Logan leaned up between the seats,and quietly asked Helga,"Does he do this all the time?"

She shrugged."Kinda.The songs vary.At least he has a good voice."

Logan grunted in agreement and sat back,wondering how a guy so powerful could be so freaking weird.Maybe it came with the territory.

The traffic this time of day sucked-Logan was sure he could get out and walk faster-but eventually they hit a straight away on the freeway and Bob drove way too fast,the engine purring like a sabertooth tiger,but Logan figured Bob had no fear of speeding tickets.

The cops had nothing on Emma Nagal,which wasn't too surprising:if she was too visible,she'd be no use as a hit woman.Still,Bob had set one of his people (he didn't know which,didn't think it mattered) off looking for any Nagals in the California area-if he couldn't find her,maybe he could find her family.That was one way to do it.

The closer they got to Malibu,the more gauzy white clouds,like wisps of torn cotton,began to appear in the robin's egg blue sky,and from the open window on Bob's side (yes,he had air conditioning in this relic,but he didn't like to use it),Logan could feel the air grow cooler,scented with salt along with the typical exhaust.The house began to grow more expensive and farther apart,and Logan actually saw a police prowler cruising the streets.The rich got better protection than your average folks.What a shock.

Bob had moved on to the more modern yet retro sounds of The Hives,bopping along to the song in his seat,as Helga and Logan began to search in earnest for the house.

The roads began to wind along the wide stretches of pale beige sand,the sea beyond the beachfront houses a placid mirror of  dark greyish blue,and near the end of one stretch of beach,where a pile of black,barnacle studded rocks rose up like the decomposing rib cage of a fallen giant,was a small,bungalow type house on 'stilts',to protect the house from extremely high tides.

"That's our baby,"Helga said,just as Bob sang,"I hate to say I told you so."

"No you didn't,"she replied.

"Just singing,hon,"Bob said,pulling the GTO over to the opposite side of the road.He stopped rather abruptly, the front left tire sliding a bit on the soft sand shoulder.

"You never learned to park,did you?"Logan asked.

"Driving is easy,"Bob replied cheerfully."Stopping...well,that's another story."

"You park the way Cyclops flies,"Logan said,getting out of the car.

"Ouch!"He exclaimed."That's just mean."

They all got out and walked across the road,the silence broken only by the soft whisper of the waves against the shore and the distant cries of seagulls,and Logan got a feeling something was wrong but he didn't know what.He sniffed the air,and knew people had been here,but not when.He only knew they weren't here now.

There were tire tracks on the sand,leading to and away from the house,and he realized the seagulls were circling,but hadn't landed anywhere near the house or on the beach by it.

"What's wrong?"Bob asked,coming abreast of him.Helga stood next to him on the other side.

"I don't know,"he admitted,sniffing the air."Somethin's got the gulls riled up."

"You can talk to animals too?Cor,I'm impressed,"Helga said,giving him a bright smile.

He scowled at her,not amused,but she obviously thought she was a laugh riot.

"Can you tell if someone's home?"Bob continued.

"It's empty,I think,"he said,as the breeze picked up off the ocean.Along with the sharp tang of brine,he smelled rotting kelp,effluviant from illegal dumping,and...something faint,chemical,acrid.Like napalm,or rocket fuel.

"Holy shit,"Logan exclaimed,just as the entire house exploded into a huge fireball that lit up the sky like a second sun.

***

Tokyo-1980

Logan was late.Logan was never late...unless something awful happened.Then he generally came in smelling of blood.

Sometimes she wanted to scream at these idiotic people to leave him alone,to leave her family alone,but at some point this territorial pissing contest had turned personal.Now it was a grudge,a blood feud,and it was unlikely to end until one family (or both) was rotting underground.And if it wasn't bad enough before,Logan was a Yashida now;he had married her.Perhaps as a joke,or not,or as a show of solidarity,when they married he took her name-he called himself Logan Yashida now.He admitted to her he didn't remember his real last name.It was possible it was Logan,and his first name was unknown,but he was used to Logan.It was the one thing he said he always managed to remember.

This was no way to live life,and there were times she thought her feelings of happiness were awful and unforgivable, because so many people had died and suffered,and probably would continue to do so until someone figured out a way to end this madness.Logan had actually come up with a few suggestions,but they had been rejected outright because they all seemed to suggest the 'black market' business needed clearing up.Her family still refused to give up all shady dealings,mainly because "the Takabes can't scare us".

Well,they were idiots.They scared her,and even Logan didn't like the way the tide had turned,and he was afraid of no man.And that included the tide within the Yashida family itself.

Four months ago,she had pretended she needed to get away,and had to attend the wedding of an old classmate in America.No one wanted her to go,but Dad-who was now managing to say a few words and seemed to comprehend things-was driving Ryan crazy (he was sure their Uncle Hachiro was pulling his strings,as it were,because he wanted to head the business-he thought Ryan was an 'addlepated drunk'.She couldn't argue,but she was furious that he just assumed the business would go to him if Ryan gave it up-she wasn't even considered a viable life form in his backwards world view),so he didn't care,and Logan nobly accompanied her to the States as a personal bodyguard, letting his 'deputy' Benny take over for the forty eight hours they were gone.

Of course,the wedding was her own:she and Logan got hitched in a quickie wedding in Las Vegas and then headed back,braced for the shitstorm sure to follow.

And there was.Hachiro started raging at her about marrying not only a gaijin,but "him-that thug,that creature"...a rant that ended the second Logan came into the room.Hachiro tried to launch a good snit at Logan,but Logan simply crossed his arms over his chest and stared the old man down;Uncle left the room rather quickly.Hachiro was afraid of Logan;he was happy to use him for his help but secretly loathed him,which she hadn't discovered until they were married.It didn't bother Logan."I'm used to being hated,"he said with a shrug.He seemed to think that was no big deal,but that struck her as absolutely hideous.Why did he have to get used to people hating him-and not for him but because he was a mutant?

Of course,Hachiro didn't know he was a mutant.He simply hated Logan for being white and stronger than he could ever hope to be in three lifetimes.She didn't want to know what would happen if he found out he was a mutant.

Her father wouldn't look at her when she went to the convalescent home where he now lived,struggling to recover from his devastating injuries.But that was okay with her;her father was a cruel,spiteful man,hideous to his children, and she had honestly never liked him.He and his younger brother Hachiro could be called 'peas in a pod'.

Ryan's reaction was surprising.He just congratulated them and left it at that (the face Logan made when Ryan said "So you're my brother-in-law now!" was absolutely priceless.She'd never seen him so genuinely horrified),but later he caught her alone,and whispered,"Smooth move,sis,getting him roped into the family like that.What did I say about you being the smart one?"

The slimy bastard actually thought she married him,prostituting herself in essence,so Logan would have to stay with the family regardless of the contract.She was so appalled she slugged him on the shoulder and told him she insulted he could even think of such a thing,but even while cringing in pain he gave her a conspiratorial wink.He obviously thought that was part of her 'cover'.She let him think whatever the hell he wanted,because she didn't feel like trying to beat the truth through his thick skull.

Besides,it seemed endemic in the family to believe there was no way in hell she could actually love him,and she couldn't be bothered to take them all on.They believed what they wished to believe.Both she and Logan knew the truth,and that was all that mattered.

She picked at the yakisoba noodles she picked up at that take out place for dinner,but they were cold and she wasn't hungry anymore,so she got up from the kitchen table and threw them away.

The one good thing was they had the main house to themselves now.Ryan offered it to them,saying Logan's guest house was "better for a bachelor",but they both knew he thought it would be easier for him to sneak away from Logan and the security team out there.Logan had assigned Benny and Itchy (okay,that wasn't his name,but everyone called him that because of the rash on his neck) to watch him like a hawk and tail him wherever he went,even if the bastard tried to sneak out,and call him instantly if he did.She was amazed Ryan actually thought he could put one over on them.

She had just thrown the plate,dirty with congealed sauce,in the sink when she thought she heard the front door close.

"Logan?"She asked hopefully,and then a small trill of shock ran through her.What if it was someone else,someone the Takabes hired...but that was insane.Even if they could breach the security system,would they just walk in?

Still,she cautiously peered around the dining room entrance,into the living room,before she heard a familiar baritone voice say,wearily,"Yeah,it's me,Riko."

She exhaled,having never been aware she was holding her breath,and asked automatically,"Are you all right?"

"Yes,"he said,coming to the dining room.He was still wearing his jacket,having not bothered to take it off."No.I mean,I'm not hurt,if that's what you're askin'."

She frowned in consternation,studying him carefully.If she didn't know better,she'd think he was depressed."Logan... what's happened?What's wrong?"

"I am,"he said,and embraced her tightly.She put her arms around him and hugged him back,noting that he smelled faintly of cigars.Now she was more convinced than ever something was horribly wrong.

"Somebody else has died,haven't they?"She asked into his chest,afraid to look up at him and see the answer on his face.

"No,nothing like that,"he assured her,kissing the top of her head before letting her go and moving away.

He walked into the kitchen,then stopped and came back,nervously running a hand through his hair.It was immediately obvious he didn't know what to do with himself,and that made her instantly nervous.When the hell was Logan ever anxious about anything?

"Hon,you're freaking me the hell out here,"she told him."Could you please stop pacing and tell me what's wrong before I go get the gun?"

He sighed,and while his eyes seemed to scud over her face,he never looked her straight in the eyes,which unnerved her even more.He pulled one of the oak chairs away from the rectangular dining room table (her father had liked Western decor) and sat down,facing her as opposed to it,but he seemed to be looking at the tiled floor by her feet,not at her."I don't know how to tell you this,Riko..."

"The beginning's a good place to start,"she pointed out.Was he going to tell her he was leaving her?That he found another woman?Several awful ideas chased themselves around her mind,but she couldn't actually believe any of them.She just wished he'd look at her.

"I was-"he began,then seemed to falter.He ran a hand through his hair again,and then rested his hands on his knees, unsure what to do with them.Then he seemed to stare at his knuckles for a moment,and found the strength to go on. "I lied to you about my mutations."

Somehow,that never crossed her mind."How so?"

"I have one I didn't mention.I don't like to talk about it.I-"he paused again,and finally he looked up at her,and she was taken aback.Were those really tears in his eyes?It stunned her breathless to even speculate.

"What?Logan,what are you trying to tell me?"She managed to ask.She almost didn't want to hear what he had to say.

"I...I worked for this agency for a while.They said they were government,but I don't know if they really ever were.If they were,it was complete Black Ops,off the record.In fact,we didn't have names-we had serial numbers and code names only.'Plausible deniability',I suppose.We were mostly mutants too.When they approached me,they didn't think much of me,and didn't see how I could help them,but they threw these guys at me anyways,to see if I could fight.I guess I don't need to tell you how that came out.I impressed the recruiter so much he gave me the code name Wolverine-said I didn't look like much,but I fought like a vicious animal.I guess he thought it was a compliment. Also,these reminded him of a wolverine."Logan closed his eyes,as if concentrating,and his hands clenched into fists on his legs...

...and something exploded out of his knuckles.

She managed not to jump,but was unable to stifle the startled gasp.She crept closer for a better look,because she wasn't completely sure what she was seeing,and crouched down to have them at eye level.

They were...they reminded her of cat's claws.Nine inch segments of bone (?),three on each hand,almost straight but with a slight arcing curve,ending at tips that looked razor sharp and smeared with a bit of his blood acquired when bursting through his flesh.She reached out to touch one,then thought better of it and looked up at him.His eyes were open again,and now she could confirm there were tears glittering in his eyes,while his smile was sardonic and almost bitter."I'm an even bigger fucking freak than you thought."

She couldn't help but feel a surge of anger at that,and imagined that was communicated through her look."I have never thought you were a freak,Logan.Stop that shit before I smash your face in."

That almost made him laugh,but a single tear spilled down his cheek."Yes dear."

"Do...do they hurt?"She had to look away from his face,because she just couldn't bear to see him cry.It seemed like something was terribly wrong with the world if he did.Even more than normal.

"No,they're bone.No nerves.They only hurt when they rip through the skin."

She did touch one of the claws tentatively with her fingertips.It felt smooth,like polished ivory,and body temperature tepid.They felt more solid than she would have suspected,especially from looking at them.They had looked so slender ,like knife blades,but they felt more like machetes.

"I don't like to...let them out,"he admitted."They remind me of what an animal I am."

She looked up sharply."You're not an animal."

"I can be,"he replied quietly,sounding almost humbled."Sometimes my anger is bigger than I am.I can't control it. It's like...the human part of me goes away,and I just become possessed by...I don't know.I like to blame it on my animalistic side,but I guess it's simply rage.Akira helped me learn how to contain it,but sometimes I can feel it rising up,threatening to tear me away.It's one of the reasons they liked me.I was their top operative or something.On the last report I saw,I was praised as a 'born killer'."He retracted the claws back into his hands,and she got to see the always startling sight of his skin healing itself almost instantly,closing up without spilling a drop of blood.No matter how often she saw it,it still seemed shocking."I don't want to be that."He closed his eyes,and two more tears rolled down his cheeks.

She reached up and took his face in her hands,forcing him to open his eyes and look at her."Listen to me,Logan-you aren't."

"I was,"he said."And they weren't going to let me leave,but I did anyways.So if anyone ever asks you about Wolverine...get away if you can,without letting on that you know about it.But if you can't...kill them first.I know how that seems,but I don't know what they'll do to you.This is all my fault,I should have told you before-"

"This changes nothing,"she insisted.She wasn't at all surprised that he was some kind of government agent (was he talking about the C.I.A.?):he seemed almost too good at what he did.What did surprise her was the shame and loathing he obviously felt towards himself,about his claws,about what he had done.She wanted to ask him for details -again,there were more questions than answers-but that wasn't the way Logan played the game.He would tell her in his own time.

"If you ever get hurt because of me-"he began,tears falling from his eyes in earnest now.

She couldn't stand it.She kissed the tears from his face,peripherally aware even his tears tasted different (less salty), and said,"It's not going to happen.It's not."

"I couldn't bear it,I couldn't-"he continued,until she kissed him on the lips,shutting him up.

Her stomach knotted in sorrow and rage,for him and against the bastards that had fucked him around so much he actually thought he was as inhuman as they wanted him to be.That was not the Logan she knew.

She felt his stubble scrape her skin,which was now so familiar she barely noticed it. Ironically he now shaved every day in deference to her,but his beard seemed to be back at the end of the day.Even his hair regenerated itself.

He responded to her kiss with a desperation that was almost violent;her lips felt crushed against his,but she didn't care.This was her Logan,and no one else could have him.

She pulled him down to the floor,the tile cool and hard but Logan was warm.His weight on top of her was welcome and familiar as she slid her hands beneath his shirt,enjoying the feeling of his soft flesh against hers.She felt tears in her own eyes,but kept them closed.She didn't want to think about that,and she didn't want him to think about it either.He had suffered enough.They had suffered enough.

She felt his tears on her face,and he whispered,"I love you,Mariko.I don't want-"

"Shh,"she whispered."No more words."She kissed him again,and she felt him relent,let go,give into the kiss as his hand snaked under her shirt,smoothing up her stomach,making goosebumps race up her skin.

She wrapped one of her legs around his as he brushed his lips down to her throat,pulling up her shirt,and she hardly even noticed the tear that squeezed out of the corner of her eye.

She loved him,but she lived in fear that fate was aligning against them.Now more than ever.

**

To be fair,Itchy wasn't the brightest security guard on the planet,but he could be a tenacious bastard.He was just lucky Benny was bored and decided to get loaded,leaving poor,dumb Itchy to handle tailing him all by himself.He figured he lost him near the wharf.Of course,if he had any brains at all he'd know this is where he came,but Itchy wasn't strong on brains.In fact,Itchy hadn't even called Logan yet.Ryan knew this because Logan hadn't stormed in the door and started dragging him out of here like a wayward teenager.Logan was no rocket scientist (really,what American was?),but he did have common sense,and an uncanny ability to find anyone anywhere.If Logan had been called in he would have given up,because he knew from experience there was no shaking that guy.He was like a bloodhound or something.

Ryan laid back in bed,and glanced at the open door to the interior room,where Asako and Ume had disappeared after Madam Yoriko had called them away for a moment.He had missed this place.

Oh sure,it was technically a whorehouse,but it was a classy one-this wasn't some dump in the red light district. Madam Yoriko had an exclusive clientele:not just anyone could come here.No pun intended.

"How 'bout bringin' some more wine?"He shouted,stretching out on the red silk sheets.If this place wasn't heaven,it was close.And he had been away too damn long.

He saw movement play as shadows across the open door,and when the figured appeared in the doorway he guessed it to be Asako (she was a bigger girl than Ume).But it was obvious the person was a man."Hey,dude,this room's taken," he said,before realizing the man held something that glinted in his hand.

Maybe it was all the beer,and the pot he had smoked earlier in the evening,but he didn't quite believe the man was holding a gun on him.And even when it began to sink in,it still seemed completely unreal.

"Oh,"he said,slightly disappointed.Logan was right after all-he never should have come back here.

It was his last thought before he saw a bright explosion of light from the muzzle of the gun,and suddenly Ryan wasn't thinking or feeling much of anything at all.

Los Angeles-Present Day

The force of the shockwave wasn't as impressive as the sheer heat;he smelled it singe his hair as it seemed to roll over them,blistering the exposed skin on his hands in a weird series of pain,numbness,and then pain again as his healing factor instantly took over.

What debris there was began to rain down,and Logan was glad he wore a leather jacket today,because it had a higher ignition point than most fabric.He felt burning embers drift down and make small pinhole burns on the back of his neck,and on the back of his legs after super hot shards of wood and ash smoldered through the thin denim of his jeans,but while it hurt,he'd had worse.

Lots worse.Worse to the ten millionth power.