Disclaimers in part 1.

Thanks to Autumn for previewing it for me, this chapter as well as the last one. I just somehow forgot to add it to the credits before posting chapter 1. If any mistakes remain, no fault can be laid at her doorstep.

Chapter 2

The days went by and Logan was a bit on the edge as he always was when he had let himself be talked into something by Remy LeBaue. Small wonder since something always seemed to happen around him and on several occasions Logan had been too close of not walking away from it. He still was very curious though and really wanted to know if there's something to everything LeBaue had said. Could it really be as much money in it as he claimed?

Only one way to find out which was another reason why he was on the edge. Patience had never been a virtue of his and even less so during this. He was practically pacing his small apartment non-stop, desperately wanting to hear anything from LeBaue. The guy could be very mysterious and annoying on occasion. Logan didn't really know anything about the guy, except that he had showed up in this particular part of London about five years ago and had made himself a name since then. Rumour had it that he was running a secret guild of thieves. Well, secret to the police that is. The people of the neighbourhood couldn't think of a worse kept secret though.

Logan hadn't been able to put his finger on what made him trust LeBaue enough to go through with this. Sure, they had been through some really nasty stuff together but more often than not with him taking more of it than the other way around. They were not exactly friends, more like reluctant business partners so where the hell did the trust come from? The closest thing Logan had ever come to explain it to himself was that LeBaue had a way of bringing the best out in people, some way of playing people like the piano if he wanted to.  "Some things you just have to accept at face value", he had often thought to himself when it came to that subject.

One night when he came home from one of his regular pub-evenings he found a piece of paper lying waiting for him on his kitchen table, together with LeBaue's trademark "Jack of hearts" card. No surprise there. Finding the paper was a surprise but not that LeBaue had managed to get into his apartment. He more or less had expected something along those lines, he just hadn't known when to expect it. Logan was fiddling with the card with his right hand while reading the letter:

"Hi Logan,

It's almost time for your first fight. I know you don't like to do things halfway so you're going up against Creed the first thing you do! No second-rate fighters for you, homme!

Now, down to business. I don't need to tell you that cage fighting is highly illegal so where we're doing it changes almost every time. Memorize the directions here and be there at 9 Friday night.

Remy"

Logan stared at the directions. He had thought he was living in shabbier parts of town but it was nothing compared to where he was going. The police didn't go there for crying out loud! The only law down there is: survive!

He shrugged it off and decided to go anyway. If LeBaue could survive there, so could he.

Friday night

The fight club

The club was smoky and rowdy. Just like most pubs, but this place could in no way be mistaken for just a pub! The cage totally dominated the scene even without the fighters in it. Logan went to check out the premises a bit before trying to find LeBaue – and he quickly found out that LeBaue hadn't been exaggerating. This was a public magnet! The place was filled almost beyond the bursting point, with most people trying their damnest to fight their way up to the cage to get the best possible view of the two men beating the brains out of each other. Something about the crowd didn't seem quite right, as if they were constantly on their guard against something. That they would be on the outlook for cops wouldn't be enough to explain it. People that would go to this kind of place would be very accustomed to the "threat" of police, or they wouldn't even be here in the first place.

No, it had to be something else. He was quite sure he had it pegged down a couple of minutes later. Most people around were mutants! No wonder they were on their guard. It becomes second-hand or you're dead before you're in your twenties. Especially if you have one of the more extreme mutations, like the guy he saw the other day. The guy's skin was green and his eyes were very, very large. He could never be mistaken for a "flatline" as the derogatory term was and if Logan weren't mistaken, the guy wouldn't live for much longer. His eyes were too haunted, with very little hope left in them.

Logan was slowly moving towards the cage to take a closer look. It was in the middle of a match, a particularly bloody one too. Logan's jaw dropped when he saw that both of the contestants were obviously mutants, which when he thought about it made sense. They need something of their own too but their insecurities and fears can't be completely left behind.

The "show" the two guys Logan was watching was quite interesting. They were fighting like madmen, fighting tooth and claw (quite literally). Blood was flowing freely and the guy in blue fur was clearly in the lead. He landed one super punch and the match was over!

As the fight ended, Remy showed up from nowhere end entered the cage, holding the hand of the winner up in the air before proclaiming

 "Winner: The Beast!" At that the Beast bowed to the audience and left the cage.

Remy continued with "And now, for a new treat. We have a new Warrior that is about to take on the one and only Sabertooth! Talk about guts!"

The crowd oohed and looked thunderstruck and got even more insistent than before to claim the prime seats in front of the cage. Remy looked out over the crowd, pointed at a door with his whole arm and said, "Behold the mighty Sabertooth!"

Logan looked that way and saw…a giant of a man striding towards a cage, his head held high. The man looked truly vicious and unbeatable and Logan could only whisper

"Holy shit".

---TBC