Grudge Match

By PaBurke

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or universes and I didn't gain any money from borrowing them for a little while.

Cross: Dark Angel/ Wolverine

Word Count: 300

Alec had been cocky. He knew it, but he had been undefeated in the cage matches. He had expected more of the same tonight, but the short man with wild, black hair was proving difficult.

He called himself Wolverine and the code name -Alec knew it was a code name even before he saw the dog tags- fit. Wolverine hit like a locomotive and every time Alec struck the man, he could feel the impact all the way up his arm. Wolverine had been trained much like he had, but for longer. (Seriously, the man had at least a decade of experience on Alec.)

Alec's one advantage was that he was faster, even if he had to blur a bit to do it. He had assumed that he had better endurance, but Wolverine was barely winded an hour into the match.

Alec was not about to lose. He was curious though. He started asking Wolverine questions in between punches. His tentative jabs (with his mouth and not his fists) exposed that the man wasn't from Manticore.

Finally he came out and asked, "How much money did The Man sink into your body?"

Wolverine showed his teeth in what was most assuredly not a smile. "A couple billion dollars here and couple hundred deaths there. You?"

"Fresh off the assembly line." His reply was boastful, but he was beginning to wonder if he was outclassed here.

Wolverine landed a hit to Alec's chin that had him seeing stars from the mat. "Hope they broke the mold," he said before the transgenic blacked out.

When Alec woke up, Wolverine –and the match winnings- were long gone. He was glad that White (and Max) hadn't found him when he was vulnerable.

He was less cocky for the next fight (which he won easily).

*