'darkness isn't to be feared,
it's only when it reaches out to the light
that we need to fight against it's siren call.'

**********************************************

He'd gone after her, searched the fights for a trace of her. The winter was coming down and he'd been fighting for a month before he'd even caught a whiff of her. And when he had he'd almost passed it by, he'd thought it couldn't have been her. Not until he'd seen the man's eyes himself, talked to him from his hospital bed, seen the fear of her in his eyes and smelled the rank stench of his sweat as he remembered the night he took on more than he thought he'd been prepared for.

She'd entered an 'Open Match', basically a cage fight where the last one standing won, he'd started the circuit that way, it made it easy for someone to get a reputation that went round the circuit quickly. And looking at the man in the bed she'd made a very good name for herself.

He sat and listened to the description of her fighting style, the way she'd played her body frame for the men and women in the ring with her. Making them think she was a greenhorn, too young and out of her depth, sometimes the newbies managed to avoid getting injured by staying out of the main battles. And she made it look like she'd managed this, several fights were going on when he'd turned to see her against the wall of the cage looking for all the world like a deer caught in headlights. That had been his first and last mistake.

He'd moved over toward her, his attack already planned when he'd uttered a phrase that had turned her from a scared deer to something from Dante's fifth circle. He'd called her 'Darlin', Logan just kept his face neutral as he listened to the man who'd been around fights all his life describe the fight he'd taken on with Marie.

He'd gone for a knockout, straight punch to the chin but she'd ducked, flowed out the way of his weight. Her hands had slammed into his guts, the last two ribs on his right had taken the full brunt of her body weight and cracked. Then she'd spun out of his wheezing arc, dogding the rest of the fighters to get her back into a corner, hands by her sides and a new rhythm to her breathing. He'd been angry by then, that she'd gotten the upper hand and looking back at it now he knew he'd made another mistake right there.

She'd let him get close to her, sending out mixed signals to him, fear mixed with expectation if he'd been thinking straight he'd have backed off and given himself room to work but she'd riled him. So he went in boot first, what he got instead was a blow to his nuts, her foot came up and dug itself deep into his body. As his head came down in response she slammed her knee up into his jaw and kept on going. Her fists slammed against his throat and he felt his windpipe collapse, her hands were like iron as she dropped him to the sawdust. All he felt was pain, her feet making beating a tattoo across his kidneys and back. She even got in a stamp to his already bruised nuts, thats when one ruptured and his world collapsed into a world of hurt. Her last look at him was one of disdain, as if he wasn't even worth her shit, he'd caught her turning to the others left in the ring, cracking her neck to the side as she went into the fray.

Logan listened to the man, he'd listened to the list of injuries he had. Broken ribs, damaged kidneys, ruptured testicles, ripped muscles in his back and stomach, smashed cheek bone, broken fingers where she'd stamped on his hands in her heels. She'd taken a seasoned fighter down in minutes, her reputation was growing with each fight she was in. Thing was she didn't care how much attention she got, it was as if she wanted him to find her. The path was littered with bruised and damaged fighters, people he'd fought in the ring before but she wasn't interested in playing them out for money she was just in it for the pleasure of hurting them. Taking her time over it, rupturing bodies, crippling them because she could. Not even he'd done what she was doing, he'd always left a fighter with some way of earning a living, Marie hadn't. She'd even blinded one with her fingers, digging out the orbs with her nailed hands.

So he'd made enquiries about her, found that there was a group after her already, they were going to kill her the first opportunity they got. He let it be known that he'd be challenging her in the next round of fights, it stayed their hand for a while. They all knew of 'The Wolverine', his name still inspired some respect on the circuit, some but not much. He had one chance to reach her and if he failed when she walked out of the ring she'd be dead before she left the building.

*********************************************************

She knew he was here, she could 'feel' his presence around her, stalking her like a wolf after prey. It made her smile and the smile was dark, no light in her face as she turned in her bed. The pair next to her weren't in any shape to talk but she'd been happy for a while. She'd hooked up with them in the bar after the fight, they'd seen her working, thinking they could get a little of her 'action'. Thing was it didn't work out the way they'd thought it would, the woman was pretty, blonde, 'stacked n' racked' as Logan would've put it. But it was the man she'd been interested in, big, brawny, powerful obviously the dominant one in the relationship. When she'd said yes to their invitation she saw his eyes fire as he thought he'd be breaking her later. Her eyes drifted over to his still tied up body in the bed next to her pity it had been him she'd broken.

Getting up she felt the woman shift in the bed, her hair still tied to the bedpost,whimpering as Marie got up and stretched herself out. The bruising on the blonde's skin making her look like a big cat of some kind, fingerprints and palm prints mostly. Some were hers but most were her boyfriends. Still naked Marie dropped herself to the now wide awake and gagged blonde's eyeline. A smile on her lips as she traced her nails down the woman's body, seeing and loving the fear she saw in her eyes as her fingers went lower. Her throat whimpering her pleas for her not to touch her, not to hurt her again. Marie just cradled her head with her other hand as she touched her skin to skin. Letting the blondes mind enter her own, seeing her memories flood into her, the beatings she took from her 'lover'. The way he attacked and bled her, how much she enjoyed his touch, this ritual of love and hate.

Thing was he really did love her, in hi sown sick and twisted way he did love her, he needed her forgiveness every time he hit her. Everytime he caused her pain and she forgave him, every time she gave him her blood he felt human for a moment, felt real. He'd tried the same game with her, only he'd gotten a surprise when he'd hit her across the mouth expecting her to drop her hardness and be a cowed woman. He hadn't expected a female Wolverine, claws drawn and an attitude to match.

Marie checked on him after she'd finished with the blonde, seeing that she was out for the duration. Control had been learned from an odd source but she didn't care, her skin was still a weapon she used as she fought. Every blow she took drained the person touching her and told her their plans. After that they were easy to take down, just like this guy had been.
He'd wanted her to beg, to ask forgiveness for being a woman who fought back against men, for being strong. She'd instantly fought him, when he'd revealed what he was, the lure of sex had been too good to be true. Pumped up on adrenalin she'd needed the release, thought he was big enough to satisfy her need, her ache. Yet every man she allowed between her thighs wasn't enough, there had only ever been one man that would've cured the ache she held in her....Logan. She knew that and she hated that she knew it, that only he'd give her what she needed, what she craved. She'd had it once but he'd thrown her away, turned his back on her, cheated on her so she'd found her pleasure where and when she could. Letting herself think and act like he had, losing herself to the urges that swam in her confused psyche.

Like now as her claws slid free, she wanted to make him hurt, she wanted to scar him, make him a walking reminder why he should be avoided. Dragging him off the bed, waking him as he thumped to the carpeted floor of the plush hotel room. Crouching over him as she positioned her naked body over his, using her drawn claws to bring his penis to life. The man trying to fight the urges that she was coaxing out of him, her honeyed drawl sounding out in the air. "Come on Sugar, get up or Ah'll have to hurt ya, ya see Ah'm hungry an Ah want ya to fill that hunger for me." She went down his tied up body, running her tongue down his skin, seeing his penis twitch as her lips wound down to his groin. The blood flowing nicely as she finally wrapped her lips around his dick, humming atthe back of her throat as she suckled him. When he was as hard as he was going to get she moved herself over him. Impaling herself on his shaft her hands on her breasts pinching and rolling the nipples that were standing proud under her palms. Rocking her hips back and forth, over and over, her body taking everything the man under her had to give. But it wasn't enough to get her off, there wasn't enough of *him* beneath her and if she wanted to come she'd have to get it another way. Taking her claws she dragged them down his skin, blood instantly beading under their passing. The scent rich and heady in he rnose as she wover her pattern over his skin, her claws never digging in too deep. Weaving her lust over his torso as she shifted on his dick, clenching and holding him as she pulled herself along him. Eyes closed her mind seeing her husband beneath her, his feral features snarling at her as she ground her hips down on his trussed up body. Fingers played over the bloodslicked surface of the man beneath her, filling her with the power she needed to pull herself over the edge. Feeling her channel tighten against the fullness inside her body, the roar inside her mind as the man under her whimpered as he came inside her. The pain too much to be hidden by the pleasure she was draining out of him, the six deep cuts she left him down his pectorals as she came enough to shatter her dream of Logan beneath her. Opening her eyes and realising she didn't have what she wanted, it wasn't Logan. Smiling she dropped her head over his own gagged mouth and blew him a kiss, raising herself off his bloodstreaked body and heading for the shower.

The edge was dulled for now, her hunger abated somewhat, somehow in the back of her mind she knew it wouldn't be long before Logan found her. An when he did she expected him to not recognise her, the woman who'd left him behind was dead. What was in her shell was Rogue, Marie died the day she found out who he'd been fucking behind her back. Her path hadn't been thought out she'd just wandered, finding herself in San Francisco and her instincts had taken over. Finding Jean had been easy, her profile was pretty high and her face was just as pretty. When she'd finished with her it hadn't been, her skin was marked everywhere it could be, she'd even managed to write 'whore' on her labia. Drugs really were useful if you knew where to get them and thanks to Logan's memories she had a damn list of contacts in her head a kilometer long.

Smiling to herself under the shower she washed the semen and blood off her skin, the tingle of the water reminding her of the drain she felt when people touched her unexpectedly. Shaking her hair loose under the water she got ready for her day, today was a prize fight, $20,000 for the winner. Plus any money she bet on herself to win, smiling to herself as the creeping feeling of being watched gained in strength. She knew he was out there, oh yeah she knew and she couldn't wait to show him the new her.

************************************************

The place was packed solid, the muscle that was waiting for her to either win or die took up an entire wall. She was asking for her death here and he doubted he'd be able to get her out without help. He'd thought about calling Xavier but he'd made himself clear about Rogue, she was on her own after what she'd done to Jean. She was too dangerous to waste resources on and bring back to a place filled with children.

So he waited, put his name down on the list along with the rest and waited for her to arrive. When she walked in he saw the muscle by the wall tense up, they'd found her and he had to stop himself from just wading in right there and then. When she scanned the room and saw the men she'd beaten looking at her she just smiled a sweet smile, a darkness challenging them to come and get her. But when her eyes met his they locked with them, what he saw in her wasn't the woman he knew, the woman he'd given his vows to. She was long gone, whoever this was may have her body but her soul was something else entirely. Nodding in his direction she went to the organiser and put her name on the rosta, the matches were in pairs and the best from each pairing kept fighting until there were two left standing; then they duked it out for the prize. He only hoped she had enough about her to survive the first few rounds, what he'd heard about her could have been hype. He had to see it for himself and when he looked over to the cage his dreams were realised. She was in the ring already waiting for her challenger, the man who entered was too cocky and she dispatched him without even breaking into a sweat. Smashing his nose with her fist and cold clocking him with her other hand, as he fell to the canvas she stamped on his neck, the crack was audible to him but no one else heard it. When he didn't get back up she was declared the winner and she sauntered out. The man she'd just killed knew the risks of getting in the ring but even he hadn't thought she'd kill someone. She found his stare and she gave him a small wave before going back to her waiting place.

The air of the match was now set, death made for a bad fight but good betting odds and the runners were doing a brisk trade. When he was called he didn't mess around, just dropped the man against him, knocked him flat in three seconds. He knew he'd never be able to fight on this circuit again after this but he had to be sure he was the winner that reached her in the end. Her eyes never left the fights, even when he passed close by her, scenting her pleasure at the sight of so much pain and death. Whoever she'd been was long gone, he didn't even know this version of Marie and he didn't want to leave her in the world if he could help it.

The results were obvious, they were both winners, Marie was even being touted as the 'Female Wolverine'. She hadn't gotten out of it without getting hurt though, her forehead and face were bruised and battered. Her left side was giving her trouble as well, he was as fine as ever and if she touched him she'd be as well. He'd seen her work, the touches that weakened the men she fought, a small drain here and there so she had some sort of control over her skin. And as she waited for him in the ring he knew she would touch him the first chance she got.

The whole place erupted when she got in with him, charging the atmosphere with hate, they wanted a body to be lifted out of here at the end. Whether in the ring or out of it, there'd be only one survivor and Logan was determined that it would be him.

She'd watched him fight, the way he'd just powered through the competition, taking the knockouts instead of stringing them along for a while. She'd seen his gaze as it rested on her between fights, he hated her, what she'd become and that pleased her. She wanted him to hate her, to have nothing left but the rage he'd hidden from her all that time ago. She wanted to prove tohim that she could've handled him, that the darkness he'd given her in his touch was something she already knew. Something she already understood, but he'd gone to Jean to share it instead of with her. It was too late for anything but a fight to the end now, she'd killed to get here, to be here at this point, this moment where he'd get to finish the job he'd started all those months ago. Inside she'd been dead for a long time now it was time for the rest of her to die but she wouldn't go easy. Oh no, he'd have to earn every last drop of her blood. Smiling she entered the cage, every movement measured and filled with deadly grace. Her lips quirking as she spoke to him, "Wolverine, long time no see. Glad to see ya made it Sugar, finally. Ah left a trail wide enough for a blind man to follow, thought ya'd be a little quicker on the uptake but then Ah never did love ya for ya impulsive side."

Her words reached him but they didn't change his mind about who was walking out of here but he did answer her. "Did a bit of research, you've left enough bodies behind you to make a decent marching band Marie. Where did that idea come from or are you just following in footsteps?" Her smile didn't move as she circled around him, steps even and measured, hands spread wide she drew her claws and the ripple of silence that there appearance made wove over the entire room.
"Just usin' what mah *husband* gave me Sugar. You of ahl people should know that." Seeing the thin bone blades his mind showing him the damage they'd wrought on Jean he lowered his stance and drew his own metal free. The silence was now complete in the room but for the two of them nothing else existed but the other.

************************************************

The fight was graceful, poetic if you'd been standing at the back, balletic movements as they danced around each other, their blades flashing in the light. Marie getting in good shots but never being able to take a good grip on Wolverine. He was covered head to toe, she was in shredded clothing by now, blood was slicking the floor of the cage and it wasn't Wolverine's. The wounds were light, survivable, they'd scar but they weren't the killer blows they'd seen earlier from him. He was waiting for her, to speak to tell him why but she stayed silent. When he broke her claws on her left hand she screamed but he didn't let up, he bit her shoulder the wound deep and she lost the use of the arm. He was playing with her and she knew it, her temper frayed and she lost her focus. Diving for him from below the waist, slicing through his denim clad leg and slapping her skin to his. Feeling him drain into her, his life ebbing into her, the rush it gave her, the feeling of him inside her body again making her sloppy. Dazed he threw her away from him but her wounds were healing up, she'd taken enough to keep her fighting a while longer. The silence was still raging at their ears but they had no time to look at it, their fight wasn't over.

She'd suckered him and he berated himself for underestimating her, she had the advantage now, she knew his game plan and so he changed it. Making out he was coming in high he went low at the last second and hamstrung her. Her body was trying to heal the wound when he just stabbed her through the chest from behind. A parody of their first meeting, the first time he'd healed her, but this time he left the claws inside her. He could feel her body trying to heal the damage but she was burning his gift too fast. If she used it all now she'd be vulnerable, tearing out the blades he watched her blood fountain out of her chest. There was no love left in him, the woman he'd loved was gone and what was in it's place was a parody of the warm hearted loving woman he'd destroyed. Blood ran down the skin he'd kissed and treasured all his life, her face found his and she smiled as the blood welled up over her lips. The ones he'd promised the world to, the ones he'd kissed so many times, the ones he promised the world to and lied to. He'd killed her the first time he'd slept with Jean, it was time to end it, time to stop her misery, to put her to bed finally.

As the light of her eyes began to fade he felt the rage consume him, the anger at his own mistakes, his destruction of the one thing he'd had that had meant the world to him. His animal nature had driven him here, the world of men wasn't for people like him, he didn't belong, he never would not now. He'd lost his chance, he'd destroyed it himself over a year ago in a hotel room with a woman he didn't care for.

Enraged he swung his fists over her neck, severing her spine and sending her head out onto the floor, there was no roar from the crowd, no joyous rapture and his eyes dragged up to look at the faces who'd been baying for her blood. They were silent, fear rank in the room pulling his attention to the rest of them he pulled the cgae apart. They were streaming out of the place as he dove into the crowd, anger, rage taking him beyond what was human and into the savage Wolverine that lay under the surface of his skin. He'd never come here again, being human was something he didn't deserve, his chance of humanity had just died in the ring. It took five men with shotguns to stop him, they blew peices of him everywhere but when they saw him healing they just picked him up and took him outside the town. Dumping him in a river bed to die out in the cold, he woke a day later, still damaged but able to crawl away.

Semi naked he just kept going, travelling on the outskirts of the city, the breeze sending him scents and tales of the residents. Thats how he came across her, the funeral of the fighters that had died in the matches, he waited until they'd all been buried before he came over. Her grave was small but it was the name they'd given her that made what was left of his heart break a little more, ''Lady Wolverine', fought the good fight but lost against a greater force, resting in the arms of God.' Everyone laid down enough for a funeral when you came to fight just in case, even if your family didn't know you at least you had a decent grave surrounded by those you'd fought with.

He didn't linger long, just enough to know she was gone, then he turned his head to the north. Maybe the cold would finish the job she'd started nearly a year ago when she'd left him. He looked back once and hoped that he'd catch up with her eventually, maybe the next time round they'd be better. Tears fed the grass as he walked out of the cemetary to the cold all around him, it's numbness welcome to his senses. He'd left his humanity in the ground, all there was left was animal and it was time it was put down.