Chance Encounter - Wolverine/X-Men Fanfic

Chapter 13: I think that's just about the worst thing I've ever seen

Logan looked up to see a naked crimson angel standing before him in the dim lighting of his cell, her body dripping with blood, bits of bone and gore. Her hair was matted with it, sticking to her skin in dark red trails. He tried to move to get a better look at her, and watched as tears spilled out of her eyes.

"Christ." he groaned out of what was left of ruined vocal cords. "Don't come..here..and start cryin'. Fucksakes."

He winced, realizing that he had to be pretty busted up for it to sound that bad. He wanted to get up, but his body wouldn't respond.

Whoever she was, his mystery distraction, she was a knockout under all the red stuff. She had visited him before, when he could manage to get somewhat lucid – before they knocked him out again. Usually when she came to him, she looked much cleaner. Pure, almost. Why was she all bloody now? She looked as though she had strode through a killing field, dominating it.

Something was different this time, though. Now he could actually feel her hands on him as she began sliding them gently along his sides, arms and legs. She seemed to be checking him for something.

"How on earth could he have survived this?"

The hushed whisper caught his attention and Logan looked to find the source of the other voice, seeing a woman with red hair and black leather that looked vaguely familiar. Seeing her irritated him, but he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Max, we need to go. NOW."

Logan lolled his head to the side to see a tall man in black leather. What the hell was on the guy's head? Did he realize he looked like an idiot?

"Dreaming again.." Logan mumbled, trying to roll over and finding that he couldn't.

Everything was wet and red; the floor around him covered with torn, fleshy chunks and pieces of skin. What the hell had happened? There was a strange pressure in his chest, along with a familiar itching feeling.

Suddenly, he was hefted into the air by something big, wet and furry. It smelled familiar and comfortable, apart from the fact that it was also covered in blood as well. What, had everybody taken a liberal roll in a blood puddle? It growled softly at him and he relaxed.

Hell, if he was dreaming, there wasn't much he could do about it anyway.

Having expended the rest of his energy trying to move, he slumped in its arms as he slid back into darkness.

***

Max cradled Logan in her arms in the back of the cargo area of the plane. Scott had strapped them both into the netting since Max refused to let go of Logan and sit in one of the seats. She didn't want him getting any more banged up on the ride home. She could still hear low, ripping explosions as they tore through the remains of the facility below. Scott had the plane in the air already and the sounds began fading away.

She was still somewhat delirious herself, having come back to awareness once they were able to get into the cage that held him. The wet, ragged mess of his torso was knitting itself back together as he regenerated and she winced as his healing factor forced yet another hunk of metal out of his neck. It hit the floor with a metallic tak sound as she ran shaking fingers over the skin of his shoulder. She watched as tissue started reconstructing over exposed metallic ribs at phenomenal speed, wondering what the hell they had done to him in order to cause so much damage. She wiped at a bloody spot on his leg, relieved that the skin there was now unbroken – the scars quickly fading.

"God, Logan..." she breathed, her voice cracking as tears threatened to start again.

Max couldn't even remember what the wolf had done, which was the truly maddening part. When she realized how badly they'd hurt him, she wanted nothing more than to start tearing people apart. Now she couldn't even do that. She remembered seeing vivid splashes of crimson along the walls as well as large chunks of skin and bone strewn liberally throughout the halls as they had run back through the facility, trying to find the exit. The wolf had apparently rent asunder everything in her path once she'd wrested control from Max. It had taken justice into its own hands, leaving her feeling impotent and frustrated.