Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men and they belong to Marvel.
Copyright: I own Jarek so don't use him without permission. If you want to use him then please ask.
A New Beginning Part 7
Remy and the girls had traveled for about three hours until they finally flagged down a passing motorist. They jumped in the car and the woman decided that she could drive them home since they were teenagers and probably had their parents worried sick she thought.
Through the whole drive the three avoided talking about Jarek and anything about where they had came from. The woman didn't press them though it was their own business and they didn't need to tell her where they were. She wanted to tell them who she was but was unsure of how they would react so she kept silent.
They drove up to the mansion and the three of them jumped out. "Thanks for the lift lady," Kitty called as they headed for the house.
"Don't mention it Kitty. I too needed to help Jarek out and that is why I found you and drove you home," the woman whispered to their backs.
As the woman drove away she changed from the woman she was into a blue-skinned and yellow-eyed woman named Mystique. She was going to help them escape if they had needed it and yet they hadn't needed it. So she thought that they best thing to do was help them make it back to the mansion, so that they could get help to save Jarek who she loved like the little brother she never had.
She was starting to think that she would do anything to help Jarek out of a jam and that was something that she was not accustomed to. She cared for people and she had emotions was just that she had never been willing to help someone out of a jam that they had gotten themselves into. Here she was though helping Jarek's friends out when she should have recaptured them so that she would have been in good graces with Magneto. If he ever found out that she had helped those three out then he might just kill her.
* * * * *
Gambit, Jubilee, and Kitty ran down the hall until they came to Scott and Jean's room. There they pounded on the door. They needed to speak to them about Jarek. It had taken them, even with the woman driving them, eight hours to make it back to the mansion. They didn't want to leave Jarek there for any longer than they had to. It was two days before Christmas now and Kitty had promised Jarek that he would have a good Christmas and she didn't want to fail him in that. She had been true when she had said he would have fun on the dance night and she didn't want to be wrong about Christmas.
Scott answered the door and was standing there in a flannel shirt with a pair of shorts on. "What is it," he demanded. Then he saw who it was and said, "Oh it's you three Jarek was looking for you earlier. He is in his room if you want to go talk to him and let me sleep some more."
They knew it was early in the morning. It was 5 a.m. and most people would be in bed. "We need to speak to you about Jarek," Kitty said anxiously.
"OK what do you need to tell me about him," Scott said rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses to clear the sleep from them.
"He has been captured by Magneto. He came to help us and in turn he had to give himself up so that we wouldn't be harmed," Kitty said worriedly.
Scott woke up fast upon hearing that. "I will need you to explain everything to us but first I need to get the team rounded up." With that Scott took off down the hall with Kitty, Jubilee and Gambit trailing.
Kitty wondered about Gambit now that they were back at the mansion and she was not full of fear. She felt bad about forgiving him with such ease but it was just that she was afraid whether or not she really had wanted to admit it. That fear is what led her to accept his explanation and his way out of the clutches of Magneto. She thought about it and decided that he would have to work harder on earning her forgiveness. She would watch him closely to make sure that he didn't betray them again.
Scott ran from his room where he had woken Jean down to Logan's room and from there to Storm's room. From Storm's room he went to the professor's room. When he got to the professor's room he found that Xavier was already awake. Xavier was sitting in his bed with a pained expression on his face.
"What is it professor," Scott asked.
"It is Jarek, Scott. I woke up when the girls barged into the mansion. Their thoughts were so powerful that they woke me," Xavier explained but Scott could tell he was holding something back.
"Professor what is on your mind. You seem troubled," Scott persisted.
"You are correct Scott I am troubled. It is Jarek like I said earlier. After I awoke I searched for him using my powers. I found his mind but there is nothing but pain there. A pain so terrible that I couldn't stand it and I had to break contact with him," Xavier said sadly.
"We need to help him Scott when the team is assembled let me know. Right now I need to deal with what I felt in Jarek's mind," Xavier said heavily.
"Yes sir," Scott said as he exited the room. He went down to his own room then and for the first time noticed that the three weren't following him. He looked up and down the hall and saw them standing at Storm's door where they had decided to wait. They didn't want to go with him to Xavier's room since he was the man who could read thoughts and they didn't want him to see what they were thinking.
Scott went into his room and put on some clothes. From there he went back outside and joined Kitty and her friends. They waited for the two women to join them. Jean came down the hall dressed and looking beautiful as always, at least Scott thought so. Next came Logan and then they were joined by Storm. From there the seven of them went into the tactical room to wait for the professor.
* * * * *
It had been a full day since Jarek had given himself up. He knew that what he did was more than likely stupid on his part but he had to do something to help his friends. It had seemed the only real thing to do without them getting hurt by his actions. Of course now he was starting to think that maybe he had made a mistake. He didn't know for sure if they were all right. He didn't know if Gambit had succeeded in getting them out or not and that was starting to bother him slightly. He needed to know if they were all right but Magneto hadn't returned since that first bit.
Jarek hadn't been able to sleep in the day he had been held captive. They wouldn't let him sleep. He was given five to ten minute breaks before someone came back into the room and started the torture all over again. For his part Jarek hadn't made a sound through the torture yet, and he wouldn't. He vowed he would die first.
He wondered what his friends were doing. If they had gotten away he hoped that they would forget about him since for them to return would be suicide. He hoped they were preparing for their Christmas and that they would have a good one. He knew that Christmas was but two days away and Jarek also knew that he was to have another bad Christmas.
These were his thoughts when the door to his cell opened and in walked Magneto with a man following him that Jarek knew. The man was Jarek's cousin Fireball. Magneto walked right up to Jarek and smiled. "Ah Jarek you are quite the stubborn one aren't you. Anyone else would have given their life up by now but you still live. I must commend you," Magneto said pleasantly.
Jarek looked up at Magneto and gave his own little half-smile right back. "Of course I'm alive. I won't die for you. I would not be able to stand it if I let myself die for your satisfaction Magneto."
"Yes I believe that you wouldn't die for me would you. That is of no matter though for I have brought the newest member of my Brotherhood to see what happens to the people who defy me and go against what I ask. To show him what happens to people whom I don't know and don't consider of any consequence," Magneto said.
Jarek peered at Fireball and shook his head ever so slightly at his cousin. He wasn't shocked to see him here after all he had always been a bitter person. He was older than Jarek by a few years and so he thought that because of that he was more important than Jarek. Jarek wondered about Fireball's little sister. She was only nine when Jarek had left and she was one of the only reason's that he had missed his home. He had loved her but that emotion was long gone or at least hidden, for he wasn't sure that he knew how to love anymore.
Go on cousin Jarek thought. Join this madman and see where he takes you. All he will bring you is pain and suffering. I can sense it. He wishes to have mutants bring themselves out and join his Brotherhood. If enough do then he will start a war. A war that will decimate the world unlike anything we could imagine. And you cousin can be a part of it. You can be a member of the new order of what will be called Doomsday. You will be hated by humans for destroying their world if you succeed and hated by mutants for ruining their lives if you fail. I will not be here to see it though cousin.
Magneto spoke up and interrupted Jarek's thoughts then. "I think I will leave you now to enjoy this new day. After all it will be another long day for you," Magneto said cheerily as he walked out of the room with Jarek's cousin in two like some little dog.
Jarek was left to wonder about his cousin as two new torturers came in from the ones he had previously had. These two new people were just normal mutants who were taking over until the real ones had slept and rested up. As the first fist pummeled into his face he wondered whether or not he would have any teeth left at the end of the day.
* * * * *
The X-Men were gathered around the table with Xavier now. He was sitting in his chair looking at his students, at his family. He didn't want to tell them what was being done to Jarek but he felt that he needed to. Jarek was one of them whether or not he knew it. He was a part of the school and the school always looked after its own.
"X-Men I must tell you something about Jarek before we make plans on going to help him. I have no wish to tell you this but I feel that I must so that when you see him you won't be taken by surprise. I have used Cerebro to find him and see into his thoughts more easily than I could normally do. What I found there makes me very sad for I had not thought that Magneto could do such a thing after having seen it himself when he was a child. X-Men Jarek is being tortured by Magneto," at that statement all those gathered made indrawn breaths. All that is except for Gambit which no one noticed except for Kitty. She had made a vow to herself to watch him to see if he would still be on their side after his little speech at the compound or if he would turn on them when given the chance.
Xavier continued on with his speech. "I have looked into Jarek's mind and the main thing on the surface of his thoughts is pain. He is in tremendous pain and so it is with sadness that I wonder what my old friend has been doing to him. Of course we could ask someone who was there and had seen what was done to Jarek."
"Who do you mean professor," Scott asked.
"I mean Gambit. It was his fault that the girl's were captured and it was also his doing that freed them. Isn't that right Gambit," the professor prompted.
All eyes turned to Gambit and he was very uncomfortable with the scrutiny. He looked up at them all and said very sadly, "Dat is true. Gambit did make a deal with Magneto but dat was because I needed protection. I feared that my old guild would send assassins after me. I couldn't defeat dem on my own so I heard about Magneto. He said he would help me if I helped him get Jarek. Dat was before I came to know all of you. Dat was before I had a new home. Gambit is very sorry and dat is all dat I can tell you."
They were all stunned by what he had just said. None of them could believe that he had been working for Magneto the whole time he was here. None of them seemed to be able to act. All that is excpet for Logan who stood up and unsheathed his claws.
"You gave up Jarek and the girl's to protect your own hide. That is a coward's way out of things. You must have thought that we wouldn't help you in order to turn your back on us like that. For what you done I think that I will have to kill you," Logan said as he started towards Gambit who just sat there. Gambit wasn't going to defend himself because he hated himself and what he had done.
"How could you just give up your friends like that," Rogue wanted to know.
Logan was still advancing towards Gambit when Jubilee stood up in front of Gambit. "Logan if you want to kill him then you will have to go through me."
"Darlin' believe me I don't need to go through you," Logan growled.
"Logan stop we need the information that he has, and he also apologized for his actions," Scott said for where he was sitting. He had used his authority voice and Logan could tell that he had meant what he had said but so had Logan. He stopped but didn't sheath his claws.
"Logan he seems to genuinely be sorry for what he has done. We will need him on this mission possibly as well. He may prove to you that he is sorry and then perhaps you may not want to kill him," Jean said.
Logan sheathed his claws and went and sat down again next to Rogue. "Believe me you people are too soft. You forgive way too easily but perhaps that is just your way. I on the other hand don't forgive as easily and I will watch him. If he goes against us then I will kill him and end our little problem."
"Mon ami you have every right to hate Gambit but I am sorry. I know what I did was wrong and I truly wish to make up for it. Please forgive me," Gambit said miserably.
Xavier spoke up then. He had been silent throughout the little show and now felt he needed to say something again. "Forgive me Gambit but I looked into your thoughts. I felt it was necessary since you did turn over the girls to Magneto. What I found in your mind though was true remorse. I found that you really regret what you did and that you wish for a way to rectify it. I found that you wish to be part of our school and that you will be because we shall all forgive you. What you did was the act of a person who was scared for his life and we don't hold it against you. I shall give you the chance to rectify your mistake but we need you to tell us what we will be facing and what is being done to Jarek." Xavier said in a voice that meant he was speaking to everyone present so that they would forgive Gambit.
"Gambit tell you what he saw of Jarek. I saw him in a small room where he was being tortured as you say professor. Dat was somting dat I never forget as long as I live. I saw him handing from chains that were stuck to de wall. He was bleeding from many wounds and he was standing in a puddle of his own blood. One of his arms was missing most of de flesh and dere were initials carved into his chest. Dat was a gruesome sight and Gambit will never forget it," as he finished he shook as if it was cold but it was just the memory of what had been done to Jarek that caused him to shake.
Everyone was silent after he finished describing what was being done to Jarek. They were all a bit stunned even Logan who had been tortured in his own way. Kitty had tears in her eyes as did Jubilee. Jean was holding Scott's hands in her own and Storm was sitting there with a pained look on her face.
"We have to help him professor," Kitty said finally after the silence started to stretch and become quite long.
"You are correct Kitty and we need Gambit to tell us what the layout of the compound is as well as the numbers that we will be facing. So Gambit will you please be our spy now and tell us about this place," Xavier urged.
Gambit was sitting there lost in thought when the professor spoke up. He looked from one face to another and said, "Yes professor Gambit will tell you everyting dat he can."
* * * * *
Another day had passed and still Jarek had been able to get no sleep. He normally didn't need sleep for a couple of days since his healing factor took care of restoring his body. The only reason that he needed to sleep was because the mind needed rest every couple of days. Jarek hadn't been able to sleep for three days now.
The time was going by slowly for him and he was glad that no one had showed up to save him. That could mean one of two things and he chose to believe that it meant they had gotten away and had forgotten about him. He really hoped that it, was true since he didn't need them coming to help him and then getting caught themselves.
Jarek looked down at his chest and noticed that it was covered in his own blood. That and part of the skin was missing since they had felt that they needed to carve on him like he was a Christmas turkey. His arms were burned badly from the man who seemed to really like fire. Jarek also had a broken arm but he had used his power to stabilize the bone so that it would heal right.
Jarek tasted blood in his mouth and he wondered if he would ever get the smell out of his nose. He knew that he would but it was just such a smell that it caused him to want to taste the blood as well as smell it when he was around it as much as he was at the moment. Jarek moved his tongue over his teeth and he gave his customary half-smile. All his teeth were still there. He hadn't lost any to those amateurs that he beat on him for over an hour.
Jarek was not very happy about not being able to get out of this damn place. He couldn't think of anything that he could do to get out. He couldn't use his blades of light or dark because he couldn't wield them precise enough to cut the chains, that and he couldn't use his wrists to bend since they were manacled.
He was wondering what he could do for a few minutes when the door opened and in came his cousin Fireball. His cousin was wearing his red, yellow, and black suit. He knew his cousin thought that it made him look like his namesake when he used one of his powers of speed bursts. He didn't know what his cousin wanted so he just hung there from the chains waiting for his cousin to speak first.
Fireball did speak first and what he said took Jarek by surprise. He said frankly, "Do you know what day it is today?"
"Yeah it is Christmas Eve so what," Jarek answered like the dutiful prisoner that he was, in a voice thick with pain.
"I just thought that I would tell my cousin what day it was," Fireball said happily. He was happy that Jarek was getting what Fireball thought that he deserved. Fireball had always been unhappy about Jarek and him being well liked by most everyone who was not a kid. Fireball had wanted to be well liked and he never was.
"That is not what you came here to tell me and you know it so cut the crap. Oh by the way how is your little sister doing," Jarek asked conversationally as he pulled himself up to a standing position.
"My sister is fine and you are right I didn't come here to tell you what day it is. I came here to talk to you about my little sister as you call her," Fireball said angrily.
"She is your little sister. I am not the only one that calls her that so do your parents and everyone else," Jarek said not knowing what Fireball was talking about. Of course she was his sister who else would she be.
"I need to tell you about Andrea. She is not my sister Jarek but she is your sister. Your little sister Jarek," Fireball said sternly and with a feeling that made it seem to Jarek that he was telling the truth.
How could she be his sister he wondered. For as long as he could remember she had been his sister. He didn't remember his mother ever being pregnant. Fireball had to be lying about that. He had always wanted a sister and Fireball knew it. He was using that to try and torture Jarek even more. Well Jarek would have none of it. Jarek decided to test Fireball to see if he was telling the truth.
"She can't be my sister. She has lived with you since she was born. That would make her your sister, and not mine," Jarek said.
"She is your sister. The reason she lived with us for so ling was because your parents didn't want her since they had you. You were going to be an experiment for them when you were old enough. Remember your parents worked for the Government. You were to become the ultimate soldier," Fireball said.
"What do you mean they wanted to make me an perfect soldier," Jarek asked curious despite himself.
"You are not like other people Jarek. You were born to your mother yes but your father is many different men. They found the men who were the best in certain areas and used them. You are a genetically superior human Jarek. Everything was strained so that you would be born perfect with strength, speed, intelligence, and other attributes at a very high level," Fireball said.
Jarek was almost taken by surprise. He knew that his parents had wanted to do something with him. Now he knew what they had wanted him to do. That was why they had wanted to read so many books. They had wanted him to expand his knowledge. Jarek was nearly stunned by this revelation. He was born to become nothing but a living weapon for use by the government it seemed. He was not born because his parents had wanted a child. He was born to kill and nothing more. He hadn't been loved by his parents it was all just a lie. His whole life was nothing but a lie until he had left due to his mutation.
Jarek looked at Fireball then and said, "So I was created for the sole purpose of becoming a killing machine. They got their wish for I have become that." Jarek's voice was barely audible and it was very cold.
"Yes it would seem that is right cousin. But as I said about your sister," Fireball started when he was interrupted.
"What about her she doesn't even know that I am her brother so it is best to keep it that way," Jarek said his voice still cold.
Fireball knew that something inside of Jarek had snapped. That or Jarek was just going back to a part of himself that he had tried to get rid of. Fireball started to wonder if he had made a wise decision to tell Jarek about his sister but he knew that it was too late to worry about that now. Jarek would know, and it was up to him to do with the knowledge what he felt like doing.
"Your sister is now living with your parents. You see she had always known that you were her brother but she had been told by us to keep it a secret because it would upset you and your parents didn't want that. They needed to pliant and trusting. But a year after you left your parents took her back. They wanted a child but now the government wants their soldier and I am afraid that your parents as much as they love Andrea will try and make her what you were to be," Fireball said a bit sadly.
"Oh they think that they will but I will not let them. When I get out of here I will go home and pay a visit. Believe me I will find out if she is my sister or not. I will find out if you are lying about anything that you said today. If I find that you are lying then I will hunt you down and you will be sorry Fireball," Jarek replied in a voice that could freeze a person's blood.
"Why would you go back home now, I mean you didn't care about her before so why would you now," Fireball asked.
"I did care for her before and as for going back now, well I owe her," Jarek answered.
"What do you mean you owe her," Fireball asked curiously.
"I owe her a life. I owe her a big brother and everything that she missed since I wasn't there," Jarek said.
"Fine you can do all that but first you need to get out of here alive and I have news for you I am not going to help you. After all I am part of the Brotherhood now," Fireball said.
"Don't worry I won't die. Not now anyway. As for you well I don't know why you even cared about Andrea if you aren't going to help me get free," Jarek demanded.
"I told you because I didn't want her to have your fate. She deserves better than that. She is a mutant too you know. The mutant genes are very prominent in our family it seems. Now if you will excuse me another member of the Brotherhood would like to tell you something," Fireball said as he headed for the door.
At the door he paused for a second as if waiting for Jarek to say something but if that was the case he was disappointed. Jarek had nothing to say to him now that he was the enemy. Cousin or no he was now the enemy. Fireball opened the door and left and in his place came in Sabretooth.
He was wearing his skins as usual and had a small smile playing about his lips if Jarek wasn't mistaken. "What do you want," Jarek demanded.
Sabretooth walked right up to Jarek and put his hand on Jarek's forehead and pushed it back so that it rested against the wall. Sabretooth looked him in the eyes and said, "The girl Kitty had blood that tasted good. She screamed for me."
Jarek couldn't believe what he just heard. He had been told they were alright. Now he was told that Kitty had been harmed by this man. Jarek thrashed back and forth in his chains and his anger took hold of him. He shook his head back and forth as Sabretooth released his hold on it. "NO DAMMIT. I WILL KILL YOU," Jarek yelled into Sabretooth's face.
He strained against the chains but they held firm. His breathing was coming hard and fast. He had been lied to again. He would get vengeance for Kitty, he could promise that much. He didn't understand why he was lied to again. Nothing but lies, was what his life was based on! The only one who never lied to him seemed to be Kitty and she was now hurt or dead and he had done nothing! He was useless but at least he could kill Sabretooth and perhaps regain some sort of vengeance for her.
Jarek started to thrash back and forth but the chains held him firm. He was rubbing his wrists raw and blood started to make a trail down his arm. All the while Sabretooth just stood there watching him. Jarek calmed down slightly and stopped his thrashing and regained his breath.
Sabretooth looked at him and growled out, "Her blood tasted good." With that he smiled at Jarek.
Jarek once again strained against his chains but this time he threw all his strength into his arms as he flung his arms forward trying to break the chains or the wall. As his arms reached the limit of the chains they stopped and very loud cracking sound was heard. Jarek let his arms fall for he knew that his wrists had just been shattered. It would take about two hours for them to heal now. There was nothing he could do. He hung his head in defeat. For the first time in his life he knew that he could not overcome what was thrown at him. He could do nothing for Kitty and she was probably dead for it and her soul was not at peace according to legends.
Sabretooth walked up to him and shoved his head back against the wall very hard and Jarek felt something crack inside his head. He didn't know if it was his brain or his skull but he felt a bit different. Sabretooth walked from the room then to let Jarek heal for the torturers.
As Jarek hung there he was in tremendous pain. But he also had memories appearing in his head that he didn't remember having. They were memories of his mutant ability before he was thirteen. He remembered shadows and something about them but he wasn't sure what. There were other memories as well. One memory though came to the surface from a class with Storm. She had said that anything will become brittle and easily broke if it gets cold enough. If something reaches absolute zero then anything can be broke with ease.
That was the memory that he thought might be able to save him. He used his power and started to gather in the cold air surrounding him. He knew he would have to gather a lot of coldness into himself in order to deal with the chains so he thought that he had better start now.
* * * * *
The X-Men were getting dressed in their uniforms. For this mission there were going to be more than the customary four of them. From what Remy had told them they would need the help of some of the older students. In the room getting ready were Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Kitty, Jubilee, Logan, Rogue, and Gambit. There were seven of them against at least twenty of the Brotherhood so that was a ratio of about three to one.
"You know I tink dat I will like being a good guy for a change," Gambit said as he pulled on his trench coat, over the X uniform.
"Yeah make sure you stay on the side of the good guys bub," Logan replied from where he was sitting. Out popped his claws and he sheathed them again just as quickly to get the passages clean and ready for battle.
"Gambit will stay on de right side mon ami. Don't you worry," Gambit said as he placed two decks of cards into the coat.
"Would you two stop that," Storm said.
"Of course mom," Logan said smiling. He knew that if anything she could be his daughter or perhaps even his granddaughter she was so young.
"Don't call me that or you will see how I punish unruly children," Storm said sternly.
"Yes ma'am," Gambit said.
Kitty couldn't believe how they were acting when they were getting ready to go on a mission. They needed to save Jarek not joke about things. How could they be that way. (Kitty don't judge them too harshly. It is how they deal with their nervousness) the professor spoke into her mind.
(I'm sorry professor I have no room to judge them. I am excited about this mission since it is my first.) Kitty said into her mind knowing that the professor would hear it.
(Yes Kitty I know. It is alright to be excited. Don't feel that you are betraying Jarek by feeling that way. It is the way of people to be excited when they are to do something new.)
(Yes professor I understand. I will try to be more like the rest of them now.)
Jubilee was standing there in her uniform that fit her nice and snugly. She was turning in circles when Gambit spoke up, "Gambit think that maybe we stay and do something else chere." Gambit winked at her then and smiled.
"Gambit get your head where it belongs. Out of your ass and on your neck you fool," Jubilee said smiling.
Rogue looked at Logan and said, "You know that uniform you have on sure makes you like tough old man."
"Old man now how can you say that. I can't be any older than a hundred maybe," Logan replied loftily which made Rogue's eyes go wide.
Everyone was ready then and Cyclops stood up and said to them, "All right team we have a job to do. A friend of ours is in need of help and that is what we are going to get him. Everyone to the Blackbird."
The team filed out of the room and into the hanger where the jet was waiting. One by one they got onboard and Cyclops took his seat at the controls. "Everyone ready," he called out and without waiting for an answer he lifted off. Off they flew for the abandoned base where their friend was being held. Kitty thought to herself just hang on Jarek we are on our way now.
* * * * *
Jarek was being tortured again and this time it was difficult to keep from yelling out. The woman, he had forgotten her name de to the pain, had been working on him hard. He had cuts all over his face and body and his blood was seeping from the wounds and pooling at his feet. She had beat him badly with the help of one of the tougher men that were there so Jarek's body was badly hurt.
He thought that at least all his bones were now healed and in one piece. His wrists had just healed not that long ago. He felt a bit better after that but they had quickly fixed that feeling by cutting strips of his flesh from his legs and chest. They had cauterized the wounds so that he wouldn't bleed to death.
The room was lit by just one candle to make it seem more like a dungeon from times long gone than a room in the present. Jarek knew that he was a mess and wondered what he looked like for sure. He wondered what they would do with him if they actually managed to kill him using their torture methods. He hoped that they would leave him out for the animals to eat since that was about all he was good for he thought. He had failed his sister and had failed Kitty. He had failed everyone that ever had been close to him it seemed and it was best that the animals eat him since that would bring some meaning to his life even if he was dead when it happened.
Jarek looked at the lady as she stepped up to him holding a knife that was red-hot. He felt like saying something and so he spat out, "You know I thought you people knew what you were doing. I have yet to bread or cry out in pain so I must conclude that you are nothing but a beginner."
Jarek gave her a weak half-smile as her eyes blazed and she drove the knife into his bicep. He could smell his flesh as it burned and he could feel the skin and muscle wither from the heat. The pain was amazing and Jarek found that he actually liked the feel of a pure white-hot pain such as what was being done to him at the moment.
He felt sorry for the woman almost. Of course he didn't fell much but he wondered what she would think when he was free and he killed her. Yes it would be interesting he thought to see what her reaction would be. Jarek shook his head then and his vision swam from doing that but it had the desired effect. It cleared his head of such thoughts. He didn't want to kill or hurt her. It was a matter of honor to him that he would never harm a woman no matter what she had done to him.
At that time Jarek heard feet pounding on the floor and the door to his cell opened and Toad was standing there. "We need your help Justine the X-Men are here and they seem to be a bit upset." With that Toad left the room and went to battle Jarek's friends.
Justine who was still standing next to Jarek looked at him and smiled. When she did once again he noticed just how beautiful she was. "You know Jarek, I think that you and me need to spend some more time together," she purred. Jarek knew what she was doing but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. She was trying to use her body to break him like they were trained to do.
"Don't worry Justine I will be dead before long so don't worry about trying to make me your little pet," Jarek said right into her ear.
She pulled back away from him and smiled again. "It is alright because you are already my pet. I don't need to make you my pet since you have been given to me. You are my property to do with as I please," she said. She then moved in close to him and kissed him on the cheek. Jarek tried to pull away but he couldn't move very far. She laughed as she left the room and called over her shoulder, "You and I will finish this after your friends are dealt with."
Jarek hated that kiss. He was at their mercy, at least that is what they thought. He needed to free himself. His friends were here and they were fighting to free him damn them anyway he thought. Why couldn't they just let him stay here so that they didn't have to worry about doing anything to help him and risk their lives. He had wanted them to stay away since that way he would have been sure that they were alive.
Jarek had been gathering the cold inside of himself now for a couple hours. He decided that he needed to help them and that now was the best time for him to release the power and see if it was going to work. Jarek looked inside himself and saw that the inside of his body was freezing from the gathering of so much coldness. He didn't know how he knew that he was freezing inside but it was as if he could see inside himself and tell. He knew that he needed to unleash the power and so he did. The coldness moved from throughout his body into his wrists where he gathered it all. From there he released the power into the chains. The chains changed color from silver to a utter white color, and they were frosted over. Jarek gathered himself and jerked his arms forward. The chains snapped and he was free but was also in a tremendous amount of pain.
He clutched his ribs as he fell forward into a squating position. He looked up and saw that the door was open and leading to the hallway. Jarek smashed his wrists against the wall to break the manacles off his wrists and then he stood up and went to the door. He needed to help his friends and the best way for him to do that was to fight the Brotherhood from the inside where he was. Jarek walked out the door and started to hunt even though he was hurting. He didn't know how long he could go before he passed out but he would try to help. He didn't even know if he could exert himself without killing himself but he would do what he felt he needed to do.
* * * * *
The jet landed and the X-Men unloaded themselves from it. They went towards the compound and had Cyclops in the lead. He had told Kitty that she was to find Jarek and see if she could free him so that they didn't have to go into the compound. She had felt that she could accomplish her job after Gambit had told her where to look.
The X-Men moved quietly forward until they came to the compound once there they grouped together. They were about two hundred yards from the entrance and were still hidden by small shrubs and such. Cyclops spoke to them, "Remember we fight as a team and we will prevail. Our objective is to give Kitty enough time so that she can find Jarek and get him out of there. Rogue, remember that you only use your power when you feel that you need to. Stay hidden until one of the enemy is near enough to you that you don't need to expose yourself to take his powers. Okay team let's do this," Cyclops ended his little speech.
Each of the X-men was ready for action especially Logan who felt that he needed to fight Sabretooth again. Storm was ready as was the rest of the team. They started forward and were about halfway there when a dozen mutants appeared out of nowhere. Kitty, Gambit, and Jubilee recognized the one woman who had appeared in front of their car when they had been abducted.
"We can't let you go any farther X-Men. Jarek is no longer your concern. He is being dealt with as we speak," a woman said with platinum hair.
"I'm sorry but we can't leave without our friend and teammate so I guess that means we are at a standstill aren't we," Cyclops replied to the woman.
"Enough talk," said a man that was huge. He stood over seven feet tall and was quite fat. He started forward and that was all the signal the rest of them needed. They rushed forward to meet the X-Men. The fat man was blasted by Cyclops and the fat man went flying through the air to land heavily against the wall of the building where he didn't move.
The X-men broke off from each other but didn't make the distance so much so that they couldn't help their teammates if they needed it. Logan came face to face with a man who was wearing a mask of black. The man was using swords against Logan who just smiled.
The man charged and Logan parried the swords with his claws. Logan slashed back but the man skipped out of the way nimbly. The man came back in and scored a hit on Logan that just healed as quickly as it took to make the cut. Logan slashed low at the legs and high at the chest and the man avoided both slashes. With uncanny speed the man rushed forward and jumped over Logan to land behind him. The man stuck his swords through Logan's back. Logan used his claws and cut the swords off where they met his skin in front of his chest. Logan then stepped forward off the blades and pivoted on his left foot bringing his claws around in a sweep that was stomach high. The man was stunned from having his swords cut in half and didn't react quick enough to avoid the slash. He fell back clutching his stomach as his blood seeped between his fingers.
Logan looked around for his next partner to fight. He saw a woman with brown hair disappear before his very eyes in a puff of smoke. He saw Cyclops holding his own against a man who was using some kind of energy blasts from his hands. Storm was fighting two people. One who could fly and another who was so fast that she couldn't keep up with him. Gambit had taken one down and was fighting a man who could stretch his body. The rest of the X-men were engaged in battles as well. As Logan watched he saw a man step out of the shadows behind Storm and so Logan went over to introduce himself.
* * * * *
Jarek stumbled down the hall trying to keep from falling down. He had found two mutants who were nothing more than evil with a form. They had been in the process of deciding which one the women who were members of the Brotherhood they were going to rape. Jarek had killed them quickly and silently. He had cut both their throats before the two of them could even move. Jarek gave his half-smile as he thought that the men had gotten what they deserved and his blades of darkness were bloodied. He had used his blades of darkness because there was not enough light in the room where the two were to use his blades of light.
Jarek had his hand to the wall when he felt the air get hot ahead of him. Stepping around a corner came a man who was a living fire. The man must have had a very hard life upon getting his mutation since it made him a living fire. His body was visible through the flames but his mutation made it impossible for anyone to be able to touch him.
The man saw Jarek and launched a stream of fire at Jarek. Jarek ducked and the fire went right over him but not before singing his hair. Jarek pulled in the cold from around him and unleashed it quickly on the man. The man fell back as the cold blast hit him full on. Due to the difference in temperature it had created a small explosion when it had hit the man and he flew back through the air landing hard against the wall where he didn't move.
Jarek decided that he didn't need to kill the man so he left him there. Jarek went in search of Sabretooth. He needed to kill Sabretooth for what he had done to Kitty. Jarek stumbled on down the hall and as he went he heard the sounds of battle which told him he was heading forward. Of course that was the only way he could go since he had been at the very back of the compound. He hoped his friends were doing alright as he headed forward in search of Sabretooth.
* * * * *
Kitty had ran to the wall as the battle had started. Once there she had taken a second to catch her breath and had vowed to herself that she would do a bit more running to get herself in shape. At the wall she had phased through to the other side where she had found a room that was empty.
She had taken a second to collect her thoughts and had tried to think of where Gambit had said to go. Gambit had said that Jarek was being held in the back of the Compound and in a room to the far left of where she was now standing. So she phased though another wall and found herself in another room. This room had many things in it that said it was a lab. She saw a lab table and many implements like scalpals and such. She decided that she didn't need to be in that room, so she phased through tot he next.
In the next room there was nothing and so she went to the next room. There was nothing there either but there had been people in there since there were beds that were freshly made. She wondered how many of them would not have a occupant after the battle that was raging on outside.
Kitty decided she needed to hurry and so phased through room after room until she phased through a wall and came into a room that was lit only by a candle. It was this room that she knew was where Jarek had been held. She walked over to the wall where she saw something white. As she neared it she saw that what was there were chains. The chains were bitterly cold to the touch and were broken. She looked down and noticed that she was standing in a pool of blood that was starting to gel. She quickly stepped back and wondered where Jarek was. That he wasn't in the room was a bad sign. She felt that he might have gotten himself loose and was now on a rampage to get revenge for what had been done to him.
She was fearful of what she thought had been done to him. Finding so much blood on the floor was something that had surprised her. She had expected to find a pool of blood but had expected to find Jarek. All she found was his blood though and so she decided that she needed to find Jarek.
She phased through the wall and went in the direction she figured that he would go. She came to a room that had two dead men in it. Their throats had been cut and their blood was no longer flowing from their wounds. Kitty turned her head away and put her hand to her mouth trying to keep from throwing up at the sight that was before her. She knew Jarek had done it, she didn't know how she knew but she did. She thought that he was going to get himself killed if she didn't find him soon.
* * * * *
Outside the X-Men had evened the odds a bit. Logan had taken down two and Cyclops had beaten one. Cyclops was still locked in battle with the man who fired energy bursts from his hands. The one woman had left and Gambit had defeated one. That meant that the odds were now only seven to five since Rogue still hadn't shown herself. She wanted to help desperately though and was waiting for just the right moment.
Rogue had been moving around trying to get into position to help Storm who was reeling from the attacks of the two that were fighting her. Rogue was kneeling down in the bushes about twenty feet from where Storm was. Storm was fighting the woman who was flying and a man with astonishing speed. Storm had been using her lighting bolts but she couldn't hit either of them with them.
As Rogue watched Storm's eyes became white yet again and the wind started to pick up. The woman flying was thrown from the air to land hard in front of Rogue. The man was still fast enough that he could run against the wind and still move. He ran right up to Storm as she was getting ready to call a lighting bolt. He made it to her and hit her in the jaw with his fist. He had enough speed behind his punch that it knocked Storm to the ground. Storm was struggling to get up when the man was blasted in the back by a bit of energy. He stumbled forward which was all the time storm needed. While he was still stunned Storm called a lighting bolt and blasted the man with it. He went flying through the air to land hard and not move. Storm picked herself up off the ground and felt her jaw. Her lip was bleeding and so was her nose. She was sore all over from the beating she had been taking from the two of them.
Storm looked around and saw Jubilee waving to her from where she was standing. It had been Jubilee that had blasted the man in the back and Storm said to her, "Thanks for the assist Jubilee."
"No Problem," Jubilee replied as she went over to help out Gambit.
Storm looked around and noticed that Jean was having trouble with the woman that she was fighting. The woman could create weapons of energy and use them though the weapons only lasted for a couple of seconds. Even though they were only in existance for a short time they could still kill easily enough and Jean had been hit at least once Storm noticed.
As Storm headed off to help Jean Rogue noticed that the woman in front of her was starting to rise. Rogue knew that none of them could fly and would have trouble dealing with someone who could so she ran forward. The woman pulled a knife from her belt as she saw Rogue coming towards her. As rogue neared the woman slashed at Rogue who easily dodged it since the woman was still a bit shaky. Rogue stepped in close then and placed her bare hands to the woman's face. The woman's eyes grew big as her life force was being drained. The woman tried to fly and found that she couldn't. She started to panic and that was when she collapsed. Rogue looked down at the woman and was disgusted by what she had found in the woman's thoughts.
The woman had been quite mad. She had killed her own brother because he had called her a mutie. She had picked him up and flew with him. When she had felt she was high enough she had dropped him and watched him fall to his death. Rogue was surprised to find that the woman had joined Magneto for the chance to die. The woman had felt that her powers were a curse and so that had made her go mad.
As Rogue surpressed the woman's thoughts in her mind she started to lift off the ground. She didn't notice it at first but when she did she was surprised. She could Fly! It was great to see things from a different perspective. As she watched from her new perspective she saw another four mutants coming out of the doors to the compound. They were severely mutated though and so she had to warn her friends of the new threat. She flew down towards her friends and wondered what these four new mutants could do.
* * * * *
Jarek was having trouble standing as the exertion was taking its toll on him. He hadn't rested in three days and it was starting to affect him. His body was taxed to the limit trying to heal him. He knew that he was in trouble when his vision started to fade in and out but he forced himself to go on.
He rounded another corner and came face to face with a very ugly mutant. It had a very large mouth and he stood over seven feet tall. His eyes glowed red and dripping from his mouth was acid. Jarek shook his head knowing that this was another unfortunate victim of a very bad mutation. Those were the kinds of mutations that people feared because it changed the appearance of the person and made it dangerous to be around them.
Jarek stumbled back as the mutant lunged for him. Jarek was still faster even though he was on the verge of unconsciousness. The mutant spit at him and the glob of acid that he had spit hit Jarek directly in the chest. On contact the acid started to eat away at Jarek's flesh. Jarek surged to his feet due to the pain, which gave him a adrenaline burst.
Jarek swung his swords at the mutant who swayed back out of the way. Jarek couldn't believe he had missed. The mutant charged forward with blinding speed and Jarek knew he had been duped. The mutant got Jarek in a bear hug and carried him back against the wall. The lights were on here and there were shadows dancing around. The mutant dropped Jarek right into a shadow and a memory came back to him. As the mutant was spit at Jarek again Jarek disappeared.
Jarek reappeared in a shadow directly behind the mutant and Jarek created his swords of light. With them he drove them into the back of the mutant. His first blade pierced the heart and his second the lungs. Jarek knew that the mutant was dead and so he headed on down the hall. The battle outside was still raging on and Jarek knew that he was close to the doors leading outside. He went around another two turns and caught Sabretooth's scent.
* * * * *
Kitty was following Jarek's trail of bodies. She had come upon a man whose body was on fire but who was also unconscious. She was glad that Jarek hadn't killed the man like he had the other two men she had seen. She didn't know why he had left the man of fire alive and why he had killed the other two.
It had made her sad to see that Jarek had killed two men. She wondered why he could kill so easily and feel no remorse for what he did. She knew that there was no way that she could ever kill anyone. She would fight a person and knock them unconscious but she would never kill someone. It was wrong to kill a person no matter the reason she thought. At least if they didn't deserve death. She shook her head not wanting to think about such things while she needed to find Jarek.
Kitty wondered what Jarek was doing. If he was just defeating them as he came across them or if he was searching them out. The path that he had taken suggested that he was trying to find a certain person and Kitty didn't want to know which one. She continued on and she could tell she was getting closer. That was when she heard something up ahead.
She ran ahead and what she found was sickening. She came across a very ugly man who was dead. He was bleeding from fresh wounds to the back. He was dead she could tell and she heard hissing. As she looked closer she saw that the saliva dripping from his open mouth was hitting the floor and dissolving the floor. She knew that his salvia was acid. She knew that the man had only been dead a couple of minutes and the sound she heard was the acid dripping form his mouth. Jarek couldn't be far ahead now and so she picked up her pace.
* * * * *
"Let's go Toad," Magneto said. "We can come back and get any who stay around here. I don't need Jarek that bad. If the X-Men want him that bad then they can have him."
"Yes boss," Toad said obediently. He was sitting in the driver's seat of the helicopter. Sitting beside him was the woman Justine. She had been told she was needed and so had went with Toad. He had brought her to Magneto who said that the three of them would be leaving. He didn't need to fight this battle since he had a better battle to fight.
She hadn't argued since she was not much of a fighter. Her skills lay elsewhere. She was going to miss her job of torturing Jarek though because he was truly an amazing man. She had been having fun with him and that was the first time in her life that she had been having fun.
She found herself thinking about him and about how strong he was. She had been impressed because he had never yelled out in pain once. He had been defiant to the end and had never given up his spirit like so many others had done to her administrations. She was one of the best and hadn't been able to crack Jarek. It was something that she would love the chance to try again. Or she thought she might be able to settle for just meeting him again. She wondered if they had met under different circumstances if things could have been different.
She was not a evil woman she was just a woman who did her job. She hoped that Jarek didn't hold it against her because she felt that if he wanted to he could hunt her down until the day he died. It was an interesting thought and one that she wondered about. She had never been hunted before and she thought that it might be kind of fun.
The helicopter lifted off and flew away into the distance. Those onboard didn't even risk any thoughts about those that they had left behind since they had joined the cause and they were fighting to let Magneto get away.
* * * * *
The X-Men had finished off the last of their opposition when Rogue landed next to them. None of them asked her any questions because they knew that she had taken the power of one of the enemies. Rogue looked around at them and said, "We have four left guys and girls."
They looked around and saw four very grotesque mutants coming their way. Two of them were very furry and one of the two had white hair. The other had black hair. The other two were just as different looking. One was covered in grey skin and the other had green skin. They were advancing at an even pace.
Cyclops looked at his team and said, "Well it seems our job isn't done team. We have to take these four down and then we can go help Kitty with Jarek."
"You know mon ami I think dat we need to attack before dey git too close," Gambit answered as he held three cards in his hand and charged them with his kinetic energy.
Cyclops nodded and said, "Gambit and me will take the two covered in fur. Logan you get the grey skinned one and the rest of the team you take the last one."
"Alright," the team replied in unison, which made them all smile. They were starting to act like a team and there were three of them that were first timers.
The team broke apart and went to do their own battles. Gambit threw his cards as he charged his designated man. His cards exploded as they hit the chest of the mutant. The mutant didn't even flinch. If anything he grew bigger after the cards hit him. Gambit charged in and did a sweep kick bringing the mutant off his feet.
The mutant was large and slow just like Gambit thought but he didn't want to be hit by him since it would really hurt he figured. The mutant didn't try to get up his body changed into that of a large white tiger and gambit scrambled to his feet and backed away slowly. "Damn dis is no fun Gambit t'ink. Gambit never got along well wit animals."
The tiger lunged at him and Gambit dove to the side but not before the tiger scored a hit on his chest. The tiger's claws opened up a gash on his chest and his blood started to flow. Gambit got back to his feet as the tiger started to stalk him. Gambit looked around and saw that there was nothing he could use. He reached into his coat and pulled out another card and charged it with a lot of energy. He threw it at the tiger who couldn't get out of the way in time. The card hit it full in the chest but the tiger did nothing but grow larger. "Dat no good," Gambit said as he turned and headed in the direction of the trees.
After he had ran ten yards he saw a pole laying in the snow. He ran over to it and picked it up. Gambit smiled as it felt nice and comfortable in his hands. He had been trained in the use of a staff and this was as close as you could get to one without it actually being one.
The tiger jumped for him and he swung the staff in a crossing cut. The staff thumped the tiger on the neck knocking the tiger to the side. The tiger climbed to its feet and paced back and forth as it watched Gambit. Gambit just stood there smiling waiting for its next rush.
The tiger lunged forward and Gambit brought the staff down in a downward cut. The staff cracked into the skull of the tiger. The tiger fell to the ground and didn't move. Gambit watched it to make sure that it was still alive. As he watched the tiger morphed back into the fur covered man. Gambit smiled when he saw that he was still alive just unconscious. "You gonna need to take two aspirin and call me in de morn," Gambit said as he headed over to see how his friends were doing.
* * * * *
His friends were faring about as well as could be expected. Cyclops was blasting the brown haired mutant with his powers but it was doing nothing to him but making him larger. As Cyclops watched him he noticed that this mutant and the one Gambit was fighting looked a lot alike. He guessed that they had to be twins and that was why they looked alike.
The mutant was now bigger than even Sabretooth thanks to Cyclops blasting him. One of his powers must have been to absorb energy and when he did it made him bigger physically for a short time Scott guessed. Well Scott knew a little in the self-defense and so he figured that he would have to use that instead of his powers.
The man swung for Scott and Scott ducked under the punch. Scott stepped in close and punched the man in the stomach. The man didn't even acknowledge the punch but instead grabbed Cyclops in a headlock. The mutant proceeded to punch Cyclops in the face time and time again. The mutant then dropped him to the ground where Cyclops groaned from the pain. His nose was bleeding and was possibly broke and he had a split pair of lips.
The man kicked Cyclops in the chest and Cyclops fell back onto his back from his hands and knees. His was coughing loudly since the air had been knocked out of him. He thought that he could quite possibly use more training in hand to hand combat since he was losing quite badly. The man stood over Cyclops and was about to stomp on his head when Cyclops rolled out of the way.
Cyclops came up to a kneeling position. He looked and saw that the man was laying on the ground with Gambit standing over him. Gambit turned and smiled at Cyclops and said, "Hey mon ami seemed you needed a little help."
"Thanks Gambit," Cyclops said as he stood up and walked over to stand next to Gambit. He looked down and saw that the man was morphing right before their very eyes. He became a very large bear and attacked them. The bear picked Gambit up in a bear-hug and squeezed. Gambit heard his bones creaking and knew that he couldn't take it very long without his bones breaking.
Cyclops ran up behind the bear and punched it in the back of the neck. The bear growled loudly and was bringing its head down to bite Gambit when it dropped him and fell back. It climbed back to its feet and looked around. It saw Gambit and Cyclops standing there watching it. That was when a bolt of lightning came down and hit it right in the back knocking it unconscious.
Cyclops and Gambit looked at each other and smiled. They then turned to see how the others were doing. They saw Logan off by himself fighting the man with grey skin. He was doing quite well and so they decided to help the women fight the man that they were fighting. They turned and walked over to where the women were battling the man with the green skin.
* * * * *
Logan was battling the man with grey skin and having some fun with it. The man didn't have a clue how to fight and his power was one that he could control the earth itself. Anyway he could control the rocks. Logan ducked another rock as it sailed through the air at him. Logan charged the man and slashed at his legs. The man fell back onto the ground. Logan tried to stab him while he was on the ground but the man shot up into the air as the ground heaved under Logan's feet.
Man Logan was not in the mood for people flying about when all he wanted was a good fight. The man landed on his feet a few feet from where Logan was standing. Logan started to advance again when the man used his power and threw a hail of small stones at him. Logan couldn't duck them all and so didn't even try. The stones bounced off of him leaving welts and a few cuts. The cuts and welts healed and so Logan wasn't slowed down just a bit angry. He didn't like being hit with a rock it was so childish.
Logan charged the man again when the ground heaved under his feet making him sway from side to side like he was on a boat that was caught in a fierce storm. Logan tried to gather his feet under him and he leapt to the side as good as he could. Logan rolled more than jumped since he couldn't get a good footing. As he came back up to his feet he unsheathed his claws which he had sheathed as he rolled across the ground.
The man was looking fearful now since Logan was still coming. Not many could take what he had thrown at Logan but Logan had and was still coming and showing no signs that he was going to stop either. Logan charged with blinding speed since he was tired of dealing with this amateur. The man tried to use his power but Logan was a bit too fast. Logan ran full tilt into him knocking the man to the ground where Logan dropped to his knees, which he put on the man's chest to keep him on the ground.
Logan said, "You lose," as he punched the man in the face as he retracted his claws so that he didn't kill him. The X-men way he was told was to let them live even though he wasn't sure that was a good idea. The man's eyes rolled up into the back of his head as Logan's fist careened off the man's head. The man was unconscious and so Logan stood up and looked around.
He saw that the girls with the help of Cyclops and Gambit had defeated the last one and so he decided that he would go over and join them. He came up and stood right next to them. "Well team what do you say we go get Jarek and make for home."
"I agree. I think that Kitty should have found Jarek by now and made it back to us. I think that something has happened and we need to find out what," Storm said slowly.
While they were talking they didn't see or hear Sabretooth sneaking up to them through the brush. Logan couldn't smell him because there were too many scents in the area. Sabretooth was only a few yards away from the X-men when someone barreled into him.
* * * * *
Jarek was following the scent of Sabretooth and wondering if he was ever going to find him or if he himself was going to pass out along the way. He was bleeding badly from the wound in his chest since the acid seemed to eat away everything that his body made to heal the wound. He knew he was near death but he didn't care. He had a duty to perform and he would do it. He owed Kitty and he would repay her right here if it killed him.
The scent led him outside where he saw his friends battling different mutants. He saw the tratior Gambit fighting a tiger and Cyclops fighting a man covered in brown fur. Logan was fighting a man with grey skin who was throwing rocks at Logan and controlling the ground. He also saw Storm, Jean, Jubilee, and Rogue fighting a man with green skin. The man was controlling all the vegetation around and was holding his own against the women. Jarek also saw that Rogue was flying and he knew that she must have absorbed the powers of someone in order to do that.
They were not the reason he was out in the cold though hunting a mutant that good sense told him to leave alone. He knew that in his shape there was no way that he could defeat Sabretooth but he had to try. He owed that to Kitty. The scent carried him over into the brush and he followed it.
He followed the scent for about five minutes at which time the X-men had defeated all of the remaining enemies. They were standing in a group talking when Jarek saw Sabretooth not too far in front of where Jarek was. Jarek knew what Sabretooth was going to do and he couldn't allow that. Just as Sabretooth stood up Jarek launched himself threw the air and hit Sabretooth in the chest.
Sabretooth peeled Jarek off him and tossed him aside. Jarek hit a nearby tree and heard his ribs snap like dry kindling. Jarek slowly climbed to his feet and created his swords of light. There he stood and waited as Sabretooth charged him. Sabretooth brought his claws down in a cross slash and scored a hit on Jarek's face since he couldn't dodge he was so tired. Jarek plunged his blades into Sabretooth's chest but they didn't even slow down the monster.
Sabretooth picked him up and slammed him down into the snow-covered ground. Jarek's was bleeding from so many wounds. Blood was sprayed about and the X-men looked over to see that Sabretooth was destroying Jarek.
"Scott we have to help him," Jean cried out.
"The damn kid saved us," Logan said as he picked up the scent of Sabretooth where he had been sitting not that far from where the group was.
Kitty ran out of the compound and yelled to the team, "I can't find him anywhere." That was when she noticed Jarek fighting Sabretooth. "My God! Jarek no get away from him," she yelled.
Jarek heard her and was relieved to know that she was still alive. He was in the clutches of Sabretooth and he growled up to him, "I'll kill you for harming her you bastard."
Jarek's eyes started to glow and his skin became ice cold as he was losing himself to a part of him that was truly frightening. Sabretooth recognized that something was wrong and so stuck his claws right into Jarek's chest. Jarek felt his body shudder as he lost control of his power. He was actually getting cold. He had never been cold since he had found out he was a mutant. That was a bad sign he figured if he was getting cold.
Cyclops hadn't been able to get a shot since Sabretooth was holding Jarek in front of him. Jarek was still in Sabretooth's clutches but Sabretooth had moved him to the side slightly. Cyclops blasted Sabretooth full force and sent Sabretooth flying through the air breaking trees from the force that Cyclops had used.
The rest of the team couldn't believe what they had seen. "My god," Rogue said putting her hand to her mouth.
They moved up to Jarek and Kitty came running over as well. Jarek was laying in the snow with a large red stain around him. Jean felt his neck and felt a weak pulse. He was covered in wounds and was bleeding quite badly. They had been told what to expect but they hadn't believed that it could be as bad as it was.
Jubilee had tears in her eyes as she looked down at Jarek. He looked so helpless and weak and she had never seen him like that. It scared her to see him like that. She had no words for what she was looking at except grotesque. He was nothing but a mess and he was not in good shape.
Gambit had his arm around Jubilee and looked down at Jarek. "I'm sorry mon ami. Gambit not mean to bring you such hurt. Gambit is sorry." That was all he could say for the sight before him was enough to make him lose his lunch if he had eaten one.
He couldn't believe what they had done to him none of the X-men could. It was unthinkable that they could do that to another person.
"You saved some of us kid good job," Logan said. He knew Jarek had saved them because Sabretooth would have killed one or two of them if it hadn't been for Jarek. He had risked and possibly gave his life up for them. That was the sign of a true man. He was one of a kind Logan thought and if he died Logan felt that he would miss Jarek.
Scott looked down at him and felt a great sadness for Jarek. The kid had known little joy in his life it seemed and now it seemed as if he might not live to see any joy at all. Scott had tears in his eyes as did most of the team. All but Logan were crying some more than others and Scott felt that it was alright. He was a team member and he had been a friend to most of them. They were going to miss him, but he felt he needed to say something to Jarek while he was still with them. "You are a member of this team Jarek now and always. We want you to know that."
Storm had tears streaming down her face as she looked at a person who had been a great person whether or not he had known it. He had honor and friends which made him special. Storm in particular had liked him since he had made an effort to dance with her and to learn what she had to teach. He was a joy and she was going to miss him if he died. She couldn't believe he was lying there on the verge of death. He had only been with the team for a short time.
Kitty knelt down next to Jarek and was crying. The tears streaked down her face and glistened in the light. Jarek couldn't believe how beautiful she was. He thought that if he died right there at least it would be surrounded by his friends and a woman who cared about him. It was something that he was not used to.
Kitty held his head in her lap and stroked his hair to keep it out of his face. "Don't you die on me Jarek. You mean to much to me and everyone here. You are like family to us and . . . and . . ." Kitty broke down and started to cry again. She couldn't believe that she was losing the first guy she had ever liked. She could even say that she might even love him. It was not fair. He meant to much to her to lose now. He had been her knight and protecter. He had been there for her whenever she had needed him.
Jarek looked up into her eyes and lifted his blood soaked hand. He wiped the tears from half of her face and gave her his half-smile. "Don't worry Kitty. I'll live I always do." His voice was so low that Kitty could hardly hear him. Blood flowed from the side of his mouth as he said those words to her and he passed out.
Jean had been examining him to see what the extent of his injuries were. She had been thinking that anyone, Logan included, would have died from what had been done to him but yet Jarek still lived. She found that he had many cuts and other such wounds but his worst ones that she could see were the ones that Sabretooth had inflicted and a wound on his chest that was covered in acid. She was worried that he would die on her and she had never lost a patient.
Jean didn't want to lose Jarek, since he meant so much to so many people. He was a part of the school and whether he knew it or not he had impacted many lives there. He would be missed by many including Jean herself. She felt his ribs and could feel that they were broken almost everyone of them were. She knew that she had to get him back to the mansion fast if they wanted to have any chance of saving him.
She looked up and said in a business tone of voice, "We have to get him to the Blackbird if we want to have any chance at all of saving him."
"We can't move him or we will risk killing him," Jean said as Scott moved to pick him up.
"Then how are we going to get him there," Scott demanded.
"I will have to use my power," jean replied.
She picked him up using her power and carried him to the blackbird. There were some medical facilities on the Blackbird and so she sat him down on a medical table to stabolize him. They strapped him down so that he wouldn't move and they flew back to the mansion.
* * * * *
At the mansion they carried him into the medical lab and Jean went to work on him with the help of a new student by the name of Hank. Together they stabilized him so that he was doing fine. There was nothing they could do for the wounds he had sustained except clean and dress them. They hooked him up to a machine to moniter him and prayed that he would make it through the night. If he did then there was a good chance that he would be alright since his healing factor would help. They night was going to be a long one Jean thought.