SquidgeWorld Archive

Trust, and other fatal subjects
by Damian

 Then:

Carl "the miracle worker" Eisener was a man that had people's respect. It wasn't for how honorable or respectable Carl was. No, people respected Carl for his knowledge and results. Truth is Carl deserved what happened. At the age of thirty-three Carl was in line to be a leading adviser to the new American administration. He enjoyed his life. Although he had not yet married, he was content to spend his time with his work, and morally loose woman. Carl was well connected in the higher circles of the world's elite. He felt important enough that he had seen to his own protection by hiring a personal guard.

Not for fear of danger, he thought he was untouchable. Carl employed a guard, a man he now considered a friend, for social appearances. All the important people he knew had personal guards, Carl did not intend to be seen as less than others. That is what lead him to employ the man who introduced himself to Carl as Mr. Higgins the previous month. Mr. Higgins was all that Carl had hoped for in a social accessory. Although he always kept out of sight when cameras were around, Mr. Higgins knew what Carl wanted and made sure the right people saw him lurking around the "miracle worker."

They had become quick friends.

If someone at a party were to ask him how he makes his living Carl's response was always a self-important laugh as if he was in on a terrific joke and responded "I help my friends." Unfortunately, one person that didn't count himself as a friend of Carl's was Erik Lensherr. That is what lead Carl to his current situation.

Erik Lensherr was a man that did not accept a great deal of deviation from his goals by others. When Erik learned of the atrocities done to earth, the oil spills and the disastrous wild fires, that had been caused while Carl was "helping his friends", he sent an associate to make it clear that people like Carl would not be tolerated. Carl had never heard of Erik Lensherr nor did Carl suspect that a group was watching him that would see to his punishment for his activities. It never occurred to Carl how he had found himself talking to Mr. Higgins. Carl "the miracle worker" Eisener never guessed that while he was employing his new guard, and his bond to "Higgins" was growing into what he thought was a friendship, that he didn't even know the true name of the man that had the most access to him. All Carl knew was that his personnel guard, Higgins, had just turned on him and told him it was time to die.

Tonight the pair had been attending a celebration for the president. The fire works could be heard launching in the background as a signal that the party was starting. "What?!? Higgins?!? Why.." Carl never finished his sentence as his closest friend, silhouetted in the explosions of the fire works, unsheathed six razor sharp, foot long, glimmering claws from between his knuckles and cut him down where he stood. Wolverine could see the same look in Carl's eyes that was in many of his victim's eyes. A sincere look of hurt glared up at him, a confused and agonizing glare. It screamed to him "I trusted you!"

Carl lay in the marble hallway with the taste of warm blood gurgling in his mouth, and he spent his last moment of life in confusion and shock, wondering why this had been done to him. Wolverine retracted his claws, turned to look down the hallway and over past the balcony to watch as the brilliant show of explosions continued its assault upon the night sky. As blood started to pool around Carl's tuxedo Wolverine dragged the body of his target towards the balcony. It was time to make an example for the others. Wolverine had been a killer for as long as he could remember. The S.H.I.E.L.D's Weapon X division had seen to that. He had worked for them unwillingly for years and had killed everyone from presidents and dictators to secretaries and children; he even killed a dog, once. That was then though, now he worked for the Brotherhood. More specifically, he killed for Erik Lensherr, Magneto. Wolverine's management had changed but not his assignments. Although there was a time when he was called Logan, his former owners, for his ferocity and skills, had renamed him "the Wolverine." It's a name that stuck with him in his new employment. Wolverine didn't mind the killing. He knew he would go to hell when he died, but the devil isn't something that scared Wolverine; he knew he could endure the master of darkness. The problem that he had with the Weapon X program was that he killed for humans. He wasn't one of them and he was glad to be among his own people now. Wolverine knew he wasn't human any more and he had no questions about the lack of humanity in Erik.

As Wolverine picked up the now lifeless form of the former "miracle worker," he couldn't decide why it was that groups like the Brotherhood and the Weapon X program saw him as the world's greatest assassin. Was it because of his efficiency at killing or his use of visual aids to get a point across to others? He was thinking about this point as he heaved the two hundred pound corpse off the fifth story landing and onto the table where the president's family was eating. He turned with a smile and started to jog down the hallway, the screams that arose from the disrupted dinner party below gave him his answer.

Now:

There are certain things that bring about a good day. Having your body tossed around by a telekinetic and seeing the city your staying in get raised by large robots and a potential world ruler are not in that category. An hour and a half ago Professor Charles Xavier sent out a telepathic signal to warn all people in Washington D.C. The message was clear: get your ass out of town because in two hours, the homo-sapien boogieman, Magneto will make Washington the next stop on his war path. In case that wasn't bad enough, Erik had managed to compromise a group of Sentinels and they are doing his bidding. Chuck's estimate was wrong, the attack began five minutes ago and people were dying in the streets of the capital. Even though the attack was thirty-five minutes premature, the armed forces had managed to scramble some defensive momentum, it wasn't nearly enough. I watched from the roof of the hotel I was staying at with one of Chuck's students and my current bedmate, Jean Grey, as the Sentinels descended from the sky like a flock of mechanical angels bent on death. The first wave of the killer robots lashed out with energy beams of destruction on the humans as they tried to escape their home. When Chuck told me that the fuck up who the people called president had given his approval for a sentinel attack on the savage land, I knew two things. Magneto would live through such an attack, and that he would seek revenge. Erik would be looking to send a message to the world. That meant that he would be seeking out the president who dared to attack him and his people. Chances were that Chuck would be at the white house trying to stop Erik from killing the leader of the free world. The last time the Erik and Chuck fought, I had yet to be part of their social circle. From what I have heard of it though, Erik nearly killed Xavier. Because of that melee, the greatest mind on earth is in a wheelchair, and will be for the rest of his life. Chuck would need a hand.

I vaulted down the stairwell knowing that attacking Erik was suicide in more than just the physical sense; my whole way of life would be different. I had been working with the Brotherhood for almost two years now, and by cutting down Erik, I would be severing myself from that way of life. But that didn't matter; chances were that I wasn't going to even get a shot at the master of magnetism. I might say otherwise in public, but I know that if Erik sees me coming I am never going to take him down. Hell maybe I'll get lucky and he'll be in one of his speech giving moods and not notice me.

I jumped on my bike and kicked it into gear just as a sentinel came crashing down, apparently a victim of a lighting strike. It appeared that Chuck's soldiers were already in action. That meant that Jean was out there barking orders. As I tore out of the garage I headed to where I knew I would find Erik and Chuck I turned on my headset to see what the kids playing war were up to. That morning I told Jean I had been sent by Magneto to slay Charles Xavier, she hadn't taken the news well. In the ensuing flinging of my body around the room, I explained to her that it wasn't my goal anymore and that she was the one to change my mind. Funny thing is, I think she took that to mean that I was so in love with her that I couldn't do it. She may be powerful, she may be a good leader, but she jumps to conclusions. Being a telepath probably makes you think you know everything about everyone before they open their mouths. I am sure one of the reasons she's attracted to me is that I am one of the few people in the world who aren't susceptible to telepaths. She thinks I am in love with her and I let her keep thinking it.

Suddenly my headset jumped to life and Jean's voice filled my ears. "Wolverine this is Marvel Girl. What do you think your doing? I told you to stay out of this!"

She wasn't so sure of me now that I had told her my original purpose for sticking around the team. "Sorry, babe, but Xavier doesn't have a chance against Magneto on his own, and I can't stand around and watch him make Charley eat his wheel chair."

"I swear to God, Wolverine, if you even think about hurting the Prof."

I cut her off, "trust me, kid, the professor ain't the one who's gonna be feedin any worms tonight."

Then:

"Charles Xavier is our single biggest obstacle Wolverine. I want you to infiltrate his circle and eliminate him. You're the only one among us who can shield his thoughts and the only man alive I can trust this mission to." Wolverine took a long draw off his cigar and walked out the door. Erik turned away and sat on his thrown knowing that his friend would do this for him. It was almost amusing to see how willingly Wolverine handed out punishment to anything relating to humans. The moment he told his top assassin that Xavier wanted human kind to be one with the homo-superiors he watched the rage flare up in Wolverine's eyes. This killing machine had been dealt so much misery and been shown so much hatred by humans that Erik was sure Wolverine would never see himself as human again. Magneto knew why he trusted this man of metal to do his work. Wolverine had worked with the brotherhood for over a year now and Erik thought he knew the man better than anyone else did. The man once called Logan had had his humanity stripped from him by humans; and Wolverine's only wish now was to make the humans suffer the way he had. Wolverine's loss of humanity was what granted him the killing edge that earned him so much respect. So long as Wolverine saw himself as "the other," he would always be Magneto's angel of vengeance. Wolverine was one of the few people on the planet that Magneto called a friend. The friendship was born out of a greater understanding of each other and their motivations. They had both suffered at the hands of humans, and together they would see the planet's current rulers suffer for their indiscretion. Wolverine would not only kill the target but he would most likely leave Xavier's little cell of mutants buried with their leader. Magneto smiled at the thought of the traitors and how they would grow to trust Wolverine only to suffer like all the others.

Now:

I had a hard time not laughing aloud as I listened to Erik spout doom upon Xavier. The mighty Magneto never sensed me creeping upon him from behind. Chuck saw me approaching. I could feel him trying to get into my head. Now wasn't the time for distractions.

Xavier kicked open my mental front gate, he wasn't taking no for an answer. "~thank you~" was the only thing he said, and then I felt him slip out the way he came in. I smiled as Erik hovered like an angry God in front of me and over Xavier.

"Oh how you must rue the day I built this thought proof helmet, eh? Any final pearls of wisdom before I spray that beautiful mind across the world's television screens?"

"Nothing springs to mind immediately, Erik. But I have my suspicions that you've just uttered yours."

Erik had an instant to realize he was in danger before I was upon him. "You heard the man, bub." Erik let out a scream as I drove my right hand, claws fully extended, through his back. I knew that no one could afford to let him have a moment to catch his breath. I used my claws as leverage and flipped over him, landing in front of his ravished body. I knew my claws had cut his spine in half. Never in all the kills I have made had I ever seen anyone stay conscious in the amount of pain and blood loss that Erik was suffering through now.

Magneto let out a gasp "Wolverine, what are you doing?"

"Do I really need to spell it out for you?" I tried to keep him talking and focused on me there was no way he could stay conscious much longer. So long as he was focused on me, he wouldn't lash out at Xavier. "I'm playing for the other team now, Freak. You told us life was just a choice between man wiping us out and the homo sapien holocaust you always wanted, but Charlie Xavier offered me a third option."

"And whats that? Embracing a species which tortured you like a lab monkey?"

"No, teaching `em we're all human!"

"You know I think I liked you better when you were cynical and heartless, Wolverine." With that, Erik lanced me through the back with a metal shaft. My lung punctured and I was tossed about ten feet with the force of the impact. Erik was saying something about destroying the world with a nuclear shower. The game was over and no one was going to win, because no one was going to live. I would heal from Erik's attack, but the nukes would be too much for me to handle, at least I think so.

Erik climbed to his feet, always the proud man. He wasn't willing to lie there and die in the mud. I could see in his eyes that he recognized his mistake; he knew that he had trusted me. He trusted something that he didn't consider human, that was the mistake that had cost him his life.

Suddenly I saw a flash of green and in the blink of an eye, Erik started to scream. Huh, maybe the good guys will win today. I rolled over on to my back and with a wet sound pulled the shaft from my back. I walked over to stand beside the man that had helped to show me that I was indeed a human. I might grow to resent Chuck for showing me my humanity but for now, I watched another man pay the price for his belief and trust in me. "Good bye Erik."

end part 1