Disclaimer: All X-Men belong to Marvel and Kai belongs to
Kaylee (used with permission). The story however is mine.
Enjoy…Please send comments to Wolvester@aol.com. This
is my first fan fiction piece so be gentle. Flames will be
ignored.* * *
Trap
Written by Wolvester
Part 1
* * *
Slowly my perceptions rose toward the light. I became aware
of a pounding in my head, pain in my wrists and arms, and my
legs hurt. I realized slowly that my wrists and arms were
holding me up, and that my legs *weren't.* I stood on my feet
and my arms hurt less. As I opened my eyes, I noticed that
my wrists were chained to the wall. Scott was directly across
from me, and Rogue and Remy were on either side of me.
Beast was chained eagle-spread to the floor. I was the only
one awake at the moment, and the way my head was pounding
I wished I wasn't. The two of our group who weren't in the
room were Betsy and Logan.
We all had Geonoshan collars around our necks. Whoever
had us wasn't too bright: My healing symbiont isn't a mutant
power in the conventional way. It couldn't be suppressed with
a Geonoshan collar. While my symbiont was working
overtime clearing my senses, I started to think over what had
happen to get us in this mess.
The last thing I remembered was Logan shouting incoming
and scatter when something hit us. This really was supposed
to be an easy mission….it looked like Mount Logan was going
to wake up and it was an opportunity for Hank to gather some
data on a live volcano. Instead it was turning out to be one big
trap…it looked like Logan and Betsy's sixth senses were right
on this one. Betsy had had a bad dream the morning of the
mission, which had convinced Scott to take Rogue, Logan and
myself as back up. Logan had stiffened up as soon as we got
off the Blackbird. I could see the hairs on his neck rising, but
he wouldn't get into what was bothering him and the next
thing I knew Logan was shouting. "Incoming!"
As my ears cleared, I began hearing a faint howl...kinda like a
wolf in a lot of pain. Over the next four hours the howling
continued, and I started to focus on it as Rogue and Beast
started to wake up. The sound of the howling was making me
very angry and I couldn't understand why. It was as if my
mind knew something that I didn't.
"I sincerely hope that one my fellow mutants had the good
sense to get the number of the train that hit us," Hank
whispered.
"Hank? Kai? Where in the heck are we?" Rogue said, shaking
her head a little.
"I don't know where we are, Rogue. I woke up about four
hours ago."
Scott started groaning and moved his head. "Uhn...a little
more of a warning next time, Logan." As Scott looked around
after that comment had gone unanswered, he asked the
obvious question. God this guy was really annoying at times.
"Where are we and where are Logan and Elizabeth?"
"Don't look at us, Sugah... We were just waking up ourselves
when you came to and we were askin' Kai the same
questions."
Scott just looked in my direction with that "Well...Kai" look
on his face. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before
answering the question. "I don't know where Logan and Betsy
are. They weren't here when I woke up, and I don't smell
them in this cell at all." That last statement drew a lot of
looks. Well I didn't smell them; they hadn't been brought into
this cell at all.
"You still have your powers?" Hank inquired with a very
interested look on his face.
You know if the cell had been bugged with a listening device I
would have to be very upset with Hank right now, but I am the
one who opened my mouth about not smelling people.
"Yes...my symbiont doesn't have an on and off switch
connected to my DNA like most mutants," I growled.
Hank's eyes had lit up and he was studying me in a way that I
really didn't like, since it reminded me of other scientists that
had taken an "interest" in me in the past.
"Once we return to the mansion, I would like to run some
additional tests and..." Hank started babbling and suddenly
stopped as the door to our cell opened.
An Asian man stood in the doorway with two guards that were
dressed in all red and black. The guards looked like assassins
and I recognized the Asian guy from the computer records...
Matsuo...the current Master of the Hand. This guy was on
Logan's list of people he would like to kill, second only to
Vic. He had a role in killing Mariko, and Logan wanted blood
for it. He had also tried to brainwash Betsy into turning Logan
into a Hand assassin, before Logan had knocked some sense
into Betsy.
When Matsuo opened the door, the howling was no longer
muted. I was a little surprised to recognize that it was Logan
howling and not a hurt animal. His voice sounded really
hoarse, so he had been screaming for awhile. The scream
wasn't what made the hairs on my neck rise; it was the scent I
was getting that really scared me: fear, rage, and despair. Fear
and rage are primal instincts, and I had smelled them before
on him usually right before I would wake him from a
nightmare. Despair wasn't something I'd ever smelled on
Logan before. I keep my face carefully neutral when this guy
looked in my direction, but when the time came I was going to
make this smug son of a bitch pay for what he was doing to
Logan.
"Welcome, X-Men! I hope you are finding your
accommodations to your satisfaction," Matsuo said with a
wide grin.
"Why are we here, Matsuo, and where is the rest of my team?"
Scott asked.
"My dear Cyclops. Your team is here. As for my former
assassins, they are being re-trained as to who their Master is
and, once their training is finished, your deaths will be at hand
and my revenge will be complete against my enemies!"
Matsuo turned out of the cell laughing.
"Gambit, can you get out of your chains?" Cyclops asked as
soon as the door had shut.
"Gambit was don' with that, mon ami, before Matsuo came in
the room." Two hands slid from the wall chains to prove his
statement.
Within minutes we were all free of our chains. Gambit was
working on the door and Scott was working on a plan. Gambit
had already tried and failed to get the collars off. They were
rigged to explode if they were unlocked in any other manner
than with the key.
On the way toward the door, Scott looked in my direction.
"Kai, can you locate Logan and Betsy by smell once we're out
of this cell?"
"Yep," I grunted.
"Good...we'll find them and then make our way out of here. I
want everyone to stay on their toes, since we don't have our
powers. Kai, you take point and avoid guards at all cost,"
Scott said.
Since we still had our collars on, no alarms sounded when we
left our cell. The closer we got to Logan and Betsy, the
angrier I got. The scents coming off them made me move fast
enough for Scott to tell me to slow down. Betsy was in the
first lab we came to. After quickly knocking out the two Hand
guards we entered the cell. She was chained to the wall, with
needles in her arms. She also had a mask on her face. Her
eyes were closed and she was covered in sweat that reeked of
pain. She had bruises all over her body and of course a collar
around her neck.
"Oh my stars and garters," Hank whispered as he saw Betsy.
He and I got Betsy down while Gambit and Rogue watched
the hallway.
"Hank...how bad is she?" Scott asked while Hank did a quick
exam of Betsy.
"We need to get her to the Blackbird with all due haste. I
can't make a proper diagnosis without the equipment on the
Blackbird to determine what the function of the gas in the
mask is for. However, I know for certain she has three broken
ribs," Hank said while his hands were busy making field
bandages out of Scott's jacket.
"Hank, you carry Betsy. Kai, you have point. Gambit, you're
next to Hank. Rogue, you and I will bring up the back. Let's
find Logan and get out of this hell hole."
The closer we got to the lab where Logan was the more my
head started to spin. By the time we had gotten to the outer
lab doors I was sweating and I wanted to tear something,
*anything* apart that came between me and Logan.
"Kai?" Hank inquired. He was looking at me a little too
closely for my comfort.
"I'm fine," I growled as I started into the lab, only to have
Scott grab my hand. I jerked out of his grasp and nearly fell
on the floor as another sharp pain tore through my head.
"Hank...what's going on?" Scott asked. I was leaning against
the wall trying to clear my head.
"I believe that Matsuo is utilizing ultra sound waves -- due to
Kai's obvious reaction the closer we get to Logan's cell -- in
his efforts to retrain Logan." As much as I hated to admit a
weakness, Hank was right. The closer we got, the more my
head was hurting. I could only imagine what pain Logan was
in, but Hank's explanation did explain the pain I smelled on
him.
Scott turned to the others, "Rogue, Gambit. Find the controls
to the sound generator and neutralize it."
"Ya got it, Sugah," Rogue said over her shoulder as she
followed Gambit into the lab.
In about five minutes, my headache was gone. Logan had
stopped howling and the silence in the inner lab was
deafening. I ran through the doors and stopped dead in my
tracks. If it wasn't for his scent, I would have thought he was
dead. As it was, he was in bad shape.
Logan was eagle-spread to a table and triple-chained. He had
a mask over his mouth and nose, similar to the one Betsy had
on, but the chemicals smelled stronger. He had two large
tubes in his arms and upper neck. He had headsets on his ears
and his ears were freely bleeding. I could feel his exhaustion
from across the room.
Before I realized it, I was by his side. I could hear the others
but my attention was on Logan. I started ripping the chains
off of his arms, when Hank got to the table. I saw Hank's
hands heading toward Logan and I growled at him without
really meaning to. It shocked me a little to realize that I had
gotten this attached to someone, but at the same time it
seemed perfectly natural. He was my partner, my balance;
and seeing him hurt like this was making me see red. Hank
stopped his movement and looked at me again with those
scientific eyes of his.
"I will need to examine him, if we are to move him safely
from this cell," Hank stated in a very soothing voice. He
didn't move; just projected and smelled of concern for Logan.
At my nod, he removed the mask from Logan's face and
began an exam. Scott had gotten off one of the leg chains by
the time I had gotten rid of the other three. Hank was taking
the tubes out of Logan's arms. I got rid of the headsets and
crushed them in my hands. Hank was using Gambit's trench
coat for bandage material. Rogue had been in the outer lab,
trying to get information on what was done to Logan.
"Looky at what I found." Rogue said as she flew into the
room. She was holding the key to the collars in one hand.
Soon all of the collars were off. Logan's wounds were still
bleeding freely even though the collar was off.
Ten minutes later, Logan was in Hank's arms and we were
heading toward the Blackbird. Gambit was carrying Betsy. I
had point, and Rogue and Scott brought up the rear.
Logan's breathing was way too shallow for my liking and his
complexion was far too pale. He was totally limp in Hank's
arms and he still reeked of pain. I had to find the Blackbird
quickly.
I couldn't find a trace of the plane in the complex. I *did*
find an exit way too easy. I should have *known* it was a
trap. The minute all of us were in the room, all the entrances
slammed shut and this massive door opened. Water poured
into the room and knocked us from our feet. I saw Rogue get
in the air and grab Betsy before Gambit was knocked over by
the water. I didn't see Scott. I caught sight of Hank trying to
jump into the rafters with Logan with one hand. The beam
broke and in the water they went. I started swimming toward
them when another door opened.
The water abruptly changed directions and I felt myself being
swept out the door and dropping into a raging river. I saw
Logan's arm and grabbed it. Gambit appeared out of nowhere
and grabbed Logan's other arm. With the water's speed, we
were soon several miles from the Matsuo's base. I pulled
Logan and Gambit up the embankment further as I looked out
over the water. There was no sign of Hank, Scott, Betsy, or
Rogue anywhere in the water.
I shook the water from my ears and looked down at Logan and
Gambit. Gambit was semi-conscious: Logan wasn't
breathing. I was rolling him onto his back and tilting his head
back before I fully comprehended what I was doing. I started
breathing for him. His heart was still beating, but without air
he would die. After the longest five minutes of my life, he
started coughing and took a breath of air without my help. He
started spitting up water. I rolled him over onto his side so he
wouldn't choke on the water while it came up.
By this time Gambit was awake, and he had been looking at
me while I was working over Logan. "He gonna be okay now,
Kai?" Gambit asked in a quiet voice.
"Do I look like a fuckin' doctor to you?" I snapped. "We need
to find Hank and the others."
"Night coming quick, chere. We need to find a place to sleep
for the night," Gambit said. "We'll look for them in the
morning."
As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Our need for
shelter and survival would have to take priority over trying to
find Hank. I checked my side: the knife I had taken off the
guard was still there in the sheath.
"I can see a cave entrance past those trees. I'll go see if it's
occupied. You can start collecting some fire wood," I said. I
had my knife in hand.
"Gambit not so sure you should be going by yourself." I could
hear the reluctance in his voice.
"Well someone has to stay with Logan and, of the two of us,
I'm the better hunter," I said, looking into those strange eyes
of his.
"You already know tha' somethin' in the cave? Gambit say we
put Logan in a nice safe place and go huntin' together."
"No. We need the bear's hide intact if Logan's gonna survive
the night. Your powers would blow the bear to bits. I can kill
it with its hide intact and more meat on its bones than your
powers would. Also, once I attack that bear, if it gets past me
there isn't going to be a safe place to leave Logan. You watch
Logan and I'll catch dinner. Deal?"
I could see that he didn't like it, but he also knew I was right.
"We do this you way, chere, for now. Gambit hear you in
trouble and I come get you." Gambit jerked his head toward
where Logan lay. "I let anything happen to his woman and he
gonna take it out of my hide."
I scowled at the comment about "letting anything happen to
Logan's woman," but he did agree to let me do the hunting
without me having to embarrass his male pride by reminding
him I could take care of myself. I couldn't resist adding, "You
let anything happen to my man and I'll leave you singing
soprano for the rest of your days. I'm nowhere *near* as nice
as Logan."
I headed off to the cave while Gambit shook his head. Under
his breath, I heard him mutter. "That one crazy woman ya got,
homme. You two are *perfect* for each other."
Once I was inside the cave, I found the bear. My vision
adjusted to the darkness quickly. I moved towards the bear
quickly and quietly. I was charging the bear when it noticed
me and raised up onto its hind legs. It roared and threw its
bulk at me while swinging at me with its claws. I dodged the
claws easily and went straight for the bear's throat. As my
knife slashed into the side of the throat, it roared again. One
of its claws tore my shoulder and I screamed. I shifted to one
side, let the bear pass, and struck at its throat again. Blood
flowed and finally the bear fell.
By that time, I was covered in blood from the bear. I could
feel the blood lust rising in me, and I howled to let the world
know that I was the stronger animal here. At the sound of my
howl, Gambit charged into the cave, cards glowing. I knew he
was there, but I continued to skin the bear. While Gambit
brought Logan into the cave, I carved flesh from the bear's
body.
I staked out the hide for drying. Gambit found some firewood
and I started dinner. My cooking was as dismal as usual, but
since Logan was still out cold, I didn't have to hear about it.
Gambit coughed a couple of times but didn't comment.
"I'll take first watch," I said after dinner.
"Oui. We find the others in the mornin'."
* * *
Trap 2/?
* * *
Gambit lay down by the fire. He was asleep within a half-
hour. I put my back against the wall facing the entrance of the
cave. I fed the fire and my mind started to wander. My eyes
finally settled on where Logan lay by the fire. He was still
bandaged in Gambit's coat. He was still very pale and his
breathing was worrying me a lot. I could still smell the
chemicals on him, but what bothered me was the fact that
some of his wounds were not healing. He was losing a lot of
blood. I could feel his body temperature was rising just by
touch, but he wasn't sweating at all. I was a little shocked to
realize how afraid I was for him and, in a far corner of my
mind, I was afraid that I might be losing him.
I remembered how he kept me warm in Canada. I
remembered the look in his eye after we went hunting together
for the first time. I remembered how he gave me time to heal
after Vic. I remembered how simple he made things for me
after I told him I couldn't have children. I remembered how
scared I was when he didn't come from under the water and
'The Moment' was burned forever in my mind. I remembered
the pain in his eyes when he said it was only a matter of time
before he lost me too. I also understood for the first time,
really understood, why he was angry over what had been done
to me by Vic. I wanted blood for what Matsuo had done to
Logan. True, Matsuo had not laid a hand on me personally,
but it was my fight because he hurt my partner.
I was still reflecting when he groaned a little. I moved over to
him and put my hand on his face. He was definitely getting
hotter. We were going to have to find a way to get his body
temperature down. The only way I knew was from a mixture
of roots and bark like Sensei had taught me. As his fever got
worse, I had to bind his hands and wrists to a piece of wood.
With his hands tied this way, he couldn't flex his wrists to pop
his claws in his delirium. I started wiping a damp piece of
cloth cut from my tank top over Logan's forehead in an effort
to keep him cool.
During the night, Logan started talking. I continued to wipe
his forehead with cold water. When I knew the language he
was speaking I answered him in it. His fever had a tight grip
on him and I don't think he knew I was there. I had to lower
his fever. My internal clock told me it was about 1:00 am
when Logan was going on in Spanish. He thought he was
back in Cuba, on a mission. He kept asking me where Creed
was and had it been done. Since I didn't know what was
supposed to be done, I told Logan Creed was handling it.
Around 2:00 am the language was Japanese, and he was in the
middle of the Weapon X project.
He wasn't speaking in full sentences, but I did know that he
really wanted to kill someone named "the Professor." He
started growling and snarling loudly about how he was gonna
shred off this Professor guy's other hand for turning him in to
a fuckin' killing machine. Gambit was up now and both of us
together were having a tough time keeping Logan down. By
3:00 am, Gambit and I were the enemy, since we had to tie
him down with a lot of vines. I was bracing his head and
shoulders and Remy was holding his feet and legs. He was
cursing us in a combination of Chinese, Japanese, and German
for good measure. Since neither Gambit nor I knew German
very well, we couldn't follow everything he was going to do
to us when he got loose.
By 3:30 am he had gone completely limp in his restraints after
having some wracking convulsions. We had had to gag him,
so he wouldn't tell every living thing in the forest where we
were located. I was sure people were looking for us. I turned
to Gambit with worried eyes. "I going out to find some
medicine roots and bark to lower Logan's fever, while he's
calm."
"Chere, you shouldn't go into the woods in the dark. We find
these roots and bark in the mornin'. "
"Damn it, Gambit. He doesn't have 'til the morning. His
burning up from fever, it's at least 108? from the heat his body
is registering with me. His body isn't cooling itself naturally.
He's *NOT* sweating. If we don't get his fever down fast,
it's gonna kill him. Matsuo must have put something in his
blood stream that is replicating with his healing factor," I
hissed at him.
"If I can find some of the healing roots, it will lower his
temperature 'til we can find Hank." I turned toward Gambit,
pointing. "And I know what the roots look like, I can get them
faster than you, and I can see better in the dark!"
"OK, chere, just be careful?"
"Will do," I said as I slipped into the woods.
I found what I was looking for quicker than I thought. Of
course, the last set of convulsions that Logan had helped in my
desire to find this stuff fast. I knew an animal was following
me, but kept tabs on it by scent. If the animal didn't come
after me, I would lose it before returning to the cave. We had
plenty of food at the moment from the bear and killing without
need had never gone over well with me. There was a supply
of the root growing wild right under a great tree. I started
digging up the roots when I scented the wolverine. He was
just watching me dig up the roots. I put them in my hide skin
and moved to get the next root I needed to break Logan's
fever. The wolverine followed me at a distance. I found the
mushroom-like growth under a cliff by the water. I was so
busy keeping tabs on the wolverine that I didn't smell the
Hand soldiers until they were right on top of me.
The wolverine saw them first and took a big bite out of the
pointman. That's when I realized that I didn't have just one
watcher: there were *five* wolverines. The wolverines were
*fighting* the Hand. I pulled out my knife to finish what the
animals had started. With five puffs of smoke, the Hand were
gone. I looked at the wolverines, but they made no move
toward me. One picked up my hide skin in its mouth and
tossed it to me as if to say, "Here you go lady, now will you
hurry up and get back to Logan?" While I was looking for the
tree bark I would need, we came across a deer family. I
watched two of the male wolverines take down two bucks in
less than a minute. I decided I wanted to stay on their good
side, so I stayed away from their kill. I left them to their meal
once I had the bark.
By the time I had returned to the cave, Logan was beginning
to thrash again. I started mixing up the roots and bark like
Sensei had taught me and added the needed water. My head
jerked up when I scented the Hand by the cave entrance. I
grabbed my knife and dove at them. One was raising his gun
toward Logan. He screamed and vanished into a puff of smoke
when Gambit's charged stick hit him. The remainder of the
four-man party found themselves under four angry wolverines.
It was over in less than a minute, with four puffs of smoke.
Gambit had taken a defensive posture between Logan and the
animals. He held several sticks that were glowing. I held up
my hands. "No, Remy. They're on our side." The animals
just looked at Gambit with glowing eyes.
"You CRAZY woman. Them critters just ripped up four
men," Gambit snapped in my direction, while he was focused
on the animals.
"Nine actually," I replied dryly as I put my knife away.
The last wolverine came in the cave dragging a leg of the deer
they had killed. The leg had all the meat and skin on it. It lay
the leg down in front of me and sat down. The other animals
had sat down in front of Gambit as well, who looked like he
was about to start screaming.
"Un-charge those sticks, Remy, before you make our guests
think you're gonna hurt Logan," I said with a sigh. I took the
offered leg and started cooking it over the fire. Gambit stayed
close to me, but he put the sticks down and kept an eye on our
"guests." I finished mixing up the roots and bark into a paste.
I cut up the deer meat into tiny pieces and mixed it up in the
paste. Then I got some water and made a soup. I knew from
the smell Logan wasn't going to like it, but it was better than
some of the other things I had made that he had eaten. Well
this time at least I didn't have to convince him it tasted better
than it smelled. I guess I should be happy for small favors. If
he's not awake, he can't complain.
>>Admit it. You would prefer him awake and complaining
than unconscious and silent any day of the week.<<
I really do hate it when my subconscious is right. The
wolverines watched as I started spoon-feeding Logan. I only
had gotten a spoonful down when he came to, coughing. We
still had him tied down, so he wasn't a real happy camper.
Since he still had a fever, he was really out of it. He opened
his eyes and spat out the food. When he looked at me, his
eyes were wild and without recognition.
I had to show him that I didn't mean him any harm, so I
brought some of the food to my lips and ate it. He watched
me. I then washed out of taste with a good gulp of water. I
raised his head and upper body so he was leaning against me
facing the fire and brought the spoon to his lips. He saw the
wolverines, looked back at me, and opened his mouth to eat
the food. He finished about half of the soup, before he fell
unconscious again. I lowered him back down to the bearskin.
"We have to move. That's the second group of Hand soldiers
that found us," I said as I stretched my legs and back. By this
time it was around 5:00 am.
"Oui. Gambit agrees. I'll get us some fresh water for travelin'
while you pack up the camp? We build a stretcher to put
Logan on." Gambit grabbed the water skin and headed for the
stream.
I packed up our food and was waiting when Gambit returned
with wood and several vines. We quickly make a stretcher
and we put Logan on it. Two of the wolverines got up and
came over. They sat down by each end of the stretcher on the
handles we had made. When I tried to pick up my end, I was
met with a snarl and laid back ears. Gambit had turned
quickly at the sound. I held up my hand, to stop him from
doing anything to the animals. The last thing I wanted was a
fight with these guys. They were protective of Logan and they
had helped us with the Hand.
After about a five minute standoff, I got an idea. I made a
harness out of vines and held it out. The wolverine stood up
and willingly walked into it. I tied it to the handles. Gambit
was watching with wide eyes. I have to admit this was crazy,
but it was the only way to get these animals to move off of the
handles without losing a hand. I quickly made a second
harness and the other wolverine walked right into it as well.
Once the second animal was in the harness and attached the
first stood up and they moved together so the stretcher didn't
shake Logan any more than necessary. The other three
wolverines that had watched also got up. One moved to my
left and the other to my right. The last one stayed in the back
just behind Gambit. "Look like we got our own personal
guard, eh." Gambit was realizing that these animals weren't
going to hurt us as long as we didn't hurt Logan.
"Never look a gift wolverine in the mouth," I said as we
moved down the river.
After walking for two hours, we stopped by another cove. I
saw something blue that had caught my eyes. It was a piece of
Scott's jacket stained with blood. The same jacket that
covered Betsy's wounds. I removed the harness from the two
wolverines carrying Logan so they could get some water with
the other three animals. The scent on the jacket wasn't that
old. We could catch them by tomorrow if we moved fast and
the wolverines helped us by the lingering scent.
Logan's fever had gone down a little but it was still higher that
it should be given the roots he had in his system. When we
stopped at the cove he had stirred for a minute and Remy was
trying to talk to his new shadow.
"Logan?" I said quietly. His eyes focused on my face and they
weren't as wild this time. I couldn't say if he knew me, but he
didn't turn away from me either. I brought some water to his
lips. "Here...drink some of this."
I helped him raise his head so he could drink some of the
water. He got in a few good drinks before he started coughing
this time. I waited until the fit passed and offered him some
more water. When he was finished, I lowered him back down
onto the stretcher. I stood up. Gambit was sitting on a rock
with a female wolverine at his side. That struck me as a little
funny, seeing as how only a few hours ago he was less than
comfortable around the animals.
Two new wolverines appeared on either side of the stretcher.
I hooked them up and we moved out. We traveled hard that
day. Very few animals in the forest wanted to cross paths with
a pack of wolverines, so except for one miserably unfortunate
squad of Hand goons that stumbled upon us, it was smooth
sailing. A couple of hours later we came across what Hank,
Rogue, Scott and Betsy had used as a campsite the night
before. We broke for a quick food break and nature calls. The
wolverines all left the campsite, but never all at the same time.
I checked Logan's bandages. Three wolverines returned to
camp with another deer and a rabbit. They lay the dead
animals in front of us. I started cleaning the rabbit when I
noticed one of the wolverines licking its lips. They hadn't
eaten this time! They had brought all of the kill to us? They
were welcoming us as part of their pack?
I cut the hide off of the deer and tossed some of the meat over
to the pack. They dug in and when they were finished only
bones remained. Gambit's only comment was "Merdi. Glad
they're on our side."
By nightfall, I could smell Hank and the others. They were
another hour ahead of us at most. We didn't break camp at
nightfall. We continued. The roots and bark I had made were
not working as well as they had the night before and Logan's
fever was rising again.
We found Hank and the others just as a Hand squad was
finding them. The team was all here. We reversed the Hand's
ambush on them. The look on the others' faces when they saw
the wolverines were fighting with us was classic. It was a very
short fight. In typical Hand fashion, the fallen patrol vanished
in puffs of smoke before Scott could tell me "X-Men don't
kill." Sometimes, in the danger room he really did sound like
a broken record with that phrase.
"Fascinating! How did you two get these animals to follow
you?" Hank inquired
"Where is Logan?" Rogue asked. As if they had heard her,
the two wolverines that were carrying the stretcher walked
into the clearing, led by the third one. Scott, Hank and Rogue
just stared as the animals marched into the clearing. Then
they turned to Gambit and me.
"Don't look at Gambit. Kai the one that brought these critters
home," Gambit quickly stated.
"How..." Scott started until I cut him off with an annoyed
growl. We didn't have time for his stupid questions!
"Could we talk about this after we find a place to camp for the
night and after Hank looks at Logan? His fever is getting bad
again and I'm out of tricks!" I exclaimed. The wolverines
added their growls to mine as well.
I took point and started moving out. The wolverines followed
me and so did the others. We found another cave and set up
camp.
* * *
Trap 3/?
* * *
I watched Hank examine Logan with one of the wolverines in my
lap. I had taken to calling this one Grey Coat. She had a
tendency not to go too far from my side for any length of time.
Her mate Grey Eyes stayed close to Logan. Scott was
blabbing about strategy and movement plans for tomorrow. I
was more concerned with what Hank was doing. Nearly three
full days I had wanted to get Logan to Hank and now that he
was here, I was feeling a little better about the situation. Hank
had managed to hang on to a medical kit from Matsuo's lab.
He was grounding up an anti toxin and mixing it with water.
"All right people, he is the plan. In the morning we'll
continue heading toward the Blackbird's last known location.
I'll take first watch and Gambit, you'll will the second watch,"
Scott said, while feeding the fire.
Hank glanced up from working on the anti toxin, "Excellent
plan, fearless leader, however, I should remain awake to
ensure that this medicine does its job in Logan's bloodstream.
It would appear that Matsuo used a much stronger version of
the chemicals he put in Betsy's blood, to the point that they
have nulled his healing factor. We will not know to what
degree Matsuo introduced the mind-altering vapors into
Logan's body until he awakens. Until that has been
determined I strongly recommend that we keep him bound.
Kai when is the last time you have gotten him to eat any food
and hold it down?"
"I feed him some deer meat in a soup, last night. He only got
a little down, probably less than a pound, but he didn't throw
it up later in the night," I said while stroking the wolverine's
coat. "Will this anti toxin get his breathing back to normal?
Right now he's working hard for his air."
"To be honest, I don't know. The mixture you gave him did
get his fever down, but without his healing factor it's
temporary; the anti toxin should be a bit more permanent. It
should be effective for at least two to three days. Once we get
to the Blackbird, I'll be able to conduct a much more thorough
examination of his blood chemistry. For now we'll have to
keep his fever down, get food and liquids into him and
monitor his breathing closely." Hank absently scratched the
back of his head. "If he had stopped breathing prior to now, I
would be far more concerned. Rogue had found information
relating to the gas used on Logan and Betsy. Its function was
to make them very agreeable to mental suggestions on the
astral plane, while the Hand's head telepath created a reality
where they were Hand assassins."
By this time I was no longer leaning against the wall, I was
sitting up. "Hank, when we were washed down stream from
Matsuo's base, Logan *did * stop breathing for about five
minutes. He coughed up some water and has been breathing
ever since, but it's been sounding really labored."
"Oh, dear. How many days travel are we from the
Blackbird?" asked Hank.
"By my estimate, we should be there in three days. That is
assuming we continue at our current pace and don't run into
too many Hand patrols. By now Matsuo has got to know
where we are heading." Scott looked around the fire. "Hank?
What's going on?"
"I can't know for sure, but the gas is designed to impede the
mental functions so its victim could be properly brainwashed,
however they maybe a more serious side effect relating to
respiratory functions if Kai's observation is correct. It would
explain Betsy's sudden 'hayfever' to the local plant life. Since
Logan was exposed to a concentrated dose at a higher level,
his breathing would be effected more. Now, Logan may have
simply inhaled too much water on the way out of Matsuo's lab
or the gas is turning into liquid in his lungs," explained Hank.
"We could elevate Logan a little, that would help ease his
breathing until we know if we have a problem."
On that cheerful note old fearless leader got up stretching.
"All right folks, let get to bed. We have a long day ahead of
us. Beast, you'll take the first watch, Gambit you got second.
We'll move out at dawn."
I laid down, wrapped in a deerskin, with Grey Coat at my feet.
I watched the fire and thought warm thoughts, but I couldn't
fall asleep. Logan's breathing was still very labored but we
had just given him the anti toxin and Hank had just raised him
off the stretcher with a rolled up deer hide.
As the night dragged on I started thinking. This situation is so
typical me it's not funny. I finally meet a man who can keep
up with me physically, puts up with my shit, and can who
stomach my cooking and what happens? Matsuo poisons him
for me. That guy was *really* beginning to piss me off. After
we got to the plane and fixed up Logan and Betsy, Matsuo and
I were going to have us a little heart to heart. I would have his
heart real close to mine, since I would be leaning over his
body as I cut it out. Yep, that would make me feel better at
this point.
After about four hours, Hank was getting ready to wake up
Gambit. I rolled over slowly so I would awaken Grey Coat at
my feet. "Hank? I'll take the rest of the watch. I can't sleep
anyway."
Hank stopped moving towards Gambit and found a place close
the fire on the floor. He looked in my direction. "Okay my
dear, but if he awakens, you must swear by all that you hold
dear, that you will ensure he gets some food and water into his
system. If anything new occurs, wake me?"
I nodded and moved to lean against the wall where Logan was
lying. Grey Eyes was by his side and looked up at me as I sat
down and then closed his eyes again. These animals had me
stumped. Logan and I seemed to have our own personal
traveling companions. Remy was well on his way to being
adopted by a wolverine that came near him every time he said
"Chere." Since Chere was a female, I was finding this
laughable. It looks like Remy's charm worked on animals as
well. The other two male wolverines, I had started to think of
as the Yin and Yang. They balanced each other and made the
perfect hunting team. They had been the two that were
bringing home most of the kills. Grey Coat and Grey Eyes
were the other hunting party. Chere would go out with either
group or she would hunt alone, but she always brought home a
rabbit. Yin and Yang were starting to stick close to Beast,
who was about as comfortable with the situation as Remy was
a day ago when Chere became his shadow. None of the
wolverines were fond of Scott and would lay their ears back
and remind him of how sharp their teeth were when he got too
close. Scott had gotten the point when he had come too close
to Chere and she had almost taken a hand off. He didn't go
near the rest of the pack. Rogue was free to walk wherever
she wanted, but only Chere would let Rogue touch her. All of
the pack was protective of Logan. I wasn't sure where Betsy
stood with them.
My internal clock was telling me it was around 4:00am, when
Logan started to wake up. I wiped some water across his
forehead with the cloth. His eyes open and he looked at me.
There was no recognition in his eyes. I brought the water skin
to his lips, but he wouldn't drink it. I slowly moved it to my
own lips, got some water and then brought it back to his lips.
This time he did take a little water. He was watching my
every move and I could smell that he really didn't trust me
fully, but he didn't distrust me either. The fact that he was
tied up wasn't helping him trust me either. I started moving
towards the restraints, I was going to take off the vines that
Remy and I had used the other night when his fever had gotten
so bad. His words stopped me cold. He was speaking
Japanese.
"Who are you? You were with me the last time I woke up,"
he whispered.
WHO am I? Hello? I'm the woman that's been sharing your
life for about six months now! Wonderful, just fucking
wonderful, Matsuo definitely messed with his memories, and
Logan is NOT a very trusting person. "I'm Kai. You're safe
and among friends." You know the one who you spend your
days and nights with regularly in between missions. Is any of
this ringing a bell in that thick head of your? Come on
remember, make this easy on me. I finished taking off the
bonds while speaking. I decided that the hand restraints were
staying for the time being. The last thing I wanted was him to
go claw city on us, but taking off the vines that were tying him
down might gain a little trust from him. Y'know, it was a
good thing Sensei taught me Japanese or there would be a
problem right about know.
"Where am I? And how did I get here?" Logan weakly
inquired.
"You're in the woods, we just escaped from Hand strong hold.
You were injured so we carried you. During, our escape from
the Hand you got a little banged up, so don't worry if you can't
remember everything right away. It will come back to you." I
hope! I helped him sit up a little against the cavern wall. By
this time, Grey Eyes was watching both of us. He got up and
returned with some of the remaining deer meat that was left
from earlier in the night. He put the food down by my hand
and waited.
Taking the hint, I picked up the meat and offered some to
Logan. "Here eat some of this. You must be hungry after such
a ordeal," I said in a quiet voice with as much elegance as I
could muster. I was beginning to remember to why the
Japanese language wasn't one of my favorites. Way too many
pleasantries were imbedded in the language.
"No thank you. You have already done me a great service. I
do not wish to trouble you further," he replied with equal
politeness.
He doesn't trust me! Great. "It is no trouble Logan-san. In
fact it would do me a great honor to assist you. You are my
teammate, an X-Man, and that means I have both duty and
obligation towards you at all times." Not to mention, I'm your
lover and you should not have to put up stupid macho fronts of
strength in front of me. Just once, I would like you to rely on
me and let me shoulder the burden.,/P>
His reply to this was in English. "X-Man? I don't know what
an X-Man is, babe, and I'm certainly not one of them." His
voice was getting stronger but what was coming out of his
mouth was less than reassuring. He still was speaking much
louder than a whisper.
"I would take a good look at my clothes before I made that
statement, bub." Oh yeah, that's the way to win him over you
idiot!
"You could have put these on before I woke up, frail. I ain't
stupid. Now who the hell are ya and how did I get here?"
"I already told you, my name is Kai, we escaped from Matsuo,
you were hurt, you are an X-Man, and you need to eat
something."
"OK...Kai, what are you to me?" Logan leaned against the
wall with his arms crossed.
>>(Don' a man have a right t' know where he stand wit' a
woman?)<<
Ok. Decision, decision. Do I tell him I'm his girlfriend and
lover or do I just act like I'm just a teammate? I really hate
moments of truth like this. One the one hand, he doesn't have
all of his memories back, so he probably won't believe
anything I say anyway. On the other hand, a little honesty will
go a long way in getting him to trust us and I can always deny
anything said right now and blame it on Logan's bad memory.
Deep breath Kai, just tell him. "I'm your girlfriend and one of
the X-Men. You're a mutant, just like almost everyone else on
the team. Our mission is to fight for peaceful co-existence
with Humans and to protect and help mutants learn how to use
their powers."
He turned his head to look at me and the look on his face was
a cross between amusement and real anger. "Ya know frail,
ya was spinning a good yarn until ya said ya was my woman.
Silver Fox is my lady and ya ain't even in her league. Now be
a good broad and tell me who ya really are?"
>>BROAD? Who the hell do you think you are you little
sonofabitch!<< "Broad? Oh I'll give you a broad you arrogant
little macho asshole! You know I'm telling the truth. Both of
us can smell a lie faster than we can smell our way to the city
dump. I *was* your woman and if Silver Fox was half the
woman I am she would still be alive today and not one of
Creed's slash victims! And…huh?" GRRR..
I looked down and found myself face to face with all of Grey
Eyes' teeth. He was sitting on my lap and Grey Coat was right
behind him looking equally displeased with my behavior.
>>Oh this is good! Now I have a pair of pissed off wolverines,
because I got pissed at my Wolverine and it's not his fault he
doesn't remember me and I just cussed him out. Oh yeah, I'm
real good at this supporting your partner thing. Logan didn't
blow up at me after I had taken on Creed and had gotten my
butt handled to me for my trouble. No he helped me work
through it.<< I looked down at Grey Eyes and leaned against
the wall. He got off my lap but his snarl was still showing all
his teeth and his ears were still laid back. I heard a sound
from Logan and I glanced over at him. What I saw made me
sit right back up.
He was holding his head and his breathing was really labored.
>>Great…I definitely said something that struck a sore spot.
I'm the bitch here.<< I started to move towards Logan but Grey
Eyes and Grey Coat got in the way. Taking a deep breath. I
got the water bag and tried again. They let me by on the third
try, but both of them had their ears laid back. I could almost
hear the unsaid warning. "Hurt him again and we hurt you."
I laid my hands on his shoulders. He didn't pull away from
me, but I wasn't sure he was physically able to do it if he had
wanted too. He was still weak, which just made me feel like
more of a bitch for losing my temper with him. He did tense
up under my hands. I started to massage his shoulders. After
about five minutes, he began to loosen up. I moved around to
face him and handed him the water as a peace offering.
Apologies have never been my strong suit, but I definitely was
in the wrong here.
"Logan, I know you're confused right now, but I am your
girlfriend, you are an X-Man, and I was really out of line a
minute ago. I shouldn't have said what I did and you have
every right to be pissed at me, but know this. I care for you
very deeply and I'll be here for you in any way I can."
He didn't say anything, he just looked at me. His eyes burned
into mine and the pain I saw in them made my heart ache. The
worse part was I didn't know if I had caused the pain. A little
while back in a fight gone wrong and after a nice long talk
with Remy and myself, I had to admit to that Logan meant
more to me than I really wanted to say and my feeling for him
were really deep. Deep enough to be that ugly L word. I
wasn't willing to admit that to anyone but myself. It scared
me to death that I had these feeling about someone, the last
person I loved had wrapped his car around a tree. Logan had a
place in my heart and I had a locket around my neck proving
it. Seeing the look of pain in his eyes, I knew I would walk
through hell get rid of it and there was going to be hell to pay
by the Hand for ever causing the events that had led up to this
moment of truth.
Grey Eyes chose to bring the deer meat over to Logan. Logan
looked and the animal and took the food. He slowly began to
eat. I was sure he noticed the wood on his hands, but for now
filling his stomach was his top priority. He took the water and
began to drink. I sat by him the whole time and waited for
him to say something. If there was one thing I had learned
about Logan, it was he would talk about things when he was
ready. Not before, only when he is really to talk about them.
If he wants my company, he'll come to me, all I have to do is
make myself available. >>Well that wasn't too hard now was
it? You know of course that you owe him a lot more than just
that one apology that he may or may not remember in the
morning.<<
Whose side are you on? Your suppose to be MY
subconscious not his.
>>I am your subconscious and you really screwed up! Taking a
pot shot at the man's dead lover's fighting skills after you
know first hand what Creed can do was really low. If it
wasn't for your symbiont you would be dead too. I'm just
here to make sure you think before you open that filthy mouth
of yours again. You really hurt Logan and you know it. Take a
deep whiff if you don't believe me! The question is what the
hell are you going to do about it?<<
I really hate my mind sometimes, particularly when it's right.
>>Well. Trust has to start somewhere and if the mountain
won't move then I'll just have to go to the mountain.<<
"Logan? Could you let me see your hands?"
He put down the water and food and gave me his hands. I
quickly untied the hand restraints and tossed them into the fire.
Grey Coat came over and laid her head in my lap again.
Logan looked down at his hands and then at us. "Thanks,"
was all that was said.
He finished eating without another word to me and by the time
he finished his eyes were becoming heavy again. "Why don't
you get some rest?" I suggested. "It's been a long night."
He nodded and I helped him lay down on the bearskin. I
covered him with a deerskin and slipped the rolled up one
under his back to raise him a little.
* * *
To be Continued...
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