X-Men #1 The Danger Room

        

    Professor Charles Xavier leads his four new students down the corridors of the mansion.  He shows them their dorms and the cafeteria.  He takes them through the reading room and the library.  And then they come to a long quiet hallway.  Xavier pauses, looking right at the door at the end, but before he allows the tour to continue he says, "There are things in this mansion that you cannot understand; places within its walls that are dangerous to even you.  That room must remain off limits at all times."  He takes a deep breath and continues to lead his group.  They stop halfway down the hall and he opens a door.

    "Welcome to the Danger Room."

    As they step into a control room, crowded with computers, Xavier begins to explain the uncanny wonders of this amazing automated gymnasium.

    "Here, you will train your mind... your body... and your mutant abilities.  The Danger Room is where we prepare for the "Mutant Menace" 

    A door opens from the control room into a room the size of a warehouse.  Xavier tells them that this room will shape them to not only to become adept at their powers, but to be heroes.  

    He opens a panel and shows them their uniforms.  Simple blue and yellow outfits, but slightly unique to the wearer.  Cyclops' uniform is fitted with a red ruby quartz visor.  A knob on the side allows him to open the shutter or close it, giving him better control of his eye beam.  Marvel Girl's costume has pockets, something unheard of in women's fashion.  Havok's costume has an automatic plasma valve in
the chest which allows him to direct his blasts forward rather than in all directions.  Three yellow fins come off the blue hood.  Professor Xavier gives no explanation for this design and when questioned simply says, "Next we have..."  Wolverine's costume.  Three knuckle sized sheaths adorn each glove.  They'll keep the costume nice and tear free every time he pops his claws.  The blue fin design of wolverine's hood loosely resembles his hair.  

    In all of his years as an expert in genetics, nobody has ever claimed that Charles Xavier is a good clothing designer.  He apologizes for that and says that for extra credit, he is assigning the team to come up with new costumes.  That is, unless they like their current uniform.  He tells them that the extra credit will be worth it and that the assignment is meant to put them in a creative frame of mind.  Being an X-Man doesn't always mean fighting or trying to save humanity from itself, sometimes it's about thinking outside of the box and pushing the mind and body in new directions in order to grow.  Wolverine jokes about tube tops and tutus and the trio laughs for just a bit.

    Xavier instructs them to put on their uniforms and prepare for training in the Danger Room.

    Once the team is ready, they stand quiet, unsure.

    Xavier asks Havok to stay in the control room to monitor the team, to see how they work singularly but also to see how they work together.  He tells young Havok, that he believes he has what it takes to be the team's field leader and that a good leader knows what moves his team is able to make next.

    Havok sits at a monitor in the control room and Xavier begins to tell the team about their first session in the Danger Room.

    "I will be sitting at the far end of the room.  All you need to do is put a hand on my chair."

    The lights go dark and when they come up again, Xavier sits in his wheelchair at the far end of the Danger Room.

    "To me, my X-Men."

    The young X-Men find themselves at odds with steel tentacles, streams of fire, inescapable cages dropping from the ceiling, and knock out darts launching from the walls.  Cyclops immediately heads to a computer console to see if he can find a way to shut it down.  Unfortunately, that wouldn't work, but it gives Xavier a thought to maybe start a class at his school, to teach advanced technology  Wolverine proves his loyalty toward Marvel Girl by trying to protect her from the dangers of the room, and in a move that they call the Canadian Mind Bullet, she uses her powers to fling Wolverine toward the threat allowing him to plow claws first into its inner workings.  Marvel Girl finally figures out that nothing in the room can harm her with her forcefield up and decides to just walk straight to Xavier's chair.  Cyclops is hit with a KO dart and he crumbles, feeling light headed and woozy, but Wolverine throws him over his shoulder and carries him to the end.  They all touch the chair only to realize that it is only an image put in their minds by Professor Xavier, who sits safely in the control room with Havok.

    The session is a success!  They prove that they can work as a team, and as they revel in their success, a voice from the control room breaks the merriment.  It's Havok and he sounds uneasy.

    "Uh you guys might want to see this..."

    On the monitor, the morning news displays a scene of chaos at Cape Citadel.  Rockets fly around randomly before being inexplicably flung into the ocean.  The news cameras focus on streams of debris flying into the sky and forming the words, "Surrender the base or I'll take it by force! - Magneto"

    They now have their first mission.  Xavier calls it a trial by fire but he's certain they can fight Magneto and free Cape Citadel from the mutant terrorist.

    Xavier looks down at a piece of paper that Havok seems to be hiding.

    "What do you have there my boy?"

    Havok grins nervously.  "I thought I'd help Wolverine and design his costume for him."  He holds up the drawing and the whole group, with the exception of one, laughs uncontrollably.