The wind whipped against his face, feeling like a thousand tiny blades. The air was cold enough to see his breath, and he walked with his hands buried deep in his jean pockets. A few delicate snowflakes had started to land in the man's dark, matted hair, as he walked briskly down the deserted alley. A rat peered at him from within a nearby trash can, it's single, beady eye flashing in the distant streetlight, before it turned away, pale, hairless tail disappearing behind it as it scurried into the dark. The man stopped, eyes narrowing, nose twitching at some nearby scent. "What the fuck do you want?" Logan growled.

"Bit late for a stroll, huh, Jimmy?" a gravelly voice said behind him.

"Look, bub," Logan said, turning around slowly, "I don't know what you're after but you've got the wrong guy."

"On the contrary," the man spoke again, showing off his large canine teeth with a smile, "You're exactly the man I'm looking for." He was wearing a slate gray trench coat that moved only around his ankles, defying the weather. His hair and eyes were similar to Logan's, but it was his height that set him apart, and his discolored, claw-like nails that were slowly extending as he spoke.

Logan raised a single eyebrow before six, foot-long blades slid past his knuckles.

"Ah," the man said, grin deepening, "Now the fun begins." He let out an animal scream before charging on all fours. His claws sunk into Logan's shoulder just as he felt the familiar sting of adamantium across his upper abdomen. The two men stumbled backwards, slamming against a brick wall.

"Before I forget," the taller man said, a smirk playing across his face, "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Logan snarled, shoving the man back and tossing him as far as he'd go. One of the man's arms made a sickening crack as he crashed against the opposite wall, sliding down onto the concrete.

"Who are you?" Logan demanded. His eyes widened as the puncture wounds in the other man's chest began to fade.

"Victor Creed," he replied, standing up and rotating his shoulder back into place, "The two of us go way back, Jimmy-boy." Victor lunged at him again, but Logan jumped aside, barely missing the fiend's claws. He couldn't avoid Victor's quick calculations, however, as he suddenly felt the man's claws on either side of his neck. Victor hoisted him off the ground, choking Logan against the wall.

"Getting slow, old man," he laughed, "You know, I've been thinking lately, how exactly would our healing factor fix a suffocated brain? I mean, even if you do survive, you're going to be a total vegetable for the rest of your life, right?" Logan struggled, trying to pry Victor's hands from his throat.

"I don't know why no one's ever thought of it before," he continued, unabated, "You hear that popping noise, Jimmy? That's the sound of your brain cells explo-" Victor choked on the last word as Logan's knee made contact with his groin.

"You talk too much," Logan said, stabbing Victor through the heart.

The blades retracted back into Logan's hand as his ears picked up the sound of shouting and heavy trucks in the distance. He took one last look at Victor, now lying in a pool of blood, before making a run for it.

----

Credit for some dialogue goes to Mark Miller from Ultimate X-Men #12.