Berserker Ape? Try Berserker Storm!
I don't own the X-Men, yada yada yada… This is the concluding story to "For the Good of Mankind – and other Flamin' BS" which really should be read for background information. I'm sorry it took so long to get this story out. I'd like to thank J and V for inspiring me and getting my butt in gear.
Chapter 1 – Meet me and my 6 pointy friends
Nearly 2 months had passed since the X-Men found the missing mutant college students in a lab on Castle Air Force base – an abandoned base in the small town of Atwater, CA. Their first mission showed data for at least 2 more labs which hadn't been located yet. They spent the better part of those 2 months looking for the other labs and recuperating – which was much needed; especially for Beast, who suffered a gunshot wound and Storm, who had endured several broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung.
Storm perhaps needed the most recuperation – mentally as well as physically. Both she and Logan had seen their fair shares of missions gone awry and people close to them getting hurt, but Storm considered Jubilee her daughter and the thought of losing her that way really weighed heavily on her mind. She trained Jubilee and commanded her on many successful missions, but this was different because she specifically chose Jubilee to be the intended target. When Jubilee disappeared, the thought of putting her in the very situation that caused her disappearance and the reality of quite possibly never seeing her again really hurt her. It was something she wrestled with during the entire 2 months. The thought of making the same call in the future really caused a conflict. It was nice for Jubilee though. They spent some significant quality time together. She tried to reiterate to Storm that everything was okay and that what happened was part of being an X-Man, but Storm's motherly attitude increased her guilt tenfold.
Logan faired quite nicely. Once everything was back to normal, he settled into his usual attitude and mannerisms…
"Can we go fishing now PapaLo?" Tasha eagerly asked. Logan had just finished pitching their tent and setting up their campsite when the exuberant 10-year old child's excitement got the better of her. She'd heard so much about Logan's camping trips and really looked forward to this one because it was just the two of them for 4 days before Storm and Jubilee joined them for an additional 3. It was also Tasha's first time in California and one of Logan's favorite west coast camp sites – Lake Berryessa.
"Sure Darlin', we can go fishin' now. Get yer pole." He smiled as she grabbed her pole and tackle box.
"Aren't you gonna get your pole Papalo?"
"Hah" he responded. "Grunts like me don't use poles. I use my bare hands."
"I wanna be a grunt too! Will you teach me how to use my bare hands?"
"Sure Darlin'" he smirked…thinking about all the fun they were going to have catching fish. This was the type of stuff he loved to do – pass on his knowledge; especially when it came to the outdoors; he took particular delight in it.
"Now the key to fishin' is patience. Ya got that Tasha?"
"Yes, Patience."
"Good!" he said as he took his shoes and socks off and pulled his pant-legs up. "Take yer shoes and socks off and roll yer pants up like this." She did as she was told and anxiously watched as he slowly and quietly waded into the water.
"Okay Darlin, slowly and quietly wade into the water."
Logan was amazed at how well she took to stepping in the muddy water. She took to it as if she had been in it all her life. Even Jubilee – one who now loved camping – took awhile to become comfortable with the natural side of life – and still opted for the old pole and line when it came to fishing.
"Okay, just watch me for awhile Tash, this is what ya gotta do." She attentively watched as he cupped his hands and put them in the water. She quietly watched as he waded a little further out then turned to face the shore. She never said a word as he patiently stood there almost like a statue waiting for the perfect moment. Then like a flash, Logan reared up and threw a large rainbow trout onto the shore.
"Yay!" she yelled as she saw what would soon be dinner flopping around on the ground.
"Ya ready ta try?" Logan asked.
"You bet I am!"
"Okay, slowly and quietly make yer way out here." With almost perfect imitation, she slowly and quietly made her way out to Logan.
"Okay Tash, slowly cup your hands and put them low in the water. Push them into the mud just a little. Then sit and wait patiently."
"How long do I have to wait?"
"Until the fish come."
"When will that be?"
"Never if ya don't quiet down. Fish can hear EVERYTHING you say. Water is 800 times denser than air, so every little sound you make gets magnified. Ya gotta focus and concentrate. The trick is to make the fish think you're not even there…like you're part of the lake." As soon as he said that, she put her hands in the water and focused on being perfectly still. What happened next amazed Wolverine. She disappeared right before his eyes.
He could still smell her, and could see where the water was flowing around her legs, but she just wasn't there. Soon the water stopped flowing around her legs and seemed to flow right through her. Logan knew she was at the age that mutant abilities surfaced so he tried to keep his cool. Just as a bit of concern set in and he started to call her name, a large trout came flying out the water and landed on the shore.
"I did it!" she yelled as she reappeared in front of him.
"Whoa!" Logan yelled – still looking very surprised and concerned.
"What's the matter Papalo, you didn't think I could do it?"
"Darlin' do you know what just happened?"
"Yah, I caught a fish just like you!"
"Uh, you caught a fish alright, but not like me. Darlin', you up and disappeared on me."
"Whaddya mean Papalo?"
"I mean you were invisible! You just disappeared! How'd you do it?"
"I don't know. I didn't know I was invisible. I just did what you told me to do."
"I never told you ta disappear kid."
"You told me I had to be part of the lake so the fish wouldn't see me. That's what I thought about…and the fish didn't see me!"
"Do it again."
"Do what again?"
"Become part of the lake again – do exactly what you did before."
"Okay!"
She turned around and put her hands in the lake again and started concentrating. Soon thereafter she disappeared. This time Logan couldn't even see the water flowing around her legs. She instantly disappeared.
"Tash?" he said with an air of concern.
"Shhh" he heard from directly in front of him.
"Tash, where are you?" Just then another trout came flying out of the water as Tasha reappeared.
"You almost scared him away Papalo! I thought you were supposed to be very quite when you fished."
"What happened when you disappeared?"
"I don't know…I didn't know I disappeared. I could still see myself."
"You could? What did you feel?"
"I don't know…it's kinda hard to describe."
"Try Darlin', try real hard."
"Well, I felt kinda ticklish."
"Ticklish?"
"Yah, like my insides were being tickled."
"That's good Darlin', that's real good. Looks like yer mutant powers are startin' ta show up."
"Really? You mean I can turn invisible?"
"I think it's a bit more involved than that, but yeah – that's the gist of it."
"Great – can we do more?"
"You know what Darlin'? We've caught enough fish for today. What say we head back to the campsite?" The real reason he cut the fishing lesson short was because a developing power was no small thing. He wanted Storm to be around when Tasha started developing her powers. They headed back to camp with their catch and anxiously looked forward to trout for dinner.
They were almost back to the campsite when Logan's animalistic senses kicked in. He stopped in mid step and started listening and smelling the air.
"What's the matter Papalo?"
"Shhh…" sniff sniff - SNIKT "Get behind me Darlin'" he whispered to Tasha as he vectored in on the scents of at least 8 people – all armed. They weren't in the immediate vicinity, but he could tell they were between him the campsite. "Tasha, you know what you did in the water? You think you can do it again next ta that tree behind us?" Tasha was very shaken at this point. She couldn't see or smell whatever it was that alarmed Logan, but she knew when she was in trouble, and this was definitely bad news.
"I don't know" she said with a very frightened voice.
"Okay, when I tell ya, you high-tail it back to the minijet, get in the cockpit, and pull the emergency lever real hard. The lever will break the glass holding it in place and you'll see a red button. Push it! You got it?"
"Yes sir."
"The minijet will start up and launch all by itself then someone from Salem Center will call you and bring you back."
"What about you Papalo?"
"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay. You just get yer butt to the minijet okay?"
"I'm scared Papalo."
"I know ya are Darlin', but it's gonna be okay. You just do what I said."
The only saving grace was that the minijet was about 160 feet from the campsite in a more remote spot. Logan hoped he could keep whoever was looking for them occupied long enough for Tasha to get to safety.
"GO!" he yelled to Tasha as he tore into a mad dash toward the campsite. By the time he had gotten to the site, he had already vectored in on 2 of the mercenaries who were hiding in an ambush position waiting for his return. Before they realized they had been detected, Logan had already breached their perimeter. With lightening speed, he dove head first at the two mercs. The first merc didn't even get a shot off before Logan stabbed him and repositioned for an attack on the second. The second merc faired better than the first, but not by much. He got one shot off before Logan tackled him and pinned him with his claws.
"Who sent you?!" He yelled. The merc didn't get the chance to tell him. Logan was hit by a barrage of bullets from at least 4 different directions. He was knocked off his feet and still getting pummeled with automatic fire when the second merc scampered away. The barrage of bullets kept Logan effectively pinned. Whoever was after him had done their homework…they were using large caliber .44 magnums. The bullets weren't strong enough to penetrate his adamantium endoskeleton, but they did a damn good job turning his skin into hamburger meat.
He managed to scamper behind a large tree but he knew it wouldn't give him shelter for very long. With the berserker rage crawling up his spine and his mutant healing factor working in full force, Logan went on the offensive. He dove into the underbrush and ripped off his red flannel shirt. Listening to the other mercs close in on his position, he ducked behind another tree. The mercs immediately pegged him and started firing at the tree.
"You want this tree?!" Logan yelled. "You can have it!" he snapped as he popped his claws and sliced clean through the base. The tree slowly fell toward the camp. Logan ran up the falling oak and used it as a launching pad to drop himself in between 2 mercs. Upward thrusts from 6 claws ended the battle for both of them. As quick as he had landed, he was off again headed for the next merc. He spotted one not more than 15 feet away and lunged for him. Had the merc trained more for accuracy instead of relying on the volume of a fully automatic weapon, he may have stayed Logan off a few more seconds. Such as it was, this merc met the same fate as three of the first 4 Logan encountered. He was in rare form – slicing his way through one mercenary after another.
"Wolverine!" someone yelled from about 40 or 50 feet away.
"Ya know my name…I'm impressed!" he responded.
"Know your enemy – that's my motto."
"Slice 'n dice yer enemy is mine!"
"Listen Wolverine! Give up and come peacefully…"
"And why the hell would I wanna do that?" Logan barked – almost laughing. "I got ya right where I want ya, and when I'm done with ya – even your mama won't recognize ya!"
"Why? Cuz we got your girl!" the merc responded, walking toward the center of the campsite holding Tasha by the back of her neck. "You're goin' through my men like paper! I just can't have that…good mercs are hard to come by – and even harder to pay for. You give up and we'll let the girl go. We came for YOU, Old Man didn't say anythin' about a retinue."
The fury in Logan's eyes tripled when he saw the tall, mid-forties armed man holding onto Tasha with a Desert .44 magnum special pointed at her head. Unfortunately, fury wasn't going to get Tasha out of this situation and Logan knew it. From where he was, there wasn't anything he could do. There were at least 4 mercs that were still unaccounted for.
"How do I know you'll let the girl go?"
"You DON'T know, but I give you my word…you come peacefully and she goes free."
"What's your word worth?"
"Ain't for sale."
"What the hell? You're a flamin' merc ain't ya?"
"I'm a merc on a mission…I ain't for sale. Now you got 2 choices, you can give up and I'll let the girl go…or we can scrap it up. You may get to all of us, but not before the girl gets it!"
Logan heard what he needed to hear. It wasn't the option he wanted, but he knew the merc would keep his word and let Tasha go - that was the important thing. He would have to finish this battle another day. He willingly gave up his location and walked out toward the merc and Tasha. Two other mercs came up behind the C.O. – both with automatic weapons held at the ready. One had a set of metal restrainer cuffs that he pulled out and threw at Logan.
"Put 'em on" he barked. Logan almost laughed at him.
"You think these things are gonna stop me?"
"Yep." The merc said with an air of smugness. "Two inches of Carbonadium…it'll take ya at least a week to get through 'em!"
"You guys really did your homework." Logan growled as he willingly put his hands in them. The merc locked them down – effectively neutralizing Logan's claws.
"Alright, ya got me…not let the girl go!"
The C.O. did exactly as he said he would and let Tasha go. She ran straight to Logan who by now was kneeling on one knee to greet her.
"I don't wanna go PapaLo. I wanna stay here with you." She pleaded.
"I know Darlin', but you gotta go. Don't worry about me…I'll be all right. You remember what I told you to do?"
"Yes sir."
"Do it okay? Don't worry about me…I'll be home soon. I promise!"
She unwillingly did what he told her and ran off toward the minijet. The Merc kept his word and didn't pursue.
"So who sent you?" Logan asked. "Who is 'Old Man'?"
"You'll find out soon enough." The merc said as he took out a large tranquilizer gun and loaded.
"That ain't gonna do much to me." Logan boasted.
"You'd be surprised what this stuff'll do. A couple drops of this will knock an elephant on his ass for at least a day, and I plan to give you a LOT!"
"I don't know who the hell you are, but where I come from, ya mess with a man's little girl, ya pay the price; and Bub – you got a big bill! I don't care WHAT Old Man is payin' ya – your mouth just wrote a check your ass can't cash. This ain't over." Logan growled.
"Yeah it is…" the merc said before he shot Logan. Wolverine was out before he hit the ground.