Second Chances

Chapter 4

They kept him out for over a week. Rogue sat at his side every day singing lullabies and holding his hand. She knew there was a frightened child in there that needed her. Upstairs everyone was happy and excited about Logan and Ro getting married, about the baby, but all Rogue could think about was the man down in the medical facility.

She kept asking Hank to wake him but he just shook his head, saying it was too dangerous to him to wake him up again before the healing finished its job. She wasn't sure she wanted Sabretooth back, she liked Victor, he needed her.

She felt a twitch in his hand and knew Hank would be along to keep him asleep but she wanted him to wake up, just for a moment. His hand tightened under hers and she looked up. His eyes were open, and clear and blue like a summer sky.

"Victor?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said softly, but his voice was strange. "I remember, and right now the monster is under control." He sneered and she knew she was talking to Sabretooth. He considered his child self a monster.

"Please, let us help you." She said softly.

"You have...why am I restrained?"

"You were badly injured when you got here, we're trying to make sure you don't hurt yourself again."

"Again?"

"Yes a week ago you woke up and tried to claw your skull off after an aneurism."

"Well I'm fine now, please release me." He said and she started at the please.

"Ah can't, not until Hank checks you out." She said.

"Then let go of my hand." He snapped.

"Sorry, Ah was just worried about you." She said, hurt.

"Either let me go, or go get the blue guy to release me." She expected him to be more angry, forceful, if it was Sabretooth in charge.

"Victor, please relax." She said softly. "We ain't gonna hurt you, you know that."

"I know." He looked at her and she realized that he was still Victor, just seemed older.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know, while I was asleep I guess, I can see some of what I've done, what it's done, I don't like it." He almost whimpered, but caught himself. "It wants to lock me back up, force me back into the dark corner it kept me in."

"Sabretooth?"

"That's what it calls itself." He said. She was confused.

"So you're keeping it bottled up, but it was what woke up, and you fought to stop it?" She said, trying to make sense of things.

"Yes...something like that. It knows something, something important, something to do with you, and I'm trying to remember what that is but when I try he starts to wake up, and I have to fight him again."

"Do you have any idea what? Not exactly but what it could be?" She wanted to un-strap him but Hank had been very firm that she wasn't to release him until they were sure he wouldn't hurt himself again.

"A warning, something dangerous." He said and she saw fear in his eyes, and suddenly realized the fear was for her.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ororo watched through the window as they talked. He had a warning, about Rogue, how could she be in any danger she was Cured. As far as Ororo knew her mutation wasn't back yet. She felt Logan slip up behind her and leaned on him.

"He's awake?"

"Yes...and seems more mature, mentally than he was before. He says there's something in the animal side of him that is a warning, some danger to Rogue."

"He's the danger to Rogue." Logan snarled.

"He hasn't done anything to hurt her, he's been nothing but gentle with her, even when she was Magneto's prisoner. We have to think that that is not normal for him, that there is a reason for it."

"Why?" He snarled. She knew he'd been remembering more, but hadn't said anything to her about anything specific.

"Is it something you remember?"

"No, as far as I can remember, in stupid bits and pieces that just don't link together, he's never been gentle with women, ever. You're right, it is unusual, I don't know why, but it is unusual for him."

"There you both are. I have something interesting to show you." Hank said as he walked up a stack of images in his hand. "Leave her alone, she is perfectly safe with him, no matter which half of his personality is in control."

"What?" Ro looked at Hank.

"That is what I have to show you, quite interesting and illuminating to his condition." Hank led them to the medical diagnostic room. He quickly clipped the images, which turned out to be brain scans onto the light board.

"Each one of these was taken at different times over the last week, and these, from when he first came in are what I used for comparison. As you can see here, this was his brain function right after his revival when I could get sensors on him. The primitive part of his cortex, here was all that was functioning, but as his body healed, this portion faded and his upper brain functions, primarily in this area became active. This is known as a 'growth' area, or an area that is predominantly active during pre-adolescence. It is where we learn, and store what we learn as we enter adult hood. This is why when he awoke he presented as a young child. This scan is interesting because…"

"Why is that one part of his brain, his primitive part still active?" Logan said, pointing to the area on the scan.

"That is the interesting part, and I am getting to it. In all the scans where Rogue is present that part of his brain is active, and until the last two days when she was not there it has been as dormant as the rest of the primitive part. But as of yesterday morning it is constantly active again."

"Why is that interesting?"

"Because I asked Rogue to submit to a scan, and have for the last week, looking for signs her mutation is becoming active again. In all of these scans..." He pointed to a different series. In most of them the area that was active in the others was dormant, but in the last two it showed active, along with other areas that had been dormant in the earlier scans. "…that portion of her brain remains dormant, but here it is active, and has remained active since about three days ago, growing stronger. These other areas are consistent with her mutation being active."

"So whatever's happening to him, in that part of his brain, is happening to her?"

"Yes and this one scan is very interesting. This was done right after she came back from Liberty Island, see, the area is highly active at that point but faded quickly." He pointed to another set of scans.

"So exactly what does all this mean?' Ro said, confused.

"Well this portion of the brain is linked to mate preference and reproduction." Hank said. She felt Logan's low growl. "All ferals, myself included, and I am assuming Logan as well, since we can't get an accurate scan of his brain because of the adamantium, have a great deal of activity in the primitive portions of their brains. It is where our senses reside, our instincts, and I think in Logan and Victor's cases, where their 'other self' hides. It is where Sabretooth lives in Victor's brain."

"So you're saying he's got some kind of mating instinct active when Rogue's around?" Logan snarled.

"It is more than a 'mating instinct.' This particular center is what is tied to long term mating, partnering or monogamy in humans. It is the instinctive nurturing center of the brain, for example when chimpanzees groom each other, in that case it is a group bond, but I think that this is more of a dual bond between the two of them."

"You're saying she's mated to him?"

"I'm saying they've formed a connection, a bond of some sort, and that it might be the way to help him with his recovery…however we are going to have to allow it to develop naturally. It looks like it started to form at the statue, or before, and only their close proximity now has allowed it to complete…and that her mutation had to be active for it to happen."

"Can't we just send him away; I mean his factor's working…" Logan said

"Not exactly." Hank said.

"What do you mean, not exactly?" Ro asked, gripping Logan's hand, she wasn't sure if she was more afraid for Rogue or Logan at this point.

"His factor is only working sporadically. It is as if there is something interfering and I can't find it." Hank said.

"What could it be?"

"I don't know. He will be safer here, where he can be kept calm by Rogue, instead of out by himself. I examined some of the samples I took from his body when he first arrived. He was burned, and badly and somehow the burned flesh was pulled off of his body, but he wasn't able to regenerate until his breathing and heartbeat stopped completely. I am beginning to suspect and artificial means of controlling his mutation."

"How are we going to find out?"

"I am still pouring over the scans and MRI's I've done since he's been unconscious, I cannot seem to find anything within his body…" Logan stood and walked from her side to the scans. He pointed to something on one of them.

"What's that?"

Hank looked at it closely. Storm stood and looked as well. It looked straight, like the edge of something, but it wasn't in any of the other scans.

"I wonder…" Hank pulled out another scan, this time it had something in the same place.

"I didn't even notice it, I was so excited by the activity of the brain itself…what ever it is is right behind the right ear."

"Can we get it out?"

"I don't know."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He watched her through lidded eyes. She wasn't holding his hand anymore, and he wasn't sure exactly how to feel about that. Part of him, that part he hated wanted her touch, wanted her to look at him with soft eyes and parted lips. He forced himself to keep the sneer inside. That monster needed to go back in its cage. He didn't need frail shit, didn't need to feel all soft and fuzzy looking at her. He thought back to the first time he saw her as anything but a target. He'd dumped her unconscious body in the cell, and something had caught his attention. It wasn't anything major, just a button on her glove had come undone and something made him reach down to button it.

His hand had brushed her flesh, he'd felt a slight pull, and then backed away, knowing how deadly her skin was…but somehow after that, it upset him when she was scared, he'd had to stop Toad tormenting her so she could get some rest. He tried to tell himself it was just her courage, her not whimpering and crying like a frail that caused him to do it, but he'd actually tried to talk Magneto out of the whole plan, not killing her, or at least letting him give her the healing factor first so she'd survive the machine. His last thought after falling was a hope that Jimmy would be able to save her. He never thought of anyone but himself, except perhaps Jimmy and to think of her, as he fell through space pissed him off.

He could feel it trying to crawl out again and pushed, but it pushed back and he felt himself retreating into the corner it forced him into. He had to tell her something, tell them something…it was important. He fought to keep the weakling from pushing him back…and forced a word out of his mouth. He hoped they'd understand.

"Genosia."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What?" She said. His blue eyes looked at her confused.

"I don't know. It was in control for a moment…it said it not me…" He said softly. She saw a tear in his eye. She wasn't sure, but somehow she knew he was afraid.

"Genosia? I've never heard of that?"

"It is a small island off of Africa." Storm said as she entered the room. "The Professor had been watching them before he died. There are several stories of mutants gone missing there, and he couldn't track them with Cerebro."

"Oh…but what would they want with Victor…or me?" Rogue asked. Victor strained to reach her hand, but barely brushed his fingers against the cloth of her glove as the restraint cut into his arm.

"Hank seems to think you're stable so we can remove those." Storm said as she started to unbuckle the restraints.

"Thank you." He said quietly.

"Victor, can you tell us anything else about Genosia, why that was important enough for your feral side to try to remember?"

"No, I can't."

"You are going to have to let it wake up then, let that part of you talk to us. We know you are suppressing it, forcing it away, but it is part of you, and it knows something you nearly died trying to tell us."

"I can't remember, and if I let it out, it will lock me back up again. I don't want to go back in the dark." He whimpered, sounding more like the child again.

"We will help you, as much as we can, but we need Sabretooth to be able to speak."

"NO!" He roared, eyes flashing, growing darker blue. "He wants to kill me…"

"He can't, you are one and the same, and somehow you have to learn to live together in the same body…in the same mind." Storm said softly. Marie wanted her to stop, to leave him alone. He was hurt and afraid, he just needed time.

"Is it that important? Ah mean right now. Let him rest a while, he just woke up." She said sharply to Storm.

"Rogue, I know you want to protect him, but if it is a threat to you, he needs to help us. If the Genosians are after Rogue she is in danger Victor." Storm said calmly, as he sat up on the bed and rubbed his wrists.

"Even if I wanted to, he's angry, and I won't let him out until that anger is gone. He hurts people when he's angry and I don't want to hurt anyone." He said, more like he seemed earlier, older and in control.

"Fine. There is something else, there appears to be something behind your right ear, it showed up on one of the scans of your head. Hank would like to try to remove it." He nodded.

Hank came in with a tray. Rogue moved to assist him and slipped off her gloves. He smiled at her and she watched as he deadened the area behind Victor's ear. "This won't last long, and if I hurt you, I am sorry in advance." Hank said to his patient. She cringed as the scapel dug into the thin flesh behind his ear, and Hank's hiss of surprise startled her.

"I don't know if we can remove this. I need Kitty." Hank said simply.

"Why?" Storm asked

"It appears to be damaged, and somehow electronically linked into his brain. Cutting it out might damage him severely."

"OH HELL!" Victor snapped and reached back with a claw and dug it out. She screamed as he dropped back on the bed, flopping in a seizure. Hank and Storm held him to the bed until the seizure stopped. She felt the tears on her cheeks as she watched his chest, willing him to breathe.

"I have a heartbeat." Hank said finally…his chest still wasn't moving, and then a quick gasp of air and he was breathing again.

"He's out. I am hooking him back up to the monitors; however his healing factor seems to be working again at full force." Hank said as he reached for the leads. Victor's hand stopped him.

"Don't bother…I'm fine." He sneered, and sat up. Storm backed up in fear and Rogue gasped. His eyes were pitch black as he stood up, and calmly picked up Hank and threw him across the room.

"You belong to me." He growled softly, her entire body trembling at the sound. He advanced on her and she did the only thing she could to stop him…She took his hand with her bare one and watched him start to pull away before her skin absorbed him. She let go before he stopped breathing again…and looked at Ro.

"Its me they're after. Me and Leech." She said, and passed out.