Dasha continues to run from the school, afraid that if she stops she will turn around and run right into his arms. She tries not to think of his name at all as the day falls into night.
When she finally stops, far enough away from the school where the rain is out of reach, Dasha is on the edge of a small city. Go right and turn into the forest or go left and surround her with humans. Dasha's bloodlust teeters dangerously on the wagon that she's fought so hard to stay on.
But memories rush her, memories of Logan, being human, family, and then blood. She sees the faces of humans she's drained, some that she's tortured. If she drinks, it might distract her from Logan. It's not as if she can't get on the wagon again.
Daria bolts toward the city. In the shadows of the buildings on the fringe of the city, she looks like a mad woman. Her black cotton dress is just above her knees and has spaghetti straps, not nearly warm enough for the chilly spring night here. Not to mention, the three large slashes in the material over her abdomen from the adamantium claws earlier. She wishes she had thought to grab her leather jacket for blending in before she stormed off. Her feet are bare, but that is something that she will never change.
Eyeing a clothing store across the street, she dashes through the door, the pedestrians none the wiser. She pulls her hair over one shoulder and turns it into a long braid that nearly reaches her waist. Random curls stick out from the rope-like structure. She blends in fairly well with the other shoppers, young women. She takes the first jacket she sees, an army green imitation military jacket that has brass buttons and a high straight collar. It isn't far off from a Civil War uniform. Daria quickly shakes her head to clear the image of the first night she saw him. She darts out of the store before anyone can stop her, not that they could.
Once out on the street, Daria walks as close to a human pace as she can stand. She sniffs the air cautiously as the humans pass her. No one smells good enough yet, but that will soon change. As soon as she has one, she won't be able to stop.
"My fault, only my own," Daria mumbles under her breath as she catches a scent that is more to her liking.
She turns the corner sharply, picking up her pace. The man smells of apples and aftershave. As he passes the entrance to an alley, she snags him, dragging him by the collar of his jacket into the shadows. The man is about 5'll", his blonde hair is neatly combed in a side part. He doesn't look like he is over the age of thirty. His suit smells expensive.
Fear rolls off of him in waves as Daria shoves him against the wall. Her hands are gripping the lapels of his suit jacket.
"What do you want?" he stammers to her. "I have money. You can take it."
Daria tilts her head to the side like a curious animal. "It's a shame," she says with a small smile, patting the side of his face. He flinches at the coolness of her hand.
"W-what's a s-shame?" he asks.
"That I am going to kill you," Daria says as if it is obvious. She grabs his chin roughly and forces him to look at her. Her eyes flash. "You will not make a sound, nor will you try to fight me off."
The man nods, his grey-blue eyes still wide with fright. Daria doesn't hesitate before leaning up toward his neck. Not wanting to ruin her new coat, she neatly sinks her fangs into his flesh. His blood is hot and tastes of apples and fear. Just as she adjusts to the taste, the blood flow comes to a trickle. He's gone.
Daria lets the man's body sink to the ground, but she has to cover her tracks. She finds the man's keys in his pocket and slashes his throat to cover up the fang marks. She tosses his keys in the nearby dumpster and leans down, closing his eyes.
Not nearly satisfied with one man's blood, Daria wipes the corner of her mouth as she steps back onto the sidewalk. She looks up and down the street and sees nothing but bars and restaurants. Loving couples and happy families walk past each other, smiles plastered on their faces. She walks along the inner edge of the crowded sidewalk.
As Daria is about to turn the corner, a woman catches her attention. She is stumbling out of a bar, a bottle clutched in her hand. The heel of her shoe snaps. Daria is instantly in front of her, offering a hand and a smile. The woman is so drunk that she does not notice that Daria has appeared from seemingly nowhere.
The woman struggles to keep her balance, even with Daria's hand on her arm to steady her. She looks at Daria and smiles back lopsidedly. She drops her bottle, but the vampire catches it mid fall. The woman is older, late forties maybe. She dresses sloppily as if imitating a teenager.
Daria holds her gaze and flashes her eyes. "I am going to help you home, now. You are not to question me or speak to anyone."
As Daria sits on the inner edge of the woods upon a pile of bodies she drained over the night, she watches the sun go higher in the sky. She quickly dismembers the bodies and scatters their remains throughout the woods for the animals to take care of.
"Thirteen," Daria says to her as she drops the last one, a tattoo covered heroine addict she had found collapsed in an alley.
Daria sniffs the air and drops into a defensive crouch. As Victor comes sauntering into the clearing, she snarls. He stops and puts his hands up, palms forward. He leans over the body she's left in pieces and gives her an approving nod.
"You should have told me you were throwing a party," Victor says to her with a grin. "You know, I can be fun if you give me the chance."
Daria stands up, still buzzed from the drunks and drug addicts whose blood she has consumed. "As if I would subject myself to your company," she spits at him. "Did I not tell you to leave?"
Victor leans against a tree and examines his claws in the light as Daria hides in the shadows of the trees. "But I did, I didn't go near Jimmy. That's what you were concerned with, yes?"
Daria fights the urge to flinch at the mention of him. She shrugs, trying to focus on Victor rather than her drunken high. All she can think about is blood, where can she get more of it when the sun goes down? She starts to sway and hum to a song she can't seem to get out of her head. Victor eyes her curiously, raising his eyebrows.
"Are you drunk?" he asks her, taking advantage of her good disposition and stepping closer.
Daria stops humming as he closes in on her, his arms on either side of her, trapping her against the tree. She tries not to breathe in his scent, part of it reminds her too much of him. There is no mistaking they are brothers.
"What do you want?" Daria slurs. "I am not turning you."
Victor nods and runs a claw gently over her bare hand, she shudders at his touch. "I have other business with you today."
Daria extends her fangs and slaps his hand away. "We do not have business together."
"What if I told you I had it on good authority that there is a battle coming, one that so happens to have Jimmy in the middle of it," Victor says, he puts his hands up, palms toward her. "I want to help you, Daria."
Daria shakes her head. "Xavier wouldn't let there be a war, he would do whatever needed to prevent bloodshed."
"Well, see," Victor says, taking in a dramatic sharp breath of air, "That's the problem. He's dead. Jimmy's little friend Jean killed him this morning."
Daria freezes with her hand raised, just as she is about to slap him. "How would you know?"
Victor carves a line in the tree beside her head, "I heard it from Jean herself, or rather, her other personality, the Phoenix."
"That doesn't explain a battle," Daria says, pushing his chest, causing him to stumble backward. She turns, ready to bolt into the next shadow. "Just leave me be."
"Daria, if you don't come with me now, there is a very good chance that Jimmy will die," Victor says to her, his good exterior gone.
Daria turns her head a fraction, eyeing him over her shoulder, "And why should I care what happens to him? You should be thrilled to know we have parted ways. Goddess knows you were the jealous brother."
Victor grabs her shoulder, sinking his claws into her. She doesn't give him the satisfaction of flinching. The drugs and alcohol are numbing her senses. "You are a terrible liar."
Daria snarls. "And you are a terrible brother."
"I am not terrible enough to let Jimmy get himself killed," Victor says in her ear. "And I know you aren't nearly as heartless as you play."
Daria butts him violently with the back of her head, turning to face him after shaking off the bump. "You know as well as I that he can't die, so what are you really after?"
"Daria, Jimmy will die in that battle if he goes," Victor says slowly, he grabs her arms and shakes her once. "Sober up and listen good. There is a cure for Mutants, and the humans will be using it as a weapon. Even if he's on their side, defending the fools, he could be hit with 'friendly fire.' He's not the soldier he once was."
Daria recalls the term from another time, another war. She shakes her head. "No."
Victor shakes her once more before holding her still, bringing her closer to him. "Daria, you are the only chance he has getting out of there alive."
She growls, her mind spouting thoughts of all different varieties. "I think you want to use me, a weapon."
Victor shakes her again. "Focus, damn it! I am asking you a very large favor. I am asking you to save my brother's life!"
"Why? Would it not make life so much easier for you if he was dead?" She leans in close to whisper in his ear. "You could chase me for eternity without the guilt of your brother always being the better man."
Victor barks out a laugh, "The better man? According to the Phoenix, they celebrated her return with quite the passionate kiss." He brings a finger mockingly to his lips. "Oh, that's right, he cheated on you."
She breaks her stony expression and bursts into hysterical laughter, the drunken high getting the better of her, "All the more reason for me to let him die." She shakes her finger at him. "I don't want to be the weak woman who tries in vain to win back unrequited love."
Daria is laughing hysterically to herself at the thought of rescuing a man who could care less about her. Victor grabs her arms again, pushing her into the tree.
"Then don't do it for Jimmy," Victor says to her, pleadingly. "Do it for me. Despite everything, I know you cared about me once. Even if it was just because I was his brother." Both of his hands move to cup her face. "I don't want to pick up your broken pieces because we let him die. Save him."
Daria doesn't move to push his hands away. "I will save him. But it isn't for you or him." She pauses, swallowing the lump in her throat. "In return, I want you to promise me that you will never try to find me," she swallows, forcing herself to say his name, "and that you won't harm James in the future."
Victor nods and removes his hands tenderly from her cool skin. "I agree. But we need to leave, now."
Daria eyes the spots of sunlight surrounding them. Victor, knowing her secret since the Civil War, shrugs off his black coat and throws it over Daria, covering all of her bare skin. He leads her swiftly to another clearing where a small aircraft waits for them. She eyes the control panel warily as he directs her to a seat in the back of the craft, away from the windows.
As the small jet moves upward under Victor's control, Daria moans in the back. "I have changed my mind. I'd rather run."
Victor laughs as the small jet shoots forward violently, throwing Daria further back into her seat, "Too late." He glances over his shoulder and grins, showing his own fangs. "Trust me."
Logan is in his room, shoving clothing haphazardly into his duffel bag. He takes only his own items, trying not to notice the clothing Dasha purchased and placed so neatly in the drawers. They still have the tags on them. He shakes his head. This is his last chance to save Jean, to bring her back from the edge he reminds himself. He replays the images she put in his mind as he stood at Xavier's grave.
"Where do you think you're going?" Storm asks from the doorway to the hall.
Her hands are on her hips defiantly. "Where do you think?" Logan shoots back at her, continuing to pack his bag.
Storm shakes her head once as she purses her lips, but she takes a step forward. "She's gone, Logan. She's not coming back."
Logan tries to stay calm, focusing on the possibility that Jean may still be able to be saved. "You don't know that."
"She killed the Professor," Storm says to him, trying to make him see, trying to give him reason.
Logan closes his eyes and takes a breath. "It wasn't Jean. The Jean I know is still in there."
"Listen," Storm says to him, trying to take a calmer approach. She stands in his way.
"Out of my way," he growls at her.
Storm takes another step towards him and places a hand on his chest. "Why can't you see the truth, huh?" She tries to push him, but he doesn't budge. "Why can't you just let her go?"
Logan knocks her hands away and grabs her arms painfully, pushing her into the heavy door. Her eyes widen. "Because," he spits out, trying to figure out how to explain. "Becauseā¦"
"Because you love her," Storm finishes for him.
Logan swallows and brings his fist to his mouth, turning sharply away from her. Storm pushes herself off the door, stepping toward him, her voice suddenly fighting again.
"She made her choice. Now it is time we make ours," Storm says to him fiercely. "So if you're with us, then be with us."
Logan doesn't turn around to face her, not wanting to see the disappointment on her face in his decision. He hears her take a step toward the door, ready to give up.
"Don't be a fool, Logan," Storm says to him, quieter now. "She isn't the woman you should be chasing after to bring back home. Don't keep lying to yourself."
He shuts his eyes tightly, as if that will keep images of Dasha at bay.
Daria opens her eyes as the small jet's engine shuts down and she is on solid ground. It is day time here, but the sky is heavily overcast. Victor strides over to Daria and holds out his hand, she shrugs off his heavy jacket and tosses it as him. She bolts out the open door.
"Where are we?" Daria asks him, looking up at the massive trees around them.
"California," Victor says, "The Redwood Forest."
"So where is this battle you promised me?"
Victor moves to her side and grabs her arm roughly. "We need to go over a few things." Daria shrugs him off, grimacing at his touch. "I am serious, Daria. If they suspect we are here for any reason besides aiding them, they will kill us on the spot."
"They can try."
Victor clenches his jaw before continuing. "Magneto has been gathering Mutants who are willing to fight for him, some with very powerful gifts. They will know you aren't one of them."
"Then why am I here?" Daria growls.
"I've been working as a recruiter of sorts for Magneto," he continues impatiently, ignoring her inquiry. "You're going to have to admit what you are."
Daria laughs at him loudly. "I refuse." She waves his hand at him, "Goodbye, Victor."
But Victor snags her before she can run. "Is your secret worth more than Jimmy's life?"
She scowls and shakes her head once. Victor smiles and pats her shoulder. She snaps her teeth at his hand.
"I always did like you better when you lost control," he says to her with a laugh. "Feisty Dasha."
She extends her fangs. "Call me Dasha again and I will drain you dry."
Victor laughs and puts his arm around her shoulder. "You know, you're going to have to be friendly if we are going to make this work."
Daria shrugs him off. "I can play nice, but don't touch me."
"One, two," Victor counts aloud, "Three."
Two women with strange tattoos are in front of them. Their arms are crossed as they eye Daria. Victor proceeds to move forward with Daria at his side, but one of the women with the olive skin and skimpy outfit holds up her hand to stop him.
"She's not one of us," the girl says with a sneer. She turns to the other girl who is clad in just as little as she. "Both unmarked."
Victor half growls half laughs at the girl. "Not everyone wants to be labeled as Mutant trash." He flashes his extended claws at her. "Let us through."
The second girl claps her hands and the earth shakes with the sound. Daria watches as a nearly invisible wave extends from her hands connecting. Victor is knocked backwards, but manages to land on his feet. The energy wave washes past Daria, leaving her unaffected. The two women glance at each other.
The girl who commented on her being 'unmarked' vanishes, but Daria catches her by the throat as she propels herself toward the vampire. She slams her onto the ground. Daria grins and exposes her fangs.
"You may want to work on your attack strategy," Daria hisses at her. "Your mediocre speed won't keep you alive."
Daria leans in and can smell the anger and jealousy in the girl's blood. Blood. Before she can lean in closer, Victor's hand is squeezing her shoulder.
"Daria," he warns her in a low voice.
She reluctantly releases the girl's neck. The girl darts several feet away, she and her friend move to the side as Daria and Victor pass them. Daria waves mockingly at her. Once out of earshot, Daria opens her mouth.
"I look forward to killing that cocky child," she says to him.
Victor laughs in response, "As I look forward to watching."
Daria is stunned as she sees the crowd of Mutants at the campsite. They are loud and the energy is made of unrest and violence. Victor places a hand on the small of her back, coaxing her attention away from people filled with blood.
An older man with a strange helmet extends his hand toward her. Victor presses his hand harder into her back and she reluctantly takes the man's hand. Despite his age, his grip is strong.
"I would like to introduce you to Daria," Victor says with a smile. "Daria, this is Magneto."
Daria snarls as the speedy girl from moments ago appears at Magneto's side. Magneto seems amused by Daria's actions, smiling broadly at her. He notices the blood around her mouth and dried in her hair. The braid also has twigs and leaves broken in it.
"Well, I do like a woman who isn't afraid to show her true self," Magneto says with a laugh.
The speedy girl scowls, "She isn't a Mutant."
"Oh?" Magneto says curiously. "And what, my dear, are you?"
Daria grins and exposes her fangs, "A vampire."
Magneto's smile falters. He looks at Victor darkly. "I hope this isn't some kind of joke."
Victor shakes his head. "No. It isn't. I have watched her first hand."
"And what exactly is it that you can do?" Magneto asks. But he waves his hand as if to wipe away the question. "More importantly, why would you want to join my ranks?"
Daria smiles politely. "I despise humans. I will support anyone who is against them. I see what they are doing to you and it is only a matter of time before they will discover my own kind." Magneto nods and waves his hand, encouraging her to continue. "I have speed, strength, stealth, agility, and heightened senses. And I have special gifts in persuasion. I guarantee you will not find a more talented warrior in your ranks."
"But how is it that you are out in the daylight?" he asks her, skeptical. "And what is it you feed on?"
"I can be out as long as I am not in direct sunlight, but I far from die if it happens." Daria adds casually, "As for my diet, human blood of course."
"Hmm," Magneto says, he turns toward the speedy girl and her friend. "You two were unable to stop her?" His question is more of a reprimand.
"My shockwaves didn't affect her," the one admits. She nods toward Speedy. "She caught her in a blink."
Daria shrugs. "Unless you have a witch that practices powerful necromancy, not much is going to stop me."
Magneto eyes Daria carefully, glancing between her and Victor. "Welcome to the Brotherhood." He nods at Victor. "See to it that she is fed properly. Guard her. I have use for this one."
Magneto strides away, with several in his tow, as if attached to him by an invisible string. Victor grabs Daria roughly by the arm and pulls her away from the campsite and deeper into the woods. He notices she is restless, bouncing between two trees. He sniffs the air.
"No one is near," Daria says to him, dropping to the ground at his side.
Victor grimaces at her. "Laying it on a little thick, don't you think?"
"Not at all," Daria shoots back. "He is like a collector, and now he's found his most interesting piece."
Victor grunts at her. "No one is as important to him as Jean."
Daria shrugs it off. "So, where are we going to eat?"
As Victor and Daria walk through San Francisco, the sun is setting. Victor keeps a careful eye on Daria as she studies the crowd. She hasn't made a move yet.
"Can you pick someone already?" Victor growls at her.
Daria glares at him. "I don't want any of these straight laced men," she says as they pass an office building. "I'm in the mood for someone who has been smoking herb," she adds thoughtfully.
Victor shakes his head. "No, not happening. You can not be drunk or high when I bring you back to camp. I know that the first time you see that tiny tattooed girl you're going to try to eat her."
Daria mockingly pouts at him. "I'll let you have the leftovers."
He grimaces. "I like to kill them, not eat them." But he smiles quickly. "Unless you want to turn me."
She sneers at him. "You have no idea what it means to turn someone."
Victor puts a hand on her waist and turns her down a side street. "So tell me."
Daria slams him against the wall of a building. "If you let me get high, I will tell you."
He chuckles at her and nods toward a group of boys that are passing a joint on a house stoop. "Let's have some fun."
As Daria drops her thirteenth victim of the night in a dumpster, she begins humming to herself, spinning in circles in the alley. Victor is standing over his own corpse, nursing the half empty bottle of whiskey in his hand.
Victor sets down the bottle and catches her around the waist. He moves one hand to hers and begins to lead as she hums. He begins to move her faster and faster, bursting out into an old Civil War drinking song. Daria laughs at his hopping dance, her feet step to the beat as if it is still 1864.
He dips her low; her long braid falls back and nearly touches the ground. Her eyes focus on Victor and her smile quickly turns to a frown. She is out of his reach in a split second, Victor steps toward her, still smiling.
"Come on, Daria," he says, slurring his words. "You don't have to feel guilty for enjoying my company." He catches her hands in his own and tugs her close. "I'm very good at keeping secrets."
Daria shakes her head and pushes him away lightly, smiling lopsidedly. "Don't make me hurt you, Victor."
Victor looks at the two bodies in the alley as he picks up his half finished bottle, "So is thirteen the number for tonight, or are you just getting started?" He sniffs the air. "I think I smell a meth addict nearby."
Daria sighs in exasperation, "Let's go back to the forest."
Victor walks close to her side as they leave the city. He stumbles over nothing. Daria rolls her eyes and tosses him over her shoulder, bolting into the forest. Maybe a mile away from the campsite of the Brotherhood, she drops him on his ass. Victor takes another swig from the bottle, unaffected by her running with him.
"So, are you a woman of your word?" he asks her, grabbing her hand and tugging her to sit beside him on the ground. "Or are you just a liar?"
Daria takes the bottle from his hand and moves it out of his reach. She scoots over a few inches when she catches a whiff of the whiskey-riddled breath.
"I suppose there is no harm in telling you will never be a Vampire," Daria says with an exaggerated sigh. "Once I choose to turn a person, they are my responsibility and my property. I can summon them whenever I like, there is no place they can hide. If I give them any order or direction, they are compelled to follow. That person will forever have a blood tie to me." She punches Victor in the shoulder, causing him to flinch. "And the last person I want to make my eternal mate is you."
Victor laughs. "Aw, come on. We had fun tonight."
Daria glares at him. "Yes? And what happens when I'm back on my wagon and guilt-ridden from my recent killing sprees? Are you going to want to feel my every pain, guilt, and whim with me? Everything I feel, my progeny feels." She turns away from him, looking up at the stars. "I'm not one of those idiot vampires who are trying to make themselves an army."
Victor reaches for Daria's hand, but she pulls it away. "I can be the good brother if you give me the chance."
She laughs at him coldly. "Victor, this is all pretend, remember? I am here as a favor and nothing more."
Daria is waiting for his smart ass remark, but it doesn't come. She looks over and sees that Victor has passed out cold, still sitting up.
For a moment, Daria debates if she should just leave now and forget about helping the two brothers all together. She sighs and jumps into the tree he is leaning against, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.
Victor wakes up to someone kicking him in the head repeatedly. He swats with his claws extended, but is responded to with a growl. Daria.
"Wake up you drunkard," Daria spats at him. "We have a problem."
As Daria yanks him to his feet, Victor groans. He is definitely feeling the effects of his drinking last night. He stretches, clenching and unclenching his hands. Daria smacks him lightly on the face. He snarls at her, but Daria just glares as she shoves him against the tree.
"Damn it, Victor!" Daria hisses at him. "Your brother is here."
Victor gives up his defenses and straightens himself from her attack. "Where?"
"In the campsite. I could smell his trail all the way there." She starts dragging him toward the site, "Magneto is riling them up, showing off Jean."
It takes them a few moments before the pair shows up behind Magneto as he gives his speech of instigation, encouraging the battle that will end the cure. Daria moves to the side, to where Jean stands. She is several feet back, appearing to be a guard. Daria knows just how easy it would be to kill her now, to end this disaster before it begins. But if she does that, she certainly exposes Victor, and worse, James. She has trouble focusing as she takes in Jean's long red hair. Victor is suddenly at her side. He squeezes her hand.
Daria doesn't feel his touch as she sees him. Logan is standing in the crowds. He is wearing a hooded sweater, trying to stay under the radar. His eyes are on her. But after a moment, she realizes he is staring at Jean, the red head's posture turns rigid under his gaze. Victor holds her hand tighter, as if he can sense her inner debate as whether to bolt or not.
Logan's eyes move an inch, and suddenly his gaze is on Dasha. She blinks rapidly, trying to empty her sight as if he doesn't exist. He begins to move through the crowds, still trying to hold onto Jean and Dasha's presence.
Victor starts pulling Daria back into the woods as Magneto finishes his speech. "Magneto can't see you together."
Once out of sight, Daria begins to pace in a tight line. Victor watches her, waiting to catch her if she tries to foolishly go after his brother. But she freezes, closing her eyes.
"Magneto saw him," she half whispers, half moans. "He's just thrown him into the forest."
"No, Daria," Victor warns, but it sounds more like a pleading.
But it is too late, Daria has vanished from Victor's sight. It doesn't take long to reach Logan. His body is broken at the roots of a massive tree. Her cool fingers touch his face as his body puts himself back together.
As Logan's eyes focus, he jumps when he realizes it is Daria. He can see the blood around her mouth and the jittery way her eyes look. In just one glance, Logan can tell she has lost control.
"Dasha," Logan says to her quietly, his hand reaching toward her face despite the blood.
But Daria is on her feet, "I am here to ask you a favor."
"Anything," Logan says quickly, pulling himself up.
"Do not fight in this battle, James," Daria says to him.
Logan tenses at the sound of her using his first name. "You know I can't do that."
Daria begins to back away toward the campsite, "Please don't do this. Don't die for this cause."
"Come back with me," Logan says to her, willing to say nearly anything to make her stay.
Daria pauses at his request. But she turns sharply as she senses Victor approaching. Victor stands by her side solidly, his nails extending silently.
"Hello, Jimmy," Victor says with a smirk. "It's been some time. Since I saved you at Three Mile Island, correct?"
Logan stares at the pair. As he focuses on Daria, her face is blank, but her eyes only show guilt. She snarls at Victor as he tries to put his hand on her shoulder. Logan's brother seems unaffected by her attitude, he continues to smile.
But as Victor leans in close to Daria's ear to speak, his voice holds concern. "We need to go before they notice we're missing."
Daria's voice is empty. "Goodbye, James."
Logan watches as Dasha takes Victor's hand. They disappear from his sight. He is still left with the scent of ice, salt, and wildflowers.
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