"Didja think I'd forget?"
"Didn't expect ya to come back from the dead for it."
"In yer dreams. No half-ass explodin' asteroid can kill me."
"Is that right. Always wanted to do the job myself."
"Bring it on, I gotch'er present right here."
With that, Logan popped his claws and went charging toward the man in the dark alley. They met halfway and tore into each other. Muscles straining for the upper hand in the struggle, they locked eyes grinned. "Happy Birthday, Runt," Sabretooth snarled.
Meanwhile, back at the Institute, Ororo was staring out the window, watching the front gate. "He should be back by now," she said. "I know, Ororo," Professor Xavier said from across the room, where he was quietly reading a book. "But Logan can take care of himself. Besides, it is his birthday. He should be allowed to go enjoy himself without having to call and check in."
Sabretooth tackled Logan onto the hood of a parked car, the momentum of the spear sliding them both into the windshield and shattering it. Logan dug into the roof with his claws and used the grip to flip Sabretooth over, and got a few good shots in before the more powerful mutant tossed him off.
He regained his footing and pounced off the top of the car, knocking Logan flat on his back. Logan tried to pry Sabretooth's vice-like hands off his throat, but saw his window of opportunity someplace else. Sabretooth pulled back with his right hand to punch, but Logan held up his own fist and Sabretooth impaled his own hand on the adamantium claws.
Logan took the advantage, rolling over and slicing Sabretooth across the face. The wound instantly healed, and Sabretooth rolled over himself and scraped his own claws across his enemy's face. Battling back to their feet, the two mutants slashed it out until Sabretooth broke away. Logan lunged for his rival while his back was turned, but Sabretooth spun around and launched him skyward with one crushing punch to the gut.
Spilling out into the middle of the street, Logan landed flat on his back in time to see Sabretooth leaping upon him. He pulled his feet up to push Sabretooth off just as the larger mutant landed on top of him, claws digging into his shoulders. The 'Kodak moment' scene of the epic Wolverine vs. Sabretooth feud was shattered as, from out of nowhere, a truck came barreling down the block and plowed into them.
"Ororo," Professor X broke the silence in the room. "I don't mean to alarm you, but...I have a bad feeling about Logan." The weather witch turned and looked at the Professor with wide eyes. 'X-Men, assemble downstairs,' Xavier telepathically called the kids. "I hate to say I told you so, Professor," Storm said as she wheeled him into the hall to speak to the team.
What seemed like quite a while later, Logan finally found the strength to get up. His whole body was almost frozen with pain, but he still pulled himself up to his feet. A few yards away, Logan's keen night vision saw Sabretooth also regaining his bearings. He may have survived the fall of Asteroid M without a scratch, but that had to hurt him.
"Oh my God, mister, are you OK?" A girl's voice came from across the street. "Mike, call an ambulance!" The girl, not much older than Kitty, by Logan's guess, left her boyfriend's side to go help Sabretooth up. "No..." Logan said, but in his weakened state his voice didn't carry far enough. "Thanks, darlin'," Sabretooth grinned as he grabbed her around the neck and turned his eyes to Logan.
"Let 'er go," Logan demanded, taking just one step forward. "This is between you and me."
"Who made that rule, anyway?" Sabretooth taunted. A small noise came from the girl as he tightened his grip. A crash behind Sabretooth made him release the girl, who dropped to her knees gasping for air. The monstrous mutants turned to see the girl's boyfriend holding a dented garbage can above his head. Sabretooth chuckled and pinned the punk against the side of a building in the blink of an eye.
All at once, three adamantium claws plunged into Sabretooth's spine before he could realize his mistake: Turning his back on a wild animal. With his other hand, Logan dug his claws knuckle-deep into Sabretooth's ribs. Somehow, Sabretooth managed to swing one arm around, grab Logan hard by the chin, and whip his skull to the side with a sharp crack. Pain shooting through his neck, Logan retracted his claws from Sabretooth, and both mutants sank to their hands and knees, panting heavily.
The young couple scrambled away as fast as they could. Sabretooth grabbed the trash can with one hand and smashed it against Logan, who had foolishly sheathed his claws and didn't even block the shot. Logan rolled backwards and staggered up to his feet, once again extending his claws. This time he cut through a parking meter that Sabretooth had pulled up from the concrete and swung like a club.
Sabretooth followed through his swing and kept coming at Logan, who ducked down and put his whole body into taking his opponent's legs out from under him. Sabretooth tucked in as he hit the ground and was ready for Logan when he tried to gain the upper hand while he was down. The two bitter foes came at each other with everything from amateur wrestling holds to trying to disembowel each other.
"I don't think I can get a clear shot from here..."
"Lemme handle this, bro."
"Wait...!"
A blinding flash cut through the dimly-lit street, launching Sabretooth down the block.
"Are you crazy, Alex?!" Cyclops shouted. "You don't have that kind of control yet!"
"Pretty good shot, though," Havok grinned.
After skidding to a halt against the sidewalk, Sabretooth staggered to his feet to find everything spinning and the wind driven from his lungs. Logan turned to see Havok's glowing hands, and the resulting silhouettes of his teammates. He instantly felt recharged, in a way that his healing factor couldn't compensate for. Someone had his back. He wasn't alone anymore. And that was all he needed.
"Who made that rule, anyway?" Logan fired Sabretooth's taunt back at him. With that, they locked up once again. Havok and Cyclops prepared to fire again, but Storm stopped them. "I believe we've served our purpose," she said, leaving the boys confused. But sure enough, as they watched, Logan outmatched Sabretooth move for move without their help.
Breathing so heavily it was almost hindering his fighting, Logan all but finished off Sabretooth. The larger mutant collapsed to the ground, his numerous injuries healing quickly but the pain taking its toll. "Ya know ya can't kill me," he said weakly, trying in vain to get up beyond teetering on one knee. "If ya wake up, you'll know yer right," Logan said, his voice giving away how much he was fatigued, "Either that or I just invited ya ta next year's party."
At this, Logan pulled back his claws and knocked Sabretooth out.
"Do you think it was wise to just leave Sabretooth laying there?" Storm asked as Logan joined the X-Men in the van for the ride home. He nodded. "He knows he got beat, he won't give us any trouble for a while," he said. The rest of the ride was relatively quiet until Logan spoke again. "Thanks," he said, so suddenly that they almost didn't catch it.
"We are a team, you know," Storm replied, a smile creeping across her face.
"Not that I couldn'ta beat him myself," Logan was quick to add.
She just had to laugh.
"Didn't expect ya to come back from the dead for it."
"In yer dreams. No half-ass explodin' asteroid can kill me."
"Is that right. Always wanted to do the job myself."
"Bring it on, I gotch'er present right here."
With that, Logan popped his claws and went charging toward the man in the dark alley. They met halfway and tore into each other. Muscles straining for the upper hand in the struggle, they locked eyes grinned. "Happy Birthday, Runt," Sabretooth snarled.
Meanwhile, back at the Institute, Ororo was staring out the window, watching the front gate. "He should be back by now," she said. "I know, Ororo," Professor Xavier said from across the room, where he was quietly reading a book. "But Logan can take care of himself. Besides, it is his birthday. He should be allowed to go enjoy himself without having to call and check in."
Sabretooth tackled Logan onto the hood of a parked car, the momentum of the spear sliding them both into the windshield and shattering it. Logan dug into the roof with his claws and used the grip to flip Sabretooth over, and got a few good shots in before the more powerful mutant tossed him off.
He regained his footing and pounced off the top of the car, knocking Logan flat on his back. Logan tried to pry Sabretooth's vice-like hands off his throat, but saw his window of opportunity someplace else. Sabretooth pulled back with his right hand to punch, but Logan held up his own fist and Sabretooth impaled his own hand on the adamantium claws.
Logan took the advantage, rolling over and slicing Sabretooth across the face. The wound instantly healed, and Sabretooth rolled over himself and scraped his own claws across his enemy's face. Battling back to their feet, the two mutants slashed it out until Sabretooth broke away. Logan lunged for his rival while his back was turned, but Sabretooth spun around and launched him skyward with one crushing punch to the gut.
Spilling out into the middle of the street, Logan landed flat on his back in time to see Sabretooth leaping upon him. He pulled his feet up to push Sabretooth off just as the larger mutant landed on top of him, claws digging into his shoulders. The 'Kodak moment' scene of the epic Wolverine vs. Sabretooth feud was shattered as, from out of nowhere, a truck came barreling down the block and plowed into them.
"Ororo," Professor X broke the silence in the room. "I don't mean to alarm you, but...I have a bad feeling about Logan." The weather witch turned and looked at the Professor with wide eyes. 'X-Men, assemble downstairs,' Xavier telepathically called the kids. "I hate to say I told you so, Professor," Storm said as she wheeled him into the hall to speak to the team.
What seemed like quite a while later, Logan finally found the strength to get up. His whole body was almost frozen with pain, but he still pulled himself up to his feet. A few yards away, Logan's keen night vision saw Sabretooth also regaining his bearings. He may have survived the fall of Asteroid M without a scratch, but that had to hurt him.
"Oh my God, mister, are you OK?" A girl's voice came from across the street. "Mike, call an ambulance!" The girl, not much older than Kitty, by Logan's guess, left her boyfriend's side to go help Sabretooth up. "No..." Logan said, but in his weakened state his voice didn't carry far enough. "Thanks, darlin'," Sabretooth grinned as he grabbed her around the neck and turned his eyes to Logan.
"Let 'er go," Logan demanded, taking just one step forward. "This is between you and me."
"Who made that rule, anyway?" Sabretooth taunted. A small noise came from the girl as he tightened his grip. A crash behind Sabretooth made him release the girl, who dropped to her knees gasping for air. The monstrous mutants turned to see the girl's boyfriend holding a dented garbage can above his head. Sabretooth chuckled and pinned the punk against the side of a building in the blink of an eye.
All at once, three adamantium claws plunged into Sabretooth's spine before he could realize his mistake: Turning his back on a wild animal. With his other hand, Logan dug his claws knuckle-deep into Sabretooth's ribs. Somehow, Sabretooth managed to swing one arm around, grab Logan hard by the chin, and whip his skull to the side with a sharp crack. Pain shooting through his neck, Logan retracted his claws from Sabretooth, and both mutants sank to their hands and knees, panting heavily.
The young couple scrambled away as fast as they could. Sabretooth grabbed the trash can with one hand and smashed it against Logan, who had foolishly sheathed his claws and didn't even block the shot. Logan rolled backwards and staggered up to his feet, once again extending his claws. This time he cut through a parking meter that Sabretooth had pulled up from the concrete and swung like a club.
Sabretooth followed through his swing and kept coming at Logan, who ducked down and put his whole body into taking his opponent's legs out from under him. Sabretooth tucked in as he hit the ground and was ready for Logan when he tried to gain the upper hand while he was down. The two bitter foes came at each other with everything from amateur wrestling holds to trying to disembowel each other.
"I don't think I can get a clear shot from here..."
"Lemme handle this, bro."
"Wait...!"
A blinding flash cut through the dimly-lit street, launching Sabretooth down the block.
"Are you crazy, Alex?!" Cyclops shouted. "You don't have that kind of control yet!"
"Pretty good shot, though," Havok grinned.
After skidding to a halt against the sidewalk, Sabretooth staggered to his feet to find everything spinning and the wind driven from his lungs. Logan turned to see Havok's glowing hands, and the resulting silhouettes of his teammates. He instantly felt recharged, in a way that his healing factor couldn't compensate for. Someone had his back. He wasn't alone anymore. And that was all he needed.
"Who made that rule, anyway?" Logan fired Sabretooth's taunt back at him. With that, they locked up once again. Havok and Cyclops prepared to fire again, but Storm stopped them. "I believe we've served our purpose," she said, leaving the boys confused. But sure enough, as they watched, Logan outmatched Sabretooth move for move without their help.
Breathing so heavily it was almost hindering his fighting, Logan all but finished off Sabretooth. The larger mutant collapsed to the ground, his numerous injuries healing quickly but the pain taking its toll. "Ya know ya can't kill me," he said weakly, trying in vain to get up beyond teetering on one knee. "If ya wake up, you'll know yer right," Logan said, his voice giving away how much he was fatigued, "Either that or I just invited ya ta next year's party."
At this, Logan pulled back his claws and knocked Sabretooth out.
"Do you think it was wise to just leave Sabretooth laying there?" Storm asked as Logan joined the X-Men in the van for the ride home. He nodded. "He knows he got beat, he won't give us any trouble for a while," he said. The rest of the ride was relatively quiet until Logan spoke again. "Thanks," he said, so suddenly that they almost didn't catch it.
"We are a team, you know," Storm replied, a smile creeping across her face.
"Not that I couldn'ta beat him myself," Logan was quick to add.
She just had to laugh.