Sitting at his desk, Winston took a moment to relax and clear his head of uncessary thoughts as he watched the oak doors leading to his study close. His anger had been spiked and his pride had been damaged through the boy's actions, Scott Summers. He could not stand for that and would very much like to get his revenge immediately.
However, it would not do to be rash.
No, he had seen the consequences of rash actions far too many times in his life.
It was how he had risen to his position.
Many of his rivals and enemies had been rash, acting upon impulse and emotion leading to openings.
Things which he had capitalised upon to bring about their downfall.
Winston was many things, but a man to repeat the mistakes of weaklings he was not.
Reaching out, Winston poured himself a glass of whisky and after taking a gulp, opened a drawer to his desk and pulled out a phone. It was not his actual mobile phone, but instead a burner he kept for times such as these, inputted with only a few numbers. Each of them connected to individuals who could fulfil a certain task required of them without failure and he required such an individual today.
Placing the phone to his ear and waiting, Winston finished the rest of his glass and rubbed his jaw slowly. "I'm in need of your services." Winston stated simply once the individual on the other end picked up. "When will you be available?" His frown deepened, but Winston did not let it bother him too much, there was no need to rush. "Very well. The price is agreed upon, I will send half upon you accepting the request. The remainder when you complete the task. But I want it done by the end of the month."
Ending the call, Winston placed the phone back away on the desk and poured himself another glass, taking only a small sip this time to savour the taste. In the end, Scott Summers and Charles Xavier would be killed at the hands of the man he had just hired and another weakling who did not know their place would be removed from the world.
Though it would take longer than he would have liked, Winston could be patient for the time being.
-X-
Despite his expectations, Scott was surprised when Charles did not question his actions upon their journey back to the Xavier Mansion. He had expected and been prepared to be questioned and reprimanded for why he had done what he did. Even prepared several justifications as to why without truly touching upon the reason as to why.
The simple answer was that Scott had been planting the seeds of rebellion within Emma.
As the daughter of Winston Frost and the only truly adept member of the family, she was a definite for the succession of her father. Even if she continued to rebel and abandon her family as she did in Cyclops' memories, running away to Sebastian Shaw, Emma would continue to rise and become the White Queen of the Hellfire Club. Now, if Scott could plant the seeds of rebellion within her and show her that there were other ways than running away but to instead face her father head-on, maybe he could prevent Emma from going down the path she did in another life.
Perhaps it was a long shot.
Maybe he was causing the very thing he was trying to avoid.
But Scott wasn't simply going to end it there.
No, he had more plans to direct Emma away from Sebastian Shaw.
However, Charles' silence was a little concerning.
It was unlike Charles to not question actions he could not understand or reprimand those that went against his plan. Though he was a man who allowed students to make mistakes, Charles was also a man who had high expectations for his students. Once they showcased their capabilities, Charles' expectations of them were fixed and should they fall short of those expectations he would be sorely disappointed.
Scott did not doubt that Charles was disappointed in him.
The whole plan had been to convince Winston Frost to allow Emma to join the Xavier Institute and then introduce her to the X-Men. However, now that had failed and Winston had shut them down completely. This was something Scott had always expected to happen, but not Charles, no he had been hopeful of success.
It was that mentality which made Charles a charismatic man.
But it was also that mentality which cost them a great deal.
Walking down the corridor from his room, Scott paused as he saw Alex standing at the entrance to his door. "Alex..." But before Scott could even properly begin, his brother stepped in and closed the door behind him leaving Scott standing in the corridor. Things had not been good between them for some time, starting from the moment he returned with Hank and the formation of the X-Men began.
Scott had always included Alex in his training, guiding him through the process of controlling his powers and helping him develop athletically. But he had always kept Alex away from anything combat-related, especially when the X-Men began to form a few weeks ago. However, that was precisely when Alex began to push to learn how to fight and use his powers to help fellow Mutants, something Scott was unwilling to do.
He was adamant about not letting Alex join the X-Men.
Or be involved in the conflict to come.
This had caused a great deal of friction between the two brothers that had seen Alex avoid him entirely.
It hurt.
Scott would not deny that.
But he understood why and so, with a sigh, Scott continued down the corridor and passed Alex's room with only a moment's hesitation. Heading down the stairs he listened to the sounds of laughter coming from the sitting room, looking through the open door to see Warren and Bobby watching TV. Hank and Jean were with them, though they were more focused on their studies but enjoying the time as a group their unlikely friendship was born out of the environment they now found themselves.
It was good that there was a bond forming between the four of them.
It would be necessary for the future of the team.
Yet he could not deny he was envious.
The house was beginning to fill up with people but he had never felt more alone.
Everyone was beginning to form bonds with one another, finding friendships in unlikely people and helping one another.
However, Scott found that he had no one.
Interacting with people casually was something Scott had quickly come to realise was something he was always going to struggle with. He had no guide for it, no experience and he felt unsure of how to even go about being around them. Ignoring the vast memories of Cyclops that were constantly growing in size with every day, Scott had never had a chance to be a normal kid following the death of his parents. It had been a constant struggle to survive followed by an unending determination to prepare himself for the future that was to come.
There had been no opportunity for him to forge bonds with people.
New memories came to him every day and with it, he had to understand the new information and prepare contingencies for them using the resources he had at hand. Or plan on how to gather more using the memories he had to his advantage, a task that took up what little time he had following the brutal training regime he subjected himself to.
Scott was constantly looking forward to the future.
Constantly preparing himself and everyone around him for the trials only he knew were to come.
Trials he knew they would fail to overcome should he relax for even a second.
But the task he had undertaken was a thankless one.
Lonely and unseen.
No one knew what he did.
No one understood what went through his mind.
No one knew of the demons he faced every time he closed his eyes.
No one knew how tirelessly he worked.
No one knew how much he wished to rely upon someone.
No one knew or saw him.
But he supposed if he succeeded despite all the odds being stacked against them, he was able to emerge victorious then it wouldn't be for nothing. If all the responsibility he placed upon his shoulders and carried alone upon the unending path laid out before him allowed him to save the Mutant race and prevent the destruction of everything he knew and loved, Scott supposed that was a small price to pay.
That being alone without anyone understanding him and the struggles he faced would be worthwhile.
No.
Scott would not leave it to chance.
He would make sure that he succeeded because if he didn't, it would have all been for nothing.
Passing the sitting room quietly, Scott headed out to the gardens and began running. Even though he wanted to go back and join the others, to bond with them and build friendships, Scott could not allow himself to relax for even a second. Every moment was precious and he needed to prepare himself as best as he could or else he would fail.
That was not something he would allow to happen.
He would be victorious.
He would complete the task Cyclops failed to do.
Scott would save all Mutants.
Scott would save humanity.
Scott would save life itself.
To do that he could not afford to waste a single second.
No matter what he wanted deep down, Scott had no choice but to sacrifice those for the betterment of everyone else.
So, Scott continued to run without stopping.
Pushing himself further and further.