Kimenomi: I'm a little confused. more should be happening? We have Logan racing down to Ecuador, and the X-Men are close to locating him. If it's action you want, plenty of that coming up before this story is through. And about the looking in your car thing, I have no idea, lol.
Sakura5tar: Hehe, here is more!
Tamazi: He'll be all right our Logan. Doesn't half get himself into trouble though. Must be a bad karma, lol.
Racetrack's Goil: The action certainly has started, and it will intensify, believe me! And your dream sounds very random. I've had X-Men orientated dreams before. They are cool, of what I can remember. No idea what powers I had, but in one I was flying in the X-Jet with them all. I wonder why Logan was the only character I vividly remember? Hehe.
Blix: Indeed, he is a naughty little trouble causer. Bad Logan, bad boy!
POLL RESULTS: Would you like to see a spin-off ran alongside the X-Men saga based upon Logan's past and his life with Roxanne, Madeline and Stryker?
Yes – 50 percent.
No – 50 percent.
Lol, that doesn't really help. It was only a thought. I might give it a go sometime in the future if I get bored. I already have a plot in my head and it'd be cool to write.
NEW POLL – What has been the best location for a fight scene so far?
Chapter 49Scott looked far from amused. "He's heading to Ecuador," he said dryly repeating the words Charles had just told them. "Why on earth is he doing that? That's Sentinel ground!" Scott paced in the metallic walled corridor under the school. The X-Men were grouped with him, as was Charles, sat in the closed doorway of Cerebro.
"I know," said Charles quietly, "I cannot help but link the two together. Magneto wants Logan to go down to where the Sentinels are being made. Perhaps to try and stop them? But that makes no sense, he would do that himself. I don't see what makes him want Logan in particular.."
"The Sentinels.." said Aurora suddenly. Gambit threw her a look that was clearly unimpressed. She was repeating old news.
"Ya. Sentinels," muttered Gambit, as though Aurora had suddenly gone slightly cuckoo.
"No!" said Aurora quickly, giving Gambit a glare as she shook her head, "What I mean is, if Logan and I were earlier experiments of the Sentinels, then perhaps we are more connected to this project than we think. What if.. what if Logan is more connected than we think? And if Magneto knows.. that is why he wants Logan, to get information out of him." She was staring around at the group impressively, "That's got to be it. Magneto is using Logan somehow. It's something to do with Sentinels, and it's something to do with the Government base. There must be something Logan knows about it."
Scott was looking at Aurora as though he could kiss her, "That makes perfect sense!" he cried, quickly looking to Charles, "What do you think, Professor?"
"I think she's right," replied Charles softly, smiling slightly and nodding to Aurora, "But something is worrying me," his frown returned, "What is so secret about this base? It is not the Sentinels, they have been in public many times."
"Professor?"
"I think.. and if Cerebro's results are anything to go by.. that something else in being hidden there. Something far more dangerous.."
It had been a reckless attempt. Logan knew that. But he simply wasn't going to waste time with stupid customs when he was on a mission to save his daughter. That was the most important thing now. He didn't particularly care that he might find himself arrested in a few weeks, as long as Madeline was back in Westchester. But that had been yesterday, and now Logan was extremely close to Ecuador. He had been driving with only stops for petrol and no sleep whatsoever, but he pressed on, trailing East Columbia as he raced to the border of Ecuador. He didn't need to go far into Ecuador itself, for he needed the north of Ecuador for the Amazon base. He could see the jungle beginning to loom at the roadside, road of which was now nothing but a dirt path. No numerous lanes of a highway to trundle down. The truck bounced along the dusty road, surface uneven in parts. The speed at which Logan was going at only made the journey worse. Abruptly, Logan wrenched the steering wheel to the right to bounce through the thick undergrowth at the side of the road to race through the beginning parts of the jungle. If only Logan had stayed on the road for a few minutes longer, for the X-Jet swooped high overhead, following the track of the road.
It had never been so hot. The uniform clung to Logan's flesh damply as he tried to navigate around the tall trees, boots crunching thickly on the leafy floor. Logan had only one bottle of water left, and he was downing it heartily every few minutes as he walked. It looked as if he had in fact poured it all over his head for the suit was making him excessively sweat. However, Logan did not wipe the sweat from him, an old biological survival tip. Sweating keeps you cool.
But the trekking was slowly killing him. He gasped softly as he looked down a small banking, seeing the large grey slab of the building sit nestled amongst the thick leafy treetops. The man-made building stood out sorely against the nature around it, ugly and plain. He slumped onto a thick tree trunk, wishing so desperately that he was here with the X-Men in the appropriate clothes, with rations and a partner. It was so much easier. But he knew he shouldn't complain, he had to hurry. And with a deep gasp for breath Logan pushed himself up off the trunk and began to run down towards the compound.
The jet swooped down across the treetops gracefully as it flew, engines making little noise as it slowed in its high speeds. Inside, Storm was piloting the jet whilst Scott was co-pilot. Gambit, Aurora, and Siren were strapped into the dual rows of seats behind, each one looking as apprehensive as the other. A monitor on the side wall beeped abruptly. Siren, her seat being nearest, swivelled in her chair to face the monitor.
"This'll be the information Charles found," said Siren to the group as she faced the monitor. Charles had earlier discovered some reports that would come in useful for the X-Men on their trip to Ecuador. Siren turned a switch slowly, and the small square screen switched up with a slight flicker before the image focused. Although Storm and Scott were concentrating flying the plane and following the electronic map, they were still listening to the video that had come up on screen. Gambit and Aurora turned inquisitively in their seats to watch the screen from afar.
The small screen showed an image of President McKenna stood at a press conference. Two burly looking guards stood behind him, glaring at the crowd off-screen. President McKenna glanced slowly about the un-seen gathering before he spoke in the typical tones of power conveyed with calm, "People of America, in the previous weeks the media have been laying rumour upon rumour in the headlines about the recently discovered Government facility in South America." A few flashes came upon the screen as watching news reporters took photographs, "Today, I am here to give you the facts. There is nothing to be afraid of in Area 42." Rabble started from the crowds, and the President began to look nervous. The way he tweaked his tie said it all to Siren and Gambit, who were masters of body language. "No illegal experiments, no artificial armies and no secret mutants! There is nothing dangerous in the facility!"
The screen was switched off and Charles's voice crackled for a moment through the speakers before coming clear, "By this speech alone, I'd say there is certainly something else been hidden. Whilst the Sentinels are shady, it's more than that."
"But what could it be?" asked Siren to the screen.
"I don't know," sighed Charles, "But I've got a feeling Logan is going to find out very soon."
With panting breaths Logan scaled the wall of the compound. He nervously carried himself over the ringlets of barbed wire on top before he slipped over the top of the high wall and silently dropped through the air to land in the soft soil. The distant humid air rang with mysterious wildlife cries that echoed eerily through the landscape. The sky above was a steely grey and little sunlight shone down upon the earth below, very much unlike Logan's previous visit with the X-Men. It meant only one thing, Logan could smell it coming - rain. None had started falling yet, the air felt so hot and sticky, It couldn't be long. Logan spent a moment to study the area. No one had yet ran out to him brandishing rifles or started exploding him to smithereens.
This was actually quite disconcerting. But Logan figured that whilst this place was top secret, they didn't expect people to just wander in from a trek through the Amazon; most probably perished before getting this far. It would be transportation they would be keeping an eye out for, namely aircrafts, for the jungle was impenetrable to road-vehicles. Deciding it would be the only way to get in, Logan walked towards what was obviously an entrance; a large roller door sat glinting it's metal against the dull grey walls. He spent a vague moment wondering how much attention his next actions would receive but he knew he couldn't sit around and prepare a strategy for entry. Simply not enough time. Not in Logan's mind anyway.
His hands took hold of the bottom of the metal door and with a strong heave he pushed it up with a faint rattle. No one had yet come running. Most peculiar. Silently and swiftly, Logan ran through the dark and cool insides of what looked like an aircraft hangar that was positioned on the front of the main building. A narrow metal staircase climbed up the wall at the back of the hangar, leading to a more formally arranged corridor. Speedily, Logan ran over to this, ignoring the array of different aircrafts around. He clambered up the staircase a little noisily, but quickly threw himself in threw the door and into the main building that was titled with a faded sign, 'Area 42.'
Bright light met his eyes as he entered what look like the corridor of an office block. Something one would expect in New York to house busy suit-wearers. But this collection of office-like rooms did not stretch for long, another door was ahead, and Logan felt a flutter of fear run through him as he stepped towards it. Cautiously, he pushed open the door and found himself on a small metal landing above what could only be described as some eccentric science lab. Cautiously, Logan walked down the steps into his lab. It was darker in here, although there was a murky light from somewhere that shone a sickly green light over the many machines and object in here and hummed diligently even as the intruder stepped into their midst. Small pinpricks of lights flickered front machine fronts and beeps filled their air erratically. There was a putrid stench of disinfectant in the air, with was smelt sickeningly like blood and raw flesh. Something Logan could pick up all too easily.
Tables were stretched in small rows around the square room of this laboratory, although each one was covered with a white sheet. But there was something underneath these sheets, the irregular shapes moulded the surface of the white cloth told him so. The warning signal in Logan's mind was screaming now louder than ever. It was telling him to turn around and get the hell out of here. But Logan couldn't. He was being lured in with intense curiosity. A few feet to his right was one of the covered tables, and as Logan walked closer to it, he saw something hanging from beneath the sheet. Out from under the covering, and hanging of the slab of metal that formed the table was something that was all too obviously a limb. Human. It hung limply and looked pale and unhealthy. Logan squinted his eyes gently as he studied it from afar, for some reason finding himself walking closer. Before he could stop himself he had whipped the sheet back.
"Argh!"
Nothing had happened. Nothing had jumped out at him. It was the sight that had sickened him. For the body under the sheet was revealed from the waist up. It was the body of a man who lay unclothed on the table with the same pale skin covering his body with a faintly grey sheen like it was half-dead. The figure was truly lifeless, for it didn't move nor breathe. The scent proved dead. Logan's eyes raised slowly up the body of the male, which, horrifically, was no older than Scott Summers. His eyes met the face of the body, as lifeless as it's body. But one thing was apparent here that shouldn't have been the case on any dead body. It's eyes, both open, were not human. One eye was merely an empty socket, stained with dried blood and other eyeball residue whilst the other, well, the other was more disgusting, for instead of an eye or an empty socket was a glinting replacement that looked as though it was made of metal. Circular pieces made up the iris like a camera lens with a red pupil within the middle.
Logan abruptly stepped back in disgust, not even bothering to give the dead body the consideration to cover it up again. He was thoroughly revolted with what he had seen. But at the same time, his mind was working like crazy. Was every table here covering the same design of a body? Logan, forgetting his real reasons for being here, ran across the laboratory with the soles of his leather boots slapping the flooring. He came across another table, wrenching back the white sheet. This time a body of a woman lay beneath. She too looked in the stage of death, skin murkily grey and dull. She also was naked beneath this sheet. Her eyes had two of the metal replacements, bloody streams running from her lids from where the pieces had been inserted. They mimicked tears. Bloody tears. But it wasn't that that had caught Logan's gaze this time. Instead it was her left arm. Fleshless and skinless, the entire upper arm held a bone-structure, not of bone, but of metal, of adamantium. It connected from a fleshy shoulder, which was jagged as if it had been roughly cut. It connected normal bone to the adamantium before rejoining normal bone and flesh for the lower arm.
It chillingly reminded him of Alkali Lake.
Who were these people?
Why had they been experimented upon like this? Where they unfinished projects? Failed experiments?
Suddenly, a word flashed through his mind that he cursed himself at being so stupid to forget. Sentinels. This was Sentinel ground. His eyes took in the body of the woman again slowly. This was either a Sentinel in the making, or an research for the Sentinels.. like he was. Only this woman would never breathe a breath again. For her, it was death, even if it meant laying on a metal slab, or being controlled as a Sentinel.
Logan stepped away again, looking around slowly. He had to get back to the task at hand. He ran through the center of the laboratory, past rows and rows ofsheeted tables,heading through a set of double doors. More offices. Where were those documents kept? Suddenly, he found himself knowing to go ahead, then take a second right. Magneto was right.. Logan thought as he walked down the brightly lit corridor..I've had been here before.
But he was not welcome anymore. He abruptly stopped as a voice called, "I'd stop right there if I were you."
Logan turned slowly, peering over his shoulder to see a man dressed in a lab coat, weapon less, or so Logan thought. A Sentinel, a fully made one, stepped out of the shadows behind the man.
"Kill him."
Thanks for reading! That was a long chapter! I hope you all understood it and are begining to put together the clues.
POLL - www(dot)freewebs(dot)com/thell