*3rd Person's POV*
The agent walked down the corridors of SHIELD HQ. He walked with purpose, pretending that he belonged among the crowed hallway of agents rushing back and forth between assignments. He made a sharp turn down a much emptier hallway, sliding his card to gain access to the room behind the door that stood in front of him. Smirking when the red light turned green, he walked through the now opened door.
Sabertooth was sat on the other side of the, practically, indestructible wall when the stranger enter the room. He looked up to meet brown eyes that flashed yellow then back to brown. Sabertooth was on his feet, sharing the same smirk as the stranger.
"About time," he growled. "Do you know how long I've been here?"
"He thought you could use some time to think about getting caught." the stranger answered, pulling a small, circular device out of his back pocket.
Sabertooth didn't respond, knowing that he would be left here if had said what he wanted to. The man placed the device on the wall, stepping back after he pressed the button in the middle. Sabertooth backed up too, shielding himself as the explosion went off.
"We have to make this quick, before the cameras come back on and they realize you're gone." the man stated, opening the door.
"As long as we get out of here, then get Howlett and her groupies."
"Groupies?" the man questioned, looking over his shoulder at Sabertooth.
"The Avengers." he hissed.
"Like the Avengers will ever find us."
"It's not them I'm exactly worried about."
Sabertooth was more afraid of the 18 year old girl than anyone else, based on her and her families history. But he wasn't about to admit that.
***************
Logan cursed loudly, causing Kat to jump and almost fall over her own feet. She caught herself just in time, but she couldn't say much for the popcorn she spilled all over the carpet. It was movie night at the Tower.
"Dang it," Kat fumed as one of Tony's bots came to clean it up. "Thanks, Dum-E."
Kat looked over to where Logan had just stormed into the living room, "What's wrong now? Alien invasion? Been there, done that."
"Sabertooth's been bused out." Logan informed.
"I'm getting my suit on." Kat stated, running out of the room, everyone going to do the same.
****************
Kat, Logan, Loki, and Bruce were all standing in the control room, watching the recording from the jail break. Who ever had broken Sabertooth out tried to disarm the cameras but their back up's kicked in right after. Natasha, Clint, Tony, and Steve had gone out to search the area nearby and parts of the city that they could have escaped to.
"The man was 5'11", brown hair and eyes, and taking the place of an agent." Fury described.
"Taking the place?" Bruce questioned.
"Yes. The agent in question is half way around the world with about 20 eyewitnesses that he was there the time of the escape."
"So we're lookin' for a shape-shifter." Logan stated.
"Or an illusionist." Loki pointed out.
"Before anyone says anything, Loki was accounted for during the time frame." Kat spoke harshly, daring anyone to go against her.
"We know that it wasn't him, Miss. Howlett," Fury assured her. "But whoever it was must be close to Sabertooth. Do you two have any ideas on who it could have been?"
Fury had addressed the question to Kat and Logan, knowing that they would know Sabertooth's allies for that anyone.
"There are a few." Logan answered.
"But not many with this power. For example, if I switch cameras," she started clicking the mouse and typing on the keyboard in front of her. "Play the footage in slow motion and zoom in on the man's eyes you'll see..."
The man's eyes switched between brown to yellow back to brown. Logan felt recognition sweep over him.
"Mystique."
"Yep," Kat turned around in the swivel chair to face the men. "She's the only one who would bust Sabertooth out and do it so idiotically."
"The question is why." Bruce spoke up.
"Why don't we go find out?" Kat grinned.
"How?" Fury asked.
"When I moved to New York, I wanted to keep tabs on all of my enemies. So, I spent the first year educating myself. I learned their hideouts, their rendezvous points, where they sell their souls for information, practically everything I could."
"And?"
"There's only one place close enough for them to get away and not be noticed."
Kat explained that there was a secluded cave in the middle of the nearby woods. Fury contacted the rest of the team to tell them where to go next.
"Miss. Howlett, if you keep this up I may have to marry you to keep you here."
"Get in line." Kat joked, making eye contact with Loki briefly.
**************
*Kat's POV*
Me, Logan, and Loki were waiting a safe distance away from the mouth of the cave as we waited for the rest of the team to show up. We were able to talk regularly without the cave echoing our words, not that we were doing a lot of talking. It felt like Logan could sense what happened between Loki and I. He kept glaring at Loki, lowly growling if he thought Loki got too close to me.
Finally, the rest of the team got there. Dr. B had wanted to hang back at SHIELD to wait for us to return.
"Ready?" Cap asked us after we went over the plan one more time.
"Yeah, let's get 'em." I bounced on the balls of my feet, ready to beat down either one of the mutants we might find in the cave.
We all walked out from the brush and headed into towards the mouth of the cave, but we never got to the entrance due to the unknown and unnecessary greeting. Sabertooth, Mystique, and a few dozen dark Elves emerged from the cave and the shadows surrounding it.
"We really could have use Banner." Stark stated, his mask closing over his face.
"Ya think?" Logan asked gruffly, preparing his claws like I was.
"Give us the girl and we'll think about letting you live." Mystique smirked, making me want to claw it right off her face.
"That won't be happening anytime soon." Loki scoffed.
"Come and get me, you piece of-"
"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Mystique asked, covering her mouth with fake innocence. "Oops, I forgot. She's dead."
Out of anger, I plunged my claws through the Dark Elf that was trying to get closer to me. Withdrawing my hands, it fell to the ground with a thump.
"You wanna come say that to my face?"
That's when the fight broke out. With me, clawing my way through the Elves to get to Mystique, Logan already half way to Sabertooth and my team fighting off the Elves. I had to admit that the Elves were determined to kill me. Too bad I had my mind set on something, they never had a chance.
After digging my heel into one's side and my left fist following shortly after, I was right in front of Mystique.
"My, you really haven't managed your anger over the years." she taunted.
"How can I when you idiots are always around the corner to make it spike?"
She was the first to strike, turning into Juggernaut and landing a blow to my face. I recover faster than someone usually would to that, jumping from my crouched position to pushed her onto her back.
"You know, for someone who likes to talk about mothers, you are a really crappy one." I provoked her.
She turned into Beast (the X-Man) and kicked me in the chest to push my away from her. We both stood and began circling each other.
"You stole my children from me."
"Running away is not kidnapping. And frankly, I don't blame them one bit," I narrowed my eyes. "I'm more of a mother to them than you ever were or could be."
She pounced at me, making me leapfrog over her, my hands landing on her back to push her into the ground. As we landed, me on my feet and her on her face, I turned to stand over her.
"You really screwed up."
She spat dirt and I think some blood of her mouth before she began to speak.
"You? A mother?" She laughed comically. "You couldn't even protect that boy from a bullet."
"No, I couldn't but that doesn't mean I can't protect everyone else from you and anyone else with your intentions," I placed my boot on her throat when she turned to face me from the ground. "I finally realize that now."
"How encouraging." she said, trying not to gasp.
Reaching for my belt I pulled out my dart gun, shooting two into her to knock her out for the time being. Once her eyes closed, I put the collar that would contain her powers around her neck. Looking around, I noticed that everyone was working on the last of the Elves and Logan was putting the other collar on Sabertooth while he struggled.
"You think you can contain me, Wolverine?! You can't keep me in a cage forever!" Sabertooth was saying as I walked up to them, putting a giant dart in the slot.
"Yeah, yeah. You, the powerful Sabertooth, could never be kept down by us, the stupid heroes. Newsflash," I shot the dart into his leg. "Looks like we can."
Logan let go of him when Sabertooth stopped struggling and closed his eyes.
"I'm not carrying that oaf," I stated as the rest of the team began to join us. "I have enough problems, I'm not adding my back to it."
Logan chuckled as he bent down to throw Sabertooth over his shoulder.
"Let me." Loki offered, noticing Logan was more tired than he would admit.
"I don't need your help."
"I did not say that you did. I was merely being polite.
Before Logan could say anything I thanked Loki and moved to put Logan's arm around my shoulder.
"Come one, old man. The faster we return Dumb and Dumber to SHIELD, the faster you can go to bed."
"I'm not that old."
"You were in World War II!"
"And you were born before the first one." he teased.
"Well, I look good for my age." I laughed, winking at Loki, who had Sabertooth levitating in the air.
"Let's go." Natasha said, ready to leave as well.