Been a bit too long huh? Life catches up and your writing gets away from you ... but trust that it's never forgotten. There's plenty more to Kara's story and if you're patient with me ... I'll get us there. Special thanks to Cheshire, X23 Fanatic, and Crytpo3 (yea that review did help me post finally huh?) for the great reviews and to everyone that followed/fav'd since the last time I posted. Now no more waiting ... let's get on to it.
"My name is Professor Charles Xavier. Who are you and what is it that you want? And I must warn you to resist any urge to lie ... I'll know." Xavier spoke calmly from the middle of the line, Dr. McCoy and Ororo flanking him on either side of him.
From across the snow dusted lawn a man stepped forward, dressed in a strange mixture of attires. At first he could have been mistaken for a monk, draped in dark robes, almost appearing Tibetan in origin, but it was from the waist down that had Ororo raising her eyebrows. From the waist down he wore what looked like standard grey military garb, and black combat boots in a way that reminded Logan of a cross between a monk and military commander. The shaved head, the large 'X' looking scar across the left side of his head and brow, the strong jaw, intense green eyes and the fact he just seemed to exude calm and authority ... it wasn't hard to tell he was in charge.
Logan had him marked from the moment he'd come outside.
Zaheer meanwhile only had eyes for Professor X, his expression almost pleasant as he directed a small bow towards the world's leading telepath.
"My name is Zaheer." his voice was calm and even ... but certain in himself. "I represent the Red Lotus. This is Suyolak and Sadisme. We mean you no harm ... we're simply here to retrieve one of our own." Zaheer gestured to the two mutants standing slightly behind him on either side. Amara took them in and didn't like what she saw.
Unlike the serious Zaheer, both shared a similar smirk that Amara couldn't help but shudder at. It wasn't just the smiles ... how they were staring at her ... their gaze ... it was the cold, almost hungry eyes above those smiles. Like they were impatient for what was coming next.
If there was a way to describe the group ... Amara didn't have it. The three just looked so ... different somehow.
Suyolak looked to be in his late twenties ... or was it early fifties ... older ... no younger? Somehow with every little shift in that smirk or the wind he looked either young or ancient ... could it be both? Which was weird. He was dressed in shades of black ... his boots untied, jeans, loose t-shirt and long trench coat billowing in the wind. Each piece looking in need of replacing with holes and tears throughout giving a peak at a fairly gaunt body ... but still appearing strong. Like frozen wires held him together. He was taller than Zaheer, his skin appearing slightly tan, his heavy brow and dark lank hair falling around his face to his shoulders. His eyes ... Amara didn't focus on those ... it reminded her of empty pits.
"Smells like a damn graveyard on fire." Logan muttered under his breath, grimacing under his cowl. Amara took his word for it.
Sadisme stood easily a head shorter than Zaheer. In fact it was hard to tell if she was much older then some of the students looking out from the windows in the school behind the X-Men. She had seemingly flawless alabaster skin and her platinum blond hair was trimmed short and fashionable. Her face could have been beautiful ... angelic even with those wide eyes, high cheek bones, and full lips.
But it was that smile that gave her age away ... that look in Sadisme's eyes, red as blood and hungry like Suyolak's. Where they differed was how she was dressed. Unlike Suyolak, or even Zaheer, Sadisme was dressed like someone who was familiar with luxury which reflected in her fashionable tastes. An unfastened expensive looking jacket hung over her slim shoulders, a simple white blouse hiding her slight frame but accentuated by the broad leather corset like belt cinched ridiculously tight around her waist, heeled snakeskin boots tapping expectantly under her silk dress pants that billowed in the slowly increasing breeze.
For a moment Amara wondered how someone dressed like that - I mean the heels on those things - could expect to fight? But then she wondered if that was good news or bad.
Amara couldn't help but get the feeling she was being similarly measured up ... and not nearly as favorably. She resisted the urge to go magma on the spot.
"There is no one here against their will and regardless ... we would never surrender one of our students to the likes of you." Ororo replied but Zaheer didn't seem interested in the storm goddess and kept his eyes on Xavier's who's brow furrowed as he realized that the entire group was shielded. That was unexpected.
Xavier quickly surveyed the line and his brow dropped even lower as Quentin Quire - 'Kid Omega if you wouldn't mind old man. Now butt out.' an arrogant high pitched voice rang in Xavier's mind. Professor X didn't bother hiding his distaste as he withdrew ... Kid Omega's shields could be beaten but now wasn't the time.
"I'm afraid I must insist ... Give us the feral." Zaheer responded, his tone determined and that hint of good will gone, ignoring Ororo altogether as there was a clear shift in his demeanor as the wind picked up speed. Ororo matched it from the X-Men.
"Kara ain' leavin' with you baldy." Logan growled, his guess as to what the group wanted the moment they had appeared on the property.
"Kara?" Sadisme mocked, clearly amused about something, but Zaheer cut her off.
"We are not looking for a fight but ... Kara ... is coming back with us. After all, we are the only ones who can protect her." Zaheer's gaze settling on Logan who just sneered right back.
"Kid's plenty safe right where she is." Logan shot back with a growl. Fists tightened as he felt the adamantium beneath the flesh shift. This was who Kara had been afraid of ... Logan was sure of it. He didn't know who the hell these punks were but he did know they were leavin' empty handed. He'd made a promise.
"Safe?" Zaheer's voice didn't rise but there was no mistaking the menace now rising, "Your vaunted 'school' ... your 'haven' ... was attacked just weeks ago. The only reason they weren't successful in killing all of you was because of the training we provided. Those videos - the ones you couldn't contain - the only reason they were taken down was thanks to us. We took them down and used them to find her ... because we are the only ones that can protect her." Zaheer's tone rising.
"Kid makes her own decisions." Logan growled right back ... he was the one that was here to protect Kara.
A cold laugh just added to the tension.
"'Kid?' ... Please. The beasty belongs to us." Sadisme's voice was smooth, cold, impatient ... and her tone confident. Like someone who always got what they wanted. Amara hated it immediately.
"BELONGS?! The pantera belongS to no one!" Colossus had heard enough and stepped towards Sadisme. What he intended to do no one would ever know as without warning, the huge Russian dropped to his knees screaming ... actually screaming in pain. It was such a shock that for the first few seconds no one knew what had happened as Piotr fell to his side and howled like he was being tortured.
Thinking it was some psychic attack Jean reached out to the attackers but without warning - just as Colussus stopped his screaming - Jean collapsed as if struck.
"Jean!" Scottt yelled as he moved to cover his girlfired, her screams enough to shock the X-Men into action - a huge peal of thunder rocking the air.
"Sadisme enough." It had been so quiet, the command, that Amara wasn't even 100% sure Zaheer had said anything if he hadn't raised his hand ... and that was when Amara saw that Sadisme was looking right at Jean - her pupils still red but the whites of her eyes had turned black like ink. And with a pout of disappointment her eyes slowly melted back to normal as Jean and Piotr took shuddering breaths as they shakily got back to their feet.
Two of the strongest X-Men ... down with just a look.
Logan's growl was constant now, the entire team on edge ... ready to attack. Zaheer appeared calm but his look hardened while Sadisme and Suyolak seemed impatient. Their smirks even hungrier.
"This is your final warning. The feral comes back with us. Now." Zaheer's demand carried on the rising wind.
"I got blondie." Logan rumbled low enough for Iceman and Magma to hear him who shifted with their powers when suddenly Zaheer's look shifted and an almost pleasant smile slowly appeared on his face. The assembled X-Men turned and took an almost united breath as Kara appeared from around the Mansion and without a word ... without a sideways glance ... her eyes fixed firmly on the ground in front of her ... headed straight past the X-Men and for Zaheer.
There was only a moment of hesitation as if Kara wasn't sure where to stand before she seemed to brace herself and slowly turned to face the X-Men as she stood in front of Suyolak ... the pantheress' eyes still fixed on the ground, ears flat, tail curled around her, firsts clenched at her side.
Xavier and Hank started saying something ... Ororo was calling out to Kara ... Logan wasn't really paying that close attention ... his gaze still locked onto Kara. Trying to figure out what the hell the kid was thinking. This was what she had been so afraid of ... and she was just goin' with em? The kid was a fighter. He knew that. So why would she just surrender? Why not trust that the X-Men - that he would protect her.
Logan noticed how Suyolak had his hand on Kara's shoulder ... almost caressing it possessively. No ... not caressing ... he was drumming his long dusky and cracked fingers over her shoulder ... right over the spot Kara always rubbed when she was stressed... perfectly over those dead spots on her shoulder ... the marks that had been burned not just into her fur ... into her skin ... Hank had told him that those marks were burned all the way her bones ... no ... not marks ...
Finger Prints
And that's when things clicked into place and Logan let out a howl of rage and ignoring the X-Men ... ignoring Zaheer ... ignoring the kid who could inflict pain with a look ... Logan charged straight for Suyolak.
The bastard was meat.
Anyone in their right mind ... humans, mutants, and even gods alike ... would have been terrified by the sight of an enraged Wolverine charging claws out.
But Suyolak didn't move.
He just kept his hand firmly pressed onto Kara's shoulder, who's amber eyes had finally lifted and for the first time since Logan had known her showed fear, and raising his other hand Suyolak pointed his finger at Logan like a gun.
"Bang." Suyolak almost whispered, his voice like dried leaves, and just like that Logan let out a choked shout of shock ... grabbed at his chest ... his breathing suddenly labored ... Logan coughed like his lungs were trying to escape his body ... he gagged as he struggled to take a few more steps .. until he slumped over and finally dropped.
For a moment no one moved. Logan's haggard, labored breathing the only noise. Scott and Ororo moved to cover Logan but Xavier held them back
"Stop! Don't - don't get too close!" A look of true horror on his face as he looked from the too still Logan and Suyolak, his smile as wide as ever.
Through it all ... Kara didn't say a word ... but for a brief glance at Logan and Xavier ... before looking back at the ground.
'We need to let them go. I'll explain later but for now ... this isn't a fight we can win.' Xavier messaged the team who looked in a mixture of disbelief and anger as Zaheer sighed as if disappointed with how everything had turned out.
"Very well. We have what we came for." Zaheer glanced briefly at Kara before looking back at the X-Men, "Do not follow us. Do not look for us. Do not interfere. This is your only warning Professor Xavier. We will not meet again." Zaheer turned on his heel and didn't look back, Sadisme blowing a kiss at the assembled team before turning to join him with a toss of her coat.
Kara finally looked up … her eyes trailing the horizon…. Not blinking, desperately taking in the school ...the building... from its red tiled roof to its stone walls… her friends, Raven, Kitty, Rogue, Rahne, Mako, Kurt their shocked faces plastered to the window… The X-Men standing across from her … Dr. McCoy… Ororo... then finally Logan who's haggard breathing Kara could barely make out.
It was all her fault.
"Goodbye." and just like that she was led away by Suyolak who just kept drumming his fingers playfully against her shoulder.
The team watched as the group walked towards the forest line when suddenly there was a brief set of flashes ... and they were gone.
Professor Xavier didn't say anything to the X-Men beyond instructing them to not go near Wolverine. Soon the only one outside the mansion was Dr. McCoy who had constructed a hermetically sealed medical tent around Logan. Neither one emerged for most of the day ... and when they did it was Hank in the wake of Logan slashing and stumbling his way out of the tent and back inside.
Xavier, Hank, Ororo, Jean and Bobby looked almost as haggard as Wolverine did when they finally regathered in the garage. Even with the doors closed the space was chilled with the winter night but Logan was already a bottle of whiskey down and no one thought it smart to ask him to move quiet yet.
"Are you alright Logan?" Xavier tried as Logan tilted his head back as he took a deep pull before answering.
"Depends who ya ask ... Doc Blue over here thinks I should be dead so I guess pretty well considerin'." Logan grumbled as he tossed more back.
"I said that you were dead ... technically speaking for about five minutes." Hank's tone weary from his time trying to keep Logan alive and then keep him sedated long enough to not hurt himself ... or anyone else for that matter.
"How is that even possible ... what did that man do to him?" Ororo asked as she looked at Logan with true concern as he tossed the empty bottle and appeared to pull another one from beneath him.
"The flu." Hank muttered as he closed his eyes and shook his head in a mix of wonder and ... fear?
"The flu ... you're telling me the Wolverine was almost taken down by ... the flu?" Bobby looked from Logan to Hank clearly trying to understand the joke.
"It wasn't just the flu. It was ... I honestly don't quiet know what it was. I have samples down in my lab. But from what I could tell that mutant he - it was mutated ... novel ... designed just for Logan. It would have killed any non-healer of Logan's capabilities in hours." Hank's tone was enough for everyone to lean back and shoot a nervous look over at Logan who simply gave a huff and another drink.
"Who are they Charles ... what do they want with Kara?" Ororo asked what they all wanted to know.
"I don't know much ... rumors mostly. Magneto was able to provide some information but not enough. They call themselves the 'Red Lotus' ... a splinter group from Genosha that believes that the only way for mutantkind to be free is to be free from all governments. In short ... they're anarchists." Xavier
"But who are they Charles?" Ororo knew the power the X-Men possessed. The fact that three mutants - three - had walked in and accomplished what a platoon of armed mercenaries couldn't in a matter of minutes was ... well it seemed impossible.
"That's the point of the group ... no one is really sure. Except for their leader Zaheer. Before his time as a slave to the Chinese mutant core he was a student of eastern philosophy but has twisted those beliefs to his own. He was once part of Magneto's inner circle ... a trusted adviser according to him ... but was banished from Genosha a number of years ago. He leads the group and SHIELD believes their numbers are dozens of unique mutants. Not simply powerful ... but well placed. Spread across mutant and human governments and circles of influence."
"What about the other two?" Bobby asked. Xavier looked at another page in the file on his lap.
"Sadisme may very well be Jane Volturi. At least her power of pain illusion would match." Xavier reasoned.
"Are we supposed to know who that is?" Bobby looked around to see shrugs. Xavier sighed and continued.
"I would guess not. Jane Volturi was the eldest child and only daughter of Caius and Sulpica Volturi, head of a wealthy Italian shipping family. Jane's school and juvenile records are sealed but her EUROPOL file has it that she was kicked out of every boarding school she attended for ... disturbing reasons. Caius and Sulpica died just in time for their daughter - Jane - to inherit her family's fortune. Her younger brother Alec was pulled from school and into her direct care soon after. The pair was a staple in Milan, Bern, Moscow, and New York for a number of years before simply ... disappearing. The FBI at first thought she'd been kidnapped but without any evidence and intermittent use of her family accounts there was never any case. This appears to be what has become of her."
"And what about ... the other one." Collective shiver, another longer drink from Logan.
"He is a mutant unlike any I have ever encountered. He is known by the Romani as Suyolak. Scourge of the Earth ... or as he is called now ... fittingly ... Plague. I have no idea how old he is ... he isn't even certain anymore. But he is walking disease. Death. What he did to Logan is a small sample of his power." Xavier sounding truly shaken.
"How do you - is that in his file?" Ororo asked Charles.
"No ... there is no file on him. At least none that was shared with me. Erik was just as troubled when I spoke with him. I only know this much becuase he wanted me to. He showed me."
"Showed you what?"
"That Kara likely saved all of our lives."
Kara didn't bother speaking.
She just kept her eyes on the ground and did her best not to flinch as Suyolak's fingers rested on her shoulder.
Kara didn't need to look up to know where she was. She could scent it. Hear the mix of voices and languages. It was a place she'd sworn she'd never see again ... the odd collection of mismatched low-slung building - even some tents tossed in - apparently put together at random and only sharing a worn appearance rising to meet her surrounded not by a fence or a wall but a solitary line in the snow. For a moment Kara considered fighting back but as the group crossed that line Kara's knees suddenly gave out as she snarled at the pain that erupted - not in her brain - but in her mind.
Suloyak looked down for a moment, as if mildly interested in the pantheress' pain, but seeing as he wasn't the one causing it continued on without breaking stride.
It all came crashing back ... the part of her mind that had been closed ... tied down ... gagged ... muted ever since she'd crossed the barrier that surrounded the base. Her 'home' ... her prison. She hadn't known what would happen if she managed escaped but she'd never imagined anything like this ...
"Oh stop being dramatic. You're lucky Kid Omega's mind block worked and you couldn't tell your new owners anything useful. Otherwise we would have had to kill them all. Wouldn't that have been such a shame?" Sadisme mocked as Kara took a few shuttering breaths as her mind pulsed with pain as she slowly regained control of it.
All that time - she'd just ... she'd needed to tell them. Warn them. Raven ... Logan ... Rahne ... she'd tried ... really tried but the words would never come. Like screaming from inside a room no one knew she was in. She'd tried telling Xavier but every time she'd tried she'd blacked out and woken up in the woods ... as if she'd been forced back to this place. So eventually she'd stopped trying.
Sadisme's smirk only grew as Kara made it to her knees with a low growl and knelt down closer to her favorite target.
"Who knows ... maybe I'll go back and pay them a visit myself. Just for fun." Sadisme whispered and Kara managed a growl before letting out a snarl of pain as Sadisme unleashed her power on Kara as the feral dug her claws into the earth. When she was younger she'd try and run when Sadisme decided to hurt her ... but now she knew better.
You can't run.
"Enough." Zaheer's tone was calm and commanding as always, earning a brief pout from Sadisme who gave a final look at the writhing feral before strutting away, one high-heeled boot leaving marks in the snow after another.
"Leave us." and Suloyak too melted back into the darkness
The panthress didn't look up, even when she knew Zaheer was standing over her, his combat boots entering and exiting her peripheral vision. The breeze finally stopped.
"Kara…"
The panthress grimaced as she rolled away and slowly worked her way back onto her feet ignoring the warrior monk. She made the mistake of looking him straight in the eyes on her way up and was greeted with that same infuriating look of total nothingness. He was furious at her, she knew it, but it never showed. Not with words. He was almost smiling. His eyes filled with faux concern. She hated that about him ... that he could make you believe he cared. It's what made him such a convincing leader.
"I did warn you," Zaheer began, "I warned you that this was the only place you'd be safe."
"Not safe. Prison." Kara growled back, her mind still throbbing ... she didn't want to be here again. Ever.
"And what happened when you escaped this 'prison'? You were captured in a matter of what ... days? Less? And what did the humans and their governments do to you?" Zaheer pushed back, Kara keeping her eyes locked at a tree behind Zaheer, "Tortured. Experimented on. Used." Kara's ears fell back. "There is nothing out there for you - for any of us - but the war."
At each word Kara flinched at the memory but at the word 'nothing' Kara regained some of her anger.
"Not nothing! I - friends ... home. Safe!" Kara snarled but Zaheer barely frowned.
"Perhaps ... but did you keep your friends safe? You're a danger wherever you go. I thought you knew that truth."
"Not a danger. Protector." Kara growled back ... though her snarl was quieter. Almost to herself. But Zaheer's heard everything carried by the wind and his brow dropped as a gale seemed to appear from nowhere around them. Zaheer never seemed to lose his temper but the wind was enough.
"You are no 'protector' child. Not you. Never you. It is against your very nature. I can see now that allowing you to remain here in the shadows ... alone ... sheltered ... was a mistake. You are born of weapons ... of violence. I see that it's time you were taught the meaning of that."
Kara's hackles rose as she squared up against Zaheer. For years she'd been hurt ... or worse ignored ... by him. By his followers ... they beat her ... damager her ... by all of the mutants that came and went through this place. But now she knew better ... she was going to kill him. Kill them all if she could ... then her friends would be safe. She'd be safe. But only if she could -
"Your father is coming."
Kara's breathing seemed to freeze as quickly as the wind suddenly died. It - it couldn't be ... not again ... not so soon ... Logan had promised ...
"Stay. Wait for him here." Zaheer demanded and headed inside. Zaheer never allowed him to enter the compound. So Kara did as she was told, seemingly all the fight suddenly bled out of her. Zaheer didn't even bother checking to see if she listened.
She waited.
She'd always known running was pointless. But then she'd actually escaped ... Logan had found her ... taken her to friends ... her room ... Raven ... Ororo ... Kitty ... Rahne
Kara's hand moved to her wrist and with a small movement the leather bracelet Raven had given her appeared from beneath her fur as the young feral traced the design as night came.
'Protector.' Kara repeated to herself. 'Protector.'
She scented him before she heard him. He smelled like blood ... always. Kara took a breath and got to her feet, squaring up in the direction she knew he was coming. The compound had few lights but she didn't need them. But even though she could see through the darkness he still managed to appear out of the shadows.
'Logan will find me. He promised. Protector.' Kara repeated her mantra one more time.
"You tried runnin' from me girl." The voice sounded like gravel and razor blades.
"Back." Kara growled towards the shadows as Victor Creed ... Sabertooth ... appeared.
"Yea ... my good girl. My little monster. Back with me. Where you belong."