A Family Affair
                          by Ben Church
     Wolverine , Jean and Sabertooth are the property of Marvel Comics.  Patch
is my idea.

                            Chapter 1

     Patch stopped his motorcycle at a roadside cafe to get something to eat. 
His black leather jacket protected him from the rain and the cold, but he still
felt a chill when he thought of what had happened at the orphanage.
     At the booth, he took out  of his pocket, the only thing his late mother
had left him with.  An old photograph of two fierce looking men.  One was his
father, the other was the man responsible for the slaughter that had left
everyone in the orphanage dead.  Patch had barely escaped with his life.  He knew
the police would mount an investigation, but they would not be able to help him. 
He did not know why Creed was hunting him, but he knew that only his father could
help him.
     In his mind, he heard the last words his mother had said to him.
     "If you're ever in trouble," Silver Fox said.  "Find your father."  Tears
came to Patch's eyes.  He'd never known his father.  He did know however, that
what his mother had felt for him was real.  It wasn't a fabrication as his mother
had suspected.
     "You gonna order something?" the waitress asked.
     "Huh?  Oh yeah.  Um, I'll have a double cheese burger with fries and a
Coke."
     "You got it handsome." she winked.  He smiled, and his eyes lingered on her
as she walked away.
     "Watch it runt." the trucker in the next booth said angrily.  "I saw her
first."
     For a moment, he was back in the orphanage looking at the mutilated bodies
of his friends.  "What's the matter runt?"  The murderer mocked.  "Did I play to
rough with your buddies?"  Then he was safe in the diner again.
     "Sorry.  Didn't know she was spoken for."  The last thing he needed was
trouble.  He finished eating and paid his bill.  He left and headed for his bike. 
Then he stopped.
     A group of young men were crowded around his bike.
     "Can I help you?" he asked.
     "Hey is this your bike man?" the leader asked.  "We were just admiring it." 
The others laughed.
     "Yes it's my bike.  And if you don't mind, I'd like to leave now."
     "Don't be rude runt.  I wouldn't mind having a sweet bike like this."
     "You're in my way." Patch's patience was nearing an end.  He sick of taking
abuse.
     "Well that's too fucking bad runt." the leader sneered and pulled out a
knife.
     It was clear to Patch that no one was going to come to his aid.
     "Nice knife." he said.  He clenched his fists, and three sharp bones burst
from each hand.

                            Chapter 2
     Mellinda watched as the five young men were loaded into the waiting
ambulances.
     "They were asking for it." she said to herself.  "But I still hope they
catch that kid."  Right after the fight, he'd hopped onto his motorcycle and ran.
     When everyone had gone, she began to close up the diner.  She went into the
kitchen to clean up.  She sighed as she heard the front door open.
     "The diner's closed!" she called.  Suddenly she remembered that she had
locked the front door.
     "Eddie is that you?" she called, hoping it was the cook.  She cautiously
entered the main room and looked around.  There was no one there.  She turned to
go back to the kitchen, and found herself facing the tallest, biggest man she'd
ever seen.  He grabbed her as she backed away.
     "Where'd the runt go?" he asked.
     "What are you talking about?" she asked fearfully.
     "Don't give me that shit!" he said.  He wrapped his hand around her neck. 
"Some one tore up those kids pretty bad.  Here's the deal.  You tell me which way
he went, and I break your neck.  Quick and painless.  If not,"  He brought his
face close to hers.  "We play."
     In Maine, no one can hear you scream.

     A week later, Patch arrived in New York.  He'd taken a circuitous rout. 
Hoping to lose his hunter.  But now, this close to is father, he felt safe.  He
got a room at the Crescent Hotel.  He'd gotten a lot of money from the bank
account his mother had set up.  In the drawer of the dresser he found a phone
book.
     "Okay, she said he was living in Westchester county, at the Xavier
Institute for the Gifted."  He found the number easily.

     Jean was the first to reach the phone.
     "Hello?  Hold on I'll get him."  She touched a button on the intercom. 
"Logan?"

     Wolverine heard his name and turned.  Jean's voice emanated from the
intercom.
     "What's up Red?" he asked.
     "You have a phone call Logan.  It sounds urgent."
     Will and Jubilee looked up from their game of Quake in interest.
     "Okay I'll take here." he said.  Picking up the phone he heard a young
voice on the other end of the line.
     "Is this Wolverine of the X-Men?" the boy asked.
     "Who wants to know?" Wolverine asked cautiously.
     "I need your help.  Look I can't talk about this over the phone, is there
somewhere we can meet?  It's really important."
     "Sure, meet me at Grand Central Station at 10."  Almost as an afterthought,
he asked "Who is this?"
     "This is your son, Wolverine."  The phone fell from Wolverine's hand.

                            Chapter 3
     Sabertooth stood in the alley behind the Crescent Hotel looking up at his
quarry's window.  Grinning, his fangs glinting in the fading sunlight, he began
to climb the wall.  His claws bit into the concrete as if it were butter.

     Patch paced the length of his room.  He looked at his watch for the twelfth
time.  It had been two hours since he'd called his father, and it was only eight
thirty.  
     He was nervous for two reasons.  He was afraid that Sabertooth would find
him before ten, but mostly he was nervous about finally meeting his father.
     "What if he doesn't like me?  What if he rejects me because of what
happened between him and Silver Fox?  Worse yet, what if he doesn't believe me?" 

     He stopped suddenly, and sniffed the air.  He'd left his window open so he
would be able to grow accustomed to the smell of New York.  But now he smelled
something new.  A scent that was slightly familiar.
     "My God," he thought.  "He's found me."  He ran for the door and into the
hallway.  He locked the door, hoping it would slow him down.  He dashed around
the corner and slapped the button for the elevator.
     "C'mon, c'mon!" he said to himself.  The chime rang just as he heard the
crash of his door being smashed in.  He jumped into the elevator and jabbed the
`DOOR CLOSE' button.  
     Once the car started moving he began to relax.  Then the car shook
violently with the impact of something very heavy landing on top of it.
     "Shit!" he shouted, close to panic.  He extended his claws and punched
through the floor.  He jumped through the hole he'd made, and slid down the cable
to the ground floor.  He gritted his teeth against the pain of his hands being
sliced up.  When he reached the right floor, he stuck his claws through the crack
between the doors and forced them open.
     He dove from the shaft with Sabertooth on his heels.  He glanced at his
palms.  They had already healed from their ordeal.  He heard Sabertooth leap, and
ducked.  Sabertooth flew over his head, but now he blocked his escape.
     "Run, run, as fast you can Runt!" he said to Patch.  "You scare too easily. 
I expected more from you.  You should thank me for killin' you before your old
man found out what a wimp you are!"
     "Back off Creed!" yelled a voice behind Sabertooth.  "You wanna fight
somebody fight me!"
     "Oh now heres a dilemma," Sabertooth said.  "Should I kill the son while
the father watches, or vice versa?  Decisions decisions."
     Patch had had enough.  Now that he had backup, he was not as fearful of
this man.  He leaped at Sabertooth's back, claws extended, a low growl forming
in the back of his throat.  Sabertooth turned towards him, but left himself open
for Wolverine's attack.  The fight was so fierce that the hotel was evacuated.
     "How long do we have to keep this up?" Patch shouted to his father after
being thrown clear of fight.
     "Just until the calvary arrives!" Wolverine answered.  Both their bodies
were crisscrossed by sever lacerations that were healing almost as fast as they
were made.  Fortunately, they had the advantage of superior numbers.  Even so,
all they were doing was keeping the battle a draw.
     Sabertooth grabbed Patch and threw him across the room.  He braced himself
for impact but to his surprise, he was lowered gently to the ground.

                            Chapter 4
     Jean Grey telekinetically held Sabertooth prisoner as they left the hotel.
     "I'm taking Sabertooth to the mansion.  Are you coming?" she asked
Wolverine and Patch.
     "You go on ahead." Wolverine said.  "Me an' the kid here got some things
to talk about."
     Jean looked at the two of them.  One old, one young.  One with metal claws,
one with bone claws.  Both with shredded shirts.  "Like father like son." she
thought.

     "So how did you find me?" Patch asked.
     "The Prof. found you with Cerebro.  He also found Sabertooth closing in on
you so I came to help."  Wolverine paused.  "I wasn't sure at first whether to
believe you or not."
     "Silver Fox never told you about me?"
     "We had a little bit of a falling out." Wolverine said sadly.
     "She loved you Dad.  I know she thought it was just a fake memory, but that
love was real."
     "So what are you going to do now?"
     "I don't know, I'd like to join the X-Men, but there's some stuff I have
to take care of back in Canada."
     "Anytime you wanna come back kid," Wolverine smiled.  "Yer welcome."

                             THE END
     This story is part of the Hotshot Saga.  The main story line picks up once
again in X-Men of Tomorrow.

     "Lord what fools these mortals be!"
          -Puck Robin Goodfellow
               A Midsummer's Night Dream
                    William Shakespeare

"I aM ToRgO.  I lOoK aFtEr tHe pLaCe wHiLe ThE MaStEr iS aWaY."
     -Torgo
          Manos, the Hands of Fate
               MST3K