Chapter 2:

Going to see that old man wouldn't be as easy as I would like, but I had to try. The kid was sleep for a few days straight, I didn't bother waking him. I stopped to see Tanya, Barton's ex wife. Figured she'd wanna know what happened to him. Word doesn't travel as fast as it used to in the old days.

The place looked good, considering, I carried the kid into the shop, I hoped that the scent didn't attract the wrong attention. The tears in her eyes gave away my visit. I guess news doesn't need to travel when its so flaming obvious.

''Come here you bastard'' she said, her hug was tight, rivaling the childs grip itself. Grief does that to ya. The Ultron robot, Ultron8 even seemed to show some sort or remorse, as much as a robot could I suppose.

''What are you doing back here anyway, I figured you'd a skipped town after what happened, Im damn sorry about that logan'' she said my name, the name I wanted to be called for the rest of my hopefully short life, I couldn't have that, couldn't have that at all.

''Call me, Wolverine, Tonya. Logan was buried with my babies and wife back home'' I tried not to sass her too much, but I wasn't the subtle type then, or now.

I could smell the baby from where I stood, and if I could, I know the moloids could too. Me and Barton had a slight run in with them underground when were on our way to deliver his ..'stash', the stash that I thought was just drugs. A way to make ends meet after the fallout. What he didn't tell me, was that it was vials of working super soldier serum. Vials that cost him his life. He left a few vials somewhere on the trail that we road on, for the life of me, I can't remember if he showed me, anyway

''What I'm doing is, I'm going back to the Skulls mansion, I need to pick up a few things'' I said to her, the cigars on the shelf behind her were calling my name. I ain't tasted tobacco for as far back as I can remember. Maybe she'd give me a few for the road.

''You must be wantin to die. Word is that after someone took the skulls head off, a few of the more unpleasant members of his coalition took over. They're using spare old model sentinels to ward off anyone from coming even one mile in any direction near the mansion. And with that baby you got in that bag, I know, you ain't planning on leaving there quietly'' the red of her lips pursed up. I held back the kid from her, and she knew. Tonya was smarter than I figured her for, and it was a mistake to bring the hulks kid here. His scent can mean danger to her shop, and to her. Sorry to say, I wasn't worried about her safety as much as I was getting the job done. I needed to speak with the caretaker, Forge, but my six blades and a green skinned muscle runt ain't enough anymore. Taking on renegade riders is one thing, but taking it directly to baddies that run this stinkin country, is gonna take more than that. And I gotta train this kid before things get a lot hotter. And its starting to feel a bit more toasty by the second.

''I know what you're thinking, That it ain't that smart to go off and try to make a difference. Its dense, more idiotic than most of the things Ive done in my life I ain't proud of. But its gotta be done. I was used again to kill the most important people in my life, and I ain't gonna lay down and let that go…I did that for long enough. Now I know you got connections, Barton wouldn't leave you high and dry, what can you give me? Anything at all, that can get me to him, and nail this situation but good'' I was laying it on thick.

I didn't know how much she could help me, I hardly knew her at all. Barton hadn't told me anything more bout her than that she had an attitude and getting on her bad side is one of the reasons he left in the first place. As much as I knew about him, I knew he left her with more than a cold bedside and bastard of a daughter. This was a safe haven to him. I smelled the gun oil and the explosion powder underneath my feet, and the look in her eyes led me to believe that she knows more.

''Theres someone that Barton told me to go to, in case of any emergency, and he stressed that it could only be emergencies..There was a card he gave me. I didn't really understand it, but Ultron 8 came up with who it was. I'll just give it to you and let you decide if it's worth it.''

Oh god..Not him…Anyone but him. I took the card, and placed it in my dust jacket. I thanked her, hugged a last time and took my leave. The kid was rustling in the bag, I figured he was hungry, I knew a forest nearby where he could hunt some game.

I needed the time to think anyway. I never in my lifetime expected to have to ask help from him….but this isn't the life I once had. I was on my way.

I watched the kid hunt, there was something primal and exciting about it. I remembered after the weapon x program chewed me up; I woke up in water, not knowing who or what I was. When I left there, I had to survive, and hunting was the first thing I learned how to do. I wasn't taught with a gun, or by a father, I learned it the hard way, the best way, naked, weaponless..And alone.

He snuck up on a young buck, no horns; it was to small to have that honor. It grazed and smelled the pollen in the air. The kid watched for about an hour, I stayed at a distance, far enough not to distract the predator or its prey. I watched as best I could, drank from my canteen, and waited. Waited for the sound, either of rushing hooves running away from him, or the hunger strained snap of the bucks neck, and it was dinner time.

The strong scent passed my nose, blood in the water I used to say. But there was no sound, none what so ever. I ran to the creek where the kid was watching, and I saw it, I saw the buck, lifeless and bloodied in the grip of banners last son. I hoped to get some of it, but I was almost afraid to stop him. If he went feral, I may not be able to stop him, I bested the Hulk, but he was an aged, unfit old man of a behemoth compared to the monster I used to tussle with in his prime. So I let him have his fill, I couldn't risk dying with a soldier I was supposed to be training, before the real battle even begins.

When I walked up to him, a eerie smile painted itself on the kids face, I didn't know what was worse, the fact that a child was covered in fresh blood didn't stir much in me, or that what it did stir in me, was pride, and confidence.

If honed, this kid can help me win this war.

I cleaned him up in the creek, and we set out path to the Mutant Forbidden quarter in Chicago, or at least what was once Chicago.

The trip was gonna be long, and hard, but I needed to talk to Forge and supposedly, I have to meet one of the worst kinds of men in the world to do it, but I had no choice. But I had a few stops I had to make.

Clint left a map in the jeep we road in, thankfully I was able to save it before the crash. I was only a few miles off from the Cedar City of Champions. Maybe I can find out some things there.

A few days removed from Tonya's garage and we finally made it to Cedar City. The place was made up of random gambing depots, prostitution rings, and drug smuggling. The worst of it all, where this place garnered it's name. The Temple of Champions.

It was constructed a few months after the War finally ended and the country was divvied up, the bricks they made up of the stone that used to be called The Thing, Ben grimm. It's a disgusting idea, but for a country that has the gall to name a place, Pym Falls, I shouldn't be surprised. Somehow they laced the building with pieces of him. I couldn't show my anger, even if I wanted to rip the ticket vendor apart. The flyers in his hand had a few names. I took one from his hand and kept walking…until I read some of the contestants. It couldn't be….but…how

''This is for the grand daddy of them all, the winner of this contest goes against the reigning and defending champion, Ronin, and the prize of one thousand dollars''

I know what most would think, That's not much money. Years ago it wasn't, now, that kind of dough could feed you for years, but that's not what tickled my curiousity…the name Ronin did. I fought with two people that wore that mask before, and ones dead. The other was unaccounted for during the wars.

''The contestants in this battle are as follows, The former leader of the H.A.N.D, Elektra Natchios. The prince of Power, the lion of Olympus, Hercules, The supposed greatest martial artist in the once hero inhabited world, The Iron Fist, and last but not least, the lowly, weak, sidekick of Nick fury, Dum Dum dugan''

Ya gotta be kidding me, how are any of them still alive, and worst still, how is Dugan going to stand a chance against any of them. I gotta stop this. I need to assess the area.

Heavily armed guards, two per gate, at least twenty gates on each of the four levels of this hell hole, the weaponry is something else. Something I could never get used to. Asgardian and Olympus tech, they were crafted in the mines. They seem like they're made out of the same metal that created Thor's hammer, Uru, which isn't gonna make this a picnic by any stretch. And how do I know how they are now. I've fought beside all four of them countless times, and I knew them…before. But, they could be warped. How do I know Herc won't rip my head off for stepping in. Or worse, the kid dies…

(To be continued)