Weapon X: Man or Animal

Chapter 21

Victor Creed was a man of many talents. And was a man with many crimes to his name, all done so willingly and as cruelly as he could think of. What most didn’t know and didn’t care to realize that his first honest talent many years ago and many wars ago, was that of being an older brother. He was a good one. He protected his younger sibling and held him when the boy cried those tears of his even though Victor told him many times that real men don’t cry. At least that was what Victor was taught by their drunken no good father. Victor took hits for his brother, went hungry for his brother and nearly died many winters over for his brother.

Victor sacrificed everything so his little brother could have one more moment of peace, one moment of happiness. Victor even sacrificed his own humanity for him.

And then, Jimmy left him! Broke their pack, their bond and whatever friendship they forged through childhood interactions back at an Estate Victor would have wanted to simply forget about altogether. Of course his memories wouldn’t allow him to forget so easily. So Victor gave one more sacrifice, but this time for Victor’s own cruel intentions. Victor sacrificed what his brother was to him.

And that worked out fine for around twenty years or so. Victor didn’t have to worry about the small shadow the Howlett name caused, the memories or what a small part of Jimmy considers to be home.

But now everything was so screwed up. Victor had to revive that old sacrificed bond, try to help his brother only to fail horribly. And that led him to this sorry excuse of a school with so-called secret basements that every government probably knew about. And it led to, Weapon X and his current situation. And the physical pain Victor had to deal with, but the physical pain didn’t cut half as badly as the emotional ones did.

And, despite the fact that he planned and had every intention of using his hatred for everything that has happened and hatred caused by Jimmy against Weapon X. He couldn’t. Victor couldn’t understand why, but he couldn’t make himself rage hard enough. Get angry enough to slip into that state where it didn’t matter who he was beating just as long as he was hurting something. That inability and weakness caused him to be stuck in a tight spot.

Victor gasped painfully as he was literally forced flat against the wall behind him, his brother wasn’t this savage. No this was purely Weapon X. Victor ended up getting chunks torn from his arms and leg from Weapon X literally biting him. And now, Victor felt blood run freely as three sharp adamantium laced claws were buried in his stomach and turning ever so slightly. The other set of claws was buried deep in his left shoulder and into the wall. Victor knew that because his hearing picked up that little fact as the tips of the claws pierced the wall.

Jimmy would have at least looked undignified and disgusted with this sort of fight. And maybe even some glee, but never enough to actually change anything.

Weapon X on the other hand looked absolutely delighted as well as completely feral.

Victor’s lip curled in disgust. He always told his brother that he should embrace that other side. But this wasn’t it, and if the bald headed screw up was right this was the result of government tinkering and the wars and Victor himself. Why couldn’t it be more like Victors? It wouldn’t have been so screwed up and mindless! They were literally face-to-face, it gave Victor a moment to look into a stranger’s familiar eyes and saw nothing recognizable.

Victor could still remember a bittersweet time when they didn’t fight, when he didn’t find his brothers claws buried in Victor’s flesh. Almost like it was only yesterday.

Victor sniffed, he hated crying. It made him feel weak and pathetic, just like his father said he was. It wasn’t fair! It just wasn’t fair!

“Victor? Guess what I’m allowed out…” A joyfully childish voice rang out, loud clumsy footsteps halted though when the young petite frail son of the Howlett’s stopped dead in his tracks. 

Victor cursed. Wiping away stray tears angrily. He didn’t want to be seen like this! 

“Are you okay?” Young James asked, coming closer cautiously and with concern written all over his face.

“Of course I’m okay! You think I’d be crying like some girl. I just… I just…” Victor ended up breaking down again. He hated this! Why did his father have to be so mean when he was drunk, which he usually was. Victor’s fingers and mouth still hurt. Victor covered his eyes and tried to collect himself when he felt two smaller arms circle around his shoulders in an awkward hug. No one has ever hugged him before so he stiffened.

“It’s okay Victor… It’ll be okay, you’ll see. I promise that it’ll be okay.” Young James naively said. Victor doubted it, the boy was just five years old and knew next to nothing. But still, it felt nice. To be promised something, and part of him believed that James was right. After all, James never lied to him or hurt him in any way. So maybe, just maybe things will be fine. 

But James lied! Nothing was okay, everything got worse and worse and worse until nothing was right. They grew up; James murdered their father and the wars and Stryker. Now Weapon X. Nothing was okay. Nothing will be okay! James was a stupid little boy who knew nothing, but childish useless dreams filled with nothing Victor knew or understood.

And now…

Now…

Victor snarled angrily, it wasn’t fair! He shouldn’t have to be dealing with this sort of shit; the basic plan was to beat Weapon X down. Make the weapon go away, then go back to how things used to be in his own life as an assassin for hire. Curling his hands around Weapon X’s wrists Victor tugged the claws free and dodged the head butt coming his way with an annoyed scowl. With a hard push, Weapon X back hard enough for the thing to hit the ground with a loud thud. It rolled away as Victor stood up straight and rolled his shoulders once, knocking away the tension as good as that action could.

“It’s okay Victor… It’ll be okay… Promise…”

“…okay…”

“It’ll be okay…”

“…Promise…”

Lies! It was nothing but a pack of lies that Victor was so very foolish to hold on to, and it wasn’t fair that it was those pack of lies that kept him going another day back when he was a child and under his father’s tender loving care.

“I promises…”

Victor sneered angrily as edges of his vision started to blur and bleed red in that delightful way as the physical pain lessened enough for things to become clearer than it was through hurt and emotional pain. It was easier to see that he had to let go that this wasn’t Jimmy or Logan or some sack of weak shit. This was an animal, it was a weapon. Victor had to think like this.

Think of this as another hit, another light to be put out and it was easier that way. And that was something Victor could excel at delightfully.

No not Victor.

“Ya ready, boy ‘cause Sabretooth’s comin’ fer ya!” Sabretooth roared, claws lengthened and mindset shifting into a more feral state. Finally… Sabretooth thought with a dark purr that promised pain. A cruel grin broadened as claws lengthened in lethal curls even more than before.

~ Man ~ Weapon ~ Animal ~

X-23 found herself sprawled on the ground, her body hurt with the extra force used to literally throw her out of the room and the fight she put up when she was forced out of the room. Ignoring the pain she stood up. She could hear a fight going on, Weapon X’s roar and the clawed man. The clawed man had too many conflicting emotions, and none of them made sense. And given that X-23 could barely make out her own emotions half the time, it was next to impossible to understand.

She needed something. Something to help her. Or someone. But that wouldn’t be Weapon X; he was incapable of helping her. Even though she so badly wanted to stay with him, she couldn’t understand why fully. But she knew that she didn’t want to leave him alone. She didn’t want to leave him alone in the cages, he always hated being isolated. And he was always isolated and cut off from everything including time, sounds, smells and even sight when their handlers felt like taking that away too.

She remembered he put up more of a fuss then in comparison to trials and experimentations. Something about being alone never sat well with Weapon X, X-23 on the other hand had no problem being alone.

X-23 looked at the door for weaknesses. That feeling or instinct, whichever it was that she felt when it came to the order that would have ended a child’s life came back. The one that had her spare the child while killing the toddler’s parents as her mission told her to. It was what led her to manage to get a message to her mother, tell her mother what X-23 was ordered to do.

She lunged at the door, there were no weaknesses and the power that controlled the door was off. Her claws weren’t long enough; she couldn’t even see light from the other side. She kept cutting at it, kicking it and pulling her claw from her foot out with both hands. It hurt at times, but pain was unimportant so she ignored it. Kept lunging and kept failing.

When she realized that she wouldn’t be able to cut through, she stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the hallway and due to her own lack of understanding of the desperation that was settling in her stomach, she cuts into her arm for a few minutes before settling on another course of action.

Assistance, she required assistance. Putting her claws on her feet away she walked steadily to the infirmary and entered. Professor Xavier was in his chair, the man known as Scott Summers was enraged if the discoloration in his face and the veins was any indication. Professor Xavier looked like he was crossed with showing no emotion and guilt. She may not understand emotion, but she was trained how to spot it.

The blue handler she attacked along with Weapon X was resting on a bed unconscious from his wounds being tended. The other two was sitting down on other beds and looking uncomfortable.

“I require assistance… Now.” X-23 stated calmly as soon as she was aware of their attention was on her.

“What’s the matter?” The angry one, Scott Summers asked as calmly as his anger obviously allowed him. He was efficient; X-23 could respect that for the most part. No one else spoke; Professor Xavier touched the temple on his head.

“It’s Logan and Victor, they’re fighting… Savagely.” Professor Xavier stated for her. Everyone was on their feet. X-23 was on the look out for restraints, Weapon X wouldn’t want to be restrained at the moment.

~ Man ~ Weapon ~ Animal ~

Weapon X was frustrated, the fight was going well. It was, he had the clawed handler up against the wall gasping in pain. All that anger that he swore he saw in the clawed handler was nothing more than a shallow weapon and wasn’t used.

Or so Weapon X thought.

But somehow, up against the wall the handler was getting angry like all that anger from before came back and finally set fire to that familiar rage Weapon X feels in himself all the time, but this time it was like seeing that familiar rage as though he was the handler and this clawed handler was the animal to be observed. It was an odd feeling, one Weapon X never felt before. And will never feel again, he’s going to kill this handler. Then, maybe things will go back to how they should be.

The cage was too nice.

The cage was too spacious.

The food was actually food and not Weapon X’s usual supplements when he ate instead of having it tube fed after or during experimentations.

There was no mistreatment except for the instance with the mind machine the bald headed one used against Weapon X. But still, things were too nice and too civil here. Things weren’t supposed to be that way; they never were before so why start now.

The clawed handler finally spoke since the fight started, saying words that had no meaning to him,

“Ya ready, boy ‘cause Sabretooth’s comin’ fer ya!”

Weapon X was about to sneer savagely at meaningless words when something stung inside him.

He felt… betrayed…

Weapon X couldn’t explain it, but it was brief, but with it came rage and even though the brief feeling faded the rage remained. Weapon X let out an angry roar and lunged even more persistently, but so did his clawed handler ‘Sabretooth’. They clashed in the middle of the room in a flurry of claws and teeth. The clawed handler ‘Sabretooth’ was even tougher to nail than before!

It seemed that with rage that the man felt his strength increased. Just like it did with Weapon X.

No matter.

Weapon X kept pushing forward, kept slashing and slicing and snapping his jaws hard in hopes to catch a part of his opponent. Hoping to kill him, and go back to the way things were. It wasn’t working out that way though, Weapon X kept gaining injury after injury and from the lack of proper eating and sleeping that Weapon X is usually forced to do, Weapon X was starting to slow down. Not much, but from the looks of things the tide was turning.

Finally…

It was finally going back to how Weapon X was used to things being. At least then he wasn’t being mocked with false niceties from handlers playing games. This handler was the one who was being the most honest with their roles. For the second time being in this place his gut seemed to sink.

He didn’t know how or even when, but Weapon X found himself on his back defending himself from slashing hits. Growling and snarling up at the equally savage handler.