And rage.Yes,lots of rage.

Distantly,he heard a man say,as if from down a long metal tunnel,"Don't get near him:in this state,he'll kill anything that moves."

Yes,he was thinking he'd kill the owner of that voice as soon as he found him.

His head hurt-it was like someone had crammed a whole bunch of live wires in there,and the more he tried to think,the more it hurt,so he just gave up.

It was dark where he was,and cold,but his eyes had been closed,which he had previously hurt too much to realize.But the room he was in-silver steel all around,like he was in a big metal box-felt like a cage,which instantly enraged him.

But when he tried to get up,chains yanked him down.

There were shackles on his wrists and ankles,and he couldn't stand more than crouch so he didn't yank his shoulders out of their sockets.He was probably cold because all he was wearing were a pair of odd smelling,torn jeans:the multicolored spots dappling parts of the legs made him think of paint,but they smelled like several kinds of odd blood.

But he smelled people too.

The owner of the voice and his friend were standing in the open doorway,gawking at him like the prize exhibit in a freak show.He snarled at them and tried to lunge forward,but the chains held him fast.

"Calm down,Wolverine,we're not your enemy,"one of then men-the one who talked earlier-drawled.

"Yes you are,"he growled,barely aware he could talk:his voice sounded like gravel crunching under someone's boots.

The other man stepped back into the hall,and he could smell his fear,sharp and bright,and it made him almost hungry.Not for food,not exactly.He just wanted to tear his throat out,smell his adrenaline infused blood spilling out of his body and pooling on the sterile metal floor.

Bloodlust-that's what it was.He just wanted to hurt something.

A third man appeared behind the other two.The two in the doorway were obviously soldiers;they didn't wear fatigues,but they didn't have to.Their body language said it,their awful haircuts,the reek of cordite and gun oil said it-but the man who just appeared was no soldier.In fact,his smell was odd-human,but with something strange underneath.He didn't know what,but he knew he didn't like it.

"Welcome back,Wolverine,"the pasty faced man said,in a condescending tone.His hair was a thinning,washed out ginger,and there was something glassy and off about his grey eyes...but again,he didn't know what,and it was starting to drive him crazy.

"Fuck you,"he snarled,yanking ineffectually at the chains.As much as he wanted to kill the soldiers,something told him he should go for the strange smelling desk jockey first.

The man (?) chuckled,and once again it sounded patronizing."Yes,that's the psychopath we all know and-"The man suddenly looked around,what little color there was in his face draining away,and Wolverine could suddenly smell fear on him,radiating off him in waves."Code red,"the man said to the soldiers."Silent call-secure this level."

"What?"The larger of the soldiers-the fearless one-said,wondering what the hell was going on.

"He's scared shitless,"Wolverine growled.

The soldiers looked at the man in startled curiosity,but he ignored them all."Shoot on sight anyone you don't recognize,"he went on."Don't ask for i.d.,we'll sort it out later.Now go!"

"Yes sir,"they replied mindlessly,and went off,leaving the ginger haired man leaning against the doorway,almost sick with fear.

"Something ain't right,"Wolverine hissed,both an accusation and a sudden realization.

"Not all your friends are mutants,are they?"The man snapped back,and then got a look on his face like he'd made a grave tactical error.

He had no idea what he was talking about,but he felt he should.Mutant...oh yes,he had claws,didn't he?The better to rip someone's guts out with.He sprung his claws,the metal ripping through the thin skin of his hands a familiar pain,and while the desk jockey wasn't all that surprised,it didn't do his already tense nature any good at all.

"The chains are adamantium,you can't cut through them,"he said,trying to pretend he still wasn't as freaked out as a cat loose in the dog pound.

"Then why don't you let me out of them?I'll kill whatever it is that has your panties in a bunch."

The man scowled at him."You couldn't get close enough to a Drai'shajan to do anything."

That name...he didn't recognize the language,but he would almost  swear the name was familiar somehow.He'd heard it somewhere...a long time ago..."Then why do you think you can run from it?"He asked.

That made the desk jockey do the slightest of double takes,right before there was a distant sound of a gunshot-but just the one. Then it was eerily silent,which Wolverine took as not such a good sign.Either a sniped shot had taken someone out,or someone had gotten the gunman after a single shot.

Desk jockey obviously thought the same thing.He pulled what looked like a Walther type semi-automatic pistol out from beneath his conventional grey sports coat,and pulled off the safety as he stepped into the room."This could have worked, Wolverine.We could have used you to get Xavier,but damn it,you had to fuck it up.It'll be a shame to waste you,but hey,que sera sera."

"You don't actually think you can kill me with that,do you?"He asked disdainfully,then said,as it had finally occurred to him, "You're not human,are you?"He didn't know what he was,but he knew human didn't cover it.And was the name Xavier kind of familiar too?

The guy didn't answer,he simply leveled the gun at his face,aiming carefully for his eye."I don't think even you can recover from a bullet in the brain,Wolverine."

He hoped he'd get just a little closer.Maybe he couldn't cut through the chains,but he could still kill him if he just got a bit closer...

"Oh no,parasite,I don't think that's happening,"an Australian man said casually,appearing in the open doorway.
The man-parasite?-froze,his eyes widening in horror,and his hand tensed on the gun,but he didn't pull the trigger. Wolverine got the sense he could not pull the trigger,even though he wanted to.

The Aussie,whose eyes were so bright they could have been neon,looked at him over the paralyzed gunman's shoulder,and said,"Hi Logan.You remember me,don't you."The final statement should have been a question,but wasn't.

And suddenly he did remember-memories washed over him like a flood,disorienting him and making his head hurt.

And now he knew he really was going to kill this guy.

The man did as he was told,and Logan was back,but so obviously infuriated he wondered if letting him out of the chains was a good idea.Veins throbbed and stood out like cords on his temples and neck and arms,and since he was shirtless Bob could see muscles in his chest clench,like he was preparing to punch this guy so hard his head would cave in like an overripe pumpkin.

Logan could too.It wasn't that he was strong,although he was (man,was he ripped!)-it was that he had a whole bunch of metal under his skin that doubled his impact,or,if Logan didn't bother to hold back (and he always did,just a bit-he didn't know if he was consciously aware of it or not),probably quadrupled it.He could smash someone into pulp,break every single bone in their body with nothing but well placed punches,turn their organs into fine pulp.It was no wonder he was considered a weapon,even discounting the claws.

"Logan,"he said in his steadiest voice,not wanting to push him,but ready to do so if he needed to.He had every right to be infuriated,though,and he didn't blame him at all."He needs to be conscious and alive to answer questions."

Logan was literally panting through his flared nostrils,a bull seeing red,and while in a technical sense he was back, Logan had never really been that different from 'Wolverine'-that was him with a submerged conscience.And it seemed to be submerging all by itself right now.

He was glad he had sent Scott,Jean,and Helga off to see if there were other mutants on the floor,even though he suspected there weren't (there were only two mutants they wanted here),because frankly they could only make this volatile situation worse.The group dynamic,as far as he could tell,was held together by Xavier alone,and Logan was so obviously the odd man out it was almost painful.But Xavier rather liked Logan,and he could see why,even if that same thing eluded Scott.

Logan stared at him,but said nothing.He didn't have to;anger had turned his green eyes into jade embers harder than rock.He had to know Bob could push him,but here was that Logan suicidal fearlessness again;he seemed to be almost daring him to do it.He was so lost in his own rage he was beyond reason.

As soon as the man was finished unchaining him,Logan moved so fast he was a blur (Angel was right-vampire fast).He grabbed the man from behind by the throat (he had been turning away),and suddenly the claws of his other hand burst through the man's side in a spray of blood,and the man screamed-or at least he tried.But Logan's left hand was clamped so tight around his throat the best he could do was squeak.

"Logan!"Bob reached out and felt his mind,ready to clamp down.

"It's just a flesh wound,I didn't hit anything major,"he snarled,still not retracting his claws.He then growled in the man's ear,"I'm going to kill you an inch at a time,motherfucker.I'm gonna see how many holes I can put in you before you die.Wanna know what it's like to be cut open,huh?"

"If you strangle him,you'll never get the chance,"Bob pointed out.The man was going from red to purple,Logan's grip on his throat so tight he was pretty sure he could hear the small bones of his neck creaking from here.

Logan glanced at the man with great loathing (if looks could kill,the questioning would have been over),and noticing finally he was an unhealthy eggplant shade,threw him on the floor,yanking his claws out of him as he did so.The man landed hard on all fours before collapsing on his uninjured side,coughing and gasping for air while curling into a fetal position,wrapping his arms around the bloody puncture wounds in his side.He looked truly miserable,and was probably wishing he had never been involved in this.

Logan kicked him angrily in his injured side,getting a noise of pain from him somewhere amongst all the gasping.Logan was barefoot,so it should have hurt him more,but all that metal again.

"I don't think he wanted you,Logan,for the record,"Bob said."The others did.He just saw you as a tool to get Xavier for him."

"Why does he want Xavier?"Scott asked.

Bob had heard them coming around the corner,Scott and Jean in the lead,Helga taking point,but he doubted they noticed Helga  guarding their backs.He also knew they didn't find any other prisoners on this level.

"He's a psychic parasite.Or,more properly,he has a psychic parasite in him,pulling the strings."

"Logan,are you-"Jean began,but stopped when she looked inside the doorway.The unadulterated rage on his face and the man laying bleeding on the floor momentarily startled and scared her.Logan was dangerous,and sometimes it caught her off guard.

"What I want to know is are you the parasite who originally wanted to feast on Xavier,or are you just a relative?"Bob asked the man on the floor.In truth,Logan could do all the damage to his body he wanted,as it had a tendency to die around the parasite, and yet remained viable for the parasite in spite of it.It was a Hanthos demon,and they were pretty hard to kill.

"I don't have to answer any of your questions,"he rasped hoarsely,as Logan paced the floor restlessly behind him,like an enraged tiger just waiting for the cage door to swing open,predatory eyes locked on the man,who remained curled up and small on the floor.Bob wasn't sure if the Hanthos was more afraid of him or Logan right now.

"Yes,actually you do,"Bob replied coldly.

"Talk or scream-your choice,"Logan snarled.

That seemed to make up his mind for him."Fucking mutant freaks-I could have been virtually omnipotent with Xavier in my control."

"Answer the question,"Bob repeated.He wasn't pushing him,but he wasn't lying,so he didn't need to yet.But,as always,ready to do so.

"Did you forget your biology,Drai'shajan?"The demon asked facetiously,spitting dark blood on the silver floor.

"What did he call you?"Jean asked curiously,her fear of Logan momentarily forgotten.Having experienced a moment of the pain he was put through,a small part of her that she probably wouldn't acknowledge wanted him to kill the man.

"I thought you said you were a Belial,"Scott chimed in,standing-as always-right beside Jean.

He ignored them as that wasn't relevant right now,although Logan was giving him the queerest look,and he wasn't sure what for."Hanthos demons pack,they come in clusters.So you're not the one Magneto thought he killed,you're a cluster mate."

"You can't imagine what a prize he would have been,"the Hanthos said,sounding almost remorseful."The Hanthos controlling him would have had nearly endless power."

"So feeding wasn't enough?Wow,delusions of grandeur in a parasite,"Bob spat back,pretty sure he should just let Logan kill the thing.The host body was dead anyways.

"You didn't let the soldier boys in on your plan to feast on him,did you?"Logan said angrily,continuing to pace,his currently clawless hands clenched into impressively tight fists at his side."They probably thought they were just gonna get a telepathic soldier,but they were actually gonna get you in him."

"They'd have had their soldier,"the Hanthos replied.He was more afraid of Logan,definitely;Bob could kill him quicker,but the Hanthos really didn't like physical pain being inflicted on the host body,and Logan had hurt him a lot.He also knew-

Shit."What do you know about Logan?"Bob instantly asked.

Logan froze in place,turning back to gaze between him and the Hanthos alike,curious,startled,enraged,and scared all at once.

The Hanthos looked at him,fear evident in his glassy grey eyes."I don't know what-"

"Yes you do,"Bob insisted,and pushed him.It wasn't hard.

"He was the Organization's impossible man,"the Hanthos said,sounding slightly distant."A lot of their mutants died or went nuts,but they could do anything to Logan and it wouldn't matter.He always came back."

"What do you mean do anything?"Scott asked,sounding vaguely horrified,but the Hanthos couldn't hear him.

It went on."His mutant power didn't seem very important,but he could do anything.If you needed an army fast but couldn't get one,you just have to drop the Wolverine in,because he could do the impossible."

"Shut up,"Logan growled.He was frightened of what else he might hear,and didn't want to hear anymore.

And this was where Bob was torn.He had more to say,but should he let him say it if Logan didn't want to hear it?

The Hanthos went on in Bob's moment of indecision,and Bob decided to just let him go:Logan might not want to hear it,but maybe it was best that he did."The big one was a secret base in Siberia.It was guarded by an army,mutants and maybe demons among them.Because of surveillance nobody could get within fifty miles of the place,and those dropped in usually died of exposure before the army guarding the place got a chance to kill them.The Organization sent Wolverine out-"

"I said shut up,"Logan snapped,forgetting in his anger that the Hanthos couldn't hear him right now.

"Three days later they picked up a signal from the base,and when a retrieval squad was sent in,they found Wolverine all alone. If you didn't count the dead.An entire army,maybe two hundred people maximum,counting those bits of soldiers they found along the way,leading up to the base-"

"I said shut up!"Logan roared,in anguish as much as rage,popping the claws of his right hand and slamming them down into the floor,millimeters from the man's face.Because the floor was adamantium,sparks jumped up on contact,and Bob let the Hanthos go to face Logan.He deserved the fear,the arrogant little prick.

The Hanthos's eyes went impossibly wide,nearly bulging out of their sockets,as Logan pressed the fist of his left hand against the opposite side of the man's head.If Logan sprung those claws,goodnight nurse-even the Hanthos wouldn't survive that.

"I-I'm just-"the Hanthos sputtered,so terrified it didn't even know what to say.

"What did you fucks do to me?!"He roared,crouching over the terrified man,his eyes burning like the sun."Who am I?!"

"He doesn't know,"Bob told him sadly.When Logan glanced up at him,still furious,Bob explained,"The Organization is not this place.They were trying to steal you from it."

Logan glanced down at the Hanthos,who almost shook his head but was too frightened to."I-I don't know what the Organization is-some sort of covert black ops thing-but they had a lot more success with their mutants than we ever did."

"Their mutants?"Logan said,suddenly ice cold.Oh no."Their mutants?"Logan retracted the claws of his right hand and grabbed the Hanthos by the shirt collar,violently yanking him up to his feet.He kept his left fist planted firmly against the side of his head,though."Are you their demon,huh?Shall I break you open and see?"

"Logan,don't,"Jean said plaintively,and for the first time Bob noticed she was crying.

Logan looked at her,startled,and for the first time his rage seemed to stumble.He seemed to be aware for the first time there were more people than just Bob watching him.

"I think Captain Hedwin's told us all he can,"Bob told Logan quietly,and Helga grunted humorously.Yes,the bigwig in charge was a Hanthos demon with delusions of grandeur.It seemed appropriate somehow.

"He's-"Scott began,surprised,but then stopped.He wanted to be anywhere but here right now,and Bob couldn't blame him.

"We can't leave him alive,"Logan snarled,only addressing Bob this time.

"I won't go after you again,"the Hanthos stammered,on the verge of tears himself.Logan's fist against his head was really unnerving him.He was probably imagining his death by skewering."It's over,I swear."

"Like I buy that,"Logan spat in his face."Where is the Organization,huh?Tell me."

"It's everywhere and nowhere,"he replied,and to Bob's surprise he wasn't lying."Every time we find out where they are, they've already moved on.They're one step ahead of everyone."

Logan glanced at him,past the frightened Hanthos,and Bob nodded in confirmation.The Hanthos had no more than that on this 'Organization'.

"Last known location?I don't care that they were gone,"Logan said,shaking him like a rag doll.

"Grand Cache,"he said,sounding desperate and frightened.

Logan's scowl deepened-that's where Angel went to get him,wasn't it?That,and where Naomi got drained of her memory. Logan glanced at him,and Bob was forced to shrug."That is the truth as he knows it."

"Shit,"Logan cursed,tossing the man aside like a used tissue.He hit the wall hard and sank to the floor,still conscious but paralyzed with fear.Logan then stalked towards them,rage hardening his features but his eyes were cast down-he refused to look at  anyone.He was ashamed at what he had heard,mortified,and Bob was now sorry he let him hear it.But he wasn't going to take the memory from him.

Logan wheeled back,and glared at the man like he was an insect."If I ever see you or your 'boys' ever again,this will be the last thing you ever hear."He popped the claws of his left hand,just long enough for the Hathos to get the point.

He got the point:he was pressed against the wall as if trying to somehow merge with it.Unable to speak,he simply nodded vehemently,clearly hoping Logan would leave right now.

Logan started to turn away,but then shook his head in disgust."His kind won't leave it.We have to-"

"Let the chips fall where they may,"Bob said,catching his eyes.He then whispered so quietly that no one could hear-except Logan,with his ultra keen hearing,"This is demon business.We'll take care of it."

Logan held his gaze for a long moment,as if trying to ascertain his veracity,then glanced at Helga,waiting behind him with her tail flicking impatiently.He didn't need to look to know Helga gave him her killer smile-literally.It was the teeth baring,"I could fuck you or kill you now and I'd be cool with either" sort of leer that she meant very much,which made it all the more chilling.
It convinced Logan,who looked back at him and gave him a curt nod of agreement.

"What happened to the rest of your clothes?"Scott asked.He was trying to play it cool,of course,but he still seemed jumpy and unnerved.

Logan shrugged."Damned if I know."

"He's fun to look at naked,"Helga called out.While they were headed down the hall,she remained in the doorway,that lovely little automatic pistol with the armor piercing,fragmenting bullets in her hand.

While Logan actually managed a snorted sort of laugh,Bob focused his mind on Scott and Jean,and said quietly,"Helga is with us.You will know no different,and hear nothing in this hallway but the sounds of voices."

Logan,serious again,glanced over his shoulder at him.Bob had not included Logan in the 'push',because he didn't see the point.He figured it would make Logan's night to know what really happened.He saw the understanding in Logan's eyes,and knew that was fine with him.

Jean,who was probably still crying quietly,reached out and put a supportive hand on Logan's back,which seemed to surprise him even more.From the way the muscles in his back seemed to ripple with tension,he really didn't want to be touched right now,but he didn't shrug her hand away.

Bob didn't even have to look back to know Helga was gone.

**

"What do you want,Stansin?"He spat,like her species was somehow bad.Funny coming from a parasitic dirtbag like him.

"A bubble bath,a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese,a pint of Bailey's ice cream and a bit of mattress wrestling with the old man.Or Logan.Hell,both if I could talk them into it.Thanks for asking."

"What are you-"Hedwin began,and then his eyes scudded down,and he finally noticed the gun in her hand.His eyes became as large as silver dollars and bright as coffin nails,and his mouth opened and closed a couple of times before his voice came back to him."They're the X Men,right?They won't let you kill me-"

Helga crouched down in front of him,cracking her tail like a whip and making him jump as she jammed the barrel of the gun right inside his ear."They will never know,sweetheart,and if you haven't grokked it by now,I ain't an X Man.I'm also a professional-I know how to kill your kind."She pursed her lips at him,giving him a mocking air kiss of death."This is a lot better than you deserve,you know.Oh,and just for the record,you got hosed-Logan let you capture him,dumb ass.I thought you were a leader of men,moron."

She then pulled the trigger,rather pleased with the shocked look on his face.

**

She pretended hard to pay attention to whatever was on the t.v.-what the hell was it now?She had been watching a movie with  aliens in it or something,a couple of explosions,but now she heard canned laughter,and figured a sitcom was on.She had never even noticed the movie got over.

But she had never been paying attention anyways.She kept wondering if they had saved Logan yet or not,and if they had gotten him before they could do anything to him.She figured things had been bad when Scott,Jean,Bob,and Helga had gotten back from the fight-Scott and Helga looked like they had a couple of scratches,but nothing more-but Jean looked real pale,more than usual,like she had seen something really awful.And,come to think of it,Scott looked kinda pasty too.

Of course they wouldn't say what happened ("No time,"),and no,she couldn't come with,and there was no way she could stow away on the jet.Besides,she really didn't like flying.Luckily,the only time she had been on the jet she had absorbed Logan beforehand,and he wasn't afraid of anything,so it didn't bother her.Besides,she was also worried she had killed him (well,okay,as Jean pointed out he had done it on purpose,but still...) since he was comatose and bleeding all over and not healing,not at all.She kind of wondered if she'd taken all his healing thing,if that were even possible.Luckily,it wasn't,he just needed a few days to get back on track.

Maybe that's why it hadn't really surprised or bothered her when he suggested they let these guys-League,whatever-capture him,so they could trace these government assholes back to their source.Logan was like the indestructible guy;even those dickheads probably didn't have what it took to kill him.

But they could hurt him.They could hurt him a lot.They had already,hadn't they?Only after they were gone did she remember they had done some awful things to him-nobody would talk to her about it,but eventually Logan admitted he had nightmares because of the things they had done.He had said 'torture',but she wasn't dumb:it was more than just torture.Until then,she didn't think there could be anything worse than torture,but Magneto had taught her that if nothing else.

The floor creaked loudly,and she jumped.Shit,would the house quit settling like that?Even with the idiot noise of the t.v.,it was too damn quiet in here,and she would swear there was some big,well armed ugly behind every creak,waiting behind the curtains of every window.

She really wished they'd get back.She wanted to know Logan was safe,and-selfishly,okay-she wanted him and Bob back to watch this place,guard their backs,and kick major ass if need be.And she couldn't shake the feeling the need would be,sooner if not later.

This really bugged her because it made her feel like a wimp:no matter what Jean and Scott thought,she could take care of herself. Didn't she prove that today?But what bugged her was how many she'd have to defend herself against,and armed with what?She wasn't Logan-a bullet would take her down.

And the whole demon thing sort of bugged her.Mutants with unknown powers were bad enough,but now demons,who could do all sorts of really nasty things?If there was another Bob somewhere out there they were screwed,blued,and tattooed, weren't they?But she sort of doubted the world was big enough for two Bobs,which was a good thing.Sort of.

Unconsciously grabbing Logan's dogtags,still hanging around her neck like the strange good luck charms they had become to her,she knew she was going to miss Bob when he was gone.

She told herself it was because he didn't treat her like a kid,like Scott and Jean did (they acted like they were her parents or something-sheesh!),and that was true.He also had a cool power,which was really hard to define-she knew he was powerful,but she didn't know exactly how,except he seemed to scare an entire room full of miniature Godzillas (Ressik demons, whatever) , and if he could do that he had to be a major ass kicker.No,the biggest thing she'd miss about him was he was hot.

Okay,hot didn't even cover it-fucking gorgeous did.Even his voice was sexy.Until she met him she though Australian accents were kind of funny.But he didn't have a 'Crocodile Hunter' kind of accent;his accent seemed more sophisticated,exotic as opposed to comical,and probably his velvety speaking voice didn't hurt.And talk about eyes,wow.She'd never seen eyes that perfectly cobalt before.And those tight leather pants (with that butt)-major thud.

(And a little ,evil part in her mind wondered if what he said back in the Professor's office,about having the biggest...well...was true...)

Of course,he was probably really old.He looked thirty,which was old enough,but he implied he was older,and the Professor himself said he was much older than he appeared to be.But the same thing was hinted about Logan,and that had to be bullshit -okay,maybe Bob was like fifty in demon years,but there was no way in hell Logan could be close to the Professor's age or something."Age differently" her ass.Logan was older,sure-thirties,maybe-but too old for her?Well,everybody she liked was "too old for her",according to Jean.Spoilsport.It wasn't like she didn't know the real reason that Jean tried to discourage her from liking Logan-she had the hots for him herself.It was so obvious.