The engine hummed as it crossed the New York state line. Logan sat with one hand on the wheel, the orange glow of a gas station cigar (unlit, for Bruce's sake) resting between his teeth.
Bruce was staring out at the rolling hills of Westchester County. He looked like a man trying to remember a dream he had a decade ago.
"You really think Xavier can help me, Logan?" Bruce asked softly. "I've spent my life trying to help others, researching gamma radiation because I thought it would be the key to healing the world. And I failed, I created something that breaks the world. Now i've got the love of my lifes father after me."
Logan didn't look away from the road. "Charles is different, Doc. He don't look at you like a science project. He looks at you like a person. He's got a school full of kids who the world treats like monsters. You'll see. If anyone can help you figure things out, it's him."
"Tell me about them," Bruce said, a small, tired smile touching his lips. "The kids. You mentioned a few names back in Canada."
Logan shifted in his seat, his expression softening in a way that would have shocked the soldiers who'd seen him in Asgard. "There's Kitty. Half-pint. She can phase through solid matter, but she's got a heart bigger than this truck. She's a teenager, bratty but she's a good kid. And Kurt... he's blue, got a tail, looks like a devil. But he's a circus performer with the soul of a saint. Kid's a genius at finding the bright side of things."
"And the ones you... care about?" Bruce prodded gently.
Logan's grip on the wheel tightened just a fraction. "I care about all of them...But Rogue. She's tricky. She feels like the whole world is against her, like there's nothing good out there for her. So I try all I can to help her. And Jean... Jean's got something in her. Something stronger than what you got, but she wants to be normal. If that makes sense."
He paused, the image of a silver-haired woman with eyes like a summer storm flashing in his mind. "Then there's Ororo. Storm. She... she's the one who keeps me from drifting too far. She can control storms, but she's the calmest person I've ever known. It's... complicated with her, Bruce. I ain't the kind of guy who says much, but being around her makes things seem brighter you know?"
Bruce nodded, his gaze distant. "I had that once. Betty. She was my storm. My calm. My father, Brian... he was a man of cold science and he was abusive. He hated me because I was 'different' even before the bomb. He killed my mother in front of me. I spent my whole life trying to be the opposite of him. I became a scientist to build things, to fix things. Then I built the Gamma Bomb. I thought it was a deterrent. A way to save lives through strength."
He let out a hollow laugh. "Instead, I just became my father's pet project. I became the monster he always said was inside me. Now, Betty's gone, and all I have is regret."
"You ain't your father, Bruce," Logan said, his voice like grinding gravel. "And you ain't a monster. You're just lost, and you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it was all for the right reasons. That's who you are. The rest? That's just the hand we were dealt."
---
They pulled into a roadside motel called *The North Star*. It was a row of low-slung brick rooms with a gravel lot that crunched under the tires. It was the kind of place that didn't ask for a name if you had the cash.
"I'm taking a shower," Bruce said as soon as they got into the room. "If I'm in there for more than an hour, don't worry. I might just be trying to drown the green guy."
"Take your time, Doc," Logan said, sitting on the edge of the twin bed furthest from the door.
As the sound of splashing water echoed from the bathroom, Logan let out a long breath. He felt the familiar, silent thrum of the System in the back of his mind. He hadn't checked his logs since the chasm. He hadn't even seen the results of the Asgardian cluster-fuck or the Wendigo hunt.
"System," he thought. "Show me the backlog."
His vision blurred for a second before a sleek, dark blue interface overlaid the dingy motel room. It was crisp, far more advanced than the version he'd started with.
[MISSION LOGS: UNREAD NOTIFICATIONS]
[QUEST COMPLETE: THE ASGARDIAN SIEGE (SSS-TIER)]
[Outcome: SAVED ASGARD AND NEUTRALIZED THREAT HULK.]
[Reward: +10,000 XP (LEVEL UP: 4 -> 5 PROGRESS: 75%)]
[Reward: +2 STAT POINTS]
[Reward: GABRIEL VAN HELSING (6/10)]
Logan's heart skipped. *Seven shards.* He could feel the supernatural weight of the template growing. He moved to the next one.
[QUEST COMPLETE: THE BUTCHER OF SILVERCREEK]
[OUTCOME: TRACKED AND DEFEATED WENDINGOS]
[Reward: +1 STAT POINT]
[Reward: SKILL UNLOCK: [SCENT OF THE DAMNED] – PASSIVELY ATTRACK SUPERNATURAL CREATES ACROSS 10KM.]
[QUEST COMPLETE: BLOOD IS THICKER]
[OUTCOME: RESCUE TOMS FAMILY AND SAVE SILVERCREEK FROM WENDINGO CURSE]
[REWARD: +1 STAT POINT]
[REWARD: REPUTATION: 'The hero of the North' (Unknown to General Public)]
Logan stared at the numbers.
[CURRENT STATS]
[MUTANT PHYSIQUE: Level 3]
[MUTATION: LEVEL]
[SKILL: HOT CLAWS (ACTIVE)]
[SKILL: BERSERK RAGE (PASSIVE/ACTIVE)]
[SKILL: WEREWOLF TRANSFORMATION (FULL MOON/BERSERK RAGE TRIGGER)]
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 4]
He felt a surge of heat in his bones. The metal under his skin felt alive, humming with a frequency that made his teeth ache.
---
Outside the motel, two miles away on a ridge overlooking the valley, a group of figures watched through high-frequency thermal optics.
"Target is stationary," one whispered into a secure comm-link. "The anomaly is with him. Subject Wolverine hasn't moved."