Logan and Cain - Danger Room Run 3082

[x-wolverine.livejournal.com]

Logan and Cain are paired up in a Danger Room exercise. They figure out a somewhat novel way of solving the issue and make headway on resolving their outstanding issues. Backdated to early afternoon.



Cain swore a blue streak, pacing across the floor, marking his steps on the fluorescent gridlines as the Danger Room reset itself. Two tries, two failures. The scenario was simple - urban area, mostly abandoned. Terrorist with a bomb in one of the buildings, get to him and prevent the bomb from going off.

Cain, of course, was willing to put the blame entirely on his partner. Sure, Logan was all good at sneaking around, without even saying a word. Within twenty seconds, Cain had been spotted trying to follow him - instant fail. The second time, Cain had taken cover and Logan had made it all the way into the bomber's room - only to be stymied by the presence of a hostage. The delay ended up causing another failure as the simulated bomb was detonated.

Third time didn't look any more likely than the previous ones to be "the charm."

Logan was perfectly willing to blame their failures on his ham-fisted bull-elephant-in-a-china-shop partner. "Think you can pick 'em up this time and keep up?" he asked pointedly. "I don't think they heard you in Tulsa. Or maybe you got a better idea."

"Fuck you," was Cain's sharp response, "try not to get the hostage killed, if it ain't too much trouble. Look, you break left. I'll break right and wait at the crossing there." Without waiting for an agreement, Cain ducked into the nearest alley as the walls came back up and began gingerly picking his way through the winding streets.

"Fucking hostages." Logan grumbled as he broke left, using the cover to his advantage as he flitted from spot to spot, as quietly as a shadow. The uniform was black and non-glossy, which helped, and the Danger Room had obligingly made the day overcast, cutting down on ambient light.

Remarkably, Cain actually made it to within ten meters of their destination building without being seen. Flattening himself as much as he could against a wall, he pondered options. He could bring the whole building down - but that'd kill the hostage. He could easily smother the bomb's force with his invulnerable body - but no guarantee that the bomber wouldn't kill the hostage in that instant. Too many options, too many decisions.

Cain shied away from making those kinds of decisions when he could help it - he was skilled and practiced at taking good orders, significantly less so at giving them.

Across the intersection, he caught a glimpse of Logan, crouched in the shadow of a narrow alley. Waiting until his teammate looked directly at him, Cain gestured right, then left, then tapped his chest, indicating that he'd turn to his right when Logan would move forward.

Logan nodded brusquely, then moved up as close as he could to the terrorist. Not close enough to successfully rush him, but getting there. Unfortunately for Logan, the terrorist saw something in the shadows, wheeled, and shot Logan directly between the eyes. The next shot went into the hostage's ear, and the Danger Room buzzed another failure.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Logan swore as he picked himself up off the ground, feeling at his forehead.

"I swear, Logan, you have got to be about as dumb as a sack of wet hammers!" Cain bellowed, stalking past the shorter X-Man and gesturing angrily. "If I'm gonna move to the right, you might figure our mark can probably SEE to the left? So whadda you do? Charge right in from the goddamn left!"

"And if you could actually _move_ that bulk we'd have been done by now and sitting down at Harry's downing pitchers!" Logan barked back. "Jesus Christ, Juggernaut, can you even _spell_ the word subtlety? Or is it all Cain Smash, all the time with you?"

"I know better than to just go barging in when you gotta be subtle!" Cain responded, circling Logan angrily as the Danger Room reset itself, the buildings and roads retracting and reforming in a new configuration. "Since your plan just usually seems to be stab the first person you see, friend or foe!"

"Very fuckin' funny." Logan growled. "Do you have idea what projected hallucinations do to a scarred mindscape with heightened senses? No, of course not. You're a fuckin' gardener." he shouted, keeping Cain to his front at all times. Much quieter, he flicked his eyes towards the terrorist, the hostage, and the bomb. Maybe, if Cain wasn't the sub-literate knuckledragger he wanted everyone to think he was, he'd pick up on what he was trying to do.

"Always got an excuse!" Cain yelled, hands clenching and unclenching into massive fists. "Crazy enough when it's convenient? Hell with you, runt. Dave's able to pull it together enough to cope, what's your excuse?" He paused facing Logan, back towards the scenario. "What's the matter, big bad Wolverine? Got nothing to say?"

"You call Dave coping? Fucker's worse than I've ever been." he growled. "Fucker's thrown more bad shit at people than someone like me ever could." he said, hoping Cain would pick up on the emphasis. "He's a bomb waiting to go off and you fuckin' well know it."

Cain's eyebrows raised suddenly, in an expression Logan couldn't quite fathom. But just as quickly, two massive hands lashed out, gripping Logan by the shoulders. Cain spun like a discus thrower, arms snapping out to heave Logan headfirst directly for a second-story window three blocks away.

Logan flew through the air and extended his arms out above his head, popping his claws to cut through the window and whatever else like a diver cut through the water. He made contact with the window first, which exploded in a spray of shrapnel that cut Logan's hands, arms, and head. Leathers did their job and whatever else did get through wasn't critical. Factor'd have the cuts sewn up in moments. Important part was that Cain's throw was almost perfect. He had come to rest just inches from the bomb and a very surprised terrorist.

A mere second later, the wall behind Logan exploded inwards as Cain leaped directly through the brick facade, showering the room with dust and splinters. Between the 'hostage' - a holographically-enhanced traning bot designed to look like a young pigtailed girl tied to a chair - and Logan sat a wastebasket-sized device with a clock on top.

"Bomb!" Cain shouted, snatching it up without losing any momentum and letting his path carry him directly out the other wall, the explosive tucked to his chest.

Logan grabbed the chair/bot and then dove through the opening Cain had made, keeping his unbreakable body between the hostage and the potential blast. He also ran as fast as he could given his burden away from the blast site, just to make extra-sure that the girl didn't get pulped by the blast.

Hitting the ground at a roll, Cain felt the buzz of the bomb's simulated detonation against his chest, sandwiched between his bulk and the ground. He rolled to his feet, spinning almost gracefully into a crouch, preparing to dash forwards in a destructive charge on the building.

Almost as soon as Logan hit the ground with the hostage, the gridlines of the Danger Room flashed green, and the holograms faded, signifying a successful completion of the scenario.

Cain nodded. "Worked before, with the Gibney kid. Good use of surprise. Nice job with the cue there. Maybe Garrison and Marie ain't just blowin' smoke when they say you've got your moments."

Logan took it for what it was - an apology of sorts. "And I owe you an apology for flippin' on you like I did back then." he said quietly. "Look. I know I ain't exactly all that upstairs. Out of everybody, you come closest to knowin' what it's like to be missin' everything that makes a man a man - his experiences. His memories." he tried to explain. "If I got one thing that's mine - the _only_ thing that's mine - it's that I'm a fighter." he said. "It's what I do and I'm damned good at it." He popped his claws and then retracted them to emphasize his point. "And I'm tryin' to be something I'm not every damned day."

"Y'are what y'are," Cain said with a shrug. "Doc Moira drilled that into my head I don't know how many times. I ain't got a clue what you been through or what happened to you. Folks talk about you getting all chopped up and made into some kinda weapon. Me? I think that's bullshit. Weapon don't think for itself. A man does. You know which one you are."

"I like to think so." he confessed. "And here's the short version. Somewhere along the line, I wound up as Bill Stryker's science fair project. Grafted this unbreakable metal called adamantium to all my bones, gave me the claws as well." he said. "For all I know, he gave me the ability to heal as well. Once that was done, instead of turnin' into his perfect little Weapon X, I cut my way out and staggered around Canada, livin' like an animal until Mac and Heather found me. Oh, and something about the process or something else entirely wiped my entire existance previous to the project. No memories, no identities, no papers, no nothin'. Just a dog tag that called me Wolverine." he said, fishing out his single tag for Cain to inspect if he wanted to. "Logan's a name Heather picked that I liked."

"Huh," Cain nodded. "Some folks'd say that takes a lot away from you. Maybe it gave you a chance to start over. You don't know who you were before? Who the hell cares? Don't make a difference to right now. And right now, I think it's time for some of those brews at Harry's after debrief. I'll even spot the first round."

"I thought about that. And it'd be great if all that previous shit wasn't still rattling around in my skull, waiting for the right time to pop the fuck out. Like, say, when some mutant asshole eats me and fucks with my head. Or when I smell the wet rot of jungle." he said softly. "Figured we may have served in the same war, Cain. Or maybe not. Lots of jungles out there in the world." He walked over with Cain into the lockers to get changed out and freshened up for the Harry's trip.

"One jungle at a time, runt," Cain agreed. "Only one I give a damn about right now has Michelob on tap and no fucking bombs or hostages. Clean up, debrief, and I'll catch you there, yeah?"

"You're on." he said with a small laugh, then disappeared into the lockers.