CHAPTER 90 – THE FIRST GUARDIAN
The universe still felt wrong. A blink too long, a silence too deep, as if existence itself was holding its breath. The X-Men staggered on the broken plain, catching their balance, looking at one another with eyes wide and hollow.
Then—light.
It flared a few feet away. A shape rose from the dust. Not a titan, not a monster—just a small figure, scarcely taller than a child. Round head, impish face, eyes glowing white. He bowed with stiff precision, his voice mechanical and cheerful.
"I am JAHF. Guardian of the Crystal."
Logan spat blood. "Tch. Figures the big bad protector looks like a toy."
Storm raised her staff, lightning crawling around her. "Do not underestimate him, Wolverine."
Jahf straightened, his smile frozen. "No intruder may pass. HONEST or not, it is forbidden. Thus, you must be—" His voice rose like a bell. "—DESTROYED."
He moved before anyone could breathe.
Colossus took the hit first, the imp's small fist punching into his steel chest. Piotr flew across the plain, smashing through a stone pillar like glass.
"PIOTR!" Storm cried.
Logan leapt, claws flashing, but Jahf caught his wrist mid-swing and slammed him face-first into the ground. Dust shot up in a ring. Logan groaned, bones creaking. "'Little bastard's STRONG—"
Cyclops fired full-beam, visor blasting wide. Jahf cartwheeled aside, the blast carving a canyon in the rock, and popped up right in front of Scott. "UNIMPRESSIVE." His tiny hands grabbed Scott's visor, ripping the ruby-quartz lens free. A surge of optic fire exploded into the sky uncontrolled before Jean pulled him back, reconstructing the visor with telekinesis in panic.
Nightcrawler blinked around him in a flurry of smoke. Jahf tracked every move, pivoting, then caught Kurt mid-teleport, hurling him into Thunderbird's chest like ragdolls.
"Scheisse!" Kurt wheezed.
Thunderbird shoved him off, snarl curling. "You wanna fight, imp? TRY ME!" He charged. Jahf side-stepped, one punch to John's ribs folding him to the ground.
The team was collapsing. Even Sunfire's blazing inferno did nothing—Jahf simply ducked into the fire, walked out unscathed, and hurled a stone that clipped Shiro midair, sending him spiraling down.
Jean stood back, Phoenix fire sputtering as if her own strength was waning. She gritted her teeth, raised her hands, and summoned the sky itself.
A meteor tore from orbit, a blazing chunk of stone screaming down like judgment. It hit Jahf's spot in a cataclysmic explosion, light burning the valley clean.
The shockwave slammed everyone flat. Silence followed, smoke curling from the crater.
Jean staggered. "Did I…?"
The smoke parted. Jahf hopped lightly onto a rock, dusting himself off, eyes still glowing bright.
"My circuits anticipated your strike." His smile never faltered. "COMBAT CONTINUES."
Banshee's eyes widened. "'Circuits… circuits…" He swallowed, pushing himself up, jaw tight. "Then maybe… maybe I've got a way."
He launched himself skyward with a scream, cutting through the dust, landing hard right in front of Jahf.
The imp tilted its head. "FOOLISH." His arms snapped around Sean, hugging him tight, bones creaking. Sean's face contorted in agony as Jahf squeezed.
"AHHHHH!"
His spine bent, lungs crushed.
But Sean clamped his hands around Jahf's head, pulling his mouth close. His voice cracked, raw with desperation. "Eat THIS, ye wee devil—!"
The scream detonated point-blank. A sonic blast at full force, tearing the air apart, ripping straight into Jahf's circuits.
Light burst from the Guardian's eyes, his smile flickering. "UNACCEPTABLE—ERROR—"
The blast ripped through him. Jahf's body convulsed, sparks spraying, until his head snapped back and his body fell limp, tumbling into the dust.
Banshee collapsed on top of him, coughing blood, his voice gone raw. Logan dragged himself upright, claws out, eyes wide. "Sean… you did it."
The team staggered closer. Jean knelt by him, fire dim, placing a hand on his chest. "He's alive. Barely."
Storm exhaled, relief in her trembling voice. "Then… the guardian is defeated."
The ground shook.
From the shadows of the valley, a second figure rose. Taller, broader, skin dark as obsidian, eyes burning blue. Its presence weighed on them like a mountain.
It spoke in a voice like thunder. "I AM MODT. SECOND GUARDIAN."
Logan spat, claws snapping out again. "'Course there's another one."
The new guardian took a step forward. The ground cracked under its weight.
"INTRUDERS. YOU SHALL FALL."
And the nightmare began again.