The forest shuddered as Logan's body slammed into a centuries-old pine, splitting the trunk clean in half.
After rolling through the mud, the mutant pushed himself up with a growl, tearing splinters of wood from his shoulders as his wounds hissed shut. Through his blurred vision, he saw Rath dodging Victor's claws with an agility completely unnatural for someone his size.
Sabretooth managed to carve a shallow gash across the feline's abdomen, but instead of retreating, Rath burst out laughing.
Before Creed could react, a massive hand caught his arm, lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing at all. Rath grabbed him by the back and, with a powerful leap, soared several meters above the undergrowth.
"ARE YOU READY?!" the alien roared as they plummeted downward.
"APPOPLEXIAN DRILL!"
The thunderous impact kicked up a dense curtain of dust and dry leaves.
Logan watched as the huge orange figure emerged from the cloud, brushing dust from his fur with arrogant ease. At his feet, in the center of an improvised crater, Sabretooth lay with his head buried in the mud, his uniform torn to shreds.
Logan crouched slightly, planting his boots firmly in the wet ground as the gleam of his claws stood out in the darkness. He never took his eyes off the massive tiger standing before him.
"Do you really want to do this?" the mutant rasped. "Because if we start, I won't stop until you're eating dirt."
Rath bared his fangs in a savage grin.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, LOGAN! YOU'D BETTER FIGHT SERIOUSLY, OR THE BEATING I'M ABOUT TO GIVE YOU IS GOING TO HAUNT YOUR DREAMS FOR A LONG TIME!"
"You asked for it, bub."
Logan launched himself forward. He unleashed a flurry of slashes, aiming for Rath's chest, but Rath moved with surprising agility, dodging every strike.
Instead of clashing head-on, the alien used the blades on his hands to strike Logan's claws from the side, deflecting them just enough to avoid being hit.
"What's wrong?" Logan shouted, trying to corner him. "Scared of my claws?!"
Rath said nothing. He simply waited for the right moment.
When Logan let his guard down for a split second, Rath drove a brutal knee straight into his stomach. The blow knocked the air out of him instantly, forcing him to double over.
Without giving him time to breathe, Rath grabbed his head and yanked it down, slamming his knee directly into Logan's face.
Logan staggered back, dizzy, fighting to stay on his feet.
"RATH IS A WARRIOR, BUT RATH IS ALSO SMART!" the tiger roared, looming over him. "RATH KNOWS HIS CLAWS CAN'T BREAK THE METAL IN YOUR BODY!"
Before Logan could recover, Rath dove low and grabbed him by one foot, spinning on the spot like a whirlwind, building momentum with every turn.
"APPOPLEXIAN TOP!" he bellowed.
He released him suddenly, sending Logan flying through the air straight toward where Sabretooth was struggling to get back up, still half-stunned from the earlier impact.
The force of the throw was so great that both of them skidded several meters through the mud, carving a trail of churned earth behind them.
With a disgusted growl, Victor shoved Logan off him and stood up, cursing the alien under his breath.
Wolverine rose at the same time, spitting out dirt.
The wounds on both of them hissed and bubbled as they closed, their breathing slowly evening out.
They stood still for a moment, watching the orange brute approach them with slow, heavy steps, wearing that smug grin that made them itch to wipe it off his face.
"Listen to me, freak," Sabretooth snarled, baring blood-stained fangs. "I'm nobody's prey. I'm the hunter."
Rath laughed loudly, never breaking his stride.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, DUMPSTER PLUSH TOY!" Rath roared, locking his green eyes onto Victor. "MAYBE THAT'S HOW YOU LOOKED IN YOUR MIRROR! AFTER ALL, YOU'VE SPENT YOUR PATHETIC LIFE HUNTING RATS! BUT NOW… NOW YOU'RE FACING A TIGER, A REAL PREDATOR… AND YOU CAN'T DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT!"
Rath flashed them a grin so wide it looked like his face might split in half.
Logan and Victor exchanged a quick glance. They didn't need to say a word, the agreement was clear in their eyes. First they dealt with the giant, then they'd settle things between themselves.
Without wasting time, they split apart, circling the Appoplexian to attack from both sides at once.
Seeing the two savages begin to flank him, Rath let out a mocking laugh.
"LISTEN UP, YOU PAIR OF FLEA-RIDDEN DOGS!" Rath shouted. "RATH IS GLAD YOU'VE FINALLY AGREED ON SOMETHING! I WAS GETTING BORED USING YOU AS A PUNCHING BAG! THIS MAKES THINGS MUCH MORE FUN FOR RATH!"
Logan and Victor didn't wait any longer and lunged at him at the same time.
The air filled with the sound of metal slicing through wind and the roars of all three. Rath moved like an orange cyclone, using the blades on his hands to block Victor's slashes or send deep cuts back into his chest.
With Logan, he maintained that same careful approach, deflecting his strikes so the adamantium wouldn't hit him head-on.
At one point in the fight, Logan spotted an opening and drove a thrust straight toward Rath's side.
Realizing he couldn't dodge in time, the alien stretched out his arm and grabbed Sabretooth by the collar of his coat. With a violent yank, he dragged him in, using him as a shield of flesh and bone.
Logan's claws sank deep into Victor's back, drawing a howl of rage from him.
"Watch where you cut, idiot!" Victor cursed, spitting blood as he struggled to break free.
Wolverine didn't even flinch. He retracted his claws and went in again with another lateral slash, but Rath already had something else in mind.
Using the brute strength of his arms, he lifted Victor's body and swung him like a massive hammer, smashing him directly into Logan's side.
The X-Man took the hit and was sent flying, but he managed to roll through the mud and regain his footing quickly.
He didn't get a second to breathe, because Rath was on him again, swinging a furious Sabretooth into the ground over and over, trying to crush Logan with the body of his own enemy. The forest groaned with every heavy impact of Victor slamming into the earth.
In a moment of chaos, Sabretooth managed to break free.
With the agility of a wounded beast, he scrambled up the alien's arm and climbed onto his back.
He clung tightly, driving his claws into Rath's fur and biting savagely into the Appoplexian's neck.
Rath's fur and muscles were hard as steel, but Victor put all his strength into it, managing to pierce the skin and draw a grunt of pain from the giant.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, FLEA!" Rath roared, trying to shake him off with wild swats. "IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?! YOU'RE LIKE A MOSQUITO BITING A TIGER!"
At that exact moment, Logan burst out of the undergrowth, taking advantage of Rath's distraction.
His claws sliced through the air and managed to score a shallow cut across the alien's chest. Rath tried to strike back, but Logan dodged and launched another slash, this time carving a deeper wound into the Appoplexian's forearm.
Rath froze for a second. His mocking grin vanished, and his green eyes sharpened, growing more serious.
"AT LAST!" he exclaimed in a lower, heavier tone. "AT LAST YOU'RE ACTUALLY WORTH SOMETHING TO RATH!"
With those words, he lunged at Logan.
Wolverine attempted a straight thrust with his claws, but Rath evaded it, leaping over him with shocking speed. Opening his massive jaws wide, Rath clamped down on Logan's head with a sharp snap and, using the momentum, slammed him into the ground with devastating force.
Before Rath could continue the punishment, Sabretooth charged again, driving his claws into the giant's shoulder from behind.
The tiger growled once more, this time with a distinctly irritated edge.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, FURRY THING! YOU LIKE BITING?! HOW ABOUT THIS?!"
With a savage motion, Rath twisted his head and bit down on Victor's face.
Sabretooth's scream died into a muffled howl of pain as he released his grip, clawing desperately at the Appoplexian's neck to free himself.
But Rath didn't let go. He grabbed Victor's wrists with both hands and squeezed hard, making Creed's bones crack audibly.
Then he seized him by the ankles and, using his own body as leverage, slammed him again and again into Logan's stunned form.
================
Piotr walked down the hallway with tense shoulders, glancing warily at every corner of the mansion as worry etched itself deeper into his face.
"Kitty… I just hope Legion hasn't gotten himself into trouble," Colossus murmured, unable to hide his unease. "If something goes wrong, Scott will never forgive me."
Kitty brushed off his concern with a quick gesture, trying to keep the mood light and downplay the situation.
"Don't be so pessimistic, Piotr. Sure, Rath can be loud and over-the-top, but he didn't seem aggressive. Jubilee spent the entire afternoon climbing all over his back while they played, and he didn't even react. If he didn't hurt her, I doubt he'd start a fight at the school."
Those words seemed to calm Colossus somewhat.
Suddenly, Kitty stopped short in front of an open window, forcing Piotr to halt as well.
"What is it?" he asked, confused.
Kitty crouched down and picked up a tiny object that glinted on the wooden floor. It was an earpiece, a piece of technology with an unusual, advanced design.
"An earpiece?" Piotr asked, leaning closer to inspect it.
Before Kitty could answer, a clear voice emerged from the device, loud enough for both of them to hear perfectly.
"Apologies for the interruption. We can introduce ourselves properly later," said the voice, identifying itself as SID. "Legion's transformation has advanced again, causing the Appoplexian combat instinct to grow uncontrollably. Unfortunately, he detected a fight in the forest behind the mansion and became desperate to join it."
Kitty blinked, processing the flood of information as she stared at the earpiece resting in her palm.
"A fight?" she managed to ask, startled.
"Confirmed," SID replied immediately. "Thanks to a satellite, I can see Logan and Sabretooth fighting in the forest. That is what Rath heard. He is currently entertaining himself with them, but I fear that if he becomes bored… he may attempt to eliminate them."
Colossus stiffened.
"I don't particularly care about Victor," SID continued, "but I know Legion would not want Logan to be eliminated."
"That's impossible," Piotr cut in firmly, refusing to accept it. "Logan can't be killed."
"Even Logan has weaknesses," SID corrected him with cold logic. "Legion is aware of all of them, and therefore Rath is as well."
Kitty and Colossus exchanged a silent look. The weight of uncertainty hung heavy in the air as the small earpiece continued to gleam in the girl's hand.
"Should we believe it?" Piotr asked in a low voice, his brow furrowed, suspicion clearly etched across his features.
Before Kitty could form a reply, SID interrupted again.
"I am Legion's companion. My function is to assist him and safeguard his well-being; I would never do anything that goes against his interests. Therefore, this is not a deception. Every second you waste deliberating is one second less of advantage you have to prevent a tragedy."
Kitty let out a long sigh, looking at Colossus with resignation.
"It's the only real lead we have, Piotr."
Without wasting a second, she pulled out her phone and started dialing Illyana's number. While she waited for her friend to answer, she turned back to her companion.
"I'll tell everyone to meet at the back of the mansion, right where the forest begins. If they haven't found anything, we'll search there," Kitty explained with determination.
"I can guide you to his exact location," SID added from the device.
Kitty nodded, fixing her gaze on Piotr.
"It's the best we've got right now. We need to move, now."
Colossus, seeing the resolve in Kitty's eyes, set his doubts aside and nodded firmly, placing his full trust in her judgment.
"All right. Let's go."
===========
The group moved quickly through the trees, dodging roots and low branches as the moonlight barely managed to filter through the dense canopy.
Kitty led the way, holding the earpiece as if it were a compass, with Colossus right behind her, shielding her from any danger.
Jubilee, unable to contain her curiosity, sped up to walk beside Kitty.
"So Legion has a 'companion'?" Jubilee asked, emphasizing the last word.
"I would have preferred a different term at first," SID replied from the device, "but Legion was very insistent that we be companions."
Jubilee raised an eyebrow, shooting a meaningful look at the others.
Behind them, Bobby and Kurt exchanged a knowing grin and let out a synchronized "Ooooh," clearly amused by the implication.
SID ignored the comment and gave them a new instruction to turn left, leading them deeper into the undergrowth. Kitty, trying to stay focused, decided to ask something more professional.
"And how long have you been working with him?"
"For two and a half months," SID answered.
"Then you know each other pretty well," Jubilee added quickly.
"Legion does not often speak about himself or his past," SID explained in her calm tone. "But if I had to position myself among those who know him, no one knows him better than I do."
Jubilee's eyes widened, and she made an exaggerated gesture with her head toward Cessily, urging her to keep digging.
The mercury-skinned girl sighed, a bit resigned by her friend's insistence, but eventually gave in.
"So… are you very close?" Cessily asked timidly.
"One could say so," SID replied without hesitation. "We tend to be in contact twenty-four hours a day."
At that, Jubilee's jaw dropped in pure shock, her mouth hanging open as she processed the idea of such an intense relationship.
The reaction was so comical that even John and Illyana, usually the most serious of the group, couldn't help but laugh at Jubilee's stunned expression.
"Turn right now," SID interrupted, unfazed by the jokes. "We're close. The noise you hear ahead is Victor impacting the ground."
As the group moved into the densest part of the forest, the atmosphere shifted.
The crunch of leaves beneath their feet was swallowed by a symphony of violence: the explosive crack of trees breaking, animalistic growls that made their skin crawl, and above all, a booming, mocking laughter that shattered the tension of the fight.
Kitty motioned for silence, and everyone crouched low, moving carefully until they reached a line of thick bushes surrounding a natural clearing. Parting the branches, they saw it.
There, in the center of the devastated terrain, stood Rath. But he was no longer the same one they had seen hours earlier.
The transformation was undeniable: he was taller, his shoulders had broadened unnaturally, and dense musculature rippled beneath a much thicker orange-and-black pelt. His face no longer retained any human features; it was now the fierce, lethal visage of a Bengal tiger, with green eyes blazing with an electrifying thirst for blood.
From the tops of his hands protruded long, black blades, sharp and gleaming under the moonlight. With astonishing speed, Rath drove those knives into Logan's sides, drawing a roar of pain from him. Without the slightest effort, the Appoplexian lifted the mutant into the air.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, LITTLE MAN!" Rath roared. "RATH IS STARTING TO GET BORED OF THIS!"
Then he threw his head back and smashed it forward in a devastating headbutt.
The impact sounded dull and heavy, like a sledgehammer striking metal.
Logan was hurled downward, slamming into the dirt with enough force to kick up a cloud of dust and leave a small crater beneath his body.
The young mutants watched from the underbrush, paralyzed. Jubilee had her hands over her mouth, while Bobby and John exchanged a look of astonishment. They had never seen anyone physically dominate Logan in such a humiliating way.
Suddenly, a disfigured shadow emerged from among the remains of the trees.
It was Sabretooth, who, despite having his face covered in blood and entire chunks of flesh missing from his shoulders and torso, launched himself in one last burst of rage at the alien's back.
Rath did not even fully turn around.
With a movement that looked like a lazy reflex, he stretched out his arm and caught Victor by the neck before he could touch him. He slowly lifted him, closing his massive hand around his throat.
Victor struggled, digging his claws into Rath's wrist, but the grip did not give even a millimeter.
Despite the suffocation, Victor forced a bloody smile.
"You… can't… kill me," he managed to spit out, confident in his regeneration.
Rath widened his own smile, an expression that sent chills down Victor's spine.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, DYING ANIMAL! DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE THAT?!"
He brought his other hand to the top of Victor's head, sinking his fingers into his scalp.
"DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT RATH TOLD YOU WHEN WE MET?!" he roared, beginning to pull upward with force.
Victor panicked instantly. His feet kicked at the air as he felt his head starting to be pulled away from his shoulders.
"I TOLD YOU RATH WOULD USE YOUR SPINE AS A BACK SCRATCHER!"
Sabretooth desperately tried to break free, clawing at the giant's arms, but Rath kept pulling.
The flesh of Victor's neck began to stretch and slowly tear with wet cracking sounds. Rath brought his face close to Victor's, ignoring his spasms.
"Legion knew that sooner or later he would have to eliminate you," Rath growled as the skin gave way centimeter by centimeter. "He knows everything you've done… you're a deranged, despicable child murderer. He didn't do it before because he didn't know how Magneto would react, but Rath honestly doesn't care now!"
The sound of tearing flesh and Victor's muffled screams were abruptly interrupted by a sharp impact.
A rock the size of a fist struck the side of Rath's head, making his neck jerk in surprise.
Rath stopped pulling. Victor's head, though gravely injured, was still attached to his shoulders as he desperately tried to catch his breath.
The Appoplexian slowly turned his head in a threatening manner toward the direction the projectile had come from.
From the shadows of the trees emerged an imposing figure. Under the moonlight, the skin of Piotr Rasputin shone with a silvery reflection. The Russian giant walked toward him with steady steps, his boots sinking into the mud with each stride.
"I cannot allow such an atrocity to occur on the grounds of this mansion," Colossus declared with his deep voice.
Rath, far from becoming angry, widened his predatory smile. He let out a laugh that echoed across the clearing, pleased by the new turn of events.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BIG TIN MAN!" Rath exclaimed, returning to his thunderous tone. "RATH WAS HOPING SOMEONE ELSE WOULD JOIN THE PARTY! FINALLY, A CONTENDER WHO DOESN'T BREAK AT THE FIRST BLOW!"
Rath lowered his gaze to Victor, who was still hanging from his hand, and whispered in his ear.
"You've been lucky, animal… but don't think you're safe from Rath. When I'm done playing with the metal man, we'll return to our business."
For the first time in his long and violent life, Sabretooth looked at someone with genuine fear in his eyes. Without giving him time to say anything, Rath delivered a devastating blow to his head, sending him straight into the ground and slamming him with such force that Victor was left embedded in the earth, completely out of combat.
The Appoplexian warrior took a combat stance, flexing his enormous muscles and cracking his knuckles in front of Colossus.
Piotr did not lower his guard, but his steel fists remained at his sides as he made one last attempt to appeal to reason.
"We don't have to fight," he said calmly. "You just have to come back to the mansion with us. Calm down, and everything will be fine. There's no need for more violence."
Rath snorted in contempt, stretching his arms and making the muscles of his chest tense until they nearly burst through his fur.
"LISTEN CAREFULLY, METAL MAN! RATH DOESN'T CARE ABOUT CALM! THIS IS A RITE OF INITIATION, THE APPOPLEXIAN BAPTISM! A WARRIOR PROVES HIS WORTH BY DEFEATING POWERFUL RIVALS!"
Rath bared his fangs in a defiant grin.
"And Rath still hasn't found that powerful warrior in this forest… SO HE WON'T STOP! NOT UNTIL HE CLAIMS VICTORY OVER SOMEONE WHO IS WORTHY!"
Colossus snorted, realizing that words would be useless. He bent his knees and took a fighting stance, clenching his metallic fists.
Rath tensed, ready to leap and unleash all his fury on the Russian, but just as his feet left the ground, instinct screamed at him to move.
With an incredibly fast lateral motion, he hurled himself to the side, narrowly dodging a slash of magical energy that left a scorched mark in the air.
Colossus turned in surprise and saw Illyana step out from among the trees, wielding her Soul Sword, closely followed by the rest of the young mutants.
"I told you I would handle this," Piotr said, frowning with concern.
Illyana snorted, spinning her sword with practiced ease.
"Do you really think you're going to have all the fun to yourself, big brother?" she shot back with a grin.
Kitty also stepped forward, positioning herself beside Colossus with a determined expression.
"This is our fault too, Piotr. I'm not going to let you fight alone," Kitty declared. She looked at the group, from Jubilee to Kurt, then fixed her gaze back on the orange giant. "The X-Men are a team. And we're one now. We'll fight like one."
Colossus looked at his friends and, at last, a small smile of pride appeared on his metal face. He nodded, accepting that the fight was no longer his alone.
"All right," Piotr said, smashing his fists together with a metallic clang. "Let's do this."
Rath let out a thunderous laugh that cut through the moment. He placed a hand dramatically on his chest and mimicked Kitty's voice in a shrill, mocking tone:
"'Oh, we're a team, we'll fight like X-Men'… LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, GIRL! ALL THAT CRAP WAS WAY TOO SAPPY! AND IT MAKES RATH WANT TO VOMIT! RATH IS GOING TO BEAT THE SAPPY RIGHT OUT OF YOU!"
Without warning, the Appoplexian lunged like a beast at the group.
He slammed head-on into Colossus in a collision that sounded like a train wreck. To the Russian's surprise, the force of the impact dragged his feet several centimeters backward, carving furrows in the mud under the alien's weight.
"Take this, Mr. Whiskers! You've been a very bad kitty!" Jubilee shouted from the side, unleashing a barrage of sparks and colorful explosions straight at Rath's face.
Rath didn't even blink; he just laughed as the detonations burst against his thick fur.
"HA! RATH WILL SHOW YOU WHAT MR. WHISKERS CAN REALLY DO!"
At that moment, Bobby and John took positions on the flanks.
In unison, a blast of crystalline ice and a tongue of searing fire converged on the orange giant. But Rath didn't stay still.
With a fluid motion, he grabbed Colossus by the shoulders and used him as a human shield, placing the Russian's steel body directly in the path of Bobby's ice, while also smashing a sharp headbutt into Piotr's forehead that made the metal ring.
At the same time, Rath let Pyro's fire hit him square in the back. Instead of screaming, the tiger turned around with a mocking expression.
"HEY, YOU, THE ONE WITH THE LIGHTERS!" Rath roared, pointing at John. "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING! YOUR FIRE FEELS LIKE A WARM BREEZE ON RATH'S BACK! ARE YOU TRYING TO DRY MY FUR?!"
Rath kept Colossus pinned by the shoulders, using him as a metal shield while John's flames slammed into his back. The alien laughed, enjoying the heat as if it were a caress, until the very air seemed to fracture.
Suddenly, a disk of blue light materialized at his side. Illyana's Soul Sword appeared out of nowhere, carving an upward slash that cut through Rath's fur and flesh at the shoulder.
The Appoplexian's roar of surprise was deafening; he was forced to release Colossus to block with his claws a second magical strike aimed at his neck.
From there on, the X-Men's coordination became relentless.
Rath began to be overwhelmed by the team's speed. Kurt teleported in bursts of sulfur, appearing and vanishing to land quick cuts in Rath's blind spots.
Kitty seized the exact moment, sliding across the ground and using her powers to phase the earth beneath Rath's feet, sinking him down to his knees and anchoring him in place.
Trapped, Rath became the target of a brutal onslaught. He took the hammer-like blows of Colossus's fists, the blinding explosions from Jubilee bursting in his face, and the combined punishment of Bobby and John, who alternated blasts of ice and fire across his body.
The wounds began to pile up quickly. Dark blood stained his fur and smoke rose from his burns, but then Rath straightened. His face grew serious, yet his green eyes radiated fierce satisfaction.
"YES!" he bellowed with a roar that made the forest tremble. "THIS IS WHAT RATH WANTED! A FIGHT THAT PUSHES HIM! A TRUE CHALLENGE!"
In the middle of his boast, Colossus landed a devastating right hook directly to his jaw, snapping Rath's head violently to the side.
Almost at the same time, Illyana appeared at his flank to unleash a slash of pure energy; Rath could only minimize the damage by crossing his arms over his chest, taking the blow as it burned his skin.
Without giving him a moment to breathe, Cessily charged in. Her mercury body flowed outward, wrapping around Rath's arms and torso like a net of liquid metal that tightened with every second, restricting his movement and locking him in place as the group fully surrounded him.
Rath roared in fury, Appoplexian blood boiling in his veins. His muscles swelled to an inhuman degree beneath Cessily's liquid metal. The mercury girl screamed, her voice strained with effort.
"It's… it's too strong! I can't hold him!"
Colossus reacted instantly. He moved in on Rath, targeting the gaps Cessily couldn't cover.
His steel fists slammed again and again into the Appoplexian's ribs, thighs, and any exposed patch of skin he could find. Each blow thundered through the clearing, but Rath barely flinched.
Jubilee, without breaking rhythm, kept firing plasma bursts at his face, trying to blind him or at least distract him.
Meanwhile, Illyana positioned herself beside her brother. Her eyes glowed with arcane light and her fists ignited with magical energy.
Instead of her sword, the blonde now hammered Rath's torso with a flurry of punches imbued with mystical force, adding even more pressure to the already battered ribs of the Appoplexian.
The combined assault was pushing Rath to his limit, and the clearing filled with the sound of brutal combat.
Piotr, his steel knuckles stained with dark blood, shouted over the thunder of the blows:
"Almost there! Hold on!"
In the distance, Logan managed to get up on one knee. He spat out a clot of blood and wiped his face, watching his students work with a level of synchronicity he had never seen from them before.
Seeing the youngsters subdue the beast made him snort, and a small, proud smile appeared between his fangs.
But the pride didn't last long.
Suddenly, in the middle of the rain of blows, Rath let out a deafening roar.
Everyone froze from the sheer sonic impact.
Before the group's eyes, the Appoplexian's body began to mutate once again, growing until it reached a terrifying height of nearly nine feet.
His torso broadened massively, his fur grew thicker, and his claws extended like daggers.
A professional wrestling championship belt materialized around his waist, bearing the Omnitrix symbol glowing at its center, along with a pair of black shorts.
Rath tensed every muscle in his new body. Cessily cried out in frustration as she felt the pressure.
"I–I can't…!" The sheer force of Rath's musculature expelled her, forcing her to release him. The girl was thrown back and reverted to her human form as she crashed heavily onto the grass.
The beast roared again, raising his arms, and everyone watched in horror as his wounds sealed completely.
Logan tensed, preparing to leap back into the fight to protect his students, and Colossus, without hesitation, charged straight in with all his steel weight.
Rath reacted on instinct.
He sidestepped Piotr's charge and, channeling all his power from the ground up, unleashed a devastating uppercut as he roared at the top of his lungs:
"SUNLIGHT YELLOW OVERDRIVE!"
The impact sounded like an explosion.
Colossus was launched through the air at incredible speed, vanishing into the forest undergrowth. Kitty screamed her friend's name, her heart in her throat, but suddenly an immense shadow completely engulfed her.
A chilling cold ran down her spine as the young woman slowly turned around. There he was, the enormous feline, looming over her from his monumental height.
Kitty stammered, fear freezing every muscle in her body. Illyana shouted her friend's name as she rushed to attack, but suddenly everyone stopped short.
Rath raised his massive hand and, with astonishing gentleness, rested it on Kitty's head.
His fierce face softened into an unexpected smile.
"Rath is very sorry for all this mess. I made everyone worry… and Rath is sorry."
The feline gently removed his huge hand from Kitty's head and began to look around, carefully observing the splintered trees, the craters in the ground, and Logan's battered body. Victor? He had slipped away while the youngsters distracted Rath.
His shoulders, once tense with rage, relaxed as he let out a sigh.
"It seems Rath really did make a big mess," he remarked, his deep voice resonating with a clarity and calm that completely contrasted with the savage beast he had been minutes before.
Kitty, her heart still pounding hard in her chest, took a timid step forward.
Her eyes shifted between the imposing figure and the feline's face, searching for any trace of the earlier fury.
With trembling hands and not entirely sure what she was doing, she reached out and touched the thick fur on Rath's arm.
"Rath?" she whispered.
The group remained in tense silence, waiting for any violent reaction, until Jubilee peeked out from behind Illyana and squinted at the tiger.
"Mr. Whiskers?" she asked, her tone playful but cautious.
Rath immediately turned his head toward her, narrowing his green eyes. For a moment, his upper lip curled, revealing a fang, and he snorted authoritatively.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, LIGHTS GIRL! RATH DOESN'T LIKE THAT NAME! RATH IS AN APPOPLEXIAN WARRIOR, NOT 'MR. WHISKERS'!" he scolded her forcefully, though without any intent to attack.
After the shout, Rath let his shoulders drop and released a long, heavy sigh, as if expelling the last remnants of adrenaline from his system.
He nodded toward Kitty and then toward the rest of the group.
"But yes…" he added in a lower voice. "The transformation has finally ended."
==========
Alright folks, I made one last push and managed to finish writing the chapter. I didn't want to leave it halfway and make you wait two weeks just to see how it ends.
So, this is where Rath's transformation comes to an end, now formally integrating into the team after giving Logan and Victor a solid beating, and after a fight against the young X-Men, it's finally over.
What comes next will be the closing of this arc. We'll be seeing a bit of a mini-adventure focused on Nicolás, outside of his role as a superhero, and then we'll begin the next arc which will be… cymbal crash sound take a guess… haha. Whoever guesses it, I'll mention them in the next chapter. On top of that, it's like two weeks away, so yeah, you'll have to sit with the anticipation.
But… if you want a hint, I can say that it's related to felines.
That's all for now. I'll see if I can manage to write in a different way, but for the moment, this is all I can offer. I hope you enjoyed it :)
As always, thank you so much for all your support and comments, I really appreciate them a lot.
A little kiss :)