TOUCH
Jean reached out, her fingertips grazing the surface of the magical barrier.
The moment her skin made contact, Ali's head turned toward her in slow, deliberate motion. His blackened left eye locked onto hers, that's when Jean used her power on him.
Jean blinked.
When her eyes opened again, the world had vanished.
She was surrounded by darkness—an all-consuming, infinite void.
'Darkness everywhere… I can't see anything…' Jean thought as she struggled to orient herself. But then—
A glow.
A brilliant, fiery red light emerged from her body, growing and stretching, forming the familiar shape of a massive, ethereal phoenix. Its flames flickered, illuminating the surrounding void, pushing back the oppressive blackness.
'What is this place…?'
Her breath hitched as the world beneath her solidified. She wasn't floating in nothingness anymore—she was standing.
On glass.
Jean's gaze dropped, and her stomach twisted.
Below the translucent surface, countless hands clawed and slammed against the barrier separating them from her. Some were human, fingers mangled and bleeding; others were monstrous, twisted beyond recognition with elongated claws and charred flesh.
Some were enormous, like the hands of giants. Others were unsettlingly small, like those of children.
All of them reached for her.
Scraping. Beating. Desperate.
And they were gathering beneath her feet, drawn toward her presence like starving wraiths.
A shiver crawled up Jean's spine.
'How can this be someone's mind? Just what the hell is he…?'
The phoenix behind her flared brighter, its divine flames roaring to life. The blackened hands recoiled, hissing and writhing as if burned by the sheer intensity of its radiance.
Then—
BOOOOOM.
Jean spun around.
Something had moved.
Something massive.
And then she saw them.
Silhouettes.
Dozens of black shadows, human-like but not quite human. They stood in formation like prisoners in a line, each one shackled by thick black chains that stretched into the endless void above.
Jean stepped forward, her glowing eyes narrowing as she studied them.
The first figure in the line was small, barely more than a teenager. The chains around his wrists and neck dug into his shadowy flesh, as if he had been bound for an eternity.
Next to him was a larger figure, broad-shouldered and strong, but just as imprisoned.
Jean's eyes trailed down the line.
One after another, more shadows—more versions of him.
Each one progressively larger, more monstrous.
Each one breaking free a little more.
Then—
Jean reached the end of the line.
Her breath caught.
The last figure sat atop a massive throne, his chin resting against his fist. Unlike the others, this one wasn't struggling against his restraints.
Because there were no chains.
Jean stared at the seated shadow, dread twisting in her gut. 'Was this his past? His evolution? His fate?'
A faint rustling sound behind her made her heart race.
Jean turned slowly—
And found a child.
A small shadow in the shape of a boy.
His features were more defined than the others—sharper, clearer. He even had a little backpack slung over his shoulders, as if he were just a normal schoolboy.
Jean's lips parted slightly.
This one felt different.
His presence didn't scream of destruction or chaos.
It radiated loneliness.
Jean's phoenix blazed even brighter as she slowly extended a hand toward him, a gentle smile forming on her lips.
'You feel so lonely…' she thought, her fingers inches away from touching him.
Then—
His eyes snapped open.
Jean barely had time to react.
KAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
A deafening, inhuman screech released by the phoenix tore through the void as black chains erupted from the child's eyes.
They grew larger.
Longer.
Unstoppable.
The phoenix screeched in defiance, its flames surging to life in an attempt to incinerate the oncoming chains. But the blackened restraints did not burn.
They survived.
And then they wrapped around Jean.
One coil.
Two.
Three.
In mere seconds, she was entirely bound, her body crushed beneath the weight of the suffocating chains.
The glass beneath her feet shattered—
And the hands came.
They shot upward, countless fingers grabbing at the chains, wrapping them tighter and tighter, dragging Jean—dragging the phoenix into the abyss.
The flames flickered violently, fighting for freedom, for light—
But the darkness was stronger.
And then—
Nothing.
The shadows in line watched as the light disappeared and the darkness covered everything once again…
"JEAN!"
Cyclops' voice was the first thing Jean heard as reality came rushing back.
Her body collapsed backward, her hand slipping away from the magical barrier.
She would have hit the ground if Cyclops hadn't caught her in time.
His hands trembled as he shook her gently. "Jean, wake up! Jean! You—what did you do to her?!" His voice turned into a furious snarl as he snapped his head up, his visor already glowing with raw energy.
Ali barely acknowledged him.
Cyclops fired.
A powerful red blast erupted from his visor, crashing into the golden barrier that separated him from Ali.
The shield cracked but held firm.
Ali turned his attention to Doctor Strange, who stood with his hands raised, reinforcing the barrier against Cyclops' relentless assault.
Strange's plan had been simple—capture Ali, interrogate him, understand what he was since everything about Ali seemed wrong and unnatural to the doctor.
But now, with so many gunning for Ali's head, that plan was falling apart.
And it was about to get worse.
A shadow loomed above them.
Ali's black eyes flicked upward just in time to see the Hulk descending.
The massive green behemoth hurtled toward the barrier like a meteor—
And nothing was going to stop that kind of impact.
"BRUCE, STOP!"
Strange shot into the air, slamming a glowing palm into Hulk's chest.
In an instant, Bruce Banner's soul was forcibly ejected from his body.
His monstrous form went limp.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Hulk's now-empty body crashed into the pavement like a wrecking ball, sending tremors throughout the city.
The barrier, already under strain, began to fracture.
Cyclops didn't relent and others joined him, Missiles, bullets, and projectiles of all kinds rained upon the shield.
Then—
A red glow seeped into the cracks.
The moment it touched the barrier—
It shattered.
Ali's gaze snapped toward the approaching woman in red.
Scarlet Witch.
Ali smirked.
"My turn."
In an instant, he burned through every last drop of his Spirit.
The red lightsaber in his grip hummed to life, and his stance shifted.
All around him, the heroes rushed in, ready to strike—
Ali raised his head to the sky.
And it appeared.
A massive reptilian eye opened in the heavens above, its purple gaze piercing through the battlefield.
The moment it blinked, a deep, guttural sound reverberated across the city—
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Every single person froze.
Their bodies refused to move.
Primal. Unstoppable. Indescribable fear.
Wolverine, a man who had stared death in the face countless times, found his instincts screaming at him to run.
The only one left standing—
Was Ali.
Muscles surged beneath his skin, his thighs bulging grotesquely as black veins spread across his flesh.
His body was ready.
His blade was ready.
And now—
It was time for death.
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