"Why do I feel like something weird is happening?" Bruce scratched his head.
"Really? You've probably just had too much coffee. Caffeine's addictive, you know?" Tony said while sipping his coffee.
"Ahh… super chill vibe right now. Even though I'm hearing some sounds I probably shouldn't hear, whatever, who cares." Tony took another sip and sprawled out on the couch.
"If you say so…"
And just like that, both of them stretched out on the couches.
"Wasn't that gunfire?" Lila looked toward the cafeteria, confused.
"Nah, you're just imagining things."
"Yeah, definitely just your imagination."
"…Is it though?"
So Lila also stretched out on the couch.
"That was definitely gunfire! No mistaking it!" Marc Spector said seriously, already heading toward the cafeteria.
"Relax, why are you so sure?"
"Because one of my other personalities told me!"
"Which one?"
"Jake."
"Pfft, you actually believe that personality—the one who treats killing like it's fun? Sounds kinda cool, honestly."
"…"
Marc sat down, rested his chin on his hand, and started thinking.
But after chilling for a bit, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty came rushing over.
"Guys!!! Did you hear the gunshots?! We need to go save people!!"
Everyone looked at Tony.
"Eh, relax, it's just a few lives. Give it a minute and—"
Tony's cheek instantly swelled up from the punch Marc just landed. The whole group immediately ran to the cafeteria.
They pushed open the door and were met with a horrifying sight.
TONY STARK'S STATUE HAD BEEN SMASHED TO PIECES.
"WHO THE FUCK DID THIS?! I'M GONNA KILL THEM!!" Tony exploded with a level of rage no one had ever seen, while everyone else stared at him like he was insane.
Never before had they seen a hero care more about his own statue than human lives.
Suddenly, razor-sharp webs shot out from nowhere and sliced the statue into tiny fragments.
"DUDE! I SWEAR I'M GONNA KILL WHOEVER DID THIS!"
Tony immediately grabbed a device that looked like a walkie-talkie, attached it to his belt, and in an instant was fully suited up in his Iron Man armor before flying straight into the fight.
"Should we join in?"
"That's a pretty dumb question—of course we should."
"So who's the target?" Bruce asked.
"It's… it's…" Kitty looked around.
She remembered the attacker was wearing a janitor's uniform.
And uh… right now, the only thing she could see was one completely naked girl fighting a blonde girl.
"I've got nothing." Kitty scratched her head.
"Are you kidding me? What about the naked chick who's holding someone's corpse by the hair? Isn't that the target?" Rogue pointed at Emma.
"Then why is Tony shooting at our own mutants?" Jean Grey said.
Everyone turned to look at Tony, who was currently fighting Logan.
"…That fucking racist!"
"Tony, what the hell are you doing?!" Bruce yelled in panic.
"What? I'm fighting mutants."
"The enemy's right there!"
"I know."
"THEN WHY?!"
"Uh, idk, I just don't like this guy."
"Watch your mouth, pal, or I'll carve it open for you," Logan growled.
"Oh, I'd love to see you try."
And the two kept fighting, making everyone sigh in exasperation.
"I'm going in," Marc said, suiting up as Moon Knight.
"Me too," Lila said, pulling out her bow and aiming at Emma.
"…Now that I think about it, that girl looks kinda familiar," Bruce narrowed his eyes, trying to remember who she was.
Meanwhile, between Emma and Gwen:
"Are these two monsters or what?" Bobby watched the fight.
Gwen landed a punch that made Emma spit blood.
Emma swung back, but Gwen dodged—the punch hit the wall and caused massive damage.
Just as Gwen was about to follow up, Emma raised Peter's body as a shield, forcing Gwen's fist to stop.
"YOU BITCH, PUT PETER DOWN!"
"You think I'm stupid?"
"AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY YOU LOVE HIM?! WHAT KIND OF WHORE USES HER LOVER'S BODY AS A HUMAN SHIELD?!"
"Don't worry, I'll repay him later."
"YOU THINK YOU CAN?!"
Gwen shot webs at Emma, pinning her in place.
She charged forward and started beating her relentlessly.
But after a while, Emma adapted—she sank her teeth hard into Gwen's arm.
The bite was strong, but Emma was shocked that Gwen's skin didn't even break.
"You damn dog!" Gwen kicked Emma square in the chin, sending her flying.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF PETER!!"
She shot webs at the arm Emma was using to hold Peter and yanked hard.
Emma was pulled forward, Gwen grabbed the arm holding Peter—
And RIPPED!
Emma's eyes widened as she stared at her severed arm, blood pouring out.
'How strong is she? Even mutants don't give me this much trouble.'
Emma then looked at Gwen cradling Peter's horrifically mangled body, sobbing uncontrollably.
Then she glanced at the others preparing to attack her.
"Tch, time to retreat."
But before she could escape, Gwen webbed her again.
"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING? I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!"
Bullets and arrows immediately rained down on her.
Moon Knight and Hawkeye were firing non-stop, determined to finish her off.
Arrows and bullets pierced her skin, making her bleed even more.
Scott started lifting his visor, ready to fire his optic blast.
Bobby and Pietro blocked her escape routes, while Jubilee had already prepared some weird chemical concoction.
And most dangerously, Jean Grey—her entire body was glowing with the flames of the Phoenix.
The situation was dire, yet Emma just… smiled.
Suddenly, her cheeks puffed up, her tongue moving rapidly.
"?"
Everyone stared at her—then she stuck out her tongue.
A flashbang.
"WHAT THE—"
BOOM!
Instantly, blinding light exploded from the grenade.
When they could finally see again, she had vanished without a trace—except for the severed arm Gwen had torn off.
"Great… We failed. The media's definitely gonna roast us even harder now."
"DAMMIT!!"
"Worry about that later! Check if anyone's still alive!"
The mutants nodded and started checking everyone.
Gwen gently touched Peter's cheek.
"I told you… Why didn't you listen to me?"
She held Peter's body—technically still alive, but barely different from dead.
Police sirens wailed closer, and thousands of people started filming for the news.
In short, everything was still chaos even though the fight had just ended.
[Yo Peter, you still alive?]
"..."
[Bro, you can talk to me through your thoughts—oh wait, your brain's destroyed too. Guess I'll wait till your brain regenerates.]
"..."
[Well, I hope next time you learn how to fight and put emotions aside. Otherwise you'll end up suffering just like 616 Peter, and you know how much that guy suffers.]
"..."
[Am I talking to myself? Of course you can't hear me! Whatever, I'll wait till you regain consciousness. Remember to talk to me when you wake up, okay Peter? You better! Or I'll be mad!]