End Game
"Keep the assault up. Don't give him a moment to recover." Stryker commands as he rubs Emma's shoulders. She is seated before the array of TV screens displaying the security feeds around the island. They are both watching the fight between Wolverine and Deadpool… though Emma has a blank look as she controls the Mutant Killer telepathically. "Excellent… keep it up, Emma. Soon Logan will be dead." Stryker says as he watches with a mad glee in his eyes.
Logan is slashed more than he slashes. Wade's swords have a longer range than his claws and it is starting to tax Logan's patience. He needs to take away Deadpool's advantage… so he slams into Deadpool and knocks the Mutant Killer back. Wade then falls down a large ventilation shaft and Logan hurries away. He comes to one of the tall cooling towers and begins to scale it using his claws to reach the top. Once up there, Logan turns and looks down to see Wade running to the foot of the tower.
"Let's see ya dance up here, bub!" Logan shouts down and smirks knowing Deadpool is going to have to scale the tower like he did… then suddenly Deadpool disappears… "Aw crap." Logan says recognizing Wraith's teleportation power. Then Deadpool reappears to Logan's left. A sword swipes in and catches Logan on his upper arm. He swipes his left claws out but Deadpool is gone only to reappear and slash Logan's right thigh. Logan cries out as he is forced to take a knee then one of Deadpool's swords stabs down through his back to pop out of his stomach.
"Now take his head off… quickly!" Stryker says as he eyes the feed from the top of the tower. Emma focuses…
Deadpool raises his other sword and readies to strike… but he is grabbed from behind and thrown from the tower. The Mutant Killer vanishes…
"No body kills you but me." Victor says as he gives a dark smirk and helps Logan stand. They share a moment to eye one another but then they both notice Deadpool reappear on the opposite side of the tower.
"Quick! Back to back!" Logan says and the two brothers spin around. "I got him!" Logan says as he watches Deadpool run at him then flip and disappear.
"No ya don't!" Victor says as Deadpool reappears and he is kicked in the face. He slashes at the Mutant Killer but Deadpool vanishes. He reappears slashing at Logan then vanishes and kicks Victor then slashes him across the chest before vanishing again. Logan manages to block the coming attack as Deadpool reappears and even scores a hit before the bastard can vanish.
"What? Where'd he go?" Victor says as Deadpool just disappears.
"I don't know… stay sharp." Logan says as they keep a watchful eye out. They both notice Deadpool reappear on the opposite side of the tower's lip. He eyes the pair eerily as he tilts his head and suddenly his brown eyes flicker with red energy as his skin blackens around his eyes.
"What the hell?" Logan asks just before the red laser beams shot out and strike the tower where they stand. Logan and Victor jump away and are separated. Deadpool reappears next to Logan and unleashes a full blast of his optic lasers directly into his chest. Logan is knocked down but quickly blocks the blast with his claws so he can heal. Deadpool is then gone and Victor gets a taste of the laser eye beams. Logan notices his claws are glowing red hot and Deadpool's back is to him as he attacks Victor.
Logan rushes the weaponized man and swipes his claws at Deadpool's neck. The Mutant Killer then looks up… eye beams shooting heavenward… then he slips from the tower's narrow lip inside. The flickering eye beams flash and cut through the concrete tower as the head spins in its decent. Logan helps Victor stand.
"This doesn't change anything between us, Victor. We're done." Logan says sternly as he gives a hard glare to his older brother. Victor just gives his signature dark smile.
"We can never be done, Jimmy. We're brothers… and brothers look out for each other… always." Victor says smoothly then strolls over to the edge of the tower's lip as it begins to crumble right out from under them. Victor then leaps from the edge and disappears in the rising dust. Logan takes a moment more… knowing that this is going to hurt… a lot. He then jumps and slides down the tower. He hits the ground and rolls. The pain is great and if he didn't have unbreakable bones, Logan is sure he would have broken his legs.
"Damn!" Stryker says as he slams his fist down on the control panel. So close… so very close to getting rid of both Logan and Victor… but then Deadpool wasn't enough… all those powers and the Mutant Killer just wasn't enough. He then sighs and runs his hands through his hair. Then a thought strikes him…
"Maybe it's not about the right combination of powers… but rather the use of one… Time to use my Fail Safe." Stryker says out loud as he turns to look at Emma with hopeful eyes. "Time to get into the minds of Animals… starting with Victor."
Logan rolls and shakes his head temporarily stunned from his fall… then he looks up and sees a huge chunk of the tower coming down upon him. Logan rolls over onto all fours but before he can even move… Gambit appears. The Cajun Mutant uses his power to give him a boost to jump up and tap the falling chunk with his staff causing it to crumble to dust in a burst of magenta energy.
"Did ya miss me?" Gambit asks with a smirk after he lands and turns to face Logan.
"Oh… Jesus Christ. It's just you." Logan says as he huffs out a relieved sigh.
"Ya know… when ya said that you were gonna kill everyone… Ah must confess, Ah thought ya were exaggeratin' a tad." Gambit says as he helps Logan stand.
"Tell me somethin'… bub. Do I look like a man who exaggerates?" Logan then says a little gruffly as he brushes some dust off.
"Nope." Gambit says with a smile.
"There's some kids trying to get off the island… they took an access tunnel under the river… go check and make sure they got out. I've got one last loose end to tie up. We'll meet back out here." Logan says sternly.
"Alright. Ah know where to go." Gambit says and runs off. Logan then heads back to the main building, but before he can enter… he is slammed with a psychic assault. It feels like a crushing margarine mixed with a spinning dizzy vertigo.
"That's right… sever all connections to his memories about me… just like we did with Victor. I WILL not have either one of them hunting me." Stryker says as he smiles and watches the screen where he can see Logan writhing upon the ground twisting in agony from the mental assault. Stryker wonders if Logan will respond as Victor did… jump up and act like the animal he truly is with growls, snarls, and roars rather than words. Emma's work with Victor had been quick, she just let his animal side out and suppressed the memories of Stryker.
"Emma? Emma!" Kayla says as she rushes forward and reaches out for her sister. "Stop this! You don't have to do his dirty work anymore, sister." Kayla says as she turns Emma around and looks into the blank blue eyes. Emma's spacey look focuses for a moment as she looks at Kayla.
"Don't listen to her!" Stryker says then fires his gun at Kayla but the bullet stops.
"You don't control us anymore." Vanessa says as she stalks past the sisters and lets her nails lengthen.
"Quick! Emma! Scramble Logan's memories! Make him forget himself! Then hold Vanessa back!" Stryker says as Vanessa comes at him and he empties his clip into her. She goes down as two bullets strike her heart. She takes a moment until the organ heals then she stands to pursue Stryker.
Gambit hurries down the access tunnel. He has run this route once before so he knows it by heart. He hurries up the incline and looks out at a large clearing between the industrial complex behind him on the River bank and the woods to the north. There's a strange black jet there and a man with thinning dark hair in a wheelchair with an odd blue-furred beast man standing behind him. Remy is struck by the kind smile of the man in the wheelchair… but very unnerved by the blue beast… so he turns and hurries back the way he came after watching the kids make it to safety.
Emma finishes her work with Logan and then catches Vanessa in a binding mental hold… but Vanessa has telepathy as well and manages to defend herself from the full on psychic assault. Kayla can hear Vanessa groan as she staves off the attack.
"Emma! Stop this! Now!" Kayla says and slaps her sister across the face. Then suddenly, Kayla is stabbed from behind.
"Don't interrupt." Stryker says as he pulls the blade away and Kayla falls to the floor. Stryker smiles and looks at Emma he opens his mouth… then says something he wasn't planning on saying.
"Emma… release Vanessa and awaken Logan." Stryker commands and his eyes fill with a puzzled look. He looks down and sees Kayla is still alive… but barely… and she is gripping his ankle. He then raises his hand with the scalpel to his throat. He swallows hard as the sharp surgical blade presses against his skin.
"I should make you slit your own throat." Kayla says darkly as she eyes Stryker. "But that would make me no better than you. Throw the scalpel away." Stryker throws it away. "Now walk… don't stop walking… walk until your feet bleed… then keep walking." Kayla says and Stryker looks at her in a daze before turning and leaving the control room.
"Kayla." Vanessa says as she hurries over to the dying woman.
"Help… my sister… please." Kayla says and Vanessa looks to Emma who still looks blank though a light is growing in her blue eyes.
"Emma… snap out of it." Vanessa commands and pushes her thoughts into the mind of the fellow telepath. Emma reacts by encasing her body in diamond… she then blinks and looks around scared and confused.
"Oh my god… Kayla. I'm so sorry. I could see everything… but I couldn't think for myself… I'm sorry." Emma says as she weeps and cradles her little sister in her arms.
"It's okay, it's okay… you have to go… leave now." Kayla says as her voice gets weaker and her breathing becomes labored.
"Whoa… what happened in here?" Gambit says as he enters the control room and surveys the scene.
"Help us!" Emma says with tears streaming from her eyes.
"We need to get her to a doctor." Vanessa says as she remains calm.
"Ah have a plane… follow me." Gambit says and helps pick Kayla up. Vanessa insists that she carry the other woman's full weight so Gambit lets her. They hurry outside and make it across the devastated area. They come upon a figure in the dust cloud.
The dizziness abates and the man shakes his head. He looks around and sees the devastation around him… like a war zone. He wonders where he is, what happened here, why is he here… this then leads to the realization that he doesn't know WHO HE IS. He looks down at the weight upon his neck and notices dog tags. He gets brief confusing flashes of wars beyond count. He shakes his head to clear the images and focuses on the tags. They say 'Logan' on one side and 'Wolverine' along with a serial number. He knows this has to be his name. Then suddenly a figure comes out of the dust cloud.
"Who are you?!" The confused man says aggressively as he eyes the man that appears. The new comer raises his hands to show he isn't a threat.
"Whoa. Easy now. Easy. Ah'm a friend." The new comer says in a southern accent.
"Really? Then what's my name? Tell me!" He says angrily as he eyes this new comer with suspicion.
"Logan… your name is Logan… and Ah'm Gambit, remember? We came here together and you tore this place apart… now we gotta leave 'cuz the folks in charge aren't gonna like what ya done here." Gambit says to the confused Logan.
"Okay…" Logan says and nods his head. "Let's go." The two men hurry to the dock area and Gambit gets his plane ready. Soon two women show up, one of them is carrying a third. They all pile in behind the two men whom are seated in the front. Logan looks back and eyes the injured woman. She's very pretty but her bright blue eyes are glassy.
"Do you know her?" Gambit asks as he notices Logan staring.
"No." Logan says simply… "She's dead though." He says solemnly as Emma wails as she holds to her little sister's body. The plane speeds off down the river then into the air taking the four survivors and one casualty away. Vanessa looks sadly out the side window at the destruction below. She wonders if Wade is down there somewhere still… alive or dead… it troubles her that she doesn't know.
Down on the ground at Three Mile Island… as the first responders arrive to help the injured and collect the dead… a hand releases a sword and scrambles along the rubble until the fingers find a bald head. The eyes open and the stitches on the lips have been cut so the mouth opens too. Then the other hand appears and grabs the head which is then placed upon the neck.
The wounds heal as Wade stands and he shooshes to no one in particular. He smiles wickedly and picks up his twin swords and sheathes them on his back. He then pulls out something from a small pack on his belt at his lower back… it is a red mask with black diamond shapes over the eyes. He then casually strolls away whistling the merry tone of 'I was strolling in the park one day… in the very merry month of May'.
Jean releases Logan's memories and she is laying beside him on the white bed.
"That's how you lost your past… a telepath was under Stryker's control and the connections were broken." Jean says as she touches Logan's cheek. He is weeping… he'd lost another woman he loved back then… and he didn't even realize what she meant to him when she died. He merely felt bad at Emma's loss and went his own way after Gambit flew the plane back to New Orleans without saying goodbye. He'd been traveling around the US and Canada since that day… lost, not remembering anything but flashes in his dreams of wars long past.
"It's okay, Logan… I'm here for you… I'll always be here for you." Jean then says and kisses Logan.
"I don't want to hurt anybody else ever again, Jean. I promise, I promise." Logan then says as he sits up in the bed.
"Don't make promises you can't keep." She says with a sad smile and her eyes blank out as Logan looks down and sees his claws in her stomach.
"No! Not again! Jean!" Logan shouts and startles himself awake.
He kicks off the sleeping bag and watches the fire calm down back into a small camp fire again. He controls his breathing and scrambles to check that his lock box is still nearby. It is… he opens it and finds the photo of Jean under other photos of Rogue, Kurt, Storm, and Charles. He clutches Jean's photo to his chest.
"I mean it, Jean… I'll never hurt anyone ever again. I'm done with killing." Logan says with deep conviction as his pulse calms and he steadies his breathing.
Jean watches and listens to Logan as he makes his vow. She looks to the west and knows there are minds focusing upon him… memories of him at least… soon he will be tested and the Wolverine will have to make a journey. Jean will have to prepare him for it… but it will ultimately be left up to Logan to decide whether or not he wants to continue living or join her in death.
A/N: This one took awhile… but in my defense, I have been busy writing other fics. There will be one last follow-up to this… a one-shot for Jean after Logan lets go of her in Japan. I hope this was a fun read :)