Raven, Peter is coming to you with Kayla, and he is coming NOW!
Raven whipped around almost as though she might be able to see Peter if she looked hard enough. However, he wasn't there yet, but when he would, he would bring down a mercenary-trained woman who thought nothing of her safety or that of others.
And Raven would need to make sure she took her down without killing her.
"Shit," she said.
However, she was already thinking, reaching for anything in the hotel room. Why did he have to bring her here? Why wasn't there time to get word of where Erik and Logan were? They'd called her!
She pushed those thoughts down though, because they weren't any good at the end of the day. Her mind was racing, knowing that every millisecond could bring Peter and, every second after that, Yashida and Essex's men.
Irritably, she pushed aside the weapons she'd brought for the mission. The gun was out because, even with a healing factor, the type of gunshot she was likely to inflict wouldn't be something she could walk away from. She'd been trained to go for legs, which could keep them down. However, Kayla would still try to kill them and, with her skills, she would still be a threat.
Instead she looked at her drawstring backpack. She lunged for it, ripping the chord out of the sack just as she heard the wind rattle the room.
"Sonuvafreakinbitch!"
She turned just in time to see Kayla slam Peter's face into the wall. There was a crunch, and a cry. Broken nose or broken skull? No time to figure it out. She had to move, and trust that she'd be able to help Peter later.
Raven wrapped the chord around either of her hands, tossing it over Kayla's throat. She'd have to be careful, keep her out for just long enough. It was a risk, even if she'd been in a situation where time was a luxury.
But it wasn't, and she tightened. Kayla immediately jerked back, and she saw Peter slump to the floor. Blood was flowing down his face, and his his hand too as he weakly pawed at his forehead. Again, the thought tittered through her mind, broken nose or broken skull?
Kayla was trying to jerk her off though, even trying to worm her fingers through the chord. Raven swallowed, because she didn't know how to do this without drawing it tighter. It was already burning her hands as it was. If she went too tight, she might break Kayla's neck, although she wasn't sure if that would matter. She'd survived being clawed up, maybe she could survive that.
There was another little voice though, one that seemed to laugh at her from a beach in Cuba.
She might live yes. Who's to say it'll heal right though? Who's to say she'll be able to move her arms and hold her daughter, run after her like Charles can't run after Kevin?
"Shit," Raven growled.
Gritting her teeth she dug her feet into Kayla's back, leaning her head forward as Kayla slammed her into the wall. She just managed to avoid getting her head hit, but she could feel the damn rope slipping around Kayla's neck.
Her eyes fell on the collar that still tethered Kayla to Essex. She blinked at it, and then Kayla was shoving her into another wall. It hurt, but she had a path now. Raven loosened her grip briefly, skipping the rope down. It caught on the metal of the collar, securing it in place. She grinned as she tightened her grip, feeling Kayla begin to slow. Her hands were bleeding now, but she was still winning.
Then she saw herself staring at the barrel of a gun.
She stared at it for a minute, unable to loosen her grip, to knock it away. Goddamnit, when did she get that? How did she have the presence of mind to turn it like that, make sure it was angled just right for maximum pain?
A dull thought came that she had probably learned it like Raven had learned it, and it only infuriated her. She jerked the rope to the left, and the gun went off, hitting the ceiling. Kayla tried to fire another shot, but her movements were getting slower and slower.
She collapsed onto the floor. Raven kept her burned, bleeding hands on the rope, moving her to make sure she really was out. Once she was satisfied she took the rope off, wincing with every movement.
Raven knelt down, tying Kayla's hands behind her back. She'd just finished when the door opened and the innkeeper looked in, horrified. She started to get up, wondering how she could stop him because, goddammit, she had not just gone through all that to have his screams wake up the entire building.
But then he was on the floor, duct tape thick around his lips, hands and feet. The silver was streaked with blood though and she turned. Peter was up, blood dripping from his nose and a deep cut on his forehead. It was trickling over his goggles, clouding the lens.
More cuts were on his arm and hand. A knife had bit through the glove, and Raven thought of the bone there as she hoisted Kayla to her feet.
"You brought duct tape?" she asked, her mouth dry.
"Never leave home without it," Peter sniffed.
He wiped blood away from his nose, wincing as he did.
"Peter, what year is it?" she asked.
"1983," he said, looking at her funny.
"How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, displaying four.
"Four and why- hey! I'm not freakin concussed," Peter said, "Stupid. You..."
"Just checking," she said, "We need to get to Logan and Erik before someone gets the police. The shot alone is going to bring them flocking to this place."
He nodded as she reached him. She practically tossed Kayla into his other arm, keeping her head down so he wouldn't have to protect her from whiplash. There was a blur, and she was deposited rather unsteadily in front of the car.
Peter all but dumped Kayla on Raven. She would've been angry, but she could see the way he was swaying.
"Shit," Peter said, rubbing the blood off his lens and putting one hand on the car for support, "I don't feel so hot. Well, I do. but..."
For the first time, she realized Peter was sweating. He didn't sweat. He could break the sound barrier without sweating. She stared at him for a moment and, as he turned, she saw the side she hadn't seen earlier, the one slick with blood.
His hand, apparently, had taken a bigger hit than she'd thought.
"Jesus Christ Peter!" she hissed.
"We're in the open," he muttered, "I'm Tate."
"You're bleeding out goddammit!" she snarled, "Cover, blown! You..."
She could see that he didn't quite understand her, and she knows exactly what that means. Raven is already swearing in her head, wishing they had a third person, because this was too much. How can this even happen?
"Duct tape her hands, ankles, mouth for good measure, and dump her in the back," Raven hissed, "And then get in the goddamn car."
He nods, and she can hear him swooshing to obey. Raven gets in the driver's seat, but he's already in the passenger's seat. The sweat on his brow is increasing, and she realizes that the confusion is starting to fade. Instead, he's trying to hold it together.
Raven shoved the key into the ignition, yanking it so the engine revs to life. She can hear the distant sirens of the police, and she shoves on the gas as they roar down the street. Sweat is gathering between her fingertips, where there's still blood.
"Peter, how good is your healing factor?" she asked.
"What?"
"How fast do you heal?" she snapped.
He looked ahead of him, thinking, but every now and then she could see a dazed look fill his eyes. She snapped her fingers, and his eyes widened.
"Um, it took three days for my broken leg to heal," he said, "One for the shot leg."
"So not that fast," muttered Raven, "If we stop the bleeding now, I don't think you'll need a transfusion. Not until you heal or we can get to a hospital."
"Can't go to a hospital," Peter muttered.
"No shit," said Raven, "Now listen to me, because I'm not delivering your corpse to Erik. Understand?"
He nodded, pushing himself up.
"There's a first aide kit in the glove compartment," she said, "There's a needle and thread in there too though, and that's what you'll need. That and the disinfectant, because she sure as hell didn't disinfect that knife."
Peter nodded, and she could see the clarity pushing at him again. The first aid kit was open in his hands in seconds, and she saw him reach for the disinfectant.
"You have to be sparing because-"
"Shit! Mother of God shit!"
"-it hurts like a bitch," Raven sighed.
He glared at her, his hand still trembling as the disinfectant dripped off it. Kayla had cut down almost to the bone: she could see that now. Peter was blinking though it, his teeth grinding together.
"Stitch it up, and be careful," she said, "In fact take your goggles off first. It'll help your vision."
He tore them off, looking at the needle and his hand. She could only give him a small glimpse: they were going up into the mountain. The roads were poor, and she knew she would need to pay as much attention as she could.
"This is gonna hurt like a bitch too, right?" he said.
No point in lying.
"Like a bitch," she agreed, "Do it fast, and it'll hurt less. Trust me."
Peter swallowed, and then his fingers reached for the needle. A second later he was moaning, sloppy stitches going across his hand. His entire face was scrunched up in pain, his dark eyes closed for a moment before he swallowed and looked up at her.
"So, I'm good?" he asked.
"You need water and rest," said Raven, "Time to heal, and lots of junk food."
"Really?'
"Gotta keep your energy up," she said, "But let someone else get it, or you'll pass out before you even get close to getting back on your feet."
He laughed, his voice tired.
"There should be a shot of morphine in there too, so go for it," Raven said, "Don't want you screaming in pain for the rest of the day."
"Nope. Me neither."
She pulled around a corner, daring for the first time to get out her cell phone. She dialed Erik's number, glancing between the road and the injured man beside her.
"Just follow the instructions on the packet," she said, "You can do that, right?"
"Right."
Raven cradled the phone against her ear. When it rang, it was all she could do not to sigh in relief.
"Erik?" she asked.
"Did everything go smoothly?"
Peter moved to to inject the morphine, and his blood splattered onto her jeans. He gave her an apologetic look, and she sighed.
"More or less," she said, "Tell Logan we've got his girl. Do you all have any water, any snacks?"
"Did Peter eat all of his already?"
Raven winced.
"Kayla nearly cut his hand off, and he's suffering from some bad blood loss," Raven said.
"What?"
His voice was so loud that it made Peter jump. He gave her a curious look, then shrugged, a hazy look filling his eyes. The morphine was already taking off the edge. Good. It meant things would be easier.
She turned another corner, realizing they were almost there.
"He's taken morphine for it. I don't have time to fully explain Erik," she said, "We'll talk more in a minute. I'm almost there."
Raven hung up before he could reply. Next to her, Peter giggled. She sighed, realizing that Peter on drugs was not going to be fun. She wondered if it could even keep up with his rapidly moving brain.
She drove off road and parked by the spot Erik had described to her. Raven didn't have long to wonder if it was the right place: Erik and Logan were already running toward them. Logan looked desperate, but Erik just looked pissed.
"Hey..." Peter said, his voice drawling.
He got out of the car and Raven jumped up after him. In a blink he was standing in front of Erik, staggering. He slumped and Erik caught him.
"You call this smoothly?" demanded Erik.
"I said more or less," Raven snapped.
Erik glared at her, pulling Peter's uninjured arm over his shoulder. Peter stumbled slightly, but Erik managed to right him.
"Thanks dad," Peter laughed.
Raven stared, feeling as though her blood had simultaneously boiled and then frozen. Next to her Logan had reached the car, practically ripping off the door. She wasn't looking at him though, instead staring at Peter as he grinned up at Erik.
A moment passed, then two. Erik sighed.
"You don't take well to morphine, do you?"