Serafimdream: I'm not going to stop here. I'm leaving a cliffy, but I should post the next chapter REALLY soon, like tonight!
Kaira Sakamoto: I know Rogue comes in about halfway. I don't remember if its Roganess or not, so you decide.
CANADIAN LAKE – DAY
Logan is on an outcropping of rock, staring at the lake. Hudson walks from foliage, irritated, pulling burrs out of his suit.
"Hey there, Hudson. Looking for me?" Logan says, not even turning.
"How you can stand living around all these trees and dirt, it's beyond me. I know you claim to have quit... but you might like to see this. It came in on one of our ghost channels. A request for a meeting, addressed to you, and it's not hard to figure out who sent it." Hudson hands over a yellow paper. Logan reads it, getting angry.
"Department H still considers him absent without leave. We want him back."
"I'm in... but, only if I go alone. No back up. No extraction team."
"I figured as much. You know, he's probably counting on that."
"How would you like him? Alive or dead?"
"Use your discretion."
"I'll do that. I'll use my discretion." Logan then tosses the sheet of paper in the air, pops his claws with a SNICKT! He swings... Four cut strips of paper float onto the lake's flat surface.
NIAGARA FALLS RESTAURANT - NIGHT
High-class restaurant. Busy. Loud classical music plays.. At the entrance, Logan, well dressed, searches the crowd.
Maitre D' asks him, "Do you have a reservation, sir? Sir?" Logan spots what he came for. He walks towards it. One wall of the dining room is comprised of windows affording a spectacular view of the Horseshoe Falls at night. Logan reaches a table occupied by Sabretooth. These two hate each other lots.
"Logan. Grab a seat. We need to talk." Sabretooth says.
"How's the mercenary business these days, Creed? Assassinate any good foreign dignitaries lately?" Logan asks, as he sits warily.
"Actually, I been monogamous for a while now. Working on a sort of a... crusade."
"Isn't that special?" Waiter approaches timidly. He puts a plate down in front of
Sabretooth. A completely raw steak, with garnish.
"Your... um, steak, sir." The waiter splits. Creed cuts the meat with a forefinger claw.
"Hope you don't mind I ordered without you."
"Nah. Seeing you again, I doubt I'd be able to keep solid food down."
He growls, and continues. "Now, what kinda way is that to talk to your old spying partner? We been through a lot together, you and me."
"We worked together, but we were never partners."
"If looking at it like that makes you feel better, fine. But, I been sent to ask if you want to team up again. See... a bunch of us got something going. It's called the Brotherhood... ... kind of a pussy name if you ask me, but anyway, we're about to be putting a big hurt on a lot a people."
"I'm not interested, okay? So, that's all of that, right? You done jawing?
"Sure am." Logan stands, takes off his jacket, and starts rolling his sleeves up.
"You know, there's not a day goes by I don't think about how much I'd like to take you out." Logan says, as he places his jacket on the chair.
"Hey, I was only fulfilling an obligation there. I'm glad you said no. Cause now I got an altogether different obligation to stomp you into the ground. I've been hating you so long, I can't even remember what started it." As he talks, Sabretooth takes off his cowboy boots, revealing feet with long-clawed toes. Logan takes off his tie and places it on his pile of clothes.
"I know what started it for me. You murdered the only woman I ever loved."
"Hah, that's right. Now, why did I snuff her again? Oh, yeah, I remember... didn't really have a reason... I did it for fun."
SNICKT!
Logan's claws shoot out as he lunges... Sabretooth tips back his chair, hits the floor and does a backward somersault. Logan misses, knocking over the table and slamming his claws into the floor. Sabretooth springs to his feet, takes the napkin from around his neck and tosses it aside, ready for a fight.
"Step right up." Logan pulls his claws free, advances. Dinner-goers are freaked and start a panicked rush for the door. The two fighters ignore the screaming. Sabretooth and Logan circle, then attack, grappling. Sabretooth holds Logan's wrists to avoid claws, shifts his weight and throws... Logan hits the wall, falls to the floor. Sabretooth grabs a sharp steak knife, throws it. Logan ducks to one side THUNK! The knife imbeds in the wall. Logan charges towards Sabretooth, but Sabretooth leaps up onto a table. Logan slashes at him, missing. Again and again, Logan swings and misses, chopping tables and chairs to pieces... Sabretooth keeps avoiding, leaping from table to table. He's amazingly adept, keeping his balance even as he leaps from chair back to chair back. Logan's getting furious, flailing.
"Hold still, ya freak!" Logan whiffs as Sabretooth leaps and kicks him across the face. Logan goes sprawling. He struggles to get up, but falls to his knees, gripping his head, crying out in pain...
FLASHBACK - LOGAN'S MEMORY
A rushing sound is heard, like a freight train.
The images move through a business corridor passing metal doorways, searching for something. After rounding a corner, ahead are high-tech military men in strange uniforms. The Military Men look this way, alarmed, pointing, raising automatic weapons...
IN THE RESTAURANT
Logan's still wrapped up in the flashback. Across the room, Sabretooth grasps an espresso machine, yanks it out of the wall...
"Anyone for an after dinner espresso?"
Logan throws his head back and opens his eyes, released by the vision. He looks towards Sabretooth just as Sabretooth throws... Logan dodges. The espresso machine smashes into the wall, barely missing. Logan leaps onto the buffet table, moving. There's a large ice sculpture there. Logan slices off a huge chunk... He heaves it. Sabretooth runs, but the ice chunk clobbers him, knocking him down. Sabretooth's dazed. Logan leaps down and closes in.
"Say goodnight, Gracie." Logan brings one hand back for the kill, but several spoons fly over CLINK! CLINK! They attach to his claws. Logan looks... Silverware leaps from everywhere, drawn to his claws.
CLINK! CLINK! CLINK! Hundreds of knifes, forks and spoons fly towards tries to shake them, but his claws are useless, heavy. In a corner of the room, one final patron has remained, seated in shadows. He stands into light. It's Magneto.
"You should have joined us, Wolverine. What a pitiful waste of talent."
Logan sees Sabretooth getting up and moving in for the kill. Logan lets out a howl of rage, runs ahead, and slams into Sabretooth. They both smash through one of the plate glass windows...
NIAGARA FALLS, HILLSIDE - NIGHT
The raging sound of the Horseshoe Falls is deafing. Logan and Sabretooth fall, surrounded by shards of broken glass and cutlery. They hit a steep, rocky hillside, tumbling down... WHOOMP! They finally land on a rail-bordered ledge. It's a scenic look out point, very close to the falls. They're both in bad shape. Sabretooth is the first to rise. Mist sprays down onto them from the falls.
"You're too much, shrimp. Trying to kill me... you almost killed yourself." Sabretooth picks Logan up, lifts him over his head in both hands.
"Silly me... did I say almost?" With a grunt, Sabretooth throws Logan's body over the rail. Logan's body drops... disappears into the raging fury of Niagara.