Chapter 165: Broken Chains
The chamber stank of sweat, iron, and fear. The X-Men stood shackled, power inhibitor cuffs digging into their skin, faces bruised, but eyes sharp. Before them, the Inner Circle loomed smug and self-sure. Shaw. Pierce. Leland. Mastermind, with his hand on Jean's shoulder, the Black Queen draped in shadow and lace. Cyclops lay on the floor, chest heaving, his breath weak, ruby quartz mask sealing his face.
Storm whispered, "Scott… no…" Her voice broke like glass. Colossus strained against his bonds. Thunderbird cursed under his breath.
Then—
The ceiling above cracked. Plaster rained down. A shadow dropped, claws flashing.
Logan hit the floor like thunder, driving his blades through the nearest guard's chest. Blood sprayed. The man screamed once and was gone. Logan straightened, lips curling in a snarl.
"Miss me, bub?"
The room froze. Even the Inner Circle stiffened.
Jason's smile sharpened. "My Queen… destroy him."
Jean turned, eyes burning gold. Her hand lifted. Logan's body jolted upward, caught in invisible force. He twisted, snarling, claws slashing at empty air.
'Damn it. She's fightin' me. But… wait. No. She ain't fightin'. She's… hidin' somethin'.'
Cyclops stirred. His head lifted. His body screamed with pain, but Jean's power flickered—subtle, secret. A crack appeared in his ruby quartz mask. A sliver of vision opened.
Cyclops roared and let go. Red light exploded. Pierce was caught full in the chest, thrown across the chamber into the wall. His bionic limbs sparked and whined.
"X-Men—move!" Scott shouted.
The beam cut wide, snapping the shackles off Colossus and Thunderbird. Metal groaned, chains falling in shards. Another blast tore Storm's restraints apart.
Storm inhaled sharply, power rushing back. "At last!" Lightning danced across her skin.
Leland stepped forward, fury on his face. He reached out with his hands, pulling at the field around Colossus. "You'll sink to the earth, tin man!"
Scott turned the beam on him. Leland screamed as the optic blast hurled him backwards, through a wall. He tumbled to the floor below, crashing into the midst of Hellfire's guests. Women screamed, champagne glasses shattered.
Logan dropped, freed from Jean's grip. His eyes locked onto Leland below. A grin split his face. "Round two, bub."
He leapt after him.
The world tilted as Logan came down like a meteor. Leland, panicking, flung his power out, increasing Logan's mass. A mistake. A fatal one.
Logan's descent became a hammer. He landed with a roar, claws forward, fist driving through Leland's skull. The man's head split, blood and bone scattering across the marble floor. Guests shrieked and ran.
Logan rose, dripping red, chest heaving. 'Rusty, huh? Not anymore. These ain't soldiers. Ain't rivals. They're killers. That makes it open season.'
Back upstairs—
Shaw was already retreating, cloak swirling. Nightcrawler blinked into existence before him, rapier in hand. "Nein, mein Herr. The back door is closed."
Shaw sneered. "Do you know what I am, creature? Every strike makes me stronger."
Nightcrawler gave a sharp-toothed grin. "Then I won't strike. I'll stall." He vanished, reappearing a step ahead each time Shaw lunged, driving him in circles.
Storm hovered above, eyes white, wind howling. "You cannot absorb what is not physical, Sebastian Shaw. Feel the ice of the heavens."
The temperature plummeted. Freezing wind whipped Shaw's body, chilling his flesh. He staggered, shivering, movements slow.
"Enough!" Shaw roared, desperate. He grabbed Nightcrawler by the neck, slammed him into a wall, and bolted through the smoke, leaving storm clouds in his wake.
Elsewhere—
Pierce staggered upright, sparking and half-fried. Colossus and Thunderbird advanced.
Pierce snarled, ripping his ruined bionic arm free. "I'll take you both!"
Thunderbird cracked his knuckles. "Try it, tin boy."
The fight was savage. Pierce's mechanical strength against Colossus' steel skin, Thunderbird's fists raining blows. But Pierce fought dirty. His detached arm crackled with energy. He jammed it into both men at once. Electricity surged, arcs of blue crawling over their bodies.
Colossus groaned, falling to one knee. Thunderbird screamed, body writhing.
Pierce kicked them aside, chest heaving. He fled into the shadows, leaving the two warriors smoking on the floor.
And then—
The rain outside finally breached the sewers. Water surged through the Hellfire's underbelly, touching the cables Logan had stripped. Sparks flared. The lights across the club died, plunging the mansion into black.
The X-Men, battered, bloodied, stood on the first floor, the night alive with thunder and panic. They had won—but at what cost?
Above, Jean's heels clicked against the marble. She faced Mastermind, her face calm.
"Jason. You thought killing Scott in front of me would bind me to you. You thought wrong."
Mastermind's smug mask wavered. "My illusions are perfection, Jean. You are mine."
Her lips curled. "Your power cannot touch my mind directly. How, then, did you do it?"
His voice broke. "A device. White Queen's invention. It projected my thoughts into your mind… gave me access to your every secret. Your every doubt."
Jean stepped closer. The shadows around her thickened. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "A telepath knows how to break a telepath, Jason. You gave me the key."
Power flared. Mastermind screamed.
She opened his mind, flooding it with infinity. Stars exploded behind his eyes. Galaxies whirled. The weight of eternity pressed down. He screamed again, clutching his skull. His knees hit the marble, eyes rolling back.
He was gone. A vegetable, body alive but mind destroyed.
Jean turned from him, face unreadable.
Downstairs, the X-Men regrouped, slipping into the darkness as police sirens wailed in the distance. The Blackbird waited, hidden in the lake.
They fled.
But Logan sat in the back, claws sheathed, arms folded. His nose twitched. His eyes narrowed.
'Somethin's wrong with Jeannie. Somethin' deep. Smells like fire. Like somethin' burnin' inside her, waitin' to blow.'
He said nothing. Not yet.