...
"Are we starting right now?"
Goku gripped Logan's hands, his face alight with anticipation. Because Logan's initial move hadn't felt like a true attack, Goku hadn't immediately retaliated with force. Otherwise, instead of a polite question, Logan would have been met with a flying kick the moment their hands made contact.
"Son, wait! Don't do anything yet!" Gabriela hurried over, gently pulling Goku back like a mother coaxing a restless child. She was terrified that a fight between Goku and the legendary Wolverine would break out right here in the motel parking lot.
On the drive from the border, she had managed to chat with Goku. She learned that he had studied martial arts since he was very young and was wandering the world to find powerful masters to duel. His goal was to sharpen his skills for something called the "Tenkaichi Martial Arts Tournament" in three years' time.
While Gabriela had never heard of such a tournament, she assumed it was just a boy's vivid imagination. When she was a little girl, she used to watch television and fantasize about being a Magical Girl, destined to face off against a great evil king to become the Queen of Magic.
She figured Goku was the same. Perhaps he had actually studied some Kung Fu from a traveler during his wanderings—after all, everyone knew Easterners were fond of martial arts.
Combined with his natural mutant strength, it was easy to see how he could get lost in his own fantasies. She knew better than to mock him; he'd grow out of it eventually, though he'd probably feel very embarrassed about it when he was older.
"Okay," Goku said, nodding with a hint of disappointment.
Master Roshi had taught him well: a true martial artist respects the will of others. He wouldn't force a spar on someone who wasn't willing—unless, of course, they were a villain. You didn't need a bad guy's permission to punch them.
"Mr. Logan, listen to me," Gabriela said, turning back to the weary man. "Even if we weren't here, the Institute has already targeted you. They've known your location for a long time. That's how I was able to find you in the first place."
She took a deep breath, laying her cards on the table. "Helping us is helping yourself. I have thirty thousand dollars right here. If you safely escort us to the North Dakota border, I can get you another twenty thousand when we arrive."
She actually only had thirty thousand, but she was desperate. She hoped to figure out a way to get the rest once they were safe.
"What did you say?" Logan's expression hardened. He needed the money, but he didn't want blood money. However, the phrase "they've known your location" struck a nerve. It concerned the safety of the Professor.
"Inside. I'll tell you everything," Gabriela said, relieved that he was finally listening.
...
Inside the cramped motel room, Laura was sitting silently in front of the television. Gabriela sat Logan down and began to recount everything she knew about the Transigen project, the GMO food suppressants, and the fate of the children.
"If you don't believe me, I have the footage I stole from the lab," she added, pulling out a small device.
As the grainy, horrifying videos of children being treated like lab rats played out, Goku's tail bristled, the fur standing on end. "Those monsters!"
He had thought the Red Ribbon Army was as bad as it got—turning humans into androids and killing for sport—but this felt even colder. He made a silent vow: once he got Gabriela and Laura to safety, he would come back and level that laboratory to the ground.
Logan sat in silence for a long time, his face a storm of conflicting emotions. Finally, he let out a long, ragged sigh.
Charles had told him he sensed new mutants, but Logan hadn't believed him. He thought it was just the Professor's dementia-fueled hallucinations. He believed the world was empty, leaving only him, Charles, and Caliban to rot. It was the source of his despair. Why was he still here when everyone else was gone?
His logic told him to run. His heart, buried under years of scar tissue, told him he couldn't let these children be dragged back to that hell. Plus, if their location was already compromised, they had to move anyway.
"We can't stay here," Logan growled. "We're going to my place first."
"Yes! Let's go!" Gabriela's eyes lit up. She knew the Wolverine was back.
...
They quickly packed their meager belongings and piled into the long, black luxury limo Logan used for his work.
Shortly after the limo's taillights vanished into the distance, Donald Pierce and a small army of Reavers surrounded the motel.
Pierce walked into the lobby, took a cold soda from the fridge, and looked down at the trembling motel owner who was being held at gunpoint. He smiled thinly as an operative showed her photos of Gabriela, Laura, and Goku.
"Have you seen these three?"
"Yes! Yes!" she stammered. "They just left in a long black limo!"
Pierce's brow rose. He signaled the operative to show a photo of Logan. "Was he the driver?"
The woman nodded frantically. "That's him! That was the man!"
"So, you didn't listen to my warning, Logan," Pierce muttered, his voice dropping to a dangerous chill. "You're choosing to die."
He turned to his men. "Kill them all. Leave no witnesses."
As the sounds of gunfire erupted behind him, Pierce walked back to a specialized command van parked outside. Inside sat Dr. Zander Rice.
"Doctor, Logan has taken the bait," Pierce reported.
"Then we'll settle it all at once," Rice replied coldly. "It's a perfect opportunity to field-test the X-24."
Rice had originally left Logan and the senile Charles Xavier alive for two reasons. First, if X-24 failed, he needed Logan's DNA for further study. Now that X-24 was a success, the original was obsolete.
The second reason was that Hydra had protected them. But with a functional clone army on the horizon, Rice no longer felt the need to bow to Hydra's whims.
Besides, Logan was the man who had killed his father, Dale Rice, during the original Weapon X breakout. Zander had waited a lifetime for this moment of vengeance.
However, as Dr. Rice began finalizing the deployment orders for X-24, his most trusted assistant—the man standing right beside him—discreetly pulled out a phone. He quickly sent an encrypted burst of data to his true superiors.
He was a Hydra deep-cover agent, codename: "Stick Insect."
...
Mutant Classification Guide
Epsilon (Level 1) Minor powers, often physical deformities. Caliban (tracking)
Delta (Level 2) Functional powers, look human. Various street-level mutants
Beta (Level 3) Powerful but occasionally unstable. Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm
Alpha (Level 4) Extreme power, capable of city-scale destruction. | Professor X, Magneto
Omega (Level 5) God-like power, planetary or reality-warping. | Phoenix (Jean Grey)