CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

Telling James

/and/

Sabretooth Meets The Avengers

AN: To: AutobotFangirl0203: I got great amusement from your review in how you run around the house like a psychopath (ROSMUND grins gleefully and stuffs popcorn in her mouth as she watches AutobotFangirl running around screaming her head off) I've got ear-plugs in so I don't mind.

To: AvalonTheLadyKiller: I simply ADORE your reviews, as usual. I'm still trying to hash out my plot. I've got the general idea; the search for the Infinity Serum, it's just the details I'm getting stuck with. Please bear with me. Thanks!

TO: My dear 'Plotbunny Guest" (pounces on and covers in hugs and purrs and then begins to throw millions of stuffed bunnies ontop of her) "I'm SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK! I have ordered the bunnies to make sure your internet works from hence-forth to infinity.

TO BAMON: Here's the next chapter! I've held up my end of the bargain, now FEMALE OF THE SPECIES and PRIMAL INSTINCTS PLEEEEEAAASE!

Also, I think I have carpal-tunnel syndrome. My dominant hand has been KILLING me, and so has definitely slowed the process of writing. A brace helps a great deal, but it's still painful…..more annoying then painful because I still can't stop writing. Yesterday I was typing all with my left hand…..which slowed down the process considerably.

ONTO THE STORY!...

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WHERE WE LEFT OFF: Victor has just received the news that someone has stolen Nick Furys Infinity Serum and is taking Cassie and Roddy to his younger brother James/Logan/Wolverine while he goes to try to sort things out.

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NO P.O.V IN PARTICULAR

The sounds Victor heard as he neared the room where the scent of his brother was strongest, would normally have amused him greatly.

"OW! MARIE!"

There were the sound of muffled southern giggles. "Ah'm sorry, sugah, but those bows are sure in tight."

"The little twerps didn't have ta do it THAT well—OW!"

"Well, ah thought it was really sweet of ya, sugah, there I got another pink one out."

Victor heard the cheerful voice of his little brothers fire-cracker packmate…What was her name…Jubilee?

"You didn't have to let'em do your hair, Wolvie."

"Yeah, well, the little ankle-biters swarmed me, I didn't have a chance." Victor heard Logan/Jimmy protest.

"That's not what it looked like to me." Jubilee sounded positively gleeful. A warning growl was the response she got.

Victor didn't wait to hear any more. Seeing as his arms were full of his mate and cub, he almost took the more expedient route of kicking the door down, but then decided that would leave more problems than he wanted to deal with at the moment. Instead, he gave the door the lightest tap he could manage with his moccasin-ed foot, which still made it tremble. "Open up the door, Jimmy! We've got problems!"

His shout, unfortunately, roused Roddy who had somehow managed to stay asleep so far, and the small reptilian cub started in Cassie's arms, who was also now decidedly more awake.

The door swung open immediately to a growling Wolverine with still a good deal of pink and other multi-colored bows in his spiky hair. Cassie's jaw dropped as she gaped for a minute, then snorted, then began to break out in a fit of giggles.

Roddy just blinked at the scene sleepily.

Victor rolled his eyes at his mates reaction and instead shouldered his younger brother out of the way to carry his mate and cub into the room. The dorm room, which had been originally only meant for two (Jubilee and Marie/Rogue) was now decidedly crowded with Jonesy and Clarisse and when you added the two huge ferals (even though Logan WAS shorter than Victor) it was now like a sardine can.

Victor glanced around the room briefly for a bed to settle his mate and cub on and decided to place them on Rogues, since the southern-belle wasn't currently using it.

"What's goin' on, Victor." Logan growled, his patience obviously pushed to extremes.

"I'm surprised the cripple hasn't contacted ya yet." Victor commented. "Someones stolen Nick Fury's Infinity Serum—"

"WHAT!?"

"—and he's call'n an emergency meeting to try to figure out what's happened." Victor finished tucking the blankets around his still giggling mate and stood to his full height, crossing his well-muscled arms over his chest. "Apparently they want you to come along too, but I told'em no way. Ya have ta stay here, Jimmy. Keep an eye on things while I'm gone. My mate can't sleep without assistance, so she'll need yer purr."

"Now, just hang on a second here," Logan growled, though his menacing appearance was decidedly lessened by the pink bows and…..Victor did a very quick double take…..was it just him or did his little brother have purple and green polish on his nails!? The older feral forced himself to pay attention to his brother again. This was serious. Blackmail and teasing could be done later.

"You're tell'in me that someone took Nick Furys fountain of immortality and they think you did it? Well, there's no way in *&^% I'm not come'n along."

Victor let out a low, alpha growl. "Think about it, Jimmy. Who's gonna watch the cubs and our frails if we both go."

"Hank could do it." Logan answered instantly.

"The blue-butt's better than nothin'," Victor admitted. "but he doesn't have the training I gave ya. Besides, you've still got that list of things I gave ya ta do."

Logan gave a louder growl, his claws sliding out as smooth as cream. Jubilee scooted herself back against the wall cautiously and Rogue put a calming hand on Logans shoulder.

"I am NOT play'n errand-boy while yer off tackling Fury!" Logan exclaimed.

"YOU'LL DO AS I SAY, JAMES!" Victors growl made Cassie eep and cover her ears. Roddy began to burrow under the blankets and Jubilee yelped as she accidently hit the back of her head against the wall. "I need someone here I can trust ta look after my mate and all the cubs! And aside from you and the blue-butt I don't have any other choices!"

"Storm ain't exactly a light-weight, ya know." Logan argued back.

Victor sneered. "She's one frail who needs ta be kept calm and quiet until that cub in her stomach takes root."

That caught all of them by surprise.

"Storms PREGNANT!" Rogue exclaimed, her own jaw dropping.

Despite the angry debate-cough-argument going on in her dorm-room, Jubilee clapped her hands together in joy. "Does Hank know?"

Victor snorted. "I doubt it. The blue-butt may be a feral, but he hasn't been around near as long as I have and probably doesn't know how to sense it yet. *&$%, I doubt even the frail knows."

"Language!" Rogue scolded, actually reaching out to slap the Sabretooths leg, but Logan quickly side-stepped inbetween the two of them so that she hit his leg instead. The southern-bell scowled up at her love-interest, but Logan ignored her.

"Even more reason for Hank to stay here and me ta go with ya." Logan pressed.

Victor stepped up to his brother so that they were toe-to-toe together, glaring at each other. "Do I have ta remind ya who's alpha here, James?" Victor spoke very low, but his voice carried that alpha timbre that had even Logan looking away briefly. But only briefly. "I don't have time fer this, Jimmy. Complete the list. Keep an eye on the cubs and your mate and mine. And check on the Firecrackers head." Victor then turned to his mate who was staring wide eyed and his cub. "I'll be back before ya know it, mate. Remember what I told you." And with that, the feral stalked out of the room, ready to take on Nick Fury.

All of them stared at his retreating back, most with jaws dropped.

"Well," Jubilee said, obviously trying for cheerful. "I guess that's that."

"Like (*&^ it is." Logan growled, ignoring Rogues slap. "Let me see yer head, Jubilee."

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NICK FURY: HELLICARRIER

NO P.O.V.

Nick Fury, understandably, was NOT a happy camper, and he was being made even more unhappier by some of the unfortunately needed company in his hellicarrier.

Steve Rogers was alright; the fellow was a full-blown American tried and true. He knew how to respect his elders (even though he, technically was the oldest of them all…..except for maybe Thor, but no-one really knew his age) and, more importantly, he knew how to respect rank.

Yes, Nick Fury had no problem with Steve Rogers.

Now, Tony Stark…..that was another matter entirely.

The billionaire philanthropist and world hero was a genius. Nick Fury could respect that, but that was about all he could respect. It was just like his spy, Natasha Romanov's, report on him had detailed;

"…Mr. Stark displays a compulsive behavior, prone to self-destructive tendencies with textbook narcissism….."

…..he was also as annoying as *&$^.

"Ah, Nicky Nicky Nicky…"

Nick Fury barely contained his groan, mumbling under his breath. "Speak of the devil and he shall appear….."

The cocky playboy sauntered into the Hellicarriers debriefing room in a white wife-beater and oil-stained jeans which stated that he had been pulled out of his 'work-shop' at his tower of a home.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you," Tony said as he went to embrace his best friend and fellow scientist Bruce Banner. Bruce was a scientific genius, much like Tony who could turn into a huge, green, muscled version of himself called 'The Hulk' whenever he got too angry. "Hey green man, good to see you."

Bruce returned the hug, smiling his quiet smile. "Tony."

"Friend Stark, it is very good to see you again." The buff and blonde Asgardian Thor went forward to hug his mechanic friend, but Tony held up both hands to fend him off.

"Whoa, easy there, blondie, my ribs are still a little sore from your last greeting." Instead he patted the blonde Viking on his shoulder, having to reach up to do so. "We'll have to get together and smash some drinking glasses instead sometime, how's that sound?"

"Tony," Steve greeted, smiling warmly, though he did not get up. Then Captain America grew more solemn as he gestured towards Nick Fury. "Apparently someone stole Nick Fury's infinity-serum."

"Yeah, I heard." Tony answered airily, sitting down in one of the chairs arranged around a table and spinning around in it once. He then fixed his shaded eyes on the super spy. "So, you gonna get grey hair now, One-Eye?"

"What exactly does happen if you don't get injected with the serum?" the red-headed bombshell, Natasha Romanov asked smoothly from her own chair, arms resting loose on the arm-rests of her own chair, green eyes pinning the super-spy down.

"That's simple." Nick Fury said calmly. "I'll die."

The jovial atmosphere brought in by Tony died instantly. The mechanical genius let out a low whistle. "Whoa, Nicky, that's a little worse then grey hair."

Fury gave the man a stern look. "Indeed." He said dryly. "If the serum is not administered regularly every six months, it will be as if time will catch up with me on fast forward. I'll be a wrinkled old man in seconds, a pile of bones within minutes, and nothing but dust before half an hour is up."

Quiet greeted this statement, then Bruce Banner spoke.

"You say someone stole it?"

Nick Fury began pacing. "Yes. Just yesterday. I found the lab where my serum is kept in total panic."

"And nobody saw anything?" Natasha asked professionally.

"No. Nothing. Not even a hair out of place." Nick answered, gritting his teeth. "But one of my scientists noticed the breech when they went to check that the serum was safe, as is done every hour on the hour, and found it gone. The alarm was pulled."

"What about security tapes?" Clint Barton, aka 'Hawkeye' asked from the corner of the room where he stood.

"They show nothing unusual. Everyone who works there is carded and identified carefully. No-one can get in that lab who isn't identified."

That was when the door to the debriefing room slid open and Sabretooth stalked on. He was six feet of pure primitive muscle, his claws yellow and lengthened, amber eyes full of threat. "Not unless they're a shapeshifter." Victor growled.

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VOCABULARY:

EXPEDIENT: 1. Useful for the purpose

(Rosmunds Definition: the quicker way to do something)

JOVIAL: cheerful