Chance Encounter - Wolverine/X-Men Fanfic

Chapter 4: You Sure You're Not Furry on the Inside?

Logan's back was a blazing fire of pain and itching as his body rapidly stitched itself back together. He hadn't been quick enough to catch her, but at least she didn't look like she'd hit too hard. She'd just slumped where she stood. Likely just passed out.

Fucking hell, he grumbled to himself as he moved to pick her up.

Pain exploded through his lower back and he gritted his teeth against it as he grunted and stumbled to the ground. This was the true pain in the ass about his healing factor; he had discovered that unless his endorphins were going through the roof in combat, serious injuries hurt like a mad bastard until his body recovered. He had to be in that dark, cold place that his psyche swam in when he dropped into that swift, efficient killing place. Logan still wasn't entirely used to the feel of his body patching itself back up after grievous bodily harm. The first couple of times had been debilitating when the endorphin high finally wore off. He would have to wait a few minutes for his back muscles to reknit themselves before he'd be able to move again.

Unfortunately, now that the tracer was out, they needed to get out of the area – quickly. He also needed to eat a substantial meal soon.

As soon as he was able to utilize his newly grown back muscles, he picked Max up and started dressing her. It was an awkward business, with an unconscious body. Although he wasn't averse to the view she presented, a naked chick in the front seat of the car would call attention to them like nothing else would. It was a headache that neither of them needed. Once the major areas were covered, he shifted her as gently as he could into the passenger seat. He then strapped her in and walked over to pick up the tracer from the hood, inspecting it closely. As he turned it over in his fingers, he realized that it wasn't a technology that he was remotely familiar with. He hoped that it was inert now that it was no longer lodged in his spinal column.

Had it also been monitoring his vitals? God only knew.

A flare of memory flickered to life – a disorienting series of images of men in lab coats standing around him. Was he in a tank of water? Two of them were furiously scribbling notes down on a set of clipboards. As he looked back at one of them, he felt something cold slide through his veins as he lost consciousness again.

Logan gritted his teeth and tossed the tracer into the trees, groaning as he picked the knife up. He slid into the driver's seat and bright spots danced in his vision momentarily as he leaned back against the seat, waiting for the pain to die down. He was grateful that Max had left the keys in the ignition. As he started the car and stepped on the gas, he winced. At least the pain was becoming somewhat manageable now; if not easier to ignore and push through. The wheels kicked up gravel as they spun out, and Logan slammed on the gas as the car sped down the dirt road.

They would need to lose the ride soon, but he wasn't likely to find anything helpful on this long stretch of back mountain road. It would need to be something that could accelerate quickly, but not something that would immediately be reported as a high priority retrieve for the local police. They'd have to make it into a suburban or city area where he could dump the car and run back to the booster.

"C'mon, darlin'. Wake up." He grumbled, giving her a gentle shake.

Max groaned and shifted in her seat.

"Whua happened?" she muttered, brushing her hair out of her face.

"You fainted. Y'allright?"

Max sat up straighter now, looking over at him and blinking as the scenery whipped quickly around them.

"How can you..?" Max stammered in utter disbelief.

Logan cut her off with a grunt. "Told you. Been through worse."