I've felt the hate rise up in me...
Kneel down and clear the stone of leaves...
I wander over where you can't see...
Inside my shell, I wait and bleed...

His name is Vargas.

His is Victor Creed, or Sabretooth. Take your pick.

One is a lethal assassin for the Jigoku crime syndicate with no superhuman abilities to speak of. He just has amazing skill.

The other is a psychotic mutant with a healing factor, heightened senses, as well as an adamantium skeleton and claws. He also has several homicidal tendencies and something of a bloodlust.

When last these two killers met, Vargas defeated him, nearly cutting out Sabretooth's throat. It is not something Sabretooth was willing to forget. In some way, he has been looking forward to this moment.

Vargas, on the other hand, has no interest in Sabretooth whatsoever. He defeated Creed once, and he is confident that he can do so again. He has no grudge against Sabretooth, but he does, however, have one against Sabretooth's father—Logan, the mutant who calls himself Wolverine.

"Been wonderin' when you'd show your face again," says Sabretooth. "Lucky me, I didn't have to wait too long."

"I've defeated you onth, Thabretooth, I can do it again," replies Vargas.

"Heh... that's funny," says Sabretooth. "Where'd ya get that lisp from, Antonio? Bit yer tongue?"

"No," says Vargas with a slight smile. "Your father gave it to me."

The amusement fades instantly from Sabretooth's face.

"Ithn't it interething?" asks Vargas. "You're thtronger than him, but you couldn't beat me. Yet he not only fought me to a thandtill, he went beyond."

A roar which would make a lion quiver erupts from Sabretooth's throat. He leaps forward at Vargas and swipes at the assassin's sword. Vargas braces himself for the attack, and delivers a kick to Sabretooth's side. Sabretooth stumbles slightly, and Vargas pulls his sword back, slicing through the mutant's abdomen.

Vargas spins and brings his sword down on Sabretooth's arm. His adamantium bones stop the blade from going all the way through, but the wound is still deep. Sabretooth's nerve endings explode with pain, but before he can drive his claws into Vargas, the Spaniard removes the sword and backs off. The sword falls to his side, and blood drips from it. Vargas grins.

"Whaddaya gonna do, impress me t' death?" asks Sabretooth.

"The thought had crothed my mind."

"Y'know, everytime I hear ya speak, I wanna start laughing," says Creed. "Hey Vargas, can y' say Mississippi?"

Now it was Vargas's turn to scowl. He cries out in anger and rushes forward, lifting his sword up as he does so. He swings with it, and Sabretooth leaps over the blade. While in the air, Sabretooth's leg shoots out and strikes Vargas in the nose. The Spaniard stumbles back and drops his sword to the ground. He removes the leather trench coat from his massive frame and lets it fall to the ground. He picks the sword back up and rushes at Sabretooth again. Creed is amazed at the man's speed. He moves almost like lightning, able to counter each of his strikes. Vargas thrusts with his sword, and Sabretooth uses his claws to force him back. Vargas thrusts forward, driving the blade into Sabretooth's chest, but his adamantium breastbone prevents the sword from going through. Sabretooth grips Vargas's arms, sinking his claws in as he does so. In pain, Vargas releases his grip on his sword, and Creed uses his strength to throw Vargas into the side of the cliff. When Vargas looks, he sees Sabretooth lick the blood from his claws.

"Hmm, not too bad," he says, flashing his canines. "Never ate Spanish before. Wonder how it tastes."

Sabretooth looks down at sees Vargas's sword lying on the ground.

"Now what have we here?" he asks. He bends down and picks up the sword, testing it out. He swings it a couple times, and then twirls it around. Vargas watches in anger as Sabretooth continues to taunt him.

"I think I could get used t' this," says Sabretooth. Vargas kneels on the ground, his arm wrapped around his abdomen as if in pain. In reality, he is reaching for a dagger strapped behind his back. In one swift motion, Vargas draws the dagger from its sheath and flings it with deadly accuracy towards his opponent.

"Don't make me laugh, kid," says Sabretooth as he uses the sword to deflect the dagger. Vargas stands to his feet and slowly walks towards Sabretooth. Creed watches him, and almost begins to laugh.

"You sure you wanna do this?" asks Sabretooth. "Y'know you can't win."

"We'll thee."

"Heh, I just can't get over how funny that sounds," says Sabretooth. "Looks like the runt really did a number on you."

Rage begins to take over Vargas's face as he hears Sabretooth's words.

"Just so y'know, that's nothing compared to what I'm gonna do to you," says Sabretooth. "And it's nothing compared to what I'm gonna do t' Logan once I get my hands on him."

"From what I heard, the latht time you tried, he beat you," says Vargas. "And badly."

As Vargas comes close, Sabretooth swings the sword and slams the broad end of it against Vargas's side. Vargas falls to the ground and before he has a chance to recover, Sabretooth lifts the sword up and brings it down in a stabbing motion. Vargas rolls away, and Sabretooth slams the sword into the ground. He struggles to pull it out from the ground, and that's the chance Vargas needs. He drives his elbow into Sabretooth's face and kicks him in the chest. He moves quickly, and his speed does not allow Sabretooth a chance to retaliate. He concentrates on using swift kicks to Sabretooth's body and head, trying to keep clear of the mutant's claws. He leaps up, drives one foot into Sabretooth's chest, spins in midair, and drives the other into Creed's head. The X-Man staggers back and falls to the ground. Vargas pulls his sword from the ground and brings it up in a battle stance.

"The hell with this," says Sabretooth. Vargas then watches as Creed tears the restraints from his hands, then he rips the collar from his neck. He flexes his wrists, reveling in the new freedom he now has. Vargas is not the only one who bears witness to this. Laying low during the fight has been Clarice Ferguson, Blink. She sees Sabretooth tear his restraints off and she wonders how long they have been inactive. Has he had the opportunity to escape all this time, and did he simply choose not to take it?

"Now then..." says Sabretooth. "Let's have some fun."

Victor Creed seems to move with a renewed vigor. His speed almost seems to have increased, and Vargas finds himself struggling to counter the savage mutant's blows. Vargas's broad sword has been resorted to use as a shield. Only for defense. Sabretooth does not give him the chance to retaliate. Finally, Vargas pulls away. He brings his sword around in an arc, intending to bring it down upon Sabretooth. Instead, Creed catches the blade between the palms of his hand. His immense strength, which is greater than Vargas's, prevents the assassin from moving his sword at all, despite his best efforts. Sabretooth forces the sword, and as a result, Vargas, down low. Then, he drives his knee into Vargas's head. Vargas stumbles back, and Sabretooth drives his claws into the Spaniard's chest. Vargas cries out in pain. Sabretooth lifts him in the air and then slams him back to the ground. He pulls his hand free from Vargas's chest wound, and licks his claws clean. The Australian sun shines off the clean metal.

"Had enough?" he asks with a slight grin. He kneels down so that his face is inches from Vargas. And then, Vargas sees something in Sabretooth's eyes. Something he had not seen before. Possibly the one thing which frightens him.

"Just in case yer wonderin', I ain't gonna kill ya," says Sabretooth. "Night's comin' soon, an' with the way yer bleedin', it won't be long before the local wildlife gets yer scent. An' they're gonna be a hungry bunch."

"Take a look at that news report," says Warren as he turns off the television. He drops the remote control on the couch beside Pyro and stands. "That's all the proof right there. Public opinion of the X-Men is at an all-time low. Even our supporters aren't sure if we're doing the right thing or not."

"So what?" asks Pyro. He picks up the remote and begins flipping through the channels. "Since when have the X-Men been about public perception?"

"Since when did we use the extreme tactics we've resorted to as of late?" asks Warren.

"Wouldn't call 'em extreme..." mutters Pyro as he stops on MTV, admiring the curves of Jennifer Lopez.

"You don't call eviscerating a crime lord and then dining on his flesh extreme?" asks Warren. "How about burning a mutant to death?"

"Hey, first off, Sabretooth's a fecking nutball," replies Pyro, still staring at the television. "An' second, I did what I did for Rogue. I admit, I was brassed. But who wasn't?"

"What about how Joseph completely tore apart the Red Bull?" asks Warren.

"He was savin' Blink," replies Pyro. "Things aren't that black and white anymore, mate. We operate in a world of grays now. The days when you knew who the bad guys were and could take 'em out with no fuss no muss are over. We gotta accept that times are changing, and we gotta change with them. Otherwise, we end up losing."

He reaches for a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table before him and removes one of them. He places it in his mouth, and ignites it with the small zippo lighter which sat beside the cigarettes. He takes a puff, them removes the cigarette before speaking to Warren again.

"Besides, what can you do?" asks Pyro. "Start an X-Men franchise?"

Warren stares at his teammate for a few moments, letting his words sink in.

The lights in the computer annex suddenly turn on. Pietro Maximoff's eyes dart towards the figure standing in the doorway.

"Rogue...?" he asks.

"No," replies Joseph as he steps inside. "But I thought getting a haircut would prevent people from mistaking me for a woman."

"Sorry, it's just..." begins Pietro.

"I know," says Joseph, and walks towards the X-Men's leader. "I just talked to her. She's not too happy."

"She pushed my buttons," says Pietro. "Anyone would have gotten angry in that situation."

"The problem is that anything pushes your buttons," says Joseph.

"The world moves at a crawl for me," says Pietro. "Can I help it if I am easily agitated?"

"Does that mean the woman you love should suffer?" asks Joseph. He sighs. "Look, you're my brother, Pietro. I want to try and help y—"

"I beg your pardon?" asks Pietro. "Brother?"

"Yes, brother," replies Joseph.

"Your brother is from another world," says Pietro. "A world that is gone. Just because I'm his counterpart doesn't make us brothe—"

Pietro found his words cut off by the noise of a high-pitched beep eminating from the computer terminal. He moves back to the console, and he discovers that Blink activated her signal. And that the signal is coming from the outskirts of town.

"Something's happening..." says Pietro. He moves from the computer and races past Joseph.

Pietro comes to a halt right before Blink, who is kneeling over the fallen Vargas.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Vargas appeared out of nowhere and attacked Mr. Creed," replies Blink. "And then he... during the battle, Mr. Creed..."

"Spit it out, child!"

"He tore off his restraints, okay?!" screams Blink with tears in her eyes. She looks at Quicksilver, whose own features are a mixture of shock and fear.

"He what?"

"He tore off the restraints, like they meant nothing," says Blink. "I displaced myself for a few minutes, and when I came back, Mr. Creed was gone, and he had done this to Vargas..."

Quicksilver looks at the unconscious form of Vargas and reads the words carved on his torso by Sabretooth...

I'M BACK
SUCKERS