The alarm sounded and the fight began. Her claws dug into his arm, and he responded by hitting her in the face.
When Stryker had told him, that he was going to be sparring against a creature created to be a weapon, Victor didn't expect that it would be nothing but a fucking kid… However, this fucking kid had turned out to be more than what meets the eye. At first sight, she looked like nothing but a skinny, defenseless little girl. Victor's senses had instantly told him, that she was a mutant, though. It was something about her smell. Somehow it was different, from the rest of the people here.
Everyone else here reeked of weakness, so it was no wonder they needed someone stronger, someone the girl wouldn't kill in the blink of an eye. Victor still didn't know why Stryker wanted her to be stronger, though. Was there some war going on outside these walls? Well, he wouldn't really give a shit if there was. As soon as he was done here and had gotten the adamantium, he was promised, a measly war wouldn't be a problem for him. Hell, maybe he would even join it? Not to fight on one of the sides, but just kill some time. See how much stronger the adamantium actually made him. Oh yeah to feel their blood run in his hands, to see the fear in their eyes when they realized that their weapons couldn't stop him! He could see them before him right now, shaking, shooting with everything they'd got, smell them pissing their pants, hear their hearts racing. He could feel the adrenaline pumping just by the thought of it.
He was so caught up in his fantasy, that he hadn't noticed X-23 making her next move before it was too late: She grabbed him by the shoulders and swung him around, screaming out her usual shrill roar, until he hit the ground!
Victor managed to kick her off from him, allowing himself to get back on his feet. They started circling each other, like a couple of animals, growling and baring their teeth. Victor was the first to make the move, making them run towards each other scratching and biting like there was no tomorrow.
She was good. He had to admit that, even though he didn't like to do so. But goddammit, she was annoying! Every time she made that stupid scream, he wanted to rip off his own ears! In the beginning, he had been fine with it, when it was from the pain he inflicted on her. It had made him feel powerful, even though he was fighting a child. But in the long run, it had started to bug him, since he couldn't make any permanent damage.
He didn't know how many times he had thought about ripping her head off and see if that would be enough to take her down, but the damn girl was too fast, and never let him anywhere near her neck, long enough for him to do any damage. No, she was definitely not that stupid.
In fact, she was pretty smart and an annoyingly quick learner. An example of this would be when Victor had lifted his left arm up in the air, to make it seem like he was going for her head. That had only been a distraction, while he had kicked her legs. However, the girl didn't fall for that trick twice: the second time he had tried to fool her like that, the blade in her foot had been ready for him. Just like that, she would pick up on his techniques, sometimes even try to copy them, if it would be an advantage for her.
The alarm sounded through the room again, and both of them knew that the training for the day was over.
X-23 withdrew her claws and let the soldiers lead her out of the room, almost like a trained puppy. She looked like one too with that silly collar around her neck. Victor, on the other hand, had made it clear that he didn't need any soldiers to babysit him. Instead, he walked out the door that had opened behind him, and back to the little room where he slept, ate and jerked off. It was very small, and only contained a dirty bed and a closet for his clothes. There wasn't even a window, but Victor didn't really care about that sort of luxury.
He didn't bother to turn on the light, before he threw himself on top of the bunk bed, moving around until he decided to lay on his back, hands between his pillow and back of his head, staring up at the cement ceiling.
He reached his left hand down, under the bed, and soon found the white baseball. He threw it up in the air above his face and caught it again before it hit him. He repeated that, throwing it higher and higher, until it hit the ceiling with a thud. It fell back down in his palm, just as the door was unlocked. Victor paused in his little game, and lifted his head, to see Stryker step him.
"Good evening, Victor. Would you mind if I turned on the light?"
Victor didn't respond. Instead, he laid back down and threw the ball up in the air again. Stryker clicked the switch, and the light bulb hanging from the ceiling started blinking until the light filled the room.
Stryker walked up beside the bed. "I would like to speak to you."
"Yeah? Well, talk," Victor grunted, still focused on the ball.
"How is the training with X-23 going?
"Victor caught the ball but didn't throw it again. He turned his head, giving Stryker a cocky smile. "You tell me. You're always watching it yourself, aren't you?"
Stryker made a small chuckle. "Oh, so you figured that out."
"Yeah. So tell me, major. How is the training going?"
"Well, I'll say it's going well. I've seen a very good progress."
Victor didn't say anything but he agreed. He could tell, that the girl had gotten stronger over the short amount of time he had been training with her.
"You've been doing a good job with her."
"Well, what can I say?" Victor smiled. "I'm the best there is at what I do..." He stopped in the middle of the sentence. He didn't know why he had said that, but it somehow felt familiar. However, he knew now, that it wasn't something he used to say.
Stryker raised an eyebrow at him, but Victor instantly decided that he didn't feel like sharing what he felt. Whatever it was.
"So I guess that means that my work is done?"
"No, not yet," Stryker answered firmly.
Victor sat up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he growled. "The deal was that I would sparre with the kid. I sparred with her and she has gotten stronger like you wanted, so I suggest that you keep your part too."
"And I will," Stryker said. "But your work is not done yet."
"It's not?" Victor growled. He was starting to lose his patience with this man. He had been cooped up in this place for God knows how long, and he wanted to get out, very soon. "Gotta tell you major, I'm starting to get bored from this. She had practically already learned all I can."
"Bored is it? Don't worry, Victor. I think that that will change tomorrow."
"Really? How so?" Would he finally give him the adamantium?
"You'll see," Stryker said. He turned around to leave the room. Victor had had about enough of Stryker's games. He stood up, following the man, but just as he was about to grab Stryker's shoulder, he felt an electric shock in the back of his skull. It paralyzed him and made him collapse on the floor.
Stryker turned around with a smile. "Oh no, no, don't you think that you can pull that shit around here, Mr. Creed."
Victor wanted to rip Stryker's tongue out, but he couldn't move. Stryker turned around again and left the room, turning off the light on his way out. When the door was closed and locked, the electric shock that had been running through his body, finally let go, allowing him to move again.
"Come back here, you piece of shit!" He instantly ran towards the door, hammering his fists against the metal, but it was no good. Neither were his claws, which only left a few scratches on the surface. That son of a bitch! Victor roared out in pure anger, as the realization washed over him: Stryker was never gonna give him the adamantium. He had never planned on holding his part of the deal. It had been a trap, and Victor had jumped right into it. Stryker was probably gonna use him, just like was gonna use the girl, as his personal puppet.
Victor turned away from the door, dark eyes scanning the room for something else to challenge his rage into his bed.
He jumped on top of it, claws tearing through the madness, ripping the sheets. Foam rubber was flying up around him, like Stryker's blood and guts would do, as soon as Victor saw him again. He didn't care how many soldiers came between them. He would kill all of them if necessary. It would be like nothing but a warm-up to him before he started the real torture. He would make Stryker beg for mercy, and then he would force him to give him the adamantium! Yeah, Stryker would definitely regret the day he had decided to take advantage of the Sabertooth!
o*o*o*
Rogue tied her hair in a tight bun and sighed. She leaned over the sink, supporting herself by holding onto the border. A pair of brown eyes stared back at her, with large dark circles underneath, that revealed how little sleep she had gotten over the last years.
She actually couldn't remember when she had slept a whole night, without staring at the ceiling for hours, thinking about her little girl, or waking up screaming from a nightmare about what Stryker would be doing to her.
Last night she dreamt that she could see Laura, standing in front of Stryker. Rogue herself had been standing very far away from them, but she could still see, Stryker, lifting his hand towards the toddler.
"Laura run!" Rogue had exclaimed. She started running towards them herself, but it was like she didn't get any closer to them. She had seen black strings, shoot from Stryker's fingers, wrapping themselves around Laura's ankles, wrists and neck.
"Mommy!" the little girl had cried before she had made a heart-wrenching scream.
Marie had woken up crying, screaming Laura's name, while Logan had wrapped his arms around her body, trying to comfort her.
Rogue bowed her head, while Laura's call echoed in her head. She heard the ajar door getting pushed open, and Logan stepped up behind her. "Marie?"
"Yes?" she raised her head.
"Are you ready?"
She just nodded, looking up in the mirror, to see the two X-men. Both of them were suited up and ready, for whatever they were gonna meet. Today was the day. The day they were gonna save their daughter. Thanks to Caliban they now had the exact location of where Stryker had hidden Laura. Thanks to him, Rogue was now filled with new hope.
However, it wasn't the only feeling that was growing inside her. No, even though she tried to ignore it, she couldn't help being nervous… What if Laura wasn't there, after all? The Professor had assured her, that Caliban's tracing-powers were unquestionable. She did believe the Professor, but she had been met by nothing but disappointments day after day, the last seven years. What if Stryker somehow had found out that they found him, and had changed the location? No. Even if that was the case, Caliban would be able to find her again. She had to stay positive, otherwise, she would lose focus. They were finally going to be reunited with their daughter.
"What if she doesn't recognize us, Logan?" Rogue asked, looking at him in the mirror. None of them had changed much the over the last years, thanks to Logan's healing factor, but still. "She was only four, the last time she saw us."
"She will remember us, darling," Logan assured her. "She might not remember what we look like, but she'll be able to recognize our smell."
He pulled her into a hug, and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with the smell he fell in love with. It was a smell that always made him feel calm and welcome, no matter where he was. He would never forget it, and neither would Laura. "Now come on, the others are waiting for us."
Rogue nodded and took his hand. Together they walked down to the jet shed, where they were met by the rest of the X-men: Jubilee, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, Storm, Beast, Ice-man and the Professor were all standing ready, to go. Ready to save Laura.
For a moment the sight made Rogue feel like crying. Even after seven years, these people had been ready every time they had thought, that they would find her. These people had been there for her, ever since she came to the mansion. They were her family.
Beast approached the couple. "Wolverine, Rogue. The submarine has successfully been attached to the jet."
"Great. Then what the hell are we waiting for? Let's go," Logan said.
To think: all this time, the base they had been looking for was hidden under water, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Rogue still couldn't believe that none of them had thought of that before. Caliban had shown them what direction Laura was in, a couple of days ago. They had managed to convince him to come with them onto the jet. He had told them to keep flying until there was nothing but water around them. Logan had started to get angry, blaming Caliban for playing tricks on them, until the Professor convinced him otherwise. He had earlier told them that the reason he could not locate Laura or Stryker, might be because Stryker had rebuild a Cerebro around his base. It had only been a theory of course, but Rogue believed that it was true.
Everyone followed Logan into the jet. Rogue walked past Caliban on the way. He had decided to come with them. To prove that he still wasn't one of them, he had refused to put on a suit. Instead, he was wearing a poncho, gloves, a hat, sunglasses and a scarf, to protect himself from the sun. Rogue gave him a small smile, and he responded with a nod.
It felt like the flight to the location took forever. Rogue wished that she could hold Logan's hand. She knew how much he hated flying, and even though she couldn't see his face, he was obviously very tense, considering his heavy breathing and tight grip on the armrest. She wasn't too crazy about flying herself, considering the number of times she had absorbed his personal trades, not to mention that time she fell off the jet.
Nightcrawler leaned over his armrest. "Don't worry, Rogue. Your family will soon be reunited again."
"Yeah, you're right," Rogue nodded. She could feel it in her heart. For every mile they flew, they were getting closer to Laura.