Wolverine felt Viper's blade cut deep into his gut. He knew it should have hurt, should have been a world of hurt, but he was beyond pain. They were like marathon runners; the men had hit the wall and were going on sheer willpower. His muscles ached and were strained. He was tired and so was Viper. Although the fight had not been for any real length of time, they had been dancing this death match for all they were worth and the strain was showing. Their sweat mixed with their blood and stung their eyes causing them to frequently blink against blurry vision and tears that tried to wash away the sting.

Viper slashed again and this time, Wolverine was able to cut at Viper's wrist forcing him to drop his second blade. Viper backed up for a moment, set himself to call forth another blade but Wolverine never gave him the reprieve to do so. Viper was forced to dance away and guard himself from the renewed assault of Wolverine's claws.

Eventually, Viper went from the defensive to the offensive. It was his turn to push Wolverine onto the defensive until they finally locked up again in a definite struggle for the upper hand. They grunted as they each locked a hand on the other's wrist, chest to chest they strained to force the other man to his knees or to overpower him for the fatal blow.

Kim dove for cover to dodge Metallica's attack but was clipped in the ankle by her power. The bolt crushed his anklebone. He threw his knives just before he landed hard on his stomach behind some rubble. He heard Metallica grunt in pain. One of his knives had hit their mark. He smiled to himself before he looked down at the mangled flesh that was once his ankle. His clamped his jaw shut against the pain and bile that rose in his throat.

"Bitch," he swore under his breath. He peered cautiously over the rubble and saw that Metallica had also taken refuge behind a fallen wall. He slouched back down and surveyed the rubble around him. He grabbed two pieces of wood, tore off strips of his jacket, and bound them around his ankle to offer him some semblance of support. He winced as he tied off the strip of cloth as he tried to push his breathing to normal.

After a few moments, he glanced over the rumble to survey the situation. Metallica was still down behind her section of rubble. To his right laid Jean, along with Jewel and Cyclops, who was currently struggling to his feet with his hand to his head. Storm was still up but was turning to face Man of War who had just beaten Rogue into unconsciousness. Tracker and Archangel were still going strong and faced off for another round. Nightcrawler was lost somewhere in the shadows and Controller was focusing on the robed man and Kitku.

His eye caught Viper and Wolverine. His Lord was in a desperate fight and it appeared that neither man would win. They would probably kill each other without a decisive winner. That would not be acceptable. Kim had to put an end to all of this.

He spotted the girl. The cause of all this insane trouble. The reason why His Lord Viper had been disgraced. Kim stood slowly, favoring his good leg as he steadied himself.

Ghost floated up to where Storm was. She was beautiful and deadly, if she choose to be. The perfect combination, as far as Ghost was concerned. Too bad, he would have to put an end to her attack on his boss. He started to form his mist around her body and felt Storm shiver at his touch. He smiled to himself.

Storm's body jerked slightly and her lightening attacks on Man of War ceased. Ghost felt her body stiffen, her hands went up in the air.

"I call forth the winds of the sky to aid me!" she cried out before Ghost's power had a chance to smother her. It was Storm's turn to smile; she felt the mist that had engulfed her body being torn away by the winds.

Ghost was forced to materialize before she could send his molecules into fifty different directions. An updraft caught him before he could fall and then suddenly with a gustier of her hands, Ghost was plummeting to the ground. He hit hard, his breath rushed out of his lungs and his head hit the concrete. He vaguely felt the pain before he passed out.

Tracker aimed high and clipped Archangel's wings. "Damn."

He twisted and dove for cover from Archangel's barrage of blades. "Jesus!"

Archangel was no longer playing around. Tracker grinned. Good. Tracker rolled over onto his belly and took careful aim at the blue flying angel. "Come on, you son of a ..."

His senses kicked in on high. Something was terribly wrong. He turned his sights to action on the floor and quickly surveyed the scenes below.

Kim was on his feet; he was focused on Kitku as he teleported.

Tracker used the telepathic link to Controller. "Get the kid outa there."

He ignored Archangel's attacks, ignored the new burning sensation in his leg as he took aim with his rifle. Tracker had Kim in his sights.

Porter sensed the other as he materialized beside Kitku. Healer had hold of Kitku, he shoved her to Porter and held up his hands. A chemical spray hit Kim just as he threw his knives at Kitku. Porter turned his back and protected the girl just before he ported with Kit and Healer to a more protected area.

Kim grabbed his face in agony from Healer's attack.

Man of War looked to his right as Porter materialized behind him. He turned to see Kim, in obvious agony from the attack to his face, start a second attack. He started forward, but stopped as Kim's body jerked twice and dropped. Man of War lifted his eyes and saw Tracker's rifle. He had shot the man twice, in the back.

"This needs to end," Controller informed Man of War. "One of our true enemy is down. I believe the other will soon follow."

Man of War looked to the battle between Wolverine and Viper. The two combatants had just separated from one another and were circling warily. Man of War walked casually over to Kim and dragged him by his collar to where Viper could see him. He dropped the body unceremoniously to the ground.

Viper face twisted in rage as he saw the limp body of his only friend hit the ground. He renewed his attack on Wolverine with ferocity of a wounded animal. Man of War smiled beneath his mask.

Kitku got her baring after the teleport. Thank goodness, she was used to Kurt's porting. She noticed Cyclops was standing and about to take aim at the man who held her.

"Wait!" she screamed holding up her hands. "Don't! He's trying to help me!"

Cyclops lowered his hand from his visor and slowly approached.

"Let her go," he ordered.

Porter looked at him and released her. "She's all yours, One Eye."

He dropped to his knees and onto one hand. Kitku saw the two knives in his back.

"Hey!" she called out to anyone who would listen. She knelt down next to him, unsure what to do next when Healer moved up beside her.

"Go with Cyclops, girl," he said in his soft tone. "I'll take care of him."

Kitku looked at Healer and Porter then back to Cyclops. She started toward Cyclops as she made her way, she saw Man of War drop Kim's body near Wolverine and Viper. She stopped and watched the battle between the two men.

Wolverine was taking as good as he was giving, but both men were on the verge of death. She looked to Cyclops and then to the man who had become like a Father to her in a very short time. The skateboard formed beneath her feet, a baseball bat materialized into her hands and the armor formed over her body. She pushed off with her left foot towards the two fighting men.

"Wait! Don't!" Cyclops screamed over the deafening brawl that surrounded him as he watched Kitku head into the melee. He tried to run, but his head was still spinning, his legs refused to obey to more than a brisk walk. "Stop her!"

Man of War stopped, turned, and made a grab for Kitku. She easily slid past him and dodged his other attempt. He leapt after her, a quick jerk on his leg and he hit the ground. He looked over his shoulder to see Rogue, broken, bleeding, and pissed, holding onto his ankle.

"Come on, pretty boy," she snarled through her busted face. "I ain't done yet."

Man of War's shoulder drooped for a moment in annoyance. "Tough," the mechanical whisper filled the air. He raised his free foot and planted it into Rogue's face with bone crushing force. He easily moved out of her semi-conscious grip and turned back to Kitku.

Kitku skated around the edge of the battle between Logan and Viper. Honor dictated that she stays out of the fight, but people were going to get killed. She had to stop it. "Hey!"

Viper had managed to pin Logan on his back with sword raised for the kill. Logan had his hand around Viper's throat and was maneuvering to change is grip to pop his claws. The two men, not stopping their struggle, reacted to her presence.

Viper grinned. "Soon, eh, gaijin? Soon, her life will be forfeit."

Wolverine snarled and shifted his grip. "Get outa here, girl!"

"Not without you!" Kitku continued to circle the two men.

"Ya gave yer word!" Wolverine managed to gasp out as Viper's blade slowly began to dig into his shoulder. He twisted his wrist and popped a claw, impaling Viper in the throat. Viper jerked back just enough for the claw to miss his vitals.

Man of War nodded as he got to his feet. Controller moved up behind Kitku and made a grab for her. She squirmed and screamed in his grip.

"Let me go, Scanner-boy!" Tears ran down her face. "Let me help him!"

"It's honor," the whispered voice of Man of War penetrated her screams. "We can not interfere. We will not interfere."

"If he dies, I swear ..." Kitku let the chilled threat hang in the air. Whether the big guy was impressed by her threat, she did not know nor did she care. "I mean it."

"I know," he replied.

She glared, shivered, and both of them turned their attention back to the deadly fight.