----
Max's face lit up with relief. His mission was nearly complete.
But Logan and Storm? Their expressions were far from celebratory.
Then… a sonic boom cracked the sky.
A figure descended, golden light flaring as his boots touched the ground in that unmistakable cape-flapping superhero pose.
Nolan.
He arrived cloaked in mystic energy, his aura bending the air around him. Just moments ago, he'd been training Wanda in Kamar-Taj and experimenting with the newly discovered [Psionic Dimension]. But the moment he heard Shadowcat and Storm were on site?
He came personally.
"You really brought out the big guns," Nolan said, smiling casually at Storm. "If you're here, then Charles must be doing better. And Magneto? With the serum I gave him, he's probably stronger than ever."
Storm kept her tone even. "We didn't come to start a war, Nolan. We've fought side by side before—there's no need for this aggression."
"Hold on." Nolan raised a hand. "When exactly were we ever 'friendly'? Let's see… every time we've met, one of you attacked me. Logan, Erik... all so self-righteous."
He turned toward Kitty, who was being shielded by Colossus and Iceman.
"Now, I don't want to make this messy. My team just saved your people. All I ask is a little sample. Just one vial of Shadowcat's blood."
His voice hardened. "Or do you want me to take it myself?"
Storm's pupils vanished as her body lifted off the ground. "You forget who you're threatening, 'Superman.' I am the storm."
Winds howled as tornadoes tore through the battlefield. A swirling hurricane rose, sealing the area in an impenetrable dome of clouds and lightning.
But Nolan simply smiled.
"If Charles were here, he'd know better."
In a flash, golden light surged outward. The landscape shattered like glass replaced by a serene, reflective void.
Mirror Dimension.
Storm gasped. Her tornado vanished. The winds obeyed no more.
Colossus sensed the shift and roared, lunging to strike—
"CLANG!"
His metallic arm shattered on impact. The force launched him like a cannonball into the distance, skidding across the ground.
Nolan didn't even flinch.
His eyes drifted back to Kitty.
"Relax, sweetheart. I just need a drop. Won't hurt a bit."
A small [Injector Disk] materialized in his hand, glinting under the fragmented light. He stepped forward.
Kitty stumbled back, clutching the boy she'd rescued.
Then—frost roared to life.
A frigid blast slammed into Nolan's side. Bobby's ice storm surged like a glacier, backed by desperation and fury.
Nolan sighed.
With a subtle breath, he exhaled and the air turned violent.
A hurricane of sub-zero wind erupted from his lips, consuming Bobby's cold in a supercharged cyclone. Frost warped into daggers. The air crystallized.
In seconds, Bobby became a statue, encased in layered ice.
Storm's eyes widened in shock.
She could still feel the wind but not control it. The very element she'd ruled now answered someone else.
"How…?"
Her confidence cracked. If the storm never belonged to me… then who does it obey?
Nolan's gaze flicked to Logan.
"You want to try next?"
Logan's claws snikted out.
"You're not touching her."
He charged.
And flew.
Literally, his feet lifted off the ground as gravity inverted.
"Wha—!?"
Logan flailed, tumbling upward in weightless confusion. His growls echoed in the warped dimension as he soared upward his body falling into the sky.
Meanwhile, Kitty tried to run.
But her feet skidded uselessly in place as if she were sprinting on glass.
"You're just making this harder," Nolan said calmly.
In a blink, he appeared in front of her.
The syringe hissed.
Kitty froze bracing for torture, or worse.
But it didn't come.
Just a prick.
And a vial filled.
"There. All done."
Nolan pocketed the sample. Kitty stared at him in stunned silence. She'd expected abduction, dissection, pain…
But he really had only wanted a few drops.
"Thanks," Nolan said, smiling. "You just helped open a new dimension."
And with that, he turned, golden cloak sweeping the fractured world behind him.
----
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