Star felt as though her brain were on fire as the drug coursed through her system. She could feel her heart beating frantically within her chest. She was sharply aware of the change in air pressure when Richardson and Jones entered, identifying them by their scent. David left immediately. Her vision returned abruptly, although it was limited to a small section of the room.
"All right, thirty-six," she heard Richardson's voice over the speaker mounted on the wall near her head. "Shall we begin?" She didn't answer him.
"Don't be tiresome, thirty-six. All the test results came back negative. Despite the head injury, your abilities should not be impaired. Please begin with the elementary telekinetic exercise." She still refused to answer, determined not to help him in any way.
"Very well. Mr. Jones, if you please?" Jones stepped through the field wall and stood grinning down at her. "Mr. Jones has kindly offered his expertise in persuasion."
"Don't worry, Mutie. This is gonna hurt you a lot more than its gonna hurt me." He slowly and deliberately closed his hand into a fist, then he struck her in the midriff. As much as the restraints allowed, she doubled over, gasping. He hit her again, this time in the side of the face. He hit her again and then again. Finally, unconsciously, she blocked his blow. He was surprised, but the wave of satisfaction she sensed did not come from him.
"That's it, thirty-six. Defend yourself from this cretin. Show me how much your powers have developed since you were stolen from me." The thoughts were those of Dr. Richardson, though how she could hear them she didn't know. He was outside the psi dampening field. She lifted her head and looked toward him, though all she could see was the silver wall of the field.
"Never," she said simply. She could feel his anger for a moment, then it faded.
"Very well. Mr. Jones, please remember, I do still need it alive. For now." Her world once again closed in about her as he decreased the diameter of the dampening field. She felt the change in air pressure as he opened the door, then closed it behind him. Jones hit her again.
"You know something, Mutie? I'm really enjoying myself."
Sabretooth arrived after the 'conditioning' session had begun. He searched out Richardson.
"My sources tell me the runt was snooping around in town yesterday. I figure he'll be here sometime today," he smiled at Richardson's expression. "I told ya he'd find ya. He might be a real pain, but he's no slouch. Where'd ya stash the frail? He'll look for her first. Then he'll come lookin' for you. Unless I get ta him first."
"The specimen is in lab eight. Sub level one." Richardson told him quickly. He decided that perhaps it would be best if he left the laboratory complex, at least for the time being.
"Professor, we're approaching the lab site."
"Thank you, Scott. Jean, can you sense Star?"
"No, Professor."
"Neither can I. Have you been able to reach Wolverine?"
"Yes. He's inside. He hasn't found Star, but he says Sabretooth is here."
Cyclops put the blackbird down behind a hillock, so the plane wouldn't be seen from the laboratory. The X-Men left the plane and quickly approached the complex.
Sabretooth took the stairs two at a time. He hadn't winded the runt yet, but he had the feeling that time was running out. When he opened the stairwell door, he immediately smelled blood. He quickly followed the scent and found himself outside lab eight. He opened the door and moved silently inside. The smell of blood was almost overpowering. As he watched from the glassed in control area, Jones drew back and struck the tiny woman in the face, further battering her already bruised features. The blood he smelled belonged to her. The sight of her bound figure, his blood; in an odd sort of way his daughter, enraged him. He hadn't killed his useless son when he'd had the chance, and he'd be damned if he let a human kill his daughter.
"Don't touch her again, flatscan," he snarled as he moved from the control area to the lab itself. Jones whirled, then smiled as he drew the revolver at his waist and fired, striking Sabretooth twice in the chest. The larger man was thrown back by the force of the blows.
"Well, well, what do ya know," Jones said, holstering his weapon as he looked down at Sabretooth. "I took out the mighty Sabretooth. And I can get rid of the girl now, too. I'll just tell Richardson that you killed her. How does that sound, mutant!" He laughed nastily and turned to the cabinet marked surgical supplies. He looked around in the cabinet until he located a large scalpel. He picked it up and moved toward Star. She lifted her head as he approached.
"Oh, good. I was hoping you wouldn't miss this." He stroked her bruised cheek with the scalpel and laughed when she flinched away from the cold steel. He drew the back of the blade down her face and across her throat, the metal ringing slightly as it touched the collar. Turning the scalpel over in his hand, he pressed it against her body, just below her collar bone, smiling as the cloth of the sensor net, then the flesh beneath, parted. She shuddered as he drew the blade down across her body, but she didn't make a sound. Blood from the long, bone deep cut soaked the material of her skin-tight.
"Couple more o' these oughta take care of you, don't ya think, Mutie?" He raised the blade once more, but dropped it as he was suddenly lifted off his feet and turned around. Sabretooth held the struggling man effortlessly at arms length, his claws buried in the back of his neck.
"I told you not to touch her again," Sabretooth said, knocking the revolver away from Jones' groping hand.
"But you're dead!" Jones gasped. "I killed you!"
"I'm a lot harder to kill than that, flatscan. Let's find out how hard it is to kill you." He raised his other hand and slashed the ex-policeman across the belly. Jones screamed as he felt his flesh part, the hot blood cascading over his legs as his intestines spilled from his body. Mercifully, he fainted. Disgusted, Sabretooth threw the body away from him and turned to the girl.
Wolverine heard the shots, though faintly, and moved toward them. He hadn't been seen yet, which was just the way he liked it. He entered the same stairwell Sabretooth had used just minutes earlier. He could smell both Sabretooth and blood, not an uncommon combination. He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to follow the scent.
Gambit silently opened the outer door of the laboratory complex and the X-Men slipped inside. The corridor was empty. Gambit, Rogue, Jubilee, and Professor Xavier turned left, with Jean, Cyclops, Storm, and Beast moving to the right. They'd barely turned the corner at each end of the hall when a klaxon began to sound.
"I t'ink dey know we here, mes amies" Gambit said as the sound of running feet reached them over the howl of the alarm.
Sabretooth slashed the straps binding Star's ankles, then freed first one wrist, then the other. He caught her as she slumped away from the now defunct restraining device. He was supporting her, since she was unable to stand on her own, when the alarm bell began to ring.
Richardson paled when the alarm rang. He reached for the dampener controls, determined that no one would steal his research. Besides, he had sufficient tissue samples to clone number thirty-six. He had theorized as to the result if the field were irised all the way down; it was time to test the theory. He slowly twisted the dial all the way, then turned to his private elevator which took him directly to his bunker. Once there, he switched on, first, the localized psi dampening field, which should protect him in the event that number thirty-six survived, then the security cameras. He was disgusted by the confusion he saw in his screens. The fools were being overwhelmed by a much smaller force. He pulled out his chair, sat down, and watched.
Wolverine looked around quickly as the alarm rang. There didn't appear to be anyone on this level. Except Sabretooth. He moved quickly, following the blood scent.
Star cried out and caught at the collar around her neck. She collapsed leaving Sabretooth to support her totally. He clawed at the collar, but it was impervious. He turned the collar around, looking for the catch. The girl was completely limp. She wasn't breathing and he couldn't see a pulse in her throat. He tried to pull the collar apart, without success. The door opened behind him and he turned, his fingers still wrapped around the collar. It was Wolverine.
"Creed! Put her down!" Wolverine snarled.
"Don't be stupid, runt! If I wanted to kill her, I'd a done it by now. Get this thing off her." He held Star's body out to Wolverine, indicating the collar. Watching Sabretooth closely, Wolverine stepped forward and carefully slipped one adamantium claw between the collar and Star's throat. He pulled and the metal parted, the collar falling away from the girl.
Star's body, bombarded at once by all the blocked signals of her desperate brain, began to convulse violently. Wolverine held her tightly against his chest. After a long moment her tortured body began to relax.
"Much as I'd like ta rip yer heart out, runt, I'll let ya keep it ta get the frail outta here."
"Why?" Wolverine asked suspiciously, "What is she ta you?"
"Let's just say ya shouldn't count on it makin' a difference next time." He turned for the door, opened it, and was gone.
"Logan?" Star's voice was hardly more than a whisper, "I was afraid you were dead."
"I'm real hard ta kill, darlin'."
"Why did you come after me, after what I did to you?"
"Girl, I wouldn't leave Creed here, much less a friend."
"A friend." She rested her head on his shoulder, her battered body cradled in his arms. He glanced once at the body lying against the wall, then dismissed the dead man from his mind.
He gently put Star in a chair in the control room. Some of her wounds required immediate attention or she would bleed to death before he could get her to the blackbird. He applied pressure bandages to the long cut across her body, swathing her from armpit to hip with gauze strips to maintain the pressure on the wound. He quickly wrapped her wrists, then picked her up. He didn't think she could walk, even if he were willing to let her try.
"C'mon, babe. Let's find the rest o' the team, and blow this joint." She wasn't sure whether or not he meant that literally. As he turned to the door, he saw a large folder labeled with the number thirty-six. He grabbed it as the moved passed the control console.
He opened the door to the hall, looking carefully in both directions before leaving the lab with Star. He moved quickly for the stairwell, using the same caution as before.
Richardson watched the battle with interest. It looked like he would have a chance to try out some of his personalized defenses. He activated a control panel beneath the myriad security screens. He smiled, for he had recognized his old rival Charles Xavier with the attackers. He believed one of the women to be Jean Grey. His devices should take out the two of them, at least. He reached for the dials.
As Wolverine reached the top of the stairs, he called Jean.
"Jeanne."
"I hear you, Logan."
"I've got Star."
"Where are you?"
"First floor, just inside the stairwell, West end o' the buildin'."
"We're on our...ah!" Jean's cry reached him at the same moment that Star cried out in his arms. The stairwell door opened, revealing a guard armed with a machine gun. The man was firing even as the door opened. Wolverine turned, shielding Star with his body. He fell and both of them, new X-Man as well as old, lay motionless on the stairwell landing.
Star fought the grip of the mechanical suppresser which threatened to snuff out her life. She pushed it back, regaining control of her body. She became aware of her surroundings once more and was horrified to find Wolverine lying next to her, his blood pooling on the floor beneath him.
"No!" she screamed, forcing the boundaries further back. The guard, startled, turned his weapon toward her once more, only to have it disintegrate in his hands.
"No more!" she cried, slowly, painfully, rising to her feet. "No more death! No more killing! No more pain!" Her voice could be heard throughout the complex now. Jean Grey and Charles Xavier began to breath again as Star smashed the equipment which bound them. Richardson stared as the control panel in front of him began to smoke.
"No more, Doctor," he heard her clearly. He could see her on the screen in front of him. He would have sworn that her skin was beginning to glow. Her eyes blazed as she looked directly at the camera. "No more experiments. No more 'unsuitable specimens' destroyed. They were children, Doctor." She hadn't moved, but he couldn't help but feeling that she was closer. "Do you remember number twenty three, Doctor?" She asked him. "He was hatched out the lot just before mine. He was pyrokenetic. Do you remember what happened when his powers manifested? I do. I'm a telepath, Doctor, just as you desired. I couldn't close out his screams, his pain, as he died, burning from within. And the others. Do you remember them? Let me show you!" Suddenly she was inside his mind, forcing him to experience the sad, pain filled, and bitterly short lives of each of his specimens. "Now you use your knowledge to hurt others, to kill my friend, my love," he was only vaguely aware of her voice continuing as madness claimed him. "NO MORE!"
Star threw her arms wide. The guard, too frightened to run, put his arm over his eyes as her body grew blindingly bright. Then the entire building disintegrated around them all, every piece of equipment, every floor board and ceiling tile exploded into dust at the same instant. Only the people remained. She harmed no one, not even Richardson. Everyone, technicians, guards, cooks, X-Men, fell into the area that had been the second sub level of the large complex. All landed safely, cushioned by Star as she hung suspended in space above them, glowing so brightly that no one could look upon her, rivaling even the desert sun.
"No more," they heard her say. Abruptly, the glow was gone, leaving only a tiny woman falling through space. Rogue leaped upwards, catching her and gently bringing her to earth.
"What the devil happened?" Wolverine asked suddenly, his healing factor allowing his rapid return to consciousness. Gambit offered him a hand up as he said,
"Good question, mon amie."
"Where's Star?" Gambit gestured and Wolverine turned to see Beast, Xavier, and Jean gathered around Rogue, who still held Star. He hurried to join them.
"There's not a lot I can do for her here. We need to get her back to the blackbird."
"Can do, sugah. Grab hold." As Rogue lifted skyward Beast clasped her ankle and the three of them rose out of the hole they'd found themselves in, and disappeared in the direction of the blackbird. Watching them leave, Wolverine ground his teeth in frustration. Suddenly, a gust of wind lifted him from his feet.
"Come, Wolverine," Storm said softy. "We will join them." The remaining X-Men exchanged glances.
"Gambit, give me a hand blasting a ramp up out of here," Cyclops said.
"Can do, mon capitain," Gambit answered. The two men turned to a suitably unoccupied area of the pit which had once been sub level two of the laboratory complex, and began construction of the ramp.
Xavier, Jean, and Jubilee under protest, began checking the 'survivors' for injuries. While several guards had been hurt during the melee with the X-Men, no one had been injured during the destruction of the building.
"Hey, Jean," Jubilee called, "I need your help here."
"What is it Jubilee?"
"There's somebody down in this hole." Jean approached the small opening in the ground.
"This looks like its been chiseled out of bedrock," she said as she peered into the dark hole.
"You are certain that someone is down there?"
"Yeah, he stuck his head out of a tunnel to the side over there. Ducked back inside soon's he saw me." Jean nodded, then reached for the man with her mind. He fought her telekinetic grip, clawing at the edge of the stone as she brought him up and out.
"Professor?" Jubilee said as Xavier approached, his expression grim. "You know this guy?"
"He is Curtis Richardson."
"This's the guy that's caused all the trouble? I'm sorry I said anything. We shoulda left him in that hole."
"He is uninjured, Professor," Jean said, ignoring Jubilee. "But his mind is gone. He is completely mad."
"Leave him with the others, Jean. Ask them to care for him. Jubilee, would you be so kind as to ask Gambit to close this hole before someone falls in?"
"Yeah, right," Jubilee stomped off toward the nearly completed ramp.
"Jean, we are finished here. We should join the others at the blackbird."
"All right, Professor." She lead Richardson to a clump of his technicians and requested that they care for him. There was a final explosion as Gambit closed the "emergency bunker" which had failed to protect Richardson. The remaining X-Men left the dust filled hole and walked toward the blackbird.
"Star, darlin' can you hear me?" Wolverine asked anxiously, holding her hand while Beast treated her injuries, his own nearly healed.
"Logan?" She answered faintly.
"Yeah, girl." She turned toward him and opened her eyes. He was startled to find that they were blue, with no hint of the silver which had so dominated her face.
"I feel strange."
"Don't try to talk, Star," Beast interrupted. "Your ribs are broken, again, and I still need to assess your condition.
"Hank," Wolverine said.
"Hmm?"
"Take a look at her eyes." Star obediently turned to face Beast.
"How very odd. Can you see?" She nodded slightly. "Well, we'll look into that when we have you stabilized. Wolverine, keep talking to her. I don't want her to sleep now."
"You heard the man, girl. You gotta listen to me for a while." He continued to hold her hand as he spoke.
"Why aren't you dead?"
"Don't talk, darlin'. I told ya, I heal real fast. That's my mutation." She looked pointedly at his hand. He extended one claw. "These things? Naw, that ain't a mutation. That was done to me by some old pals o' mine. Star, don't drift away from me, now," he said suddenly as her eyes closed. She opened her eyes, focusing on him with difficulty.
"She's badly dehydrated," Beast said to Storm. "Set up a saline drip, please." Rogue handed Storm the equipment she needed to start the IV.
Star was finding it more and more difficult to understand what was being said around her. When Storm took her arm to start the IV, she turned her head to watch.
"Star, darlin'," Wolverine said, trying to regain her attention. She didn't respond, so he gently turned her head back toward him. Her eyes didn't focus. He leaned forward and spoke to her again.
"Star, c'mon girl." She looked at him for a moment, then her eyes drifted away again.
"Hank, I'm losin' her here. How's she doin'?"
"Not so good. Try again to get her attention. We need her help."
"Star," he said sharply, taking her chin gingerly with his free hand. "C'mon, darlin'." He shook her gently and she looked at him once more.
"Stay with me, darlin'. I can't lose you now." His voice was ragged.
"Logan," she whispered. "I love you." Her eyes closed.
"Star. Star! Hank!" Beast quickly checked her heart rate and respiration.
"Damn. Storm, check that chart Wolverine had. See if it says anything about stimulants. I need something I can use." Storm quickly flipped to the appropriate page in the chart.
"Henry, the information is here. Try this one." She snatched a vial out of the cabinet and tossed it to Beast. He injected the chemical into the IV line. Her over-taxed system responded sluggishly, her heart rate picked up only slightly.
"Talk to her, Logan. Encourage her." Beast prepared a second injection and when her heart rate leveled off, still much too low, he administered it.
"Star, baby listen to me. Stay with me, darlin', please!" Wolverine pleaded with the unconscious girl, trying desperately to reach her.
"Damn, damn, damn!" Beast intoned as Star's heart rate dropped once more. "Got to get her blood volume up," he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. He grasped the bag containing the saline and squeezed it, forcing the fluid more quickly into Star's vein. It wasn't enough. Her heart beat sluggishly once more, then stopped. Wolverine looked up at Beast who, returning his gaze with compassion, shook his head. Wolverine turned back to Star, his face stricken.
"Logan,..." Beast began.
"No. I won't let her go. I can't!" He caught her limp body up in his arms, holding her tightly to him. "Star! Star! Don't leave me!" he cried. "Jean, help me! I can't reach her!"
Still a hundred yards from the blackbird, Jean gasped from the force of his cry across the psychic bond they shared.
"Jean, what is it?" Cyclops asked.
"Star!" Jean replied, closing her eyes and mentally leaping the remaining distance to the dying girl and her stricken friend. She linked her mind with his and together they plunged into the darkness surrounding Star.
They found her, sitting in the sunshine. She was surrounded by trees and the sound of singing birds. She was smiling.
"Star," Wolverine said, moving toward her. Jean stayed back. Wolverine took Star's hands and drew her to her feet. "Darlin', you gotta come back with me." She shook her head.
"Logan, its so beautiful here."
"You'll die, girl."
"This is death, my ... friend. Life holds too much pain."
"There is pleasure and beauty in life as well." She shook her head again, tears visible on her cheeks.
"No, Logan."
Jean was finding it difficult to keep them here as Star sank deeper into the final night.
"Logan, we must go back." He glanced at her, then turned back to Star.
"I'm stayin', Jeanne."
"Logan, no!" both women cried together.
"I won't leave you, Star. I need you." He pulled her into his arms. "I love you."
"Logan, I can't hold on!" Jean held her hand out to him, but he refused to take it. Star stared up at him.
"I love you, girl," he said again. Star turned and caught Jean's hand. The three of them were catapulted up and out.
Jean cried out and slumped against Cyclops, exhausted by the effort required to reach Star.
"Jean!"
"I'm all right, Scott." She accepted his support for a moment, then turned to Xavier. "Professor, Star and...and Logan?"
"I don't know, Jean." The X-Men quickly approached the blackbird.
"Henry, we have a heart beat again." Storm told him. She handed him another vial from the cabinet and he injected Star with yet another stimulant. Her heart beat sluggishly at first, then with more strength. Her body remained motionless in Wolverine's arms. He held her tightly until he felt Rogue's hand on his shoulder.
"Ya gotta put her down, sugah. Hank cain't take care of her here." Wolverine carefully lowered her, reluctant to release her.
"She's not out of the woods yet, Wolverine, but we'll do everything we can."
"She'll make it. I can feel her fightin'." He smoothed the hair around her face.
Jean, Cyclops, and the others entered the blackbird.
"Logan?" Jean asked quietly.
"Jean. She came back with me."
"No, Logan. She came back for you."
"I know, Jeanne. Thank you." Cyclops put his arms around his love as Wolverine turned back to Star.
Back at the mansion, Star was barely recognizable beneath the bandages Beast had used to protect her numerous injuries. Wolverine was constantly by her side. When Beast felt she was strong enough, Jean and Xavier tested her psychic abilities. Wolverine protested, but Star reassured him. He subsided, but glowered at them throughout the tests.
"Star, your abilities...." the Professor began.
"I know, Professor. I burned them out at the lab." She smiled across the med lab at Wolverine. "Why can I see now?" She asked.
"I believe the neural pathways which allow for sight and hearing had been, shall we say, preempted by the forced development of your telepathy," Beast told her. "Once the ... obstruction ... was removed, normal senses returned."
"But I'm still a mutant."
"Very much so, dear."
"Professor, what will my children be?"
"Well," he began, casting a sidelong glance at Wolverine. "I'd say they have a better than even chance of being ... of below average height."
They laughed and she held her hand out to Wolverine who quickly took it in his own, his love for the tiny woman undisguised.
"All right, thirty-six," she heard Richardson's voice over the speaker mounted on the wall near her head. "Shall we begin?" She didn't answer him.
"Don't be tiresome, thirty-six. All the test results came back negative. Despite the head injury, your abilities should not be impaired. Please begin with the elementary telekinetic exercise." She still refused to answer, determined not to help him in any way.
"Very well. Mr. Jones, if you please?" Jones stepped through the field wall and stood grinning down at her. "Mr. Jones has kindly offered his expertise in persuasion."
"Don't worry, Mutie. This is gonna hurt you a lot more than its gonna hurt me." He slowly and deliberately closed his hand into a fist, then he struck her in the midriff. As much as the restraints allowed, she doubled over, gasping. He hit her again, this time in the side of the face. He hit her again and then again. Finally, unconsciously, she blocked his blow. He was surprised, but the wave of satisfaction she sensed did not come from him.
"That's it, thirty-six. Defend yourself from this cretin. Show me how much your powers have developed since you were stolen from me." The thoughts were those of Dr. Richardson, though how she could hear them she didn't know. He was outside the psi dampening field. She lifted her head and looked toward him, though all she could see was the silver wall of the field.
"Never," she said simply. She could feel his anger for a moment, then it faded.
"Very well. Mr. Jones, please remember, I do still need it alive. For now." Her world once again closed in about her as he decreased the diameter of the dampening field. She felt the change in air pressure as he opened the door, then closed it behind him. Jones hit her again.
"You know something, Mutie? I'm really enjoying myself."
Sabretooth arrived after the 'conditioning' session had begun. He searched out Richardson.
"My sources tell me the runt was snooping around in town yesterday. I figure he'll be here sometime today," he smiled at Richardson's expression. "I told ya he'd find ya. He might be a real pain, but he's no slouch. Where'd ya stash the frail? He'll look for her first. Then he'll come lookin' for you. Unless I get ta him first."
"The specimen is in lab eight. Sub level one." Richardson told him quickly. He decided that perhaps it would be best if he left the laboratory complex, at least for the time being.
"Professor, we're approaching the lab site."
"Thank you, Scott. Jean, can you sense Star?"
"No, Professor."
"Neither can I. Have you been able to reach Wolverine?"
"Yes. He's inside. He hasn't found Star, but he says Sabretooth is here."
Cyclops put the blackbird down behind a hillock, so the plane wouldn't be seen from the laboratory. The X-Men left the plane and quickly approached the complex.
Sabretooth took the stairs two at a time. He hadn't winded the runt yet, but he had the feeling that time was running out. When he opened the stairwell door, he immediately smelled blood. He quickly followed the scent and found himself outside lab eight. He opened the door and moved silently inside. The smell of blood was almost overpowering. As he watched from the glassed in control area, Jones drew back and struck the tiny woman in the face, further battering her already bruised features. The blood he smelled belonged to her. The sight of her bound figure, his blood; in an odd sort of way his daughter, enraged him. He hadn't killed his useless son when he'd had the chance, and he'd be damned if he let a human kill his daughter.
"Don't touch her again, flatscan," he snarled as he moved from the control area to the lab itself. Jones whirled, then smiled as he drew the revolver at his waist and fired, striking Sabretooth twice in the chest. The larger man was thrown back by the force of the blows.
"Well, well, what do ya know," Jones said, holstering his weapon as he looked down at Sabretooth. "I took out the mighty Sabretooth. And I can get rid of the girl now, too. I'll just tell Richardson that you killed her. How does that sound, mutant!" He laughed nastily and turned to the cabinet marked surgical supplies. He looked around in the cabinet until he located a large scalpel. He picked it up and moved toward Star. She lifted her head as he approached.
"Oh, good. I was hoping you wouldn't miss this." He stroked her bruised cheek with the scalpel and laughed when she flinched away from the cold steel. He drew the back of the blade down her face and across her throat, the metal ringing slightly as it touched the collar. Turning the scalpel over in his hand, he pressed it against her body, just below her collar bone, smiling as the cloth of the sensor net, then the flesh beneath, parted. She shuddered as he drew the blade down across her body, but she didn't make a sound. Blood from the long, bone deep cut soaked the material of her skin-tight.
"Couple more o' these oughta take care of you, don't ya think, Mutie?" He raised the blade once more, but dropped it as he was suddenly lifted off his feet and turned around. Sabretooth held the struggling man effortlessly at arms length, his claws buried in the back of his neck.
"I told you not to touch her again," Sabretooth said, knocking the revolver away from Jones' groping hand.
"But you're dead!" Jones gasped. "I killed you!"
"I'm a lot harder to kill than that, flatscan. Let's find out how hard it is to kill you." He raised his other hand and slashed the ex-policeman across the belly. Jones screamed as he felt his flesh part, the hot blood cascading over his legs as his intestines spilled from his body. Mercifully, he fainted. Disgusted, Sabretooth threw the body away from him and turned to the girl.
Wolverine heard the shots, though faintly, and moved toward them. He hadn't been seen yet, which was just the way he liked it. He entered the same stairwell Sabretooth had used just minutes earlier. He could smell both Sabretooth and blood, not an uncommon combination. He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to follow the scent.
Gambit silently opened the outer door of the laboratory complex and the X-Men slipped inside. The corridor was empty. Gambit, Rogue, Jubilee, and Professor Xavier turned left, with Jean, Cyclops, Storm, and Beast moving to the right. They'd barely turned the corner at each end of the hall when a klaxon began to sound.
"I t'ink dey know we here, mes amies" Gambit said as the sound of running feet reached them over the howl of the alarm.
Sabretooth slashed the straps binding Star's ankles, then freed first one wrist, then the other. He caught her as she slumped away from the now defunct restraining device. He was supporting her, since she was unable to stand on her own, when the alarm bell began to ring.
Richardson paled when the alarm rang. He reached for the dampener controls, determined that no one would steal his research. Besides, he had sufficient tissue samples to clone number thirty-six. He had theorized as to the result if the field were irised all the way down; it was time to test the theory. He slowly twisted the dial all the way, then turned to his private elevator which took him directly to his bunker. Once there, he switched on, first, the localized psi dampening field, which should protect him in the event that number thirty-six survived, then the security cameras. He was disgusted by the confusion he saw in his screens. The fools were being overwhelmed by a much smaller force. He pulled out his chair, sat down, and watched.
Wolverine looked around quickly as the alarm rang. There didn't appear to be anyone on this level. Except Sabretooth. He moved quickly, following the blood scent.
Star cried out and caught at the collar around her neck. She collapsed leaving Sabretooth to support her totally. He clawed at the collar, but it was impervious. He turned the collar around, looking for the catch. The girl was completely limp. She wasn't breathing and he couldn't see a pulse in her throat. He tried to pull the collar apart, without success. The door opened behind him and he turned, his fingers still wrapped around the collar. It was Wolverine.
"Creed! Put her down!" Wolverine snarled.
"Don't be stupid, runt! If I wanted to kill her, I'd a done it by now. Get this thing off her." He held Star's body out to Wolverine, indicating the collar. Watching Sabretooth closely, Wolverine stepped forward and carefully slipped one adamantium claw between the collar and Star's throat. He pulled and the metal parted, the collar falling away from the girl.
Star's body, bombarded at once by all the blocked signals of her desperate brain, began to convulse violently. Wolverine held her tightly against his chest. After a long moment her tortured body began to relax.
"Much as I'd like ta rip yer heart out, runt, I'll let ya keep it ta get the frail outta here."
"Why?" Wolverine asked suspiciously, "What is she ta you?"
"Let's just say ya shouldn't count on it makin' a difference next time." He turned for the door, opened it, and was gone.
"Logan?" Star's voice was hardly more than a whisper, "I was afraid you were dead."
"I'm real hard ta kill, darlin'."
"Why did you come after me, after what I did to you?"
"Girl, I wouldn't leave Creed here, much less a friend."
"A friend." She rested her head on his shoulder, her battered body cradled in his arms. He glanced once at the body lying against the wall, then dismissed the dead man from his mind.
He gently put Star in a chair in the control room. Some of her wounds required immediate attention or she would bleed to death before he could get her to the blackbird. He applied pressure bandages to the long cut across her body, swathing her from armpit to hip with gauze strips to maintain the pressure on the wound. He quickly wrapped her wrists, then picked her up. He didn't think she could walk, even if he were willing to let her try.
"C'mon, babe. Let's find the rest o' the team, and blow this joint." She wasn't sure whether or not he meant that literally. As he turned to the door, he saw a large folder labeled with the number thirty-six. He grabbed it as the moved passed the control console.
He opened the door to the hall, looking carefully in both directions before leaving the lab with Star. He moved quickly for the stairwell, using the same caution as before.
Richardson watched the battle with interest. It looked like he would have a chance to try out some of his personalized defenses. He activated a control panel beneath the myriad security screens. He smiled, for he had recognized his old rival Charles Xavier with the attackers. He believed one of the women to be Jean Grey. His devices should take out the two of them, at least. He reached for the dials.
As Wolverine reached the top of the stairs, he called Jean.
"Jeanne."
"I hear you, Logan."
"I've got Star."
"Where are you?"
"First floor, just inside the stairwell, West end o' the buildin'."
"We're on our...ah!" Jean's cry reached him at the same moment that Star cried out in his arms. The stairwell door opened, revealing a guard armed with a machine gun. The man was firing even as the door opened. Wolverine turned, shielding Star with his body. He fell and both of them, new X-Man as well as old, lay motionless on the stairwell landing.
Star fought the grip of the mechanical suppresser which threatened to snuff out her life. She pushed it back, regaining control of her body. She became aware of her surroundings once more and was horrified to find Wolverine lying next to her, his blood pooling on the floor beneath him.
"No!" she screamed, forcing the boundaries further back. The guard, startled, turned his weapon toward her once more, only to have it disintegrate in his hands.
"No more!" she cried, slowly, painfully, rising to her feet. "No more death! No more killing! No more pain!" Her voice could be heard throughout the complex now. Jean Grey and Charles Xavier began to breath again as Star smashed the equipment which bound them. Richardson stared as the control panel in front of him began to smoke.
"No more, Doctor," he heard her clearly. He could see her on the screen in front of him. He would have sworn that her skin was beginning to glow. Her eyes blazed as she looked directly at the camera. "No more experiments. No more 'unsuitable specimens' destroyed. They were children, Doctor." She hadn't moved, but he couldn't help but feeling that she was closer. "Do you remember number twenty three, Doctor?" She asked him. "He was hatched out the lot just before mine. He was pyrokenetic. Do you remember what happened when his powers manifested? I do. I'm a telepath, Doctor, just as you desired. I couldn't close out his screams, his pain, as he died, burning from within. And the others. Do you remember them? Let me show you!" Suddenly she was inside his mind, forcing him to experience the sad, pain filled, and bitterly short lives of each of his specimens. "Now you use your knowledge to hurt others, to kill my friend, my love," he was only vaguely aware of her voice continuing as madness claimed him. "NO MORE!"
Star threw her arms wide. The guard, too frightened to run, put his arm over his eyes as her body grew blindingly bright. Then the entire building disintegrated around them all, every piece of equipment, every floor board and ceiling tile exploded into dust at the same instant. Only the people remained. She harmed no one, not even Richardson. Everyone, technicians, guards, cooks, X-Men, fell into the area that had been the second sub level of the large complex. All landed safely, cushioned by Star as she hung suspended in space above them, glowing so brightly that no one could look upon her, rivaling even the desert sun.
"No more," they heard her say. Abruptly, the glow was gone, leaving only a tiny woman falling through space. Rogue leaped upwards, catching her and gently bringing her to earth.
"What the devil happened?" Wolverine asked suddenly, his healing factor allowing his rapid return to consciousness. Gambit offered him a hand up as he said,
"Good question, mon amie."
"Where's Star?" Gambit gestured and Wolverine turned to see Beast, Xavier, and Jean gathered around Rogue, who still held Star. He hurried to join them.
"There's not a lot I can do for her here. We need to get her back to the blackbird."
"Can do, sugah. Grab hold." As Rogue lifted skyward Beast clasped her ankle and the three of them rose out of the hole they'd found themselves in, and disappeared in the direction of the blackbird. Watching them leave, Wolverine ground his teeth in frustration. Suddenly, a gust of wind lifted him from his feet.
"Come, Wolverine," Storm said softy. "We will join them." The remaining X-Men exchanged glances.
"Gambit, give me a hand blasting a ramp up out of here," Cyclops said.
"Can do, mon capitain," Gambit answered. The two men turned to a suitably unoccupied area of the pit which had once been sub level two of the laboratory complex, and began construction of the ramp.
Xavier, Jean, and Jubilee under protest, began checking the 'survivors' for injuries. While several guards had been hurt during the melee with the X-Men, no one had been injured during the destruction of the building.
"Hey, Jean," Jubilee called, "I need your help here."
"What is it Jubilee?"
"There's somebody down in this hole." Jean approached the small opening in the ground.
"This looks like its been chiseled out of bedrock," she said as she peered into the dark hole.
"You are certain that someone is down there?"
"Yeah, he stuck his head out of a tunnel to the side over there. Ducked back inside soon's he saw me." Jean nodded, then reached for the man with her mind. He fought her telekinetic grip, clawing at the edge of the stone as she brought him up and out.
"Professor?" Jubilee said as Xavier approached, his expression grim. "You know this guy?"
"He is Curtis Richardson."
"This's the guy that's caused all the trouble? I'm sorry I said anything. We shoulda left him in that hole."
"He is uninjured, Professor," Jean said, ignoring Jubilee. "But his mind is gone. He is completely mad."
"Leave him with the others, Jean. Ask them to care for him. Jubilee, would you be so kind as to ask Gambit to close this hole before someone falls in?"
"Yeah, right," Jubilee stomped off toward the nearly completed ramp.
"Jean, we are finished here. We should join the others at the blackbird."
"All right, Professor." She lead Richardson to a clump of his technicians and requested that they care for him. There was a final explosion as Gambit closed the "emergency bunker" which had failed to protect Richardson. The remaining X-Men left the dust filled hole and walked toward the blackbird.
"Star, darlin' can you hear me?" Wolverine asked anxiously, holding her hand while Beast treated her injuries, his own nearly healed.
"Logan?" She answered faintly.
"Yeah, girl." She turned toward him and opened her eyes. He was startled to find that they were blue, with no hint of the silver which had so dominated her face.
"I feel strange."
"Don't try to talk, Star," Beast interrupted. "Your ribs are broken, again, and I still need to assess your condition.
"Hank," Wolverine said.
"Hmm?"
"Take a look at her eyes." Star obediently turned to face Beast.
"How very odd. Can you see?" She nodded slightly. "Well, we'll look into that when we have you stabilized. Wolverine, keep talking to her. I don't want her to sleep now."
"You heard the man, girl. You gotta listen to me for a while." He continued to hold her hand as he spoke.
"Why aren't you dead?"
"Don't talk, darlin'. I told ya, I heal real fast. That's my mutation." She looked pointedly at his hand. He extended one claw. "These things? Naw, that ain't a mutation. That was done to me by some old pals o' mine. Star, don't drift away from me, now," he said suddenly as her eyes closed. She opened her eyes, focusing on him with difficulty.
"She's badly dehydrated," Beast said to Storm. "Set up a saline drip, please." Rogue handed Storm the equipment she needed to start the IV.
Star was finding it more and more difficult to understand what was being said around her. When Storm took her arm to start the IV, she turned her head to watch.
"Star, darlin'," Wolverine said, trying to regain her attention. She didn't respond, so he gently turned her head back toward him. Her eyes didn't focus. He leaned forward and spoke to her again.
"Star, c'mon girl." She looked at him for a moment, then her eyes drifted away again.
"Hank, I'm losin' her here. How's she doin'?"
"Not so good. Try again to get her attention. We need her help."
"Star," he said sharply, taking her chin gingerly with his free hand. "C'mon, darlin'." He shook her gently and she looked at him once more.
"Stay with me, darlin'. I can't lose you now." His voice was ragged.
"Logan," she whispered. "I love you." Her eyes closed.
"Star. Star! Hank!" Beast quickly checked her heart rate and respiration.
"Damn. Storm, check that chart Wolverine had. See if it says anything about stimulants. I need something I can use." Storm quickly flipped to the appropriate page in the chart.
"Henry, the information is here. Try this one." She snatched a vial out of the cabinet and tossed it to Beast. He injected the chemical into the IV line. Her over-taxed system responded sluggishly, her heart rate picked up only slightly.
"Talk to her, Logan. Encourage her." Beast prepared a second injection and when her heart rate leveled off, still much too low, he administered it.
"Star, baby listen to me. Stay with me, darlin', please!" Wolverine pleaded with the unconscious girl, trying desperately to reach her.
"Damn, damn, damn!" Beast intoned as Star's heart rate dropped once more. "Got to get her blood volume up," he muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. He grasped the bag containing the saline and squeezed it, forcing the fluid more quickly into Star's vein. It wasn't enough. Her heart beat sluggishly once more, then stopped. Wolverine looked up at Beast who, returning his gaze with compassion, shook his head. Wolverine turned back to Star, his face stricken.
"Logan,..." Beast began.
"No. I won't let her go. I can't!" He caught her limp body up in his arms, holding her tightly to him. "Star! Star! Don't leave me!" he cried. "Jean, help me! I can't reach her!"
Still a hundred yards from the blackbird, Jean gasped from the force of his cry across the psychic bond they shared.
"Jean, what is it?" Cyclops asked.
"Star!" Jean replied, closing her eyes and mentally leaping the remaining distance to the dying girl and her stricken friend. She linked her mind with his and together they plunged into the darkness surrounding Star.
They found her, sitting in the sunshine. She was surrounded by trees and the sound of singing birds. She was smiling.
"Star," Wolverine said, moving toward her. Jean stayed back. Wolverine took Star's hands and drew her to her feet. "Darlin', you gotta come back with me." She shook her head.
"Logan, its so beautiful here."
"You'll die, girl."
"This is death, my ... friend. Life holds too much pain."
"There is pleasure and beauty in life as well." She shook her head again, tears visible on her cheeks.
"No, Logan."
Jean was finding it difficult to keep them here as Star sank deeper into the final night.
"Logan, we must go back." He glanced at her, then turned back to Star.
"I'm stayin', Jeanne."
"Logan, no!" both women cried together.
"I won't leave you, Star. I need you." He pulled her into his arms. "I love you."
"Logan, I can't hold on!" Jean held her hand out to him, but he refused to take it. Star stared up at him.
"I love you, girl," he said again. Star turned and caught Jean's hand. The three of them were catapulted up and out.
Jean cried out and slumped against Cyclops, exhausted by the effort required to reach Star.
"Jean!"
"I'm all right, Scott." She accepted his support for a moment, then turned to Xavier. "Professor, Star and...and Logan?"
"I don't know, Jean." The X-Men quickly approached the blackbird.
"Henry, we have a heart beat again." Storm told him. She handed him another vial from the cabinet and he injected Star with yet another stimulant. Her heart beat sluggishly at first, then with more strength. Her body remained motionless in Wolverine's arms. He held her tightly until he felt Rogue's hand on his shoulder.
"Ya gotta put her down, sugah. Hank cain't take care of her here." Wolverine carefully lowered her, reluctant to release her.
"She's not out of the woods yet, Wolverine, but we'll do everything we can."
"She'll make it. I can feel her fightin'." He smoothed the hair around her face.
Jean, Cyclops, and the others entered the blackbird.
"Logan?" Jean asked quietly.
"Jean. She came back with me."
"No, Logan. She came back for you."
"I know, Jeanne. Thank you." Cyclops put his arms around his love as Wolverine turned back to Star.
Back at the mansion, Star was barely recognizable beneath the bandages Beast had used to protect her numerous injuries. Wolverine was constantly by her side. When Beast felt she was strong enough, Jean and Xavier tested her psychic abilities. Wolverine protested, but Star reassured him. He subsided, but glowered at them throughout the tests.
"Star, your abilities...." the Professor began.
"I know, Professor. I burned them out at the lab." She smiled across the med lab at Wolverine. "Why can I see now?" She asked.
"I believe the neural pathways which allow for sight and hearing had been, shall we say, preempted by the forced development of your telepathy," Beast told her. "Once the ... obstruction ... was removed, normal senses returned."
"But I'm still a mutant."
"Very much so, dear."
"Professor, what will my children be?"
"Well," he began, casting a sidelong glance at Wolverine. "I'd say they have a better than even chance of being ... of below average height."
They laughed and she held her hand out to Wolverine who quickly took it in his own, his love for the tiny woman undisguised.