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AND THE HUNTED written by Richard 'Kurogo' Palmer
Warning: This Fan-fiction deals with mature matters such as substance abuse, profanity and violence.
"Monet," Kevin said as he ran up to M in the halls, "I need a favor."
"What is it Kevin? Another social joke at my expense?" She sighed "I'm really not in the mood and quite frankly I'm surprised that you would be."
"That ain't it at all." Kevin said, "Since I came back to life I've had time to experiment with my new powers. One of which seems to be a form of telepathy." He looked around nervously, "I've been interogatin' the prisoner without his knowledge, basically comin in on occasion making death threats, telling him I know all about why he's here. And I've uncovered a few things." He motioned M in close; "Asylum 7's just the tip of the iceberg. Canon's main project, the heart of the beast, is some project called Utopia. And according to smiley in there," Kevin said motioning to the room Sabretooth was being held, "the Utopia Project has a station in New Hampshire. If we can infiltrate the institution, I'm almost positive we can get a information that might lead to a cure."
"I thought you were going to leave that matter up to your pet Cat?" Monet said.
"Oh, and you're accusing me of being heartless?" He pulled out his cigarettes, "I'm serious, and besides if Christina's wrong we have to explore other options. Now here's the deal, I still have knowledge of Asylum 7's inner workings, and you have the physical ability. If we both infiltrate the New Hampshire division of Asylum 7, I'm positive we have a chance." Kevin lit up his cigarette; "Now you can tell yourself you're above this, that you don't need to dirty your hands on this kinda deal. But I'm telling you I'm going to go ahead and do this anyway, with or without you. Like it or not Monet, I need you."
Monet looked at him with a look of mild frustration. "Okay, I'll go get the others."
Kevin grabbed her arm, "No others, this is a small mission we go in, we go out. No one knows and no one gets left behind."
Again Monet looked back at him questioningly, "Only if you stop smoking for the duration of this mission."
Kevin looked back at her and sighed, he dropped his cigarette and stomped it out.
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The trees crashed down in front of them. Wolverine leapt out of the way of the attack. Balam sizemorphed into a twenty foot tall version of herself. And shot in the direction of the attack. Nothing was there. Things grew quiet again before another attack came from behind them. Wolverine extended his claws and leapt at the approaching figure. His claws buried deep into the creature's flesh. It was then that he saw their attacker. It appeared to be an amalgamation of animals, its legs appeared to be that of a goat or a deer, it's torso that of a large monkey, arm's that bared close resemblance to a jaguar and it had the head of a taper. Surrounding the creature was a deep red aura.
Balam leapt at the creature and tore into it with her claws. The creature effortlessly tossed her aside. She quickly recovered and landed on her feet.
Wolverine leapt at the creature and gouged his claws into its torso again and again. Nothing seemed to have any effect. The creature grabbed him by the neck and tossed him aside as well as it began to advance on Balam. Christina hesitated before she leapt at the creature and slammed into him, growing to at least thirty feet as she did so.
Wolverine jumped at the creature as Balam recovered from her attack. The creature seemed to melt away into the darkness.
"You okay, Kid?" he said as he turned towards Balam. Hesitantly she nodded. "Let's go then, I'm picking up the scent."
They entered a small clearing. In the center of that clearing were several dead animals, jaguars tapers, monkeys. Wolverine looked around. "He's close, I can smell 'im."
"That's him." Balam said looking down at the dead animals. Wolverine gave her a funny look; "He doesn't have a body so he steals the bodies of others." She looked around frantically, "look for a deep red glow, that'll be him."
Wolverine looked around; the creature's stench was everywhere. Off in the corner of his eye he saw a quick flash of red light. He quickly turned in that direction. The red glow shot along the ground to its closest target… Balam. She merely had time to allow the shock to run through her system as the red glow enveloped her.
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"This is a bad idea." Monet said. She and Kevin had gotten down to New Hampshire's Asylum 7. They had managed to get past the early warning system and were sneaking in through the heating ducts.
"Okay, this should be it." Kevin kicked open the air vent and dropped into the room. Monet floated down behind him. "Where is this? She said as she looked around at the shelves filled with glass jars with different colored liquid.
"The viral storage closet." Kevin said as Monet shot back from the shelves.
"Are they lethal?" She asked.
"Oh yeah." Kevin said as he picked up a jar, "This one cost me life number sixteen and that one over there cost me life twenty one."
"And this is standard?"
"For the most part, yeah." Kevin replied as he approached the door. "Now come on we have to find the main lab." Kevin opened the door just a bit to hear screaming he peeked out just a little bit and saw Equilibrium being dragged down the hallway by two armed guards followed by a man in a suit and vest.
"NO! You can't do this to me! I'm an Emissary an elite! I have diplomatic immunity!"
"You defied Canon." The man in the suit said, "Canon's word is law."
"NO!! I won't go back to the neural Labs! NOOOO!" Equilibrium broke free of the armed guards, The man in the suit suddenly split into five separate versions of himself. Four of them grabbed Equilibrium as the fifth pulled out a tazer. He proceeded to jam it into Equilibrium's stomach. Equilibrium screamed and fell unconscious.
"My God!" Monet said as they dragged Equilibrium through a sliding door.
"I knew he'd get his." Kevin smirked. He dashed out of the room and snuck down the hall a bit. He held his hand up to the control panel by the door. A light blue glow emanated from his hand and disabled the security lock. The door sprung open.
"What?" Monet started.
"No time for explanations, follow me." Kevin said as he dashed into the room. M followed.
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Balam keeled over, "N…no." she muttered.
"Kid, Are ya alright?" Wolverine questioned, knowing already that she wasn't.
"No!" she screamed as she sizemorphed to twenty feet in height. Her skin changed to resemble more that of fur. The red aura flowed around her. Her light brown hair turned white. The mutant that used to be Balam turned to wolverine. Her eyes appeared as cat's eyes.
Wolverine leapt at the creature, who dodged nimbly. The creature slammed a giant fist into Wolverines back and drove him into the ground. Wolverine turned around and grabbed Balam's arm trying to force her over. He succeeded in only knocking her aside momentarily. The creature recovered and rushed at Wolverine again, claws bared. Wolverine leapt out of the way. He jumped at Balam again and delivered a fast kick to her jaw. She stumbled back as Wolverine tried to plan his next move. The creature now inhabited Balam's body and if he hurt her at this size when she returned to her normal height she would be seriously injured and maybe even dead. Logan's mind raced, dawn was a few hours away. He remembered how Balam had said that this creature didn't like sunlight. Maybe he could buy some time till dawn and force the creature out of Christina's body.
"If you want me, Bub, come and get me." Wolverine growled. The Beast charged him as he prepared to defend himself. He grappled the large creature that was once Christina Laine and tossed her aside. The ground shook as she fell. She stood again and prepared her next attack. Wolverine had disappeared. Suddenly she was attacked from behind. Logan wrapped his arms around her neck in a sleeper hold. Balam doubled back. Finally she shook him off. Wolverine landed and prepared to defend himself, this was going nowhere. He'd have to incapacitate her till dawn and his physical strength alone wasn't going to be enough.
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"Garbage," Kevin said as he pulled his hand away from another computer terminal. "Let's try the next one."
"So when did you find out about this power?"
"When I woke up in the infirmary I unintentionally pulled up my own medical records when I touched the computer terminal. This one's got nothing either. Let's keep going." Kevin grabbed another computer as his fingers radiated the light blue glow. "This is a form of cyberkinisis, I have a limited control of it right now, I can only read or decode from technology I can touch. Where's the next one?"
"So do you deal with this a lot?" M questioned, "A new power to master every time you come back?"
"Well, occasionally I get a power I've used before, in fact it happens quite frequently. But it seems that, yes, I have a new power to get used to almost every time I get back." Kevin moved on to the next computer.
A few moments passed before Monet spoke up, "I can't believe we're doing this."
"What? Don't tell me you're thinking of backing out now?" Kevin responded as he turned to her, "If this is simply because You still don't buy that Leveque is a monster…"
"No, that's not what I was referring to." Monet Responded, "I was simply referring to the fact that we actually seem to be getting along."
Kevin went back to the computers, "Don't worry, I don't like it any more than you do." He replied. Monet smiled weakly, careful that he wouldn't notice. Kevin sighed, "Okay, the truth is, I respect you. You have… some… redeemable qualities about you and I see you as a friend of sorts." Kevin smiled and turned back to her, "Now I could go and apologize for all of those times I made jokes at your expense, but seriously, who's foolin' who? You enjoyed the game as much as I did, and you gave as good as you got." Kevin Turned back to the computers, "But don't expect me to let up, money, I still don't agree with a lot of your viewpoints, but that's just what makes us hum…" Kevin stopped for a second.
"What, Did you find a cure?"
Kevin shook his head, "Something else, something bad… real bad." Kevin backed from the machine; "This is bigger than I ever could have expected." He sighed and moved on to the next machine.
Suddenly the door burst open; twelve men with energy weapons filled the room. "HANDS UP!!"
Sequel and M complied. As they did, Kevin looked at M and said telepathically, *M, fly us both outta here, use me as a human shield if you have to but get us as far away from here as you possibly can!*
M nodded and grabbed Kevin as she flew through the ceiling, several shots were fired, Kevin made sure he took the majority. Several seconds and several miles later he looked up at M, "Stop… please…" he muttered as blood poured out from his mouth. Monet looked down at the ground below and flew down to land.
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Banshee looked at Jubilee. The girl was unconscious now, and the fever seemed to be causing her nightmares. Banshee was still not sure about this. Dr. Terrien had seemed to have all but completely lost his grasp on reality. Even now he sat huddled in a corner of the cave holding his shoulder muttering, "I know you're out there. I know you want to finish me off. But you're not going to get me, not this time…"
Banshee shook his head; every moment with this guy convinced him more that this was a bad idea. Suddenly he saw Dr. Terrien jolt back. "What's wrong?" Cassidy asked. He turned as he heard the sounds of a scuffle and saw Logan sail past the opening of the cave, followed shortly by a much larger figure surrounded by a deep red aura. The figure stopped just outside the cave and slowly peered inside.
"N…no." Dr. Terrien stammered, "Not again." He scrambled back against the wall reaching for anything that could be used as a weapon. He found a large knife had had packed in a corner along with much of his other survival gear, "You'll not get me again!" The figure loomed into the cave. As it did, Banshee recognized the figure, "Balam?"
Dr. Terrien stopped for a moment to realize just what Cassidy had. He closed his eyes and muttered, "Forgive me." He then rushed at the Creature that was Balam with the blade in hand. Banshee dove at the doctor, trying to keep him from harming his student. He missed. It didn't matter, however, as Balam attacked the Doctor and slammed him against his makeshift research table. Several vials crashed against the stone floor of the cave. Dr. Terrien Scrambled to get away.
Suddenly Wolverine leapt onto the creature's back and held Balam in a strangle hold. "Get Jubes and the Doc outta here!!" he yelled. Banshee grabbed Jubilee and headed towards the entrance of the cave, motioning for the Doctor to follow. Dr. Terrien eyed Balam, now possessed by a being that had cost him his arm and much of his sanity. He leapt at her again with the knife. Inadvertently Balam dodged as she was trying to pry herself free of Logan's grip. Dr. Terrien Stumbled in the darkness of the cave and fell on his own blade. He didn't scream or moan in agony. He simply looked back at Balam slowly his hope slipped away.
Balam wrenched Logan's arms from around her throat as she fell backward. The two combatants crashed into Terrien's computer terminal. Sparks shot up as the two sprang into defensive positions again. Logan looked at the Cave's entrance, he knew he had to get Wiraqocha out of here. He dashed for the opening and the creature stepped in his way. Logan performed a baseball slide underneath her legs and dashed out the entryway. The creature growled and followed him.
Wolverine leapt up to higher ground waiting for Wiraqocha to follow. He didn't have to wait long. Using the full potential of Balam's agility the giant being flew up the side of the cliff and somersaulted to a ready position behind Wolverine.
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Canon entered the lab. Immediately he was approached by the balding man in the suit and vest, Cavalry, his head of security and one of his main Emissaries, "There were two of them sir, both mutants, both in their teens, we hit one of them for sure and they can't have gotten far. Right now were organizing a search party to…"
"No." Canon replied calmly.
"Pardon, sir? We have proof that they've accessed top secret files, they could have found numerous things that could jeopardize the entire project."
Canon smiled, "Perhaps." He walked off as Cavalry looked questioningly at his commander.
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Sean flew into the cave and set Jubilee down. He walked over to the Doctor, looking for any signs of life. The man lay unmoving, not even breathing. Suddenly Terrien's head shot up. "Doctor, ye scared me there for a second, I thought ye might be…"
"Dead?…" Terrien said, "Not yet… but soon I'm sure." The Doctor stammered; he pulled his hand away from his abdomen. The knife was still embedded in his midsection, blood was pouring out, "Where is… the girl…" he gasped, "We have... some unfinished business."
Dr. Terrien rummaged around the back of the cave that until moments ago served as his living quarters. Now his life's work lay in shambles on the floor. Banshee watched from the mouth of the cave, "What are ye looking for?"
"The cure." Terrien answered, his raspy voice growing weaker.
"The cure?"
"Yes, I have… a little… a little left of the serum… needed to treat your friend." he said as he pulled a dusty bottle out from behind a large rocks, "Unfortunately… I don't believe… there's enough… for you to give your… Dr. MacTaggart… for her research." He took the bottle in his teeth and pulled out a syringe.
As he filled the syringe with the fluid Banshee looked at him, "Then yuir need for us destroyin' that monster was for nothin'? Ye had the cure the whole time?"
"Forgive me." Terrien said as he injected the serum into Jubilee, "I had… hopes…" he finished and collapsed on the floor, slowly dying. "I wanted to… rid the locals of this curse… before I moved on… before I left for home… to continue my research… in a real lab. Now… it doesn't look… like either… will happen." He motioned Banshee closer; "My work may have been for naught Cassidy… But… take my journals… they don't… have much, most… of my… hard evidence… was on the computer…but perhaps… my research… can help MacTaggart… find a cure… stop… the legacy…" Terrien slumped over, dead. His last patient on the military cot above him.
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They neared a waterfall on one side of the cliff as the thirty-foot Balam attacked Wolverine with her claws. Wolverine dodge nimbly as he got ready for his attack. He leapt at Balam with his claws extended. She easily dodged out of the way. Logan stood and grinned. The creature stood motionless, it couldn't figure out why Logan wasn't attacking. Suddenly a large tree fell down upon Balam. Wolverine smiled, a few more minutes and the sun would be up, if his hunch was correct Balam would be back to herself by then. But, suddenly she shrank down to normal size and squeezed her way out from the underneath the tree growing back to her thirty foot self as she did so.
Logan prepared himself to finish the battle. But the creature began to back off into the woods, to escape the sun. Logan knew he had to act fast, "Christina, I know yer in there! Don't let this thing beat ya! Ya gotta fight it, for Jubilee!"
The creature halted, a slow growl emanated from Balam's throat. She crouched down and leapt. Wolverine got ready to dodge, but Balam sailed over him and plummeted down the cliff. Wolverine rushed to the cliff's edge and peered over. She lay motionless on a ledge thirty feet down. She began to stir. Logan saw a small smile form on her face as the suns rays began to shine. A loud psionic scream emanated from Balam's body as the red glow burned off like smoke from a smoldered fire. Balam shrank back to her normal size, retaining her original features as she did so.
It took Wolverine a few seconds to climb down to the ledge. "Are ya okay kid?" he asked Balam still lay motionless on the ledge, but she replied, "yeah, I'll be fine… just got the… wind knocked outta me." She looked up at Wolverine; "I beat him. Wiriqocha has been haunting me my whole life… and I finally beat him." She smiled as he tried to sit up, "And now Jubilee… she's gonna be okay right?"
"I sure hope so, Kid." Logan said as he helped her to her feet.
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M stopped in a small group of trees. She set Kevin down, "Sequel? Are you okay?"
Kevin coughed up some blood; "I've had worse days. I'm not… going to… make it back… back to the… Academy. But I've got… maybe most… important info on… Canon… and Utopia project…" He grabbed both sides of M's head. Information poured into her mind.
"Kevin?" She said as Kevin dropped his hands, "What was that?"
"An Extermination list… Potential problems when… project is completed… and the project's basic…" Kevin stopped midway through his sentence and slumped over. Monet didn't need any other information. She knew what she's seen, blueprints for an amplification device to increase mutant powers, specifically Canon's persuasive powers. But that wasn't all, there was also a list of people, both humans and mutants to eliminate after Canon had taken over the world. This wasn't Canon's professed plan to further the mutant cause; it was an elaborate revenge scheme. But it was worse, for Monet at least, it seemed he thought both her brother Marius and her father presented potential dangers to his operation, they were both on the list for termination.
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Jubilee opened her eyes. Wolverine and Banshee were crowded around the cot she was laying on. She sat up and looked at her hands, she had control of her powers again. She looked around trying to find Dr. Terrien. The room was a shambles, "What happened here? Did you guy's throw a kegger or something? Where's the doc?"
"Dr Terrien… passed away last night Jubilee," Banshee said, "his last actions were t' cure ye of the virus. The fight with Wiraqocha eventually led back here, the scuffle destroyed most of the lab."
Jubilee sat back, going over the situation, "How about Christy? Is she alright?"
"The kid had a wild night last night, but she came through." Logan said. "She left early this morning, after she came in to make sure you were alright."
"Left? Left where?"
"She said she needed some time to think."
Jubilee sat back, "Okay what exactly happened last night?"
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Christina sat down by the river her feet hanging just above the water. Jubilee walked down towards the water's edge, "Christina," she yelled, "are you Okay, what's the matter?"
"Thing's have changed," she said, "I wasn't expecting things to turn out the way they did last night. But at least the Doctor came through. I'm glad he cured you, but I feel responsible that we lost him."
"Christy It wasn't your fault." Jubilee said, "You didn't have control over yourself at the time, Logan already told me. What happened was nothin' more than an accident."
"Maybe," Christina said as she stood up, "but somehow that doesn't make me feel better." She walked back towards the cave, "I guess this is what Warren calls a bittersweet victory."
"Christy, from what I heard you did phenomenal last night. You faced your fears head on. And you came through when it really counted. You should be proud."
"No, I don't think I could have done it without Logan," she smiled as she looked into the Sky again. "You're right, he's really something."
The End
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The legal stuff: The Characters from Generation X and the concept of Mutants and are a product of Marvel comics and it's employees and are used without permission. Christina Laine is, obviously, based off of the Samurai Spirits character Cham-Cham, Beyond that she's a character of my own creation.
I'd like to use this time to answer some questions about the series… Yes, Yes, No, Maybe, Yes, Cause I felt like it, and maybe in the next volume.
