Wolverine was careful to take back roads to Maple Woods, to lessen the chance of anyone following him. He also took the precaution of renting a car, under another name, for the trip. He couldn't know that Lady Deathstrike already knew about Star, and had the hospital under surveillance. Her mercenaries reported to her as soon as he left the vehicle and entered the building.


Doctor Flanigan meet him at the door. She was clearly angry, but she didn't say anything as she escorted him to Star's room. She tapped on the door, then opened it. Star was sitting on the floor by the large window. Jubilee's teddy bear held loosely in one arm. She stared out the window, apparently seeing nothing.

"Star," Wolverine said, stepping into the room. She didn't even turn her head. He moved quickly to her side and bent to one knee beside her. He gently took her arm in one hand, turning her head toward him with the other hand. She looked right through him.

"Star, darlin' I'm sorry. Please come back ta me." As soon as he released her chin, she turned back to the window.

"How long's she been like this?"

"Since yesterday evening. I had hoped to be able to bring her out of it without disturbing you."

"Disturbin' me?! Lady, I'd do anythin' in the world fer her!"

"Except come to see her, perhaps?"

"I told ya, it wasn't safe fer her."

"Please, Mr. Logan. I've heard every excuse there is for not visiting our guests, and yours was one of the least believable."

"Mebbe so, but it was the truth." She clearly didn't believe him. He turned back to Star and lifted her gently to her feet. She didn't resist him. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, placing her on it as if she were made of glass. He picked up her teddy bear and placed it in her arms. As he did so, he noticed a bruise on the inside of her arm.

"Where'd she get this?"

"What?"

"This bruise." He turned her arm for the doctor to see.

"I don't know. Keiko didn't say anything about her being hurt."

"Who the hell's Keiko?"

"Star's attendant. Rachel was killed in a automobile accident over a month ago. Keiko took her place. David," Doctor Flanigan said, speaking to the intercom, "would you ask Keiko to join us in Star's room?"

"I'm sorry, Doctor. Keiko left at noon, and hasn't come back." Wolverine exchanged a glance with the doctor, then moved to lift Star from the bed.

"Wait a minute, I want another look at that bruise." She turned Star's arm toward her, examining the bruise. "There is a puncture at the center of the bruise. She's been drugged."

"It's gotta be mor'n that, Doc. Most drugs don't affect her in the slightest."

"I really should do a blood test."

"Later. I gotta get her outta here." Doctor Flanigan looked at him.

"You were serious about the danger, weren't you?"

"Yeah. Now get outta my way." Star was unresponsive in his arms as he moved quickly through the hallways toward a side door. An explosion from the front of the building ripped through the quiet of the evening. Glancing out the dining room window, he saw his rented car burning. The lights went out in the building, the power lines undoubtedly cut. He kicked the door open and went through it at a run, dodging even as he hit the open lawn, Star a limp weight in his arms. He made it to the cover of the surrounding trees without being brought down. He ran. When he could no longer hear his pursuers crashing through the brush he paused, putting Star down.

"Star, darlin' can you hear me?" She didn't respond. "Babe, we ain't got time fer this. I need ya ta stay right here, do ya understand? Right here." He pushed her down until she was sitting motionless in the underbrush. "I'll be back for ya soon's I can, girl." He turned away from her, his claws extended, and began to hunt his hunters.

He found the first less than one hundred yards from where he'd left Star. He stepped up behind the man, unmistakably a Reaver. At the last moment, the man turned toward him. He tried to bring his weapons to bear, but Wolverine was far too close. He died without firing a shot. The second was almost as easy, though he cried out as he fell.

"Logan," he heard a heavily accented woman's voice calling from the direction of the hospital building. "Come back, Logan, or I will kill the lovely doctor." He peered cautiously through the trees and saw Lady Deathstrike, standing in front of the burning car, Doctor Flanigan held firmly before her, her long clawed fingers caressing the doctor's throat.

"Let her go, Yuriko," he said stepping into the open.

"Now why should I do that, Logan?"

"Keiko, what are you doing?"

"Quiet, doctor, I am speaking with Logan. Don't you Americans know that it is bad manners to interrupt?" Doctor Flanigan shut up, the razor claws just parting the flesh of her throat.

"Yuriko..."

"Do not call me that! Yuriko is dead. I am Lady Deathstrike!"

"All right, 'Lady Deathstrike'. Let her go. I'll go with you."

"I know you will, Logan." He felt a sudden pain in his shoulder, the impact of a projectile staggering him. He looked down and saw the tail of a tranquilizer dart protruding from his shoulder. He yanked it out, only to be struck by another, this time in the back, where he could not reach it. He stumbled forward as the Lady released the doctor. He fell to his knees before her, the drugs coursing through his system.

"Find the girl," he heard Deathstrike order.

"No!" he cried. "Leave her alone!"

"Not a chance, lover," she answered him. "It's ever so much more interesting to watch you squirm when there is an, shall we say, 'innocent' involved." He tried to reach her, but his body would not respond. He collapsed at her feet, unconscious. He didn't see them bring Star out of the woods. Nor did he see it when they set fire to the Maple Woods Care Facility. Doctor Flanigan and the other attendants quickly evacuated the patients from the building, and could only watch helplessly as the Reavers loaded Wolverine's body into the back of an ambulance. Star was placed in another vehicle, and the attackers drove away, leaving only the echo of Lady Deathstrike's triumphant laughter ringing in their ears.


Wolverine woke to the sound of a low moaning. He lifted his head and added his own groan to the monotonous sound.

"Ah, Logan. I see you have rejoined us," he heard Lady Deathstrike say. He tried to turn toward her and discovered that he was bound. His hands and forearms were encased in heavy metal sleeves which were, in turn, attached to the wall slightly above shoulder height and at full extension. His legs, too, were immobilized, his feet suspended just above the floor.

The moaning continued as he tried to extend his claws, only to have them meet the impervious surface of the sleeves. As he had suspected, they were lined with adamantium. Deathstrike might be crazy, but she wasn't stupid. She stepped in front of him, her cyborg components once more concealed.

"Do you like the song she sings, Logan?" she gestured at a speaker mounted on the opposite wall. "The Americans coddle these creatures far too much. Why, she has made more progress in just a few hours than in all the time I was with her in that stupid hospital." Wolverine ground his teeth in helpless fury as Deathstrike placed one hand lightly on his chest. "She understands much of what is said to her, you know. I've spent much of the last month telling her all about you. About how you abandoned her, just like you abandoned me. She's so sweet. She didn't want to believe me, but when you didn't come to see her, well, what choice did she have?"

"Leave her alone, Yuriko. What can you gain by hurting her?"

"What can I gain?" she laughed, a truly nasty sound. "I gain revenge, Logan. For what you did to my father. For what you forced me to become!" She extended her cyborg claws, digging them into his chest. His blood flowed for a moment, then the wounds closed.

"Nobody forced ya to do nothin', Yuriko. You did that to yerself."

"Perhaps," she turned away from him, scrupulously cleaning the blood from her claws before retracting them. "Just the same, you will pay, in her blood!" She stalked from the room, leaving him to listen to Star. It was hours before the sounds finally ceased, while he tried frantically to free himself. Deathstrike would kill Star slowly, just to watch his reactions. He had to get loose!

The silence, while merciful, was short lived. He heard a door opening, followed by Deathstrike's voice.

"Wake up Star. It is time for your lesson." Deathstrike slapped her, waking her roughly. Star cried out, fear and pain audible in her voice. "That's a good girl. Oh, does your arm hurt you? Let Keiko look at it for you." Star whimpered, the sound setting his teeth on edge. "Well, no wonder it hurts. It is broken, after all. Why, how funny it looks, Star, all bent in the wrong place. We'll have to be careful with it won't we." Star screamed, "Oops! I bumped it didn't I?" Deathstrike's voice lowered, her words dripping malice. "Do you remember Logan, Star? He's here, darling. Oh, don't look hopeful, dear. He abandoned you before, you don't really think he's here to help you, do you? Don't be silly. He doesn't need any little mental cripple tying him down, now does he? Well, don't worry. When I'm finished with you, you won't be a burden to him any longer." The door opened, then closed again. The speaker was silent for a few moments, then faintly, he could hear Star begin to cry, hopelessly, like an abandoned and forgotten child. His heart broke anew at the sound.


Star lay on the cold floor, her broken arm cradled against her chest. She didn't know where she was, only that Keiko, who had been her friend, was hurting her. Keiko had told her that Logan didn't care what happened to her, but she wasn't sure she believed her. It seemed to be getting easier to think things through, and Keiko was too pleased with herself when she'd told her about Logan. She had a vague memory of his arms around her, of a run through the trees. If he'd truly abandoned her, what had happened then? Was she just confused, as she'd been for a long time? One day faded into the next, with no clear memory of anything before yesterday. What was going on? What was wrong with her? Keiko had called her a mental cripple. Had she been injured? She fought to silence her sobs, finding a reserve of will with which to defy Keiko. She knew her resolve would be tested soon, but she was so tired, she didn't know how long she would be able to hold out. If Logan truly were here, then he was in just as much trouble as she, or he would have come for her by now. Still cradling her arm, her mind spinning, she slept.


"Well, Logan. What do you think of my little drama so far?" Lady Deathstrike asked as she entered Wolverine's cell. He just glared at her. "Perhaps you don't like my cast of characters, is that it? Well, I think we can make it more interesting. I've told my Reaver to enjoy himself." She reached up and turned a knob on the speaker, just as the sound of an opening door was transmitted. The sound intensified. Wolverine struggled with his bonds as Lady Deathstrike, laughing, closed the door behind her.


Star woke when the door opened. She watched as a big man entered and closed the door behind him. She knew that he'd been sent to hurt her and she was unable to suppress a whimper as he approached. He reached down as she cowered away from him and dragged her to her feet, shoving her backwards. Her back against the wall of the room, she was able to remain standing when he released her. He stood very close to her, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek.

"The Lady said I was ta hurt ya some more, girl. Only this time, the only restriction is that I ain't supposed ta kill ya. Let's see how close to the line I can get, what d'ya say?" She turned her face away when he caressed her cheek, his hand sliding down to the neck of the loose T- shirt she had been wearing when she was taken. He ripped the material, sending waves of agonizing pain through her body from her broken arm. She nearly fainted. He groped her bare breasts, then slapped her viciously across the face, knocking her to the floor. She twisted as she fell and caught herself with her good arm, cushioning the shock to her damaged limb as much as possible. The Reaver tore the shredded garment from her body, leaving her clad only in panties. He kicked her in the back, smashing her into the wall. She could feel blood flowing freely from her nose as the room reeled and grew dark around her. She was barely aware as he caught her by the hair and dragged her back to her feet. He shifted his grip to her throat and lifted her from the floor. She struggled weakly, gasping for breath. He laughed and slammed her into the wall. Somehow, she remained conscious. He leaned forward, pinning her to the wall with his body, his cyborg limbs cold against her skin. She gasped as he released her throat.


Wolverine listened in horror as the Reaver tormented Star. He struggled with his bonds, to no avail. His blood froze as the Reaver spoke again.


For the next paragraph

  • For the original version (may be too graphical for some readers), click here.

  • For a slightly toned-down version, click here.


    Wolverine heard Star cry out once more, then she made no further sound as the Reaver beat her. He didn't know whether to pray that she was alive, or to hope that she had escaped into death, where their captors could not reach her.

    He lifted his head, his body exhausted by his futile struggles, as Lady Deathstrike entered his cell.

    "Were you amused by their performance, Logan? I admit that my Reaver has little imagination, but his methods are effective, do you not agree?"

    "You are without honor, Yuriko," he said quietly.

    "I?!?" she snarled. "I am without honor? It is you who killed my father, Gaijin, or have you forgotten? I swore that I would cleanse the earth of you and all of your blood, and that includes your little whore." She stepped up to him, her eyes wild. She snatched a long bladed knife from her belt and drove it into his chest. The blade was poisoned, and he could feel it eating into him like an acid. She slowly withdrew the weapon.

    "I will see you die, Logan," she said as the room darkened around him. "But not yet. There was not enough poison on my blade to kill you, and I am not yet finished with your woman." If she said anything further, he didn't hear it as he fell into the darkness.

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