A/N: Sorry I didn't have this up sooner but I kinda slept in today and didn't have the usual two hours to write the first half before school. Thanks to my reviewers (namely Bant). Let's see if I can work through my uncreative-ness. I don't know what I was thinking. Sabretooth has the personality of a wet mop. Okay! I can do this… I think.
(five minutes later) Okay… I'm sure I can do this. If I can just… think of something…AHA!
Oh yeah, if you're easily offended by words such as "fuck" and "shit" or even "shit head" then I suggest you turn back now.
The room slowly came into focus and Charlie was aware of a horrible pain in the back of her head. She winced and reached up to feel the sore spot. There was a huge bump but luckily now blood. Carefully she tried to sit up to get a better look of the room around her.
Propping herself up on one of her elbows, Charlie saw she was laying an uncomfortable couch. There were a few springs sticking into her and she noticed a couple of stains on the town material. The room was plain and shabby, there were a few chairs and couches which were all in terrible condition. The carpet looked like it had once been beige but only in a past life. A shattered TV sat on the floor next to a working one with bent bunny ears.
Her cat-like ears swiveled to the door when she heard several people enter. Charlie's green eyes darted in their direction where she saw four members of the Brotherhood enter. Magmas, Pyro, Toad, and Sabretooth all turned their eyes to her, staring at her.
A long silence followed before Charlie finally spoke. "Where am I," she asked, her voice raspy and dry.
The four mutants seemed to relax slightly and all spread out, taking various seats in the room. Charlie watched as they each found their own place to sit on the mismatched furniture. Magmas took a chair while Toad and Pyro through themselves onto a couch. Sabretooth stomped over to the red headed boy and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. Lifting him off the floor, Sabretooth threw the boy onto the floor and took the chair.
Okay so he's the alpha male. Charlie saw Magmas scramble to his feet and began try to take a seat between Toad and Pyro. "Sorry mate," the green man said impassively. "No room."
Magmas grumbled and, defeated, sat on the floor. The TV gave off a slight glow and a fuzzy image flashed across the screen. The four men seemed perfectly content to watch the snow as the show came on through the bad reception.
Charlie's green eyes grazed over the Brotherhood again. "Where am I?" This time her voice was more demanding. None of them acknowledged her. With her short temper flaring, Charlie reached for the nearest thing on the coffee table. She let the soda can fly through the air and it hit Magmas with a slight thunk! noise.
The red haired boy's hand flew to his head where the can hit him. His blazing eyes turned to Charlie and he glared at her. "What the hell was that for," he practically shouted.
Charlie's green cat eyes stared at him with that mysterious I-know-all-of-your-secrets-so-fear-me look that only cats give. She blinked slowly at him, unnerving him slightly. "Where am I," Charlie asked slowly, letting each word sink in as she said them.
"I'm our living room, obviously," Pyro played with his lighter as he spoke.
Turning her gaze to the younger mutant Charlie said, "No shit. You must be a genius to have figured that one out on your own. Now, where am I?" Her voice was cold and ruthless as she spoke to the terrorist mutants who had taken her captive.
The green man smirked at the appalled look on his young comrade's face. "You're at our base, luv." He looked Charlie up and down and his grin broadened. "I could give you the tour if you want," his heavily accented voice sounded suggestive.
"Unless you plan on showing me the door, you better keep dreaming." This remark earned a smirk from Pyro and Magmas while Charlie's eyes scanned the room again. "Where's Kurt?" Her voice was still raspy and Charlie put a hand to her throat.
"Your little boyfriend is with Magneto," sneered Magmas.
Everyone glared at him and Toad slapped him across the face his long tongue. "Now for telling' 'er that you 'ave to go to the kitchen."
Magmas jumped to his feet and began to protest. "But she-" he was cut off by a loud growl from Sabretooth which caused the youth to cringe. "Alright I'm goin'."
"Get 'er some water," Toad demanded as Magmas left the room.
Charlie stared at the massive cat-man with a furrowed brow. "Did..did you just call him an insolent little puke," she asked hesitantly, still unsure if she had heard him or not.
All three men turned to stare at her, Pyro had even stopped playing with his lighter. "Sabie over there doesn't talk, luv." Toad gestured. "If you're hearin' voices you ought to get your head checked out."
"Yeah," added Pyro. "Sabretooth's too stupid to talk."
The monstrous felinoid stood up, growling loudly as he stared at Pyro. The younger mutant cowered and shrunk into the sofa.
"No," said Charlie quickly causing Sabretooth to stop advancing towards Pyro. "I definitely heard him say 'Why you stupid little shit. I'm gonna pound you into the cement.' Or at least that's what it sounded like."
Once again they all stared mat her and Toad said, "I think that blow to your head did a little damage. You're definitely off your bloody rocker."
"Part of my mutation is understanding animals," Charlie explained as she sat up on the edge of the couch. The room spun slightly and she had to put hear hand to her head again.
"Are you saying Sabretooth's an animal?" Pyro had stopped flicking his lighter again and was grinning. Charlie could tell that he wanted the answer to be yes.
"No more animalistic than you." Her voice was cold and biting.
Throughout the whole exchange Sabretooth's black eyes had studied Charlie's striped face. She can understand me…that's a first. For a moment he pondered what to say but then he heard Pyro mumble an insult.
"You slut," the young man uttered so that no one would hear him. To his great misfortune, two of them did.
Charlie's eyes blazed as she jumped to her feet. "What did you just say," she roared.
The younger mutant also stood up. "I called you a slut."
I'm going to kill him. Charlie thought calmly to herself as she moved to advance on the young man. To her disappointment, someone got him first.
One giant, clawed hand clamped down on the scruff of Pyro's neck. He was picked up off the floor with ease and Sabretoothed carried him to the door. With one swift motion, the boy had gone flying out into a metal hallway, hitting the wall with a loud crash.
The door slammed and Sabretoothed stomped back to his seat. For a moment he sat there seething. How dare he insult her!? That shit head isn't worthy to lick the dirt off her shoes! His black eyes rested on Charlie's surprised face and some of the anger was drained from him.
"Don't pay attention to him," Sabretoothed growled. "He's a fucking idiot."
Charlie sat back down again, feeling slightly lightheaded. "It's alright," she said wearily. "I'm used to it."
Looking up, Toad shook his head. It was odd to have two people talk to each other while one of them grunts and growls and the other one is perfectly understandable. After working with Sabretooth for so long, he had gotten used to the animalistic noises and could sort of communicate with the felinoid. But to be able to talk to him? It was bizarre.
"So," said Charlie as she took another look around the room. "How long will I be here?"
"As long as it takes," grunted Sabretooth, his eyes fixed on the TV.
"As long as it takes to do what?" Charlie studied the felinoid.
He was well over six feet tall with long blonde hair and black eyes which were hidden under bushy eyebrows. He had mutton chops which connected to a slight moustache, reminding Charlie a little of Logan. Under his black shirt, Charlie could see his enormous muscles. He had claws that were twice the size of her own and looked twice as deadly.
His black eyes turned to Charlie and bore into her own. She met his gaze with one of her own. Her green and yellow eyes flashing defiantly.
"To do what we have to do. You might be let go when we don't need you anymore." Sabretooth turned his attention back to the TV.
"Don't need me anymore? So what's my role in your little plot?" Neither Toad nor Sabretooth said anything. "Tell your magnetized moron of a boss that I don't want to have a hand in his scheme." Charlie got up and walked to the door, both mutants watching her. "I'm outta here."
Concentrating on a tiger, Charlie tried to escape. The familiar tingling spread through her body but it was replaced by a slight electric shock. Charlie gave a yelp from the surprise. It was at this moment that she noticed the metal collar around her neck.
Her fingers gripped it and tugged but it wouldn't come off. Charlie turned to the other two mutants and demanded, "What is this?"
"It's a collar," replied Toad in his accent. "Designed it m'self. If you try to use your powers you'll get a little zap."
In her fury, Charlie was about to lunge at the little green mutant with a smug face. The door opened and Magmas popped his head in again which captured Charlie's attention long enough to keep Toad safe.
"The boss wants to see her," the red head said, eyeing Charlie. "Sabretooth, you're supposed to take her."
The large felinoid stood up and walked out of the room, leering at Magmas as he passed. Charlie followed him out the door and down the metal hallways. She was only a step behind him even if one of his steps was two of hers.
They walked in silence, the only sound was their feet on the shiny floor. Charlie sniffed the air and caught a whiff of Sabretooth's scent. Smells like hasn't taken a shower in a few days… pure testosterone.
A large metal door stood in front of them when they finally stopped. Sabretooth pounded on it with a massive fist and the door swung open. Wordlessly, he led Charlie inside, the door closing behind her.
There was a large metal desk in the middle of the room with a single unoccupied chair. Behind the desk Magneto lounged in his own seat. His helmet was off and Charlie could see his gray hair.
"Please sit," he said as he gestured to the empty seat. Charlie sat down in the metal chair which was more uncomfortable than it looked. "I bet your wondering what you're doing here."
"Yeah," Charlie snapped. "I'd also like to know why I'm being treated like a dog." She indicated the collar.
Magneto smiled. "They're a safety precaution. Your friend has one as well."
"Kurt," Charlie asked eagerly, sitting forward in her chair. "Where is he? What have you done to him?"
Laughing Magneto said, "Don't worry. He's safe for now. And I haven't done anything to him… yet."
"What do you want from us?" Charlie's eyes narrowed as she regarded the older mutant with suspicion.
"You my dear are merely insurance. I need you to make sure Mr. Wagner will do what he's supposed to."
Charlie glared at her captor. "What makes you so sure he'll do it?"
Again Magneto laughed causing Charlie to suppress a shiver. "Mr. Wagner's feelings for you are strong. He wouldn't dream of hurting you, which he will do if he uses his powers. Something the collars will take care of. And if he doesn't do what I want him to… well, let's just say your neck would be on the chopping block."
Charlie's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts but she managed to focus on one in particular. "What is it that you're going to have Kurt do?"
Magneto smiled as his icy blue eyes surveyed Charlie. "Mr. Wagner is going to go to each of the senators and ensure that they don't vote for mutant registration."
"You're going to blackmail them?"
"No, child," Magneto laughed. "No, I have something better than blackmail. I have a chemical that will put the senators under my control. I got the idea of a man by the name of Stryker. Have you head of him?"
Charlie nodded. "The Professor told me a little about him. Not much though."
"William Stryker developed a solution which he used to control mutants. Mr. Wagner and myself being only two of them. I found a way to reverse the effects and I plan on having Mr. Wagner administer it."
"What will happen to everyone after that?"
"Once the Mutant Registration Act is vetoed the senators might live… I haven't quite decided yet." Magneto's was impassive.
"What about Kurt and me?"
Magneto thought for a moment before he answered. "We shall see. In the meantime you will be allowed to roam the base as long as Sabretooth or Toad is with you. I'd trust you with one of the younger boys I don't think they're quite capable of handling a spitfire, such as yourself."
With a nod Sabretooth had one of his large clawed hands on Charlie's shoulder. He pulled her up and led her out of the room.
Kurt saw on the edge of his bed in his dank room. It more of a prison cell than anything. His yellow eyes roamed over the bare metal walls and floor. He fingered his rosary as he thought about what Magneto has just told him.
"If you don't do this," Magneto had said, "then Charlotte will be killed." The words stung Kurt and stabbed though his heart. He couldn't stand the thought of Charlie being hurt because of him.
One of his blue hands reached up and touched the metal collar. All it would take is one teleportation and he'd be free to go, free to get help and rescue Charlie. However, the cost was too great. It pained Kurt to think of the immense electrical shock Charlie would receive. He sighed and lay back on the cot.
He would have to follow through with Magneto's plan.
Sorry for any typos or whatever but I'm being lazy and not proof reading.