In a matter of seconds, the final outline burned through the reinforced door. The glowing edges formed another clean, closed loop before Ryan Cross drove his fist straight through it, shattering the weakened steel with a thunderous impact. The door caved inward instantly, leaving behind a jagged opening that exposed the cell beyond.
Inside, a figure snapped to attention.
The woman stood alert, her posture tense, eyes sharp with suspicion as she locked onto the intruder. The moment she recognized Ryan, however, that tension shifted into something else—surprise, unmistakable and immediate.
"You?" she blurted out, her voice carrying disbelief.
It was almost absurd. The man who had defeated her and personally put her in this place was now the one standing here, breaking her out.
Ryan met her gaze without hesitation, his expression calm. "Yeah. Me."
He didn't linger on the irony. Instead, he extended his hand toward her, his tone steady but direct. "I know we weren't exactly on the same side before, but things have changed. So—are you coming with me?"
There was no hesitation on her end.
"Why wouldn't I?" she replied with a faint smile, stepping forward without a second thought. Whatever conflict had existed between them before clearly didn't outweigh the value of freedom.
She moved to his side, and together they stepped back into the corridor.
Gunfire immediately filled the air.
The moment they emerged, the sharp crack of bullets echoed all around them. The White Queen, already in her diamond form, was holding the line alone against a relentless wave of CIA agents. The hallway had turned into chaos, filled with muzzle flashes, shouted commands, and bodies hitting the ground.
Bullets struck her crystalline body in rapid succession, ricocheting off harmlessly as she pushed forward through the storm. Her movements were decisive and brutal, each strike sending an agent crashing down. A single punch or kick was enough to take someone out completely.
But no matter how many she dropped, more kept coming.
Agents poured in from every direction, filling the corridor faster than she could clear it. The ground was already littered with fallen bodies, yet the tide showed no sign of slowing.
The pressure was building.
As Ryan and Copycat stepped into the open, stray rounds immediately veered toward them, cutting through the air with lethal intent. There were simply too many shooters for the White Queen to cover everything on her own.
Ryan didn't flinch.
He raised a hand and casually pushed Copycat behind him, placing himself between her and the incoming fire. The bullets struck him head-on, hitting his body with sharp metallic impacts.
And did nothing.
Each round flattened or deflected as if it had struck solid steel. There wasn't even the slightest sign of damage.
Copycat's eyes widened as she watched. "Wow… you've gotten way stronger."
Her voice carried genuine amazement. Back at the Manhattan Hotel, Ryan had already displayed absurd physical strength, but he hadn't been untouchable. A blade could still cut him back then.
Now?
Even bullets couldn't scratch him.
Ryan didn't respond to her observation. His attention shifted past her, toward Raven, who was crouched behind cover, unable to move without exposing herself.
"Raven, stay hidden," he said simply.
She understood immediately. This wasn't the time for her to step in, not when the battlefield had already escalated beyond her level. She gave a quick nod, staying low without argument.
Up ahead, the White Queen slammed another agent into the ground before turning her head, frustration clear in her voice.
"Are you serious right now?" she snapped. "This isn't the time to stand around chatting. Get over here and help!"
Her irritation was justified. Even with her diamond form, the sheer number of enemies was starting to wear on her. The constant barrage was pushing her limits.
Copycat glanced toward the fight, then back at Ryan, her expression thoughtful. "You rescued her too? That's… interesting."
Her eyes flickered with curiosity. She wasn't someone bound by loyalty or ideology—just a mercenary who followed the money. She had no real grudge against Ryan. But Emma Frost?
That was someone who had worked directly under Shaw.
In other words, Ryan had just broken out someone who used to be his enemy.
What had happened outside while she'd been locked away?
Ryan gave a small, almost casual smile. "Like I said—things have changed."
Then he moved.
There was no warning, no buildup—just a sudden shift as his body vanished from where he stood. The air itself seemed to rupture with a sharp, explosive crack.
A sonic boom.
Copycat felt it instantly, a powerful gust slamming into her as the displaced air whipped past, sending her hair flying. One moment Ryan had been beside her, and the next he was simply gone.
In the corridor ahead, a blur streaked through the battlefield.
It wasn't something the eye could properly follow—just a fleeting shadow, moving faster than perception could keep up with. Like a violent gust of wind sweeping through fallen leaves, it tore through the line of agents in an instant.
Then came the sound.
Screams—sharp, overlapping, and almost simultaneous.
Bodies lifted off the ground as if struck by an invisible force, dozens of agents sent flying backward at the same time. They crashed down hard, hitting the floor in a chaotic wave of impact.
And then—
Silence.
Ryan reappeared as suddenly as he had vanished, standing calmly in the middle of the corridor. He brushed his hands together lightly, as if clearing dust, his expression unchanged.
"Alright," he said, completely at ease. "That's done. Let's go."
To him, it had been nothing.
To everyone else?
It was incomprehensible.
Emma Frost stood frozen, her diamond form catching the flashing lights as she stared at him in stunned silence. Copycat's expression mirrored hers, both of them struggling to process what they had just witnessed.
Dozens of armed agents… eliminated in a single second.
They hadn't even seen him move.
"What… was that?" Copycat muttered under her breath, her voice barely above a whisper.
Even Raven, who had spent the most time around Ryan, was momentarily shaken. She had always known he was fast, but this?
This was something else entirely.
"Is that his real speed?" she thought, her mind racing.
For a brief moment, a strange realization settled in her chest.
She was following something far beyond normal.
Emma was the first to recover, though her expression remained complicated. She shifted back from her diamond form, her brows knitting together as she looked at Ryan with clear annoyance.
"You could've done that from the start," she said flatly.
Her tone carried a hint of frustration that she didn't bother hiding. She had just fought her way through a storm of gunfire, only for him to end it in an instant.
Ryan shrugged, completely unapologetic. "You've been locked up for a while. Figured you might want to stretch a bit."
Emma stared at him.
"…Thanks," she said dryly.
Despite her words, the tension in her body had completely vanished. With Ryan here, the situation no longer felt dangerous at all. The CIA headquarters—this heavily guarded facility—suddenly didn't seem like much of an obstacle anymore.
If anything, it felt like the agents were the ones in danger.
A small, satisfied smile curled at the corner of her lips.
After everything they had done to her, it seemed the tables had finally turned.
"Let's move," Ryan said, already turning toward the exit.
Raven, Emma, and Copycat fell in behind him without hesitation, their pace steady as they advanced down the corridor. The agents who remained—bruised, broken, and barely able to stand—watched them pass with expressions filled with fear.
No one dared to step forward.
To them, Ryan wasn't just a threat.
He was something else entirely.
Something closer to a monster.
Sweat dripped down their faces as they held their breath, silently praying that he would simply leave without looking back. Every instinct screamed at them not to interfere.
And Ryan didn't.
He walked past them without a second glance, leading the others toward the elevator. The doors slid open, and the group stepped inside, disappearing from view as the elevator carried them away.
Only when the doors fully closed did the agents finally exhale.
The monster… was gone.
.....
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