Stealing Fire
Chapter 5
by
RocketJ
Disclaimer. Marvel comics owns all rights to the character Wolverine/Logan. This story just borrows him for fan drooling. No profit is derived from writing this story.
Corinna heard Jean inhale sharply in surprise. Logan stiffened, eyes blazing, nostrils flaring. Cori's eyes shifted between his clenched fists and his face.
"What is Weapon X?" she asked quietly.
"From the evidence we have garnered," Xavier looked at Logan briefly, "we believe this is the project which subjected Logan to the Adamantium bonding process."
A low rumble began beside her. It grew in volume and intensity and she realized Logan was growling, louder and louder. It ended in a feral howl so filled with rage and pain it brought tears to her eyes.
"Logan" Scott began tentatively.
Logan leapt up from the chair, claws out, his throat working with unspoken words.
"Logan, please! Try to calm yourself!" Xavier told him.
Corinna could see the almost physical effort it took for him to get his emotions under control.
"Do you know where he is?" Logan spat out from between gritted teeth.
"Yes, we've located, The Project's base of operations," Xavier told him quietly. "Logan!!" his voice stopped the other man who was already halfway to the door. " You will not go alone. It is too dangerous, I will not allow it."
Xavier turned to Scott who was also now on his feet. "Scott, I want you to choose a team to include yourself and Jean to accompany Logan. I want you underway within the hour."
"I'm going!" Corinna told them.
Scott shook his head, "No you're not! I'm not jeopardizing the safety of either you or the team. This is going to be dangerous and we don't need untrained civilians along for the ride."
"Fat chance I'm staying behind! Look at what those assholes did to me! Don't you think I deserve a little closure on this?"
Scott looked to the Professor. Xavier nodded, "Yes, Corinna may go but she must stay behind in the Blackbird with the operations team member."
Scott nodded curtly, obviously unhappy but willing to accept Xavier's ultimate command.
Within twenty minutes the team was assembled in the War Room along with Xavier and Corinna. Logan sat silently next to her at the table. He hadn't said anything since Xavier's office and Corinna felt it best to let him alone. She reached over and gave his hand a quick squeeze to let him know she was there for him but he didn't acknowledge her. The remainder of the field team consisted of Storm, and Beast.
A holographic image of far northern Canada appeared on the map table as Xavier manipulated the switches. He zoomed in on a complex of buildings. "Our source indicates that this is Cornelius' headquarters. Winthrop has been providing him with test data and subjects for his experiments."
"Toward what purpose?" Storm asked.
"We don't know. We can only assume the Weapon X project didn't end with Logan."
"Yeah, well it's gonna end now!" Logan said in a gruff whisper. Everyone at the table turned at the sound of his voice but no one made a comment. The look on Logan's face was enough to silence themand send shivers through them.
They rose and turned toward the hangar door.
"Good luck, Logan," Xavier said quietly.
Jean pulled Corinna aside and reached into her locker. "Here," she said handing Cori a parka, "our uniforms are insulated but you're going to need something besides that jacket to keep you warm."
"Thanks. Jean" she grabbed the other woman's arm. "I'd never really given much thought as to how Logan got the Adamantium"
Jean looked at her, "He only lived through it because of his healing factor."
Corinna considered what Jean said. She and Logan had joked about it but now she realized it was as much a curse to him as a blessing. The two women silently made their way to the Blackbird.
Scott brought the plane down in a clearing a half-mile from their intended target. Logan was up and pacing in front of the hatch instantly.
"Jean, you remain here with Corinna. Hank, 'Ro, you're with me and Logan."
Cyclops flipped the switch and the hatch of the Blackbird opened. Logan stalked down the ramp like a tiger stalking prey, eyes darting from side to side, claws sprung and ready for action. Cyclops gave an imperceptible nod to the other two and they all followed him down the ramp.
Jean closed the hatch and settled herself in front of the plane's tactical displays.
"Where exactly are we?" Corinna asked her.
Jean brought a map up on the monitor, "The Yukon, 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Pretty much the middle of nowhere." She reached over and punched a few buttons, a bulls eye display with four red blips appeared and Corinna realized she was looking at the other X-Men's movements. "We'll be able to keep an eye on them from here." She touched the X insignia on her collar, which operated as a transmitter, "Tactical checking in, Cyclops. We have you on screen. Over"
"I read. We're at the perimeter now. Maintain contact at standard intervals. Over"
"Roger that. Over."
Wolverine neatly sliced through the perimeter fence with his claws. He and Cyclops pulled back the chain link far enough to admit them. The area was curiously devoid of sentries. The Project must have thought that the desolate location and hardship conditions would be enough to deter anyone from seeking them outor escaping.
They carefully made their way towards the main building, a silent Logan still on point through tacit agreement. They paused behind one of the out buildings.
"Well, they might not have had any perimeter sentries but the building is tied up tighter than Fort Knox," Cyclops commented indicating the guards around the entrance and the sophisticated security measures. "Storm, do you think you'll be able to short out the security system for us?"
She shook her head. "I can't work it that way. I'd have to bring down a major thunderstorm to create any kind of charge and that's going to get us attention you don't want."
Cyclops' jaw tightened. He reached for the communicator on his collar, "Jean, come in."
"Yes, Cyclops," her voice crackled into the air.
"I hate to do this but I'm going to need you and Corinna here with us if we're going to get in. Get her a spare uniform."
"Acknowledged."
Wolverine shot him a hard look. "You sure getting Cori involved in this is the right thing to do?" It was the longest sentence he'd had spoken since their meeting in Xavier's office.
"We have no choice. We'll never get past the security systems any other way."
Wolverine nodded curtly. He'd learned to accept and at times even agree with Scott's decisions as field commander.
The redhead turned to Corinna. "You heard the man." She began scrounging in one of the clothing lockers and pulled out one of Storm's uniforms.
The smaller woman accepted it with a playful grin, "Oh, I get to wear black leather now too! Who picked these anyway? They must have some kinda bondage fetish."
"Scott. Scott chose the black leather." Jean grinned back.
"You lucky girl." She went to the head and closed the door. Jean spoke to her through the locked bulkhead.
"Stay close to us when we get there and listen carefully to Scott." The door fell open and Corinna appeared in Ororo's uniform. The other women was a bit taller than her so the sleeves and legs were rolled up giving her the appearance of a child playing dress up in her mother's closet. Fortunately Corinna had eschewed attaching Storm's cape, which probably would have tripped her up. Jean handed her the gloves.
"Ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
Jean set the security systems on the Blackbird and opened the hatch. They emerged onto the frozen landscape and set off in the direction of Cyclops' signal.
"There are guards every ten feet along all the outer walls." Cyclops told them as they approached. He pointed to a side entrance door. "Jean, I need you to telepathically shield us from the nearest guards so we can get to the door and have Corinna short out the electrical systems. Storm, can you whip up a little wind, blow this snow around a bit?"
Storm stepped back, her eyes went white and within seconds a strong wind was blowing the dry snow across the clearing between the out building and their destination. They quickly made their way to the door, the nearby guards not flickering an eyebrow thanks to Jean's telepathy.
"Ok, Corinna. Do your thing." Cyclops told her.
The blonde woman closed her eyes, concentrating intently and then reached her hand out to touch the middle of the door. A spark of static ignited where she touched and snaked out in all directions, radiating along the edges, shorting the security lock and all the censors attached to the door. Wolverine snapped the lock and within seconds they stood inside a short hallway, facing a "T" intersection with three others.
"Now where to, Fearless Leader?" Hank posited.
"Oh, I think I can answer that," said and oily voice familiar to both Wolverine and Corinna. They turned to see Corbett Winthrop ooze around the corner of the hallway; a half dozen well armed soldiers at his back. "You'll be going to the lab for tests, my big blue friend."
The X-Men instantly went into combat ready stance and were answered by the sound of six M-16's being locked and loaded and aimed straight for their heads.
"Oh, I wouldn't move if I were you," Winthrop taunted. "While our friend Logan here has his amazing healing factor I'm sure he wouldn't survive a bullet bouncing around that Admantium plated skull of his and as for the rest of you we can test on you just as well if you're vegetables." He wheezed an evil laugh. "Now, hands behind your heads if you please and follow me."
The X-Men reluctantly replied. Winthrop chattered cheerfully while he escorted them to their destination.
"Imagine our excitement when I compared notes with Dr. Cornelius only to discover that you were our missing Weapon X," he told Logan. "I can tell you we're all very excited to have you back."
"Yeah, well the feeling ain't mutual, bub." Logan snarled.
"And I see you Ms. Turner," he turned to Corinna, "have recovered quite nicely from the 'procedures.'"
Corinna's face twisted into a mask of fury and her fingers began sparking. It was Jean, however, who answered him.
"No thanks to your butchers, Winthrop! You could just as easily have obtained the data you needed without cutting her open," Jean spat causing the other X-Men to glance at her nervously. The cool redhead almost never lost her temper like that.
"I'm sure that's very true, lovely lady, however operating outside the law you can imagine my surgeons aren't the most ethical or talented." His voice went flat and cold and a glimmer of the evil that lurked beneath his polished exterior appeared in his eyes, "I pay to get results! It doesn't matter to me how I get them!"
He ushered them into a large chamber full of sophisticated equipment. A large glass enclosed booth occupied one wall and dominating the room was open-top glass tank, somewhat like a huge fish aquarium but large enough to hold a human.
Wolverine and Jean stopped dead in their tracks and stared at the tank. Cold sweat popped out on Logan's brow. This was a vision from his nightmares, a vision Jean had shared when she'd taken her brief trip into his mind.
"Come along, Weapon X," a voice boomed out of the PA system in the room. Wolverine gave a start and glanced around, panic etched on his features as a vague sense of recognition set in.
Corinna's gray eyes were riveted to Logan. He looked like a deer caught in headlights and she could almost smell the panic rolling off of him in waves. Her eyes followed him as he reluctantly continued his progress across the room. Entering the glass booth they were met by man in a lab coat.
"Welcome back, Weapon X," he said to Wolverine. "We had despaired of ever seeing you again."
"Who the hell are you? What's going on here?" Cyclops asked him.
"And you would be?"
"Cyclops. Field commander of the X-Men."
"Ah!" the man said brightly, "you are the X-Men. All of you are mutants, yes? How extremely advantageous! There are many other facets of the Program besides Weapon X which require mutants for their implementation." The man turned back to Wolverine.
"We severely underestimated your ego strengths Weapon X. It's amazing, considering all the conditioning, that you were able to regain your humanity. I'm sure we will acquire some fascinating data from subsequent testing."
Wolverine seemed to come back to himself all of a sudden almost physically shaking off the spell he'd been under since entering the lab.
Snarling he lunged at the man only to be brought up short by those six M-16's.
"What the hell did you people do to me?"
"Ahh, interesting. You don't remember anything? Do you remember the bonding process? We couldn't anesthetize you because it would have suppressed your healing factor. Of course, the Department implanted so many false memories prior to you coming to Weapon X who could say if anything you do remember is true or false!"
Logan stared at the man, a slow sense of horror spreading through him and reflecting in his face. If what this man was saying was true he couldn't even trust what little he did remember of his life prior to 15 years ago.
"You were to be our ultimate weapon. A human reduced to his most basic animalistic instincts used to kill at our discretion. Your healing factor and Adamantium skeleton make you virtually indestructible. Your mindless state was to make you our tractable killing machine. No one counted on your inner humanity being so strong as to overcome your feral nature. I only stand here today because that spark of humanity wouldn't let you kill me during your escape."
"That's a mistake I'm ready to rectify!"
They all turned at the sound of a sob. Corinna was crying, desperately trying to stifle the sound with her gloved fist. Cyclops was alarmed to see her hair was beginning to stand on end.
"You!" she screamed taking a step towards the man. "You talk about Logan as if he's the animal, as if he is nothing more to you than a piece of meat. It's you people who are the animals! Kidnapping and using people like expendable equipment, subjecting them to hideous experiments you wouldn't even perform on a dog!"
The soldiers eyed her warily training the muzzles of their rifles on her but not willing to shoot without direct orders.
Logan took a step back from her. The St. Elmo's fire he remembered from their encounter with Earl behind the rural bar was beginning to dance along her body again. Everyone's eyes were wide with disbelief. Imperceptibly the X-Men shifted to the balls of their feet, ready to move when the opportunity presented itself.
"You used me for your sick purposes!" Corinna continued, sobbing in earnest now. "You did unspeakable things to someone I love more than my own life! You need to be stopped!" She threw her hands up and shot a bolt of electricity towards the soldiers sending a jolt along the metal of their guns. They collapsed in a heap to the floor.
In the ensuing chaos the X-Men exploded into action. Storm turned to the doorway and blew up a gale that kept any armed resistance from getting in their way. Cyclops shot the phone receiver out of Winthrop's hand preventing him from raising the alarm. Corinna stood at his side ready to electrocute the man with a bolt to his head but he grabbed her hands and restrained her while Jean gave him a kick to the mid-section that sent him sprawling into an equipment console.
Wolverine meanwhile was advancing on the lab-coated man in the middle of the room who slowly backed away until he was up against the wall, held up against it by Wolverine's fist. With a roar he popped his claws, pulled his fist back and aimed straight for the man's skull shifting at the last second to plunge his claws into the wall beside him.
The man slumped in relief.
"Corinna's right. I'm not the animal, you are," he spat in disgust, letting go of the lab coat and watching as the man collapsed in quaking heap at his feet. "And I don't have to kill if I don't want to."
Jean had Winthrop telekinetically restrained to a chair.
"Beast!" Cyclops turned to his friend who was calmly seated at one of the room's computer stations. Hank pushed the button on the CD-Rom drive and retrieved a disc, which he handed to Logan.
"Your files, Wolverine. They are encrypted but I will do my best to break the cipher when we return to the mansion." Logan looked at the disc and then slid it carefully into the front of his uniform. "Now, Fearless Leader, you paged?" "Find the self-destruct program on this thing. We're going to bring this place down around their ears!"
Hank tapped away at the keyboard for a long minute. "Yes here it is, let me see if I can hack into it." The room was silent except for the sobbing of Dr. Cornelius and the tappity tap of the keyboard.
"In the immortal words of Archimedes, 'Eureka.' Once I engage the program we will have three minutes to evacuate the area."
"Do it!" Cyclops ordered.
Hank entered the pilfered security code and immediately alarm claxons began blaring around them along with a preternaturally calm female voice that announced, "Abandon base. Self-destruct in two minutes, fifty-eight seconds."
"Ok, everyone! Out!"
"Cyclops, what about them?" Jean gestured to the Doctor and Winthrop.
"They have the same fair chance as everyone else to get out. Let them take it."
The hallways were chaos as base personnel ran pell mell in their effort to evacuate before the base destroyed itself. The X-Men waded through the hordes and made it back to the Blackbird without any interference. They were airborne with seconds to spare, barely ahead of the huge explosion, which destroyed the complex and all it's horrors and secrets.
Logan watched through the plane's window as the base went up in flames then sat back heavily against his seat. He felt a hand on his and looked down to see Cori's tiny hand closing over his fist.
"It's over, Logan."
"I hope so, darlin'," he said, patting the disc next to his heart. He leaned over to look into her eyes a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "You know what you said back there?" She tilted her head in question. "About lovin' someone more than your own life?" She smiled shyly and nodded.
He kissed her hand and tucked it under his arm. "Me too darlin', me too."
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