The Juggernaut

Sleep.

Sweet blissful sleep.

Esau had been enjoying that moment where you became conscious of the dream you were a part of. The strangeness of what happened around you that felt oddly normal and just, right. Like everything was supposed to happen without any understanding of how things got to this point. Only to then be rudely awoken by the streams of light that bore down upon his face.

"Get up," Mystique ordered, her voice piercing through the haze of sleep, she having been responsible for the opening of his blinds.

Groaning and squinting heavily, Esau looked around at the room that appeared as nought but a blur. "W-what?" He muttered, still not fully conscious only for clothes to be thrown into his face, Esau collapsing back onto the bed, too tired to actually stay upright.

"We have work to do, Esau," Mystique told him. "Get up."

As the blur of sleep began to fade from his eyes, Esau looked to see Mystique stood waiting, no doubt making sure he didn't go back to sleep something he would very much like to do. 'It's a sight that I am not against waking up to though.' The white dress she wore was tight-fitting and purposefully drew attention to the curves of her body and the swell of her breasts. A sight that made his teenage body respond accordingly, not that Esau made any attempt to hide it.

He was not one to really feel shame of any kind.

The fact that Mystique was probably used to this from Quicksilver, a guy with even less shame and far more ego than him was probably another reason why she didn't so much as a glance. Her gaze was firmly locked onto his eyes, ensuring that he could see just how serious she was about this.

"What kind of work?" He asked, taking the clothes that had fallen down to his neck, noting that they were unlike any of the clothes he possessed. The material was different, thicker and firmer, some kind of jean-jogging pant blend that allowed freedom of movement but provided much greater protection. Similar to the tank top and hoodie that accompanied the outfit. "And is this my superhero outfit?"

"We're not superheroes," Mystique told him bluntly. "We're freedom fighters."

"So basically, we're heroes to some and villains to others. Let's not try and confuse this any further than it already is, the world will label us one way or the other. I'm not really fussed either way, I guess I just expected something more like Quicksilver's spandex suit." Esau muttered, getting out of bed.

"Quicksilver possess spandex because it is streamlined, as a speedster, it is more suitable for him to possess something that reduces wind drag." Esau didn't really care about that much, he was never one to pay attention in lessons and while it might have made sense to most, he just tuned it out. "You, however, made it clear your distaste of spandex, unless, of course, I was wrong."

"Oh no, you're right, I think it's stupid though I definitely could pull off the look if I wanted to." Slipping on the pants, Esau then picked up the tank top off the bed. "But that's beside the point, what exactly happening that you had to so rudely wake me up. Thought I got the next week to myself while the others are on that summer camp trip. Surely it would have been better to do this before they went, or at least wait till they get back?"

Mystique shook her head, Esau throwing the hoodie over his shoulder as he followed her out of the room. Though as he walked behind, he noticed the slight limp in her step, the way she favoured her left side more than her right. "If we did either of those, the mansion that the X-Men are in would have additional numbers to protect it. With the X-Men on this summer camp as well, it means the only ones protecting it are Storm and Wolverine."

"We're stealing something from the X-Men?"

"No, I'm stealing something from the X-Men, you are going to be the distraction."

"Think that's easier said than done, don't you?" Esau pointed out. "You've made it pretty clear to all of us that Storm is some super powerful Mutant with control over the weather. Xavier is one of the most powerful if not the most powerful telepath in the world. And you've said time and time again that Wolverine is one of the most skilled and dangerous fighters you've ever come across. You want me to distract all of them while you steal something?"

Mystique shook her head, the two heading out to the car. "No, I have already freed a powerful Mutant who has a grudge against Xavier. He's on his way there as we speak. He will handle Xavier and Storm."

"Does that mean?"

"Yes, Wolverine is yours."

Esau smiled. "Why didn't you start with that then?"

-X- Line Break -X-

Wolverine had never come across the Juggernaut before, but he had heard of him. A powerful Mutant, blessed with incredible strength and nigh invulnerability to all attacks. It had taken a miracle to stop him the first time around according to the reports and so, it was safe to say that when the man had broken through the gates to the mansion, he had been wary of what was to come.

He had a great understanding of his limits, Wolverine had fought foes of varying skills and powers throughout his life. But the Juggernaut was by far and large, one of the strongest he had ever come across.

That was something he knew before their first clash.

It was something Wolverine became intimately aware of though when he felt the full force of his fist smashing into this face. That blow was the single hardest hit he had ever felt in his life, stronger than anything that had come before it. A normal person, flesh and bone would have been killed with that hit alone.

Wolverine himself took a moment to recollect himself, just as the Juggernaut entered into the entryway of the mansion. Even so, he leapt forwards with a roar, not allowing nervousness or fear to cloud his judgement.

But again, just as easily, Juggernaut knocked him out of the sky with a single swipe of his hand. A backhand strike that packed enough force that Wolverine went through six walls before finally coming to a stop. After that, Wolverine would admit, he couldn't remember much else, it was a bit of a blur from that point on.

Every strike just blended into the other, Wolverine barely conscious of them all. Before he knew it though, he was laid out on the ground in the Danger Room, Juggernaut lumbering past him and directly towards Charles.

"Man, you're pathetic." Turning, Wolverine looked to see Esau walking into the Danger Room with Mystique by his side. "Here I was getting all excited to fight you and then this lumbering buffoon beats me to it. That's just sad, thought you were meant to be some big bad fighter, even had Mystique wary of fighting against you and now look at you?"

Looking out across the Mutant Mystique had told him was named Juggernaut, Esau frowned. There were some defences here that would make him wary and they were completely destroyed. As much as he taunted Wolverine about losing, there had to definitely be a reason behind it and as he looked around, he was getting an idea for why. There was a difference between Mutants like Mystique and Wolverine compared to those like Storm and Juggernaut. They could each be equally as dangerous as one another but in their own ways.

In this case, however, Juggernaut proved very clearly that there was a significant difference.

Not to mention that things had clearly not gone as Mystique had planned, by the frustration evident on her face as she clutched the battered helmet in one hand. Whatever plan they had coming into this had gone tits up the moment Juggernaut went rogue.

However, Esau didn't care for that at all.

Wolverine had been beaten by someone other than him.

That meant only one thing, he just needed to beat the guy that beat Wolverine.

Moving forwards with an eager smile, Esau made his way towards Juggernaut. "Esau, what are you doing?"

"You brought me here to fight Wolverine, but he's already been beat, there's no point in fighting him as he is now." It wouldn't prove or mean anything if he pursued a fight with Wolverine as things were now. Esau and everyone would always say that he only beat Wolverine because of what Juggernaut did to him. The outcome would be meaningless and that was not something Esau could abide by. "So I'm going to fight the big guy over there."

"We need to leave, now." Mystique stressed, knowing full well that if Storm wasn't here, then that could only mean she was getting reinforcements. Leaving now before the X-Men arrived was in their best interest before things got even more messed up.

"You're free to go if you want, but I'm staying." Reaching down, Esau picked up the broken mace on the floor. He had no idea what it was doing here or what it must have belonged to initially, there were four more scattered around. "Oi, you big fucker!" Esau shouted, seeing the Juggernaut reaching out for Charles.

He then threw the mace with all his might across the room it missed, striking the wall to the side of the two, but it worked all the same in gaining their attention. Both Juggernaut and Charles looking to see Esau picking up a second.

"Why don't you leave the cripple and fight me?"