The Serpent Generals roared, their weapons crashing down with the force of earthquakes. The fortress walls trembled with every strike, runes flaring brighter as though the fortress itself was feeding on the chaos.
But Xavier's voice cut through the pandemonium, calm and commanding:
We cannot simply clash blades until dawn. This fortress is alive — it has organs, it has a heart. To slay the serpent, we must cut deeper than its scales.
The Decision to Split
"Divide and conquer," Reed Richards said grimly, stretching his arms to shield allies from the shockwave of the chain-general's attack. "But once we scatter, there'll be no fallback. Either every team succeeds… or none of us make it out."
Captain America glanced around the hall, reading the exhaustion etched on every face, the defiance burning stronger beneath it. He nodded once.
"Then we split. The main force holds the Generals. Strike teams go inside and gut this thing from within."
A hush fell over the cavern — heavy, but determined.
The Teams Form
Main Force (Holding the Generals): Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, Juggernaut, Cyclops, Silvanna, Louis, Candy, and Mona with her demons.
Strike Team Alpha (The Heart): Professor X, Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Greta, and Jessica with her barriers.
Strike Team Beta (The Veins): Varisa, Luna Snow, Natasha Romanoff, Baymax, and Delilah.
Strike Team Gamma (The Mind): Helena and the Sisters with the Thunderbolts, led by Moonstone.
Each had a singular purpose: one to hold, one to strike at the heart, one to cut the fortress's channels, and one to unravel its psychic core.
Main Force Engagement
The Generals came like storms. Thor's hammer met the colossal serpent-spear, sparks tearing the air apart. Juggernaut slammed shoulder-first into the chain-wielder, their collision collapsing entire sections of wall. Wolverine carved at ankles thick as tree trunks, while Candy and Louis struck with darting precision, distracting with impossible speed.
Silvanna stood beside Captain America, veins of blood spiraling from her arms like whips, deflecting blows and lashing at the Generals. "Tony better be watching," she muttered, fangs of crimson energy biting into the chain's links.
Cap's shield ricocheted between all three Generals in a blur. "Eyes forward, soldier. The others need us to buy time."
Strike Team Alpha: Toward the Heart
Reed led Alpha down a pulsating corridor where walls beat like arteries. "This way," he hissed, stretching an arm deep to pull them over a pit that snapped open like a jaw.
Jessica pressed shimmering barriers against crushing walls that tried to collapse upon them, her breath ragged. "This place knows we're inside it."
Greta ignited runes across her palms, tracing light along the walls. "Then let's make it regret."
At the end of the corridor, a chamber opened into the fortress's "heart" — a massive organ pulsing with green ichor, each throb shaking the ground.
Susan's eyes hardened. "That's it. That's the thing keeping this nightmare alive."
The heart pulsed once more… and birthed a swarm of armored serpents that filled the chamber.
"Figures," Reed muttered, stretching both arms into a dozen shields.
Strike Team Beta: Cutting the Veins
Varisa and Delilah led Beta into the under-channels, where glowing veins of energy coursed like rivers. Luna Snow's breath frosted the air as she froze entire channels solid, only to watch the fortress crack them open again.
Natasha dashed ahead, planting explosives along critical junctions. "We need to hit these in sync, or the whole system just reroutes."
Delilah's flames roared against a surge of serpent drones pouring through tunnels. "Then call it, Romanoff. I'll make sure we've got the window."
Baymax's scanners blinked red. "Warning: the fortress circulatory system is adapting to our presence. Increased aggression levels detected."
Varisa spun her scythe, wind howling around her. "Then we adapt harder. Blow its veins apart before it strangles us!"
Strike Team Gamma: Into the Mind
Helena and her Sisters followed the Thunderbolts down twisting halls that hummed with whispers. The deeper they went, the louder the psychic pressure grew. By the time they reached the core chamber, the whispers had become screams.
Moonstone pressed her fingers to her temples. "Something's here. A will older than all of us."
A massive serpent skull loomed at the center of the chamber, its hollow eyes glowing with green fire. From its maw poured projections of every hero's worst fear. Helena saw her Sisters broken and burning. One of the Sisters collapsed, screaming at visions only she could see.
Helena tightened her grip on her blade. "No more lies. No more chains." Her eyes burned with fire as she cut through the illusions, her voice steady:
"We don't bow to fear."
The skull shifted, twisting, laughing.
The mind of the Serpent was awake.