X-Mansion, 11:55 P.M.

Logan took another long draw on his cigar, letting the smoke waft aimlessly from between his narrowly parted lips. The grey wisps curled as they drifted through the empty common room. Another night of being the only one awake…flashbacks war and lost loves seemed hell-bent on keeping the gruff mutant from sleeping…
Logan sighed, expelling another cloud of smoke from his mouth. His sleeping pattern was so skewed now tha--

Thought interrupted. Logan's nose twitched. A new smell had just popped up, almost undetectable under the mask of the cigar's byproducts. Logan stood slowly, fists clench, in case he needed to pop his claws. The smell was strangely familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He closed his eyes and sniffed…the source of the smell was behind him. Logan turned slowly to see a bulky figure standing in front of the large window. Logan couldn't make out many details, the room being pitch black , apart from the lit end of his cigar, what little moonlight filtered through the drawn curtains, and…strangely, the intruder's eyes…

"Who the hell are you?" Logan growled, body tensing. The figure chuckled slightly.

"You don't remember me, Wolverine? I'm…hurt." Came the other man's voice. His voice was deep, with a sinister twinge to it that made Logan shiver. That shiver got his brain working again, and his jaw dropped, letting his cigar fall to the floor.

"It can't…Bison…?"

"The one and only." M. Bison said, a large grin on his face, as is jet black boot snuffed the life out of the fallen cigar.

"It can't be! Ryu told me you were dead!" Logan snapped, stepping back as Bison stepped forward.

"Oh, Logan." Bison smirked. "You should know as well as anyone that death isn't as permanent of an experience as it seems."

"Well, good. Means you can experience it again." The mutant spat, his claws sliding out from between his knuckles with a snikt. Bison shook his head, and continued walking towards him.

"As pleasant as that sounds, I'm here on business. I came to collect you."

"Collect me? I'm not a baseball card, bub."

"Charming. What I mean to say is, I'm here to kidnap you to further my goals. Is that clear enough for you, or did Weapon X turn you into a complete moron?" Bison asked, now towering over Logan's small figure. Logan snarled, and went to drive his claws into his opponent. Before he could, however, he received a firm blow to the back of the head, knocking him out cold. The man known as Wolverine fell to the wood floor with a solid thud.

"God DAMN!" Balrog winced, shaking his boxing glove clad hand. "That is one solid skull!"

"I told you, Balrog." Bison said, looking down at the mutant's limp form on the floor.

"Well, yeah, Boss, but I figured yous was just telling a story or somethin'." The boxer muttered, still trying to drive out the pain in his knuckles. Bison glared at his minion.

"Have I ever been one for story time?" the dictator asked, his voice dripping with venom. Balrog's eyes widened.

"N-no, Boss! Y-you ain't no story teller!"

"That's what I thought." Bison replied. He looked down at Wolverine, and gave him a kick to the sides for good measure. "Take him to the transport, Balrog. We have no time to waste."

Location Unknown, 12:30 A.M.

Logan finally came to. He wasn't quite able to open his eyes, but took a bit of time trying to figure out the situation. He was bound, chained to an X, his arms and legs spread so he wouldn't be able to cut himself out. Clever. Now…where was he?

Wolverine retched, trying to fight back his gag reflex. His stomach was churning tumultuously. Well, that answered that.

He was on a plane.

With a bit of effort, Logan was finally able to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was Bison's smug smile.

"Glad you've woken, Wolverine." Bison said, taking a seat on a plush chair. Logan snarled.

"Why're you doing this?" he asked, to which Bison merely smiled. God, he hated that smile.

"Logan, you have a very important…gift." Bison began "You can overcome any wound, insignificant or fatal, in remarkable time." Bison paused. He grabbed a small knife from a table next to his chair and walked slowly towards Wolverine. Slowly, he drew the knife across the mutant's torso. Logan winced slightly, but as usually, the shallow cut sealed itself, no trace of it left. Bison smiled. "Extraordinary. You see, Logan…I, too, can survive anything…but to bring my body back requires scientists, machines, and most damagingly, time. Having to sacrifice these resources certainly hinders my aspirations. That, though, Is where you come in."

"Oh, really now?" Logan sneered, glaring at the demon before him. Bison merely nodded.

"Yes, really. You see, I'm going to have my scientists borrow your DNA, and meld it in with my own." Bison explained, sitting back down. "Thereby making my nigh immortal."

"I won't let you do that." The captive growled. Bison laughed, his deep voice echoing throughout the plane.

"I wasn't asking your permission. I just thought it'd be fair to warn you. That's far more than I'm going to do for the others."

"Others…?"

"Why, yes." The dictator chuckled. "Your little mutant friends also have much they could contribute to me. Therefore, they're also going to be, ahem, donating to the cause."

"You'll never find them!" spat Wolverine. Bison laughed again.

"Oh, I will, Logan. You see, I picked up a little trinket or two from the U.S. Government." Bison muttered, and he slowly turned his head to look out the window, a sadistic smile playing across his lips. Logan turned his head as well as he could, and a pit formed in his stomach. Outside, there were massive figures, flying alongside the plane.

Sentinels.