“Are you sure we can’t go without your mysterious Box?” asked Eva, eyeing the chaos.
“Even if we could, I’m not leaving without Graydon,” answered Sabretooth.
“He’s kind of a weenie,” offered Christopher.
Sabretooth paused. “Yeah, but he’s my weenie.” He paused a moment longer, realizing that that hadn’t come out right. “I mean, he’s our weenie.”
“I think that line would work better if you called him a jerk,” Eva suggested, her lips quirking. “Or a moron. Anything but a weenie, really.”
“Definitely,” said Christopher, snickering.
“You know what I meant!” exclaimed Sabretooth. “Now quit it, before I knock your heads together. We can’t leave without Graydon. Period. You sense anything, kid?”
Christopher looked around. His face tightened for a moment, and his hand went to his stomach, almost reflexively. Eva wondered if he was feeling sick again, and she almost asked about it, but one glance at Sabretooth’s stormy expression convinced her that this wasn’t the time.
“I feel something, but I can’t tell where it’s coming from,” he said. “I might not know until we’re right on top of him. Sorry. That’s probably no help.”
“Keep trying,” suggested Sabretooth.
“You should probably stay out of sight,” Eva interjected. “If these reporters catch sight of you, they’ll have a field day.”
He preened. “I am photogenic. But yeah. I’ll keep out of sight. I can move quieter than you yokels. You walk like a herd of stampeding rhinos.”
“Hey! We’ve been practicing,” Eva protested.
“Practice more,” he countered.
Christopher forestalled yet another burgeoning argument by waving Sabretooth away and grabbing Eva’s arm. He led her out onto the path toward the Grace, and Sabretooth faded into the greenery like a jungle cat on the hunt. Even though Eva knew he was there, she had a hard time spotting him as he moved soundlessly through the soggy underbrush. She hunched against the continuing drizzle and gave up trying.
They made it most of the way to the Grace without incident, and Eva began to get a little cocky. They were going to waltz right through this huge crowd without being noticed. If anyone realized she and Christopher were friends – or at least temporary traveling companions – with the infamous Sabretooth, she’d have a hundred cameras in her face in seconds. But no one realized they were missing the story of a lifetime. Or the story of her lifetime, anyway.
As they approached the side of the building, however, Christopher began to retch again. He staggered toward a trash can, holding onto the sides for dear life. All she could do was rub his back and try to look casual. A cop gave them a suspicious once-over, and she shrugged.
“Must have been the food truck hot dog,” she said.
After a tense moment, the cop moved on down the path. Eva scanned the tree line, wondering where Sabretooth was exactly, but she couldn’t tell. It was probably for the best. If she couldn’t spot him and she knew he was there, no one else would be able to either.
“Is he OK?” asked a nearby woman with tawny skin and a pouf of brown hair tied back with a bright scarf.
“He’ll be fine. He ate a bad hot dog,” said Eva.
“Oh my god. I love your accent!” said the woman. “Are you Australian?”
Eva pasted on a smile. She didn’t understand the American fascination with accents, but she’d run into it before. The best thing to do was not to make a big deal out of it.
“Sure am.”
“I spent a few months in Brisbane working as an intern for a news station. I loved it! I didn’t want to leave. What brings you to Chicago?”
Eva wondered what this friendly woman would do if she replied, “I’m on a secret mutant mission. It involves vomiting and imaginary circuses and annoying girls named Candy.” She imagined that all of that friendliness would dry right up, but maybe not. Not every human she met was anti-mutant, right? Her mom had accepted her, no questions asked. Another wave of homesickness overtook her, so strong that it surprised her. She wanted to go back so badly that it hurt. But she couldn’t. She’d endanger her mom, and it rankled. Why couldn’t everyone just accept her mutations the way her mom did?
Some of her conflicting emotions must have shown on her face, because the woman was watching her with concern. She forced herself to smile.
“Sorry. The time difference really has messed me up. I just zoned out there. I’m here on vacation,” she lied brightly.
Christopher had stopped shaking now, and she paused to check on him, leaning over the trash can to murmur in his ear.
“You OK there, bud?” she asked. “You need anything?”
“Nope. It’s the same thing as before,” he said, shaking.
“Do I need to call for help?” she asked, putting a little added stress on the question, hoping he’d know exactly who she meant.
“No, not yet.” He straightened a little, wiping at the back of his mouth with his hand.
“OK. I’m right here if you need me.” Eva turned back to the woman, who seemed reluctant to leave. “Did you need something?”
“Actually, my name’s Sarai, and I work for KTL news, and I’m doing a piece on the events from this morning. Did you see anything? I think your accent would make for good TV, and you’ve got the personality for it.”
“That’s kind of you, but I don’t think I should. My friend’s not feeling too great,” Eva demurred.
Sarai glanced at Christopher, who took a can of soda out of his pocket. “He seems fine to me, and you’re not going anywhere. Please? You’d really be doing me a favor.”
Eva hesitated. They didn’t have time for an interview, but they also didn’t have time for an argument, and arguments drew attention. The cops had nearly arrested them after their altercation with Candy. Sarai seemed like the persistent type; she wouldn’t give up easily. Maybe the best thing to do would be to give a noncommittal interview to placate her.
“I didn’t really see anything,” said Eva. “I’d like to help, but I’m not sure I could tell you any details that would make for good TV. I got here after everything was over. I had to hear it all from a friend.”
Sarai shrugged. “But you saw the chaos afterwards, right? The people on the streets? The fear and nervousness? At this point, anything is better than nothing, and I’ve got nothing. I’d really appreciate it if you helped me out.”
“No.”
Suddenly, Sabretooth stood next to her. He appeared so quickly that Eva couldn’t have said where he’d come from. It was as if he’d appeared out of thin air. Sarai’s eyes went wide, and all of the color drained from her face. For a moment, it looked like she might faint.
“What the hell are you thinking?” he asked Eva. “You know how dangerous it is for people like us to plaster our faces all over the news?” He jabbed a clawed finger toward Sarai. “This nice lady will sell your mug for her chance at fame. The minute she realizes that you’re not a vanilla human like her, she’ll turn on you. They all do.”
Sarai took a stumbling step backwards. Her high heel caught on the cracked concrete, nearly toppling her over. She righted herself, not taking her eyes from Sabretooth as she continued to back away.
“I wouldn’t do that…” she whimpered.
“Of course you wouldn’t.” He grinned. The expression made Eva think of wild animals showing their teeth in feral, threatening leers that had nothing to do with mirth. “You mess with my girl here, you deal with me, you got that? She’s mine. And nobody messes with me and mine. If they do, I rip their heads off.”
That was too much for Sarai. She let out a startled bleat and took off running. One of her fancy designer shoes fell off. She took a single step back for it, but decided against it after a nervous glance at Sabretooth. Instead, she leaped into a waiting van, woke the startled driv
er, and urged him onto the street, nearly causing an accident in the process.
Eva pushed Sabretooth back into the bushes, looking around frantically to see if anyone had noticed. Seconds later, a pair of mounted officers rounded the corner. She tried to look casual. Christopher stood up hastily, kicking the shoe off the pavement and tossing his now empty can into the trash. The officers glanced at them as they clopped past but said nothing.
“What the heck were you thinking?” Eva hissed at the bushes.
The bushes said nothing. She thought about sticking her head in, but the cops might notice, and she didn’t want to draw their attention. Christopher nudged her shoulder.
“It’s not worth arguing over,” he said. “Time’s wasting anyway. Come on.” She nodded, and they continued down the path. They didn’t make it more than a few steps when he added, “Besides, I think he’s right.”
Eva startled. “Beg pardon?”
“Sabretooth was right. Being on TV isn’t smart for people like us. Every time we turn around, it seems like somebody else wants to kill us. Anti-mutant activists. Sentinels. Psychotic super villains. Advertising our presence seems foolish under those circumstances, you know?”
“But I wasn’t going to advertise. I was going to play stupid,” she said. “Give me some credit. I was going to talk about how everything was so loud, and so scary, and I was so glad the cops were there, and that was it. What harm could that do?”
He shrugged. “Maybe I’m paranoid, but I bet you S.H.I.E.L.D. has files on all of us. I bet a lot of people already know who we are. The minute we went out in public with Cyclops, things changed. It would be naïve to think that they didn’t.” He paused, his face stricken. “I sound like a jerk. I didn’t mean to call you naïve. I’m sorry.”
“I think I get what you’re saying,” she responded quietly. “No offense taken. Heck, maybe you’re right. I was just trying to avoid drawing more attention. I thought turning her down would make more of a scene, so I went along with it.”
“I can’t blame you for that. I was trying to get information out of Candy and ended up nearly getting us arrested, so I’d say we’re even.”
They grinned at each other.
“We make quite the team,” said Eva, holding her hand out.
Christopher slid his palm over hers. “That we do.”
“So what’s up with all the puking? Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Are you using your abilities too much? Overextending? I need to know what’s happening, Triage.”
The use of his X-Men name made Christopher’s grin widen, as Eva had intended. But she wanted him to know that she took him seriously too. He’d done a lot that day, healing multiple significant injuries all in fairly quick succession. She didn’t want him to think that she was criticizing, but she needed to know what was happening.
He seemed to get it. He nodded soberly, his face drawn in thought.
“It’s about Graydon,” he said. “His energy’s off. Something’s wrong with him, and it’s making me nauseous every time I come into contact with it.”
Before he could elaborate further, Sabretooth leaped onto the sidewalk in front of them. His nostrils flared and his eyes were wild as he hunched on the sidewalk, his claws held at the ready. Near the entrance to the Grace a few yards ahead of them, a few onlookers screamed, running for cover. A horse reared up onto its hind legs and bolted, despite the efforts of its mounted officer to keep it under control. Another pair of cops started toward them, drawing their weapons. At least they kept them pointed at the ground this time, but Eva had had enough of this whole gun thing. Her pulse thumped, but, for the first time, she felt just as angry as she did scared at the sight of the weapons. She was tired of being threatened every time she turned around. If she could get away with it, she’d bubble every person with a gun on sight.
“Hey, you!” shouted one.
Sabretooth paid them no attention. His eyes raked the ornamental bushes that ran alongside the museum, behind Eva and Christopher. He inhaled deeply, suspiciously.
“What is it?” asked Eva, looking back toward the cops. So far, they’d kept their weapons pointed at the ground, but the moment they aimed, she intended to freeze them. She’d had enough.
“Something smells fishy,” said Sabretooth. “I don’t like it.”
Christopher edged in front of Eva, and she glanced at him.
“Why do you keep doing that?” she asked.
“All that testing Cyclops did indicates I’m near impossible to kill,” he said simply. “I’m assuming you’re not. So I’ll shield, you bubble.”
She nodded. That made sense, and she was relieved to learn that the decision hadn’t been based on ridiculous male chauvinist crap. She would have had to hit him over the head for that.
“Hey!” the cop repeated, closing in fast. “We’re talking to you.”
“Go back the way we came,” Sabretooth ordered, ignoring the cops as he continued to scan for whatever had spooked him. “Around the corner.”
They didn’t argue. Sabretooth had to have been in thousands of fights, and since he was still breathing, he had to have won most of them. If he had his hackles up, they’d be crazy to argue. They retreated cautiously around the corner, and the police officers followed, shouting at them to stop. Eva’s heart pounded in her chest. She didn’t want to be shot. Regardless of what Christopher had said, she didn’t want him to be shot either. Sabretooth would probably be fine if he took a bullet, but it would piss him off, so she thought it would be best if all shootings were avoided on principle.
Sabretooth guarded them the entire way, his back arched in a savage hunch, his claws and teeth bared and at the ready. Still, when the attack came, it took him by surprise. A tawny shape, almost the exact same shade as his hair, launched at him from above and landed on his back. He snarled in pain, and the creature snarled right back. The two of them rolled off the sidewalk and into the dirt, kicking up dust and bracken as they fought ferociously for dominance.
Eva and Christopher jumped out of the way, looking around wildly for additional attackers.
The cops rounded the corner.
“What the heck?” exclaimed the one on the left, moments before a second yellowish-brown creature darted out of the bushes, slashing at him with saber-like fangs. Blood spurted. It was over in seconds.
The remaining cop bolted, running like his life depended on it, which wasn’t too far from the truth.
The large striped cat watched him go, ears twitching idly as it contemplated pursuit. Eva couldn’t believe her eyes. It looked a bit like an oversized tiger that had gone through the wash too many times, with faded out stripes and a glossy coat matted down by the fitful rain. It had a muscular fore-body built for both speed and force. Enormous fangs jutted from its mouth, which opened to roar in challenge as it tensed in preparation to pursue its fleeing prey.
It was an honest-to-goodness saber-toothed tiger.
Eva stared at it longer than she should have, trying to convince herself that what she was seeing was indeed real. The cat shouldn’t exist, but here it was. She was torn between the agitation that came with imminent battle and awe at the magnificent creature that stood before her, its eyes glowing an eerie green as it watched the cop run away.
As magnificent as the tiger might be, Eva couldn’t let it run free to maul and kill. Christopher and Sabretooth had a point: the cops weren’t their friends. But the fact that they’d turn on her and her fellow mutants didn’t give her the excuse to do the same. Those decisions would take her down the same road as Magneto and the Brotherhood had gone down years ago, and she couldn’t let that happen. Her mother would be mortified. She would do the right thing, even when it hurt. Even if it meant helping people who wouldn’t do the same for her.
Acting on pure instinct, she put up a time bubble just as the cat leaped. It moved with a speed she didn’t anticipate. She misse
d. The cat yowled, pulling up short and turning to inspect the glistening blue bubble, its hackles raised. It sniffed and pawed at the iridescent surface. Eva didn’t like it when people – or saber-toothed cats, for that matter – touched her time bubbles. It felt vaguely invasive, like they were going through her underwear drawer.
“Stop that,” she said irritably.
The tiger’s head whipped around to stare at her, the police officer and the time bubble forgotten in an instant. Its glowing green stare bore into her, and she wondered what magic animated its body. It had to be magic, right? Saber-toothed cats were extinct, and no living thing had eyes like that. It regarded her with detached hunger, and its ears twitched with renewed excitement. Maybe she ought to rethink her stance on cats touching her bubbles. Maybe it could touch her bubble as much as it wanted to.
It began to stalk toward her, crouching low and placing one paw after another on the ground, belly nearly grazing the wet sidewalk. Its eyes pinned her. She’d never understood why prey froze in the sights of a predator. When she was a kid, every time she had to watch one of those boring nature shows at school, she’d wanted to shout at the screen, “Run, you idiot! He’s going to eat you!” For the first time, she understood why they locked up like that. Her fight or flight system did just that as the cat drew closer. It knew it had a job to do, but it also knew that fleeing would be futile. This cat would outrun her effortlessly. She couldn’t fight it off. She would end the day as kitty chow, and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it.
For the umpteenth time that day, Christopher stepped in front of her as the saber-toothed tiger closed on her. He held no weapon, and he’d clearly come to the same conclusion she had about their non-existent chances of outrunning the deadly creature. The only thing he could do was shield her with his body, allowing the cat to tear into him. The idea terrified her, and he clearly felt the same. He shook from head to toe, but he didn’t hesitate.
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