Disclaimer: This fan fiction is not written for profit and no infringement of copyright is intended.

“Chica,” Jubes growled, “This is not Pay Per View!”

And without a moment’s hesitation she paffed Marie, the explosion just enough to make her stumble backwards and away from Logan. Also enough to remind Logan just who he was holding and how pissed she’d be at him later if he continued feeling her up. Because no matter what she was hollering now- and Christ was she hollering- whenever she came back to her right mind she’d be furious if he’d tried to take advantage when she wasn’t in control. Logan had been around her enough when she was fighting a new presence in her noggin fer control to recognise the signs: She’d gotten too turned on and too vicious too quick fer it to be natural. Or healthy. And the woman in his arms mighta looked like his Marie but she sure as Hell wasn’t acting like her: Much as he might like the idea that she simply couldn’t stand being without him he knew that momentary, mutation-related trauma was a far more likely explanation-

And he vowed to himself that if that bastard had done anything permanent to her he’d skin him alive on general fucking principles.

Marie began growling again then, her little hands raking at his chest and arms, that low-down Southern drawl murmuring the filthiest sweet nothings he’d ever heard. Yet more proof that his girl wasn’t in charge right now because despite the kick-ass tendencies she was still pretty much a Southern Belle when she had an audience. Logan took her wrists, forcing her hands downwards and then locking them against her chest, insuring that she couldn’t hurt herself and that if she stumbled backwards he’d be there to cushion her fall. Tried not to notice the scent of her arousal- there were times when he hated his fucking nose- or the way she seemed so happy to see him fer someone who, far as he knew, wanted his head on a plate. “It’s alright,” he muttered, “It’s alright, darlin’-” he began rocking her- “You try t’relax now, I got ya-”

She twisted, trying to turn those massive chocolate brown eyes on him. “Do you?” she asked, her voice breathless. Jesus he’d missed it. “Do you have me? Ah thought you did but-” Suddenly something, some painful memory flashed across her face and she squeezed her eyes shut. Curled in tighter on herself, shaking her head as the arousal in her scent was drowned out by fear. “Oh God,” she muttered, “Oh God, he’s in here- Ah can feel him-” She began shaking and Logan held her tighter, trying to remind her that she was okay and he had her. That she was safe in her own skin. “Daken,” she muttered, “His name is Daken, and he’s-” She looked sharply up at him, her face wide in shock. “He hates you so much,” she whispered. “Ah can’t see why but he hates you so much…” And too quick fer him to stop her she twisted outta his grasp, her arms going around his neck and pulling him close to her. She buried her head in the crook of his neck just like she used to do whenever she’d nearly lost him on a mission but he came home safe. Despite everything Logan felt that surge of protectiveness and love wash through him as she did it: He’d have endured a year of that cell and the Blue Bitch if he’d known she was waiting fer him at the end of it-

“Aw,” Vic cooed then, “Ain’t that cute.” And he shot them pair of them his most vicious sneer. “Gotta hand it t’ya, Jimmy, ya always did have a way with the ladies-”

“And you always did have a way with the feather-cut, Farrah,” Jubie snapped. “Now we have a couple of questions, and then you can go.” It was typical Jubes, Logan mused, eyes always on the prize- Or the mission. Taking point so he could take care of Marie. The firecracker nodded to Kitty who gunned the SUV’s engine. “Now who hired you?”

“Santa Clause.” ‘Tooth made a mock-scared face at Jubes rolled eyes. “C’mon, you know confidentiality is part o’ the deal. Couldn’t afford to get a reputation as a blabber-mouth in my business.” Kitty geared the engine up a little more at his answer and his smile widened, his claws lengthening in readiness fer a fight. He seemed to have forgotten that the littlest ninja had kicked the shit outta him in their last engagement: it was one of the better things about being able to keep the rest of your body phased while your fist was making its way inta Sabre-tooth’s teeth. “Whatcha gonna do?” Creed was snickering. “Run me over with that little car o’ yours baby? You could smash a Harrier Jet inta me an’ it wouldn’t do a lick o’ good-”

Without warning Kitty put her foot to the pedal, driving the car straight into him.

Phasing it as she went.

There was a word fer Creed’s situation and that word was FUCKED.

It took a split second before ’Tooth to realise what kind of trouble he was in but he wised up quick-sharp. Logan could tell by the way his expression went from butch-and-growly to butch-and-wetting-his-pants-but-trying-not-to-show-it in under a second. Even Marie seemed to notice how worried the sonofabitch was. Creed tried to skitter out of the way but it did no good: if Kitty’d phased the SUV through a wall then phasing it through his legs wouldn’t be difficult. Though of course the real fun would come if she decided to un-phase the car while he was still knee-deep in its hood. Pryde bore the vehicle down on him, pinning him between the steering wheel and the cell wall behind him, trapping him (literally) between a rock and a soon-to-be-hard-place. Making to move the hand she’d placed on the steering wheel away and solidifying the car once she had him trapped-

And shit but he tried to calm down then. Since Sabre-Tooth was a lotta things but suicidal wasn’t one of ’em.

Kit grinned brightly, showing ’Tooth that she knew just how fucked he was: No matter how fast his reflexes, he’d never make it out of the car’s chassis before she solidified the metal and cut him in two. It probably wouldn’t kill him but hey, you never know. And one way or another it would hurt like fuck. Vic bared his teeth at her, taking the realisation that he was trapped the way he usually did, with murderous rage. There was a pinch of abject terror, but fer the most part it was murderous rage. “Well look at that,” he snarled, “Hello fucking Kitty grew a pair.” Pryde’s smile turned angelic. “Fine,” he bit out. “Whaddaya wanna know, bitch?”

“What do I want to know… Miss Bitch?”

“Fuck you!”
“Vickie, you know I don’t go for blondes.” He hissed in rage. “Now who hired you? Because you didn’t come up with this on your own-”

“You think I couldn’t have planned this?”

“I think you couldn’t have financed it.” Jubes nodded in agreement. “Underground bunkers fitted out with adamantium don’t come cheap. Hair care products don’t come cheap when you’re fighting those kinda split ends either, and you’re knee-deep in both. So what gives?” She edged the car closer again. “Was that asshole who hurt Marie your boss or are you still on errand boy duties? And please don’t lie to me, Victor: Logan here will be able to tell if you do-”

Creed sighed like a martyr then.

Realising that he was gonna have to play ball if he wanted outta this in one piece. “Look,” he began, “I don’t know much. I never found out who the boss-man reported to-”

Jubes narrowed her eyes. “But he did report to someone?”

“He mighta-” Kitty moved her pinkie finger from the steering wheel with deliberation and he rushed on- “I mean, yeah, he did report to someone. Every day, gave progress reports, told him how the runt reacted to his medication. I even heard him offering to test the stuff on hisself before he dosed Jimmy with it.” Jubie opened her mouth and he spoke over her. “And no, I don’t know why. All I can tell you is that it was a man’s voice. Didn’t recognise it, didn’t wanna.” He crossed his massive forearms, some of his former bravado reappearing. “Now let me the fuck outta here, Miss Bitch, before I-”

But Creed didn’t get to finish.

Because at that moment his gaze went over Kitty’s shoulder to take in the man standing behind her. The man who woulda looked kinda like Tony Stark- If Stark had just spent a year in Hell. The billionaire was staggering towards them, his wife’s broken form cradled tightly against his chest. “I found her,” he was muttering, “I found Emma…” But nobody was looking at Stark. Their gaze was riveted on the skin of Frost’s arm- Where someone had carefully carved six words into the skin.

One down, it read, three to go- Wolverine.

“Like Ah said,” Marie muttered, “He really does hate ya, shuggs.”

And with that she passed out.

Stark was right where he wanted him.

Daken knew that once he reported to his superiors there would be Hell to pay for this debacle- He’d let the Wolverine and his little bitches escape, let the compound be compromised. But he wouldn’t be in the doghouse for long, not with this new…development in hand. The young feral’s smile grew wider as he heard the girls murmur words of condolence to the billionaire: By the time Tony Stark realised just how many people he’d just sold down the river up there Daken would have the revenge he’d always wanted. Would have shown the world what a pathetic fake the Wolverine actually was. His smile widened as he imagined how much suffering he could still inflict on Logan and that little family of his-

Because this was all about family after all…

He was still smiling when he caught the red-eye from Vegas and headed back to New York.