Johnny swallowed nervously, his eyes fixed on Laura as he waited for her reaction.
Under his tense gaze, Laura simply turned to Axel and gave a brief nod.
"Laura."
"Alright, Laura, I'm Axel. Nice to meet you."
Axel smiled and extended his hand toward her.
The moment his hand approached, Laura's expression hardened. Instinctively, her claws shot out, one piercing straight through his palm.
Axel did not flinch.
Instead, he grinned and gently held her adamantium claws, shaking them as if it were a normal handshake.
"Well, this is new. A bit cold, a bit sharp, but memorable."
Laura stared at him, clearly caught off guard.
Before she could react further, Axel leaned in and lightly tapped her claws against his lips, then let go and wiped his mouth casually.
"You should clean up a bit. There's dust and blood all over your hands."
"Shut up," Laura replied flatly, pulling her claws back and resting her hands on her lap.
After a brief pause, she spoke again.
"I saw what happened earlier. Your encounter with that convoy… and how Toad died. Even from far away, I could see it. His body flew past my position before crashing."
She paused slightly.
"Alioth showed up after that. You were lucky to survive. Was it because of you, Axel?"
Axel did not answer directly. Instead, he casually bumped Logan's chest with the back of his hand.
"Logan, you should learn from her. Calm, composed, speaks clearly."
"Calm?" Wade cut in, his head freshly regenerated. "I disagree."
Laura ignored him and briefly rubbed her face, regaining her composure.
Axel chuckled, then looked back at Logan.
"So, Logan, when are we settling that bet? I am a man of my word. I can start calling you father-in-law anytime."
Logan frowned immediately. "We never made that kind of bet."
Axel shrugged. "You said we would play cards at the base. If I lost, I would accept whatever came with it. I do not go back on my word."
Logan clenched his fist and struck the seat lightly, clearly annoyed.
After a moment, he glanced at Laura beside him and sighed.
"Don't mind him. He talks too much. But listen, I'm not the Logan you knew."
"I know," Laura said quietly.
She turned her gaze out the window.
"My father is gone. But… you feel the same. The same pain."
Logan fell silent.
Laura continued, her voice steady.
"No matter how much you have lost, there are still people who care about you."
Logan looked down, processing her words.
"…After I died," he said slowly, "what happened to you?"
"I managed," Laura replied. "We buried you. Built a grave. Marked it properly."
Before she could continue, Wade interrupted again.
"Oh, it was a great grave. Really well done. Solid work, honestly."
Laura's eyes snapped back to him.
"How do you know that?"
Before Wade could answer, Laura lunged forward, both claws driving into his chest.
Wade froze for a second, then muttered, "Yeah… I might have said too much."
He quickly turned toward Axel. "Help me out here."
"Handle your own problems," Axel replied calmly.
Laura's claws moved again, slashing upward and tearing through Wade's torso. Blood splattered across the car interior.
The dog in Wade's arms licked at the air, then recoiled in disgust.
Laura crushed Wade's head with a final motion, then returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.
Axel watched, unimpressed.
"You know, I do not have X-ray vision. So whatever nonsense he was about to say, I had nothing to do with it."
Laura shot him a sharp look, her patience clearly thinning.
Without warning, she lashed out with a kick, her claws extending from her foot.
The attack struck the passenger seat, slicing it cleanly in half, but stopped the moment it reached Axel's side.
A metallic sound rang out.
Laura's strike could not go any further.
She withdrew her leg silently and sat back down, her posture stiff.
From beside her, Wade's body began regenerating again. He glanced at Axel with clear envy.
"So that's what it's like. People attack you, and it does nothing."
"Because I do not invite it," Axel replied.
"Yeah, well, I talk just as much as you," Wade muttered. "Yet I get this treatment."
Before he could say more, Laura slashed at him again, tearing his mouth apart.
Wade sighed, picked up his severed tongue, and forced it back into place.
"I really need to reconsider my life choices."
At that point, Logan finally stepped in.
With a sharp motion, his claws drove into Wade repeatedly, silencing him for good.
The back seat turned into complete chaos, with Logan and Laura attacking in tandem while Wade struggled to keep up.
By the time the car reached Johnny's base, the interior was soaked in blood.
The vehicle came to a stop.
Three figures stepped out to greet them.
As Laura opened the back door, a wave of blood and gore spilled out onto the ground.
"Damn!" one of them shouted.
Among them, Blade reacted instantly. He drew a silver blade from his back, eyes sharp with excitement.
"That much blood? You run into vampires?"
He stepped forward, ready for a fight.
"Finally, something worth cutting. Come on, show yourselves."