A/N. Many, many thanks to those who have taken the time to read and post a review! It is really appreciated! This chapter does not have too much interaction with Sabertooth and Wolverine, but it is important to the plot. The next chapter will be better …
Chapter 3.
"How much did you give him, Storm?" Xavier asked.
"Enough to kill a human, and sedate two horses," she said matter-of-factly. "I wanted to make sure it would be enough to knock him out. I guess it was," she said unapologetically, looking down on the drugged Sabertooth laying on the table in front of her.
"Jean? That dosage won't hurt him, will it?" Charles asked, concerned.
Jean looked over at the man in the wheelchair with a subtle smile of reassurance. "I doubt it. If nothing else he will just wake up with a nasty headache and a dry mouth. I probably would have given him more than Storm did, actually," she said looking over at the Weather Witch with a smile. Jean picked up some sterile gauze and dabbed some disinfectant solution on it.
"Do you know what he wanted?" Storm asked, watching as Jean carefully wiped the blood away from Sabertooth's raked face.
"I didn't have time to find out," Xavier replied, wheeling over to stare at the blond feral. "From what I gather, he was here not to hurt us. Quite the opposite, in fact. He was here to talk to us."
"So he wasn't lyin' then," Wolverine muttered, leaning against the far back wall. He was still unconvinced.
Everyone in the room turned to look at him.
"Did he say anything to you Logan?" Xavier asked.
Wolverine looked away, uncomfortable with the memory of what had just happened. The passion and physical excitement Sabertooth had obviously felt when they were fighting was something he had to think about. He was not sure what it meant.
"No, not really."
Charles looked away, sure there was something Logan was hiding.
Jean looked over at the Xavier. "Can you reach him?"
"I can try," he replied, gliding over and positioning himself near Sabertooth's head. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Vague images entered his consciousness. Pictures of other mutants, but most notably Magneto and Wolverine. Strange… He tried to reach Sabertooth's emotions, but either the feral mutant kept them too tightly buried, or else the drugs in his system were somehow blocking his access. Xavier opened his eyes, knowing that he would get nothing this way. They would just have to wait until Sabertooth came to.
He looked around the room at the X-Men and shook his head.
"All I can get is that it has something to do with Magneto, which is no surprise, and Wolverine."
Once more all eyes turned to look Logan.
"What? I didn't do anything," he said defensively. "The first time I saw him was when he attacked Rogue and me in my truck. And today. That's it," he said with finality. Why the hell would Sabertooth want to talk to him?
"Well, for whatever personal reasons, Sabertooth feels some sort of connection to you Logan. I think it would be in everybody's best interest if at some point, the two of you had a chat," Xavier said pointedly.
"For now, I don't think we can do anything except wait until he regains consciousness. Jean, can I ask you to watch him for a while? I will stay here as well. He approached me first, and I honestly do not think he would harm me. The rest of you can go."
Without another word, Storm turned and walked out. Logan slowly pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Sabertooth. He looked down and saw the gashes from his claws, mark his face. He did not feel bad about that. Just curious. What the hell would Sabertooth have to say to him that was so important he would risk coming to X-Men central? Still confused, Logan turned and walked out of the room without a backwards glance.
Jean finished disinfecting the wounds on Sabertooth's face, when she started to unbutton his shirt, so she could reach the wounds on his chest. She tried to part the material when she realized something was caught near the collar. She reached up to disentangle it, when she realized it was some sort of chain. Pulling it loose she found the small dog tag attached. Turning it over in her hand she read the name inscribed on it.
"Professor? Come take a look at this," she said. Xavier wheeled over and Jean held it up so he could see it.
"It's Logan's."
Jean sensed the movement just before Sabertooth's hand made a clumsy swipe for the dog tag. He was still groggy, but was coming out of his drugged state, and recovering his senses quickly.
Jean dropped the tag and quickly backed up but kept her hand out, ready to use her telekinesis to prevent Sabertooth from attacking if he tried to. Instead, she saw him slowly raise his hand and touch the wounds across his face. He lifted them and looked at the blood on his fingers. Jean realized his irises were so black, she could not tell where his pupils started or ended. She heard Xavier address him.
"Victor, you are at Xavier's school for the gifted. You have been sedated, and except for a few scratches from Logan, you are unhurt."
"They will heal," he said thickly, his mouth feeling like all of the moisture had been sucked out of it. Sabertooth turned to look at Jean. "You were right. My head is killing me and my mouth is dry."
He watched her reaction with amusement.
"How long have you been awake?" she asked, reaching for a glass of water to hand to him.
"Shortly after you picked me up and brought me inside," he replied. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"So you have heard everything we said." It came out as a statement, and not a question. "Why didn't you let us know?"
Sabertooth just smiled an enigmatic smile.
"Just because I gained consciousness does not mean that I had full use of my arms and legs. It would have been stupid of me to draw attention when I could not defend myself." He took a long sip of water. He noted the look of surprise on Jean's face at his words. Again, he felt like everyone thought because he was more animal than human, that he was stupid. Well, they were wrong.
"Victor, why are you here," Xavier asked seriously, wheeling closer to Sabertooth.
"I already told you," he replied, inconspicuously tucking the dog tag back into the safety of his shirt.
"I am afraid you will have to be more specific than that."
Sitting upright, he reached for the dampened gauze and began to clean the slash marks across his broad chest. He thought for a moment. He had made it this far – to back out now would not help him in the long run.
"To get out. Away from the Brotherhood. And to warn you of what will most likely happen in the next few days." He let the impact of what he was saying sink in, in the heavy silence of the room.
Xavier thought about it a moment and realized this was what was weighing so heavily on his mind. Magneto.
"This has to do with Magneto, doesn't it Victor?" Xavier asked.
The feral giant snorted. "Doesn't it always?"
"You had better explain what he has planned. That will give me a better idea of what is to happen."
Sabertooth looked over at Jean, then back at Xavier, silently questioning here presence.
"You can speak freely. Eventually, the rest of the X-Men will have to know if there is anything we can do to help."
Resigning himself to his fate, he sighed. As briefly as possible, Sabertooth outlined Magneto's plans for both mutants and humans. He explained he came there under the pretext of kidnapping a mutant to use as a test subject, and that one was expected to be brought back in the next two days. He explained the nature of the machine Magneto had built, and what it potentially was capable of. He also mentioned that Mystique and Toad has orders to ambush Senator Kelly in order to turn him into a mutant, and therefore turn the tide of the war against mutants to their side. He finished, and looked at Xavier, waiting for his reaction.
Xavier had listened to Sabertooth's information, but at the same time he was assessing the feral's mind for untruths, or worse – half truths. He found neither. What he did sense was uncertainty, fear, and surprisingly – loneliness.
Xavier wheeled closer to Sabertooth and leaned up to look him in the eyes.
"Why are you telling us this, Victor?" he asked.
Sabertooth felt the uncomfortable weight of the Professor's eyes upon him. It felt like he was searching his soul, and perhaps he would come out wanting. For all her knew, perhaps Xavier was doing just that.
"I have my reasons," he said nervously, breaking his dark gaze away.
"That is not good enough, I am afraid," Xavier replied. "If we are to trust you, Victor, you will have to trust us. Why now? Why are you coming to us with this information? You realize most of the others will not trust you, especially after you attacked Logan and Marie."
Unconsciously, he put his hand to his chest where Wolverine's tag hung warm and comforting against his skin.
Xavier waited patiently for the giant to find the words to express what was going on in his head.
"People change. Even me. Sometimes, something happens to you that makes you look up and take notice - makes you realize that there is something out there that you have been missing out on. Part of you wants to find out what it was that caught your attention in the first place. Let's just say it's an instinct. And if there is one thing I rely on and trust, it is my instinct."
Xavier sensed the loneliness well up in inside Victor, before the emotion was quickly suppressed. He knew the issues went much deeper than that, but he was not about to probe too much deeper. The first priority was to talk to the X-Men and find out what they can do about Magneto.
"Even if it means that seeking that something will come at a cost to you? A very high cost?" Xavier probed. He could only imagine the anger Magneto will feel at Sabertooth's betrayal, if he found out.
"Especially if it comes at a cost. The best things in life are worth dying for, don't you think?"
Xavier chose not to answer that particular question.
"Do you plan on returning to Magneto?" he asked.
Sabertooth reached up and touched his aching head. The drugs he was injected with were starting to take their toll.
"I don't know. Depends."
"On what?"
Sabertooth looked over at the professor and gave him a penetrating stare. "Depends on you. If you can think of a way to get me out of all of this, then I am open to suggestions. Otherwise, I will head out and keep running, I guess."
The Professor nodded his head in understanding.
"I suggest you rest here for the moment, Victor. I will meet with the others and discuss options. I will be back in an hour or so."
Xavier wheeled over to Jean and indicated they should leave. Just before he exited, he looked back to see the blond giant reach up and place his hand over his chest, and if seeking something out there, something reassuring. Xavier had a pretty good idea what it was.
**~**~**
"And you believe him!" Scott yelled, staring at Xavier and Jean. The Professor had just explained Magneto's plans to the assembled X-Men, much to their disbelief.
"He is telling the truth Scott."
"How do you know? Maybe Magneto planned this or set him of to come to us or something," Scott continued in anger. He still did not trust the feral mutant.
Xavier gave him an ironic look. "It is I who is the psychic, not Magneto. I think that if this were planned, Magneto would know I would pick up on it right away. No, this is for real." Xavier looked around at all of the assembled X-Men.
"I think we have an opportunity here to step in and stop Magneto before he does something drastic. From what I see we have only one option. We must go into Magneto's complex and destroy this machine, and find the plans he used to build it. We must destroy these as well, so he cannot make a duplicate. If he is bound and determined to build this, at least it will slow him down a bit, and give us time to prepare for the next machine he builds."
"Now we have two options as I see it. We can go in right now, find the machine and destroy it, which will be difficult at best, not to mention potentially very dangerous. Doing so when he is at his strongest, and will most likely have Mystique and Toad there with him makes this very risky. The second option would be to wait until tomorrow and allow Sabertooth to bring in a mutant. We can have Magneto test the machine, and when he is weak and much less dangerous, probe his mind for the location of the plans, and destroy them and the machine. Chances are with Sabertooth there with Magneto, Mystique and Toad will have left to plan for the abduction of Senator Kelly."
"We can't do that," Storm said in confusion. "We could never put ourselves in jeopardy since we have no idea how this machine will affect mutants. If these are our only options, than I say we go in there fighting."
There was a general consensus of agreements around the room.
Xavier smiled. "There is one mutant who I know of who can survive such that the radiation will never actually touch them. The problem is, I don't know if she would agree to help us."
It was Jean who realized who he was talking about.
"Kitty Pride?"
The Professor looked at Jean and nodded. "Yes, Kitty. She can phase her physical being such that she can pass through solid objects. I believe that she can phase herself so that the waves of electromagnetic radiation from Magneto's machine will be out of sync with her body, and they will never actually touch or harm her. Magneto will initiate the machine, exhaust himself, and we can take it from there."
"What about Sabertooth? Where will he be in all of this," Scott asked. "The last thing we need is for him to turn on us at the last moment." He was still unconvinced of the feral's sincerity at wanting to leave the Brotherhood.
The Professor thought for a moment. It was imperative that they use Sabertooth to get in close to Magneto's machine.
"It is possible we could arrange for what would appear to be an 'accident' for him. That way Magneto will think he died, and he would be free to leave, at least for the time being."
An uneasy silence filled the room as the X-Men thought about the plan.
"Logan? Your opinion on this? You have been awfully quiet."
Wolverine looked back at the Professor.
"For once I agree with Blinky over there," he said indicating Scott. "I don't trust him yet. There is something he is not telling us, and I don't like being forced to work with someone I can't completely trust."
"Fair enough, Logan, but unfortunately I really don't think we have the luxury of waiting until you get to know Sabertooth better. However, I do suggest you go talk to him yourself. I believe you can smell it when someone lies to you. Ask him yourself, and make your own decision." Xavier wheeled over to his desk.
"Storm, Jean, I would like you to talk to Kitty and explain what is involved. We cannot do this without her cooperation, and if she does not feel safe, then we will have to meet again and discuss other options. Scott, could you please stay with me. I have to contact Senator Kelly and we may have to fly out to meet with him. I am sure he would like to know what is planned for him the day after tomorrow."
As the X-Men separated to attend their respective tasks, the Professor watched as Logan stood and walked over to the door to the hallway. Wolverine paused and looked back at Xavier for a moment, and he seemed almost… unsure. He saw the encouraging nod of Xavier's head before he fixed a look of confidence before continuing on out the door.