Cyclops: Fear No Gods

The Phoenix and the White Queen

Chapter XLIV - Goings on in New York

Time had a tendency of flowing differently.

Sometimes it moved quickly and other times it moved slowly.

Scott found that in the past few weeks, things had begun to move slowly and that was strangely comforting for him. From the moment he headed to New York to find Warren to the time in which he and the X-Men went on their first official mission to rescue Bobby from prison, it had all been quick and sudden. There had barely been a moments rest, there had always been something happening that forced him to act rapidly in order to ensure the success of his own plans.

It had certainly been an experience.

That was something Cyclops had plenty of, but something Scott had little of and so it had been good for him. A struggle, definitely, especially with the numerous unexpected variables that came his way. But it was necessary for Scott to get a feeling for as he felt much more confident and prepared for the future having gone through that.

The last few weeks had been especially important, just as much for Hank and Warren as it had been for him. His fights against the numerous superpowered foes had certainly been something that aided him massively. Yet it had highlighted some key areas in which he needed to improve upon, improvements that thanks to Wolverine he was working on.

As for Hank and Warren, their first mission together only further showcased the need for the training they had been undergoing. They had little in the way of battle and spatial awareness, this caused a few problems for them as they infiltrated and moved through the prison. The guards themselves were not the biggest challenge, but it was the SWAT team they encountered that caused Hank and Warren the biggest problems.

Though human, they were well-trained and disciplined, used to working together in a unit and covering each other's weaknesses. It was a level of teamwork that Scott wanted to build for the X-Men in order to cover for their weaknesses, but they had not had much time in order to develop that. As a result, on a number of occasions, Hank and Warren had left themselves exposed leading to Scott having to cover for them.

Ultimately, they succeeded, just as Scott had expected, freeing Bobby and bringing him back to the Xavier Institute where he had eagerly accepted the offer to join the X-Men. Though Scott doubted he fully understood the risk he would be taking by doing so, Hank and Warren did thanks to their own experiences in Dunfee and New York respectively. However, Bobby had experienced very little in the way of what they had, having accidentally used his powers against a bully, and then being imprisoned for his own safety against the lynch mob coming after him.

He had gone through hardship, Scott would not deny that, but it was not enough for him to get a full understanding of the danger the X-Men would be exposed to, not like Warren and Hank who had experienced it first-hand. That didn't bother Scott though, it was something every Mutant would come to understand eventually, Bobby would be no different.

Though Scott would admit it did bother him that Bobby didn't commit himself to training, treating it more like a joke. He was thankful that this mentality had not yet rubbed off on either Warren or Hank yet, but that was not to say that it might not in the future. That was something Scott couldn't allow because these early days were the perfect time for the X-Men to get ahead of the curve.

Bobby was someone Scott needed to commit himself to training more so than anyone else considering he was an Omega-Level Mutant. With his abilities and unique powers, Bobby could become a major player before anyone else entered the scene. But changing Bobby's viewpoint would not be easy considering how stubborn the man could be, so for now, it was for him to hope that the mentality of Warren and Hank would rub off on Bobby and not the other way around.

Laying back on his bed, Scott pulled out his phone and went straight to his contacts list. Though most of his focus had been on the X-Men and their training, he had not ignored the events taking place in New York. Norman was a dangerous individual and one that was growing more powerful as time went on, seemingly not gripped with insanity as he had in Cyclops' world. Nor did he seem as restrained, his ambitions and his desire to achieve said ambitions growing as Peter failed to stop him as Scott had initially hoped.

"What do you want now?" Callisto asked down the other end, not entirely happy with him considering how their last call had ended.

Scott was unconcerned by this. "Nothing." He replied, knowing not to push things with Callisto any further. Asking her to help Peter as he had was definitely a lot for Callisto who wanted to keep the Morlocks hidden. She had managed to keep them secret, but that was not guaranteed to be the case forever and so, Scott was not going to ask any more of her. He wanted to keep channels open between the X-Men and the Morlocks, not close them off. "I simply want to know how things are going."

"Haven't you been watching the news?"

"I have." Scott replied, unperturbed by her obvious anger. "But I want a more in-depth understanding from someone who's been studying the situation more closely than I have." If there was anyone studying the battle between Peter and Oscorp, it would definitely be someone like Callisto, after all, she would make sure to watch out for any threats to the Morlocks.

"..." Callisto eventually sighed. "Well, your plan to have Peter distract Oscorp is partially working. He keeps getting himself involved, putting a stop to some things and simply getting his ass kicked in others. It's distracting Oscorp a tiny bit, but they're mostly focused on building up the Green Goblin to promote their new products."

That was all something Scott had known already.

Every piece of news focusing on New York showcased Peter's battles against Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin, each one ending in the Green Goblin's victory. No doubt all the result of Peter trying to talk sense into Harry, unwilling to hurt his childhood friend and so, leaving him exposed. When considering how Oscorp was focused on making Harry a top-of-the-line promotion material, the training and enhancements he had received were adding up.

Peter was holding himself back and also trying to play catchup, not a good position to be in.

Though it was good to know that he hadn't missed things.

For once, the news actually had the full information on what was going on behind the scenes, not restricted by the governments in what they could showcase and know.

"And his training?" Scott wondered.

"Slow." She replied. "He's improving, but slowly. He hesitates far too often and isn't willing to do what's necessary in order to win. If it wasn't for us bailing him out on numerous occasions, he'd have been dead long ago."

Not an unexpected thing.

It was precisely why Scott had wanted the Morlocks to help Peter in the first place, to make sure that he wouldn't get in over his head too soon. As all heroes do, they tend not to know when to let things be and Peter was no different. He would keep pushing and pushing until he was trapped and without the Morlocks, there would be no way for him to escape.

"That's to be expected." Scott told her. "He's young and naive to the truth of the world. Give him time and he will grow."

"But how long do you think he has?" Callisto questioned. "If he keeps going on like this, we'll only be able to save him so many more times before we start risking exposing ourselves to the world. I only agreed to help Peter because we didn't have to put ourselves at risk, but that's no longer becoming the case."

"I know." Scott expected her to react like this, it was hardly a concerning thing for him though. There was a certain tinge to her voice that said a great deal and it was just as Scott expected, Peter was a guy that naturally drew people to him. Even though it had only been a few weeks, Scott had no doubt that Peter had managed to make friends with many of the Morlocks, especially Callisto who would be training him closely and spending the most time with him. "But it shouldn't take too long before he starts to realise the truth for himself."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then do what you think is right." Scott's answer was instant, but only because he knew that Callisto would not be able to let Peter go. There was already a bond there between him and the Morlocks, that much was clear to see from the tone of her voice. Callisto wouldn't simply be able to abandon Peter, not if things continued along this path for another few weeks.

In the meantime, Scott would continue to prepare the X-Men for future threats and once all was said and done, he could be able to properly give Peter the backup necessary. He never had any intention of leaving Peter to face Norman alone forever, but Scott needed to first build up his own forces in order to better prepare for the future. Once that was all said and done, he could then move freely in a way that best suited his goal as he moved towards the endgame step by step.

So, another chapter is done and I hope you all enjoyed it. Anyway, if you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.