Chapter 34: Beasts in the Dark
The chamber reeked of oil and sweat. Fluorescent light flickered overhead like a failing heartbeat, painting the Ani-Men in jagged strokes of shadow and glare.
They didn't wait for Introductions.
The five abominations lunged as one, shrieking with animal fury.
Logan's world tilted sideways for half a second. That shiver crawled up his spine again and then his nose split the world wide open.
He could smell it. Not just musk, not just sweat - feelings.
Cat-Man's smug delight. Bird-Man's Jagged hunger. Ape Man's dull, angry rhythm. Beneath them, the deeper layers: fear like copper, pride sharp as vinegar, madness like burning tar.
A cathedral of stench, every emotion a bell tolling in his skull.
So this is what you are, old man. A hound sniffin' souls. You didn't ask for it but it's yours now. Might as well use it.
He grinned, teeth red in the sick light. "Alright, bub. Let's dance."
Cat-Man and Bird-Man were his.
They hit him together talons gouging, claws raking. Flesh split, hot blood running. He didn't dodge. He let then. Pain dragged him deeper, pulled the trance around him like a cloak.
And then the world slowed.
Twenty meters of perfect sound unfolded in
his skull - every wingbeat, every gasp, the hiss of sweat on Cat-Man's claws. A 360-degree map without a single blind spot. Bullet-time clarity.
Bird-Man swooped right, wings snapping sharp as blades. Cat-Man slashed left, fast,
precise.
Logan flowed between them, claws flashing silver arcs. He took Cat-Man's slash across his ribs just to sink steel into Bird-Man's shoulder, then spun, carving bloody trails in fur and feathers.
From the sidelines, Nightcrawler's golden eyes glowed with awe. "Uncle is amazing!" he gasped, tail flicking.
Storm's lips curled into a fierce smile. "As expected of the grizzly bear."
Sunfire only hissed, "Tch. Show-off..." yet the heat of his flame betrayed the truth: he couldn't look away.
Banshee's laugh rang out, high and wild. "A symphony o' slaughter! Blood for percussion, steel for strings!"
Cyclops stayed silent. His visor glowed a steady, watchful red.
But the others didn't have time to gawk.
Thunderbird roared, charging straight at Ape-Man with reckless fury. His fists slammed into
the beast's chest, echoing like war drums -
but Ape-Man was stronger. He caught Thunderbird by the shoulders and hurled him like a ragdoll through a console. Sparks showered.
"Damn fool!" Cyclops snapped, firing a blast to stagger Ape-Man back. "Stay in formation"
"Don't order me, one-eye!" Thunderbird spat, staggering up. "I fight like a man!" And he lunged again, ignoring the blood on his lip.
Meanwhile, Dragonfly's wings hummed with a sound that split bone from brain. She dove,
razors flashing, only for Storm's gale to slam her sideways. Lightning forked across her wings, crackling her nerves.
"Nightcrawler! Now!"
Bamf! Sulfur smoke Dragonfly's scream as Kurt snatched her midair and dropped her
headfirst into Banshee's sonic howl. The combined blast rattled the chamber, shredding her wings to ribbons.
Frog-Man bounded, tongue snapping like a whip. It lashed around Sunfire's arm, venom
burning. Shiro gritted his teeth and answered with fire, searing the longue until the stench of charred flesh filled the room.
Frog-Man screeched, hurling himself at the flame. Colossus intercepted with a single, hammering punch that cracked the floor beneath them.
The chamber was chaos claws, lightning, fire, steel.
The Anl-Men fought with savage instinct. The X-Men fought with desperation, raw talent
barely stitched into teamwork.
But desperation makes fire burn hotter.
Cyclops directed through gritted teeth, visor blasts cutting lanes for his teammates:
"Colossus, left flank! Banshee, pin her down! Storm, cover Thunderbird!"
Bit by bit, the new X-Men began to click. Storm's winds lifted Frog-Man off balance,
Colossus slammed him down, and Sunfire scorched him unconscious. Dragonfly
collapsed twitching under Banshee's scream. Ape-Man staggered under Cyclops's beams,
then look Thunderbird's furious headbutt to the jaw-reckless, brutal, but enough.
When the dust settled, only Cat-Man and Bird-Man still writhed bleeding, pinned beneath Logan's claws.
He licked blood from his lips, half feral, half triumphant.
The chamber went qulet but for their heaving breaths.
And then Logan stiffened. His nostrils flared.
Beyond the blood and smoke, he caught it -one raw emotion burning hotter than any fire. Madness.
Count Nefaria's scent. It was waiting for them ahead, seething, boiling, ready to consume.
"Found him," Logan growled. "And he's burnin' with crazy, bub. Like a whole damn house on fire."
The team braced themselves. The real battle was still waiting.