Author's Notes: I have quite a few of these notes, so please bear with me...:)
First off, i am breaking a cardinal rule of my own by posting this now...normally, i would never post a single chapter until the entire story was finished, so i could do a final read-through and make sure everything was just the way i want it...however, since i'm taking part in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which began today, i have to put this on hold until Dec. 1...the good news? It's already 20 chapters long and i've done a read-through of what i have...the bad news? I'm still gonna make you all wait between chapters, but i'm stretching it out to !GASP! four days between chapters...this will give me enough time to finish after NaNoWriMo is over...:)
Secondly, if what you are looking for is a story about all the X-Men and their exploits, i strongly suggest you go pick up a comic or watch the movies...This saga that i'm writing is an X-Men fic because it has Wolverine in it and the other X-Men are around from time to time...however, this is NOT a story about all of the X-Men...none of them are, not really...this is about Logan and my OC, Angela first and foremost...Another thing to keep in mind is that, although i DO use a lot of stuff from comic canon, the saga is firmly set in the movieverse...and if you watched any of the interviews with Bryan Singer on the first DVD, he says that the world is firmly based in reality, as though this is something that could happen in ten years, twenty years, whatever...SO, that means a) NO aliens, b) NO "cosmic forces" and c) NO Kitty will not wind up with her dragon (he is, after all, an alien and thus violates the alien thing)...
Lastly, this story and all the others prior to and after this one are very much AU, which as we all know means "alternate universe"...so canon characters may be older or younger than their comic/movie counterparts, canon storylines will be used as a means to move my story and may or may not follow canon and above all else, characters WILL grow as people...it is also important to note that "X-Men 3 - The Last Stand" has not happened and will probably never happen in my universe...it's not that i didn't like the movie, i just have nowhere to put that story...i may deal with some of the issues in the movie at some point, but as it stands now it simply never happened...
This is the fourth part of a much larger saga...if you have not read "Torn Asunder", "Devil Inside" and "The Paragon of Animals", i strongly suggest you go back and do so, otherwise this story may not make sense...
Disclaimer: I own nothing that is blatantly from the X-Men comics or movies...this includes Logan, a fact which causes me to break down and weep like a baby if i think about it too much...Marvel and 20th Century Fox own them...However i DO own Angela, Evie, Buzz, Chasca, Kyro, Simon, Seth, Sarah (Medusa), Peter (Phantom), Sam (Atlas) and Terrence Bennington and a few others i can't remember right offhand, along with a bunch of people who exist just long enough to get killed here and there...i am making no money off of this and have nothing to sue me for anyway unless my killer collection of Homies counts...
So, without further ado, dear readers, here is the next installment of the ongoing saga of Logan and Angela. Enjoy!
We Are Vengeance
Prologue
(Logan)
"…Happy birthday dear Evie! Happy birthday to you!"
A cheer went up along with a smattering of applause as the entire school helped my daughter celebrate her first birthday. In direct contrast to the day she was born, it was warm and sunny with only a few clouds skidding across the sky. It was absolutely perfect.
Evie was currently perched on her "Uncle" Charles' lap, grabbing at his tie and trying desperately to chew on it. He suffered this treatment gladly, doting on her like she was his own. Of course, when it was time to change her, he'd pass her off just as quickly as any blood relative would have. But he'd been there the night she was born and knew how close we'd come to losing her completely. Stuff like that tends to inspire closeness in people.
"Evie, it's time to blow out your candle." He said softly, nudging her forward. "Make a wish."
"Wish!" She cried and made another grab for his tie. She'd actually said her first word a little early, at about ten months. I'm damned proud to say that it was "Dada", which frustrated Angela to no end. Since then, she'd taken to repeating the last word of any sentence that anyone said to her. Angela didn't speak to me for almost two days when she learned the word "shit". Yeah, that was my fault. At least it wasn't "fuck".
Charles made another attempt to get her to blow out her candle by lifting her slightly and leaning forward with her. "Come on, Evie. Make a wish so we can have cake."
"Cake!" She shouted and together, they blew it out. More applause erupted from those who were gathered around.
Charles smiled as he handed her to me. "Little one, I believe cake is a wish I can grant with no problem." He said as he picked up a knife. He started cutting into her cake and made sure he handed the first piece to me. "Make sure she eats more of that than she wears."
"Wish me luck." I replied.
"Luck!" Evie said and grabbed at my nose. I grinned and pulled her tiny hand away from my face, kissing her delicate fingers. I heard a snicker behind me and turned around with a scowl.
"What's so funny, Popsicle?" I asked Bobby Drake, who was attempting to smother his laughter.
"Oh, nothing." He replied, still smirking. "Nothing at all."
"Yeah, you just see that it stays that way, bub."
"Bub!" Even I had to laugh at that one.
"You tell him, punkin." I said and she giggled and made a grab for the cake.
A couple hours later, Angela came and took her away from me to put her down for her nap. Although she was wearing precious little cake when she came for Evie, the same could not be said for me. But I did manage to get all the icing out of my hair before anyone saw me. The rest of us continued to enjoy the afternoon; some of the kids were on the basketball court while others were lounging about in the grass or splashing in the reflecting pool. I shook my head in disbelief, not for the first time. Only three years ago, I'd tried to leave this place and never look back. It had been a chance meeting in a hole-in-the-wall bar in Detroit that changed all that, the day Angela came back into my life. Now I couldn't imagine my life being anything other than what it was.
I settled down on one of the stone benches near the reflecting pool for a smoke, nodding at the kids who were splashing around and they wisely took their game to the other end. A few minutes later, Angela joined me.
"Having fun, lover?" She asked.
"Would you be surprised if I said yes?" I replied, flicking the ash off my cigar.
"A couple years ago I would have said yes, but now?" She snuggled into me and sighed. "Fatherhood's been very good for you."
"I keep hearin' that. I don't see how anythin's that much different."
"You scowl less, you smile more. Hell, you even laughed in defense the other day." She gave me a nudge and I looked down at her. "Even the new kids aren't afraid of you right off anymore. We might have to change your code name. What do you think of 'Puppy'?"
I growled. "Do that an' I'll start callin' you 'Fluffy'." She smiled at the old joke and I wrapped an arm around her. "Ya know, motherhood's been just as good to you darlin'."
"You just like what it did for my boobs."
"What can I say? I'm a man." She punched my arm and I laughed. "Seriously, though. Ya don't lose your temper like you used to, you sleep better an' you haven't given out one detention since you had her."
"Babies have a mellowing effect on me. It was the same way with Emma."
I just nodded and finished off my smoke. She didn't talk much about the daughter she'd lost, no thanks to William Stryker, not since we'd had Evie. I'm sure that she still missed her other little girl, but now she had another one to focus on. I know that having Evie made the pain I still felt for my lost children a lot more bearable. We sat there watching the other children play for a while, just enjoying the day and everything it meant for us. We were a real family and I really liked the way that felt.
Our calm was broken by the sound of someone running up to us. I looked up and there was Kitty, breathing hard, an envelope in her hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but a really tall guy just brought this for you."
"Who was it?" I asked, instantly suspicious.
She shrugged. "No idea. He just said to give you this and he left."
I took the envelope and gave it a sniff. There was a vaguely familiar scent clinging to it, but I couldn't place it right away. Other than that, it just smelled like ink and paper, so I tore it open. There was a single sheet in there with two sentences written in a neat, careful hand.
Logan and Angela-
Project Prodigal has been officially reactivated. Watch your backs.
T.B.
"Lover, what is it?" Angela asked and took the note from me. After scanning it, she looked up, panic all over her face. "What are we gonna do?"
"You still got those files he gave us?" She nodded. "Get 'em out. It's time we went huntin'."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter 1
(Angela)
Three Years Later
"…and they all lived happily ever after." I quietly closed the book and kissed my sleeping daughter on the forehead. It was day fifty-seven of reading "Cinderella" and I was mortally tired of it, but she loved it and there was nothing I wouldn't do for her. With one exception.
Logan and I had managed to hit five bases in the past three years, scattering the attacks far enough apart so that – hopefully – no one would be able to anticipate our arrival. In all but one case, we'd left almost no one alive. The one exception had been one of those tiny outposts like the one they'd taken Scott to. We'd lucked out on that one, catching the person who was our main objective as he was leaving the perimeter. We don't know where he was going and we didn't bother to ask him. We'd simply killed him and left our calling card imprinted on his body, a single word: Vengeance.
Naturally, we still infiltrated that base, but we made full use of our stealth and infiltration training as opposed to our combat and assassination skills. This particular base wasn't strictly a Weapon X facility and we didn't want to kill anyone who was truly innocent. We'd already killed the bastard we came for, all that had been left was to retrieve any pertinent files and get them back to Buzz and Sage for analysis. Once that was done, we added the information to the files that Bennington had given us all those years ago. Still, we'd barely managed to dent the original file. We didn't care. We had all the time in the world.
Genevieve hated it when we went on our little trips. We didn't tell her exactly what we were doing, for obvious reasons. We knew we'd have to tell her someday exactly what had happened to us and why, for her own protection if nothing else. Charles, Scott and Storm knew why were doing this, as did Rogue, Sam and Chasca. We took Kyro with us more often than not, since he was just as much a victim of Weapon X as we were. The one time he'd stayed behind was because Chasca had a badly sprained ankle from a Danger Room session and since Josh Foley had gone on to college at Rutgers, she had to heal it up the old fashioned way. So, Kyro stayed behind to play nursemaid and baby-sit while Logan and I took out an active Weapon X facility. That trip took us about fourteen hours round trip, including the two hour showers we took when we got home. We would not touch our daughter with even a hint of the blood of our enemies on us.
We still hadn't found the other four known active operatives, which was a source of worry for us. We didn't even know where to look. There was nothing in the files that Bennington had given us to indicate which of the facilities acted as the main base of operations for the program. On our second mission, we'd found them just beginning the bonding process on another mutant they'd captured, a phase that injected billions of nanotech "valves" into the bloodstream, where they would bond with the tiny valves in the bones and keep them intact for the adamantium bonding that would happen later. We did our best to save her, but the bastards in the lab killed her, rather than let us escape with her. We left that place a smoking ruin, our one regret that we never learned that poor woman's name.
It didn't surprise us that our little excursions never made the news. After all, the entire Weapon X program made "black ops" look positively public by comparison. I often wondered what the families of the people we killed were told about why their sons, daughters, husbands and wives weren't coming home, no bodies to bury. I didn't lose any sleep over it, not by a longshot. After all, the only places those people actually existed were the places they were stationed and the papers Bennington had given us. I'm sure there were plenty of people who got caught in our crossfire who were no guiltier for the program than Logan and I were, but that's the way things sometimes go. As far as we were concerned, if someone was based at an active facility, they were guilty enough for us.
Now, we'd only been home from our last foray for about three hours, just long enough to have a bit of quality time with our daughter before tucking her into bed. She'd begged me to read "Cinderella" for her at least five times before she finally drifted off, which I did without complaint. I looked down at her sleeping form, her black curls unruly and impossibly long lashes brushing her cheeks. I gently kissed her again before padding out of her room and softly closing the door that connected her room to ours. Logan was already dozing on the bed and I eased myself next to him, resting my head on his chest. He opened his eyes and kissed the top of my head.
"Lemme guess. 'Cinderella' again?" He asked with a smirk.
"Fifty-seven days and counting." I replied with a sigh. "I'm thinking about introducing her to 'Beauty and the Beast'."
"Darlin', you can't tell her our life story yet, she's too young."
I chuckled. "The real one, smartass." He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. "Logan, are we really getting anywhere with this vendetta? We still haven't found this 'Director', his name doesn't appear anywhere in the entire file. Buzz and Sage don't know who he could be. And that poor woman two years ago…" I trailed off with a sigh.
"We can't stop, Angela, not now. That woman was all the proof we needed that they're still doin' this shit to people." He clenched his jaw and swallowed hard. "I –We can't let it go on."
I nodded and sighed again. He was right and I knew that. But I couldn't help but wonder if we'd ever get to rest.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Logan, look out!" You scream as you dive for cover. He looks up and barely manages to scramble in next to you as the missile impacts the wall near where you'd just been standing, scattering debris all around you. Bullets fly overhead, tracers making bright red lines in the night that sting your eyes. "What the fuck is going on?"
"I don't know!" He shouts, his eyes bright with fury. "But you have to get Evie and get the hell outta here!"
"Logan, I'm not leaving you!"
"Damn it, you have to! She's more important than either of us. Just go, I'll be fine!"
"I…" The words catch in your throat as you look at him, sudden tears clouding your vision. "I love you." You finally manage to whisper.
He looks down at you and his expression softens for a moment. "I know, darlin'. I love you too." He suddenly grabs you and kisses you hard, bruising your lips. "Now get her and get outta here. I'll find you, no matter where you go. I'll find you, I promise."
You nod and reach out to stroke his cheek one last time. He smiles briefly, then his expression hardens as he looks over the remains of the wall and his claws pop out with a "snikt". With a roar of primal rage, he throws himself out of your scant cover and disappears into the night.
Swallowing your fear, you scramble down the hall to the stairs that lead to the lower levels. They hadn't found them yet, cleverly hidden as they were. You rush down to the Danger Room where your daughter is supposed to be sheltered with the rest of the students who have not yet been trained for combat, but she's not in there. You grab the nearest student and give him a rough shake. "Where is she? Where's my daughter?" You scream.
"I-I don't know!" The kid stammers. "She didn't come down with the rest of us!" You shove the boy aside with a curse before leaving the Danger Room and locking the door behind you once again. You reach deep inside yourself, tapping into the feral side of your nature that has a natural bond with your child, a bond that cannot be broken. With a low growl, you set off once again to the main floor of the mansion.
You manage to make it to the second floor without any major incidents, the fighting mostly concentrated on the lawn in the back. As you round a corner, your eyes widen in horror as a man in fatigues exits your room with your daughter in his arms, unconscious. A snarl of fury erupts from your throat as you rush down the hall towards him, but you suddenly fly forward to land in a heap when a perfectly aimed bullet hits you in the back. You manage to roll over and the exit wound in the left side of your chest is large enough that you could easily put your own fist in there. The red haze that had obscured your vision quickly fades to be replaced by an insidious blackness. Before your vision fails completely, a figure looms into view. All you see is a silhouette, his face blanketed in darkness.
"Thank you, Hellcat. She's perfect." He says, his voice low. "Don't worry, you'll see her again someday, when we send her to kill you and your lover."
"No…" You whisper weakly as the blackness consumes you. The last thought you have before you die is "I failed."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I sat straight up in bed, biting back a scream of terror. Moonlight slanted through the windows turning everything in the room to soft shades of gray. I looked around frantically, but everything was quiet, just another normal night at the mansion. I leapt out of bed and rushed to Evie's door, opening it as quietly as I could. She slept peacefully, her stuffed bear clutched to her chest. I walked over to her bed and sat down carefully, not wanting to wake her. Her soft breathing filled the room and she stirred for a second before rolling over and settling herself back down. I smiled and kissed her gently on the cheek before going back to my own bed.
As I slipped under the covers again, Logan mumbled in his sleep then woke up. "Darlin'? Is everythin' ok?"
"Yeah, it's fine." I said and snuggled into him.
He frowned. "No it ain't. Your heart's beatin' like a jackhammer. What happened?"
"Nothing. Just a bad dream."
"Wanna tell me about it?"
"Not really." I buried my face in his chest, but he moved back a little and looked me in the eyes. "It was just a dream, I promise."
"You ain't been spooked by a dream since Kyro. C'mon, it might make you feel better."
"No, it won't. I won't feel better until the Weapon X project is gone, once and for all."
"I know, darlin'. We'll get 'em, all of 'em."
I nodded and he kissed me, not at all like the one in my dream. I kissed him back, molding my body to his with a sudden surge of desire. My hands wandered over his chest and he growled low in his throat. He slipped my tank top over my head, one hand coming to rest on my breast. He traced circles around the nipple with his thumb and I returned his growl with one of my own. His hands continued to trace intricate patterns on my skin, finally coming down to slide my panties off me. He rolled over onto his back and lifted me on top of him. I leaned forward to kiss him again even as I slid myself down on him. He closed his eyes and grabbed my hips firmly, setting the rhythm.
"Gods, you are so beautiful." I breathed as he moved within me.
"No, you're the beautiful one." He buried his hand in my hair and pulled me down for another kiss. We took our time, simply enjoying the feeling of being alive and together and in love. With touches and kisses, he chased the last remnants of the dream away until all I could see was his face. I closed my eyes as I approached the edge, gasping out his name. A low rumbling started deep in his chest, building into a growl that was also my name as we came together. He pulled me down to his chest, stroking my hair as the last shudders of pleasure coursed through me. I fell back to sleep like that, joined with my lover, his heartbeat steady, his arms a protective circle around me.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
When I woke up again, sunlight was streaming through the windows and the clock said it was almost time to get up. I groaned and pulled the blankets over my head.
Logan stirred beside me and slipped the covers away. "Darlin', we can't stay in bed all day." He mumbled. "Gotta teach today."
"Mm, tell them I'm sick and I need my rest." I said, eyes still closed.
He chuckled. "Won't work. They know your healin' factor don't let you get sick."
"Jerk."
"Yeah, but ya love me anyway."
I grumbled under my breath as I rolled out of bed, then stumbled to the bathroom for a quick shower. By the time I emerged, Logan had already gotten Evie up and dressed for the day. I took over with the chore of taming her hair, which was dark like his but curly like mine, while he took his own shower. She complained the whole time I was braiding it, the only style that kept it from becoming a completely unmanageable tangle within ten minutes. By the time I finished with that, Logan came out of the bathroom and the three of us made our way to the dining room for breakfast.
Evie immediately took off to sit with her "Aunt" Marie, who had taken over teaching the very young kids who had been arriving with more regularity over the years. The President that had been in office when Evie was born was long gone, the man who'd been elected the following year a much more tolerant person. He was the youngest President in history, which may have had something to do with it. He also had a niece who was a mutant, though she wasn't a student here. At any rate, now that mutants were slowly being more accepted in society, parents were sending their kids here now with their blessings, paying tuition and everything, and Marie had slid into the role of "elementary school" teacher with remarkable ease. Evie was technically too young for that school level, but she'd always been a bit ahead of other children in her age bracket and liked to sit in on Marie's morning classes. We watched her settle into her seat before taking our own at the main staff table.
Once breakfast was over, Logan and I separated to teach our respective classes. He oversaw Danger Room for the current Gamma team while I had strategy and tactics with Delta. There were so many new faces taking the place of the old and the students were starting to look impossibly young to me. But I couldn't let that get in the way; these kids needed to learn everything that we could teach them, no matter how good the political climate was. Just because our leader was tolerant of us didn't mean that the people were following along and a myriad of anti-mutant groups sprang up in response. With such names as "Friends of Humanity", it was clear where these people stood, so I felt even more strongly that it was my duty to teach these children how to protect themselves in a world that was still outwardly hostile towards them.
Still, the X-Men did have a government sanction, secret though it was, and that made our jobs a lot easier. We'd expanded our scope to include such things as helping out in the event of a disaster, search and rescue and even the occasional hostage situation. Having someone who can walk through walls sneak in and save someone from a kidnapper is really handy, especially when she can make the hostage bulletproof too. It put mutants in a positive light, event though most of us kept our identities secret. At least people could see us helping normal humans, which was always a good thing.
At least they never saw what Logan and I were doing. If they had, mutants wouldn't have had a chance.
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