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Josh called ahead; there's a visitor who might have some technology to help in training young mutants, but he needs to analyze the X-men's computer. He then shows Noh-Varr to the institute. As they get out of the car, Josh nods around, "This is the sanctuary, which normally I wouldn't be bringing someone to, but this is a special occassion. Someone is almost certain to read your mind to check your intentions, try not to block them."
"I've told Plex to let them." Noh-Varr answers after a moment. "But don't worry; if I have no desire to conquer the Earth in the name of the Kree Empire, I certainly don't care about a small community of mutants. My reality has moved beyond that." He looks around the grounds then adds "Scenic. Must get boring up here."
The calling ahead was a welcome surprise, and since no other telepaths who aided in the quick brain-pan-scan, Jean found herself up to the task. Sabbaticals or not, business always boomed at the mansion, so she was already in the front windows of the manse to keep watch outside. It was untold of how far her range spanned, but she stood at the window, reaching out into that little space where everything connects to one another, her hand lifting to press and tug a little at her lower lip to keep her grounded, and then a step back away from it all to close the curtains.
Key things. Josh didn't arrive dead (for now), nor was he hurt or afraid. Overall intentions near the manse were.. well, lackluster in emotion. She could deal with that. There wasn't any violent threat, is what was meant. Thank the lords for that one. "Keeley!" Jean calls out into the hallway. "Go get the door!"
Annd.. the footsteps of a mutant student could be heard as Jean follows suit. After finishing the coffee.
Forge pulls up to the mansion in his Ford Galaxie. The weather permitting the top to be down today. Parking it, getting out, putting his coat on, he comes out to see what's going on. "Good evening," he nods to those present.
Kwabena watches with a deadpan expression as Jean does her telepathy. The whole idea of it still thoroughly freaks him out, but he's now intrigued by it.
It would seem he's firmly entrenched himself around here as security. That sort of thing tends to happen when ones power set is deemed to be primarily, well, physical. "How much of dat do you drink, anyway?" he asks while following along in Jean's wake. "You should be sponsahes by Maxwell House."
Josh inclines his head over to Noh-Varr. For his part, Josh looks like a normal guy at the moment, no gold at all. Though 'all american golden boy' sure describes him when he's being less literally. He's relaxed and calm. As he leads to the mansion, he tosses a grin Noh's way, "I wouldn't call the mansion boring, there's too many people here with volatile abilities they don't know how to use yet. We have the Danger Room to practice in, but its just a bunker."
Josh nods quickly to Keeley as he leads Noh-Varr inside, too.
"A mine field isn't boring either but it's not what I'd call fun." Noh-Varr counters. "You're too far from the city to casually go back and forth unless you're able to go very fast." And starting to get too far for Plex to maintain contact. Starting though; the AI is still an active presence in his mind. He nods to Forge when the man gets out of his car. "I thought you said it was for young mutants? He's not young."
"Too much. I think I built up an immunity. Now I just drink it black for punishment." It seemed like a joke, it could have been a joke, but Jean carried an equally deadpan expression as she reaches the stairs and heads down. "Ever have a cup of coffee and be able to fall asleep right after? That's where I'm at right now." Finally she smiles, putting on a face that was wholly genuine when greeting the newcomer. The foyer was reached, Jean remains within the middle, her arms lazily crossed about her chest as her shoes were soon studied. "Is everything alright, Kwabena?" Good way to past the time before everyone was fully inside.
Forge approaches with a laugh. "I'm not a student, so it doesn't matter that I'm young. I'd like tot hink I'm a friend to mutants, so I visit to be friendly. Name's Forge."
"The primary purpose of the sanctuary is for children, but there's … other purposes as well, and adults do live here. Some to teach, some just because they are former students and stay on to continue their education and help out." Josh nods over to Jean, then looks back to Forge to give him a nod, his eyes going down to the hand, and blinking, but he's here for a purpose. He nods to Jean, "Jean, this is Noh-Varr. Noh-Varr, Jean. She's one of our telepaths."
"Dere were… much more potent things when I was kid," Kwabena remarks. His coffee intake is fairly severe as well, but he's always had his black. White things came in powder and were a part of his household much earlier than they should have been, if such things should be a part of any household at all.
At Jean's question, he arches an eyebrow. "Xavier has had troubah tracking Gaia," he tells Jean. "Wherever you took dose mutants, I am worried she may get to dem."
He leaves that conversation to rest as soon as Josh and his new arrivals come closer. He looks from one to the other, but when his silver eyes fall upon Forge, there is an upnod of familiarity.
Noh-Varr nods at what Josh says as he follows him into the mansion. He's about to greet the others when he catches what Kwabena says. "Xavier? Charles Xavier? Old, bald guy in a wheelchair? Is here here?"
"Relocation is in order then. I'll contact them." Jean kept the conversation short, probably something that needed to be said at a later date, for when the three entered, she nods her head graciously and gestures around. "Welcome to the Xavier Institute.. where.." Noh-Varr's quick questioning has her confused. "Uh.. no.. he's.. older than me. About this tall.." She demonstrates, holding her hand above her head. "Brown, curly-ish hair?"
Jean's brow lowers but, she doesn't dare ask. Maybe sometime she would at a later date. But the hand does lower as she approaches, holding out a hand for Noh-Varr first to shake, then to Forge.
Forge will take Jean's hand, shaking, smiling. "Jean, good evening." he nods. "Who's in a wheelchair?" the man then asks the group, adjusting his jacket. "If someone needs help with a wheelchair I may be able to do something."
The expression on Kwabena's face is one of mild confusion. That's… not how he would describe Charles at all. He murmurs something in his native dialect, which would go unknown to anyone without Allspeak, translation powers or perhaps a non-consensual telepathic tap; at which point the subject matter becomes focused on loathing the idea that crazy people are now being brought on campus.
"I think he is confused," the Ghanaian remarks to Forge. Not quite the diplomatic one is Kwabena.
"Noh-Varr isn't from our reality. Apparently." Josh isn't entirely clear what exactly that means, but he shakes his head slowly, "If the Professor ever got hurt, I'd just heal him, and if anyone is in a wheelchair, send them to me." He looks to Jean then, "So, Noh wanted to get a look at our computer …downstairs. See what it was capable of. Might have some tech to help us? Maybe." He looks to Noh-Varr, "Right?"
Noh-Varr clasps the hand briefly, shaking his head at the description. "Must be someone else then." Chalk up another one to differences between realities. Kwabena gets an amused look but no comment. Confused? Hardly. "Nice to meet you all. Perhaps." he allows, answering Josh. "It depends on just how primitive it is. Even if it sufficient to control the systems, it'll still be extremely expensive to build and set up."
Jean clears her throat after her hand was shaken by both men, looking towards the three of them with an amused expression, Josh's revelation of Noh-Varr's existence does have her wanting to know more. A bit. "Another reality? He's in a wheelchair?" Jean frowns. "Am I there? Can we go there? Are you stuck here?" Cripes. Jean would lace her arm around Noh's, but she wasn't sure if she could drag him off and beg for information just yet. Besides, business was afoot, and as she gestures towards the hallway and begins to lead the way, her hands form behind her back as she considers.
"I'm unsure of what you consider primitive, but it currently is the best in the country. Money shouldn't be an option, Charles is off doing humanitarian work which -may- lead to more funding, plus his own personal cache. And if need be, we can tap Worthington Industries or see if Mr. Miller is willing to handle a portion of the cost." Once into the hallway, she retrieves a key from her pocket, unlocking that portion of the manse that leads to an elevator which would take them all down. (Unless everyone views it differently?)
Forge nods at the explanation. He'll take everyone's word for it. "Ah, so nobody new HERE is in a wheelchair. Nobody I need to be concerend with anyway. Understood." Smiling, following. "So the plan this evening is.. training? Demonstration?"
"The school is not hurting for money." Josh nods to Noh-Varr, grins, and then heads to follow Jean to the elevator. "Normally, we wouldn't show you this area, Noh-Varr, but this will be a special exception." He looks over to Forge, "Analysis. Perhaps demonstration."
"Yes, I don't know, no and yes." Noh-Varr answers, clearly amused. "The best in the country is primitive. The question is just how bad is it? And are you saying yours is more advanced than Reed Richards'?" That'll be interesting to see, if so. "Well, if money won't be a problem then I won't feel bad for charging you a lot on top of the cost of the materials." He gives them a grin as if he's kidding. He's not. "A demonstration of what? I know what computers do."
It would seem it was Kwabena who was confused. He's not entirely unfamiliar with the idea of alternate realities, and when properly put in his place, his neck straightens and the doubt leaves his face. He looks from Noh-Varr to Jean and shakes his head to her, trying to discourage her from finding out too much about this other reality.
Guh-kuh-puh. Kwabena and his fun ruining stuff. Jean was going to propose that someone cook them a feast and they all talk about this other place where.. well. Things were different. Bad enough they had a sleeping mutant who could teleport people to random different places in the Med-bay…
"Though Forge, perhaps you and Noh-Varr could take a look at the Med-Bay after this to see what you two can do with it." There was a suggestion there.
But down the rabbit-hole they went, her shoulders shrugging at the Reed comment, her toes wiggling in her loafers as the elevator comes to a stop. Once the doors slide open, Jean steps out and allow those to explore and wander a new level of the area, with Josh hopefully taking lead.
"Maybe we could turn him loose and let him evaluate everything?" Jean was unsure of what he could possibly help with, at least.
"Money not being a problem doesn't mean money is unlimited." Josh says to Noh-Varr dryly, nodding to Jean, and then leading through the shiny X-Men base to the computer room. He pulls open the door and leads Noh-Varr in. Its state of the art: closet-sized, not room sized, and there's numerous terminals around the room that feed into the mainframe. "No, _you_ demonstrating what it is you're maybe giving us, especially before you start talking money."
Forge pushes his hands into his pockets, nodding and walking mostly quietly. "Med Bay? I can look," he nods. Demonstrations he'll watch, at least.
"You've already seen it." Noh-Var points out but he reaches into his pocket to pull out a pink cube that's one inch square on a side. "But I can show the others, to a small degree." Fitting his fingers around the sides, it suddenly expands to three times its size. Then a moment later, there's a shimmer in the air and a duplicate of Kwabena appears. "Okay, so maybe he's not confused." he/it says.
Following along, Kwabena is quite happy to be silent and observe, though Jean is spared a small smirk at her response to his discipline. He hangs back, not entirely interested in computers as they are a subject matter that is far beyond him. The pink cube is, of course, interesting, in that it looks to him like something out of a comic book or Buck Rogers show, but when it transforms…
The real Kwabena takes a step back, eyes wide, mouth ajar. "What in de hell!?"
Its the tone of voice that defines interrobang.
Jean really appreciates Josh's business acumen. She stands back and lets him do the talking, moving close enough to Kwabena to view the full on demonstration after giving the go-ahead to Forge. If anyone could cook up a doo-dad, he would be the man.
Though, as .. whatever happens with the cube projects into Kwabena, she breaks out into a fit of laughter, her hands lifting and clapping at the demonstration. "That's amazing!" Alright, they're primitive! She even gestures at Kwabena-deux, and asks.. "May I?"
Forge takes a step back, leaning on a wall, hands in his pockets. As the demonstraton begins, he smiles, and watches intently. "Very interesting" is his evaluation of the technology.
"The only thing the med bay needs to focus on is first-aid and stabalization." Josh says to Jean and Forge, "And maybe refrigeration. If anyone dies before I can get here, put them on ice and I'll bring them back." He looks to Noh-Varr, and sighs with exasperation, "Noh-Varr, _I'm_ not in charge here. _Me_ seeing it isn't going to do anything. Jean here is the second in command after Charles Xavier." He nods to the figure, "Someone fight it."
"Da hell is your problem?" Kwatwo asks and reaches out to poke Kwabena with a finger. Hard. "Who is dis?" Josh's comment gets a nod and Noh-Varr says "This is only a simplistic portable model. The real thing can transform a room into a virtually limitless landscape and, properly programmed, simulate any environment or situation you can think of. We use it for training our warriors."
Still too surprised to respond, Kwabena is poked by Kwatwo, and he's even pushed back on his heels. That, of course, prompts his expression to darken. "I'll fight it," he answers. "It is lifeless, yes?" he asks, looking to Josh. "Just a… computah?"
Forge settles in for this. Snickering as the combat begins. A smile on his face, settled in here. "That's quite a trainer."
"I don't entirely understand how it works." Josh admits to Kwabena, "I'm a doctor, not a scientist." He chuckles but nods encouragingly to Kwabena, "But its for training, so go ahead. Its not alive that's for sure, I sense no biology."
"It's made of solid light." Noh-Varr explains. "The portable version is very limited in capability but can interface with the user's thoughts to offset the smaller computing ability. It also has a limited radius." Kwatwo takes on a defensive stance but then begins shrinking and splits into three opponents, each the size of a dwarf but still looking like Kwabena. They move to surround him.
Try to imagine the sound that flesh would make if it suddenly changed molecular density into something more akin to, say, galvanized steel. It doesn't look like it, but the crackling sound accompanies a change that causes Kwabena's exposed skin parts to look like matte, super hardened obsidian.
He's got a violent expression in his eyes, but such feelings were necessary to trigger the transformation. He takes a heavy step forward, but when it splits into three, he stops. "Oh look," he says drily. "Room just got even sexiah."
Choosing the one on the left, he throws a haymaker that would easily rip the head clean off a normal person's neck. He's quietly wondering if the mechanism can duplicate his mutation as well; which of course would mean that Kwatwo (or is it Kwafour?) would simply transform into black smoke.
Well.. that was interesting. Someone fight it, Jean wasn't about to step up. Instead, she took two steps back. And out the door. There wasn't a need to be afraid since Josh was around, but since Kwabena seemed the most alarmed, and it was him, essentially it made sense. But the demonstration was great, and with a wave towards Forge to motion him closer just in case, she gives the mechanical master an uneasy smile. "Think we should step out here."
Forge grunts as he lifts himself off ofthewall, to follow Jean on out. "Alright," he smiles. Glancing back at the demonstration, then to Jean again to follow her. "I should go look at the Medbay anyway. See if any ideas come to mind."
Josh keeps his eyes focused on the fight, going over to stand by Jean, "Really, a freezer is really all that the med bay needs." he notes, "Then if its a worst case scenario and I'm taken out, keep any other casualties on ice until I get revived— if last time is any indicator, that might be about three days. Then I'll heal the others."
The projections can't duplicate mutant powers or tell what someone's are but they can certainly mimic them. In this case, the one Kwabena swung at just becomes no longer solid and the punch passes right through it. The other two though are quite solid and while one swings a fist at Kwabena's lower back, the other one leaps for his head. "Normally, training regimens would be programmed in down to the last parameter. Though the computer would be able to respond to unexpected situations."
Interestingly, Kwabena is approaching this from a purely scientific mentality, and not one of actually wanting to win a fight. He takes the punch as if it were little more than a glance, and when the other one grabs him by the head, he seems more irritated than anything else.
"Can dey -" He pauses, grunting as he's grappled with. "- inflict - lethal damage? If is physical, I will be fine. I want to see."
"That makes sense." Jean says to Josh. "I think we should have at least ten. Have you been in a morgue?" Of course he has. He's a doctor, but Jean continues. "Perhaps something like those lining up the back wall.." She gestures, not ignoring the fight at all. This was Kwabena's and Noh'Varr's time to play. "That way, we could handle mass casualties just in case." She bobs her head. "Speaking of which, Christina broke her arm. She's having fun with the cast, so she asked if you could fix her in the morning." A smile then, and a lift of a hand to pat Josh's shoulder.
"I think I'm sold." Her voice was quiet. "Just don't tell him that yet. I'll call Charles' hotel and see what he thinks and get the official okay."
"No problem, broken arms are easy." Josh nods his head, "But yeah, a bunch of freezers would be good. There's only so many people I can bring back in one day— really more then one is a problem— but as long as the bodies aren't allowed to decay, I can get through them all in time." He's watching the fight curiously as well, "Gotcha." he adds after a moment.
"The pocket battlefield can't." Noh-Varr tells Kwabena and the three projections just disappear. "The real training computer can, though the safety protocols will need to be overridden. I don't suggest it. It could literally destroy the entire school, depending on what program was running."
Kwabena allows himself to revert to his normal state. He visibly relaxes, closes his eyes, and seems to adopt a zen-like appearance until it's over. "Well," he tells Noh-Varr, "some of de mutants I know could sustain missile impact." He nods his head. "Safety Protocol?" he asks, the computing language unfamiliar but… he has a hunch. "Can you make different protocols based on, you know. Different peopah, different abilities?"
"Uh huh.." Jean adds to Josh's last comment. There was something mesmerizing about this technology. And exciting. And a bit worried. Either way, she takes a step back, and with Josh and Kwabena with their own keys, she trusts they can find their own way topside. "I'm going to talk to Forge about the fridges, then call Charles. I think he'd appreciate this." And with that, she skitters on, cause technical talk would make her dive into a pool of Maxwell House's finest brew.
Josh nods to Jean as she departs, then looks to Noh-Varr, "So, what are you thinking of giving us? Something between the pocket battlefield and what your ship can do. I assume the scenarios that we program our computer to run won't be able to be as sophisticated?"
"Of course. It's capable of being programmed with programs for novice level combatants to experts. It wouldn't be much good otherwise." Noh-Varr points out. "And while it can't duplicate true psychic or magical phenomena, it can do a very good job of faking it. Like I said, it's limited solely to the imagination of the programmer." Josh's question gets a shrug. "Depends on how much money you want to spend. What's needed to build it won't be cheap. Some don't even exist yet on this planet but I'll be able to get around that since I know how to make them. Time is also a limiting factor. More advanced will take longer. So it's all about your choices."
A faint smirk is allowed for Jean as she departs, but as Josh and Noh-Varr delve into technobabble, Kwabena resigns himself to a cigarette. "It may need to change," he points out. "Sometimes, abilities change. Get strongah, more severe." A click of a zippo's flame and the cigarette is burning. "Also, how hard is it to break?" he asks. "Some of dese mutants are walking missile."
"Those will be Jean and Charles' choices." Josh replies, shaking his head as he runs a hand through his hair, "The projections, will endure as much as they are programmed to, I believe; the projector machines we will want to put somewhere as secure and defended as possible."
"The computer won't be in the same room. The circuitry will be buried and embedded in the walls and floor. Which will be reinforced. Everything else? It's light. It can reform faster than someone can break it." Turning to Josh, he says "Let's see this room you were talking about."
"Sorry," Kwabena says. "Dis is all, a bit above level of Saint Joseph High." He's happy to accompany them as they continue their inspections, and will relay what he can to Jean, but it would seem his role as 'crash test dummy' is complete.