Chapter 5: Looming Threat
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters or logos.
Night had fallen in New York, and Magneto had already made his preparations to steal the first artifact from a museum. It angered him that Sabertooth had run off to who knows where, but he did not wish to waste anymore time at the moment. Thinking back he realized that it might have been better to send Blink to accomplish this robbery, but at the moment he was more interested in finding out where the other artifacts were, and that is why he had sent her to find Mastermind.
While the mind-warping mutant was somewhat of a coward, he was useful in his own way and would certainly help in their search. Seeing how he had no idea where the man had disappeared to after the Apocalypse incident, it was probably wise to send someone more tactful than Pyro to track him down. While loyal, the fiery mutant often displayed fits of sadism that would not bold well for a simple search mission. Second of all, if the X-Men became involved with this they would recognize his powers, unlike Blink who they had yet to encounter.
At this point it seemed like a game of chess, and after Sabertooth's failure to accomplish a simple task, he would have to be more careful how he set up the pieces. He was glad that the X-Men had not yet stumbled onto his plans, but at the very least it seemed that a sense of stealth would be required for them to stay below Xavier's view. The cloaking technology Magneto employed was always helpful there, but it would only provide them so much cover.
The master of magnetism made sure the streets were clear before appearing out in the open, closely followed by his two assistants Pyro and Senyaka. He held up a hand to signal them to follow before heading towards the doors to the museum. It seemed as though the curator had gone home, and no one was within sight, meaning they were safe to enter. Taking one last look around for safety measures, Magneto unlocked the doors with his powers and floated over the security lasers that coved the floor like a net.
"Fan out…" he ordered them. "If you find the artifact that we seek, alert me at once."
"No problem, mate." The fiery mutant whispered, turning to search another hallway.
Senyaka sauntered off in the opposite direction, not bothering to verbalize his compliance at the moment. His leader did not object as the three mutants parted ways to search different areas. Magneto began his own search, having been here during its business hours to familiarize himself with the territory.
He observed a few of the exhibits, silently searching for the crystal that he had seen during a previous visit to the museum. Due to the large amount of artifacts present, he had forgotten exactly where the one he was searching for was located and searching in silence. Before proceeding in the next hall, he concentrated his powers on a few cameras and demagnetized them to prevent detection and continued onwards with his search. With a second wave of his hand, he repeated the process with the rest of the security system, disrupting the building's wiring and shutting down the flow of power to the main floor.
Magneto continued his search for several minutes, but the lack of light made it more difficult to pinpoint the crystal's exact location. He remembered the museum's layout, but there had been several similar displays in the room where it was hidden. As he reached the room, the sound of unfamiliar voices talking quickly caught his attention, prompting him to react in a hostile manner. Raising his hand, he magnetized the door leading upstairs to prevent uninvited guests from walking in on them.
From what they were saying it was apparent that the men trapped behind the door noticed the problems with the security system, and had come down to investigate. Magneto prepared to knock them out using he door itself as a weapon, but the sudden appearance of his newer Acolyte quickly diverted his attention.
Senyaka positioned his back to the section of wall next to the entry and seemed to nod. Knowing his subordinate's power, the master of magnetism released the door, revealing two men in security staff outfits carrying flashlights. Both of them gasped in shock as they pointed their lights at the masked mutant, but he reached forward, grabbing them both by the throats with his hands. The two guards weakened as he drained their bioelectrical essence, finishing the move by smashing their heads together with deliberate force.
Magneto eyed the two unconscious forms with a look of disgust. "That was unnecessary…"
"What about that thing we came here for?" the masked mutant questioned as if he had not heard the other man's comment.
Pyro entered the room through a door on the opposite side and immediately joined them. He eyed the two security guard passed out on the ground and guessed what had happened as his eyes settled on his fellow Acolyte, but made no comment as he thought about how scary Senyaka's abilities could be sometimes.
"So, you blokes find anything yet?" the pyromaniac questioned in his Australian accent.
Magneto swept in the opposite direction and continued to search the room beyond, his underlings following closely behind. He moved aside as they crossed the threshold into the next area, gesturing to the man standing behind him to proceed. "Pyro… Light the way." He ordered.
Igniting a fire in his hands, the mutant used a ball of fire as a lantern so that they could get a better view of the exhibits through the veil of the darkness that surrounded them. He stepped forward and expanded the size of his light, making certain to contain the blaze so that it did not grow too large and spread to the carpet of walls. Setting the entire museum on fire would attract a lot of attention that they didn't need right now. The flicker of the flames illuminated the room's exhibits in a feeble glow, but after a moment their leader seemed to have seen something.
The master of magnetism glided forward and set himself down near one of the smaller cases, his eyes coming to life as he gazed upon the artifact trapped within. The light from Pyro's lit fire reflected off of the surface of the exhibit, revealing the gleam of a ruby inside of the glass case. One of the things that he desired most was with his grasp, giving him a feeling of deep satisfaction that he had not felt in a while.
"Open it…" Magneto ordered, gesturing towards the protective cover.
"With pleasure!" Pyro replied. Stepping forward, he began heating the protective layer of glass with a concentrated stream of fire, but was quickly interrupted before completing the task.
A whip shot out in their direction, shattering he glass case into shards and seizing hold of the ruby within with a well-placed lash. Magneto shielded his eyes with his cape to avoid the impact of the broken glass and glared at his subordinate as Senyaka pulled the end of his weapon back towards him, along with the artifact that they sought. Their leader seemed less than amused by the violent approach, but his anger evaporated as the masked mutant handed him the crystal.
"It doesn't look so special." Senyaka replied in a gravely tone.
The master of magnetism motioned for Pyro to produce his light and held the crystal up the roaring flame. "Take a look at the side of the gem and see the truth. Many of the ancient symbols engraved on the side are undoubtedly the same as those engraved on the main unit for the eye of ages. I did the research to find out the truth… This is the first artifact that we seek."
As he spoke, some of the runes seemed to be giving off a glow of their own, something that did not go unnoticed by the three mutants. It took a moment for the glow to disappear, but before Magneto could pocket the hand-sized ruby, a strange substance shot out of the darkness and seized hold of the gem, pulling it away from them. Pyro expanded his fire to illuminate the direction that the attack had come from to find a man crawling around on the ceiling in a way that would have been physically impossible for anyone else.
Although a mask and costume he wore concealed his facial features and protected his identity. His rest of his costume consisted red and blue outfit with what appeared to be web like patterns covering his body, the insignia on his chest resembling a spider, most befitting of his ability to cling to walls. Realizing that he had been seem, the man flipped around an landed on his feet, several meters away from the thieving mutants.
"It looks like a pretty valuable stone, but unfortunately it belongs to the museum which means that taking it would be stealing." The newcomer replied with a note of sarcasm, giving the crystal a playful toss. "If you guys are looking for some jewelry, I suggest you check out the store a few blocks down."
His subordinates stepped forward with murderous intent, but Magneto held out his arm to stop him and turned to face their new adversary. "I do not know who you are or why you have chosen to interfere with my endeavors, but I will give you fair warning… Give that relic to me, or you will sincerely regret your defiance."
"Around here they call me Spider-man, and you'll find I'm not the kind of guy who just looks the other way just because some creep in a cape says so." The masked hero replied.
Raising his hand, he shot a piece of string at the villains, but Pyro reacted quickly, burning the webbing by raising a wall of fire around them. The masked Acolyte standing beside him slung his whip forward, forcing the masked man to dodge. Spider-man leapt out of the way with an agile leap and landed on a nearby wall, crawling out of range of the strike with a surprised yelp, barely managing to escape the fate of the security guards that had also experienced Senyaka's deadly touch.
Magneto's eyes narrowed as he eyed the wall crawler, his patience beginning to slip. "Remember that you have brought this upon yourself." Swirling around, the mutant master singled his two subordinates. "Retrieve that artifact! Do whatever it takes, but do not damage to crystal!"
The fiery mutant let out an insane cackle as he released a much large fire, causing the entire room to light with the glow of flickering flames. The walls of fire expanded so that they blocked the doors leading out of the room, while he used the remainder of his fire to attack their enemy. Pyro laughed maniacally as the towering inferno expanded through the large room around them, and began tossing blasts of fire at the crime fighter. Senyaka seemed glad to have an excuse to go all out and immediately headed out into battle.
"Anyone for grilled spider!" Pyro shouted, tossing a few balls of flame into the air.
The fires seemed to gravitate towards their enemy as he manipulated the directing they moved, but Spider-man jumped to another wall and retaliated with a particularly large blast of web. Pyro burned the attack with a blast of flame and fire off another one, forcing his opponent to dodge once again. The masked vigilante was relieved he had dodged the inferno, but they pursued him as if guided by the enemy's will.
"Is that the best you guys can do?" Spider-man called out mockingly as he jumped to safety. "I guess there's no challenge fighting three men who steal jewelry."
Senyaka lashed out wildly, flailing his weapon as he launched into a full pursuit. "Stand still and we'll see if you're still laughing!"
He jumped to avoid the incoming fireballs, but his spider sense alerted him to another threat. The hero flipped around in midair to avoid the touch of Senyaka's glowing whip. Although he had no idea what the masked mutant's powers were capable of doing, he had no desire to find out anytime soon and continued to avoid attacks. It seemed futile as he spent a minute leaping around, watching craters and burn marks appear in places he had been moments before as he moved from place to place.
Pyro came from the opposite direction, his flamethrowers positioned to attack. "How's about I treat us to some barbequed spider bits." He screamed, sending a large plume of flame into the air in an attempt to burn his prey.
Spider-man leapt again to avoid a roasting and retaliated with few web blasts that were incinerated before they could touch the villain. Not only did the fiery villain prevent his webs from working properly, but it seemed as though both enemies were aiming to kill. Their leader had not yet attempted to attack, but the helmeted man gave off a powerful presence that made him glad he was not involved yet. A single blast of fire grazed his shoulder as he tried to escape, but the pain slowed him down just enough for someone to catch him off guard.
The hero watched as Senyaka swung his whip-like weapon forward, but the distance was great enough for him to counter attack properly. Shooting a bit of webbing out, he managed to stick the webbing to the man's leg and counter by pulling the man's legs out from under him with a powerful tug. Spinning him around in a circular motion, Spider-Man threw him into the air and sent flying toward Pyro. The fiery villain screamed as his comrade's body crashed through the wall of fire surrounding him.
Senyaka's psionic whip made contact with Pyro as they smashed into each other, the attack meant for Spider-man accidentally draining his ally's energy as they fell onto the ground in a crumpled heap. The two mutants tumbled into a nearby wall, the vibration causing a metal shield hanging on the wall to land on his head. He toppled over sideways from the impact, as the weakened Pyro struggled to his feet in an attempt to fight back, but a series of web blasts quickly bound them both to the floor.
Pyro attempted to heat the webbing that held him, but the fire didn't seem to work. "What the hell is this stuff?"
"I changed my weapon to fire a special heat resistant webbing… Glad you appreciate it." The wall crawling hero boasted with a note of humor.
"Enough!" Magneto glided forward with a malevolent aura, his gaze hardening as his eyes settled on his two servants. "You will pay for interfering in matters that you cannot possibly understand."
"Well unfortunately for you, my job doesn't earn that much. Why don't you pay this time and we'll call it square." Spider-man joked.
The master of magnetism raised his hand towards the hero, who seemed to sense hostile intent and retreated to the other side of the room as a precaution. Before he could respond, the swords on display on a nearby wall sprung to life and skewered the spot where the arachnid had been standing. He swung into the air with some well-placed webbing to avoid the flying blades, but a large metal flagpole sitting across the room floated into the air and hammered into his mid-section before wrapping around his arms and legs. The result caused him to crash into the opposing wall and hit the floor, the jewel he had been holding slipped from his flailing hands and rolled away.
Spider-man tapped into his enhanced strength in an attempt to escape the hold, but his captor clenched his fist, causing the swords from before to stick into the ground inches from the his head. The sudden assault surprised him, as he had never before encountered an opponent quite like this. His eyes widened in shock as several metallic objects floated into the air and began raining down upon him in a violent manner.
He struggled again, barely managed to roll out of the way as an iron statue in the corner of the room almost crushed him. "I know I'm gonna regret asking this, but who are you?"
"I see no reason to tell you…" Magneto remarked coldly as he raised his hand to silence the hero, but the sound of police sirens diverted his focus.
A familiar whip from before wrapped around the web-slinger's arm, causing him to moan in pain as the touch seared at his flesh. Before Senyaka could deliver the finishing blow, Magneto raised a hand to stop him, to which the masked mutant retracted his weapon. Their leader used his powers to manipulate the swords again, this time using them to sever the binds that held his other subordinate. Pyro joined them moment later, but his attention seemed to be stolen by the sound of police cars arriving on the scene.
Magneto turned around his back to the fallen hero. "We have what we came here for… It's time to go!" he replied with a tone of finality.
His minions quickly headed for the door, but Magneto summoned three large metallic orbs with a wave of his hand, which smashed through the nearest window, destroying large chunks of the wall as they appeared. The Acolytes and their leader stepped into the orbs and were immediately swept away to safety, leaving behind a very shocked superhero, who could do nothing as the gigantic metal objects floated through the nearby hole and vanished into the night sky. His eyes widened in shock behind his mask as the villains escaped, taking with them an artifact of unknown value.
With great effort, he managed to break free from his binds and struggled to stand, an intense pain throbbing where the masked mutant had burned into his flesh with that strange whip. "Great job Spidey… Couldn't even stop three thieves from getting away with the goods!" he muttered sarcastically.
Next Morning
It was seven in the morning as Professor Xavier sat in his personal study, hoping for some peace and quiet for a change. He sat back with a cup of coffee and a stack of paperwork, glad that most of the students were still sleeping late so that he could have some time to himself. Despite the early hour, the man was already dressed and ready for a hard day's work. He had already made the run to the basement to check on Cerebro an hour ago, and was now making some preparations for future students and staff. He stared out the window and seemed to find peace with the beauty of nature, seeing how it was such a nice day out as compared to the storm that had dominated the sky two days ago.
With new recruits joining the X-Men, and the possibility of receiving new students at the institute, he had been quite busy with paperwork and meetings with his staff these past few weeks. Things had been particularly hectic the past two days with Gambit and Colossus joining up, but to make matters worse his dreams last night were filled with dread. It made him wonder whether or not it was connected to the visions he had received from the mind of Apocalypse, but the feeling of unease he had harbored the last twenty-four hours had yet to go away.
A moment later his thoughts returned to Logan's mission, but he quickly tried to push the thought aside. He had not seen him of X-23 on Cerebro's readings this morning, but maybe a lack of them using their mutant abilities was good thing. For Wolverine it would have meant that he was in the middle of a fight, a thought that did little to ease the telepath's weary mind. Perhaps he had been fortunate enough not to run into Magneto or Sabertooth while searching the general area for the girl.
He meditated for a short while on the day's events, but the sound of a phone ringing snapped him back to reality. The bald mutant picked up the phone on his desk and answered. "Hello…"
"Is that you, Professor Xavier?" a familiar voice sounded from the other end.
Charles Xavier looked surprised to hear this particular voice, but quickly regained his composure. "Angel… It has certainly been awhile since we've heard from you. Perhaps you have reconsidered my previous offer then. You know that there is a place for you among the X-Men should you ever choose to accept."
"While I appreciate the offer, that's not the reason for this call. I discovered something this morning that I think you'll find most interesting." The winged mutant's voice came from the receiver.
"You may explain…" the Professor replied, his voice wavering slightly as he made an educated guess at what was going on.
"I know it's still early, but the local newspaper managed to squeeze in a story from early last night. There was a break in at the museum downtown, and several metal orbs were seen fleeing the scene shortly after." Angel explained with an inflection of concern. "I assume that you know where I'm going with this story."
The telepath sat back in his chair, his shoulders shifting uncomfortably. "It appears that Magneto is up to his old tricks, although the limited information you gave me does little to help us learn what he may be planning. Do you know anything else?"
"There's really not that much detail, but the museum curator was contacted after the robbery, and he claims that whoever was there stole a single crystal. It's obvious that Magneto wasn't trying to get rich considering that the other jewels in the case were untouched." The other mutant replied in a thoughtful tone.
Xavier looked slightly concerned by this bit of news, and fell silent as he made his decision. Perhaps the others would not be happy, but the idea that Magneto had finally resurface made him wonder if it had anything to do with why Logan hadn't called in yet. These discomforting thoughts danced through his mind for several minutes as he considered the options. This time he believed that it would be a good idea for him to investigate personally, but the question remained of who would accompany him. Perhaps it was a good time to test his newest X-Men… He would have to leave someone behind to watch the students, meaning that Hank would probably be left out of this mission, but Cyclops and Jean would probably be willing to come if he explained the situation, as well a many of the older students. It was also a good opportunity to test Iceman to see if he was ready to move up.
"Professor?" Angel replied, wondering if the other man had hung up.
"Oh yes, my apologies for making you wait, but I believe we had better come to New York to investigate personally…" Xavier replied in a collected manner. "I know that you are acting a an independent, but I would greatly appreciate it if you would wait until we arrive before acting upon any clues. You are more than welcome to join for this mission."
The winged mutant nodded even though the gesture was pretty much meaningless during phone conversations. "I believe you already know where I live right now. Contact me when you arrive and I'll be there to help as soon as possible."
"We'll see you then…" The telepath replied, hanging up the phone rather quickly. Despite the calmness he had experienced this morning, this day was about to become another mission. He just hoped that Magneto was not planning anything big this time, although something told him that the feeling of dread he had been experiencing was connected to whatever was going on now with their old nemesis.
With Wolverine
Wolverine opened his eyes for the first time in hours to discover that he was no longer stranded in the wilds. For a moment he wasn't what to think, but as his vision cleared the strange new surroundings slowly came into focus. From the looks of the room, he appeared to be trapped in some kind of lab. The room was dark and dreary, but he could make out several tables and a large number of computer terminals, only of a few of which appeared to be active at the moment. The walls of the room were plated with some kind of metallic paneling, making him think briefly of the SHIELD headquarters, but the atmosphere even less inviting if even possible.
An attempt to moved his arms and legs quickly told him that he was bound and shackled in a position against the wall to prevent him from using his claws to escape. A painful throbbing in his head quickly distracted him from the mess he had awoken to find, but his thoughts quickly returned to the battle that had taken place many hours ago. He remembered an encounter with Sabertooth, and shortly after that a freak with mechanical arms had shown up to capture X-23. They fought off an entire squadron of shoddily built robots, only to find themselves trapped in the middle of a forest fire and doused with some kind of sleeping gas.
Things began to get fuzzy after that point, leading him to the simple conclusion that he had lost consciousness, but the last thing he could recall was a hand reaching over to help him to safety. Just now he remembered that X-23 had been with him at the time of the fire, but a small noise coming from beside him caught his attention. A quick glance to his left told him that she was alive, but the child was trapped in much the same manner that he was, heavily shackled to the wall in an upright position with no way to use her abilities.
With an angry snarl, he struggled against the binds that held him, but to no avail. For all the effort he placed into trying to break free, the shackles around his wrists didn't even budge, and the ones holding his ankles were fastened just as tightly. It was obviously apparent that the enemy had absolutely no sympathy for their plight, let alone enough to make the incarceration even a little less painful. Concentrating harder, he attempted to break the binds once more time, but before he could place his effort in, a searing pain tore through his entire body.
Wolverine let out a growl of pain as a powerful jolt of electricity tore through his body, unable to thrash around due to the binds that held him in place. The powerful surge felt as though it were grilling his insides like a fly trapped inside a bug zapper, but he refused to allow his pain to get the better of him. If there was one thing he had learned from experiences like this, it was that allowing the enemy to see weakness would only make things worse. After a minute or so, the pain stopped just as quickly as it had started, but the experience had only brought his anger to a boiling point.
"Ah, I see you've finally regained consciousness." An annoyingly familiar voice rang out from the empty doorway.
The captive mutant scowled as Doctor Octopus entered the room, his robotic tentacles having been completely repaired since their previous encounter. The man wore a smug expression as he eyed the prisoners through his sunglasses, which looked rather out of place in this laboratory considering how dark it was already. He let out a small chuckle upon seeing the expression his prisoner wore, seemingly enjoying the mutant's poisoned expression. Logan struggled to rip the scientist to shreds, but the electrical shocks returned, effectively halting his renewed attempt to get free.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Octavius wagged his index finger as if he were speaking to a child. "The more you struggle, the more powerful the electrical shocks become. Should you continue to fight back I will be first to sedate you again."
"Where the hell am I!" the incarcerated mutant shouted with a feral snarl.
"There is no need for me to answer to the likes of you. All that matters right now as that you are my prisoner and will remain as such until I have no further use for you!" Doctor Octopus replied with a note of superiority.
This tone did not go unnoticed by Logan, who immediately felt a burning desire to wrap his hands around the enemy's throat. Out of every villain he had ever met, the ill-tempered mutant had never met someone who spoke with such arrogance before. The oddball was certainly one of the strangest individuals he had ever met, and considering how many freaks he had fought over the years that was certainly saying something. If the whole mechanical arm shtick wasn't strange enough, his style of dress and dark glasses really topped it off.
Wolverine let out a feral sound, his eyes blazing with hatred. "What did you hope to achieve by nabbing us anyway, bub?"
The doctor shrugged with a look of annoyance, giving his left hand a casual wave as if he were swatting a fly. "I was merely hired to do the job in exchange for some funding, and was offered some excellent compensation for accomplishing the deed. In any case X-23 was the target, you just happened to be in the way when I appeared to enact the capture."
"I see, so you're some kind of idiotic henchmen then…" Logan snorted with a gruff expression.
The mutant's eyes widened in shock as one of the doctor's metal claws wrapped around his throat, cutting off his air supply for as the metallic fingers tightened around his windpipe. The scientist looked positively outraged by his previous assertion, the vindictive light of the laboratory shining off his dark glasses in a sinister manner. The tentacle-like tool only intensified its grip as the prisoner struggled, but he was unable to move very much thanks to his binding, the thought of being killed by such a man causing a feeling of outrage to rise in his chest.
"How dare you speak to me like that!" the mad scientist shouted, his voice growing louder with each syllable. Seeing the color beginning to leave his victim's face, the villainous man released his throat. "For future reference my intelligence far surpasses your own… To call me a lowly henchman is laughable coming from the likes of you! Doctor Otto Octavius works for no one without due reason."
Wolverine coughed and sputtered as the metallic claw released his neck, the color returning to his face a few moments later. His pale tone deepened into an angry red as he watched his captor with great dislike. He was furious at himself for getting caught, and even angrier for allowing X-23 to get caught too, and the recent strangling attempt had pushed him to the point of explosion. The mutant clenched his hands as if he wished nothing more than to return to favor.
"Suck it up, doc! The question I want answered is exactly who hired you?" Logan reiterated, his teeth gritting as he fought the urge to struggle against the shackles again.
Otto Octavius smirked in amusement as eyed the mutant through his visor. "Perhaps I should be the person asking the questions." He replied. "I noticed during the battle that your powers are very similar to that unfortunate specimen trapped beside you. The files I received concerning that girl revealed that she was merely an altered clone of an old government project… Would I be correct to assume that you were the original Weapon X?"
"Don't call me that!" Wolverine shouted, his anger overflowing again. He strained his arms again, but was quickly silenced by the return of the electrical current flowing through his body.
"You need not say anything else, your pitifully volatile reaction speaks for itself." Doctor Octopus replied with a satisfied expression. He noticed the mutant's glance at his female clone and smiled again. "If you are concerned for the girl's well being, do not be… Your capture does not provide me with any type of compensation as far as I know, therefore I may have no choice but to dispose of you once this is over."
Logan let out an angry growl in response to the man's attitude. "I'd like to see you try it."
The scientist let out a small chortle as he turned his back to Wolverine and began walking towards the exit without so much as a backwards glance. He paused for a second before leaving the room, his gaze still turned away from the two, trapped mutants. "You apparently have a short memory considering that I came very close to putting an end to your miserable existence mere moments ago… Do not tempt me!"
Octavius reached for the wall and pulled a lever, causing a large containment field to appear around his two prisoners. With that, he swept from the room and into the halls, ignoring the nasty insults and animalistic growls that ensued as the prisoner began to struggle against his binds. Octavius found the reaction quite entertaining, seeing how he never expected someone who was so thoroughly trapped to be so defiant at the same time. He sincerely doubted that even Spider-man would have fought so hard, but then again the web-head didn't have the same anger issues that this man seemed to possess in abundance.
After several minutes of traversing the inside of the underground base, the mad scientist reached his destination. The room he entered was a smaller room, containing a few computers and a series of monitors and communication devices. Several lights began to flash as he activated the room's power via a switch on the wall, providing a much better lighting for the room. He reached control terminal close to the largest monitor and began to punch in a sequence of buttons, which quickly activated the communications network. The screen in front of him flickered on seconds later, displaying a message that he needed to type in a password, which he quickly followed. The screen focused, revealing the half-disfigured face of a man shortly after.
"Doctor Octavius… I was wondering when we would hear from you again, yet I did not expect it to be so soon." Herbert Landon mused with a look of anticipation. "Have you managed to complete the assignment?"
The arrogant scientist gave him a stern nod. "Indeed I have, and then some. Tell the Kingpin that I have handle the situation and expect to receive my payment as soon as possible."
He nodded in agreement. "According to the tracer it appears that you are calling from one of our underground bunkers several miles north. I trust that X-23 is alive, and you are holding her under conditions befitting her powers so that she does not escape."
"Of course!" the doctor replied with a slightly aggressive tone. "Do not take me for a fool! Even with her extensive abilities she will not escape easily. I have ensured that the prisoner will not escape as long as you require. Tell Mr. Fisk that he inspect the operation personally!"
The other man seemed satisfied with the outcome. "I assume that he will want to hear this out for himself. Wait a moment as I transfer you…"
Landon typed in a sequence on his own keyboard as he established a connection with the private communication line used by his boss, causing the screen in front of Octavius to go black again for a minute or two. The multi-limbed villain watched as his monitor flickered a few times before revealing the large form of New York's most infamous crime lord, his impressive stature and white suit giving him an aristocratic appearance. The Kingpin of Crime leaned forward as the monitor in his own office activated to show the face of his paid underling. The mountain of a man stood up from his chair and moved closer to the screen so that his upper body seemed to fill the screen.
"Dr. Octopus… I admit that I did not expect to hear from you again so soon. Herbert Landon tells me that you managed to locate and capture the target fairly quickly." Kingpin replied with a look of amusement.
The villainous doctor raised an eyebrow. "She was much closer than we anticipated, which was highly convenient considering the urgency of the situation. Although because of this I was not able to test the full capabilities of the mutant tracking devices that your team installed into the battle androids you lent me."
"That does not matter now that we have the girl in our custody." The crime lord appeared to be satisfied for the moment, but his expression wavered as his thoughts backtracked to past dealings with the doctor. "Which reminds me… Did you happen to run into any outside interference during this mission?"
"There were no signs of the authorities or a certain web-head, but there was a second mutant traveling with X-23, but due to his defiance I was forced to take him with me during the capture to avoid leaving behind any factor that might cause complications if left unchecked." Octavius replied with a small shrug.
The Kingpin looked slightly concerned by this new piece of information, but a moment later he appeared to be more irritated than anything else. "The object of value was X-23, I have absolutely no interest in other mutants. If you were able to capture this meddling mutant alive then why did you let him live?"
Doctor Octopus paused with an unreadable expression before speaking again. "I was fascinated that his powers seemed to mirror those of X-23 to a certain extent. The files that you gave me indicated that the girl was merely an altered clone of an old government experiment created to be the ultimate weapon. In conclusion, I believe that the man she was traveling with in the woods was the original Weapon X."
"Be that as it may, I do not believe that Madame Hydra has any interest in the original weapon." The vast man explained.
Octavius let out a small grunt before answering. "Very well then… If he is of no value to you or your benefactor, should I just kill him and get it over with?"
The crime boss seemed to consider him for a moment, but quickly came to a conclusion. "I believe that Landon wouldn't mind having an extra subject to work with, but that is not my direct concern. What that fool does on his own time does not interest me. Nevertheless, before we hand him over, I intend to ask the Hydra Supreme if she has any use for him. Until then make sure that neither of your prisoners escape from that location."
"You insult me by assuming that they could." the mad scientist replied confidently. "They are being held inside a high-powered force field in case they manage to break the binds holding their limbs. I cannot imagine that either of them have the powers necessary to escape from that."
"Once we have alerted Madame Hydra of the current circumstances, I am coming in person to inspect the situation for myself and see that the tradeoff is carried out…" the Kingpin replied as if he had not heard the doctor's boasting.
Doctor Octopus grimaced in return. "Very well then, but per our earlier agreement I expect to be substantially compensated for this little job."
"You will receive your payment soon enough." His employer moved forward aggressively so that his large form took up even more space on the screen. "I will arrive soon to conclude my deal with the HYDRA organization, but until then do not mess this up! If our quarry escapes under your watch, you will receive absolutely nothing!"
With his employer's conditions made abundantly clear, the screen switched off once again, leaving the mad scientist alone once again. Octavius sat back and took a moment to relax, having worked nonstop since the capture of the mutants. His employer had given him with a lot of resources to use, and after capturing the mutants he had put the provided supplies to good use repairing his mechanical arms and preparing a containment field to ensure that his two captives would not be able to escape.
It had taken him several hours to make these preparations, and luckily for him the knockout gas he had used during the capture was powerful to keep them under for extended periods of time. Then again luck really had little to do with it considering that he had worked so hard to create the perfect mixture of chemicals himself, so that the gas was potent enough to effect even mutants.
Although he probably wouldn't say this to his employer, Octavius had delayed making he call to satisfy his own curiosities surrounding the two subjects he had captured. Utilizing the technology inside this underground laboratory, he had taken a closer look at the mutants' innards, and was surprised to see how quickly their bodies recovered from internal and external damage. It seemed to be no wonder why HYDRA wanted their experimental subject back.
Such astounding abilities combined with the proper training could turn a human being into the ultimate killing machine. He had briefly experienced this during his fight with them, and would have been defeated did he not plan ahead for such as occasion. Octavius had also gotten some ideas from observing the two mutants. An evil smirk crossed his features as he thought about it. The mad scientist planned to put his inspirations into affect as soon as possible. He looked forward to his next encounter with Spider-man.
Note to Readers: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I still haven't been getting that much support, but I'm glad that some of you guys reviewed. A good review makes up for those who don't in my opinion. Forgive an spelling or grammatical errors I might have made. Like I said before, I write late at night. Any ideas, critiques, or comments are welcomed.