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Chapter 22

Acts of Vengeance (part 2)

*********************************************************

He'd hit the ground unconscious, stunned from the massive strength of Storm’s lightning bolt. As he regained consciousness only moments later, he realized she must have put everything she had into it and knew he was lucky to be alive. If she hadn’t been near exhaustion there would be nothing left of him but ashes. He placed a hand on his chest, wincing at the pain of the burned flesh.

Sabretooth sat up and quickly got to his knees. As he checked the extent of his injuries Victor glanced around to be sure that neither Wolverine nor Storm was bearing down on him. When he heard and saw no evidence of further confrontation, he smiled. It came across as an evil snarl and he let a low, satisfied growl escape him. He got to his feet and loped away, cradling his injured forearm against his chest.

His healing factor had already stopped the bleeding from the three puncture wounds Wolverine had given him, but the pain caused by those razor sharp claws was excruciating. Keeping low and out of sight he made his escape through the woods with silent movements, which was quite a feat given his size and weight.

Creed knew it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the X-Men came looking for their missing comrades and he didn’t feel like taking them all on right now. The thought of it didn’t scare him - few things did - it just wasn’t in his plans at this time. He'd caused plenty of damage to Wolverine - more than he'd hoped to accomplish - and he was satisfied to call it a day.

‘I’ll be back, Wolverine, you can count on that,’ he vowed silently. 'This ain’t over by a long shot. You owe me, runt... and you will pay.’

* * *

Many years ago Victor Creed and the man known only as Logan had been teammates. Calling them friends would’ve been pushing it, but they did watch out for one another for the good of their team and to ensure the success of their missions. That’s not to say that tensions between the two didn’t often get in the way and cause problems that would interfere with the team’s harmony. The difference in their sizes notwithstanding the two men were too closely alike in temperment and skill to allow the other members of the team a moments rest.

Both men were savage, cunning warriors. Both were highly trained soldiers with exceptional skills as covert operatives. Both were fierce and merciless killers - ferocious in battle. They were members of the same team and they hated each other. Both men were genetically endowed with the gift of accelerated cell rejuvenation, which of course means they heal rapidly compared to an average human with the same injury. They both possess a primitive bestial side with animal-like instincts and heightened senses of sight, smell and hearing, but that's where their similarities end.

Creed’s healing factor, although nearly instantaneous, was still slower than Logan’s. Sabretooth’s animal instincts were not as naturally honed to the sharpness of Wolverine’s and his heightened senses fared at a lesser degree than Logan’s, for Wolverine’s sensitivity also included taste and touch.

Logan’s intelligence and common-sense had always overshadowed Creed’s as well and Victor’s initial amusement at having a teammate who possessed talents comparable to his own quickly disappeared. He became more and more envious of Logan’s special gifts and the attention garnered to Wolverine by their government and military superiors. His envy soon turned to jealousy, then blinding hatred.

* * *

Their covert team - Codename: Team X - consisted of five members. David North, Codename: Maverick, a German freedom fighter whose mutant abilities enabled him to absorb kinetic energy. Silverfox - no codename - a beautiful Blackfoot woman and the only member of the team who was not a mutant. She had been Logan’s lover for over a year before Sabretooth tried his own hand at courting her and when she rejected him Sabretooth raped and murdered her at the mountain cabin she shared with Logan between missions.

Then there was John Wraith, Codename: Kestrel; a teleporter and company ‘yes man’ all the way. The team never really trusted him, he'd kept too many secrets from them. Wraith did have a sense of loyalty, it just wasn't to the team. His loyalty lay only in the government that gave him his orders. Even when those orders told him to abandon the team - leaving them without extraction from a hot zone - he did so without question.

Well, the team no longer existed, they were disbanded years ago after the "Project: Weapon X" fiasco. Wolverine had escaped his government-issued tormentors and Creed followed soon after going his own way. Wraith was still a company man, Silverfox was dead and Maverick… well, he’s been in hiding, keeping a low profile while battling the deadly Legacy Virus.

* * *

Sabretooth curled his lip at the thought of his old teammates. Wolverine had gained the squaw’s love and Maverick’s friendship; he attracted the attention of women, the friendship of men, respect from his allies and raised fear in his enemies. Victor Creed seethed with jealousy and hate.

‘One will fall by the other’s hand,’ Creed repeated silently for the nine hundredth time. ‘It is our destiny, Wolverine. You can’t escape from that!’ He continued his way through the woods, following the road as darkness fell.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*


Charles made sure that everything was set in the infirmary to receive his injured X-Men. There wasn’t much to do though, in their line of work injuries were common so the medical facilities were always stocked, prepped and ready to roll on a moment’s notice. Jean had already informed him that Logan’s tissues had already begun to seal around the impaled object. That was great for stopping any further blood loss, but it also meant that in order to remove the object they would have to pull his skin, muscles and underlying tissues away from it. Essentially, they would have to re-open the wound and that meant surgery.

Jubilee, home for the weekend from Xavier’s school in Massachusetts, helped him to place instruments on trays. The anesthetizing equipment was rolled into place at the head of the operating table and all the monitors were checked to ensure they were working properly. Charles took a deep breath and let it out as he gave the room one last glance.

"Everything’s in place."

"Yep," Jubilee answered shakily and Charles frowned his concern.

"Jubilee, are you all right?" he asked the young girl.

"Fine, Professor," she answered with a sniffle. Charles knew that Jubilee had always felt a certain special responsibility for Wolverine. She'd first met him when she found him tortured and left for dead; crucified on a large wooden "X" in the middle of the Australian desert. She'd risked her own life to free him and helped him to a hiding place in the basement of an abandoned building. With his healing factor spent, Jubilee tended to his wounds and other basic needs. She fed him and kept him as clean as possible and she kept him hidden from his enemies in case they decided to return to finish the job. When they did she protected him and when Logan was finally well enough to move they escaped together and Logan brought her to Xavier’s.

Her behavior normally leaned toward being obnoxious whenever the subject of Logan’s past came up, especially in regards to female companions. Everyone at the mansion knew she had a crush on Wolverine. Logan probably knew it too, although he preferred to think of himself as a mentor - even a father figure - to the fifteen year old girl.

"Jubilee, he’ll be fine," Charles tried to reassure her and she nodded with exaggeration.

"Oh I know, Professor. Wolvie’s tough, as tough as they come. He’s a survivor."

"That he is," Charles agreed somberly.

"I don’t like to see him hurt. You know?" she told him, her voice nearly a whisper.

"I know."

"He’s been hurt enough," she turned to him with eyes glistening with tears. "You know?"

"I know," Charles repeated. He was just as concerned as she was, perhaps more so. These people were his X-Men - his students - his children; the only children he would ever know. He brought them together to teach them and guide them and to keep them safe from a world that hated and feared them.

Xavier's intention had been to search out these mutant humans as soon as their powers became active, usually during adolescence. He brought them to the institute to teach them how to use and control their mutant powers. Here, they were protected from a normal society which often persecuted them - tormenting them and exploiting them.

Many of them had been - or would be - brutalized by their families, friends and communtities. Some would even be killed outright, simply because of the circumstances of their birth. Luckily, most of the students here at Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning had been found and brought here early enough to spare them most of what society had to offer.

Logan had not been one of the lucky ones. He'd appeared to be in his late twenties, perhaps even his early thirties by the time Charles became aware of Wolverine's existence. Because of the outstanding nature of Logan’s mutant abilities he'd lived a brutal existence in the hands of the government.

A Top Secret military program - co-founded by the United States and Canadian governments - used psychological abuse and physical torture to turn mutants into super soldiers. Logan had been their pet project. Wolverine's entire existence had been nothing but pain, torture and violence and Charles had always felt a certain level of responsibility toward Logan... and even a little guilty for not having found him sooner.

Logan had grown to adulthood living a brutal and solitary life. He was most definitely a loner and perhaps the most volatile, aggressive and independent person Charles had ever met. At first, he'd offered Charles no insight into his past and they learned later it was because he couldn’t remember a lot of what had happened to him. The Project had stripped most of his memories from him and implanted false ones - so Logan never knew, even to this day, which memories were real and which were false. He spent most of his time alone, constantly separating himself from the others and never letting anyone get close enough to hurt him again.

Looking around the room, his thoughts drifted back to two weeks after Logan had come to the school. Charles had scheduled Logan to begin his physical exam with Dr. Jean Grey, but he'd seemed apprehensive about it so Charles had arranged for Ororo to assist Dr. Grey. She seemed to want to be there anyway and Charles sensed that Storm had felt a certain kinship with this loner. He'd wondered if Logan had felt it too. He could still remember their report of the events that took place that day and as he waited for the team's return he let his thoughts drift away.


*~*~* Then *~*~*

As the examination began Jean had instructed Logan to take off his shirt and shoes and he did so with mild reluctance. She then invited him to have a seat on the examination table and he did so quietly.

His attitude was calm and cooperative – or perhaps just tolerant – but cautious. He did everything she asked him to do, no questions asked; like a good soldier would. But, Ororo had mentioned later that she could feel his suspicion and extreme alertness to the whole situation. He laid there passively as the examination table slid into a large cylindrical x-ray machine. His body was scanned and x-rayed from head to toe and from every possible angle and he never flinched.

At Dr. Grey’s request, Logan gave samples of blood, urine and saliva. She checked his cholesterol and sugar levels. She listened to his heart and lungs; examined his eyes, ears, nose and throat and checked his temperature, blood pressure and pulse. She tested his reflexes, balance and motor coordination and he scored extremely high on all of his tests - a perfect specimen - and he seemed disinterested and even a bit perturbed when she informed him of that fact.

He gave her no problems and showed no disagreeable attitude at all, until it came time to attach the monitor leads to his head and chest. Jean reached for the tags that hung around his neck, absently informing him that she needed to remove them and that’s when things took a drastic turn.

Logan flinched, knocking her hand away and clasped his hand tightly around the tags. He glared at Jean holding his head low, his entire body tense. His breathing became heavy and rapid, his eyes darted around the room and back and forth between the two women.

Ororo had been preparing one of the monitors a few feet away. Her back to them, she was unaware of what was happening as it unfolded. Logan'd become angry and distrustful and he seemed to be feeling trapped. His eyes darted about as if looking for an escape route, his posture indicated that he was intent on protecting those tags and the low growl that rumbled up from his chest was enough to make Jean’s blood run cold. With her eyes wide with fear, her heart pounding, she slowly backed away from him.

Ororo heard the rumble and turned around, curious about the sound. She noticed Logan’s posture and Jean’s reaction to it. Ororo straightened her back suddenly on alert, realizing his wild side was showing itself. He was losing control.

‘What could’ve caused this?’ Ororo wondered, stunned. She had no clue, but she had to try to diffuse the situation.

"Jean?" Ororo started cautiously. Dr. Grey stopped her slow egress and glanced at ‘Ro with fear in her eyes. Storm raised her hands in front of her, palms out. "Take it easy," she advised Jean. Jean nodded. "Just… relax."

Jean nodded again, but she couldn’t relax. She was terrified and Logan could smell her fear, he could hear her heart pounding. Storm took a few cautious steps toward him and Logan glanced at her from under his eyebrows, his eyes looked wild and full of rage. Ororo spoke softly to him with great care and with as much calm as she could muster.

"Logan? What’s wrong?" she asked, but he didn’t answer. He just shifted his gaze, letting it settle on the space between the two women in order to keep them both in his peripheral field of vision. Logan had changed, they could see that. He was no longer lucid, his civility - his humanity - was slipping away. Ororo looked to Jean. "What happened?" she asked the frightened doctor. Jean shrugged slowly, her body rigid with fear.

"I just wanted to remove his tags…" Jean started to explain. Ororo nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"They’re MINE!" Logan growled loudly, clearly emphasizing ownership. His voice was so low and gravelly she almost couldn’t distinguish the words. He was gripping the tags so tightly that his knuckles had turned white and seemed to pulsate under the pressure.

"We know they are yours," ‘Ro assured him with a gentle tone.

No reply.

Could he understand her? she wondered.

"You can keep them on," she tried to reassure him, maintaining a soothing and understanding tone. Ororo hoped her words would connect with Logan’s more rational side. She didn’t believe he wanted to hurt anyone, if he did he would've already. ‘He’s defensive, not aggressive.’ Storm realized as she watched him. The adrenaline surging through his body was making his blood pressure rise, which was evident by his bloodshot eyes. He was trying to dissipate the burst of energy racing through his system by rocking back and forth and his entire body trembled under the force of it. His eyes moved quickly from side to side, his mind seemingly racing. Was he comprehending what she was saying? Or was he contemplating his next move? "Logan?"

No change.

"Logan? The tags don’t need to be removed," Ororo told him. He continued to rock as he sat on the bed; his head low and his eyes darting from side to side. ‘He’s listening,’ Ororo thought to herself. "We are not going to take them away from you," she told him straight out. His rocking stopped abruptly and he turned his head slightly toward her.

"No?" he growled suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at her. Ororo’s expression softened and she relaxed a little. He responded to her words and she offered him a soft smile.

"No," she affirmed. His gaze slowly dropped and he stared at the floor as Ororo continued to talk to him. "Dr. Grey just wanted you to be comfortable, that’s all."

"Comfortable now," he mumbled.

"Okay. You can keep them on, Logan," Ororo watched him as he continued to stare at the floor. He didn’t offer anything more and she took a moment to realize just how much they'd put him through today; he looked tired and stressed. "I think we’ve done enough for today. We’re finished here."

Jean nodded in agreement and Logan took a deep breath and let it out. A moment later he visibly relaxed, straightening his posture and Ro and Jean watched him in silence. The rage glaring in his eyes only moments before had diminished significantly, he was regaining control.

Logan glanced around the room as if confused and a bit off balance. They would learn later, that his confusion stemmed from other memories of another laboratory setting and the importance of those tags they would also learn. They were the only things which he possessed that Logan knew, for sure, belonged to him - including the name etched on them, ‘Wolverine’. He earned them. With his own blood and a life he couldn’t remember. They'd taken everything from him. The tags were the only tangible things he had left to hold onto.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A loud buzzer suddenly went off pulling Charles' thoughts back to the present. The alarm signaled that the estate's main entry gate had been opened.

"They’re back!" Jubilee shouted. She ran out of med-lab leaving Charles there to await the arrival of his injured X-Men alone.

The van pulled up to the front of the mansion with the jeep close behind. As the van came to a sudden stop Bobby swung the jeep around it and came to a halt haphazardly in front of the van. Bobby threw it into park as the X-Men started pouring out of both vehicles. Jubilee sprang from the front entrance, her feet never hitting the steps and sprinted toward the van.

"Wolvie? Where is he? Is he all right? Wolvie?"

"Take it easy, Jubilee, he’s fine," Jean told her, trying to settle the young girl’s hysteria. Jubilee though was bouncing around trying to see past the adults. She caught a glimpse of Logan, bloody and barely conscious, sprawled in Hank's arms on the back seat of the van.

"He doesn’t look fine. Is he even alive?" she yelled at anyone who would listen.

"Yes, he’s alive," Jean answered impatiently, as she hurried to reach back inside to give Hank a hand in getting their downed teammate from the vehicle. Cyclops, Gambit and Iceman got in on the extrication as well. Kurt and Storm went to Jubilee’s side with Rogue close behind and Jubilee saw that Wolverine wasn’t their only casualty.

"Oh, Storm! Are you all right?"

"Can you help me get her to the infirmary?" Kurt asked. He could’ve teleported her there, but she wasn’t in serious condition and it gave Jubilee something to do.

"Of course," she said taking Storm’s arm. "Kurt, can’t you teleport Logan to the infirmary?" she asked as they walked to the front entrance.

"I could, but he’s too weak. The jump would take too much out of him," he explained.

Hank handed Logan’s limp body over to Cyclops, Gambit and Iceman. He was feverish and drenched in sweat and the tags, which Ororo had returned to him only days before, were sticking to the damp skin around Logan's throat and chest. He'd become delirious during the short trip back, mumbling incoherently about a fox named M’iko.

As the group moved quickly toward the mansion’s entrance Jean assessed his condition again, running alongside to keep up with the men. The makeshift tourniquet Logan had used to stop the flow of blood kept coming loose as he became combative during transport. Jean kept trying to tighten it back up, but now with the jostling of the 'three-man carry' it became loose again and now a free-flow of blood poured from the grotesque wound.

Hank stepped down from the van’s side entrance as they whisked Logan away. He looked despondent as he surveyed his cobalt blue pelt now matted and covered in Logan’s blood. Angel, who'd stayed behind at the scene briefly to have a last look around, landed beside him and the two men looked at each other with concerned expressions. Warren looked at McCoy's blood soaked pelt, his expression appeared grief-stricken and angry. Hank was about to ask him if he was alright when Angel turned and walked quickly inside.

Warren's reaction to the incident had McCoy confused. His whole behavior, since returning from his leave of absence, was odd. One moment Angel acted as he always had - wanting Wolverine off the team and as far away from him as possible - the next moment his reactions were almost defensive, if not protective, of Logan. He would see if Warren would talk to him about it later, he decided as he watched his friend disappear inside.

The three X-Men moved quickly, and as safely as they could, down the corridor to the elevator that would take them to the sub-level housing the high-tech medical facilities. Jean kept pace with them as she continually checked Logan's condition. Kurt held the elevator door open and waited in the corridor with Storm and Jubilee, who finally got her first real glimpse of Wolverine’s condition as they brought him closer under the lights.

Cyclops and Gambit were on either side of him hefting his shoulders and Iceman had his legs. Logan’s arms and feet bounced limply as they ran with him to the elevator and Jean tried to support his head as it rolled back and forth. His eyes were closed and his face was a ghostly pallor. The jeans he wore were saturated and dripping blood, leaving a spotty trail on the shiny tiled floor.

They crammed into the elevator leaving Kurt and his two charges behind. When they were safely inside Kurt let the door close behind them. Cyclops noticed with relief that Nightcrawler had the foresight to have pushed the button for the sub-level before their arrival. He really didn’t want to think about having to let go of Logan’s weight to do it himself. Jean cradled Logan’s head in her left arm and used the fingers of her right hand to pull his eyelids apart. His eyes were rolled all the way back in his head.

"He’s out. Completely," she reported. Placing two fingers on Logan's neck she tried to palpate a pulse. Jean looked up at Cyclops, her sober expression not giving comfort to the situation. The elevator filled with the odor of drying blood and Logan’s own musky scent, which was even stronger now that he was soaking wet.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Outside, Rogue had stayed behind with Hank. He was shaken and a little unnerved, having been the one to cradle Logan in his arms as he watched his condition deteriorate. Rogue listened as Hank told her how he had to hold Logan down to keep him calm one minute, then having to hold onto him the next to keep him from falling off the seat. He had to keep alternating his response as shock threatened to take Logan, his body going limp, then a moment later he'd become combative and delirious and trying to get out of the van to go after Sabretooth only to fall back again with exhaustion.

She could tell it really tore Hank apart, having to wrap his arms around his friend to restrain him as he struggled weakly to free himself. Rogue put her gloved hand on Hank’s shoulder then she hugged him.

"C’mon, let’s go in. They’re gonna need us," she told him as they separated from their embrace. He agreed and they quickly went inside.

* * *

When the elevator doors opened Kurt was waiting for them with a stretcher. He'd teleported ahead with Storm and Jubilee, figuring assistance would be helpful on their arrival. He was right. When the doors opened, Kurt was shocked by the amount of blood that had already pooled on the floor of the elevator and his eyes locked on Logan as they exited the elevator with him.

They dropped Logan’s inert body as carefully as they could onto the stretcher and ran down the corridor to the infirmary. With the dark blue jeans he was wearing it was difficult to tell just how much blood the material was soaking up, but now Kurt watched in horror as the crisp white sheet on the stretcher turned bright red beneath Logan’s legs. In the few seconds it took to race to the infirmary the sheet became saturated with it.

"Jubilee, bring the oxygen!" Jean shouted to her as she began to snap out orders. "Bobby, start an I.V. normal saline. We’ve got to stabilize him before we can operate. Kurt, give me a set of vitals."

Then she grabbed a pair of trauma shears and began cutting his jeans away from the wound. She inspected it closely for a moment, then moved quickly to remove his blood soaked work boots and socks. She felt for a pulse on the inner side of his right ankle and detected none.

"It must’ve pierced the femoral artery," Jean reported, then she began to haphazardly cut the rest of Logan’s clothes off to prepare him for surgery, but she needed to inspect him for any other life threatening injuries first. Starting at the ankles she cut straight up both legs.

Jubilee brought the oxygen over and now stood caressing Logan’s hair and whispering softly to him. His skin was so cold and ghostly pale and his chest barely moved when he breathed.

"Jubilee, go over there," Jean instructed the young girl, gesturing toward the other side of the room with a nod as she cut through Logan’s jeans making her way up and through the waistband.

"What? No!" Jubilee answered. She didn’t want to leave him, but Jean didn’t have time to fool around. With the young girl’s emotions all churned up, Dr. Grey didn’t feel that this was the most appropriate time to give her a visual introduction to the male form, especially this particular male. It’s definitely not what Logan would want. Charles came over to guide her away.

"Go! Now!" Jean shot her a stern look. "Gambit, get that oxygen on him."

Hurt and angry, Jubilee backed away. She went over to sit on one of the beds and Storm came over to sit with her. She put her arms around Jubilee as the girl began to cry.

With everyone helping, the others managed to strip Logan’s clothes off. He was covered with deep cuts from head to toe, accumulated during his plunge through the thick branches of the trees. His abdomen, arms and chest had deep lacerations which had started to heal before his regenerative power had exhausted itself. Bobby pointed out the gouge marks on Logan’s neck. They appeared to be puncture wounds and his throat and shoulders were badly bruised.

"Mein Gott…" Kurt whispered.

"Why haven’t any of these healed?" Scott asked. "I mean, they seem pretty minor for what his healing factor can handle."

Jean ignored his observation for the moment as she continued to work. Once all of his clothing was pulled clear she covered Logan’s naked form with a sheet - to protect her patient’s privacy and a young girl’s prying eyes. As she did that, Nightcrawler finished taking his vital signs and informed her of the results.

"Blood pressure, eighty over fifty-six. Pulse, forty-eight and thready."

"Shit," Jean muttered, then she remembered Scott’s question. "These would’ve healed within minutes if it weren’t for this," she said, indicating the object protruding from Wolverine's thigh. "His femoral artery’s been stabbed through. Being the largest artery in the human body and with this type of injury, anyone else would’ve bled out in about three minutes." She moved to help Bobby with the I.V., as she continued to explain. "His healing factor identified this as the most serious threat and concentrated all its power here to seal the wound. As quickly as it worked though he still lost a lot of blood and, with his regenerative capabilities now exhausted, it leaves him susceptible to infection and the effects from other injuries just like anyone else."

Rogue and Hank entered the room and heard the end of Jean's explanation and Dr. McCoy came over immediately to assist her. Under the bright lights of the medlab the others also noticed the amount of blood now soaked into Hank's fur. Everywhere they looked, it seemed that Logan's blood was covering everyone and everything.

"He needs a couple of pints to stabilize his blood pressure," Hank informed them as he began to work. "Bob, bring me two pints matching Logan’s type. Check the files by the fridge."

Iceman gave a quick nod and trotted over to the infirmary’s refrigeration unit. He returned with the pint sized bags. Hank already had a large piece of rubber tubing tied around Logan’s left arm just below his biceps. He still had to rub his hand really hard against the inside of Logan’s elbow trying to get a vein to show itself. He saw one and placed his thumb there to mark the spot, then he turned away to pick up a large needle from the tray nearby.

Dr. McCoy moved with practiced speed and precision to insert the needle and attach the tubing from the pint bag. He then taped some of the slack to Logan’s arm so it wouldn’t pull the needle out if tugged accidentally. He took the bag from Bobby and began to squeeze it slowly but firmly, literally forcing the life saving liquid into Logan’s body.

With the first bag now empty Hank repeated the steps with the second bag, but he needed confirmation that it was working. Logan had lost a lot of blood and was in progressive shock; his skin was pale, cold and clammy, he'd been agitated and combative and his life signs were dropping significantly. If their corrective measures didn’t work he was going to die.

"Get some blankets! We have to keep him as warm as possible, his core temperature keeps dropping. Kurt, I need vitals," Hank requested.

Bobby grabbed some blankets that were folded and stacked on a chair. He and Rogue draped them over Logan’s body being careful not to disturb his injured leg. Nightcrawler lifted an eyebrow as he took Logan’s blood pressure.

"B.P… ninety over seventy-two. Pulse, one hundred... still weak and thready."

"He’s reacting to the transfusion. His body’s trying to compensate," Jean observed aloud.

"He’s not out of the woods yet. Vitals are picking up, but I want him stabilized not just reacting," Hank told her. "A couple more units should do it."

"He lost a lot more than I thought," Jean remarked, "nearly half his blood supply."

"God bless that healing factor," Hank mumbled, mostly to himself.

"I’ll get the units," Bobby offered and disappeared for a moment.

Gambit had placed the oxygen mask on Logan’s face and now stood quietly at his head watching the others work. Their cooperation with one another seemed so natural, their actions and interactions were seamless and fluid. He watched in silent awe, these five individuals working as one - one person the extention of the others - together they were a single entity, one unit… a team. He was proud to be among them and with that thought he looked at Warren standing nearby. He looked dazed and confused as he watched what was going on.

"We’ve still got a couple of hours of delicate surgery to perform," Hank mentioned to Jean as he kneaded the pint-sized bags. "It’s going to be a little tricky. We’ve got to open that wound back up, remove the branch and still keep him from bleeding to death while we do it."

"We’re gonna need extra hands in there," Jean told him.

"Scott, you up to it?" Hank asked.

"Yeah, count on it."

Warren stepped forward and opened his mouth to offer his help, but as he raised his hand to get their attention Iceman gave him a rude nudge and stepped in front of him. "Me, too," Bobby volunteered.

"Great. Thanks, Bobby," Jean acknowledged.

Iceman snapped a look at Angel who just blinked at him as if he didn't understand what was happening. He got Bobby's message though, if he didn’t want to be part of the team it was fine by him. As far as Iceman was concerned an X-Man doesn’t pick and choose, according to the circumstances, when he wants to help a teammate and as Warren had made it clear to all of them that Logan was not worth his time, the last place Bobby wanted to see Angel right now was at Logan’s side.

Hank finished squeezing a third unit of blood into Logan then set up a fourth. He hung it on a hook above the stretcher and suggested they get scrubbed up. Professor Xavier, who'd been watching everything with grave concern, instructed the remaining X-Men to bring Wolverine into the operating room.

They carefully transferred him to the operating table under Hank’s instruction, and it was the first time Ororo noticed just how cold that large steel table really was. She touched Logan's pale, lifeless face and just looked at him until Kurt finally came over. He took her gently by the elbow and led her away. Once he'd gotten Ororo out of the room, Kurt turned back to Charles who was still sitting by Logan’s side.

"Professor?"

"I’ll stay with him until the others return," Xavier replied without turning around. Nightcrawler nodded and stepped out of the room. As the door was closing beside him Kurt glanced once more into the room. He saw the professor lay his hand on top of Logan’s and Charles bowed his head, covering his face with his other hand. Kurt stopped the door from closing and watched Charles for only a moment, then he stepped away and let the door close behind him.

Kurt wondered later if the professor had cried.

~ ~ ~ ~

TBC in "Acts of Vengeance" part 3






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