WELCOME TO NEXUS.

[Mystic Frost]

[CF: Hanger - "Home Sweet Hell"]

Zero glanced over at Fox, not disagreeing with her, nor expecting otherwise from the Director. "He should know better. Most of us have had the pleasure of his company, before, or simply can't care less." Despite his outward calm, he really did hate Weapon X and all it stood for. "More than likely he's not even on base and is retrieving yet another objective from our government overlords," he continued, hating, to an equal extent, in part or in whole, the government responsible for the Weapon X program's creation, continued existance, and failed termination.

Leading Fox into the base, however, Zero steered them towards the labs. Not a favorite branch in the great scheme of things, but his footsteps led them to a very specific destination. Nearing some of the offices, where Scientists could come to 'relax' from all their 'tireless efforts,' he reached out and shoved a door open without bothering to knock.

Inside lay a relatively wide area where several people could relax; no doubt some sort of break room of sorts. A bit more lavish in comparison to the flat cafeteria and its dull, base clientel. In fact, there was even some color from indoor vegetation and posters that made it a bit less spartan. Not that Zero had come here for the decor.

Not wasting any time, he crossed the room and reached down, pulling open a cabinet. Crouching down slightly, he reached inside and produced two bottles filled with different substances. Turning back towards Fox, he nodded towards one of the round tables. "Care for a seat?" Mercenary, assassin, bartender... hell, why not? Picking up two glasses, he soon took the quartet of drinking ware over to the table before setting them down.

Laying out the two glasses, Zero set the bottles behind them, offering the woman the option of which appealed to her visual senses best. Hell she could sniff it, taste it, or drink it out of the bottle, if she wanted. Didn't mean he couldn't try and regulate it in a polite atmosphere. Fox never was much for formality, however. 'Pass the beer' had worked so well for her and Logan in the past; doubtful much had changed. Not that he minded. Could have been worse; aliens could be infiltrating the base and taking over people's minds, and then she could ask for a drink. At least this way she might actually say something besides 'just give me my damn drink, Mav.'

[~*Silver Fox*~]

((CMF: Hangar))

"He should know better. Most of us have had the pleasure of his company, before, or simply can't care less." Silver Fox smirked as she trailed behind the man. Her previous contemplations caused her to speed up a little though. She resumed a normal pace once she was walking by his side. Silver Fox was no feminist, but she wasn't about to be lead around like she was on a leash - not by anyone here and not if she could help it. In this case, she could. "More than likely he's not even on base and is retrieving yet another objective from our government overlords." Ah yes, the ultimate irony. Colcord was just as much of a chained animal as they were. There were significant differences of course. For one thing, he was human. A miserable, weak human. It irritated Fox to know that she could take him out without breaking a sweat, but couldn't. The weight of the metal collar around her neck reminded her of the reason why that was.

"Pure circumstance," she muttered, "that's the /only/ thing keeping that man alive." It wouldn't last though. She /would/ hers. She wasn't going to die anytime soon, not without interference of outside forces. Humans were so foolish; always making weapons that could be turned against them with devastating results. You'd think that they would know better by now. Any and every weapon created by man could be used against them at some point in the future. The more powerful the weapon, the more likely it was to be used against them. Idiots, the lot of them. The change of scenery didn't escape Fox, not hardly. She was no big fan of labs, doctors, or anything associated with the two. Reflexively, the woman tensed up, looking around. For what? Anything, anyone. She could be snatched up and forced onto a table with needles everywhere at any time. Silver Fox felt like she had just walked into a huge cage within the cage that was Weapon X.

Her nose wrinkled as they entered some sort of break room. It /reeked/ of those experiment-happy weaklings. The decor was ignored, of course. Fox wanted her liquor, case closed. "Care for a seat?" What? She just wanted the drink. Did he want to talk about something? She looked up at Agent Zero and quirked an eyebrow. The reason behind it was anyone's guess. Maybe she was thinking along the same lines as Zero, maybe she was mocking him, who knows? Silver-blue pools of suspicion eyed the seat, as if she was considering whether or not straps would whip out and tie her down. Deciding that it would be fine, the Native American mercenary sat down. Fox took one bottle and looked over the label. Straight vodka. Popping it open, the dark-haired feral did give it a little sniff. She set it down and looked at the other bottle. Decisions, decisions... She went for the vodka.

In a rare moment of polite consideration, Fox held out the bottle. "You want a go at it first, or is this all mine?" Ladies and Gents, hell is about to freeze over. Silver Fox just offered up her prefered liquor to someone else.

[Mystic Frost]

"You want a go at it first, or is this all mine?"

Zero stood there for a moment, watching as Fox considered the situation. He hadn't doubted she'd hate their venue, but all the good stuff wasn't stored for your average grunt to access it in the mess hall. Still, her suspicion was apparent, albeit briefly, before deciding to claim a seat for her self and ponder her choice of poison. Patiently waiting as she 'fought' over the issue, Zero found himself wondering how different things were, now. How would she respond if she knew..? Damn did he need a drink to stop thinking so much.

At her offer, Zero's thoughts came to a dead stop. Offering her drink to him? He.. hadn't expected her to do that at all. In the past-- Well, yes, actually, in the past she'd always been possessive over her drink. Perhaps things had changed. For the better? Considering the offer, one might think so.

"A small shot. For comradeship." Settling down across from her, Zero offered the glass for a small pour. Granted, it would be generous to offer the whole bottle, but to simply discard her guesture, out of hand, would be a waste. It might discourage her from future efforts. A small shot would accomplish both aims, then, while leaving it open for her to provide more if she was so inclined.

Waiting for her reply, Zero reached up to remove the mask covering his face. Placing it down across his right leg, Zero once against revealed his masked, but human appearance, just as he had to Maggot before their latest jaunt out into the world. Drinking through the goggle-fitted mask just never turned out right. Besides, Fox had to be getting edgy by not being able to look Zero in the eye; not to mention the whole not smelling bit. He waited, this round, curious if Fox had anything to say, or any questions. Frankly, at the moment, Zero was trying to think about what he would want to say; what they could talk about.

[~*Silver Fox*~]

"A small shot. For comradeship." She quirked an eyebrow, open bottle in hand. Comradeship. Friendship. No matter how you phrased it, it was all pretty much foreign to Fox now. The woman was used to running solo now. She half-believed the mission memories with Weapon X's warped version of the Fantastic Four. Those were...reasonable enough she guessed. It was believable, moreso than many of the other memories and copies of memories in her head. God, sorting through her own head gave her a headache. That sucked in ways that shouldn't have even been possible. She poured him a shot, but didn't pour one for her. "Sure, comradeship." She could buy that, for now. Maybe it was just the alcohol-available atmostphere. Silver Fox had always been easier to deal with when beer or some other alcoholic beverage was in hand.

*clink*

She tapped the bottle against his glass and took a swig. So un-ladylike, but that was Fox for you. Despite her very feminine figure comprised of deep curves, full lips, a flawless skin tone, and a booty comparable to J. Lo's...she could easily pass, as far as mannerisms go, for 'one of the boys'. Settling her feet on the table, Silver Fox considered the option of fully disarming herself. That lasted all of two seconds - no. If he wanted more, eh...she'd think about it. It wasn't like Fox was a backwash type of chick. If she didn't want to share, then she just wasn't going to share. She didn't need to spit it in or whatever - you just wouldn't be getting that particular bottle. Case closed. Well, unless you were Wolverine, in which case it was: argue, argue, listen to Maverick try to reason out a compromise, ignore the suggestion, insult each other, and wrestle for it. But it was the same result - she still kept her bottle. One time she had sat on Logan's stomach after wrestling for it and then she proceeded to drink the entire bottle while sitting on him. How she managed that was anyone's guess, but it was probably because she was positioned to cause some damage that even a healing factor wouldn't help him with.

Good times, good times...sort of. Okay, not really, but at least she was entertained most of the time.

A movement from Agent Zero caused her eyes to snap onto him. Reflex. To her surprise, he removed his mask. ... There was another mask on under there. It was only logical. Fox imagined that it'd be hard to drink with that particular surface mask on. A Bob and Steve joke or reference would go here, but...that's passed the timeline cut off. Oh, and a batch of cookies to anyone that knows what the heck 'Bob and Steve' is supposed to refer to - kudos! Fox looked at the removed mask and then at Zero. "So you /do/ have a face in there - eyes and everything." Zero was right on one account. Being unable to look Zero in the eyes had been grating on Fox's nerves. It had made him just that much more unreadable. It was very frustrating. And Fox didn't do well with prolonged frustration. Do to the extensive amount of time spent mentally complaining about this, Silver Fox indulged herself in staring at Agent Zero.

She had been told that her tendency to stare at people for inordinate amounts of time was kind of disturbing. Her eyes weren't quite normal, everyone knew that. It was one thing to have blue eyes, ice blue eyes. It was one thing to have straight silver eyes, bright silver eyes. It was fine if your eyes happened to glow with either of these colors. But Fox's, well, fox-shaped orbs were an icy blue doused in silver. There wasn't enough of either to have a dominant color; it was balanced - in plain light. There was no glow, but the silver in there could fool you in darker surroundings. They appeared silver in the moonlight and dark places. They appeared icy blue with specks of silver in extremely bright places. Her eyes weren't peculiar exactly, but just unique enough to walk the line and make one do a double-take.

Silver Fox stared a little longer before picking up the other bottle. Did she take a swig? No. The exotic mercenary poured a bit of vodka and a bit of the other drink into a glass. She then picked up the full glass and took a shot, straight to the head as always. No real effect, but it gave her a little mini-buzz-rush-type-deal. It was great. It was as close to drunk as she would ever get with her healing factor 'healing' her. Sensing something weird going on, Fox looked over at Zero. He was looking at her a little funny. Again. She frowned, but it was more out of slight confusion than anything else. "You got something you want to say?" Ah, lovely Ms. Fox - a straight to the point kind of lady.

[Mystic Frost]

"So you /do/ have a face in there - eyes and everything."

Zero nodded slightly, lifting his glass. Pausing, he watched Fox take a drink from the source before indulging himself. That, of course, didn't keep the fiesty woman from making a soft quip about him removing his mask to do so. Hardly a price to pay, knowing just what sort of reaction might come from a complete revealing of himself before her eyes. Fox wouldn't be thrilled with the idea of him hiding behind a mask, and even less pleased recounting all the familiar brushes that couldn't possibly be tied to the unknown man-in-a-mask.

"Handsome as the day I was born." Zero's eyes lifted back up to meet Fox's after pouring a little of bottle two into his glass. There were still doubts about whether he should reveal himself or not. If no one knew, then his death would go unnoticed; in fact, it'd still be easier for, say, Wolverine to kill him when they met in battle. Considering the Director intended for Zero to be the Anti-Wolverine factor, it was only a matter of time until it happened. Surprising the man hadn't tried field testing Zero, yet, in taking out someone similar to Logan. Hell, they had three of their very own Logan-like ferals roaming the base. Thankfully it had yet to happen.

Even whilst the warrioress stared at him, and he her, Zero wondered what Fox was thinking. She and Logan had always been the rough, abrassive fighters, but Zero never gave up hope with either being far more thoughtful than many gave them credit for. Albeit, they were very, very obsessed with beer.

"You got something you want to say?"

"There's always something to talk about, but not always a lot to say, Fox," he replied calmly, setting his glass aside and once more turning his attention back to her. "What's on your mind?" Besides knowing his name, he silently added to himself; it was a foregone conclusion Fox wanted to know more than just that Zero was a human male. Still, so far they were dancing around saying more than a few grunts.

[Sexyfrog]

((Continued from Futile Searches))

After leaving the cells, Jean-Paul decided to stop tapping into his speed. He’d simply lose too much blood if he kept it up, with his heart pounding at a rate that was comparable to that of a hummingbird, pumping the blood right out of his body. It didn’t take long, once he made it to the labs, for him to find some bandages. In a place like this, they were probably not intended to be used for bandaging wounds, but no one was there to stop him. The scientists had no experiments going on at the moment, and so had no need to be there.

Rummaging through the various cabinets, he managed to find some disinfectant and cotton swabs. Again, he doubted that this was meant for use on wounds that had been inflicted prior to entering the labs, but again he did not care. Removing his shirt, he began to carefully clean the five gouges Sabretooth left in his skin. And the feral wondered why Jean-Paul didn’t want to work with him…he didn’t even consider the possibility that his irrational rage and homicidal tendencies could have anything to do with it.

The wounds weren’t terribly deep, which was fortunate, for while they were still bordering on needing stitches, Jean-Paul figured he’d be fine without them. He wouldn’t have done it anyway, not only did he not know how to sew, there was something unappealing about learning to do so on his own skin. Upon deciding that the wounds were sufficiently clean, he bandaged them quickly, but made sure no blood seeped through before deciding he was finished.

Pulling his blood stained, ruined shirt back on, Jean-Paul headed down the hall. Hearing voices, he drew near and peered in. Silver Fox and the masked man, who was now wearing a different mask to allow him to eat. Seeing as it was his allies, even if not his allies by choice, rather than the scientists who were sick enough to choose to work in this place, he entered.

He’d seen this break room before, when searching for Aurora, but at the time was concerned with little more than the fact that his sister was not there and so did not fully take in the room. The décor of the room was far better than that of the cells, and Jean-Paul would approve, if he wasn’t all too aware that it was only because the room was not for them, but the scientists. After all, it would be hard to keep skilled scientists working for a place like this if they themselves were forced to live in a degrading and disgusting environment. Unless the Director simply slapped collars on them, too.

Walking up to the other two, he noticed the alcohol, and deciding he needed some after having to deal with Sabretooth examined the two bottles without seeming to acknowledge the existence of the other two. Straight vodka. He grimaced and looked at the other bottle. Jack Daniels. Neither were to his taste, although he shouldn’t have been surprised considering his location.

The sorts of alcohol he was used to were usually expensive wines and other overpriced drinks that often costing over $1,000 a bottle, something that both of these things definitely weren’t. Getting himself a glass, Jean-Paul debated for a moment over which was the lesser of two evils, and eventually decided on the vodka, pouring himself a small amount and taking a delicate sip, wincing for an instant that could barely be seen as the burning sensation of alcohol ran down his throat. Not how most drank vodka, but he was not going to change his habits simply because the situation could not provide him a better drink.

“Clearly, whoever stocked this cafeteria has a horrible taste in drinks.”

Despite this declaration, Jean-Paul continued to sip at his drink, not really minding it as much as he claimed, although he would prefer something a little…better.

[~*Silver Fox*~]

"Handsome as the day I was born." Fox wasn't sure whether she should say something to that. Actually, even if she did desperately want to tag a sarcastic remark onto that; she wasn't sure what to say. What would one say to that? She could question it, but she had the feeling that Zero would be able to say something back. It was sort of...refreshing to have someone around that could take her dry, sometimes biting, comments in stride and say something right back. Most people took offense, some rightly so. Some didn't know what to say to the intimidating woman. Others tried to start something and ended up get their asses handed to them. Really, some people were so /sensitive/. But as for Agent Zero's comment, Fox opted to merely quirk her eyebrow up at him. Weirdo. Hypocrite. Tch...

"There's always something to talk about, but not always a lot to say, Fox." Fox put her bottle down after taking another swig of the vodka. "Must you always reply with something profound-borderlining-philosophical?" She sniffed at him. "Be a man - say something crude, something vulgar - hell, hit on me or something." Zero's comments often made her want to sit in reflective silence, thinking about whatever he said to her. All she needed to be thinking about was staying alive and carrying out her plans. She couldn't pick apart Zero's every word and keep the others from getting her killed at the same time. Okay, so she could, but that was just too much work to the Native American huntress.

"What's on your mind?"

To that, Fox snorted and took a long swig of vodka. "That's supposed to be a simple question." Sad thing that it wasn't. "If I could make enough sense of what's been put in my head, then I could answer that for you." She couldn't tell whether something was an original thought of hers or some idea based on things that hadn't really happened to her. She knew few people who could honestly reference memories that weren't their own from inside their own minds. Just thinking about the deadly labyrinth that was her mind made her head hurt. Most telepaths/psychics could tell off the bat that trying to tap into her head was some seriously risky business. Her mind was a web of false memories, lies, and half-known truths. They might get in easily enough, but it'd be a bitch to get out. "But just to name something, I was thinking about whether or not you've pictured me naked before," she said plainly. Just as it always was with her suggestive comments, it was pretty much impossible to tell if she meant it or not.

Speedy scent hit her ten seconds before he sped on in. Upon reaching the doorway, he walked up to them all calm like. He eyes both bottles, acting as if he'd stumbled upon this room all on his own. They might as well have not been there at all. “Clearly, whoever stocked this cafeteria has a horrible taste in drinks.” Fox gestured to her collar. "And this isn't an indication of bad taste in general?" Really, if they couldn't make a better fitting collar, then they couldn't possibly have good taste in drinks. But what would Fox know? Actually, what would she care? Silver Fox wasn't that particular about the alcohol she took in. Granted, she seemed to share Logan's preference of 'good' beer over everything else, vodka being next in line, followed by Tequila, Jack Daniels, Bourbon, and Hypnotic, oddly enough. Whatever, Frenchie could drink what he wanted; this suited her just fine.

She almost glowered at the man when he took her bottle of vodka - yes, she was laying claim to it! - and poured himself a glass. He sipped at it delicately and Fox mentally scoffed at the technique. Men. Okay, gay men, but whatever. Gingerly picking up the bottle, Fox decided she'd be keeping a hold of her liquor now. No sharing for the moment; Zero and Speedy would have to deal with the JD.

[Mystic Frost]

"Be a man - say something crude, something vulgar - hell, hit on me or something."

Zero looked up at Fox, eyes wide open with a hint of surprise, amusement, or both, as though he were just innocently prattling along, completely unaware of any foul play on his part. What? He couldn't be any less philosophical any more than Logan could find it in his heart to learn Latin. Not Latin American. Not that it couldn't happen! It just... wouldn't happen in this universe. Until Hell froze over. Twice.

"If I could make enough sense of what's been put in my head, then I could answer that for you."

Wasn't that the truth. A truth? Could a barrel full of lies be considered truths? Where did what was and what might have been begin to blur? Were regrets any less a part of one's past, as they might be things to come? Did it matter? "Distraction," he replied evenly, letting his gaze linger, not shying away under her gaze by any means, "you are who you wish to be." Had she and Logan had a quaint cabin in the mountains all alone, living life merrily? Was it all a dream? Did it matter? Yes, a gross violation of one's mind had happened--and for that the Director and his kind deserved their punishment--but should the collateral damage be allowed to exceed the initial impact? Should the damage never cease to eat away at a person's soul?

Damn. What was he trying to do? Analyze Fox, or convince himself there was more to do than hope someone put him out of his misery?

"But just to name something, I was thinking about whether or not you've pictured me naked before."

Zero's gaze still did not waver, but neither did he reply, as he had before. There it was again, Fox suggesting she wanted physical comfort. Not that Zero could deny a certain attraction, and need for closeness, himself, but it was Fox... they'd fought together too many times, with Logan at their side. She and Logan were close. How could he even consider intruding on that, even if it might be some false memory? Besides, was he really ready to face the truth? To have someone that would know, that could care, uncover what he'd become. Could she bear it, having suffered so much deception, so far?

Naturally, however alone they thought they were, they weren't. Northstar waltz into the room, looking worse for wear than usual, and swipe up Fox's vodka. Zero watched the man pour a drink, sip at it, quip about the quality, and stand before Fox's rebuttal. Hell, Northstar should be so fortunate she hadn't torn him up one side, down the other, then tangoed over his bloodied corpse for touching her bottle. As it was, she quietly laid claim to it once more in a movement that, for the observant or caring, would be easily decypherable.

"Clearly, you've been in a fight," was all Zero had to say. Leave the war of alcohol to those that were far more adept at its tastes than he; Northstar's battered form hadn't gone unnoticed. Fox likely hadn't overlooked it, either, but probably felt no need, or care, to inquire. Zero, however, could easily guess the assailant and had no issue with marking up another reason to settle "old scores" some time in the near future. Rabid animals deserved to be cage... or shot.

[Sexyfrog]

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” he said in response to Silver Fox’s comment.

Jean-Paul could not argue with her words, for the collars showed bad taste in many ways. It was certainly in bad taste to enslave human beings, to force them to do things against their will and to use collars to kill them if they tried to escape or shock them when they stepped out of line. It was in bad taste to make people wear a bulky thing around their neck that could be quite irritating when he was trying to rest, the weight a constant reminder of his enslavement. It was an ugly thing as well, although compared to the other problems that one was fairly minor, but it did demonstrate another sense of general bad taste that seemed to surround anything the Director touched.

"Clearly, you've been in a fight,"

While Jean-Paul had been taking another sip of his drink when he heard this, the grimace that crossed his face at these words had nothing to do with the bitter taste of alcohol. Yes, he had been, and once he recovered from his wounds he’d have to get back at Sabretooth somehow, to ensure that the feral understood that he could not get away with this and to keep him from thinking that Northstar was the ‘weaker prey’ that Omega Red said he was. Sabretooth probably thought he was stronger and better than the speedster, but Jean-Paul was certain that his catching the Quebecois skier could be attributed to nothing more than chance.

“Yes, I found Sabretooth lurking in my sister’s cell and felt he had no right to be there.”

Really, it bothered him that the feral was spending time in there, even if it probably was only because he knew that Jean-Paul would show up in that room sooner or later in his search for Aurora. Still, an annoying part of his brain worried that Sabretooth may have his own reason for being near her things, for sniffing her out and knowing she wasn’t there, for offering to help, and Jean-Paul didn’t like it. He knew that Aurora’s beauty often attracted the wrong sort, and that she had the most horrible taste in who to trust, and feared what would happen if she was found and Sabretooth was still around.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any signs of her anywhere. Sabretooth said he couldn’t smell her, but he isn’t the sort I’d trust. You wouldn’t have happened to have smelled her around anywhere, would you, Silver Fox?”

His voice was the epitome of irritability and disgust, but with his final question there was just the slightest hint of hope. Not much of it, seeing as he was nearly certain that the answer would be ‘no’, but a powerful want, a need, to find out what happened to his sister clouded his mind and kept him from truly believing that he’d never see her again.

[~*Silver Fox*~]

At her prompting for him to 'man up', Zero looked up at her, eyes wide with...something. It looked surprise. Amused surprise. He /would/ find amusement in that. Her comments seemed to amuse him to some extent. She wondered what he thought was so funny. As for the surprise, well, she was a surprising person. Okay, maybe not, but whatever. Those that didn't know her very well, or those that had yet to adjust to Silver Fox's....mannerisms, would find such comments surprising. After all, who would make such suggestive comments in a case like this - even in jest? How could Fox even jest?

Actually, that question doesn't matter since Fox wasn't kidding. Agent Zero was free to say whatever he wanted as long as it didn't piss her off. Zero could curse the Director, tell her that he also thought the infamous Silver Fox was a man - a terrible presumption by the way, tell her he wanted to play strip poker without the cards - something! She told him she didn't know what to say, basically, and he replied in that oh-so-calm way of his. "Distraction," - "you are who you wish to be." Her eyes narrowed at the man. Downing another mixed shot, Fox grunted. For a moment, it appeared that that would be her reply and Zero's desire for this conversation to stay out of the realm of interpreted grunts would be squashed. "Is that a fact?" she asked dryly. Fox begged to differ. She could think of a million things she would rather be than a bloodthirsty mercenary feral woman. "I tried that whole 'be your own person' crap," she told him. "It didn't work." No, her bloodlust - stupid ferality - had kicked in and then *poof* bye-bye normal life.

"It doesn't go over well for a police officer or a CEO of any company or a bodyguard to go around killing people due to primal urges that won't go away," she told him in a matter-of-fact tone. It didn't do to just let them bleed, to just see the blood. Oh no....her animalistic side wanted to see it /all/ leak onto the pavement, the asphalt, the marble floor, the dirt and grass, the sand... It didn't matter where, she just had to have it all the way or it'd be as if she had done nothing at all. And it wasn't just shoot 'em up, blow 'em up, distance killing. Nah, this had to be an in-your-face gutting. The crimson liquid constituting life's essence had to be staining her claws and skin. Thankfully, she had learned to resist tasting it. She had no such urges anymore, but that was all the progress she had made. Silver Fox had the feeling that that would be all the progress she'd ever make.

Twin glaciers looked at Zero. "It seems that I am the sum of what I've done. Be it the actions of myself or the actions of a clone - not that I can tell the difference anymore - it's all in here." She tapped her left temple. "And, like a virus, it has spread to whatever is left of here." Her trigger finger tapped her heart. "I am a mercenary, an assassin...a killer through and through." She took a 'healthy' swig of the vodka before directing her gaze at Zero again. "Nothing I can do will ever change that." She looked at the bottle of vodka, her mind drawing up some memory that may or may not be hers, may or may not be real.

"You can escape this."

"I can't. This is all I've ever known."

"That's a lie, and--"

"You don't know that."

"I /do/ know that and you would to if you'd just listen to me! We can change this Fox..."

"We can't." Footsteps.

"Fox!"

"/I/ can't." Fading footsteps.

"FOX!"

Silence.

"No matter what he thinks," she muttered to herself. He said nothing about the nudity comment and she cocked her head at him. Fine; he didn't have to answer. "I think you have." She was pretty sure he had thought about her that way, at least once. Silver Fox was not a stupid woman. Anyone who thought so would quickly find out otherwise. The Native American woman was very aware of her looks. She knew that she was, to put it plainly, 'hot'. She was freaking gorgeous, desirable, and Fox knew it. The female feral had used that to her advantage on countless assignments. Hell, she had used them on missions with 'the others'.

"Fox, what are you doing?"

"Stripping."

"I can see that."

"I bet."

"*sighs* /Why/ are you stripping? We're supposed to be taking out this base, not putting on a show for them."

"We can get through this mission a lot faster with a big distraction that won't kill anyone - yet. Those guards are all men, I can smell it."

"You're going to distract them by prancing around naked?"

"None of them are /blind/ Mav' and I don't think they're gay either. Oh, and I don't 'prance' either."

"Right."

"Of course I am, and quit staring at my chest Logan. We all know you're an ass man anyway."

“Yes, I found Sabretooth lurking in my sister’s cell and felt he had no right to be there.”

Fox's nose wrinkled. "I knew I smelled something off about you. Creed's rotten scent is all over you." Creed had been lurking around the dom chick's cell? Not good. Silver Fox's expression signaled that she was thinking deeply about this, brooding. "Creed doesn't do well around women. Can't seem to keep his hands to himself," she grumbled. It sounded like this was something she knew all too well. Her face went blank as Speedy asked her where his sister was. No, he'd asked her if she had smelled the other woman around. It was essentially the same question though. "I get the feeling you already know the answer to that question." She kept her bottle of straight vodka close to her. He wouldn't be stealing anymore of her precious liquor. "But I'll tell you this: the last time I picked up her scent was near these labs. That was a while ago though."

[Mystic Frost]

"Nothing I can do will ever change that."

"Then, perhaps," Zero mused quietly, Northstar hovering nearby at this point, "it's up to some one else to show you how." Gazing out at Fox, he wondered if it was continued fool's hope, or some selfish desire to help himself, that encouraged him to stand at Fox's side. Watching, lifting up, listening... all things he did then and now, in so many ways. Would it make a difference? Did it matter? You could sit on your ass every day of the week and not make a difference; at least he was trying, at least there was the chance, the opportunity, for change. Maybe it wouldn't change Fox, but like a row of dominos...

Aw, hell, maybe he should down his alcohol like Fox did. He was thinking too much. Hard to relax when you were debating philosophy and the complicated web of life.

"I think you have."

Now that was a story in and of itself. Pity they still weren't at that point in their relationship--whatever form that would turn out to be--for him to relate it. They were both looking to think of lighter topics, it would seem. "Long story. Maybe I'll draw a picture about it, later," Zero's eyes shifted to the side, watching Northstar as he stood there, apprehensive, in his own way. "I hear it works in most other therapy sessions." Then she could frame it and put it up in her cell; Fox would just love a nude picture of herself hanging on the wall. She probably wouldn't care, until someone said something, then she'd kill them, then maybe Zero...or just them.

"But I'll tell you this: the last time I picked up her scent was near these labs. That was a while ago though."

"Before you think about breaking in to every lab to look for her, can I make a cliche suggestion?" A sharp gaze set squarely on Northstar's figure, "Don't. The more you scream, the worse it gets." Still, ignoring the plight of the derranged, if relatively "innocent" girl wouldn't be his style. Either of their styles. "I've had the pleasure of meeting some of our 'greatest' minds, here. I'll see what I can do." Had to give him some hope, at least; try deferring the wanton destruction to another day. The next day. Hell, the next minute. Director had some nerve trying to piss off a man capable of traveling the world twice over before you could blink.

[Sexyfrog]

After what had happened earlier, it was not surprising that Creed’s scent was all over him. Nor was it surprising that the filthy beast’s odor would be quite unpleasant to the woman, seeing as it was offensive to Jean-Paul’s own nose and his senses weren’t even enhanced. Still, hearing the comment actually spoken made him want to shower, to wash every last remenant of that fowl creature away.

"Creed doesn't do well around women. Can't seem to keep his hands to himself,"

“He seems to have difficulties around men, as well.”

Jean-Paul knew what she meant, not that Sabretooth necessarily had a habit of tearing women open, which he did, but also a tendency to touch them in a more…sexual way. However, he’d begun to suspect that Sabretooth might be attracted to him as well, so while this touch was a savage attack, he wouldn’t be surprise if the feral tried what she meant as well. Jean-Paul also noted that she sounded like she knew something about the subject, which didn’t come as a surprise.

Silver Fox had made an allusion to something similar before and he suspected that Sabretooth had done something to her in the past, which again was not surprising. The only thing Sabretooth could do that would be unexpected would be if he were to act civilized for a change. This was exactly the reason he had been bothered so by the fact that Sabretooth had been in Aurora’s cell, for while he often was irritated when any man had anything to do with her, himself excluded, those feelings were particularly strong when it came to that monster.

"I get the feeling you already know the answer to that question."

Those words gave him a sinking feeling. Yes, he’d known what the answer was, although he did not want to. She’d not smelled his sister anywhere. What she said after gave him little hope; for he’d already checked every inch of the labs he had access to. Of course, there were sections that were a little…harder to get in. Perhaps she’d been moved there, hidden to agitate him. Or for an experiment of some sort, but he hoped that the Director was simply trying to drive him completely insane so that he’d be easier to control.

Zero seemed to predict the French Canadian’s train of thought, however, and quickly gave his opinion on the matter. Jean-Paul shot the man a glare, unhappy with any advice that involved telling him to sit back and leave his sister on her own wherever she may be. Although, he did see some truth in the advice. Perhaps his urgency, his sheer panic amused the Director, and perhaps that alone was what kept her locked away wherever she was. How could he just give up on her?

It would be hard to make himself stop looking without wondering if he was on the wrong track completely, if perhaps his ceasing of the search only ensured that she’d remain somewhere hidden, being tortured with no hope of escape. Agent Zero saying he’d look into this helped a little, and the anger in Northstar’s look seemed to fade a bit, but there was still an intensity to his gaze, a determination to find out what had happened to his only family.

“I will give you a day, if you do not have any information on her whereabouts by then I will resume my search myself.”

Of course, he realized belatedly, if the Director was keeping her away from him just to drive him insane, he just gave a sign of his desperation, which would only prolong his wait until her return. What he’d have to do is call off his search, or at least appear to have, until it became clear whether that had anything to do with her not being around. He felt more than a little uncertain about the statement he was about to make, and was actually showing a bit of it on his face, which was quite unusual for him. This was one of the few subjects that forced him to show how he really felt, and he didn’t like it. Jean-Paul just wished he knew where she was and what had happened to her so he could focus on something else.

“Or…I’ll just let you handle it,” he said, not sounding entirely truthful, but it was a start even if he did suspect that both of them knew that he wouldn’t really be able to stop his search for long.

[~*Silver Fox*~]

"Then, perhaps," - "it's up to some one else to show you how." He looked at her and received a genuine expression of confusion. That lasted all of three seconds before Fox's eyes narrowed. It wasn't suspicion. She tilted her head at him. "Are you offering?" That's an odd thing to say to someone if you weren't offering. Suspicion seeped back in. UNLESS... "Or are you refering to someone else?" It better not be who she thought it was. It was bad enough that the most recent confrontation still had her second-guessing every decision she'd ever made concerning that. The last thing she needed, in that respect, was for someone else to side with Cabin Boy.

This was all to reflective. She needed something base and primal to throw it all off. She sighed before pouring herself a glass of vodka instead of drinking straight out of the bottle. "I suppose that's as close to a come on as I'm going to get from you, isn't it?" Silver Fox was really starting to think that ferals could, indeed, go into heat. If it was true, Fox figured she was well on her way. Or maybe she'd make this into a little game. See how many suggestive comments and queries she could make before the Scentless Wonder here finally said something. He only stared at her after every comment like that. Damn him and his pensive staring. It made her want to sit and think too, but Fox didn't want to think about the ways of the world. She knew the ways of the world. Survival of the fittest. The weak gain strength by betraying the strong, turning the strong against each other and slip away, or they die. Do or die.

"Long story. Maybe I'll draw a picture about it, later." Silver Fox smirked as she drained her glass, rosy lips curled to the side. "I hope you're a good artist then." It was tradition to have pictures of scantily clad or naked women in prison cells right? She batted for both teams anyway, so it would work for her. And who would have the nerve to try and take it anyway? They'd probably enjoy it if it was any good. "Do you need me to pose or can you do it from memory?" Trick question. As far as she knew, Zero had never seen her nude. This could either suggest that he'd seen her naked a while ago - meaning that he knew her somehow or that Zero had been peeking when she showered here. Fox's mind was thinking about the latter, as the former wasn't a possibility in her mind. So the trick was either he wanted to see her naked and would just say so now or he'd peeked in on her in the showers.

"I hear it works in most other therapy sessions." Fox snorted. "Therapy - too expensive at this point." Not that she didn't have a stash that could secure her many years worth of sessions. Fox was ready for Speedy to go zipping off again, but Zero had to put his two cents in. "Before you think about breaking in to every lab to look for her, can I make a cliche suggestion?" Not that a 'no' would stop him. "Don't. The more you scream, the worse it gets." Yeah, it'd be just the like Director to egg Speedy on, dangling his sister for bait. Probably trying to break the man. Dirty. Fox, as far as she knew, was an only child and could not relate to the strong sibling bond thing. Of course, knowing Fox, it wasn't likely that having a sibling would make a difference. In fact, Fox was fairly sure that she would have grown to hate any sibling she could have had. That, or they'd be dead by now anyway.

Her second-in-command offered to help out a little, which was more than Fox was willing to go for. If Speedy wanted to turn this place inside-out looking for his sister, then he was welcome to do so. Wait...she'd probably get in trouble for not 'discouraging' him from such a thing. Eh... “He seems to have difficulties around men, as well.” Fox would have choked on her drink...if she had been drinking right then. Okay, that was just /not/ something you wanted to hear or think about /ever/. "Figures." Can't have one gender, move onto the next. Perv. Anyway, Speedy said he'd give Zero a day - which would probably drag on quite slowly for Speedy here - before resuming the search all by his lonesome. Yeah, you do that, she thought while pouring herself another glass. Hm, the bottle was almost empty. She had almost forgotten how quickly she could drain a bottle. Ooo, she'd be an expensive date someday.

Speedy faltered a moment, something unpleasant - probably - popping into his mind. She watched his expression. His scent indicated mild distress. What? “Or…I’ll just let you handle it.” It didn't sound like he meant it. It sounded like someone had forced him to say that or something. The Native American femme fatale wouldn't call him on it though. She doubted it would last, but it'd be one less thing she'd have to think about, one less person to hold back from whatever agenda. "...."

[Mystic Frost]

Zero eyed Northstar but had no further comment about the man's resolve, lack of certainty, or any other concern just oozing out of the poor man. A tad obvious, given they were enclosed within an environment that was monitored constantly for any sign of rebellion or trouble of any kind. Come stay at the luxurious dungeon, fashioned straight from the pages of Dante's Inferno! Who was their Public Relations manager? Hell, who was their decorator? Consult any good rocks, lately?

"It's not a matter of someone making it a point to assign themself to help you, Fox. Only that someone manages to succeed in the effort," he replied smoothly, not bothering to insinuate himself or Logan as potential candidates of leading Fox to a more 'enlightened' path.

"I suppose that's as close to a come on as I'm going to get from you, isn't it?"

Blinking, Zero gazed at the woman settled across from him. "Out of respect, I'd never thought about flagrantly tossing one-line quips at you, Fox. I'd think you'd get enough of those from the guards pretending to be soliders camped throughout our dark, dank home." Or, perhaps, none of them did offer such 'treats' seeing how she was a 'dirty mutant' and they the 'holy avengers' sent by God to cleanse the planet. Something stupid like that.

"Do you need me to pose or can you do it from memory?"

"As for your physique, you could pose now, and I could do it from memory later." Zero stared at her quietly, then, though the steel look to his gaze softened a bit, hinting at the bit of humor in that. Trick question, indeed. Pity she never told him he had to color between the lines.

Glancing up from her, Zero examined Northstar once more, "Sorry. I'll find out what I can, Northstar. We'll find her." Apologize for somewhat ignoring him, and for the lack of interest he might have in seeing Fox naked. What could he say? She was attractive; it was just other considerations didn't favor the arrangement, currently.

[Sexyfrog]

He had no interest in their flirtatious talk and plans to have Zero draw Silver Fox nude. It was not an image that would particularly interest Northstar, and even if it did, he had more important priorities at the moment. Was it not for the bits of conversation that were directed toward him, primarily about his search for his sister, he probably would have left already and let these two do as they pleased together.

Seeing her reaction to his comment about Sabretooth, Jean-Paul smirked, enjoying the surprise and disgust. Really, the latter was the only appropriate thing to feel about that man, and he was certain that it was the fact that it was Sabretooth that made her disgusted. After all, she’d been disgusted by every part of that feral’s sexuality, not just his obvious attraction to Jean-Paul. Who could blame her?

He began to grow bored of this conversation, however, seeing as it had less and less to do with him and his search and more and more to do with Zero and Silver Fox, and neither of them were interesting enough to keep him around. So, when Agent Zero seemed to conclude the conversation about the search for Aurora with a few words of encouragement, the silver haired speedster decided that he might as well go.

“Of course. She is not anywhere we can get to, but someone around here has to know what the Director has done with her,” Jean-Paul replied, his own words encouraging him.

There was probably some doctor or guard or something that they could get information out of. It would probably be hard to get to her right away after that, but knowing her location would help them at least come up with a plan to get her out. If nothing else, it would at least be more than they had at the moment, completely unable to even think of how to rescue her, since they didn’t know what sort of situation she was in.

For now, however, there was nothing Jean-Paul could do, so he turned and raced off, leaving the other two on their own. He suspected they would prefer that anyway, judging by the way they spoke before. Not exactly romantic, but considering their location that was hardly surprising, but lustful in a way that, surprisingly, did not seem as crude. A pleasant break from the likes of Sabretooth.

((TBC: Elsewhere.))