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Rated M for Mature
Appropriate for readers 18 and over. May contain extreme violence, sexual themes, nudity, or profanity.
Note- This series takes place after the events of Project X: The Birth of Wolverine.
Note- This chapter takes place in the 1950s.
Marvel Genesis: Wolverine, Chapter 102- Destiny, Part 2
Matthew Risman had just returned to his apartment. He was critically injured to the point that he couldn't carry the handbag anymore. But nonetheless, he managed to get away before the police arrived. Reports have said that a woman named Irene Adler had a bodyguard to protect her. Besides, he acted like some sort of agent, working for a secret organization that even Matthew himself didn't know about. He wondered about what the psychic mutant said to him earlier. That he couldn't kill her again. Therefore, his mission had been a failure. He looked at his bleeding arm, and decided to come to the apartment rather than visiting the hospital. He could take care of the wound himself, since he had some experience back in the 1940s. So, it wasn't a problem for him.
The assassin took out a bag of ice from the freezer. Then, he put it on his arm carefully. It sting but Matthew could handle the pain well enough that he didn't want to think either of Irene Adler or her mysterious bodyguard named Dimitri. He sighed and took the ice bag with him, and then arrived to the kitchen. He took out a tool from the drawer in order to remove the bullet from his arm. It took a couple of minutes to take it out. He still winced at the pain. He thought, Dear God... I just hope that old priest doesn't come back. Maybe, I should get out of here before... He stopped when he heard several footsteps coming closer towards him. He knew that the priest was here. Who else could it be? So much for the Chalice of Youth.
The door opened slightly. There were two men standing in front of the assassin. And they had cross tattoos on their foreheads. Whoever they are, they probably have something to do with the priest himself. And as if it didn't get any worse than that, the old priest arrived slowly to the kitchen. He smiled at the assassin.
"I hope you're well, Mr. Risman. It seems that your mission got out of hand."
"Yes. I hate to tell you that I've failed. What can I say? This is the first time."
"And the last," the priest added. "Let me guess. Irene had predicted her future. Am I right?"
"Listen, old man. I'm tired of this job already. Okay? I'm planning to retire soon. So you can forget your... Chalice of Youth. I'm done."
The old priest sighed and then shook his head. "You don't seem to understand the consequences that you had brought upon us. I assume you had a chance to kill her."
"It's not that simple, my friend. She had a bodyguard for Christ's sake!"
"Do not call his name in vain!" Matthew got stunned when the priest shouted like that. The pain was still there, but even if he tried to get passed those two men, there was no way in hell that he could run away from them. After all, there were probably more than two holy agents at the old priest's disposal.
The old priest took a deep breath and continued, "Understand this, Mr. Risman. Whether or not she had someone with him. You could have at least taken the shot easily, when you still had the chance. And for that, you will be punished for your failure. It is necessary to do so." He looked at the two men and nodded. Then they grabbed Matthew on both sides. "What... What the hell are you going to do?"
"Like I've said, Mr. Risman. You will be punished. And I assure you that it will be very painful. But don't worry. Once you go through with it, you will know further in the future that mistakes are not acceptable. Therefore, I will show you what kind of punishment you can endure. This will be a mark to remember your sin and failure." He looked at both of his agents. "Hold him tight. Let me get the lighter." Matthew gulped and didn't say anything. Because he wasn't the kind of person, who would cry for mercy. After all, it was God's will that a person should get punished for his sins. He looked at the lighter that the old priest had just picked it up from his pocket. Then he flicked it right in front of Matthew's face.
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I got up from the bed and found that Irene was gone. The thought of havin' sex with her didn't cross my mind until she came to the bar, and met me fer the first time. Except that it wasn't the first. Because she told me that she had seen me in one of her visions. I guess she was right about that. But how do I know that she was just followin' me around like a stalker? I probably find out soon enough, or maybe not.
I looked out the window, and recalled that she also told me that a man will come to the bar, and offer me a job position that I didn't know about. Whateva Irene had told me, it couldn't be true. But then who knows? I might as well have to find out fer sure. I got dressed up, and then left the room. I realized that it was already past 10 'o clock here in Paris. I planned to go back to the bar, so that I could have a drink one more time. Besides, I didn't feel like sleepin' tonight. I sure hope that the bar wasn't closed. I'll have to see if it was still opened or not.
When I came outside the hotel, there was nobody on sight. It seemed that everyone went to sleep. I guess I was the only one, walkin' alone at night. I just wished that Irene was back here, so we could chitchat about our lives. But then she decided to ditch me, while I slept naked on the bed. It musta been a dream if ya ask me.
I finally reached the bar, and noticed it was still open. Because I could see a couple of guys, talkin' to each other from the glass window. So, I walked back inside and the French bartender was still there, washin' the glasses. He smiled. "Ah, you are back. Don't feel sleepy?" I shook my head and sat on the stool. This time, I figured that I would drink somethin' else rather than a beer. I don't know if this was somethin' that I could do. But what the hell? I just wanna remember the lovely Irene. She was so beautiful that I couldn't get rid of her from my mind. So, I decided to drink the red wine. Yea...
"Need a red wine," I spoke in French back to the bartender. He looked surprised because he knew that I wasn't the kinda person to drink wine. Yea... I told him that I needed somethin' different tonight. He said, "Ah, I understand that, Monsieur Logan. It is this Mademoiselle Irene Adler that you seek?"
"Yea... you could say that. She was here a couple of hours ago. Then we left together and then..." I stopped because I didn't wanna tell the explicit details to this bartender. It sounded embarrassin' if ya ask me.
"Well, then... I can see that you are in love with this woman. Yes? She comes here often. Probably waiting for you." I didn't say anythin' else to that. Because if what Irene said was true about her visions that I was gonna come here, then she came to Paris for that very reason. There wasn't a doubt about that.
The bartender finally gave the red wine to me. I sipped it slowly. It did taste bitter as I've expected. How do people drink this stuff anyway?
Then I smelled someone behind me. It was a man who turned out to be an American. He said that he came here to offer me a job position. It looked like one of Irene's visions came true. I turned around and saw the American himself. Of course, I saw him the first time when I walked back into the bar. He was chattin' with some other guy that I didn't even see. But this guy who just came behind me, asked me if I wanted some job. I replied, "Listen pal, I ain't in the mood tonight." The man shook his head and then smiled. "You must be tough to resist that kind of position. The name's William Stryker. I promise you that I'll make it worthwhile."
"How about I make this worthwhile to ya?" I raised my middle finger at him. And this Stryker guy laughed so loud that he couldn't even stop. "Yes, I see you're troublesome... Logan."
I looked at him surprisingly and then almost shouted, "How the hell did ya know my name?"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you should come with us. Whether you like it or not."
"Alright, bub. This has gone far enough." I was about to hit him when somethin' just shot me on my back. It musta been the tranquilizer dart fer all I know. Yea... I could feel a wave of dizziness, comin' over me. It's times like this I wished I coulda stayed back at the hotel. But it probably didn't matter. Whoeva these guys were, they would still force me to do somethin' that I probably didn't like. My fate was sealed anyways, and there's nothin' I could do about it. I closed my eyes, and then there was darkness.
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William Stryker had always done his job well enough to cover his tracks. He looked at the bartender and handed him a large amount of cash. He said in French, "Make sure you don't tell this to anyone. Is that clear?" The bartender nodded, and didn't say anything else. The other man whom he spoke to Stryker, laughed a bit when he saw the unconscious Logan on the floor. "Well... Well... Looks like he's gonna join the club. Ain't that sweet?"
Stryker looked at him angrily. "Just grab him, Victor. We don't have time for small talk."
"Oh... Don't get mad at me... Mr. Stryker. If you hadn't found me in some damn cave that Logan had put me there, I wouldn't get a decent breath."
"Yes... And you should be lucky that I've found you. Let's call this a favor. Okay? Now grab him and let's go." Victor shook his head. If he hadn't put the special gas that evaded Logan's animal senses, he would have been caught sooner than later. Victor Creed placed the future Wolverine on his right shoulder, and smiled at the thought. Poor Logan. Doesn't know what he's in for. Heh! Heh!
To be continued in Marvel Genesis: Wolverine, Chapter 103- The Darkest Hour.
Now you know how Logan was drafted into Project X. Next, Romulus finally launches his long-term plan in conquering the world. That ain't gonna happen, bub. And I'll make sure of it. SNIKT!
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