Memories

Gates of Hell

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Logan pressed the replay button again. One of Stark's satellite feeds. Dark Dragon flying and then the sudden falter and fall before righting herself. What did that mean? Did it, could it mean what he dared hope it meant?

He heard footsteps. Steve.

"Logan. They… They want you to come through. We're trying to decide what to do-"

"It's already decided, Steve. It was decided the moment she killed Etana. No. It was decided years ago, when she made me swear an oath I'm not going to break."

"Logan…? What oath?"

"She made me swear that if she ever took a life, I was to kill her. Not Thor. Not Phoenix. Not Maximoff. Not you. Me. I have to be the one to do this. It's what I owe the real Tora at any rate."

Steve placed one hand on Logan's shoulder.

"You sure you can do this?"

Logan closed his eyes.

"Just remembering what she told me. It's not murder. It's mercy."

His hands clenched into fists.

"Steve, this is going to be the hardest thing I've ever done. I… I want to go alone, but if… if I fail, you do whatever you feel you have to."

"Logan… I… I don't know what to say…"

"Don't say anything then. Look… about Etana… I…"

Steve closed his eyes.

"It's still not quite sunk in. That she came back, much less that she's… she's dead…"

"Steve, I know…"

"She can come back again, can't she?"

Logan shook his head.

"Tora tried explaining it to me. Something to do with because she's an angel of death, she's not allowed to leave Death's realm except on official business."

"Then how…"

"The Three Great Rights of the One-in-Three. Firstly, they can decide the fates of worlds. Secondly, they answer only to the Tribunal. And third… what was it, yeah… they can bind lesser cosmic beings or the servents of Eternity, Infinity, Death, what-his-name and Galactus, though not the Five themselves."

"She could turn aside a Herald?"

"She could do more than that. And there's the fact I think she gets on with Galactus. They have an 'arrangement'. Nothing official, of course."

Steve closed his eyes again and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"I can give you time. Not much, but it should be enough to…do what you have to…"

Logan nodded then leant down and lifted up a case. Flicked the catches and opened it. Row upon row of bottled vials gazed up at them. He took three then closed the case and handed it to Captain America.

"You're the only one I trust with this."

"What is it?"

"One of the few things that can put us down. Tora's healing halter. Won't work on Dark Dragon mentally, but physically it can be used to put her in pretty bad shape."

Then he pulled his hood up over his head.

"I'll meet you at the gates of hell."

And he turned and left, without another word.

Phoenix glanced over. The masked woman had her eyes closed and was rocking back and forward humming under her breath, muttering something. Great. She was unraveling.

He wasn't tracking her. No, he was waiting. Waiting the one place he knew she would come. Wait. Wait and hope. Hope that she would come. Hope that she wouldn't. Hope that he could kill her. Hope that he would fail.

He snikted out his claws and began to coat them in the clear fluid. Simple suspension solution but it worked. Now just to wait. Wait and ready himself. Sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, meditating. And then he felt it. A soft touch to his mind, that odd ordered chaos of Tora's mind.

Carcajou?

Here.

Are you ready?

I…I think so…

You have to be sure. Logan, I don't have long.

Where are you?

"Right here."

He opened his eyes. She was standing in front of him, still clad in burgundy but with the scars and golden eyes. He slowly rose. There was a strained look in her eyes.

"You have to do this now. I can't hold her back forever."

Now they were face to face, Logan felt his resolution seep away. Her hair blew across her face and she impatiently pushed it away.

Slowly he moved towards her, raising his hands with claws out. And then, a few inches from her chest, he stopped.

"I can't do this."

Her hawk-like gaze bore into him.

"You swore."

"You broke it."

Her eyes narrowed.

"You let me live, you condemn this entire system to death."

"And you live."

"You die."

He wanted to catch her hand, tell her everything was going to be alright. He couldn't. Because that would be a lie.

"I don't want you to die."

"I have to."

"Then so do I."

"You have to stay. You have to look after the kids."

"I can't kill you… Not like this… Not in cold blood…"

"It's a small mercy I don't deserve, Logan."

"I can't. Tora, I love you."

"And that's why you have to let me go."

"Please don't do this to me."

Her hands slid forwards and clasped his wrists. She began to move forward, about to impale herself. Logan broke free.

"I can't let you die."

"You have to. I'm too far gone."

"No one is."

"Carcajou…?"

"Tora?"

"Will you do something for me?"

"I'm not killing you."

"No. Not that. Just…a kiss. Something to remind me that you don't blame me."

He nodded silently. And then their lips touched. He raised his hands to her face and it was wet with tears, the sickly saline smell wafting into his nostrils. He opened his eyes and could see the tears sliding past her closed eyelids. He gently wiped them away and stopped the kiss, resting his forehead on hers.

"I could never blame you."

And she stepped back, her face still strewn with tears.

"I'm sorry…"

Her eyes changed. Silver orbs stared out of an unscarred face. And she lunged…

Phoenix sighed.

"There was no other option, was there? Dear? You have that guilty look on your face you got every time we caught you attempting to lie. Really! You're a few billion years old and you still can't get the hang of deceit!"

The masked woman flushed.

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?"

"Not at all, not at all."

"You've gone crimson."

"Have not…"