Slayer, Canis, and Wildcat stood on the outskirts on the compound as the other X-Men drew out the Ultramites. Wildcat waited a few minutes before making the call that they should infiltrate the base.
Emil Lapin followed them silently, staying upwind in order to keep Vicky from sniffing him out. As spastic as he may have appeared to the X-Men, he was a thief—and he was damn good at it. He could get into any place undetected.
Even if it meant being undetected by three mutants with the ability to smell him before they could see him.
The three mutants stood in front of the Ultramite's base. "There's no door," Canis said. "How are we going to get in here?"
Wildcat rolled her eyes, unsheathed her claws, and made a "door." "Like that, brother dear."
"So those things are useful for something other than opening cans," Slayer said with a smirk.
Wildcat ignored her, stepping into the base.
It was quiet, the Ultramites outside fighting the rest of the X-Men. Slayer stopped, holding up her hand. "Something's following us," she said.
Canis and Wildcat's claws came out at the same time. Slayer looked around, unable to see anyone. She tried to catch a scent, but the place was so foreign to her that everything was bombarding her senses at once. She frowned. "I don't know what it is."
"Let's keep going," Wildcat said, her claws still ready. "Just keep alert."
The other two nodded as they made their way towards the reactor core.
*** *** ***
"How many of these damn things are there?" Sparks shouted over the din of the battle as he sent another Ultramite back into nothingness.
"I have no fucking clue," Renegade said, ripping a metal pole off the building and hitting three of them as hard as he could. "But the bastards keep coming."
"They remind anyone else of the rabbit from Monty Python and the Holy Grail?" Charger asked, sending one charged card after another at the pint-sized attackers.
"Focus on the battle, team!" Phoenix snapped. "We don't need distractions."
"She takes all the fun out of this," Charger muttered. Suddenly, she heard a high-pitched scream behind her. She turned to see an Ultramite break apart, blood flying. She jumped back. "Ew!"
"Sorry," Renegade said. "It was coming for you, and all I could think to do was grab for the iron."
Charger's eyes grew wide. "You can do that? Like Magneto?"
Renegade shrugged. "Apparently."
"Damn, bro. Remind me never to steal your CD's again."
Renegade smirked and took down another one.
*** *** ***
"So do we know where we're going, or are you just making this up as you go along?" Slayer asked Wildcat as they wandered through the maze of the Ultramites' base
"I'm using the knowledge I have of similar structures to try to figure out where the reactor core would be," Wildcat said her in her best leader voice.
"So in other words, you have no fucking clue."
Wildcat gave her a "shut up" look. Slayer smirked.
They turned the next corner to find themselves looking at the reactor core. Wildcat gave a self-satisfied look to Slayer, who in turn rolled her eyes.
"So now what, we just blow it up?" Canis asked.
"That's why we're here," Wildcat said. "Creed, you got the explosives?"
Slayer nodded. "Yeah. Let's get this over with so I can get home and watch reruns of Springer."
"Why bother when you can stand out in the hallway of the mansion?" Canis asked.
Slayer chuckled. "Good point."
"Would you two be quiet?" Wildcat snapped. "This is a serious mission here."
"Geez, bossy much" Slayer asked. "You sure you're actually Jubilee's and not the lovechild of Wolverine and Jean or something?"
"Just shut up and start placing bombs."
Canis, Wildcat, and Slayer worked in silence, setting up the detonators on the reactor. They had placed most of them when they were stopped by a snarl. They turned around slowly to see a small group of Ultramites, shiny fangs bared.
"You two take care of them," Slayer said. "I'll make sure this sucker goes up like the Fourth of July."
"You sure?" Wildcat asked. "What if something goes wrong…"
"Just make sure you're clear before it blows, all right?"
Wildcat and Canis charged after the Ultramites, chasing them away from Slayer. She went back to work, putting out the last of the charges before setting the timer.
She stopped, sniffing the air. Her lip curled in an almost-feral snarl. They weren't all gone…
Her talons grew, ready for the kill. But before she could strike, she heard the sound of metal ripping off the wall, and something large and heavy hit her, knocking her to the ground and crushing her legs. She tried to move, but she couldn't. Whatever had just hit her had pinned her down. The Ultramite stood in front of her, licking its lips. Slayer suddenly wished she'd listened to Emil. Her legs were smashed, and she couldn't even get out from under the huge block of metal that had her pinned to get out and let them heal. She glanced over at the rapidly-decreasing number on the detonator, and realized that if the Ultramite didn't get her, the bomb would.
She called for Wildcat and Canis, although she knew they were too far gone to hear her.
*** *** ***
Wildcat and Canis rejoined the others, as the X-Men attempted to deplete the number of Ultramites.
"Where's Slayer?" Renegade asked Wildcat.
"Still inside. We got attacked, and she stayed behind to set off the bomb while we got rid of them."
Renegade frowned, hitting an Ultramite as it went for Wildcat. "How much longer until this place blows?"
"Not much time. We need to get away from the base. Help me try to get the team to move back."
"Right," Renegade said, glancing back at the base. He didn't like the idea of Vicky being still in there, but he knew she was a capable woman. She could take care of herself. Besides, he was sure she'd be coming out at any moment.
It was when she didn't that he started to worry.
*** *** ***
Then Ultramite watched Slayer, the look in its eyes enough to make her shudder. She couldn't believe it was going to end like this, that she was going to die in such a pointless way. She thought about her father, what he'd say if he could see her right then. He'd probably chastise her for getting into the situation by joining up with the X-Men in the first place.
Then she thought about how she'd never see him again, and she wanted to cry.
But she didn't. If she was going to die, she was going to die strong.
Suddenly, the Ultramite let out a shriek, falling to the ground. Slayer saw a knife sticking out of its back right before the Ultramite disappeared.
Emil Lapin stepped from the shadows, slipping the knife back into the holder on his boot. "I tol' you dis was gonna happen, ma chère."
"Yeah, well, you were right," Slayer snapped, hiding her relief with sarcasm. She was so happy to see Emil right then she could've kissed him, but she certainly wasn't going to let him know that. "Get me outta here, would you, Cajun? I'm not ready to die quite yet."
Emil nodded, freeing Slayer with relative ease. She raised an eyebrow, surprised at how much strength he hid in his wiry body. Emil tried to help her up, but Slayer winced in pain. She could feel her legs starting to knit back together, but it was going to take time before she could walk again. Emil hoisted her up, cradling her in his arms. He glanced over at the timer. "We better get outta here, chère, lest you wanna be minced like de meat in my momma's gumbo."
"I think I'll pass on that option," Slayer said.
Emil carried Slayer as quickly as he could, trying to get them both to safety. He could see the door just ahead, knew they'd almost made it.
The blast was deafening, almost throwing Emil forward. He could feel the heat as the fire began to sweep throw the corridors, but he didn't stop. He kept running, until he got to the snow outside. He threw Slayer to the ground, covering her body with his as the shrapnel blasted from the building.
He smelled the sweet scent of her hair as he faded from consciousness.
*** *** ***
As the building blew, the Ultramites suddenly all froze. They let out a collective screech as they faded away.
Ice Queen looked at where her opponent had been only a few seconds before. "That was the weirdest fucking thing I have ever done in my entire life."
The other X-Men gave nods of agreement.
Renegade stared back at the building, his expression blank. "Vicky…she didn't come out."
Silence fell over the team.
"She was right behind us," Wildcat said softly. "She should've…she should've been okay." She was surprised by the sudden wave of sadness that washed over her at the thought of someone she'd considered only one step above an enemy being dead.
Ice Queen began to cry. She knew what most of the other X-Men thought of Vicky, but she'd never agreed. She'd been a friend to her since the first day she'd shown up at the mansion, and now she was gone. Sparks put a comforting arm around her, not knowing what to say.
*** *** ***
On the other side of what had been the Ultramites' base, Victoria Creed felt the feeling coming back to her legs. She sniffed, her nostrils filled with the scent of burning flesh. It didn't take her long to realize it was coming from Emil.
"Shit!" she exclaimed, rolling him off of her. His back was badly burnt, having taken the brunt of the blast. She shook him, desperate to see him open his eyes. "Dammit, you stupid Cajun," she cursed, ripping off part of her jacket to fill it with snow and use it as an ice pack on his back. "Why didn't you let me be the one to catch on fire, huh? I could've healed!"
She could hear his breathing, shallow, but there. "Please, Emil, don't die on my account, okay? I don't really like you, but…" She stopped. "Just don't die." She tried to stand, but her legs were still weak. She fell back in the snow. "Help!" she screamed. "Someone, please! Help!"
Logan's ears perked. "I hear something," she said. She listened for a moment, then smiled, running off.
"Where are you going, Addie?" Marie asked, following after her.
Logan found Vicky and Emil. "Creed! You're alive!"
"Always the observant one, runt," Vicky said, not wanting to admit that she was just about as happy to see Logan as she had been to see Emil earlier. "We need to get him to the Blackbird. He's hurt."
Logan frowned, looking down at Emil. "I thought he was going to stay there in the first place."
"Well he didn't. Saved my life, the crazy bastard."
Marie stopped in her tracks, her hand going to her mouth as she saw her cousin. "Mon Dieu…" she whispered softly.
"He's alive," Vicky said, trying to reassure Marie.
Ric came a moment later, his face lightening up as he saw Vicky. "You made it out!"
"Yeah, we can throw a party later," Vicky replied, uncomfortable with the sentiment Ric was obviously feeling. "Can you carry him?"
"Fuck, is that Emil?" Ric asked.
"Yes, it's Emil," Vicky said. "Dammit, LeBeau, just help me. And be careful with him. He's a little scorched."
Ric picked Emil up, carrying him back towards the Blackbird. Vicky tried to stand, cursing as she fell again. "What happened to you?" Logan asked.
"My legs got crushed. They haven't healed all the way yet."
Logan and Marie were immediately at her sides, helping her stand. "Come on, we'll get you back to the plane," Marie said.
"I thought you guys hated me," Vicky said as she walked with the aid of the other two women.
"Yeah well, you're an X-Man, and we help each other," Logan said.
Vicky was silent.
*** *** ***
I'm so sorry for the huge pause between posts! I recently moved to a new city, and I've been busy trying to get my life back in order. I'm working on the end of this one soon, though, and I promise it won't be another three months between chapters!
Review please! ^-^