Entering his room, the door closing a little harder than he had meant to, Scott took a moment to take a calming breath. He pinched the bridge of his nose, transitioning to rubbing his temples slowly as he moved towards his bed and collapsing down onto it, arms spread out as he looked up at the ceiling.
That was not how he had intended for things to go at all.
Scott had always wondered what he would do if he ever came face to face with Wolverine in this life. Had always wondered how he would feel and how he would react, especially with all he knew about the way things unfolded between Cyclops and Wolverine. All this time, Scott had been confident he would be able to act calmly, not let the emotions and knowledge of Cyclops cloud his judgement.
Yet that clearly had not been the case at all.
Sighing deeply, Scott closed his eyes for a brief moment, only for the images and feelings to come to him once more. The strange pit in his stomach that made him feel sick, the anxious almost disgusted and even hateful emotion that coursed throughout his body every time he thought back to it.
Though Jean had never chosen or done anything with Wolverine, there had been something there, Cyclops had seen that and even Scott had been able to see it. There was a reason Cyclops and Wolverine had been at each other's throats constantly, always on the verge of coming to blows or outright fighting one another even in the most inopportune times.
They had both known and while Cyclops had hated that connection Jean and Wolverine shared, a connection he could not have with her because of the responsibilities he bore. How Cyclops had hated that Wolverine, a man he had constantly respected for his skills and the dedication he held, a man by all accounts, should have been his greatest friend, would betray him in such a way.
Wolverine had hated him just as much.
He never hated Jean, but he hated Cyclops because, at the end of the day, Jean had chosen Cyclops and not him. They had been able to put that aside on many occasions and work together near perfectly without a single problem between their ability to take down far superior foes with incredible and seamless teamwork.
But outside of that, neither man could stand the other.
Scott had thought he would be different, yet clearly, those memories and feelings had a greater impact on his perception of people than he had ever anticipated. 'I need to take my mind off this. Focus on something else, anything else.' Scott told himself, sitting upright and looking at his phone, numerous news feeds covering the recent goings on in the New York borough of Queens.
It had become a hotbed of activity recently, first with his attack upon Oscorp and following that, the conflict between Green Goblin and the various supervillains that were beginning to rise up, Spider-Man amongst those so-called supervillains. Things were definitely heating up in Queens and it was beginning to gain national news, especially with the recent peaceful few months in which the world's only currently active superhero team, the Fantastic Four had not dealt with any major threat.
'He's struggling though, more than I expected.' Scott noted, reading through and watching one of the clips that showed the fight between the Vulture, Spider-Man and Green Goblin at the recent unveiling of what was meant to be the first aerial police squad.
In it, Vulture had disappeared relatively quickly having used a messy and inexperienced, but effective hit-and-run tactic. He went in, destroyed or captured the flight suits and got out of there, only engaging in a short fight against the Spider-Man and then later, the Green Goblin. After that, Spider-Man and the Green Goblin had been fighting one another and it was clear that Harry Osborn had been receiving some form of training.
Norman was serious about turning his son into a hero, the perfect marketing campaign in this day and age. He was sparing no expense, clearly hiring skilled combat instructors to give his son the skills he would need to win a fight. When combining that with the powers that gave him the physicality to match Spider-Man well, it was a dangerous combination.
'And considering Peter is relying too heavily upon his powers, he's in trouble.' Peter was definitely smart and it was one of the reasons he had such success, not only in this world but in Cyclops' also. However, in a fight, overthinking things led to hesitation and pauses, something a fighter could not afford. 'He'll need training if he wants to succeed.'
Luckily for Peter, Scott had just the right person in mind to help him.
{"Yes?"} Callisto asked down the other end, sounding none too pleased at this call.
"Hello, Callisto." Scott greeted. "I was just wondering how's the view from your glass house? Or have you done some restructuring since we last met?"
There was a scoff and Scott smirked. {"I can assure you, the pest has been dealt with."} He didn't doubt it either, Callisto was not the one to hesitate in these kinds of situations. {"But you didn't just call me to ask about that, did you?"}
"Of course not," Scott replied. "I actually called to cash in on the favour you owe me."
{"Favour?"} She asked dubiously, he already able to tell she was frowning. {"What favour?"}
"The favour you owe me for revealing what was going on?" He answered. "But don't worry, it's a small favour for the debt you owe me. Nothing too serious or difficult."
There was a pause.
A long one.
{"..."} Scott said nothing, just giving Callisto time to think. {"...Alright? What do you want?"}
"First, I need to know how familiar you are with the tunnels and sewers of New York outside of those belonging to Manhattan?"
{"I can already tell I'm not going to like this."} Callisto muttered before sighing. {"Alright, we're not that familiar with much of them, Manhattan is our main base, as you already know. So, to answer your question, not very. Why?"}
Scott had expected that answer, but he was a little disappointed. "Well, the favour I ask of you is actually two things. First, I want you to train Spider-Man to fight. He's in desperate need of it considering how his last fight with the Green Goblin went. As for the second task, I want you to help Spider-Man escape difficult situations by guiding him through the sewers and underground tunnels."
{"...Are you fucking serious?"}
"Very much so."
{"You consider that small?"} She asked incredulously. {"You're asking me and the Morlocks to get involved in that little war between Spider-Man and Oscorp? That's way more than what I owe you and I still don't fucking believe I should owe you shit. The answer is no."}
Scott frowned, eyes hardening. "I'm afraid, there's been a misunderstanding about some things."
{"Oh, like what?"} Callisto spat out. {"I didn't need your help to find out what Masque was doing behind my back, I could have handled him eventually on my own."}
"True." Scott answered. "But how long would it have taken you to do that? A week? A month? A year? How many Mutants would have to be disfigured and deformed by Masque before you finally opened your eyes to the truth? I can assure you that the only reason I didn't decide to get rid of you right there and then was because you didn't know. Had I not arrived when I had and the damage he had done not been that great, I can assure you I would have not been so merciful."
As a leader, Callisto had a responsibility to bear that title and even if she didn't know what her subordinates were doing, that was not good enough. It was her duty as a leader to be aware of those things and if she wasn't then she failed at her duty. For a leader, not knowing was not a good enough excuse and Scott knew that better than most.
"So, yes, you do owe me a favour. But if you don't want it to be for revealing Masque for what he did, then let's change it to something you can better understand." Scott continued, voice becoming lower. "This is a debt you owe me for sparing your life. But I can assure you if that is the debt you owe me then the favour I am owed is even larger, are we clear?"
A heavy silence befell them.
"So, I suggest you make a choice as to what kind of debt am I owed?"
-X-
Heading down into the restaurant, Scott spared a glance towards the bar, seeing that Logan seemed to have vacated that area. 'No doubt to find another bar somewhere.' Shaking his head lightly, Scott grit his teeth, frustrated with himself for still letting Cyclops' view of Wolverine influence his own. 'Shut up, focus on other things.'
Entering the restaurant of the B&B, Scott moved towards the table that had already been booked by Amelia, she already sat down and waiting, menu in hand and a drink in front of her.
"Have a good rest?" Amelia asked calmly, never once taking her gaze off the menu and Scott could tell she was not happy just by the tone of her voice.
'Understandable though.' He thought to himself, pulling out the seat to sit down. "I did."
"Have you calmed down now?" She asked, referring quite clearly to what had happened earlier on between him and Wolverine. Clearly, just as that stunt he had pulled had not impressed himself, it had not impressed Amelia either.
"I have." He answered, deciding against looking at the menu immediately. "I am sorry."
Amelia lowered the menu, placing it down gently on the table and looked at him closely. "I suppose me asking what happened and why won't mean much, will it?" She didn't expect it to, after all, they weren't all that close, the only reason she asked was to make it clear Amelia had not approved of the way he had acted.
During his time in New York, the meeting with Warren and then the Morlocks in the sewers of Manhattan, Amelia had kept quiet. She let Scott do the talking, first expecting him to fail and learn from that failure, but also so they could get home sooner. However, when he succeeded, Amelia continued to remain quiet, curious to see what he could do and not expecting to be able to offer much else.
But clearly, she had placed a little too much trust in Scott as at the end of the day, he was still young. Scott, despite his incredible maturity and all the hardships he had endured, was still able to have moments of youth irrationality and stupidity.
However, Wolverine's words also rang true.
She allowed her feelings for Scott, the sympathy and guilt she felt for not realising what he was going through to cloud her judgement. Amelia wanted to find a balance, that balance between supporting him in his long journey to overcome the trauma he had endured, and the firm line that made it clear he could not get away with everything.
That was something a lot harder to do than she expected considering they didn't know each other all that well.
Yet strangely, that made it easier for Scott to open up.
"I knew someone like him before, in the past," Scott answered with a half-truth. "He was the type of guy who let his desires control him, doing whatever he wanted without care for the consequences or the way they impacted people around him. I don't like or trust people like that. But I shouldn't have let my feelings get the better of me and I'm sorry."
"Have you ever wondered if perhaps, Logan might be different?" She asked. "Or that maybe your actions might be the very things that drive him to become just like the person you dislike?"
"...It's harder than I imagined," Scott said truthfully. "Separating what I know and remember, from the present. It's something I thought I could do, but clearly, I can't."
Amelia smiled. "Then for now, how about you let me do the talking for a change?"