A/N - So. totally no excuse as to why it's taken me this long to post this other than I have been distracted, okay. So. Sorry bout that. here. Have a ginormous chapter to make up for it.

Chapter 36 - Bad Puddytat

Scott had been meeting with Charles regularly ever since what had happened with the department. They hadn't been able to figure out how to lock the Phoenix away entirely, but they were working on some serious safeguards.

It was working - at least somewhat. Scott was getting better control of his powers, and he was getting better at ignoring the Phoenix, even if it wasn't completely silent or gone. But he'd take whatever little steps he could get.

"You're making progress, Scott, even if you don't feel like you are," Charles said.

"Thanks," Scott said, though it was hard to feel like there was much progress when his jacket was lying on the couch because he'd been sweating and hot while they built a fortress around the Phoenix in his mind.

"You are fighting a cosmic entity," Charles said.

"I know," Scott said. "And I appreciate all you're doing. Don't think I don't," he added quickly, since his frustrated tone was only too easy to misinterpret.

"I know. But I know how frustrated you must be."

Scott spread his hands out wide. "I'm trying to lead a team, take care of my baby sister, and keep my parents from freaking out - and this thing is making every single one of those goals harder. It's not on you, really."

"I know. I only wish that there was something more I could do to help you."

"You and me both, professor. If there was a better, permanent solution, I'd bend over backwards to get it," Scott admitted.

"I think it would be safe to say all of us would."

"And that means a lot to me too," Scott said, picking up his jacket to put it over his shoulder. "Really. Thanks. Even just keeping this thing behind walls and doors is doing wonders for my sanity." He thumbed over his shoulder. "You coming to Kurt's party at Harry's? Most of the team is already there, but Sammy's having a tantrum, so Mom and Dad and I said we'd catch up when she figures out it's not the end of the world when she can't open the door by herself."

"I was going to stay back, honestly," Charles said. "Harry's gets to be a bit … busy for me."

"You know, you could not eavesdrop," Scott couldn't help but point out with a crooked smirk.

"That's not what I was talking about, Scott," Charles said flatly. "It's not the easiest place to get in and out of, for one thing. And the crowd is a bit rowdy for my tastes."

"Right. Sorry; I didn't think about that."

"It's no bother to me," Charles said. "As I said - even if it was easier to access, the crowd isn't for me."

"Well, next time, we'll go somewhere else to celebrate," Scott decided. "You're part of the group too, you know."

"I do know that," Charles said. "But it's more than enough to have all of you here."

"Thanks for that too," Scott said as he headed for the door with a smile. As tired as he was, he was finding that the more he worked on contingency plans for the Phoenix, the more he wanted to make sure everyone in his life knew where they stood. Just in case.

And with that, he made his way to where his family was gathered in the living room, still feeling the aftermath of a tired tantrum. Sam had transitioned from simply having a fit to rubbing her eyes and looking honestly worn out and was even giving Logan a little trouble on settling in - which she never did.

"You want me to take her?" Scott offered. "I know you promised Kurt you'd be there for his birthday."

"She's probably getting sick," Logan said in a soft rumble as he ran his hand over Sam's hair.

Scott sat down on the couch and reached out to boop Sam's nose. "Hey, you trying to get every cold that passes through the school?"

"Noooooooo," Sam whined.

"Good, because I like it when you're happy," Scott said, then glanced at Logan. "Think you and I could go for a walk?" he offered. "Mom and Dad are going to go somewhere too, but you and I can look at all the stars for a while, huh?"

"Nokay," Sam mumbled.

Scott smirked and gently shifted so he could pick Sam up and let her lean on him. "Let's go get your blanket," he said, already walking off with her and making sure to keep her attention so Logan and K could slip out.

"Thanks," K said, looking down at herself for a moment. "I'm going to change real quick before we go. She got some drool on my shoulder."

"The horrors," Scott teased.

"I know. I'll just get drool on me at the bar I'm sure."

"That's even worse," Scott said.

"I didn't say who it would belong to," K pointed out as she rushed up the stairs.

Scott laughed to himself, shaking his head as he walked off with Sam, even grabbing her favorite blanket to wrap around her shoulders so that she wouldn't be too cold outside while they were looking at the stars - and he was trying to get her to calm down enough to sleep, even if she clearly didn't want to.

"C'mon, Sammy; I know you're tired," Scott said as he tucked the blanket in around her shoulders better.

"Not tired."

"Okay," Scott said, shaking his head at her stubbornness. "Can we go inside and snuggle? I'm kind of tired."

"Nokay," she said, nodding quietly.

Scott smiled and bounced her slightly as he headed back inside. "We can start a fire in the fireplace and curl up. Sound good?"

"Yes," she said - and it was the clearest he'd heard her say it that way, too.

"You're so smart, you know that?" Scott said, balancing her on one side as he shouldered open the door. "You're going to be smarter than me; I just know it."

"Nooooooooooo," she giggled.

"Sure you are," Scott said, booping her nose. "Smart Sammy."

"Shush," she said, reaching up to cover his mouth.

Scott smiled and kissed her fingers, then headed to the living room to set her down so he could get a fire started, occasionally pausing to head back over to her, tuck her up in the blankets, and cover her in kisses and tickles before he went back to what he was doing. By the time he got the fire roaring, he could tell Sammy was finally starting to drift off, and he smirked to himself as he came to sit on the couch with her and get her all arranged with her favorite blankets, all snuggled into him.

"You alright with her?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, I think she'll go to s-l-e-e-p if we stay here long enough," Scott said, making himself more comfortable too. "Go have fun. My present's on your dresser if you and Mom could bring it to Kurt for me."

"Sure," Logan agreed. "If that's how you want to run with it."

"Hey, maybe I'll make it later," Scott said.

"Most of 'em can't stay that long," Logan said. "They start kickin' out the under age kids at ten anyhow."

"Few more months."

"Yeah, like seven. You got a weird count on a few."

Scott grinned at Logan upside down on the couch. "Hey, I'm close."

"Uh huh," Logan said, nodding as K made her way toward them - changed and ready to go. She crossed the room to kiss Scott's head and take just a moment to rest her head on his shoulder so she could go nose to nose with Sam too. Sam, for her part, opened her eyes just long enough to smile at her mother before her eyelids seemed to be too heavy and she started to drift off honestly.

Which Scott appreciated. He really was hoping to catch at least part of the party, so if Sam went to sleep soon, he could at least come for an hour before things closed. So, he was being very, very quiet and still.

"If you boys want to go I can stay," K offered.

"Nah," Scott said. "I'm being selfish and stealing Sammy."

"Yeah, that's what you're doing," K said, shaking her head before she kissed both of them. "I'll be back soon - and you can go in my place and drive your Dad and Kurt home. Just for appearances."

"If you say so," Scott said, knowing his mom wouldn't let him miss out on the whole party if she was going to feel responsible for it.

"I do. You need to celebrate with your team," she said.

"So go have fun. I'm cutting into your time," Scott teased in a whisper while Sammy was drifting off on him.

Logan took a hold of K's arm at the elbow and pulled her along with him just as Charles came out to sit with Scott as his parents stepped out for a moment - though neither of them said anything when they were hoping Sam would go to sleep.

The house was still and quiet except for the sound of Sam snoozing and the grandfather clock in the hall tick-tocking evenly. Scott himself was on the verge of passing out with Sam snuggled up under the little blankets and cozy on the couch. At least, he was ready to sleep all the way up until he heard an odd long, scratching noise that seemed to just draw itself out forever.

Scott frowned and picked himself up as much as he could without moving Sam. Professor…?

I can't sense anyone, Charles replied, though he too, was frowning deeply and looking around the room with Scott. Even for as quiet as it was, it simply didn't feel right.

So when the lights went out next, leaving only the fire in the room, both of them were instantly on the alert, and Scott got to his feet. Could someone be shielding you? He asked Charles, even as he kept a hand on his glasses.

Not likely, Charles said.

I'm going to get Sam out of here, Scott decided, already moving to gather up her things.

Probably wise, even as a precaution, Charles agreed, frowning deeply as he began to concentrate harder on their surroundings. It might be smart for you to leave entirely.

I was going to head for the boathouse and reassess from there. Dad's Jeep is there.

Go, Scott.

But the tone Charles was using had Scott pausing. "What about you?"

"Just go," Charles repeated.

If it had just been the two of them, Scott would have argued it, but with Sam there, he knew she was the priority, and with a frustrated groan, he broke off from the living room and headed for the garage - only to find that the tires on all the cars were slashed.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Scott said, narrowing his eyes as he looked around for the intruder, while Sam wriggled in his arms, somewhere between waking up and going back to sleep. She startled slightly at the sound of a wrench falling on the other side of the garage, and Scott held her a bit tighter, one hand on his glasses as he kept his gaze on that side - though he still didn't see anyone as he backed toward the door until he had his hand on the door handle. Then, he saw a flicker of movement, and he picked up his glasses to fire a shot that way.

So of course that was when the Phoenix decided not to let him use his powers.

"Damnit," Scott bit out as he let his glasses fall back down - only to hear a low, familiar chuckle nearby.

"Oooh, lookie who's havin' trouble," Creed drawled out in a delighted tone. "Or am I wrong in thinkin' you don't usually talk like that, shrimp?"

Scott turned toward the sound of Creed's voice. "Finally crawled back out of your hole?" he said.

"Just had to find the right time to drop in," he said, stepping out where Scott could see him - though he didn't stay there long, slipping into the shadows smoothly instead. "Looks like the little whelp didn't suffer any."

Scott glared into the darkness and then let out a scoff of breath as he found the door handle and opened it. "You're not worth my time," he said, already heading back in.

"You really think goin' inside's gonna stop me from what I came here for?"

Scott rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Go find a rock to crawl under."

"I know you're alone with the brat and the old man."

"Great. You've learned to count."

"Won't do ya any good to call for help either," Creed said, not bothered by Scott's dry sass. "Phone lines won't work. Cut 'em at the road, but if you think you can make a break for it … be my guest."

Scott shook his head, even as, along with the glow to his eyes dying off, there was a voice in the back of his head pointing out the easy path to getting rid of him. "You've picked a bad time, Creed," he said. "You have no idea how badly this is going to turn out for you."

"I think I did pretty good, boy," Creed said stepping out of the shadows a lot closer than he'd sounded - and looking bigger than he should have been able to.

Scott glared a moment longer, his head still ringing with the promise of fire, before he decided to get out of there before another incident like the one with the department could happen. He slammed the door to the garage behind him and took off, already calling out to Charles to let him know what the story was.

I'm reaching out to the team. Kurt is too inebriated to get them back, but they are on the way, Charles promised, sounding stressed.

As Scott and Charles tried to come up with a way to get help, Creed found his way inside - not following Scott's footsteps of course. That would have been too easy and too predictable, and Creed knew that keeping the kid off his game was good for his own health. Besides, a healthy dose of fear only made the whole endeavor better. And little Scotty was right on the brink of full-scale terror. That on its own was enough to make Creed want to stretch it out.

With a crash, the front windows broke in the living room, but nothing but the night breeze blew in billowing the curtains inward and making it that much harder to focus on what should and what should not be moving in the room. As Scott and Charles braced for a hit - Creed made his way in from the opposite direction - announcing himself only by a few quick, heavy footfalls before he reached out and slashed at Scott, tearing open a thin line from his shoulder to his hip.

Scott cried out but only held onto Sam tighter, instinctively angling himself so she was covered as Creed stepped back, though Creed could see some of the glow was back to the glasses, even if he didn't know it was fire instead.

"You should introduce me to the kid," Creed said, grinning widely enough that his overly elongated canines were easily visible.

"She doesn't waste her time with trash," Scott said through his teeth.

"Oh, you don't think she wants to meet yer ol' Uncle Victor? Just a matter of time anyhow."

"Seriously, Creed, back off," Scott said, his eyes shining a little brighter.

"Or what?" Instead of curling his hands into fists, Creed was slowly extending his fingers - letting the claws curl out as his fingers reached full extension.

"Or there's not going to be enough ash left of you to fill a dustpan," Scott shot back.

"Careful who you threaten, boy," Creed said, towering over both of them - until very suddenly, he grinned and darted off to scoop up the professor by the throat. "How about a trade?"

"Let him go," Scott said, even as Charles projected to him to get Sam out.

"Like I said. A trade," Creed repeated. "I won't hurt her … him, though.…" He smiled wider. "No promises."

Scott's mind was racing a mile a minute. "I can't trust you with her," he said sharply.

"Trust games are fun, Scotty-boy."

"Look, leave the professor out of this," Scott said, trying to sound reasonable. "You want to screw with my family, deal with me."

"Lissen, kid. If you could hammer me, you would have. But you can't. So drop the show and make a call. Gimmie the girl or I shred your old man here to pieces."

Scott was already shaking his head, but he couldn't even begin to make that kind of call. He knew he'd pick Sam in a heartbeat, but there had to be another way - one that didn't involve the Phoenix.

But before he could even begin to open his mouth, a low growl echoed through the room.

"Victor. Drop. Him. Now," K growled out low as she stepped in to see the layout on how things had gone south so fast. "Scott - take my keys." K didn't turn away from watching Creed as she shoved her keys into his hand. "Get out."

Scott closed his hand around the keys but still hesitated. "The professor-"

"I know," K said, though rather than try to talk, she turned and started to walk right toward Charles and Creed. "Your hands are full - gonna have to make a choice," K said - picking up speed the closer she got.

Creed faltered for just a second, sure she was bluffing - all the way up until she popped her claws, and surprising K more than she'd react to - Creed let go of Charles and backed up a few paces.

Scott didn't question their luck and darted in, not even giving Charles enough time to recover before he had Sam in Charles' lap and was flat out running with Charles' chair to get them out of there.

Which left K to deal with Creed.

It was like no fight K had ever experienced with Creed. Every time they'd ever had to fight, he'd always relied on his size and strength to snatch her up and hold her too close for her to fight him. And every time, she'd stab and slash and bite him until he had her pinned tight. But this time, he was trying to keep distance. The hits she was landing were all superficial. Every one of them.

And her frustration at not getting close to him caused her to take a lot more time to realize that even the little cuts she was managing were bleeding him out. But when she did see it … it was enough to get K to pause. Creed was trying to catch his breath and K's entire expression went sort of slack a split second before she met his gaze. Creed answered her look of dawning comprehension with a growl - and a charge.

Big as he was, he was still wickedly fast, and when he rushed her, from that close, it was almost inevitable that she lost her footing trying to backtrack. He grabbed a hold of K's arm, but quickly regretted it when she popped her claws into his stomach with her free hand - forcing him to not only let her go- but to push her away hard to gain some distance.

It was a hard enough toss that once again, she lost her footing as Creed took to throwing her like a rag doll any time she got close enough to nail him with a hit. But that meant he actually had to catch her when she attacked every time.

A shot rang out, and it was only the fact that they were moving so fast that meant neither of them were hit, though both of them looked over to see Scott leveling his aim again with a shotgun. He'd gotten Charles and Sam to the boathouse - and grabbed the shotgun he and Logan used on hunting trips. He narrowed his eyes as he lined up his next shot. "You're not looking too good," he said. "Told you to get lost."

"Get them safe," K said, and though she was out of breath, it wasn't anywhere near as bad as Creed was.

"'Ro's on it," Scott said.

"You too," K said as she darted in - and after a quick scuffle with K darting around Creed, she slashed out and cut his achilles tendons, only catching a claw across her arm as she slipped away from him. "He's not going anywhere."

"Yeah, and I'm not leaving you alone with him," Scott said firmly.

"I've got it," K growled out low. From the ground, Creed was glaring harder than Scott had seen before - and the growl he was emitting was lower and far more constant than he'd heard on anything before. He was bloodied and bruised, but just by body language, it was clear he was more than ready to take whoever he could with him on his way down.

"Still gonna back you up," Scott said without lowering the shotgun.

K began to circle closer, looking for an opening that wouldn't get her caught up by his long reach as Creed kept his focus on her as she tried to work around him. When she started her rush, Creed looked for a moment as if he was trying to avoid her - only to shift and lunge at her. He caught her leg with the claws on three fingers, curling his fingers as soon as he felt the claws sink in. As his hand closed around her ankle, he snarled and pulled her closer - his other arm raised and obviously ready to slash her. His arm came down and the shrrip echoed the room at the same moment that K raised her arm, too - but it wasn't in self defense, and she didn't even try to block as she sunk her claws into his chest - dead center.

For a moment, Creed was smiling at her in a satisfied way - he'd managed to slice her up deeply, catching her across the face and down her neck and chest almost to her waist. But as he smiled, K shifted her arm for a little better leverage and twisted her wrist hard. Which made Scott's slug to Creed's shoulder just a little salt in the wound.

Everything was still for a long moment and slowly, Creed simply fell forward, pinning K in place in a way that made retracting her claws and getting away from him entirely impossible.

The hall was silent for a moment before Scott rushed over to help K get out from underneath Creed, swearing under his breath the whole time until they both finally got Creed shifted and Scott was able to pull K out and look her over. "We've got to get you out before he heals."

"Scott. He wasn't healing," K said.

"I noticed," Scott said. "But you and Dad have worn down like that before-"

"No," K said, shaking her head before she gestured to Creed. "Every cut I landed is still there. Every one." She gestured toward Creed's still body. "He's got scars, Scott."

Scott's eyes were wide behind his glasses, though it was hard to tell with the intense glow still there. "How…?"

"I don't know. And I don't really care," K said, still sitting on the floor not far from where Creed was laid out.

Scott shook his head and came to sit down by her, obviously thinking it over even as he watched Creed for any sign of movement.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll take his head off," K offered.

"If you think he's dead, that's good enough for me. Your paranoia level is higher than mine," Scott pointed out.

"I'm watching him," she said. "And I'll keep watching him until Logan gets here."

Scott nodded, falling silent for a long time until, finally, he said, "Last time you saw him, Sinister took off with him."

"Yes," K agreed. "And Sinister wasn't happy with him."

"And it stands to reason if he can add powers to his own powerset, he could take them away, right?" Scott muttered.

"It's … possible, I guess," K said.

"That's got to be it," Scott said. "We didn't hear from Creed last year on Dad's birthday. But that wasn't too long after Sinister died. He might still have been recovering."

K nodded slowly, but she still didn't take her focus from Creed. "I'm okay with that."

"Yeah. Me too."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so." Scott let out a long breath. "That makes two good things the guy ever did for me."

"Yeah? What was the first?" K asked.

Scott tapped his glasses. "These."

"Is everyone okay?" K asked, showing some wear as she leaned further back.

"Yeah, Ororo got there about the same time I got the professor and Sam out. She's making sure he gets himself looked over." Scott gestured vaguely to his neck. "Bruising."

K frowned and turned to look Scott over. "You have more than bruising, don't you?"

"I'm okay."

"No. I'm okay."

"Well, I'll be okay," Scott said, trying to shrug her off - though that was never going to happen now that she was on the scent.

"Oh. then I guess you'll be okay if I use this giant jackass for a pillow until someone that'll look you over comes in?" K said, shifting as if she really was going to do just that.

"Mom, no."

"I'm tired. You're fine."

Scott rolled his eyes and then relented, pulling his shirt over his head to toss at her. "It's not deep," he said.

"Then it won't take long for Hank to clean and bandage," K said.

Scott shook his head and then got to his feet, offering K a hand up. "Look, I'm just sticking with you until the rest of the team gets here. Just in case."

"Fine," she said. Though once she was upright, she turned him to look at his injury.

"I'm sure you know where the supplies are in our medical wing," Charles said in a hoarse voice as he made his appearance known - with Ororo holding Sam behind him. It was obvious Ororo had already patched him up, but Hank would likely want another look at the bruising at his neck. "I believe I can watch over a corpse without complaint, since you both seem unable to leave your post."

"You're not watching him alone," K said.

"I won't leave him," Ororo promised.

"I'm fine. He should get his neck looked at," K replied.

"And Scott should get his back looked at," Ororo said. "The team is on their way. I was the faster windrider."

K gestured openly. "There you go. Scott - take Charles to get the both of you cleaned up."

"Fine," Scott said, shaking his head at both of them - though with Ororo there to look after his mom, he at least felt better about leaving.

By that time, several of the rest of their teammates had arrived, and while most of them were distracted by the dead Sabretooth and the fact that Sam had been there, Hank went straight down to the medical suite, knowing that any dealings with Creed would have to mean injuries even before he got any information from K.

So by the time K had healed enough that she really could move - seeing as Creed had done her some serious damage before she had managed to kill him - both Scott and Charles were clearly in good hands, and Hank was just finishing up.

"I can just go to bed if you're still busy," K said. "Especially if Sam is cleared too."

Hank waved her over with a kind smile. "I'm just finishing up," he said. "It helps to have Charles help me talk your stubborn son into letting me help," he added in a teasing tone.

"You've been working with him for this long and you still don't know how to say please?" K said.

"I do," Hank laughed. "But I get 'I'm fine' in response."

"So … you know how to tell when he's lying, don't you?" K asked as she made her way over to Scott and Sam to look them over herself quickly.

"Oh, yes. Every time he says 'I'm fine'," Hank chuckled.

"Well, that's just a negative outlook, right Caramel Mocha?"

Scott smirked her way. "See? Mom gets it."

Hank shook his head at both of them, even as he booped Sam on the nose. "Your brother and your mother are a terrible team-up," he informed her with a crooked smile.

"My Camoka," Sam said with a grin before she leaned into Scott and snuggled up.

Hank laughed and shook his head before he turned to K. "They're both cleared to go. I was just going to run a few scans on our dear professor to be double sure."

"Great," she said, nodding to herself.

"And you?" Hank asked gently. "I know I can't help you physically, but I did want to ask how you were doing."

K's whole body language relaxed as she turned toward him - just to look him squarely in the eyes. "I'm fine."

Hank couldn't help but laugh. "As you say."

"A little hungry, but nothing I can't take care of on my own," she clarified. "Is that more comprehensive for you?"

"Yes, thank you," Hank chuckled. "And as the resident almost-doctor, I'd also prescribe a solid hug from all three members of your family. Purely for medical purposes, I'm sure."

"I think they'd do that anyhow," K said.

"Of course," Hank said, still smiling.

They're all glad to see you come out the other side of this so well, Charles projected to K - not speaking out loud because his throat was hurting him.

K glanced toward Charles for an instant. Yeah, lots of faith on that one.

All things considered, given the history with him, we really are relieved, Charles said. I'm only sorry I complicated matters for you and Scott.

You didn't, K said.

Yes, well. Charles gave her a tight smile. Thank you, all the same.

You didn't think I'd let you die, did you? K asked.

Charles shook his head. No - but I was also quite clear with Scott that Sam was the priority.

Even if Sam hadn't have been there - I would have done the same thing, she told him. I'm no more willing to let these kids lose you as I am to see them forced away from their families.

Charles couldn't even begin to hide his pleasantly surprised smile. I admit I don't know what to say.

So don't say anything. It's not necessary anyhow.

Thank you, Charles said, his tone all warmth.

Get some rest, Charles. You need it.

I should tell you the same thing. Especially knowing what a thorn he was in your side.

Oh, I plan to sleep through the next few days, K admitted.

Good. I'm glad to see you taking care of yourself as well.

It's about all I can to do stay upright right now, K replied with a tone of amusement. Not a choice.

Then I'm sure Scott will be more than happy to help you to your room. Lord knows he needs something to do to take care of the people he loves. Charles smiled. It's a trait I think we all share.

Debatable, K said, though she was urging Scott to take Sam. "You carry her, please. I need a shower and a detox."

Scott nodded, though he was watching her closely. "I'll send Dad your way," he decided, suspecting she needed more support than she was admitting.

"Oh, good. He was probably looking for a project," she teased.

Scott shook his head and laughed as he put his arm around her shoulders, giving her a little support whether she asked for it or not. "C'mon," he said. "I think we all need some sleep after that."