Daniel had quickly pieced together the identities of the four mutants captured earlier—especially the one who had been harassing Didier. His name was Whirlwind.
His mutation was powerful. He could summon gusts, form wind blades, throw up wind barriers, and even fly through the air with wind propulsion. Given enough time, he could likely whip up full tornadoes. He wasn't quite at Storm's level, but he wasn't far off either.
As for the other three, they were a makeshift family—a trio of wanderers who clung to each other out of necessity and survival. They called each other siblings.
The leader of that group was a woman known as Nightwalker. Her specialty was teleportation.
The second mutant, a man nicknamed Hedgehog, could sprout clusters of razor-sharp spines all over his body. It looked unimpressive at first glance, but in combat, it made him nearly impossible to grab or pierce. His defense was top-tier, and his role in the group was clear—protection.
The last woman was Callisto, a mutant with an uncanny sixth sense.
Callisto could sense the presence and power levels of other mutants in a wide radius. If the powerful Jean Grey, the Phoenix, were within range—she could find her instantly. That kind of tracking ability made her dangerous. The moment she locked onto a target, Nightwalker would teleport in and strike—while Hedgehog stood guard.
They were efficient. Small, but coordinated. Their teamwork was tight but not foolproof.
Daniel woke Callisto first. Not because she was the weakest—but because, in his mind, she was the most vulnerable. She had psychic tendencies. Her abilities weren't purely physical, and people like her often had mental tells.
In Daniel's experience, psychics often had an Achilles' heel: instability beneath the surface.
And it only took a moment to spot it.
As soon as her eyes opened, she was met with the glint of light off Daniel's glasses—and before she fully came to her senses, a whispered suggestion curled into her mind.
Ten minutes later, she stood quietly at Daniel's side with a blank expression blank.
Nightwalker and Hedgehog soon followed.
Crack their defenses early, and the rest crumbles. Only Nightwalker took some effort. Daniel had to subtly seal her teleportation ability mid-process—once she realized she was helpless, her resistance vanished.
That was the difference between stray mutants and the X-Men trained at Xavier's academy.
Wild mutants like these were strong—but unrefined. They might pack a punch in the short term, but they couldn't adapt like the X-Men could. They didn't have the discipline, the stamina, or the experience to push through mental pressure. They collapsed as soon as their powers were compromised.
An X-Man would've fought through that loss. These four hadn't reached that level.
Once they were dealt with, Daniel turned to the real wildcard of the group: Whirlwind.
As he slowly regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was the worst possible sight—his three companions lined up behind Daniel, quiet and expressionless.
He froze.
"Whirlwind," Daniel called calmly, stepping forward in his black uniform. His expression unreadable.
"What is Sebastian's real plan? When's the next contact scheduled?"
The lighting was low, the walls cold and stone. Everything about the interrogation room pressed inward.
Whirlwind's voice cracked, "Who are you? What do you want from us?"
His pulse raced, his breath hitching. Being restrained was one thing. But this... this was something else.
Daniel gave a small shrug. "You were supposed to report to him tonight, weren't you? And if you didn't make contact, he'd assume you were compromised."
He stepped in closer and said, "Which is why he intends to send someone else—likely the Red Devil himself—to wipe out this base and everyone in it tomorrow night."
Whirlwind's eyes widened like he'd seen a ghost because that wasn't something he'd said aloud.
That was a thought—one that had flickered in his head moments ago.
And yet Daniel had repeated it. Word for word.
"How… How did you—"
"Relax," Daniel said with a thin smile. "I'm not here to kill you. As long as you follow orders, you'll walk away."
Whirlwind said nothing, but his face was pale. Fear laced through his body. His thoughts—no matter how guarded—were being read like an open book.
He was broken in less than a minute.
Daniel looked satisfied.
Moments later, he stepped out of the interrogation room with four silent mutants following behind.
He hadn't needed force. Just precision.
Still, his brow was slightly furrowed.
The situation was crumbling faster than he'd expected.
According to Whirlwind, the four of them had been sent ahead to "test the waters." Confirm the base's condition. See if the old guard would resist.
Tomorrow night, the Red Devil would arrive—to kill everyone
Sebastian Shaw wasn't playing around. He wasn't just probing—he planned to burn the whole base down and erase what was left of Daniel's legacy.
Clearly, this location meant more to Shaw than anyone suspected.
As for Emma Frost—she hadn't been involved in the operation at all.
Daniel wasn't surprised. While many staff in the company came from the old base, they were slowly being pushed out. Emma didn't need to destroy them. Marginalizing them—but keeping them functional—was enough.
Also, this base held deeper secrets—ones not even Emma fully understood. If anyone wanted to control it, they'd want to keep it untouched.
Which meant Shaw had gone rogue.
His move served two goals:
- First, create a fallback safehouse in case Magneto came after him.
- Second, tighten his grip on Emma by taking control of her inherited power base.
Daniels' mind worked quickly.
Sebastian Shaw, once a Hydra ally in World War II, had inherited the Black King seat in the Hellfire Club from his father, Hull Shaw. Ironically, no one in Hydra at the time had known Hull was a high-ranking member of the Hellfire Club—even the Red Skull had missed it.
Hull Shaw had faked his death after the war and lived out the rest of his days comfortably—until he was murdered by his own son.
Sebastian was never meant to lead. But he took the throne in blood.
Even Daniel hadn't expected him to go that far
The Hellfire Club had been around for over 200 years. Aristocrats, business elites, royalty—they all passed through its halls. After America's founding, it had grown even more powerful. Behind the scenes of world events, their influence loomed large.
They had their hands in both World Wars and now Shaw wanted absolute control.
Daniel knew what would happen next
If Shaw had ordered the extermination of this base's remaining inhabitants, there could be no reconciliation
So Daniel wouldn't hesitate. He wouldn't appeal to sentiment, to old camaraderie. Not after Shaw sent a kill order without a second thought.
If Shaw wanted to burn bridges—and people—then Daniel would return the favor, and faster.
He quietly extracted every scrap of intel from Whirlwind, confirming the Red Devil's schedule, known power users, and possible responses.
Then he moved.
Teleportation helped. Nightwalker could carry people and gear quickly. What couldn't be moved conventionally could be stored magically.
They wouldn't take everything. But they'd take the most critical items: artifacts, technology, documents. Anything sensitive.
What couldn't be moved… would be destroyed."I want explosives planted on the top three floors," Daniel instructed coldly. "Especially the core control room. When the Red Devil arrives—it all comes down on his head."
Didier, still bedridden, looked up weakly.
"And afterward?" he asked. "Will we be coming back?"
Daniel gave a short nod.
"If we survive—and if needed. Yes. We'll leave this place usable. Just buried for now."
'That sounds about right,' Didier thought.
Daniel hadn't changed.
Even now, the man was planning three moves ahead.
Still, worry crossed Didier's face.
"I should stay," he insisted. "Things might go smoother with someone the others trust."
Daniel paused—then stepped closer to his old friend.
"You've done enough," he said quietly. "You gave this base your whole life."
Didier smiled faintly, but his grip on the bedsheet tightened.
He wasn't afraid.
He just wanted to be useful… one last time.