"How did you get out? Is Logan okay on his own?" John asked Melin.
"He's fine. You should trust him."
"It's because I trust him too much that I don't feel at ease," John said with a shrug.
"Oh? Haha. But… between Logan and you, I'm actually more worried about you." Melin said, with a hint of meaning.
"I don't know what you're talking about." John looked away from Melin.
"No worries. You'll understand soon enough." Melin replied, then looked toward the street corner, where a tall, burly figure paused deliberately to make sure they saw him before turning and walking inside.
"Hey, listen, man. I don't care if you're some so-called god. This is our business, got it?" John said, eyes firm.
"…Alright." Melin eventually nodded. Since the other had made his stance clear and was so determined, there was no point in pushing further.
Melin knew John was being arrogant. He thought he could kill Victor with his elusive powers and wanted to use it to redeem himself, to put his past to rest. Even if it meant dying, at least he could feel better about it.
…
Melin wasn't going to stop him. But if he failed… he'd have to step in.
Watching John teleport down the building and head toward the street corner where Victor disappeared, Melin cloaked himself and quietly followed behind. Since he already intended to recruit him, he wasn't about to let him die so easily.
And also—as Logan's brother, and lifelong rival—Melin wanted to see for himself what this Sabretooth was like up close.
…
John turned the corner and immediately lost Victor's trail. Just as he was about to search the area, a gust of wind suddenly swept from behind. He instinctively teleported to dodge.
"Victor, this isn't like you," John taunted.
"A tiger doesn't care about style when it hunts, don't you think? John." Victor sneered, revealing sharp fangs and staring at John like a predator sizing up his prey.
"You know, I don't need Logan to kill you. I can do it myself."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he punched Victor in the face. Just as Victor's claws were about to reach him, he vanished again.
"Hehehehe…" Victor licked the blood off his lips. With that twisted grin and bloodlust in his eyes, his beastly nature was becoming more and more apparent.
But John didn't notice the subtle shift. He continued attacking recklessly, pounding his fists into Victor, and letting his guard down when Victor couldn't land a hit.
"John, you know…" Victor stepped forward as John paused to catch his breath, "There's something I've always wanted to tell you."
John ignored him and punched twice more before vanishing again.
But this time, Victor read him perfectly.
"Your moves are always predictable—who are you?!"
The claws didn't sink into John as Victor expected. Instead, they were caught mid-air—just one millimeter from piercing his skin.
"Melin! You—"
"Lesson one, John: let your guard down in battle, and you die."
As he spoke, John's eyes were blinded by a flash of light—and then Victor was sent flying. Two vicious burn holes were seared into his shoulders, no blood pouring out because the wounds had already been cauterized by heat.
"Who… the hell… are you…" Victor gritted his teeth through the pain, trying to regenerate in secret.
He wasn't thinking about hunting anymore. He was thinking about escaping. Every instinct in his beast-like brain screamed danger—run or die!
"What? Stryker sent you here and didn't tell you who Logan has with him?" Melin chuckled.
"Other than Jimmy's new babysitter, who else could it be?" Even wounded and retreating, Victor couldn't help but spit venom.
But Melin had no patience for mouthy fools who didn't know their place.
A flash of golden light. Victor was launched again, slammed into a wall, his fate uncertain.
Driven purely by instinct, his body began crawling away while half-conscious. As he fled, he heard Melin's voice ring in his ears:
"Tell Stryker this—there's always a reckoning. It's not that retribution won't come… the time just hasn't arrived yet."
…
"Why didn't you…"
"Kill him? He's Logan's problem. If I did it, he'd be pissed," Melin replied.
"You… fine, I owe you for that one." John had wanted to scold Melin about letting the tiger roam free, but couldn't bring himself to say it.
He understood that if Melin hadn't stepped in, he'd probably be dead. And he also knew how deep the grudge between Logan and Victor went. He'd wanted to kill Victor alone in a moment of impulsiveness, but now that he was thinking clearly, he understood Melin's choice.
For Logan, Victor was a nightmare—a demon he had to kill with his own hands, or it would haunt him forever.
"By the way, you ever consider recruiting Victor too? Not gonna lie, the guy is strong," John asked, testing the waters.
"Only humans get invited to join the X-Men."
John fell silent. He had to admit, Melin had a point. Victor… was already more beast than man.
"Before we head back, let me give you two more lessons. First—don't make your attacks too predictable. It makes it easy for opponents like Victor, with beastly instincts, to catch your rhythm. Second—do your homework. Victor, like Logan, has insane regeneration. Your punches? He heals from them in a blink."
With that, Melin walked back toward the casino.
John stood frozen, face darkening. He really hadn't known Victor could heal as fast as Logan. His fists were powerful—normally enough to kill—but against Victor? He'd just been a clown getting toyed with.
"Next time… I'll take your head off," John muttered, then followed Melin.
As luck would have it, they entered through the back door just in time to see Logan and Remy locked in a standoff. Remy looked ready to strike.
"Let a guy finish talking before you start a fight, you delinquent gambler," Melin said, flicking his finger to dissipate the energy clinging to Remy's cards and tossing them back.
Remy was about to go for it again—but John teleported to his side and pinned his arms down.
"Heh. Stryker must be desperate if he sent you guys after me," Remy sneered, clearly trying to figure out how to escape.
"Calm down, man. We're not here to take you back," John said, catching on quickly.
"Save it for Satan, pal. I know that badge. And that guy there already said he was bringing me back," Remy growled.
Hearing that, John and Melin realized instantly that Logan's bad communication had caused this whole mess.
John shot Logan a glare and started explaining things properly.
Soon, the red glow faded from Remy's eyes as he deactivated his powers. But though he stopped attacking, he still didn't fully trust them.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Remy asked.
"You don't have a choice," Melin said.
"…Fine." Remy raised his hands, admitting he was outmatched. A guy who could casually nullify his powers like Melin, someone like John who appeared out of nowhere, and a Logan whose strength was still unknown—he couldn't fight them.
But just because he surrendered didn't mean he accepted their offer.
"…Look, I'll accept that you're not here to drag me back. But don't expect me to take you to that island. I swore I'd never go back there again—not even to destroy it."
"You don't have a choice in that either," Melin replied.
"You—"
"There are all kinds of abilities out there. Ever heard of one that lets you control a person's thoughts? Turns them into obedient puppets—even while they stay fully conscious?" Melin smiled as he spoke. But in the dim lighting, that smile looked like it belonged to a devil making you sell your soul.
"You…"
"Just a little trick. Want to see for yourself?"
Devil. You're a devil! Remy screamed in his heart. He didn't know if Melin was bluffing—but not knowing made it even more terrifying.
What if it was real? What if he had no say? What if Melin took over his mind and forced him back to that hellhole—then used him forever?
"…Fine, I'll take you. But let's be clear—I'm only the guide. Whatever happens next is your problem."
"Are you sure you don't want in? Don't you want to destroy the place that tortured you?" John asked.
"I… okay, maybe I do want that. But—"
"Stryker's just a regular guy. Nothing to fear. His top agent, Zero, is dead. Victor just got wrecked. The rest are either gone or right here. Only one missing is Wade, but I doubt Stryker likes his mouth," John said.
"No, you don't get it. He has one more trump card—some weapon. I don't know what it is, but it's supposed to be terrifying. Unless we have a way to deal with that, I'm not signing up," Remy said.
"Oh, that one? Leave it to him." Melin gestured to Logan. After all, in the original timeline, Logan handled it.
"I don't buy it," Remy said, eyeing Logan.
Logan's fists clenched. This damn brat—how dare he insult him to his face? Was Remy getting cocky or did Logan just not look intimidating enough these days?
But what Melin said next made Logan feel a whole lot better.
"Like I said, Remy—you have no choice."