Owner Pose
Tabitha Smith How did the med crew decide to okay Tabby's health enough she could go back to training at least? Last big outing she had she was drugged and had her brain messed with. No aggression, no fight or flight response. no resistance, no pain.

The answer: someone offered her decaf.

The explosions that could be heard upstairs. It's Wednesday, Tabby's back to normal. Her normal!

This leads to a Tabitha at the wall console by the door looking very frustrates aas she runs down options in her New Mutant colored uniform. Midriff showing. yellow padding at the shoulders chest and outer sleaves at three quarter length. Black faux leather under arm and to her hem. The leggings full length the same black material.

Another sign that Tabby is back in business. A look of frustration as numerous denial sounding buzzes and beeps are heard from the.

"Goddammit! You'd think a medical clearance would also let me back into theses systems!" she curses and looks through menus.

The system probably has a reason for keeping Tabby locked out.
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would be heading through the corridors of the access areas, likely intent on getting some training in. While she wasn't an active student at the academy, graduatin day was coming up. And it behooved her to set a good example for the other lessers. And in case there might be some sort of ceremony after for those moving up to the senior team.. Well.. She could certainly make sure to look her best.
    Hearing the swearing, identifying it.. "Tabitha, I had heard you were eaten. It appears those statemetns were in error." Not knowing what -quite- had happened, merely that it made it sound like less of Tabitha had returned from it than had gone into it.
Ruth Aldine Why is Ruth Aldine down here?

Because she wanted to be and she has ways.

"Only by liquor," says Ruth, walking down the hallway. She is holding a paper cup full of what is probably coffee. She takes a sip from it as she strolls, confident and easy despite the obvious sign to do otherwise.

She comes up behind Tabitha. She sort of... stands there; she sips her coffee.

"Are you doing alright? That was pretty bad in Mexico," Ruth asks Monet. "You were, sorry, kind of ****ed up for a minute there."
Tabitha Smith "I was not! Thankfully!" Tabitha herself isn't really a student of the academic side. She got her highschool diploma last year, admittedly the equivalent of being held back on account of not showing up for two years and living in Genosha, but the last two years from now have seen bumps and set backs but actual effort. Tabby got that diploma and she's also been focused on the whole super hero thing. Much like Monet she actually wants to put good showings on and even get that full time X-Man status.

"I got gored a little by tusks and sniffers wanting human trotters for lunch. But the worst thing was not the risk of harm. I hope that drug never ever sees the streets if it hasn't yet. It did things that... ugh. All the worst stuff about being roofied." she states with a groan before perking herself up as the blonde offers a smile to Ruth.

"Eating should be a second date thing Ruthie! Spring Break was pretty rough but aside from Monet needing treatment it was an amazing success kids saved. Jerome loves you Ruth. But getting hurt like that is kinda the big risk on the job. How many times have I been hurt up these last few months?" she says and hmms as she finds one list of sims that seem to be open to her.
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would just sigh at Ruth, "An unfortunate thing which does happen. And you seem to have come out no worse for wear in the circumstances, calamatimious as they were. I'm srory for having left the rest of the team vulnerable to my failures and I'm glad that everyone wa able to be extracted. I shall ensure that I do not compromise an operation in the future again the same way."

Her turning her attention over to Tabitha. "Ah, I had heard something along those liens but more extreme. I presume that by that they were an exaggeration of evetns. And I suppose I'll see properly when I review the full report on events." Wait, someone read reports that werew ritten?
Ruth Aldine "That was pretty good," Ruth admits. "I really liked the psychedelic compounds too. I'm talking a little weirdly even now, aren't I? I guess it's pretty, no, it's pretty wild, and I think my brain's still coming together. I think it unclogged something, or, clogged something that was leaking. I'm not sure."

At the question, she reaches out and puts her hand on the back of Tab's head for a moment. "... Six? Seven? There's a, sorry, a marginal case. That's good. He's gonna be mad at me in winter, tho, I tell you."

Ruth considers Monet's question. "I saw a lizard and the lizard had the face of an ancient one and the ancient one had form upon form and one was a fair woman without a lick of hair and the other was an old Asian fella like in the, sorry, the movies, I think. I don't know; you know I have trouble with movies."

She sips her coffee. "I guess you mean the kidnappings though."
Tabitha Smith "I ummm. It was super gross. People were drugged. Had no fight in them to resist or run. No pain. Just happy even as they were eaten alive. Even I had it all taken from me even mid fight. I just didn't want to resist. Didn't care was just happy. Even when I thought, nope, this really isn't cool I felt happy enough I didn't care" Tabby states and punches up a scene. "Ugh, combat response disabled even with the sim bootable. " she states and punches in the sim to load up.

It's a town in shambles, lots of fire and bodies on the ground. Civillians and law enforcement. It's a night setting and the women are outside a sporting goods store with a window broken and access to inventory made available. An upturned squad car on it's side. The windshield shatters. The bodies look scorched and down the other end of the street hulking figures with a glow where their eyes would be that might seem similar to at least Monet but the bodies hunched and shambling seem more like a depressed Santos.

Mindless Ones.

At least with combat disabled on account of Tabitha the women are safe.

"Yeah. Look it was horrible. Just peek in my brain. I was aware the whole time. I've survived a lot of terrible things. Maulings and injuries are not the worst. Next time anyone of you parties. Take your own lids for glasses, cans and bottles." she says and steps away to look at the sim scene. "Damn what can I make those things do. Gonna be so boring if they don't fight back. I think this might have been a sim for Illyana!"
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would glance over at Ruth, "I have not read your file but are you always this dissassociative? I would have thought that the drugs were out of your system by now. If they aren't you should perhaps go to see Doctor McCoy." Her not exactly -sure- what Ruth was babbling on over about, a confused (but not irritable) expression on her face even as she would glance at Tabitha.

Then she would just flat out stare over at those things that were appearing and taking a few moments to review files in her mind. Flawless memory being the only thing that let her recognize the few, fleeting recollections of those things.

"Do you have any idea -what- those are, Tabitha? Those are more dangerous than most Sentinel units and we have no remote way of hurting them."
Ruth Aldine Ruth considers what Monet says because it's a nicer thing than what Tab says. "Just about," she says to her. "It's, sorry, it's a little disorienting for all of us. Don't worry, though." She takes another sip of her coffee.

"You're, no, you're not to blame for any of that, Tabitha," Ruth says more quietly but with intent firmness, even as she walks in along with her. She doesn't look around when they're in for like four different reasons.

"Do you need to hurt them?" Ruth then asks, before finishing her coffee and walking over to the simulated trash pail outside of the sporting goods store to throw it away, even though it's definitely just going to fall to the ground when the program goes off.
Tabitha Smith "Maybe I am. I dunno. But I know I want a  fight.And maybe I'm only physically cleared. No one panicked when I got dressed and walked out. Aren't they like, just mystic shock troops. Like Rockslide and Cyclops?" she says and punches a few more commands for actions.

The monsters line up down the street. Shoulders roll and they seem to keep step as one in a leather jacket that looks very 'Thrilling' takes a lead. It spins on the spot, kicks forwwards and fires an optic blast into the similated sky.

Tabby looks back as Monet expresses her concern. "What do you mean we have no way of hurting them?" she says and shrugs.

A bomb is lit up and then with a shove that would put a shotputter to shame, flies the bomb to one of the Mindless Ones at the outside of the choreography.

It manages to explode fine in a mass of what can only hopefully be wet clay. Tabitha has no idea what they're made off.

"I've blown up and wrecked way bigger than sentinels. Remember how I don't like going full power in here. There's a reason." she points out.
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would look over at them, "I'm not sure you -could- disable most of them even using your powers at your higher tiered showcases. While what I've read is contradictory, they are quite durable." Admittedly she hadn't read that much. Research on mystical adversaries was more something that was Illyana's thing if at all.

"Ordinarily those things have resistances recorded on a level where adamantium blades have almost no penetrative power nor does strength on par with Anna-Marie's. Concussive firepower is likely to avail little. Presuming hte reports are accurate, you would likely pass out from overexertion before you inflicted disabling damage."

Of course those reports were likely inaccurate and probably damned well overstating it. It's not like they would've been written by someone magica.
Ruth Aldine Ruth squats down behind the trash can when the explosion blows off.

She rises back up afterwards. She seems pretty calm. "Is this a rescue sim or something?" Ruth asks, folding her hands behind her head and stretching up to stand on the balls of her feet for a moment.
Tabitha Smith Tabby knows a little. She used to shack up with everyone's favorite Demon Queen. Some of the book on the blonde's shelf more a monster manual for these things.

There is a possibility the Sanctum Sanctorum has a compete set of Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manuals which may be worth more on the collectors market than even the Darkhold or Tome of Zhered-Na.

"Lemme check. I think it was meant to be sweep and clear. So crowd control and then rescue. But right now It's just a shooting gallery." Tabby says as she pulls up the details of the sim.

The dance number continues as Mindless Jackson moon walks while heads bob and and finhers click. Some of them having found shirts and clothes of their own.

Tabby grins and pads over to the squad car and rummages about, popping the trunk and circling around to kick it open. Much like the store behind it, weapons are visible and accessible. Much like popular co-operative shooters from the company that cannot count to three. "An AR-15 rifle is collected and loaded and handed to Ruth. Much like the lack of combat happening.

The safeties mean no one will accidentally kill themselves with a strayb bullet.

The blonde then beams a grin that might make Monet eyeroll or run for her life.
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would shrug, "I believe that it is likely that Ms. Smith is hoping to find some way to divert some of ehr stress and frustration over upon the environment until she is given medical authorization to perform more aggressive training routines given experience." Seh would offer to the other girl. Mostly just watching over without directly participating in things. The safeties were on and this was the other girl's method of trying to vents ome. Far be it for M to get in the way..
Ruth Aldine Ruth follows along after Tabitha. What is she even doing here? Maybe she's pre-empting something horrible from happening. This gets more dubious when Tabitha gives her an AR-15.

Ruth holds onto it after a little fumbling. "Pardon, but, I feel ethically bound to say, yes, I'm gonna end up shooting you in the butt. I just want to tell you." She then holds it in a competent way.

"I do feel a little safer, though," she tells Monet. "Is it on?"
Tabitha Smith Tabby beams and with a nudge of Ruth's shoulders leads her to face the chorus line near by now the street. "It's a firearm, always assume it's on." she states and gestures towards the pile of weapons to see if Monet wants to take up a weapon.

"I'm not picking up a gun because I do not need to. I'm also an Appalachian Redneck. So I'm rated on small arms." she points out and giggles as she climbs up on top of the car to sit on a closed door and not on a side window. Feet curling up underneath her.

"The upside here is that I might not be allowed to fight yet but I can still splode stuff and you two can't tell me you don't have frustrations to take out on something? Getting wrecked is par for the course for me Monet sweetie. But that's not normal for you so I expect getting one back even a small one is in order!" she suggests sagely from atop the wrecked vehicle.
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would shake her head over, "I would suggest not using it or firing it, particularly if you hve no experience with it. While the safety protocols are on in the simulation, it would beget bad habits. Or you could find a way to have it go off within the confines of the simulation that might try and bypass them."

How often did people get hurt in the Holodeck after all? She would just go to watching Tabitha. "So what they are you feeling so necessary to exert your frustration against? I'm sure that you'll be given medical clearancew ithin the next day."
Ruth Aldine "Is that right? I thought you was from Virginia," Ruth answers Tabitha, which might have been a joke. She jiggles the gun a little, feeling it around. She turns it around. She does not bring it to point at her face but she does kind of rest the barrel grip against her cheek. Her lips purse back and forth.

"Right now I don't really know, sorry; I'm still kind of coming back together. It's like a bucket of glass, I guess. I wonder if I kept doing stuff like that, would I grind down to sand again? Just get all smooth and everything?"

She raises the gun and fires one (1) round forwards. The gun jerks in her hand, and Ruth whoops involuntarily (but doesn't drop it).
Tabitha Smith People getting hurt in the holodeck have included Tabitha. Scott's training seesions for X-candidates against X-Sentinels. And Tabitha's self propelled pinball moves.

The one shot from the rifle Ruth lets off flies after the sound of the rifle craack and it his Mindless Jackson in his eyebeaming Shamon and just before a beam goes off the bullet makes just enough crack that the energy built up in the thing overloads and it's head asplode.

The dancing does not stop but it does seem to take out a couple in the first row behind it that also fizzle and explode. More take thir place though because for many a performer working with Jackson would have been a dream.

Even if the lead dancer is a headless Mindless One in a read leather jacket with way too many zippers than pockets and Banana Republic tassled epaulettes that would make many a hero from the nineteen nineties jealous.
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would just look over at Ruth, "So what happened to you in the first place?" She asked. She probably shouldn't have here. But she would anyways. Never let it be said that Ms. St. Croix was particularly gifted when it came to realizing some things did not need elaboration over with.

"And that metaphor makes no remote sense, in or out of context." Watching as Tabitha would keep on blowing up and over as the blonde would ekep dancing.

"Or if you really need something to work out your furstration on, might I suggest Ms. Frost's grading materials?"
Ruth Aldine "Did I get one?" Ruth asks.

"I was born this way," Ruth tells Monet, "though it didn't used to be so bad, but I don't want to go into that right now, it's not, sorry, it's not really my day for that."

"Does too make sense," Ruth continues. "She, sorry, she shares grading though?"

Ruth shoots the gun again. This time the round sort of flies off towards an adjacent sign for a Big Belly Burger, whereupon it flies off into the simulated sky and accomplishes nothing except a little property damage.

For now...
Tabitha Smith Tabitha Smith says, "Roanoake. On the slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Part of the lengthy Appalachian mountains that extend all the way north to Canada. The only thing they hate more than Mutants there are Australians. They have their own Blue Mountains. With snow and skiing and tourism and people go there instead because if folks want to do mountains and Skiing in the US they go to Aspen or Tahoe and the Rockies. Which is stupid because if you spent any time around Rogue you know the Southern Belle Drawl is way sexier than what the Ausssies have. "Struth, Crikey, Bloody." she states with a grin. "Arse!" she adds and laughs.

Standing on the car turned up on it's side she peers down the street at the number. She even does her own Jacksonian spin.

The Sign that Ruth Shot. It collapses and with a slow creeking sound tips and lands on the backrow with a mass of sparks and electical crackle and wet clay like stuff splattering everyone including Tabitha like the first row of a monster truck rally.

Luckily the other women seem to be covered by the car that catches any much that would have hotten them dirty.

The blonde that did get messy. She lets out a whoop. "She can see that shot coming a mile away and two days from yesterday!" she cheers on for the woman with the Rifle."
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would look over at Tabitha, "So are you sure that you're not on wahtever hallucinatory aids that Ms. Aldine was on formerly?" Apparently this is what passed at Monet trying to pass being mean over off as being funny. She would go to watch over at the shooting. "And impressive accuracy." She would allow. Hitting somethinw tih a gun when using it for the first time and firing without being able to see what one was shooting at was rather impressive.

"You still haven't said what it is that you're here trying to exert out of your system." A glance given over to Ruth, "I don't know, I haven't taken any of her classes, nor do I ever intend to. She's full of herself and thinks that becaus eshe's rich she's so much better than everyone else."
Ruth Aldine "Are you ****ing me?" Ruth says. "Like is this some kind of, sorry, sorry, agh -" She pauses, perhaps wracked with guilt for saying a Big Swear.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Yeah she does make it work. Hold on, I'm going to test this out," Ruth says, toddling herself into a full circle and firing the gun in the exact opposite direction.

PING!

"Huh," she says, before TING it ricochets off the ripped-clean former-pay-phone spot, pops upwards - "Oh yeah," Ruth says, "that's what it was."

It TWANGs off of an opposing van top, flying across. Across... towards the perched Boom-Boom...!! Although it has lost 98% of its original velocity, rendering it 'slingshot bullet' level of ding at worst. Depends how tough and/or fast her butt and/or reflexes are.
Tabitha Smith Tabby looks down from the car to Monet. "Honestly Monet. I don't know what? But blowing things up always feels good. Blowing things up that deserve to be is better. But I guess I'm saving that for any missions. And I am not sitting out any shot at paypack on what those assholes have been doing to me. Those animals don't deserve what happened to them, either. The people that got eaten. They all deserve some form of Justice. I got to live. I should have a hand in bringing these assholes down and maybe they might not survive. Maybe." Tabitha does sound angry.

"You guys all deserve hugs and awesome breakfasts and stuff and I'm totally gonna sort that out later too. Sunday maybe!" she says as some of that volley of manages to find more Mindless Chorus Dancers to embed in and explode. The one that flies wild at Tabitha's direction. Right into the left cheek that gets a yip of suprise and pain. That makes her wobble and windmill her arms as she tries to not fall off the side of a car that at it's width would be about six feet from fender to ground.

This is clearly karma from doing something the universe would consider wildly stupid, dangerous and inappropriate. Handing a blind woman a loaded weapon.

But what's he gonna do, not let people participate? Kinda ablist that!

So she falls with a loud "Craaaaaaaaap!"
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix is just watching back and forth as she assesses the trajectory of the bullet. THe calculations, the angles.. Fascinating. She could not have calculated all of thsoe vectors herself in such a short period of time, even with having fully understood the layout and the angles. Fascinating.

The sheer amount of physics knowledge it would have taken to launch something like that or.. Simply total sheer contrivance related abilities. It could perhaps be moreso the second as she would watch Tabitha take a tumble.

"Should I catch her or not or do you feel that it's best to not deprive her over of a learning opportunity for 'what goes up must come down'?" She would inquire to Ruth.
Ruth Aldine ("This is my moment," Ruth tells Monet quietly. "Hold this." She gives Monet the gun, and if Monet doesn't want it Ruth sort of just drops it like she's a poorly programmed FPS RPG character.)

She walks over to where Tabitha has fallen down. She folds her hands behind her back and tilts her face down to 'look' at her. She sort of gets it wrong but it's the thought that count. "All that stuff about hugs and breakfast and everything applies to you too, ya know," Ruth says. "You've got every right to be angry, and upset, and all, but just remember that you've got people out there too."

Ruth then - sways; her forehead wrinkles; she seems to have something catch up with her. "... Ugh, wow - that was kinda sudden - sorry, I - um, here -" She holds out a hand downwards, to assist in the ascent of Tabitha Smith, should she accept it.
Tabitha Smith Any more of an asspull and Ruth would have to have actual eyeballs but either a black spot or a starburst tattooed over one. But Precogs gotta see that coming. And pick and choose the most likely thing to set off the right chain of events.

Tabby lands shoulder first, thankfully years of practice allows her to roll onto her back and sprawl looking up at Ruth and Monet. "Ouch!" she states rather underselling the soreness but at least the padding on her uniform top did it's job and kept simulated asphalt from getting picked up like lint in a dryer.

The hand to pick her up is taken and tabby works to her feet. "Well yeah. I mean I did say the whole hugs and breakfast thing first. Family. I may be difficulty do decipher sometimes but I do actually make some sense on occasion. Besides it's Mother's Day on Sunday. If I can rope in enough kids in the kitchen and stuff. We can make all the seniors faculty feel extra old but also loved." she rambles and grins to the women.
Monet St. Croix Monet St. Croix would just look over at Ruth with the fake holo-gun and cross her arms, letting it drop on down and go to watch the two. is this supposed to be some sort of pep talk? She's not really sure. But is eems like it's helping Tabitha over?

"Have you managed to concuss yourself again even over with the safety protocols enabled?" That.. Actually might be impressive without having tried to do a stunt over to try and break existence within it.

"And given the predilections of the student body, you're likelier to make them fear teaching."
Ruth Aldine "Heh," Ruth says. "Yeah, sorry - I think - yeah, it's pretty... It's pretty rough. Anyway it's a good plan. I'll try to come down by afternoon. You, no, y'all take care, okay?"

And with this Ruth makes for the exit! Probably mother's day coming up. Or maybe... she fulfilled her destiny.
Tabitha Smith Tabby just rubs the hell out of her shoulder. "I dunno about concussion. I mean I maybe kinda scraped something?" she says and leans into Ruth before she makes some distance. There's a little red soaking one of those wild bangs that are just shy of growing beyond that state of being.

"I don't think the safety protocols go that far. It tracks lethal hits and stops the sim and records a loss." she states and giggles.

"And beside we both know my daddy has hit me way worse than this." she points out and moves to the spot where the wall console was. It's taken the appearance of an ATM.

Screen's pushed on and soon the simulation comed to an end. The mud and gunk of Mindless Onse disappearing too, leaving Tabby mostly clean.

"Well it might mean happier times for the kids yet! But spread the love. We're not just a school" she states with a nod.

"We're family!"