CHAPTER 182 — SHADOWS IN THE PENTAGON
The walls shook as Avalanche's first tremor split the plaster, chunks of ceiling raining down. Politicians screamed, guards scrambled, Kelly ducked under the table.
Blob barreled forward like a runaway tank, roaring: "X-MEN! I'LL CRUSH YA!"
Colossus stepped up, steel skin gleaming under fluorescent lights. "Not today, tovarisch!" He charged, fists colliding with Blob's chest.
The sound was like a gong. Blob barely rocked back a step before planting his feet and grinning. "That tickle, chrome-boy?"
Colossus frowned, hit again, harder. Nothing. Blob laughed, slamming his gut into Piotr and hurling the Russian backward across the chamber.
Logan spat out a cigar stub, claws snikting into existence. "Yeah, Pete, that ain't your dance partner. Big boy's all blubber an' no give." He cracked his neck. "But me? I cut."
He sprinted low, claws flashing. Blob swung a ham-sized fist, but Logan ducked, sliding under his arm, three adamantium claws slicing across Blob's thigh. Blood gushed.
Blob howled, shock twisting his face. "You—ya runt—you actually—!"
Destiny's voice rose from the shadows, sharp, panicked: "Fred, move left!"
Logan's instincts kicked in faster than Blob's bulk. He feinted right, then slashed left, carving a red line across Blob's ribs before the fat giant could even grunt.
"Ya shoulda stayed home," Logan growled. He spun, claws flashing again. Within moments Blob was on his knees, groaning, bleeding out from wounds even his stubborn hide couldn't shrug off. Logan cracked him across the temple with the butt of his fist. Blob hit the floor with a thunderous boom.
"Bag o' lard's all yours," Logan muttered, tossing Blob's unconscious body at the stunned soldiers. "Try not to drop him—he's heavy."
---
Elsewhere, the fight raged.
Nightcrawler teleported through flashes of light, tail lashing, blades in hand. His golden eyes locked on Mystique, who mirrored his skin, his eyes, even his stance.
"Vhy?" Kurt demanded between strikes. "Vhy do you look like me?"
Mystique smirked, parrying. "Not like you, child. Like someone else. A woman you'd know if Charles ever told you the truth."
He froze. Her words slithered in his ears, curling around the one name he never dared to ask.
"Your mother, Azazel's plaything. Raven." Mystique leaned close, whispering in his ear before slamming her boot into his chest and kicking him through a row of chairs. "That's me."
Kurt gasped, winded, staring as she melted into another soldier's skin and vanished into the chaos.
---
Storm soared above the meeting chamber, eyes white, cloak crackling with lightning. Pyro's flames snaked through the room, scattering panicked civilians. His laughter was wild, manic.
"Dance for me, goddess! Let's see how high the flames can climb!"
"You play with toys, boy," Storm snapped, voice thundering as wind ripped through the chamber. "I command the sky."
She summoned a cyclone, flames sputtering under the sudden rush of air. Pyro cursed, clutching his backpack.
"No, no—don't you dare—!"
Lightning struck. His tank erupted, exploding in a wash of fire. Storm swept her arms, pulling the inferno out through a hole in the ceiling, dragging both flame and villain into the open sky. Their battle continued outside, a duel of fire and storm.
---
Thunderbird and Angel double-teamed Avalanche, dodging his tremors. Angel swooped low, talons scraping, while Thunderbird leapt from balcony to balcony, fists slamming into Avalanche's jaw.
"You're just a second-rate earthquake!" John yelled, grinning through the fight.
Avalanche snarled, hurling a shockwave that toppled desks. "Say that again, feather-brain!"
Angel winced mid-flight. "Uh—that was meant for you, right?"
"Shut up, bird-man, I got this!" Thunderbird roared, tackling Avalanche to the ground.
---
Meanwhile, Kate Pryde—older in spirit, younger in body—kept Kelly behind her, phasing them both through bullets and stray fire. Her heart raced. Every instinct screamed to protect him.
'This is it,' she thought, eyes darting. 'This is the moment. If he dies, the world dies.'
Kelly cowered, pale and shaking. "You—you're one of them!"
Kate snarled. "And I'm the one keeping you alive. So shut up!"
---
Logan wiped Blob's blood off his claws, eyes scanning. One scent missing.
Mystique.
He froze, head tilting. Through the chaos, he caught the faint chemical tang of her scent cloaked by tech.
Near Kelly.
Logan's lips peeled back in a grin. "Gotcha."
He bolted, claws sheathed, moving like a wolf through tall grass. Kelly's bodyguard stood stiff, too still.
Logan lunged—one haymaker smashing the guard across the chamber. The disguise fizzled, flesh rippling, and Mystique's blue skin flared into view as she crashed into a wall.
"Guess your perfume ain't as good as ya thought," Logan growled.
Mystique hissed, clutching her jaw. Around her, the Brotherhood lay beaten, Storm dragging Pyro in by the scruff, Angel and Thunderbird pinning Avalanche. Destiny knelt, bound in Nightcrawler's tail, eyes furious but resigned.
Mystique glared at the X-Men. "This isn't over. None of this ends with your victory." She pressed a device on her belt. Energy shimmered, and she vanished into smoke.
---
The room quieted. Soldiers swarmed in, weapons raised. Logan's claws half-popped—until one general lifted a hand, wordlessly guiding his men aside, leaving a gap.
A hole. An escape.
The X-Men darted through. As Logan brushed past the general, something hit him—a shiver, addictive and sharp, like lightning crawling through his bones.
His vision blurred, then sharpened. Heat shapes everywhere. Through walls. Through bodies.
"Infrared," Logan muttered under his breath, realization curling like smoke. "Hell of a gift you got, General."
The man didn't respond. Just gave the faintest nod.
---
Back at the Mansion, the silence after battle weighed heavy. Kate stood before them, eyes wet, voice trembling.
"Thank you. Maybe… maybe it's enough. Maybe I changed it." She looked at Logan, confusion flickering. "But you… you're different. Stronger than my Logan. I can't… sense you at all."
Logan raised an eyebrow. "Stronger, huh? And you can't sense me? You mean I didn't have this trick in your future?"
He flexed his hand. The claws shot out—then kept going, spearing five meters across the room, stabbing clean through the far wall.
Kate gasped. "You can do that?"
Logan smirked. "Guess so."
Her face paled. The room spun. She crumpled, and when her eyes opened again, they were Kitty's—young, confused, remembering nothing.
Storm touched the girl's hair, whispering softly. "Perhaps it is kinder this way. To live without the weight of futures not yet written."
Logan leaned against the wall, cigar between his teeth, thoughts dark.
'So in her future, I never had the Equalizer. Didn't have these tricks. Which means either I hid 'em—which ain't my style—or I never got 'em at all. And if that's the case… no wonder we lost to a buncha tin men.'
He closed his eyes. The thought burned like whiskey.
'But not here. Not now. This time, I've got an edge. And I'll be damned before I let 'em take this team down.'