Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, I know, my therapist keeps telling me that they belong to marvel and not me, but what does he know right? Anyway, before the guards come back I just have to say don'[t use Claire without my permission!brbr
Chapter 3
Soft
darkness surrounded her, she was dreaming yet she was not at peace. There was something there, in the distance,
pulling at her. She tried to ignore it
but it was an insistent pain that throbbed at the center of her being. With a resigned sigh Claire turned her
attention towards it, and she felt herself being drawn closer and closer, the
pain growing stronger with each second.
She
surveyed the scene before her, trying to connect it with the incredible sense
of loss that she felt. She stood in the
middle of a cemetery and she was kneeling in front of one of the stones,
leaning against it for support. Her
body felt bulky and uncomfortable, and it was an effort for her to shift to her
knees. She heard someone coming up to
her and as she glanced up to see who it was she saw the arm that was supporting
her against the headstone, it was heavily muscled and was comprised of metal.
She
paused, unsure of what was going on when she saw who her visitor was. He was blue, with pointy ears. She had seen him before at the mansion, but
had never spoken to him. Then it dawned
on her, this wasn't a dream, this was Nate.
Finally
the link that he had unknowingly created might come in handy, it could get her
out of this mess. If she could see and
feel him then maybe he could see and feel her. She focused her energy and cried out mentally to him with all of her
might.
*Nate!*
In
her dream she felt his head jerk up as he looked around him.
*Nate,
please you have to hear me!*
*Claire?*
Came a tentative reply, although it was broken up and distant. She felt herself sigh with relief.
*Claire,
where are you? Everyone has been searching for you, Jubilee has gone . . *
*I
know, listen to me, something happened, something bad, we need help.*
*Where
are you?*
Claire
felt herself being drawn away from him and swore in frustration. *I'm not sure,
but we need help, find the damn midget!*
She
felt the contact break and she flooded back into her own body. She opened her eyes and was confronted with
the largest man she had ever laid eyes on. His enormous size was crammed into what appeared to be a tent as he
hovered over her. He smiled at her as
he saw her eyes widen.
"Good,
you awake. Dim was beginning to worry."
She
was still alive, but he headache that was forming behind her eyes was enough to
make her wish that the gunman was a better shot. She opened her eyes again and surveyed her surroundings. The man, for all his size, did not appear to
be a threat. She was lying on the
ground with a blanket over her, and when she tried to sit up the man turned to
her and gently pushed her back down. Claire was dismayed to discover that she did not have the strength to
resist him.
"You
must not move, they put Dim in charge
of your care and care for you he will."
"Whose'Dim'?"
"I
am Dim."
"Yes
I can see that," he gave her a
quizzical look and she sighed and took the cup of water he handed her, the
coolness soothing her scratchy dry throat.
"Do
you have name?"
She gave him a wry smile, "well the way things have been going the last few weeks I think Marquee de Sad would be appropriate."
Dim
nodded as he turned toward the flap of the tent. " I go tell them that you are awake." He left the tent without waiting for a reply. Not knowing how long she had she threw the
blanket to the side and slowly rolled onto her knees. Her clothes were torn, revealing her bruised and battered flesh,
and she had to suppress a groan as she drew to her feet. Her healing factor should have kicked in by
now, something was defiantly wrong. She
didn't have time to think about it however, she had to get to those sons of
bitches who took Sparky. They were gonna
rue the day they ever met her. She picked up a large shirt and slipped it over her head as she walked
towards the door.
Only
she didn't get a chance to pass through it because Dim came through it again
and was followed by a smaller man with reddish brown hair and soft brown eyes.
"Dim
said to stay in bed, why don't you listen?" He said clearly dismayed as he
stepped to the side allowing his companion to come further into the room.
"I've
been told it's a character flaw." She
almost smiled when Dim simply nodded in acceptance and turned to close the tent
flap.
The
other man was standing close to her, he was much taller than she was. Claire
came about to his shoulder. He wasn't
overly muscular, but she could tell that he was strong. She couldn't take him out right now, in her
state. That thought made her grimace,
she'd been doing that a lot since she met the X-men.
"Are
you all right?" He asked reached a hand out to her, but drawing it back when
she snarled at him.
"Yeah,
I'm fine. I had to run form a fight,
which led me to this godforsaken place, and now I've lost my friend and was
left for dead. So far I'd say things
are going just peachy."
"I'm
sorry about your friend, your lucky they left you behind. I found you yesterday when we were
traveling. My friend Dim here has been caring for you ever since." He indicated the large man.
"Yeah,
we've met. You got a name?"
"He
no know who he is." Dim chimed up from the other side of the tent.
Claire
raised an eyebrow at him, "So you're a regular John Doe huh?"
p
His
head jerked up, "you know who I am?"
"No,"
she sighed, again, "John Doe is the name given to people who don't have one."
"Oh,"
he thought about that for a moment before nodding. "John it is then. What is
your name?"
"Clai.
. ."
"Marquee."
Dim interrupted, a large smile on his face as he watched his new
companions. Claire simply closed her
eyes with a grimace.
"Well,
it's nice to meet you Marquee. I'm glad
the fates brought us together. My name
is John." He stuck his hand out to her.
Despite
everything that had happened in the last day she found it hard not to smile at
these two. There was a simple innocence
about them that she envied. She reached
out and took hold of his hand.
"Nice
to meet you, John, Dim. Now I have one
question."
"What's
that?"
"How
are we going to get my friend back?"
The
next morning the trio was getting ready to break camp.
"Are
you sure about this? It's a long trek,
about a two-day hike, to get to their base. And if you don't mind me saying
Marquee you weren't in the best shape when we found you."
Claire
strapped a pack to her back as she turned to him. "Don't worry about me, I heal real fast."
"Dim
don't know, you still don't look to good to me." He reached over to straighten
the pack on her back only to receive a smack for his efforts.
"Did
I die and go to hell? That is the only
explanation I can think of for getting saddled with you two."
"Really?"
John raised an eyebrow as he handed her a canteen, " I think we've been cursed
to be your guardian angels."
"Only
I would be so blessed."
John
simply smiled and shook his head. When
he had first found the strange woman Marquee in the desert he wasn't sure she
was going to survive. She had been
badly wounded and had received what should have been a fatal shot to the
chest. He knew it hadn't healed, but it
wasn't slowing her down. He tried to
keep a close eye on her without her knowing, for he knew that she was in an
enormous amount of pain. He could tell
by the way that she grimaced when she thought he wasn't looking. If he has learned anything from the battle
of wills over the last day it was that she was as proud as she was
prickly. Perhaps her sour attitude
turned others off, but he found it strangely charming. He had a feeling that she was all bark and
no bite. He couldn't picture anyone as
small as her doing any real damage to anyone. With a small smile he nodded to Dim and they set off in the direction of
the enemy base to retrieve her friend. One thing was for sure, spending time with Marquee was not going to be
boring.
What
he didn't see was Claire scowling at him as he walked in front of her. If he kept looking at her like that the
entire trip she might have to rip him a new asshole. It was annoying and she was already running out of her short
supply of patience. Most of it was
spent on Dim who seemed intent on hovering over her and casting knowing smiles
between her and John. She felt like she
was caught in the middle of a really bad romance novel. Yes it was going to be a long trip
indeed. She really was going to kill
that damn aborigine.