Changes Chapter 35
The corridor was dark. Too dark for them, but not for him. The tensed breaths of the soldiers echoed through it, making their way right towards the sensitive ears of their target. With weapons in their hands ready to strike if necessary they made their way through it. Back on back they gave each other cover, knowing that only one inattentive moment would be enough to end their lives. They were well trained, maybe too well trained for him, but he knew how they worked, knew all their tricks. He heard their strong heartbeats and could tell that they were scared. Apparently, his reputation had a far wider range than he thought…
He hid himself in the shadows; his dark eyes fixed on them, noticing every movement the six men strong group made… He didn't want to kill them…but he would if he had too. His aim was to get out of here quickly and without any dead bodies on his list. He wanted to get back home, he was too freaking long gone.
Suddenly, a light shot up, shining right into Logan's face. "There!" one of the soldiers bellowed and immediately opened fire. Fast as he was, the mutant jumped and grabbed one of the wet pipes and pulled himself up, while bullets hit it merciless. He growled angrily and looked down at them. The soldiers took position, watching each back of the other. Logan sniffed. They'd chased him down to the basement. He was not only stupid enough to get caught by destroying all data they had extracted out of him, no, he was also foolish enough to get trapped down here. Cursing, he moved closer to the wall, while the bullets cut his flesh. Gritting his teeth he looked around, ignoring the shouts of the soldiers, who were know trying another strategy. Logan wondered if they planned to use any kind of gas on him. Cautiously he moved sideways along the cold and wet wall. His eyes kept on looking around. There had to be a way out of here… Suddenly, his eyes stopped. This could be it! Looking down again, he made sure the soldiers weren't about to use any hard weapons on him so soon. Gritting his teeth once more, Logan jumped onto the pipe again, using his claws to steady himself, before he started to run.
"Quickly! Get him!" the leader of the group shouted while he kept on firing at the mutant above them. Logan felt three bullets hitting his back and tumbled briefly. Burying one claw into the pipe he kept himself from falling, until parts of it exploded.
"Shit!" he cursed as he fell down to the ground, not able to grab the pipe again. Trying to catch his fall, he failed and landed hard on his shoulder. Groaning, Logan stumbled while getting up. Ignoring the pain and the blood, he ran down the corridor, following the smell of water. He heard the bullets crashing into the walls right next to him. Some even stroked his hair and ears, while the soldiers kept on yelling for him to stop. He wouldn't do them the favor. Not today.
Breathing heavily by now, Logan reached the end of the corridor. Following his instincts he turned left without even stopping. His ears, despite the open fire, heard everything around him and he knew he was close. There had to be a sewer very close. All of a sudden, he landed on the ground, knowing that he had been hit. He tried to get up, but couldn't first. Logan looked down on himself. His beloved leather jacket had more holes in it than any moths could ever make, his jeans were drenched with blood and his healing factor was overworking again. Growling, he watched the soldiers coming closer, weapons pointing at his chest and head. He knew a bullet to his head would knock him out for at least a few minutes. Logan narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. While turning around, he used his hands to get up from the ground and began to run down the corridor again. He turned around another corner. Suddenly he stopped. It was a dead end. "Damn!" he cursed and turned his head quickly, just to see the soldiers coming around the corner, too. That's it…
"Surrender mutant!" the leader shouted and pointed his weapon right to Logan's heart. "Or we open fire."
Logan snorted and cocked an eyebrow. "Didn't you do it the whole time through, pal?"
"Shut up, mutie and surrender!"
He looked two and fro between them. They were heavy armed and also their body armor looked pretty thick. But he wouldn't be Wolverine, if he really cared. He knew the armor would feel like paper if his claws met them. Still, he didn't came to kill… "Look, pal. I'm not here to start a fight. So, piss off and leave me alone!" he growled and prepared himself for any attacks. He heard the click of the weapons and knew talking wouldn't do today. The soldiers slowly came closer while the red laser beams still pointed to his heart. As if that would change anything, Logan thought and started to growl threatening. He wouldn't be their new lab rat, not for God's sake. Snikt! "Last warning, bub!"
The soldiers didn't care that was obvious. Of course they knew his reputation, his assassin skills, and that he was the perfect killer. Still, they didn't care. They had their order and they would fulfill it. "Surrender or we kill you!" the leader shot back raising his weapon even higher, aiming at Logan's head now.
"Can you read, bub?" his opposite shot back pointing out his reputation again, while getting angrier with every second. He didn't move an inch; he didn't even blink. All Logan did was stare at them with an indefinable expression is his eyes. He would kill them for sure if they fired only once. He had a mission to fulfill as they had their orders and he would make sure that he was successful…
"Get down and surrender!" the leader yelled at him angrily and his finger twitched nervously on the trigger.
"Yeah, sure…" was all Logan said since he'd noticed it. "Wanna see ya try it!" He narrowed his eyes even more and knew they were changing instantly. Soon, he would be gone and when he woke up again he wouldn't be able to remember anything again. Only the blood on his hands would give him a hint of what he'd done… His eyes noticed the gas grenade, which one of the soldiers threw at him and still he didn't move. As it exploded the part of the corridor was soon covered in thick fog and made it impossible to see anything.
"Fire!" the leader ordered and hell broke loose. Bullets were shooting non-stop from their weapons and they kept on doing it until he gave a sign, telling them to stop. The fog was nearly gone. They narrowed their eyes, still holding their guns close and waited until it was gone completely. Suddenly, they gasped. They were staring at the opposite wall covered with holes the bullets left; some of them still smoking. But otherwise the corridor was empty. "Where's he gone?" one of them asked panicky and looked around. "He can't disappear…" Slowly, the moved closer together while they checked their surroundings. "Keep your eyes open!" the leader advised them and pointed his weapon to and fro the wall and the only exit. "He's still here…" Their hearts raced in their chest. Unable to breath regularly they felt the sweat running down behind their helmets. They were warned about this. They'd been warned that they had to keep their eyes on him. And now here they stood and felt his eyes looking at them. But they couldn't make out his position. They only knew they had to be careful and ready. "Watch out," the leader whispered and stepped back until he touched the back of a teammate. "…he's very dangerous. If he attacks us he'll kill us merciless. You've heard what the Professor said!" They heard a low growl echoing through the basement, making it impossible for them to determine where their enemy was. "He's close by. I bet on it!"
"Yeah, and where?" another soldier asked back sarcastically. "I don't want my blood to give the walls a new painting." Jerkily, they jumped as a loud primal cry followed. Some of them had to open their helmets because their heavy breaths made it impossible for them to see anything. Their heart rate was more than out of control as the cry made its way to their ears again. As loud as it was before, everything went deadly still right afterwards. The only hearable sound was the water in the sewer on the other side of the wall. Sweating and swallowing their eyes wandered around, searching, looking for the mutant they were ordered to capture. They didn't see the mighty shadow right above their heads, nor the sparkling eyes that eyed its prey, shining like cat's eyes in the darkness. He was watching them, noticing every move they made, and knowing that they didn't have a chance. He was ready; they were not. He couldn't be killed, they could. Even if they knew his file there was still one thing they didn't know: He was long gone. And the animal within him had made its decision long ago before the first bullet had hit him…
With the wrath of an angry God, Wolverine jumped off the wall, on which he had lain in wait. With a 180° turn he landed right in the middle of the group, claws extracted. Before the soldiers could even realize what was happening, two of them were dead, while the rest tried to evade the deadly attacks. Growling and slashing, Wolverine made his way through them. They jumped at him, tried to bring him down, but each time they thought they'd make it the animal buried its claws into them. He ripped their flesh apart, spilled their blood on the ground, while he himself ignored the wounds their knives and bullets left. Captured in his furious rage, he sunk deeper and deeper into his animal form until only one of them was barely standing. Heavily breathing and his eyes so dark that they weren't even partly human, Wolverine turned towards him. Scared to death, the young unarmed soldier moved backwards. His eyes fixed on the draining blood of the claws; he fell to the ground losing his helmet. Panting and with widened eyes he kept on moving away from the berserker. Wolverine came slowly closer, eyes fixed on the young soldier, who was merely more than a boy. A low but threatening growl escaped his throat. The boy reached the wall with his back. Knowing that he had nowhere to go anymore, the panic and fear grew even more within him. He was not only scared; he had never felt so miserable before. His eyes switched briefly towards his dead comrades. He swallowed hard as a strong desire to puke came over him, not only caused by his panting and sweating. He didn't want to die, he didn't want to feel how this monster buried his claws in him, how he was slowly, but brutally ripped apart… "Please…" he heard someone begging before he realized that it was himself. "Don't kill me…" Without the slightest reaction Wolverine loomed closer, growling like an angry wolf while his eyes glowed threatening. He didn't cared about the tears of the boy, ignored his pleas and gave him only a scornful look as the boy kneeled down in front of him and begged for his merci. For him it was only an enemy, a boy who had dared to get into his way. With another even lower growl, the animal raised his claws above his head.
"No, please!" the boy shrieked and covered his face.
A boy… All of a sudden, Wolverine froze. He blinked and looked at his opposite with a weird expression. His eyes showed that he was confused, but he couldn't tell why… Slowly, the boy looked up. A boy…it could be his boy… Confused, the soldier watched as the claws retracted. Frowning, he looked up. Two hazel, but still angry eyes looked back. "Piss off, boy!" Logan grunted.
"W…what!" his opposite asked in return, looking even more confused than before.
The man bent down. He fought against his patience, feeling that Wolverine was still not locked up into his cage. "I said piss…off!"
As quickly and fast as he could, the boy got up and ran away. Logan ran a hand through his face and waited. He made sure that the boy was really gone, before he turned his head towards the ground. His eyes saddened immediately and he snorted. He'd lost it again…
Hearing noises from further down the corridor he quickly began to look around. His eyes kept on searching until they finally found what he was looking for…
XXX
Bobby huffed and gave Jubilee a bored look. At least for three hours they had to listen to Scott's instructions in the meeting room. All he wanted was to do another Dangerroom instruction; one of those Logan always did with them. He saw no point in learning by listening to the guy in front of him. "Gosh, how long do we have to endure this?" He asked and Jubilee giggled.
"Better don't let him hear that!" She winked.
"Hey!" Scott's voice echoed louder through the room. "What's the matter?" He eyed Bobby and Jubilee suspiciously, waiting for an answer. "This is important. So stop talking and listen!"
"But why should we listen?" Bobby asked frustrated. "I'm not learning anything by listening only. I need to use my powers. Why don't we have Dangerroom instructions anymore?"
Scott snorted. "Ask your teacher who decided to head off to nowhere!" He was still angry with Logan, as most of the others were; especially Ororo who had to take care of his kids. Oh, he wished to see the scenery when Logan came back and ran into her first…
"He has a reason!" Jubilee protested and gave Scott any angry look.
"He has kids to take care of and responsibilities!" he shot back. "And as it seems he doesn't care!"
Jubilee jumped up, so did Kitty and Rogue. She hated it when they talked about him like that. "What the hell do you know?"
Scott slowly bent forward and put his hands on his desk. "What did you just say?" he asked her, giving her enough time to apologize. But he didn't know Jubilee as good as the others. They knew she wouldn't stop so soon. Not when it had to do with Logan.
"He does it for Jean. So what do you know!" she asked him again, even more angrily than before.
"Get out of my class!" Scott nearly shouted and pointed towards the door. "Apparently he did a great job in teaching you some respect."
Jubilee grabbed her backpack, knowing that the others would follow her. "Yeah, he did. I respect him!" With that she went out of the door and as she already had guessed before, Rogue, Kitty and Bobby followed her.
Scott watched them and shook his head. "What the hell did he teach you in this class?" he asked them angrily and made Bobby stop.
"Self-defense", he answered and folded his arms in front of his chest. The things Logan had taught them were far more useful than the non-stop lecture Scott gave them.
"Self-defense?" Scott smirked. "Sure that it was Logan and not a clone?" He doubted that Logan taught them self-defense… It was so completely not Logan-like. He loved to attack, was the best at it, as even Scott had to admit. But he couldn't believe that he taught them something he himself never used.
"Yeah, self-defense. Fighting without using our powers. He taught us to use objects in our surroundings in case that we had to defend ourselves inside a building in example." Self assured he looked into the face of his opposite. "Or didn't you know that he has a great knowledge of Asian fighting styles. I thought you lost against him?"
Scott narrowed his eyes. He bet it was Jubilee who told them. "I think we'll have a conversation with the Professor about this, don't you think?"
Bobby shrugged. "Good. Then I'll tell him that this here leads to nothing in case of an attack. What do you want us to do? Talk to Magneto until he gives up?" With one last look he followed his friends to the outside. He didn't care about the consequences. It was his opinion and he had enough of this talking lessons. Since Logan had left one week ago everyone was in more than a bad mood. He could understand him. He would have done the same for Rogue if he could and if he knew his child was in good hands. Of course it was typical for the grumpy mutant again that he took off without telling anyone, but Bobby thought he knew the reason.
Upstairs he followed his friends to the TV room. It didn't take long until they heard Storm shouting again.
"No, Hank! I have enough of it!" She yelled at the blue mutant in front of her while she cleaned the bottles in the kitchen. Angrily she put one bottle aside before she grabbed the next. Hank sighed, knowing that her bad mood wouldn't be over so soon. "Look, I asked you if I could help you."
"After one week I don't need any help!" she gave back even louder than before. "I'm sick of it. If he ever comes back I kill him, damn it."
"'Ro", he tried again and laid a hand on her shoulder, but she pulled away. "He is trying to help her. It wasn't okay to leave without leaving a note, fine, but think about Jean."
"And who thinks about me?" Storm shot back. "I'm the one who doesn't get sleep at night and who has to take care of two children because the father left."
Hank folded his arms in front of his chest and looked at her softly. "It's not because of your lack of sleep, is it?" he asked her more calmly and watched her. She supported herself against the counter and bent her head down, taking deep breaths to calm herself again. Frustrated, she ran a hand through her face. "You're worried. You scared that something has happened to him. Tell me if I'm wrong!" He heard her releasing a deep breath, before she took two new bottles with her.
"I'm tired, that's all!"
Frowning and with a worried look he watched her leave, knowing that there was far more behind her mask than she would ever admit…
XXX
Logan heard the shouts and machine-gun fire right behind him. He headed down the water in the sewer, trying to find a way out of the labyrinth. He cursed himself for being so soft on the boy before. Now even more soldiers were chasing him and they even had better weapons and dogs. The splashing of the water under his feet echoed through the sewer, telling them exactly where he was. Cursing, Logan stopped as the way forked. He had three directions to choose from. Panting and sweating in exhaustion, he sniffed. The only smell his nose got was the stink of the sewer. The splashing behind him became suddenly louder. Quickly, Logan turned around and saw two of the giant black dogs jumping at him. Their white teeth bared, ready to kill. Growling, he extracted one claw and killed one of them immediately, while the second got a firm grip on his arm. He nearly yelled as the teeth of the dog went even deeper into his flesh. Feeling the blood flow, he noticed the other two dogs coming closer and jumping at him too. Desperately trying to get the dog off his arm, he landed on the ground as the others buried their teeth in his leg and waist. Groaning and growling, while his eyes changed instantly, he managed to stab one dog. The loud howl that escaped the second animal as its blood was spilled on the ground helped the soldiers to find him. Cursing he smashed the next animal against the wall, feeling his skin being ripped off his waist, since the dog had a very firm grip on it. Three bullets hit him hard, causing him to fell down again. Logan panted heavily, feeling the exhaustion of the past week taking over. But he couldn't give up. He wouldn't. With an angry growl and without caring about the soldiers who already reached out to grab him, he jumped up and took the right way. His heart was racing and about to break his chest when he saw the exit far down the path. He already ran as fast as he could due to his several injuries. He knew his healing factor gave his power not to the healing anymore but to his body. Helping him to gather the last strength he'd left within him. Bullets were hitting his surroundings merciless. He heard explosions; their curses and their feet splashing on the ground as they were chasing him like an animal. Logan knew even if he got out of here, he was too far away from the point where he'd left his bike. He had to find another way back to the mansion. When he finally reached the ladder which lead to the surface, he jumped and grabbed it with his injured arms. "Stop him!" he heard them shouting, while he climbed up. His skin was ripped and injured again as more bullets hit him. If he got out of here, he'd surely suffer from a very bad headache the next day… Reaching the top of the ladder, Logan pushed the gully top away and felt fresh air stroking his face. He only had centimeters to go, as something hit him hard in the back. Falling down, he desperately clung to the ladder and pushed himself to his limits. Unable to feel as more things hit him, he finally reached the surface and stumbled to the ground. Logan shook his head panting, trying to get rid of the stars in front of his eyes. Confused he looked around. He couldn't even believe his luck as he recognized where he was. With the very last resources his body could offer him, he began to walk away as fast as he could…
XXX
Late in the evening, the X-Men were gathered in the kitchen for dinner. Bobby and his friends had just come back from a very frustrating meeting with the Professor. Of course Scott had immediately told him about his outburst during class and he had never seen the Professor so angry with him. Or should he rather say getting so angry with someone? Bobby sighed and kept his head low. He didn't want to look at Scott who sat at the head of the table right next to Storm and Hank. Still, the boy thought he was right. Surprised Bobby looked up when Rogue's hand touched his. Encouraging, she smiled at him, knowing what he was thinking about. He smiled back shortly, still feeling depressed. He'd never been the one to speak up if he didn't like anything. And the first time he did it in Scott's class he got punished… Still, he didn't care. He wondered if that was really Logan's doing. He remembered him telling him that his insecurities wouldn't help him during a battle or in real life. Either it was him or his enemy, his life or the other ones. He had to smile when he thought about how angry Logan had gotten after Bobby had been too insecure and afraid to state his opinion straight ahead because he had too much respect for the man. Suddenly, everyone looked up as Hank's plate fell sounding to the floor. Frowning, they looked at his shocked face, which was fixed on the door, before they, too, turned their heads: In the doorway stood Logan, heavily breathing in exhaustion and covered with blood. His clothes hang in shreds as if they'd been put into a shredder. "Jeez…" was all Hank was able to say, before he jumped up instinctively and caught Logan's fall. "God, boy, what happened to you?" He demanded, worried and frightened as he kneeled next to him. Curiously, he took the small objects from the man's hands, eyeing the liquid within it.
"Got it", was all Logan could say, before he finally gave in to the blackness, knowing that he had fulfilled his mission…
Well, that was Chapter 35. Hope you liked it. Please review and let me know. ; )
If things go as I planned them, the next two chapters will be much longer. This time two nasty cliffies for ya. ; ) Just one question, since I know not everyone likes it: I wrote a love scene (nope I won't tell with whom ; ) ) but it contains no explicit words. You will know what they do, but I'm not going into detail. So, if some of you don't like such scenes, I will put a warning at the beginning of the scene. So you can stop reading there and go on after it. Just let me know if someone of you doesn't like it. ; ) Otherwise, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know the last one was a bit lame. Chapter 37 will start with the action. ;) See ya!
