WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS VIOLENCE (although nothing very graphic) AND A SOCIOPATHIC MURDERER, AND IF THAT SORT OF THING BOTHERS YOU, YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP THIS ONE.
Q: Hey, what's with that warning up there?!
A: Oh, THAT. That's because this team-up includes the mutant SABRETOOTH, who is, frankly, NOT A NICE DUDE. Although, in this instance, he's not COMPLETELY and ABSOLUTELY EVIL, being based more on the Sabretooth from "X-Men Forever," who actually does end up joining the X-Men. But basically, Sabretooth is a HUGE MUSCULAR GUY with CLAW, FANGS, and a HEALING FACTOR! The perfect KILLING MACHINE!
Q: Um... right... so, if Sabretooth is the X-Man in this chapter, who's the Avenger?
A: No no no, you've got it WRONG! Sabretooth is the AVENGER! Believe it or not, he was part of Nick Fury's ORIGINAL TEAM OF AVENGERS in 1959! TOTAL LEGIT COMIC CANON! (And as they say: ONCE an Avenger, ALWAYS an Avenger!)
Q: What?! You know what, nevermind. Alright then, if Sabretooth is the Avenger in this chapter, who's the X-Man?
A: Why, Sabretooth is teaming up with the one and only CYCLOPS, the LEADER OF THE X-MEN! Cyclops is a mutant who SHOOTS CONCUSSIVE RED OPTIC BLASTS out of his EYES, but can't control his power due to a CONCUSSION he got back when he was just a KID! (And if any of you read the comics, this takes place before any of that crazy Dark Phoenix stuff, so don't worry about that.)
Q: Cyclops, huh? Well, I guess he could probably keep Sabretooth in line... is there anything else I need to know before diving into this chapter?
A: THERE IS, actually! Just to clear any confusion, this is AU, and as far as these two characters are concerned, is kind of a combination between various Marvel universes, as well as the X-MEN MOVIES, as to make things simple in this, SABRETOOTH is WOLVERINE'S BROTHER!
Q: That's supposed to make things simple?!
A: YEAH, actually! Because their relationship in the comics is SUPER CONFUSING! So just TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT THINGS TOO HARD, OKAY?
Sabretooth + Cyclops
Victor Creed, better known as Sabretooth, was in the midst of mutilating a platoon of Weapon Plus agents.
They had been hunting him for a few days now—and Sabretooth was a predator. He did not take well to being hunted. At all.
So before they could attack him, he attacked them, and all hell broke loose as Sabretooth tore them to pieces.
He was six-foot six-inches of muscle, dressed in a tawny bodysuit with white fur around his neck and shoulders, his hair a long mane of blond, thick bushy eyebrows above amber eyes, three-inch bone claws on the tip of each finger and toe, and sporting large feline-like teeth with particularly pronounced canines that had given him his codename, and which glinted in the light when he snarled that malicious grin.
He was vicious. He was brutal. He was merciless.
They didn't stand any chance against him.
Until one of them brought out a newfangled lightning ray, firing it at the killer mutant.
"AAARRHHHG!" Sabretooth roared in primal fury and agony as he was zapped in the face with 500 megajoules of energy, causing him to fall to his knees and press the heels of his hands against his steaming eyesockets.
Taking his hands away from his scorched face, he tried to open his eyes—but he couldn't. There was nothing for him to open. His eyes were gone.
Even for him, as accustomed to pain as he was—to the point where he'd even learned to almost perversely love the anticipation of healing from wounds that would kill any normal man—having his eyes burned out of their sockets by a bolt of artificial lightning was enough to make him feel faint and lightheaded.
The agents took advantage of his moment of weakness to riddle him with bullets, causing him to pass out as his healing factor overloaded.
Scott Summers, better known as Cyclops, was taken completely by surprise.
It was early in the morning and he'd been out for a ride on Logan's motorcycle.
Well, actually, even earlier that morning, Scott had been fighting in the Danger Room, all decked out in his X-Men outfit, six-foot three-inch leanly muscled frame closely hugged by his mostly black bodysuit with a yellow X-Men belt around his waist, brown hair concealed beneath the suit's hood, and the optic beams that constantly emanate involuntarily from his eyes controlled by the ruby-quartz visor he was wearing, the single lens of which ran in a red line across his face from eye to eye, giving him a one-eyed appearance that had resulted in his codename.
He was battling huge purple robots that were programed to exterminate mutants, since it was Wednesday: Wednesday was Sentinel Day.
Logan, better known as the Wolverine, had strolled into the Danger Room and proceeded to help Cyclops defeat the hard-light holographic Sentinels he'd been fighting, Logan slicing and dicing them with his adamantium claws while Scott called out orders and zapped the robots with his concussive optic blasts. With the training program ended, Logan had tossed the key to his motorcycle at Scott, telling him that he had better get out of the mansion and take a break for a few hours, as obsessively Danger-Rooming could not possibly be healthy, and that he could take the bike but he had better not damage it.
So, somewhat reluctantly, Cyclops had taken the motorcycle out for a ride, throwing a leather jacket over his battle outfit and switching his ruby-quartz visor out for a pair of ruby-quartz glasses.
So: it was early in the morning and he'd been out for a ride on Logan's motorcycle.
The day was slightly overcast, but not too chilly, and as Scott drove a few miles per hour faster than the speed limit down winding roads lined by trees, he felt some of the ever-constant tension leave his body, letting some of the stress from being the Leader of the X-Men leak away as the wind buffeted his face and the bike roared in his ears.
But unfortunately, the tranquility didn't last long.
Scott didn't even have time to yell, or even register what was happening, before he was tumbling to the street and everything went black; he was taken completely by surprise.
Sabretooth woke up strapped to a metal table. Sabretooth woke up in complete and absolute darkness.
He couldn't feel his eyes, but he could feel the cold metal against his back, the tight manacles around his wrists and ankles. Growling, he pulled against the restraints, but they didn't budge.
He listened to the way his growling echoed around the large, metal room, listened to the buzzing of artificial lights that let him know it wasn't actually dark, listened to the breathing of another lifeform.
He sniffed the air.
"Well well," he said, "If it isn't Scott Summers."
But Cyclops was still unconscious, Sabretooth could sense.
So he roared.
"Wha?!" Scott exclaimed, as he woke up to the sound of a feral roar, and found himself strapped to a metal table in complete and absolute darkness. On reflex he tried to open his eyes, only to find that he couldn't.
There was something strapped onto his face, pressing against his eyes, keeping him from drawing his lids open.
"Good. Yer awake now."
"Sabretooth?!" Cyclops asked.
"The one an' only," Sabretooth drawled, in his deep, growling voice. "An' strapped ta'a metal table, same 's yerself."
"Where are we?!" Cyclops demanded, tugging at his unbudging restraints in frustration. "Why are we here?!"
"This's a Weapon Plus facility," Sabertooth answered. "The same corporation that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton, and that gave me a power upgrade o' two an' messed with my head. I can't expect they've any pleasant plans fer us."
"Our surroundings?"
"Rectangular room, about 300 feet by 200 feet. Metal. Full o' machines an' such, some robots standin' guard outside the door on th' other side, it sounds like."
"Any people? Scientists?"
Sabretooth snorted. "Dont'cha think if there were the woulda said somethin' by now? Nah, residual scents suggest no humans've been in here since they locked us only hearts beatin' in here are mine an' yers."
"You have a heart?" Cyclops asked skeptically.
"Ooh, nasty," Sabretooth said, grin evident in his voice.
"We need to get out of here."
"You gotta plan, boy?"
"There's something keeping me from opening my eyes, so I can't blast our way out. That leaves it up to you. Is there any way you can break free?"
"Kid, there ain't nobody that can keep me locked up no more. But what's ta keep me from jus' leavin' you here once I free m'self?"
"Because you may be able to kill anything that gets in your way, but you're going to need my optic blasts to get out of the thick-walled metal fortress this place probably is. Your claws may be tougher than normal bone, but they aren't adamantium."
"Fair 'nough."
There was the sound of bones cracking as Sabretooth broke the bones of one of his hands to pull it through the manacle.
Cyclops heard more cracking sounds, smelled the hot, copper scent of blood. He grimaced, glad he couldn't see what Sabretooth was doing to himself to get out of the metal restraints.
Sabretooth could hear the way the noise made Cyclops wince and grit his teeth, could smell the trace of fear. It made him grin.
"Jus' give me a moment fer my body t' heal itself," he said. "And if ya blast me with those eyes o' yers, then I'm gonna leave ya here ta be turned inta th' next livin' weapon, ya hear?"
"Don't betray me and I won't blast you," Cyclops replied coolly.
A minute later, whatever had been strapped to Cyclops's face was torn off, and the restraints were ripped from his wrists and ankles.
"Thanks," Cyclops said, swinging his legs over the edge of the table and standing up, turning his head as if he was looking around, even though he was keeping his eyes pressed tightly closed and couldn't see anything. "Do you see my ruby-quartz lenses anywhere?"
"Nope," Sabretooth answered, turning his sightless gaze around the room as he sniffed the air. "Guess yer gonna hafta do without 'em, Scotty boy."
Cyclops stiffened, clenching his jaw. "I can't keep my eyes open. I'll destroy everything."
"An' what's so wrong wi'that?" Sabretooth asked, prowling around the room, his loss of sight not seeming to inhibit him any, as he picked up random objects such as doctors' scalpels, sniffing them, before setting them down again. "We're bustin' outta here anyway ain't we? An' I'm gonna be killin' ev'rybody in this damn place."
"You don't understand," Cyclops said, and though to anyone with duller senses—which was pretty much everyone, except for Wolverine—it wouldn't have been evident, Sabretooth could easily sense the fear and desperation in the mostly calm and collected X-Man. "I don't have any control over my optic blasts."
"Don' lose yer head, ya control freak. I c'n find the way outta here jus' fine. Ya trust me?"
"Not even a bit," Cyclops replied immediately.
"Well then, kid," Sabretooth said with a chuckle—a dark and growling sound. "This oughtta be fun."
Cyclops grit his teeth so hard Sabertooth could hear the grinding. "If we're going to do this, we're going to do this my way, got it?" Cyclops said rigidly. "Which means we are not going to tear through this base and kill everybody. We are going to get straight out, and then I will alert the X-Men about this place and we will decide the proper action, and you will stay out of it."
Sabretooth growled deep in his throat. After a moment, he said, "My brother Logan respects ya, an' fer that reason I'll play it yer way, this once. But if anyone gets in our way on th' way outta here, I ain't gonna be holdin' back."
"Fine," Cyclops said. "Now point me at the door."
Sight was completely overrated, Sabretooth thought, as he took down the armored guards in the hallway with ease. His eyesockets may have been empty, but his every move was precise, calculated, deadly.
"Cyclops, forty-five degrees 't yer left, full blast," Sabretooth called, even as he pounced on an armored agent, grabbing the helmet and twisting it viciously, a neck snapping and the body going still.
Cyclops turned forty-five degrees to his left and opened his eyes, the ruby red force slamming an oncoming patrol of guards. "I'm not killing anybody," he said.
"Careful, boy, 'cause they're not gonna hesitate 't kill you," Sabretooth said, slicing an agent's jugular through a weak spot in the armor. "'T them yer nothin' but a test subject. Yer not a person. Ninety degrees 't yer left an' seventy degrees 't yer right."
Cyclops shot a beam in each direction in quick succession, though he kept his eyes half-lidded, saying, "Which is why we have to act like people. We're not animals, and we need to show them that."
"Kid, I am an animal," Sabretooth said, voice accompanied by the sound of breaking bones and a strangled scream. "An' I ain't never gonna deny that. Behind you, full one-eighty degrees."
"You're sadistic," Cyclops said in repulsion. But he whirled around and fired.
"C'mon, boy." Cyclops was roughly grabbed by the arm and dragged forcefully down a hallway. "This way's clear."
Sabretooth 'guided' the disoriented Cyclops down the hallway, turning abruptly down different passages, causing the X-Man to stumble several times.
Dozens of footsteps chased them, bullets whizzing past Cyclops's ears, Sabretooth forcefully jerking and pushing him around.
"Would you quit that?!" he demanded as he nearly fell down again.
He heard a few bullets pierce flesh, heard the feral mutant growl at the injuries. "Only if ya wanna get shot," Sabretooth said. "An' you won't heal. I will."
Cyclops was jerked to a stop.
"Open yer eyes, kid. I smell fresh air. Blast our way outta this place," Sabretooth growled, turning around and roaring as he engaged the armored agents that had been chasing them. This seemed to involve lots of slamming armored bodies into the walls, by the sound of it, as well as probably the floor, ceiling, and other armored bodies.
Cyclops clenched his jaw, but he opened his eyes, blasting the wall in front of him. Only, the wall turned out to be reflective, and the beam ricocheted off, slamming back into Cyclops—who, fortunately, was completely unaffected by his own power.
Closing his eyes again, Cyclops turned slightly to the right, mentally calculating angles. From what he'd seen in his brief glimpse with his eyes open, there had been a vent in the wall, which would be weaker and wouldn't reflect back.
He tilted his head. Opened his eyes as wide as he could, optic blasts on full-bore.
"Sabretooth, I'm through. Give me a boost."
The boost the feral mutant gave him had him practically flying through the hole he'd blasted through the top of the wall—and then of course crashing to the ground.
There was dirt between his fingers and in his mouth. It tasted awful. Like dirt.
A crunch of leaves as Sabretooth leapt beside him. "Do ya got a' escape plan? They're gonna be comin' after us, an' they ain't gonna give up easy."
"We need to find a vehicle," Cyclops said, getting to his feet. "Any vehicle, as long as it's fast. You drive, I'll keep them off our tails."
"Right." Sabretooth grabbed his arm. "This way. I smell jet fuel. An' my eyes're finally beginnin' t' grow back. I should be able ta make out blurry shapes a' light an' dark in'a minute."
"Wait, what?!"
END.
I'vebeenLOKI'Dyetagain: Ever since reading the "X-Men Forever" comics, I've been wanting to write blind!Sabretooth... XD And then when my awesome sister (who is the one who put all these pairings together, since this story is a present for her) paired him up with Cyclops, I was like, 'YES! PERFECT! I CAN MAKE SCOTT NOT BE ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING, TOO!'
Heh, I am loving writing these team-ups... and accents are so much fun to write... X3
I also love receiving reviews... ;3 (SHAMELESS HINTING IS SHAMELESS)