The Long Path

Posted on Mon Apr 22nd, 2024 @ 2:39pm by Bobby Drake & Iris Walker & Levi Rousseau & Shinobi Shaw & Kennedy Kelly

4,777 words; about a 24 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: Savage Land
Timeline: September 1, 1990

When the four X-Men set out from the village, they kept a steady pace behind Shanna and Zabu. For Bobby's part, he had expected them to have a bit faster speed. Skull Mountain was a distant point that wasn't getting any closer. The village was probably still visible somewhere behind them as an equally smaller point had there been any vantage to be had through the thick tree branches and jungle foliage.

Bobby soon realized that the slower pace was for their benefit. Shanna and Zabu ran through the jungle every day as regular transportation. They were barely exerted. As much as he hated to say so, Bobby couldn't keep up a steady trot indefinitely.

"Hey..." Bobby huffed a little bit. "Could we get a water break?"

“Of course.” Shanna said with touch of surprise as she looked over her shoulder at the X-Men hiking behind her, they had barely begun their trek through the jungle. But Shanna had been an athlete and an Olympian before entering the Savage Land, making her acclimation to its unforgiving terrain rather easy. Shanna glanced down at the sleek but massive golden cat beside her. “Zabu, samachkaspa chay sitiota patrullay.”

Zabu made a rather small squeak of a sound in acknowledgment of her request before he padded off into the dense foliage of the jungle surrounding him.

“Zabu will patrol and keep watch while we rest. You can sit for a moment, he’ll keep us safe.” Shanna merely crouched next to them as they drank from the gourds turned water flasks each of them had been given. “When the jungle is this thick, the big dinosaurs and the small ones can sneak up on you easier. But this is the most direct path to Skull Mountain.”

"Direct is good..." Bobby panted for a moment. At least the air around them was thick and humid. It was nothing for him to summon several flagons out of ice. Frigid water splashed over the rims as he doled them out to the others before downing a gulp himself. "Oooh... that was better than good."

Levi had been pretty quiet for most of the trip so far, happy to trudge along miserably in relative silence. He gladly accepted an ice flagon and gulped down the refreshing liquid. "I'm not really eager to meet the native wildlife," he admitted as they rested.

While Iris was in pretty good shape, her little legs were struggling to keep up and she was glad of the rest. She sipped her water carefully. Gulping water when one was overheated wasn’t a good idea as it could lower your body temperature too quickly. “I wish we could ride bicycles through this,” she commented idly, indicating the jungle. “Or better yet, those speeders from Star Wars.”

Jace found a large, cool rock to lean against and catch his breath. While drinking the cold water, he nodded a 'thanks' to Bobby as he let some of it run down his chin and neck. "I wouldn't try to ride a bicycle through this dense foliage for nothing. Now if you've got a half-grown, trained triceratops, I'll ride one those bad boys."

“You do not need to fear the Savage Land.” Shanna replied to Levi’s comment as she stood and walked towards a tree next to him. Placing a hand on a branch, a large green python crawled up her forearm. She examined the snake with a smile as she spoke. “You must respect the Savage Land and its beasts. Respect its power and its beauty, respect its desires and its boundaries. Then you can move through this land with ease.”

Shanna shifted the serpent from hand to hand as it slowly slithered in her grasp, its forked tongue tasting the air as it explored. “That is the problem with Magneto and Zaladane. They do not respect this land, they want to control it and dominate it. Their presence causes chaos. Speeder bikes and shortcuts create disorder and the jungle will retaliate against it. As for being a beast rider…” Shanna returned the snake to another tree, its green color causing it to vanish amongst the leaves. “That is a sacred act in the Savage Land, you must be one with the beast in order to ride them. Harmony between two souls.”

Shanna made a cat-like whine in the back of her throat and within a moment’s time Zabu returned to their resting place. Her polite way of telling them their break was over.

“I have been told that Zaladane holds a green haired woman with the power of magnetism at the Citadel. I can only assume that this woman is Polaris, the X-Men who came here years ago with you.” Shanna glanced at Bobby. “We believe she is the source of these magnetic storms but I do not recall her being so powerful the last time she was here. I worry that she has been corrupted or exploited because that is the nature of people like Zaladane and Magneto.”

"Oh, I'm probably nowhere near sacred enough to make that kind of connection with an animal here," said Jace. "Guess it's the old fashioned way...walking." It seemed to Jace like more and more of the old folks were showing up. And now another one with Magneto-like powers. "That doesn't sound good at all."

Bobby's ice flagon hit the ground and bounced against a rock. It cracked with a harsh clank. Magnetic power. Green hair. Polaris. "... Lorna?" The name croaked from his throat in a falsetto. "Lorna's here?"

Iris had frozen at the mention of a green-haired girl. Though she had never had a full conversation with Lorna, she had at least known her briefly before everyone had gone missing. “So now we’re on a rescue mission, too,” she said.

“I have not seen her personally, but it does sound like Lorna. You seem surprised Iceman, when was the last time you saw her? Do not tell me the previous X-Men are no more.” Shanna’s brow furrowed as she realized that Bobby was the only X-Men to return from the previous group.

“If she is Polaris or another mutant held against their will, then yes, we will rescue her.” Shanna began to walk again a little slower this time. “But if she is corrupted and helping Zaladane by choice, that is another thing altogether.”

"If she was corrupted, then it wasn't exactly by choice it sounds," Levi clarified pointedly.

"She wasn't corrupted!" Bobby shouted, not heeding any need for stealth or discretion. "Lorna isn't! She's... she's good and kind and wouldn't conquer or hurt anybody!" He wanted to argue that they didn't even know it was her. But how many green-haired girls with magnetism could there be? "Magneto..." Bobby's eyes grew wide and dazed as he started piecing it together. "Magneto knew. He had to. That's why he doesn't trust his people. Lorna is his daughter! He knew! He fucking knew and he didn't say a fucking word!!!"

“Bobby!” exclaimed Iris. She quickly crossed to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay. We’ll save her. And I’ll beat up Magneto for ya.”

Shanna shrugged at their words, there were far too many surprises in the Savage Land to jump to any type of conclusion on a normal day let alone when Zaladane and Magneto were both present. They would take all of this one step at a time.

“We shall see what happens at Skull Mountain, I’m sure there will be more details waiting for us when we arrive. Until then, we walk and keep our words to a minimum. This part of the jungle has some large predators.” Shanna affectionately patted Zabu, who in return butted his head against her before continuing his scouting duties.

They walked for several hours, through a ravine and hillsides of terrain that was covered with dense trees and jungle plants. The calls of exotic birds, the buzz of massive insects and the occasional rumble of a distant dinosaur filled the muggy air. The environment seemed to be constantly reminding them that it was a foreign and dangerous.

Eventually Shanna stopped them at the edge of a clearing. An abrupt stop to the thick jungle and a very exposed meadow appeared before them. “This part is extremely dangerous, any predator can see us crossing and we have to be very careful.”

Zabu ventured into the meadow first, his stalking golden body vanished almost immediately amongst the tall grasses. The massive cat was gone for a short period of time before he returned to Shanna. The pair seemed to have an unspoken conversation as a touch of tension appeared inside of Shanna.

“Trouble.” Shanna said to the X-Men. “I will look first.” And with that she disappeared, hiding in the grass in a way that was astonishingly similar to what Zabu had just done. But she was gone for a period time that almost edged on worrisome.

“A Tyrannosaurus has made a kill about 4 kilometers downwind from us. It is a sauropod, so lots to eat. She will not be leaving anytime soon and it will not be long before the scavengers arrive both from the air and the ground. We must pass through this meadow if we want to make good time getting to Skull Mountain.” Shanna pulled her knife from her boot inspecting the blade while she spoke. “How would you like to proceed X-Men?”

Iris hesitated. She knew she would be effectively invisible to anyone or anything. She also knew she could hide one other person. If she concentrated hard enough, could she hide them all? She doubted it. “I could take someone across and then come back for someone else?” she suggested lamely. “Never mind that would take way too long.”

"I say we cross together, it's the fastest way," Levi suggested as he slid his goggles down over his eyes. "How do we feel about hiding ourselves in a blizzard?" he asked as he looked over to Bobby.

"I say that's a last resort," Bobby said. "I can't control it like that. What freezes them freezes you." He looked at Shanna. "We'll follow your lead, m'lady."

“I’ll try concentrating really hard,” Iris put in. “I can’t promise anything, but at least I can try.”

"Either way," said Jace, "I'll still just phase through whatever tries to eat me. But as Bobby said, lead on."

“All right we will all go together.” Shanna nodded her head in agreement. “It is best not to wait for too long because more animals are on their way. I will take the front and Zabu the rear, the rest of you will follow in a single file line between us so no one gets left behind.”

They organized themselves and prepared for the slow crawl of a walk across the meadow. Hunch or crouching, they all attempted to make themselves smaller in the grass, the less detectable the better. They continued at this painfully slow pace as their calves and shoulders began to burn from the unnatural position.

They heard and then smelled the Tyrannosaurus, their lowered gaze in the grass preventing them from really seeing the beast. But the smell of blood was overwhelming as powerful jaws crunched and rendered flesh, followed by the wet slide of meat down a massive throat. As they neared, the terrible lizard suddenly stopped eating and a low rumbling growl came from its throat.

"That's bad, right?" Bobby whispered. "That can't be good..."

“Just hold still,” Iris whispered back, concentrating very hard. It was the hardest she had even concentrated on not being seen. She only hoped it would be enough.

"Nope, can't be good at all," said Jace. "The smell is bad enough, but I don't like that sound of that rumble." He looked at Shanna. "Can it see us? Or is it hearing and smelling us?"

"All I know is it's hella' big!" Bobby's whisper came out as a hoarse shriek.

The Tyrannosaurus’ growls continued as heavy footprints moved towards them. The animal's anger was almost palpable as it came closer and closer. Her heavy breathing began to shake the grass not far from their hiding spot. It was a matter of minutes before they were discovered.

A sound somewhere between a bark and a scream occurred to the other side of the X-Men, followed by a second and a third bark that was then followed by the sound of swift feet moving through the tall grasses. The Tyrannosaurus roared in response to whatever was coming towards it, the sound deafening at this close proximity.

A blurry dinosaur that was sleek and agile in form jumped through the air above them, charging fearlessly towards the angry Tyrannosaurus and its fresh kill.

“Raptors!” Shanna shouted, the need for stealth no longer necessary. “Move, now!”

They were trapped in a battle for survival, the Tyrannosaurs defending their kill as a herd of raptors descended upon her looking to steal the kill for themselves.

Bobby turned to ice form and slid in an undulating path that zigzagged across the ground. If the dinosaurs took chase, he hoped to slow them down long enough for the others to make a run for it.

Jace had gotten better at holding his density changes. But running while doing so would take a little more out of him a lot faster. He lowered his density, put his hands in his pockets, and began to confidently stroll through the grass. And whatever dinosaurs would be in his way. He planned to return to normal and make a run for it at the point of ebbing stamina.

Iris decided to cross her fingers and concentrate on being invisible. She had no idea if animals could see her as she had never tested it. She was a great animal lover and so would talk to animals whenever she saw them. She had sneaked up on a few wild animals a time or two, so the odds were in her favor. But whether or not they could observe her was neither here no there. There was no way she could run fast enough to get away and she did not expect her teammates to come to her aid, so she had no choice but to depend on her ability to hide in plain sight.

Either it worked or she was dead.

So, concentrating very hard on not being there, she began creeping away at as a fast a pace as she dared.

The Tyrannosaurus was a single abominable beast, easy to find and track, its danger was clear and present, while the raptors were a completely different threat altogether. They were smart and quick, working together as a unified force they surrounded and attacked with strategy rather than with simple animalistic rage. Their efforts were focused on the Tyrannosaurus until they saw the casually strolling Jace. Familiar with the bipedal form, the raptors squealed and shrieked in delight at the easy meal and a handful of them abandoned the Tyrannosaurus for easier prey.

Two raptors advanced on Jace and without hesitation lept on him. Teeth and talons that were designed to rip and shred assaulted him. They may not have actually injured him thanks to his change in density, but they definitely added to his slow pace. The raptors were tenacious and hungry, attacking him as if their lives depended on it. It would be a battle of wills if Jace didn’t change his plans.

Bobby’s serpentine pattern had proven to be beneficial, the raptor that chased him attempted to run in the most direct route possible. Ignoring the ice, it immediately slipped and fell, tumbling into the grass and rocks of the meadow. The fall delayed its attack and allowed both Bobby and Shanna to create some distance between them and the raptor.

“Iceman!” Shanna called out as she drew her blade and readied for the next attack. “They do not know of ice, use that to your advantage!”

Iris’ hiding in plain sight worked for a short period of time. Left alone in the grass she witnessed the remaining raptors as they descended on the Tyrannosaurus.

Elegantly leaping from various positions surrounding it, each raptor took a turn clawing and rendering flesh. Once the Tyrannosaurus was distracted by one, another would attack from the opposite side. The raptors worked together baiting the Tyrannosaurus until it was either defeated or fled. The Tyrannosaurus then retaliated, using its powerful jaws to grab and fling the small dinosaurs through the air. Iris may have remained hidden had a recently flung raptor not collided with her small body. The stunned raptor collected its bearings as it noticed the morsel that magically appeared before it. Crouching and hissing, the raptor prepared to lunge.

Iris would have been done for but the sleek golden form of Zabu leapt from the grass behind her. Powerful and lethal the big cat tackled the surprised raptor and ripped out its throat before it could react.

It was most definitely a struggle to continue holding himself phased while the raptors attacked. He ran ahead a little bit, but didn't expect to fully outrun them. He stopped when he got far enough away to turn around quickly and take a defensive stance. He had no idea if he'd get into trouble for attempting to kill a dinosaur that was already considered extinct by the rest of the world. But it was either him or them and he planned on leaving.

Jace remained phased with the intent to treat this like the Wendigo incident. This time, however, he didn't care whether it was brain, skull, spine, bone, or organ that he pulled from his attackers. He would latch on to anything as they assaulted him and remove it. What was the worst that could happen? He's forbidden from ever coming back to the Land of the Lost?

Iris lay in the tall grass, stunned by the sudden turn of events. First, she’d had the wind knocked out of her by a flying raptor- how ironic that it was not the bird- and then, just as she thought her life was over, that great beast- that wonderful terrible beast- had stepped in and saved the day.

She would have to get him a nice T-bone steak sometime.

But for now, it was time to move again. And so she peeled herself off the ground, made sure she had no broken bones, and set off again, still concentrating on making no noise and pretending she did not exist.

People were running and screaming. Bobby saw a pair of raptors jump onto Jace and his mind braced itself for the worst. His powers prevented them from eviscerating him on the spot, but he still seemed weighed down by them.

Memories flashed back to Bobby from another jungle on a much smaller island. They were surrounded on all sides by foes that didn't even make sense, as if nature itself had risen up against them. His friends shouting for help, fighting back on all sides to no avail.

"We're gonna die..." Bobby whispered. "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!"

His outcry shifted into a violent scream. Arms outstretched, Bobby's ice form more than doubled in size, encasing him in thick plates with jutting spikes and a hellish head covering that looked more infernal than human.

"DIE!" The frost giant that Bobby had become lunged for the two nearest raptors. Their lives ended because he demanded it. Powerful fists closed around their skulls and popped them like grapes, forcing languid fluids to drip through the bulbous pseudo fingers. Another raptor lunged at his flank, but the giant swatted it aside with ease and then pinned it to the ground with the elongated spear that his alternate arm had formed. The other fist changed shape like the first and removed the pinned raptor's head from its body.

Four other raptors encircled him, showing more caution than the last one did. They sized up this new threat, probing it for weaknesses, testing its timing with false charges.

"YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!" The frost giant that had overtaken Bobby's form roared again and cast the jagged spikes from the ice plates that perforated the raptors like voodoo dolls. They fell within the tall grass and twitched their last.

Iris watched in mingled horror and awe as her friend slaughtered the raptors. She couldn’t say she was terribly sad to see the animals finished like that- after all, it was them or her and her friends- but something about the fact that Bobby had done made her feel uneasy. Well, she thought. At least he’s on my side. That made her feel a little better about it and she was able to get amber wits about her enough to call to him. “Bobby!” she said as loudly as her little voice would go. “Bobby! Stop!” She could only hope he heard her.

The raptors clawing at Jace were soon eviscerated, their insides pulled out until they were mangled and lifeless in the tall grass. The fluids and blood from their bodies coating Jace’s hands and arms, it smelled heavily of iron.

The raptors would have continued to pick at the Tyrannosaurus and the X-Men had Bobby’s outburst not distracted them. Becoming the new and bigger threat the pack abandoned everything else and went for the frost giant in Bobby’s place. Iris’ pleas to Bobby fell on deaf ears as he was surrounded by the rest of the raptor pack. But each raptor that attempted to attack soon crumbled and fell at his feet until their numbers dwindled. The few remaining raptors noticed their defeat and fled the meadow, abandoning their attack on the Tyrannosaurus and her kill.

Once freed from the onslaught the Tyrannosaurus was free to focus on her surroundings and the current threats. Lowering her head and squaring her frame, the Tyrannosaurus bellowed and roared. The cry rattled their bones and deafened their ears.

While his roar wasn't nearly as loud and ferocious, the frost giant surrounding Bobby bellowed a guttural response back to the Tyrannosaurus Regina. He didn't wait for a rebuttal. Abandoned to temporary psychosis, frozen stumps that added at least a meter to Bobby's height dug into the soil as he built momentum for a blitz attack. The battle cry from his frozen larynx carried on the air like an air-raid siren.

Jace, covered in dinosaur fluids and blood, put his hands to his ears to cover the roar of the Tyrannosaurus. That did very little though to muffle the bellowing beast. And now the sides of his head were covered in blood with rivulets running down his cheeks. He fell to his knees with ringing in his ears and the rest of the world a dull roar. Had Jace seen himself in a mirror, he might have thought that he looked like some kind of horror movie victim. But Jace was far from being a victim.

Now Iris was torn. On one hand, she didn’t want her friend to be killed by half-crazed dinosaurs, but on the other hand, she didn’t like the insanity that had taken him over. She looked around desperately for some way she could help, but seeing nothing, she decided to circle around the mess and keep an eye on things, just in case anything she could handle came up. But she doubted it would.

The Tyrannosaurus turned to face Bobby, her heavy footsteps causing a faint tremble to the earth beneath them. She didn’t lunge or charge but merely stood her ground over the sauropod carcass. Covered in lacerations and abrasions, the Tyrannosaurus had already taken a thrashing thanks to the Velociraptors but she seemed apprehensive to leave. So she bellowed once more, standing her ground over her hard earned meal.

Lunging at the Tyrannosaurus, the armored frost giant that was Bobby plunged first one and then both ice javelins into the terrible lizard. Rancid breath and blood flew out from those massive jaws. Bobby's pseudo limbs were stuck, so there was no way he could stop the Tyrannosaurus from leaning forward and taking his encased torso into a crushing bite. Even reinforcing the armor plating with ice, cracks still split across the front and back under the devastating pressure.

Bobby's horned helmet resonated with his roar, at which point he headbutted the Tyrannosaurs over and over again, bludgeoning her with repeated strikes until one side of her head was bloodied. One of her eyes would never see again. Both of them toppled to the ground in a thud from the thousand pounds crash.

The Tyrannosaurus fought and snarled and snapped at Bobby until he struck true and her massive body stopped fighting. A pathetic groan escaped her mouth as the life left her one good eye and she became nothing more than a heavy mass of flesh.

Something stirred from behind the large sauropod carcass along with a soft sound that resembled the cooing of a dove. A juvenile Tyrannosaurus appeared, all head and feet, its small clumsy body moved towards the now dead adult. It cried and called for comfort the entire time.

She had been a mother. Not defending her meal but the child hidden behind it. The Tyrannosaurus had never attacked unless provoked, she merely defended her offspring. The X-Men had failed to read the signs correctly and the Tyrannosaurus had been killed. Without a parent to watch over it the orphaned juvenile would soon die too.

“No!” Shanna gasped in horror as tears filled her eyes “You did not respect the jungle, you did not respect the balance of this place.”

While they lay entangled on the ground, a keening cry split the sky as a green winged form darted out of the twilight sun. A new threat had emerged.

Shanna’s laminations were short lived as the green wings and large shadow blotted out the sun.

“Sauron!” She cried in warning. “We have to run! We have to go right now! Do not look into his eyes and do not let him touch you or it will be the end of you!” Shanna began to run towards the jungle “Follow me X-Men!”

Everything had happened so quickly, but a baby Tyrannosaurus?! Dang! But now all that had changed. They could face-off against dinosaurs decently enough, but apparently not this one. Jace took off running towards the jungle, following Shanna. He only hoped that the jungle didn't bite back after what Shanna had said.

Bobby began blinking rapidly. "What... what happened?" He looked around and found himself encased in ice and a wheezing Tyrannosaurus. Blood covered him. Then he heard the name of Sauron cried into the wind. "Oh shit!"

After trying and failing to wriggle free from the mess he'd found himself in, Bobby gave up and charged his armored turned prison to explode. Ice shards flew in all directions like little pellets. The shadow of spread wings fell over him. Bobby knew it was time to run but he wasn't going to make it easy.

Just then, a moist javelin through the air dripping with blood. Sauron's shadow twisted and barrel rolled in the air, but he was still clipped. A keening cry of pain and anger shot out of his beak.

But by then Bobby was long gone. He'd taken to his ice sliding where he rejoined the team at the mouth of the cave where Jade was ushering them inside one after another as they arrived. Apparently she had actually run as instructed and was the first to get there.

Being the last one to the cave, Bobby turned a 180 degree spin in mid slide and shot up a wall of ice to seal off the mouth of the cave. Sauron wouldn't be following them.

Jace leaned against the cave wall. "Well I guess I can cross 'fighting dinosaurs' off my to-do list this week." The blood and fluid had dried on his clothes, arms, and face. He needed a basin or something full of water to wash it all off, but probably wouldn't get that until they reached Skull Mountain.

Iris, who had immediately collapsed onto the floor of the cave, laughed mirthlessly. “I didn’t even know that was on my bucket list,” she said.

"Come on, guys," Bobby said, pretending like the last 15 minutes didn't happen while heading deeper into the cave system. "Time's wasting. Let's follow the leader."

NOTE: Shanna and Zabu were played by Kennedy Kelly.

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