Chapter 3: Sabretooth

Toad got up off the floor and stretched. He looked into the cavernous ceiling and felt the cool outside air surround him. A perfect day to kill. The weather was just right for it. Not too hot, not too cold.

He turned sideways to look at Eden, sleeping peacefully, her eyes still open. He got down on his stomach and looked into her eyes. She could not see him. It was crazy…her eyes like that.

He found his pants and his shirt by the water's edge, and put them on. He dug his hands into the pockets. It was here…he knew it was here. These were the pants he was wearing the day they took the helicopter. He found it. Toad examined the bracelet on all sides. It looked gold. The female pilot, whose body he had taken it from, must have received it as a gift…either that or she was very rich. A thought occurred to him.

He rummaged for his glasses, found them and put them on. He checked for an engraving. A name or a love note or something. He couldn't give it to her if it said, "To Somebody" on it. That would be awkward. It looked alright. It looked clean.

He buffed it against his shirt. "Hey. Eden. Wake up."

Eden's eyes remained unfocused. "Eden! Wake Up!"

She sighed as her eyes focused. "What?" she murmured.

"Here. Catch." Toad threw the bracelet to her and groggy as she was, she caught deftly, reflexively.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "What…."

Toad got her clothes and crouched down beside her. "Just a little…something. For a good night's work."

Her mouth dropped open in shock at this statement. Then she laughed. "Thanks…I think."

"Come on. Get dressed. They'll think I raped you." He pushed her clothes to her. But she was still looking at the bracelet.

"Where did you get this?" she breathed. "It's beautiful."

He stood up. "Does it really matter? It's yours now." Eden looked up at him, into him. She knew. He looked away, then back again. "You're lucky, yeah?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you're lucky." He put his hands in his pockets. "I was going to give it to Mystique, but you got to me first."

Eden slipped the bracelet onto her wrist. "Thank you Toad," she said quietly.

"Alright, hurry up now. You're fucking slow. Get dressed."

Mystique piloted the helicopter, with Eden huddled in the back. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rocked back and forth.

"What's wrong with you?" Mystique called over the sound of the chopper.

"I've never been in a helicopter before. It's kinda making me sick," she yelled back.

Mystique rolled her eyes. "Don't you dare throw up," she said.

"I won't, I won't."

Mystique eased around the upcoming bend and saw the flashing lights and all of the people and police…not to mention the gaping whole in the roof of the train station. "Shit…" she muttered.

Eden was jogged out of her sickness by the sight of it all. "Oh my God…Look! Sabretooth!"

"I see it!" Sabretooth's hand was wrapped around Magneto's throat. Then suddenly, upon seeing the helicopter, he let go. "Xavier," she shouted back to Eden. "He must be in one of those cars down there…I wish I knew which one." She began the descent. Toad, holding a body bag over his shoulder, came in first, then Magneto, then Sabretooth. They took off together.

"What the hell happened?" asked Mystique as Magneto climbed into the front.

"Charles was out there. Trying to get the girl back."

Toad leaned forward. "You really should make helmets for all of us, boss."

"Shut up," said Mystique. "Do you think he knows?"

"There's no way to be sure. We have to go through with it tonight, anyway. It's the only chance we have. Just be alert."

"He won't be able to find any of us with Cerebro, at least." Mystique smiled.

"Ah my dear, you play your part so well." He leaned back into the seat as they headed to the fortress to retrieve the machine.

The body bag began to move and moan. "Oh fuck," Toad muttered, unzipping it. The girl, Rogue, upon seeing Toad, screamed. "Oh, can it, bitch! I won't eat you!"

Eden kneeled down on the ground beside her. "Be quiet," she said.

"Who're you?" asked the girl.

"Shh," Eden whispered. She bent lower and bit Rogue on the neck. The shock of the bite disappeared as Rogue became comatose again.

"Goddammit! That was some kind of scream!" Toad exclaimed. "Oh! Here," he said, tossing Cyclops' glasses to her, "got you a souvenir."

"Ooo." She caught them and examined them. "Wait…are these?"

"Yup! He blew out the fucking ceiling! Fucking git," Toad laughed. "You should have seen it! The second I get those off, the whole ceiling! Fucking hell, it was beautiful. And he just crouches on the ground, holding his eyes closed. Oh, which reminds me," he turned to Sabretooth, "how are you feeling?"

"I swear to God Toad, I'm gonna break your fucking neck."

Eden looked at Sabretooth. "What happened to you?"

Toad interjected. "Don't bother him, he's feeling a little fried." He was slammed up against the side of the chopper. The blow was hard enough to knock the chopper to one side, and right itself again. Toad was dazed. And Sabretooth was stopped only by Mystique telling him to do so.

Eden remained in her seat. Toad didn't move and Sabretooth gave him a half-grin. "Quit playing around," he growled.

Toad wiped the blood from his lips. "Yeah. Right." It was quiet for some minutes. He leaned his head back, closed his eyes and sighed. "Hit like a girl."

Toad carried Rogue into the boat and cuffed her to it. She swooned, her head nodding. Then she woke up suddenly.

"Who are you?" she asked, tears flooding her eyes.

He didn't answer her. He walked out of the boat. "Please! Let me go!" she called after him.

He laughed.

Mystique approached him. "Something funny?"

"I always find the pleas of the innocent funny, Mystique. You know that." He walked past her.

Sabretooth and Toad were supposed to take the other boat to the island, ahead of Mystique and Magneto. They would then secure the island—by eliminating the security, and he was looking forward to that.

Sabretooth was already at their boat, and he tossed Toad his headphones and walkie-talkie. Magneto was talking to Eden and Toad watched him smile at her, reassure her and then say good-bye.

He walked over to her. She smiled. "Good luck," she said.

"Thanks," he mumbled. "You be alright, here?"

Eden grinned. "I'll be fine. Just make sure you all come back."

"You won't have long to wait," he said. There was a long pause and then he said, "So…do you love me?"

Eden nodded.

"Right." He took a deep breath and crossed his arms. "Bye." She kissed him and he turned and walked away.

Eden followed and wished Sabretooth luck as well. "Yeah," he replied aloofly. Then, she leaned over the boat and kissed his cheek. Toad's eyes widened and Sabretooth, though surprised by this gesture, seemed to take pleasure in the fact that it bothered Toad. "Don't kill each other, ok?" she said, pulling back

"Not tonight," Toad grinned. He looked over at Sabretooth. "We need brute strength for a job like this." Sabretooth swung and Toad ducked. Eden stepped away from the boat and Toad took the controls. He eased them out of the makeshift dock and into the open water. He turned to wave to Eden, but she was gone. He frowned, shrugged and put the boat on course.

When they were well on their way, he huffed down against the side of the boat and closed his eyes, readying himself for what lay ahead. Sabretooth grunted a laugh.

"What?" said Toad, still closing his eyes.

Sabretooth growled another laugh. "You fucked her, didn't you?"

Toad waited before he responded then he opened his eyes, and put his hands behind his head. "Mighta done. Why," he asked, "you jealous?"

"Of you?" Sabretooth threw back his head in more laughter. "Oh no. If I fucked her, she wouldn't live through it."

"That's probably true," Toad agreed ambiguously. "The smell alone, she's got very weak lungs, it might kill her." Sabretooth grinned menacingly, but he didn't take the bait. Toad watched him, cautiously. "Well," he said, "at least I don't have to share the woman I fuck."

In a single move Sabretooth had his fingernails jammed against Toad's throat, lifted him up and hung him over the side of the boat.

"Give me a reason," the other man whispered.

Toad could barely breath, managed to say, "Toad's… swim, you fucking… moron…"

He knocked Sabretooth's arm away swiftly with a jab of his elbow, while at the same time kicking him in the gut and went plummeting into the water. He was caught in the boat's streamline, grabbed hold of the side and pulled himself up. He leapt over Sabretooth, who had fallen to the floor with the strength of Toad's blow. He stood over him, grabbed and broke his arm with a swish of his tongue.

Sabretooth kicked upwards in a roar of pain and Toad avoided it. He spun around as Sabretooth leapt to his feet, ignoring his arm, which was twisted in absolutely the wrong way. He made ready to charge at Toad. "Stop!" Toad shouted, "We're here!"

The Statue of Liberty loomed in the distance. Lights at nearby Ellis Island informed them that the UN summit had already begun. "We're late!" Toad turned to the controls and adjusted their bearings. He turned back to Sabretooth, who was still seething, though his arm had already healed itself. "Good practice though, Sabe."

Sabretooth stood closer to him and leaned in. "Someday," he growled into Toad's ear, "I will kill you. I'll enjoy it. And then, I'll eat you."

Toad smiled. "Sounds like fun, catman."

Keep me…

Keep me…

Please….

Don't leave me….

They eliminated the guards as fast as they could, outside and in. He crushed and broke them. Sabretooth mauled and mutilated them beyond recognition. Most of them never knew what happened. Most of them were not bad men. All of them were enemies. Their bones crunched so easily underneath him, as he leapt on them from the heights of the statue and its base. He could hear them screaming if Sabretooth wasn't quick enough with the kill. And then…silence. The silence of the kill was one that he relished in. It was different from any other quiet…so different and so…invigorating.

It was the only time he felt a connection with everything that existed on earth. The only time the air was sweet and the sky was bright. The only time he could see clearly. He sighed and smiled. Sabretooth sauntered past him. "That it?"

Toad waited before he answered. He stayed in that beautiful moment for a little longer. Then, he took a deep satisfied breath, "Yes."

Sabretooth walked over to the edge of the water. "Wait…one more." A cop was walking along the shore, not seeing either of them. He was watching a boat come in. Mystique's boat. "I'll get him."

Toad nodded. "I'll be inside." He watched Sabretooth go behind the guard who was waving at the incoming boat. The guy might have been big, but he moved, as befit him, like a cat. The cop never saw him. He only felt the pain in his heart as Sabretooth's nail went in through his back, lifted him, and tossed him aside. Toad grinned. Toad laughed.

"I love this job," he said to himself, as he went inside.

And then it was dark. Dark like hell! Dark…pain…no air!

Toad's swim, you fucking moron…

Toad's not swimming! Toad's not breathing. Shit.

Fucking fire in the cold, blue lights like lighting all around him. His eyes, his eyes! God dammit! His fingers…fucking hell. He went up, he breathed, he breathed knives! and he went down!

He went up…not far enough…no air….water…salt water on his tongue, salt water in his burning, broken lungs!

If he screamed, he never heard it. If he cried, he never knew. All he knew was pain like nothing he had ever felt before. Nothing at all! White hot, searing pain, hell. Hell. Hell! He was in hell. He was screaming! He was screaming…!

Oh God…

The power of the beam must have knocked him out. He didn't remember crashing into the boat below him. But he was there and he was soaked, with water from the river and his own blood. He never knew what happened. It was too fast. He was too confused. "Sabretooth! Wake up! The boat is sinking! Come on!"

Whose voice was that? Fuck off! He was just hit with a fucking laser beam from some guy's fucking eyes! He was dying. Let him die!

"No! Come on!"

Had he spoken? He couldn't feel his mouth move. A pull on his arm. Small hands. Weak hands.

"Sabretooth!"

Then he woke up. Then he remembered everything. He knew where he was and he knew who was pulling his arm. His eyes flashed open!

"Where the hell—?"

Eden maintained a strong grip on his arm. "I snuck on your boat. I'm sorry! We have to go…come…on!" she pulled and pulled.

Sabretooth struggled to his feet and as he did, the deck gave way to his weight and they fell through into the water. He couldn't see a damn thing, so he felt his way past the sinking boat, until there was room for him to surface. It seemed to take forever! He broke through and gasped for air, the salt water torturing every open wound.

Eden grabbed hold of him as he struggled to shore. She fell back against the sand and breathed intermittently. Sabretooth stood over and watched the X-Jet disappear into the distance. He heard the wines of police boats. "Dammit," Eden whispered. "Come on, we have to find some place to hide."

"Why hide?" Sabretooth growled. "Let's just kill them."

Eden stood up, even at her full height she was just at his chest. "No. Between the two of us, one of us is going to get killed."

He grinned, the sirens coming closer. "Then you'd better hide."

Her eyes widened suddenly with something like fear and awe. "What?" he growled.

"Sabretooth…you're bleeding."

He looked down at himself. He was. Profusely. "The hell?"

"You're not healing. We've got to get out of here!" Sabretooth looked away from her. The sounds of far away voices, trembling, anxious voices filled his ears. He smelled their fear. He smelled their blood. He wanted to kill.

But Eden was right.

He moved and she followed. The other boat was around here, somewhere. They had to find it and go if they were to make it out of here alive. He swooned the more he walked, the heavy loss of blood catching up with him more quickly than he would have preferred. It was a strange new feeling…being injured…and staying injured. He felt each drop of blood leave his body and it was precious to him. He was not, nor could he will himself, to heal. The other boat appeared over a small hill in the sand. Eden ran for it. She made it. Would he collapse?

She ran back to him, and put her arm around his waist. Strange that her frail and otherwise broken body was such a comfort to him now, as unconsciousness slipped into his reality and reality slipped away.

They must have made it to the boat, because when he woke up, he was on it. When he woke up, there was a dead body on the deck and Eden was at the helm. There were loose bandages made up of his and Eden's clothes soaking up and attempting to stop the blood flow…that wouldn't stop. She was saving his life. Eden was saving both their lives.

The shame was incalculable.