This ambush by the Samsara players had left the mutant squad devastated.
Iceman and Pyro were both gravely wounded.
Colossus had been slain, felled by a deadly toxin.
Warpath had died in battle—his strength useless against the Samsaras' brutal efficiency.
Even the so-called "living weapon," armed with firearms, had been killed.
And worst of all, Kitty Pryde—the Shadow Cat, the keystone of their plan—had been struck through the abdomen by a blade and now lay unconscious, her life hanging by a thread.
The only one left unscathed was Blink. Thanks to her Portal Creation ability.
"No! Kitty, wake up!"
Iceman cradled her in his arms, panic in his voice. He was more than a comrade—he was her lover.
Storm rushed to examine her wound, her brow furrowing. "She needs a doctor, immediately."
The surrounding mutants fell silent, their faces grim.
But they were outlaws, the hunted. The moment any of them appeared in a hospital, Sentinel drones would swarm. Medical help was nearly impossible to obtain.
After a moment's thought, Wolverine growled, "I know a guy. He's good."
"Then what are we waiting for? Take us to him, now!" Iceman pleaded, his grip on Kitty tightening.
One by one, the battered mutants boarded their jet.
Inside, the atmosphere was heavy. Every face carried the same weight: grief, anger, despair. Their losses were severe, and their one indispensable teammate was on the brink of death.
Without Kitty's ability, the "Reverse the Future" plan was dead before it even began. The Samsara players had ripped their hopes apart.
Only Fenric sat quietly, composed amidst the gloom.
Seated beside Blink, he studied her with mild curiosity. The girl had long black hair and delicate features, her dark eyes reminding him faintly of celebrities from his past life.
Noticing his gaze, she turned her head sharply. "Hey. Why are you staring at me?" she whispered.
"I thought you looked familiar," Fenric replied with a faint smile.
Blink frowned. "That's your idea of flirting?"
"You misunderstand," he said evenly. "I was curious about your power."
Blink's ability—to open rifts in space, allowing for instantaneous short-range travel—wasn't destructive, but it was highly practical. Magical, even.
"Hmph." She snorted and turned away, deciding he was heartless for trying to chat her up while everyone else grieved.
Fenric only smiled and let the matter drop.
Bang!
Wolverine suddenly slammed his fist into the seat beside him, his frustration boiling over like a raging bull.
"Logan, calm yourself," Professor X urged softly. But even he wore a mask of sorrow that no words could hide.
"What do we do now, Professor?" Wolverine demanded.
Charles Xavier's sigh carried the weight of inevitability. "First… we find a way to save Kitty."
Without her, their plan to return Wolverine's consciousness to the 1970s and prevent the creation of the Sentinels was nothing more than a fantasy.
—--
Two hours later, their jet returned to U.S. airspace, descending into a remote area. With Kitty's breathing weak and ragged, they followed Wolverine into an abandoned building.
A heavy iron door barred the way. Wolverine pounded on it. "Ball! It's me! Open up!"
No response.
His patience snapped. With a snarl, Wolverine's adamantium claws slashed forward, tearing through the lock in one stroke.
"Damn it, Logan! You broke my door again!" a voice roared from within.
Too impatient to argue, Wolverine shoved inside, the others close behind.
The interior was spartan, and standing there was a broad-shouldered man in his fifties, glowering at Logan.
"You're buying me a new door."
"If you can save her," Wolverine said grimly, "I'll consider it."
At the sight of Kitty, pale and bleeding out, the man—Ball—dropped his complaint instantly. "Quickly, into the operating room!"
Iceman carried her in without hesitation.
Half an hour later, Ball emerged, face weary.
"How is she?" Wolverine demanded. "How long will she need?"
Ball shook his head. "Not good. The wound is severe, the blood loss massive. She'll be bedridden for at least six months."
The words struck like a hammer. Wolverine and Professor X exchanged grim looks. Their plan hadn't even begun, and already it was unraveling.
"No! You have to fix her faster!" Wolverine snarled.
Ball rolled his eyes. "Logan, I'm a doctor, not a god. Six months is generous."
Wolverine opened his mouth to argue again, but Xavier raised a hand. "Enough, Logan."
"But Professor—we don't have half a year!" Wolverine barked. He wasn't wrong. The second-generation Sentinels had already nearly exterminated mutantkind. Within weeks, maybe even days, they would all be wiped out.
Xavier's shoulders sagged. "Then perhaps… this is simply our fate."
Even the great Professor X had no solution.
Fenric, however, remained impassive.
But then—
Ding—!
A familiar chime echoed in his mind.
System Notice:
"Hidden Mission Triggered: Prevent the Birth of the Sentinels."
"Reward: Rich rewards upon completion. No penalty for failure."
"This…"
Fenric's eyes flickered in surprise. His first hidden mission.
"So there are hidden tasks after all… yet the guide never mentioned it."
The reason was obvious: the trigger conditions were rare. First, Kitty had to be critically injured and unable to phase Wolverine back in time. Second, he had to be among the mutants at the right moment.
Even if others had stumbled upon it, who would brag about triggering something this difficult?
After all, to stop the Sentinels from being created, one would need to travel into the past. That wasn't something most could do.
But Fenric smiled faintly.
"Fortunately, I'm different. I already planned to have little Skynet construct a temporal conversion device so I could hunt mutants in the past. Now… I can fold this hidden mission into my plans."