Chapter6:
She darted sideways, snow spraying under her boots, and twisted her body just as a clawed hand sliced through the air where her head had been. Bones folded, flesh shifted—she shrank fast, dropping into a smaller frame and skittering under the swipe before snapping back to her usual self.
Mystique glanced over her shoulder, more irritated than shaken, her eyes narrowing on the ugly, inhuman thing snarling after her.
It stood tall, as large as a bear, with long white fur hanging in thick coats. The shape was vaguely human, but its eyes and claws shredded any illusion of humanity.
"ROAR!"
Another set of monstrous hands lunged for her back.
With an annoyed sigh, she let her flesh sink and shift again, shrinking into a squirrel and darting up the trees. Her irritation sharpened as soon as she thought of Destiny and the reason she was even here in the first place.
The very clearly inhuman monsters had already stymied her search for hours. At first, she'd taken the local rumors of a "man beast" sighting as proof the mutant she was searching for might actually be hiding in these mountains. That hope had soured fast.
A breath later, she rippled down into the form of a rabbit, fur pale against the snow. From the ground, the world towered over her, but she stilled her body against the ground.
She remained still while the beasts moved across the clearing. A third one prowled out of the treeline, nose high and sniffing.
They weren't mutants. Not even close. Her hopes had died when the second one tried to bite her in half. By the third, she was convinced—whatever these were, they hadn't been human for a long, long time.
Mystique had lived long enough to know the world was full of secrets. Decades of wandering had shown her again and again that reality wasn't nearly as normal as humanity pretended it to be.
That didn't mean she was happy to stumble into one of those secrets now. She had more important things to do than uncover nightmare creatures in the snow.
She bolted again, streaking through powder until she leapt up a tree trunk and reshaped into her original body, hugging the bark. One monster's head swung her way before grunting and turning back. She stayed pressed against the tree, irritation grinding at her teeth. If it weren't for Destiny's request, she'd have been long gone by now.
Her wife's voice rang in her head, shaken. "I saw impossibility, Raven. Mutant kind's salvation lay deep within those lands. Go deep into the mountains and find the daughter lost, and there you will find Chaos made man."
She'd agreed, of course. Despite how nonsensical the prophecy sounded, she always did. You didn't abandon your own, not out here, not in this world that tried to kill you just for existing. And if there really was something out there that could help all of mutantkind, well—that was the cherry on top.
Mystique sighed through her nose as feathers overtook her skin, her body reshaping once more. A bird now, she perched on a crooked branch and studied the three creatures below. She was one flap away from leaving this cursed place altogether.
But the damn things had good noses. They kept tracking her no matter how many times she slipped out of their line of sight. She would've left ages ago if Destiny's vision hadn't pointed her to these mountains.
She regretted not coming armed. She'd already tried killing the damn things, but their skin was like iron. Times like this made her wish her mutation let her gain more mass instead of just shifting it around.
For a moment, she weighed the idea of splitting the monsters up, maybe leading one away and picking them off piece by piece.
But then all three of the monsters froze, heads turning in unison. Their nostrils flared as if they were catching a new scent.
"KIAAA!"
The sound split the air—sharp and guttural—followed by a thunderous crash. From the distant mountains, a boulder shot into the sky before slamming back down in a spray of snow and stone.
The beasts didn't hesitate. They broke into a run, charging toward the mountains without a second glance at her.
"Finally." Mystique smiled, relief flashing across her face. She let her body melt into feathers and bone, shrinking into the form of a bird before launching herself into the sky.
Being cold sucked, but it was tolerable. Being cold and covered in guts and viscera? That was just no.
I stood at the cave opening we'd stumbled across, trying to catch a break. We'd gotten pretty far into the mountains by teleporting, but the cold was still brutal. Even with the Trait dulling the worst of it and the Sun Ring giving off heat, it wasn't enough. A cave seemed like the best option.
Of course, that's when it all went wrong.
[Feat Achieved! Slay the Wendigo Mother!]
[1 Gold Gacha Ticket]
The corpse in front of me was proof. A messy splatter of blood and fur, half its body crushed under the boulder I'd thrown when instinct made me switch to Catapult the moment it leapt from the dark.
"What the hell is that…" Anna's voice cracked, bewildered.
"Some magical B.S.," I replied through clenched teeth.
Marvel just couldn't give us a break, could it?
A bellow rolled from somewhere down the mountain, the sound carrying in waves. Roars echoed back, multiplying in the snow-choked air.
"Kaw! Kaw!" The crow's cries cut sharply and panicked.
I could recognize the warning without even being told so.
"Time to go." I grabbed Anna, pulling her close as I tried to swap back to Spatial Displacement. I pushed for the slot to shift—nothing. Tried again, harder. Still nothing. Like slamming into a brick wall.
"It has a cooldown? You've got to be fucking kidding me!"
"Jack!?" Anna's scream tore my attention forward.
Through the mist I could see them—massive figures charging up the slope, their shapes too big to be anything but Wendigos. At least a dozen of them.
I didn't hesitate. In my mind, I ripped open the golden ticket.
[Ring of the Bull]
Rare Item
This ruby band grants its wearer increased strength and endurance when worn. The stat boost is half a flat increase and half a percentage increase.
A golden signet ring etched with a bull's head appeared in my hand. The moment it touched my skin, a rush surged through me—like drinking a thousand cups of coffee in one breath. It was intoxicating, threatening to sweep me under, but I forced myself out of it and shoved the ring toward Anna.
"Take this."
She slipped it on, and her posture snapped straight as if someone had hit her with a syringe of adrenaline.
"A ring that grants super strength and endurance," I explained quickly.
The ground trembled with the Wendigos' stomping, each step closer. I conjured a wall of boulders between us and the cave entrance, buying a little time.
Anna frowned. "Shouldn't you wear this? I don't think—"
Her words cut off as I ignited the lightsaber, the blade hissing to life in the cave's chill air.
"I'm not giving you this because I think you're a burden, Anna." My voice was steady. "It's tactically sound. There's no point in having the ring boost me, I've got ranged attacks. You, on the other hand, need to be up close and personal to use your power. I'm giving you the ring because I trust you to cover my back."
She hesitated, then the faintest smile broke through. Her fingers brushed the ring.
"I've got your back." Anna's voice was firm as she stepped in at my side, stance set and ready.
The sound of Wendigos echoed closer, heavy steps pounding through the snow. Their monstrous cries filled the cave, and the wall of boulders I'd thrown up was the first casualty. Cracks split through the rock, sharp snaps echoing as claws dug through.
My fist shot out, and despite all sense or reasoning, the boulders flew through the air like they were weightless.
The entrance came back into view. It wasn't a pretty sight.
A couple of Wendigos lay broken in the snow where the rocks had flung them. Big bastards, their corpses sprawled awkwardly across the ground. At least they looked more like oversized Bigfoot than the nightmare horror-movie version I'd half expected.
Still, more were coming. I could see them through the mist, shapes moving fast, climbing the slope toward us.
I hurled more rocks, one after another, chunks of stone blasting through the air as fast as I could throw. Each impact boomed, the air filled with the constant crash of breaking stone.
Big ones, small ones, didn't matter—there were too many. The whole damn hornet's nest was spilling down the mountain. Even with the boulders crushing them, some of the Wendigos refused to stay down. They were strong. Absurdly strong. A clean hit flattened them like bugs, but glancing blows only slowed them. I couldn't summon them fast enough.
Each boulder took seconds to form. Seconds that cost me ground. More and more of them climbed higher, getting closer. I couldn't keep up.
One finally broke through. Claws stretched, eyes fixed on us.
Anna stepped forward without hesitation.
It was almost comical—a tiny girl rushing a monster twice her size. The Wendigo even seemed surprised, but its claw still swung down for her throat.
The bull ring lit, and she met it head-on. Her fist cracked against its chest with enough force to cave ribs. The monster staggered back, stunned.
Anna's eyes widened at the strength in her punch, shock flickering across her face, but she didn't waste it. She grabbed the creature, drained it, then hurled it aside like it weighed nothing.
White streaks bled into her hair, threading through the dark until it looked frosted. Her shoulders broadened, muscles swelling under her skin as her frame stretched taller. For a heartbeat, she looked less like Anna and more like some warped facsimile of a werewolf.
Another Wendigo burst from the mist, jaws snapping for her head. Anna caught its leg mid-charge, spun, and whipped it overhead before tossing it like a ragdoll into the snow.
"Holy shit…" I muttered, flinging another boulder. It smacked into a smaller Wendigo, splattering it across the slope.
The hillside told the rest of the story. Corpses scattered in the snow, blood steaming in the cold. The dozens of roars that had filled the mountain a minute ago slowly went quiet.
Of course, the biggest and meanest still remained.
Anna was locked in a brawl with five of them at once. Giants, each as big as a bear, were grappling her in a flurry of claws and teeth.
She screamed as she shoved them back, caught between blows. Claws raked her arm, jaws clamped on her shoulder, and she shook them off like nothing. She grabbed one around the chest, and I swore I saw it wither in her grip before she crushed its body like a grape.
The bull ring, the sun princess ring, and her own mutant power made her into a juggernaut.
The fight became a blur of stone, claws, and snow. I kept hurling rocks down the slope, smashing through the stragglers that tried to climb. I didn't dare aim too close to Anna—not when she was tangled up with them. Then again, with how she was fighting, a boulder might not have even scratched her.
"RAHHH!"
Her scream ripped through the air as her fist punched straight through a Wendigo's gut.
The others tried to swarm her, three piling on at once, but it was useless. Her stomp shook the ground, and all three went flying, their bodies crashing into the snow like they'd been hit by a blast wave.
Anna turned her head. Our eyes met through the storm, and she smiled at me—feral, blood dripping from her mouth and chin.
My heart skipped a beat at the sight.
Yeah… she'll be fine.
I sank into the rhythm. Rock after rock, I kept throwing, kept killing. The sound of stone splitting the air, the crunch of impact, and the dying roars of Wendigos marked the only passing of time.
Until finally—
[Feat Achieved! Clear the Wendigo Nest!]
[X 1 Platinum Gacha Ticket]
My breath came shallow as I looked over the hillside. Total carnage. Corpses smashed flat, torn open, steaming in the cold.
"Jesus…"
A sound broke the quiet.
Clapping.
I turned.
Balanced on the carcass of a Wendigo, a woman watched us with a predatory gaze. Blue scales glimmered cold in the snowlight, her yellow eyes sharp enough to cut through the mist. Recognition came fast—anyone who'd read an X-Men comic would know her.
"Phenomenal job, kids," Mystique said.