CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

….Wait…..A SERIAL KILLER!

AN: I have had more complaints (well, not really COMPLAINTS more like GENTLE NUDGES) about the length of my chapters. So…..here goes. I am going to ATTEMPT to crank out a long one in one day. Just sit down and type. If it turns out badly, I apologize.

Also, I'm absolutely LOVING these plot-bunnies from "Guest" in the reviews. Makes me crack up every time.

STORY CUBES:

Someone walking through a door

A skyscraper building

A hatchet/axe

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VICTOR

When Victor roused out of his light sleep the next morning, he woke pleasantly happy to find his mate and the blue-skinned cub from last night still in his arms. He had never thought that he had wanted this…..not since centuries ago when he had held Jimmy in his arms when he was very small, then growing till he turned fourteen where he insisted he was 'too big for such things' only to come back if he had a nightmare. At eighteen, however, he had completely outgrown the need for his big-brothers hold.

Had it really just been two days ago that he had been living and hunting for himself out in the wild, more cat than man? And now here he was with his mate and a cub in his arms sleeping in a real bed in the mansion of a man who had used to have been, perhaps, one of his arch-enemies.

Well, he had a meeting with old one'eye today (the grin that crept across his face was a hunters grin, his I'm-gonna-mangle-you-and-like-it grin) to find out how the old stooge stayed young, and he had to get his mate and the cub to Jimmy so he could watch'em. First, though, he had to get his mate and the cub fed, as well as see to the rest of the cubs in the school. The reminder of the sheer number of cubs in the school brought the beginnings of a slight headache and he pushed it away, ceasing in his purr and gently nudging his mate, rubbing his head next to her own.

"Come'on frail. Wake up."

She just grumbled something at him and pushed herself back further into his chest, her arms bringing the blue-skinned cub with her. Speaking of which, the young mutant opened sleepy, yellow eyes and blinked up at him. It interested him how the cubs eyelids closed sideways when he blinked.

He gave a little purr of welcome, running a clawed hand carefully over the cubs head. "Come on, frail, time ta eat."

When she still didn't move, he let out a warning growl, leaning down and nipping the skin of her neck sharply. She eeped, jolting in his arms but coming full awake. "What was that for, ya jerk!" she exclaimed and he gave her a warning growl, his temper rising.

"When I tell ya teh get up, frail, I mean it." He growled warningly at her. "You and the cub need to eat, now get your ass move'n!"

He let go of the two of them and made his way lithely out of the bed, swinging the cub up into his arms and onto his shoulders, making him giggle. "It's time ta eat, frail. NOW."

The smile she gave him made his heart stutter and he growled warningly. "I'm not gonna tell ya again, frail."

"I'm move'n, I'm move'n" she commented, reaching one hand out and blindly grasping for her glasses.

He moved so silently to the end-table that she never heard him pick up her folded glasses and set them right at her fingertips, even giving the seeing-apparatus a little nudge till it brushed against her fingers; she only thought that she had found them not that he had guided her to them.

The cub on his shoulders giggled again and Victor shifted the little weight on his shoulders so that the kid was in a more stable position. When she put on her glasses, blinking up at him with her long hair clumped and sticking out every which way, she gave him another smile, this one softer but none the less brilliant, seeing the little one on his shoulders. She looked at him with something that COULD be considered one of those "softer emotions" the frails were so big on.

"Heah, sweetheart, didya sleep well?" she asked the little one, climbing out of bed only to stumble a little on the sheets (his hand was quickly there to steady her).

The cub nodded, fisting his hands in Victors long, matted blonde hair. The behemoth didn't even wince at the tugging pain. Well, once you survived and completely recovered from a bullet to the brain, a little hair-tugging from a kid didn't hurt much. "Come on you two, move it!" and he hustled his mate with him out into the hall.

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ORORO MUNROE

Ororo Munroe, alias Storm, was a mutant teacher in a mutant school, so she was used to seeing the occasional odd thing that would send a "normal" person into hysterics (like a student deciding to literally climb the walls, or a child levitating) but one thing she WASN'T accustomed to seeing was a grouchy Wolverine slouched outside another students dorm room (it was Rogue and Jubilees room) looking like he had spent the entire night there.

The graceful Moroccan stopped infront of the door and arched a sophisticated white eyebrow at the form on the ground. "Logan?"

The feral snuffed in his sleep and shifted a little.

"Logan!" Ororo reached down carefully, very aware of the nightmares the feral had that could send him skewering the person who attempted to wake him up. She drew her hand back before touching him and instead smiled a mischievous smile that was rarely seen on her face.

Closing her grey eyes, she concentrated and, suddenly, there was a little rain cloud in the building where no rain cloud should be. And wouldn't you know it, that little rain-cloud would be right over the sleeping ferals head that started to pour cold water down.

Logan jumped to his feet, sputtering and cursing, to hear Ororo's musical laugh.

"What the hell, Storm!?"

Ororo contained her mirth. "I could ask the same of you, Logan. What are you doing sleeping out here in the hall?"

Just then the dorm door opened and there stood a surprised, but smiling Rogue in her boy shorts and tank top, long, striped hair mussed and ruffled with sleep. She looked at the wet Logan and chuckled. "Shows you right, sugah." She then looked to the weather witch. "Logan's been keep a watch on me and some others. Ah think he thinks Sabretooth's gonna go on a rampage or somethin', so he's appointed himself our guard-dog."

Ororo evaporated the storm-cloud with a wave of the hand, smiling. "Ah, so that's what's going on."

Logan sent a grumpy growl to his southern bell. "Get the others up and dressed, Marie, it's time tah eat."

"Yes Eyore." Rogue teased, shutting the door. Logan could hear her rousing the others before he turned back to the weather witch. "Didya have ta do that, Storm?"

Storm shrugged gracefully. "Knowing your penchant of attacking people who attempt to wake you, I decided it was the safest way."

"Sure ya did." Logan said, shaking his head like a wet dog, smirking when he managed to hit Ororo with some of the water.

Storm moved herself to a safer distance before speaking, a little worry creasing her stunning face. "Do you really think Sabretooth would go on a rampage here, Logan?"

"He has before, hasn't he?" Logan asked, pulling off his muscle shirt and wringing it out, arching an eyebrow when the weather witch eyed him appreciatively. "Like what ya see?"

Storm decided to ignore that comment. "The Professor believes he has truly changed."

"Chuck can believe what he wants. I'm still lookin' after the kids, though."

"And yet you went hunting with him? And brought back half the forest population." This time there was a hint of censure in her voice and Logan rolled his eyes.

"Don't go all animal activist on me now, Ro. The kids need proper food. I shoulda done it earlier, even without Vic's prodding."

Storm paused. "Vic?"

Logan froze as if he hadn't realized he had said that. "Whatever. COME ON!" he yelled to the door.

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OTHERS:

"Hold yer horses, sugah!" came Rogues growl as she pushed her way out, now in sweat-pants and a T-shirt. Jubilee followed with a huge, jaw-cracking yawn looking like a walking YIELD sign in her favorite bright, canary yellow. Clarisse came out more subdued before Jonesy stuck his head out the door, wincing.

Immediately, Logan sensed the littlest mutants distress and frowned, looking to Rogue. "Marie, why don't you get the others down to the cafeteria, get your usual table."

Rogue looked at them then down to the littlest mutant, comprehension dawning fast in her eyes. "Alright, sugah. Be sure you join us."

"Of course, darlin."

Storms jaw dropped when Rogue placed a very brief kiss on Logans cheek before motioning for Jubilee and Clarisse to follow her. "Come on, guys."

When Logan gave Storm a pointed look, the weather-witch moved on fluidly down the hall. "I'll see you at breakfast, Logan."

"Yeah, sure." Logan said distractedly, still looking at Little Jonesy who still hadn't come out of his room. Logan knelt down on one knee so that he was eye-to-eye with the six year old. "Heah, kiddo. Do you wanna come to breakfast with us?"

Jonsey looked up at him with big brown eyes and shook his head. "Can't you just bring me some food?"

Logan took a deep breath, thinking back on what Victor…..no, Sabretooth, had told him;

-flashback-

"When you hold the kid—" Victor began.

"Who says I hold'em?" Logan growled, but his older brother just kept talking over him.

"—think about what you're feeling. About what the cub's feeling. How he's scared and uncomfortable. Then just….." Victors muscles rippled as he shrugged. "It's kind of like growling, comes instinctively. You can actually feel it in the base of your throat. Like a tickle. Then just…..purr. Nature'll take care of the rest."

-end flashback-

`Okay, this shouldn't be too hard.` The feral Canadian took a deep breath and let it out, thinking about the littlest mutant, how he had to be scared of the light and the sound, how tiny he was, and felt something in the base of his throat.

Logan began to purr.

The instant the sound hit his ears, little Jonseys body relaxed, his eyes drooping a little and when Logan held out his arms, Jonsey climbed into them without a question. Logan hefted the kid onto his hip, still keeping up his purr. "Come on, kid, you can sit with me while we eat."

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CAFETERIA:

The sight of the great and terrible Sabretooth with a little kid perched happily on his shoulders was not something the students were used to, especially after what had happened in the cafeteria with the food and then the dead deer in the commons which was now hung and cured, so Victor got a lot of stares when he hustled his mate to the table and sat the little blue scaled mutant into her lap before moving to get her a tray of food, ignoring the lines.

Once he had a tray piled with vegetables and some of the meat he had caught (some of it was already cooked and in the cafeteria for consumption) he sat the tray down infront of her then moved to inspect the other cubs choices in food. He only had to throw three cafeteria trays across the room and march three cubs back to the cafeteria line to get better food; the cubs were learning.

Then he caught the scent of his brother and turned. Walking through the door was that striped frail that was his brothers mate…..Rogue, he thought, along with the water-mutation cub, and the little firecracker. Arching an eyebrow when he didn't see his little brother immediately follow after, he kept his hunters gaze on the three as they got in line, watching to make sure they made the right choices in his brothers absence. He watched as they sat down, his brothers mate even giving him a little wave, making his eyebrows go up.

Rising all of his six feet tall, the feral mutant sauntered over to where his little brothers 'pack' sat before standing with feet hip-width apart and arms crossed, glowering at them.

The little firecracker blinked up at him and popped bright pink gum. "Whaddya want, Tooth?"

"Jubilee!" the striped frail 'Rogue' chastised her gum-popping friend.

Victor gave them his fanged smirk. "Check'n on you guys, but it seems that you've got good sense in food at least."

Jubilee made a pouty face. "I know! If we don't have at least one serving of vegetables and a lot of meat Wolvie goes postal!"

Victor arched an eyebrow. "Well good. That's what he's supposed ta do, squirt. At least he has the sense to care for you three. Speaking of which, where is my brother?"

"He's with Jonsey." Rogue answered, cutting up a piece of venison and putting it in her mouth.

"Storm put a rain-cloud over his head to wake him up." Clarisse said so softly that Victor wasn't sure he would have heard her if he hadn't been a feral.

"Is that so? I'd pay tah see that." He looked over to check on his frail who was trying to persuade Roddy to eat some green-beans. No-one else had moved to sit beside her and he growled.

"She can sit with us if she wants." Rogue offered, following his gaze and guessing at his thoughts.

The cub with the water mutation—Victor couldn't remember her name, but he guessed it started with a 'C'—silently picked up her tray and stood, beginning to walk over to where his mate and the cub were sitting, Rogue following and Jubilee seconds after.

Victor could only follow, slightly amused and more than a little uncomfortable with the gratitude he was feeling.

Rogue sat down the tray when she reached the table, smiling reassuringly at Cassie. "Heah there. Mind if we join you?"

Cassie smiled back—"Nah, go right ahead"—as the others sat around her.

Victor wrapped a clawed hand carefully around the back of Cassies neck, rubbing gently with his thumb, and she tilted her head back to smile at him.

Rogue put another spoonful of peas in her mouth, watching the couple and wondering if they had actually even talked. "So, uh—" she fumbled for a conversation. "What do ya think of the school?"

Cassie shrugged, putting a forkful of meat in her mouth then chewing and swallowing. "I dunno...it's…..big."

"I could help you get around." Little Roddy said quietly from her lap, staring determinedly at the table.

Victor snorted. "Weren't you the one who got lost last night, cub?"

Cassie shot her arm backwards and whacked him. "Heah! Be nice!"

Even though she couldn't have hurt him if she tried, Victor growled low at her and tightened his grip on the back of her neck. "You do that again, frail, and you won't like the consequences."

"You're embarrassing him." She hissed under her breath.

Victor rolled his eyes then scowled down at the cub in his mates lap, scenting his embarrassment. "Why aren't ya eating, cub?" he growled.

When the kid only looked uncomfortable, Rogue intervened. "If ah remember right Roddy can…..uh…..only eat certain…..foods."

"Flies." Jubilee put in without even attempting tact. "Flies and bugs and little critters like that." She gave an exaggerated shudder.

Victor immediately scented the cubs pain and gave a warning growl to the little firecracker, following it up with a very light cuff to the head.

"OWWWWW!" Jubilee whined.

"Don't make fun of another cubs needs, firecracker." Victor growled then spoke to the cub. "Yer body can't help what it needs, it's not a bad thing, cub. Would you make fun of us for have'n ta breath air?"

Roddy whispered something in reply.

"I didn't hear that, cub." Victor growled, even though he HAD heard it. "Speak up! Would you make fun of us for have'n to breath air?"

This time Roddys voice came out clearer. "No."

"Good. Then don't be ashamed for what yer body needs."

Rogue shot a glare at Jubilee who was still rubbing the back of her head. "That wasn't nice, Jubilee. Apologize."

Jubilee looked down at the blue-skinned mutant. "I'm sorry, Roddy, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." She then shot a resentful glare up at Sabretooth. "But you didn't have to hit me THAT hard! And weren't you saying something about his sense of direction earlier?!"

She was lucky that that was the time his brother chose to walk through the cafeteria doors, Jonsey in his arms, and Victor was proud to hear the rumbling purr from his brothers chest even through the noise of the cafeteria.

Rogue followed his gaze and her jaw dropped. "Wow! He actually got Jonsey in here!"

Even Jubilee forgot her indignation at the sight, waving her arms to get the Wolverines attention. "Over here, Wolvie!"

Logan nodded his head from across the cafeteria, showing that he had heard, and began making his way inbetween the tables towards them. When he finally got to them it became VERY noticeable that his purr was going full-fledged, little Jonesy drowsy and calm against his chest. Even Jubilees exuberance was calmed as she stopped fidgeting and put her chin in her hands. Clarisse yawned and Cassie leaned back into Victor.

"So ya finally got it going." Victor praised, supporting his mate easily so she wouldn't topple backwards. "Good job, runt."

Logan took a seat beside Rogue. "Yeah. Marie, darlin, could you do me a favor and go make a tray of food for Jonsey?"

"Sure, sugah." Rogue rose gracefully with a kind "Hey Jonsey" and went to grab a tray.

"Been mean'n ta speak to ya, runt." Victor said, but Logan interrupted, pointing to the wall where the remains of some cool-whip and pie were still displayed.

"Why is there food on the wall?"

Jubilee giggled. "Two of the students decided not to follow 'Tooths good diet rules, so he threw their trays, desserts and all!"

Logan snorted.

"As I was say'n." Victor put in, rolling his eyes. "I need you to keep an eye on my mate and the cub while I take care of some business."

Logan arched an eyebrow suspiciously. "What KIND of business?"

Victor gave him a warning growl. "It's really none of yer concern, runt."

Logan growled right back, stopping his purr. "It is my business if a serial killer who claims to be my brother is suddenly taking off."

Cassie's spine straightened so fast, Victor wouldn't have been surprised to hear it snap. "Serial killer!?"

Logan winced as if he regretted what he had just said, and Victor increased his warning growl towards his little brother.

When Victor spoke, his voice could have frozen Hades and his tone would have sent a grizzly running for cover. "Watch it, James."

"What does he mean by serial killer!?" Cassie demanded, her arms tightening around Roddy protectively.

Jonsey, coming out of the purrs effects, also tensed in Logans arms.

"I'm not a serial killer, frail." Victor growled low. "I'm a…..hunter."

Cassie, however, wasn't calmed. "A hunter of what?!"

Quickly, Victor started up 'the purr' but Cassie turned and shoved at his chest ineffectively. "Oh no you don't, you big lummox!—"

'Lummox?' Jubilee mouthed to herself, amused but also scooting over on the cafeteria bench in-case she was caught in the crossfire.

"-what, you-you-you hunt people down and cut their heads off with an axe!"

At this, Victor chose the totally WRONG thing to say. He held up one hand, lengthening his claws. "Don't need an axe, frail."

Logan literally face-palmed himself. Victor may have been older but, right now, he certainly wasn't acting smarter.

Rogue walked back with a tray for Jonsey filled with fruits and a little bit of meat, sitting it down infront of her feral and the little mutant and eyeing the angry young woman infront of her with a little confusion. "Okay, what'd ah miss?"

Jubilee winced, sliding away further. "Cassie just found out about 'Tooths job."

"Oh."

Victor growled. "I don't have time for this! Jimmy, I've gotta go hunt down old one'eye and talk to'em. I need you to watch my mate and the cub while I'm gone. Got it?"

Not for the first time, Logan's eyebrow went up. "You talk'n about Scott or Fury?"

Victor growled lower. "Fury."

"Okay, I get to know why?"

"Not right now." But Victors attention was drawn back to his frail when, after she had very gently set down Roddy, she stood up and whacked him on the shoulder.

"HEAH! Listen to me!"

"That's not a good idea, darlin'." Logan cautioned, sitting back. Cassie ignored him.

"Do you really kill people for a living!?"

"Used too." Victor growled low, catching her wrist easily when she moved to hit him again, not hard enough to hurt her, but enough to stop her swing. "And I suggest you remember who's alpha here, frail." Quickly than a cobra he launched himself at her, attaching his sharp teeth to her neck.

Responding to some instinct buried in each and every human way back from the caveman days, Cassie froze, her arms going limp.

He held her there, ignoring the gasps, whispers and even a short scream from one of the other cubs.

Rogue, Jubilee, and Clarisse all gaped at Victor while Logan stood up and gave the rest of the cafeteria one of his death-glares. "Alright you guys, nothing to see here! Keep eating!"

Very carefully, Victor detached his teeth (he hadn't even broken the skin) and whispered into her neck. "I wouldn't be a good alpha or even a good mate if I didn't have what it takes to keep you safe and provided for. I'm not gonna apologize for that, frail, so get that through your head. I'm a hunter, it's in my nature. But if it makes ya feel better, I never hurt a cub, never touched a frail that didn't deserve it."

Cassie bristled again. "Didn't DESERVE it!? And how on earth did you decide whether or not they DID deserve it!?"

Victor growled again. "Make sure you really wanna know the answer to that question, frail, because once you know somethin', there's no way of un-know'n it."

Logan, for once, attempted to be a diplomat. "Look, guys, let's work this out later. Everyone needs to eat." He hadn't stopped his purr, making sure Jonsey was alright.

Victor growled, letting her go. "Keep an eye on'em, Jimmy. I'll be back soon, and make sure Roddy gets somethin' ta eat." And with that, Victor/Sabretooth stalked out of the room.

VOCABULARY:

MIRTH: joy, happiness

ROUSING: Waking up

CENSURE: n. a blaming or finding fault; disapproval