Wolverine: A Link to the Past
By X-Gene
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not made by me. They belong to Marvel Enterprises. Also these characters are from the X-men movies and the story is told through the eyes of Wolverine. Plus, Creed and Sabretooth are the same person, not to confuse you.
The mutant named Logan, other known as Wolverine, has decided to embark on a journey he doesn't wish to come back from. But unfortunate for Logan his wish isn't granted and a much unexpected visitor is tagging along for the ride. The mutant known as Rogue is unexpectedly the link to what Logan needs to find in his life, but just as they both take a trip down memory lane a figure appears, one that will soon make a living hell out of both Logan and Rogue's lives.
Part 2 "The Past"
I shutter to think that my life is over, that it all was for nothing. I can't feel my heart beat, or rather, I can't hear myself breathe. I can see only black and there is a pain, an awful pain coming from endless amounts of places. I can't think straight at the moment, too many things flashing in and out of my head. Pictures cut on and off, then, blackness again. The images are making me confused, dizzy in a sense. I don't know if I'm floating or laying down somewhere because my vision is gone. I only feel the cold, dry feeling of death. But I can't be dead not yet, I have to protect Rogue, she may be in danger. Correction, is in danger if Sabretooth is behind this.wait that's it, Sabretooth was what we saw in the basement.
It's all coming clear now, we were in the basement and Sabretooth was waiting for us, that's when I was shot. Someone else was down there too, and apparently they put me to sleep. Well, not for long.
"Rogue!" I yelled as I awoke from what seemed like death.
I soon discovered why the pain I felt was overwhelming, I had been shot in various places several times and my healing factor wasn't working fast enough. My eyes were heavy and I felt beans of sweet trickle down my face onto my chest. My vision was blurry and I could barely make out the many figures moving slowly around me, I soon noticed I wasn't walking, but being drug across some kind of hall. Voices were clouding my mind like in my dreams and I knew I was taking a trip down memory lane.
"Drop him, Carter, throw the girl in the cell down the hall." said a deep and heavy voice that echoed through my mind as someone threw my helpless body into a cold, damp cell. My senses were coming back to me slowly and I could hear the scurrying feet of a rat running pass me. The smell of mildew invaded my nose and nearly knocked me unconscious, but a hand pulled me up, or rather a claw.
"Have a nice nap Logan?" chanted the heavy hurricane-like voice as it echoed through the cell.
I could here low whispers around me and knew that I wasn't the only prisoner; there were others, others just like me.
"Is this your bull shit excuse for a game, Sabretooth, cuz it ain't funny." I said as my vision cleared.
"The name's Creed, Victor Creed." whispered Sabretooth as he drew closer to me, but I interrupted him before he could say more. "I don't care what the hell you call yourself; you're still a big ugly monster to me."
Sabretooth, or Creed as he calls himself, didn't reply. There was a second's silence and then Creed dropped me on the floor, I would have gotten up but my legs weren't awake yet. I laid there like a helpless infant and watched Creed walk out the cell and type in a number on the cellpad. Instead of a door there was an electric safety alarm that triggers when I attempt to escape, that is, if I get through the scrambler bars that serve as a door. The scrambler bars are bars that are linked to a circuit in the building somehow, I can feel the ground below me and know that it's electrically connected to the bars. My senses aren't just a freak accident, go figure.
"By the way, Logan, welcome home." said Creed in an even heavier tone, I didn't have to look to see if he was smiling, I already knew.
I took a quick survey of the surroundings to see if it was possible to escape, but I couldn't pick up anything. yet. I'd have to wait and see, the place was eerily familiar and it's as if I'd been here before. The cell was built of cold stones, not bricks, and the air was cloaked with the smell of death. The cold floor was all I had, there wasn't a bed nor was there a stall. My wounds slowly were healing, but the smell of blood was fresher than ever. What the hell were they doing in this place, what have I got myself into? What have got Rogue into?
Rogue, she's gone, where is she?
Her scent is faint but it's there, as long as she's alive I can sleep. My eye's are heavy and it's getting late I guess. I'll probably slowly go to sleep, but how can I in this death camp? How can I sleep knowing that I might not live to see tomorrow?
Eyes.too.heavy, drifting to.
A woman is standing on a snow covered hill, I can see her, she's beautiful. Her long silvery hair drifts in the cool breeze of winter, her dark brown skin fuses with the deer skin clothing she is wearing. She's Native American, she's very young, her life source is fresh almost child- like. I can hear her heartbeat, it's steady, she's not afraid.She's not afraid of the monster I am. She draws closer to me, walking swiftly, coming closer and closer. She's so close I can hear her breathing, I can see her eyes, a nice calm shade of sky blue they are. The hairs on my arms stick up as she nears closer to my face. All this time I've not said a word, I don't want to distract her, I don't want her to stop. She's beautiful and elegant, her hands slowly touch my face and my heart beats faster. Her hands are cold, icy almost, and she holds my face as if to examine it. I can see ever line in her lips as her head leans against mine and both of us looking into each other's eyes. wondering. wanting.
Suddenly she stops and I can only hear barking of dogs racing to get us, the sounds of the dogs frightens her and she runs from me, not looking back. I want to run after her but my legs don't move and the wild dogs ambush me in the snow. Blood stains the snow red and a truck appears out of forest around me. The truck comes to a stop and out of the truck come figures, men, and they hold guns.
Then the dream ends.
"Wake up, big boy!" said a man as I awoke from what I now realized was a dream, I looked around me to find a damp and cold cell. The man that had spoken, was sitting in the corner of my cell, he was in a dark hooded jacket. The man's face was hidden in the shadows of his hooded jacket, the man's voice seemed kind, but I had a bad vibe from him.
"Who are you?" I asked pushing myself further away from the man in the corner. The man waited for a little while to answer my question.
Finally he, "My name is of no concern, but if you wish to know." as he moved into the dim light from the hallway," I'll tell you my codename around here, it's Caliban. Not a really cool name like, Wolverine, but it suits me don't you think?" The man's face was now visible, unfortunately.
I don't know what scared me the most, Caliban's face or this cell I'm trapped in. I could clearly see his pale gray skin through the dim light, his eyes were covered with a cloth, blood stained. He was blind, I could tell, and he was very tall. His body was giant-like and if I hadn't seen his mouth open I would have mistaken him for a vampire. Caliban had no hair, nor did he have eyebrows, nor eyelashes I'm betting, he was like some kind of beast from the dead.
I was silent for about ten minutes, I was thinking, was it his mutation that caused his skin to change that way or was it this place? I soon began to think of Rogue, what kind of cell mate did she have, hopefully not a man ^_^. Caliban was silent too, but wasted no time in talking after ten minutes.
"You are afraid?" Caliban asked as he moved closer to me, I was tense, what was on his mind? Why was he eager to know more about me? I did not answer his question.
"It is natural for you to be scared of me, I'm not exactly the cutest mutant here." he said as he grew closer to me, I could hear his heartbeat. Thump, thump, thump. It was moving normally, he wasn't feeling emotion right now. Caliban was close enough; now, that I could see the blood stains on the blindfold. I smelt the blood; it was fresh, too fresh. He stopped when he got to me face, as if he were to kiss me.
"Do not spare your fear on me, Logan; you have plenty of time to be scared. This place may in fact be the last place you'll ever live to see." Caliban said as he returned to his corner. My heart stopped, for a moment I could no longer breathe. I just sat there as if ready to die, I was lost in thought. A million things were flashing in and out of my mind at once, making my head spin. It was something he said, something in his tone that lead me to believe that I had been here before.
"How do you know my name?" I asked, my breathing started up again, I must have been in some kind of shock or something.
"Your name has been spoken of, around here, for years." Caliban was back in his corner, face hidden. How, how was my name spoken of here? There's no way, unless.Unless I had been here before, but that's almost impossible.
"You were the only one to escape, Logan, the only person to escape his torture." Caliban said.
I wanted to ask him so many questions, but where would I start? Why is it that this is so difficult for me? The bars to the cell bolt apart and a guard is standing at the door, gun in hand. Another man soon accompanied him, tall and raggedy, Sabretooth. I could smell Rogue nearby as Sabretooth came waltzing into the cell with handcuffs in his hands. Creed smiled at me as I stuck my hands out to him, knowing he wanted me and not Caliban. Caliban huddled in the corner and didn't speak, I could barely keep up with his heartbeats, and he was scared.
"Well, I see you've had a nice sleep after we tranquilized you last night. Get up!" said Creed, demanding.
I got up and followed Creed down a long hall, trying to search for Rogue among all the faces in the cells. She was nowhere to be found, but she wasn't dead, she can't be. We walked through doors leading up steps and hallways, endless almost. Guards walking behind me, guns aiming at my head and back, I had nowhere to run to so why point guns?
"Do you know where we are Logan, my boy?" asked Sabretooth, in a deep and heavy voice. The cells ended at the end of another hallway as we headed for a door at the end. My senses were tingling and my body was hot and sweet all of a sudden. Again, images flashed in and out of my mind faster than I can count, leaving my mind flabbergasted. I stopped and fell to the floor, it was too confusing for me, it was painful one minute then joyful the next. What was happening to me? It must be this place, this hallway that's trigger my mind. Something from the past must be here, something that I want to know.
"I thought it'd sink in by now, but I guess you're dumber than I thought." Sabretooth chanted as he dragged me to the door labeled Department H. Sabretooth dropped me to open the door, I can smell Rogue, I can almost taste her. There's also something else, something I can't figure out, something familiar.
Sabretooth opens the door and I pull myself off the floor to take a look inside.the memories are starting to flow like running water. The room is dark but I can still make out figures around the room, the room is some kind of laboratory. Doctors and technicians crowd the room as Sabretooth rushes me in; the room is bringing in so many memories. The dreams of being in the tank and the laughter of colleagues are coming back to me, but they weren't dreams, they were real.
Rogue, where was she? My heart suddenly raced as Sabretooth dragged me to a chair and throw me in it. Helplessly I sat there, wondering when someone would speak. There were about thirty people in the room, all busy doing something, how could they work in the dark like this? Sabretooth folded his arms and waited, for what I don't know. I searched the room for Rogue, nothing, but she was near I could feel it. In the distance a figure was in a tank of liquid, a mutant. Scientist were examining it like it wasn't human or something. Suddenly a flash came and I could remember my dreams of being in a tank similar to the tank the scientist were observing the mutant in. A pain grew in my head and I knew Caliban had been telling the truth about me, I had been here before.maybe this was my home.
"Good afternoon mister Creed." said a skinny man in a white lab jacket, he was short and old but I couldn't help but notice something vaguely familiar about him. He was Asian or Japanese and his eyes soon shifted from Sabretooth to me. My heart jumped as his dark eyes glared at me, they were almost sinister, I could barely contain myself. Something in his eyes made me feel pain, something about he himself made me unsettled. The pain in my head grew powerful but I didn't fall like I did in the hallway, I stood because of the doctor. There's something about him that's eating me up, something I'll eventually find out.
"Is this him?" asked the skinny doctor, as he swiftly walked towards me, eyes never leaving me.
I grew tense as the doctor neared me, what was it that was keeping me from tearing this man apart? What was holding me back from tearing everyone here limb from limb? The doctor stopped when he was face to face with me and I knew something was going to happen. Sabretooth started to snicker and the doctor grimaced. Sabretooth walked over beside me and the doctor cleared his throat to speak.
"Hello Logan." said the doctor; his voice gave me goosebumps as he began talking.
"You don't remember me, but I am what you might call, your creator." said the doctor, I didn't move, I was taking in ever word he had to say. "I created the adamantium that was used to create your skeletal structure. I helped create what you are today my boy. My name is Dr. Oyama and." the doctor said as he turned and walked to the tank in the distance.
Dr. Oyama pointed to the tank with the mutant in it and said," .and I see you've already met my daughter Yuriko." I could feel my breath stop as I stared into the tank, my heart stopped too. The mutant in the tank was now clearly visible as the scientist turned on lights in the tank itself. The mutant I had fought a while back at Alkaline Lake was floating in the tank where the scientist were. I thought I killed her, I remember everything about that fight. She was the toughest and fastest opponent I had ever fought, not even Sabretooth could compare with her power. It's impossible, but there she is, floating in the tank. I can barely make out the star-like shape of the adamantium coming from out of her eyes.
The doctor soon walked back towards me and motioned Sabretooth to grab me. We walked down some stairs and head for the cargo area, the doctor soon began to talk again. "Logan, you are part of a program and this program is called Weapon X. We take mutants, like yourself and Mr. Creed here, and we experiment on them basically." I could smell Rogue even more now, she's close, real close."We test their limits, Logan; we test how far they can go with their mutant gifts. But you escaped Logan, you escaped before we could test your limits and we went decades without knowing your full potential."
Sabretooth pushed the "open" button of the side panel on the wall to open the cargo door. I could hear voices, lots of voices, more like yells. As the door slowly opened I could hear the roar of a crowd, the crowd was so loud I could barely hear the doctor say, "Today, we will test your limits Logan, we will test them like they've never been tested before." the doctor stayed behind as the door opened all the way and the crowd roared affectionately at my presence. Sabretooth thrust me into the cargo area, which was set up almost as an arena. The crowd of soldiers and prisoners roared as I slowly got up off the floor, Sabretooth stood at the door waiting for something.
I found Rogue in the center of the room, handcuffed too, she looked excited to see me but her heartbeat was racing. She ran to me but didn't say a word; I smelt blood on her as she attempted to hug me. Her body wasn't warm like most were, her body was cold and her skin was pale. The eye shadow smeared as tears rolled down her face, she didn't say anything, she just stared at me crying. I knew she was afraid but something else was bothering her, something she's keeping away from me.
"Oh, Logan, this place is horrible." Rogue said a she cried in my arms," What's going to happen to us Logan, what are they going to do to us?"
"I don't know, but I'll protect you." I said, the crowd was getting louder and louder as a truck started to back into the cargo area, Sabretooth had disappeared from his spot.
"I don't need you to protect me Logan. I need you to stay alive." Rogue pulled away and stuck out her arms, I suddenly knew what she wanted. I used my claws to free myself and cut Rogue loose from her handcuffs. The crowd roared at us and I looked up to see who I would kill later, but Rogue tugged me and pointed at the truck. The door slowly opened and I could see a figure, no not a figure, a giant. The door opened fully and I could see a huge outline of a man, well more like a giant man than a regular man.
The atrocious being slowly stepped out the back of the truck, the man was about eight feet tall in height and at least weight a ton. The man had mangled up red hair that wildly covered most of his face. The man took a step forward and the earth beneath us shook with fury; he was a mutant for sure. An announcer came on the microphone and started raving about how tonight's match will be one to remember, but I wasn't paying attention to the announcer I was paying attention to the mutant that was about to crush us into a pulp.
"Cain will bring you PAIN but most here like to call him. the JUGGERNAUT!" yelled the announcer, as the crowd roared even louder than before. Rogue was stiff, her eyes focused on the Juggernaut, her heartbeat slowed down.
This is the kind of fear that makes you piss in your sleep, the kind of fear that puts nightmares in your head; this is something I will never forget. I managed to look into the eyes of the mutant only to see a dark and evil shade of green. The mutant stepped forward towards me and I froze in my place, ready to take a beating I'd never forget. I couldn't focus my hearing on anything in the room except for what that monstrosity in front of me growled. "pain". And then there was a quick and sharp pain in my side, everything went black for a moment and I realized I was stuck by the Juggernaut. Rogue was out there alone with it until I could gather enough strength to fight. My eyes opened only to see Rogue hanging upside down by her legs from the Juggernaut's giant hands.
A strength I never knew I had came over me and my body lifted off the ground. The adrenaline rush allowed me to leap upon the monster holding Rogue and I stabbed with all my might, but I failed to stop the monster because my claws barely scratched the Juggernaut. With a jerk he throws Rogue into me and we ricocheted into a wall, my back suddenly snapped, Rogue screamed when see heard it. I was temporarily paralyzed, the world was spinning and my heart beats slower and slower.
Suddenly I drift into a calm, an unusual calm.
Suddenly Rogue rushes up from where she hit the wall and attempts to hit the Juggernaut, but the Juggernaut once again has her hanging upside down, but Rogue gives me a sudden smirk. At first I had no clue what this was about but when she started to take of her gloves she had been wearing I understood. If you can't beat a Juggernaut on your own, what better way than to use a Juggernaut against himself? It was only a split second but long enough to drain Juggernaut of his powers and transfer them to her.
The Juggernaut twitched and dropped Rogue on the floor, the Juggernaut screamed, "What'd you do you little witch?!" Rogue quickly put her gloves on and rushed in front of the mutant, confident as ever. The Juggernaut shook his head and glared at Rogue.
"You want me, big boy, come and get me!" yelled Rogue as she thrust her fist at Juggernaut with all her might, I slowly attempted to get up but my eyes were clued to Juggernaut as he was thrown into the concrete wall, cracking it all the way up to the ceiling. It was like a freaky cartoon, little guy beats big guy, and Rogue was the little guy or gal. Rogue rushed at Juggernaut but surprisingly he punched her in the stomach, launching her into the opposite wall of the arena, cracking it to the ceiling too. My spine was back in place and I was at it again, I rushed towards Juggernaut. I ducked as he attempted to punch me again and went under in between his legs. I thought as crawled far enough to stick my leg out and kick him in his family jewels. I lunged my foot at his crotch but nothing happened, not a shout or anything. He suddenly noticed me and grabbed my leg before I could kick again, before I know I'm hanging upside down.
"Balls of steel, Logan!" the Juggernaut chanted as Rogue leaped on his back.
Rogue wasted no time in taking her gloves but the Juggernaut dropped me and grabbed her by her hood before she could touch him. Rogue struggled to touch him but she couldn't touch him while swinging her around, he was going to throw her again and the bad thing about that was.his powers were wearing off and she'd be seriously hurt with out his strength. I recovered from being dropped and once again stabbed the Juggernaut with my claws that supposedly could cut through anything, Dr. Oyama set this one up good and I'm sure Sabretooth was eating this up too. The Juggernaut didn't flinch, so I decided a direct approach.I went for his face.
My claws barely touched his face before he dropped Rogue and yelled. I scratched his face with my claws hard enough to leave a couple of deep, scarring cuts. The Juggernaut shrieked in terror as I grabbed Rogue's hand and ran to the nearest corner. The Juggernaut kicked and slammed the ground, causing little earthquakes, Rogue trying to conceal her laughter.
"I'll kill you Wolverine, I'll kill you!" yelled the Juggernaut as he wiped the blood off his face, smearing it all over him.
The Juggernaut ran furiously at us, the ground shook with fury. Thump, thump, thump! The crowd chanting," Kill him, kill him!" as the Juggernaut rushed to me pushed Rogue, roughly, to the side and grabbed me with hands. His hair was back far enough to the point where you could see the Juggernauts whole face. The cuts were deep, guess he'll remember me forever. The Juggernaut suddenly squeezed his giant hands around my arm, shattering the bone inside. An indescribable pain overwhelmed my body as the Juggernaut continued to squeeze my broken arm. When he realized my arm was lifeless he grabbed other and jerked at it, pointing it out of socket. I shrieked in pain. If I could use my arms right now they'd have to reconstruct his ugly face cuz there'd be enough scars to mistaken him for his mama. ^_^
The Juggernaut grabbed my head next and attempted to squeeze my brains out, but suddenly he stopped.not just him but the crowd too. The Juggernaut didn't move, he just was still as if the life was being drained from him. I turned my head to see Rogue on top of the Juggernaut's back with her hands wrapped around the Juggernaut's forehead, draining the life out of him.
There was only one other time I saw this before and that was when Magneto had her stuck to the machine that could've ended it all. She was glued to it, like she couldn't escape, the same way she's stuck to Juggernaut right now. She'll kill him if she hangs on any longer. The veins on the Juggernauts head were visible and Rogue's eyes were rolled up in the back of her head, only the white was showing.
"Enough!" shouted a familiar voice.
Rogue suddenly fell to the floor unconscious, I also fell to the floor, I could no longer feel my arms. I turned my head to see the unconscious Rogue; she had a tranquilizer dart in her neck. Two guards came to pick her up and another two arrived to carry me too. They carried me to the steps where Dr. Oyama awaited my return and said, "You past the test with flying colors, Logan." I couldn't wait to heal up, I was going to tear him limb from limb.
"When I escape you're the first person I'm going to kill." I said as the guard start up the steps.
"How comforting?" said Dr. Oyama as I was carried up the steps.
I want to sleep now, but I don't think it's possible anymore, knowing the truth is only making it worse.I just hope I can live through this.
.I'm laying somewhere, somewhere in the snow, and I are dying. The cold air has drained my throat of it's moisture and my heart beats slower and slower.The only thing I can think of is the woman, the Indian woman. I'm staring into the light gray sky and tops of the pine trees of the forest. I can still smell her. I can still feel her hands on my face even though she's gone. She's the only thing on my mind right now. I feel the blood slowly sliding down my waist, I want to die, I want to die like a normal person. I live an endless life until now, until love. Love started me and love is going to end me.
Suddenly a flash clouds my mind and I see a woman, but not the woman I expected, this woman was different. A long haired woman flashed before me, her red hair matched with her forest green eyes and her deep red lips. I stared at her until her image faded away, Jean, that's her name. I now know why I love Jean, maybe it was all because I needed someone to love, someone like the Native American woman I loved. I wasn't loving Jean at all, I was loving my Indian girl. My Indian girl was gone now and the first thing close to her was Jean, it's all too wrong.
And the dream end.
"Wake up Logan!" says a familiar voice as I realize that I have, once again, slept through the night.
My wounds have slowly healed and I lift my arm up to see if it works alright, it's okay. I turned to expect Caliban but instead I see Rogue. She was very close to the door of the cell, I have no clue what she's up to but whatever it is she's ready.
"Where's Caliban?" I asked getting up on my feet, I was a little weak as I got up.
"He's roomin' with my cell mate, Rahne. You're feeling a little woozy right not aren't you? Well, that's cuz I stole some of your powers." Rogue explained as I walked towards her.
"Why?" I asked wondering why she needed my powers.
"Because we're bustin' out, Logan and I needed you powers to listen to the sounds the buttons on the cellpad made, that way I could memorize the buttons the guard pushed to open the cell doors."
Rogue was brilliant, guess she does learn something in that school Xavier has. First thing's first I get Rogue to the jet and then I find Dr. Oyama and do him in, I don't care about Sabretooth but Deathstrike has to go too. Rogue stuck her hand out between the bars, they were thin enough to not touch the bars, and she started to type in numbers. The prisoners on the opposite walls watched with amazement but never asked to be freed, maybe they thought we'd never make it past the first door?
There was a click and then the door opened, we were free. Rogue rushed out and ran to the opposite cell from us, "We have to free these people, Logan, they'll die here!" Rogue typed in the number but there was a shriek that echoed through the hallway, a siren went off, they know we're escaping.
"Rogue, forget them and go!" I yelled, but Rogue gave me a look that told me she was doing the right thing, something that Xavier had taught her to do. I gave up arguing with her and walked to the cell where she was trying to free the prisoners and exerted my claws. I stabbed the cellpad and the door slide open.
"Get as many people as you can out of here, Rogue, I'm going after Dr. Oyama!" I said as I started for the first door out. I slashed the door open an headed down another hallway, behind me I could smell Creed, he was near.
"You guys help free the others I'm going to stop Sabretooth!" I heard Rogue yell as I turned to see Sabretooth charging at me. I ran even faster to the next door leading to some steps, I jumped down the banister and fell to the bottom, safely landing on my feet. I looked at the top of the steps to see Rogue and Sabretooth going at it. I'll be back to help, Rogue, I'll be back. I thought as I entered a room full of panicking scientist.
"Where's Dr. Oyama?" I yelled, but soon stopped in my tracks.
The scent. the scent that had multiplied when we first came here, what was it? It was overwhelming, powerful and deadly.And then I remembered the scent, but unfortunately it was too late. I turned to my right and saw why the scientists were panicking, not because of the mutants escaping but because something worse was loose.Someone worse than an army of mutants was loose.
Yuriko Oyama.
"Hello, Logan, miss me?" whispered the low accented voice that I had heard once before.
I thought,
To be continued.
By X-Gene
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are not made by me. They belong to Marvel Enterprises. Also these characters are from the X-men movies and the story is told through the eyes of Wolverine. Plus, Creed and Sabretooth are the same person, not to confuse you.
The mutant named Logan, other known as Wolverine, has decided to embark on a journey he doesn't wish to come back from. But unfortunate for Logan his wish isn't granted and a much unexpected visitor is tagging along for the ride. The mutant known as Rogue is unexpectedly the link to what Logan needs to find in his life, but just as they both take a trip down memory lane a figure appears, one that will soon make a living hell out of both Logan and Rogue's lives.
Part 2 "The Past"
I shutter to think that my life is over, that it all was for nothing. I can't feel my heart beat, or rather, I can't hear myself breathe. I can see only black and there is a pain, an awful pain coming from endless amounts of places. I can't think straight at the moment, too many things flashing in and out of my head. Pictures cut on and off, then, blackness again. The images are making me confused, dizzy in a sense. I don't know if I'm floating or laying down somewhere because my vision is gone. I only feel the cold, dry feeling of death. But I can't be dead not yet, I have to protect Rogue, she may be in danger. Correction, is in danger if Sabretooth is behind this.wait that's it, Sabretooth was what we saw in the basement.
It's all coming clear now, we were in the basement and Sabretooth was waiting for us, that's when I was shot. Someone else was down there too, and apparently they put me to sleep. Well, not for long.
"Rogue!" I yelled as I awoke from what seemed like death.
I soon discovered why the pain I felt was overwhelming, I had been shot in various places several times and my healing factor wasn't working fast enough. My eyes were heavy and I felt beans of sweet trickle down my face onto my chest. My vision was blurry and I could barely make out the many figures moving slowly around me, I soon noticed I wasn't walking, but being drug across some kind of hall. Voices were clouding my mind like in my dreams and I knew I was taking a trip down memory lane.
"Drop him, Carter, throw the girl in the cell down the hall." said a deep and heavy voice that echoed through my mind as someone threw my helpless body into a cold, damp cell. My senses were coming back to me slowly and I could hear the scurrying feet of a rat running pass me. The smell of mildew invaded my nose and nearly knocked me unconscious, but a hand pulled me up, or rather a claw.
"Have a nice nap Logan?" chanted the heavy hurricane-like voice as it echoed through the cell.
I could here low whispers around me and knew that I wasn't the only prisoner; there were others, others just like me.
"Is this your bull shit excuse for a game, Sabretooth, cuz it ain't funny." I said as my vision cleared.
"The name's Creed, Victor Creed." whispered Sabretooth as he drew closer to me, but I interrupted him before he could say more. "I don't care what the hell you call yourself; you're still a big ugly monster to me."
Sabretooth, or Creed as he calls himself, didn't reply. There was a second's silence and then Creed dropped me on the floor, I would have gotten up but my legs weren't awake yet. I laid there like a helpless infant and watched Creed walk out the cell and type in a number on the cellpad. Instead of a door there was an electric safety alarm that triggers when I attempt to escape, that is, if I get through the scrambler bars that serve as a door. The scrambler bars are bars that are linked to a circuit in the building somehow, I can feel the ground below me and know that it's electrically connected to the bars. My senses aren't just a freak accident, go figure.
"By the way, Logan, welcome home." said Creed in an even heavier tone, I didn't have to look to see if he was smiling, I already knew.
I took a quick survey of the surroundings to see if it was possible to escape, but I couldn't pick up anything. yet. I'd have to wait and see, the place was eerily familiar and it's as if I'd been here before. The cell was built of cold stones, not bricks, and the air was cloaked with the smell of death. The cold floor was all I had, there wasn't a bed nor was there a stall. My wounds slowly were healing, but the smell of blood was fresher than ever. What the hell were they doing in this place, what have I got myself into? What have got Rogue into?
Rogue, she's gone, where is she?
Her scent is faint but it's there, as long as she's alive I can sleep. My eye's are heavy and it's getting late I guess. I'll probably slowly go to sleep, but how can I in this death camp? How can I sleep knowing that I might not live to see tomorrow?
Eyes.too.heavy, drifting to.
A woman is standing on a snow covered hill, I can see her, she's beautiful. Her long silvery hair drifts in the cool breeze of winter, her dark brown skin fuses with the deer skin clothing she is wearing. She's Native American, she's very young, her life source is fresh almost child- like. I can hear her heartbeat, it's steady, she's not afraid.She's not afraid of the monster I am. She draws closer to me, walking swiftly, coming closer and closer. She's so close I can hear her breathing, I can see her eyes, a nice calm shade of sky blue they are. The hairs on my arms stick up as she nears closer to my face. All this time I've not said a word, I don't want to distract her, I don't want her to stop. She's beautiful and elegant, her hands slowly touch my face and my heart beats faster. Her hands are cold, icy almost, and she holds my face as if to examine it. I can see ever line in her lips as her head leans against mine and both of us looking into each other's eyes. wondering. wanting.
Suddenly she stops and I can only hear barking of dogs racing to get us, the sounds of the dogs frightens her and she runs from me, not looking back. I want to run after her but my legs don't move and the wild dogs ambush me in the snow. Blood stains the snow red and a truck appears out of forest around me. The truck comes to a stop and out of the truck come figures, men, and they hold guns.
Then the dream ends.
"Wake up, big boy!" said a man as I awoke from what I now realized was a dream, I looked around me to find a damp and cold cell. The man that had spoken, was sitting in the corner of my cell, he was in a dark hooded jacket. The man's face was hidden in the shadows of his hooded jacket, the man's voice seemed kind, but I had a bad vibe from him.
"Who are you?" I asked pushing myself further away from the man in the corner. The man waited for a little while to answer my question.
Finally he, "My name is of no concern, but if you wish to know." as he moved into the dim light from the hallway," I'll tell you my codename around here, it's Caliban. Not a really cool name like, Wolverine, but it suits me don't you think?" The man's face was now visible, unfortunately.
I don't know what scared me the most, Caliban's face or this cell I'm trapped in. I could clearly see his pale gray skin through the dim light, his eyes were covered with a cloth, blood stained. He was blind, I could tell, and he was very tall. His body was giant-like and if I hadn't seen his mouth open I would have mistaken him for a vampire. Caliban had no hair, nor did he have eyebrows, nor eyelashes I'm betting, he was like some kind of beast from the dead.
I was silent for about ten minutes, I was thinking, was it his mutation that caused his skin to change that way or was it this place? I soon began to think of Rogue, what kind of cell mate did she have, hopefully not a man ^_^. Caliban was silent too, but wasted no time in talking after ten minutes.
"You are afraid?" Caliban asked as he moved closer to me, I was tense, what was on his mind? Why was he eager to know more about me? I did not answer his question.
"It is natural for you to be scared of me, I'm not exactly the cutest mutant here." he said as he grew closer to me, I could hear his heartbeat. Thump, thump, thump. It was moving normally, he wasn't feeling emotion right now. Caliban was close enough; now, that I could see the blood stains on the blindfold. I smelt the blood; it was fresh, too fresh. He stopped when he got to me face, as if he were to kiss me.
"Do not spare your fear on me, Logan; you have plenty of time to be scared. This place may in fact be the last place you'll ever live to see." Caliban said as he returned to his corner. My heart stopped, for a moment I could no longer breathe. I just sat there as if ready to die, I was lost in thought. A million things were flashing in and out of my mind at once, making my head spin. It was something he said, something in his tone that lead me to believe that I had been here before.
"How do you know my name?" I asked, my breathing started up again, I must have been in some kind of shock or something.
"Your name has been spoken of, around here, for years." Caliban was back in his corner, face hidden. How, how was my name spoken of here? There's no way, unless.Unless I had been here before, but that's almost impossible.
"You were the only one to escape, Logan, the only person to escape his torture." Caliban said.
I wanted to ask him so many questions, but where would I start? Why is it that this is so difficult for me? The bars to the cell bolt apart and a guard is standing at the door, gun in hand. Another man soon accompanied him, tall and raggedy, Sabretooth. I could smell Rogue nearby as Sabretooth came waltzing into the cell with handcuffs in his hands. Creed smiled at me as I stuck my hands out to him, knowing he wanted me and not Caliban. Caliban huddled in the corner and didn't speak, I could barely keep up with his heartbeats, and he was scared.
"Well, I see you've had a nice sleep after we tranquilized you last night. Get up!" said Creed, demanding.
I got up and followed Creed down a long hall, trying to search for Rogue among all the faces in the cells. She was nowhere to be found, but she wasn't dead, she can't be. We walked through doors leading up steps and hallways, endless almost. Guards walking behind me, guns aiming at my head and back, I had nowhere to run to so why point guns?
"Do you know where we are Logan, my boy?" asked Sabretooth, in a deep and heavy voice. The cells ended at the end of another hallway as we headed for a door at the end. My senses were tingling and my body was hot and sweet all of a sudden. Again, images flashed in and out of my mind faster than I can count, leaving my mind flabbergasted. I stopped and fell to the floor, it was too confusing for me, it was painful one minute then joyful the next. What was happening to me? It must be this place, this hallway that's trigger my mind. Something from the past must be here, something that I want to know.
"I thought it'd sink in by now, but I guess you're dumber than I thought." Sabretooth chanted as he dragged me to the door labeled Department H. Sabretooth dropped me to open the door, I can smell Rogue, I can almost taste her. There's also something else, something I can't figure out, something familiar.
Sabretooth opens the door and I pull myself off the floor to take a look inside.the memories are starting to flow like running water. The room is dark but I can still make out figures around the room, the room is some kind of laboratory. Doctors and technicians crowd the room as Sabretooth rushes me in; the room is bringing in so many memories. The dreams of being in the tank and the laughter of colleagues are coming back to me, but they weren't dreams, they were real.
Rogue, where was she? My heart suddenly raced as Sabretooth dragged me to a chair and throw me in it. Helplessly I sat there, wondering when someone would speak. There were about thirty people in the room, all busy doing something, how could they work in the dark like this? Sabretooth folded his arms and waited, for what I don't know. I searched the room for Rogue, nothing, but she was near I could feel it. In the distance a figure was in a tank of liquid, a mutant. Scientist were examining it like it wasn't human or something. Suddenly a flash came and I could remember my dreams of being in a tank similar to the tank the scientist were observing the mutant in. A pain grew in my head and I knew Caliban had been telling the truth about me, I had been here before.maybe this was my home.
"Good afternoon mister Creed." said a skinny man in a white lab jacket, he was short and old but I couldn't help but notice something vaguely familiar about him. He was Asian or Japanese and his eyes soon shifted from Sabretooth to me. My heart jumped as his dark eyes glared at me, they were almost sinister, I could barely contain myself. Something in his eyes made me feel pain, something about he himself made me unsettled. The pain in my head grew powerful but I didn't fall like I did in the hallway, I stood because of the doctor. There's something about him that's eating me up, something I'll eventually find out.
"Is this him?" asked the skinny doctor, as he swiftly walked towards me, eyes never leaving me.
I grew tense as the doctor neared me, what was it that was keeping me from tearing this man apart? What was holding me back from tearing everyone here limb from limb? The doctor stopped when he was face to face with me and I knew something was going to happen. Sabretooth started to snicker and the doctor grimaced. Sabretooth walked over beside me and the doctor cleared his throat to speak.
"Hello Logan." said the doctor; his voice gave me goosebumps as he began talking.
"You don't remember me, but I am what you might call, your creator." said the doctor, I didn't move, I was taking in ever word he had to say. "I created the adamantium that was used to create your skeletal structure. I helped create what you are today my boy. My name is Dr. Oyama and." the doctor said as he turned and walked to the tank in the distance.
Dr. Oyama pointed to the tank with the mutant in it and said," .and I see you've already met my daughter Yuriko." I could feel my breath stop as I stared into the tank, my heart stopped too. The mutant in the tank was now clearly visible as the scientist turned on lights in the tank itself. The mutant I had fought a while back at Alkaline Lake was floating in the tank where the scientist were. I thought I killed her, I remember everything about that fight. She was the toughest and fastest opponent I had ever fought, not even Sabretooth could compare with her power. It's impossible, but there she is, floating in the tank. I can barely make out the star-like shape of the adamantium coming from out of her eyes.
The doctor soon walked back towards me and motioned Sabretooth to grab me. We walked down some stairs and head for the cargo area, the doctor soon began to talk again. "Logan, you are part of a program and this program is called Weapon X. We take mutants, like yourself and Mr. Creed here, and we experiment on them basically." I could smell Rogue even more now, she's close, real close."We test their limits, Logan; we test how far they can go with their mutant gifts. But you escaped Logan, you escaped before we could test your limits and we went decades without knowing your full potential."
Sabretooth pushed the "open" button of the side panel on the wall to open the cargo door. I could hear voices, lots of voices, more like yells. As the door slowly opened I could hear the roar of a crowd, the crowd was so loud I could barely hear the doctor say, "Today, we will test your limits Logan, we will test them like they've never been tested before." the doctor stayed behind as the door opened all the way and the crowd roared affectionately at my presence. Sabretooth thrust me into the cargo area, which was set up almost as an arena. The crowd of soldiers and prisoners roared as I slowly got up off the floor, Sabretooth stood at the door waiting for something.
I found Rogue in the center of the room, handcuffed too, she looked excited to see me but her heartbeat was racing. She ran to me but didn't say a word; I smelt blood on her as she attempted to hug me. Her body wasn't warm like most were, her body was cold and her skin was pale. The eye shadow smeared as tears rolled down her face, she didn't say anything, she just stared at me crying. I knew she was afraid but something else was bothering her, something she's keeping away from me.
"Oh, Logan, this place is horrible." Rogue said a she cried in my arms," What's going to happen to us Logan, what are they going to do to us?"
"I don't know, but I'll protect you." I said, the crowd was getting louder and louder as a truck started to back into the cargo area, Sabretooth had disappeared from his spot.
"I don't need you to protect me Logan. I need you to stay alive." Rogue pulled away and stuck out her arms, I suddenly knew what she wanted. I used my claws to free myself and cut Rogue loose from her handcuffs. The crowd roared at us and I looked up to see who I would kill later, but Rogue tugged me and pointed at the truck. The door slowly opened and I could see a figure, no not a figure, a giant. The door opened fully and I could see a huge outline of a man, well more like a giant man than a regular man.
The atrocious being slowly stepped out the back of the truck, the man was about eight feet tall in height and at least weight a ton. The man had mangled up red hair that wildly covered most of his face. The man took a step forward and the earth beneath us shook with fury; he was a mutant for sure. An announcer came on the microphone and started raving about how tonight's match will be one to remember, but I wasn't paying attention to the announcer I was paying attention to the mutant that was about to crush us into a pulp.
"Cain will bring you PAIN but most here like to call him. the JUGGERNAUT!" yelled the announcer, as the crowd roared even louder than before. Rogue was stiff, her eyes focused on the Juggernaut, her heartbeat slowed down.
This is the kind of fear that makes you piss in your sleep, the kind of fear that puts nightmares in your head; this is something I will never forget. I managed to look into the eyes of the mutant only to see a dark and evil shade of green. The mutant stepped forward towards me and I froze in my place, ready to take a beating I'd never forget. I couldn't focus my hearing on anything in the room except for what that monstrosity in front of me growled. "pain". And then there was a quick and sharp pain in my side, everything went black for a moment and I realized I was stuck by the Juggernaut. Rogue was out there alone with it until I could gather enough strength to fight. My eyes opened only to see Rogue hanging upside down by her legs from the Juggernaut's giant hands.
A strength I never knew I had came over me and my body lifted off the ground. The adrenaline rush allowed me to leap upon the monster holding Rogue and I stabbed with all my might, but I failed to stop the monster because my claws barely scratched the Juggernaut. With a jerk he throws Rogue into me and we ricocheted into a wall, my back suddenly snapped, Rogue screamed when see heard it. I was temporarily paralyzed, the world was spinning and my heart beats slower and slower.
Suddenly I drift into a calm, an unusual calm.
Suddenly Rogue rushes up from where she hit the wall and attempts to hit the Juggernaut, but the Juggernaut once again has her hanging upside down, but Rogue gives me a sudden smirk. At first I had no clue what this was about but when she started to take of her gloves she had been wearing I understood. If you can't beat a Juggernaut on your own, what better way than to use a Juggernaut against himself? It was only a split second but long enough to drain Juggernaut of his powers and transfer them to her.
The Juggernaut twitched and dropped Rogue on the floor, the Juggernaut screamed, "What'd you do you little witch?!" Rogue quickly put her gloves on and rushed in front of the mutant, confident as ever. The Juggernaut shook his head and glared at Rogue.
"You want me, big boy, come and get me!" yelled Rogue as she thrust her fist at Juggernaut with all her might, I slowly attempted to get up but my eyes were clued to Juggernaut as he was thrown into the concrete wall, cracking it all the way up to the ceiling. It was like a freaky cartoon, little guy beats big guy, and Rogue was the little guy or gal. Rogue rushed at Juggernaut but surprisingly he punched her in the stomach, launching her into the opposite wall of the arena, cracking it to the ceiling too. My spine was back in place and I was at it again, I rushed towards Juggernaut. I ducked as he attempted to punch me again and went under in between his legs. I thought as crawled far enough to stick my leg out and kick him in his family jewels. I lunged my foot at his crotch but nothing happened, not a shout or anything. He suddenly noticed me and grabbed my leg before I could kick again, before I know I'm hanging upside down.
"Balls of steel, Logan!" the Juggernaut chanted as Rogue leaped on his back.
Rogue wasted no time in taking her gloves but the Juggernaut dropped me and grabbed her by her hood before she could touch him. Rogue struggled to touch him but she couldn't touch him while swinging her around, he was going to throw her again and the bad thing about that was.his powers were wearing off and she'd be seriously hurt with out his strength. I recovered from being dropped and once again stabbed the Juggernaut with my claws that supposedly could cut through anything, Dr. Oyama set this one up good and I'm sure Sabretooth was eating this up too. The Juggernaut didn't flinch, so I decided a direct approach.I went for his face.
My claws barely touched his face before he dropped Rogue and yelled. I scratched his face with my claws hard enough to leave a couple of deep, scarring cuts. The Juggernaut shrieked in terror as I grabbed Rogue's hand and ran to the nearest corner. The Juggernaut kicked and slammed the ground, causing little earthquakes, Rogue trying to conceal her laughter.
"I'll kill you Wolverine, I'll kill you!" yelled the Juggernaut as he wiped the blood off his face, smearing it all over him.
The Juggernaut ran furiously at us, the ground shook with fury. Thump, thump, thump! The crowd chanting," Kill him, kill him!" as the Juggernaut rushed to me pushed Rogue, roughly, to the side and grabbed me with hands. His hair was back far enough to the point where you could see the Juggernauts whole face. The cuts were deep, guess he'll remember me forever. The Juggernaut suddenly squeezed his giant hands around my arm, shattering the bone inside. An indescribable pain overwhelmed my body as the Juggernaut continued to squeeze my broken arm. When he realized my arm was lifeless he grabbed other and jerked at it, pointing it out of socket. I shrieked in pain. If I could use my arms right now they'd have to reconstruct his ugly face cuz there'd be enough scars to mistaken him for his mama. ^_^
The Juggernaut grabbed my head next and attempted to squeeze my brains out, but suddenly he stopped.not just him but the crowd too. The Juggernaut didn't move, he just was still as if the life was being drained from him. I turned my head to see Rogue on top of the Juggernaut's back with her hands wrapped around the Juggernaut's forehead, draining the life out of him.
There was only one other time I saw this before and that was when Magneto had her stuck to the machine that could've ended it all. She was glued to it, like she couldn't escape, the same way she's stuck to Juggernaut right now. She'll kill him if she hangs on any longer. The veins on the Juggernauts head were visible and Rogue's eyes were rolled up in the back of her head, only the white was showing.
"Enough!" shouted a familiar voice.
Rogue suddenly fell to the floor unconscious, I also fell to the floor, I could no longer feel my arms. I turned my head to see the unconscious Rogue; she had a tranquilizer dart in her neck. Two guards came to pick her up and another two arrived to carry me too. They carried me to the steps where Dr. Oyama awaited my return and said, "You past the test with flying colors, Logan." I couldn't wait to heal up, I was going to tear him limb from limb.
"When I escape you're the first person I'm going to kill." I said as the guard start up the steps.
"How comforting?" said Dr. Oyama as I was carried up the steps.
I want to sleep now, but I don't think it's possible anymore, knowing the truth is only making it worse.I just hope I can live through this.
.I'm laying somewhere, somewhere in the snow, and I are dying. The cold air has drained my throat of it's moisture and my heart beats slower and slower.The only thing I can think of is the woman, the Indian woman. I'm staring into the light gray sky and tops of the pine trees of the forest. I can still smell her. I can still feel her hands on my face even though she's gone. She's the only thing on my mind right now. I feel the blood slowly sliding down my waist, I want to die, I want to die like a normal person. I live an endless life until now, until love. Love started me and love is going to end me.
Suddenly a flash clouds my mind and I see a woman, but not the woman I expected, this woman was different. A long haired woman flashed before me, her red hair matched with her forest green eyes and her deep red lips. I stared at her until her image faded away, Jean, that's her name. I now know why I love Jean, maybe it was all because I needed someone to love, someone like the Native American woman I loved. I wasn't loving Jean at all, I was loving my Indian girl. My Indian girl was gone now and the first thing close to her was Jean, it's all too wrong.
And the dream end.
"Wake up Logan!" says a familiar voice as I realize that I have, once again, slept through the night.
My wounds have slowly healed and I lift my arm up to see if it works alright, it's okay. I turned to expect Caliban but instead I see Rogue. She was very close to the door of the cell, I have no clue what she's up to but whatever it is she's ready.
"Where's Caliban?" I asked getting up on my feet, I was a little weak as I got up.
"He's roomin' with my cell mate, Rahne. You're feeling a little woozy right not aren't you? Well, that's cuz I stole some of your powers." Rogue explained as I walked towards her.
"Why?" I asked wondering why she needed my powers.
"Because we're bustin' out, Logan and I needed you powers to listen to the sounds the buttons on the cellpad made, that way I could memorize the buttons the guard pushed to open the cell doors."
Rogue was brilliant, guess she does learn something in that school Xavier has. First thing's first I get Rogue to the jet and then I find Dr. Oyama and do him in, I don't care about Sabretooth but Deathstrike has to go too. Rogue stuck her hand out between the bars, they were thin enough to not touch the bars, and she started to type in numbers. The prisoners on the opposite walls watched with amazement but never asked to be freed, maybe they thought we'd never make it past the first door?
There was a click and then the door opened, we were free. Rogue rushed out and ran to the opposite cell from us, "We have to free these people, Logan, they'll die here!" Rogue typed in the number but there was a shriek that echoed through the hallway, a siren went off, they know we're escaping.
"Rogue, forget them and go!" I yelled, but Rogue gave me a look that told me she was doing the right thing, something that Xavier had taught her to do. I gave up arguing with her and walked to the cell where she was trying to free the prisoners and exerted my claws. I stabbed the cellpad and the door slide open.
"Get as many people as you can out of here, Rogue, I'm going after Dr. Oyama!" I said as I started for the first door out. I slashed the door open an headed down another hallway, behind me I could smell Creed, he was near.
"You guys help free the others I'm going to stop Sabretooth!" I heard Rogue yell as I turned to see Sabretooth charging at me. I ran even faster to the next door leading to some steps, I jumped down the banister and fell to the bottom, safely landing on my feet. I looked at the top of the steps to see Rogue and Sabretooth going at it. I'll be back to help, Rogue, I'll be back. I thought as I entered a room full of panicking scientist.
"Where's Dr. Oyama?" I yelled, but soon stopped in my tracks.
The scent. the scent that had multiplied when we first came here, what was it? It was overwhelming, powerful and deadly.And then I remembered the scent, but unfortunately it was too late. I turned to my right and saw why the scientists were panicking, not because of the mutants escaping but because something worse was loose.Someone worse than an army of mutants was loose.
Yuriko Oyama.
"Hello, Logan, miss me?" whispered the low accented voice that I had heard once before.
I thought,
To be continued.
