Chapter 163: Shackles and Queens
The ballroom of the Hellfire Club gleamed with polished marble and velvet curtains. Crystal chandeliers dripped golden light onto the stage where the captured X-Men stood in a cruel display — bound, collared, shackled by inhibitor fields that cut them off from their gifts.
Colossus strained against his chains, steel muscles bulging, but they glowed with power-suppressing fire. He growled, low and furious, but the restraints held.
Thunderbird bared his teeth. "Cowards. Let me loose and I'll snap all your necks."
Storm lifted her chin despite the iron collar digging into her skin. Dignity, pride — the storm goddess even in chains.
Nightcrawler muttered softly, head bowed. "Gott, give us strength…" His tail twitched, nervous.
And Cyclops stood tall, face covered by a ruby-quartz alloy cage, sealing his optic beams behind red glow. He looked immovable, even in shackles. His silence was his rebellion.
Sebastian Shaw stood at the front, arms behind his back, chest puffed in tailored black. The Black King smirked like a man who thought himself invincible.
Donald Pierce polished his cybernetic hand with a rag, bored, waiting for violence.
Harry Leland puffed a cigar, his belly quivering with laughter as he exhaled smoke in Storm's face.
And then she entered.
Jean Grey — but not Jean. Black corset, high leather boots, lace gloves, a whip coiled at her hip. Black Queen. Her steps echoed sharp as gunfire as she crossed the floor, eyes burning with cruel satisfaction.
Storm spoke first, voice raw but steady. "Jean… no. This is not you. Fight it. Whatever illusion binds you—"
The whip cracked across Storm's face.
"Silence, slave," Jean hissed. She grabbed Storm's jaw, nails digging into her skin. "You betrayed your Lady's trust. For that, you suffer."
Storm's head snapped sideways from the slap. Blood on her lip. She closed her eyes, but she didn't look away.
"Jean… I will not stop believing in you."
Jean's smile faltered, just a flicker — then Jason Wyngarde's illusion pressed tighter, and her smirk returned, cruel and cold. In her mind's eye, she stood in a medieval hall, torches burning. Storm knelt before her, chains heavy on her wrists. Wyngarde — Mastermind — at her side, crown gleaming, hand resting on her shoulder like a lover's claim.
Thunderbird roared. "You witch! I'll—"
Pierce slammed his cybernetic fist into Thunderbird's gut, shutting him up with a howl of pain. Leland chuckled. "Dogs bark, but they don't bite when the leash is strong."
Colossus' eyes burned. "You dishonor her, Jean. You dishonor yourself."
The Black Queen's whip lashed again, across his chest. "You are mine to dishonor, metal man."
Nightcrawler's voice trembled, but his words cut true. "Jean, listen to your heart. You know this is wrong."
Her hand twitched, hesitation showing for just a second. Shaw barked out a laugh. "Don't waste breath on her. She's one of us now."
Through it all, Cyclops stayed silent. His heart thundered in his chest, but his voice was steady when he finally spoke.
"Jean. Hear me."
His words didn't come from his mouth. They came from inside her mind.
She gasped. Her eyes darted, confusion cracking the mask.
'I'm here,' Scott's thought whispered. 'I'll always be here. Follow the link. Come find me.'
Jason's smile thinned. He saw her hesitate. He leaned close, whispering honey into her ear. "Ignore him, my Dark Queen. He is nothing. Only I am real."
But the thread was already pulling her — a silver link of thought and love. Scott felt it. He closed his eyes, focused. He let himself fall inward, into the astral plane.
White light swallowed him whole.