Logan struggled under the heavy metal pipes, trying to lift them even just that tiny bit sufficiently to breathe better, but no matter how hard he tried, they were immovable. His muscles tensing, drops of sweat running down his temples, the sound of metal slightly moving mixing up with the grunts of struggle the Canadian was painfully making. The man closed hard his eyes and tried yet again to break free from the position he was immobilized in, conscious of the fact that, if he didn't do something quickly, he was going to relive very vividly his memories of his past fight with the big, green monster.

Natasha struggled as well against the heavy pipe blocking her ankle from moving an inch. The metal shrieked every time the red headed woman tried to pry it off of her. Fatigue was evident in her expression as a thin layer of sweat covered her face and neck, stress clearly manifesting in her eyes as she glanced to her side at the Canadian. Seeing that he too was having a hard time breaking free from all the pipes on top of him, she turned her head to look at Bruce. The man with the purple shirt was still groaning in pain, and Natasha knew she needed to do something fast if she wanted to ensure the safety of everybody.

She watched as he clenched and unclenched his hands while lowering his head in pain, a force from inside trying to break free from its human restraints. Natasha, while grunting for the efforts she was making to break free, decided to try to stop the beast from emerging, so she said to the doctor, who was still grunting in pain

Natasha: "Doctor... Bruce, you gotta fight it, this is just what Loki wants."

Bruce raised himself on his hands and knees, breathing erratically, desperately trying to calm himself and tame the beast inside of him before it was too late

Natasha: "We're gonna be okay, listen to me."

Somehow, the headache Logan felt just a few minutes ago came back at full force, making him grunt in pain. In the meantime, two agents were seen coming inside the room, just barely walking through the entrance, asking if anyone of them was hurt, but Natasha promptly signaled them to run away before it was too late. Natasha directed her gaze again to the doctor, who grunted at a higher voice as she said while hitting the ground with her fist in order to strengthen her words

Natasha: "We're gonna be okay, right? I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away, and never-"

But Bruce interrupted her by turning to look at her sharply and yelling with a distorted, mocking voice

Bruce: "Your life?!"

Logan's headache only worsened with the doctor's outburst, as his instinct was telling him that Bruce's outburst and overall episode of pain and anger wasn't only due to the explosion. He and Natasha watched as from the scientist's mouth a strand of drool fell on the floor as he growled menacingly and painfully. Suddenly he raised his head and yelled as a beast up in the air, his skin on the sides of his neck, face and wrists already green as the muscle mass under his shirt was growing more and more, the garment ripping more and more. At this point Bruce was a grunting and groaning mess as he yelled in pain and, attempting to send the monster as far away from them both, he launched himself on his right, landing on the ground near the wall while still yelling in pain, his voice morphing into a more ferocious one. As the shirt ripped along his spine, showing his green back, Bruce turned to look at Natasha one last time with his still dark brown eyes, so full of fear and sorrow for what was about to happen, silently telling her to run as far as possible. Natasha found herself captivated by the raw and deep emotions he was showing with just his eyes as she whispered to him

Natasha: "Bruce..."

But the moment didn't last long as the doctor groaned again and released a loud monstrous cry in the air. Logan looked at Natasha, his headache finally subsided, as she met his eyes. He released one last grunt as he lifted a bit the pipes on top of him and said in a strained voice

Logan: "Run..."

Natasha woke up from her trans as she made one more effort to set her ankle free from the heavy pipe on top of it and, finally, she managed to break free at the same time as Bruce stood up and punched a nearby white metal tank, which released smoke after the impact, and yelled one last time. His roar echoing far in pride the aircraft as Natasha approached Logan and tried to pry the pipes off of him, but the Canadian looked at her and, with a more firm voice, said

Logan: "Run...!"

Natasha glanced at him and, noticing his distressed expression, nodded and descended the metal platform they were on, finding herself a few meters from the stairs behind her, as she stopped for a moment and looked at the green giant. Now Bruce Banner was no more, and when the green individual turned and showed his green-ish teeth as he growled menacingly it was clear to both the spy and the Canadian that who they had in front of them...it was the Hulk. Logan lifted a bit more the pipes as he yelled at the redhead

Logan: "RUN!"

As Natasha started running to the stairs, Hulk started running as well towards the woman, who ran quickly up the stairs towards another platform. The Hulk ran to the stairs and ripped them away, but luckily the redhead swiftly grabbed the metal poles beside her and jumped on another platform. She passed in the middle of two huge tubes and landed on yet another metal platform, but she didn't lose the Hulk as he ran below it and started ripping away pieces of it as Natasha ran as quickly as she could, jumping up and using a tube to launch herself forward, then she descended from the platform through a hole and kept running forward as the Hulk released another powerful roar.

Logan watched helpless as the woman managed to escape the danger for the moment, but he knew what the Hulk was capable of, and Natasha didn't have a healing factor to protect her from dying. He had to lift those pipes, or she would've died. He placed his hands on the metal surface under him and started pushing with all his strength, managing to lift the heavy objects an inch or two. Grunting in pain and struggle, he was tempted to give up, but he was both too stubborn and too aware of the situation at hand, and he couldn't let himself be crushed under all of that metal junk. He tried and tried, but the pipes just wouldn't move. He really thought for a moment that he wasn't going to succeed, when suddenly he heard it: the Hulk released a powerful roar, and after that a shot was heard in the air. He had found her. Logan's eyes widened thinking on what would happen next, thinking about the fact that she had no backup against him. She would've died under his watch, just like her...

With this knowledge, the pipes above him didn't seem as much heavy as before as he pushed again with all his strength, finally managing to lift them up completely with a loud roar.

Finally on his feet, he sniffed the air and picked on a scent of sweat, pheromones and coconut, while he also listened to the heavy sounds from afar, and in a matter of instants he knew where to go. He took off running on the platforms, through the destroyed corridor, and spotted the Hulk towering on over a Natasha on the ground leaning on the wall, ready to strike her once more with the back of his right hand. Logan popped out his six claws and ran as fast as he could, then he jumped high with a loud battle cry and landed on the green giant's back, piercing his claws in his shoulder blades and causing the Hulk to yell out in pain at the sudden violent attack. Logan growled loudly as he said menacingly near the giant's ear

Logan: "That's no way to treat a lady, bub."

In reply, Hulk grabbed him and threw him in the wall, denting it, the man releasing a pained cry at the impact. Just when Hulk was about to walk to the Canadian, Thor swept in, hitting the green monster and flying him through the vent by the side. Now that the two were alone, Logan exited from the dent in the wall and collapsed on the ground on one knee in pain. After a few seconds, the man was ready to move as his healing abilities gave him the strength back. He spoke, without looking up

Logan: "You know, when I say 'run', it means 'run'."

Not hearing her answer, he raised his head and looked at an afraid and a bit absent Natasha. He noticed how she trembled in fear and shock as he sniffed the huge amount of pheromones her body was releasing both from the adrenaline and the fear. He tried to call out to her

Logan: "Hey."

But she didn't answer, so he tried again

Logan: "Hey!"

Then, understanding the situation and noticing that she didn't move an inch, he got up and walked forward, crouching down in front of her and talking again

Logan: "Romanoff. Romanoff! Can you hear me?"

She was spiraling. He never imagined that she could be so affected by anything, but he realized that the first meeting with the Hulk could cause such behavior, giving the fact that she was about to die. Logan felt sorry for the woman but, as he was about to comfort her, he heard battle noises coming from behind the vent, in the hangar, and he realized he needed to help Thor against the green beast. He turned to look again at Natasha, who was still shaking and breathing erratically, and placed a hand on her shoulder. The action strangely calming her down the sufficent amount to stop her shaking and regularize her breathing. He put on a reassuring face, with a tiny sad smile he said in what the redhead found surprisingly calm voice

Logan: "Listen, Blondie there needs my help. Try to breathe deeply, Natasha, and stay here: you'll be safe."

After that, Logan retreated his hand and stood up, sending one last small smile to the woman before looking at the hole in the vent and walking through it, ready for another fight. All the while Natasha stayed there, sitting on the ground, trying to breathe deep as the Canadian told her to, with closed eyes and a small appreciative smile adorning her face.

Logan walked past the rubble and the metal pieces of the vent laying on the ground. He looked up and saw the god of thunder struggling to hold the powerful punch the green giant was sending down on him. As he held the big green fist with both of his hands, he glanced at the Canadian, with whom he exchanged a subtle nod. Logan grabbed the sides of his cowl with both of his hands and brought it down on his face, getting himself ready to jump in action as soon as the god would've needed it. Logan knew all too well what the jade giant was capable of, so he knew he had to be careful, act quickly and deadly if he didn't want to repeat what happened the last time they faced each other. He got ready to pop his claws out, but waited in order to not draw the Hulk's attention. Thor grunted for the immense struggle he was having at holding the giant back, and since he knew there was still a man inside him, he tried to reach out to him and, amongst grunts and groans, he said

Thor: "We...are not your enemies, Banner...try to think...!"

For a moment it seemed as if Thor's words really woke up something in the beast's mind, as he started to raise slowly his fist, giving a break to the intense struggle the blonde was having. But that only lasted for two seconds, as Hulk swiftly punched Thor with his left fist, sending him flying through two ammunition metal crates, thus creating a huge hole in them. Logan didn't waste any more seconds as he popped out his six claws and, with a huge yell, launched himself again on the giant's back, piercing his shoulder blades once again. Hulk released a painful cry, as the wounds from before were almost fully healed, but now they were being opened again in the same spot. With pain came rage as he grabbed again the man on his back with his hand, but as he was now squeezing the body instead of throwing it away, Logan used his claws to cut the huge hand, and Hulk had no other choice but to let him fall on the ground. Upon touching the solid ground, Logan didn't waste a moment as he sprinted forward and, while growling like an animal, cut left and right at the beast, while also dodging the powerful yet slow punches the Hulk was throwing at him. After a while, the Hulk finally punched him, sending him back a few meters, but Logan landed swiftly on his feet and looked at the beast in the eyes before smirking and saying

Logan: "Hi, bub, long time no see."

Hulk focused his gaze on the man's face and instantly recognized him as the man he fought years ago, the same man who injured him badly during the fight. Upon realizing who he was, the Hulk growled while clenching and unclenching his fists, and amongst those growls he yelled

Hulk: "Hulk smash little man!"

Logan merely smirked at the Hulk's outburst, and then yelled at him

Logan: "Let's do this! C'mon!"

Hulk and Logan ran straight at each other releasing their battle cries. Hulk swung his right fist at him, but Logan ducked down and used his right hand's claws to cut three deep lines into the giant's ribs, making him yell and stumble down, while holding himself up with his left hand. Then Hulk swung back his right arm to try to send the man flying, but Logan reacted quicker than the jade giant was expecting and ducked down, then he pierced his three claws in his armpit. Hulk yelled again as he got angrier, he grabbed the Canadian's legs and threw him away, but Logan pierced all his claws on the ground, effectively stopping himself. He stood up and ran again at the Hulk, who threw him his left fist, but the angle of the hit granted the Canadian to jump on his arm, jump over him and, while doing so, slashing his left trapezius, pieces of the muscle flying off along with green blood. At this point, Hulk was mad at the puny man in front of him. As the rage fueled inside of him, his wounds started to quickly heal, his figure got bigger and taller of a few meters, and his growls got louder, and right then Logan knew he was in big trouble as he looked at the towering figure of the Hulk and just said

Logan: "Oh, shit..."

Suddenly the Hulk got faster as he punched down the Canadian in the ground with a loud thud. Punch after punch, thud after thud, Logan was so overwhelmed that he almost couldn't breathe. His reappearance triggered something inside the Hulk, and now that something was making him angrier by the second. Logan was buried in the ground by the immense force of the giant, as the latter kept throwing him punch after punch, slam after slam, until he grabbed the man by the legs and arms. Logan was almost unconscious at that point, but he could sense that he was in danger as the Hulk was slowly raising him above his head and, after having lifted him enough, he started to slowly pull from both sides. Logan started to yell in pain, already picturing how that situation would've ended, but suddenly he felt his body colliding with the ground. Hulk was sent away and was now laying on the floor. The Canadian rolled to his side and painfully started to lift himself from the ground. When Logan steadied himself on his knee, he looked back at the Hulk and noticed a hammer beside him. The green goliath looked at it and got up, then grabbed it with the both of his hands and tried to lift it with great struggle. In the meantime, Thor reached for the Canadian with his right hand, Logan grabbed it and let himself be helped up on his feet. The two exchanged a nod and, as they moved their gaze at the giant, Logan asked the god

Logan: "Aren't you worried that he'll grab it?"

Thor threw a smirk at him as he answered

Thor: "No living creature who is not worthy can manage to wield Mijolnir."

But, as they looked back at the giant, they noticed something: he was shaking. Specifically, his muscles were. He was slowly standing up from his crouched position with bestial grunts and groans, until he fully got back up with a monstrous yell. The ground beneath his feet was starting to break, his lower limbs denting the ground more and more and, when he slowly turned around, Thor couldn't believe his eyes when he looked at the scene in front of him: the Hulk, a mindless beast, was lifting the mystical Mijolnir. The god, not being able to believe what he was witnessing, murmured

Thor: "By the bristling beard of Odin..."

Logan popped out his six claws as he said to the god

Logan: "What were you saying, blondie?"

Hulk screamed like a monster as he pulled back his right arm and threw the hammer with all his strength at Thor. The object flew faster than the god was expecting, and he didn't have time to duck before it hit him in the chest, sending him flying back in the wall, the Asgardian losing consciousness as he and the hammer fell on the ground. Logan watched him fly back, then he turned his gaze back to the green giant, as he got in a battle stance and said with a smirk

Logan: "Okay, bub, let's try that again..."

Logan then yelled his battle cry as he ran towards the green Goliath, he jumped up towards him and used his right hand claws to backslash the side of his face. The Canadian pushed the giant down by putting both of his feet on his chest and piercing it by using all his claws. Hulk landed on his back with a loud thud, and Logan used this chance to pierce the green monster's left pectoral with his right hand claws. The Hulk released a pained yell at that and tried to punch the man with his right fist, but the man jumped back and avoided the contact with he right blow he was about to receive. The Hulk got back on his feet and tried to crush Logan by throwing rapid punches, but he only managed to hit the ground as the Canadian dodged every single blow with quick sprints. After that Logan released a few fierce growls, and then sprinted towards the Hulk and ducked down from the left swing he was about to receive, then swiftly used his left hand claws to slash the giant's left ankle, injuring him and forcing him down on his knee. After that Logan quickly used both his hand claws to slash messily the Hulk's back. Left, right, left, right, left, right...he was relentless, quick, and unmerciful the way he was delivering those deep slashes, while also growling and screaming like an animal. Green blood was flying everywhere as he kept slashing the huge back of the giant. He was no longer a man. Logan was a killing machine going berserk as he, now satisfied with the work on the back, moved to the front of the panting monster and started to slash the chest too. The Hulk was pathetically trying to defend himself as Logan...no, the Wolverine, was slashing with more ferocity than ever. The giant would try to throw him a punch, but Wolverine would dodge it and slash it twice before going back to the chest area.

When he finally stopped, both of them were panting hard as the exhaustion started to kick in. The artificial illumination of the Helicarrier reflected on the shiny, blood-tainted claws, hitting the Hulk's frowning face. Both of them were slowly recovering their strength as Logan, now back on his senses, said while panting

Logan: "Now...can we talk this out...?"

The calm was shattered as Thor, now fully recovered, flew by and hit the Hulk with his hammer, sending the giant in a jet parked in that area, denting it. The action made Hulk angry again, as he grabbed the wing of the aircraft and threw it at both the god and Logan, who both also ducked down and glided on the floor, avoiding the flying object. Logan turned to look at the god and yelled at him

Logan: "You stupid motherfu-!"

But before he could finish his curse, the Hulk backhanded him across the face and sent him flying up through the ceiling and a few walls, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Muffled voices could be heard all around, mashed up in a way in which it was impossible to determine whose each one was. All of those voices were deafening, as they played one on top of the other, but one in particular stood above every single one. Logan stirred awake with blinking and squinting eyes, his eyesight a bit blurry for the first brief seconds that preceded the revelation of the voice's owner. He could just make the blurry outline of the person in front of him, and as he blinked a few times, he could recognize the short blonde hair and the white star on the man's red, white and blue uniform as Steve Rogers, the man out of time. Logan looked at him confused and then shifted his gaze to look at his surroundings, noticing that he was now inside the med bay. As soon as he opened his eyes, Steve showed him a friendly smile as he said

Steve: "You almost made me fear the worst back then."

Logan sat up on the medical bed he was made lay on and, as he glanced again at his surroundings, he directed his gaze at Steve, who was sitting on a nearby chair, and asked with confusion evident in his voice

Logan: "What the hell happened?"

Steve's smile fell off his face upon hearing the Canadian's question. His gaze briefly fell down as well, before returning to the man in front of him. Then, after a dejected sigh, Steve answered

Steve: "Barton caused the explosion of one of the turbines of the Helicarrier, then he disabled another one. We managed to repair the damage, but Loki escaped with the scepter."

Logan closed his eyes and let out a defeated sigh as he shifted his position so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet touching the ground. His gaze moved from the ground to the Captain's eyes, and he asked

Logan: "How are the others?"

Steve, after sighing again, answered with a dejected tone

Steve: "Well, me and Stark are alright, but Thor and Banner are missing. Romanoff managed to retrieve Barton: he's having troubles due to the mind control."

Then Logan turned to face him as he asked

Logan: "Is Romanoff alright?"

Steve nodded as he said

Steve: "Yeah, she seems to be okay as well."

Logan remembered how the spy's expression morphed into one of panic and fear after the Hulk lashed out, and he didn't see her again after, so of course he was worried. Then his thoughts shifted elsewhere as he said while chuckling

Logan: "I imagine that Coulson dude must've had the time of his life fighting alongside you."

When the Canadian didn't hear a single chuckle or funny comment from the man out of time, he looked at him again and noticed how Rogers' expression fell upon mentioning the geeky and nerdy agent he met at his arrival on top of the aircraft. Logan sensed something was wrong with the captain's demeanor, and asked him with dread and worry in his voice

Logan: "Rogers, what happened?"

Steve leaned his elbows on his knees as he kept his face down and sighed. Logan could tell he was fighting against the tears as he looked up at him and said with pain in his tone

Steve: "He...Coulson didn't make it..."

Logan's expression morphed into one of confusion, shock...anger. As he stood up on his feet, he punched the hard metal wall on his right, denting it with a loud screeching noise. Steve was surprised to see him having this reaction, most of all since his old friend didn't seem to have liked Coulson when the two met on the landing zone. He also stood up on his feet and walked a few steps forward, standing beside Logan, who had his head low. Logan didn't know why those feelings of guilt, sorrow, pain and rage were coursing through him, and neither why the sudden news shocked him that much. He wasn't supposed to feel bad about the death of someone that hunted him down for years, but then why was he? He almost felt overwhelmed by the intense feelings he was having, ready to explode at any given moment. He was standing there, with his head low, his right hand embedded into the dent he made in the wall, and his left arm standing down by his side, his fists balled tightly, his veins popping out from the intense rage invading him completely. Steve dared not to utter a word, knowing that the Canadian needed a moment, and that he wasn't very fond of showing affection to strangers, and in that moment they were just that. Logan's head was blank, except for one single question rising through the dark clouds of sorrow that his mind was filled with, which he voiced out loud, with gritted teeth, to the Captain

Logan: "Was it Loki?"

Steve didn't know what to say. Of course Logan deduced correctly the identity of the killer, but would the answer benefit him, or rather worsen the situation? But he knew better than to lie to him: if he wanted his friend back, he needed to be completely honest with him. And he did just that by uttering the word

Steve: "Yes."

And, after hearing that, Logan exploded. His claws popping out a proof that he couldn't hide his feelings anymore. Steve sensed the rage cursing through him, and he couldn't let it be freed, not yet at least. So he walked forward, standing in front of him, and said without touching him

Steve: "You'll have your chance, Logan, I promise. But now I need you to stay calm: if we want to act quickly, we need to draw the less attention possible until it's too late to stop us."

Logan took in the Captain's words, as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. As he slowly puffed it out, the claws started to slowly retract too. After a few moments, he managed to calm himself down, keeping his anger for the moment when he would've met the god of mischief. After exchanging a nod, Steve made Logan follow him as they went to the room nearby. The stopped at the entrance and Steve pressed the button to open the door, and when it slid open they looked inside at a standing Natasha, who turned her head to the left to look back at them both. Steve quickly cut to the point and said with a calm, yet firm voice

Steve: "Time to go."

Natasha looked at him with her all time emotionless, focused expression and asked

Natasha: "Go where?"

Steve replied right away

Steve: "I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"

Right then everyone's head turned to the left as the door inside the room opened up to a now lucid Clint Barton coming out of the bathroom, drying off his hands with a towel. The man had a serious and focused expression on his face, his natural green eyes getting the attention of the Canadian, who was very relieved to notice that the man was now free from the god's mind control. Barton looked at Cap and, without hesitation, answered his question with a steady voice

Clint: "I can."

Steve turned his head and looked back at the redhead, silently asking her if he was clear. She nodded and, when he looked at Logan as well, silently asking him the same thing just in case, the Canadian nodded, while also wondering why did he also turn to him to ask for a further confirm. Steve looked at Barton and asked him

Steve: "You got a suit?"

The man, while he continued to dry his palms with the towel, answered shortly

Clint: "Yeah."

And Steve, before walking away, said with a calm and decisive tone

Steve: "Then suit up."

Logan stood there and watched as the man out of time walked away, probably to go retrieve his shield and coordinate things with Stark as well. When he looked back inside the room, he noticed that Barton finished drying off his hands and used his right hand to swing the towel on his right shoulder, placing it there, before nodding in the Canadian's direction and saying

Clint: "Nice haircut."

Logan nodded in his direction as he replied

Logan: "Nice aim."

It was obvious to both the spies what the Canadian was referring to, as everyone that day saw what Clint could do with a simple bow, and Natasha lightly chuckled at the slightly stunned expression on his friend's face. Logan smirked a little when he heard the woman's chuckle, but his expression turned serious as he asked her

Logan: "Are you okay?"

The woman sent him an almost imperceptible smile as she hummed in response, glad of the care Logan was showing, even if still quite detached. At the hum, Logan nodded in reply, then said, while looking at both of them

Logan: "I'll meet you outside."

Then he walked away to catch up with Steve, but he still wasn't so far as he heard the archer ask the spy with evident confusion in his voice

Clint: "What did I miss?"

Each team member started getting ready: Cap grabbed his shield, Barton connected his quiver to the back of his suit, Natasha checked her electrocuting gloves, and Tony started doing the minimal repairs to his suit in order for it to work properly until he reached Stark Tower, where he had a surprise for Loki. Logan checked his gloves as he popped his claws out, and after popping them back in he looked to his left, noticing Natasha checking her ammo. He glanced left and right and, seeing that no one was nearby, he walked closer and stood beside her. She noticed him and the two exchanged a nod and a small smile, then she got back to check on her weapons. There was a sudden tension in the air, given by the fact that both of them wanted to say something to the other, but none knew how to start properly. It was strange for them to find themselves in difficulty when they were only supposed to talk to each other. For his part, Logan had never, in fact, felt nervous around anyone all his life, and despite how intelligent he was, this was something not even him could explain. Finally, Natasha decided to break the tension, and spoke with a gentle tone to the Canadian, who turned his head to look at her as soon as she said

Natasha: "Thank you."

Logan, confused, asked her

Logan: "For what?"

She finally looked at him as she explained

Natasha: "For saving my life back there. For a moment I thought I would die, but you came and saved me. So, thank you."

She finished her explanation with a small, kind smile as her eyes, for the first time, showed clearly to Logan what her emotions were at the moment: gratitude, happiness...regret. He didn't know what the woman might've been regretting in that moment, but he turned to look ahead after he replied nonetheless

Logan: "Don't mention it."

Even Natasha briefly turned to look down at her gun before looking back at him with the same regret in her eyes, as she said to him in an equally regretful tone

Natasha: "I'm sorry for what I said."

Logan didn't turn to look at her as he, dismissively, replied

Logan: "It's okay, Romanoff, I-"

But she interrupted him by saying

Natasha: "No, it's not. I don't know why I said what I said, but it's not true. You're not an animal, Logan. I just wanted to let you know this before we go."

Logan turned his head to look at her as he sent her a small appreciative smile that, however, didn't reach his eyes, something that Natasha noticed right away. Despite how much he wished that what she said was true, he could not bring himself to actually believe it, dismissing her words as something she said only because she hadn't seen him yet in his worst state: she still hadn't seen the Wolverine.

When the team was finally ready, Tony wore his Mark VI suit and got into position, ready to fly out when the others were ready. In the meantime Steve, Nat, Clint and Logan, who by now had his cowl back on, were walking towards one of the Quinjets in the hangar zone of the Helicarrier. A serious and determined expression on their faces as they were getting ready mentally for the battle they were about to fly into. As they walked up the ramp of the aircraft, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent inside of it, working on something beside the row of seats, noticed them and got up. He walked towards them until he stood in front of the whole group and said

Agent: "Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here-"

As Steve was about to interrupt him, Logan reached for the man's uniform and grabbed him by the collar with his right hand, then he looked in his eyes and said in a growling, menacing voice

Logan: "Get out. Now."

The agent, with widened eyes and a terrified expression on his face, quickly nodded, and as Logan left his collar, he scurried away in fear of the man known as the Wolverine. Logan exhaled a puff of air through his nose with closed eyes, then he noticed he was being watched, so he turned to his left and saw the whole group eyeing him with an expression that screamed "was that really necessary?", to which Logan answered with

Logan: "What are you girls looking at?"

Steve shook his head as he walked forward, while both Clint and Natasha smirked at the humorous situation, thinking about the poor agent who was only doing his job, before Logan made him shit in his pants.

The two spies got into the cockpit and started the Quinjet, as Logan and Steve sat down one in front of the other, on the two opposite rows of chairs, and the Canadian was sure to strap himself tightly on his seat. As the aircraft started to fly out of the Helicarrier, Tony flew out of it, preceding them and following the plan as he headed to Stark Tower.

During the flight, Logan noticed that Steve was yet again looking at the picture of that woman inside of his compass. As he looked up at the man's face, he said

Logan: "You're lucky, you know?"

Startled, Steve shifted his gaze to Logan as he hummed in question, letting him know that he didn't hear quite good what he said. Logan smirked at this, realizing that the man was so focused on his woman's picture that he didn't even hear his question, then he explained

Logan: "You have someone to care about. You're lucky, bub."

Steve smiled a bit at that and replied to him

Steve: "You'll find that too, Logan."

Logan chuckled dejected at that as he answered with a tone of resignation and sadness, masked with sarcasm

Logan: "I learned a long time ago that it's better for everybody if I don't."

Upon hearing that, Steve's expression changed. He felt sorry for the man before him, wondering what could he possibly have endured that brought him to this conclusion. The man out of time thought about asking him more, but he noticed that the Canadian leaned back on the backrest of his chair and closed his eyes, probably wanting to bury himself in his thoughts and leave out the rest of the world around him, so Steve merely shifted his gaze back at his compass and the picture of his beloved Peggy, his lost love he couldn't have. All the while Natasha, pretending not to have listened to the conversation, kept maneuvering the aircraft as she asked herself what the man with claws was so desperate to hide from everyone else, and what was the reason why he never let anybody get too much close to him.

| 𝐗 |

𝐀/𝐍: 𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬! 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭! 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬! 𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 ❤️