Chapter 6: Surveillance

Spider-Man's P.O.V

"I wouldn't call it hypnotism," was the first thought in my head after the mutants finished their group meeting. I had perched in yet another tree and listened in on their conversation, the mansion in view a fair distance away. Maybe it was half a mile? It was difficult to tell, but with my inner ears fully open I could also hear the tiny tweets of that same bird.

I would have smiled, normally, but…

I cast the thought aside and refocused. This "Professor" was apparently the one in charge of the group, and now I had names to go with some of the voices. "Professor of what though?" That was an interesting discovery to ponder. Maybe I could try and find out somehow later. If he owned this place, his name could be somewhere. Rich people liked to do that.

Still, he didn't seem to be a bad rich person. He just owned a mansion on a huge estate in the countryside where he and the mutants lived.

My head tilted as a crowd of footsteps departed from the area, thinking, "He could be one too." It was likelier than a human being in charge.

Although I disagreed with what they said about my "capabilities". "Hypnotism?" It was more of a desperate hope which succeeded than anything else. It was – somehow – a distraction, but now the question had been posed, I wondered. "Could it last longer? Affect multiple people? Men as well?" I was glad it worked, but… "What other things can I do?"

I found myself staring at my claws again. There was still so much for me to figure out.

Well, now I knew their plan was to not wander anywhere alone. That was fine – it wasn't as if I would be intentionally bothering them. In fact, doubling their numbers constantly doubled the noise and increased the chance of them talking, which would help me avoid them even better.

"Oh?"

While the crowd of footsteps had dispersed from wherever they were having their meeting, the Professor had asked someone to stay behind. "Beast" from the sound of it.

Suddenly, my stomach rumbled, complaining again. I sighed, raising my head and sniffing. If there was food nearby I wouldn't need to worry about missing anything important. Having a meal apparently could not wait for their conversation to finish.

The faint smell of fruit reached me, and I jumped down from the branch I was sitting on to follow it.

An apple tree was luckily not too far away. As I heard the Professor and Beast settling down I leapt up and quickly gathered about eight or so before hopping back down. Having six arms was useful for holding a bunch of things. On my way back to my previous perch I also spotted a chicory plant, unearthing the roots and grabbing it too. It was probably one of the better things to eat out here.

Being able to eat from the land – knowing what was safe to eat – quickly became vital to me in the first month after I woke up on that beach. My metabolism had increased from before, if anything, but I could also stretch out the time I went without food before collapsing. The effects of failing to eat consistently had a habit of hitting me all at once after nearly a week with all the force of a freight train behind it.

That hadn't been fun to find out.

My spit was also able to liquify meat. Fitting for a spider monster.

Arriving back at the tree, I sat leaning against the trunk to better balance the items in my lap. The majority of the dirt clinging to the chicory plant was easy enough to shake off and I started plucking the flowers free with my tongue. The roots I sliced into with my chelicerae, catching the chunks and tossing them back into my mouth. That had taken some getting used to as well, but at least I had become accustomed to the procedure and the taste of different plants.

I still felt guilty about borrowing that book without permission. I had no way to ask, I needed to learn what to eat, and I left it on the doorstep after I was finished… Finishing it did take a while though.

"Focus, Spidey. You have the snacks, now pay attention to the audio-only movie."

A raspy hiss that was my version of a weak chuckle passed my lips as I tossed a slice of apple into my mouth. Time to listen and learn.

"… A new mutant…? An old new mutant? That doesn't make any sense…"

(In the X-Mansion library, a minute earlier.)

3rd Person P.O.V

"What is it you wished to discuss with me Professor?" Beast asked, comfortable in his chair with a cup of tea in hand.

Charles sipped from his own before replying, "Do you recall that I asked you here, several months ago now, about that new mutant signal I received?"

"Certainly." The thought of a potential newcomer had entered Hanks's mind a few times when he was experimenting. "However, neither Jean nor yourself could locate them again, even with the use of Cerebro. We gave up the search after three weeks had passed with no significant breakthrough."

"I know old friend, but I find myself uneasy with this situation we now find ourselves in."

"How do you mean?" Beast asked.

"I am not entirely sure," the Professor replied, shaking his head, "but whenever I have witnessed this new creature through our team's memories I find myself thinking there could be a connection."

Spider-Man's P.O.V

I jolted a little. Not only did the Professor have telepathic abilities, he…felt there was a connection with me and something that happened months ago?

"Months ago…" I frowned, thinking back. Depending on how many months they were talking about, it could be anything. It might not even be me they were talking about, but… I blinked as a light bulb went on.

"Could he have sensed me waking up?"

3rd Person P.O.V

"What kind of connection?" Beast asked.

Professor Xavier sighed. "That, I am also unsure of. It is more of a feeling I have at this point. I could easily be wrong, but there is one thing."

Beast tilted his head in silent query.

"It is true that we may have to capture it, but I would like to observe its behaviour first when it is free from captivity. Perhaps we can leave it be on the grounds if there is no real threat and it can be contained. Proper safety precautions would need to be applied, but can you think of any suitable technology that would aid me in making my observations first?"

Beast smiled suddenly, pleasantly surprised by the idea. "Better yet Professor, I will make it myself. I was working on new cameras that can be attached to our suits for individualised training feedback and security. The prototypes can be easily repurposed. In fact, I am sure I could set up the feed from them to show on your laptop in your study," he said animatedly, tea forgotten.

Charles smiled back, pleased to hear him so enthusiastic despite the circumstances. "That would be excellent. Thank you, Hank."

"I'll see to it right away."

Spider-Man's P.O.V

"Suits? Training?" What secrets were these guys hiding? Also, containing me was never going to happen. "Sorry to disappoint gentlemen, but that is not going to change when there are people I can help."

I finished my food, pausing. If this Professor believed that there was a connection to me – if it was me he was talking about – it could mean that I had been here before mutating; before I lost my memories. "What if they knew me?"

They would have known me as a humanoid in a mask though, not like this. "How do I find out for sure?" If there was even the slightest chance at obtaining more puzzle pieces, I had to take it. This needed investigating, but with their numbers I wasn't exactly keen on breaking in. I could wait until some of them left, but there was no guarantee that would be anytime soon.

I needed a distraction – something to get even a few of them out into the grounds while the others inside were occupied. Getting multiple people outside at once would be easy with their new plans, but…

"New plans… That's it!" The surveillance cameras. I chuckled again, ideas forming. "This is going to be fun."