Prey Drive Chapter 2
By Cadet Deming
I don't own the rights to X-Men, Marvel and Fox studios do, so please don't sue. I work in litigation so you wouldn't want to anyhow. Thanks to the people who left reviews, they're appreciated. If you want to know who enters the story, please keep reading.-) Based on the Wolverine Origins continuity. Rated T for adult language, adult themes, and violence.
Hicksville Juvenile Detention Center
Tabitha screamed in panic and tried to escape the man's grip, but his hand dug into her too deeply. It didn't even feel human.
"Somebody help me!" she cried as she tried to break free.
"No one's gonna help you," the man said, his voice sounding more like a roar.
Tabitha instinctively grasped for her last resort: her powers. She tried to focus and put her hands together to create an energy ball. It was hard to even aim it as the man was behind her. She targeted as best she could, and it exploded against her attacker's chest.
He howled in agony as she fell back, feeling the heat of the blast. Burning embers fell on the nearby trees, igniting them. The fire grew quickly, and she heard screams and crashes echoing in the courtyard. The screams kept sounding farther and farther away.
"You moron. Nobody runs towards a fire," the man sneered.
She looked back and saw with horror that his body was regenerating, growing back to cover the hole made in his chest by the energy burst. He lunged forward and grabbed one of her ankles, pulling her towards him. She felt a sharp pain in her calf, and everything went dark.
20 Minutes Later
Victor Creed took the girl he'd been carrying over his shoulder and positioned her in the passenger's side seat of his Buick. She'd been so light; he could barely even feel her. With the tranquilizer he'd given her, he figured she'd be still for a bit longer.
He buckled her in, and attached a special Adamantium metal device over her hands. Stryker had a theory it would neutralize her. Victor wasn't impressed with her abilities so far. She actually made her own kidnapping even easier. The fire she started caused so much chaos he was literally able to walk out the front door.
He used the time to take in her scent, her history. Her hair held the memory of the smoke from the fire, but under that he could smell industrial soap, dried sweat filled with fear, and even a little marijuana. Beneath that he could sense her real signature, and he had been right. She did smell different from a normal human. It was like there was a base note of electricity where her powers came from.
Victor got into the car and drove them until he found a gas station with a pay phone. He dialed Stryker's private number.
"It's me, Creed," he said.
"I'm very disappointed in you, Victor," Stryker answered.
"Disappointed? I already got the girl. One of the easiest jobs I've ever done."
"Have you seen any television today? It's all over the news in Ohio: 'Explosive Escape From Hicksville Juvenile Detention Center For Girls. Growing Mutant Menace Suspected.' Tabitha Smith's picture is posted everywhere as the alleged mastermind."
"So I'll be more discreet in the future. I got the job done, didn't I?"
"The job isn't done until that girl is transmitted to the new facility on Three Mile Island. If you botch this, if you can't even bring me one stupid little teenager, you are out of Team X forever. You wouldn't want me to replace you with Wade now, would you?"
Victor hated his teammate Wade Wilson even more than he hated the collective mass of humanity. Plus, he knew "Out of Team X" meant a bit more than just fired or discharged. Except for his brother Jimmy, but that was a whole different story.
"I can do this. I'll be there as soon as I can. I won't let you down. Over and out."
He hung up the phone and went back to the car. He listened to Tabitha's heart. It was still 20 beats per minute below normal. He used the time to pick up some new supplies at the gas station, and headed back out onto the road.
Several Hours Later
Tabitha stirred awake groggily. Everything looked confusingly dark. She realized it was night, and a pair of sunglasses had been placed on her nose. A dull ache reverberated from both the scratch marks on her shoulder and the spot on her leg where she'd been jammed with a needle.
"Where…where am I?" she slurred.
"In the middle of nowhere."
"Who…who are you?" she said, looking over at the frightening man from earlier.
As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she finally got a good look at him. He was tall, and had the build of a firefighter. His hair was cut into mutton chops. He almost would be considered handsome, if not for the presence of claws where a normal person's fingernails would be, and fangs.
"Name's Victor. That's all you need to know for now."
Tabitha tried to remember everything she'd ever heard about surviving in a situation like this: don't panic, cooperate, and don't let them move you to a new location. Your chances of being murdered go up 14,000 times it they take you someplace else. She looked out the window at the mile marker signs moving past them. It was too late for that.
Tabitha briefly calculated her chances of success if she used one of her energy orbs in a moving car and moved to put her hands together, when she felt a clunky metal object attached to her wrists, like armored gloves. She attempted to form one of her energy balls, but her palms became hot, unbearably hot, as the electricity was trapped by the metal.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you, Tabby-cat. That there's Adamantium: the strongest metal on Earth. Your little powers are useless," Victor said.
She felt even more nervous when she realized he knew her name. He knew what she was. He planned this.
"Is this the part where I'm supposed to start crying and begging for my life and saying 'I'll do anything you want' and 'My father has money,'" she asked.
"If your father had money, you wouldn't have been in Juvie."
"My father had plenty of money. It just…wasn't his."
"I know. He skipped bail and left you to rot. Real nice guy. I bet you're just teeming with Daddy Issues," he sneered, flashing those teeth.
"How do you know so much about me? What do you want?"
"It's not what I want. It's what I need."
"You didn't set stuff on fire, practice cruelty to animals, and wet the bed as a child, did you?"She asked.
"What?!"
"The serial killer trifecta. Are you a serial killer?"
He laughed, flashing his fangs again.
"No. I prefer cruelty to people. Animals can't beg for mercy. I was litter box trained. And I'm not a serial killer. I guess you could call me 'Slay for Pay.'"
"You're a mercenary?" she inquired.
"Kinda. Of course the U.S. Government will disavow any of my actions."
"What does the government want with me? Who hired you?"
Victor roared at her like a lion. It shook the whole car.
"You're asking too many questions," he said.
"I'm sorry, but if you were in my position, wouldn't you?"
"If I was ever as pathetic and weak as you are, I'd kill myself," he said.
"I'm sorry. I tend to babble when I'm nervous. And you're really scary. You're the most terrifying, intimidating…man…mutant…weretiger…whatever you are. Hey are you an endangered species?"
"If you don't shut up, I'm going to gag you and lock you in the trunk."
Tabitha silenced herself. She lay back in the seat and watched as night turned to daylight. She drifted in and out of sleep. It was the only escape she had.
As the day grew brighter, she studied Victor as the miles melted past them. She saw him frown, staring at something in the rearview mirror. A few minutes later the car was flooded with the glare of flashing red and blue lights. A police car's siren wailed behind them. Victor signaled that he was pulling over.
"If you want to get out of this alive, don't move or say a word to the cop," he said.
He parked the car and quickly covered her handcuffs with a jacket. He slid his hand under her shirt, pressing his claws into her stomach threateningly, as they both waited for the approaching officer.
She felt Victor's nails retract, and he started to stroke her skin with his fingers, slowly. His hand travelled farther and farther. He looked at her with unmistakable lust in his eyes.
"Nice. You work out?" he asked.
The policeman reached them.
To be continued