Author's Note: A bit of something different for this chapter! Canon Sabertooth is six foot six, and while Liev Schreiber isn't quite that tall, aside from that minor change his version is the one I'm going with.
IV. Victor Creed aka Sabertooth
They found Victor Creed during the Convergence in London.
Darcy and Kitty had just finished driving the final spike into the ground when the wall next to them broke apart, a consequence of the large form tossed through it.
Both women shrieked as dust showered them, Darcy narrowly avoiding getting hit by a falling brick, then again when a dark elf stepped through the new hole in the wall and took aim at them. Kitty grabbed Darcy's hand and quickly turned them intangible, the red bolt of energy passing through them harmlessly, and the elf's moment of surprise was all the time the feral-looking man half-buried under rubble needed to dig himself out, stand up, and break the pale elf's neck.
The body slumped to the ground, more elves came through the hole in the wall, and the situation quickly degenerated into mayhem as the guy swiped at the elves with claws - claws - and continued standing even after getting hit with three of the red death-beams.
Kitty pulled Darcy over to crouch behind a crushed car, keeping them intangible the entire way which probably saved their lives, as they watched the ensuing fight between Mr. Feral and the dark elves. A fight that the large man in the long black duster was doing a good job of winning, at least right then.
It would be too risky to make a break for it, and another reason to stick around was to make sure that the battle didn't get too close to the planet-saving spike in the ground. That was the excuse that Darcy was going with, and Kitty just had a resigned expression on her face as she stuck close to Darcy, ready to phase at a moment's notice. Judging by the way her eyes were flickering, Darcy would bet money that Kitty was also telling Emma what was going on, the telepath being on the other side of the grounds guarding another of Erik's spikes.
A good thing that had come out of finding out about Emma's power was that even when they were separated they could still keep in contact through the telepath, as long as they gave her permission beforehand.
The last of the elf soldiers fell beneath the mystery man's claws, and he turned and stared unerringly at Kitty and Darcy's hiding place. He had barely taken a step towards them, however, when reality chose right then to go topsy-turvy, gravity take a break around certain parts of the courtyard, and portals opened up in the sky. That last thing was enough to grab feral guy's attention, and all three of them watched the portals as Erik's science-spikes activated.
Time seemed to fly and before Darcy knew it the portals in the sky closed, reality righted itself, and gravity chose then to return to work and drop a scooter right on top of feral guy's head. There was a loud 'crack' as the scooter impacted his skull, and feral guy dropped like a rock, blood pouring from the back of his head.
The two women cringed in unison, because ouch, that had to hurt, and Darcy darted out from her hiding place to check on the guy. Scary or not, he had kind of saved their asses, and that at least warranted them taking him to a hospital for a head injury.
Darcy was surprised to see the injury almost completely healed by the time she got to where the man had fallen, and she watched in silence for a few seconds as the skin knitted back together.
Apparently feral guy had powers too. So what, she could deal with that. What she couldn't do was just leave him laying in the middle of Greenwich after he'd saved her and Kitty. Unfortunately he was six foot six and seriously packed with muscle, so there was no way that Darcy and Kitty, even if they worked together, would be able to lift him.
Then Thor showed up with Jane and the others and though confused was more than willing to carry feral guy back to Jane's mom's house. Seriously, the Asgardian lifted the guy over his shoulder as easily as you'd toss a towel after a shower. Darcy spent two minutes being jealous before shrugging it off and making sure that everyone was alright which, aside from some bumps and bruises, they were.
Darcy thanked whoever that Jane's mom's house was still intact when they got there.
It was a good thing that Kitty insisted on being there with Darcy every time she checked on feral guy, because the first thing he did when he woke up was try to kill her and only Kitty phasing her had saved her from some nasty slices to the neck.
To be fair though, it wasn't entirely feral guy's fault; he'd been out for a grand total of thirty minutes and woken up just as Darcy was reaching towards his head to check on his injury, so she could definitely see where the misunderstanding came from. That explanation didn't stop Kitty from being pissed off or Thor from knocking him unconscious via hammer.
Turns out Mew-Mew worked on feral guys with sharp claws. That was good to know.
Well things were off to a good start, Darcy mentally sighed. Vanessa, Kitty, and Emma were now all collectively pissed at the unconscious guy, Jane wasn't so sure about leaving him alone in the guestroom (that Darcy and Vanessa had previously been sharing), and Thor thought he looked like a worthy opponent. Coming from a Viking god, that last one was actually a good thing...she hoped.
The second time feral guy woke up went a lot better than the first time - for one thing Darcy wasn't anywhere near him, and for another all he did was sit up and look around instead of instantly attacking. His dark eyes were intently focused, like a predator looking for prey, and Darcy took a moment to appreciate the image accordingly before piping up, "Hey, feral guy, glad you're okay and apparently suffering no ill effects from either the scooter or Thor's hammer to the head." She pointed to the corner where she'd put his boots and coat and told him, "Your stuff is over there, shower's through that door over there, and please don't try to kill anyone on your way out," and Thor won't have to knock you out again, she silently added.
Feral guy blinked (and Darcy tried not to think about how he was kind of hot when he wasn't murder-y) and then wordlessly grunted before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. No sign of dizziness or anything, and wow, feral guy's powers must have been pretty damn good if they healed him up that fast. Darcy was suitably impressed.
Eleven minutes later, Darcy was in the kitchen putting the final touches on a veritable mountain of eggs and bacon with some sausage thrown in for good measure when feral guy came down the stairs, hair damp from the shower. He paused when he saw the food, one eyebrow raising, and Darcy happily explained, "For you, feral guy. I figure whatever it is that lets you heal so fast must make you hungry, so consider this a thanks for killing those elves earlier. Dig in!" She set a fully loaded plate - complete with fork - on the kitchen table with a flourish, and feral guy sniffed the air a couple times before wandering over.
Darcy was really glad she'd sent Jane and the girls out for groceries and that Thor had gone with them before feral guy came downstairs as she witnessed him tear into his food. It was both terrifying and impressive, and she was somehow reminded of how Thor had eaten before Jane had socialized him. Yup, this was just as awe-inspiring to witness as that had been.
When he finished what was on his plate, she dished up some more. It seemed like the right thing to do, and she knew it was when he muttered something under his breath before demolishing the bacon and sausages. She turned back to the stove to hide her grin.
So feral guy's name was Victor Creed. Good to know.
Feral guy - Victor Creed - made himself scarce after eating all the food Darcy had prepared, jumping out a window barely four minutes before everyone else got home, leaving Darcy to clean up the mess in the kitchen and explain where their houseguest had gone.
Thor and Jane didn't really care, not giving much thought to the guy who'd been responsible for them going shopping in the first place (although Darcy had spotted the boxes of pop-tarts and shared a knowing look with Vanessa and Emma), but the other ladies were more wary. Kitty because Creed had nearly sliced Darcy's throat, and Vanessa and Emma because they'd each been around the block and knew better than to immediately dismiss a man like Creed.
Darcy tried to reassure them that Victor was gone and they'd probably never see each other again, and was promptly made a liar two days later when she was fixing breakfast (hash-browns and biscuits because she was feeling nostalgic), turned around to get something out of a cabinet, and then turned back to see Victor sitting at the table. She hadn't even heard him enter the house.
There was a tense moment where they both just stared at each other, the silence only broken by the sounds of Thor moving about in the basement where Jane had her bed set up, and then Darcy handed Victor a plate of just-cooked hash-browns, cautioning, "Careful, they're hot."
Victor snorted like she'd said something funny, and thinking about it, she probably had. What did a guy with his healing ability care about a little hot food? Probably a big fat nothing, Darcy decided.
Then Kitty phased through the wall between her room and the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and blinking, saw Victor, and promptly screamed.
The kitchen suddenly got a lot more crowded as everyone came running.
It took almost an entire hour before everyone calmed down, during which time it was discovered that Emma had been holding out on them in the powers department after she stepped protectively in front of Darcy and Jane.
("They really are a woman's best friend," Emma shrugged gracefully, which shouldn't have been possible given what she was now made of.
"I'll say," Kitty breathed, seemingly mesmerized by the light glittering off the other woman's diamond form.)
Finally Darcy managed to get everyone calm enough that it didn't look like the smallest noise would make them bolt, especially Victor, oddly enough, and the tensest breakfast that Darcy had ever been a part of took place in stony silence. Victor matched Thor plate for plate, leaving the women to race to grab whatever food they could before the men ate it, and after the meal was done Victor vanished out the window again.
That was how things went for almost a month; Victor would show up for breakfast (and dinner, whenever Darcy made her special beef casserole) and then leave without saying a word. Jane, Thor, and the girls only knew his name because Darcy told them.
One month later on the dot, however, Thor caught Victor before he could leave - through the window, no matter how much Darcy tried to let him know that it was okay to use the door - and exchanged a few words with him. Their voices were too low for anyone to hear, but the women were all burning with curiosity as they watched the two men leave, through the door this time, thankfully, and why had Thor grabbed Mew-Mew? Darcy was suspicious now.
But then Jane had a Science! epiphany and she was forced to turn her attention to making sure that the astrophysicist didn't blow anything up.
Three hours later, Thor and Victor returned looking only slightly worse for wear, to everyone's surprise. Thor had a bruise on his chin and some scratches on his arms, and Victor was limping slightly as he came through the door. The limp disappeared halfway between the door and the dining table, so whatever injury it was probably hadn't been that bad. She hoped.
After a minute of staring, Jane asked no one in particular, "Do we even want to know what you guys were doing, and if someone is going to be showing up and questioning us about mysteriously appearing thunderstorms?"
Thor laughed, "Fear not, Lady Jane, 'tis nothing to be concerned about! The Sabertooth and I merely exchanged some words and enjoyed a light spar." He assured them, smiling brightly and making Darcy think that if he'd been a dog his tail would have been wagging a mile a minute. One thing was for sure, she definitely wasn't imagining the look of respect Victor shot the god of thunder, but since both of them were fine it was nothing to be worried about...she did have one question though.
"Sabertooth?" the intern wondered out loud, drawing Vanessa and Emma's attention.
Victor just muttered something about the army and someone named Jimmy.
Three months later, during which Victor had been more or less camped out in the backyard, Darcy finally convinced Jane to take the contract with Stark Industries. The terms were more than generous, she argued, and they would get to live in the famous Stark Tower (or as some on the internet had taken to calling it, Avengers Tower), not to mention the lab space and access to all sorts of equipment.
Jane gave in after Kitty voiced her desire to move back to the States and Thor mentioned seeing his shield brothers again, so Darcy counted that as a win.
Darcy went out back to tell Victor the big news and was greeted by the sight of the large man folding the blankets she'd practically forced on him, ignoring his protests about not feeling the cold. She frowned at the blank look on his face, planting her hands on her hips as she demanded, "And just what do you think you're doing, mister?"
Victor shot her a semi-amused look as he replied, putting his folding aside and moving on to packing, "Getting ready to head out, sweetheart. It was nice knowing ya, but you'll be moving on now."
It was the longest speech she'd ever heard him make, and it startled her for a moment. But then Darcy blinked, things clicking into place, and she slapped a hand to her forehead as she complained to the sky, "Oh come on! I went through this with Vanessa and Kitty, and now you too?!" She lowered her hand and gave Victor the full force of her exasperated look as she said, "You're coming with us, Kit Kat, if I have anything to say about it!"
"Kit Kat?" the feral looked amused, lips twitching up into a fang-baring grin, as they always did whenever Darcy came up with a new nickname for him. Then the rest of what she'd said seemed to sink in, and his gaze grew intent as he looked at the busty woman. "You sure you want me taggin' along, sweetheart? Not exactly the safest guy around." And wasn't that the truth, despite him apologizing months ago for nearly killing her that one time. Kitty had then apologized for screaming that one time she saw him, and Darcy had thought they had gotten over that incident.
Apparently not, she realized, and sighed before saying logically, "Neither is Thor, considering how strong he is in addition to Mew-Mew, and Emma can literally get inside people's heads. Kitty could also do some major damage with her powers, and Vanessa used to date a mercenary who taught her some tricks. None of them really qualify as 'safe', but what the hell, if Jane and I are okay with them, we're sure as hell okay with you coming with us. Not to mention Thor would be sad if we left his training buddy behind." She shot Victor a knowing look, the feral suddenly very interested in something off to the side.
The two of them really thought no one knew about their training sessions? Oh please, none of them were that stupid. And Jane had confessed that Thor 'very much enjoyed their bouts', to quote the god himself.
"So how about it, big guy? You up for a trip to the Big Apple?" Darcy asked, smiling as Victor looked back at her, another of those fang-baring grins crossing his face.
"Hmph, someone's gotta keep you frails from getting into trouble." Victor said simply, and really, that was all he needed to say as he grabbed his dufflebag of belongings and followed Darcy back into the house to help the ladies pack.
They had a lot of work to do before they could leave.