Second training session

[Gambit]

"Let's go," Gambit nodded.

They went down into the Danger Room, and the program started loading a city simulation. Gambit used basically the same area that the last time so that Shade could feel more or less familiar with it, but gave it a more city-like look, with taller buildings, wider streets and some cars parked around.

[Shade]

Looking around, Shade found herself in a sorrounding that looked familiar. It might be about the same they had trained with the last time and she tried to recall what it had looked like, finding her mental map to be not as good as she had wished it to be. When she had run the parcour she had paid more attention to the goal than she had to the aim.

[Gambit]

The ground around them trembled a little, signalling the approach of the giant robot. It was 20 feet tall, so Gambit made sure there were enough buildings that could hide it - and also him and Shade - from view.

[Shade]

The trembling made Shade´s heart skip a beat. Of course this was just a simulation, but everything here looked real. She turned her head, trying to make out from which direction the trembling came from. Gambit was still standing next to her and she tossed him a quick glance. Were this a real situation, her protective instincts would make her extend her powers to him, but he had told her to run, hide and vanish so this would be her first strategy. She vanished and waited. She wouldn´t run before she knew where the robot was coming from, not before she had seen what she was dealing with.

[Gambit]

The robot approached them from the side. Gambit got his cards ready and pressed the sides of his folded metallic bo staff, extending it, as he was attentively looking in the direction where the Sentinel would finally make its appearance.

"It detects biological life forms," he said without looking at Shade. "Differentiates between humans an' mutants and kills mutants. Dependin' on its assignment, it might take you as prisoner, but not dis one."

[Shade]

Spotting the robot, Shade felt her heart drop a little. It had to be three times as tall as herself and looked nearly unstopable - especially for someone like her. Using her powers she backed away a little, preparing to run.

[Gambit]

The Sentinel found two people present and identified them as mutants. One wasn't reading on its optic sensors, but was still detectable by other equipment. The robot raised its hand to shoot, still not stopping.

"Run," Gambit said curtly, preparing to dash sideways.

[Shade]

Shade reacted at once, spun round and ran not down the street but into a side street, doing a quick bow sidewarts. Gambit had said the robot could sense her and in this moment she felt reminded of her early days at the mansion. Nimrod had been able to sense her as well, so she knew how it worked. She dashed on, looking out for potential cover although she was still invisible.

[Gambit]

She ran off before the Sentinel shot, so that gave Gambit less reasons to worry for now. He shot an arc of charged cards towards the robot, dashing off its line of fire.

[Shade]

Shade was not too far off yet, so she could hear an explosion, reckoning it came from Gambit as she had seen him take out his playing cards earlier. She fell into a kind of trod that allowed her some speed but wasn´t too energy consuming - always save energy Gambit had said, made her way along the street unseen, happy that her powers didn´t demand much energy to be held up and turned left to get into a back yard where she climbed over a wall. It would be best to put some space between her and that killing machine, she didn´t know how far its detection went, maybe she was already passing out of its range.

[Gambit]

The first card explosions did little to deter the giant robot; it halted for a second, adjusting its balance to the concussive blast, and moved onwards. The mutant with explosive powers seemed like the first thing to be taken care of, so the Sentinel moved towards Gambit.

Gambit ran sideways, leading the Sentinel away from Shade. However, he knew that he programmed two Sentinels into the simulation. She wouldn't be alone for too long.

[Shade]

When Shade was almost sure the Sentinel had lost interest in her, she leant against a house wall for a moment, catching her breath. She was not exhausted yet, far from it, but she wanted to save energy.

She wasn´t given much time. Suddenly, the ground shook again, and from the range of it Shade could tell that the attacker was dangerously close. For a moment, she froze, then she spun round and ran back the way she had come, leaping over the wall, scratching her hand slightly as she did so. Just in time - when she was just out of reach the Sentinel´s blast hit the bricks. Shade ran, remembering just in time that if she continued on her way she would run right into the first Sentinel and into a trap. She left her course, turning right.

[Gambit]

The Sentinel swung its arm and hit the building near which Gambit was passing. It would have hit Gambit, but he made a quick jump sideways just in time to dodge it. That was when his adrenaline finally kicked in and his body went into its usual battle mode, tensing and getting ready. He threw several charged cards back without looking. When the sound of explosions came, he already dodged into the nearest building, running up the stairs.

[Shade]

Shade kept running, faster now as she could hear the robot coming up behind her, the noise it made telling her without having to look that it had broken down the brick wall. She was on the street again, feverishly thinking about where to turn. How much could these things detect. Would they detect her through a massive wall? She sped on, getting slightly breathless as she was giving all she had now, then ran into a building.

[Gambit]

The explosions damaged the Sentinel's foot covers; it sumbled for a moment, but still wasn't stopped much. Sensing mutant presence through the wall of the building, the Sentinel followed the mutant's bioenergy trace through the wall and, anticipating his movement, crushed its arm through the second floor.

Caught in his steps, Gambit took the full blow and hit the opposite wall. That hurt. In more ways than one. Smirking at his own ungracefulness at such an early stage in the game, he stood up, shook his head a bit and threw another set of cards at the Sentinel - right into its head.