Essex stood in the command center of his underground facility, looking carefully at the report from the captain of the Sinister Squad. This captain was also one of the three strongest mutants under his direct command. Essex's expression grew noticeably more grim and serious.
"From this moment forward, everyone must get ready for combat," Essex commanded with absolute authority. "All personnel not directly involved in essential operations must finish their current work within the next ten minutes and leave the company building immediately.
The building will be secured and sealed in precisely ten minutes. Prepare yourselves thoroughly for battle. No matter who arrives here or how many people they bring with them, you must at the very minimum hold the line and maintain our defenses until the Phoenix Force transfer is absolutely complete. Do you fully understand these instructions?"
"Understood completely, Doctor!" Concrete, the captain of the Sinister Squad, replied with sharp precision. He turned and immediately departed, taking his Sinister Squad with him to deploy defensive positions and fortifications throughout the facility.
At this precise moment, Essex's attention shifted to observe the black-clad beauty who emerged gracefully from the shadows on the right wall of his office. The unhappy and stern expression on her face immediately softened, and Essex spoke to her with a warm and respectful smile. "Your Majesty, the Black Queen, my foolish men have unfortunately alerted the X-Men to their presence. I believe they have definitely noticed our operations, so I will require your assistance and support."
The Black Queen, who wore an elegant black off-the-shoulder dress with striking black hair and dark eyes, smiled back with genuine warmth. She spoke in a charming and captivating voice that was quite difficult to resist. "The X-Men have not only noticed your presence—they are actively preparing to come and retrieve Jean Grey from your custody.
In addition to this, they have already discovered that your various experiments and operations directly caused the previous mutant disappearances. I believe they will absolutely take direct action to eliminate you before they even attempt to rescue Jean Grey and take her away from this location."
Upon hearing the Black Queen's thorough assessment, Essex drew a deep and measured breath. He spoke directly to the Black Queen, who was leaning lazily and with perfect poise on his comfortable sofa. "Your Majesty, I must earnestly request your assistance and protection during this crisis."
"Of course I am here to help you personally," the Black Queen responded with absolute confidence. "Otherwise, I would not have chosen to be here with you at this critical moment. But you must clearly understand something important—I am here to help you precisely because I genuinely believe in your plans and in the extraordinary future you can achieve. However, if you should fail in your endeavor, then there is no longer any basis or foundation for our cooperation going forward. I believe you understand this reality perfectly."
Essex nodded slowly with complete composure and assurance. "Of course I understand this completely. I anticipated this condition from the beginning."
The portal opened wide with a burst of magical energy, and Sebastian and the others, along with the assembled X-Men, filed through in organized succession.
This particular operation mobilized almost all of the available X-Men personnel. Those deployed included: Professor Charles Xavier, Mystique Raven, Beast Hank McCoy, Wolverine Logan, Cyclops Scott Summers, Nightcrawler Kurt Wagner, Storm Ororo Monroe, Colossus, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead Ellie Phimister. If you counted Wanda and Pietro among the group, the total number of X-Men and allies deployed on this mission reached eleven individuals in total.
Furthermore, from the Brotherhood of Mutants, Magneto Eric had chosen to bring only three members along, though these three were themselves very powerful mutants with formidable abilities.
Toad Man possessed the physical characteristics and racial traits of both a toad and a gecko, granting him exceptional physical strength, an even more impressive leaping ability, and remarkable regenerative recovery powers. His already considerable abilities were further enhanced and augmented by his lengthy tongue, which could cling to walls and ceilings with perfect precision and could freely extend and eject with great force.
Pyro, despite lacking the raw ability to control fire itself, possessed the extraordinary talent to transform even a single spark into a raging and uncontrollable volcano of flames, mastering its destructive power completely.
Callisto possessed exceptional speed far beyond normal human capabilities, though still considerably inferior to Quicksilver and Pietro's supernatural velocity. Nevertheless, her speed was far superior to most mutants. She also possessed remarkable telepathic abilities, extending her power to discern and perceive the exact strengths and hidden abilities of other mutants instantly, making her an excellent and reliable candidate for reconnaissance and tactical assessment.
Sebastian, Tony Stark, and Reed Richards completed the group as the remaining three powerful operatives. They had not coordinated with the human government on this particular mission, as their positions and perspectives on the overall situation differed significantly. Their attitudes toward Jean Grey's situation and how to best resolve it were also quite different from governmental approaches.
Two massive portals opened simultaneously on the rooftop of the Essex Building, and both groups of operatives emerged and filed out systematically.
Charles Xavier controlled and maneuvered the new advanced wheelchair that Tony Stark had personally constructed for him, moving forward at a measured distance through pure force of will and concentration.
Arriving in the direct vicinity of Eric, Charles addressed him with genuine warmth and respect. "Eric, this marks another time that we find ourselves united as partners and allies."
"I will not interfere in the personal affairs and matters concerning Jean Grey," Eric responded with clear and measured tone. "I am present here primarily to address and resolve the serious issues of mutant kidnappings and illegal research operations. The remainder of this situation has nothing to do with me or my motivations."
Charles smiled warmly and nodded his head in appreciation. "That is entirely sufficient and acceptable. Thank you deeply for your assistance, Eric."
Eric simply nodded in reply without offering any additional commentary or elaboration.
Just as Charles was about to continue speaking and begin arranging the team members into coordinated group formations for the assault, the roof of the building was suddenly engulfed and covered by a massive number of shadow-like objects. Simultaneously, a shadow rose slowly from the ground in front of all assembled members. It gradually transformed into a humanoid figure before manifesting as a woman with the lower half of her body composed of living shadow and the upper half displaying her human female form and face.
Observing the woman's striking appearance and presence, Eric's face paled noticeably and visibly. He spoke to Charles directly with unmistakable recognition. "The Black Queen! That is—the Black Queen!"
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