Ch-18 "Did you really think I'd leave after just one night?"

Boom....Boom....

The roar of the engine grew louder, echoing in the quiet valley.

Three motorcycles circled, each taking a different position. On them sat unkempt men in dirty clothes, all grinning maliciously.

"Haha, I haven't seen such a beautiful girl in a long time!"

"She's so young, she must be a virgin!"

"Anyone know whose variant this is? It's the first time I've seen her."

"Who cares? If she's running away from us, she can't be that strong," a man snickered.

"Bob's right. Just don't scratch her skin; it'll affect the price."

Their expressions were casual, dismissing the woman in their midst as no threat.

A man with a scruffy beard and a worn jacket climbed off his bike and pulled out a dagger.

He tossed it lightly in his hand and approached her without a trace of caution. As he approached, he grinned and reached out to touch her face.

Sshing!

A blade flashed through the air, piercing the man's head from his chin to the top of his skull in an instant.

Blood splattered as Laura drew back her steel claws and bent into a fighting stance, her face set in a fierce expression.

The disguise had worked; killing one person would ease the pressure of the fight.

But when she looked up, she noticed that the other four men on their motorcycles remained perfectly calm.

Laura's heart tightened. Something was wrong.

These men weren't shocked or angry at the death of their companion. Instead, they wore smiles of satisfaction.

"The ability has been confirmed."

"Yes, looks like a variant of Wolverine's."

"Regeneration will be a problem."

"Too bad we can't use the electromagnetic car in the forest, it would make dealing with this metal skeleton much easier."

They continued to talk among themselves, ignoring her completely.

Suddenly, the body on the ground vanished like a phantom, as did the blood on the ground and her claws.

Laura crouched down and felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Who's next?" a man asked.

"Not me - it hurts too much."

"Somebody just do it!" complained another.

Finally, a young man with a baseball cap and freckles got off his bike and ran up to Laura.

She hesitated. He knew her abilities, but still chose hand-to-hand combat?

Was he overconfident or just plain stupid? As he charged, Laura dodged and slashed with her claws.

*Slash!*

A direct hit, killing him instantly. But the body disappeared again.

Before she could process it, another man got off his bike and ran toward her. She slashed, killing him as well, but with the same eerie result - another illusion.

Then the man who'd said, 'It hurts too much,' took his turn and lunged at her with a different stance.

She stabbed him in the heart, but this time yellow smoke hissed from the wound. Laura tried to pull back, but it was too late.

She inhaled the poisonous smoke and her body went numb. She fell to the floor with a thud.

"Finally, she's down," one of the remaining men sneered, grinning as he approached her.

Laura tried to get up, but her strength was completely gone. A touch of despair clouded her eyes. Her healing factor wasn't working.

The man crouched beside her, his smile full of pride.

"After watching you, I changed my approach. I keep a special poison just for people like you with a healing factor," he boasted.

"Mutant gifts come in handy."

The man continued. "By the way, I'm Jamie Madrox. My power is to create clones."

"Jimmy?" Laura asked in surprise. "You're a mutant? I saw your name in the X-Men files."

Jamie grinned and leaned closer. "You got the wrong person. I'm with the Brotherhood."

Laura tensed, hoping for an opening. She lifted her foot, extended her steel blade, and plunged it into Jamie's head.

The movement exhausted her, and she fell to the side, gasping for air.

But then she heard the distant motorcycle engine again. Two men walked up to her and stopped two feet away.

The man with deep wrinkles and sparse hair grinned.

"Jamie, you're amazing, handling a Wolverine variant with only clones. Maybe you should be captain, not Pyro!"

Jamie, still gloating, looked down at her and grinned.

"John's fighting skills are far superior to mine. He deserves the title of captain," he said, pretending to be humble.

Laura cursed inwardly as she watched the man's hand reach out to grab her. The memory of a warm arm around her from the night before came to mind.

It was the first time she had felt safe in a long time. For a moment, she regretted not seeking help from that person. Perhaps her fate would have been different.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed, "Move your hand any closer and I'll suck your soul out, believe me?"

The threat was so real. Laura's eyes widened. Was it an illusion? As she tried to focus, the voice came again, "Sorry, but as her boyfriend, I can't let you take her."

Laura opened her eyes. The disgusting hand was no longer reaching for her. The men were looking into the distance, frowning.

And there he was, standing in the morning light filtering through the trees, the same man she had thought of only moments before. For a moment, relief washed over her. He had come.

The man's gaze shifted to her, and a playful smile appeared.

"Hey girl! Did you really think I'd leave after just one night?"

Laura was stunned as she watched him in the soft sunlight that seemed to outline him like a glowing angel.