Of Monsters and Men

Chapter 8 : My, My, My Delilah


Summary: Of Monsters and Men continues as Creed makes good on his word. More familiar faces show up and I take
a little dive into a Tarantino styled chapter. have fun.


The Woods outside Salem Center,..hours later


"C'mon Scarlet, keep movin'." Logan said, pausing to look back at Maggie.


"Kiss my ass Runt,..I'm too..damn tired. Why won't you take these off? I could float easier than walkin.." Magdelena struggled to keep walking, her legs hurt, her ribs ached,
her head pounded and her stomach was rolling. She braced her still bound hands against a tree and dropped her head, her knees gave
way under her as she heaved.


"Shit,..I'm not takin' 'em off. It's not that much farther, then you can rest. Get up." Logan went to her side and helped her up, putting his
head and shoulders under her arm.


"oh god...I think I'm gonna die..I want Victor..get offa me, let go.." Magdelena was dazed, sick and struck at Logan
with her open hands, stumbling away from him to land on the forest floor with a sob. She didn't know where she was, where
she was going or how she got here. She was wearing uniform fatigues that didn't fit very well and her boots. where were her
real clothes? Where was Victor? "You did this to me,..it's your fault.." she glared up at him.

Logan looked down at her and clenched his fists at his sides. Maybe this was his fault, how sick was she? She needed
a doctor. "I didn't do this,.."


"I..want...Mister Creed." Magdelena sobbed and curled up in a ball among the dead leaves. She hurt everywhere and this
mean little man wouldn't leave her alone. Her head hurt too much to think. Logan sighed and waited until she passed out cold
before picking her up and slinging her around his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Another couple of miles and they'd be safe at
the Academy. Creed could find her there once she was healed up.


--------------
Hours Earlier, Xavier's Academy


Victor arrived, having called ahead on the way to speak to Marie. The guards at the gate let him in without a word.
He parked in the garage and Marie met him at the doorway.

"Welcome back Creed."


"You're going after them right? Tonight?" Creed asked as he followed her inside.


"Yes, and you're on the jet with us, if you want to go. We haven't heard from Logan so they must have him too."


"The attack vehicles from the city?" Creed asked.


"the convoy we tracked to the city broke up, we're still tracking 2 of them. a third vanished off the system, like the
GPS unit on it had been knocked out or something." Marie shrugged.


Creed grunted with a smile. He knew Logan's style and that sounded right. The Runt best have gotten Magdelena out of there
too. "I bet that's where Logan is, and my girl too." Creed said just before they entered a conference room. Storm, Scott,
Nightcrawler and Iceman all stood around the table. They looked up when Marie came in with Creed. Creed looked at them all in turn
and his eyes settled on Scott. He blinked and grunted, "I'm here. Now fill me in."


Scott laid out the plan for them. Creed listened and nodded. It was a solid plan of attack. This was a smaller
outpost of the group with a tracking system. Taking it out would be a solid strike back against them. Beast, Henry McCoy came in
during the meeting and listened a while.

"Beast, we need you to stay here to take care of any wounded we may bring back." Scott said.

"Of course Scott. Good luck." Beast said pleasantly.

"We take off in 10 minutes, load up everybody." Scott said and they all began filing out of the room. Creed lagged behind and
crooked a finger at McCoy. Beast walked over to him and looked up at him a slight scowl on his face.

"What could you possibly want Mister Creed?" Beast asked pushing his glasses up on his nose.

"I want you to keep an eye out for Logan, I think he's on his way here. He better have a blond with him. They get back
before we do, you take good care of her. And if he don't have a blonde with him, tell him he best get his ass back out there to
bring her here or I'll be on him like white on rice." Creed growled.


"I will do what I can." Beast said quietly and watched them go. He wondered who this blonde might be and what made Creed so
concerned about her. He didn't think to ask why Creed thought Logan was coming here. Those two knew each other far too well. If
Creed belived it, Logan was probably on his way as they spoke.


Creed and the others loaded up on the jet and set out for the coordinates of the small FOH base. Creed rode in
silence remembering the last plane ride home. How odd he'd felt that she'd be waiting for him, she'd told him she loved
him. Now he wasn't sure if she was still alive, and yet here he was ready to fight against people who hated all mutants.
To protect himself, his way of life..and Magdelena. when they land, the fight is instant. The smell of brimstone is in
the air as Kurt is all over the place just as they'd discussed. Bobby's ice walls put up a barrier of frustration for the
armed humans. Storm's frigid cold winds and driving rain steal their morale. Victor charges thru it all, Marie by his
side. Bullets and blood fly in every direction. Scott and Kurt were going after the tracking system. Creed and Marie were
going after the detainees.


Once inside, Creed and Marie ran down a shuddering hall as an explosion rocked one side of the building.

"Which way are they?" she asked.


"That way, I can smell 'em."


"Go, go hurry!" Marie urged him on.


BAMF!


"Jesus kid..what the hell.." Creed protested the smell when Kurt showed up.

"Ve have ze system down. The men outside aren't going anyvhere for quite a vhile. I come to help you get ze prisoners out."
Kurt smiled up at Creed. "It is good to see you on the right side again, Sabretooth."


"Sooner we're out of here the better, save the small talk Elf." Creed almost smiled at the kid but refrained and ran on.


----------------------------------


Back at Xavier's as the Battle is joined....


Henry McCoy paced in the lab. Waiting was bothering him, dealing with these terrorists never suited him. Also he was concerned
for his friends. He heard the elevator ding on the floor down the hall and went to the door. The team had not returned so it had
to be... "Logan!" Henry shoved the door open and held it as Logan came down the hall with a woman across his shoulders.

"Good to see you too Hank. Where are the others?"

"Gone after the FOH,..they thought you were in custody."

"pfft,..yeah right. Help me with her wouldja?" Logan grunted. Henry came to Logan's aid and laid the unconscious woman on a
gurney. She was battered, bruised, bloody and wearing ill fitting clothes and a pair of inhibitor cuffs.

"Why didn't you take them off of her?" Henry asked.
"Because I don't trust her,..and neither should you. Leave them on but see what you can do to patch her up." Logan grumbled and
shuffled to an empty desk chair and sat down in it, watching them. Henry looked at him sternly over the rims of his glasses.
"Logan, this woman needs medical attention, I am not going to leave those things on her. Who is she anyway?"

"Then sedate her Beast. She's Creed's woman, so trust me, we don't want her running loose in here." Logan glared back. Henry sighed and found a dose
of morphine and injected her before removing the inhibitors. He carefully removed her clothing and was shocked at the extent of
her wounds. He clucked under his breath and started working on her.

"What could she possibly do? She's been beaten half to death, Logan..and I wasn't aware the terrorists made a habit of raping women
they'd captured either.." Henry looked up with a soft frown. Logan shook his head and said nothing. Henry went back to her still
muttering under his breath. "I count 3 broken ribs, her shoulder is out of socket, there's a small concussion on the back of her head,
I really should do a CT scan,.."

"Do whatever you think you need to do, but don't let her out of your sight..I'm starving." Logan sighed and left the lab to head up to
the kitchens. Henry rolled her over to her stomach gently and grasped her right arm by the elbow and braced his other hand on the back
of her shoulder.

"I'm terribly sorry my dear, but this has to be done." he said apologetically, then with a grunt popped the shoulder back into joint with
a sickening pop sound. Morphine or no, Magdelena woke with a start and let out a pained scream.

"AAAAHHH! God!" she gasped in a breath and tried to twist away from the hands holding her down. "NO! Let go of me! Get off of me!"
she struggled and kicked, all the aches and pains only dull throbs thanks to the painkiller in her veins, her movements were sluggish and
in vain. Henry held her steady, his voice calm. "Miss, please hold still. I'm only trying to help you. You've been given morphine so you're only
going to hurt yourself further if you continue this needless struggling."

Magdelena blinked and whimpered, growing still under the large warm hands, cutting her eyes to one side, she saw the white lab coat and a hint of..
blue fur?

"Who are you? Where am I?" she asked, her head pounding but her eyes narrow and suspicious.


"My name is Dr. Henry McCoy, but my friends call me Hank. You are safe in the medical lab of Xavier's Academy for Gifted Students." he replied.
and helped her to roll over again, slipping a hospital gown over her front gently.

"How did I get here?" she asked softly, moving to cross her arms over her chest, shivering.


"Logan brought you, and it's a good thing he did. If you don't mind my saying so, you've been thru hell and back Miss." Henry said softly as he held his
hand out palm up and gestured for her good arm. She blinked, dazed and gave it to him.


"The Runt,..he..brought me here. Where..where's Victor?"" she asked as her head swam. Henry hooked up an IV and eased the gown down from her neck
to place a monitor over her heart.


"He doesn't like being called that,..and Mr. Creed is with the others as he promised. He will return when they do, and will be pleased to see that you
are here safe." Henry said.


"His fault,..just kept driving. He wouldn't stop, they wouldn't.." she slurred as the sedative in the IV started to kick in.


"Shh,..now my dear. Get some rest. You're safe now." Henry shushed her and reached to pat her arm. The inhibitors were off and Magdelena felt it, a moment of clarity, and her powers were there. She snatched at his hand and gripped it with a hand like iron. Her head continued to pound.


"What the hell are you doing? I want to go home." she growled and moved on the bed, her head spinning, she felt sick but refused to back down. Henry
was startled by her sudden anger and the fact that she was still fighting. He almost felt frightened by the look in her eyes, so dark. There was no light in those eyes, only blackness, emptiness, death. He'd seen eyes like that before and it made a shiver run down his spine.


"Calm yourself. You are not going anywhere." Henry said, mentally counting to 10. She growled at him and then her eyelids drooped and her hand fell slack.
Henry backed away shaking his head, "My stars and garters, where on earth did he find you?" he breathed out as he smoothed the fur on the back of his neck. The monitor began to beep quietly as her heart rate became even. Henry closed the curtain around her bed and shut off the dose in the IV after it reached the proper dosage. "There,..that should keep you
for an hour or so." Logan's words came back to him and he frowned. "she's Creed's woman...we don't want her running loose.." Henry made a mental note to keep her separated. The communicator on the rolling table nearby beeped at him and he stepped away to pick it up. "Yes?"

"This is Scott, we're on the way back now. We'll need 3 beds ready Hank."

"Of course, I'll be waiting."

Then a second voice came on, a gruff voice.

"Is she there?"
Henry sighed. "Yes, she is here. And alive."


"Good." came the reply and the connection broke. Henry then left to prepare for the others.


-------------------------------------------

Aboard the Jet..


She's there, she's safe. I look around the cabin at the others and the refugees we'd managed to liberate. I feel no pride in a job well done.
I didn't kill enough of them to suit me. Marie held me back. Now is not the time she'd said. Bullshit,..anytime you can kill one of these mutant
hating fucks is the right time. But I'm here on her word, she stood up for me, she trusts me, so I followed her lead. I look at the blood on my hands,
on my suit, caked and drying under my nails. Was it enough? What had they done to her? Beast felt the need to say she was alive, which I take to
mean that she's hurt,..badly. A taste like copper in the back of my mouth and I can't speak. I look at the others and then back at my hands.
A hundred, a thousand of them would never be enough if they'd hurt her. She was mine to hurt, and mine alone. No one hurt the woman I...I stop the
thought before I complete it. I curl up in my seat and close my eyes, thinking about her. I could see her spinning in my kitchen, our kitchen. Singing Tom Jones.


My My My Delilah,
Why Why Why Delilah,
I could see that girl was no good for me,
but I was lost like a slave that no man can free..

My Magdelena, my spicy little Cajun. I wanted to see her,
to make sure she was alright. Marie reaches over from her seat and touches my arm lightly.

"Creed, we'll be there in about half an hour. Scott wants to debrief us once we land."


"He better make it quick."