Zero Hour I
Chapter 3
by
Nina
Disclaimer: All references to characters belonging to the X-Men Universe are © and TM the Marvel Comics Group, 20th Century Fox and all related entities.All rights reserved.
Author's Note: Bear with me, L/O lovers, the best is yet to come.
"Just what makes that little ol' ant
Think he can move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows and ant. . . can't
Move a rubber tree plant!"
The stranger wore her clothes two-sizes, too big. She was dirty, smelly, starving, and bloody. Her eyes were swollen with unshed tears but she watched the toddler giggle and slap her father's face playfully. You think you're tough, don't you, baby? The two-year-old's eyes blinked. She turned, full of joy, at the voice in her head. You ain't seen tough. You ain't seen me, yet.
SKRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE---
Jump. New city. New people. Baby's gone, and so are you. Blind yet? Dead yet? Nope. Still hoping? Still dreaming? Foolish little girl. Still playing those toddler games. You awake? Don't matter. Let the fog claim you. Let the fog claim you. Let the fog. . .
SKRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE---
Jump. Darkness.
"Captain, found another one. Range, One-Zero-Six, mark five."
"Stationary or running?"
"Stationary, sir."
"Fire when you get into range, Simmons."
Boooom. Her world was on fire. Something clawed at her face, and her chest exploded. She looked down, and saw blood on the pavement.
"Pretty girl go bye-bye," something said. It had a collar around its neck. Its fingers were long talons, its face tattooed. "Gotta work, gotta eat."
"Ahh, man! Simmons, you idiot. Why'd you send Grendl after her?"
"Sorry, sir. I - I didn't know if she was dangerous. . . "
"Yeah, yeah."
Two men in blue uniforms and thick masks came into the clearing with guns. The air stank of oil and burning rubber.
"Help me. . . Hel - "
"Jee-ZITS. Look at her face, Simmons. Can't get any money for her lookin' like that."
Simmons switched his feet nervously. "Sir, I can't afford anything else coming out of my paycheck. My wife - "
"Tell it to someone who cares, Simmons." He sighed and shook his head. "There's another one down the drain."
He raised the gun at her and fired. She screamed.
HOME!
SKRREEEEEEEEEEEEEE---
* * *
"No!"
She flung the sticky sheets grabbed her chest, gasping. The unfamiliar room sent her into a panic attack. Think, dammit, think! What happened last, what happened, who was it, why are you here, who are you, why. . . when. . . what. . .
Her brain was on fire. What was her name? Her name was M - no. A small smirk played at her lips. Remember the name, she told herself. Call yourself the name. Keep the name, remember who you are. . . who you aren't.
She analyzed every inch of the room and pulled her legs to her chest. Her fingers shook. Alone was a good feeling because it was so familiar. Alone. Good to be alone.
Why now? Not now. Anywhere/when and now. Her dark eyes hardened. Something happened. Something that brought her here, and now. She wanted to leave, but her reserves were gone. And what did it matter, she had no control Once she recharged, she would be gone. She would become a distant memory for them. A strange memory. A memory. A memory. . .
"Can't stay," she whispered out loud. "Not safe."
Why isn't it?
"I'll change it. I'll mess it up."
Is that so bad?
"I could die."
Is that so bad?
Is that so bad?
Is that so bad?
"Leave me alone!"
She screamed into her pillow and held her hands over her eyes. Her mind was disintegrating. She had to keep sane. Poison, on Grendl's fingers? Maybe. Got into her mind. Making her think strange. She bit her arm. Had to get poison out. Had to keep quiet. Had to -
She stopped. Her eye caught a movement near the front door. The door was shut tight but it had a window the size of an 8 x 10 family portrait. She saw cigar smoke, caught a lock of wiry hair.
"Get away from me!" She screamed. "Leave me alone!"
Smoke circulated around the hall. He was leaving.
He'll be BAAAA-aaaaaack. . . They're coming baaaaack. . . .
She grit her teeth. But I'll be ready for them. I'll be ready.
* * *
Sleep? No. Not for you.
Ororo didn't need to recheck her bedside clock. She had been staring at the shadowy neon numbers every fifteen minutes for the past four hours. She wished she could have slept some, but she couldn't help thinking about the visitor in Hank's lab. She couldn't stop thinking that she was missing something about her.
She's familiar, her mind taunted. And you know it.
Ororo flopped onto her back after taking a sharp breath through her teeth. She censored her thoughts. At least I haven't dredged up my love life. How dead is that issue? She loved the friends she had, and they would suffice until something better came. Of course, it didn't help that there were so many good looking, eligible bachelors at the mansion, and that she had had a gigantic crush on one in particular for the longest t -
A faint rustle on her roof halted her thoughts. Her delicate ears caught the nearly soundless footfalls that she alone heard in the bleak silence of her room. She pulled back her bedcovers and slapped on a t-shirt and jeans, and crouched low in the center of her attic room, ready for the attack. After a few seconds she caught the pattern of her intruder's steps and slapped her hand on her mouth to suppress a giggle. Sometimes she could be too vigilant.
Ororo opened the window onto her roof and climbed out. She watched with fascination as her visitor delicately twisted a stubby cigar between his thick, agile fingers. He knew she was watching but he hadn't turned. He stared into the sky as if the stars held answers for him and no one else.
"Bored?"
"Couldn't sleep."
"So you chose to awaken me instead?"
"You weren't any more asleep than I was." Wolverine lay on the roof and crammed the cigar stub in his mouth. She often chided him for smoking such a foul thing, but she secretly felt comforted by the scent. It was distinctly him, like so many other things.
"Had to talk to ya, 'Ro."
"About what?"
He didn't say anything for a few moments. When he finally did, he took the cigar from his mouth and examined it. "The girl. Got another good look at her."
"I see. Do you believe she is a threat to us?"
"Not really."
Ororo sighed and lay beside Logan. Despite the unspoken chill in his words his presence calmed her. "Her entrance was rather unusual, was it not?"
"Uh, huh. Real unusual. Didn't like it."
Ororo chuckled; it was a deep, throaty laugh, and Logan smirked at her. "What's so funny?"
"You, old friend. You hate everything. Everything is a conspiracy." Ororo patted his hand; he flinched. She frowned and pulled back, surprised by his reflex. "She has made you nervous."
"Yeah, well. Maybe she gave me reason ta be." He sat up and ground out his cigar. "Never mind, 'Ro. Forget it."
"What is it? You came up here because you wished to tell me something important. Tell me what it is." She smiled coyly. "The suspense is killing me."
He rose to his feet. An odd, haunted look shadowed his features. "Naw. It ain't that important yet. Talk to ya in the mornin'."
With that, he tromped back over the roof and disappeared over the eaves. Ororo watched his retreating back with concern but she didn't call him back. Yes, he knew something, but he didn't feel confident enough to share it with her. Why? What secrets did he hold?
You know.
Ororo clung to her shoulders as a chill ran down her back. She didn't want to investigate the feeling - it felt too foreign; too dark. The voice inside dared her to, but she shook her head. No. I will not be forced.
But her refusal to see cost her. She stayed frozen on the roof, unable to think, unable to dream, unable to feel, until daylight sifted through the horizon.
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