Forgotten - Chapter 2 - Mine

Once again, I don't own Marvel or its characters. I do own Vivo and her family

If there are to be any warnings, they'd be violence and language.

:3 Please do enjoy...

Victor strolled out of the elevator and into the top floor of his offices briskly. The dinner with Mortimer and Mystique had served as a reminder of why he'd joined the Brotherhood in the first place. He liked their company - when they weren't being impossible. Even then, he could look back and laugh at their antics. Still, he didn't want to get drawn back into that life. He was more than content watching over his business. Sure, he took a job here and there when it suited him (and when the price was right), but over-all he had everything he needed right here. It was good to be the boss. He'd break away every month or so to hunt. It satisfied the animal in him so that Sabertooth never took over. He had accepted a long time ago that violence and blood lust were a part of him as much if not more so than his fangs and claws. Trying to quell or escape that had never been an option. Embracing it hadn't exactly worked in his favor either. He turned into a monster when he let the animal run wild. After Jimmy had left him, he struggled with channeling the animal. He'd be lying if he said joining the Brotherhood and allowing Magneto to 'further evolve' him was a step forward. But somewhere between making sure Toad's ass didn't drown and laying low, he'd managed to find his stride.

"Maryann, did you find what I asked for?" He asked before entering his office.

His secretary nodded and handed him a tablet. The last thing in the world he'd thought he would want was an iPad, but damn if the thing wasn't well made. As long as he kept his claws in, he could actually use the touch screen, and it was a handy tool around the office.

"I searched the terms you gave me, and I think I found what you're looking for, Sir." Maryann said simply, not bothering to look up from her typing. She was focused like that.

"Good." He said, tucking the tablet under his elbow with his newspaper. "Do I have any appointments today?"

"Just your 3 o'clock, Sir." She said.

"Good." He said, finally entering his office and shutting the door behind him. He sat down and took a sip of his coffee before actually looking at the web page on the tablet.

It was a YouTube channel, largely red with yellow and white accents. The banner on the channel read "Make it Rare", with the M having fangs and a steak fork over the 'rare'. He chuckled at that. He scanned over the number of uploads - 89, geezus. The girl had nearly 200 subscribers but each video had well over a thousand views. The featured video was called 'Hello - What You Should Know'. It was already fully loaded, so he hit set the tablet down on his desk and hit play.

At first the video only showed a girl's bedroom with a bed, but then the girl he'd seen only the other day rolled on an office chair in frame from the left and continued rolling right out of frame. The scene was cut and jumped to her in the right middle frame of the camera.

"Bonjour." She said. Then it was cut and she appeared in the right of the frame. "Ohayo!" and another jump cut to the right, "Hhhhola."

She was in the center again after another jump cut. "I'm Vivo's, at least that's the name I'm giving you, and you've found my YouTube channel." She said with a smile. "Not sure how you found 'Make it Rare', but this video should tell you everything you need to know about me." She gave a big smile, not bothering to hide her fangs."I'm a mutant." She said it so simply, as if she were saying her zodiac sign. "And I live with my mom in New York. I like to hunt and I take mixed martial arts, but I also love dancing and music. I've always wanted to be musically talented, but I ended up taking piano lessons because the instrument that I originally wanted to learn was something…." She took a deep breath and heaved a heavy sigh before continuing. "That I just wasn't compatible with." She said looking chagrin.

Jump cut to the right. She held a guitar in her hands, but when she tried to play it, her claws cut through the strings. She looked down at the guitar, eyed her fingers dubiously, and then back at the camera before sighing. "Crap." She muttered. He chuckled at her dry tone and expression.

Another jump cut to the left. "I'm an only child, at least by my Mom, and since I live with her, that's really the only side that matters."

Jump cut back to the center. "I adore my mother, and I'd say she's the most important person in my life. I'm really close to all my family…. well, on her side that is."

Jump cut to the right and there was a skeptical look on her face. "I know about my dad, and he's who I take after… genetically."

Jump cut back to the center. "Mom says that she and Dad loved each other very much, but he left because he was a mutant, and he didn't want her to get hurt because of him." She shrugged. "I'm fairly certain he doesn't even know I exist… which I have very mixed feelings about."

Jump cut to the left. "I know that Mom's not being entirely truthful about all of what she tells me about my dad." She said tapping her nose. "But I'm just not sure which parts are right and which parts are not…"

Jump cut to the right. "My Mom's pretty bad ass, and my Dad's in a league of his own too. Mom was very diligent in my training, and making sure I could handle anything life threw at me." He snorted softly at the thought of how she handle what life threw at her in the way of bullies just the other day. He figured her mother was, for the most part, successful in whatever training she'd made the girl take. "A part of me really wishes I could meet my dad… but another part's really worried that I won't measure up."

Jump cut to the left. "So things stay the same…" she looked pensive for a moment. "Until they change…"

Jump cut back to the center. "Really, that's all that I can think of off the top of my head. I'm a normal 14 year-old girl," 14? That was it? She looked so much older… "I go to school, I have petty problems, I like guys, I have bffs, enemies, thoughts and opinions, etcetera." She shrugged. "I just happen to be a mutant."

Jump cut to the left. "If you're going to be a bigot and just leave hate comments, then I'll delete them."

Jump cut to the right. "I don't believe in feeding the trolls…" she said, menacingly glaring at the screen.

Back to the center. "If by some slim chance you're cool with the things I've said, then it's great to meet you." She said, swiveling slightly in her chair and her arms flinging wide with a big smile. "If you have anything constructive to say—"

A jump cut to the left interrupted. "Praise or criticism."

And back to the center. "Leave comments in the vogalie-do." She looked both ways before leaning close and whispering. "That's what I call the comment section." She said with a smile.

Jump cut to the right. "Other than that, I think that's a good solid beginning for now."

Jump cut to the right. "I'll talk to you guys later on another rare occasion."

Jump cut to the center. "Peace out!" she said before the screen faded to black with the 'Make it Rare' banner fading onto the black before the video stopped. It was just under three minutes.

Victor couldn't help but chuckle. She had spunk, he'd give her that. He clicked on the link to show all her videos and scrolled down. The earliest and the first was the video he'd just watched. He clicked on the second video and hit pause automatically so that the video could load. The second video was titled 'Go Looking for a Fox and You Might Find a Tiger'.

Whatever the video might be about, the first image was of a very ample backside, sticking out from the open door of a refrigerator. It was clad in tight black pants, and the bearer of it was obviously a woman…. He could honestly say the view was nice. He hit play and watched as the backside moved rhythmically from side to side, and a voice - Vivo's - from off camera was singing 'Looking for a Fox'. When she got to the part of the song where she howled, another voice yelled. "When I turn around that camera better not be on me!"

The camera swiveled almost violently, zoomed in on a clavicle before zooming out to the whole picture, Vivo's upper torso as she lay back on a sofa. "Uh no…no of course not." She said making a face. "No, I'm just filming myself signing at you… like a freak."

"Only a freak would cat-call their own mother." The voice that had been yelling before said.

Vivo looked into the camera, her face a mix of worry and humor. "Right." The scene ended, cutting to her walking on the street. Her mother must have been on her right side, because she was holding the camera in her right hand and there was no one walking on her left side.

"Ok!" She said. "We are on our way to Grandfather's 'gym'." She said, using her remaining hand to make air quotes when she said gym.

"People are staring at you." he heard someone murmuring.

"People are always staring at me."

"This is true."

"They were staring at me long before I ever started this vlog thing." Vivo seemed largely unconcerned. "People can go f—." There was a loud censor beep over what she was saying along with a surprised smiley face over her mouth. "Themselves."

"I'm pretty sure they are the only ones who will f—." Another censor beep. "Themselves."

Vivo laughed, and Victor chuckled too. Obviously cussing didn't bother her mother.

The scene was cut and switched again to what Victor assumed was the inside of a gym. The walls and floor were covered with thick padding, blue on the floor and white on the walls.

"At Grandfather's gym. This is my cousin, Leah." The camera turned onto the petite brunette he'd seen with her the other day. "Say 'hi', Leah."

"'Ello!" the smaller girl cheered, and Vivo seconded it with her own 'ello'.

"We're both waiting to see what kind of torture Grandfather has lined up for us today." Vivo informed the camera. "Because all of his training has been torture, hasn't it?" she asked, swiveling the camera back to Leah.

"Pretty much." Leah said with a nod. "I mean, when we were like… what? Seven?"

"Yeah."

"It wasn't so bad then. Just your basic kids gymnastics."

"Then when we turned eight?"

"Holy cow." There was a censor beep over Leah's words. "sh— got real, son."

Vivo laughed. "I'm so glad you told me to expect it."

"I know, I was the ginny pig that they started this sh— on." Leah chuckled.

"Leah's actually two years older than I am." Vivo said into the camera.

"Yeah. So, I gave my girl a heads up on her birthday." Leah said smiling.

There was another cut and scene change. This one to Vivo punching a large punching bag. Her hair had been french braided up to the nape of her neck and then tied up in a messy bun. Someone just out of frame was holding the punching bag. Vivo placed a 1-2 punch onto the bag.

"Harder!" it was her mother's voice.

She hit it again.

"Again!" her mother again. Vivo's face went from focused to angry. She hit the bag with a 1-2 punch before rearing back and kicked out with both legs. The kick was hard enough to dislodge the anchor from the ceiling beam that the bag was chained to, and everyone stepped away from the jerking bag to see if it would fall.

"We'll need to check that before you can continue." A man was saying.

"Good kick." Her mother's voice said, as Vivo picked herself up off the floor.

"Yeah?" Vivo asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah." The camera zoomed out slightly from it's honed position on Vivo's face. It was then that Victor noticed her eyes were changing. They had been that same orangey brown he'd noted yesterday, but they were beginning to darken to a rich dark brown. "We just need to get you to land on your feet after that kick, and we'll be set." The camera zoomed out again, showing Vivo's mother, and Victor couldn't breathe for a moment. "That's my widdle tiger kitten!" her mother cheered as she hugged Vivo to her.

"Eww! Mom! You're sweaty!" Vivo shrieked.

"You're sweaty too!" her mother argued still smiling, and still wrestling the girl who was struggling against her chest. Vivo laughed loudly as she struggled to get away.

Victor paused the video, trying to regain his breath. Serus…. The girl's mother was Serus? His mind raced as he looked at the paused image of mother and daughter on the screen. Time had been kind to Serus….she didn't look much older than when he'd last seen her… And yet, she did seem older. Motherhood'll do that to you… How long had it been since he'd known her? His stomach began to tighten as he remembered. It had been nearly 15 years ago.

'I'm a normal 14 year-old girl.' She had said. He swallowed thickly. That feeling yesterday, the one he couldn't put a finger on, it was intensifying by the second. He had wondered what was so interesting about this girl. He had seen other ferals before, but for some reason…this one pulled at him.

He wanted to talk to Serus… He wanted to know… aw hell, he practically knew already. He put a hand over his face. He knew. He just knew. After a long moment, he took a deep breath and sighed. What time was it? He looked over at the clock, relieved to find out it was only 10. He had a meeting at 3, but until then he had all the time in the world to get his bearing and get the earth back under his feet. He let out another deep breath and scrolled down the channel page to her profile. There were links to other things… FaceBook, Twitter and something called a VYou. He opened all the other links in new tabs before returning to her channel and scanning the videos there. Most of the videos were three to five minutes long… only one, titled 'Storm on the Waves' was just under eight minutes.

He clicked that one and let it load for a minute before pressing play. Vivo was seated at a large piano. Her right hand rested on the keys and began a rhythmic patter that continued to repeat itself, never straying from the same notes and rhythm over and over. Her left hand waited and waited before her fingers beat a rapid set of higher notes. The right hand, on the lower notes, sounded as rhythmic as waves, while the other hand on the high notes hit furiously before bating out and stopping altogether only to start up again. 'Rain and waves.' he thought momentarily. The notes were water, each hand flowed like a type of water. The left hand took variations, but the right never faltered from it's pattern. Finally, the right hand slowed and then the melody came to a stop. It was only when a loud round of applause was heard that Victor realized that she was in a fair pink dress, her hair braided into two pleats on either side of her head to keep it out of her face while the rest cascaded down her back. She stood and curtsied and the scene ended.

The view cut to Vivo in the same dress and hair, with a plate in her hands, a somewhat sour expression on her face. "So, Vivo, did you enjoy your recital?" it was Leah's voice. Vivo's expression changed to happy but grumpy.

"Ah gawd." She groaned. "Can't a girl eat in peace."

Leah laughed. "What have you got there?"

"Oh some lasagna and some sausage and chicken." Vivo held up drumstick. "The chicken is awesome."

"Oh, here comes Mama!" Leah cheered as Serus walked over and hugged Vivo.

"Ah, my baby." She crooned. "You did amazing!" she said after placing a kiss on Vivo's temple.

"I've got magic hands!" Vivo said happily.

Serus smiled. "Just like you father."

Vivo stopped chewing and made a face, but her eyes were shining with laughter. "I'm eating here."

"So was he…"

"Omigod!" Vivo shouted in dismay, but still it was obvious that she was laughing.

"Lalalalala! Can't hear you!" Leah said before the video stopped.

Victor chuckled. Obviously Serus's relationship with Vivo was very open. He felt a knot form in his stomach… it was probably better that she'd raised her alone. He scrolled down to the bottom and decided to watch the videos in order. Starting with the first to the video they'd filmed just yesterday took almost 2 hours to get through half.

He was about to click on a video when his cell phone went off. The ringtone was a dull sound, one of the few that didn't irritated his enhanced hearing. 1 New Message flashed on the screen and he sighed. He hated texting. Mostly because his claws and the tiny buttons on the phone weren't easily compatible. He pressed the 'read' option.

'Caught a scent?'

The sender was unknown. Instead of replying he dialed the number.

"Who is this?" he asked gruffly when they picked up.

"You can't tell?" was the equally gruff reply. The hair on the nape of his neck stood on end, and all he could do for a minute was breath properly.

"Serus?" He asked carefully.

"You caught a whiff, didn't you?"

"What are you—"

"Sushi and/or Bust." She said cryptically. He looked to the tablet. The last video, the one that had been uploaded yesterday, was titled Sushi and/or Bust. "Skip to 2:49." He did as she asked and observing the fight, he noticed that was when he and Toad had moved into the crowd. They were near the back of the throng of people, but considering how tall he was, it wasn't too difficult to spot him. "You caught a scent."

Victor remembered Leah's words from yesterday when Vivo had asked what the chances were of keeping the fight from her mother, "Probably slim to nil, considering she watches your channel". Serus had seen him in the video…

"Serus… I." What could he say? What did he want to say? What did she want him to say? He ground his teeth together. He hated this emotional crap. "I…heard a sound that she was making."

"The chirp?"

"Yeah." He sighed, relieved that she understood.

"She did that a lot when she was very young." There was a sigh on the other end. "I don't think she even realizes that she makes it still. When she was a baby, she'd make that noise when she wanted my attention or when she was hurt…and I'd always come for her."

Finally, the part of his brain that had been nagging him caught up to him. "How did you get this number?" he asked.

There was a soft chuckle on the other end. "Oh, Victor." She murmured. "I've always had your number."

He swallowed, though not audibly. Serus had been there… at a time when he'd been farthest from human as he could be. It'd been many years after he'd parted ways with Jimmy, and the animal had taken over. Without someone there he had no reason to be human… She'd somehow managed to knock him on his ass after he'd stampeded his way into her camp site… he was still fuzzy on the details, but somehow… she'd managed to make him come back to himself. And then…

"She's mine… isn't sh—"

"Don't ask stupid questions, Victor. You'll insult me."

Victor closed his eyes and nodded. He chuckled. "I'm nodding." He informed.

"I know."

"…What?"

"I said, I know." He blinked. How could she know? "Go over to her VYou account and you can ask her questions. It's a fairly new site, but she likes it. She only gets a couple decent questions now and then." Her tone had lost some of its hostile edge. She wasn't angry at him then? That was good…

"Is that what that is?" he said, clicking on the tab he'd opened earlier.

"It's like Formspring and YouTube had a baby." Serus said.

"What?"

"Never mind." She sighed heavily. "I worked hard… over 14 years, my single focus was to make sure she stayed well away from anything resembling your world." She informed. She wasn't being malicious and she wasn't angry. "No Brotherhood. No X-men. No Government. No one knew her or of her. Because if they did… well, that's just no way for a child to grow up." She chuckled softly. "And then, out on the streets, who walks right up into her vlog?"

"Serus.. I'm—"

"Don't say you're sorry if you're not. And having her isn't something to be sorry about." The tone she was using was dangerous. He knew it was time to play it safe.

"I'm not sorry for her… I'm sorry I left." At the time.. He felt like it was the right thing. They had been together for months, and he had learned to curb the animal… not that she minded the animal. Being with her…it was beyond contentment. Almost happiness. But it unnerved him. And so… he'd just left. He didn't say anything. He didn't leave a note or a goodbye… Just left.

He heard Serus swallow hard on the other end of the phone before her soft reply came. "Me too." She said at last. There was a heavy pause between them before she cleared her throat and spoke again. "I have to go. Call me later… if you want to talk."

He nodded. He took a breath to say something, but then he wasn't sure what to say. All of this was so fresh and he had no idea where it fit into his life. Or if he had any right to fit into theirs.

"Oh, Victor?" she said, gaining his attention.

"Yes?" he asked, wishing he didn't sound so damn hopeful.

"Make sure to get another cup of coffee, Love. You haven't touched yours since you sat down." And then the line went dead. He looked from the 'Call Ended' status on his cell to the cold cup of coffee and finally to the large windows that flanked his office.

"Damn."

So, how was chapter 2? Especially now that you sort-of-kind-of know where this story is heading? Trust me there's a lot more than what's going on right now, but that's not to be gotten to until it's time to get to it :) Either way, leave me some comments in the vogalie-do x3

Much Love,

Peace Out,

MsMoon