Twist City — the main battlefield of the war.
The two elite X-Men squads, led respectively by Wolverine and Phoenix, were pushing through the enemy lines with ruthless efficiency. Compared to the other teams scattered across the city, their kill rate was vastly superior.
And this wasn't surprising at all.
With powerhouses like Iceman Bobby, Colossus, Sunspot Robert, Polaris, Twinkle, Night Walker, and more — each a veteran Mutant in their own right — the team was a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to the technological enhancements in their combat suits, their abilities were further amplified. Their training simulations in the "Oasis" virtual world had been longer and harsher than anyone else's, honing their combat awareness, skills, and team coordination to perfection.
And with Wolverine and Phoenix — two of the most powerful Mutants alive — at the helm, the lineup was unstoppable.
It was Joseph, of course, who built this team. Joseph, the strategist behind the scenes, the visionary.
Right now, the eight members of this strike team were spread across eight different fronts. Wherever they went, they carved a clean path through the Chitauri invaders — tearing through them like they were cutting through paper.
Wait — not just eight.
Phoenix's squad had gained an unexpected new member: Gwen, the Spider-Woman.
Swinging down from a shattered skyscraper, Gwen delivered a flying kick to a Zeta Swiss soldier, sending it crashing into a wall. As she landed, she couldn't help but shoot a questioning glance at Polaris.
"Lorna, why are your suits all red, but Wolverine and the others are in grey?"
Polaris — controlling the metal embedded in the city's infrastructure with graceful efficiency — answered mid-fight, "Each squad's color is different, part of the uniform system. I don't know the full reason, though. If you're that curious, ask Joseph!"
"I keep hearing that name, but I still haven't met the guy!" Gwen sighed in frustration. With a rapid flick of her wrist, web-lines shot out and pulled two Chitauri into each other like flailing meteor hammers.
"Seriously, if I'm helping out, why don't I get a uniform too?" she muttered as she launched herself toward another rooftop. "And shouldn't we be closing that wormhole instead of retreating?!"
Just then, a monstrous roar shook the sky above.
Wolverine appeared — balanced atop a flying Leviathan. His Adamantium claws dug deep into the beast's hide like butter through warm bread. With a flash from his boots, he launched into a sprint across the creature's spine, leaving a trail of crimson in his wake.
It wasn't enough to kill the giant beast, but it got its attention — and then came Phoenix.
With a wave of her hand, the Leviathan's back wound tore wide open. Muscles split, bones cracked, and in the blink of an eye, the massive monster was ripped in half.
"Jean, your powers… they've gotten stronger again…" Wolverine's voice crackled over the communicator. His tone was impressed, but tinged with confusion. "We trained in the same 'Oasis' program, but I only improved in combat skills. How did your powers grow too?"
"If you're really curious," Phoenix said with a faintly different voice, "ask Joseph."
Wolverine dove onto a Chitauri flight cruiser, sliced the pilot's head clean off, and grunted. "There's definitely something going on between you two…"
Joseph again.
Gwen caught the name over the comms. Ever since joining the team during the Jinhe Group incident, she'd been eager to meet this mysterious "Joseph" that Phoenix and the others always mentioned.
"Why haven't I met the boss yet?" she mumbled, even while flipping through the ruins. She landed silently in a collapsed alleyway and found dozens of civilians hiding, terrified.
"Hey, do any of you know me?" she called.
A little boy peered out and whispered, "Spider…man?"
"That's right," Gwen smiled behind the mask. "I'm Spider-Woman. Don't worry — we'll kick these aliens out soon. But for now, you need to move to a safer place. Try the subway tunnels."
The boy's face brightened slightly.
But his next question struck home.
"That…thing in the sky… the aliens keep coming out non-stop. Just you guys — the X-Men — can you really beat them?"
Gwen knelt beside him and pulled several bracelets from a pouch on her hip. "No, we can't do it alone," she said gently. "That's why we need you. All of you."
She handed the bracelets to him and a few others. "Ever heard of Ultraman? No? That's fine. Just wear the bracelet, and if the time comes… lift your arm and say it: 'Let there be light.'"
They blinked at her in confusion.
Before they could ask more, Gwen had already zipped away on her webs.
The civilians looked at each other. The boy hesitated, then put the bracelet on.
"Let there be light…"
Others echoed, "Let there be light…"
Elsewhere in the city, other X-Men — Iceman, Colossus, Blink, and others — had also begun distributing the bracelets.
Twist was a vast metropolis. Its population meant hundreds of hidden Mutants. Over 500 stepped forward to help. Most were weak Delta-class Mutants, but their courage was unwavering. Surprisingly, the X-Men didn't ask them to fight — only to help evacuate civilians, and to help distribute the mysterious bracelets.
In a dark alley, Black Widow watched Gwen from the shadows. Tapping her comm, she asked, "What are they doing?"
"Not sure," came Hawkeye's voice. "At a time like this, handing out game bracelets? Promoting software?"
"That doesn't add up," Captain America cut in. "There must be something else. Maybe the bracelets hold energy? Weapons?"
"Impossible," both Widow and Hawkeye answered. "They're just login devices for a global game. No way they're weapons. Mutants wouldn't hand weapons to civilians anyway."
"Should we steal a few and investigate?" asked Ant-Man.
"Stick to the mission!" growled War Machine. "Our orders are clear — wait in the shadows until the X-Men are vulnerable… then strike."
The Avengers, all under Loki's control via the Mind Scepter, were placed in strategic locations. Their task was not to aid the defense of Earth, but to assassinate the X-Men.
So far, they'd remained unseen.
Yet now, even battle-hardened warriors like Black Widow and Hawkeye hesitated.
"Can we really kill them?" asked Captain America.
As he spoke, he watched Iceman freeze an entire street in seconds. Fifty-seven Chitauri soldiers turned to ice sculptures — as did three aerial cruisers — and crashed down in shimmering shards.
"…I don't think we can," Hawkeye admitted.
His target, Night Walker, was too fast, teleporting and weaving through laser blasts like a ghost. Even laser shots that did land bounced harmlessly off his energy-shielded red combat suit.
"How do we even sneak-attack something like that?" he muttered.
Ant-Man scouted Colossus — a walking wall of steel. "What am I supposed to do? Shrink, crawl into his mouth, and explode him from the inside? What if he's just as solid inside?!"
"Scott has a point," War Machine sighed. His target, Blink, was shielded by three revolving portals that redirected all attacks.
"She's not even fighting — just walking calmly while redirecting everything shot at her!"
"Damn it, how did these Mutants get so strong overnight?!"
Someone suggested Gwen might be vulnerable.
But Black Widow quickly shut that down: "She's with that green-haired Mutant… Lorna. Our files don't have her. But she's manipulating metal — or maybe magnetic fields."
"…Magneto?"
Silence filled the comm line.
Just then…
A chant echoed through the city.
"Let there be light… let there be light…"
Ordinary people were speaking it. Their voices should not have carried far — but somehow, it sounded like a prayer, swelling in the air…
And the universe answered.
The bracelets lit up.
Each one buzzed faintly as it activated, the tiny lights glowing brighter, joining with others across the city. Soon, a radiant web of light stretched across Twist City — a sunset-colored canopy formed from thousands of bracelet signals.
This wasn't just light. It was soul resonance.
Every bracelet wearer, no matter how weak, contributed a trace of their soul energy. Alone, it was nothing. But together — it was enough to activate the six magical pillars Joseph had secretly planted outside the city weeks ago.
"BOOM!!!"
The earth shook.
Six brilliant beams of light blasted into the sky, converging high above the city into a glowing hexagram.
Then came the second miracle.
The trees moved.
All across the city — parks, roadsides, alleyways — trees uprooted themselves and transformed into treants, hulking beings of bark and spirit. Some grew into bears, leaping high into the air with thunderous roars. Behind them, birds swarmed in flocks of thousands — growing rapidly in size.
An army had appeared.
"I… am I dreaming?"
"This is… this is Druid magic!"
"What the hell…?"
The civilians stared in disbelief.
The Avengers were equally stunned. Just as they prepared to attack Gwen and Polaris, Professor X's voice echoed in their minds:
> "The time to counterattack has come."
…Counterattack?
But weren't they here to assassinate the X-Men?
No — wait…
They were the Avengers. Their duty was to protect the Earth.
And in an instant, the psychic influence shattered.
Captain America, War Machine, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Black Widow all stood frozen.
They had been controlled.
And if not for the Mutants…
They would have become Earth's executioners.
Now, the X-Men stood at the forefront.
With armies. With power. With hope.
"…Did Nick Fury say to beware of Mutants?" someone whispered in the comms.
"Do we… even have the right to 'watch' them anymore?"
No one answered.
They remembered the prayer.
"Let there be light."
It wasn't just a phrase.
It was hope.
Hope... brought by Mutants.
"…The world is about to change," someone murmured.
No one disagreed.
Because for the Mutants, this wasn't a war.
It was the beginning of a new era.
An era where they would finally stand on the stage of history.
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