THE HUNTER HUNTED

By David Stewart

The hunt is on. The hunter hunting its prey. Normally this is the kind of game the psychotic mutant killer known as Sabretooth enjoys. With his enhanced senses the hunting becomes a game for him. Not this time though, due in a large part to the fact that this time he is the prey and it isn’t a hunter, it’s hunters. Or specifically X-Factor.

Three weeks earlier in a building on the banks of the Hudson River.

Gathered in the building are no ordinary beings, in fact they are mutants. Humans born with the special x-factor gene in their blood that gives them special powers and abilities. In this case there are five mutants. Polaris, Forge, and Jamie Madrox, or the Multiple Man as he is also known. This is for his ability to split into duplicates of himself. The other two that make the five were not born in this timeline. They were born in a future where mutants are persecuted. In this future they joined the Xavier Security Enforcers, or X.S.E., mutants policing mutants, but they have both wound up in this time trying to make the future, their future, a better place. They are Shard and Fixx. They are all gathered together, a month after the apparent deaths of their former team-mates Havok and Greystone, by the person who hopes this will be a new beginning, for the team and for herself.

“I’m sure you can guess why I’ve called each of you here today,” began Polaris. “Before Alex died he told me the team would be my responsibility if, one day, he did not return. I’ve had time to think about this and I want this to happen. I want us to get back together, to take on his ideas. I want us to hunt down mutant criminals and let the public know we’re making the streets safer for them. First off I want us to go after Sabretooth because I, we owe him a lot more than one. To do this, though, I need all of you to join me and to become a team once more. The question is though, will you?”

She looks at each person, then looks at Forge and asks him the question. “Will you Forge?”

Forge thinks about it for a while, everyone looking at him, and then answers. “I’ll come after Sabretooth with you because of all he did to us, and I’ll help you with technology, but I’m getting too old for coming on missions, Lorna…”

“Well, that’s a start… thank you Forge. Jamie what about you?”

On hearing the question Jamie Madrox splits into many duplicates and gives his answer, or rather answers…

“Why not?”

“Yep.”

“Yes.”

“Go on then…”

“How can I refuse you Polaris, aka super babe?”

There has not been much laughter in Polaris’ life for a while, but she cannot help but laugh for a brief second at her companion. “Thank you Jamie. You’ll certainly add a certain style to the team. Shard, Fixx, how about you two?”

“I’ve nothing better to do…”

“Thanks Fixx, great enthusiasm. Shard?”

Shard fixed Lorna with a stare, and replied “When do we start?”

Back to the present…

“Forge have you got him on the tracker?” Polaris asked.

“Yep, I’ve got him but he’s going all over the place. I think we’re gonna have to split up.”

“Okay then,” agreed Polaris. “Fixx you should be able to follow his psionic trail so you go with Jamie. Forge you follow him on the tracker with Shard. I’ll go airborne. Remember we’re all linked through Fixx so if you find him let everyone know immediately. He’s not going to get away, and he’s certainly not going to satisfy his blood lust on any of us!”

Three weeks earlier, the phone rings in the home of Dr. Valerie Cooper.

Val got up slowly, putting aside her file on Wildchild. “Where are you Kyle?” she thought to herself.

She had no time to think of this now though as she answered the phone.

“Hi Val, how are you?”

“Lorna? Is that you?”

“Yes Val it’s me. We’re back, and we need your help. How do you feel about doing a little public relations for us once more?”

The present…

“Madrox, he’s here, hiding somewhere. Be ready, I’ll contact the others.”

The psionic message hit Jamie, courtesy of Fixx, and he immediately duplicated himself so that where there had been one, there was now five. There came a deep growl from somewhere close followed by a voice dripping with sarcasm. “Nice trick, runt.”

“Thanks Sabes,” Madrox shouted to wherever Sabretooth was. “It is alright if I call you Sabes isn’t it? Or Sabsey? Whichever you prefer.”

A fierce growl of annoyance could be heard as Jamie Madrox mocked Sabretooth. If mocking was a sport Jamie Madrox would be an Olympic champion at it, no doubt.

“Anyway as for the trick,” Jamie continued “it is pretty good I’ll admit myself. Now I’ll take this slowly for you but I think you should be able to understand, even with your limited intelligence.”

“I’m not sure myself.” said one duplicate.

“Nope, never in a million years…” said another.

“Ugly and dumb, not a good combination really.” stated a third.

“Now you see I can make lots of myself. That’s why I’m called The Multiple Man. D’ya get it? I’ll say it again slowly. Mul-ti-ple Man. Come on say it with me, Mul-ti-”

Jamie Madrox was cut off mid-sentence as a huge blood-curdling roar erupted from Sabretooth as he launched himself, claws ready to strike, at one of the Jamie Madrox duplicates.

“I’m going to gut you Madrox!”

One week earlier, the phone rings in the Brickman family home.

“Hello, is Mallory Brickman there please?”

“Yes, who may I say is calling?”

“Tell her it’s an old friend…”

A few moments pass before the caller gets a reply, “Hello, this is Mallory Brickman speaking. How may I help you?”

“Hello Mystique…”

“Dane?! How do you know I’m here?”

“It’s courtesy of a member of my new team, the new X-Factor. You might remember her, you helped her before, her name’s Fixx.”

A groan could be heard from Mystique followed by, “What do you want Dane? Do you know what you’ve done? This phone conversation is probably being listened to by at least ten different organisations.”

“Relax Mystique,” Polaris replied. She was enjoying this. “Forge has arranged it so that anyone listening into this conversation will hear a conversation between a concerned mother and a school teacher. Now enough wasting time, let me get to the point. We know you want Sabretooth so that you can find out where Trevor Chase is being kept. I’ll make you a deal. You help us find Sabretooth and we’ll help you find Trevor. Is it a deal?”

A reluctant sight came from Mystique then, “As much as I hate to help you it’s a deal. But never, and I mean never, ring me here again, or it’ll be you I’m after!”

Polaris laughed. “Oh that will disappoint Forge. You two seemed so close before you left…”

“It’s you who I don’t want to ring me, Forge is different, but don’t go getting any ideas. And by the way, I mean it. If you ring me here you’ll live to regret it.”

“Ooh stop Mystique, you’re scaring me!” Polaris couldn’t help but laugh, and then she decided to really wind Mystique up. In a very friendly, and false, voice she said, “It’s been lovely speaking to you Mallory. I’ll ring again soon. Ta-ta…”

With that she put the phone down and burst into hysterics. “I’m really starting to enjoy this,” she said to herself.

Once again, back to the present…

Suddenly Sabretooth seized up and was lifted up into the air, courtesy of the magnetic magic of Polaris.

“You’ll do no such thing Sabretooth,” she said as she carefully hovered towards the ground, still keeping Sabretooth suspended in the air, “Jamie is fine as he is.”

“You’re second on my list, bitch…” snarled Sabretooth before he cried in pain as he apparently cut deep into himself with his adamantium claws.

“I don’t think I will be Sabretooth. You see, the funny thing is that you think you’re invincible now you’ve got your new adamantium skeleton. To most people maybe but as you know I control magnetism and, as you also know, adamantium is a metal.”

“I doubt he knows…”

“Yeah, he’s pretty dumb…”

“Pretty dumb, more like very dumb…”

Polaris ignored the comments of Jamie’s duplicates and continued speaking. “Therefore Sabretooth, I can control your body and make you use those nice sharp claws of yours to cut yourself with. Oh, but you’ve got a healing factor as well. That means that cut has probably healed itself by now so I’d probably better injure you again. Actually this whole situation reminds me of a story I once heard. It involved a man with adamantium and this bloke who could control magnetism. This bloke was really horrible and made all the adamantium come out of this man. Now I wonder if I could do that?” Polaris paused for a minute to look at Sabretooth. “Wait a minute, is that fear I see on your face? Fear from the mighty Sabretooth?”

“You wouldn’t do it bitch,” Sabretooth snarled, “not to someone who used to mean so much to you. You remember don’t you, when we were Marauders together?” Provoked by these words, stirring a memory of a time when she was not in control of her body but was possessed by a mutant named Malice, Polaris hurled Sabretooth against a stone wall with terrific force.

At this point Forge and Shard arrived. “Ooh, I’m very sorry Sabretooth, I just slipped. Please forgive me. Now you can sleep for a while and be happy in the knowledge that when you wake up you’ll have some nice restraints and a new improved inhibitor collar on. Won’t that be great? And before I forget, Mystique wanted you to know that she helped you find us. She wanted to be here personally but I’m afraid I had to make her stay away, you know how she can make bad decisions don’t you? I mean, she did sleep with you.” A growl started to form on the lips of Sabretooth but before it could be heard he was unconscious as Polaris slowed the flow of iron to his brain.

This was almost like a signal for the Madrox’s to start up again…

“Way to go, Polaris!”

“Go, oh green-haired girl!”

“Come on let’s hear ya… Gimme a P!”

“P!”

“Quit it Jamie,” said Polaris. “I’m pretty tired from all that. It wasn’t at all easy keeping him restrained when he was struggling to break free so much. Forge could you put the restraints on Sabretooth please. Well done team, I think we can count that as a successful mission.”

“Gimme an S!”

“S!”

“Jamie, do you want to sleep as well as Sabretooth because it can be arranged?”

“Ok, I’m shutting up,” Jamie answered. But he just had to get the last word in…

“What’s that spell?”

“POLARIS!”

NEXT: Polaris decides to alter Sabretooth a little, Mystique joins the team in finding Trevor Chase, and Forge becomes a father?!