Cooperstown, Alaska.
" Unit three report."
" Unit three's everything's all quiet. Whole lot of nothing. With all due respect sarge, the guys who did the damage ain't coming back." The officer that was guarding the back entrance to the Hospital responded to his comms check. He didn't seem to excited to be on guard duty, perhaps that's why he did not notice Logan and the others sneaking past him. " This is like closing the barn door after-" He was speaking, he then heard the sound of something crunching behind him. He turned around and checked for any signs of what made the sound, but he found nothing. Feeling as if everything was fine, he turned back around to Warpath.
Warpath punched the officer hard in his face, knocking him out with ease. He then grabbed his radio.
" Unit three, report. I didn't copy that."
" Un-Hunh..." Warpath replied to the man on the radio.
" Good. Base out."
James sighed and then turned. His teammates weren't exactly happy with him taking a risk like that.
" Oh, that was bleeding stealthy, Warpath." Rahne told the man.
" I don't do stealthy." James told the woman.
" You'll do what you're told." Logan exclaimed. " There's nothing in it for us to have to fight our way in." Logan explained.
" True." James replied. " On the other hand, having a walkie-talkie so we can listen in on the cops and track their movements lessens the chance of having to fight our way out." Warpath explained to the man.
" He's got a point, Logan." Ian told the man.
It was a smart idea, and it did help in the event that things went south, they would be able to evade the police with ease.
Logan grunted and snatched the radio from Warpath.
" Hepzibah, you're in charge of the squawk box." Logan told the woman as he handed her the radio. " The rest of you, let's move."
X-Force moved further into the hospital, evading the crime scene investigators, while also searching the scene themselves for anything that might allow them to figure out where Cable is and why they can't track him.
" Okay, so far, so good. When were first here, there was too much crap in the air to get any scent. Plus, we didn't know what we were looking for." Logan explained.
" Now we are knowing. Cable." Hepzibah stated.
" Right. Between that and the smoke and chemicals having dissipated, we got a better shot. We split into pairs. Runt you're with X-23." Logan told Ian.
Ian looked at Laura and the girl grunted and looked away from him.
" Caliban, you're with Hepzibah. Warpath with Wolfsbane." Logan stated.
" No offense to Rahne. But I'd rather work with Hepzibah." Warpath told Logan.
Logan didn't like that. He immediately snapped at Warpath with animosity. Something and most likely everyone else noticed.
" You go where I say. Clear?" Logan told the man.
Warpath grunted and walked away from the man.
" Rahne." Logan whispered.
" Aye, sir?" Rahne replied.
" Keen an eye on him." Logan told the woman.
" Logan." Ian spoke up, getting his and Rahne's attention. " You don't need to worry about Warpath, Logan. He's one of us. You can trust him to do what need to be done." Ian told the man.
" Can I? If there's any chance, he's gonna falter at the finish line, I need to know." Logan replied.
" He won't." Ian told the man. Ian left Logan and walked after Laura.
......
" What do you think, Laura? You think we're gonna find them?" Ian asked the woman. Nothing. " I mean, I still think something else is going on here. This whole thing with Cable, is still rubbing me the wrong way. I mean do you think a guy who travels through time like it's a cab service would need to be on the run?" Ian asked the girl. Once again nothing in response. " You just gonna ignore me the whole time?" Ian asked the girl.
" We have a mission. I am trying to focus." Laura replied.
" Okay, that's fair. And I would understand that, but you've been doing this long before any of this started Laura. I mean, you've been avoiding me for weeks, months even. Did I do something wrong? Why won't you talk to me?" Ian asked the girl.
Laura grunted and started walking away.
Ian grabbed Laura's arm and spun her around to face him.
" What the hell is wrong, Laura. Why won't you talk to me?" Ian asked the girl.
" Why do you WANT to talk to me?" Laura asked.
" Because I miss you! Damn it, Laura. I miss my friend. If you even still are. I mean, one minute you're giving me the cold shoulder, the next you're crying over my death bed. I mean it's all so confusing. I mean do you like me; do you hate me? Is that it? Do you hate me now?" Ian.
" No." Laura replied. Although quietly.
" Then what? Laura, I miss spending time with you, I miss hanging out, and eating together. I miss my friend." Ian told the girl.
He had bottled up his emotions for months when it came to Laura. He had given her the space he thought she needed and never tried to force an encounter. But he had, had enough with questioning himself. Ian placed his hand on Laura's cheek and looked her dead in her eyes. They had softened, at least a little. The woman with the eyes of a deadly predator had softened. She was still deadly yes, but there was something new there. There was sadness, and joy. And all Ian wanted to do was hug the girl in front of him. But he didn't.
" Laura, If I ever did anything that made you uncomfortable, or maybe said anything you didn't like. Then I am sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way. Just please give me-"
Before Ian could finish his thought, the sound of gun shots rang loud and clear. The two of them immediately snapped back to reality from the sound.
" Gunshots." Laura stated.
" That can't be good. Come on." Ian told the girl. He and Laura took off running, eventually running into the others as they made their way to the spot where Hepzibah and Caliban were searching.
When they got there, Hepzibah and Caliban had downed a group of officers.
" What happened?" Logan asked the two.
" Caliban screamed, alerted the men." Hepzibah explained to Logan.
" Sorry. Caliban has good news and bad news." Caliban told the group. " Good news: Whatever kept me from sensing the Baby and Cable-- It's gone.
Caliban explained.
" Bad news: Neighbors know we here." Hepzibah stated, she raised the radio up and the group overheard the cops converging on the hospital.
" I grabbed a look at the schematics, there's some kind of maintenance tunnels accessible through the basement." Warpath explained. " By the time they get in... We'll be back in the Blackbird."
" Let's do it." Logan replied.
Warpath kicked open the door to the basement and led the way through the tunnels while the others followed after him.
Once the team was safely back on the Jet, Caliban told them where they were heading.
.......
Somewhere in the Canadian mounts.
Lady Deathstrike and her squad of Reavers had managed to track the mutant known as Cable to the mounts of Canada. She had attacked the man, and somehow her claws were able to pierce through the metal on his arm.
( Author's Note. Cable's arm is made of a metal known as the techno organic virus. A very strong metal, that's next to impossible to break.)
" No more guns, no more running. Your time is up Cable. The end is near. Yours. And the child's." Lady Deathstrike told the man. " You fought well, though. If you like I could make your deaths quick."
" What do you care about this, Deathstrike?" Cable asked the woman. " What do you care about the purifiers?"
" The child's birth was foretold." Deathstrike replied. " Foretold by the reverend William Stryker. William Told me he would have need of me twice... Once while he was alive... And once after his death. He told me of the mutant antichrist. And he asked me to kill it." Deathstrike explained. " And now I fulfil my vow." Deathstrike told the man. She raised her sharp fingers to his throat and prepared to kill the man.
But Cable simply looked at her and smirked.
" I guess he didn't mention to look behind you." Cable told the woman.
Deathstrike turned around and.
" YURIKO!" Logan yelled. He and X-Force had already begun attacking Deathstrike's men.
Using the distraction, Cable decided to escape.
" RAAAAAH! X! Hepzibah! Someone get to Cable!!" Logan yelled out.
" I'm on it!" Ian told Logan.
Ian leaped over the crowd of death ninjas and flew after Cable.
" Cable, wait!" Ian yelled to the man.
Cable didn't stop, instead, he reached into his waistband and fired a volley of energy bolts at Ian.
Ian raised his hand and absorbed the blasts.
" Gotta remember not to go overboard here." Ian whispered to himself. He continued chasing after cable, while the others dealt with the Reavers.
" Logan-San! You were stupid to interfere in this, you had longer to live until I reached you." Deathstrike told the man. " Now you die here, with the child."
Logan stopped and snarled at the woman. He didn't have time for this, he had to get to Cable.
" I don't have time for this, Yuriko. You're still pissed at me? Fine. But I know someone who's pissed at you." Logan told the woman. " Knock yourself out, X." Logan told Laura. He stepped to the side and Laura lunged at Lady Deathstrike.
" You call yourself Deathstrike. Show me." Laura demanded the woman fight her. She cut Deathstrike across her face.
.......
Xavier's.
" Two punctured, Lungs. A nicked Aorta. A Shredded Diaphragm, a severed rib, and now minus a spleen. But Hellion is alive. Whew!" Hank exclaimed. He plopped down on the floor next to Cessily and David and sighed. " For how long I don't know though." He stated. Suggesting there was a chance that Julain may still die.
" What happens, now?" Cessily asked.
" We take a breath, then I check on Nightcrawler, who's in about as good a condition as Julian. And we all pray Elixir wakes up." Hank told the girl.
Up above, looking down on all the bodies filling the medical wing was Noriko.
" This is all my fault." She stated. She looked down in pity and shame as most of her friends and some of the teachers were fighting for their lives. " I was so angry. I wanted to hurt the purifiers... We weren't ready. They almost died because of me. Julian and Ian..." Noriko spoke.
" Are both alive." Emma told the girl. " And had you stayed here, Surge... They might not be. None of you might be. All of you might have been killed by the sentinels, just like so many of my students were." Emma explained to the girl. " But you survived. Julian was my favorite, you know. I pushed him away, like I pushed all of you away. And you survived. What's happening now, no one saw coming. You were blindsided. Get over it. We all were. The trick is to survive it the first time, and not let it happen a second." Emma told the girl.
" Why did you do this to me?" Noriko asked the woman. " Why did you pick me to lead this team? Surely Ian would have been the better choice."
" He would have been, on paper." Emma stated. " But he's..." Emma hesitated to speak for a moment. But decided to continue anyway. " He's got skills and is definitely leagues above the rest of you in terms of combat and field experience. But I picked you Noriko, because I see in you a great leader, with a lot of potential. I needed you to be able to see what I see. And because I knew you'd protect them. No matter what. Even from me." Emma explained. " Do that now. Protect them." Emma told Noriko. She then walked away, leaving the girl to watch over her teammates alone.
Emma walked to the hangar and joined Scott and the rest of the remaining members of the X-men and X-Factor.
" Wolverine and his team are engaging Cable right now. And he said they weren't alone." Scott spoke. " The Marauders are still out there. The purifiers are still out there. We have to be there to back Wolverine up when he takes possession of the baby. We're leaving in one minute, people." Scott explained.
" If I wasn't already weak in the knees, Darling, you'd have me there." Emma told the man.
" Emma, are you up for this?" Scott asked. " Monet is here with the rest of X-Factor, so-"
" Don't insult me. I'll just assume you're glad to see me alive." Emma told the man. " Henry has stabilized Nightcrawler and Hellion for the time being. And I spoke with Surge."
" Beast has to stay in the Med-Lab, but can Surge cover the students?" Scott asked the woman.
" I have no doubts. She's very motivated right now." Emma replied.
" Alright, then. Let's go, people." Scott exclaimed.
Scott, Storm, Emma, Guido, Monet, Angel, Iceman, Colossus, Cannonball, and Darwin all boarded the last X-jet and left the Institute.
.....
Back in the Canadian mountains.
Laura and Lady Deathstrike continued their bloody battle, with Lady Deathstrike gaining the upperhand on Laura.
" Wolverine insults me... A child?" Deathstrike asked. " He seeks to shame me. But you?" Deathstrike asked. She cut Laura deep from her stomach up to her throat. Forcing her insides to threaten to spill out of her.
Laura was covered in blood, aside from the wound Deathstrike just gave her, she was filled with cuts and gashes all over the top of her torso. " You think you are mu equal? I am Lady Deathstrike, daughter of lord Dark Wind! You are nothing!"Deathstrike exclaimed. " And your arrogance will cost you your life."
Laura dropped to the ground, her eyes bloodshot, and her clothes torn and tattered from Deathstrike's relentless assault.
" Do you hear me? You are not even fighting." Deathstrike stated.
" No..." Laura replied. She then quickly kicked her foot into Deathstrike's shoulder, stabbing through her cybernetics with the claw on her foot. " I'm listening." Laura told the woman.
Deathstrike grunted and reeled.
" Pathetic. Your strike barely drew blood." Deathstrike told Laura.
" I was not aiming for blood." aura told the woman. She got back up to her feet, healing from Deathstrike's attacks.
Deathstrike questioned what Laura was talking about, and she only realized it when she tried to raise her arm.
" I... My arm. Why can I not move my... You-- You cut through my cybernetics." Deathstrike exclaimed.
Laura lunged at Deathstrike with a new purpose.
" Now! You will see how I fight." Laura exclaimed. She attacks Deathstrike with just as much viciousness as Deathstrike had done to her, slashing and cutting at the woman's side. Taking full advantage of her limp arm. " You are losing blood faster than your cybernetics can heal. I cut your cybernetics faster than they can repair. You are dead, and do not even know it." Laura told the woman.
" Raaaaah!" Deathstrike yelled in frustration. She couldn't believe how quickly Laura had turned the tide of their battle.
Laura lunged at the woman again. Laura cut through Deathstrike's other good arm and then spun around and drove her claws through the woman's back, disembowleing her.
Deathstrike dropped to the ground, her cybernetic body no longer able to withstand the damage that Laura had done to her.
" You were dead the second you touched Ian Sinclair." Laura said to the dying woman. She stood over Deathstrike, victorious without a doubt and watched as the light began to fade form the woman's eyes.
Ian on the other hand, was having a much harder time with Cable.
" Come on, Cable! You're running out of places to run. You're getting tired and I haven't even broken a sweat yet. You can't get away." Ian told the man. He had Cable cornered at the end of a cliff. But he couldn't attack Cable carelessly, he could kill the baby, or he could end up accidentally bringing the entire mountain of snow down on top of them both. Either way, he'd lose. But as long as he kept Cable within sight, it gave the others a chance to catch up.
" You know, you talk a lot kid." Cable told Ian. " But you're right, I can't keep running. Not with you chasing me like a dog." Cable spoke. He reached into his belt and pulled out a red grenade and Ian stopped approaching him. " Do you know what this is?" Cable asked. From the look on Ian's face, Cable knew he didn't. And that's what he was hoping. " This here is in energized impact grenade." Cable told the man.
" I control energy Cable. What are you gonna do with that?" Ian asked the man.
" Yeah, you can probably stop the explosion from getting too big. But what are you gonna do about the vibrations? Even if you do stop the blast, the rumble is gonna bring the entire mountain down on top of us." Cable explained.
" You wouldn't da-" Ian started to say. But before he could get the word out, Cable had already pulled the pin on the grenade and dropped it down the side of the mountain.
Ian's eyes widened in shock, and he lunged for the grenade, rushing past Cable and jumping straight off the side of the cliff.
" Shit!" Ian cursed. " That crazy son of a-" Ian spoke. He reached out for the grenade and then when his hand grabbed it, exploded and a chain wrapped around his neck and his powers shut off. Ian looked up at Cable as he fell towards the ground and watched as the man waved.
" Holographic interface, and a portable Power dampener. Good for catching Mutants and other meta-humans off-guard." Cable stated.
It was a trap and Ian fell for it, hook line and sinker. Ian could feel there was energy coming from the grenade, but he thought that maybe it was just what Cable explained it was. He didn't realize it was a Hologram.
" Son of a Bitch!" Ian cursed at the man. He fell straight down to the bottom of the mountain. The vibrations from the impact shook the mountain, nearly causing an avalanche.
Cable didn't stop to check if Ian was okay, instead he continued trekking forward. However, Ian wasn't the only one chasing after him.
" CABLE!" Logan yelled.
Cable turned and saw Logan chasing after him and started running again.
Logan started sniffing the air as he followed Cable and noticed something was wrong.
" He's back-tracking the way we came. Why would he?" Logan asked himself.
Just then the X-Jet kicked to life.
" Dammit." Logan cursed. He dropped to the ground and the X-Jet went soaring over his head.
Cable boarded the Jet and left Logan stranded.
" What's your game, Cable?" Logan asked. " And how many more people are going to have to die before it's over?"
The Hunt was over, and Logan and the others lost. Once again, they were left behind. Both figuratively and very literally as now that the X-jet was gone, the team had no means of transport.