"The government of the United States does not run experiments on its citizens. We're not World War 2 Nazis," Coulson said. "And we don't appreciate you calling us that."

"Course you're not," Logan sniffed. "Was in the war. The Nazis were 10 times scarier than your lot but were simpler. At least you knew what you were in for. Boy scouts like you don't even know how rotten their houses are."

Coulson looked like he'd been punched in the throat, and Storm spoke, thankfully moving the conversation along.

"The Professor has taken care of Jean most of her life. While some of us don't agree with his methods, we don't dispute that this mansion is the safest place in the world for her."

I sighed, shaking my head. "You're all so far out on the ledge, you don't even know. Xavier will get shredded if he pits himself against the Phoenix, and New York will be a crater the second that thing inside Jean gets loose. I know a sorcerer who can take her far away, deal with the fallout, and help her find herself again. She needs this, or I'm telling you, the planet will not survive."

Logan didn't speak for a long moment. "I think we're going to stick with the Prof, kid," he said. "I like you, but I don't trust a word that comes out of your mouth, even if it's always the truth."

"You tried," Natasha said, then turned to the lineup of mutants. "To be clear, if you try to stop us, you will be seen as obstructing justice and will be charged to the fullest extent of the law."

"You don't scare me," Scott growled.

"Maybe she should," Clint said, shaking his head.

"We're not budging tuts," Wolverine growled, sinking into a deeper stance.

"Have it your way then," I said, then pulled a loaded sniper from my Weapon Vault and trained it at Wolverine's chest. He barely had time to blink before he was sent flying backward, with half his chest caved in. A fiery Portal opened up behind him, sending Logan to somewhere in Ohio.

"Logan!" Storm screamed, and Scott roared, firing a concentrated beam at me.

Another portal opened in front of me, exiting out in the center of the X-Men. The explosion scattered them in different directions.

Natasha and Clint were startled by the sudden development while Coulson gaped.

"When you said Sorcerer, I didn't think you actually meant, well, that."

"Geek out later," I said. "Save the world now."

"You heard the prickly teenager," Clint said. "Let's end this quickly." His words spurred the team into action, and they each picked a mutant and went after them.

Drumm appeared behind me in his flowing gold robes. "That was certainly some speech you gave back there."

"Good to have you here, Drumm." Although we met under less-than-ideal circumstances, Drumm struck me as reasonable.

"Now that our second biggest threat is taken care of. Our focus needs to be her."

I gestured towards Storm, who flew towards us with Colossus behind her. Bobby Drake faced off against Natasha, Pyro fought against Coulson and May, and Clint had the unfortunate pleasure of fighting Scott. Kitty was nowhere to be found, but that was largely expected.

Drumm observed the pair with some inquisitive tilt. "The witch. She's overflowing with raw magical energy."

I activated Devil's eye, focusing on the energy surrounding Storm. "Oh yeah, it's a crap ton, which is why I think you're best suited to handle this particular problem. I'm on Michelin man."

Drumm gave me a blank stare.

"I guess they took your sense of humor along with your hair when they make you master, huh?"

"You do realize that we remain bald by choice?"

"Once is an isolated incident, twice is a coincidence, and I don't believe in coincidences, Master Drumm."

He shook his head and waved his hand, generating three portals. Three ethereal Drumms separated from the central one and flew into the portals surrounding Storm. It immediately halted her fight.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

Eldritch whips lashed out in mass, snapping up Storm's arms, legs, and torso.

"Do not resist, young Witch," Drumm said. "We wish to help the girl, not kill her."

Back on the ground, Colossus bounded into my range, and I Angel Evaded, appearing in front of the Chrome giant.

"This is not going to go how you think it will," I said. "I like Ilyana. Don't make me fight you."

"You underestimate my strength," Piotr said. "Do not forget you've never won any of our spars."

I could've told him I was more focused on technique than power in those fights, but I thought it better to show him.

"Your funeral," I shrugged, and Demon Burst forward. Piotr crossed his arm to tank what he hoped would be a stab, but I switched to an Axe mid-stride, packed it full of Demon energy, and brought it down on Colossus's forearm.

The hit rocked Colossus back, carving a deep rend in his forearm and bathed it in fire.

"What the hell is that?" his eyes bulged, looking down at his bruised forearm and Arbiter in dread.

"You sure you don't just want to let me through?" I asked again. Colussus set his jaw and squared up his fists, and I rushed ahead, matching axe with fist.

—

Natasha's POV

I fired electric shot after electric shot at the elusive Bobby Drake. His mutation gave me an innate advantage, making him highly susceptible to electricity.

However, Drake was wily and skilled.

After eating the first bolt to the chest, he lowered his ice shell and focused more on generating pillars to limit my eye line, making it harder to pin him down.

In the background, storm clouds gathered overhead, and I smelt ozone. Whatever that sorcerer was doing, he was not working fast enough to immobilize Storm.

"You're a decent agent, Lady," Bobby said smugly as he zipped past a pillar and chucked an icicle at me, "but I am an X-Man. You stand no chance. Why don't you round up your friends and get out of here while we're still being nice."

Like I said, Bobby was good...for his age.

I leaned out of the way of the icicle and pulled up by Bullpup shotgun. One shot shattered an Ice Pillar, and the second nearly took off Bobby's head.

He ducked under the shot, tucking and boosting himself behind another pillar. "Give up before I really start aiming."

"You asked for it, lady!" Bobby barked before a wave of frost swept the battlefield.

The kid was getting serious; I supposed it was time I did, too. I activated the internal heating in my suit and collapsed in an exaggerated heap and yelp.

Bobby stopped, and I could hear his panicked footsteps race over.

"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." More panic crept into Bobby's voice with repetition. I was lying on the ground some distance away, so I raised the voltage of my gun ever so slightly.

When Bobby was about a dozen feet off, I switched off the heating and laid in wait, allowing a thin layer of frost to cover me.

Bobby reminded me a lot about Dante. He might've been superhuman, but he was not truly strong. True strength came from conviction.

"God, please," his voice cracked.

Bobby did not have that, and neither did Dante.

I fired straight into his chest just as he reached down to check on me. His eyes went wide in shock as his body seized. He tried summoning a layer of Ice to protect him, but that only worsened things. After five long seconds, he dropped to the floor, completely passed out.

With a huff, I climbed to my feet.

It wouldn't be long before it was Dante lying at my feet. He thought he could manipulate me with the memory of my lost sister…I knew she was truly gone and made my peace with that. He was delusional if he thought he could compromise me, but I'll let him think he could and feed his ego.

And when he's at his most vulnerable, that's when I'll strike. I'll pump him for all he's worth, just like I've done dozens of men before him. Fury had big plans for the kid, but he could not truly bring him in unless he knew where the kid buried his skeletons.

I shook snowflakes out of my red hair before surveying the battlefield. Everyone had their fights in hand. The sorcerer had Storm on the ropes, and Coulson and May looked like they were about to turn their fight around with the Pyrokinetic. Dante's fight with the giant was also heating up. Knowing the kid, it wouldn't be long before we were ready to storm the mansion. So, I took the time to update the director.

–

Coulson

'Pyro' or whatever his name was cackled like a B-rate villain as he set the grounds on fire. Wherever he pointed, flames roared, sending May and me scampering and sweating.

Each time we took a shot at him, they melted mid-flight as Pyro cranked up the heat.

Nearly a minute in, he was already a few fire waves away from burning down a quarter of the grounds, and we'd expended all 10 of our foam shots to extend the fight just a little bit longer.

Dark clouds rolled in a while back, but nothing ever came of it. We saw bright flashes of red and gold, and in seconds, it was over.

Pyro was three moves away from asphyxiating us when May snapped.

"Just let me switch to live ammunition, and I'll drop that bastard in a heartbeat," she growled.

"And risk pissing off our Director, two senior agents, and the devil kid?" I scoffed, wiping away a layer of sweat. "No, I have a better idea. One I think you'll like quite well."

Pyro had a nasty habit of triggering our grenades midflight.

I bet he wouldn't be able to do that if he was preoccupied by a murderous May.

"Set your pieces to Noise cancellation mode. Sonic grenades are about to go live," I announced on the channel, and everyone acknowledged the warning.

The moment we set our earphones to full noise cancellation mode, I gave the signal. May opened fire on the smug mutant, targeting the general area around him. His eyes bulged as if surprised that we actually fought back.

The sonic grenade went off a second later, and the wildfires around us quivered. Pyro fell to his knees, screaming, and May fired two electric shots into his chest.

The fires around us sputtered and died when Pyro collapsed, and the grenade was spent a second later.

"Did you really have to shoot the kid twice?"

"They weren't high voltage," May waved. "And the rug rat deserved it."

---