The warm sun on my face rouses me from my sleep, an' I gradually open my eyes, shielding 'em from the light with my hand. My body doesn't feel quite right, as if my healin' factor ain't exactly 100%, and my senses don't seem as acute either. I ain't too sure where I am, or what's goin' on either. Must have been on hell of a night.

Come to think of it, I ain't got much memory of last night, but its been a long time since I've slept indoors and been awakened by the sun. Too long, I reckon, since I've been able to sleep in and throw my cares to the wind for a couple of hours. Definitely must have been one hell of a night.

Even with my body recoverin' and my powers not what they were, I'm not dead and I can hear a woman's breathin' next to me an' I smile. Me an' 'Lektra ain't gotten physical with each other yet. We're takin' it slow, not rushin' anything. Neither of us have a great track record in the romance stakes, and we didn't want to do anythin' that serious

Guess things changed last night, and I sure wish I could remember what had happened. It's on the tip of my tongue and I know as soon as everything's fine I will remember. Better not let on just yet that I don't because that'd ruin a perfectly good morning and as I roll over to look at her, I realise just how much I care for her and that I don't want to hurt her in any way. I'm in love with Elektra and I'm going to tell her so.

Except it ain't her, unless she's dyed her hair green. My sniffer's not working right but that ain't no excuse for this kind of surprise.

"What the hell is this?" I cry out. I know what this is - it's exactly what it looks like, an' it don't look good in any way at all.

"Hello, Logan," says Viper, sleepily, awakened at the sound of my voice. "Did you enjoy yourself as much as I did?"

"Darlin'," I start but realizing what I just called her and what we've obviously done, the words die in my throat and she laughs as she sits in bed, the sheet falling from her naked body. I ain't a shy bloke by any stretch but that's a sight I'd hoped to God I'd never see.

"What's wrong?" she says, her voice cruelly mocking me, mocking my feelings for Elektra, ruining the thoughts I'd been havin' earlier. "You enjoyed them last night," she speaks as her hands caress her breasts.

"Cover yerself up," I snarl, in anger at what I've done and in anger at what I want to do again. "How did this happen?"

"Yes, he said his drugs with my own may effect a temporary amnesia," said Viper, as she pulled the sheet up around herself, knowing she'd taken that joke as far as she could.

"He?" That stirs something in the old canucklehead. A sense of loathing creeps up on me, as I get the feeling there's more to this than I know.

"Yes," she says. "Perhaps breakfast will restore your mind."

"Tell me!" I say, pinning her by the neck with my claws. My middle claw stays retracted, but the outer ones graze her skin and two trickles of blood appear at on her throat, running down my claws and on to the sheets. As does mine for a moment as the wounds my claws make in my hands don't heal too rapidly.

I pull the claws back in again to give my hands a chance to heal properly and Viper rings the bell for the servant to bring us breakfast. The pain in my hand gives me a chance to focus. If I'm with Viper, then I'm in Madripoor. Last thing I recall is bein' in Greece with Elektra where... where...

"Dammit!" I say as I plough my hand in to the headboard of the bed and Viper simply shakes her head. Then the door opens and the servant comes in bringing breakfast. I turn to look at the servant and my eyes go wide in horror. It's Elektra, and she's so close to us now, to the place where I betrayed our love.

"Good morning, Logan," she says, but it ain't her voice. Her voice is that of a man's voice, and more to the point, it's a voice I know.

"Farouk!" I call and my mind clears as I remember what happened. The Shadow King captured us, and with Viper as his host and Elektra their prisoner, they forced me to do what they wanted. I slept with my wife, while the woman I love watched me.

"Ah, your memory returns, X-Man," he/she laughs, but I can see the utter horror and despair in Elektra's eyes as she struggles against her enforced captivity. "As you can see, I've found a new toy to play with."

"Get the hell away from her," I demand, but I'm not in a position to demand anything here.

"As you wish," says Farouk and I can see Elektra visibly wilt as the presence within her leaves, forming as a psionic cloud above them all.

"Darlin'," I whisper, leaping from the bed to hold her, to reassure her but this ain't the way I wanted her to see me naked. As I stand before her, I realize she ain't lookin' at me but past me, my head turns and Viper's sitting there in her birthday suit, the sheet that covered her fallen away as I moved.

I don't think I could have made a worse move.

"'Lektra, I..." but before I can finish she turns and hits me with a high kick. I can feel one of my teeth come out as I fall back and hit my head on the marble floor. I look up for a moment to see her running away and waves of nausea hit me, and I surrender to the darkness.

Berlin - 1942

The Shadow Council gathered. It had been roughly two days since the capture of the spy known as Logan. The Shadow King, who had found out what the limitations of the man's physical mutations were, had torn the information from his mind.

He had seen things in the man's mind that had been forgotten long ago, such as the three claws of bone that jutted out from his wrists. Each claw as about a foot in length and made of a marrow that was denser that the marrow of normal humans. This made the claws as strong as steel though they were broken as easily as normal bones when put under enough pressure.

They seemed to be linked to his rapid healing powers, for while that was working correctly they seemed to stay healthy, however - as Farouk had tested - the healing ability had limitations if taxed too much. Farouk had convinced Logan that he was burning to death, or being stabbed by a thousand blades, or being hung, or whatever horrible death he could devise. This tested Logan's healing factor to its limits, for even though there was no actual damage, Logan reacted as though there were and each time before he died, Farouk restored the man. By the end of the second day he knew Logan better than he knew himself.

Then he summoned the Shadow Council. The Red Skull, Baron Von Strucker, Baron Zemo, Baron Blood, Arnim Zola, Master Man, and Warrior Woman. These people formed the elite of Hitler's weapons and soldiers. Enhanced beings in their own right, they were gathered together, for they knew that Hitler would bring about his own downfall and they were working to ensure the survival of the Third Reich. While they were not friends and occasionally worked against each other to better themselves, they were allies now.

"Incredible," said Zola as Farouk explained what his tests on their subject had yielded. "There was a man decades ago who predicted that there would be men such as this. Essex I believe his name was. He took the work of Darwin to the next level and was belittled for his opinions. His work was revolutionary, and this... this... mutant seems to give his theories credence." He looked at the results again, then to Logan who was sedated and locked up in a cage, and as Zola's eyes locked on Logan's, Zola could see something primal at work within them. "Fascinating."

"He is of little importance to us," said the Master Man, with disdain in his voice. His voice had lost the American accent he had once had and he sounded just like those he now worked with. Now he had power beyond anything he had ever dreamed of, and he knew that those in the room with him had power in their own right as well. "What do claws of bone mean to one with the powers of men such as us?"

"Lohmer," said Zemo, his voice muffled by the mask that was bonded to his face, but his tone unmistakable as a warning. "Do not underestimate this man. I have heard of him, his name whispered in Madripoor. It is rumored he and Captain America," there was snarl in his voice when he spoke that name, "took out a force of the Hand."

"The master assassins?" said Baron Blood, his English accent unmistakable in the room of Germans. "I learned much from them during my studies of the occult."

"So," said Farouk. "What are your plans for him?"

"He takes the plans for the Egyptian campaign back to his superiors," said Baron Von Strucker. "When the Allied Forces take Egypt it will be a sign that Hitler has lost his grip on the army and the world and we shall take over."

"An excellent plan," said Zemo. "Though it shames me to act like this, we must do so to ensure the survival of the Reich. What say you, Red Skull?" The man to whom he referred stood in silence at the back of the room, watching as his allies, or rather his subordinates plotted and marveled at this man.

"Farouk," said the Skull. "I want you to use this man as our eyes and ears, to use him to eliminate our enemies across the world. None know of his powers but us and none know of what he truly is but us. His allies will never suspect him, for he will never know what has happened here."

"I can selectively plant memories on him," said the Shadow King. "I will make Mr. Logan your agent, and he will do what we tell him, no matter where he is."

"Excellent," said the Skull. "Make it so and send him home. We will make the arrangements for his activities to be covered."

"As you command," said the Shadow King, thinking that this would suit his own agenda perfectly. The man known as Logan would be the perfect traitor, to both allied and axis powers alike.

These damn dreams are telling the story, but it doesn't tell me everything. However, I'm awake again and my healin' factor seems to have worked out whatever was in my system, because my memory's back to what it was, my senses are alert. and my body feels normal as well. Guess whatever they put in me's gone. I look out of the window and I can see the sun high in the sky, but slowly setting. Must be mid-afternoon but as to what time it is, I couldn't say.

I'm still in the palace, that much I know. I'm not in the same room as earlier, but clothes are near the bed, so I get dressed, tasting the air at any moment, using the techniques taught me by Chuck and Jean and Betsy to defend my mind. Won't do much against the Shadow King, but I gotta try. I gotta know what happened all those years ago, I gotta find out where Elekrtra is and try and fix things and I gotta know what the hell is goin' on here? I've too many questions with half-answers and it ain't enough.

I exit the room, lookin' fer trouble, but the place is empty. There are vague scents in the building but nothing fresh. Still the vague scents give me more than enough to work with and I scour the building, lookin' fer someone, anyone who can give me some answers. There is one scent though that's getting' stronger the further I go.

Tyger Tiger's still here somewhere and maybe she can fill in the blanks I'm missing here. I eventually find her in the west wing of the place. She's been beaten, but she's alive.

"Darlin'?" I tentatively ask.

"Logan?" she replies looking up at me, her left eye swollen, and her face bruised. She's a mess and for the life of me I don't know why they did this. There's no real reason. Or maybe that's it.

"What happened, Tyger?" I ask, helping her sit up.

"It started just after you were knocked out. Viper summoned me to the bedrooms and I helped her dress as she spoke with the Shadow King. He scanned her with his powers, and he noted a change in her body chemistry, only slight but a change nonetheless. He realizes that he can't tell everything straight away but the signs are good."

"They say what he was on about?" Tyger shakes her head. I got a feelin' about it, a feelin' I don't like, but there's no point jumpin' the gun here. "Damn."

"Then the strangest thing happened - the Shadow King decided to clear out, taking everybody with him. HYDRA have left Madripoor."

"The Shadow King as the head of a terrorist organisation," I think out loud. "That can't be good. Make HYDRA damned hard to beat."

"Logan, what he did to me, what he forced me to do... Logan, I'm so sorry."

"Easy, darlin'," I say as I hold her head while she silently sobs into my shoulder. "No way you could have beaten him back. Viper either. No way."

"I should have done something, I was aware the whole time, even under Viper's influence." She looks up at me and I can see the horror and shame in her eyes at what has happened since I married Viper, since I left Madripoor. I've been a fool, I should have sorted this out a long time ago, but I didn't. "Logan, I've done so many horrid things."

"There was nothing you could do," I say, looking into her eyes, trying to reassure her.

"You don't understand," she said. "Drugs, slavery, children. All the things I promised would never rise as a criminal element in Madripoor. I set them up, I made them thrive, I used my knowledge and HYDRA's contacts."

"Oh, darlin,'" I whisper, knowing the hatred she has in her heart at herself for what happened, knowing that there was nothin' she could do but thinking there had to have been a way to stop this. I know what she's feelin' because I've got it too. Over what happened in the past as well, because there's another feelin', deep in my gut, about what happened in the past. I'm praying to God that the instincts I have are wrong, but there's one more thing I need to know before I go down that path.

"Where's Elektra?"

"She's gone. When the Shadow King released her, she fled, left the palace and ran towards Hightown. Logan, I'm so sorry."

"I gotta find her," I say. "I gotta fix this." Thing is, I don't know if I can do either.

"Logan, what about Viper and the Shadow King?"

"I'll find 'em at some point but I don't know if I need them to get the answers. I've got memories comin' back to me of the past. Each time I flashback to something new, something I didn't know. I think soon I'll know what's gone on, what he did to me all those years ago."

"Is he making you remember?" she asked. The same thought had crossed my mind as well. Everything comin' together like this can't be coincidence. What if he's been watchin' me the whole time, waitin' for the opportunity to do this? An' why now?

"Dunno," I answer, helping her to stand but she can't support her own weight and she cries in pain as she moves. "We gotta get you to a hospital, get them to look after you." I lift her up and she puts her arms around my neck as I carry her.

"What about Elektra?" I stop movin' for a moment. Then I start to walk, thinking things through. Eventually, Tyger asks me again.

"I don't know about her either," I finally answer. "If we've got any shot at a relationship, we gotta work this out. Farouk knew what he was doin', he knew how special she was to me and he did the best thing he could to ruin this. If we can't fix this, we'll never be able to see each other again, because we won't be able to look each other in the eye."

"You'll work it out," answers Tyger. "She'll come around."

"Would you?" I ask, as I close my eyes. She doesn't answer, which is all the reply I need. "Thought not." I look down at her but there's more to her not answering than I thought. She's slippin' into a coma. I can hear her, feel her goin'.

It's breakin' my heart here, but I can't go after Elektra. Not until I know Tyger's gonna be safe, is gonna live. I just hope that if I save one, I don't lose the other.

She looks out of the window, down at the sea as the plane flies over the waters of the Pacific, flying up and leaving the small island of Madripoor behind. Her thoughts are filled with emptiness, her body is numb and her feelings are chaotic. The hurt, the betrayal, the knowledge that she could do nothing but watch as her hopes and dreams died around her, died before her very eyes.

She hates, but she loves, yet she hates, yet she loves. There is a new darkness in her now and she can feel it festering as tears silently creep down her cheek and she leaves everything behind. She needs time alone to think and weigh up what has transpired here. Can the love outweigh the hate? Can she push aside the cruel, cynical echoes in her head and listen to the voices of her heart?

She knows she has only done it once before in her life, and that other relationships like this have failed for far less, and yet far more. That was why she had to leave, to get on a plane and just go wherever it was flying. She didn't know if he would follow her, and though she hoped he would not, she secretly prayed he would.

"Miss?" asked the attendant, startling her from her contemplation. "Are you okay?"

"I don't know."

"Oh." The attendant doesn't really know what to do. She is a stranger but she obviously needs someone. "If you need anything, I'm right here."

"Thank you." She watches as the attendant leaves and she goes back to her window and watches the clouds below.