Hellfire in New York

Hellfire in New York

Chapter 14: The Fate of Fenrir Greyback

This being summer, the routine at Xavier's was not as strict as during the school year. There were fewer of the younger students around, for instance, only those whose families had outright abandoned or rejected them. Because of this, Harry had been able to commandeer the Danger Room for a couple of hours after breakfast.

Harry's challenge to Ororo had not been entirely frivolous. In many ways, Storm was still an apprentice witch, and while Sirius and Molly could teach her a lot of things, duelling was not among them. Molly claimed to be no duellist, though Harry had heard stories indicating far otherwise. Sirius and Ororo could not duel for long without starting to magic each other's clothes off, with the inevitable result. Harry could understand that - he and Ginny often 'duelled' in that way! Anyway, a bout with Ororo, and the more expert Fleur, was as good a way as any of keeping his own skills sharp.

The results had not been entirely as expected. Harry had been surprised and pleased at Ororo's skills, especially the way in which she mixed and matched her spell casting with her Mutant ability to control weather. She had caught him out once, suddenly summoning a heavy fog that blinded and disoriented him. But Harry was used to Danger Room practice with Mutant opponents, and knew to expect the unexpected. Both had learned a lot, as well as even greater respect for each other.

Fleur had been a different matter. It struck Harry that the fiery French witch had not quite forgiven him for out-performing her at the Tri-Wizard Tournament all those years ago. In any event, Fleur had pulled out all the stops and for a few moments, Harry had been frantically defending. But she made one critical mistake; having disarmed Harry with Expelliarmus, Fleur lowered her wand with a triumphant smile, only to be sent crashing to the floor by a judo throw!

Clambering to her feet, she found herself facing Harry's wand again. In a tone so like Wolverine's that Ororo gave him a sharp, rather worried, glance, Harry said, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings, luv!" After that, Harry got into the spirit of things, and Fleur had been soundly trounced - though she gave him a severe run for his money.

Then Logan had arrived with a rather apprehensive-looking Remus and Sirius in tow, and ordered the others out, explaining, "This pair of slackers figure they need some trainin', so I got work to do!"

Mid-morning, then, found Xavier's a place of moderate activity. Scott and Fleur were walking in the woods, where he was verbally massaging her bruised ego back into shape. On the veranda, Peter and Ron were engaged in a game of Wizard chess, using the set Peter's Gryffindor friends had given him. Kitty and Hermione were watching, of course, and the news of the match had drawn even more of an audience. Shiro was there, and Emma and Beast and even Professor Xavier, who, with Lilandra beside him as always, had come out specially to view this clash of the titans!

Further out, over the lawns, Bill, Ginny, Tonks and Storm were flying. There had been some aerobatics at first, but the other three had finally refused to compete with Storm, who, unlike them, didn't have a broom to fall off! Now they were happily tossing around a quaffle that had somehow found its way into Ginny's luggage. "Not," Hermione had said wryly to Kitty, "that Ginny's in any way obsessive about Quidditch!"

It was Seamus' considered opinion - expressed to a rather nonplussed Ali - that Ororo had the makings of an excellent Chaser. The Xavier's students had been over to Hogwarts on several occasions to watch their Gryffindor friends play Quidditch, but only Bob and Sam had any real grasp on the game.

Harry was sitting alone at a table with the Stone of Isengard in front of him. He was discovering that, while the stone seemed eager to show him things, he had to ask it mentally to show him anything important or useful. Left to its own devices, it showed him images that seemed to form part of a story or history. Harry had seen a pretty woman in T-shirt and shorts, leaping and swinging through some kind of maze, a dark-haired man apparently lecturing to some students about a painting, another dark-haired man engaged in a fierce sword-fight, and a blue box with the word 'Police' on it, flying through space.

Concentrating on current problems had brought him a glimpse of Neville, Lavender and the Weasley and Patil twins sitting round a table. Neville was speaking urgently, while Fred and George both wore grins that boded no good for someone. Then the scene had shifted, to show Draco Malfoy and the Black King sitting side-by-side, Draco watching a scrying-glass while Shaw studied a monitor screen. Finally, and more obscurely, Harry had seen a young man with platinum blond hair, wearing a red coat and carrying a broadsword, rather roughly questioning an obviously terrified wizard.

He sat back with a sigh, took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes - he'd been squinting into the Stone in his efforts to make sense of what he'd seen. Rogue plopped down opposite him and picked up the rather stylish, metal-rimmed specs Ginny had recently chosen for him.

"These are a heck of an improvement on your old ones, sugah! Do I see a woman's touch here?"

"You do!" he replied. "Ginny bullied me into them."

"Well, good for her!" Marie gestured at the Stone. "How's reception?"

"As good as cable, but the programmes don't make much sense," said Harry ruefully. "I got a glimpse of Neville and the others. They're up to something, but I asked them to do a job for me, so maybe that's it. I also saw Shaw and Malfoy, both watching something, but I don't know what.

"Marie, do you know of a Mutant or one of those superhero types who wears a long red coat and carries a sword? He was tall, and had blond hair."

Rogue frowned. "Remy LeBeau - Gambit - wears a duster, but it's not red and he's got dark hair. Anyhow, he doesn't use a sword and he's down in Louisiana right now. He's a reserve X-Man, but he ain't around much - he's got a lot of issues back home.

"Thor's blond, of course, but he uses a hammer and wears a cloak, not a coat. There might be somethin' in Cerebro, sugah. You should ask the Professor."

"I might, at that." Harry stood up to stretch. Marie looked closely at the Stone, then gave a little gasp, "Harry!"

Harry darted over and looked into the crystal. He saw a section of the mansion's grounds, where instead of the usual wire fencing there was an ivy-covered stone wall. Just inside the wall was a large truck, out of which a force of wizards and Hellfire mercenaries were pouring - more than the truck could reasonably hold, which meant it had been enchanted somehow. That was confirmed when other shapes began to emerge from the vehicle: six tall, skeletal creatures, black-cloaked and carrying scythes, then another four metal figures both Harry and Marie recognised, Sentinels! Finally, a hideous form squeezed itself out of the truck. It looked like a huge spider, at least ten feet long, and the same across its eight legs; its hide seemed to be made of grey, pitted rock, with gaps and cracks in it through which a red-orange light glowed. Over its back arched a scorpion-like tail.

This creature lined up with the rest, facing a figure Harry recognised from pictures in the Daily Prophet, and Rogue knew from a few days ago. Fenrir Greyback was commanding the force!

Marie seized Harry's arm. "Hawk, that's on the grounds here! We're under attack!"

Harry went ice cold, as he always did when faced with battle, and his thoughts became crystal clear. "Wait!" he said. "The alarms haven't gone off, the electronic ones or the magic ones! I don't think this has happened yet; I think we're being warned. Look at the shadows!"

He was right, Marie realised. She knew that section of the grounds, which way it faced, and the shadows cast by the attacking force were in the wrong direction for late morning. She turned to Harry saying, "You're right! That looks like early to mid afternoon!"

Harry nodded briskly, "That gives us what, an hour? Two if we're lucky? We'd better get moving!" He grabbed Marie's hand, and the two of them dashed off towards Xavier.

****

Fenrir led his motley force out of the woods towards the mansion. Left to himself, he would have simply charged forward at the head of a rabble, but he had yielded with ill grace to the advice of the mercenary commander, Henri Legrasse. The former Foreign Legionnaire had insisted on advancing in good order, and had been supported by the leader of the wizard force, a tall, severe-looking witch named Grisabelle Dent. Legrasse and Dent cordially disliked each other, but each respected the other's intelligence and skills.

So it was that the force advanced steadily, with Fenrir in front, flanked by Legrasse and Dent. Behind them, the mercs and wizards came in line abreast, each Muggle fighter paired with a wizard. Behind them came the spider-demon Phantom, surrounded by the skeletal Hell Guards. The Sentinels ranged out, two on each flank.

"Where are these X-Men, then?" growled Fenrir. "They should be coming out to meet us!"

Legrasse shrugged. "Zey will 'ave 'ad warning of us from zeir security systems. Per'aps zey are waiting inside. Ze mansion may 'ave defenses we do not know of."

"In that case," Grisabelle Dent put in, "we oughta stop in a little while and wait. Draw 'em out."

Just a little further! Harry was thinking. He was standing with Cyclops and Rogue, perhaps ten metres from Fenrir. The X-Men and their wizard friends were spread in a horseshoe formation that had almost surrounded the advancing force; in fact, Sunspot and Dazzler were already moving to close the circle.

Harry took a deep breath, then winced slightly. The new aroma of his uniform was less than pleasing. While Cyclops, Harry and Xavier had been hatching this plan, Marie and Hermione had disappeared. When they had come back, they had proceeded to spray everyone except Remus with a pungent-smelling potion.

"Essence of Wolfsbane," Hermione had explained, and Rogue had added, "Just in case Fenrir gets the munchies!"

The attacking force came to a halt in an ideal position to be ensnared by the defenders. Harry heard the tall witch who stood beside Fenrir say, "Now we wait!"

It was obvious that the wizards and mercs were fairly content with this. Most of the mercs would be familiar with the X-Men and their capabilities, and had doubtless shared that information with the wizards. The Sentinels waited with robotic patience, but the demons were another matter. They shifted and sighed or muttered, clearly anxious to be about something.

The massive spider creature seemed to be quivering, and finally spoke out in a deep voice that crackled like flames. "How long must we wait? I wish to kill! I have waited too long to roam this world again! Where are my victims?"

"Right here," muttered Cyclops. He then barked, "NOW!"

The wizards dropped the Disillusionment Charm, and Fenrir's force found themselves surrounded. The result was to break the formation of wizards and mercs, throwing the attackers into confusion. The effect was immediate. Grisabelle gasped, "Merlin!" Legrasse spat "Nom d'un chien!". The spider-demon roared and charged forward with the Hell Guards following. The Sentinels were announcing in their electronic voices, "Mutants detected! Mutants detected! Request orders."

At that moment, Wolfsbane, who in her semi-human form was positioned on one side between Psyche and Firebird, lifted her head and sniffed the air. "We're being flanked," she said into her communicator before taking off toward the woods.

"Psyche, go with Wolfsbane," ordered Rogue.

"On it!"

"Firebird, back 'em up," snapped Harry.

"Right!"

"OK, let's take 'em!" commanded Cyclops, and the battle began in earnest. Cyclops fired his eyebeams into Fenrir's chest, knocking the gaunt werewolf off his feet and several yards away. Fenrir pulled himself up with a snarl, ignoring the fight and pursuing Wolfsbane. What the self-styled Lord of the Werewolves did not know was that Wolverine was loping steadily behind him. Cyclops was about to call Logan back, but decided against it. There was too much else happening.

****

On a balcony at the side of the mansion, Charm and Sunfire heard the fight commence. "That's our cue!" said Charm. She mounted her broom and kicked off, skimming low over the trees while Sunfire flew beside her.

Their destination was the glade where the Portkey truck had arrived, and they reached it in minutes. Sunfire and Charm had been ordered to secure this area, partly to prevent the enemy from escaping, but also to ensure that reinforcements did not arrive.

The two young X-Men expected the truck to be guarded, and they were right. A wizard, a merc and one of the Hell Guard demons were standing in the glade some distance from the vehicle. Breathing a heartfelt sigh of relief that there were no Sentinels in evidence, Charm dissolved the demon by deftly performing a difficult Exorcism Spell. Then the world went orange for a moment.

Sunfire had launched a fire bolt at the truck, which promptly exploded with a whoomph! into a white-orange ball of flame. The concussion knocked the wind out of Charm and sent her spinning to the ground. She rolled away from the broom, shaking her head to clear it. Fortunately, the two human guards had also been knocked down. Charm saw the merc come onto her knees and struggle to bring her stunner to bear. No challenge for the most skilful witch to come out of Hogwarts in generations! Charm raised her wand and bound the unfortunate woman in fine, black cords.

Then a shadow fell over Hermione. She rolled again in time to see the wizard guard pointing his wand at her. "Cru- " began the wizard, then Sunfire was on him. Though he wasn't nearly as strong as Sunspot or Colossus, the young samurai was far stronger than a normal human of his size and build. Without apparent effort, Sunfire lifted his adversary off his feet and flung him hard into a tree. The man slid down the trunk and lay at the bottom, out cold. Sunfire extended a hand to Charm and helped her to her feet.

"Arigato, Shiro-san," said Hermione, then turned and surveyed the glade, taking in the burning wreckage of the truck. She faced Shiro, arms folded, and said in her best Cockney accent, "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"

Shiro raised an eyebrow, then said, "Michael Caine in The Italian Job."

"Well done!" replied Hermione, slightly surprised.

Shiro gave a rare grin. "You must realise, Hermione-san, that we Japanese do watch other films besides Kurosawa epics and anime."

"I know just what you mean! The number of people who assume the only film I've ever seen is Mary Poppins!" replied Hermione wryly.

"It is not surprising," said Shiro with a shrug. "She was clearly a great role model for you."

"Oh, Merlin!" Hermione groaned. "Things must be getting bad if even you're starting to extract the Michael! Those perishing Weasleys corrupt everything they touch!"

"Are you complaining, Hermione-san? Or merely boasting?"

The bound merc shook her head despairingly as Shiro, with every evidence of polite incomprehension, watched Hermione giggle helplessly at his po-faced delivery. These people are insane, she thought.

****

The fight on the lawn was going pretty much as planned, all of the defenders having been allotted specific targets. One Sentinel had already been beaten to its knees by the combined powers of Cyclops and Havok. Another hung in mid-air, being slowly pulled to pieces by Polaris' magnetic powers. A third was reeling from Banshee's ultrasonic scream and repeated ramming by Cannonball. Storm had sunk the fourth into the ground to its waist, used Reducto to blow a hole in its outer shell, and was now summoning a small rainstorm to short out the robot's electronics with a deluge of water.

Bill, Tonks, Sirius, Sunspot, Seamus and Dazzler had been set on the Hell Guards. Originally, Wolfsbane and Firebird had been part of this detail, but they had had other concerns. The defenders soon discovered that though the skeletal demons were strong, fast, and skilled with their scythe-like weapons, they were not terribly intelligent.

Under a bright summer sun, Sunspot was at peak power, constantly recharged, and in this state was stronger than the demons. His only problem was the scythes, but with Seamus at his shoulder to cast Expelliarmus or Impedimenta, or any of a dozen other curses or jinxes, that difficulty vanished. Bill, the former curse-breaker, and Tonks the Auror were both skilled exorcists, effectively banishing the demons Sunspot floored.

Sirius was less skilled at exorcism, but was able to work in tandem with Dazzler. The Hell Guards were, they quickly discovered, less than comfortable in the light. Sirius was well able to fend off or wound the creatures so that Dazzler could summon bursts of intense light energy. By a process of trial and error, they discovered that ultra-violet, or 'black light' did most harm to the demons, rendering them helpless for long enough to be exorcised.

Not that the fight was an easy one. Sunspot's power made him strong and resilient, but not invulnerable. He suffered several heavy blows in hand-to-hand fighting, and though he took down three of the six demons, the fourth finally got to him, knocking him out. Seamus sprang to defend his friend, but the demon grabbed its scythe again and caught the young Irishman a glancing blow on the side of the head that sent him to the ground. As the thing raised its scythe to deliver a deathblow to Roberto, another of its kind stepped up beside it. The Hell Guard paused to acknowledge its fellow demon, and promptly received a scythe in the chest! As the stricken creature crumbled to dust, the other Hell Guard shimmered and became Tonks, who grinned at Bill and remarked, "You always did say I had a devil in me!"

Bill chuckled, then the couple went on to dispose of the two remaining Hell Guards, both paralysed by Dazzler's black light attacks.

Harry, Remus, Rogue, Ariel, Beast and Nightcrawler were dealing with the mercs and wizards. They were one short as well, Wolverine having gone about business of his own. Beast and Nightcrawler were everywhere at once, too quick and agile for either stunner or spell to touch them. Ariel had sunk into the ground, only to pop up where least expected and push her hand into an adversary. By slightly adjusting her molecular state, she was able to apply a stunning shock to anyone she touched this way - it was an ability she had only recently discovered.

Rogue, always reluctant to use her Mutant power, was working with Remus, using her martial arts skills to deal with mercs while he handled their wizard 'buddies'. During a lull, she turned to her companion and asked, "How you doin' Remus?"

"Fine, er, Rogue." Remus frowned, "Y'know, I could do with a code-name - something more dramatic than 'Moony'."

"Aha!" said Beast, landing nearby. "You feel the need for a dashing appellation?"

"What's that, honey?" enquired Rogue. "A hillbilly in a tuxedo?"

"Oh, Gods!" moaned Remus. "She's nearly as bad as Harry!"

Harry himself was duelling intensely with Grisabelle, neither able to disadvantage the other. After a while, by unspoken agreement, they stepped back a moment to catch their breath.

Grisabelle squinted at Harry. "Damn, kid, but you're good!" she allowed. "And I can't shake the feeling I've seen you before, somewhere. Who the heck are you?"

"They call me Hawk," replied Harry.

"Oh, Hades, boy, don't give me that Muggle code-name crap!" Grisabelle snapped. "I'm a witch, not some gods damned Mutant! What's the name your folks gave you?"

"Those 'gods damned Mutants' are my friends," Harry snarled back, "and the name they gave me is good enough for me, so it should be good enough for you!"

Grisabelle shook her head. "Don't matter, sonny, I know you now! You're Harry Potter, the kid who took out that psycho Voldemort. I oughta be thankin' you, but...."

With that, she launched another curse at Harry, but he'd never dropped his guard, and this time his shield was so powerful it knocked Grisabelle off her feet. Before she could recover, Harry had petrified her.

Colossus, Iceman and Hunter were facing the spider creature. The thing charged down on Colossus, roaring, "Cower, mortal! I am Phantom! I am your death!"

Phantom then spat a gout of liquid flame which engulfed Colossus. When they could see him again, the upper part of his tough X-Man uniform was shredded, but his gleaming organic steel torso was untouched. He looked down at himself, then glared at Phantom and growled, "Crap! Wolverine's gonna take that out of my allowance. Now you've really pissed me off."

Phantom roared, and made to spit more fire, but found his head encased in ice. Instead, he launched a fireball from his tail at Iceman, a fireball that Hunter transfigured into a gush of warm water.

"Hey!" Iceman complained. "I already took a shower."

"I know, but it's a hot day," Hunter pointed out.

By this time, Phantom had freed his head from the ice. He bellowed, "Jest if you will, mortals. You but delay the inevitable!"

This time, he spat fire simultaneously from head and tail, both fireballs directed at Hunter and Iceman. Hunter managed to shield, but the demon-fire was so potent that both he and Iceman were thrown dazed to the ground. Phantom made for them, only to find Colossus in his path. The spider-demon staggered from two mighty blows to the head, then darted forward again, bringing his sting over his back to plunge it into this insolent mortal. Colossus caught the sting in his metal hands, beginning an awesome struggle.

Powerful as Phantom was, there was not enough strength in his tail to lift this steel titan, nor to force him to the ground. The liquid fire that dribbled from his sting down Colossus' arms seemed to have no effect on the young X-Man. In desperation, Phantom closed his huge jaws around Colossus' waist and began to squeeze. Peter responded by tightening his grip on the tail, feeling the rocky hide begin to crumble under his fingers, but at the same time, he became aware that Phantom's grip on his midsection was tightening, becoming painful, something that rarely happened to him in his organic steel form. Colossus planted his feet, gritted his teeth and hung on.

Hunter sat up, shaking his head, then took in the situation. Colossus and Phantom were locked in a struggle that could have only one outcome. For all his strength, Peter was still human, and even in his Colossus form, must eventually tire; the demon probably would not. Hunter had to break the stalemate. He raised his wand and shouted "Diffindo!", neatly severing Phantom's scorpion tail halfway along its length. The demon howled in pain, releasing Colossus, who immediately landed a terrific, two-handed blow that sent Phantom flying some yards and flipped him onto his back. Colossus dropped to one knee as Hunter and Iceman raced over to him. Together, they watched as the demon struggled upright, shaking his head like a wounded bull.

"Geez, Petey, you cracked him!" exclaimed Bobby.

It was true. Where Colossus had hit, the rocklike skin was cracked, and liquid fire dripped out like blood from a wound.

Hunter frowned. "Iceman, back in the Labyrinth, you helped poor Luna out of a jam, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," Bobby's tone was sad; he had liked Luna. "Metal golem, filled with liquid fire."

"Thought so." Hunter grimaced. "'Mione said afterwards that it was the fire that kept the thing going. Maybe this Phantom works the same way?"

"There's a big crack in his back, just behind his head," Colossus pointed out.

"Damn! If I had my broom," Hunter growled, "I could get over him and open that up a bit so Iceman could freeze what's inside!"

Colossus grinned. "Don't always need a broom to fly, Hunter!"

Iceman raised an eyebrow at his teammate. "Fastball special?" he asked. "Hunter's kinda heavy."

"Not to me!" Colossus reminded Iceman. "You up for this, Hunter?"

"I'll try anything once, except your cooking!" Ron replied.

"Ah, Ariel's been talking out of school again." Colossus grinned, then reached out for Hunter. "Come, tovarisch, let's do this!"

With that, Colossus lifted the young wizard off the ground and turned to face Phantom, who was already charging down on them. Peter hurled Ron towards and over the demon. As he passed over Phantom's back, Ron pointed his wand and cast Reducto. The crack became a gaping wound, and as Hunter hit the ground and rolled, Colossus tossed Iceman over the howling demon.

The results were truly spectacular! Superheated steam burst from every crack and joint, engulfing the flying form of Iceman. Then Phantom exploded!

It was the final blow of the battle, and when the steam cleared, only three people were standing: Ron, who had managed to Shield, Peter, who was nigh invulnerable, and Kitty, who had been phased. At Ron's feet lay a figure encased in ice; Bobby had had to take desperate measures to protect himself from the steam. Ron immediately cast a Melting spell, followed by a Warming charm. Kitty looked around, and spotted two flying figures speeding from the wood towards them - Sunfire and Charm! All around Peter, people were struggling to their feet.

Legrasse was yelling in a cracked voice, "Retreat! Retreat!" Wizards were Disapparating - some taking mercs with them. A fat, jolly-faced wizard grabbed onto the petrified Grisabelle and the two vanished with a boom! The other mercs, led by Legrasse, were heading toward the main gate of the grounds.

"Let 'em go!" Cyclops ordered. "See to our own people and anyone too injured to run. Hawk, people need help. Move!"

Harry had been staring towards the woods where Ginny had disappeared. Now he shook himself and moved to help Cannonball, who was half-buried under Sentinel wreckage. As he levitated tangled chunks of metal off his friend, he forced himself to remember that Ginny could take care of herself, and that she wasn't alone.

****

Firebird and Psyche caught up with Wolfsbane, who was laid out on top of a small rise. The two girls crept up to their friend and spotted what she had seen. About ten invaders, half mercs, half wizards, were making their way quietly through the woods. The three young women moved back a little to discuss their plan of action.

"There's too many for a frontal attack," Psyche pointed out, "so we need to ambush them. There's a clearing up ahead, so let's get there before them. That'll give me time to get a read on them, and I can show them some stuff that'll distract them."

"Good," Ginny agreed, "then Wolfsbane gets physical and I get magical."

It worked perfectly. The attacking force filed into the clearing to be faced with their worst nightmares! By the time any of them had stopped panicking, most of them were down, and the remainder were no match for Firebird and Wolfsbane.

"Nice one!" said Ginny, swiping her hands. Then she was struck from behind and sent flying.

Fenrir grinned at Wolfsbane, who snarled at him and tensed for battle.

"Such insolence!" he remarked. "That is no way to greet the sire of your whelps, my pretty bitch!"

"I'll die before you touch me!" hissed Rahne.

Fenrir shook his head. "That you won't! I need only render you insensible for a while, and bring you to the Black Queen for...instruction."

"Ye'll no' manage that so easy!" Wolfsbane snarled. "Ye're nae match for me in this form!"

"True, so I must make shift to redress the balance." Fenrir grinned, then placed his hand on a star-shaped pendant he was wearing, and chanted something in a harsh-sounding tongue. For a moment, he was surrounded by a silvery glow, then he changed.

Fenrir Greyback had been a werewolf for so many years his human and wolf forms had almost blended. The creature that now stood before Wolfsbane was like a distorted reflection of her own semi-human form. Taller and broader, Fenrir was covered with thick, silver-grey fur. His hands were crooked and clawed, and his face had pushed forward into a fanged snout. When he spoke, his voice was thick, gurgling and painfully forced through jaws not shaped for human speech.

"Now, you arrre mine!"

Then Fenrir himself was struck from behind, and sent rolling across the grass. He leaped up, to find himself confronting Wolverine.

"I warned you not to come back, bub! Wolfsbane, git outta here, this is between me and hairy! And this time," Wolverine's claws snicked out, "I ain't pullin' any punches!"

What followed was a bloody, savage brawl. Evenly matched in strength and speed, the combatants also possessed rapid-healing abilities. Wolverine's only advantages were his unbreakable adamantium skeleton and his formidable claws. But for a while, it seemed that even these might not be enough, for Fenrir was fast and agile. After a while, the fighters paused. Both were bleeding from dozens of rapidly healing cuts.

"Aaahh," gurgled Fenrir. "Aaahh, Wolllverrine, they call you. You will make a mighty addition to my pack!"

With that, he leaped forward, jaws gaping. Wolverine had only time to thrust his forearm up into those fangs, but it was enough. Fenrir leaped back, gagging and choking as the potion Charm had sprayed onto the uniform burned his jaws and throat. The feral Mutant did not hesitate, bounding forward and slashing with his claws. Fenrir leaped upwards, and the cut meant for his throat went across his belly, almost disembowelling him. He collapsed to his knees, howling, then glared at Wolverine.

"You...have doomed...yourself," he gasped. "You...honourrrable herrro...will not strrrike a helpless foe. Yet even from this...I can heal. I willl rreturrn - for you...and the bitch!"

Wolverine smiled grimly. "You got it all wrong, bub. I ain't no hero, and I ain't as nice as the other guys. You ain't comin' back, not ever!"

Wolverine stepped forward, and cut again, once. Fenrir's head fell from his shoulders to land silently on the grass. For a moment, the trunk remained upright, fountaining dark blood, then it too slumped sideways.

For a moment, there was silence, broken by the sound of Dani vomiting into the grass. Ginny rushed to her friend's side, murmuring comfortingly and holding her shoulders. Wolverine watched them for a moment, then turned to Rahne, who had shifted back to her human form. The young Scots girl was shocked to see the look of deep sadness in Logan's eyes.

"Sooner or later, it always happens," he told her softly. "I'm the best there is at what I do; but what I do isn't very nice."

Since the afternoon she had spent making joyous love with Sam, something had changed in Rahne. The shyness, the diffidence that had characterised her, was somehow gone; it was as if at last she was complete. So, instead of looking away, confused, as she would have done only days ago, Rahne went directly up to this man she had once so feared and still respected. To his surprise, she wrapped her strong, young arms round his neck.

"Dinna think ill o' yersel', Logan," she told him. "Ye do what ye do for it's the way ye're made, man. It's fortunate for all o' us that ye can do the things we cannae, when they're necessary!"

"She's right, Logan," added Ginny. "I've seen the man I love prepared to kill, and it's a hard thing to see. It never came to it with Harry, but he was ready to do it, because he had to, and I understood that."

Dani straightened and spat, then ran to Wolverine, reaching her hands out to him. "Logan, it wasn't you! It was...him...Fenrir!"

She grasped Logan's hands and explained, "I was trying to help, trying to get inside his mind, to pull something out of it to distract him, give you an edge. But the images I found were so...so vile! I couldn't...I...I...."

Dani burst into tears, and without thinking, Logan gathered her to him, letting her sob on his shoulder.

The four stood there in silence. Sometime during the duel, the other invaders had recovered enough to flee. Then there was the sound of an explosion from across the grounds.

Wolverine swore, adding, "C'mon, kids. We may be needed." He took Dani's hand, and flanked by Ginny and Rahne, began to run.

In the mansion's Secure Room, Emma Frost was guarding the younger children with Moira McTaggart. Fleur, Mariko and Lilandra had already left on her instructions. Emma had been following the battle telepathically, and now she reached a decision: She was sure the body of Fenrir Greyback held secrets - secrets that either science or magic could reveal, secrets that Emma hoped would hold the key to her future.