Xmen Big Bang: Companion to Beasts (2/2)

[chibifukurou]

Title: Companion to Beasts
Author(s): chibifukurou 
Artist: sparrowshellcat
Verse: X-men Origins: Wolverine
Disclaimer: This story was written for entertainment purposes. No copyright infrindgment is intended
Type: Gen
Word Count: 16,000
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Victor Creed, Remy Lebeau, and James Logan
Warnings: Mentions of past Medical Experimentation; Less than Healthy relationships 
Spoilers: Mild Spoilers for Xmen Origins
Summary: Victor didn't go looking for anything beyond a quick fuck usually, but he was bored. Centuries had passed since he and Jimmy had first left home, and nothing ever changed. Jimmy was pissed about him giving his inner Beast it's due again.

When he went to a Government Center that supposedly offered assistance to people in mental distress he was just looking for a way to pass the time until Jimmy cooled off and enjoying the thrill of sticking it to the system that had left him and his brother at Stryker's mercy. 

He wasn't expected that decision, and a fateful meeting with one of the Centers employees, a mechanically augmented Empath named Remy Lebeau to change the course of his future.
Author’s Notes: A big Thank You to Madame Marigold/Smoking Cougar for coming through for me as always. And another BIG THANK YOU to Sparrowshellcat for all of their beautiful art, make sure to go check it out.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Ao3 | Art Master Post

= = = =

They ended up back at Jimmy's cabin because they didn't have anywhere else to go and they couldn’t stay anywhere in the area of the New Orleans Center.

Jimmy at least understood that. He was stupid but not crazy.

Two days later Remy still hadn't woken up and Vic was starting to reevaluate his idea that James wasn't an idiot. If they kidnapped the Atoma just to find out that he couldn't survive outside of a Center, they were all screwed.

They'd end up having to hide out in Canada or some other equally unappealing backwater country until this whole thing blew over. Which knowing their luck would probably not be for another couple decades. "How hard did you hit him?"

"Not that hard."

Vic looked back to where the lanky form of the other mutant was sprawled across the runt's bed. "Right…"

"I didn't."

"You kidnap him from a government facility because you think he was somehow a member of the weapon X project that we somehow managed not to meet and you're just now figuring out that we're in over our heads."

"Don't be such a douche."

"Then don't be a bitch about this."

Jimmy stomped off.

"I'm going out to chop firewood. Call me if something happens." Vic called after him.

Jimmy gave him the finger.

Vic too that for the 'of corse' that it probably wasn't. If he stayed in the cabin much longer he'd kill his brother and that would be too messy. He didn’t want to be stuck looking after his brother for a day or two, until he was strong enough to take over the cooking again.

The repitition of putting the firewood on a tree trunk, the the swing of the ax and the comforting 'shunk' of splitting wood managed to sooth his nerves. As homicidal as he was he didn't want to imagine how bad he'd have been if he'd never met Remy in the first place. He didn't want to imagine how much of a monster he'd be if Remy didn't wake up. He and Jimmy weren't talking about it but both of them knew that if he went crazy again things would end up the same way they'd started.

Log on the stump, swing of the ax, 'shunk'. He tried to let the repetition pull him out of his thoughts but it wasn't really possible as riled up as he was.

So when he smelled something that should be approaching on the breeze, there wasn't much thought putting into dropping the ax and heading towards the woods. Climbing a tree was a matter of seconds, with his claws grown out. Then he had a good view of the area surrounding James's cabin and the covert-ops solders that surrounded it. This wasn't his week.

First his brother gets them involved with the government, then soldiers followed them home. H was going to kill Jimmy, if the soldiers didn't beat him to it. Which seemed likely give the number of soldiers present.

He didn't bother playing nice. Jumping from tree to tree, before leaping down onto the soldiers that were circling nearest the house. They didn't know what hit them and even with the beast under control it felt good to feel the tearing of flesh between his claws and the rush of blood over his fingertips. That was the kind of thing that never got old. No matter how many years Vic spent fighting.

It was really too bad that they were actually god enough to put a bullet in him. His body jolted again. Make that two bullets. He would have enjoyed playing with them more but he couldn't take the chance.

He and Jimmy would be fine, they might get killed and captured, but they'd come back to life and no prison could hold them when they were at full strength. Remy would die.

He climbed back up the tree he'd used to vault down onto p of the solders. The res of the soldier boys were acting weird backing away. It wouldn’t last probably just wanted some reinforcements to make sure that they stayed went down and stayed down.

Vic wasn't planning to give them the chance. He busted through the door. "We need to leave."

"What?" Of course, James would be cooking instead of keeping watch.

"We're leaving. You managed to get a bunch of cov-op monkeys called down on us."

"Already?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He started tossing canned goods into a bag. It would be easier to hunt but he had his doubts about feeding cooked rabbit to an unconscious robot. Canned soup, even if it was just the cheap chicken and noodle stuff, seemed lik a better idea.

"I payed to get this place wiped from the system. No public records of any house on the premises. They shouldn't have been able to figure out where we were in two days."

Shit, why did his idiot brother have to be right for once. "You pissed anyone local off lately, enough that they'd sell you out?"

"Not in the last couple years."

"Chipped?"

"Chipped."

"Shit!"

They both stared at the door toward the bedroom for a second. This was going to get messy. "Relocate and then handle it, or handle it now?"

James glared at the offending door. "Handle it now. Whatever they've got to hide, they want it hidden fast. If they're trying this hard to get rid of us."

Vic nodded. They hadn't even got this much of a response when they'd broken away from the Weapon X group and that was bad shit. The type of stuff that could get a president impeached if it got out. Whatever was going on was big, and bad. "You get the knife ready, I'll try to figure out where it is."

He headed for the bedroom, already trying to figure out where they'd have hidden a chip in the kid. Arms and legs were traditional and easy to hide things in. A little shot and Remy himself might never know that he'd been chipped.

Then again a secret his big they wouldn’t trust it to a single chip. No there would be at least two, and maybe something built into whatever that scar in his chest was hiding. So one in an arm or leg, and then where would the other be?

He stripped the lanky Atoma, trying to figure out here you'd stick a second chip. He felt alone Remy's limbs searching for any sign of a bump or scar that shouldn't be there. Hie finally found one back of his right arm, just below the shoulder. Putting that discovery assigned until Jimmy showed up with the knife.

He searched the rest of his limbs quickly, now having some idea what he was feeling for. There was another lump just next to the kid's left knee. That made two, both in places where it would be easy to remove something if you were determined enough. Which probably meant that there was a third chip hidden somewhere. One that was close to at least one artery or other dangerous location. He flipped the Atoma onto his belly and started fleeing up his spine and around his skull. He finally found the tale-tell lump just half way between his ear and be back of his skull. That one wasn't buried deep, but it still want a place he'd have preferred to go hacking around.

Jimmy showed up with a knife. When Vic took it from him he could feel the heat from the sterilization process."Any sign of our friends?"

"Nothing yet, but I'm not trusting them to stay quiet."

"I wouldn’t. They had him chipped in at least three places."

"Shit!"

"They wouldn’t have done that unless they weren't ever planning on letting him go."

"So if he's so Goddamn important what the hell were they letting him see random people? If they want to keep you a secret they bury you deep enough you don't ever see daylight again. No point in chipping you then. "

That's what they'd done to Victor and James. After the execution hadn't worked they'd been looking forward to a lifetime of staring at a dark pit with only each other and rats for company, until Stryker had offered them an out.

They'd taken it without reservations and they'd abandoned Stryker with the same lack of reservation. At least on James's part. It had been harder for Vic. He'd liked the killing and the blood. Hadn't wanted to leave it behind. If Stryker hadn't made the mistake of trying to kill Jimmy of he'd probably still be working for him.

Then he'd degenerated into a living beast and gone on a killing spree through the Chilean Jungle that had made Jimmy abandon him in disgust. When he'd come back down from the blood lust he'd been alone, but they'd been free and he'd promised himself that he'd never let either him or James get in with the Government again.

"Sorry, I got you into this mess, Vic."

"You'd have gotten us into this mess, even if you had known." James had a sickeningly large soft spot when it came to strays. It wasn't really surprising that of the two of theme he'd been the one to get them back into hot water with the the government. "I asked you to look in on him not to kidnap him. If you had thought about hings instead of just jumping in like a impulsive putz."

"I get it already. Just get him taken care of so that we can get out of here."

While James went to look on the progress of their new friends', he turned his attention back to digging the chips out of Remy's body. The one on the back of the arm was easiest, there wasn't much but flesh back there, certainly noting that was likely to be as life threatening as a bullet. He had to be a little more careful when it came to the wound me made next to the Atoma's knee. He didn't know much about atomaton's physiology but they seemed to bleed the same as normal humans and he didn't want to cut through a tendon or something equally crippling.

Luckily for Remy, the soldiers held off bombing the cabin until after he'd finished prying the chip out otherwise he'd have been as likely to stab straight though the legal as pry the chip away from the bone. He managed to cut his own thumb open instead but that wasn't much of a problem. It had already started clotting up by the time he got the blade out again. "What the hell was that, Jimmy?"

"Shut up and hurry." There was the sharp bark of a shotgun too close to be soldiers. They had to be in serious trouble if James had actually gone for the gun instead of going out and trying to take them out in hand to hand.

"I'm hurrying, just keep your breeches on." He growled back more to distract James from his worrying than because he actually felt like saying anything. The sound of explosions and the feel of the house rocking around him was setting off his instincts. It might have been a few years sense they had been to war but those instincts didn’t fade and they were pulling his beast back to the surface. The scent of Remy's blood wasn't helping with that.

He should sterilize the knife again after the way it was covered with his blood, but he didn't have the time. It wasn't like he wasn't going to give Remy' anything anyway. Sickness didn't last in his system for very long and mutations couldn’t' be passed by blood contact. He ended up having to slice a larger flap of the Atoma's scalp away than he'd originally planned. Just to make sure that he could tape it back down afterwords. Here he finally found a sign that the other man wasn't as human as he looked. There was metal plating all around his skull and Vic counted himself lucky that they hadn't just built the chip right in.

It would have been hell to pry it off then, if he'd even been able to do so. Once he manage to force the chip away from the bone he taped the slice of scalp back into place. Duct tape wasn't the best bandage but it would make sure that the kid didn't bleed out all over everything. "You ready to go?"

"No!" Another bark of the shotgun...

An explosion shook the cabin and even the steel plates that Jimmy had hidden in the seemingly simple wooden log walls couldn't hold out. It buckled in and if Vic had moved any slower than it would have buried him and the kid in the wreckage. As it was, he'd lost the pack of soup and the knife. "Too bad. We're out of time."

"Damn it." Jimmy appeared in front of the bedrooms' door, face streaked with dirt and blood from where exploding glass and wood had gouged quickly healing chunks out of his face.

"No gun?"

"It jammed. Would have slowed us down anyway."

Which meant that James had probably lost his temper and broken the thing in half by accident while trying to clear the jam. "Well then we better get going before anyting else shows up to slow use down."

James didn't argue, so they were in for a shit-load of trouble. The two of them busted through the back door and into the woods shoulder to shoulder. The soldiers, who'd been waiting for them, didn't know what hit them.

Even with Remy's limp body tossed over his shoulder, Vic was way faster than an average man. Meaner too. He didn't feel any guilt about hitting below the belt if that's what it took to get his brother and him out. Jimmy wasn't as mean but he vicious enough to be effective.

Bullets and blows slowed Vic down enough that James, who healed almost before he was hit, could speed through faster. He didn't kill his targets like Vic would have, but given some of the wounds he left in his path, Vic wasn't sure that the soldiers wouldn’t have preferred to die by his claws instead.

They let the soldiers think they had succeeded in herding them. It was any easy thing to let the trap spring. Easier than trying to push through. Because while the soldiers were concentrating on chasing them into the ambush they weren't worried about backing up the trap to make sure that they couldn’t break through. At least Vic assumed they weren't. They didn't seem smart enough to see that eventuality.

So as long as Stryker wasn't hiding somewhere in the shadows pulling these tough guy's strings, they weren’t much of a threat. Particularly once it became clear that they weren't shooting to kill Remy. Whatever secrets they were so desperate to keep they weren't desperate enough to kill the evidence. At least not yet. Which put them at an advantage. Not just in age and power, but in leverage as well.

Their loping gate pulled them out ahead of the solder boys as they headed for the sheer cliff that made up the back border of James' property. It probably looked like a dead end to the soldiers and it was if you didn't have rock climbing gear, or the ability to grow claws from your hands.

Which meant that it wasn't much for a dead friend at all for either of them. They'd managed to put almost a quarter mile between themselves and their hunters by the time they hit the cliff. Which would have been perfect, except for the part where Vic's worse fears had come to life. Stryker was standing at the foot of the cliff a group of snipers arrayed across the top edge. He gave them a knowing, and far too happy smile. "Hello gentlemen. So kind of you to drop by."

"Stryker." Vic acknowledged, before laying Remy on the ground between Jimmy and his legs. So that they could stand back to back, claws out and ready. They wouldn't go down easy.

= = = =

Which was why it was just their luck that Remy chose that moment to wake up. And he didn't he even have the decency to stay laying down where they could protect him. At least enough to make sure that probably get a gut shot or anything fatal.

He pulled himself to his feet, staggering and with duct tape bandages making look like a broken doll. He staggered just out of Vic's grasp when he tried to grab the idiot.

Vic would have been pissed except tit seemed more like dumb luck than anything else. With the way he was staggering Vic had his doubts that the kid even noticed his hand.

Unfortunately, he also didn't seem to notice that he was staggering up to Stryker. He shared a look with James out of the corner of his eye, silently communicating a plan. Which one of them was going to tackle the kid to the ground and which one of them was going to slash Stryker's throat.

When Remy reached into his pocket, Vic was expecting him to come out with a pack of his ever present cigarette It was a surprise when he pulled out a pack of cards instead. Not a good surprise either.

Which seemed to go doubly for Stryker, who started backing away from the Atoma. "It has been a while Mister Stryker. Did you come to see me again, so that you could work you’re your out your rage?" He asked following Stryker's retreating form.

James caught his eye again, raising his eyebrow in obvious question, but Vic didn't have much help to offer him. He didn't have a clue what was going on. "Problem Stryker?" He tried to drag the Bastard's attention away from the Atoma, so that Jimmy could move in and separate them without getting Remy shot.

It didn't work though. It was like he might not as well have been there for all the attention Stryker was paying him. He was still backing away from Remy. "You don't want to do this, son. You know what happened the last time you lost control. It was for the best that you came to be a part of our group."

"Yes, it was. I didn't want to hurt any more innocents." His smile froze them all in place as his eyes started to glow. "But you're not an innocent."

Stryker screamed but it didn't stop what came next as the cards exploded out of Remy's hands. Bright pink energy crackling through the air and the cards as they flew in every direction.

There was a flash of pink, almost white, light and then a boom and set Victors ears ringing like he was back in the church he and Jimmy had attended when they were kids, helping the bell ringer pull the cord to send the bells ringing. Calling everyone to services. He might have even blacked out for a while because by the time he blinked his vision back into focus, the clearing looked completely different. The sheer cliff looked like someone had hollowed it out with a giant spoon and there were bodies strewn out all around them, mixed with the corpses of demolished trees.

The most noticeable body among them was Remys' which lay in a heap, dead center in the circle of destruction.

"Shit!" Jimmy cursed.

It sounded like a whisper but Vic suspected that he was actually shouting. He knew enough about surviving explosions to know that the ringing in his ears was a sign of hearing loss as much as having his brains scrambled.

"We should get out of here."

"Yeah." Jimmy agreed.

They both stumbled forward until they were by Remy's body. Vic was a lot more careful when he picked him up this time. He didn't feel angry with Jimmy for rescuing the kid now, It looked like whatever his brother had suspected about Remy being a part of the weapon X project had just been the tip of the iceberg and any enemy of Strykers was the friend to the two of them.

= = = =

It was another two days and the rest of their trip up to Canadian for Remy to woke up again. His body had healed up enough for them to take the duct tape off and there had been no further signs of Stryker or his goons.

If he'd caught a sight of Stryker's body as they'd left that clearing, Vic would have ended things for good. He just had to hope that the fact that there hadn't been any sign of his corpse meant that Remy had disintegrated him.

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

The Atoma rolled to a sitting position and began looking around. "What are you doin' here Mister Victor?"

"My brother's an idiot."

"Mr. James?"

"Unfortunately."

"Don't be such a bastard, Vic." Jimmy nudged his butt with his boot and leaned over him so that he could hand a bowl of rabbit broth to Remy.

"Was Mister Stryker here before or did I just dream that?"

James shifted a little. He was just such a chicken shit."Yeah he was here." Vic said.

James glared at him.

"Did I get him?"

Now James turned to his glare towards Remy.

"Do not try to guilt me into feeling sorry for that man, 'chere. It won't work. There is nothing inside Stryker that I'd feel guilty for eradicating."

"Amen."

"Vic!"

"Don't mind him. He thinks that everyone has some good in them."

"I think that we should act like civilized human beings."

Remy started laughing and just kept laughing and laughing. Long past the point when he devolved into hysterics.

James patted his back in a pathetic manner. Vic rolled his eyes and left the two of them tow it. It wasn't that funny but it wasn't like patting on his back was going to do anything for the kid.

Stryker had been bad. A real beast to them. But they'd been fighters and killers. There were limits to what he could do to them without them rebelling. Vic doubted Remy had been in a position to enforce his limits. If there had been limits then he wouldn't have ended up chipped in three places and desperate enough to blow himself up in order to get rid of Stryker.

= = = =

"How did he get his hands on you?" He asked once Remy had calmed down. " We knew he was against mutants but didn't know he was after robots too."

"He's not. Atoma's aren't robots. Not really. I was a mutant back before they got their a hand on me. He rubbed fingers over his shirt front, where Victor knew there as a huge scar.

"I was really powerful as a kid. My powers..." He flicked his fingers up and the pink energy that had blown through the clearing, crackled between his fingers like lightning."They got out of control sometimes. One time I got really out of control. Blew up an entire theater full of people. That was how Stryker got a hold of me. He wanted my powers and he wasn't going to let anybody stop him."

"I'm surprised he didn't just kill you or add you to his collection of ice sculptures." It might have been better if he had. He was a monster but pretty far from the worst thing out there."How young were you when he found you?"

He started shoveling soup into his mouth at a good pace. Vic suppose they'd have to be starving after using up so much energy blowing Stryker away. Followed by two nights of barely being unconscious.

He and Jimmy had eaten a few bowls of the soup themselves.

"I don't know." Remy finally answered after his spoon had started screeching as it scraped agains the aluminum camp bowl. I can't remember how old I was. I was brought up on the streets. Belonged to the Antiquary. After that I was on my own, too old to hold his interest anymore and I didn' want to get dragged into the Thieves guild's business."

"I think you might have been better off."

"Vic!" Jimmy snapped.

Remy just laughed. Vic had been expecting it. He had more experience with Remy than Jimmy. Not that that was saying all that much but he had a good feel for people and someone who'd been taken advantage of as much as Remy had been was bound to want to have things straight forwards. What else could he want than that? It was the only thing that you couldn’t trust brutal honestly.

"I might have been better off, 'chere. But I heard that the poor bastard they got to take my place was chopped into thirteen pieces and scattered around New Orleans, after being forced to drink the immortality potion that keeps the leaders of both the mortal guilds alive to fight each others. I think I got the better deal."

Vic grunted his agreement. He didn't know much about being a robot, but it had to be better than going through something like that. Back when he'd first realized how indestructible he and Jimmy were he'd had nightmares about similar things happening to them. There was a particularly vivid one about Jimmy screaming as he was vivisected alive that still haunted him.

"So how did you end up being turned into an Atoma?" Leave it to Jimmy to complain about his honesty, then ask that.

"I think I'll be goin' to sleep. Thanks for the soup." He bobbed his head in gratitude, before laying down and turning his back to us.

Once his deep even breathing filled the space, Jimmy curled up against Vic's side like back when they were kids. "Do you think Stryker will keep coming after us?"

"He should have learned his lesson. It's not like he's got much to throw at us. I doubt he's pissed enough to come after us just for stealing one Atoma. Even if he's a fuckin' powerful mutant besides."

.

"There's no reason to sugar coat it. You didn't take him, I did." After that Jimmy didn't say anything else, but he didn't leave Vic's side until after the fire had burned down to embers and the cold made Vic send him to cuddle up with Remy, in the nest of blankets they'd made for him. Vic needed to keep watch, or he would have gladly joined them.

= = = =

He woke up when sunlight trickled into the cave and hit his face. The fire was out and it was fucking freezing. He shouldn’t have fallen asleep. He's long since outgrown falling asleep during watch. He had though, because the fire had been blazing still when he'd last remembered seeing it.

Easing up he moved over to check on the others. He'd only felt this out of it once before. Just after he and Jimmy had started working for Stryker they'd tried to get away. One of his other pet mutants had been sicked on them. With a single touch she'd been able to force them to go along with Stryker. The fuzziness he was feeling now had the same artificial feel to it that set his instincts on edge. Only Jimmy was in the nest of blankets. He didn't even react to Vic standing over him. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and his claws extended on pure instinct.

A deep breath dragged the sent of the cave in. Damp, campfire smoke, and just beneath it Remy's body odur and the scent of cigarettes from outside the cave. Vic made sure to keep his steps light. If something more was going on then Remy getting a smoke then there wasn't any reason to warn their pressures. Particularly whatever mutant was waiting out there to strike.

With his head thrown back, and his body sprawled against the outer wall of the cave Remy looked like he was supposed to be in the middle of the woods. He even had one of Jimmy's flannel shirts on to prove it. Though the way his wrists stuck out of the too-short sleeves didn't help with whatever attempt he was making to look like Jimmy.

"Did you sleep well?"

Vic hadn’t made enough noise that Remy should have been able to hear him. "Yes."

Remy nodded but went back to smoking his cigarette like Vic's answer didn't matter.

"Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "You seemed like you needed the rest."

"Get back into the gave." He did his best to keep the surrounding woods in sight. No sign of stryker's men yet.

"When I'm done."

"Now!" He barked.

Remy turned his full attention on him. Unease slammed into him. Foreign, and almost frightening because of it, as a slight pink light gathered around the Atoma's eyes. Vic tried to back away, but his legs wouldn't move.

Stubbing his cigarette out against the cave wall, Remy took a few steps towards Vic. Until he was well withing his space. The light around his eyes had taken on a slight purplish tint now. "Don't order me around. You're not my client anymore."

Vic wasn't able to move again until a few minutes after Remy pushed passed him and went back into the cave. It was annoying, but Vic had better things to do than worry about what he was up to. He might not be able to sense the mutant, or Stryker's men, but that didn't mean much. At least while Jimmy and Remy were in cave someone would have go through him to get to them.

= = = =

He went on patrol, trying to find the telepath or at least some of Stryker's goons that could lead him to the mutant. There was nothing. Not even a sign of any human besides him and Jimmy in the entire acre that surrounded the cave.

If there was a telepath that could affect them from farther away then that, then Vic wouldn't stand a chance against them. Not without Jimmy to back him up. So there was no point searching farther away.

The cave was warmer when he got back. The fire stoked and crackling and he could smell the coffee in the kettle nestled on the coal that had been raked to the side.

Jimmy was awake though he looked as happy about it as a bear being woken from their hibernation. Vic would talk to him about their mental trespasser once he'd had enough coffee to be reasonable. For now… he elbowed his brother away from the kettle with a grunt and go himself a cup of coffee.

At least Remy had done as he'd been told and stayed inside the cave. Though Vic wasn't sure how he felt about the way that he'd climbed to the top of a large outcropping of rocks and was huddled there with his own cup of coffee. He'd meant for the kid to stay where Jimmy could guard him, but they were still between the outcropping and the entrance to the cave. So he let it go for now.

"Find anything?"

"No sign of Stryker or his goons."

"So we're clear."

He'd forgotten how oblivious his brother could be when it came to telepaths. "Someone is out there."

"If there's no sign?"

"You couldn't tell? Someone made sure we went to sleep last night."

Jimmy snorted. "You fell asleep on watch. So what? You used to do that all the time."

He couldn’t hold back his growl, but he managed to keep his claws from extending more than a centimeter or two. "Not in decades and not like that. You didn't even notice when I was standing right next to you."

"You're sure?"

He nodded. Pleased that Jimmy was finally getting the picture.

"We need to move."

Vic went to start packing their supplies.

= = = =

"Just come down so we can get going." Jimmy yelled up to Remy, obviously loosing patience but still trying to handle things in a 'civilized' manner. As he liked to call it.

Vic had never understood the appeal. While Jimmy was being his usual distracting self, he snuck round to the back side of the outcropping, out of Remy's line of sight, and started to climb.

He managed to get behind Remy and grab him around the waste, before catapulting them both down to the cave floor. Where he handed the squirming Atoma over to his brother. "Lets go."

Racious cursing in both French and creole started up behind him. But he didn't care. He just wanted to be away from Stryker's telepath. The thought of anyone but Remy in his head made him twitchy. And homicidal.

= = = =

They went deeper into the mountains. Deeper than anyone but the natives usually did. Even Stryker with his counts and spy’s would have a hard time following them this far out.

Which just made it more angering when he woke up the next morning in the same predicament as the first. Only this time it was Jimmy who'd fallen asleep on watch.

If the telepath kept following them then they might not have a choice but to go on the offensive. He didn't bother acting surprised when he found Remy smoking outside the cave again. "I told you to stay in the cave."

"It's a different cave."

Despite his attempts to sound casual, Vic could still smell fear despite the cigarette smoke."Not the point"

He nodded and blew out another lung-full of smoke.

"Get in the cave."

"Why are you so afraid?"

"I'm not afraid."

Remy looked at him. It the way he had the first night they’d met when he'd practically dared Vic to meet with him. "Don't bother. Remy can feel it."

"Stryker sent someone after us." Maybe that would get the stubborn robot to get back into the cave.

"A telepath."

So he'd heard them talking the night before. Vic had thought he was asleep. He and Jimmy would have to be more careful. "We'll take care of him."

"How do you know they aren't trying to help."

Vic was out of patience. He grabbed Remy by the arm and used his other hand to steal away the cigarette and put it out against the wall of the cave. "They're messing with us." He growled. "And nobody plays with me."

= = = =

"Damn it Vic! Wake the hell up. He's gone."

Jimmy's bellowing him from the third night of deep sleep he'd had in a row. "What?"

"Remy's gone. Come on we've got to go find him." Jimmy sounded worried and for once Vic didn't think he was over-reacting. Styker's men and an unknown telepath were lurking somewhere nearby. If they didn't get to Remy first they might not get him back at all. "Can you tell when he left?"

"It smells like a few hours ago. Just after sun up."

So he couldn’t have gone far. He didn't know the area and if the last day of travel had taught them anything it was that Remy didn't have a clue how to handle himself in the woods. "You take the east, I'll take the west. Meet back here."

"Right."

It didn't take that long to find the kid. Vic wasn't surprised. Though Remy had done a better than expected job covering his tracks he was still and armature at all of this. "Where do you think your going?"

"Should have known you'd find me."

Vic ignored his petulant tone in favor for scanning the area for trouble. He couldn’t smell anyone but Remy around, but…"You seen any of Stryker's pets?"

"No. Even he'd have a hard time tracking us this far without my tracking chips to follow."

"His telepath."

"There is no telepath, Cher. Never was."

"What makes you so sure. Even Jimmy and I don't know all of his mutants. He might have been the one in charge of tracking you down, but Atoma's weren't his favorite projects." That distinction went to mutants and Remy might be a mutant but Styker hadn't acted like he could control his powers.

"The only mutants out here are us."

"Maybe the only ones you know about."

"I'd know if there was anyone else."

"You wouldn't." Had he been this sure of himself when he'd been a pup? Probably, but that didn't make it any less annoying. He tried to remember how he'd handled Jimmy, when he'd been young and stupid. He gave up, when he remembered that Jimmy was still stupid, and growled. "Come back to the cave."

"No."

"Last chance." If he didn't come on his own, Vic would just toss him over his shoulder and make him come.

Instead of replying, Remy stayed seated and acted like Vic wasn't there. He moved forward to grab him.

"I'm the telepath."

That brought Vic to an abrupt stop. "What?"

" Remy is the empathy."

"You're working for Stryker." His claws extended.

"Non!" He shouted. "Never worked for Stryker."

"Then why are you claiming to be the one messing with us?" Did he have a death wish?

"Don't want you going after him. He'll kill you."

So he had been awake the night before. "Come back to the cave. I could use your help calming my beast." He still had it mostly under control, but Remy was needy after he helped Vic. It'd be harder for him to sneak out after.

"I can't."

"Why not?" He didn't like being refused.

"You don't know hwat the consequences are!"

"You weren't worried about them before."

"It's different now."

"Too bad." I wouldn’t be refused that easily.

He stood up then, and Vic had a second to think he'd gotten his way, before Remy grabbed his head and there was a voice echoing through his mind. 'Told you 'chere, you don't know what your asking for."

Wheeling back, he shoved him hard enough to leave him laying on the forest floor. "What was that?" He gritted out.

"Told you, 'chere, I'm an empath."

"You're power –" If he had the ability to control that strange pink energy then how could he be an empath?

"My mutant power is the charge power, but I'm an Atoma. This is how we help people."

"You've been messing with my head all this time?" His beast roared to the forefront of his mind and he had his Remy held by the throat and slammed against a tree before he could even think about it.

"You asked for help…"

Vic growled in reply, and squeezed the hand around Remy's throat tighter.

"Please, 'chere. Remy doesn't want to hurt you."

He was beyond caring about that. His beast firmly in control. Which was how he missed Remy charging up the front of his shirt. Until he was blown back, slamming against a tree on the other side of the clearing. "Why?"

"It's what Atoma's are made to do."

He could have easily gone after Remy again, but the pain of being blasted like that let him regain enough control to run away instead. He didn't want to kill the kid no matter how pissed he was and if he stayed in that clearing, he would kill Remy.

= = = =

"Did you find him?" Jimmy asked, as soon as he entered the cave.

Vic couldn’t meet his eyes."Yes."

"Then where is he?"

"Gone."

"Why didn't you bring him back."

"He's the telepath."

"What?"

"He's admitted it. Said being a Atoma meant he was a telepath. That's how he was controlling the beast." Which was boiling up beneath his skin now. Demanding all the needs he'd been able to go without for the last month since Remy had subdued it. And it had just been a month. So why did it feel like so much longer since he'd had this voice slavering in his mind.

"So what?"

"What do you mean so what? He messed with my head." He growled barely holding himself back from through stonewalling Jimmy. If he started that again. Jimmy would leave him again. Both Vic the man and Vic the beast railed against that possibility.

"He helped you Vic and you've always known he was an Atoma. If having your head messed with is what it takes to control your beast, then so what. He helped you. That's more than anyone else has ever been able to do."

Vic growled.

Jimmy ignored him. "I'm going after him. If you want to keep letting your beast control you, fine, but I'm not coming after you and I'm not bringing him back here, for you to kill."

He managed to hold off on following Jimmy for another hour, until he calmed down enough that his beast wasn't in complete control. Whatever Remy had done to him might have warn off almost all the way, but he was still in control enough to see Logan's point. He didn't want to go back to the man he was before he'd gone to the Atoma clinic. As much as he hated the idea of having to rely on a telepath messing with his head, it would be worth it if he didn't have to be without his pack again.

= = = =

He found them in the same clearing where he'd left Remy. They'd started a fire and Remy was asleep with his head in Jimmy's lap. "Is he okay?"

Nodding, Jimmy moved to gently dislodge the Atoma, lying him down on the blanket, he'd been sitting on. "He's fine. The idiot didn't know how to start a fire and didn't take any of our supplies. But except for being hungry and cold he's in one piece. You did a good job of not hurting him considering how out of control you were."

"He refused to help me again."

"Did he say why?"

"He said he was the telepath we were worried about. That he'd used his powers to fix me."

"And you blew up. "

Vic nodded.

"Now that you're back in control and know the truth he'll hopefully be willing to help you. I don't like you when you're like this."

He didn't like himself much either.

= = = =

"They make Atoma's by taking Empaths and augmenting their powers with robotics." Remy was very carefully not looking at either of them. "Empathy…it's not a power. Not like my charge power. Humans and mutants have it. They didn't care what we were when they took us. They just wanted the power. None of us knew why. We just knew that they wanted us to help them control certain targets."

"Could you?" Vic hadn't meant to interrupt, but he had to know whether or not Remy could control him. It shouldn't matter, not when Remy had porved himself trustworthy.

"No. The plan didn't work. The project was canceled before Remy even had a chance to participate. The Atomas who were used bonded with their targets. They could control them, but they were controlled as well and once the bond became permanent the handlers couldn't control them and they couldn't help anyone else."

"So why put you in the Center?" Why did Jimmy always have to ask the uncomfortable questions? At least he'd controlled himself enough not to ask the logical second half of that question. 'why didn't they kill you?'

"Remy doesn't know. Maybe they thought we would make good blackmail. Maybe they wanted to try again. Remy just did his job, meant with the clients they sent him." He still wasn't looking at either of them, his eyes on his clasped hands. But Vic didn't need him to look at them, to know he was upset. He could smell it.

Jimmy got up and started preparing a kettle of coffee. So he had to be able to smell the fear scent rising off of Remy too. The caffeine would hopefully help him calm down.

Once he'd stopped shaking, Jimmy started questioning Remy again."If the problem was that the Atomas started bonding with people, then why risk having you in a center where you might end up bonded to somebody."

Remy's coffee cup started shaking.

"Remy?"

"The more time an Atoma spends with their clients the more likely they are to bond."

"You've been with us for over a week now. Does that mean--?" Jimmy trailed off. He didn't need to continue. The implications were obvious.

"Did you bond with us?" Vic asked.

"Non!" Rem was shaking so hard now that the remaining coffee spilled over the side. He put it down beside him. "Not yet, but if Remy stays…"

"Would bonding with you help Vic control his beast?"

Remy startled. "What?"

"Would a bond help with Vic's beast?"

"Jimmy.." He growled a warning.

"Yes, but he doesn’t like Remy in his mind. I'd be in his mind all the time."

"What happens if you don't bond with him?"

"Remy needs to leave. If he stays he won't be able to stop it."

"What about Vic? His beast has already started getting out of control."

"If I join with him again. We will be bonded."

"I'll do it."

Both of them turned to stare at Vic.

"Vic, are you sure?"

"If we do this, I'll be in control?"

"I do not know."

"But the beast won't be able to control me?"

He nodded.

"Then let's do this." He wasn't the type of man who needed to be supported or cared for, but he was done giving the beast what it wanted.

= = = =

End