Jamie vs Juggernaut vs Omega Red (Deathfic, Jamie wins) – Requested by Shkspr1048
Arkady
Rossovich crouched above the path, as unmoving as the stones about
him. He made no sound, gave off no signs of life. He could well have
been a statue from his pale skin, perched above the narrow track
between the rises of stone.
This, however, was not due to choice.
He knew from bitter experience that his target's reputation was
well-earned, and that he'd need the element of surprise to do his
job here. The slightest noise or movement would give him away, and if
the tables were turned, he himself would most likely be beaten.
It
had taken years, but Weapon X had finally admitted defeat. Their
target was too elusive and far too skilled for them to capture. So,
at last, they'd changed tactics, deciding that the target would be
easiest caught by someone like him. And a bounty of $250,000 US had
been placed on the target's head. A chance at which Arkady had
jumped.
He would, of course, had brought the Wolverine in for
free, just to see his old enemy fall. But if someone was willing to
pay him two hundred and fifty thousand dollars to do it, that was
even better.
----
Omega Red, however, was not alone.
Nor was everyone unaware of his presence.
The hulking figure
sitting some three hundred metres behind him showed that.
Cain
Marko had also had word of the bounty hunt for the Wolverine. And,
like the Russian, was there to collect it. But unlike Omega Red,
Juggernaut was following the oldest rule of the bounty hunt.
In a
bounty hunt, it didn't matter who brought the target down. It only
mattered who brought the target in.
Let the Russian do
the work, Juggernaut had decided. Once the Wolverine was down,
Omega Red wouldn't be much of a difficulty. Then he could have the
bounty all to himself.
Maybe there was even someone who'd pay
for the head of Arkady Rossovich…
----
Logan kept up
a leisurely pace through the trees, following the rough trail. It had
been a hectic week for him - not that he ever seemed to have a
relaxed one, of course - and now he was enjoying the chance for a
quiet run. He was as calm and casual as anyone had ever seen him;
calm enough to relax his guard for a while.
An unfortunate
decision, if ever he'd made one.
He became aware of the faint
tang in the air some seconds before he realised its significance. By
then, however, he was gasping for breath, staggering suddenly on legs
that didn't want to support his weight anymore. Pausing, glaring
about him, he leaned against the rocks on the side of the track; at
this point in the trail, twin 'walls' of stone rose up on either
side, forming a narrow pass. In the seconds that remained to him,
Logan felt a grudging admiration for the location chosen for the
ambush.
An instant later, as metallic cables whipped down from
either side and hurled him into the cold hard stone, everything faded
to black.
Omega Red himself dropped down a moment later.
Swiftly he crossed to Logan's prone form and pressed a pale hand to
the fallen man's neck.
Still alive. Good. The orders had been
very clear on this point - Wolverine was wanted alive. A corpse was
no good to anyone.
After a few seconds, however, he slung the limp
form over one shoulder and began to move off, jogging at a remarkable
pace along the same track Logan had been following.
He never saw
the huge shape behind him circle around into the trees
ahead.
----
Jamie Mardox was racing down the track at
an incredible speed. His short hair waved in the wind as people
cheered him on toward the finish, his feet pumping the pedals
furiously as he rocketed between the trees, jumping over mounds and
hollows in the track.
In his mind, of course.
In reality,
though he was going at about the same speed as a running man, he
wasn't going all that fast. Had he tried, of course, he'd almost
certainly have crashed the bike. There wasn't enough wind to make
his hair wave, and besides that it was hidden under a baseball cap.
And the legions of fans were only figments of his imagination. But he
didn't care.
He often rode this simple course through the woods;
it gave him the chance to be alone with his thoughts, relax his mind.
Besides, BMX riding was a hobby of his, and gave him a little extra
exercise.
The resounding crash ahead stopped him, though.
Bringing the bike to a sudden halt, he squinted through the dust
cloud that rose and wafted in front of him. Whatever had made the
sound, it was too far ahead for him to see.
But he could hear
faint voices.
For a moment, he debated the wisdom of going on.
Then curiosity, that ill-famed killer of felines the world over, got
the better of him.
He kept going. But much slower this time.
It
wasn't long at all before he peered out from between the trees at
two utterly enormous men he'd never seen before.
And the
motionless body of Mr. Logan lying nearby.
----
"Leave,"
Omega Red growled. "The Wolverine is mine."
Juggernaut
sneered. "No. He was yours. Now he's mine. Now get out of here
before I hand you over to Weapon X as well."
"I caught him,"
the Russian spat. "You will take him over my dead body or not at
all."
"Be careful what you wish for, Arkady. I might just do
that."
The words had barely left Juggernaut's mouth before a
half-dozen metallic tendrils whipped out toward him, snaking through
the air at frightening speed.
But this was just what Juggernaut
had expected.
His hands moved quicker than Omega Red had believed
possible; in a flash he had snatched three tendrils in each hand.
Then he pulled savagely.
Omega Red was yanked abruptly through the
air with a grunt and sailed toward Juggernaut; his flight was cut
short by a vicious headbutt that made him stagger back. He recovered
instantly, though, lashing out with brute force, jolting the enormous
mutant's head back, giving him time to rip himself free of
Juggernaut's grasp.
They glared at one another, panting, for a
moment.
Then they engaged once more.
Jamie watched the
contest in front of him with almost sick fascination for a few
moments. Then he shook his head as if to clear it and glanced at
Logan. He still wasn't moving.
Jamie wasn't entirely certain
what was going on. All he knew was that the two huge mutants in front
of him were apparently fighting over Logan, who was unconscious. He
hoped. But they seemed to be pretty preoccupied for the
moment?
Moving through the trees with a stealth that was more
imagined than realised, he soon enough managed to reach Logan's
prone form. For a moment he debated about what to do; then, finally,
he settled on what seemed like the best option.
Grabbing Logan by
one arm, he began to drag the limp man away from the nearby brawl. At
the same time, however, Jamie's mind was active.
Professor
Xavier..?
As Omega Red stepped back a pace, he squinted
his eyes at his huge adversary; Juggernaut backed away as the clouds
of deadly spores wafted toward him.
"What's wrong, Russian?"
he growled. "Can't fight hand-to-hand?
"Nyet," Omega Red
snarled. "But I do not have time to waste with you. I will deliver
the Wolverine as quickly as I can. You are a mere
hindrance."
Juggernaut's eyes contracted with fury at the easy
dismissal. But he could do nothing; lacking a ranged attack, he
couldn't get close enough to the white-skinned Russian to do
anything.
"If you go near the Wolverine like that, Russian,
you'll kill him. Then you don't get anything."
"This is
only to deal with you, fool. When you are no longer a problem I will
take my prey back to-"
He glanced over his shoulder at where
he'd dropped Wolverine when Juggernaut had attacked from the
side.
And saw Jamie dragging the Canadian slowly out of
sight.
----
Jamie looked up just in time to see the
metallic whip come lashing toward him. Too late to get out of the
way.
It struck him full in the chest, knocking him back, flying
through the trees. Had he struck one, it would have likely shattered
his spine; as it was, he was fortunate. He simply landed hard on his
back on the ground, the wind leaving him with an 'oof'.
A
moment later, as his senses reasserted themselves, he looked around.
The tentacle had left him after sending him flying away; now it was
out of sight.
What was in sight, however, was a small tree; it had
been broken by his passage and now lay on the ground next to him. It
was slightly shorter than he was, and pointy at one end.
Well,
when fate opened a window…
Jamie snatched up the oversized
stick and ran back the way he'd come. He didn't have any clear
plan; the only real idea was that he needed to get Mr. Logan away
from the big guys. If he had a weapon, so much the
better.
Juggernaut was still fuming impotently as Omega Red
swatted away the irritating little kid. The moment the Russian's
back was turned, however, he moved. Snatching up a large rock from
nearby, he hucked it into Omega Red's back. The throw would have
put the rock through an average brick wall. In this case, it simply
caused Omega Red to stagger forward with a roar of pain. It also
distracted the Russian enough to stop the deadly spores from
spreading. A moment later, Juggernaut pounced on him.
Then he
stopped and gaped.
The kid was back. And he had some friends, it
seemed.
Roughly fifty of them. All armed with… big pointy
sticks?
What the hell?
Then three of them flicked their
makeshift spears at the grappling mutants. Two missed. The other
grazed Omega Red's thigh.
Juggernaut released the pale
Russian.
"Tell you what," he said, not taking his eyes from
the incredible sight before him. "We call it a truce until we deal
with whatever's going on here."
"Da. That may be a good
idea."
----
It was like the tide crashing on rocks. A
wave of multiples, roaring on the attack, charged at the massive
Bounty Hunters, waving their crude weapons. And there the tide
broke.
Up to half a dozen multiples at a time went flying with
each swing of Juggernaut's massive arms ? and he swung his arms
many, many times. It wasn't long before all the surrounding area
was littered with multiples, unconscious - or worse.
Not far away,
a cloud of venomous spores was barely visible in the air around Omega
Red. The multiples had learned they couldn't get close to him; over
a dozen who would no longer try lay on the ground around him. But the
Russian was by no means left alone. A hail of spears rained down on
him from every angle. Many were swatted away by the flailing metallic
lashes sprouting from his pale wrists.
Some were not.
Omega
Red was the first to fall. Pouring blood from dozens of wounds,
impaled all over his body, he finally keeled over under the
unrelenting hail of spikes.
The tendrils quivered, twitched, and
ceased to move.
The light in Omega Red's half-open eyes slowly
went out.
And the legions of Multiples focused their attacks
solely on Juggernaut.
They surged in, wave after wave, stabbing,
kicking, scratching. Every time, he shook the hordes off. Every time
they came back, they gained more ground.
It was only a matter of
time before the inevitable happened.
With a final cry, Juggernaut
fell. The last visible part of him, a single bloody hand grasping
vainly at the air, broke free under the pile. Then, slowly, it went
under.
And the seething masses of Multiples stopped.
A
single Jamie stepped out from the trees and looked around. Closing
his eyes, he concentrated furiously.
The swarms of multiples,
standing and fallen, vanished with a blurring motion.
All that
remained were the bloody forms that had once belonged to Omega Red
and Juggernaut.
Jamie turned away and let them lie. He had to
catch up with the others.
----
Hank examined Logan
carefully on the operating table, then sighed with relief. "He's
merely unconscious. In a few hours he should awaken none the worse
for the experience."
Charles nodded, then glanced at the small
young man at the foot of the bed. "Very well, but we still need to
deal with those who were attacking Logan, as Jamie reported…"
The
multiple paused for a second; at that moment, the door opened. A
second multiple entered the room, crossed to his double.
They
merged.
The sole remaining Jamie smiled and shook his head. "No,
I don't think you need to worry about them."