Two weeks later, Scott and Kitty got the location of Stryker’s new base pinpointed to a remote area of the Coronado National Forest in southern Arizona. Then the Professor did a thorough scan of that area with Cerebro and what they found out was more than alarming. The X-Men sat around the conference table in the War Room and listened worriedly to Scott’s status report.
“They have mutant guards at the facility, some of the worst we’ve seen in fact, though no one from the Brotherhood. Magneto and his group appear to be nearby so it’s likely that they are the team that Sabretooth is working with planning an attack on the facility,” Scott told them. “They also have human guards, scientists and doctors, how many we don’t know. Our first plan of action is do some reconnaissance, learning shift change schedules and try and get a list of the leaders and the more dangerous mutants they have on staff. For that mission will be myself, Shadowcat and Jean.”
“You need to make contact with Sabretooth and find out what the Brotherhood knows. If they’ve been there a while then Magneto will have all that information already,” Logan pointed out.
“Logan, he won’t approach them if you’re not there,” Marie told him frowning. He nodded silently and sent her a look that told her he had already made his mind up to go. Sighing she took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly letting him know it was okay.
“Well then, I suppose Logan’s going too,” Scott said warily. He was still a bit apprehensive about taking the Wolverine on missions without Rogue after the ‘trying to dismantle the jet’ incident. “This is just recon anyway. We’ll be gone a day or two at most. For the attack mission we’ll need the whole team, except for Rogue of course who will remain here with the Professor in the control room.”
“What about what happened last time?” Bobby asked worriedly glancing at Logan. “He nearly killed Jubilee and then the rest of us on the jet because Wolverine got loose and Rogue wasn’t around.”
“Going back on missions so soon after Rogue was kidnapped was a mistake,” Logan admitted. “But I’ve had time to deal with it now and I’ll be fine. If something does happen then stay back and don’t approach me. I’ll come out of it on my own. You can’t force it. But I don’t think it will. If Victor’s there then you won’t have to worry about it either. He’ll get me back in line.”
“Victor Creed, as in Sabretooth?” Bobby asked sarcastically.
“He’s my brother,” Logan stated in a cold, warning tone that made Bobby flinch. “He’ll straighten me out and get me back to Rogue if I lose control.”
“He’s with the Brotherhood, Logan,” Scott pointed out calmly. “You think he’ll help us just because he’s your long lost brother?”
“Family comes first for Victor,” Logan nodded. “He offered to take care of this on his own because that bastard Stryker is targeting me and my family, because he kidnapped my pregnant wife. So yeah, I know he’ll help us.”
“That doesn’t guarantee Magneto and the others will,” Storm said frowning.
Charles nodded slowly then said, “I will speak to Erik about the matter. I’m sure we can reach an understanding. The one I’m concerned with in his group is Mystique. She’s become very unstable and unpredictable over the years. The only one who can control her is Erik.”
“Maybe this time around he can get her to keep her thieving blue hands off my man too,” Marie muttered under her breath. Logan heard her and gave her a reassuring squeeze of her hand then smiled when she looked at him.
“I got all I want right here, darlin,” Logan whispered leaning over and kissing her gently. “Besides I told you nothing happened in the tent that night. I threw her out.”
“She still wants you,” she said. “And I don’t trust her or Erik. You go with the team on this mission and you stay close to Victor. At least I can count on him to bring you home safe to me if it goes bad.”
“I’ll be fine, baby. Besides, have I ever broken a promise to you?” he asked. She shook her head and smiled grudgingly. He returned it and brought her hand to his lips to kiss it. “See, everything will be fine.”
-
When they arrived at the location that Charles told them was where the Brotherhood was staying Logan immediately sniffed out his brother watching them from a boulder nearby. The entrance to the Brotherhood’s desert stronghold was in the side of a mountain that led into a valley. Victor jumped down in front of Logan and smirked evilly at the disconcerted looks from the other X-Men.
“How’s Stripes and the cub, Jimmy?” he asked. “I told you not to come.”
“This is just recon,” Logan told him with a smirk of his own. “Besides, Marie said to tell you to make sure I get back home safe and sound or she’s holding you accountable.”
“Well, that goes without saying,” Victor acknowledged then tilted his head toward the others. “Why’d you bring them with you?”
“They were gonna come without me actually. We need information, Vic. What does Buckethead know so far?” Logan asked.
“Now, now Wolverine, there’s no need for name-calling,” Erik said striding over to them with Mystique and Pyro behind him. “Your manners certainly haven’t improved since our last meeting. Hasn’t that lovely little Southern belle you married tamed you at all? I understand congratulations are in order as well. I have a hard time imagining you as a father, though.”
“You keep your mouth shut about my family!” Logan snarled starting toward the old man but Victor held him back. “You don’t even think about my family!”
“Erik,” Victor said in a censuring tone that had Magneto nodding absently.
“Yes, I remember. We’re all being civil now. I harbor no hostile intentions toward young Rogue or her unborn child,” Erik said. “In fact, we’re all here to avenge her kidnapping, aren’t we? Now, I already spoke with Charles before you arrived and have agreed to a truce for this mission against the new Stryker. Hopefully it will go better than Alkali Lake did. Lovely to see you again, Jean. What a miracle it was that you survived that flood.”
“Yes I was lucky,” Jean acknowledged with a curt nod.
“Could we get to business?” Scott interrupted sounding annoyed. “We’re here to do recon then return to begin coordinating our plan of attack.”
“I would recommend we do that here, and I suggested so to Charles. Nonetheless, please come in and we’ll share what we have then you can return soon with the rest of the team,” Erik told him calmly. Then he gave Logan an arrogant grin. “Of course, we can’t keep Wolverine from his wife for too long. I’m told that’s positively dangerous.”
Logan sent him a look that should have killed him on the spot then followed Victor and the others into the valley stronghold. He fucking hated Magneto. He’d almost lost Marie because of that bastard and he’d never forget it. If he ever found a way to kill the fucker before he turned him into an adamantium pretzel then he would, no hesitation and no regrets.
Victor sensed his brother’s rage and hung back a little to talk to him. “You’ve gotta calm down, Jimmy. This is gonna get rough enough with you losing your cool because of him. Breathe deep and concentrate on getting back to your mate and the cub. If you’re this wound up doing recon then I’m not convinced you need to be on the actual mission. We’ve got some bad-asses waiting on us in there. You remember Omega Red?”
“No,” Logan shook his head.
“We went up against him in the 60’s in Russia. It was the Cold War,” Victor told him. “He’s got a healing factor, tentacles, absorbs life forces and a lot of other shit that’s hard to beat. He nearly took us both out back then. He and Vulcan are the leaders of the mutants they have guarding the facility. Vulcan is Gabriel Summers, the One-Eyed Boy Wonder’s brother, and he’s gonna be hard to beat too. He can absorb and manipulate energy, heals some, and can fly and put up force fields along some other stuff even I didn’t understand but it didn’t sound good. They’ve got about fifty other mutants following their orders. It’s gonna take everybody working together on this and I don’t need you fucking up and getting yourself killed or captured because you’ve got a grudge with Magneto and Mystique.”
“Fine,” Logan nodded gruffly in agreement. “I’ll keep my cool. I just can’t stand the bastard.”
“Yeah well, no one can really except for Blue and maybe Xavier,” Victor told him with a dark chuckle. “But one case of revenge at a time, Jimmy. We need him right now.”
Again Logan nodded and they reached the others in a tent that held a long table covered in maps, blueprints and other document files. Scott and Kitty were going through it all with Erik and Mystique while Jean stood nearby glaring warily at Pyro, Emma Frost, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch.
“Well, the Wolverine,” Emma purred grinning at Logan. “I heard we were going to be graced with your presence but I didn’t dare believe it.”
Logan frowned in confusion and leaned over to whisper to Victor, “Did I sleep with her?”
“Nope but she damn sure tried,” Victor assured him. Logan gave Emma a stern look then.
“Sorry, blondie but I’m off the market,” he told her.
“Oh yes, I heard that too,” Emma nodded. “You married Rogue. Interesting choice, I thought, marrying the one mutant on earth that could probably kill you.”
“I wouldn’t provoke him, Emma dear,” Erik called from the table. “He’s sensitive about his family.”
“Why don’t you go take Havok or Avalanche for a ride, Frosty?” Victor asked her with a derisive sneer on his lips. “Hell, do ‘em both but leave my brother alone. He never wanted you back in the day and sure as hell doesn’t now that he’s with his mate.”
“Jealous, Victor?” Emma said dragging her hand seductively down his chest where he caught it in a brutal grip before she reached his torso.
“You know, Frosty, you’re kinda like the village bicycle. Everyone’s had a turn,” Victor said with an evil grin that had her feeling slightly panicked, “Well, everyone but me and Jimmy anyway. I never could stomach the smell of other men on my woman and neither could he. How many did you fuck last night; three or four? I hope they used protection.”
“You’re still a bastard, Creed,” Emma snatched her hand from his and stormed out then.
Victor chuckled and called after her, “And you’re still a bitch, sweetheart.”
“Wow, you really know how to charm the ladies,” Pyro said rolling his eyes at his comrade.
“Don’t worry, kiddo, she’ll get around to you too as soon as your balls drop,” Victor told him ruffling his hair making the young mutant glare at him. “Just make sure you wear a rubber. That chick’s got more STDs than James Bond nowadays.”
Pyro ignored him and turned to Logan. “So you and Rogue are having a kid, huh? Is she doing okay?”
“She’s great,” Logan admitted carefully regarding the young man. He hadn’t disliked the little Firestarter before exactly, not as much as he loathed Ice Dick anyway, but he was still wary of the kid. Hell, he was wary of anyone asking after his wife and son, though. “Her and the baby are both healthy and everything.”
“That’s good,” Pyro smiled genuinely at the older man. “I knew it’d be the two of you together. I told Bobby he was deluding himself if he thought he could compete with you. How’s he doing?”
“You’ll see for yourself soon I reckon,” Logan said with a shrug. “He’s dating Kit-Kat over there last I heard. You know, if you wanted to come back the Professor’d let you.”
“Nah, I like it here. There were too many rules there, too many restrictions on my powers. I couldn’t be me,” Pyro shook his head. “I regret not saying goodbye though. Rogue was like a sister to me. And Jubes was – how is she?”
“Yellow’s with Gambit now,” Logan told him. He missed the way Pyro’s face fell at the news and continued, “He was interested in Rogue but I set him straight real quick about that. Then Jubilee came in and dug her hooks in him. They’re bunking together now in our old apartment in the attic. Rogue and I moved out of the mansion.”
“Oh,” Pyro nodded slowly. “This Gambit guy’s new huh?”
“He’s a friend of mine, not as old as me but older than you and the others,” Logan nodded. “He’s from New Orleans. His ‘gift’ is blowing stuff up. You’ll get along fine.”
“I bet,” Pyro responded flatly and Logan turned to look at him. Recognition crossed the older man’s features and he gave the kid an apologetic pat on the back.
“You win some and lose some, kid,” he told him. “There’re plenty of fish in the sea.”
“Yeah I know,” Pyro nodded. “She was the first though, you know?”
“That just means she’ll stay with you. Memories are priceless, kid. I should know,” Logan said and Pyro had to admit he was right. Giving the Wolverine a curt nod he walked away and out of the tent to be alone a while.
Logan looked over at Victor who had been listening to their conversation.
“You always that quick to share information, Jimmy?” Victor asked raising a brow. “I thought I taught you
better than that.”
“He’s harmless, for the most part anyway, and it’s nothing Marie wouldn’t have told him,” Logan shrugged and took a cigar out of his pocket and lit it. “I’m not allowed these near Marie anymore. They make her sick since she got pregnant. Oh and I got this for you, from the last ultrasound. Meet your nephew, Uncle Vic.”
Victor took the black and white photo of his nephew’s ultrasound and gazed at it with a rare feeling of awe. Not much surprised him after being alive so many years but his brother’s baby boy sure came close. “He’s got your chin,” he stated after a moment, “And her eyes.”
“I know,” Logan grinned glancing at the photo. “And he’s healthy as a horse. The doc says he’ll be at least eight pounds when he’s born.”
“And you’re calling him Jamie, huh?” Victor asked and Logan nodded. After a moment longer he carefully tucked the photo into his pocket and regarded his brother. “I think you should stay home with her, Jimmy. It’s not safe leaving her unprotected. You said they’re bringing the whole team back. That just leaves that Professor and a bunch of kids to look after Rogue and the cub. It’s a golden opportunity to take her again and this isn’t the only facility they have to take her to, Jimmy. You need to stay with her. I told you I’d handle Stryker.”
Logan hadn’t thought of that. Victor had a point. He frowned darkly and grumbled angrily before tossing his cigar away. “Goddamn it, I wanted to gut that fucker myself. I want his blood, Victor. I want to see the life leave his eyes and I want him to know who’s sending him to hell and why.”
“I can guarantee that, Jimmy, but you’re gonna have to let go of your pride and accept help from someone else this time,” Victor told him. “I know you, maybe even better than your mate does, and I know you’d never forgive yourself if anything happened to her while you’re here getting revenge. Just think hard about it before you decide. It’s not gonna be something you can take back later.”
Logan nodded and scowled down at his feet, deep in thought, as Victor walked away. He didn’t know what to do now. Victor was right. If he left her unprotected at the school, even as powerful as Charles is, and something happened to her and their baby he would never forgive himself. But could he really just set back and let others take care of his vengeance? And what if they didn’t manage to get Stryker? He knew Victor was capable of doing what he said but he also knew that he wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it in someone else’s hands. It was a damned if he did and damned if he didn’t situation. He really needed to talk to Marie about it – again – before he made up his mind.
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