" Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" Ian stumbled around the aerie, like a mad man. He grabbed the lamp on the nearest table and slung it against the wall, just barely missing Domino's head.
" Hey! Watch it!" The woman yelled. She dodged out of the way just barely, as the vase smashed against the wall.
" Damnit! Laura was right. We should have left Warren here. How did I not see this happening. Damnit!' Ian slammed his fist down on the table and cracked the floor below him.
Logan walked up to Ian and smacked him in the face.
Ian grunted. He was mad as it was, and Logan slapping him only served to make him angrier. But Logan didn't care.
" Alright, that's enough. You hear me kid. Look, Rahne's a big girl, if she's in danger, we'll help her. But you, I need you focused. Understand. We're shit deep as it is, and I can't have you not thinking straight." Logan told the man. " Look, we're going back to San Francisco. You need a break. I think we all do. I'll speak with Scott, in the meantime, you rest, hit the gym, do whatever it is you need to do to get your head on straight. Because if we're gonna handle Bastion and his minions, then I'm gonna need you at your best, got it?"
Ian bit his tongue and shook his head. The anger that flowed in his mind for Bastion, swelled.
" Bastion." Ian growled.
That was a name that was becoming more and more synonymous with Ian's being. Every turn the past few months involved Bastion in some way.
The last time they met, Bastion did something that hampered Ian's powers. He planned and planned for his downfall. Things wouldn't be any different now, would they? No.
" Okay. Okay, Logan." Ian told the man.
" Alright. Take, Laura back with you. You two rest up. The rest of us will come back in a bit." Logan spoke.
Ian looked to Laura and nodded.
Logan was sending her with him to keep an eye on him. She was the one that he trusted the most to keep him out of trouble and to watch his back if he went off script.
" Come on." Ian said to Laura.
Laura nodded and followed as Ian walked out to the balcony.
" You should wear something over your uniform. We shouldn't let anyone else see us in this." Laura told the man as she pointed to his uniform.
" Whatever." Ian grumbled.
.....
Ian flew with Laura straight back to GrayMalkin in San Francisco. He was quiet all the way, something Laura would usually be fine with, if it were anyone else. But for Ian, him being quiet meant that he was troubled and that made her worry.
Ian landed with Laura on the roof, and before she could say a word, he was already making his way into the building through the roof entrance.
She shadowed him, all the way to his room, and there she sat and watched. It wasn't long before he reemerged, dressed in a pair of shorts and a white t.
She watched and followed as Ian made his way down Graymalkin industries, straight into the sub-basement below, where Beast and the other scientists had relocated their labs.
" What is he doing?" Laura wondered.
She watched as Ian approached Hank and pulled him aside.
Their conversation was a short one. Ian had asked something of Hank and though Hank seemed to not mind, his scent marked him curious.
Hank nodded and led Ian to a room to the far side of where he and his colleagues where working. And then after having showed Ian inside, Hank McCoy returned to his workstation.
" Ah, sorry about that my friends. A student of mine, wished to have a room to work. He's quite the genius himself. I hope you all won't mind." Laura heard Hank say.
" It's nice to see the youth taking an initiative in the world of science, Hank. I'm sure it will be alright. Now then, back to the matter at hand, you say you've searched for nearly every possible solution. Have you tried space?" Maddison Jeffries, Dr. Nemesis, Laura identified the man from a glance. She had heard of him, but he currently was of no interest to her.
Laura quietly snuck her way through the lab, using the different gadgets and contraptions to stay hidden from the eyes of others. Once she was close enough, Laura stuck her head inside the room Ian was in.
She spotted the man, sitting at a desk. Whatever it was he was working on must have been important enough to have his complete attention, as he didn't even hear Laura enter the room, despite it being quiet. Or maybe Laura was just that good at stealth.
Laura hid herself and watched for Hours as Ian scrabbled on sheets of paper, occasionally throwing them away if he felt as if whatever it was, wasn't going to work.
" Needs to be able to handle the recoil from the blast. Stronger material for the barrel as well, making it longer will help with penetration. For now, perhaps I should focus on just getting it working before I try to make adjustments to length." Laura overheard him mumble.
......
Many hours would go by, before Ian showed any signs of moving from his spot, but eventually he did take that step away from the desk.
" I need to get some air, and food." Ian stated. He wiped his brow of sweat, but he had a look of satisfaction on his face.
After having gone through over a hundred different sheets of paper, whatever he was drawing up seemed to have finally come together.
Ian left with a look of satisfaction on his face, and once she was sure she was clear, Laura approached the desk and took a look at the notes scribbled down.
" Cooled chambers? Designed to prevent overheating and early explosion. Silica tiles, Si02, and a copper compound, Modified. That's the stuff that helps keep heat on the outer layer of rockets. Good for keeping hot temperatures under control. What are these?" Laura observed the notes and the drawings, closely. She couldn't, however, figure out what they were meant for other than some kind of heat-based weapon. " In case of power loss? The most difficult task is finding a way to properly charge and store energy inside of shells. Need to keep heat insulated and condensed. Most favorable material, is Silica Tile. But instead of keeping heat out, it should be able to keep it in with no problems." Laura moved the pile pf papers to the side, and there on the desk was a drawing of a double barrel shotgun. And then it clicked. " A shotgun? No, it's not a normal shotgun. Ian wants to power it with his own internal energy. That's what all the Silica and copper is for. To keep the barrel and the chamber insulated, and the bullets. Bullets are compact, made for piercing, and coupled with his explosive power. This is deadly. Hang on?" Laura looked closely at the gun. Just as Laura was beginning to study the guns designs further, Ian's scent returned, signaling the woman that the man was coming back.
Normally she would return to her hiding spot, but for some reason, she just waited.
When Ian returned with a sandwich he stopped, just as he was taking a bite, when he spotted Laura standing there with his paper in her hands. Judging from the look of on her face, he knew she was concerned.
" It's an energy gun. It's meant to help me conserve energy, so that I don't waste it all, or to help me compensate if something were to happen to my powers, like last time. These are just the fiftieth designs. See, the idea is to be able to channel raw energy into the chamber and fire it from the barrel like a bullet, the length of the barrel, will help spin the energy around adding to its armor piercing power. Of course, being an energy blast, it will explode. A deadly combination if I can nail it right. The Silica and copper will, hopefully, help keep the gun from overheating from the pure energy. But in case it doesn't, then I could always adjust the power. If for any reason, I can't pull energy into the gun or if anyone else needed to fire it, then that's where the bullets come from. I'm trying to find a way to properly store my energy into the rounds. If I can then I'll be able to fire off as many devastating rounds as I want, without draining myself. In this case, I'm planning for the latter." Ian explained his plans as perfectly as he could to Laura, and although her worry began to fade, there was still part of her that was concerned for her friend.
" Ian, if anyone got their hands on this gun." Laura spoke.
" They won't. You don't need to worry, Laura. I promise you. I know what I'm doing. It'll still be some time before I can finish it. I'll need to test whether or not the idea is even feasible. But I believe with time, this weapon will make a difference. That robotic bastard won't know what hit him." Ian exclaimed.
" What bastard?" Laura asked.
" Bastion."
" This gun, was made to kill Bastion." Laura spoke.
" Yes." Ian shook his head and sat down at his desk. " I need to focus, Laura. I know you're concerned. But I promise. I know what I'm doing."
Laura placed the sheet down and pulled up a chair.
" You're gonna stay on me about this aren't you?" Ian asked the girl.
" No. I'm gonna stay with my friend." Laura replied.
Ian smirked a little and nodded his head.
" Alright, then. I hope you don't mind my rambling." Ian told the woman. He then turned his attention back to the table, while Laura watched him all the time.
...........
Elsewhere.
" Bastion.... What are you doing?" Trask, one of Bastions' many servants asked the man-machine.
He was staring at a picture on a board and seemed to be quite upset.
" The plan had a 98.6 percent chance of success. Failure was unexpected." Bastion spoke.
Trask was confused. At no point had Bastion spoke to any of them about a plan, nor had he mentioned the young man in the picture.
" What plan, Bastion? What are you talking about?" Trask asked the man.
" Trask, get creed the footage from the Coopertown massacre. Let the world see what might happen if a new mutants are born. And then, get me this ones parents. If possible, both of them." Bastion told the man
...........
GrayMalkon industries.
After spending hours and hours drawing up his plans, Ian eventually found a design he believed would work, and with his plans in his hand, he and Laura approached Hank for his thoughts.
" Well, I must say, this is quite the weapon you've designed. Can you tell me what spurred this on?" Hank asked the man.
" Insurance, if my powers were to ever fail." Ian told the man.
Hank looked over the designs. His curiosity was peaked, oh yes, it was. He never even thought of something so simple himself.
" Well, I believe we have the materials already here, don't ask why." Hank spoke. " I'm sure I can help you with this, yes. It will take some time, obviously, but I believe a month or two at the longest. Of course, that is just assembling it. Testing and adjustments will obviously take a little longer. When would you like to start?" Hank asked.
" Immediately." Ian replied.