The Fittest's History
The Fittest
Fredrick Slade was born the second child of Margaret Slade and an unknown father during the eighteenth century. Being the second born and physically smaller of the two children he was not given much thought by his mother or even his fellow clan mates. His mother spent most of her time and energy to mold his brother Hamilton Slade. His family was the main branch of Clan Akkaba as they were blessed with a strong dose of Apocalypse's bloodline. His family was also blessed with great wealth whether by way of privilege in the clan or great business strategy. They resided in what was called Alexandria House which also served as the meeting place for their clan.
A quiet and reserved child he grew relatively unseen by his peers and mother; the only person that realized his great potential was Ozymandias. In Fredrick, Ozymandias saw something he had never known before. For centuries he had watched as the members of the Clan had deceived, betrayed, and even killed their own relations merely to be deemed closest to Apocalypse. Ozymandias saw Fredrick possessed qualities which he had rarely seen among the members of the Clan, traits such as courage, fairness, and something even rarer: compassion. Within Fredrick, Ozymandias saw a new dawn for the Clan; to ensure this new dawn, Ozymandias trained Fredrick for the rites of passage which would make him leader of the Clan Akkaba, the Fittest.
Fredrick possessed the molecular rearrangement powers of his mother and a new mutation which Ozymandias thought he should keep secret until the battles which lay ahead: teleportation. He was also a formidable hand-to-hand combatant honed by training under the centuries old Ozymandias. All was going to plan until his older brother Hamilton caught wind that his greatest opponent lay in his own house. Hamilton, despite having more advanced control of his molecular structure, was petty and lacked honor, so as Fredrick slept the night before the right of passage, he used his power to crush Fredrick’s spine ensuring that he would never be a threat again.
The End of Clan Akkaba
Now in a vegetative state Fredrick watched as Hamilton took his place as Fittest of the clan. He also realized his brother’s lust for power and often blasphemous outbursts in regards to their lord Apocalypse. Hamilton, as a warning to those who would question his post or power, had Fredrick appointed to the Council, which was the Inner Circle or heads of Clan Akkaba. His mother displayed little thought as to what had happened to him as her pride and joy, Hamilton, ensured that she controlled Clan Akkaba. Time passed and no one gave even a passing thought to Fredrick after all he was a vegetable.
The decadence of Hamilton however proved the Clan’s undoing as their members started being murdered in a mysterious manner. All their blood was drained and two strange puncture marks could be seen on each victims neck. Things took a turn for the worst when Hamilton himself disappeared. The Clan was left with no alternative but to call Apocalypse for assistance. This however had its repercussions as after he was summoned he would kill a random member as punishment for not being strong enough to deal with whatever threat they were facing. Fredrick watched as Apocalypse was summoned and he took his sacrifice. Their meeting however was short lived as Professor Abraham van Helsing and Jack Starsmore convinced Apocalypse to accompany them to the morgue to prove his suspicions that they were under attack from vampires.
Left with his fellow clansmen, he witnessed his brother's return and the introduction of his new lord, Dracula. The clan was outraged but no match for Hamilton and his dread lord; the clan was killed and turned, all except chairman and main rival Kabar Brashir and Fredrick, who he thought would be a waste of time.
When Apocalypse and the others returned it was too little too late and the Clan was no more. They were now Dracula’s new coven. Apocalypse thought Fredrick a ‘simpleton’ and would have left him to die, but Ozymandias knew that within the boy the Clan could live again. Disregarding his lord's wishes Ozymandias placed Fredrick back in his wheelchair and protected him in the ensuing battle. When it was apparent that they could not defeat their opponents and death was upon them, Fredrick whisked them away via his secret power of teleportation.
So the ‘simpleton’ had given Apocalypse the chance to fight another day. Ozymandias was not as surprised as the others that they were saved by Fredrick and he explained to van Helsing as they prepared for the battle ahead the tragic life of Fredrick Slade. In the battle that followed Ozymandias placed Fredrick out of harms way while van Helsing, Starsmore, and Apocalypse dealt with the undead Akkaba. When they had defeated and killed all of the Clan, Alexandria House was burnt to the ground and Apocalypse decreed that this was where Clan Akkaba would die.
Fredrick was then instrumental in tracking down Dracula and teleporting them to Transylvania. Ozymandias continued to protect him and as Apocalypse called forth the Riders of The Dark to aid him in his battle, Fredrick teleported Starsmore, van Helsing, and Ozymandias directly into Dracula's castle where they were almost killed by Hamilton. Apparently however Fredrick was not as ‘paralyzed’ as they thought, as Hamilton prepared to turn Starsmore into a vampire Fredrick grabbed him by the neck and teleported his head clean off his body, effectively killing him. Starsmore, shocked by the turn of events, thanked him for saving his life. In turn the gentle Fredrick responded with a smile.
With Clan Akkaba no more and Dracula defeated, Apocalypse went back into hibernation, Starsmore started a new life, van Helsing departed for Canada, and Fredrick and Ozymandias went about rebuilding the Clan. In secret Ozymandias had a Ms. Ferguson procreate with Fredrick so that the clan would live on and serve as Ozymandias's 'ace in the hole' and ultimate weapon of revenge against Apocalypse when the time came.[3]
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In modern times a 'seemingly' elderly Fredrick was next seen after the M-Day event where most of the world's mutant population were stripped of their power. Apparently he had been keeping tabs on the bloodline of Jack Starsmore, which gave birth to Jonothan Starsmore, aka Chamber. Realizing that the last of the Starsmore line was at death's door he took to visiting the lad who was under the watchful eye of Peter Wisdom. Fredrick realized the interference that would occur if Chamber was left in the hospital and therefore captured the boy. With Ozymandias's help, he infused young Starsmore with a massive amount of Apocalypse's blood.
He watched as the blood of Apocalypse rejuvenated the boy as his once decimated body contorted and remade itself in the image of Apocalypse. When Chamber had made a full recovery he introduced the boy to the new Clan Akkaba, but Chamber refused to acknowledge them as his family and renounced Fredrick, the Clan, and Apocalypse. Apocalypse willingly relinquished claims on Chamber and had him leave the new Clan headquarters; no doubt they would keep an eye on the heir of Apocalypse. Apocalypse was not as he seemed, however, as he was Ozymandias in disguise; it seemed that Fredrick and his age old teacher had formulated a plan to take over Clan Akkaba for themselves. Frederick was last seen sharing a drink of Apocalypse's blood with Ozymandias, having finally risen to the place of the ‘’’Fittest’’’.
