X-men: New Beginnings-Chapter 7

The smell of blood permeated the air, making the feral mutant female pause in her sneaking. Otsama had been given permission by Eva to have some solo time, having had a difficult time being around her teammates without her temper flaring as the discovery of Weapon X being located here in even the Savage Land, one of the most remote places on Earth, had stirred old tensions. Being unable to contain herself with being cooped up so long she had requested the time alone, something Eva decided was for the best to avoid bloodshed among her own students. Otsama posed such a risk and thus her current situation of practicing stalking and sneaking about quietly, being in her own element once again after a few months. But with the fresh sent of blood she had become rather tense, slowly making her way towards the source, causing the smell to become stronger with each step.

Soon the smell hit her nostrils full force once she approached some branches, which thanks to the thick branches made it difficult to make out what lied beyond the screen of green, lush leaves. Standing there for the moment, Otsama put her hearing on full alert while "tasting" the air as the coppery taste still hit her, confirming it was indeed blood but she heard no movement, no breathing, nothing to indicate someone was alive or even still around. Still she waited, patience being the key factor now until she was certain. After about five more minutes, Otsama finally unsheathed her carbonadium claws, small strings of blood dripping from the areas as her healing factor slowly closed them before she easily sliced the branches down to open up her obscured area of vision. But doing so triggered the afternoon sunlight to blind her, making her growl softly in annoyance as she closed her eyes to allow them time to recover and slowly opened them again, letting it adjust to the brightness after so long of wandering in the dimmer lighting beneath the trees.

Before her was the sight of a small group of what appeared to be raptors, or what was left of them before scavengers had seemingly got to them before their death. Something though seemed off. Otsama wasn't the kind to be knowledgeable on subjects such as history, especially suppose to be extinct reptiles, but she knew raptors were some of the predators on top of the food chain there and back in the day, for a small group to be dead like this, even one or two disemboweled, was off. "Skilled yet overdoing it," She muttered as she sniffed around, trying to move past the gore that caused difficulty in deciphering other scents. Moving away from the deceased raptors she began sniffing about for scents around the clearing she had come across and eventually striking two faint ones, the same from the two other ferals she had seen under Weapon X's control and making her clench her fists slightly.

Things seemed too convenient for her taste, and there was no doubt this would become a game of chicken the longer she was out there. Sighing softly, she quietly crept forward to follow the faint trail, or at least what was there for her to track. Unknowingly to her though, her two intended targets were her trackers as well. "Come on Boien, she's close enough we can strike." Kara said in a low voice, showing an eagerness to get back in the field after being down for a few days. "No Kara, we must find a better time. Besides your irrational behavior will get us caught before we can make our move, the moment we get the drop on her we can make our real move and take her in as planned." Boien said, his voice stern and making Kara grumble in annoyance, itching to try and attack their intended target but as usual she was kept on a leash it felt like. Still, they remained patient as the slightly older mutant moved further into the tree line and they finally snuck around to follow.

The Howlett Twins had been previously informed of Otsama, the daughter of their former leader who was long since deceased and who was highly trained like they were. Though, it was possible the last four years out of Weapon X's custody she had since sharpened her skills and tapped into her more feral nature. After all, she had been tracked more then enough times to have been among the wilderness, gradually becoming a true hunter and tracker, maybe even outclassing them by far. That was Boien's main concern in fact. Was this a mission they could truly finish or would they be beaten down like submissive pups?

After some minutes of tailing Otsama, she finally seemed to find the end of their trail to a single raptor, this one of the same species and "herd" back in the clear. This time Boien made a motion towards his twin sister, Kara grinning with wicked and gleeful anticipation as she circled around the opposite side of Boien, both moving silently as Otsama was investigating the kill, seeing it met a similar fate as it's companions, if not a more violent death. In fact, it seemed Otsama was too engrossed in her observations to even notice how close her observers were, making it seem all the more easier that she was prey and the lack of movement or unease made Boien frown, beginning to feel something wasn't right. Hesitating, however, wasn't sitting well with Kara anymore who was becoming restless and annoyed, hating to wait so long just to attack someone.

Finally, Kara decided to hell with things and broke from their original plan with a loud snarl, causing Boien to tense slightly as he had begun to realize just what the problem was: they were the ones being played. And his sister had fallen for it, "Kara stop!" Boien finally called but was too late as Kara unsheathed her claws, lunging for Otsama who had turned to meet her first opposer and quickly ducked and rolled using Kara's momentum to trip her with her body since the younger feral couldn't stop in time to avoid it, sending her catapulting across part of the clearing. The impact was disorienting, making Kara struggle slightly to regain composure as Otsama was already back on her feet and growled as she went to lung forward but Boien rushed forward to protect his twin, throwing a titanium-covered fist in her direction with fist meeting jaw and the sound being enough to give a sickening sound of metal meeting skin, sending Otsama reeling back.

Blood slowly streamed down Otsama's chin, the skin split and bruised from the blow but already it began to heal as she turned to look at the young man, rubbing and moving her jaw, surprised it hadn't broken it. Maybe sometimes it paid to have a metal skeleton after all. "You two got a lot to learn about tailing someone." Otsama growled softly, her jaw still sore despite the wound being gone by now. "Practice? We're some of the best Weapon X can offer here. I think we've done well enough." Boien retorted, kneeling down to help Kara to her feet as she herself was just recovering, "Least until now." He added grudgingly. Otsama though let out a snort, "You are good, good enough to fool me at first. But I caught onto your little trap, one too often used. Not to mention, I've had on hand experience outside of Weapon X to refine my own skills." Otsama told them, finding it a nuisance and disgrace these two seemed so proud.

"You would be nothing without Weapon X Duvessa, and we'll show you why!" Kara snapped, ready to lung again but was held back by Boien who seemed to frown, "What is the difference? Anyone can refine their skills outside a controlled setting. That does not mean they will become better." He said, having to use all his strength to hold his struggling sister back as Otsama chuckled, "True enough, but I also had a few years to really explore what and who I am before coming to the X-men. Not to mention, I don't need to be someone's lapdog to find my potential. Maybe it's something you two should consider." Otsama said, her voice now becoming quite serious. "Weapon X may have molded me but they are only part of what makes me who I am. You really want to discover yourselves, then get out while you can otherwise you will find yourselves well beyond dead." Otsama warned as she began to find no reason to truly harm the twins. They seemed misguided, puppets of the same organization that even made her a stronger person, finding that will to rebel. Maybe she could have a small sliver of hope of changing their minds too.

Backing away she sheathed her claws and eyed the two, "Heed what I say. Weapon X only uses people, not help them. You are merely puppets for them to control and do as they please, when your not longer of use they will find a way to kill you. Remember that." She stated one last time before she bolted into the shrubbery, disappearing form their sight as by now Kara had stopped struggling. The two though were left in an uncertain state, Kara even having to admit some truth behind Otsama's words, especially in her own experience. Boien likewise shared such thoughts but doubted things were that simple. "Seems we were outclassed and outsmarted." Boein finally sighed, Kara sheathing her claws with a growl, "I hate that woman, but I hate her even more for being right." She said as Boien could only glance at her with his pale, green eyes as if silently agreeing with her.

The only problem was, how did one get away in the middle of a massive jungle in one of the most isolated place on Earth?