Smallville: X-Men
A Side Story
-Memories-
Pt. 2
by Geor-sama

The ship shook, causing James to stumble. It did not help that the halls were too wide, short, and had a curve in the middle. He hated the damn spaceship.

Recovering he ignored Victor's grumbling and continued forward. Up ahead an odd archway blocked by a solid wall barred the way. Like the previous barriers, James stepped to the side and used the octagonal disc that Seyg-El had provided. With a faint hiss of air the wall slid apart, revealing yet another intersection.

Only this time a startled screech and a flash of greenish-yellow light hit Victor and blasted him off his feet. Victor landed several feet away, with a heavy-thump and in a spray of blood. James stared in disbelief. The last time Victor took a hit anything like that had been during Gettysburg from a Napoleon twelve pounder.

Harsh voices pulled James attention away from the prone Victor and back to the other side of the door. He might not understand a word, but he knew that tone. They were confused and he needed to hit them now before they got their bearings.

He threw himself around the doorway and barreled into the small group.

The first Krolotean tried to get its gun on target, but James caught the barrel and shoved it to the left. The weapon blasted one of its companions in the same instant that James raked his claws across its chest. Instead they slid off the hard surface like hitting stone, but he adjusted in mid-motion and tore its throat out instead. James spun as dark green blood sprayed, using the fancy rifle as a makeshift club to bash in the skull of the next Krolotean. As it collapsed in a bloody heap, James jumped for the next one and grabbed its head. His other hand slammed his claws into its eye and silenced it forever.

Yanking his claws free he let the body fall.

"Slayas"

Head whipping around at the shout James found the last two fleeing, weapons discarded on the ground. He lunged forward and caught the slowest one and drove his claws into the back of its odd shaped skull. Then seizing its legs used it as a projectile to take the last one down. The last Krolotean hit the ground hard, momentarily stunned. Just as it started trying to pull itself free, James grabbed its shoulder and rolled it over. It stared up at him, eyes widening in horror as he delivered the death blow.

Panting and covered in dark green blood, James' hands shook as he tried to calm the rabid animal clawing to get free. After a moment he took shaky steps away from the dead Krolotean...before a bestial howl filled the hall.

James froze.

With deliberate slowness, he turned to find Victor standing in the hallway behind him. His brothers shoulders heaved, and his face filled with an animalistic snarl. Victor's eyes had nothing human in them. Only pure predator rage.

"Vic, don't you do it." James warned, seconds before his brother charged...

...his scent was everywhere, sour butter mixed with wet dog. James raced through the mountain forest. Behind him his cabin burned and with it the bloodied, violated body of Kayla. Victor was going to pay. James would tear his brother's throat out, twist his arms off and beat Victor with them, rip his heart out -

Something large and vicious slammed into him from the side.

Carried him down to the ground, teeth and claws tearing into James' neck and torso. Pain! Forgotten as pure rage rose up and James sank his bone claws into his attacker's sides and sank his own teeth into their throat...

"I'm done with this bullshit!" Victor shouted as the spaceship began to shake more violently than ever.

James wanted to snap at his brother, but held his tongue. This was not the time, not after what they saw in that lab. Thinking about it prompted him to glance some of the survivors they were trying to herd out, and he quickly looked away. Their blank gaze, staring out at some unseen and far away thing, left him disturbed. He had seen that look before after Chancellorsville, and Stones River and it had been bad enough seeing it on young soldiers. But somehow seeing women and children with that look made it all the worse.

Another violent shudder went through the ship, and the whole thing seemed to lurch to the side. The survivors screamed and scattered, huddling against the curved walls. Some with arms over their heads, others clutching tight onto one another. Each pale and shaking. The toddler in Victor's arms buried her face in his shoulder and peed herself and Victor's silent snarl promised vicious death to the next Krolotean they met.

Then a body crashed through the ceiling and landed in a crater maybe fifteen feet ahead of them. Groaning a battered looking Mala struggled to her hands and knees. A second later a large figure appeared in front of her so fast that it just seemed to appear from nowhere. Without hesitation it kicked her in the face and sent her flying down the hallway, a loud crack filling the air and the metal walls bowing outward from the force of the impact.

The survivors screaming grew even louder and the thing turned, starting toward them. Whoever or whatever it was, it was wearing black armor with glowing red lines tracing over its surface. The helmet had no features of any kind and it moved with a kind of liquid grace that seemed artificial.

As it drew closer James adopted a more comfortable stance, hands held out the side as he extended his claws. He would not die today, none of these people would. Rather than wait for it James rushed forward, screaming - a blow faster than his eyes could follow hit him.

Hard.

James hit the wall hard enough to crack it and then collapsed in a heap on the floor. Shaking his head he shakily tried to get back to his feet, but then the thing was there, hand around his throat and holding him against the wall. James kicked and clawed, trying to shift the grip and failing to make it even twitch. The glowing red lines began to glow brighter and he could smell his flesh starting to cook -

Then a hand wrenched its hand away from his throat. A second later the monster had been thrown down the hallway, leaving a thoroughly pissed off Mala Kil-Gor standing in its place. She backhanded James aside just as the thing reappeared. A second later the wall behind her caved, clearly from a missed punch. Mala stomped on the side of its knee dropping it to the ground. A punch to the back of the head drove it through the floor, which collapsed from the force of it.

Mala wasted no time going after it. The sound of a massive explosion followed and the entire ship shook and a gout of flames erupted from the hole. The flames hit the ceiling and walls before racing toward the screaming survivors.

James had just enough time to realize they had no hope -

Never...

Despair hits and smashes and crushes. The people, the memories, all of it gone, swept away in the dark flood.

Had...

Sorrow chokes, suffocates and silences.

Any...

A cacophony of self-hatred, shame, guilt, deafens and blinds.

Hope...

Director Carter was not happy. It had been a little over a week and they had still not found any traces of the Kryptonian. Personally, James thought they were damn lucky. Mala Kil-Gor's fight against that damn Pacifier had set off an earthquake that leveled San Fran. But if Seyg-El had not been there it would have sank the entire state. Kryptonains were best classified as forces of nature, like a hurricane or an earthquake, but able to think and reason. Which made them even more dangerous.

He had told this to Peggy several times, for all the good it had done. Still James understood why she could not ignore the intrusion and theft. Ever since she took over as Director for the fledgling SHIELD, people had been hounding her, and all of her success had made them more determined to outset her. So if Peggy failed to take action then she'd be putting her position as Director at risk.

Taking a sip of his coffee, James wished he could help her.

That was when the door to the diner opened, and the scent hit him had. Looking up, James found the Kryptonian standing in the diner's doorway staring at him. James took another sip of his coffee, hoping that things were not about to get out of hand. After a minute the Kryptonian crossed the diner heading right for James, moving with beyond human grace.

The guy had impossibly black hair and eyes so blue they looked white, and near identical features to Seyg-El. When the Kryptonain sat down across him from, James could see hints of Mala Kil-Gor in the shape of his eyes, mouth, and complexion. After a minute James drained the last of his coffee and sat back, waiting for the man to speak.

When the Kryptonian did speak, his voice lacked any hint of accent. "My name is Jor-El. While I find the fact that you've advanced enough to discover The Crystal's original location impressive, I must ask that you do not seek it out again. It is dangerous in ways you are incapable of conceiving."

A beat.

"I've already tried to tell them that. Maybe you should tell them yourself."

"I wish to avoid further conflict. Given that you have interacted with my parents, I know that you can offer a proper frame of reference when explaining."

James grunted and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Also convey to to your Director that I am not trying to discourage you. I have full confidence that in time that your world will thrive."

"What a load of bullshit." James said without meaning to. But it was hard for him to believe that. Not with memories of the war so fresh in his memory.

"Oh you will stumble and you will fall. That's inevitable. But in time you will lift yourselves up and eventually you will join us in the cosmos and help us accomplish wonders."

"I don't know how you could ever belief that."

A ghost of a smile touched Jor-El's lips. "When you see as I see, hear as I hear, feel as I feel, it's hard to believe any different."

{That will do, for now.} A voice cut in. {Logan, it is time to come back. Concentrate on your breathing. Ten slow breaths, feel the weight of your body. Be calm and become aware of the way the air stirs your hair and the sound that surrounds you. Concentrate on the feel of the sheets and the smell of the air.}

The world lurched and became increasingly foggy, the colors growing muted until the disappear altogether. Leaving him in an icy black void, even as he had the sensation of rocketing upward as if shot from a cannon -

Eyes snapping open he jerked against his restraints, uncertain of where or when he was. Then his mind began filling in missing details and he began to calm down. Relaxing against the straps he tried to control his breathing and his lingering rage.

"That went better than I anticipated."

He said nothing, only turned his head to stare at the other man. Charles remained firmly on the other side of the room, observing him. After a moment he gudied his wheelchair forward and began undoing the cuffs. As soon as his hand was free he wanted to grab Charles by the throat and squeeze. Instead he resisted the instinct and tried to grapple with the new puzzle pieces that had fallen in his lap.

The new memories, disjointed and sharp, slid into place like jagged pieces into a shattered window pane. He had a brother, a psychopath who had been trying to kill him for as long as he could remember. He had faced aliens, seen the second best thing to god's fighting, and found even deeper connections to SHIELD. But more the names Raven and Kayla loomed in the background, inviting even more questions.

If he dwelled on it the edges of those sharp memories threatened to cut him. So instead he forced them away, and instead focused on his howling instincts, urging him to act and escape. He bit his lip hard, refusing to let the animal win. Registering that the last of his restraints release he swung his legs over the side and sat up.

The muscles that controlled his claws tried to tense, but forced them to relax.

"James?"

He snapped his head up and stared at his friend. After a tense moment, Logan relaxed. "Logan."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. That might've been my name before, but right now its too...alien. Like the memories. I can remember it all, but it's like reading from a movie script."

Charles nodded, interlacing his fingers.

"Very well. But Logan, those memories and that name, they are a part of you. Never forget that, or that you need to reintegrate those memories into your current self."

Logan nodded, glowering at the floor. After a moment he looked back up, now that he was thinking clearly he could smell Charles' worry. His friend looked at least five years older.

"Oh hell, what is it?"

"Hmm?"

"I've seen that look before Chuck."

Charles sighed. "Setting aside what we learned in regards to Clark's potential and the answers we can now offer him, there are implications from your memory of Mala Kil-Gor, or is that Mala-El, and Syeg-El."

"Bad?"

"Potentially. Seyg-El mentioned a race called the Chitauri who were responsible for upsetting humanity's natural evolution. I encountered one during the Cold War, but never learned what exactly they were doing. Now knowing that they are responsible for in the past, I'm even more concerned. Then of course there are the Krolotean, who I doubt have stopped their efforts at studying our world. Indeed, I wonder how many disasters over the last century have been them covering their tracks. Though, being aware of their language should be helpful when we do encounter them again."

"Wait, you know what they were saying?" Logan asked, baffled.

"Surprisingly, yes. I did not expect an alien species to speak an Earth language, especially a fictional one." Charles paused, rubbing his chin. "Though perhaps it is more accurate that Tolkien took his language from them."

"In plain English."

"Sorry, yes. The language of the Kroloteans, it's the Black Speech from The Lord of the Rings." Charles said with a wry smile.

Logan grunted. "God, I need a beer