Chapter 10: What the Future Holds
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel Characters or logos.
X-23 was always a brave person, never having backed down from any type of challenge that came her way. She was well trained in the arts of stealth and assassination, and could take down a group of enemies in moments if the situation demanded it, yet for some reason she felt a sense of regret concerning her initial decision to spend a day recuperating at the Xavier Institute. Ever since her arrival, she had begun to experience an unfamiliar sense of discomfort at walking the halls of the very same place where she had personally attacked and disabled everyone present. It seemed that a few people recognized her at first glance, making her feel strangely bothered by their blank expressions.
The helicopter ride to Bayville had been awkward for those around her, and although she did not feel the sentiments for herself, she could sense the tension her presence had created for some of the others who were with her. The older members of the group were aware of who she was so the situation seemed less bothersome than it might have, but the mutant named Berserker seemed to recognize her from the time she pushed him into Rogue back at the mansion, causing a sense of unease to form between them during the commute.
When they had arrived back at the mansion she accepted the lodgings provided by the infamous telepath, but said nothing to the others for the rest of the night. She locked herself into a room and remained there for the rest of the night, although her body refused to relax and she did not manage to get any sleep the entire night. Her mind was occupied with the events of the last few days, making it exceedingly difficult for her to even relax, let alone fall asleep. Her primary reason for coming here was to get some rest, and yet she hadn't managed to get a wink of sleep the previous night.
The young mutant had no intention of staying in the Xavier Institute more than a day or two to regain her strength before heading back into the wilds to resume her crusade. She had again failed to kill Madame Hydra, making murders worse seeing how this only added to her stress. The idea that the organization that created her was still at large made her sick, and for some reason she couldn't help but dread her next encounter with her former masters. She looked forward to taking out their leader once and for all, but after that mess in New York they were bound to be on their guard for a while at least.
X-23 rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands as she headed to the small bathroom that she had in her room. She shuffled over to the sink and turned on the faucet with her left hand, cupping her hands and splashing some water over her face to erase the sense of weariness that had begun to form around her eyes. A small scowl escaped her lips as she thought about the circumstances in which she was forced to endure, but once the water was turned off, she leaned forward and looked at herself in the mirror with a sense of puzzlement.
She knew from observation that ordinary girls her age would often spend long periods of time fawning over their physical appearances, but having grown up as an agent of HYDRA, she had never completely understood this common practice. She looked at her own face reflected in the glass and realized that there were a number of things that she had been denied when they deprived her of a normal childhood. The young girl ran a finger through her long brown hair and wondered what people really thought of her outward appearance, but of course she had never really experienced such sentiments during her time as an assassin.
She was noticeably muscular for a girl of her age and build, having retained many of Wolverine's general characteristics despite the fact that she was not an exact clone of the original Weapon X. Her face bore a hardness that seemed almost perpetual, but anyone who knew even a little bit about her past would have understood this much. After a few moments of looking at herself, she turned her face away from her reflection and sauntered back into the main bedroom where she took a seat near the small desk positioned in the corner.
Thinking back she remembered the first time that she had come to the Xavier Institute in search of Wolverine, having been filled with such anger and hatred at the time. She was embittered by the happiness she saw there among the students and staff, almost as if they were one happy family. At the time she did not fully understand it all and lashed out violently, the values and beliefs that they represented so openly having only deepened her aggressions during that visit.
A knock on the door quickly jarred her from her thoughts, but she responded by turning her face away from the entry and did not bother voicing her answer. The doorknob twisted open to reveal her male counterpart, but to someone with acute senses like hers, she knew who it was even before he had walked in. Wolverine took a few steps towards her, but said nothing as she fixated her gaze towards the window, silently staring into the tranquility of the morning sunrise. He joined her in admiring the spectacle for several moments, but he had not forgotten the reason he had approached her to begin with.
The older mutant placed a hand on her shoulder as he came up behind her, moving past her so that they were standing beside each other. "You okay, kid?" Logan questioned.
"Leave me alone…" She brushed him off with a casual shove, her eyes away from his face as she began to walk in the opposite direction.
Wolverine watched closely as the girl lowered herself into a sitting position on the guest bed, a curtain of long hair covering her face as she looked towards to ground. "I came here to tell you that the Professor wants to speak to you in private. We won't force you to stick around longer than you want to, but at the very least you should give Charles a chance to speak to you before spitting on his generosity."
Her hair swept aside as she moved her neck to get a better look at him, the notion revealing a brooding expression that seemed almost unlike her. Their eyes locked into a staring contest that seemed to drag on forever, but neither of them backed down from the hold. After a while of staring at each other, the two Weapon X mutants blinked simultaneously, making the situation appear as though neither had lost. She stood up and faced him with a look of indifference, but after several moments her expression twisted into something more relaxed but still noticeably reserved at the same time.
After what seemed like an eternity, she gave him her answer. "Although that meddlesome girl stopped me from finishing my business with HYDRA, your friends assisted me during that incident and for that reason alone, I owe you my cooperation."
Logan stared at her in silence before giving her a nod of approval. "Glad to hear it…" He replied in a gruff but controlled pattern of speech.
"Let's get going…" X-23 replied with a stern expression.
He accepted her words without any further comment and turned to leave, a less hostile look appearing on his face as he heard his clone's footsteps following behind him. They walked in quietly for several minutes, neither mutant bothering to shatter the veil of silence that had fallen between them. It was as if the girl had surrounded herself in an invisible wall as they traversed the mansion's halls, her eyes never straying far from Wolverine as the steady procession continued without further conversation. Occasionally her eyes would move towards the other rooms, but since most of the doors were closed there was very little for her to see.
She had been here once before, and due to her exceptional memory, the layout seemed rather familiar. Had she wanted to, the young mutant might have been able to navigate by herself to a certain extent, but it would have seemed impolite to refuse the help of people who had saved her life more than once. Of course her past position had not really involved much in terms of manners, but at the very least she knew that the man in front of her had been willing to endure very much to find her. While X-23 had no real intention of staying here once she was done resting, the thought never strayed very far from the front of her mind.
The strange pair continued in this manner for what seemed like several minutes before they reached a noticeably larger pair of wooden doors on the second floor of the institute. She paused before following his lead, but Wolverine didn't bother knocking. The older mutant entered the room beyond with a comfortable sense of familiarity, his eyes settling on the bald man sitting behind the desk to the far left wall of the spacious room. X-23 followed after him with a slightly hesitant expression, but she quickly hid her look behind a mask of indifference before anyone noticed.
Professor Xavier looked up from his work, his expression warming as he saw them. "It's good to see that you were willing to come." He greeted the two visitors. "If you be so kind as to close the door beforehand, we can speak in private once you have done so."
X-23 placed the sides of her hands on both doors and pushed them shut with a small shove, only releasing her hold once she heard a simultaneous pair of small clicks. She admired the plush carpets and numerous bookshelves, her eyes gravitating towards the large window in the center of the room. The glass was framed by large curtains and gave them a beautiful view of the institute's well-kept grounds and seemed to be the main source of light during the day light hours. There were a few books resting on the table in the coffee table in the center of the room, but she had little interest in such things at the moment.
"By all means, please sit down." The telepath indicated one of the comfortable-looking chairs in front of his desk. She glanced at the object but did not oblige, but his welcoming mannerisms did not waver. "Or you may stand if you prefer. The important thing is that we finally have the chance to meet in person after all this time."
Although Wolverine had seated himself on the armchair next to his superior's desk, his female counterpart seemed more comfortable on her feet. It wasn't as if she wasn't tired, but she saw the offer as gesture of fellowship, and from the time she agreed to come here, she had never once seriously considered staying here as they seemed to want of her. She also remained silent in response to his greeting for the same reason, even though she was paying attention to his words, her actions might have indicated otherwise.
Logan watched her carefully, but seemed to have anticipated this reaction, and decided it was a good thing he had agreed beforehand to stick around during this meeting. "Face it Chuck, She's not into joining the X-Men, so don't bother trying to convince her otherwise."
It was as though he had read her mind, but she quickly shook off this feeling and shifted her gaze between the adults. "I only agreed to come along so that you would stop bothering me about this." She explained with a thorny expression. "It seems like everyone wants me to join up with them lately, including you people and that stranger in the woods."
The Professor gave her an understanding nod. "As a human being, you are free to choose your own path. Nevertheless you have good judgment to have avoided Magneto, for he is known to direct his hostility towards others, even those he considers his own subordinates fear this aspect of his personality."
"He's definitely got some deep-rooted issues, but that's beside the point if you ask me. Hearing about the messed up things he does is proof that you can't allow lousy experiences to rule what you are." Wolverine explained in a cool tone.
"Quite right. On the other hand you seem to have chosen the latter path, having overcome that which you were forced to endure." The bald telepath replied before turning to face his second visitor.
The female mutant stepped forward with a thorny expression, her eyes flashing dangerously as she faced her host. "I'm not interested in having anything that you could possibly give me, so don't bother asking me to join your team for any reason. The only thing that I have ever wanted is freedom."
Charles Xavier took his hands off of his desk and folded them, his eyes observing his two visitors as he gave them an unreadable expression. Hearing her words had reminded him of his early encounters with Logan, and even her mannerisms seemed to imitate his to a certain extent. She seemed just as mentally distressed as Wolverine was years ago, but in other ways it seemed possible if not plausible that X-23 was worse due to the fact that she seemed to remember everything that had happened during her traumatic childhood, whereas her male counterpart had a rather fuzzy memory of his own experiences as Weapon X.
"I will not be so quick to say that I can fully understand that which you have experienced, but the fact remains that I once helped Logan through similar problems that he was forced to endure all those years ago." The telepath replied calmly. "If you desire to continue journeying alone, none of us will not stop you, but it would do us all great comfort if you would at least stay for this one afternoon and see what we are offering you."
X-23 seemed to consider him for a moment even though she had decided to cooperate long before this conversation. So long as she did this they would probably leave her alone in the future, which was certainly a good thing for everyone involved. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, the young mutant had developed a sense of caring for Logan, and did not wish to place him in danger with the HYDRA organization about. Although the concept was new to her understanding, she also held a certain sense of gratitude towards the other X-Men for their help, and in conclusion she also wished to spare them the trouble of dealing with problems that were solely her own to bear.
After mulling it over, she gave her host a small nod. "I agree to stay for the duration of this day, but don't expect my opinion to change." She replied with a solid gaze in the telepath's direction.
"I am glad to see that we finally have an agreement… Just remember that we will do whatever we can to help you no matter what your decision may be." The bald telepath replied.
Professor Xavier extended his hand with a shadow of a smile, but the former assassin hesitated for a moment before accepting his gesture. She only complied with his gesture as a sort of formality and let go of his hand extremely quickly. Her male counterpart watched with hidden amusement as he observed her mannerisms all to familiar to him, and quickly recognized the shadow of his own life in what he had just seen, and he remembered his first day under the tutelage of the world's greatest psychic. This thought made him smile inwardly, but he did not want to express his own feelings in the midst of the current situation and hid them well.
"If you would be so kind, I would like to act as a guide to our guest." Charles requested.
The girl turned to face Wolverine almost expectantly, prompting him to stand. "You heard the Professor… Although you probably already know a fair amount about us from the SHIELD profiles, it'll probably be better if you take a look around this place without the intention of taking down the mansion's occupants."
She looked surprised that he had known about that, but guessed that Nick Fury had briefed him at some point. He walked towards the exit without looking back at his superior, gesturing for his female clone to follow. She followed after him without any further objections, sparing a cool glance back towards the Professor as she left the room. He merely inclined his head to signify that he was paying attention, but the two only maintained eye contact for less than a moment before parting once more. X-23 turned to see the back of Logan's head as they swept through the wooden doors and into the halls, the two traveling in silence as her footsteps mimicked his own.
After ascending a large flight of stairs, they continued onwards to the back door where several people were already frolicking outside. The two experimental mutants stepped through the sliding door as they stepped out into the sun, both of them taking a moment to appreciate the light breeze and fresh air that permeated their senses upon crossing the threshold. Having refined senses allowed them to appreciate such things much more easily than normal humans, and even most mutants for that matter.
X-23 observed the training areas that the Professor had built in the backyard, including several obstacle courses, a large swimming pool, and even a number of sporting areas that they were allowed to use during their free time. She recognized much of the land from her first visit to the school for the gifted, but this time she had no fear of being caught, and was here as a guest, a stark contrast to her time here as an assassin making a bitter yet flawlessly executed attempt on Wolverine's life.
Pushing these thoughts from her mind, she noticed a number of students playing a game in the yard, but paid them little notice as Wolverine addressed her. "This is the area where the students practice using their powers during coordinated training sessions." He explained unnecessarily. "Usually the instructors keep an eye on them to make sure they don't do anything stupid, although it can be a challenge."
"I remember seeing them moving through one of those obstacle courses when I came here a while back. The training that you put these students through seems to lack any significant challenge." The girl answered, much to his surprise.
Wolverine raised an eyebrow in response to her statement, but he appeared to agree. "I'm pretty certain you've been through much more intense training than any of those guys, huh kid?"
"Yes I have…" she replied bluntly. X-23 remembered the horrors that she had gone through during the testing phase of the living weapon project that created her, but after a moment her thoughts strayed back to the present. She looked up at her counterpart with a hard expression, although a frown was barely hidden beneath the surface. "Why do you always call me kid? I keep telling you to stop it!"
He struck a think pose for a second or two, but seemed to find an appropriate answer rather quickly. "You know, that's not a bad question. Maybe I should apologize if it pisses you off, but I' not so keen on addressing you like an experiment. In this case, why don't you go on and tell me what would you would prefer to be called?"
The female mutant opened her mouth to answer, but his statement appeared to have struck her dumb momentarily. She contemplated striking him before realizing that it would do her no good in the larger scheme of things, but in all reality she was unable to give him a proper answer to his question. Thinking back she had never really been referred to anything accept her experiment number, which in all reality had very little meaning if any. To her it had never seemed like much, but now that Logan had pointed out the truth to her, she began to feel an unfamiliar sense of discomfort. She had come to associate her number with her own existence due to being labeled as such from birth, but in reality it seemed as though she had no real identity.
Her harsh gaze wavered slightly as this realization floated through her mind, and she seemed unable to make eye contact. "It's easy for you to say something like…" she began slowly. "You were someone before becoming Weapon X, but I was created for that sole purpose. To be honest, I actually have no name."
"I see…" Wolverine replied with a gaunt expression, his empathy for the girl increasing as he considered the concept for himself. After a pause, he rubbed the back of his head and seemed to shrug off the incident. "You know what, forget I mentioned it."
She said nothing more for several minutes as they watched the game of dodgeball going on in the training field, the large beast-like teacher laughing merrily as his students ran back and forth in an attempt to avoid getting tagged with the flying balls. Logan remembered the day he had first introduced the game to his students at the institute, and interestingly enough it had been the girl standing beside him that inspired him to do it. Thinking about the kinds of horrors that she had been through reminded him that kids needed time to have fun, and should be allowed to break loose once and a while.
"Follow me." He replied before headed towards the source of the festivities.
X-23 followed him without question as they neared the training field, pausing as they came to a stop near the sidelines. Her guide approached the bestial man she had seen piloting the aircraft they had used the previous night, but she gave off no sign that she recognized him from before and chose to watch her male counterpart. Wolverine spoke to the fury man for a matter of minutes before they approached her, the less familiar mutant giving her a friendly expression as he walked onto the scene.
"I apologize that we were not properly introduced the previous night." Beast greeted the young mutant.
She gave him a look of acknowledgement, but did not provide a verbal answer. Her lack of a proper response prompted the man to raise an eyebrow in confusion, causing her gaze to harden slightly as a result. Wolverine watched these subtle interactions with interest, but before either of them could say anything else, they were forced to deal with a more apparent problem. Balls began flying in all different directions as the young students began to take advantage of their instructor's absence, causing a flurry of attacks to rain down from different directions.
Berserker's lightning attacks filled the air as the game of mutant dodgeball intensified, the kids having began to use their powers without restraint. The youngest member of the group created dozens of duplicates of himself, which filled the field in a matter of moments, swarming about like flies. Tabitha had been standing off to the side while the others fought, but reacted with hostility as a ball came inches from striking her head, prompting her to enter the fray. Boom-Boom gathered handfuls of explosives in her hands and tossed them into the mob of mutants, causing them to disperse at once.
One of her homemade firecrackers landed beside the trio standing several meters away, causing them to jump as the explosive burst near their feet. The furry mutant cast them a disapproving look as he crossed the field to speak to his students, Wolverine looking more annoyed by their sudden lapse of bad behavior. Both of them had hoped that their students would have become a little less irresponsible after the whole Apocalypse incident, but it appeared as though very little had changed since then. They were still the same rowdy bunch of kids, and although many of them showed promise of moving up, they were still unpredictable and sometimes difficult to control.
"All right guys, that's enough of that!" Beast reprimanded his students in an attempt to restore some sense of order to the session, but to no avail.
Before either of the adults could say anything else could raise any more arguments, X-23 bolted forward with incredible speed, jumping directly into the mutant battle with an angry look. The Weapon X clone let out an irritated growl as she sprung into the fray, somehow nailing the real Multiple with a swift kick, causing the others to vanish instantaneously. Tabitha looked surprised that someone would actually fight so serious when they were just goofing off, but a punch to the gut quickly disabled her. The other students froze in horror, as they began backing away from her with fearful expressions.
"That girl's crazy!" Berserker shouted, earning moans of agreement from the others.
They looked like the traumatized subjects of a painting, but the sound of a whistle quickly snapped them out of it as their instructors joined in. Beast removed the metal instrument from his mouth, stowing it away in the pocket of his shorts as they arrived to inspect the scene more closely. Wolverine walked over to the young mutants with a stiff expression, looking slightly amused by the results of the fight.
"Looks like you might have taken things here a little bit too seriously." Logan warned his female counterpart. After a moment, his expression softened again and he shrugged off the violent attack without much more consideration. "Can't say my temper was ever that great, considering I was tempted to do the same thing myself. Were I your age and in your position, I might have…"
"Had that been the case, I would have used my claws." She replied curtly.
"True, but at least she was able to get their attention." Beast piped in with a quick thumbs-up. He turned to face the students, a few of which were rubbing the spots where the former assassin had struck them. After watching them for a moment, he placed a hand to his mouth and called out to the class. "Since you guys seem so willing, it looks like we might have to change today's lesson to something more challenging."
"Aww… That's no fair." One of the younger students called out, prompting several agreeable murmurs from his classmates.
The animalistic mutant shook his head with a fatherly expression. "There's no need to look so upset, considering that today was originally supposed to be Logan's turn to supervise your training sessions."
Wolverine stepped forward with a feral expression, giving his colleague a look reminiscent of a predator who had just cornered his prey. "So Hank, you mind if I take over for a little bit seeing how these half-pints seem to need the motivation?"
The other man gave him a similar expression in return. "That actually sounds like a pretty good idea." He said loudly so that the class could hear him. "All right guys, I hope that after today's lesson, you won't be so quick to take advantage of a good thing."
Although he liked his job as a teacher at the Xavier Institute, teaching mutants was much more taxing than teaching ordinary kids. Hank McCoy looked quite cheerful at the prospect of a little extra rest as he gave the others a casual wave before turning to leave. The large man's hairy form moved back towards the mansion at a steady pace until he disappeared through the sliding doors, the departure of their favorite teacher leaving the students alone with the institute's most difficult instructor. X-23 merely watched quietly as her male counterpart stepped forward, clearing his throat with a sense of authority as he asserted his presence once more.
"All right you maggots… We'll start with a five mile run through the woods and then a few laps through the obstacle course." Wolverine explained, earning several groans from the students present. "Once we've finished with the warm-up, we'll all be ready for a nice long session in the Danger Room."
X-23 glanced up at him with an unreadable expression. "What exactly is the Danger Room?" she questioned.
He seemed to find her comment amusing. "Let's just keep that little detail a surprise."
The girl furrowed her eyebrows, looking rather unfazed by his cryptic answer. "If you plan on spending the day training these weaklings, then I have no reason to remain here any longer." She replied.
"Who says you're getting off that easy?" Logan answered quickly. "I'm going to show you what it means to be a member of the X-Men, and what better way than the experience it firsthand?"
In New York
Madame Web let out a dry laugh as she finished receiving yet another vision of the future. It was a fun pastime for someone like her who was partially reliant on life-support equipment and unable to make use of her legs, but the paralysis she suffered did little to hamper her spirits. The elderly mutant's dark glasses flashed with a vindictive light as she mused to herself about the recent happenings of the world, her withered lips curling into a vindictive smile as she watched destiny unfold before her very eyes. For someone who could not explore the world around her as well as most, she was surprisingly well aware of what was going on in the outside world.
Although she wasn't much for venturing around, her powers usually kept her occupied with visions of the future. These strange and mystical abilities would have frightened most people, but she spent years working as a professional fortune-teller and a medium. Having had these powers for so long, she had come to find the visions more amusing than anything else, and her past experiences had taught her that the future was not something to be taken lightly. She had been plagued by terrible visions of what was to come for the people of this world, but no matter what the outcome of the upcoming struggle, she sensed grave danger.
It seemed that the outside world had also begun to take notice, especially after her recent meeting with the extremist, Magneto. She had understood his desire to see what kind of future awaited mutant kind, but telling him anything more than what he might have guessed would not have been a good idea. Sometimes it was better just to allow some things to happen, seeing how his record of tampering with the lives of other mutants had become problematic in a number of ways. She had no desire to help someone as irrational as him, tempt other mutants into inciting a war that would decimate the entire planet.
To this end she had arranged a meeting with an old associate, having expected him to arrive at any moment now. She folded her hands in her lap, having grown tired of waiting for him, seeing how late he was, but it wasn't as though she had anything more important to do at the moment. Her blind eyes narrowed behind her dark visor as she contemplated the situation, but the sound of a door slamming quickly caught her attention.
The elderly woman looked towards the source of the noise as a familiar figure moved through the shadows of her makeshift dwelling. Her room's dim light soon revealed the form of a young man garbed in blue and red with a mask concealing his face and web-like designs covering his costume. He took the seat directly across from her, and the curtain that usually concealed her form was drawn back today so that they were sitting face-to-face at a small table in front of her life support chair. Neither of them spoke for several minutes, but the young man grew bored with her games and decided to break the silence.
"I assume that there's a reason why you bothered calling me here." Spider-Man addressed her in a painfully blunt manner.
Madame Web let out a dry chuckle. "It's been quite awhile since I have called upon you, yet some things really never change. It appears you are just as bold as ever, Spider-Man?"
The masked hero took a step towards her. "You seem to be in unusually high spirits for someone who claimed this was an emergency. If this matter is as important as you say, then why not just tell me what's going on so that I can add it to my list of stuff to worry about."
"I am well aware of your troubles, but do not think for a moment that I do not comprehend that which you are forced to endure." She replied in a condescending tone.
"Then why not just tell me why you bothered to summon me to this place." The mask hid his facial expressions, but due to the condition of her eyes it made very little difference.
The precognitive mutant immediately sensed the hostility in his tone and smiled mysteriously, her visor flashing against the room's dim lighting. "As impulsive as ever I see, but perhaps you should not be in such a rush to depart. It would have been much kinder had you decided to humor this lonely old woman. Admittedly it's been a reasonably long time since I've had a handsome young visitor stop on by."
"Don't play these games, you crazy old bat… If there's something important that you have to say then quit messing around and just tell me already!" He leaned forward slightly in anticipation, prompting another laugh from the elderly woman sitting before him.
Madame Web relaxed her muscles for a moment, her humorous expression fading as she paused to take a breath. "I am afraid that things are not as simple as you believe them to be. In most cases I would prefer not to tell anyone what I have foreseen, but at the very least I feel that it is important for someone to be aware of the dark events that are about to unfold."
"If you aren't willing to give me any details, then why summon me here?" Spider-Man replied incredulously.
"You seem to misunderstand, Mr. Parker… While I am usually against sharing such information, I sense that you will play a significant role in the upcoming events, and thus I shall tell you some of what I know so that you will be prepared." She explained rationally. "The fact is, that you and many others will soon be drawn into a fierce battle in which the outcome shall decide to fate of the human race."
The masked hero stirred at the very thought. "Are you absolutely certain that the world will be placed in this type of jeopardy?"
She nodded in response, her wrinkled lips twisting into a thin line. "My visions lately have been highly disturbing, and unfortunately I do not fully understand the full details myself. Even though this is true, I have no doubt that we are about to experience a time of change, during which many innocent people may lose their lives. I foresaw that you would be involved in this upcoming struggle, and it is for that reason that I have called you to my side."
"That's all great and everything, but I hope you can fill me in with some kind of clue, or else this meeting will have been a real waste of time." He replied.
"For your information, I was just getting to that." She interjected with a small frown, a note of intolerance echoing behind her words. The disabled woman took a moment to relax before speaking again. "You see the danger that I have foreseen lies in the usage of ancient technology the likes of which this world has rarely seen."
"Ancient technology…" Peter Parker mulled the words over to himself, his brain instantly coming to a stunning realization. "Wait, I remember a few months back there were some instances involving something like that. Several pyramids all around the world were surrounded by some kind of supernatural energy that conventional science couldn't explain."
Madame Web smiled in amusement as she listened to his words. "Quite a smart young man, aren't you?" he chortled jeeringly. "You would be correct to assume that this incident I have foreseen is related to those recent events."
Spider-Man looked positively intrigued by the prospect, although the presence of his mask hid signs of his interest. "Then what exactly is going to happen? Answer me!" he ordered with a mixture of mingled fear and fascination.
"That incident you remember seeing was in fact something far worse then you can imagine, but I haven't the time nor the desire to explain that which is already behind us. I warn you that this second piece of technology is equally as dangerous." She began in a softer tone. "The machine that I speak of has long been considered my modern historians to be little more than a legend, but my visions have shown otherwise. To make matters worse, there are also those who would wish to control the power of this ancient weapon to further their own desires, and some have already begun to act."
"If this power is as great as you say, then what can it do, and who is planning on controlling it?" the masked hero questioned.
"Honestly the machine is far more deadly then ordinary humans can comprehend. I do not know what it is fully capable of doing, but my visions show that even the ability to control natural disasters on this planet is not beyond the power of this vessel." She paused for a moment, a shadow falling over her visor as she considered him.
Spider-Man stood up with horrified manner his eyes widening beneath the mask. "Do you know anything else, like who is planning on using this machine, and how to stop them?"
"There are many who would use it for evil, and many of my visions have shown me that any one of them could very well drive the earth to its knees. The only other major clue that I am able to provide you, is that which may prevent others from using this power." Madame Web replied with an unusually solemn grimace. "The owners of this technology were smart enough to seal this machine behind a door buried deep underground somewhere in Asia. Since the seal was created by this advanced ancient technology, I do not believe that the door can be opened through modern means."
"If that is the case, then how can anyone open the door?" he asked urgently.
She merely shook her head in response to his question. "I do not know where the keys are hidden, but I saw what they looked like. Three of them resembled palm-sized crystals, and the other appeared to be an actual key, crafted from some sort of stone, and all four artifacts were engraved with markings that I am unfamiliar with."
Peter Parker's head shot up as he remembered the events that had transpired recently. "Wait, I remember that there was a strange man wearing a helmet robbing a gallery in Manhattan not long ago. He was only after a single crystal from the display case, and for some reason he displayed absolutely no interest in any of the other artifacts."
The elderly woman imitated his gesture as a combination of her visions and recent memories rose to the surface together. "Ah, now it makes sense why he was in New York…" she mused out loud.
"What do you know?" Spider-Man questioned abrasively.
The elderly woman brushed his comment aside. "Was this thief you spoke of garbed in strange red clothing and a dark cape? Did he have the power to control magnetic forces at will?" she answered him with questions of her own.
"That explains how he could manipulate metal so effortlessly." The masked hero nearly tripped over the leg of his chair as he stood again, causing the seat to fall as he placed his hand against the small table separating them. "Do you know who this man was?"
Madame Web nodded in agreement. "The man you saw was a powerful extremist who seeks to plunge humanity into war with his own followers so that he may raise the world's mutants to supremacy. Although I am unsure of his true name, most people as well as his own followers refer to him as Magneto. My visions told me that he would be involved in this, but now that I am able to place the pieces together, it appears that his actions may be the fuel that sets these wheels into motion."
"I see…" Spider-Man looked towards the table for a moment as though suddenly hesitant to hear any more. "Thanks to you I have some leads, so if anything comes up I'll be ready next time."
"That was my intention, but it is good to see that you have taken more out of this than even I had originally anticipated." She replied.
The two stared at one another for several minutes as they both contemplated what was going to happen next. Being blind she was unable to see his face, but even without her sense of sight, she could feel an aura of worry radiating from his body. He watched her with a renewed intensity, as if expecting her to break the silence, but seemed to falter when she did not say anything more. The elderly woman was always good at keeping people in the dark, but surprisingly enough she had revealed much more than even she had intended, and much more then he had expected to hear from her during a single sitting.
"If you have nothing else to say about this, I promise to do what I can to help, whatever the cost." He answered in a low tone.
She smiled again, but this time he sensed a little less humor behind her mannerisms. "It is good to see that you have excepted your destiny, Spider-Man. There is little more that I can do to aid you from this point onwards, but now that you have a starting point, I am certain that you will not disappoint me."
"It's not about you." Peter Parker straightened the chair that he had knocked over and turned to leave her dwelling. He stopped before crossing the threshold, a deeply solemn expression hidden by his mask. "If terrible things are about to happen, I have to be prepared to do what I can to help. If there's one thing I've learned in my life, it's that with great power, comes great responsibility…"
Madame web raised an eyebrow in amusement, but he did not see her gesture as he slid from the room, quickly escaping through the door and out into the streets. He shot a string of web from his shooter, latching onto a nearby building, and was gone moments later. The elderly woman let out a dry cough as the door to apartment slammed shut. She couldn't help but wonder again if she had done the right thing in telling him what she had seen, but despite her state of seclusion from the world, there was nothing to be gained from sitting back and watching as it was destroyed. She understood that the chances of victory in the upcoming struggle were slim, but from this point on it was out of her hands.
With Wolverine
X-23 followed after her guide with a thorny expression, doing her best to appear as stoic as usual. In truth the day had been rather enjoyable as she accompanied Logan through the daily training sessions that she found embarrassingly easy, while the students he was teaching suffered and begged for release. Had she been a normal teenager, she might have found some humor in the proceedings, although that didn't stop her from a feeling a sense of amusement at seeing how well she performed in the Danger Room when she was told to participate. Wolverine even seemed impressed by the ease at which she completed his personal run through the course, which was possibly one of the highest settings in the system.
Although she had been trained from childhood to be an assassin, the young mutant had learned to find joy in different things. It was true that HYDRA had limited her to training, but she had developed a sense of enjoyment through the practice of improving her fighting skills and becoming stronger. Surely it wasn't much, but a certain fondness for training and battle was one of the few things she had growing up, and it seemed that she would be able to enjoy herself by staying here.
It almost made her want to live with her fellow mutants on a more permanent basis, but the more rational part of her mind refused to give in, and so she had been conflicted during these last few hours. It was already ten at night, and the Professor had requested her presence one more time before the mansion's younger occupants headed off to bed. She followed Wolverine through the brightly lit hallways without question, but she had an idea of what was about to happen and decided to face it head on.
As they walked through the familiar doors leading into the office, she found several people already gathered on the couches and chairs present. Professor Xavier sat on his wheelchair that was positioned closer to the others than usual. Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Rogue, sat on the couch, the latter of which seemed less than excited to be there. The pale Goth stared out into the distance with an empty expression, her eyes only gravitating towards the door for a moment to confirm that they had arrived. Beast and Storm were seated in the two chairs on separate sides of the sofa, the former raising a hand in greeting as he saw the two Weapon X mutants.
Charles Xavier nodded in their direction. "I'm glad to see that you have both chosen to attend this gathering. Please feel free to relax for the moment."
His words did little to ease the tension, as neither mutant seemed to follow his suggestion. The room's occupants remained engaged in their own conversations, with the three older students talking amongst themselves, and the two instructors directing occasional glances at each other. Professor Xavier busied himself by flipping through some paperwork, but once he had organized the forms, he placed them back into the drawers of his desk. The room fell silent as their leader returned to the group, a single glance at him being enough to tell that he wanted to address his companions, and all attention gravitated towards the bald man as he raised a hand for silence.
"I have called you all here tonight for a very important reason. We have a few important issues to discuss, but before we begin I would like to formally introduce you all to our newest candidate." The telepath began, his right hand gesturing towards the girl standing behind Logan. "For those of you who may have forgotten, this young lady is X-23."
All eyes swept towards her for a moment before returning to their leader, who merely nodded in response. X-23 did not seem bothered by the unusual amount of attention she was receiving, but at the same time she was not entirely sure what would happen from this point. She did not respond verbally to the telepath's welcome introduction and instead chose to remain relatively quiet for the time being.
The fuzzy blue student scratched his head as he remembered her. "Wait a minute, that's the girl that invaded the mansion a few months ago." He commented, pointing one of his three fingers at her. "I guess that explains why she looked so familiar."
Storm nodded in agreement, but looked much more rational when compared to Kurt. "She is the person you remember, although many things have changed since then and I implore that we not judge her based on past experiences." The dark-skinned woman replied.
"I saw her complete Logan's run during today's Danger Room session. She's got some really awesome skills!" Kitty Pryde added.
"I'm glad you think so, because part of our reason for scouting her was to provide this young lady with a home." The Professor replied as he turned to face the former assassin with a softer expression. "Now before we discuss the more crucial aspects of this meeting, I would first like to know if you have accepted my offer to join the X-Men."
Wolverine glanced over his shoulder at the young mutant, who seemed keen not to answer immediately. Rogue raised her head for the first time during the gathering, looking genuinely interested as compared to the usual veil of indifference that her mannerisms usually projected to the outside world. While the adults in the room were equally as curious as to what her answer would be, they did not directly show it and merely watched in interest, as the remaining students seemed more interested, but were not entirely certain how things would turn out either way.
X-23 locked eyes with the telepath before speaking up again. "No matter what you say, the circumstances have not changed." She began. "If I stay here, it is possible that my presence will place you all in danger. HYDRA will come searching for me as soon as soon as they find out the truth, and knowing them it will not take them long to figure it out."
A thick silence settled over the room as the gathered X-Men considered her words, but the older members had already known about this problem. Wolverine placed a hand on her shoulder, eliciting a quick intake of breath from her in response to his action. She looked up at her older counterpart with a sense of anguish and irritation, but he did not falter from her expression. The former Weapon X stood by her side, his eyes positioned down as he gave her an unusually soft expression.
"You don't need to go through this alone anymore. Maybe I can't speak for the others, but no matter what happens you've got my support no matter what you choose to do." Logan replied with a pronounced note of stubbornness.
The Professor moved his chair so that he was closer to them. "If you want to remain here at the institute, we will be more than happy to accommodate you in any manner necessary, and stand by your side even if HYDRA attempts to recapture you."
The young mutant paused for a moment, but her expression didn't change. "You can't stop them from coming after me, but at the very least I can stop them from coming after you guys."
"After that crap that took place in New York, I don't think we'll get off easy in any case." Her male counterpart explained grudgingly. "Last time I was the only person that helped you out, but this time we brought about half the team along for the ride before foiling their plans. Not to mention the fact that we also made enemies out of that overweight cue ball that Madame Hydra partnered with in order to get her hands on you."
"They have no interest in any of you, just me." X-23 felt her patience waning, although part of her believed that what they were telling her was true.
Beast nodded in agreement. "That may be true, but our interference may have already brought down the wrath of the enemy. In addition to these criminal organizations, we also have our own group of enemies actively plotting in the shadows. Speaking from experience alone, it is painfully obvious that we're bound to run into trouble with these people again at some point, meaning that whether you stay or not may be irrelevant when it comes time to the state of our own well-being."
She searched her mind for another argument, but found very little else to relate aside from what they had already discussed. "You claimed that I would be allowed to make my own decision, yet you continue in your attempts to alter my decision."
Wolverine snarled aggressively, pointing his index finger in between her eyes like an angry parent. "All we've done is state the facts, kid… You're the one who doesn't know what she really wants to do! We're not changing your decision, because in reality I'll bet you haven't actually made one yet!"
"Stop it!" X-23 lashed out with her claws, but they quickly became entangled in his own as the two mutants clashed.
"What is she doing?" Kurt screamed, looking as though he had just been slapped.
Rogue and Nightcrawler stood up from their seats, the former clenched his hands into fists, but the Professor raised a hand to stop them. His gesture prompted both students to sink back into their seats, but the blue mutant glanced at his adoptive sister with a rather puzzled expression as to what their guest was trying to prove. Many of them had not known much about her before this meeting, and were confused as to what to expect. If Professor Xavier himself did not seem to trust her, they might have reacted in a more hostile manner.
It looked as though someone had frozen the scene as X-23 and Wolverine stood rooted to the spot, their dagger-like claws locked together in a fighting stance. After a moment, the younger mutant shoved her adversary backwards and retracted her claws, a bitter expression gracing her features as she realized what she had done just now. Having been trained as a killing machine, she was usually not the type of person to give into random emotions, but ever since she met the X-Men, she found herself becoming more in tune with human emotions. At the very least, she was more interested in understanding her own feelings.
"In some other time, under different circumstances… Maybe I would be a member of this group." The young mutant looked towards the ground as she spoke, her brown hair concealing her face from view. Although no tear dripped from her eyes, a powerful sense of anguish and confusion exuded from the girl.
Professor Xavier looked upon her understandingly. "If you truly want to stay here at the institute, you need not deny it. If you agree to become a student here, I am willing to do all that I can to protect you. It appears that you're existence as X-23 is what has caused you so much misery, but using my connections I may be able to give you a new identity so that you will remain hidden to the public eye."
"HYDRA recognizes me and would easily find out the truth." She answered with an unpleasant grimace.
The bald telepath shook his head. "It appears that you have a noble goal in mind. By leaving this place, it appears that you wish to protect the rest of us from becoming involved. I am sorry to say that the others are correct, but whether for the better or worse we have already become involved in this situation. If they actually intend to pursue you further, your creators are bound to arrive at some point."
Wolverine folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "You might have noticed how quickly that freak with the metal arms tracked us down earlier. If HYDRA has the same kind of technology, then they might end up hunting us all down like dogs for trying to stop them before."
"That being said, we are bound to face these hardships whether you remain with us or not." The Professor added with a small frown. "The only difference is that by staying here at the institute, you no longer have to face these troubles alone."
X-23 felt her hand shaking slightly as she took in everything they had said, but after several minutes of contemplation she made her decision. "All right… I'll join the X-Men." She replied with an uncharacteristically reluctant stammer.
"Good girl…" Logan muttered to himself, the corner of his lip forming into a shadow of a smile so small that even someone staring at him would find it hard to detect.
The bald telepath raised a hand to call the meeting to order. "Now that we have settled this first matter, I feel that it is important for everyone present to know what happened in New York, and what our next move will be."
Note to Readers: I don't think this chapter was great, but I wanted to keep HYDRA in the story while also allowing X-23 to join up with the X-Men, so I guess I had to stretch things a little to make everything work out. I usually try not to do too much stuff that seems completely out of nowhere, but I was trying to bring this X-23 retrieval arc to a close. Now that this painful hurtle is finished, the real story is about to begin. You may have gotten some previews through Magneto's appearance in earlier chapters.
It's kind of like how Mesmero appeared in the beginning of Season 2 of X-Men Evolution, even though the whole Apocalypse thing wasn't a major factor into much later on. Expect to see more of HYDRA in future chapters. The Kingpin won't play a prominent role for a while, but you'll see him again before the story is over. Next chapter I do want to show more from the bad guys considering that this chapter was about the heroes.
On a side note, sorry for any mistakes, but I struggled to get this chapter out after not getting one released last week. Anyway, keep reading and please review! I don't get much support for this story, but what I do get keep me motivated to keep writing it.