Chapter 123
The chamber groaned around them as Moses Magnum spread his arms. His voice rolled like an earthquake.
"You think me a man in armor? A tyrant with machines? I am the earth's wrath made flesh!"
The floor buckled, sending cracks racing like lightning. Colossus barely had time to throw himself wide, shielding Cyclops from a collapsing beam.
Cyclops gritted his teeth. "He's stronger than intel suggested. Keep moving—don't give him a chance to bury us alive!" His visor flared, red beam lancing toward Magnum.
Magnum raised a hand. The ground itself heaved upward, a wall of rock absorbing the blast. He smiled. "Optic fury against the bones of the world? Futile."
Sunfire snarled, flames igniting across his body. "Then burn!" He streaked forward, a comet of fire slamming into Magnum's shield. The steel chamber lit white-hot, the air itself screaming. Magnum staggered back, his teeth bared against the heat.
Thunderbird roared, charging in behind Sunfire. His fists cracked against the makeshift stone barrier, chips flying. "Let's see how you like it when a man hits you straight!"
The wall split—just enough for Logan to slip through. Claws out, he darted in from the side, feral grin wide. He slashed across Magnum's shoulder. Sparks and blood flew.
Magnum howled, swiping at him with a fist that carried the weight of mountains. Logan ducked, rolled, vanished into the steam and rubble.
"Where did he—?" Magnum spun, eyes narrowing. His feet stomped, and the ground rippled, seeking. "I feel you in the stone. The tremors do not lie!"
But when his quake-sense reached out, it met emptiness. Logan's stealth trick gnawed inward, pain grinding his ribs, but it left him invisible to Magnum's touch.
That's right, bub, Logan thought, crouched in the dark. I ain't here. Not till I cut you again.
---
Meanwhile, Nightcrawler blinked into the chamber mid-chaos, smoke clinging to his fur. "Mein Gott! You start the party without me?" He bamfed away before Magnum's fist could crush him, reappearing beside Thunderbird.
"About time, elf!" Thunderbird barked, shoving a crumbling wall aside.
"I was rather occupied," Kurt shot back, tail whipping. "With not being pulverized!"
They traded a grin even as the chamber shook again.
---
From above, the ceiling tore open, and a squad of Mandroids dropped in—golden hulks bristling with blasters.
Cyclops cursed. "Figures." His visor cut a swath through two of them, molten armor raining sparks. "Team—split focus! Keep Magnum pinned, but don't let the Mandroids flank us!"
Banshee's scream echoed from outside, rattling the chamber walls as he dove through the gap. His sonic wail scattered half the Mandroids. "Ye asked for reinforcements, lads?"
"Cutting it close, Sean!" Cyclops barked, already blasting another.
Colossus tackled one of the armored giants, metal fists denting alloy with every strike. Nightcrawler darted between legs, tripping one into Thunderbird's waiting uppercut. Sunfire scorched another until its circuits melted, the smell of ozone filling the air.
Storm swept in behind Banshee, rain spilling from her hands to quench burning debris. Her voice carried calm authority even through the chaos. "Steady yourselves, my friends! This storm will not be our grave."
Magnum roared above the din, blasting the ground again. "I will sink your nation, Sunfire! I will drown your people, Storm! You X-Men are gnats against my dominion!"
And still, through it all, he bled—from slashes across his back, his arm, his ribs. Invisible wounds that came from nowhere, striking with surgical precision.
He spun, furious. "Show yourself, coward!"
But Logan was already gone, crouched in shadow, guts burning from the stealth drain. His claws dripped with fresh sparks.
"Coward?" Logan growled under his breath. "Nah, bub. Just patient."