Series Title: X-23: No Way Back
. Story & Chapter Title: Playing Hero – Chapter Five: Why We Fight
. Author: Alex Gregg (aka: ChickRockGuitar)
. Date Written: August 2009 - (words written: 3195)
. Fiction Group: X-Men Comics
. Story Rating: T (some mild language)
. Summary Of Story: Part Five of "Playing Hero". As Logan mounts a desperate rescue mission, Fury prepares himself for Logan's wrath. Fury, Logan and Laura must understand the reason as to why they fight.
. Auther's Notes: This is the third chapter to the second story arc of a fanfictional serial of stories written by chickrockguitar. These stories are set in a slightly alternate Marvel universe - set with a new spin on the character of X-23.
. Disclaimer: Marvel/X-Men characters, established concepts and previous storylines full credit goes to Marvel, Stan Lee, Craig Kyle, Chris Yost, and Co. Original storylines credit goes to me.
. More Info: The Official Website: www (dot) x23 (dot) flyingmutt (dot) com

Please take a look at the website to understand the stories better.

Chapter Three: Why We Fight
Logan balanced on top of the moving van as the vehicle sped along the darkened road. He knew if he had any chance of getting Laura out if this, he had get her out before they reached S.H.I.E.L.D's base, once inside, an escape would be almost imposable. Logan knew S.H.I.E.L.D had a number of bases scattered across the country, he'd been to many of them in the past. He knew this route, they were perhaps roughly twenty minutes from the New York base. He had to stop the van, now.

Logan new the fastest way to stop the van was to firstly deal with it's driver and his colleague up front. He carefully moved towards the front of the vehicle's roof and positioned himself so he was directly above the front passengers seat. He steadied himself with his right hand, and popped his left hand claws, driving them down hard and fast though the vans roof. Seconds later a scream of a man in extreme pain could be heard from below. Logan smiled to himself - he'd hit his target.

The van suddenly began to move erratically from one side of the road to the other. Logan pulled his blood soaked claws free from the roof and held on. Those travelling in the back of the van tried to brace themselves whilst the vehicle sped along the road. After a few moments, the van began to slow down. From the back of the van, Fury shouted orders at his driver, "Gibson! Keep moving. Do Not stop! You hear me?! Do not stop!". However seconds later, Gibson's screams could heard throughout the van, and the vehicle itself came to a complete stop. Once again Logan pulled his claws - covered with Gibson's blood - from the roof, stood up and then dropped to the ground.

From inside the van, Fury barked ordered to his two men, "Those doors will be open in seconds! When they do, fire at will". His men immediately moved into position, kneeling with their guns trained on the vans back doors. "Your bullets will not hold Logan for long" stated Laura. The Colonel ignored her, and reached for his radio. He spoke into it, "This is Fury. We Need back up. Now!"

Logan sniffed the air, trying to determine how many men were inside the van. He caught the scent of two other men. He was surprised at Fury's lack of security surrounding Laura. Perhaps good old Nick had put more faith in his soldiers than he should have done, thought Logan. Moving towards the van, he popped his claws and readied himself to face the soldiers behind the doors.

The sound of gunfire rang though the deserted road, as Fury's two men fired shot after shot. Logan roared in anger as the bullets hit him. The two soldiers stepped out from the van, trying to get a better shot. They stalked towards Logan, one moving to the left of him, and the other to the right, firing at will. Logan slashed his claws towards them, within moments the gunfire had stopped and the soldiers lay dead. For a moment, the silence was deafening. Logan turned and made his way back to the van. But just as he got there, a motor engine sounded in the distance. Logan turned towards the sound, seconds later, headlights sped into view. Another S.H.I.E.L.D van screeched to a stop a few metres in front of him. Logan sighed. He popped his claws, ready for yet another fight.

Logan charged at the group of S.H.I.E.L.D soldiers coming towards him. He dodged as many bullets as he could, as they fired at will. He was growing more and more angry by the second. He'd had enough of this now. As he reached the first solider, he slashed his claws across the young man's chest and he fell to the ground. Logan then moved on to the next. Between the three vans which had, moments ago, screeched to a stop at the scene, there were perhaps two dozen soldiers.

The minutes ticked on by as Logan moved though Fury's men , one after the other. Fury himself, watched from the open doors of his van. He swore to himself, his men were no match for Logan, but really, if he was honest with himself, armed with simple weaponry, did he really expect them to be? He watched Logan finish off his last remaining man. He knew what was coming next. Logan, splattered with blood, turned on his heal, and stalked back towards the van. Fury was no coward, he stepped out from inside the van, and stood in front of it, blocking Logan from its contents.

Logan wore an pissed off expression as he made his away back towards the van and Fury. Claws stilled popped, he stopped when he was roughly three meters away. "Step aside, Fury" he growled. "That's not going to happen, my friend" answered the Colonel. "Come on, Nick" said Logan, "Yer don't step aside, yer know there's only one way this'll go down". Fury stood his ground, "I can't let you take her, Logan. She belongs to S.H.I.E.L.D now". That sentence angered Logan even more. Laura had been classed as something to be 'owned', somebody's 'property', since birth, Logan hated the thought of that, and he was damned if he was going to let Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D or anyone else 'own' her once more. Raising his bloodstained claws, and with a snarl, he charged at Fury.

However, the Colonel was ready. He pulled a small teaser from his belt, pointed it Logan and fired. The teaser beam hit Logan squarely in the chest, knocking him ten feet backwards. He landed flat on his back with a thud, retracting his claws on impact. Logan lay shaking from the teaser's fierce electrical current, which continued to surge through his body. The pain was horrific. He'd been shot with a lot of teasers in his time, but nothing like this. Fury edged closer, never moving teaser from Logan's direction. The Colonel could see the pain on Logan's face, he came to a stop as close to man as dared, "Hurts, yes? It's not your normal teaser. It was designed especially for super-freaks like you" Fury told him. Logan continued to fight the pain. In that moment, every inch of him wanted to snap Fury's neck like kindling. He was beyond pissed. If only he was able to move.

Moments ticked by, the pain finally seemed to be subsiding - slightly. Logan struggled to his feet. Surprisingly, Fury let him. Perhaps he's waitin' for his moment, thought Logan. Logan and Fury made eye contact. "What yer waiting for, Nick? Come on! Where's round two?!". Fury fired, but this time, Logan was ready, he dodged the teaser beam. Fury tried again. Logan dodged it once more. He then charged at Fury, knocking the teaser from his grasp. They both flew backwards, only coming to a stop when Fury hit a large oak tree, with a thud. Logan let go of the Colonel and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Giving him one last look, Logan then walked back to the van.

Logan made fast work of cutting through Laura's chains with his claws, "Come on, kid. We gotta go", he told her as he exited the van. Without a word, Laura followed. As they stepped out from the van, Fury was coming-to. He stood up, dazed, but recovering quickly, "Logan, don't do this". Laura watched as Logan walked over to him. Angrily, he grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and pinned him up against the oak tree. He didn't speak, he just stared at the Colonel, making sure he held eye contact. For he first time in a long time, Fury was afraid. He couldn't read Logan's expression, and didn't know what he planned to do next. He knew Logan could smell his fear.

After a few moments, Fury spoke, "We've been almost friends for a long time now, Logan". "That we have" answered Logan, not releasing his grip. "We've fought together, fought against each other..." Fury carried on. "Yep" agreed Logan, almost causally, "But this time, Fury, it's a little more personal" he told him. "Yes, I'd agree with that" said the Colonel, "You slaughtered my men". "Yer sent 'em after me! What'd yer expect?! We'd go for tea?!" snarled Logan. "You could have left them alive" argued Fury. "I could have" said Logan, "But I was makin' a point". "Which was?" asked Fury. Logan finally let go of the Colonel, who breathed a silent breath of relief. "Leave her alone, Nick" Logan answered. He locked eye contact with Fury, "I ain't gonna ask a second time" he warned, "Come after her again, and the same thing's gonna go down, and maybe next time, yer'll be amongst the bodies". And with that he turned his back on Fury and walked back towards Laura.

Logan had just made it back to the teen, when Fury spoke, "I don't appreciated being threatened". Wearing a pissed off expression, Logan turned back to face him, "It ain't a threat. It's a promise" he told him coldly. He turned back to Laura, "Come on, Kid, lets go". He ushered her in the direction from which they'd came. Fury stood watching them walk away, there was nothing he could do but let them go. They had won, he knew that, however, he tried one last time. He called out to Logan as he and Laura walked away, "If you walk away now, the girl will be hunted for the rest of her life! S.H.I.E.L.D won't stop!". Logan stopped, and once again, turned back to face the Colonel. "And you and I? We'll be enemies from here on out!" Fury continued. Logan snorted. Was he for real? Was that supposed to change his mind and give Laura up? It was laughable. Laura had been hunted by Facility the since the day she'd escaped, what did S.H.I.E.L.D matter? He and Fury had been enemies before, it didn't bother Logan if they were again. "Then so be it!" shouted Logan angrily. He once again turned on his heal and walked away. Laura took one last look at Fury and followed.

As they walked away, they heard Fury calling out once more, "This isn't over, Logan! You hear me?! It's not over!". Laura glanced at Logan as he walked. He didn't look at her, or back at Fury. He wore an unreadable expression, but his scent told Laura that he was livid. She also detected a slight hint of worry. Which, she knew Logan was doing his best to hide. Taking all this on board, Laura decided that it may be best to stay silent as they walked together back into the bright lights of city.

It was almost dawn by the time Laura and Logan had made it back into the city and back to Logan's apartment. Neither of them felt like sleeping, so they sat on the balcony's swing. For a long time they sat mostly in silence. Laura broke it. She didn't look at Logan, but out towards the city as she spoke, "Fury will never stop hunting me". Logan wasn't sure if that was a statement or a question. he awers as best he could. "If he tries again, he knows I'll come for him". "We killed a lot of his men last night. Will he want revenge?" asked Laura. Logan turned to Laura, "He sent them after us, Laura. Not the other way around. He knows what they were up against. He knows me, knows what I'm capable of. What happened to his men was on him". "But we still killed. I still killed. You told me that is wrong" said Laura. Logan sighed. He didn't know how to explain things to her without sounding like killing was okay. It wasn't. That wasn't want he wanted to teach her. Logan hated himself for killing. But sometimes, it order to survive in this world... it had to be done.

"Kid... Us, Mutants, have gotta fight for a place in this world. We don't, then we're dead. There's people out there who wanna exterminate us just for being us. They can't except what we are. We fight if we have to. Sometimes it's a choice, sometimes its not. There ain't a lot of Mutants who will do what we do. Which's why, we--I, get the dirty work. I did what I had to do last night". He caught Laura's eye, "And I'd do it again. Yer understand?". Laura nodded slightly. Yes, she understood. Last night, Logan had fought to keep her safe and free. And She was thankful for that.

The pair of them sat in silence once more. After a while, Laura broke it, "When Fury first spoke to me... for a second, I thought it was Rice. I thought he had come back". Logan turned to face her. As she said Rice's name, he detected a hint of fear. "He's dead, kid" Logan reassured her. "I know. I killed him..." said Laura quietly. "So he ain't comin' back. Yer ain't gotta worry about him Laura" Logan told her. He gave her a slight smile. However, he knew his words had not held any comfort.

Zander Rice looked up from his computer screen as a knock sounded at the door. "Enter" he called. Agent Kirkman opened the door and walked though the threshold, carrying a paper folder. "Sir, news just in, a S.H.I.E.L.D agent known as Colonel Fury led a capture assault on X-23, in New York City last night". "What?!" said Rice, shocked, "Are sure? It was definitely X-23?". "Yes sir. Facility agents have confirmed it" answered Kirkman. "And, was the capture a success? Do they have her?". "No, sir. S.H.I.E.L.D failed in their attempt. She had help". "Who?!" Rice demanded. "You're not going to believe this, sir" said Kirkman, "She's found him". He opened the paper folder, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to his Boss. Rice took it. "She's found Weapon X" said Kirkman.

Rice stared at the printed photograph. He hand shook slightly. Anger rose inside of him. He hated this man to the very core. His whole life, since he was ten years old, had been based in that hatred. And, if it was the last thing he ever did, he would see him suffer for what he had done to his father. Rice forced himself to speak in a calm tone, "Do we know where she is now?". "No sir. She escaped. But we have agents looking into it. We will know seen enough". "Good. Update me as soon as you have new information. I want X-23 found, and back where she belongs" said Rice in a almost bitter-like tone. "Yes, sir" said Kirkman. And with that, he left the room. Rice once again stared down at the photo of Logan. Suddenly, with one hand, he scrunched up the sheet of paper into a ball. "Animals!" he shouted in anger, throwing it, as hard as he could across the room.

Nathan Falco pointed his nine millimetre hand gun at the teenage girl stalking towards him. "Get back, I'll shoot, I swear!" he shouted at her. The girl seemed to ignore him. Fear began to rise inside. He swallowed. He took a few seconds to look at his surroundings. He was in a built up factory area of the city. If he was smart, he could find plenty of places to hide - that's if he could out run her. He decided to take a chance. He sprinted from the scene, with the girl giving chase.

Laura chased the man from block to block. He was fast, faster than the average human being, but she wasn't worried, he would soon tire, and she'd catch up easily. He sprinted around yet another corner. Laura smiled to herself. She heard him swear to himself, he'd hit a dead end. Laura entered the alley. Nathan saw her, and began to back up. "Come any closer, and I'll shoot!" he warned. Laura continued to move towards him. Suddenly the sound of gunfire rang though the alley. Laura felt a white hot pain in the shoulder. She looked down to see blood beginning to soak her jacket. She looked back at Nathan and then continued to move towards him.

Bang! Another shot rang out. Laura winced as the bullet hit her. Just as the pain subsided a little, another hit. Nathan saw her expression change to anger. Suddenly he was even more terrified of this girl. "Stay back! Stay back!" he shouted, shaking his gun at her. Laura ignored him. She was close now. Too close. She reached out with her right hand, and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the brick wall. With her left hand, she ripped the gun from his hand and pocketed it. Then reached inside his bugling jacket pocket and removed a handful of jewellery. "These do not belong to you" she told him, pocketing them. She then popped her claws on left hand, and held them up so he could see them. "Oh my god!" gasped Nathan, "Please! Please don't kill me! Please!" he begged. Laura raised her metal claws, ready to bring them down on Nathan's chest, for the fatal blow.

Suddenly Logan's words entered her mind, "kid, it ain't your job to punish 'em". Laura stopped dead. What would Logan do? Laura thought to herself. He would not kill this man, she knew that now. Changing her mind, she swiftly jabbed her claws into his shoulder. Nathan cried out in pain. Laura retracted her claws and let him go. He dropped to the ground, holding his bleeding shoulder. "Oh my god! Oh my god!" cried the young man. He looked up at Laura, "You son of a--" he winced in pain, "I'm bleeding! I'm bleeding to death!" he cried though gritted teeth. Laura looked down at him, "No, you are not. I did not puncture any arteries. You will not bleed to death". He looked up at her, stunned. "The same can not be said for the Jewellery clerk you shot at Mason's jewellers" she told him. Nathan took that in. He would be up on murder charges as well as armed robbery. "The authorities will come for you soon" said Laura. And with that she walked away and exited the alley.

As Laura walked down the street, she could still hear Nathan's desperate calls. Apparently he didn't want to be left alone, he wanted her help. He wasn't going to get it. The people who came to his aid would be the offers from NYC PD. Logan would have been proud of her, Laura was sure of it. He would have been pleased with the choice she'd made. He didn't want her to kill. And she hadn't. She'd wanted too, it's what she knew, it felt natural. But she hadn't. It felt new to her, a strange kind of new. Perhaps, she thought, this was what being a "Hero" felt like. She liked it. It felt good.

I am currently working on first chapter of third arc to the series, please stay tuned.