A/N: This story has been fairly tame so far but it's about to live up
to its warning from part 1. Since I don't want anyone caught off
guard I'm going to repeat the rating…
Rating: NC-17 for violence and some language (most of this fic is
just 'R' but there are a few scenes of explicit and graphic violence
near the end)
~~~~~~~~~~~
As the brotherhood approached Liberty Island, Sabretooth noticed he
had been left alone with the girl he had been sent to retrieve from
Canada. Actually, the cabin also had the corpses of the two men he
had just killed when they took possession of the boat but that didn't
really matter to Sabretooth. His teammates were elsewhere on the
vessel and he had a chance to study the girl before him.
After a few minutes, Sabretooth decided he didn't like her behavior
one bit. Earlier she had asked if they were going to kill her and
after Magneto had told her yes and even gave her the how and why, she
had said nothing.
It wasn't her lack of response that bothered him but rather her lack
of fear. When she had been trapped in the burning camper he had
easily been able to smell her terror as he approached but now there
was nothing and it unnerved him.
Just being in the same room with him should have made her cringe and
yet she was simply staring out a window from her bound position on the
floor seemingly oblivious to his presence.
For as long as he could remember, Sabretooth had always enjoyed the
smell of fear, the only thing better was seeing the lights fade from
the eyes of someone he had just killed. Knowing he couldn't get away
with the latter but should be able to enjoy the former, Sabretooth
moved closer to Rogue and picked her up by her neck using his good
hand.
Protected from her deadly skin by her scarf, his oily black eyes bore
into her as he growled, "Scream for me."
Although she was struggling for breath it was obvious to Sabretooth
she wasn't making any attempt to scream. Enraged, his hand tightened
over her delicate throat until he was finally rewarded with the scent
he was after. However, it was far too faint for his liking and he
growled menacingly at her.
"Quit playing around, I don't think the boss is going to like it if
you hurt her now."
At Toad's words Sabretooth dropped her suddenly and Rogue fell into a
heap by his feet. Her bound hands didn't allow her to massage her
injured throat but she was glad to be able to breathe again.
The faint scent was completely gone again and Sabretooth couldn't help
but wonder if she knew something that he didn't.
~~~~~~~~~
Logan had been tracking Marie for over an hour and hoping that he
would reach her in time, he offered a silent prayer to a god he had
never really believed in before. Following her scent amidst the
millions of others the city had to offer hadn't been easy and there
had been times when he had lost the faint remnant of Marie and had to
double back to find it again. However, he finally noticed that the
general direction he had been travelling was taking him closer to the
harbour.
Running to the docks, Logan was pleased to find Marie's scent much
stronger there and hoped she was nearby. After a few minutes of
searching it was obvious that she wasn't and his heart sank at the
thought that she had been taken from there by boat. It would be much
harder to track her over the open water.
Although life had never done him any favours, Logan had to believe
that fate wasn't cruel enough to give him a glimpse of a future that
had meaning only to have it taken away so abruptly. With that last
thought Logan boarded the nearest boat and set out to find Marie once
again.
The breeze over the water had significantly diluted the scent he had
been following since the train station and at times Logan wondered if
he was really detecting it or if it was just his imagination.
Eventually, the scent did get stronger and it looked like she had been
taken to Liberty Island.
As Logan pulled up alongside a boat that had obviously been used to
bring Marie to the island, he used all of his senses to determine if
anyone was nearby. Detecting no one, he sprinted towards the Statue
of Liberty.
He wasn't surprised by the fact that there weren't any guards at the
entrance since it was apparent to him by scent that the three mutants
he had seen at the train station had been through here. Avoiding the
obvious metal detector so as not to alert his foes, Logan made his way
past the main lobby and then paused.
He was able to detect five mutant scents and that made him wary.
Marie and the three from the train station made four but the fifth one
was new. It smelled almost reptilian and Logan could tell it was
nearby. Before he could lock onto it, his keen vision detected
someone else hiding in the shadows above him.
Noticing the green-skinned man above him a split second before he
attacked didn't really help Logan much and he felt a sudden weight on
his back forcing him roughly to the ground face first. Toad easily
dodged the arm that Logan swung out behind him and jumped back to a
safe distance.
Disguised as a miniature Statue of Liberty, Mystique watched Logan try
to get up by placing an arm underneath himself only to have Toad
completely cut off his airway with an obscenely long tongue. Even
though Toad was standing nearly ten feet behind the choking mutant, he
had no idea how dangerous his position really was until it was too
late.
As soon as Logan cut through the tongue he was able to breathe again
but his sensitive hearing was immediately assaulted by the hideous
scream that escaped Toad's mouth. Removing the slimy tongue that was
still loosely wrapped around his neck, Logan advanced on the
green-skinned man and was thoroughly enraged that Marie's scent was so
strong on him since he had been the one to take her away from the
train station. Between the screaming and blood flying out of the
amphibious mutant's mouth, Logan didn't notice the miniature Statue of
Liberty behind him shimmer and then turn blue.
Mystique cursed herself for being too slow and allowing Toad to get
injured so grievously. She didn't really care if he lived or died but
Magneto would not be pleased that one of his soldiers had just become
a lot less useful. Seeing that the clawed man's back was turned to
her, Mystique charged at him with superhuman speed and morphed her
hands into sharp points. Fully intent on plunging her dagger-like
hands into the unsuspecting mutant's back, Mystique picked up even
greater speed and let out a furious scream when she was only a few
feet away from making contact.
"DIE!!"
Logan sensed the reptilian scent before he actually heard the scream
and was already ducking and turning around fully prepared to defend
himself.
"You first," Logan growled from a crouched position as he used the
claws of his right hand to swipe at the quickly approaching blue
scaled mutant.
Three blades of indestructible metal met blue flesh and sliced through
as if they were going through air. The shapeshifter's momentum
allowed the top half of her body to sail over Logan while her legs
stopped abruptly after colliding with his shoulder. As Logan stood up
to his full height, Mystique's torso and legs fell over allowing her
intestines to spill onto the floor. Since she had been transected
across the center of her abdomen, a similar scene greeted Logan when
he turned to see where the rest of her had landed. Although she was
still twitching somewhat, the visible internal organs proclaimed that
she was not long for this world.
Seeing that Toad had either passed out or died from blood loss, Logan
didn't spare him or Mystique a second glance since he still had to
find Marie. Sensing her scent above him, Logan moved quickly up the
statue until he was sure she was nearby. However, before he could get
any closer an invisible force halted his movements.
"You are quite a remarkable man, Wolverine, I am pleasantly surprised
that you survived our last encounter."
"Where is she? I swear if you've hurt her I'm-" Logan was quickly
cut off as Magneto used his powers to close his mouth.
"Silence! You have no idea what I am about to do. Her sacrifice will
save our kind and allow us to live without fear."
Seeing the tortured expression in Logan's eyes after telling him the
girl was about to die, Magneto took great pleasure in explaining his
diabolical plan.
After Magneto had finished, Logan knew nothing he could say would save
Marie and he hoped he could somehow reach her before the machine
robbed him of the one good thing he had ever found.
"If you were really so righteous, it'd be you up there." It was the
only thing he could
say to really hurt the older man.
Logan's words hit their mark as Magneto scowled at him, magnetized his
body and then flung him against a wall. Using some metal railings,
Magneto immobilized Logan's arms in front of him so he couldn't push
himself free. Not one to leave things to chance though, Magneto
summoned Sabretooth who promptly jumped in through a hole in the head
of the statue.
"Watch him. Once I give my power to the girl, I'll be temporarily
weakened."
With those final orders to Sabretooth, Magneto elevated himself out of
the head and towards the torch that now held Rogue.
Once Magneto was gone, Sabretooth turned to Wolverine and then
sneered, "Looks like I was the one ta walk away last time."
Wolverine just growled in response. He could have easily put the
beastly mutant in his place by pointing out it was Magneto that had
saved him last time but ever since Magneto had left, Wolverine had
been seeing red because he knew what was going to happen to Marie if
he didn't get free.
"Ya know she's gonna die nice and slow doncha?"
That was that last straw and Wolverine strained against his metal
bonds trying to straighten his wrists so he could extend his claws.
When he finally succeeded, the sound of metal passing through flesh
could be heard and Wolverine fell to the ground in front of
Sabretooth.
The impact had loosened his bonds somewhat allowing Wolverine to pull
his right hand out of the metal looped around his wrist. He didn't
care that a large amount of the flesh around his hand was sheared off
in the process.
Thinking that Wolverine was suitably weakened from just stabbing
himself, Sabretooth picked him up by the hair and was unprepared for
the three metal claws that plunged into his chest. Roaring in rage,
Sabretooth threw him out on top of the head of the statue and then had
to stop for a few seconds for the holes in his chest to close.
After Wolverine got up he noticed that Sabretooth hadn't followed him
yet and was glad for the short respite as it would give him time to
heal and also rid himself of the metal still wrapped around his left
arm.
Unencumbered and mostly healed, Wolverine was ready for Sabretooth
when he jumped out on the head of the statue with him. They circled
each other warily, both looking for an opening to exploit. Although
Wolverine would have liked to drag this fight out and make the larger
mutant suffer for being involved in kidnapping Marie, he would have to
forego those thoughts because he knew that Sabretooth was the last
obstacle between him and reaching Marie in time.
Wanting to get down to business, Wolverine gestured to Sabretooth's
now three fingered hand and taunted his opponent with, "Hope ya ain't
a lefty, bub, I doubt that hand is gonna do much for ya now."
Predictably, Sabretooth charged and Wolverine was ready with his claws
but before he could do any damage, the larger mutant had grabbed both
of his wrists. Sabretooth had learned the hard way what it felt like
to be impaled by metal claws and was not nearly as careless as he had
been at the train station. As they locked eyes a silent understanding
passed between them and both men prepared for what might possibly be
their last fight.
Atop the Statue of Liberty against the backdrop of the New York night
sky two figures could be seen furiously hacking into one another,
exchanging blows that would have killed a dozen lesser men. Although
Sabretooth was stronger and Wolverine was possessed of an
indestructible skeleton both men were far too evenly matched for the
fight to reach a quick resolution.
Eventually, the intense combat started to take its toll as healing
factors were being pushed to their limits and wounds took longer to
close allowing the blood to flow more freely. With the weariness now
setting in, their movements were not nearly as quick or efficient as
before but each man pressed on, desperately trying to find a way to
kill his foe.
With Marie trapped up in the torch, Wolverine was possessed of a
determination that Sabretooth simply did not have and managed to push
his enemy closer to the edge of the statue. Intent on pushing his
advantage for all it was worth, Wolverine started to attack with a
renewed vigor but was quickly distracted by a loud scream that was
followed by a desperate plea.
"Help me! Somebody please help me!"
Sabretooth was thankful for his foe's momentary distraction and
managed to rake his claws across Wolverine's face narrowly missing his
eye. However, before Sabretooth could pull his arm back he felt an
excruciated pain just below his elbow and watched in horrified
fascination as his forearm fell to the ground in front of him.
Knowing that the fight was almost over, Wolverine advanced on his
enemy and feigned a punch to his head. As expected, Sabretooth caught
the punch with his remaining arm but left himself wide open to an
attack from below. Sensing what was coming, Sabretooth managed to
jump back and save himself from Mystique's fate but wasn't able to
completely avoid the claws that cut through his stomach.
With only one arm, Sabretooth couldn't keep all of his innards in
place and some of his entrails managed to slither past the arm firmly
held across his abdomen. When the dying mutant looked up he could do
nothing to stop the claws that sliced through his throat and nearly
took his head off.
"It's over."
Unable to respond, Sabretooth waited for the killing blow that came in
the form of a kick delivered to his sternum. The sound of bone
crunching against his metal reinforced foot was the last thing
Wolverine heard before his enemy was thrown back with enough force to
fall towards the dark waters below.
Sabretooth narrowly missed landing on the boat below that might have
been his salvation but as it was the water that enveloped him ensured
his demise despite his regenerative abilities. With his carotids
delivering more water than blood to his brain and his abdominal cavity
quickly filling with the surrounding wetness, his healing factor only
served to prolong the agony.
All thoughts of Sabretooth left Logan when he felt a pulse of white
light pass through him. Looking up to the torch, he knew the source
of the light was the large spinning apparatus that contained Marie.
Running along the spire closest to the torch, Logan leapt onto the arm
and managed to hold on with his claws. Climbing as fast as he could
with his injuries, Logan nearly slipped when he heard Marie cry out
again.
'Hold on Marie, just please hold on,' Logan thought as he resumed
climbing up the statue's arm.
On Ellis Island below, the delegates could see an expanding ball of
light coming closer to them with every passing second. Although some
thought it was some form of special effects put on by the city for
their viewing pleasure many more started to panic when it got too
close. Eventually everyone was running and trying to get as far away
as possible from the rapidly approaching light.
When Logan finally reached the machine from below he could see a
barely conscious Marie through the spinning rings. Knowing that the
only way to save her would be to destroy the machine, he placed one
set of claws in the path of the rings and braced himself as they were
blown outwards.
The light immediately disappeared and the hysteria on Ellis Island
stopped as everyone thought they were safe. Unfortunately, Logan had
not been fast enough in destroying the machine and not all of the
delegates had been able to escape the radiation. In a few scant hours
those that had been exposed to it would start to feel its deadly
effects as their bodies tried to reject the mutations that had just
been forced upon them.
Pulling himself the rest of the way up to reach Marie, Logan barely
noticed the seemingly unconscious master of magnetism and made his way
to the dying girl. As he cut her bonds and freed her from the
machine he desperately looked for signs of life.
"Come on, kid, don't do this to me."
His blood ran cold when he saw she wasn't breathing. He heard no
heartbeat. He was too late. In that moment Logan truly knew the
meaning of loss and collapsed to his knees bringing her body closer to
him.
Before he succumbed to grief he remembered what Magneto had told him
about her powers, of how he had planned to transfer his own powers to
her by way of her mutation. Hope briefly flickered within him and he
moved his bare hand to her forehead fully prepared to offer the
ultimate gift. His life for hers.
When nothing happened he drew her closer still and placed the side of
his face against her forehead as he held her in his arms. Refusing to
believe she was gone he held her tighter and pleaded with her in
desperation.
"Please, Marie, you have to live."
The words were murmured once again and then he finally felt it. A
gentle tug at first which soon turned into an all consuming fire as
his wounds reopened and he felt his blood flow freely from his
injuries once again.
~~~~~~~~
She never should have doubted him. She had always believed that he
would come for her and it wasn't until she actually felt her lifeforce
being drained did she think he would be too late.
Now, held in his embrace with her mind being flooded by his desperate
thoughts of her safety, Marie knew that Logan had kept his promise.
In an instant she realized she was killing him and quickly pushed him
away. As Logan fell back close to the edge of the torch, she too
collapsed since she had lost the support of his embrace. Despite the
healing factor that was now a part of her, she was still weak from her
brush with death and not yet able to move.
As she lay there she felt Logan's thoughts which were now stronger
than Eric's in her mind. She could also feel an itching sensation in
her forearms and wondered what it meant. Before she could really
think about it, she sensed some movement around her and struggled to
get into a sitting position.
When Marie saw Logan being dragged closer to the edge and recognized
the man trying to kill him, she reacted instinctively. Although the
bone claws in her arms hadn't fully grown in yet, they still extended
nearly three inches beyond her knuckles when she lunged for Logan's
would-be killer and plunged them into the back of his leg. After she
twisted her claws through the hamstring muscle she was thrown back
when a heavy hand found its way to her face.
Momentarily stunned from having hit her head against the metal surface
of the torch, Marie could do nothing as Logan was pushed the last few
inches over the edge.
A scream that was really a name could be heard as a man plummeted
towards the ground below.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~