Chapter One:
Walking down the streets of Chinatown in San Francisco, Logan thinks back to the first meeting of the new X-Men. Out of all of them – Sunfire, Storm, Colossus, Banshee, Thunderbird, Nightcrawler an’ him, he was the only one who actually knew why he was there. Later, Wolverine was called to Professor Charles Xavier’s office. When Xavier asked him if he knew why he wanted to see him, Wolverine replied that he’s not the mind reader there – he, Xavier, is.
Logan recalls Charles Xavier as the most powerful mutant telepath on the planet and that he knew it. Xavier informed him that his question was a rhetorical one. Anyway, he knows he doesn’t know the answer. Neither does he, by the way, but he doesn’t really suppose it really matters. Logan remembers that Xavier was different then, cocky. The way he talked, the moves he made. The way he acted – like he was bulletproof. Eventually though, he found out he wasn’t, thanks to the man known as Bishop.
At a shop in Chinatown, Logan walks up to a guard and informs him that he has business with Tso Ren Wu. The guard tells him that he is busy to which Logan replies that he can see that. Calling out to Wu, who is weaving a basket, Logan asks him how it’s going. The guard yells at him that Wu does not speak aloud. Logan tells the guard to relax, he’ll do the talkin’. As Logan sits down in front of Wu, he remembers that he’s a Tibetan monk currently hidin’ out in the U.S. from the Chinese government. They go way back. Logan tells Wu that he has come asking for a favor. Pointing out a man across the street eating a bowl of soup, he tells Wu that though he doesn’t know it, that man with the hood is his son. Because of this, he is both dangerous and endangered. He asks that he keep him safe and calm. There is however, one more thing. If he doesn’t hear from him in one hour, he is to take him off the grid.
Walking down the halls of the X-Men’s headquarters, Logan thinks to himself that, with Charles gone, Emma Frost is the only psychic he knows powerful enough to sort out the mess inside Daken’s head. She’s helped him before when she told him that he had a son, he’s hopin’ she’ll do it ag…
Just then, Logan catches a scent. A scent that he recalls from the first time he was introduced to Scott Summers by Xavier. When Scott opens the door, he comes face to face with Logan and proceeds to ask him when he got there. Logan replies just then and asks him if he’s seen any old friends lately. Scott tells him that he doesn’t know what he’s…
Logan cuts him off and angrily rushes towards him. As he does so, he tells him yeah, he does. His scent’s all over him, Charles’ scent. Professor X is alive. Why didn’t he tell him? As Emma pleads with Logan to stop mentally, her request is ignored and Logan proceeds to punch Scott to the ground with a thunderous left fist, knocking his visor off in the process. Attempting to hold Logan back from inflicting any further damage, Emma asks how…
Logan thinks to himself that, over the years, he’s built up so much psychic scar tissue that it’s become like armor for his mind. Calmly picking his visor up, Scott informs Logan that he just came back from seeing Xavier. Logan asks Scott if he’s gonna let his girlfriend fight this one for him. That doesn’t surprise him, he’s been doin’ a lot o’ that lately, hasn’t he, gettin’ others to do his dirty work. Hearing what Logan has to say, Scott tells Emma to move out of the way. Emma tells him no and mentally informs him that they need him and for Scott to just walk away, she’ll handle this. Gritting his teeth, Scott mentally responds fine but warns her to be careful. When Logan’s like this, he’s completely unpredictable. There’s no telling what he’ll do.
Once Scott leaves, Logan flings Emma away from him and knocks her to the ground. Picking herself up, Emma tells him how dare he. Logan tells her that he thought he could trust her but he should’ve known better White Queen. Emma asks him if this is the way he wants it. Logan tells her no, this is just the way it is and angrily walks away.
In Chinatown, the driver of a car states that it has been one hour, time to go. With that, he speeds up to the front of the shop and a man in a hood and a monk get into the car. As it speeds off, the passenger of the car tells the driver that he did a good job. It was very noticeable. Let them pray that their distraction allowed Tso Ren Wu and his charge to escape without notice. While they talk, Wu and Daken board a bus.
Walking down the streets of San Francisco, Logan thinks to himself that Charles is alive and wonders why hasn’t he…? Where is he…? Before he can finish his thought, he accidentally bumps into a lady carrying a dog. Logan apologizes and begins to think that was the first time in a long time he’s actually bumped into somebody without it bein’ on purpose. His mind’s goin’ in a hundred directions at once. He’s gotta straighten up, get it together, focus. At this level o’ the game, with everything he has on the line, if he slips it’s guaranteed somebody’s gonna catch him. As he passes by an outside restaurant, Miss Sinister watches him pass by.
Chapter Two:
Continuing to walk the streets of San Francisco, two thoughts hit Logan at the same time. The world’s a big place to search. But the Professor was there, in this place, right up to a few hours ago. This is either gonna be flat-out impossible or else it’s goin’ to be a piece of cake. Sniffing the air, Logan finds Xavier at an outside restaurant. Walking up to him, Logan tells him that he looks good for a dead man. Xavier thanks him to which Logan asks him if he’s waiting for someone. Xavier tells him yes, he was waiting for him. He had a conversation with Scott and Emma which left him somewhat exhausted. While he was recuperating, he sensed his arrival and his urgency. Logan replies, “Yeah, tell me about it.”
In a monastery, Tso Ren Wu’s granddaughter shows Daken his room and tells him that he needs to stay away from the windows. She tells him the mattress is his bed and the bucket his latrine. Daken says that it’s like a prison. She replies no, not like a prison. He can leave whenever he likes. If he leaves, his grandfather’s promise to his friend is annulled. Leave now and she would be happy to call a cab and carry his…
Just then, she is cut off by her grandfather who signals to her. She responds by telling Daken that she is sorry. Daken asks that she’s sorry? She asks him to forgive her bad manners, she spoke foolishly and rudely. Going up to her, Daken says to her that granddad said she should make nice so how about a Swedish massage. She replies that she is not skilled but she will try and tells him to take off his shirt. Daken tells her to forget it; she doesn’t even smell good. He tells her and the other monks to leave him alone. As they leave, Wu’s granddaughter tells Daken that, if he needs anything, he should knock on the floor. Daken replies that he’ll be sure to do so but he can’t think of anything they missed though. Once he is alone, a voice calls to him from the roof and introduces herself to him mentally as Claudine. She then invites him up as it’s time they talked.
On the roof, Miss Sinister sits in a meditating pose. Daken approaches her and asks her what she is doing. Claudine replies what does it look like? Meditation makes the ego disappear. The self dissolves into the world. Being lost, you find yourself, freed from the accidents of personality. Daken asks really to which Claudine tells him nah, she was just catching a few zees until he got there. She then tells Daken that she’s been looking all over for him. He really makes a girl work for it, doesn’t he?
Daken asks that he doesn’t know her, does he? Claudine informs him not now; he had his memories stolen from him. She tells him to take a ride with her and she’ll give them back to him. Daken tells her that he’s waiting for someone. Claudine asks Logan? Logan’s no friend of his. Truth is, Logan did this to him. Daken tells her that he doesn’t believe her. He’s helped him since he pulled him out of the cave. If he was lying to him, he’d know it.
As Daken turns to go, Claudine puts her hand on Daken’s shoulder and asks him if he knows why he brought him there, what he’s doing right now. Daken tells her to move her hand or she’s gonna lose it. He’s got a lot of crazy impulses. Logan keeps it together better than he does. He adds that he’s gonna stick with him until he figures out how he does it. Watching Daken leave, Miss Sinister telepathically informs Shaw that’s where softly softly gets you and to bring on the clowns.
At the outside restaurant, Xavier remarks to Logan that he has a son? Logan tells him that he didn’t even know himself until a few months back. Xavier asks if he takes after him to which Logan states in some ways, yeah, in some of the worst ways. He was raised by a psychopath, brainwashed and conditioned and fine-tuned into a stone-cold killer. All his cards were marked straight down the line. Xavier replies that some of that sounds familiar. Logan replies that it should. He came up through the same school, the same process. But he managed to break free and so can Daken. As soon as he prepares the ground, the way he did with him.
Xavier asks as soon as he? Logan tells him that he knows what he means and he knows he can do it. He’s got to, nothin’ else is going to work. Xavier tells him that to be perfectly clear, what exactly is he asking him to do? Logan replies erase all that ingrained conditioning from Daken’s mind. Give him a chance to choose for himself who he wants to be. Getting up to leave, Xavier says that he’s done too much of that. Logan grabs him by the collar and asks if he’s got a conscience suddenly. This is what he does, this is what he always does when it needed doing. Xavier tells him no and not to ask this of him. Popping his claws, Logan says to him who said he was askin’?
Above the monastery, a fleet of helicopters fly over. The pilot of one of them tells Miss Sinister that they’re radar-invisible, but someone’s gonna sight-skag them inside of five minutes. They then state that they’re in the drop-zone, should they feed the target? Miss Sinister replies telepathically that she is looking at it now which means he should be too. Can he feel her in his visual cortex? She tells him not to make any sudden moves, or he might leave behind some part of his mind he still needs. The pilot calls her a screwy little witch and tells the other pilots to follow him in and launch on his mark.
With that, they drop a number of napalm cartridges upon the monastery. Before they hit, Wu’s granddaughter rushes into Daken’s room and tells him that they have to get out of there. They’ve found him and they’re… Before she can finish her thought, the napalm strikes the monastery and catches it on fire. As it burns to the ground, two guards stand at the entrance. One of them remarks that nothing is walking out of that. The other guard tells him to keep his eyes open anyway, Shaw said…
Just then, they are both killed by Daken when he emerges from the fiery inferno. Still aflame, Daken walks away from the monastery. When he does, Miss Sinister claps her hands and tells him bravo. Angrily walking up to her, he blames her for causing the destruction. Miss Sinister informs him that of course she did. She wanted to show him what he was, that’s all. And if any of this makes him sad, feel free to stay there and cry about it. But contrariwise, if it reminds him of old times, he should really come and play with Claudine. Before she walks away, Miss Sinister places a Hellfire guard mask on the ground.
At the outside restaurant, Logan asks Xavier what he sees. Xavier replies his claws of course. And himself, reflected in the metal. He then asks Logan if he’s trying to preach some sort of parable. Logan replies that he’s tryin’ to make sure he sees the truth. Maybe he forgot it now, the way he did for all those years but it’s in there somewhere. He made him, broke him in pieces and rebuilt him from scrap.
Xavier says that he doesn’t understand. Logan tells him that he thinks he does. Xavier tells him that the gaps in his memories were always there from the first time he met him. Logan tells him to read his mind. When Xavier tells him no, Logan asks him what he’s afraid of. Read it, and he’ll see the whole story. Starting with the day he came to the X-Men. The day he let him in through the door even though he knew damn well he’d been sent there to kill him! In the process of reading Logan’s mind, Xavier sees the image of Wolverine standing over him with his claws extended, prepared to deliver the killing blow!
