Wolverine's steel claws snapped out with a metallic rasp.
The veins on his arms bulged violently as he clutched his head with one hand, his body trembling under the assault of returning memories. A low, animalistic growl rumbled in his throat, the sound of a wounded predator fighting unbearable pain.
Vane's narration seemed to have ripped open a sealed door inside his mind.
Fragments of memory surged back like a flood.
Everyone in the room watched him with concern. Colossus stepped forward slightly, his expression filled with sympathy as he spoke carefully.
"Mr. Vane… perhaps you should—"
Vane raised his hand, cutting him off.
"We're about to face Colonel Stryker," he said calmly. "Logan has the right to know exactly who he's dealing with."
His eyes remained fixed on Wolverine.
"And he's the one with the most authority to hear it."
Colossus looked at Logan again, worry still written across his face, but he said nothing further.
After several long moments, the pain inside Wolverine's head finally began to ease.
His breathing steadied slightly, though his voice came out rough and hoarse when he spoke again.
"What happened next?" he demanded. "What happened next?"
"You found your brother Victor," Vane continued steadily. "And the two of you fought."
He paused briefly.
"You lost."
The room fell silent as everyone listened.
"After that," Vane went on, "you went back to Stryker. You accepted his proposal."
Wolverine's eyes narrowed.
"What proposal?"
Vane's voice remained calm.
"To replace every bone in your body… with adamantium."
Colossus, Bobby, and John exchanged uneasy looks.
Metal replacing an entire skeleton.
Just imagining it sent a cold shiver down their spines.
"Was it my choice?" Wolverine asked quietly.
He stared down at the steel claws extending from his hands, confusion flickering across his face.
"You were deceived," Vane answered.
"You barely survived the surgery. Stryker had no intention of honoring any agreement."
"He planned to erase your memories and turn you into his personal killing machine."
Vane's tone hardened slightly.
"But you woke up early."
"You destroyed part of the base and escaped during the chaos."
Wolverine's breathing grew heavier again.
"After escaping, you began searching for Victor," Vane continued.
"You found some of your former teammates, only to discover the truth."
"Victor had been working with Stryker from the very beginning."
"Their real goal had always been to reshape you."
"You wanted revenge for Kayla."
Vane paused briefly before continuing.
"After a long search, you finally located Stryker's base."
"When you arrived, you discovered something else."
"There were dozens of mutants imprisoned there."
"That's when you rescued Cyclops."
Logan's fists tightened.
"You confronted Stryker," Vane said quietly. "And he finally told you the truth."
Then he added one final sentence.
"And there, you met someone you never expected to see again."
Logan's eyes lifted slowly.
"Kayla."
Vane's voice remained steady.
"Your lover."
"She was working for Stryker."
The room went completely still.
"It had all been a trap."
Logan staggered backward slightly.
For a moment he looked completely lost.
His mind drifted unexpectedly to the quiet days he had once spent in the small logging town.
The peaceful life. The calm nights. The simple happiness.
Strangely, he didn't feel the heartbreak he expected.
Instead, his thoughts spun in confusion.
Shouldn't I feel devastated right now?
Why am I thinking about other things?
Vane watched him carefully.
For the first time, even he felt a faint trace of unease.
Had he pushed Logan too far?
But the most important part still hadn't been said.
Suddenly Wolverine laughed softly.
"So it was all a conspiracy," he muttered.
He forced a crooked smile.
"That's good, right?"
"Victor didn't kill her. And she didn't actually die."
He flexed his metal claws slowly.
"And I got a brand-new skeleton out of the deal. I'm stronger than ever."
His eyes locked onto Vane.
"That means I don't need to grieve for her death anymore… right?"
He stared at Vane with an almost desperate intensity.
But Vane remained silent.
He didn't move. He didn't respond.
The room felt suffocatingly quiet.
Suddenly Wolverine exploded.
With a furious roar, his claws stabbed straight through the solid wooden table in front of him.
"I said it's fine!" he shouted.
"Didn't I say it's fine, you bastard?!"
Wood splintered beneath his claws.
Vane's voice remained calm.
"No."
He looked directly at Logan.
"I'm not finished."
Wolverine froze.
Vane spoke quietly.
"Kayla did follow Stryker's orders."
"But she loved you."
"She only did those things because Stryker was holding her sister hostage."
Logan's eyes widened.
"When you freed the other imprisoned mutants," Vane continued, "Kayla chose to stay behind with you and face Stryker."
Logan leaned forward, his voice trembling with urgency.
"Then what happened?"
"If that's true… why don't I remember her?"
"Why is everything gone?"
Vane sighed softly.
"Stryker killed her."
The words fell heavily into the room.
"He also shot you in the head with an adamantium bullet."
"That's what destroyed your memory."
"It was his way of controlling you."
For several seconds, Wolverine didn't move.
Then his entire body tensed.
"That bastard…" he growled.
"I'm going to kill him."
His eyes burned red with fury.
The silver claws extending from his hands gleamed under the lights as he slashed violently through the air, like a starving wolf preparing to tear its prey apart.
Colossus and the others watched in stunned silence.
It felt as if Vane had just unleashed a vengeful beast.
Vane walked directly toward Logan.
He ignored the dangerously extended claws and spoke softly.
"Logan."
"Kayla had the chance to kill Stryker."
"But she didn't."
Logan's breathing slowed slightly.
"She knew that if she did," Vane continued quietly, "she would become exactly like him."
He looked directly into Wolverine's eyes.
"Don't let hatred consume you."
"Remember Kayla."
"She was the woman you loved."
"And she loved you too."
Outside the window, the distant roar of a jet engine echoed across the night sky.
Jean Grey and Storm had returned.
Vane gestured for everyone else to leave the room.
Logan remained behind alone.
As the others stepped into the hallway, Bobby quietly approached Vane.
"Is Wolverine going to be okay?" he asked cautiously. "You really hit him hard."
Vane shrugged.
"He'll be fine."
"That guy's basically indestructible."
Then he added casually.
"If you're still worried, you could ask Jean to comfort him."
Bobby frowned thoughtfully.
It might actually work.
After all, everyone at the school knew how Logan felt about Jean Grey.
Still, something about the idea felt slightly strange.
Not long afterward, Jean and Storm returned with the attacker responsible for the president's assassination attempt.
A blue-skinned mutant with a demonic appearance stood nervously in the room.
His name was Kurt Wagner.
Most people knew him as Nightcrawler.
He spoke timidly, explaining that he had grown up performing in a traveling circus. Later, a mysterious group had captured him and taken him to a secret facility.
His memories from that point onward were fragmented.
Someone had been controlling him.
The attempt to assassinate the president had not been his own decision.
Vane listened calmly.
Then he waved his hand dismissively.
"Alright."
He looked directly at Nightcrawler.
"From now on, remember this."
"You were never controlled by anyone."
"You never attempted to assassinate the president."
His tone was firm.
"Keep a low profile from now on."
"I'll protect you."
The other mutants exchanged confused looks, but no one objected.
Nightcrawler hesitated and glanced at Jean and Storm.
Neither of them disagreed.
If there was anywhere in the world where he would be safe, it was under Vane's protection.
Once everyone had gathered, Vane began explaining Colonel Stryker's background.
None of the mutants seemed particularly surprised that he knew so much.
They had already become accustomed to Vane's strange ability.
He often seemed to know things about the past and the future.
However, Vane carefully gave his ability a simple explanation.
He claimed that only after an event occurred could he glimpse fragments of its cause and possible future outcomes.
Afterward, he laid out a full operational plan.
Jean Grey, Storm, Wolverine, Abomination, and Bullseye's enhanced squad would launch a direct assault on Stryker's base at Alkali Lake.
The remaining students would stay behind at Xavier's School.
Once the plan was finalized, everyone left to prepare.
Jean spoke with Logan privately, offering a few quiet words of comfort.
Wolverine looked calmer afterward, but the bloodshot anger still burned deep inside his eyes.
Late that night, Vane remained alone in the principal's office.
The broken table Logan had destroyed earlier still lay beside him.
There was one problem he still couldn't predict.
Would Stryker attack the school again like in the original timeline?
Just then, noise erupted outside.
Vane stepped into the hallway to see what was happening.
Standing in the center of the hall was a familiar figure.
Cyclops.
"Scott?" Vane said slowly.
He frowned slightly.
What kind of plot twist was this?
A betrayal… or mind control?
Just to be safe, Vane raised his voice toward the students nearby.
"Everyone return to your rooms."
"Don't stay here."
Cyclops turned toward him.
"What's wrong?"
His voice sounded strange.
"Are you afraid of me?"
But the voice coming from Cyclops wasn't a man's voice at all.
It was female.
In the next moment, his body shifted.
From head to toe, Cyclops transformed into a blue-skinned woman.
Mystique.
Vane raised his eyebrows in mild surprise.
"So it's you."
In the original storyline, Mystique had rescued Magneto and helped the X-Men destroy Stryker's base.
But things were different now.
Magneto was currently imprisoned inside Vane's private realm.
There was no one capable of rescuing him.
Magneto was far too arrogant and ruthless for Vane's taste.
For now, Vane intended to temper that personality.
And if necessary…
He wouldn't completely rule out the option of brainwashing him.
.....
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