 |  MAY 2002 - #16 |
Part One: On a Long and Winding Road
by Paul Hahn
|
Part One: On a Long and Winding Road by Paul Hahn |
|
One man rides on a motorcycle, constantly going north. He's been driving for hours at a time over the past day and a half. His name is Logan, and he's a man on a mission.
Two days ago he learned a detail about the program that bonded the Adamantium to his skeleton: Weapon X. It wasn't a big detail . . . really, it was just more of a clue. Salluit, Quebec, Canada. And it was a clue stolen from the mind of a man who was a killer.
Logan knew that it probably wasn't worth pursuing. But he couldn't help it. He knew so little of his past . . . and he's confident that Weapon X did something to his mind. He wanted to learn what had happened . . . try to reverse it, or, if necessary, just seek revenge.
"Logan?" Jean Grey asked. "Where are you going?"
"Got some private business to take care of," he replied.
"Private business?" she asked. "I thought you couldn't remember your past . . . and basically didn't have anything to do until you met up with the X-Men."
"I remember a little," he said. "And I've got something to take care of. I'm not a prisoner here . . . I can leave when I please."
"I never meant to imply you couldn't," she said. "It's just kind of . . . sudden."
"Just the way life works sometimes," he shrugged.
"Where are you going?"
"Canada."
"How long will you be gone?"
"Don't know . . . " he shrugged, mounting his bike.
"What if something happens to you?" Jean asked. "How will we be able to help you out if--"
"I've survived a long time by myself, Jeannie," he cut her off. "I'll be fine. S'not like I'm headin' off ta war. Just got somethin' to like into."
Jean sighed. "Are you gonna come back?"
Logan nodded. "I'm an X-Man, ain't I?"
Jean grinned. "Be careful?"
"Darlin', I'm always careful."
But what would he find there? He wasn't exactly sure. What happened in those days of Weapon X . . . he doesn't quite know. It was a long time ago now. But every now and then, when he concentrated real hard . . . or just let his thoughts go . . . he'd remember . . . something . . .
"David, get up!" a voice yells. He concentrates. It's his voice. "Got no time!"
"Dammit," David replied, pushing himself up. The two made a break for it, running through thick trees.
Vietnam.
The two charged forward, running straight into a group of Vietcong. For most men, it would be suicidal.
A blast smashed into David, knocking him off his feet. Logan's claws popped out and tore into a crowd of soldiers. David got up, his armor singed, and fired an intense energy blast from his fists, killing a half dozen soldiers instantly.
"That was a bit close for my tastes," David frowned.
"Stone was supposed to've gotten these bozos," Logan frowned. "This mission's a disaster. How're the two of us supposed to deal with Charlie by ourselves? And where's Fox? She was supposed to be with him . . . and for a reason! To keep him from screwin' up."
"I'm more worried about Creed," David said. "It was a bad call on the General's part to leave the crucial part of the mission up to him."
"Well, come on," Logan said. "We've gotta make another pass . . . make sure our flank is clear and hope that Creed gets something right for once in his God forsaken life!"
Of course, it wasn't the best thing to do: have a flashback while going one hundred and twenty miles per hour on a motorcycle. But, if worse came to worse, Logan's unbreakable skeleton and amazing healing factor would probably let him walk away from just about any crash. Not to mention that his enhanced senses would also probably help him to steer clear of any possible trouble on the road.
Y'see, Logan's a mutant. Sometimes goes by the name of Wolverine. He's got, as mentioned above, heightened senses and an incredible healing factor, on top of Adamantium laced bones with claws that pop out of his hands. He's also an X-Man.
For a long time, he just kind of wandered around. He didn't have a home . . . at least, not one that he knew of. And it took him some time to get his head together. But then he came across a group of mutants . . . men and women with powers like he had. They called themselves the X-Men, and they believed in a dream where man and mutant can co-exist peacefully. They fight to protect a world that hates and fears them. And in them, Logan found a place to crash.
That is, at first.
But he really did think about it. Charles Xavier was the team's founder . . . the man with the dream. He was dead. But his dream lived on. And really, it was a goal worth fighting for . . . wasn't it? Peace?
Logan didn't know much about his life . . . but he did know war, hatred and violence played big roles in it. The idea of peace was frightening at first. But the more he thinks about it . . . the better it seems. After all . . . everyone deserves some happiness now and then. Some . . . peace . . .
He turned his head to see the beautiful woman sitting next to him.
Fox.
She was laughing. Not at him, though . . . it was a happy laugh. She was happy. He was happy. He was . . . in love?
"You're beautiful."
He heard the words come out of his mouth. He felt the soft skin on her cheek, her smooth, soft hair as he ran his hand past it.
"You . . . are amazing," she replied with a smile. She leaned over. Their lips met . . .
. . . then nothing.
The flashback ended, leaving Logan longing for something . . . but he didn't know what. Who was Fox? More than that, who was David? Or Creed? Or Stone?
The names sounded familiar, but . . . he just couldn't place them. They had to be with him at Weapon X. Was one of them the Marauder, Random? Random said to have been with Logan at Weapon X . . . but who was he? Who?
Logan and David charged forward, recklessly scouting the area. A blast came out of nowhere and nailed Logan in the chest, knocking him back.
David drew his gun.
"Whoa!" a voice exclaimed. "Hold fire!"
It was Silver Fox. She stepped out alongside Stone.
"You okay, Logan?" she asked.
"Peachy," he frowned as his body began to heal itself. "Way t'go, Stone. You miss the Vietcong but manage to nail your own teammate."
"Sorry," Stone shrugged. "What can I say . . . the ol' gun arm gets a little trigger happy now and then."
"We don't have time for this," David frowned. "You weren't doing your job. Logan and I had to leave ours to finish yours."
"I've tried getting a call through to Creed," Fox said. "No response."
"What is the maniac up to?" Logan asked.
"We should find out," David said.
Logan nodded. "Break!"
"Oh God," Fox said. "They weren't shot . . . they were gutted!"
"Creed was supposed to do this quietly!" David exclaimed angrily. "We distract them, he gets in, kills the guy, gets out and we're all gone . . . the son of a bitch . . . "
They all moved along quickly. They could still hear faint signs of a battle way behind them. But the town was early quiet. Most of its inhabitants lied dead or dying on the ground.
"This is not what was supposed to happen," David said.
"Quit being such a pussy," Stone said. "They're just a bunch commie trash. Creed did 'em all a favor."
"They might've, and probably were, innocent," David said.
"This is war . . . there are no innocents," another voice called. A man appeared, apparently out of thin air.
"Wraith!" Stone exclaimed. "I was wondering when you'd show up. Now we just gotta bag Creed, finish the mission and have Team X get the heck outta here!"
"This way," Wraith said, leading them forward.
They ran to the small hut that was Creed's target. The smell instantly caught them. Even more death. There was a small pile of women and children at the feet of Creed, his claws having ripped through them all.
"You *#%$ing bastard," Fox said coldly.
"The guy wasn't here," Creed replied. He added, with a wicked grin, "So I left him a note."
"You screwed the mission?" Wraith asked.
"I didn't screw it," Creed replied. "Intelligence screwed it! There's no military commies here! Just stupid Congs."
"Great," David said. "Just great."
"We need to get out of here," Logan said. "This was supposed to be a hit and run. The Americans are blasting away back there, they'll be here soon . . . we shouldn't be."
"We've got a pick up just ahead," Wraith said. "Follow me."
"Hmph . . . still so much more fun I could be havin' here," Creed frowned.
"Sick freak," David said.
"*#$% off," Creed replied.
It was starting to come together in his head. Weapon X . . . they were military? And Team X? A group of mutants? Logan, David, Stone, Fox, Wraith and Creed . . . Team X.
But that wasn't enough. He needed answers.
The memories were getting clearer as he got deeper into Canada. Was there a correlation?
Logan hated thinking. He was an action guy . . . not a thinking guy. But this would require some thinking. He couldn't just walk into a town and start asking about Weapon X. He'd have to be more careful.
But that really shouldn't be a problem, right? Because, he was also a spy . . . wasn't he?
He shook his head. The bike's engine puttered along as he cruised along the main road into town. He took a deep breathe as he passed the town gates and entered Salluit, Quebec, Canada.
He didn't know what to expect. He didn't even know if there would be anything out here. But he would certainly look for it. Random . . . Stone . . . that much seemed true. But this was information Psylocke ripped from Random's mind. It was trustworthy, was it not? Could he have lied to a telepath?
It didn't matter. This was the course Logan had taken. He was on a path, and there was no getting off of it until he had run its course.
It was time for some answers.
It was time for the truth . . . behind Weapon X.