Chapter 1

Northern Alberta, Canada.

My first thoughts that I ended up in Russia somewhere near Magadan, fortunately, turned out to be wrong. It turns out that there are large deserted spaces, fig roads from one unknown to another, and there is snow not only here, Canada can also boast of this.

Nice country, by the way. Beautiful. But big. Being a representative of the divine race, I could neither get tired nor freeze, but stomping on an empty road for fifteen hours in a row is not the most pleasant pleasure, and I do not have a Tesseract for instantaneous movements in space. However, I hope it will not, like any other of the Infinity Stones. Perhaps I went too far, but I did not feel the slightest desire to get involved with semi-intelligent incarnations of mystical forces, which have their own will and habit to influence the consciousness of the wearer. But every cloud has a silver lining - a long walk alone helped to finally overcome the hysteria and understand myself. No, I did not begin to love this whole world and its inhabitants. In truth, I seriously considered the option of starting a nuclear war on Earth. And that was a good idea! I will not die from radiation, from hunger, too, and the hottest phase can be waited out in some neighboring world, but Thanos will completely spit on Earth, well, except for the search for the Infinity Stones, but the main thing here is to destroy those who are on it will survive, he most likely will not even think. And I, meanwhile, will calmly figure out how to get out of this universe with the ends. Awesome plan! But since there is still a long way to go to the White House, let's leave it for the future. In any case, I was no longer so strongly sore from the idea of ​​living in the MCU, and this is already a good sign.

Hmm ... Probably, I should somehow be worried about the ease with which I am ready to organize the mass murder of innocent sentients from not so long ago my native species, but ... The thought of killing seven billion people does not move anything inside at all. Too abstract, too digital ... impersonal. This is too easily interrupted by the understanding that Death is not the End.

But from the thought that a specific compassionate guy who stopped his van near me on the highway and offered to give me a lift to the city, and even treated me to hot coffee, would die, there is a reaction from this thought. Negative. And this is wonderful, it proves that I have not yet completely lost my mind and nothing human is alien to me, it's just that I'm still in a state of passion. Probably ... But "I am still in a state of passion" sounds better than "a hike, I am a scumbag in life, who, being pulled out from under the pressure of the familiar social environment and gaining superpowers, deprived all the brakes, revealing his true rotten nature."

Be that as it may, by the end of my first day on Earth, I finally found myself in civilization. And if someone says that the bus station of a provincial town, full of bearded truckers and other bikers is not a civilization, then he has never been to the settlement of bandit trolls on the border of the Nine Worlds.

" And what is the name of this city?" having already gotten out of the car, I ask my fellow traveler to give me a lift so kindly. There were no problems with the language barrier - the divine races are able to understand any oral speech, except for rare exceptions, and in the same way make the interlocutor understand themselves.

"Loflen City, the sausages here are rubbish, but the chop is nothing," the man, whose name I never asked, replied, wrapping himself in his jacket against the fresh wind.

"I'll take it into account," I look around with a smile.

A few minutes later I was already entering a white building, a "large barn" type, which combined a hotel, a restaurant and an entertainment center. The locals were entertained by fights in an impromptu lattice arena in the center of the room, and there it was just some shaved closet that was kneading another pumped-up guy with his feet. My black winter coat, transformed from Asgardian clothes, was a little out of place with its dapper neatness and cleanliness, but ... in general, no one cared about this. The audience was incendiary, noisy, encouraging the fighters, smoking, drinking and other cultural activities.

Naturally, I had no money with me, but this place was the best fit to test those areas of magic that were responsible for influencing the perception and mind of others. However, before I had time to notice those on whom I could experiment innocently and harmlessly, the friendly sigh of the crowd drew me to what was happening in the arena. Something very interesting was happening there: the man who had just been kicked was already getting up, and his opponent looked as if he had just repulsed his right hand. A second - and the one who got up punches the opponent with the left, throwing it to the opposite wall from the net. He immediately swam, losing his orientation in space, but only managed to make a weak-willed step to the side, when he caught a sweep and a final blow with his forehead to the head on a tangent, after which he collapsed as if knocked out and knocked out. However, it was not at all interesting, but what I saw and recognized the face of the winner.

The triple ringing of the gong coincided with the appearance of a thoughtful expression on my face, and the organizer was already speaking to the whole audience:

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Won and remains the king of the arena - Wolverine!"

"T-this… I got in successfully," my lips whispered to the amicable hum of discontent from the audience that they had obviously lost the money put on the tote.

So ... Something doesn't add up to all of this. The unshaven face of the most famous mutant with a sharp nose was there - a few meters in front of me, with a lit cigar in his teeth, but that was wrong. The Marvel Cinematic Universe, where Loki is present, is not the same universe where the X-Men exist. Their branch takes place in some kind of delusional reality, with toxic adamantine and half a dozen conflicting plot twists. And yet I was Loki, and in front of me was Wolverine, who had just beaten up some guy in the fighting arena of a filthy provincial town. By the way, it reminds me of something ... So, is there by chance somewhere in the vicinity of a lost-looking teenage girl in a hood?

My gaze quickly ran through the crowd of spectators and really noticed a figure wrapped up to the very nose in a light dark green coat with a large bag in her hands, on whose face it was written in large letters that she was at such an event for the first time. And her face was familiar to me too.

Well, here we are ... I wonder if I was able to accidentally switch from one franchise to another, or is it even worse than I initially thought, and besides the drunken brawl of the Avengers with all sorts of Hydras, Ultrons and Thanos, the world around us is waiting for a psychedelic run of Xmen against the Guardians, the Apocalypse and the whole two pirate copies of the Phoenix to the accompaniment of interracial strife?

"Are there still people who want to try their luck with the champion ?!" a flabby man with a microphone began to call for a new fight, while I was thinking. "God knows it was a great match, and it should end beautifully, what do you say ?!"

A new wave of audience hubbub led me to another thought. If the magical skills of my predecessor I have already managed to test in a significant amount, then this cannot be said about combat skills, and Loki was a very good fighter. Physically, he was weaker than Thor and did not really like to fight face to face, but the rivalry with his brother, willy-nilly, forced him to diligently study military skills, and, as I knew from the future, he could well fight with Thor on equal terms. But it would be pointless to test myself on ordinary people, to put it mildly, but a fight with a mutant regenerator, besides, a fight is certainly not fatal, could be exactly what I needed. And one could think about the problem of conjugation of space-time continua later ... Especially those who want to challenge Logan are not seeing something, from which it is easy to conclude that the performance may be about to begin to collapse.

" Will you guard my coat, baby?" Having quickly made a decision, I called out to Rogue, having already thrown off my outerwear from my shoulders.

"BUT?" the mutant turned to me in bewilderment and immediately received a piece of clothing in her hands, and in her face a charming smile from the collection of Loki's best smiles.

Since I now bear that name, I have to get used to shooting several birds with one stone at once with each bullet. Would she still be the same fatal beauty, as in the animated series in 1992, or a cute hedgehog from the 2000 series, but alas and oh, beautiful girls were not brought into this universe, and the local Rogue pulls the maximum for "pretty", but still not "Beautiful" girl.

Making sure that my coat was in no hurry to fall out of the hands of a slightly unsettled lady, I headed to the entrance to the arena, which was immediately noticed.

"ABOUT! It looks like we still have a challenger!" The organizer was delighted. " Hey boy, are you too puny for this?" covering the microphone with his hand, he leaned towards me, as soon as I was near.

"Don't worry, I know kung fu," I answered him with a grin.

"Well, see for yourself, " the referee, the head of the sweepstakes shrugged his shoulders and what else is this man doing? "The rules are simple: do not hit the balls, fight with your bare hands, whoever remained on his feet won. Fill Wolverine " and three hundred bucks is yours, he you - no complaints about us, truncated?"

"Quite," I nod, and the organizer finally makes way for me, allowing me to enter the cage, at the other end of which a gloomy unshaven guy with a naked torso awaits me.

" Aren't you afraid to ruin your pretty face, shket?" Logan greeted me politely.

" You know, just now I just wanted to warm up a little, but now I have a desire to trim you, like God a turtle," I smiled broadly and happily in his face. It is a pity that only I can understand this joke here.

" Well, well, do not overstrain, jerk," Wolverine chuckled.

"Maybe we can start already? Not that I was in a great hurry, but, probably, for an old man like you, it is already difficult to stand on his feet for a long time ... " I tilt my head to the side.

"Heh, you don't go into your pocket for a word," the mutant's grin widened, after which he jumped up to me and in a short, biting motion loaded a straight line into my jaw. More precisely, I tried to charge. The body worked almost by itself, with minimal involvement of the mind - a small step back and to the side, twist the torso, intercept the hand and continue the movement.

" Ha, it seems, the kid was not joking when he said that he knew kung fu, just look, ladies and gentlemen, what a flight! But this is hardly enough to defeat our permanent champion!"

" Hmm, okay," Logan said after being thrown into the net on the floor, stood up and definitely stretched his neck, " you can do something.

Now the mutant acted much more cautiously and not so straightforwardly - he tried to go from the side, denoting deceptive blows and lunges, but ... I was faster, stronger and, albeit not quite mine, had a thousand years of combat experience, and just that - close and weapon the battle. Logan, of course, is a veteran and is also extremely experienced, plus animal instincts, but now he has amnesia, and he is used to fighting either with claws, or using more traditional mortal weapons such as rifles, grenade launchers and other shooting machinery. And to fight more with ordinary people, which also played a role. Loki's experience was extremely versatile, and opponents with abilities beyond any human capabilities were the norm rather than the exception. This, by the way, was one of the main reasons for Asgard's use of melee weapons as the main one - many races, including the aces themselves, were almost invulnerable to purely physical damage, and it doesn't matter if it was a bullet or a blaster charge. To inflict life-threatening damage, a weapon with a magical component was required, but enchanting each bullet is unrealistic even in a technomagic civilization - magic is too individual, you cannot put it on a conveyor belt, but enchanting melee weapons and armor is very possible, especially from the perspective of the fact that this will have to be done once every five thousand years, which is the average lifespan for an ace, and he usually uses the same weapon all his life.

Therefore, each blow of Logan was smoothly diverted to the side, only sometimes meeting a hard block, and a counterattack followed the block and withdrawal, and each time it turned out to be very mean, more precisely, insidious - a blow to the side of the face just to cover the low kick in the knee? Of course! Poke into a nerve knot in order to dry your hand? By itself! A kick to the diaphragm and cut off the inhalation? As it turned out, I love, I can, I practice. My fighting style turned out to be very, very dirty, and there was nothing I could do about it. But there was one ma-a-scarlet problem in all this. It was still unrealistic to win against Wolverine in this fight - all these punches and kicks for his regeneration were not even mosquito bites, but peas against the wall. I was not even sure that if I had taken him for a choke, it would have had at least some result. Unless he hits hard enough to cause a concussion and thus knock him out at once, although this is unlikely to help for more than ten seconds. Of course, there was still a variant of magic, but that would not be sports at all.

Okay, what I wanted, I found out. We will work out the techniques a little more on the gradually enraging "mannequin", and it will be possible to round off.

" Listen, is this your tactic? "After a few minutes of such a "fight" I felt that even the audience began to get tired, and decided to wrap up. " To overcome until the enemy finally fucks?"

" Fuck you! Logan, once again rising from the floor and spitting blood, apparently managed to bite his tongue.

"No, I'm really bored, but I don't want to get hit in the face, " a snap of my fingers, and we find ourselves, as it were, in the center of the "hologram", where Wolverine, who has risen, intercepts another blow from "me" and sends the opponent into a throw, and as soon as he rises - punches in the stomach, and immediately later - along the ridge of the bent opponent, literally driving into the ring. Yes, it turned out brutally. Physics has been tested and recognized as suitable, now the next section is optical illusions, combined with mental suggestion, so that the audience does not pay attention to some nuances.

" What's that for?" the mutant tensed.

"Just an illusion," I shrug with a reflexive half-smile. " wanted to warm up with a suitable opponent, I achieved my goal, but to continue to "sort things out on the fists" with the regenerator is simply stupid. I, of course, am in no hurry, but still I would not refuse to have a bite ... And it is better tonight, and not in a week, when one of us finally fizzles out,"my right eye of itself slyly winked at the enemy. The muscle memory of the real Loki clearly remained not only in the muscles of the arms and legs.

"Got it, then," Logan's gaze changed, now he clearly saw the beast ready to jump.

" It was not difficult: when the bruise on the opponent's cheekbone completely dissolves in less than a second after its appearance, it is difficult not to understand that the matter is unclean, " I watched with interest how the Wolverine mirage from the bottom of my heart charged my double with a foot in the kidneys - especially when and you know a couple of tricks yourself.

" I see, and what's next?" alertness has not gone anywhere.

"Nothing, now "me" will be knocked out, you will receive your prize, and I'll "get okay" and take my coat from that girl, after which I'll go look for a free table. I heard they serve a good chop here ... And I hope it was not a joke about this ring."

" Is that all? ``This paranoia is already starting to strain.

"And what else?"

"There is nothing."

"Well, that's nice, okay, let's take our places, " the referee just finished counting over the knocked out "challenger" and announced the winner, lamenting that the newcomer was doing great, but the old experienced champion again proved that it was too early to write him off ...

After completing the show for the audience, as promised, I left the cage and quickly found Rogue in the crowd. She looked at me even more dumbfounded than she had before looking at Logan, and no wonder, since I personally allowed her to see reality combined with illusion, therefore, even without hearing the conversation with Wolverine, she had reasons for strong emotions.

"Not tired? ``With a new charming smile I take my coat from the girl's hands.

"Ah ... no. Not at all" the girl began to shake her head with a stammer, staring at my face with all her eyes.

"Wonderful" the outerwear in one movement returns to my shoulders, and, following the new smile Rogue gave me, I head to the counter, literally in a few steps making everyone around me lose sight of me.

The minds of people succumbed to magical suggestions surprisingly easily, but, although I spoke about the desire to eat, the experiments were not yet finished, and information about the local reality should be collected. The easiest way to do this was by studying the memory of someone from the aborigines, and I was going to do this in the near future. This trick had nothing to do with classical telepathy, except for the very fact of reading memory, but the principles by which this reading was carried out were completely different. In any case, it was necessary to start with something simpler, and Logan and Rogue ... Nothing will happen to them in a couple of hours, and they will have time to digest what they saw.

Morning the next day.

The town did not impress me: no libraries, no cinema, even some kind of shops ... filling stations. Sometimes literally. True, in one of these I found French fries and was now eating it with pleasure, walking on a fresh snowball to the doors of the old hotel, but if everything were really bad, this universe would have been decorated in noir tones, but I did not feel myself yet Professor Snape, surrounded by the Potters and the Weasleys, so it was possible to live.

My magical research has traditionally ended well. Even viewing someone else's memory did not break my brain blockade, turning me into a psychopath with a third personality. In general, viewing the memory of other people using magic was very different from the perception of Loki's memory in my head, perhaps that is why he could not do anything with my hit. However, how this hit happened is completely unknown to me. I did not remember the circumstances of my "death" in a past life, as a person, nor even what exactly from the memories of her goes to the extreme in chronology. With Loki it was about the same, albeit to a lesser extent - I remembered the day before the hit, but how the God of Deception came to his chambers and what he did there is no longer there. On the one hand, it sucked. On the other hand ... the less you know, the better you sleep. For some reason it seemed to me that in my situation this is a very correct idea.

In any case, having asked for help from several "volunteers", I was able to compose a rough picture of the surrounding life. Firstly, Tony Stark has really already been captured by militants, created his own armor and heroically returned, having time to admit to the whole world that Iron Man is he. And, in truth, on this side of the Canadian border, people generally spat on these events from the tall pines. For local hard workers, the question of who would win the next football match on TV was much more relevant, and stories about a rich psycho in an iron quilted jacket were perceived here precisely as stories about a rich psycho, whose quirks have not surprised anyone for a long time. Secondly, the Hulk was already here, but also on the level: "a green man, either from Mars, or from Venus, or from a government laboratory, made riots somewhere, just like niggas in Brooklyn", and this is almost forgotten ... What happened to him and how, no one knew, but lately he has definitely not been rowdy. And finally, the mutant problem. Today it was a trend, and all the media hyped on it, but no one really saw the mutants anywhere. That is, it seems that they are - "they say so on TV", but it seems that they are not there, because ... well ... you couldn't just take them and meet them on the street for a mere mortal. No one knew about the X-Men, Spider-Man, or the Fantastic Four. The latter is especially a pity - I always liked Victor von Doom performed by Julian McMeahon, but I haven't heard of him here either.

In short, I spent the night fruitfully, at the same time becoming richer by five hundred bucks. And there is no point in inviting all small cheats to turn into cards of the God of Deception, even if he looks like a harmless dude.

This time the old hotel greeted me with sleepy silence and sluggish swarming of staff with brooms near the arena. A mustachioed trucker was sleeping on a large sofa in front of a side table, a couple of people were having breakfast at another table, a pop-music TV was playing at the bar counter, a bartender in a red checkered shirt was wiping a glass, and in front of him was a clutched figure in a hooded coat, whose legs lay a large bag.

Crumpled the empty package and clicked it across half of the hall into the bucket where the cleaners poured the garbage, I, without hiding from anyone, walked to Rogue.

" Do you have coffee? " I yawn for the bartender. The girl, to the right of whom I sat down, shuddered and looked sideways in my direction. The man also clearly recognized me and silently nodded, having switched the power switch on the electric kettle. "And a couple of cheese sandwiches," I add to the order, putting a ten dollar bill on the table.

"Warm up? '' said the bartender, shaking his head at the microwave.

" Not worth it."

Without asking anything else, the man went to the doorway to the kitchen, where he duplicated the order. Just then, Logan walked up from the opposite side of the counter, dressed as a typical local patron. He noticed us only when he sat down on the extreme stool, and then only because Rogue, agitated by my appearance, glanced at him like some kind of monster. She looked at me like that, but I was expecting this, and Wolverine attracted such a look from a random neighbor. After that, his eyes have already crossed over to me, reflecting a slight bewilderment, it seems that his bestial feelings could have been deceived by my disguise. Actually, there is nothing surprising, because "smell" is the same obvious parameter of an object, like color and weight, which any invisible person should be able to hide in the first place. It is much more difficult to hide magic and spiritual imprints.

In response to the attention of my person, I only nodded in greeting, showing with all my appearance that I did not particularly care about anything except the order made. Logan was satisfied with this and, taking out a cigar, tried to pretend that my presence did not bother him. In fact, he quickly succeeded, as Rogue continued to look sideways, and her expression naturally drew attention to herself.

"Give me some beer," Wolverine asked, turning to the bartender, who was just counting my change, laying out his banknote on the table.

He got what he wanted faster than I did, but not much - the kettle was just boiling, and they brewed some local instant drink for me, not skimping even on a sugar bowl. The burda tasted tolerable, and when the sandwiches were brought from the kitchen, it became very good.

And by the way ... Rogue obviously had no money. At least she sat with a glass of water and held the first sandwich bitten by me with such a greedy look that I involuntarily hesitated to chew. Realizing that her interest was noticed, the girl was immediately embarrassed and looked down, but at least questions like: "How did she end up in Canada without money?" and "what did you intend to live on?" This did not prevent me from silently pushing the plate with the remaining culinary "masterpiece" to her.

"Huh?" The mutant was confused. "What…"

"Believe me, I don't mind when the girls look at me lustfully," I say to this miss "extreme tourist" after playing with my face in the style of Loki, "but the gastronomic interest in your eyes is superfluous. You better eat it. I will order more" I nod to the bartender in a gesture of "repeat", since the change given to him was still lying on the table and there was no need to stretch far.

"Thank you" clearly not at ease, the girl, however, readily snatched the sandwich and hurried to bite it.

"Alice Island, once the place of arrival to the coast of thousands of emigrants, is opening its doors again" the announcer's voice began broadcasting on the TV, as soon as the music video ended. " Preparations for the summit of the member states of the United Nations are almost complete, and since almost all those invited have already confirmed their participation, the summit promises to be the most representative in history. The heads of more than two hundred countries will discuss a wide range of problems, including the state of the world economy, the conclusion of treaties on armaments, as well as the phenomenon of mutation and its impact on our lives. Many American lawmakers continue to insist that the discussion on the issue of mutants remains the focus of attention …"

I already wanted to joke that this desire is very logical, in the light of the information that from their warehouses into the hands of terrorists about fifty of the newest missile systems with radioactive elements in the warhead (the very ones from which Stark assembled his first miniature reactor cold nuclear fusion and which were then destroyed, like Iron Man), but did not have time. Two men approached the peacefully sipping beer Wolverine from behind, one of whom I recognized as yesterday's bull, who had received a good blow to the head from Logan. The hematoma came out noble and very intense.

" You owe me" attracting attention, the victim touched Wolverine on the shoulder.

" Do not mess" the second guest tried to reason with him in a half-whisper, making an attempt to take him back, but the skinhead waved him off without looking.

" Not a single person would have withstood this" was already a little louder, but still in a calm voice, the failed fighter continued to press. Logan gave him a quick glance and turned away, taking another drag on his cigar.

" No need, let's go" the second man tried to take his friend away from the bar again.

"I know who you are!" and again brushing aside, bent down to the mutant's ear, shaved. " You…"

"You lost your money," Wolverine interrupted him coldly, annoyed on his face, "so back off!

Sinking down a sandwich with a hot drink, I watched with great interest what would happen next. Part of me hoped that the canon would go into the furnace, but the other did not believe it anymore - there were too many coincidences back in Asgard to hope for the unpredictability of the world around me. And she was right. Gritting his teeth, the victim in yesterday's battle took a step to the side, but only in order to grab the knife and try to thrust it into Logan's rib.

"Turn around! " Rogue screamed heart-rendingly, also keeping an eye on the development of the conflict.

Wolverine immediately went to the side, passing his hand with a knife past him, but he could not restrain himself further. If he limited himself to a slap in the face and taking the hapless killer by the chest, everything would be fine, but his hot-tempered nature let him down, and, in addition to pressing the attacker to the nearest vertical beam, on which the second floor was held, the mutant released his claws, threateningly directing them on the victim's throat.

" Hey"I called out to the bartender, convulsively snatching a pump-action shotgun from under the counter," don't turn my breakfast into a vulgar shootout. The man ran into it himself."

"Are you at the same time with him?" The muzzle was instantly aimed at my face, making Rogue, sitting next to, suddenly turn pale. " Come on, get out of here! ``This has already been addressed to me and Wolverine.

"How rude," a grin crept onto my face by itself. Loki answered all the blows of fate with a grin, and so far I could not do anything with his reflexes - and I really wanted to leave a tip - a short gesture with his fingers activated the enchantment.

The illusion fell like a deer, and the man saw how the gun in his hands turned into a snake. A cry from one of the female visitors coincided with the reptile being thrown away. The terrified man staggered backwards, crashing back into the shelves of bottles. The snake fell to the floor and hissed threateningly towards the recent owner. The people in the hall froze, looking at Logan and me warily and afraid to move.

"What for?" Wolverine's sharp gaze glared at my face.

"I don't like it when they poke a weapon at me," I shrug. "However, breakfast is ruined anyway," I get to my feet, knocking over the last drops of coffee. " Will you give it to the neighboring town? I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to find a travel companion now. "I glance at the visitors with a hint.

"Really such a dandy does not have his own car? " Still grinning in irritation and not taking his shaved claws from his neck, Wolverine growled.

" In my village, it was difficult to obtain a driver's license," I corrected the hem of my coat with a picture, with a hint of confidentiality, I reported back.

"Rr!" the mutant growled shortly, either accepting the answer, or deciding that I was hinting at the undesirability of spreading in the presence of strangers. Be that as it may, his claws with a sharp rustle disappeared into his fist, and, rewarding the man who tried to put him on the knife with an evil look, Logan grabbed an unfinished bottle from the counter and then headed for the exit. "Keep up," he said over his shoulder as he passed.

Playfully winking at the stunned Rogue, I depicted something resembling a farewell raising of my hat in the direction of the visitors and followed. At that moment, a lady of Balzac's age appeared from the kitchen doorway with a plate on which lay three fresh sandwiches from my second order, and, noticing a snake at the boss's feet, she was dumbfounded.

"You are adorable" passing by, I give the worker of the service sector a smile and take a plate out of her hands on the way.

Logan, walking in front, gave me a quick glance, which clearly showed that he did not approve of my behavior.

"What? I paid, "I shrug nonchalantly, forcing him to turn away.

Already sitting in the cockpit of a well-worn van from some kind of campervans, I noticed in the rear-view mirror how a slender figure in a green coat with a hood and a huge bag in his hands was hastily approaching us. Logan was clearly too annoyed at the wheel to notice someone else's flickering in the parking lot, but meanwhile the girl got to the trailer next to the van and climbed inside. Here is a risky lady. But I was sure to the last that she would knock on the cockpit.

Wolverine, same time and place.

Starting the engine, Logan glanced at the unexpected fellow traveler. The well-groomed boy, who could hardly be given more than twenty-five years, freely sprawled in the next chair, as if nothing had happened looking at the street. Where he had time to put the stolen plate of sandwiches, it was decidedly not clear, as well as much else in his regard.

The stranger's long dark hair was perfectly combed back and did not lose this ideality, even when he rode through the sweaty ring to the envy of any monkey. The clothes were more suitable for some social event or a bohemian get-together in New York, and not for a Canadian backwater, but for the owner of emerald cufflinks, a black tie and a shirt so snow-white that the phantom taste of starch hurt his teeth, it was obviously not a matter of that. Even a green-patterned scarf thrown around his neck did not look like an element of warm clothing, but a luxurious decoration expressively emphasizing the refined style of the owner. But the most incomprehensible thing was that Logan could not catch his smell at all, as if in the next chair there was not only a person, but also his clothes.

He also knew how to fight. So much so that Wolverine could not even remember having ever met an opponent of this level. Although it would only be okay - Logan himself never chased the title of martial arts master, not seeing any sense or interest in it, but after all, physically the guy was definitely stronger than him. Not so much as to break walls with bare hands, but it was definitely not worth trying to compete with him in armwrestling, and after all, Wolverine was two or three times stronger than an ordinary person of his complexion, this dandy looked much like a lean one. The final mystery was his illusion tricks, or what is he doing there? But in these gizmos Logan did not understand anything at all, so he decided not to load his head.

They set off in silence and drove off in the same silence. The man, accustomed to loneliness, was not attracted to start a conversation, and his fellow traveler, apparently, too. Probably, someone else in Wolverine's place would have tried to satisfy curiosity by taking advantage of the chance that came up, but the lonely tramp did not want to get involved in other people's business. Other people's affairs are always problems, without which he could do well. Now the secrets of his involuntary fellow traveler did not concern him in any way, and did not interfere with anything, and that was fine with Logan. He was no less satisfied that they did not come to him with questions and were not outraged by the smell of tobacco, but he was ready to think about something more closer to lunch ... or dinner.

However, after more than twenty minutes of travel, the man noticed a strange sound from the trailer. The wheels were spinning somehow wrong. As they drove through the city, he did not pay attention to it, but when he went out on a quiet road, willy-nilly, he began to listen and in the end determined what was scratching his enhanced hearing.

The forest road was empty in the morning, the sun hadn't really risen yet, and it was cloudy today, so Logan calmly stopped the car right on the road and turned off the engine, putting the keys in his pocket.

"We need to check something" nevertheless, he considered it necessary to explain to the passenger, although by the appearance of the latter, he was not particularly interested in the reasons for the sudden stop.

Having got out, but without waiting for the sound of the door opening from the other side, Wolverine sighed and, just in case, checking for the ignition keys in his pocket, went to the trailer. The fresh breeze slightly diluted the sweet bitterness of the cigar in the mouth, the wet snow crunched under the boots, and there was a pristine silence around. Having meticulously examined the wheels and the hitch, the man did not see any unnecessary details, but as soon as he puzzledly threw the cigar from one corner of his mouth to the other, a sensitive ear caught some rustle from under the tarpaulin covering the trailer.

Slowly taking two more steps closer, Logan began to distinguish other interesting sounds that his motorcycle could not make in any way, that for the last couple of years he was the only inhabitant of the trailer. If only because motorcycles do not breathe, and the sound of the engine is very different from the human heartbeat.

Seeing the contents of the open body, the mutant only impressively pulled a cigar out of his mouth. The disorder in the tarp covering the steel horse immediately caught my eye. Something like this he latently expected. If shit happens, then its size can only be "huge" or "really huge". Even though he had problems with memory, his animal instincts were in perfect order and promised that the day that had started so badly must end no less badly.

Silently poking two fingers into a new bulge on the tarp near the wall closest to him, the man without surprise heard a frightened ooh pronounced in a clearly female voice, after which he abruptly pulled off the disguise from the illegal passenger. The passenger turned out to be some girl in a light green coat with a hood, lying around his motorcycle, resting her head on a bag with things. Not right away, but the girl looked up at him, and Wolverine recognized the face of a girl of about seventeen or nineteen years old, who had been secretly staring at him and his second companion all morning.

"What are you doing here?" interested not so much in the name of her horizontal position in her trailer, as in what she generally thought, climbing into the car to an unfamiliar man, heading into the deep forests of Canada, asked Logan, hastily returning the cigar to his mouth to calm his nerves with a puff.

"Sorry, I just had to go. I need help, "the girl mumbled, grimacing from the sunlight as if she also managed to fall asleep lying on the cold metal of the open body.

" Get out" he briefly commanded and, taking someone else's bag, decisively threw it out of the trailer.

"Where should I go?" started to rise, muttering.

"I don't know," Logan snapped uncompromisingly.

"Don't know or don't you care?" With accusatory intonations in her voice, this impudent woman asked, jumping to the ground.

"You will decide!" the man answered harshly, not remaining in debt.

After making sure that there were no more new things in his trailer, Wolverine glanced at the girl gasping for air in bewilderment and swiftly turned back.

"What kind of help were you talking about?" a voice suddenly heard behind him made the mutant twitch. And not only him - behind the back of the girl who had jumped in place, as if nothing had happened, his smiling companion was standing. When he managed to appear there in an incomplete second and how he could not squeak either the door or the snow under his feet, it was completely incomprehensible.

"I don't have a taxi" he saw fit to warn Logan, already realizing where the wind was blowing.

"And nevertheless" his new acquaintance smiled in a snake-like manner right into the face of the girl standing in front of him "some were not afraid of two terrible guys with abilities, but climbed into their fellow travelers. Should I continue, baby, or will you still answer yourself?" tilting his head to the side, the guy winked slyly.

"I… yes. I also have the ability" the girl mumbled in fright, then swallowed. "Are you ... are you mutants? Could you help me?"

"Maybe." The green eyes of unwanted companion number one went up to Logan's face. "Do not leave a teenage girl alone in a cold winter Canadian forest" from a new smile, in which the guy's lips were distorted, Wolverine got a toothache.

"Do you want to go on foot?" the man snapped irritably.

" I can easily go in the back, there is more than enough space" this insolent milk sucker shrugged his shoulders cheerfully. Logan's fists were combing hard, but ... this guy was right - he won't be able to leave this fool in the forest, taking into account her clothes and the local weather, she will chill in half an hour or an hour, and the movement here is not very active, to put it mildly. A mutant regenerator, who simply cannot get sick for more than a few seconds, felt a migraine that was rolling and growing stronger.

"Okay …" he sighed "get in" and, turning around, followed back into the car ... where he saw the dandy still sitting in his place.

"Um?" The girl was also surprised, because the aforementioned dandy was just behind her, and now he was moving into the back of the "RV". " But you? .." Then she turned around and saw exactly the same person behind her.

"Illusion" the guy snapped his fingers, and his copy disappeared in an overflow of yellow-green light.

"But she said …" the girl stammered in a lost voice.

"Right," came a satisfied confirmation, and from the van came the creak of the bed, as if someone sat on it.

"I didn't allow you to sit on my bed," the senior mutant grimaced with displeasure, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Do not worry" I went to bed ... And my coat is still cleaner than this very bed, - again this incarnation of impudence replied calmly, clearly making himself more comfortable, if you believe the rustling. Logan again wondered if it was so bad to throw out any left-wing companions in the cold. Especially if you really want to. Reflections were interrupted by a fellow traveler:

"Can't you find something to eat?" The girl asked embarrassedly, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Hold"- abruptly getting out of bed, the "dandy" stepped up to them and, finding himself in the aisle, somehow slyly moved his hands, after which, from some kind of jumble of glass fragments, like a picture in a kaleidoscope, or something else then, the same plate of sandwiches appeared in them, which he stole from the diner.

"Eh ... " the girl could only mumble at this.

"Subspace pocket," the guy explained, handing the plate into her hands. - It is very convenient to carry personal items.

"Thank you," the girl nodded, then took off her thin gloves, which were not at all suitable for this weather, and eagerly bit into a cheese sandwich.

A runaway God with a mild form of insanity. In the same place.

"I am Rogue" after satisfying the first hunger, the girl introduced herself, glancing at Wolverine. And froze in anticipation.

Everything was clearly visible from my place on the bed. It was so conveniently laid out from the wall straight into the center of the van, as if it was created so that the venerable patrician, reclining on the featherbeds, could contemplate the work of the driver and his neighbor. Wolverine, however, was in no hurry to make contact and in general showed with his whole appearance that his fellow travelers had already gotten him and as soon as the first opportunity presented itself, he would hasten to get rid of us. And if we misbehave, then the method of "getting rid of" from "shove nafig" may change to something more ... rude. And how did he manage to say all this with just one sidelong glance? Talent! To his deep misfortune, I personally did not care, and Rogue did not know how to physiognomy and did not understand such complex messages. Okay, let's keep the conversation going. We're polite gods, aren't we?

"Loki," I introduce myself.

"A ... What? Rogue turned around.

"Hn ... " the brutal driver chuckled and even grinned slightly, apparently admitting that such a name is quite suitable for such a charming rogue like me! Hmmm, am I acting too weird? Although ... no, everything is fine, I just (and by the standards of the aces, I just barely) got out of my big ass, morally resigned myself to the local exterminatus and was going to dump on, so why not almost fool around "on vacation"?

"My name is Loki. And no, this is not a joke. And not a surname. And not a nickname. And not an abbreviation. And not even the code name of a top-secret government project" at the last moment Logan fell into a kind of stupor.

Did something go by associations? Hmmm, generally ... maybe. I strongly doubt that there was the same idiocy, where an adamantium bullet from an ordinary revolver was able to pierce the adamantium skull and shake the gray matter in the mutant's head, formatting it, if not zero, then close, but amnesia due to the boiling of body fluids in the process of soaking the bones with red-hot metal may well be - the regeneration in Wolverine is, of course, atrocious, but such a test could damage the neurons of the brain enough for amnesia.

But I was distracted, and meanwhile, silence was established in the car again. The older mutant did not answer in principle, although he seemed to be tempted to say something about my parents' sense of humor or the size of the cockroaches in my head, Rogue, perhaps, would not have refused to speak out either, but did not dare to be impudent, from her point of view , the limit of impudence on her part has already been crossed for a long time. However, this is a teenage girl, and therefore she could not sit silently for a long time and began to look around in search of a topic of conversation. But, contrary to my forecasts, Wolverine could not stand it.

"What kind of name is Loki?" He snorted.

"Asgardian," I shrug. " You can also Loft, Lodur ... please do not confuse it with a bummer, Hwedrung, Mocker, Charming Bad Guy, Cegorach ... and, no, not that universe" copyright holders can take it to the MetaUniverse court. "Well, what about you, my eloquent friend?" changing the topic.

"Logan," the mutant replied after some silence, "and you, boy, have serious head problems.

"Nobody believes when I tell the truth, but everyone believes when I blatantly lie. Therefore, they called me the God of Deception, although I did nothing specifically for this, but simply told others several times what they wanted to hear, and not what they obviously would not believe " reclining, like the already mentioned Roman patrician, on bed and watching the slave ... companions spread out, I slightly indulged in philosophical fabrications.

" Uh-uh ... L-okay, whatever you say!" Rogue agreed hesitantly. For some reason, it seemed to me that she simply decided that it was better to agree with dangerous psychos in everything. To avoid. And again a cozy, though not for everyone, silence reigned.

The problems of the "hare" did not end with one hunger of the stomach. Having quickly dealt with the meager and, frankly, not the best treat and also satisfied the information hunger, the girl began to chilly rub her hands - ten kilometers at a speed of fifty miles per hour, but at an ambient temperature of minus five degrees ... How has she not died? Logan noticed the young passenger's embarrassment. Sighing in anguish, he turned the stove to maximum.

" Here, get warm" and reached out to take the girl's hands to bring it to her, but the passenger jerked sharply and hurried to move away under the surprised gaze of the regenerator.

It looked like the reaction of a girl who was already experiencing violence, however, this would not have sat down with two men ... well, at least if she did not like the past experience. However, as a joke, I already remember why the girl had such reactions.

"Yes, I will not eat you" tried to calm the girl Wolverine.

"Don't be offended," Rogue said, embarrassed. "It's just… it's about my abilities. Every time I touch someone, something… happens.

"What's happening?" Logan did not understand.

"I… I don't know… but it hurts…"

" I see ... " Wolverine kept stone equanimity. I have even started to wake up sports interest, is there something that can penetrate it? Well, apart from a direct hit from an anti-tank shell, of course.

" It looks like a parasitic type of mutation" I decided to explain to the girl her situation. "There is a guy in Mexico who needs to regularly pump out energy from other people, otherwise he himself can throw off his skates ... True, if he sticks to a mutant, then his body morphs into something like a pterodactyl with delusions of grandeur. It's like the Hulk - each form has its own personality. But you didn't seem to eat anyone in town?"

"Not! I don't need this!" even the girl was frightened.

"Then you're in luck."

"Ah ..." Rogue glanced at Logan and turned to me. "What's that guy's name?"

"I don't know your real name - I haven't met you personally, but the nickname, it seems, is Pteroks, but I'm not sure" I am telling the truth. Only that was true for another universe, but what difference does it make?

"How do you know about the Hulk?" Wolverine showed curiosity.

"I watched him for a while," I shrug. "But if we have a morning of revelations, baby, tell me the secret, how did you end up in Canada alone and without money?"

"I…" Rogue looked down. " Ever since school I wanted to walk the route from the Mississippi to Niagara Falls and to Alaska …" she paused.

"Are all kids in America so reckless?" I look at the back of Logan's head.

"Don't ask me," the driver snapped, wearily letting out a cloud of cigar smoke.

"Um, what can you do, Loki? ``Female curiosity is ineradicable regardless of the world and era.

"So, a little bit of everything: illusions, games with the space-time continuum, throwing knives ... oh, I'm also a noble brain-bite!" I remember an important moment, breaking into a smile.

"I have no doubt," Logan nodded grimly. Wow, I told the truth, and they immediately and unconditionally believed me, although I suspect I was misunderstood, but what can I do - the world is not perfect.

And at this good moment our path was interrupted by a tree that suddenly flew out onto the road. Still not fastened after stopping, Wolverine was not ready for such a turn of events, and therefore flew beautifully through the windshield from the impact. The strapped-up girl just jerked in the chair and lightly hit her head, but I was not aristocratically pulled off the bed with my feet forward. However, it was not so far to drag, so, one might say, I escaped with purely moral trauma.

" Flew low, it will probably rain" I commented on the maneuver of our driver, getting to my feet and looking out through the passage into the cockpit. Logan was blown away a good deal, almost fifteen meters, which is what the inertia of the adamantium skeleton means.

"Oh," Rogue moved in her chair.

"The whole thing?"

"Y-yes" the girl grabbed her head and tried to unhook the seat belt to go out, but it did not give in "but I got stuck!" there was a little panic in his voice.

"A second" leaning towards the lock, gently stirring the mechanism jammed from the jerk. Carefully - so as not to accidentally break, otherwise Loki's strength is more than enough to crush ordinary steel. Well, by this moment Wolverine had just got up and with a slightly unsteady gait (with every step becoming more and more confident) of a man who had well received a man's chest, he went to us.

"Hey, are you alive there ?!"

"If I were you, I would look around, because trees do not fall under cars by themselves" having snapped the lock out of the groove, I warn the mutant. How the canon attack of Sabretooth took place, I did not remember, but, apparently, that's how it was.

Here the bushes crunched, and the man who had time to "pull out" his claws was attacked by the expected "caveman". His dash came out quite fast, much faster than the similar technique showed Wolverine in the arena, this allowed him to avoid the claws, stunning Logan for a second. And it immediately became clear that he represented, with whom he faced, since Sabretooth, and this scum could not be anything else, did not become exchanged for punches with his fists. Instead, he grabbed the opponent's jacket and, spinning him, sent him back into the nearest tree, clearly trying to cause at least a massive spinal injury, and at most - a concussion with a knockout.

"We need to help him! ``The girl, freed from the belt, fell out of the crumpled van and stood unsteadily on the snow.

"What for? In my opinion, he is very much even having fun" at this moment, dressed in furs and with a face so brutal that even the Vikings would be imbued with reverence, the man decided to play baseball with Wolverine and, having turned a log out of the ground, he just bought it over his head. the claw-bearer who began to rise. " And the weather is getting better ... " I watched the flight of our driver along a much steeper arc straight to our hood. Now it was like a concussion, and Logan agreed with me, as evidenced by his immobility. "Let me go," I squeeze by the chair and jump into the snow near Rogue.

My appearance attracted the attention of the enemy, and this stern Norwegian version of Conan the Barbarian with a natural tiger roar moved towards us.

" You know, guy, you very much resemble a feral Viking," I was captured by some kind of courage. Let Sabretooth move quickly and was clearly strong, but neither his speed nor strength could be compared with the similar parameters of Thor, whose fights Loki had repeatedly observed. And from this fact a very simple conclusion followed - these parameters cannot be compared with mine " and I hate the Vikings" a throwing dagger, materializing in my hand, the next moment with a whistle cut the air and entered exactly into Sabretooth's eye.

The enchanted steel, designed to kill immortals, could not cope with the purely "material" healing factor of the mutant, but it clearly caused much more problems than a regular knife could. In any case, the formidable roar immediately turned into a painful howl. I didn't intend to wait for the mutant to come to his senses and, taking out another dagger from the spatial pocket, sent it into the heart of the enemy, while the third lay in his hand, instantly generating two copies of myself in the hands of my own illusions.

Seeing the world from three angles is pretty funny. I'm not sure that, being a human, I would have been able to maintain even the simplest coordination of movements in this state, but Loki's brain was accustomed to this and could well synchronize the actions of three to five "bodies" - depending on the speeds taken and the degree of uniqueness of the movements. If it was necessary to strike one blow at one point, then we could talk about three dozen pseudo-material illusions, and if each had to attack in a unique style at a point different from the rest, then it was already more difficult.

The first blow was struck by the next copy to my left, piercing the liver, the second came from the right under the knee, the third, already mine, hit in the throat. Sabretooth tried to brush it off, but I was right - his speed was not enough even to hit the phantom, and blows from three directions continued to pass. For the memory of my predecessor, this was unusual, because even Wolstagg, not the cleverest of Thor's three best friends, would hardly have let my illusion hit him more than once, at least somehow, but having managed to damage the outer contour, and then - do what you want and as you want. However, despite many blows, the enemy was still alive, although he was clearly beginning to lose interest in resistance in particular and the situation in general. Nevertheless, it was not part of my plans to keep him alive, and therefore, knocking him down with a sweep on the next bunch of blows, I sharply lowered the enchanted dagger around his neck.

Mage steel went through ordinary flesh and bone, like a knife through butter, and only after that I realized that somehow I had not even thought that this would be my first murder.

" Bue-uh …" said Rogue somewhere by the car, clearly looking at my work.

" Everyone strives to offend the artist! " I was offended in the best feelings, looking at the mutant's head separated from the body. The realization of the fact that I had just brutally and with pleasure killed an intelligent (well ... more or less) creature did not cause the slightest discomfort at all. After all that I have inherited from Loki's memory ... ahem, I suspect that I no longer have a sense of disgust. True, I somehow, again on reflection, managed to remain completely clean and still the same elegant, uh-huh, despite the butcher's work and the bloody knife I just can't ... but, no, he had already absorbed Sabretooth's blood.

"Oh…" Logan moaned a minute later as I tore my hand off his head. Nothing wrong, just a little magical stimulation to bring him back to his senses.

" You have a strong skull, but the habit of holding the blow of a log is lacking" I sympathized with him.

"Where is this creature? " Crouching on the broken bumper, asked Wolverine, looking around the picture.

In response, I silently raised my second hand, in which I was holding the severed head by the hair, and nodded at the body to the side, which my copy was looking after. The visible regeneration of the mutilated organism has stopped, but I have not yet had time to diagnose it, and even without the Crucible of Souls it is difficult, and this ultra-sophisticated techno-magical operating table remained in Asgard.

Seeing my handiwork, Logan made a sort of twitching cheek on his face, but then he silently nodded, although he began to squint a little.

" What? He was a regenerator, "I shrugged. " But everyone knows: if you want to finish off an immortal tenacious creature - chop off its head" I look at the body. "Besides, he looks too much like the Vikings, and I really don't like the Vikings."

" Loki …" mutant winced "just ... shut up. And throw this head off somewhere! Rogue, are you okay?"

"Bue-uh-uh ... " answered the curb on the other side of the car. Well, as soon as I shared my food with someone for free, they immediately translated it so ugly. I am sad. And ... this is probably also a sign of a not entirely healthy psyche, but ... I am still in sadness. I wanted to eat these sandwiches myself.

" Eh, no one tse me …" here on the road appeared two more subjects, noticed by the phantom " ... nit. Oh, two more?" I add illusions and my own angle of view to the eyes. " It seems that he was not alone here sitting in ambush …" I warmly smiled at the new guests.

" Every minute this day is getting worse ... " stated Wolverine, standing next to me and releasing his claws.

" Wait" one of the intruders raised his hand, or rather, raised it.

Hmm, perhaps it is worth describing the appearance of the visitors in a little more detail. There were two of them: a man and a woman. The man was nothing of himself - an average physique, brown hair, a harsh face, but to the brutality of Logan, he still had to plow and plow, in front of his eyes a heaped visor with a red filter. As I remember from the movie, he has to reach out with his hands every time to adjust the bandwidth. For me - a so-so decision, but to add a "window regulator button" somewhere on the arm in order to spend less time in battle, without hinting to the enemy from the hand raised to his head that now there will be bo-bo, he, apparently, is not a religion allowed.

In short, the real Cyclops looked exactly like a cinematic, even a stylish black suit was present, although he clearly lacked body armor to become a full-fledged combat gear, because now it was just a faux leather suit with a hint of futurism, and that's it. His companion was the same, although she herself was much more interesting. It looks like twenty-five years, maximum thirty. White hair, shimmering silver, skin of a dark chocolate shade, a beautiful figure and a beautiful face with regular features and no visible defects, really like Halle Berry in her best years. Damn it, she looked like a goddess by an order of magnitude more than half of the women in Asgard! If sclerosis serves me correctly, in one of the versions of the comic book universe, Dracula himself was struck by her beauty and for ten years tried to achieve by various methods, including offering immortality, throwing countless riches at her feet, thrones of a couple of states, songs under the windows, exploits in her honor and something like a half dozen kidnapping attempts when all of the above did not work. And I understood the man, damn it, this is really the first truly beautiful woman that I see in this world! And Loki's memory, by the way, can't help me in any way, but rather the opposite — it aggravates the picture. And Thunderstorm, after all, this beautiful person cannot be anyone else, continued:

" We are not your enemies. Moreover, we have come to help."

"It sounds somehow unconvincing" Logan raised an eyebrow skeptically "either on this road and in a week no one will pass, then a whole crowd, and even one after another."

" I must admit, my friend says sensible things." Having got rid of Sabretooth's head, I hinted at playing with a dagger in my free hand, at the same time imposing a couple of imperceptible illusions on top of us. " As one not too honest senator used to say: What is your evidence?"

"We're not attacking you," Cyclops stepped forward.

"You are very far-sighted," I nodded with a smile, once again spinning the dagger in my fingers. " Your friend was not so prudent."

"This is not our friend," Storm spoke up again, raising her left hand, as if stopping her comrade. " The mutant who attacked you is called Sabretooth, he works for the leader of a secret radical group of mutants. We are of a different view and were directed by Professor Charles Xavier to thwart this attack. For many years he has been helping mutants from all over the world, teaching children to control their abilities and hide from ordinary people. We do not wish you any harm, but just want to help."

"We've already helped," Logan chuckled skeptically. " My car has never been so protected from attacks" taking into account the fact that we were standing against the background of the hood torn apart into a mess and the front glass knocked out by the body, the thesis, as in my humble opinion, turned out to be especially good.

The X-Men looked at each other with a bit of embarrassment, playing a strange pantomime of glances, from which I personally concluded that Cyclops was being accused of something. At least the expression on Storm's face, in the mildest version of the translation, read like: "Satisfied?"

"I'm off course, okay?"Shaking his head in a gesture "that's it, I give up, leave me alone!", Said the guy. "Never flew over the forests of Canada. And do you even know how difficult it is to find a place to land an airplane here ?!"

" You ... " Logan shook his head, closing his eyes, " I was directly moved, " he again looked at Cyclops, and there was so much bile in this look that the unlucky pilot was naturally distorted, as if he had eaten a lemon.

"Okay, you convinced me," I took pity on the people, hiding the dagger in my sleeve.

" Are you serious? " Wolverine looked skeptically at me.

"Look at their clothes," I accompanied the council with a nod. "Their boss would never let his man walk in skins.

Logan glanced up at the stylish black suits of the Xmen, transferred it to the corpse of Sabretooth, returned it back, sighed heavily and pulled in his claws with a rustle.

"Yeah, this is too stupid to be planned," the man's hand reached into the pockets of his jacket, in clear intent to remove the cigar.

"Are you alone?" Taking a breath of relief, a blond mulatto woman headed towards us.

"There is also a girl, but she is now powdering her nose, " I smiled. " Hey, Rogue, are you alive there? " Raising my voice a little, I ask the girl who has shrunk on the other side of the car.

"Yes! Everything is fine with me!" answered the lover of extreme tourism, rising from all fours. She looked pale, but generally tolerable.

" Excellent, " I turn to the Xmen who have already approached me. "So, since the formalities are over, let's move on to more important things!"

"We…" Cyclops began, but I shut him up with a sharp gesture of my right hand. In the sense that he shook his index finger under a negative chuckle and all that.

" Oh, the most beautiful goddess, " quickly, decisively, but gently and carefully I take the pen of the Thunderstorm, " you must tell me your name as soon as possible so that I will imprint it in my heart!"

" Uh ... uh ... huh? The confused girl blinked helplessly."

"Loki, the God of Magic, at your service." My smile widened. " Now, please, quench the thirst of my soul - tell me your name."

" Ororo Monroe ... Storm," shaking herself, the woman tried to gather her thoughts into a bunch.

"A beautiful name," I assured, trying to give the voice velvety intonations, looking the lady in love with the eyes.

" Hey!" Cyclops called out to me. " What's going on now?"

"Acquaintance, " without breaking eye contact, I let go of the woman's handle and stepped back. And only after that I turn my face to Cyclops. "But if you prefer something rougher, you can start building a fire."

"What kind of nfire?"

"For this non-Viking, " I moved my hand towards the corpse. "He is a regenerator, and you never know how his genome is twisted? You don't want a new head to grow from his body in a week in the local ecologically clean climate, or a body to his head, after which an evil and aggressive mutant went to take out a grudge against the nearest human settlement?"

"We'll take him with us," Ororo said without raising her voice and very softly, but adamantly.

"As you know," I lost my visible interest in the matter, with a careless gesture dispelling the illusion that I was watching Sabretooth's body. Then he headed towards Rogue, who was lost in the car on the other side of the fallen tree.

"Who is it? " came to me a very quiet whisper of the Cyclops.

"Some nutcase," Logan said in the same tone. " He asked me to give him a lift to the nearest town."

Further communication lost its zest of novelty, and gentlemen mutants started discussing all sorts of boring, but necessary details. Logan's car made a long life, and the Xmen received clear instructions to deliver the man Sabretooth was hunting to Xavier. True, there were already three suspects, in the sense of candidates for true victims, but this meant only one thing - all the conversations very quickly boiled down to attempts to convince Wolverine to go somewhere with two murky personalities, leaving all his property, affairs and measured existence ... Moreover, the man, in my opinion, was not that much against it, but he simply could not force himself to agree to such nonsense without really weighty arguments from Cyclops and Storm. Unfortunately for the latter, they were a bit tough with such arguments, since even the theme "we can protect you" at the regenerator with an adamantium skeleton met only sour skepticism. Rogue helped to get things off the ground by agreeing to fly almost instantly, which allowed Storm, at the next round of the controversy, to use the killer argument that if he does not trust them, then it's not better to personally make sure that the girl will be safe than to rely on words ? Logan also gave a bit of a kick to this, trying to convince himself first of all that he should care about the fate of the left girl, whom he had known for less than an hour, but ... he could not and, creaking his heart, was forced to agree.

I did not take part in this concert, preferring to silently admire Storm's face and secretly send a couple of phantoms in search of the place where our new friends parked the plane. As a result, he found a place, and Ororo embarrassed him by the uncomfortable twitching of his shoulders, and even had a little time to study the design of the aircraft. In my past life, I was quite far from aviation and mechanical engineering in general, so I got quite interesting sensations. Asgardian technologies Loki, as the God of Magic, knew "yat", as well as the technologies of a number of neighbors in the Nine Worlds, with whom the Asgardians regularly interacted, but earthly ones were for him ... not so much a dark forest, but probably something like that an advanced IT specialist of the twenty-first century feels himself, having got his hands on an early mechanical calculator. Plus, all Asgard's technologies were still techno-magical, and on earth, technology developed separately from magic, which also brought its own note to the sensations.

However, they didn't let me satisfy my curiosity for too long and politely offered to help with carrying ... corpses. Rather, one particular corpse.

" Do you want me to trust you and allow me to be taken away from somewhere unknown, for unknown purposes, and even brought to your plane the dirty bloody corpse of a two-meter savage, which only you yourself need? " I raise an eyebrow skeptically, forcing Cyclops and Storm to wrinkle again in confusion. -"I'm starting to like you more and more! " I abruptly switch to a positive tone, releasing a reflex grin on my face. " Look, baby, " conspiratorially I shoot my eyes at Rogue, "black tones in clothes, an ominous red visor, transportation of dead bodies across the border - we are definitely being recruited by the Bad Guys!"

" We're not bad guys! " Storm was offended.

" As you say, " I chuckle in response, already approaching Sabretooth. " We are simply illegally transporting a decapitated corpse across the state border on an illegal private plane, " I easily lift the body by the scruff with my head. " I love America!"

"I already want to finish him off," Cyclops said in a half-whisper.

"Get in line," Wolverine muttered, straightening his belongings over his shoulder and lighting a new cigar.

"Come on," Storm commanded shortly, catching Rogue's bewildered gaze and immediately stepping in the right direction.