It was 10.00 am and the mansion was awake, bustling with activity. Everyone was awake. Some were having a late breakfast, others were in the rec room and some were hanging out in the mansion grounds except two people who were asleep in their respective rooms after having spent all night together. The fact that the leader of the X-Men wasn't up didn't go unnoticed. Ororo, who was in the kitchen wondered why Scott and Rogue had not shown up.
"Yo Kurt. Where's Scott?" Evan asked as he finished his breakfast. Kurt, who was still gulping down food shrugged, not knowing why their young leader wasn't up yet. "Don't know. Let me check." He said and teleported to Scott's room. Ororo had overheard their conversation and hoped that Scott wasn't in trouble. Lately the boy was getting difficult to read and had become rather distant from everyone but Rogue. Kurt reappeared and looked at Evan. "He is in his room. Sleeping."
"Sleeping? And Scott? Hah!" Evan replied in disbelief that one of the earliest risers would sleep in late.
"Hey, Where's Rogue?" Evan asked Kurt as he realised she was missing.
"She is asleep. When I told her to wake up, she like threw a pillow at me and told me to leave her alone" Kitty replied and started wondering why the two mutants were sleeping in late. 'Hmm ...could it be?' Ororo listened in on the conversation and gathered enough information to know exactly why they were sleeping in. 'Hmm. They must have spent the night together.'
Rec Room
Jean was sitting in the study with the professor. He had called her to inform that he and Ororo were leaving the mansion for a couple of hours.
"Since Ororo and I will be away, Scott and You will be left with the responsibility of making sure everything is alright around the mansion. We will be gone for a couple of hours, call us if there is any emergency. If you need any help, Hank's in his lab." The professor spoke as he rolled his wheelchair outside the study.
Jean nodded towards him and followed him. "Don't worry Professor. We'll make sure everything is in shape." The professor gave her a nod of appreciation as they headed towards the kitchen. "Ororo. Shall we leave?" The professor asked the white haired woman.
"Alright, Charles. Evan, stay out of trouble." She reminded her nephew and gave him a Stern look. "Gotcha, Auntie O.' See ya later." He told her and took out a pack of Juice.
Once the adults left the mansion, the kids lounged about in the rec room contemplating what to do with their free time. They heard the doorbell ring as they headed to the front door to see who it was. Jean opened the door while Kitty, Kurt and Evan looked behind her curiously at the stranger.
"Hello. May I speak to Professor Charles Xavier?" Said a tall burly man in his late 30s.
"Uh. The professor isn't around. May I know your name?" She asked the man standing in front of her.
"Fred Duncan. FBI. Is Scott Summers around?" The man asked in a no nonsense fashion. Jean and the others gave him a surprised look. She could sense them all having questions popping up in their heads. 'Why was he here? Why does someone from the FBI want to talk to Scott and Xavier? Whats going on?...' He cleared his throat as they continued to stare at him.
"Umm yes. I'll ask him to come down. May I know what you need him for?" Jean spoke up finally shutting out the thoughts being projected from others.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you. I'd appreciate if you called him now." He replied curtly, not having the time to chat with others.
Jean glared at him rudely and considered reading his mind but decided against it, while Kurt who was listening in to their conversation behind the door teleported to Scott's room.
"Scott! Wake up. Some guy from the FBI vants to talk to you!" He shook his shoulders and woke him up.
"Mmhh. What? Where is he?" Scott asked getting up from his sleep.
"Downstairs." Kurt spoke up.
"Do you know what he wants?" Scott asked curiously.
"No. He vanted to talk to zhe professor but he isn't here so he asked for you." Kurt replied fast.
"Okay. Teleport me there Wagner " Scott spoke switching into leader mode.
"Aye aye captain." Kurt replied and grabbed Scott's shoulder, teleporting them near the door. Scott reached the door and looked at a man standing there. Upon recognizing his face, he opened his mouth to greet him. "Mr Duncan. To what do I owe this visit?" He let out a small smile on seeing the agent who played a part in his rescue from Jack Winters.
"Scott. How are you doing?" Fred Duncan shook his hands and asked the young man who was standing in front of him.
"Alright." Scott answered vaguely.
"Can I speak with you privately?" The agent asked him in a hurry.
"Sure. Come in." He said and let the man inside. "Follow me." He said and walked ahead leading the man towards the study. He closed the door to his study while Jean, Kitty, Evan and Kurt decided to stay in the room right outside the study.
Scott sat on a chair behind the desk and motioned the agent to sit on the other side. "What can i do for you Mr. Duncan? I must admit I am quite surprised to find you here." He said, leaning forward.
"Jean, why don't cha peek into their minds to see what they are talking about?" Evan asked her.
"Because it's unethical!" Jean spoke aloud in irritation.
"Come on Jean. For all we know Scott could like be in trouble." Kitty said, wanting to know what they were talking about.
"Yeah, Jean. Don't be such a party pooper." Evan spoke, taunting her.
"Ugh. Fine." She said and concentrated on the voices coming out of the study.
"Scott, This may come as a shock to you but... Jack escaped Prison." A voice which sounded like the agent's originated from the study.
"What?" Scott spoke and visibly paled. All the bad memories poured in his mind as anger built up in him. "How?" He managed to growl out the word.
"I.. we are still figuring that out." The agent spoke with concern. "We will do everything in our power to find that man." He affirmed the young man who was silent.
"Scott...Are you alright?" Fred asked him as he hadn't uttered a word. Scott merely nodded and looked away from him.
Fred sighed as he remembered what had happened to Scott. The bad memories flashed in front of his eyes while he blinked to stop them. He had seen Scott's terrible state when he and Xavier rescued the boy. He was malnourished, had on dirty clothes, was messy, hurt from the physical abuse and torture Jack had put him through. "I'm sorry Son."
"Do you have any leads as to where he could be?" Scott asked wanting to find his foster father and end the matters himself. His eyes glowed bright red as he looked dangerously angry and yet composed enough to make a grown man squirm.
"Not yet." He said avoiding looking at Scott.
"Alright. Please let me know if you get more information." Scott spoke trying to control his anger.
The agent nodded and stood up. "One advice kid. Don't throw away your life by doing something you'll regret." Scott nodded and watched the man leave the room.
Jean had spoken to the eager bunch about what she heard and the things she saw in the agent's mind which had shocked all of them. None of them had a chance to discuss about what they heard as the door to the study opened and they saw the agent leaving. Jean escorted him to the door leaving the rest of them behind.
Scott came out of the study after having composed himself for the sake of others not finding out anything. He looked at the bunch who happened to be right outside the study looking very guilty of over hearing the conversation. He narrowed his eyes at the realization and quickly turned away gritting his teeth and clenching his fists in anger, walking towards the stairs without casting them a second glance. Taking in deep breaths in order to calm himself down, he opened his door and slammed it shut. Shouting out a curse he threw away the things lying on his desk in a fit of rage as his eyes burned behind his glasses. He was considering seriously hitting something, for he couldn't contain his anger any longer. Deciding it was best to not hit anything in his room and end up destroying the property, he wore his uniform and walked briskly outside his door and towards the danger room. He would have to wait for the professor to come back to track down Jack in order to truly get over his anger. Until then, the danger room was going to be his target.
As Cyclops entered the danger room, he activated the training program. "A-6. Activate."
The danger room quickly transformed into a battle zone. Several holographic robots appeared, targeting him. He unleashed an optic blast and wiped them out while the walls started closing in on him. Quickly jumping, he climbed on top of the wall and flipped to the other side. Mechanical drones then appeared as he narrowly avoided being hit in the arm. He turned around and turned his visor, unleashing another optic blast obliterating them to pieces. Right behind him, a holographic image of men in masks appeared. One of them crept up behind Cyclops as he kicked him off the ground. He turned over and looked at the men. The men leaped at him as he stood up and laid a punch on one of them. "Now this is what i'm talking about." He uttered and kicked the guy on the side. The man fell while Cyclops turned his head to see another attacking him. He ducked and lifted the man up and threw him on the ground. Another man ran charged towards him, growling. He quickly took that to his advantage and shifted to the side, clutching him by his arms and flipping him off the ground. Two large men were approaching him as they circled around him lifting their hands. He mimicked their actions and slowly paced around in his space, turning as they turned with him. The man who was on his left charged him first with his fist meeting his Jaw. Cyclops staggered for a second, wasting no more time he bent and swiped his leg around the man's legs and watched him fall.
"Just you and me left. Now are you gonna be a pussy like the others or are you gonna put up a real fight?" Cyclops taunted him as the man leaped at him with a loud roar coming from his throat. Cyclops backed away as he gained the momentum to jump. He punched him hard on his face as the man fell down. The fallen man got up and Cyclops kicked him down. He loomed over the man and punched him on his stomach repeatedly until the holograph died down. Just then, a few wrecking balls with spikes appeared and swung towards him. He managed to dodge the first one by somersaulting over to the other side when the other wreaking ball headed straight towards him. He unleashed an optic blast which pushed the ball towards the other one in the front. Unleashing a quick precise blast, he clipped the chains as they fell on the ground with a heavy thud. The simulation stopped as he got up and looked around at the damage. He shook his head in disappointment, thinking that the session wasn't hard enough. "This is a fucking joke." He uttered and left the room.
He walked towards the locker room to get changed when he encountered Rogue walking towards him with a worried look on her face.