Authors Note : In my country 18 is legal for anything :) so sue me if you don't like it! No ones taken up my X-men offer in the FEEDBACK section, doesn't it appeal? Memories or flashbacks are in italics
DISCLAIMER: Everything you recognise belongs to Marvel, lucky them, Anyone you don't know which includes Sarah are mine, I made them up in my mad little head, any reference to people real or fictional is a terrible mistake or new psychic powers.
THANKS: Why Not, As Requested a longer chapter. Unanon More :) and more Sarah who is growing on me! Yass Give me a chance! I have to write these on demand :) Sarah was created by me , if you want to beta those typos drop me a note ;)
FEEDBACK: *deep breath* feedback will be worshiped adored looked over and poured with melted chocolate covered in whipped cream eaten and cherished nourished and thanked for later, everyone who feeds the feedback machine gets the X Man/Woman of choice covered in the feedback chocolate combo and hand delivered via my mail @ the following address.
Silk and Steel
Part Four
The Whole World Lost It's Head
Five Years Later
She was humming under her breath as she sprinted up the steps to the apartment complex after a hectic day of sales shopping, just because a girl has purple skin doesn't mean she can't enjoy a little retail therapy. Plus it was helping her concentrate on the fact that Vic was missing again, and this time not just on his normal jaunt she was sure of it, Sarah had told her, eight or ten times at least not to worry, that he was a big boy and could take care of himself.
Well of course he could, she was certain of it, it was just, just something in her told her that she should be worried and she wasn't sure what it was. Unlocking the private lift with her key, she waved to the doorman on duty and stepped inside, coming face to face with herself in the mirrored doors.
Normally she wouldn't stare, knowing that the mirrors were connected to cameras in the apartment. But today seemed to be of those days where staring helped her concentrate. It certainly didn't help other people, to be stared at with dead white eyes, she didn't possess any pupils but she saw perfectly, lots of people thought she was blind, just another 'poor disabled mutie' that made her glad of home study, college would have been too painful, with people staring at every move she made.
The clothes she wore marked her apart in a different way, she had money, her dark slacks were of Armani manufacture and the house of Versachi had over charged for the green cashmere sweater she was wearing, but then, they were never short of money the three of them, the sort of overcharging Sarah and Vic believed in was manic. The door pinged open and she looked around the inside of the apartment, Sarah was in, but in the bathroom. It was easy for her to pick up the signals of occupation that her surrogate mother left around, the painting equipment by the window was the biggest clue however.
She stretched, heading for the open plan kitchen, feeling at home. Smiling she paused for a moment to savour the word, home. It was a nice idea, so different from when she'd woken after that first night to find herself alone in the apartment with the strange woman Sarah Blastdotter washing dishes in the kitchen, despite the presence of a dishwasher, and singing under her breath.
Sarah was small, no more than five foot one, the same height as the thirteen year old Clarice, five inches shorter than her now, a tumble of red gold hair falling over a green robe, which was cut for a man but long enough to touch the floor on her, she had looked tiny and defenceless, but one look into those flawed obsidian eyes as she turned had shattered any illusions. Sarah had taken care of her, taught her about life, how to shop how to eat in company without suffering the panic attacks that had almost shattered her, and she'd taught her about, this, Mr Creed.
'He's no sweetheart darling girl, but he'll look after ya, go into the jaws of hell and pull you back out, that's his loyalty to you, and he'll expect the same. He's mad and bad and dangerous to know, and that's his good points. I'll only give you one piece of advice on Creed, don't ever betray him little one, or nothing'll save you….'
There were dishes in the sink today, obviously Sarah had been caught up in whatever she was doing, otherwise she was a tiny cleaning machine. Dirt was an obsession Sarah couldn't seem to shake. She smiled and began to run the hot water, squeezing bubbles into the water as it ran out of the taps, she ignored the yellow rubber gloves that were lying on the drying rack and pushed her hands straight into the water, it was fairly cold outside and the sudden warmth made the tips of her fingers tingle.
"What've I told you about that? You'll have fingers like prunes" She relaxed the tension from her shoulders and turned her head to look over her shoulder "Sorry my hands were cold" Sarah sighed and then smiled, her eyes were distracted and dark circled "No gloves again?" she giggled a small and contented sound, the mercenary worried about dishpan hands, it was too funny really, but those dark circles proved that she wasn't the only one to still have nightmares of events over five years old.
'She walked into the bathroom to find Sarah hunched over the basin shaking and crying, marks carved into her back, a stalking tiger formed of, what her experiences told her were heated knife marks and whip strikes, an artistry of pain' All she had been able to on that day, almost a week after she had been carried into Sarah's life was to walk outside and shake, she couldn't have helped, not with her own memories so fresh, but now, perhaps….
"Did you have the nightmare again?" it had been their private code, things she thought were scary had become 'the nightmare' so that she didn't have to think of them individually, her own nightmares were only a product of stress now, but Sarah's. Sarah's were terrifying. For a moment the older woman looked as if she was going to deny it all and then she sighed before nodding, it was the most Sarah had ever said, then she pushed in front of Clarice "Let me finish here, then tell me what's wrong with that painting"
It had become a game with them, she didn't know anything about art except that Leonardo had painted the Mona Lisa and that the museum of art was a good place to go if you were being chased by FOH. But Sarah liked her to look, she had started it in that first week, to teach her the art of seeing details, it had been the start of the most unusual education s girl could have. Hunting with Vic, combat with them both, a laughing memory as she crossed the room 'Victor Creed lying on his back with the fifteen year old her sitting on his chest with one of her spears at his throat "The other me taught you good Clarry, now tell me what're you gonna do about the claws at 'ur back?…"
She was still smiling as she looked at the portrait, for a moment she couldn't pick out exactly what it was, and then she caught it, there was a tiger sitting on the branch of the tree, another cat painting, but for the first time it was the tiger, it marked the same snarling defiance as the scars that decorated Sarah's back, she'd almost missed it in the darkness of the jungle setting, only the glimpse of orange in the water pooled at the bottom of the canvas had caught her attention drawing her eye to the still predator.
The kitchen was silent, so Sarah had to be close by, she didn't have the heightened senses that Vic and Sarah herself possessed but she had learnt to tell where and when people were near her. "It's the best you've ever done, but then you know that" Sarah stepped into her field of view, she wasn't smiling, but the look on her face was slightly less tense than before. "I know, but its not the best I've ever done, that's hidden away" she raised an eyebrow, she wasn't going to ask to see, Sarah would let that happen in her own good time, she was about to ask what Sarah thought was wrong with it when the bell rang.
Her tension went from nothing to one hundred in about ten seconds flat, she looked at Sarah who's stance was battle ready, she should have looked stupid in slippers and a robe, but she didn't she looked deadly. "Go into the kitchen Blink, and have the gun pointed at the door" They'd taken to hiding the Mini Uzi in the kitchen, you couldn't take it to the door in case it was the delivery boy or the mail man with a huge package, but they could be ready.
Slipping into the kitchen on silent feet she blessed the fact she was in the moccasins that Vic had brought her, she was as quiet as a shadow in them. When she had the gun pointed at the door she nodded and Sarah swung it open.
******************************************************************************************************************************************
What Sarah Blastdotter hadn't expected when opening the door to the private elevator was to be confronted with three people wearing what could loosely be termed spandex, underworld bosses, shifty looking people delivering weapons, money, or both, or the pizza delivery man, but not 'superheroes' one of which was looking more than a little disconcerted at having a very small feminine looking woman open the door to them in her robe. She decided to play on it.
"Can I help you?" She gave them her best, I'm small and slightly confused smile which caused the front runner to shift slightly uncomfortably. She knew three out of four of them by reputation, the slight Asian girl in the long black trench was a mystery but the other three were X men, and from the visor and the underpants outside my trousers look the first in line was Cyclops. "Ma'am there seems to have been a horrible mistake, we were informed that a Victor Creed lived here"
Her own tension went up, but she didn't let it show on the outside, she just went into a spate of rapid blinking. "Creed? No I don't think so, I live here, with my daughter" She flicked her fingers at Blink to stay quiet and stay out of it, the woman of the group stepped forward, delicate redhead, taller than herself, had to be the other Summers, Cyclops's wife. "I know this is disturbing Mrs?" she smiled slightly her internal barriers carefully repulsing any form of psychic probing "Ms Blast" The woman nodded "Ms Blast, but may we come in, just to try and find out if he's been here, perhaps when you weren't in residence?"
She pretended to dither while watching Clarice shift the Uzi so that it was out of sight behind the expresso machine and then nodded "Well, alright, but I don't know about this" she stepped back from the door allowing them to enter the apartment. It was then that she got a full view of the last figure in the lift and sighed, Wolverine. He'd know what she said was lies the minute he stepped inside, however hard she cleaned Vic's darker musk hung inside the apartment like a security blanket.
That wasn't what caused the commotion however, all four sets of eyes had fastened on Blink and stuck, the red head, Jean whatever Summers turned to her "Your daughter is a Mutant?" she gave the M in mutant a capital letter as if it was all important "No, of course I'm not, I just use a lot of face paint" That was Blink, sarcasm thick in her voice, the younger girl was gaping like a fish, and then she managed to spit out the words that were choking her "Clarice Ferguson?"
Cool as a cucumber that was her Blink, she frowned "No, Claire Blast, I believe you've met my mother" the girl looked ready to deny that when Wolverine spoke "ifs she's your ma or not ain't the problem, the whole place stinks of Sabertooth" Blink's eyes flew to her's and she nodded before removing the four inch blade from the sheath on her arm just as Blink gently moved the Uzi into position her finger on the trigger, the safety she noted with unconscious approval was off, and must have been from the first.
"Everyone stay calm" she admonished in an orderly, 'mother knows best' voice "Or my dear heart over there will have to get antsy" She caught the twitch of a smile that flashed across Clarice's face and almost smiled in reply, but she had to concentrate on the ones in front of her, they were dangerous, even if they were naïve. "Now, if we work through this calmly we could all leave this room alive and relatively unscathed" the younger girl was hanging off of Wolverines arm, probably a wise move, she knew of the little mans temper from Vic.
Cyclops seemed to be in charge again "We still only want to find Victor Creed Ma'am" it was Blink that spoke, quiet and firm from the other side of the room "Liar" She had a well developed sense of truth or lie, instincts they had helped her hone until she could use them almost as well as a mutant ability, she must have read something in the faces of the assorted X people. The two Summers's seemed to have had a quick non verbal conversation, before Cyclops spoke again "Very well miss, we want to find Victor Creed and we'd like you to consider our school"
She saw Blinks finger tighten on the trigger and spoke herself to try and ease the pressure away from the point of no return she could see it heading towards. "I don't think my Claire will be going anywhere in the foreseeable future unless she wants to, and as for Creed, what do you want with him?" She saw Blinks fingers ease and let a little of her air out, in some ways she and Vic had overtrained Clarice, but that threat would have scared her to death, remove her from Creed, she'd like to see someone try.
She'd of course then like to see them bleed when Vic found out about it and decided to take her back.
None of the X men had taken he cue to speak so she decided to prod them along a little "He I know would like to kill him, and I've never been keen on sending someone their death in the mail" she had gestured at Wolverine, who was almost snarling under his breath, but she could handle a feral male, she'd been doing it for years now. Cyclops had finally decided to talk "Ms Blast, if that's your name" she grinned slightly, suspicion had finally hit "It'll do" he nodded before continuing "Sabertooth is a criminal you can tell us where he is" She let one of her eyebrows slide up "If you were working for the DOJ I might tell you, but you're not, and you wouldn't be here if you were just tracking him down, now try the other one, its got bells on"
The girl was looking at Blink with something like disbelief still on her face but she was the one who spoke next looking straight at her friends purple face "He helped me out, and someone got him for it, an we're tryin ta help him out" she didn't look away from the X men but flicked her fingers at Blink ~believe her?~ Clarice didn't move her fingers but nodded once before speaking leaving her free to observe "If we were to believe that, why come here?" Cyclops nodded once at something that the redhead had said "Because this is his last known address, its taken us almost a week to track it down"
For a moment the room was silent before blink stepped away from the Uzi after unracking the clip and slipping it into the pocket of her slacks "Should have taken longer, you may as well sit down because we don't know where he is either"