Standing alongside three people he has never met before, facing off against the Administrator, Logan thinks to himself that there was a time when the unpredictability o’ life bothered him. He was younger then, smoother skin, less hair, and he didn’t like all the guesswork. He always wanted to know how each chapter in his life ended, sometimes before it began. He doesn’t know if it’s age or just the fact that he’s seen it all before that’s made him more patient. And don’t believe for a second that you can life your life as a mutant, with senses and abilities that set you apart from most other people, without seein’ your fair share o’ everything. What he hasn’t seen firsthand at some point in his life always makes itself known eventually. And even if it has a new name it all looks the same after a while. That makes figurin’ out what happens next easier.
As the four of them, Logan, Hardwire, a young man and a young lady with a gun for a hand leap into action, the young man tells the others to spread out and do what they came there for. It’s long past time they reminded the Administrator just how little they fear the Watchtower’s goon squad.
Continuing to take out the guards, Logan realizes that he’s only got the vaguest idea o’ what’s goin’ on there but he’s seen enough to know this place and everything it represents turns his stomach. This Watchtower, whatever it is, whoever they are, preys on mutants. He’s seen a lot o’ sick things in his life, tangled with more nut jobs than he cares t’ remember but this is different. These people have it in their heads that by dissecting mutants for their own personal gain, they can usher in some kind o’ golden age for the rest o’ humanity. They see themselves as visionaries, fighting to heal a sick world. He sees ‘em as more symptom than cure.
Leaping towards the Administrator with his claws unsheathed, Logan is told that he was warned earlier. As the Administrator grabs him by the throat, he tells Logan that attacking him directly is most ill-advised. Logan replies we’ll see about that and proceeds to slash the Administrator in the face. However, Logan’s claws don’t meet flesh, just air. Once they do, the Administrator begins to laugh and states that he, Logan, is letting his rage control his actions. Were he thinking clearly, his hyper-senses would have immediately revealed the true nature of the form before him.
Logan then realizes that his foe isn’t real. The Administrator informs him that they refer to it as hard light energy projection and asks did he really think he’d waste precious time confronting a wretched little beast like him himself? He then informs Logan that he was brought there because he served a specific purpose. Beyond that, he means less than nothing to him. Tossing him away, the projection of the Administrator fades away.
Picking himself up, Logan mentions that he’s gone. The young man who saved him tells him that is one of father’s favorite tricks and not to let him get to him. The complex is still swarming with guards. Slashing away at another guard, Logan says how about tellin’ him somethin’ he doesn’t know. Startin’ with what in blazes he an’ his merry band are supposed to be. And how they found him there, he’s never even heard of this “Watchtower” before.
Taking out a guard himself, the leader of the crew states that isn’t surprising. The X-Men only deal with the obvious threats. There’s a whole world out there that he knows nothing about. The Administrator, the Watchtower, they’re just the part of the iceberg you can see. Logan replies that still doesn’t answer his question about who he is or how he knows all this. He’s been around a long time; people just don’t appear out o’ nowhere. He then mentions that he called that Administrator guy “father.” The young man tells him that it’s too complicated a story to get into right now but he can call him Geronimo Crowe.
As he kicks another guard in the face, Crowe informs Logan that until recently, he was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. but what you see now is pretty much what you get. Delivering victims of the Watchtower to freedom has become something akin to his life’s work. He then tells Hardwire that he needs him to do another signature scan of the complex. If other mutants are being held there, they need to find them before they finish this.
In another room of the Watchtower, a couple of guards and Deadpool are in the process of transferring the fluid-filled tube containing Siryn. While they do, Wade looks down at her and says he’s probably said this like a gazillion times but everything’s going to be all right. Maybe it doesn’t seem that way just now but… well, let’s be honest – how could it? She’s in a vat filled with a chemical compound composed of mutant growth hormones or whatever. She can’t hear him blabbering on like a lovesick idiot there but she’s gotta take his word on this, it’s all gonna be fine. They promised him, it was all part of the deal.
Just then, the monstrous Hardwire bursts through the wall. Once he does, Wade remarks that this was so not part of the deal. Turning to the guards he tells them he has three words for them – what the heck? Logan tells him that it sounds like three’s his lucky number and proceeds to pop his claws. Seeing that, Wade states that this has “deal-breaker” written all over it. As Logan rushes towards Wade, Wade tells him ‘Let me guess, you’re a little mad because I tried to kill you. I can live with that.’ Logan tells him to give him a few minutes, he won’t have to.
Firing back with a kick to Logan’s jaw, Wade says to him ‘Give me a break, like you’re really gonna just skewer my spindly butt in cold blood.’ He understands that he’s got this tough as nails, “I’ll kill anyone if they look at me the wrong way” image to uphold, but c’mon. When was the last time he gutted someone that wasn’t just a nameless, faceless bit player in the story of his life. Not that he’s complaining, mind you. He wants to talk about putting his lights out, but never actually reaches for the switch; he has no problem with that.
Connecting with another flying kick to Logan’s skull, Wade tells him that the thing is this was never personal. He told him from the beginning that he’d simply been given an offer he couldn’t refuse. Sure, that sounds lame and all but frankly, it’s the best excuse he can come up with under the circumstances. Which isn’t to say that he’s running short on material or anything like that, he’d just like to avoid putting his foot in his mouth while he’s using it to bash in his head. Blocking another kick from Wade, Logan tells him that he has no quarrels with him for what he did. He can’t change who he is. Wade replies that he knows several highly respected therapists who would strongly disagree with him on that point.
While Logan and Wade stop fighting, Hardwire tells Wade that he would do well to follow Wolverine’s directive. Looking behind him, Wade asks is it just him, or is that a Sentinel with dreadlocks kneeling behind him. Logan informs him that his name is Hardwire and he’d stay on his good side if he were him. Wade replies that at least that’s an option and then asks Logan a fairly obvious question to him. What is he doing employing big freakin’ mutant-killing robots as backup? Kinda seems like a conflict of interest, him being a mutant and all. Logan replies funny he should ask that ‘cause that’s the point he was tryin’ to make earlier is that he accepts that he’s a back-stabbing jerk willing to kill for the highest bidder but what he can’t stomach is who he’s doing it for.
Arriving on the scene, Geronimo Crowe tells Wolverine that he’s wasting his breath on him. They should just deal with him and keep moving. He then calls out to the young lady on his team, Shooter. Logan proceeds to tell Wade that he’s puttin’ him in a real tough position and asks if he has any idea what the Watchtower is up to. Wade responds in a general sense, yeah. And he can’t say he was entirely opposed to it. After hearing that, Shooter tells Crowe that she’s losing her patience with this one’s mouth. Wade tells her enough of this and leaps towards Shooter. While he does, he tells her that talking through this seemed like a swell idea at first but he doesn’t have time for all their self-righteous garbage.
However, once he gets close, Shooter blasts him with her hand-gun and tells him there’s one thing they agree on then. He should learn to curb his tongue, might make things easier for everyone involved. When her blasts connect with Wade’s body, it knocks him violently backwards and he lands with full force on Siryn’s tube. When he does, the tube cracks open and Theresa Cassidy, Siryn, discovers that she can speak.
Flying into the air, she unleashes her sonic scream. Once they hear it, Crowe and his crew asks if this is normal behavior for this one, her voice is so shrill. Logan agrees but adds that the fact that they’re even hearing her voice is something of a minor miracle. Siryn lost her sonic scream during a run-in with a group called the New Hellions. Her throat was slashed and her vocal cords severed but now… Hardwire finishes his thought that all appearances indicate that her injuries have been healed. Wade states that was the plan. It’s not like he just threw in with the Administrator and his gang just because it sounded like a fun ride.
Turning her attention to Wade, Theresa asks him if he’s sayin’ he’s the only one responsible fer this, that he’s the one who did all this to her? Wade replies that he didn’t do anything directly. He means, he did, but not to her. That was, well, that was, um, exactly what kind of answer is she looking for here. Theresa informs him that she’s not angry with him, she’s just lookin’ fer some kind of explanation. If he did this, it’s a wonderful thing. Whatever risks he took, whatever sacrifices he made, she can’t begin to explain how it feels to have her voice back, how it feels to be whole again. Wade tells her that he thinks he’s got a good idea but before she starts singing his praises too loudly, she should probably hear how this all came about. Interesting story, but the “feel good hit of the year” it ain’t. Theresa tells him that whatever he did, it can’t be as bad as he’s makin’ out.
Logan pipes in and tells her that he wouldn’t bet on that. The folks responsible for her recovery put out a hit on yours truly and Wilson’s the one who agreed to carry it out. And he’s only now beginnin’ to realize that her voice was restored because o’ that. Theresa tells him that she’s not sure she follows him. How would he possibly? Logan tells her that the creeps that run this joint call themselves the Watchtower. They were takin’ his blood so they could try an’ replicate his healing factor. Figured they could heal the world or somethin’ like that. Wade says that it can’t have been that bad of an idea, there is plenty wrong with the world.
Crowe proceeds to tell Wade that he’s wrong. He’s not going to stand there and say that it’s a bad thing this woman has been healed or that he didn’t have the best intentions in all this but there’s no questioning the sheer wrong-headedness of entering into a relationship with the Watchtower. He’s got no quarrel with him though, it’s the Administrator he wants. Theresa asks Logan what he feels about this. If there’s a feud brewin’ between him and Wade, he’ll choose to stand beside ‘im. Logan tells her that she’d be makin’ a bad choice, but he’s with Crowe on this. The Watchtower’s the real enemy here.
Crowe replies good, let’s go get ‘em. His group and he have been tracking down as many of the Watchtower’s safe houses as possible in their search for the Administrator. They have another site in mind, if he wants a piece of the action. Wade tells them that they can count him out. He has to get the young lady home and all that. Logan responds that he’s in though. But first, he wants him to set him straight on what’s been going down between him and the Watchtower. And he doesn’t care if it’s a longer story than the history o’ the whole flamin’ world; he wants to know why he calls the Administrator “father.”
Grabbing Wade by the hands and flying off, Theresa tells him that she appreciates what he did for her but she can’t say it didn’t tie her guts into knots when she learned what he had done to buy back her health. Logan’s a good man and he betrayed him, she can’t say she’s not ashamed of him even though he made it possible for her to do this again. Wade replies that if it makes any difference at all, he wouldn’t have really let them kill the old coot. Maybe he would have, but he would have felt really bad about it. It would have haunted him night and day and he would have… Theresa tells him Wade… Deadpool tells her he gets it, he’ll stop talking now.
With Siryn and Deadpool gone, Logan turns his attention to Crowe and tells him that he can start any time but like he told him, he wants some answers. Crowe informs him that he’ll get them but not now, he wouldn’t understand yet, trust him on that. Logan tells him no offense but under the circumstances, he doesn’t do trust.
At another location, some time later, Logan stalks one of the Watchtower’s guards. While he does, he thinks to himself that he did take Crowe at his word. No need to create trouble before he’s decided it’s warranted. That can wait until he’s dealt with the Administrator and his Watchtower. The more he thinks about what they did to him, what they took from him, the more he wants to take something from them. After choking out the guard, Logan calls out to the Administrator to show himself, he can feel him watchin’ him.
At that moment, the Administrator appears in holographic form and tells Logan that he’s a persistent man, and that he means that as a compliment. A lesser man would simply have considered himself lucky to have survived his ordeal. He is not satisfied with that. Logan replies that he violated him, tried to use him as a lab rat but he survived. But not everyone’s gonna be that fortunate and that’s why he’s bringing him down. The Administrator tells him correction, that’s why he’ll try. He admires his tenacity but make no mistake, he will never get close enough to him to, as he says, bring him down. So rest assured that they will make good use of the “gifts” they have taken from him… Logan cuts him off and tells him to put the thought of any further recourse out of his mind, it will never happen. The governments of the world would not allow it.
Exiting the forest, Crowe asks him what happened. Logan tells him that it was another hologram and a load o’ hollow threats. It isn’t over yet though. The Administrator thinks he knows what he’s capable of, thinks he knows how to stay out o’ reach but this doesn’t end there. Whatever’s going on, whatever he isn’t, or won’t tell him about the Watchtower, he’s aware of ‘em now. He won’t rest until this “Tower” they’ve worked so hard to build in the dark is exposed for what it is and lies crumbled at his feet.
