Thanks all peeps who reviewed. Here's the next part.
Chapter Four
Raptor woke up after a few hours. Jubilee was on the phone ordering room service. She put her hand over the receiver and said, "you want anything, Rap?"
"Yeah, I could use a drink. Diet Coke."
Jubilee nodded and turned back to the phone. When she hung up, Raptor was sitting up and looking around the room.
"Jubes? Where's Logan?" she asked. Jubilee replied, "he's checking out the truck, seeing how damaged it is. If it's too bad we have to stay here until he fixes it. He seems to think that that thing might come back."
Raptor shivered. "What was that? It was like nothing I've ever seen, not even in those gross videos Richard rented."
"Logan said it was another mutant. He was talking about someone called Magneto," Jubilee said. Raptor gently touched the bandaging over her arm. "It got me good, didn't it?"
"Yeah. You fainted after you called the birds," Jubilee said. "How come you never told me you could do that?"
"I didn't know," Raptor replied. "I mean, every time I touch a living thing, I get these flashes of information and I somehow know how to call them if I need help. I've touched several birds, cause you know how animals are when I got into the woods."
Jubilee nodded. Raptor had a way with animals; even wild ones would come up to her to be stroked. Raptor continued, "it was kind of instinctive. One minute that thing was slashing my arm, the next I'm calling birds. But calling them, and then telling them what needed to be done, it was exhausting. I can't imagine doing it again."
"Hey, Rap, while that thing was on the hood you looked like you were gonna faint for a second there. What was that about?"
"I was trying to brace myself and I accidentally touched Logan," Raptor replied. Jubilee raised her eyebrows. "Does that mean you know stuff about him now?"
"Well, I know that he has claws that rip out of his knuckles, his bones are covered in metal, he's been looking for something about his past. And he likes pizza with avocado."
"Eew."
"I know. Totally disgusting."
Raptor shoved her hands through her hair. "I need a shower," she complained. Jubilee gestured to the door beside the bed. "Through there. I showered while you were sleeping."
Raptor scooped up her duffel bag and went into the small bathroom. She took a long, hot shower and changed into black pants with roses growing from the ankle hem and a white shirt with silver snowflakes, one of her few outfits that weren't Spandex.
She went back into the other room, rubbing her hair dry. Logan was waiting with Jubilee. When he saw Raptor he asked, "you're feeling better?"
"Much better. How's the truck?" Raptor asked. Logan replied, "it's usable. I got the windscreen fixed and the roof patched up, so we should be good to go as soon as your food gets here."
Raptor grabbed her brush and began brushing her hair. "Good. Personally, I want as much distance between us and that thing as possible."
By the time their food arrived, Raptor was braiding her hair into two braids that just touched her waist. She glanced at the room service trolley and raised her eyebrows. "Jubes, there's no way you can eat all that."
"No, we're taking most of it with us. I'm getting tired of burgers and fries," Jubilee explained.
Within half an hour, they were on the road again. Logan was driving again and Raptor was sitting in the back, painting her fingernails silver. Her left wrist was bandaged, since she'd sprained it the night she and Jubilee ran away.
A few hours passed until it was almost dusk. Jubilee took over driving. Raptor leaned over the back of the seat to see where they were going.
They were approaching a part of the road that seemed to be cut right through a mountain. It ran through a pass in the mountain, the sides rising steep and inhospitable. Raptor followed the steep cliff with her eyes and frowned.
"I thought I saw a glint of silver partway up that cliff-face," she said, pointing. Logan glanced over. "I didn't see anything."
Raptor shivered and pulled her jacket closer around her, suddenly wishing she was anywhere but here. She couldn't help but feel something was out there, watching.
Just as they entered the pass, Jubilee asked, "Logan, where are you going anyway?"
"Xavier's School for the Gifted," Logan replied. "I have some people I have to see."
"I think I've heard of that place," Jubilee said. Logan nodded. "Probably. It's a good school. Right outside New York."
Suddenly there was a thump as something landed on the back of the truck, and a horrible screech of ripping metal. Logan groaned. "Not this again. That metal thing's costing me a lot in repairs."
The scream of metal on metal continued as Jubilee skewed the back of the truck around, trying to shake off the hitchhiker. Then Raptor felt a rush of air as a sheet of metal was ripped off the roof and four people dropped through.
The first was a lithe, cat-like boy in his late teens. He had silvery-grey and black fur all over him, like a tabby cat, whiskers, pointed ears and a waving tail. His eyes were cat-shaped and he had fangs.
The second person to drop down was a girl about Raptor's age with dragon wings folded against her back. Her skin was covered in patterns of purple and green, her long hair was fiery red and her eyes flat yellow.
The third was a muscular man with three short, sharp spikes jutting from his forehead. Apart from that, he looked normal.
The last figure to drop down was the metal creature, now in the form of a metallic human.
"Jubes, keep driving," Logan ordered. "Raptor, you think you can help me with these four?"
Raptor nodded tightly, sizing up her opposition. The horned man and the dragon girl went for Logan, while the metal creature ran at her. It was in her face before she could react.
It reached silver hands for her throat. She kicked at it but her foot went right through it and it didn't slow down. It grinned at her and morphed its hands and arms into hissing snakes.
Logan had taken out the dragon girl early on in the fight, and now all that remained was knocking out the horned guy, whose hands were at the moment around his throat.
Out of the corner of his eye Logan saw Raptor recoil from the two hissing snake-arms the metal creature had morphed, saw the cat-guy slip past Raptor and head for the cabin of the truck. Then the horned guy's fist slammed into his head and he had to turn his attention back to beating this guy.
The other man was as big and strong as Logan was, but Logan had two big advantages: his healing ability, and his claws. He relied on the former to not let him get hurt too badly, and he let the latter slide out with a snick, before burying them in Horned Guy's gut.
The other man let out a half-gasp, half-scream and clutched at his stomach, blood seeping through his fingers. Logan shoved him away and went to help Jubilee, who was struggling to drive with the cat-man's arm around her neck.
Logan tapped the cat-guy on the shoulder. "Hey, buddy, it's not nice to hurt girls," he growled, throwing a punch that knocked the cat-guy off his feet and halfway across the truck.
Logan glanced through the windscreen and saw the pass coming to an end, and a familiar turn-off. "Jubilee, go right at the next intersection," he said before turning to help Raptor.
The metal thing had her by the neck, held half a metre up the metal wall. Raptor's right hand was wrapped around the metal thing's arms, her left one hanging useless by her side, her feet kicking at it. But it laughed and morphed another limb, an arm sprouting from the middle of its chest, this one with a sharp, wicked-looking blade on the end.
The blade swooped up and aimed at Raptor's heart. She was struggling and spitting like a wildcat, saying words that would impress truckies. Logan ran at the metal thing, but he was too late. The bladed arm sank into Raptor's stomach, burying it up to the creature's elbow.
Logan let his claws slide out again and thrust them through the metal thing's shoulder. It let out a pained screech and dropped Raptor. She slid down the wall, her eyes wide, the bladed limb sliding from her stomach with a sickening sucking sound. She touched the wound and looked at the blood on her hand, disbelieving. Then she looked at the metal thing and hissed weakly, "you bitch!"
The metal creature was bleeding black blood from the wounds Logan's claws had inflicted. "Retreat," it howled. The horned guy staggered to his feet, one hand holding his wound, the other scooping the dragon-girl up. Cat-guy stood up painfully. They burst through the back of the truck.
Logan was too busy to stop them. He knelt beside Raptor, who was gasping for breath. Her shirt was ripped in several places and her pants were torn all down her right leg, baring a huge, deep gash in her thigh and calf, all the way to her ankle. Her skin was covered with burns from the creature's acid spit and her left arm was bent at an unnatural angle. And then there was the huge, gaping hole in her stomach.
"Jubes, you still okay to drive?" Logan asked, desperately wracking his brains for some form of first aid. Jubilee's shaky voice came from the cabin. "Yeah, for a while. Just tell me where to go."
"Follow this road until you see a big building. That's the school," Logan said. "We can go there."
He turned his full attention to Raptor, who was breathing heavily, biting her lip in an effort not to cry out as the bouncing truck jarred her and made her injuries hurt worse. Her right hand was splayed over the gash in her stomach, blood pouring through her fingers. She looked up at Logan and frowned. "You're bleeding," she said, coughing. Blood coloured her lips bright red.
Logan raised a hand to his forehead. It came away red with blood. "I'll be all right. You don't have healing power. I need to make sure you're not hurt too badly."
"Not — not in a truck you don't. Besides, I'm — I'm not gonna let a bitch — like that kill me. I'll be — I'll be okay."
"Just cooperate with me this once, okay? Bite your tongue and pretend I know what I'm doing. Just until we get to the mansion."
She nodded weakly. "All right."
Logan pulled off his jacket, folded it into a pad and pressed it over her stomach wound. "This is the most dangerous injury, so we'll focus on that. Gotta stop the bleeding somehow."
Raptor's eyes drifted closed. He shook her shoulder. "No, stay awake! Stay with me, don't go to sleep yet."
"So tired…"
"I know, but you can't sleep yet. Just look at me, look at me and stay awake. Just for a while."
She lifted her head and focused pain-filled eyes on his face. Her expression was quizzical. "Logan?"
"Yes?" He pressed harder on the wad of cloth covering her stomach. There was still too much blood.
"You really need to shave."
He barked out a harsh laugh. "Yeah, it's been a while. Just stay focused on me, okay? You don't want to go to sleep yet."
"But it's getting dark… when it gets dark you go to sleep… my mother said that. And then she left… where did she go, Logan?"
"I don't know, Raptor."
"She used to say… over the horizon is a world… made of sugar and fairy floss… a sweet world, where nobody is ever sad… do you think I'll go there, Logan? Will I see the angels?"
He grabbed her right hand and said, "c'mon, Raptor. Stay with me. You want to stay here. Focus on this truck, on Jubes in the front seat, on me. You want to stay here."
"My mother used to tell me… I was so pretty… the prettiest little girl… she used to call me 'my little Anastasia'… and then she went away… and I went to Richard…"
He was losing her. She was getting more incoherent as more of her blood drained onto the truck's floor. He pressed down even harder on the cloth, but she didn't seem to feel the pain.
"My father used to twirl me around in his arms… he said he'd always love me… but him and Mother went away… didn't they love me enough? Was I a bad girl, so they had to go away…"
"You could never be a bad girl," he said. Anything to keep her talking, make her stay awake and alive. "Tell me about your mother and father."
She smiled weakly. "Mother was so beautiful… I thought she was a goddess… she had the darkest hair I'd seen, and skin like milk… and Father was so strong and handsome and good… like Apollo. He was full of light and music, and he made me full of music as well... the music has gone away now… and the light turned to dark… I'm so cold, Logan. It's so cold…"
He picked up a blanket and spread it over her. "This should keep you warm," he said gruffly. She looked up at him, her face white with pain, her black eyes smiling despite it. "Thank you."
"Don't worry. We should be there in a few minutes."
"Good…"
Raptor's eyes drifted shut. Logan swore. "Jubes, you better break a few speed limits. She's unconscious."
Rogue was sitting on the front steps of the mansion, talking to Bobby, when she saw Logan's truck pull up and her heart leapt into her throat. But Logan wasn't at the wheel; instead a dark-haired girl with blood rushing from a gash above her left eyebrow navigated the truck into the driveway.
Rogue and Bobby jumped up and ran down to the truck. The girl said breathlessly, "Logan's in the back with Raptor."
Rogue went around to the back of the truck and pulled open the door. When she saw Logan hunched over a girl wrapped in blankets, at first some incongruous thoughts ran through her mind. Then she saw the spreading pool of blood under the girl and realised that something bad must have happened.
Logan glanced over at her and smiled briefly before saying, "we need help here, now. Tell Jean to get the infirmary ready."
"I'll go," Bobby said, dashing away before Rogue could say anything. Logan scooped up the girl, blankets and all, and carefully stepped down from the truck. He looked toward the cabin. "Can you see if Jubilee's okay, Rogue?"
She nodded and went to the girl who was leaning against the hood, a hand to her forehead. "Woah. Dizziness. Not fun."
"C'mon inside," Rogue said, slipping her arm around the girl. "Ah'll get ya to th' infirmary. Logan, ya remember th' way?" she asked, glancing back at him. He nodded, holding the girl bundled against his chest and heading inside at a run.
Rogue and Jubilee followed at a slower pace. By the time they reached the infirmary, Jubilee was shaking and the infirmary was a buzz of activity.
Logan gently laid the girl on the examination table and pulled back the blankets. Jean gasped when she saw the damage and immediately set to work, shooing the others out of the way. Scott treated Jubilee's wounds and told her to get to bed. "Rogue, you know where there's a spare room right?" he asked. Rogue replied, "yep, there's one right next to me an' Kitty. C'mon, Sugah, ya look like ya could use some sleep."
Jubilee fell asleep seconds after climbing into the bed. Rogue put out the light and closed the door, then headed back to the infirmary.
Jean was still working on the girl. Rogue went over to Logan, who was pacing impatiently. She put a gloved hand on his arm. "Ya want to go somewhere to wait?" she asked. He shook his head. "No. I want to be here when Raptor wakes up."
Rogue nodded. "Sure. I'm going to go make sure the Professor knows ya're here. I'll see ya later, Sugah."
Logan nodded absent-mindedly, his eyes going back to the table where Jean worked on Raptor. Rogue sighed and left the infirmary.
It was at least three hours before Jean finally finished working on Raptor and allowed Logan to see her. She led him to the curtained part of the room, then stopped before opening the curtains. She looked at him with a serious expression on her face.
"Logan, she looks pretty bad right now but I'm certain she'll recover quickly. Most of the injuries were superficial apart from the leg wound and some of the burns. Her left arm is broken and that wound on her upper arm had started to become infectious, but I can treat all that. I was most worried about the stomach wound but I've sewn it up and given her a transfusion of blood. Barring peritonitis or infection, she should be fine."
Logan nodded and pulled the curtain aside. He moved to the side of the bed and looked down.
A hospital gown covered most of the bandages, but Logan could still see that Raptor was wrapped up like a mummy. Her left arm was in a cast and there was another bandage where the creature had cut her the first time. Her right leg was bandaged from thigh to ankle, she had eleven stitches in her right eyebrow and her stomach was heavily wound with thick white bandaging.
Her hair had come loose of its braids and was framing her face, making her look even paler. She didn't need an oxygen mask, but machines were at her bedside, monitoring her heartbeat and blood pressure.
She looked small and fragile, as if a puff of wind would break her. Logan spun away from the bed and leaned against the doorframe, unwilling to leave but unwilling to stay and see her like this. Jean touched his shoulder gently.
"Logan, we kept your room the way you left it," she said. "I think you should get some rest. I'll tell you as soon as she wakes up."
"I should be here. I don't want her to wake up alone."
TBC. In chapter Five, Kurt and Kitty have a little pre-dawn meeting at the pool, Bobby hits on Raptor and Damien has a hissy fit. ;p