As always, thanks for the reviews and suggestions on how to improve the story. You guys (and girls of course) really got me inspired to post. This chapter took a while but I should be able to post a few chapters more quickly in the coming days. Enjoy!
"Jean? Anyone home?" Jean had been staring at her spoon stirring her cereal for her and had barely heard Scott trying to get her attention.
"Hmm? Sorry, Scott. What was it?" Jean tried smiling to not let her worried thoughts show. But it had been more than a week and she still had not heard a word from Greer. As promised, she had told the Professor that Greer was simply hurt at his refusal to help in the search for Logan and had driven home. But Greer had promised to call her every couple days and she was beginning to get worried about her friend.
"I asked if you could stop twirling all of the spoons so I can get back to eating breakfast." Scott said jokingly, taking jeans smile as her simply spacing out and being embarrassed. Jean realized that it wasn't only her spoon she was spinning but everyone else's at breakfast.
"Hey, like, if you wanna feed me no problem. I need both hands to text anyway." Kitty said in her usual peppy manner, even this early in the morning. Assuming she had access to her second cup of coffee.
"Sorry everyone. Just…little tired this morning." Jean said, hoping her excuse covered her uneaseness. Lying to the Professor had been hard enough, but keeping Greer's disappearance a secret from everyone else, especially Scott, at this point was almost impossible. Everyone was already back into their breakfast. Jean shot a quick glance at Greer's empty seat and the corner by the pantry Logan usually spent most mornings glowering at everyone. Jean.
Jean's head shot up. "Scott, did you say something?"
"No babe. Just eating breakfast. Everything alright?" Scott had the worried furrow in his forehead he got whenever he thought something was wrong.
"No, no. It's fine I just thought –" Jean…Jean suddenly lost focus on the wold around her. As if a channel was being turned on, a window opened in the middle of the kitchen island. In it, Jean could clearly see Greer, lying in an unfamaliar place, her hand holding her head, her long hair falling around her face. She was in pain and she was crying. So much anguish. Tears started streaming down Jeans face. Jean…help me…HELP ME!
"Jean? JEAN!" Jean was looking up at the very concerned faced of Dr. McCoy, Scott, Kitty and Kurt. "Jean speak to me. What happened?" It was Dr. McCoy, always acting as doctor first.
"Scott? Scott, I am so sorry. I need to speak to the Professor. Greer, we - we need to find Greer." Jean was still crying as Scott scooped her into his arms.
Apex stood quietly, waiting for the Admiral's attention he took in the mutant Apex had now learned was called, "Tigra", on a wall of monitors.
"What do you think? Of Weapon 13?" The Admiral asked, almost off hand. Apex wasnt even sure he was speaking to him, it was unlike the Admiral to inquire into what he thought of anything.
"I dont think anything of Tigra sir." Apex knew better than to reveal too much to the Admiral before knowing where his conversations led and realized right away the mistake of using her name.
"No need to be coy X-22. I know you've been watching her these last couple of days. You saved her during the last training exercise. You obviously have something thoughts about it." The Admiral replied without taking his eyes of the monitors. He couldnt hear anything but from the way her face was contorted, Apex knew Greer was not dealing well with the conditioning. He had seen it attempted before, but rarely at such an intense rate.
"I believe she could be a valuable asset. If she were to remain viable." Apex suggested, keeping his eyes straight ahead as the Admiral turned at Apex's response.
"Are you questioning my methods Weapon?" The Admiral test.
"Of course not sir. You are above question." Apex responded almost on reflex.
"Good. Because what we have here is a rare opportunity for you to redeem yourself. I want you to train with her. Study her at her most...feral. Who knows, we may unlock your own senses and there wont be any more need for that collar of yours." Apex almost went to scratch at the collar around his neck but stopped as the Admiral glanced in his direction. He is testing me. Always testing. Use her, lose the collar. Perhaps that will mean the process will be over. "Just dont forget," the Admiral interrupted Apex's thoughts, "It's survival of the fittest. You never know, she may be our next Weapon 23." Turning his gaze back to Tigra, Apex took that as a dismissal and exited the room.
As far as Greer could tell, she had been locked in that damn box for a whole day before they finally let her out. The videos they had shown her would play whenever she was awake and the twisted audio of herself whenever she tried to fall asleep. They're trying to break me. Turn me into something I'm not. Let them try. Finally out of the enclosure, Greer was soon joined by Apex and after having so much time alone, she was ready for some answers.
"Where are we? Why did Weapon X drop us off in the middle of freakin' jungle? What do they want with me?" Greer fired off her questions at the imposing back of Apex until they had hiked what felt like a few hundred yards from the enclosure.
"We are not in the jungle. And I am not sure why the Admiral has any interest in you. If I were you, I would not be too eager to find out." Apex now stood with his back leaning against another cliff face, seemingly waiting for something.
"What do you mean not in a jungle? What the hell do you call this?" Greer gestured at the trees and canopy surrounding them.
"You see the trees. You feel the dirt under your claws. But what do you, or more importantly what do you not, sense?" Apex was growing tired of answering so many questions. He wasn't used to prolonged conversation where he was expected to provide an answer.
"What are you -", Greer was cut off by his raised hand.
"What do all of your senses tell you?" Apex stated calmly.
Greer was not a big fan of being told what to do by something she still considered responsible for her being in this mess in the first place but decided for now to humor him. Trust him now, lose him later. Closing her eyes, Greer could sense her immediate surroundings, smell herself and Apex's scent mixed with what she hoped was old blood, but she realized, that was it. She couldn't smell anything else around them. She heard animals but nothing else. She sensed no bugs, no birds, no other animals. But there was another sense there. One she did not recognize that told her that except for the monster across for her, there were no other threats in the area. The only way that would be possible would be if, "Wait...none of this is real?"
Suddenly, the environment around Greer shifted and she found herself in what appeared to be a large warehouse. The glass enclosure remained in the distance with Apex leaning against a flat metallic wall, unfazed by the sudden change in his surroundings.
"Where am I?" Greer asked in a hushed tone, suddenly realizing she was likely not as alone as she once thought.
"We are standing inside Warehouse 4 on the outskirt of the Base. I'm honestly surprised it took you this long." Apex said matter of fact.
"Think you can be a bit more general than that?" Greer asked, her arms crossed against her chest and tail twitching in annoyance behind her.
"Were not located near any town or city. Not for miles. Closest landmark would be Baker Lake, about four clicks south. This was an abandoned SHIELD research base. Now, its Admiral Stryker's base of operations for Weapon X." Apex explained.
Greer did some rough geography in her head and realized she had been taken the hundreds of miles to the tundra of northern Canada. Great, just great. First a tropical rainforest, now a frozen wasteland. Perfect.
"And what does Weapon X want with me?" Greer asked, looking down at her still hands and the bracers still secured on her wrists. Still attempting to come to grips with what she had already done.
"I do not know. Nor do I care. You were left in my enclosure and I was instructed to see what you are capable of. To see if you are still that, I do not need to know." Apex perked his ears up as a low humming could be heard and began to stretch. Greer was slightly distracted both by the randomness of the sudden movements and by the amount of muscle and mass moving before her. Get a grip Greer. This freak was ready to stomp your head in a week ago.
Suddenly, a section of the enclosure opened and the world around Greer shifted again, as she was staring out into a snow covered temperate forest, light snow dusting the tall pines. "Youve got to be kidding me. What death match do I need to go through now?" Greer asked in exasperation, still not fully recovered physically or psychologically from her last ordeal.
"Not a fight. Judging from the time of day, and the last time I ate, I would say a hunting exercise." With that Apex casually dropped to all fours and began loping towards the forest.
"What on earth are you doing?" Greer followed a few steps behind, almost chuckling at what looked like the "fearsome" killer searching for a dropped pair of glasses.
"Getting a scent. Unless you would prefer to not eat this week." Apex remained on all fours, not bothering to turn his head to speak to the smirking Greer.
"And what's to stop me from just running away?" Greer asked, realizing now was her best chance at escape.
"You mean besides me severing your hamstrings and dragging you back to the enclosure? The loyalty you showed to the Wolverine...and the likely hood that the Admiral would have your bracers kill you before you reached the outskirts of the Base." Apex was still nose to the ground, not giving Greer more than a minimal amount of attention.
Alright new plan, get these bracers off. Until then..."What do you mean eat?" Greer asked, attempting to shift focus. Apex's head snapped up, catching the scent of what he believed to be the target of the exercise.
"If you want to survive. I suggest you forget what you were taught and begin paying attention. The fear, the weakness, hesitation, the control they had over you. Those are gone. Embrace what you are and you might survive." Apex had begun slowly crawling forward, Greer still standing following closely.
"I am not some animal that can be trained." Looking down at her hands, "I am not an animal. I'm not -", Greer couldnt finish the sentence.
"Like me? Then you are deluding yourself if you think you have not been trained. Controlled. Do not try to lie to me about being controlled when I can see it so clearly. Manipulation. I know it better than most. You think those mental blocks I removed were put there to help you? They feared you and in turn you were taught to fear yourself. You think I do not notice how you look at yourself when you think no one is there? How you reject your most basic instincts? Sabertooth may be a sadist but he still speaks truth. We are a terrible fury, predators incarnate, and if you keep that inside, it will destroy you." Greer was stunned silent by the sudden outpouring from a thing she had considered a killing machine as of two minutes ago. She had noticed the amount of self-loathing seethed in what Apex had said. She was suddenly reminded of her brother and a tinge of sadness entered her mind. But then she processed what Apex had said.
"I was not being controlled. They care about me. Killing doesnt come easy to me like it does to you." Greer attempted to sound defiant.
"It doesnt come easy. It just comes." Apex said quietly, almost to himself. Greer almost didnt catch it, but some of what Apex had said rang true. Do they fear me? Was I just a danger they wanted to keep controlled and close by. Greer's thoughts came up short as Apex came to a stop in some dense bushes before a clearing in the trees. A low sun providing light. Greer came up beside him and followed his gaze to a large black bear. At first she couldnt understand what they were doing, but from the look of concentration on his face, Greer realized quickly enough.
"Wait. Were supposed to kill that? For breakfast?" Greer whispered in disgust.
"Stop resisting what youre body is obviously ready for." Apex barely made a sound, moving slowly closer to the creature.
Greer realized she had dropped to all fours and was following closely behind his still black tail. For whatever reason, Greer did not want to take her eyes off the bear. Why does this feel so...right? Greer thought, as foreign thoughts began to sift through her mind. With a silent movement of his hand, Tigra followed his direction and circled the unaware predator. Tigra couldnt help but feel a tingle of pleasure crawl up her spine and a smile cross her lips. She could feel her muscles coiling. Her spine like a rubberband ready to snap. Without a word, Apex and Tigra sprang on the massive creature. It never had a chance. While the bear put up a struggle, Tigra felt as if it was moving in slow motion. Her misted eyes had her totally focused on the kill in front of her. She felt the warm blood on her claws and teeth claws rip into the muscle and bone. She had never felt more alive.
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