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Subject: {ASSM} Xmen: New Beginnings Part one (No Sex/Violence)
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 2000 15:10:06 -0400
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X-Men: New Beginnings
Prologue
<<The noises were back. She hated the noises. Every time the noises came,
the pain quickly followed. She hated the pain worse than the noises. The sun
came up like it always did when the noises came and it hurt her eyes. She
could hear the sounds of movement that the noises always made. To her
sensitive ears, the moving sounds were as loud as thunder. As the noises moved
closer, she could smell their odors and she reacted with a low growl. There
was more than two of the smells today. Always before, there had only been two
and now there were more. Instinctively, she sensed that this change was not a
good thing.>>
"Dr. Corbeau, my orders come directly from the Commander himself. This line
of research is to be terminated immediately," Captain William Avery said as he
followed the young research scientist into her laboratory. He stared at the
creature huddled inside the cage in the far end of the lab and couldn't resist
a shudder of disgust. "Subject W-11 is to be disposed of and you are to move
on to more...fruitful lines of research."
Adrienne Corbeau ignored the uniformed man and studied several readouts on
different monitors. She made notes on a clipboard and adjusted several
instruments. Out of the corner of her one good eye, she saw Steven Baxter
frowning at her. She could tell by his expression that he disapproved of her
actions. Satisfied that every instrument was functioning properly, she turned
to face the tall, muscular officer. Staring up at him from her full 4'2, she
adjusted the eye patch that she wore over her left eye. "Captain Avery, I
don't care of your orders come from Odin himself. I will not terminate this
experiment. Subject W-11 is too valuable. Her DNA may contain the secrets for
curing most of the illnesses plaguing our world today. If we can find some way
to duplicate her incredible regenerative powers, we could very well eliminate
aging itself."
Avery cringed back from the ruined socket that was the woman's eye, but
managed to regain his composure. "The Commander feels that too much capital
and resources have already been wasted on this project." He paused then
continued on in a more calming tone. "He also feels that the subject is
becoming too violent and unmanageable. He fears for the safety of the research
teams and other personnel."
"Bullocks! Your precious Commander is afraid that he and his 'foreign'
investors will lose money. He wants to eliminate W-11 just like he eliminated
numbers 1-10. I repeat that I will not terminate this experiment."
Avery's left hand drifted down to the large side arm he carried at his waist.
"Doctor Corbeau, I have been ordered by the Commander to tell you that you have
precisely five hours to terminate Subject W-11 and turn all research data and
material over to him or it will be done for you." With that, Avery turned and
left the room.
<<One of the scents left. She had liked it least of all. It smelled of
danger and threat. Somehow she knew it meant to do her harm. The other two
scents remained but they seemed different, frightened. Curiosity overcame her
usual fear and she edged closer to the bars of her box. The smaller, female
noise was making noises at the larger male noise and he was making even louder
noises back at her. She sensed that something very important was happening.
She just wasn't sure what.>>
"Doctor, he means what he says. Perhaps it would be wiser to agree to their
demands."
"Baxter, My dad told me a fable once. It was about a man up in the deep woods
of Canada. His dog team dies and strands him in the middle of the wilderness
in one of the worst snowstorms in history. Somehow, this desperate man manages
to catch a wild timber wolf and shackle him to his sled. To get this vicious
and incredibly powerful animal to pull him, the man feeds it pieces of meat
from his supplies. This works as long as the meat holds out, but the man knows
that as soon as the meat is gone, the wolf will either break free and escape or
turn on him and kill him. So do you know what he does?"
"No, Ma'am."
"The man takes a very large and sharp axe and begins to cut pieces of himself
off to keep the wolf going. He does this finger by finger, toe by toe. He
staunches the blood flow by using ice and snow to freeze the wounds.
Eventually, of course, he reaches the point where he can no longer cut off
something to feed to the wolf and the beast turns and eats him. Do you know
what the moral of this story is?"
"Always keep plenty of food around?"
"No, the moral is if you keep feeding parts of yourself to placate the
monster, eventually the monster will devour you. The Commander has been
gnawing away at me for years now. I don't have much left that I can honestly
call my own. I think it is time to stop feeding the monster."
"If you don't do what they say, they will kill you. You know that, don't
you?"
"Yes, my friend, but if I do what they want of me then I will be as good as
dead. I will understand if you don't want to help me, eh? Hey, if you turn me
in now, they will probably give you my job."
"Not a chance, Doc. I was always afraid of monsters growing up anyways. What
do we do?"
<<The noises grew quieter as they moved around the room. She could hear them
moving things and could smell the acrid smell of smoke as something burned.
There was a tension in the air that she couldn't identify, but it excited her.
Something was happening. Something important. The noises had been near her
for a long time and there had been no pain or prodding. Always before, there
had been pain, strange noises and prodding. She was even more excited when the
small female came to the door of her box and opened it.>>
"Shhh, little one. We are not going to hurt you," Corbeau said quietly and
added "this time" to herself.
Baxter came up carrying two satchels and a trank gun. "Doctor, wouldn't it be
wiser to put her under. Wiser and safer?"
Corbeau reached out and stroked the creature's head, taking care to carefully
rub behind the two prominent ears. This elicited a deep purr from the creature,
causing the woman to smile. "She's my height and outweighs me by a good thirty
pounds. Unless you are up to carrying her through the complex, up fifteen
flights of stairs and out to the surface, then putting her under is not the
greatest idea, eh?"
Baxter nodded and moved over to the door. "Are you sure that you can control
it? Remember what happened to the extraction team that brought her in." He
carefully leaned against the door, listening. After several seconds, he looked
back at her and nodded.
Still scratching the creature behind her ears, Corbeau led her over to the
door. "She was frightened and angry. Those idiots deserved everything that
she did to them." Cautiously, she opened the door and stepped out into the
hallway. This time of the night, it was deserted.
"I've put a loop into the security monitors. We have about fifteen minutes
before they notice something is wrong and maybe another five before they trace
it back to the lab. I suggest we get going."
<<She was excited! The noises were taking her away! She could tell from the
way they smelled and the way they acted. Away! Back to green places and fresh
meat! No more pains or prods ever! Away from bad smells and loud sounds and
back to sweet air and soft noises. No more walls or boxes! She eagerly
followed the noises now as they moved through the metal caves. She followed
them into a deep pit that she could sense had outside at the top of it. It was
a long climb, but she could feel outside growing closer with each step.
Suddenly, she smelled something ahead of them. Something bad! Surely the
noises could smell it too. The bad things were going to stop them. No more
outside! More pains and prods. For the first time that she could ever
remember, she tried to make "noises." She had to let the noises know about the
bad thing.>>
"Sweet Jesus, what's wrong with it? Her yowling is going to bring the entire
place down on our heads if it doesn't shut up," Baxter asked, pausing at the
fifth level landing.
Corbeau made soothing shushing noises at the creature. "I don't know for sure.
Maybe she is just excited. Those super charged senses of hers probably smell
the air outside. Easy, sweetie, we are almost there." The creature seemed
genuinely upset about something and if she didn't know better, she would swear
that her moans and yowls almost made sense.
Baxter, who had moved up to the next landing, looked back down and grinned.
"Looks clear, Doctor. We should be out in less then five min..." The rest of
his sentence was cut off by the sound of automatic weapons fire. His entire
body jerked and twitched as several hundred rounds of high velocity bullets
literally ripped him to shreds.
Corbeau screamed and the creature howled as they were covered in blood. It was
all Corbeau could do to keep her companion from bolting away. As it was, she
received several deep lacerations on her arms and face from the creature's
claws as it fought to escape. "Shhh, shhh little one. If you run, they will
just shoot you in the back."
"Doctor Corbeau," Avery's voice said from the top of the stairs. "I know you
are down there. Turn over the creature and we won't harm you."
"Bullocks! You'll kill her and me! We both know that your Commander has
labeled me as expendable. He can't afford to have people around who question
his orders." She reached into the satchel and pulled out a small handgun. "So
why don't you come on down here and let me see how many of you I can send to
Hell before you get me!"
<<She could smell many of them. All of them had thunder too. The thunder
that had killed her mother. The male noise was gone, killed by the thunder.
There wasn't even enough left of him to eat. Not that she was that hungry.
The female noise, the one that was being nice to her, was really frightened
now. Her fear scent was almost overwhelming. She meant to fight! She was
going to hurt the thunder carriers! That meant that she would help her! She
could smell and hear the thunder carriers moving and she knew it was time to
fight!>>
Corbeau had just moved into a crouching position, ready to fire. She could
feel the creature tensing beside her and knew that she was ready to fight too.
She was unprepared when a several small metal balls came rolling down the
stairwell to land at her feet. She had just enough time to register that they
were grenades before the explosions lifted her off her feet and slammed her
into a wall.
Several minutes passed as the smoke cleared and the debris settled. After the
last chunk of plaster had fallen, Avery led his combat squad down the stairs to
examine to remains. He wasn't expecting much. Three fragmentation grenades
left very little to see. To his surprise, Corbeau looked mostly intact. Aside
from being shoved into a wall and having blood gushing from her mouth and ears,
she looked whole. The monster was in shreds. Very little remained that might
even possibly be identifiable. He grinned at the bloody mess and stepped over
to where Corbeau rested. Again, he was amazed to discover that she was
actually conscious.
"You bastard," she managed to curse through ruined lips. Despite the lucidity
of her thoughts, she knew she was dying. She tried to get up enough strength
to spit at the man in front of her but all that accomplished was a racking
cough.
Avery grinned at her and propped her chin up with the barrel of his rifle.
"Nothing personal, Doctor. Just taking out the trash." He was about to place
a bullet in the woman's head when his men started screaming. He turned just in
time to see the creature, whole once more, slice one of his men across the
stomach. He felt bile rise in his throat when coils of intestines came pouring
out. Despite the fact they were all combat hardened professionals, all of his
remaining men were dead before he could even act. Forcing himself to remain
calm, Avery aimed his gun at the creature's head. It was a good ten feet away
and nothing could dodge 140 rounds of bullets from that distance. He was about
to pull the trigger when something slammed him in the back and knocked him off
balance. This was all the creature needed. Before he could even scream,
Avery's head had been separated from his body.
Corbeau looked on in amazement as the creature limped across the carnage and
crouched beside her. It had taken all she had left to kick Avery in the back to
distract him. The creature, no the girl, made questioning noises and tried to
pull her to her feet. This brought more pain and more blood so the girl
released her. Corbeau raised an arm and softly stroked the girl's fine gray
fur. "Shhh, little one. You have to go now. Run as far as you can. Don't
let them catch you. Run free and forgive me. Forgive m..." Corbeau's lifeless
hand dropped away from the girl's head. The girl grabbed it and tried to make
the woman stroke her again. When she realized that the woman was truly gone,
she yowled loudly. Then, with only one glance back, she bounded up the stairs
and out. She really hadn't understood what the female had said, but she had
understood what she meant and she would be free! She would be free!
Part One:
Chance Encounters at a Train Station
Logan hated train stations. Hell, he hated any place that was crowded and
noisy. His razor sharp senses were constantly bombarded by the sights, sounds
and smells of the great unwashed mass of humanity. In distant times, this
would have driven him into a berzerk frenzy and driven him to be free from the
place as quickly as possible. These days, it just annoyed the hell of him. He
growled low in his throat and lit a cigar.
"Excuse me, Sir." The speaker was a blonde probably no older than 19. She
had the look about her like she was about to bestow some great wisdom on him.
"There is no smoking allowed in here." To illustrate her point, she gestured
at one of the many no smoking signs mounted around the area. "Don't you know
that smoking is bad for you? I mean, you could die of lung cancer or
something."
Logan pushed back the Stetson that he was wearing and grinned at her. He
slowly pulled the cigar out of his mouth and deliberately blew a cloud of smoke
into the girl's face. "Darlin', dying of cancer is the least of my concerns.
Now go find your cheerleading team and leave me the hell alone." The girl
coughed several times before she ran off.
"That was hardly the sort of actions that the public would expect from the new
Headmaster of Xavier's School for Gifted Children," a warm, imperious sounding
voice said from behind him. Storm moved up to stand beside him and smiled.
"The poor child probably never qualified for the Cheerleading Squad."
Wolverine chuckled and puffed on his cigar. "Probably right, Ro. Last of the
kids get off okay?"
Ororo Munroe smiled at her friend and nodded. "Yes, we should have relative
peace and quiet at the school at least until Monday. I think we all needed
this four day weekend."
Logan snorted and took another puff on his smoke. "Storm, we've been Xmen
close to 20 year now and I can count the times when we managed some 'peace and
quiet' on one hand. That ain't counting my claws either. Let's get the car
and head back. Jimmy threatened us with one of his Native concoctions for
lunch today and I don't want to miss a chance like that."
<<She was frightened now. Really frightened. Outside wasn't outside. It was
a bigger cave with even more noises than before. Her sense of smell was
overwhelmed by the scents bombarding her. Her hearing was being overloaded by
the sounds. As she burst from the tunnel, a huge monster came roaring out of a
hole, deafening her. Terrified beyond any hope at reason now, she barreled
through the noises and headed towards the faint scent of outside. She could
sense more thunder carriers coming up behind her and that pushed her even
faster. Noises went flying in all directions as she flung them aside to get
away. She had almost reached the outside when she slammed into a noise that
did not fly away. Instead, it remained firmly where it was and she bounced
backwards onto her tail.>>
"What the flaming hell?" Instinctively, Wolverine popped his claws and
whirled to face his attacker. He could sense Storm preparing herself to aid
him. Long years of working together made orders or suggestions unnecessary.
Both knew what the other would do and was prepared to back it up. Neither one
was prepared for the sight of their "attacker."
Sprawled on the floor of the station was a relatively small creature. Logan
estimated it to be no taller than 4'3", but he also knew that the creature
carried a lot of mass. His side was still smarting where the thing had slammed
into him. Aside from its size, the creature reminded him of nothing more than
a large housecat. It was covered in thick gray fur from head to toe that was
about the same length and texture of an old Persian he had owned years ago.
The resemblance continued to the two thick, pointed ears atop its head and the
long curled tail running from the base of its spine. Only the face called
attention to the fact that this creature wasn't an animal. Although it was
covered in fur, the facial features were definitely human. The golden eyes
staring back at him showed intelligence and fear. As a side note to his
subconscious, he also noted that the creature was female and pretty well built.
Seeing the creature's fear and Wolverine's extended claws, Storm interposed
herself between the two. "Logan, no! She is no threat."
Wolverine was about to reply when the station's far wall exploded outwards and
dozens of heavily armored and armed figures poured through the breech. They
began to immediately open fire, seemingly indiscriminately. Bolts of powerful
energy lanced outward, cutting swaths through the groups of travelers. Logan
recognized the tactic and grunted. In one smooth motion, he scooped up the cat
girl and started running for the doors. This move got him multiple scratches
and bites from the cat girl, but he ignored them. "Storm! We need cover!
NOW!"
<<Something different was happening. The strange noises, one that smelled
like air after a rain storm and one that smelled...familiar, were trying to
help her. She could feel it. The smaller one, probably a cub like her, had
picked her up and was running. She thought this was silly since it was obvious
from his speed that she was much faster. She felt warmth that the strange ones
were trying to help her be free, but she could hear the thunder carriers
gaining on them and knew it was not to be. She was about to try to get the
little cub to let her fight when it started raining. INDOORS!>>
Storm concentrated and suddenly torrents of rain began to pour down from newly
formed clouds gathered near the ceiling. Causing such an even in an enclosed
space took most of her concentration, but she also knew that most energy weapon
beams were defused by heavy rain. The thick sheets of torrential rain also
served to cover their escape.
<<Rain doesn't fall in caves. She knew this. Rain falls outside! She wasn't
outside now! She was inside! Rain doesn't fall inside! She was wet so it
must be raining. Rain doesn't fall inside! The cat girl gave up in total
confusion and yowled piteously.>>
Wolverine heard the yowls but ignored them. He could identify with that the
critter was feeling. Whenever Storm really cut lose, he was never too
comfortable either. At least she hadn't called some lightning this time. Just
a shit load of rain and heavy fog mixed together. Hell, even with his enhanced
senses, it was all he could do to find his way to the doors. He burst though
them with a growl of relieve. The warm summer sun had never felt so damned
good before. Storm followed him a few seconds later. He could feel the girl
shivering on his shoulder as they raced towards the car.
Colin Brady, Chauffeur, General Handyman and all around mechanic, had seen the
eruptions of energy coming from the station and had acted accordingly. Long
association with his employers had trained him what to do in such situations.
He had calmly folded the London Times he had been perusing, straightened his
cap and pulled the Rolls out of its parking place and up to the front of the
station. Thus he was already standing beside the classic car with the doors
open as the two had come racing from the station. As Logan came up and tossed
the girl into the rear seat, he simply raised one eyebrow and said, "Was there
a problem with the children's disembarking, Sir?"
"Nope, just picked up a stray," Logan said as he climbed into the car. Colin
nodded and made a note to have the seats steamed cleaned to remove any mildew
from the damp clothing and stray fur from the newest passenger. He carefully
opened the other door and allowed Storm to enter. With due haste and utmost
decorum, he moved around to the driver's station and started the car. "We are
probably in a real hurry, Brady."
Brady adjusted his rearview mirror and saw several energy blasts erupt from
the fog/rain bank. "That shouldn't be a problem, Sir. The car has just
recently been tuned up and Dr. McCoy added a few new touches. I would suggest
that you and Miss. Munroe fasten your seatbelts."
"Just drive," Wolverine yelled. Brady nodded, placed the car in gear and
pressed one of the buttons that he had been told not to push unless it was
really necessary. The classic Rolls Royce went from a dead stop to 85 miles
per hour in under a second. Storm, who had fastened her seat belt, winced at
the sudden acceleration. Logan, still staring behind them for signs of pursuit
was flung face first into the rear windshield.
"Well, Logan. He did warn you," Storm said, resisting the urge to laugh as
Wolverine pulled himself off the window and back into a seat. The car was
still accelerating and had already passed the town center. She reached down
and stroked the cat girl's soaked fur, trying to comfort it. "Did you
recognize the armor and weapons those madmen were carrying?"
Logan took off his hat and shook it to get rid of some of the water. "Yeah,
Genosha standard issue. Haven't seen that in a while. Not since the
Magistrates were overthrown and the mutants freed."
"What are Genoshan Shock Troops doing here in America, let alone in Salem
Center? Are they after the Xmen or perhaps the school itself? More immediate,
what is so important about this creature that they would be willing to
slaughter hundreds of people to get to her?"
Logan rummaged through his pockets, trying to find one cigar that hadn't been
soaked or crushed in the race for freedom. All he turned up were several
shreds of tobacco and a cigar band. "Brady! Do you have any..." He paused as
the Chauffeur handed him back several fresh cigars. He idly noted that they
were even his brand. "Thanks, Brady. You know, sometimes I swear that you
must be a mutant too."
Brady smiled over his shoulder, keeping one eye on the road. "No, Sir.
Simply well trained. We should be back at the school in approximately fifteen
minutes. I took the liberty of taking the back way home and also engaging the
car's ECMs."
Wolverine grunted and turned back to Storm. "Those are all good questions, Ro
and I have a hunch that this critter has all the answers. Should be real
interesting to see what she tells us."
<<They were taking her away. Even though she was terrified of the moving
cave, she could sense the green growing places outside of it. She could smell
fresh meat and clean water. These noises wanted to help her. The cub and the
rain female who was probably his mother were going to help her stay free.
Free! Even soaked and hungry, she felt herself relaxing into the female's
touch. She would be free!>>
Cats dream quiet dreams
--
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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