CHAPTER 6

The man woke up to the sound of a ringing phone but to the man's extremely sensitive ears it was like waking up in the middle of a great clanging bell. He opened his eyes and found himself in a shit-hole of a hotel room; the smell of the last resident still lingering on the bed sheets. He found the phone and picked it up, "Hello?"

He heard a man's voice he did not recognize on the other end, "Run! Run for your fucking life!" *click*

He scratched his pounding head, as he tried to explain this blank feeling he had. 'What the hell's going on?'

Then suddenly the man could smell several man and women surrounding his door. He stood up and looked for a quick exit.

BAM! BAM! BAM! "Open up, it's the police!"

Now the phone call made sense. He rushed to the only window, and saw he was nearly five stories high. He no sooner turned around when the police had kicked in the door and were rushing in. Those who got to him first tried grabbing him and throwing him down, but he only pushed them off of him. This of course was taken as aggression, and they opened fire. He felt the bullets tear into his flesh and as he hit the floor, for a moment he accepted his own death; but then something incredible happened. The bullets started to fall out on their own, and his wounds were instantly healed! He say up just as shocked as the police, but also very much encouraged by this situation.

He stood proudly to his feet and began to fling the police that stood in his way around the room, now ignoring the spray of bullets, as he made his way out the door. He realized that even though he was apparently invincible, there was no point waiting for reinforcements to show up. He ran down several streets, hoping that he lost the cops and ended up going into a dark and dank bar that looked to be the kind of place you would find many criminal types. He sat at the bar and ordered a beer. When the bar tender asked for the money he reached in his pocket and found nothing but a note.

"No money, no service!" the bartender yelled as he grabbed the beer away, and pointed to the door.

"I got this, Rob," said a lovely blond haired woman who was walking across the bar and taking a seat next to the man.

"You look like you could really use a beer," she said sympathetically as she took a sip of her own beer. He blankly nodded his head and looked down to read the note in his hand.

//From one Vic to another, enjoy immortality.//

He looked up and stared into the mirror behind the bar. His head was swimming in a pool of confusion and uncertainty.

"Name's Mystique," the woman held out her hand to shake his.

"What's yours?"

For a moment he looked down at her, licking his lips and shaking his head just a bit.

"Vic," he finally admitted as he gulped down his beer. But even hearing the name aloud still didn't ring true.

"Well Vic, what do you say about getting out of here and going somewhere more private?" she spoke seductively.

"I...I don't think that would be a good idea," he dropped his head in shame as "memories" of dead naked women filled his brain.

"Oh," Mystique pulled away to give the felinoid some space.

"It just seemed you needed someone to talk to."

His eyes filled with despair, "I do; God I really do! It's just I, I feel like don't know up from down right now! Like I'm not even who I'm supposed to be. I know that sounds crazy, maybe I am crazy. I must be."

As he tried to gather his thoughts she made a quiet phone call. When she returned she ordered them another beer and took her seat.

"I really do appreciate this, Mystique. I woke up a little while ago, and..." he tried to explain what he could not even understand himself.

"I woke up and my whole fuckin life don't make sense. I feel like there's someone else inside my head. I dunno, I just wish I could remember more about, about me...that's all.

Mystique spoke in a gentle, almost motherly voice, "There's someone I'd like you to meet; I think he could really help you with this...identity crisis your in."

The felinoid's dark eyes seemed hopeful, "You think he could help me?"

Mystique smiled and patted him gently on the back, "He's helped dozens of people like us, and he wants to help all mutant kind. But he needs help, he can't do it all alone."

He nodded his head staring into his beer. "I see; well, how do I meet this guy?"

Mystique smiled, very pleased by his response. "He'll be here in a few minutes. But try not to talk so much, OK. He really isn't into lengthy conversations."

xxx

Creed and Stryker were already in the air, heading to Germany, when he got the call. Even though Stryker tried to keep the call private, Creed could over hear every word being said. He chuckled to himself as he faintly heard Cornelius on the other end, having a conniption.

"I thought we agreed that Catarski was NOT to get any of Creed's healing factor abilities!" Stryker flew into a rage.

"Well obviously someone in the lab screwed up!"

"That doesn't make sense. Why would he..."

"I should have been informed of this when it happened!"

"Alright. Well, the cat's out of the bag now so to speak."

"No, there's no point in that. There's absolutely NO way they can ever trace him back to the faculty; that's what matters."

"In fact...having the son of a bitch on the loose, may work to our advantage."

When Stryker returned to his seat Creed pretended to have heard nothing. "Call from your wife?"

Stryker gave no answer right away however, but just stared out of the window thinking to himself.

"So, you couldn't leave this alone huh?" he finally spoke up, still looking out at the clouds underneath them.

"Leave what alone?" Creed sounded pure as the driven snow.

Stryker then turned and glared at him, "you know perfectly, fucking well what I'm talking about. You were seen leaving the lab last night when everyone else had left. What did you do, Creed? Give the bastard some more of your DNA just so he'd have the healing factor too?"

For a moment, Creed just continued to look at Stryker with no intention to respond. He just sat there with a smug, contemptuous grin.

"Well go ahead and be proud of your little creation for now, Creed," Stryker warned.

"But mark my words, there will come a day when you'll have to personally contend with him."

Creed rolled his eyes a bit and went to staring out his own window; 'I'm counting on it.'

xxx

"My dear young man, my name is Magneto," the suave gentlemen proudly announced as he walked up to him and Mystique; then suggested they all go to a booth located in the back of the bar. Another man had come along too. A short, stubby green man with an obvious attitude and an automatic dislike for the felinoid.

"This gentlemen here is named Toad," Magneto casually introduced him as they took seats around the table.

"He has been with the brotherhood ever since the beginning, and I've come to think of him as a son."

"Brotherhood?" the felinoid asked curiously.

"Yes, we are all brothers aren't we? We mutants that is. We must stick together like family if our kind is to survive," Magneto explained as the man he spoke to slowly nodded his head in agreement.

"So tell me, what's your name?" the elderly man asked him.

He really didn't mean to look stupid, it wasn't like he didn't know his name, it just didn't 'feel' like his name; like it had no meaning to him at all. He sighed in surrender, "Vic...Victor Creed."

Suddenly Magneto's face turned sour, even disgusted. "NO! That is NOT your name!"

Suddenly, the felinoid felt a great sense of relief and even a sense of joy! The old man really got what he was feeling inside. His ears and countenance perked up as he listened to this brilliant genius.

"That is a name they gave you, -those humans. But that's not who you are, now is it?"

His eyes brightened and he felt himself straightening up in his seat.

Once again Magneto asked him, "So...? What is your name?"

He turned his head to get a close look at himself in the mirror and he studied his features. He was fierce, he was proud, and he was a wild animal. As he opened his mouth to speak, he caught sight of his enormously long and large fangs. He was proud of them, they said who he was. He turned back and looked at Magneto with cold but prideful eyes.

"I'm, Sabretooth."

--THE END