Werewolves
     The X-Men, and Wolfsbane are the property of Marvel 
Comics.  Hotshot is mine!  Mine!  Do you hear me, mine! 
 Wahahahahaha!

     Hotshot walked slowly along the empty streets of 
New York, brooding.  Wolverine was still gone.  Jubilee 
seemed to have gotten over it, but it just wasn't the 
same without the old Canuckle Head around.  As if that 
weren't bad enough, Changeling, Illusion, Peter, Max and 
Flash, and Shade left shortly after their adventure in 
the alternate dimension.  Even the cat was gone.  Her 
brother had come and taken her back to their home.  
Hotshot hoped he would be able to turn her back to her 
human form.
     In truth, Hotshot was trying to decide if he should 
remain with the X-Men or strike out on his own.  He'd 
learned to control his powers, and he really was not 
having as much fun as he would like.  The only thing 
keeping him from pulling up stakes, was Jubilee.  He 
hoped he would be able to convince Jubilee to come
with him if he decided to leave.  He didn't want to 
leave her.   He picked up his head at the sound of a 
howling dog, and shivered.
  	"Oh look, full moon." he thought.  The dog 
howled again, closer.  Will felt himself tense up.
     "Terrific." he muttered.  "I'm depressed, and now 
I'm giving myself the creeps."  He heard a low growl 
from the alley next to him.  "There's no such things as 
werewolves, there's no such things as werewolves.  I 
wish there was no such things as spiders, I wish there 
was no such things as spiders."
     "Any dog that attacks me, is in for a nasty 
surprise." he told himself.
     "Is that so?" a low guttural voice said.  Hotshot 
turned towards the alley.
     "Uh, Wolverine?" he said hopefully.
     "No such luck handsome." the voice said.  Then a 
large hairy arm flashed from the shadows and yanked him 
into the alley.  Hotshot stared in horror.  He could not 
believe what he was seeing.  He'd never believed in 
werewolves, but this thing could not be anything else.  
"Oh shit.  Okay, I've been wrong before."
     He grabbed the arm that held him and concentrated. 
 The werewolf's arm caught fire.  The thing dropped him 
and howled in pain.  Hotshot started to run, and felt a 
burning pain in his arm.  He looked down and saw that 
the werewolf had sunken it's teeth into his right 
forearm.  He screamed and sent another blast of
heat at the creature's face.  It released him, and he 
ran for all he was worth.  If he could get back to the 
mansion, he'd be safe.  But something nagged in the back 
of his mind.  Something about werewolves, about what 
happened to those who were bitten by a werewolf.

     Beast looked up in alarm when he heard the front 
door slam.  He ran from the library and saw Will stumble 
in, gasping and clutching his bloody arm.
     "Full moon..." he panted.  "Attacked...the 
hurting...ran all the way...cramp!"  He collapsed from 
exhaustion.  Beast picked him up and carried him to the 
infirmary.

     Jubilee gasped when she saw the wound inflicted on 
Hotshot.  Beast questioned Will about his assailant as 
he gently cleaned Hotshot's arm.
     "You're sure of what attacked you?" Beast asked 
worriedly.
     "As sure as I'm seeing you McCoy." Hotshot said 
through clenched teeth.  "Just what you guy's need 
around here.  Another Sabertooth."  Will had remembered 
what happened to those bitten by a werewolf.  Beast 
thought he was taking it awfully well considering.
     "That's not gonna happen." Jubilee insisted.  
"Beast'll fix it.  Won't you?"
     "Well-" Beast began.  
     "It's already started Lee." Will said gently.  
"Only a werewolf could have run all the way from 
Manhattan to here, and recovered from the exhaustion 
this quickly."
     "No," Jubilee murmured.  
     At that moment, Wolfsbane, who'd been visiting for 
the week burst into the room.  "I just heard what 
happened!" she said.  "Is it true?  'Twas a werewolf 
that attacked ye?"
     "That's what it looked like to me." Hotshot said.
     "Dear God, may he have mercy on your soul."
     "I'll drink to that."

     Jubilee and Wolfsbane stood outside Hotshot's room. 
 They refused to stray to far from his side.  They'd 
both seen enough horror movies to know that if Hotshot 
had been bitten by a werewolf, the nightmare was only 
beginning.  
     "I don't care what that damn reverend of yours 
says." Jubilee insisted.  "Just because someone's a 
werewolf doesn't mean they're evil.  Haven't you ever 
seen Teen Wolf?"
     Before Wolfsbane could answer, there was a loud 
crash from Will's room.
     They burst into his room and found his window 
smashed, and Hotshot gone.  They ran to the window and 
saw a dim figure running away through the woods.
     "I can follow his scent." Wolfsbane said.  "Come 
on!"  They rushed outside and began to follow the trail 
that Hotshot had left behind.
     Jubilee had trouble keeping up with Wolfsbane.
     "Hey wait up!" she called.  "I'm not a werewolf, I 
can't run that fast!"

     The wolf creature sat in the junkyard, waiting.  
The boy would come.  He would follow her scent to where 
she now sat.  In searching for a mate, she believed 
she'd done well.  As a werewolf, she'd followed a scent 
that she'd enjoyed to the boy.  He'd escaped, but he 
would be back.  Her nose twitched.  He
was coming, she could smell him.  Then, he loped into 
view.
     "What a magnificent creature he is!" she thought.  
"So strong, and young.  Perfect."
     The boy paused, sniffing the air.  He still bore a 
large resemblance to a regular human.  The 
transformation was far from complete.  But it continued. 
 She stood and walked slowly towards him, inhaling the 
aroma that had first drawn her to him.
     "Who are you?" he growled.  Even as he spoke he 
changed.  The shape of his head was losing it's human 
form.  She knew he was in great pain, but it would pass. 
 She came closer, and began to embrace him.
     "Get away from him!"  Jubilee shouted.  She hurled 
fireworks at the werewolf, knocking it away from 
Hotshot.  Hotshot turned, and Jubilee gasped in horror 
when she saw what he was becoming.  The eyepatch had 
slipped off in the transformation, the eye was still 
missing.  
     She started towards him, hoping that some part of 
him would recognize her.  But he ran into the maze of 
piles of junk.
     "Will wait!"  She did not often use his real name, 
not since he'd chosen his codename, but she felt it may 
be the only way to reach him.  She started to go after 
him, but her way was blocked by a snarling, pissed off 
werewolf.  It pounced at her but was intercepted by 
Wolfsbane.
     "I dinna know what ye want with Hotshot, an' I 
dinna care!" she said.  "Ye'll pay for what ye've done 
t' him!"  Her claws raked across the werewolf's chest.  
Jubilee stood back, watching helplessly as Wolfsbane and 
the werewolf tried to kill each other.
     With a howl of triumph, the werewolf hurled 
Wolfsbane away, into a wrecked car.  Wolfsbane slumped 
unmoving to the ground.  Growling, the werewolf turned 
back to her original target.
     "N..nice doggie." Jubilee stammered, backing away. 
 Suddenly something shot over her head and drove the 
werewolf to the ground.  Jubilee realized with a mix of 
horror and joy that it was Hotshot.  Horror because of 
what he'd become.  The transformation was complete.  Joy 
because whatever he was, he was still Hotshot.
     In his hand, he held a sharp metal shaft.  With the 
other, he held the werewolf's throat.  He brought the 
shaft down sharply, stabbing into the werewolf's chest. 
 The creature howled in mortal agony.  
     She threw him off her, and staggered to her feet.  
She was dying she knew.  But she'd be damned if she 
wasn't going to take him with her.  She'd loved him, but 
where affection had been, now there was only hatred.  
With all her remaining strength, she shoved him to the 
ground and drove the shaft through his chest and
into the ground.  Then she rose, and staggered a few 
steps before she fell.  Slowly, she began to revert to 
human form.
     Hotshot struggled weakly, trying to free himself.  
Above him, clouds blocked out the moon and a gentle rain 
began to fall.  He felt himself revert to human form.  
Then, he felt, and saw nothing.

     Jubilee ran to Hotshot's side.  Wolfsbane followed 
close behind.
     "Will!" Jubilee cried.  She knelt, pulling at the 
metal shaft.  It finally came free, and Jubilee hurled 
it aside.  "Will wake up!" she said desperately.  She 
cradled his body in her arms, tears streaming down her 
face.  "You can't die!  You're a werewolf!  You can't 
die!"
     "Jubilee," Wolfsbane said gently.  "The metal was 
silver.  I'm afraid...he's gone Jubilee."
     "NO!"  Jubilee cried, but the thunder drowned out 
her words.  She held Hotshot, unwilling...unable to say 
good-bye.  
     "No."  She wept softly.  The rain picked up, and it 
began to pour.

                             The End

                        Next: The Funeral