Splash!
On the rocky shoreline outside the secret base, a small, inconspicuous spray of seawater shot up—
Then, a head emerged from beneath the waves.
Cautiously, it scanned the area. After confirming the coast was clear, the figure climbed ashore.
It was Wolverine.
After jumping from the plane, he had swum all the way to the island using nothing but his arms and legs. Now, at long last, he had reached the perimeter of Stryker's secret facility.
Sticking to the shadows and hunched low, Wolverine crept forward carefully under cover of night.
But after only a short while—
He began to feel like he might be overdoing it.
The outer perimeter of the base was eerily silent. Aside from the sound of wind off the waves, there wasn't so much as a whisper.
He didn't spot a single patrol, not even a shadow of movement.
Then he remembered—Alex had gotten here first.
And knowing Alex's monstrous power, Wolverine started to put two and two together.
Chances were, the guards outside had already been dealt with.
That guess was soon confirmed.
As Wolverine crept closer to the entrance, he found the ground littered with bodies—guards sprawled everywhere, weapons still in hand.
"Damn, Alex really came through."
A grin tugged at the corners of Wolverine's mouth.
There had been a lot of guards—armed to the teeth. Sure, Wolverine could've handled them eventually, but it would've cost him. He'd have been riddled with bullets before getting past the first gate.
Yeah, he'd heal, but pain was pain, and getting shot still sucked.
More importantly, it would've alerted Stryker and put the entire mission at risk.
But Alex? One blur, and an entire squad was down. Not a sound. Not a trace.
The perfect silent invasion.
Fueled by that thought, Wolverine pressed forward, easily slipping through the massive hole Alex had blown open in the main gate.
No resistance. No trouble.
---
"Hff..."
He took a steadying breath. Inside was the heart of the enemy stronghold.
Time to get serious.
Wolverine extended his claws with a quiet snikt and crept deeper into the base, ready for a brutal fight.
But...
The inside was just as dead quiet.
Now that was odd.
Still alert, he moved deeper—only to discover that the corridors ahead were just like the outer perimeter.
Bodies.
Piled. Everywhere.
He moved through another hallway.
More bodies.
Then another.
Still more bodies.
---
At this point, Wolverine was going numb.
"...Okay, what the hell."
Every corridor looked like a massacre had taken place. The deeper he went, the more surreal it felt.
Finally, he stopped sneaking altogether and started exploring the base at full speed.
Eventually, he made his way to the central control room. There, he pulled up the surveillance feeds—
And saw everything.
The entire base—completely cleared out.
Aside from Alex and a few groups of rescued mutants, there wasn't a single living soul left.
Wolverine stood there, stunned.
It took him a full minute before he finally muttered:
"You've gotta be kidding me..."
---
From the day Stryker manipulated him...
To the death of his beloved Silver Fox...
To the day he agreed to Stryker's Weapon X procedure, only to be betrayed...
To years of searching for Stryker's base, hungry for revenge...
Wolverine had poured everything into this mission.
He endured hell to get here.
And now?
He arrived only to find—
Alex had already wiped the whole place clean.
"Seriously!?" he thought, stunned.
"I've been through all that, and now I'm just here for... moral support?"
From the time he jumped off the plane to now, barely any time had passed.
And this heavily fortified facility—this so-called "secret base"—had already been razed to the ground.
Wolverine had known Alex was powerful.
But this?
This was next level.
He couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous. Like a side character who showed up after the final boss had already been defeated.
---
"Wait... Stryker!"
Refocusing, Wolverine realized he still had one thing left to do.
The base was packed with corpses. Finding Stryker's body through the cameras would be nearly impossible.
So he turned and ran.
He'd find the body himself.
---
At last, he stopped beside a corpse with half its head blown off.
And in that moment—he felt an overwhelming sense of closure.
"Stryker... I never thought I'd live to see this day."
Wolverine stared down at the corpse.
Even with most of the face gone, he could still recognize the features—the shape of the body, the graying hair.
It was him.
Stryker was dead.
Finally.
---
"It's over."
He muttered, then turned away.
---
---
Meanwhile…
In the central hall of the base, surrounded by the freed mutants, Alex stood at the front, speaking to them.
---
"Brothers and sisters."
"My name is Alex. Like you, I'm a mutant."
"I am one of your own."
Every pair of eyes in the room was locked on him—gaze after gaze filled with focus, awe, and a touch of reverence.
He looked young.
But after the display of raw power he'd shown, no one dared doubt him.
And more importantly—he was the one who freed them.
---
"You've lived in darkness," Alex said, voice strong.
"Every day filled with fear, never knowing when Stryker would choose his next experiment."
"You didn't know if you'd survive the night. You didn't know if tomorrow would even come."
"But now—I'm here to tell you: it's over."
"Stryker is dead."
"This base is destroyed."
"You… are free."
---
The moment the words fell—
The room exploded into chaos.
---
"What!? For real!?"
"Stryker's dead!?"
"We're free!?"
Cheers broke out across the room.
Laughter. Shouts. Disbelief.
Many just stood frozen, unable to process it. It all felt like a dream.
Most of them had resigned themselves to a lifetime as Stryker's test subjects, their futures erased, their dignity stolen.
But now, everything had changed.
The man who had haunted their nightmares—
Was gone.
And the one who had saved them?
A mutant like themselves.
---
It was hard to believe, but looking at the melted locks, the empty cells, and the silence echoing through the base—
No one doubted Alex's words.
After all, if the base hadn't fallen, would Stryker really have let them be rescued?
No chance.
For 60 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
https://patreon.com/Twilight_scribe1
If you're enjoying the story, please consider supporting me with Power Stones!
For every 50 Power Stones, I'll release 2 bonus chapters as a thank-you!
Your support means the world to me and keeps me motivated to write more.
So please—don't forget to drop those Power Stones!
And if you have a moment, leave a review too!
I'd love to hear what you think about the novel so far.