Chapter 3 - Dark Designs
"Are you sure this is a good idea sir?"
The man known as Gordon Creed glowered at his subordinate. The man backed away in fear. The Friends of Humanity were known for destroying mutants, but President Gordon Creed wasn't afraid to remove disrespectful human employees.
"Yes, I am. This particular threat is too… numerous for us to handle alone. There are nearly twenty mutants in the area, and all are highly dangerous, unlike the simple animal mutations we've been disposing of recently. Now get out of my sight."
The smaller man next to Creed gulped.
"Y-Yes Sir.
The man turned and nearly knocked over a very expensive vase in his haste to exit the room. Creed calmly walked over and sat down at the table, and pressed a button on the intercom built into the ornate table, which matched the room's atmosphere perfectly. Perfection was something Gordon Creed demanded.
"Cynthia, Jeffery is through with his whining now. Send Duke to help him clean out his desk."
"Yes sir. And the others?"
"You may send them in."
The door at the other end of the hall opened, and several men filed into the room. There were six total, all of them dressed in civilian clothing.
The first through the door was a tall, lanky man with a blond crew cut. He was talking and laughing amiably with the next man through the door, who had a far more muscular physique than the first. While blond as well, this man's hair was caught in a ponytail.
The next man through the door came through with a cane, and was withered to the point of failure, but it was obvious that the cane was an affection, for his eyes were bright and clear, with a nose shaped like a bird's beak.
The next man through the door was so large it was hard to believe that he wasn't a mutant. He had to duck slightly in order to clear the door, and his red-brown hair was mussed slightly as he came through. He made no move to correct it.
The next man through wore a trench coat and a sadistic smile, and it was clear that the others preferred to avoid him by the way they never looked at him directly.
The final man to come in was a short, pudgy man, wearing sunglasses and a white, tailored suit, complete with an arrogant, holier-than-thou expression. Though he was the smallest of them, the others showed him obvious deference. Well, except the man in the trench coat, but it was widely held that he was sadistic well into the range of insanity, and feared nothing.
Gordon Creed looked at them impassively. He hated working with people like this, but at least every one of them was proven to not be a mutant. Not one of them. As the short one sat down, he cleared his throat. The six turned interested glances on him, though the one in the trench coat was still wearing that sadistic smile. It appeared to be his natural expression.
"Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I apologize for the delay."
The short one spoke up, anger written on his face.
"I should certainly think so! You go to all the trouble of… inviting… us here, then brush is off into some ante-chamber to 'cool our heels'? Unacceptable."
"I am aware, sir, I assure you. The matter, and the man, have been dealt with, and I apologize once more."
The short man in the white suit seemed somewhat mollified by this, and the trench coated one's smile widened at the phrase 'dealt with'.
"Very well, I shall overlook it. Now, to business."
Creed smiled, as did the others around the room. The smiles were all artificial, and they all knew it. Except perhaps the one in the trench coat, but he was crazy.
"Business then. If you will look to the table then."
The space above the table lit up, and three figures appeared via a three dimensional hologram. One, dressed almost entirely in red, one looking like a cross between a man and an animal, and the third quite obviously in a wheel chair.
"These three are mutants."
He spat the last word.
"And I want them. Two of them, because they are the most highly dangerous in the world today. The other, well, his death will secure my position here."
Creed could feel the pudgy one's beady eyes narrowing beneath the glasses.
"And you need us to capture three men? Mutants or no, that is ridiculous."
Creed smiled coldly.
"Not quite. There are approximately fifteen other mutants in the immediate vicinity, each belonging to two separate factions. They will attempt to deny you their leaders."
The one with the blond ponytail spoke up.
"Fifteen others? That's a total of eighteen. Three to one odds are definitely not in our favor."
Creed smiled once more, genuinely this time.
"True, but you'll have an… edge… over them, but one that requires a group with your talents to utilize properly."
The small one spoke again.
"Assuming we do take this offer of yours, what do we stand to gain?"
"For the three I want, ten million each. An additional one million bonus for any of the other mutants brought in alive. Do we have a deal?"
The smiles on all of the faces were genuine now. Below the sunglasses, the small man's mouth curved up in glee. He spoke again.
"A few more details. Define for us this… edge… you mentioned."
"Certainly…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"As you idiots may or may not have heard, there is a new student at the Xavier Institute."
"We heard."
Lance sat on a sofa, nursing his jaw from Peter's punch. It hurt more than he cared to admit.
"You're good for something at least. The boy is there for legal purposes, being, of all things, Wolverine's godson. Magneto is getting impatient, and the boy is our way in. I want you to find him and intimidate him. Make him fear us enough to help us."
"I don't think he'll be v…mmmf!"
"Sure thing Mystique!"
Pietro's hand was covering the mouth of a struggling Toad.
"Remove your hand Quicksilver. Now, Toad, repeat your last statement."
Toad was more than a little frightened as Pietro did as he was told, and spoke at a whisper.
"I said, I don't think he'll be very scared of us."
Mystique's eyes narrowed.
"And why is that…"
Avalanche answered, whispering also.
"He just got done kicking our asses."
Mystique's eyes narrowed, and her voice built steadily from something eerily calm, to a swelling roar.
"Do you mean to tell me, that after all of the times you've been defeated by Xavier's team, after all of the times you've been bailed out despite your constant losses, that now you've sunk to new lows and have been defeated by a LONE. HUMAN. BOY!"
She took a deep breath then, and allowed it to go free, calming slightly.
"How?"
The voice used was not in any way friendly. It was a voice of command, and each started talking at once.
"SILENCE!"
She raised a hand and pointed.
"Toad."
The smaller boy replied with a sullen tone.
"Tied my tongue to a steel beam."
"Quicksilver."
"Tricked me into running straight into a cement mixer. Stuff dumped all over me."
"Fred."
"Lance used his power on me!"
"I was trying to use it on Parker! If you weren't so slow lard belly…!"
"Well at least he wasn't KO'd in one punch!"
The room descended into chaos once more as the four began to bicker and argue amongst themselves once more.
"ENOUGH! You mean to tell me you lost simply because he was smarter than you? Magneto will hear of this. Go. NOW!"
The room was silent almost instantly as even Blob managed to move with uncharacteristic speed.
"Are you sure this is a good idea sir?"
The man known as Gordon Creed glowered at his subordinate. The man backed away in fear. The Friends of Humanity were known for destroying mutants, but President Gordon Creed wasn't afraid to remove disrespectful human employees.
"Yes, I am. This particular threat is too… numerous for us to handle alone. There are nearly twenty mutants in the area, and all are highly dangerous, unlike the simple animal mutations we've been disposing of recently. Now get out of my sight."
The smaller man next to Creed gulped.
"Y-Yes Sir.
The man turned and nearly knocked over a very expensive vase in his haste to exit the room. Creed calmly walked over and sat down at the table, and pressed a button on the intercom built into the ornate table, which matched the room's atmosphere perfectly. Perfection was something Gordon Creed demanded.
"Cynthia, Jeffery is through with his whining now. Send Duke to help him clean out his desk."
"Yes sir. And the others?"
"You may send them in."
The door at the other end of the hall opened, and several men filed into the room. There were six total, all of them dressed in civilian clothing.
The first through the door was a tall, lanky man with a blond crew cut. He was talking and laughing amiably with the next man through the door, who had a far more muscular physique than the first. While blond as well, this man's hair was caught in a ponytail.
The next man through the door came through with a cane, and was withered to the point of failure, but it was obvious that the cane was an affection, for his eyes were bright and clear, with a nose shaped like a bird's beak.
The next man through the door was so large it was hard to believe that he wasn't a mutant. He had to duck slightly in order to clear the door, and his red-brown hair was mussed slightly as he came through. He made no move to correct it.
The next man through wore a trench coat and a sadistic smile, and it was clear that the others preferred to avoid him by the way they never looked at him directly.
The final man to come in was a short, pudgy man, wearing sunglasses and a white, tailored suit, complete with an arrogant, holier-than-thou expression. Though he was the smallest of them, the others showed him obvious deference. Well, except the man in the trench coat, but it was widely held that he was sadistic well into the range of insanity, and feared nothing.
Gordon Creed looked at them impassively. He hated working with people like this, but at least every one of them was proven to not be a mutant. Not one of them. As the short one sat down, he cleared his throat. The six turned interested glances on him, though the one in the trench coat was still wearing that sadistic smile. It appeared to be his natural expression.
"Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I apologize for the delay."
The short one spoke up, anger written on his face.
"I should certainly think so! You go to all the trouble of… inviting… us here, then brush is off into some ante-chamber to 'cool our heels'? Unacceptable."
"I am aware, sir, I assure you. The matter, and the man, have been dealt with, and I apologize once more."
The short man in the white suit seemed somewhat mollified by this, and the trench coated one's smile widened at the phrase 'dealt with'.
"Very well, I shall overlook it. Now, to business."
Creed smiled, as did the others around the room. The smiles were all artificial, and they all knew it. Except perhaps the one in the trench coat, but he was crazy.
"Business then. If you will look to the table then."
The space above the table lit up, and three figures appeared via a three dimensional hologram. One, dressed almost entirely in red, one looking like a cross between a man and an animal, and the third quite obviously in a wheel chair.
"These three are mutants."
He spat the last word.
"And I want them. Two of them, because they are the most highly dangerous in the world today. The other, well, his death will secure my position here."
Creed could feel the pudgy one's beady eyes narrowing beneath the glasses.
"And you need us to capture three men? Mutants or no, that is ridiculous."
Creed smiled coldly.
"Not quite. There are approximately fifteen other mutants in the immediate vicinity, each belonging to two separate factions. They will attempt to deny you their leaders."
The one with the blond ponytail spoke up.
"Fifteen others? That's a total of eighteen. Three to one odds are definitely not in our favor."
Creed smiled once more, genuinely this time.
"True, but you'll have an… edge… over them, but one that requires a group with your talents to utilize properly."
The small one spoke again.
"Assuming we do take this offer of yours, what do we stand to gain?"
"For the three I want, ten million each. An additional one million bonus for any of the other mutants brought in alive. Do we have a deal?"
The smiles on all of the faces were genuine now. Below the sunglasses, the small man's mouth curved up in glee. He spoke again.
"A few more details. Define for us this… edge… you mentioned."
"Certainly…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"As you idiots may or may not have heard, there is a new student at the Xavier Institute."
"We heard."
Lance sat on a sofa, nursing his jaw from Peter's punch. It hurt more than he cared to admit.
"You're good for something at least. The boy is there for legal purposes, being, of all things, Wolverine's godson. Magneto is getting impatient, and the boy is our way in. I want you to find him and intimidate him. Make him fear us enough to help us."
"I don't think he'll be v…mmmf!"
"Sure thing Mystique!"
Pietro's hand was covering the mouth of a struggling Toad.
"Remove your hand Quicksilver. Now, Toad, repeat your last statement."
Toad was more than a little frightened as Pietro did as he was told, and spoke at a whisper.
"I said, I don't think he'll be very scared of us."
Mystique's eyes narrowed.
"And why is that…"
Avalanche answered, whispering also.
"He just got done kicking our asses."
Mystique's eyes narrowed, and her voice built steadily from something eerily calm, to a swelling roar.
"Do you mean to tell me, that after all of the times you've been defeated by Xavier's team, after all of the times you've been bailed out despite your constant losses, that now you've sunk to new lows and have been defeated by a LONE. HUMAN. BOY!"
She took a deep breath then, and allowed it to go free, calming slightly.
"How?"
The voice used was not in any way friendly. It was a voice of command, and each started talking at once.
"SILENCE!"
She raised a hand and pointed.
"Toad."
The smaller boy replied with a sullen tone.
"Tied my tongue to a steel beam."
"Quicksilver."
"Tricked me into running straight into a cement mixer. Stuff dumped all over me."
"Fred."
"Lance used his power on me!"
"I was trying to use it on Parker! If you weren't so slow lard belly…!"
"Well at least he wasn't KO'd in one punch!"
The room descended into chaos once more as the four began to bicker and argue amongst themselves once more.
"ENOUGH! You mean to tell me you lost simply because he was smarter than you? Magneto will hear of this. Go. NOW!"
The room was silent almost instantly as even Blob managed to move with uncharacteristic speed.