[The Adamantium Affair] – Project Alpha And Val’s Secret Plan

Three years ago, when Mystique kidnapped Nixon at gunpoint disguised as Trask, in a secret HYDRA base,

Madame Hydra placed a file on the desk in front of her and slid it across to Kayla who caught it and read the title of the file - Project Alpha.

Madame Hydra saw Kayla raise her head from the file and look at her with a confused expression on her face and she explained, "Agent Silverfox! You have been tasked with Project Alpha!"

Kayla straightened her posture and listened intently as Madame Hydra continued, "Your power to persuade anyone with a simple touch would be invaluable in completing the mission."

Kayla nodded and opened the file, her eyes falling upon a photo that caught her attention. It was the same photo given to Madame Hydra by the HYDRA soldier when she was overseeing the scientists building the Sentinel - Mark 001. The photo depicted Logan in the midst of the Vietnam War.

Staring at the photo, Kayla then looked up at Madame Hydra and respectfully asked, "What are your instructions, Supreme Leader?"

Madame Hydra pointed at the photo and stated, "Your task is simple. Seduce that man and make him your dog."

Kayla appeared surprised by the simplicity of the task and asked, "That's it?"

Madame Hydra smiled and nodded, explaining, "The man is Sergeant Howlett, now known as Logan. He is a mutant like you, but he possesses a unique power that would be very useful in HYDRA's future plans. He has never experienced true love. Your task is to make him experience that. Use your power to persuade him that you are the love of his life. Make him want you. Make him desire you. Make him fall so hard for you that he won't think of living without you. Also, keep an eye on him and report everything he does."

Determined, Kayla nodded resolutely and echoed, "Cut off one head..."

Madame Hydra completed the saying, "... and two more shall take its place!"

"HAIL HYDRA!!!"

. . .

Back in the present,

Logan gazed at Val's face for a few moments, then glanced at his hand and chose to ignore him. Instead, he turned his attention back to Kayla, asking, "You need anythin', babe?"

Meanwhile, Val let out a sigh, lowering his hand and turning away. He walked towards the door, grabbing the handle, and exited the room, not without shooting a glare at Kayla.

As soon as Val left and the door closed, Logan's expression turned serious. He wanted to know why Val had been there and what he wanted from Kayla. He asked, "Why was he here? What did he want from you? Did he ask for anythin'?"

Holding his hand tightly, Kayla reassured Logan, "Don't worry, babe. He didn't ask me for anything. He told me that he saw me getting rushed to the medical room and he wanted to check on me."

Logan grunted in response and as the face of Val resurfaced in his mind, he couldn't help but think, 'That kid. Why does this Starlance guy give me the same feelin' as that of Ian? And... he kinda looks similar to him too. But... there's no way both of 'em are the same person. That's impossible. It's been 30 years since Ian's death. Also, he was just a human. He wasn't some powered up costumed clown. I'm thinkin' too much. There's no way. There's just no way.'

He shook his head to get the outrageous thoughts out of his head and focused his attention to Kayla.

. . .

Val closed the door behind him and sighed. He put his hands in his pockets and walked in the hallway as he thought, 'After all of the mutants rights, Sentinel and Charles things were over, the year was 1972 and I thought about what would come next. The first thing that came into my mind was Wolverine and the Adamantium. Other alternate universe ship can happen but the Adamantium affair had the most probability. When I came to the conclusion that this was going to happen, I began to form my plan. I wasn't going to sit back and be a spectator. No! I have to get my hands on the Adamantium. I have so many uses for it. First, I would make a new Starlance armor. I've been thinking about mixing both Adamantium and Carterium together to make a new metal but honestly, I can't predict the result. So, if the new metal isn't what I hoped for, then my new armor would be made out of Adamantium. Second, I would make a new Reaper armor. And, third, I can't forget Peggy otherwise if she saw my new armor she would act as if she isn't jealous but she would be jealous inside so, I would build a new shield for her and some light armor for protection against super villains.'

As Val turned a corner, he entered a hall where some students were seated. The moment they spotted him, they stood up and greeted him warmly.

"Good afternoon, Professor Haller!"

"Hello, Professor Haller!"

"How are you, Professor Haller?"

Val smiled back at them and exchanged greetings before urging them to continue with their work as he continued walking and thinking, 'Since this universe is also the X-Men Cinematic Universe, then the major events that would occur would be on the Three Mile Island. So, I kept an eye on the Pennsylvania island and discovered some pretty interesting things. First, I saw Stryker. No use in killing him then since I couldn't get the metal at that time. Second, I noticed HYDRA soldiers in the island which made me realize that the octopus were involved with the Weapon X program. This got me thinking because if there is HYDRA then, there has to be a spy somewhere. Now, I thought about who would be the spy. And, the one person that came into my mind was... Kayla! She was the prime suspect which turned out to be true. I never saw her as a faithful person. Plus, her power to persuade anyone just be touching them was proof enough. Even in the movie, she betrayed Logan by faking her death and when he found out, she easily persuaded him into helping her rescue her sister and also, into making him think that she still loved him even though, everything she did was just to keep her sister alive. Poor Logan...'

He walked upstairs as he thought, 'Talking about Logan.... Sigh! He didn't even recognize me. A small part of me hoped that he would at least show some expression that he recognized me but he didn't. We spent so many days together, happy days, sad days... I mean the saying that the best bonds are formed on the battlefield is 100% true. Me, Logan and... Victor. Speaking of Victor, Kayla said that Victor attacked her and when she tried to use her power to calm him down, she couldn't and felt as if he was already in some sort of mind control. Hmm... this means that there is somebody else plotting behind the scenes, I have to be careful while forming my plan.'

He soon found himself in front of Charles' office and confidently opened the door, stepping inside. Inside, he found Hank and Charles engaged in a discussion. Val approached them and took a seat in one of the chairs.

Before Charles could speak, Val smiled reassuringly and said, "Don't worry about Logan. Leave everything to me."