When Mystique couldn't find Ryan anywhere around the mall, she went back to Creed's. When she found she wasn't there, she told Sinister and he decided the attack was to be moved up. They were going now.
*****
~On the edge of the woods~
"I heard the runt's cub mention the red dragon... that means they got her and I'm going to get her back." Creed said as he headed for the spot where Jonas and Sammi were.
*****
~Jonas and Sammi~
Sammi was looking over the wounds. "Well, there's no claws so you should heal good." She stopped when she heard a twig break and started smelling around, then she caught it... Creed. She telepathically sent to Jonas,"Creed's coming.", and to the others,"The Battle started Early. Creed's in the woods. I think the others are behind him."
*****
~In the house~
Logan heard Sammi's message and started running. /She got Creed once its gonna be real hard to get him again./He thought as he neared the opening where they were. He heard Creed talking to her and her talking back. /Keep him distracted./ He thought as he got up into the trees.
*****
~Sammi and Jonas~
"What did you do to her, frail?" Creed asked as he and Sammi were circling each other.
"Who are you talkin' about, bub?" Sammi said.
"Don't mess with me, girly. You may be his cub, but I got a score to settle with him and I don't mind taking it out on you." Sabertooth said as he jumped.
Sammi fired some High grade fireworks at him. Blinding him but only for a second.
When Logan saw Creed jump at Sammi he came out of his hiding place. "Why don't you mess with me, Creed, and Leave the girl alone."
Logan and Creed started circling each other.
"How sweet. You're protecting your cub and her dragon." Creed taunted.
"Are you into talking or fighting, Creed?" Logan said as he lunged at Creed.
Sammi was over by Jonas and saw Creed's claws, they were made of adamantium.
"Logan His claws!" She yelled but then she saw that she distracted him, and that Creed was about to make a fatal blow.
She ran and pushed Logan out of the way, just in time to recieve the claws coming down into her back and neck. One of his claws pierced her skull into her brain. She was unconscious before she hit the ground and Creed was still attacking her.
Logan and Jonas saw this and both screamed, "SAMMI!!!!"
Jonas quickly drew in a breath and Breathed a flaming breath at Creed, sending him flying off of her.
Logan yelled,"Get her to Hank!! I'll handle him!!!" Jonas picked her up and went running towards the house.
jubilee_79
Ryan woke slowly taking in the new surroundings. "Where am I?" She asked worriedly. The last thing she remembered was fighting with the dragon.
"You're in the med lab." A girl answered her cautiously. Ryan recognized the girl, it was the one she had given the message too earlier. "I got baby sitting duty because I haven't been trained in my powers yet. In fact I just found them not so long ago."
Ryan looked to her side. The girl Cara was resting beside her and on the other side was the girl Victor had attacked.
"Cara gave blood to you and Leilee healed you enough so Beast could operate on you. " The new girl stated gesturing to the girls on either side of Ryan.
"Oh." It was all Ryan could say. No one has ever done anything like that for her before. Then again no one has needed to do it.
She looked to the girl sitting before her. The girl still seemed uneasy around Ryan.
"I don't bite you know" Ryan said trying to lighten the mood.
The girl chuckled "I'm sorry it's just I feel like I don't belong."
Ryan smiled "Who really belongs anywhere? You make your place in the world and then you deal with it."
Le Fae
"I'm really sorry, I don't mean to be rude. I just get a little nervous around people I've never met. For what it's worth, I felt terrible about running off like that. I had a feeling you were struggling with a problem. If you would like to talk about it, I right here. By the way, I'm Athena Ryker."
snowbaby
"It's ok… you weren't rude. I have a lot of friends like that who don't get along with new people or are careful around them. I'm Ryan by the way. I am kind of the oddball in the group. I talk to everyone and I usually like people right off the bat. I think I am too trusting that way... Oh you wanted to know what was on my mind... I'm just worried… I don't want Victor to get hurt in the battle that is coming later. I don't know why but I care for him. I always did have bad taste in men."
Le Fae
In the bed next to Ryan's Leilee suddenly shot up, groaned and clutched at her head. "Ok. Pain. Bad." She turned her head to look at Ryan. "Are you ok?"
"Yes." Ryan said, looking curiously at her.
Leilee was stood up and popped some advil in her mouth. Then all of a sudden, her eyes widened. "OH CRAP! The Battle!!!!!"
Leilee
"Leilee, I sure you aren't in any condition for a battle. There are plenty of others who can handle the situation. Perhaps, you should rest, and concentrate on getting better," Athena said. "Now, Ryan, I don't know what to say about Victor. I'm sure he can take care of himself. And remember, X-Men don't kill, so you needn't fear for his life. It is really an admirable quality to be able to see the good in someone who is so... complex(?) as Victor. I hope he realizes what a true friend you are."
snowbaby
"We are all part good and part evil. No one is born one way or the other. Influence is the deciding factor, it's what shapes our personalities. We all have the capability of being bad. Our individual experiences define whether or not we act on evil impulses. You will probably not find a better case study of this fact than our Wolverine. I imagine Victor is not all that different. None of us are all that different. I don't think you should be worrying about any of this right now. Get some rest, things will look better when you are not so tired and injured. I'll be around when you wake up if you need to talk," Athena soothed.
snowbaby
"The battle has already started. I have to go! I have to protect Victor! You guys hate him he will be killed!" Ryan was trying to get up off the bed and Athena ran over to her.
"No, you're too hurt you won't do any good. They won't kill him don't worry. Stay put!" Athena yelled at her.
Ryan wasn't listening the only thing going through her head was that Victor was in trouble and he needed her.
Le Fae
During this commotion, Leilee had snuck out. She had to find the others. Her head throbbed, but that could be dealt with later. Right now, she just had to get outside. AS she ran down the hall, she saw Remy running towards the Med-room.
"Remy! Come on! The battle!" she shouted in french.
Remy looked at her, surprised and a little confused.
Leilee's mind whirred. "You aren't Remy, are you, Mystique?"
The shapeshifter shifted into a bulky figure. Tall. Blonde. Massive. Sabretooth. "You're dead, frail."
Leilee looked into Sabretooth's eyes and bit her lip. She had to face it. She could do it. She didn't have to be afraid anymore. Suddenly, her back straightened, and her eyes took on a hardened look.
Mystique felt a wetness trickling down her leg. "What the..." she said as she looked down and realized she had wet herself. As she looked down, she started to get very dizzy. Like when you stand on the edge of a cliff and look down. The vertigo increased in intensity, until Mystique fell to her knees. And still Leilee stood there. Not moving.
Finally, Mystique felt a tremor pass through her body. She was no longer Sabretooth, but in her own form. Her body had betrayed her.
Leilee looked at her with no pity in her eyes. "Good night."
Those were the last words Mystique heard before darkness claimed her.
Leilee
"If you don't lie down and rest willingly, I'll have to ask Hank or Cece to give you something to make you lie still!!!" I hate being pushy, thought Athena, but if driven to it I can play tough.
snowbaby
"He could be dead by the time I wake up. I have to get to him. Please let me go!"
Ryan was frantic. She kept picturing Wolverine and Sabertooth in a bloody battle. She didn't want Victor to hurt anyone and she didn't want him to get hurt.
"You're going to be dead if you get out of this bed. Don't worry he will be fine. He has a healing factor." Athena was trying to reassure Ryan that Victor would be ok... but it wasn't working.
*****
~Out on the battlefield.~
"Creed you're a dead man!" Wolverine screamed popping his claws.
The two growled and screamed at each other.
"The frail got in my way!" Creed was frantic he could smell Ryan's blood on the grounds of the mansion and was convinced that she was dead. He would kill the person responsible for her death.
Le Fae
Maria turned invisible as she ran over to the fight. Suddenly, she saw a another group of people. A blue woman with a gun, a big man with angel wings, and several others that she recognized.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE EVIL SCUM!!!" Maria boomed as she turned visible. **That sounds so corny.** she thought as she made her uniform visible and her civilian clothes invisible.
"Who are you?" Mimic asked.
"I'm... Sonique." Maria said then she let out a sonic scream, "AAAAIEEEEEE!!!"
Maria Cline
"HANK!!" Jonas yelled out in the corridor, he had changed back into human form, and was bleeding, most of the wounds covered by his undamaged uniform.
Hank's eyes went wide as Jonas came in to view in the door, Sammi's limp body in his arms. She was hurt... bad, blood from her head and back ran down Jonas arms and chest.
"What happened!" Hanks said Grabbing Sammi as Cecilia was getting ready.
"Creed, he... ehh." Jonas clasped down at his side and rested back against the wall.
"He attacked her..." He tried to stand but slid down to the floor.
Athena ran to his side to see if she could help, but as she came close Jonas slapped her away, she slammed in to a near by wall losing her breath.
"Hank, can you help..." Jonas said weak before blacking out.
Athena gathered her self-up and took a deep breath.
"Victor!! If you hurt him..." Ryan Screamed, jumping of the bed but the pain caused her to blackout the second she stood up and she fell to the ground.
Admiral
Athena dragged Ryan back onto the bed, silently wishing she had superhuman strength. Ryan wasn't heavy, but Athena was very small. That slap from Jonas, was a bit rough on her tiny frame.
/Why did he hit me,/ she thought. /The opposition seems to be treating me better than the team. Oh well, let them have their fun, I'm used to being treated like the red headed step-child. Forgive and forget! Although, the last person to slap her found himself speaking an octave higher for a while. I have learned to control my bad temper much better since then,/ she thought as she shot Jonas her best go to blazes look.
Actually she couldn't help feeling a little sorry for him, she knew what it was like to watch a loved one die. She also thought briefly how he and Ryan were both really fighting for the same thing, the defense of someone important in their lives.
As she carefully reinserted the I.V. Ryan had knocked out, Athena felt badly about being angry with Jonas. He was only worried about Sammi.
/He still shouldn't have taken it out on me, but that doesn't matter. What matters is Sammi, I hope she will be alright. I suppose I'm just a little upset that I keep getting snubbed, except by Ryan. It just makes me so distrustful of everyone. My only friend here is a "bad guy." I suppose what with the history of these other X-types, that means I fit right in. Wow, that's pretty bad./
snowbaby
"Oh, not again!" groaned Cara, as she watched everything around her erupt into total chaos.
Everyone she knew and cared about were getting hurt...Sammi was injured; Ryan was injured; Jonas was injured as well. There was some sort of big battle going on outside; she wanted to go help, but she didn't want to leave her friends either.
"Okay, I'm going to try this splitting thing one more time; If I remember correctly, there was a time that Jamie split and one of his dupes went all the way around the world without him, and Jamie didn't get hurt...if he can do that, so can I!" Cara said.
She got up from the table, and smashed one of her fists into the palm of her other hand; two Caras stood where one had been before. The two Caras looked at each other, and then one of them ran out of the room.
The other Cara sat back down; she felt a little woozy after giving blood. Cara looked up to see the shocked expression on the face of the girl known as Athena.
Cara smiled and held out her hand.
"Hi! I'm Cara; You're Athena, right? It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry that I haven't gotten around to meeting you; things have been a little strange and chaotic lately. Kind of hard to meet the new arrivals when I alway seem to be in another place. Oh well. Hey, when this battle is over, would you like to join me for a triple chocolate peanut butter shake? It's my speciality."
Rainfall
"I'm Athena, does it hurt when you do that? I'm sorry, but it just looks painful. I would feel pretty sorry for the world if there was more than one of me running around. I would love a triple chocolate peanut butter shake, but only if you let me make my double chocolate cheesecake with raspberry sauce. It's my speciality, and my most requested. When not soothing possible villians and being knocked into walls, I'm a wedding coordinator. Catering is part of it." Athena informed her with a smile.
snowbaby
Cara started to laugh when Athena said the part about feeling sorry about the world.
"I know what you mean; I feel the same way...one brat like me in the world is enough; though I can't wait to see the looks on my parents faces when four or more of me show up on the doorstep back home!" Cara said, mischievously grinning.
"Also, I would love some of your double chocolate cheesecake with raspberry sauce! Cheesecake has got to be one of my absolute favorite desserts!" Cara said.
Then she got a thoughtful look on her face, and stroked her chin with one hand. "Catering huh? You know what? There are a few other new arrivals that I haven't had a chance to meet, and I don't think that anyone else has really had a chance to interact with them either. Would it be too much if I asked you to help me plan a little party for the X-Men, Generation-X, and our little group of travelers? I think it would give us all a chance to get to know each other better."
Rainfall
"Party? You just said the magic word. The whole reason I got into the wedding business is because I love to plan parties," Athena confided. "When this is over, we'll have to chat about what kind of party you have in mind, and of course what kind of budget we're looking at."
Athena was all business as she spoke, planning a party certainly put her in her element. She felt in control for the first time since she had arrived, and she loved it. Rainfall, I would love to help, I'll do my best to add input.
snowbaby
Cara grinned at Athena...she had a feeling that they were going to be really good friends.
"I'm sure Xavier will give you a lot of leeway for the party. He's a pretty good guy." said Cara.
/And if he doesn't, I'm sure I can talk him into it...I can be pretty persuasive!/ thought Cara, as her dimples began to show.
====
~outside~
The other Cara got outside just as Maria screamed.
/Man I'm glad that scream wasn't in my direction!/ she thought as Mimic flew threw the air and crashed into a tree.
There were some other villains that she didn't recognize.
/Great! I have no idea who these people are, or what they are capable of. I didn't read enough comic books back home...I'll have to rectify that when I get back./ she thought.
Cara punched her fist into her hand twice; then the four Caras began to all pick up stones, rocks, poker chips, anything they could get their hands on...energizing the little objects and throwing them at the ground in front of the invading forces...
Rainfall
Creed was going crazy; here he was, face-to-face with the runt he'd sworn to kill, and all he could think about was Ryan...Was she dead?
Sabertooth and Wolverine circled each other, then lunged...claws tearing flesh and clothing; fists hitting, bruising, breaking...
Sabertooth's heart wasn't in the fight. He could smell Ryan's blood; knew she was hurt bad. He had to get away from the fight and leave it for another day...he had to find Ryan and make sure she was alright.
"AHHHHHHHRRRGGGG!!!" Sabertooth roared, as he picked up Wolverine and bashed him against the ground, effectively knocking out his opponent. He took off running; somewhere inside his mind, he realized what he had just done...he had let Wolverine live because he was more worried about a girl then he was bent on revenge.
Sabertooth slipped unnoticed into the mansion during all of the chaos...he followed his nose to the medlab. There was Wolverine's cub, and her boyfriend...Beast was fussing over them. Two other girls sat on a table, talking...and on the table next to them...was Ryan!
"AHHHHHHHRRRGGGG!!!" Sabertooth roared, and he leapt into the room. He lunged at the surprised Beast, grabbing him by the throat and picking him up in the air.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!!! YOU'RE GONNA PAY...YOU'RE ALL GONNA PAY IF SHE DIES!" Sabertooth shouted, as he threw Beast HARD against the far wall of the room. Beast hit his head and went down.
Sabertooth turned his attention toward Sammi and Jonas...they were both unconscious, but he didn't care. He was going to make them pay. Both Athena and Cara lunged for him; he batted them away and against the wall as if they were nothing but flies. He strode purposefully over to Sammi and Jonas's bedsides, and unsheathed his claws, holding them over the throats of the two.
"SABERTOOTH, STOP!!!" A shout stopped Victor cold. He turned around to see Ryan sitting up in bed, her eyes wide and her face pale with fear and pain.
"Please don't hurt them...Please! I can't live with myself if they get hurt...they haven't done anything. PLEASE!" she asked, her eyes pleading with him.
Sabertooth pulled in his claws, and ran over to Ryan. He picked her up, unhooked her from the machines and said, "Alright, I won't hurt them. For your sake. But I'm getting you out of here...I don't trust them. I'm taking you somewhere safe."
And he ran out of the medlab, down the hall, and outside before anyone had time to blink. He knew of a place, somewhere safe from the X-Men, and from Sinister's wrath...Sinister had found out about Ryan's betrayal, and had told the others to kill her. Sabertooth wasn't about to let that happen.
Rainfall
Leilee grunted as she lugged Mystique into the Danger Room. She ran up to the control tower and locked her in, over-riding the override parameters and coding the lock so only she could let the villain out. That way, she couldn't morph into an X-men and let herself out.
After setting the lock, she walked to her room and showered and changed into fitted jeans and a tight teeshirt that said, "I Make Boys Cry." From what she had heard, the battle was over, and they would have to report soon to the Professor for debriefing. She only hoped they wouldn't freak out when they heard where Mystique was...
Leilee
==Sabretooth's Safehouse== "You're going to be fine frail…" Sabertooth was seething.
He was angry with the X-Men for hurting Ryan but was also angry with her for getting them in this mess. Why did she go warn them about the attack? Mystique was the first to find out about the betrayal. Ryan took off from the mall and Mystique followed her. Sabertooth didn't believe it when he heard it. Then Sinister ordered her dead if the X-Men didn't already kill her. Sabertooth knew the X-Men didn't kill but when he got to the mansion and smelled her blood everywhere… he began to think the worst.
Now she was lying in his bed at his safe house fighting for her life. The same people she went to save had put her in this position and then she saved them again. Victor was ready to kill everyone in that room when he saw her lying there all lifeless. Then she awoke and begged him not to hurt anyone. They just barely made it to the safe house alive. He had to be careful not to leave a scent the runt could follow plus he had to avoid Sinister.
Ryan's eyelashes began to flutter just a little, a sign that she was waking up. She opened her eyes and looked to Victor … he had an angry expression on his face.
"Good thing you don't scare me because a look like that could cause a girl to faint." Ryan said trying to crack the hard expression he was giving her…it didn't work.
"I just want to know why?"
"I only wanted to hurt the X-Men… In my world they aren't real, and you aren't real. In my world you're all comic book characters. My ex-boyfriend was a big fan of the X-Men, so I wanted to destroy a little bit of his life. It didn't seem wrong because I never saw any of you as real people. Then I met the X-Men's new friends and well I knew they were like me… I don't want to hurt innocent people." Ryan tried to explain but it all sounded lame to her and she knew she wasn't making sense.
"I don't get you frail, but when has a man ever really understood a woman."
Ryan giggled but winced in pain as she did it. "Ok I won't hold it against you if you don't make me laugh for a while."
"Get some rest frail. I'll make you a good breakfast in the morning that will knock you socks off." Victor said smiling.
"Yum… Hey does this mean I can't call you Scooby anymore?"
Le Fae
==X-Mansion== ~In the medlab~
Hank and Cece were working on Sammi. Creed's claw got her in the back of the head and punctured her brain.
"I don't see any damage except for the slight hole which is healing itself as we speak." Hank said watching. There wasn't much he could do because her healing factor was doing the job.
"It's going to take awhile but she should be fine." Cece said. She turned and looked where Jonas was lying. "He's healing well too. I think his dragon healing is carrying over to heal him. They are both very lucky."
"Yes they are. Lucky that Ryan woke up when she did, or Creed would have finished them for sure." Hank said looking up as the door opened to reveal Scott and Logan. He could tell by the look on Logan's face that he was worried. They all were worried.
"They're going to be fine as far as I can tell. Their healing factors are doing their jobs. They should be in perfect health by tomorrow." Hank said to Logan as he was looking between Jonas and Sammi.
"I'm going to tell Jamar. He should know." Logan said as he left.
*****
~Jamar's room~
Logan opened the door. Jamar was still sleeping. /That sedative Hank gave him must be a doosie./ He thought.
Logan walked over to the bed and gently shook Jamar.
"What?" Jamar said as he slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Logan and the worried look on his face, he got scared.
"What happened? Is Sammi alright?" Jamar asked Logan. Logan sat in the chair next to the bed.
"It's bad, but Hank thinks she'll be fine by tomorrow. Creed attacked her. I got her out of the way but she saw something and pushed me out of the way and got Creed's claws in her back and neck. One of the claws punctured her brain, but her healing factor is taking care of it." Logan said looking at the ground. He couldn't stand to see the hurt in Jamar's eyes.
"I want to see her." Jamar said getting up.
"I'll take ya." Logan said as he headed towards the door with Jamar behind him.
jubilee_79
Teb and Angelo were doing their part to clean up after the battle that made a big mess.
"Finally!" said Teb, "Something our extra skin is useful for."
"Si."
"Ya know, it's not fair, most people here have more then one power. like sammi. she is like wolverine and jubilee. And Jonas. He's got the dragon and super powers!" Teb whined "It's not fair!"
"Well Chica, maybe you have a power you just dont know what it is yet, you haven't been here long."
Ange had a point... it took some people awhile before they found all their powers.
"Well, I'll tell ya one thing..." Teb said and Ange looked at her and waited for her to continue. "We both have got a skill of pissing people off."
"Si, chica, we do."
"Well, I feel all gritty. I am going to go take a shower and put on some of your clean clothes."
Ange chuckled. "They're too big for you Chica."
"Oh well."
Teb
Leilee sat barefoot at the dinner table, playing Chinese Solitaire. King. Queen. Four. King. Ace. five. nine. five. King. three. Damn, fourth King. She lost. As she gathered the cards and started to shuffle absent-mindedly, the familiar scent of cologne filled her nostrils. She breathed it in deeply and smiled.
"Hello, Remy."
"Hello, Chere."
"Time for the debriefing?"
"Oui."
She set the cards aside, stood up and smiled, taking his hand. "Let's go."
Leilee
Jonas slowly opened his eyes, and at the same time opened his mind to the pain that came of waking up.
He moved one hand, pain didn't matter, it never did it was only in your mind it could never hurt you...
/Bite it down.../ he thought as the wounds made themselves known.
The top of his uniform was removed he noted... moving his hand up to touch his chest seeing a large scare across it, it looked like it was several days old and almost healed.
He suddenly saw the I.V. in his arm, the motion was quick and he ripped it out... blood trailed down his arm.
The next thing he noted was the sound of a heart monitor, it was Sammi's Heart.
Jonas tried to sit up, the pain ran through his body like lightning and for a second it looked like he was about to fall back, but he bit it down... forcing himself up.
His body felt stiff, tired, and as he sat down his feet on the cold floor the whole world started to spin.
He fell down to the floor grabbing the side of the bed, forgetting his strength he tipped it over with a loud bang, he was furious, Sammi was hurt, it must be his fault... he promised he would protect her.
He would die for her...
"NOOOO!!!" he screamed out and kicked the bed with full strength, the bed was thrown in to one of the walls and almost went right through it.
But this bed was not near enough to take his mind of the frustration build up inside him, the rage turned red and his field of view turned to nothing more then that of a tunnel.
He stood up on uncertain legs, his own heart the only sound in his ears, he had to get out of here before he lost it completely... he could not risk hurting her more.
He didn't know how far he had stumbling in corridors... but there was someone talking to him in his head, someone was yelling at him, tugging his arms... he would have nothing of it, he didn't care...
"LET ME GO!" he yelled out ands shrugged who ever was trying to hold him off his arms, there was a pain in his head... someone was in his head, trying to either calm him down or shut him down...
Nothing mattered, his rage was so complete, only one thing mattered right then and there... Creed.. He was Dead... he just was not buried yet, he would rip him from limb to limb...
Again someone got in his head this time the pain was unbearable even for him, but he didn't fall... instead he slammed in front of him with all of his might hoping that it would stop... he hit a wall.
He blacked out...
======
"Jonas... JONAS!! Do you hear me..."
Jonas focused his eyes and looked in to the Green eyes of Rogue, he blinked, she was holding his wrist.
"Rogue?" Jonas said dizzy... realizing that Rogue was not the only one holding him, he was on his knees, in the Forest.
"Thanks... he has calmed down now." Jean said as she dropped the telekinetic field around him, she could feel him calm down.
"You sure?" Bobby said stepping away.
Jonas could see Rogue, Jean, Bobby, Hank, Cara, Maria and Leilee standing around him, or trying to hold him down.
He felt really dizzy, what was he doing in the Forest... why was all these people around him, some was looking rather angry... most notably Leilee, why?
"What...?" Jonas asked... and looked puzzled.
"YOU DARE TO ASK!?!." Leilee yelled and crossed her arms.
Admiral
