attention was on “watching” Kendra.

Maybe it was her imagination, but somewhere along their travels, it seemed Kendra moved from a cautious companion to a brazen combatant. For someone who was sounding worse for wear, she was getting cocky, taunting her metallic enemy. Kendra must have realized a shield was not the ideal means to deal with a spear on its own, because Rebecca watched an abandoned arm float from the ground, clutching an axe in its death grip.

Her technique was not “clean,” but it was inventive. Her movements were hard to predict, and harder to follow when her weapons were all anyone could keep track of. She managed to put an explosive end to the spearman, but her immediate reaction suggested she was not clear of the blast zone.

Momentary concern drew Rebecca’s focus long enough for her skeleton to nick her shoulder with his knife. Honestly, her distraction was justified, since the young woman she brought along on this dungeon crawl mission might have suffered a minor case of explosion. It was not until that friendly, overly confident voice called out with an offer of assistance that Rebecca could be confident she had not accidentally injured her new protégé.

”Ah hink Ah’m guid,” she replied, finally ready to put an end to her dodging. The skeleton lunged forward to stab her, giving Becca the chance to grab it by the arm and shoulder. Moving away her bone shields, the next two crossbow bolts flew true into the metal “meat shield” she held in front of her.

Tossing the impaired knife skeleton to the ground, she reached over her shoulder to the large sword handle behind her back, using her strength (and a heaping helping of magnetism) to bring the blade down, shattering her enemy’s skull, rib cage, and spine.

With the last melee threat taken care of, Rebecca held her sword in front of her, releasing the hilt so the blade was floating perpendicular to her body. The blade was rotating as she calibrated her aim, pointing the massive weapon at her first target. Once she was ready, the blade stopped moving for a moment before it was “released” forward like a blast from a canon. The greatsword flew like a bullet, the velocity more than enough to pierce through leather armor and a sternum, depowering the skeleton.

Rebecca did not require hand movements to use her powers, but she liked to believe it made it easier to focus when controlling a heavy object. There was a shallow part of her that also knew it would look infinitely more impressive when she violently moved both of her fists from left to right across her body. It almost looked as though she was wielding the sword from a distance as it (and the body it was still piercing) moved in a sweeping horizontal arc to the last skeleton. The blade was technically the weapon, but it was the metallic corpse of his former ally that crashed into the crossbowman, shattering them both into their base parts.

Panting lightly, Rebecca called the sword back to her, turning to the shield and axe denoting Kendra’s position. She smiled, ”Hoo ye holdin' up fur yer first time? Ah cooldnae see much, but Ah’m bettin' ye waur damn impressife out thaur, newbie.”

Her eyes drifted from the hovering shield to the stolen weapon before she added, ”Thocht mebbe next time, tak' a weapon wi' ye when ye nap. Nae 'at Ah’m sayin' there's a next time, min' ye.” That was the last thing Rebecca needed; one of the Team Leaders to scold her for indoctrinating Mansion girls into a life of vigilantism and adventure. Then again, maybe X-Men just beget more X-Men; it worked out for her, right?

Now that was impressive.  Dream thought leaning forward on the table.  She watched as Becca dispatched the rest of the metal monsters with ease.  Dream slid herself from the table.  She grimaced with the look of mild annoyance when she put weight on her foot and felt it beginning to buckle.  " Next time I'll fall sleep with a rocket launcher."  She joked looking around the room at all the scattered remains of disembodied baddies.

Dream was intrigued by the fiery redhead. She had a girlfriend. Probably lying in bed with her as she stood here, but that didn't matter to Dream. She wasn't the type to worry about the nuclear fallout. She was much more interested in the pretty explosions.

 Dream paused a moment.  Took stock of things.  She didn't feel the weight of Emily's slender arms lying across her.  Usually she was big on cuddling.  Even in her dreaming astral form she could feel  a physical touch on her body.  She hadn't been woken up yet either.  Emily was a worry wart.  The thing about it was when Kendra spoke in her astral form, she mumbled those exact words in her sleep.  Any one sitting by her beside would know exactly what she was up to in her dream walking adventures.

Not to mention the restless tossing and turning and the sudden formation of light burn marks on one side of her face.  No, if Emily was still in the room with her, she would have woken her to find out just what the hell she was up to.  Dream didn't know where Emily was, and in the moment she didn't really care to put much thought on it.  She looked back at Becca and noticed the blood dripping from her shoulder.  "You're bleed'n!"  She cried out. 

This was the danger room after all.  She had her minor scrapes herself and it seemed even the magnet mancing beauty could be hurt.  Dream's eyes washed over Becca and mostly her cut on her shoulder.  She reached up with her invisible thumb and wiped away the blood.  She couldn't help but smile at the punny nature of her ability.  She controlled magnetism and right now Dream felt a magnetic pull over her.  If she gave her a code name right now it would be 'Attraction.'  Dream smiled at her, more annoyed than ever that Becca could not see her.  Kinda hard to flirt with a beautiful woman when you're invisible.

Instead the trouble making dream decided that they should just move on to the next challenge.  There couldn't be much more left.  She checked her watch.  It was getting pretty early in the morning.  She really didn't have much of a concept of time.  Like ever.  Daydream always had to make sure she was wearing a watch.  She had the world's worst internal clock.  When the days and nights seemed to bleed into each other and never end it's hard to tell sometimes.

Dream sighed heavily.  "What'sa waitin for us at the end of this lil adventure anyways?"  She asked wondering how much more she had to endure. Dream crossed her arms over her chest.  She wanted to wake herself up to chat with the beautiful redhead in person, but she knew that Kendra would chicken out.  Kendra didn't take what she wanted and that's why it was up to her to live for the both of them while she slumbered.  Dream saw it as her duty to make sure that Kendra had a better life, if she wasn't going to go after the things she wanted while she was awake she was going to do it for her while she slept. 

Kendra wouldn't have gone after Becca because Kendra had a girlfriend.  That wouldn't stop her mischievous persona from making a pass at a beautiful woman.  The only thing stopping her right now was the slight concern over what lied behind the next door. 

 There was a big red door at the other end of the room.  She didn't know if Becca had been through this simulation before but she probably had.  Most of the challenges seemed tailor made towards someone with a magnetic power.  Dream wouldn't be surprised if the next room was them crossing a bridge with big metal axes swinging back and forth from the ceiling or something.

Looking at the blood on her thumb, Dream realized that she didn't have time to flirt.  The pain coursing dully through her ankle was enough to tell her that things could turn ugly if  she wasn't careful.  Dream tossed the shield on the floor.  It clattered on the cobalt with a heavy clunk.  Prying the dead fingers off of the ax she tossed the severed arm as well.  She had found a weapon she liked at least.  She only hoped it'd help against whatever was behind the next door.

Kendra’s idea of sleeping with a rocket launcher had a somewhat tired Rebecca laughing, imagining how helpful invisible rockets would be in a fight. The thought did make her think of the possible dangers of the dreamwalker’s abilities, because going down the path of a hero was only one option for her. As an assassin, the ability to sneak around invisibly wielding an invisible knife, or heaving forbid an invisible gun, would put a great many people at risk.

Maybe that was why Rebecca was taking the girl through the Danger Room, and maybe even flaunting her powers to an extent. Being an X-Man felt like the right use for her powers from the moment she joined the team, and it was a thrill and a moral comfort being a defender of New York, mutantkind, and at times, the world. She hoped maybe she could show that side of being a powered person to her new friend.

Of course, it was not perfect, as Kendra pointed out by exaggeratedly pointing out Rebecca’s wound. ”Huh?” she replied initially, looking over her body before noticing the cut on her shoulder. ”Och reit. Ah guess Ah cooldnae teel wi' aw th' adrenaline,” she admitted. In the heat of battle, a scratch from a knife was easy to ignore when she had more pressing matters to care about, (like not being stabbed again.)

Suddenly, Rebecca felt Kendra’s thumb lightly brushing blood away from her minor cut. A shiver ran from her arm and down her back as she was not expecting to be touched by the other woman. If she was not already flushed by all the physical exertion, she might have blushed. Being invisible made everything Kendra did inherently unexpected, after all. Looking to play the moment off, she joked, ”Tis but a flesh woond!” before chuckling to her own reference.

Kendra inquired about what was coming next in their journey, but Rebecca only shook her head, knowing the large red doors in front of them would lead to the final room of the maze. ”Sorry, but Ah’m nae gonnae spoil th’ End Boss.” Smirking, she pushed the large door open with a loud creak. She offered Kendra her hand and asked, ”Shall we?”

The two adventurers entered into a large room unlike any they had wandered through up to that point. At this point in the “game,” Rebecca was supposed to be geared out, and as such, the room was going to do her and her powers no favors. The walls, floors, and ceiling were all made from large stone blocks, and the room itself felt dark and dank as they walked in. Rebecca led Kendra several steps into the empty room before the door sealed behind them with (non-ferrous) metal bars.

Suddenly, the torches around the room ignited one at a time, starting from the ones closest to the door they entered from, lighting the large space until they reached the final two torches positioned next to a large gate. Slowly, the gate rose into the ceiling, and from the darkness behind it, a roar was heard, followed quickly by a deeper roar in response. It was at this point that music rang out, seemingly from the walls, because Rebecca was a firm believer that a final climax should be accompanied by boss music.

From the darkness emerged a dragon, not made of metal, but rather skin and scales and tough muscle. The beast had two heads, on two long necks. Both emerged from the same large black body, but one was red and the other was blue, each clearly having independent thought. Rebecca knew this particular enemy (and video game tropes) well enough to know that one head could spit scalding hot air while the other would breath bitterly cold air. (She was talked down from fire and ice when she was reminded that she could not respawn if she screwed up.)

Rebecca braced her mighty sword and looked, at her invisible friend and her less invisible axe, grinning in the face of their last challenge.

Dream stood there. She couldn't think. She couldn't move. Every single muscle in her body was tense and burning. What the absolute hell?!?!? Everything they had seen before this moment was childsplay compared to what they faced now. Dream stared up at a massive dragon. She could feel the wind from it's breath as it emerged from the darkness. The terrifying roar cutting the silence of her bewildered disquiet. Dream was usually cocky and eager for a fight. Even she with her lack of inhibition and general risky behavior thought twice. She took a step backwards.

"Um..... Did you know this guy was waitin for us?" She asked. There was a slight shaky nature to Dream's usually overconfident voice. She had an ax in her hand. A freaking hand ax. She was supposed to fight a dragon. What the hell am I gone do? She thought as she took in it's shear size.

The sound of the music blarring around the room did little to amp her up. It only provided a soundtrack to what could possibly be her death. She had to remind herself it was only a simulation as the dragon took a large looming step forward. Dream  looked at Becca and saw that she was raising her sword and grinning.  She was god dam grinning.  That lit a fire in Dream.  Her head snapped back towards the dragon.  She didn't know what it was capable of, other than complete annihilation but she tightened her grip on her ax.  "Screw it.  Let's crave'em up."  She said.  The confidence was flowing back.  Her voice was less steady and more determined.  She was going to finish this.  She was going to survive the danger room.

Back in her bed Kendra's body restlessly tossed and turned beneath her sheets.  She rolled over on her side, comfy in her bed.  It wasn't long before her arm she was laying on began to fall asleep from the weight of her body on it.  This caused that numbing tingling feeling to spread through dream's arm.  The arm holding the ax.  Dream switched hands with her weapon and shook out here hand trying to get it to stop.  Dam!  She could feel weight on her shoulder.  It was the weight of her sleeping body somewhere in room 206.  "Roll over you asshole!"  She looked up and shouted, seemingly to no one.  Her annoyed venting caught the dragon's attention and it spotted the floating ax. 

The dragon swooped in flying around the massive room.  The pitch of the frenzied music ramped up right as it's snapping jaws bit down where Dream had been standing.  Dream couldn't believe how fast it moved.  It was on her in the blink of an eye.  Dream teleported away at the very last moment.  She teleported up near the ceiling by a wall.  Her feet planted on the wall and she pushed herself off. Dream's body sailing towards the floor she teleported again in mid air.  She teleported so that she was behind the dragon who was swooping around for another passby. 

The dragon wasn't so much interested in Becca for the moment.  It was determined to get the invisible girl.  Dream didn't think her small ax was going to do much damage against it's hardened scales so she tossed it aside.  The ax hit the floor with a clatter and she readied herself to dodge.  She teleported back against the wall.  Her back right against the hard cool surface.  "OVER HERE YOU OVERSIZED TURTLE!" She taunted.  It wasn't much of an insult, but she was more trying to get it's attention than hurt it's little feelings.  I gotta time this perfect.  She thought.  She kept shouting at the dragon as it flew closer and closer.  "YEAH! COME GET'CHUR DINER WHILE IT'S STILL HOT!" Then she teleported out of the way at the last second.  The pitifully AI'ed creature slammed head first into the wall. The stone wall buckled and crumbled in a massive quake.  One of it's two heads connected with the wall the other had averted the collision.

There was a dragon head sized indent in the hardened stone.  Dream was smiling like an idiot.  The smile quickly faded however when she saw that the dragon shook this off rather easily.  "Mother flip!"  She cried out in exasperation.  Her shoulder's slumped at as the great beast turned to her with one of it's heads and a steady stream of ice came barreling out of it's screaming open mouth.  Dream's eyes went wide as the blizzard breath traveled fast threatening to engulf her.

Kendra wanted to know if Rebecca was aware they would be fighting a dragon at the end of the maze? Of course she did. Honestly, the last room came up more quickly than Rebecca anticipated, given the procedurally generated nature of the program. There were some nights when she would end up making at least two circles, or catching a genuine dead end. The more she adjusted to the program, the easier it got to recognize possible right paths. She liked the idea of “speedrunning” through the dungeon, but the less rooms she went through, the less equipped she was to take on a dragon. Rebecca had intended to bring Kendra through more challenges to give her more resources, but they had simply hit a fast path to the boss.

So instead of answering, she grinned, and her apparent confidence rubbed off on Kendra, who stopped questioning the absurdity of their situation. There was a dragon, they were going to fight it, it was go time!

The axe moved, and Rebecca guessed she was watching Kendra switch from one arm to another, then she... yelled at the dragon to roll over? Rebecca was admittedly confused, wondering if there was some plan the girl had she was unaware of. She could not devote much time or thought to questioning it, because the massive dragon was flying in their direction, and unlike Kendra, Rebecca could not teleport. She jumped out of the way, but the jaws were targeted at the invisible woman who had the wherewithal to move.

On the way away from the dragon, the spinning bones she was using as a shield clubbed the beast across its blue head, but this did not deter it from the interest it had in Kendra. Maybe it was programmed to find a stealthed target as a higher threat? Rebecca did not want to take a passive role in the fight, but with her partner’s cloaked presence, she wanted to make sure she did not accidentally impale her. Luckily, she could follow the axe Kendra was carrying…

CLATTER!

Well, so much for that plan. Kendra decided to toss away the one weapon she had left, leaving her completely “unequipped.” The pro to this idea was she was not completely invisible. The con was she was completely invisible and still totally at risk of being Rebecca’s collateral damage. At least she could be steal—

Nevermind, she was yelling. She was trying to draw the beast’s attention. Interesting… As much as Rebecca was prepared to help, she was curious to see what Kendra’s plan might be. She remained at the ready with her sword hovering in front of her body, ready to fire like a cannon at the first opportune moment. The dragon moved closer to the point of origin for the shouts, and at the last moment, one of the heads slammed into the wall in an attempt to chomp at the invisible morsel.

Very resourceful for a girl whose only two resources were her powers and her mouth. Knowing how agile the dragon could be and how unwieldly her weapon was, this seemed like a good chance for Rebecca to release the sword, aiming for the recently wounded head. She was hoping it might be stunned longer, but it was able to move quickly enough that the massive sword only nicked its neck. The wound was a start, but certainly not her goal; Rebecca wanted to behead the neck and cut down their problems by half.

And then Kendra exclaimed on instinct when she honestly should have been silent. Rebecca jumped forward, running to her new friend as quickly as possible. As an X-Man and the one who let her stay, she felt responsible for Kendra’s safety. She jumped between the dragon and the spot where the shout had come from, and she felt a shoulder in her grasp letting her know she found her counterpart. She shielded Kendra’s body with her own, her back toward the dragon.

Just before the breath attack started, Rebecca’s bone shield got into place, and she could just focus on spinning the bones as quickly as possible. The dragon’s breath was sub-zero air, so the fan-like motion deflected some it, but air was not an easy thing to divert completely. Rebecca sharply inhaled and grimaced as the frigid blast hit her mostly exposed back and shoulders, causing the equivalent of instant frostbite. If she stood there, taking the attack, it would progress to more serious frostbite, which was of course not ideal.

Of course, she was not one to go on the defensive without a reason. With the breath attack focusing on her, the frost dragon head was focused on one spot, giving Rebecca an easy target. Her sword had been able to hover yards above them, and by the time the fire dragon could notice and shriek a warning, the blade was already coming down like a guillotine on the spot she had previously nicked.

Her vorpal blade went snicker-snack! She left it dead, but left its head on the ground as she grabbed Kendra instead and went galumphing back, away from the dragon who was flying into the air to recuperate and adjust to life with one neck stump.

”Nice plan,” she panted, still feeling goosebumps across all the skin that was not red and numb from direct contact with the icy attack. ”Bit know when tae hold yer tongue, lassie.” When being invisible was your one weapon, an untimely “mother flip” could spell the end for you.

Rebecca eyed the flying beast as the hilt of her sword returned to her hand. ”One down, one tae go…”

Daydream caught her breathe. She watched Becca slay the dragon, or so she thought.  Daydream's knees buckled a bit when she realized that cutting off one head did little to solve their problem as a whole. Becca told her that her mouth would get her into trouble and readied her sword. Good advice, better advice still get ready because the fight wasn't over. Daydream followed Becca's lead and crouched her stance.

Her bangs fell in her eyes. Her ponytail had fallen loose, her wild red main flowing down her shoulders.  Daydream rolled her tense shoulders and her fists clinched and unclenched in nervous anticipation. She was holding her own. Against A DRAGON! Yeah she got a small lecture on her rookie impulse, but still she was in this fight!  Daydream didn't answer Becca's critiques. She simply nodded nd moved her eyes back to the dragon who's roar drowned out the music.

This was a desperate fight. This fight alone would prove that she had what it took to do something positive with her powers.  Before this ill adviced trip to the danger room.  Daydream had found herself spending her nights trolling the streets looking to dish out vigilante justice.  She had ended up getting the job done, but she took  but kicking in the process.  Her fighting justice didn't teach her how to fight.  It didn't teach her not to be a clumsy mess.  It didn't prepare her to fight a dragon. 

Back in room 206 Kendra's sleeping body settled into the comforter.  She rolled back over to her back and got comfortable.  Her mind was starting to relax, refocus.  She wasn't restless.  Her breathing steadied within the sheets of the bed in room 206.  It caused physiological changes in her astral body.  Daydream looked at the dragon.  Her eyes softened from fire to a few lapping flames.  Daydream wanted to pull her weight.  She wanted to do her part to slay the beast.  But she was invisible.  Becca was lopping off heads!  She couldn't put herself in the line of fire......"Let me borrow that!"  Daydream said.  As she pulled the sword from her friend's hand and vanished. 

Daydream teleported away from Becca with Becca's sword in her hand.  Dam thing was heavy!  She almost dropped it the minute she grasped it.  She teleported in front of the dragon.  The sword at a horizontal slope.  The handle clasped tightly in her hand, the blade dragging the ground.  Kendra's wild hair hung in her eyes.  She saw her opponent through strands of fire.  She eyed the approaching dragon.  It saw the sword.  It began to stalk her.  "COME ON BOWSER! COME RULE THE KUPA KINGDOM!"  She spat.  Becca gave her sound advice, but Kendra had to be herself. 

She was no longer the cocky confident persona she sometimes slipped into.  She was herself.  She was scared, she was terrified honestly, but she stood up to the fear that burned brighter than her own fiery maine.  The dragon took another step forward.  A smile spread across her face as she looked above the dragon.  She was wielding the sword she couldn't lift, and she teleported.  She teleported up near the ceiling as high as she could.  Reappearing above the dragon the weight of the sword pulled her down fast!  The long heavy sword pulled her spiraling downward into hardened glistening scales. 

The blade pieced the dragon's shoulder.  She missed her mark.  She was aiming for the second neck.  The dragon let out a roar of pain.  It blew scorching breathe towards the ceiling.  Daydream could feel the heatlicking at her skin.  The heat alone almost suffocated her.  It shook violently and Kendra tried to hold on for dear life.  But she couldn't..... The dragon shook her and Kendra went crashing into a wall.  She slid down the wall and hit the floor hard.  The sword still planted in the back of the beast. 

Kendra tried to get up, tried to force herself to her feet, but every muscle screamed in protest.  Kendra uttered a weak cry and collapsed to the ground.  Her muscles gave out and all she could do was try and gasp for breath.  Each huff of air sent dirt from the dungeon floor skittering away.  Her whole body was racked with pain.  It was up to Becca to finish off the beast.  Daydream had failed.  Daydream managed to roll over to her side after some effort and tried her best not to look scared.  She saw the dragon's mouth opening.  Another dangerous breathe charging out from the back of it's throat.  With her last bit of strength she teleported away.  Back behind Becca.  She was slumped against the wall now.  "I'm out this fight I thank.  Bring it home sugar."  Kendra said.  She couldn't keep the tears and pain out of her voice.  She had given everything she had.

It was hard to tell if Kendra understood Rebecca’s advice on sight, unable to see the invisible girl nodding to her. She had to instead read actions, and the actions would suggest Kendra was ready to be as headstrong as ever in the face of a heat-breathing dragon.

She felt the presence of another hand on her sword, followed by the quick request to borrow it, followed by the blade vanishing. Rebecca wanted to warn Kendra that the weapon was heavy enough that she would barely be able to get it off the ground, if at all. Before the words could come out, her companion was on the other side of the room, dragging the blade on the ground. ”Ah tried tae tell ye,” she muttered, but watched curiously.

Kendra was… clever. Brash, but clever. Being able to swing the sword was nice, but unnecessary if she could teleport it over the dragon’s neck to drop like a guillotine. Rebecca gasped when the sword made contact, but her brow furrowed when she realized Kendra had missed her mark. Breath emerged from the dragon’s mouth so hot, it caused the air to shimmer and distort like asphalt on a sweltering day. The dragon tried to pinpoint the teleporter, but it was harder without a weapon in her hand. Even Rebecca could not follow the action, only hoping for the best.

Much to her surprise, she heard the southern twang of Kendra’s voice behind her, against the nearby wall. It was up to her, and Rebecca accepted the responsibility with a nod. The sword was already wedged into the dragon’s back, so she could have used her powers to finish it simply, but in her over-tired mind, she wanted to get up close and personal to avenge her teammate.

One of Rebecca’s spinning bones stopped shielding her, instead flying to her and settling in front of her feet. Running forward to gain momentum, she stepped on the bone and used her magnetic power to make it jerk violently upward. The force launched Rebecca forward, fling through the air and through the dragon’s heat breath. She could already feel her skin growing sensitive, shifting from pink to red. Even a small amount of exposure was enough to leave the equivalent of a bad sunburn, but if she had not been moving so fast, she could have ended up in the blast longer, resulting in more serious burns.

She focused on breathing, which was difficult with the weight and heat of the atmosphere weighing down on her. The one bright side is she felt her back loosening up, after the tension and stiffness inflicted by the cold. Rebecca landed on the dragon’s back, taking her sword by the hilt. When she pulled the blade from the dragon’s body, it took a large chunk of flesh with it.

The dragon roared in pain, turning its head around to face its back, ready to continue spitting hot heat, only to find the pointed end of a giant blade being thrust forward. Rebecca was on the other end, jabbing the sword with all her strength into the dragon’s mouth, piercing the hard palate of its mouth and putting an end to the artificial brain within.

There were death throes of course, and as the body fell from the sky, thrashing about, Rebecca was thrown off. Training taught her how to “fall right,” but it did not hurt much less falling to the sandstone floor, tumbling toward the wall where Kendra already was. The two women watched as the dragon flailed on the ground, slowly disintegrating as the music in the room swelled victoriously. Still breathing heavily, Rebecca turned to look at (where she assumed) Kendra still was. ”Messy, but we did it. Yoo've got potential, Kendra. Dornt lit anyain teel ye onie different.”

Rebecca’s kind words of encouragement were interrupted by the materialization of a chest in front of her. ”Oh, richt.” Leaning forward, she lifted the heavy lid and pulled the item from within, accompanied by another jingle of success. Rebecca giggled at the absurdity of the prize they almost got injured for: a golden harp. ”Ah’m sorry, Ah need thes fur a quest tae wake a giant fish… ur something.” So maybe she ripped the plotline of her dungeon trainings directly from a weird game. That was her prerogative.

”Ah dornt hae a reward fur ye, sadly.” The constructs of the Danger Room did not exist outside the walls, after all. ”Ah’d say ye get a hug, bit Ah’m a wee bit sore… weel, e’rywhere.” Bruising, minor burns, frostbite. DocProf would love her inevitable visit.

The quest was over. Not that Kendra knew that. She didn't hear the triumphant music blaring to signify the end of their journey. Her ears were ringing slightly and the soft pulsing in her hear thudded in her ear drums. She let out a small started cry when Becca landed and rolled on the floor beside her.  Her cry was mostly drowned out by the music. Kendra watched carefully and it was the soft smile on her companion's face that told her they had survived. Kendra offered a smile in return that was as goofy as it was invisible.

Her muscles refused to obey her as she tried and failed to push herself up. Instead she settled for sitting up with her back against the wall. The slow rise and fall of her chest was enough effort to keep her heart beating at a slightly above average pace. The adrenaline was still coursing through her.  Red strands of fire hung down in her eyes as she watched Becca move over and open a chest.  Kendra's eyebrow raised when she reached inside and her face fell into a frown when she saw the harp.  That's it?  We just fought a dragon!  She thought.

Kendra, despite the pain somehow forced herself to her feet.  She knew that she felt pain less in her dreams.  She wasn't looking forward to the agony she was going to be in when she woke up, but she also knew that she couldn't sleep through the night and have her injuries unattended to.  She hoped nothing was broken.  She couldn't tell.  The pain was dull and muted on this plain but she seemed to be standing ok.  Kendra moved over to Becca quietly.

Kendra's hand sunk down into her pocket.  She felt the familiar edges of her phone resting there.  She hoped it wasn't broken in the fall.  It was her exit from the dream world  It didn't hurt though that Becca was here, she could send someone to wake her up.  "Thank we both need to get looked over.  My body's back in room 206 and probably looking like someone stuck it in a meat grinder."  She said with a light hearted tone.  There was a hint of laughter to her voice.  She was happy.  She survived the danger room.  What started out as innocent curiousity had turned into a lesson in snooping.  She didn't regret it though, she had made a friend.  A friend she very much would like to meet in person.

"I thank we should get out of here.  Maybe we'll hold off on that hug until we meet in person."  Kendra said brushing back her hair that had fallen loose from her ponytail.  She wasn't sure what happened next.  It was late, but it wasn't terribly late if her internal clock was anything to go off.  They had time to sit and talk before the late hours of the night called Becca off to bed.  Kendra could do without the sleep.  She just as well stay awake, she would be wandering around twiddling her thumbs regardless. 

Her hand was still holding her phone in her pocket.  Kendra's thumb found the speed dial that would end this crazy dream.  She watched her danger room cohort with interested eyes.  Kendra couldn't help but admire her.  She was strong, beautiful, confident, graceful under pressure.  All the things that she was not.  It was honestly flattering that she had said she had potential.  She didn't comment on it, it didn't seem to be a time for many words.  Mostly she was just in pain and relieved.  She was also excited to introduce herself really for the first time.

The Danger Room usually resulted in soreness, so Rebecca was used to feeling bruised and beaten at the end of a training session. Kendra was the one going through the experience for the first time, and for a novice, it was hard not to give her a lot of credit. The newbie made it to the end, and when she spoke to Rebecca, she still sounded happy, like she had enjoyed herself. There might have been a pain-dulling aspect of her power, but that did not make Rebecca less impressed in the moment.

Kendra made a good point; they could both benefit from getting looked at to ensure nothing major was done over the course of the night. DocProf would not be a fan of getting woken up so late in the night or early in the morning, but it was his job (begrudgingly) to tend to the wounded in the Mansion.

Her new friend dropped her room number into conversation, and suggested a hug when they met face-to-face. It was impractical to go find the room now; morning was looming, and Rebecca was already going to be dead tired going into her day. Logically, it was time to go home and rest in a hot shower, hoping she did not just fall asleep in it.

Still, part of her was curious. She had spent the whole night with Kendra, fighting side by side, and she had no inkling of what the girl looked like. Maybe logically, it could be saved for another day, but had she not done enough to earn an illogical reward? ”We’ll see,” she said playfully, grinning. ”It was a pleasure, Kendra.” The adventure had successfully taken Rebecca’s mind off more complicated, pressing concerns.

”Danger Room, take us home,” she called out to the AI controlling the program. The dungeon-like room flickered, and in moments, the sprawling maze was gone, leaving Rebecca in the large, empty Danger Room.

Gathering up her clothes from the nearby pile she left them in, Rebecca clothed herself in her hoodie and jeans. She felt too sweaty to be putting on more clothing, but the teacher was not about to walk around the halls of the Mansion in a sports bra; her students would have a field day with those rumors. Taking her duffle bag, Rebecca left the Danger Room, and before she knew it, she was walking through the familiar halls of the girls’ dormitories.

”Two-oh-six,” she muttered to herself, recognizing the hallway sentimentally as the one where she lived as a student, in room two-one-one. Before she could question how silly she felt returning to her “roots,” Rebecca was knocking on another woman’s door, smiling. ”Excuse me,” she said quietly enough not to disturb room two-oh-eight, ”Ah’m here fur a meeting of dragon slayers?”