The Prometheus battleship, above New York City, where inside the sprawling aircraft, Wolverine a.k.a. Logan has been attacked by two agents of STRIKE. ‘Put the dog out of his misery, Brom’ the blond man, Croxley calls out to his blue-skinned teammate, who holds a gun and an energy-sword to Wolverine’s neck. ‘Thought this’d be tougher. We sure this is Wolverine and not his dopey kid?’ Brom replies. Wolverine just growls, before Brom tells him that he is a disappointment and that he expected a fight. ‘Careful what you wish for, bub’ Logan replies as he suddenly kicks backwards, and knocks Brom off his feet, although Brom fires his weapon, it narrowly misses Wolverine’s head. Wolverine gets to his feet and suggests to Brom that he drop his gun, ‘See if I can live up to your expectations’ he remarks. Croydon calls out to his teammate, telling him not to, ‘Ah, hell…’ he mutters as Brom drops the weapon to the ground.
Brom holds his energy-sword higher, and Wolverine realizes that his foe has blue skin, so asks if he is Kree. ‘Nah, not entirely’ Brom replies, adding that he has a little of their DNA kicking around inside him, though. ‘I’m a bit of a dog’s breakfast, genetically speaking’ he explains, while Croydon, standing further down the corridor, calls out to him, suggesting that he get out of the way so he can just shoot him. ‘Sutton didn’t ask for posturing’ he reminds Brom. ‘No way, Crodyon’ Brom replies, claiming that he has been waiting his whole life for a test like this, and adds that bullets aren’t going to do much beside make Wolverine mad. ‘I’m looking to do something a bit more permanent!’ he boasts. Wolverine growls as he lunges forward, claws outstretched, but Brom strikes his leg, ‘Sloppy, and too slow by half, midget’ Brom mutters.
‘You sure about that, bub?’ Logan asks as he turns around, blood dripping from his wound. Brom suddenly clutches his stomach, through his armor, three claw marks across it. ‘Heh’ he grins, before both men growl as they move towards each other. Adamantium claws clash against the energy-sword, then break away from each other, before clashing again. ‘Just getting warmed up’ Brom calls out as he and Wolverine step away from each other. ‘You and me both, kid’ Wolverine replies.
Meanwhile, at Avenger Tower, Melita Garner is researching STRIKE on the Avengers computer files, and sees an image of a bald man who shows up a lot, but she can’t find mention of his name. She decides that he is a tough-looking old bastard, with pictures of himself with everyone from Tony Blair to the Queen. She learns that the last shot of him is about five years old. Melita asks the computer if there is a British division of the Avengers. The computer informs Melita that the British superhuman task force is known as MI-13. ‘Current members include Captain Britain, Pete -’ the computer stops when Melita interrupts it, instructing it to path her through to their headquarters, or secret hideout, or whatever it is called. ‘The current headquarters of MI-13 is -’ the computer begins, but Melita interrupts it once more, ‘Awesome. Put me through’ she tells it.
An instant later, Pete Wisdom appears on the monitor, ‘Pete Wisdom here. Oh come on, another new Avenger? Do they not turn anyone down over there?’ he asks, before Melita smiles and explains that she is not an Avenger. She introduces herself and explains that she is Wolverine’s friend, and a reporter who needs his help. ‘Wolverine’s… friend? Yes, luv, I’m sure you are’. Wisdom smiles, before asking Ms Garner how exactly he can help her, and suggests she make it quick, as he isn’t sure she has noticed, but the entire world has gone a bit haywire and panicked citizens aren’t going to save themselves. Melita shows Wisdom one of the photos of the bald man and tells Wisdom that she needs to know who he is. Wisdom tells Melita that he recognizes the nutter, and that his name is Sutton, but thinks iti s just a call sign, he doesn’t know what his real name is, or much about him at all.
Wisdom continues, informing Melita that Sutton is a nasty character, that he ran some black-ops for STRIKE, then sort of fell apart when they disbanded. ‘He pops up now and again, usually somewhere messy and unpleasant’. Wisdom informs Melita that Sutton is probably doing mercenary work now, if he isn’t dead, and adds that lots of ex-STRIKE guys took up contract work, but Sutton was a real bastard with a taste for blood and heavy drama. ‘You think he’d have any interest in a Helicarrier?’ Melita asks. ‘A what now?’ Wisdom replies. ‘Never mind’ Melita remarks, before asking Wisdom if there is anything he can send her intel wise? Wisdom states that he is sending her Sutton’s STRIKE folder and profile now, though he is not sure what good it will be for her, as it is outdated. Wisdom pauses and glances to one side. ‘What?’ Melita asks.
Wisdom reports that it says Sutton was a test subject during “Project Blackbox”. Melita asks what that is. Wisdom tells her that it was a bloody horror show, to put it bluntly. Images are sent to the monitors Melita watches and Wisdom explains that Blackbox was an experiment carried out by government spooks in an effort to build better soldiers, that it was designed to push men to their breaking points, and it got out of hand. He adds that the bastards behind it all wound up in jail, so he supposes that Sutton was one of the lucky ones who got out in one piece. ‘You’re a reporter, you say? That seems a bit tame for Logan. You sure you’re not a mysterious assassin with a shadowy past?’ Wisdom asks. ‘Well, I appreciate the help, Mr Wisdom, but I’ve got to -’ Melita begins, before Wisdom interrupts, ‘An alien princess, maybe?’ ‘Okay, well, like I said -’ Melita begins, avoiding Wisdom’s questions. ‘Maybe you were brainwashed -’ Wisdom suggests, before Melita severs the connection.
Back aboard the Prometheus, Wolverine and Brom prepare to confront each other again, as Wolverine tells Brom and Croydon that if they want to do this, it is going to end badly, it always does. ‘So let’s save ourselves some time and skip this song and dance’ he suggests, adding. ‘I mean, I gotta kick the blue guy’s ass on principle. But the rest of you can still give up quietly’. Suddenly a telepathic voice reaches out to Logan, ‘Oh for Heaven’s sake, where do you guys get all this macho badass garbage from, television?’, as Croydon moves forward, and using his psychic powers, forces Wolverine to the ground. ‘Too many single mothers, I think. A whole generation of spandex-wrapped juiceheads with daddy issues. You X-Men don’t have a monopoly on telepaths, you know’ Croydon declares, before suggesting he gets a peek inside Wolverine’s head.
Everything around Croydon appears red, he believes he is inside Wolverine’s mind, and sees Wolverine at the end of the corridor, rushing forward, scratching his claws down either side of the corridor. ‘What the bloody -’ Croydon begins, before Logan roars at him, and shoves his claws through Croydon’s stomach, gutting him, sending blood splashing everywhere. Croydon falls to the ground and looks up, Wolverine really is standing over him, ‘Could have told your buddy that wasn’t any place to go messing around’ he snarls, while Croydon’s face is wide-eyed, mouth open, and Brom strands nearby, sword ready, Wolverine tells him that he hates to run, but they will finish this latter, as he has to ground this ship. ‘I’ll be back for you. Count on it’ Wolverine tells Brom as he rushes down the corridor, and passes through a door, shoving his claws into the controls, the door closes before Brom can follow Logan down another corridor, as Wolverine sees a sign pointing to the communications room.
There, Sutton is with his two other STRIKE members, and informs them that he wants to tell them why they are doing this, why now, and this exact moment. He states that he is a firm believer in fate, addressing the male with glasses as Bexley, he tells him that this plan is perfect, and that it has to be launched now, as they stand on the threshold of something momentous. ‘I dreamt of a hammer’ he explains. ‘A hammer?’ Bexley asks. ‘Yes, a hammer so large only God himself could lift it’ Sutton replies. The woman frowns and gives Bexley the thumbs-up, while Sutton continues, remarking that then God let it fall, and it broke the world in half. ‘You mean it’s fate because this ship was built by HAMMER?’ Bexley asks. ‘Ha! No, but that’s certainly no coincidence! No, the dream portended something much more literal’ Sutton smiles. ‘I’m talking about this’ he explains, motioning to several monitors, which depict villains and heroes, with increased power and holding hammers.
Sutton reveals that twenty-four hours ago, these hammers began to Earth - eight of them, to be precise, and so he took this as a sign. ‘This is what my dream was trying to tell me. To act now, to activate our plan, and write our names in history!’ he declares. Bexley and the woman look at the images in awe, as Bexley replies ‘Yeah, but you mean “what STRIKE command was trying to tell you”, right?’ Sutton asks, while the female STRIKE officer enquires ‘We didn’t steal this thing because you had a dream. You had direct orders from your superiors, didn’t you?’ ‘Orders? Of course, of course. After all, we’re good little soldiers, aren’t we? Following orders, no matter the cost, no matter what is asked of us’. Sutton continues, ‘Machines made out of meat and bone, built to destroy, to kill, to annihilate! And when it gets to be too much, well, then…but I’m getting ahead of myself’. Sutton tells them to look at it, history unfolding before their eyes, while the woman storms off, announcing that she is going to check on Brom and Croydon.
Back in the city below, Melita is using social media to report on what is transpiring. Her instant-following system user name is M3LITAG, and her first post says that a good reporter goes where the story is, and right now, that means getting close to the United Nations. She walks down the street, observing her surroundings and thinks to herself that this chaos, with the Raft breakout, the riots, looting, and whatever that was that hit Yancy Street, she is getting jumpy, but is excited to be getting out and on a story, however, she feels that something doesn’t feel right. Her next post advises her readers to stay indoors at al costs, and informs them that she will be uploading pics at her website, melitagarner.com. She sees civilians out on the street, and rioters as well. She thinks that half of them look out of it, or on something, and given what Logan said, she is guessing this has origins outside the realms of what is “natural”.
Melita’s third post reporters that the Red Cross is setting up tents at Bryant Park, and that the Avengers, Fantastic Four and other are on the job. Melita knows that people are scared, and no one is sure what is going on. She stops beside a little girl who is crying and seems to be lost. A police officer goes over to Melita and takes the little girl, while Melita posts that she has it on good authority that the Helicarrier over the UN building is being handled by one of the best. She hopes that she can get Pete Wisdom’s information to Logan somehow, but she can’t reach him on his communicator. She tells herself that if she can get closer to the Helicarrier, she might be able to get through to him. Melita sees a rioter standing on an overturned police car, throwing a make-shift bomb at a billboard advertising Star Industries.
Her next post to her followers tells them that no matter what anyone says, Spider-Man, Captain America and all of the other heroes are working hard to help them in this time of crisis, and asks her followers to send updates to her website. She wonders what the hell has gotten into people, and why she feels like she is walking into a hornet’s nest. Her subsequent post urges her NYC to keep it together, and to keep DC in their prayers, as Captain America is there now, fighting the good fight. She knows this is not isolated to the US, as there are reports all over the globe of giant “monsters” wreaking havoc. She supposes that something, or someone, is launching an all-out war, and that this is all tied together by whatever fell out of the sky yesterday.
Observing the situation around her, Melita tells herself that it is good to see not everyone has lost their head. ‘Say what you want about New Yorkers, they know how to come together in a crisis’ she thinks to herself, before informing her followers that there is a video of the Scarecrow incident and the Raft cleanup efforts uploaded at melitagarner.com. She hopes that she doesn’t have to use the weapon that Logan gave her, but she promised him she would keep it handy. ‘I bet he gives all his girlfriends neural disruptor rays’ Melita remarks as she reaches into her backpack and pulls the weapon out. ‘Such a sweetie’ she smiles, looking at the weapon, when she notices some looters breaking into a delicatessen. ‘Damn it. So much for keeping our cool’ she thinks to herself, deciding that she best end this quick, she encourages herself to channel her “inner Eastwood”, before firing the neural disruptor ray upwards, green energy lights up the air, and everyone turns to Melita as she shouts ‘Go home! Now. Stay inside till I come and let you out. Jackasses!’
Melita’s next post informs everyone not to use this situation as an excuse to loot and go crazy, for if she sees them do that she will put her foot in their asses. Her following post points out that they are all scared right now, but that they will get through this, as a community. She helps a man off the street, feeling like she has ice in her stomach, like that time she went sky diving in college - primal, almost like panic. ‘Get a grip, Melita. You’ve got a job to do’ she thinks to herself, before she starts to film the man who shows her his ransacked store. Her following post tells her fans to check her site for interview with Jason Suh, a young store owner who tried to hold off looters. Carrying on through the city, Melita looks up and sees the Prometheus looming above the city. ‘Hang on, Logan. I’m coming, baby’ she thinks to herself.
Logan reaches the communications room of the Prometheus, and finds it in disarray. ‘What the hell?’ he remarks, deciding ‘So much for getting a hold of anyone on the ground. Place is smashed to pieces - but who would -’ he thinks to himself, before he hears three sets of footsteps coming up fast. ‘Looks like they brought a friend’ Logan tells himself, as Brom and Croydon appear, with their female teammate, and they rush towards him.
Back on the bridge: ‘So, we got some new orders, eh, Chief?’ Bexley asks Sutton, who tells him that there is a slight change of plans, that is all, explaining that this ship has some unique capabilities that puts them in a position of great power - a position that STRIKE wants them to take full advantage of. Bexley taps something into a console, but the screen informs him that communications are disabled, that no transmissions have been sent or received. ‘I don’t suppose you could expand on that a bit, could you?’ Bexley asks. Wide-eyed, Sutton asks Bexley what he is most afraid of. ‘Afraid of? Not sure I follow, sir’ Bexley responds. Still wide-eyed, almost trance-like, Sutton states that they must not let their fears rule them. ‘We must control them’.
In the communications room, Wolverine dodges the attacks from the three STRIKE agents, but they are wearing him down, keeping him moving. They keep their distance and use their numbers to their advantage. Logan dodges Brom’s energy-sword when it is thrown at him, before the woman fires some sort of cable or whip, but he grabs it, ‘C’mere, darling!’ he tells her, pulling on it, he slams the woman to the floor. Brom lunges at Logan, grabbing him by his wrists. Brom is stronger, but Logan knows that he is afraid, that fear is coming off him in waves, like a sickness, a fever. He can smell it on all of them. He wonders what is going on here. Brom pulls Logan’s arms back, and Croydon goes over, shoving a large gun against Logan, he announces that they should do this the old-fashioned way this time, before slamming the weapon against Logan’s face, drawing blood.
Brom then kicks Wolverine in the back, sending him towards the woman, who cracks her whip again, and this time it strikes Logan, sending energy charging through him. He falls face-first to the floor, before he blacks out.
When Logan comes to, he feels like he just went ten rounds with the Thing, and is unable to move. He sees Sutton looking up at him, ‘Ah, I see you’ve come back to us, Wolverine’ he remarks, adding that he was beginning to think that his people had done too good a job and that the reports of his famous healing factor had been a big exacerbated. Logan’s vision is a bit blurry, and he can’t see exactly where he is hanging from, but knows that he is bound right. Sutton tells him that he is going to witness history. ‘You see, Wolverine, I’ve been given a sign’. Logan suggests to Sutton that he untie him, then he will give him a sign. ‘I’m afraid not, Wolverine. I’ve got something special planned for you’ Sutton replies. Brom and the woman glance at each other nervously.
Sutton grins and boasts that he is going to make the dream a reality, and is going to share it with the world. ‘The Prometheus is going to live up to its name, and deliver fire to the great city of New York’ he explains. Croydon, Brom and the woman look up at Wolverine, as he realizes that he is chained to the front of one of the nuclear warheads, and Sutton tells him ‘And you’re going to have the best seat in the house’….
