"Charles, I'm worried." Those words were striking as Charles looked out onto the fields stretching out in front of his home, watching as Alex ran around them. Even though Scott had left, Alex was still hard at work, more so as a way to vent out his anger and frustrations at having been left behind.
But Charles' vision became slightly unfocused as those words struck him.
Amelia was many things.
She was a nurse with a kind heart that had ventured out into the poorer areas of the world to provide what aid she could to the downtrodden. Patient and caring, having stuck by his side and provided him with the care he needed to get back on his feet, even when in his frustrations had lashed out at her in anger.
But above all else, she was proud and fearless.
Even though the rising Mutant hate had spread far and wide, Amelia did not fear for herself, she always feared for the lives of the innocents. It was why Amelia was against the idea of the X-Men and Mutants fighting for Mutant Rights because she feared that it would only make things worse and hurt those that were innocent.
To hear her admit she was worried, made Charles worry also. "Why?" He asked.
"It's Scott, he's been acting strange." She said. "He's locked himself up in the hotel room for the past few days, he barely eats anything and from what little I've seen, he's planning something big."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, but it has something to do with Warren's disappearance." When Charles had heard from Amelia about what had happened a few days prior, he too had been concerned about the way things had unfolded. All the signs pointed to Warren having not only been ambushed and severely injured but also having been captured.
The answer as to whether he was alive or not was still unknown.
However, from the short conversation Charles had with Scott following this, made it clear Scott believed Warren was alive. Though he had not said where Charles also knew that Scott had a strong idea of where he was being held and was already preparing to make a move.
He had been tempted to stop Scott, to tell him to wait, but there was something in his tone, something that made Charles hesitate. It was very likely that no matter what he or Amelia did to stop Scott, the young man was still going to carry out his plan whether they liked it or not. He had a goal and Scott was going to stop at nothing to achieve it, no matter how stood in his way.
It was a determination that very few possessed.
But Scott had always been like that, Amelia was just seeing it in full for the first time.
"Then why not ask him?" Charles suggested. "He might say nothing, but if you offer help, you may be able to curb some of his wilder ideas, if they are not already sensible and carefully planned."
At the end of the day, Charles did believe that Scott was doing the right thing, rescuing Warren if he was still alive was highly important. But he hoped that maybe this could be a good opportunity for Amelia and Scott to come together, they had never gotten along well and both were at fault for that, yet this could be the moment they put aside their differences.
Unlikely though it may be, it was not impossible.
"But don't worry, I have an old friend that I can call to give you some aid." He had been considering calling him for some time now, ever since Scott had shown incredible determination and drive to train himself. "If you can at the very least, stall Scott's plans long enough, then he may be able to stop or at the very least, be there to protect both you and Scott."
"Alright."
Then the line hung up.
Charles lowered the phone from his ear, then scrolled through his contacts, finally landing upon one name, Logan. But before he could speed-dial him, his phone rang once more, Amelia's name listed on the top.
Answering, Charles had barely raised it to his ear before her panicked words reached him. "He's gone!" She said urgently and he could hear the ruffling of paper. "And he's gone to attack Oscorp. Charles, he's got the schematics, detailed surveillance of people entering and leaving the building. He's going to attack Oscorp."
"Amelia," Charles said firmly. "Stop him."
He only knew a little of Oscorp which was becoming a rising business tycoon in the world under the leadership of Norman Osborn. But from what little he did know, they were investing heavily in the military sector. Which meant they could have god knows what type of weaponry at their disposal and Scott was about to walk right into it.
-X-
Pulling up the hood over his head, Scott kept his head low as he moved up the stairs towards the entrance of the Oscorp headquarters in Queens. He had considered many possibilities as to where Warren could have been held, his research into the goings on of not just Oscorp, but Queens making one thing very clear.
Tombstone had been working for Maggia.
Oscorp was not owned by Norman Osborn.
There were few people in Queens who benefited from Warren and the one person who benefited most would be Norman. The Falcon, Sam Wilson's suit that had enabled him to fly, had been based on Warren's mutation, and so had the Vulture's own flight suit.
It made sense that if Warren was alive, the one who would most likely keep him alive was not the Maggia or Kingpin, but Norman Osborn. But even if he was wrong, Scott was still going to take this opportunity to do some damage to the man that had caused so many problems for Mutants and the world as a whole.
Entering through the sliding doors, Scott took a moment to survey the ground floor of Oscorp, noticing the guards and their positioning. There were plenty of bystanders, he would have to be careful about where he aimed and the power he put behind his strikes, but that was fine. Even without a visor to control the output of his powers, Scott had been training extensively to fight without it and while nowhere near as controlled as they were with a visor, his powers were still suitable for this type of environment.
But most importantly, he wanted to lure the one person who could do the most consistent damage to Norman right here.
The Spider-Man.
"Stop there, pull down your hood." One of the guards ordered hand outstretched to stop him in his tracks. But Scott moved quickly, gripping the wrist of the guard and pulling him forwards, taking advantage of his lazy stance and driving a knee into the guard's stomach.
The second guard reacted, smoothly withdrawing his gun only for an Optic Blast to lance out, striking him in the chest and throwing him back against the metal detector. Then flipping the first guard over onto his back, keeping a hold of his wrist, Scott fired a number of Optic Blasts out, striking the guards with pinpoint accuracy, their unconscious bodies thrown back and sliding across the ground.
A quick punch down into the first guard then finished him off, Scott ignoring the panicked cries and screams of the Oscorp workers and guests as they rushed past him to get out of the building. Scott himself, walking through the dented metal detector beeped loudly but he moved on anyway, heading towards the stairs.
He didn't know where exactly Warren would be held, but like many places of legitimate business like this, their more shady dealings were usually deep underground. Down below and above, he could hear the doors opening and the sound of hurried footsteps, Scott peeked over the railing to see armed guards coming towards him. They were quick to react and well-trained in their movements, but their movements were predictable.
A powerful blast was fired up, striking the stairs a floor below the front of the guards coming down, taking it away completely, a few more crumbling away without support to hold them up. Then, vaulting over the side of the stairs, he threw himself towards the front of the guards rushing up towards him, they raising their riot shields and guns as to fire, only for his Optic Blasts to fire out directly into them.
-X-
Clenching his fists tightly, Norman studied the footage closely, watching as the strange figure fought against his guards, strange beams of energy firing out from his eyes with incredible force. They destroyed concrete and stone like it was nothing, metal doors crumpling as easily as if they were made of paper.
As for the guards themselves, they were not helpless.
Norman had invested heavily in a private security force made up of ex-army personnel, specifically ex-special forces and the like. Each was well-trained and disciplined, veterans of war and combat outfitted with the best weaponry and armour money could buy. They moved in unison, keeping to formations and using tactics that would have overwhelmed any attacker.
But not this one.
A superpowered attacker, a Mutant more than likely.
One that seemed to be aware of what was going on beneath the surface of Oscorp and one that was tearing through his guards like they were rookies. His beams were used with pinpoint accuracy, Norman unable to help himself from marvelling at the way he was able to bounce his beams off walls to strike otherwise protected soldiers.
He moved with awareness of everything in his immediate surroundings, constantly keeping track of all the guards, both below and above. Constantly firing up to remove stairs in the tiniest of breaks in combat with the guards coming at him from below. He was doing everything he could to avoid making this a fight on two fronts, impeding and slowing the advance of the guards above so he could solely focus on the guards in front of him.
For all their skill and discipline, they had been forced into a chokepoint that removed their advantage in numbers, allowing the attacker to handle them one at a time. As for the guards further below, who could probably take shots at him from the sides thanks to the spiral staircase, they were unable to find a clean shot thanks to the figure throwing himself in the thick of the action.
Simultaneously, forcing the guards to act as his meat shields while taking care of them one by one.
It was a truly marvellous display.
One that made Norman smile eagerly at the thought of seeing what that type of man could do against his latest subjects. The tests had been a success and now it was time to see what they could do in an actual combat environment and there was no better time than right now.
So, with a quick order to the guards, he ordered them to retreat, they were being trapped and contained, and sending them to the meatgrinder was pointless. It was better to reserve them for now and let his latest products handle them.
"Otto." He called, pressing a button on his desk. "I want you to prepare Subject Rhino and Sandman for testing in Lab 1. They are about to have a guest that will prove excellent in pushing them to their limits."
Both of them had undergone numerous testing procedures and had done incredibly well, acing everything they had given them. But there was one area they were untested in and originally, Norman had been preparing to unleash them against the latest hero, Spider-Man. Yet, things were seeming to work out very well for him as not only would he keep their existence secret from the world, but possibly gain a new test subject as well.
This was a sign, he knew.
A sign that things were finally falling into place.