HOUR SIX
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The drive into New York was an assault on her nerves, sounds she'd never picked up on before were now drilling into her skull. The low level hum of the electrcity that travelled through the wires above her seemed to dance over her skin. Scents as varied as the winds that blew them into the cab made her head spin, sickness seemed to be everywhere. Holding her nose as she wound the window back up she heard the small grunt come from her companion. "What? Ah can hardly think never mind breathe? How the hell do you do it?" He just shrugged as she faced him, his eyes concentrating on the flow of traffic they were in.
"Just got used to it, you will if you let yourself." He didn't say anything else but she opened the window again, feeling her senses dull after an hour of assault.
It was getting dark, lights were being flicked on all over the huge city in front of them. Every single place she passed seemed to be another prison to her eyes. They were all different but they kept one thing the same, the souls they kept within their walls were beholden to the place that kept them chained to the brick and mortar surrounding them.
When they stopped at a small strip mall her eyes focussed again on where they were, a part of New York she wasn't familiar with and looking at the wrecks surrounding the area it didn't have much going for it either. Logan snapped himself free from the seat and looked at her, the invitation was there for her to take and she declined it. Shaking her head and watching him leave to go inside a store with blocked up windows, whatever lay inside she'd leave to her imagination.
She'd been dozing when the truck shifted, someone was in the back, senses working overtime she could hear their breathing, the blood pounding through their veins. Anger took over, getting out of truck she missed the man to her right who'd been waiting for her to come out. The punch he gave winded her for about ten seconds, his other one that was now coming she'd readied herself for. Moving into the blow she felt it graze past her skin, lighting her mutation up like a beacon. Sensing the drug addled mind behind the attack, the need for 'fun' and her being the main producer of it. Snapping herself upright bringing her knee upward into the man's groin, the effort put into the blow making her lower leg ache. Laughter stopped abruptly as he folded up on the pavement, a coldness filled her mind as the training she'd been given took over.
There were three she could see, including the man on the pavement below her, but she could smell another two further along the street. The one from the back of the truck jumped down to face her, she didn't have anything but her hands and her wits. Logan wasn't anywhere to be found and the area she was in didn't look like it had much of a police presence. She was on her own, a dark smile touched the corner of her face for a second before melting away into the darkness filling her mind.
"What ya'll wantin' here?" A sound reminiscent of a blade being drawn came to her ears, behind her about fifteen feet away, the scent of the man using it went up a notch in expectation. Shifting her body around Marie tried to get into the light near the door she'd seen Logan go through.
She could sense they were confused by her reactions, she hadn't run, she hadn't given them what they'd wanted from her. Their friend was still recovering on the floor from his mistake and her patience was beginning to suffer. She let her face take on a hunted look, making her eyes wide and feignting to her left. Looking at her would-be attackers she saw their joy at her movements, looking like hyena's about to pounce on an unprotected fawn. She dove across the front of the truck toward the hidden man with the knife, her heels showing clean to the three who were now happy with the situation. They had her running, running in fear and that would be the last mistake they'd ever make.
The one in front of her came out from hiding, his knife levelled at her stomach area, so she'd impale herself on it as she ran into him. Twisting to the side as she heard him move presenting her ribs to him, a more difficult target for the blade to enter. The scrape of it through her clothing was enough of an impetus for her to slam him into the wall of the building next to them. Using her body weight to force his shoulder into the brick, listening to the snap of the collar bone and the cry that came from him. His friends hooting and calling as they thought it was her shout as she'd run into the blade carrier. Turning herself back round using his body as counterweight, lifting her feet to slam into the first face that presented itself.
The look on his face as she met his rushing face with her boot, the snap of his neck as he went down, her weight pushing her forward over his now twitching body. Her own face a mask of concentration as she faced the others who'd run toward the sound. Hands falling at her, her own blades snapping free as slicing through muscle,knicking bone. The two that were left standing had more wounds than they knew what to do with, her need for violence had been bubbling under all day. Ever since Logan had told her about Xavier's plans for her, to use her as bait to draw Magneto out of hiding.
Every wound she gave wasn't fatal, it would scar, heal slowly but it wouldn't kill. One was down on his knees already gripping a side wound above his kidneys, the criss cross of wounds through his shirt enough of a reminder to him. The other was trying to back away but she wasn't having any of it, the alleyway was strewn with bodies, bleeding into the gutters. Grabbing him by the lapel she brought her claws down his face, feeling the muscle part under her claw. Bringing him to her mouth as she spat her hatred through her teeth at him, "Ya'll live, Ah made *sure* of it." His wide pupilled gaze was everywhere but at her own dark gaze, he was lost somewhere in the chemical haze he was hoping would save him from her tender mercies. "When ya look in the mirror next time, remember not everyone ya see is a weak little target. They just might remember ya an come back to finish the job."
Dropping the man to the filth beneath her feet she stepped back, only then did she see the damage she'd wrought on his face. Three wavy lines of red, gouged through the skin of his face, ragged, torn open, the blood beginning to overpower the smell of the rubbish beneath her feet. A coldness seeped into her heart, *she'd* done this, she'd scarred and almost killed these men. Sure they'd had as much as that on their minds for her but for her to realise she'd done this on her *own*, without help or guidance made her blood run cold. Wiping her hands of blood as her blades snapped away she went back toward the truck that lay only feet away.
Rounding the corner again the man she'd hit first was gone, his companion laid in the alley with a permanent reminder of his mistake. About to lay her hand on the truck bed when a foot came sailing out of it and struck her just above the temple sending her out into traffic. Horns blared as she stumbled back toward the truck bed, a blonde head was pulling itself out from under the tarp on the back.
There was still no sign of Logan, but all she owned was inside that flat bed and she had no intention of giving it over to someone else. When her head had cleared somewhat she could see the woman more clearly, bleached blonde hair, fake tan, dressed in a jacket three sizes too small for her. Age had ravaged her as well as the drugs she'd obviously been using, the bitterness flowed toward Marie's nose well before she actually moved off the flat bed. "Never send a man to do a woman's job," she muttered as Marie saw her pull the handgun from her belt. It had been tucked under her flesh, hidden from view, she was about to fire when a dark blur hit her wrist. The gun dropping to the tarmac just in front of Marie. Logan was there, his face dark, stood still with a bag in one hand and an empty loose hand telling her where the blur had come from.
The woman's face creased into a smirk as she dropped off the edge of the flat bed and walked toward Logan, her hips swaying with excess fat and age. The stink of her unwashed body filling the air as she sashayed toward Logan, her face pulling on a mask of helplessness. "You gotta help me, she just attacked my boyfriend and his buddies. She took em behind the store, I don't know what happened but I crawled into your truck to hide. She was about to attack me when you came out." Logans face was impassive as he looked from her to Mariem she only nodded a small nod, an incline of her head at the most and he just walked away. The skank followed him, her smile of yellow teeth glinting in the amber light thrown down onto the dark streets. Her simpering never ceasing as she clutched onto Logan's arm as he led her behind the store to the alleyway.
Meanwhile she picked up the dropped gun, noticing it was from the cabin they'd burned together. Dropping it back into it's hiding place she tied everything back down, when she heard Logan approaching again she waited patiently near the passenger door for him. He appeared again with the woman, her face screwed up into a mask of hate. Logan though was impassive, his face never betraying his feelings, only his gaze told her what he expected of her now. Understanding his instructions she just straightened herself, as he turned to the woman, his voice even as he spoke to her. "Stay here while I call for help." With that he untangled himself from her and went back inside the store, the aged skank standing on nervous feet as she watched Marie with undisguised hatred burning in her eyes.
Logan had given her the chance she needed, checking the street up an down for witnesses she smiled at the older woman, her voice honey coated and oozing charm. "What's wrong sugar? Couldn't get em to 'rise' to the occassion huh?" Her face twisted further as she shifted her hips leaning against the trucks door, running her hand down her waist and hips. Noticing the older woman's eyes narrow as she did so, her lips thinning as she smiled at her. "Think the big guy might take me with him? Ah mean why would he want an ol tired bag like you when he could have all this?"
She was visably twitching when she let that one fly, it wouldn't take much to send her over and as she blew her a kiss laughing into the darkness the woman snapped. Her hands curled into claws, nails broken and filthy flew toward her skin. They never even made it onto her, stepping aside she let the older woman slam herself into the truck door. Dancing away from her rage filled frame, seeing her anger slow her movements, hands balled she tried to punch her as she danced out of reach again. Stepping into her stink Marie slapped her hard, the snap of her neck wrenching her head round. The vivid mark colouring the skin further, the leather of her skin showing cracks and crevices of her aged body.
"What ya waitin' for, an invitation?" Marie's voice was still honey sweet but it held an edge to it, a coldness that had never been there before. As the older woman made a rush for her head, Marie let her grab her, letting her skin take from the older woman.
*A home life, pretty normal, pretty good until the husband ran off with the younger neighbour. A slide to depression, drugs, children being taken away, abuse and worthlessness following. Yet all the time her own mind singing out to herself, "I'm not the one who's wrong, I'm not to blame for this, *HE* is, he left *me* for someone else."*
Marie watched the images flow by as the older woman began to thrash like a fish out of water, seeing what life she had left to her and wondering if it would be better to kill her than let her continue to self destruct. She let go, the weight of the body smacking the cold tarmac bringing her round from the whirlpool in her mind.
Looking down at the mess that had been a human being once, had been a mother, a loving partner, she knelt by her head watching her body twitching as it tried to recover from her touch. Torn by her humanity, by her need to see her recover from it but wanting her suffering to end as well. The scent of distress flooded the air around her, acrid urine followed by the traces of death, her skin pallid and the scent of death becoming stronger. Looking at her chest as it began to faulter, the breath shuddering to a stop, and suddenly the choice was no longer hers. Rising up she met the gaze of Logan, there was someone behind him, a larger man; his hands gloved up. Shaking her head she just looked at them both, Logan whispered something she only caught the end of, "....settle with ya end of the week." The bigger man just nodded and put his hand on Logan's back. Logan moved over toward her, pulling her into the truck, he didn't ask her anything about it. But she was bursting with it, she needed to tell him about it all, the truck, the fight, the death at her hands.
"Logan....." He stopped her with a raised hand, she kept her silence as the woman's body was scooped up from the road. Pulling out of the parking space he just set them for home, when they'd cleared the outskirts of New York and were heading for the mansion he answered her curiosity.
"I watched you from inside, Tiny has camera's everywhere out there. The group that attacked the truck have been rippin off his customers for months now, you've done him a favour an Tiny never forgets a favour. We might need it one day."
The thought of Logan watching her fight for her life made her blood run cold, but if she'd been in any danger he'd have come to help her wouldn't he?
"Would you've helped me?"
"Didn't need to. You put me in a river an almost crushed me with a deadfall, didn't think you'd need me." He looked over at her with a cool calculating air, his eyes assessing what he'd seen in a new light. "An I was right. Ya didn't need my help."
The sense of another test passed went through her, she'd survived another encounter with the school of hard knocks. The one thing she couldn't do was heal as fast as Logan could, she could heal but not instantly like him. Days instead of weeks, any damage she could've taken would still be with her for a while. Letting the information settle on her bones she just let Logan take them home.
He did interrupt her thoughts once more before they got home, his voice deepened by the emotion underlying it. "I liked your style with the cuts, maimin' is better than killin. They'll be a walkin advert for ya, it'll be a few years before Tiny has any more trouble there. People'll give him some more respect for your work tonight, you should be proud, I am."
The words did have an effect on her mood, she lightened somewhat as the scenery began to look familiar, a question bubbled up onto her tongue.
"What did ya buy from Tiny?" His hand went to the bag at his feet and threw it in her direction, the paper bag rustled as she looked through it.
Inside were several pieces of sheer fabric, multicoloured and stitched with various holes in various places, body suits, gloves, sheets. All of them sheer and very very thin, some silk, some a different material she'd never seen before. Her questioning face was met by his answer, forming a smile on his lips as he spoke.
"Tiny's a seamstress." Her incredulous look made him settle his eyes on hers and repeat himself, "Yeah, a SEAMSTRESS. The best damn one in New York, he's been workin on that lot for a few months." A flush went across his face as she realised that he'd been planning too and her skin hadn't even been in the running.
"Must have been expensive."
"You have *no* idea."
"Tell me," she held up the pale grey one she held in her hand, the feel of it wasn't silk but it had a feel like nothing else in the world. Logan's eyes lit on what she was holding and he smiled.
"If anyone knew what that was made of it'd be confiscated and cut apart to find out how it got made."
"What is it?" The grin on his face became a leer as he pulled the sheer grey fabric toward him.
"Spider silk, soft, strong, flexible and very very expensive."
"But how....?" Balling up the garment it fitted into his fist, handing it back to her to put into the bag again.
"Somethin' to do with goats he said but what came after I've no idea, just that that one peice alone cost nearly twenty thou." Suddenly the entire bag seemed to be very very heavy to her, as she felt through the entire lot and found another five garments with the same feel as the grey one. Her eyes filling with tears as she saw the mansion in the distance slowly getting closer.
"Ya really did want me didn't ya?" Logan pulled the truck to the side of the road and stopped the engine. His hand touching her skin, the draw of her mutation only taking in a little of his powers and thoughts.
"Always Marie, always. I never had anything else I'd wanted more than you." She leaned into his touch, kissing his lips sweetly before letting him go and clutching the bag to her chest.
"Come on, he'll know we're here by now lets not keep the bastard waitin'." Smiling Logan brushed her cheek once more before putting the car into gear and taking them the last few miles home. They might be heading to a prison of sorts but he'd always been there waiting with a key for her escape; she had the proof in her hands.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
One last encounter before home and Marie finds out about how long Logan has been waiting for her.