First story:
The Professor arrives for the big day. He, Cornelius and Hines say their hellos, and the Professor asks what Cornelius has for him. He replies that they’ve overcome the supra-endocrine problem by using a simple trabeculea matrix. It was staring them in the face all the time. He asks if they’ve released Logan’s feed cables yet, but they haven’t. Cornelius asks the wranglers to release them and haul them in. It’s time to see what Weapon X can do.
Logan is standing naked in a forest opening. The ground is covered in snow, yet he remains motionless. The Professor points out that Logan appears to be covered in ichor. Cornelius informs him that it’s sheep’s blood. It makes for a quicker scent. The Professor is impressed. Carol tells them that Logan’s heartbeat and pressure is okay. Outside, a howl is heard. Cornelius says that Logan can hear it, yet there is no adrenal rise, which the Professor finds odd. Cornelius orders the wranglers to release the gate.
He asks when the animals were last fed. The wrangler replies that it was six days ago. A gate opens and several vicious wolves are released. They snarl and growl as they quickly make their way towards the animal scent. Logan doesn’t react. Cornelius is surprised that upon seeing the wolves, there was no pressure rise. Everything seems to be reading properly, yet Logan is simply not reacting to the threat. The Professor asks if it’s physical. The claws? Cornelius is sure it isn’t. The Professor asks why he doesn’t use them as the wolves pounce on their victim. He calls for the response column to be upped. He’s very concerned that the wolves will rip him to shreds. He won’t be able to heal if he’s in pieces.
The wolves are all over Logan, who still doesn’t react to the physical assault. They bite at him and still there is no response from Logan. Suddenly, Cornelius notices that the epinephrine is rising. The Professor sees the scale rising to eighty-six then ninety percent. He’s fighting back!
Outside in the cold, blood trickles from Logan’s wrists, and slowly with a roar of pain, the claws extend from his body. He sticks them straight through one of the wolves as the others bite at him. The Professor feels that the pain will make him even more savage. He asks for readings, and Cornelius informs him that Logan’s heart rate just went off the scale. There is a phenomenal stress level. He could burn out. Logan rolls over and uses his physical strength to combat the wild animals. He then uses his claws to slash at the wolves. Cornelius explains that the metabolic readings are beyond human, and far more bestial than those he’s slaughtering. The Professor feels Logan was a wonderful choice, but Carol Hines asks if it could be stopped now. The Professor is enjoying this far too much to do that.
Outside, Logan is starting to gain control of the situation. He spikes another wolf as Cornelius informs the Professor that he has a fluorescent analysis now, and asks if he’d like to see it. He asks Cornelius if he can hold that, and give him a re-emmission on the osteograph, bringing it to either hand. The screen changes to see what’s happening inside Logan’s body. The Professor can see everything beautifully. He sees the perfect synthesis of human trabeculea and adamantium; bone, bonded to the hardest metal in the world inside the body of a berserker. He’s the perfect fighting machine; the perfect killing machine.
Cornelius informs the Professor that there is some excessive distortion in the metacarpals, which could be the cause of pain upon intrusion. He is asked to look into that. The monitor then switches back to the battlefield. Logan is standing victorious, covered in even more blood. They have run out of wolves, and the Professor asks if they have any more. No, replies Hines. Logan roars like an animal.
The Professor tells Cornelius that the wolves kill for food or territory perhaps. This man is a living weapon. His passion is the fear of his prey, and to find relish in the odor of the blood. He feels that despite his original protestations, he knows they’ve done Logan a great favor. His most bestial needs are about to exceed his most primitive dreams - in their service of course. He asks Cornelius to turn him off, and Logan slumps to his knees.
Cornelius calls for the wranglers to bring Logan in, but the Professor cancels that order. He wants to leave Logan outside for the night. He likes the idea of him resting in his own gore. Cornelius points out that it’s fifteen degrees below, but the Professor thinks it’ll toughen him up. They can monitor his healing process from there, can they not? They’ve accomplished much this day. The Professor wishes them goodnight and he retires for the evening. In the morning, two wranglers go and collect Logan and lead him back to the complex. There is much more to come.
