CHAPTER 109 AMBUSH IN THE DARK
The base was drowned in silence. Only the hiss of molten rock veins pulsing beneath the floor broke it. The lights had been cut, every panel dead. Nanny spun in useless circles, her servos whining.
Magneto strode in like he owned the place, cape trailing, boots clicking sharp against the steel. His eyes narrowed at the shadows.
"So. You've slipped your bonds. Perhaps I did underestimate you."
He lifted a hand, feeling the magnetic resonance hum around him, waiting for the first strike.
He didn't wait long.
Cyclops' visor blazed, ruby beams slamming across the chamber. Sunfire's flames licked the dark, boiling the very air. Banshee's scream howled, shattering consoles. Jean thrust out both hands and Phoenix fire cut across the chamber, wrapping Magneto in green fury.
The master of magnetism staggered, his shield flaring under the sheer combined force. He snarled, cape snapping in the winds of their onslaught.
From the shadows came the real strike-Logan. He burst from the black, claws out, bullet-time reflexes turning the chaos into his playground. He slid low under the magnetic field's flicker and slashed across Magneto's back. Sparks, blood, and a scream of rage tore through the chamber.
"Gotcha, tin god," Logan growled.
Magneto whirled, power flaring, but Nightcrawler was already there. In a burst of brimstone, Kurt appeared at his side, ripped the helmet free with a grunt, and vanished again. The great metal crown spun through the dark-
-and Thunderbird snatched it from the air, holding it high.
For one breath, one heartbeat, the X-Men had him.
Magneto crashed to one knee, his power stuttering, his face twisted in hate.
Then the earth itself answered.
A rumble, a roar-molten rock burst from the ceiling, glowing red streams splattering across consoles. Fiery stone crashed to the ground, spraying lava in all directions. The whole base shook, groaning like a beast on its deathbed.
Nightcrawler clung to the wall, eyes wide. Storm cried out, "The volcano-its containment field is failing!"
Magneto's laugh was bitter, triumphant even as blood ran down his back.
"FOOLS! Your battle damaged the systems. The shielding is gone. This fortress cannot be saved. Stay here... and die."
Lava dripped from the ceiling like burning rain. The floor cracked, molten light spilling from below.
The X-Men tightened ranks, flames dancing in Jean's eyes, fear flashing across every face.
And Magneto rose, bleeding but unbowed. His hand stretched out-not in desperation, but in command.
This fight wasn't over.
The chamber roared alive, an oven of death. Lava sheets poured through ruptured cracks, firelight painting the X-Men in shades of red and orange. The heat clawed at their lungs, every breath like swallowing flame.
Cyclops fired upward, beams trying to cut a path through falling stone. Storm whipped winds in frantic bursts to slow the molten rain. Banshee's scream rattled the chamber, but the volcano drowned even his voice.
"We need a way out!" Beast shouted, his fur slick with sweat, eyes darting for any breach.
"Magneto-" Jean gasped, the Phoenix flame sparking around her hands. "He brought us here. He can get us out!"
Her plea was answered with a sneer. Magneto stood tall, his back bleeding where Logan's claws had cut, but his eyes burned with triumph.
"You still don't understand. This is the end you've earned. You will share the fate I once suffered-powerless, helpless, watching as the world closes in around you."
Thunderbird snarled, clutching the stolen helmet tighter. "You'll get us out, Magneto, or I'll-"
He never finished.
A flicker of motion, a sharp tug in the air-Thunderbird's body jerked, the helmet ripped from his grip. It flew straight into Magneto's bloody hand.
"NO!" Logan roared, leaping forward. Too late.
Magneto slammed the helmet back onto his head. His aura flared with renewed force. Не looked down on them with contempt, lifted by magnetic waves.
"You think yourselves saviors. But you're children. And children BURN."
He shot skyward, smashing through the roof in a storm of rock and molten fire. The last thing they heard was his voice, echoing as he fled into the Antarctic night.
"Only I escape. YOU DIE."
The ceiling split wide. Lava cascaded in great glowing rivers, swallowing consoles, devouring steel. The floor cracked open beneath their feet.
"Move!" Cyclops shouted, trying to guide them through collapsing platforms. Storm's winds pushed falling debris aside, but her strength faltered. Sunfire's flames lashed at the oncoming torrents, only to be drowned in the greater fire.
Logan fought to keep them together, slashing rock, dragging Banshee to his feet. "On your toes! Don't quit on me now!"
But the volcano cared nothing for courage.
One by one, they were swallowed by flame.
Jean screamed, Phoenix power bursting uncontrolled, wrapping Beast beside her. She reached for the others, tried to hold them all-but the fire was too vast, too merciless.
She cried out again, her voice both hers and not: "I WON'T LET GO!"
Green fire erupted like a second sun. For a heartbeat, the inferno itself bent to her will.
Then came silence.
On the Antarctic surface, the ice cracked, split by an explosion of emerald light. A fiery bird blazed into the sky, wings of Phoenix fire stretching wide before folding back into nothing.
Snow and smoke settled.
In the ruins lay two figures-Jean Grey and Beast, burned, broken, barely alive.
Hank staggered to his knees, gasping, clutching Jean's limp form. Her breath rattled shallow, her skin pale, fire gone.
"Jean... no, no, stay with me," he begged, voice raw. "Where in God's name do I find a doctor here?"
He tried to stand, tried to carry her, but exhaustion crushed him. His arms faltered. His vision blurred.
The two collapsed together on the frozen ice, unconscious.
Only the Antarctic winds bore witness.