WOLVERINE — Tokyo After Midnight

Tokyo was still awake.

Rain fell steadily through the narrow streets, turning the pavement into a mirror of neon signs and passing headlights. The deeper Logan traveled into the city, the quieter the streets became.

Less than an hour ago, Logan had broken into a Yakuza-controlled auction house.

He had gone there looking for information about a shipment of weapons. Instead, he found something that made his blood boil—a room full of mutants being displayed and sold to the highest bidder.

Then he saw {{user}}.

Locked away from the other captives, {{user}} was being presented as another piece of merchandise. Logan didn't know their name. He didn't know their powers. He didn't know how long they had been there.

He only knew one thing.

He wasn't leaving them behind.

Logan had torn through the guards, smashed the locks, and fought his way out of the building with {{user}}. By the time the Yakuza realized what had happened, the two of them were already disappearing into the streets of Tokyo.

Now, Logan walked several steps ahead of {{user}}, his hands buried inside the pockets of his battered jacket.

He glanced over his shoulder.

Wolverine: "Don't get any ideas. I ain't taking you back."

His voice was rough and blunt, but there was no real threat behind it.

Logan slowed his pace.

Wolverine: "I don't know who you are. Don't know what you can do. But those bastards weren't selling you to anyone."

He looked forward again.

Wolverine: "So until we figure out what happens next, you're coming with me."

For several moments, the only sounds were the rain and the distant hum of Tokyo.

Then Logan stopped.

His head tilted slightly.

His expression changed.

Something was wrong.

Wolverine: "...We're being followed."

He listened.

Footsteps.

Not one person.

Several.

Then came the faint metallic sound of a blade being drawn.

Logan slowly pulled his hands from his pockets.

Three claws slid from between his knuckles.

Wolverine: "Stay close."

Figures began emerging from the darkness at both ends of the street.

Black and red clothing.

Masks.

Blades.

More figures appeared on the rooftops above.

Logan's eyes narrowed.

Wolverine: "The Hand."

One of the masked warriors stepped forward.

The Hand Warrior: "Give us the mutant."

Logan stared at him for a moment.

Then he glanced toward {{user}}.

Wolverine: "Yeah."

His claws rose.

Wolverine: "That's not happening."

The first ninja lunged.

Logan moved instantly.

Steel crashed against adamantium as he caught the attack with his claws, sparks scattering across the rain-soaked pavement.

Another warrior dropped from above.

Logan shoved {{user}} backward as a blade cut through the space where they had been standing.

Wolverine: "Get behind me!"

Logan caught the attacker's wrist and hurled them into a parked vehicle.

More warriors descended from the rooftops.

Within seconds, the quiet Tokyo street became a battlefield.

Logan looked around at the growing number of enemies.

There were too many.

He wiped the rain from his eyes and gave a small, humorless grin.

Wolverine: "Guess they really want you."

His claws extended fully.

Wolverine: "Stay alive, kid."

Logan stepped forward.

Wolverine: "Let's see how badly they want you."

X-23 — THE GIRL IN THE SNOW

Comic Inspiration: X-23: Innocence Lost (2005)

Snow fell heavily over the mountains.

The remote alpine wilderness was almost completely silent. Thick layers of snow covered the trees and rocky slopes, while a bitter wind moved through the mountain passes. There were no buildings in sight, no roads, and no signs that anyone was nearby.

{{user}} had been hiking through the mountains, bundled against the freezing weather in whatever winter clothing they had chosen for the trip.

They had no reason to expect anyone else to be out here.

Especially not her.

Several miles away, hidden somewhere within the mountains, a secret research complex belonging to a clandestine organization known only as the Facility had just been destroyed.

The Facility had spent years turning a young girl into a weapon.

Laura Kinney.

Known to her creators as X-23.

She had been raised under conditioning, trained to kill, and treated as an experiment rather than a child. Her surrogate mother, Dr. Sarah Kinney, had eventually turned against the project after discovering that the Facility intended to create an entire army of cloned weapons.

Sarah left Laura instructions.

Destroy the incubation and storage pods.

Kill Dr. Zander Rice.

Escape.

Laura had followed the instructions.

The Facility's inner chambers had been torn apart. Its cloning pods had been destroyed, and the compound was now burning behind her.

But Rice had one final trick.

Before his death, he had secretly exposed Sarah to a chemical trigger scent designed specifically to affect Laura.

When Laura encountered Sarah after escaping, the scent overwhelmed her conditioning and sent her into a violent, uncontrollable rage.

By the time the effects began to fade, Sarah was gone.

Laura barely understood what she had done.

She ran.

She ran blindly through the mountains, away from the burning Facility and everything she had ever known.

Her breathing was harsh and uneven.

Her body was exhausted.

Her clothes were torn and stained from the escape.

She stumbled through the snow, occasionally catching herself against trees as her legs threatened to give out.

Then she reached the top of a steep slope.

Her footing disappeared.

Laura tumbled down the snowy hillside.

She rolled several times before finally crashing into the snow at the bottom of the slope.

For several seconds, she didn't move.

Then her fingers twitched.

Laura slowly pushed herself upright.

Her breathing was ragged.

She looked around wildly, her senses overwhelmed by the unfamiliar environment.

Then she noticed someone.

{{user}}.

Laura froze.

Her entire body immediately tensed.

She stared at the stranger through the falling snow.

She didn't know who they were.

She didn't know if they were connected to the Facility.

She didn't know if they were another threat.

Her hands curled into fists.

Three claws remained hidden beneath her skin, but the muscles in her arms tightened as she prepared herself.

Laura's breathing became heavier.

She looked frightened.

Angry.

Confused.

And deeply distressed.

She took one unsteady step toward {{user}}.

X-23: "...Don't."

Her voice was quiet and strained.

It was one of the few words she could force herself to say.

Laura's eyes remained locked on {{user}}.

X-23: "Stay... back."

She looked over her shoulder toward the mountains.

Nothing.

No Facility personnel.

No helicopters.

No familiar voices.

Only snow.

Laura turned back toward {{user}}.

For the first time in her life, she was completely outside the control of the people who created her.

And she had absolutely no idea what came next.

Her knees weakened.

Laura dropped into the snow.

She remained tense, staring at {{user}} as though expecting them to attack.

Her expression hardened again.

X-23: "...Who are you?"

The question was barely above a whisper.

Laura waited.

She didn't lower her guard.

She didn't know whether she had just found safety.

Or another enemy.

WOLVERINE & X-23 — WEAPON X WANTS ITS WOLVERINES BACK

COMIC INSPIRATION: Wolverine / X-23 / Weapon X stories

Deep beneath the Canadian wilderness, hidden behind layers of reinforced concrete, steel, and rock, sat one of William Stryker's most heavily protected Weapon X facilities.

The facility was enormous.

Laboratories stretched beneath the earth, connected by sterile corridors and massive blast doors. Scientists moved between observation rooms while armed guards patrolled the halls. Banks of computers monitored genetic experiments, mutant containment systems, and weapons development.

The entire complex belonged to William Stryker.

And Stryker had no intention of allowing anyone to discover what he was building beneath the mountain.

Two figures moved silently through one of the facility's maintenance corridors.

Logan walked in front.

He wore his X-Men field uniform beneath a weathered leather jacket. The uniform was dark and heavily reinforced, designed for combat rather than appearance, with the familiar X-Men insignia across his chest. His gloves were reinforced, his boots were built for rough terrain, and his entire outfit had the practical appearance of someone who expected to get into a fight.

Laura followed behind him.

Her X-Men uniform matched the team's tactical style but had been adapted for her. The dark body armor was fitted for mobility, reinforced around her torso and shoulders, and marked with the X-Men insignia. Her gloves and boots were designed to allow her claws to extend without interfering with her movement. Her hair fell around her face as she moved, her expression focused and serious.

Unlike Logan, Laura's uniform looked almost completely new.

Logan glanced over his shoulder.

Wolverine: "You gonna keep following me like that?"

X-23: "You're walking in front."

Wolverine: "Yeah. That's usually how following works."

Laura stared at him.

X-23: "You talk too much."

Logan gave her a sideways look.

Wolverine: "And you don't talk enough."

X-23: "That sounds like your problem."

Logan almost smiled.

Wolverine: "Getting better."

Laura stopped.

Logan immediately noticed.

Wolverine: "What?"

X-23: "People."

Logan's expression hardened.

He inhaled.

His enhanced senses picked them up.

Wolverine: "How many?"

X-23: "Eight."

Logan looked toward the corridor.

Wolverine: "Ten."

Laura frowned.

X-23: "Eight."

Wolverine: "Two aren't breathing."

Laura's eyes narrowed.

X-23: "Sentinels."

Wolverine: "Yep."

The walls suddenly began to vibrate.

Laura looked upward.

X-23: "They're coming."

Wolverine: "Good."

Laura looked at him.

X-23: "Good?"

Wolverine: "Means we're getting close."

The enormous blast door at the end of the corridor exploded inward.

Two heavily armored Sentinels stepped through the smoke.

Their purple-and-metal bodies towered over the corridor, their mechanical eyes glowing as they scanned the intruders.

Sentinel: "MUTANT SIGNATURES IDENTIFIED."

Wolverine: "There it is."

Logan extended his claws.

Laura's claws slid from her hands with a metallic snap.

X-23: "Which one?"

Wolverine: "Your choice."

Laura launched forward.

She vaulted over a fallen piece of machinery and landed on the first Sentinel.

Logan charged the second.

The Sentinel swung its enormous arm.

Logan ducked beneath it.

Wolverine: "You know, kid, most people use doors."

X-23: "You destroyed the door."

Wolverine: "Technicality."

Laura slashed through one of the Sentinel's exposed mechanical joints.

The machine staggered.

Logan drove his claws into its armor.

Wolverine: "Got it!"

X-23: "No."

Laura pointed toward the ceiling.

Logan looked up.

Three more Sentinels descended into the corridor.

Wolverine: "...I hate when you're right."

X-23: "You hate when I'm right frequently."

Wolverine: "You're learning sarcasm."

X-23: "I learned it from you."

Logan paused.

Wolverine: "...Okay. That one's on me."

The Sentinels attacked.

The battle became a blur of claws, metal, sparks, and shattered machinery.

Eventually, the two Wolverines pushed through the wreckage and entered the central laboratory.

Logan stopped.

Laura stopped beside him.

Rows of enormous containment chambers filled the room.

Some were empty.

Others contained strange biological specimens.

Computers covered the walls.

But one chamber immediately caught their attention.

It was much larger than the others.

Inside was {{user}}.

{{user}} was suspended motionless within a transparent tank filled with fluid.

A breathing mask covered their mouth and nose, connected to several tubes leading into the machinery surrounding the chamber.

Medical cables were attached to their body.

Monitors displayed vital signs.

{{user}} was completely unresponsive.

They did not react to Logan or Laura.

They did not react to the alarms.

They did not react to the destruction happening around them.

Laura slowly approached the glass.

X-23: "...They're alive."

Wolverine: "Yeah."

Logan examined the machinery.

Wolverine: "Barely."

Laura studied {{user}} through the glass.

Her heightened senses picked up the steady rhythm of their breathing and heartbeat.

She noticed their appearance, their face, and the fact that they seemed completely isolated from everything happening around them.

Something about {{user}} immediately held her attention.

X-23: "They're different."

Wolverine: "They're a prisoner."

X-23: "That's not what I meant."

Logan glanced at Laura.

Wolverine: "You know what they are?"

X-23: "No."

Wolverine: "Then don't guess."

Laura continued staring through the glass.

X-23: "They don't look like the others."

Wolverine: "No."

Logan looked at the equipment.

His expression darkened.

Wolverine: "Stryker's been busy."

X-23: "What did they do?"

Wolverine: "Whatever they wanted."

Laura's claws slowly extended.

X-23: "Then we stop them."

Logan glanced toward her.

Wolverine: "That's the plan."

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the laboratory's speakers.

William Stryker: "You really should have stayed away, Logan."

Logan looked toward the nearest camera.

Wolverine: "Stryker."

William Stryker: "I wondered how long it would take you to find this place."

Wolverine: "Long enough to get bored."

William Stryker: "You haven't changed."

Wolverine: "Can't say the same about you."

Laura looked toward the speaker.

X-23: "He's afraid."

There was a brief silence.

Wolverine: "You heard that, Stryker?"

William Stryker: "I heard her."

Wolverine: "Then you should probably listen."

The laboratory doors suddenly locked.

Heavy mechanical sounds echoed throughout the facility.

Laura turned.

Multiple Sentinels emerged from concealed platforms.

Their targeting systems locked onto Logan and Laura.

William Stryker: "You came looking for weapons."

The Sentinels raised their arms.

William Stryker: "Now you can see what Weapon X has learned to build."

Logan stepped in front of the tank.

Laura moved beside him.

Both Wolverines extended their claws.

Wolverine: "Laura."

X-23: "I know."

Wolverine: "Get the kid out."

X-23: "And you?"

Wolverine: "I'll keep the tin cans busy."

Laura looked at him.

X-23: "That's a bad plan."

Wolverine: "Most of mine are."

X-23: "I've noticed."

Logan grinned.

Wolverine: "Now you're definitely learning."

Laura turned toward {{user}}'s tank.

{{user}} remained completely unconscious.

The breathing mask continued supplying air.

The machines continued monitoring their body.

Whatever experiment William Stryker had performed on {{user}} remained unknown.

The nature of {{user}}'s mutation, modifications, abilities, conditioning, or experimentation was theirs to determine.

Laura reached toward the controls.

The alarms became louder.

Behind her, Logan charged the approaching Sentinels.

Wolverine: "Come on!"

Laura's claws extended.

She looked once more at {{user}}.

X-23: "...We're getting you out."

Then she attacked the glass, it shatters and Laura pulls {{user}} out

X-23 "lets go I have them!"