"Can this thing go any faster?
"This is a house on wheels, not a race car! Let's speed up" – it'll be a little faster.
"They'll catch us!
"Well, set Mary on them!
At that moment, Wolverine jumped onto the back wall and started tearing it apart with her claws. Mary kicked her out along with part of the wall, but that didn't stop the mutant; she rolled over and ran after us again.
"What a piece of junk! Peter, shoot her!
"What? Do you have a gun?
"Straight ahead, the wall opens up," Snezhana commanded, not taking her eyes off the road.
I moved from the cab to the living area and almost fell on the turn, and when the car levelled out, I opened the nearest wall.
"Here's your toy collection!
"The other one on the left, nyan!" The cat was slightly embarrassed.
"No, I understand, lack of male attention and all that, but rubber mice?
"Don't get distracted!" Mary opened the right wall and handed me the rifle. She had already put on her costume, so she couldn't shoot herself. I emptied the entire magazine, but I didn't know if I had hit her even once. Nevertheless, Wolverine began to fall behind, and I calmly went to reload. A slight overload pushed me into the reclining chair, we slowed down before a sharp turn and were now driving along a sheer cliff. The hard-working woman who was chasing us, who was also a superhero, was already preparing to jump on board when I took up a firing position.
Her intentions were clear, I exhaled, pressed the butt firmly against my shoulder and squeezed the trigger, sending bullet after bullet into the body flying towards me. The light, sharp pieces of metal pierced the mutant through and through without causing any visible damage, but even these blows were enough to prevent her from jumping. She hit her head on the rear bumper and sprawled out on the road, unconscious.
"We got her!" I shouted.
Now I had to find out what had happened to Wendy. I touched the pearl, but heard nothing; she didn't respond to my hands or my tongue.
"Snezhana! Show me your tongue!" I got into the cab. The cat was looking very closely at the rock hanging over us, and without saying a word, stuck out her rough tongue. I rubbed the pearl against it and found that Wendy was sleeping sweetly and that she was actually fine, just that one of the telepaths had tried to stop her.
Well, it could have been worse. The car was a little damaged, but that was all. We'll take her and the loot to Magne, they'll fix it there... At that moment, something large and dark jumped down from above, but Snezhana was ready and manoeuvred sharply, losing almost all speed and avoiding the collision.
"I remember there were two of them!
We ran away again, and the blue gorilla-like librarian from the "school for gifted children" was catching up, and catching up fast. I reloaded my rifle and started shooting again. It's much easier to hit such a large target, but my shots hurt her less than mosquito bites because she didn't even scratch herself.
"I can do it!" Mary prepared to jump out to intercept her.
"No! What if someone else is chasing us? We can't stop!
"I'll catch up with you.
"You can't run that fast for long.
"I...
"Get behind the wheel!" Snezhana interrupted her.
"Go on, I don't know how," I encouraged the supergirl. It wasn't that I didn't know how to drive, I just needed to get Mary away from the possibility of doing something stupid.
"Get out of here!" the cat pushed me away from the weapon rack.
Folding everything she had been folding, Snezhana pulled down the bottom panel, revealing a biometric lock. The cat looked at her hand, which was slowly turning into a paw, pulled out her claws, retracted them, and opened the secret compartment of the gun cabinet. The drawer slid out to the full length of the living space, at least three metres. Snezhana's feet were also covered with fur, and her claws pierced her trainers as she pulled a long barrel, taller than her, out of the drawer.
"A Vladimirov machine gun, from Russia with love, nyah!
"A machine gun?
Instead of answering, she spread her legs wider, dug her claws into the floor and took careful aim. The roar of the world's most powerful machine gun was so loud that I was slightly deafened. Two short bursts, and the gorilla rolled backwards, spraying blood and flesh in all directions.
The weapon slipped out of the cat-girl's completely transformed paws, which were pushed back half a metre by the recoil. She jumped away from the hot metal and carefully removed the mouse from the hook next to me, which she began to toss and catch with her two paws.
"I don't understand why everyone finds it so difficult to fight superheroes. I was the only one who thought to stock up on bigger guns, nah!
"You're a real hunter, Snezhana.
"Don't embarrass me! I'm trying to calm down, no!
In order to become stronger, she has to transform her body, which means controlling her sexual arousal. I listened to her emotions and realised that she was ready to rape me at any moment, or simply turn into a big, fluffy, soft and tame cat. I belatedly remembered that the bluish-grey fur gradually receding from Snezhana's hands was characteristic of the Russian Blue breed, just as the professor had said.
"AAAA!" Mary screamed from the cabin.
"What's going on?" We rushed to the narrow passageway at the same time.
"Someone's shooting at us!
Something hissed behind us. Looking back, I saw a hole in the roof and a red dot hovering above us. Another beam cut through the darkness and hit right between me and Snezhana.
"The brakes have failed!
"What brakes, for fuck's sake, floor it!
"There's a turn...
"Hold on tight!" the Huntress managed to shout, and we crashed into the guardrail, broke through it and rolled down the side of the road. A heavy machine gun lying on the floor hit me in the face and flew through the windscreen. Small items fell first onto the ceiling, then onto the floor, and finally the car came to a halt.
"Okay, I take back what I said. When you really drop everything, this is what it looks like!" I said to Mary.
"Abandon the vehicle! Spread out!" The cat's experience triggered flashbacks of Berlin.
"We can't just leave everything and run away!
A red beam slid across the car again, and it burst into flames.
"Mary, grab the safe and the pearl, stay close to the car. Snezhana, find out who's attacking us. I'll try to hide. No one expects a man to fight, right?
In the light from the burning house on wheels, I noticed something shiny on the ground. It turned out to be a chrome-plated "desert eagle," also known as a "low-flying hippopotamus gun." Yes, just the right size for our current enemies. It's a shame the machine gun was destroyed.
"They have a plane and four fighters, contact in a minute," Snezhana reported.
"A laser on the plane?
"It's a mutant nicknamed Cyclops, moving at a distance from the main group.
"Hold out here as long as you can, don't let them get back to the plane. Surrender is acceptable.
"Roger.
I rushed towards the forest to get around the plane from the side where they weren't expecting me. The iron bird landed on the road, its engines lowered. My girls positioned themselves so that the circle of light from the fire illuminated the approaching superheroes. Two of them sparkled like Christmas trees: an iron-skinned giant and an elegant ice maiden, followed by two figures in dark uniforms. The cyclops fired a laser, but missed, then the others rushed forward, while she stopped and stared intently into the darkness. Snezhana jumped on her from the side, knocked her to the ground and cut her legs, then pressed her face firmly into the ground. A blue flash hit the cat girl and threw her away from her prey, but did not cause serious damage. Snezhana jumped up and hid again. The melee fighters who had run ahead returned, apparently Mary had also given them a good fight. Slowly, maintaining their formation, the superheroes began to advance, which meant it was time for me to eliminate the threat of the plane and join the battle.
Those idiots forgot to close the landing hatch! I climbed into it and walked across the endless wheat field. What the hell is this field? As I thought about it, I saw Gene a few steps away, pushing a stretcher with the professor. Sure enough, he was another fucking telepath. I took a step, and it was very difficult; my body refused to obey me. But in the wheat field, I felt so light, as if I could run a kilometre without getting out of breath. I made an effort and took another step in reality. The telepath's fear gave me strength, so I was able to swing my arm and strike somewhere in Gene's direction. The fog cleared, and I was able to aim properly. My blow sent the telepath flying across the room.
I was scared. I didn't want to kill anyone; I had enough enemies as it was. I hoped these superheroes would be smart enough to pick up the wounded on the road; after being hit by a machine gun, the gorilla didn't look very alive. But that's a minor detail if they're missing a telepath, and besides, the X-Men might decide to take revenge on me at any cost. I took the first aid kit from the box marked with a red cross and went to the stunned body. This freak turned out to be tougher than he looked and tried to take me back to the world of illusions again, but all I had to do was blink and it was over.
"No tricks, Jin. Call off your fighters or I'll blow your brains out," the chrome pistol was pointing straight at his face.
"I can't! It hurts!"
"Pathetic creature." I picked up the telepath and dragged him to the hatch, threw the trembling wretch out of the plane and fired. Into the air.
"I have a hostage, your telepath!" I yelled, trying to shout over the noise of the departing aircraft.
Nothing happened for about a minute, and then I noticed an icy statue running towards the plane. I repeated the shot and the message, she turned around and disappeared into the darkness again. Five minutes later, I heard a rattling metallic voice.
"You're surrounded. Let Jin go, and we'll let you leave.
"No, that won't work.
Nothing happened for a while, and then Snezhana appeared in the glow of the fire, carrying the wounded Mary Jane. The Huntress herself was limping, and her body was almost completely covered in fur. They held out until the end, just as I had asked!
Snezhana threw her burden into the plane and climbed in after her. I kept the gun pointed at the hostage's head, quietly getting used to his abilities. All four X-Men fighters were standing nearby. Cyclops' glasses were broken, which reduced his accuracy to an unacceptable level. The iron-skinned woman was hit several times by Mary's tail, and if she had been made of flesh, she would have died from the poison. The ice girl, still very young, was unharmed, but her strength was waning, and only Gambit wanted to continue the fight, standing closest to me and aiming a loaded shuriken at me. It was easiest to read her thoughts, so I learned her name and nickname, as well as the fact that she was in love with Jin and Cyclops, and that the feeling was mutual, but that the rest of those present were not from their pride.
When my girls stood behind me, catching their breath and ready for battle, I spoke again:
"Don't make me execute the hostage. I really don't want to, because then I'll have to kill all of you.
"I'll tear you to pieces!" Gambit revealed herself with the intensified light of a charged shuriken, and in the next second, playing cards began to fly around her. Mary didn't hesitate to stand between me and the mutant.
"Gambit, no! We mustn't kill anyone!" the icy girl squeaked.
"We have no choice," the mutant replied.
"Are you really willing to risk the lives of your loved ones for..." And then I realised they had no idea what was in the box. "For the Professor's will?"
"The Professor forbids us to kill, Gambit!" the icy girl continued to squeak.
"Where's the metal?" I asked quietly, taking advantage of the confusion in the enemy camp.
"Colossus broke the box, but I took two plates for armour," Mary replied.
"Does anyone know how to fly a plane?"
"No
"I have paws, nyah!" Snow White purred.
"Are you capable of making your own decisions?" I shouted at Gambit and Colossus, who were arguing.
"Here's my proposal: I'll let your lizard go, and Gambit will fly us to the Mutant Enclave. You know that Magna doesn't allow the killing of his own kind... Unlike that cute old lady Charlie Xavier!"
"Get lost..." Gambit was interrupted.
"She agrees," Colossus growled.
"Let her get on the plane.
The cards fell to the ground and the shuriken stopped glowing. A very dissatisfied Gambit walked past me. A beautiful woman, though, so slim and shapely, even if she couldn't match Mary in terms of size.
I threw the telepath to the ground, and he quickly crawled back to his people, while we boarded the plane and took off. Gambit turned out to be a cool girl, simple and easy-going. As soon as her lover was no longer threatened with a gun, she stopped considering us enemies.
"It's normal life, one clan fighting another," she commented.
"I'm sorry about what happened to Jin, but I just couldn't lose this battle.
"Victory always goes to the one who is more determined. I'm not ready to shed blood for the Professor and her ideas, but I try not to remind any of them of that.
"Were you just waiting for permission from the iron lady?
"Yes. I'll still have problems, but it's not a big deal. Ha, they'll probably take away my bonus! If they only knew how much I win from Morbius at blackjack...
"They'd make you share!
"Here comes another clan war, the Enclave against the School. And although they'll never admit it, it all started over money. By the way, what did you steal?
"Mary, did you get the plates?
With a slurping sound, she pulled two shiny silver plates out of herself and handed them to the cockpit, careful not to touch me with her costume.
"Are these from Cerebro? What do you need them for?
"The same reason, to enhance the telepaths' abilities.
"So you're one of them too? Although, that's obvious, otherwise Jin would have beaten you.
"What would you have done if he had died?
"With you?
"No, that's obvious. With the Professor, Magna, Colossus?
"Colossus" would follow you to the grave, and then... It depends on how Summer behaves, she is Cyclops after all.
"You have friends on both sides of the barricade.
"Yes, and that's especially painful. It's much easier to hate your enemy completely.
"And yet, could you go back to a peaceful life?
"No. Without him, there's nothing left.
"I've never understood people who are willing to devote their entire lives to revenge, but...
At that moment, a cloud of sand flew into the cabin, smiled at me, and flew back out.
"What the hell is that?" Gambit asked in surprise.
"That's the 'but'. That happy cloud responds to the name Ghost, and she's the strongest mutant in the world, in my opinion.
"You're in love with a cloud?
"Come on! You're a grown girl, and you're saying things like that!Gambit laughed and suggested emptying the minibar hidden in the cabin as a sign of reconciliation, since the plane had been on autopilot for a long time anyway. After wetting their throats, Gambit suggested playing strip poker, and the girls enthusiastically agreed. Gambit lost all her clothes and took them off so languidly, so rehearsed, that it became clear who was really in control of the game. We all needed to relax after a hard battle, and we had a long way to go. We had fun until morning, when the autopilot signalled that we were about to land. We all got off the plane together, down the gangway, and Wendy was the first to jump out.
What I didn't expect was that Magna would come out to meet us in person so early in the morning. Wendy stood in front of her and froze. Her hair hid her face again, and I heard a storm of conflicting emotions...
"Don't hide," I said.
"Ghost," Magna greeted her niece.
"I am pleased to welcome the Anklav clan, represented by Queen Magna!" Gambit attempted to lighten the mood. Erica waved at her, continuing to stare silently at where Wendy's eyes should have been.
"Why did you leave?" Ghost finally decided to speak.
"I couldn't do anything else.
"Why? I don't believe you!
"Pride" is not easy, my dear Ghost," I decided to intervene.
"Peter...
"Creating a pride is a big step that many take without thinking it through, and then generations suffer. Not everyone is ready to give their life for those they love. Your father wasn't ready to die for Erica, just like she wasn't ready to die for him.
"They all died because of her!
"They died because they were bombed, didn't they?
"She could have deflected the shells! Together we could have taken everyone underground!
"But they made their choice. And only for you is everything not yet decided. You can cling to the past, or open yourself up to the future.
"What does that mean? Empty words, why are you saying them?
"I'm offering you a second chance to get closer to Erika. With your new pride!
"You want...
"I've realised that I'm willing to die for you, and that will never change. You risked your life to save me, and I believe that's forever too. I want you to be my wife!
***
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