Wild

Quebec, Canada. December 15th 1974, 1:35 p.m.

Jerry Hudson walked down the path leading through the woods, it was chilly today and the almost blinding whiteness of the snow-covered surroundings made it hard to see the path more than ten feet ahead. Today had been a snow day and he had decided to cut through the woods to get to town faster than walking down the road. Jerry was starting to regret this decision.

The teenager bowed his head, burying his chin into his scarf to try and keep himself warm. His parents told him a hundred times not to take the shortcut, people got lost in the woods, the forest was so thick that t forced the road to go around it so while it was faster to go directly through it, it one was to get turned around someone could get lost within the woods. Jerry simply kept moving forward, the best way from one point to another was straight through after all. He watched his feet move, one in front of the other, one step at a time through the snow. The streak of red on the white ground made him stop.

It was blood.

His eyes fallowed the trail of blood streaking through the snow, a small splatter on the base of a tree caught his eye. Further up the bark was more blood that wrapped around the trunk, which made Jerry take a step back out of shock since the trunk was three feet thick. His eyes shot back down to the ground, where was more blood but also prints that was about the side was the blood mark on the trunk. Fallowing them back, he saw IT.

IT was big. IT was hulking. IT had razor sharp teeth and claws. IT had blood dripping out from its mouth and onto the ground in front of it. Whatever IT was, Jerry didn't like it. He turned on his heel, pulling a 180, and sprinted back the way he came.

Mount Justice, Rhode Island. September 19th 2010 9:24 a.m.

James rubbed the sand out of his eyes as he shuffled his feet over the floor. Wearing a white shirt and a black pajama bottoms with slippers on his feet he made his way through the cave. The mission to Belle Reeve was an overall success, the prison break was foiled and most of the prisoners were subdued without any casualties. However, the Riddler was somehow able to escape in the ensuing chaos. Batman said not to worry though, Edward Nigma was not a big a threat as some of the others in the supermax prison.

Making his way into the kitchen, he walked over to the fridge and got out the gallon of milk before walking to the counter where a few boxes of cereal was set out. Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard and a spoon from the drawer, he made himself some cereal and began to eat. It was Sunday, James may be an early riser usually but when he was able to sleep in, he slept in. The sound of footsteps made him look to see Superboy and Ms. Martian fly into the room beside him.

"Hello James, glad to see your finally up." M'gann greeted kindly as she landed on the ground and used her telekinesis to grab a apple for her and a glass from the cupboard that she filled with water for Conner. As she did, James smelt something off about the pair. It was almost if their scents had been in close proximity to one another, James looked between the two of them and noticed the small wink Conner sent at M'gann. The young man's eyes widened before smirking to himself.

"About time you two." He said, causing Conner to spit out on her drink and M'gann to choke slightly on her apple before her throat adjusted and swallowed the apple. M'gann's cheeks blushed red with embarrassment while Conner coughed and looked away. "Relax you two, I won't tell anyone. Just don't make out in my room or anything weird like that and I won't spill." He said, putting the new couple at ease.

"Thank you, James. We'll probably tell the others…..eventually. It's just-" the Martian began.

"None of their business." Conner finished, M'gann nodding in agreement.

James simply shrugged, "Look, I'm happy for you two. Besides I think Conner could use a gentler side to help him be more well-rounded." He said, making Conner throw a spoon at his head. James simply batted it away, and M'gann caught it with her mind before it hit the ground. "But tell Wally last. Please. Watching him hit on M'gann and failing is one of the joys of my life. Don't take that away."

Conner chuckled, "Oh I'm not going to tell him any time soon." He said, raising his fist for James to bump with his own.

M'gann frowned, "Isn't that mean?" she asked, not wanting to lead Wally on.

James put his hands together, "M'gann….Wally hits on all girls. Think of this as…. teaching him a lesson." He said, trying to explain why this wasn't a terrible thing to do. "Besides, it is really funny." He added.

"It really is." Conner agreed.

Before James could add further, the com-link in his ear went off, "One sec guys." He said before pressing the com, "Hello?" he asked, the com acted as a long-distance radio for League members as well as a phone. He still had a phone for his non-superhero life, but his com was for emergencies.

'James? Thank god I reached you.' It was his mom, Heather Hudson.

"Mom?" he asked, he gave his mother, father, and brother the number to his Com for emergencies. "One second mom." He said as he got up and left the kitchen for a more private place to talk with his mother. Walking down the hall, he entered the library of the cave, the room housed over thousands of books for research pertaining to missions as well as a place to simply relax and read. "Ok mom, what's going on?" he asked.

'James you haven't heard from your father by chance have you?' she asked worriedly.

James raised an eye as he took a seat on one of the tables, "I haven't heard from dad. Why?" he asked curiously, he and his family usually kept in contact pretty well for living so far apart from one another. He called both his parents after each mission and Sam when he could as well.

'I haven't seen him in three days.' The news hit James like a boulder to the gut, if he wasn't sitting down he would have to. 'I called his branch, he left on a field operation three days ago out near Quebec and none of them have been heard from since arriving.' His mother explained.

James took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, "Ok…ok, I can check some databases that the League has access to, see if they're any chatter. If there's anything out of the ordinary, I'll look into it." He said as he stood up from the table, "I love you mom…. I'll call back when I got something." He said, his mother saying she loved him too before he hung up. As he exited the library, he thought of what could have happen, starting with the worst case, his dad was dead.

Stop. Don't even think that. He thought as the door slid open, a few minutes later he was in his room changing into a pair of jeans, a heavy green coat, and brown boots. He also grabbed a backpack from his closet, he planned to grab some food and other materials for his trip up north. It was cold this time of year, but that wouldn't bother him.

As he walked past his bed, his foot bumped against something, looking down he saw the corner of the briefcase sticking out. He hadn't tried on the costume from Laura yet, mainly because he thought he might look ridiculous on one hand, but then again looking at some of the outfits heroes wore? He wouldn't look too out of place. He looked between the case and the door, "Aw screw it." He muttered as he reached down and slid the case out from under the bed.

Slipping the suit into his bag, James walked out of his room and made his way to the briefing room. Walking to the supercomputer, he brought up a keypad, "Computer, is there any com traffic from Department H out of Quebec?" he asked. Department H was one of the government agencies that shares all data with the Justice League, others like the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service were also a part of it. This way the League could coordinate with governments more efficiently.

The computer pulled up a map of Canada, highlighting the Quebec province. James knew that his father was originally from a small town in the area but there wasn't anything major there. No known supervillains, or criminal organizations. The region the computer highlighted became smaller, the operations area where his father was assigned to. It was in the northern part of Quebec and it was mostly remote. "What were you doing here dad?" he asked himself aloud when the computer showed no com traffic.

"You're not sending us on another mission, are you?" James spun around to see Conner, M'gann, and Aqualad enter the room.

He shook his head, "Nah, this is personal. I was just looking into something." he explained as he shut the computer down. The others looked unconvinced, James bit his lip before speaking. "My uhh…my dad, he works for Department H. He went with this team to Northern Quebec; my mom hasn't heard a word from him and they lost contact with the team he was with." He explained.

Aqualad and M'gann gave him sympathetic looks while Conner looked at him surprised, Kaldur opened his mouth to speak but James cut him off, "Look, this is my problem. I'll deal with it." He explained as he started towards the hanger to get his bike and Zeta Tube as close to the site as possible. As he walked past the other young heroes, Conner reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We got your back….don't forget that." He said, James looked at him and nodded before letting him go and walking away.

Northern Quebec, Canada. September 19th 6:45 p.m.

The Zeta tube took him as close as Labrador City, he had to drive his bike the rest of the way to the north. The city faded away as James entered the wilderness, as he drove down the road James thought back to the last time he had explored the wilds of the Canadian tundra. It was Laura's final test for him, survive by himself for one week out in the wild with no human contact whatsoever. He remembered finding a peaceful pond with a cave nearby he used as a home, he also remembered the dangers he faced. Wolf packs, bears, and other predatory animals.

There was also the band of poachers he came across while hunting, they saw James and shot him without a second thought. When he got back up ad stalked towards them, the looks on their faces made James laugh for a solid ten minutes afterwards. But the whole experience taught him something, while things can be calm and peaceful one moment, thy can easily become chaotic the next.

Chaos seems to be fallowing me around lately now that I think of it. James thought as he turned the handles of the bike to the left slightly, passing a truck on the road . The mystery player taking Laura, me and Jade's run in with mob guys in Gotham out of nowhere, hell every mission the team goes on. Well it's not just me at least. He considered with a shrug as he drove on.

Looking down under the speedometer, he focused on the GPS on the bike. He was near the last known location of the team. Turning off the highway and onto a side road, he drove twenty kilometers until a sign came into view, what made him stop was that the upper right side of the sign looked like it had huge bloody claw marks in it.

(Flashback, years ago.)

James walked through the Hudson house late at night, he had gone to the kitchen to get a glass of water to drink before bed. As he made his way down the hall leading to his bedroom, he noticed something. Further down the hall was the room to his parent's bedroom, his brother's room, and his parent's study, the last of which had its lights on. Walking down the hall slowly, he approached the door and peeked inside the room. The Study had an entire wall in front of the door stored with books, looking to the left he saw his dad sitting at the desk with the computer om and the moonlight from the window behind him shining in.

Jerry looked up from the screen to look at his son, he managed a tired smile, "Hey James. What are you doing up?" he asked.

The boy held up his glass of water, "Getting some water. You?" he asked as he walked in, Jerry closed a few windows on his computer.

"Late night work." He said.

James nodded, "Need help?" he offered kindly, hoping that he could help his father in some small way.

Jerry chuckled, "No it's uh…..well….I once saw something kiddo. Something that…..I still don't know what I see." He explained sadly, thinking back to what he saw. "It was this big….beast. It had huge claws, teeth, and was white as the snow." He explained, James looked at him with eyes wide and with a little fear in them.

"Do….do you have an idea of what it was?" he asked.

Jerry gave the by a sorry look upon seeing how scared he was about the creature he described, "I'm sorry kiddo…..I don't…..honestly I'm not sure of what I saw. Could have just been a bear covered in snow." He said, making the boy laugh as the man walked around the desk and picked James up in his arms, "Oomph, you're getting heavy buddy. Come on, let's get you to bed, you need to get up tomorrow morning." He said.

James looked over his father's shoulder on the desk, there was a small notepad with a single word circled,

(Flashback end)

"Wendigo…" James muttered to himself in shock.

The name of the town was named Kuujjuaq. James revved the engine of his bike and drove at full speed towards the town. James asked his father years later about that night, Jerry was surprised he remembered that night. But he explained even so, how he saw a monster when he was younger and how when the police found human blood on the scene they searched for days but found no remains. He had heard one of the Inuit cops saying that it might be a Wendigo.

The Wendigo was an old tale passed down through the Inuit culture, a beast that craves human flesh and stalks the wilds of Canada. One is turned into this creature by consuming the flesh of a human being deep within the wilderness.

James's bike lifted into the air briefly after riding up a hill and coming back down onto the pavement. He didn't know what to think of this, that was blood on the sign on the way in but he only thought of the creature because it was the first thing that popped into his head. "But still, people thought Aliens weren't real and I live with little green girl." He said to himself as he drove around the bend of the rad, the trees disappearing and the town coming into view.

The town was an Inuit community, one of the oldest in fact, the town was settled near the shoreline of a wide river, in the winter the water would freeze near the shores, to would be thick enough to walk on without worry. The town itself was made up of single story homes, the houses weren't made of brock or wood but of thinner materials, they reminded James of storage buildings some parks used. Not town, community. James corrected as he continued down the road.

Within half an hour he was nearing the border of the town. Slowing his speed as he approached, James felt a sense of unease wash over him as he drove forward into the settlement. He drove a few blocks into the town before coming to a full stop on his bike, turning off the engine he took his helmet off and set it down between the handlebars of the bike before stepping off his bike and listening.

There was nothing.

Not a footstep to be heard, not a single engine of any, no crackling fires within the homes, nothing. It's quitter than the middle of nowhere. He thought as he walked down the street, while there was no sounds, scents littered the town, he remembered the bloodied sign listing over two thousand people living here. But there wasn't a sign of a single soul.

As he moved deeper into the town, a more prudent smell came into focus, blood. Fallowing the scent towards the center of town James felt his stomach churn at how potent it was becoming, walking into a small square with sides of houses making up three of the walls, James stopped dead in his tracks at what he had come across.

The small square was caked in blood, the walls of the homes were painted crimson, the ground a darker red. The human body had at most one and a half gallons of blood. This was almost a swimming hole that overflowed onto the street, "Jesus Christ." He uttered as he backed away from the gruesome scene. The sound of a creek from the house to his left made his head snap over in that direction. Walking over, his claws slid out from his forearms and out his knuckles.

He approached the front steps of the house, twisting the doorknob he opened the door. Entering the house, he retracted his claws, the house was small, the kitchen, living room, and dining room was all mixed into one with three doors, the creek came from the middle one. Approaching the door, he opened the door and immediately felt something stab his shoulder, hissing out, he turned his head from his shoulder he saw Inuit girl with a pair of scissors stabbing his arm, "Gah! Stop stabbing me!" he yelled out, the girl immediately stopped and looked at him with fear. She stabbed him again, "Christ will you stop!?" he yelled again, grabbing the sharp objects and tossing them aside.

The girl had short black hair, tan skin, and brown eyes. Her clothing was a coat that looked too big for her with white fur around the collar and inside to keep her warm. She only came up to James's chest so she couldn't be more than thirteen years old.

The girl was still scared, fear was keeping her immobile. James could sense it coming off her in waves, James stood in front with his hands raised of the girl. "Do you speak English?" he asked, she didn't respond. The young man sighed, "Should have brought M'gann. Um…. what where the words for mom and dad?" he asked aloud, "um…Nana, Ata?" he asked, thinking back to what little Inuit he knew from school. The girl stared at him with saddened eyes, she fought back the brimming tears in her eyes, James felt his heart clench. "I'm sorry." He said.

Peering into the room, he saw that the window was coated with blood from the outside, he looked back to the girl and swallowed hard. He raised a hand to try and comfort her, but he couldn't begin to find the words. The girl walked past him, 'Hey, hey! Where are you going?!" he asked as he fallowed the girl out the door and out onto the street. James fallowed the girl, they walked away from the bloody square and towards the river, James kept his ears out for any more signs of life but there was none.

The girl's head was on a swivel, looking for anyone still alive, occasionally calling out a name to try and see if they could hear her. But all that was heard was the echo of her voice carried though the deserted town. The tracker could smell traces of the town's occupants as well as some that were foreign to the area, they must have been the tea from Department H.

James thought to the bloodbath, most of the blood was dark and dried so that meant that many of the beast's kills were old. The Wendigo must have been here for a while, using the town as a preserve to get food whenever it wanted. James tapped the com to his ear, "James to cave, come in." he said, however all he could hear in his left ear was static, "What the hell? Razor to Team, come in." he commended, nothing but static. The girl stopped and looked at him curiously, "Stupid radio, override code four-three-five-seven. Restart radio." He said.

The girl ran up and hit him in the gut, "Uwug! Will you stop hurting me kid I'm trying to-" he started before an ear piercing howl echoed through the town. James had heard an abundance of animal calls, but that one sounded like none he had ever heard before. It was a bloodcurdling scream mixed with inhuman roar, it made his hair stand on edge, "Run." He said, when he didn't hear her move, he looked at the girl, "RUN!" he shouted, pointing down the street. Turning in the direction of the roar, he could hear it approaching as the teen girl took off in a sprint.

The creature stalked around the side of a building, it was nine feet tall, covered in white fur with two horns protruding from its head that went back into its Maine. It was muscular, over one thousand and eighty pounds of force, it's legs bent back like a deer and a long white tail. It's hands were mass with razor sharp, bloodied claws, and a pair of deep red eyes staring at him with rage and hunger.

James's fists clenched as his claws unsheathed. The Wendigo noticed the claws and growled before sprinting towards James with tunnel vision, James ran forward as well towards the beast. The monster was fast for something as big as it was, the creature reached James and slashed its claws upwards across his chest, the force sending James flying into the side of one of the house, caving in the wall and sliding down it to the ground, four deep cuts sliced across his chest. James winced in pain, he felt the beast's footsteps as it approached him.

James recoiled his feet inwards towards himself and sprung off the ground, slashing his claws out in a X shape over the torso of the Wendigo. Landing in front of the beast, James swung his arms out wildly into its abdomen, splattering the ground with its blood. James plunged both his claws into the monster's midsection, hoping that the wounds would make the beast fall.

But the cuts he inflicted sewed themselves together before his eyes, looking up at the creature, it growled, "Oh Fuck Me."

The next second his face was slashed, losing his right ear in the process as he fell onto his side. James rolled over just as the Wendigo brought it's fists down on the ground where he was, the tracker swung his arm out, slicing the monster's right fingers off. The beast howled in pain as James got back up onto his feet as the wound on his chest faded away and the claw marks on his face sealed.

He ducked under the Wendigo's arm as it tried to swipe at him, James Jumped at the beast once again but the Wendigo reeled it's arm aback and swing its entire body around and slamming James into the building once again. He felt all his insides shift from the momentum and abrupt stop. His arms were pinned at his side from the Wendigo's forearm, the beast roared into James's face, it's breath smelling of blood and flesh.

It shot it's head forward into James's shoulder and bit down to his bokes, James screamed at the top of his lungs as his flesh was pulled away from him. He struggled against the Wendigo, his claws scraping against the beast's flesh as it chewed on what was James's shoulder. FUCKING HELL IT HURS! THINK HUDSON! DON'T LET THIS THING FUCKING EAT YOU! His mind screamed as his feet kicked into the wendigo.

YOUR FOOT CLAWS DUMBASS! James felt his claws slide out of his feet, swinging them back, he kicked them forwards into the Wendigo's throat, Coughing blood to pour out onto it's white fur and drop him, grabbing the wound on its thick neck. James felt his own blood leak out of his mouth as he tried to get back on his feet. Standing up, James raised his claws up ready to attack, "Alright you big fucking yeti….bring it on." He growled out before charging into the beast, tackling it to the ground and stabbing its pectorals with his blades, the beast slammed its hands on either side of the young adult's head, James swore he heard a bell ring inside his head before the monster grabbed his leg with his claws and flung him into the air.

As James fell back to earth, he clipped the edge of a house before falling onto the snow-covered ground, rolling onto his feet he took in his surroundings, he was on the shoreline now, the building he clipped was one on the boarder of the shore. The Wendigo climbed onto the rooftop and leapt off after James. The tracker waited until it was about to crush him before rolling onto his back with his feet out and using his momentum to throw the creature back while he rolled and turned to it.

He rushed the beast, it reeled it's arm inward and swung it out at him as he approached. James jumped over it and swung his leg out with his claws sprouting out of the foot, slicing its cheek before landing in a crouch and swinging his right arm out and carved out it's shoulder and jammed his left claw into its opposite bicep and ripping down, making the arm useless for the time being. He ducked as it swung its useful arm, slashing its side, Upper hand! Now how do I take it down? James thought.

Before he could act, something yanked at his leg and threw him off balance, "Argh! Fucking tail!" he yelped out as the appendage flung him across the ground and onto his front. The creature chased after him as he started to push himself up off the ground the monster jumped onto his back, making James yell out in pain. He looked back and saw the Wendigo abut to chomp down on him once again, he slashed his arm back as far as he could, cutting out the beast's eyes and making it howl in pain before punching James's head into the ground and running off.

James pulled his head from the ground, his face scratched up from being imbedded into the ground. "Yeah…. better run asshole." He groaned out as he retracted his claws. His clothes were covered in blood, both his and the Wendigo's. The tracker said there for a few minutes, trying to will himself to get up but his wounds from that last attack were still healing.

The sound of footsteps made him tilt his head to the direction they were coming from, there were five pairs of feet with a smaller pair leading the way. "Oh my god, quick, get his arms and legs!" a familiar voice said, James recognized the voice as his Jerry. He felt a weight lift off his shoulders at the sound of his step father's voice, the others grabbed his arms and legs and gently lifted him up and begun carrying him away as James shut his eyes to rest.

When James opened his eyes again, it was initially dark, giving his eyes a few moments to adjust to the lighting he saw he wasn't alone. Standing in a corner was his step father who looked like he hadn't slept in days, "Dad?" he groaned out as he sat up, his wounds had thankfully healed by now from his battle with the creature.

Jerry looked over at him and smiled, walking over he wrapped his stepson in a hug which James returned, "I'm so glad you're ok." He said gratefully as he pulled away, looking down he saw that his shirt and jacket had been removed, "They took your shirt and jacket, wanted to inspect your wounds but…" Jerry explained.

The tracker looked at his surroundings, the room they were in had walls concrete with a matching floor and ceiling, the only scource of light was a small lamp in the corner. He was placed on a cot against the wall, standing up from his resting place, James saw his backpack near the doorway to the room and grabbed it. Jerry explained he had been out for an entire day as he handed him his now clean coat to put on over his chest, "So what the hell happened? Mom didn't hear back from you and got worried, what the hell is that thing? I mean is…is it-"

"A Wendigo…..yes. At least that's what the locals think." He explained as he led James out of the room and out into a stone hallway, the ceiling lined with fluorescent lights hanging overhead. "My team arrived three days ago after this town's communications was off entirely. When we got here we got ambushed by that thing." Jerry explained as they passed room after room with people crammed inside, a few people peeking outside to look at the new arrival.

James thought back to the bloody square, "How many people?" he asked bluntly.

"Over half the town's population, and that was before we got here. But we managed to drive the thing off using the guns we brought. One of the townspeople found us shortly afterward and brought us to this mine." Jerry explained, "But we're low an ammunition." He added.

James shook his head at the situation, "What about radio communication? I wasn't able to reach the League; do you guys have anything that can get a SOS out?" he asked as they approached a room where a few of the citizens were gathered. As they walked into the doorway, he saw that the teen girl he had rescued from the settlement. She was speaking to two other kids her age and an older man when they looked at James, she turned and smiled before running up him and hugging him, "Woah there!" he said before patting her shoulder.

Jerry smiled, "Yuka here ran over and told us someone was fighting the Wendigo." he explained as Yuka pulled away and smiled at James before looking at his hand and turning it over as though she was inspecting it. "She likes you." Jerry said, nudging James in a joking way.

The young man rolled his eyes, Oh yeah, sorry little girl me and this assassin lady might have a thing. James thought sarcastically before the girl pulled at his arm towards the teens and old man she was speaking to. The older man smiled gratefully at him, "Yuka told me that it was you who saved her from the beast. I can't thank you enough for my granddaughter's safety." He said gratefully.

James nodded respectfully, "I'm just glad she's safe." He said before Yuka pulled his hand once again. "Ok what? I don't know what you want." He asked the girl.

"Kapvik, Kapvik!" she said, pointing at his hand. James looked at her strangely before she made a gesture with her hand, three of her fingers curled, and James understood. She must have seen him use his claws to fight the Wendigo, "Kapvik!" She said, pointing her finger into his hand. James looked back at his father, the man simply shrugged.

James raised the hand she wasn't holding onto and let his claws pop out, making the teens stare in aww at the claws, they kept chanting the word 'Kapvik'. "Damn it now they won't stop." He muttered aloud. After a few more minutes of showing the kids his claws, he pulled himself away to regroup with his father, fallowing him through the mine, the two opened a door leading to the entrance of the one and further into the mine itself.

"James, these are the other agents who made it." He introduced to the other five men, each of them wearing winter hear and holding a firearm. "Gentlemen, this is my son." He introduced. James shook each of their hands. Daniel, Peter, Robert, Carl, and Lee. Robert was the leader of the team, Peter the communications expert, Peter, Carl, and Lee were all field agents and Jerry was the Handler.

"Nice to meet you all. Do we have a plan in place to evac?" the tracker asked.

Robert shook his head, "None, we're so far out of range of any cell towers that no cell phone could get a signal. Our guy with the Sat Phone was taken so now we have no means of calling for help. He explained, "And even then we'd need enough transport to get these people out of here, that could take hours and that thing is fast." He explained.

James smirked before reaching into his left ear and digging out his earpiece, "Can you get a signal out with this by chance?" James asked as he handed it to peter who looked over the device, "I tried getting a call out earlier but I could only hear static." He explained.

Peter's closed one eye and held the communicator close to get a better look at it, "Well as far as we can tell, whenever that thing is close it scrambles Radio Waves, it's like a beacon for it really." He explained before handing it back to the hero. James put it back in its ear, "We found that out the hard way." Peter added sadly.

James looked out the mine entrance, outside was the river so they had to be close to town for them to have carried him here. "Hmm…ok evac will take some time right?" he asked, his step-father nodded. James pointed out of the mouth of the mine, "I could get a small aircraft to take people across the river to safety and get a bigger operation for evac underway." He began. "Now the Wendigo will go after whatever Radio is broadcasting, I'll get as far away as I can and distract it while the civilians and you guys are taken to safety." He explained.

Jerry nodded in understanding, "Ok but what about the Wendigo? If that thing gets away this could happen to anther town, or god forbid a city." He pointed out.

James ran a hand down his face, what exactly were they going to do with this thing? Belle Reeve was meant for human beings, Arkham might be able to hold it but that place had more breakouts than a teenager going through puberty. "I don't know…."

"Kill it." James turned his head to Daniel, "That thing killed god knows how many? Plus our own? The thing should be a corpse!" he said adamantly. James could smell the anger coming off the man, he wanted revenge, And he's probably not the only one. All the people in this mine must have lost someone to that thing. And we don't have anywhere to lock it up. But…. James thought conflictedly.

IF the Wendigo was anything like it's myth, then the creature was made from magic. A Wendigo is made when man is forced to consume the flesh of another human in the Canadian wilderness, his soul is tainted, corrupted, and he is turned into a Wendigo for committing this taboo of nature. But with a healing factor could he even put it down?

James was conflicted, despite its appearance it was deep down a human being…. but it was also a rabid animal. It was killing innocent people. Jerry saw the conflicted look on his son's face, "Look, let's focus on getting out of here first, then we'll worry about the Wendigo. James, what do you suggest?"

James brought himself out of his thoughts, "I'll bait the thing as far away as I can and radio my team to pick you guys up, they'll find you." He explained, the other men nodding in agreement. As the agents went to inform the civilians of the plan, Jerry stayed with his stepson as he unslung his backpack from his shoulder. James looked over at his father, "What should I do?" he asked.

Jerry sighed, "I wish I could tell you…..but Daniel does have appoint, this thing gets away? How many more people will die? But maybe we could capture it, study it, see what exactly caused it." He added, seeing both sides of the argument. James opened the flap of his bag, the costume's mask staring back at him made him frown, there was one question that he hadn't asked.

What would his father do?

Wolverine, he wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty from time to time. But that didn't mean that he didn't value life, but as Laura once told him, "Logan….he was willing to do what needed to be done. Because no one else would."

What needs to be done…..

James reached into his bag and pulled out the suit. A few minutes later, James exited the entrance of the mine, the yellow and black suit covering him up to his neck where the mask was hanging off the back off his neck. James reached back behind his head and pulled the mask forward over his head, "Alright big guy. Come find me." He muttered before running towards the town.

After finding his bike, James revved the engine to life and went off road to the south of town, as soon as he reached the outer limits of the community, he pressed his finger to the comm in his ear. "James to cave, come in." he said aloud.

"This is Kid Flash, man where have you been?! We lost contact with you, we were about to go looking for you." The speedster explained from his end. The tracker heard a slight buzzing over the comm as he drove into a thicket of trees.

"Look KF I don't have much time so listen up, there's a mine full of civilians just north of the town I was investigating. I need you evac them across the river and get a rescue organized. Get Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss. Martian to help with evac. Got it?" he asked. Wally started to respond but it was drowned out but static, the ear-piercing roar of the Wendigo made him pull on the breaks of his bike and turn to the left while he leaned over to the side, stopping the bike in the snow.

Getting off the bike, he stood and faced the direction the Wendigo was approaching from, they were a few miles away from the town and the Bio-Ship should make it quickly, it flew from New England to the Caribbean and back in one night, it can get here in less that. Hopefully.

The trees shivered as another roar sounded through the air, James saw the monster approach from the way he came, knocking a tree down as it closed I on him. James sneered. SINKT! "Alright you big bastard," he growled out before running forward between the trees, "If you want to tangle with someone, why not try your luck against the new WOLVERINE!" he shouted out as he leapt toward the Wendigo and slashed his claws into the Wendigo's arm as it reeled it's arm back to strike.

It uppercutted James with its other hand sending him through a thin tree and onto the ground where James rolled onto his feet. The monster ran forward, hopping over tree James was sent through, it closed in on James and lifted its foot back to kick him but James quickly tackled the one supporting its weight, bringing the goliath down.

As it got back up, it looked around to see that the tracker had apparently vanished.

It didn't look up to where James had climbed up a tree, Ok think, it's big and fast. But I can use that to my advantage. If I get in close enough I can do some damage. But if I am going to put it down, I need to be smart about where I hit. He thought before climbing onto a branch and slowly walk along it until he was above the Wendigo. He dropped from the branch and slashed his claws down clean through the Wendigo's tail, the beast howled in pain as it wildly threw it's elbow back to try and hit him.

He bent down to dodge the limb, he slashed his left claw across its stomach, the goliath's clawed hand he avoided came back and clawed him across the cheek just within the mouth of his mask. He retaliated by swinging his body to the right, swiping his foot blades into the beast's leg and used his momentum to backslash it across the face. James felt his side get cut, the Wendigo's right claws grazed his size and swung back to strike the back of its hand into his face, knocking him onto his back.

The Wendigo stomped onto the young man's legs, pinning him to the ground and cursing the muscles in his legs as James screamed in pain, it raised both hands over its head froe bringing them down towards James. Thinking fast he jabbed his claws into the Wendigo's wrists, stopping the beast's attack. The goliath growled before baring its teeth, James knew what came next, but this time he was prepared.

Tilting his heard forward, the Wendigo bit down on his skull, a sound that resembled cracking bones filled James's ears, reeling his head back he saw the Wendigo's teeth had broken on his metal skull, it covered its mouth with its hands. James's eyes went to its neck, "I'm sorry." James said before crossing his arms forward, the claws on either side of the Wendigo's neck.

SLLLISSHHH!

James expected more blood…. well that would be the case if his claws had sliced all the way through its neck. Unfortunately, the skin of the beast was thick, and what would have cut the head off a normal human wasn't as effective. "Oh, fuck not enough momentum." He said, realizing he didn't have room to swing his arm fast or hard enough to finish the job. The Wendigo drew its arms away from its mouth and let out a gargling like growl. Its fists punched James into the ground, determined to beat him to death.

Well I feel less sorry now.

Jerry explained the situation to the team the minute they landed, getting an entire town across the river was a time-consuming task, kid Flash was running two or three across the water as fast he could while Miss. Martian used the Bio Ship to pick up and drop off as many civilians she could. Superboy and Aqualad worked in tandem, Superboy breaking chunks of ice to use as boats to cross the river while Aqualad used his powers to propell the ice across the water.

They were about three fourths of the way finished with the evacuation, Kid Flash ran across the water onto the shore. Slowing to a stop, he bent over to catch his breath, "Hoodoo man, are we done yet?" he asked within his mind to the others.

Aqualad and Superboy were on a piece of ice that the Atlantean was steering across the water, "There are still civilians near the mine. If we keep our pace then we should complete the evacuation within the hour." Kaldur said into the others mind. "Miss. Martian, what is the status on the recovery?"

The alien was piloting her ship, filled to the brim with as many civilians she could fit inside it. "The Red Cross is sending a few ships that can fit down the river, they'll be here in a few hours." She said.

"SON OF A BITCH THAT HURT!" a new connection shouted, making the others wince.

"James is that you? Where are you?" Miss. Martian asked through the telepathic link. She tried to focus her mind on where he was but it was as though he was mind was conflicted, she couldn't focus on where he was unless his mind was clear and focused.

"M'gann? KF, Aqualad, Superboy, how's the evac going?" He asked the four.

"We're still working on it, where the hell are you?" Wally asked as he stood upright, having caught his breath from his speedrun across the river.

James response sounded like a growl, "I'm in town, ngh! The Wendigo is here, look just keep getting as many people out of here as you can! I'll take care of this asshole!" he explained within the team's mindscape.

Wally frowned, he couldn't just leave James to handle this on his own, "I'm close to James."

"Wally I got this! Just get the civilians to safety!" James yelled over the mental link.

'What's that? I'm sorry James I can't hear you, your breaking up." Wally lied before running off towards the town.

He could tell James was thinking over what he said, "Breaking u-Hey dumbass we're not using a radio!" James yelled out, making the speedster grin as he rounded a corner of a house, just ahead of him something big crashed into the road. Kid Flash slid to a stop in the snow, nearly tripping on the slick ground by doing so. Wally's eyes widened when the Wendigo stood tall in front of him, it's fur coaxed with blood in some parts while a claw mark across its chest healed. It turned to the speedster and growled, "Um…. oops." he squeaked out as the Wendigo took a swipe at him.

Kid Flash rolled back before speeding forward and ramming his shoulder into its chest, the force sending it across the ground. The monster stopped itself by digging its hand into the dirt, before it could attack, a slab of brick came flying at the side of its head from the left, dazing it. "HEY HAIRBALL! WE'RE NOT DONE YET!" James shouted as he leapt off a rooftop and dug his left claw into the Wendigo's shoulder and drove its side into the ground from the force of his weight coming down on it.

James was not in the best shape; his once new costume was now battle worn. The right sleeve of his arm down to the black forearm was gone, the left eye of his mask was torn to his mouth, four gashes across his chest, and a few superficial cuts on the legs exposed his skin to the frigid air. "Kid run!" he shouted, shaking Wally out of daze as the wendigo uppercutted the tracker.

His claws were dislodged as he stumbled back, he dove forward, slashing the midsection of the Wendigo, it kneed him in the chin. Wally could only watch as the pair teared into one another, James cutting into the creature with wild abandon while it did the same to him. "RUN YOU IDIOT!" James yelled as he sliced the fingers of its left hand off. Wally shook off his shock and sprinted full speed back towards the mine to help evacuate civilians. He understood why James wanted to get them all to safety, he could hold off this thing but if they got anywhere near the people there could be god knows how many casualties.

Meanwhile, James plunged his left claws into the Wendigo's right pectoral and pulled outward, slicing open the chest cavity and making it howl in pain before slashing off James's sides. He gasped for air as he stumbled back, clutching his sides as the Wendigo kneeled and nursed its own wound. The two stood apart from one another by about ten feet, James locked eyes with the Wendigo. They both breathed long, heavy breaths, in theory his healing factor could keep him fighting for days on end, but the Wendigo was as though as he was, he had internal bleeding, torn ligaments, a punctured lung from its claws and a concussion that was taking it's time to fade away.

He looked down at his wound, it was stitching itself together slowly, looking at his opponent's cut he saw it was also taking time to recover. While it may not have an unbreakable bone structure, it was still tough to put down. I got to kill you…. damn it I have to because if I don't, then you WILL kill others.

He grits his teeth, "Come on…. let's finish this." He muttered as he raised his blood-soaked claws, the middle one of his left hand had an orb hanging off the tip. HE watched in silence as it fell. When he heard the soft drip hit the snow, they both charged once again. The two carved one another, James only managing to nick its neck on occasion while it managed to slice his mouth open.

James jumped over a swiped at his legs from its jail but was punched in the chest sending him into the side of a wooden electrical pole, the force causing the pole to fall onto him, pinning him in place. James tried to wiggle out from under the pole but it had to weigh over a few tons, the Wendigo stalked over to him, a primal growl coming from it as it approached him. Just before it reached him however, it halted in its tracks and looked down the road, towards the river.

"No! No no no!" James chanted as it began to stalk off down the street towards the river, "NO! Come on you big fucker! Come on! Let's finish this!" he called out before it started running towards the water.

James felt his blood begin to boil, that thing was going to kill everyone! All the men, women children, his friends! He tried pushing the pole off him but his muscles screamed before giving out. No…no…no…no….

James's fists trembled with rage, he looked up as the Wendigo made it to the boarder of the town. "No…. No…No. No." his voice became more anger laced, his brown eye that was exposed became a shade of dark red as his brow furrowed in rage. "No….NO!" he declared as he planted his hands against the ground and pushed, the pain in his arms seemed diminished, almost nonexistent as he pushed the wooden cylinder off his back and onto the ground with a loud thud.

His eyes locked on the Wendigo, he felt rage overtake him. "RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

He bolted from the ground, sprinting down the road at full speed, he had tunnel vision on the beast, it had turned at the sound of his roar. James swung his arms forward as he pounced at the wendigo with his claws out and a rage filled roar. The tracker was in a wild frenzy, slashing his claws wildly across the breast's chest. James was clawed across the face, but kept carving out the wendigo's torso. The beast reeled it's arm back and threw it forward, James headbutted the fist, breaking its fingers while he continually jabbed his claws directly into its chest.

The Ribcage was exposed, James saw its head and drew both his arms bac before plunging them down into the heart, screaming into the Wendigo's stunned face. He twisted his blades, tearing the organ apart before slicing his blades outward of the chest, splattering blood through the air, "RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" he roared out before settling to heaving breathes.

James 's eyes tuned back to their hazel color, his ragged breaths calmed, and his senses came back to him He slowly stood up, looking down at the foe, he saw the wounds would no longer heal. The creature wouldn't stand back up, it was…. dead…. he killed it.

James suddenly felt the pain, the torn muscles of his arms and back from lifting the pole off him, the cuts, bruises, the blood leaking out of his mouth from his internal injuries. He felt exhausted, he felt like passing out, but what he felt the most was guilt. He had taken a life….and though it may have been for the greater good, he still felt his heart weigh heavy. The sound of something large touching down made him look over to see the Bio Ship land, Miss Martian, Superboy, Aqualad, and Kid Flash running out to see him.

They stopped when they saw the body, M'gann covered her mouth in shock, Conner and Wally had stunned looks on their faces while Kaldur had one of sadness. "James…. are you- "

"No…I'm not." He cut Kaldur off before falling over, his team mates rushed to his side, as he laid on the snow, James locked eyes with the Wendigo's empty ones. "I'm sorry…" he murmured below a whisper before falling asleep.

Mount Justice, Rhode Island. September 21st, 2010, 3:20 p.m.

Batman came by the cave the next day, by that time, the civilians from the town had been relocated to another settlement temporarily while the town was repaired. Jerry Hudson had checked in with Heather and was due back home that night, and the Wendigo Corpse had been taken into League custody. James meanwhile had awoken in the med bay of the cave, after getting dressed in some clothes left out for him, Red Tornado came to get him.

Arriving in the mission briefing room, he saw that Batman, Superman, Aqualad, and Laura awaited him, James explained everything to them. His mother calling him about his father being missing, the state of the town, and the Wendigo. "-after I called the cave and told them to find the civilians while I…. dealt with the Wendigo."

"Killed. You killed the Wendigo." Batman pointed out, James clenched his fist but said nothing. "Situations like this can be difficult…. the answer isn't always clear to see."

"No. It was." James said, staring batman in his eyes, "That thing. It was a human at one point. Don't know how he became what he was but it happened. But as soon as he became that thing? It killed countless people." He pointed out before looking down, "I know that the League frowns on killing…. but I do not regret what I did." He said adamantly, making Superman raise an eye at him, "If there was a way to cure him? I'd take it in second over killing it…. but right then and there? It was either let it live and let it kill countless others. Or kill it, and save lives…and I don't like what I did for one second…. but I did what I thought needed to be done….and if had to it again." He said.

Batman and Superman shared a look, the man of steel spoke up. "Like Batman said, you faced a difficult decision. And you are right, it was let it live and possibly let more die, or take its life to stop it. That is never an easy choice to make…but the like you said, the League does not look kindly on taking a life, no matter the circumstance." He added.

James solemnly nodded, "I understand." He said. He would miss his friends but-

"For the foreseeable future, you will not partake solo missions like this one." Batman stated, making James look up in surprise. "Let me be clear, private opinions aside, the reality of the world is that taking of lives is sometimes a necessary evil, but not one we freely condone. But this team is meant to guide young heroes, however how you conduct yourself outside this team is dependent on what type of hero you want to be. It will not interfere with the team. Understood?" he asked firmly.

James nodded in understanding before being dismissed. Laura watched sadly as James sulked to his room, no matter what the punishment they gave him, what James was going through would be worse on all accounts.

Moments later, James shut the door to his room, looking on the closet door was his repaired costume. He sighed before entering his bathroom he approached the sink and turned on the faucet and gathered some water in his hands before splashing his face with some and looking at himself in the mirror,

What stared back at him was a being with red eyes, covered in blood and skin torn to shreds and barbed wire.

James blinked, and it was gone, taking a shaky breath. He entered his bedroom a curled up into bed.

He was truly sorry.

AN: Damn this took a while. This chapter was epically fun to write because James could let himself loose, however at a great cost.

Now on to YJ season 3 news! The Show is a go for 2018 people! However, it won't be on TV, instead it will be on a new streaming service by DC. It will also feature another new show called Titians. Now the new season name is Young Justice Outsiders for those wondering, and it's thanks to all the fans who watched the show so much.