In an abandoned warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn, the flame of a diesel lamp flickered inside a metal barrel. Four henchmen sat around a broken wooden table, on which lay several decks of cards and half a case of beer.
"That Pyro guy is fucking awesome," a bald black henchman said, taking a swig of beer and wiping his mouth. "I heard he ran into some agents today, bang bang bang—a few Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were blown to bits. One of them is still in the hospital, I heard he almost didn't make it."
"Exactly," chimed in a tall, thin man, his tone laced with schadenfreude. "Those agents usually act all high and mighty, but when they run into real Mutants, they're nothing. One volley from the Pyro and they're all roasted like suckling pigs."
The third henchman was a fat Mexico man with a face full of scars. He had been looking down at his cards, and when he heard this, he suddenly snorted.
"What's the use of being good-natured? The boss still made him hide."
"Hide?" The bald black man put down his bottle. "Boss, you're being too cautious. The Pyro has already taken down the S.H.I.E.L.D.. guys, what's there to hide for?"
The fat man slammed the cards on the table, leaned back in his chair, and lowered his voice. "You guys don't know?"
"What do you know?"
"The boss's headquarters was raided recently."
The bottle froze in mid-air. The tall, thin man's smile froze. The bald black man's eyes widened in disbelief.
What the hell did you say?
The fat man picked up his beer and took a swig, his chubby cheeks twitching. "It was that masked madman. All by himself. He stormed into the boss's warehouse and beat everyone there to a pulp. Bullseye broke several bones, Typhoid Mary was sent to a mental hospital, and even the boss himself..." He paused, pointing to his arms, "... both his arms were broken."
There was a full five seconds of silence on the table.
"Bullshit." The bald black man slammed the beer bottle on the table, splashing beer foam everywhere. "Who is the boss? He's the boss of the entire New York underworld. You're telling me he got beaten up like that by one guy? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"
"Believe it or not," the fat man shrugged. "Anyway, I heard it from my aunt's brother's friend's wife's lover. He's Bullseye's Bullseye and witnessed that battle firsthand. The guy even left a message—'I'll be back next month.' You know why the boss made Pyro hide? It's not because he's afraid of S.H.I.E.L.D.., it's because he's afraid of that madman. Pyro injured S.H.I.E.L.D.. people in Brooklyn. If that madman comes, none of us will be in trouble."
Before he could finish speaking, the roar of an engine came from afar.
The sound came incredibly fast, reaching the vicinity in just three seconds. The four henchmen stood up simultaneously, the card table was overturned, and beer bottles rolled all over the ground.
Two bright headlights pierced through the hole in the warehouse door, like two knives. The engine screeched to a halt outside the warehouse, and the tires screeched sharply on the ground.
The bald black man was the first to react, drawing his pistol and yelling towards the door, "Who's there?! This is private property! Get the hell out of here if you don't want to die!"
The response was a deafening roar as the Hummer began to charge and ram into the dilapidated iron gate, sending the warehouse gate and its frame flying.
A black Hummer roared in like an enraged Beast, fragments of the metal door on its hood still tumbling through the air. Four henchmen instinctively raised their guns, bullets raining down on the windshield. The windows cracked open in a dense array of fissures. After the first round of fire, spent cartridges clattered to the ground, and smoke rose from the muzzles of their guns.
"Damn it, it's an armored vehicle! Everyone, get in with me!"
Just as the group slowly surrounded them, the car door opened.
A red figure tumbled out of the driver's seat with swift, clean movements. Just as the thugs were stunned, she flicked her right hand, and Widow's Bite drew an arc of electricity through the air. The bald black man at the front was struck by the current, his body convulsing as he fell backward, his head hitting the concrete ground with a dull thud.
"Bitch!" The tall, thin man raised his gun and fired at Natasha.
Natasha dodged to the side, the bullet grazing her red hair before striking the Hummer behind her and sending Mars flying. She retaliated with another electric shock, sending the tall, thin man's gun flying from his hand. He trembled violently, collapsing backward onto a pile of scrap metal.
The remaining two henchmen advanced, cursing as they went, their guns spitting fire. Natasha dodged behind the Hummer, bullets clanging against the vehicle, Mars.
Just then, the side wall of the warehouse exploded, and a figure that blotted out the sky walked in through the huge hole in the wall.
"Who the hell is this?"
The Mexico fat man dropped his gun. He looked down at his hand, then up at the man who had walked in through the hole in the wall, his lips trembling. Lin Xiao raised his gun and fired, unconcerned, firing despite the bullets. His gaze swept across the entire warehouse, finally settling on an iron door in the corner.
" Pyro, get out here!"
Lin Xiao suddenly rushed forward, grabbed the remaining two henchmen from the left and right, and slammed them together heavily with a loud bang. The two men let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground.
The iron gate was kicked open from the inside, and a man with orange-red hair and wearing a jacket walked out. He first glanced around at the mess on the ground.
"A bunch of useless trash." He spat on the ground, looked up, grinned at Lin Xiao, and said, "Another one coming to die? Are you with S.H.I.E.L.D..? Or a colleague of that unlucky guy who got blown up?"
Lin Xiao didn't speak, but simply waved to the Pyro.
The Pyro was also enraged. He pulled two lighters from his pocket and held them up in front of him. The flames leaped up in his palms, turning into two fireballs the size of fists. His face was full of disdain. "You ordinary people have no idea what Mutants mean. You think you can fight us just because you're wearing a uniform and carrying a gun? Ridiculous."
Lin Xiao didn't speak, he just stared at him coldly. Pyro felt ignored and became completely enraged.
He combined the two fireballs, and the flames expanded rapidly between his hands, turning from orange-red to white, and then from white to blue. The surrounding air was distorted by the intense heat, and scraps of paper and cloth on the ground began to smoke. The Pyro stood behind the raging flames, his face illuminated by the flickering light of the fire, and his smile grew increasingly ferocious.
"Try this, S.H.I.E.L.D.. scum."
The flames transformed into a pillar of fire, surging towards Lin Xiao.
The instant Lin Xiao's figure was engulfed by flames, his right hand reached for the dagger at his waist.
A flash of blue light.
Pyro's pupils contracted sharply as the massive figure vanished from his sight. Then, a whooshing sound came from behind him. His fighting instincts were faster than his brain. In the fraction of a second of sensing danger, his body reacted, turning to the side, pulling in his stomach, and shifting his weight to the left.
But it was too late.
A hand reached out from the void, its Five Fingers gripping his right arm like iron clamps.
The Pyro's eyes widened. He looked down at the hand, at the slightly bulging veins on the back of the hand, at the fingers tightening in an extremely slow, almost elegant rhythm. Then he heard the sound of his bones cracking.
Click.
Crisp. Clean. Like breaking off a completely dry twig.
The Pyro opened his mouth and let out a shrill scream. His right arm twisted outward at an impossible angle from the elbow joint, and his forearm hung limply at his sides. He was staring in terror at Lin Xiao, who had reappeared.
Natasha stood up from behind the Hummer, her fists clenched as she watched the scene unfold. She wanted to speak, to call out to Lin Xiao to calm down, but the words stuck in her throat. This man wasn't out of control because of anger—quite the opposite. He was calmer than ever, more precise than ever, and more aware of what he was doing than ever. He could have killed him with a single blow, but he didn't. Not because he couldn't, but because he didn't want to.
He didn't want to kill, he wanted to destroy. He wanted the Pyro to watch his pride being crushed into dust, to see himself transformed from an invincible Mutants into a pathetic wretch with a missing arm who couldn't even light a fire.
The Pyro staggered backward, clutching his severed right arm with his left hand, his jaw clenched, cold sweat pouring down his forehead. He leaned against an iron pillar, gasping for breath, fear flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by anger and the will to survive. He suddenly raised his still-usable arm, palm facing Lin Xiao, and with all his might, he spewed out a burst of flame.
He didn't believe it. He didn't believe his flames couldn't harm this person. Mutants flames could melt steel, blast through walls, and burn people to a crisp.
Lin Xiao didn't dodge. He didn't even raise his hand to block.
The flames struck his chest, exploding on his black trench coat. The fabric instantly charred and turned to ash, revealing the skin beneath. Flames crawled across his skin, orange-red tongues licking his muscle texture with crackling sounds, and up to this point, Lin Xiao hadn't uttered a single sound.
The Pyro watched him walk out of the flames, his pace neither fast nor slow, completely ignoring the intense heat he was so proud of. Each step he took was perfectly in sync with the Pyro's heartbeat. Lin Xiao walked up to the Pyro and looked down at him. His face remained expressionless, not even bothering to offer a cold smile. Then he raised his right fist.
That punch was utterly unpretentious. No charging, no running start, no crackling electricity. Just a simple, ordinary punch, landing squarely on the Pyro's chest. The Pyro flew backward, his back slamming into the iron pillar behind him. The pillar let out a groan of despair, bending into a bizarre arc. The Pyro's body passed through the bent pillar, crashed through a wall, and slammed into the abandoned workshop next door. He bounced twice amidst the rubble and dust before lying face up in the ruins.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood. The blood was dark red, mixed with fragments of internal organs, dripping from the corner of his mouth, down his cheeks, and into his ears. His vision blurred. He tried to move, but it was no use. Boundless fear enveloped him. He wanted to beg for mercy, to run away, but he couldn't utter a single word. He could only watch as that person drew closer and closer...
Lin Xiao stopped in his tracks, looking at the dying Pyro on the Shang-Chi as if he were examining a less-than-satisfactory product.
With his last ounce of strength, the Pyro trembled as he pleaded, "... Please... please... you..."
Lin Xiao stared coldly at the Pyro without saying a word, just staring at him coldly as he walked towards the Pyro step by step.
Just then, a voice came from above the warehouse.
"Stop."
It was a woman's voice. Neither too loud nor too soft, steady and powerful, carrying an undeniable authority. Lin Xiao looked up.
A woman hovered above the skylight on the warehouse roof. Her skin was deep brown, and her long, silvery-white hair danced wildly in the night wind, swaying even when there was no wind, as if supported by an invisible current. She wore a black, form-fitting combat suit, over which she wore a dark cloak edged with gold patterns that shimmered faintly in the moonlight. Her eyes had turned completely white, without pupils, only a pure, surging white light. The surrounding air began to move restlessly; scraps of paper and dust swirled upwards, and the corrugated iron roof of the warehouse rattled in the wind. Lightning flashed silently in the clouds behind her, one after another, as if an unseen hand had torn countless cracks through the sky.
Storm, Ororo Monroe, is one of the core members of the X-Men.
When the Pyro saw her, his eyes lit up for a moment, and his will to survive unleashed his last remaining potential. " Storm! Help me! Help me..."
Storm didn't answer him. She slowly descended from mid-air, her toes landing on the steel beams of the warehouse, her silver hair moving behind her without wind. Her gaze shifted from Pyro to Lin Xiao, her pure white eyes revealing no emotion.
" Professor X is aware of the injury to the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Pyro acted without authorization, attacking S.H.I.E.L.D.. personnel, violating Mutants rules and disrupting the fragile balance between Mutants and humans. The Professor sent me to bring him back; he will receive the punishment he deserves. Please stop, agent."
She paused, her tone now carrying an undeniable firmness.
Please hand him over to me.
Lin Xiao tilted his head.
In my mind, Doupao's voice automatically popped up. "Ding-- Storm, Ororo Monroe, Omega-Level Mutant. Abilities: Weather manipulation, including but not limited to storms, lightning, torrential rain, hail, and extreme temperatures. Skill rating: A. Combat strength rating: A. Notes: Core combatant of the X-Men, a core figure in the Mutants along with Professor X and Magneto."
Lin Xiao didn't finish listening.
He turned his gaze away from Storm and back to Pyro.
Storm frowned slightly. She raised her right hand, fingers spread, and the clouds in the night sky outside the skylight began to swirl wildly. A gust of wind descended from the sky, pouring through the broken skylight into the warehouse, whipping up rubble and scraps of metal, and hurtling towards Lin Xiao.
The moment the wind struck Lin Xiao, his steps faltered. The concrete ground beneath his feet cracked a few times under the pressure of the wind. But that was all. His feet didn't move backward. His body didn't sway. He merely turned his head and glanced at Storm above him out of the corner of his eye.
Storm's pupils contracted slightly. She increased the force of the wind, pushing out with both hands simultaneously, fingers spread wide. The gale increased from one to three, then to five, five tornado columns rising from the warehouse, swirling up all the surrounding iron frames and scrap bins into the air. The steel twisted and deformed in the wind, emitting a teeth-grinding creak. Natasha had to retreat dozens of meters before she could barely steady herself, looking up at this confrontation that was completely beyond her comprehension.
Lin Xiao continued walking, braving the five columns of tornadoes, step by step towards the Pyro. Each step he took was steady, leaving a shallow footprint on the cement ground, and pushing the wind pressure back an inch with each step.
Storm's expression finally changed. She gritted her teeth, raised her hands sharply upwards, and a thick bolt of lightning struck down from the skylight, hitting the ground less than half a meter in front of Lin Xiao. A large crater was blasted into the concrete, debris flew everywhere, and arcs of electricity crackled in the air. This was a warning.
Lin Xiao stopped.
He looked up at Storm, who was standing on the steel beam, and then a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Lin Xiao raised his finger, and a tiny purple arc of electricity suddenly shot out from his fingertip. This arc was different from the Lightning Summoning Spell he usually used to strike people; it was much smaller and thinner, coiling and leaping on his fingertip like a small animal that had just woken up and was still grumpy from being woken up. But Storm's expression changed, because the arc of electricity was breathing. It wasn't flickering, it wasn't leaping, it was breathing. Like a living thing, it contracted and expanded with Lin Xiao's pulse; each contraction became brighter, each expansion longer, and the surrounding air whistled.
"Hey, you black hottie," Lin Xiao's tone returned to its usual lazy manner, but the smile on his lips looked dangerous no matter how you looked at it, "I'll show you my authentic lightning from the Thunder Department."
Storm's white pupils suddenly dilated.
"Want to learn?" Lin Xiao tilted his head. "If you want to learn, buy me Romanée-Conti."
Then he pointed his finger down a little.
The purple arc of electricity shot from his fingertip, exploding in mid-air and splitting into more than a dozen equally thick electric snakes that flew in all directions. The entire warehouse was illuminated by the purple light in that instant, so bright that everyone had to squint. Storm instinctively raised her hand to shield her eyes, Natasha took several steps back, and Pyro lay paralyzed in the ruins, using his still-functioning left hand to cover his face, letting out a muffled scream.
Purple lightning struck down from every corner of the warehouse, sending sparks flying from steel beams, iron frames, abandoned equipment, and scraps of Mars metal on the ground. Arcs of electricity wove a massive net in the air, enveloping the entire warehouse. Storm's whirlwind was torn to shreds by this net, and the five tornado columns simultaneously dissipated, turning into a weak gust of wind that dissipated from the warehouse's perimeter.
As the light faded, all the lightning, all the arcs of electricity, and all the purple lightning that had struck everywhere converged into a single bolt. That bolt of purple lightning, only as thick as a finger, descended from the sky and struck the Pyro.
The Pyro's screams echoed through the warehouse for a full three seconds, then his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness completely...
Lin Xiao glanced at the Pyro, who was electrocuted and twitching on the ground from time to time, and then at Storm.
"Take him away. I've given Professor X face, but even if he's cured, he might end up in a vegetative state. Remember to let him get plenty of sunshine so he can produce chlorophyll. I'm just a kind-hearted person."
Storm stood on the steel beam, her silver hair still swaying slightly. Her white pupils had returned to their original color, becoming normal brown eyes filled with complex emotions. She looked down at the mangled Pyro on the ground, then looked up at Lin Xiao. Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing.