Wolfsbane

Ach! So sorry that I haven't updated for a while. It's been hella busy around here, and I just haven't gotten the muse for this story for a little while. Mostly because this chapter is a bit boring, since it has only a little Bane in it. Hopefully things will pick up in the next chapter.

Thanks for the reviews, favs, follows, etc!

Also, yes I got the idea from Wolverine, and yes the picture for the book cover is supposed to be August. Enjoy!

CHAPTER THREE: The Fire Rises

It's been four days since August woke up in that old hotel building. She hadn't seen Bane since their talk the day she woke up, but that didn't mean she was lonely. There were a number of mercenaries in the building, though few of them she saw often. One was Floyd Lawton, tall lithe man, with eyes and lips that any woman would want to see on a man, only he wore goggles from what she saw most of the time. He was typically at Bane's side, but he was charged with helping August adjust.

Then there was Ben Turner, a dark-skinned man that was a martial arts expert. August knew this since she often seen him training with the other Mercenaries, but typically with a ginger haired man named Richard Dragon. He had another last name, but he made a point not to mention it. She supposed that they had that in common at least, since her last name wasn't really Wolf.

Another man that August got to know was Kyle Abbot, who took a special interest in her due to her nickname. He was large, and intimidating, and took the whole 'wolf' thing too seriously, as some people say that he attacks, quite literally, like a wolf. They don't question it though, since it seems effective when he wants to get a job done, so August didn't either.

There were others, of course, most of them remained nameless, but there were no more than 30 mercenaries and assassins in the building that August knew of. What she was glad for was that they didn't treat her as a prisoner, but they didn't let her leave the building either. Not that she wanted to, since she had no where else to go. The one thing she noticed, however, was that she was the only woman amongst these men. This didn't seem to be an issue, considering that they all seemed well behaved. Most of the time, anyway.

"Girl," came the voice of Lawton, one that August got accustomed to.

"I have a name," August told him, breaking the stale bread as she watched Mexican Soccer.

"Yeah, it's 'girl'. What do you know about shooting?"

"About as much as I know about soccer," she looked at him and bit off a chunk of her bread, then asking with a mouth full, "Why?"

"If you're going to be with us, you need to learn how to handle a gun. Get up," Lawton was rough when he talked. He didn't beat around the bush, and was quicker with his words than he was with a gun. If that was even possible.

"I don't need to learn how to shoot a gun," She ignored him, and turned back to the only channel they got.

Then, all of a sudden, there was a loud bang, and a sheering pain in her left shoulder. August sprung up, and clenched her arm and turned around to glare daggers at Lawton. "What the fuck!"

"You'll heal. Come with me. We've got a lot of training to do before we leave Mexico," He turned on foot and walked out briskly.

August was fuming as she clenched her bleeding shoulder. Wincing, she dug her fingers inside her wound and pulled out the bullet, letting it fall onto the floor. The bullet was flatten at the tip from where it hit her steel bone. Grumbling, she followed Lawton's footsteps, still holding onto her shoulder so the blood wouldn't get everywhere. Eventually, she felt the flesh begin to fuse itself back together, and it looked like nothing happened. By then, August was on the roof with a couple of other mercenaries. One she knew as Parson, and the other Sato. Parson was setting up what looked like a giant sling shot, and Sato was standing near Lawton with a carbine riffle cradling in his arms.

When she approached him, that very gun was shoved into her arms. August made a face, but cradled it despite it weighing as much as a fat toddler, and then joined Lawton's side reluctantly.

"We're going to sling plates, and you gotta shoot them," was his instructions.

"I never used a gun before," August pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

He sighed, "Point and shoot."

That didn't help. Ten minutes passed of August haphazardly shooting bullets into the sky, making it rain lead. The guys around her laughed, all except for Lawton, who was fed up with it. Then, he decided to take a much more practical approach.

"Alright, just breathe in, and then exhale, aim, then shoot."

This proved more useful than just 'point and shoot', as she actually hit the plate on the edge. This went on for at least two hours, and August's arm was killing her. She was already heavy, but cradling that thing for over an hour with no breaks made her arms go numb and sore. Not to mention her ears were ringing and popping from shooting into the sky for so long.

"You have a terrible shot," Lawton pointed out in an irritated voice.

"Hey, 10 out of 60 is not bad," August protested, but she already knew that he wasn't buying it. At least she hit some of the plates. "Hey, I'm not an expert marksman, like you, Mr. Deadshot."

"Clearly," he rolled his eyes and stood up. "You're no fighter either. All you can do is take a punch."

August narrowed her eyes, "I am too a fighter. I've been fighting for five years, asshat."

He rolled his eyes again, "Go downstairs, girl. Proper fighting training is about to start. Let's hope you're better at that than firing a gun."

She was ready to turn around and aim the gun at him, but knew that wouldn't end well, and decided to drop it and leave the roof. Bane was still gone, so she knew he wouldn't be the one to help her learn how to properly fight. August also knew that she talked big, but in reality, she had no real fighting trainer or anyone to teach her, she just kinda learned by herself by observing other people.

Ben and Richard were waiting for her in the lobby of the hotel. They didn't wear any shirts and were wrapping up up their knuckles.

"You made quite the noise, Wolf," Ben chuckled. At least he used her name and not 'girl' like Lawton did.

"Did I wake you?" She grabbed the tape and wrapped up her knuckles. She didn't have to, but it was a practice that always made her get into the mood for fighting.

He ignored the joke, and began to stretch his arms, "Bane wanted us to teach you how to properly fight. You pack a hard punch, kid, but a real fighter knows what he's doing."

"I know what I'm doing. I've never been defeated-"

"Until now," he pointed out the obvious. The way Ben looked at her was like he was training child, his son, or daughter more likely. "Bane beat you fairly easily. My job is to make sure no one tries to get to your neck and choke the life out of you. You may be extremely durable, Wolf, but you aren't immortal."

August remained quiet, knowing what he said spoke the truth.

Ben continued, "Now before we start throwing fists, I want you to sit down and I want you to answer some questions, and listen." He waited for her to sit down in the chair in the room, she did so uncertainly. Where was he going with this? Ben sat down on the table in front of her. "When did you start fighting?"

"Um, about five years ago..." She answered.

"Why?"

"It was the only way for me to make a living...Omar took me in as long as I worked for him."

"That's a bullshit reason to start fighting, kid," he sighed and stood up. "Martial arts is called the 'arts' for a reason... It doesn't just test your body, it tests your mind and soul. Are you ready for that, Wolf?"

August watched him as he paced, flexing his muscles as if it was a second nature. She had to take him and Richard seriously. If anyone else could take her down, it was them. Lawton could shoot her all he wanted, but all that would accomplish was make August a temporarily Swiss Cheese slice.

August nodded.

Ben clapped his hands, "All right, let's get started." He snapped his fingers and pointed to the floor, where a blue matt was placed that August only noticed now. "Sit."

Confused, she stood up and sat back down, crossing her legs on the matt, and looked up at him.

"Let's start with meditation," he said simply.

"Meditation? What does that have to do with fighting-"

"Everything... Meditation helps you get to know your body, have more control over it... Meditation requires discipline of the mind," Ben bent down and looked at her. "Control your anger, your sadness, your happiness, and desires, and you have control over your actions. Do you understand me?"

August nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Good, now close your eyes, and take a deep breath. And listen to my voice, and only my voice."

August closed her eyes, and placed her hands on her knees, and listened to his voice. Or at least tried to. Along with his, there were about a million other voices in her head, mainly her own, saying different things.

I'm hungry

How long is this going to take

I can't believe Lawton shot me

Where's Bane?

My back hurts...

God, Bane is taking forever, what is he doing...

...

"I'm disappointed... I was expecting more."

"This won't hurt a bit, August. Just close your eyes and think about something else..."

That grin...Those glasses...

Why is he doing this to me, does he hate me?

"You're a very special girl, August... And a very special girl needs a very special doctor to look after her."

"I'm Officer Gordon. I'm afraid...I've got some bad news..."

"And here she is! The Undefeated Loba Roja!"

Why am I a red wolf?

"Because one came to me... Red means blood. It means life. It means fire. And fire is strong. It's alive. Fire rises."

... Deh-Shay, Deh-Shay, Bah Sah Rah. Bah Sah Rah... Deh-Shay, Deh-Shay, Bah Sah Rah. Bah Sah Rah.

"WOLF!"

August's eyes snapped up and she was staring at wide brown ones. Ben had his hands on her shoulders and was shaking her until her eyes snapped open.

"Jesus Christ, Wolf, what the hell happened?"

She blinked rapidly, but didn't move. She couldn't move. Not for a few more seconds, and when she did, she began to rub her eyes, "I did...what you told me to. Close my eyes, and relax, and, and..."

Ben sighed and squatted down next to her, "This will take some practice..."

August looked up at him oddly, "What happened? Did I fall asleep?"

"Not exactly," he looked over his shoulder at Richard. "You were convulsing quite violently. Now, twitching is normal, but it looked like you were having a seizure."

"What is it exactly were you thinking?" Richard approached them, standing behind Ben with his arms crossed.

"I, uh," She looked down, only encountering one painful memory, and one voice that echoed in her head.

"I think that's enough for today," Came a voice that wasn't Richard's nor Ben's. It was Bane's, and his voice commanded attention. The three of them spun in his direction; August stood up and looked at the massive man coming through the door, with a few followers trailing behind him.

"August," Bane said thoughtfully, barely giving her a glance, "follow me."

Looking over at Richard and Ben, August was confused, but followed him anyway. Bane led her to the familiar room where he first took her. He pulled out a chair and told her to sit down, and she did so reluctantly. Bane remained standing, stripping off his gauntlets and putting them on the side table.

"You made quite the noise today with Lawton. I could hear you a miles away," he commented with a heavy sigh when stood before her. "Marksmanship is clearly not your forte."

"It's hard to keep the guns up..." Was her only answer.

"Clearly," he repeated the word and sat down across from her, his weight stressing the wood in the chair. "You have very little muscle in your arm. The only reason why you're durable is not because of your muscle, but your bones."

"My body is heavy," August retorted quickly. "It's hard enough to learn to live with more weight on a small frame, let alone balancing an extra ten pounds in the air with one or two hands."

"That is why... you need to be trained, Loba Roja... I need more commitment, I need more discipline."

August tilted her head to the side, "Or what?"

"Or you will be given an alternative. You can either train with me and my mercenaries, or learn the way I learned, in a pit where there is much hope, but no way of reaching it."

August squinted her eyes and looked at him oddly. What was he talking about? The look in his eyes sounded like it wasn't supposed to be a very pleasant place to stay. Part of her, her pride, wanted to say she could handle it. Put her in this pit. She'll get out. It couldn't be that hard.

He didn't wait for her to respond, and started to describe to her what she was going to do starting tomorrow until the next move they make outside of Mexico. "Tomorrow at dawn you will wake up, eat the desired amount of food to keep you stable, and then join Ben and Richard for an hour's martial arts training. Afterwords, you will run laps up and down these stairs with two buckets of water for two hours. Break, and then Marksmen training with Lawton."

"I can't do all that in one day-"

"I will not tolerate laziness, Wolf. Being a woman will not make you weaker, nor will your condition," he stood up, using his hands on his knees to push up the weight of his torso and masked head. "If you fall...then you must rise."

I should have just called this series "Rise" LOL Hope you enjoyed it. Hope I'll update soon XD

- Katherine Kane