-3-
The Blackbird landed without incident; that alone would have sent Logan's hackles on edge. Any military installation should have asked for clearance codes, even a simple storage facility as Merrill pretended to be. The radio transmitted nothing but static.
At a hand gesture from Logan, Kitty phased through the floor of the Blackbird. She grinned cheekily as Scott frowned beneath his visor. She could not fathom why Scott did not trust her with taking point, or, for that matter, understand the tactical advantages of having her be the front person. Her intangibility pretty much guaranteed she would be safe from anything an opponent could wield against them, and, when she walked on air, not even Logan could hear her. Maybe he doubted her professionalism. Kitty gave an indignant snort and shook her head in consternation as she hung in the air; she was as hard and serious on missions as Scott or Logan, why did Scott remain so obtuse to that? Did he really believe her so inane and childish? Did he only see her as the valley girl whose highest priority was the latest fashion trend or the current episode of the Real World? She could be serious. She fought just as hard as the rest of the team when Magneto brought out the sentinel. She was the voice of reason when everyone else wanted to jump forward, or go off on their own. She was the one who… A leaf fell to the paved grounds and sent up a small cloud of dust. The sound reverberated through the air of the still military base and sent a chill up her spine. Kitty took a quick scan of the grounds. Fort Merrill stood in pristine condition, not a single crate or vehicle stood out of place, no blast marks or scorched earth, no outward signs of attack marred the stark military precision and cleanliness of the base. There was nothing to declare the presence of the Acolytes. Yet, the cleanliness and serenity that filled the small fortress gave a louder clarion call of the carnage they would surely find within its depths than any alarm or siren.
Kitty gulped and tapped three times on the hull of the plane before floating down to the ground. The ramp deployed moments later and Logan and Scott crept out in a tight formation, both ready to simultaneously attack and dodge should Kitty have missed a sniper.
"They dropped an EMP device before they attacked." Logan's tone remained clinical and detached in his analysis as he surveyed the fortress, searching for the tell-tale signs of an assault. This seemingly meant nothing to him, Kitty surmised from her vantage point perched atop a crate, he had probably faced such situations countless times before. After a while, she supposed, you got used to the blood and guts. "That's why we don't see any lights or hear the alarms." He sniffed the air and pointed east. "They went that way."
"Where are all the people?" Kitty's voice was not frightened; she was a professional superhero, serious and hard. She did not get frightened. She did, however, have a healthy respect for people who could take out an entire military base.
"They're around here, pum'kin." Logan snarled and sniffed the air again. "Creed likes to make a statement with his kills."
"What kind of statement?" Kitty grinned at the concern in Scott's voice.
"That kind," Logan stuck his thumb towards a small alleyway between two storage bunkers to their left. "Smell's strongest from there." He inched forward, as Scott moved two feet to the left to provide a clear shot ahead and Kitty slowed to about ten steps behind to guard the rear and allow Logan some room to fight. At the end of the alley, the three X-men found a tableau of horror. The bodies of several soldiers had been positioned in various scenes of depravity—some were splayed like insects on a board to the sides of buildings, others were tied to light posts, there opened chest cavities draining into the mouths of corpses positioned beneath them as they held their own entrails. Logan toed one of the bodies in the ribs. It made a soft squishy sound, indicating that the man did not have a solid bone left in his torso. "Creed likes to create these… spectacles. Calls them his masterpieces."
"I thought he believed in the feral nature of humanity." ' voice was harsh as he tried to avoid the reek from the bodies. "Like Lord of the Flies, or Call of the Wild."
"Naw, that's been done to him, same as me." Logan grinned at the boy. It was not a pleasant sight, as disturbing in its own way as the horror around them. "Before Weapon X got a hold of him… he was a serial killer. 'S probably why they grabbed him in the first place." He shrugged and prodded another body. This one crunched. "Try as they did to make us clean slates, some things stuck. This," he gestured to a soldier in full dissection display, "is one of the things that stuck."
Scott glared at Logan through his visor, concern and fear clenching his muscles into a fighting stance. "What stuck with you?"
"I'm not."
"Where did they go?" Kitty searched the shadows, hoping that her eyes could pierce the darkness filling the corners before a beast could pierce her. She tried to ignore the beast behind her.
"Probably through that hole in the wall." Logan smirked and stalked around the bodies like a predator. "By the way, Cyke, you should probably point your visor at it, in case something decides to get friendly with us."
"Shouldn't you cut them down?"
Logan looked at her and gave a noncommittal shrug. "You gotta problem with this kiddo?" She shook her head. "Good. 'Cause if you do, get it out now, yer gonna see worse'n this before wer're done." She squared her jaw and looked in him in the eye. "If you're gonna flake on us, then you're no good to us. You'll only get us hurt and yourself dead. You're weak, you die. Sabretooth won't give you a chance to think twice. From the state of those bodies, Colossus probably won't either."
"He did that?"
Logan nodded. "Sabretooth doesn't like to break bones. They make the meat taste gritty."
Kitty shuddered again and adjusted her view of the former commando. At first, he had seemed scary but kind. The kind of gruff uncle who stays quiet in the corner, but you know would be the first to stand up to protect you and your family. The kind of uncle everyone respects without really knowing why. Now, he seemed colder, crueler. This was Wolverine in action, the adult Wolverine, the one the kids at the mansion never saw. This was the Wolverine she saw glimpses of at Alkali Lake. Back then, she had thought that it was the control chip that made him the killer. Now, she was not so sure.
She shook her head and forced such thoughts from her mind. She needed to be focused, professional. She trained her eye to the exhibition surrounding her, willing her mind to ignore the horror. She needed to be analytical, freaking out would not make these men alive again, and Logan was right, it would only serve to make her weak and, thus, very much dead. She stepped around a body, phasing her feet to avoid a pool of blood. "He's toying with us, Wolverine. He knew we'd come and we'd bring you."
Logan grinned. "Go on." Scott moved to stop her but stopped as the shorter mutant gripped his shoulder. "No. She needs to do this." There was a hint of sadness in his voice that pushed against the detached wall encasing Kitty's mind. She shrugged the feeling aside, using the techniques Logan had taught
"The mountings on the wall… the X's... they're statements. Dares." She pointed to one whose middle three fingers had been stripped of flesh. "Claws?"
"Now, why do we care, Shadowcat?"
"Because it tells us what we need to know about Sabretooth and Colossus." Kitty choked back the bile that climbed her throat as her foot landed on something soft.
"A psychopath slaughtered these people. You can't find logic or reason in that." Logan's voice was calm and measured, his true meaning clouded beneath a blanket of snow and ice.
"I think she's on to something, Wolverine." Scott moved over towards the opening in the wall and peered in, then nodded when nothing launched itself out from the depths within.
Kitty turned away from the sickening tableau. "He took his time: see how everything's arranged? This was meant to disturb us to set us on edge. We know that he knows we're here, and he's trying to defeat us before it comes to a fight. We know that killing's an art to him, he takes pride in it. He wants us to know he's big, and bad, and scary. He wants to play with our heads as much as he wants to play with our insides. It's how he works."
"Who cares? He butchered these people and that's all I need to know. He's here to get something for Magneto." Logan snarled in rage, the cool snow melting beneath the fires of hatred. "We need to make sure he doesn't get it, not worry about the questionable motives of a deranged killer. It's sick and depraved and we're here to stop them."
"How can you say that? We're gaining information about…"
"What new information? It's Sabretooth. He's psychotic. He likes to kill things. What more do we need to know?" he cast his arm back towards the grisly display behind them. "Take a good look if you think we'll learn anything new. Look hard. Look at the soldiers' faces. Look in their eyes and tell me what you know." Kitty's own eyes widened and she started to shake in horror. "The only thing I need to know is that he did this. He'll keep on doing this until we stop him."
Scott put a hand on Logan's shoulder, silencing his tirade. "That's enough. She's got a point, man. We can all learn from this. Maybe you already know this, but we don't. We need to learn about those two. You've fought Sabretooth a thousand times, we haven't. So, what have we learned?" He put his fists on his hips and glared at the two mutants—one older and appeared ready to kill, the other younger and hanging her head abashedly. "Sabretooth's flashy when he fights. You can see that from the cuts." He pointed his finger at Kitty. "But, this is not CSI, Shadowcat. You can analyze this all later. Right now, the crime is still going on. If we don't hurry, this will happen to us." He glared at both of the mutants. "Understood? Good."
They regrouped and entered the building. The hall inside was a scene ripped from a nightmare. The devastation outside was like looking in the mind of a madman: crazed, yet oddly logical, betokening a patience and dedication that seemed as much an act of love as an act of horror. There was no artistry in what lay inside, no careful consideration of insane nuance or planning. Blind, unthinking rage caused this destruction. Blood and gore painted every surface and body parts were embedding into the walls and ceilings.
"That way." Adamantium claws pointed down into the interior of the building.
"Down into the deep darky dark darkness of shadowy hallway completely devoid of light?" Kitty was scared. She wanted to turn around and run out of that building and back into the plane and vomit. A lot.
Logan looked at her sharply. "You gonna be OK kiddo?"
"Yes..." Her face blanched and she pressed a hand tight to her mouth. "No." She phased through the wall and sound of her violent reaction to the hallway carried through the hole and a little down the hallway before the wet masses stopped it. A few moments later, Kitty reemerged looking and feeling slightly green.
"Now that that's taken care of let's move out."
The trio descended into the bowels of Fort Merrill, and Kitty gulped again wishing that, for once, she had listened to Scott and let Kurt go on this mission instead.