Inside the claustrophobic steel corridors of the nuclear submarine, shadows danced with each flicker of faulty lights. The low hum of the reactor vibrated through the walls like the breath of a sleeping monster.
Logan marched forward with purpose, his boots clanging against the floor with each step. Behind him, Erik walked in silence—cold focus etched into his face.
Darwin brought up the rear, his eyes scanning every shadowed crevice. "Feels like walking into a trap," he muttered under his breath.
Back on the surface, the others had wanted to follow. But Emma had intervened with a grim warning.
"There's a nuclear reactor embedded within the sub's core. One stray energy blast could trigger a chain reaction. It's safer if only those who can take it go in."
That had silenced the group.
Using her telepathy, Emma created a secure mental link between Logan, Erik, Darwin and Charles.
> "Think of it as a psychic comm-link," her voice said in their heads. "I'll guide you remotely."
'Good to know that telepathic communication is possible for me,' Logan thought.
Charles's voice rang softly in Logan and Erik's minds through Emma's temporary telepathic relay.
> "Stay alert. Don't let your guard down."
They approached a thick steel door lined with reinforced plating. A low hiss sounded, and the door creaked open to reveal a glass chamber, glowing faintly blue from reactor radiation.
Inside stood Sebastian Shaw, his figure immaculate in a dark coat, polished boots, and the signature gray telepathy-blocking helmet firmly in place.
He turned slowly, hands behind his back, as if awaiting guests for tea.
"So the wolves finally arrive," Shaw said, his voice echoing with deceptive calm. "Erik… Logan and some other mutant kid. It's almost poetic, isn't it? Mutants rising against their own salvation."
As the trio stepped in, the door slammed shut behind them with a hydraulic hiss.
Immediately, the psychic link vanished.
On the beach, Charles staggered. "They're gone. The connection is… completely cut off."
Emma narrowed her eyes, "That chamber is lined with lead and psychic-dampening alloys. I can't get through."
Back inside, Eric's face darkened. Metal shards from the hallway slithered behind him like vipers ready to strike.
"You tried to start a war," Erik growled. "You wanted blood on all our hands."
Shaw chuckled. "Not war, Erik. Revolution. Evolution always demands sacrifice."
Logan extended his claws with a signature shikt.
"I should thank you. Truly. You've forced the world to the edge of change. Fear leads to control. Control leads to dominance. Mutantkind will rule, Logan… Erik… All I ever wanted was for you to see it."
"Funny," Logan said while circling slowly. "You talk a lot for a guy hiding in a box."
Without further words, Erik attacked, launching the metal debris like missiles toward Shaw. They struck—but Shaw didn't flinch.
The energy from the metal simply glowed across his body as he absorbed the force, feeding it into his already supercharged cells.
Darwin stepped forward, his skin turning to dense stone, and threw a massive punch—but Shaw simply raised his hand. A wave of kinetic energy blasted outward from him like a pulse.
Darwin was launched across the room like a cannonball, crashing into the glass wall with a crack and a groan.
The impact created a fracture, and a surge of mental energy flickered.
"I'm back in!" Charles gasped.
"Good," Emma responded quickly. "We need to coordinate this."
Inside the chamber, Logan hadn't made a move yet. He had circled Shaw slowly, deflecting a few bolts of kinetic energy aimed his way, but conserving strength—watching, reading.
'He's faster and stronger than I expected.'
But Logan also noticed something else.
'He's relying on overwhelming power. Not precision. He's cocky.'
Erik met Logan's eyes, and a wordless understanding passed between them.
Logan turned to Shaw and narrowed his eyes.
Then with a slight nod to Darwin, who got into position, and a glance at Erik, Logan made his move.
Logan leapt high, claws out, while Darwin dashed from the left. The two closed in on Shaw from opposite directions.
Shaw grinned and unleashed a devastating pulse. The energy flared and sent Darwin tumbling back once more. Logan was caught in midair.
With a twist of his wrist, Shaw summoned nearby metal debris and wrapped Logan and Darwin in a prison of molten-hot steel coils, pinning them to the reactor walls.
"You're strong, Logan," Shaw said. "But strength without vision is just animal instinct. I am the future. I am your evolution."
Then Shaw turned to Erik. "And you… my greatest creation. I gave your power a purpose the day I killed your mother. I woke the rage inside you. Without me, you'd still be a frightened little boy in a ghetto."
Erik's face froze, but his eyes told a different story. "Maybe," he whispered. "But you killed my mother. And for that…"
"I'll give you something to remember me by," Shaw sneered, raising his hand toward Erik, a spark of nuclear energy forming at his fingertip. "Goodbye, Erik."
But Erik didn't move. Not physically.
A tiny filament of metal thread, barely visible, snaked its way across the floor—behind Shaw, looping slowly up the side of his neck.
In a blink, the wire jerked, yanking the helmet from his head.
"NOW!" Charles screamed into the telepathic link.
Shaw froze, mid-motion—his mind locked down by Charles and Emma working in perfect tandem.
The light in his eyes dimmed.
The instant the psychic barrier collapsed, the metallic bindings coiled around Logan and Darwin snapped apart, groaning under the loss of Shaw's influence.
Logan landed with a low grunt, claws still extended, his boots crunching against the grated steel floor.
He didn't hesitate.
In three swift strides, he crossed the distance, his golden eyes fixed on Sebastian Shaw, who stood frozen in place—expression locked mid-smirk, eyes wide in paralyzed awareness.
"You talk too much," Logan muttered.
In the psychic channel, Emma she felt the intent. She withdrew her telepathy instantly, retreating just as—
> "NO!" Charles shouted through the link, his mental scream echoing in their heads.
> "Darwin—stop him!"
Too late.
Logan's claws slashed in a swift, clean arc—so fast that not even enhanced eyes could track the motion.
SHNK!
Shaw's head dropped from his shoulders in eerie silence, thudding to the floor beside his body with a dull thump.
Blood sprayed briefly, coating the walls and Logan's arms. A few last flickers of nuclear energy pulsed through Shaw's corpse… then faded.
There was no psychic backlash. No pain. No scream of a soul severed.
Only silence.
Charles's voice abruptly cut off. The moment Shaw's mind died, the psychic link between him and Shaw vanished—snuffed out like a candle.
Logan stood still for a heartbeat, claws dripping, the silence of the submarine broken only by the hum of the reactor and the slow trickle of blood.
Then he turned.
Erik stood only a few feet away—staring not at Shaw's body, but at Logan. His face unreadable. His eyes, stormy.
Logan raised a brow. "Sorry, bub," he muttered, with a half-shrug. "First come, first kill."
For a heartbeat, Erik said nothing.
The air between them grew tense.
Logan could feel it. The cold weight of metal responding to Erik's shifting mood.
He expected a fight. Part of him even welcomed it.
Erik's hands clenched. His jaw tightened. Then… he let out a breath and slowly lifted Shaw's body using metal fragments.
He turned, eyes dark, but his voice calm. "Let's meet others first."
Logan gave a small nod, retracting his claws with a snikt. "Alright."
Behind them, Darwin stood tense—clenching his fists, his body still partially armored in stone. He hadn't moved fast enough.
He hadn't stopped it.
His eyes locked on Shaw's lifeless body—on Logan—and for a second, something unreadable flickered in his gaze.
But he said nothing.
Wordlessly, he turned and followed.