THE REVENGE OF CHEN YU

Part III: Deja Vu

By David Wheatley

“What ain’t ya tellin’ me, darlin’?” His eyes bore in to me through the white eye pieces of his mask.

Logan’s been on edge since he came in to the house. As soon as we passed the threshold, we both felt it – a shift in reality. The realm we’re currently in is not that of our Earth. In the distance we can see the light of the Crimson Dawn, its light calling me like a Siren.

We’ve been fighting Undercloaks and such since we arrived but now it seems to be quiet. However he’s noticed my heart is not really in the fight, like it was earlier. I’m pulling my weight, but only just.

“Logan, I’m being drawn in,” I answer, knowing that I have to tell him the truth. “There’s a calling. My soul is being pulled, or if not pulled then it’s as if it needs to rejoin something that is missing.”

“It’s the Dawn,” says a voice behind us. We both turn, Wolverine’s claws popping through the skin of his hands, a faint trace of blood around the lacerations, though it fades almost instantly. A portal has opened behind us, and Gateway has brought us a guest.

“Gomurr,” Logan comments, sheathing his claws. “First Adam, then Elektra, now you. Late by my reckonin’.”

“Then you know why we are here?” Gomurr reponds with an element of surprise, his hands clutching his staff of office as Proctor of the Crimson Dawn.

“Chen Yu, master of the Hand,” answers Logan. “Who’s supposed to be dead.”

“You were the last one to see him after the first incident.”

“Yeah, well MI6, did a real job on that and I… I can’t remember.” Logan looks surprised.

“Who is Chen Yu?” I ask. The title Master of the Hand sticks in my mind.

“A master wizard, formerly the Master of the Hand. He taught the Hand the majority of their magics, before his disappearance quite a while ago,” replies Gomurr.

“He was gonna give the Hand immortality without a cost to them. They would have been unable to die,” Logan continues.

“They can bring people back though,” I say, the sense of fear in my mind getting worse.

“Not without cost,” corrects Gomurr. “You see when members of the Hand die, they fade away. Their souls are drawn in to the Crimson Dawn, to form part of the Ebon Vein. When they restore people to life it drains their soul from the Dawn, which keeps something of it, for nothing is without cost.”

I understand now what has been drawing me in. It is the missing part of my soul. Gomurr nods as if he realises I know now and continues.

“What Chen Yu discovered was that if a living sacrifice was cast in to the Dawn his or her soul would sustain the Vein, giving the Hand the ability to live forever. They’re dangerous enough without immortality. He found the perfect sacrifice – Adam Destine, a man who is immortal, who cannot be hurt or killed by any attack.”

“We stopped Chen Yu once,” responds Logan. “Obviously I didn’t do a good enough job.”

I see the hesitation in Logan’s eyes. Back then the adamantium gave him an edge. Now he only has claws of bone, and his healing factor is keeping his regression in check. He knows he might not win this one.

“Now is not the time for recriminations,” said Gomurr. “The Dawn is being prepared once more. We must stop him, or the Hand will be unbeatable. Destiny is calling, my friends.”

Logan nods, and I notice he has taken my hand. He knows what this means for me as well. We both notice that Gateway is missing.

Chen Yu smiled as he watched the scene. He had called off the Undercloaks, so that Gomurr would enter the fray. Everything was going according to plan. They all knew what was now going on.

“Well, Adam,” he said, as he poured himself a cup of tea. “We have time before the incantations are complete. I won’t be stopped like last time.”

“Really?” said Adam. His doubts were still nagging at him, but he had to see this through to the end. After all that was the way they’d planned it.

“The false bravado of the English,” said Chen Yu. “Won’t save you.”

“I know, that’s going to come down to Wolverine and his friends.”

“I don’t think so,” said Chen Yu. “Now that I know Elektra works for the Chaste, the pieces fall in to place. Such a shame their agent will prove to be their undoing for all time.”

“She’ll never be yours,” said Adam. “Logan won’t allow it, and she has other friends and allies.”

“She will join me willingly, Logan will die and her friends will be swamped by the legions of the Hand. You’d be surprised what people will do for a soul.”

“She won’t throw away everything for her soul,” said Adam, hoping he was right. Hoping that Stick was right.

“Quite true, but for the soul of her friend Nina, well that’s a different story. They’re in my world now, and I can find out everything I need to know with such simple spells.”

Adam suddenly saw that this was in danger of collapse. The life of an innocent corrupted by the Hand. Of course she would give herself to Chen Yu for that. It was all up to Logan now.

“There is still a glimmer of hope in your eyes,” said Chen Yu. “Futile but admirable. Out of respect, I will give you a glimpse of your family, to give you comfort in your final moments…” The fact it would also torture him as he existed with the Crimson Dawn was not lost of either of them.

A vision appeared in front of them, showing the house in Ravenscroft that was home to his family, the Clan Destine. There were five figures there, two children and three men and they seemed to be disagreeing about something

“YOU DID WHAT?” shouted Walter, on the verge of transforming in to his brutish blue form.

“Please don’t shout,” asked Dominic, his ultra senses meant that his brother’s voice was giving him a headache.

“Look,” said Newton, pushing his glasses back up his nose. “Adam knew what he was doing. Chen Yu…”

“Who?” asked Rory.

“Shush,” asked Pandora, his twin sister, “I want to hear about Dad.”

Uh oh, thought Adam as he watched.

“Chen Yu wasn’t dead, we all knew that. Adam also knew that he would return and do this, so he walked in to the trap with his eyes open.”

“Oh, great,” said Walter. “With Kay and Sam in New York, Gracie on another archaeological dig and William off on another shoot, we don’t have the raw power to stage a rescue attempt.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Newton. “After the first time, I came up with a plan. You see when Chen Yu returns, he’ll be after revenge on those who thwarted him, including Wolverine.”

“The X-Man?” asked Rory. “We can ask them for help?”

“No,” said Newton shaking his head. “Using the help of some allies, we figured out that…”

“Who’s we?” asked Dominic, “and how come you didn’t tell me?”

“We is Gomurr the Impetuous, Tar – Proctor of the Crimson Dawn, the Chaste, Adam and myself, and we didn’t tell you because it was a secret.”

“Oh,” said Dominic.

“We may need Gracie on this,” commented Walter.

“YEAH!,” said the twins, anxious to see their sister again and excited at the idea.

“Please don’t shout,” said Dominic. “Do we need her, Newton?”

“Not really,” said Newton. “The plan is…”

Adam watched, his eyes wide as Netwon recited the plan and Chen Yu smiled.

“Well, well, well,” said the sorcerer with a smile. “That changes everything. That was a stroke of luck, wasn’t it. Thank you, Adam. Your children just ruined everything for you.”

Adam said nothing and sighed. That was inordinately bad luck, and it may have just cost them everything. Chen Yu closed his eyes in meditation, concentrating. He needed to produce a vision and now he knew what he was looking for…

The building was falling all around him, and he knew he would be buried here. There was nothing he could do to escape, he didn’t have the strength and he knew that would die here, buried alive. At least he’d taken his adversary with him.

Something hit him hard and given his current state he could not keep conscious. He didn’t feel the air beneath him, the ground open up and a portal appear. He fell through the portal as he slid in to darkness.

I’m the best there is at what I do, but tonight that may not be good enough.

I know I used to be good without the adamantium, but it was a good asset and there are times I miss the edge it gave me. Perhaps I’m not the best after all.

What’s annoyin’ me the most is these lapses of memory. I know I fought Chen Yu before, and I know we were both buried in his mountain fortress. I also know that until I met the Hand when I faced Shingen, I didn’t know they existed.

I had placed it down to the memory implants of the Weapon X project, but there are too many conflicts. How could I remember the fight with the Hand in WW2? Something’s not right here. There’s a piece of the jigsaw missin’.

Then there’s Elektra. She came to put me back on the Path. The Path of the Chaste. I don’t remember walkin’ it, but I remember the Chaste, and you’d think they’d have mentioned it to me then. So how come I don’t remember?

The more I think about this, the less I like this. It’s also been quiet. There ain’t no Undercloaks attackin’ us. Maybe down to Gomurr’s presence, but I doubt it.

“I don’t like this, Logan.”

“I know.” Elektra’s worried. I can smell the fear on her. This isn’t just a battle for the fate of the Hand, but for her fate as well. We lose, she’ll lose the rest of her soul. She’ll be chained to them forever, a slave to do what they command.

I’ve been there too many times, an’ I know I don’t like it. Elektra reminds me o’ me at times. She’s got a taste for blood, she’s a damned good fighter and she’s got somethin’ about her. Mariko had it. Yukio has it, so does Jean.

Perhaps it’s just the situation. Perhaps it’s the fact we may not survive this. Then again I’ve never felt like this about any o’ the X-Men other than Jean, and we’ve gone damned close to the wire.

“Yes,” says Gomurr. He ain’t no telepath, but he knows the world. That’s why he’s ancient.

“What?” asks Elektra.

“Logan’s… thinking about how this will turn out. You can see it in his eyes. The way he looks.” He doesn’t add ‘at you’ to it.

“It’s on my mind as well,” she replies. I say nothin’, I’m not sure what to say. If he’s right, then I’ve fallen for her and my track record ain’t good. Plus there’s Viper to consider.

As if things weren’t complicated enough.

“It’s too quiet,” says Elektra. Gomurr’s lookin’ worried, as if he expected somethin’ else.

“Yeah,” I agree. “We’re already in the trap, so what’s the hold up?”

“I don’t know,” said Gomurr. “I don’t like this.”

“Yer not supposed to,” I say. He stays silent and we make our way ahead. In front of us is the Crimson Dawn. We’re almost there.

“Welcome!” announces Chen Yu as we enter his arena. “Welcome to the end of life as you know it.” The mystical symbols are present in the air.

It’s just like last time, only this time Elektra has her sai and throws it at Chen Yu. Except this time he’s ready and an Undercloak intercepts the shot.

“Catch me once, shame on you, catch me twice…” Then I feel the bands wrap around me. Mystical bands holdin’ me in place. Elektra and Gomurr have the same thing happen to them. Gomurr’s lookin’ worried.

“Those bonds aren’t breakable,” chuckles Chen Yu. “I know the rules. The Proctor of the Dawn can’t break free of the magics binding him if they are sourced from the Dawn itself and applied at this range from the Ebon Vein. It took a lot of doing but I managed the spell – it cost me control of the Undercloaks but it is worth it. You’ve lost.”

“This cannot be!” said Gomurr. The look on his face gives away a lot. At a guess I’d say there are few who knew of the limitations of the Proctor of the Dawn and Chen Yu wouldn’t, shouldn’t, have been one of them.

“But it is, little man, you see I know the plan.”

“What?” Gomurr is stunned. I don’t know what’s happening or what the plan is but Adam can’t have broken and told Chen Yu.

“Oh yes, how you planned to use Logan’s adamantium skeleton to react with the powers of the Crimson Dawn, disrupting the magic momentarily then binding me within the Ebon Vein as I had planned for Destine – knowing that the adamantium would act as a conductor and Logan’s healing factor would pull him through. Except he doesn’t have the adamantium, his healing factor is no better than it was back then so he can’t use himself as a conduit and you can’t break him free even if he could.”

“They were using him?” exclaims Elektra. I can’t break free. The bonds are so tight and so strong, there’s nothing I can do.

“Yes, they even thought his feelings for you would provide him impetus to break free if you give yourself freely to me as my consort.”

“NEVER!” she shouts.

“Not even for the soul of Nina?” The look on her face tells a thousand words. Nina was caught in the crossfire between the Hand and Elektra, corrupted and perverted by their sorcery to be their ultimate slave. Elektra had vowed to free her, no matter the cost. “I give you my word as Master of the Hand that if you join me of your own free will, I will release her from the Hand for all time once the sacrifice is made. What say you?”

She looks at me. I look at her. We both know there is no choice, even as I fight to break free, to stop the deal being made. It’s no use, but I have to try.

“Yes,” she whispers. “I will be yours in exchange for the soul of Nina.”

“KNEO PHAI PAU!” shouts Chen Yu, accepting her choice and casting the spell at the same time. The deal is done and Adam is raised in to the air and floats in to the Crimson Dawn. The sacrifice is made, Elektra is freed but the light in her eyes is gone.

We’ve lost and the world is at the mercy of the Hand. They’re coming back to life around us, and both Gomurr and I know we’re goin’ to die.

“I’m sorry, Logan,” said Gomurr. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“I…” Then I smell something familiar. Then I hear something even more familiar.

~SNICKT!~

NEXT ISSUE: Wolverine and Weapon X versus the immortal Hand, for the fate of Elektra, Adam Destine and the world! The odds are against them and the situation grim, can even two of Logan make it through this one?