Marvel: Omen

"SABRETOOTH!"

I stared at the man, Sabretooth, aka Victor Creed, who had been thrown so far he crashed into a tree, shattering it into pieces before being buried beneath the debris.

"Hah… hah…" I took a deep breath and ran toward my father, my eyes locking onto the five deep wounds gouged into his stomach.

"No, no, no—" I pressed my hands against the wounds, trying to stop the bleeding. I glanced at my mother, who sat frozen, her face pale as she stared at my father in shock.

"Mom! Help me stop the bleeding!" I yelled, snapping her out of her daze. She rushed over and examined the wounds.

"Okay… okay… Go get the first aid kit from the car. I'll try to slow the bleeding" she said. Hearing that, I sprinted toward the car. I don't know what happened—maybe I awakened some kind of Golden Finger—but I felt powerful.

I reached the flipped Toyota Tundra faster than I thought possible. Rummaging inside, I found the first aid kit and raced back to my parents, ripping it open.

"Alright, give me the sterile gauze and call 911, okay? I'll try to stop your father's bleeding" my mother instructed. I tore open the gauze packaging, handed it to her, and was about to dial when Sabretooth's voice growled behind me.

"Grrrr… Fucking hell, that hurt" he snarled, standing up and clutching his mangled nose. I took a deep breath and rose slowly.

"Mom, try to drag Dad away, okay?" I said, stepping toward Sabretooth, one of the most feral characters in Marvel. I knew this would be the hardest fight of my life.

I was never a huge Marvel comics fan—I've only read bits and pieces—but I knew Sabretooth was strong, with insane regeneration. I hadn't read enough to know how to kill him. Maybe destroying his head would do it.

All I knew was I had to stall him long enough for my mother to get my father to safety.

"What!?" my mother yelped, but before she could say more, my father stirred.

"No… Leon, run, son…" he rasped, urging me to flee.

But how could I? Others might run, but I couldn't.

Not this time.

"Grrrr, enough! You think you're some kinda hero, runt? I'm gonna carve that hope right outta ya!" Sabretooth roared, charging straight at us.

"RUN!" I shouted, rushing forward. I didn't know if I was stronger than him, but I noticed I was faster. As he slashed his elongated claws at my head, I ducked and drove my shoulder into his midsection, slamming him to the ground. Straddling him, I threw punches at his face.

I interlocked my fingers, aiming a hammerblow at his head with all my strength, hoping to crush it or at least knock him out. But either my punches weren't strong enough or his instincts kicked in—he dodged, twisting his head aside, and my fists smashed into the ground, sending up a loud crack.

"ENOUGH!" Sabretooth bellowed, throwing a liver punch with his left fist that caught my right side. My body seized, my breath stolen for a moment.

He grabbed my head and slammed me sideways, straddling me now. "Easy prey? Hah! You're just a pup yappin' at a wolf. I'll rip your family apart while you watch!" he snarled, throwing a powerful punch. I threw up both hands to block, then dodged and countered, landing a punch on his extended arm and another to his body.

"Well, you can FUCK OFF!" I yelled, shoving him off me. I rolled to my feet as he rushed me again, swiping his left claw sideways. I dropped low, rolling away to dodge.

We faced each other, but this time he fought with claws instead of fists. As he slashed upward with his right hand, I stepped back, then darted in, throwing a jab and cross at his face. I followed with a lead hook to his body, a rear uppercut to his chin, and a spinning back kick that slammed into his midsection, hurling him thirteen feet away.

I can do this.

I didn't stop to catch my breath. I charged, determined to keep the upper hand "Fast little runt, ain't ya? Bet you bleed real pretty, though!" he snarled, his grin all teeth as he swiped at me. I threw another combo, weaving past his claws.

I can do this!

His face bloodied as I kept up the assault, focused on avoiding his claws. But Sabretooth adapted, abandoning his feral slashes for precise movements. He blocked my cross, pinned my arm down, and threw a counter-cross I barely dodged.

I aimed a lead uppercut, but he trapped it under his armpit, gripping my elbow. His grin widened as my eyes did.

Krav Maga!? I forgot that Sabretooth and Wolverine, despite their feral styles, were skilled martial artists.

"You fight well, runt!" he taunted, throwing a punch at my face. "But I've been killin' since your great-granddaddy was in diapers!" I dodged and countered with a flying knee to the side of his head, forcing him to release my arm.

"You think you're the only one who knows martial arts!?" he roared, blending martial precision with his feral style. For someone like him, it was a deadly combination.

I don't know how long we fought. My body grew bloody from his claws. I had six years of martial arts from my past life and two in this one, but Sabretooth had nearly two hundred years of combat experience, honing his skills across countless martial arts.

The longer the fight dragged on, the more exhausted I became. I might be faster and stronger, but I wasn't as durable, and I didn't have his regeneration.

We'd moved far, leaving a trail of broken trees. "Hahaha! This is fun! I was annoyed a kid like you hurt me, I was gonna gut you quick, but now? I'm takin' my time to savorin' your every scream!" Sabretooth laughed, slashing at me. I couldn't fully dodge, and another bloody scar tore across my body.

"Do—" I threw a lead uppercut, "you—" followed by a rear hook, "ever—" He swiped with his left hand; I ducked and landed a rolling rear body hook, making him groan and stagger. I pressed forward, hitting him with a lead upper elbow, "SHUT UP!" I finished with a flying knee to his chest, sending him tumbling back several feet.

I rushed after him, but Sabretooth sprang up, slashing with his claws. "Keep swingin', kid. You're only makin' me hungrier!" I grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and locked him in a bear hug before suplexing him face-first into the ground before I hurled him into a tree, as his back slamming against it, leaving him groaning and momentarily still.

Spotting a dead tree trunk nearby, I staggered over and hefted it. Sabretooth was rising when he saw me charging, eyes wide, as I swung the trunk—thick as his torso—smashing it into him. "No—!" he roared, cut off as the impact shattered the tree he'd hit and toppled two more before stopping at a third, cracking it.

The trunk and the tree behind him were splattered with blood. I dropped the trunk and stared at his motionless body—his back torn, spine broken, chest caved in. I punched the cracked tree, toppling it onto his head, blood splashing everywhere.

I took a few deep breaths and limped back to find my parents. My body screamed with pain—wounds crisscrossed my chest, stomach, arms, legs, and face. A chunk of flesh was missing from my left side, and I'd lost a lot of blood. I didn't know how I'd lasted this long.

But at least it was over for now. He should be down long enough for us to escape this hellish place.

My thoughts grew foggy, my vision blurring as I stumbled forward. Moving lights approached—was this the near-death experience people talked about?

Am I dying? My vision darkened, and I collapsed.

I heard voices, some familiar, but I was too tired to think. Everything faded to black.

Somewhere Else

Trees bore claw marks and missing chunks, some toppled or shattered entirely.

In the dark forest, the sound of grinding bones and shifting flesh came from a bloody body beneath a fallen tree.

Slowly, a finger twitched.

"Grrrrrr—"

An enraged beast's growl echoed through the dark forest.