Colossus yawned and glanced at his wristwatch.
The giant Russian had been ordered to keep watch on the perimeters until he received the all's clear.
So far, nothing interesting had happened, unless a rat scuttling in between the dilapidated structures was a cause for alarm.
He returned his gaze to his surroundings, then suddenly took another look at his watch in amazement.
The hands where spinning crazily.
~That's odd,~ he thought, shaking his wrist. ~It must be broken.~
His radio began to crackle, shooting sparks out into the air and singeing the edges of the fabric around it.
A puzzled scowl spread over his noble features.
"Better safe than sorry," He murmured, his figure melting into organic steel.
"Uggh!" He cried as his whole body burst into fiery pain.
"What the...."
Colossus fought to resist the strong pull that threatened to overwhelm him.
"Must....reform..."
The blinding pain increased as he struggled to return to his normal state, making the 500-ton Russian drop to his knees.
"Can't...."
He finally gave in, letting whatever it was drag him along the cobblestone ground in the direction of the incessant draw.
+ + + + +
Logan's ribs ached with the effort of breathing, making it hard to even whisper as the pull grew stronger.
"Gosh, you sure are heavy as heck, shugah," Rogue said in an attempt to lighten the situation.
"Whatcha been eatin'?"
Logan grimaced.
"About.....two hundred....pounds....of...adamantium....!"
Rogue smiled grimly.
"That'd explain a lot, shugah."
He squirmed as he dragged in another breath, the pain intensifying.
"Down....there...." He gasped hoarsely.
Rogue nodded and concentrated on landing smoothly.
"This....way...." He said, holding out an arm to where his bones wanted to go.
He began to run, his feet barely touching the ground until they no longer where, and Rogue followed, astonished as he sliced through the air in flight.
"Hold up!" She shouted.
Rogue let herself float up and shoot forward, drawing on all her speed to keep up with the metal-boned feral mutant.
Suddenly Logan froze, unable to move as he reached his destination.
Rogue crashed into his back with a cry.
"What are yah doin', shu-" She stopped as she spotted the purple-clad Magneto just ahead.
+ + + + +
Magneto turned around and smiled.
"Ah, Wolverine, there you are!"
Logan growled.
"Lemme go, metal head!"
Magneto chuckled.
"It would seem, Wolverine, that not I but * you * are the metal head here."
He waved his fingers, making Logan let out a shriek that sounded like an animal in pain as the adamantium laced to his skull shifted.
"Oh, ma gawd," Rogue sobbed.
"Stop...freezin'...me....an....fight...like....a...man...you.... coward!"
Magneto smiled mockingly.
"We are fighting powers against powers, Wolverine, and I am playing by the rules."
He gave a savage twist of his hand to emphasize his words.
Logan howled as pain shot through every nerve in his body.
"Let him go, you * nazi! * "
Rogue bit her lip as Magneto turned to her, fury evident on his face.
" * What * did you just call me?"
Tears of rage streamed down her cheeks.
"...Rogue.....don't...." Logan whispered from where he stood, frozen.
Rogue balled up her fists.
"Ah called you a * nazi *, Magneto! That's what you are! That's what you've become!"
Magneto looked angry beyond words.
His eyes bulged and he stuttered for a moment, then clamped his jaw firmly shut and turned his attention back to the helpless Logan.
"This is for your foolish words, Rogue."
Before Rogue could register what was happening, Magneto stuck out his other hand and pulled both of his hands to his chest in a beckoning gesture.
"AaaaaaaaaaaAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Logan let out an inhumane scream as the adamantium implants separated from his bone skeleton, ripping through his muscles and the pores in his skin to enter the brisk evening air.
The metal floated obediently to Magneto's hands and landed at his feet.
"LOGAN!" Rogue screamed, watching her barely-recognizable lover fall to the ground, a mess of torn insides and blood.
"May that be a lesson, you uneducated country hick."
Magneto rose into the air, and with a swirl of his purple cape, was gone.
Rogue rushed to Logan's side, not giving any indication of having noticed the villain's departure.
"Oh ma gawd! Logan! LOGAN!"
Cold adrenaline rushed through Rogue's veins as she realized that he wasn't breathing.
"Please....hang on shugah....."
She thanked god she had taken CPR as she repositioned his head and pinched what was left of his nostrils shut, cupping her hand around her lips to protect him from her deadly skin.
~C'mon, c'mon shugah,~ She thought as she forced air into his shocked lungs and removed her hand from his nose to let him exhale.
After repeating this once more, she leaned back and quickly placed her glove-covered fingers to his neck to check his non-existent pulse.
"Oh, gawd," She gasped before putting her hands to his chest and pumping it as she had been taught.
After a few moments of this had passed, she checked his pulse again and to her relief found it, though it felt faint.
He coughed and opened his eyes.
"...R...ogue...?" He asked weakly.
A tear trickled down her cheek.
"Shhh. Don't try t' talk, shugah, he gotcha real bad."
He took another shallow breath.
"I...kin kinda....feel that," Rogue shook her head in disbelief, amazed that he could still be cracking jokes when the cobblestone was forever stained with an enormous puddle of his blood.
"Ah betta call Jean raight away, shugah. Don't move."
Logan's lips twitched in an attempted grin.
"I don't....think I'll....be goin'....anywhere....darlin'."
Rogue pressed the X on her wrist and brought it close to her mouth.
"Rogue to Jean! Jean! Answer me!"
"Jean to Rogue. What's wrong?"
"Logan's down! Magneto....he...tore out tha metal! All of it!"
A shocked pause.
"Dear god. Is he breathing?"
"He's awake Jean, ah had t' revaive him with CPR, but he's conscious."
"Can you describe the injuries for me?"
"Well.....he's lost an awful lotta blood, an' ah can see muscles all ova, an tha bone's showing in some places....it'sa real mess! He needs help!"
"Alright, Rogue, don't move him, I'll be there as fast as I can."
Rogue bit her lip.
"Hurry," She whispered.
"I'm on my way. Jean out."
Rogue turned back to Logan.
"Do ya think ya can hold on till Jean gets here, shugah?"
Logan drew a shuddering breath.
"I'll...try...Rogue....I...."
"Don't speak---"
"I gotta....say this now....Rogue...I...love you."
Rogue's eyes filled with more tears.
"Ah love ya too, shugah, just hold on."
He didn't answer.
"Logan! Logan! Don't go on me, shugah! Don't!"
He had slipped into a blissfully unaware state of unconsciousness, unable to take the pain any longer.
"Logan, don't...wake up, please....."
She checked his vitals again, her eyes wide with terror, but since he was still breathing, there was nothing she could do but wait for Jean.
+ + + + +
The giant Russian had been ordered to keep watch on the perimeters until he received the all's clear.
So far, nothing interesting had happened, unless a rat scuttling in between the dilapidated structures was a cause for alarm.
He returned his gaze to his surroundings, then suddenly took another look at his watch in amazement.
The hands where spinning crazily.
~That's odd,~ he thought, shaking his wrist. ~It must be broken.~
His radio began to crackle, shooting sparks out into the air and singeing the edges of the fabric around it.
A puzzled scowl spread over his noble features.
"Better safe than sorry," He murmured, his figure melting into organic steel.
"Uggh!" He cried as his whole body burst into fiery pain.
"What the...."
Colossus fought to resist the strong pull that threatened to overwhelm him.
"Must....reform..."
The blinding pain increased as he struggled to return to his normal state, making the 500-ton Russian drop to his knees.
"Can't...."
He finally gave in, letting whatever it was drag him along the cobblestone ground in the direction of the incessant draw.
+ + + + +
Logan's ribs ached with the effort of breathing, making it hard to even whisper as the pull grew stronger.
"Gosh, you sure are heavy as heck, shugah," Rogue said in an attempt to lighten the situation.
"Whatcha been eatin'?"
Logan grimaced.
"About.....two hundred....pounds....of...adamantium....!"
Rogue smiled grimly.
"That'd explain a lot, shugah."
He squirmed as he dragged in another breath, the pain intensifying.
"Down....there...." He gasped hoarsely.
Rogue nodded and concentrated on landing smoothly.
"This....way...." He said, holding out an arm to where his bones wanted to go.
He began to run, his feet barely touching the ground until they no longer where, and Rogue followed, astonished as he sliced through the air in flight.
"Hold up!" She shouted.
Rogue let herself float up and shoot forward, drawing on all her speed to keep up with the metal-boned feral mutant.
Suddenly Logan froze, unable to move as he reached his destination.
Rogue crashed into his back with a cry.
"What are yah doin', shu-" She stopped as she spotted the purple-clad Magneto just ahead.
+ + + + +
Magneto turned around and smiled.
"Ah, Wolverine, there you are!"
Logan growled.
"Lemme go, metal head!"
Magneto chuckled.
"It would seem, Wolverine, that not I but * you * are the metal head here."
He waved his fingers, making Logan let out a shriek that sounded like an animal in pain as the adamantium laced to his skull shifted.
"Oh, ma gawd," Rogue sobbed.
"Stop...freezin'...me....an....fight...like....a...man...you.... coward!"
Magneto smiled mockingly.
"We are fighting powers against powers, Wolverine, and I am playing by the rules."
He gave a savage twist of his hand to emphasize his words.
Logan howled as pain shot through every nerve in his body.
"Let him go, you * nazi! * "
Rogue bit her lip as Magneto turned to her, fury evident on his face.
" * What * did you just call me?"
Tears of rage streamed down her cheeks.
"...Rogue.....don't...." Logan whispered from where he stood, frozen.
Rogue balled up her fists.
"Ah called you a * nazi *, Magneto! That's what you are! That's what you've become!"
Magneto looked angry beyond words.
His eyes bulged and he stuttered for a moment, then clamped his jaw firmly shut and turned his attention back to the helpless Logan.
"This is for your foolish words, Rogue."
Before Rogue could register what was happening, Magneto stuck out his other hand and pulled both of his hands to his chest in a beckoning gesture.
"AaaaaaaaaaaAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Logan let out an inhumane scream as the adamantium implants separated from his bone skeleton, ripping through his muscles and the pores in his skin to enter the brisk evening air.
The metal floated obediently to Magneto's hands and landed at his feet.
"LOGAN!" Rogue screamed, watching her barely-recognizable lover fall to the ground, a mess of torn insides and blood.
"May that be a lesson, you uneducated country hick."
Magneto rose into the air, and with a swirl of his purple cape, was gone.
Rogue rushed to Logan's side, not giving any indication of having noticed the villain's departure.
"Oh ma gawd! Logan! LOGAN!"
Cold adrenaline rushed through Rogue's veins as she realized that he wasn't breathing.
"Please....hang on shugah....."
She thanked god she had taken CPR as she repositioned his head and pinched what was left of his nostrils shut, cupping her hand around her lips to protect him from her deadly skin.
~C'mon, c'mon shugah,~ She thought as she forced air into his shocked lungs and removed her hand from his nose to let him exhale.
After repeating this once more, she leaned back and quickly placed her glove-covered fingers to his neck to check his non-existent pulse.
"Oh, gawd," She gasped before putting her hands to his chest and pumping it as she had been taught.
After a few moments of this had passed, she checked his pulse again and to her relief found it, though it felt faint.
He coughed and opened his eyes.
"...R...ogue...?" He asked weakly.
A tear trickled down her cheek.
"Shhh. Don't try t' talk, shugah, he gotcha real bad."
He took another shallow breath.
"I...kin kinda....feel that," Rogue shook her head in disbelief, amazed that he could still be cracking jokes when the cobblestone was forever stained with an enormous puddle of his blood.
"Ah betta call Jean raight away, shugah. Don't move."
Logan's lips twitched in an attempted grin.
"I don't....think I'll....be goin'....anywhere....darlin'."
Rogue pressed the X on her wrist and brought it close to her mouth.
"Rogue to Jean! Jean! Answer me!"
"Jean to Rogue. What's wrong?"
"Logan's down! Magneto....he...tore out tha metal! All of it!"
A shocked pause.
"Dear god. Is he breathing?"
"He's awake Jean, ah had t' revaive him with CPR, but he's conscious."
"Can you describe the injuries for me?"
"Well.....he's lost an awful lotta blood, an' ah can see muscles all ova, an tha bone's showing in some places....it'sa real mess! He needs help!"
"Alright, Rogue, don't move him, I'll be there as fast as I can."
Rogue bit her lip.
"Hurry," She whispered.
"I'm on my way. Jean out."
Rogue turned back to Logan.
"Do ya think ya can hold on till Jean gets here, shugah?"
Logan drew a shuddering breath.
"I'll...try...Rogue....I...."
"Don't speak---"
"I gotta....say this now....Rogue...I...love you."
Rogue's eyes filled with more tears.
"Ah love ya too, shugah, just hold on."
He didn't answer.
"Logan! Logan! Don't go on me, shugah! Don't!"
He had slipped into a blissfully unaware state of unconsciousness, unable to take the pain any longer.
"Logan, don't...wake up, please....."
She checked his vitals again, her eyes wide with terror, but since he was still breathing, there was nothing she could do but wait for Jean.
+ + + + +