Prison Battle

Chapter 16: Prison Battle

The piercing alarm blared through the entire Mutant Secret Prison.

In the dim corridor, red warning lights flashed, casting a bloody glow across the passageway. A drop of water trickled down the wall, looking eerily like blood under the alarm lights before it hit the floor.

This old facility, built who knows when, hadn't been this "lively" in a long time. Ever since President X ordered its reconstruction, no one had dared cause trouble here for years. Even the few disobedient escapees were quickly dragged back by Warden Fisk.

The guards here had grown used to mocking these mutant monsters. No matter how powerful they were outside, in here, they'd been broken into obedient dogs.

But today, the tables had turned.

Startled awake by the alarm, the soldiers didn't even have time to dress. They knew what this alarm meant—someone had opened the prison cells without authorization, releasing the inmates. If those monsters got out, it would be a disaster.

And the worst part? If they couldn't regroup and recapture the prisoners fast enough, they'd face Warden Fisk's inhuman torture.

In the Mutant Secret Prison, Warden Fisk was the only one besides President X who struck fear into them. Not just the mutants locked up here dreaded him—the guards were just as terrified.

They'd seen him torment mutants in every way imaginable, just for his own amusement. They'd also seen people who crossed him thrown into the mutant cages, becoming food for those monsters.

Just thinking about it made the soldiers shiver. No one wanted that fate. They rushed out of their dorms as fast as they could, heading toward the Mutant Secret Prison.

But when they reached the second floor, they froze at the sight before them. Dozens of soldiers with submachine guns stood dumbstruck.

About ten meters from the passage gate, Warden Fisk's massive body lay limp on the ground, a gaping hole in his stomach. On top of him, the monsters from the third floor—Beast, Nightcrawler, Toad—were feasting.

From Fisk's wide, unseeing eyes, it was clear he'd been killed from behind by Nightcrawler teleporting in without warning. He never even saw his killer.

But to the soldiers, how the monsters escaped didn't matter. How Fisk died didn't matter. What mattered was that if they didn't act fast, they'd be next.

"The M3 Mutants are loose! Open fire! Don't let them get close, now!" a squad leader shouted, his trembling voice betraying his terror.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!!!

Muzzles flashed as bullets rained down on the mutants like a storm.

Beast roared, furious at being interrupted mid-meal. His wild eyes locked onto the humans daring to attack him, sharp teeth grinding together in a spine-chilling sound.

"Suppress them! Don't let them—don't let them get close!!!"

Meanwhile.

On the third floor, Zhang Ye's ears twitched as he opened another cell door. Amid the alarm, he caught the noise from upstairs—the first wave of mutants had already clashed with the soldiers.

He wasn't worried about whether they could win. Even if their powers were weakened in this universe, they weren't going down to ordinary guns. If anyone died, they deserved it.

He didn't care about the soldiers or the mutants he'd freed. This world was already rotten, plunged into darkness, beyond saving. For Zhang Ye, getting out was all that mattered.

After releasing the last prisoner on the third floor, Zhang Ye stopped beside Shadowcat Kitty. In this world, Kitty looked to be in her twenties, older than Pietro, a far cry from the lively young girl in his memory.

His impression of Shadowcat came from comics and that one movie girl. He'd hoped she might reprise the role, but he'd heard the actress later underwent gender reassignment surgery—no chance of a movie return.

Shaking off the stray thoughts, Zhang Ye looked down at Kitty. "Need help?"

Kitty slowly opened her eyes, her gaze on Zhang Ye filled with complex emotions. Finally, she spoke softly. "You can't help me. This is a nightmare."

Zhang Ye closed his eyes, let out a heavy sigh, and gently placed his left arm, clad in the Iron Suit, on the iron pillar fused with Kitty.

Watching him, Kitty seemed to grasp his intent. She didn't refuse. Instead, she closed her eyes too, quietly waiting for what came next.

Clang!

With the Iron Suit arm's boost, Zhang Ye ripped the pillar straight out of the cell.

Probably because of Kitty's mutant ability, Warden Fisk hadn't used the same reinforced materials as for the other monsters—just basic stuff. That made Zhang Ye's violent demolition easy.

The next moment, Kitty's insides spilled out with a wet splash, like a pot of hotpot broth.

At the sound, Zhang Ye's hand trembled.

"Thanks."

Kitty breathed out the word with her last strength, then went still.

Zhang Ye knew she was beyond saving. Her power had failed, fusing her body with the pillar. Not even Tony Stark from this world, if he were alive, could fix that in time. Better to end her suffering than leave her here.

"..." Zhang Ye fell silent, eyes shut. After a moment, he opened them again, this time with unwavering resolve.

He followed the stairs up to the second floor, where the fight still raged. The soldiers had numbers and heavy firepower, pinning down the mutants he'd freed behind cover.

Nightcrawler and Beast had charged multiple times, but without coordination, they were beaten back by the soldiers and reinforcements.

The soldiers knew that the moment the mutants escaped, the entire prison was sealed by an Electric Barrier. They were trapped in here too—no one was getting out.

If they didn't kill these monsters, every last one of them would die.

The mutants weren't stupid. Realizing the enemy's firepower, they ducked for cover, waiting for a chance to strike. The soldiers stopped shooting too, holding their ground. Without knowing if backup was coming, wasting ammo was pointless.

And so, both sides fell into a tense standoff, neither daring to make a move.

But then, the lights went out. The entire corridor plunged into darkness, as if someone had cut the power. Most people lost their sight in an instant, surrounded by pitch black.