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Professor Xavier had exited the van and was now seated in his wheelchair outside of the vehicle with Storm standing beside him. Since she was the only person present when he lost contact with Wolverine's mind, the weather witch had been the first to receive what little information he had managed to obtain during the brief telepathic conversation. It seemed that Logan was nearby from what he'd learned, but further attempts to contact their lost comrade had proven futile for the moment. Apparently the energy field was causing interference with his ability to re-establish the mental link.
Either way it didn't seem to matter much, considering that the ill-tempered mutant was unable to provide much about his location to begin with. The thought made him worry about the well being of his old friend, and Storm seemed to share these sentiments. The two mutants spoke quietly as they waited in the truck stop's parking lot, hoping that the others would be back soon. The Professor had sent them an urgent message to gather back at the X-Van as soon as possible, even though he had decided against explaining everything telepathically.
After several tense minutes of waiting, the two former Acolytes entered the scene, closely followed by the three younger members of the group. Most of them seemed relatively concerned as they approached their leader, particular those who knew Logan best. Gambit merely raised an eyebrow with a sense of anticipation as the others waited patiently for their leader to speak to them, the metallic mutant standing beside them appearing slightly uncomfortable by the prospect of serving alongside those he had once fought against. Surely enough they had worked together on an unofficial capacity, but this was his first mission as one of the X-Men.
The Professor looked upon his charges with a solemn expression as he observed their surroundings, silently observing their surroundings to ensure that no one was within earshot so that they would not be overheard during this meeting. He cleared his throat almost hesitantly, but his experience with difficult situations had taught him that the best way to handle things was often to tackle an issue was to acknowledge it immediately. Perhaps it would have been a better idea to hold the meeting somewhere more private, but at the moment they did not have that luxury and time was of the essence.
"I am sorry if anyone was in the middle of something, but I believe that most of you will want to hear this information that I was able to obtain during your short absence." Xavier explained with a small frown. He paused a moment to take a breath, but when the others did not voice a response, he continued. "As promised, I scanned the area for Logan's mind, and as luck may have it I managed to establish a connection, if only briefly."
Jean Grey released a held breath as she heard this last bit of news. "Well at least we know that Wolverine is alive." She replied with a look of relief.
"More importantly, did you learn where he is, or maybe why he hasn't contacted the institute in the last twenty-four hours?" Cyclops questioned hastily.
"Unfortunately it is not as simple as that…" The Professor fell silent again, as if he were trying to figure out the most tactful way to word his answer. Reluctantly he decided that it was best to answer by starting from the beginning. "As I said before, the telepathic link I created was very brief and thus I was unable to learn much, but unfortunately it didn't seem as if he was fully aware of where he was either."
Gambit shrugged off the cryptic answer, his calm demeanor unchanged by this new piece of information. "Sounds pretty serious if you ask me. From what you've said so far. I'd assume that old iron-claws was captured by someone?"
Professor Xavier gave them a quick nod in response. "Unfortunately you would be correct in this case. From what I was able to learn, Logan was caught in the middle of an attempt to recapture X-23. He attempted to help the girl escape from her creators, but in the process the enemy managed to incapacitate them."
"If you were able to contact him then that means they must be nearby." Iceman replied with a confident grin. "All we need to do now is find out where these creeps are holding him and take them down hard and fast."
"The situation is not that simple!" Storm exclaimed in a stern tone, which seemed to wipe the smile off of the younger mutant's face.
After a brief pause, Charles Xavier inclined his head in a solemn manner. "As I was saying before, Logan was likely unconscious when they were captured, meaning that he does not know where they were taken. From what we know, he and X-23 are currently being held in some type of underground facility."
"Then we must begin the search immediately!" Colossus replied with a resolute expression.
"And we will." The Professor nodded in agreement. "Wolverine told me that he was being held within the confines of some kind of containment field, meaning that the flow of the energy may have interfered with my telepathic link. Since I was still able to establish the connection even with this impediment, I believe that he is relatively close to our current location."
Cyclops wore a thoughtful expression as he considered the options. "So then what should we do then? Do you want us to search the surrounding area and see if we can get any leads?"
Gambit stepped forward with a wry smile, his eyebrow cocked in amusement as he tossed a newspaper into their leader's lap. "You wanna talk suspicious, I heard some folks talking about a fire in the forest recently, and the story apparently made it into the paper." He indicated the article on the front page with his finger.
"Yes, you may be onto something…" Xavier replied tactfully.
The group fell silent as their leader read the paper for himself, his eyes moving back and forth over the surface of the front page. After a minute or so he flipped through the paper to find the rest of the article and continued reading to himself, his eyes widening slightly as he read the last part of the page. Something about this ordeal didn't seem right, although from what he had seen it was pretty clear that whatever had happened was certainly not Magneto's work. Even so, it seemed that there might have been a connection between the fire and what happened to their lost companion.
"According to the police investigation, several mechanical parts were found at the scene once the fire department had put out the flames. They say that the scraps appeared to be from recently dismantled robots, although it is somewhat unclear if the automatons were truly the cause of the towering inferno." The Professor relayed the information carefully.
Jean leaned forward to take a closer look at the article for herself. "Do you think that whatever happened has something to do with whoever captured Logan?" she asked the Professor.
Her mentor seemed to hesitate, taking the time to relax his shoulders before giving her an answer. "I must admit that this seems highly suspicious, although from past experience we know that advanced forms of cyber-robotics have been utilized by criminals for their own nefarious purposes."
"Well that certainly doesn't sound like Magneto's doing, but it's certainly something worth noting in this particular case." Gambit scratched his chin pensively as he thought about the situation.
Professor Xavier placed the tips of his fingers together. "Quite right… It may be a good place for us to start this search. Even so, I have my qualms about going directly to the scene in the case that we manage to draw the enemy's attention. Though the article does not specify exactly where the fire took place, our investigation should not be limited to this one incident."
"No sweat Professor X, maybe we can split up into groups to cover a larger area. This way we have a better chance of finding Wolverine, or at least picking up some clues on what might have happened." Iceman suggested.
"That might actually be a good idea in this case." Cyclops placed his hand on the younger mutant's shoulder. "Well Bobby, looks like you might have actually come up with a good idea this time around."
Iceman gave them a thumbs up sign, looking rather goofy as he did. "I've got millions of great ideas… Maybe if you guys let me join on a permanent basis we could talk about some of my new ideas for this team."
Their leader nodded in agreement. "After this mission I will make my decision about that particular matter, but for the time being you seem to have made a help suggestion, and things are certainly looking up."
"Just don't let it go to your head, tiger." The female telepath ruffled Bobby's head like a parent would to a child.
"Hey, quit it!" Iceman let out a small groan as he shook her off.
"Logically speaking, I believe that Jean is absolutely correct." Charles Xavier replied. "I do believe that we have already discussed your knack for becoming a little too confident at times. Remember what I said about controlling this aspect or your personality, thus channeling it as a strength rather than a weakness."
Gambit reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out his miniaturized staff. "So, are we heading out into the woods from here?" He asked, indicating the thicket of trees towards the end of the parking lot with the end of his metal rod.
The Professor considered his newest recruit for a moment, quietly going over some of the things he had learned from Wolverine during their brief telepathic conversation. "Logan told me that he was in an area similar to this one before he was captured, and since I was able to establish contact from here this may yet be a good place to start the search."
"Well what're we waiting for? Let's head out now and get this party started." Iceman boasted loudly.
Storm placed a hand on the boy's shoulder with a calm expression. "I agree that time is of the essence, but we should probably start by dividing the group into teams before beginning our search of the surrounding area." she turned to her superior for an answer. "What do you think, Charles?"
"Yes, that would be the best option…" the Professor replied in a business-like tone. He sized up the group for a moment, quickly realizing how easy it was to divide them up. "I will remain here and see if I can reconnect with Logan's mind. It would be unwise for me to travel such rough terrain, while also taking he risk of moving out of range under the circumstances. Our two newest recruits will form the first search team, while Scott and Jean will begin their own search."
"Sounds fine to me." Gambit replied with a small shrug.
Cyclops seemed to agree with the explosive mutant. "You can count on us, professor. We won't let you down."
Xavier gave them a small nod before turning to the woman standing beside him. "I want you to take Bobby with you and join the others on this mission."
The dark-skinned woman looked slightly taken aback by his order as she pushed a stand of ivory hair from her face. "While I do not wish to cause any trouble with your arrangements, perhaps it would be better if I remain here to provide assistance if necessary. If by some chance the enemy comes after us, there could be unforeseen complications. Do not ask me to place you in such a position."
"From past experiences I suppose there would be no point in arguing with your decision." He let out a small sigh, but the tone with which he spoke bore no sign of hostility. "Very well then, if you insist on staying behind then I will accept your choice without argument this time around."
Bobby stepped forward with a look of disappointment. "Does that mean that I won't get to see any action this time?"
"Perhaps there is another option considering that one of the reasons we invited you along was for this reason." Charles Xavier turned to gazed upon his two former students with a wry expression. "Assuming that these two will be willing to supervise your performance during this mission, of course."
"Don't worry, we'll be more than happy to keep an eye on Bobby." Jean Grey expressed her compliance.
Cyclops smiled in a bittersweet manner at this assertion. "Looks like your stuck with us this time around."
"You mean I have to be alone in the woods with the two lovebirds?" Iceman's face contorted into a sour expression, retching slightly at the thought. "Maybe I would be better off going out there by myself. I mean it's not like I haven't proved myself in the past."
Charles Xavier shook his head with an unusually stern expression. "Be that as it may, I do not believe that it is a good idea to proceed into a situation like this alone. If we run into danger it is best to have backup in the case that the opposition proves too strong. Do not forget that these people were able to capture both Wolverine and X-23…"
"Fair enough…" the icy mutant sunk back in defeat, looking as though he couldn't find any reason to argue.
Normally he might have put up some kind of argument, but he knew Logan pretty well and had seen firsthand what X-23 was capable of, and the thought that they were taken down was pretty frightening. After all, the latter had once infiltrated the institute all by herself and incapacitated everyone present with her impressive abilities. Those who had been there during the incident seemed to be thinking the same thing that he was, but none of them seemed willing to discuss it now.
After a few moments of silence, Colossus spoke up at last. "We should head out as soon as possible." The Russian mutant suggested calmly.
The Professor shared his sentiments. "I want all of you to stay with your group and keep in contact with each other at all times. This way if one of the teams makes an important discovery, the rest of us will not be caught unaware and can provide help if the situation demands it."
"You heard the man, let's get this party started!" Gambit replied in a smooth tone, his scheming eyes flashing with a glimmer of anticipation.
His former comrade glanced around to make sure they were alone before focusing his powers, instantly transforming him into his metallic form in a matter of seconds. "Let us go… We must not waste any time."
Xavier gave their two newest recruits an expression of approval before turning to face the others. "X-Men, move out!" he ordered in an unusually stern voice. "Stay together, and contact the rest of us if you find anything of importance. Remember that the fate of a trusted comrade may hang in the balance."
Scott and Jean headed off into the woods, the former giving his superior a small salute as they headed into the bushes. They were closely followed by Bobby, who scarcely managed to keep up with his two teammates. The trio vanished into the overgrowth moments later, closely followed by Colossus and Gambit, both of which headed in the opposite direction as they made their timely exit. The explosive mutant was particularly known for his tracking abilities and rugged background, giving him an advantage during this type of mission. In addition to his survival skills he was also a pretty good tracker.
"Good luck…" Professor Xavier muttered as his recruits headed out into the wilderness.
Storm quickly noticed his concern and placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm her former mentor. As the younger heroes disappeared from view, part of her wished that she had gone with them, but as a teacher at the institute she knew that they were capable of more than most of them gave them credit for. Looking towards the Professor told her that he was still concerned, but eventually the two adults turned their back on the forest and casually went about performing their own roles for this mission.
As Charles Xavier continued his telepathic search in an attempt to re-establish his psychic connection with Wolverine, the two groups he sent out parted ways and began exploring the surrounding forest for signs of their lost companion. As Cyclops and the rest of his team headed out onto the main trail to search for clues, the former Acolytes were used to enduring more rugged terrain due to the inconvenient location of Magneto's many bases. Having endured mountain and wasteland to reach those locations, a short trek through the wilderness was not nearly as taxing for them.
In placed that were too heavily grown to proceed, the two mutants began to carve out their own trail by forcing their way into thicker underbrush. The larger man stood in front, using his metallic form to crush and smash branches and twigs as they proceeded. Gambit kept his eyes fixated on the woods around them, carefully looking for any signs that someone had came through here beforehand. The explosive mutant extended his staff to full length, using the tool to bend tree limbs aside as they headed through the growth and further into the forest.
After several minutes of silence, the Russian mutant decided to address his fellow recruit. "I joined the X-Men to make amends for my past deeds." Colossus confided to the other man.
"What?" Gambit raised an eyebrow while directing a blank expression.
The metal man blinked before addressing his comrade. "Forgive me… I merely told you my purpose for joining the X-Men in the hopes that you would do the same for me. By ordinary means it makes very little sense as to why you would also have chosen to quit the Acolytes and join with those you once stood against."
"I've got any number of reasons as to why I decided to join the X-Men." Gambit leaned on his fighting rod for a moment as if lost in thought. "First I have to say that serving Magneto loses its charm after awhile."
Colossus looked at him appraisingly. "When we spoke earlier I sensed that you were genuine in wanting to change allegiances and thus I vouched for you. I shall not invade your privacy if you do not wish to confide this, but perhaps there is more to your decision then you care to reveal."
A silence fell as they stared at one another, but the smaller man did not back down. He considered his fellow deserter for a moment before answering, a look of amusement etching its way onto his face. "I gotta admit you were always smarter than the old boss gave you credit for. Let's just say that I have my reasons for wanting to stick around, but as they say, that's neither here nor there."
"I suppose it is not." The metallic mutant replied with an almost apologetic look. "I did not mean to intrude into your personal matters."
Gambit shrugged with a crafty expression. "Don't sweat it… You can't really blame a man for asking questions."
They searched for several hours without much problem until they reached a walked into a clearing devoid of plant life. The explosive mutant's eyes widened in surprise as he noted the burned vegetation and the several tire tracks on the ground. It was an unusually large clearing that appeared to have expanded due to a recent fire. From the indents in the ground, he guessed that this was the place where the forest fire from last night had taken place, something that wasn't particularly surprising considering where they were.
His companion seemed to be thinking the same thing as he entered the scene, his eyes scanning the premises rather quickly. "It appears that this is the location you heard about."
"Looks that way…" Gambit replied, he noticed the fresh tire tracks, which seemed to cover large portions of the unnaturally large clearing. "If the road was close enough for the fire department to neutralize the fire so easily, then we must be reasonably close to New York."
The metallic mutant ran a hand through the soil, rubbing the soot-like residue coating the dry earth between his fingers. "Since we have been traveling several hours by foot, it is safe to conclude that we have come much closer to civilization. It is likely that the trail beyond here leads back onto the main road and into the city."
"No doubt…" the shifty mutant replied with a look of disappointment. "I guess that means we've reached a dead end."
Before either of them could speak again, a sudden rustling caught their attention. The larger man took a fighting stance as his partner took out his fighting stick, but they found these precautions unnecessary as the opposing figures drew close enough for them to get a better view. The second group of X-Men entered the clearing, looking equally as disturbed by the proceedings. Cyclops stood at the head of the group, using his energy to blast aside a low hanging branch as they joined their two newest recruits. While his girlfriend looked relatively unfazed by the meeting, Iceman appeared particularly glum at their failure to find any clues. The trio sauntered in the clearing, taking the long walk towards the center to meet with the rest of the team.
"Looks like you guys ended up here too." Scott greeted them with a small frown. "So, did you two find anything that might help us find Wolverine?"
Colossus cast his new teammates a similar expression. "Unfortunately our search was rather unsuccessful in this regard." Perhaps the rest of you found something useful for us to use in this investigation."
"During our search we found some mechanical parts not far from this clearing, but it seems that someone might have removed most of the evidence that the enemy might have left behind." Jean Grey explained.
"We didn't fare any better than you guys." Bobby let out a childish groan. "Oh man… It's not like the guy could've just dropped off the face of the earth."
"According to the Professor, Wolverine is still somewhere nearby. We can't just give up this search." Cyclops replied.
Colossus opened his mouth to argue, but the sound of a chopper off in the distance quickly caught his attention. The two mutants looked up towards the sky as a strange aircraft descended at an alarming rate, almost touching the tops of the taller trees as it headed off into the opposite direction. Gambit looked for some kind of insignia on the aircraft, but he could not see any even from this relatively close range and was immediately suspicious, his sentiments made worse as he saw the aircraft descend into the woods in a location he estimated to be several miles northwards from their current location.
The mutants began to wonder why a helicopter would be landing in such a deserted location, especially since the there seemed to be no development in that direction from what they had found during the hours of searching they had endured. There had been a few empty clearings in that general direction, but inspection of those areas had not yielded any productive results fort heir investigation. Things just didn't seem to add up, even though everything was placed in front of them.
"Why would someone land in such a deserted location?" the metallic mutant spoke as if he had read his companion's mind.
The smaller man shoved past his companion with an unreadable expression so that they were standing back to back. "You're right! There's something suspicious about that aircraft that just went by. There were no markings on that rig, and judging by the flight pattern it doesn't seem as though that was an emergency landing."
"I'd have to agree…" Jean commented with a small nod.
Iceman seemed delighted by the thought of getting some action. "So, should we see if whoever that was has anything to do with Wolverine's disappearance?"
"While it suspicious, I can't say we have any solid proof that there's anything going on. I say we head out and see what we can find out by ourselves" Scott replied tactfully. "If we run into any trouble during this investigation we'll know what to do."
"Finally we can get some action! Sounds pretty good if you ask me." Iceman remarked excitedly. "If I create a path of ice over the trees, we'll be able to avoid the march through the woods. This way we can get the drop on the enemy before they even know it."
Jean shook her head in response to his proposal, gravitating the attention onto herself. "While that sounds good, we really should be more concerned on whether or not the enemy will see is. I agree that time is important here, but if we do run into trouble it would be better to go for a less flashy entrance. We don't want to attract the enemy's attention on the off chance that this plan of yours leads us right to them."
Bobby raised his hands defensively. "All right, I get it… my plan wasn't that great."
Cyclops raised an eyebrow behind his visor, his face displaying a look of uncertainty. "The question is do you have a better plan that we can use?" he asked the woman standing next to him.
Before she could answer, Gambit tapped Colossus and gestured forwards with his staff. "Since we all seem in favor of investigating this situation, we should clear a direct path north to shave some time off of the commute. I believe my fellow Acolyte deserter here is more than capable of providing the necessary accommodations."
His suggestion earned a small nod from Cyclops, who seemed to agree with the approach. "Go ahead… At any rate it's probably not such a bad idea. If we create a direct path through the woods, then we'll be able to find our way through faster." He gave the metallic mutant his approval.
The explosive mutant waved his finger back and forth. "Don't want these people getting away before we can even find out if they're the enemy or not. I'd wager that when we find the bad guys, we'll find your friend."
"Very well!" The metallic man replied before charging forward into the brush with full force.
He smashed though branches as they cleared the way, his comrades following closely behind. The group tore through the woods with their newest members in the lead. Jean used her powers to repel twigs as they bolted through the forest. Several minutes passed as they continued north, the pace never slowing as they traveled in a group. Having trained very hard in the past, the X-Men and their newest recruits were in excellent shape when it came time to this sort of run. As they drew closer to the target, a small clearing came into view in the distance, but little did they know that they were about to wander directly into enemy territory.
Meanwhile
Deep in the bowels of his underground base, Hebert Landon and his employer awaited the arrival of their benefactor from the HYDRA organization. A helicopter had arrived several minutes ago, carrying with it the illustrious leader of the notorious spy network along with a pair of her scientists as well as three bodyguards. The disfigured man shifted with uncertainty as he monitored the security cameras, silently watching as the their own henchmen escorted the procession to the main control room where the two leaders would meet in person.
A quick glance at the screen in the far left corner told the room's occupants that their guests were close by, but the sound of steady footsteps made the precaution unnecessary at this distance. A few seconds later, the metal doors leading into the room swung open with a clanging noise, allowing the people beyond to join them. Four guards wearing black suits entered the room, having escorted the small entourage to their superior's location on his request. The Kingpin personally stood up to greet them as his guests entered the main room, his facial expressions and mannerisms displaying a general sense of distrust towards the new arrivals.
Several men wearing dark militaristic uniforms marched into the room in a group, their boots tapping against the metal floor as they parted ways moments later to reveal the presence of their leader. The woman who emerged from the opening was of medium height with a slim figure, wearing a dark green coat with a matching outfit visible underneath. Her shoulder-length hair was styled in a rather simple manner, and seemed to be an even darker shade of green, the curtains of hair framing her face branching out to conceal one of her eyes. The newcomer also wore eyeliner and lipstick of a similar shade, completing her ensemble in a most effective way.
The Kingpin approached his benefactor with a stiff expression, his eyes quietly sizing up the opposing group as he stepped forward. "As promised, my organization had enacted the capture of experiment X-23… I assume that you will now fulfill your end of the bargain."
"That would be my purpose for being here, but I shall not dispense any information until we have seen proof beyond a doubt that you have actually accomplished the deed." The green-clad woman replied with a distrustful sneer.
"If you require proof, that is simple enough." The large man snapped his fingers in and impatient manner, sparing a quick glance at his personal assistant.
Landon turned his attention back towards the computer terminal and type in a quick sequence, causing the camera footage streaming from the containment chamber to fill the large monitor in the center of the room. The two criminal leaders faced the screen as the desired image appeared, revealing the presence of the mutants that Doctor Octopus had captured during his combing of the surrounding forest.
The mountainous crime boss gestured forward with a satisfied expression. "As you can see, the target has been captured alive and unspoiled, and awaits you as we speak. I have carried out my end of the deal… Now the time has come for you to give me that which you promised."
Madame Hydra watched the screen for a moment with a look of interest before turning back towards the Kingpin. "Hmmm… I found it very interesting that you were able to capture such a skilled assassin so quickly, let alone manage to detain her. My confidence in your organization's ability to accomplish this task was low at best, yet you managed to do it in record time."
"You'd be surprised by some oft things we have done in the past." Hebert Landon replied from his seat by the control panel, a small look of elation lighting his partially disfigured features as he considered the thought. "By harnessing some of the world's most advanced technology, any and all limitations become virtually nonexistent."
His words seemed to catch her interest. "Would you be willing to explain exactly what kind of technology you are referring to in this particular case?" the woman replied.
The deformed man seemed as though he were about to elaborate based mostly upon the fact that he was proud of his own accomplishments, but the Kingpin asserted his presence by stepping between them, quickly ending the conversation. He gave his personal assistant a small warning look over his shoulder, and once he had silenced Landon, the crime lord turned back to face their visitor with a slightly less aggressive expression.
"It is not necessary that I share this particular piece of intelligence with you, nor do I believe there would be any benefit in doing so." Wilson Fisk replied benevolently as possible, silently hiding his annoyance for the moment. "The matter at hand concerns the tradeoff that we planned beforehand. That is all…"
Madame Hydra seemed to shrug off his comment with little consideration. "Not to worry, as agreed you will be compensated for your involvement. Once the rogue experiment X-23 has been taken back to HYDRA headquarters, I shall send you the information per our original arrangement."
"Actually, the conditions never did specify when I would hand over the experiment." The Kingpin wore a contented expression. Although his actions seemed to garner the attention of the opposing entourage, he paid them little notice. "If this experiment is so valuable to you, then you will be prepared to fulfill your end of the deal first."
The woman standing across from him grimaced as she heard his statement, her contented expression twisting into a more distasteful look. She directed a challenging look at the man, her dislike deepening as they made eye contact. Madame Hydra despised the syndicate leader's attitude to the furthest extent, and from his expression it was apparent that he had never trusted her from the very beginning. Truthfully she had very little desire to tell him what he wanted to know, most due to he own pride. There was also the matter of his anger issues, something that the big man was known for in the criminal underworld.
"You will have what you want, at my own discretion." She replied curtly, giving him a seething look in the process.
"I see… So that is how you intend to complete this transaction. You'll find that I have taken some precautions in the case that you did not cooperate." The Kingpin's calm expression wavered to reveal a heated glare as he pulled a large remote control out of his pocket.
As if on cue, one of the HYDRA agents drew a pistol in case the crime lord's item was a weapon, but before he could fire a single shot, the man's was shot from across the room, causing him to recoil in pain, his own weapon slipping from his fingers as the opposing bullet pierced his hand. A stream of blood dripped down his hand as the man let out a howl of pain, but the others were unable to react as several more of the Kingpin's henchmen entered the scene to inspect the sudden commotion.
Hebert Landon lowered his own weapon with a pitiless expression once he was satisfied with the results, the end of his shotgun smoking in the dim light of the room's monitors. The rest of their henchmen pointed their own weapons at Madame Hydra's entourage, causing a deadlock as the two sides prepared to fire. The green-clad woman realized that her followers were outflanked and signaled them to lower their weapons, silently exchanging challenging expressions with her adversary for a moment before they seemed to come to an understanding. After a few more seconds of tension, the Kingpin to called off his own men as well, dispersing them with a fierce snap of his fingers. The men put away their firearms, allowing their leader to speak once again.
"Contrary to the reaction of my men, the item in my hand is not a weapon. It merely controls the robotic guardians that my team of scientists constructed. Many of these deadly automatons are stationed in hidden locations throughout this underground laboratory as well as the surrounding forest." The large crime lord explained carefully.
"I would assume that you plan to release them if I do not comply with your demands." Madame Hydra cast him a look of utter loathing. After a moment her expression twisted into a look of amusement, which he did not return. "Although I was not keen on the idea of giving you what you want, it does not mean that I did not intend to."
"Speaking of which, I have something else that you may be interested in… The Kingpin exchanged a quick glance with his assistant before turning back to face his guest. "Landon, if you would be so kind as to show our guest what I mean."
Hebert Landon adjusted the view of the monitor to reveal the mutant hanging beside X-23, causing a rather unusual reaction from the room's occupants. The green-clad woman's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Wolverine, but her expression soon gave away to reveal a look of disinterest once the surprise at seeing him had died from her face. Her benefactor watched to see her reaction and seemed to understand what she was thinking, having suspected from the very beginning that she had limited interest concerning the old government project.
"I am even more impressed that you managed to capture not only my experiment, but also the original Weapon X. Would I be correct to assume that he was traveling with the girl when your miserable subordinates encountered them." she mused out loud.
The Kingpin nodded in agreement. "According to Doctor Otto Octavius, he was with her during the initial capture and during the battle he noticed s remarkable similarities between their respective abilities. It was merely on a whim that he captured this man, only to find out through the viewing of those files you gave us, that he was indeed the experimental mutant that X-23 was created to emulate."
"Not emulate…" she replied with a look of what appeared to be pride. "As you can probably imagine, this girl was made to be stronger than the that old government project from which she was created."
"Indeed… I was actually hoping that you would have had some interest in him, mostly because there may have been some profit if that was the case. Since you do not, perhaps I would be better off using him for my organization's mutant research branch instead." The vast crime lord replied.
She turned her face away from the monitor to look over at him. "Weapon X is an old model, unfortunately for you his capture does not interest me. Do with him as you will, I do not care what plans you have for Weapon X, so long as you hand over the child to me."
"Ah yes, I knew that we would return to that topic." The Kingpin replied with a pronounced note of aggression. "My conditions still stand, and I hope you have the common decency to give my what I want before we begin this transaction."
Madame Hydra did not back down from her position, although she seemed to hesitate as she attempted to devise a plan to twist the deal in her favor. "I will give you that which I promised before my departure, but after X-23 is in my hands. Hopefully this will quell your paranoia, seeing how you seem to be under the impression that I would not cooperate."
He considered her for a minute before giving her a satisfied nod. "Very well, I suppose that much can be done. I hope that you understand what will happen if you attempt to flee without granting me my compensation…"
"I have no reason not to, but you'll forgive me if your reputation has not kept me on my toes, so to speak." She replied with a similar expression.
"In a moment we will lead you to where the prisoners are being held, and from there we can finally conclude our business." The crime boss explained.
The group turned towards the door to move into the hallway, but Hebert Landon noticed movement on one of the security monitors and quickly observed the threat. He could see several people wandering the woods dangerously close to the base, and while that normally would not have been a problem due to the hidden nature of the building, the HYDRA helicopter seemed to give away their presence. Even worse was that it seemed as if these people were deliberately searching for something. If whoever it was came close enough to see the aircraft, there was no doubt that they would be suspicious finding a lone helicopter inconveniently left deep in the woods.
The disfigured man tapped his superior on the shoulder to get his attention. "Sir, I believe we have some more pressing issues." He warned with a glum expression.
"This had better be important for your sake… What is it?" The Kingpin answered fiercely, roughly shoving the smaller man aside as he turned to face his assistant.
"We have intruders combing the area around our base. I would assume that they are attempting to find us considering that some of these people are wearing clothing similar to the captured Weapon X!" Landon explained nervously.
Wilson Fisk shuffled over to the main monitor with surprising speed for a man his size, his eyes narrowing dangerous as he caught sight of the team of mutants. He brought his fist down on the control panel, causing the screen the flicker violently from the impact. Had he not controlled his strength at the last moment, his strike might have crushed the terminal like a can, but the thought of losing visual confirmation at a time like this had stilled his hand before he caused any serious damage.
"Curses!" the Kingpin bellowed, his composure slipping at last.
Madame Hydra joined them at the screen, her face coming to life with recognition as she caught sight of the approaching mutants. The green-clad woman recognized them as the people she had seen in the files that they had obtained from SHIELD during one of their operations a while back. Although it had been over a year ago, she recognized some of the people that the security cameras had caught and decided that it was best to warn her benefactor. Not only for his sake, but also to preserve her own interests as well.
"Those people heading in this direction are the X-Men. Members of a team of mutants that the original Weapon X has been a part of for many years now." She explained to them. "No doubt that they have come to rescue their companion."
To her surprise, the large crime lord rounded on her. "Curse those mutant slime, they must have seen that blasted helicopter of yours heading in this direction and followed after you. If they ruin our transaction, I will personally see to it that you will regret this!"
She backed down slightly at his display of anger, but her demeanor remained very much the same as she attempted to sort out this mess. "Do not be a fool… They may ruin everything for the both of us if we do not take the time to secure the surrounding area as well as the interior of this underground base."
"I know it is not my place to say this, but she is absolutely correct." Landon stepped forward with a worried frown. "Our time would be better spent removing the intruders rather than fighting amongst each other. According to what we have seen, they have not yet found us, but when the reach the main premises, I believe the presence of that aircraft will give away our location easily."
The Kingpin hesitated for a moment before addressing the others. "Very well… We'll see how these mutants like the welcoming committee I prepared in case of such a situation." He pressed a button on the remote control in his hand, his lips twisting into an evil expression as he prepared the first line of defense. "Activate the defense grid and release the robotic slayers!"
Herbert Landon's gave them an ecstatic expression as he complied with his superior's orders. "Those filthy mutants will be dead before they reach this laboratory…" he muttered, looking positively excited by the prospect.
Note to Readers: I'd say this qualifies as a cliffhanger. Now the long-awaited confrontation can finally begin, and I also hope to show more of Magneto and Spider-man in the future once this arc is over. I noticed and that my spelling and grammatical errors can be a small impediment to reading this story, but I apologize for my lack of editing a lot of the time.
I might've updated sooner, but my computer had some issues recently and it took a while to sort things out. I hope that you guys liked this chapter. I could really use some reviews and support now after that major let down with the last chapter I posted. Support is part of what keeps my wanting to write the story.