10 Minutes Ago — Mutant Facility Island
Seeing Aeon, Rogue, and the other girl disappear through the closing portal, a low, amused chuckle escaped Magneto.
"Hm… well," he said calmly, floating higher as he looked down at the now scattered and distracted group. "Now that the hindrance has removed itself…"
A satisfied grin slowly spread across his face.
"…perhaps we should continue where we left off."
His cold eyes swept over them from behind his metallic helmet.
"Go, my Brotherhood," Magneto commanded, extending an arm toward the X-Men. "Teach them that standing against our cause has deadly consequences."
"Gladly! Hehehe!"
Pyro was the first to jump at the opportunity.
With a sinister laugh, he thrust both arms forward. The flamethrowers mounted beneath his forearms erupted, unleashing a torrent of fire toward the X-Men.
Only moments earlier, Aeon had been sent flying into the distance by Anna's punch, and the X-Men had instinctively rushed after him. Marie, Jean, Cyclops, and Wolverine had all been among the first to move.
That left only Professor Xavier, Kitty, and Storm facing directly in front of the Brotherhood.
A few steps behind them stood the rescued mutants from the facility.
Most of the X-Men were still distracted by the disappearing portal, their attention divided.
So when Pyro suddenly opened fire, the torrent of flames caught them off guard.
But Storm reacted instantly.
She stepped forward, spreading her arms as the wind answered her call. A powerful gust exploded outward from her position, catching Pyro's flames and tearing them away from the group before sending the fire spiraling harmlessly into the night sky.
"Whoa! Did you just fucking blow away my fire?" Pyro asked in genuine shock.
"With the winds on my side, don't even think about hurting my friends," Storm replied, taking another step forward and positioning herself between Pyro and the others.
"Hahahaha!" Pyro barked out a laugh, pushing his spiky blond hair back from his face. "Did you think this was some birthday candle that'd just go poof with a little wind?"
His grin widened.
"Of course not, bitch. Let me show you just how powerful my fire really is!"
His eyes went wide with manic excitement as he pulled the trigger on his flamethrowers again.
This time, however, the flames behaved differently.
Rather than spreading outward in a wide torrent, the fire twisted and coiled through the air, gathering into the shape of a massive, serpentine stream of flame. It surged toward Storm like a fiery snake, its blazing jaws opening as it raced across the battlefield.
Storm's expression hardened.
If Pyro wanted to turn this into a contest of elemental power, she would not be backing down.
She rose into the air, her body lifting several feet above the ground as powerful winds began swirling around her. Her eyes slowly turned completely white as she reached deeper into her connection with the atmosphere.
Above them, the previously clear night sky began to change.
Dark clouds gathered overhead.
Thunder rumbled in the distance.
And while Storm faced Pyro, another member of the Brotherhood had already taken advantage of Magneto's command.
Sabretooth.
The feral woman lowered herself and exploded forward, charging straight toward Wolverine.
Logan snapped her attention back to the battlefield just in time to see the blonde woman barreling toward her.
Her instincts immediately took over.
Snikt!
Three claws extended from each of Logan's hands as she lowered herself into a fighting stance.
She recognized that wild look in the woman's eyes.
It was the same look she'd seen the last time they'd crossed paths.
Pure animal instinct.
"Come on, then," Logan growled, her eyes narrowing as Sabretooth closed the distance. "Let's see what you've got, bub."
Sabretooth's lips peeled back into a savage grin.
The two women collided.
Meanwhile, Cyclops finally looked back toward the battlefield and saw Pyro and Sabretooth already engaged.
"The Professor and the others are in danger. We need to get back, quickly," Scottie said, turning toward the fight.
Jean hesitated.
Her eyes remained fixed on the spot where Aeon's portal had disappeared.
"…But Aeon," she muttered, worry evident in her voice.
"Aeon has a plan," D.A.I.S.Y.'s voice suddenly rang out from the Focus device. "Please prioritize your safety."
In truth, Luke hadn't even had a second to communicate with D.A.I.S.Y. before Anna had chased after him through the portal. But D.A.I.S.Y. had made her own judgment and decided that the X-Men's immediate situation required her attention.
So she had already begun feeding them information.
"Storm," D.A.I.S.Y. continued, "Pyro's mutant ability appears to be the manipulation and control of existing fire rather than the generation of flames."
Luke's threat assessment list contained detailed speculations regarding many of the Brotherhood's abilities. Pyro's current display confirmed the majority of those theories, so she judged that it was necessary to convey this information to the relevant parties.
"Then I'll keep that in mind," Storm replied calmly, facing another stream of twisted fire.
"Let's trust him," Scottie said, making the final decision after hearing D.A.I.S.Y.'s words.
Jean clenched her fists.
She clearly didn't like it, but she knew Scottie was right.
They couldn't leave the others to fight alone.
With one last worried glance toward the vanished portal, Jean nodded and ran back toward the group alongside Scottie.
Before them, a feral blonde woman with a heavily muscled physique was already tearing into Wolverine's arm.
"Argh! Leave this female gorilla to me!" Logan snarled through gritted teeth. "You two get back there, quick!"
She twisted her arm free and immediately plunged her claws straight into Sabretooth's chest.
But Sabretooth barely gave her the satisfaction.
The feral woman twisted her body with surprising agility, narrowly dodging the worst of the attack before driving a powerful kick into Wolverine's stomach and sending her stumbling backward.
"Hehe… don't worry, sister," Sabretooth said, licking the blood on her hand with a grin. "My target has always been just you."
Logan's eyes narrowed.
"I told you that I don't have a crazy sister like you, bub."
Sabretooth only laughed.
Jean and Scottie were both worried by the brutal exchange, but there was something else that immediately demanded their attention.
A massive man was charging straight toward Professor Xavier.
"Professor!"
Scottie immediately turned, her hand moving toward the controls on her visor.
She was about to unleash an optic blast at the enormous figure when—
"Eh? You two girls run so slow."
The Eastern European-accented voice came from beside them.
Scottie barely had time to turn.
A silver blur flashed past.
CRACK!
A fist slammed directly into her face.
The force sent Scottie staggering sideways.
Jean's eyes widened in shock.
"What—?!"
A silver-haired young man stood where Scottie had been only a moment earlier, wearing a smug grin.
Pietro Maximoff casually rolled his shoulders.
"The name is Quicksilver," he announced, his thick Sokovian accent noticeable in every word. "Because I am quick… and I have silver hair. Get it?"
He gave them a playful wink.
Then he vanished.
"Now, my lovely—and not at all violent—sister, she has taught me to fight fair, even against girls," Pietro's voice suddenly came from behind Scottie. "So I do not mind punching your pretty face."
CRACK!
Another punch slammed into Scottie's cheek before she could react.
A thin trace of blood ran from the corner of Cyclops' lips.
Her expression immediately hardened into a stoic glare.
"He's moving incredibly fast," Jean muttered, pressing two fingers against her temple as she tried to track him with her mind. "I can't even get a proper lock on him."
She sounded genuinely worried.
Further ahead, the fat man whose enormous, flabby body was barely contained by his overstretched shirt had completely ignored the battle between Storm and Pyro.
Instead, he charged straight toward Professor Xavier and the group of rescued mutants behind him.
"Hahahaha! Blob is gonna crush you all into meat paste!"
Every heavy step sent a tremor through the ground as he charged.
The rescued mutants immediately recoiled.
"You all run," Dinah ordered, stepping forward protectively. "I'll stop him."
"The hell you are!" Tabitha snapped, stepping up beside her. "I'm not gonna stand here and watch you have all the fun."
She gave a nervous chuckle, trying to hide the fear creeping into her voice.
"This is no time for your stupid jokes, Taby!" Dinah shot back angrily. "I'm telling you to run!"
"No, Dinah. It is time for us men to step up and protect you girls," Piotr said, stepping forward with his imposing height.
"Yes, he's not wrong," Sam agreed, moving forward alongside him. "Ain't about to let that big fella get anywhere near y'all."
"Just imagine I said something cool too," Bobby added as he followed them.
Roberto wanted to go with them, but as he looked at the enormous man charging toward them, his legs began to wobble.
'Maybe standing behind others isn't such a bad idea.'
"Who the hell needs your male chauvinism?" Tabitha yelled, clearly offended. "I can protect myself, so there's no need for you guys to butt in!"
She rushed forward alongside them.
"Shit… looks like it's time to play co-op," Jubilee muttered under her breath before running after her. Katrin too silently accompanied her.
"You guys are crazy," Dinah grumbled, rubbing her forehead in frustration before following the others into the fight.
Rahne, meanwhile, had already half-knelt on the ground, clasping her hands together as she repeatedly whispered her prayers.
"Please, Lord… keep us safe. Please, Lord, watch over us…"
Roberto remained frozen where he stood, still far too frightened to take a step forward.
Ahead of them, Kitty had already grabbed the handles of Professor Xavier's wheelchair, ready to phase both herself and the chair through the fat man.
Even Xavier was preparing himself, his expression becoming focused as he reached out with his telepathy.
But before either of them could act, someone stepped forward from behind them.
Piotr's clothes began to stretch as his skin slowly changed color.
Metal spread across his body.
His arms, chest, face, and legs transformed until the young Russian stood before them as a towering man of living steel.
He clenched his fists and stepped directly into Blob's path.
"Come!" Piotr shouted. "Face me as man to man!"
Blob didn't slow down.
"Huh?"
Piotr planted his feet firmly and thrust one hand forward, preparing to stop the charging behemoth.
The two collided.
BOOM!
But instead of bringing Blob to a halt, Piotr's hand sank directly into the man's enormous body.
His eyes widened.
"What the—?"
His entire arm disappeared into Blob's flabby mass as though he had plunged it into some enormous cushion.
"Wait…"
Piotr's eyes widened even further as Blob's momentum began dragging him forward.
It wasn't just his arm anymore.
His entire steel body started being pulled into Blob's massive form.
"Fucking fuck," Sam muttered, his eyes going wide as he and Bobby finally came to a stop, staring at the bizarre sight.
"Hey, you fatso! Leave my friend alone!" Tabby yelled.
Bright yellow orbs of explosive energy began glowing in her hands.
"I am not fat!" Blob roared.
He suddenly stopped his charge and violently thrust his arms outward.
The next moment, Piotr's steel body was launched backward.
"WHOA—!"
BOOM!
He slammed into Sam and Bobby, knocking both of them off their feet.
"AHH!"
The three went tumbling backward together.
Kitty immediately reacted.
She grabbed the handles of Professor Xavier's wheelchair and phased them both through the three bodies as they were sent flying, allowing the tumbling group to pass harmlessly through them.
"What the hell is he?" Kitty yelped.
"Analyzing," D.A.I.S.Y. responded through her Focus device.
A moment later, the relevant information appeared on Kitty's device.
"His body possesses an abnormal density and mass distribution. His mutation likely grants him extreme physical durability and resistance to kinetic force. Attempts to physically move him are unlikely to succeed."
Kitty immediately understood why the steel man had been bounced back so easily.
Meanwhile, Tabitha, Katrin, and Jubilee exchanged uneasy looks.
They had been ready for a fight.
But they hadn't expected Piotr to be thrown around like he weighed nothing.
Dinah, however, remained quiet.
Her eyes stayed fixed on Blob as she studied him, her expression thoughtful.
There was more to this guy than raw strength.
Blob stomped toward them, his face twisted with anger.
"Little girl," he growled, glaring directly at Tabitha. "Nobody calls me Fatty."
His fists clenched.
"... and gets away with it."
Instead of letting fear overwhelm her, Tabitha's fear quickly gave way to anger.
"Oh, now you've done it!" she yelled.
She raised both hands, the two explosive energy orbs glowing brightly in her palms.
"Time to go Boom Boom, fatty!"
She hurled both spheres straight at Blob.
"Ugh! Get turned into EXP, you monster!" Jubilee shouted as she thrust both hands forward.
A shower of colorful plasma sparks erupted from her fingertips and shot toward Blob.
Both attacks struck him simultaneously.
The spheres exploded, and the colorful sparks detonated right alongside them.
BOOM! BOOM!
Smoke engulfed Blob's upper body.
Tabitha and Jubilee stared through the haze.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then the smoke began to clear.
Blob's face slowly emerged from within it.
He blinked.
"Achoo!"
He casually wiped his nose.
"That tickled."
A wide grin spread across his face as his eyes narrowed angrily at the girls.
"Hehehe… now you're really gonna get it."
Across the battlefield, the remaining members of the Brotherhood had watched the fight long enough. Their boredom was quickly turning into impatience as they began moving toward the battlefield themselves.
Meanwhile, Magneto simply watched it all with cold, calculating eyes, not even feeling the need to step in himself.