Outta the way, bub.

The runt was looking right in his direction. Daken flinched, his eyes wide. Shit. It seemed like the old man had spotted him. Panicked, the hunter leapt from the tree and rolled onto the ground. He took off running. His muscles were pumping furiously as he pushed himself to keep going.

It was too early to reveal himself, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t lead Wolverine on a wild goose chase. Turns out it was a good idea to wear a hoodie today. It helped conceal his face, at least somewhat. It wouldn’t do to go around flashing his face to that bastard father of his.

He made his way towards the tree line. Although it seemed based on how easily Wolverine had detected him, he had the same scent tracking ability that Daken had. If he made it into the woods, maybe he could lose the other mutant. It would be difficult, but just maybe it was possible.

Logan let out an exasperated sigh when the person dropped from the tree and started running. He wasn’t really in the mood for a chase. But he was curious and he wasn’t one to let a potential threat to the school go without investigation. So, he took up the chase and started running too.

‘Captain America’ Found Dead.

morphinemechanic:

Aeron looked him up and down, lips twisted and brows stitched  Since the battle of HOPE, the mechanic had been coming and going on a regular basis to train.  It was crucial to familiarize herself with the faces around her and his was new, at least to her. It didn’t make it any less annoying that he was now preventing her from entering. Anger bubbled up in her as she retorted.

 “ Show’s what you know Pops. I go here.” Aeron raised her hand vaguely waving it around in front of him. “I don’t need some grizzly metal man asking me questions or blocking my way cause I’m really not in the mood. So I’m going to ask nicely. Move or be moved.” She tried to push past him so she could be on her way. 

@roninxman

Logan didn’t find the girl’s response amusing at all and as a result, fixed his trademark glare on her. Arms crossed, he didn’t move from his spot. “Yeah? Well I sure as hell haven’t seen ya before. Haven’t heard of ya either; little girl who thinks she can move me.” 

There he was. Daken’s long awaited prey: the Wolverine. His father. The runt had finally resurfaced and was showing his craggy face more. He was back in the public eye, which was a double-edged sword. It made the hero easier to track, but it also made him more difficult to interfere with.

He felt his chest grow tight, filled with rage and nervous energy. His fists were clenched, balled up and tense like the rest of his body. The feral mutant’s claws nearly popped out reflexively, but he barely managed to restrain himself. From his crouched position in a tree, he could spy on Wolverine as he walked the grounds of the Jean Grey School.

Daken could see his prey with his own two eyes for the first time since he had been a baby. He could smell him too. His acute nose could pick up similarities between Wolverine’s scent and his own. It disgusted him. His teeth ground against one another in frustration. Part of him wanted to pop his claws right then and there and end it all. But he knew that Zemo and his Hydra handlers would disapprove.

So be it. He would wait. The hunter would savor the anticipation. Then he actually smiled slightly, thinking of all the suffering he could inflict upon his father and all the other heroes. The Wolverine would suffer long and terribly. Daken wanted the runt to beg for him to end his misery. But before the end he would be made to remember the son he had abandoned. @roninxman

It was quiet on the school grounds. A nice, peaceful quiet; which was a rare moment with the chaos going on back in the city area. Logan was enjoying the fresh air, taking time out from the busy hallways inside the school, not yet used to being back around the constant noise after yet another few years of near isolation (at least compared to how busy it was in his current location).

Walking across the grounds, he took time to refamiliarise himself with the space, taking in both the sights and sounds. Pausing a distance from a line of trees, Logan frowned. 

He wasn’t alone.

There was a scent; both familiar and not at the same time and for a moment, he worried it was Victor Creed before mentally scolding himself. That wasn’t the scent he’d picked up. This one was different. It reminded him of himself, but at the same time, it just seemed...off to him.

BREAKING NEWS • BREAKING NEWS • BREAKING NEWS • BREAKING

‘Captain America’ Found Dead.

Logan’s hands clenched in tight fists as he stood there, staring at the store window full of televisions, all playing various news channels. All featuring similar reports of the same story, with varying degrees of speculation. Sam Wilson may not have been a mutant, but he did a lot of good to help them, especially in recent times. 

His claws were itching to come out in response to his anger. It was hurting to keep them retracted, but Logan did his best to ignore it. 

This was it. There was no way he could stand by now. The breaking news story had made up Logan’s mind for him. It was time Wolverine came back properly, and that meant going to seek out some old friends of his. 

Somehow in her train of thought, it had brought her to the very stand she was trying to avoid. The same old man, now behind a counter, thumbing through a new issue of the Daily Bugle listening the the chatter of morning radio. She stopped of course, grabbing a Bugle for herself, when a bulletin interjected. 

BREAKING NEWS • BREAKING NEWS • BREAKING NEWS • BREAKING

‘Captain America’ Found Dead.

Sam. The words droned out and anger rose inside of Aeron that made her eyes burst in teal fireworks as the paper in her hands flocked and scattered like birds in duress. Aeron stormed off in the frenzy, direction pointed towards the Jean Grey school, she needed to speak with Hank.

Again, head down, distracted by the news that swiftly carried Aeron to the school. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going, turning the corner. It was amazing how the school was able to bounce back so quickly, despite mounds of dirt that cut through various parts of the grounds, no doubt from her own handiwork. Smack,  Aeron face planted into something solid. 

At first Aeron had thought she walked into a post, as her powers pinged off a metallic surface, but it wasn’t a pole but a man.  Confused by this notion, in her already souring mood made Aeron scowl hard at the man before her, rubbing her forehead furiously. “Watch the fuck where you’re going.” She recklessly uttered as she made her way to the school’s gate.

“You watch your mouth kid,” he growled, quickly moving to block her path. “You clearly ain’t one of the students here, judging by that feral mouth; So what’re you doing rushin’ around here of all places?” 

(OPEN)

Cindy caught the edge of the building and pushed off hard, the wind whipping through her hair. She sent another web across the street and swung down toward the ground, landing rather gracefully, in her opinion, on the edge of a dumpster. The shouting was getting louder and she closed her eyes, trying to get her senses to work. Ever since that night, she had had trouble discerning threat from ambient noise and she had to focus especially hard to tell voices. When Peter was with her, they could work together, but he hadn’t been responding. That didn’t mean her job stopped. 

“Help!” 

There it was. Cindy moved her way around the the edge of the dumpster, balancing until she reached the wall. She latched on, edging around the building, toward the sound of the scuffle, her breath forming little clouds outside of her mask like a cartoon. There. A young couple was being backed into the alley corner by a trio of masked assailants. One of the two victims was grasping a small pocket knife. “Oh don’t do that-” Cindy thought, “That only leads to-” One of the attackers pulled a fire arm and Cindy tensed. “More violence,” she sighed through gritted teeth. 

“Give us the fucking bag!” one of the attackers growled, and the other fired the weapon in the air. The blast shook the alley and echoed off of the walls. Cindy’s silk-sense went crazy. She was able to come back only as one of the attackers bore down on the cowering couple, grabbing one by the arm violently. 

Logan sighed when he heard it, a block away from the source. He'd hoped it would be quieter that day, but obviously that had been wishful thinking. Trouble had become near-constant since HOPE had been dealt with. Physically, Logan wasn't tired at all, but he was getting a little irritated by then of having to step into so many confrontations. He'd started off the day with a simple trip to the store for groceries (he couldn't stand the food served at the hotel he was staying at), but had never made it, unable to help himself from helping those in need, despite being in his civilian clothing. He grumbled each time, but truthfully, he'd missed it.

“Give us the fucking bag!” 

Logan flinched then at the gunshot and was suddenly running. 

“And that’s my cue.” 

Logan stopped at the end of the alley upon hearing the new voice. Young. Female. Then he spotted her, raising an eyebrow at her appearance. Another Spider-person? He shrugged and charged at the attackers, deciding to worry about who she was later.

“What the-” 

Piloting the Milano was becoming more natural to Gamora the more she did it, the quirks it had were becoming second nature. She had to drop the team members off and continue on to destroy the research lab. She shook her head wondering what HOPE could have possibly been researching she highly doubted they were following the regulations after Nuremberg. Gamora had learned enough about Terran history to know that research had to be done with the subjects consent, and the people of HOPE seemed to not care if they had permission or not.

Gamora watched as one by one team members left the ship, she watched as Pietro got off the ship and could no longer see him, she shook her head at how fast that man could go. At least they had a bit of stealth on his side with him. Logan was next, and he seemed to be taking it slow and analyze the situation before he went into the fray, she could respect that it was often what Gamora did.

Once everyone who needed to be off the ship was off, Gamora took off and headed towards the research area of HOPE Island. She had to remind herself that she must leave as many people as she could alive, she hoped that she would be able to knock out most of those she came across, to think she would not come across someone would be naive. She would do her best not to hurt anyone who was being kept as a prisoner subject in the research facilities.

She flew the Milano into a secluded area before she could finally leave the ship. She did a quick check of her weapons before she began to look for an opening into the facility.

“Good luck, Pietro. What was that old folk song about the wind being at your back? I feel like that’s maybe your song in times of motivational need,” Peter rambled, trying to take his mind off the impending doom. He was silent when the mutant took off however, hoping he knew exactly what Peter meant. 

He didn’t try talking to Wolverine, worried he was going to get punched. But he worried all the same, as much as he allowed himself to worry. He had barley met the X-Men and already considered them friends, knowing that they were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, but not knowing what HOPE had in store. “Go team!” he thought watching them all disband, knowing that this was do or die. “Watch yourself out there, Wanda-” he sighed, visibly somber for the first time, “But I know you’re going to kick ass.”

When Peter spoke to her, Wanda was shaken from her focus. She hadn’t realized her twin had already disappeared, but she was well aware of how he dived straight into things. The dark haired woman looked over to Peter and gave him a small smile before heading away from the Milano. “I’ll be fine” And Wanda believed that. She could turn reality in her favor if the occasion called for it so going in blind wasn’t something she worried about. It was everyone else she shared concern over. It was why she had made mistakes in the past. “ I’ll be seeing you” She replied with a half smile before exiting the Milano and into the fray. 

“Good luck” She muttered to herself as she dove into the situation. They had to get people out and there was no doubt Pietro was already in their setting the stage for how they were going to get everyone on the ship. She managed to slide through things as carefully as possible despite a few snags. She wanted to avoid fighting as often as possible she could slide past people easier. She had to save her energy for what lied in the third area and getting people out. Wanda let out a sigh and advanced forward hearing footsteps unsure who it was but ready to make a stand.

Seeing a couple more of them, Pietro was on the move again and quickly circled around the soldiers, disorienting them in a whirlwind of dust. Satisfied that the immediate threats to the team were at least delayed and temporarily blinded (or knocked out), the speedster took off again, continuing his search for anyone who looked like they were in need of evacuation.

He found a young man soon after, being threatened by a soldier he was arguing with. Pietro stopped, just out of sight and watched, hoping to catch some of the argument. That plan didn’t work out however, as the soldier pulled out their weapon. Their anger quickly turned to confusion then, as the gun was suddenly gone, Pietro having taken it and tossed it aside.

The soldier barely had time to protest before he too was knocked out, thanks to a punch from the speedster. 

Logan frowned as he watched through the building window, having somewhat better luck than Pietro at listening in to a conversation; however there was only a single man present in the room, talking on a phone. Something to do with the research. He moved then, crouching as he moved from the window area to the door, glad the man happened to be facing away from it. Logan crept in, crossing the room to where the man stood, before suddenly grabbing him and pinning him against the wall.

"What's going on here?" he growled. "Tell me!"

Impatient, Logan didn't wait long for a response before he asked again. He wasn't satisfied by the responses he got; pleading and excuses involving 'I don't know's despite the phone call Logan had interrupted. After a third attempt, Logan's patience ran out and he tossed the man outside, through one of the glass windows. He followed after the man, using the door and pinned the man to the ground with one foot. 

"Let's try this one more time bub. What the hell is goin' on in this place?" he asked, extending his claws on one hand as a wordless threat.

Reblog order: @moveslikelightning/@roninxman,@deadliestwomaninthewholegalaxy, @legendary-star-loser, @wanda-thescarletwitch

As the doors of the Milano opened, Pietro’s mind went racing once again. He’d spent much of the trip sitting quietly, using the tricks he’d learnt over the years to quieten his mind. His powers often pushed everything, mind included, into overdrive and it could be maddening. He’d sat in his seat, head down, almost as if he were praying. In reality, he was either clearing his mind and simply zoning out; or he was going over the plan the team had discussed, over and over to make sure he got it.

Over the wall, into the camp. Destroy research, but not kill. As few casualties as possible. Rescue civilians. Enough HOPE members to be a pain in the ass. Focus on not getting shot. Going into the third area blind…

The last part concerned him, but Pietro wasn’t going to bring it up again and distract everyone from the current part of the mission. “HOPE you’re all ready,” he said with a smirk to the rest of the team. “Let me know if you need a quick evac?” He gestured to the comm piece in his ear. “I’ll be there as soon as possible, assuming I don’t forget to ‘focus on not getting shot’.”

Pietro thought afterwards that maybe he should have left out that particular joke, but it was too late for that now. In hindsight, he should have thought about it first. 

“I’ll catch you all later then?” he said before speeding off into the campsite, keeping a lookout for any civilians he could quickly evacuate.

Logan squinted a little as the Milano doors opened, taking a moment to adjust to the lighting change. He shook his head disapprovingly as Pietro rushed off before glancing at the rest of the team. "He may be good for a swift exit, but if any of ya need a hand with any of that destroyin', or just getting rid of some of those pain in the asses, just give me a shout, yeah?"

He stepped out, sniffing the air and listening carefully for any hints of potential threats, or points of interest. There were too many conflicting scents to get a proper read of it and it bothered Logan. 

Being so close to it still, the metallic scent of the ship, and the smell of it running were overpowering. He did however, pick up another, different kind of scent. Fear. It was hard to tell if it was fear from knowing they had arrived, or fear from the civilians they'd been told to rescue so Logan followed it cautiously.

He moved much slower than the speedster, taking the time to reassess his surroundings each time a new smell or sound caught his attention. A rustle in a shrub; probably a bird. Too small for a person to hide in for ambush. The offensive odor of someone passing by on the opposite of a pile of supply crates Logan was using as cover. He pulled a face at that, keeping absolutely still until the lack of the BO told him it was safe to move again. 

Logan was aiming for a small building that looked like it had been brought in or quickly set up simply for the purpose of the camp, assuming that HOPE had done just that. He didn't know enough about the background to know whether or not they had taken over the island, or if someone in the group had already owned it. The building was where the fear he'd picked up on seemed to lead and he assumed it would at least have something interesting inside if it had been set up just for HOPE. Reaching a window, he waited a moment before slowly standing up straight; letting out a small grunt in irritation as he had to stand on his toes slightly to even see inside.

At least the X-Men were ready to go. He didn’t think it was necessary to tell Pietro that Wilson had put him on this mission partially to keep him away from the city. The other part, Sam was pleased to relay, was that Pietro and Wanda’s skills would be incredibly helpful to the type of work they were about to be doing.

He took a deep breath and began, “Thank you all for your enthusiasm and support. I’m glad we’ve all agreed to be here and we’re all willing to fight for what’s right. That’s what makes us winners, and HOPE losers. On the agenda today is breaking and entering, death and destruction, and kidnapping. Well, more of a “take into custody” sort of thing, but it sounded cooler when-nevermind. Here is a map-” Peter pressed the button of a remote he was holding, and a holographic screen appeared around the group. “This details the HOPE complex we’re crashing. There are three gates. They all have watch towers and barbed wire and probably have electric sharks guarding them so we’re gonna get there by air. In my ship.” Peter nodded at the Milano. “After the second wall, there are these camps where they’re keeping the mutants they’ve captured. Gamora, Captain, you’re going to drop us off there, and then raze the research lab. The rest of us will meet you there. Then, we’ll capture Elaine Cross, rescue Stark, and bring the captured mutants back home safe. All’s well that ends well. Questions?”

She listened carefully as the plan went into action. The slight humor in Peter’s voice seemed to make the whole thing carry a less heavy weight. There was a distinct possibility this could all go to hell and Wanda knew that well, but the matter of fact tone to his words were exactly what Wanda wanted to hear.  She raised an eyebrow at the shark comment before focusing on the holograph again. “ Sounds easy in theory” Wanda replied.She knew what she had to do and that was anything and everything in order to stop this. The’r numbers didn’t seem very high in  comparison to a fortified lace, but she knew how strong an individual person could be. It was why she  dialed back her abilities a lot of the time because while they were occasionally unpredictable and it was safer this way, she also knew she could unmake existence if she wanted to. 

“No questions” Wanda spoke up.  She wasn’t normally the most talkative but in this case she was more curious than anything “ Well except for one. Anything in particular you want from us once we get in there? Are we going for stealth or make a scene?  It could get very messy in there and we’ve already damaged our images, so there’s nothing left to lose. I just want to know what were aiming  for I just want to get everyone home, by any means necessary” 

“Y'know, I could technically get passed that first wall faster than you could fly in, but…that’s not how teams work is it?” Pietro shrugged. “Saves energy too I guess. Can’t run all the time.”

Replaying Peter’s words in his head, Pietro kept count on his fingers as he carefully thought about the plan. “So…we fly over one wall, then there’s the camp, but that’s only two. What’s the third- ?” he asked. 

Pietro assumed there was the actual base of course, like the research lab that was mentioned, but he assumed there was going to be a bit more to it than basic lab tests if they had so many walls and gates. His thoughts jumped back to the press conference again and it suddenly clicked. 

Those labs Mystique had mentioned that had set him off in the first place.

Logan wore his trademark frown. He was used to being told to 'lighten up', in one way or another, but there was a time and place for humour and he was not a fan of it in situations like the one they were preparing for. He understood that some people felt it calming, but on the other hand, he was aware that some people took it too far at times and got too relaxed and so he decided not to tell Peter off for it. Yet. Logan was sure he'd get plenty of chances to later anyway, so he figured he may as well wait until they actually arrived at their destination. He nodded his approval at the plan, studying the others carefully as they spoke. The team felt off to him and he didn't like it. He knew everyone there was skilled in ways that would benefit the mission yet...it just didn't seem right. If he didn't know any better, he'd just brush it off as himself being on edge. Logan knew though that this was more to do with his senses, especially as he watched the Maximoffs. He made a mental note to bring it up with their leader later. "I'm assuming there's going to be people there to get in our way. Any idea how many roughly we're lookin' at?" he asked, thinking for a moment before also asking "And what are we doing if we get separated or injured?" He was trying to make sure they were as prepared as they possibly could be, to hopefully avoid any unnecessary panic or chaos.

Raven raised an eyebrow. She knew Logan was good at staying quiet and keeping out of things, but she also knew he loved action and she knew, or had a feeling, that there was going to be more action than he could resist. You didn’t get a crowd in this charged of a situation and not have action, and she could promise that she didn’t have an agenda either. And besides, it wasn’t like him to stand by and watch as people he considered innocent, were killed. 

“Oh,” Raven though with a smile, checking her phone once again, he’d be involved soon enough. He always was. Wether he wanted too or not. “Then I’ll make sure to put on a show for you, dear,” the mutant smirked, “You know I always do.” 

Logan couldn’t help but frown as he watched Raven. Her casual attitude about the whole thing seemed to bother him more than actually seeing her actively causing trouble did, partly because all he could do was wonder about what she was doing on her phone, or thinking about; or what she had already planned. At least when she was doing something openly he could actually act, rather than sit and guess. 

He responded his usual, disapproving growl-like sound. 

“Logan,” he corrected her with a roll of his eyes, somewhat in denial that his return to the city meant his time away from the world of heroes and villains was over. “And I don’t need to go after her. Don’t wanna either. Not that it’s your business, but I was doing quite well with that while I was gone.”

He did glance over at the redhead Raven mentioned however, simply because she had been brought to his attention. 

Even her cheap stabs at Logan fell short. It just wasn’t fun toying with him anymore, especially not after everything they’d been through together. But thinking about what she was about to do put Raven in a distinctly touchy mood. She didn’t need distractions or feelings getting in the way of her mission. She looked down at her phone, making a point not to meet his eye.

“Whatever you want, just say it,” she sighed, defeated, “I’m not going to sit here and listen to you try to talk your way to whatever agenda you have planned. You have,” she glanced at an imaginary watch, “Two minutes. Before I go over and hit on that redhead.”

He watched her, paying attention to the way she seemed to want to be anywhere else but talking to him. Logan almost smiled at that. He supposed it wasn’t all that surprising that she’d want to avoid him.

Raven didn’t have time to deal with Logan. Well, she supposed, she had the 7 minutes it took for the train to get her where she needed to go. But she wasn’t sure she was emotionally stable enough to deal with him without a few drinks first. She was tempted to empty her gun into his head and clear out, although that wouldn’t do anyone any good and probably cause more trouble than it would end up being worth. Although she could wish… 

She wouldn’t be the first to speak up. But it wouldn’t be long before he realise who she was and she didn’t see a point of hiding. Instead, she tried to ignore him, staring down at her phone and wondering why on earth he was on this train in the first place. “Please don’t talk to me, please don’t talk to me, please-” 

“Shoulda known you’d be around here…”

She looked up, a sarcastic smile plastered to her face, “Good to see you too, Wolvie. How are you doing? Terribly, I hope.” She didn’t mean it, and she knew he knew as well. But she wasn’t about to start playing nice with him. She had a plans and she didn’t need him throwing a wrench into any of them.  “If you love redheads so much, why don’t you go talk to the girl a few seats down? She looks nice; and desperate. You two would make a perfect match. Now screw off. I’m busy.” 

“Logan,” he corrected her with a roll of his eyes, somewhat in denial that his return to the city meant his time away from the world of heroes and villains was over. “And I don’t need to go after her. Don’t wanna either. Not that it’s your business, but I was doing quite well with that while I was gone.”

He did glance over at the redhead Raven mentioned however, simply because she had been brought to his attention.