Chapter 15: Shadows of the Enemy
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel Characters of logos.
Norman Osborn let out a weary sigh as he sat in his private laboratory, drawing up the plans for his newest invention. Running a company specializing in the manufacturing of weapons was rather profitable, because he was able to make money in a variety pf ways, depending on who was willing to pay up. Tapping his pencil against the desk, the wealthy businessman grew tired of the night's work and prepared to take a break. It was almost midnight right now, and he had been working very hard fort he past few hours in an attempt to make up for lost time.
His proposed alliance with Silvermane was only beneficial to him because they both shared a mutual enemy, but once the Kingpin was eliminated they would no longer need to continue. Once they were through, he planned to dispose of the old man and further his own ambitions using whatever technology he could steal from the Maggia. Having someone like Alistair Smythe in his ranks, the elderly gangster was bound to have some technology that Osborn could manufacture and exploit as his own, a job made easier by the fact that he had already agreed to help them reproduce Smythe's robotic creations in bulk if they agreed to partner with him.
The corrupted businessman smiled as these thoughts floated through his mind, but a movement in the corner of his eye easily raised his guard. He stood perfectly still and listened carefully for any sign that someone else was in the room, but when he received no answer, Osborn began cleaning up his office. Placing his materials back into his desk, he locked the weapon design he was working on in his filing cabinet. Turning to exit the room, his eyes found a costumed man standing less than yard from where he was. The newcomer wore a dark blue outfit and a mask, his mouth twisting into an evil leer.
Rather then appear frightened, Norman Osborn remained rather stoic towards the intruder. "Is there something I can help you with? If this is the case, you are welcome to make an appointment at the front desk."
"Cut the crap!" Bullseye hissed in a sinister tone, looking unusually bored as he flipped behind his target and pulled him in to chokehold.
"What on Earth is the meaning of this?" the middle-aged man replied, sounding more angry than frightened. Beads of sweat began running down his forehead attacker pressed a knife to his throat, his warm breath brushing against his neck in a frightening manner. "If you don't release me now, I will personally ensure that you'll regret it!"
The assassin let out a hoarse laugh that sounded more like a snicker. "If you read the paper you're probably familiar enough with my work… What makes you think I won't kill you?"
"Because the fat man needs me alive…" Osborn replied with an equally sinister expression.
His attacker pressed the blade of his knife against his hostage's throat as if he found the prospect of the kill tempting, but after a moment of waiting, he lowered his weapon pushed the businessman against the wall. "Well-played…" he murmured with a grudging respect.
The villain pocketed his knife as his victim straightened up, angrily brushing off his suit as he surveyed the other man carefully. Osborn released a tense breath as he began to loosen his necktie. "I know he sent you, but the question I want answered is why? I already agreed to pay back the Kingpin's loan in full… He agreed to give me another week or two, so it doesn't make much sense to see you here."
"Personally I couldn't care any less about whatever crazy deal you made… Just consider me more of a messenger than anything else." Bullseye answered with a devious expression. "The big man knows that you've been in contact with those gangsters on the other side of the city, and he find the prospect of you going behind his back deeply disturbing."
Norman Osborn folded his arms with a witty glare. "Is that a fact? I don't suppose he has any solid proof."
Bullseye shrugged as if they were two men speaking casually on the streets. "The Kingpin has spies everywhere, and enough connections to find out almost anything going on in this country. I'm just here to give you a warning to stop whatever scheme you're trying to pull over on the boss. If you don't comply with his demand, I'll be back…"
"I'll have to remember that…" the CEO responded with an inscrutable expression. "Tell that snake-in-the-grass, Fisk, to contact me personally if he wants to threaten my life."
His unwanted guest smiled again as he seized a pencil on the desk, giving it a casual toss and catching it again in his outstretched hand. "You don't need to worry about the big man right now. Just worry about yourself." He gave the writing utensil in is hand a twirl between his fingers as if playing with the object amused him.
The masked assailant stood up from his seat on top of the desk and calmly made his way across the room, stopping as he opened the door. His target eyed him apprehensively, barely having enough time to react as the enemy struck. Spinning around with inhuman agility, the murderous villain tossed the pencil at his victim's throat in an attempt to penetrate a vital point, but the middle-aged businessman calmly moved shifted his position so that it sailed harmlessly past his neck and hit the wall. Norman Osborn tried to contain a small gasp as he heard a smashing noise behind him, turning around to see that the pencil was perfectly lodged in the plaster of the wall as if it had been fired with the precision and force of a gun.
"Lucky little bastard, aren't you?" Bullseye smiled like a madman, his evil grin enough to scare the average man. Rather than annoyance, he felt amused that there was someone capable of surviving his killing techniques. "Mark my words. The next time we meet, there will be blood painting the streets."
"Indeed…" Norman Osborn replied with a challenging expression as the assassin disappearing into the darkness once more.
Walking back to his desk, the wealthy businessman waited for signs that his enemy was nearby, but when several minutes passed by and none came, he began rummaging through the drawers. After several minutes of searching, he pulled out a small remote control and quickly activated the security grid, making certain that his attacker was nowhere on the premises. A shadowy movement on one of the monitors in his office quickly revealed that the assassin was leaving. He smiled with a look of satisfaction as he saw the enemy retreating with his tail between his legs, and felt satisfied for the moment. There was no way he would allow Fisk to continue pushing him around and get away with it.
A few blocks away, Bullseye was sliding through the shadows in an attempt to return to his employer's lair. Moving through the darkened alleys of New York, he tried to stay out of sight to avoid suspicion. There was very little more to do aside from this small favor, and the only reason the Kingpin hadn't taken care of things personally was because he has an image to maintain and because he needed someone to terrify Osborn into cooperating. While normally successful, the fact that he was ordered not to murder his target was infuriating to no end, and even when succumbing to the urge, he had somehow missed.
The fact that a middle-aged man was able to dodge his attack with such efficiency was unnerving to a master assassin like him. Upon first seeing this he had assuming that it was luck, but Bullseye was known for never missing a target space, and to make matters worse he didn't want to believe that some scrawny rich man could avoid one of his killing strikes. He continued to go over this situation on his head for several minutes while continuing his journey across town, silently observing a few people walking down the street as he stopped to rest a moment.
Two girls were speaking casually as they had just finished shopping, and both were preparing to get into the care parked on the side street. Bullseye smirked as he saw on of them open the door of the vehicle, and fuss to find her keys, giving him the perfect opportunity to strike. After being denied his first kill tonight, the master murderer decided to satisfy the urge before turning in for the night and carefully withdrew a fistful of shuriken from his utility built, looking rather pleased that he had come prepared for such an occasion even though he had been ordered not to kill his intended target.
"Die!" he whispered as he tossed his projectiles into the air, causing the bladed throwing star to fly towards his prey.
Bullseye had aimed for vital points in his attack, but before they could come into contact with the target, a trashcan cover came flying through the air, intercepting his shuriken mid strike. Frightened by the sudden noise, the two girls jumped into the vehicle and drove away at full speed, causing the murderous villain to scowl as a familiar shape emerged from behind him. The person who had interfered with his kill was of a similar height and build, but wore a dark red costume that seemed to blend with the shadows. The top part of his face was also concealed by a mask in a similar fashion to the assassin, but instead of a circular symbol on his forehead, the other man had a tiny pair horn-like protrusions, and the letters "DD" were on his chest.
"Meddling again, Daredevil!" the assailant replied with an irascible look. "I was hoping I would get to kill someone tonight, so I guess you'll have to do."
The masked hero inclined his head slightly as if welcoming the challenge, but when he spoke his voice was cold and emotionless. "You lack the capacity."
The villain spun around as leapt to another rooftop with surprising coordination, but the dark figure followed him with matching dexterity. Bullseye tossed a knife at his adversary, but the enemy dodged the first with his incredible reflexes, using the nightstick in his hand to swat away the second blade. Getting in close enough, the two men changed the fight to a hand-to-hand battle. This continued for a few seconds before Daredevil's brought his club down to strike the enemy, but his opponent tossed another blade he had hidden on his person at the hero, forcing him to move away to avoid instant death.
"You always were an annoying target…" Bullseye hissed with a note of anger hidden behind his normally unshakable exterior.
"It don't see how it makes a difference to someone like you who seems to relish the challenge." His opponent replied bluntly.
Daredevil charged him again with his weapon, but was forced to retreat again as the enemy drew another hidden dagger and parried to strike with his longer blade, shoving the hero backwards and aiming for his heart with a precision attack. Sensing danger, he shifted his body slightly so that the blade missed, further infuriating his opponent. Caught off guard in mid strike, the villain was smashed over the head and fell backwards, leaving an opening again, and allowing to hero to slam him in the mid-section. He fell backwards with a painful crunch, righting himself into a stand position as they prepared to clash again.
The assassin scowled in mixed pain and irritation as he kicked a knife he had previous thrown into the air, using the side of his hand to sent it flying at his old enemy. The hero leapt sideways to avoid the attacks and fought back throwing his nightstick at the deadly assailant, nailing him directly in the shoulder, and creating a distraction so he could get in close again. Kicking Bullseye in the shin, he caught his weapon and prepared to strike again, but was caught off guard as the enemy thrust his arm forwards, using a knife hidden in his glove to stab him in the shoulder.
The masked hero let out a small groan as he choked back the pain and created some distance between himself and the madman, pulling the knife out of his shoulder with a quick tug. "Falling back on dirty tricks… I am not surprised." He commented with a hiss of pain.
"Anything goes in a fight to the death…" Bullseye responded
"Fine…" Daredevil responded with a sense of disgust as the two adversaries prepared to continue the fight.
Before either of them could so much as aim another punch, a strange laughter filled the surrounding skies. "In this battle, no one is going to win… Except for me!" another voice screeched through the night.
Being blind, Daredevil was particularly sensitive all noises and quickly deduced who was coming. The noise wasn't that of a modest chortle, but rather a maniacal and somewhat unstable cackle, like that of a madman. He certainly recognized the voice from previous encounters, but was more disgusted by the smell of rocket fuel and the roar of the engines. A man riding a rocket-powered glider swooped down upon the two combatants, causing them both to duck as he dive-bombed them both like some kind of demented pilot. Unlike the Hobgoblin, this man wore no cloak and a much simpler outfit consisting of a purple garb a matching hat. The mask on his face depicted a goblin, but the skin was a deep shade of green, and his eyes glowed yellow like some kind of demonic entity.
"Die!" Bullseye tossed a fistful of shuriken at the newcomer out of sheer annoyance at having his battle interrupted.
As if expecting this approach, the masked villain moved his glider so that the metal projectiles bounced harmlessly off of the bottom of his flying machine. "Didn't expect a visit from a real villain tonight, said the goblin to the lowly assassin!" he screeched wildly.
The Green Goblin reached into his bag, pulling out a pair of items that appeared to be miniature jack-o-lanterns. He tossed his weapons at the two combatants, forcing them to flee as the pumpkin-shaped bombs burst into a series of explosions. The explosives emitted a loud shrieking noise like someone being murdered as they exploded, adding to the horror of the experience, all while releasing a green-colored smokescreen into the air. He laughed in amusement as his targets fled in different directions, but found it difficult to decide who to kill first.
"Decisions… Decisions…" the flying villain mused to himself in an almost mocking tone.
Daredevil followed his intuition as he tracked the enemy's movements, but it only took him a second to realize that the goblin was after Bullseye. He shrugged off the scenario and began to run in the opposite direction, but was quickly thwarted as another pumpkin bomb went off nearby, the loud explosion messing with his senses as he attempted to get a bearing on sound of the flying villain's glider. Swooping down, the Halloween-themed villain tossed another bomb at Bullseye, this time using a sleeping gas to knock him out. Reaching into his sack to finish the job with another bomb, the goblin was forced to dodge as Daredevil came after him.
The Green Goblin increased his height to avoid the attack and responded with a confused expression. "I thought that this scum was your enemy, so why would you defend him?"
"I wasn't defending him… Just dealing with you. Although I will thank you for removing him from the equation, because that makes this part easier for me." The fearless man stated flatly. "If I can take you down, then that means this city will have two madmen behind bars and off the street tonight."
"Whatever…It's your funeral." The aerial menace replied with a grin as he reached for another explosive.
The blind hero used his acrobatic skills to gain height as he attempted to catch the insane villain, but he was unable to move high enough. His new opponent let out a maniacal laugh as he tossed another series of sleeping gas-filled bombs, but having been too busy enjoying his fun, the goblin failed to notice that someone else had shown up. A noise cut through the night as hero came in from behind by swinging from a higher building, nailing him in the back with a kick and pushing him off of his glider. The goblin fell through the air in free fall for a second or two before pressing a button on his belt, causing his glider to position itself beneath him as he came in for a landing.
He turned around in mid-air and righted himself, bearing down on two opponents once more. The intruder was clearly female, wearing a form-fitting black costume with white gloved and matching boots, her long ivory-colored hair held away from her face by the presence of an eye mask. Her body was notably muscular for a woman, yet she was still very attractive and had a slim alluring figure and noticeable assets. Although she had no webbing like Spider-Man, she was noticeably good with a grappling hook, making her more than a match for the web-slinger in aerial combat.
"Didn't think the kitten actually show up here." Daredevil voiced his thoughts as he recognized the fellow hero's light footsteps and familiar scent.
"I was a tad disappointed to be left out of that mess earlier tonight at the Vault, so I was blowing off some steam by going out on midnight patrol when I ran across you." The Black Cat replied with a flirtatious pout.
The blind hero remained unaffected by her charms and pointed upwards. "Look sharp!" he replied as the enemy tossed another bomb.
They dove away from the explosion, but were quick to react. Launching her retractable grappling hook into a nearby phone tower, she swung upwards and out of reach. Daredevil scrambled after her using his acrobatic skills, barely avoiding a second blast as the enemy unloaded load more explosives on the rooftop where they were fighting. The blind hero used the side of his nightstick to swat away a pair of flying disks, but the projectiles exploded on impact as well, causing him to go flying backwards. He reached out and grabbed hold of a flagpole on the roof, using it stop his fall and swing back upward onto the roof.
"Oh dear, two heroes and only one of me… Whatever shall I do?" the goblin rested the back of hand on his forehead as if he was in distress, but his ensuing cackle indicated his cruel sense of sarcasm. After a moment, he piped up and snapped his fingers as if he had just discovered some great truth. "I know, I'll kill you both!"
Now back to his senses, the blind hero tried to sense his other enemy but realized that the man must have recovered from the explosion and fled. "Where's Bullseye?" he pondered out loud more to himself than anyone else.
Although he hadn't meant it, the Green Goblin heard him and froze before activating his next explosive, glancing around wildly as he realized that his intended target was gone. "What… No!" he screamed wildly, his face contorting with rage as he turned on the blind man. "You pest, you ruined everything!"
At this moment, the Black Cat leapt from her spot and dove at his glider forcing him to move down to avoid being tackled. He reached into his bag for another weapon, but upon realizing he was out of bombs, the masked flyer let out a feral scream. Temporarily distracted, he was unable to react properly as Daredevil came from below and seized hold of his glider, nailing the villain in the leg of his billy club. The Green Goblin toppled over backwards and off of his glider, landing on his back on the rooftop where they had been fighting. His two adversaries stood over him as he struggled to stop his vision from spinning, but as he attempted to rise, the red-clad man placed foot on his chest.
"Care to try that again?" Daredevil replied with an angry expression forming on the corners of his mouth.
The dark-clad woman standing behind him sneered in disgust. "Looks like you're done… Maybe it's time to see who's behind that mask?"
Black Cat reached down to remove the madman's mask, but the Green Goblin only laughed in response to their threats. "You know, this is getting boring." He stated in a matter-of-fact kind of way.
He pressed the emergency button on his belt, causing the glide to smash into his two captors from behind, giving him the leeway he needed to get on board and rocket out of their reach. The female hero launched her grappling hook onto the back of his flying device, but the goblin flew higher and higher in an attempt to shake her off, moving in erratic patters and spin as he tried to shake her loose. She climbed higher in an attempt to reach the villain, but he flew lower, slamming her body into a nearby water tower on a building several roofs away. Daredevil heard her scream and immediately judged where she was and what had happened, doing a quick flip and catching her before she hit the ground.
"My hero…" she replied with a slightly seductive expression.
He placed her on her feet and raised his head in the direction of the goblin's voice. Once he was safe distance away, the Green Goblin turned around and stuck his tongue out at his enemies. "You'll pay for this… All of you!" he screeched to the skies, his voice echoing over the sound of his glider's engine as the wily villain rocketed into the night.
The Next Morning
Professor Xavier had been busy for several days working with the other teachers in the school to handle preparations for the coming school year. The new school year was barely a week away, meaning that the students of his institute would be returning to a place where they were reviled and even feared, a thought that seemed to have increased the tension around the mansion lately. With the recent developments in their cases combined with the troubles of their students, things were becoming far more complicated than he was willing to admit. The powerful telepath had a feeling that trouble was brewing on the horizon, and with some recent revelations on both sides he was beginning to feel the strain.
Earlier that morning he had received word from Scott and Jean, both of which had confirmed Magneto's recent appearance in New York and explained their recent ordeals. In addition to their own troubles, it appeared that his former students had followed Angel's example and had helped him bust some super-powered criminals in Manhattan. It was certainly and unpleasant surprise to learn that the entire city was controlled by these gangsters and villains, but even more of a shock when they gave him the full story about the Kingpin's scope of power along with their new enemy's secret identity.
It was strange to hear that the famous philanthropist Wilson Fisk was actually the man who had captured Logan and X-23 that day in the woods, the fact that his clean records and legitimate façade meant that they really couldn't do much about him. Still, the bald psychic was intrigued even more that the legendary Spider-Man who he had seen pictures of in the Daily Bugle was more than just a tabloid subject, and also not a mutant either. Although he wasn't with them, the professor found himself imagining how crazy things were right now, and was silently glad that he had entrusted two of his most skilled X-Men to investigate Magneto.
As it stood they had found almost nothing about the actual person they were searching for, accept for an eyewitness testimonial from the masked arachnid that the culprit at the museum had indeed been their old nemesis. He had known Magneto for many years now, and even after all this time he still found some of the magnetic mutant's actions very confusing. He claimed to want to help mutant kind, but was willing to give up on those who didn't see things in the same way he did, and was known to harm those who refused to convert to his philosophy. Of course, having lived in a concentration camp during World War II made his warped views a little bit more understandable.
Sitting back in his chair, Charles Xavier waited silently for the arrival of guests. He had called another meeting of the more experienced students and teachers in his school for this afternoon, and was currently gathering up his resolve to tread on some very tender subjects. Sensing the approach of his fellow mutants, the professor turned towards the door as Logan entered, closely followed by Ororo, Beast, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Bobby, and X-23. The two Weapon X mutants leaned against both sides of the door like guards, both striking very similar postures as the others sat down on the couches and chairs strewn about the room. Kurt and Kitty sat together while Rogue seemed to distance herself from them on the couch, the three armchairs being occupied by Bobby and the two remaining teachers.
"I'm glad to see you were all kind enough to come here." Professor Xavier greeted them with a pleasant expression. When no one said anything, the bald man continued without delay. "I called you all here to day to discuss some recent events that may affect you all, and some that I know certainly will."
Bobby glanced around at the others and smiled. "This is about my promotion into the active roster, right?" he added cheerfully.
"I'm afraid not…" Storm replied with a stern motherly expression, causing the young mutant to sit back down immediately. She nodded at her superior with a respectful expression. "I apologize for interrupting as well, but perhaps you have noticed that Colossus is not present right now? Do you know where he is?"
Hank McCoy looked up as if realizing the metal man's absence for the first time. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen him around all morning."
"Hopefully nothing bad happened to him!" Kitty chimed in with a small frown. "It looked like he was just beginning to get used to life around this place."
"Oh yeah, like there's nothing suspicious about Magneto's old tine soldier running off at night." Rogue replied sarcastically.
Iceman snickered slightly. "This from a girl who seemed to be getting pretty friendly with the exploding card shark back in the swamp."
The gothic mutant glared at him. "Shut up, Bobby." She snapped with a nasty expression.
"Nyeh!" the freezing mutant stuck his tongue out in a childish manner.
Kurt pointed on of his three fingers at them. "You'd better stop before my sister decides to touch you." He warned in his German accent. "This really isn't a good time to start trouble."
"Let em fight for all I care. I'm more interested to learn where the metal man ran off to and why?" Wolverine responded with a casual shrug.
The Professor paused for a moment in thought, but when he looked up at his audience he noticed that they were all staring at him expectantly. Acknowledging them with a small nod, he inhaled lightly and exhaled before addressing the group. "After what Magneto did to his family, I see absolutely no reason for us to mistrust him. Plus he was willing to let me do a small mind probe, and I found no hostility or ill will."
X-23 looked up with a sigh, and to everyone's surprise she actually spoke. "If that is true then your friend probably had a good reason for running off. I don't see why you should treat this situation any differently then you would if you really do consider this man a fellow member of your team.
"Not to mention that he saved our lives and yours the other day." Bobby commented.
"Which is exactly why we should accept his absence and return to the original topics that I wished to cover during this meeting." The bald telepath replied. "If Colossus does not return within a day or so then we will take care of the issue then, but for now I see very little reason for the rest of us worry. As Laura so kindly pointed out, we should trust our new teammate."
X-23 looked slightly taken aback by being called by her new name, but quickly attempted to hide her surprise. Logan seemed to have noticed her awkward expression out of the corner of his eyes and simply chose not to say anything, while most of the others were too busy focusing on he professor to see. Their superior glanced over at her from his desk with a welcoming expression, although he also noted her similar posture and mannerisms to Wolverine and decided that it might be best to speak to her the same way they did to him. After all, both Weapon X mutants seemed to the type of people who would prefer to do as they please, and most people would be foolish to try and stop them from acting this way.
After a moment the professor spoke again, this time speaking to the group as a whole. "Now then, the first matter I would like discuss is Magneto."
"Do ya have anything new yet?" Rogue asked with a curious expression.
"Unfortunately Scott and Jean have not found anything of significance at this point, and Gambit has yet to even report in." The professor replied with a dismal expression. "Cyclops told me that they've been running into some trouble with Manhattan's criminal population, and were recently involved in helping Angel stop a very dangerous group from escaping the local penitentiary. It pains me to say this, but with so many deadly threats in that city, I am beginning to believe that allowing them to go was a mistake."
"Not to mention the fat guys that came seconds from breaking me in half." Iceman replied with a slight shudder at the thought.
Wolverine snorted in response to this. "Screw Magneto's wacked-out plans. I'm more curious about who this Kingpin guy is and what the Supreme Hydra offered him to capture X-23. It's even more suspicious that those creeps just so happened to run into is in the woods."
"Magneto ran into me awhile a short time before we were captured." His female counterpart replied with a bitter expression. "Oddly enough he seemed to know who I was and where I came from. Maybe he was angry that I turned down the offer to join him, and somehow managed to pass around the information to the others."
Beast struck a thinking pose and considered her for a moment, but seemed to reject any of the possibilities. "I don't see what he would have to gain by making deals with gangsters and super villains. Having fought Magneto for a while, the rest of us know him well enough to say that he wouldn't have killed you had he really been upset by your refusal."
"Maybe he would have been doing me a favor, if that were the case." She responded bitterly.
An awkward silence fell over the room for a few seconds as several of the students looked slightly distraught. Rogue seemed not to care and looked unfazed by her comment, while Kitty was noticeably more disturbed by this. Iceman twirled his index finger around the side of his head and let out a slow whistle, while the blue-skinned teleporter sitting with the two girls silently blinked a few times. Wolverine placed a hand on the girl's shoulder like a parent, although from the slightly awkward expression lingering around the corners of his mouth it was clear that he wasn't used to being so friendly.
"I already told you once before, don't go spitting out crap like that… Don't even think it." He replied with a disapproving expression, his eyebrows furrowed angrily. His expression softened if only slightly, but his grip loosened as he pulled away from her. "Those bastards messed you up. I know how it feels, but you gotta move on."
"He's quite right." Charles Xavier replied with a more serious expression. "Dwelling on past misfortune will not help, especially for a young lady in your position. I will not pretend to understand what you have been through, but I pray that you will look towards the future now that we have given you a place to call home."
Another short silence began as the mutants turned to face their newest member, but Professor Xavier took advantage of the temporary pause to seize control of the meeting once again. Reaching into his desk, the bald telepath removed a newspaper clipping from the drawer. It was a printout of something that Warren he sent to him via e-mail around the time the others had reported their experiences in Manhattan, but since Logan was interested in the subject he figured it was good idea to address this issue. He glanced around at the assembled mutants, silently inspecting their reactions as Bobby almost slide backwards off his chair. Wolverine growled while X-23's feral gaze immediately gravitated towards the picture in their superior's hand.
"I take it those of you who were present during the rescue mission recognize this man." The professor replied tactfully.
"That's the guy!" Iceman blurted out, looking aghast that his would-be killer was staring at him from the newspaper printout.
Wolverine looked surprised by this new development. "That's the creep we saw, but how the hell did you get that picture of him?"
Charles Xavier placed the picture on his desk and folded his hands gently over it. "Angel has fought quite a bit of crime in Manhattan in recent years, and has kept several resources that he believes are relevant to the cases he has seen. In the accompanying message, Warren claims that organized crime in New York and a large percentage around the world is controlled by this one man… Warren believed that local philanthropist Wilson Fisk was the true crime king, a fact recently proved when Scott explained their recent encounter and confirmed his suspicions."
"Why don't the police just bust this jerk and get it over with?" Nightcrawler asked with a slightly confused expression.
"In organized crime, law enforcement often can't find enough evidence to catch the person in charge, and most are to scared to rat out their superior." Beast reached forward and put on a pair of glasses as he scanned the paper that had been on the professor's desk, a grim expression appearing on his face after a moment of reading. "Judging by this article, this man seems to be well-liked by the public for his charity events and donations to the city. Combine this clean image with the lack of solid evidence, and accusing him of being the Kingpin becomes nearly impossible."
Rogue let out an unladylike snort. "At least Magneto and his army of creeps don't go round pretending to be saints."
"Speaking of which, I discovered something interesting based on the limited knowledge that Scott and Jean were able to obtain from the museum's curator about that artifact that our friends stole." Beast interjected with a thoughtful expression.
After getting the attention of the others, Professor Xavier gestured politely. "Please do tell us what you found out…"
Hank McCoy nodded compliantly before speaking. "As noted in the news, the crystal he took was not one of the more valuable in the gallery, however I did find a point of interest that may be worth looking into. Magneto was obvious not trying to make money through this crime, but an interesting fact to consider, is that the object of interest is only one of a set of three such artifacts that exist."
"What's the point in knowing that?" Iceman pressed him impatiently. "Unless you somehow figured out what he's going to do next, then it doesn't really do us any good."
"Are ya'll stupid or just a mite slow? If he purposely exposed himself to nab one, the creep might go after the others too." Rogue answered curtly.
Beast nodded in agreement. " I also believe that this is his plan, although despite my extensive searches I have not found any particularly useful information in relation to our case. However I see familiar trend here, similar to the time Mesmero was searching for the keys to Apocalypse's prison." He turned to his superior. "Since you received visions during your time as one of his Horsemen, is it possible that Magneto may have seen something too?"
Charles Xavier's mouth opened slightly as he considered the idea, his serious expression becoming inscrutable for a second. "Yes, perhaps Magnus saw something too…" he pondered out loud. "If that is the case, there may be more to his recent actions then meets the eye. Apocalypse may be gone, but perhaps a part of his legacy that remains."
"Wasn't he from Egypt, and then imprisoned somewhere in Tibet?" Kitty responded with a doubtful expression. "If that's the case, how could some random artifacts from China be connected to his reign at all? It just doesn't make that much sense when you try to add it all up."
"Of course this is only a theory, but it was the only thing that I could come up with considering how little information there is on the gems." The bestial responded with a careful shrug. "As a researcher, I can't say that my hypothesis has been proven true in any way as of yet, nor do we have the necessary supporting evidence."
"Nevertheless I will bear this in mind while we continue searching for answers." The professor replied with a small nod, clearly looking interested by the theory.
"What about Mesmero?" Storm suddenly added in with an apprehensive look. "Apocalypse used him as a herald, and likewise he may have known more than what was revealed to us."
Wolverine lifted his head with a look of interest, although a note of cynicism remained. "Even so, the weirdo vanished after his boss was defeated. The last we saw him was the time Charles pulled the knowledge of Apocalypse's plans from his mind, and then he fled into the woods behind the mansion. Although I was hoping for it at the time, with our luck he probably got eaten by wolves."
The furry mutant nodded in agreement. "Based on his past records, I've occasionally searched for his whereabouts in case he starts more trouble, but nothing ever turned up. For all we know, he seems to have disappeared from the face of the Earth."
"Yes, and with so little knowledge of his whereabouts it would be foolish to send someone to hunt him down." Charles Xavier replied with a barely noticeably sigh. Looking up, he quickly resumed his normally calm exterior. "We have much to be concerned about right now, but my recent sessions with Cerebro have shown me one thing… Magneto and his Acolytes appear to be recruiting more mutants to their cause."
"How many does helmet head need?" Logan snapped impatiently.
"I do not know, but we should probably keep an eye out on the Brotherhood in case he attempts to contact them as well." Storm responded.
The professor nodded. "Now that you have mentioned them, there is something rather disturbing that I wish to inform you all, especially the students."
"So what is it?" Kitty Pryde leaned forward anxiously.
"It concerns those of your returning to Bayville High next week to begin the school year." The bald telepath pulled out an envelope with the school seal stamped on the corner, and quickly removed the letter within. "While I was submitting the former to register the students of the institute for the coming year, a small detail surprised me."
He held out the letter to Shadowcat, who seemed pretty calm until she read the heading where the names of the administrators were listed, her mouth opening in surprise. Kurt leaned in behind her out of curiosity, although his eyes widening slightly as he fell backwards onto the couch once more. Although Rogue seemed indifferent at first, her adoptive brother's constant nudging caused her to give in just to stop him. The southern belle snatched the discarded paper from the place where Kitty had left it, letting out a muffled snarl as she practically threw the paper back at their superior. The box for principal's signature bore the words. "Raven Darkholme".
"You've got to be kidding me!" Rogue raged at him, quickly reeling in her temper as he shook his head bluntly.
"Like it or not, it appears that Mystique has returned to her previous post after Principal Kelly resigned at the end of the last school year." The professor explained with a slightly pained expression. "I personally made certain that this was true before deciding to tell you the truth."
Kurt looked confused by the notion more than outraged. "It doesn't make any sense why she would come back here." He glanced at his adoptive sister, who seemed intent on ignoring everyone. "It makes me wonder why our mother would come back at a time like this."
"Shut up! That thing isn't my mother!" she replied with a scathing glare, although his hurt expression cooled her anger. The power-absorbing mutant seemed to calm down a bit before turning back to face their mentor. "Right now, I'd rather drop-out of school then see that woman again in my life."
"You are free to do as you wish, but no one will blame you for the way you feel about Mystic." The psychic began carefully, his eyes looking at Kurt for a moment. "Both of you."
Nightcrawler looked away rather than give him a direct answer. Although he understood why Rogue despised their mother so much and even shared these sentiments the majority of the time, there were moments when he wondered if he could ever truly hate her to the same extent. She was sneaky, deceitful, manipulative, and perhaps even evil at times, but no matter what the case she was still their mother. Perhaps the fact that his sister had been adopted had something to do with this obvious difference of opinion, but at the same time Kurt understood that Mystique had given birth to him, and thus she allowed him the chance to live life. Perhaps it was for this sole reason, that he did not completely revile her.
The sound of the door slamming quickly woke him from his thoughts as Rogue made her exit, shoving Logan aside with a frustrated sneer as the door closed behind her. The blue-skinned mutant hesitated for a moment before following after her, even though he knew that it would do him no good. She often said otherwise, but he considered himself to be her little brother, and felt obligated to see if she was all right. After all, she had been through quite a lot while he had spent his life growing up in the arm of two loving parents. He cast the others an apologetic wave before following her lead and disappearing into the hallway.
Professor Xavier rubbed his temples as if praying that things would turn out all right, but the fact that everyone was still present meant that he couldn't just leave them to meditate on the subject and after a minute he continued as if they had not been interrupted. His eyes gravitated towards X-23, who immediately noticed his gaze and returned his expression with a focused glare. It wasn't a hostile response, but more of a distrustful one. Of course he understood this attitude and shrugged off her behavior before addressing the next subject.
"Now then, I believe now may be the proper time to discuss our newest recruit." The telepath began, his voice bearing no signs of the previous stress he had felt.
She opened her mouth to comment, but Wolverine stepped forward instead. "What exactly do you mean? You already placed her on the active roster and took care of the legal mess, what else is there?"
This outburst garnered the attention of the other teachers who watched with interest, but Charles Xavier remained undaunted. "I was merely wondering if Laura wishes to attend school this year with the other students. Personally I worry that it may be too soon when we consider her lack of social experience." He turned to face her. "What do you desire?"
X-23 hesitated for a moment as if someone had glued her tongue to the roof of her mouth, but her deliberation was rather quick. "I may have been trained to blend in with society, but I have no desire to attend a school. I know hoe people act in society, but such things mean very little to me…" she replied cryptically.
"Once again, I will except your decision." Xavier replied with a knowing smile. "Of course, if the time ever comes when you change your mind, I shall be more than happy to make the arrangements for you."
She shook her head but seemed to be accepting of his judgment. The Weapon X mutant found the idea to be bothersome at best, but for now was not directly concerned. Wolverine did not object, nor did he ever look her way at the moment, having expected her reaction to be something like this. The professor was undaunted by her refusal and continued on to the last major topic he was hoping to discuss, although this time it was something that didn't directly connect to them, but was a point of concern nonetheless.
"The last thing I wish to say involves everyone here." The telepath said, making a small gesture with his hand. "I am not certain if this relates to us, but an independent science foundation recently bought out the Power8 Factory on the other side of town."
"How does this relate to us?" Shadowcat questioned with a lost expression.
Storm looked at the younger girl and shook her head. "Perhaps you remember what happened to Evan? The factory produces a substance that while completely harmless to ordinary human can be used as poison to mutants. Naturally it would be suspicious that anyone would want to buy such a potentially hazardous product unless they had an interest in the second usage of the drink."
"Quite right…" Professor Xavier replied, looking relieved that they had caught on so quickly. "I too believed that this may be the case, but cross-referencing my findings with recent information gathered by Scott and Jean has made this situation seem all the more precarious. The company that purchased the factory was sponsored by Wilson Fisk."
Wolverine folded his arms, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "The fat man made it pretty clear that he only had limited interests in mutants when he had me and kid strung up like a caged animals. If he was telling the truth, it doesn't make that much sense."
The hairy mutant sitting beside storm considered them for a moment. "Maybe he has some mutant enemies?"
"That is my belief, but I only urge that the rest of you tread cautiously. I cannot urge this enough at a time like this." The bald telepath warned his colleagues and students. He inhaled an exhaled calmingly before looking around with a more neutral expression, gently folding his hands as he relaxed his shoulder. "I believe that is all I have to say to you all for now. Once again I apologize if this briefing was an inconvenience, but you are all free to go about your business."
"About time…" Wolverine replied as he shrugged off the crippled man's apologies and left the room with a casual wave.
Kitty and Bobby left rather quickly, closely followed by Storm who appeared to have something on her mind at the moment. Professor Xavier watched as the others left his study, but Beast was the last to rise from his seat. The blue-furred man lumbered towards the exit in his animal-like locomotion, although being a scholar and a scientist, he was interested to learn something else even though it hardly seemed to make a difference. Stopping midway through the door, he felt the strange urge to ask his question, and turned back to face the man in the wheelchair. Seeing his hesitance to leave, the professor wheeled out from behind his desk and spoke t his colleague.
"Is there something else you wanted to say?" the psychic mutant questioned tactfully.
Hank McCoy paused for a minute, gently scratching his furry back with his left hand. "Having studied many fields of science myself, I was wondering something. What is the name of the organization that bought out the Power8 Corporation?"
The professor folded his hands in his lap and quickly recalled what the answer. "I believe it was a private research group known as the Landon Science Foundation." He noticed that the large man seemed to tense up at this revelation. "Is there something wrong?" he asked with a genuine hint of concern.
Beast shifted uneasily. "I just thought there was something familiar about it… It's nothing really. I… I must have been imagining things." He replied with a forced smile as he turned to leave.
Without so much as a backwards glance, the hairy mutant exited the room and went into the hallway, the heavy wooden doors closing behind him as he left. The professor did not bother to read his mind due to his morals, but this Hank McCoy wasn't particularly concerned about that right now. It wasn't just his imagination that caused his reaction back there. Years ago when he first became a scientist, Beast had been desperate to stop his mutant powers from turning him into a monster, and had confided his problem to a good friend and colleague. They spent years working together to find a cure, eventually developing the serum that had originally held back his beastly transformations.
Despite this partnership, his partner slowly developed a hatred of mutants, which grew worse as they studied the condition. One day when they had finally thought they had come up with a cure, there was an accident with the chemicals in the lab, which permanently mutilated parts of his colleague's face and body. The man became noticeably warped after that point and instead changed his goal to destroying all of mutants, which caused a falling out between them. Hank McCoy quit his job as a scientist and became a teacher instead, but his friend continued to strive towards this insane goal.
Beast sighed with an eerie expression, the name spoken by the professor having reminded him of his old friend, Herbert Landon. Due to this in combination with the recent news, he wondered if the Landon of this science foundation was indeed the same man he had once called a friend. Pushing back the thought for the moment, he headed back to his room and decided to catch up on some reading in the hopes that it would calm his nerves.
Note to Readers: Well I can't say support for this story is up right now, but I hope you all enjoyed it. I think you guys have seen the full spectrum of the gang war in New York, but it won't be much longer until you find out how this connects to the main story, and the plot being set up by HYDRA. I usually write when it's late so please forgive any spelling or grammar mistakes I might have made. I actually edited the previous chapter, so if you ever want to read it again, you'll find it reads more smoothly than before.
Like I said, support for my story seems to be at an all time low right now, so please REVIEW. I could really use critiques, constructive criticism, or even some compliments if you guys liked something in particular about my story, that way I can play off of it or use it as inspiration for future chapters. If you have any ideas of characters or other things you want me to include, please feel free to tell me.