"You managed to speed up the infection rate,"he noted with approval.

"Based on all the data provided by past variations,I was able to create the most virulent strain to date,"she reported with her usual clinical detachment,as she studied the monitors and made marks on her ubiquitous clipboard.

In thirty seconds,the dimly lit observation room filled with the beautiful keening drone of flatline,and he stared at the body of Wolverine,hanging limply from his chains like a puppet dangling from slackened strings.He smiled,reveling in his triumph.Some big bad ass he was.

"So much for their 'superior' immune systems,"he commented,eager to get started.Finally he would wipe the scourge off the face of the Earth.He could have Morton run a batch over to Safe Harbor tonight,for release through the air conditioning system.Wit! h a little ingenuity and a lot more money,he could have it spewing fro m air conditioners,recirculators,and filters throughout the world in almost no time flat.

"Of course,the fact that it kills its hosts so quickly will make spreading the contagion more difficult."

"Let me worry about that.Congratulations,Jennifer.You just saved-"he began,pausing as one of the machines let out a high pitched beep.

Then another did.And another.

The room filled with a symphony of electronic bleeps,rhythmic and growing stronger every second,and he heard Ruthven suck in a hard,sudden breath."Shit,I was afraid of that."

"Afraid of what?"He snapped,crossing his arms over his chest as his joy transmuted to a black and bitter rage.

Rather than answer him,she flicked an intercom switch,and said,"Nelson,I need a blood sample from subject thirteen now."

"Tell me,goddamn it!"He roared,battling the homicidal urges that had plagued him since that mutant had infected him three months ago.He couldn't kill Ruthven...not until he was sure she couldn'! t give him what he wanted.

"From the data you gave me concerning this Wolverine,I guessed him to be one of the more powerful regeneratives we'd ever come across,"she told him,checking all the readings on the monitors against whatever she had written on her clipboard."There was a slim chance his system could adapt to the virus;very slim,but still within the realm of possibility."

He watched Nelson,a lanky,pale intern,steal into Wolverine's cell,take a blood sample,and leave just as quickly,as if afraid the mutant would suddenly regain consciousness and burst from his chains.The boy's nervousness increased Flemming's rage,The freak should have started slowly decomposing by now.

"How could his system adapt?"Flemming demanded."He died!"

"In a clinical sense,yes."

"What the fuck do you mean 'in a clinical sense'?!"

She flinched at the anger in his voice,which made him feel a little bit better,but not much."His heart rate and brain activity probably droppe! d to machine imperceptible levels,so he was not truly dead.And in that time his immune system rallied and launched an attack against the pathogen-an attack which apparently succeeded."

The door behind them slid open,and Nelson brought the blood sample to Ruthven,who promptly inserted it into a machine he never bothered to learn the name of.Nelson left without looking at him,and Flemming decided the boy was just a squirrelly geek in general.

She looked through what appeared to be a microscope attached to the machine as she fiddled with several dials,and the wait seemed to take forever,two minutes stretched out into eternity.Just when he reached the very limit of his sorely tested patience,he asked,"Could he at least be contagious to other freaks?A 'typhoid Wolverine'?"At least the idea amused him no end.

When she finally look up at him,he noticed her face was more pale than usual,her lips almost bloodless."For him to be a carrier,he'd have to have the live virus in his system.He doesn't."

"What do you mean?!We just infected the ! fucker!"

"Ryan-sir-he has no live virus in his system.They're all dead."

He stared at her,uncomprehendingly,not wanting to believe it more than anything else."That's impossible.How did that happen?It can't happen!"

"His immune system created antibodies that wiped out the virus faster than logic would indicate is possible under any circumstances."She looked up from her microscope and turned to gaze at Wolverine in slack jawed awe."My god,I didn't think a regenerative this extreme could exist.He's almost like Lazarus,but without divine intervention.Do you know what this means?"

"He's a freak."He glared at the back of her pristine white lab coat,disliking the almost respectful tone that had creeped into her voice.Would she try and betray him too?

"He could be a panacea.We could inject him with every disease known to mankind,maybe even cancer,and if we can synthesize the antibodies his blood creates to kill them-and it will;I don't think he can be killed by ! disease,or even age-we can cure them all.The key to saving the human r ace could very well be in his blood,Ryan."Finally she turned to look at him,her blue eyes almost glowing with excitement,and she apparently paid no attention to the look on his face."He could be a gold mine."

"I have money,"he pointed out.She was being swayed by the mutants,wasn't she?He should have known she would become a traitor.He had never trusted doctors.

"Not just of money!Of knowledge,Ryan!He must have the most well developed immune system on the planet."She turned back towards the mirror,looking at her new 'hero',ignoring the fact that he was coming up right behind her."You wanted to save the human race,Ryan?Here is its salvation.The key to immortality may even be buried in his blood..."

She never got to finish her thought,as he grabbed her head and twisted it hard,snapping her pretty little neck.He let her body fall to the floor,not even bothering to glance at it."You'd save humanity by making us all freaks,huh Jennifer?"He spat,glaring at the still unc! onscious form of Wolverine."I don't fucking think so."

Flemming considered resuming his tests,to see what would happen to Wolverine if he was shot or mutilated,but it was close to broadcast time,and he really wanted to see how well this 'Angel' did.Once upon a time,he was apparently the big bad ass in vamp circles,just like Wolverine was in mutant circles.

Now there was an idea.

If he couldn't kill the bastard in the way he wanted to,at least he could provide a little entertainment.

He flicked an intercom switch,and said,"Nelson,inject subject thirteen with five hundred cc's of the agent,and have the guards drag him to the pit."

""Sir?Umm,five hundred cc's is twice the usual dosage,"Nelson hesitantly replied,sounding like he was on the verge of flying apart at any second.Too much caffeine?

"I'm aware of that,just do it."He snapped,flicking the intercom off.It probably wouldn't work on him any more than the contagion did,but even if it worked for a br! ief period of time,it would be worth it to see Wolverine act like the animal he really was.

And murder his friend in cold blood.

He opened his eyes,and found himself laying face down on a stainless steel floor in a darkened room-a far cry from the wall he had been chained too,and a definite improvement."Angel,"he said quietly,as he pushed himself up to a sitting position,feeling strangely woozy.Had they drugged him?At least they had tried,but all he felt now was a sort of light headedness,giving everything the patina of a fever dream,except he found it very easy to ignore.

A bright light flicked on overhead,nearly blinding him,and he squinted against it,raising a hand to block it out.

"How do you feel,Wolverine?"A smug voice he recognized as Flemming's asked,echoing sl! ightly,giving him an idea of the size of the room.If he gauged the ricochet of his voice correctly,it was about the size of a small gymnasium,and empty,as nothing seemed to absorb the sound.

"Like I'm going to kill you,"he replied,and then added,"Also,like a member of the living.Sorry to disappoint you."

"Don't worry.You're going to have a chance to make it up to me."

"And what the fuck does that mean?"He jumped to his feet,and started glancing around for Angel,but as his eyes had adjusted to the light he couldn't see well in the pools of darkness surrounding him.Out of the corner of his eye,though,he noticed what looked like a broken wooden axe handle on the floor,and idly wondered where the rest of it was.

But new lights had sprung on,and he could see a large matte black wall before him that could only be another opaqued two way mirror.He was a sad,sad man.

He started stalking towards the mirror,letting his claws spring through his knuckles as he did s! o."Enough of this shit."

"I wouldn't,Wolvie,"his voiced warned,and he saw a brief flicker of light as he heard a crack of electricity and smelled something not unlike ozone."Usually this field just repels,to keep them away from the glass,but the levels can be adjusted to administer a fatal shock.You'll burn like toast if you touch it."

"I'll only be out for a little while."He replied coldly,but he stopped where he was.He could feel the electrical field now,so charged and powerful the hair on his arms stood on end.It might not kill him,but he knew for damn sure it would hurt like hell,and at least knock him out for a while.Like a year or three.But he scanned the edges of the mirrored wall,and thought he saw where the field emitters were:if he could get through the field,he'd be able to take at least one out with his claws,which should cause the field to collapse,or at least weaken...but he'd be too fried to take advantage of it.

Maybe he and Angel could work something out.

He turned towards the darkness,retracting his claws,and ! said,"Angel,where you hidin'?"

"You know he's with you?"Flemming began,then added."Oh yes,the both of you are bloodhounds.Him more than you,of course,in the most literal sense."

Logan paused as he heard a savage,animalistic growling,and realized the scent in the air had changed.He didn't smell Angel as much as he smelled something he had no name for.Evil was the only thing that popped to mind."You locked me in here with a wild animal?What's the point in that?"

"Didn't you ever see the movie Gladiator?"Flemming admonished,as lights began coming on throughout what looked to be a round room composed of stainless steel,the lights bouncing off the silver surfaces and making him squint until he became accustomed to the glare."You want to live,Wolverine?Fight for it.In the pit,only one man walks out."

"You get your jollies this way,don't you?"He sneered,rolling his eyes at the amateur dramatics.Were crazed megalomaniacs the same everywhere?

It was then that he ! saw Angel on the far side of the 'pit',face down,and held to the floor by collars chained around his neck and wrists.He was shirtless for some reason,which allowed to really notice how pale he was,which seemed freakish in Los Angeles."What did you do to him?"Logan wondered,as he walked towards him.

And that's when Angel's head shot up to look at him,and he made that animal snarling noise again as Logan took a startled step back."What the fuck did you do to him?!"He demanded.

Angel's face had changed;his forehead now seemed to bulge over eyes turned jaundiced yellow,and he seemed to have too many jagged teeth in his mouth,including two rather long fangs.

"I just brought out his true nature,"Flemming said,sounding like he was gloating."Didn't you know what Angel really was?This is his true face,not the other one.His true face,and his true nature."

Angel continued snarling at him,yanking at his chains so hard Logan was honestly surprised they hadn't broken yet.He realized there was something else in Angel's scent,a chemical smell.! They had drugged him,hadn't they?Just like they tried to drug him,but it hadn't worked ;too bad that wasn't true for Angel."Hey man,come on,snap out of it,"Logan encouraged,but Angel continued making angry,animalistic noises,lips curled back over fangs,and he didn't see a single bit of intelligence or recognition in his eyes.He was well and truly gone.

Maybe vampires were a superstitious,quaint name given to a variety of mutants that were hard to classify.Angel looked like a mutant now,although usually they weren't reduced to such animalistic states.Usually;he'd met exceptions.

"He's all beast now,"Flemming continued,obviously impressed by the sound of his own voice."And vampires are all instinct.He wants your blood,Wolverine,and he's not going to stop until he gets it."Suddenly the cuffs holding Angel down snapped open and retracted with the chains into the floor."Let the best man win."

Angel launched himself at him so fast he didn't have time to dodge;he tackl! ed him and threw him hard to the steel floor,and Logan thought he hear d his teeth gnash as he snarled,but Logan slammed a flattened palm under his chin and sent him flying backward.He had no idea Angel was that strong or fast;he knew he was stronger than your average human,but it was still a bit of a shock.

As he got to his feet,Angel had already regained his and was charging again,but this time he was ready.At the last second,he dodged aside and tripped him up,sending him tumbling face first to the floor."I don't want to hurt you,goddamn it,"he told Angel,as the growling wreck of a mutant got back to his feet,blood dripping from his nose."Come on,snap out of it!"And as strong as Angel was,he had no doubt he could kill him quite easily,which was what Flemming wanted him to do,obviously.He'd be damned if he'd give the sicko what he wanted,but he'd also be damned if he'd let Angel kill him.

Angel charged again,but this time showed some intelligence;he anticipated Logan's move and gave him a solid side kick to the head,sending him stumbli! ng back as Angel grabbed him and threw him face first into the wall.But as Angel launched himself at him,Logan spun around,lashing out with his fist,and hit him in the side of the face,knocking him to the floor."Back off,"he snapped angrily,even though he knew Angel wasn't exactly compos mentis right now.

That blow should have knocked Angel out-he had enough fighting experience to know that-but he was up on his feet in no time,snarling as a bruise began visibly forming where he'd hit him.He was just pissing Angel off and making him worse. At least that feeling was mutual.

Angel charged with a wild swing,an attempt at a right cross that he ducked under,but at the same time he buried a foot in Logan's stomach,sending him backwards.But he managed to keep on his feet as Angel connected with a left hook that instantly dislocated his jaw,and grabbed him hard by the throat,cutting off his oxygen and lifting him off his feet.

He felt his jaw relocate itself with a small! click even as dark spots began winking in and out before his eyes as Angel squeezed even tighter on his throat,and started bringing him closer,baring his fangs.Christ,was he actually going to bite him?!

He kicked out,hitting him in the chest,but it wasn't enough to make him let him go,even though he heard at least one of his ribs break on contact.He didn't want to do it,but his blood was roaring in his ears,and he was on the verge of suffocating.He extended one set of claws and slashed downward,slicing open Angel's forearm and chest,and he dropped him with an angry snarl of pain.

Logan managed to land on his feet even as he choked for air,and Angel looked down at the blood running from the trio of gashes on his arm and criss crossing his chest,and his growling reached a new,angry peak as he charged anew,in a frenzy of animal rage.

He showered him with a flurry of blows,so fast Logan managed to block only half,but he gave as good as he got,landing solid body blows that obviously hurt Angel and snapped bones,but it only increased th! e sloppy frenzy of his attack.

Logan knew he was probably going to have to kill him...but he couldn't.No,he wasn't crazy about the guy,but he had helped him out,and he'd never have found the asshole behind all of this without his help.He gave him a kick to the side of the leg that sent Angel crashing to one knee,and then gave him a hard punch just beneath the jaw that sent him slamming down to the steel floor on his back,as close to unconscious as he could come in his current drugged state.

Logan retreated a couple of steps to catch his breath,and wiped a trickle of blood from a split lower lip that had already healed shut."Why couldn't you be immune to the fucking drug?"He spat,disgusted to have the familiar old taste of his own blood in his mouth.

And that's when it hit him:blood.

Flemming had said Angel wanted his blood,and he had tried to bite him,like vampires supposedly did...but was it transferable?And what would be enough if it was?

Only one way ! to find out.God,this was insane.

Angel jumped back to his feet,a b it more unsteady than last time,dark splotches of bruises now discoloring his blood streaked chest.He continued to growl angrily,looking more and more like a mad dog.

"You want my blood,huh?"He asked,and extended a single claw,which he drew down his own forearm.The blood welled up in a neat crimson line,and remained for about five seconds or so before the skin healed shut again,but Angel had seen it and smelled it;he could tell by the way he seemed to tense,his muscles primed like coiled springs.He extended his newly healed arm,and said,"Then come on,Angel-bite me."

He didn't need to wait for a reaction;Angel slammed him back first against the wall,pinning his arms to his sides,and sunk his fangs into his throat.Being bitten was bizarre enough,but feeling him drinking his blood was beyond bizarre;it was surreal.

He was pretty sure he was never going to tell anyone about this.

The noises Angel made was disturbing,greedy gulps mixed with small noises of animal ! satisfaction,and he figured enough was enough.He rammed his knee into Angel's groin and broke his arms free as he grunted in pain from the fangs tearing out of his throat violently,then gave Angel a sharp uppercut that sent him stumbling backwards."Don't be a greedy bastard,I still need some,"he chided,leaning against the wall as his equilibrium briefly wavered,and he felt warm blood gushing down his chest from the hole Angel had inadvertently ripped in his neck.But even as he reached up to touch the ugly wound,he felt it healing over,his skin quickly knitting back together as his consciousness seemed to solidify,the light headedness dissipating rapidly.

Angel was still looking at him like meat on the hoof,his blood smeared on his lips and chin,his growling reduced to a back of the throat noise a tiger about to pounce might use.How long would it take to work if it was going to?

Logan was still pondering that when Angel charged again,but he kicked him in the face,sen! ding him back,and then followed up with a punch hard enough to send hi m down to the floor again.Angel landed on all fours,but Logan kicked him hard in the stomach,sending him sprawling onto his back."Come on,Angel,snap out of it!I don't think you can take much more."

He knew he should probably stop hitting him,but he had to make this look good,because god knew what Flemming would pump into the pit if he had a clue what was going on.

Angel started to get up,but then collapsed back on his side,wrapping his arms around his stomach. Logan saw his face suddenly change,his eyes reverting to their usual dark brown as his brow shrunk back to normal,along with his teeth."What the hell..?"He gasped breathlessly,his eyes still slightly glazed.He wasn't sure if it was due to drugs or pain or both.

"You're trying to kill me,"he hissed,pretending to pause and catch his breath."Flemming's watching,let's make this look good.And put on your weird face again,if you can."

"My weird - oh."He licked his lips,and his eyes widened in horror as he wip! ed his mouth and gazed at his blood smeared palm."This is human blood."He began searching the pit with his eyes,presumably for a human corpse.

Damn it;he was hoping he was so out of it he wouldn't remember,and he never had to tell him.Maybe he could fudge a bit."You didn't kill 'em,don't worry."

Angel stared at him,his eyes growing less cloudy by the second,and he got a stunned look on his face that suggested he guessed what had happened if he didn't precisely remember."I fed off you?"He asked.

"Get up and attack me,asshole,before he suspects something,"Logan whispered harshly.Although it was a genuine concern,honestly he didn't want to discuss this,especially not now.Or ever.He was already working hard to forget it.

Angel rolled up to his feet,his face instantly morphing into his ugly,fangy visage,and took a wild swing that had no hope of connecting. Logan stepped under it and gave him a rabbit punch to the kidneys that doubled him over,even though he great! ly pulled the punch."No fake fighting,Angel-hit me!"Angel glanced up a t him curiously,and Logan pointed out,"I'm stronger than you.You can't really hurt me,and we have to be convincing."

Angel looked doubtful-even with his weird face on,it was obvious he was 'here';there was a light of intelligence somewhere behind his yellow eyes-then suddenly hit him with an uppercut that sent him crashing back into the wall."You have a plan?"He whispered,as he came in for a second punch.

Logan let him land it before ramming his knee into Angel's solar plexus,sending him reeling backwards."See that window on the left?"He asked,throwing a punch that Angel blocked with his left forearm before wrapping his arm around his and throwing him half way across the pit.Logan stayed on his feet,but he was pretty impressed;Angel seemed to be a better fighter when not stoned out of his gourd.

Angel charged in again for a tackle,and again Logan let him,even though he threw him on his back so hard he was left mostly breathless for a few seconds.Still,Logan got h! im back by punching him in the jaw,pulled slightly but not enough not to hurt him a bit."It's guarded by an electrical field,"he continued,getting a knee up and throwing Angel off him.As he landed on his back,he rolled and got back up to his feet,but he looked like he was in some pain now."It's lethally charged,but I'm pretty sure I can push through it and kill one of the emitters,"Logan continued,rolling up to his own feet.They then stalked each other like circling panthers,slowly but surely getting closer to Flemming's hiding place."But once I do I'll probably be out for a while.Can you bust through the window and get that son-of-a-bitch?"

Angel proved he was worth saving by not even hesitating."Of course,yeah.But maybe I should I take out the emitter."

"Are vampires immune to electricity?"

"No.But neither are you."

"Do you have claws?"

"No."

"Then how are you going to take out the emitter?"

Angel didn't have an answer for that,and he didn't th! ink he would.They exchanged a brief series of weak punches before resu ming their circling stance,close enough to the electrical field that even Angel must have felt it now."What was his plan?Do you know?"Angel wondered curiously.If they told him anything before he was drugged,he'd obviously forgotten.

"To kill all mutants by creating a plague.He tested the virus on me and he failed.He seems to think he was 'infected' by a mutant,but he doesn't smell all that human,and frankly,he's a fucking nut."Logan decided he was as ready for this as he was ever going to be."On three.You follow my lead,got it?"

"Got it,"Angel agreed,and then added,hesitantly,"Thank you."

Logan decided to pretend he didn't know what he was thanking him for;it was just easier that way.

"One,"Logan mouthed,edging closer to the field.Angel tensed,hands clenching into fists at his side."Two."He extended his claws,and risked a glance at the opaqued window,and the emitter at its side,a metal box shaped device that looked not unlike an incomplete toaster.He just hop! ed it wasn't made of adamantium,or this whole thing was going to be pointless."Three!"He shouted,and dove towards it,right claw raised in striking position.

He tasted the electricity in his mouth as he felt it sizzle along his body,tendrils of blue fire arcing off his claws,and the pain quickly reached a level so intense he really didn't feel it;he was all numb,his muscles spasming and no longer under his control.But he had anticipated that,which is why he had readied himself to strike.As he crashed to the steel floor,he managed to bring his claw down,and sliced through the emitter like wet paper.

Sparks erupted on contact from from his claws,and voltage seemed to shudder through his body,following the frame of his metal skeleton.He had time to think that it was a lot like being struck by lightning before the world fell away around him.

It was fairly thick but gave like fragile ice,exploding into a million dark shards of glass as he managed to land on his feet in what appeared to be a plush master control room:electronic panels and video monitors lined both side walls,and a desk full of control switches sat in the center of the room,which a startled Flemming instantly ducked behind,trying to save himself from the shower of glass.

"Security!"He shouted,as Angel noticed a digital video camera hit the red carpeted floor and smash to pieces at his feet.He wasn't only taping;he was broadcasting.