Steel Storm

Whoosh!

The energy gathering in Davis's palm became a deadly beam aimed straight at Miles!

But just before it struck him, a blast of icy blue air erupted from the side and slammed into the searing energy.

It was Mona, the Black girl who had just escaped! She had the same powers as Bobby, the former X-Man known as Iceman!

Cold and heat clashed with a fierce hiss, and white steam billowed out. But within moments, Mona's cheeks had flushed red and fine beads of sweat dotted her brow. She clearly couldn't hold on much longer.

The scorching beam soon broke through the cold and continued creeping toward them.

At the same time, silver light flashed in Delia's eyes as she thrust both hands forward. Davis, suspended in midair, felt an invisible force seize his arm and wrench it aside!

The beam swept past the group and carved a charred trench through the ground in the distance.

"We have to bring him down!" Richter shouted to the others. "Otherwise we're at too much of a disadvantage!"

Few of them had powers suited to fighting an airborne enemy. Richter, Laura, and Rebecca all needed to use their abilities from the ground!

Before Richter had even finished speaking, Miles answered from his wheelchair.

"Leave it to me."

As soon as he spoke, the dark launch tubes of two anti-air missile towers in the distance swung around. With a mechanical hum, they locked onto Davis in the air!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two missiles tore through the air and shot skyward, long tails of flame streaming behind them!

Meanwhile, Logan rose once more from the dust of another bombardment as he fought through the military's heavy fire.

He shook his dazed head. His ears were still ringing. The heavy weapons posed no real threat to him, but the relentless barrage made it hard to break free.

As Logan considered which way to charge, he suddenly noticed that the battlefield had grown quieter. The next round of shellfire never came.

The bombardment had weakened.

The tanks and armored vehicles that had kept him pinned down seemed to receive a new order. Ignoring the soldiers' terrified shouts and futile attempts to control them, they turned in eerie unison and drove away.

The automatic sentry guns along the walls stopped firing and swiveled around.

As though submitting to an unknown will, the weapons across most of the base aimed at the same target in the sky!

Then more than a hundred drones buzzed in from every corner of the base, forming a black metal swarm that surged in the same direction!

Logan stared, stunned. "Aurora, did you do it?" he asked quietly over the communicator.

"No..." Aurora replied. "It was Miles. He's back!"

Logan paused, then broke into a grin. "Looks like those kids did good!"

He glanced toward the soldiers nearby. They had gathered together, only to watch their heavy weapons go out of control. Their bewilderment turned to fear.

Logan rolled his shoulders. His bones cracked in a rapid series of pops.

"Looks like I'd better wrap things up here, too..."

In the sky, Davis stared at the dozens of turrets and gun barrels locked onto him. His face went from deathly pale to livid.

On the ground, Miles lightly touched a finger to his temple and smiled.

"I'm starting... to understand General Lake," he said softly. "My power really is dangerous."

The other children glanced at the boy in the wheelchair, and a chill ran down their spines. In a military base, his power was terrifyingly effective!

"I was right after all..." Caliban murmured nearby. "He's the new hope!"

"Fire," Miles whispered. The order went out.

Every steel weapon in the base seemed to come alive with a deafening roar! Countless guns unleashed their fury on Davis like a raging thunderstorm!

There was no prelude of shrieking missiles. The first thing to pour forth was a suffocating hail of autocannon rounds!

"Damn it..." Davis became a streak of red light, weaving wildly through the gunfire. Tracer rounds streaked down and crossed into a vast web of light, cutting off every route he could take!

Before Davis could catch his breath, dozens of short-range missiles followed, their pale exhaust trails streaming behind them as they screamed in from different angles!

This was no longer a fight. It was a war!

Davis wheeled and darted through the air, then roared and fired a searing beam that detonated several missiles overhead!

Boom, boom, boom!

All the others could see were rolling explosions and fire. Hot air whipped past in gusts, tossing Miles's unruly hair.

But his eyes remained cold from beginning to end.

"Aaagh!"

At last, battered by the blasts, Davis let out an inhuman roar amid the deadly barrage! Instead of climbing higher, he abruptly folded his body and dove at an impossible angle!

He used the explosions' shockwaves for cover and momentum, slipping between shells and bursts of flame so fast he was little more than a blur! His target was unmistakable—that damned little brat in the wheelchair!

The wind slammed into them as Davis tore through the air, heading straight for the group... and Miles in particular!

Delia tried to act again, but he was moving so fast she couldn't lock onto him!

"Look out!" Mona cried.

"Laura!" Miles called.

Laura understood at once. With a roar, she leaped straight at Davis!

Davis's expression tightened. He spun and swept Laura aside, but as he closed in, the others moved too!

"Get down here!"

The silver light in Delia's eyes blazed brighter. An invisible field of Telekinesis caught Davis like a web of tough strands and yanked him down! He felt as though he had flown headfirst into thick mud, and his body slowed against his will!

Mona seized the chance to breathe another stream of freezing air over him. An unhealthy flush spread across his body!

"Aaagh!"

Davis screamed and fought to change course, swerving aside as he instinctively moved to land.

The moment his feet touched down, however, the ground gave way beneath him! Richter had opened a pit several meters deep right where he landed!

"Hold him!" Richter shouted to Rebecca as he used his power.

Davis tried to take off again, but weeds and vines surged from the pit walls and wrapped tightly around his feet!

"Aaah!" Little Bobby let out a strange yell and sent a current of electricity into Davis.

Electricity coursed through him. His whole body convulsed, and even his scream caught in his throat as pain twisted his face.

"Damn you!"

Humiliation and agony drove Davis into a rage. Veins bulged along his neck as he let out an inhuman roar, and a terrifying surge of heat erupted from his body!

A searing shockwave burst outward. The vines binding him turned to charcoal in an instant, and the solid walls of the pit were scorched black!

"Watch out! He's going all out!"

The blast forced Richter, Bobby, and the others back, nearly knocking them off their feet.

Davis broke free, lifted off the ground, and was about to soar skyward again...

"Bzzzz..."

Just then, a dense buzzing swelled rapidly from the distance. Dozens of military-camouflage gun drones had arrived over the battlefield. Their dark barrels locked onto Davis as soon as he emerged, and they unleashed a deadly rain of bullets!

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

Bullets poured down like a storm, kicking up thick clouds of dust.

"Fuck!"

Davis cursed. Forgetting any thought of fighting back, he veered away and ducked behind a guard tower, flying close to the ground. An instant later, bullets shredded the concrete wall, sending fragments everywhere!

"I can't do this... I need backup..." Davis clutched the wound he had taken during his frantic escape. At last, he realized he couldn't beat this group of Mutants alone. More precisely, as long as Miles controlled the base's defenses, he had no chance!

Leaning against the wall and panting hard, he pulled the dust-covered communicator from his coat with a trembling hand and tried to contact General Lake.

"Sir! It's bad! X-0 has joined up with those Mutants—"

Before he could finish, Miles's faintly mocking voice came through the communicator.

"Sorry, the officer you have dialed is out of service. Please try again after you're dead..."

"Fuck!"

Davis hurled the useless communicator away. He panted, his chest heaving with anger and fear. As an elite soldier, he had never imagined a child in a wheelchair could drive him into such a desperate position.

But now... he had to run, or he really would die here!

Davis looked around and spotted a relatively lightly defended section of wall. He tensed his legs, ready to shoot away in a streak of red light... when a terrifying shriek tore through the air overhead.

The jet-black Blackbird banked into a steep dive. Its enormous shadow swept over the ground as it came straight at Davis!

At the sight, the hope of survival that had just stirred in Davis turned to despair.

The Blackbird did not slow. Its nose-mounted gun spun up and spat fire! Its target was Davis himself!

"No!"

Davis roared in despair and threw himself aside.

Almost at the same instant, a deafening burst of gunfire rang out. A stream of rotary-cannon rounds lashed the ground, spraying dirt and stone and gouging a deep furrow where he had stood!

Davis grunted as he rolled. A sharp pain shot through his left arm. He looked down and saw that bullets had torn it apart, leaving it hanging from his shoulder like a strip of mangled flesh. Blood soaked his sleeve, and the pain nearly made him pass out!

He had no time to tend the wound. Struggling to his feet, he staggered away in another direction. But when he looked up, he saw a dark mass of drones blocking every escape route!

More than a hundred drones hovered motionless in the air, filling his entire field of vision. A cold red indicator glowed on each one as they descended from every direction and sealed off his escape!

Davis finally lost all hope.

With blood and grime covering his face, he looked at the "storm cloud" of steel and weapons, then back at the boy sitting quietly in his wheelchair far away.

Miles seemed to feel his gaze. He raised a hand and gave Davis a small wave, apparently saying something.

Davis could just make out the word on his lips.

"Goodbye."

The next instant, as if signaled to launch a final assault, the drones' buzzing was joined by a blaze of muzzle flashes!

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat...

Gunfire poured in from every direction, swallowing Davis completely.

The battle ended. The Blackbird slowly landed before them, and its hatch opened, spilling soft blue light from within. Clean air from the cabin quickly thinned the lingering smell of smoke and engine oil.

"Miles, I'm glad you're safe," Aurora's voice came over the cabin speakers.

"At first, I wanted to ask what was going on," Miles said with a smile. "But I saw Logan tearing through the base on the security cameras, and I more or less figured it out... Aurora, you're incredible."

"Are you teasing me, Miles?" Aurora asked softly.

"No, I'm just amazed..." Miles shook his head. "Aurora, you've changed so much. You must have worked incredibly hard to bring Logan back that far."

Aurora was silent for a moment before answering, "To survive."

"Haha, all right, all right. To survive..." Miles couldn't help laughing. "Enough of that. Let's pick up Logan first. We shouldn't keep him waiting... Oh, and one more thing..."

Miles turned slowly toward the body, nearly half of it melted away. His voice sank.

"Help me... take my friend home. I want him to have a better place to rest."

"Damn it! Of course it turned out like this!"

The military truck raced along the rutted dirt road. Every jolt made General Lake's heart clench.

Behind him, the base that had once seemed impregnable was engulfed in flames. He could still faintly hear the alarms warning that its weapon systems had gone out of control, shrill and hopeless beneath the din.

The moment he realized the entire base's weapons were going haywire, he knew the situation was lost. Under the protection of a squad of personal guards, he had fled in an old military truck.

After what had happened, he hardly dared imagine what awaited him at military district headquarters...

He gripped a handhold inside the truck. Sweat soaked the collar of his crisp uniform, and his face was pale.

But at least... at least he had escaped.

As the base dwindled in the rearview mirror, the panic that had gripped him finally eased a little. General Lake let out a long breath and straightened his disheveled collar, trying to recover some semblance of a commander's dignity.

Then Bob, the "Fire Giant," spoke in his deep, muffled voice. "Sir, I want to fight Wolverine. I think... I could beat him..."

"You are not going anywhere!" General Lake roared. "Your job is to protect me. Understood?"

"...Yes, sir." Bob nodded obediently and sat back down.

General Lake took a few breaths, then slumped against the seat and closed his eyes.

But the truck had traveled only a few hundred more meters when a vast shadow fell over it without warning.

A jet-black aircraft flew silently ahead of the truck. It did not fire or make any other move. It simply stayed there, like a silent reaper.

General Lake's pupils contracted. His heart leaped into his throat again. Instinctively, he shoved aside the guard next to him and turned to jump from the other side of the truck.

But an iron grip suddenly closed around his arm.

"Sir... where are you going?"

Bob's voice was stiff and strange.

The next instant, flames erupted.

Boom!

As the military truck below vanished in a burst of fire, Miles lowered his hand inside the Blackbird and let out a long breath.

"That's done. Let's go."

Richter looked at Logan, then at Miles. He couldn't help asking, "Logan, is it really okay for him to kill people so casually?"

Logan glanced at Miles. "Charles isn't here. Nobody can stop him."

"You told us not to kill unless we had to," Richter said irritably.

"I was speaking for Charles," Logan replied, unconcerned.

Meanwhile, little Bobby eyed the dozens of military drones piled in a corner of the aircraft. "Miles, can you control all these drones?"

"Yeah," Miles said. "I thought they were useful, so I brought some back. Shame we were short on time... There were plenty of other things at that base I wanted to look at..."

"When we get back, could you give me one?" Bobby asked hopefully.

"Of course." Miles waved it off. "These are just prototypes I plan to study. Once I've improved them, I can give you one that's even cooler."

"Cool!"

The Blackbird entered stealth mode and vanished into the clear sky. With a shriek as it cut through the air, it climbed toward the blazing sun and flew for Westchester.