Under normal circumstances, capturing Sabretooth should have been nearly impossible.
Victor Creed was infamous among mutants for his brutality and battlefield experience. Decades of violence had sharpened his instincts to a terrifying degree. Few people could match him in raw combat, and even fewer survived long after challenging him.
But tonight, he had made a mistake.
He hadn't taken the situation seriously at first.
That single moment of underestimating his opponents had allowed the trap to close around him. One side had prepared carefully, building a precise plan with coordinated abilities and calculated timing. The other side had walked in unaware.
By the time Sabretooth realized the danger, it was already too late.
He had fallen straight into the net.
The organization responsible for the ambush was known internally as the Dark Division.
It wasn't a massive network by global standards. Ethan Cole had spent years quietly building it in the shadows, and even now it consisted of only a little more than forty members. These operatives were divided into more than a dozen small teams, each specialized for specific types of missions.
But what the Dark Division lacked in numbers, it more than compensated for in quality.
Every single member was a mutant.
More importantly, they were powerful mutants who had proven themselves through loyalty and ability. Under Ethan's command, they carried out operations that required secrecy and precision—assassinations, high-value captures, intelligence extraction, infiltration, and other activities that respectable organizations preferred not to acknowledge.
Ethan had invested enormous effort into building this force.
Fortunately, the results had been worth it.
The members of the Dark Division were ambitious and disciplined, constantly pushing themselves to become stronger. Their dedication had made Ethan increasingly satisfied with the organization's development.
Take Team Alpha, for example.
The five operatives who had just captured Sabretooth formed one of the division's most elite units, specializing in direct combat and assassination. Each of them possessed abilities well suited for coordinated battlefield engagements.
The man wearing the clown mask possessed the ability to transform his body into both liquid metal and solid metal.
At first glance, the power resembled the famous mutant Colossus, whose steel body allowed him to endure extreme temperatures and immense physical punishment. But the clown operative's ability functioned differently.
While his metallic form wasn't as durable as Colossus's armored body, it possessed a unique advantage.
He could freely convert any part of his body between metal and flesh.
That meant he could reshape limbs into weapons, flow around attacks in liquid form, or even repair damage by absorbing additional metal to rebuild injured areas. In close combat situations, this adaptability made him extraordinarily dangerous.
The other four members of Team Alpha were hardly weak.
One possessed powerful electrical discharge abilities. Another could manipulate and reshape physical materials. The third had an extendable piercing tongue capable of striking with lethal speed. The final member possessed a massive durability enhancement, turning his body into something like a living tank.
None of them had reached the Beta-level classification yet, but within the Gamma-tier mutants, they were already considered among the strongest.
With such a squad executing the mission, Ethan had felt completely confident about capturing Sabretooth.
The moment the operation succeeded, Svija immediately notified him.
At that time, Ethan had been half-asleep.
The message woke him instantly.
He opened his eyes and sat upright in the enormous bed of the penthouse suite. The dim lighting revealed a sleeping figure beside him—a young woman whose breathing remained steady as she continued resting.
Ethan glanced at her briefly and smiled faintly.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a checkbook and wrote a number on one of the pages. Six zeros followed the amount, more than enough money for an ordinary person to live comfortably for years.
He placed the check quietly on the nightstand.
Without waking his companion, Ethan dressed quickly and left the room alone.
Laboratory District Three was one of the many research facilities under his control. Fortunately, it wasn't far from the hotel—only a little over ten minutes away by car.
He chose to drive himself.
The sports car's engine remained muted as he moved through the quiet nighttime streets of Manhattan. Traffic had thinned considerably, allowing the vehicle to glide smoothly through intersections and empty avenues.
Not long afterward, Ethan arrived at a nondescript building tucked between several commercial offices.
The laboratory was located beneath it.
Naturally, the entire building also belonged to him.
Ethan entered through a private security passageway accessible only to authorized personnel. After passing several biometric checkpoints, he descended deep underground until reaching the sixth basement level.
The laboratory complex stretched across a vast area.
White walls reflected the bright overhead lights, illuminating every corner of the facility with sterile clarity. The air smelled faintly of disinfectant and machine oil, the quiet hum of advanced equipment filling the otherwise silent halls.
Inside one of the central experiment chambers, Team Alpha stood guard.
Sabretooth lay strapped to a reinforced examination platform.
Although his body was still stained with dried blood from the earlier battle, the skin visible beneath the torn clothing showed no remaining injuries. His legendary healing factor had already repaired the damage.
When Ethan entered the room, the five operatives immediately straightened.
"Sir."
They bowed respectfully.
Ethan nodded lightly.
"You can stand down," he said with a small gesture of his hand. "You handled this mission well. Although Mr. Victor technically came here of his own free will, you still managed to bring him in successfully. Your performance will be recorded."
The operatives exchanged confused glances.
From their perspective, Sabretooth had clearly been captured through combat. They couldn't understand why Ethan claimed the mutant had come voluntarily.
Ethan noticed their confusion and chuckled softly.
"Didn't you notice?" he said calmly. "Mr. Victor was never truly under your control. The large dose of anesthetics only knocked him out temporarily. With his healing factor, the drugs should already be neutralized by now."
"What?"
The operatives stiffened in shock.
At that exact moment, the supposedly unconscious Sabretooth suddenly exploded into motion.
Victor Creed's massive body surged upward from the operating table like a wild beast unleashed. In a single instant, he lunged directly toward Ethan, his claws gleaming viciously under the laboratory lights.
A sly grin twisted across his face.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
But Ethan simply raised one hand.
Victor's powerful body froze in midair.
He was suspended less than half a meter in front of Ethan, completely immobilized by an invisible force. One of his claws hovered less than three centimeters away from Ethan's chest, yet it could not move even a fraction closer.
The sudden reversal stunned everyone present.
Team Alpha instinctively stepped forward, preparing to intervene.
Ethan spoke without even looking at them.
"That's enough. Stand down."
The operatives hesitated.
"But sir—" the clown-masked mutant began anxiously.
Ethan turned his head slightly and glanced at him.
That single calm look was enough.
The operative immediately lowered his head.
"Understood, sir," he said quietly.
The five members of Team Alpha withdrew from the room.
Once the door closed behind them, Ethan finally looked directly at the immobilized mutant.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"It really wasn't easy getting you to come here," he said.
Victor remained frozen in midair, his muscles straining uselessly against the invisible telekinetic grip.
"Are you a mutant?" Victor growled, shock clearly audible in his voice.
Ethan tilted his head slightly.
"A mutant?" he repeated thoughtfully. "Hmm. It seems your intelligence network isn't very impressive."
He folded his arms calmly.
"If I hadn't deliberately revealed that I possess a method for suppressing the X-gene, I doubt you would have known anything about me at all."
Ethan's smile widened slightly.
"So let me guess," he continued. "Did Magneto send you here to kill me… or to recruit me?"