EDITED 6/8/07: Made more changes

Chapter 3: A Proposition

The small village of Curin was a rural sort of place where people came to relax and get away from their troubles. Unfortunately for Scott, he wasn't one of them.

As he drove, he listened to a message from one of his colleagues, Peter Wallace.

"Hey Scott! I just found this huge patch of oil! The surveying is done, so I'll be coming home to see Rahne soon. You let her know, alright?"

After that there was another message from Jean, but this one sounded urgent.

"Fred called again…and he said to hurry. He sounded kinda weird when he said it. Scott…please be careful…"

The young man drove up in front of a blocky, mechanical-looking building with a set of wooden steps leading up to a porch.

Tentatively, he made his way up the steps and to the door, which he kicked open. His cautiousness was rewarded when a short, stopped, green-skinned figure attacked him with a spear. This was Todd "Toad" Tolensky, a member of WyneCorp's special corps, "The Acolytes".

Scott let Todd run past him out the door, and slammed it shut before he could get back in.

"…Okay, you're good." Came the humbled response from behind the door.

The young man then turned to face another figure in the room, a hulking, bulky man named Fred Dukes, also called "The Blob" for obvious reasons.

With speed surprising for someone of his size, Fred rushed at Scott, who put his sword to the giant man's neck.

"Good…good…You fight like the GUARD you once claimed to be."

Surprised, Scott spun around to see a figure in a wheelchair with a blanket around him, obscuring the man's face. "You haven't lost your touch," the man continued, and Scott blinked.

"Jason Wyneguard? Man do I feel sorry for you."

The President of Wynecorp looked towards him. "On the day of the explosion…"

"Just what do you want from me?" Scott demanded, but Jason kept talking, lost in the memory.

"…I managed to get…"

"Just who were those guys who attacked me?"

"…before the building collapsed…"

"If you're not gonna answer my questions, then I'm leaving!" Scott snapped. At with that, he turned towards the door.

"Wait." Jason raised a hand, revealing a dirty mark, the tell-tale sign of the Legacy Virus. "We need your help."

Scott looked over his shoulder at him. "I'm not interested."

"Oh, I know my company is the reason our planet is in a sorry state," Jason told him, "But I sincerely want to put things right."

"Hello? I'm still out here!" Todd called. Everyone ignored him.

"First off," Jason continued, "we have investigated the North Crater after Magneto tried to destroy the world."

"Yep, at the North Crater!" Todd piped up from behind the door.

"And do you know what we found…? Absolutely nothing. You can relax, not everything went as planned, as we were attacked by the same trio who accosted you, Pietro and his gang."

"Pietro?" Scott let the word

"Apparently, he doesn't want us to finish what we started. What could he be thinking?"

"So, what does that have to do with me?" Scott asked.

"Well, you're our pal, aren't ya?" Todd asked. Scott kicked the door in response.

"HEY! No need to get uppity!"

"Listen, Scott, Pietro's group is young and violent, a dangerous combination. Therefore, we decided we needed some muscle."

"Well too bad, I'm a delivery boy now." Scott snapped.

"Listen Scott, you're all I have. You were an ex-GUARD, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was, but only in my head." Scott answered dryly. He opened the door, then looked back. "Anyway, what's all this stuff about 'Father'?"

Jason seemed surprised. "Why, did Pieto say something to you? That's no surprise. There are plenty of children out there who miss their parents…like those orphans who live with you. Don't you want to put the smiles back on their faces? All we want is to rebuild the world, Scott."

The young man seemed hesitant. "But I…"

"Come on! We can rebuild Wynecorp!"

These words seemed to snap Scott out of his stupor, and he walked out, saying, "Like I said before…I'm not interested."

As he left, Jason and Fred gave Todd dirty looks. The frog-like man just smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.

To be continued…