-Locke-

  Beast's explanation left me speechless. The idea of a double mutation seemed absurd, yet the prospect of gaining more power thrilled me.

  Ever since my encounter with Wanda, it became glaringly obvious that I needed a way to defend myself. With the kind of foes my bad luck seemed to attract, having a bigger stick was a necessity, not a luxury.

  Whoever said, “absolute power corrupts,” never spent a week as a Witch's prisoner.

  "Do we know what the mutations are?"

  I asked, hoping he had some answers.

  If I could unlock my own powers, I wouldn't have to rely on the Darkhold as much. As powerful and cool as the spells inside were, using my blood every time was a real drag.

  "Sadly, no. There's no conclusive way to find out."

  Beast sighed, sounding just as disappointed as I felt.

  "Damn it."

  I muttered, frustrated. Maybe the Professor knew something. Why else would he bring me down here?

  I turned to face him, noticing a small smile forming on his lips.

  "Do you want to awaken your mutation, Locke?"

  he asked, his voice laced with certainty. I almost bit my tongue in my haste to say yes.

  "Good. That is precisely what we're going to do."

  He wheeled himself forward, his confidence igniting my hope.

  "By having Logan hunt you inside the Danger Room."

  Wait, what?

  "Come again?" I asked, but my question was brushed aside.

  "Ooh, that might definitely work. Mutant powers commonly awaken during stress."

  Beast jumped in, his excitement contagious as he sprang to his feet.

  "I'll start prepping the simulation."

  Wait, wait...this is moving too fast...

  *Snikt.*

  "I'm gonna enjoy this, bub."

  Wolverine growled, a savage grin spreading across his face as his claws extended from his crossed hands.

  What the hell is going on?!

  ---

  A few minutes later, I found myself standing alone at the entrance to the Danger Room.

  The tunnel's transparent walls hummed with an electric tone, the shimmering forcefield casting a blue opaqueness over the entire chamber, obstructing my view of what lay inside.

  The loud noises and frantic voices coming from within made it obvious that the practice session was still in full swing. Whoever was inside was facing a tough opponent, and to my surprise, the thought of it made me excited.

  I glanced back. Beast was manning the controls on the Operations deck on the second floor, the Professor by his side.

  Logan… well, he’d gone to change into something more “hunt-worthy.” The way he bared his teeth at me when he said that made it clear who the prey was.

  My heart had pounded in my chest then, fear creeping in. Even now, just thinking about how sharp those claws were, made my pulse race.

  "Come on, you’ve faced worse,"

  I muttered to myself, slapping my face a couple of times to calm down.

  Besides, he might be a hunter, but he’s never tried to hunt someone like me. Like a cockroach, I’d do whatever it took to survive. Scurry into the shadows, bite, claw my way out—whether I awakened my mutation or not, Logan was going to understand who Locke Mastif was.

  I had a few minutes alone before he came back—enough time for a game plan. That thought quickly died as the simulation in Danger Room ended, the blue forcefield dissolving to reveal the chamber’s smooth, silver walls.

  On the chamber's ceiling, a circular lens glowed subtly, looming over a raised platform where Cyclops, Jean, and a group of unfamiliar teens stood. They looked worse for wear, burn and scuff marks covering their X-Men-lite uniforms. Scott seemed to be lecturing them.

  A heavy hand slapped me on the back.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  "One lesson ends, another begins,"

  Logan stated, striding past me to enter the Danger Room.

  I turned to face Xavier, making eye contact.

  "He got jokes now?"

  My voice was loud enough for him to hear from a distance.

  *(Like I said, properly trained,)*

  the Professor cheekily responded through telepathy, two fingers pressed against the sides of his head.

  *(Good luck, Locke. Something tells me you’ll need it.)*

  ---

  "I don’t think this is safe, Professor. Locke just woke up."

  Jean voiced her disapproval as she joined Xavier, Scott, and Beast in the Operations room.

  All four focused intently on the wide screen in front of them.

  "Relax, Jeanie. Logan will know to hold back," Scott reassured her, defending his mentor’s decision.

  Jean’s expression remained conflicted as she stared at Locke’s image. Scott thought she was worried about him, but the truth was, she was more concerned about Wolverine.

  After touching Locke’s mind when they first met, she sensed something… sinister coiled around his consciousness. It had set her off, and ever since then, her powers had been acting strangely whenever she was around him.

  -Locke-

  I opened my eyes, finding myself in a dense jungle. Trees draped with vines and lichen surrounded me, while my feet stood on a wild carpet of green thicket and grass.

  The ground felt soft and pliable beneath me, the air carrying a slightly swampy smell, buzzing with mosquitoes and other unfamiliar insects.

  I rapped my knuckles on a nearby tree.

  'This is hard light?'

  I thought, slightly disbelieving as I recalled Beast’s explanation of the Danger Room’s true nature. Everything looked and felt so realistic it was hard to believe it was all simulated.

  Suddenly, my danger sense—honed by the recent brushes with death—went haywire.

  Without thinking, I jumped, my back slamming against a tree just as Wolverine’s claws dug into the soil where I’d stood moments before. I looked up, locking eyes with the mutant.

  "Shit."

  I cursed under my breath, scrambling to bite my thumb, only to abandon the move in desperation, dodging a slash aimed at my neck.

  I fell back, landing on my ass as the claws sliced clean through the tree behind me, the wood groaning as it tilted and crashed down on us.

  Fortunately, I managed to roll away just in time, breathing hard, surprise etched on my face.

  Wolverine was on the ground, a branch sticking through the side of his neck, his body pinned under the fallen tree’s weight. Despite that, he still snarled at me, blood staining his teeth.

  "That looks like it hurts,"

  I commented, watching him struggle.

  He tried to speak but choked on blood.

  *Snikt.*

  So, he deployed his claws instead. The message was loud and clear: he would slice the tree up, but it would take time, and by then, I would be long gone.

  Unexpectedly, I walked forward and pricked my thumb on the tip of his middle claw, drawing a drop of blood.

  "Thanks."

  I said, ignoring Logan’s confused glare as I drew an inverted cross on the skin of his left arm. Then, I did the same to my own palm, though I left the symbol halfway, so it resembled an “I.”

  "Don’t worry, Wolvie. This is just insurance."

  I smirked, patting his head,

  "Good doggy."

  Then I vanished into the lush woods, leaving behind a growling Wolverine.

  In the Operations room, Scott and Beast were doubled over with laughter, while Xavier looked stunned at the screen.

  "He’ll gut him like a fish."

  Jean muttered, her worry for Wolverine now battling with her new worry for Locke's wellbeing. Both mingling with amusement.

  "Hank, it’s time."

  Xavier said grimly.

  "Release him."

  Having anticipated some sort of unexpected twist—Locke Mastif was a man who had survived a psychotic sorceress and killed her and Magneto—the Professor had prepared a few surprises for the simulation.

  ---

  -Locke-

  ‘I don’t have a lot of time,’ I thought, covering my face and body in mud.

  This was supposed to be a hunt designed to force the awakening of my mutation. Because of that, I’d decided not to use the Darkhold’s spells, with one exception. Technically two exceptions, but summoning the Chaos Devourer was more about tipping the battlefield advantage to my favor.

  But it was gone now, unsummoned back to the Dark Dimension. No easy wins. We're on hard mode.

  Also, finding out I could draw the blood symbols on another part of my body besides the palms and still activate a spell was insightful.

  I tried it out of necessity and it worked. (My right palm had the unfinished inverted cross)

  No more slapping my palms together to summon the Devourer. Now if I lost a hand, I could simply draw the blood symbol on any other part of my body. Maybe put it on my face to summon the Devourer and let it fuck shit up.

  The fact it looked so cool when the portal had manifested before my mouth, made me want to make it a signature move. (Yes I drew it on my cheek when I summoned it)

  It could be known as, Dark Breath.

  In any case, I had confined myself to one single spell for this hunt:

  *Armament Chaos*—By drawing the symbol of an inverted cross using blood onto an object, the user can extract a single characteristic from the object and temporarily imbue it onto themselves. The effect lasts 10 minutes or until the user’s magic energy is spent.

  The blood symbol I drew on Wolverine was to copy his healing factor.

  Despite this being a test, I wasn’t going to take chances with my life—not after everything I’d been through. I could always activate my X-gene later.

  Did it defeat the purpose of the hunt? Not really. Think about it—Logan could still die from decapitation, so I was still in plenty of danger. I was just harder to kill.

  That said, it wasn’t time to activate the spell yet.

  *Armament Chaos* only lasted 10 minutes. I needed to save it for when Wolverine found me. The spell would take effect when I completed the unfinished Inverted Cross in my right palm.

  For now, I hid, my body submerged in the swamp, leaving the top of my head above it's surface.

  My eyes were locked on the trap I’d set for the mutant. This wasn’t just about survival—I was also using this opportunity to gain experience. To learn.

  Thus, I remained in the sludgy water, suppressing the urge to recoil as slimy things brushed against my skin. Five minutes later, I heard it—footsteps.

  Wolverine stalked forth like an animal, nose sniffing the air. The wound on his neck had already healed, leaving behind pale skin.

  ‘Just a little more,’ I thought, anticipating the look on Logan’s face when he realized he’d been trapped.

  Wolverine stopped, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the branches and leaves covering the ground a few paces ahead.

  "I’m insulted."

  He growled, his gaze shifting toward the swamp, landing on the reeds I was wading behind.

  "Come out, kid, and I’ll only make it hurt a lot. The alternative is extreme pain."

  Snikt!

  The claws deployed, slowly. To reach his point across.

  He took a cautious step forward, his instincts finely tuned to the slightest disturbance.

  But I had taken that into account.

  Without warning, the ground beneath him betrayed those instincts. The thin layer of soil gave way suddenly, and he found himself plunging into the pit below.

  Yes! It was genius to use the Devourer to hollow out the soil under the surface of the ground.

  ---

  Acting on reflex, Wolverine thrust out his claws, the metal tips sparking as they gouged deep into the earthen walls, halting his fall. He hung there for a moment, suspended in the void, muscles tense as he assessed the situation.

  "I was baited."

  he growled, more to himself than anyone else.

  A shadow fell across him as Locke appeared at the edge of the pit, peering down with a smug grin.

  "Yup."

  Locke said, voice dripping with satisfaction. "The branches and leaves were just a distraction. The real trap was the seemingly normal ground. Too bad you couldn't tell there was nothing under the surface. Did you really think I’d make it that easy for you?"

  Wolverine’s eyes narrowed, the sharp glint of respect mingling with the anger simmering in his gaze. The tables had turned, and Locke reveled in the role reversal.

  The hunter had become the hunted. For a moment, the usually unflappable Wolverine seemed almost impressed.

  "You had my interest, Bub."

  Wolverine said, his voice a low rumble.

  "Now you have my attention."

  Locke gulped, the bravado draining from his face as the full weight of the situation settled on him.

  "You can probably tell, but I am very terrified right now. However, Wolvie, this isn’t my first rodeo. So come o—"

  His words faltered as something caught his eye, a dark green shape streaking across the sky.

  "What the hell is that?"

  His eyes widened as it suddenly changed direction.

  Now the object hurtled toward them with frightening speed, slamming into the ground just a few dozen feet from where Locke stood. The impact shook the earth, sending tremors through the pit’s walls.

  Wolverine, seeing a chance, climbed out with fluid ease, his claws leaving deep gashes in the dirt. He loomed behind Locke, ready to pounce, but then he too froze, his instincts screaming danger.

  "I-is that…?"

  Locke stuttered, his voice trembling, eyes locked to their front.

  Wolverine’s expression darkened, his usual tenacity eclipsed by a rare flicker of fear.

  "Yeah."

  he muttered, his tone grim.

  "Run."

  Locke didn’t need to be told twice. He bolted, his heart pounding in his chest, as the two enemies-turned-allies fled in unison.

  Behind them, the ground cracked and groaned under the weight of the new arrival. When the Apex Predator shows up, all other beasts scatter, and there was no beast more fearsome than an enraged Hulk.