Black Market Merchants and Sabretooth
African Coast – Salva Giant Pier.
In a dismantling yard littered with rusting ships, a helicopter slowly descended.
Xu Mo stepped out, bundled in a coat, eyes narrowing toward the distance. From one of the ships came the rattle of heavy gunfire.
"Someone beat me to it?" he muttered.
This was the place Ultron once raided for vibranium. The black-market dealer Ulysses Klaue—smuggler, arms trader, and opportunist—had been moving Wakandan vibranium through ports like this for years.
Vibranium was the most accessible option now, though not the most ideal.
Adamantium would have been far superior for weaponry—truly indestructible. Vibranium absorbed kinetic energy, making it perfect for armor and shields, but less practical for blades or projectiles. Adamantium knives were unmatched, but since William Stryker's Arklay facility had been destroyed, the secret alloy formula had disappeared with it.
Xu Mo had little choice but to settle for vibranium.
Without hesitation, he blurred into motion, leaping toward the ship.
---
Inside the ship
Klaue stood under the protection of his mercenaries, nervously eyeing the figure across the hold.
The man's hands had twisted into massive, furred claws. Blood dripped from their tips, pooling beside two fresh corpses. Bullets riddled his torso, but before the mercenaries' eyes the wounds knit shut, forcing slugs out with a metallic plink as they hit the floor.
Klaue's face went pale.
"…a mutant?"
The stranger raised his head, yellow eyes gleaming with bestial fury.
Klaue tried to sound confident. "I've said it already—if you want vibranium, you pay!"
But Sabretooth wasn't here to bargain.
His growl was answer enough.
"Kill him!" Klaue barked, backing away.
Gunfire erupted, a storm of lead filling the cargo bay. When the smoke cleared, the mutant was gone.
---
Below deck
In a heavily guarded chamber, Klaue clutched a pistol, listening to the chaos above. This vault was his fortune—vibranium stolen over years, worth billions. No one was taking it from him.
The gunfire ceased. A silence settled. Klaue's jaw clenched. "Dead?"
He motioned to a guard to check. The man reached the hatch—
BOOM!
The steel door blasted inward, flattening the unlucky mercenary beneath it. Blood spattered.
And there he was. Sabretooth.
The mutant stepped through the smoke, claws slick with gore. With a roar, he tore through the guards in seconds, leaving Klaue pressed against the wall, trembling as cold steel pressed against his throat.
"Vibranium. Now," Victor growled.
Klaue's survival instinct kicked in fast. "W-wait! I'll give it to you!"
He fumbled for the keypad, typing in the code. A hidden vault opened, revealing containers of raw vibranium stacked on a descending platform.
"One hundred and thirty-six kilos. It's all here!" Klaue stammered.
Sabretooth shoved him aside, greed in his eyes as he began loading the haul into a bag.
---
Interrupted
Before he could leave, a shadow dropped from above. Xu Mo landed hard, the deck groaning beneath the impact.
"Good. Not too late," Xu Mo exhaled, scanning the chamber. His gaze froze on the feral figure—clawed hands, rapid healing, the savage sneer.
Sabretooth.
"Why's he here?" Xu Mo thought. But then again, in a world where Juggernaut worked with Kingpin, Victor Creed's presence on the black market wasn't so strange.
Sabretooth turned, his eyes cold and empty. "Move," he snarled.
Xu Mo studied him. Those eyes… being controlled? He didn't waste time pondering.
In a blink, Xu Mo vanished from sight.
Victor barely registered the movement before a black fist the size of a sledgehammer smashed into his jaw. The force launched him like a missile, tearing through bulkheads and hurling him into the open sky.
Normally, Creed's durability and healing factor made him nearly unstoppable, bullets and blades meaningless against him. But against Xu Mo's enhanced strength—over thirty tons of force behind every blow—and superhuman speed, even Sabretooth was outclassed.
---
Klaue and his surviving men rushed to the hatch, stunned by what they'd witnessed.
"Who the hell are you?" Klaue blurted, eyes wide.
Xu Mo ignored him, scooping up the bag Victor had dropped. He opened it, confirming the gleaming vibranium inside. A rare smile tugged at his lips.
"That's mine!" Klaue barked, trying to regain control. "Give it back!"
Xu Mo's tone was calm, but final.
"I earned it. Why should I return it?"
Klaue's face twisted. He signaled his men, weapons snapping up to aim at Xu Mo.
"You don't get it, friend. Put it down, or you won't leave here alive."
Xu Mo turned, eyes flicking over the mercenaries. His expression hardened.
Vibranium wasn't the only thing he wanted here.
These men could be useful too.
After all… to him, they were points.