Hello, everyone! Welcome to another chapter!
Logan's Wolverettes: Once again, my faithful readers have done me proud! Many thanks to bluedragon1836, The Scratch Man, Sniktchick, nileena, Sarra Ambrai, Laudine, FrozenVoices, 12kirby12, wolverina32 and a big 'Hello' to daddygirl!
So, without further ado, it's time to enter the mist and see what evils lie within ... ! Onward!
ooXoo
12. What Lurks Within
Nikki screamed, ducking instinctively as the creature sprang for her throat, its teeth bared and dripping saliva. Thanks to her quick thinking, it missed its target completely and landed behind her, growling at the affront and scrabbling at the ground with its thick claws in its haste to come about and try again. Recovering quickly, the muscles in its powerful hindquarters bunched as it prepared to leap once more. But with the element of surprise gone, it found the X-Men closing ranks in front of its intended prey and it bared its teeth at Jubilee, hissing malevolently. Singling the girl out as the smallest target and therefore the least likely to be able to defend itself, it sprang once more.
A spread of fireworks arrested its forward motion, knocking it back and straight into the lethal upward sweep of Gambit's staff. There was a sharp crack as its skull connected fatally with the adamantium weapon wielded by the Cajun, the impact sending it careening towards his feral team-mate, where the creature met a final and rather gory end on Wolverine's claws.
Kristi's mother retched as the two halves of the creature writhed on the ground in violent death throes.
"What the hell is that?" Nikki poked at the creature's hindquarters with the toe of her sneaker and was duly pulled away by her father. "Is it a rat? An ape? It looks like a cross between the two."
"Only bigger and with more teeth," added Jubilee, as Logan cleaned his claws with a handful of grass before allowing them to retract. Normally, the act of sheathing them cleaned off any blood and gore left on them, but he was unwilling to run the risk of the creature having a strange chemical – or even a disease – in its blood that could be inadvertently carried into his body. His healing factor would no doubt be able to cope with any possible infection, but a serious virus could affect his ability to fight at 100% efficiency and that simply wasn't an option right now.
Logan tossed the bloodied clump of grass to the ground with a snort. Gambit was on his knees at the head end of the creature, studying its claws.
"Deathstrike spoke of creatures dat could strip flesh down to de bone," he remarked, sourly. "Dis must be one o' dem." He stood, retracting his staff down to its smaller length with a flick of his wrist. "Ugly critter, non?"
"Are there more of them out there?" David peered into the fog, fearfully, hugging his duffle.
Wolverine sniffed the air. "They're all around us. Probably holdin' back to see what we're gonna do." He shoved the body with his boot. "This one most likely felt brave enough to attack without the support of its fellows." He snorted. "Big mistake."
"We're going to die, aren't we?" Gordon Marsters put an arm around his green-faced wife and hugged her close. "Those creatures are coming to get us and we're all going to die here."
"No, yer not gonna die, fer Chrissakes." Wolverine tossed him a glare. "What yer gonna do is stay calm an' stop panicking yer family."
"I'm not panicked." Nikki crossed her arms defiantly and stared back at the feral. "I'm plenty scared, I'll admit that, but I'm not panicked. Your team will save us, right?" She fixed the feral with a look that suggested he'd better not fail them and then turned to her sister, hopefully. "Right?"
"De X-Men will try, petite. Dat is all we can promise." Gambit shouldered Gordon's food duffle and looked around at his fellows. "We better get movin', non?"
"I wonder if this fog goes all the way up?" Jubilee was gazing into the fog enshrouded sky, her expression thoughtful. "Maybe it thins out up there?"
"If it does, I might be able to spot a landmark or something to aim for," added Kristi. She turned to her mate, deferring to his judgement. "Logan?"
Her mate immediately shook his head. "No, Kris, yer not flyin' up there. Or anywhere else, fer that matter. There's no tellin' what flyin' critters could be lurkin' up there an' if ya get into trouble none of us can come an' get ya out. No, what we're gonna do is stick together an' put up a united front an' maybe those creatures out there will think twice about tryin' ta take us fer a tasty snack. I don't want anyone going off half-cocked. Y'hear me, kid?" He glowered at Nikki and she poked her tongue out at him. The feral dutifully ignored her. "I want the men to carry the bags." As he and Gambit had already shouldered two of the duffles he glanced to David, who nodded hesitantly. "I'll take point. Cajun, you take the rear. Jubilee, Wildstar, I want you in flankin' positions." Kristi nodded and Jubilee threw him a perky thumbs-up. "If anything comes at ya from your side, you sing out. Get it?" There were nods of affirmation all round and, while Gambit began forming everyone up with the civilians in the middle, he gestured Mr Marsters away from his family, walking him a little way out of earshot.
"There's something I want you to do fer me, okay?" Logan glanced back at the group to make sure they weren't being overheard, and Mr Marsters waited expectantly. He had seen what this man could do – had seen the claws that had separated the ape-thing's body so cleanly, like a hot knife through butter, and he knew he was a man not to be trifled with and that scared him. But he also knew that if he and his family were going to have any chance of surviving and returning home safe and well, he had to trust the man with the razor sharp claws and temper to match, no matter what it cost him. The feral and his X-Men were their only hope.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, as Wolverine turned back.
"I want you to watch over your family for me," Logan told him, frankly. "Me an' my team-mates will do everything in our power to keep you safe but, when push comes to shove, we may be too busy to give more'n a passing interest as to yer whereabouts. Ya gotta keep yer people together, Gordon. Keep 'em from under our feet in case they get hurt." It was the first time the feral had used the other's Christian name and he did it so that Kristi's father could see the importance of his words. "Don't let 'em wander, especially the kid. She's too damn nosy fer her own good, that one. An' if I give an order – any order – you obey it without question, y'hear? I won't have ya hesitating an' riskin' the life o' one o' my team."
"One of your team just happens to be my daughter, remember?" Gordon smiled to lessen the harshness of his words and stuck out his hand. "I understand what you need me to do. And I want to thank you for putting yourselves on the line to save us."
Logan eyed the hand but refused to take it. "Save it till we get home," he remarked, testily. "Come on, we gotta get movin'."
Mrs Marsters reached for her husband as he and the feral rejoined the group, her face still slightly green and her eyes wide and frightened. Making sure that his team were in position and the civilians were protected, Logan took the point and slowly and deliberately began to walk into the fog, leading the way to what he hoped was possible salvation and not certain death. Deathstrike had promised that none of them would survive – it was his fervent wish to disappoint her.
Walking into the fog was the single most unnerving thing he had done in a long time. He could see no more than four feet from his own face, yet every so often the impenetrable wall would thin, giving a less than reassuring glimpse of dark shapes moving in the near distance. He knew they were being paced by the creatures – his keen hearing could pick up the unmistakable sound of their furtive footsteps and excited squealing. They smelled rabid – they were hungry, but fear of the unknown had so far prompted them to keep their distance. Yet he knew it was only a matter of time before another brave soul took it upon itself to launch another attack and the whole pack would be galvanised into action.
As bad as it was for Wolverine, he knew it was infinitely worse for the civilians. They walked almost as though glued together, their faces set and their eyes constantly darting from left to right, fearing the unseen terrors of the fog. Even the normally stoic Nikki had been pressured into silence. She walked on Kristi's side of the formation, occasionally tossing furtive glances towards her sister, as if fearing she would suddenly abandon her family and fly away. Logan could sense his mate's concern for her family, but grim determination to keep them all safe over-rode it all and the feral allowed his shields to slip slightly, giving her access to his very essence and the calm assurance that he would allow no harm to come to them as long as there was breath in his body. The pulse of love and devotion he received in return told him she'd got the message.
The smooth grass underfoot – presumably what was left of the Marsters' lawn – gave way to open grassland, which eventually became strewn with rocks and hidden gullies. Logan was forced to slow his pace – thick undergrowth disguised the dangers hidden beneath and the last thing they needed was for someone to fall and break an ankle. Small scrubby bushes began to materialise out of the gloom and once he heard and smelled a small stream bubbling in the distance. He was tempted to head to it and allow everyone to rest for a while, but getting everyone to safety was a priority and, while they were still in the fog, no one was safe. Something – call it instinct or a hunch – was telling him that the fog would eventually dissipate as long as they kept moving and, although he had no idea why, he knew that once they were clear of the fog, that terrible feeling of evil that gnawed insistently at his mind would bother him no longer.
They layout of the land began to change around them, becoming steadily more verdant and, as a consequence, steadily more treacherous. A thick patch of brambles, hidden by the fog, almost seemed to reach out for them as they passed, snagging Mrs Marsters' elegant trousers and almost tripping her to the ground. Logan was forced to halt as her husband and younger daughter immediately dropped to their knees and began tugging on the stems in an effort to free her from the barbs of the vicious plant and he peered anxiously into the shifting mist as the growls and yips of the following creatures took on a hopeful note.
"Come on, come on," he urged, looking back at the civilians.
"We're trying ….." Gordon barely glanced around as he struggled with the brambles entangling his wife's legs. "The blasted things keep springing back. It's like they've got a mind of their own ….."
"Dammit!" Logan cast a baleful glare into the fog and strode to Gordon's side, where he knelt and unsheathed a single claw. Slowly, so as not to alarm the man's already skittish wife, he cut away the brambles, clearing them back so that Gordon and Nikki could pull them away from the woman's legs. The barbs were sharp and dug deep and their fingers ran with blood as they worked.
A low whistle from Gambit abruptly attracted the feral's attention. "Hate to say dis, but we got movement here, boss."
"And here!" Jubilee summoned a couple of fireworks and held them ready as the shapes in the fog grew more distinct.
Logan swore colourfully and slowly got to his feet, pulling back until he was covering the civilians. He had been afraid of this – the creatures had been shadowing their prey in the hopes of taking them unawares. Now, with Mrs Marsters hung up on the brambles, they had sensed a potential weakness in their prey and were massing to attack.
The feral spat on the grass as if marking his territory. "Hold your ground," he told the civilians. "Keep tight an' whatever you do, keep outta the way o' my claws. The rest o' you, spread out but hold your positions." He raised his voice for the benefit of the other X-Men. "You're our first line o' defence. If they get through you, they'll have to deal with me."
"Oh my god ….." Mrs Marsters clutched at her son's arm in terror, as the howling of the creatures grew louder and steadily more insistent. "Please ….. save us ….."
"That's the plan, lady." Logan unsheathed his remaining five claws with a flick of his wrists, holding them calmly at his sides. He knew the X-Men were vastly out-numbered and hampered by having the civilians to protect, but he allowed a feral grin to lighten his features.
These were exactly Logan's kind of odds.
The calm before the storm was abruptly shattered by Gambit unleashing a brace of glowing playing cards from his side of the formation. "Heads up, mon ami! Here dey come!" The cards exploded among the creatures' leading ranks, wrecking havoc on their number. They howled and hissed at the bodies, before taking courage at their prey's apparent vulnerability and charging once more. With practised ease, the Cajun kept them back, sending his explosive missiles to harass and confuse the leaders with deadly accuracy. Bit by bit, his body count increased.
As the creatures on all sides of the little group attacked – goaded into action by either their hunger or their thirst for bloodshed – Wildstar and Jubilee were forced into the fray. Wildstar powered up in an explosion of golden light, causing her father to gasp in awestruck amazement. As she began to rain deadly destruction onto the creatures rushing towards her, he turned to his wife, clutching at her arm in his urgency.
"Look at her, Linda. Just look! That's our daughter! She ….. she's magnificent!"
Logan turned, the light of pride shining in his blue eyes. "You'd better believe it. She's an X-Man, Bub. Don't you forget it."
It didn't seem likely that her family would have the chance to forget, as Wildstar and her team-mates treated them to a display of power the likes of which they had never seen before. Overwhelmed by the screech of Gambit's kinetically charged missiles coupled with the crack of fireworks and the explosive force of Kristi's starbolts, Mrs Marsters sank to her knees among the brambles, pressing her hands to her ears. Nikki stood beside her with a hand on her mother's shoulder, lending her support even as she gaped at the battle raging around her in fascination. To hear about the X-men in action was one thing – to actually see them in action was quite another.
As impressive as the first line of defence's firepower was, sheer weight of numbers meant that the creatures began to slip through. And now Wolverine went into action, his claws flashing as they dealt out swift and bloody justice. Like a man possessed, he flowed from one kill to the other, allowing his feral side to guide his movements, knowing they were just one step away from being over-run.
A flash of movement to his left caught his eye just seconds before one of the creatures leapt for his throat. He whipped his claws up to defend, but they never had the chance to meet their intended target, as the creature was felled by a stone that hit it right between the eyes. Wolverine pinned it to the ground with fifty-four inches of adamantium death before spinning around to see Nikki lob another stone at a creature that was trying to creep up on Jubilee's unprotected back. He swore under his breath before springing for another of the ape-things as it tried to slip in on his blind side. The girl had absolutely no idea of how to lay low and obey orders but, all the same, he appreciated the assist.
The outer line of defenders was gradually forced inwards by sheer weight of numbers. With no room to throw missiles, Gambit had no choice but to utilise his staff, swinging left and right, cracking skulls and limbs alike with deadly precision. Wolverine found himself fighting back to back with Jubilee, who's fireworks were useless at close range – they could injure friend as well as foe if misplaced. Wildstar had taken to the air, where she could still rain down golden destruction on the creatures below, but her vantage point gave her a sickening view – her team-mates were about to be engulfed by a tidal wave of teeth and claw and more of the creatures were pouring out of the fog every second, summoned by the promise of victory and a tasty meal.
Wolverine saw their imminent defeat in the eyes of the creatures surrounding him and Jubilee and knew they only had one chance to live. Allowing his shields to drop, he sought his mate and reached out with the essence of his feral nature ….
"Wildstar! Link with me! Now!"
Kristi wheeled in the air, feeling her mate establish their link even as he yelled to her. The feral's wild nature surged into her mind, but their connection tempered and controlled it, allowing him to retain his humanity while still maintaining the best of his animal instincts and natural ferocity. Apart, they were powerful X-Men in their own right. Linked, they were nature personified.
They were unstoppable …..
Together, they were known – despite all Wolverine's best efforts to put a stop to it – as Wolvestar.
Jubilee punched the air dramatically as Kristi adjusted her altitude and returned to the ground. The firecracker knew what was to come and her eyes were shining in obvious excitement and expectation. Gambit had now pulled back to cover her family at close quarters along with Logan and Jubilee, their assault never faltering even as Kristi landed beside them.
She spread her arms dramatically, already gathering her power within herself. "Keep everyone back," she demanded, her voice betraying the roughness of the feral influence within her. "This isn't going to be pretty."
Her power sang within her, demanding release, but Kristi let it build as long as she dared before releasing it in her blistering signature starwave. It radiated outwards in an ever increasing circle, flooring everything in its path. Yet despite all the limbs it broke and the heads it knocked senseless, not a single creature was killed. Kristi Marsters – also known as Wildstar of the X-Men – was many things, but she was not a killer.
Her starwave spent, she powered down, panting a little at the exertion. The stunned silence coming from her family behind her was broken by a startled exclamation from her father.
"My god! What the hell was that?"
"Explanations later." Wolverine yanked Mrs Marsters to her feet and pushed her towards her husband. "Get going. Those creatures won't stay down forever – we gotta get to safe ground."
"But what about …..?" David broke off, staring at his sister, helplessly, but Wolverine was already goading them into motion.
"I said, get going! Move! Now!"
Galvanised by the undisguised urgency in the feral's voice, Gordon took his wife's arm and fled, leading her through the bodies, stumbling blindly into the fog. The X-Men and the rest of his family followed closely behind, desperate to reach some form of safety before the creatures regained control of their faculties. Already, those on the outer edge of Kristi's starwave were beginning to stir and they snapped at the X-Men's legs as they ran past, seeking to bring them down. A few well-placed fireworks from Jubilee kept most of them at bay, and Gambit dealt with the ones who were not so easily persuaded, the business end of his staff teaching them the error of their ways.
With his long legs, the Cajun easily outpaced the rest of the group, taking the point to be on hand should anything nasty be lurking ahead. He was prepared for whatever the fog might throw at him, but what he encountered stunned him into shocked immobility.
"What de hell …..?"
He rocked forward as Gordon slammed into his back, unable to stop himself in time. Gambit put out a hand to steady the other man as, one by one, the others joined them, their faces registering surprise and confusion at what they saw …..
The fog lay behind them, ending abruptly almost as though cut by a knife, its leading edge stretching away to left and right like a supernatural wall. Before them, rolling grassland dipped down into a picture postcard valley, at the bottom of which wound a blue river, glittering in the sunshine. In the distance, a range of snow-capped mountains reached up to the cloudless sky, rising majestically from a forest of verdant pine trees. The air was pure and clean and carried the scent of wildflowers.
It was a complete contrast to the evil miasma of the fog.
David dropped his duffle on the ground, his eyes following a flotilla of blue-winged butterflies as they chased each other across the grass. "But what ….? Where ….. ?" He shook himself, visibly. "God-dammit, where are we?"
"You really expectin' an answer to dat question, mon ami?"
"Are we home?" asked Nikki, hopefully.
Kristi shook her head. "I don't think so."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because our world doesn't have two moons." Kristi pointed up and along the length of the valley and everyone followed her finger to see the two unfamiliar satellites low in the sky. There was a chorus of startled exclamations and Nikki rolled her eyes. "Well, duh," she snorted. "It's so obvious when you point it out."
With everyone's attention focused on the moons, only Jubilee spotted the figure strolling up the valley towards them, as she paused to adjust her sunglasses. She raised them just to make sure she wasn't seeing things, and then elbowed her partner sharply in the ribs.
"Wolvie! Look!"
Still feral and linked with Kristi, Wolverine didn't try to stop the growl that rose in his chest as he stepped forward to intercept the newcomer. Behind him, his team-mates closed ranks to cover Kristi's family, although they wisely chose not to display any evidence of their mutant abilities. The girl walking calmly towards them with a serene smile on her face, as though welcoming long lost friends home to stay, didn't look the slightest bit threatening, but the X-Men had seen a lot of strange things in their hectic and often violent past and they couldn't rule out the possibility that the girl was evil in disguise.
Logan cocked his head to the side as the girl drew nearer, studying her intently. She was young – about twenty – with a slim build and a shock of red hair which tumbled around her shoulders in soft curls. Starkly at odds with her surroundings, she wore a flowing white gown from some by-gone age, which swished through the grass as she walked and she was carrying a red rose.
Try as he might, Logan couldn't shake the bizarre feeling that he knew her in some way, yet his memory held no recollections of her.
She twirled the flower's stem between her fingers as she stopped just feet away, her face breaking into a bright smile.
"Hello, Logan," she said, in a voice like honeyed silk. She held out her hand to the startled feral. "I've been waiting for you ….."
NEXT: Who is the girl with red hair? Logan tries to find out …..