AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you, Saki, April Kristina, and gethmane8. You guys
are great! Anything between these symbols: ^ are quotes straight from the
graphic novel "Codename: Wolverine". Very good book. Check it out.
Ororo opened her eyes. She was in a huge room composed entirely of titanium-alloy, in a small, dark corner. A loud sliding sound erupted from her left, as an automatic door opened, revealing four mutants clad in black nylon uniforms, walking dangerously close to her. The first was a teammate she knew all too well, whose only name was Logan, codename Wolverine. Behind him, a short and squat mutant known as Maverick walked in. Next came an Indian woman named Silver Fox, with Sabretooth behind, casually surveying her frame with a smirk.
Logan sat in a revolving chair, tipped back, his feet rested upon the table before him. Fox squeezed his shoulder just slightly as she passed. She and Maverick both grabbed other chairs to join him, and Victor, who thumped Logan on the back of the head jokingly, sat upon the table, one knee drawn to his chest. Ororo noticed that there seemed to be a bit of camaraderie between the two, very unlike the hatred they currently shared for each other.
"I still don't know," Maverick groaned, rubbing his neck painfully. "I mean, assassinating the Archduke could only lead to further conflict. I don't see how it improves the situation at all."
"Our job is not to improve the situation," Silver Fox replied. "We're here to give some paybacks to the Catholics."
"Besides," piped Logan, "it's done now. You can't tear yurself up over sumthin' that's done and accounted for."
"Look," Maverick countered, "all I'm saying is that Ferdinand was a major figure to the Austrians. Over and above his stature, the man is like Elvis to them."
"That's kinda why we hit him," Logan pointed out. Ororo found it hard to keep silent, as she learned that one of her closest friends had been behind the assassination that started the first World War.
Maverick wasn't satisfied. "But-"
"Look, ^you do your job and you take your pay and you go home^," Victor stated gruffly. "^And if you need something to help you sleep, well, you can sure afford it with what we're paid.^"
"Well, that's easy for you to say," Maverick grumbled. "It's not like you have a conscience."
"What the fuck do you know about it?" Victor said, starting to rise from his position on the table.
"Oh, please, Creed. You live your life in the shadows, away from any human contact. You watch the world from a spectator's point of view and you hate everything you see. To you, no one is worth saving, because there's always a chance they could hurt you if you let them close."
Ororo felt a twinge in her heart, as these words made her realize why she and Victor had gotten along so well. She looked at him, to see that he was trying hard to sustain his anger. "What about you, Mav." Maverick's confused look encouraged him to continue. "You live your life up high above everyone else. Everything's black an' white to you, because you're so fucking perfect you can't see beyond the ignorant lines of right an' wrong that you've drawn. You can't judge me. ^You ain't my friend, you ain't my mother, and you ain't my priest.^"
Silver Fox quietly muttered, "^As if you had any of the above.^"
Just as Victor snapped around to give her a snarl, the automatic doors opened again. A tall man with a pointed nose entered, pointing at the group. "This is them," he said to a group of soldiers who came into view. At least twenty men rounded upon the four, beating them with clubs and shocking them with electric pokers. After a few minutes of struggling, they were subdued (Logan and Victor by tranquilizers) and dragged out of the room.
Ororo waited awhile to see if anyone else would come. She eventually got up from her hiding place and exited through the same door, hoping to god that there wouldn't be a squad awaiting her when she turned around. Sure enough, the door led to the outside of a huge military base.
But, her arrival onto the scene had alerted the men in a bird's nest high above. The next thing she knew, a machine gun was firing at her, and she was running for her life toward the nest, knowing that her only means of survival would be to stop the gun. If she ran out into the open, she'd be dead. Underneath the nest, the men's guns couldn't reach her, but another nest could if she gave them time to realize what had happened. She quickly mounted the tiny staircase to the top.
The two men who had fired upon her were craning their necks to look below for her. Without a second to lose, she unleashed a kick to the back of one man's neck, rounding with a karate chop upon the back of the next, each time, hitting their cranial nerve with a fatal blow. She undressed the taller of the two, whose uniform would better fit her 6'3" body. As she put on the dingy uniform, Ororo wondered if she should help Victor and his friends, who were betrayed by their leader, Fisk. After all, they were most likely headed to the lab to have their skeletons laced with adamantium metal. But, she soon remembered that she was only experiencing a man's memories, and that she shouldn't meddle with them.
Ororo opened her eyes. She was in a huge room composed entirely of titanium-alloy, in a small, dark corner. A loud sliding sound erupted from her left, as an automatic door opened, revealing four mutants clad in black nylon uniforms, walking dangerously close to her. The first was a teammate she knew all too well, whose only name was Logan, codename Wolverine. Behind him, a short and squat mutant known as Maverick walked in. Next came an Indian woman named Silver Fox, with Sabretooth behind, casually surveying her frame with a smirk.
Logan sat in a revolving chair, tipped back, his feet rested upon the table before him. Fox squeezed his shoulder just slightly as she passed. She and Maverick both grabbed other chairs to join him, and Victor, who thumped Logan on the back of the head jokingly, sat upon the table, one knee drawn to his chest. Ororo noticed that there seemed to be a bit of camaraderie between the two, very unlike the hatred they currently shared for each other.
"I still don't know," Maverick groaned, rubbing his neck painfully. "I mean, assassinating the Archduke could only lead to further conflict. I don't see how it improves the situation at all."
"Our job is not to improve the situation," Silver Fox replied. "We're here to give some paybacks to the Catholics."
"Besides," piped Logan, "it's done now. You can't tear yurself up over sumthin' that's done and accounted for."
"Look," Maverick countered, "all I'm saying is that Ferdinand was a major figure to the Austrians. Over and above his stature, the man is like Elvis to them."
"That's kinda why we hit him," Logan pointed out. Ororo found it hard to keep silent, as she learned that one of her closest friends had been behind the assassination that started the first World War.
Maverick wasn't satisfied. "But-"
"Look, ^you do your job and you take your pay and you go home^," Victor stated gruffly. "^And if you need something to help you sleep, well, you can sure afford it with what we're paid.^"
"Well, that's easy for you to say," Maverick grumbled. "It's not like you have a conscience."
"What the fuck do you know about it?" Victor said, starting to rise from his position on the table.
"Oh, please, Creed. You live your life in the shadows, away from any human contact. You watch the world from a spectator's point of view and you hate everything you see. To you, no one is worth saving, because there's always a chance they could hurt you if you let them close."
Ororo felt a twinge in her heart, as these words made her realize why she and Victor had gotten along so well. She looked at him, to see that he was trying hard to sustain his anger. "What about you, Mav." Maverick's confused look encouraged him to continue. "You live your life up high above everyone else. Everything's black an' white to you, because you're so fucking perfect you can't see beyond the ignorant lines of right an' wrong that you've drawn. You can't judge me. ^You ain't my friend, you ain't my mother, and you ain't my priest.^"
Silver Fox quietly muttered, "^As if you had any of the above.^"
Just as Victor snapped around to give her a snarl, the automatic doors opened again. A tall man with a pointed nose entered, pointing at the group. "This is them," he said to a group of soldiers who came into view. At least twenty men rounded upon the four, beating them with clubs and shocking them with electric pokers. After a few minutes of struggling, they were subdued (Logan and Victor by tranquilizers) and dragged out of the room.
Ororo waited awhile to see if anyone else would come. She eventually got up from her hiding place and exited through the same door, hoping to god that there wouldn't be a squad awaiting her when she turned around. Sure enough, the door led to the outside of a huge military base.
But, her arrival onto the scene had alerted the men in a bird's nest high above. The next thing she knew, a machine gun was firing at her, and she was running for her life toward the nest, knowing that her only means of survival would be to stop the gun. If she ran out into the open, she'd be dead. Underneath the nest, the men's guns couldn't reach her, but another nest could if she gave them time to realize what had happened. She quickly mounted the tiny staircase to the top.
The two men who had fired upon her were craning their necks to look below for her. Without a second to lose, she unleashed a kick to the back of one man's neck, rounding with a karate chop upon the back of the next, each time, hitting their cranial nerve with a fatal blow. She undressed the taller of the two, whose uniform would better fit her 6'3" body. As she put on the dingy uniform, Ororo wondered if she should help Victor and his friends, who were betrayed by their leader, Fisk. After all, they were most likely headed to the lab to have their skeletons laced with adamantium metal. But, she soon remembered that she was only experiencing a man's memories, and that she shouldn't meddle with them.