Five months, ten days, twelve hours, fifteen minutes, and four, now five seconds. More than twenty lifetimes worth in a place like this where the average life expectancy was less than that of a housefly. He’d smelled each and every body they rolled down the long corridor that ran adjacent to his cell and could remember when most of them had first arrived. One week seemed average, maybe two or three if you proved to be something interesting to play with. Then all that was left was the corridor, the last mile for those who had finally outlasted their use. Sometimes, in his darker moments, he wished it’d finally be his turn to make that long trek, nothing left of himself but the smell of decay, death and sweet oblivion. Unfortunately for him that was never going to happen, or, if by some miracle it did, it wouldn’t happen nearly soon enough. Not for him or the mutants he shared his cell with. The Grim Reaper had given up on taking their souls long ago.

“Cross the fucking line again little girl and I won’t be responsible for what happens to you!”

There was a whimper and then the room flooded with the scent of an all consuming, sweet terror that both sickened and enticed him. He sighed, rubbing the spot between his eyes. They had brought her in a week ago. A young slip of a girl with large, brown eyes too big for her face, a body with curves that even half starvation couldn’t completely erode away, and an array of scents that were driving his hyperactive senses crazy. What they were thinking throwing her in with a bunch of half crazed ferals was beyond him.

She hadn’t spoken a single word, he had the feeling maybe she didn’t remember how, so he had no idea what her mutation was, though he could make a few guesses. The scars covering her body and the dead look in her eyes told him she had been at the lab for a good long while. Invulnerability or a healing factor were mandatory in this wing of the fun house, as well as a healthy dose of pure animal instinct.

“Put her down Victor.”

“Who’s going to make me? You McCoy?”

“If I must.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Logan looked over from the cot he had been laying down on at the two mutants now growling at each other. Sabertooth had the girl grabbed tightly by the arms and was dangling her in the air. Beast crouched in front of them, obviously calculating exactly how best to relieve Sabertooth of his new toy. This was going no place good fast and it looked like Logan was going to have to step in to play peacemaker, again. How the hell he ever got stuck with THAT role he’d never know. That was typically Hank’s forte, but the time they’d spent here at the lab since their capture had changed him and more and more he found himself dealing with the Beast and not the man.

Logan understood it completely, even welcomed it. The Beast could survive things Hank never would have been able to. Plus, it made life easier knowing he wasn’t having to watch his teammate’s back all the time. Beast had always been stronger and more capable when he let the feral side take over, but then the girl came and shredded apart the tiny bit of stability they had managed to create in this crazy place. Hank, the X-men, had come back out to play and decided to take it upon himself to be her personal protector and it was causing all sorts of issues that he’d rather not have to deal with right now.

It had been fine at first, when it was just him and Hank, but then came Sabertooth, a week later Wild Child, and it had taken weeks of practically tearing each other limb from limb just to deal with the territorial issues of having to share the same small space together. How nice the guards had been to deactivate their collars for a moment to let the wounds heal, after collecting the winnings from their bets of course.

The blood splatters still marred the concrete floor like a dark red rug and now there was something new and pretty to fight over. As it was, it had taken him three days just to reel in the Wolverine from trying to take the girl for himself. He still sometimes felt like he was hanging by a thread, especially times like now when she was throwing off those smells that made him want to either kill or fuck. Shit.

“What do you think little girl? Think the blue furball could take me down? Think he could really stop me if I decided I wanted to make you MINE?”

Logan felt his breath catch in his chest at the word and the entire atmosphere of the room shifted. Mine. It sent a shudder through him as he felt the Wolverine suddenly very interested in the entire situation. The Wolverine, who only seemed to have two trains of thought on the subject, what was his, and what wasn’t but would be VERY shortly. Almost hysterical laughter floated to his ears and he threw a glare at Wild Child who was watching the interaction with extreme amusement, pacing his own personal space in the back corner of the cell, obviously just as effected as he was by the use of the word.

It had clearly effected the girl as well. Her whole body had gone rigged and the brown eyes dilated to pure black, a feminine growl of warning, that brought the Wolverine to full attention, coming from deep within her chest; drawing all eyes of the room straight to her. The sudden silence after was suffocating.

That was it. He stomped over to the edge of his own part of the cell, muscles bunched and claws slowly sliding out, blood dripping onto the floor. He’d taken down Sabertooth a few times already to get a point across about this or that and he was damn well ready to do it again, in fact he hoped he’d get the chance. The moment had passed and the girl had gone back to that sweet terror smell and it wasn’t helping his state of mind any.

“He might not, but I sure as hell can. Put her the fuck down before someone gets hurt,” he crouched slightly, waiting, wishing for the slightest indication Sabertooth wasn’t going to listen to him.

Sabertooth’s eyes were still focused on the girl and it took a moment before he even realized the Wolverine’s presence. Then he saw the nostrils flare and the big black eyes turned to glare at him. He could see Creed weighing the pros and cons of the situation over in his mind and after what seemed like forever, the hands slowly loosened their grip.

“Aw, Ma. We were only playing,” he said, dropping the girl harshly onto the concrete floor. Logan watched as she scampered back over into the corner she shared with Hank, rubbing at the dark bruises that had already started to appear on her arms. The blue doctor gave a short snort to Sabertooth before walking over to kneel before her, trying to the check out her injuries. His actions were met with a swift kick to the groin and the girl running over to the far edge of the invisible line that separated Logan’s own corner of the cell from Hanks and bringing with it the strong scent of her anger and humiliation.

He was getting too old for this shit. He growled and stomped back to his small cot, giving one last glare to Wild Child who had thankfully stopped his incessant laughter and had resumed sitting and staring around the room. Tossing himself back down on the flimsy bed, he closed his eyes and tried to cage in the animal that was now rattling around pretty good, begging to be let out.

He had found there was a stillness that could be obtained by focusing on small noises, like the soft thump of a heartbeat or the gentle hum of electricity. If he focused long enough, he could feel the clenched muscles slowly relax, the need to destroy ebb away, and for a single moment he could make himself remember. Remember what it was like to not be Wolverine, the monster, remember how it was to simply be, Logan, the man. It was the smallest comfort, but one he grasped to as tightly as he could, the one thing that allowed him a feeling of control.

This place had stripped him of everything once before and he’d be damned if he let them do it again.

Chapter End Notes:
*Since I know comic verse isn't as wildy known as movie verse, I'll try to leave little notes regarding characters or situations that I pull from there to help expand the story a bit.

Kyle Gibney aka Wild Child has a long history of lab experimentation and was trained by Wolverine himself. He is extremely feral and is known to go on killing rampages. He ended up in the Weapon X program and was teamed up with Sabertooth for a time.

Wild Child's powers include superhuman reflexes, senses, sharp claws and teeth, as well as the ability to regenerate from wounds at the cellular level.
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