Memories
Lost
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or any of their characters. Tora and Weapon X-ii are my own though.
Xii was afraid. She had been sad before, wary and nervous. But never afraid. Never all-consuming fear. The scent had been remembered. Mr Creed. Sabretooth. How had he got the money to buy this place? Her fingers slid round to her back, over the scar tissue on her right shoulder that ran down to her left hip. Then to her left shoulder. The blood ran fresh there. Creed…Sabretooth had laughed as he had ripped the partially healed scar open. He derived pleasure from her pain. He fed her when the whim came to him and he only touched her to tear open the scar or to make her fight him, using the old combat rooms. The fights always ended the same way. She couldn't chikt her claws through the adamantium gloves and starvation blunted her abilities. She always ended up being thrown back into her cage…not a room anymore, but a cage, with one of the scars torn open. They healed. But the scar tissue didn't. That confused her. Perhaps the blades were more than her heal-halter. They had taken the blades. That and some of the more usable equipment. Otherwise, she had been left. Left to a murderer.
The woman sighed. Creed was brutal. His book was a testament to that. She had seen it once. Written on animal skins, with blood for ink. He was primitive in methods, but not in thoughts. That was his strength. And Xii. The girl who had no book. An impossibility to be sure, but every rule had its exceptions. And the books were really just a form of telepathic recording. If you couldn't reach into the mind, the book couldn't be written. Actually, that was a lie. She did have a book. A huge book. Several volumes. Volume One slid off the pile nearby and rushed to the woman's hand. The pages were blank. Blank, blank, blank. It took a while for you to realize there were words on the page. They were faint and could only be seen from a certain angle. So interesting. Such contradictions. Such a child. So dangerous and so delicate. And the figure standing over her in the pool. Here to was a man of mystery. But not as great as the girl. The book lay there next to her. If she removed more from the Archives, the Heart would collapse, leaving only the Sceptre. She waved a hand and all the books other than Xii's rose and moved, held on streams of water. At the final book floated away, it bobbed and the title became visible.
ROMULUS
The girl sat in the cage, chains holding her arms behind her back and the collar wrenching her head back. Sabretooth was watching as a shadowy figure stepped out from behind a pillar. He glanced at her.
"She is not Lupine."
"But sir…"
"At the most, her mutation is feline. She is not Lupine."
"Of course…sir."
Sir! Creed called someone sir! And he stank of fear and sweat. Whoever this was, Creed feared him. That was good and bad. Anyone Creed feared was dangerous. But it was good to see Creed grovel, as he made her grovel. Somewhere deep inside she still had pride and strength. She'd suffered four years of this. And she had never once struck back, never once tried to gain revenge. Words from the guard who had cared still resonated.
"Hate weakens you. Revenge steals your life. Forgive but do not forget. When somebody injures you, offer up the other cheek to humiliate them. Most people don't realize but the expression, turn the other cheek comes from the rule you could slap slaves. Backhand was reserved for equals. By turning the other cheek, you forced them to acknowledge you as an equal. All the pieces in that passage are like that. All keep your self-respect. Remember that Xii. You don't have to be what they want you to be."
"I will remember. I remember. I…I…I can't forgive. But I can try…"
She saw his face. Worried. He hadn't meant to be here. It had been an admin accident. But he had seen the pain she was in and had decided to stay. On his shifts she could drop her guard. The chains would be loosened and she could listen to him talk. Sometimes he had played music. She still recalled him singing in a pure voice the words to that song. He had laughed when she had attempted to join in and sounded terrible. She had given up hopes of ever learning to sing. She couldn't carry a tune and it was too late for her to learn. He had given her a chance. Kept her sane. And she didn't even know his name…
How often things like that happen. The woman smiled sadly. Another book she couldn't find. What was the point of the Library if you couldn't find the book you were looking for. For goodness sake, every piece of knowledge in the universe was stored here and she couldn't find the thing she wanted to. How typical. Of course she could simply recalibrate the Eye to follow the guard but that would be cheating. She had a better idea. Ice groaned and creaked as water swirled, forming a face. The guard. The water sparkled and shone and gradually settled, leaving a face carved in ice. A tribute to kindness