"Trap Part 1"
Written by Wolvester

Disclaimer:  All X-Men belong to Marvel and Kai belongs to 
Kaylee (used with permission).  The story however is mine.  
Enjoy…Please send comments to Wolvester@aol.com.  This 
is my first fan fiction piece so be gentle.  Flames will be 
ignored.

***

Slowly my perceptions rose toward the light.  I became aware 
of a pounding in my head, pain in my wrists and arms, and my 
legs hurt.  I realized slowly that my wrists and arms were 
holding me up, and that my legs *weren't.*  I stood on my feet 
and my arms hurt less.  As I opened my eyes, I noticed that 
my wrists were chained to the wall.  Scott was directly across 
from me, and Rogue and Remy were on either side of me.   
Beast was chained eagle-spread to the floor.  I was the only 
one awake at the moment, and the way my head was pounding 
I wished I wasn't.  The two of our group who weren't in the 
room were Betsy and Logan.

We all had Geonoshan collars around our necks.  Whoever 
had us wasn't too bright: My healing symbiont isn't a mutant 
power in the conventional way.  It couldn't be suppressed with 
a Geonoshan collar.  While my symbiont was working 
overtime clearing my senses, I started to think over what had 
happen to get us in this mess.

The last thing I remembered was Logan shouting incoming 
and scatter when something hit us.  This really was supposed 
to be an easy mission….it looked like Mount Logan was going 
to wake up and it was an opportunity for Hank to gather some 
data on a live volcano.  Instead it was turning out to be one big 
trap…it looked like Logan and Betsy's sixth senses were right 
on this one.  Betsy had had a bad dream the morning of the 
mission, which had convinced Scott to take Rogue, Logan and 
myself as back up.  Logan had stiffened up as soon as we got 
off the Blackbird.  I could see the hairs on his neck rising, but 
he wouldn't get into what was bothering him and the next 
thing I knew Logan was shouting.  "Incoming!"
 
As my ears cleared, I began hearing a faint howl...kinda like a 
wolf in a lot of pain.  Over the next four hours the howling 
continued, and I started to focus on it as Rogue and Beast 
started to wake up.  The sound of the howling was making me 
very angry and I couldn't understand why.  It was as if my 
mind knew something that I didn't. 

"I sincerely hope that one my fellow mutants had the good 
sense to get the number of the train that hit us,"  Hank 
whispered.

"Hank? Kai?  Where in the heck are we?" Rogue said, shaking 
her head a little. 

"I don't know where we are, Rogue.  I woke up about four 
hours ago."

Scott started groaning and moved his head. "Uhn...a little 
more of a warning next time, Logan."  As Scott looked around 
after that comment had gone unanswered, he asked the 
obvious question.  God this guy was really annoying at times.  
"Where are we and where are Logan and Elizabeth?"

"Don't look at us, Sugah...  We were just waking up ourselves 
when you came to and we were askin' Kai the same 
questions." 

Scott just looked in my direction with that "Well...Kai" look 
on his face.  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly before 
answering the question. "I don't know where Logan and Betsy 
are.  They weren't here when I woke up, and I don't smell 
them in this cell at all."  That last statement drew a lot of 
looks.  Well I didn't smell them; they hadn't been brought into 
this cell at all.

"You still have your powers?"  Hank inquired with a very 
interested look on his face.

You know if the cell had been bugged with a listening device I 
would have to be very upset with Hank right now, but I am the 
one who opened my mouth about not smelling people.  
"Yes...my symbiont doesn't have an on and off switch 
connected to my DNA like most mutants," I growled. 

Hank's eyes had lit up and he was studying me in a way that I 
really didn't like, since it reminded me of other scientists that 
had taken an "interest" in me in the past.  
 
"Once we return to the mansion, I would like to run some 
additional tests and..." Hank started babbling and suddenly 
stopped as the door to our cell opened.

An Asian man stood in the doorway with two guards that were 
dressed in all red and black.  The guards looked like assassins 
and I recognized the Asian guy from the computer records...  
Matsuo...the current Master of the Hand.  This guy was on 
Logan's list of people he would like to kill, second only to 
Vic.  He had a role in killing Mariko, and Logan wanted blood 
for it.  He had also tried to brainwash Betsy into turning Logan 
into a Hand assassin, before Logan had knocked some sense 
into Betsy.

When Matsuo opened the door, the howling was no longer 
muted.  I was a little surprised to recognize that it was Logan 
howling and not a hurt animal.  His voice sounded really 
hoarse, so he had been screaming for awhile.  The scream 
wasn't what made the hairs on my neck rise; it was the scent I 
was getting that really scared me: fear, rage, and despair.  Fear 
and rage are primal instincts, and I had smelled them before 
on him usually right before I would wake him from a 
nightmare.  Despair wasn't something I'd ever smelled on 
Logan before.  I keep my face carefully neutral when this guy 
looked in my direction, but when the time came I was going to 
make this smug son of a bitch pay for what he was doing to 
Logan.

"Welcome, X-Men!  I hope you are finding your 
accommodations to your satisfaction," Matsuo said with a 
wide grin.

"Why are we here, Matsuo, and where is the rest of my team?" 
Scott asked.

"My dear Cyclops.  Your team is here.  As for my former 
assassins, they are being re-trained as to who their Master is 
and, once their training is finished, your deaths will be at hand 
and my revenge will be complete against my enemies!" 
Matsuo turned out of the cell laughing

"Gambit, can you get out of your chains?" Cyclops asked as 
soon as the door had shut.

"Gambit was don' with that, mon ami, before Matsuo came in 
the room."  Two hands slid from the wall chains to prove his 
statement.

Within minutes we were all free of our chains.  Gambit was 
working on the door and Scott was working on a plan.  Gambit 
had already tried and failed to get the collars off.  They were 
rigged to explode if they were unlocked in any other manner 
than with the key.  

On the way toward the door, Scott looked in my direction.  
"Kai, can you locate Logan and Betsy by smell once we're out 
of this cell?"

"Yep," I grunted. 

"Good...we'll find them and then make our way out of here.  I 
want everyone to stay on their toes, since we don't have our 
powers.  Kai, you take point and avoid guards at all cost," 
Scott said.

Since we still had our collars on, no alarms sounded when we 
left our cell.  The closer we got to Logan and Betsy, the 
angrier I got.  The scents coming off them made me move fast 
enough for Scott to tell me to slow down.  Betsy was in the 
first lab we came to. After quickly knocking out the two Hand 
guards we entered the cell.   She was chained to the wall, with 
needles in her arms.  She also had a mask on her face.  Her 
eyes were closed and she was covered in sweat that reeked of 
pain.  She had bruises all over her body and of course a collar 
around her neck.

"Oh my stars and garters," Hank whispered as he saw Betsy.  

He and I got Betsy down while Gambit and Rogue watched 
the hallway.

"Hank...how bad is she?" Scott asked while Hank did a quick 
exam of Betsy.

"We need to get her to the Blackbird with all due haste.  I 
can't make a proper diagnosis without the equipment on the 
Blackbird to determine what the function of the gas in the 
mask is for.  However, I know for certain she has three broken 
ribs," Hank said while his hands were busy making field 
bandages out of Scott's jacket.

"Hank, you carry Betsy.  Kai, you have point.  Gambit, you're 
next to Hank.  Rogue, you and I will bring up the back.  Let's 
find Logan and get out of this hell hole."

The closer we got to the lab where Logan was the more my 
head started to spin.  By the time we had gotten to the outer 
lab doors I was sweating and I wanted to tear something, 
*anything* apart that came between me and Logan.  

"Kai?" Hank inquired.  He was looking at me a little too 
closely for my comfort.

"I'm fine," I growled as I started into the lab, only to have 
Scott grab my hand.  I jerked out of his grasp and nearly fell 
on the floor as another sharp pain tore through my head.

"Hank...what's going on?" Scott asked.  I was leaning against 
the wall trying to clear my head.

"I believe that Matsuo is utilizing ultra sound waves -- due to 
Kai's obvious reaction the closer we get to Logan's cell -- in 
his efforts to retrain Logan."  As much as I hated to admit a 
weakness, Hank was right.  The closer we got, the more my 
head was hurting.  I could only imagine what pain Logan was 
in, but Hank's explanation did explain the pain I smelled on 
him.

Scott turned to the others, "Rogue, Gambit.  Find the controls 
to the sound generator and neutralize it."

"Ya got it, Sugah," Rogue said over her shoulder as she 
followed Gambit into the lab.

In about five minutes, my headache was gone.  Logan had 
stopped howling and the silence in the inner lab was 
deafening.  I ran through the doors and stopped dead in my 
tracks.  If it wasn't for his scent, I would have thought he was 
dead.  As it was, he was in bad shape.

Logan was eagle-spread to a table and triple-chained.  He had 
a mask over his mouth and nose, similar to the one Betsy had 
on, but the chemicals smelled stronger.  He had two large 
tubes in his arms and upper neck.  He had headsets on his ears 
and his ears were freely bleeding.  I could feel his exhaustion 
from across the room.  

Before I realized it, I was by his side.  I could hear the others 
but my attention was on Logan.  I started ripping the chains 
off of his arms, when Hank got to the table.  I saw Hank's 
hands heading toward Logan and I growled at him without 
really meaning to.  It shocked me a little to realize that I had 
gotten this attached to someone, but at the same time it 
seemed perfectly natural.  He was my partner, my balance; 
and seeing him hurt like this was making me see red.  Hank 
stopped his movement and looked at me again with those 
scientific eyes of his.

"I will need to examine him, if we are to move him safely 
from this cell," Hank stated in a very soothing voice.  He 
didn't move; just projected and smelled of concern for Logan.

At my nod, he removed the mask from Logan's face and 
began an exam.  Scott had gotten off one of the leg chains by 
the time I had gotten rid of the other three.  Hank was taking 
the tubes out of Logan's arms.  I got rid of the headsets and 
crushed them in my hands.  Hank was using Gambit's trench 
coat for bandage material.  Rogue had been in the outer lab, 
trying to get information on what was done to Logan.  

"Looky at what I found." Rogue said as she flew into the 
room.  She was holding the key to the collars in one hand.  

Soon all of the collars were off.  Logan's wounds were still 
bleeding freely even though the collar was off.   
Ten minutes later, Logan was in Hank's arms and we were 
heading toward the Blackbird.  Gambit was carrying Betsy.  I 
had point, and Rogue and Scott brought up the rear.

Logan's breathing was way too shallow for my liking and his 
complexion was far too pale.  He was totally limp in Hank's 
arms and he still reeked of pain.  I had to find the Blackbird 
quickly.

I couldn't find a trace of the plane in the complex.  I *did* 
find an exit way too easy.  I should have *known* it was a 
trap.  The minute all of us were in the room, all the entrances 
slammed shut and this massive door opened.  Water poured 
into the room and knocked us from our feet.  I saw Rogue get 
in the air and grab Betsy before Gambit was knocked over by 
the water.  I didn't see Scott.  I caught sight of Hank trying to 
jump into the rafters with Logan with one hand.  The beam 
broke and in the water they went.  I started swimming toward 
them when another door opened.  

The water abruptly changed directions and I felt myself being 
swept out the door and dropping into a raging river.  I saw 
Logan's arm and grabbed it.  Gambit appeared out of nowhere 
and grabbed Logan's other arm. With the water's speed, we 
were soon several miles from the Matsuo's base.  I pulled 
Logan and Gambit up the embankment further as I looked out 
over the water.  There was no sign of Hank, Scott, Betsy, or 
Rogue anywhere in the water.  

I shook the water from my ears and looked down at Logan and 
Gambit.  Gambit was semi-conscious:  Logan wasn't 
breathing.  I was rolling him onto his back and tilting his head 
back before I fully comprehended what I was doing.  I started 
breathing for him. His heart was still beating, but without air 
he would die.  After the longest five minutes of my life, he 
started coughing and took a breath of air without my help.  He 
started spitting up water.  I rolled him over onto his side so he 
wouldn't choke on the water while it came up.  

By this time Gambit was awake, and he had been looking at 
me while I was working over Logan.  "He gonna be okay now, 
Kai?" Gambit asked in a quiet voice.

"Do I look like a  fuckin' doctor to you?" I snapped. "We need 
to find Hank and the others."

"Night coming quick, chere. We need to find a place to sleep 
for the night," Gambit said. "We'll look for them in the 
morning."

As much as I hated to admit it, he was right.  Our need for 
shelter and survival would have to take priority over trying to 
find Hank.  I checked my side: the knife I had taken off the 
guard was still there in the sheath.

"I can see a cave entrance past those trees.  I'll go see if it's 
occupied.  You can start collecting some fire wood," I said.  I 
had my knife in hand.

"Gambit not so sure you should be going by yourself."  I could 
hear the reluctance in his voice.

"Well someone has to stay with Logan and, of the two of us, 
I'm the better hunter," I said, looking into those strange eyes 
of his.

"You already know tha' somethin' in the cave? Gambit say we 
put Logan in a nice safe place and go huntin' together."

"No.  We need the bear's hide intact if Logan's gonna survive 
the night.  Your powers would blow the bear to bits.  I can kill 
it with its hide intact and more meat on its bones than your 
powers would.  Also, once I attack that bear, if it gets past me 
there isn't going to be a safe place to leave Logan.  You watch 
Logan and I'll catch dinner.  Deal?" 

I could see that he didn't like it, but he also knew I was right.  
"We do this you way, chere, for now.  Gambit hear you in 
trouble and I come get you."  Gambit jerked his head toward 
where Logan lay.  "I let anything happen to his woman and he 
gonna take it out of my hide."

I scowled at the comment about  "letting anything happen to 
Logan's woman," but he did agree to let me do the hunting 
without me having to embarrass his male pride by reminding 
him I could take care of myself.  I couldn't resist adding, "You 
let anything happen to my man and I'll leave you singing 
soprano for the rest of your days.  I'm nowhere *near* as nice 
as Logan."

I headed off to the cave while Gambit shook his head.  Under 
his breath, I heard him mutter. "That one crazy woman ya got, 
homme.  You two are *perfect* for each other."

Once I was inside the cave, I found the bear.  My vision 
adjusted to the darkness quickly.  I moved towards the bear 
quickly and quietly.  I was charging the bear when it noticed 
me and raised up onto its hind legs.  It roared and threw its 
bulk at me while swinging at me with its claws.  I dodged the 
claws easily and went straight for the bear's throat.  As my 
knife slashed into the side of the throat, it roared again.  One 
of its claws tore my shoulder and I screamed.  I shifted to one 
side, let the bear pass, and struck at its throat again.  Blood 
flowed and finally the bear fell.

By that time, I was covered in blood from the bear.  I could 
feel the blood lust rising in me, and I howled to let the world 
know that I was the stronger animal here.  At the sound of my 
howl, Gambit charged into the cave, cards glowing.  I knew he 
was there, but I continued to skin the bear.  While Gambit 
brought Logan into the cave, I carved flesh from the bear's 
body.

I staked out the hide for drying.  Gambit found some firewood 
and I started dinner.  My cooking was as dismal as usual, but 
since Logan was still out cold, I didn't have to hear about it.  
Gambit coughed a couple of times but didn't comment.  

"I'll take first watch," I said after dinner.

"Oui.  We find the others in the mornin'." 

To be continued……