Trained And Ready To Go

The whole web-slinging and wall climbing practice I put Rogue through only went on for a few measly hours before I deemed her proficient enough to not have any major accidents and be able to start using these skills in combat.

The fact that she learned so quickly surprised me at first, as it took me several days before I got the hang of it, but I quickly came to accept it as, after all, her starting position was much better than mine. Being trained as a member of the X-men, she was physically much better off than the weak me right after entering this world.

With her basic training finished, we still had a few hours to go until the time I was meant to go meet Yuri, so for the time being, I took her around New York City alleyways and had her get used to using her web-shooters against some low tier thugs hanging around.

After a while, I felt confident enough in her that the two of us started working together to take down larger groups of enemies, and may I say, I was damn impressed by how quickly we dealt with everyone to the point that I started considering just trying to poach Rogue over from the X-men and have her become my partner on a permanent basis.

Giving any sort of compliment to her on that part, though, as I quickly learned, turned out to be a huge proverbial minefield right now as she grasped onto anything remotely sounding like praise I said to her and immediately asked for strange rewards like hand holding, head pats or piggy back rides around the city. Seriously what happened to this girl?

Well, okay, I do know what happened to her, but really, I have no clue how I'm supposed to deal with this situation…

Anyways, getting back on track, it is almost time for me to meet Yuri and deal with the Manfredi family, which is why I am currently heading over to the NYPD like previously agreed. The only unexpected factor here is Rogue, who is currently on my back and has her arms wrapped around my neck to hold onto me.

"I thought I gave you those web shooters so I wouldn't have to carry you, so how come you are still on my back?" I say while slinging from building to building at high speed.

"Wasnt this a reward for taking away that one guy's gun before he could attempt to shoot you in the back? Also, I don't have the stamina you do and would get tired after swinging around for so many hours, you want me at my best for whatever we are about to do, right?" She says, holding on even tighter as her hair flies in the wind.

"I guess," I answer. It's not like it's a significant inconvenience, either way, she isn't heavy in the slightest.

"Still, for someone who didn't talk to me alone at school just to avoid making Gwen jealous, you sure are being forward right now," I say and continue moving as I spot my destination in the distance.

"Hmm? Why is that important right now? It's not like Gwen knows Peter Parker from her class is spiderma- wait, don't tell me…"

"Yeah, she knows. Figured it out by herself, actually." I explain

"Damn, well, there goes my only advantage… oh well, I guess she can consider this as a declaration of war then…" She says and falls quiet.

A declaration of war? Man, how did we get here…

While thinking about that, I finally reach the NYPD and spot Yuri already up on the roof, leaning against the railing while looking out at the city.

Landing on the roof, she turns around to look at us. "You've arrived, and with three minutes to spare too." She says, looking at the watch on her hand.

"I do my best to be punctual, oh, and I've brought some extra help," I say, gesturing to Rogue, who has luckily decided to climb down from my back instead of staying on there during the entire conversation.

"Hi." Rogue gives a simple greeting to Yuri getting a nod in return.

"Hi, I suppose I did say I need all the help I can get my hands on, so your presence here is welcome." She says simply. "I've been keeping an eye on the news today, and people have been going crazy about you."

"Me? I'm on the news, and people have been going crazy about me?" Rogue asks, taken aback by what Yuri said.

"When a well-known mutant suddenly becomes a sidekick to one of the most well-liked heroes of the city and is seen swinging around with webs, people tend to take notice, and the journalists aren't going to miss their chance to get some free clicks," Yuri explains after which I hear Rogue muttering something about being called my sidekick with a grin on her face.

"A slow news day, huh," I say

Yuri shakes her head with a smile. "Oh, trust me, anything you or the mutants do would hit the headlines even on a busy day."

"I've got a feeling Jameson is going to have a field day with this one…"

"You'd be surprised." Yuri says mysteriously but then changes the subject, "We've wasted enough time. Let's talk about the mission now."

That gets the attention of both me and Rogue, who turns to seriously listen to Yuri.

"We've been keeping a close eye on the Manfredi family ever since we, or more accurately, you, put Blackwing behind bars, expecting them to do something drastic to get back the power they lost that day, but unfortunately it appears we didn't do a good enough job."

"Hey, don't blame anything on me now." I interrupt her

"Nothing's being blamed on you. You did well to take him down." Yuri states, "But we did expect some sort of a retaliation for that."

She pauses for a second to see if I still have anything else to say, but as I remain silent, she continues speaking.

"We hadn't noticed anything weird until just two days ago when one of our men on the inside whose identity as an officer had remained hidden until now got promoted to a higher position and was let in on a secret compound near the eastern Brooklyn docks, which he is now supposed to help guard."

"What he reportedly saw in there worries me greatly. He said there was almost an entire warehouse full of boxes of guns, and not just some low-quality stuff that the gangs usually get their hands on but high-grade military stuff, the kind that can deal some serious damage. Even worse, several trucks just made a delivery yesterday full of guns and technology from Saber International."

"Sable International? Isn't that some kind of a mercenary group in Europe? Why is their stuff being transported here?" I ask. Rogue, standing beside me, is also clearly interested but opts to remain quiet.

"Officially, they call themselves a security corporation, but your description is probably more accurate. As for why their weapons and technology are being transported to a maggia family, I can not say. It's a mystery how the Manfredi family managed to get their hands on their gear, but it is a problem no matter how you look at it." Yuri says, leaning back against the railing.

"Best case scenario, they are just heavily over preparing to bust Blackwing out of jail." She says in a voice that doesn't quite make it seem like she believes it herself.

"And worst case?" I ask as she remains quiet in thought for a few seconds.

"They are preparing for something much bigger, perhaps a war against the other maggia families to take full control of the city," Yuri says as she takes out her phone from her pocket. "Either way, we must take care of the threat before anything terrible happens. A full-out war between the families would definitely spill out into the streets and end with many innocent lives lost."

Finished talking, she hands over her phone, which displays both the address of the place as well as pictures of the base from different angles.

"The raid will be taking place in an hour. I've sent all these pictures as well as some additional info on what we will be doing to the phone I gave you earlier. Don't show up early. I don't want to alert them of our presence too soon."

Quickly swiping through the pictures, I hand her phone back to her. "I guess I'll see you there then."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: 3 chapters in 3 days. Will this trend continue? Spoilers: No, I'll probably be busy until Tuesday or Wednesday, but I also won't rule out any surprise chapters.

A serious question: Does anyone know how the X-men identities are treated in the comics? Like are their real identities a secret, or does everyone going to the same school as the young X-men know they are mutants and superheroes?

I think I'm going to just pretend that their real identities are a secret despite them not really wearing any masks or costumes. Not sure how it works, but whatever. If someone has some knowledge on this, please let me know.