"So what the hell do we do now?" Johnny asked as they crouched underneath a large tree. After three hours of driving through the night, they had pulled to a stop on the fringe of New York City. "If we go any farther we run into cops and shit. Go back and we've got sentinels on our trail."
"We're gonna have sentinels on our trail anyway," Beast cut in as he prodded the ground with a stick. "And not all of us can wander about on the surface so easily."
"Don't you X-men have a second base or something?" Johnny asked impatiently, "just in case you where compromised in the first one?"
"It's not a base, it is a school!" Beast replied bitterly, "dedicated to the research an preservation of..."
"You had stealth jets," Johnny snapped. "It's a base," he said as he stood up. "I still got a bit of a trust fund, but I can't get at it without showing at the Baxter building, and we all know how that'll go over."
"What about the Morlocks?" Jean asked as she re-joined them, after putting Rachel to bed in the back of one of the jeeps. "Do you think they'll help us?"
"They fled the city yesterday," Beast said with finality as a helicopter whirred overhead.
"Hide!" Rogue hissed as she dived behind a rock with Johnny. Beast pulled Jean into a tree as Kitty pulled Peter into the ground. Several tense minutes passed as they waited for the helicopter to pass.
"We need to get better cover," Rogue said as she emerged from cover. "Hiding in the sewers would be better than..."
"No need," Peter said as Kitty pulled them both out of the ground. "Well, we will need to go in the sewers, but only as a means of getting somewhere. Hopefully Stark doesn't know where it is."
"Know where what is?" Jean asked impatiently as she folded her arms across her chest.
"The Spider-cave."
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"How much longer do I have to walk, Mommy?" Rachel pleaded as they trudged through the sewer, "my feet hurt. And I'm tired."
"I don't..." Jean began as she swept a fringe of hair out of her eyes. The sewer had a horrid smell to it, made even worse by his heightened senses, although he had gotten used to it over the past few years. But he could tell the smell was getting to Kitty and Beast badly, as both had nearly keeled over from the fumes.
"About two hours," he interrupted. "But trust me," he continued as they rounded a corner, "this is faster and safer than walking on the surface."
"But it smells like sh...it smells bad," Kitty said, stopping herself mid-sentence, most likely to avoid a scolding from Jean. "How can you stand it without losing your supper?"
"Easy," he said, "I try and block it ou..." he was cut off by a bone-chilling ROAR! That echoed through the sewer tunnel. Everyone tightened their bodies as they searched for the source.
"Alligators in the sewer?" Johnny offered.
"Urban myth," Peter replied, "I've been down here more than I'd like over the past four years and never come across one."
"Besides, it sounds big," Rogue remarked as she cast her eyes from side to side. "Way to big to be an alligator or crocodile..."
"What the hell is that? Johnny said, cutting her off as he broke from the tiny semi-circle they had made to cross to the other side of the sewer. Peter followed him, and his eyes fell on the five deep gouges in the concrete, covered in blood. "Looks like something out of Jurassic Park."
"I highly doubt there's a dinosaur running around," Beast said as he joined them, running his hand over the gouge marks once he did so. "These marks remind me of Logan's...maybe he escaped and..."
"Why wouldn't he link up with us then?" Kitty asked with a slight shrug, "He'd be able to follow us no problem, even in here."
"And the marks don't match," Peter added in, "Five marks. Wolverine's got six claws of even length. These five are uneven and..." he was cut off by another roar echoing about.
"That sounded to close for comfort," Beast said nervously.
"No way to tell proximity or direction of origin in these tunnels," Peter said as he looked around for any potential threats. "But I say we get moving. This way," he finished as he pointed northwards, down a long tunnel as another growl echoed from a place unseen, but sounding closer than before.
"Run!" Johnny shouted as a shadow appeared along the wall with the gouges. They ran as a single unit. Peter took the lead, as he knew where to go. Kitty followed him closely, as she was the only one who could match his stamina and speed. Rogue and Jean, who was still carrying Rachel, made up the middle, while Johnny and Beast brought up the rear.
They tore down passageways and tight corners, but seemed unable to lose the creature which was stalking them. He would catch a glimpse of a shadow here and there, or he would pick up on a low grunt. Eventually, he caught a glimpse of it directly.
Even a small snippet of the creature's tale revealed it's identity.
"Stop!" he ordered with a hiss. "Beast, with me. The rest of you stay put, and we'll be back in two minutes."
Where are you... Kitty began as she took a step forward.
I've got a hunch, he said cautiously as he slipped forward with Beast beside him. But just in case I'm wrong, I want you to be ready to run. He finished as he reached the corner and peered around. He was greeted by two natural enemies duelling to the death.
On one side of the ferocious battle, a seven-foot Lizard thrashed about.
On the other, his artificially created mortal enemy, Kaine, slashed and struck with unholy fury.
"he escaped?" Peter hissed quietly.
"It would appear so," Beast replied, "but as to how he got here before us.."
"He could have gotten a ride with Stark," Peter offered as he watched Kaine swipe the Lizard's back. A mighty howl of pain escaped the reptilian jaws. As the Lizard arched his back, Peter watched the green skin to recede. Unfortunately, Kaine's brutal attack did not. And Peter couldn't just stand by and let it happen. Regardless of what the lizard had done, Curt Connors was still a human being, in danger.
"Well well well," Kaine taunted as he turned to face Peter and Beast. "My brother brought along a pet, a savage animal."
"Let him go Kaine," Peter challenged as he began to circle his clone. "He's beaten, you won."
"I haven't won until he's dead," Kaine replied with a snap as he extended his twin spine-like blades. "Not until I've proven that I am your better in every way."
"So you'd kill an innocent man?" Peter snapped as he struggled to control his anger.
"Innocent?" Kaine snarled as he paced the length of the tunnel. "You think he's innocent? How many people has he killed because you refuse to kill him?"
"That's not my call to make," Peter said as he steadied his voice.
"No," Kaine smiled as he glanced towards Connors, who lay sprawled on the ground, moving feebly in an attempt to stand. "It's mine." Kaine charged forward with savagery, leaping for Connor's prone form, but Peter managed to intercept. He drove his shoulder into his clone's stomach, driving him back and received a long gash across his back in return. Peter kicked his leg out in retaliation and created some space between him and his opponent.
"Survival of the fittest?" Kaine grimaced wickedly.
"No," Peter shot back. "Hank, get him out of here and get to safety."
"Worried about your pet?" Kaine snarled, "I see you have a natural affinity for cats. And once I'm done with you, I'll take care of them as well." That pushed him over the edge. Peter roared as he launched himself at his enemy and slammed him into the wall. He drove his fist into Kaine's stomach and face, forcing blood to splatter everywhere. He brought his knee into Kaine's jaw before tossing him to the ground and smashing his foot down on Kaine's shoulder.
That final blow never hit home, as Kaine twisted around and swept Peter's leg out from underneath him. A quick slash across the chest forced Peter backwards. He could immediately could feel the hot gush of blood trickling across his chest as he lashed out with a right hook that connected with Kaine's jaw.
THWACK! A medium-sized chunk of concrete impacted Kaine's skull, and he keeled over into the water below, unconscious. Glancing to the side, he saw that Jean had used her telekinesis to throw the rock, and that everyone was giving him a strange look. He looked down at his hands, and saw they where covered in his own blood.
He began to sway as blood-loss overtook him slightly. Luckily, Kitty wrapped her arm around him, giving him the support he needed to stay upright.
Which way? She asked in a whisper.
...North for about twenty minutes, he said as he pointed down the tunnel, and she began walking in that direction. Everyone else followed suit, and soon they came face to face with a ladder that lead to a manhole cover.
"This way up," he murmered as he slipped out of Kitty's grasp and clasped the cool metal bars with his glove-covered hands. Slowly, he ascended the ladder, and was slightly reassured when he saw Kitty follow suit as he pushed the manhole cover out of his way. He did a quick scan of his surroundings, to make sure that no one else was there before fully pulling himself free.
As soon as he did, new pain lanced up his back, and he let out a low screech as he made his way to the hidden closet where he kept a store of medical supplies.
"Make yourselves comfortable," he grimaced as he pulled his meagre supply bin out and began to rummage through it's contents. With one hand, he pulled the portion of his suit that covered his body free as the other he used to tend to the wound on his chest. He found himself unable to finish, however, as a pair of slender hand reached around his shoulders and turned him around and...
Smack! Kitty's hand slammed into his face.
"You're an idiot, Peter Parker!" she screamed as she pulled his mask free, along with hers. "You could have gotten yourself killed!" she shouted as her hand struck the opposite side of his face.
"I..." he began, but was cut off by her lips slamming into his. Sparks flew as he slid his hand up her back and onto her shoulders and she did the same, albeit with taking care to avoid the wounds on his back. She pushed him back against the wall gently as their embrace continued, as a small part of his mind recalled where they where standing. Ironic to be doing this here, isn't it? He said as he continued to caress her shoulder.
Shut up webs, for once in your life. she smiled as they finally broke their embrace and stared into each other's eyes, minds and hearts.