Healing

(Any speach in italics is telepathic speech...)


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Chapter 7

(Victor's POV)

He sat, gazing quietly out at the play ground. Children ran screaming and giggling, freely. Two normal children and one mutant. He'd noticed from her reflexes – too fast for a normal child. She'd caught one of the boys when he fell, he hadn't been that close. She was fast. She was also only about 8 years old. Some were young, too young, when they came into their powers. Victor wondered vaguely if she'd develop any other powers as she reached adolescence.

Still, he had been young when he developed his powers, only 10 years old. He had noticed after he'd fallen and badly swollen his ankle, while running home from Jimmy's house. He'd been frightened his father would punish him for leaving, he had not been allowed out that evening for fighting with some other children earlier on.

Jimmy... the boy was a good 4 years younger than him. Not that it mattered now. 4 years at their age was nothing. He had always wanted a bigger family when he was a child. He'd spend full days at Jimmy's, playing family. (Though, if anyone tried to make him admit it they'd get pummelled... it wasn't a manly game) however, learning the child was actually his brother did not bring any elation. His father had just been killed, in a moment of true grief, by Jimmy. The boy's father had just been murdered, for defending his wife. Victor knew that blood was important, but it wasn't everything.

He'd deny lineage to the drunken monster so long as Jimmy was by his side. He had no wish to face the world alone.

And now he was alone. He'd lost sight of who he was. It took losing his memory and regaining it to realise he was more like the drunken man who had called himself 'father' than he was willing to accept.

Jimmy, or Logan as he liked to be called now, had no memory of who he was, yet he still held onto who he was strongly. He still had a stroppy little temper at times, reminding Victor of the child he'd once been, but over all Jimmy had grown up. He had found love once; in Kayla, and again in his Pup (whose name currently evaded him).

At least, he was hoping this would turn out to be love. He had his fingers crossed. Maybe if he learnt to truly recognise it he would be able to find someone worthy of his own heart. He was making an effort to clean himself up, to rediscover himself. His humanity. The part of himself that kept Jimmy by his side for so many years.

Unfortunately, this meant having some control over his anger. Not an easy task. It was encouraging when his brother said he'd learnt moderation, a few days ago. His brother didn't lie; if he didn't want to tell the truth he wouldn't say anything. Admittedly, that had lead to long (Months long, in some cases) periods of time where they hadn't spoken to each other, just travelled together.

He understood now what he'd been too blind to accept 15 years ago. He would have had no chance of surviving in implantation of adamantium into his system, because he did not have the motivation or the drive to do so. He may have been content with his life in most ways, but that didn't mean he had a direction to travel in, unlike his brother.

He had been content as Stryker's pet, collecting mutants, with the belief he'd get his wish after a certain amount of time. Foolish. Stryker was the worst kind of monster; he hid behind a facade of respectability and authority.

Victor watched the children play. Only once had Stryker sent him after a child so young. A little girl. He'd gotten her, but had informed the man he wouldn't do it again. The Colonel had given him a look which clearly translated as 'you'll do what I tell you to do' but hadn't said anything. He was usually sent after adults, his regenerative abilities serving him well against those who could fight back. His brother's Pup was one of the younger ones he'd been sent after. Scott. That was his name.

The frightened pleas of the boy echoed in his ears as he sipped from his water bottle; Ghosted by the pleas and sobs of so many others. He was a monster. Overtaken by his greed, and his desire to be the best.

Victor turned and walked into the forest, his head hung low as he acknowledged his need to regain and prove his humanity.


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A little way in, he noticed a young woman; she sat against a tree with her eyes shut.

"Hey, lady? You ok?"

The brown eyes opened and focused on him. Her red hair shimmied in the sun that streamed in though the leaves as she slowly pulled herself up.

"Where's Scott?"

Scott? How should he know? He only knew one Scott (Well, he was aware of one, knew was probably the wrong word) and the likelihood of it being her Scott was very small.

She took a small step towards him, wavering weakly as she went.

"You ok?"

"I've travelled a long way..."

He figured he could help her to a train station or whatever, so long as she started using her actual voice. People would think he was crazy if she kept replying telepathically like this.

He opened his car door, and let her inside, before sitting in the driver's seat and setting off. New York... that was where she wanted to be. He was headed that way anyway, to go see Jimmy, so there was no need to drop her off at a train station.

She was very distracting though. It was as though he powers were too much for her to control at times. A few times, his car had felt way too light, and he'd had to slow down in fear of losing control. Not a usual problem for him, but he didn't think she'd heal up quite as quickly.

He also kept catching her thoughts, mainly focused around her Scott. She was clearly off to find him. However, at one point he caught an image that really did look like Jimmy's Scott. He stared at her for a long moment and he felt a chill go along his spine. She was looking for Jimmy's Pup. With every intention of possessing him. He occasionally felt her love floating around, but the possessiveness twisted his stomach.

He realised he knew her. She was one of Xavier's precious students. He couldn't work out what she was doing all the way out here though. They were a good 2 hours from Westchester. He asked.

"She... made us... me run. I ran. Well..."

"Just, say it how it is. I won't complain."

"She saw him, and made us run. I would have claimed him as my own. He belongs to us. He asked for the commitment himself."

"He who? And she who?"

"He... Scott Summers. The man we are to marry. She... Me, Jean Grey. My weaker side. He doesn't understand we can keep him safe. He has too many strings tied to him. I am going to cut them off one by one."

That did not sound like a goody-goody kid. She sounded out right creepy, and dangerous. Scott Summers, it was Jimmy's Pup she was after.

"Not Jimmy's... he is mine. He asked me to marry him, and I will."

Oh... Shit... she could hear his thoughts. Should have thought of that when he invited a telepath into his car. He kept driving though. He was unsure of what to do. He thought about the Pup, the first time he saw him, languidly copying lines onto a blackboard. When he was lay on the ground, the school with a nice new hole in it. Their journey back to the island.

Later on, as he fought for Magneto, no memory of whom he had been, the Pup fighting against him for his Professor. In the snow, the train station, even in the damn statue.

Then not so long ago, drunk and passed out beside Jimmy in a bar. He had seen them wandering around a few times together too. He had clung to Jimmy, at first grief had filled every sense when he saw the kid. Now, it was starting to pass.

"I died..."

"Huh?"

"I died. When that dam burst, I got them away. Or she got them away. I gave her my strength to do so. They may not totally trust me; I do understand I am different to her. But, I won't let anything hurt my Scott."

Right... Telepath. He'd never travelled with one of them before. You'd think they'd try... not listen... or whatever.

The woman smirked, and apologised, saying she'd make an attempt to ignore him. But he would have to work on mental barriers, it was as though he was shouting everything – fucking embarrassing... he liked the thought of being strong and silent. It was sexy.


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About half an hour from Westchester, he pulled into a motel car park. He didn't plan on getting there tonight. It was evening now, and it was a Thursday. He was hungry, and Jimmy and Pup never ventured out on Thursday evenings. He'd noticed that.

Jean, as she had told him her name was, had gotten a room and had already turned in for the night. He let her. She was really creepy. Victor half wished he could ring his brother and give him some warning, but they had never bothered to exchange numbers. Maybe he could distract her though. Eric may like to meet her... the old man loved to talk about the Good Old Times he'd had with Charles. (It was a period in history, spoken about so often it definitely deserved capital letters.)

He may like to meet Jean. Again. She was so different from the woman he'd seen in the statue. He wanted to know what had changed. Was it really just another personality? If so, where had it come from? Eric would know. He liked to have full information on his opponents before he considered engaging them in battle of any kind.

She had called herself Phoenix at one point as well. Was that the same as Jean, or another personality to the first two? Maybe it was just her code name, like Sabertooth was his. Either way, the man would probably be able to help. She had little control of her powers and if Eric had worked with Charles Xavier then he may know a way to help learn a little discipline with it.

She wouldn't want to harm Scott through lack of control, maybe it wouldn't be too hard to convince her to go with him.

He ate a quiet dinner, watched TV in a bar for a while before he headed back and got some sleep.


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"How dare Logan try taking him from me? He is mine!"

"You mind keeping the rant down? I'm tryin' to concentrate here..."

She had agreed to see Magneto. And he had driven out to the last place he had been. The scent was days old now. He wasn't sure where the old man would be. It was a matter of tracking, which did involve concentration. He was following Mystique's smell, it was much more distinctive.

"You could try a bit of tracking yourself, you know? Save me from all the work..."

She was stood, gazing blankly at the stream. She made no indication that she'd even heard him. Victor rolled his eyes and crouched back down, close to the ground. The smell seemed to go north, but it also went south west too. He figured one was just exploring, and the other was their direction, so it was a matter of the other scents too. Which one had the most people gone along. They had quite a bunch, last he'd seen them (Nearly 2 weeks ago... though he hadn't let Magneto seen him. it wasn't in the plans he'd had at the time)

Behind him, he could hear muffled sobs. Frowning, Victor turned to look at his young companion.

"Scott... I'm so sorry..." She was whispering, but it was out loud. Her voice was much softer out loud than in his head. "But, I am so proud of you. You recognised the difference in our telepathic signatures... but I don't want to hurt you. I know you are strong, so strong. But not everyone around you is. Maybe if I can get some control over her..."

Apparently her first personality was having a moment... wonderful... it was going to be a long day.


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They did eventually find Magneto. The new kid he'd had trailing around with him gaped at Jean. Apparently he'd been a student at Xavier's, and she had been a teacher.

Eric had been shocked to see him alive. Quite frankly, it had been insulting. He did have an ability to heal. All he did was fall into the water. Victor really did think the old man was losing it. The time spent in a plastic jail couldn't have helped either. With good ears, you hear about those things. The thought of him being stuck in a plastic prison had really cracked Victor up. He laughed for nearly half an hour, and had ended up bright red, with tears streaming down his face. Cruel, perhaps... but it really was funny when you thought of how in control the old man liked to be.

Since they had arrived, the kinder version of Jean was less in control. He did hope she wouldn't be lost completely. The woman was nice, but anyone try hurt Jimmy or his Pup, and there would be trouble. He really couldn't let someone hurt his brother, and kind Jean seemed to care about them both to a certain extent. (Though, admittedly, she tended to just rant about the Pup).

He hoped Magneto wouldn't subdue her completely. He hoped he hadn't fucked up in bringing her here.


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All done. I know there was very little to do with Scott or Logan in this one, but I wanted to explain properly where Victor was coming from. I do hope this makes more sense than the last chapter. I'm not sure if I made it clear that it was Phoenix that Scott met at the Lake, and that she didn't bother hanging around after Scott ran away from her.

Anyway, please let me know what you think, and any errors I've made. :)