Dark clouds swirled overhead as the group of five stood before the looming structure known only as Sinister's Castle. The air was thick with tension. This wasn't a mission of war—it was a rescue.
Ethan, Cable, Scott, Logan, and Hank stood silently. None of them wore their iconic uniforms. This wasn't a mission for heroics or spectacle. It was personal. It's a rescue.
The ancient gates creaked open as Scott pushed them with a controlled optic blast. Scott stepped forward, optic visor glowing faintly in the darkness. "Let's end this," he said, voice firm, heart heavy.
He blasted the gate open with a measured burst. The sound of the metal groaning open echoed like a death knell. Cable raised his rifle, his cybernetic eye scanning for threats.
As they entered, the grand hall revealed itself—a cathedral of twisted architecture, bathed in green light.
At the center of it all, on an elevated platform, sat Madelyne Pryor. Her long red hair framed a sharp, beautiful face twisted in something between amusement and malice. She wore her green outfit—iconic, regal, intimidating and bathed in an eerie dark aura.
Scott took a cautious step forward. "Madelyne," he said gently, "we're here for you—and the baby. Are you both safe?"
Madelyne's gaze sharpened. Her lips curled into a mocking smile. "You should worry about your own safety."
Before anyone could react, a blast of green fire erupted from her fingertips, streaking toward the group.
Instinct kicked in—Logan leaped aside with his claws drawn; Cable ducked and rolled; Hank tumbled back, narrowly avoiding the flames.
But Ethan didn't move.
He stood still with his eyes closed. The flames washed over him harmlessly, licking at his form like a breeze against stone. His skin didn't scorch, and his magically-enhanced clothes remained untouched.
He opened his eyes slowly, glowing with power. "Found you," he said quietly, and turned his gaze upward toward the staircase.
"Ethan, wait—" Scott called, but Ethan raised a hand.
"I'll leave Madelyne to you," he told the others. "I'm going to deal with Sinister."
He began climbing, step by step, calm and unaffected.
Madelyne's eyes flared. "You dare ignore me?!"
She launched another assault—green fire, shards of metal, entire chunks of the ceiling. But none of it reached him. The flames dispersed on contact. The debris turned to dust before hitting his body. Ethan didn't so much as flinch.
"I don't have time to deal with someone manipulated," he muttered, "This ends today—with Sinister."
Cable couldn't help the smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "He always makes it sound so easy…"
The green flames still smoldered in the cracks of the marble floor. Dust and psychic energy crackled in the air. Ethan had disappeared up the spiraling staircase with calm certainty, leaving the others behind to confront Madelyne alone.
Madelyne stared after him, jaw tight, fingers trembling. "He ignored me..." she whispered, voice low and venomous. "He walked away like I was... nothing."
Her fists clenched as raw power surged around her, lifting shards of debris and cracked stone. Her hair floated around her like she was submerged in power itself.
Logan stepped forward with his already claws extended, "You ain't goin' anywhere, lady."
She turned to him with a furious scream. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
A telekinetic blast exploded from her, sending Logan crashing into a wall hard enough to crack stone. He grunted, blood dripping from his temple before his healing factor kicking in.
Scott stood up beside him, panting, blood at the corner of his mouth. "Madelyne, please—don't do this."
"Why shouldn't I?!" she shouted, her voice layered with psychic distortion. "He ignored me! He treated me like some pawn—like I'm already lost. I'll show him what I am!"
She raised both hands and conjured a storm of green fire that swept the room like a hurricane.
Hank dived behind a pillar, shouting, "This level of power is unstable—she's not thinking straight!"
Scott barely held up a barrier of optic blasts to protect them, eyes flaring red against the emerald onslaught. "We're not going to let you chase him. If you go after Ethan like this, you'll just get yourself hurt!"
"You think I care?!" Madelyne roared. "I'd rather die than be ignored again!"
Her rage focused into a spear of green flame that tore toward Scott. Logan leapt into its path, taking the brunt. He screamed as his body lit up like a torch. But he didn't fall and growled through grit teeth, healing even as his flesh burned.
Madelyne's power was immense. She didn't hold back, driven by rage.
Logan found himself engulfed in green flames, his healing factor barely keeping up as he became a living torch.
Scott tried to speak to her, to reach the real Madelyne, but her mind was clouded as she made his consciousness with a simple mental command.
Hank didn't last long. A psychic shockwave hurled him across the room, where he lay unconscious amid the rubble.
Cable's rifle sparked and died in his hands, destroyed by her. She attacked him with both fire and telekinesis that brought him down to his knee.
He dropped to one knee, breath ragged, struggling to keep up, "Madelyne... no—Mother, please stop this," he said hoarsely.
The word made her freeze.
Her head tilted. "What… did you just say?"
Cable didn't hesitate and took the chance. He pulled a small chip from the back of his neck—his last resort—and moved closer. With a pained grunt, he pressed it against the base of her skull.
There was a flash, followed by a pulse of psychic energy. Madelyne staggered backward before gripping her head. The aura around her flickered and died. Her eyes cleared.
She looked around at the destruction, at the scorched walls and fallen friends. "Oh my God… what did I do?"
Cable stood up while panting. "It wasn't your fault… Moth—Madelyne."
She looked at him. Her breath caught. "Those eyes… they're just like Scott's. Oh my god… Nathan?"
He gave her a tired smile. "Yeah. It's me, Mother. Even though I'm from the future."
Madelyne's eyes welled with tears as she stepped forward and embraced him. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"It's okay. You're back. That's all that matters."
Just then, the castle groaned. The walls trembled. Cracks split across the stone floor. The entire structure was beginning to collapse.
Cable looked up sharply. "We have to move—now!"
Madelyne nodded. Together, she and Cable lifted the unconscious Hank and Scott, while Logan limped beside them, healing slowly. They raced out of the crumbling castle, just as the first tower began to fall.
.....
A Few Minutes Earlier – At the Lab of Sinister
The castle's uppermost chamber loomed like a dark cathedral of science and madness. Cold glass, green luminescent liquids, and thick wires ran through the walls like veins. The hum of machines vibrated through the floor beneath Ethan's boots. He had finally arrived.
At the center of the room, a tall man stood on a mechanical chair, arms raised like a conductor before an orchestra. His grin was manic and unhinged.
"Welcome, Ethan," Sinister said in smooth tone with condescension. "The man who managed to destroy my original body. I must say... I'm honored."
Ethan stepped calmly inside, unbothered by the theatrics. His eyes didn't even flinch as they scanned the lab. They stopped at a tall, clear cylinder near the back—filled with a glowing green liquid. Suspended inside, barely conscious, was an infant.
Nathan.
Ethan's gaze hardened and his voice is dangerously quiet. "You're looking excited. What did you do to the baby?"
Sinister's grin widened, "Oh, don't worry. He's safe—more than safe, in fact. You're thinking you can save him? How noble." He chuckled before stepping off his platform with exaggerated grace. "But it's far too late. The process has already begun. When it's complete, I'll have a loyal servant—one more powerful than any of you could ever dream."
The silence that followed was suffocating. Then… the floor trembled.
It started slowly—an almost imperceptible vibration—but it quickly intensified. Cracks formed in the marble. Test tubes rattled on metal tables. The power surged from Ethan like a dam breaking, cold and ancient.
"You're confident for someone who's about to die," Ethan said calmly, but his voice is like thunder beneath a still sea.
Sinister's expression twitched, then straightened into defiance. "You can't kill me, Ethan. I've already died once. My clones are scattered across the world. Even if you manage to kill me here, I'll just come back... again and again. Like a virus."
And then, Sinister struck.
From his gauntlets, crimson energy blasts tore through the room like lasers. Hidden panels opened, unleashing mechanical abominations—robots armed with plasma cannons and energy blades, each bearing Sinister's twisted DNA designs.
Ethan didn't even raise his hand.
With a simple wave of his fingers, everything disintegrated—energy blasts, machines, robots—reduced to ash in an instant.
Sinister's eyes widened. "Wha—?"
The castle began to groan, walls trembling under the pressure of a brewing storm. Wind howled through the broken windows. The ceiling cracked. Ethan floated forward as his steps no longer touching the floor.
He approached the test tube, placing a hand against it gently. The child inside stirred.
Ethan opened a glowing golden portal beside him, leading outside—to the courtyard where Madelyne, Logan, and the others waited.
With the utmost care, he telekinetically lifted the tube and passed it through the portal.
On the other side, Madelyne gasped as the infant was suddenly in front of her. Scott and Hank, who were just regaining consciousness, stumbled up beside her.
Logan narrowed his eyes, watching the massive storm building above the shattered spire. Thunder cracked, lightning carved the sky like the wrath of a vengeful god.
"That storm…" Logan muttered in awe, "It's stronger than before."
Back in the sky, amidst the swirling tornado and blinding lightning, Ethan hovered above the crumbling castle, holding Sinister suspended in the air with an invisible grip.
Sinister thrashed, caught like an insect in a jar. "Let me go! This doesn't matter—my clones—my research—they'll continue my work—!"
Ethan's eyes began to glow—deep, blazing red.
The Phoenix stirred.
A deafening cry shattered the sky, and a fiery silhouette took form behind Ethan. The cosmic bird spread its wings, its body composed of golden-red flame with eyes burning with eternity.
Ethan stared into Sinister's soul. "Since you're so confident about your clones… let's destroy that confidence first."
Sinister's panic surged. "No… no, wait—!"
A golden pulse emitted from Ethan's forehead as he dove into Sinister's mind with ease. The so-called psychic dampener chip fried instantly under the Phoenix Force's pressure.
Sinister screamed, thrashing, veins bulging in his head.
In seconds, Ethan saw it all—every secret, every clone, every hidden lab, every encrypted archive across the world.
His lips moved slowly. "I see everything."
And then… the sky ignited.
The Phoenix Force flared outward—an astral wave that cascaded across continents. Everyone, everywhere, felt it. A cry that echoed in every living soul. A cosmic scream of cleansing fire.
All across the globe, hidden bunkers burst into flame. Sinister's clones, unaware of their impending doom, collapsed one by one, screaming into nothing. Data banks sparked, short-circuited, and burned. Laboratories imploded in waves of invisible energy.
---
Location One: Northern Siberian Facility – Jean, Bobby, and Jubilee
The biting cold was almost unbearable. Snow lashed against their dress as they stood at the entrance of a hidden underground bunker, its thick steel doors partially opened by Jubilee's plasma blasts.
Jean stood still at the threshold with her eyes narrowed.
"I've got chills, and it's not from the weather," Bobby said, half-joking as he kept his ice-formed armor close.
Jubilee cracked her knuckles. "Let's just torch it and go home. This place is giving me the creeps."
Suddenly, it happened.
A cry split the air—not just sound, but something far deeper. A psychic wail that resonated across the sky like a celestial bird screaming through dimensions.
Jean froze.
She felt it. In her mind, in her soul—the familiar warmth, the overwhelming presence of the Phoenix.
She didn't need to search for it. She knew.
Just behind her, the heavy bunker doors rumbled and caved inwards—silent fire consuming everything within. Not a spark was left.
Jubilee took a cautious step back. "That… wasn't us, right?"
A smile tugged at her lips as she closed her eyes. "He did it…"
"Jean?" Bobby asked in confusion.
Jean opened her eyes, sharp and gleaming with pride. "Ethan. He destroyed them. The clone in this place… it's gone. Everything in there just turned to ash."
Jean turned to her teammates. "We're done here. Let's go."
.....
Location Two: Abandoned Tech Vault – Anna, Kitty, and Angelica
The trio walked through a ruined facility in the Nevada wasteland. Blackened consoles and broken chambers lined the walls.
Angelica raised an eyebrow. "Are we sure anything's even left in here? Place looks like someone beat us to it."
Kitty was already phasing through the walls, scanning for any remaining data.
Then came the sound—a majestic, fierce cry. The Phoenix.
Anna paused as the room shuddered slightly as dust fell from the ceiling. Flames curled at the edges of every console and terminal—then, in a blink, everything turned to ash.
Angelica backed away, alarmed. "What the—?!"
Anna chuckled softly, her eyes filled with a strange mixture of awe and affection. "It's him. Ethan. He handled it."
Kitty stepped through the wall and blinked. "Wait… what just happened?"
"The clone's gone. His research, too," Anna said. "There's nothing left."
She then used her sling ring and waved. A golden ring of light opened beside her—a portal leading straight back to the mansion.
"I'm going home. No point stayin' here," she said simply, and stepped through.
Kitty and Angelica looked at each other.
"I guess we're done?" Kitty asked.
Angelica shrugged. "I'm not questioning the magic."
And they followed.
---
Location Three: Eastern European Stronghold – John, Kurt, and Colossus
The trio had just reached the outer walls of a hidden base, surrounded by high-tech defenses and crumbling towers.
John stood confidently with fire dancing at his fingertips. "Let's just burn through the door."
Kurt flicked his tail and gave a small nod. "Zhis place looks like it belongs in a vampire movie."
Colossus cracked his knuckles, stepping forward to scan the walls.
Then it came.
The cry.
A resonant, soul-piercing scream from above. The clouds lit up faintly with orange and red, and the air turned heavy for a brief moment.
John blinked. "Uh… did you hear that?"
Kurt's ears twitched. "Ja… it sounded like…"
The facility in front of them suddenly burst into brilliant golden flames, without warning. Every wall, device, and hidden clone chamber inside was disintegrated in a matter of seconds, like a divine judgment had passed.
Smoke curled up into the sky.
Colossus stared at the smoldering remains. "Did… one of you do that?"
"No," John said, still staring. "And that wasn't normal fire."
Kurt looked around, then at the others. "Should we… report this? Or...?"
The three stood there, awkwardly.
...
Sinister watched it all—forced to see every detail through Ethan's telepathy. His eyes bulged, mouth gaping open in horror.
"No... NO! My life's work—my legacy—!"
"Gone," Ethan whispered. "Erased. Like it never existed."
Sinister whimpered, his voice cracking as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Please—please, I was wrong! Let me live! I can be of use—I can help you! My knowledge, my resources—"
"You're not worthy," Ethan replied, the wind roaring around him, the Phoenix flames now illuminating the world.
Sinister tried one last desperate plea with his voice trembling. "Mercy! I—I can serve you! I can be loyal, We can become strong together and I can—"
Ethan's voice thundered through the storm, divine and absolute. "Throughout the heaven and the earth… I am the strongest."
Sinister's eyes widened in disbelief.
With a slow gesture, Ethan reached forward, "And I don't need useless pests like you." Before placing his hand against Sinister's chest.
Phoenix flames exploded.
Sinister screamed—his voice stretching as body and soul were consumed. No ash remained. No echo. Nothing. He was unmade.
Later the storm calmed.
The tornado dispersed into silence. Lightning ceased. The castle was gone—leveled entirely. The land was scorched clean.
Ethan floated there, silhouetted by the last flicker of Phoenix light like a god who had delivered judgment.
And the world would remember that cry.
...
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