Where am I? Why, why can’t I feel anything? You’re not supposed to feel. No! Stop! I can’t breath! The light, it burns! Why can’t I close my eyes?! Your eyes will never close again. I don’t wanna see this! You have no choice. You’re not human. Then what am I? What have you done to me? Standing in front of Daken when he awakens, Logan, covered in blood, tells him “don’t worry, you’ll get used to it, just like me.”
Awaking from his nightmare, Logan yells at no and finds himself on the floor of a Grand Central Station restroom. He discovers that Victor is gone and wonders if he’s too late. He tries to concentrate. Tinkerer was there, so was Victor. Daken must’ve been there somewhere. Romulus set it up, put Daken and Tinkerer together. Victor is security, makin’ sure he stays clear. Victor is Romulus’ man on the ground, makin’ sure it all goes accordin’ to plan. Victor is gone because his job is done. Daken and Tinkerer are gone, secure somewhere. It’s happening right now.
Concentrating, he discerns that Victor’s job isn’t done. Daken and Tinkerer aren’t secure. Romulus knows he won’t quit, Romulus knows he doesn’t die. Find Victor – find Daken. Standing up, he tells himself that he has to stop concentrating and let it go. He has Victor’s scent, he got it when he punched him. He can track him, he can use what they gave him. Forget about what he wants to be, embrace what he is. Let it all go. With that, Logan takes off out of the bathroom and past shocked onlookers.
Inside his workshop, Phineas Mason, the man known as the Tinkerer, tells Daken that he’s not human; he’s just like his father, physiologically at least. What he finds more fascinating is the blade he brought him, what does he call it? Daken says the Muramasa blade, a portion of it. Mason states that at first glance, it looks like a truly exceptional example of tamahagane, the black-sand steel used for centuries to make… Daken cuts him off and tells him that he knows what tamahagane is. Mason replies isn’t he just so very educated. Mason adds that whatever it is, it isn’t actually even metal. It’s some sort of plasmic form disguising itself as metal. Luckily for them, the disguise is flawless, he should be able to treat it just as he would any other refined steel. In theory, this should be quite easy, provided he doesn’t kill him in the process.
He then tells Daken that, since the metal cannot come into contact with his soft tissues without catastrophic effect, he’s manufactured sheaths out of adamantium. They will be anchored inside his forearms. Unlike his father, whose claws are braced by an entire skeletal system bonded with adamantium that acts as a shock absorber, he’s going to have to be extremely careful when he uses his. The metal from the sword blade and the organic material it’s bonded to can be broken, shattered. The resulting shrapnel would be devastating. His advice – be close, be sure.
As Daken lies down on the table, he tells Mason how sweet, he cares. Mason informs him that his instructions to he have nothing to do with concern for his personal safety. He is a master of his craft. What he does today will reflect that. It would offend him greatly to see his work wielded clumsily by an ignorant amateur. As he starts to cut into Daken’s arm with a scalpel, Daken winces in pain. Looking at the arm, he mentions that this is going to take a bit longer than he thought.
Exiting Grand Central Station and entering the streets of New York, Logan thinks to himself that he has to move faster and keep the scent. There are a lot of scents, but only one that matters. His, Victor’s. Just then, Logan sees Victor running into an alley-way. Victor Hudson is Romulus’ dog. If he finds Victor, he finds Daken. As Logan approaches him, Victor grabs hold of him and slams him into a nearby window with very little effort.
A cop sees what is happening and begins to head over in that direction. Some locals attempt to stop him and tell him that he doesn’t have to do that. He doesn’t have to throw his life away. That’s not a man he’s chasing after, it’s a monster. Enraged, Logan faces off against Victor again and is able to dodge one of his massive fists. Meanwhile, Logan fights an internal war between himself. Part of him wants to kill Victor but another part knows it is wrong.
Just as he goes to slash Victor with his claws, the cop calls out to them to freeze and Victor takes advantage and delivers a massive blow to Logan’s cranium. When Victor begins to lumber off, the cop tells him to freeze again and points his gun at him. Logan proceeds to angrily knock him down and holds his claws up to his face. Scared, the cop tells Logan that he has a kid.
Logan leaves the man and heads off after Victor again. He had a kid too. He’s been keepin’ the rage inside in check for so long. Once he lets it out… Leaping into the open manhole cover, Logan catches the Tinkerer’s scent on the passing train. He knows that means Daken’s there too. He’s so close, he can’t let the rage blind him. He has to get hold o’ himself. When he attempts to lower himself between the train cars, Victor grabs him by the foot and slams him into the other train car. As Logan falls to the ground, Victor releases the connection that is holding the two train cars together.
Instinctively, Logan grabs hold of the train car that Victor is on and screams in pain as he hold onto it. Victor proceeds to kick him numerous times in the head. While he does, Logan realizes that he’s doin’ it to him again – pushin’ him back so he’ll go forward, toward him, toward Romulus and away from his son. Hearing the words “I am what you will become,” Logan realizes what he has to do and lets go of the train. Getting up, Logan walks back into the train and goes to find Daken and save him. He also has to pray that he’s not too late.
Entering the workshop, Logan sees Daken inside a giant test-tube with a number of wires coming out of him. Logan angrily asks Mason what he’s done to his son. Mason replies that he did what he was paid to do; he turned a man into a weapon. Just then, the test-tube breaks open and Daken stands there with Muramasa claws coming out of the inside of his wrists. The other two claws in his forearms on each hand are still made of bone. Logan calls out to Daken no and tackles him, paying special attention to stay away from the inside claws. Eventually, Logan is able to pin Daken to the ground. Daken yells at him to let him go. He’s here, Romulus is on the train!
Logan tells him not anymore, he let him go. He was on the train car that Logan let loose, the one that Victor was on. Daken asks he let him… Letting Daken up, Logan tells says that it was Daken or Romulus. He had to make a choice. Daken angrily tells him that he made the wrong choice and jams his claws into Logan’s chest. As he does, Logan thinks to himself that Daken is right. He did make the wrong decision. He can see that now.
Five days later in Olagansk, Russia, a man by the name of Sergei asks Logan how it feels to be dead. Logan tells him that he ain’t. He realizes that he could’a been, easy. For whatever reason, Daken pulled back and didn’t use the Muramasa claw. He doubts it was outta the kindness of his heart but who knows? Maybe there’s hope for him after all. He can’t think about that now though. When Sergei shows him a newspaper that has a picture of a new group of sanctioned Avengers on it, he says that with a doppelganger in place, he is free to move, he is a ghost.
Logan knows he’s right. Havin’ Daken out in the open, playin’ the Wolverine part for Osborn, has made it easier for him to get around. But Romulus knows the truth an’ it’s him he’s there for. Romulus took away the one thing he had left to lose. That was a mistake. Now there’s nothin’ stoppin’ him. Nothin’ holdin’ him back – nothin’.
Inside a Russian prisoner, one of the head guards mentions to the prison warden that he has just been made aware of today’s prisoner transfer and that he feels that the facility is not equipped to deal with a prisoner of such… The warden cuts him off and tells him the transfer is happening and there is nothing that can be done about it. If there were, he would’ve done so by now. The guard leaves and asks his fellow guards if the isolation cells have been evacuated and the prisoners relocated as he asked. When the answer comes as yes, their prisoner arrives – Omega Red.
