>>"Float you?" Domingo pondered.

Shin nodded simply. "Float me."

>>"I guess I could try, but it might take some time to get you to float."

Shin opened his mouth to speak as Domingo rose, then snapped it shut at the stretching. While he -had- been alluding to the question in a purely theoretical sense, Domingo seemed to have taken it as a request. That... wasn't exactly what he'd wanted. To float another human when it hadn't been practiced before might not have been the safest idea... really, it would be best for all parties if this were practiced beforehand, and Shin didn't want to fall on his backside... nor did he want another broken arm...

That is to say...

>>"Okay, you want to give it a go then?"

"Perhaps in a different location... while the idea of floating off towards the moon seems tempting, the thought of falling in the kitchen does not. Here. Finish up your tea and I'll show you some place you can practice."

Shin downed the rest of his tea in one quick gulp, then hopped out of his seat. He hurried to the door, then paused, waiting for Domingo to catch up.

>>"Perhaps in a different location... while the idea of floating off towards the moon seems tempting, the thought of falling in the kitchen does not. Here. Finish up your tea and I'll show you some place you can practice."

When Domingo heard this, he realised that he'd been a little hasty in what he had considered to be a challenge, and dropped his shoulders and head in embarrassment. His eyes peeking up from the bowed position his head was in, Domingo allowed the blushes to subside at the prospect of seeing more of the Mansion. He reached for the last sip of his iced tea, and put the glass to his lips, only to realise he'd already drank the last gulp. A single trickle of the peach flavoured drink fell into Domingo's mouth, and he disappointingly placed it back down on the table.

"I'm definitely going to get myself some of that..." he remarked, and stepped toward the door to follow Shin into the hallways of the mansion.

"Okay, where we off to now then," he smiled in excitement at what the rest of the building was like. As they turned and walked out of the door into the hallway, Domingo's voice could be heard echoing against the walls and around the space of the hall."So, how many people live here then?"

>>"Okay, where we off to now then?"

"Top. Secret." Shin quipped. A hint of a grin trickled onto his face. "Really, I should blindfold you so you don't remember the exact location of the place, but where's the fun in that? It's called the 'Danger Room'."

He led the way down the hall. "Though there isn't too much dangerous about it, so long as you're careful. Use of the room is allowed, so long as you have permission from the appropriate people. I just so happen to be one of those people."

And down a flight of stairs. Shin responded to Domingo's other question, uncertain. "As for how many students this place has... I have to say 'lots'. More than I want to count. They're coming and going constantly, which makes measuring it far more difficult. Ah, here we are."

He reached the set of doors, and brushed past the security Shawn had put in place. Shin led Domingo into a big metal room that seemed blank, save a room upstairs and a panel on the wall. He turned to face Domingo with a grin.

"This is the danger room. It's where the real pros train their talents. It has technologies to create holograms and illusions, and has the potential to reduce injury. What do you think?"

Domingo followed Shin through the grand corridors of the Mansion, as the host spoke of their next destination.

>>"Top. Secret." Shin quipped. A hint of a grin trickled onto his face. "Really, I should blindfold you so you don't remember the exact location of the place, but where's the fun in that? It's called the 'Danger Room'."

The Spaniard smiled and listened as Shin carried on further down the hall, back past the painting of Professor Xavier, that Domingo admired once again.

>>"Though there isn't too much dangerous about it, so long as you're careful. Use of the room is allowed, so long as you have permission from the appropriate people. I just so happen to be one of those people."

"The 'Danger Room', huh? That must be the coolest name for a room, ever! You must be quite an important person here... So, what happens in the Danger Room then?" Domingo asked as the pair reached the top of flight of stairs.

>>"As for how many students this place has... I have to say 'lots'. More than I want to count. They're coming and going constantly, which makes measuring it far more difficult. Ah, here we are."

They had reached the door to the Danger Room, and walked in. It was a large room, a very large room in fact, and the echo of their voices was rather dramatic as the sounds reverberated inside. There were hatches in the ceiling, and in corners of the metallic walls, and over on the far side of the room there was a window about three quarters the way up that had some kind of conrol room behind it.

>>"This is the danger room. It's where the real pros train their talents. It has technologies to create holograms and illusions, and has the potential to reduce injury. What do you think?"

"Wow. This place is huge." Eighteen year old Domingo had never imagined the mansion contained a room such as this. The sheer impressive nature of the room, though, wasn't the main thing that struck Domingo. "Holograms and illusions? Of what? What do you mean?" He was extremely curious as to what this meant, and his imagination was running wild at the possibilities of what holograms could be generated.

>>"The 'Danger Room', huh? That must be the coolest name for a room, ever! You must be quite an important person here... So, what happens in the Danger Room then?"

"In a word, 'training'." Shin replied as he walked along. As they entered the room, he elaborated further. Domingo seemed impressed.

>>"Holograms and illusions? Of what? What do you mean?"

Shin nodded at the question, clasping his hands behind his back. "Thought you might ask that. They always do. Basically, the room can create images of places and things that aren't really there, and through holograms, can simulate the physical appearance of them. Without, yknow, actually tossing a real buzzsaw at you. It makes for safer practice areas, and massive amounts of variation. Computer, padded floor area 20 feet by 20 feet."

The danger room complied. A large blue pad, like the kind wrestlers or martial artists use in training, spread out across the danger room floor. Shin walked over to stamp his foot on it. It gave off resistance. "You'd never believe this was just compressed energy and a holographic image. It feels real as can be... I can't really explain the danger room's technology, aside from that. It almost seems as if it knows what I want, sometimes... It's really amazing. Why, the other day..." Shin paused, then looked up towards the God Room. "Computer, queue up the simulation from yesterday." With a clap, a giant squirrel appeared in the middle of the blue mat. Shin ran up to climb on its back.

>>"Thought you might ask that. They always do. Basically, the room can create images of places and things that aren't really there, and through holograms, can simulate the physical appearance of them. Without, yknow, actually tossing a real buzzsaw at you. It makes for safer practice areas, and massive amounts of variation. Computer, padded floor area 20 feet by 20 feet."

Domingo's eyes filled with amazement as beneath his very feet, the floor became a padded training surface perfect for wrestling or gymnastics. Both of which Domingo was a complete novice at. He had, when he was younger, spent two years kickboxing, though he had never excelled at it, he had enjoyed it. It helped with his fitness, if only for his football. He and his brother were both very good at it, taking after their father who was a well-paid and respected now ex-professional. But Domingo just couldn't believe the brilliance of the technology surrounding him. It was, to judge by Domingo's reaction, simply jaw-dropping.

>>"You'd never believe this was just compressed energy and a holographic image. It feels real as can be... I can't really explain the danger room's technology, aside from that. It almost seems as if it knows what I want, sometimes... It's really amazing. Why, the other day..."

The young Spaniard's head shook and nodded in agreeance with Shin, and he stared hard at the ground and stepped on it, jumping a couple of times, and smiling as he bounced off of it. "This is beyond words. Is there some kind of mechanics genius mutant who created all of this? Whoever did, they deserve massive recognition."

>>"Computer, queue up the simulation from yesterday."

Just as Domingo had finished speaking, Shin commanded the 'room' to generate something else. Something you would never see in real life. Something that if you did see in real life, you'd probably run away from it in disbelief. Something way beyond even Domingo's wild imagination for what this room could do. He watched, speechless, as Shin ran across the padding, bounced on it, and climbed on top of a giant, red squirrel.

Domingo stood back, his face a hilarious concoction of horror, confusion and smiling disbelief. "What the..!"

Shin hoisted himself up onto the squirrel, somewhere between shoulder blade and neck line. Fingers wrapped tight around fur to grab hold. Whatever technology produced massive holographic squirrels was most adept at producing that 'squirrel fur' feel. Rough, ragged, but cute as a button. Oh, if only he had a muzzle and a saddle, he'd rein back the squirrel, and charge!

Speaking of charging...

"I hope you're ready for your training session, Domingo. Because this squirrel is!! Charge!!"

And then the floor started shaking as the gargantuan rodent stomped towards the Spaniard.

>>"I hope you're ready for your training session, Domingo. Because this squirrel is!! Charge!!"

At first, Domingo thought Shin was joking, and he laughed at the very notion of being charged at by the giant animal. Until the squirrel actually began to head in Domingo's direction, that is. The look of shock on his face was a picture of hilarity, as he backed away ever so slowly.

Half laughing, half concerned, his voice wobbled at the uncertainty of the situation. "Erm, Shin, what do you mean, training session? Call me old fashioned, but personally, I've always trained using equipment that isn't alive!" The squirrel got closer, and Domingo realised it was gonna keep plodding on towards him.

"Okay, well... I'm scared now, can you make it stop, please?" On it came towards him, Shin on top of it smiling maniacally. Closer, and closer, and closer it came, until Domingo realised he'd have to make a move to avoid being squelched by the massive mammal. He concentrated hard, and his body suddenly lifted off the ground, moving into a position above the squirrel, not much higher than Shin's head. Hanging there upside down, he looked down from his position in mid-air, and spoke nervously to Shin.

"I don't know if that holographic monster of a squirrel would have actually killed me, but I wasn't about to find out!"

>"I don't know if that holographic monster of a squirrel would have actually killed me, but I wasn't about to find out!"

Clapping. Slow, but sure. Shin's eyes rode the back of his skull as he stared straight up at the gravity-mancer on the ceiling. The squirrel's eyes also focused upwards. "Bravo. Bravo. That was a good use of your power... not that I'd actually have killed you or anything. Like I said, 'Danger Room'. Not 'Dangerous'. I was hoping I'd see you evade, or push/pull the squirrel away, or smoosh it, or... glad you chose a non-smooshing alternative. But..."

Shin raised his left hand, focusing the few blue shards he'd summoned into the shape of a 3' by 3' cube. His eyes rolled back as the cube rose towards the Spaniard on high. "This is the sort of training simulation we do at the mansion. It helps us test ourselves in the midst of danger, to grow creativity, and breed talent. Think fast!"

The cube shot up at Domingo's chest. Shin's squirrel took two resounding steps back and chattered sharp teeth.

>>"This is the sort of training simulation we do at the mansion. It helps us test ourselves in the midst of danger, to grow creativity, and breed talent. Think fast!"

His eyes had been transfixed on the cube of shards spinning rather beautifully at Shin's control, only for them to start shooting in perfect formation suddenly and threateningly toward Domingo chest. Think fast? He had no time to think at all, and what he did do he did out of instinct. As the cube flew closer to him, he stared hard at it with focused eyes, and he concentrated on drawing the cube towards his hand instead of to his chest.

The cube suddenly and violently changed trajectory, moving in the direction of Domingo's outstretched hand. Just as it was about to make contact with it, he quickly moved his hand out of its way, and the cube flew off beside Domingo and went smashing into the ceiling.

Turning his head to Shin, his mind racing and the adrenaline in his veins rushing around his body so fast he could hardly breathe, words escaped his mouth so fast it was hard to make out exactly what he was saying.

"Oh my god, what just happened, I've never done that before, those things just nearly hit me, how did I, what the...?!"

As he finished his sentence, his concentration was no longer on his floating high above, and suddenly the young mutant fell sharply and hard onto the padded floor underneath. "Ugh, ah, owww! Damnit!" Domingo muttered as he rubbed his behind from the fall.

It was right about at the point that Domingo drew the shard cube towards him using gravity, that a fascinating question come to Shin's attention, to float there like a fart in an elevator and confound him.

Could... Shin's mind overcome gravity?

Because he controlled shards with his mind. And now, Domingo was pulling a shard cube in from across the room, straight to his hand.

A heavy thought.

Shin's mind was levitating a cube. Domingo's power drew the cube inwards. So, in effect, he jerked Shin's concentration. Shin's only response was...?

"Ow! My head!!" A migraine. Physically, what Domingo had just done caused him... pain? That was new. And then the shard cube hit a wall. Shin's concentration shattered, as did the cube. Like a fine mist of glass.

>>"Oh my god, what just happened, I've never done that before, those things just nearly hit me, how did I, what the...?!"

Shin climbed down off the squirrel, clutching the side of his head. "Simulation, end... you tell me."

The squirrel flickered, flapping its gums. Vanished.

Shin sauntered painfully over to the fallen Spaniard and grabbed his hand, hoisting him off the floor.

A finger pointed to the ceiling, then to Shin's head, then the floor. "Angels, we have heard on high." He smiled dumbly.

Yeah. Didn't make sense. Shin had a migraine. Now was his turn for a meaningless and nonsensical joke. Deal with it.

Domingo's eyes stared hard and fast, with a look of real uncertainty, and a sense of shock to boot. As Shin pulled him up, he breathed hard and and deep, as if his own body was trying to come to terms with what had just happened. Had he actually managed to 'control' his gravitational attraction ability? Usually this only happened by accident, often with embarrassing consequences. But just then, he'd actually affected something on purpose, well, maybe accidentally on purpose.

The tall young man dusted off his behind, whincing slightly upon making contact with the brand new bruise that would be sure to appear on his right buttock. 'I may be walking like John Wayne for the next couple of days.'

"I don't know how I did that. Its like there was some kind of pull towards my hand, like I could actually attract that cube thing towards my hand." He scratched his head, frowning, his head shifting from side to side. "I mean, I know I can float things by touching them, not very well, but I can do it. I figured I could stop gravity's effects on things. But actually attract things to me..."

He shook his head again, and then snapped out of his quandrance. Looking at Shin, he spoke softly and calmly. "Can we do it again?"

>>"I don't know how I did that. Its like there was some kind of pull towards my hand, like I could actually attract that cube thing towards my hand. I mean, I know I can float things by touching them, not very well, but I can do it. I figured I could stop gravity's effects on things. But actually attract things to me..."

Shin smiled weakly. That was good. It sounded like Domingo was getting a grip on his powers.

But...

>>"Can we do it again?"

"Can we?" Shin wasn't certain. "Those shards I control. I do that with my mind. And you just ripped my mind out of my head, and smashed it against a ceiling." Still smiling. "So now I have a bit of a headache. I might wanna sit the next session out. To answer your question of 'can we?', sure. Just let me set something up..."

The Asian walked over to a hidden staircase, and ascended up to the God Room. From behind the glass window up top, he waved at Domingo. Then his voice came in on an intercom. "I'll set up an easy simulation for you to start out on. If at any time you want to end it, just shout 'the safety words'. Okay?"

Okay.

He walked over to a computer monitor and pressed some buttons, scrolling down a list of simulations Sam and him had already concocted. His eyes fell on one in particular.

Shin slid into a chair, and rested his cast arm on his knee. The simulation had been selected.

The room's walls and floor turned tan. Tiles snapped up eight feet above the ground, with a set of stairs leading to the new 'floor'. A mirror was positioned on each of the four corners on top of the hovering 'floor', seated on a massive 6 foot by 6 foot raised gray block. The mirrors were mounted so they spun, and could be turned to face anywhere in the room. In the center of the room, a princess sat twiddling her thumbs in a large steel cage. On the floor in front of her, a hand mirror rested. On top of the steel cage, a green crystal sat.

Across the room in the left-most corner, a single light source shined down.

Shin steepled his fingers, and announced.

"The goal of this simulation is to save the princess. It'll take creative thinking and the skills of a puzzle master. Simple, this danger room simulation ain't. Begin."

He sat back in his chair to observe.

This puzzle was complicated. Even more-so by Shin's standards. Falling floor tiles, giant mirrors, princesses, lights... would Domingo be able to figure it out? Perhaps the bigger question, though, was whether or not he'd be able to avoid the giant ape under the floor while he was at it.

The primate pounded his powerful chest thrice, and adjusted his tie. He was a dignified donkey Kong, yes he was.