The Watcher rewinds the clock a little bit on this universe as he looks down at the day that the Avengers were first formed to try and fight the breakout escapees of the prisons. Just about a day right before the Avengers were formed. He looked and watched as Logan, the Wolverine, ex-member of the X-Men, was resting against a tree. He was starting to wake up and groaned from the terrible position he had ended up sleeping in.
When he got up, he got right on his motorcycle and started to drive down the road. He was taking a bit of a break from the X-Men for a bit; he was trying to discover a bit more about his past. He couldn't exactly remember everything - there was a small gap for a few years between his early adulthood and adult age.
As he was driving down the highway, he saw some explosions off in the distance, over a few mountains. He wondered what was going on and noticed the smoke; he figured there must have been some sort of car accident.
Logan considered driving away and not even giving it a second thought like he used to do in the old days. But...there was something that made him want to go and help. Living with the X-Men didn't exactly help change who he once was, but he wasn't exactly sure who that was anymore.
As Logan approached the scene of an explosion, he noticed a train had collided with traffic, causing an accident. Upon arrival, he discovered that some individuals were already assisting the injured and moving them away from the gasoline and fire. It appeared as though his help was not required at this time.
"Erica. Where's Erica?"
"She's still inside."
And spoke too soon.
Logan assumed that the man searching for their child was the father of the missing child. The father rushed towards the RV in an attempt to rescue their child, but an explosion occurred, causing him to slide back. Logan swiftly dismounted his motorcycle and ran towards the scene.
The man told him, "No, you can't go in there. It's too dangerous."
"Not for me," Logan said as he walked forward, extending his claws from his knuckles.
His sudden action seemed to spook everyone; no one expected to see a mutant walking around. He went up to the RV and cut a clear opening for himself to get in and out. When he found the girl, he tried to reach her through the fire and smoke. Smelling the smoke, he realized the gas was about to ignite the fire.
Logan acted swiftly and selflessly, shielding both himself and the young girl from the powerful explosion that threatened their safety. With remarkable bravery, he absorbed the full force of the blast, putting his own well-being at risk in order to protect hers. When the parents finally located the pair, their gratitude and relief were immeasurable upon discovering that their beloved daughter had been saved by a true hero - one who had acted with unwavering courage and selflessness in the face of danger.
"Hey, he's still alive."
The father then made his way over to Logan and wanted to help him. "We need to move him. Jillian, spread out a blanket." Everyone was still a little shocked and wasn't quite sure what to do or think about what they were seeing. "What is the matter with you people? Chris, help me."
As he struggled to lift Logan, it appeared that only his brother was willing to offer help. His brother's wife then spread out a blanket for Logan to lie down on, and together they examined him closely. Although none of them were medical professionals, they were astonished to witness Logan's body beginning to heal on its own.
"You saved my daughter." The father said to Logan.
"Forget him." One of the pedestrians stated, apparently just ending a call with someone. "He's the MCU's problem now.
The MCU, aka, the Mutant Control Unit. They were the people you called when you had the whereabouts of mutants that were out in the open.
"You turned him in, Carl?" The father was shocked to hear this. "After what he just did?"
"He's got razors in his hands, Randy," Carl says. "Haven't you seen the news? They've been looking for this one."
Randi looked over at his wife and daughter, knowing that if it weren't for him, they wouldn't be together. He wasn't going to let the man who saved his daughter get taken away to some government prison.
"Well, they won't find him here," Randy promises.
They had loaded Logan up into their RV and even attached Logan's motorcycle onto the back of it. It seemed that nobody really tried to stop them, and the other half of them actually agreed and thought Logan was a hero. Randy and his family were making their way back to their home to keep Logan safe as he healed up.
"His skin, it's already healing." Marisa, the wife, took notice of this.
Erica approached the man who had saved her life and held his overly large hand. "Please, please wake up."
With Logan, he was getting visions that he would usually get when he slept. He didn't remember much about his past, but it seemed he subconsciously knew something. He didn't really see much, just blurry images and a few foggy figures that he thought might be people he knew.
He recalled some sort of experiment, being detained, and being kept restrained.
He also remembered something else. He didn't know who she was, but he knew that this person was a she. He remembered that they were close, but he couldn't recall what she looked like. All he could remember was her short hair and how soothing it felt to be touched by her.
But then he remembered being in a panic. He remembered trying to run to save someone while surrounded by an inferno of sorts.
Logan woke up with a start as he raised his fist and extended his claws to attack. However, he stopped when he looked and noticed that Erica was standing next to him. He was confused as he looked around and noticed that he was sitting in a bedroom of a house he was unfamiliar with.
He knew a group of good people; he figured this was the family's way of saying thanks for saving their daughter. He sighed as he calmed down and retracted his claws into his knuckles. He looked down at the little girl who kept staring at him with a friendly smile.
Logan sighed and slightly smiled before he rubbed his head. "Sorry, kid. Where am I?"
Erica handed him a cup of water. "This is from my house," she said to him. "I brought you something to drink." Logan took the cup from her and chugged the entire contents quickly. "You're getting better really fast, you know? Daddy says that's good because you wouldn't want to go to a hospital."
"Your dad's a smart man," Logan sarcastically complimented as he stood up.
Then they heard the phone ringing outside the door, and Erica jumped. "I better go," she said. "I'm not supposed to be in here bothering you."
"Hello," Marisa said as she answered the phone. Erica sneaked out of the room while she was looking the other way. "Mrs. Wyman, I don't see how it's any of your concern who stays in our home." She then hung up the phone, not realizing Logan was listening to the entire conversation. "I cannot believe Carl, he's got the whole neighborhood worked up."
"I guess we should have expected this," Randy said as he approached her.
Logan then heard the sound of a helicopter approaching and knew that the MCU was coming for him. Sirens wailed as swarms of government vehicles approached the house to detain the mutant. Logan knew he was going to get into a fight, whether he wanted to or not. He made his way over to his belongings and opened the bag to pull out his official costume.
The doors to the house, front and back, were blasted open by some sort of sonic cannon. Then armed men ran into the house, and the family panicked at the sight. But by the time they reached the bedroom Logan was supposed to be in, they saw he wasn't there and the window was open.
Carl said, "He has razors in his hands," to the man in charge.
The family was arrested and dragged out of the house in cuffs. The man in charge then approached the family and began questioning them.
"Where is he?" He asks Randy.
"Where's who?" Randy decided to play dumb.
"Wanna play it that way?" The commander asks. "Fine. You're all under arrest."
"On what charges?" Randy asked.
"Harboring a fugitive mutant." He proclaimed.
The family was then dragged away, and the neighborhood only stood back and watched as they were dragged off into a helicopter. By that point, Logan had suited up and made his way to the roof. Once he was there, he got the sight of the family being put under arrest. Knowing that was only because they had chosen to be good people, Logan reacted.
Logan extended his claws and leaped into action as he ran along the rooftop and jumped, letting out a battle cry as he descended. As he did, he managed to catch two agents off guard and tackle them down. He knew these were mostly just men following orders, so they didn't deserve his full berserk treatment. But when he got down, he did slide their guns like a knife going through butter.
Logan then heard a gun cocking and swiftly turned around, stabbing the man in the shoulder. He listened to his cries of pain. Okay, maybe he went a little berserk, but he wasn't exactly having the best of days here. He then spun around and threw the man he impaled into another of the agents.
The commander shouted, "Get clear! We'll handle him!" As the helicopter carrying the family began to lift off.
Logan knew he had a short amount of time and needed to hurry as he ran towards the chopper, only to get shot and sent flying backward. Groaning, Logan got back to his feet and extended his claws once more. Running towards the men, he focused on the men this time, dodging the gunshots, running on top of a car, and leaping into the air to claw at the chopper. When he made it close enough to the vehicle, he almost reached the landing gear, but it was just out of reach. As a result, Logan ended up falling and crashing into another vehicle.
When he reached the ground, the commander threw a net to contain Wolverine and even managed to keep him down. At least long enough for his men to throw some smoke bombs in order to attempt to take him down. However, this only managed to give Logan the opportunity to use the net as a weapon to throw at his opponents and knock them out.
When the smoke began to clear, Logan marched out of it towards the commander. "Who wants some?"
"Code 10!" several men shouted as they ran for the helicopters. "Abort!"
As they ran, the commander did the same as they all ran into the chopper to try and escape. Logan saw he couldn't catch them with his powers; looking down at the smoke bomb that hadn't gone off yet, he got an idea to get even. He grabbed the smoke bomb and spun it around before throwing it up into the helicopter. He managed to reach it and filled the inside with smoke, causing the helicopter to lose control and crash into Carl's car.
Logan snarled as he marched his way over to the downed chopper and watched as the car was beginning to leak oil. The commander, bloodied and dazed, had managed to push open the door. He leaned out and aimed his shotgun at Logan, who sliced the weapon into four pieces with a sweep of his claws. Logan grabbed the commander by the back of the neck and hauled him out of the crashed helicopter.
"Now, you're going to be a good boy, and tell me where you took them?" Logan asked him.
"Go to hell, you freak of nature," the commander snarled at him.
"Guessing that's a no," Logan said and extended his claws, ready to begin his interrogation. But before he could begin it, he heard more sirens approaching and he needed to get. "Crap."
He slammed the commander against the helicopter and started making his escape. By the time everyone arrived at the scene, Logan was long gone. He had taken his motorcycle and managed to get too far away for them to begin chasing him.
Logan made his way to a bar that didn't seem to get many people this early in the morning. It was a place on the side of the highway that mostly got bikers, so he managed to fit right in.
Logan sat at the counter and wondered what he could do next, chugging on a bottle of beer. He wanted to help these people, but there was no way he could help them if he couldn't find them.
"The prison break was foiled by the work of Spider-Man, Thor, and a few other faces that had come almost out of nowhere," the news reported, getting Logan curious as he looked up at the screens. "They seemed to have begun calling themselves the Avengers, consisting of Spider-Man, the Almighty Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, and the Hulk."
"Isn't that something?" the bartender asked. "A whole group of superpowered people banding together to protect the innocent."
Logan chuckled at that irony as he looked up at the screen, seeing that these Avengers had taken up residency in National City. He looked at the map on the bar wall and saw National City wasn't too far away.
"Yeah...isn't that something?" Logan started to come up with an idea to save that innocent family.
Present day...
Logan was sitting across the bar from Peter, and he had just finished explaining the story of how he managed to get there. Peter couldn't help but think about the security system being taken down, the reason Thor and the Hulk had their little argument, and how Logan could have easily snuck in while they were all out dealing with the enraged Hulk.
"And while we're on the subject, you should really upgrade that security system," Logan commented to Peter.
"Well, we've only just started moving in, and we didn't exactly expect to have a mutant with a healing factor try to break in." Peter defended their poor security. "Look, I'd love to help you out, I would, but I'm already down one green giant and a god. And the only members I have left around here are currently in the medical ward."
"Anything serious?" Logan asked, sounding a little worried.
Peter said there wasn't anything serious. "No, if anything, they'll have a headache for a day."
"So, what's wrong with asking them?" Logan asked him. "Look, if you can't even help, the least you can do is offer to help me locate the family."
Peter sighed and sat down against the counter. "Yeah...I might be able to, but Hank is the one with the passkey to the DEO's computer network and satellite systems."
"You have access to that?" Logan asks.
"Hank does," Peter said. "Director Henshaw never allowed me access." Peter looked a little offended by that idea. "But give me a few minutes, I'll explain everything to them; meet you back here."
Logan didn't respond as he used one of his claws to cut open a bottle and chug it down. Peter took that as his answer and made his way down to the medical wing.
Once Peter reached the medical wing, he explained the situation to Janet and Hank. They were both surprised to hear of the MCU's actions against this innocent family, who had only helped another person in need after being helped themselves.
Hank said in shock, "The Mutant Control Unit is now arresting non-mutants; those guys are starting to grow out of control."
"I'm gonna help him; let you guys have some time off to get better," Peter explained what he was planning to do. Then, looking over to Hank, he said, "I just need the passcode you use for the DEO. With that, I can track the helicopter from where it was and where it could have gone."
Hank nodded and held out his passkey, which was in his coat pocket. "Here," he said. "Place this in the slot on the computer."
Peter reached for the passkey and nodded as he was about to grab it. But that's when Janet grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Wait," she said. Both boys looked over at Janet and noticed she was standing up, looking determined. "You think we're sending you out into the field on your own?" she asked him. "I want to believe this guy has good intentions, but I don't want anything to happen to you. If you're going, then we're going."
"Janet-"
"Hey," she said, "we're a team! You may not like it, but it means that you are going to have to do things a little differently."
Peter sighed and knew she wasn't going to let this go and looked to Hank. "What do you think?"
Hank sighed and realized that Janet was determined. "She isn't going to let this go..."
With that in mind, it quickly became the four of them who were beginning to search for the kidnapped family. Hank did his work on the computers and tracked down the most likely MCU Mutant prison that they would have been taken to. Luckily, the Avengers Mansion also came equipped with an MCU Mutant transport vehicle for emergencies involving mutants or any super-powered people.
Logan and Peter were in the front wearing official MCU gear that they had found amidst the DEO rubble. Since they had clearance, they could rummage through it for gear that could be salvaged. The gear wasn't in top shape, but that only helped sell the act.
Peter groaned as he had to remove his helmet for a moment and inspect it. "How the hell do they breathe in these things?"
"Quit your whining," Logan said.
Peter was a little annoyed with this guy. "Whatever." He then knocked on the window for the prison hold. "How see you row doing back there?"
"Are we sure this is the right course of action?" Hank asked. "I mean, if we were to just walk up to them and explain who we are-"
"We are likely to be shot or captured," Peter recalled how it would likely go. "You forget I'm a Mutate, he's a mutant, and you two have tech they'd kill to get their hands on."
"Which meant we are likely not going to just be welcomed into a prison full of mutants." Janet could see Peter's point of view.
"a d what about Director Henshaw?" Hank asks. "We could have gone to him to help us."
"He's too busy with the DEO rebuilding to even answer his calls. We're on our own, and if we get caught, there's no hope for our side to help us." Peter was sorry to have to tell them this.
"We're almost there. Zip it." Logan said as they pulled up to the gates.
"You guys got any mutants?" The man asked Logan.
"Two," Logan stated as he handed the false paperwork to him. He looked over it and Logan could tell he was getting anxious. "Can we hurry up? You don't want these two busting out, trust me."
"Seems to check out. Go ahead." He tells them as Logan drives into the gate.
They then made their way through the parking lot and toward the entrance of the facility. Once they entered the garage for prisoner transfers, they froze when they saw Hank and Janet (dressed in their hero attire) standing there.
"If it helps this scenario at all, I'm a pacifist." Hank tried to ease the situation.
However, Janet had other ideas in mind as she raised her fists and opened fire. She shrunk down and flew around as they tried to shoot her and Hank. Hank quickly shrunk down so that he was harder to hit, and Janet made quick work of the three armed men. Once she was done, she grew back to normal size and wiped her hands. Peter and Logan were just getting into their normal hero attire when they saw Janet finish fighting the armed guards.
"Come on," Janet said as she walked ahead.
"Wow. She's something." Logan complimented.
"Yes, something crazy and dangerous," Peter agreed with Logan. "Okay, I'll take Hank to the security room, and see where they're keeping their prisoners."
"I'll lock up these guys," Logan said as he picked one of the guards up. "Sprite, you wanna help me?"
Janet figured he was referring to her and flew over toward him. "Uh, sure, but it's Wasp, not Sprite."
Hank and Peter made it to the security room where they saw two armed men. The men took out their guns and aimed them at the heroes, who stood still. They didn't want to watch these guys open fire on them if they could avoid it.
"Is there any chance we can avoid a confrontation?" asked Hank.
"He's right," Peter decided to try things Hank's way. "There are two ways that this ends. Number one, you let us get the information that we need, we walk out of here, and nobody gets hurt. Or number two, we kick your backsides, and you get flung into that wall, and wake up with a few broken bones and a couple of concussions."
As Logan and Janet made their way toward the end of the hall, they witnessed several armed men being thrown and slammed against the wall. When they approached the doorway, they found Hank at the controls of the computer and Peter sitting on the ceiling, dusting the dirt off his arms.
"What happened in here?" Janet wonders.
"They took the hard way," Peter answered with a shrug.
"Gotta say, I'm starting to like your approach," Logan admitted.
"Aw, look at us, we're bonding," Peter said in a babyish voice.
"Can you ever shut up?" Logan wonders.
"This doesn't make any sense," Hank said as he found the detention facility. "There is no record of any of their crimes. All of the Mutants locked up here...they've been imprisoned without a trial."
"And that surprises you?" Logan asks sardonically. "That's how it always is. People are so afraid of the idea of us, we're locked up and the key is thrown away before trial can even touch us. We're guilty until proven innocent."
Hank said, "This isn't right." He began opening all the cells to the facility to free everyone. "Let's get them out of here."
Back with the family, the father was taken away for interrogation and thrown back into the cell with his family. He had just gone through an interrogation machine that drove his senses crazy so he was light on his feet and needed help to sit down.
Erica asked her father, "Are you all right, Daddy?"
Marisa was furious with them. "You are animals!" she shouted. "We told you, we don't know anything!"
The commander said, "You might not." He looked at their daughter. "But she might!"
But before he had a chance to even take a second step, several strands of webbing grabbed the armed guards and dragged them down the hall. When he looked down the hallway, he was shocked to see Spider-Man, Wolverine, Ant-Man, and Wasp standing there almost in a group shot.
"So, what will it be?" Peter asked him as he cracked his knuckles. "Are you going to take the easy way out, or the hard way?"
The commander then reached for his gun but was interrupted by Peter shooting a web to stop him from shooting. That was followed by Logan pulling his claws and leaping toward him. Slicing the gun into four separate pieces, he then kicked the commander into the wall, where Peter then shot a web and flung him into the wall. Before he could move, Peter then shot strands of webbing, entrapping him in a cocoon.
"Seems he picked the hard way," Logan commented.
Janet then flew her way over toward the commander and snarled. "You know, I already thought that things were hard on mutants, but this is a new low," she then flew up to his face and snarled again. "So, I'm gonna let you off with a warning. If you keep this up, harming anyone who isn't a threat, heck, even if they are a threat, we will hunt you down. And you will wish the government never funded your research. And if you hurt that nice family again, I'll personally come for you."
Peter and Hank were both shocked to see Janet like this. It might not have seemed like much, but they had never really seen her angry. She'd always gotten upset, but she'd never gotten mad at anyone, let alone threatened someone.
"I like her a lot more," Logan admitted.
"Ans just so you don't forget..." Janet began to enlarge herself to normal size as she punched him in the face.
Hank then got to work opening the cells to all of the other mutants and allowed them to go free. As they made their way for the exit, they noticed a dozen men with guns.
"Anyone got any ideas how to get out?" Logan asks them.
"I might have something," Hank said as he stepped forward, touching the Pym Particle on his suit.
Hank then began to grow to about five stories tall as he then raised his foot and slammed it into the ground. He ended up causing a dust cloud to blind everyone and provide them with an opportunity to attack. Peter shot web strands to yank their guns while Janet and the other mutants fought back so that they could escape.
"Give it a few weeks, they'll lose interest in you," Logan told the family.
They brought the family to a safe house that the DEO keeps off of the records for their enhanced humans. They thought it would be the best place for them to stay out of the way, and it was a five-minute drive from the nearest town.
"the place is fully stocked, so you'll have a few weeks' worth of supplies," Peter assured them.
"I can't thank you enough," Paul told them.
"Well, take care of yourselves," Logan said as he walked away.
But that was when Erica ran and grabbed his leg. "Don't leave."
"I have to," Logan said as he knelt down. "There are more people out there who need me."
Logan then started walking off as he joined the Avengers and their jet, seeing it as his only way home. The three of them stood there and seemed to be talking amongst themselves.
"What?" Logan asks.
Well, we've just been talking among ourselves," Peter explained as he stepped forward. "The viewpoint of mutants needs to change. And you're going to be hunted...what do you think about joining us?"
"Joining your group of heroes?" Logan asks.
"Yeah, you can help us save the world, and we can change the voices of people with power about mutants," Janet said with glee. "And it could be loads of fun."
Logan looked amongst the three of them and knew that they truly did want to help change people's viewpoints. "I suppose you guys could use an adult on your team."
Peter was a little confused when he heard that. "Okay, I'm not entirely sure how to take that, but is it a yes?"
Logan thought of his options and saw that this could easily work out for everyone's benefit. "Let's give it a try," he said. "But I can leave at any time I choose."
"Of course, it's not a prison," Peter assured him, holding out an AvengeWatch. "Welcome to the Avengers, Wolverine."
Logan took the watch and examined it. "Do I really have to wear this?"
"It's a great tool to use in the mansion if you don't want to get shot to oblivion," Peter said as he entered the jet. "And that's for the mansion's sake, not really for you."
Logan sighed as he approached and entered the Quinjet, deciding to see how this went. The jet made its way off into the sky and towards the Avengers Mansion to give Logan his own room and place within the building.
The Watcher smiled as he saw that this group of heroes had gained a new member. "They may have lost an Incredible Hulk, but they've gained an Uncanny X-Man."