They didn't know how he had survived the fall off of the Statue of Liberty, how he had got to Alkali Lake or how he knew the mysterious still woman that hung from his arms. Her aging grey hair hanging down to his knees. All they knew was that she had saved their lives and that he held her reverently in his arms as he carried her swiftly through the mansion to its infirmary.
He had been searching for her since he saw someone who he had thought he would never see again. If he was alive maybe she was too. But if he was here and she wasn't then he must have left her. That was why Victor Creed had unleashed his anger before he fell and left his team, his Brotherhood, abandoning his cause for another, older one.
Now he was close to finding her, he could almost smell her; her familiar scent sating the Sabretooth within him as it had always done. He had kept a discreet eye on the world from his hiding place. Watched the raid on the school and then followed the bastards back to the compound. He tried to plan how to get in and out safely but there was no way; all options were suicide but then they arrived and created the diversion and now he was on the lower levels entering a lab.
The sight he was welcomed with almost made him howl out loud. What had they done to her? Instead of the vibrant red head he knew, a frail old woman lay on the gurney. He wouldn't have believed it was her except she smelt just as he remembered. Gently lifting her up and cradling her in his arms, Creed fled taking her away from her pain; her torment...her prison for the past sixty years.
Logan was going frantic. Jean was out there. She was risking her life to save them. The cracks in the dam were widening and then the water came. He could see her struggling to keep the jet hovering and the water back. Then her eyes clouded over. They became dead, no longer the vibrant green that he couldn't help but think were wrong. She turned and re-entered the jet, the ramp having mysteriously lowered. Logan closed his eyes, expecting to hear the crash of a wall of water hit the jet but nothing happened. Looking up he saw the wall of water remain motionless as the jet slowly ascended.
Jean came to, looking around at the X-Men staring at her. "What?..How?.." She asked confusedly. "I was outside and now I'm in here. What happened?" Looking out of the window at the water she stammered "I'm not doing that."
"No.." came the professor voice from the back of the jet where he was sitting staring out of the window, "She is." That was when they saw her, in the arms of the monster who had tried to kill them all, weakly holding out a shaking arm and then she collapsed. The jet shuddered as it took over control and the parted water below them crashed together but over all the commotion they were stilled by one thing. The tortured howl of Sabretooth as the woman hung limply in his arms. Another shock awaited them. As the ramp was lowered and Sabretooth stumbled in tears stained his weather beaten face as he looked down at the still form in his arms. "Oh Amy. What have they done to you?"
Charles Xavier sat back in his office. Hank Mccoy and Jean were currently looking after the mysterious woman downstairs in the infirmary. With nothing else to do but wait the rest of the team did just that. They waited... and watched Victor Creed pace back and forth across the room.
"She is being well taken care of Mr Creed, I assure you of that." Murmured Xavier knowing that Sabretooth's sensitive hearing would pick it up. Creed just snarled and turned around abruptly.
"If he had taken care of her in the first place, none of this would have ever happened."
The mental shielding around Creed's mind increased so Xavier had to ask normally. "Who?" Instead of answering Creed just continued to pace. Xavier could tell that he was trying to keep his feral side under control.
At that moment Jean walked in to the room holding some X-Rays. Smiling at her colleagues she placed them up on to the lighted wall. "I think you should take a look at these."
Logan took his eyes off of Creed who had stopped pacing and looked at his x-rays that now adorned the wall. "Red, I don't see how my X-Rays are relevant to the current situation."
"They are not yours Logan." Everyone looked up at her and then what she said sunk in. Creed snarled ferociously and turned to Xavier. Even before he opened his mouth to speak Xavier knew what he needed.
"Down the hall fourth door on your left." Creed bolted out of the door and mere moments later crashing could be heard, Creed was tearing up the room. Scott turned to leave the room and stop him but stalled when Xavier spoke.
"Scott don't." He wheeled himself out from behind his desk and made his way over to group that now encircled the x-rays. "What he wants more than anything is to kill something right now. He left so as not to endanger us. He has been struggling to control the beast within him and this news has broken the remnants of his control. Whoever this woman is, she is clearly dear to him."
The intercom buzzed and the gravely voice of Dr Mccoy emanated from it. "Sleeping Beauty awakes Charles."
"Sleeping Beauty" Logan snorted, "Some one obviously forgot about her coz she ain't no beauty anymore."
Hank Mccoy had been quite shocked when she awoke; especially when she had transformed. He almost laughed thinking about how the others would react when they arrived.
Sabretooth ran in first almost breathless, he had heard from the other room. Beast almost followed his gut instinct to protect the woman from the man who was usually an enemy. But he obviously didn't have to bother because the woman screamed in delight and launched herself into Creed's arms wrapping every available limb around him; Creed held her just as tightly; simply smelling her hair and basking in the joy that always surrounded her like a halo. They stayed like this until they heard the sound of the medical bay door swish open behind them.
The X-Men arrived to see Victor Creed and the mysterious woman locked in a lover's embrace. Slowly the woman slid to the ground and walked around the mountain like form of Sabretooth. Sleeping beauty was revealed.
Logan gasped at what he saw, images flashing past almost too quickly for him to see clearly but instinctive knowledge following them.
An adolescent girl with red braids laughing so hard that she nearly fell out of a tree; the tree that they had created their fort in.
A teenage girl arriving back from a year long visit to England, transformed, Logan remembered losing his heart at that moment.
The same girl, now a young woman, pulling the pins from her long auburn hair, letting it fall down to her waist before she started to undo the ivory silk buttons of her gown. The only dress she had ever worn.
Coming home to find the kitchen covered in fine white powder and the girl smiling triumphantly holding up a cake, batter sitting on her fine nose.
Calming conversations, after feral love making, staring up at the moonlight sky.
The night when the bliss was shattered and they caught their first glimpse of Alkali Lake.
The Wolverine howled at the secession of pain that Logan hadn't even realised had existed. It was over. She was here. Lust filled him. Then he realised what she had done and in a growl of betrayal he left the room and went where he always went in difficult situations. The Danger Room; to kick some brotherhood arse.
The team just stood in silence, looking at the retreating figure of someone they had now come to consider a friend. Jean started after him but a voice stopped her.
"It would be best if you left him alone, you're not what he needs right now."
Jean turned, anger marring her aquiline features. "I think it is up to his friends to decide what is best for him not a stranger and especially not his enemy's lover."
Sabretooth snarled and would have lunged at her if a calming hand had not been placed on his arm. "Victor I think you should go after him. You always knew what to do with him when he got into such a foul mood. Help him blow off some steam." Sabretooth looked down at the woman in doubt, "don't make me use the look. It's been a while but I'm sure I can still manage it." Sabretooth sighed and then grinned down at the woman from his tall height.
"Anything but that." He growled in feigned fear, "I'll go find him. You sure do have a talent for bringing on PMS moods, little one." Before she could retort, he left the room but only after Xavier indicated to Scott to move aside.
The woman turned around, a feral look in her eyes, the beast was going to come out soon and she wasn't sure she could stop it. "You know for a telepath you are really quite obtuse, that or you just aren't very good at your job." She said with false calmness. Only the Professor could sense the struggle in her mind, and Beast the change in her scent.
"I don't need to be a telepath to realise that Logan ran out of here because he was sickened by the sight of Sabretooth, his enemy, wrapped around you, a whore."
"I really have got your back up haven't I? Or maybe you're jealous. Maybe you do know what's going on but don't want to admit it. Don't want to admit that your back up plan doesn't want you anymore." The woman leant up against a gurney smirking. "And I doubt he would be sickened by the sight of Victor hugging the twin he hasn't seen in nearly sixty years, do you?"
Jean stiffened and was about to start another round when the woman straightened herself and walked out of the lab, smelling the air and follow its trail back home.
The professor looked up at Jean's comment and felt a slight twinge of disappointment. Logan's memories had been broadcasted to the room when they had resurfaced but Jean hadn't picked them up, anger clouding her judgement as she picked up Logan's deep desire for the woman standing next to Sabretooth. The woman that Xavier now realised he had found dotted around in Logan's shattered memory. His wife.
Xavier had always wondered why Logan had even been attracted to Jean. Not that Jean wasn't beautiful, she was but even with Logan's shattered memory he shouldn't have been attracted to her. Wolves mate for life and even though he had forgotten about his mate, Logan still yearned for her.
But on meeting her Xavier finally understood. Jean was similar in appearance to Logan's mate. The same hair colouring, the same height and similar build. Telepathic and telekinetic abilities. It now made sense; Jean's similarities reminded Logan of his mate hence the attraction.
The professor was about to intervene when he felt some one probe his mind and the sound of some one knocking a door. Xavier inwardly smiled. Come in.
I thought I had better introduce myself before I make my first impression a bad one. My name is Amy and as you probably know I'm Logan's wife.
It is a pleasure to finally meet you my dear.
Not at all the pleasure is all mine. It is an honour to meet the person who is trying to peacefully resolve relations between Mutants and Man. I have experienced too much of the violent methods for my liking.
Your control is weakening my dear. I believe it would be best for you to leave and blow off some steam as you put it.
I'm afraid my feline possessiveness has kicked in, I'm not usually this volatile but you know what cats are like when some one is sniffing around their territory. I'll go and find Logan and talk to you conventionally a bit later.
Until then, good luck. Amy smirked at the last bit, finished the argument and left the room.
The professor smiled. He had always known it would take a fiery soul to tame the wolverine.
Amy followed Logan's scent down the winding corridors. Following. That was something she hadn't been able to do in a while. She'd spent the last fifteen years locked in that one lab, generally alone with her memories.
She found Logan and Victor sparring in a room that looked just a little odd. Central Park was actually sitting in the Mansion. The two were laughing and obviously talking about the past as they lunged at each other delivering punches and kicks. They had always been good friends but when Amy shattered his memories of her she had had to make him loose his memories of Victor as well. They had always lived in each other pockets, their lives forever intertwined.
"Is this a boys' club or can anyone join in?" Amy asked leaning up against the door.
Victor looked up at her panting; Logan had just swiped his feet out from underneath him. "Yeah it's a boys' club...so you're more than welcome to join in." He snarked as he dodged from her attack.
"Oh you just didn't go there." Growled Amy as she lunged at him knocking him to the ground; the extra weight of her metal skeleton helping her. Straddling his waist she looked down at him with a grin on her face. "I believe the time you walked in on me and a certain friend in the swimming pond PROVED that I am all woman." Each word punctuated with a poke in his ribs that caused him to squirm. Nobody had ever worked out his true weakness...he was ticklish.
"That was bad enough at the time; I do NOT need a replay. I'm off." Throwing Amy up into the air Victor left the danger room. Using her power Amy gently lowered herself to the ground and nervously turned around to face Logan. She could never tell what he was truly thinking when he sparred because the Wolverine took over, he became feral.
"YOU WIPED MY MEMORY!!" Logan bellowed as he stepped towards her. "YOU MADE ME WALK AROUND WITH NO IDEA WHO I WAS!" Amy was forced to move back. "YOU MADE ME LEAVE YOU THERE FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS." Amy's back met the wall, effectively pinning her against the wall. "All because you love me." He finished leaning towards her. "I love you too." Swooping in he devoured her mouth, renewing his knowledge of her taste and contours. "But I'm still a better fighter than you." He said backing off leaving his beautiful wife open mouthed and eyes glazed.
Slowly the words sank in and Amy snapped to attention. "Excuse me?" She said trying to sound angry but failing miserably because she was grinning. "You're a better fighter? Oh no no no you can't still believe that can you? Especially now that we are evenly matched." Schiknt. Blades identical to Logan's extended out from her knuckles. Logan's face fell at the sight of them and he moved forward towards her, hands extended to touch the blades' origin. Before he could apologise he landed on his back, Amy straddling him. "Don't Logan. I knew what I was getting myself into but I couldn't let you stay caged, you had to go coz I was losing you and THAT wasn't an option." Smiling down at him Amy started to grind her hips against his whilst watching his eyes darken with desire. "Now..." she said as his hips thrust up to meet her's "Where were we before?" A hand wove into her hair tugging her face down to its owner for a kiss.
Jean watched the couple transfixed at the two naked bodies down below her. Writhing. Clutching. Panting. Snarling. Jealousy burned within her at the sight of the passion before her. Pure animalistic passion that she had never experienced. The internal battle to not venture into their minds had been short lived. No thoughts lingered there only instinct and possessiveness. Both had given over to their animal side. This wasn't love making before her. This was feral fucking at its best. Teeth grabbed. Nails clawed. Blood was drawn.
Slowly she turned away resigned to one fact that had really been unbelievingly obvious from the onset. She had lost Logan; if she had even really had him in the first place. Remnants of their one thought circled in her head. Their one thought that said it all. Mine.