The next day the "conditioning" session continued. Jerry stayed away from the lab as much as possible, but the girl's screams echoed in his mind. He hoped this Cowen person could help, and quickly. She continued to refuse food or drink and Richardson ordered David to have her force fed. When Jerry was finally ordered to return her to her cage she hung limply in the restraints.

"Any progress, Doctor?" he heard David ask Richardson.

"Some, but not as much as there should be. It should be sufficiently recovered from the head wound by now. Why does it insist on resisting?" Jerry quickly released the girl, trying to be careful of the still healing wounds on her back, as well as the myriad new burns on body. She lifted her head, her blind eyes seeking his face for a moment before closing once more.

He returned her to her room and placed her carefully on the table. He went to the next room and got a salve for her burns. He stepped back into the room and was shocked to find the table empty. He found her on the floor behind the table, and hurried to her. She cringed when he knelt beside her.

"Please," he barely heard her. He lifted her back to the table and spread the salve on the burns, then he reluctantly fastened the restraints. If she fell from the table again, in her weakened condition she could seriously injure herself. Once more he covered her then, checking his watch, he smoothed her hair and hurried to catch the shuttle. Another day of "conditioning" would break her. Or kill her.


Star was too weak even to cry when the technician strapped her to the table and left her. She wanted to cry, for herself, for all the other 'specimens' that had died before her, for Wolverine who could easily have died from his burns. In the end, she slept.


Early the next morning the phone rang at Xavier's mansion. Gambit answered, then transferred the call to Xavier's study.

"Professor Xavier."

"Yes, Officer Cowen. What can I do for you this morning?"

"A man named Jerry called the station last night, looking for me. I didn't get the message until this morning and when I called him back his was quite upset. He said he works as a laboratory technician for a Dr. Richardson and that Miss Star is being held in an old lab complex in Arizona. I'm trying to get a search warrant now, but the lab is on federal land so it could take a while."

"I see."

"I just wanted to let you know that we may have found her. I'll call again when I know more."

"Thank you, Officer."

"Good-bye, Professor." Xavier disconnected, then typed a command on his computer keyboard. A few minutes later he called Gambit.

"We may have located Richardson's lab. Please get the others while I contact Jean."

"Tres Bon, Professor."

"Jean."

"Yes, Professor."

"We may have found Star. A technician contacted the police with the report that Star is being held by Richardson at his lab in Arizona."

"We are in Phoenix now, Professor. We lost Sabretooth here, but we...uh...found Wolverine."

"I see."

"I told you."

"Yes, you did."

"Do you know where the lab is located, Professor?"

"I believe so." He told her where he believed the lab to be. "The others are gathering now. We will join you shortly."

"All right, Professor."


Less than two hours later the blackbird landed at a deserted air strip outside Phoenix. Jean and Cyclops boarded at once.

"Wolverine...decided not to wait, Charles."

"Of course. Shall we join him?"

The blackbird took off once more and turned in the direction of the suspected lab.


David was rougher than necessary with Star that morning. He was irritated at having to handle the specimen himself. Jerry hadn't returned from town last night, and one of the other technicians was ill, so they were short handed. He disliked dealing with this one in particular because he knew exactly how dangerous she was. He quickly moved her to the test room and put her roughly on the restraining device. She was visibly weaker than the previous day. One way or another, he shouldn't have to deal with her for much longer. He fastened the wrist strap cruelly tight and was startled when the girl moaned. He quickly fastened the remaining straps, but she didn't show any further sign of rousing. He would have to check her charts to find an effective stimulant. Dr. Richardson would want her awake when he arrived. He shifted the restraining frame to an upright position. The weight of her body, slight though it was, caused the overtight straps to cut into the already damaged flesh of her wrists. Her blood flowed sluggishly down her arms. David ignored the injury and located a stimulant to which she had not been exposed. He prepared a syringe and placed it on the control console. He would inject her just before Dr. Richardson was due to arrive. He left her then, alone and barely conscious, her body bound, her mind shackled, hopeless.


"Mr. Jones, I find myself once more in need of your services." Richardson address the ex-policeman turned mercenary across his desk.

"I figured you would. That's why I stuck around." Jones pulled out a chair and sat down uninvited. "You need me to fetch another mutant for you?"

"No, Mr. Jones. The one subject I currently have is quite sufficient." He steepled his fingers, his elbows resting on the desk.

"It is with number thirty-six that I require your particular expertise."

"Yeah?" Jones sat up, more interested than before.

"Yes. I understand that you were accused of unnecessary violence and brutality while you were on the police force. Is this correct?"

"Those charges were never officially filed," Jones said, nonplused by the apparent change in subject.

"Quite. However, I understand that you were quite ... thorough ... when you questioned a subject."

"Yeah," Jones sat back. "I have a knack for getting a perp to cooperate."

"In the case of number thirty-six I do not desire cooperation. It is obedience that I require. I can assure you, however, that there will be no charges of brutality." Jones got up, smiling.

"I'll see what I can do."

"Please keep in mind," Richardson said, as Jones opened the door of the office. "I do require that the subject remain alive, at least for the time being.

"Do my best."

"David," Richardson spoke into the intercom. "Please prepare the subject for immediate conditioning."

"Yes, sir" David's voice was slightly tiny over the speaker.


David sighed as he returned to the lab. He had hoped to complete a tissue culture he was running before Dr. Richardson would be ready for number thirty-six. He picked up the syringe and approached the girl. She lifted her head at his approach and he quickly checked the reading on the psi dampening field. It always disconcerted him when she reacted to him while under the field. He pushed her head back, exposing her white throat, a raw band showing under the collar. He located the large artery in her throat and injected the stimulant. Even as he withdrew the needle she shuddered, her brain flooded with the drug. She gasped and opened her eyes, following his movements even though she could not see him. As soon as Richardson arrived, he would go finish his culture.


Star felt as though her brain were on fire as the drug coursed through her system. She could feel her heart beating frantically within her chest. She was sharply aware of the change in air pressure when Richardson and Jones entered, identifying them by their scent. David left immediately. Her vision returned abruptly, although it was limited to a small section of the room.

"All right, thirty-six," she heard Richardson's voice over the speaker mounted on the wall near her head. "Shall we begin?" She didn't answer him.

"Don't be tiresome, thirty-six. All the test results came back negative. Despite the head injury, your abilities should not be impaired. Please begin with the elementary telekinetic exercise." She still refused to answer, determined not to help him in any way.

"Very well. Mr. Jones, if you please?" Jones stepped through the field wall and stood grinning down at her. "Mr. Jones has kindly offered his expertise in persuasion."

"Don't worry, Mutie. This is gonna hurt you a lot more than its gonna hurt me." He slowly and deliberately closed his hand into a fist, then he struck her in the midriff. As much as the restraints allowed, she doubled over, gasping. He hit her again, this time in the side of the face. He hit her again and then again. Finally, unconsciously, she blocked his blow. He was surprised, but the wave of satisfaction she sensed did not come from him.

"That's it, thirty-six. Defend yourself from this cretin. Show me how much your powers have developed since you were stolen from me." The thoughts were those of Dr. Richardson, though how she could hear them she didn't know. He was outside the psi dampening field. She lifted her head and looked toward him, though all she could see was the silver wall of the field.

"Never," she said simply. She could feel his anger for a moment, then it faded.

"Very well. Mr. Jones, please remember, I do still need it alive. For now." Her world once again closed in about her as he decreased the diameter of the dampening field. She felt the change in air pressure as he opened the door, then closed it behind him. Jones hit her again.

"You know something, Mutie? I'm really enjoying myself."


Sabretooth arrived after the 'conditioning' session had begun. He searched out Richardson.

"My sources tell me the runt was snooping around in town yesterday. I figure he'll be here sometime today," he smiled at Richardson's expression. "I told ya he'd find ya. He might be a real pain, but he's no slouch. Where'd ya stash the frail? He'll look for her first. Then he'll come lookin' for you. Unless I get ta him first."

"The specimen is in lab eight. Sub level one." Richardson told him quickly. He decided that perhaps it would be best if he left the laboratory complex, at least for the time being.


"Professor, we're approaching the lab site."

"Thank you, Scott. Jean, can you sense Star?"

"No, Professor."

"Neither can I. Have you been able to reach Wolverine?"

"Yes. He's inside. He hasn't found Star, but he says Sabretooth is here."

Cyclops put the blackbird down behind a hillock, so the plane wouldn't be seen from the laboratory. The X-Men left the plane and quickly approached the complex.


Sabretooth took the stairs two at a time. He hadn't winded the runt yet, but he had the feeling that time was running out. When he opened the stairwell door, he immediately smelled blood. He quickly followed the scent and found himself outside lab eight. He opened the door and moved silently inside. The smell of blood was almost overpowering. As he watched from the glassed in control area, Jones drew back and struck the tiny woman in the face, further battering her already bruised features. The blood he smelled belonged to her. The sight of her bound figure, his blood; in an odd sort of way his daughter, enraged him. He hadn't killed his useless son when he'd had the chance, and he'd be damned if he let a human kill his daughter.

"Don't touch her again, flatscan," he snarled as he moved from the control area to the lab itself. Jones whirled, then smiled as he drew the revolver at his waist and fired, striking Sabretooth twice in the chest. The larger man was thrown back by the force of the blows.

"Well, well, what do ya know," Jones said, holstering his weapon as he looked down at Sabretooth. "I took out the mighty Sabretooth. And I can get rid of the girl now, too. I'll just tell Richardson that you killed her. How does that sound, mutant!" He laughed nastily and turned to the cabinet marked surgical supplies. He looked around in the cabinet until he located a large scalpel. He picked it up and moved toward Star. She lifted her head as he approached.

"Oh, good. I was hoping you wouldn't miss this." He stroked her bruised cheek with the scalpel and laughed when she flinched away from the cold steel. He drew the back of the blade down her face and across her throat, the metal ringing slightly as it touched the collar. Turning the scalpel over in his hand, he pressed it against her body, just below her collar bone, smiling as the cloth of the sensor net, then the flesh beneath, parted. She shuddered as he drew the blade down across her body, but she didn't make a sound. Blood from the long, bone deep cut soaked the material of her skin-tight.

"Couple more o' these oughta take care of you, don't ya think, Mutie?" He raised the blade once more, but dropped it as he was suddenly lifted off his feet and turned around. Sabretooth held the struggling man effortlessly at arms length, his claws buried in the back of his neck.

"I told you not to touch her again," Sabretooth said, knocking the revolver away from Jones' groping hand.

"But you're dead!" Jones gasped. "I killed you!"

"I'm a lot harder to kill than that, flatscan. Let's find out how hard it is to kill you." He raised his other hand and slashed the ex-policeman across the belly. Jones screamed as he felt his flesh part, the hot blood cascading over his legs as his intestines spilled from his body. Mercifully, he fainted. Disgusted, Sabretooth threw the body away from him and turned to the girl.


Wolverine heard the shots, though faintly, and moved toward them. He hadn't been seen yet, which was just the way he liked it. He entered the same stairwell Sabretooth had used just minutes earlier. He could smell both Sabretooth and blood, not an uncommon combination. He reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to follow the scent.


Gambit silently opened the outer door of the laboratory complex and the X-Men slipped inside. The corridor was empty. Gambit, Rogue, Jubilee, and Professor Xavier turned left, with Jean, Cyclops, Storm, and Beast moving to the right. They'd barely turned the corner at each end of the hall when a klaxon began to sound.

"I t'ink dey know we here, mes amies" Gambit said as the sound of running feet reached them over the howl of the alarm.


Sabretooth slashed the straps binding Star's ankles, then freed first one wrist, then the other. He caught her as she slumped away from the now defunct restraining device. He was supporting her, since she was unable to stand on her own, when the alarm bell began to ring.

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