ISSUE #17

The next day after running a multitude of tests and removing any and all bugs and other devices that the facility could use to find Ian, Hank had finally called the teachers together to inform them of what he found.

" So, what's the word furball?" Logan asked.

" Well, I don't really know what to say. When I was examining, Ian's body I found a multitude of hazardous materials, ranging from bugs to shrapnel. But what disturbs me more than anything is what I found on his skeleton." Hank started to explain. " Perhaps, you should leave the room, Logan. I know this is a very sensitive subject." Hank stated.

" I don't need to go anywhere, Hank. Whatever it is I can handle it. It's him that we need to worry about right now." Logan spoke.

" My, Logan. That sounds almost protective. Ah didn' know ya had it in ya." Rogue stated.

" Will ya quit yer yappen Rogue? Now come on, Hank just give it to us straight. What's wrong." Logan asked.

" Well, I can't even begin to explain it. But I'll just say it. They bonded adamantium to his skeleton." Hank exclaimed.

" What!?" Logan shouted in anger.

" But how? That process is lethal, how did he survive?" Kurt asked.

" You're right, Kurt. It is a lethal process, which is why only someone with a very powerful healing factor like Logan or Sabertooth and Deadpool could even think to survive it. But Ian doesn't have a healing factor that powerful. Or at least he never showed such a thing before being kidnapped. It is entirely possible that while he was gone, whatever torture they put him through might just have boosted his power to a new level. But that's entirely hypothetical. And that's not all. Here just take a look at his skeleton." Hank spoke. He brought up multiple images of Ian's X-rays.

" Jesus!" Scott murmured.

" Scott, dear. Jesus had nothing to do with this." Emma stated.

Ian's body looke like it was entirely made of metal. They had seen it many times, whenever they looked at Logan. But Logan was different, he could heal in a matter of moments. For a kid to go through this was something very different. Not even Wolverine's clone, X-23, had this happen to her.

" How the hell did he live through this?" Logan asked.

" Well, that's another thing I can't understand. See I found evidence suggesting that he didn't live through it. I found trace amounts of dead cells inside and around his heart. Suggesting that his heart had stopped at some point. And yet, you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at it. In fact, his heart is working just fine. No serious implications, no murmurs, nothing. if not for the fact that I did find dead blood cells, I wouldn't have known otherwise." Hank explained to the group.

" So, what are you saying. That he died for a few minutes. That's nothing new. It happens all the time in operating rooms." Emma told the man.

" Yes, but not to this level. And when it does happen... Something usually happens to force the heart beating again. There are no signs of electrical discharge, no drugs in his system. In fact, I doubt drugs would even work on him now, because his metabolism is burning off his sleeping medicine faster than I can give it to him, and that doesn't even begin to explain how hard it was for me to do even that. I couldn't give it to him by needle, I had to administer it through his mouth. Thankfully, it worked and he's resting easy now." Hank stated.

" What do you mean, you couldn't inject him hank?" Scott asked.

" I mean his skin was so dense that I couldn't penetrate it with any needle I had in my lab. And I didn't want to risk, using the laser on him. Whatever they did to him, it made him stronger than he ever was here. Where we wanted to slowly build him up safely over the course of the year, they covered an entire year worth of growth in just one month. I hate to imagine what they must have done to receive such results." Hank told the group.

" What exactly are you saying, Hank? How strong is he exactly?" Scott asked once again.

" Well, I wouldn't put it past him to be as strong as you are now, Piotr. Or at the very least close to it. The Adamantium bonded to him forced his muscles to grow back massively. And not to mention the fact they condensed themselves, making them more compact and dexterous than before. I'd have to run some tests to see exactly how much stronger we're really looking at. But as far as I'm aware he's may easily be stronger than even young santo now, who can lift 75 tons." Hank explained.

" That's... A lot to take in, Hank. You're telling me that he's benefitted more from being tortured by those monsters, than he did here. We really did fail." Scott spoke. He removed his vizor and rubbed his eyes.

" Scott... That's.... Not what I meant." hank replied.

" I know, hank. I know. But still, it doesn't change the fact those monsters achieved in one month that we couldn't in a whole year. From the moment, Ian stepped through those doors, we treated him like a disease, kept him separated from the other students on the pretense we were doing what was best for him. Maybe had we given him more attention this wouldn't have happened." Scott stated.

Emma rubbed his back and hugged him.

" We can't waste time on maybe's Scott. We have to be strong and focus on the now. We have to make sure this never happens again." Emma stated.

" Oh, it won't. Cuz if it does, I swear I will personally kill every single bastard involved. And no one's gonna stop me." Logan exclaimed. He was beyond livid, not just with Weapon X and its allies. But with himself as well. Had he not taken Ian into town that day, none of this would have happened. Logan got up from his seat and walked out of the teacher's lounge and headed straight down to the labs where Ian was still sleeping.

He walked in and Megan nearly jumped out of her skin.

" Easy girly. I didn't mean ta scare ya." Logan told the girl. " What are you doing here?" Logan asked.

" Well, I heard he got hurt really badly and he's been gone so long, and I just wanted to see him again. It's been so sad around with him gone. Like a piece of the school had just been missing." Megan told the man.

" I heard ya, girl. Has he changed at all?" Logan asked.

" No, he's just been sleeping. He must have been really tired." Megan's wings, which are usually so vibrant and excited, were dimmed and sad. Hardly fluttering at all.

" I see. Has anyone else come to see him?" Logan continued with another round of questions.

" Yeah, Cessily and the Hellions, Noriko and the New Mutants. And that's about it." Megan replied.

" I see. Well, you go ahead and get out of here. I'll take it from here." Logan told the girl. He rubbed the top of her head and then quickly moved her out of the room. " I got some things; I want to say to ya kid. Things, I don't normally let people hear, Cuz I got an image to uphold. But... I want you to know, I am sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there fer ya kid. I only ever wanted to make sure you kids could take care of yourself and to give you a place where you could be safe. Safe from the mistakes the Adults make, safe from the world that wants ya dead. I know, I'm probably not allowed to say this. But I hope when you wake up you don't give up on being an X-man kid. The world could use people like you who smile a lot more than it needs people like me. Don't give up kid. You've got so much ahead of you, I just need ya to be strong. And forgive me." Logan spoke. He shed a small tear from his eye and then walked out of the room, leaving a sleeping Ian behind to recover.