DISCLAIMER: I have no ownership of any Marvel characters herein (although it is fun to use them in fan fiction)! The OC is not up for sharing but he is a great character to work with (HEHE). Enjoy!
Chapter 3
Jake remembered it all in a moment, and let the anger and injustice of it all fuel his desire to protect those under the city. He moved gracefully into the fray and realized immediately that these interlopers were playing for keeps. There was a fuzzy, blue guy being pummeled by some really fast guy. There was a metal-looking guy being hit with some flying weapons. The sight that truly fed his anger were all the dead Morlocks, adults and children alike, lying like forgotten toys all around the tunnel.
He waded in and targeted the fastest one to remove from the fight first. Growling low in his throat, his onyx eyes narrowed, he grabbed the mutant as the man went after the blue guy again. "NO!" he roared. "NO MORE KILLING IN MY TUNNELS!"
A feral gaze locked on to him from further down the tunnel. The owner of that gazed shook his head as he tossed another one of Sinister's lackeys. He muttered, "So, this is where that guy went. Wouldn't Fury like to know that?" Amused by spotting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted he turned to find someone else to pummel.
"Callisto! Where are you?" Jake called after planting his foe into a nearby wall. He was glaring at the blue fellow who seemed about to collapse. Shrugging he turned away and scanned the writhing mass for his acquaintance'.
"I'm over here! Damn," he heard her reply over the yells, snarls, cries, and moans in the tunnel. "Fight them! Stop the Marauders!"
The fighting was fierce between the Morlocks and their foes until he waded in. The attackers, identified to him as the Marauders by Callisto's call, did not expect something like him and the Morlocks fell back to give him room to work. The Marauders tried to fight him but he seemed impervious to every attack, mutant power, or weapon. While he took damage from various Marauders, he didn't even slow down on his attacks.
"Jake! I hurt!" cried Marrow, one of the children he called his to protect. He constantly found her wandering the outer tunnels and had befriended her a few weeks before. He began to move towards her, ignoring the fight to help his little friend.
"I will cover the child, mon ami, you deal with them!" yelled a man Jake had never seen before. The man knelt and wrapped Marrow in his arms, his eyes glowing a fierce red. The staff in his hand was ready to strike if need be.
The Marauders were decimated by his rage and by his need to protect his 'family'. None of them could predict his movements as he moved without forethought, nor could they follow him through the brutal fury and efficiency of his attack. Not one of them was left standing when he finished, but none of them were entirely dead either. His attack done, his point proved, he rushed to the child.
"Marrow, are you alright?"
"No! They made me bleed! Look!" squeaked the child in indignant tones.
There was a cut on her arm, nothing very serious unless you were her. Jake smiled softly at the girl, "Let's go see Masque and get you fixed up."
"Ok!" she chirped. Hugging Jake to her she glowed with innocence and adoration.
"Are you injured?" Jake asked the stranger as he stood with Marrow wrapped about his neck.
"Nah, I'm fine, mon ami. They forgot about me when you came into the fight. Most impressive display of mean I have seen since the last time Wolverine went berserk on the six 'o clock news. By the way, I am Gambit, but my friends, they call me Remy."
"Welcome, Remy. I must fortify this area and attend to the wounded. Please, excuse me."
"Wait! Please, let me thank you and introduce you to the others who came to fight for us," Callisto said from a few feet away as Jake seemed to be preparing to leave. Jake was stepping away from Masque after being assured that Marrow would be alright.
He looked over and saw her with a group of individuals that made him curious. One was a short, furry male with an air of rage and a cigar, there were two beautiful females staring at him, the blue fellow, and the metal-looking guy. The latter two were laid out on pallets and didn't look all that well. As a matter of fact, the entire group looked worse for wear.
He strode over, towering above most of them and eyed them calmly. "Greetings. Is there anything I can do to assist you?"
The short male snorted and grimaced, "Nah, we're fine, bub."
"It does not appear that way to me. All of you are wounded in various ways, two of your friends are not even conscious, and you are in a place that I protect. Please, don't be so stubborn as to refuse my assistance," Jake stated quietly.
His eyes swung to the woman who was almost as tall as him when she laughed. It was a throaty and real laugh. "You'll have to forgive Wolverine, he's not really people friendly. I am Storm, leader of this group. We are part of the X-Men, a group that believes mutants and humans can share this world." Her voice was low, throaty, and mildly accented.
"Hello, Storm. Are you well enough to leave or do you need accommodations to recuperate in? I can help you care for your friends if that is needed," Jake replied in a soft voice.
The other woman chuckled, "Well, you're a blunt one, aren't ya, darlin'? I'm Rogue, the little blue fella is Nightcrawler, and the big silver fella is Colossus," she said in a deep southern drawl. "Wait! Where in tarnation is Kitty?"
The X-Men had found their missing friend and left the tunnels. Jake helped the Morlocks inter their fallen and care for the wounded. Callisto's large friend Sunder stayed with him during it all. "What is bothering you, friend? I know you don't speak much but you've been silent now for hours."
"Sorry," Sunder rumbled. "I have been thinking about what happened and deciding whether to stay here or leave. I think I will need more thinking time."
Jake nodded thoughtfully, "I understand your feelings. I am here if you feel that you can't talk to Callisto about all of this."
Sunder nodded his thanks and they moved to the next body. They were placing the fallen of the Morlocks into a nearby tunnel until they could dispose of them properly. Jake had already promised to find a way to deal with that problem, and to stay close to the Morlocks from now on. In any case, he needed a secure and stable site to recharge from time to time.
As they carried their injured friends out of the tunnels, Wolverine sighed heavily. Storm turned her head slightly and looked at her old friend, "What is it, Wolverine?"
"That big guy that helped end the fight. He's wanted by S.H.I.E.L.D., Stormy. Should we rat him out or not?" Wolverine asked. He was disturbed by the fact that the guy was wanted and by the scent from the Morlocks friend. He had never smelled that kind of scent before.
"Hmm, I think we should wait until we talk to the Professor. He may have more insight into this than we do. For now, Wolverine, let us focus on our friends."
"Why does S.H.I.E.L.D. want him? He helped those Morlocks! I believe that those S.H.I.E.L.D. guys are probably confused about him and have him mixed up with some other fella," Rogue drawled, letting the matter drop.
Wolverine shrugged and moved on. He knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. was supposed to be the good guys but, if they were, what did that make the big guy?
Once again, time passed, people came and went, friends were made both in the tunnels and up in the world. Jake Ceries was content with his life, which he had spent the last two years building and allowing himself to be emotional again, yet he yearned to hear that Tony had finally succeeded and that he could go home. Some of his friends brought him news from time to time of the Avengers, just Iron Man, or of S.H.I.E.L.D.
One of the friends Jake had made from the world above was Spider-Man. He had never tried to learn the hideout of the hero, but he had been the one to get him medical treatment from time to time, sometimes helping Spider-Man defeat his foe. Through Spider-Man he had met Dr. Steven Strange and learned of real magic, and that this magic took many forms. Jake was wary of Dr. Strange, he felt that he was not quite safe around the mysterious Dr. Strange although the doctor had never once threatened him.
One morning, during a charging cycle, Strange called to him from the hallway. Jake was not surprised to hear his voice but the female voice shocked him into movement. Swiftly, he disconnected the charger cables and redressed. In moments he was gazing down at the face of Natasha Romanoff. "Hello! Hi! What's new? Can I go home? Did Pop fix everything? You look great! I miss everyone so much!"
She smiled at the child-like greeting. "Hello, Jake. I am afraid I have bad news…" Natasha began.
"Is everyone alright?" Jake snapped, fearing that her news was of the loss of a friend. He was tensed for flight if she let him know that they had found him.
"No one is injured; this is about you, Jake. The Colonel and Dr. Pym have moved you to top of their most wanted list. The efforts to locate and capture you are being doubled, thanks in part to the emergence of more villains. The world is getting pretty nasty, and Tony wants you safe and not involved. He is terrified that the Colonel will find you and use you."
"I will kill him if he tries, Natasha." The statement was sincere and fierce. "My time down here has taught me more than you realize, including some weapons technologies and fighting styles that Father probably would not approve of. I have modified this chassis to include some weapons and to move more smoothly in combat. I will not be used by those idiots, Natasha. I'm a person and those protein chauvinists can go to Hell!"
"Oh, Jake, I am so sorry that this has gotten so out of hand! You have worked on your endoskeleton, alone? When did you learn to do that? What kind of weapons have you introduced?" Natasha was intrigued by the changes she perceived in Jake. She was more curious as to how Jake had modified himself.
"I have some onboard projectile weapons and some energy based weapons. I know that, in a way, I am doing to myself what Pym and Fury want but I have to protect myself and my friends. Am I doing the right thing, Natasha? I read every book in the New York Library, although some of them bored me. At least, in the library, everything is labeled so I couldn't mix up fiction and nonfiction. I don't want to run again, Natasha. My friends need me and I will be alone again."
This is the end of Chapter 3 and of this short story. Thanks for reading and commenting. The author appreciates the constructive criticism from those that gave me honest feedback.