(Image after the break this time because, spoilers)

Feral Saga Chapter 12 - Reckoning (Part 1)

by Nyssa

A Marvel X-Men Fanfiction starring Wolverine and Jean Grey

Author’s Note:

To say this one is a roller-coaster would be a grave understatement. I’m not going to add a secondary teaser here like usual. In this one, the characters kinda took over on me, so while it’s not exactly how I originally envisioned it, it actually feels more authentic to me. This two-part chapter was pretty rough on me, so that’s why it has taken so long. This chapter has significant violence again and it’s again pretty intense. There’s also the usual explicit sex. We’re right up to the scene I warned everyone about in my introduction. Once again, I’d like to thank my proofreaders. Gabi (Xtrim), in particular, has been a huge help (still using a key idea she offered/requested in this one).

August 20, 2020 - I made some minor edits to the story and am posting them all at once.

Here’s a wiki you can use if you’re really lost: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men

© Nyssa 2019

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Hubris is one of the great renewable resources.

• P.J. O’Rourke

In an alley behind an abandoned office building in Washington D.C., two figures in heavy dark clothing to protect them from the damp cold of the wind off the Potomac (as well as from detection) approached a heavy steel door. The smaller of the two grasped the keypad next to the door. A soft click could be heard.

“Even without power you can do this, IC?” asked the larger figure, a tall woman with a heavy French accent in dark clothing.

The smaller figure just shrugged and, struggling a little, pulled open the door. They walked down several dark hallways to a room with a fire door and a large sign warning of the Halon fire suppression system. Once again, the room had a keypad with no indication that there was any power. Again, the smaller figure placed a hand on it and again was welcomed by a soft click. Inside this door was an empty, raised-floor computer “clean room”. The smaller figure, IC, went purposefully to several cables protruding from an open panel in the false floor. After selecting one, it was attached to a small box and the French woman pulled a screen from a case that had been slung over her shoulder.

A few moments later, a spinning slash character appeared for a few seconds in the middle of the screen. It was then replaced by the image of Magneto.

“Greetings, my friends,” he said. “I trust, based on what I know of your talents, that you can hear me?”

“Oui, I mean yes. We hear you very fine. How can we be of service?” responded the tall French woman. By the glow of the screen, one could see her hair was a deep chestnut, but her face was mostly hidden by a red scarf. However, the portions where her skin was exposed revealed deep scars.

“You have already been of great service. And no need to try to hide your charming accent. I wanted to thank you for your swift and effective handling of the leaks that the General and his staff could have represented. Having your associate use the geese to bring down a military transport was an inspired tactic. Effective, but impossible to trace. Much better than a mechanical or computer failure.”

“Thank you. We appreciate much the opportunity you are giving us.”

“I trust everything is still proceeding according to plan?” Magneto asked.

“No, Monsieur, we are way ahead of schedule. IC says that we are now just awaiting connections. These are intermittent, so we must wait until they occur. After the systems have made connection, it will spread our control.”

“Excellent. So, in a few more weeks, then, we should have spread to systems outside the U.S. Military?”

The French woman blinked a few times. “No, no. In a few hours, we should have spread across the world.”

“Well, that is something. These humans do excel at devising the instruments of their own extinction.” He paused for a moment to consider. “Perhaps you can help me with another challenge?”

“But of course.”

“There is a chance that I will be unable to recover Mystique in time for her to play a very important role I have in mind. Should that happen, I was wondering if you might be able to help me with a backup plan?”

“How can we help? We do not have access to any shapeshifters so marvelous as she.”

“That’s quite alright, I was thinking along a different line. I was thinking of that ancient story of the Trojan Horse, but instead of a hidden army, I was thinking of unleashing a powerful mutant. A mutant who would be totally unaware of the part they were going to play.”

“Oui, such a thing would be possible. I would need to know the powers this mutant would use.”

“Are you familiar with the mutant known as Storm?”

>>X<<

“Wait,” said Jean as she reached for the cigar. “He said what?”

“He said he wants to be on the team that rescues Storm and he needed sleep if he was going to show us he was capable,” replied Logan.

It had been two days since Logan’s transformation into the exotic dark-haired beauty with the sexy, raspy voice. They had been two of the most wonderful days of her life. She and Don had made love two or three times every day and so had she and Jean. She had spent much of her waking hours smiling or in the throes of passion. Most of the rest of the time was spent training and acclimating herself to her new body. 

Kitty hadn’t mentioned the B-level setting in the Danger Room, but she had adjusted it back to full speed. If Logan had tried again and done poorly, she would have confessed. However, Logan hadn’t been training against Sabretooth simulations, she had focused on more basic and more familiar training runs.

Logan was pleased to find that her greater speed and agility, combined with her lighter weight and near-full strength were a lethal combination. She was still learning to use her toe talons effectively in combat, but her inspiration during her simulated battle with Sabretooth had been very instrumental in unlocking the potential of these new weapons.

Her smaller size had led her to adopt a martial arts style mostly based on Jeet Kune Do, Bruce Lee’s technique with no fixed positions mixed with a little Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She was feeling pretty deadly, but still rusty.

Everything had been going well until Scott announced last night that he was pretty sure that Sabretooth had reached his final destination. He had been in the same location for 24 hours. He was in an old military silo that had been abandoned and eventually purchased by a shell corporation that no one seemed to be able to identify. But the US military still had the plans for the facility and were sending them over. The idea was to review those to develop their strategy. That night in bed was when Don had made his announcement. Logan didn’t want him anywhere near Sabretooth and had honestly been hoping for some tenderness and the distraction of lovemaking before facing Sabretooth again herself.

Jean exhaled smoke and asked, “So what did you say?”

“I told him I didn’t think that was a good idea. And he asked why it was OK when we snuck into that base, or when we went to stop the ambush. I told him that was entirely different.”

“Did he understand why?”

“Nope. So I reminded him that I told him to stay in the ship when we stopped Sabretooth and he disobeyed, which is a strike against him, and he should know what the difference is between that first op and this one.”

“Did he get it then?”

“Nope.” Logan took a drag from the cigar and shook her head. The two of them were lying next to each other after lovemaking. Logan had shown up at Jean’s room very pissed off. They were only now getting to why she had been so angry.

“I thought he was smarter than that.”

“So did I. I told him that if he wasn’t going to make love to me or acknowledge that I loved him, that I was going to find someone who would.” Then I kinda slammed the door.

Jean finished off the cigar and stubbed it out. “Ouch, he didn’t try to chase after you?”

“I don’t think the door works anymore.”

Jean laughed and kissed Logan’s cheek. “Well, I can’t complain.” She thought for a moment. “What if he asks Scott to let him on the team?”

“He better not; Dickhead would probably let him.”

“Hey! But you’re probably right. So tell me, if Don was to get training in order to be ready, who would do that?”

“Me, but I don’t want him to go on the op.”

“Try to follow me here, love,” said Jean. “If he goes directly to Scott, he’ll probably be given permission and you’ve got a big fight with your boyfriend, right?”

“Yes.”

“What if he instead has to get the full Wolverine basic training. Or better yet, Feral training? Even if he survives that, he might not want to be on the team. It would at least allow you to be the one who says whether or not he gets to go, and you can make the decision based on how he does. Or at least you can pretend to.”

“I like it,” said Logan. She leaned over and kissed Jean. “How can I reward you for being so clever? Or is it devious?”

“Oh, we’ve found so many ways lately. But I was actually wondering about something special…”

“Jean, I’d do anything for you.”

“Well, you remember the dream walking that started all this? I was wondering if we could try that again?” She asked somewhat sheepishly.

Logan placed her hand on Jean’s face. “Honey, you know it was a pretty crazy set of coincidences that made that possible. I’m more than willing, but you know it might not happen.”

“I know. I’ve just been thinking about it. But that’s after you go to sleep,” said Jean as she kissed Logan’s hand and rose up to look down into her eyes. “But for now, I want to make you cry out my name over and over in that sexy new voice of yours.”

“Mmmm,” said Logan as Jean bent down and kissed her. Their tongues slid along each other’s lips and into their mouths to caress and stroke each other. When Jean hungrily took Logan’s lips between hers and sucked on the lower one, it took Logan’s breath away.

With a little whimper, she tried to catch Jean’s lips to get them to press against hers, but Jean kept making quick little sucking kisses and darting her tongue in. When Logan’s head was swimming and she was sure she’d never be able to focus enough to keep up, Jean pressed her lips to Logan’s and slid her tongue deep into her mouth while sliding their plump lips against each other. Logan put her hand on the back of Jean’s head and rose up slightly.

Jean caught Logan’s right breast in her hand and cupped it, pressing into the nipple area slightly and massaging it, then running her thumb over the nipple. Logan sighed into Jean’s mouth. Jean began another series of little kisses all over Logan’s lips, that slowly began to trail off down her jaw and onto her neck. They had discovered that Logan’s neck was even more sensitive to kissing than Jean’s.

Logan desperately tried to find something to caress or stroke to arouse Jean. She realized her left arm was under Jean and managed to work her hand to Jean’s pussy. She began to lightly stroke her fingers up and down the crease of Jean’s still swollen outer labia and dip into the inner folds. Jean was still slick from their earlier lovemaking. The smells of their arousal and the sensations on her neck and breast were already driving her to distraction.

“Lolo, baby,” said Jean as she lightly nipped at her neck, her teeth spread wide and her lips pressed against the skin. “Talk to me, talk to me in that sexy voice.”

“Jean, ooh, I love what you’re doing to me. Please suck on my nipples,” She tried to focus on stroking Jean as she said this. She was dipping her fingers in deeper and trying to dance around Jean’s clit.

Jean raised up to reorient herself and had to pause as Logan’s stroking was affecting her as well. “Oh, yes Lolo, but don’t stop talking, Tell me what you’re feeling, what you want.”

“Baby, I just want, ooooh,” Jean had settled her mouth on Logan’s breast, her lips sucking at the boundaries of Logan’s areola, her tongue twirling around and then flicking at her nipple. “Yes, Jean, I love when you play with my breasts.” She increased the speed of her stroking of Jean’s labia but began pressing more firmly on the hood of her clitoris. It was fully erect now and poking out.

Jean adjusted her position again but made sure Logan’s hand still had access to her vagina. She began pulling at Logan’s other nipple, catching it between her fingers and pulling upwards, then twisting her fingers around it and reaching to grab as much of it as she could and pressing her palm into it. Then repeating the cycle over and over.

“Oh yes, Jean, yes. I love that. Oh please…” Logan had no idea what she was pleading for, but knew that Jean wanted her to keep talking.

Jean let go of Logan’s nipple with a soft plop and moved to kiss her again passionately. Logan was no longer able to stroke Jean, so she just enjoyed the kiss, trying her best to kiss back. She pressed her very sensitive nipples up into Jean’s breasts and slithered against her as best she could. The stimulation drawing soft mewling sounds from her and into Jean’s mouth.

Jean broke off the kissing. Logan looked up at her with heavily lidded eyes, her lips swollen from kissing and her cheeks dusky with passion. Jean gazed lovingly and hungrily down at her. “I have to fuck you,” she said.

Logan smiled as Jean grabbed Logan’s leg and positioned herself so that Logan’s leg was thrown over her shoulder. Logan quickly grabbed a pillow and shoved it under her hips. Jean, hugging Logan’s leg began trying to find the right angle so that their vulvas would begin sliding wetly over each other. With all the practice they’d had, it didn’t take her long. As she began the motion and their vulvas opened to each other, she looked down at Logan and said, “Lolo, c’mon keep talking. That voice drives me wild.”

“Jean, oh, yes, please make love to me. I love you.”

Jean turned her head and began kissing Logan’s lower leg. She reached out and managed to cup Logan’s breast again. Their vulvas had fully opened to each other and it felt like a hundred tongues were sliding over her labia. Her clitoris was slipping delightfully over this soft, slippery terrain. Little shocks of pleasure ran through her every few seconds. Her nipples were painfully erect. She found herself trying to rub them against Logan’s leg.

“Oh my god Jean. It’s so amazing. Every time you press into my… oh, into my.. Oh god, my whole vagina is spasming and there’s like… Oh god yes. Like colors everywhere.”

“Lolo,” said Jean huskily, “I can’t wait to fuck you in a dreamwalk, like before. God you feel good, but there’s nothing like that.”

Logan had a sudden flashback to the dreamwalk, to being fucked by… “Wait,” she said. “You’ve been fucking me with my own cock?”

Jean giggled. “I thought you knew. Are you objecting? Now?” With that Jean formed her pseudo cock out of psychic energy and began stroking it in and out of Logan’s vagina. She could feel the walls of Logan’s vagina wetly and greedily pull on it every time she pulled back.

“No,” said Logan.

“No?” asked Jean. “No you don’t want this?”

“Yes, yes, I want it. Fuck me. But… oh yes. One thing?”

“Anything Lolo,” said Jean.

“Could you make it do you too? It’s so good… Uhh, please. I want to share…”

It took a little more concentration than she really thought she had, but soon Jean had transformed her pseudo appendage into a double-ended and freely moving affair. Jean involuntarily thrust her vulva firmly back against Logan’s as the double-ended cock slid up into her. Jean let out a low moan and thrust herself up against Logan’s leg while throwing her head back, her magnificent red hair flying. Soon she had established a rhythm, sliding the double-ended cock far up into Logan and then up into herself.

“Oh yes, baby,” said Logan. “Oh, it’s so good. Fuck me Jean. I’m gonna cum soon.”

Jean could feel the rippling of her own vaginal spasms now. The cock sliding up into her pulling her labia with it while she slid her vulva up against Logan. Her clitoris was emitting little shocks of pleasure and her breasts felt heavy and hot against Logan’s leg. “No, not yet Lolo. Wait for me?”

Logan felt incapable of speech. Her whole body was consumed with the passion and sensations she felt. But she looked Jean in the eye and nodded. She was totally unaware that she was actually saying “yes” quite loudly and repeatedly.

As the spasms overtook her and she felt certain she’d pass out, Jean managed to croak out, “Now Lolo, cum with me.”

Logan’s only reply was to cry out and convulse herself, reaching out desperately for Jean. The two of them managed to tumble into each other's arms and slide a leg between each other to ride out the spasms while they kissed and tears rolled down their cheeks.

It was several minutes before either felt capable of speech and Logan wasn’t even sure if she wanted to spoil the moment with words. But there was something that had been bothering her and she felt she needed to bring it up.

“Jean, you know, I’ve been having an awful lot of sex.”

“Mmm hmm,” Jean responded.

“Do you think there’s something different about me?”

It was several minutes before Jean could stop laughing.

>>X<<

“Captain Andrews.”

“Lolo, I can see you’re still pissed at me…”

“You’re late, training sessions start at 0700.”

“You broke the door…”

“Do you think excuses are going to be effective against the threats we face?” asked Logan, getting very close to Don and radiating her annoyance.

“No ma’am.” Don was finally getting how this was going to go.

Logan stepped back. “If you want on the team you will need to be given training by our lead martial arts instructor and approved by our senior tactical officer.”

Don started to smile, but then thought better of it and just ended up looking puzzled. “Ma’am?”

“What is it?”

“Are both of those you?”

“Smart boy. Too bad you aren’t smart enough to know when you’re in over your head.” She came up very close and looked up into his eyes. “Or when you’re risking the life of someone I love very much.”

“I can’t just stand by when you’re risking your life, Lolo.”

“Like when you interrupted the fight between me and Sabretooth?”

“Well, yeah.”

“And how did that work out for you?”

“That’s not the point…”

“It is exactly the point. You used your great big gun and shot him. And what happened? It just pissed him off. When he attacked you, I had no choice but to attack him whether it was a good idea or not. We’re both lucky that he didn’t have time to stick around and torture both of us. Because, what do you think I would have done to save you or at least give you a better chance of surviving? And what do you suppose that would have entailed?”

“But don’t you see, that’s exactly how I feel. I would do anything to save you,” said Don.

“But you can’t. That’s the difference. Stupid and Hairy isn’t even the greatest threat we face, bub. And any time you are on a mission you are a distraction for me.”

“Train me; make me an asset instead of a liability. I was a freakin’ Ranger. I can handle it.”

Logan shook her head slowly. Then she looked at Don for a moment. “Lolo or Sensei.”

“What?”

“Either I’m your Lolo and we go upstairs and you make love to me, or I’m your Sensei and we see if you’re anywhere close to ready to go on a mission.”

“But I've already been on two missions.”

Logan just stood there and crossed her arms. “Making me wait isn’t helping your cause, bub.”

Don’s lips formed a tight line. Logan could see the muscles of his jaw working. “Shit,” she thought. “We’re both angry now. Not likely that either of us is making good decisions.” But when Don took a step back and executed a bow toward her, it still pissed her off further. It also hurt her heart.

“Sensei.”

Logan nodded, keeping her face impassive. “Let’s do a basic assessment. Try to land some sort of blow or throw. I will not attack. You will only attack between the words ‘Hajime’ and ‘Yame’. When I say Yame you will do your best to freeze in position. Got it?”

“Yes Sensei.”

“Hajime.”

Don moved quickly towards Logan with his right side facing her. He grabbed for her left arm and began to turn his left side towards her. But his hand only grasped air and Logan was no longer within his reach.

“Yame.”

Don froze but wobbled a little.

“What were you trying to do?”

“Grab your arm, then either get my hip into your body for a throw or an elbow to the stomach if I couldn’t do that.”

“While it is good that you considered more than one option, you do realize that I’m heavier than you and faster, right?”

“Yes Sensei”

“And what did you think a throw or an elbow to the stomach would accomplish?”

“I don’t know, you said any strike or throw…”

“Any strike or throw Sensei. When you are dealing with an unknown or superior opponent, the first rule is to not expose yourself and the second is to make certain every attack will incapacitate your opponent to the greatest degree possible. You were taught Krav Maga, correct?”

“Yes Sensei. By Mossad instructors.”

“Let’s see some of that then, and never lose your balance like that again.”

“Yes Sensei.”

Over the next few hours Logan worked Don hard. They eventually moved on to attacks where Logan would respond. However, her response was always a soft caress to his face or to some vital organ. It was very disconcerting for Don to have her move like a ghost and suddenly be caressing his cheek. She stopped him frequently, adjusting his stance, or his balance, critiquing his tactics or decisions. She kept stressing that he needed to be more patient, wait for an opportunity but never, never overextend.

“Yame,” Logan ordered. Don was sweating heavily. Their current bout having lasted about 10 seconds, but it had been a whirlwind for him. Like every bout they had. He felt like he hadn’t made any progress. Of course, he had never landed a blow except when Logan was already caressing him with a “fatal” blow. And then it felt like hitting an iron bar.

“We will take a break now. Go eat. Be back in one hour and we will run you through simulations in the Danger Room.”

“Yes Sensei. Will you be joining me for lunch? Or maybe Lolo will be?”

“No, there's a lot to set up.”

Don reflected on how things had gone. Clearly, he was horribly overmatched, but he’d learned more in the last few hours than he had in his last few years of martial arts training.

>>X<<

“Morning sleepyhead,” greeted Logan as Jean walked into the Danger Room control area. “You were pretty grumpy this morning.”

Jean gave Logan a kiss and said, “Yeah, I was disappointed that we couldn’t get a dreamwalk. I kept trying.” She looked up at the screen where Don was sneaking up behind a simulated soldier. As he grabbed the soldier from behind and drove a knife into his throat, she grimaced.

“What run is this?”

Logan smiled. “Five.”

“How many times has he died?”

“Once. The first run,” Logan said, still intent on the screen.

“Is that when you cried?” asked Jean.

“Huh? How’d you know?”

“Sweetie, you need to use the waterproof mascara for these situations. I know it’s clumpy and gross, but it saves raccoon eyes.”

“Yeah, I was using the kit Kitty gave me, should have used some of what you gave me. It’s just the colors are all off now. Not sure I even want to wear makeup all the time anyway.”

“C’mon, you know what happens when you don’t.”

They said in unison, “Are you ok? What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Boys,” said Logan. “They make everything so complicated.”

As Don successfully completed his simulation run, Logan turned off the simulation and keyed the microphone. “OK, go hydrate and get something to eat. We will debrief in 20 minutes.”

“Yes Sensei,” he said breathing heavily and resting his hands on his knees.

“He’s pretty good,” said Jean.

“He’s fucking fantastic,” said Lolo. Then, with a crooked smile, “He did pretty well in there too.”

“So,” said Jean, “Have you changed your mind about him going?”

Logan shook her head. “No, and he has one more simulation to run. This has all been baseline humans. He has to make a run with some mutant opponents. The 20 minutes will give me time to set it up… And switch to waterproof mascara.”

The debrief was brutal but honest. Logan identified every gamble Don had taken, explained how it could have gone wrong, and showed him alternative tactics or techniques. Don was amazed at her ability to understand exactly what he was thinking and come up with strategies that he never would have considered. Even taking into account that she had the benefit of hindsight, the detail of her explanations and her ability to come up with new analysis when he asked a question made it clear that this was like breathing to her.

“Alright,” said Logan. “Time for your assessment. Gear up.”

“Yes Sensei. So what was all that up until now?”

“Training. Now get in there.”

“Yes Sensei.”

It was twilight, that time when the sun is just starting to disappear and your brain plays tricks with you, making patterns out of the newly emerging shadows. It is a time when even familiar territory can seem off and mysterious. The guard patrolling the outside perimeter of the compound looked bored, his gun held low and his sweeps of the area perfunctory. He never heard his attacker approaching, but when Don’s arm caught him around the throat and pulled him off his feet he reacted with stunning speed.

He flipped back with the momentum Don had created and twisted and pushed off. Don was so startled that he allowed the guard to slip from his arm. But as the guard slipped through, Don was able to grab the rifle and pull down, sending the guard headfirst into the ground.

However, the guard continued twisting and shrugged out of his strap before he could be forced into the ground. Landing on all fours, he sprang upwards into Don’s chest. Knowing he wouldn’t have time or leverage to use the gun as a bludgeon, Don simply let go of the rifle and pulled out his Boss Jack knife and waited until the momentum from the guard hitting him was stable. He absorbed the hit as best he could and once they were airborne, he drove the knife into the base of the guard’s neck, severing his spinal column.

They landed several feet away, Don letting out a loud “Oof” and the guard remained motionless. “One down,” said Don to himself as he extricated himself and got up. “Doin’ great.”

Don took the comm unit from the guard and moved carefully along some low bushes. This side of the compound had a blindside for less than a minute, but he should be able to get to the outside wall by then. When he reached the wall, the next guard came around the corner, as expected. Don, crouched below the guard’s line of sight, moved smoothly, but quickly, driving his knife into the guard’s throat. With a gurgle, the guard dropped to the ground. Don took a moment and shivered at just how realistic this simulation was.

“Don’t get cocky babe,” thought Logan as she watched from the control room.

Don made his way along the wall and peered around the corner across a small courtyard to the french doors that would be his entry point. One of the doors was fully open as the temperature was very pleasant. Inside was another guard, flicking through channels on the television, but standing behind a couch while doing so. The guard was dressed far more casually, without body armor and wearing his holster fully exposed. Don noted that he held the remote in his right hand, but his holster had his gun positioned under that same arm, meaning a left-handed draw, which seemed off.

Don carefully made his way to the doors, keeping to the side of the building that bordered the courtyard and as much out of the view of the guard as possible. He silently crept into the room, behind the guard. Unfortunately, there must have been a reflection on the TV screen, because the guard turned as Don tried to strike with his knife.

His knife was met by a sword. A sword that had replaced the guard’s right hand. Don managed to step back before the guard could swipe at him, but moved to his side to keep himself in some sort of striking range.

“Oi,” yelled the guard into a headset that Don could now see. “Bloody Mongrel showed up.” The guard smiled as he could hear an echo from Don’s stolen headset. Settling into a somewhat awkward stance facing Don, the guard addressed him. “Right Cobber, let’s have at it then.” He slashed at Don and brought the backstroke down towards his head.

Don had continued moving, circling towards the guard’s left. When he saw the obvious feint, he increased his speed, so the guard’s motion was horribly off target. He tried to correct by bending his wrist, but it left him off balance. Don moved in quickly, dropped his knife, and grasped the wrist and forearm. Applying pressure against the guard’s momentum, he snapped the wrist. The sword immediately disappeared as the guard grunted at the pain. Not waiting, Don turned the guard’s arm and hyperextended the elbow using his grip on the forearm. Now the guard howled in pain.

Don pulled the guard across his body, so that Don was behind him, then reached for his second Boss Jack on his thigh and drove it up under the guard’s chin and into his brain. The guard convulsed and went limp.

“Ok, definitely mutants on this run,” he said to himself as he bent to pick up his other knife. As he turned back to the french doors, a shadow blocked out the last of the setting sun. Filling the doorway was a huge man, several inches taller than Don.

“My turn,” rumbled the giant and smacked his fist into his palm with a resounding slap.

“Nope, not gettin’ hit with that,” thought Don. As soon as he recognized motion, Don took a page from Logan’s book of tricks and rushed at the giant. He flung himself down onto his left hip and rocketed sideways through the giant’s legs before he could react. Once he was sure he was clear, he dug his boot heels into the cobblestones of the courtyard and used the momentum to stand upright.

The enormous guard swung his right arm backward, but Don had seen the huge muscles of the guard’s shoulder bunch under his shirt. Don leaped forward, his calf and thigh muscles screaming at the stress of the sudden stop and immediate release to propel Don forward. Rising up, Don used his legs to get some leverage at the guard’s hips as the huge arm tried to sweep the location where Don would have been.

Riding the guard’s back and with knives in both hands, Don drove them into the soft spot under guard’s jaw. His left hand just missing and slicing up the guard’s jaw and into his cheek, but the other driving up into the guard’s braincase. The momentum of the guard’s swing threw them both clumsily into the doorframe, with Don getting the worst of the impact, but the guard collapsing limp and lifeless below him.

“Ok, this run is turned up to 11,” thought Don. His back was already feeling a little stiff and clearly bruised from the impact. It had caught him right where his body armor was hinged.

“Well, aren’t you a deadly fucker,” came a voice from behind him. Standing in the courtyard was a very tall, athletic-looking woman. She was clad in a black bodysuit. It wasn’t quite like Logan’s catsuit, it was a duller, bulkier material. He had the impression that there might be some slight armor built in. She had no obvious weapons. Her dark hair was very short and her rather ordinary face was scowling.

Don assumed a ready stance, turning his left side to her to present a smaller target. He moved out into the courtyard but angled away from her. The door frame was close enough that it might have hindered his movements. And a huge dead body at his feet wasn’t exactly optimal either. He held the knife in his left pointing down and the one in his right upright but was ready to switch once he knew what he was dealing with.

She moved with stunning speed. Don had a moment to think that she was even faster than Sabretooth, or Lolo. She hit him in his stomach, causing the air to whoosh out. The body armor had taken some of the energy, but he was still driven back a foot by the impact. After a momentary cloud of color in his vision, he could see her walking almost casually, tauntingly across the point where she had stood before.

He couldn’t catch his breath, but he switched the knife in his right hand. She smirked at his belief that it would make any difference. Don knew he had very little chance, but he had to try. He made sure his balance was still good and tried to watch for any sign that she was about to move. He noted how cocky she looked. He was pretty sure where her next strikes would be - showy and taunting. She’d go for his eyes and crotch. She wanted him gasping in pain and feeling helpless.

It was just a momentary look in her eye, but he caught it. He moved his arms into position as she seemed to practically disappear. Immediately, it felt like his knives were going to be ripped from his hands and she was there in front of him screaming and clutching her hands to her chest protectively. The blood from two gashes, one on each hand just starting. She looked up fearfully from her crouched position as he began to move to strike.

And then his knees were struck from behind and hitting the cobblestones of the courtyard. The female guard was behind him and her bloody hand was at his throat. “Fuck you,” she yelled as she dug her fingers into his throat and he saw the bloody viscera flung away. Of course, the safety protocols had kicked in as soon as the pressure was deemed to be threatening and the fatality assured, so other than a momentary feeling of being choked there was no pain.

“Fatality before mission accomplished,” announced the Danger Room A.I. unnecessarily.

The simulation faded out and Don looked up to find Logan standing there already.

“Let me try again,” said Don. “I didn’t know there’d be mutants.”

“I see. So you expect that we will always have advance notice of the abilities of those we face?”

“No, but this was just a simulation. If I practice, I’m sure I can do better.”

“Your Sensei says you aren’t ready. These weren’t even high-level mutants. How would you have handled Sabretooth?”

Don looked incredulous. “I know I’m not ready to take him on; I wouldn’t even try. I’d pick someone else and leave him to someone better qualified. If I’d known what I was facing, I could have completely avoided the speedster. And the giant.”

“Oh, so you think you get to pick who fights you? Or were you planning to call a timeout? Maybe yell ‘no fair’?”

“C’mon Lolo…”

“Sensei!” Logan crossed her arms, and, despite herself, there were tears in her eyes. “You made your choice. You know how your Lolo would have spent the last few hours. But instead you chose this.”

“Sensei,” said Don carefully. “I know I can do this. It’s just my first time against mutant opponents. I failed this time…”

“You died! That’s not a failure you get to come back from. There’s no do-over! You wanted me to be your Sensei and I took that role seriously. Tell me you aren’t a much better warrior after just a few hours than you were before. Tell me something incorrect in my analysis of your simulation runs. Tell me some error in judgment in my assessment. Show me where I have shown bias.” She stared at him defiantly.

He stared just as defiantly back but had nothing to say.

“You are not going on this mission,” she said.

Don’s shoulders were tense and the muscles of jaw worked furiously. But after a moment, he bowed and left the room. It wasn’t until he was outside the Danger Room that he threw his equipment angrily to the ground.

Logan went back to the control room where Jean was waiting and collapsed into her arms sobbing. Jean held her for a long time, making reassuring noises and kissing her forehead.

>>X<<

“Lolo, what’s wrong?” asked Kitty as Logan came into the Mansion’s dining area.

“Ah, just the usual. Screwing up my life. I’m trying to find Don. I’ve been looking for about an hour. Have you seen him?”

“I’m pretty sure he got picked up by that military chopper that dropped something off for the Professor.”

“Oh,” said Logan. She sat down across from Kitty, slumping into the seat with a gracelessness that was extremely uncharacteristic.

“A fight, huh?” said Kitty. “Your first one?”

“Yeah, but it’s lasted a little while, so it might count as more than one. Who knew boyfriends could be so difficult?”

“You mean the boyfriend you got within a couple of hours of waking up as a girl?” asked Kitty with a hint of jealousy.

“Yeah, that one,” Logan said somewhat sheepishly. “Damn stubbornness.”

“Yours or his?” asked Kitty with a smirk.

Logan smiled back. “Yeah, both.”

“Spill. What did you do?”

“Why me? Why do you assume I did anything?”

Kitty just continued to smirk but tilted her head slightly to the side.

“Ok, I maybe tried to convince him that he couldn’t cut it and shouldn’t go on the mission to rescue Storm. And maybe tried to get him to see how overmatched he’d be.”

“Ouch,” said Kitty. “I’ve never been a guy before, but even I can imagine that wouldn’t go over well. Or work.”

“No, it didn’t. Jean and I thought it might be a way to avoid a fight. Get him to drop out on his own, but it kinda did the opposite. But at least he isn’t going on the mission.”

“You know Lolo, you probably don’t want to apply your berserker approach to achieving all your goals,” Kitty said with a slight giggle.

Logan laughed at that. “How’d you get to be so smart?”

“Overprotective big brother always giving me advice. I’m hoping my big sister will do the same. Once she gets her head on straight.”

Logan laughed again and shook her head. “So what would you have done?”

“Screwed it up even worse. What did Jean say?”

“She mostly just held me while I cried, and then told me to go try and find him.”

“Well,” said Kitty with a sigh. “I think maybe check back with her now that you know.”

“Yeah, thanks kiddo.”

It didn’t take Logan long to locate Jean. She was out on the deck by the pool. She heard her laugh. However, when she looked out onto the deck, she saw that she wouldn’t be getting any counseling. Jean, in her tiniest of bathing suits, was wrapped up in Scott’s arms and making out quite passionately.

“At least one of us is on good terms with their boyfriend,” she mumbled.

Logan decided that while Kitty’s catsuit was good for training, she needed something a little more battle-ready for this raid. She was pretty sure she knew of some body armor that she could adapt. Anything to get her mind off the longing she felt when she looked at Scott and Jean entwined on that chaise lounge. Maybe it would even keep her from having to face which one of them she really wanted to make love to.

>>X<<

“I have confirmed Cyclops’ findings regarding the location of the tracker. There is indeed a high-level mutant below-ground in that facility. Unfortunately, too far down to be certain, even with Cerebro, but the pattern definitely shows consistency with Sabretooth.” Charles was at the head of the briefing room table. Several maps and blueprints were spread out. Logan, Scott, Jean, Hank, Bobby, and Kitty were all gathered around the table.

“No sign of Storm?” asked Logan.

“No,” said Charles grimly. “If she is still in the suspension pod, there’s no way I’d be able to pick up her signal. But I can’t think of why they would move her now.”

“No, I agree. It’s pretty clear that Hairball isn’t acting like he found the tracking device, so it makes sense that they’d just go with the current situation and not complicate things. He’s perfectly capable of doing that on his own.” Logan thought for a moment. “Which probably means that we don’t have much time.”

Scott was nodding. “Magneto won’t trust him long term. He’ll want to secure her once he’s certain it won’t draw attention.”

“Where would he take her?” asked Kitty.

“That’s just it kiddo,” said Logan. “We have no idea. So we need to move now. What do we have?”

Charles briefed them on his discussions with the military. They would be providing a strike team, mostly to handle the baselines guarding the facility. “Cyclops and Feral,” Charles said, “I believe we should have you two take point and infiltrate with the strike team. We will have Hank and Jean on standby, close enough to respond quickly but not overcommitted.”

Scott and Logan nodded. “Makes sense,” said Logan. “The two of us should be able to handle Victor as long as we work together.”

“Aren’t we going to focus on the extraction?” asked Scott.

“I think we’ll have our hands full,” she said. “I think we have to leave that to the strike team. How are we getting in and out? I assume they won’t leave the front door open?”

Scott pointed to the map at the center of the table. “The Professor and I went over these earlier. These lines here are actually storm runoff pipes and they are incorporated into an emergency flush system. The facility can flood various areas as an augmented fire suppression system and these tubes carry the water away. That’s our way in and out.”

“Storm drains? Like sewers?” asked Logan.

“Well, yeah,” answered Scott.

“Hate sewers,” said Logan. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jean nodding.

“Since when?” asked Scott.

>>X<<

“Ma’am,” the squad leader, Captain Pike, held out a comm unit for Logan. “This is your communications gear. You will be call sign X-23.”

“You know my uniform number?”

“Huh? No Ma’am, you’re team ‘X’ and this is unit number 23. I can get you a different one if you like?”

“No, this is fine.” She put it in her ear and adjusted the boom mic so that it wouldn’t catch in her hair.

“So, we are the red team. You can contact me by call sign Red-1 or Red Leader. The ship’s communications officer is Red-10.”

Logan looked over at the rest of the assembled team in their full tactical gear. Lots of black Kevlar body armor, night-vision goggles, helmets and masks. Weapons attached to every accessible body part. They looked extremely deadly. And she knew she wouldn’t even break a sweat tearing through them. Neither would Sabretooth. A light breeze was blowing from just behind them towards her. Tilting her head to the side for a moment, she walked over to where the team was standing.

Captain Pike had a very difficult time keeping his professional demeanor watching that walk, but body armor wasn’t very forgiving so an erection was not a good idea.

Halfway over, Logan stopped and asked, “Captain, you outrank everyone here, correct?”

“Yes Ma’am. Except for you and Mr. Cyclops.”

Logan chuckled at that and said, “You can call me Feral and him Cyclops. Or Dickhead, your choice.” She then continued on, asking the Captain, “Call them to attention, please.”

“Atten-hut!” The entire squad stood at attention as Logan approached.

She walked directly up to the tallest, masked member of the squad. “What is the call sign of this one?”

“He would be Red-5, Ma’am.”

“Well, Captain Andrews…” she said. Don looked like he was about to speak. “Oh no. You are at attention. You do not speak.” When she was sure Don understood, she continued. “Here are your orders. You will stay topside and guard our exit. Is that clear?”

“Lolo…”

“Yes or no. Are we clear?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

She leaned close and said in a quiet, but menacing tone in her raspy, husky voice, “If you get yourself killed I will never forgive you.” Then she added, “And my heart will be shattered.”

As she walked away she extended her middle blades, muttering, “Why’d it have to be red?” Still, she could hear the strike team as they fell out ribbing Don over having his hands full with such a hot badass chick.

“Red Team, this is X Base,” said Charles over the comm units.

“Go ahead X Base,” said Captain Pike.

“I can confirm that it is Sabretooth in the facility below,” said Charles.

“Yes,” said Hank, apparently over Charles’ shoulder. “We were able to use the portable Cerebro in the X-Jet to relay a stronger signal and…”

“Just a moment Hank,” said Charles interrupting Hank’s enthusiastic lecture. “Storm is awake!”

“Can you contact her?” asked Scott.

“No,” said Hank. “The configuration is not compatible with communication, we were just boosting the signal for detection. I never…”

“We have to go now!” Scott began to move towards the storm drains.

“Wait!” yelled Logan. “That’s not the plan. We can’t just go blasting in there making a racket.”

“Logan, Storm is awake, she can help us. Together, we can get her out even easier! This is an opportunity. We need to go now!”

“You have no idea what condition she is in.”

“Cyclops,” said Charles. “Feral is right. As difficult as it is, we have to follow the plan. But at least we know she is there.”

“But what if they are torturing her, or about to kill her?” asked Scott, his body tense and, as Logan could see, radiating aggression.

Logan tried to keep her voice calm, she needed him to make good tactical decisions. She placed her hand on Scott’s arm. “There’s no reason to torture her. There’s even less reason to kill her. She’s their best asset for trading to get Mystique back. Right now they don’t know we’re here. Let’s use that to surprise them and get our girl back, ok? Let’s stick to the plan, it’s her best chance.”

Scott calmed down and nodded. “Ok, I can see what you’re saying. You’re right.”

Logan smiled and fought the urge to caress his cheek. “Then let’s get going.”

It was only a few minutes later that the team had gathered at the branch in the tubes that would lead to the two entry points they had decided to breach. One at the upper level of the facility and one at the lower. Most of the strike team would go to the upper level where most of the guards were. Scott and Logan would take the two rescue members with them to where Storm and Sabretooth were, in the lower levels. It would be the job of the rescue members to get Storm out once she was free of the pod. Scott and Logan would keep Sabretooth busy. They hoped.

“Ok Professor, can we get an update?” asked Logan. She could see all the members of the strike team nervously scanning their surroundings. As usual, her own night vision was far superior to their technology-based sight. She could even see the slight glow of Cyclop’s eyes behind his visor.

“I no longer sense Storm, so I assume that she has been placed back into her…”

“Red 5 to strike team. I have activity.”

“What do you see?” asked Logan.

“It looks like one of the elevators on the far side just came to the surface. Moving to investigate.”

“Don, be careful. Do not engage,” urged Logan.

“Roger that,” said Don. Then a moment later. “Holy crap!”

“What?” asked Logan.

“A ship, it suddenly… I don’t know, decloaked?”

“Stay there,” said Logan. “Professor?”

“I..,” started Charles. “I wasn’t scanning the outside. But yes, I see it. There is a mutant heading towards it.”

“Is it Storm?” asked Scott. “Or Sabretooth?”

“No,” responded Charles. “It is a powerful psychic, but I am not familiar with her. She is scrambling Cerebro. I think she can sense my scans. Hank, can you switch Cerebro back to normal operation?”

“No Charles,” responded Hank. “Not from here, I’m afraid. But we will try to intercept.”

“Red 5,” said Logan. “Can you see anything? See if you can tell if the pod is being loaded on board.”

“On it,” said Don.

“Professor, if Storm was in her suspension pod on that ship, could you tell?” asked Logan.

“I believe so,” responded Charles over the comm units. “But I can’t be certain. I do not sense any sign that Storm is on that ship.”

“We have to go now,” said Scott.

“No!” said Logan. She was torn, she needed to be in two places at once. She was terrified that Don was in danger, but she needed to rescue Storm. “We have to trust that Jean and Hank can handle the other ship. We go in and get Storm the way we planned. This doesn’t change anything.” She wasn’t entirely sure if she said that more for Scott’s benefit or her own.

 

 

LOGAN’S BRIEF RESPITE HAS TURNED TO ASHES IN HER MOUTH AND HER PLAN TO PROTECT DON HAS FAILED MISERABLY. YET WITH ALL SHE HAS ENDURED AND THE TREMENDOUS CONTROL REQUIRED TO KEEP EVERYONE ON TASK, SHE STILL HAS TO FACE SABRETOOTH. A REAL-LIFE, FULL SPEED SABRETOOTH. WILL SHE BE UP TO IT? WILL CYCLOPS HOLD IT TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBER? AND WHAT OF THIS NEW MUTANT AND MAGNETO’S LATEST TWISTS? FIND OUT IN THE SHATTERING PART TWO OF THIS ISSUE OF THE FERAL SAGA - RECKONING!

 

Some cheeses are illegal in the U.S. There are probably some of you that think my cheesy cliffhangers should be.

End Note:

Kudos are always welcome, but I really do want to know what you think of the story, so please comment. It doesn't have to be positive but if you have a correction, a PM would be more appropriate than a comment, so we don't bore everyone else with trivialities. If you are upset that this story contained violence, graphic sex, non consensual actions, or mind control even after all my warnings and flags then I can't help you. If you want to demonstrate your superior knowledge of all things X-Men, please save it and just make lots of smug faces as you read my egregious errors. I'm here to have some fun and I hope I have provided you with some as well. ‘Nuff said. Until next time - Excelsior!