Waiting patiently and taking better care of his body, Logan cut back on his usual work.
But his job had only ever been a means to an end, to accumulate enough funds to buy a boat, escape from society, and spend his remaining days with Charles, waiting quietly for death.
Unexpectedly, death never came. Instead, he found himself with a new lease on life.
"We've got a problem."
"What?"
"Like you said, I can't eat regular food right now. So where are we supposed to get 'clean' food?"
None of the food or water sold in supermarkets was safe. He had no idea which products had been laced with genetic suppressants, and considering that mutants had been completely wiped out across the world, it was clear that these drugs had been incorporated into all food sources.
Ethan had already been thinking about this issue. Fortunately, he always kept a stockpile of food and water in his storage space whenever he traveled between planes. If managed properly, it would be enough to sustain Logan for a short while.
As for himself, Ethan had no concerns. The genetic drugs had no effect on ordinary humans, they only targeted mutant genes or latent mutant potential. And in either case, there was no possibility of Ethan becoming a mutant.
Taking out his stored provisions, Logan silently counted them.
"This will last me three days at most."
Ethan understood the situation perfectly.
"Three days is enough. Your body's almost fully recovered, right?"
Logan nodded, making a fist with his left hand. At first, his movements were stiff, like joints that had rusted over. Even his adamantium claws, which had required effort to unsheathe before, now extended smoothly with a single motion.
When he retracted them, the wounds they left immediately healed—without even a drop of blood spilling.
This was proof that Wolverine was back to normal. Even if he wasn't at his absolute peak, he had regained at least 70–80% of his original strength.
"Then there's no need to wait any longer."
Ethan had initially expected things to take longer. In the original timeline, the nurse searching for Logan hadn't found him immediately, which had led to a series of events.
The film's opening had shown Logan's daily life in a few brief cuts, spanning anywhere from a week to several months.
But since Professor Charles had already contacted Laura and guided her toward Logan, it was safe to assume the delay wouldn't be that long. That was why Ethan hadn't rushed to take action and instead waited for a few days.
Now, however, Laura still hadn't arrived, Logan's body had nearly recovered, and their food reserves meant they couldn't afford to wait any longer.
What made things even trickier was Ethan's original plan.
If Laura had arrived alongside the nurse Gabriela, they would have known exactly where their enemies were. Even if they refused to speak, they could have drawn out Dr. Rice and his men, making the next steps simple—kill whoever came after them.
But with Laura still missing, they couldn't afford to sit idle.
This was exactly why Ethan rarely made overly detailed plans. The world was unpredictable, circumstances changed, and rigid plans often fell apart. Instead, he preferred to set a general direction, move forward, and solve problems as they arose. If no new obstacles appeared, then the problem was solved.
"So, first things first… How do we lure them out?"
Logan looked at Ethan, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you asking me?"
"How would I know? Before you showed up, I didn't even know these guys existed or what they were doing."
Casually, Logan pulled out a cigar. Now that his health had recovered, he had gone out and bought himself a pack. Just as he was about to light one, a thought crossed his mind.
"You think they've laced cigars with that crap too?"
"Highly possible." Ethan gave him a pointed look. "Did you forget the one I gave you the other day? If I can enhance a cigar with good things, then obviously others can do the opposite."
"Shit."
Cursing, Logan threw the cigar to the ground. His good mood instantly soured.
"I don't want to live like this."
At first, he had only followed Ethan because of Professor Charles' final wishes. But now, he was desperate to leave this damn world. The people in charge truly hadn't left any room for mutants to survive.
Ethan thought for a moment before realizing the simplest solution—find Laura first.
"If she won't come to us, we'll go to her."
Carefully recalling details from the film, he remembered that Gabriela, the nurse, had been staying in a motel. The address had been clearly shown.
He mentioned the motel's name, and Logan who had been driving around as a chauffeur for years—immediately recognized it.
"Yeah, I know where that is."
"Good. That's where we're headed."
"And why exactly are we going there?"
"Once we find your daughter, we can move to the next step."
Otherwise, without even knowing where their enemies were, they'd just be flailing around blindly.
"I told you, she's not my daughter."
"Biologically speaking, she is."
Logan let out a heavy sigh.
This whole situation was ridiculous.
Out of nowhere, he suddenly had a daughter. And what frustrated him even more was that, in the past few years, when his health had been at its worst, he hadn't even had the chance to make mistakes. This daughter of his had quite literally fallen from the sky.
After making some quick preparations, they gathered everything they needed.
Professor Charles had passed away several days ago. To prevent his body from being stolen and used for research, Logan and Ethan had cremated him. From that moment on, Professor X no longer existed in this world.
By now, most of their supplies had been depleted, so there wasn't much left to pack. Grabbing a change of clothes, Logan got behind the wheel of their luxury car and drove toward the motel Ethan had mentioned.
When they arrived, Logan glanced at Ethan, who was scanning their surroundings.
"This the place?"
"Maybe."
Ethan wasn't entirely certain. Watching a movie was one thing—seeing the real world was another. He took a few steps, checking different angles, comparing them to the images in his memory.
Finally, he nodded.
"Yeah. This is it."
Leaving Logan in the car, Ethan headed straight inside to find the motel owner.
Behind the counter sat a heavyset woman with a rather unfriendly face. At first glance, she didn't give a great impression and her attitude did nothing to improve that. She barely acknowledged Ethan, her tone indifferent.
"Listen, this is a proper motel. We don't just give out guest information to anyone."
Ethan studied the woman carefully and noticed her subtle, almost imperceptible movements. Without hesitation, he reached into his coat and discreetly retrieved a gold coin from his storage space.
"I don't have any cash, but I'm sure you'll be interested in this."
"Is this real?"
At first, the heavyset woman didn't pay much attention to it. But after a few glances, she realized it was genuine gold. Her eyes instantly locked onto it, unable to look away.
"Has a Mexican woman come here recently with a little girl?"
Ethan held the gold coin between his fingers and lightly flicked it back and forth. The woman's gaze followed the movement, her head swaying unconsciously from side to side.
The moment Ethan stopped, the woman snatched the gold coin and examined it carefully. After a brief pause, she gave them the room number.
"A Mexican woman did check in with a little girl, but I don't know if they're the ones you're looking for."
Ethan nodded. That was all he needed.
Turning around, he waved at Logan. He had no intention of handling this alone—Gabriela didn't know him and wouldn't trust him. It would be much better if Logan took the lead in this conversation.
Things went just as Ethan had expected.
The moment Gabriela Lopez saw Logan, she became visibly emotional and started speaking rapidly. However, none of her words were particularly coherent, making Ethan's head ache. Eventually, he had to interrupt.
"Alright, calm down. This isn't the place for a conversation. Let's talk somewhere else."
Since Gabriela had sought out Logan, she didn't object to Ethan's presence.
Besides, this motel was far from secure. The soundproofing was terrible, and given the motel owner's unscrupulous nature, she was likely eavesdropping just outside the door.
Realizing the risk, Gabriela quickly packed her belongings. She retrieved a phone from the closet and left with Ethan and Logan.
"Where to?"
As they got into Logan's car, they hesitated for a moment before deciding to return to their previous hideout.
That location was near the border, and considering that their ultimate goal was to take down the research facility hidden in Mexico, it made sense to regroup there. The area was remote enough that no one would bat an eye if things got violent.
Of course, this trip wouldn't be wasted.
Once Gabriela calmed down, she finally managed to explain things in a more structured manner.
The research facility in Mexico had been using mutant genes to create a new generation of mutants. Their goal was to develop obedient, controllable weapons. But when they realized this method wasn't viable, they decided to "dispose" of their failed experiments—that is, the mutant children.
Gabriela, unable to stand by and watch such cruelty, freed the children and fled with Laura, hoping to seek help from Wolverine.
She specifically brought Laura because the girl was a weapon engineered using Wolverine's DNA—codenamed X-23. However, what Gabriela didn't know was that Professor Charles had already discovered Laura's existence and had been secretly guiding her toward Logan all along.
In the original timeline, without Ethan's intervention, Gabriela would have soon been caught and killed by the facility's operatives. Meanwhile, Laura—who had hidden inside Logan's car—would have successfully met up with him and Professor Charles.
But now, none of that would happen.
Especially not the part where they were forced to flee like hunted animals, constantly on the run from a group of ordinary humans.
(To be continued.)
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