HEARTS OF STEEL
by Gunman
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Days of Future Past, Van Helsing, or their characters.
Summary: Peter encounters Anna Valerious and her brother as they are battling a werewolf.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Chapter 12
Anna Valerious
(Transylvanian Forest, 1888)
Peter wasn't sure how he had gotten here.
One minute he was fighting Sentinels in China alongside his teammates, until the deadly robots had literally torn him in half, and now he was here. In this strange forest. A forest that didn't look like anything in China.
Nothing about him seemed changed. But he didn't see any of his teammates around, and more than that he didn't see any Sentinels around.
Was he dead? Was this heaven?
(Growl)
Then again...
"Pull me up! Pull Me Up!" he suddenly heard a man shout.
"It's Stuck! It's Stuck!" another man, manning a wench, shouted back.
Rushing towards the shouting, Peter broke through the grove and gasped when he saw a strange sight.
In a large clearing was a single wooden post. A human male was hanging from a length of rope over the post, dodging the swiping claws of a feral looking creature that was jumping at him from atop the post. And just to look at it, Peter could have sworn that the creature looked like a... werewolf?
The wolf man suddenly stopped jumping when he noticed Peter. The man hanging from the rope looked over and noticed him as well.
"Look Out! Run!" the man shouted.
"No, Anna! It'll kill you!" another man shouted.
"That's my brother out there!" a woman shouted.
Peter looked off to his right as he saw a beautiful woman, dressed in a red jacket with a white shirt underneath a black corset, with black pants and boots, race into the clearing with a sword drawn.
The werewolf growled as it turned, noticing the woman, before it leapt off the post and charged towards the woman.
Perhaps it thought her the easier kill, but either way, Peter bolted towards it.
The wolf man suddenly spun around in mid-stride and leapt at Peter. Battle instincts taking over, Peter's body quickly transformed into that of living steel, even as the wolfman collided with him, the force of the blow knocking him back.
The man and the woman just gasped in shock as the stranger, whose body seemed to shine like polished silver, was wrestling with the savage beast that they had been lying in wait for.
Colossus tried to grab hold of and hit the werewolf, but the beast was moving too fast. It was too wild, and didn't seem to have a real set of skills. It was just wildly biting and clawing at him.
Fortunately, neither claws nor teeth could penetrate the steel-skin of Colossus.
The steel-skinned mutant brought his hands up and slammed them against the werewolf's chest, throwing it off of him and crashing it into the post. The werewolf collapsed to the ground, snarling as it scramble to its feet and shaking its head.
The man, who was still hanging from the rope, and the woman with the sword, were just staring and watching the battle in awe.
Never has anyone had the power or physical strength to battle a werewolf. And live.
The werewolf snarled at the newcomer and charged him again. Colossus crouched low and locked his feet, interlocking his fists together. The werewolf howled as it leapt at Colossus, the steel-skinned mutant quickly brining up his hands and striking the wolfman in the jaw, sending it flying high up in the trees.
At first Velkan, the man on the rope, feared that the werewolf was going to come up and collide with him. He was relieved as the beast flew past him and slammed into another tall tree. It shook off the pain and spied its original prey still hanging from the rope.
Velkan let go of the rope and dropped down onto the post. The werewolf snarled as it lunged from the tree branches. Velkan managed to jump clear as the wolf fell down on the post, even as the ground gave way, revealing itself to be a trap.
Colossus watched as large metal cage emerged from the ground and wrapped the werewolf inside of itself, as well as a large bag. The werewolf snarled again as it tried to tear its way out of the confining structure. The cage lifted up into the air, taking the raging werewolf into the tree tops where it came to an abrupt stop, over fifty feet in the air.
Colossus then saw that several people, dressed in very old style clothing, emerged from the forest and started to shoot at the cage with rifles.
The man who had been on the rope started to excitedly search himself.
"My Gun! Find My Gun!" the man shouted.
"What? Why?" Peter wondered.
"Find Velkan's Gun! It has to be the silver bullets!" the woman shouted.
The men continued firing, even as their bullets pierced the bag the werewolf was in, drawing blood but not stopping the creatures violent thrashing.
Eventually, their bullets struck the ropes of the cage, and caused it to fall back towards the ground.
It was then that the woman with the sword sighted a lone handgun lying on the ground, just under the cage. She raced to it, even as the cage descended towards her.
"LOOK OUT!" Colossus shouted as he raced towards her.
He grabbed her and pulled her out of the way, even as the cage crashed into the ground.
The werewolf was loose once more.
Colossus squared off with the werewolf, putting himself between the woman and the beast. The werewolf snarled as it lunged at Colossus, the steel-skinned mutant doing the same, only for the creature to leap over him and started to chase after the woman.
"Run! Run!" the woman shouted.
Colossus spun around, cursing himself for his stupidity, and raced after the pair.
The werewolf continued to chase after the woman, snarling fiercely as it gained on her. It quickly cornered Anna near a cliff edge overlooking a deep ravine with a river at the bottom, turning around just as the werewolf sprang from the woods to attack her.
The young man who was up the tree appeared and pointed his gun at the werewolf, firing at the leaping beast, only for a large rock to fly out of the forest and slam into the werewolf, knocking it off course from the bullet and hurling the creature down into the river.
Colossus raced into the open, and saw the pair standing at the edge of the cliff, just staring down into it.
"Are you alright?" Colossus asks as he transforms back into his human form.
"Do You Have Any Idea What You Have Done?!" the young man shouted angrily at Peter.
"Velkan, Stop!" the woman snapped at him. "He just saved us both!"
"Anna, I had a clear shot at that thing. Now it's gone and will undoubtably be back!" the man, now identified as Velkan, huffed angrily as he stomped off, brushing past Peter as he did. "All of our work, for nothing!"
Peter looked at the man and then back towards the woman.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Peter began to apologize.
"Don't. It's alright." the woman said to him. "Velkan is just upset that we lost our chance to kill the werewolf."
"So that was a werewolf? I mean... I'd heard stories, but..." Peter said.
"It was." she said giving him an appraising look. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"I'm... Russian, actually." Peter said.
"You're a long way from home." Anna replied.
"Yeah. I suppose I am." Peter said, still confused at where he was and what was happening.
"I see. I am Anna Valerious. That man you just met is my brother, Velkan. You have my thanks. You probably saved us." she said.
Peter was a little taken back by that. He wasn't used to being thanked.
"You're... welcome." he said.
"So, what's your name?" she asked.
"Peter Rasputin." he replied.
Anna looked at Peter's form, liking what she saw. He was tall, strong, handsome, not too young or old, and powerful. She had never seen anyone with powers that he possessed. For centuries Dracula and his minions had held an advantage over her family. Their ability to fly, superior strength and speed, their night vision and healing powers. For four hundred and fifty years the Valerious family had been able to hold back Dracula's forces from expanding out from Transylvania. But things had become somewhat desperate in the last year or so. They needed as much help as possible. This Peter couldn't have come at more appropriate time.
But she also noticed that while his clothes might have been ripped his skin was unharmed. No claw or bite marks from the werewolf.
"I have to ask. How did you... your skin, it changed into steel. Even a werewolf's claws couldn't hurt you. How did you do that?" she asked.
Peter was a little uncomfortable at talking about his mutation, mostly since he didn't have many positive reactions to it.
"I was born with this power. Many people call me Colossus when I use my steel form." he said.
"It's impressive. It's not something we have seen here in Transylvania." Anna said.
"Transylvania? Is that where we are? What year is it?" he asked, taking notice of her rather old fashioned clothing.
"1888. Why?" she asked.
Peter looked shocked, which intrigued Anna a bit.
Was this man lost? Was he injured before and wandered into their country before encountering Velkan and the werewolf? It seemed he still remembered his name and what he could do.
Peter, however, had a different viewpoint in mind. He was not in the time or place he should have been. He wasn't dead, remembering the Sentinels ripping him in two. He had been transported to the past, somehow ending up in Transylvania, and had just fought a werewolf.
"We should go." Anna said. "It will be dark soon, and the vampires will be out and about."
"Vampires? You have vampires here too?" Peter gasped.
"Unfortunately. My family has been fighting Dracula and his minions for over 400 years." she said as she hurried back along the path her brother had taken.
"Dracula? Count Dracula?" Peter gasped as he followed the young woman.
"Yes. And since you have helped us, they will probably be coming for you as well." Anna said.
Peter grimaced at that. It wasn't enough that he was lost in another time, not knowing where his friends where, but now he had werewolves and vampires to deal with? Now that he thought about it, if that werewolf was any indication, it might be easier than the Sentinels.
Quickly rushing back along the path to where Anna was walking, he caught up to the Transylvanian woman.
"I think it would be better if I stayed with you and your brother." Peter said.
"We can use all the help we can get." Anna said with a smile as she looped her arms around Peter's right arm. "And on our way back to our house, you can entertain us with a story about yourself and where you came from."
"You might not believe me." Peter said to her.
"Try me." she said with a smile.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Authors Notes:
Just a short little story about Colossus meeting Anna Valerious and battling a werewolf. Something I was working on for Halloween. Sorry it's not Chapter 13, which might have been better for Halloween, but I've been busy with other stories and such. Happy Halloween!
And I'm open to ideas for any future chapters, as I've said before.
Read and Review please.