Chapter 3: The New Queen of the Cage

By: Galadeidre

"Well, here we are," Storm replied as they got out of the car. "Laughlin City."

It was a quaint little city (not really…if you've watched Xmen I, then you know what it looks like). It was cold and there was a bit of snow falling.

Storm, Cyclops, and Wolverine had gone on the mission. They also had brought along Rogue, Bobby the 'IceMan', and one other character, Kurt Wagner, or otherwise known as 'Nightcrawler'.

"It hasn't changed a bit," Wolverine muttered sarcastically. He took out a cigar and lit it. He started to walk into the 'city'.

Scott stepped forward, trying to assume control. "Hey, Logan, where are you going?"

"My favorite dugout," the man-of-steel answered, not looking back. The others quickly followed him.

They followed Wolverine into a bar or sorts. As you walked further in, there was a roped ring with chairs and benches around it. The place was packed with screaming and shouting people watching the two combatants in the ring.

The people shouted and several booed as one of the fighters fell, knocked out. He was dragged out of the ring and the announcer called for another fighter. Another one came in and the battle waged on.

"Logan," Rogue started. "Let's sit down." Her southern accented voice was soft and a bit scared. Bobby held one of her gloved hands tightly.

Wolverine looked around for a spot to sit. He noticed a small red leather couch on the far wall that was only occupied by a young, black-haired girl who wasn't paying any attention to the ring fight. It was one of those semi-circular couches. A wooden table had been set in the middle of it, where the young girl set her drink down.

"That girl looks inviting," Wolverine muttered. "Let's sit over there." They all followed him towards the couch.

As they sat down, they could sense the girl looking at them.

Rogue looked up. Her eyes met the girl's. It was the blackest eyes she had ever seen. It was as if she knew much more than she was letting on – many secrets. It seemed as if Rogue was being sucked into the deep depths of them.

The girl turned away and immediately, the feeling left Rogue.

Bobby saw Rogue shiver. "Rogue?"

"I'm fine." She gave her boyfriend a faint smile. "Really, Bobby. I'm fine."

Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler were all scanning the area.

"Any signs of them?" Scott asked.

"No." Wolverine was frustrated. How in the world were they going to spot these mutants in the middle of this rambunctious ramble?

Wolverine swore and fell back into the couch. He eyed the black-haired girl, who had turned around to silently watch the fight while she took a sip of her soda.

She was well in figure, he noticed. Not much older than Rogue from the looks of it. Her dark wavy hair had been tucked into her plain, dark green sweatshirt she was wearing. It covered her face, for he could only see her side profile, but he saw her fingers. They were delicate and a bit small, yet not too much. They were a smooth tannish-golden brown. Lighter than Storm's skin, but darker than white skin. He examined it a bit more. They had been used for fighting, no doubt. How good was she at fighting, or was it just his imagination?

The announcer called for another fighter. The same fighter was still king of the cage.

A woman in the chair right beside the girl turned around to face her.

"Honey, you should try it." The girl stopped sipping her soda and silently looked at her. This had caught the attention of the other Xmen. "C'mon. I know you fight. I bet you'd have a fair chance at winning."

Who is this girl? Wolverine thought. From the looks on the faces of the others, they were all thinking the exact same thing.

"I don't want to." The girl's voice was soft, but had a commanding sense in it. There was a southern accent in it, too.

"C'mon. I'm sure you'll like it."

The girl said nothing and stared at the fighter who was starting to boast into the microphone.

"C'mon, you wimps!" The fighter shouted. "Are all you all chicken to fight me? Huh? You're all a bunch of losers! Just like those mutant freaks!"

Wolverine growled slightly. The others watched with uneasiness at the fighter.

"Logan, don't," Scott warned.

"Don't tell me what to do," Wolverine growled.

But before he was able to do anything the girl placed her soda on the table and stood up.

"Maybe, I will fight. Just for kicks." She walked towards the ring.

The fighter and announcer spotted her at the same time.

"Looks like we got ourselves a volunteer," the announcer called.

Much to the Xmen's surprise, a loud cheer rose throughout the crowd.

The fighter sneered. "This aint a catfight, pumpkin."

"I know."

"Well, then you do know that just because you're a girl doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you, babe."

"I'd rather have it that way than any other." She gave a chuckle. "'Cause it won't matter. I'll go easy and still set you down in two shots."

"What?!" the fighter shouted. "You bratty little punk." He leaned towards the announcer. "She's on."

The announcer nodded. "Let the match begin!" He quietly got out of the way. The bell rung.

The fighter charged at the girl. She slowly stepped out of his way, making him crash into the ropes.

The fighter charged again. She amazingly jumped over him. The 'king of the cage' sprawled on the ring floor. He slowly got up, heaving furiously and glaring hard at the girl. His eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.

Throughout this whole time, the girl had kept her hands in her sweatshirt's front pocket. Now she took them out. She took off her dark green sweatshirt, revealing a not-too-tight short-sleeved shirt that was a plain, dark red color. There was a dark green long-sleeved shirt underneath that. Her hair flew this way and that as she took off her sweatshirt. It was silky and slightly wavy and reached almost past her waist. Her eyes were still the intense, black abyss Rogue had noticed before. She flicked a few strands of her hair out of her face, looked down at the fighter, and gave a small smile.

"You've had your fun. Now, let me have mine. As I told you, it'll only take me two shots. You had two chances, now let me try." She grinned. "Who knows, I might be merciful and make it three instead."

The fighter was furious. He charged at her again. This time, she ducked and landed a punch upwards, right on his stomach. The fighter staggered backwards, clutching his stomach. The crowd was shocked. A mere girl had landed a punch that hard on a man that was probably three times her weight?!

"That was one." She ran towards him, jumped, and did one swift turn, kicking him square on the right cheek. "That was the second." The fighter was on the ground, knocked out cold. There was a bit of blood coming out of his nose and mouth, but that was all. The girl heaved a sigh and picked up her sweatshirt. "And I didn't even break a sweat," she muttered.

"Scott," Storm whispered. "You don't think she's one of them, do you?"

"I don't know," Cyclops answered. "It would explain a lot. My guess is, if she is one of them, she's most likely the youngest out of the three. She looks pretty young."

The announcer was watching the unconscious fighter being dragged out of the ring. "Well…uh…it seems we've got ourselves a new winner." He leaned towards the girl. "What's your name, dumpling?"

"Well, it's for sure not dumpling," the girl muttered. The announcer gave an uneasy laugh. She was quiet for a moment. "Just call me Egypt's Girl for all I care."

"Well, it's kinda an odd name, but Egypt's Girl it is." He turned back towards the audience. "Let's give a loud cheer for Egypt's Girl!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Corny…" she muttered under her breath.

The announcer continued. "Now, who's gonna go against this sweet flower, eh? C'mon, all of you men. You're not gonna tell me that you're gonna let a mere innocent-looking babe like her walk away with all your cash, now do ya?"

The crowd's uproar was a mix of yes and no. Evidently, the girl was a bit more popular than the announcer thought she'd be.

Four more fighters decided to fight against her. They all ended up just like the first – knocked out cold and limp. To the girl, this just seemed to be a small workout for her.

Wolverine started to stand up.

"Logan. Logan, what do you think you're doing?" Scott asked, grabbing hold of Wolverine's arm.

"I'm going to go up there and fight." He gave the one-eye a grin. "I've been itchin' to have a one-on-one match up there."

"You might hurt her."

Wolverine snorted. "Doubt that. Besides, I'll try to find out if she is one of them we're looking for." He got out of Cyclops's grip and walked towards the ring.

The girl's back was turned to where the Xmen were standing, but she sensed him coming up.

The announcer spotted him. "Looks like we're gonna have another fight! Hopefully, this one will last longer than the previous one."

Wolverine chuckled and stepped into the ring. The crowd was cheering like crazy. You couldn't even tell who they were rooting for now.

The announcer walked over to him. "What's your name?"

"Wolverine," he muttered and started to loosen up for the match.

The girl watched him with interest in her eyes. "You're not what you seem to be, now are you, Logan?"

Wolverine immediately stopped cracking his neck. "How d'ya know my name?" he whispered. Not that it mattered. The crowd had pretty much gone deaf.

The girl stared at him with her intense black eyes. "Let's just say, I know a lot of things." She stopped her stare and gave him an innocent smile. "Now, let's get goin' on fighting."

"Fine by me." Wolverine went into a fighting stance. He made a quick mental note to not reveal his identity (by way of his adamantium claws).

The bell rang and the announcer yelled, "Let the match begin!"

Wolverine had watched her fighting stance carefully. He didn't charge up after her, but instead waited for her.

The girl sensed this and gave a grin. She charged up towards him.

Wolverine got ready to jump – her technique.

She jumped first, which wasn't what Wolverine had expected.

Wolverine soon found himself sprawled on the floor, the Egypt's Girl behind him. She gave a small chuckle.

That girl can sure land a punch, Wolverine thought to himself. Luckily, his healing mutant abilities were kicking in, and he quickly got up. He quickly sniffed the air to figure out her location before he turned around and threw a swift punch.

His fist came in contact with her right cheek. She fell backwards, rubbing her cheek. She dropped her hand as she slowly got up, and Wolverine noticed a small trickle of blood on the corner of her mouth.

The girl gave a glance at him and grinned. "Not bad." She then lunged at him. Her fist knocked the wind straight out of his stomach and he backed away. Wolverine charged again.

For some time, they repeated this routine over and over. Wolverine attacking, then Egypt's Girl.

"When do you think that they will stop?" Nightcrawler whispered to Storm. His German accent was thick and soothing.

"I couldn't tell you, Kurt," Storm replied. "Neither of them seem to be tired just yet."

Rogue was getting impatient. She turned towards Bobby. "He's got to stop."

"Rogue," Bobby started, "you know him. This is his fight. Besides, I think he's got a good chance against that girl."

Rogue just shook her head slowly, staring at her boyfriend. "No. There's something about that girl that scares me."

As she said this, Wolverine pinned the girl down onto the floor. He was breathing hard.

So was the girl. She gave a smile and whispered. "You're pretty good." She turned her head to be able to meet eye-to-eye with the mutant. "Considering you're not using the extraordinary metal in you."

Wolverine's heart stopped for a split second. "What did you say?!"

That split second was all she needed. In moments, she had gotten out of his grip and had pinned him down to the floor, his hands in back of him, gripped by the girl's hands.

The girl grinned and knelt down to whisper in his ear so that the announcer didn't hear a single word (not that he was listening).

"I wanna end this, now, 'kay, Wolverine?"

"In your dreams," Wolverine hissed back. He squirmed as he tried to get out of her rather strong grip.

"Suit yourself." At this she let go of him.

He immediately jumped upwards and tried to grab her. She was too fast. In an instant, she had jumped onto his back and had gripped his neck, almost as if she was squeezing the life out of him. It sure looked like it.

All of a sudden, a strange feeling came into Wolverine. It freaked him out. It was as if a dark hole had entered into him and was sucking the life out of him. He choked and tried to yell for help, but no sound came out. He was being drained. He couldn't feel a single thing. An icy feeling had surfaced onto his insides. He saw himself falling to the floor, but couldn't do anything.

Then everything went black and quiet…