Project X [18+] [Fanfiction]

Chapter XXVII: Versus The Vixen

We finally had her cornered.

  In a matter of minutes, we were going to assault the base of The Vixen.

  Headmistress Frost's sessions with Cerebro had finally revealed the woman's location in a remote island just shy of Hawaii. It was isolated and small, smaller than we thought. It was from that island that The Vixen forged her abominations of elemental powers, ripping their DNA apart and marrying it with mutant and plant matter alike. The X-Men were handling her as a high security threat; on par with Mr. Sinister for the sort of demented work she had been doing.

  This final assault was to be the end of her, and hopefully the last we would ever have to deal with her evil.

  To say it was a dangerous assignment would be an understatement. As we drew near the island it was revealed to us that it wasn't an island so much as a dormant volcano; in true villainous fashion she had picked the most dramatic possible location for her headquarters. Inside the top rim of the volcano the Blackbird's cameras could make out a building of folded rock patched with congealed magma, so small that passing planes never would've distinguished it from any of the other random rocky outcroppings in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. She was utterly hidden from all but the mutant-seeking machine known as Cerebro, and because of that, was likely not expecting any visitors.

  We had brought a small army of our best to handle the threat. Shifter and I were tasked with the grim feat of dispatching The Vixen, while the rest of the X-Men each had a role to play. Wolverine, as was so often the case, was a man of distraction. The decoy; so loud and violent that The Vixen would have no choice but to turn her gaze on him. Storm and Iceman were there to control the situation from an elemental perspective; it was predicted by the headmistress that their talents would be needed to keep her elemental powers at bay, and to prevent the volcano from leaving its dormant state. If stopping such a thing was even possible through their combined powers.

  The others all had their own jobs to fulfill. Angel was aerial support, armed with a Phazon Rifle. Nightcrawler was there as extraction for members of the X-Men that needed a quick escape. Marrow, Armor, Cyclops and Gambit were our ground support. It was a lot of X-Men for a tiny target, but it was an important mission.

  When the time came for us to join the others and prepare our assault, Shifter stopped me briefly. Before we left the bunk, my lover grabbed me by the wrist and yanked me close, pulling me into a tight embrace that left his face buried into my hair and my chest tightly pressed against his own. As his arms tightened around me I could feel my eyes close and my own hands move up his back, and while we remained close I could hear him offer a soft whisper through my black locks and against the side of my neck.

  "I love you, Laura." He promised quietly, and squeezed. "Be safe out there today."

  I remained quiet for some time as I let the words sink in, nodding quietly as we held each other. When I found the strength I spoke up as well, murmuring softly against my lover's cheek amidst a tiny, precious kiss.

  "I love you too, Christian." I whispered, and drew my hands down the front of my lover's chest. Slowly I pushed away, knowing that the regrettable task of combat was before us. "It will be okay. All of it."

  I couldn't have known at that point how wrong I was.

  As the Blackbird drew near The Vixen's lair, it became clear to all of
us that she had been expecting an assault. From the surface, an opening salvo of molten lava rocketed through the air straight for the Blackbird, and despite Beast's best attempts to dip us out of the way the ship took a heavy hit. Thankfully, the ship's armor was sturdy enough to prevent it from burning through, but the extra weight of the sticky molten rock was enough to force a sudden landing. It was the only attack that was waged from the surface of her lair while we were still airborne, and we knew from the very beginning that it was by design.