Star dropped the disc into the nearly empty box, snatched a blank disc, and ducked behind the equipment at the back of the room. She heard the two men enter the Ready Room. They turned the computer terminal on and inserted a disc of their own into the machine.

"How long's that virus gonna take, Joe?"

"Not long," he paused. "There, that's got it. Give me some of those blanks we brought."

"Why don't we use these?" Star risked peering around the corner of the equipment and nearly gasped when she realized that he was holding the box of discs she had left next to the computer.

"No. These folks are tricky. We don't take anything out of here except the files, that way we know we can't be traced."

"What ever ya say, Joe." Star slipped back down to where she couldn't be easily seen.

"What the hell?"

"What's the matter?" Star heard the second man nervously draw his weapon.

"There's nothing here! The whole damn file is empty!" Just then Star heard an odd beeping. She peeked out again and saw Joe pulling a cellular phone out of the bag he carried.

"Yeah," he said, then listened for a moment. "Right." He put the phone back in the bag and turned to the other man. "They got wiped out."

"What? How? This was all supposed to be a piece of cake."

"Yeah, I know. Come on. The files we came for aren't here. Let's get out of here before we find out we were set up too." Both men had turned toward the door when Star felt a wave of dizziness sweep through her. She lost her balance and fell, landing on her hands and knees, the disc she had carried with her clattering across the floor. The second man spun in his tracks, firing his weapon as he turned. Three of the bullets struck her in the body, throwing her back against the wall. She slid down and lay motionless on the floor.

"Jesus, Joe, it was just a kid!"

"Forget it. She had to be a mutant or she wouldn't have been here. Get that disc, maybe it's got something we can use. She thought it was important enough to hide it."

Star couldn't breathe. She felt as if her chest had been crushed. Her vision narrowed until all she could see of the approaching man was his boots. He bent and scooped up the disc.

"Hey, Joe. Should I finish her off? Gut shot ain't a nice way ta die."

"Leave her. Didn't I already tell you she's nothing but a filthy mutant? She deserves whatever she gets. Now, come on!" Star blacked out.


By the time the blackbird touched down in the underground hangar, Wolverine had completely recovered and the Professor had regained consciousness. They climbed out of the plane, puzzled over the entire mission.

"But why did they kidnap you in the first place, sir?" Cyclops asked the Professor.

"I can only assume that it was to lure all of you into their trap. Fortunately, they underestimated you." Wolverine moved ahead and opened the door that lead to the mansion proper.

"Hold it. Somebody's been here, I can smell 'em. Smell gunpowder too. Why would..." He gasped as if he'd been gut punched. "Star. Star!" He moved quickly through the door and down the long hallway, the others following. Jubilee helped the Professor roll his wheelchair after them.


The strangers' scent, and the smell of gunpowder was strongest in the Ready Room. It only took Wolverine an instant to see Star, lying in the shadows at the far end of the room. He ran to her, oblivious of the others moving into the room behind him. He knelt beside her, afraid to move her. The shirt she wore was stained with blood. Using his claws, Wolverine carefully cut it open. He was stunned, but relieved to find that she wore a Kevlar vest beneath it. Beast joined him.

"Was she shot? Where is the blood coming from?"

"I don't know."

"Get that vest off her." Wolverine gently cut the vest away. The short blouse she wore finally revealed the origin of the blood. The wound on her abdomen had opened under the punishment of the blows from the bullets. She moaned and Wolverine gently lifted her upper body off the floor, holding her close against him.

"Bring her to the med lab, please. I need to restitch that wound." Beast shook his head, his relief as evident as Wolverine's.

"Logan," Star murmured as he picked her up and moved toward the door of the Ready Room.

"Professor," Cyclops said. "Your files are gone. They took everything."

"Let me see." Xavier waited until Wolverine had moved past with Star, then moved around the console to face the computer terminal. "This is a disaster. The names of every promising young mutant in this country were in those file, as well as many from outside the country. In the wrong hands, those files can be used for great evil."


Wolverine placed Star, once more, on the table in the med lab. She smiled groggily up at him.

"Is everyone...all right?" she asked.

"Just fine, darlin'. Now be still, Hank's gotta sew ya up again."

"Why are your clothes burned?" she wrinkled her nose and then, smiling to take the sting out of her words, she said "they stink."

"Go change, Wolverine. We'll be a few minutes here, yet." After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and turned to go.

"Henry?"

"Yes, Star?"

"Tell the Professor his files are in the game drawer."

"What?"

"The files. They're in the game drawer. Please tell him, he's very unhappy about losing them."

"Y'all need any help in here?" Rogue asked from the open door.

"No, thank you. But you could pass a message on to the Professor from Star, though."

"Sure. What's the message, sugah."

"His files are in the game drawer."

"That's it?" Star nodded, trying not to flinch as Beast put the first of the stitches in. "You got it." Rogue moved down the hall to the Ready Room.

"Why's ever'body so gloomy in here?" She asked of Cyclops, Jean, and the Professor. "The mission was a success an' Star ain't hurt all that bad."

"They've taken my files, Rogue. Without them, I don't even know who the people are that will be hurt by them."

"Star said ta tell ya yer files're in the game drawer."

"What?"

"That's what she said," Rogue answered with a shrug. "Shucks, if I'd known they were that important, I'd o' picked 'em up on ma way by." Cyclops hurried past Rogue to get the discs for the Professor.


"How long would it have taken her to copy all these files, sir?" Wolverine heard Cyclops asking Xavier as he went back to the med lab.

"Several hours, Scott. In addition to the time it took her to break the code. Speaking of which, I apparently need to develop a better security system. It's embarrassing to have your computer broken into twice in the same day."

"Not to mention the fact that they got into the mansion without tripping a single defense."

"Indeed. Ah, Wolverine. Please tell Star that by moving the files, she has probably saved the lives of many of the mutants listed. And tell her I said thank you. She does not seem to be very...comfortable...in my presence."

"She's scared o' ya, Chuck."

"Hmmm. I will have to work on that."

"She knew those guys were comin', didn't she?"

"It would appear so." Frowning, Wolverine continued on to the med lab.


Star was sitting on the table, a fresh bandage covering her newly stitched wound. Beast had gone. She smiled at Wolverine when he entered the lab, but her smile faded when she saw his frown. She watched his approach uncertainly.

"When did ya know, Star?" he demanded angrily.

"I...I..."

"You knew those guys were gonna be here. I want ta know how long you knew."

"Since...last night."

"An' ya didn't say nothing."

"I couldn't. There was too much at stake."

"Did ya at least know that you were gonna be all right?" She looked up at him, her eyes wide. Slowly, she shook her head. Snarling, he slammed his fists into the table on either side of her. She fought against cringing.

"I'd say we got us a real good relationship here. Lots o' trust involved." He glared at her. "I musta sounded like a class A chump this mornin', huh, girl?" He straightened, moving away from her.

"Well, you just never mind. I been kicked by the best an' I always get over it. You have a good time, girl. You don't have ta worry 'bout me botherin' ya." He turned and stormed from the room.

"Logan, wait!" she cried, hopping down from the table to follow him.

She heard the front door open, then slam closed. Another wave of dizziness overwhelmed her and she staggered into the door frame. By the time she had recovered her balance, she could hear the roar of his Harley moving away from the mansion.


Star leaned against the door frame, listening until she could no longer hear Wolverine's bike. She went upstairs to her room and closed the door. Her chest and stomach still hurt from the impact of the bullets, and she pulled her shirt off to examine the darkening bruises. Her abdomen seemed to be swollen as well as bruised. She pulled on a loose blouse and sat down next to the window. She was unaware of the tears that streamed down her cheeks.

When neither Wolverine nor Star came down for dinner, everyone assumed that they were together. No one was aware of the heartbreak being shared by two people who were currently so far apart.

Star stayed at the window throughout the night, hoping he would return. When the sun rose, she was vaguely surprised. Somehow, she had expected the night to just continue. She got up from the window, unsure of what she should do. A sudden cramp doubled her over. She sank to the floor as the pain was joined by a nauseating dizziness. She leaned against the wall, her arms around her stomach and her knees drawn up. Gradually, the pain and dizziness passed, leaving only the nausea. Gingerly, she climbed to her feet and lay down on her bed. Abruptly, the tears came again. Why hadn't she just lied to him? It would have been easy enough to tell him that she'd had her vision after they had gone. He would have believed her, it was what he had wanted to hear. But she hadn't. She buried her face in her pillow, muffling her sobs until she fell asleep. She dreamed of Wolverine as she'd first seen him. He stood over her, his eyes cold. He was ready to kill her to prevent her from injuring his friends. He'd seen something behind the madness which trapped her and had knocked her out instead. Then he'd been there when she had awakened, had helped her fend off the darkness. She moaned in her sleep, the memories made painful by his absence. She was awakened by a tapping on her door and was startled to realized that it was again dark outside. She had slept the entire day. She struggled to sit up in the bed and discovered that any movement made her sick.

"Come in," she called when she had her nausea under control. The door opened, admitting Jubilee.

"Hey Star, have you seen Wolvie?"

"Wolverine is not here, Jubilee. He left yesterday and I do not think he has returned."

"Oh." Jubilee shrugged. "Sometimes he just takes off like that. You get used to it after a while." Star didn't answer. "Well, you look bushed, so I'll get outta your hair and let you get to sleep."

She closed the door behind her as she left the room. Star lay back on the bed, too sick to notice how swollen her abdomen was. She slept again, once more dreaming of Wolverine.


He was walking down a dark, grungy street, his anger palpable. Most of the people on the sidewalk unconsciously made way for him, though occasionally some young tough would start to challenge him. So far they had all backed down after one look in his eyes. Which was really too bad as he was looking for a good fight. He was still angry with Star, but he was even more angry with himself. He'd fallen in love with a woman who returned his love, and he'd thrown it away. And over what? There'd been plenty of times when he'd held back part of the truth for his own reasons. Had he given her a chance to explain? Of course not. Not good ol' hot tempered Wolverine. He turned in to a particularly seedy looking bar, hoping someone in here would have the guts to challenge him. He really needed a good fight to get some of the anger out of his system. Then maybe he could go home. And face Star.

« « BACK
» » NEXT
[ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 ]

- Wolverine's Realm - Facts About Wolverine - Origins of Wolverine - Wolverine's Allies -
- Wolverine's Enemies - Picture Gallery of Wolverine - Fan Art Gallery of Wolverine -
- Wolverine Fan Fiction - Wolverine Rumor Section - Current Wolverine Issue -
- Wolverine Issue Database - Sound Gallery - Wolverine Price Chart - Wolverine Chatroom -
- Wolverine Books for Sale - Wolverine Poll - Other X-Men related links - Other Comic links -
- Webring Membership - Wolverine Search - Mail Me!! - Guestbook - Feedback -
©Copyright by Alan Quan. This printed article is ©copyrighted by its respective author and has been reprinted with permission.