Fusa explains to Wolverine that their troubles began eleven years ago. The Mandate is a mutant but not like him and the X-Men; it is a mutant disease. It started off as an experiment in a lab and, like all experiments-gone-wrong, it was created with the best intentions. The original plan was to create a micro-organism that could decompose toxic materials poisoning the Earth. The scientists hoped that by creating a bacterium that could break down these toxins they could create an environmentally safe way to save the deteriorating ecosystem.
They spent years studying and altering the genetic structure of flesh-eating bacteria to create an enzyme that could break down toxic materials instead of flesh. In theory, this would have given the bacteria a way of decomposing toxic substances at an accelerated rate without harming complex life forms like human beings.
Whilst the scientists were successful, they could not find a way to contain the bacteria, which they had dubbed Mandate. They managed to synthesize an organic orb-like construct to contain and transfer the bacteria outside of the lab. This is where things went wrong, though. The bacteria had mutated enough to develop a sentience and now that it had a brain it wanted a body. It managed to form a crude humanoid body and attack the scientists that created it.
They spread quickly. The Mandate still possessed their flesh-eating properties as well as the new toxic decomposition abilities. They destroyed everything in their path. They managed to wipe out the city where they were created within a matter of days and soon began spreading across the country at an alarming rate.
Wolverine interrupts and asks if they are self-replicating. Fusa tells him they aren’t. Only the first one created in the lab has the ability to conceive and deliver and orb-core to each new mandate. She has become known as the Primogenitor and her offspring are not able to procreate.
The humans had no clue to this at first. The Mandate spread unchecked before they realized what was going on. Before they figured out what was happening and were able to form some kind of defense, the Mandate had already taken over a large part of the world. Each individual Mandate has an orb-core that uses an enzyme-soluble synthetic process to create and maintain its body. As long as that orb-core stays intact, the Mandate is unstoppable. The Mandate can also adapt its form to create things like wings and weapons.
Even the anti-Mandate Armored Corps that were specifically created to combat the Mandate stood no chance at the ever evolving warriors. Fusa and her small band of human survivors have only been able to survive because the compound they live in is made from the one substance the Mandate cannot penetrate. The Colonel’s armor, weapons and bullets is also made out of the same metal which is why only he has the ability to destroy the orb-cores. Whilst the Primogenitor continues to produce orb-core and build massive colonies of Mandate warriors Fusa is unable to build any weapons to combat them.
The one thing that the Mandate is vulnerable to is adamantium, the very metal that coats Wolverine’s bones and claws. Fusa asks Wolverine if he sees now why she brought him there and why they need his help.
Wolverine excuses himself and walks out of the room for a minute so it can all sink in. He takes a walk around the compound until he finds himself in a room tightly packed with gravestones. Realizing it’s a graveyard, he stops to examine some of the stones. Fusa enters the room and says they honor the dead. They have to burn the bodies but they still mark their passing. This room is a reminder of why the must destroy the horrible enemy at all cost. She apologizes for following him but there is much they have to discuss.
She tells him that one day she had a vision. She woke from a sound sleep not knowing where she was. She thought it was a dream but it felt so real. She saw Wolverine in the vision. She didn’t know who he was but suddenly everything about him flooded into her and she knew everything about him. In that moment, she knew he was the only person that would save their world. He asks how she did it and she asks what he means. He goes on and asks how she got the power to transport him through time. She explains that she doesn’t know. She concentrated really hard and got this feeling and she ended up where she wanted to be. She found him, touched his hand and ended up back here again. He asks what kind of feeling and then asks if she’s a mutant. Before she can reply, he asks whether she can take him back. She replies that she thinks she can and then corrects herself to say of course she can. Wolverine warily stares at her for a few seconds.
Eventually, he asks if there are any survivors in other places. She tells him she doesn’t know. There used to be another colony in an underground area like this one but they lost contact a while ago. Wolverine thinks about what he has heard for a few second and then tells her to get the show on the road. He asks where they start and she asks what are they going to start. He asks if she wants him to kill these bacterial bad-asses. She grabs his hand and thanks him for accepting to help them. He recoils away from her and reminds her that the last time she touched his hand he ended up at this horror show.
A while later, he is being equipped with tech. A man gives him some kind of contact lenses that allow him to see an orange display screen with the co-ordinates of the other soldiers on. The man is asking him a lot of questions to make sure the devices work okay. Wolverine clips a transmitter into his ear and the man explains that it will keep him connected to the base as well as the attack party. His eyes and ears are theirs now. He can also detect the Mandates for 30 meters around him but he should still watch his ass.
The Colonel addresses the small group of soldiers and tells them they are going to do something that no-one has done before. They are going to infiltrate the Mandate colony by an underground passage. Their target is the Primogenitor and their mission is for Wolverine to destroy it once it’s found. The Colonel points to Yaa and says that she will be able to tell the difference between the Primogenitor and the other Mandate so he should stick with her. The Colonel ends the briefing by saying the mission takes precedence over individual lives.
Afterwards, the team gathers in a hanger bay where they see a large shuttle waiting for them. The Colonel stops Fusa from boarding, telling her she is too important to the future. She replies that she is the one who brought Wolverine there and she can’t just sit around and do nothing. Wolverine backs up the Colonel and says that she’s staying. Besides, if she died, who will take him back to his time?
The team boards the craft and strap themselves in. It takes off and leaves the compound through two huge doors. It flies into a huge dark tunnel and begins its journey to the Mandate colony.
