Chapter 19: Stolen Target
He could feel them holding him in place, squeezing tight around his body to ensure that he could not move and was nothing more than a helpless figure forced to wherever they wished him to go. Struggling was futile, the metal far too sturdy and constricting that escape was impossible, pressing down upon his body with a grip stronger than that of Jean's telekinesis.
Escaping was impossible.
That was something Esau figured out very quickly as he was taken God knows where. So, instead of continuing his fruitless struggling, Esau decided to instead conserve his energy and wait, he'd be let loose at some point and then he'd make whoever trapped him like this pay. But he doubted he'd be very successful with a body that was as much of a mess as he was at the current point in time.
This time, he decided to listen to the little voice in the back of his mind, a voice that sounded a great deal like Mystique and decided to wait and let his body heal. Another good thing that had come out of his fight with Juggernaut and the copious amount of damage he received was that he healed much quicker than a normal person.
Not instantly, unfortunately.
But he still recovered at a far quicker rate.
Every little helped and all that.
He wasn't really conscious of what was going on around him though as he was moved to wherever he was being taken to. Couldn't see anything but darkness, yet he could hear the whooshing of air as they moved with immense speed over the clinking and shifting of metal.
Then, just as the thought came across Esau's mind that perhaps, he might not ever stop, he did. The metal cocoon around him began to shift and open up, Esau then pounced and quickly he broke free, grabbing one of the metal tentacles that attacked the floating orb and swung it round, smashing it into the ground.
The eruption of sound was deafening, but Esau didn't care, just lifting it up once more and swinging it back down once more, denting the ground and cracking the metal orb. "Fucking piece of shit!" Esau roared, looking around the metallic chamber he now found himself in, the people within it looking up at him. "Which one of you was it?!"
He looked at the baldheaded man in a wheelchair.
To the two guys in matching outfits, one that looked a lot like the profile of Scott Summers, the leader of the X-Men. As for the kid by his side, Esau had no idea who he was but guessed he was probably the mysterious mutant that had been sent to take care of him. The story behind why there were stood close together was a mystery to him.
He then looked towards the large, bulky, bestial figure dressed in thick furs and with a wild mane of hair that looked like it had never seen a comb. Then to the man behind him, dressed in an ornate suit of armour, a cape draping against the floor as he stood with his arms clasped behind his back.
All the while, stasis pods lined the sides of the room, inside of which were filled with the other members of the X-Men and Brotherhood.
"What the fuck is going on here?" He asked, a second pod soon coming into the room, one that moved right towards the stasis pods. It shifted, revealing Jean, that the tentacles of metal lifted up and pushed into the stasis pod that had opened to receive her.
"Do not worry, Scott Summers." The caped man said, his voice calming but powerful. "You need not fear for her safety. Jean Grey will not be harmed, she is simply being placed into stasis for the time being."
"For the time being?" Esau muttered. "Can someone for the love of god just explain what the fuck is going on here?"
"You are being manipulated." Xavier cut in sharply, gaze never leaving the caped man. "By a man so blinded with bitterness to see that he is on the path to becoming the very thing he despises. One who preaches about a mutant revolt that will see not only mutants, but humanity itself, destroyed."
"That is where you are wrong, Charles." The caped man replied. "I am simply doing what needs must. Our goals were once aligned, but you are too weak, too soft to do what is necessary in order for mutants to ensure their survival. Human history has proven that when in a position of strength, they do not negotiate and we would be fools to believe they would. As Winston Churchill once said, you can not negotiate with a tiger when your head is in its mouth. We are in the tiger's mouth Charles and the only way to stop its jaws from clamping around our necks is through force."
"All that will accomplish is seeing humanity unite against us all," Charles argued. "You are proposing a war against a number that we can never hope to match. Mutants are few in number, spread out across the globe, if you follow through with your plan, Erik, then all you will do is force their hand."
Erik chuckled. "Then you are a fool." He shook his head, then turned to Esau. "You have gained Mystique's attention, a rare thing to do and says much of your potential. Join me, Esau and together, we can create a new world in which mutants do not have to hide who they are or fear being hunted by humans."
"If you join him, Esau," Charles interrupted. "All you will be doing is sentencing yourself to a brutal death. Is that what you want?"
"Am I the only one you two are trying to convince?" Esau replied to them both, waving his hand towards the two teenagers. "What about them two over there?" This is where Erik smiled and Charles shook his head in what Esau could only describe as disappointment. "Man, what did you do, one-eye?"
Scott's lips twisted. "Nothing except choose my family."
That made Esau blink. "Can't really say I'd do the same, but that...kind of makes sense from a normal standpoint." Esau then turned to the wild-looking figure that had stood beside Erik the entire time. "What about you, what's your entire take on this whole thing?"
"Don't care." The man replied gruffly, flexing his clawed hands as he smiled widely, revealing his sharp fangs. "All I came to do was hunt down an old friend of mine."
Something about the way he said 'friend' made Esau believe that there was a serious history behind that relationship, which in turn, made him pause in thought. 'Wait, don't tell me...' His thoughts trailed off as his eyes narrowed. "This old friend of yours, they wouldn't happen to be Wolverine, would they?"
The man scoffed, smirking. "Yeah, though he's gotten weaker since hanging around with these children, softer, hardly put up much of a fight." Esau nodded his head, moving forwards.
"Man, that must have been a good fight, huh? Shame I missed Wolverine getting his ass kicked, being wanting to do that myself for a while now, but the opportunity just kept slipping through my fingers." Esau muttered, getting closer to the wild figure. "Say, what's your name again?"
"It's Victor and I wouldn't be too upset, Wolverine will be back on his feet again and moving in no time. Next time, I'll let you watch me tear him apart, perhaps I'll even let you have a go yourself." Esau smiled, nodding his head.
"I'd like that." He admitted, standing right in front of him. 'Hey, baldie, can you hear me.'
'I can.'
"What is it, you got something else to say?" Victor asked.
'I suggest you get those others to awaken. I'll deal with Victor here myself.' Before Charles could say anything else, Esau then smashed his head right into Victor's nose, breaking cartilage with a satisfying crunching sound that made Esau smile viciously. He then swung round, just as Victor stumbled back in a dazed stupor, blood already dripping down his nose, leaving him exposed to the uppercut that barrelled into his jaw with enough force to pick him up off his feet and launch from the air.
It was a beautifully connected and weighted blow, with just right the positioning, shifting of his feet, technique, angle and follow-through that gave Victor a nice arching direction before he landed on the ground with a thud.
"You stole my target, asshole." Esau stalked forwards. "So, I'll just have to settle for you instead."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Carrots123
Carrots123 So, not overly pleased with this chapter, didn't really know how to start it and while I know where I wanted it to end up, getting from point A to B was by no means easy. However, it's done and while not pleased, I'm putting it out there for you to read because things will get better. Esau has now met Sabretooth who is on his shit list for stealing his fight with Wolverine. And we can also see both sides of the Magneto-Xavier conflict. Both have their pros and cons, both are right and wrong, but they're both too stubborn to see that if they actually worked together, they would be far more successful and able to make meaningful changes for mutants. Esau though, just doesn't care in the slightest.
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