Secret research base.
Keeping his word, Gambit personally piloted the helicopter he'd won to ferry Logan and Saitama over. As for John the teleporter—sorry, not enough seats. The poor guy had to stay behind at the bar.
Under cover of night, the three reached the airspace over the island base.
"Alright, this is it. Time to drop," Remy called back.
Sitting behind him, Wolverine swallowed. Before coming, he'd been full of righteous fury and bravado. But looking down from here… that was thousands of meters of air.
"Let's hope you don't become the first mutant to die from a fall," Remy joked. He glanced at Saitama. "Brother Saitama, the chute's beside you, so you can—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
Saitama's seat was empty.
"Logan, when are you jumping?"
Saitama's voice floated down from above.
Logan and Remy blinked, then followed the sound—only to be struck dumb.
Saitama was just standing there in midair, like he was on level ground.
"W-what the—Saitama? You… you can float?!"
Remy was stunned.
So that was Saitama's superpower? Every mutant had one or more abilities—some strong, some weak—but flight was rare.
"Barely… I guess," Saitama said, scratching his cheek.
He was only borrowing the Space Stone's power. Back then, Saitama had been known as the strongest on land.
On land…
Which meant he hadn't been able to fly. But after coming from the main Marvel world, he'd stored that entire world inside his portable micro-world; with the Space Cube on hand, he could tap spatial power whenever he felt like it.
Of course, for a salted-fish type like him, that was all too much trouble. He only moved when he felt like moving. Most of the time? Sunbathe—front, then back.
"Shall we head down?" Saitama asked Logan.
"Uh… I'll go myself!"
Logan coughed, embarrassed. He was still a big deal, after all. Let Saitama carry him? Where would he put his pride?
Without further hesitation, he shoved off the skids and dropped into a free fall.
Boom.
He landed headfirst with a spectacular thud—awkward, to say the least. Luckily, he'd hit a blind spot without cameras, so no alarms were triggered.
What surprised him was that he met almost no resistance on the way in—he went straight to the central research hub.
"Logan, welcome back to the field."
Without turning around, Stryker—white lab coat and all—watched the monitors. He didn't seem surprised to see Wolverine. What did surprise him was the odd bald man standing at Logan's side.
"Who is he? A mutant? Doesn't look like it. Not that it matters," Stryker said, finally turning a look on Saitama.
"I'm Saitama. A professional hero for fun."
Saitama scratched his head and introduced himself. Manners are manners.
"A professional hero? That's… an amusing profession."
Stryker blinked, giving Saitama another look. In this day and age, someone who called themselves a professional hero was either not right in the head—or just out of a psych ward.
"Before I pull your guts out, tell me why," Logan growled. He wanted nothing more than to kill Stryker with his own hands.
"I need your power to complete my guard."
Stryker's tone didn't ripple. "To finish the mutant killer—Deadpool."
"After years of research and refinement, I've finally found a method to pool powers into a single body without them dissipating. My son was one piece of that puzzle. And you, Logan—you're the final piece. You make Weapon X possible."
"I asked for your help, and you said you wanted a quiet life? Fine. I heard the only thing that moves you is revenge."
A familiar figure appeared behind Logan.
Kayla.
The woman he loved.
How? Wasn't she murdered by Victor?
"We monitor dangerous individuals. You are dangerous. Kayla's ability is tactile hypnosis—she can influence the minds of those she touches. She never loved you. Now tell him how you 'died' that day," Stryker said, glancing at Kayla with a confident smile. He knew Logan too well. Take away revenge, and Wolverine posed no threat—for now. That was why he dared face Logan's fury at all.
He also held Kayla's sister in his hand—the White Queen, the woman in Marvel who could turn her body into diamond, hard enough to shrug off bullets.
Kayla hesitated for two seconds. When Stryker's face started to harden, she had no choice but to speak.
"They injected me with cyanide that day—it slows my heartbeat until it looks like I'm dead."
Looks like dead?
What did "looks like" even mean?
The world turned meaningless to Logan. The grief that had torn him apart that night—the woman he'd loved against the whole world—
And now—
You're telling me it was all an act? A joke at my expense?
"Disappointed, Logan? I know you. Women don't have 'true hearts.' She's just my asset to keep eyes on you," Stryker said with a thin smile.
"I did love you," Kayla whispered.
Logan's heart was a knife board. He suddenly wasn't even sure why he was here. To avenge a woman who lied to him?
To fight the world for a woman—who stabbed him in the heart?
No wonder none of Stryker's mutants had come after him after he quit. So that was it. All of this—set up in advance.
Ridiculous.
"I…"
Kayla's lips trembled. She wanted to say more. Her sister—the White Queen—was in Stryker's grip. She had to obey. But Logan… she truly had feelings for him.
"You can go, Logan," Stryker said. His ultimate weapon—Wade, Deadpool—wasn't ready. He had no confidence fighting Logan now. Wolverine was his own creation; no one knew better than him how terrifying an enraged Logan could be.
Logan left like a hollow man, soul cracked into pieces.
"Ah."
Saitama sighed. He didn't really get relationship stuff. If Logan wasn't set on revenge, then there was no need for him to meddle either. He was just a salted-fish, after all.
When Logan and Saitama walked out of the hall, Kayla finally gathered her courage and faced Stryker. "I've done everything you asked. Now let my sister go."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For 20+ Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!] [[email protected]/Draumel]
[Thank You For Your Support!]