Natusmi: Well, chapter 3 iz a here.

Hank: I'm sure that everyone has been waiting for this.

Natsumi: See, at least you're nice. Logan would have said that sarcastically.

Logan: Ah heard that!

Hank: If you will, lovely authoress, the disclaimer.

Natsumi: Of course, honored guest. Ahem... I do NOT own X-Men. Marvel or whoever owns them, I can't remember. Only one I own is Kanaan, and a surprise character who will come along later, but I can't tell who she is or I'll ruin it. So, without further adeu, The Willows, chapter 3

3

Charles heard her screaming in his mind.

He reached out to her, trying to fight through the panic he found when he entered her thoughts. 'Kanaan! Can you hear me?'

He felt her surprise. 'Who are you?'

'I'm Charles Xavier, the man you spoke to earlier. Where are you Kanaan?'

'In Parc Villeray, Northeast of where I had called you, he's almost got me!'

'Keep running Kanaan, we're almost there.'

'Hurry!' she called back to him, desperation evident.

"Scott, coordinate the Blackbird to go northeast. She's in Parc Villeray, and Sabertooth almost has her."

"Got it." Scott murmured, totally focused.

"We have to hurry, she can't outrun him much longer."

Kanaan knew she was done for.

He was close enough that she could feel him taking swipes at her parka, trying to get a grip on the material to bring her to a stop. And when he caught her…

"No!" she screamed aloud. "I won't let you have me!"

"Give it up! Just come with me and I won't hurt you too badly…" she heard Sabertooth growl behind her. The mental images of him torturing her spurred her on to one last burst of energy that helped her distance herself enough to put at least two yards between them. His demonic howl sent her flying even faster, but she knew that this was her last stand. She was about to give up, when a dull swishing hum came from above her. She stopped, knowing Sabertooth had also ceased to move, and blocked her face with her arms as strong gusts of wind hit her body. She cracked her eyes open, and looked through the space between her arms to see and amazing sight.

A black, state of the art jet was just landing on the ground. The back hatch lowered to the ground, and people dressed in uniforms with 'X's on them came rushing out. She knew it was the X-Men, and for the first time in weeks, she felt like she might have a chance to be saved from this brutal madman.

"Sabertooth…" one growled, looking behind her. He wore a uniform of yellow and blue, with large spikes protruding from the head covering. Though he was shorter than her, at maybe 5'3", give or take an inch, she could tell he was infinitely more powerful.

"Runt…" she heard her father say. "I ain't got time to mess with you. Just gimme the girl and I'll kill ya later."

"You ain't gettin' squat." from in between the man's knuckles came out three sharp dagger-like claws. She turned back to her father.

"Just leave me alone Creed. You're outnumbered there's no point in trying to fight to get to me!" Kanaan yelled at him.

"Shut up brat! You're comin' with me whither you like it or not." Creed growled back.

She took a step back from him. Then another, then another, until she backed into someone. Large, strong hands enclosed her shoulders, and she looked behind her to see a blue beast-like man.

"Get behind me Kanaan." he told her, maneuvering her to where the Beast was between her and her psychopath father. Her heart felt like it was in a vise when Creed laughed coldly.

"You think you can keep her from me, ya' ugly blue ape?" Sabertooth challenged.

"I'm certainly going to try." the Beast replied, his tone cool yet with a fierce edge to it.

"We all are." a young man with an odd visor covering his eyes said, stepping forward. He placed a hand on the side of the visor, and she saw a strange red light coming from beneath.

"Fine by me. Killing the lot of ya' and getting the girl will make this a good day for me." Creed grinned maliciously.

"We'll see about that." the one with the claws snarled back. The whole team went forward, but the Beast staid behind long enough to say over his shoulder, "Stay here Kanaan, we'll handle this…" before joining the fight.

It was like watching a dance, it was that coordinated. Each person of the team moving about and was working with the other in a way that was graceful yet deadly at the same time. The Wild One with the claws of metal went in first, and dodged quickly when Creed took a swipe at him with his own set of deadly claws. Creed was then blasted with a lazier that seemed to come out of nowhere, but when she looked she realized that it was coming out of the boy who wore the visor's eyes.

Creed was a quick healer, though, the blast only making his fury grow. He went to grab one girl, only to go right through her. Suddenly a park bench went flying and hit Creed in the middle of his back, shattering on impact. She looked to see a girl with multiple items; trashcans, drink fountains, and more benches hovering around her. She threw her hand out and half of the items went hurdling toward Creed, who braced himself and blocked his face with his arms.

After the second barrage flew toward him, Creed roared, picked up one of the heavier items (a metal bench) and hurtled it back to the redhead. She didn't seem to have expected it, but a blue elf like creature suddenly appeared beside her, touched her, and both disappeared before the bench could hit them. They reappeared beside a girl with white bangs. She removed one of the gloves on her hands, and said to the others, "Try to distract him, I'm gonna see if ah can't get a hand on 'em." she replied in a southern accent.

The two nodded, and went in, only to stop when the Beast uprooted a large tree, and swung it around with a mighty roar and hit Creed side on with it.

Creed howled in pain, and Kanaan thought that this was the end. But she was wrong. Creed grabbed the trunk at his end and swung it to where it was the Beast who was sailing through the air. The tree went around in a circle, and the elf ducked in time but the red head wasn't so lucky. She was hit head on, as well as the boy with the visor who had come to stop the tree, attempting to break the trunk with his lazier eyes. They fell back to the ground, unconscious. Kanaan watched, horrified, as the man with the claws attached, raking Creed deep in the chest. Creed roared, and grabbed him by the wrist and lifted him up, where he also grabbed his thigh in his other hand, and flung him twenty feet, where he slammed into a concrete building close by. The man gasped, and dropped to the ground, stunned immobile.

The girl who Creed went through earlier and the elf attacked, while the other girl with the white bangs snuck up from behind, both hands ungloved. Creed sniffed the air, and before she could touch him he turned around, grabbed her about both arms where there was cloth, and pulled her forward to touch the other two unexpectedly.

Kanaan didn't know what happened, but all three screamed. The elf and the girl Creed went through fell to the ground, and the one with the white bangs joined them after he hit her in the neck with his elbow.

'I did this…' Kanaan thought, mortified, as Creed made his way over to the clawed one, who was stirring, his hateful laughter echoing in her mind.

'I did this…' her mind repeated, as Creed picked up is opponent by the wrists.

'I brought them here thinking they could save me…'

"I'm going to tear you apart first Wolverine." Creed told. "First I'm going to tear off your arms, then your legs."

'Instead I brought them here to be slaughtered!'

"Then I'm going to kill your friends, while you watch."

'I did this!'

"And maybe I'll go ahead and torture the girl here in front of you for some extra fun."

'No!'

"Victor!" Charles yelled from the edge of the lowered hatch. Victor turned to him, still holding Wolverine.

"What do ya' want baldy? Your turn is soon enough."

"Let him go Victor," Charles warned. "And leave Kanaan be."

"No chance." the feral man snarled. "I just spent three weeks tracking that little bitch and I'm not gonna just let her go 'cause ya' want me to."

"You know I can erase every thought that's in your mind."

"You don't have the balls." Sabertooth replied vulgarly.

"Don't test me Victor, I'll do what it takes to protect my team." Charles voice was deadly serious now, knowing he may just have to do what he threatened to.

"Then do it!" Sabertooth mocked, opening his mouth to show his yellowed fangs, his mouth descending to Logan's shoulder, as if to tear it off with his teeth.

A sickening crack reverberated through the park, and a strange 'whoosh' like the sound of a pinwheel, only more heavy. Sabertooth's face went blank, and he dropped to the ground, taking Logan with him. Charles saw that the back of his head was bleeding.

Behind him was Kanaan. In her hands was a metal pipe. She had hit him so hard, it broke in half, the other half having cart wheeled through the air to land on the ground behind her. Charles never seen such deep, hate filled rage in someone's eyes before. She stared at Creed, breathing heavily, before turning the pipe to where the broken, sharp in was facing the ground.

Kanaan lifted her hands above her, and gave a mighty cry, going to bring the deadly skewer down and impale her hated enemy through the heart, when large, blue hands grabbed her wrists from behind.

"No Kanaan!" Hank commanded.

"Let me go!" she struggled violently. "Let me kill him!"

"You can't!"

"I have to! You have no idea what he's done! No idea what it's like to grow up knowing you were only born because your father raped your mother! And growing up knowing that he was probably going to come back and hurt you too! And being hunted by him to where you can't even sleep because you're afraid you're going to wake up and see him there! The only way I'll ever be safe is if he's dead!"

"If you kill him no you'll be no better than what he is! Look at him Kanaan!" Hank shook her. "He's on the ground, he's not moving, he can't fight back. Do you really want to be a monster like him?"

Her voice was rough, filled with agony. "No…"

"Then stop!"

"Hank's right Kanaan." Charles murmured, coming across the grass to be beside her. "We'll protect you from him, you won't have to be afraid. You'll be safe with us. You don't have to do this."

Kanaan's hands shook. She looked from Charles, to her father, before letting go of the pipe with a sob. Her knees gave out, and Hank gently lowered her to the ground, letting go of her wrists, so that she could cover her face with her hands. She doubled over to where her forehead touched her knees, and her screaming wails were muffled by her hands and skirt.

Natsumi: Man, that was dramatic.

Kitty: and deep. I always heard you were shallow.

Natsumi: That's only when I wear mah mothers Coach shoes. I always feel superior to the preps at school 'cause I know my shoes are more expensive and better than theirs. Self satisfaction guaranteed.

Kitty: Awesome.

Natsumi: So... chapter 4's halfway there, just gotta get the gumption to write the rest. Oh, by the by, R&R means three things now; read and review, rest and relaxation, and rock and roll. Party on!