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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Evilution
Plastic chokes the roots.
Metal rusts the grass.
Styrofoam strangles dirt.
Glass suffocates breath.
Man’s techno-tourniquets twists off his own blood.
The artificial chokes the real.
The counterfeit kills the genuine.
Plastic chokes the roots.
Metal rusts the grass.
We’re going the wrong way.
A slim blond man tears another man’s head off. Blood spurts all over him as he holds the head in the air. Suddenly, the door to his room opens ‘Jimmy - what? EEK!’ a young girl screams. Jimmy holds the bloodied head out and tells the girl that he met a man in the woods with the face of God. ‘Wanna meet him?’ he asks. ‘No!’ the girl screams. Jimmy holds the head up to his face and declares that this is for boys only. ‘Only boys can see the face of God!’ he tells Suzy, who starts to cry and warns him that she is going to tell their mommy. Jimmy holds the head up and points to a label that says “Made in Japan”, and tells Suzy not to cry, that the head is fake, with stage blood, and he was just having fun. ‘Uh…uh…it was all a game?’ Suzy asks. ‘Yeah! All a game!’ Jimmy assures her.
Elsewhere, a waking dream. Body asleep, mind awake. Wolverine is asleep, but he awakens inside his dream. In his dream, he appears as a giant, the moon shining down upon him, twin mountains are on the ground in front of him - but as he gets a better look at his surroundings, he sees the mountains are actually twin towers - a nuclear power plan, and below that, a town that lives under the twin shadows of the twin towers. Wolverine knows the town - it isn’t far from Salem Center. He wonders why he is so big, so transparent, like an old Indian spirit god. He feels a weight under his neck, and sees that he is wearing a talisman, before suddenly noticing a rocket - a warhead - soaring towards him and he knows he has to stop it.
Wolverine must stand his ground, otherwise he is going to fail - but as he starts to action, he knows he is going to fail, and the warhead strikes him, causing him to explode. He is charred black and blasted back to a fetal curl, but he is still heavy with the metal amulet. He is dragged down by the weight of the charm, his body dies, but the metal survives. The flesh is gone - only metal remains.
‘Ugh!’ Wolverine calls out as he wakes, and he remembers his thoughts from the dream - the man dies, his metal survives. Wolverine a.k.a. Logan wonders what it means, and why he is sweating like a Saturday night special. Wolverine feels that something horrible is about to happen, something to do with a battle. ‘Ritual versus science?’ he wonders, but he knows that the thing about dreams is that the meaning could be profound. ‘Or, maybe I simply went to sleep worrying I left the toaster oven on last night’ Wolverine tells himself. But he doesn’t believe in all that psychic garbage about visionary dreams, before deciding that it won’t hurt to visit the town with the twin towers.
Meanwhile, at some faraway garbage dump at the edge of a rural shantytown. Two boys are walking along the dirty street, and they see a rocking horse in the trash, which has started to spill onto the street. ‘Boy! The neat stuff some people throw away!’ the second boy calls out. ‘One guy’s cast off is another guy’s -’ he begins, before the first boy picks up a canister, and calls out to his friend, announcing that it is a high-tech tube, and that it says “Dental something-or-other…X-ray something…”. The second boy picks up the rocking horse and tells his friend to crack the tube open. He does, and a green ooze spills from it. ‘Magic paint!’ one of the boys calls out, as they begin to wipe on each other’s faces. ‘Fairy dust!’ one of the boys calls out, while the second declares that it is war pain. ‘Wow, your face sparkles!’ he tells his friend. Both of their faces are covered in the ooze. ‘It’s beautiful!’ one of the boys smiles. ‘It’s ours!’ the other grins.
Wolverine remembers the words from his dream - man dies, metal survives. He is not a man to take cues from his dreams. But this one made sense - he feels it is in his adamantium-bonded bones. He may follow his instincts like a natural man, but he can’t deny his high-tech skeleton. Sometimes, he even tastes the metal in his mouth.
In the shadows of the twin towers is Prescott, a seven-mall, three-church, ten-saloon kinda town - complete with bored, restless, frustrated teenagers, including one such Tabitha “Boom-Boom” Smith. Wearing pink shades and an outrageous pink mini-dress, Tabitha is in an arcade where teenagers are playing games, dancing and drinking sodas. ‘So, how long are you in town for this time, Boom-Boom?’ a red-haired girl asks. ‘I wish she’d shut up so I can hear what those boys are saying’ Tabby thinks to herself, looking at Jimmy who is standing with some others. ‘But, Jimmy, technology gives us good stuff, too…’ one young man points out. ‘Yeah, like, uh…beer and uh…motorcycles’ a girl remarks. Holding up a strange ornament, Jimmy replies that it doesn’t matter. ‘That’s why we’re the Devos our gang is for Devolution!’ he exclaims. He announces that they have to drag the human race back to before cars and computers and iron lungs and missiles. ‘We’re hurting from the lack of ritual, and dance, and tribal consciousness’.
En route, Wolverine recalls letting Professor X know that he is taking some “comp time” to check out Prescott, the town in his dreams, and how the Professor checked his files on the area and revealed that X-Force’s Boom-Boom has been known to hang out in Prescott. Wolverine tells himself that if there is trouble in Prescott, he hopes Boom-Boom is steering clear.
Back in the arcade, Jimmy exclaims that they want to face, that want something real and primal, that they reject circuits and wires and plastic and silicon. ‘We want mud and pain and fire! We want…we want…’ his voice trails off as he turns around and sees Boom-Boom standing beside a table. ‘Hiya, Jimmy. Sorry to interrupt the little chant you’ve got going on’ Tabby calls out, before telling Jimmy that she likes his statue and asks whether she can have it. ‘NO!’ Jimmy shouts. Tabby tells him that is too bad, and she reaches behind herself, dropping a tiny plasma bomb into a soda as she points out that as Jimmy should know, objects weigh the spirit down. ‘So if you really wanna be a tribe - he has to learn to share. Tabby strokes Jimmy’s face, before turning around and calling back ‘Toodalluu!’. Jimmy picks up his soda and starts to slurp it up - when it suddenly explodes on him, the drink pouring over his face. ‘How’d she do that?’ he wonders.
‘Man dies, metal survives. Just a stinkin lousy dream. But Boom-Boom - she’s no dream. She’s tough, jealous, and competitive. And up to something’ Wolverine decides.
Little Silvio remembers Orville and Wilbur Wright taking to the air in the first airplane. And his young, flexible mind said: man can fly! Fifty years later when coal miner Silvio bought his first TV, he enjoyed it, but he didn’t understand the strange moving-picture box. Twenty years later, old man Silvio turned on the TV and it told him man had landed on the moon. He said “this dang box lies too much” and shut it off. Never believed another word the TV said. Sometimes, the things man invents seem so magical, so wondrous, you just want to believe. Like, what if there was a magic glowing box, that when we sat in its glow, it erased all the cares and worries from our poor little faces…wouldn’t that be wonderful? And, inside a small shack in Prescott, several men are gathered, laughing at what they watch on the television. There is a glow, and then, one of them collapses.
Wolverine arrives. ‘Humph. Looks like a normal, peaceful, American town like any other’ he thinks to himself. ‘In other words, something’s bound to start stinking!’ Wolverine adds, unsheathing the claws from his left hand, he looks at the nuclear power plant, and remembers hearing something about the nuclear plant being a threat to close down - some “environmentalist action”. Suddenly, he spins around and shoves his claws into the side of a tree, where and elderly Naïve American man is sitting. ‘Do, why didn’t you just kill me?’ the old man asks. Wolverine replies that he doesn’t kill so easily, adding that he respects any man who can sneak up on him, adding that he might be someone he can talk to. The old man informs Wolverine that he has been expecting him. ‘My vision said you would come, and that when you did - it will have begun’. Wolverine just frowns.
Elsewhere, in a forest, ‘I’m different’ Jimmy remarks as he stands with a shovel. ‘Of course you are’ a voice resonates. ‘Are you in my head?’ Jimmy asks. ‘No’ the voice replies, while Jimmy adds that he needs something. ‘Of course you do. Now dig’ the voice beckons. ‘Where?’ Jimmy asks. ‘Right -’ the voice begins, while Jimmy strikes the ground and shouts ‘- here!’ as he starts to shovel the dirt up. Sweat forms on his face as he digs furiously. When, suddenly, a spirit rises from the ground. ‘WOW!’ Jimmy gasps. ‘The face of God!’ he whispers. ‘The face of -’ he begins, while the spirit looms down upon him and orders him to get a woman. ‘For you?’ Jimmy asks. ‘For us’ the spirit tells him. ‘Went to far. We need to begin again. Get us a woman. A woman. A woman’ the spirit tells Jimmy, who continues to dig - and suddenly, his shovel strikes a coffin.
Meanwhile, in Germany, at the Historical Museum and Archive, a man is showing some of his companions throughout the museum, while a boy is reading from a book: “…believed to be the tip of a metal spear that pierced the side of Christ…and so called the Spear of Destiny…it was stolen by Charlemagne and then by Hitler…each man who possessed it believed he rode the crest of fate itself”.
At that moment, Wolverine wonders once again why in his dream he ended up with nothing but his adamantium skeleton. ‘Will I ever forget the pain of being pierced by so much metal?’ he asks himself.
In Germany, the boy continues to read the book. ‘The spear was then…blah, blah, that’s all I need to know’ he decides. The men being shoed around the museum are all wearing green clothing, as someone speaks to them: ‘And so, honoured brothers, we gather here among our relics…we stand with the ancient treasures that represent centuries of Masonic tradition…’, while the boy spies the case with the Spear of Destiny inside it, and rushes over. ‘Cool! No alarm tape, no electronic sensors…stupid museum. Ain’t they ever heard of glass cutters?’ the boy thinks to himself as he pulls out a small glass cutter, and thinks that Jimmy is going to be so proud of him.
Back in Prescott, Wolverine listens as the old man tells him that the new ordinance has passed and the power plant has been shut down. He adds that the new government regulation states they need more uninhabited land to surround a nuclear facility, so Gycon bought out ever local farmer, except for him. He explains that his farm is vast and key to Gycon’s plans, but that it has been in his family for a hundred years, ever since the government land allotment, an uneasy attempt to compensate for Native American slaughters over a century ago. He adds that he knew there would be trouble in the 1990’s, the anniversary years.
The old man continues, informing Wolverine that power is building in unlikely places, that there is a new presence in the forest, something very old and very angry is awakening. He shows Wolverine a photograph of an ornament and reveals that it is a sacred object and that it has been stolen from their local museum. ‘Yeah, yeah, it’s all very cryptic but where do I fit in?’ Wolverine remarks. The old man replies ‘You had a vision, and so did I - of a stranger coming to help’. The old man introduces himself as Red Walter Fall, and reveals that as an infant, in his first bath, it is said the river ran red. ‘It is said I hold back a red tide. I cannot break, I cannot lose my ground’ Red Water Fall reveals.
Wolverine replies that it has nothing to do with him, and points out that he just had a weird dream. Red Water Fall tells Wolverine that “dream” is a white word. ‘What you call dreams are to us reality. Valid, true vision, the only true voice’ he adds, before remarking that Wolverine, of all men - he-who-lives-by-metalled-claws, should be open to paradox. ‘Sometimes one must change - or die’ Red Water Fall points out. Wolverine smiles.
Elsewhere in Prescott, ‘Well, lookie here!’ boom-Boom exclaims as she blows some bubblegum while reading a newspaper. She tears part of a page off, which shows a picture of a stolen ornament. ‘Jimmy stole that cute little statue!’ Tabby realizes.
In Germany, the boy has carved a hole in the glass box, and reaches in to grab the spear. ‘It’s mine! Ooo, it’s hot!’ he thinks to himself, supposing that it must be the light hitting through the glass. He puts the spear in his pocket and decides that it feels good in there, before rushing over to where the men are gathered, he realizes that his father’s meeting is over. ‘Did you listen?’ his father asks him. ‘Yes, father’ the boy replies. ‘Did you learn?’ his father enquires. ‘Yes, father’ the boy smiles.
Back in Prescott, Tears fall from Jimmy’s eyes as he reads the “Daily Bugle” which reports on the deaths of two boys who were playing with the radioactive waste, illegally dumped fro ma plant that supplies both dental x-ray machine and space programs. ‘They lie so easily. They knew it would kill. The man in the woods is right. It’s time to act’ Jimmy decides. And, as he goes back to digging around the coffin in the woods, he thinks to himself ‘Metal lives and man dies. It’s time’.
At that moment, Wolverine unsheathes his claws.
Elsewhere in Prescott, a man in a suit stands on a stage, addressing several people who have gathered to listen to him. He states that as the president of Gycon, he is telling them that the loss of Gycon’s nuclear plan affects them all. ‘If the corporation loses capital, the town loses capital’ he explains, adding that Gycon’s profits would trickle back into this town during recession - but the only thing in their way is one stubborn old man. He continues, announcing that they must think of the future of their great town, the memories of their sons and their offspring. ‘We must hold on to our resources and our wealth…and to do that we need this nuclear plant operation. We need Gycon’s plant to open again!’ he declares.
The president of Gycon continues, telling people that the old man does not understand - just as his people did not understand a hundred years ago. ‘It is not as it was then - when two cultures clash, one must relinquish. There is a natural progression, an inevitability to change. People must adapt to our ways - or perish’ he states, while the people listen, some smoking cigarettes inside the room.
At the same time, Wolverine wonders if Red Water Fall is right. ‘Must I change? Haven’t I changed enough already? First something makes me a mutant - gives me a healing factor and a pair of claws I never asked for. Then - they ran me full of adamantium - turning me into somebody’s lab rat’ he recalls, deciding that he thinks he is about as “changed” as he is going to get.
At Prescott High School, Jimmy and his classmates are in science class, and are dissecting frogs. ‘Sit still and make the incision!’ the teacher orders, motioning to a chart on the wall, she tells them that by now, they should be examining the digestive organs. ‘Eeek! Forget it, I’m not gonna do it!’ a girl exclaims, standing up. The teacher tells her that in order to understand life, one must look at it closely. Jimmy smiles as he cuts into his frog, and pulls something out of it. The teacher declares that dissection is the way to knowledge, and that it is a healthy process. ‘children, are you listening to -’ she begins to ask, before noticing they have turned their attention to Jimmy.
‘Excellent, Jimmy’ the teacher calls out, before telling the class to take notice, as she explains that Jimmy has dissected the heart with such precision that it is still beating. ‘You see the heart can exist outside the body,  but not for long. Even now the beating slows…the beating slows’ she remarks, before informing her class that their homework for the weekend is to contemplate the dissection process and to study the chapter on the blood system. She adds that on Monday, they will learn which organ parts the body can survive with out.
Friday night, in the woods, where a pentagram has been carved into the ground, candles are scattered about, the coffin stands upright, the corpse wrapped in bandages inside it, and chickens hang from trees, ropes tied around their necks. ‘We’re the Devo’s!’ one of the teenagers exclaims as they dance about. ‘We’re the chumps!’ another declares. ‘We can’t wake up no corpse. Yeah, and he stinks. We’re devolving right?’ he adds. Suddenly, Jimmy snaps at his friends, telling them to shut up so he can read from his book. One of the Devo’s tells Jimmy that they have been here for hours reading from books, dancing and chanting, sacrificing animals, only nothing has happened. Suddenly, one of the boys points to the coffin and shouts ‘Look! He’s gone!’
Later that night, Boom-Boom walks through Jimmy’s house, and tells herself that sneaking in was a whip. She realizes nobody is here, and supposes it must be Jimmy’s family night out. She is pleased, and can check out what else the little thief has stashed away.
Outside, Wolverine is peering into the house from the bushes. ‘Brilliant, Boom-Boom. What are we training you young mutants for - nothing?’ Wolverine wonders, telling himself that he thought Boom-Boom had some smarts, but she is just waltzing into a trap.
Inside, Boom-Boom hears a floorboard creak behind her, and decides that someone must be home. ‘Time for a “light” bomb’ she tells herself as she creates a small plasma burst, and throws it behind herself - where is strikes against Wolverine, knocking him backwards. Wolverine gathers himself and grabs Boom-Boom by her neck and asks her what she is doing here. Boom-Boom’s shades fall off as she tells Wolverine that the kid who lives here, she saw him with a statute today, the one that was stolen. She explains to Wolverine that it was in the newspaper today and asks him to let her up. ‘Only if you go home, now. You stumbled in on something here…something big, bad and ugly is brewing in this town…you’re in over your head, little girl!’ Wolverine replies. Boom-Boom tells Wolverine that she isn’t little and not some kid. ‘Yes you are. Now go home’ Wolverine orders. ‘NO! I got my own business here!’ Boom-Boom shouts. Wolverine frowns at her and declares ‘That’s it, Boom-Boom. Maybe you used to’.
An instant later, Wolverine is pulling Boom-Boom behind him through the darkened forest, ‘Where are you taking me?’ Boom-Boom calls out. ‘Shut up’ Wolverine tells her, but they soon arrive at the location of the pentagram. ‘Okay, open your eyes wide! This is just a taste of what I’m finding out here in these woods’ Wolverine explains, as Boom-Boom stares in horror at a cat, a rabbit, a fox and a chicken, who are strung up, with telephone cords, still attached to the phone, wrapped around their bodies and necks. Blood drops from the motionless animals. ‘Oh, boy…’ Tabby utters, before Wolverine asks her if she will get out of here and go back to X-Force. He assures her that he will call in if he needs any help. ‘Got it?’ Wolverine asks as Tabby makes her way back out of the forest. ‘Yeah - okay…I’m gone…I’m history’ she calls back, a look of horror still on her face.
But, soon, ‘Yeah, right’ Tabby thinks to herself as she is back inside Jimmy’s house. ‘Sure, Wolverine, yes boss, right away master’ she thinks, knowing that what she didn’t tell Wolverine is that she heard someone in the attic of Jimmy’s house. And, as she enters the darkened attic, ‘Hello, Boom-Boom’ Jimmy calls out. ‘Oh!’ Tabby gasps. ‘Scared ya?’ Jimmy asks. ‘Nope’ Boom-Boom assures him, before announcing that she wants to know about the stolen statue and she wants to know what he is up to in the woods. Jimmy reveals that it is a boys’ club - for boys only, before asking her if she wants to join. ‘Uh…okay’ Boom-Boom replies.
High above, an airplane arcs over the twin nuclear towers. Inside the airplane, the boy from Germany clutches the spear and remarks that Jimmy says they need old relics with lots of power so they can reverse time. ‘All the staff that plaque said - about how having this Destiny Spear is like riding the wave of the future - we’re gonna change fate!’ he declares. His father calls him Steven and tells him to quit squirming. ‘Yes, father’ the boy replies.
Minutes later, Wolverine is once again confronted by Red Water Fall, who tells him ‘You must try to hear me. These are the traditional Indian ways, but they could be yours. The true world lies behind this one, and can be accessed in the Dreamrealm’ he remarks, adding that Wolverine is a noble warrior, that he too could live in dreams. But now it is I, Red Fall, that will ride the sands’ he announces, telling Wolverine that he will find his vision and look for clues. He adds that he must trust Wolverine to protect his body while it appears to sleep. Red Water Fall then lies down on the ground, and Wolverine stands over him, ‘I can’t believe I’m standing here guarding some guy’s nap-time. What next?’ Logan thinks to himself.
Inside Gycon’s abandoned nuclear plant, Jimmy stands before the rest of the Devo’s. He has attached spikes to his hand - like claws. Boom-Boom stands behind him, and the Devo’s all hold on to animals. Jimmy announces that, through ritual, they will drag the race of man back, back to before technology ruined the planet. ‘Back before asbestos and radon and silicon and uranium and plastic’ he declares, telling his companions that if they has the faith, he has the scalpels. He holds them out, between his knuckles, like claws and announces that this girl, who wishes she were a boy, she becomes one of them - a Devo.
Another set of claws are bared in the woods - this time in defense, as Wolverine finds himself surrounded by a dozen men, who break glass weapons bottles and hold up weapons. ‘Heh heh. Just when I was getting bored’ Wolverine thinks to himself as he stands over Red Water Fall’s body.
Back at the nuclear plant, ‘You want to be one of the boys?’ Jimmy asks, leaning into Boom-Boom and taking her by the wrists. ‘Yeah…sure. What do I gotta do?’ Boom-Boom asks. Jimmy tells her that she has to pass their test, that first she needs to stand and watch as they recreate the ritual that bought them their power. He smiles and remarks that precise incisions are to be made. ‘Look at it close enough and you’ll understand it. You dig?’ he asks her. Suddenly, the spirit from the woods appears, grinning, he tells Jimmy that his thirst for his dark knowledge has brought him back. ‘Begin the test. If she is strong enough, she can become one of us. If not, we will find knowledge through dissection - of her!’ the spirit declares .’The deadman!’ Jimmy gasps. ‘Not anymore!’ one of the other Devo’s points out.
While Red Fall’s body sleeps, his mind sees. He sees past the symbols of dreams and into meaning. He sees Boom-Boom strapped to a cross atop one of the nuclear towers.
Wolverine sees what must be done. He didn’t ask for trouble. But he will not let the old man be harmed, and he lashes out at his attackers, destroying their weapons with his powerful claws.
Two battles are taking place - one for a man…and one for mankind. ‘Of my God! NOOO!’ Boom-Boom screams as Jimmy grins wickedly then uses his scalpel-claws to gut a squawking chicken that flaps about as it is held up by one of the Devos.
Wolverine continues to defend himself while protecting the body of Red Water Falls.
A horrified Boom-Boom tells herself that there is a dozen of the Devos and only one of her - but with the mood she is in, decides that the odds are pretty bad for the Devos. ‘I can’t let them kill these animals’ she thinks to herself, before releasing a plasma blast, which startles some of the Devos and causes them to let go of the animals they were holding. A bird flies away and a rabbit bounds across the ground. Jimmy leers at Boom-Boom and exclaims ‘So she rebels! She is weak, weak, and forever a girl!’ He tells Boom-Boom that he knows now why she was sent to him, as she makes fireworks, and tosses them out of her hands. ‘How do you do that? You are an animal, but you have explosives running through your blood. You must be a techno-animals, sent to us to look at’ he decides.
Red Water Fall sees what could happen. Still in sleep, he dreams about what must not happen. What might happen if Wolverine fails. He knows all things are possible. And only one thing is right. Something suddenly rips him out of his dream, and he sits p, seeing Wolverine crouched nearby. Examining his surroundings, Red Water Fall remarks to Wolverine ‘You had trouble while I slept’. ‘Nah’ Wolverine replies casually. ‘Did you -’ Red Water Fall begins to ask, but Wolverine interrupts him, assuring him that he didn’t kill anybody. ‘But their scars will mark them for all the town to see’ Wolverine adds, before suggesting they wait and see where they lead them.
‘What a night. Things are getting weirder by the minute’ Jimmy thinks to himself as he walks to his home, deciding that he has to listen to their new leader. He recalls how they used the animals as hostages and made Boom-Boom surrender and how the new leader said he was supposed to go and meet his father, as the leader said he is the key to everything. He hopes his mom isn’t still awake, but as he opens the door, he finds his mom waiting for him. ‘Jimmy, darling!’ she smiles and asks him if he has time for a midnight snack with her. ‘Uh…sure, Ma’ Jimmy replies, and they sit down at a table, with a plate of cookies. Jimmy’s mother tells him that she has been thinking about his room and explains that she could never sleep there. ‘How about some nice, new curtains?’ she asks. As he crunches the cookies, Jimmy replies ‘Sure Ma’.
As he makes his way through the house, Jimmy sees some bloody feathers stuck to him. Suddenly, his father appears in a doorway and asks ‘Son, what do you know about that?’ ‘About what?’ Jimmy asks. ‘Come on son, who melted the television set?’ his father, the Gycon president, enquires.
Wolverine recalls how Red Water Fall told him to watch out for his own claws. ‘He calls them false claws…and while I use them, he claims it may be them that drag me….
‘I dunno’ Jimmy tells his father, who announces that things have to change around here. He adds that they will soon be opening the Gycon plant again, and that it is time Jimmy learned how to run it. ‘But, I…’ Jimmy begins to protest. ‘How son! I count on you to carry on after I’m gone!’ Jimmy’s father explains, unaware that the back leg of his trousers are torn, and a substance is stained on the back of his leg, some of it spilling onto the floor. A cat comes along and starts lapping up the spillage on the floor, as Jimmy’s father tells him to think that someday it wil be his nuclear plant. ‘Thanks, Dad’ Jimmy replies.
At the plant, Boom-Boom is tied to a large cross-section of a pole. ‘Geez Louise!’ she thinks to herself, wondering how she fell into such a trap. ‘What a chump. Boy, do I ever have to get free…before Wolverine finds out how stupid I’ve been’ Tabby decides, knowing that otherwise he will never let her live it down.
More men with technological parts. Red Falls speaks of technology dragging man down. Wolverine wonders where that puts him, a man who is inseparable from his metal.
With ropes wrapped tightly around her, Boom-Boom struggles to free herself. ‘They would have to be good at tying knots’ she thinks to herself, deciding that she hates boy scouts, and that she better throw her weight around. She starts casting some plasma time-bombs out into the plant, they strike various tubes and pillars, as she hopes that she hits something - and from one of them steam pours out, as the spirit manifests himself. ‘You must learn to relax and accept the honor of your sacrifice’ the spirit tells Boom-Boom, who wonders where he came. The spirit then vanishes, despite Boom-Boom telling him to come back here. ‘You’re no god to me! Come back and fight like a man!’ she tells him.
‘Man’s metal will outlive him. Unless we take control’ Wolverine thinks to himself as he releases his claws.
The next morning in Prescott, Wolverine is wearing some civilian clothing and stands beside a phone booth. He can’t figure out Red Fall’s dream. He remembers seeing the nuclear warhead rocketing towards this town, and recalls that Red Water Fall spoke of a primitive spear, and now, fathers from the town are trying to kill him. But their scents don’t match the ones he smelled at the wacky ritual scene in the woods. Logan also wonders where Boom-Boom has disappeared to. Inside the phone booth, a man starts to use the phone and notices Wolverine standing nearby, he wonders what he is looking at, when suddenly, the phone begins to melt. Wolverine sees the melting phone, and catches a scent. He sees a man walking nearby, and sees a scar on the man’s face, covered by a band-aid. ‘That’s the third scar I’ve seen. All three scared and paranoid - so they ain’t a problem right now. But what? And what’s my next move?’ Wolverine asks himself.
At Jimmy’s house, he is in the yard, as the boy from Germany, Steven, gives him the spear. ‘Where’d you get it?’ Jimmy enquires. Steven explains that he got it in Germany and that he was there with his dad at one of his dumb meetings. Steven adds that this one was held in a museum, inside a case, so it copped it. ‘Cool, ain’t it?’ Steven remarks, adding that the sign said that anybody who owns this spear can alter fate, and that it used to be Hitler’s. Steven and Jimmy start to run off, before Jimmy’s dad calls out to him. ‘Get back here!’ he calls out as he stands at his car, the hood open, the motor looking like it has seen better days. ‘First the TV and now my engine’s melted! I’ll get to the bottom of this!’ he remarks.
‘Later, Dad!’ Jimmy calls back, but his father warns him to get back here otherwise he will call the police on his own son. ‘I said now!’ he shouts. Jimmy turns back to his father, but Steven tells him not stop. ‘I gotta’ Jimmy replies. Jimmy’s father announces that he has had enough of Jimmy’s shenanigans, and noticing his son is wearing make-up on his face, and jewellery, declares that no son of his is going to act like a girl. ‘What, I should wear a suit like you?’ Jimmy retorts. ‘Don’t you dare talk back to your father!’ the older man exclaims, pointing at his son, and ordering him to get in the house. ‘NO!’ Jimmy screams, before his father asks him if he doesn’t understand that he must groom himself to take his place. ‘A son’s fate is in the footsteps of his father!’ Jimmy’s father remarks. ‘NEVER!’ Jimmy shouts, exclaiming that he would rather blow up the nuclear plant than work in it. ‘I make my own fate!’ he adds. Jimmy’s father tells his son that he doesn’t like the tone of his voice.
‘Someday you’ll see your father’s wisdom stands for progress’ Jimmy’s father explains. ‘Progress? Like the Indians were slaughtered a hundred years ago for standing in the way of progress - are you willing to slaughter your own son? We are the Devos - noble savages, we want devolution!’ Jimmy announces, adding that they are the last stand against a civilization that is bent on destroying the world. ‘You insolent disrespectful brat!’ Jimmy’s father shouts, smacking his son in the hard in the face. ‘I AM YOUR FATHER!’ the older man shouts. Jimmy retaliates, moving towards his father, he replies ‘No you’re not!’ and punches his father, boasting that he has found a new father. ‘How dare you? That’s enough out of your. Now you march straight -’ the older man begins, but Jimmy escapes him and starts to run away. ‘Jimmy! Come back here!’ he calls out.
Wolverine unsheathes his claws and tells himself that all is quiet in the town, and recalls that both his dream and Red Fall’s took place at the power plant, so he decides that it is time to go there and see what is what.
And, at that night, some of the Devos return to the power plant. ‘Hello sweety. Still hanging around?’ one of them calls out to Boom-Boom, who shouts back ‘You stinking Neanderthals better let me go!’ and announces that she set of explosives. ‘Can’t you dorks hear that hissing? This place is gonna blow! Troglodytes!’ Tabby calls out. Suddenly, Jimmy appears, and holds the spear up to his friends. ‘It’s glowing! Just like that green gunk those kids found in the dump!’ Jimmy exclaims.
And, in the natural world, a flock of birds rises and heads south, months too early. A few towns away, electricity shoots out of a socket…looking for appliances to power…call it unholy, call it unnatural…it is impossible to name but somehow things are just wrong. Toasters cook themselves, machinery melts, birds forget how to fly - why? In France, a farmer crosses a kiwi with a strawberry, creating a strange new fruit. And he is pleased. And it is eaten. And he begins splicing all manner of fruits and vegetables together…cross-breeding, mating, gene-splicing…
Back at Gycon, ‘Don’t touch me!’ Boom-Boom shouts as the Devos close in on her. Jimmy tells her to shut up and announces that this spear is the one that pierced Christ’s side. He adds that if they re-enact that event, they will be sacrificing the techno-woman. Jimmy explains that Boom-Boom represents how dependent and entwined man has become with machine, and states that with this ritual they will bring the race back to before the technological revolution, before all its poisons and death. The coffin with a man’s body inside it is propped up, and Jimmy remarks that the spear will steer the fate of man in any direction they want it to. ‘Don’t you see? We are now gods!’ he exclaims. Jimmy continues, explaining that all history is contained in each man, and with one simple sacrifice of this girl, they will set history flowing backwards. ‘We the Devo’s have our name and out tasks!’ he adds. Suddenly, the corpse moves, and speaks: You use new words for the old ways. But it is all the same’.
Elsewhere, a woman warpaints her face and wonders why. A dog breaks free of a leash that held him his whole life. A telephone switchboard melts and crosses so many lines that all voices are silenced. Somewhere in the Midwest a man claims to have created fusion in a jar. In Africa, a polio vaccine made from monkey cells saves many lives. Years later, those same people become sick and a new killing plague sweeps the world, something before only found in monkeys. This week a man announces a new invention - a scent releasing tin that makes insects drop their eggs. He believes it will wipe out the cockroach population. What else will the new smell sterilize?
Outside the nuclear plant, Wolverine and Red Water Fall stand in the forest, and Wolverine announces that he sees someone going into the plant. He then realizes that it is not the town fathers, but their sons. ‘Then it is time’ Red Water Fall states. Indeed, more Devos enter the nuclear plan, ‘Yo, we’re late for the ritual!’ one of them points out. ‘So go on in!’ another tells him. There is a piercing scream, and Wolverine realizes that it is Boom-Boom. ‘If they’ve hurt her -’ he snarls, unsheathing his claws, but Red Water Fall grabs Wolverine by his hand and tells him no, that there is another way, not the claws. Wolverine frowns at Red Water Fall, who tells Wolverine that the boys seem evil, but their instincts may be true. ‘Huh?’ Wolverine asks.
‘I know, as an Indian, I had to except change. Perhaps the death of the Indians’ dominance was as inevitable as it was tragic’ Red Water Fall tells Wolverine, who asks him how he can say that. Red Water Fall explains that it was a culture clash, and the stronger culture won. He explains that it became fated that the white man create his technology, even if it poisons his own planet. ‘So we were better off with the Indian ways - is that what you’re implying?’ Wolverine asks. Red Water Fall replies that they don’t know, that it is all a progression, and a test. ‘Perhaps man is a failed experiment, but he must be given his opportunity to fulfil his fate’. He adds that you can’t stop destiny, even though his people were slaughtered, it is still wrong to assign guilt to a whole race. ‘That ain’t my way. I gotta blame somebody’ Wolverine tells Red Water Fall, who suggests Wolverine go into the nuclear power plant and stop their ritual, but that he should decide who is a victim or who is a villain. ‘Shed no innocent blood, Wolverine’ he asks. Wolverine then replies ’I only go after who goes after me’.
Jimmy climbs a ladder to reach Boom-Boom and holds the spear towards her. ’Watch where you point that, you slug!’ Boom-Boom tells him. Jimmy smiles and tells Tabby that he is sorry. ’My spear’s got a mind of its own’ he claims. As the glowing spear edges closer to Tabby’s face, the scared young woman asks if they couldn’t talk this over. Suddenly, Wolverine bursts through a wall,: ’Boom-Boom!’ he calls out, while warning Jimmy ’Touch her and you die, boy!’  Wolverine punches two of the Devos aside and realizes that they are too strong - that it is not natural. He pulls his punches, but the kids are getting stronger every minute. Logan kicks Jimmy, knocking the spear from his hand, and decides that is if they have been possessed, and that there is no way they could have got this strong without some “help”.
Shortly, ‘Satisfied, Red Fall? No blood’ Wolverine calls out, before he asks Boom-Boom if she is okay. Red Fall climbs down the ladder after cutting the ropes that tied Boom-Boom to the columns. ‘I’m fine, now that you’re here, partner’ Boom-Boom calls out, adding that she is glad that it is over. ‘NOT YET!’ a voice calls out. Wolverine turns to see the spirit, who has taken a physical form, naked and huge, rushing towards him. ‘Cripes! Uh, listen pals - this guy stinks like death and is twice as big. So if you’re squeamish - close your eyes’ Wolverine calls out to Boom-Boom and Red Water Fall, before telling the approaching behemoth that he feels that he is bringing something evil to this town, and that he isn’t about to roll out the welcome wagon for him. ‘No need to. I was always here - waiting - in the hearts of men that were far too curious for their own good’ comes the reply.
‘You misunderstand, clawed one. I am the saviour. I have come to put things as they should be. As they were…before men desecrated my world’ the spirit announces, adding that if those corrupted by their technology resist him, then they will be the first to be sacrificed. ‘Here’s a bulleting, big guy - if there’s any sacrificing to be done…you’ll be the one stepping up to your makeshift altar!’ Wolverine replies as he smacks the larger being in the face. But he smacks, back, drawing blood at Wolverine’s mouth. He then grabs Wolverine and starts to crush him. ‘Can’t kill the dead, wild man!’ the spirit points out, but Wolverine manages to kick backwards, striking the spirit in his face. ‘Then I guess I’ll die trying!’ Wolverine exclaims.
Wolverine then releases his claws, and the spirit grins, ‘Heh heh. Kiss me again’ he laughs, while Red Water Fall tells Boom-Boom that she must get the spear to Wolverine. Noticing that Wolverine’s claws do nothing to the spirit, Boom-Boom points this out to Red Water Fall and asks what good one old spear will do. The spirit lunges at Wolverine, but Logan dodges him, causing the spirit to fall into a wall. ‘Just do as I say!’ Red Water Fall tells Boom-Boom, who holds the spear out to Wolverine and tells him to take it. Suddenly, the spirit grabs Boom-Boom and asks her if she still wants into the boys’ club. The spear falls out of Boom-Boom’s hands, and Wolverine sees Tabby in trouble.
Tabby starts throwing around some plasma-bombs, which startled the spirit and forces him to loosen his grip. Tabby leaps for safety, ‘NOW!’ she calls out, while thinking to herself that even though her power didn’t stop him, at least it shook him up enough to release her. ‘You can’t escape me!’ the spirit calls out. ‘I can keep hitting him but I can’t kill him!’ Wolverine points out, and asks Red Water Fall if he has any bright ideas. Red Water Fall tells Wolverine that his claws are no good here, that he must use the power of the spear. ‘What do I do?’ Wolverine enquires. Red Water Fall tells him that he must pierce his side. ‘Right’ Wolverine confirms, before telling the elderly man to get out of here.
‘Death always wins, fool it. It is only a matter of time’ the spirit declares ‘Wolvie - catch!’ Boom-Boom calls out as she hurls the spear towards Wolverine, who catches it with ease - and then shoves it into the spirit’s side. ‘No…no…no…’ the spirit calls out. ‘The sleep…will not be eternal…we will be back…’ he threatens as his form begins to fade, and then vanish. ‘Yeah, right’ Wolverine mutters. ‘Wow! He’s gone!’ Boom-Boom remarks. ‘Too bad is his stink ain’t’ Wolverine tells her. Wolverine, Boom-Boom and Red Water Fall start to leave the nuclear plant, while Jimmy and the other Devos stand and watch. ‘Uh…we’re awful sorry…for…uh…’ Jimmy begins, but Wolverine tells him to save his breath. ‘Ya don’t know what you’re messing with’ he points out, adding that nobody gets anywhere messing with destiny. Wolverine tells the teens to ho home to their mommies and daddies and soda shops and schoolwork and whatever it is they do and leave “fate” alone.
Later, the Gycon Power Plant is shrouded in darkness. A sign which reads “Plant closed. Condemned” is attached to the fence.
Sunday morning, there is a loud DONG DONG sound heard resonating throughout Prescott. Red Water Fall is in his garden, it is time to plant a few herbs. Wolverine and Boom-Boom watch as the townspeople gather at the origin of the loud noise - the church. ‘Look at them all going to church together - like nothing happened’ Wolverine points out. Cigar in hand, he frowns and mutters that sometimes he can’t stand the human race. Boom-Boom smiles and suggests ‘Maybe that’s why nature created mutants!’ they both laugh, and walk side by side away from Prescott.


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Firebreak(First Story)<br> Little White Lies (Second Story)
first story:
A cabin on the side of a hill in a forest is shrouded in darkness save for the moonlight from above, and the lights inside. A man sits at the table. A woman sits across from him, and their daughter sits between them, playing with her stuffed toy. The man thinks to himself that it was never going to be easy, but he never thought it would get this bad this quickly. By Tuesday morning, Sue and he didn’t have anything left to say to each other - nothing at all. Ginny and Mister Beak had to carry the conversation by themselves. Cooking, washing up, giving Ginny her bath - everything became painful - jagged edged. Like they had to move carefully in case they touched each other, because if they touched each other, one of them might break.
On this night, he takes one of the blankets and slept on the porch, thinking ‘Well, we tried it’. Tried everything and it didn’t work. Tomorrow I’ll leave and that’s it’. He dozes off, still thinking that - so he isn’t sure exactly when it was that the world caught fire - as he looked up, the forest surrounding the cabin is ablaze. He rushes inside, ‘Just leave all that stuff will you? There’s not time!’ he shouts at Sue, who replies that she is looking for her cell, as they have to warn the ranger station. ‘You think they don’t know?’ he calls back as he picks up his daughter, who asks him where they are going. ‘We’re just going for a rude, precious’ he replies, trying to remain calm, he asks Ginny if Mister Beak would like a ride, to which the young girl replies that he is still sleepy.
‘Well, he can sleep in the car while we -’ the father says to his daughter as he rushes down the porch steps towards the car, but he stops in his tracks. As he sees a huge bear, that has caught on fire, blood pouring from its face, looming before him. The man knows that the bear was only running from the fire, and also realizes that it doesn’t matter he and his family are in its way. The bear roars at them, and the man knows he has to get Ginny clear, as far as he can. The bear stands up on its hind legs and is about to set upon the man and his family. But the man’s arms won’t move and his feet won’t run. Suddenly, there is a sound - SKINT. Then something else comes out of the fire - something smelling of burned meet, sulphur and blood. ‘GRAAAH!’ shouts Wolverine a.k.a. Logan as he leaps towards the bear.
The bear turns and seeing Wolverine, slams the mutant hero to the forest floor. The man decides that the bear is at least twice Wolverine’s weight, and twice his reach, as it starts tearing into him, ripping Wolverine apart. But it doesn’t matter - Wolverine just reaches up and shoves his claws through the bear’s mouth, and out his head. Logan retracts his claws, and the bear collapses. Logan tells the family that they can forget about the car, as they are not going to be driving any place. The man holds out his wallet towards Wolverine, ‘Look, mister, I’ve got money, I’ve got a wallet full of money and my cards are all in there. Take it all. Just leave us the car’ he pleads. ‘You deaf? Car’s no use to you’ Logan tells the family, motioning to the fire, he tells them that it is three miles wide and that this track foes right through it. ‘So you run or you’re roast’ he explains.
Logan starts to sniff in another direction, before turning to the girl, and asking ‘Hi. Who are you?’ The girl looks frightened and introduces herself as Ginny. Logan introduces himself, and tells Ginny that he is going to need her help, as he is having some eye trouble. He starts off through the woods sniffing as he goes. The family stand and watch him. ‘Anytime you’re ready’ he calls back to them. The family follow him cautiously, as the man tells his wife that Wolverine is blind. ‘He just killed a bear. You want to get the next one all by yourself?’ Sue retorts. ‘He’s blind and he’s got those things on his hands. He’s not human’ the man declares. ‘Yeah, well. Human is as human does, Peter’ Sue mutters. Peter holds Ginny, who tells him that she is scared, and that Mister Beak is scared, too. ‘We’re okay, now, precious. We’ve got the nice man to help us’ Peter tells his daughter. ‘We’re scared of the nice man!’ Ginny replies.
Logan continues to sniff, as he leads the family up the side of a hill. Peter hates to admit it, but Sue is right. They are moving due east, but he couldn’t find east on his own with one of those journey planners from the Triple-A - they do need Wolverine’s help. He watches as Sue trudges after Wolverine, and it make his stomach twist a little see her cozying up to him. ‘What happened to your eyes, Mister?’ Sue asks Wolverine. Logan explains that it was the fire - some kind of toxins in the smoke. Logan unsheathes his claws and slices some branches away, explaining that normally he heals up real fast when he is hurt, but that whatever is burning here it is bad news, that is why they have got to head straight into the wind. They reach the top of the slope - and Logan declares ‘That just got a little harder, didn’t it?’ before asking the family to tell him what they see.
Standing on the edge of the ridge, the ridgeline extends for a considerable distance. Beneath them, is water, with a large gap across to the ridge on the other side of the river. ‘Tell me what you’re seeing’ Wolverine asks. Sue tells him that there is a steep drop of thirty feet or so, and the stream below is moving fast, with the edge of the land across is fifteen feet away. Logan ask if it is higher or lower than them, to which Sue explains that it is lower. ‘Then we jump’ Logan announces. Peter declares that he can’t jump that far. ‘With flames at your back? You’ll be surprised at what you can do’ Logan replies. With his daughter on his shoulders, Peter points out that Ginny can’t jump that far. ‘She won’t have to. I’ll throw her and you’ll catch her’ Logan explains. ‘Dear God! You’re serious!’ Peter gasps. Logan tells the family that if they detour north or south, the fire will be right on top of them, and one gulp of the smoke is going to kill them. ‘Your choice’ he tells them. Sue tells Peter to do it, that there is no time to argue. Peter tells himself that there is a part of one’s mind that shuts down when one is looking death in the face. A big part. Wolverine then gives Peter and Sue and extra push, to help them jump across to the ridge across the stream.
Peter lands, but Sue doesn’t quite make it, and tetters on the edge. Peter tells himself that if you are lucky, you can still function with what you have left. Peter grabs Sue, and pulls her to safety, while Wolverine asks Ginny, who he is holding in his arms, how she is doing. ‘I’m okay, but Mister Beak is still scared’ Ginny replies. ‘Well, you can tell him he can keep his eyes closed. But he’ll miss all the fun’ Logan replies, before remarking ‘Ready. Steady. Go’ and he throws Ginny over towards the other ridge - where she lands in her father’s arms. ‘I’ve got you, precious!’ Peter exclaims ‘I’ve got you!’ he smiles. Wolverine lands beside the family and tells them to get up and keep moving, as the wind is starting to shift.
The family continue to follow Wolverine, ‘The fire’s gaining on us!’ Peter remarks. ‘Four miles and the trees start to thin. If we can get that far, the front will slow and we’ll be okay’ Logan replies, before announcing that he is getting human scents from up ahead - three or more. He asks the family if there are any more cabins around here besides theirs. ‘Not in this direction, no. At least we’ve never -’ Sue begins to reply, when suddenly, several men in green uniforms, who are in a clearing, a panel in the ground has been opened. Some sort of transport vehicle is beside them, and they have several crates which they are carrying, look up. They are agents of Hydra, and they raise their weapons. ‘Logan, they’ve got guns! They’re -’ Sue calls out, before Wolverine is struck with red laser beams.
‘Oh- oh God! Oh God!’ Sue gasps as she stares down at Wolverine in shock. ‘Seven, I told you to give us a perimeter!’ one of the Hydra agents declares. ’I’m sorry, leader. I abase myself’ the agent replies. ‘Later, just finish them’ the leader orders. The agents surround the family, ‘Turn around!’ one of them orders. Peter explains that they are running from the fire. ‘I swear to God, we don’t care who you are, and we won’t tell anyone we saw -’ he begins. ‘Okay, the hard way, then…’ one of the agents begins, before Peter lashes out, ‘Get away from us!’ he shouts, punching the Hydra agent backwards. However one of the other agents retaliates, and slams his weapon into Peter’s stomach. ‘Peter! No!’ Sue calls out. Peter drops to his knees while two agents stand over him and ready their weapons. ‘No! No! No! Noooo!’ Sue starts to cry. ‘Hail Hydra!’ one of the agents declares - before they both call out in agony, as Wolverine shoves his claws through their backs and they fall to the forest floor.
‘One left?’ Wolverine asks. ‘One left’ Sue replies, as the remaining Hydra agent has his gun pointed at her head. ‘He got a gun?’ Logan enquires. ‘Yes’ Sue confirms. ‘Does he look stupid enough to use it?’ Wolverine snarls. The Hydra agent then throws his weapon to the ground. Wolverine moves over to him, and places his knuckles under the agent’s face, asking him what the deal is. The agent explains that there is a Hydra base under the forest floor and that they were testing a new incendiary, for an Eastern European client, and reveals that they could not control the reaction. Logan sniffs the air once more and asks the agent what the stuff is that they are moving. The Hydra agent tells Wolverine that it is explosives, engineered viral payloads, neurotoxins, and explains that they have to get them out of the path of fire. ‘Or - you can’t imagine it! There won’t be anything left!’ he exclaims.
Wolverine instructs the family to check the labels on the boxes. ‘Why? What for?’ Peter asks. ‘Powdered aluminum. And anything with the letters “FE” on it’ Logan replies. Logan turns back to the Hydra agent, ‘You saw what I did to your friends’ he states. ‘Yeah’ the agent responds. ‘Weighing a little on your mind?’ Logan asks. ‘Oh, yeah’ the agent admits. ‘Good’ Logan tells him, before pointing out that this good family wouldn’t know a detonator if it sat up and cooked them an omelette. ‘So you dig one out for me, three-minute release. High-end thermal mechanism’ Logan explains, adding that the Hydra agent might live to see how this comes out.
Holding up a capsule, Sue informs Wolverine that it is labelled FE03, while Peter raises a container and reports that it is powdered aluminum, before asking Wolverine how he knew it would be here. Wolverine explains that they are the main ingredients for iron thermite, and that a lot of explosives use them as abase. He tells the family that they need to get these boxes back to the top of the ridge. ‘You with me?’ he asks. ‘What’s the alternative?’ Peter asks. ‘A lot of people die Logan replies. Peter tries to think of answer, but Wolverine has already moved onto the next thing. He instructs Sue to take Ginny and walk in the other direction, counting as they go. ‘When you get to five hundred, lie flat on the ground. Better yet, find some kind of hollow to hunker down in. Then just wait’ he orders. ‘Wait for what?’ Sue asks. ‘You’ll know it when you see it’ Wolverine replies as he puts one of the crates onto his shoulders.
‘Fine. Well - I’ll see you then’ Peter tells Sue. ‘Yeah. Be - be careful, Pete. Okay?’ Sue replies. ‘I’m just juggling high explosives with a blind man in the path of a forest fire. I’m sure we’ll be fine’ Pete replies, before picking up his daughter and telling her to stay close to her mother. ‘I’ll just be a couple of minutes’ he adds. ‘Mister Beak wants a kiss’ Ginny replies. Peter thinks to himself that Mister Beak has always been too physically demonstrative for his liking. ‘But what the hell can you do?’ he asks as he kisses his daughter.
Wolverine carries one crate on his shoulders, while the Hydra agent assists Peter with the other. ‘You even think about pulling anything, pal, and I’ll smell it in your sweat’ Logan warns the Hydra agent, before asking him if he has that detonator. ‘Bowater Bluefield self-charge thermo-couple’ the Hydra agent replies. ‘Keep it handy’ Wolverine instructs him. They reach the edge of the ridge, and Wolverine tells them to set the stuff down. He tells them that they need a good mix of the iron oxide and the aluminum. ‘Pour one box into the other, then rake it with your fingers’ he instructs. Peter does so and Wolverine starts to pour something into the box, asking how far away the fire is. ‘Maybe a quarter of a mile’ Peter replies. ‘Good. The closer the better’ Wolverine remarks.
Wolverine holds the detonator and presses a button, and explains that the thing about the thermite reaction is that it suck the oxygen out of the air and fire can’t burn without oxygen. So, if they make this blast big enough, they have got themselves a firebreak. ‘Won’t we suffocate?’ Peter enquires. ‘If we’re too close, yeah. But we’ll have three minutes to grab some distance’ Wolverine explains. Suddenly, ‘Over here! Over here!’ the Hydra agent calls out when he sees several other agents on the other ridge. ‘Hail Hydra! Cut off one limb and two shall -’ he shouts, before the agents start firing at Wolverine, Peter and their fellow agent, who is struck down. Wolverine and Peter take cover behind the crates, as Wolverine asks ‘What have we got? I need you to be my eyes!’
Peter informs Wolverine that they are on the other side of the ridge. ‘Higher than us. Damn’ Wolverine remarks, before asking what is to their left, and if there is any cover. ‘Just ferns’ Peter replies. ‘I think they’ll see us if we -’ he begins, before seeing more Hydra agents appear to the left. He urgently tells Wolverine that they are on this side too, that they are cut off. The Hydra agents unleash fire, but Wolverine uses one of the crate lids as a shield, though one of the blasts strikes Peter in the shoulder. ‘Logan, they - they shot me!’ he exclaims. Wolverine tells him that it is some kind of laser and that the wound will cauterize. ‘They shot me! Oh God!’ Peter utters. Suddenly, the detonator beeps, and as both groups of Hydra agents continue to fire, Wolverine declares that they are running out of options. He adds that he doesn’t think they could get far enough away from the blast now anyway.
‘You a praying man?’ Wolverine enquires as he grabs Peter by the collar of his shirt, and pulls him along. ‘What?’ Peter asks. ‘If you are - ask for at least six feet of water!’ Wolverine declares as he pulls Peter with him, and leaps off the edge of the cliff. The Hydra agents continue to fire as both men plummet to the river below. Peter screams, and then there is a splash, as Wolverine drags Peter under. ‘Should we go down after them?’ one of the Hydra agents asks, standing on the edge of the ridge. ‘Naw, no way they survived the fall’ another declares. The Hydra agents then salute each other, while one of them notices the detonator in the crate. ‘Hey, what’s…?’ he asks, before the detonator reaches zero. ‘Oh, $%&@’ he utters, before there is a blinding explosion. Wolverine manages to keep himself and Peter submerged under the water.
Shortly, much of the forest has been burned. The sky is black from the smoke. Peter suddenly emerges from the water, coughing and spluttering. ‘Damn! My - my ears! What’s wrong with my ears?’ he asks. ‘Fire’s gone out. Good. Looks like we did it’ Wolverine remarks, looking around, before turning to Peter, he raises three fingers and asks ‘How many fingers?’ But, clutching his head, Peter asks ‘Are you asking me how many fingers? I can’t hear you! Three fingers. I see three’. ‘Yeah, that’s what I see, too. Okay, I’m going to talk to the local law about that weapon’s stash’ Wolverine announces, before suggesting to Peter that he go and check on his family.
After climbing up the cliff-face, it takes Peter a while to find his way back to Sue and Ginny. It is a different world for him now, and it has a heartbeat. There is no birdsong, no wind, just his own heart beating too loud in his useless ears. He throws his arms around his daughter, deciding that it is funny how intense things feel after an explosion. He supposes that it is too much oxygen, rushing in to fill the hole they made in the tortured air. He feels drunk and dizzy with it. He remembers that he and Sue were falling apart because he could never say sorry. He looks at Sue, and she stares back. ‘I slept with another woman and I’m sorry. I’m really sorry I hurt you’ Peter announces.
He has said it now, like a coward, when he couldn’t even hear his own words. He watches Sue’s lips move as she answers him. He tries to pick out a word or two, but nothing. He doesn’t know if she is giving him another chance, or telling him to go jump under a train. So he holds onto her - onto both of them, and simply waits for someone to turn the world’s volume back up again and give him an answer.
second story:
Wolverine a.k.a. Logan drops from the X-Jet, thinking to himself that full moons are murder on hush work like this - but the gig has to go now. He falls towards a facility, but lands on the outside of a high wall. He thinks to himself that Chief Lacey cannot abide his son in the hands of a psychotic monster like Carmelo SS. ‘Hell, who could?’ Wolverine asks himself, recalling his earlier encounter with Chief Lacey, who told him, “Mr Logan” that he must understand the need for discretion, and reveals that Samuel’s lifestyle is a grave disappointment to him and that he hasn’t spoken to his son in several years, but that Carmelo has crossed a line with this. ‘And I’ll uncross it, Sir’ Logan told him.
‘He needs the best…so he gets me’ Logan thinks to himself as he uses a pole to fling himself up onto the tall fence. Logan has forgotten the kid’s name already, but decides it doesn’t matter, as this is a recovery operation, not “Big Brothers”. Wolverine means to recover the kid indeed. ‘Some trust-fund brat with a meth-problem or a top-shelf government wheel: it’s all the same job to me. They say grab ‘em, I grab ‘em’ Logan tells himself. He sees semi-clothed people dancing around a spit-fire and decides that if these jumped-up psychos get in the way, well, he could use the exercise. As it is good for the healing factor, after all.
Wolverine sees a dishevelled older man, who calls out ‘My friends! Once and again you have all been aggrieved by the corrupt Chief Lacey, the so-called “Drug Czar”. Wolverine recognizes the man as Carmelo de lo Santo Silva, an international crime chieftain, killer, kidnapper and pederast. A boy is lying on the ground, as Carmelo introduces him as Lacey’s degenerate son, who ought to be more careful traveling abroad. The man holding Lacey’s son down is introduced as Dr Yow, and Carmelo explains that he has infected the boy with the orange eater formula. ‘The torturous weeks it takes his son to die will give Lacey something to think about. And this… this is my gift to you all!’ Carmelo exclaims.
Suddenly, it is double-grab, as Wolverine leaps from the fence, he knows that he has to get the target and the antidote, an unforseen complication that could really chafe him - he has to play this smart. A guard is standing watch, but Wolverine takes him out, just as two more guards bring the Chief’s son towards the cabin that the guard was standing in front of. They are none the wiser. ‘Hola, Felix, wake up! The fiesta is done’ one of the guards calls out to “Felix”, unaware that Logan has taken his place. The other guard announces that Senor de lo Santo Silva wants the “nino” locked away for the night. Wolverine tells himself that he has to make sure his enemies don’t see him coming. He then shoves his claws through them both.
The boy is weak, ‘Help me…’ he utters, collapsing in Wolverine’s arms. Logan tells him that he has got him, that he is safe now. ‘Dad? I’m sorry…’ the boy utters, while recalling his father calling him, Samuel, an embarrassment and throwing him out. Logan throws Samuel over his shoulder and decides that he has to get him over the wall and to the chopper left, then sneak right on back for a heart-to-heart with Carmelo’s doctor pal. ‘We’ll shoot the breeze, we’ll talk it over… and by God, I’ll have that antidote before the &%$@ bleeds out’. However, as Logan rushes to the wall, he steps on a trip wire. ‘Dammit!’ he tells himself as a siren blares, alerting the guards to his presence. He tells himself that he was stupid and sloppy. The guards open fire, so he sets the boy down against a statute. ‘Playing it smart right? Too late for that now…’ he realizes as he starts slashing away at the guards with his claws - then screams in pain as several blades are thrown into his back.
Logan turns around, to see a man standing on stilts, a woman holding a flaming stick and a shorter man before him. The man on stilts juggles more blades, and exclaims ‘Oh look! I’ve made him into a porcupine! Tee hee!’ ‘I’ll make him into a brisket!’ the woman declares. ‘Me first, you two! I want to fold him up, I do, I do!’ Logan starts pull the blades from his back, ‘Send in the clowns’ he mutters, while the shorter man calls out ‘Fold the little furry one! Drop the little dwarf!’ as he flips backwards, then kicks Wolverine in the face, knocking him backwards. Wolverine realizes that the clown has nearly crushed his throat, as there is no adamantium there. Logan is then knocked into the air by the man on stilts. ‘Ugh. Tall fellas. Never liked ‘em’ he thinks to himself. The man on stilts darts backwards but Logan lunges forward, and cuts one of the stilts, causing his opponent to fall to the ground.
‘Yak now what’s cooking, good-looking?’ the woman calls out as she approaches Wolverine. ‘You are!’ she shouts as she blows fire over him. Logan knows people, friends, even, who might make a “hot under the collar” remark here. But he, he is just going to kill them. He roars, and still engulfed in flames, lunges towards the woman, shoving his claws into her. This causes the shorter man to rush forward, ‘NOOO!’ he screams. He then grabs onto Wolverine,. ‘Fold me up! Fold you up!’ he mumbles as he starts choking Wolverine. ‘Fold…you…’ the short man calls out, struggling against Logan, who manages to reach back, then shoves his claws into the short man’s head. His body smoldering from the fire, he turns to the tall man, who looks up, ‘Please…don’t’ he calls out.
‘Uh, I think these are yours’ Wolverine replies, before throwing the knives into the tall man. Suddenly, ‘Well done, Sir - you managed to defeat tonight’s entertainment’ a voice calls out. Logan turns to see Dr Yow, and announces ‘Oh, good. Just the fella I wanted a word with’ Logan replies, before asking him where his boss is. Dr Yow replies that Senor Carmelo is on a helicopter already, miles from here. ‘He does his best to avoid unnecessary contretemps’ he explains. Logan holds up his bloody claws, ‘But you stayed’ he points out, wide-eyed. Dr Yow announces that he must retrieve his subject. ‘Where is -’ he begins, to which Wolverine suggests that the doctor be more worried about himself right now, and grabs him. ‘You keep away from me!’ the doctor pleads.
Logan shoves a claw through the doctor’s neck and tells him that all he has to do is flick his wrist and the claw will go through the carotid artery. ‘Now, the Orange Eater antidote. Spill’ Logan demands. The doctor laughs, and explains that the Orange Eater formula bonded to the boy’s DNA the instant it was introduced. ‘You might as well cure him of blue eyes or brown hair!’ he declares, revealing that the process is quite impossible to undo. ‘He will die. It will be slow, and it will be -’ the doctor begins while Wolverine detects that the doctor’s scent tells him two things - he is a sick and cowardly man, and that he is telling the truth - the boy was doomed before Logan even got here. He then slices off the doctor’s head.
Logan goes over to the statue where he left the boy. ‘Dad?’ the boy calls out. ‘I…yeah, I’m here’ Logan replies. ‘Please…it hurts so bad…make it stop’ the boy utters. ‘Oh God make it stop…’ he pleads. Logan crouches down beside Samuel, ‘Hush now’ he tells him, and in the darkness a SNIKT can be heard as Wolverine mercy kills the boy.
Later, Wolverine is in the office of Director William Lacey, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Wolverine tells Lacey that his sources say Carmelo SS is in Madripoor. ‘He’ll be found, Sir’ Wolverine assures him. ‘How did it happen?’ Lacey enquires. Wolverine explains that there was a stray bullet, that they were firing at his escape chopper and Sam fell into the sea. ‘I’m sorry’ he adds. Logan realizes that his voice sounds a little higher than usual. He clears his throat, but it doesn’t help. But, the lies come easy. ‘Was there any pain?’ Lacey enquires. Wolverine assures him that it was instantaneous. Lacey tells Wolverine that he doesn’t blame him, and that his effort was noble. He then thanks him. ‘It’s just that one bit of the truth…’ Logan thinks to himself as he puts a cap on, low, over his eyes. ‘That’s the one that really stings’ he tells himself as he tells Lacey that his son was brave, even when they had to run, he wasn’t afraid.


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
The Buddy System
Kitty Pryde, the newest student at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, writes a journal entry on her computer. In this entry, she writes about what she describes as a “day of firsts”. It’s the first time she got her dorm room to look right, the first day she realized she has a crush on her schoolmate, Peter, and her first day of classes at the institute.
She describes her fellow classmates, all of whom are mutants. Storm looks human but psionically controls the weather. Angel has large wings and can fly, and Nightcrawler, a fuzzy blue teleporter, she describes as “on his own plateau of weirdness”. The one mutant she cannot figure out is the mysterious, introverted Wolverine. Wolverine has an enhanced healing factor, an Adamantium-laced skeleton, and an extremely spotty memory of his own past. He also lacks the playful spirit that inhabits his teammates, which he shows by slashing their volleyball during a game.
After this unpleasant encounter, Professor X summons Kitty to come inside the mansion and meet him at Cerebro. Professor X built this machine in order to amplify his own telepathic powers and track down new mutants, Kitty explains. She recounts how Professor X found her shortly after she manifested her mutant ability. If it weren’t for him, she would have remained the scared, uncertain girl she was upon discovering her powers.
Kitty arrives at Professor X and makes a quip about changing into her superhero outfit. Professor X dismisses the joke, and then reminds Kitty that the X-Men are unlike other superheroes. However, he tells Kitty that her first lesson will occur today.
Wolverine arrives, and Xavier tells him that he has a mission for him. He explains that Cerebro picked up a powerful mutant presence in West Virginia, and he wants Wolverine to investigate. Since subtlety will be the key to completing this mission, he will only be sending Wolverine and one other X-Man. Wolverine begins to review which teammate would be most appropriate, thinking first of Colossus or Angel.
“No,” Xavier interrupts. “I’d like you to bring Kitty.”
This comes as a shock to both X-Men, neither of whom initially understand why Professor X would send a completely inexperienced 13 year-old on a potentially dangerous assignment. Professor X explains that Kitty is about the same age as his original class of X-Men, and she could learn a lot from an experienced combatant like Wolverine. Wolverine refuses, but after Xavier threatens to withhold further memory-recovery sessions, he begrudgingly accepts.
The duo suits up and heads to West Virginia in the Blackbird. Wolverine makes Kitty’s ride extremely awkward by shooting down all of her attempts at conversation.
“Say…can I ask you a question,” she says, clearly uncomfortable. “I…have this friend. She thinks Peter – Colossus – might be kind of…cute. What do you know about him?”
“He’s Russian. His skin can turn into metal,” Wolverine gruffly responds, staring straight ahead. Awkward silence ensues.
“Oh, okay,” she replies. “You mind if I turn on some musi--”
“YES.”
“Hey, what code name do you think I should use?” she says, attempting to initiate another conversation. “I can’t decide between ‘Phase’ and ‘Phantom Girl’.”
“What about ‘Mute Girl’?” Wolverine snaps. Kitty gives up and makes an annoyed face towards the window, while a satisfied Wolverine grins to himself.
When they finally arrive to their destination, Wolverine tells Kitty that he will complete the mission himself. He instructs her to stay in the Blackbird, adding that a nice kid like her shouldn’t be hanging around a bad guy like him. However, he forgets that Kitty’s power allows her to phase through solid matter, and after she slips out of the Blackbird anyway, he realizes her has to take her along. He lays down some ground rules, basically saying that if she doesn’t do exactly what he says, she will probably get hurt. Kitty enthusiastically agrees, and the two X-Men head for the town.
They find the town to be completely deserted. The remote Cerebro device Kitty carries indicates that they are within 20 miles of the mutant signal, but other than that it isn’t helpful. Suddenly, Wolverine picks up the scent of a frightened, angry mob. Kitty starts to freak out, but then Wolverine reassures her that he is making himself visible to lure the threat out to him. As if on cue, hordes of armed townspeople start pouring out into the streets, ready to attack. Wolverine tries to reason with them, but they are clearly hysterical and beyond reason. One of them accuses Wolverine of consorting with a weed whacker thief. Another one thinks they’re robbers because they wear masks. Some other people call them ‘muties’, and scream that they’re probably diseased. Wolverine fends them off, and Kitty goes intangible to avoid their attacks.
Wolverine and Kitty decide to escape to a defensible position, so they run to the nearby supermarket. As they run down the frozen foods aisle, Kitty remarks that the townspeople aren’t making any sense. “Fear does that to people,” Wolverine responds. “Whatever mutant presence Charlie sent us to run down has scared the sense right out of them.”
Wolverine skids to a halt as the mob bursts through the back door of the supermarket. Kitty and Wolverine find themselves completely surrounded. To make matters worse, Wolverine succumbs to some sort of psychic attack, and goes into a berserker rage. He lunges at the townspeople with his claws unsheathed. Kitty gets hit by another psychic attack, which causes her to panic. She runs for her life, abandoning Wolverine to the villagers, and vice versa.
She runs without cause until she can no longer breathe. Her escape eventually leads her to a white house on the outskirts of town that has been subject to vandalism. The windows are shattered, and hateful phrases are scrawled all over it in spraypaint: ‘Die Mutant’, ‘Mutant Scum’, and one that catches Kitty’s eye above the others, ‘Burn Mutie Burn’. Kitty recognizes the slur ‘mutie’ from her encounter with the mob in town, noting that she feels a kinship with the house because of this connection.
Inside the ransacked home, she finds some framed photos of a young mutant girl. The girl has silvery skin, pointed ears, golden eyes, and what appear to be reptilian scales along her arms. One photo shows the girl with a human date at a high-school dance. Another shows the girls posing with her school soccer team. Kitty realizes that this doesn’t seem like something she would find in an unwelcoming, hateful town. It actually appears the town embraced the girl, in all her strangeness. As Kitty ponders that must have changed, she has an epiphany. She grabs a jacket from the home and runs out the door, hoping to find Wolverine.
When she gets back to the supermarket, she sees that Wolverine has beaten the mob into submission. He responds to Kitty as if she’s an enemy, ferociously attacking her. She backs into a corner, clutching the jacket, and tries to explain that Wolverine can use it to track the mutant’s scent. He doesn’t appear to listen and approaches her with his claws out. Tears form in Kitty’s eyes as she pleads for her life. However, something switches off in Wolverine, and he regains control of himself.
“Though you could say I had something to do with it,” Kitty later writes in her journal, “I think, really, the beast inside Wolverine got under control by the hero within him.”
Wolverine, having regained his composure, sniffs the scent off of the jacket and quickly tracks down its source. The trail leads Kitty and Wolverine out into the woods, where they find the mutant girl Michelle under a makeshift survival shelter. The freezing, starving Michelle is relieved that rescuers have arrived, and asks if they received her signal.
“Sort of,” Kitty responds, deducing that Michelle’s mutant ability must be to project her own emotions. She explains that Michelle must have simply broadcast her distress without the accompanying signal, which resulted in the entire town falling into hysteria. Wolverine wraps Michelle in a blanket and assures her that she’ll be okay, noting that she must be an exceptionally powerful mutant.
As they head out of the woods, Kitty points out her usefulness on this mission. “Ooohhh Wolverine, don’t you have something to say to me? Hmmmm?” she sings.
“Fishin’ for compliments ain’t too ladylike, Suburbia,” he responds. “But for your very first rodeo…I seen worse.”
At this, Kitty smiles and rolls her eyes.
They return to the X-Mansion later that day. As Kitty walks down the halls, she can’t help overhearing Wolverine arguing with Professor X. She decides to eavesdrop on the conversation and phases her ear through the door. She hears Wolverine telling the professor that it was unsafe to send Kitty with him on a mission in which a mutant would be amplifying his feral emotions. Wolverine asks if Xavier has any idea what he could have done to her.
“Perhaps I believed the risk was far outweighed by what she could do for you,” Xavier replies. “Do not forget I have looked into your mind many a time, Wolverine, and found there a bigger threat than your ‘animal rages’…and that is your fear of them. I know that’s why you refuse to get close to any of the other X-Men.”
“Give the stray a puppy to tame him?” Wolverine snarls. “That the idea?”
“This mansion is still a school, and I consider all those who live under its roof students. Even you have something to learn,” Xavier continues, still within an earshot of Kitty. “If not from me, then perhaps from Kitty.”
As Kitty hears this, she runs away, covering her mouth. Wolverine exits the office, noting that Xavier may not be as dumb as he looks.
Kitty returns to her room to finish up her journal entry for the day. Out of the blue, Wolverine calls to her through her open window and surprisingly invites her on a motorcycle ride. She takes him up on the offer, finishing up her entry quickly so she can go for a ride with her new friend.
In addition to the ‘firsts’ she mentioned earlier, Kitty writes that this is also the first time she felt like she really belonged at the Institute.
 “And you know what the funny thing is?” she concludes in her journal. “I don’t think I’m the only one.”


[User]
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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

[Assistant]
Surprise!!
Kitty Pryde begs Professor X to let her borrow his family limousine. When he asks why, she explains that she and her friends have tickets to the upcoming Dazzler concert at Madison Square Garden, and she wants to arrive at the show in style.
“I need to make the night really special! I just moved here from Chicago and I really have to show those stuck-up brats!” Kitty begs.
“I thought these were supposed to be your friends,” Xavier says, confused.
“You’ve never been a girl before, have you?” Kitty replies. Xavier once again declines to chauffer them, as he will be out of town on that particular date for a conference on secondary mutations. However, he adds that if one of the other X-Men is willing to take her, then she can borrow the limo.
Kitty immediately runs to the kitchen and finds Peter and Storm having a cup of tea together. She asks them, but neither of them is a licensed driver.
 She finds Warren next, who is currently working out in the Danger Room. He initially accepts her request, but after learning that Xavier’s limousine has been customized to be driven by a handicapped person, he declines. “I’ve never driven like that before!” he says. “A high net worth individual like myself can’t afford to get into an accident. I’ve got a blinking sign that says ‘please sue me’ over my head!”
Quickly running out of options, Kitty seeks out Nightcrawler. She finds him in the hallway and begins to ask the favor of him. She barely ekes out a word before remembering that she is terrified of him, and probably wouldn’t want her friends to associate her with such a strange-looking man. “Never mind,” she says, and phases through the wall.
She finally finds Logan in the library. He concentrates on composing a letter to his girlfriend Mariko Yashida in traditional Japanese calligraphy. “I know Kaisho style like the back of my hand, but this old-timey Reisho is drivin’ me nuts--”
“Wow, that’s really interesting,” Kitty interrupts. “Say, would you mind--”
“No,” Logan interrupts her back.
“You didn’t even hear what it is yet!” Kitty protests.
“Funny thing, that,” he responds. “I’ve developed a new mutant power that lets me know that anything you could possibly ask me is something I’m not gonna wanna do.” He then guilt trips the young X-Man by telling her that she only comes to him when she needs help with something. “You never want to spend time with just me.”
“Do you want me to spend more time with you?” she asks in response. Logan stares at her for a moment while he formulates an answer.
“No.”
Frustrated, Kitty goes to her room to brood. A Dazzler poster adorns the wall next to her bed. She declares to herself that she will find a way to go to the Dazzler concert. It’s times like these that I’m glad I stay up all night cracking Professor Xavier’s computer encryptions, she says while booting up her computer. She examines Wolverine’s file, desperately searching for some bit of information she can use as leverage. After a bit of searching, she finds some information she thinks may be useful.
Not long thereafter…
Wolverine descends the front staircase of the mansion. He carries a duffel bag over his shoulder and appears to be dressed for camping. On his way out, he senses something strange in the adjacent room, and goes to investigate, expecting the worst. What he finds when he cracks open the door is worse than anything he possibly imagined.
“Surprise!!” the X-Men shout. Birthday decorations cover the room, and all the X-Men wear party hats while drinking champagne. Wolverine angrily confronts Xavier, accusing him of leaking confidential information related to his therapy. Xavier assures him that he didn’t say a word, and in fact heard that Wolverine himself was the one who told Kitty.
Before the conversation has a chance to progress any further, Mariko Yashida jumps out of the crowd and throws her arms around Wolverine. She explains that after Kitty e-mailed her the surprise party plans, she rearranged her business trip plans so she could attend. He assures her that he is happy to see her, but still feels conflicted.
“You,” he snarls at the smiling Kitty.
“Now you can’t say I never do anything for you, huh?” she responds. Logan begins to retort, but she shoves a bite of cake into his mouth and tells him that the best is yet to come.
Kitty escorts Logan and Mariko via taxi to a fancy, Japan-themed restaurant called Tribeca. Logan, dressed in a stylish suit, gives Mariko a hand out of the cab. They stare in amazement at the restaurant, but it’s unclear whether or not they are impressed or horrified at its tackiness. As Kitty leads them inside, she explains that it’s a four-star restaurant staffed by people dressed as ninjas. “And…if you remembered this…say, when the Dazzler concert rolls around…I wouldn’t complain,” Kitty whispers in Wolverine’s ear as the ninja-waiter summons him to his table. He scowls as he is led away with his date.
It’s true what my P.S.A.T. scores say: I’m a genius,  Kitty tells herself. As she turns to leave the happy couple alone on their date, she trips over someone’s foot and falls flat on her side. As she picks herself up, a grizzly hand with reaches down and offers her help getting up. A rugged, blonde man with wild sideburns helps her off the ground. “Say, was that my old buddy Logan I just saw you with?” the man asks. Kitty seems perplexed that this man also knows her fellow X-Man. He responds that he probably knows Logan better than he knows himself. He smiles, revealing his enlarged canine teeth.
Meanwhile, the ninja-waiter escorts Logan and Mariko to a private table in a secluded, Japanese-themed room. Once they are left alone, Mariko comments that Logan seems agitated. She asks if he is unhappy to see her. Logan assures her that he is always happy to see her. He tells her that something else is definitely bothering him, however. “It’s just…the kid doesn’t know what she’s gotten us into, here. I’m gonna have to shove off before it gets too much later,” he explains. He begins to explain that he usually sneaks off to an isolated location for his birthday, a secret he shamefully keeps from his friends.
Before Logan has a chance to fully explain, their waiter appears out of a cloud of smoke. She begins to take their order. Suddenly, Mariko gets a business call on her brick-sized mobile phone, and has to leave the table to answer it. She tells Logan that she expects to hear about his troubles when she gets back.
As she leaves the room, Logan catches a whiff of a familiar smell. He rips open one of the paper walls, revealing his nemesis Sabretooth casually drinking a cup of tea. “Look,” Wolverine begins. “I know this isn’t how we usually do this. This year there were…complications. But I’ll be with you in a minute. You leave her out of this.”
Sabretooth asks to whom Wolverine refers, and then dismisses his request. “You don’t get to make the rules of you and me,” Sabretooth says while finishing his cup of tea. “Least not ‘til you finally beat me. Which you never have. And never will. Know why?”
Wolverine angrily holds out his claws. Sabretooth continues. “You ever try to make a photocopy of a photocopy? Each time you do, the machine just makes it come out blurrier and blurrier and blurrier. Why, you’re so muddy I hardly know where I end, and you begin.” This comment sufficiently angers Wolverine and he lashes out.
Sabretooth tells him to calm down, and then once again asks which girl he wants left out of the conflict. Wolverine realizes both Kitty and Mariko are in danger, and leaves to rescue them. However, Sabretooth grabs him before he can escape and stuffs two fingers of wasabi up his nose. Then, he hurls him through the wall and disappears.
Wolverine chases after him but, due to the wasabi he has up his nose, cannot track his scent. He begins searching the massive restaurant for Sabretooth. He mostly encounters mannequins dressed like ninjas that are poised to appear threatening. During the whole ordeal he can hear Sabretooth mocking him.
“You got two ladies here tonight. I’ll just take one away with me after I continue my string o’ uninterrupted undefeateds,” Sabretooth taunts. Finally, Wolverine sees Sabretooth’s familiar silhouette behind a curtain. “Say…how about I let you pick which one I take with me?” the silhouette says.
Wolverine lunges at the shadow, only to find that it is only a mannequin dressed in Sabretooth’s clothes. He can hear Sabretooth’s raucous laughter coming from the jacket pocket. Reaching in, he only finds Mariko’s mobile phone. Suddenly, Sabretooth bursts through the floorboards and grabs Wolverine by the shoulders.
Elsewhere, Kitty Pryde wakes up from a bout of unconsciousness. She examines her surroundings and realizes she has been stuffed in a laundry bag and hung in a closet. Well, this is embarrassing, she tells herself. I don’t even remember getting knocked out. She phases out of the bag and exits the coatroom, only to witness a panicked crowd of people running for the door. She stops one of the waiters and asks what is going on. The waiter replies that a couple of “psycho rednecks” are trashing the kitchen!
In the kitchen, Sabretooth continues to pound on Wolverine. In addition to beating him up, Sabretooth continues to make Wolverine choose which girl will be his next victim: Mariko or Kitty. Sabretooth then rips a gas oven right out of the wall and hurls it at Wolverine. He dodges the attack, and then reiterates that he refuses to make a choice. Sabretooth grabs two large kitchen forks off the counter and stabs Wolverine through his forearms, nailing him to the wall. He once again gives Wolverine his ultimatum: should he kill Kitty, or Mariko? This time, he adds that if Wolverine will not choose, he will simply take both of them.
“Every year…WHY? Why do you keep doing this?” Wolverine pleads.
“Because you ain’t no better than me!!” Sabretooth snarls. Wolverine resigns himself, and then whispers a name in Sabretooth’s ear. Sabretooth is surprised by his choice, but accepts it, and opens the door to reveal the woman Wolverine chose to save. However, Sabretooth is completely surprised to see that the captive Mariko has escaped.
“Logan! Get out!” a voice shouts from the kitchen. Sabretooth turns and sees Kitty Pryde, holding a lighter right next to the source of a large natural gas leak in the kitchen. Not hesitating for even a moment, Logan rips his arms out of the wall and jumps out the window. Sabretooth, however, lunges at Kitty, assuming she is bluffing. Just before he reaches her, she ignites the lighter, and the kitchen goes up in a fiery explosion.
Kitty nonchalantly floats down out of the restaurant and meets up with Logan and Mariko. She comments that Sabretooth obviously did not know about her mutant phasing power. Wolverine confirms this. “That’s why I knew you’d be able to take care of yourself if he tried to take you away with ‘im,” he adds.
“Well, that, and I am so totally a ninja,” Kitty quips.
Later, as the fire engines arrive to put out the flames, Logan asks Kitty if she would kindly refrain from telling the rest of the team about the night’s events. “Which part?” she asks. “The part where every year on your birthday this guy with basically the same powers as you shows up no matter where you are in the world and tries to carve you into cutlets?”
Logan stares at her for a moment. “Yeah. That part,” he responds. Kitty locks eyes with him, and they share a protracted, awkward silence while she formulates her answer.
“What’s in it for me?”
Much later…
Kitty and her friends, all decked out in their Dazzler T-shirts and concert clothes, excitedly dance on the sidewalk as they wait for Logan to pick them up in the limousine. They repeatedly shout the name “Dazzler,” scream, and give each other high fives as they get in the limousine. Logan, their reluctant chauffer, ponders whether or not he should kill himself as he drives the teeny-boppers to the show.