The sun rose on a forest located somewhere in Canada.
Wolverine stood on a cliff as he called out for someone. "Heather! Heather!" Turning in the direction he came, he continued to call out for Heather. "Heather? Heather? Hey!"
Some kind of vine came from the ground and made a grab for his legs. Wolverine shredded the plant with his claws.
The ground exploded, and out came a man dressed in red and white spandex.
Wolverine recognized this person. "Vindicator?"
"She didn't ask you out here, Wolverine." Vindicator told him. "I did." He floated down to greet his old friend. "Been a long time, little man."
"Not nearly long enough." Wolverine retorted.
"You may have deserted our team to work for Xavier, but you belong here." Vindicator smirked evilly at Wolverine. "I've come to take you back."
"Yeah?" Wolverine pulled out his claws, ready to battle. "You and what army?"
"Funny you should ask." Another person said as they did a somersault into Wolverine's back, knocking him off balance.
Wolverine turned to see that six more figures had joined him in the forest, and he knew who they were. "Alpha Flight!" He turned to Vindicator. "Forget it, Vindicator. You can send every mutant in Canada after me! I ain't coming back!"
Wolverine slowly went over to battle Alpha Flight while Vindicator tried to convince him to stop.
"Wolverine, no! Wolverine, no! You don't have to do this!"
"Devil, I don't." Wolverine pushed the somersaulting man into a tree. "Losing your touch, Puck."
"Aah!" Wolverine ducked under the punches of another mutant who was big and hairy. Appropriately, he was named Sasquatch.
"You left us!" Sasquatch accused Wolverine. "That was wrong."
"I hope you missed me, Sasquatch." Wolverine taunted.
Up above, a blonde woman wearing light blue and white spandex with a cape was watching. This was Snowbird. She got close and turned into a bird as she made a dive for Wolverine.
Wolverine caught on to this and kicked dirt into her eye, causing her to fall to the ground and turn back into her regular form.
Vindicator fired a yellow beam of energy at Wolverine, but he jumped out of the way, and it instead hit a tree.
As it fell, Wolverine managed to get Snowbird out of the way. He then ran toward Vindicator. "Your turn, Vindicator."
"No!" Vindicator fired more blasts, but Wolverine maneuvered past them and sent a kick to his chest.
"Lousy force field can't protect you forever!" Wolverine made an attempt to stab him, but his yellow energy also served as a force field that protected him.
"Doesn't have to." Vindicator successfully fired a blast at Wolverine, sending him several feet back.
As Wolverine got up, Shaman, a man dressed in yellow and green, got in between him and Vindicator.
"Wolverine, enough." Shaman attempted to calm him down. "I am your friend, Wolverine. You know I will not harm you, but I cannot allow you to pass."
Wolverine didn't listen to Shaman's warning. "I'm warning you, medicine man; don't make me move you."
Puck tried to sneak up on Wolverine, but he grabbed him and threw him at Sasquatch as he returned his attention to Shaman.
"Out of my way, Shaman!"
"You must do whatever the great spirit wills, my friend." Shaman said. "And so, I fear, must I." He pulled out a staff and placed it on the ground as more vines came up to wrap themselves around Wolverine.
"Forget it, Shaman; save your carnival tricks for kiddie shows!" Wolverine managed to get himself out of the prison made of vines. He threw a piece at Shaman, moving him out of Wolverine's path.
With no one else in his way, Wolverine brought his claws close to Vindicator. "Now, where were..."
Wolverine was then picked up into the air by two siblings. A brother and a sister. Both had white hair and were dressed in black and white. These were Aurora and Northstar.
"Do not struggle, mon ami!" Aurora advised him.
"Oui." Northstar agreed. "You wouldn't want us to drop you from such a height, no?"
"Still don't know me real well, do you, Northstar?" He grabbed the two siblings and bopped their heads together as the three fell to the ground.
Wolverine managed to land in a tree as, down below, Shaman, Puck, Sasquatch, and Vindicator met up.
"He should be right here, eh?" Puck asked.
"No! I won't let him do it to me again!" Vindicator then ordered his team to widen their search. "Fan out! Find him! And hurry! The lab is expecting us!"
"Lab, huh?" Wolverine looked out from his hiding place. "No thanks. I've had my fill of labs." His eyes narrowed as he focused on a particular memory.
Logan glared angrily as a helmet and breathing apparatus were placed on him as the tank he was in filled itself with liquid.
Outside the tank, a professor observed the process. "Dr. Cornelius, how is our patient?"
"Could be better, professor." Dr. Cornelius answered from his viewing room. "He put up some resistance when our boys picked him up last night."
"Is he damaged?" The professor asked.
"Nothing serious." Dr. Cornelius reassured him.
"Then begin the adamantium feed." The professor ordered.
"Feed initiated." Dr. Cornelius announced as the process began. Tubes attached themselves to the tank, and Wolverine was blasted by some waves before they condensed into a molecular beam.
"Steady." Dr. Cornelius observed the process as he read out the data. "Cardiotach higher than expected. Suffusion enacting. Cardiotach rising. Incredible!" He cried in astonishment. "The feed is impeded. He's resisting, sir."
"Adjust the feed accordingly." The professor said without a beat.
The order was carried out as the experiment continued without any resistance.
Dr. Cornelius kept looking over the results. "Adamantium feed is compensating, but I've never seen anything like this."
The professor looked over a scan of Wolverine's body. "It appears we chose well, Cornelius."
"Adamantium reservoirs drained, sir." Dr. Cornelius told him. "Absorption process complete."
"And our dear Logan?" The professor asked as the helmet on Logan was taken off.
"Why not ask him yourself?" Dr. Cornelius offered.
"A splendid idea." The professor gazed at his new creation. "Logan, can you hear me?"
Wolverine growled as he angrily placed his hands on the glass.
The professor smirked. "I shall take that as a yes. You really should be proud. You are the first. Your skeleton has been infused with a rare metal called adamantium. Fascinating substance, virtually indestructible." The professor held out a piece of it to show Logan. "In return, we hope to make use of your gift." He then noticed Logan wasn't reacting at all. "So you have nothing to say?"
Logan scratched his hands. "Hands. Itching. Why? What? What have..." He tried to put his words together. "What have you done?" To answer his question, his claws came out, now coated in the durable metal.
Logan screamed in pain as the professor watched in awe.
"Extradentary. I never imagined..." His praise was interrupted when Logan took a swipe at the glass. "Quickly, Cornelius! Increase the sedative drip before..."
The glass shattered as the liquid spilled onto the floor. Wolverine stumbled out and removed his breathing apparatus.
"No!" The professor cried. "Security! Security, help me!" He ran away from the man he operated on as a robot came to apprehend Logan.
It didn't get far, as it was cut in half. He did the same to another robot before he started to destroy all the surrounding lab equipment.
The professor got to the door and pressed the close button.
Logan noticed this and made a mad dash to the professor.
"Oh, no. No, no!" The professor backed away, and luckily, the door closed in time.
Logan kept clawing at the door until his attention was brought to an explosion that went off behind him, leaving a hole for him to escape through.
Logan took this escape route and burst through the fence before running into the deep forest. He stopped to look back as the facility blew up.
"No more labs." Wolverine stated as he went off to escape from Alpha Flight's search.
Jean was connected to Cerebro as she attempted to communicate with Xavier. "Please, professor, speak to me. Wherever you are, give Cerebro a sign. Let us know you're alive."
Behind her, Cyclops, Gambit, Rogue, and Danny were watching her attempt to find Xavier.
"Any sign of the old man, chere?" Gambit asked.
Cyclops shushed him. "Quiet, Gambit, no distractions. If Jean and Cerebro are going to have any chance to find Professor Xavier, she has to maintain absolute concentration. Professor Xavier has got to be out there somewhere."
"He is near." Shaman said as he passed by the tree that Wolverine was in.
He made a blue energy ball in his hand and threw it.
Wolverine felt the tree shake as it threw him off. The yellow spandex-wearing X-Man did a series of flips as he was about to land before Vindicator blasted him.
Aurora and Northstar did the same.
"Mon dieu, Wolverine, stop fighting us." Northstar begged him.
Aurora shook her head disappointedly. "Please, mon ami, do not force us to do this."
Puck did a handstand into Wolverine. "Better listen to the Frenchies, big fellow."
Sasquatch stood in front of his downed former comrade. "This time, for all our sakes, stay down!"
Wolverine merely growled in response, prompting Sasquatch to pound him, knocking him out.
"Better get the shackles on him while we still can." Vindicator recommended as Shaman lifted him into the air telepathically while Puck placed the restraints on him.
Wolverine opened his eyes as he saw the group glaring at him. "You know I won't work for you, Vindicator. Why are you doing this?"
"We don't want you, my old friend," Vindicator clarified, "only the secret you keep inside you."
Wolverine woke up in a place he didn't recognize. "Wh- Where?" He tried to move, but found he couldn't. "Why can't I..." He roared as he realized he was strapped to a metal table.
"Let me up, or I'll rearrange your windpipe." He threatened as he saw Vindicator standing over him. Two robot guards were at the door.
"Sorry, Wolverine." Vindicator apologized. "I'm not authorized to do that."
"Don't hand me that garbage!" Wolverine shouted. "If you're not in charge here, who is?"
"I'm afraid I am." This came from a red-headed woman in glasses and a lab coat.
"Heather?" Wolverine exclaimed. "Then it was you who set me up. Why lady? I thought we were friends."
"I didn't have a choice, Wolverine." Heather replied.
"There's always a choice." Wolverine retorted. "You're the one who taught me that." He flashed back to that moment.
Logan prowled the forest alone until he stopped at the sound of footsteps.
"The tracks are still fresh." Heather said to her husband as she looked at a buck through a pair of binoculars. "It's our buck, alright."
"I wonder how much he's grown." Her husband said.
Logan growled like a threatened animal as he eyed the gun that the husband, who was a young Vindicator, held in his hand. He tackled the man as Heather fell to the snow. After taking a few seconds to put her glasses back on, she saw the savage man attacking her husband.
"James!" She grabbed the rifle and aimed it at Logan. "Okay, that's enough!"
Logan raised his arm to attack when Heather shot a tranquilizer dart into his back. He turned to Heather, only to be shot with another.
"I warned you!" Heather yelled.
Logan tried to leave, but he fell unconscious face-first into the cold snow.
The first thing he saw when he regained consciousness was Heather's face, peering at him with concern.
"Back with us? Good." She gazed at Logan, who was tied up to a bed to keep him from attacking anyone. "For a while, I was afraid I'd used too many tranquilizers."
Heather tried to calm him down. "Easy, fellow. My husband is just outside, and there are more tranq darts..."
She gasped as Logan brought out his claws and cut through the rope. "No! Don't!"
The young woman backed away as Logan approached her. "Please, no! We mean you no harm. We only want to help you. Please, you got to listen to me. Please."
Logan brought his claws back as he grabbed his head in pain. "Why did they do this?" He bemoaned.
Heather kneeled down to comfort him. "It's okay, really. It's going to be alright."
Days passed as she and her husband helped Logan work through his issues. Slowly but surely, Logan managed to return to some semblance of humanity.
The day came when it was time for him to leave. "
Logan thanked the couple who took him in. "You've helped me more than I can say."
"Believe me, my friend, it was our pleasure." James said.
"And we have some friends who might be able to help you even more." Heather added.
Logan and James stood in front of General Chasen as he explained the purpose of Alpha Flight.
"Department H and its enforcement arm, Alpha Flight, were created to offer a useful, patriotic outlet for Canadians with special abilities like you.
"We think you could be vital to our team, Logan." James told him. "What do you say, Weapon X?" He offered him a yellow jumpsuit.
"What can I say?" Logan replied. "You need me; you got me. Just two favors."
"Name them." James said.
Logan pulled out his claws. "Find out who did this to me."
"And?" James prompted Logan for the second favor.
"And forget that Weapon X stuff." Logan went into another room and changed into his costume before stepping back in. "Just call me Wolverine."
"You betrayed me, sister." Wolverine stated.
"I'm doing what I have to for the nation's security." Heather defended her actions. "For all of us."
"Right." Wolverine said sarcastically.
"Is the punk here?" A familiar voice said.
"He's here." Heather replied.
Wolverine saw another familiar face. "Chasen!"
Chasen chuckled. "Wrong." Chasen's body fell to the ground as something came out.
It was a ghost dressed in a white warden outfit with a black hat on his head.
"Who are you?" Wolverine demanded.
The spirit introduced himself. "Name's Walker, son; know it, fear it, obey it."
"Why are you doing this?" Wolverine interrogated him. "Why did you take Chasen's body?"
"I've sometimes looked over national security and their efforts to keep chaos from overtaking their land. It gives me some good ideas." He gestured to Chasen. "I was looking through his memories when I found out about you and your metal skeleton. I thought about what could be done if I had that material. Imagine its capabilities when mixed with ectoplasm. I could build a prison that no one could ever escape from."
"You're crazy." Wolverine said.
Walker disagreed. "No. I'm order." His attention was now on Heather. "Begin the extraction process immediately."
"I only agreed to help if I was allowed to conduct the testing, Logan." Heather explained. "I wanted it to be as easy on you as I could."
"It didn't have to be at all." Wolverine replied.
Vindicator defended his wife. "Cut her some slack! Believe it or not, Wolverine, Heather is your friend. We all are. You abandoned us, remember? Duty and sacrifice may not mean much to you, but they do to us. Why did you leave?"
"It's none of your bleeding business." He said abrasively.
Vindicator was exasperated. "I don't know why I bother to try." He left the room.
"I'm sorry for all this, Wolverine." Heather apologized. "I promise we'll be gentle."
"Well, maybe not too gentle." Walker said in a sinister voice.
"I wish you could tell me more about this place, Magneto." Xavier said as he was crossing a bridge with his two companions. "It's splendor seems boundless."
"Almost makes you forget it takes away your powers." Vlad said sarcastically.
Once they reached the end, they found a woman in their path. She had white hair and was wearing a green and pink dress with blue gloves.
"Halt, trespasser." She ordered. "Advance no farther."
"Who are you?" Xavier asked. "What do you want with us?"
"Ask your companion." She pointed to Magneto as she smirked. "All the mutates in the Savage Land are Magneto's creations. We now follow a new master."
Xavier and Vlad both gave Magneto looks. Xavier's was one of disappointment, and Vlad's was one of interest.
"What does she mean?" Xavier asked, referring to the woman claiming to be a creation of Magneto.
Magneto dodged the question. "It doesn't matter now."
The mutate gave them an ultimatum. "Surrender, so I can make your death as painless as possible."
Xavier tried to negotiate. "Let us talk. We mean you no..."
The three men grabbed their heads in pain as the mutate sent wave after wave of some psychic attack.
They tried to go back using the bridge, but Xavier tripped and would have fallen off it if Magneto and Vlad hadn't caught him.
"We have you, Charles." Magneto said.
When he was pulled back up, Xavier took out a dagger and cut the supports for the bridge. "Hold on!"
They all held on for dear life as their half of the bridge collided with the wall of the cliff. Luckily, underneath them was an edge that they dropped down to. Still alive, they continued on their way as the mutate glared at them.
"You will never leave here alive." She promised. "Never!"
"Can't you speed this up?" Walker was getting impatient with how slow the extraction was going.
"I was promised the time to take proper precautions." Heather reminded him. "We have a man's life in our hands."
"Do you think a life matters to a ghost?" Walker asked her. "I've been patient enough dealing with you all, especially that punk called Northstar." Walker hated Northstar, especially because his appearance reminded him of a former prisoner who escaped him.
Heather continued on as Wolverine was exposed to blue waves from a device above him.
"Thanks for the light, kid." Wolverine joked. "I could use a good tan."
Jean gasped as she sensed Wolverine's pain.
"Jean, what is it?" Cyclops inquired. "What's wrong?"
"Wolverine!" Jean cried. "Felt him. Such pain."
"Man been a pain since the get-go, chere." Gambit commented.
"Not funny, Gambit." Scott scolded as he held his wife's hand. "Do you know where Wolverine is, Jean? Can you help us find him?"
"No." Jean said weakly. "The impression was too vague, too distant. But wherever he is, heaven help him."
Danny looked at one of the screens. "Hey guys, I got an ecto-signature. Call it a hunch, but I think Wolverine's pain is somehow connected with this new ghost."
As Wolverine was screaming in pain, Puck and Snowbird were listening in from the other side of the door.
Heather was feeling guilty for causing this. "That's enough! No more." She turned it off as she got Wolverine a glass of water.
Walker crossed his arms. "Resume the probe."
"We're wasting our time, and we're hurting him." Heather pointed out.
Walker then got an idea. "Then we'll just have to rip it out of him."
"Are you crazy?" Heather was horrified at the suggestion. "He's no animal that you can cut apart!"
"That's where you're wrong, miss." Walker corrected. "There are animals all around us every day, pretending to be law-abiding citizens when they only cause destruction. It's my duty to keep these animals behind bars."
"Please, let him go!" Heather pleaded with the warden.
"I'm sorry, but that's against the rules." Walker replied indifferently.
"You know what else is against the rules?" Someone said.
Walker's eyes narrowed as he recognized that voice.
Behind them all was Danny Phantom, with a shit-eating grin on his face. "Kidnapping, illegal experimentation, and torture. Those are against the rules."
"I hoped I'd run into you again, punk." Walker said. "I've been itching to put you back in my prison."
"You could never contain a free spirit like me, Walker." Danny said. He then made a thinking face. "Though I wonder. Do you allow conjugal visits? That might actually make your prison tolerable on the off chance that I ever get caught. But then again, that is a very low chance that teeters on impossible."
Walker let out a cry of rage as he tried to attack Danny, only to be sent back by an ecto-blast.
"Still predictable, Walker." Danny tutted at Walker's lack of originality. "It's a wonder you had any prisoners to begin with."
"When I'm done with you, you'll be serving an afterlife sentence for your crimes." Walker vowed.
Vindicator tried to stop Danny by firing a yellow blast at him, but it only went through the phantom.
Danny rolled his eyes as he sent a punch at Vindicator, knocking him through the metal doors where the other members of Alpha Flight were listening in.
"Looks like you found yourself some interesting help, Walker." Danny said as he looked at the newcomers. His eyes landed on Northstar. "Oh, hey, you look a lot like me. Must have been difficult for your working relationship, eh, Walker?"
Walker loomed over Danny and tried to stomp on him, but Danny rolled out of the way. Robot guards came out to deal with Danny, but they were blasted to pieces.
"I think it's time for you to finish your sentence." Danny pulled out a Fenton Thermos and sucked up Walker. "I sentence you to whatever time it takes for me to release you back to the Ghost Zone."
Danny looked at everyone else as he phased Wolverine through his restraints. "Anyone else going to give me trouble?"
They all shook their heads, not wanting to incite Danny's wrath.
"Ready to go?" Danny asked Wolverine.
Wolverine gave one last look at Heather and Alpha Flight. "If any of you ever come after me again, for any reason, all bets are off."
He walked out of the facility with Danny by his side.
"Thanks for saving me, Casper." Wolverine thanked him.
"Don't mention it." Danny said.
"So how are we getting home?" Wolverine asked. "And for that matter, how did you get here so fast?"
Danny smirked as he pulled out a special map. "I'll tell you later."