Nobody had stopped Victor nor had they protested when he carried Charlie out of the mansion and put her into a car from the garage, laying her out carefully on the backseat. He drove to a plot of land he hadn't been to since the sixties: the commune where he left Charlie to go fight in the war. The buildings were dilapidated, the weeds had long since overtaken the grass, and the old house where they had lived smelled very strongly of dirt, urine, and animal feces. Victor cleaned out most of the house and put Charlie in the bedroom, the bed still unmade and the comforter had been theirs. A small cloud of dust was expelled from the mattress as he laid her down. As luck would have it, the car he stole had groceries in it. The pack must have gone shopping just before he took the car. He rummaged through the bags and smirked when he found a bag full of liquor. He snatched it up and took it into the house, closing the door. He pulled a bottle from the bag, not bothering to see what it was, uncapped it and took a drink, standing in the doorway of their bedroom and looked at his dead mate.

The longer Victor watched her, waiting for some sign that she was just fucking with him and would wake up, the angrier he got. The bottle was half empty when Victor let out a roar, threw the bottle against the dust covered dresser and slammed his boot into it. Kicking it until it was nothing except splinters, Victor was panting for breath and still furious when his eyes landed on a suitcase. It was one of Charlie's old ones, a hideously ugly yellow color that she had loved. The latches were constantly coming undone and after a particularly nasty confrontation at an airport, Victor vetoed her use of the damn thing. He kicked it for good measure, knocking it into the far wall and it popped open when it landed.

"Don't know why she kept this piece of shit." Victor grumbled, moving to pick it up. Charlie had always been weirdly protective of her suitcase. He squat down to collect some papers that had fallen out when he kicked it. He flipped the suitcase open all the way and tossed the papers in when a book caught his eye. He picked it up because why the hell not and read the title before scoffing in disbelief. "She kept it."

The book, Alice's Adventures Underground, had been a gift from Victor to Charlie after she had fallen in love with the story. The book piqued his curiosity about the rest of the contents of the suitcase and he started to rummage through it. He found a bottle of perfume that was still mostly full. Victor unstopped it and took a sniff, the scent of cinnamon and roses filling his nose. Yet another gift from Victor, or rather something Charlie saw and wanted and Victor didn't tell her no. He put the bottle down and picked up one of the stray pieces of paper.

Kitten,

Club's opening tonight and you need to be ready to go at five. Car's gonna pick you up. Be ready to go and don't make me wait.

There was a kiss print made with red lipstick on the bottom of the note, something Charlie must've done when she read the damn thing. Every single note he had left for her, whether it was instructions to get ready to leave or to tell her that he had gone, she had kept and pressed a kiss on the bottom of it.

Kitten,

Out late. Don't wait up.

Kitten,

Can't make it back tonight. Sorry.

He remembered that letter. That had been her birthday and he had sent a silver locket to her to make up for his not being there. Victor couldn't remember the job he was on but it must have been important to have missed Charlie's birthday. He found a book with a worn leather cover and opened it, the spine creaking as he did so. There was a rose pressed inside the front cover and Victor sat down on the floor, his back to the wall and read what he realized to be Charlie's journal.

July 1850

Victor took me to Spain and bought me a beautiful dress. This last job must have gone well because now he is feeling extremely generous. Not that he's ever stingy with his money (as long as it's spent on me) but this is more than usual. I love this man more than I thought I would. I've missed him while he was gone but hopefully we have time before his next job.

August 1850

I miss my family. I'm glad to be here in Italy but I do miss Grandfather. A strange woman came to our villa today, peddling different cures for different ailments and several perfumes. I bought a lot of them, much to Victor's irritation, and got her name: Julienne. Her skill is unbelievable and I plan on buying from her again.

Victor didn't want to read anymore and put the journal aside, sorting through the various trinkets he had given to her throughout the years. This was too much for him. He was supposed to protect her and because she rejected him, he wanted revenge and he wanted his cub. Now his mate was dead and all he had left of her was his daughter and a box full of memories that he didn't want to think about anymore. Victor got up and retrieved yet another bottle of liquor and spent the night watching his mate and drinking. He fell asleep without realizing it and jerked himself awake, the new morning light shining through the broken pieces of the boarded up windows. His instincts told him something was wrong, that something was watching him and his eyes scanned the room, glancing at Charlie's body then going to investigate the rest of the house. It proved empty and he raised the bottle back to his lips.

A sharp blow to the back of his head made his vision fuzzy and he shook his head to clear it, snarling as he got up. Another quick blow knocked him back down and he lost conciousness.

-0-

When he came to, Victor was in a cage with electrified bars. His head was pounding and he sat up, trying to clear the fog from his brain and assess the situation. There were at least a dozen men in white coats scurrying about and he could smell blood. Then his eyes landed on Charlie's body on a gurney, her chest and stomach sliced open, and two white coated men were wrist deep in her stomach. An inhuman sound ripped from Victor's lips as he launched himself at the bars of his cage, disregarding the electricity coursing through his veins when he touched them.

A woman clicked her tongue at him as she approached. "Now, now, Mr. Creed. There's no need for this."

"What the hell do you think you're doin' to her?!" Victor's voice was gutteral and would have scared a normal human to death.

"The same thing I have done to her mother. I've killed her." The woman replied. "Let me introduce myself. I am Julienne Dubois."

"I don't give a rat's ass who you are 'cause when I get out of here, you're dead."

"Come now, Mr. Creed." Julienne cooed. "There is a reason you were employed. You are strong, ruthless, and willing to do whatever is necessary to get your money—or your claws dipped in blood. Why should she matter so much? You could find another woman."

Victor just glared at her.

"It was...unfortunate that you took Roxanne-"

"Don't say her name." Victor interrupted.

"-back to her mother." Julienne continued as though he didn't speak. "But we must adjust as needed, oui?"

"Go to hell."

"Wouldn't you like to know about your part in this?" Julienne asked. When she was met with silence, she said, "We're building an army, you see. Made up of humans and mutants alike. But we need sweet Roxie to control the soldiers and we need you to control Roxie."

"Stay the fuck away from her." Victor warned.

"You have a choice." Julienne said. "You can help our cause and bring your daughter here and help us control her or I will kill her while you watch."

A/N: Welp, there's the next chapter and I hope you all enjoyed it. If any of you guys enjoy Agents of Shield/Avengers crossovers, feel free to read my Phil/OC fic. As far as this story goes, I do hope you're enjoying it and I thank all of you who have reviewed. All questions will be answered, I promise. Reviews are food for my muse so feel free to leave one. :)