Dreamweaver: Part Three
Logan rose with some difficulty from the spot where he'd knelt to examine Cable's tracks. His whole body ached and throbbed. He hated the way he felt when his healing factor was at work, but he'd have put up with much worse if it had let him wake up in time to stop Cable from going off by himself. He stared down at the muddy ground. At the three sets of tracks. The third person concerned him, but not nearly as much as Cable's scent did.
"Logan? Did you find out which way he went?" Bishop asked, limping over to join him. His power had saved him from the worst of the crash, but he was still pretty battered. He was also armed only with his gun. He'd absorbed too much energy in the crash, and had been forced to discharge all of it when he'd regained consciousness. "Logan? Are you all right?"
"Never better," Logan muttered darkly. He sighed as Bishop gave him a concerned look. "I'll live, kid," he promised, and went on to the more pressing question. "What about the communicator?"
"Beyond repair," Bishop reported glumly. Logan cursed, smashing a fist into the nearest tree.
"Shit!" He forced himself to take a deep breath, knowing that this was NOT a good time for him to lose control. Still, it figures that the damned thing would get smashed just when we need it the most!
Bishop moved past him to examine the tracks himself. "Hmmph," he said thoughtfully, hunkering down. "Looks like there was a struggle here." His interest seemed casual, almost scientific. Clearly he was nowhere near as concerned about Cable as he had been about Logan a moment before.
"Shows what you know, kid," Logan growled with a brief flare of irritation. I swear, once this is over, I'm sitting these two down until I figure out what the problem is. "See if you can keep up with me here." Bishop bristled, but remained silent at Logan's threatening look. "Look over here. Taylor came in from the west and blasted in the direction of the car. If I had to guess, I'd say Nate deflected his blast back at him. See the pattern of the burn marks on the trees? They're too deep for a single-direction blast, especially if this guy's powers really are that similar to Havok's." He pointed, and Bishop nodded with a contemplative grunt. Amazing. He's actually listening--and keeping his mouth shut. "He fell, right here. Since there's no blood, I would imagine that it was the feedback that knocked him out, not the deflected blast. There was no struggle," Logan concluded forcefully. "There's no sign that he moved after he fell, or that anyone was on the ground with him. He laid there for a while, until someone dragged his body away."
"Someone? Not Cable?"
"Definitely not Cable. See, these are Nate's tracks, right--here. He must have scanned Taylor's mind, he's following his original path so closely." Logan walked back towards the car for a few steps, trying to figure out where Cable's scent had changed. It was impossible to tell. But the new element was unmistakably familiar--and downright scary. I SHOULD tell Bishop. He deserves to know - maybe even needs to know - but I'm not sure I believe it myself. Besides, he'd probably overreact. And we have to handle this carefully, if we don't want a big smoking hole where Western Canada used to be.
"So who do the other tracks belong to?" Bishop demanded, the sound of his voice wrenching Logan from his own thoughts. "Logan? Do you recognize the other scent?"
"Oh, yeah," Logan said. "It's Sabertooth." Bishop actually paled, and Logan continued quickly, amused in spite of himself. "Not the Sabertooth, kid. One of Sinister's clones. But you can bet that where you find one Marauder, the rest aren't gonna be far behind." And I definitely wouldn't want to see your face if you knew that the Marauders ranked last on the threat-assessment list for tonight.
Bishop shut his mouth and drew his gun. "We need to find Cable immediately, Logan. He may require our assistance." He gestured brusquely for Logan to lead the way.
You're right about that, bub, Logan thought darkly as he followed Cable's trail. Only not for the reason you think.
***
Breathing raggedly, Cable grabbed at the nearest tree for support. What's wrong with me? he thought wildly. His head was pounding and he felt strangely disjointed, as if his body wasn't properly responding to commands from his brain. He still held the power he'd pulled from those mysterious reserves, but he could feel it shifting, writhing, as if it were some kind of wild animal that he could barely keep under control. And it burned, too, as if his mind were on fire.
But he didn't dare release it. It was the only thing keeping him on his feet, and he still had to find Regina. The cabin wasn't far. He couldn't give up now.
Swaying on his feet, Nathan continued towards the source of the light, remembering another night in another forest. Once, during the years they'd spent in Ebonshire following the destruction of the Askani sanctuary, he and Aliya had been ambushed by the Canaanites while out on a foraging expedition. They'd managed to escape by stealing one of the Canaanite flitters and piloting it into the forest, but a parting shot from some energy weapon had damaged their craft and shorted out his powers. They'd gone down in an unfamiliar part of Ebonshire. Carrying an unconscious Aliya and fighting to keep the T-O virus from engulfing him totally, he'd walked through the forest for hours, hopelessly lost until he'd seen a light through the trees. The sound of Tetherblood's voice was the last thing he'd heard before passing out.
The memory seemed so clear that he wondered if it was due to some residual effect of Regina's attack. It wasn't entirely unpleasant, though. Nathan found his thoughts turning to a happier moment in the same forest; the morning he and the Clan Chosen forces had returned to camp after winning their first major victory over the Canaanites. Aliya, left it charge of guarding the camp much against her will, had come running out to meet him, laughing and crying and scolding him at the same time. He could almost see her coming--
But there was something approaching, and it certainly wasn't Aliya. Before he could react, waves of dizziness and nausea swamped him. He fell to his knees, to disoriented to focus his telepath even for the moment needed to identify his attacker.
He heard footsteps, then a woman's silvery chuckle.
"This one wasn't much of a challenge, Sabertooth. Why was the boss so worried?"
"That kind of attitude's gonna get you killed one of these days, Vertigo," growled a familiar, grating voice. "You don't ever underestimate an opponent. Especially a telepath. If he hadn't been half-dead on his feet, he'd've sensed you coming and you'd have been all dead, girl."
Let's just see how dead I am, you son of a bitch--He reached down for more power and struck out wildly, not bothering to focus his attack. He wouldn't have held back against the real Sabertooth, and Sabertooth in company with Vertigo meant that they were nothing more than a pair of Sinister's Marauder clones. Reason enough to wipe them off the face of the earth.
Vertigo screamed, a strangled noise that ended abruptly. The effects of her powers faded, and Cable struggled to his feet, not surprised to see that Sabertooth was doing the same. I hate opponents with healing factors. They never know when to quit. It seemed that an object lesson was in order.
Glancing around the clearing, he saw Vertigo lying crumpled, unmoving, at the base of a tree. Cable casually gathered in even more power. He reached out to touch her mind, and found nothing but darkness. She was dead. Too bad. That made one less source of information about Sinister's involvement in all of this.
"The boss didn't want you hurt, Cable," Sabertooth growled, a feral pleasure in his eyes. "Looks like I'm going to have to disappoint him."
Cable laughed in his face. Sabertooth lunged forward, snarling, and howled as he hit the telekinetic barrier that Cable flung up in his path. Cable smiled, feeling an odd please as he watched Sabertooth stagger backwards. He felt exhiliarated, more alive than he'd ever been, as if every cell in his body was suffused with an inexhaustible strength. Even the pain of the T-O virus had faded to a distant ache. He reached out and grabbed Sabertooth in an invisible 'hand'.
"You're pitiful," he said caustically, not bothering to hide his frustration as he tried and failed to scan the clone's mind. It was a grey, shadowy, impenetrable thing, not human enough to be accessible to his powers. "A pale copy of a copy." He tightened his grip, feeling nothing but contempt, and Sabertooth howled with pain. "What does Sinister want with the girl? Tell me, or I'll crush you, I swear!"
"Screw you, Dayspring!" Sabertooth snarled, sweat standing out on his forehead and his eyes dark with hate. "You think I'm stupid? Go ahead, kill me! It'd be better than what Sinister would do if he thought I betrayed him!"
"You think so?" Cable asked, a potent, overpowering rage flaring into life deep inside him. "I wouldn't count on that, Creed. I really wouldn't."
***
When the screaming started, Logan stopped so fast that Bishop nearly knocked him over. Then, cursing steadily to cover the cold fear that gripped him, he ran. Bishop followed without a word. In moments, they emerged from the trees into a small clearing. Beside them on the ground was the body of a slender woman, pale green hair matted with blood.
Vertigo, Logan realized at a glance, but forgot all about her as his brain finally processed the horrifying scene in front of him.
"Oh, shit," he whispered, feeling sick.
Screaming steadily, Sabertooth hung in mid-air, wrapped in a nimbus of fire. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, so thick it nearly made Logan wretch.
But the worst? Cable was slowly circling Sabertooth, glowing almost as fiercely--and laughing quietly to himself.
"Cable!" Bishop bellowed. "What are you doing?"
Cable turned, as if surprised at the sound, and stared at them without recognition. Logan's skin crawled at the detached, almost feverish look in his eyes. He'd seen that expression before--once, on a rainy night outside the Hellfire Club, and again in the heart of the M'Kraan Crystal. On the faces of a 'mother' and her daughter. Both times, he'd felt like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. This time, though, it was even worse, because he couldn't think of any way to reach Cable. With Jean, there had been love; with Rachel, a sense of kinship.
But with Cable? Genesis--Tyler was still an open wound for them both. There was no real bond between them except pain. Nothing he could use to shock Nate back to sanity. To humanity.
Still, he had to try. "Nate, listen to me," he said urgently, forcing any trace of fear out of his public mind. "You have to stop this. Now."
"I can't," Cable said in a hard, distant voice. But the light around him dimmed slightly, and Sabertooth fell silent, gasping for breath. Cable did not, however, release him. "I need to know," he said.
"Know what?" Bishop growled. Logan looked over at him, glad to see the carefully neutral expression he had adopted. His instincts are good, even when he doesn't know what's going on. Bishop gave Logan a significant look, jerking his head towards Cable as he started to move around the clearing, as if checking the woods for watchers.
"What Sinister wants with the girl, of course," Cable said, ignoring Bishop's movements. He sounded oddly frustrated, as if he thought they should have known that. "Give me a minute."
"You're going to kill him in a minute!" Logan said urgently, starting towards him slowly. Cable glanced at him contemptuously, but made no move to stop him. Logan gritted his teeth, realizing that Cable - or rather, the thing inhabiting Cable, courtesy of his mother - didn't class him as a threat.
"It's Sabertooth, Logan," Cable said almost quizzically. "A clone of Sabertooth. Why would you care?"
"Listen to me, Nathan," Logan continued inexorably, very deliberately not looking at Bishop, who was making his way around behind Cable. "You're not thinking straight. For reasons I can't get into right now, your judgement's shot to hell, so you're going to have to trust me."
Cable shot him a look that clearly said Trust you? What a laugh. Logan almost groaned. But he had to keep him distracted--Bishop was nearly in place. He searched desperately for the right words, and finally had to settle for the truth.
"Look, Nate. You and I used to be a lot alike. Maybe that's why we don't get along," Logan said, and felt the most insane urge to laugh. "Aw, who the hell am I kidding? We didn't get along because I thought you were the most cold-blood, obsessive son of a bitch I'd ever laid eyes on. But that's changed, Cable. You've changed. I watch you with Sam, with Jean, even with Scott, for God's sake, and it's like youre not the same person I met all those years ago. It suits you, Nate. Don't throw it away because of him." Logan gestured at Sabertooth dismissively.
Cable stared at him. For a moment there was a trapped, frightened look in his eyes, and Logan held his breath, hoping. Then that flicker of humanity was burned away by rage, as if a bonfire had just sprung into furious life, and an invisible force hurled Logan backwards.
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Cable almost screamed. The light around him grew steadily brighter. "I have to find out what Sinister wants!" The nimbus around him began to warp and expand, taking on a shape that was almost like wings. Logn was buffeted by a torrent of emotions, fury and hatred and fear and fierce protectiveness. #I'm not going to let Sinister hurt her! I won't let what happened to Tyler happen again!#
Tyler, Logan thought emptily. That's the reason behind all of this. "I understand," he said hoarsely. "Believe me, Nate, I understand. But if you keep this up, you're going to hurt yourself, and I can't let that happen." Bad enough that I killed his son, but I'll be damned if I let him die or lose his soul because of something I did.
Bishop was in position. Logan nodded. Cable suddenly whirled around with a snarl of rage, as if only now sensing Bishop's proximity. But before he could strike, Bishop reached towards him. His hand closed over Cable's shoulder, and the two men were suddenly joined by a brilliant arc of energy that grew brighter and brighter, until it was like the flash from a nuclear explosion. Logan looked away, shielding his eyes.
Please, let this work--
The light abruptly died. Logan looked back just in time to see Sabertooth scuttle off into the undergrowth and Cable collapse without a sound into Bishop's arms. Bishop lowered him carefully to the ground and then slumped exhaustedly beside him.
"You okay?" Logan asked him worriedly, and Bishop nodded wearily. Logan knelt beside Cable, feeling for a pulse. Weak, but steady, and he seemed to be breathing all right. His scent was normal, the tell-tale augmentation gone. There was no sign that the T-O virus was spreading, which had been Logan's biggest worry when he'd realized what Bishop was planning.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Bishop said, breathing heavily, "but I was under the impression that the Phoenix generally chose female hosts."
So he'd recognized the energy-signature. Logan grimaced, feeling guilty for not telling Bishop earlier.
Bishop shook his head with a sigh."Logan, I knew you were keeping something about Cable from me, but I knew you must have had your reasons. I just want to understand what's going on." His expression grew positively grim. "I've never felt so much concentrated psi-energy in my life. Not even with Onslaught. I had to discharge it as I absorbed it, and I know I only managed to drain away a fraction of it."
Logan winced at that particular revelation. "This is just getting better and better. Bishop, if I had to guess, I would probably say that it didn't have a hell of a lot to do with choice. With how close he and Jean are, I sometimes forget who actually gave birth to him. I know you've read the files. Madelyne Pryor was brought to life by the Dark Phoenix when it came back to Earth looking for Jean. She wouldn't have existed without it. What happened here, with Nate--could be hereditary."
"If that's true, why did it take so long to show up?
"How the hell should I know, kid? We both saw how exhausted he was. Maybe he just pushed himself too hard, and ended up drawing on the Phoenix force without realizing what he was doing. Jean keeps telling me that most of what he does is on instinct, anyways." His greatest gift and his greatest weakness, she'd called it.
"Odd choice of words, Logan," Bishop said with a steely glint in his eyes. "He seemed perfectly aware of his actions in regards to Sabertooth."
Cable groaned, and Logan almost blessed him for the timely interruption. Before Mr. Judgemental and I REALLY got into it. "Nate?" he asked as Cable's eyelids fluttered. "You still with us?" Getting no response, he sighed and slapped his face lightly. "Come on, Nate, snap out of it. We've still got to find the girl, remember?"
He was about to slap him again when Cable grabbed his wrist in a grip that was just short of crushing. "Don't do that," he growled, looking irritated but not quite focused. Letting go of Logan, he closed his eyes with a wince, one hand going to his forehead. "Oath, what happened?"
Logan had a strange sense of deja vu. Haven't we been through this already tonight? Bishop opened his mouth, and Logan gave him a warning look, willing him to take the hint and follow his lead.
"You don't remember?" he asked hopefully. That would certainly save us some trouble at the moment. But even that tempting possibility didn't entirely alleviate his concern. Cable looked terrible, far worse than he had in the diner. Logan suspected that the last few months were finally catching up to him, now that he was down off his psionic 'high'.
"I'm not sure," Cable rasped, but then the color drained from his face and he struggled to a sitting position. He looked over at Vertigo's body, and then sunk his face into his hands. "Where's Sabertooth?" he asked in a voice that hardly sounded like his own.
"He ran off," Logan said, and grasped Cable's shoulder. "Nate, listen to me," he continued, his voice low and intense. He doesn't seem to realize what happened, there's no fear in him like there would be if he did. I hope he doesn't have the strength to scan me. "You lost it. It happens to the best of us. What's important now is the girl. We have to get to her before Sinister does. Do you know where she is?"
Cable took a deep breath, visibly pulling himself together. "There," he said, pointing towards the light. "She's in a cabin."
"Good," Logan said briskly, nodding at Bishop. "Stay here, Nate, and we'll be back in a few minutes."
"No!" Cable said vehemently, glaring at Logan. Bishop looked edgy, his hand reaching almost involuntarily towards his gun, but Cable didn't seem to notice. "You need me, Logan. Otherwise, the two of you are going to walk right into a nightmare, and I mean that literally." He stared up at them, obviously unwilling to be left behind.
Logan sighed. He's got a point. And I'm certainly not going to risk arguing with him. "I should have known better," he said gruffly, offering Cable a hand up. Cable managed to get to his feet on the first try, though he looked unsteady. "But you don't use your powers unless the girl forces you to it, all right? If it comes to a fight with the Marauders, hang back and let us handle it."
"You're not going to get any argument out of me," Cable said faintly, as if convincing Logan to let him come had sapped the rest of his strength. Bishop gave him a measuring look. Though he moved out to take point without audible protest, his ambivalence was plain. Cable swayed for a moment, as if Bishop's unspoken message had been a physical blow, but he followed Bishop without a word. Logan took up the rear, keeping a close eye on Cable. He was glad the girl was close. They needed to get her - Taylor could throw himself off a cliff for all Logan cared, even if he survived being captured by the Marauders - and get Cable back to the mansion, to Jean, as quickly as possible. They might have averted disaster, but this wasn't over yet--
A shot rang out, shattering the silence of the forest. Logan felt the wind of its passage over his right shoulder and saw it hit Cable, right at the base of the skull.
"NO!" he roared, lunging forward. In his mind, he felt a sudden, familiar presence, and as Cable staggered and fell, seemingly in slow motion, he heard Jean scream as if someone had ripped her living heart from her body. Her pain was so raw, so overpowering, that Logan was caught up in it.
There was more gunfire, but Logan barely noticed.
to be continued...
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