AN: Thank you all for the reviews! I hereby present the long awaited chapter four of Damaged Goods!
Marvel Earth – Somewhere in Canada
Logan, known to some as Logan and to many more as Wolverine, sighed, his short stature accentuated by how he slumped over on the bar. His grip on the mostly finished bottle of whisky tightened as he brought it to his lips, finishing the bitter liquid.
He set it down next to the nine others he'd finished that same afternoon.
The bartender, a heavyset, older man with graying hair and a large moustache eyed him warily as he wiped down the other end of the bar, "You ain't normal, are ya?"
Nobody else was in the bar- there was only one person he could be talking to.
Logan glanced over at the man from under the brim of his hat. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to throw him out of a bar for being a mutant. And personally, he wasn't in the mood for it right now. Not after what Annihilus did... after what happened to Laura.
"And what if I'm not?"
The man put down his rag and walked across the bar from Logan, picking up the empty bottles, "Ain't no trouble o' mine, mister. But you seem like a man with a problem. Most folks won't buy ten bottles of gin, mutie or not."
His eyes widened as he realized his social faux pas. He backed up a step, putting down the bottle and raising his hands defensively, "N-no offense meant, of course. I'm just sayin' that you seem like a fella with a problem."
Logan steeled his gaze, "Ain't got no problem."
The bartender lowered his arms, "Fella, you just bought eleven bottles of gin. Ain't nobody without a problem does that."
Logan sneered and grabbed the bottle that the man had set down on the counter, "Like you said, I'm a mutie. Takes more for me."
Before he could bring the bottle to his lips the man's hand snaked out and grabbed the top, pulling it away from Logan, "Fella, ain't nobody tries to get drunk at three in the afternoon without a problem."
Logan glared at the man, "Bub, what do you care if I have a problem?"
The bartender stood his ground, "Because somebody should. And in all honesty, I ain't got much else to do."
Logan let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, "Keep the change bub."
He dropped a small pile of twenty-dollar bills on the table, "You got a good place here."
The seductive feminine voice that answered wasn't what he expected.
"We've been looking for you, Logan."
Logan sighed, turning around to see Emma Frost, Dean of the Xavier Institute, X-Men member, and seductress sitting at the bar where he had, clad in fur lined white attire that looked like it should be worn in an S and M club than a school.
He scowled, "Get the hell outta my head, Frost."
She frowned, "He's right, you know. You're hurting."
He turned back towards the door, set on ignoring the psychic projection, "Fuck off, Frost."
"It's not your fault- what happened to Laura."
Logan whirled at the mention of his surrogate daughter's name, fury burning in his eyes, "And what the hell do you care, Frost?! You hated her from the moment you saw her! You tried to have her thrown to the wolves at the Facility! Don't pretend you give a damn about what happened to her!"
The projection remained calm, "I was wrong, Logan. I saw that a long time ago."
Logan scoffed turning away from the apparition, "You're full of shit, darlin'. Now stay out of my head."
Emma frowned at him, before disappearing.
Logan blinked and found himself standing at the door, just like he had been before the psychic's voice had appeared in his mind. The bartender piped up, a concerned look on his face, "Are you feelin' alright, buddy? You've just been standin'."
Logan shook his head, "Yeah, I'm fine. See you around."
He opened the door and stepped out of the bar, letting the door swing shut behind him. He didn't look back.
Xavier Institute – Cerebro
Emma sighed as she removed the silver helmet connected to the enormous mutant database called Cerebro, "He'll be back when he's ready."
She ran her hand through her hair as she turned around to face Scott and Ororo, "I'm sorry."
The ebony weather witch sighed, "He will have to come to terms with what happened to her."
The leader of the X-Men looked over to her, stone faced, "He can't. He blames himself for it- but I think that's jus a symptom of it. He was never there for her- not really, at least. He knows it and it is killing him."
Ororo frowned, "I will find him. He deserves better than this."
Scott's voice was authoritative, "…take as much time as you need. These are tough times for all of us."
She nodded, "He is not as indestructible as he seems. I will return with him as soon as I am able."
Gotham City – The Penguin's Hideout
Laura raised an eyebrow at the mixed reaction in the room at the announcement of the arrival of this… Batman.
Some men had leaped out of their chairs, bolting through the open door. Others looked to each other, unsure of what to do, while even more of the men did nothing more than raise a general panic, claiming that this wasn't what they signed up for. The leader tried to quell the panic, barking orders to those who would listen. He had almost regained some semblance of order before there was an explosion echoed through the structure. The lights flickered once, then died, plunging everything into darkness.
There was chaos in the ranks as the red emergency lights came on, barely illuminating a third of the building, leaving some areas still enveloped in utter blackness. What little was illuminated was crisscrossed with shadows. Bursts of gunfire could be heard among the panic, all quickly silenced. The leader was screaming orders at this point, his voice lost in the cacophony.
Laura saw opportunity in the chaos.
She moved like quicksilver, maneuvering through light and darkness alike with inhuman grace. She slipped through the panicking guards, weaving through the rows of crates towards the main office. This was her chance- Cobblepot was vulnerable. She vaulted a row of short crates and onto the stairs up to the office, maneuvering onto the steps with the grace of a born predator. She turned sneering when she heard clomping footsteps behind her- footsteps that would only lead this bat-thing right towards her. She turned, her legs coiling, readying herself to incapacitate the
She tensed as a panicked guard turned the corner at full sprint, firing up at the air behind him. Laura frowned, opting to slip into the shadows near the stairs and watch. The man moved like prey with a predator on its heels.
Surely enough, the predator arrived.
Like living darkness given a human form, something launched down from the crates above, colliding into the man with incredible force- force enough to take him off his feet and send him straight into one of the large crates next to him. Before he even had time to hit the ground the thing was upon him again, driving him straight through the side of the wooden crate and vanishing with its prey into the darkness.
Laura paused. The gunfire was quieting fast. Too fast. She needed to reach Cobblepott as soon as she could. She burst from her hiding spot, scrambling up the stairs and bursting through the wooden office door.
She swore.
The office was totally empty, save for a few filing cabinets and a large desk with a chair that could be better described as a throne. Besides that, there was nothing. Cobblepott was most likely never even in the building to begin with. She turned when she heard more footsteps clambering up the ladder behind her- panicked, disorderly.
Something smelled off. The scent was musty, like something dank and underground. Out of place in the warehouse.
Laura turned to the door, watching as two more guards clambered up the steps, desperate to hide from the force that was assaulting the Penguin's base. She coiled; ready to do whatever was necessary to remove the threat when a slimmer shadow burst from the darkness under the grating on the stairs, pulling both men screaming down into the darkness.
A chill crawled up Laura's spine. Whatever had burst from the stairs was there before the men had arrived. It was waiting for her.
She burst from the office, ignoring stealth. Escape was the top priority now- there was nothing more to be gained from staying here.
Laura hurtled over the side of the stairs, rolling as she landed on the stacked crates just over the side. She followed through the roll into a sprint, not wasting a single moment. The elevator shaft was in view and still operational- thankfully, emergency power kept it running.
The scent was back.
She snarled as she neared the entrance to the elevator, only a few trace shots of weapons discharge echoing through the background- she was one of the only ones left. She threw herself off the line of crates, rolling into the elevator and slamming onto the up button as she hit the ground. She spun, ready to defend herself as the doors groaned, shutting behind her. The slim dark figure landed in front of the doors, barely visible in the darkness.
Laura scowled, unsheathing her claws and slicing a hole in the ceiling with a single graceful leaping spin. She pulled herself through the hole even as the elevator began to rise. The moment she was out she cut the cable holding the car up, sending it crashing back down to the grown while rocketing Laura up through the air.
She let go as she neared the top, the momentum allowing her to grab onto the grating of the elevator door on street level. With a quick slash of her claws, she was free.
The scent, she noted, was back. So was a different one. Explosi-
Fire burst from the top of the elevator shaft, blowing out the door she had cut through and sending her tumbling across the room.
She scrambled to her feet, her healing factor already closing the light wounds caused by the shrapnel. The larger figure was there, crouched on the edge of the elevator shaft like a creature that had crawled out of the abyss.
She could smell his sweat. Hear his breathing.
He was a man.
She could fight a man.
Laura surged forward at the shadow before her, her battle cry ripping through the air like a cougar's roar. Her claws burst from her knuckles in mid leap with an audible *snikt* as she soared through the air.
The shadow didn't hesitate, side-stepping her leaping slash and lashing out with what was meant to be a disabling strike, aimed at a pressure point on her upper left arm. Apparently the martial arts weren't so different between worlds.
Laura spun, the strike glanced across he arm harmlessly as she used her momentum to slash at her assailant with her adamantium claws. The shadow's arm lashed out, striking her wrist to keep her blades from falling. He followed up the parry with a kick, his leg lashing out and connecting solidly with the shorter girl's sternum. She rolled backwards with the kick, back on her feet without a moment's hesitation and charging her mysterious opponent again.
The shadow hesitated; unsure of how to assess the situation after the girl seemed unaffected by what was supposed to be a crippling blow. Laura seized her opportunity, diving in again and lashing out with her claws.
The figure recovered quickly, parrying her strike again and following up frightening speed. He stepped inside her guard and knocked both her arms wide with a both hands, leaving her exposed. In a quick motion he struck her jaw with a spinning elbow and followed up with a left hook at the same spot, sending her crashing to the ground, blood arcing from her mouth.
Another opportunity.
She caught her fall with both hands and pushed, propelling herself off the ground. Using her momentum she spun in mid air, extending her right foot blade. As she turned in the air she kicked out, the blade ripping through whatever armor the shadow war and digging deep into flesh.
The shadow cried out, falling back has dark crimson sprayed through the air.
Breathing heavily, Laura watched as he lay on the ground, doing his best to rise to his feet to defend himself.
Her training demanded she finish the job- remove all witnesses.
She shook her head. She wasn't that person anymore.
Laura turned on her heel and took off at a dead sprint, barely slowing to extend her claws to slash open the side door of the warehouse. She dipped her shoulder and burst out into the night, the streetlights doing little to illuminate the long alley she found herself in. She had barely made it twenty feet before she heard the ruined door burst open a second time.
She spun, preparing to defend herself from the second shadow, no doubt still on the chase.
Her eyes widened.
The scent was there, but the alley was empty.
Laura waited, staring into the darkness past the ruined door. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end- something wasn't right.
She turned to run, a dark fist connecting smashing into the side of her face like a sledgehammer. She tumbled back, putting her hand out to steady herself on the wall. Before she could even rise up the slim shadow was before her, a lithe leg snapping out and connecting with the side of her head, sending her face first into the brick alley wall.
Laura surged to her feet, lashing out wildly with her left claw. The shadow stepped inside her guard a second time, a trio of blows ripping into her arm before the figure sent her sprawling with an open palm strike.
The young mutant struggled to her feet, her left arm limp against her side.
The shadow stared down at her like a wraith or some shadowy creature of myth, all but obscured in the darkness save the yellow bat symbol emblazoned on her chest.
"Give up."
The shadow's voice was softer than Laura expected. She glanced past the girl, further down the alley. The entrance was almost another thirty meters away. She didn't dare turn her back on her opponent- and she knew there was nowhere to go behind her.
She could only stand and fight.
With another battle cry she surged forward, slashing wildly with her four remaining claws.
She kicked and slashed at the figure, doing her best to overwhelm the shadow in a flurry of adamantium blades. Despite her best efforts, the figure dipped and dodged, every blade passing within centimeters of the figure. Then, like lightning, the shadow struck.
The figure caught Laura's leg in mid kick, dropping an elbow strike down on the side of the girl's knee. Laura was thrown off balance, and while she was, the shadow stepped inside her guard again. She was a blur, rocking Laura's body with precision strikes with incredible force. Every strike was like being shot with a shotgun.
It was over in less than a second.
Laura slumped against the wall, blood trickling down from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Her arms and legs were black and blue, rendered temporarily useless from precision nerve strikes. She rolled her head to the side, barely able to make out the lithe form of her attacker through her blurred vision.
She stood over the bloodied girl, motionless. Even the rise and fall of her chest with her breathing was imperceptible.
"I'm sorry."
Laura did her best to rise up one last time, but all she could do was let out a hiss of breath as her healing factor did its best to repair the damage she had sustained.
The figure crouched down before her and placed her hand on Laura's shoulder. Laura shuddered under the touch, but was otherwise unable to act.
The last thing Laura saw before darkness took her was the dark cowl her assailant wore, emotionless and cold.