SUMMARY: Sabretooth is going thru some changes, but so is Wolverine
DISCLAIMER: Don't own 'em
Genre: Humor/General
Rating: PG13
Reviews: Couldn't hurt!
TURNABOUT CHAPTER 13: AW HELL, IT BROKE LOOSE!
After the initial shock of Sabretooth walking free about the mansion, the students became quite curious about me. I must say, the new view thru these eyes was astounding. The scents that drifted about the school tickled the nose and the conversations I was privy to now; amused me. I followed Ms. Munroe around quietly but I still attracted attention. Most of the older students could be seen gulping and the smell of fear and nervousness was abundant. The younger students however had no fear of me at all. One brave boy came up to me and asked me how tall I really was. I had to laugh; he asked if I had a Belle to go with the Beast. "Vincent!" Ms. Munroe exclaimed, but I could tell that it was the turning point for her. A small child was unafraid of me and was asking questions in such innocence, I chuckled.
"I have no Belle just yet, but I'm still looking, Vincent." I smiled at him. He had no fear of me.
"Wow, nice teeth!" Vincent exclaimed. "Are they really real? Are they sharp? Can I touch them?" He asked excitedly. I bent my knees and crouched down to his level.
"They are really real, and they are sharp. You may touch them Vincent." I smiled and opened wide. He fearlessly tapped my upper canines with a tiny fingernail, and did the same with my lower ones.
"Wow, neat. I wish I had ones like that." He said wistfully.
"No, no you don't. They make it hard to talk sometimes and people are really scared of them." I said patiently.
"Why would anyone be afraid of you? You're nice." Vincent said smiling. I laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. He giggled gleefully. Another boy called to Vincent. He turned to answer. "I got to leave now, Mr……"
"Call me Victor, Vic for short." I said smiling to the boy.
"Hey, your name starts the same way as mine!" He said grinning, and he dashed off.
"The kid's got moxie, I give him that!" I said, grinning at the white haired beauty. She looked a bit frazzled, but she seemed to have calmed down some. That was good. I still held the book in my hand and I was looking forward in thanking the girl Jubilee. We continued on our quiet journey followed by curious eyes and noise of what only a large building swarming with children could create. With only a little time past we came to a room filled with teenagers doing what teenagers do best, talk and laugh.
The laughter came to a screeching halt when I and Ms. Munroe came into the room. One bold girl dressed in black and yellow looked up boldly.
"Hey, the rumors are true. Hairy-scary is loose and free." She said without fear. I heard gasps coming from the others as they looked at her in shock. One girl dressed in a lot of clothes wearing gloves swallowed hard. It was Rogue of course. I couldn't blame her; her memories of Sabretooth were probably less then pleasant.
"I believe this is your book, Jubilee." I said holding up the book in my hand. "I wanted to return it to you and to personally thank you for its loan." I gave her a pleasant smile; at least I hoped it was pleasant.
"Hey, thanks for bringing it back so soon. I hoped you liked it!" She smiled really big, her eyes shown brightly. She was a very attractive girl.
"I always enjoy Ms. Rowling's work. I'm looking forward in reading her other books, even if she decides that Harry should grow up." I chuckled. The girl giggled.
"Well, that's the killer, not knowing if he's gonna make it." She retorted. I held out the book to her, and she took it. "Were you able to finish it all?"
"Well, not quite. But I'm being taken shopping and I think I'll be able to talk my shopping buddy into allowing me to get a copy." I turned to Ms. Munroe, she turned a shade paler. I wondered why she would do that. She bends down her head what looked like defeat. "What?" I asked quietly. She shook her head sadly.
"YOU'RE GOING SHOPPING???!!!" Jubilee squealed. I almost crossed my eyes in pain at the piercing notes in that shriek. "Hey let me grab my purse, and I'll go with!!!" She dashed out the room at a speed I didn't think was possible for a girl her age. Rogue got a softer look on her face and got up and followed her friend. The room cleared of all females. It seems that we aren't going alone, Ms. Munroe and I.
A few minutes later it seemed that every teenager in the mansion was ready to go on a shopping expedition. Boys too gathered. Ms. Munroe seemed somewhat defeated. She marshaled them well with the finesse of a drill sergeant. We were now going to take the school's bus. The kids gamely piled in talking excitedly. It rang in my sensitive ears. I sat in the front seat next to Ms. Munroe and buckled my seatbelt waiting for the others to follow suit. She didn't start up the bus until they did. The bus was one of those customized vehicles that were more like a glorified cargo van then a school bus. The kids, male and female, chatted away and sounded a bit like a flock of gulls.
"All right children settle down, remember at least one of our company has super-sensitive hearing and the other would like a little quiet while driving." Ms. Munroe said firmly. The chattering mellowed out and became somewhat calmer and easier to handle, which I thanked my shopping buddy for silently.
It was an excruciating long drive to the mall, and it took forever. Well, not really…just seemed like it. The kids would every now and then get into some kind of argument about something, like music, or movies or even TV. I couldn't resist joining in.
"Hey, the best show on Wednesdays is THE WEST WING, and don't you even think of disagreeing with me!" I chimed in. Jubilee giggled and chuckled.
"No way, the best show on Wednesday is SMALLVILLE, and you can trust me on that!" She said boldly.
"Right, like anything on SMALLVILLE would actually happen in real life!" I said, derisively.
"Well, there really are mutants, right?" Jubilee said.
"Yeah, but they weren't caused by meteors. For crying out loud, the meteors would have to be super strong to cause that much damage." I reasoned.
"Well it could happen." Said Jubilee, not ready to give up her opinion.
"Not in this lifetime or on this planet!" I said, keeping my temper in check. But secretly I was chuckling to myself seeing how I was for a different planet or something.
We reached the mall finally and the bus emptied out at breakneck speed. Ms. Munroe gave stern instructions. They were to meet back here in about an hour and a half. There were groans aplenty. With the expertise of an auctioneer there was some haggling done and the hour and a half was extended to two and a half. That seemed to appease the group of teenagers. Then as like in a dog or horse race they sprinted off in search of bargains.
"I'm sorry Ms. Munroe; I hadn't meant for the entire teenaged population of the school to come with." I said, apologizing softly. She actually chuckled.
"I wouldn't have mattered in the long run, the grapevine at the school would have spread the news that I was going to the mall and the group would have gathered to go anyway." She smiled at me. My heart skipped a beat. What the hell? "Well, let's get you some clothes and supplies, and we'll stop by the bookstore and get you the new Harry Potter book as well. I'm eager to read it too." She whispered conspiratorially.
"I promise I won't let it get around." I smiled back. We began our trek into the mall and into the men's clothing store. One of the sales clerk looked up and gaped at me.
"Tall and big men section, if you please," I asked politely. He wordlessly pointed in the direction of the back of the store. "Thank you." I looked at Ms. Munroe who was following closely. "So what exactly is my budget for new clothes?" I asked.
"Well, considering how large you are, there is none. I realize that the clothes available will probably be expensive so Charles had authorized one of the schools platinum cards for this trip."
"Good, I'll try not to max it out." I chuckled, knowing that it would really take quite a bit of merchandise to do that. "I bet the girls could probably have a better chance working together to do that." She chuckled and nodded.
After about a half hour or so, I had a moderate sized wardrobe, complete with several pairs of boots, sneakers and casual shoes, belts, ties and other accessories. The only thing missing from the wardrobe was a Tuxedo. I probably wouldn't need one just yet.
We took the new clothes and put them in the bus; it seemed to have some kind of secret cargo space. Fortunately there was no one in sight to see us place the new goods inside it. Then we went back inside the mall and continued with our quest for more things. We caught sight of the girls, they were giggling at one of the shop windows comparing notes on what they wanted to get.
More shopping for personal items, like razors, soaps and other manly items we were starting to get loaded down with bags. Ms. Munroe and I seemed to be having a rather good time talking. She was no longer afraid of me or not so angry. It seemed to have died away when we hit the book store when I insisted on hitting the humor section. She probably assumed that my humor was rather on the dark side, but when she found out that I was a Garfield and Ziggy fan, she smelled more then a little surprised. She too had a soft spot for Garfield. I went a little gaga over a B.C. paperback. We both bought several more books…. including the Harry Potter series and the Earth Children's series. She raised an elegant eyebrow when I told her my favorites of the Earth series was The Valley of the Horses and The Mammoth Hunters. Couldn't imagine why it would raise her eyebrow.
The two and half and hour shopping trip limit was almost up and the students started showing up near the entrance of the shopping mall, and Ms. Munroe and I were almost out the door as well when I picked up a familiar scent. I stopped dead in my tracks. Ms. Munroe looked at me surprised.
"What is the matter, Victor?" She asked quietly.
"Damn, damn. Ro, you better leave right now," I whispered.
"Why? Something wrong?" She asked, hanging around when she should be running for her life.
"Raven's here." I said simply. She looked confused. "Mystique." I clarified for her.
"Damn," she muttered.
"Leave now, I'll try to find out what she wants." I urged.
Those words were no soon out of my mouth when she struck. Ms. Munroe went flying across the mall. Mystique was in a form of a tiger. Why she would pick a tiger to attack us in broad daylight in a public place I don't know. Why she was attacking was even more a mystery. My memories of her of late; from Victor Creed were they had parted ways after Magneto's capture.