CHAPTER 99 – THE PAST COMES HUNTING
Logan smirked, claws still gleaming, the scent of ozone sharp in his nose. He tilted his head, letting the forest breeze carry every twitch of Weapon Alpha's suit to his ears.
"Didn't expect you'd still be sniffin' after me," Logan drawled, voice low and rough. "Not after I turned the whole damn H-Department into scrap."
Weapon Alpha's visor glowed, and his voice came cold, mechanical. "You're property of Canada, Logan. You don't get to walk away."
The suit hummed, plates shifting, servos locking into place. Energy coursed across the gauntlets, the air sizzling as circuits lit like veins of fire.
"You see this suit?" Alpha spread his arms, the forest reflecting off polished alloy. "Flight. Impact dampeners. Energy projection. It's designed for one purpose: bringing you back. Dead or alive."
Logan chuckled, baring teeth. "Lot of bells and whistles, Alpha. But under all that chrome—you're just a man. And I tear men apart."
Alpha didn't waste another word. His jets roared, and he lunged, fist glowing bright.
Logan met him head-on, steel screaming free from his fists. The clash cracked the clearing like thunder, claws raking sparks across Alpha's gauntlet. The ground buckled beneath their weight.
The noise rolled through the forest, over the trees, across the lake where Colossus and Storm were spreading the blanket while Banshee splashed Moira in the water.
Storm's head snapped up. "Do you hear that?"
Banshee paused mid-splash, frowning. "Sounds like a bloody bomb went off."
Moira's face drained of color. "It came from the woods. Where Logan went."
Colossus clenched his fists, already turning metal as he charged forward. "Then we go!"
But Storm's hand shot out, lightning crackling in her eyes. She saw the red and white flag emblazoned across the chest of the armored figure.
"No," she said sharply. "Do not interfere. This is Logan's fight."
Colossus frowned, confused. "You would have us stand and watch?"
Storm's voice dropped, firm as steel. "Look closer, Piotr. That suit bears the Canadian mark. And Logan… Logan is Canadian too. This battle is not ours to steal."
They froze at the treeline, hidden, the lake water dripping from Banshee's hair.
In the clearing, predator and soldier tore into each other, past and present colliding.
And the forest roared with their war.