Feral Bonds Chapter 13
Wow, according to one particular e-mail, I'm "grossly offensive." And here I thought I was a nice guy. Go figure. :P
Big thanks to those that responded. Besides the one e-mail I mentioned above, everyone that reviewed or sent me an e-mail is in support of keeping the fic the way it is, thanks. :)
Btw, violence alert.
Scott stuck his head out around the corner and sent an optic blast down the hall at the advancing soldiers. He yanked his head back a split second before bullets slammed into the wood paneling. He turned to Evan and Jean. They were both looking peaked. Jean had been breathing heavy and her face was slightly pale. Evan had been throwing fewer and thinner spikes the past couple of minutes, signaling that he was almost done for. His face set in a stony mask, he once again popped around the corner and tried to disarm a soldier or two. As he started ducking back, he heard a dull thump and a grating sound like something rolling.
Jean saw the grenade tumble into the alcove they were using for cover. Not having time to do anything else, and not wanting to just send it back at the soldiers, she reached out with her power and squeezed. The grenade froze in midtumble and was still for a moment before it jerked and disintegrated. She released the chunks of metal and ash and slumped against the wall. Reaching up, she wiped away the trickle of blood that was leaking out of her nose.
Scott glanced back at Jean and Evan, not missing Jean's cleanup. He fired a few random blasts while he thought. Finally coming to a decision, he spoke. "Jean, Evan, I'm going to give them one more blast. We are pinned down here. Jean, if you can, throw a shield up behind us as we fall back. Evan, if you have enough left, try to barricade the hallway behind us to slow them down a bit." They both nodded accepting his orders.
Scott dropped back into thought for a moment before raising his hand to grab the front of his visor. Jean gasped and grabbed his wrist. "Scott, no. It would just be sinking down to their level."
Scott didn't meet her imploring gaze. "Jean, they are trying to kill us. I'm not doing this out of spite, or anger. I'm trying to keep us alive."
Jean quickly and violently shook her head. "No Scott, there has to be another way."
Scott dropped his hand with a resigned sigh. "You are right Jean. We are X- men." He looked around for a second before firing another cover blast down the hall. "Ok. I'm going to try to collapse the hallway's ceiling. Evan, the second that it comes down, place some spikes to hold the rubble together." Evan nodded. Scott took a deep breath and mentally counted to 3. He belted out. "GO!"
He leaned around the corner and sent a sustained blast down the hall, carefully avoiding hitting the advancing soldiers, he swept the beam around the ceiling and sent it crashing down in a heap.
Evan ducked out next to Scott and flung his arms out, sending thin, almost anemic looking spikes out to form a barrier. They creaked and a few snapped, trying vainly to support the weight of the rubble. Evan started to sink to his knees when Scott and Jean each grabbed an arm and led him to the elevator down the hall.
Basement
The elevator opened and disgorged the three panting x-men into the hallway next to the Blackbird's hanger and the medlab. Scott saw the younger students huddling together and crying, trying in vain to find comfort in a night turned into a living nightmare. Glancing around, he saw the Professor rolling around the room, offering soothing words and affectionate pats. Scott helped Evan over to the group and gently laid him down, trying to be gentle so as to not break his now fragile bones. The Professor sent him a questioning look and Scott nodded his head, signaling that Evan was fine. The Professor nodded back with relief evident on his face and turned back to the younger students.
Scott grabbed Jean's hand and led her to the medlab to get her checked out, she had obviously hurt herself and with the way events were unfolding, she would be needed again. Shouldering the door open, he saw Beast hunched over a table muttering to himself and glancing further, he saw Kitty laying facedown on the tile floor a few feet further away, her hand covered with crusting blood. He opened his mouth to speak but Beast preempted him without turning around. "Whoever it is, I'm busy. If you would be so kind, please put Ms. Pryde on a table. Any table will do."
Scott sat Jean down in a chair and rushed over to Kitty. Scooping her up in his arms, he saw the unnatural paleness of her skin and the blood starting to congeal on her uniform. He sat her down on an examination table and noticed that her right eye had cracked open. Quickly determining that she was still out, he brushed back the eyelid and it appeared that every single blood vessel in the eye had burst, changing her normally doe-brown eyes into a sea of crimson. Scott closed the eye and a single drop of blood was squeezed out and rolled down her cheek like a bloody tear.
He turned back to Beast, surprised that he had just left Kitty lying on the floor when he was just a few feet away. Stepping closer, he got an answer. Beast was hunched over a small blood-soaked body. Scott tasted bile in the back of his mouth. Taking a closer look, the blood left his face and he felt light. It was Valerie, a seven year old he and Storm had brought to the school a few weeks back. She was a minor telekinetic like Jean and her parents had been scared by her power's sudden emergence. The girl was friendly and outgoing and had quickly become everyone's little sister. And now she was lying on a metal table with a hole in her stomach and Beast franticly trying to save her life.
Scott watched in silence for a few minutes as Hank's movements became faster and more jerky. Scott almost jumped when he threw a clamp across the room. He started doing compressions and spared Scott a glance. "CPR, do the breathing. On a five and one count." Scott nodded and started trying to breathe for the little girl and keep her alive. He timed his breaths to Hank's compressions. Little less than a minute later, Beast suddenly reared up and grabbed the instrument tray next to the table. He hurled it across the room, letting a howl of rage and frustration tear itself out of his lungs. Scott flinched back, well aware of Hank's strength, as well as his lack of control when he was angry. Beast slammed one giant fist into a desk and went still. The only sound in the room at that moment was Hank's heavy breathing. He turned suddenly and walked back to the table. He stood next to it for a moment before placing his hand tenderly over Valerie's face and gently lowering her eyelids to cover her now sightless eyes. Leaning close, he smoothed her hair down and whispered, "May angels guide your steps little one." before raising a sheet and covering her.
Scott wearily staggered back to the wall and slid down it, Jean settling down next to him. He buried his face in his hands, and wept.
Hallway
Bobby and Jubilee both jerked to attention when the elevator pinged. They both stood and prepared to unleash their powers if it was someone they didn't know. They both started to sag with relief when they saw that it was Logan but that feeling was blown away like the morning mist when they saw the limp body of Amara in his arms.
Logan stepped out of the elevator and strode past the two staring students, not sparing them so much as a glance. He quickly walked down the corridor, seeing the huddled students following him with their terrified eyes. Not even Xavier's concerned look broke the mask of stone he had erected.
He strode up to the medlab door and slammed it open with his shoulder. The scent of blood and tears slammed into him like a veritable train. He swallowed and took a good glance around the room. He saw Hank pushing a cloth covered table into a corner and he instantly knew what that cloth was, it was a shroud. Gritting his teeth, he noticed Scott huddled on the floor and Jean sitting next to him, obviously trying to comfort him. He walked to the nearest table and sat Amara's body down. He adjusted her shattered arm and hoped that she didn't wake up anytime soon.
That task finished, he turned to summon Hank and saw Kitty's body laying on another table. Reaching over, he quickly checked her for injuries and finding none, tossed a blanket over her. He called out. "Blue, what's wrong with Half-Pint?"
Hank slowly turned and let his hand slide off the table. Looking at Logan with haunted eyes, he took a moment before he visibly gathered himself together and answered. "I don't know Logan. She brought Val.a student in with a severe wound and seemed to be fine until she suddenly shrieked and collapsed."
Logan was silent for a moment. "I brought the princess in. She got caught by a fire team on the way to the elevator. She's busted up pretty bad. They broke her arm and shot her in both legs. I think they were retaliating for her burning one of them down." Hank closed his eyes and grimaced. "But I got there before they got the third bullet in. She passed out when I picked her up." Hank nodded and grabbed another surgical tray and moved over to Amara.
Logan stood for a moment, finally taking in the size of the shroud. He closed his eyes and took a single slightly ragged breath. He held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. He turned and walked over to where Scott and Jean were sitting. He crouched down and caught Scott's attention. They locked gazes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally Logan spoke. "I'm gonna need your help One-Eye. There's still kids upstairs, and I haven't finished taking care of the soldiers."
Jean let her gaze take in Logan's tattered and blood soaked clothes. She briefly wondered how he had gotten that way before sudden realization hit her. He 'took care of' the soldiers. Her hand tightened on Scott's arm. He looked at her quizzically for a second before comprehension dawned. "Logan, you can't be serious.."
Logan cut him off with a gesture. "Listen 'kid', these people aren't here to sell us cookies." He pointed to the shroud-covered table in the corner. "That's why they are here. To kill. I heard some of their radio calls. That's all they are here for. They want to kill two of us real bad. I didn't hear any names, and apparently, one of em is already dead. And they sure don't look like they give a damn about side casualties."
Scott tried to bolster his voice with all the conviction he had. "That doesn't make it right. There has to be a way to safeguard ourselves without bloodshed."
Logan was silent for a moment. "Sorry kid, this isn't you running around in tights slapping the Brotherhood around. This is the real world. Sometimes we gotta do things we don't want to, or things we know we will regret, just to survive."
Scott shook his head. "We are X-men Logan, we train to save lives, not take them."
Logan's jaw clenched in anger. "Fine Summers. You can write out the letters notifying their families of their deaths and the fact that you didn't 'feel comfortable' doing what had to be done to protect their loved ones." He looked as though he was going to continue for a seconds before he shook his head and stood, walking stiffly towards the door.
Scott looked on in confusion, he thought he had made his point clearly. "Where are you going Logan?"
Logan turned and sneered. "I'm going to save us. Feel free to cower down here and wrap yourself up in platitudes or you can be a man and face your responsibilities."
Scott was in shock from the utter disdain that Logan shot his way. "I'm not cowering, I'm trying to."
Logan cut him off. "I hope that will keep you warm at night kid." He then stomped out of the room.
Library
PFC Granger stepped lightly across the threshold, eyes scanning the seemingly empty room. It may have seemed tranquil, but he knew better. He had seen one of those freaks duck in here not thirty seconds ago. He was pretty sure that it wasn't his target, but the Sarge had said that any extra body count would be.overlooked. And Granger was more than eager to rid the world of a couple of freaks.
He thumbed the safety off on his MP5 and activated his night vision goggles. His world was wrapped in a green veil. Rechecking the corners, he advanced slowly. The muzzle of his weapon swept the area in front of him, ready to spew death at the slightest provocation. He heard the small creak of a floorboard and sneered. He was definitely gonna bag a mutant. Raising the weapon, he started silently shuffling towards the small couch, knowing that it was the only place to hide in the room. He reached the edge of the sofa and took a small steadying breath before snapping around the couch and firing a burst at..nothing. He blinked once in confusion. He was positive that this was the only place anyone could hide. His head snapped up and he scanned the room again, making sure he didn't miss anything.
He sent a few random bursts into corners that even his NVG didn't seem to illuminate. The echo of the weapon quickly faded into silence. Granger slapped a fresh clip into place and decided to just toss a couple of grenades in there, that should trap the freak. He slowly stepped backwards, ears wide open and listening intently for the slightest sound. He finally reached the doorway and he grabbed a frag grenade from his harness. Letting his weapon fall to his side, he reached out to pull the pin and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He quickly glanced around and saw nothing. He turned back to the library and his finger curled around the pin. He began to slide the pin out when he felt an icy heat wash across his wrists. Looking down, he saw the grenade falling to the ground. Wondering why he dropped it, he turned his cold hands over and saw the gaping wounds that had opened his wrists to the bone. He gaped for a second, not understanding what had happened. He heard a small scuffle behind him and he turned with wide eyes. He came nose-to-nose with a demon.
Kurt ported randomly around the room, keeping the soldier's attention on the room and hopefully keeping himself out of sight. Kurt palmed the razor he had grabbed from Herr Logan's room. He silently watched the soldier fire bursts around the room seemingly randomly. Kurt bounced the blade on his palm once. He had seen how Kitty and Valerie had looked when she got to the medlab. It was happening again, more children were dying. Kurt looked from the soldier to the razor again. -It's just like Stefan. And I have to stop it again.- Kurt's face hardened and he ported into the hallway and crept towards the door. He came up behind the soldier and saw him starting to pull the pin. Images of Stefan and Valerie raced through his head. Hesitating for only an instant, he reached around the soldier and slashed the razor across his wrists, hopefully making him drop the grenade before pulling the pin. The soldier stared at his wrists for a second before turning to come face to face with him.
Kurt noticed the surprise melt down to anger and knew what he had to do, exactly what happened to Stefan. Kurt reached out and grabbed the soldier by the harness, pulling him next to himself and they both winked out of existence.
Kurt and the soldier blinked back into reality at the top of the grand staircase. Kurt held still for a fraction of an instant before planting his feet in the soldiers chest and pushing. The soldier flew out onto the stairs, impacting hard and tumbling down to the foyer. He hit bottom and was still. Kurt stared down at the motionless body, nothing but a blank look on his face. Finally turning, he closed his eyes and started shaking before he exploded in a cloud of black smoke.
Main Level
Logan slid from shadow to shadow like an oil on water, barely emerging into the light before another shadow swallowed him. He closed his eyes as a fire team passed him, weapons in the ready positions with the safeties off. Logan waited until the rear guard had stepped past him before letting his claws silently slide out of his hands. He stepped gently forward, reaching slowly over the soldier's shoulder. The soldier opened his mouth to call a warning, but Logan's hand clamped across his throat, crushing the airway. The soldier's eyes bugged out and his foot slammed against the floor once.
The other two soldiers whipped around and saw a silvery blade slip back into their comrade's chest. They jerked their heads up and saw the dark form looming behind the fallen soldier. They aimed and were about to fire when Logan flashed the claws on his left hand out in an arc and clove the weapons in two. The shorter soldier just froze standing there with both parts of his weapon held tightly in his hands. However, the taller soldier had a better presence of mind. He ripped a grenade off his harness and yanked the pin out. Logan started reaching forward to grab the explosive when the soldier dropped it at his feet. Logan took one look and threw himself backward. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw both soldiers diving for cover just an instant before an explosion thundered through the hallway.
Logan stayed curled up into a ball until the rumbling and crashing died down. He blinked and snorted the stench of burnt explosive from his nostrils. Looking down the ruined hallway, he didn't see any movement. Walking back over to the soldier her dropped, he reached down and picked the sub-vocal radio up. Sticking the earpiece in, he heard whoever was in charge saying that the primary objective was complete and ordered a full retreat. Logan slammed the radio back down and headed for a window.
He quickly tore through the armor plating and ripped it out, freeing the window. Slamming it open, he stuck his head out and watched the two remaining Chinook transports flying low to the west until they disappeared from sight. He was about to head back inside when a scent from his nightmares reached him, hot adnamantium.
He hopped out the window and landed roughly on the ground. Sniffing the air, he loped around to the front of the mansion. Stepping over a rotor blade that had somehow embedded itself in the ground, he saw the still burning remains of the Apache gunship. Following the scent to the wreckage, he skirted the fire and finally found what had been emitting the smell. Mark was laying half under a chunk of marble and the sickly sweet stench of burning flesh was billowing from his legs. Logan reached down and tore the chunks of stone off his body. Logan's lips pulled back in a soundless snarl when he saw the carbonized flesh on the kids legs. Grabbing Mark under the shoulders, he pulled and saw the glitter of exposed adnamantium coming from what was left of the kid's right shin. Throwing him over his shoulder, he heard Chuck's voice boom out in his head. *They have gone. Everyone is safe now, please make your way to the basement if you can. And if you are hurt, I am searching for you.*
Logan stood still as the great armor plates lifted up and uncovered the glass doors. Kicking them open, he headed inside and towards the medlab. Hopefully, the kids healing factor wasn't shot, there had been enough death today.
Wow, according to one particular e-mail, I'm "grossly offensive." And here I thought I was a nice guy. Go figure. :P
Big thanks to those that responded. Besides the one e-mail I mentioned above, everyone that reviewed or sent me an e-mail is in support of keeping the fic the way it is, thanks. :)
Btw, violence alert.
Scott stuck his head out around the corner and sent an optic blast down the hall at the advancing soldiers. He yanked his head back a split second before bullets slammed into the wood paneling. He turned to Evan and Jean. They were both looking peaked. Jean had been breathing heavy and her face was slightly pale. Evan had been throwing fewer and thinner spikes the past couple of minutes, signaling that he was almost done for. His face set in a stony mask, he once again popped around the corner and tried to disarm a soldier or two. As he started ducking back, he heard a dull thump and a grating sound like something rolling.
Jean saw the grenade tumble into the alcove they were using for cover. Not having time to do anything else, and not wanting to just send it back at the soldiers, she reached out with her power and squeezed. The grenade froze in midtumble and was still for a moment before it jerked and disintegrated. She released the chunks of metal and ash and slumped against the wall. Reaching up, she wiped away the trickle of blood that was leaking out of her nose.
Scott glanced back at Jean and Evan, not missing Jean's cleanup. He fired a few random blasts while he thought. Finally coming to a decision, he spoke. "Jean, Evan, I'm going to give them one more blast. We are pinned down here. Jean, if you can, throw a shield up behind us as we fall back. Evan, if you have enough left, try to barricade the hallway behind us to slow them down a bit." They both nodded accepting his orders.
Scott dropped back into thought for a moment before raising his hand to grab the front of his visor. Jean gasped and grabbed his wrist. "Scott, no. It would just be sinking down to their level."
Scott didn't meet her imploring gaze. "Jean, they are trying to kill us. I'm not doing this out of spite, or anger. I'm trying to keep us alive."
Jean quickly and violently shook her head. "No Scott, there has to be another way."
Scott dropped his hand with a resigned sigh. "You are right Jean. We are X- men." He looked around for a second before firing another cover blast down the hall. "Ok. I'm going to try to collapse the hallway's ceiling. Evan, the second that it comes down, place some spikes to hold the rubble together." Evan nodded. Scott took a deep breath and mentally counted to 3. He belted out. "GO!"
He leaned around the corner and sent a sustained blast down the hall, carefully avoiding hitting the advancing soldiers, he swept the beam around the ceiling and sent it crashing down in a heap.
Evan ducked out next to Scott and flung his arms out, sending thin, almost anemic looking spikes out to form a barrier. They creaked and a few snapped, trying vainly to support the weight of the rubble. Evan started to sink to his knees when Scott and Jean each grabbed an arm and led him to the elevator down the hall.
Basement
The elevator opened and disgorged the three panting x-men into the hallway next to the Blackbird's hanger and the medlab. Scott saw the younger students huddling together and crying, trying in vain to find comfort in a night turned into a living nightmare. Glancing around, he saw the Professor rolling around the room, offering soothing words and affectionate pats. Scott helped Evan over to the group and gently laid him down, trying to be gentle so as to not break his now fragile bones. The Professor sent him a questioning look and Scott nodded his head, signaling that Evan was fine. The Professor nodded back with relief evident on his face and turned back to the younger students.
Scott grabbed Jean's hand and led her to the medlab to get her checked out, she had obviously hurt herself and with the way events were unfolding, she would be needed again. Shouldering the door open, he saw Beast hunched over a table muttering to himself and glancing further, he saw Kitty laying facedown on the tile floor a few feet further away, her hand covered with crusting blood. He opened his mouth to speak but Beast preempted him without turning around. "Whoever it is, I'm busy. If you would be so kind, please put Ms. Pryde on a table. Any table will do."
Scott sat Jean down in a chair and rushed over to Kitty. Scooping her up in his arms, he saw the unnatural paleness of her skin and the blood starting to congeal on her uniform. He sat her down on an examination table and noticed that her right eye had cracked open. Quickly determining that she was still out, he brushed back the eyelid and it appeared that every single blood vessel in the eye had burst, changing her normally doe-brown eyes into a sea of crimson. Scott closed the eye and a single drop of blood was squeezed out and rolled down her cheek like a bloody tear.
He turned back to Beast, surprised that he had just left Kitty lying on the floor when he was just a few feet away. Stepping closer, he got an answer. Beast was hunched over a small blood-soaked body. Scott tasted bile in the back of his mouth. Taking a closer look, the blood left his face and he felt light. It was Valerie, a seven year old he and Storm had brought to the school a few weeks back. She was a minor telekinetic like Jean and her parents had been scared by her power's sudden emergence. The girl was friendly and outgoing and had quickly become everyone's little sister. And now she was lying on a metal table with a hole in her stomach and Beast franticly trying to save her life.
Scott watched in silence for a few minutes as Hank's movements became faster and more jerky. Scott almost jumped when he threw a clamp across the room. He started doing compressions and spared Scott a glance. "CPR, do the breathing. On a five and one count." Scott nodded and started trying to breathe for the little girl and keep her alive. He timed his breaths to Hank's compressions. Little less than a minute later, Beast suddenly reared up and grabbed the instrument tray next to the table. He hurled it across the room, letting a howl of rage and frustration tear itself out of his lungs. Scott flinched back, well aware of Hank's strength, as well as his lack of control when he was angry. Beast slammed one giant fist into a desk and went still. The only sound in the room at that moment was Hank's heavy breathing. He turned suddenly and walked back to the table. He stood next to it for a moment before placing his hand tenderly over Valerie's face and gently lowering her eyelids to cover her now sightless eyes. Leaning close, he smoothed her hair down and whispered, "May angels guide your steps little one." before raising a sheet and covering her.
Scott wearily staggered back to the wall and slid down it, Jean settling down next to him. He buried his face in his hands, and wept.
Hallway
Bobby and Jubilee both jerked to attention when the elevator pinged. They both stood and prepared to unleash their powers if it was someone they didn't know. They both started to sag with relief when they saw that it was Logan but that feeling was blown away like the morning mist when they saw the limp body of Amara in his arms.
Logan stepped out of the elevator and strode past the two staring students, not sparing them so much as a glance. He quickly walked down the corridor, seeing the huddled students following him with their terrified eyes. Not even Xavier's concerned look broke the mask of stone he had erected.
He strode up to the medlab door and slammed it open with his shoulder. The scent of blood and tears slammed into him like a veritable train. He swallowed and took a good glance around the room. He saw Hank pushing a cloth covered table into a corner and he instantly knew what that cloth was, it was a shroud. Gritting his teeth, he noticed Scott huddled on the floor and Jean sitting next to him, obviously trying to comfort him. He walked to the nearest table and sat Amara's body down. He adjusted her shattered arm and hoped that she didn't wake up anytime soon.
That task finished, he turned to summon Hank and saw Kitty's body laying on another table. Reaching over, he quickly checked her for injuries and finding none, tossed a blanket over her. He called out. "Blue, what's wrong with Half-Pint?"
Hank slowly turned and let his hand slide off the table. Looking at Logan with haunted eyes, he took a moment before he visibly gathered himself together and answered. "I don't know Logan. She brought Val.a student in with a severe wound and seemed to be fine until she suddenly shrieked and collapsed."
Logan was silent for a moment. "I brought the princess in. She got caught by a fire team on the way to the elevator. She's busted up pretty bad. They broke her arm and shot her in both legs. I think they were retaliating for her burning one of them down." Hank closed his eyes and grimaced. "But I got there before they got the third bullet in. She passed out when I picked her up." Hank nodded and grabbed another surgical tray and moved over to Amara.
Logan stood for a moment, finally taking in the size of the shroud. He closed his eyes and took a single slightly ragged breath. He held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. He turned and walked over to where Scott and Jean were sitting. He crouched down and caught Scott's attention. They locked gazes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally Logan spoke. "I'm gonna need your help One-Eye. There's still kids upstairs, and I haven't finished taking care of the soldiers."
Jean let her gaze take in Logan's tattered and blood soaked clothes. She briefly wondered how he had gotten that way before sudden realization hit her. He 'took care of' the soldiers. Her hand tightened on Scott's arm. He looked at her quizzically for a second before comprehension dawned. "Logan, you can't be serious.."
Logan cut him off with a gesture. "Listen 'kid', these people aren't here to sell us cookies." He pointed to the shroud-covered table in the corner. "That's why they are here. To kill. I heard some of their radio calls. That's all they are here for. They want to kill two of us real bad. I didn't hear any names, and apparently, one of em is already dead. And they sure don't look like they give a damn about side casualties."
Scott tried to bolster his voice with all the conviction he had. "That doesn't make it right. There has to be a way to safeguard ourselves without bloodshed."
Logan was silent for a moment. "Sorry kid, this isn't you running around in tights slapping the Brotherhood around. This is the real world. Sometimes we gotta do things we don't want to, or things we know we will regret, just to survive."
Scott shook his head. "We are X-men Logan, we train to save lives, not take them."
Logan's jaw clenched in anger. "Fine Summers. You can write out the letters notifying their families of their deaths and the fact that you didn't 'feel comfortable' doing what had to be done to protect their loved ones." He looked as though he was going to continue for a seconds before he shook his head and stood, walking stiffly towards the door.
Scott looked on in confusion, he thought he had made his point clearly. "Where are you going Logan?"
Logan turned and sneered. "I'm going to save us. Feel free to cower down here and wrap yourself up in platitudes or you can be a man and face your responsibilities."
Scott was in shock from the utter disdain that Logan shot his way. "I'm not cowering, I'm trying to."
Logan cut him off. "I hope that will keep you warm at night kid." He then stomped out of the room.
Library
PFC Granger stepped lightly across the threshold, eyes scanning the seemingly empty room. It may have seemed tranquil, but he knew better. He had seen one of those freaks duck in here not thirty seconds ago. He was pretty sure that it wasn't his target, but the Sarge had said that any extra body count would be.overlooked. And Granger was more than eager to rid the world of a couple of freaks.
He thumbed the safety off on his MP5 and activated his night vision goggles. His world was wrapped in a green veil. Rechecking the corners, he advanced slowly. The muzzle of his weapon swept the area in front of him, ready to spew death at the slightest provocation. He heard the small creak of a floorboard and sneered. He was definitely gonna bag a mutant. Raising the weapon, he started silently shuffling towards the small couch, knowing that it was the only place to hide in the room. He reached the edge of the sofa and took a small steadying breath before snapping around the couch and firing a burst at..nothing. He blinked once in confusion. He was positive that this was the only place anyone could hide. His head snapped up and he scanned the room again, making sure he didn't miss anything.
He sent a few random bursts into corners that even his NVG didn't seem to illuminate. The echo of the weapon quickly faded into silence. Granger slapped a fresh clip into place and decided to just toss a couple of grenades in there, that should trap the freak. He slowly stepped backwards, ears wide open and listening intently for the slightest sound. He finally reached the doorway and he grabbed a frag grenade from his harness. Letting his weapon fall to his side, he reached out to pull the pin and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He quickly glanced around and saw nothing. He turned back to the library and his finger curled around the pin. He began to slide the pin out when he felt an icy heat wash across his wrists. Looking down, he saw the grenade falling to the ground. Wondering why he dropped it, he turned his cold hands over and saw the gaping wounds that had opened his wrists to the bone. He gaped for a second, not understanding what had happened. He heard a small scuffle behind him and he turned with wide eyes. He came nose-to-nose with a demon.
Kurt ported randomly around the room, keeping the soldier's attention on the room and hopefully keeping himself out of sight. Kurt palmed the razor he had grabbed from Herr Logan's room. He silently watched the soldier fire bursts around the room seemingly randomly. Kurt bounced the blade on his palm once. He had seen how Kitty and Valerie had looked when she got to the medlab. It was happening again, more children were dying. Kurt looked from the soldier to the razor again. -It's just like Stefan. And I have to stop it again.- Kurt's face hardened and he ported into the hallway and crept towards the door. He came up behind the soldier and saw him starting to pull the pin. Images of Stefan and Valerie raced through his head. Hesitating for only an instant, he reached around the soldier and slashed the razor across his wrists, hopefully making him drop the grenade before pulling the pin. The soldier stared at his wrists for a second before turning to come face to face with him.
Kurt noticed the surprise melt down to anger and knew what he had to do, exactly what happened to Stefan. Kurt reached out and grabbed the soldier by the harness, pulling him next to himself and they both winked out of existence.
Kurt and the soldier blinked back into reality at the top of the grand staircase. Kurt held still for a fraction of an instant before planting his feet in the soldiers chest and pushing. The soldier flew out onto the stairs, impacting hard and tumbling down to the foyer. He hit bottom and was still. Kurt stared down at the motionless body, nothing but a blank look on his face. Finally turning, he closed his eyes and started shaking before he exploded in a cloud of black smoke.
Main Level
Logan slid from shadow to shadow like an oil on water, barely emerging into the light before another shadow swallowed him. He closed his eyes as a fire team passed him, weapons in the ready positions with the safeties off. Logan waited until the rear guard had stepped past him before letting his claws silently slide out of his hands. He stepped gently forward, reaching slowly over the soldier's shoulder. The soldier opened his mouth to call a warning, but Logan's hand clamped across his throat, crushing the airway. The soldier's eyes bugged out and his foot slammed against the floor once.
The other two soldiers whipped around and saw a silvery blade slip back into their comrade's chest. They jerked their heads up and saw the dark form looming behind the fallen soldier. They aimed and were about to fire when Logan flashed the claws on his left hand out in an arc and clove the weapons in two. The shorter soldier just froze standing there with both parts of his weapon held tightly in his hands. However, the taller soldier had a better presence of mind. He ripped a grenade off his harness and yanked the pin out. Logan started reaching forward to grab the explosive when the soldier dropped it at his feet. Logan took one look and threw himself backward. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw both soldiers diving for cover just an instant before an explosion thundered through the hallway.
Logan stayed curled up into a ball until the rumbling and crashing died down. He blinked and snorted the stench of burnt explosive from his nostrils. Looking down the ruined hallway, he didn't see any movement. Walking back over to the soldier her dropped, he reached down and picked the sub-vocal radio up. Sticking the earpiece in, he heard whoever was in charge saying that the primary objective was complete and ordered a full retreat. Logan slammed the radio back down and headed for a window.
He quickly tore through the armor plating and ripped it out, freeing the window. Slamming it open, he stuck his head out and watched the two remaining Chinook transports flying low to the west until they disappeared from sight. He was about to head back inside when a scent from his nightmares reached him, hot adnamantium.
He hopped out the window and landed roughly on the ground. Sniffing the air, he loped around to the front of the mansion. Stepping over a rotor blade that had somehow embedded itself in the ground, he saw the still burning remains of the Apache gunship. Following the scent to the wreckage, he skirted the fire and finally found what had been emitting the smell. Mark was laying half under a chunk of marble and the sickly sweet stench of burning flesh was billowing from his legs. Logan reached down and tore the chunks of stone off his body. Logan's lips pulled back in a soundless snarl when he saw the carbonized flesh on the kids legs. Grabbing Mark under the shoulders, he pulled and saw the glitter of exposed adnamantium coming from what was left of the kid's right shin. Throwing him over his shoulder, he heard Chuck's voice boom out in his head. *They have gone. Everyone is safe now, please make your way to the basement if you can. And if you are hurt, I am searching for you.*
Logan stood still as the great armor plates lifted up and uncovered the glass doors. Kicking them open, he headed inside and towards the medlab. Hopefully, the kids healing factor wasn't shot, there had been enough death today.