X-24 slowly withdrew his three blood-slicked claws from Professor Charles’s chest.
Warm blood dripped from the metal tips, splashing onto the asphalt in dark red blooms.
He turned, his feral eyes scanning past the collapsed Laura and locking onto the entrance of the parking lot.
“…”
Logan stood there, speechless.
He saw Charles, saw the horrific wound on his chest, and saw the last glimmer of light fading from the old man’s wide-open eyes.
Quietly, Logan lowered Miles to the ground, then took a step forward, walking toward X-24 one step at a time.
Three identical, gleaming steel claws silently tore through his skin, slowly sliding out from between his knuckles.
The old wolf’s chest heaved violently, every breath feeling like he was swallowing razor blades.
He didn’t swear, nor did he think about that damn Sunseeker.
Everything around him blurred into the background; only the monster ahead bearing his own young face remained painfully sharp.
In this moment, only one thought remained in his mind.
Kill him.
Even if it cost him his life.
Meanwhile, Miles lay on the ground, watching helplessly as Charles’s body slid limply from the seat.
Those eyes, once so filled with wisdom and warmth, were now lifeless and dull.
Then he looked back at X-24, the savage beast standing not far away, radiating pure, unadulterated murderous intent.
Something searing rushed from his chest straight to his throat, burning his nerves and threatening to consume him.
Miles gritted his teeth so hard that blood seeped from his gums, filling his mouth with a metallic, salty taste.
Trembling, he reached up and pressed his fingers to his temple once more.
He remembered the sun-drenched highway, the spooked horses, and Charles leaning against the car window, his voice gentle but firm as he spoke.
“…It takes patience, and comfort…”
The words repeated in his mind like a mantra, suppressing his screaming rage and grief.
“…Make friends with him…”
*Buzz—*
His psychic world expanded, revealing that same familiar, chaotic void burning with programming to kill.
Last time, Miles had been entirely helpless against this chaotic mental noise.
But this time, he didn’t treat his psychic energy like a weapon to brutally force the beast’s mind.
Instead, he shaped it into a delicate hand, patiently aligning with the violent flow of the beast’s thoughts, trying to understand, organize, and soothe.
“You can do this, Miles…
You have to do this…”
Miles muttered under his breath as he pushed his power.
“You have to…”
He could sense that the Reavers who had rushed out of the operating room were about to catch up.
Against X-24, Laura had already lost.
Old Logan, even if he fought with all his might, would only be a moth to a flame.
And this time, X-24 wasn’t wearing headphones, meaning Miles’s ability to manipulate electronic devices was useless here.
Trapped between enemies on both sides, there was nowhere to run.
In this desperate situation, there was only one solution he could think of…
The only way…
Comfort…
Friend…”
Miles repeated the words, his body trembling, forcing down all the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
Forget the fear.
Forget the anger.
Try…
gentleness.
*”Hello…
I am…
a friend…”*
Blood-colored tears leaked from Miles’s bloodshot eyes.
Gritting his teeth, he slowly projected his voice into X-24’s mind.
Instantly, X-24, who was squaring off against Logan, froze slightly.
…
Logan slowly closed the distance between himself and X-24.
Ten meters.
Eight meters.
Five meters…
Finally, with less than three meters between them, Logan paused for half a second.
In that fraction of a second, his muscles coiled, his back legs bent slightly, and his spine arched like a fully drawn bow.
The burning in his lungs, the groaning of his bones—everything was compressed to its absolute limit.
He was ready to launch the final, most desperate death charge of his life.
But just then, the X-24 in front of him suddenly retracted his claws.
The bloodthirsty beast went completely still.
X-24 stood in silence, the storm of violence in his eyes seemingly frozen by an invisible sheet of ice.
He even tilted his head slightly in confusion, like a dog trying to decipher a command.
He looked down at his retracted claws, then back up at Logan.
His eyes were still wild, but a trace of bewilderment had crept in.
“I’ve got him!”
Miles’s weak but urgent shout echoed from behind.
“Logan!
Take Charles to the operating room!!”
Logan’s forward momentum halted abruptly.
He turned his head and saw Miles collapsed on the ground.
Blood and tears stained his face, and his body was twitching uncontrollably, but his eyes were brighter than they had ever been.
“Damn it, you’d better not be lying!” Logan barked.
But without a second thought, he obeyed Miles’s command and lunged toward Charles.
He chose to trust Miles—or rather, in this moment, he chose to believe in this last, desperate shred of hope.
He slipped carefully past the statue-like X-24, rushed to the pickup truck, and hoisted the bloody, dying Charles onto his back.
Thank God…
“Found them!”
“They’re over here!”
Just then, a group of men burst from another exit of the hospital building.
Antony had finally arrived with his Reavers, their guns instantly raised and aimed.
“Finally found you, X-0…”
Antony’s eyes locked onto Miles, who lay flopping on the ground like a stranded fish, and sneered.
Since they couldn’t carry any electronic equipment, Antony, as the commander, had taken the field himself.
He led the remaining Reavers personally, determined to ensure the mission was executed flawlessly.
*Bang!
Bang!*
A few bullets spat into the ground, forcing Logan, who had just slung Charles over his back, to halt.
“Fuck!”
Logan cursed under his breath, preparing to set Charles down and fight.
But right then, the motionless X-24 snapped his head around, his gaze locking onto the approaching Reavers.
“Kill them,” Miles muttered hoarsely, his expression cold and detached.
*Roar—!!!*
A low, guttural roar erupted from the depths of X-24’s throat.
The beast coiled his legs and launched himself forward like a cannonball, hurtling toward the Reavers.
Twin sets of steel claws flashed out.
In the next instant, the air was filled with the sickening sound of tearing flesh and snapping bone.
There were no redundant roars, no useless grandstanding—just the most efficient, cold-blooded slaughter.
One Reaver had barely raised his gun before his arm was severed at the shoulder.
A split second later, claws skewered his throat.
“What the hell?!” Antony’s eyes went wide.
“Wait, X-24, we’re on the same…”
*Shhhk!*
Giving Antony no time to finish, X-24 drove his Adamantium claws straight through his mouth and out the back of his neck.
“Ah!”
“Oh god, the monster’s been controlled!”
“Run!!”
Logan watched in sheer disbelief, then looked down at Miles.
Only now did he truly dare to believe that Miles had actually taken control of the beast.
“Go!!!” Miles commanded with the last of his strength.
No longer hesitating, Logan broke into a run with old Charles on his back.
He dashed past Laura, his claws slicing through her bindings with a quick flick.
“Get the kid.”
With that, Logan didn’t look back.
He sprinted toward the hospital building and the operating room with old Charles on his back.