The Hunter and the Hunted

Location: The Canadian Wilderness

Jade, Logan, and Deadpool moved cautiously through the dense forest. The sky above was a palette of oranges and purples, the sun dipping below the horizon. The crisp air carried a sense of foreboding, as if the shadows themselves were watching.

Logan took the lead, his keen senses on high alert. "Kid, you holding up back there?"

Jade nodded, his steps unsteady but determined. "I'm fine."

Deadpool twirled one of his katanas lazily. "Fine? Kid, you just exploded like a mutant Fourth of July firework show. You're not fine. You're fabulous!"

Logan growled, glancing over his shoulder. "Cut it out, Wade. The kid's been through enough."

Deadpool shrugged. "Fine, fine. I'll save my stand-up routine for the next ambush." He paused dramatically, looking around the forest. "Speaking of, where's our next group of uninvited guests? You know there's always more."

As if on cue, Logan froze, his claws extending with a sharp snikt. "They're here."

Jade tensed, his claws instinctively extending, though they still felt unfamiliar in his hands. "Who's here?"

The answer came in the form of a distant hum—a sound that quickly grew into a mechanical roar. From the shadows, figures emerged. The Reavers had returned, their cybernetic enhancements glinting in the fading light. Leading the group was Donald Pierce, his plasma cannon already charged.

"Logan," Pierce sneered, his voice cold and mechanical. "You really think you can keep him from us? This ends here."

Deadpool sighed, unsheathing both katanas. "Oh, great. Robo-jerks round two. Don't these guys ever take a day off?"

Pierce raised his cannon, aiming it directly at Jade. "The boy belongs to us."

Jade felt his heart race, the weight of the confrontation pressing down on him. But Logan stepped in front of him, his stance unwavering.

"You'll have to go through me first," Logan growled.

"Gladly," Pierce replied, firing his cannon.

Logan dodged, the blast searing a tree behind him. He charged forward, his claws gleaming in the dim light as he slashed through the first wave of Reavers. Sparks flew as metal and flesh collided.

Deadpool leapt into the fray with a flourish. "Time to show these tin cans why I'm everyone's favorite antihero!" He sliced through a Reaver's arm, then spun around to decapitate another. "Heads up! Oh wait, you can't!"

Jade hesitated, his claws retracting as doubt filled his mind. He felt the energy inside him, volatile and unpredictable, but he didn't know how to control it.

"Kid!" Logan shouted, grappling with two Reavers. "You've got to fight!"

Pierce took advantage of Jade's hesitation, firing another blast. This time, Jade didn't move fast enough. The plasma struck near his feet, sending him sprawling.

"Stay down, kid," Pierce mocked, advancing on him.

Jade's vision blurred as fear and anger surged through him. He glanced at Logan, who was tearing through the Reavers with feral precision, and then at Deadpool, whose acrobatic moves seemed almost effortless. For a brief moment, he felt something strange—an understanding, a connection.

The energy within him responded. Jade's body moved before his mind could process, mimicking Logan's feral charge. His claws extended, and with a roar, he slashed at the nearest Reaver. The strike was brutal, tearing through the cybernetic armor with ease.

Pierce hesitated, his mechanical eyes narrowing. "What the—?"

Deadpool, perched on a fallen tree, cheered. "There we go, Sparky! Embrace the chaos! Just don't steal my moves—I'm sensitive about that."

Jade didn't hear him. His focus was on the fight. He dodged a Reaver's blade with agility he didn't know he had, his movements eerily similar to Deadpool's. He followed up with a devastating claw strike, the energy crackling around him intensifying.

Pierce fired again, but this time, Jade countered. He raised his hand, and an arc of electricity shot out, intercepting the blast mid-air. The resulting explosion sent both of them flying.

Logan dispatched the last of the Reavers and turned to Jade, his eyes wide with shock. "How the hell did you do that?"

Jade staggered to his feet, his body trembling. "I… I don't know. It just happened."

Pierce, battered but still standing, sneered at them. "You've only scratched the surface of your potential, boy. But it won't save you."

Before he could attack again, a deafening roar shook the forest. All eyes turned toward the source of the sound—a massive, shadowy figure lumbering through the trees.

Deadpool squinted, tilting his head. "Is that…? Oh, come on. A giant mutant bear? Seriously? This is overkill."

Logan's expression hardened. "No. That's Ursa Major. He's one of them."

Pierce smirked, stepping back. "You've outlived your usefulness, Wolverine. The boy's coming with us—one way or another."

Ursa Major, a towering mutant with the ability to transform into a bear, let out another earth-shaking roar before charging. His target: Jade.

Jade's eyes widened as the massive figure closed in. He braced himself, his claws extending, but his body felt drained.

"Kid, move!" Logan shouted, running to intercept.

Deadpool, already mid-leap, shouted, "I've got this! Or maybe I don't. Either way, it'll look cool!"

As Ursa Major's claw came down, Jade's instincts took over. His eyes locked onto the beast, and for a split second, he felt a surge of power—not his own, but something primal and immense.

When the claw struck, Jade caught it mid-swing. His body glowed with a faint, golden hue, and his strength matched the bear's.

Logan and Deadpool froze, their expressions a mix of awe and disbelief.

Jade, his voice steady despite the chaos, looked at Ursa Major. "You're not taking me."

With a burst of energy, he shoved the bear-like mutant back, sending him crashing into the trees.

Pierce growled in frustration. "Fall back!" he barked, retreating with the remaining Reavers. "This isn't over!"

As the forest fell silent, Logan approached Jade cautiously. "Kid… what just happened?"

Jade looked down at his hands, the golden glow fading. "I don't know. But I think… I think I can copy them. Their powers."

Deadpool clapped his hands, grinning. "Well, that's a game-changer! Forget the X-Men; you're the whole damn X-catalogue!"

Logan's expression was grim. "If Sinister finds out about this, he'll come at you harder than ever."

Jade nodded, determination in his eyes. "Then we make sure he doesn't get the chance."

The trio began their trek again, unaware that from the shadows, Sinister's drones had captured everything.

Sinister's voice crackled through a hidden speaker, his tone dripping with anticipation. "Perfect. Let the hunt begin."