After the two had greeted, Jorge took charge and began to lead the kid into the back closet where the hidden door was leading down to the lower levels. Most of the students knew about the X-Men base beneath the school so the secret entrance was a little much, but still, it was necessary. Parents wandering by, state officials checking the grounds to make sure the school was being upkept, and so on and so forth. It was one of the most well-known, yet best kept secrets to the citizens of the school.

Jorge continued to munch on his apple on the way down, enjoying the sweet crispiness of it as he informed Derek that they would be training in the Danger Room today. However this earned him a slight pause from the younger man who dutifully marched behind but had to stop for a second. Jorge paused on the steps, turning back to face him as the kid seemed a little…suspicious.

>> "Jorge? Uh, how am I supposed to use my powers instead of the Danger Room? I'm practically useless indoors."

He smirked. Shaking his head, Jorge turned back around and continued to march down the flight of stairs. ”You gotta lot to learn about this place, kid.”

Quietly he marched his way down until he had reached the bottom floor and entered the cold, almost sterile seeming hallway. It was like stepping into an entirely different building. The walls were metallic and smooth, and there was a general chill in the air. It would have reminded one of an advanced hospital, if not for the vague scent of gunsmoke and ash coming from a distant doorway. Jorge lead the way, moving exactly in that direction.

Not wanting Derek to feel bad, Jorge clarified his earlier statement.

”Thing is, Derek, the Danger Room was designed explicitly to help mutants hone their abilities…whatever they are.” he said without looking back to him. ”Through science that I’m way too old to attempt to understand, the room replicates the real world to a near perfect copy. The room analyzes a mutant’s powers and is able to replicate effects through the use of drones and/or hardlight constructs.” he stopped and turned back to face the kid, his arms clasped behind his back and shared with him a winning smile. ”Essentially, the room will give you animals who will react to your abilities as any real world animal would. I know that sounds like a lot but…” He leaned in a whispered with safe-like advice. ”It’s best to not think too hard on it. You’ll give yourself a headache.” Insert kind smile as he took a few steps back towards a large, circular door. ”You ready?”

Neptune was right. He did need to learn more about this place even if he didn't plan on staying there long. If anything, he would at least know how to effectively navigate through the Mansion without getting turned around. Derek sniffed and scratched the side of his neck. Derek wasn't really put off by the comment and actually made a mental note about it.

Derek followed Jorge down the stairs like an eager puppy, ready to train. He couldn't wait until he was like Jorge Cervantes when he it came to his powers. God, he wondered how powerful Jorge was. Probably powerful enough to put any waterpark to shame.

He was so focused on imagining Jorge causing tidal wave that he almost didn't realize the change in the interior. He immediately snapped himself out of his imagination and quickened his pace. The coziness of the Mansion transformed into a metal hallway with the smell of possibly gun smoke and a certain chill in the air you only find in hospitals. Derek was about to ask a question, but decided against it. Luckily, Jorge filled the silence.

"...I'm ready!" After Jorge explained to him how the danger room worked, Derek was excited as ever to get to kick some lighthard construct ass! "I'm ready to go, Neptune!" Derek bounced on his toes a bit before stretching. He was so excited that he didn't notice his name slip up. "Wait, so are you goin' to train with me or are you first gonna observe?"

Here it was. Now Jorge could get a scope on Derek’s powers. The Danger Room could be, well, dangerous, but the man knew that it was probably also the safest environment that they could work in. With its high-end tech, it would be able to replicate the effects of Derek’s abilities in a controlled environment but that didn’t mean things couldn’t get dangerous. He would just have to make sure that the simulation levels were down to beginning levels, as opposed to up around Sam’s. The last thing the kid needed was to be beset upon by bands of bikini-wearing ninjas using beer bottles as weapons.

Didn’t want to scar the kid. Eesh.

Turning back to Derek, he asked to ensure he was ready to begin. Of course the smile and the optimism on his face was more than apparent. Derek was certainly ready and his words only drove that point further.

>> "...I'm ready! I'm ready to go, Neptune!"

Jorge paused. He gave the kid a semi-hard look. It had been almost a running joke amongst the X-Men that Jorge was one of the only members who didn’t have a codename. Oh Rebecca, otherwise known as Lodestone, certainly tried. With a variety of words, phrases, deities, etc., she certainly tried to find an appropriate codename for him. But none of them felt right to the much older detective. He wasn’t the codename using type. Years of being a police officer and having his name publicly known was enough to kill any fears of some ne’er-do-well knowing who he was.

Still, from time to time, it managed to irk the man just a tiny bit. Looking the boy over closer, he just shook his head as he turned back to face the door. He couldn’t really be that irritated with him. It wasn’t as if Derek was part of long conspiracy with Rebecca to give him a name, or was he?. The thought slipping away, Jorge took a deep breath as he placed his hand upon a scanner next to the door.

”Please, just Jorge,” the man said plainly. ”I insist.”

The panel lit up, ran a scanner, and the second it identified him, the machine chimed pleasantly. An automated voice muttered ”Welcome Typhoon Goon”. Jorge looked confused before he rolled his eyes and shook his head. He glanced back to Derek and just shrugged his shoulders in an annoyed manner.

”Sorry. Practical joke from my former teammate, Lodestone.” Yes, she was still active, but not for much longer.

Walking into the room, it would quickly be noted that it was large, round, and with the smoothest walls imaginable. Up above there seemed to be a small window box, the God Room, where observations and on-the-fly scenarios could be crafted, but the room was also voice activated. So as Jorge walked in with Derek, the doors closed behind and he shook out his arms. Rolling his neck he turned back to Derek as they both stood in this very large, very empty room; it was both impressive and not at the same time.

>>"Wait, so are you goin' to train with me or are you first gonna observe?"

Jorge smirked. ”Little of both. I want to see what you can do. Once I get an understanding about that, we can take a few steps from there. Now, whatever you see in this room, don’t freak out, okay?” The last thing he wanted was to have to carry the younger man’s passed out butt back up those stairs. Watching and ensuring that Derek was set, Jorge looked up, lifting his chin and addressing the God Room, even though no one was in there. ”Computer. Load Nature Scenario 03, Landscape 265. Difficulty…training wheels.” He turned back to Derek. ”Sorry.”

”Calculating…Sceneario processing now…”

Jorge stepped back and watched Derek. It was always fun to watch the newbies experience the Danger Room shifting for the first time. Walls shifted, geometric objects began to grow upward from the ground, and a slight hum began to fill the air as sounds of nature started to play. The empty, bare looked room slowly gave away, replacing the geometric shapes with more concrete images, trees, plants, high brush, rolling hills, a distant sky of crisp blue and scents of unseen, running water and sweet flowers. Where one moment the room was only emptiness, now it was so much more.

Another grin and Jorge crossed his arms over his chest as he eyed Derek for a moment. He then gestured to him. ”Just breathe, amigo,” he said. ”Welcome to Danger Room.”

Derek's smile fell a bit when he received the look from Jorge. He knew that look and decided that he would only refer to Jorge as...Jorge. Well, at least verbally and to his face. "Sorry." He whispered in response and looked at the vault door.

He watched as Jorge "signed" into the Danger Room. Welcome Typhoon Goon? Derek smirked and averted his gaze away from Jorge. His balled his lips to try and stop the laughter that wanted to bubble up from his chest and spew out. Thankfully, he mad more self control than that.

"Ah, that explains it," Derek smiled. He assumed by former that he meant that she found a new partner rather than she being dead. If the latter was the case, the smile he gave would be inappropriate.

Walking into the room, Derek found himself in awe. The place was very spacious and very open. Derek almost felt exposed. He took a small step toward Jorge to try and "cover" himself. However, it was no use. Derek's brown eyes looked up at what looked to be the nest of the room. Probably where people could observe and take notes. Is that where Jorge will be going to watch him? Derek had no idea, but trusted Jorge to explain everything to him.

Derek watched as Jorge started talking to the room. His eyes stared up at the room and listened. "Trainin' wheels? Damn." Derek smirked, "It could be worse. You could've said...bouncy seat."

Right before his eyes the Danger Room started to shift. Derek looked around him as the white walls soon became colored with earth tones. Trees, blushes, and flowers started to form leaving Derek's mouth ajar. It was unlike anything he's ever seen before. The mutant placed a hand over his heart in shock.

"Wow," he whispered, "...can you make me a boyfriend this way too because that would certainly come in handy."

It was always an impressive sight to see for the first time. Jorge remembered when he first started working for the X-Men that he could hardly believe his eyes at the marvels this one, single room could accomplish. Jorge could scarcely wrap his mind around it and, when it was explained to him, he possessed the same blank look upon his face. It seemed utterly impossible but the older detective knew that some things were simply beyond his ability to understand. So long as he knew it was safe, it was legal, and not being used to train a school full of killers, then he wasn’t going to question it too much.

Standing back as the room changed around them, Jorge observed Derek more closely than anything else. His across crossed over his chest, a soft chuckle fell from his lips, smirking as the younger man peered around with wide, saucer-like eyes. Every person who saw the Danger Room for the first time reacted different, but it always deserved a soft laugh; not out of mocking, but more out of understand. After all, the same look had adorned Jorge’s features all those years ago.

Once the room had finished its configuration, Jorge took a small breath. He could already smell the forest around them, the green grass and the distant water. Of course most of this was just the effect of scent filters to help simulate the environment, but a portion was that was the mind’s ability to adapt. It wanted to believe it was where it was and it made up the scents and sounds to compensate for what wasn’t naturally there.

It was freaky when you thought about it for too long, hence the reason that Jorge suggested to Derek that he not do so.

>> "Wow...can you make me a boyfriend this way too because that would certainly come in handy."

Chuckling at Derek’s astonishment, Jorge just shook his head. ”You’re not the first who’s asked and definitely not the last.” he grinned. ”Answer is still no.” Taking a few steps away, thought to himself. He wanted to keep on the ground, just in case Derek needed him but he didn’t want to impede him either. He could adjust as the training went on. ”Ok,” Jorge said. ”So I’ll stay here just so I can see what you can do first hand. So, first, you said you can influence animals, correct?” After receiving a confirmation, Jorge spoke a bit louder to the room itself. ”Computer. Generate forest fauna, umm…natural stats.”

”Processing…”

The sounds of the natural world around them began to intensify. Soon pushes rustled and tree tops shook – the animals were coming into being. With that done, Jorge turned his eyes back to Derek and grinned. ”Okay, kid. Let’s see what you can do.”

Derek was still in awe at what he was seeing. How could hard light constructs create such a realistic environment? It was obviously something that was totally scientific and technology based. Derek was more interested with the biological stance of STEM.

At the answer that he was given, Derek smirked, "yeah, I would guess that there would be a lot of programed, hard light people being generated," and the last thing Derek needed was for someone to walk in on him making out with a hologram.

Now with the Danger Room in perfect condition for Derek to use his powers, the mutant turned toward the forest and took in a deep breath. Lifting up his arms from his sides, Derek closed his eyes. He started to communicate with the wildlife that was currently in the forest. There was some birds that started to chirp and soon a three of finches landed on his arms. Derek opened his eyes and grinned a bit.

"...I'm not gonna sing." Derek told Jorge over his shoulder with a light chuckle. He focused again and tried to draw out some more animals. "Hey, guys, you don't have to be afraid. I won't harm any of ya." Derek waited patiently. Two squirrels came down from the trees and sniffed in Derek's direction. "Hey squirrels," he smiled, "are there any deer back there? Tell them it's okay to come out." One of the squirrels ran off into the thicket.

After about a minute, the squirrel came back followed by a beautiful stag. Derek smiled widely and slowly turned back to face Jorge. "This is how I usually communicate with animals. I try not to influence their behavior, but sometimes if one is about to attack, I have to use my active power on them." Derek explained to Jorge.

Stepping back, the police detective kept his arms crossed over his chest as he gestured to the younger man that he could begin. From his description, it sounded fairly simply, though Jorge was interested in the larger effects that the boy’s abilities could possess. Influencing animals seemed mundane, but the reality was that it depended on how it was used. So, keeping his distance as he didn’t want to disturb him, he awaited Derek to give him an idea of the scope of his abilities.

He suppressed a chuckle when Derek confirmed that he wouldn’t be singing. Admittedly it would have been amusing to see the younger man belt out some princess-fueled sing-a-long to summon the animals of the woodland to him, but Jorge wasn’t going to look too saddened by it. This was supposed to be a serious matter; still, Derek’s comment did warrant a smirk of amusement from the detective.

He then watched as the forest became alive. The bushes rustled and the branches quivered above. The man lifted his head, turning and looking out, quietly summoning a ring of water around his wrist for the sake of precaution. However what he saw bound out of the tall bush was nothing that was all-together terrifying – unless this was a Monty Python skit.

The squirrels were the first to advance upon Derek, sniffing curiously at his shoes. As he spoke to them, Jorge inclined his head to the side, interested in what he was listening to. It seemed as if Derek’s powers working on a conversational level with the animals. He wasn’t so much imposing his will as simply asking them politely. Huh. Maybe the kid really was a Disney princess…

A few more minutes and a stag would appear, leaping over the brush and coming to a halt nearby. It still kept distance but it had clearly been summoned by Derek’s communications with the squirrels. Jorge nodded, impressed, as the younger man explained…

>> "This is how I usually communicate with animals. I try not to influence their behavior, but sometimes if one is about to attack, I have to use my active power on them."

Jorge nodded, listening very attentively and already trying to work out the kind of training regimen Derek would need. ”Is it just mammals?” he asked, keeping his voice low as to not startle the animals. They may have been simulated but they still acted like wildlife and would lash out if scared. ”What about fish? Birds? Do they all listen to you? Or only certain animals?”

In response, Derek nodded his head, "yes, sir. I can communicate with any species of animal," he answered, "I haven't yet gotten the chance to talk with any marine animals like sharks or dolphins, yet. I think that could come in handy at some point, right? I mean, tellin' a great white off the coast of Australia that the humans in the water aren't tasty fatty seals,"

Derek didn't know it yet, but he could do a lot to help safe the environment by simply giving animals a voice. He was like the Lorax of Animals! The stag hazardously made his way over to Derek, nudging him with the tip of his right antler. The mutant quickly turned around and stroked the buck's head.

"Thanks for comin' out," Derek leaned down and kissed his brow before turning around to look at Jorge. Chewing on his bottom lip, he decided to make a suggestion, "if it all possible, I want to try my influencing skills," as if knowing they were no longer needed, the harmless woodland animals went back into the thicket of the computerized forest. "...Maybe we can start with calming down a wolf? Then move up from there? U-unless you have other plans."

>> "yes, sir. I can communicate with any species of animal…I haven't yet gotten the chance to talk with any marine animals like sharks or dolphins, yet. I think that could come in handy at some point, right? I mean, tellin' a great white off the coast of Australia that the humans in the water aren't tasty fatty seals,"

Jorge nodded his head as he stood back and just watched Derek as he interacted with the animals. He certainly had a gift for communicating with them and it was a gift that could definitely go a long way. If he could communicate with any kind of animal, any kind, then he certainly had a powerful gift. The help that he could offer, the assistance he could give to those creatures that truly didn’t have a voice of their own, it was mind-boggling to think about. Derek would actually take a small portion of the world and make it better – there were few who could say that outright.

The fact that Derek seemed to initially think he couldn’t be of much help was silly, but just watching him, letting him display his abilities, it seemed to already give him some ideas as to how he could be of assistance. Jorge couldn’t help but smirk, nodding his head in agreement with the younger man.

”That’s certainly an idea,” he commented. ”And your gift is very impressive. I’m sure we could test out the limits of your mutation in whichever scenario you like. As I said, the Danger Room can provide any simulation, for precisely this reason.”

The Danger Room was made for training, was made for testing out the limits of abilities. Since Derek’s was so specialized, since animals varied all around the world, it could give him a real chance to figure out what he could do. It would be up to Derek’s comfort, of course, how far he wanted to go. Of course Jorge stood by, just to make sure that the kid didn’t get too far ahead of himself. The last thing he needed was for Derek to get maimed by an elephant seal because he bite off more than he could chew.


>>"Thanks for comin' out,"

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. His arms still clasped across his chest, he watched as the tall, solid buck climbed out from the tall bushes and began to nudge the animal whisperer. It really was quite an inspirational sight. However, it quickly became apparent that Derek wanted to do just a little more…

>>"if it all possible, I want to try my influencing skills…Maybe we can start with calming down a wolf? Then move up from there? U-unless you have other plans."

A smirk and Jorge bowed his head. ”It’s your show-and-tell, kid. I’m just observing for the moment.” He took a second to look away, scratching at his beard as he called out to the computer. ”Computer. Initiate session Big Bad Wolf, count one, aggression level…” he turned at eyed Derek. ”…seventy percent.”

If he was going to test the kid, he was going to test him. It didn’t need to be a rabid wolf, just a territorial one. In the tall bushes there came the sounds of rustling, the padding of paws on the dried foliage, the crunch of twigs and bark upon the ground, and the low threatening sound of a growl being emitted by something that was clearly agitated. Jorge closed his fist, the water swirling around his wrists, just in case he needed to step in. But this was Derek’s game, so he would let him take the lead.

>> "That’s certainly an idea,” he commented. ”And your gift is very impressive. I’m sure we could test out the limits of your mutation in whichever scenario you like. As I said, the Danger Room can provide any simulation, for precisely this reason.”

Derek nodded his head. He was thankful to have someone like Jorge to help train him. He was also grateful for the Danger Room and all that it contained. The young mutant chewed on his bottom lip in thought. Maybe the next scenario he could try communicating with a couple of dolphins. Maybe a few sea turtles. Maybe a barracuda.

Big Bad Wolf? Oh snap, things were about to get real. Light hard construct real.

Derek turned his attention the sounds that were currently being made by, you guessed it, a wolf. He knew those growls innately and slowly started to crouch down toward the earth. Huh, it even felt like real blades of grass.

Back to focus. Clearing his throat, Derek watched as a beautiful, strong alpha timber wolf came from the shrubbery. It was strong, at least five feet at the shoulder with stormy grey fur and piercing green eyes. Trying to influence the wolf right off the bat would only make the wolf angrier and put both him and Jorge in danger. So instead he'd have to communicate with him.

"I know I stumbled on your territory and I'm sorry about that," Derek kept his voice slow and his eyes to the ground. He could hear the snarling from the wolf, "I ain't your enemy. I'm a friend and I'm submittin' to you..." He took a chance and slowly rolled over onto his back. The wolf slowly advanced forward, sniffing Derek's wiry hair before going to his neck.

The timber wolf sniffed before opening his mouth and placed Derek's neck inside. A bit do pressure was added before he pulled away and started licking it. Derek had approved by the wolf. With a sigh of relief, he slowly sat up and ran his fingers through it's coat. Now that the wolf trusted him, he started to use his powers.

His eyes stared to glow orange and so did the wolf's. Derek turned his head toward Jorge and smiled playfully. With a bark, the wolf ran toward Jorge and jumped on him, licking his face as if he was a house trained Labrador.[/font]

It was interesting to watch Derek work. It seemed almost as if he already had a pretty firm grip on his abilities. His ability to communicate with animals seemed to have a solid footing. Of course he was only watching the boy interact with the less dangerous creatures, he didn’t figure that squirrels would be too deadly if they got out of hand. Even the buck, though it had a reputation for occasionally attacking humans who wandered through their territories during mating season, wasn’t all that worrisome. The kid’s gift was impressive, but he wanted to do more.

He wanted to try a wolf. Of course that made Jorge pause a little in wonderment. Derek had already displayed an ability to calm animals down, but what of one that was truly agitated with their presence. It made Jorge pause in thought and consider just how dangerous a creature he wanted to present to the young man. They couldn’t keep the kid gloves on forever, he guessed.

Jorge spoke to the computer. He gave parameters for the creature that he wanted Derek to test himself against. The Danger Room, as always, didn’t fail him.

The rustling was heard first, follow by a low, steady growl. Pulling water from a nearby resource, Jorge summoned a line of water to circle around his wrists, just enough to give him an edge if he needed to protect the boy. As the water swirled and undulated, the older man watched cautiously as a large, gray furred beast carefully emerged from the bushes. Standing his ground, he tightened his fists, the water swirling just a bit more rapidly, ready to spring like a coiled serpent.

Derek, however, took a decidedly different approach.

>> "I know I stumbled on your territory and I'm sorry about that…I ain't your enemy. I'm a friend and I'm submittin' to you..."

Jorge watched as the younger man spoke soothingly to the timber wolf. He moved lower, keeping himself in a more respectful, submissive role. The wolf clearly had an idea of what Derek was doing but was cautious nonetheless. Even as the man rolled onto his back and present his neck to the beast, it still proceeded carefully. However, his gesture must have been accepted because after the wolf had clapped jaws around his neck, it began to lick. Jorge untensed, happy that the boy was finding his stride.

Of course Derek had to take it a step further. The detective saw the flash of orange in the young man’s eyes, a flash that was mimicked in the eyes of their new furry friend. It was then that the wolf turned and bounded up to Jorge. For brief second he was on the defense, that is until the wolf playfully leapt up and started to lick his face like a giant lapdog.

Jorge chuckled as he braced himself against the massive beat but it was still a fairly large animal. Gravity immediately took over where the weight of the wolf started and Jorge tumbled down onto his backside with an audible ”Oomph!” Still, the man wasn’t here and merely chuckled good-naturedly as he turned his head, trying to escape the vicious tongue bath he was receiving. ”Haha, alright, alright, you proved your point,” Jorge said with a laugh as he tried to pet the wolf in hopes of dissuading it. ”Call off your vicious attack dog, kid.”

Derek panted a bit and stretched his hand out to the timber wolf. The beautiful canine gave Jorge's face one last lick before being influenced back into the forest. Once Derek felt like the wolf was a good distance away, he let up and walked over to Jorge.

With a smile, he wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead. "Well, that was a nice work out." he placed his hands on his waist and smiled widely at Jorge. "What's next? I think, uh, doing somethin' with marine animals would be nice. You never know when you might need a humpback or bull shark on ya side." Sharks...scared Derek. He scared them more than lions, hyenas, and other predatory animals. He didn't know why other than the fact that they had black eyes. 

Derek looked over the forest landscape. It still amazed him how realistic the Danger Room looked. Then an idea came to mind and Derek looked back at Jorge. "...Maybe a light sparing session is in order? I don't know what I can do against Nep-- you, but it'll give me a bit of experience."

Jorge hadn’t been expected for his demise to be brought about by puppy licks coming from a timber wolf but he guessed that there were worst fates. Still, as humorous as this was, as the man chuckled and pet the wolf that had suddenly become so affectionate. Derek’s powers were truly something else if he could influence a creature like this to act in such a way. The Danger Room didn’t make mistakes when it plotted out these kinds of traits in its constructs. The wolf should have been dangerous, now it was a lamb. He had to wonder just what the extent the kid’s powers could attain.

When the wolf was summoned away (a final lick given) Jorge chuckled as he moved into a sitting position. Using his sleeve, he wiped away at the saliva upon his face, neck, and beard and just chuckled. He looked up as Derek approached and sighed, pushing himself up off the ground and onto his two feet.

”Good show, kid,” he smirked, brushing twigs, dead leaves, and the last of the wolf saliva from his clothing. ”You definitely have a gift.”

>> "Well, that was a nice work out…What's next? I think, uh, doing somethin' with marine animals would be nice. You never know when you might need a humpback or bull shark on ya side."

Jorge thought for a second, holding his chin as he tried to come up with the next plan of action. Derek had made an impressive display of his abilities but he had yet to commune with marine life. That would be simple enough to test out, but there needed to be some physicality added to the regime as well. After all, one couldn’t rely on their powers ALL the time.

As he was about to voice his comment, he was interrupted by Derek, who was apparently on the same wavelength.

>> "...Maybe a light sparing session is in order? I don't know what I can do against Nep-- you, but it'll give me a bit of experience."

He thought. He grinned. He nodded. ”Why not both?” Turning away from Derek he raised his voice to the God Room again. ”Computer. Gillian’s Island, scenario 23, marine life 80% active.”

Grinning at Derek, the man took a few steps back, giving the both of them space. With every step back he took, the room shifted and changed away. The forest dwelling melted away and seamlessly transitioned into a warm, tropical day. Around them, the grass and woodlands had faded away and all that was left were chopping, rolling waves of the most crystalline water. In the distance they could see the sandy beach of a small island, complete with tall palm trees that tropical flora. At first glance it looked as if they were standing in the middle of open water, but as the Danger Room finished configuring, it altered again solidify a platform of smoothed wood. It was about the size of a boxing ring, only with no ropes guarding the edges. One step over and they would be in the deep.

The sound of a cawing seagull drew Jorge’s attention back to Derek where he gave him a smile. ”This fitting for you?” he asked? He then nodded his head to him. ”If you don’t mind my asking…do you have any combat experience? Like, classes or self training?”

>> ”Why not both?”

Both? Oh, boy, things were about to get interesting.

>> ”Computer. Gillian’s Island, scenario 23, marine life 80% active.”

Derek watched as the forest scenery gave way to the aquatic one. There was a little island off in the distance with palm trees and seagulls flying over head. Derek then turned his attention to the surrounding ocean. He remembered hearing Jorge say, "80% active marine life"? He wondered what kind creatures were currently hidden underneath the surface.

He the gave observation to the platform they were standing on. It was like the inside of a boxing ring minus the ropes. That made him a bit uneasy only because if, more like "when", Jorge knocks him into the water, something was there to check him out. It could either be as gentle as a bottle nose dolphin or as fierce as an orca.

>> ”If you don’t mind my asking…do you have any combat experience? Like, classes or self training?”

"...No. I don't have any formal trainin'," Derek answered with a coy shrug of his shoulders. He turned his attention to what looked like a small pod of dolphins. He smiled some at the scene, getting sidetracked.

The scenery was picturesque, surely, but that wasn’t what they were here for. As much as Jorge liked to pull up a simulation like this to just lounge back and relax, his eyes fell upon Derek, the young man he was trying to train. He looked about the world with awe and inspiration, something that Jorge remembered having in his own eyes the first time that he spotted the Danger Room and what it could do. He didn’t push him, but instead just hung back, letting the man marvel at the world all around.

In the waters below, even Jorge didn’t need his abilities to sense the currents moving or the animals that dwelled within. It was harder to sense them with all the churning water above, but he could still get a sense that it teemed to the brim with life. There were a few instances where he didn’t need his abilities, but instead watched as dolphins swam up, flipping in the open air and calling out with their giggling tones. Splashing once again under the waves, they swam on, carried by the waters. That was only a small fraction of what existed out there.

If Derek wanted to test his abilities on marine life, well, he had more than enough to experiment with. Testing this aspect of his abilities wasn’t the only reason they were here, the younger man also wanted to test his combat prowess.

Still hanging back, Jorge nodded to the kid, inquiring as to whether or not he had any combat experience already? Really, anything would do to help give Jorge a sense of what he was working with. Self-taught, a couple of classes, maybe a few street fights under his belt, it could be anything really just to give Jorge a sense of whether or not the kid had ever balled up a fist.

>> "...No. I don't have any formal trainin',"

…greeeeeeeeat. Well, it looked like Jorge was going to have to put the kiddie gloves on for the kid. So, his arms crossed over his chest, the older man stepped up and nodded to Derek.

”Alright…well…why don’t we start off super easy, okay?” he asked. He walked around Derek, taking note of the younger man’s size, stature, and whatever physicality he seemed to possess. He nodded his head, making notes to himself before he stepped back. ”Why don’t you throw a couple of punches…” he gestured to the open space away from him. ”…over there. I just want to see your form first.”