It was dark and she was alone. More than anything, she hated being alone. She was lying on a bare floor and she was cold. She tried to sit up and realized that she was bound, and that she hurt all over. A door opened and she was momentarily blinded as the room was flooded with light. She blinked in the glare until her eyes cleared. A woman stood in the doorway. It was Keiko. Only it wasn't, quite. Her arms were oddly elongated and ended in sharply clawed, long fingered hands. Her eyes were cold.

"Bring the Gaijin whore," she said to someone behind her. "I want him to watch her die before I kill him." The woman moved away from the door and a man stepped into the room. Star cringed despite herself, for this was the same man that had just hurt her so badly. He grinned at her, then lifted her effortlessly to his shoulder, knocking the breath out of her. She struggled for air as the room grew dim around her.


When Wolverine regained consciousness the speaker was silent. He renewed his attack on the bonds that held him. His heart beat, still sluggish from the poison, quickened when he felt the mounting bracket for the manacle on his left arm shift ever so slightly. His body glistened with sweat from his exertions when the door to his cell suddenly opened and Lady Deathstrike entered, followed by a Reaver who had Star casually thrown over one shoulder. She was covered with blood, and he could see many bruises on her naked body. She was still bleeding and he watched as her blood dripped to the floor. But she was alive, and as long as she still lived, he could hope.

"I have tired of our game, Logan. The time has come to end it." She nodded to the Reaver who dropped Star in a heap on the floor. She was barely conscious, her wrists tied behind her, twisting her broken arm into a grotesque shape. She slowly lifted her head and looked at Wolverine, then she turned and looked up at the Reaver.

"Party....girl," she said with obvious effort.

"You see, Logan? Pain is a much more effective teacher than gentle words. Those are the first words she has spoken since you put her in that hospital, aren't they?" Lady Deathstrike said softly, nearly in his ear. Wolverine pulled with all his might, praying that the brackets would part. Star continued to look at the Reaver.

"Party...girl," she said again.

"I think she's askin' for a rematch," he said, laughing. "Ya wanta show yer boyfriend what a good sport ya are, do ya?" He lifted her to her feet and bent to kiss her. She turned her head and his eyes narrowed as he glared down at her.

"Hurts," she said, shifting her shoulders beneath his hands. "Please, hurts." The Reaver only hesitated a moment before reaching behind her and cutting the rope with the broad blade which extended suddenly from the end of his arm. She whimpered as her broken arm shifted, the bones grating audibly. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. He bent once more to kiss her. As their lips touched, Star suddenly jerked her knee upward, catching him squarely in the groin. He gasped and fell to his knees, pushing her convulsively away from him.

"Nuts ... for a ... necklace," Wolverine heard her say just before Lady Deathstrike hit her, knocking her to the floor. He felt the bracket shift again, pulling out of the sleeve imprisoning his arm. He redoubled his effort as Deathstrike kicked the Reaver.

"Get up, you fool," she snarled. With all the color drained from his face, the Reaver struggled to obey. "Kill her! Now!" He stumbled over to Star and grasped her by the throat. He extended the blade from his cybernetic arm once more and was about to plunge it into her chest when he glanced up at Wolverine. He grinned maliciously and lifted her from the floor. He turned and slammed her body into Wolverine, her back against his chest, her head on his shoulder.

"No!" Wolverine screamed as he finally tore the bracket free. The Reaver's eyes widened, watching the suddenly freed adamantium claws flashing toward him. He felt his throat being torn out and he convulsively drove the blade into Star's chest. The weapon passed completely through her body and into Wolverine's. He caught her around the waist, holding her against him as the Reaver's blood covered them both.

"Oh, God, no!" She looked up at him and, incredibly, smiled.

"Logan," she whispered. She looked at the Reaver, his cybernetic limbs locked into position by his death. A flash of movement caught his eye and he turned in time to see Lady Deathstrike leaping toward them, her claws extended, her eyes wild with fury. Suddenly, the room disappeared, to be replaced instantly by the familiar surroundings of his own room in Xavier's mansion. Star sighed once and went limp against him, the blade still transfixing them both.

"Noooo!" he cried. He gently lowered her to the floor, the blade pulling free of his body with a wet sound. He ignored the pain and the blood flowing from the wound. One hand and both feet were still encased in the adamantium manacles Deathstrike had used to shackle him to the wall, hindering his movement.

The door to the room burst open and Gambit stood framed in the doorway for a moment. He was stunned by the sight which greeted him. Star lay on the floor while Wolverine knelt beside her, both were covered with blood.

"Gambit," Wolverine's voice broke and he had to take a breath before he could continue. "Her heart's still beatin', but she ain't breathin'. Help me!" Gambit leaped forward, while Wolverine fought to free himself from the manacles. Gambit gently lifted Star, straightening her body as much as he dared. He held her head, clearing her airway, then bent to breath into her mouth. Her chest expanded, causing the light to glitter off the blade which passed completely through her body. He blinked once at the metal arm still attached to the blade, then bent to give her another breath. He could see her pulse beating, slowly but steadily, in her throat.

Wolverine had succeeded in freeing his other hand when Cyclops and Beast entered the room. Beast immediately moved to help Gambit while Cyclops used his optic blast to shatter the remaining manacles binding Wolverine.

Wolverine moved closer to Star. A puzzled frown crossed his face, to be replaced by a sudden understanding. He reached out and grasped the arm end of the blade.

"Wolverine, what are you doing? You'll kill her!" Beast said, catching Wolverine's arm with one powerful, blue furred hand.

"No, Hank. Look at her back. The scars are fadin'. You were wishin' she had a healin' factor like I got, an' it looks like ya got yer wish." He shook Beast's hand off. "We gotta get this thing outta her chest so she can heal." Beast nodded, and steadied Star while Wolverine tried to withdraw the blade. It didn't budge.

"It's lodged in her ribs, hang on to her." Gambit continued to breath for Star as Beast shifted his body to place both immensely powerful arms around her. Jubilee appeared in the doorway, Rogue, Jean, and Storm close behind her.

"Holy cow!" was all she said.

"C'mon, sugah," Rogue said, taking the younger woman by the arm. "I think maybe we'd better get the med lab ready, what d'ya think?" Jubilee, wide eyed, followed her without comment.

Once more, Wolverine pulled, but again the blade refused to be shifted. Jean closed her eyes and added her effort to his. Finally, the blade moved, pulling free from Star's body reluctantly, the metal ringing against the bones of her ribs and spine. At last, Wolverine held the blade in his hand. With a snarl, he hurled it behind him. The wounds in Star's chest and back closed quickly, but she still was not breathing on her own. They carefully moved her to the med lab, where Beast set up the respirator for her. She remained unconscious.

Storm insisted on checking Wolverine's injury, but was satisfied that his healing factor was taking care of it.

"What happened?" someone finally asked.

"Lady Deathstrike was waitin' fer me. She'd been," he paused, "workin' on Star fer almost a month." He touched Star's hand, gently.

She didn't respond. "I'm gonna kill that bitch," he said quietly. No one looking at his eyes would doubt the sincerity of his words.

"What's takin' her so long, Hank?"

"I don't know for certain, Wolverine, but the blade completely severed her spine, depriving her of any function below mid chest. Which is why she requires the respirator. A wound such as this, my friend, would probably require a certain amount of time even for you to heal. Her healing factor isn't nearly as, shall we say, tried and true as yours. Give her time. If she has not begun to recover in the next few hours, it may be necessary to intervene. For now," he shook his head, "just give her time." He handed Wolverine a wet towel with which he cleaned the worst of the gore from his face, chest, and arms. He didn't want to leave her until she woke.

"Her other injuries, while extensive, seem to be healing as well. The person who did this was very thorough."

"I couldn't get loose, Hank. I couldn't stop him. All I could do was listen while he hurt her." He looked up and Beast involuntarily moved back half a step. "I killed the bastard way too fast." He looked again at Star. "And not nearly fast enough."


Professor Xavier and Jean entered the med lab together. Jean turned to speak with Beast while the Professor moved to Wolverine's side next to Star's bed.

"How is she?"

"You tell me, Chuck. Hank says she's showin' signs o' gettin' better, but she still ain't breathin' on her own, an' she ain't so much as flickered an eyelash." Xavier nodded, then, glancing at Wolverine for permission, he placed his hand on Star's forehead. He didn't move for several very long minutes. Finally, he sighed and removed his hand.

"Neurological tissue takes the longest time to heal, Logan, even in a mutant. She is more aware of her surroundings now, however, than when she left us for Maple Woods."

"Ya mean she's gettin' better? When she wakes up, she might...." he couldn't bring himself to voice the hope.

"She may be normal again. Or at least as normal as a mutant with her particular heritage can be." He looked at the man, his friend, who had endured so much heartache at the hands of a cruel world, and hoped that his words were true. "Logan," Wolverine turned to face him once more. "She may not. We don't know that much about your healing factor, and this is the first time hers has manifested. There may be limits as to how far the damaged tissue can recover. Please don't place too much hope in a miracle."

"If we ain't got hope, Chuck, what the hell do we have?" He turned back to the pale and motionless girl. Xavier turned away.


An hour or so later Star stirred. She opened her eyes and raised one hand to her throat. She struggled with the respirator tube. Wolverine caught her hands.

"Star, darlin', relax. Don't fight it. The machine's been breathin' for ya. Just let it keep goin' until Hank can disconnect it." She looked at him, her eyes wide and frightened, but she stopped fighting the machine. Beast moved quickly to disconnect the respirator. Star drew a shuddering breath through the tube in her throat, then relaxed a little.

"Star, I need to remove this tube. It's going to feel strange when I pull it out, but I need you to remain perfectly still until it's completely clear, all right?" She nodded slightly, holding tightly to Wolverine's hand. Beast grasped the end of the tube and quickly pulled it from her throat. She coughed, then flinched.

"Your throat may be sore for a while. Would you like something to drink?" She nodded again and Beast went to get her a glass of water. Wolverine watched her face intently. She looked at him and smiled.

"I'm ... all right," she said hoarsely. "Have I been ... ill?"

"You could say that," his voice broke. She reached for him and he pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly until Beast returned with her water. Beast held the glass while Star used the straw he had provided. She sighed and lay back on the bed, even the small effort required to drink had exhausted her.

"You know something?" she said quietly. "I'm really tired of waking up in this room." Her eyes closed and she slept once more. Wolverine and Beast exchanged an amused glance.

"I think she will be just fine, Wolverine."

"Yeah, I think so, too," he paused. "Any reason she can't wake up in her own bed?"

"None that I can think of." Wolverine stood and carefully lifted Star from the bed. She murmured, but didn't wake. He took her to her room and gently placed her in the bed, covering her small body tenderly. He turned at a light tapping on the open door. Rogue stood in the doorway, smiling at him.

"Beast said y'all were movin' her back ta her room, so I figured she was doin' lots better. Which means you might be willin' ta leave her long enough ta catch a shower," she grinned when he glanced down at himself, aware of the blood still smeared on a large portion of his body. "Here," she tossed him a bundle she'd carried in with her. "Some clean duds. Go on, sugah. Use her shower. I'll sit with her while ya wash."

"Thanks, darlin'" he turned to the small bathroom, closing the door behind him so the noise of the water wouldn't wake Star.


The shower had barely started when Star stirred again. Rogue moved to the side of the bed and Star looked up at her.

"Rogue?"

"'S just me, sugah. How ya doin'?"

"I'm ... sticky." Rogue laughed.

"Yeah, ya sure are. Um," she glanced toward the bathroom door. "Ya know, Wolverine's in there gettin' cleaned up, but I reckon he'll be done right quick." Star sat up and swung her feet off the bed.

"Do you think he'd mind, if I joined him?" she asked, seriously.

"Sugah, I purely do doubt that he'd mind, even a little." Star smiled and stood up, glancing down at herself for the first time.

"Yuck. Where did all this come from?"

"Ya don't remember?"

"Not...really."

"Well, maybe Wolverine can fill ya in later." Rogue shooed Star toward the bathroom. "Y'all'd better hurry up, or yer gonna be showerin' alone." Star opened the bathroom door, turning to see Rogue grin at her as she left the room. Star closed the door behind her. Wolverine stuck his head out of the shower.

"Rogue, is Star ... Star!" She stepped quickly into the shower, and into his arms. The water cascaded over them both. His body was slick with soap as he bent his head to kiss her. She returned his kiss with passion and he dropped the soap. Laughing, she retrieved it and began to lather his chest. He turned her so that the water ran over her, sluicing the dried blood from her hair and body. He took the soap from her and began to wash her, his powerful hands gentle and loving.


He stepped out of the shower and reached for the towels on the shelf. He unfolded one and wrapped it around her, gently drying her shoulders and back. She took the second towel and, reaching around him, began to dry his back. He pulled her close once more and held her against him for a long moment before releasing her. She kissed the hollow of his throat before moving away.


"Star," he said as they dressed. "Ya told me ta ask ya again in a week, and its been a mite longer 'n that, but I wanna ask ya now, if ya'd marry me."

"Logan," she looked up at him, her blue eyes serious, "I love you, and I would be proud to be your wife."

"I'll be damned," was all he said as he took her in his arms once more.

« « 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.