Memories

Flee From Her

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If you want to use Tora, or any of my other characters, PM me.

The voices echoed out across the world, amplified and echoing.

"You have failed to give yourselves up."Up. Up. Up.

"Now we shall come for you." You. You. You.

Twenty minutes later, Cage was in custody. Frost and Cyclops had captured him as he tried to get his wife and daughter to safety. Daredevil was taken down by Psylocke and the other Circen. When Logan had last heard, Iron Man was going toe-to-toe with the cosmic entity-enhanced Magneto and losing badly. Steve… No one quite knew where Steve had vanished to, only that he was determined to 'find the only chance we have'. They were scattering across the globe, trying desperately to get to some measure of safety. Storm and Thor had gone toe-to-toe again, only this time lightning had beaten thunder. The Black Panther had gone to try and reason with his wife. When he'd last been seen, it was being blasted down a corridor by a hurricane-force wind. And Tora… Oddly, neither Tora or Hope had left Utopia. They seemed content to send the X-Men out, waiting for the Avengers to be taken to the Brig, then holding them on 'trial', stating in those monotone stereo voices all the crimes they had committed against mutantkind. From Cage 'failing to defend those of District X' to Daredevil's 'continued ignoring of the plight of the Marys.' He felt his identicard buzz. Iron Man was down. Strange was being attacked by Illyana. The Avengers Academy…

And that was when Logan knew that Tora wasn't in control anymore. Tora would never attack a school. Laura had got a message to him, coded and almost desperate. The X-Men were attacking, trying to destroy the reprogrammed Sentinel. The last Sentinel. And while Logan didn't really have a problem with the every last stupid robot being wiped from the face of the earth but forcing a teenager to give up his friend…from what Laura said, almost his only friend, without giving him the benefit of the doubt… Tora's mind was probably shattered.

Suddenly he wondered what would happen if he entered Tora's mind. And then he imagined it. The clear ceiling would be dark, so no light would illuminate the gleaming crystal, shattering into a vibrant spectrum impossible colours when shining through one of the galleries. Instead it would be distant and dark. The silence and emptiness of a closed museum. So wrong and cold. He shuddered, then remembered he had to keep on moving. Mutants were at risk, more than anyone. And then he heard a coughing and remembered the person he was hiding with.

"You okay, Maximoff?"

The Scarlet Witch nodded. She looked freezing. Her eyes were tired and she seemed barely able to stand.

"I…just need…warmth…"

They walked for a bit longer and Logan finally gave out a small bark of pleasure, pointing the cabin.

"There!"

They staggered into it and pulled off their snow-covered outer layers. Wanda had been forced to move them blind, and it had only been sheer luck that they'd landed relatively close to one of Logan's old huts in Canada. The trek had taken five hours, through the cold and damp forest and the Scarlet Witch had already been exhausted after moving them so far. She was stumbling and staggering and more than once, Logan had to support her. He still didn't like her. He couldn't quite forgive or forget what she'd done. But Tora trusted her, and that was enough for him. Tora was normally exceptionally good at gauging people. It was all to do with body language and reading micro-expressions.

Logan lit a fire and opened the cupboards, pleased to notice that the freeze-dried food hadn't been got at by animals. He threw Wanda a pack of dried fruit, knowing he'd have to save the other food for later. She tore into it hungrily but Logan resisted the urge to eat as well. After all, he'd been worse. Wanda looked up, exhausted.

"That's not her, is it? It can't be her. Because she'd never do anything like that."

Logan shrugged as he sat down.

"She's not been the best for a while. I think this was just the thing that pushed her over the edge."

Wanda whirled the packing between her fingers.

"She feels…wrong…"

"What?"

"The pair of them… They feel wrong. Like… Cold fire… Warm ice… An impossibility… What has Tony done…?"

She buried her face in her hands.

"I'm scared for her. She seemed so fragile… So different from when we first got to know each other properly…"

"When was this?"

"We… We met when we were at one of Beast's scans. Got chatting, agreed to meet up. We ended up meeting regularly. And later… after they made me forget… When Tora was so upset about Curt's loss… I… I don't know… I felt I understood her pain, more than anyone possibly could. It felt like someone had torn into me and all I could do was try and be there for her. But she was so distant that any attempt to get in… I couldn't help her and at the same time it felt like I was drowning."

She hung her head.

"I'm a terrible friend. She saves me so many times… tries to speak up for me… puts so much on the line for me… And I can't even help her…"

Logan laughed bitterly.

"How do you think I feel? Who's the X-Man who gets sent to deal with all those who go out of control? Like I said to Hope once. A guy can get tired of wiping his friends off his fists. And when it's your wife…"

He tailed off, looking away sadly. Wanda avoided eye contact. They sat in awkward silence for a moment then leapt up as something tapped the window. Then they relaxed when it turned out to just be branches. Until the tapping took on a rhythm, like a heartbeat over and over again. Logan finally slid out carefully and froze as the ferns rose up and took a form.

"Can… Can you hear me?"

"Cia! What the…!?"

"She knows you're here. She's coming."

"What about you?"

"Me and Krakoa are lying low. Who noticed the grounds or a few trees? Have to go… Hard keeping…strength up…"

And the ferns fell back to their usual shape with a little sigh. Logan didn't have time to check if the plant girl was okay, merely rushing into the cabin.

"We have to get out now!"

"What?! What's wrong?!"

"Tora's coming, that's what! Get your stuff and go!"

They descended into panic but as they were running out, they heard the voice on the wind and the figure already landing gracefully, walking towards them.

"Why did you run?"

Logan took a step back.

"Why did you leave us?"

"Tora…"

"You should have been the first to come to our side."

"Stay back…"

But Wanda was walking forward, transfixed by the glow. And then Tora's hand snaked forward and grabbed her wrist. Electrum and red lightshows shone around their wrists and then Wanda pushed her other hand into Tora's chest, sending her flying. Tora twisted in the air and landed cat-like, tilting her head at Wanda.

"You dare refuse us? You are the Third. You should stand by us. Together we are invincible."

"I don't think I want to."

"You hurt us. How?"

And now there were red sparks flying around Wanda.

"I suppose I'm just too stubborn."

"As the Trinity, none could stand in our way. Join us. Or be killed."

Logan's blood ran cold. The way Tora said that… It wasn't in the heavy tone she'd used when she threatened death before. Instead it was spoken in an offhand manner. Like murder was an acceptable method of retaining power.

Wanda's eyes were flashing.

"I'm not afraid of you."

"You should be."

And flames blossomed and waves crashed and Wanda was in the centre of the maelstrom but to Logan's amazement, she simply waved a hand and the vortex dissipated, red blades of light shattering through all the combined heat and water. What followed was one of the most hopeless feelings in Logan's life. Tora and Wanda were flinging fire and water and light at each other. When Wanda moved one hand, a glass wall surrounded Tora and Tora simply superheated the glass until it melted. When Tora sent out a huge stream of water at Wanda, a simple gesture froze it to ice. And all Logan could do was watch as the two women battled back and forth, light and fire and water blasting the trees over and scorching the soil. And then Tora turned towards him and lunged and he felt her hand close around his arm. And he was lost…

"Oh, the poor dear…"

"Death, I don't think Logan qualified for 'poor dear' since he was twelve."

A.N. I hate colds. I hate them with every ounce of my poor, phlegm-filled body. I hate having coughing fits every five minutes and semi-deafness from the ear infection. I hate sleeping until 11 because it makes me feel guilty. I hate the fact my brain seems to have stopped working and now thinks daytime TV is high quality entertainment. Basically, this is my excuse for not updating -I've been doped up on decongestant, cough mixture and antibiotics.