With a mighty crash, Spider-Man delivered a beautiful spinning kick, sending a charred, armless Deadpool flying out of the casino.
Deadpool's body, like a ragdoll, shattered a stained-glass window, arcing through the night sky before slamming into a neon sign across the street with a screech of twisting metal.
The balance of power had shifted on both sides. Cyclops's red optic blasts carved scorching trails through the air, helping Beast suppress the rampaging Red Omega. Meanwhile, Wolverine, Logan, faced the combined assault of Daken and Sabretooth alone, not to mention Peter and Cindy, who were now free.
The battle between Red Omega and Beast was particularly intense. Although Beast possessed superhuman strength, years spent in scientific research had made his combat skills rusty.
His thick blue fur was drenched in sweat, and his muscles trembled slightly from exertion.
Red Omega, on the other hand, an old adversary who had fought Wolverine to a standstill, delivered every heavy punch with lethal precision.
Even more terrifying was the constant emission of his death pheromones, which, like a toxic mist, eroded Beast's stamina, turning his proud strength and endurance into disadvantages.
Beast's recent pounce had successfully pinned Red Omega, but now he was being countered. Red Omega's iron fists rained down, each blow leaving a bruise on Beast's solid muscles.
Cyclops had to reorient himself, his quartz visor flashing with dangerous red light, ready to assist his old comrade. Yet, the two were too close together, making it difficult to find a clear shot.
"Watch out!"
Following the warning, Spider-Man descended in a perfect arc from the sky. He mimicked the Hulk's iconic thunderclap, concentrating all his power into his fists and smashing them onto Red Omega's spine. The blow shook the entire casino floor, and Red Omega let out a non-human shriek.
The death pheromones took effect almost instantly. Peter felt his strength diminishing—almost precisely to the point where he could regain control.
"Perfect."
He clenched his fists and simultaneously vanished, yelling to Cindy, "Webs? Go help Wolverine! As for me... I'm feeling great!"
The downed Red Omega rose, intending to retaliate, but the invisible Spider-Man punched him away. The latter landed heavily on the ground, and the Adamantium tentacles extending from his wrists began to sweep everything around him, attempting to force the invisible Spider-Man into the open.
But Peter didn't need to use invisibility to approach and then defeat his opponent; he had a simpler method.
"Metal tentacles? I love them, Red Omega." Peter, still grasping one of Omega's tentacles, materialized, bright white lightning dancing from his palm. "Let's see how well Adamantium conducts electricity!"
A massive bio-electrical current, channeled through Red Omega's Adamantium tentacles, spread throughout his body. Red Omega constantly wailed until he went completely silent, collapsing weakly to the ground, where Peter then bound him with powerful webs.
Peter looked at the guy, feeling a slight pang of nostalgia. If he could carry Red Omega or his death pheromones around with him, it would certainly help him get through the days before his own genetic integration.
And dealing with these immortal types had a real benefit: you didn't have to worry about killing them. How nice.
Meanwhile, Cindy, sensing Peter's condition had temporarily stabilized, webbed Daken's back. Before the Wolverine-like mutant could sever the webs with his claws, she flung him into the air. Cyclops fired at full power, blasting Daken away. They had just blown another large hole in the casino roof.
Finally, only Sabretooth remained.
"You think bringing a few helpers can change your fate?!"
Sabretooth snarled, tearing a piece of flesh from Wolverine's face with his claws. Wolverine, gritting his teeth, plunged his Adamantium claws into Sabretooth's heart, lifting him clear off the ground.
Logan looked at Sabretooth held high by his claws, a cold, mocking smirk on his face.
"No, even if they hadn't come, you were destined to be unlucky."
With that, he slammed Sabretooth violently to the ground, then relentlessly stabbed him again and again and again. Each puncture was accompanied by the crunch of shattering bones and the dull rip of tearing muscle, until Sabretooth's chest became a bloody, pulpy mess, utterly lifeless.
Though everyone knew this immortal monster would begin to regenerate in a few minutes, at least for this moment, they had defeated him.
"Deadpool and that newcomer ran off, or rather, we kicked them out. Sabretooth and Red Omega are captured." Cyclops walked over to Logan, whose clothes were shredded by his own optic blasts. "Looks like you weren't tracking Weapon X; Weapon X was tracking you."
"Say what you want, One-Eye. Get those kids to tie these two up. I don't have anywhere to keep them."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. can handle detention."
Cindy, who hadn't spoken a word the entire time, finally offered a solution. Both Cyclops and Beast looked at her in surprise, having assumed the girl was a mute.
Logan glanced at Cindy, merely nodding.
"Then you make the call to S.H.I.E.L.D., little girl. You all wait for me. I'm going to change, then we can find somewhere to talk."
A few minutes later, Logan, having changed into a loose short-sleeved shirt, met with the others in a VIP suite. He stated the purpose of Cyclops's and their visit: "The gene-splicer is in Ajax's hands."
"And who is this Ajax?"
"A mad scientist under Stryker. He took over the Weapon X project after Stryker died."
Logan extended his middle Adamantium claw, sliced open the cellophane on his cigar, and lit it. "After the battle at the dam, we handed Stryker's materials over to the U.S. President, the former President. He terminated the Weapon X project, but some of the guys involved chose to escape and continue the plan. I've been tracking them for years and found their trail in Madripoor these past two years."
"Ajax got his hands on the gene-splicer and wants to use it with the existing mutant genes from Weapon X to create artificial mutant weapons. That's pretty much it."
Logan exhaled a smoke ring, speaking calmly, but Cyclops became agitated.
"This is it..."
Beast, Wolverine, Peter, and Cindy all looked at the inexplicably excited Cyclops.
"This is it! The X-Men still have a reason to fight!" Cyclops was unusually animated. He looked at Logan, "Logan, we can rebuild the X-Men! This world still needs the X-Men!"
Logan stared at Cyclops for a moment, then sneered.
"It's over, Scott. There are no more X-Men. The X-Men have been gone for six years, and the world hasn't ended, has it?"
"Once you get the gene-splicer, just go back."
"You were the first one to leave! If you hadn't left, maybe others wouldn't have either!"
Peter and the others watched as Cyclops chased him out of the suite, yelling at Logan, "Don't forget the Professor took you in! Why aren't you willing to fight for his legacy!"
He received no response.
"Well... kids, perhaps these things are a bit too complicated for you," Beast said to Peter and Cindy with a sigh. "They've always been like this. Give them some time; everything will be alright."