2019-09-07 - The Ice Monster Cometh!

Summary:

Quinn has a gift for Bobby!

Log Info:

Storyteller: None
Date: Sat Sep 7 07:47:15 2019
Location: X-Men's Base - Danger Room

Related Logs

None

Theme Song

None

bobby-drakequinn-quire

Even though Bobby and Quinn hadn't managed to go to the Bahamas, Quinn still found the time to work on a few projects for Bobby's benefit. The first one was a video game; one that she's yet to test out, failing follow through in searching for students who followed Bobby's particular interest in the subject.

(Nevermind the fact that Quinn doesn't mind playing video games, she'd rather smoke weed..)

Though, the past couple of days she's been.. well, sober. Try two weeks. It wasn't for the lack of supply, but Quinn needed all of her facilities to get this particular project right. Which.. brought her to the danger room. She didn't exactly have her own lab, and she really wasn't using Hank's. Though there were times when she hid in his lab, he was there working on his own things while she worked on another. Then shop class was invaded. Quinn was welding, much to the odd stares of everyone else there. No one has ever seen the pink haired mutant work before! Then, there was computer class, sodering circuit-boards together, hooking them up to her laptop to program.. and now.. the final test.

The call was put out to Bobby mentally as she fidgets with the helmet, it looked sleek. Smooth. Yet clearly a prototype that lacked the necessary wires. The computers were all ablaze with the program written for it, even one 3D rendering that moves as she twists and turns the helmet itself.

*

Bobby was in the shower when the voice in his head started beckoning him down to the lower basement. Of course, it wasn't the first time Quinn had mentally joined him in the shower, and probably woudln't be the last. So, maybe he spends a few moments trying to entertain her with his his shower-thoughts; how do you clean soap, why do you park in a driveway but drive on a parkway, that kind of thing. One might imagine such inane mental drivel gets old fast, but Bobby enjoys tormenting Quinn just a little bit that way. It's the little things in life that make it worth living.

But in due course, and before she becomes so irritated with him that she calls off the whole thing, Bobby gets out, dries off, throws a shirt and a pair of pants on, because this is a school after all, and heads down to the basement, eventually to the Danger Room itself. He hasn't actually been down here much since he came back, he realizes. Should probably be training more, really. He spots Quinn immediately, because bright pink hair is hard to miss, but also there's a nifty mental radar thing going on. Also, she's the only other person here. "Hey," he says casually, moving inside and toward her. "Whatcha been doing down here?" Eyes flicker to the machine, curiousity piqued.

*

It takes a lot for Quinn to not destroy the school on those thoughts that Bobby sends out. Usually when the torture comes in, she could tolerate it and throw back a few of her own, when she was high. Though this time he'd be met with dead silence. Almost as if she were in the shower with him, arms folded across her chest, giving him the 'Seriously?!' look. But, he was on his way. And thankfully, it didn't take him too long.

She probably smelled the fresh soap long before he hit the room, but she was already swivveled around in the chair towards the door, holding up the helmet with a rare smile upon her face. "Working on a gift for you." Whut?

Perhaps he could sense the clear headedness that is Quinn, but there was always that thin level of meanness ready to come out. Not today though, she was gung-ho about making sure this project works. "And as recipient of this gift, it demands that you test it." She holds out the sleek looking helmet towards Bobby, which was coated in a shiny silver with a black rim. On the inside, it was soft, almost like a memory foam, complete with sensors that were meant to stimulate brain functions. Not that he knows that.

"So give me a kiss and head down to the danger room. Put this on and I'll tell you what to do next."

*

"Yes ma'am." Bobby grins, and leans down to kiss Quinn. That's a command he'll always obey. He takes the helmet, and looks it over as he walks down toward the ominously-named Danger Room. Last time he was in there he probably broke something expensive; in fact, he knows he did, because he was able to find the bill for the parts it took to repair it. The joys of being the school accountant. So, he puts the helmet on, and adjusts it a bit for comfort. Never been much of a hat guy, and helmets are just the same; this one is at least comfy. Quinn knows how to keep her man happy. "It's cushy in here," he says aloud, knowing that Quinn will be listening telepathically. As he steps through the door into the room, again speaks out loud even though there's no-one there. Yes, he could just think it, but there's something about actually talking that he finds easier. "Okay, so.. Computer, start program?" Star Trek joke. Because Bobby's a cool guy like that.

*

Quinn leans in to accept the kiss, and as soon as he wanders off, she turns to face the danger room. Right now, there were no programs loaded, nothing for him to aim and shoot at, nor nothing for him to interact with. This is a pure white-box study, one that she was performing on her boyfriend. Which means, this is going to turn out really well!

While he busies himself with speaking, Quinn leans over to press a few buttons, turning on the coms system. Leaving the switch on and making everything hands free, Bobby could hear the tip-tapping of the keyboard from where she sits. "Doesn't work like that yet. It won't have that command anyways, that's too generic." Like he cares.

The tapping causes two things; on her end, the other screens flair to life, few of them reading his vitals and brain waves, which were a bit out of wack due to their connection. In fact, comparing both of their brainwaves, they would be in sync, but she doesn't have a helmet herself, as this isn't something for her, it was purely for him. The second thing that would happen is, the helmet powers on. Bobby could possibly feel a heavy tingle upon his scalp that would make the hairs on his arm raise, and that tingle could possibly shoot everywhere else. It was actively studying him, which she wanted, at least to get an accurate reading on his biometrics.

"Alright Bobby, just breathe. I'm going to load a few targets alright, and I want you to use as little as your power as possible to hit them. You know, like baseballs. Got it?"

And once he was ready, she would load up basic bullseye targets. He didn't have to hit them dead center, he just had to use his powers.

*

Well, it was worth a shot. He's probably the millionth person to make holodeck jokes about the Danger Room, anyway. These walls have heard them all. "Whoa," he says as the helmet powers up. It's like an electric brain massage. Hair stand end, and he squirms a little as it works its way through its body. Is this what she had in mind? Gotta admit, Bobby kind of likes where her head's at, if so. When she starts to talk and explain though, he calms down, and nods. Only then does he realize that she can't see him, and he vocalizes. "Got it. Blast all the things." Will this thing go haywire if he ices up? Better safe than sorry, he only frosts over his hands and arms; enough to make the iceys, not enough to freeze the whole contraption. The first target pops up, and he fires off a a low-power ice-blast. He's a little out of practice, but still pretty accurate, able to hit the first target just off-center. Alternating hands, he takes aim at the second, and lets off another low-power shot. Just impact, not freezing it. Again, just off-center. Pretty good for a rusty player. "That's just the warm-up, right?"

*

Blech. She forgot about that part. What he feels, it picks up in her brain (mostly because Bobby is simple) and it gives her the heebie jeebies. But there was no cutting him off, she just deals. Still, she couldn't help but pat away at her arms, it felt like something was truly crawling on her from here on out. "Ugh." He could hear her say.

Instead of watching him, she watches the screens, the monitoring function of the helmet taking readings, which were noted mentally instead of on paper. And then she moves on. "It's a warm-up. Trying to establish a baseline. Alright, slightly bigger target, amp up the power just a bit. Don't worry about freezing the helmet, I used a particular alloy to.." She pauses, then simplifies it. "..just don't worry about it. You won't break it." Yes he will!

A larger target pops up, and Quinn says through the intercom: "Go."

*

"What?" Ugh? Did Quinn put her hand in something? Bobby's been there. It's usually mayo. But before he can insist she answer him, the bigger target pops up in front of him, and he quickly re-ices, going a little more powerful this time, fully freezing. The full Iceman, if you will. More power this time, but still not full-strength, he hits the target with a blast of ice, and then watches for another, if one is to come up. "This thing gonna work through my ice?" He wouldn't be surprised; I mean, Quinn is kind of a supergenius, and she made it specifically for him, so.. not making it ice-proof would be a little dumb.

*

"I can feel what you feel, remember? I'm all tingily and shit." Annnd.. there goes the nice demeanor. She was getting rightfully irritated. But, in the name of science, she keeps a cool booty!

As he fully ices, she takes a look at his readings, then gives a shake of her head. That was supposed to be the ending of his readings, and then the true fun would start, but since he went full ice block, she'd have to amp it up just -one- more!

"Alright cutie. One more. Bigger target, give me a blast. I want to say…" She bobs her head left and right, then looks at the readings, her eyes soon lifting to the sky as she mentally figures out the mean of the numbers she's created. ".. okay. Crank it up two more notches from the last and then we're good."

*

"So you're saying I make you all tingly?" Bobby grins. Yes, he knows he's on the edge of making Quinn want to murder him in his sleep. It's all part of his charm, you see. He likes to live dangerously. But she still thinks he's cute, so he can get away with it. Right? He doesn't wait for an answer, and when the next target comes up, he hits with a much stronger blast; maybe a little more than Quinn would have been expecting, even. The room goes colder, too, to the point where frost starts to form on the floor and the walls near where Bobby is standing. He's getting better with his aim, too; not that he was bad before, but this last blast hits dead center in the target. If there's even a target left to check.

*

Yup. Quinn was getting right irritated, and he possibly could feel it too. She doesn't even answer, waiting on him to hit the next target, which.. he did it a little bit much but the basic baseline was set. She begins to punch in everything onto the computer, working her lips back and forth, and if he ever chooses to listen he would hear a jumbled mess of numbers and quite possibly see flashes of fragmented thoughts that she has.

Please don't look!

"Alright. This is going to feel a bit weird Bobby.."

She turns on another set of functions of the helmet, the purpose as to why they were down there. It was meant to stimulate the entirety of the brain, sending signals and electrical pulses that were meant to target the receptors that control the X-Gene, and amplify it. How much? Quinn doesn't know, which is really the purpose of this test.

Would she tell Bobby? Nope! He would probably halt the testing right then and there..

"Alright. Loading up targets. I want you to give me -everything- you got. Do -not- hold back, I'll know it."

A slew of targets appear, all surrounding him. Thankfully they don't move or try to attack him. This was a test after all!

*

"I'm good with weird," Bobby says, just before it starts to feel weird. He shudders a little as the feeling overtakes him, but he handles it like a champ, and all because he had a little warning! He lets out a breath, and steadies himself for the slew of targets. "Alright, Operation Canadian Winter it is," he says with a grin, mostly for his own benefit. Whether he can tell that his powers are being in some way amplified, who knows, but a moment later his ice-covering thickens, causing him to get a couple inches taller at least, and spiky shards start to grow out from his shoulders, back, and arms. He's been able to control the topography of his ice for some time, but it's a new look. One blast hits a target, and then another. Nothing too overboard, but as the targets pop up, he hits them with more and more powerful attacks, until finally he just lets loose.

And it's not one blast at a time, but a full nova effect; a 360 degree wave of ice shards, and not little ones, are created from the air and hurled outward, slamming into every target around him with enough force to shatter solid brick.

"Whoa."

*

And weird it feels! She was only getting the tapered down version of what was going through his body, but it was enough to give her pause. She tries to keep her mouth shut about it, but it does make her eyes water and her brain feel like it's on fire. In fact, she quiets in his brain all together, which makes her feel really alone. And in a bit of pain. But it all serves a purpose to keep the rampant thoughts of everyone within the school and probably a few miles away out of her head.

"Okay." She squeaks out to herself, now focusing on the scene ahead. This was something she wasn't prepared to see, in fact, he looked like a completely different person. It was unnerving.

And a little bit cold. It felt like he was seeping into the room..

"Holy.. okay." The targets disappear, and a few more new ones pop up. "This time. Try. Try -really- fucking hard. Go all out and then some. Hit it!"

*

"TRY HARDER?" Bobby says a incredulously. "DID YOU SEE THAT?!" He's still iced, and a little bit terrifying to behold in his new form. Every moment that goes by he starts to look a little less like human Bobby Drake, and more like an ice monster from some kind of northern folk tale. He breathes in, and then out, and the cold just amps right up around him. Ice forms on the walls, the floor, the ceiling. "Okay," he says, cracking his neck for show. "Bring it."

More targets, and once they're all up, he really lets loose; two hands in front of him, and an enormous cone of ice blasts out toward the target; easily a meter wide, and strong enough that it'll put some serious dents in the reinforced walls of the Danger Room. This place was built to withstand more punishment that Iceman has ever been able to dish out, so that's something. One down, he repeats the process on the next. He's never hit anything this hard, and it's frankly a little scary. Another one, and another one, and then he stops.

"What.. what is this thing, Quinn?" And the penny drops.

*

"Yes."

That was all she really had for him. In fact, watching him was so unnerving, she was glad that the connection they shared was automatically severed. He would actually feel how a little bit frightened she was. And it continued. It amped up even more, so much so that she was hugging her arms against her chest, the chair sliding back as she watches the screen, then Bobby, then the screen. He.. he was actually starting to look and -read- like a monster.

As he asks the question.. she lets out a quiet sigh. She really, really didn't want to answer just yet, but by now, he could tell even by her voice that she'd be lying. "It's an amplification device. It amplifies your powers beyond normal parameters." She glances at his vitals. They were off the charts, but nothing dangerous. Not yet. "I'm starting to think this is a mistake. We need to destroy it."

*

"Uh, WHAT?!" Bobby yells, though his voice doesn't really sound like himself any more. Loud, hollow, metallic. Crystalline, in fact. The ice over his skin continues to grow, and he's getting bigger by the second. One might think that he'd have stopped if he could. "TURN IT OFF QUINN." Bobby can touch the ceiling now. If he doesn't stop growing, in a few minutes he'll be too tall to fit in the room.

"I can't.. turn it off. I can't de-ice, Quinn. It's not.. it's not working." There's some real fear coming into that hollow-sounding voice of his. "Turn it off! TURN IT OFF!" He'd take the helmet off, of course, but by now ice has grown fully around it, cementing the damn thing in place. If turning it off doesn't let him go back to normal, it might end up a permanent headpiece. Somewhere in there, at least.

*

Quinn cringes. It was almost a little bit sad. Without the marijuana, she almost seemed like a frightened little girl who used her cockiness as a shield. "BOBBY!" Quinn snaps, feeling safe behind the walls, but she actually stands up as if her voice would have an impact. "I CAN'T TURN IT OFF YET. YOU NEED TO CALM, THE FUCK, DOWN!"

Watching his vitals go haywire, it was moreso him panicking than not. She was going to have to do something completely drastic.

"You hold on Bobby, I'm coming in there.." God, with as tall as he was getting, she was wondering if he was going to fill up the room by filling -out-. She had to get in there before it happens. With a few quick taps upon the computer, she loads up the controls onto her smartphone, then quickly runs out the room. She blasted down the way, and through the doors to the danger room itself.. which causes her to freeze in place. She immediately grows pale as she tries to breathe, each inhale felt like pricks to her lungs. Even in those few seconds, her hands and feet started to hurt.

"B..b..b.." She could barely speak, it was taking all of her effort to properly think in that moment.

*

Shitshitshitshitshit. Bobby's panicking. You're damn right he's panicking. He's a goddamn ice monster and he can't stop turning into an even bigger ice monster. Isn't there a whole dimension of these things that the Asgardians regularly smash to pieces with magic hammers? Oh god. That's not Bobby's dream! THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE BAHAMAS.

Okay, Drake, calm the hell down. You can do this. Your girlfriend is freezing her tight little ass off down there, and you're killing her. She's going to turn into a little pink popsicle if you don't figure your shit out. Breathe. In, out. In, out. Just like we've been practicing for the last 22 years. You got this.

Bobby's icy blue eyes close, and his shoulders drop a little. Forced relaxation. That one yoga class he took in Los Angeles is really helping. Slowly, the ice growths on his back and shoulders start to draw back, and he at least stops growing. It's still hellishly cold, but at least it's not getting worse. See, Bobby has some control, still. It's taking all of his effort to hold it here, though. Quinn, if you can do something about this, now's the time.

*

Sure -he- stopped but she didn't.. well she did. Her lips were already turning blue and her inner temperature was slowly dropping a single degree by the second. Normally, she'd perform some elaborate feat, by showing off her psychic skills in creating a sort of pistol or bazooka to take him down. But this time she couldn't.

She pulls in all of her reserves, the deep inhale of breath painful even for her, then she lets it out with a scream.

The scream creates a rippling effect, the sound that comes from her mouth creates a pressure that cracks the ice along the floor, that force of pressure aimed towards Bobby with the intent to knock him right on his ass and hit his brain where it hurts. It wouldn't shut him down forever, but temporarily disable him to the point that he -could- go back to normal, or amp -right- up. Either way, it was a last ditch effort for Quinn, for the loss of breath along with the power she shoots towards him causes her to gasp for air.

She tries to hold on to herself but she could feel the shift, her body speeding up rapidly in a last ditch effort to save herself. It was like a horror movie, Quinn fading in and out, her body vibrating rapidly.. rinse and repeat. It was a mess!

*

The psychic attack strikes true, and Bobby's brain fizzles and shorts out under the power Quinn hit him with. He falls over, and huge masses of ice slam into the floor, shattering. And melting. The temperature climbs slowly back to where it should be, and Bobby's ice form shrinks down, melting into a puddle under him. His nose is bleeding, but within a minute or two he's back to his normal, human self, though unconscious. And soaked.

*

And that was it for the experiment, two of the X-Men's notable almost died. The temperature was at a normal rate enough for at least the nurses to come in, because why wouldn't they? This is the school! Gurnees were wheeled in among the slick floor, the nurses slipping and sliding until they come to a stop next to Bobby.

"Holy hell." One nurse says. "Okay, he's unconscious, we need to get him hooked up stat. He's breathing, no obvious signs of concussions.. what happened here?"

"I don't know!" The other nurse says. "Where's Quintavia? Wasn't she here?"

"Yes but she's gone! Maybe she ran?"

"Maybe, let's get him out of here."

As they secure Bobby to the gurnee, the nurses carefully rush him out of the danger room, leaving the clean up for the rest of the staff.

*

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