Chapter 3: Down Below
It is no secret to the world that poor and desperate people seek shelter below ground in sewers and long forgotten subway lines form the cold. And in a few cities whole communities were formed beneath the main cities. In one particular sewer tunnel was a young man walking briskly though the sludge. Not much was noticeable about his tall lanky form or his dirty auburn hair. Nor was there something special about his ragged brown trench coat. No, it was his eyes that caught most people's attention. Blood red on solid black instead of most people blue, greens, and browns on white eyes. These unique eyes gave him superior night vision witch came in handy in such low light conditions.
Quickly he came to his destination. An old beat up subway car that he called home. Sliding over one of the doors he stepped in and went straight for the back. On one of the old beat up seats laid a short female teen. Unlike her male counterpart she was easily noticeably. For starters her hair was bright pink naturally. But even more noticeable were the bones coming out of her body. The bones came out of just about everywhere. Her forehead boasted the most dominant ones the formation gave her a crown and horns type that framed her face. Out her shoulder blades were two bones one of them swooped elegantly upward the other looked as though it was roughly broken off recently. Her shins and forearms were covered and small bone shards that seem to move with her as a second skin or natural armor.
She was curled up in a fetal position as in a great amount of pain. Both of her arms were wrapped around her mid-section that clutched a bloody rag. The tall man went right to her. He gently moved her arms only to be answered with a bone knife aimed weakly at his throat. He expertly blocked it but with out causing any more harm to her.
"Shhh, petite calm down chere, it's just me Sara!" He spoke to her in a thick Cajun accent.
"Remy? Is that really you? It's hard to see." The girl tried to sit up and face him but almost admittedly fell right back down in a cry of pain.
"Argggh! Remy please do something it hurts! That monster tore me up pretty good."
" I know petite, I know. "Found" some more medicine for you topside. But I don't thinks there is much I can do for your eyes except bandage them so they don't burn as much." The man know as Remy said softly to her. Then began bandaging her wounds thinking how he was gonna get them out of this one.
Meanwhile somewhere near the abandoned subway car the four X-men trudged though the sewer pipes. To be more correct about two stumbled around blindly walking along the walls for support. The third member walked straight-ahead sniffing every couple seconds to keep his bearing. And lastly the fourth member crawled nimbly along the ceiling. Finally after walking into a wall for the tenth time the residential Southerner was pissed.
"Alraght! Who's braght idea was it to not pack flashlights for us!?"
"Eh? Kid I can see fine."
"Ya me to sis"
"Ok fine the animal with enhanced sense's and the elf with night vision can both see. Great what about me and Rogue? Were stumbling around blind here."
This erupted into a full-scale argument on whose fault was it. Finally they decided to walk single file with Logan in front and Kurt in back to hopefully make sure no one else ran head first into a wall. But that didn't mean anything for Rogue running smack into Logan's back. After falling gracefully on her ass and standing back up with a glare that could have melted steel, Logan spoke first.
"Quiet! I just heard a scream up ahead. And I got some scents. One of cheap cologne, and bad cigarettes, the other mostly blood. (Sniff) (Sniff)." 'What? No it can't be he was killed when Weapon X blew probably just the sewer smell.'
"Umm Herr Logan shouldn't we get moving? You did say there was blood. Maybe who ever bleeding is in need of help."
Wolverine had already taken down the tunnel towards the general stench of blood. Night Crawler and Rouge lagged back a little with the last member.
"Maybe ya should put ya ol' helmet on Mista Marko. Ah mean the prof did say he didn't know what these mutants could do."
"Ya just give me a second Rouge. Nightcrawler, go after Logan make sure he doesn't kill any body like he almost did with you." Marko said to Nightcrawler while taking a dome like object off his back and fastening it to his head and upper body armor.
"No problem Herr Marko!" and with that Nightcrawler disappeared in a cloud of brimstone and sulfur going after Logan.
"Ok good to go let's move Rouge hopefully all the funs not over when we get there."
"Whatevea you say Juggy." And with that the last two X-men were off rather blindly in such low light.
Meanwhile up ahead in the subway car Remy was getting all the stolen medicine supplies ready. Rolls of gauze, syringes full of morphine, medical tape, and other odds and ends that were lifted earlier. First he started with Sara's mid section. Once Remy removed the blood soaked rags he felt the bile in his throat rise. Sara's whole stomach was ripped up. Four long slash marks ran form her left breast all the way down to her right hipbone. In some areas Remy saw that her body had made several bone layers on top of the skin to prevent any more injury. He cleaned her wounded chest the best he could then re-bandage it with clean bandages. The old ones he held in his hands briefly until they glowed a bright pink at witch point he threw into the corner of the cab on top of a pile of old newspapers and other burnable objects. The bandages exploded lighting the rest of the pile giving the cab a low glow to it.
"Remy! My eyes!" Sara screamed as she threw her hands in front of her face to prevent any more light from entering her badly damaged eyes.
With out saying a word he unrolled some more gauze to wrap around her eyes. It was rather hard to do with her bone crown around her face. Still though he mange to keep the bandage on tight around her eyes. Just as he was taping it close he heard a noise that made his blood run cold. It was the sound of some kind of animal would growl just before it attacked.
"I don't care who you are bud! Step away from the girl NOW! You sick freak!" Wolverine had just showed up. All he saw was a wounded girl topless and a man standing over her covering her eyes with tape and bandages.
"Eh well you ain't Creed. Far to short. Still dau with ya personality the deux of ya must get along. And Remy ain't going let you take her back to him!" At the finial word Remy had charged up several cards and threw them straight at Wolverine then charged him with a pipe that had been lying on the train floor.
Down the tunnel but getting closer Rouge and Juggernaut both heard and saw the large explosion that was caused by Remy's cards. Without saying a word to each other they doubled their pace to the train car. Fire from the assault had lit up the area pretty well. And Rouge could have sworn she saw two red orbs dance on the car platform before moving form sight.
Sara had been left alone in the car. When she heard the growl her first thought was that the monster her almost killed her had found them and was going to finish the job. Then she heard the voice well she couldn't quite make out the words due to the fact that the bandages over her eyes also covered part of her ears. She did notice that it was not the same voice. When the cards were thrown Sara felt the heat of the impact against her skin so she knew Remy most be in trouble. Before the girl could stand up her nostrils were violently assaulted by a very unpleasant scent.
"Guten Tag, Frauelin! We are here to rescue you, I am Kurt Wagn—YEEP!" Bamf!
Sara had heard the newcomer say "we" and instantly concluded that he and the other man were together. And threw that connected to Creed probably. Even blind she still lashed out with one of her bone knifes. Her face was once again barraged with the foul sulfur smell.
"Please Frauelin. We mean you no harm!" Again Nightcrawler had to teleaport away to avoid a flying bone dagger. Sara pulled another two out of her arms waiting for him to appear again. And it continued like this for a while Nightcrawler appearing trying to calm the blinded girl and her trying to impale him.
Outside Remy surveyed the damage he had caused. So far no sign of the short man he had barraged with kinetically charged cards. He found it amazing not a speck of the man was left. While he had tried to kill him he didn't think a handful of cards would do the trick. Out form under the train crawled Wolverine. Standing up behind Remy he dropped both of his hands and tightened the muscles in them.
(Snikt)(Snikt)
Those sounds saved Remys life by a hair. He quickly dropped to his back nearly avoiding six one-foot long claws at where his head use to be. Spinning around on his shoulder blades with feet out he caught Wolverine right in the jawbone. After standing up Remy saw he actually did hit his jawbone literally. Wolverines face was missing large amounts of skin and muscle. Even worse to Remys stomach was watching his face heal it self. Remy was speechless, until that is Wolverine brought his left foot up to Remy's right cheek. Remy went sprawling but still held on to his pipe. With he left hand he picked up some rubble and threw it right at Wolverines face after giving it a slight charge. Blinded Wolverine stumbled back covering his face. Launching himself to his feet quickly Remy charge bringing the five foot long pipe above his head then sending it right down on top of Wolverines skull.
Crack!
The pipe had broken in two. Puzzled as to how this happened he barley had time to move out of the way of three very sharp very angry claws. Parrying the next jab at his mid section Remy moved in close and jammed the pipe right into Wolverines jugular charged it, then jumped back covering his head.
This larger explosion got the attention of everyone else in the tunnel. Rouge and Juggernaut had seen the pipe go straight into Wolverines throat and were close enough to get splattered with some of his blood. Nightcrawler was rocked off his feet turned and saw Wolverine fall flat onto his face missing most of his neck upper chest and lower face.
"...Herr Logan??" To perplexed with what just happened he failed to see the dagger being thrown right at him. Luckily his sister did.
"KURT LOOK OUT!!" Rouge watched in horror as a half-naked female pulled a bone out of her arm and aimed it right at Kurt. Nightcrawler got out of the way just in time. But Sara had already latched onto him with a new dagger aimed at his face. Sara and Kurt wrestled on the train floor each trying to out muscle the other.
"Rouge! Go help you brother I'll see to this goon." Juggernaut said as he stepped forward to confront the Cajun man who was just getting back to his feet.
With a quick nod Rouge ran off straight to the train car. Seeing her baby brother slowly losing the fight Rouge leaped over Logans twitching body with out a second thought. When she was close to ten feet away one of Rouges gloves were already stripped off. Then just in time Rouge got in to the car.
"Sugah Ah do believe its time fra ya to take a nap." And with that she put her hand right onto Sara's bare arm. Just like that Sara went down and Rouge started screaming. Bones started shooting out of her body at wildly high paces. Instead of having beautiful formations on her body these bones were poor, jagged, and rough. Soon though to the shock she to passed out.
Remy had just finished standing up form his little expolsive dimenstration.
'Why I do believe that's the end of him. Talk about a hard head… Hey what's with the shadow over me?' Slowly turning around he came to face to face with a giant. The only think that went though Remys mind was 'Damn he's big.' The "Unstoppable" Juggernaut stood before him. Remy did the only thing that any man would do…run! But before he could get a foot away he was abruptly stopped by Juggernaut grabbing his trench coat. With no effort at all Juggernaut lifted Remy up to his eye level.
"Thinking of going some where runt?"
"Nah, here suits me just perfectly mon ami."
Gambits had charge two whole sets of cards and tossed them straight at Juggernaut. Fifty-two at his head and fifty-two at his chest. Instead of hearing a scream, feeling cold blood on his face, and smelling burning flesh. The only smell being smelt was that of burnt ozone in the air, he felt a cold sweat envelope his body, and heard two things a deep laugh coming form him and a scream coming form the car.
"Sara!…." Before he could say anymore Juggernaut had already hit him lightly on the head just enough to knock him out. He then went over to were Logan was. He was healing slowly but still healing. Weakly he gave Juggernaut a thumb up. Next he went to the car. Inside he found Kurt praying, Rouge on the floor with many bones growing out of her but these were only a few inches long. A telltale sign the mutation is leaving her. Finally he saw Sara all banged up in the corner. After doing a quick head count he determined no way were they getting back to the Institute like this.
"Elf call home tell em to send the blackbird. We found the mutants but they along withs several of us are wounded."
"You got it Herr Marko."
By the team Juggernaut and Wolverine went to where Juggernaut had left Remy for passed out they found him gone. Along with Wolverines wallet.