Friends

"Sir! X-0 is gone! Dr. Zander took him!"

Davis raced after Zander as he delivered his urgent report to General Lake.

Over the communicator, General Lake's voice shook with barely contained fury. "What?! Damn it... Davis, find them! Do not let X-0 leave this place!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Wait..." General Lake paused, as if something had occurred to him. "Whatever happens... X-0 cannot fall into anyone else's hands! If you have to, kill him!"

As a young general in Northern Command, John Lake had never been indecisive. The moment he sensed a hint of danger from "Wolverine restored to his prime," he realized X-0 held other secrets... and made his decision. Even if X-0 died, he would not let him leave.

Davis faltered for half a second when he heard the new order. Then a cruel, delighted smile tugged at his lips.

He had waited a long time for that order. At last, he could stop playing the tedious game of "careful, don't break him."

"Yes, sir!" Davis replied respectfully.

Gamma Containment Sector, the underground escape passage beneath Area C-3.

Dr. Zander pushed the wheelchair down the passage. The dim emergency lights flickered along the walls, illuminating the cold sweat that kept beading on his forehead.

"Oh... is that you, Dr. Zander? You don't look so good. Mouth ulcers from your testicular cancer spreading?"

Miles had just woken in the wheelchair and was talking nonsense as usual. His voice was quiet, but it echoed clearly through the passage. "I told you your throat wasn't big enough for your daddy's more adventurous games, but you wouldn't listen... Oh, I know a doctor who's very familiar with testicular cancer. I could introduce you. His name's Wade. A real expert in the field..."

"Shit, shut up!" Miles's rambling made a vein throb in Dr. Zander's forehead. "Keep talking that loud and I'll kill you!" he snarled.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Miles laughed without a care, his laughter sharp and grating.

"Then do it, you piece of shit!" His laughter stopped abruptly, and he gave Zander a look of utter mockery. "Kill me now, and I might even say you've got some backbone. But do you dare?"

Dr. Zander clenched his teeth so hard his face went pale, then flushed. In the end, he did not dare make a move.

Miles was right. He really did not dare. All he wanted was to slip away with Miles amid the chaos, then use his one-of-a-kind research result, "X-0," to secure a place with another faction willing to pay.

If Miles died, he would have... nothing at all.

Meanwhile, on the west side of Gamma Containment Sector.

Boom!

With a tremendous crash, a thick concrete wall caved inward like a cookie struck by a sledgehammer. Rubble and dust sprayed everywhere.

Richter lowered his trembling hands and led a group of young mutants inside.

"Who are you?!"

"Are you the X-Men? Help us!"

"Let me out! Please!"

The once-silent cell block erupted. At the sight of the intruders, the prisoners seized on them as their last hope, hammering wildly at the alloy bars. Faces twisted with fear or wild joy pressed between the bars as they shouted.

Pity flashed through Delia's eyes. She looked at Richter.

"Find him first!" Richter gave the cells a glance and shook his head decisively. He pressed a hand to his earpiece and asked in a low voice, "Aurora, where's Miles?"

Aurora's slightly distorted voice came over the communicator. "He's moving. About two hundred meters northeast, at a depth of... five meters underground!"

"Underground?" Richter frowned and pressed both hands against the cold alloy floor, activating his power. A deep hum sounded, and the entire sector trembled faintly. Then nothing.

Richter stood and shook his head. "No good. The foundation's all one piece. It's too solid... Aurora, where's the basement entrance?"

"I'm hacking into the base plans... I need time!"

"Damn it!" Richter cursed under his breath. Time was running out. He raised his head and called to the others, "Split up and search! If you see any way underground, contact everyone immediately!"

The teenagers scattered. Bobby and Jonah had barely rounded a corner when they ran straight into two oncoming soldiers.

"Who's there?"

"Don't move!"

The patrolling soldiers reacted fast, raising their guns the instant they saw the boys.

But Jonah was just as fast. Without even seeing their faces clearly, he swept out a hand. The soldier in front instantly stiffened. His movements no longer his own, he spun like a puppet and lunged at his partner, wrapping both arms tightly around him.

"Hey! Frank! What the fuck are you doing?!" the soldier shouted, stunned as he struggled.

His partner said nothing, as though he had heard none of it.

Bobby hurried forward and slapped a hand against them. Blue-white arcs of electricity burst out, leaving both men convulsing and foaming at the mouth before they lost consciousness.

"Nice work." Jonah released his hold and gave Bobby a thumbs-up.

Elsewhere, Rebecca and Delia hurried down a corridor. Alarms mingled with distant gunfire and the prisoners' howls. Chaos filled every direction they looked.

A researcher in a white coat crept along the wall, trying to slip away amid the confusion, only for Rebecca to block his path.

Silver light flashed in Delia's eyes as she activated her telekinesis. An invisible hand slammed the researcher against the wall.

"Where's the basement entrance?" Rebecca asked.

Pinned so tightly he could barely breathe, the researcher pointed with difficulty. "That way... Dr. Zander just took X-0 through there..."

Delia and Rebecca exchanged a look. Delia released the researcher, and they hurried off.

"Who's this X-0 they keep talking about?" Rebecca asked as they ran.

"Probably Miles," Delia replied. "If I remember right, X-0 was his experimental designation."

Just then, in a cell they had passed, a gaunt, deathly pale figure who had been sitting motionless suddenly opened his eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Miles..."

"Which Miles are you talking about?"

While the teenagers searched for Miles, the fight between Logan and Elias, known as Impact, had reached a fever pitch at the sector entrance.

Elias thrust his palm forward. An invisible force-field blast slammed Logan against the wall.

Cracks spread across the concrete like a spiderweb, and dust billowed out. Yet the instant the pressure eased, before the dust could settle, a dark figure shot through it. Claws carved a lethal gleam through the air.

Elias's pupils contracted. He twisted aside just in time to dodge Logan's thrust, then unleashed another blast!

"That again..."

Logan was hurled back, but this time he did not fight to steady himself. He rolled with the force, bleeding off the impact. All the while, his eyes stayed locked on Elias.

Seeing Logan driven back, Elias felt a little more at ease. He stepped forward and raised both hands again. The force field gathered, ready to crush this monster completely, just as it had before!

Now!

Logan drove himself up with his abdomen, launching forward like a cannonball. He moved so fast that Elias could not react before he felt a grip clamp around his wrist!

Logan seized Elias's right wrist as power gathered in it and wrenched it toward the wall beside him!

For the first time, shock and panic crossed Elias's face. He tried to stop his power, but it was too late!

Boom!

The violent force-field blast tore a monstrous hole through the thick alloy wall. Stone and metal fragments flew everywhere, proof of just how devastating that strike would have been.

Yet Logan stood before Elias, unharmed.

"Can you only fire that power through your hands?" Logan asked quietly.

Before Elias could answer, blood sprayed!

Logan's claws sheared Elias's arm off at the shoulder. It hit the ground as Elias let out a short, shrill scream. Before pain and blood loss could bring him down, Logan's other claws drove up through his jaw and burst out through the top of his skull!

"You..." Elias grunted. His body twitched, then went still.

Logan slowly pulled his bloodied claws free and let the corpse crumple.

"Shit... this is the guy who messed me up that badly before?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a violent explosion erupted at the sector gate behind him!

A terrifying shockwave of metal fragments and flame swallowed his position. It hurled him down the corridor and slammed him into the wall at the far end.

Logan staggered to his feet amid the rubble, his head heavy. What awaited him next... was the roar of a steel tide.

Outside the sector, the guns of three main battle tanks slowly swung toward him, metal grinding harshly against metal. Dozens of armored vehicles stood in formation, every roof-mounted heavy machine gun trained on his position. Overhead, more than thirty machine-gun drones circled. Red laser sights danced across his body like crimson beetles crawling out of hell.

General Lake's armored forces had finally arrived.

Dr. Zander burst out of an emergency escape passage on another level of the base, pushing the wheelchair ahead of him. The metal door clanged shut behind him, sealing away the chaos inside.

"Faster, faster!" he urged himself, panting, his forehead slick with sweat as he pushed the wheelchair toward a black SUV nearby.

Miles lounged in the wheelchair. "Hey, Doc, switching sides already? That won't do... You'll never make it as a top-tier villain like that. At best, you'll get a few panels in some fourth-rate comic... Maybe one day even your wife will have to..."

Dr. Zander's cheek twitched. He had no time to argue. He pulled out his keys, ready to start the vehicle. If he could just get in, just get away from here, there was still hope...

Then a piercing whistle descended from above.

A blazing red beam of energy struck with perfect accuracy and punched straight through the SUV's hood. The vehicle melted and warped like a candle in the blinding light. Then, with a boom, it exploded into a heap of burning scrap.

A wave of heat struck Dr. Zander. He dropped onto his backside in fright.

Davis, known as Lightwave, slowly descended and set his feet on the scorched ground. His specialized combat suit still glowed faintly red.

"Where are you going, Dr. Zander?"

Dr. Zander's face turned ashen. He slowly raised both hands and backed away step by step, leaving Miles exposed in the wheelchair.

Davis seemed to have no interest in Dr. Zander. His gaze stayed fixed on Miles, brimming with undisguised hatred and satisfaction. He remembered all too well how much trouble this brat had caused him in the cold-storage room.

General Lake's exact words had been "kill him if you have to." But with Dr. Zander having brought X-0 this far in an escape attempt, Davis could reasonably call it necessary.

So this time... he had to die!

While the two faced off, Dr. Zander scrambled back to his feet and turned to flee in blind panic.

Thud!

He collided hard with someone rushing out of the escape passage, and both fell to the ground.

Clutching his head, Dr. Zander cried out in pain. He looked up and saw that the newcomer was X-24, covered in blood, his injuries not yet healed!

Wild joy flared in Dr. Zander's despairing eyes.

"Good boy, did you come looking for me?" Dr. Zander said excitedly. "Come on, let's get out of here! Even without X-0, as long as I have you, I'll still have at least one result worth showing..."

But X-24 merely nodded mechanically. Then he snapped his head toward the other side, his pupils contracting!

As if something had suddenly set him off, X-24 shoved Dr. Zander away and charged toward Miles with no thought for himself!

Davis walked slowly toward him, energy gathering in his hand. Miles said quietly, "You're going to kill me? Looks like General Lake changed his mind..."

Davis gave no answer. He simply raised his hand and fired at Miles, helpless in the wheelchair!

Whoosh!!

The searing energy almost set the air alight. Deadly crimson filled Miles's vision, and he closed his eyes on instinct.

But the death he expected did not come.

A tall figure rushed in from the side and planted himself in front of Miles!

It was X-24!

The full force of the raging energy poured into him. His flesh began to melt, exposing charred muscle and bone.

"Aaaagh!!"

His body shook violently, and a pained, stifled roar rose from his throat like an animal's. Yet he did not retreat a single step! With his own back, he bore the full brunt of Davis's attack!

Miles froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Under Miles's questioning gaze, X-24 struggled to open his mouth. In a strange, halting voice, like a baby who had only just learned to speak, he forced out a word:

"Fri... end..."

A few seconds later, the searing energy finally faded.

The flesh of X-24's head and torso had almost entirely dissolved. Only a ruined Adamantium skeleton remained. It slowly collapsed like a rusted iron tower and lay still.

Miles stared at X-24's body, mouth open, unable to say a word.

"Oh, I had no idea you and that beast were so close," Davis sneered.

"...He wasn't a beast."

Miles slowly lowered his head, his voice hoarse. "He was my friend."

"Of course. Your friend." Davis nodded as crimson energy gathered in his palm once more. "Then you can go see him..."

Before he finished speaking, the ground beneath his feet burst open! Tough roots and vines surged out like living things and wound tightly around his legs!

The ground suddenly caved in. Davis stumbled as he was dragged downward, then landed hard in an undignified heap.

"Miles!!"

Laura was the first to rush out of the passage, with several other young people behind her. At the back of the group, the deathly pale figure, Caliban, struggled to raise a hand toward Miles.

Snap!!

Laura wasted no words. Her claws sprang from the backs of her hands, and one precise slash severed the suppression collar around Miles's neck.

At the same time, Davis finally broke free, burning through the vines around his legs. He slowly rose into the air and took a spare Anti-Mind-Control Headband from his pocket, putting it on as he faced the teenagers.

"Good... I was just wondering whether killing that brat outright might cause trouble..."

A cruel smile spread across Davis's face. "But now that all you annoying pests have gathered in one place... if I take care of every last one of you here, General Lake shouldn't have anything to say..."

At Davis's threat, everyone grew serious. Their bodies tensed, ready for a fight.

Then Miles suddenly spoke.

"Wait!"

He raised his uninjured hand, touched the side of his forehead, and activated his power.

Before everyone's eyes, Dr. Zander, who had just fled a short distance away, suddenly stiffened!

Relief at having survived turned to abject terror on his face as he realized his body no longer obeyed him! Stiffly, step by step, he walked back.

Knowing what was coming, Dr. Zander looked at Miles with pleading eyes, hoping Miles might spare his life.

Miles did not bother looking at him again.

"Laura," Miles said softly, "kill him."

Laura nodded without hesitation. She flashed forward and severed Dr. Zander's head with one swipe of her claws.

At the sound of the head rolling across the ground, Miles trembled faintly. He touched his neck, then raised his head to look at Davis in the air and said calmly:

"Okay. I'm good now. Let's continue."