Chapter Ten: History Comes Alive
Logan closed the door to his room quietly behind him and made a beeline for Charles' office. His silence earlier had left Logan uneasy after the exploration of K's old memories. Charles' voice beckoned him to enter as he reached the door. He was sitting behind his desk, his back to the approaching Wolverine as he looked out the window.
"What troubles you, Logan?" Charles asked as Logan walked up and leaned on the bookshelf near his desk.
"What do you think, Chuck? You didn't say a word after pokin' around in her head. What's your take?" Logan asked as he watched him closely. Charles let out a heavy sigh and turned to face his old friend.
"Everything they did to her was accelerated substantially from the pace they used with you, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice sounding tired.
Logan nodded. "Sure looked like it. From what I remember, they only did one or two tests at a time then threw me back in to heal. Took them months to do to me what it seems they did to her in what? A few weeks? Why'd they push her so hard?" Logan grumbled, anger coming off of him in waves. "And the radiation poisoning? That's new," he spat, disgusted.
"Yes, they were testing her for a purpose beyond simple weapon, I'm sure of it. But I don't understand the push. What had they planned for her?" Charles mused, fingers tented as he thought.
"We gotta shut 'em down, Charlie. I know you don't want to be a part of it, but it's just gonna be a matter of time before Creed shows up – lookin' for her or me, and when he does, he'll tip them off in a heartbeat," Logan said, his tone determined.
Charles nodded in agreement. "It's a risk, yes. But it's one I'm afraid I agree we may have to take. K will be their primary target, but I doubt that they would pass up the chance to retrieve you if the opportunity was ripe, not to mention the temptation of nearly every other resident here," Charles said, watching Logan's reaction.
"I'll talk to Cap. See if we can get them to get a little intel for us. May even want to lend a hand if he meets her," Logan said, pulling out a cell phone. Charles nodded, waiting to hear the verdict. When the call ended Logan's met Charles' gaze. He said it out loud, though Charles already knew the answer. "Cap'll be here in a couple days. He's starting the intel search. With luck, we may get the Avengers on our side here. That program was supposed to be shut down years ago," Logan said.
"You know it wasn't, Logan," Charles said gently. "You know my concerns there. Losing the investment they had in you set them back significantly, but you were a technical success to them. The failure was their inability to keep you under their thumb."
Logan shifted and nodded as he looked down at his hands. He knew Charles was right, even if he didn't want to think about it that way. As Logan turned to walk out, Charles called out to him again. "Be sure that you fill in Scott on everything, please. He'll want to come up with a plan with Captain America."
"Sure, Chuck. "First thing in the mornin'," Logan answered. There just wasn't anything else that could be said at that point. Not without more information.
Charles was of course, concerned for all of their safety, but he couldn't help but wonder about Creed. Something the others had glossed over was his gentle touch when she was severely injured. He pondered it for a long while once he was alone. Was it the manner of how she'd gotten so severely ill that had Creed so uncharacteristically careful with her, or was it something more? It was alarming how clearly the psychotic mutant had a soft spot for the little woman. He tried to mull over Creeds contradictions, but soon found himself having to abandon the possible meanings.
He was sure Logan either hadn't picked up on it, or was so outraged at how they'd treated her, he had canceled it out in his mind seeing how vicious he'd gotten when Creed had suspected a link to Logan. But Charles had to admit, whatever kindness she'd received before, it was going to be all bets off when Creed discovered her current relationship with Logan.
Logan slipped into his room quietly, not wanting to disturb the woman he'd been growing so fond of that was sleeping in his bed. He stripped down to his boxers and slid under the covers. Her eyes fluttered open and she turned toward him as his weight moved the mattress. She slid her hand across his stomach and pulled herself to him just to kiss him gently over his heart. He pulled her closer and began showering her with tiny kisses in return.
He had worked his way from her jawline to her ear, then down her neck, across her collarbone and was working his way back up again. She was entwining her fingers behind his neck when there was a knock at the door. Logan groaned softly in complaint and dropped his head onto her shoulder.
"This better be good," he said with a growl as he turned his head to nip at her neck, and was rewarded with a smile from her as he did so.
"Sorry, Logan but we have an issue with Jubilee. She's gone," Scott said, his voice echoing slightly in the hallway.
"Damnit," he hissed, looking up at K's face, finding concern there at the news of Jubilee's disappearance. "Jeannie have any luck on her?" he asked as he quickly disentangled himself from her and the blankets.
"Yeah, she's off the grounds, probably fifty miles to the south east of here," Scott replied through the door.
Logan was mumbling to himself as he got dressed. He swore when he looked to the calendar with a frown.
"What is the deal with that damn calendar?" K finally asked, propped up on her elbow when Logan checked it for the second time as he pulled his uniform on and zipped it up. She got up as he dressed and slipped a pair of sweats on to follow him.
"My damn birthday's next week," he grumbled as he pulled on his boots.
But that told her nothing and she was utterly confused at his answer. "What the hell does that have to do with anything?" she asked as she followed him out the door.
"Creed's a week early," Logan replied as he turned to her. "Stay here. He's usin' her as bait. I don't want you getting in the middle right now." He jogged down the hall with Scott as she stared at their retreating backs.
She only waited a half second before she took off behind them. "I'm coming with," K told them just before she broke off with Jean as they rushed to the underground levels.
Jean watched her, unsure. "Is that a good idea?" Jean asked before handing her a uniform.
But K nodded grimly. "Logan said Jubilee was bait. My question is if it's to bring Logan there, or to lure him away? Besides, I will die killing that sonofabitch if that's what it takes. If he's done anything to her …." K drifted off, her jaw set as her nostrils flared.
Jean understood K's fire, of course, and the two women grimly made their way to the blackbird where the rest of the team had already gathered. Logan stood at the door clearly only to block her entry.
"No. I don't want you anywhere near him, darlin'." Logan told her, blocking her bodily. "You're not cleared for missions with us yet anyhow." His tone was unyielding and final. He moved his arm and let Jean onto the jet before he stopped the little brunette again. K narrowed her eyes at him before she tried to push his arm out of her way, irritated to find she couldn't move him. He blocked the way further and shook his head as he dipped his head down to catch her gaze.
"Out of my way, Logan," K warned, her tone just as final as his.
He shook his head. "I'm tryin' to protect you," he said, a tiny bit of pleading in his voice.
"Well, I'm getting on this plane," she countered, the edge in her voice much clearer. "Don't make me hurt you."
He smirked at her threat. "You can't hurt me, darlin'," he said, not intending his tone to be so condescending as he reached up and slid his hand into her hair. He caressed her cheek with his thumb. "We'll be back before you know it."
She blushed deeply as her anger rose in her cheeks as her hands tightened into fists. She could feel her temper boiling over. "Last chance, lover," she half purred, half snarled at him as the engines fired up.
"I'm sorry, really I am," he said, in a genuine tone of regret as he made to take a step back.
"Let her on, Logan," Jean called out to him. "She can help."
Logan glanced over his shoulder a moment, then brushed Jean's logic off. When he turned back to K, her expression had changed from livid to very calm, apologetic even as she slid her hands onto his shoulders and leaned in for a kiss, only to grip him tightly and knee him in the groin.
He doubled over, his chin on her shoulder before she pushed forward, knocking him onto his back then simply stepped over him and closed the door behind the both of them. Once the door was soundly shut and the engines began to fire up, she leaned over him to look him in the face, anger back on her features.
"I'm sorry, really I am. But I said I'm going," she growled out to him. She paused and knelt down to kiss him quickly on the cheek before she hastily took a seat next to Jean, who was doing her level best to keep her smirk under control.
A few minutes later, Logan stiffly took the seat across the aisle from her, glowering at her until she finally turned to face him.
"You didn't have to do that," he growled out, truly irritated with her.
She reached over and rested her hand on his knee. "I really am sorry about that. But you wouldn't listen," she replied as she let out a big breath. "You said that Jubilee was bait. For what exactly? Is he luring you there to fight, or to get you away from the school?"
His anger melted away as he thought it over. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I don't think he really puts much thought into it."
She shrugged, her hands open. "That's why I'm coming. Sometimes he does. If he's scouted, he knows I'm here, and not to take away from your feud, but he broke his pattern, right? How often does that happen?" Her argument was reasonable.
He shook his head. "You're not ready to fight him," he said, though he looked a little concerned even as she smiled and stole a kiss.
"I'm not going to. I'm just going to be your bait," she said cheerfully with a smile.
Logan immediately started to protest, but Jean cut across him. "She has a point. I'll stay with her. Scan for him, and hit him with a psy-blast if he gets too close," Jean promised in an attempt to sound nonchalant as the three of them hashed out a plan.
"What about the rest of us?" Scott asked from the pilot's seat. "What do we do?" Logan looked shocked. Was he really handing over the reins to him on this one?
"Spread out in pairs. Keep your eyes open, and put him down if you get the chance," Logan directed. Scott nodded in agreement, only then throwing in his two cents.
"Storm, you're with Gambit," Scott said in a clear tone. "Rogue with Iceman, Colossus with Kitty, Beast you stick to the jet, and I'll go with Wolverine. You got a problem with that, Logan?" Scott rattled off. Logan looked at K a moment, weighing it out before he quickly grunted out his approval. He covered her hand with his, then drew her hand up to his mouth, to kiss her palm.
Jean nudged her in the side then gave her a look, encouraging her to cross the aisle and go to him with a little blush.
K looked her way, but when Jean raised an eyebrow, she did just that. As soon as she was close, Logan pulled her into his lap, and nuzzled into her neck. "Don't let him touch you," Logan said quietly.
She nodded her head. "Oh, don't worry about me. You getting nervous, big guy? Your heart's beating real fast," she said, looking him in the eye. She could smell the anxiety on him and she could tell it wasn't his normal pre-mission stance. He pulled her closer and rested his forehead on hers.
"Just be careful, woman. Don't go and die on me now," he said very quietly.
"Don't fall too fast," she replied just as quietly, giving him a serious look. She kissed him again, but didn't linger too long. "And on the off chance this all goes south, Happy Birthday."
He looked sick for a moment as he slid her off his lap into the seat next to him. "I'll expect a present from you in the mornin'" he said gruffly, the catch in his voice giving away his mounting tension. Their hands entwined until the plane landed a short time later.
The team fanned out in pairs, Logan and K going in opposite directions, both testing the wind, K hoping not to find him, Logan wanting desperately to be the one who did. It was Jean and K however, who found Jubilee.
She was tied up, hands over her head, dangling from a tree by her wrists. Her head hung over her chest limply, blood was all over her tattered clothing and bruises had bloomed across her delicate features. Jean let the others know silently that Jubilee had been found and where to find her but K was on edge as she scanned the clearing. She was frustrated that the wind had died down around them making sniffing Creed out impossible.
A few minutes later as Jean pulled Jubilee out of the tree to assess her injuries better, Storm and Gambit appeared. Gambit stood near K, scanning the area, looking out for any sign of the monster. Jean sent out a little mental query as she looked for anyone outside of the group. Suddenly her eyes popped open.
"He's here – and he's close," Jean said quietly, looking around as she waited for the chance to blast him. Gambit charged a handful of cards, ready to assault the entire forest if need be.
Storm made the winds rise up, looking to K and gently shifting them, trying to give her a chance to sniff him out. K nodded at her, then closed her eyes and stretched out to her full tiny height to inhale deeply.
Jean – she projected out, I think I found him. He's off to the west. I can smell Logan and Scott to the north-northwest, Logan is tracking. Where are Iceman and Rogue? Jean looked behind her before answering.
They're behind us, coming up from the south-east. K nodded then pointed to the direction she knew Creed to be, cluing in the rest of the group. She needn't have bothered though as a few moments later, the sound of snarling erupted from that direction.
Bellowing, snarling ferocity, trees breaking and occasionally the sound of Scott's beams broke through the fray - always followed by an angry bellow from Creed. The fight was getting closer as Rogue picked up Jubilee and took her to Hank and the jet. The rest of the team spread out to wait for them to break through the clearing. When they did, Sabretooth was more crazed than any of them had ever seen him, even Logan.
The two men were locked together, their claws buried in the each other, neither willing to retract, both hoping the other would just bleed out. Wolverine's cowl and a large portion of his uniform was torn off, blood covered most of his body.
Creed was in no better shape. His clothing was shredded similarly, and blood dripped from his soaked hair. Scott came up behind them and motioned for them to spread out in a circle around the two and help Wolverine when the opportunity presented itself.
On seeing the X-men in the clearing, and his bait gone, Creed got madder somehow and just started to clench his fingers within Wolverine's sides causing the smaller man to scream out as Creed shredded him. He did the only thing he could do to retaliate – twisting his claws in Creed's chest and side as he made Creed scream out in agony to match Wolverine's.
Still, neither would yield. Creed pulled one hand free from Logan's back. He tore out a kidney and shredded his throat with his teeth before Logan could retract a claw. With a sickening gurgle, Logan's body went limp and Creed threw him to the side, stomping on his belly and groin, just trying to mutilate. Scott shot over his shoulder and Creed turned to the circle of X-men around him as he assessed the situation. He looked satisfied and ready to just run when his eyes locked on K and widened. He all but froze before he licked his lips clean of Logan's blood and turned to face her.
"I thought I smelled you on him. Now you're gonna pay," he growled as he stalked towards her, completely ignoring the near full team of mutants around him. When he was a few good paces from Logan's body, they all struck.
Gambit's cards flew as everyone's hair stood on end from the forthcoming massive bolt of lightning Storm fried him with. Before he could pass out, Jean blasted him with her full force, knocking him out as he hit the ground, unconscious and smoking. K leapt over him and ran to Logan's side. He wasn't moving at all. She leaned over him, listening for a heartbeat. It was quiet, but there, as was a very soft gurgling as he tried to breathe. She gritted her teeth and rubbed at her eyes on seeing how bad off he was and Scott rested his hand on her shoulder.
She felt horribly guilty and blamed herself for his condition just from Creed's little jibe before the X-Men gave him what for.
"He's come back from worse. Don't worry," Scott told her in a very gentle tone as he tried to be reassuring. Jean used her telekinesis to lift Logan's body. She floated him to the jet while Bobby brought Scott a set of strange metal gloves that slipped over Creeds' claws and a muzzle. The overall look seemed to really match the maniacal psychopath he was. They dragged him back with them and loading him into the cargo area, where he Scott put his 'boyscout' status to use and tied him tightly.
Meanwhile, K found her way back to Logan's side. She started to help clean him up, unable to do more while Hank continued to attend to Jubilee. When they landed, she stayed with Logan as most of the team hauled Creed to a cell. Scott said their intention was to keep him there until S.H.I.E.L.D. could retrieve him.
Hank gave K a chair next to Logan, and kindly gave her permission to remain with him. Jubilee had awakened on the jet and was mostly cleared by Hank before they hit the ground but would require a more thorough check up. Scott and Jean went to debrief with her on how it happened, and to find out if she knew his motives were more than just his yearly birthday wish for Logan.
K was sick to her stomach as she watched Logan ever so slowly knit back together. She leapt into a panic when his gurgling got louder. She was on her feet as she looked him over carefully and tried to find the cause of the decline. Hank appeared at his side a moment later and meticulously looked him over.
"Disturbing as it is, that is a good sign. He's getting more air now," Hank said gently before he patted her hand that was clutching on to Logan's. The sounds he was making were horrible and had her on edge. Hank seemed to be right though as his healing seemed to speed up considerably with the increased air. She started to drift off when the gurgling became quiet again. She leaned her head on his hand as she sat next to him. Not long after dawn, she woke up with him stroking her hair gently. Startled, she looked up, worry on her face as he smiled back to her.
"I am so sorry..." she started to say but he waved it off, urging her to come closer. She carefully sat on the edge of his bed and leaned over him when he grabbed her and pulled her to him only to kiss her deeply.
"Did he touch you?" he whispered, his voice raspy. She shook her head no as she stared into his icy blue eyes. He nodded and leaned back into the pillow for a few moments. "Let's get outta here then," he rasped, before he sat up and slid his legs off the bed. She rushed to his side, ready to help him if he needed it, but as soon as he was upright, he was rock solid.
His battered appearance gained a few looks from curious newer students as they made their way up the stairs. He pulled her into his bedroom pushed her back towards the bed. She was taken back by his borderline aggressive tone. When she fell back onto the bed, he followed her as soon as he'd shed what was left of the yellow and blue uniform, pulling her tightly to him.
"Logan – I'm not going anywhere," she said breathlessly as he nibbled her neck and curled around her. "You don't need to go a hundred miles an hour."
"Been a rough day. We were interrupted, and then you kneed me in the balls," he growled out. "If that wasn't nice enough that was followed up by that jackass tearin' out my throat. I just wanna curl up with my woman," he mumbled as he continued nibbling on her neck.