(Four)

Logan watched them go, furious at how all this had turned out so badly. His sensitive ears couldn't block out the sounds that followed of Valentin beating and raping Fallen inside the tent. She was snarling and crying, still fighting him, her oppressor grunting happily all the while. It was horrible, but Logan thought Fallen's acceptance of his abuse was worse. With her powers, she was stronger, she should be fighting him off.

Wolverine looked over at Remy when he heard his teammate make a small noise. Gambit was looking at the tent, his demonic eyes glowing with barely controlled fury. His mouth was a thin tight line as he held back the sounds of his outrage.

Remy was secretive and had remained something of an enigma to his teammates ever since he had arrived at the Xavier Mansion just a few short years ago, but some things had been made clear pretty early on. Remy was a creature of sensuality, something he pursued relentlessly and with great style. Intimacy was something he clearly enjoyed, but most of all respected. He tolerated sexual abuse no better than Logan, often going out of his way to rescue those he thought might be in distress with no regard to his own personal safety. Being so helpless now was driving the Cajun thief to a near frenzy. He was wordlessly wringing his hands in a futile attempt to escape the glowing energy cuffs that bound him. It wasn't going to happen.

Gambit wasn't alone in his distress. Henry sat quiet, his eyes closed and breathing in calm deep, meditative breaths. Wolverine could only admire his friend's resolve. Unable to stop what was going on, Beast was doing his best to shut out what could only drive him deeply into a helpless despair. It didn't mean he didn't care, he was a doctor after all, with a few unpleasant ideas of what Fallen was going to look like when all of this was done. She would need medical attention and if he could, he would help her. For now, he would calm himself now to preserve his superior wits for later. There would be a reckoning.

The sounds of Fallen's pain and abuse lasted the better part of an hour. In the meantime, as the night darkened and the moon rose, Valentin's men were bored and amused themselves by terrorizing Kane's people. They slaughtered the men and raided their food stores. The women fared much worse. The children ran off into the scrub, but weren't chased. Valentin's men knew they wouldn't go far out here in this desolate waste. The three X-men were guarded by a large group of soldiers and unable to interfere. When Valentin finally left Kane's tent, he looked around him, satisfied. He had wanted to teach Kane a lesson and had done so to his immense satisfaction.

"Yer one sick bastard!" Logan snarled. "What kind of leader are you?!"

Valentin walked over to him, bringing the sharp, ugly scent of Fallen's sex and blood with him. "I'm the kind that gets results, little man. This is a vicious world. Only the strong survive here."

"You'd get more done if you didn't kill yer own people!"

"Would I? They obey me unquestionably. Of course, I am not always this cruel," he commented casually, looking around. "Kane tried to take something that was mine. I made it very clear that will never be tolerated. Surely a beast like you understands the concept of territory."

"Sick bastards like you always fall. I hope I'm there to see it."

Valentin grinned malevolently. "Maybe you'll get that lucky, but I doubt it." He looked down at Logan and recognized him for the warrior he was. "We've got some plans for you boys. Fight with us and things could go very well for you. I've always got a need for alphas who can deliver."

"I'll never work for an asshole like you. Yer pathetic, beatin' up on a woman like that."

Valentin glanced back at the tent. "Oh, that?" He grunted a laugh and had a strange, almost sorrowful look on his face. "Fallen likes that, she always has."

Logan shook his head, not believing Valentin's act for a minute. "No woman ever asks for that."

"Fallen is no ordinary woman," Valentin said, almost lovingly. It was disturbing to hear, like fingernails on a chalkboard. "She and I go way back. We have an....understanding, she and I."

"Don' make it right."

"It is what it is, nothing more."

Valentin gave a command and the X-men were dragged back to the Lucky Dragon. Logan and Remy struggled valiantly, refusing to give in without some kind of fight. Remy lashed out with his feet and tried to twist himself free. He was very flexible, weasel clever in his way. It wasn't enough. He was held fast, viciously slapped about as a reward for his defiance, and in his weakened state, not able to do much about being herded along. Ragged French, no longer so elegant when chocked with ugly, wrathful profanity, came from him in a scathing torrent until he was finally punched viciously enough to silence him. He had no choice but to give it up and take Henry's path, saving the fight for another day.

Logan had no such desire. He spared his mouth the same angry words and simply used his teeth instead. He bit one of Valentin's men savagely, tearing his arm open and was brutally beaten for it. Still he fought, holding out much longer than Remy had. The fight was savage and brutal, recklessly spilling more of his own blood than that of his captors. They were not restrained by either shackles nor their Master's will, ever so willing to punish. It was an effort, it took three of Valentin's men to finally subdue Logan and then only by kicking him until he passed out.

Valentin just laughed all the while at the display of X-men ferocity, his sick and twisted psyche entertained by the whole thing. Logan's wildness would be an asset once it was bent to his will, and he was pleased. He paid no apparent mind to the passive blue Beast, but inwardly he knew better than to underestimate one such as this. Obviously this was the clever one, the brains of the operation if not the brawn, not like the two scrappy fighters that had put up all that fuss. What was this one thinking? Silent but most often deadly, clever men were. He would watch this one, see if his suspicions of Henry's superior intelligence played out.

Valentin had the three X-men dragged into the Lucky Dragon and chained to the outside of Fallen's cage in the Main Room, facing the viewing screen, and went into the galley to eat. His men walked around Fallen's ship as if it belonged to them and behaved as if all this violence was a normal every day thing for them. It probably was.

Eventually the hour grew late and things quieted. Valentin came to look at his prized mutant captives one last time before he left for the night. He said nothing more to them but thoughtfully rubbed his now bandaged wrist for a moment before he and his men went back outside, leaving the captives unattended for now. He apparently wasn't concerned about them getting loose.

When she was sure Valentin was gone, Maylee snuck out from the lower level and crept over to the restrained X-men, carrying a small box with her. As soon as she opened it Henry was relieved to see it was a medical kit, something they very much needed right now. Logan hadn't moved once since they'd been lashed to the cage, not a good sign.

"Seth, are you there?" Maylee whispered, looking over her shoulder to the big viewing screen.

Seth and Kimble's portions of the screen had been blacked out since the captives had been dragged in here, but they now winked on. Seth was alone and seated in his chair. "I'm here," he answered her, looking around the Main Room nervously. "Where's Fallen?"

"Still outside," she replied. She started to cry, but fought it. "Help me. Help me with them," she pleaded, meaning the X-men. Logan's face was dripping blood and he was still out cold, not moving.

Gambit was faring better in that he was still conscious. He sagged weakly against the cage, held up by his restraints as he stared numbly off into space. His face was bruising where he had been struck and there was a tight ring of agony around his ribs when he breathed. Judging by all the damage he had suffered here, this wasn't going to be one of his better trips.

"What do you want me to do?" Seth asked in a small, frightened voice. He kept glancing to the door leading to the outside ramp. It was still open meaning Valentin could return at any time.

"I need to do a scan."

"Okay."

Maylee took out a small strip that looked like a Band-aid and placed it on Logan's forehead. A light flashed from under it and winked out. Medical information scrolled up on the screen and Seth read it off. "He's got massive internal trauma and bruising. His skeleton is metal -- I don't even want to know about that.... Hey, Maylee. Just take his collar off."

"Valentin will kill me!" she squeaked with very real fear. Her hands were trembling badly."Only do it for a minute," Seth pleaded. "Just enough for him to recover a little bit."

"He's right," Beast concurred. "Logan can heal. It's his power."

"How do I get the collar off?" Maylee asked, relenting.

More information scrolled on the screen, showing details about the collar, including how to remove it. Maylee loosened it a bit until the little glowing light shut off. Almost immediately, Logan's injuries began to heal. His bruises slowly faded and he groaned, blinking blearily as he gradually woke up. He was better, but still in a lot of pain. It would take more than just this moment free of the collar to fully recover. He got onto his knees and looked around him, the soldier in him automatically trying to figure out what was going on and where he was. He looked up at the screen and saw Seth sitting there looking fragile and terrified. The young pilot was obviously nervous and frightened, he still eyed the doorway behind them fearfully.

Henry hadn't noticed, he was asking Maylee, "Can you get the cuffs off of us?"

She looked to Seth for help, but Seth had frozen in terror. He was looking past her to the ramp that led outside, his eyes wide in fear.