APOCALYPSE

Disclaimer: I own Sidney, you can't take that away from me :P The rest, including the money, is Marvel's.

CHAPTER SEVEN:

THE GUARDIAN

Christmas came and went. There were still a few decorations on the streets, and Remy figured that some of the shop's owners were either on vacation or just plain lazy.
In the three days he'd been in Chicago he'd spent every breathing second on the streets, looking for the kid that had outwitted him. He, Remy Etienne LeBeau, a master thief, being mugged by a cocky teenager. It was outrageous.
Of course he knew that wasn't the reason he needed so desperately to find her, but he didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about the pressure in his chest. The feeling that time was running out. So he kept his mind on the hunt.
His feet hurt, so he stopped searching for the girl and started looking for a café where he could rest his aching muscles.
He settled for a small place that immediately caught his attention. The name of the café was "Angel's" and he remembered his dreams. It may have been just a coincidence, he thought, but he wasn't taking any chances. The place was pleasant, if nothing else. There weren't many patrons, but he used his empathy to check them all up and make sure there wasn't any danger for himself there. Just like he did with everyone else he'd encounter.
He feared that he was loosing his mind. He was obviously acting paranoid. Maybe everything that was happening was merely a product of his deluded imagination. After all, hadn't he accepted it all rather quickly? If he considered all that had happened to him, he wouldn't be able to say that it had been so uneventful so, for him to have given it little to no thought, until that moment in that quiet café, was a little confusing. He hadn't questioned it, he'd acepted it as natural. Why?
His breathing quickened a little. Was he out of his mind? Maybe he wasn't even in Chicago, maybe he was locked in a padded room.
The waiter approached him wearily and gave him a strange look when he saw the sunglasses, but Remy took no notice of this; he was used too it. The waiter, however, decided to wave a hand infront of his face, surely thinking he was blind. Remy caught his hand in mid-air and grinned at him.

"I can see bien, mon ami." The startled young man smiled nervously and begun babbling.

"I'm very sorry, sir. It's just...well, it's night and..." Remy waved his hands, never loosing the grin.

"Is ok, homme. I understand." The waiter retrieved his notepad and cleared his throat,

"What can I get you. sir?"

"I'll have a..." Remy didn't get to finish the sentence. His eyes wide with horror as he felt sadism and murderous rage washing over him.

"Sir? Mister, are you alright?" the young man asked, but Remy didn't hear him. His attention was focused on the man walking through the door.
Victor Creed, also known as Sabertooth, stood there, with a sly grin on his face, staring directly at him.
Before he could slam him against a wall, or use his newly acquired telekinesis to get him out of that place filled with innocent people, Creed had seized a young woman by the neck, threatening to slice her neck open if he dared move. The rest of the patrons ran desperately towards the exits,
Remy then thought about using his telepathy to numb Creed. He'd shut his empathy down, unable to bare the young woman's fear, so he didn't sense the intentions of the person moving swiftly behind him. He, however, had sensed the movement, and he'd turned around in time to see Harpoon's delighted face as he placed a Genosha collar on him. He saw Creed approaching him, still holding his hostage by the neck, though the girl wasn't fighting anymore, having passed out from fear. Remy understood that first hand. He was growing a little nervous himself. Creed leaned inches away from his face, but Remy held his gaze arrogantly.

"Ye better stay calmed and cooperate with us, Cajun, or this frail dies."
Remy managed to smile.

"What can Remy do for y'?" he asked, as if he was asking for a haircut.

"Sinister said you'd be here. The boss requires yer presence, and I ain't disappointing the boss. Wanna hear the best part?" Creed said menacingly. Remy nodded, not showing the monster he was growing scared. Even though he knew the monster could smell it on him.

"S'ill vous plait, mon ami, I wouldn' like to miss de best part."

"I don't have to get ya there in one piece. So don't be surprised if ye loose a limb or two on the way, bub." He whispered, his toothy grin widening.

Harpoon grabbed him by the arm and lifted him from his seat, pushing him towards the back of the café. Remy studied his chances of escaping. But Creed hadn't released the woman, and without his powers, though he was still fast, he wasn't fast enough to save her. He decided to play along and figure a way out later. He cursed under his breath while he was lead through the emergency exit. He'd left so that no one else would get hurt, and he'd knew Creed wouldn't let the woman live after he was through with him. Knowing that didn't make him try to escape, though. If the woman had to die, it wasn't going to be because of him. Not directly, anyway.
He gasped, giving himself a mental kick, after noticing how often he'd been gasping lately. The alley behind the café was exactly like the one in his dreams. He shivered.

"Scared, bub?" Creed laughed, and Harpoon slammed him against the wall. Remy just smiled.

"Should we wait for the boss here, Creed? Can I kill him?" Harpoon asked. Creed smacked his head with his free hand.

"Told ya, ye ass, the boss said we should keep the Cajun alive, if not whole. Ye can torture him a little, if ya want, but save some fer me. WE have to wait fer Sinister here."

Harpoon seemed please with the suggestion, and Remy braced himself, shutting his eyes close.

"Now, now. I don't think it's very chilvarous of you to hold a lady like that." a familiar voice spoke loud enough for them to hear, but not enough to be considered a shout.
Harpoon dropped him to the ground. Remy opened his eyes and looked for the owner of the voice. Sure enough, though through the shadows she was just a contour, he could see the glittering silver eyes, and the black trench coat that floated around her. He was confused though. He'd half expected her to be like in his dream, but he realized she wasn't the one who he'd seen. Shining eyes and all, it wasn't her.
Remy didn't waste any time with that thought, and while Harpoon charged towards the mysterious girl, he jumped on a distracted Creed, who loosened the grip on his victim, and fell to the ground. But in the process, Creed managed to wound Remy on the leg with his claws, shredding it. Remy recoiled on a corner, holding the young girl close, waiting for Creed to get up and kill them both. His leg was bleeding profusely, but the cut was too deep for him to feel any pain yet, and he was thankful for that.

"Run, petite!" he shouted, hoping the cocky teenager would realize she was in danger. He knew first hand the girl could run.

Creed did get up and almost did what Remy had expected him to do, if it hadn't been for the yelp of horror coming from Harpoon. Remy looked their way and saw that the girl had stabbed Harpoon with a huge sword he hadn't seen her carrying. When the girl withdrew the sword, he watched Harpoon's lifeless body fall to the ground with a thud. The sword, he thought, was magnificent. It was like one of those swords he'd seen in the museums he'd robbed. He recognized the period. It was medieval, the kind that was reserved for kings and knights, and it was real. What was a girl so young doing with a sword that big and heavy? Not to mention she seemed to know how to use it.
Creed stood between them, shifting his eyes from the girl to Remy, as if trying to decide who'd die first. The woman in Remy's arms made that choice for him, because she woke up and started screaming and kicking in horror. She pulled herself away from him and begun running, but was caught by the neck again. She screamed some more, until Creed put his free, furry hand over her mouth.

"Well, what's it gonna be? I dunno who ye are, but if ye let me take my friend here and go, I'll let the frail live." Was that the sound of Creed, scared? Remy was almost certain of it. The girl laughed amusedly.

"What about this? The offspring makes your head explode, and I don't even have to get me sword dirty again."
Both Remy and Creed looked around confusedly, looking for someone else, and the girl groaned.

"Shit! I can't believe this! You stupid arse, you are the offspring!" she signaled towards Remy.

"Eh? I ain' no offsprin'!" his voice came high-pitched. She rolled her eyes.

"Listen to me, mate. Burst his head, now! I cannot slice him to bits as I'd like, 'cause he'd kill the girl!"

"I can' do dat!" Remy shouted frustrated.

"Sure you can. what, are you getting sentimental about this sheep?!"

"I ain' got my powers!"

"Sure you do!"

"Non!"

"Yes!"

Creed spoke up, reminding them both of the situattion.

"Well. I guess this is very interesting, but I'll still leave you to sort it out yerselves. I'll see ye soon, bub."

Creed threw the girl at Remy, who catched her in time before both of them got hurt. The monster ran away, and so did the woman, screaming curses at the three of them. To say that Remy was surprised would have been an understatement. This young girl had made Sabertooth run!
Shouldn't he be running himself? He certainly would have, when he caught the glimpse of her coming towards him slowly, clenching the bloody sword with one hand, but his leg chose that moment to throb in unbearable pain.
The girl knelt down beside him, looking pissed off. It was the first time he'd seen her face so close, and he noticed an ugly scar on the left side of her face. It was a clean, oblique cut, that hardened the expression of her features, that were rather delicate. All in all, she couldn't be more than fourteen.
He was feeling faint, so he grabbed her by the wrist weakly to catch her attention. She glared at him angrily.

"What, mate? Can't you see I'm busy?" he gulped.

"Who are y'?"

"I'm Gamma, the last of the guardians of the prophecy, and you are a bloody asshole." she spat.

"I don' understand." He whispered weakly. Her face softened, and she flashed him a cocky smile.

"You are a slow little bugger, aren't you? Ok, for now, I'm just Sidney. Is that bettah?" Remy smiled.

"Oui. T'ank y' for savin' me an' the femme, Sidney." His voice was almost inaudible at the end.

"Hey, mate, don't thank me. That's me job." She pressed the cloth that she had been tying around his wounds, and he felt his eyes rolling backwards before he passed out.
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