Inside the Construct:
Hisako and Logan are resting in their broken down room. Snow has fallen inside. Hisako awakes shortly and covers Logan with a blanket, telling him to sleep.
Instinctively, she armors up as she walk to the window, then notices what she’s done. This is weird. She armors down, but in the next moment a sniper’s bullet almost hits her and she takes cover.
Reality:
In a classroom, Quentin Quire draws a 7.62-MM svd dragunov sniper rifle, the model that was fired at Hisako. Has to keep her on her toes.
Other students filter into the classroom. Rockslide notices Quentin looks like hell. Did he sleep at all? Nah, but he changed his shirt, Quentin replies, pointing to his I hate People shirt.
After the lesson, Quentin tries to flirt with Roxy Washington aka Bling! who clearly isn’t interested. He’s got a thing going on, she’d be really into it, he tells her. She’s supposed to be into his thing? she scoffs. She thinks he may have missed a memo. Undeterred, he continues, trying to impress Roxy, telling her about the alternate reality, a fully loaded construct running in real time in his head. Disinterested, she tells him he plays too many videogames, but that would suggest he is a normal teenager, which everyone knows he isn’t. She’s a little busy here, so does he have a point?
Can’t she just be impressed? he sulks. Memo thing aside. With him? Hardly. He really did miss the memo. Apart from the fact he is making a world-class idiot of himself right now, for the sake of conversation, he has some kind of telepathic fantasy… A fully loaded construct, he corrects her. Whatever! Running in his head and it kicks all kinds of ass. She should be impressed as a fellow mutant. He’s an omega level telepath. Isn’t that the kind of stuff they do as a matter of course? Roxy points out. What’s really so special?
When was last time she saw their illustrious headmaster Logan walking around? he smirks. Who cares, she shrugs and begins to walk back to the catalogue, looking for a book. He is wasting her time!
He offers to show her the construct. He can bring her into it. It’s a hundred times more powerful and detailed than the best CGI she can imagine, populated with real people or projections of them. He’s running that right now while talking to her. And the best part is he has total control. He’s God in there. He’s better than God, manipulating fine detail. Thousands of character storylines, the weather, the smell of smoke in the air, the crunch of gravel underfoot. Check it out. She’d be guest number three. Now ask him who the first two were!
Roxy brushes him off and suggests he take a shower. She’s sure there is a girl out there who will be as impressed by his video game as he is, but that it is just not her.
Was she actually listening to him? he mutters. Was who listening? Rachel Grey asks sharply and orders him to get to class.
On the school grounds, Toad stands in front of the shed in which Quentin stashed Logan’s body, the door now busted open. Toad swears about another mess he has to clean up.
In the Construct:
Logan and Hisako are hiding in a crowd on the streets when there is a public fugitive alert, describing the two of them. Who sold them out? Hisako mutters. The boss man, Logan explains. They lost the package then disappeared. What should they expect? Calling in central authority like this sends a clear message. To them or others? Hisako asks. Both. He gives them five minutes till they are spotted. He asks her to get them out of open air.
In an alley, they try to take cover. He wants her to watch the sky. How long has he known her? She asks insulted. Has she ever been spotted by a drone? How does he feel? Like hell, he admits, then asks her, has she ever been spotted by a drone. Really, has she? Can’t come up with it, huh? Him neither. What about his claws? Her armor? Or even taking the job?
She admits she doesn’t know. He agrees. He feels like they should know the answers. He sniffs something. A moment later, grenades land next to them. Before they explode, Hisako has covered them both in her armor. Logan orders her to fall back to the building.
Soldiers come rushing downwards and fire at them. Logan orders Hisako to run to the roof. They find this wasn’t a good idea, as air gliders are waiting for them and instantly open fire. They jump over to the next roof with their foes always giving chase. They keep on running and jumping until the chasm between two roofs is too wide. Logan tells Hisako to grab onto him and finds a hold in the next wall with his claws.
When he drags them up the roof an army of identical-looking Japanese young men with swords is waiting for him. Hisako tries to tell him something. He ignores her and begins attacking the men. Hisako begins to cry and one of the men slices Logan’s arm. Logan keeps on battling, enjoying all of it. Manifesting her armor, Hisako shouts at him to stop. That’s her brother! They’re all her brother!
The real world:
Having escaped from the shed, Wolverine’s body – with its rudimentary personality – crouches in the bushes. Telepath… feels him in his brain like worms… Hurts… burns. Find him! Kill him! Kill Quire!
Elsewhere, Quentin Quire is accompanied by fellow student Mercury, who announces she doesn’t want anyone see her going into his room. It’s just some CDs, he sighs exhausted. Is it clean in here? Cessily asks, peeking in.
Quentin takes off his shirt, ignoring her and thinking of his construct. Logan’s degradation is so, so perfect. Does he dare leave it unattended for a few hours? Can’t just program closed loops… he’ll figure it out. Hit pause? Boring!
Is he talking to her? Mercury asks confused. Quentin sinks on his bed, exhausted. The journey is its own reward, he mutters. Corny, but true. He has no endgame. Not in the Construct anyway. He is rather looking forward to waking Logan up, telling him what he’s been up to.
Mercury asks him to put back on his shirt. Plus Hisako, he mutters into his pillow. He has no beef with her. She doesn’t deserve much more of this. He cannot believe no one’s impressed with what he’s built here. Shame to just pull the plug.
Mercury asks what Hisako has to do with anything. One last battle? he wonders.
Mercury decides to borrow the CDs later.
He needs four hours sleep, Quentin decides. A bit of enhanced gameplay should keep them on the run. He orders Mercury to stay. She’s his alarm clock. Wake him at midnight! He switches off the light.
Predictably, Mercury isn’t having an of it, and so Quentin awakes the next morning, sensing something coming fast, namely, the berserker personality of Wolverine…
