Again, prepare yourself for the cliffhanger.

So, I went to the ortho yesterday, and I've got two rubberbands pulling my lower jaw backwards. OW OW OW OW OW! I FREAKING HATE THE ORTHODONTIST! But he's so nice, and I feel bad that I hate him, but I still do.

Anyway, the title of this chapter is from 30 Seconds to Mars 'This is War'

Sadly, I don't own Marvel.

Chapter Twenty

We will fight to the death

We're outnumbered.

I notice that immediately as the battle starts.

We only have about 25 agents with us, plus Steve, Natasha, Faolan, and I. So 29.

29 of us up against a hundred or so bloodthirsty mutants.

Fantastic.

I pull the string on Nightlock and aim at the first mutant that charges at me. Instead of looking lion-ish like Cathal, he seems to be mixed with a tiger instead.

He pounces at me and I shoot. Quick as a bullet, the mutant's clawed hand plucks the arrow out of the air before it can penetrate his skin. My eyes widen as he tosses it aside and charges at me again. Thinking quick, I grab Nightlock by one end and bring it down hard on his head.

CRACK!

My hands vibrate on the impact which snaps his head to the side. Stumbling, he groans and shakes his head, one hand on his temple.

Before I can prepare to attack again, I feel claws whisk an inch away from my ear and see another mutant lashing out at me. She hisses, eyes narrowed, her tear-lines being far too long and reaching down to her mouth. Cheetah.

I dodge her lightning-fast strike and punch her hard in the stomach. She grunts and reels backwards. Then, I attempt to kick her side but she quickly dodges with the speed of a… cheetah.

Right.

As we start circling each other, I notice that she's more slim than the others. Her strength must come in her speed.

Suddenly, she lunges at me and I try to dodge, but she yanks me back by my hair. I yelp in pain and feel teeth clamp down near my neck, missing it by an inch. As I wriggle out of her grasp, I hear a familiar voice in my head growl, Why aren't you morphing?

Mentally groaning, I barely manage to dodge her next attack and snarl at the Wolf, Not yet.

What are you waiting for?

Ignoring it, I grab my bow again and try to hit her with it. She dodges, but then grabs the other end and yanks me towards her. Our faces are inches apart and she attempts to bite me. Jerking my head backwards so she misses, I seize my opportunity and clamp down hard on her nose, letting my wolf fangs grow in and sink into her flesh.

She yowls in pain and jumps away.

Using her moment of distraction, I whirl around and search for a new opponent. I see Faolan fighting Cathal, but he's too far away to help. Steve is holding his own against two mutants.

I can't see Natasha.

All around me, gunshots ring out from the agents. The mutants seem to be able to take a few bullets before going down, probably due to the super-soldier serum. We're not losing, as far as I can tell, but we're not winning either.

Suddenly, I hear a familiar voice cuss loudly and see Maria facing a huge panther/human mutant. She seems to have run out of bullets, franticly searching her pockets for more, while the mutant recovers from her last attack and looms over her.

Letting out a snarl of fury, I run towards them and leap onto his back. He jumps in surprise and I lock my arm around his neck, clinging on. Growling, the mutant reaches back to claw at me, but I dodge and bite his hand. He yowls and whirls around, bucking and jerking, trying to throw me off.

I let myself grow claws and dig them into him. Then with my other hand, I quickly grab the hidden knife in my quiver and yank it out. Raising it in the air, I then stab it into his shoulder with all my might. He screams and stumbles, making me slip down onto his back.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see Maria load more ammo into her gun and shoot at the mutant's leg. He collapses and I jump off, panting.

"Thanks." I nod to Maria, and then plunge into battle again.

Madison's POV

I wince at the sound of gunshots, screams, and yowls coming from the cave. Man, I hope Zoey is okay. At first, I felt her fear so strong that I nearly had a heartattack, but then it was replaced with determination and rage. So that's pretty good. I guess.

The agent beside me, Agent Nashwell, glances at me and says, "It's time to go in."

Taking a deep breath, I nod and follow her as she sneaks into the large fissure, three other agents following us. My heart thumps with excitement and nervousness as we stalk up to the entrance gate. Through the bars, I can see a mass of agents and mutants fighting, but also some good places and shadows to hide in.

Agent Nashwell helps me over the gate and I drop down in a crouch, creeping towards the safety of the shadows. They follow me once they clear the gate and together we sneak towards the Lab on the other side of the cavern.

As we prowl, I try to catch a glimpse of Zoey in the brawling crowd. I see Faolan fighting a large man-lion, but I can't find my step-sister. Reassuring myself that she's probably just busy kicking some cheetah butts, I focus on the task in hand.

We continue to sneak, quietly creeping along the walls of the cave. We're almost at the Lab when suddenly two figures crash into the wall in front of us. I instantly recognize them as an agent and a mutant. The mutant quickly bites the agent's collar/scruff and rams her head into the stone wall.

Letting out a yelp of shock, I subconsciously lock an arrow into The Jabberjay and shoot. The mutant drops to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his eye. I blink in surprise.

Whoa. I just killed it.

One of the Team A agents moves to help the injured agent, who seems to be unconscious.

"Leave her against the wall." Agent Nashwell says, moving on, "We've got a job to do."

The agent hesitates, but then abandons his colleague and follows us up to the fence of the Lab. It's tall, with barbed wire lining the rim. I frown. How're we gonna get over this?

Agent Nashwell turns to us and says, "We're going to have to go out in the open a bit to get to the door. Everybody have your guns at the-"

"Wait!" I exclaim, "I have an idea." Reaching back, I take out the hidden knife out of my quiver and walk towards the fence. Dropping to my knees, I start cutting at the metal wires. It's hard, but eventually I manage to cut a hole wide enough for me to bend the wires back and make it bigger. Then, I put the knife away and crawl through the gap.

Immediately, an awful stench reaches my nose and I gag. Standing up, I look for the source of the scent and notice another fence underneath a window. Behind it lies multiple dead bodies, some half rotten and others still whole. Mutants.

My eyes widen in horror and I barely notice the other agents crawling through the fence. It's not until I feel a hand on my shoulder is when I turn around, snapping back into reality.

Agent Nashwell points to the window above the fence and I wince.

"It's gross, I know." she says, "But we have to do it. Asher-," she looks at a man helping another agent stand, "-you go first."

Agent Asher nods and walks towards the window. Taking a running start, he leaps onto the fence and climbs to the top which is, thankfully, not barbed. Standing on the fence, he takes out some thingamabob and starts poking at the window. Soon, it clicks and he opens it.

After peeking his head in, Agent Asher calls, "All clear," before crawling in.

Nashwell looks at me expectantly and I sigh, taking a step back before sprinting towards the fence. Leaping into the air, I land heavily on the fence and cling on. I make my way to the top and climb through the window.

You know that weird medicine smell when you're at the doctor? And you can smell all the dirty metal that stupid kids cough, play, or fart on? If so, then imagine that times 100. Yep. That's what it smells like in here.

My nose wrinkles and I gag. Man, I can't believe Zoey spent five years here! I attempt to breathe through my mouth so I don't have to smell it, but that only makes me cough, tasting the sour tang of the doctor's office on my tongue.

"Ugh." I grunt, looking around. Agent Asher glances over his shoulder, "Shh! There might be people in here."

I frown but stay quiet. Behind me, Agent Nashwell, along with the other two agents, hop through the window, landing on the floor with a soft plop. The lead agent straightens up and says, "Alright. Madison, you and Agent Asher check in there-" she points to the closed door on the wall, "While the rest of us check there." With that said, Nashwell turns around and leads the way through a doorless opening on the opposite wall.

Asher quickly picks the lock on the door and it swings open, creaking eerily. As I step in, I feel my heart lurch and gasp.

Rows upon rows of filthy cages line the walls, filled with mutants. Most of them are asleep (I think) but others awaken at the creaking of the door. They start making odd noises and I hiss, "Shh! Be quiet, we'll get you out of here!"

Some of them obey and fall silent, but the rest don't seem to understand. They keep croaking, screeching, or cawing. I tense up, realizing that these mutants are probably less smart or strong, and the more successful ones were taken on the transport.

Behind me, Agent Asher mutters, "Go into the next room, I've got the ones here."

Nodding, I dash across the room and open the door at the end. Inside, I see the same filthy cages, but instead they contain wolf mutants.

Crouching down to the nearest one, I take out another knife and start fumbling with the lock. The mutant in the cage stares at me with wide eyes, and I notice her pure white fur and the… snow in her cage.

Ignoring the odd fact, I smile and say, "We're busting you guys out of here."

She continues staring at me with unblinking, icy-blue eyes and slowly moves closer. Then, to my surprise, she says, "You smell of Guitain. Are you with her?"

I gape in shock for a few moments, and then nod vigorously, "Yes. Yes, I'm her step-sister, Madison. Look, once we get you out, we're going to need your help with the Cat Traps outside. Can you fight?"

She nods, just as I manage to pick the lock. The cage door swings open and she steps out, stretching, and I notice the ground around her freezing.

"We are weak," she replies, "But we will fight. I am Esarosa."

With that, she turns and starts pawing at the lock on another mutant's cage. I kneel beside her and begin unlocking the other cages. As I do, Esarosa calls out something in wolf. She must've told them the plan, because they all wake up and start pawing at their cages.

Slowly but surely, I manage to free the mutants. A few stay and help get the others out, but most of them flee.

Turning to the smarter ones, I ask, "Can you guys free the others alone? I'm gonna go get the mutants in the other room."

They nod, and a particularly unique wolf mutant walks up to me. He's huge, with a thick brown pelt that hangs loosely on his thin, starved frame. But the most shocking thing about him are the bone-like spikes jutting out of his skin, along his spine, forehead, and his long, saber-like teeth.

I'm gonna take a wild guess that this guy is the leader here.

The mutant looks at me and rasps, "There are Cat Traps in here. You will not be safe. I shall accompany you."

I stare at him for a few moments, and then nod, "Alright, let's go." Climbing to my feet, I lead the way towards the door.

As we walk, the mutant adds, "My name is Kaiser."

"Madison." I reply shortly, using my knife to pick the lock. I unlock it and then slowly open it. There's nobody in here. No mutants, no nothing, except for empty cages. These mutants must've been taken on the transport.

Glancing around, I search for another door and then open it. It's unlocked.

I'm about to step in when suddenly something smacks into my face and sends me flying backwards. I cry out in pain as I land on my back, pain jarring through me.

Looking up, I see two Cat Traps looming over me. Kaiser snarls and leaps onto one of them. The Cat Trap hisses and attempts to bat him away, but the wolf mutant drags him down and they start brawling.

Glancing away from them, I stare up at the other Cat Trap, scrambling to sit up. My heartbeat quickens as he grins ferally down at me, holding a syringe in one hand.

He looks different from the other Cat Traps. His face is red and skull-like, as well as his hands and tail. He has tiger stripes all over his body, which are a darker shade of red.

I feel fear spark in my chest and he asks, his voice rough, "Are you Madison Colt?"

My eyes widen, which he takes as a yes. His grin deepens and he raises the syringe, "Good. I have a job to do, and it involves you. So be a good girl and hold still."

I yelp in panic as he lunges towards me. Thinking quick, I roll away and he stumbles into the cabinet behind me. Scrambling to my feet, I mentally scream, Zoey! Zoey help!

Zoey's POV

"Ow, ow, ow!" I cry out in pain, hopping on one foot, clutching the other. The stupid leopard Cat Trap I'm facing right now just dodged my attack, making me accidently kick the stone wall of the fissure.

Forcing my foot to take part of my weight, I stand up straight and dodge a strike from the Cat Trap. Grabbing her outstretched arm, I yank her forward and slam my fist into her face. She grunts and stumbles backwards. Seizing my opportunity, I send a reeling kick to her head that knocks her out.

Before I can do anything else, I feel strong arms wrap around me from behind, pinning my arms to my sides. Pain explodes on the side of my head as I feel teeth sink into my ear. Yelping, I wriggle and jerk, trying to escape my attacker's grip.

Morph, I hear the Wolf growl. Grunting, I look up to see a Cat Trap lunging towards me, one hand balled into a fist. My eyes widen and he punches me hard in the stomach.

I cry out and stumble, falling to my knees.

Morph, The Wolf insists and I attempt to stand, No. Not yet.

When? It snarls, and I feel a heavy weight on my back as the Cat Trap pulls me down to the ground again. Then, he and the other one proceed to pin me down, restricting my hands and forcing my head to the floor.

Groaning, I try to escape their clutches and see a third Cat Trap raise his foot to kick me. Giving in, I snarl to the Wolf, Now!

Immediately, I feel my blood fizz as I transform into my mutant form. My ears sprout, claws stretch, and fur grows all over my body as I increase in size.

The Cat Traps attempt to cling onto me as I grow, but I easily shake them off.

Finally, the Wolf rumbles, and I swipe at the Cat Traps, sending them flying. I feel claws scrape my hind leg and whirl around. A bold Cat Trap lashes out, clawing my nose and making me yelp. Growling, I ram my head into his chest and he falls back onto his rear.

I'm about to strike again when I suddenly hear Madison cry out in my head, Zoey! Zoey help!

My heart lurches, and I notice her fear in my chest. Looking around wildly, I barge through the crowd and head towards the Lab. In my head, the Wolf snarls, What are you doing?! Fight!

I'm not leaving my sister! I hiss, leaping over the fence. I yelp in agony as the barbed wire sinks into my soft underbelly, penetrating my skin. Ignoring the pain, I land on the dead bodies of failed mutants, grimacing as they squish underpaw. Rearing up on my hind legs, I haul myself through the window as the Wolf retorts, I told you. She's not your real sister.

Yes she is, I snap, No matter what you say, she'll always be my sister. You will never change that!

Thankfully, the Wolf doesn't reply, and I get a good look at my surroundings. Peeking into an open door, I see a SHIELD agent freeing mutants, some of which are fleeing, others are simply running around in circles, making odd noises. Moving on, I barge through the room and into the next one. This is the wolf mutant room.

I find Esarosa and a bunch of other mutants opening the cages, freeing the Pack. My heart leaps with hope and I call out, "Go! Help us fight! We need to drive out the Cat Traps!"

Turning to Esarosa, I ask, "Where's Madison?"

The snow-wolf mutant points at a door with her nose, "She and Kaiser went in there to free more mutants."

Nodding, I run over to the door and barge into the room. Inside, I find Kaiser wrestling with a large Cat Trap, and he looks like he's losing. Before I can go help, though, I hear Madison cry out, "Zoey!"

Glancing up, I see Madison across the room. A strange-looking Cat Trap is grabbing her arm, a syringe in hand. My eyes widen and I snarl, charging towards him.

I ram into the mutant with all my might, rage driving me onward. Lifting him up by the scruff of his shirt, I hurtle him towards the wall. His back slams into it and I keep him pinned against it.

"You-" I spit, shoving him harder against the wall with each word, "-will- never- hurt- my- sister!"

Suddenly, the wall caves in and my paws meet the open air. I glare down at the Cat Trap as he collapses onto the dead mutants.

"Not like you've done to me." I spit, and then whirl around. I knock the Cat Trap attacking Kaiser aside with a swift blow and then toss him out of the hole in the wall. Turning to Madison, I whine and nudge her with my nose.

"I'm fine." she says, rubbing her back, "Go help the others. We've got it here."

Nodding, I turn around and leap out of the gap. Jumping over the fence again ( and trying to avoid the barbed wire) I look around for a new opponent.

I notice the wolf mutants, as well as some of the others, diving into battle and defending the agents. But as they do, I realize that the cave is growing smaller and smaller as the fighting increases.

Lifting my head, I howl, "Drive them outside! We won't win in here!"

Then, I proceed to barge through the crowd, knocking Cat Traps away with blows from my paws. I soon find Esarosa beside me, freezing cat mutants and biting as if there's no tomorrow. Gradually, we manage to slowly push the fighting out of the cavern and onto the open ground. With more space, everybody begins to separate.

I look around and see Faolan still fighting Cathal. Since he can heal quickly, Faolan has been able to hold his own, but he looks exhausted. Growling, I race towards them and let out a snarl of fury.

Cathal turns around and punches me hard in the nose. I yelp and dodge his next attack while Faolan recovers.

Go up, the Wolf orders, Climb up the mountain. You'll have the advantage.

Narrowing my eyes, I bow down in front of Cathal and wriggle my hindquarters teasingly. "Come on, little kitty," I murmur, gazing at him intensely, "Follow the cute little puppy."

Cathal glares at me, and then charges. I hop to my paws and race away. Glancing over my shoulder, I see that the mutant has given chase, pounding right on my tail.

Obeying the Wolf's orders, I clamber up the mountain, yelping every time I slip on the snow. Cathal climbs after me, never breaking stride. Curse his cat claws.

Eventually, I manage to haul myself onto a flat spread of rock. I hear a growl behind me and sense Cathal jumping. Instinctively, I duck, causing him to land in front of me.

Then, we both start circling each other. As we do, I notice we're right above the fissure in the mountain where the Lab is, and that it drops off at a sheer cliff.

Suddenly, I hear a voice call out, "Cathal!"

We both turn to see another Cat Trap clawing her way up the mountain. She seems to be a mix of a snow leopard, and I faintly remember Faolan talking about her a few weeks ago.

"Ahh," Cathal purrs, "Care to join the party, Mave?"

Just as 'Mave' clambers onto the flat rock, a figure jumps onto her back and sends her crashing into the snow. I recognize Faolan and let out a sigh of relief.

Turning back to the male Cat Trap, I raise an eyebrow and ask, "Shall we finish this?"

His eyes narrow and he retorts, "Sorry, I don't speak Wolf."

Oh.

Right.

I leap at him and snap my jaws. He dodges and clamps my muzzle shut. Then, he knees me in the chest and I cough, stumbling. While I'm distracted, he kicks my flank and I topple to the ground.

Cathal leaps onto me and rakes his claws across my face, drawing blood. I yelp and fling him off, scrambling to my paws. He recovers quickly and punches me in the head, making my neck snap sideways. Grunting, I dodge his next attack and ram my shoulder into his torso, throwing him back a little.

He kicks me in the jaw and I see stars dance across my eyes. Then, he smashes into me and knocks me off balance. As I wobble, he jumps on my back and digs his claws into my shoulders.

I buck and kick, trying to throw him off, but he clings on like a burr. Suddenly, he hisses, "Oh, what's this?"

Immediately, I feel a tugging at my collar and my eyes widen. He pulls backwards and I gasp for breath, my windpipe blocked. Choking, I whirl around, desperate to get him off of me. I try rears on my hind legs and even rolling around on the floor, but he doesn't let go. His arms are wrapped tightly around my shoulders and his teeth are clasped on my collar.

Meanwhile, I'm gasping for air, my lungs aching. I continue to spin around, and I notice a large boulder at the edge of my blurring vision.

Seeing my last chance, I run over to the boulder and ram my back into it, crushing Cathal in between. Then, I give myself one last shake and finally he slides off of me, his body limp. His teeth are still dug into my collar, but I tear away from him easily and gasp for breath.

Sweet oxygen floods my lungs and I collapse onto the snow, wheezing and panting. My vision slowly clears up, and the aching leaves my chest.

As I try to stumble to my paws, I hear Mave cry out, "Noooo!"

Blinking in confusion, I glance at her and see Faolan pinning her to the ground a few feet away. She has a mix of grief and rage on her face as she struggles to get out of his grip.

Glancing down, I see Cathal still laying on the ground. But he doesn't stir. He doesn't try to recover. He doesn't move.

And then I notice his broken neck.

My eyes widen in horror and my legs shake. I….I ki-

"You killed him!" Mave yowls and she suddenly surges upwards, knocking Faolan back. He tries to jump on her again, but then slips on the snow and starts sliding down the mountain.

Mave charges at me and hisses, "I'll kill you!"

Before I can react, she slams into me and grabs me by the scruff. Then, she proceeds to smash my head against the boulder. Hard.

I can't even cry out in pain. Black dots submerge my vision for a few moments and I feel myself morphing back into a human. Wait, wait, what's going on?!

I fall on my back and feel pressure on my shoulders. Forcing my eyes open, I see Mave above me, fangs poised to strike. Gasping, I heave her to the side and attempt to pin her down, but she shoves me again and we continue to roll, each trying to pin one another.

Suddenly, I feel a pointy rock jab my back and then open air beside me. Mave yelps and all of the sudden weighs me down. My eyes widen as I realize that we're dangling off the edge of the cliff.

Yelping, I heave myself backwards, struggling to stay on the rock. Mave screams as she slips off and I lunge forward, grabbing her hand.

My muscles scream in protest as I hold her, shaking with fagitude. I glance down at her and she looks up at me with wide eyes. For a moment, we just stare at each other, both panting in exhaustion.

Then, she whispers, her voice quivering, "Please...don't let me fall!"

I stare at her, and then nod. Groaning in pain, I struggle to haul her upwards. She grunts, and I yell with a hoarse voice, "Come on, grab the cliff!"

After a few moments of pulling, I see her other hand grab the edge of the rock.

"Good," I pant, "Now just-"

Suddenly, she lets out a dark laugh. Her eyes harden as she glares up at me, "So long, Zoey!"

Then, she yanks me towards her with such force that I tumble forward. She grunts as I accidently kick her face and she lets go, both of the cliff and of me.

Cold air rushes up at me and I try to scramble backwards, but there's no ground.

I fall.

Oh... oh, look! It seems that I've left you on a... cliffie XD XD XD XD! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOREVER TO SAY THAT! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Okay, I know you are all going to hate my guts, BUT if I get, like, 10 reviews, I'll update early! Seriously, guys, this story has 70 FREAKING FOLLOWS (I love you all!) the least I could get is 10 reviews!

You guys just don't like to talk to me, do you?

Anyway, until next Saturday! (unless I get 10 reviews)

-Periwinkle Skittles