xp_logs | Rumble in the Jung... er, backyard.

x-juggernaut.livejournal.com posting in

After reading Cain's invite to 'meet him in back', Piotr took that invitation without thinking and stompped out of his room and out to the back yard. He passed Marie-Ange on the way. She threw a confused look and briskly turned the other way. This was something she did not want to be involved in.

Piotr slowly trudged through the snow to the center of the yard so Cain could find him easily. He waited to turn to steel form until Cain was in sight. That way he could see the fear on his face when he realized that he was up against. Piotr waited in his jeans, boots and teeshirt for the mammothed-mouthed grounds keep to appear. /Would have worn a coat if I knew I was going to stand here waiting/, Piotr thought to himself.

/That little yebanat is going to get what he deserves.../

Cain saw Piotr standing, arms folded, in the middle of the back yard. /Give the kid credit for balls/, he thought to himself as he shrugged his flannel shirt off onto the floor and headed out into the snow, clad in only a white tank top and stained brown dungarees, Marko stepped resolutely towards the Russian.

"Brings new meaning to the term 'Cold War', don't it, boy?" Cain laughed as he flexed his arms back and forth, beyond caring who noticed the USMC eagle-globe-and-anchor tattoo on his right bicep. "You ready to show me you got more in you than just promises, or should I go talk to your sister if I need the one with the balls in the family?"

A flash of light as Piotr's body turned into solid steel was Cain's only clue to brace himself as a metal fist collided with his jaw. Staggered, Cain's first thought was /Well, that didn't take long/, followed by /holy shit, this kid's fast/.

Repeated blows, punctuated by Russian curses, impacted upon Cain's chest and shoulders as he blinked. /Kid's stronger than this/, he thought, before lashing out wildly with a forearm that caught the big Russian across the throat, tumbling the steel giant back into the snow. Cain crouched down, angling his body like he'd been taught in the Corps.

"Want some?" he called out to Rasputin, "Get some."

"Shestiorka!" Piotr shouted. He stood up slowly, always keeping his eye on Cain. He brushed the snow off his steel, rubbed his throat gently and got into the new stance he learned in training today. /Thank God for Marie's help, otherwise I'd never be able to pull off this move/, he thought as he got ready to pull off the move. He assumed that Cain had seen his shoulder-charging move that he always did to bust through walls or flanks of people, but he bet he hadn't seen the modified version.

Piotr dug his right foot in the ground and sprung into a full charge at Cain. Obviously, Cain braced himself for a counter-move on this typical charge, but at the
last minute, Piotr rolled into a ball and toppled Cain's legs sending him down.
Reviving from the spin, Piotr stood up, formed his fists together and brought down a powerful blow on Cain's back.

This didn't seem to faze him, as the groundkeeper swung his arms back, grabbed Piotr's clenched fists and threw him over his shoulders. /2-1, Piotr, you've got to do better than that!/ he screamed to himself. He got up, faced his opponent and readied himself.

/Kid hits like a fucking freight train/, Cain thought, having had personal experience with being hit by freight trains. He smashed his fist down into the snow, narrowly missing Piotr's face as the Russian rolled to the side. Piotr sprang to his feet, whipping a backhand blow that caught Cain in the back of the head, but to no discernible effect.

"When you're laying in the infirmary after this," Cain growled, "have someone read the definition of 'invulnerable' to you." He lunged, faking a grab for Piotr's legs, then lashing out with his other arm, catching the younger man with a hook to the jaw that literally rang like a bell. Piotr staggered, then recovered, stepping forward with a series of jabs and hooks, tight inside blows aimed at the center of Cain's broad chest. Oblivious to the assault, Cain simply reached out, planted his hand flat against Piotr's metal chest and shoved, sending the Russian somersaulting backwards through the snow.

As Piotr rose in a crouch, Cain bellowed loudly and sprinted for him, hearing the voice in the back of his head again, YOU CANNOT BE STOPPED. His fist flew forward, sailing directly into that chiseled metal face.

Yet the blow never landed, as Cain saw the ground beneath him, then sky, then the ground again as he smashed down, snow filling his mouth. Glancing to the side, he saw Piotr rolling the other way, favoring his left leg. /Fucker hip tossed me!/, Cain cursed to himself. Both men lay supine for a moment, then simultaneously rocked back on their shoulders and kicked out, coming instantly to their feet facing each other. As Piotr spread his arms for a grapple, Cain rushed in, locking his arms around that metal chest in a bear hug and running forward. He felt Piotr's steel fists slamming into his back, echoing like a blacksmith's hammer against an anvil.

One more step, and Cain heard a loud crack. Realization set in as he turned, letting Piotr's metal body slip from his shoulders as they both plummeted through the ice into the frigid lake.

Under the water, Cain thrashed about instinctively, seeing only the dark ice above him and the darker water below. Suddenly, a hand grasped his ankle, dragging him down into the cold mud at the bottom of the lake. Steel fists, barely slowed by water resistance, pounded him, driving the air from his lungs. Ducking a punch, Cain bearhugged the Russian again, looking face to face with him as both men came to the realization - neither needed to breathe.

Setting his feet, Cain heaved his body backwards, throwing Piotr up like a submarine-launched missile through the water, the cap of ice, and onto the shore. Shooting for the surface, he rolled through the snow, coughing once to clear the water from his lungs. He looked up at Piotr's approaching form, and growled at the Russian's sudden grin.

"What's so funny, you smug little bastard?" Cain demanded. Piotr paused, standing on the field of snow facing Marko.

"Because, gospodin Marko," Piotr intoned with a metallic smirk, "the sun has come out."

At that moment, the clouds parted, turning the snowfield into a blinding glare, and illuminating Piotr like a mirror set atop a floodlight. Cain covered his eyes, blinded, as he heard the metallic footsteps rapidly approaching, and the bellow of rage from his opponent.

/This could be bad/ he thought, right before the first blow landed.

Piotr let loose with his strength, something he had not done since the first emergence of his power. With fists, elbows, and knees, he continued beating on Marko, who stumbled around blindly. "Curse you!", he bellowed, kicking Marko in the ribs and rolling him towards the woodline. "You and those like you! The ones who judge!" Another kick. "Blind! Stupid! Hateful!" Punctuating each word with another steel-muscled blow. One more kick, aimed at Marko's face - never landed.

Cain grinned, holding Piotr's ankle in his hand. "Guess they don't have playing possum in Mother Russia, huh?" He yanked at Piotr's foot, sending both men rolling into the snowdrifts in a clutch of arms, legs, and curses. Coming to a stop against a large tree, Piotr wrestled himself to his feet, slipping behind the larger man and winding his arms around Cain's neck, trying to lever it forward.

"I... told you..." he gasped through the effort, "not to mention... my sister..." Piotr could feel the pain, even in metal form, that he was putting himself through. "You know... nothing of what... we have gone through..." More pressure on Marko's neck, still the behemoth would not fall!

Cain flailed his arms, trying to reach Piotr. "... damn kid..." he croaked out, trying to plant his feet. Finally, reaching a solid base of leverage, Cain whipped his torso around, catching Piotr's legs with one arm and swinging him around his shoulders and into the tree, shattering the massive trunk into splinters.

Both men raised themselves up out of the snow one more time, each surveying the other with the eyes of men totally given over to violence. With a roar, both men charged, closing the gap between them. Piotr refused to shift his eyes from Marko's, this was as much a battle of wills as it was strength. Closer, both bellowing at the top of their lungs, the giants rushed each other.

Until they noticed the small blond child in the pink dress between them.

With a cry of surprise, Piotr threw himself to the side, rolling through the snow and kicking up a massive spray of white. Cain saw the child and dropped to a knee, throwing his fist at the ground and skidding to a stop, leaving a huge trench through the snow.

"ILLYANA!" Piotr called, pulling himself out of the snow and rushing towards his sister. "Snowflake! Chyort vozmee, what are you doing? You could have been..." Piotr saw Marko rising to his feet on the other side of Illyana, who simply stood still between them.

Before their very eyes, both men saw 'Illyana' waver, dissolving into a mixture of colors, like paint running from a canvas and dissolving into the wind. Cain blinked, mouthing words of confusion as Piotr dropped to his knees, gesturing towards the fading image of his sister.

"Stop!" the exhausted call came from the porch. Cain and Piotr both turned to see Marie-Ange leaning against the railing, having obviously run from inside the house once the two combatants had neared the mansion. Cain suddenly realized how dangerously close they had come to causing serious damage, if not to each other, then to the mansion. Had they struck each other with all their strength, at this close to the building, there wouldn't have been a window remaining whole in the mansion.

"Etes-vous completementes foux?" Marie-Ange called out. "Are you both insane? You fight like beasts, are the children not frightened enough? Stop, s'il vous plait, I am begging you both." Cain looked over to Piotr, who had resumed his flesh-and-blood form, breathing hard on his hands and knees in the snow. Piotr met Cain's gaze and slowly nodded. At that signal, Cain flopped onto his back in the snow, letting out a long sigh.

They both heard the porch door slam, and simply lay in the snow for a while. Cain's eyes opened when he felt a hand clench his shirt, and looked up to see Piotr's face above his own.

"You judge me for my secrets, Cain Marko. Then know this - the men who threatened my family, killed my parents... they would have come for Illyana next had I not brought her here. I said nothing, for fear the Professor would make me leave." Tears were flowing openly from Piotr's eyes as he spoke with fierce intensity. "Without her, I have nothing, do you understand? She is all I have! I would never risk her safety, NEVER!"

Cain sat up, brushing Piotr's hands away. He breathed loudly for a while, then turned his head to look at the Russian who sat, naked to the waist, skin steaming in the snow. "You fucked up, Petey. Xavier's got his problems, but hell - he's taken in all kinds. Dammit, you should have told someone. Gavin, that Wisdom bastard. Hell, even that pencil-necked pansy, Summers. Any of them would have backed you to the hilt protecting your sister."

"I was afraid," Piotr answered. "You cannot know what it is like, to have one thing that you care about so much, that you would do anything to preserve it. It is not an easy thing to trust others with that care, Mister Marko."

Cain slowly nodded, dawning realization crossing his face. "Yeah. Maybe I do. But hey, I think we've got some damage control to do inside. Doesn't look like anything's too busted out here, nothing important."

Piotr stood on his feet, extending a hand to help Cain up. "You are all right, then? I did not hurt you too badly?"

Cain laughed. "I think I'll live. You okay?" Piotr nodded. "Right then, let's get you in to your sister. Anyone gives you any more shit, you take 'em to Xavier. He'll set 'em straight."

As they walked towards the mansion, Cain chuckled at Piotr, who raised a questioning eyebrow.

"So, when we were rolling around in the snow back there... that didn't turn you on or nothing?"

Piotr coughed in surprise. "Shto?"

Cain shook his head and headed into the mansion. "I knew it. Fucking pervert."

But he said it with a smile.