Oh, I don't own the characters, I ain't getting no money...if I was getting money, I wouldn't be writing no bad fanfic!

I've been an animal for most of my life. I've been an animal since I was made into an animal.

There were two of us. I think we were friends. It's hard to remember if we were friends...so much hate between us now.

Of course, I hate everyone now.

Almost everyone.

That's a good place to start. Start with her. Till she came into my life, I couldn't feel anything but the blind rage, the sheer hate...I still feel it, hell, but now it's more focused. A bright shining light.

The runt. Oh, I thought I hated him before, but now....

I had this bright idea. Go to the mansion. Hurt somebody the runt is close to. Kill the runt. It was a good plan; the runt gets too close to the people he loves. Gets hurt too bad when they get hurt. Makes mistakes.

I don't make mistakes. Well, maybe one.

I was just hanging around, waiting for someone. Hell, I coulda taken any one of them. All you have to do is take them alone. As a team, they're good. The only one who you'll have trouble with alone is the runt. And maybe that redhead, cause you can't put a finger on her. The others....I coulda taken them.

The first person to come along is wearing this big yellow coat. I knew right away I was in luck. I'd seen the runt with her. He liked her. She was something special.

I didn't give her warning. I just jumped on her. Hell, I saw her eyes as she looked at me, and flicked her hands at me. Good reflexes.

The light show she threw up didn't stop me, only deprived me of a sense. Hell, I've got five or six. No problem. I cranked up my hearing a level or two. I could hear the blood trickling from the shallow gash in her side. I could hear her deep, frantic breathing. I could hear her heart beating. I could smell the fear coming off her.

It wasn't like most fear. Not like the fear I like, the panicked 'Oh God I am so dead' fear I can elicit. It smelled TOUGH. Like me, or the runt, scared. Ready to fight.

Already she was earning some respect from me for not losing it. I wanted to make a point, of course, so I slashed at her. She could still see, and hear, and dodged. She was quick. And she was making a light show over our heads.

I tackled her. Normally I'd be taunting somebody at this point, to goad them over the edge, but I wouldn't have felt....right....using a trick to beat her.

Damn, I wanted so bad to take her down. Maybe I should have. It would have saved me a lot of trouble. But she was tough enough to make it hard, and she was signaling the others.

If I wanted to take her down, I would have to get her out of there. I knocked her out with a hard blow, scooped her up over one shoulder and ran like the wind. The runt wanted her, he could just come her.

I got her to an abandoned shack that I had been using as my base of operations. I wanted to smell her fear just then, wanted to hear her scream. I slapped her, waking her up.

"What the hell....?"

"Your worst nightmare." I said it in my most eerie whisper, inches from her face.

She bit me. Right on the nose. Lunged forward and got my nose in a goddam death grip. Just about bit it off. I was so mad I almost sliced and diced her right there. My vision was coming back, and I could tell that she was a pretty thing.

I like to take pretty things apart.

"Bad move, frail!" I roared, throwing her to the ground. She sprung back up like a cat...with a hangover. It musta been hurting her to move. I respected her try-but my nose hurt like hell. So I was gonna serve her up her intestines. I grabbed her by the stomach, squeezing just enough to break the skin. "Say hello to pain." I whispered. I'm good at intimidating people with whispers.

She poked me in the eye. The right eye. Almost popped the eyeball out of the socket. I grabbed my eye with both hands, letting go of her. Damn, she fought good. I could smell desperation in her. She was backing away, trapped in a cabin with the monster. Hoping her knight in shining armor got there soon.

Well, I was waiting for him too.

She raised her hands to gimme another light show, and I knocked em down again.

I tied her up then. I love tying people up. They break down so easily. But she didn't. Wouldn't. She snarled at me, struggled, tried to bite me again. My nose was fully healed already, but I'm not stupid.

Maybe I am. I had dragged her to my cabin, hurt her, tied her up, and was going to wait for Wolverine. Never occurred to me she was more dangerous than the runt. Who'm I kidding? I coulda taken any X-Men...maybe even taken them as a group! I'm good enough!

But, hell, I never stood a chance with her.

I didn't notice anything different at first. I was hunkered on the bed, rubbing my eye. I was waiting for Logan, and watching her while I did. She started talking.

"Just wait till the X-Men show up and cut me loose! I am gonna barbecue your ass, Creed!" She was snarling, spitting. I could smell her. She was afraid, and was covering with anger...no, not covering. She knew if she feared me too bad I would smell it, and was making herself mad at me. She was trying to be pissed off. It was almost cute, and I smiled.

"Wait'll Logan serves you your guts on a platter! Then you'll have som`thin` to smile `bout!" She snarled at me. Well, hell, I don't gotta take that, do I? I walked over, and ran a claw down her cheek. I didn't really enjoy it, cause she wasn't scared enough. I had to scare her. I bared my teeth and drew blood on her cheek.

I stopped, surprised, and backed away. Almost ran. Hell, I did run. As far and as fast as I could.

I assume the runt found her and untied her. Probably puzzled him that I had left. I told myself that it was a good thing, that I had confused him, and he'd probably brought the X-Men with him. To get her.

The truth is...not only did it not feel good to cut her...it felt bad.

I haven't felt bad about anything in years. I kill all the time. For money, sport, Uncle Sam....any good excuse will do. I once tore a woman apart on a whim, gutted a woman because the runt smiled at her. I don't HAVE a conscience.

At least, I didn't think I did. But when I cut her face...it felt like cutting my own. No, it felt WORSE than cutting my own. Hell, I've cut myself up on occasion....it felt much worse. And worse, I didn't know why it did.

I convinced myself it was a mind trick. The red head, I convinced myself, had done it to me so I wouldn't hurt her.

So, a few months later, I went back. Hung around the mansion. Waited.

While I was there, I picked up another scent. A familiar one. A bounty hunter. Human. Good. Don't know his name. I figured he was there to kill an X-Man, so I left him alone.

About a week later, she went jogging. She wore a sports bra, and was wearing bandages around her stomach. The sight of her made my knees weak-the sight of her in bandages hurt. She had a near-invisible scar on her cheek.

Suddenly he was there, behind her. He grabbed her hands, attaching inhibitors to each of them. She tried to scream, but he suddenly had her by the throat. With his other hand, he drew a knife.

"I'm supposed to let you know who's killing you before you die." He whispered. "An old friend of Logan's, y'know. I can't be too specific, but-you probably know who."

She struggled, and he drew back the knife.

Hell, I couldn't just watch it. I would never in my life have thought I would stop the death of an X-Man. I just jumped on him, tore him off her back, and tore his head off. She gasped, not realizing it was me yet.

"Logan!" She yelled, drawing her own conclusions. I snarled, and her faced changed. I could see her hands come up. The inhibitors were still on them, and she hesitated, trying to get them off before I could get her.

It hurt a little, but about that point that red headed bitch comes flying at me. I can feel her mind grabbing at me, trying to hold me both mentally and physically. Before she gets a hold I do a flying kick, knocking her down and out. I land on her, and lift my hand to tear her lungs out.

"NO!!!" I can still hear her scream as she came flying at me. She sounded like I was about to kill her.

Then the runt comes running. I've already dropped my arm, and he plunges both sets of claws into my chest. I roared, and damn near cut his head off with my first blow. He went flying, and bounced off a tree.

Well, damned if she didn't hit me with her lightshow then. But I was already running.

When I hit Wolverine, she flinched. Not a 'damn, that hurt' flinch I've seen, or a 'damn, he's coming for me' flinch, but one I've seen Wolverine do. A 'damn, he's gonna kill him! I'll kill him if he kills him!' flinch.

I couldn't hurt her like that. I couldn't. Wolverine was trying to get up, and failing, and I could've had the runt right then and there.

I couldn't hurt her like that. I ran.

I said that I thought I hated Wolverine before. But now, I know what true hate is. If I ever get him...I will kill him. I will rend him. She loves him...and hates me. I will tear him to slices!!

But I can't do that while he's with her. I have to wait till she hates him, or doesn't care, or isn't around to care....I couldn't hurt her that way. Never.

So I hide, here. I know he thinks I'm coming for him someday...but I can't. I can't hurt the X-Men...not while she's an X-Man. So I sit here, nursing the hurt I feel, letting my hate for him, for all of them, build up. I'm damn near immortal-this damn healing factor!-....I can outwait most of them.

But I know that however long it takes, when I come out, HE'LL be there....he won't disappoint me.

Then one of us will finally die, and it'll be over.

One way or another.

I wish I could see her.

Damn him. Damn me.