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** ** indicates telepathic communication.
‘ ’ indicates thought
“ ” indicates spoken words
< > indicates translations.
“He’s mine,” snarled Logan, his hands closing into fists.

*SNIKT*

“Elf” Logan turned to his new friend and fan. “Get me out there”
Kurt looked at Logan and then at Xavier. “Professor?”

Xavier mentally instructed him *not* to teleport Wolverine outdoors. Not until he got some answers.
“ELF” Wolverine was getting impatient at Kurt’s reluctance. Flicking his hand in frustration, he turned to Ororo, whose face had gone pale, her eyes stuck on the screen.

“’Ro” he touched her lightly, sensing the fear rolling off her.
“Logan…” Ororo flinched at his touch. She knew the face and the beast it belonged to.
“Darlin’….I need ta get out there” he growled, pointing at the monitor.
“Yes” she answered, shaking herself out of her stupor. “Let’s go”

“Wait Storm” Xavier stopped her. “We don’t know this mutant. Let’s not rush into anything. We don’t know his intentions.”
“I do” Logan snapped at Xavier, his hand tightening around Ororo’s.
“You do?” exclaimed Jean. “Who is he?”

“Sabretooth” Logan spat out. “And if I don’t get out there, your people are just going to get their asses kicked.”
“Wolverine” Xavier smoothly said. “I am sure that Cyclops, Rogue and Gambit can handle it.”
“No they can’t” Wolverine quipped back, not knowing about Rogue’s invulnerability. “They can keep hitting him, he’ll just come back.”
“How do you know him?” Xavier tried again, hoping for some information about how to stop the attacking mutant, maybe even talk to him.
“Can we do this later” Storm spoke up. “Wolverine is correct. We need to stop Sabretooth immediately.”

At Xavier's slight hesitance, she turned to Nightcrawler. “Kurt…get him out NOW.”
Within seconds, both Wolverine and Nightcrawler found themselves outside the mansion.
“Stay back elf,” commanded Wolverine rushing towards his oldest enemy.

Cyclops was feeling the strain of continuous use of his optic blasts, their intensity decreasing with each successive blast. He only hoped that Rogue could subdue the relentless mutant, without having to use her skin.
Suddenly a figure rushed past him, and hurled itself on the blond mutant, a ‘now’ familiar roar emanating from its throat, his six metal claws glinting in the morning sun.
“Wolverine…don’t” Cyclops yelled out behind him.

-----

“X-Men….Stand down” Xavier commanded over the commlinks. “Let Wolverine handle this.”
“Professor….” Cyclops began – frustration clear in his voice. Frustration from not being able to handle a single mutant and that too on their home ground, and from the Professor using Wolverine to handle the situation. Wolverine….who killed first and grunted later.
“Stand down Cyclops” Xavier’s voice brooked no argument.
Frowning, Cyclops stepped back to maintain a respectable distance from the fight scene, his two colleagues joining him at his side.

“Merde…” Gambit whispered at the scene before them. If any doubt, about what had happened at the military lab and who had caused it….was gone. Wolverine was truly acting like his namesake.

-------

Running past the surprised X-Men, Wolverine leapt into the air, knocking the larger mutant off his feet as he landed on him, sinking his left hand into Sabretooth’s chest while swiping the right one across his face, completely slicing its left side.
“Aaaarrrgghh…” Sabretooth’s bloodcurdling cry filled the morning air, causing the x-men to cover their stinging ears.

“LOGAN” Sabretooth yelled out, air wheezing out of his slashed cheek, which even as he spoke was healing with a speed rivaling Wolverine’s own healing factor.
“Oh Mah God” gasped Rogue at the sight. “He’s got a healing factor too. No wonder he kept on rising up.”

Inside the mansion, the Charles Xavier and Jean Grey looked on at the gory sight. They had realized that the attacking mutant was a feral too and seemed to know Wolverine well. Besides them was Kitty Pryde, who was at the edge of her seat, a silent prayer on her lips. She did not want Wolverine to get hurt. Although she was still afraid of him, she liked how he made the resident goddess and her surrogate mother feel. She looked up to Ororo and was delighted to see her happy. Moreover, it wasn’t like Wolverine had done anything to harm her or any of the other x-men. In fact, apart from the *stripping* incident in his room he had been very *courteous* with her.
Storm, Iceman and Colossus were rushing outside. They had left as soon as Xavier ordered Cyclops to stand down and instructed them to join their teammates….in case matters got out of hand and Wolverine failed in stopping ‘Sabretooth’.

----

“Creed” Wolverine spat the name out, his own chest slashed open to reveal the metal skeleton underneath. “So yer masters sent ya ta get me.”

Both mutants were circling each other, completely oblivious to the small crowd observing them. Their blood soaked clothes were in tatters, rapidly heating wounds spread out all over their bodies.
“Not ‘masters’ runt” Creed snarled, “More like business partners. They’re yer masters….and I’ve come ta take ya back to them. They miss their pet.”
“In yer dreams” Wolverine retorted. Lowering his stance, he rushed towards the seven-foot mutant, head butting him in the chest and sinking all six claws into his gut. In response, Sabretooth plunged his own claws into Wolverine’s sides. Dragging them, he tore them open, causing Wolverine to slump in pain.

“We can keep this on for as long as you want,” Sabretooth jeered. “In the end I am going ta win. I am larger than ya….I am faster than ya…..I am BETTER than ya” he punctuated each remark with a double swipe across the staggering Wolverine.
On the last swipe, Wolverine barely managed to move in time to avoid having his neck sliced open.

------

“They are going to kill each other” Cyclops sounded sick at the bloody battle going on before them. Deciding to end it, he raised his hand to his visor, but stopped at a commanding voice above him.
“NO” Storm hovered above her teammates. “No one will interfere,” she thundered, before lowering herself on the ground, next to her teammates.
“Storm” Cyclops argued. “LOOK at them….Look at the blood. We have to stop them before one of them dies.”
Storm shook her head, her face steeled. “We wait for the professor’s orders.”

“Stormy” Gambit reasoned. “At least we can try to help th’ Wolverine.”
“No brother.”
“How can ya say that” Rogue interrupted. She was confused at Storm’s indifferent attitude. This was Wolverine….her Logan. “Aren’t ya worried about yer *boyfriend*. Just look at that blondie.”
Both Gambit and Scott scowled at the ‘boyfriend’ remark, while Storm just gave a small smile.

“That *blondie* is called Sabertooth” she informed her teammates. “Him and Logan – they have got issues – Old issues. Even older than us.”
“What d’ y’ mean” Gambit sounded confused. “Older than us?”
“Later” Storm replied, ending any further talk. Rising into the air, she made her way towards Wolverine.

------

Wolverine was feeling fatigued. He wouldn’t last much longer.

He had had two major fights in the last thirty-six hours and hadn’t slept for double that time. Apart from that, his healing factor had been seriously overworked from the injuries he suffered during his escape from the lab and from being electrocuted in the x-men’s holding cell.

He had to end it now.

He took a moment to make his decision, he took a couple of steps back and then lunged forward, his claws aimed at Sabretooth’s abdomen. Twisting at the last moment, he turned sideways and plunged his left hand into his femoral artery while the right one entered the chest, puncturing one lung.
“Aaarrgghh…” Sabretooth cried out at the sudden pain and increased blood loss. Grabbing Wolverine’s hands he tried to pull his claws out and push him away, but the stocky mutant, pushed in deeper causing him to topple over.

Wolverine stayed in that position for the next few minutes as Sabretooth slashed at him, ripping his upper arms and shoulders. Gradually the blood loss took effect and finally he lost consciousness. ‘That should take care of him’ thought Wolverine. He knew that Sabretooth wouldn’t die. The wounds weren’t fatal, but were serious enough to keep him out for at least the next twenty four hours.
He could easily have killed the larger feral anytime he wanted. He had had several opportunities in the past. Somehow, something always stopped him from doing that. It was like a mental block…a memory. One which told him that Sabretooth could help him with the one thing that eluded him….*His Past*.

Even after years of torture at his hands in the Weapon X project, Wolverine still couldn’t bring himself to slice the bastard’s head off, so he did the next best thing. He castrated him. Yanking his left hand out, he plunged it into his groin…several times…effectively slicing his genitals into minute bits of flesh. It wasn’t permanent…..it never was. However, it was serious enough to take him at least a week to grow a new one.

------

“Oooohh…” winced Bobby, his hands reaching for his own family jewels. “That’s gotta to hurt” he joked, gaining a wimpy growl from Cyclops. At one time Bobby would have been scared by it, but now….now he had heard the real thing and instead of being frightened by it, he snickered at it.

“You KILLED him” accused Scott, stomping up to a kneeling Wolverine.
Getting off Sabretooth, he crawling away from the bloodied mess into Ororo’s arms. She was kneeling beside him, caressing his hair, taking care to avoid any of his wounds.
“He’s ain’t dead.” Wolverine growled. “He’ll live.” With that, he fell down, unconscious.

“Kurt” Ororo called to her teammate. “Get him to the infirmary and then teleport Sabretooth to the holding cells.”

------

Few hours later,

“How is he?”

Kitty Pryde looked up at the voice. In the doorway stood *sat* Xavier, with Scott and Jean standing behind him.
“Better” she answered, rising from the chair, she stretched herself and walked to the Professor’s side.

On the bed lay Wolverine, still unconscious from the wounds. His healing factor had kicked in *full force* knocking him out to preserve energy. On Xavier's orders, he was brought to his room, instead of been kept in the infirmary. All the medical equipment needed was *teleported* as well.

“How long have they been here?” questioned Scott, referring to the two other occupants of the room – Kurt and Ororo. Kurt was seated on a chair, next to the bed, a rosary in his hand and a prayer on his lips. While Ororo was lying on her stomach the bed…sleeping, a hand draped over wolverine’s chest, as if monitoring his heartbeat.

“Ever since he was brought here,” Kitty answered frankly. “We have been taking turns watching over him.”

-----

Ororo mumbled in her sleep. Someone was talking. Someone…..focusing her thoughts, she tried to recognize the intrusive voices…Kitty, The Professor and Scott.
“Keep it down” she grumbled from the bed, nuzzling closer to Wolverine.

The three ‘guests’ immediately went silent. Xavier didn’t show any reaction at the intimacy shared between her and Wolverine. He had sensed the love and more importantly, the understanding and trust Wolverine felt towards Storm. He knew that if he wanted to Wolverine to stay with the x-men and be a member of the team, Ororo was going to play a pivotal role in it. On a personal level, he was happy that finally Ororo had found someone to love and care for, even if her choice was a bit ‘unconventional’.

Jean had a mischievous smirk on her face. She was beginning to enjoy the *new* Storm. She was unable to probe Wolverine’s mind and wasn’t even going to try it. His threat still rang out aloud in her mind. However, she did not need telepathy to see the bond between her teammate and the Wild man.

What troubled Jean was the emotions Gambit and Cyclops had been giving out. Gambit she understood. His feelings were towards Storm. He wanted what was best for her and he felt that Wolverine wan’t it. The brother in him wasn’t impressed by the *feral*. Well, Wolverine didn’t *impress* anyone. He didn’t even try….he scared the living daylights out of them.
It was Cyclops whose feelings troubled her. Even now, she could sense anger, disgust and hate emanate from her boyfriend. There was something else, something she had never sensed earlier….and that something unnerved her…..Jealousy…and….fear. Scott was afraid and jealous of Wolverine. That was something, which shocked her. In all her time with the x-men, she had never known that type of a fear from Scott, even when they were facing off with the ‘Brotherhood’ or the ‘Friends of Humanity’ or any other enemy for that matter. Neither had she ever found him to be jealous of anyone else. And that troubled her more than his fear.

She would have to have a talk with him. However, for now she let things be as hey were and set about checking the various monitors attached to Wolverine.

-----

**How is he doing?** Xavier telepathically asked her.
**His vitals are stable…below normal but stable. We don’t know what is *normal* for him.** informed Jean. **Its almost as if he’s gone into a ‘suspended animation’ of sorts.**

**Hmm…..Interesting** mused Xavier.

**He should be coming out of it any moment** noted Jean. She had checked Wolverine for any external injuries and made her conclusion based on his previous recoveries.

As if sensing their thoughts, Wolverine’s vital statistics spiked at that very moment. Within seconds his heart rate, blood pressure and pulse doubled from their previous levels and his muscles started to twitch. He was waking up.

Ororo’s eyes snapped open. The strong heartbeat under her hand told her everything she wanted to know. The next moment she was on her elbow, her face hovering over Logan’s – exposing him to her scent. He would need this when he came out of this current state.

“Ororo…What are you doing?” questioned Scott. He had seen Wolverine come out of his first ‘induced sleep’ and heard about the second one. “You need to get away right…..” He was silenced by a raised hand from Xavier.
**Scott….She knows what she is doing. Wait and observe**

As they looked on, Wolverine started twitching; his hands clenched indicating his claws were ready to come out. Just as Ororo came to his side, his nostrils flared at her familiar scent. He immediately relaxed, his fists opening up.
“’Ro” he groaned.
“I am here” Ororo whispered in his ear, loud enough for him to hear. Raising her free hand to his cheek, she smoothed his muttonchops. Wolverine seemed to smile, purring at her caresses.

“Sleep” she murmured. Drawing closer, she planted a light kiss on her cheek.
“Hmmm….” Turning sideways, he moved his arms around her drawing her closer to nuzzle into her neck. Within moments, he was snoring lightly.

“Leave” Ororo mouthed to her teammates.

As soon as everyone left, she slid her hand around him, hugging him closer and went to sleep herself.

-----

Gambit’s room

“What’s your problem swamp rat?” Rogue was fed up with Remy’s insistent complaining. Ever since they got back from the Sabretooth-Wolverine fight, he had been pacing the room. He had barely said a single word and whenever he said anything, it usually consisted of the choicest French abuses.
“Notin cherie” grumbled Gambit.
“Bull” Rogue snorted. “Ya don’t lahke th’ Wolverine and….ya don’t lahke thaht he and Ororo love each otha.”
“Love” Gambit spat out. “My Stormy …don’t love ‘im” he jeered. “He is not right fo’ her.”

“Shut yer trap,” Rogue scolded him. “Ya are sounding just lahke Cyke…..Not raht for her…my ass.”
“Gambit is not Cyclops”
“Well ya sound just lahke him” Rogue repeated. “When Ah started t’ date ya, Scott said the same thing about ya, that ya’re saying about Wolverine. So what….Ah should stop seeing ya too.”
“Cherie” Gambit tried to reason with her, drawing her closer.
“Don’t cherie me” she pushed him away. “Give him a chance. More importantly….give yer sister a chance. Just as we were given” with that she walked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Gambit huffed in frustration. First ‘Roro and now Rogue. He had to do something before things got out of hand. He cursed Wolverine and the moment they found him and brought him back to the mansion.

-----

Jean and Scott’s room

The setting was same as in their teammates’ room, except….here it was Jean who was doing the pacing while Scott sulked in a chair, staring at the wall.

Jean had just finished having her *talk* with Scott. She had confronted him with her findings about his feelings towards Wolverine. He had tried to turn it back on her, accusing her of spying on him, of not respecting his privacy. She shot back….reminding him of the psi-link they shared, allowing either of them to *talk* to each other and facilitated the sharing of emotions.

“Jean” Scott tried to placate his girlfriend. “Please…sit down.”
“No Scott….not until you tell me. Why do you hate Wolverine?”
“I do not HATE him” Scott spat out. “I just…I just don’t like him….”
Jean shook her head, “You don’t like Gambit….but Wolverine…you hate him. HATE Scott…that’s something I haven’t ever sensed from you. Why? Why do you hate him?” she demanded.

“You won’t understand” Scott tried but was cut off by a raised hand.
“Try me”

Instead of answering, Scott crossed his arms and looked away from her.

“Don’t want to answer…fine. Then let me tell you what I think the reason is. You saw what he did at the lab and to Sabretooth. You see him as a ‘loose cannon’ not used to taking orders…and that angers you…frightens you. You hate him for that. You hate him because you fear him. You are afraid….”
“I AM NOT AFRAID OF HIM,” Scott thundered.
“YOU ARE” Jean was equally loud. “And don’t you raise your voice at me. Not here. Here…right now…you are not my team leader. Here…you are my boyfriend.”
“And you cannot hide your feelings from me” she reminded him.

“I understand it all,” she continued at his silence. “Except for one thing” Scott looked up at her.
“What I don’t understand is…Why are you jealous of him?” Jean demanded. “And don’t give me the ‘I am not jealous’ answer, I know you are.”
“Why is that?” she demanded. “Is it because of Ororo and the way she is with him? Do you want it to be you instead of him.” She joked, but the next moment her eyes widened as his mental shields shot up and his posture changed to a defensive one.
“That’s it…isn’t it” she accused, hurt seeping into her voice. “You want Ororo to be with you...”
“N…” he tried to answer.

“You want her for yourself”
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