TITLE: Tunnels of the Damned
SERIES: The Mutant Wars 3
AUTHOR: Scorpio
FANDOM: X-Men
CHARACTERS: Wolverine (POV), Gambit, (sorta) Storm
DISCLAIMER: The X-Men belong to Stan Lee & Marvel Entertainment Group.
SUMMARY: Logan's thoughts as he and Gambit bring Storm to safety.
TUNNELS OF THE DAMNED
The Mutant Wars 3
The only reason any of them had survived the battle was because Cable had shown up to save the day. But in the end, even the combined might of the X-Men and X-Force hadn't been enough.
It had been all they could do just to collect their injured and flee before they were overrun. Logan wasn't even sure if Betsy was still alive.
"Eh," Gambit's whispered voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
He looked up at the Cajun thief and grimaced. The other man's face was drawn with pain and rage, his jaw set with lines of grim determination and bullheaded stubborn pride. It wasn't often anyone got to see the killer lurking deep inside Remy LeBeau, but Logan was seeing that part of his teammate now.
"'dis way, Gambit t'inks…"
He looked around and flared his nostrils as he breathed in the scent of 'Ro, Remy, sweat, blood, pain, and the overwhelming stench of the sewers they traveled through. He agreed with a grunt and a nod.
Gambit's eerie glowing red eyes lingered on the delicate burden Logan was carrying before the thief turned to lead the way deeper into the tunnels under the mansion. He carefully shifted Storm in his arms to get a better hold on her and followed.
The Wind-Rider was injured. Badly. They needed to get her to medical treatment as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, the three of them missed the chance to get onto the Blackbird, nor were they able to hook up with X-Force and hitch a ride with them. The grounds of the mansion had been swarming with government goons, so they couldn't go into the garage and ride out in one of the vehicles.
That left the tunnels.
Eventually, they'd merge into the tunnels and sewers that the Morlock's had used. Hopefully they'd be able to make it all the way to Four Freedom Plaza. The Fantastic Four would help Storm even if any of the flatscan hospitals would just leave her to die.
It was a bitch that this was what they had to do. Out of all the X-Men, they were the three least likely to be able to travel through here comfortably. Well, maybe Wings would be worse.
For himself it was just a simple matter of comfort. The tunnels and sewers stunk to high heaven and his abused nose was already complaining. Easy enough to ignore for short spells, but this was going to be a long trek.
For Storm…well, she never did do well in enclosed spaces. They limited her powers and triggered her claustrophobia all at once. The memories of the Morlocks would only make that worse.
Gambit…well, the kid was probably trying hard not to go nuts down here. If it were any other tunnels in any other part of the world, it'd be different. But the tunnels between the mansion and the Morlock's lair was pretty much the landscape of his nightmares.
It was the place of his biggest mistake…his greatest regret.
And they were planning on hiking through it lengthwise.
Logan studied his companion for a long moment and realized the kid was hurting. He wasn't one to complain, Logan knew that, but he could see that Gambit was favoring his right leg slightly. Probably hurt his knee when that Psi-blocking machine turned on.
And wasn't that a nasty surprise.
They had been winning…or at least holding their own. Then, one of the army boys turned on some sort of anti-cerebro machine and it blocked all the telepaths inside their heads. It must have been painful too, because all of them just dropped to the ground.
Phoenix had been in the air fighting a sentinel. Logan remembered hearing her voice cry out in agony and then she'd just gone limp and fell from the sky, her red hair streaming behind her like a banner. Beast had leapt into the air and caught her, but only just barely.
Psylocke had been fighting several armed soldiers when she stiffened up for a moment and then collapsed.
Cable had slumped down onto his knees, his fingers still tight on the trigger of his guns as he sprayed the area with bullets. Then he dropped to his face and it was a full minute after he'd been unconscious that his magazines finally ran dry.
Logan's sure that Charles had sat alone inside of Cerebro, in pain and unconscious. He could only imagine how badly he'd hurt with Cerebro enhancing his telepathy when that damned machine turned on.
The big surprise had been Gambit's reaction to that techno Psi-killer.
The Cajun had sworn up and down on several occasions that he wasn't a telepath. He wasn't a 'spook'. He insisted it was just his 'Charm Power', whatever the hell that was.
Yet, that machine had dropped the thief to his knees in the middle of a fight. Oh, it hadn't knocked him out like the others, but the kid had been in a hell of a lot of pain from it. The way Logan figured it, Gambit had been telling the truth; he wasn't a telepath. But the kid had some sort of psi-ability.
Of course, that's when things really went down hill. Taking out Phoenix, Psylocke, the Professor, and Cable all at once had hurt them badly. Crippling Gambit had been a bonus.
Thankfully, Domino had a good head on her shoulders and didn't panic when shit hit the fan. She'd grabbed Rictor and Shatterstar and headed right for the Psi-killer. She'd shot up anyone that Shatterstar didn't slice to ribbons just to get Rictor close enough to rattle that machine to bits. Then, he'd dumped it into a fissure he opened up in the earth just to be sure.
Cable and Phoenix woke up again and headed right back into battle. Psylocke…Betsy, her luck just wasn't as good. Logan had watched, helpless, as she's pushed herself back to her feet just in time to get hit with a swarm of bullets.
That's when the retreat had been called. X-Force was gonna pull back to their ship and cover the X-Men's retreat into the mansion so that they could get to the Blackbird. Everything was going smoothly until he saw Storm fly over to give Gambit some backup. The kid had gotten cut off and had been surrounded.
He'd fought like a madman, bo in one hand and cards flying out the other while never staying in one place long enough for the enemy to target him. Graceful and deadly, the Cajun was a creature of terrifying beauty when he let himself go like that.
Then Storm had thrown a lightening bolt that scattered the soldiers long enough for a sentinel to blast her out of the sky with its energy beams. Not even thinking about it, Logan had run for her and leapt into the air to grab her and send them tumbling.
He'd run for the mansion with Storm in his arms while Gambit covered their retreat, but they hadn't been fast enough. The Blackbird had left without them.
That was when his mind had been touched briefly by Charles.
[Take them to Four Freedom Plaza, Logan. Reed will care for them. We're heading to Alpha Flight. Meet us there if you can.]
Just that quickly, the mental touch was gone, but he understood. He'd felt the man's incredible mental pain that was still lingering from that Psi-killer machine.
So, here they were, traveling through the underground tunnels. He had one teammate cradled in his arms in desperate need of medical help and the other was injured and on edge.
Gambit looked back at them, his eyes burning in the darkness as they lingered over Storm's still body.
"Be faster if'n we head aboveground an' steal a car, mon ami."
Logan grunted. That was true. It was a long long walk from Westchester to New York. And Storm might not have that kind of time.
He sighed and frowned thoughtfully.
"Fine. Next manhole access we come across, you check it out. I'll watch Storm."
Gambit nodded and started walking again.
"Just don't be leading us out into the arms of the goddamned army, ya hear."
Gambit snorted, but it was more bitter than amused.
"Didn' earn de' rank of Master T'ief bein' dat stupid, M. Logan."
A smirk drifted across his face briefly, but he didn't argue. He knew the kid was good at what he did. Damn good.
They mucked through the sewers for nearly another hour before they found an access hatch to the surface that wasn't surrounded by soldiers or traffic. Gambit went up the slick ladder, lifted the cast iron cover out of the way and scurried out. Then after looking around to make sure the coast was clear, he'd bent back down and pulled Storm out when Logan had hefted her up. Then Logan followed and enjoyed the first breath of clean clear air in far too long.
Even though his arms and his back were aching from carrying her, he picked Storm up again and followed Gambit over to the nearest car with a big back seat. It only took a few seconds for the kid to pick open the lock to the doors and then he was sliding Storm into the backseat. He carefully hooked the seatbelts around her to keep her from rolling onto the floor and then climbed up front next to Gambit.
He watched as the kid popped a cigarette in his mouth and lit it with a flick of one fingertip. Gambit smirked at Logan, then reached up and ripped the casing off the steering column with one hand. He was hotwiring it three seconds later. Then he blew out a pungent curl of smoke and chuckled.
"Merde. Remy hasn't stolt a car in years, mon ami. Nice t' keep m' hand in it, oui?" Gambit shifted the car into drive and pulled out onto the road, turning towards the city. "Don' want m' skills t' get all rusty."
Logan grunted and rolled his eyes. He patted down his uniform until he found his cigar. He pulled it out and slid it out of the plastic holder and bit off the end.
"Light me up, Gumbo." He growled just as the kid flicked a fingertip over the end of it. Logan puffed a bit and soon the scent of a Cuban cigar mingled with the kid's Marlboro's.
He was tired, achy, and hungry enough to eat a deer raw. He was worried about the team and terrified that Betsy was dead. And they still weren't safe. 'Ro was still unconscious and that wasn't a good sign. The Cajun was hurting, even if he'd never admit it. Logan was just impressed that he was holding it together this well. Gambit tended to panic when Storm got hurt.
Hell…he didn't want to think about it. It just made his head hurt and his chest feel tight. He needed to distract himself.
"So…" he slanted a look at the grim expression on Gambit's face as he drove them at just a hair under the speed limit. "When'd ya learn ta boost cars, kid?"
Gambit barked out a bitter laugh and Logan watched as a bit of ash tumbled down his kevlar armored chest plate.
"Remy just a pup when he started boostin' cars, homme. Eh…'bout seven…maybe eight de' firs' time he stolt one. Could barely reach de' petals, me."
Gambit turned to flash a brief smug look at him. "Was t'irteen de' firs' time he stolt a jet."
Logan snorted. Not in disbelief, but in amusement.
"That musta been one hellava ride."
Gambit nodded in agreement before a sheepish grin washed over his face, making him instantly look younger.
"Was a tres bon time…right up until Gambit crashed it." He huffed a laugh. "Flyin' it were easy, homme. Landin' it? Dat' a whole nudder story."
"I bet." Logan chuckled.
Then they both settled into silence. The sounds of the engine, the wheels on the pavement, and three sets of lungs breathing wanted to sooth Logan and relax him. The night looked peaceful with the stars starting to come out and the air beginning to chill slightly.
It was all an illusion though and Logan fought the pull of sleep. There was no way to tell if the army was looking for them. It's possible they thought everyone got away on the Blackbird, but that wasn't a guarantee. They had no idea if there were road blocks set up ahead in an effort to capture them before they reached safety.
Part of him wanted him to encourage Gambit to speed it up and get them to Four Freedom Plaza as fast as possible, but he knew that wasn't a good idea. As much as Storm needed to get to their medlab so that Reed could look her over, it wouldn't do any good for them to catch the attention of the police by speeding. They needed to stay under the radar.
"Logan…"
He grunted softly and shifted to look at the kid out of the corner of his eye with curiosity.
"When we get Stormy t' de' F.F., dey gonna wan' us t' eit'er stay wit' dem or ship us off t' Canada."
Logan narrowed his eyes and thought about it. After a minute or two, he decided the kid was right. Sue Richards would want them safe…either tucked away in Four Freedom Plaza or even better, up in Canada with Alpha Flight where their status as mutants wouldn't land them in some neo-nazi concentration camp.
"Yar probably right. Can't see Sue letting us just wander back out th' front door."
Gambit sighed and pulled another cigarette out of his pack and lit it. That was a sure sign the kid was more rattled than he was letting on. He didn't normally chain his smokes unless he was upset.
"Don' wan' t' head up nort', me." Burning crimson eyes shifted over to him for a brief moment before he turned to the road again. "Rather stay in de' States."
Logan reached up with one hand and facepalmed while his thoughts spun. Then he lowered his hand and huffed out a huge breath. He had to bite back the instinct that wanted to shove both Storm and Gambit on a plane and send them away for safety; he knew that was the wrong move to make. Both of them could make up their own minds.
Storm was a stubborn as the day is long and Gambit…well, Gambit wasn't a delicate frail to be protected and would likely shove an exploding card down his throat if he tried to coddle him.
"What'cha have in mind, Gumbo?"
One broad shoulder shrugged with elegant grace that was a studied exercise in nonchalance. It didn't fool Logan for an instant.
"T'inkin' dat Remy should get de' clans an' de' Guilds t' start shiftin' targets t' where it really count."
Logan blinked in mild shock. He'd forgotten about that. He'd gone so long thinking of Gambit as an X-Man that he hadn't even considered the fact that the kid was the defacto Guildmaster of a whole city full of Thieves and Assassins.
"Dey wanna play hard ball? Fine. Gambit gonna hit 'em where it hurts. In de' wallet. In de' heart." He snorted. "Can' be orderin' de' death of Senators an' Gen'rals wit' mon Stormy an' de' Fantastic Four glarin' at him."
Logan nodded.
He understood what Gambit said…and also what he didn't say.
Gambit had responsibilities to the clans and the Guilds, but he also wasn't one to shy away from the hard choices and the rough stuff. The X-Men had been focused on non-violence, co-habitation, and rehabilitating mutants back into society. And for the most part, they did a good job.
But there were a few that just never let go of their violent and criminal pasts. Logan himself was one. He was a killer, pure and simple. He might not kill as often with the X-Men as he'd normally did, but he also freelanced with SHIELD, Black Air, and other groups.
Gambit was another. He rarely stole for the X-Men, and then only when there was no other choice. But Logan knew that the kid freelanced as well; for the Guilds, for the government at times, and for other X Teams. Logan was also fairly sure the kid still contracted with Sinister at times.
No…neither he nor the thief were ones to run to safety when there was something they could do about a situation…even if that something wasn't nice…or legal…or even moral.
"Yeah," he finally sighed. "I was plannin' ta stick around for a bit too."
Which he was.
There was too much to do and too much of it would end up bloody. More deaths on his conscience wouldn't make much difference to him, but for some of the others on the team; it'd break them. So…he would stay in the States and do what needed doing.
He was Wolverine.
He was the best there is at what he does. And what he does isn't very nice.
But it was needed.
God help them all, it was needed badly.
Gambit just nodded silently and continued to drive towards the city. Then, after a long moment he shifted slightly to eye Logan with a serious expression, his jaw clenched with grim determination.
"Dis gon' get real ugly, mon ami."
Logan snorted and glanced back to look at Storm unconscious in the back seat.
"It's already ugly, Gumbo."
Gambit's eyes flickered to the rear view mirror and softened slightly as he looked at the woman laid out across the seat. Then he looked back to the road and his expression hardened up once more.
"Oui."
Silence fell again as they drove on.
It wasn't too much longer until they reached the city. Thankfully, the bridge wasn't being guarded or watched by the army. At least, not that they could tell. For all they knew, there might be some sort of monitoring device that let them know whenever a mutant entered or left city limits.
It was late, but not that late and traffic was empty on some streets and a tangled snarl on others. Gambit tried to avoid the roads with too many vehicles and people. You could never tell if someone might recognize them or realize they were mutants and sound the alarm.
None of them were up for fighting a running battle with local law enforcement right now. They were too tired, too injured, and their nerves were far too strung out. That was a dangerous place to be when you were surrounded by potential enemies.
Eventually they made it close enough to Four Freedom Plaza to realize they weren't getting any closer in a car. The whole area was flooded with protestors and cops trying to keep things from deteriorating into riots.
He was shocked, but he figured that he shouldn't be.
The Fantastic Four had not been quiet about their disagreement with mutant politics and had shouted long and loud when the laws making mutants legal slaves passed. Anyone who thought about that would have seen their anger and disagreement coming, after all, Reed and Sue's little boy was an Omega class mutant.
They'd started opening up their doors as sanctuary for any mutant that needed it and then worked to ship them out of the country to places where the laws were fair and mutants were at least tolerated if not welcomed. And now, people were using their public stance as a platform for their own.
It looked like half the square was filled with people supporting the pro-mutant agenda. Which was nice to see and let a little flare of hope warm him. It was the other half of the plaza square which made his teeth grit together and his eyes narrow down. They were anti-mutant hate groups waving signs and chanting slogans.
He wanted to gut them all. Feel their cooling blood drip down over his fists as it ran off his claws. See the terror in their eyes and smell the fear and hopeless desperation swirl up in his nose.
"Gambit tempted t' take one of de' metal trashcan lids an' charge it up. Den send it flyin' int' de' crowd like a big ol' frisbee."
Logan grunted in amusement and Gambit slid a cruel grin across his face.
"De' coroners'd be spendin' a week or more tryin' t' match up all de' body parts, henh?"
Shaking his head, Logan's eyes scanned the crowd as Gambit turned the corner and headed away from the protestors.
"So…how y' wan' do dis, mon ami? Don' t'ink we'd get through dat crowd wit' Stormy all hurt."
"Yar right."
He scowled and clenched his hands into fists. He had an idea, but he knew the kid wouldn't like it. Fuck it. It had to be done.
"We're gonna hafta go underground. There's tunnels that lead up to the Baxter Building. We can get in that way an' no one from the crowd'll see us."
Gambit's jaw clenched once and his face paled a bit. Morlock tunnels. Finally, he nodded once sharply.
"Fine. Where do y' need Gambit t' park dis t'ing? Want de closest entreance int' de' tunnels, me."
They finally had to resort to parking several blocks away. The easiest way into the tunnels was through the subway and the subway stop closest to Four Freedom Plaza was filled with people coming and going. The next one was fairly deserted and Gambit let him out with Storm right near it and then went to park the car a bit away.
The kid caught up with him fairly quick and they went down the stairs and onto the small dirty train platform. One of the lights was busted and another one was buzzing and someone had tagged the wall with the words 'Die Mutie Scum'. All in all, a typical subway station.
They were getting ready to jump off the platform and onto the rails when a soft cry of horror and pain reached Logan's ears.
He stopped stock still and turned his head trying to locate the noise, his nostrils flaring. Gambit paused and looked over at him for a moment before turning to scan the platform for trouble. They needed to be careful and keep their wits about them. Storm was hurt enough as it was, she didn't need to get dragged into another fight.
Logan's attention was pulled over to the side, a small access door that let subway workers into the room where they housed the electric panels, water pipes and whatnot. He jerked his chin towards it and Gambit narrowed his eyes, two poker cards appearing in his left hand.
He watched the kid sidle over to the door on cat-silent feet and slowly twist the knob. The door inched open a crack for Gambit to peer through.
He watched as the kid's face flashed with pain so quickly he wasn't even sure it was there before that blank-eyed stare of determination settled on his face. Gambit's inner killer was back with a vengeance and Logan couldn't help wonder what the hell was going on in that work room.
Suddenly, Gambit slammed the door open and stepped through. Logan had a brief glimpse of a girl with an obvious mutation being held down by one man and getting raped by another. Gambit spun on one leg and lifted the other to spin kick the first guy in the head.
He went flying with a grunt and slammed into the wall.
The guy rutting between the hysterically crying girl's legs was grabbed from behind and yanked off of her. Gambit pulled the man's back to his chest with one arm wrapped around it and snarled.
The guy, not being too bright, tried to plead his case.
"Hey man…stop it. It's cool. She's just a mutie freak man. It's cool, she's a mutant. I swear."
Burning crimson eyes flared with anger even as Logan's claws unsheathed themselves.
"So's Gambit, homme."
Then Gambit wrapped his other hand around the rapist's chin and yanked his head to the side. The sharp crack of the rapist's neck snapping echoed around the tiny room.
Logan held his breath and prayed the kid didn't lose it. Gambit was a thief and he was fairly practical and philosophical about killing. Marrying an assassin had that effect on a person, but he wasn't really a killer. Not like Logan.
The few times that Gambit had killed in the past had torn the kid up inside and this wasn't the time or the place for the kid to have a nervous breakdown.
"Gumbo?"
Gambit turned his head to look at Logan, his burning eyes swirling with pain even though his face was set into stoic lines of grim determination.
"Hate dis place. Eit'er it be cursed or Gambit is. Every time he comes here, someone dies."
With that, Gambit let the corpse he was still holding slide down his chest to crumple on the ground.
Then he squatted down in front of the slowly calming girl. Her skin was a pale washed out blue and her hair was actually feathers. He reached out with an open hand to her, but didn't get close enough to touch. If she wanted to, she could reach out to him and he'd help her.
"I's Gambit." He nodded his head towards Logan and Storm. "Dat's Logan an' mon sister…Stormy."
The girl ignored his hand and tried in vain to fix her clothes to cover herself better.
"We's headin' someplace safe. If'n y' wan', we's can take y' wit' us."
She shook her head no and tried to crawl back away from him.
Gambit cooed softly even as he shifted back away from her to give her space.
"'S okay, petite. Gambit not gonna hurt y' none."
She pushed up to her feet in a crouch and shifted towards the door. Then she paused and looked down at the corpse of her rapist and the unconscious body of his assistant and softly whispered, "Th…thank y…you."
Then she scurried out of the workroom and limped painfully across the platform as fast as she could go. She jumped off the platform to land between the rails and scurried off into the darkness.
Gambit just stayed there, crouched low and Logan didn't know what to do. He wanted to help the kid, but he couldn't just abandon Storm. He was glad the rapist was dead, but he wished that it wasn't Gambit that had to do it.
Emotions always messed him up. He could barely deal with his own, let alone the kid's.
"Hey. You okay, kid?"
Gambit didn't answer, just shook his head silently.
Then the other assailant moaned and struggled to push himself up off the ground. In a flash, Gambit was on his feet with his bo staff telescoping out to full length.
"Connard!"
Then that silvery staff was swirling through the air so fast it whistled only to thud to a stop when Gambit smashed it into the back of the guy's neck with a low crunch. The guy dropped like a sack of potatoes. Logan didn't have to ask, he knew just how hard Gambit could swing that bo as well as just how skilled he was at precise hits. The guy was dead of a broken neck. Logan would bet on it.
A heartbeat later, Logan sighed and said, "Come on kid. We got an appointment ta keep."
He stood there long enough to see Gambit lift a hand to facepalm and try to get his head back in the game. Then Logan turned and walked to the edge of the platform. He leapt off of it and landed between the rails with Storm still tucked into his arms.
He began walking down the underground tunnel and heard the soft swish of his companion's trench coat behind him.
About fifty feet down the tracks, they came across one of the Morlock entrances into the underground tunnels and warrens that ran all over the city.
Slipping into the tunnels, the light dimmed immediately and the scent of brackish water and mold was everywhere. Logan could see movement in some of the shadows and he could hear both people and rats scurrying around, but no one stopped them.
Thank God.
He honestly didn't know how the kid would react. Logan figured he'd either get even more stoic and silent or he'd finally flip out and blow the whole city to pieces.
It took about forty-five minutes of walking through twisting tunnels, but they finally came upon the underground entrance to the Baxter Building. The entrance was a huge steel door with an electronic lock that required a code to get in. Logan didn't have a code…at least, not a current one.
"Dis it?"
Logan looked over his shoulder at Gambit.
"Yeah."
The kid nodded and walked over to the lock, studying it for a moment.
"Twenty bucks says Gambit get it open in under five minutes, mon ami."
Logan chuckled, mostly with relief. The kid was gonna be fine.
"Yar on, bub."