Okay, my long absence is over and it's good to be back. Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
The wind suddenly changed direction and unleashed its army of heavy precipitation at a different angle. A full frontal assault on the windscreen of the car. Victor's jaw tightened in frustration and he turned the windscreen wipers onto their full speed as he tried to peer through the blinding effect of the rain. He could barely make out the waterlogged world that existed outside of the metal vehicle and could only just about distinguish the tarmac from the rocky earth beside it.
With a sudden, awe-inspiring illumination, the whole night lit up as titanic forked lightning arrived from the heavens, followed by colossal grumblings of thunder.
Despite concentrating intently on the road, Victor felt his lips peel into a grin and his cheeks rise to accommodate it. Lightning was a happy sight. None of the abominations of Project Wideawake could be used during thunder and lightning, their behemoth steel bodies attracted it, acting as giant conductors. The electrical tridents fried any and all circuiting in them.
Deus es Machina, thank you, God.
Victor looked over at Logan, wondering if he was thinking the same thing. But Logan was asleep, his arms crossed and his hands tucked under his arm pits, his neck angled downwards with his chin resting on his sternum. He had the computer mainframe from Project Wideawake tucked safely between his knees like a bird guarding a nest of eggs.
Victor, it seemed, was alone with his thoughts and a barely visible road.
With a quick glance to Logan, Victor reached over and turned the radio on, taking care not to have the volume too loud. Soft music came on and quietly filled the car. It was jazz music. A single saxophone played. Victor knew this song. It was about twenty years ago, the first time he had heard that song. New Orleans was the city. He was with GENISIS; he was with Sage back then. They were well into their relationship back then, in fact, it would be less than a year before he left GENISIS—and her.
"It's very vogue," Sage was saying as she mindlessly touched the replacement necklace she had received from Victor. "It's a whole new form of expression of art. I think it could be the next big thing. But then, who knows? It's hard to say, really."
Victor was listening to Sage quietly, occasionally nodding. His eyes were wandering around the room. Sage was going through a 'cultured' phrase. Whether it was because she was sick of him not taking her anywhere nice, or she had some secret love for the stuff, Victor wasn't sure.
They were in a restaurant. There was a band, a jazz band, getting ready to start playing. Occasionally a stray note would squeeze through the brass of the saxophone or through the strings of the double bass. Victor didn't need to have music played to him while he ate, hell, he didn't need to eat in an expensive restaurant either, but he was willing to put up with it for Sage.
"This isn't your thing, I get it, but it's better than just staring at each other all night. At least you could try and open your mind, right?"
Victor looked back over to her and gave her a humouring smile, "Couldn't be more open, sweetheart."
Sage didn't look convinced. "Suit yourself, Victor. All I'm saying is that there's more to life than steak and chips. "
"Well I don't know about that..." Victor muttered, being unnecessarily awkward, and knowing it too. Sage knew it as well.
"Fine." She said, "That's fine, then." She looked down at the table unhappily.
Victor's jaw tightened, but he said nothing. They loved each other, but things weren't going well at the moment. It was strained; everything they said or did had the potential to set each other off. Victor, who had never had a relationship that lasted so long, wondered if this was what happened. Then again, he had met people who had lived together for fifty and sixty years, surely that wouldn't work if they were completely unhappy.
"Ya think people can, uh... I dunno, be happy together fer like... fifty years or somethin'?"
Sage's eyes snapped up towards his face. Her features scrunched together in confusion. "Are we breaking up?" She asked.
"The hell?" Victor said, "No. I was jus' wonderin', is all. Got to thinkin' about it, ya know?"
"Oh." She said and started thinking, "Um, I suppose. I mean, there's a lot of people who aren't able to live together but then, sometimes it works. I think it was Bob Hope—you know him, right? The actor?—well, he and his wife were together for almost ninety years. That's not all that bad, is it?"
Victor whistled. "Almost as old as me." He said.
"Yeah, guess so." She shrugged.
The food arrived. They picked up their knives and forks and began to eat. Victor sighed softly. He had a longing, he now realised. A longing to return to the wild. That was why their relationship had been strained, that was why they were becoming more and more unhappy. It wasn't them, it wasn't the fact that they had been together for so long, it was him—all him. But the call... The wild, the open. He needed that. He needed to return to his home—he needed Jimmy. His damn brother an idiot for dying as he did, for leaving Victor alone so that all he was left with was the tatters of a relationship with someone he loved. He hid a snarl with a particularly vicious bite to his broccoli. He assaulted the legume with a few harsh gnashes before he threw his cutlery onto the plate with a sharp 'cling'.
"Screw this." Victor said as he got up and left.
Sage watched him go, frozen in bemusement at his sudden departure.
He had been an idiot, Victor decided as he slowed the car down to read a road sign. After straining to see that he was on the right road, he sped up again, which left him with his thoughts. Victor and Sage's life together had not been perfect—but he had been happy anyhow.
Yet he had ruined it. Hindsight was not something Victor valued. It made him remember how stupidly he had acted in the past. He should never have left Sage. He should have quelled the desire to leave, just stuck it out like a man until it left him again. Or at least he could have told her what he was doing and where he was going. Instead he had chosen to sneak away like a dog with its tail between its legs in the middle of the night.
What was the most ironic of all, was the fact that now, after twenty years, Victor wanted nothing more to come crawling back to her.
He frowned. Sage wasn't willing to have him back though, whether it was because of the war or because she just remembered how he had treated her, he wasn't sure. It didn't really matter in the end, but then, if Sage had just been reluctant due to the war, then surely he would have a chance at getting back together with her? He didn't know. Now that Jimmy was alive and present, did he really want her?
His thoughts rolled around in that manner for a very long time. He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice the road block until he was almost upon it. He growled in frustration. He looked back over at Logan, who was still sleeping soundly. He'd leave his little brother for the moment.
A sheriff strolled up to the car once Victor decreased the speed to a stop.
"Good evening, sir." The sheriff said, shining his torch into the car. "What's wrong with him?" He asked, pointing towards the sleeping form of Logan.
Victor shrugged, not bothering to take a look at his brother. "Sleepin'." He said, "There a problem?"
The sheriff turned the light off. "You know where you're heading?" He asked.
Victor nodded. "Sure do. Our ma lives in one of the border towns to the mutant city. Stubborn as a mule; she just won't move. God knows its not fer lack of tryin'."
The sheriff nodded sympathetically. "It's becoming dangerous. People are becoming mighty scared. You might suggest to her that it would be safer for her to move."
"Yeah," Victor agreed with a friendliness he didn't feel, "Yer tellin' me. But then, these old folk, ya can't tell 'em nothin'; they jus' don't wanna hear it."
"Fair enough." The sheriff conceded eventually. "Well, you look after yourself, and watch out for any of those damn filthy mutants."
The sheriff pat the car's roof twice as he walked away motioning for his fellow guard to move the motorcade. Victor didn't move the car initially. He sat at the wheel with white knuckles.
Filthy mutants
It wasn't the first time he had heard that phrase. Indeed, tonight seemed to be a time for memories.
"Filthy mutants!" The man screamed at a young Victor and Jimmy.
Victor bared his teeth, trying to hide the instinctive flinch as the man's boot struck the bars to their cell. They were in a prison cell, chased and eventually captured, locked away like animals in a freak show. Jimmy whimpered from the corner and Victor, reluctantly, stopped what he was doing and walked over to his brother. Being especially careful to not look scary or angry.
"It's okay, Jimmy," Victor whispered, "We'll get out of here."
Jimmy looked up at him with wide eyes, fully of disbelief. "How?" He asked.
The single word cause an actual, physical pain in Victor's chest. How indeed? Victor didn't know, he didn't have an answer for it. "Somehow." It was all he could say.
They had lived on their own for two years in the wild. Two years without seeing a single human. Two years and in their very first return to civilisation that got them into their current situation. The reason for their troubles was a girl.
And it was also Victor's fault—of course.
He had met her when they were walking down the main road of the small town. She was returning with her parents to their home after spending the previous two hours in the strict church of her religion.
Everyone who passed them regarded the two interlopers with suspicion. It was her though, that did not mistrust and instead smiled. She hadn't been a particularly beautiful young woman, and Victor couldn't for the life of him remember her name, but he was young and she had showed him kindness. That was the only real thing that mattered to him.
The next time Victor went to the town, it had been without his annoying little brother to get in the way. He had found the girl and after talking with her a few times, Victor had begun to develop feelings for her. One night, after she had agreed to meet him, they were discovered. The girl claimed that he had tried to take advantage of her innocence and Victor's blood was suddenly the punishment for his non-crime.
He had managed to escape the limits of the town—barely—by revealing himself to be a mutant and using his abilities to carve up a few people on the way. But, he had also run into a wandering Jimmy and, unable to outrun the mob, they had been thrown into the local jail.
"We'll hang ya at dawn." The man laughed darkly, muttering to himself as he left them alone.
There was silence for a moment.
"Why'd you do it, Victor?" Jimmy asked, full of that childish innocence that he had still managed to retain.
Victor snarled. "I didn't touch that broad. She's a lyin—"
"Then why'd you meet her? Why'd you leave me alone?" There was an odd note of pleading in his brother's voice. Betrayal was the next most noticeable thing.
Victor understood his brother's confusion; they had been constantly together for the last two years. Yet this was the very reason why Victor had gotten involved with the girl.
"I need some time to myself, Jimmy. I can't look after you all the time. I deserve some time alone."
Jimmy looked at him with hurt. "Fine," He whispered, "Then you can go over there and have the time you deserve in that corner." He said, pointing to the opposite corner.
A short stab of guilt pierced Victor's chest. "Jimmy..." He tried helplessly.
"Go!" Jimmy cried, "Leave me alone... I want to be alone too."
"I'll get us out of here, Jimmy," He promised quietly as he retreated to the other side of the cell.
Jimmy didn't answer; he just sniffled once and tucked himself further away into his little corner.
"Yo, get a move on!" The sheriff said, shaking Victor from his memories. He put the car into gear and moved on; giving the sheriff a wave he didn't feel particularly inclined to give.
He had broken him and Jimmy out of that damn cell back then after a night of plotting and planning that was wasted since all he had to do was slit the jailors throat. That was the beginning of a simpler time for Victor. If he was stuck in a situation, the best thing to do was to kill, kill and see if anything else needed killing. It was a lifestyle that suited him well enough. He had opened himself to the beast inside and he had only tried to resist it in recent years.
"What was that all about?" Logan asked, now awake and rubbing his face tiredly with his hand.
"Just a concerned law enforcer, makin' sure we weren't making trouble fer no one."
"Oh yeah, and were we?"
"Nah, I was the perfect gentleman; we're travellin' to our poor ol' ma whose too stubborn to move house."
Logan chuckled with great amusement. "An' he fell for it?"
Victor schooled his face in mock seriousness. "I was a very convincing actor."
Snorting, Logan shook his head. "We near yet?" He asked, trying to catch a glimpse of the outside world from within their cocoon of dry and warmth.
"Yeah, we're near."
They drove for another half an hour in companionable silence until they reached the first sights of the mutant city, Massachusetts. They passed into the city and drove all the way to their hideout.
"Won't be any Sentinels out tonight." Logan said after the lightning struck again, just on the horizon. Victor nodded but didn't answer.
There were people, mutants, out in the streets of the city that night. Kids were playing in the rain, men and women walking or even sitting on the road, staring up at the cloudy night sky. When the War originally started, Storm used to create that sort of weather almost every night. But it made her exhausted and she no longer had the energy to do it. Now was could not be attributed to Storm's abilities; this was all nature. All the people that were out tonight made Logan and Victor's progress slow. Still, they soon arrived outside the building.
Victor turned off the lights, the wipers and stopped the engine.
Logan opened the door and stepped out, before turning around and carefully taking the Project Wideawake mainframe from the floor. He quickly moved inside the building, making sure that it didn't get too wet. Victor followed Logan walking quickly also, making sure that he didn't get too wet.
They made their way through the underground tunnels, moving all the time towards Storm's office. It was on their way there that they met up with Sage. She was leaning against the wall when they first saw her. Her head turned to survey them and she took off her sunglasses, standing up straighter.
"You came back." She said with a certain amount of humour in her voice. It was as if she had so much faith in them that she hadn't even worried. It was probably true too. Sage had been in sticky situations with Victor before and she knew how he handled things. Victor had to admit it himself; he was impressive.
"Course." Victor said, moving in front of his brother and giving Sage a lazy grin. Sage gave a short smile in response before looking past Victor to Logan.
"And what is that?" She asked with a great amount of interest.
Victor gave a melodramatic sigh and stood aside. Trust Sage to get excited over a hunk of metal and wiring. He really couldn't compete with it.
"It's the mainframe of Project Wideawake." Logan explained, "We were hopin' you could take a look at it."
Sage's face split in a grin. She let out a giddy laugh before she could hold it back. "You have no idea how much I want to take a look through this."
"That good?" Victor asked with a slightly distasteful look on his face.
Still, Sage either ignored his humour or didn't notice, she glanced at him happily. "Like you can't imagine. The information that's on it must be..." She trailed away and shook herself from her wistful thoughts, "It's supposed to be one of the hardest security systems to crack in the world. You know that? No. Well, it is. And I'm all for a challenge."
"Good." Logan grunted, unsure of what else to say.
Sage nodded. "Okay, if you could just put it in there, that would be great." She pointed to the door a few feet away. Logan nodded and went past them, to leave it inside. Victor stayed behind.
"You get here okay?" He asked, somewhat awkwardly.
"Yes," She said, "There was hardly any disturbances. Although, I must admit, I wasn't planning on finding myself here. Storm called me two days ago and asked me to travel here. I'm glad she did. Europe's too exciting for me."
"Still bad?"
"Uh-huh" She muttered as she saw Logan appear. She perked up, "Oh, by the way! You haven't heard the news, have you?" She asked the two brothers.
They exchanged a glance and shook their heads. "We haven't heard nothin'."
Sage gave a knowing grin. "You have to see this. Come on, it's this way." She said as she began to stride quickly away, travelling towards Storm's office. Victor and Logan looked at each other and shrugged, before following after the quickly retreating form of Sage.
After a few moments, they arrived at Storm's door. Sage stood easily with her arms crossed.
"In there. Enjoy." She said, motioning to Storm's office. She then moved, brushing past Victor, giving him a quick, enigmatic smile, a certain 'knowing' shining in her eyes.
Victor frowned, not liking the fact that she knew what was going on and he didn't. This frustration led to him reaching the door first and pulling it open.
He stopped in the doorway.
"Ah, it's a pleasure to see you again Mr. Creed." A very familiar voice said from the depths of Storm's office.
"What the hell?" Victor said in shock.
Logan hurried behind his brother to see what was going on. He too stopped when he caught a glimpse of the man inside.
"Chuck?" He asked in astonishment, almost staggering back with shock.
The man inside smiled kindly, "It's good to see you, old friend."
Logan didn't move. He studied the ghost of Charles Xavier, the man who couldn't possibly be alive. He didn't look like the Chuck he had met almost eight years ago. This man was younger than him, not exactly young but middle-aged, he had dark hair and green eyes. He was standing tall. No longer was he paralysed from the waist down. By all means, nothing about the man pointed to him being Charles Xavier—only his scent, and his voice.
"How is this possible?" Logan eventually managed to ask, his widened eyes moving between Xavier and Storm.
"Please, sit. There is much to discuss." Xavier said, gesturing to the chairs in front of Storm's desk. Storm too, was standing and she sat down gracefully on a chair slightly to the side of her desk. Only, it didn't seem to be her desk anymore. It seemed she had relinquished the power to Xavier now that he had shown up. It certainly seemed like the logical thing to do.
"Now," Charles Xavier said, "You are, undoubtedly, wondering how I am alive—and in another body no less."
Logan nodded sharply, Victor was stock-still, mistrustful.
"Before Jean destroyed my body five years ago I had heard about a young man who was in a coma from an old friend, a Dr. Moira MacTaggert. She was doing research on coma brain activity in coma patients and she discovered that although the man himself was not present, his body had the ability to house another mutant."
"So that's how you survived." Logan muttered.
Xavier gave a pleasant smile along with his nod. "Precisely." He said.
Victor, who had been mostly quiet during their meeting, licked his lips before he spoke. "What took you so long then?" He asked darkly. "It's been four years since the war started."
It seemed to be almost half-heresy to speak against Charles Xavier as Logan gave Victor a dig and a warning look. Xavier himself didn't seem to mind the critical tone.
He never stopped being polite as he answered. "I took over the body of a man who had been in a coma for ten years. I had to relearn how to use my new body. At first I could do everything fine, talk, walk, run—anything. However, I later learned that it was my own telekinetic powers that were enabling me to do so. I exhausted myself without even realising it; I almost put my body into another coma. Dr. MacTaggert was a great help; she was the one who looked after me and taught me everything again. She acted as my caretaker for the last few years and I am indebted to her."
"It didn't take five years to learn how to walk again." Victor challenged once more. He had crossed his arms and rose to his full height while sitting. He was in full-hostile mode. Logan had no idea why; Charles Xavier had never made enemies with Victor. Yes they had fought on opposite sides, but that wasn't something that usually bothered his brother.
"You're right, of course." Charles admitted easily, "It took me almost two years to gain full control of this body—not five. But by then, the war had started. Dr. MacTaggert was good enough to not turn me over to the authorities; she stuck by my side. After that, I bid her farewell, knowing that she would not be harassed since no one knew she was helping a mutant. I then travelled to Europe. Dr. MacTaggert lives in Canada, you see, and I couldn't travel across the border; the security was too tight, they aren't letting anyone through. But I suspected that you were all alright, so I hid myself in a freight ship destined for Europe. When I got there, I started to help mutants who were being persecuted. Over time I learned about Massachusetts and how mutants had founded a safe haven there. I instantly knew that you were all alright. This was the first chance I got to actually see this place with my own eyes. I must admit, considering the circumstances, this is really very impressive."
Logan gave a modest smile and Storm nodded softly beside Xavier. Victor looked to the other two in surprise.
"Ya gotta be kiddin' me." He said, somewhat angrily, "Yer actually acceptin' this?" He asked his two war buddies in astonishment. "He comes waltzin' in here after five years, no word, no nothin' and yer jus' goin' to let it all go? He could of picked up a phone, got his doctor lady to do it, or he could of used that freaky mind stuff he does. There ain't one good reason why he hasn't contacted us. We thought he was dead and he was jus' loungin' around in Canada!"
Logan growled lowly, "A bit like you, ya mean?" He retorted agitatedly.
"That was different." Victor defended moving his upper body nearer to his brother threateningly.
"Oh yeah," Logan asked as he too moved in closer until they were almost butting heads literally, "How?"
"I don't have to explain myself to a runt like you."
Logan moved back slightly, a very small, smug smirk on his face. "An' neither does Chuck." He said.
Victor's eyes narrowed, knowing that logic was against him. He didn't respond, instead seemed to back down slightly, sitting further into his seat. Whether it was an actual admittance of defeat, or he was bidding his time until the next round was not entirely clear.
Xavier watched the interaction with some interest. While they were gone, Storm had explained the brief details of the relationship between Victor Creed and Logan. It had been a surprise, to be sure. Yet seeing them together, it should not have been altogether so.
"It's alright," Xavier said eventually, "I'm glad you wish to keep my privacy but I do not mind speaking to you three of this. The answer—although simple—is, I'm afraid to say, not particularly satisfying. The reason why I never called was simply because I was ashamed that I was rendered so powerless. I have never been so dominated by anything in my life before; not even my paralysis made such an impact on my life. Besides that, I knew that if I were to alert you to my situation, you would probably want to bring me back to the manor. I did not want to become a problem for you in my weakened state and in such a tumultuous time I would not have been an asset, only a hindrance. Although, now that we are on the topic of the war, I must say that you have all dealt with it the best way possible. I would not have been able to do anything more than what has already been done; that too, was another reason I did not feel it was imperative to force my way back into the scene. Had you all truly become lost, I would have ignored my own good judgement and have come back to help you. That, however, was not necessary."
Logan and Storm once again seemed to accept this. Victor was bemused at the utter belief and trust they had in this man. Logan and he had been in the world long enough to know that people were never infallible, how his brother had missed that fact escaped Victor. He, sticking to his suspicious behaviour, folded his arms slowly.
"So," He said, readying himself for round two, "Ya didn't call. I'm a reasonable guy, I get that. Ya didn't want to be in the way—fine by me. What about when you were off gallivantin' around Europe? I know there ain't no phone connections here, but yer still a mutant, ya still could o' contacted Storm or Jimmy through telepathy. Wouldn't of been that hard now would it?"
"Victor!" Storm admonished and Logan gave him a light clip on the back of his head.
Xavier held up his hand to calm his associates down. "Please," He said softly, though with a commanding air, "Victor had a right to express his concerns."
Storm nodded, looking admonished, Logan leaned back in his chair, almost expressionless and Victor gave a satisfied "hmph".
"You've touched upon an important subject, Victor." Xavier said, "And it's important that all of you hear this."
They all seemed to listen just a little bit closer when Xavier spoke, wondering what he was going to announce. Charles Xavier took a short, fortifying breath before he divulged his secret.
"Death is not something that is easily overcome. It took most of my strength to come back to life after my fight with Jean. I had to sacrifice some of my power so that I could live again."
Storm took a sharp intake of air, "You mean..." She couldn't finish, but Xavier could.
"Yes, I lost my ability to communicate telepathically, just as I lost the ability to stop time and my remaining ones have been severely weakened. Unfortunately, I am no use to you as a soldier."
Storm shook her head. "You are our leader. You may have lost some of your power, but it is your politics, you compassion, your wisdom that we need. Even if we didn't, this is your job," She said gesturing around the office, "I was always only filling in."
"Thank you, Storm," Xavier said genuinely.
Even Victor couldn't deny that the man seemed to be the real deal. Back when he had been working with Magneto, he had seen Xavier's pacifism as weakness. Now that he was no longer under the reign of the blood thirsty animal inside of him, Victor could give a certain grudging appreciation of the man's skills. Victor didn't really care about his skills though, what had worried him the most was waking up one morning to find a knife in his or Logan's back. That would be something he could not allow to happen.
"It's good to have you back, Chuck." Logan said.
Before Xavier could reply, there was a slightly urgent knock on the door. The person who had knocked didn't wait to be let in before coming inside. Marie stood somewhat awkwardly in the doorway, rubbing her arm self-consciously.
"Ah'm sorry ta interrupt, but there's a man outside that you might wanna go see."
"Who is it?" Xavier asked.
Marie shrugged, "Ah dunno, he wouldn't say. Said he'd only speak ta Storm."
Storm, used to taking action over the last few years, reacted quickly. "Okay, I'll go out. Marie, don't let anyone near him, alright?"
Marie nodded and rushed off. Storm made to leave but was stopped by Logan.
"We'll handle it." He said, standing in front of her.
Victor also stood up. " Yeah, we'll suss him out, bring him down to ya if he's safe."
Storm hesitantly nodded, pursing her lips.
Logan and Victor left the room and rushed down the halls, leaving the sanctuary of the underground to meet the mysterious stranger.
"Who the hell are you?" Victor demanded loudly.
The storm had stopped some time during the night and with the low rising sun came a very light fog. It had crawled into the city serenely, surrounding the stranger like a protective layer. The man held up his hands, completely relaxed with the situation. He had a lazy half-smirk on his face. He wasn't a mutant, he was a human.
"Easy there, tiger," He drawled in a voice that sounded like he was about to yawn, "I come in peace."
Victor growled. "Who the hell. Are. You?" He repeated more slowly.
The man didn't seem perturbed. "You aren't Storm; I'm not going to talk to anyone who isn't Storm."
"We won't let you pass until we know you're safe." Logan, the voice of reason, said in response.
The man sighed. "What I want to discuss is..." He paused to find the right word, "delicate. I can't afford to have my name heard by the wrong ears or my face seen by the wrong eyes. I came here at a great danger to myself from both sides, the least you could do is show me a little courtesy."
Neither Victor nor Logan moved, they stood as a motionless wall of immovable flesh. For a few moments, both parties tried to glare each other into submission until the man gave up and sighed.
"Fine, you want to know if I'm safe, here." He reached into his pocket and took out a gun. Victor and Logan tensed quickly. The man just gave them a deadpan stare and threw the weapon towards them. It landed at their feet. "See?" He asked, aggravated, almost like a grumpy pubescent child.
"You still haven't told us who you are." Victor said, not giving him any leeway.
"I can help you." He tried.
Victor shook his head, Logan glared.
The man's jaw tightened, he dug his hands into his black coat and looked away. "My name is Noah Carver. I'm the man who killed David Hewitt."
They were silent for a moment before Victor snarled and rushed forward, grabbing a hold of the man's coat. "I'm goin' to rip you up." He threatened, and none of them thought it was an idle threat. Logan watched dispassionately, not terribly inclined to stop Victor. Still, the assassin kept his cool.
"And when you do that," He said darkly, not as intimidating as Victor but it was still impressive considering the position he was in. "You'll have ripped up the single thing that can stop this war."
This made Victor hesitated and Logan took a step forward to put a hand on his brother's shoulder. The message was clear enough; don't do anything stupid. As if Victor would.
Slowly, Victor's grip loosened on the man and he took half a step back. "Explain." He commanded.
Noah Carver nodded. "I will." He promised, "When you take me to Storm."
The two feral mutants looked to each other.
As a single unit they sighed.
"Explain." Storm said with her arms crossed.
Noah Carver was sitting on a chair in Storm's, now Xavier's, office. "I was employed by the founder's of Project Wideawake to kill David Hewitt."
"Why are you here?"
"I can help you."
Storm looked impatient. "Yes, so you have said. But how, and why?"
Xavier was quiet, his hand to his chin as he pondered the man in front of him. He was trying to probe his mind to check for any lies. So far, anything the man had said was true. But then, he hadn't really said all that much, had he?
"I'm willing to testify in court that I was hired to carry out the assassination of Hewitt and make it look like a mutant attack."
"What's to say we need you, we already got evidence, we wouldn't we just kill you now?" Victor said.
Carver half-turned in Victor's direction as he addressed him. "Evidence?" He asked, "You mean that computer mainframe you stole? That won't be enough. You might find one or two things that would be interesting to a court, but nothing that would be damning enough. Besides, you broke into a private facility, you blew it up and you stole that evidence. Even with consideration taken for what must be done in a war, something like that wouldn't be appropriate to use in a courtroom. And" He continued, "Even if it was, don't you think they'll just call you filthy lying mutants and pawn your discovery off to a frame job?"
Logan growled, "Watch it." He warned at the insult.
The man held up his hands. "Don't get me wrong, I don't care if your mutants or not—doesn't bother me in the slightest. But I'm not exactly your average citizen." He turned to Xavier and Storm, instinctively knowing who was in charge, "You'd become much more credible if you had a human on your side. Especially an inside man."
"What's to say they'd even believe you?" Storm asked, "They could easily say that you're lying, that you're a mutant sympathiser and that you were put up to going to court. It's your word against theirs and they have more money for better lawyers."
A small, smug smirk touched the assassin's lips. "I'm meticulous." He said proudly, "That's why it was me who was hired and not someone else. Being that way inclined, I always take precautions when dealing with my employers. For instance, if they became too much trouble, I would be prepared with... oh I don't know, say a recording of any conversation we've ever had."
"How do we know you're telling the truth?"
The man smirked as he took out a small recording device and pressed play. Immediatedly Noah Carver's voice filled the room.
"It's done. Have the money wired to my account."
Another voice spoke then. "Make sure to set the scene perfectly; I don't want anyone to suspect this isn't legitimate. They need to think the mutants have done this."
"Of course"
Noah Carver clicked the stop button and put it on the table. "This is yours." He said, "You see, with me, those recordings and what you'll undoubtedly find in the computer you stole, there's every possibility that the war will be over by Christmas."
Xavier, who had been quiet, spoke carefully, "That does explain how, and I can't fault you, it is possibly the best option. However, that doesn't explain why. What reason could you possibly have to help us? Why now?"
At this, Carver seemed to become reluctant to speak. "I have my reasons. It's personal." He shrugged.
"That ain't goin' to cut it." Victor said darkly.
The assassin considered this. He didn't want to divulge that information but trust was a key factor if this was going to work. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "My wife gave birth to our first child a few weeks ago." He said, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room. "We moved to a relatively open minded island in the Pacific Ocean. We're left alone mostly and that makes it easier, but it's only a matter of time until they find out. I won't let any harm come to my son."
"He's a mutant." Xavier said.
Carver glanced up at the leader of the X-men. He nodded curtly. "Yes." He said. "He doesn't even look completely human. He's difficult to hide. Anyone looking at him would know what he is. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my son safe. If ending this means I can keep my family together, I'll have no qualms betraying the men and women who started this war."
Xavier nodded thoughtfully. "We're going to need all of those recordings," He said, "And we'll have to start getting a case together."
Noah Carver smiled. "That's not a problem." He said, "I can get you the best team of lawyers in the world. I've been in this business since I was nineteen. And I've been saving my money since then. All I need is a little time to access it. I've got accounts all over the world, Kaman Islands, Geneva, Monaco, you name it. To get all my finances together will take a few weeks, three probably. You think you can hold out that long?"
"We have so far." Xavier replied.
"Good." He said, pleased. Carver reached into his pocket once more and took out what looked like a blackberry. "Take this too. It's a little something I cooked up. I planted bugs in the offices of Senator Harvey, Senator Kent and a few of the Project Wideawake's chair people. You can access the information from that. You'll see how deep this conspiracy goes. Trust me; you guys never stood a chance. Hewitt, on some level, knew that too. He thought that he could change what was happening, but there were too many forces at work against him."
Xavier nodded and Carver stood up. "I'll be back in a few weeks. See ya." With that, he left the room.
"That turned out well." Logan muttered. No one answered, but they all agreed.
Okay so that's it for now. I'm almost at the end of this story. I think there's only going to be one more chapter and a short epilogue, but I might group them in together.
