Welcome
to the jungle
We've got fun 'n' games
We got everything you want
Honey, we know the names
We are the people that can find
Whatever you may need
If you got the money, honey
We got your disease
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees
I wanna watch you bleed
Welcome to the jungle
We take it day by day
If you want it you're gonna bleed
But it's the price you pay
And you're a very sexy girl
That's very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights
But you won't get them for free
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpentine
I wanna hear you scream
Welcome to the jungle
It gets worse here everyday
Ya learn ta live like an animal
In the jungle where we play
If you got a hunger for what you see
You'll take it eventually
You can have anything you want
But you better not take it from me
And when you're high you never
Ever want to come down, yeah
You know where you are
You're in the jungle baby
You're gonna die
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Feel my, my, my serpentine
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your knees
In the jungle
Welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your
It's gonna bring you down!
Xavier rewound the tape and played it again, ignoring Logan as she winced at the scene. "I don't think I have to remind you that Victor Creed was here for rehabilitation—not a lobotomy."
"He was trying to escape!" Logan exclaimed. "He knocked Tabitha into a metal wall!"
Xavier wheeled around, meeting Logan's defiant gaze. "I understand the need to subdue him under the circumstances; however, your methods were…excessive. The fact that he is still alive is a miracle, although he will probably never be quite the same again."
"And this is a bad thing because…"
Xavier looked at her sternly. "Your blatant lack of remorse for your actions disturbs me. I thought we had made progress with you since your arrival here. You know Logan, when I first brought you to Westchester, you weren't much better than you claim that Sabretooth is."
Logan's nostrils flared. "Listen, Chuck, I was never like him. Yeah, I may have my demons, but I'm not a psychotic killer. I can play well with others when I have to."
"I have yet to see proof of that," Xavier said. "I have been debating what disciplinary actions to take following this event, and while your behavior makes me question your position on the X-Men, you are a valuable asset to the team. Being as such, I will allow you to remain part of the X-Men; however, for the next three months you are confined to the mansion. During that time, you will be expected to stand guard over Sabretooth—making sure no harm comes to him now that he is in a weakened state."
"WHAT!" Logan yelled. "You can't do that!"
"If you wish to remain a member of my team, you will do as I say."
Logan popped her claws, but then brought them back in just as quickly. "I understand, professor," she said through gritted teeth.
"Good. You are dismissed, Wolverine."
Logan stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her. She glared at the group of X-Men gathered in the hallway. "What the hell do you want?" she yelled. They quickly scattered, allowing Logan a clear path through the hall.
Weeks passed before Sabretooth did anything more than lounge on the Danger Room floor while Logan sat in the control room, watching him intently. She was almost beginning to believe the professor—maybe Victor's healing factor hadn't been able to handle the massive brain trauma she had dealt him. But not once did she feel sorry, even when Jean showed her the mind scans she'd taken of Sabretooth. They were of forests and streams, rabbits and deer and songbirds. The colors were bright and oversaturated. Childlike.
Victor rolled over on the steel floor, a placid smile on his face. He was seeing a hologram that Kitty had programmed after the images from his mind, to keep him calm. He was feeling the sun beating on his face and hearing the soft sounds of a stream, while Logan was stuck in a hard chair in a tiny, hot control room. She reached under the counter and disconnected the smoke alarm for her afternoon cigarette.
"There's no smoking in here." Logan shot a black look at the other woman.
"Bite me, Jean." Jean took a seat in the other control chair and lifted the Danger Room's Cerebro helmet off its stand.
"Time for your daily romp through the psycho's mind?"
"It's a lot more pleasant than your mind." Right on cue, a buzzer sounded and Tabitha stepped into the Danger Room and Victor's simulation. He smiled wider as he saw her, not a sardonic grin but a genuine expression of happiness. Tabitha sat cross-legged in front of him and the two began conversing eagerly.
"That's cheap," Logan commented.
"What?" said Jean, as she activated the Cerebro controls.
"Using the kid to distract him like that. I thought telepaths weren't supposed to go around someone's mind uninvited."
"Deal with it, Logan," said Jean shortly, and shut her eyes. Logan turned her back and took another drag on her cigarette as she watched the pair below. It had been easy for Tabitha to forgive Victor. The girl had rarely left his bedside in the med lab, and now she visited him every day, for as long as the professor would allow.
Logan wished things were that easy for her.
Jean let out a cry and Logan spun around in her chair, just in time to see the redhead tear off the Cerebro helmet and collapse, shaking, into her chair.
"What's wrong?" said Logan, although she had an idea.
"We…" Jean took a deep breath and got a hold of herself. 'We have a serious problem." Logan shot a look back at Tabitha and Victor, but they were still acting ordinary as ever.
"What did you see?" Jean pressed the playback on Cerebro, and Logan's blood chilled. The sylvan forest was black, clouds obscuring the sun and the trees charred down to twigs. Dead animals lay scattered around a stream that ran red with blood.
"His mind has reverted…" said Jean. "I didn't think it was possible."
"Looks like you were wrong, red." Logan clicked on the comm.. "Tabitha, time to go."
"No it's not!" Tabitha whined back, holding up her wristwatch as evidence.
"Get out of there now," Logan growled, leaving no room for argument. Victor twisted around to look at the control room, his face still holding the sweet, slightly befuddled expression he'd worn since their battle. He waved at her.
"We've restrained him," said Xavier at the team meeting the next morning. "I must say, I held out a hope that he could be cured of this insatiable urge to kill but it seems now that that is impossible."
"Thank you Captain Obvious," Logan muttered.
"What course of action are we taking with him now?" asked Storm.
"I've spoken to the warden at the Vault, and a team will collect him as soon as possible," said Xavier. "Sabretooth is going to prison for the rest of his life."
"Yeah, sure," said Gambit. "Where we hear dat one before?"
"Be quiet," said Scott. Remy got up and left the war room. Logan followed suit.
"Is he gonna be okay again?" said Boom Boom softly. Xavier inclined his head sympathetically.
"I'm sorry, Tabitha, but someone like Victor can never be cured. It is a hard fact, but a fact all the same. The best place for him is the Vault." Tabitha's lower lip trembled, but she just nodded and left the room.
Victor felt sweat trickle between his body and the cold metal bonds that held him trussed up in the Danger Room. He hated the dark, had ever since he was a child. Only a single soft light shown down on him—the rest of the huge room was in pitch blackness. Who knew what might be lurking there…waiting…watching… A shiver passed over Victor's body and he let out an angry growl as compensation. He had to think, had to make a plan. Now was not the time to lose it. But it was so dark. It was closing in on him…
A small bar of light appeared as the Danger Room door opened, and Victor caught a familiar scent.
"Hey there, Tabby." Tabitha's angry, tear-streaked face came out of the shadows.
"You…you lied to me."
"I lie to everyone, kid. Yer nothin' special."
"I trusted you!"
"Then you're not too smart, are ya?"
"I should have listened to Logan." Victor snorted.
"Shoulda coulda woulda, Tabby." He leaned forward as much as his restraints would allow. "But the runt's not here now. What are you gonna do all by your lonesome?"
Tabitha brought her right hand out from behind her back, revealing three glowing time bombs. Victor laughed, loudly.
"You don't have the nerve, girly."
Tabitha's small voice was almost a growl. "Try me." She sneered at him. "I hope you rot in Hell, Creed." She cocked back her arm and the bright projectiles flew at Victor, bouncing off his chest and leaving hot burn marks. They exploded as they hit the floor, blinding and deafening him. He felt the metal of his restraints sag, and he topped over, hitting his chin on the Danger Room floor. Victor smiled. Once again, his little Tabby Cat had saved the day.
Tabitha's tears began again as she saw Victor vanish in a bright fireball. How could she have let herself be so easily fooled? No one ever just cared for her, they all used her. Her father, the X-Men and now Victor. But he was dead now. He had to be.
"Heh heh heh." Tabitha's mouth dropped open. It couldn't be… "Thanks for the jailbreak, frail," Victor grinned. "Couldn't have done it without ya." He was shirtless and burned, but perfectly alive.
Tabitha, all reason deserting her, screamed for help at the top of her lungs. Victor picked her up by her neck like a rag doll and threw her too the side, knocking the wind out of her. He ran out of the Danger Room, heading for the nearest exit. Tabitha lay on her side, thinking that he didn't even care enough to kill her.
Logan crouched, slinking through the sewer. It smelled, worse than almost anything—except the scent she was tracking. As far as she was concerned, Victor Creed was the vilest creature she'd ever encountered.
This time, he wasn't getting away. He was going to pay for what he'd done to her, to Tabitha—to Silver Fox.
"Lookin' fer me, darlin'?"
Logan spun around looking around wildly for Sabretooth. "Come out and face me like a real man, Creed."
Victor chuckled. "But you never let me show you how much of a 'real man' I can be."
Logan unsheathed her claws with a snarl. "Fucking bastard."
"That the best you can come up with, frail?"
"You afraid to fight me, Creed? Afraid I might hurt you again?"
"You ain't nothin' to me, girly. I'm not afraid of you or yer little can openers."
"Well you should be."
Creed jumped from the shadows, landing on Logan and knocking her to the ground. He pressed his body against her back, putting his mouth up against her ear. "You really want to fight me, frail? Or maybe you want something else…"
"I want you to die, you goddam son of a bitch." Logan turned her head and spit on him.
Victor pushed down on her head, slamming her face into the concrete. He sat up slightly, and Logan used the new leverage of the position to push against him, knocking him off her back. She crouched in front of him as her wounds closed again.
Creed mimicked her position, chuckling. "You wanna tango, darlin'?"
"I am not your darlin'!" she yelled, lunging forward and burying her claws in his chest. Creed howled, knocking her off and across the tunnel.
Logan got back to her feet, charging Creed again. This time he was prepared, grabbing her and lifting her off the ground, her arms pinned to her sides.
"Yer not playin' nice, frail."
Logan sneered. "I never play nice." She raised her knee, hitting Victor hard between the legs. His eyes filled with shock and pain and he fell down to his knees. Logan grabbed the suppression collar from her belt and turned it up all the way before slapping it on Victor's neck. He shook with the volt, falling back to the ground.
Logan turned on her comlink. "The target is subdued."