Panting heavily, The Wolverine stood for a moment, attempting to regain some of the energy lost in the fray.  Once convinced he’d returned to an acceptable level of vitality, he traveled back up the winding staircase that brought him down into this pit, searching for another way to liberate himself from this hellish prison.        

Two down, two to go.  Venturing to the other side of the massive platform, gone were the haunting wails of despair once ubiquitous in this de facto dungeon; instead, they were replaced with the giddy sound of children’s laughter.  A surprisingly familiar sound, The Wolverine recognized it immediately.  It reminded him of the school he once taught at.  A school for ‘gifted’ children.  

‘Logan?’ he heard the voice call out.

It’d been ages since anyone called him by that name.  ‘Where are you!’ The Wolverine shouted, snapping into action.

‘In your head.  My name is Charles Xavier, and I want to help you.  I see how conflicted you are, Logan.  I know this life wears on you.  I’m here to offer you a better one…’ 

The life had taken its toll.  When The Wolverine enlisted it was to defend his country, not to be experimented on, and turned into some monstrosity: or perhaps that’s exactly what he was meant to be…

‘You want to leave this place, don’t you?’

The voice was right: with each mission he lost another piece of whatever remainder of a soul they left in him when tearing out his humanity, putting malice and vengeance in its place.  Malice, vengeance, and nine-inch-long indestructible razor-sharp claws.  

‘I can give you refuge, as I’ve done for others like you.’

There were no others like him.  The Wolverine was a rabid dog, too far gone to ever be rehabilitated.  From now on, this was the only life he’d ever know.  

‘Your torment cries out to me.  Let me help you, Logan,’ continued the disembodied voice.    

There was no look of surprise on the face of Professor Charles Xavier upon opening the large, wooden door of the impressive manor for our wayward traveler; only a smile, and a greeting of, “Hello, Logan.  We’ve been expecting you…”