The Danger Room changed from a sleek and solid metal room to an outdoor scene. The moon rose high in the sky, and Beast could see a few bright stars glittering over the lights of the Westchester Mansion. This was its oldest design, back when he was a younger student of Professor Xavier. Everything had been designed to be as real as possible, even to mutants with heightened senses such as himself. He could feel the cool night wind brushing through his fur, and the Danger Room's systems pushed the scent of wet brick and grass, trees and flowers from the manicured lawns. If he focused, he could detect the slightest tang of chemicals underneath it all, but the facsimile was very good regardless.
He was on the lawn of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, with his old teammates. Cyclops, Jean, Iceman, Storm and Wolverine were there, huddled with him in a defensive formation. Their backs were to each other so they could see in all directions, and both he and Logan were positioned opposite one another. Between them, they could sniff out any danger that was as yet invisible. It was a good formation, he remembered. They covered all of their bases, ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.
"What are you picking up?" Cyclops spoke to his right, but he knew immediately that he was speaking to Wolverine. Despite the fact that his senses were just as good, Scott relied on Wolverine far more in the field. Even then, he thought with the sting of wounded pride, Cyclops had been taking him for granted.
"We've got trouble," Wolverine replied, his nostrils flaring under his mask. "I make out two or three Sentinels a few hundred yards out. That's not all, either; we've got some troops on the way."
Beast could feel his shoulders tensing, the muscles in his body coiling as he readied for action. He never told anyone this, but he actually liked being out in the field, fighting the good fight with his friends by his side. When it came down to it, it was surprisingly uncomplicated, and given the stakes involved it surprised him that it could be even fun. Most people -- even his own teammates, if he were honest -- grossly underestimated him. They either forgot how smart and quick he really was, or just how powerful and savage he could be. It always filled him with a small swell of pride to make people pay for that little strategic mistake.
Cyclops sighed with the news. "All right team. It's going to be a busy night. If we want to make sure they do as little damage to the school as possible, we're going to have to be smart, quick and decisive." Beast smirked inwardly. He knew that really meant "Do what I say when I tell you to do it, and we'll be fine."
"Storm, you fly towards the Sentinels and see if you can't give them a little welcoming shock. Wolverine, go with her to make sure the Sentinels are focused on something other than the weather. Jean, you're with me. See if you can do something about the troops while I'll try to take out the heavy artillery. Bobby, you and Hank stay here and protect the school. You're our last line of defense, so if you see something coming through the tree line that's not us, it's your job to make sure they don't get past you. Understand?"
Beast gave Iceman a sympathetic look that was immediately returned. Scott thought that his stressing the importance of staying behind would make them feel better, but what it really did was make them feel diminished, like they needed to be talked down to. Hank used this simulation to work out his feelings about Scott as much as he did to get combat practice. It always stung, but he hoped that eventually, somehow, he'd come to understand why Cyclops felt the way he did about him. It hadn't happened yet.
"Understood," he rumbled, and patted Bobby on the shoulder. His immense paw came across the smaller man's back and made him stumble forward a couple steps before he caught himself. Cyclops nodded, and the X-Men sprung into action immediately. There was maybe a split-second before the trees erupted in red light from Cyclops' optic blast, and storm clouds gathered above the forest surrounding the school.
"Well I guess that makes us the B-Team, huh?" Bobby shifted into his alternate form, a being made of living ice. He didn't appreciate being held back any more than Hank did, but he wanted to be ready when the time came.
"It's a far more exclusive club, at any rate," Hank told him, rolling his shoulders and focusing the rush of adrenaline he felt towards leaping towards a threat. "Scott always knows to save the best of us for last."
The quip was easy to say, though he didn't believe any of it. Iceman had the good nature to laugh with him, at least. "You know it, Hank. Between my moves and your brain, we've got anything they throw at--"
Wolverine came sailing through the trees just then, slamming into Bobby and taking them both back through the outer wall of the school. Logan and Iceman disappeared inside with a loud crash, the brick of the outer wall coming down around them. Beast turned his attention from his fallen teammates to the enormous Sentinel foot that had emerged through the treeline, the ground shaking as it stamped the young oak and maple underneath it. Hank felt his blood begin to boil and time began to slow down. His body was moving before he was even consciously aware of it. Can't let that thing get to the school, he thought. There are students in there. Some of them are still asleep -- somehow. They'd never get out in time.
Beast charged the enormous foot and leapt right in front of it, his claws digging through the reinforced metal as he created his own holds. They weren't as tough as Wolverine's adamantium claws, but they would do the trick nicely. He jumped from the ankle to the knee deftly, landing just long enough to steady himself and leap up towards the giant robot's waist. He had no idea what he would do when he got to the robot's shoulders, but if this was the model he remembered chances are there were fairly critical systems easy to access right between the shoulder blades.
Hank was so concerned about making sure the Sentinel never got the chance to swipe him that he hadn't noticed his body beginning to grow again. Suddenly, it was easier to leap from the waist to the upper arm, and from there it was a surprisingly short hop to the monstrosity's shoulder. He actually overshot, nearly leaping over its head. His foot caught the top of it and he tripped, tumbling to the other shoulder.
He grunted as he tried to stop his momentum. He weighed an awful lot more than he did before, though, so it was tough getting his bulk to stop. There was more being added all the time, meaning that each roll would take him much farther than he was used to. Nevertheless, he tries to dig his claws into the tough metal of the Sentinel to stop his falling. If he failed, it would be a long, LONG way down to the ground.
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