Disclaimer: Hi there.  Sabretooth, Logan and Jean Grey are all characters copyrighted by Marvel.
Mulder & Scully belong to Ten Thirteen Productions, I believe, or Twentieth 
Century Fox Film Corporation.  Everything else is my own creation, except New York.  I don’t know.  Maybe the mibs are responsible.

Here There Be Tygers, part VII
Sean Venning, February, 1997

*jean grey*

Creed slid through the shadows into the deeper undergrowth.  Jean had to 
have been Focussing on the casualties or she could have stopped him cold.  The game now had a brand new set of rules.  Much stricter ones.  

Logan was a constant.  Creed knew him as well as he knew himself; they were 
both predators, both creatures of instinct wrapped in the trappings of humanity.  Logan knew it but tried to deny it.  That gave Creed the edge over him, an edge he loved to exploit.  But Jean Grey was different.  Of all the X-men she was the only one he truly respected, maybe even feared.  She had both the power to stop him and the will to do it.  Forget boy scout Summers or bleeding-heart Xavier.  Jean Grey was the only person he knew 
who would go to the lengths needed to stop him.  Permanently.  He would have 
to deal with her, and Logan, and it would have to be tonight, but not here, not now.  He would wait for the right moment, then strike. 

		*****************************************************
New York

12:35 am, Friday

Scully pinched the bridge of her nose, then rocked back onto her heels 
before standing up again.  

"That’s the last of them," she stated, to no one in particular.

Mulder acknowledged her comment with a vague sound, not taking his eyes off 
of the couple standing in front of him.

Scully continued.

"Ms Grey?  The ambulance crews prepared for sudden haemorrhaging, as you 
warned.  Curiously enough, within moments of the victims being loaded aboard, sealed wounds started reopening."

"I thought they might," replied Jean, as the final ambulance drove off.  
Around them the police continued to move about, collecting unidentified bits and pieces, whilst keeping the midnight onlookers at bay.

"So," began Mulder, "Care to tell me what the hell just happened here?"

Logan glared at him, then turned to Jean..

"We’ve got work ta do."

"Mister Logan?"

"That’s just Logan, boy,"

"..Logan,  I want you to know that the police have not been looking for you 
for any other reason than that you are assumed to have knowledge of the killer.  You are not a suspect in any way, but if you don’t start to provide us with some answers then you may?"

"Be held for questioning.  Yeah, I know all this.  Ain’t the first time I’ve 
heard it.  Listen, we’ve already told you all we saw.  We were out for a walk, we came around the corner and there he was, rippin’ into them.  Naturally I just did my civic duty."

"The only reason I don’t arrest you for possession of a concealed weapon 
right now is that I think you’re trying to stop Creed.  But unless you give us what we want, I’ll do it."

"Concealed weapon?  Hey, ain’t nuthin’ up my sleeve!"  Logan pushed up his 
right jacket sleeve, revealing a massive forearm, covered in thick, black hair.  He pulled off the glove he wore as well.

"And nuthin’ here either.  So tell me, watcha looking for?"

Mulder glared down at the shorter man.  Logan casually pushed his hat up and 
stared back, a sneer slowly crossing his features.  Seeing the warning signs, Jean decided to start speaking.

"That’s basically what happened, Agent Mulder.  We saw the attack and tried 
to assist."

Scully took a step towards them.

"That may be so, but can you explain why all of the victims displayed an 
abnormally low level of bleeding until medical assistance arrived?  Wounds appeared to hold themselves together until bound, resulting in minimal blood loss.  And the wounds themselves, they looked more like they were inflicted by a wild animal, not a man."

"Yeah, funny that.  Now, if you’ll get outta our way, we’ve got work ta do."

"Not so fast," Mulder snapped back, "You have some explaining to do.  Both 
of you."

"No we don’t.  We’re running out of time.  If we don’t stop Creed here and 
now then what you’ve seen already will be nothing compared to the bloodbath you’ll get."

"Just who the hell is this ‘Creed’?"

Jean spoke up.

"Creed.  Victor Creed.  El Tigre.  Der Schlachter.  Sabretooth."

Scully turned, a quizzical look on her face.

"What?"

Logan spoke again

"Pick a name.  Any one.  He answers to all them, when he feels like it.  
Now, we’re outta here."

Mulder turned back to Logan.

"You haven’t finished answering our questions yet."

Logan turned and started to walk off.  Mulder took a step forward and put 
out a hand to restrain him.

"I said..."

Logan whirled on him, bringing his right fist up under Mulder’s jaw.  There 
was the quiet sound of metal scraping on metal, as gleaming silver blades appeared either side of the agent’s face.  Scully stared open eyed, then drew her pistol, pointing it at Logan who merely bared his teeth.  Behind her, Jean looked across at a nearby patrolman, then back to Logan as the patrolman suddenly turned and walked away.

"Drop your weapon and step away from him, or I will fire on you.  Again."

Logan chose to ignore her.

"Listen, *boy*.  I don’t have the time for this.  You’ve seen what Creed can 
do, and I’ve got your *concealed* weapon right here.  Just lettin’ ya know I have a third claw I can pop whenever I chose.  Now, how about you do the sensible thing and leave this to the grown ups."

Mulder looked down at Logan.

"I’m not leaving anything."

"I said step away!"

"You know son, if you had half the balls your partner did, you might actually stand a chance."

Logan glanced sideways at Scully.

"You’re wasting your time lookin’ after him, Red.  You should try for a 
transfer.  Maybe SHIELD, I’m sure they’d love you."

"Drop the weapon *now*."

Logan shook his head.

"Can’t do that."

*lose them jeannie*

Jean Grey set her jaw, then closed her eyes.

		******************************************

New York

12:50 am, Friday

"Where did they go?"

"I...I’m not sure?  There was this pink flash, and then...?"

Mulder looked around, then stepped over to his partner.

"Do you feel all right?"

Scully nodded, her eyes still troubled.

"Yes, fine.  Just a little disoriented."

"Stay here.  Officer!" he called out.  The nearby patrolman looked up, then 
stepped over.

"Yes Sir?"

"Those two people we were talking to, where did they go?"

"They headed off down the path, after you finished interviewing them.  Why?"

"Which way?"

The patrolman gestured.

"That way, weren’t you watching?"

"Thanks.  Come on Scully, we’ve got to..." he glanced at his watch.
"Scully, what time do you have?"

"Um, about six to one."

"It doesn’t add up, Scully.  It should only be twenty to at the latest. Somehow we’ve lost about fifteen minutes."

"Don’t be ridiculous Mulder, we couldn’t have, we’re surrounded by police in 
the middle of New York."

"Well, where did they go?"

Scully looked puzzled.

"I don’t know.  Mulder, have you ever heard of an organisation called Shield?"

		**************************************

Jean and Logan kept moving,  ignoring the search teams combing the parklands 
for Creed.  Creed could avoid the police without even trying.  It was up to the two of them to find him and stop him. 

"Anything, Jeannie?"

Jean stopped for a moment and looked around, shaking her head.

"Nothing."

"Damnit!"  Logan halted and turned to face Jean.

"Look, Jean, we’ve got to find him, and fast.  I hate to do this, but we’re 
gonna have’ta split up to cover more ground, but *stay in touch*.  If you sense him, just stop and let me know.  I’ll come runnin’.  Fair enough?"

Jean smiled.

"Fair enough.  But that goes *both* ways.  I’ll keep us in touch."

Logan grinned, then turned to move away.

"That’s my girl."

		******************************************
New York

1:20 am, Friday

"Mulder, I think they’ve gotten away."

Mulder stopped suddenly, almost causing his partner to collide with him.

"I still don’t understand it," he started.  "They were with us, then they 
vanished.  Right out from the middle of a crime scene, but no one saw anything."

"Maybe Scotty beamed them up?"

Mulder shook his head.

"I doubt it.  Without the right equipment to ..."

"I was joking, Mulder.  Look, I don’t know where they went, or how they 
managed it.  I just get the feeling we’re not going to find them unless they want to be found."

"Oh.  Right.  Well, if we’re going to find any of them tonight, we’re going 
to have to find a reason for them to *want* to be found then.  Any suggestions?"

"We could always put an ad in the paper stating that we’ve found Creed, but 
then...."

A scream sliced through the night air, then was cut off.

Mulder turned back to Scully.

"Good idea.  Let’s get him."

Drawing his pistol, Mulder crashed into the plant life at the side of the 
path.  Holding her automatic firmly in one hand, her torch in the other, Scully followed.

		********************************************

Creed moved slowly through the trees like just another shadow in the night, 
a faint smile playing at his lips.  A little way behind him the still-warm bodies of two patrol men slowly cooled in the undergrowth.  
Logan couldn’t fail to find them, and when he did, Creed would have him.

		********************************************

Logan heard the faint scream and started to run, slipping between the plant 
life with hardly a sound.

*did you hear that jean*

*it was nearby logan*

*on my way be careful*

*always*

Logan started to sprint.

		*******************************************
New York

1:28 am, Friday

Mulder broke into the clearing and stopped with a gasp.

Scully appeared behind him, a little more cautiously.  Just before them she 
could hear the squawk of a police radio.  Playing her torch over the area before them, Scully lowered her pistol and stood horrorstruck at the carnage in the small area.

"My God, Mulder.  He’s an animal."

Mulder took several deep breaths, letting them out slowly.

"El Tigre.  Sabretooth."

"Mulder, his previous killings were bad enough, but this is just...."

Mulder’s head snapped up.

"Call for assistance, I’m going to make sure that he’s not nearby."

"Mulder, for God’s sake, you can’t go out there alone, look what he just did.."

"They weren’t expecting him.  Besides," he flashed her a weak grin, "I can 
run awfully fast."

"No Mulder, you can’t..."

"I’ll be right back."

Scully crossed the clearing, but by the time she reached the far edge, 
Mulder’s torchlight was already lost in the night.

*damn you mulder*

She holstered her pistol and reached for her mobile.  Angrily pressing a few 
buttons, she had only a moment’s wait before a voice responded at the other end.

"Yes, this is Agent Scully, I need assistance..."


		*******************************************

Creed watched with an expression of genuine amusement on his face as the 
Federal Agent forced his way through the plants below.

*killing him will be too easy*

As Creed watched, the man was knocked back by a recoiling branch, which 
slapped him in the face.

*this is so embarrassing*

Unable to bear the view any more, Creed dropped soundlessly behind Mulder 
and reached out to tap him on the shoulder.  Mulder span around with a cry.

"Wha..!"

Creed grinned as he slapped the pistol out of the agent’s grasp, sending it 
flying into a nearby bush.

"Tag!  You’re dead!'

Mulder tried to hit Creed with the torch in his other hand, but Creed 
casually blocked the blow with his forearm.

"Say ‘Goodbye world’,"

"Go to Hell!"

Mulder swung the torch once more, this time letting go of it as he turned to 
run.  Creed again blocked the heavy metal cylinder, letting out a laugh as Mulder crashed blindly away.

"Oh my!  I’ll lose him in the dark, that’s for sure!"

Creed shook his head in disgust.

"A bunch of girl scouts could find you, you know.  Good thing for you it’s 
me who’s gonna find you.  Imagine the embarrassment!"

Creed loped after Mulder, easily catching him and throwing him to the 
ground.  Disdaining his claws for the moment, Creed struck the agent a backhanded blow which stunned Mulder momentarily.

"That’s better.  Now, any last requests?"

Mulder tried to shake away the fuzziness that was filling his head.  As he 
looked up,  Creed raised his hand to strike Mulder again, then paused, seeming to sniff the air about them. The agent felt his attacker’s body 
stiffen, then saw him look back down at him.

"It’s your lucky day, I haven’t got time to play, but I’ll be back later.  
Nighty - nights."

Mulder struggled, but was unable to prevent Creed from striking him again.  
This time everything stayed black.

		*********************************************

The figure halted, crouched silently in the undergrowth.  Sniffing at the 
cool night air, it took another step forwards, then darted silently into the shadows to it’s side.  Up ahead in a clearing a red headed woman 
turned to look into the recently vacated space.  Seeing nothing, she 
continued to look about her, as she stepped quickly to the far side of the clearing.  Behind her the figure stepped back from the shadows and 
stealthily inched forward.

The woman kept walking, worried that she might not be alone, but unable to 
locate any pursuer.  Pausing occasionally to scan the trees around her, she increased her pace.  

The figure in the trees smiled to itself and crouched.  Reaching down, it 
clawed the earth for a moment, then straightened again.  Moving over to a nearby tree, it leapt up, disappearing into the foliage.

Back in the clearing the woman had come to a stop again, turning to stare 
fixedly at the spot where the other figure had just been.  She started to back away, then turned, half-imagining some sound.  As she did, 
the figure launched itself at her back, leaping down from the tree, claws 
outstretched before it.  

*logan I think creeds...*

With a sickening thud, Sabretooth collided with Jean, smashing her to the 
ground.  Before she could react, he was on his knees over her, one clawed hand clamping her head back, the other raking her body.  Jean tried to concentrate, tried to use her powers to throw him from her, to save herself, but the pain was too great.  All she could see was Sabretooth snarling over her, all she could feel was his claws tearing into her.  As the pain slowly dragged her down into the darkness, she tried again.

*logan help....*

There was a faint feral scream in the darkness, then nothing.