What happens in Vegas… doesn't always stay there
A/N: This one sticks with what happened in the movie only I added some extra tidbits :)
Before Logan went under to have his bones laced with adamantium, he looked the files on his old teammates for clues thinking Victor was following a pattern but all seemed quite random. He learned that John Wraith lives in Las Vegas… so that is where he decided to make his next move. John Wraith was one of the very few members of their strike team that Logan got along with. Now he hoped that Wraith knew where to find this island that Zero had mentioned… maybe it would lead Logan to his brother… and his vengeance.
John owned a gym downtown a few blocks west of the strip. Logan pulls up into the parking lot and parks his newly acquired bike next to a street light. The morning sun shines down upon him as he walks to the door. Once inside, he looks about. There's a cute Asian girl working behind the counter blowing bubbles with her pink bubble gum. She smiles warmly at Logan after a bubble pops.
"Membership is ten dollars a month." She starts happily.
"I'm not here for that… I am looking for an old friend of mine though… John Wraith. He still owns this place, right?" Logan then says as he eyes the young woman.
"Yeah. He's in his office." She says and picks up the phone and presses a button. She chews her gum and leans against the counter as she waits for John to pick up. "What's your name?" She asks him while it's still ringing.
"Logan." He replies quickly as he looks about. He notices an old World War II poster with a photo of Captain America on it. He smirks at seeing it.
"Hey, Mr. Wraith there's a man named Logan here who wants to talk to you. Says he's an old friend." She says into the phone then pauses. Logan listens carefully.
"Logan?" He hears Wraith say in a somewhat surprised tone. "Tell him to come up to my office then, Sue."
"Sure thing, Boss man." The girl named Sue says and hangs up the phone.
"He says-"
"Office." Logan says as he walks off following the scent of Wraith's expensive cologne. He looks over and sees a few different men working out and two are in a boxing ring at the back of the gym sparring. He can smell them and knows they've been here awhile already. Logan makes his way up a flight of stairs and finds himself looking at a door with a window. The blinds are closed but they part at his approach and the door opens before he can knock.
"Well look what the cat dragged in." Wraith says with a bright smile crossing his dark face as he sees Logan. "How've you been, man?"
"Better." Logan says dryly as he forces a half smile. He looks at Wraith's cowboy themed get-up and gives him a smirk. "I see you've kept the look… maybe made it more flashy."
"You're still an ass. Come in and talk ta me." John says with a slight chuckle as he steps back and Logan follows him in. "I never expected to see you again after what happened back in Africa."
"Well things haven't been going so great for me here recently… apparently they haven't been going well for any of us on our old strike team. Bradley's dead and Wade is missing." Logan says as soon as the door is closed.
"Bradley? That kid couldn't hurt a fly." John says shocked to hear the news and he takes a seat behind his desk. "Do you think Wade did it? He was a mouthy one, quite funny too… but he enjoyed killin' almost as much as your brother."
"It wasn't Wade…" Logan starts with a serious tone and John gives him a look. "It was Victor… and that's not all… he came after me but he killed my girlfriend instead. I couldn't stop him." Logan then says as he clenches his fists then sighs.
"You sure it was Victor?" John then asks curiously.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Logan says as he walks over to another desk and sits on the corner.
"Damn." John swears and shakes his head. "I'm sorry to hear that, man."
"What the hell happened to him after I left?" Logan then asks curiously and there's a heated edge in his voice. John shakes head and sighs.
"He got worse for one." John then starts. "He felt like you abandoned him… hell, we all did." John says then huffs another sigh. "But Victor… he seemed to feel like he had to prove he was better than you." John says as he shrugs and shakes his head slightly. "Huntin' and killin' everything he was pointed at." A pause falls between the old comrades then and Logan stands to move to the large windows that look down at the gym floor below.
"Quit a few months later myself." John then says continuing the conversation and breaking the short silence. "Couldn't take rounding them up." He then adds solemnly as he pulls out a large bottle of Jack Daniels from one of his desk drawers and takes a swig. This catches Logan's attention and so he looks back at John with a raised brow.
"Rounding who up?" Logan asks curiously.
"Leave it alone." John warns as he gives Logan a pointed look and then takes another swig from his bottle. Logan turns fully away from the window at that.
"Rounding who up, John?" Logan asks with an edge in his tone. John just shakes his head and takes a third sip. Logan is starting to get angry now so he stalks over to John's desk. "Hey! Dammit, John! Tell me!" Logan shouts heatedly as he slams his fists on the edge of the desk causing the bottle and other items to rattle. John teleports out of his seat to stand on the desk's opposite side.
"We hunted our own kind, Logan!" John says and his voice nearly breaks as he rests his hands on the edge of the desk. He lowers his head and shakes it. "There's a special place in hell reserved for the things we did." John says solemnly and his shoulders shake. Logan stands up straight and frowns. He knows what it means to feel remorse for the horrors one has been forced to commit.
"Mutants? Why?" Logan then asks as he lets the moment pass. John stands up straight and takes a deep breath in.
"Stryker said we'd be making a difference, protecting people from the bad ones." John then says and shakes his head again. He then looks at Logan curiously. "How are you going to take Victor down, Logan?"
"Remember that stuff in Africa?" Logan asks.
"Yeah." John replies and a look of puzzlement crosses his face for a moment. "I remember Africa. What about it?" Logan says nothing. He simply lets his claws slide out and there is the sliding ring of metal on metal. John's eyes nearly bug out at the sight of Logan's metal claws as they glint in the light. "Damn!" He exclaims. "What'd they do to you, man?" John then asks.
"Don't ask." Logan says and a sorrowful look fills his eyes. He retracts his claws and moves away from the desk. "Listen… Zero said something about an island. Does that mean anything to you?" Logan then asks as he looks to John who frowns and shakes his head.
"Nope, but maybe Dukes knows." John says with a shrug of his shoulders. "Him and Zero were real tight."
"Fred Dukes? Where's he at?" Logan asks curiously.
"He's here in Vegas." John answers.
"Well, let's go talk to him." Logan says and starts for the door but John stops him.
"Hold on. He don't get in 'til around four then you can talk to him." John says. Logan huffs out an annoyed sigh. He has to wait.
A few hours pass and John and Logan went out for some lunch and caught up some. They return to the gym just after four and Logan is now very impatient about talking to Fred. John slows his friend down by holding his arm.
"But I gotta warn ya… he developed a bit of an eating disorder." John says keeping his voice low as his eyes dart to the boxing ring where a tall and very portly blonde man is struggling to slip past the ropes. "We all got our coping mechanisms. I'm trying to whip him back into shape. So whatever you do… don't mention his weight." John cautions. Logan looks at the ring perplexed by what he sees as the now very fat and lumbering Fred Dukes tries to swing at a smaller, faster opponent while just standing in place. Logan can smell him and now understands where the scent of grease and Little Debbie snacks is coming from.
"Come on, Fred, if you wanna get in shape… you gotta move, man!" John shouts at Fred. "I told him he's gotta move. He's gotta move!" He then comments to Logan but then his eyes widen. "What?" He says as Fred's opponent is knocked forcefully out of the ring towards the two men. John teleports away while Logan catches the guy and they are both knocked back into a sign. Logan takes the brunt of the blow and the fall. The other guy manages to get up and limp away while Logan sneers as he rolls over and shakes his head to clear it. John teleports next to Logan and crouches down to smirk at him.
"Seems you gotta learn to move too." John chuckles as he helps Logan find his feet. Logan is starting to get angry and he looks at the portly man in the ring.
"That's Fred Dukes? Looks more like the thing that ate Fred Dukes." Logan says with some heat.
"Hey… be nice, man." John says as they approach the ring.
"Hey, Fat… Fred!" Logan shouts to get Fred's attention. It works and Fred turns his head to look at Logan and John as they stand by the ropes. Logan smiles up at the large man and notices the tattoo on Fred's left upper arm. The skinny girl is now all stretched out and looks nearly as fat as Fred does. "I seem to remember when that girl was about eighty-five pounds, huh?" Logan jokes.
"Oh, that's funny. You're still just so funny, Logan." Fred says mockingly in his deep grumble as he forces a chuckle and stands jiggling in place.
"You know where Victor is?" Logan then asks pointedly… skipping the build up and going straight for what he wants.
"No idea." Fred says and gives Logan a knowing look. Logan's eyes narrow.
"What's the island, Slim?" Logan then says gruffly. Fred stops punching at a new opponent to turn to face Logan.
"Don't let the door hit ya on the way out." Fred says and he returns to his boxing routine now fully ignoring Logan.
"You listen to me…" Logan snaps as his anger gets the better of him. "I ain't leaving here 'til you tell me where Victor is." Logan then sighs as he reins it in and so adds on a softer note. "Come on, Bub… for old times sake, huh?" Fred stops as he freezes in his tracks… he turns to face Logan slowly.
"Did you just call me… Blob?" Fred asks and there's a dangerous edge to his tone. Logan looks confused as he shakes his head.
"No, but-" Logan starts but Fred rushes the ropes where Logan had climbed up and slams his excessively large body into Logan's thus knocking the smaller man from the ropes to skid upon the ground. John teleports next to Logan and shakes his head disapprovingly.
"I told you not to mention his weight. Why'd ya call him Blob?" John asks as Logan stands and pats his pants off.
"I didn't call him Blob." Logan groans heatedly. "I called him bub… god dammit." Logan says as he starts back for the ring with rage in his eyes but John stops him.
"Hey, hey, hey!" John says as he gets in Logan's way. "Logan, I've got an idea." John then says and walks over to the side of the ring and hands Logan a pair of boxing gloves.
"This is your idea?" Logan says as he gives John a skeptically look.
"I'm tryin' to help you out, Logan. Dukes don't like ya that much and you know it." John says as he helps Logan put the gloves on.
"Yeah… well, the feeling's mutual." Logan groans as he looks at fat Freddy from his corner with narrowed eyes.
"Well then… use them gloves, man." John says and mimics boxing punches. "Dance with him a little bit. Allow him to let his anger out on you." John then shrugs. "Figure if you do that, he'll probably tell you everything you wanna know."
"Come on, man… look at him." Logan says as he gestures to Fred over in his corner standing there, jiggling in place as his flabby belly hangs below the bottom of his gray 'Save the Whales' t-shirt. "He's gotta big old ass coming out the front of his shirt. Jesus… he's gonna have a coronary before we even finish round one for Christ's sake." Logan then looks at John. "Is there even a stretcher big enough to take this guy outta here?"
"It ain't him I'm worried about getting' outta here on a stretcher." John says with a bright grin as he chuckles at Logan.
"You're an asshole. You know that?" Logan then says as he groans and pushes off the rope. He shakes his head as he then makes his way over to Fred. He goes into boxing mode and starts throwing jabs and hooks at Fred's bulky frame. Each hit ripples through the fat but doesn't appear to be affecting Fred at all.
"Come on, Logan!" John shouts as he coaches from the ropes. "Whoop his ass!"
"You want a piece of this?" Fred then says as he smiles mockingly at Logan.
"Not really." Logan says as disgust crosses his face. Being up close and personal with Fred makes the stink of him stronger, so Logan hits harder to try and faze the larger man.
"Dance with him, Fred!" John then shouts at Fred from the sidelines. "Just like I taught you!"
"You wanna dance with me, Logan?" Fred then says as he starts to duck and weave but Logan's fists still make contact. Fred just chuckles at the slimmer fighter.
"Come on, Fred! Move some more!" John coaches.
"Oh… that feels good. Like getting' a massage." Fred says as he chuckles. "Hey! Guess what?" Fred then says as he stops in place and Logan hesitates for a split second… that's when Fred throws a right hook and catches Logan's jaw. The slimmer man is sent spinning to the side only to stop with his chest on the ropes. John hurries to him.
"See, he's gonna talk now. You got him right where you want him." John says with an enthusiastic grin as he pats Logan's shoulders once the man gets his bearings. Logan turns around and faces Fred once more.
"Whose side are you on anyways?" Logan asks as he throws John an offended look before he stands up straight and rolls his shoulders and head to limber up.
"Go get him!" John says to encourage Logan on. Logan feels his anger rising so he focuses it.
"Come on now, lamb chop!" Fred says as Logan rushes at him so the large man rushes at Logan from his side. They meet in the middle as Logan knocks his forehead against Fred's in a savage head-butt. Fred stubbles back dazed while Logan falls backwards. He quickly recovers and shakes his head then sees Fred swaying in place. Logan then runs to Fred's corner, climbs the post, and leaps from the top. He brings his fist down hard on the top of Fred's head and the huge guy drops like a sack of potatoes.
"Damn!" John says as he watches this scene unfold before him. Logan quickly climbs on top of Fred placing his knee into the thick gut and holds his right fist over the fat guy's face. The metal claws slide out through the padded boxing glove to point in Fred's round and swollen face.
"Feel like talkin' now… Where's Victor?" Logan asks with a touch of a snarl. Fred is still hazy from having his dome rung twice. Logan slaps his puffy cheek with his left hand as he keeps his right claws trained on Fred's face. "Hey! Focus Fred! Where's Victor?" Logan then says with a sneer. Fred's eyes refocus and he looks at Logan's shiny new claws with a mix of surprise and dread. John steps inside the ring.
"Yeah… Victor… he-he's with Stryker." Fred starts and Logan freezes. "On the island. They run it together."
"What?" Logan says confused. "They what?" He shakes his head in disbelief. He then refocuses and gives a dangerous look to Fred. "You're tellin' me that Victor… and Stryker… are working together?" Logan asks pointedly… murder glints in Logan's eyes. Fred pisses himself then as he eyes the claws come up under his double chins and barely touch his oily skin. He can feel the prick of the metal and he knows that these claws can overcome his very durable skin.
"Y-yeah! You-you didn't know that?" Fred quickly stammers out a reply and gives Logan a puzzled look.
"What's the island?" Logan asks and his claws dig in a little further… barely a millimeter. Fred whimpers and raises his head to move away but Logan keeps the pressure on.
"It's where Stryker takes them after Victor's caught them." Fred confesses.
"Takes who?" Logan asks and barely jiggles his right hand.
"M-Mutants! The rumor is that Stryker's doing all sorts of experiments on them there." He answers then looks to Wraith knowingly. "I mean, come on… you never wondered what he did with them?"
"I tried not to." John confesses as he sighs and looks away. Logan moves his claws away from Fred's chin and stands. He paces as he runs his left hand through his hair nervously.
"They killed her… so I'd let them lace my bones with adamantium." Logan mutters as he thinks back piecing everything together. "HE killed her for a goddamned experiment!" Logan then shouts out in rage. Fred looks between John and Logan with fear in his eyes as he is still sprawled out on the matted floor of the ring. Logan then turns back to Fred and thrusts his fist at Fred's face… but stops an inch before Fred's tightly closed eyes. The fat guy whimpers and pisses himself again. "Where is this island at? Tell me!" Logan then asks angrily.
"L-Logan… you gotta understand… Stryker… he kept it real secret!" Fred whimpers out and starts to cry. Logan growls his frustrations as he tenses ready to strike. "But!" Fred shouts. "A prisoner did escape once!" Fred then confesses.
"Who? And so help me, god… you better tell me the truth or… I'll help you lose weight the quick way." Logan says viciously.
"H-his name was Remy LeBeau! Some street hustler from New Orleans!" Fred blurts out. "The guards… they all called him… Gambit… because he kept taking all their money at Poker. That's all I know! I swear!" Fred then says and he breaks down and cries.
"What's Stryker up to, Fred? What's his endgame?" John then asks coolly from the side. Fred opens his eyes since he's still alive and looks to John.
"He's taking their powers… trying to combine them all somehow. That's all I know, Logan. That's all I know. Please don't kill me." Fred then says and he squeezes his eyes shut once more.
"I'm not gonna kill ya… Blob… but if I have ta come back here… I'm gonna take that fat head of yours right off your fat shoulders." Logan then says heatedly and his claws retract. He stands straight up and struts out of the ring.
"Wait up!" John says and teleports from inside the ring to walk beside Logan. "I'm coming with ya, Logan."
"There's no redemption where I'm going." Logan says pointedly as he strolls through the gym and tosses his boxing gloves away.
"I ain't askin'." John says calmly and follows along. "Keep things going for me, Sweetheart." John says to Sue as they walk out. The two men each straddle their own bike and then ride off to the east… destination: New Orleans.