11588/Into the Wild

Into the Wild
Date of Scene:	03 June 2020
Location:	Lost in the New York Woods
Synopsis:	Cyclops and Jean Grey investigates a disturbance and finds Sabretooth. They took home a stray.
Cast of Characters:	Sabretooth, Cyclops, Phoenix

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Sabretooth has posed:
    It is nighttime out in the woods. There is a faint path through the old growth but it is hard to see. Maybe a hikers trail, but one mostly left for the woods to claim. Some moonlight is filtering down through the leaves and branches as the wind causes the younger trees to bend and wave. There is the smell of mud, flora, and the damp decomposing leaves on the ground. This is a place of life and death all together.

    Victor Creed sits down at the base of one of the big trees. He is crouched so only his feet are on the ground and he is ready to move. He is still as the forest seems to breath around him.

Cyclops has posed:
What could possibly bring out the leadership of the X-Men deep into the woods and at this time of night? With the around the small town that Victor was about causing all types of damage and chaos, they decided to intervene. Logan is not with them, and that may be on purpose, as they planned on dealing with this with some tact if possible. The last thing they needed was an all out bloody war involving claws and loud profanity when cooler heads may be able to control the situation.

That, and Scott is bringing The Phoenix along. With Jean masking their presence with her telepathy, they hone in on the berserker as they go through the trail. Once they spy him, the masquerade is dropped and they flicker into view.

"Sabertooth." Scott says with a tight voice, moonlight gleaming off his red visor. He is in his blue and gold uniform, complete with tactical bodyarmor. If things go south, it will provide a bit of protection.

Phoenix has posed:
No doubt, Logan was gonna be pissed to be left behind, and Jean wasn't entirely sure she'd disagreed. But, she trusted Scott's judgement and hoped that a peaceful solution was possible. They'd just have to ask for forgiveness after the fact.

She's dressed in her green uniform, gold marked and booted with the metallic fabric catching the moonlight. It casts a muted glow to the edges of loose, fiery hair. "You look like you're expecting company." She says quietly as she looks to the man crouched below the tree, her eyes glancing briefly to their surroundings. It was a peaceful place, in its way.

Sabretooth has posed:
    Victor snarls as the telepahty is dropped and their scents flood into his nose. He is simply dressed in a white tank top stretched over his chest and jeans with frayed legs ending around his calves. He has on no shoes or gloves so his claws look black in the moonlight. "No," he growls as he turns and leaps towards the darkness of the woods. Powerful legs shove him upward so there is no sound of feet on leaves, but creaking branches. As he leaps, something falls out of the tree with a whoose. It is the body of a hiker with his stomach sliced open and guts spilling out. It swings back and forth in the wake of Sabretooth.

Cyclops has posed:
<< Well, we're about to have a long night. Can you stop him? >> Scott says through his mental link to Jean as he watches the body of the hiker drop. His lips tighten into a more visible frown, then starts after Victor with his own athletic pace. He taps a button on his wrist communicator, sending off a 911 to the local authorities. This poor guy has probably been missing for awhile.

"Victor! Wait up! We aren't here to fight you!" His voice calls out strongly with authority. He taps the side of his visor, allowing him to see in the dark better instead of a mix of muted shades of red.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey jerks back at the sudden motion of a falling body, and what's then visible is hardly a comfort that this is going to go peaceful. The woman goes a few shades paler as her eyes darken with anger and then turn to where Victor tries to escape into the darkness. << This was a bad idea, Scott. >> Jean tilts her head as she tracks the sound and where its traveling, then stretches out one gold-gloved hand towards the trees and where she'd seen him go. <<Be ready if I hold him, you'll need to go in. >> Inhale, and slow exhale. Mentally she reaches out for the living presence of Sabertooth to try and latch onto and hold him in his tracks with a psychic clenched fist.

Sabretooth has posed:
    Creaks of branches is all around them. Birds that had been sleeping suddenly cry out in anger and take flight with a beat of wings. It is hard to pin point where the most recent noise is coming from with the darkness and constant noise. Suddenly, Sabretooth comes leaping out of the darkness. His claws are extended and he roars as he is heading towards Cyclops's side as the young man runs in the woods. He suddenly stops in midair and claws clench on nothing as he roars in anger. There feels like there is little of the man Victor Creed in his head at the moment, but rather just the Sabretooth.

Cyclops has posed:
<< Good job, Jean. We got him. See if you can calm him down so we can talk to him. >> Scott, military trained and ever-ready, didn't flinch as Sabretooth came roaring out from the dark. He had his hand on his visor, ready to zap him into the next zip code with a wide spray if needed.

"Victor, it's me, Cyclops. We aren't here for a fight. We heard the reports that you were out here and people were getting hurt. I know you're an asshole, but you don't go randomly around murdering people in the woods either."

He keeps himself at the ready, just in case Jean loses her grip on him, but he's confident in his partner to do her role perfectly. "Talk to us, man. What happened?"

Phoenix has posed:
<< Like catching catfish in the dark. >> Stick your hand in and wait for something to bite. Or stick your hand out, in this case.

She begins balancing her focus between holding the enraged man with one hand and - with her other hand coming to her temple - getting through the haze of fury.

In Sabertooth's head, her presence is a diffuse glow of pink like the first rays of the sunrise. She doesn't hammer her way in, it's far more nuanced and deft. She just hands there at the edge, a presence to focus on. "If we were here to harm you, we'd have done it. If we were here to catch you, we'd already be taking you back to the ship. Breathe. Relax. It's just the two of us, it's not a trap."

Sabretooth has posed:
    Near three hundred pounds of raging claws and fangs struggle in the teke grip. Victor bites at the air like a wolf caught in a trap. He twists and turns as much as he can, trying to find the weak point in the grip. In his mind, it is a fierce flashing red. There are very few concrete images to try and latch on to at the moment, but there are some on occasion that Jean might try to reel in. Images of Logan, of Birdie, of Sinister, of people that have a passing resemblence to Victor himself.

Cyclops has posed:
As he watches and waits, Scott continues to hold his fingers at his visor, ready and waiting to put this feral dog down if need be. He gives another glance to Jean, patietnly waiting. He trusts in her ability to do her job, and with broken minds like Victor, he knows it's not as simple as flicking a switch.

"Victor. Focus. Just /breathe/." He tries again.

He taps another button on his wrist communicator, firing up the engines of the Blackbird that is tucked away a few hundred yards out.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey doesn't say anything to Scott right away, it's taking a massive portion of her concentration as it to keep Victor in place. He could see her outstretches hand shaking with the effort that isn't just a side effect of the rippling pink aura. Sensing there's not much of a window left to hold him, she begins to lean her weight into the force of her mind.

Putting someone out of a fury isn't particularly easy. She focuses on the red, that distracting, bloody pulsation. It's like finding the dimmer switch of the brain, to try to stifle down the brightness notch by notch and to replace roaring noise with her own mental white static to drown out the thunder. It's a forced and temporary atmosphere of calm she's trying to impose on Victor's mind. If he can't settle, she'll just have to turn off the lights entirely and let him sleep it off.

Sabretooth has posed:
    The red begins to diffuse in his mind along the edges. Images are becoming a little sharper and last a little longer. Victor's movements in the TK snare become less forceful although the claws are still out on his fingers and toes. He snorts through his nose, but the constant rumble of anger from his chest seems to be easing off a little bit. His amber eyes begin to focus a bit more moving from Scott to Jean in quick motions.

Cyclops has posed:
<< Great job. I love you so much more now that I know he isn't ripping my guts out. >>

Scott gives a nod of his head, pulling his hand away from his visor. "Victor, can you understand me?" He asks as he folds his arms over his chest, staring at the other mutant from behind his ruby quartz visor.

"What are you doing out here and why are you gutting people for? What happened?"

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey gives Scott the briefest and blandest of looks at his commentary, but refocuses on the work at hand. To relieve some of her workload, she gently lowers Victor closer to the ground. While she doesn't let him go, she can at least give him some comfort as opposed to the vertigo of being stuck midair.

She continues to work in trying to calm his thoughts, so unfamiliarity leaves her to just try and channel away the rolling negative emotions. She's wearing down, though, and there's swear forming on her brow.

Sabretooth has posed:
    "Losing control." Victor's voice is rough and has a feral edge to it as he struggles with the words. He is curling up into a protective ball as Jean lowers him and relaxes the force on him. He snarls but it isn't directed towards anyone in particular. He is looking like a wounded animal. Beaten. "Don't.....know...."

Cyclops has posed:
"You're losing control." Scott says with a visible frown upon his brow. "Yeah, I think we know something about that." He gives a glance over towards Jean again, taking in a deep breath. He rubs his fingers along his brow, then says, "You can come with us, and we can help you, if that is what you want, rather than be turned over to SHIELD." He can't believe he's about to say this.

"But, us mutants need to look after each other and I know what will happen if we give you over to them. They'll poke and prod you, maybe weaponize you." He gives a shake of his head.

"If we take you with us, we're putting you in restraints so that you can receive treatment. You get one chance with us, Creed. Just one."

Phoenix has posed:
"They wouln't help." Jean says, quietly but sounding adamant. No love for them? "Scott's right. Come back with us, and we'll see if we can help. We may not be friends, and we may be enemies a lot of the time, but we're all mutants. If we don't stand together with one another, how we will ever inspire others to?"

While she continues to keep a more gentle hand to hold Victor and help try and keep his mind clearer, she does look to Scott more closely. << We need to do this now if we are. I can't hold him like this much longer. >>

Sabretooth has posed:
    "Already have.." Victor coughs out. He tries to pull away from the pair as much as he can, but his muscles are relaxing and he isn't fighting the grip as much. "Fools, but..." He lifts his head slightly and nods. "I'll come with you." His voice sounds scratchy and broken as if he had been roaring non stop for a month.

Cyclops has posed:
"Good. Then enjoy the nap on the way over."

<<Put him to sleep, baby.>>

The Blackbird roars overhead, causing the trees to rustle and whip, sending animals scattering all about as the large jet lowers it's docking ramp low enough for Jean to be able to float the three of them up.

"Cyclops to Blackbird. We're coming home and bringing a package along with us." He can't wait to talk to Logan about this.