Wolverine and Storm belong to Marvel Comics and are borrowed without permission, with no profit made. Lukin is property of Visions. If anyone wants to use her, for some sick twisted reason, just tell us, we like her a lot.
June 1999 1999 X-MEN GOLD AND BLUE ANNUAL "A Life Ruled by Coincidence" Tom: Wrote Link: Beta Read Ed Vedder: Inspired
*Continued from "X-Men Gold and Blue" #26
Somewhere in the African desert
The horizon was clear as far as the eye could see, the sky above was pale as night drew to an end. The whole desert floor was stunningly bright, mostly due to the yellow sand which reflected the moonlight and lighted up the area. The numerous sand dunes were in constant motion, moving effortlessly, even when there was no wind to push them. Passers by swore that the dunes moved like snakes before their eyes, their backs moving up and down as they traveled to an unknown destination. Many of them had passed through these deserts over centuries, either traveling or shipping the newest, freshest slaves from the tribes that lived in the south. Many had died here and the desert swallowed them, never showing them again, taking away their bodies forever.
The peacefulness was interrupted by two travelers, appearing along the horizon. At first they were two faint dots, barely visible in the dark, but soon they began to grow, coming nearer and nearer, gaining more shape and detail.
The two travelers were Ororo Munroe and Logan, two ex-X-Men. Traveling on camels, they swayed on the saddles as the animals made their way through the sandy desert of Kenya. Ororo was a young woman, in her late twenties, maybe early thirties and the first thing that stood out was her silk-like white hair. The fact that her skin was a dark shade of chocolate didn't help matters either. It was very unusual for a young, native African to have white hair yet Storm was one of those few people. Her long hair embraced her whole figure. Ororo had once been regarded as a goddess, before she found out she was a mutant who could control weather. Her body was of a goddess, tall and perfectly proportioned, not too fat or too thin. Storm carried an aura of pride while she sat in the saddle, her chin high, her back straight. Storm was a born leader and she had a face that inspired trust.
The man accompanying her was much less impressive. He was short, much shorter than the woman and he was in a desperate need of a shave. His hair was pitch black and stood upwards on each side of his head, like two large horns. His sideburns ran to his chin and his face had a look of a person who didn't want to be angered. His face was rough and bitter, yet his eyes were pleasant, almost friendly. That was now. Once enraged, the man would turn into a beast and his eyes would be empty, devoid of anything human. Unlike Ororo, Logan's posture was slouched and his ever-present cigar proved that he was not as healthy man as his companion was. When he spoke, his voice came out as a growl, but Ororo was used to it, having spent many years with Logan. Over that time they grew to be close friends, and gained respect for each other. And if there was anyone that Ororo would wish to accompany her on her journey, it would be Logan.
They got off the train from Cairo in the small town of Makindu, south from the capital Nairobi and from there they had to take one of the oldest mean of travel, camel. It was something that Ororo was furious about, but no one would drive them into the desert to a village that was on the border with Tanzania and under the secret mountain Kilimanjaro. Logan had assured her it was no problem. "In all my life, I've done a lot things 'Ro, but I've never ridden a camel. I guess there's always a first for everything." That had calmed Ororo and they bought two camels, leaving Makindu in the morning the previous day. It was close to sunrise now, and they were approaching the village that Storm once called home.
"So you see Logan, after I left Cairo I wandered aimlessly, not quite sure what to do with my life. I knew everything, and most of it was wrong. I am still not sure just how I stumbled upon this village. I had been walking for days with nothing to eat. I practically fainted on the steps of the first house I reached. That house belonged to the village's medicine woman, Aniet. She took me in and raised me like her own daughter, and I accepted her as my mother. When my powers manifested, she was the one that kept my head on the ground when everyone else was praising me."
"And then Chuck showed up and told ya you were a mutant, heh?" Logan answered, spitting to the ground furiously. He was not yet use to sand entering his mouth every time he opened his mouth.
"Yes, and I left with him, leaving my adopted family behind and most of all Aniet. I had not seen her for a long time. It will be good to see her again."
"You know 'Ro, I'm really glad for ya. I don't have a place to come back to, ta call home. You, you have this place where people wait for you, where people know you, you're real lucky, 'Ro," Logan said, smiling slightly. After his realization that the X-Men had changed much since he first joined he suddenly felt like he didn't belong anywhere. Not that he needed to, he had gotten by his own for years, but there was still a strong feeling towards the X-Men.
"I know, Logan, I know," Storm answered looking towards the horizon, anxious to finally get home.
"What are you gonna do about the Morlocks you sent there?" Logan asked, looking far ahead as well.
"I am still not quite sure about that, Logan. I sent them there temporarily, so I could figure out what to do. Now that I am returning, I will have to deal with them. Maybe I should send them where they're happy, back to New York, it really depends on what they want."
The two voices slowly faded as the two travelers disappeared from the horizon once again, heading for the village, not realizing the danger that awaited them there.
***
The village, 6 hours ago.
The third player in this game yet to begin is a woman known only as Lukin.
She walked out of one of the houses in the village that she has been occupying and looked over the village life that slowly came to a close this evening. Leaning on the doorway she looked around aimlessly as people passed her, pretending that everything was okay, when in fact they were scared to death of this woman. She herself was tall for a woman, around five feet eight, but much shorter than Storm. Her face was small but beautifully shaped, her high cheekbones clearly standing out. Her nose was short and slightly pointing up and her lips were also small, slightly curing upwards on the end, adding grace and beauty to the overall image of her small face. Her eyes were amazingly green, the darkest, deepest shade of green. Her hair was well past her shoulders and curly. It had a strange purplish red color to it but looked natural. She stood tall and had a fit build that many women strived for, but yet her whole figure reassembled a fragile ballet dancer, with no apparent muscles. She was dressed in a dark red spandex body suit that covered her from the neck to the tips of her toes and included gloves of the same color. The spandex wrapped her average sized breasts. Somewhere inside her house her cloak that she wore was tossed on the bed. It was in a similar color to her hair and came with a hood. When Lukin walked, she walked truly as an ballet dancer, barely touching the ground with her feet, her posture straight, her chin lifted high, looking down at the people that passed her. Yet at any moment she was ready to break that gracefulness and fight better than any men in the village.
She looked over the horizon as the sun slowly set behind the mountain and sighed. She rarely had the luxury to enjoy such simple things as watching a sunset. Not since she became mad with revenge for Storm. Sometimes she wondered if it was all worth it, but then she remembered what Storm had done to her and the hate returned. As she slowly walked down the main road of the village she looked around. The houses were all identical shape, though they were all different sizes. All built out of clay, they ran along the road. An old car was parked behind one of them, and she could tell that this place wasn't amazingly civilized. She could say that for this whole country. She hated it from the moment she moved in. She especially hated the heat, it took her long time to adjust to the climate. She missed her home. There was nothing like a cool Canadian night.
As she proceeded down the main road, she couldn't help but notice the looks she was getting from the villagers. They were scared of her and stayed out of her way as much as possible. As she walked by she pretended not to notice them either, and went on with her business as if nothing had happened. It wasn't them that she hated. She came here for Storm, not for them. If they stayed out of her way, she'd leave them alone. Not all of them were so calm though, case in point: the chief of the village, who went under the name of Embu. His defeat from Lukin's hands when she arrived still angered him and she swore he was ready to plunge a knife in her back any minute. Her force field would take care of that and then she would deal with him properly.
As she walked past his house she couldn't help but notice him sitting in the doorway with few other men. He eyed her with suspicion and anger. He then lifted his arm and he pointed at her. "May the demons curse you, woman!" he shouted. "You better know that we have powerful friends who will beat you until you are no more than dirt on the ground."
Lukin stopped dead in her tracks. To not trust her was one thing, but to underestimate her was another. She turned back and walked up to the group of men, who managed to keep their brave faces on. "Never, ever underestimate me," she spat out in anger. "I know very well that you have friends. In fact, I'm counting on them. Now if I were you I'd watch that mouth of yours when addressing the chief." With that she turned on her heel and walked away smiling to herself. She sure rubbed it in. If there was anything that Embu hated more than her, it was the fact that she defeated him in combat and took his place as chief. Also being beaten by a woman didn't sit too well with him either.
As she left his house behind she sighed as the sun's last rays disappeared behind the mountain. She once again was thinking of the purpose of all this. She attacked the village that Storm had once lived in. It seemed like the perfect thing to do, overtake what once was hers and then let her know. Let her know that Lukin took what was hers. That would hopefully lure Storm to this place for the final showdown where she would kill Storm once and for all. When she thought of the plan, it all seemed perfect. After finding out Storm lived in this village after what happend between them, all pieces seemed to fall into place.The thought of taking away from Storm what was hers was too tempting. Now, after some time spent waiting for Storm, it didn't seem like the best idea. What if Storm did not get the message? Then she would be stranded here with a village full of Africans and Morlocks. No one tried escaping yet, but she expected someone would and then that person would alert Storm. Nothing of that sort had happened, she made sure of that. And even if Storm did get the message, what if she wouldn't come alone? What if she brought the X-Men along with her. She wasn't quite sure she could take on the whole team.
For the first time, Lukin began doubting herself.
***
Embu watched with hate as Lukin walked away, her every step filling him with more and more resentment towards her. When she was out of earshot he turned to face his colleagues. "We must get rid of her," he said through clenched teeth.
"Hear hear," echoed some men around him looking at Lukin with distrust.
"We must crush her like she crushed our pride," a tall, strongly built man called Zeebo shouted. He was one of the farmers but his ancestors had long ago been great warriors and some of that rebellious blood still flowed in him.
"YES!" the men around shouted in unison.
"You're getting carried away," came a voice from Embu's left. All heads turned to see Cal, the village healer. "That woman, she has not killed any of us, or seriously harmed us. All we need to do is to make her leave. If we kill her, someone will come back with vengeance." Cal was an old man, heading on to 70 but he still was a great doctor and he knew how life was, he wasn't as impatient as the other young men.
"You're just scared because you're an old man, and you're not able to fight her!" Zeebo fought back, once again echoed by the men around him.
Cal seemed unmoved by the comment and opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Embu who silenced everyone. "Zeebo, be quiet. Cal, we can't let ourselves be treated like this. For centuries our race has been put down by the white people. We must now fight back, when we have a chance. This woman, as she calls herself, Lukin, she has crushed our pride by beating me and now she's ruling her village like her own. This village is not hers! It is ours!! She has no right to just come in here and take what is ours. We need to take it back."
"Hear hear!" the men echoed, Zeebo amongst them. Cal remained silent. He knew he would never convince them.
"Shouldn't we call for the Bright One?" came a voice from the group, but it was not Cal's.
"No," Embu answered. "It would take too long before she would appear and by that time it might be too late. We can't just wait for her to save us. We have to stand up to her ourselves. If we fail, then we will call for the Bright One. But we are going to try ourselves first."
"Hear hear!" the men echoed once again with vigor.
"Then we meet at my house before the sun rises and then attack her while she's asleep."
The men agreed and got up, heading for their homes. As they departed, Embu's neighbor stood in the doorway watching them disappear. The woman known as Aniet sighed. She knew they were going to lose. Not only because the spirits told her so, because she saw that only a goddess could save them. She knew that these men were no match for Lukin, and they could anger her enough for her to kill. Yet neither Embu or anyone else listened to her. She was an old medicine woman after all. No one listened to medicine women anymore...
***
The moon, in its first quarter phase, lit up the village with pale light, making every shadow seem strange and twisted. The last remains of stars were fading as the planet Earth rolled towards another day. Another hour and the dawn would break. Yet still the night was there, breathing her last breath, surrounding everything with her dark embrace. Somewhere in the dark, a hyena howled at the moon, echoed by another, and then another and then by countless others. The wind did not blow and the air was suspiciously still, the prophetic confrontation filling the air with invisible tension. The mountains towered on the other side of the village, the largest mountain on the continent looking over the village and beyond it, the dry areas of the desert. It wasn't even in the country, officially over the border with Tanzania but it had been there for centuries, majestic and proud, and it became part of the village life, worshipped as the secret mountain for centuries. The villagers were used to its sight like they were used to their mothers. Mt. Kilimanjaro had seen many confrontations in its time but nothing had prepared it for this one.
As the cicadas began to awake, a group of men began circling a certain house which for few weeks was occupied by a white woman who was not part of their village. She had arrived and overran the village, taking claim of it as if it was hers. Now the men of the village were out to get her and restore their sovereignty. Silently, they crept around the house, one by one, the tallest one of them pointing silently for them to surround the house. They crept, trying to keep to the shadows, hoping to catch the woman while she was still asleep. Armed with one old gun and spears, they hardly breathed as they neared the house.
The leader stopped them all within a meter from the house and slowly crept to the window and looked in. The house was filled with darkness but his sharp eyes could make out the frame of the bed on which the woman rested, her chest rising and falling steadily. The room was otherwise empty, save for a sink in the corner, a wooden table, and a chair. This room had once belonged to the Bright One and once she left was kept for her, in case she ever returned.
Convinced that Lukin was asleep, he turned around and signaled to his men just as something else grabbed their attention. He turned his head towards the hills on the eastern side of the village which marked the end of the desert and noticed it immediately. Two travelers were slowly making their way down the hill, heading for the village. One of the traveler's pure white hair caught his attention and there was no doubt in his mind who the traveler was, especially since her figure was lit up by the moon. Their goddesses had returned.
He turned to his men to make sure that they would keep quiet and not ruin the operation but it was too late. One of the men behind him rose to his feet and pointed at the travelers. "Look! It's the Bright One!" he called out, his voice ringing with joy and reassurance. "Our goddesses has returned to save us!"
***
A moment earlier
Ororo Munroe and the man known as Logan climbed over yet another hill as they had been doing all yesterday and all night today. They were nearing the village with every step. Ororo would say that the village was just over the sand dune, only to find out that it wasn't once they reached the top. As they made their way downwards Ororo began wondering whether maybe it was the next one.
Logan said that he could smell people close, but couldn't tell how close, the desert scent was driving him nuts. He stamped his words by pulling out yet another cigar and lighting it, marveling at the smell of that. He could see the that Ororo was very impatient, something he rarely saw in his friend and once again he thought that this homecoming was a great thing for her.
"We're here!!" Ororo's call brought him back to the reality. He rised and put his hand over his eyes looking at the village, hidden in the valley of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Ororo urged her camel to move faster down the steep hill and Wolverine followed her. She was silent, but was beaming with excitement, her eyes were wide and she was smiling.
Logan was the first to notice a group of dark figures surrounding one of the houses. He called out to Ororo and she stopped for a while, eyeing the situation with suspicion, then urged her camel. This didn't look good and in the dark she couldn't work out just who was surrounding a house. Just then one of them got up and pointed at Storm, shouting: "Look! It's the Bright One! Our goddesses has returned to save us!"
***
Lukin ran out of her house, looking around in anger, her fists clenched her eyes scanning the area carefully. Everyone in the village was standing around her house. Old men, women with children the whole population stood there, watching something. It was as if they were awaken by the arrival of a god. Then she saw the reason for all the commotion. Two travelers were making their way down the hill on the eastern side of the village, approaching them slowly. As soon as she recognized the travelers she understood what all the fuss was about. Storm was here. She came back here, some how she must have found out her plan. Or maybe she was here by coincidence... Maybe. Now was not the time to wonder, Lukin understood that she was going to have to fight Storm sooner than expected.
Storm meanwhile entered the village and smiled as she saw villagers on each side of the road. The road ran through the center of the village and people were assembled on each side of it, greeting her and Logan as they made their way through. Storm took her time and smiled as she passed her people. She recognized them as her friends and neighbors from the days she had used to live there. They waved their hands at her and exchanged greetings and she smiled back, wiping away a tear from her eye. It was so good to be back home. When Professor Xavier came here to recruit her, she didn't resent leaving. After she found out she was a mutant she wanted to fully explore her abilities and meet new and exciting people Charles Xavier told her about. It was while she was gone that she rose in status in her village as her numerous letters to Aniet described the fights and situations that she went through with the X-Men. The whole village would hear about them and admire the Bright One as they called her now. It wasn't until Storm returned here for a vacation that she understood just how much she missed the village, how much she missed these people. They were her home as much as the X-Men was.
She hadn't returned to the village after that visit, mostly because the X-Men kept her busy. She still kept in contact with Aniet but her letters grew less frequent now that she was leading the Gold Team. Whatever thoughts she had of home, she had to brush aside and concentrate on leading the team. That was why she needed return home so much. She needed to be with her other family now. The X-Men had gotten enough of her time. As she passed each person she tried remembering them, and they called out to her, still calling her the goddess, still admiring her. She was home again.
Wolverine's silent whisper brought her back to reality. "'This place stinks of fear and tension, and she's your main source," he said to Ororo quietly. He pointed his cigar at Lukin who stood at the end of the road, her arms crossed over her chest, a stern look on her face.
"Who is she?" Ororo asked giving Lukin a suspicious look. "I've never seen her before, and they're scared of her. That is not a good sign."
"Nope, it's not," Logan admitted while looking over the villagers. "And by the looks of it, they expect you to save them."
Ororo shifted slightly forward in her seat and turned to Logan. "Remember friend, we are here because this is my home. Stay calm and I will take care of everything."
"Yeah right, whatever," Wolverine murmured and spat on the ground.
They stopped the camels before the strange woman. She stood, unyielding, her face showing no compassion at all. The two travelers jumped off the animals onto the ground and faced Lukin. For a while, the two women particularly stared at each other, not saying a word.
^She hasn't changed,^ Lukin thought to herself while she eyed Storm. ^She looks exactly the same and she still is as arrogant as she ever was. And great she brought a friend along. Wolverine himself.^ Lukin frowned mentally at the thought of facing these two, but remembered that she was willing to do anything for this long awaited revenge.
Finally Storm was the first to speak and when she did, her voice sounded strong and calm, as if she was addressing her best friend. "Who are you woman, and what are you doing in this village?" By this time, the villagers had formed a large half circle behind Storm and Wolverine and were listening and watching the conversation carefully as night quickly gave way to the approaching day.
"My name is Lukin, and I've taken over your village," Lukin replied with a voice as calm as Storm's. Her arms were still crossed over her chest, her face was not hiding any feelings.
Storm's breath stopped for a while and she took another look at Lukin. "You did what?! You better have a good reason for this!" Storm's voice was still patient but she raised it with the last word to emphasize that she wasn't joking. She could see Logan out of the corner of her eye getting worked up.
"Reason!?!!" Lukin shouted in a sudden outburst of anger. "I'll give you my reason!!" she screamed pulling her hands away from her chest and extending them towards Storm. She threw herself at Ororo, pushing her to the ground. As the unprepared Ororo hit the ground, Lukin's foot pushed her upwards and she flipped in the air before landing on the ground behind Storm. On her tip toes she powered up for Storm's counterattack in form of a lighting or a hurricane. One didn't come.
She looked at Storm in confusion who laid on the ground. She must have hit the ground hard and gotten knocked out. Otherwise there was no explanation why she hadn't blasted her yet. She was so confused she didn't hear Logan sneak in behind her until it was too late.
She flew forward and hit the ground as Wolverine tackled her from behind. As they both landed on the ground she rolled away and jumped onto her feet. Wolverine was already standing opposite her, ready to attack, his always present claws missing. ^What is wrong with them?^ Lukin thought to herself watching Wolverine suspiciously. "So you're Wolverine, huh?" Lukin asked. "I expected more."
"Don' worry, kid, I ain't half done yet." With those words Wolverine sprung into the air and was at Lukin's throat. She punched him in the head but it seemed to do little to him as he delivered a punch after punch to her head. "Logan, you used to be someone when you were Weapon X. Now look at you, you don't even have your adamantium. I must say I am unimpressed."
"You know a lot kiddo." Wolverine growled punching Lukin in the stomach. "But your information is bit outta date." ^Out of date?^ Lukin thought, surprised. That single thought distracted her long enough for Wolverine's knee to come up, kicking Lukin in the stomach and even more quickly, his leg extended, delivering a final blow to her face, sending her to the ground.
He stood above her, breathing heavily and she looked up her head still ringing. Force field or not, she could still feel the blows he delivered. She was wrong. He was exactly what she thought he'd be like. "Had enough kiddo? How about telling me what the hell you want here," Logan spat out.
"Well actually..." Lukin began extending her hand to Wolverine. "NO!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, blowing Wolverine away in a blast as powerful as she could create. He was blown away for few meters and landed on the ground, sliding for a moment before stopping, unconscious. ^What the hell is wrong with them?^
"That's another thing you're going to pay for Lukin. I don't know who you are and what you want but you've pushed the boundaries," came a strong voice behind her. She turned around to see Storm standing behind her, a spear in her hand, a brave look on her face.
"Believe me, Windrider, you are the one that is going to pay today," Lukin spat out flipping up to her feet. The two women began circling each other, looking at each other in suspicion.
"Who are you, Lukin? What do you want? I've never seen you before yet you treat me like your greatest enemy. We don't have to fight like this."
"Sure we don't," Lukin said through clenched teeth. "Who are you going to kill next?"
"Wha…?" Storm asked but the time for questions was over. Lukin threw herself at Storm and began fighting. As she delivered blow after blow to Storm's face, she stumbled back, trying to defend herself. Storm swung the spear at Lukin but she ducked it and kicked her leg upwards, knocking Storm back once again. Dropping the spear Storm did the only thing that she could think of and she threw herself at Lukin knocking them both off balance.
As they hit the ground with a loud thump Storm was winning for a second. Sitting atop Lukin she swung her fist towards Lukin's face, hitting her, but her hand seemed to slip and Lukin lay there, smiling at her. Storm swung her fist again and once again the same thing happened, her hand slipped and her hits didn't seem to hurt Lukin. Storm looked at Lukin confused. "Unlike you, I have powers," Lukin explained generating a plasma blast of golden energy shooting it straight into Storm's face.
As the blinded Storm rubbed her eyes, trying to see, Lukin sprung to her feet and looked down at the other woman. "You don't even have your powers anymore do you, Windrider? How unfortunate for you. With them you might have some chance of defeating me. Now that you don't have them, it makes my job easier."
"Wha..what do you want?" Storm asked looking up, still not able to see properly.
Lukin didn't reply instead of attacked Storm again, knocking her off her shaking legs and delivering the last punch which made her nose spurt out with blood and pushed her to the ground. Storm looked up at her opponent with confusion. Her eyes were still playing tricks on her and the smell of blood lingered in her nose. She was not used in hand to hand combat. Long ago when she was powerless, she lead X-Men, and her combat skills were second to none. Ever since Perilous Siege gave her her powers back she had been depending just on them, forgetting the hand to hand combat skills. She had no idea how she was going to continue, it was almost like she was crippled. That's if she was going to survive. As Lukin's face above her became more clear Storm tried to move away but found her body wasn't responding.
"How can you not remember, Storm?" Lukin spat out, a spear in her hand.
Storm still had no idea what Lukin was talking about.
"Remember Storm. Remember Cairo, 1983."
"What are you talking abou..." Storm said unsure what Lukin was talking about. Then suddenly her breath stopped.
"Dear godesses ! You were that little girl...."
"Damn fucking straight I was!" Lukin screamed on top of her lungs, tears appearing in her eyes out of nowhere. "You killed my father!"
"No.. look Lukin.. it wasn't like that..." Storm tried to explain.
"Shut up!" Lukin screamed kicking Storm in the stomach making her curl up in a ball. "You know what I went through? Don't try to say it wasn't your fault you, witch! I remember it clearly! I woke up at night because it was hot and I wanted a drink. I was a child for Christ's sake! I was walking down the hall into the kitchen and when I came into the lounge and turned the light on I saw you...." Lukin stopped for a while, her voice shaky, tears flooding her eyes. "You were there, holding out Ta Reara vase and my dad was on the floor, he was dead Storm." Lukin delivered another kick to Storm's face. "You killed my father, your knife was in his chest, you went straight for the heart didn't you, Windrider?!!! He tried to stop you from stealing and you killed him! I HATE YOU!" Lukin had fallen into rage and was kicking Storm all over furiously, fury leading her actions. "Don't tell me no bullshit that it wasn't your fault! He was my dad!! And you took away my last family. I've waited 15 years to do this. I'M GOING TO KILL YOU STORM!"
"No..wait..." Storm mumbled out but Lukin delivered a swift kick to her face once again shouting that she deserved this, making Storm roll on over to her back.
Lukin raised the spear above her head and looked at the bleeding Storm underneath her. "This is for dad, witch!!" She screamed lowering the spear towards Storm's chest. The time seemed to stop frozen as the spear made it's way towards Storm's body, inch by inch, nearing her every second, preparing to rip her life out of her. Lukin's eyes were lit up with rage and her fists were clenched over the spear.
Then the spear stopped. Good halfway above Storm's body, Lukin's grip on it was still tight. Her eyes were filled with tears. Her hands began to shake. She clenched her teeth. Images of her father lying on the floor of their lounge, bleeding from his chest, his eyes open wide, life escaping from his body filled her head. She..she couldn't do it. She had waited since she was ten to do this and now she couldn't. She couldn't just kill Storm with cold blood while she was lying there helpless on the ground.
She stepped away half in shock, dropping the spear putting her hands on her head. She couldn't stop crying, her father's image was still in her head, she almost did what Storm did to her.
She didn't hear Wolverine sneak up behind her and he tackled her again. She was totally unprepared for his attack and landed on the ground. She extended her hand and fired plasma at Wolverine again. This time, however he was ready for it. He dogged it and stood there, watching Lukin as she got up from the ground, wiping away tears. "I...I....I..." she couldn't say anything, looking at the bleeding Storm lying on the ground. She seemed to momentarily forget about Wolverine as she looked at the woman who she had hated most of her life.
Wolverine meanwhile understood that Lukin had some sort of a force field and normal punches weren't going to do much against it. It was time to bring in the cavalry or the claws. During his fight with Lukin he was only using punches and that didn't work, her force field protected her. Now if he used his claws he could probably break through that force field. He hadn't known if his claws were still there since OZT agents put adamantium back into him, the tunnels which they popped through had grown back together, but he gave it no second thought.
Crossing his arms over his chest he concentrated and tried to push his claws out. Nothing came. He clenched his teeth pushing his claws out, trying to work the muscles that he always worked in those situations.
"AARGHRHRHHRHHHHHHHH!"
With a loud scream of agony he realized that they were coming. Firstly blood spurted out of his hands and then the claws followed, extending from his hands, just like they had been for years. They were bone, just like before. He had expected them to be adamantium, but he had no time to think about it now.
"Your days are counted, kiddo!" Wolverine shouted as he began running towards Lukin. She turned around, suddenly reminded of Wolvie but he was already at her side and his right clawed hand hit her across the face, making her stumble back. Before she could catch her balance Wolverine was already there punching her, ripping across her force field with his claws. "I don't know what the story with 'Ro and your dad but you're not gonna kill my friend in front of my eyes," he shouted cutting through Lukin's force field. His claws had not yet touched her skin but she was already weakened and she couldn't concentrate.
As Wolverine slashed into Lukin he noticed that bone was flying off his claws with every hit. It was like old paint peeling off, revealing adamantium claws underneath. Lukin managed to get few steps away, and she was breathing deeply looking at Wolverine. ^There's no point in me being here. I can't fight him and I can't kill Storm. I've failed.^
That moment of hesitation almost cost her her life. Wolverine jumped up in the air, and lifted his arm up and then brought it down, slashing Lukin's arm. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, blood pouring from her arm like crazy. She looked up at Wolverine hazily, trying to stop the flow of blood.
"Now are you gonna tell me what you want or should I pull every word from your throat with my own hands?" Wolverine asked through clenched teeth, leaning over Lukin, his claws stained with blood.
"No.... I'm... going," Lukin mumbled her head becoming more and more hazy. All she could think about was to leave this place, to get as far away as possible. She lost the meaning to her life. In a flash of a gold light, she disappeared, teleporting away.
Wolverine stood there for a while looking at the place where she was lying and then turned around, pulling his claws back into his hands with much effort. He blinked and bit his lip but didn't make a noise as he approached Storm who was standing on her feet, still swaying.
"Expected more of a fight from her," he murmured to himself. "You all right, Storm?" he asked looking at his friend.
Ororo was still wiping away the blood which ran from her nose. Her vision had returned but she still felt weak and her knees were trembling. "I....I'm okay...Logan... I need some time alone," she said slowly heading down the road, away from Wolverine and the place where the fight took place. "I need to think."
"Sure 'Ro," Wolverine answered shortly, and then turned around to the crowd which was watching it all, monitoring them to move to their homes, to leave Storm alone. As they began to move away disappointed one woman stepped out of the crowd and walked up to Logan.
"So you are Wolverine," Aniet said.
This was all a blur to Storm as she walked away from them, Lukin's words ringing in her ears. "You killed my father." She sat down by the lake and buried her face in her hands. She was once again remembering that night, once again feeling guilty.
She was crying.
END
Contn'd soon in XMGB
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