Wolverine was careful to take back roads to Maple Woods, to lessen the chance of anyone following him. He also took the precaution of renting a car, under another name, for the trip. He couldn't know that Lady Deathstrike already knew about Star, and had the hospital under surveillance. Her mercenaries reported to her as soon as he left the vehicle and entered the building.
Doctor Flanigan meet him at the door. She was clearly angry, but she didn't say anything as she escorted him to Star's room. She tapped on the door, then opened it. Star was sitting on the floor by the large window. Jubilee's teddy bear held loosely in one arm. She stared out the window, apparently seeing nothing.
"Star," Wolverine said, stepping into the room. She didn't even turn her head. He moved quickly to her side and bent to one knee beside her. He gently took her arm in one hand, turning her head toward him with the other hand. She looked right through him.
"Star, darlin' I'm sorry. Please come back ta me." As soon as he released her chin, she turned back to the window.
"How long's she been like this?"
"Since yesterday evening. I had hoped to be able to bring her out of it without disturbing you."
"Disturbin' me?! Lady, I'd do anythin' in the world fer her!"
"Except come to see her, perhaps?"
"I told ya, it wasn't safe fer her."
"Please, Mr. Logan. I've heard every excuse there is for not visiting our guests, and yours was one of the least believable."
"Mebbe so, but it was the truth." She clearly didn't believe him. He turned back to Star and lifted her gently to her feet. She didn't resist him. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, placing her on it as if she were made of glass. He picked up her teddy bear and placed it in her arms. As he did so, he noticed a bruise on the inside of her arm.
"Where'd she get this?"
"What?"
"This bruise." He turned her arm for the doctor to see.
"I don't know. Keiko didn't say anything about her being hurt."
"Who the hell's Keiko?"
"Star's attendant. Rachel was killed in a automobile accident over a month ago. Keiko took her place. David," Doctor Flanigan said, speaking to the intercom, "would you ask Keiko to join us in Star's room?"
"I'm sorry, Doctor. Keiko left at noon, and hasn't come back." Wolverine exchanged a glance with the doctor, then moved to lift Star from the bed.
"Wait a minute, I want another look at that bruise." She turned Star's arm toward her, examining the bruise. "There is a puncture at the center of the bruise. She's been drugged."
"Its gotta be mor'n that, Doc. Most drugs don't affect her in the slightest."
"I really should do a blood test."
"Later. I gotta get her outta here." Doctor Flanigan looked at him.
"You were serious about the danger, weren't you?"
"Yeah. Now get outta my way." Star was unresponsive in his arms as he moved quickly through the hallways toward a side door. An explosion from the front of the building ripped through the quiet of the evening. Glancing out the dining room window, he saw his rented car burning. The lights went out in the building, the power lines undoubtedly cut. He kicked the door open and went through it at a run, dodging even as he hit the open lawn, Star a limp weight in his arms. He made it to the cover of the surrounding trees without being brought down. He ran. When he could no longer hear his pursuers crashing through the brush he paused, putting Star down.
"Star, darlin' can you hear me?" She didn't respond. "Babe, we ain't got time fer this. I need ya ta stay right here, do ya understand? Right here." He pushed her down until she was sitting motionless in the underbrush. "I'll be back for ya soon's I can, girl." He turned away from her, his claws extended, and began to hunt his hunters.
He found the first less than one hundred yards from where he'd left Star. He stepped up behind the man, unmistakably a Reaver. At the last moment, the man turned toward him. He tried to bring his weapons to bear, but Wolverine was far too close. He died without firing a shot. The second was almost as easy, though he cried out as he fell.
"Logan," he heard a heavily accented woman's voice calling from the direction of the hospital building. "Come back, Logan, or I will kill the lovely doctor." He peered cautiously through the trees and saw Lady Deathstrike, standing in front of the burning car, Doctor Flanigan held firmly before her, her long clawed fingers caressing the doctor's throat.
"Let her go, Yuriko," he said stepping into the open.
"Now why should I do that, Logan?"
"Keiko, what are you doing?"
"Quiet, doctor, I am speaking with Logan. Don't you Americans know that it is bad manners to interrupt?" Doctor Flanigan shut up, the razor claws just parting the flesh of her throat.
"Yuriko..."
"Do not call me that! Yuriko is dead. I am Lady Deathstrike!"
"All right, 'Lady Deathstrike'. Let her go. I'll go with you."
"I know you will, Logan." He felt a sudden pain in his shoulder, the impact of a projectile staggering him. He looked down and saw the tail of a tranquilizer dart protruding from his shoulder. He yanked it out, only to be struck by another, this time in the back, where he could not reach it. He stumbled forward as the Lady released the doctor. He fell to his knees before her, the drugs coursing through his system.
"Find the girl," he heard Deathstrike order.
"No!" he cried. "Leave her alone!"
"Not a chance, lover," she answered him. "Its ever so much more interesting to watch you squirm when there is an, shall we say, 'innocent' involved." He tried to reach her, but his body would not respond. He collapsed at her feet, unconscious. He didn't see them bring Star out of the woods. Nor did he see it when they set fire to the Maple Woods Care Facility. Doctor Flanigan and the other attendants quickly evacuated the patients from the building, and could only watch helplessly as the Reavers loaded Wolverine's body into the back of an ambulance. Star was placed in another vehicle, and the attackers drove away, leaving only the echo of Lady Deathstrike's triumphant laughter ringing in their ears.
Wolverine woke to the sound of a low moaning. He lifted his head and added his own groan to the monotonous sound.
"Ah, Logan. I see you have rejoined us," he heard Lady Deathstrike say. He tried to turn toward her and discovered that he was bound. His hands and forearms were encased in heavy metal sleeves which were, in turn, attached to the wall slightly above shoulder height and at full extension. His legs, too, were immobilized, his feet suspended just above the floor.
The moaning continued as he tried to extend his claws, only to have them meet the impervious surface of the sleeves. As he had suspected, they were lined with adamantium. Deathstrike might be crazy, but she wasn't stupid. She stepped in front of him, her cyborg components once more concealed.
"Do you like the song she sings, Logan?" she gestured at a speaker mounted on the opposite wall. "The Americans coddle these creatures far too much. Why, she has made more progress in just a few hours than in all the time I was with her in that stupid hospital." Wolverine ground his teeth in helpless fury as Deathstrike placed one hand lightly on his chest. "She understands much of what is said to her, you know. I've spent much of the last month telling her all about you. About how you abandoned her, just like you abandoned me. She's so sweet. She didn't want to believe me, but when you didn't come to see her, well, what choice did she have?"
"Leave her alone, Yuriko. What can you gain by hurting her?"
"What can I gain?" she laughed, a truly nasty sound. "I gain revenge, Logan. For what you did to my father. For what you forced me to become!" She extended her cyborg claws, digging them into his chest. His blood flowed for a moment, then the wounds closed.
"Nobody forced ya to do nothin', Yuriko. You did that to yerself."
"Perhaps," she turned away from him, scrupulously cleaning the blood from her claws before retracting them. "Just the same, you will pay, in her blood!" She stalked from the room, leaving him to listen to Star. It was hours before the sounds finally ceased, while he tried frantically to free himself. Deathstrike would kill Star slowly, just to watch his reactions. He had to get loose!
The silence, while merciful, was short lived. He heard a door opening, followed by Deathstrike's voice.
"Wake up Star. It is time for your lesson." Deathstrike slapped her, waking her roughly. Star cried out, fear and pain audible in her voice. "That's a good girl. Oh, does your arm hurt you? Let Keiko look at it for you." Star whimpered, the sound setting his teeth on edge. "Well, no wonder it hurts. It is broken, after all. Why, how funny it looks, Star, all bent in the wrong place. We'll have to be careful with it won't we." Star screamed, "Oops! I bumped it didn't I?" Deathstrike's voice lowered, her words dripping malice. "Do you remember Logan, Star? He's here, darling. Oh, don't look hopeful, dear. He abandoned you before, you don't really think he's here to help you, do you? Don't be silly. He doesn't need any little mental cripple tying him down, now does he? Well, don't worry. When I'm finished with you, you won't be a burden to him any longer." The door opened, then closed again. The speaker was silent for a few moments, then faintly, he could hear Star begin to cry, hopelessly, like an abandoned and forgotten child. His heart broke anew at the sound.
Star lay on the cold floor, her broken arm cradled against her chest. She didn't know where she was, only that Keiko, who had been her friend, was hurting her. Keiko had told her that Logan didn't care what happened to her, but she wasn't sure she believed her. It seemed to be getting easier to think things through, and Keiko was too pleased with herself when she'd told her about Logan. She had a vague memory of his arms around her, of a run through the trees. If he'd truly abandoned her, what had happened then? Was she just confused, as she'd been for a long time? One day faded into the next, with no clear memory of anything before yesterday. What was going on? What was wrong with her? Keiko had called her a mental cripple. Had she been injured? She fought to silence her sobs, finding a reserve of will with which to defy Keiko. She knew her resolve would be tested soon, but she was so tired, she didn't know how long she would be able to hold out. If Logan truly were here, then he was in just as much trouble as she, or he would have come for her by now. Still cradling her arm, her mind spinning, she slept.
"Well, Logan. What do you think of my little drama so far?" Lady Deathstrike asked as she entered Wolverine's cell. He just glared at her. "Perhaps you don't like my cast of characters, is that it? Well, I think we can make it more interesting. I've told my Reaver to enjoy himself." She reached up and turned a knob on the speaker, just as the sound of an opening door was transmitted. The sound intensified. Wolverine struggled with his bonds as Lady Deathstrike, laughing, closed the door behind her.
Star woke when the door opened. She watched as a big man entered and closed the door behind him. She knew that he'd been sent to hurt her and she was unable to suppress a whimper as he approached. He reached down as she cowered away from him and dragged her to her feet, shoving her backwards. Her back against the wall of the room, she was able to remain standing when he released her. He stood very close to her, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek.
"The Lady said I was ta hurt ya some more, girl. Only this time, the only restriction is that I ain't supposed ta kill ya. Let's see how close to the line I can get, what d'ya say? Besides, you look like a party girl."
Wolverine listened in horror as the Reaver tormented Star. He struggled with his bonds, to no avail. His blood froze as Star's muffled cries reached him. The knowledge of what the Reaver was doing to her pushed Wolverine into a berserker fury. He lunged, twisting against his bonds. He felt muscles tearing, but the metal sleeves didn't give an inch. He screamed with rage, and continued to fight for freedom.
"A real woman woulda enjoyed that," the Reaver laughed. Star turned to her side, drawing her knees up against all the pain. "But I forgot, you ain't nothin' but a feeb, are ya?" He chuckled nastily, exploring her body with his eyes, somehow making her feel even dirtier than had his actual touch. "And you ain't got enough marks on ya to make the Lady happy." He reached down and grabbed her arm. The broken bones ground together in his grip, and this time, at last, she did faint.
Wolverine heard Star cry out once more, then she made no further sound as the Reaver beat her. He didn't know whether to pray that she was alive, or to hope that she had escaped into death, where their captors could not reach her.
He lifted his head, his body exhausted by his futile struggles, as Lady Deathstrike entered his cell.
"Were you amused by their performance, Logan? I admit that my Reaver has little imagination, but his methods are effective, do you not agree?"
"You are without honor, Yuriko," he said quietly.
"I?!?" she snarled. "I am without honor? It is you who killed my father, Gaijin, or have you forgotten? I swore that I would cleanse the earth of you and all of your blood, and that includes your little whore." She stepped up to him, her eyes wild. She snatched a long bladed knife from her belt and drove it into his chest. The blade was poisoned, and he could feel it eating into him like an acid. She slowly withdrew the weapon.
"I will see you die, Logan," she said as the room darkened around him. "But not yet. There was not enough poison on my blade to kill you, and I am not yet finished with your woman." If she said anything further, he didn't hear it as he fell into the darkness.
It was dark and she was alone. More than anything, she hated being alone. She was lying on a bare floor and she was cold. She tried to sit up and realized that she was bound, and that she hurt all over. A door opened and she was momentarily blinded as the room was flooded with light. She blinked in the glare until her eyes cleared. A woman stood in the doorway. It was Keiko. Only it wasn't, quite. Her arms were oddly elongated and ended in sharply clawed, long fingered hands. Her eyes were cold.
"Bring the Gaijin whore," she said to someone behind her. "I want him to watch her die before I kill him." The woman moved away from the door and a man stepped into the room. Star cringed despite herself, for this was the same man that had just hurt her so badly. He grinned at her, then lifted her effortlessly to his shoulder, knocking the breath out of her. She struggled for air as the room grew dim around her.
When Wolverine regained consciousness the speaker was silent. He renewed his attack on the bonds that held him. His heart beat, still sluggish from the poison, quickened when he felt the mounting bracket for the manacle on his left arm shift ever so slightly. His body glistened with sweat from his exertions when the door to his cell suddenly opened and Lady Deathstrike entered, followed by a Reaver who had Star casually thrown over one shoulder. She was covered with blood, and he could see many bruises on her naked body. She was still bleeding and he watched as her blood dripped to the floor. But she was alive, and as long as she still lived, he could hope.
"I have tired of our game, Logan. The time has come to end it." She nodded to the Reaver who dropped Star in a heap on the floor. She was barely conscious, her wrists tied behind her, twisting her broken arm into a grotesque shape. She slowly lifted her head and looked at Wolverine, then she turned and looked up at the Reaver.
"Party....girl," she said with obvious effort.
"You see, Logan? Pain is a much more effective teacher than gentle words. Those are the first words she has spoken since you put her in that hospital, aren't they?" Lady Deathstrike said softly, nearly in his ear. Wolverine pulled with all his might, praying that the brackets would part. Star continued to look at the Reaver.
"Party...girl," she said again.
"I think she's askin' for a rematch," he said, laughing. "Ya wanta show yer boyfriend what a good sport ya are, do ya?" He lifted her to her feet and bent to kiss her. She turned her head and his eyes narrowed as he glared down at her.
"Hurts," she said, shifting her shoulders beneath his hands. "Please, hurts." The Reaver only hesitated a moment before reaching behind her and cutting the rope with the broad blade which extended suddenly from the end of his arm. She whimpered as her broken arm shifted, the bones grating audibly. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He bent once more to kiss her. As their lips touched, Star suddenly jerked her knee upward, catching him squarely in the groin. He gasped and fell to his knees, pushing her convulsively away from him.
Lady Deathstrike hit her, knocking her to the floor. Wolverine felt the bracket shift again, pulling out of the sleeve imprisoning his arm. He redoubled his effort as Deathstrike kicked the Reaver.
"Get up, you fool," she snarled. With all the color drained from his face, the Reaver struggled to obey. "Kill her! Now!" He stumbled over to Star and grasped her by the throat. He extended the blade from his cybernetic arm once more and was about to plunge it into her chest when he glanced up at Wolverine. He grinned maliciously and lifted her from the floor. He turned and slammed her body into Wolverine, her back against his chest, her head on his shoulder.
"No!" Wolverine screamed as he finally tore the bracket free. The Reaver's eyes widened, watching the suddenly freed adamantium claws flashing toward him. He felt his throat being torn out and he convulsively drove the blade into Star's chest. The weapon passed completely through her body and into Wolverine's. He caught her around the waist, holding her against him as the Reaver's blood covered them both.
"Oh, God, no!" She looked up at him and, incredibly, smiled.
"Logan," she whispered. She looked at the Reaver, his cybernetic limbs locked into position by his death. A flash of movement caught his eye and he turned in time to see Lady Deathstrike leaping toward them, her claws extended, her eyes wild with fury. Suddenly, the room disappeared, to be replaced instantly by the familiar surroundings of his own room in Xavier's mansion. Star sighed once and went limp against him, the blade still transfixing them both.
"Noooo!" he cried. He gently lowered her to the floor, the blade pulling free of his body with a wet sound. He ignored the pain and the blood flowing from the wound. One hand and both feet were still encased in the adamantium manacles Deathstrike had used to shackle him to the wall, hindering his movement.
The door to the room burst open and Gambit stood framed in the doorway for a moment. He was stunned by the sight which greeted him. Star lay on the floor while Wolverine knelt beside her, both were covered with blood.
"Gambit," Wolverine's voice broke and he had to take a breath before he could continue. "Her heart's still beatin', but she ain't breathin'. Help me!" Gambit leaped forward, while Wolverine fought to free himself from the manacles. Gambit gently lifted Star, straightening her body as much as he dared. He held her head, clearing her airway, then bent to breath into her mouth. Her chest expanded, causing the light to glitter off the blade which passed completely through her body. He blinked once at the metal arm still attached to the blade, then bent to give her another breath. He could see her pulse beating, slowly but steadily, in her throat.
Wolverine had succeeded in freeing his other hand when Cyclops and Beast entered the room. Beast immediately moved to help Gambit while Cyclops used his optic blast to shatter the remaining manacles binding Wolverine.
Wolverine moved closer to Star. A puzzled frown crossed his face, to be replaced by a sudden understanding. He reached out and grasped the arm end of the blade.
"Wolverine, what are you doing? You'll kill her!" Beast said, catching Wolverine's arm with one powerful, blue furred hand.
"No, Hank. Look at her back. The scars are fadin'. You were wishin' she had a healin' factor like I got, an' it looks like ya got yer wish." He shook Beast's hand off. "We gotta get this thing outta her chest so she can heal." Beast nodded, and steadied Star while Wolverine tried to withdraw the blade. It didn't budge.
"Its lodged in her ribs, hang on to her." Gambit continued to breath for Star as Beast shifted his body to place both immensely powerful arms around her. Jubilee appeared in the doorway, Rogue, Jean, and Storm close behind her.
"Holy cow!" was all she said.
"C'mon, sugah," Rogue said, taking the younger woman by the arm. "I think maybe we'd better get the med lab ready, what d'ya think?" Jubilee, wide eyed, followed her without comment.
Once more, Wolverine pulled, but again the blade refused to be shifted. Jean closed her eyes and added her effort to his. Finally, the blade moved, pulling free from Star's body reluctantly, the metal ringing against the bones of her ribs and spine. At last, Wolverine held the blade in his hand. With a snarl, he hurled it behind him. The wounds in Star's chest and back closed quickly, but she still was not breathing on her own. They carefully moved her to the med lab, where Beast set up the respirator for her. She remained unconscious.
Storm insisted on checking Wolverine's injury, but was satisfied that his healing factor was taking care of it.
"What happened?" someone finally asked.
"Lady Deathstrike was waitin' fer me. She'd been," he paused, "workin' on Star fer almost a month." He touched Star's hand, gently. She didn't respond. "I'm gonna kill that bitch," he said quietly. No one looking at his eyes would doubt the sincerity of his words.
"What's takin' her so long, Hank?"
"I don't know for certain, Wolverine, but the blade completely severed her spine, depriving her of any function below mid chest. Which is why she requires the respirator. A wound such as this, my friend, would probably require a certain amount of time even for you to heal. Her healing factor isn't nearly as, shall we say, tried and true as yours. Give her time. If she has not begun to recover in the next few hours, it may be necessary to intervene. For now," he shook his head, "just give her time." He handed Wolverine a wet towel with which he cleaned the worst of the gore from his face, chest, and arms. He didn't want to leave her until she woke.
"Her other injuries, while extensive, seem to be healing as well. The person who did this was very thorough."
"I couldn't get loose, Hank. I couldn't stop him. All I could do was listen while he hurt her." He looked up and Beast involuntarily moved back half a step. "I killed the bastard way too fast." He looked again at Star. "And not nearly fast enough."
Professor Xavier and Jean entered the med lab together. Jean turned to speak with Beast while the Professor moved to Wolverine's side next to Star's bed.
"How is she?"
"You tell me, Chuck. Hank says she's showin' signs o' gettin' better, but she still ain't breathin' on her own, an' she ain't so much as flickered an eyelash." Xavier nodded, then, glancing at Wolverine for permission, he placed his hand on Star's forehead. He didn't move for several very long minutes. Finally, he sighed and removed his hand.
"Neurological tissue takes the longest time to heal, Logan, even in a mutant. She is more aware of her surroundings now, however, than when she left us for Maple Woods."
"Ya mean she's gettin' better? When she wakes up, she might...." he couldn't bring himself to voice the hope.
"She may be normal again. Or at least as normal as a mutant with her particular heritage can be." He looked at the man, his friend, who had endured so much heartache at the hands of a cruel world, and hoped that his words were true. "Logan," Wolverine turned to face him once more. "She may not. We don't know that much about your healing factor, and this is the first time hers has manifested. There may be limits as to how far the damaged tissue can recover. Please don't place too much hope in a miracle."
"If we ain't got hope, Chuck, what the hell do we have?" He turned back to the pale and motionless girl. Xavier turned away.
An hour or so later Star stirred. She opened her eyes and raised one hand to her throat. She struggled with the respirator tube. Wolverine caught her hands.
"Star, darlin', relax. Don't fight it. The machine's been breathin' for ya. Just let it keep goin' until Hank can disconnect it." She looked at him, her eyes wide and frightened, but she stopped fighting the machine. Beast moved quickly to disconnect the respirator. Star drew a shuddering breath through the tube in her throat, then relaxed a little.
"Star, I need to remove this tube. Its going to feel strange when I pull it out, but I need you to remain perfectly still until its completely clear, all right?" She nodded slightly, holding tightly to Wolverine's hand. Beast grasped the end of the tube and quickly pulled it from her throat. She coughed, then flinched.
"Your throat may be sore for a while. Would you like something to drink?" She nodded again and Beast went to get her a glass of water. Wolverine watched her face intently. She looked at him and smiled.
"I'm ... all right," she said hoarsely. "Have I been ... ill?"
"You could say that," his voice broke. She reached for him and he pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly until Beast returned with her water. Beast held the glass while Star used the straw he had provided. She sighed and lay back on the bed, even the small effort required to drink had exhausted her.
"You know something?" she said quietly. "I'm really tired of waking up in this room." Her eyes closed and she slept once more. Wolverine and Beast exchanged an amused glance.
"I think she will be just fine, Wolverine."
"Yeah, I think so, too," he paused. "Any reason she can't wake up in her own bed?"
"None that I can think of." Wolverine stood and carefully lifted Star from the bed. She murmured, but didn't wake. He took her to her room and gently placed her in the bed, covering her small body tenderly. He turned at a light tapping on the open door. Rogue stood in the doorway, smiling at him.
"Beast said y'all were movin' her back ta her room, so I figured she was doin' lots better. Which means you might be willin' ta leave her long enough ta catch a shower," she grinned when he glanced down at himself, aware of the blood still smeared on a large portion of his body. "Here," she tossed him a bundle she'd carried in with her. "Some clean duds. Go on, sugah. Use her shower. I'll sit with her while ya wash."
"Thanks, darlin'" he turned to the small bathroom, closing the door behind him so the noise of the water wouldn't wake Star.