The Hunter and the Hunted
This is my third fan fic using the Elder Brothers, but it's set in an alternate universe and I don't own any of the Marvel X-Men characters. No profit is being made on this fan fiction and I don't own anything anyway. In my movie verse, Victor and James never worked for Stryker. Stryker, Scott, Jean, Deathstrike, John Wraith, and the Professor are all alive and well.
I would also like to give a special thanks to GypsyWitchBaby for letting me borrow her Lupa character. She is a bit different here, but it's the same Lupa you'll all know and love from The Feral and The Dreaming Animal.
Rex, Medusa, Nina, Mika, Banger, Gaza, Black Bear, Grizzly, Hannock, and Haggar are creations of my crazy little mind. As are all the members of the Packs and Clans.
I'm in the process of finding a beta reader. This is a non beta read story. There will be spelling, grammatical, and context errors. I'm writing these stories for pure pleasure and my own brand of therapy from the real world. I am Dyslexic and truly can't "see" some of the glaring errors that offend some readers. If you can't stand spelling mistakes, grammatical error, and words used in the wrong context – my stories might not be for you. If you are interested in being a beta reader, please let me know.
Summary: Someone is hunting down Feral Mutants. Can the X-Men help and get to the bottom of this mystery before more Ferals disappear?
Chapter 7: The Fall of an Elder Brother (Revised)
The Elder Brothers, Falcona, Mad Dog and the 4 Hunters with them had their hands full. Stryker's final weapon we the last of the missing Feral Males. He had an Adamantium skeleton, he had twin swords in his hands also made of Adamantium, he was a teleporter, he could shoot laser beams from his eyes, he was a telepath, he was a telekinetic, he was a healer, he was super strong, he could shoot poison darts from his figure tips, and he was completely under Stryker's control. Stryker had grafted several mutations into this man's body that were not his own natural gifts. James felt bad; this man could have been him if he had remained in Stryker's care. Stryker had renamed the Feral Male to Weapon XII.
T-Rex's team was getting the Mutant Children to the Blackbird. There had been over 25 Mutant Children and 2 Feral Children in the cages. They were drawing this Weapon out to provide an escape for the Children and T-Rex's team. The Weapon's poison darts could take down everyone but the Elder Brothers and Mad Dog. Their healing factors could repair the damage upon impact. Falcona and the 4 hunters needed some time to recover from being hit. The Elder Brothers had unleashed the Feral Fury. They had already leveled half of Stryker's compound. The Brothers had also eliminated over 50 of Stryker's guards using the Feral Fury. They made energy bands around the fallen Pack Members so they could heal from Weapon XII's darts. Only Jimmy's claws could stop Weapon XII's blades and Weapon XII meant to take off their respective heads. Weapon XII also had a Cleava Blade attached to his belt. All the Ferals had noted it. Cyclops was shooting his optic blasts at the creature and was blocking the blasts with his blades or just healing the wounds outright. There were going to have to do more damage to this creature to take it down. Weapon XII also wanted to take Jimmy out of the fight first, since his claws could hurt it. It had knocked out everyone except Jimmy and Victor. It blasted Victor across the grounds and concentrated its laser blasts on Jimmy. It kept teleporting around him and shooting him in the process. It was fast, but it was beginning to repeat its teleportation pattern. Jimmy waited until he knew the pattern and then ducked for the spot he knew the Weapon was going too materialized. He was gonna take this creatures head before someone got hurt.
Victor saw Jimmy drop to one knee to cut the legs out from under the Weapon and then saw his other claws going straight for the creature's neck. The problem was the Weapon had the Cleava blade in one hand was going to swing it into Jimmy's heart. Victor threw a blast of the Feral Fury to remove the Cleava blade; the felt the energy coming and teleported away. The Weapon knocked Jimmy to the ground again and teleported away.
Mad Dog smelled the assassin first. It had to be another Weapon, but he couldn't see it. He signed two of the Hunters; Snake Eyes who could see extremely well and was a sharp shooter and Tank who was extremely strong and quick. Everyone else including Cyclops was still unconscious or down temporarily from Weapon XII's attacks. The Elder Brothers were still going at it with the Weapon XII. The smell was getting too close to Sabertooth. He must be the assassin's target.
"Look out Victor" was the only warning he got from Mad Dog. Something materialized right to his left above him with another Cleava Blade aimed straight at his heart. Jimmy's Feral Fury blasted the blade out of its hand, while Snake Eyes shot it right between the eyes. Tank was running for the fallen blade, but Falcona got there first. Falcona finally did something useful and broke the blade with a clawed foot before anyone could be harmed by it. Mad Dog picked up the broken pieces of the Cleava Blade and put them in his pouch. The problem was they forgot there was more than one Cleava Blade.
At the same time, Snake Eyes was shooting the assassin. Jimmy could feel the air thicken around him and knew Weapon XII was too close to him for comfort. He began to roll away and put the some Feral Fury bands around his chest in the process for protections from a Cleava Blade. He was also swinging with his claws as he moved hoping to catch the man as he teleported in his space. Jimmy's claws struck the neck of Weapon XII. The creature's head fell one way and its body fell the other way. It was a perfect swipe to decapitate the man. Unfortunately, the Weapon had shoved the Cleava Blade in the side of his neck verse aiming for his chest again. He had never felt it pierce his skin. He just felt his legs give out, began to feel the burning in his Blood, and saw Victor and Mad Dog running to him on all fours. Falcona was shaking her feathers but wasn't coming to his aid? Then he hit the ground and couldn't see anymore.
The Blackbird:
The Blackbird was getting full. T-Rex's team with Storm, Beast, Dragon Fly, and Hammer Head had returned with 27 children (2 Feral Female children and 25 Mutant children). This man William Stryker had much to answer for when they had found him. The team had laid waste to the cages. T-Rex has come across an old blanket that boar the scent of Mika's blood. He had ripped all of the cage doors off to free the trapped children. The guards hadn't stood a change. Dragon Fly's diamond hard skin provided an excellent ricochet for the guard's bullets. The Hunter Diamond Back's shell also rebounded all of the bullets back at the guards who lay dead and the team never fired a single shot. T-Rex used his flames to ensure that the facility would NEVER again be used to hold Mutant child, Feral or anyone else. It was as angry as anyone had ever seen the gentle giant. T-Rex started having Rogue and Iceman move children that weren't not ill from the Blackbird to a Clearing in the Meadow; a little ways from the Blackbird.
Gateway popped into the Blackbird. Sabertooth growled curses could be heard. Witch Doctor, Jean Grey, Black Bear and Beast all came running. James lay in Sabertooth's arms and Mad Dog was pulling a broken Cleava from his pouch. The Witch Doctor uttered a curse that made Storm blush. A long bone Cleava blade was protruding from James' neck. He was shivering slightly and was covered in sweat. The Blood flowed from the wound. Jean made a move to pull it out and Hank and Mad Dog stopped her in her tracks. Witch Doctor snarled. "STOP! To remove Cleava Blade Curse without the proper Cure is to Kill the Feral stabbed. Black Bear and Beast wrap his neck to slow the flow of the blood, but do not disturb that Blade in anyway." She turned to Victor. "I need to know what kind of Curse it is to Cure it."
"It had a twin that was almost used on me, here are the pieces. How long before ya know what Curse yur dealing with?" Victor replied.
"I don't know yet, Black Magic is never neat. Gateway - find The Seeker's Mate and bring her here now." Witch Doctor turned her attention to the broken Cleava Blade.
In the Creation Room:
Medusa could practically smell the Human William Stryker. He was running scared now that they had eliminated his protection team. Twenty or so men were dead in another section of the compounds. They had also eliminated a group of ten "doctors" that stank of children and pain. As she had executed a few of them, she would see their cold and calculating gaze wondering how her mutations worked. They were evil men and wouldn't be missed by this world. Stryker had used the death of his colleagues to escape.
Stryker was the last one. He was trying to hide his scent but running to every room that smelled of chemicals. This room stank of old pain, hot metal and lots of chemicals. This is the room The Seeker, his Mate, the Child Nina, and 3 another Feral Male had all had hot Adamantium poured on their bones. Deathstrike was hissing softly. She didn't blame the woman; it was her Blood that had been spilled with such disregard. Tigress, Wild Thing, and Grizzly were all growling. The smell of pain did that to Ferals. The X-Man Colossus looked sad. The boy had a big heart.
All of the Hunters were mad. Scanner was looking for the man's mind in the building. He had come this way and they were close. Ghost was moving thru the wall, looking for any sign of Stryker when he saw the man in the next room. Medusa's stinger punched thru the wall. Tigress and Wild Thing started to run Stryker down. Medusa was flying after them and Deathstrike and Grizzly brought up the Pack. The Hunters now had the man. Scanner had Stryker kneeing on the floor with his hands on his head. He couldn't move a muscle if he wanted. Scanner's telepathy was complete and the Human couldn't resist his will.
Gateway appeared. "Witch Doctor requires the presents of Deathstrike." And then he and Deathstrike were gone. The other Elders looked at each other in an uneasy manner. For the Healer to require a Mate, a wound was very bad or fatal. Grizzly grabbed Stryker and they all began to run or fly for surface. Something was VERY wrong and Medusa feared an Elder Brother had fallen in battle on this day.
In the Meadow:
A makeshift camp had been set up. If a child wasn't injured they were in the makeshift camp. They had 24 of the children. Only 3 were serious enough to remain on the Blackbird. Jean and Beast were attending those children. Black Bear was sitting in the center telling stories to most of the children. Rogue, Jubilee, Shadowcat, and T-Rex Ice Man were busy feeding some of the children that were hungry. Some of them hadn't had food in a long time. Hammer Head, Storm and Nightcrawler all entertained the child with their respective mutations.
Cyclops, Snake Eyes, and Tank ran into the camp, while Falcona flew into the camp. They started to make their way to the Blackbird. Black Bear excused himself and had Dragon Fly continue the story and stopped their progress with a low growl. "Witch Doctor requires no interruptions to complete her work. The Seeker is very ill. No one else is to enter the Blackbird other than his Mate." He turned and faced the compound entrance; low and dangerous snarl was heard from the older Feral. The extraction team ran to the others. Several of the children saw Stryker and screamed and tried to run for cover until Black Bears voice cut thru the night air in his gravely tone. "You have NOTHING to fear young ones from this Human EVER again. His power over you is finished! He will face Trial and be judged for the CRIMES he has committed again our Kind. Look upon his face young ones and see his fear. Take comfort in the fact that you WILL NEVER see his face again. His days on this Earth are numbered and coming to an End." The children settled down and the adults all moved Stryker the Meadow's edge.
Black Bear spoke to his fellow Elders and the X-Men present. Rogue , Iceman, Jubilee, Shadowcat, and Colossus took care of the children while the adults spoke in soft tones. "Secure this HUMAN. We will wait for word regarding our Brother. Medusa - show him your loving gaze and let him feel the pain ALL the pain that accompanies it?" Medusa complied. Black Bear turned to all of the Feral Hunters. "Scanner begin processing the Human for Trial. He will be his own witness. The rest of you - return to the compound and ensure that any soldier or doctor that has had a hand in the torture of any children or Pack members is dead. Confirm we have secured all survivors. Retrieve any records and give those to Lupa upon your return. Watch yourselves – this Human had two Cleava Blades in his possession. Ensure there are NO more Cleava Blades in this evil place." The 11 Hunters all bowed to the Elders and ran for the compound.
Medusa had recoiled at the mention of a Cleava Blade. "How did this Human get a Cleava Blade? The Black Magic used to create such a blade died over a century ago. Which of the Elder Brother's is injured? And what is the Cleava Blade now?"
Black Bear spoke again mainly to the extraction team from the compound but to everyone else as well. "The Seeker is the victim of the Cleava Blade. There were two such blades. One was for Sabertooth and one was for The Seeker. The Seeker's blade is in his neck. Sabertooth's blade is in pieces. Witch Doctor is attempting to figure out which Curse is on the blade and find a Cure before The Seeker's life bleeds from him body."
Cyclops wanted to know."Why isn't Wolverine healing? His healing factor should take care of the neck wound."
Medusa answered the X-Men. "A Cleava Blade is forged in Black Magic. It suppresses a Ferals healing factor if they have one and it causes the person pierced to bleed to death. The Cleava Blades themselves carry a Curse. Witch Doctor must figure out the Cleava Blade's Curse to discover the Cure to heal The Seeker before he bleeds to death." She could see the really didn't understand. "The Cleava Blade is a weapon that hasn't been used on a Feral since the late 1800's. At that time, the Human Witches and Human Warlocks waged a WAR with the Feral. Twenty of our Pack member's fell victim to the Cleava Blades before we declared WAR. That had been a third of our population at the time. They killed an entire Pack down to the last child. The Elders decided anyone who knew the Black Magic to create a Cleava Blade AND had attacked our Pack had to die. Only three Ferals have ever survived a Cleava Blade attack. Two of them are deceased now of natural causes. The third is an Elder Brother. He survived and I believe Haggar's teacher Merlin was the healer that saved him."
Storm was hopeful when she asked. "So that means James has survived a Cleava Blade wound in the past?"
T-Rex answered Storm's question. "No Wind Rider. The Elder Brother to survive that attack was Sabertooth and the Cleava Blade pierced his foot. To have a blade in ones neck is almost certain death. The only worse place would have been in his chest and that would have killed him in minutes. Scanner must find the Source of the Cleava Blade in Stryker mind. IF another group of Human's knows how to create the Cleava Blades, the Packs are in grave danger."
Falcona hissed. "We should execute the Human who dared to harm our Children and save the Elder Brothers the trouble of a Trial."
Mad Dog silenced Falcona "Victor's instructions were crystal CLEAR. Ensure that Nothing happens to William Stryker. He wants the pleasure of killing the Human himself and he will lay his broken body at James feet before he dies; if Haggar cannot stop the Cleave Curse. However Victor will only Stryker kill AFTER Scanner has found WHO provided the Human with the knowledge of a Cleava Blade."
Black Bear had the final word. "We will honor Victor's wishes regarding Stryker. We will find out who provided the knowledge of the Cleava Blade to Stryker and then we WILL visit that person. The Clans and the Hunters will see to it that that person pays us in BLOOD. We will scatter that person's bones at the foot of James' grave, if Haggar cannot find the Cure in time." All of the Elders growled or hissed their agreement save one. She was still trying a way to kill Stryker before Scanner discovered her secret.
On the Blackbird:
The Witch Doctor was cursing in an African dialect rarely used. Deathstrike was at her Mate's side. His eyes were now open but his voice was very weak. "Yuri, Darlin' I'm sorry. I should have seen the Cleava Blade comin'." Victor approached the couple with Lupa in tow. Lupa stood at Yuri's side. "If ya hadn't had blasted the assassin's Cleava Blade, ya would have seen that one comin' at yur neck. The blame in this is mine Little Brother."
Witch Doctor turned to both the Elder Brothers and their Mates. The broken Cleava blade was in her small hands. She was angry for her eyes had gone serpentine. "The Blame for this lies SOLELY with the Traitor within the Clans Council." Now she had everyone's attention. "These Cleava Blades were Feral forged. They both have the bones of a Feral to make the Blades AND they were specifically created to KILL the Elder Brothers. We have a TRAITOR in our mist. The Traitor GAVE the twin Cleava Blades to Stryker 18 years ago. I know WHO the Traitor is in the Clans Council." Yuri climbed onto the bed with Jimmy. Her hands were already stained with his blood. Victor's growl was growing volume as the Haggar continue to speak.
….To Be Continued?
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