FIGHT FOR LIFE

Part II

By James Targett

When it rains, it pours. It’s raining tonight, outside literally and inside symbolically. Cecilia Reyes is crying. It started as a typical night for her until a gravely injured Wolverine burst into her clinic. She did help him, but when Hydra had shown up she needed help herself. Wolverine had fled seconds before Hydra came looking for him. They devastated Cecilia’s clinic, and Cecilia herself. When it rains, it pours.

Cecilia slowly stops raining her tears down to the floor and stands. “Why? Why does this have to happen to me?”

She doesn’t receive an answer. She doesn’t care either. She only knows she’s sick. Sick of being a mutant, sick of fighting and trying and succeeding to have everything stripped from her time and time again. But can she escape being a mutant?

*THUD* *THUD*

A loud banging noise escapes from a storage closet along with a sound. “Cripes!”

“Cripes?” Cecilia ponders, wiping the tears from her eyes.

*CRASH*

Wolverine bursts open the closet door, still having trouble standing properly.

Apparently she can’t escape being a mutant.

“Wolverine? I thought you fled,” Cecilia comments.

“You need to sort out some facts, doc. I don’t flee,” he clarifies.

Cecilia Reyes notices Wolverine taking an almost surprised glare around the clinic. “Your ‘friends’ Hydrall-” Cecilia is cut off.

“Hydra,” Wolverine corrects.

“Whatever. Well, Hydra did this. They threatened me, warned me that I better not have lied about seeing you, which I did,” she continues.

“Oh… Doc. I hate to break it to ya, but we can’t stay here. If I know Hydra, and I’ll bet my Canadian butt that I do, they’ll be back. We’ve got to leave now,” Wolverine urges.

“Yeah right, as if anything else could go wrong tonight. Well just let me get my coat and we’ll be on our way,” Cecilia says.

“No doc, NOW! Follow me.” Wolverine takes a few steps and then falls.

*THUMP*

“Looks like you’ll be following me instead, Wolverine,” she says lifting him to his feet once again.

They race out into the night, fleeing from those seeking Wolverine. Cecilia’s force field activates against the heavy shower of rain. “Well doc, it looks like you didn’t need your coat after all,” Wolverine jokes in regard to her force field.

“Ha ha, yeah. Very funny Logan,” she replies. “Now, make another joke about my powers and I’ll leave you here.”

She receives no reply. “I thought you’d see it my way. C’mon, let’s keep moving,” Cecilia says.

Cecilia Reyes and Logan have both had a traumatic night. They will soon find out that it’s about to get worse. The Hydra soldier waiting on top of Cecilia’s medical practice firm can agree…

*BRRZT* “S-One to group commander four. We have a definite lock on Wolverine. He’s with the female doctor you mentioned. Both are heading in north. Subdue the doctor and capture Wolverine? Right. I’m in pursuit now. S-One out.” *BRRZT*

The Hydra soldier designated ‘S1’ pauses a minute. He analyses his targets, racing, running, fleeing. He notices Wolverine limping and an apparently fragile doctor. Grinning, the soldier’s hunt begins.

Five minutes later:

The rain has begun to stop, enough for Cecilia’s force field to go down. Thankfully for her, since it is generally painful to have it activated. Cecilia and Wolverine are still running. Or at least they are making an attempt to run. Wolverine’s condition isn’t helping matters any. Neither one of them realize that their fight for life is about to begin.

*SPLOOSH*

“Wolverine!!! Did you hear that? I think someone’s stalking us,” alarmed, she tells Wolverine.

“You don’t say… I bet it’s Hydra,” he replies.

“D-don’t joke about things like that Logan,” Cecilia says with a hint of panic showing in her voice.

*SPLOOSH*

“Who’s joking doc?” Wolverine persists.

“That’s it. I can’t handle this. I can’t. You’re an X-Man, you can handle yourself. Please, keep me out of this,” Cecilia says, trembling with fear.

She lets go of Wolverine, turns and runs. Just as she does – *WHAM* – her force field activates as she runs right into the Hydra soldier that was stalking them mere seconds ago. She steps back and looks toward him. Not a word is said. The only thing between Cecilia and the Hydra soldier is a menacing stare.

Cecilia turns to Wolverine, now surrounded by two Hydra officers. “Wolverine, w-what do we do?”

“There’s only one thing we can do,” he says, then pausing.

“Run? Do we run? Please say we run!” Cecilia thinks, hopes, and all but prays to herself.

“We fight. RRREARGH!” Wolverine howls, engaging the two Hydra officers in combat, or bloodshed, depending on how you look at it.

“Oh no,” Cecilia reacts, seeing another soldiers’ fists flying at her with fury.

Her force field pops up, protecting her from any major damage. “Ha! You didn’t count on my force field did you? That’s right, I’m a mutant. A real dangerous one too,” Cecilia bluffs with a bit more confidence while maneuvering herself up against a wall.

The soldier looks at her, “Filthy mutant. I guess when I subdue you I’ll just have to kill you slowly to overcome your self-proclaimed ‘dangerous’ force field.”

The soldier then pulls a large blade from his utility belt. He grins and makes a charge toward Cecilia. “RAARGH!” he screams.

Luckily, Cecilia moves in the nick of time. Even luckier, the soldier’s blade is stuck in the solid concrete of the wall. The soldier is now stuck trying to pull it out. This could be Cecilia’s only chance. But instead, she is stuck watching, thinking of what she should do.

“Cecilia, girl, do something!” she thinks to herself. “Okay… I can’t believe I’m going to do this.”

She pulls back a fist, preparing to strike when suddenly… *SHLUCKT*

“Shluckt?” Cecilia wonders.

Wolverine’s claws have all the answers. Cecilia stands watching as Wolverine brutally defeats her enemy. Injured once again from the battle, Wolverine falls. And once again, Cecilia picks him up. They start running again, to the Xavier mansion where they can hopefully get help.

“Wolverine…” Cecilia says, gaining his attention.

“Yeah doc,” Wolverine replies.

“How many more times am I going to have to pick you up tonight?” she questions.

“Forget it doc. Let’s keep moving,” he replies.

Eight minutes later:

Wolverine and Cecilia have traveled a good distance in eight minutes. Considering that Wolverine can hardly walk on his own right now, and a terrified doctor is aiding him. They’ve traveled to the path a little more than a half mile away from the mansion. Surrounded by an eerie forest with an injured X-Man, she wonders how things can possibly get worse.

Cecilia slows, tripping over Wolverine and falling face first into mud. She looks up from the cold, wet ground and illuminated by a lighting strike. She notices another person clad in green standing before her. Cecilia wonders for a second if it’s another of Hydra’s lackeys. Lighting strikes a second time, giving her a second look. Cecilia can discern a woman now.

“Oh dios mio. Who’re you?” Cecilia questions.

“V-Viper…” Wolverine answers.

Cecilia’s heart nearly stops. She’s heard whispers of Viper throughout the Xavier mansion before. She didn’t hear many details, but still knows, Viper is a force to be reckoned with. The rain once again begins to fall. Heavy this time, heavier than before. Why? When it rains, it really does pour.

NEXT ISSUE: The conclusion! The grand finale! The butt-kicking battle between Cecilia Reyes and the villainous Viper!