It had taken a lot out of Sabercat to not go after Toad when that haughty bastard had blasted her. She could hear Toad's radio sparking, and there was a sound behind it that could have been a scream.
The kid's tough, she told herself. She can get herself through. It would have to be true, because Sabercat had no choice but to guard the damn X-Men so Magna could work on that power-sucking boy. And here was the lightning-thrower, sweat beading on his handsome face, the whites showing all around his eyes, fear-scent reeking from him. It would have been enough to make her purr, any other night.
"You owe me a scream," she growled slowly, almost teasingly. He better hope he didn't owe her a teammate, but there was no way she was going to show him he got to her.
She got to watch him struggle to control his breathing for another moment before she heard the snickt! behind her. So the runt had the clever idea to bite the bullet and free herself. She wasn't surprised. She had the Wolverine pegged as a stubborn one from their short fight in Canada. Damn. She didn't want to fight, she wanted them to shut up and let the boss work so they could get this over with and she could go find Toad. And Mystery too, maybe.
Later she told herself that was the reason she had lost to the runt, that she just wanted the fight over with. It might have even been true.
***************************************************
She wasn't sure how she managed to find Toad before the harbor patrol got their shit together, but she somehow sniffed her out, got her into a car, and hauled her to a doc she knew. This guy had kept her secrets before, and if he decided not to... well, she knew where to find him.
He knew his stuff and worked quickly. Called her Ms. Lion and didn't look twice at Toad's boobs or her warts.
"I want your friend to stay here for a couple days. I want to make sure her burns are kept sterile. Also, she cracked a few ribs and I want to keep an eye on that. I gave her some pretty strong painkillers. She'll be out of it for a while."
"This all going at your usual rate?" She wouldn't have any problem affording it, but it was best to make sure.
"Of course. I know you're good for it."
Sabercat spent the next three days watching over Toad as the doc looked after her burns and changed her fluid hook-ups. The doc wasn't kidding when he said she'd be out of it. Mostly she slept; once in a while she would wake up and try to speak, only to whimper in confusion and pain and begin gesturing anxiously until Sabercat stood over her or she passed out again. Apparently her tongue had been burned.
The doc started decreasing Toad's painkillers on the second day, and by the end of the third day she was lucid. Sabercat watched tensely as she woke up and her eyes focused. "Vic... wha' happen?"
She walked over and lightly touched the younger woman's hair. "The boss didn't pull it off, Sal. But we lived through it and we're not in prison." It seemed like that was all there was to say.
