Chapter 11: Playin' the Fool
Disclaimer: One day…
"KITTY!" Wolverine ran to where Shadowcat's limp body fell, his own bloody form falling roughly to the ground beside her. Choking back a growl, he pressed a large callused hand over the gaping wound in her abdomen. Blood immediately pooled over and around his hand, pouring out uncontrollably.
Storm never heard the shot echoing off the jail cells. Howling winds continued to fill the room, bodies thrown like puppets on strings against the walls. An explosion to her right caught her attention, but as she spun around to help Gambit, she caught sight of Wolverine hunched over a body in center of the room.
She yelled to him, "Wolverine?"
He didn't respond. Instead, he looked around him for something – anything – to stop the bleeding.
Storm was there in an instant, the stricken look on his face making her blood run cold. Wolverine's voice was deadly soft. "He shot her." Storm took over, removing the bandage from her own already clotted wound and pressing it firmly to Shadowcat's abdomen.
A deeper growl rumbled in Wolverine's throat. His voice was louder this time. "He fuckin' shot her!" Six metal claws shot cleanly from his bloody hands as he let out a feral yell. Within seconds, he was slashing his way through stunned soldiers, showing no mercy as he plunged his claws into the chest of one and through the neck of another.
Storm bit back her own urge for revenge, instead focusing on her fallen friend. She never expected to see this – her best friend, her Kitty Kat, bleeding to death in front of her. A red percussive beam shot through the air in front of her, breaking her from her stunned silence. "Cyclops!" she called out. "We have to go!"
Cyclops spun around and delivered a knock-out punch before running to where Storm sat cradling Shadowcat's body. "What happened?" His voice was stoic – the definition of calm.
"That bastard shot her, Scott! What the hell do you think happened?" Storm was on the verge of hysterics, her suppressed emotions bubbling to the service. Thunder clapped ferociously outside as rain pelted the windows.
Cyclops looked around to assess the situation in the room. Gambit and Beast fought smoothly, holding off a few of the tougher soldiers. Wolverine was certainly holding his own, the animal in him controlling his movements. For the first time, Cyclops didn't even want to try to stop him. Turning back to Storm, he replied, "Let's get her to the jet."
Shadowcat's eyes fluttered open briefly – just long enough for her to cough violently, a stream of blood flowing steadily from her mouth – before closing them again.
Biting back his own anger, Cyclops added with force, "Now."
Lifting her gently but swiftly, he called over his shoulder, "Beast! Help me get her to the jet!" before running out of the room.
Beast followed him without question, leaving Gambit to deal with the last remaining soldier. Gambit grinned with his mouth but glared with his eyes. "Looks like it jus' you an' me now, mon ami."
Wolverine finally reached Nast as he was trying to sneak away. Grabbing him by the back of his neck, Wolverine slammed the Colonel into the wall. He pinned him there with his left arm, two claws of his right hand extending on either side of his prisoner's neck. Although the animal in him told him to kill the man swiftly and brutally, there was still a side to Wolverine that wanted to see the man suffer – to die slowly and painfully for hurting Kitty. His middle claw extended slowly, barely pricking the Colonel's neck. A small bead of blood surfaced. "Any last words, bub?"
"Y-You can kill me if you want, Wolverine. Although I-I assure you…it will not change what has been…what has been done here," Nast stammered, his arrogant tone still seeping through the tremor in his voice.
Wolverine snarled, his face only inches from his captive's. "Maybe not. But keepin' you alive won't either—"
"Wolverine! No!" His head turned quickly to look over his shoulder. What he saw sent chills even to his adamantium laced bones.
Storm hovered slightly above the ground. Her eyes glowed, their eerie bluish-white shining brightly in the dark room. Her hair whipped across her shoulders and face in time with her violent airstreams.
The howling wind whistled so loudly, Gambit had to cover his ears. "Mon dieu," he mumbled under his breath.
Thunder rolled in the distance as a flash of lightening illuminated the room briefly. Her voice echoed with all the calm and serenity in the world. "It's my turn."
Wolverine hesitated only briefly before turning his attention back to the trembling Nast. "Ain't like me t'turn down a request from a pretty lady." He sheathed his claws and dropped the Colonel to the ground.
Nast immediately stood, trying to regain his footing. His efforts were met with a vicious current of wind.
"No!" Storm exclaimed, pinning him once again to the concrete wall behind him. "You don't get to move."
"L-look, we c-can –"
Lightening struck the ground in front of him, sending concrete and debris into the air. "Shut up." Without taking her eyes off of Nast, she spat out, "Gambit. Wolverine. Clear the room."
"Darlin'—"
"I said clear the room." Another gust of wind picked up Wolverine, slamming him against the wall beside Gambit. Gritting his teeth, Wolverine began slicing through the jail cells, less in the hopes of finding survivors and more to vent his frustration.
Storm had moved closer to Nast, now standing with her face inches away from his. He could feel the electricity radiating from her body – could see sparks dancing across her skin.
She punched him once, literally shocking him with the current running through her hand. While his head snapped to the side, his cheek – charred from the heat of electricity – was left vulnerable. She took the opportunity to punch him again, this time delivering two rapid uppercuts to his jaw. Each punch was laced with a high voltage. Her winds still held him to the wall as Nast lifted a hand to his broken jaw.
She said nothing as she slowly backed away from him. There was nothing to say – nothing that would undo the damage he had done, the lives he had destroyed, the life that still hung in the balance.
Gambit slipped out of the last cell, his shoulders sagging. He looked up to Wolverine and shook his head slowly. He stole a sidelong glance at Storm before returning to the jet.
Wolverine hung back, standing in the shadows of a corner.
Colonel Nast seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as Storm increased the distance between them.
She sneered and hissed out, "Stupid man." With one lightening strike, the rattling windows shattered, raining broken glass across the room. Gale-force winds blew in, bringing heavy drops of rain with them.
Wolverine clung to one of the nearby cells, grounding himself against the powerful gusts.
Within seconds, the inside of the room was soaking wet, illuminated by Storm's constant barrage of lightening. It took less than a minute for Wolverine to recognize the smell of charred skin. He broke his gaze from Storm and looked to the target of her lightening. Every time the room lit up, Colonel Nast jolted off the ground, each bolt striking his lifeless body. He was dead. Wolverine knew it. Storm knew it. Yet she continued on.
"Storm!" Wolverine shouted over the howling winds.
She turned to face him, anger and grief marring her beautiful face. The room grew dark again as she crumpled to the grown.
Instantly, Wolverine was by her side. He reached out to help her up.
"Don't touch me!" She spat out.
He moved away slightly, taken aback by her outburst towards him.
She held out her hand to show him the sparks still jumping across her skin. "I don't want to hurt you."
Understanding, he simply stood. "C'mon. Let's get outa here."
When they reached the jet, Wolverine went immediately to the medical cot in the back.
Storm turned to Gambit. The usually charming Cajun sat in the co-pilot's chair with a look of defeat plastered across his face.
"Remy?"
"We failed 'em Stormy."
"Excuse me?"
"We supposed to be heroes an' we couldn' even save one," He looked up to see Cyclops coming from the back of the plane.
"We need to get her back to the mansion."
"Can't help but feel like we coulda done more," Gambit continued.
Cyclops flipped on several switches and the jet hummed. "Not now Gambit."
The stricken Cajun just stared into space. "Dere were so many of 'em. Me'be we coulda—"
"Gambit!" Cyclops barked, "You can either move over and whine or shut up and help pilot this thing!"
"I'll help you, Cyclops." Beast joined them in the front of the jet and sat down. "Let Gambit relax."
As the jet took to the sky, Storm gave Gambit's shoulder a gentle squeeze and headed to the back of the jet.
MedLab
30 Minutes Later
Jean's own team had returned to the mansion hours ago. There was nothing left at the other locations. Everything had been cleared out.
Now, she paced nervously from one end of the room to the other, double checking everything in her head. She had sterilized all of her surgical tools, had prepared one of the beds, and had even thought to open all of the doors from the hanger to the elevator and from the elevator to the lab.
Fifteen minutes ago, shouting had woken Jean from her nap. She had quickly recognized the voice as Scott's, communicating through their psychic rapport. The urgency in his voice was unusual for him, especially when he was in charge of a mission. As soon as he had explained the outcome of the mission to her, she had called out to the Professor and raced to prepare the med-lab.
All she could do now was wait.
"Jean?"
She spun around to face the tall man standing in the doorway. "Peter."
"I came to discuss something with you, but I see you are busy." He looked around, taking in the site of the room. He noticed Jean's tray of instruments set out by the bed. His heart beat frantically against his chest. He swallowed against the growing lump in his throat. "What has happened?"
Despite her best efforts, Jean's face did little to conceal her fear. "There…There was…" Her mind raced to come up with the right words. Then, suddenly, her expression went blank.
I'm ready Cyclops. I'll meet you at the elevator. Then, to Colossus she said, "They're here. I need you out." She pushed past him and made her way to the large service elevator.
Colossus followed her, his heart thumped wildly as if it knew something his mind did not. "Katya," he whispered to himself.
The elevator doors opened. With Storm right behind them, Cyclops and Wolverine raced out, each man helping to carry Shadowcat's limp body to the med-lab. A trail of blood spilled on the floor behind them.
"Katya!" Colossus called out as he started to run after them. Beast and Gambit were there immediately, holding the Russian's massive form against the wall.
Colossus continued to cry out her name, struggling in vain to push past his two assailants.
"'ey 'ey 'ey! Y'gotta calm down, homme! Calm down!"
Suddenly, his heavy body went limp and he crumbled to the floor unconscious. Beast and Gambit looked up to Jean. "He'll be okay," was all she said as she closed the door to the med-lab.
5 Hours Later
Ororo stepped out onto her moonlit balcony and closed her eyes, allowing the wind to caress her skin.
Kitty had been out of surgery for nearly an hour and had yet to wake up. Jean said it would be touch and go for a while, but she was lucky. She shouldn't have made it this long.
Ororo opened her eyes and snorted. Lucky. She leaned against the rail, considering how frivolously the word was used.
"We need t'talk."
She wasn't startled. She'd been expecting him. "So we do."
"I saw you."
Ororo turned to face him. "Excuse me?"
Logan moved next to her, leaning against the rail and looking at the large expanse of the mansion's lawn. He took a deep breath. "With the Cajun. I saw him holdin' ya. I saw the way ya clung to him. That's fine. He's like yer brother. I get that. Ya love him in a different way."
Before she could open her mouth, he turned to look at her. When she saw the pained look on his face, all she wanted to do was grab him – to hold him in her arms, telling him she loved him and only him.
"But ya know what hurts the most, 'Ro? What really digs around inside me?"
Her watery blue eyes met his steely gaze.
"That ya didn't trust me. Most the people I meet are afraid of me. I can smell it on 'em. But you...I thought you were different. Thought you knew me deep down t'my core. Never thought you'd be afraid t'tell me what ya felt. Even if it meant lovin' another man."
With that, her jaw dropped. "What? Logan I don't --"
He raised his hand as if to say stop. "It's fine Storm. I get it now. Jus' my fault fer playin' the fool too long."
At the use of her codename, she looked down, trying to hide the sadness on her face. She said almost inaudibly, knowing he would hear her anyway, "Storm?"
"I gotta get outa here for a while." He pushed off the railing and moved to the door.
Looking up, the tears finally fell. "Logan!" she called out to him her voice cracking.
He kept moving. He wouldn't look back; he couldn't. One glance at her beautiful face streaked with tears and he'd be done for. His resolve would crumble. No. He had to go. She didn't love him and he wouldn't make her. "I'll be gone in the mornin'," was all he said before leaving her on the balcony.
Heavy raindrops fell, slowly at first, as Ororo sank to the ground alone.