No theatrics, no wisecracks. Here's the next chapter of Inversion!
Osborn walked quickly through the corridors. It was pointless to try and hide – S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security cameras would catch him in moments, if they didn't see him exiting his cell. If he ran into any agents, the game was up – he was still wearing his orange and black jumpsuit, and he had no idea where the locker room was. So all he had left to rely on were Ultron, Nitro, and pure dumb luck.
Osborn remembered when Anti-Venom brought him in. The traitorous double-agent had originally been a member of the Resistance. His true colors came through when, during an evacuation from the Sierra Nevada base, Brock knocked him out with one well-placed punch to the head. Brock then proceeded to hand him over to the Avengers, hoping to score big points with him. They didn't disappoint – he was placed in charge of the Thunderbolts.
The joke was on Brock, though. The Resistance's leaders, including Osborn, planned the whole thing. In fact, the only reason they let Brock in was because they knew that he would become a traitor. The plan, once Osborn was brought in, was two-fold. One – deliver a crippling blow to S.H.I.E.L.D., so they would be cut off from the main "hero" forces in America. Two – plunder their databases and find out what exactly they, along with every other "hero" on Earth, were planning.
Osborn came upon what he was looking for – a giant, triple-locked door labeled S.H.I.E.L.D. Databases. Satisfied that no one was around, Osborn made a call to Ultron via the iPad. "I found the door to the database," Osborn said.
"Hook me in," Ultron replied. "I'll break through their codes."
"What are you going to do about the eye scans and fingerprint scans?" Osborn asked.
If Ultron could cock an eyebrow, he would be doing it right now. As things stood, all he did was cock his head to one side. "It's me, remember?"
"Oh my god," Osborn said theatrically, clutching his chest. "Did Ultron the robot just make a joke?"
"Shut up and hook me in."
Osborn did just that. On the screen, Ultron's eyes narrowed to thin red lines as he concentrated. The control panel's screen had information flash randomly across it, as if a virus was ravaging its systems. After a few seconds, the control screen flashed the words Access granted.
"There. It's done," Ultron said, pulling back into himself. "I can't guarantee that the security system didn't notice my presence, though."
"I'll be quick, then," Osborn replied. "Get Nitro ready. If you have a shot to take this thing down, you take it. No exceptions."
"What about you?"
Osborn turned off the iPad before Ultron could say anymore. The truth was – he didn't know a damn thing about what he should do if things went south.
Opening the door, Norman Osborn wished that he had.
A short, heavily built man stood in front of the gigantic computer screen. He was wearing a white t-shirt and faded jeans, making him look like a lumber jack. Osborn knew better. He recognized that hairstyle anywhere – wild black hair that swept backwards in two corners, almost like a boomerang. More than that, it was the eyes. They were the eyes of a man who had been controlled all his life… before giving in to his rage and killing anyone who had ever so much as owed him a quarter.
"Hello, Osborn," Wolverine growled, his famous adamantium claws popping out with a snikt!
"How long have you been here," Osborn asked, turning it into a statement.
"Long enough t' smoke two cigars," Logan replied, gesturing at the smoke-filled air.
Waving at the air, Osborn said, "Is that what you've been doing? I thought someone was burning your laundry. Honestly, if you're going to fill my lungs with cigar smoke, at least make them Cuban."
Wolverine said nothing, only ran at Osborn with both sets of claws leading the way. He dodged it easily, leaping over Logan and twisting in the air. Landing in a fighting stance, Osborn picked up a nearby fire extinguisher and threw it at Logan. Wolverine didn't slice it in half, or even dodge it. He batted it aside with the flat of his claws.
"You're slipping up, Osborn," Logan taunted, dragging his claws Freddy Krueger style across one of the walls. "Whatever happened to the man who put the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men in the hospital all within the week?"
"Take a look at the reports, shorty," Osborn replied. "In each and every fight…"
Mechanical hands burst from the wall, grabbing Wolverine across the throat and left arm. Taking advantage of his surprise, Osborn sprinted up to Logan with superhuman speed. Norman finger jabbed some of Wolverine's pressure points – two at the base of the neck, and fourteen in the chest.
"… I was always with someone," Osborn finished as Logan dropped to the ground.
Looking up, Osborn asked, "What the hell took you so long?"
"I don't know if you noticed, Osborn," Ultron replied, "but I had to take care of some company first."
It was then that Osborn looked through the hole that Ultron came through. There were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents littered all about the hallway. None of them were dead, seeing as they were all groaning with pain.
"Is Nitro in place?" Osborn asked, turning his attention to the computer.
"He is," Ultron replied, taking up the monitors not used by Osborn. "I told not to explode until I give him the signal."
Neither of them spoke after that for a very simple reason – they were running out of time. They had two hours – maximum – before the Helicarrier reached New York. By then, they would fail the first objective of the plan. With that in mind, they focused on the computers, turning through terabyte after terabyte. They went through weapons designs, profiles on "heroes" and "villains", and countless phone taps. It was beginning to look hopeless until…
"I've got it!" Osborn cried. Not wasting any time, Osborn jammed his finger into the USB port. Twenty milliseconds later, the plans of the fake heroes were safe inside Ultron.
With a thought, Ultron opened up a communications channel with Nitro. "Nitro! Blow the coolants! NOW!"
The Helicarrier lurched to one side, falling slowly into the sea. At the same time, Wolverine started to wake up. Looking at each other, Norman and Ultron said at the same time, "Time to go."
Grabbing Norman, Ultron dived out the window. They went out at an angle, so they were out of the shadow of the Helicarrier in seconds. Ultron tapped his wrist in three places, each one lighting up red, green, and blue. Two seconds later, Osborn's Goblin Glider flew beside them. Norman wasted no time in jumping on.
The minute Osborn touched the glider, nanomachines started crawling up his legs. They moved up in a checkerboard pattern, forming a green and black armor. He soon became the Green Goblin, a wanted man in all 50 states of the U.S. and twenty-seven different countries.
"Let's go, Ultron," Osborn said. "We have plans to discover and a world to save."
That ends chapter two. Who are the leaders of the Resistance? What are the fake heroes' plans?