Random art
Gwen had cleaned up all the Hand operatives around the area. She had webbed them to walls or the pavement, and wrapped them in web cocoons. They were helpless and absolutely livid at her. No matter how many times someone pointed a gun at her face, she refused to cross the line.
When she swung back to sit on top of a bunker, the battle between the two mutants was still raging. Logan and Piotr collided again and again with the sound of metal on metal. Both of them looked like they had been run through a meat grinder. Piotr's organic steel skin was gouged and scratched in a dozen places, and Logan's vest was gone, only leaving him in a bloodied jean ripped to the size of shorts.
Yet neither slowed. If anything, they threw themselves at each other with even more violence and fury.
"Logan, come back!" Piotr's plea came between blows. "Come back, or you'll die!"
Gwen scratched the back of her head. She didn't even think the words reached Logan's mind. The feral mutant's eyes were empty, glazed over with whatever mind control the Hand had used on him.
And Piotr was being forced to beat the hell out of Logan, despite his unwillingness for violence.
"Hey, big guy," Gwen called out, trying to sound confident despite the exhaustion in her limbs. "Tag me in if you're tired. I can play around with him."
Piotr grabbed Logan mid-lunge as his massive hands clamped around the smaller man's waist. Logan thrashed and wildly cut at Piotr's arms. The big man shifted to Logan's back and lifted the mutant clean off his feet, arching backward in a perfect bridge.
The German suplex drove Logan headfirst into the concrete with a sickening crunch. The concrete cracked beneath the adamantium-coated skull. Dust and debris exploded in a cloud.
Logan went limp.
Piotr released him and straightened slowly, rolling his shoulders. He had yet to feel any real exhaustion. This form didn't require oxygen, food, or water. A form made purely to fight or stand in front of others as a shield. The only exhaustion was mental.
"I can still go on, Ghost Spider. Thank you for your kind intentions. You're a good comrade."
He looked at Logan. The feral mutant seemed like he had passed out. He still didn't let down his guard, knowing that Logan was too unpredictable.
Gwen opened her mouth to respond, but Clap. Clap. Clap, the sound of slow applause reached her.
Every head turned.
A portal tore open twenty feet away. The rift stabilized into an oval doorway, and two figures stepped through casually as though they knew they couldn't be stopped.
Tessa walked out with the dignity and etiquette of a royal.
Trevor emerged with a mocking grin that gave the impression this was all beneath his attention. He looked at Gwen, and his grin widened into something ugly.
"Oh, the pathetic vigilante is here too," Trevor Fitzroy said. He turned to the woman beside him, gesturing at Gwen like she was a fancy prize. "Tessa, I've been your dog for, what, months now? Give me a reward now. Tell me her identity."
Tessa's gaze was cool and unimpressed. "So you can coerce her into being your underling?"
"Yeah," Trevor said, clenching his fist enthusiastically. "It'd be far superior to her current meaningless vigilante career. I mean, my power is the Black Queen's power, right? Might as well use it."
Gwen's Spider-sense flared to life, a sharp tingle crawling up the back of her skull. Even though she couldn't hear their conversation, she could sense the man had very, very improper intentions for her.
Tessa's eyes narrowed, and Gwen felt like being dissected under a microscope, everything about her was being revealed.
"You got X-ray vision?" Gwen blurted, taking an instinctive step back and covering her chest and crotch. "Get away from me, freak!"
Tessa shook her head. "I can read minds."
Gwen's lenses widened. She formed an X across her chest. "No! I don't consent to someone reading my mind!"
Tessa blinked once, then turned to Trevor with an amused smile. "She said no."
Trevor stared at her. "What?"
"She refused consent."
"Ow, what the hell!" Trevor glared at her, frustrated and annoyed as hell at his superior. "Stop playing around for fuck's sake. Did you forget enslaving that little fucker? Why do you give a damn about consent now?"
"That was on Lady's orders." Tessa pursed her lips. "I'll lay down my life for her Divine Majesty."
"This is my order."
"Which means nothing to me. I'm your superior."
Trevor gritted his teeth. "Fuck you," he cursed under his breath. "I'll get back to you one day."
Tessa had already dismissed him, turning her attention to Piotr instead.
"You put up an admirable fight against Logan," Tessa said, her voice softer now, almost respectful. "Restraint and compassion in equal measure. Rare qualities in a warrior."
Piotr didn't respond. His eyes stayed locked on her, wary.
"But unfortunately," Tessa continued, her expression growing colder. "I must stop you here."
Piotr stayed where he was and called out to his comrades, "Ghost Spider. Comrade Amy. One for each."
Gwen cracked her knuckles. "Not in my best shape, but a one-on-one shouldn't be too hard. Amy, I'll take the cocky guy."
"Who do I shoot first?" Amy's rifle had been aimed at Tessa from the moment the portal opened, finger resting just outside the trigger.
Tessa finally acknowledged her. The telepath's gaze had the same detached curiosity someone would give to an insect. Then her eyes flashed.
"Argh!" Amy dropped her rifle and clutched her head. She collapsed right there, unconscious before she hit the ground.
"Amy!" Gwen screamed. Her Spider-Sense tingled. She didn't think for another second and just acted. Web-lines shot out and connected to the ground beneath Tessa. Gwen yanked herself forward, gracefully arcing through the air, right kick ready to strike the telepath's cold, expressionless face.
Pain suddenly exploded behind her eyes as if someone had reached into her skull and grabbed her brain directly, squeezing until every nerve screamed in protest.
Her feet stopped an inch from Tessa's face before she went limp right there. A single Mind Blast made her lose consciousness.
"Your mental defenses are even weaker than I expected. Could be a sign you aren't getting enough sleep." Tessa suddenly glanced towards the central compound, right at the glinting scope. "Now."
She ducked just in time for a deep THUMP sound of the sonic boom of a .338 Lapua round. A sniper bullet hissed through the space where her head had been a second earlier, so close that it made her black hair flutter.
"Predictable."
Tessa brushed her coat. Her expression was still calm and unbothered, as if she hadn't just predicted the exact moment the leader of Wild Pack would pull the trigger.
"Big guy," Tessa called out, her voice carrying effortlessly across the battlefield. "Tell your leader to stop shooting if she wants these two alive."
Piotr had been already charging toward her, but the threat stopped him cold. "You're a telepath."
"Yes, it would be wise to surrender. None of you can resist my control."
Piotr looked at Amy and Ghost Spider's unconscious forms then looked back at Tessa.
Slowly, he unclenched his fists.
"Alright."
He walked over to Amy, knelt beside her, and carefully retrieved the radio clipped to her vest. "Commander, do not shoot again. She has Amy and Ghost Spider hostage."
"Fuck. I should've taken the shot when she walked through the portal." A bitter laugh came through, her regret obvious. "I thought they could be Dante's allies. If they were enemies, I wanted you to learn more about them. I got too greedy for intel." With a pause, Silvija said, "I'm sorry."
Piotr was surprised to see his Commander showing emotions during a mission.
"It's not your fault, Commander." Piotr looked Tessa in the eyes. "Telepath, what do you want?"
Before Tessa could answer, calm footsteps came from behind her before a voice called out, "I'll make the demands."
Nobu walked past Tessa and looked at the scene before him, allowing himself a satisfied nod. The price was heavy, but the results were outstanding.
"The Hand will—"
He stopped, everyone else did too, and they all looked at the single black sedan approaching them. It came to a stop right before Piotr.
The driver's door opened first. Psylocke stepped out, katana already in hand. Then Emma Frost emerged, surveying the scene with a calm gaze.
Psylocke's gaze locked onto Nobu immediately. Her entire body went rigid, fingers tightening on the hilt of her katana. Broken memories surfaced of her time as the Executioner and the people who held a leash over her mind.
Standing in front of her was one of the few who had held the chain.
"Nobu Yoshioka."
The Japanese man remained stern. "Executioner—"
The purple butterfly silhouette manifested before he even spoke his second word. He collapsed instantly like a puppet with its strings cut. Even in his death, he had not spoken a single word or even realized he had died.
It just happened.
Psylocke yanked Nobu's corpse to her side with telekinesis, letting it hover. She held her katana with both hands. The keen edge glimmered as she took the stance and brought it down. A dozen slashes happened in one second, a byproduct of adding telekinesis to boost her speed. In under a minute, Nobu's corpse was left as a bloody mess on the ground.
Their mystic resurrection wouldn't work if they couldn't recover the corpse. She was willing to become a butcher to stop these monsters from coming back.
"Stupid man, you people raised me to kill as efficiently as possible." Psylocke laughed at the thought of the Hand's leaders underestimating their own Executioner. They had forgotten how cold-blooded they had made her. "How could you possibly think I would stand here and let you talk down to me? Give you a moment to escape?"
The scene sent a shiver down Fritz's spine. "What a crazy woman… Tessa, protect me, or I'm dipping out of here."
Tessa didn't flinch, showing a smile to Emma Frost. "Your bodyguard is quite capable."
"She is just average." Emma grinned. "Lady Tessa, this place is under my protection. Would you please withdraw?"
Despite coming off as a polite question, it wasn't a request but a command from Hellmoon Club's White Queen.
Emma had arrived a minute too late to stop Logan's rampage, but now that she was here, she wasn't about to let Selene's attendant ruin her plans any further.
Tessa tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. For several long seconds, she said nothing as her computer-like intellect analyzed Selene's reaction to leaving Nobu's favor fulfilled and unfulfilled.
Finally, she nodded. "We're leaving."
Ultimately, she decided that Lady Selene wouldn't be mad when the one who owed her favor had already been chopped to bits. That, too, after destroying the Raven Talisman.
Trevor stared at her. "That's it? We're just leaving because she said so?"
Tessa frowned. "She is not just anyone. She is our White Queen, Lady Selene's equal partner in the Club. It'd be wise to address her with due respect."
He growled. "I don't fucking care."
Trevor had come from the future to escape the Dystopian future and also find a life with more power, wealth, and influence. Selene had put him under her curse, throwing him around like an errand boy. While a woman, as charming as Emma Frost was, stood equally with Selene, enjoying wealth as Frost International's owner in all but name and also enjoying great privileges within the Club.
It was unfair.
'A fucking bitch.'
His eyes burned with pure hunger. It wasn't the lust of a man wanting a woman—it was the look of wanting to humiliate. He wanted to dominate and then utterly destroy the woman known as Emma Frost.
In fact, he was plotting the most sadistic and cruel revenge possible.
Emma's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Get out of my sight. You might be from the future, but I only need one second to destroy you."
Trevor scoffed, but there was no real confidence behind it. He was already backing toward the portal Tessa had begun to reopen.
"One day, you'll grovel at my feet to become my slave. I'll spit in your face then, because that's what a bitch like you deserves."
Emma exerted her psychic energy. Before Trevor could cross into the portal, a Mind Blast engulfed his mind. He fell to his knees and screamed, clutching his head.
"YOU WHORE," Trevor roared as he stumbled back to his feet and dashed through the portal, vanishing before he was humiliated further.
Tessa looked at his disappearing back with a calculated smile. She didn't have to do much to provoke the man, who had developed a bruised ego under the Moon Goddess.
Everything was progressing accordingly.
"White Queen, Trevor only answers to the Black Queen," Tessa said with a faint shrug. "I don't control him."
"Just leave."
"Take care." She turned and walked into the portal, her coat billowing behind her.
Piotr let out a long sigh as soon the portal snapped. He pressed the radio to his lips.
"Commander, the situation is resolved," he said quietly. "The two strangers have withdrawn. No further casualties."
"Those two are Dante's reinforcements, by the way."
Piotr blinked. Then, despite everything, he let out a hearty laugh.
"Comrade is helping us even when he isn't here," he said, shaking his head. "What a great Vice-Commander."
"That's my lover, alright," Silvija proclaimed proudly. "Piotr, you big oaf, why are you still standing around? Amy and Ghost Spider are lying on the ground!"
"Ah, sorry, Commander!"
He gently lifted Amy's unconscious form and carried her to the sedan, settling her carefully in the backseat. He looked up at Emma and nodded once, respectful.
"Thanks for the help, Miss."
Emma's smile softened, just slightly. She was already calculating how to use this moment to plant seeds of loyalty in the big steel man's mind so she could potentially poach him from Silver Sable. He would be a great addition to her Hellions.
"Just looking out for a friend," she said sweetly. "Since Dante and I can be considered to be friends."
"Then I'll also be your friend." Piotr turned to Logan. "Can you clear the Hand's control over him?"
Emma glanced in Logan's direction and closed her eyes. Her psychic energy sank into Logan's mindscape and undid the shackles placed upon it.
"Done."
Piotr was a bit shocked. "That was quick."
"My time is too precious to be wasted, Dear." Emma laughed and turned her attention to Gwen, who was still lying on the ground, unconscious. The Omega-level telepath walked over and knelt beside Ghost Spider.
"Let's see the pretty face under the mask."
Emma pulled the mask off. Gwen's face was flushed, damp with sweat, as though she was suffering even in her sleep. She looked awfully young, around Felicia's age or perhaps younger.
Her telepathy skimmed through Gwen's mind. As a telepath, she had stopped caring about others' privacy a long time ago.
As she sorted through the memories, her expression softened. "Oh, you poor little thing."
One of the nicest people in the world, a university student, had taken up a mask and thrown herself into danger because her father was being suppressed by the very system he served.
Justice had failed, and someone needed to stand up.
The desire to do good was rare in this cruel world. The kind of pure, innocent desire in Gwen Stacy's heart was even rarer.
Angelica Jones—Firestar—also had the desire to do good, but it was mixed with selfishness of wanting to be praised by Emma and gain recognition from her peers. Gwen did it purely to help her father and serve justice where the people in charge couldn't.
'Such a pure girl.'
Emma ruffled Gwen's hair like a mother would before putting her mask back on. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."
She lifted Gwen carefully and carried her toward the sedan.
A bike rolled to the scene as Silvija drove to the scene in a near-frenzied state. Her first step was to check up on Piotr, whose steel body was cut and scraped.
"It'll heal soon."
Not that he was sure of it since he had yet to fight in his mutant form, much less suffer so much damage.
"That's great." She had to reach a lot higher to pat his shoulder, but she did it anyway. After that, she turned to the blonde who saved the day. "Emma Frost, I can't thank you enough."
She could never have expected the woman she had threatened to come in clutch.
"There are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests," Emma said with a serene smile. "I hope our interests never misalign, though."
She really had no desire to go up against the manifestation of Death and her boyfriend.
"I'll still apologize for the other day." Silvija apologized sincerely. "I shouldn't have threatened to reveal your mutant identity."
"Your instincts were spot on." Emma let out a soft chuckle. "Guess who sent Felicia to steal from your client."
"It was you." Silvija's eyes narrowed as every piece of Felicia's puzzle clicked in place. She shook her head and approached Emma, extending a courteous hand. "It doesn't matter. We're all on the same side now."
"Felicia is more than that, though," Emma remarked with a cheeky smile as she accepted the handshake. "A huntress like you should already know who is snatching your prey from your territory."
Her first act of revenge against Dante was hinting at his relationship with Felicia. The reveal would've been more devastating if the clip of Dante carrying Felicia wasn't already going viral. Still, she reckoned it would create doubts in Silvija's mind.
"I don't really care about it."
Silvija's dismissive comment left Emma in a speechless state.
'She must be lying.'
Just as she reached out to Silvija's mind with her Telepathy, a howl cut through the silent night.
Every head turned upward, searching the dark sky.
A sleek black helicopter cut through the low clouds and descended rapidly, stabilizing fifty feet above them.
A rope dropped from the open side door. A woman grabbed it and slid down. Cold wind tore at her, whipping her long red hair upward, but she rode the drop like it was nothing more than a training drill. The black leather bodysuit she wore fit her fatal curves, the zipper in the center drawing gazes to the deep valley, deliberately away from the thick metal chain wrapping her right arm.
She released the rope and hit the ground, her knee bent smoothly into a crouch with her right hand on the ground and left leg slicing out to the side for balance. Burning red hair flipped dramatically then settled over her shoulder as she lifted her gaze.
Another woman appeared at the helicopter's open door. She didn't bother with the rope and just took a step forward.
She plummeted and landed in a perfect crouch right beside the redhead. The fall didn't so much as impact her.
The black-haired woman with pale skin stood beside the redhead and crossed her arms, and "Shwip" two claws came out from her knuckles. They weren't as long as Logan's, but they were made of the same metal—Adamantium—ready to tear anything.
"Three mutants."
The redhead's face fractured in cracks of ember light. Flaming tears streamed down her eyes before her face burst into flames.
Her red hair ignited. The leather of her bodysuit darkened but did not burn. Amidst the flames, the flesh of her face sloughed away as ash and ember.
Underneath, a skull emerged, covered in roaring red-orange fire.
The chain around her left arm responded to the transformation. Flames crawled along the links, turning steel into a living weapon.
She flexed her fingers and slammed the burning chain into the ground. "I'll take the telepaths. You tear up the steel giant."
Her own calmness wasn't affected even when under the Spirit of Vengeance's transformation.
Across the two, Psylocke summoned a psychic knife on her left hand and held her katana on the right. Her gaze locked on the flaming skull and the burning chain.
"A dangerous Youkai."
Not only did she kill Nobu and become a hero for one day, she would also become a Youkai slayer. Today might be the best day in her life.
Piotr stepped up beside Emma Frost, rolling his massive shoulders until his neck popped, joints creaking. He drove a fist into his open palm with a solid thunk of metal meeting metal.
"I'm a little dented, Comrades," he said, eyeing the girl who might be related to Logan. "But we still have more pieces on the board than they do."
Emma lost her lazy elegance, and a look of annoyance covered her face. "Another skullface immune to my telepathy. What a day to be alive."
"Speak of the devil, and he shows up," a casual, relaxed voice came out of nowhere.
The air in front of them shimmered, reality bending like the haze of summers. A silhouette pushed through the distortion, turning into a skull surrounded by blue flames, wearing clothes as black as the night itself.
Silvija, who had been silently observing and assessing this entire time, nearly jumped up in surprise. As much as she wanted to rush in her lover's arms, she couldn't afford a mistake in Norman's territory.
Emma's lips curved up. "You finally returned."
***
You can read 20 more chapters on my Patreon!
Patreon.com/Lordheaven