CHAPTER 155: THE AMBUSH
The café went from laughter to chaos in a heartbeat. Brick dust, shattering glass, people screaming as four men in black suits stormed through the wreckage like they owned the place.
Kitty froze. Her soda spilled across the table, fizzing over her hands.
Storm's voice cut through the panic, calm but fierce. "Stay behind me, child."
Logan was already on his feet, claws bared, nostrils flaring. The stink hit him hard — sweat, metal, cold machine oil threaded through their flesh. Not just men. Weapons.
"Goons with upgrades," he muttered. "My favorite."
The first one lunged at Colossus, fist slamming into Piotr's chest with a dull thud. Sparks crackled. Piotr reeled back, eyes wide as his skin steeled over.
"Bozhe moi… he strikes through armor."
Thunderbird charged the second with a roar, muscles straining as he grappled — but the man didn't budge. His strength met equal force. Their boots cracked tile beneath them.
Storm raised her hand, lightning sparking at her fingertips — but the third threw up a gauntlet, energy flaring, swallowing her thunder with a hiss. "What sorcery—?"
Logan laughed, low and mean. "You jokers picked the wrong bar." He slashed at the nearest suit, metal screaming on metal as his claws skidded across reinforced plating beneath the man's jacket. Sparks flew.
The goon snarled, eyes blank. No fear. Just programming.
Logan grinned sharp. "Yeah, that's cute. Let's see what bleeds."
---
Kitty stumbled back against the counter, watching her would-be protectors struggle. Her breath came ragged. The pounding in her head surged again.
'Too much. Too fast. Can't breathe—'
She gasped—then her hand slipped straight through the counter. Her body followed, tumbling through solid wood into the alley behind the café.
She landed hard on her knees, gasping. "What's happening to me?"
Inside, the X-Men fought like trapped animals.
Colossus grappled his foe, realizing brute force wasn't enough. He shifted tactics, feinting left, then slamming his metal forehead into the man's nose. Bone cracked. The goon stumbled.
Thunderbird's arms bulged with strain, veins standing out as he wrestled his opponent. "Come on, you bastard!" he spat.
Storm hurled winds that tore tables loose, but each burst fizzled against the gauntlet's energy field. She hissed, hair whipping around her face. "This is no ordinary technology!"
Logan darted between them, claws flashing. He caught a goon's arm, slicing tendon. The man didn't scream. Just swung his other fist into Logan's ribs.
Pain burst white-hot. Logan snarled, spitting blood. His healing kicked, knitting bruised muscle.
'They don't feel fear. Don't smell it, don't taste it. Just blank. Damn machines in meat suits.'
"Switch!" Logan barked, ducking another blow. "You're fightin' the wrong dance partners!"
They caught on fast. Colossus shoved his opponent toward Thunderbird. Storm sent a gust hurling hers at colusses. The rhythm shifted.
Suddenly Colossus' steel fists connected clean, sending a man sprawling. Thunderbird roared, slamming his opponent through a table.
For a moment, it looked like the tide was turning.
And then—
White fire tore through their skulls.
Logan dropped to his knees, claws scraping tile. His brain felt like it was boiling. He bit back a scream, eyes bloodshot.
Storm clutched her head, lightning scattering uncontrolled. Colossus staggered, armor flickering off. Thunderbird hit the ground, teeth grit in agony.
Kitty, peering from the alley crack, froze. She couldn't see the source—only the way her heroes buckled.
The café door swung wide.
Emma Frost stepped in, heels clicking on shattered tile. Immaculate. Untouched.
"Pathetic," she murmured. Her eyes glowed faint blue as she raised a hand. "Children playing dress-up in their father's war."
She looked to her men. "Take them to the hovercraft. Now."
The suits obeyed, dragging limp bodies through broken glass.
Logan's head throbbed, his body heavy, but he caught her scent again through the haze — that sour, rotting sweetness. His lip curled.
'You snake.'
Emma turned away, utterly certain of victory.
She never noticed the small figure pressed against the hovercraft's wall outside, breath shallow, heart racing. Kitty Pryde, trembling but resolute, slid through cold steel like it was paper.
She huddled in the dark corner of the hold, hugging her knees.
'I'm scared. So scared. But… I can't leave them.'
The hatch sealed with a hiss. The hovercraft rose into the night.
And the girl nobody saw rode into the storm.