The White House gates were supposed to be untouchable—layers of soldiers, turrets, sensors, the whole paranoid buffet.
But tonight, a small group of twisted, otherworldly figures strolled straight up the front path like they owned the place.
"Stop! Turn around now or we open fire!"
The frontline soldiers raised their rifles, tension coiling through the air.
Quicksilver exhaled sharply. "Leave these guys to me."
He vanished in a streak of silver. A glint of metal flashed in his hand—dagger drawn.
Before the soldiers even understood what happened, their hands flew to their slashed throats.
One by one, they collapsed, bleeding out across polished stone.
Quicksilver skidded to a halt behind the last falling body.
"See? Clean-up crew quality."
Mephistopheles and Blackheart walked past the corpses without a single glance.
Alarms shrieked. Steel shutters dropped.
Dozens of agents and security drones stormed the courtyard, weapons whirring and locking onto the intruders.
"Oh? Looks like we're not exactly the welcome party's favorite guests."
Mephistopheles gave a bored smirk.
"In that case… let every last one of them stay in hell."
"Fire!"
Gunfire burst like a storm. Rockets streaked across the courtyard. Lasers cut glowing lines through the air—
And all of it froze mid-flight.
Mephistopheles lifted one skeletal hand, dark magic curling around his fingers like smoke made of nightmares.
The bullets, missiles, and beams trembled, suspended as if time itself bowed to him.
"You dare challenge me with toys like this?" he sneered. "Pathetic insects."
His claws sliced downward.
The suspended firepower crushed into a dense sphere—then detonated outward.
A shockwave of darkness erupted, hurling agents into walls and smashing robots into scrap.
Bodies thudded across the ground.
Silence followed.
Mephistopheles strode forward proudly, chin raised. Quicksilver whistled in admiration.
"So… where's this 'President' you mentioned?" Mephistopheles asked. "Don't tell me the human cockroach already ran."
"Hard to say," Quicksilver muttered. "His guards are stubborn lunatics. You really planning to take over the whole United States?"
"I don't care for power." Mephistopheles shrugged.
"But their lives and souls… those are worth something."
He snapped his fingers.
Dozens of faint soul-lights tore free from unconscious agents, swirling into his hands.
His aura surged, swelling into a monstrous presence.
Blackheart grinned. "Perfect. With this much power? You'll crush that kid Ryuuto for sure."
Quicksilver shivered, forcing a smile so the old demon wouldn't notice.
A beam of red energy lanced down from above.
At the same time—snikt!—alloy claws slashed toward Blackheart.
Iron Man landed with repulsors blazing.
Wolverine followed with a snarl, claws dripping sparks.
Quicksilver's face drained white.
This was supposed to be a simple hunt.
Now he had two top-tier heroes dropping in like a divine punishment.
"Tch. Iron Man and Wolverine?" Mephistopheles scoffed. "Fine. At least you're not boring."
He raised a hand, releasing a wave of dark energy that dissolved Tony's next laser blast.
Blackheart lunged, colliding with Wolverine in a shock of sparks and metal.
The two were knocked back, glaring murder at each other.
"Morphistopheles! Quicksilver! Turn around and leave!" Tony shouted, hovering above with both hands charged.
"Cross this line, and we won't pull punches."
Wolverine cracked his neck. "Try something. I dare you."
"Oh? Just the two of you?" Mephistopheles chuckled. "That's all? Feeling a bit understaffed?"
Blackheart licked his claws.
"Let me deal with the clawed one. I've wanted a souvenir made of adamantium."
The demon's aura spiked, empowered by Mephistopheles' earlier absorption.
His claws gleamed with cold, killing light.
Quicksilver pointed forward. "Move! Eliminate them!"
His mutants swarmed Iron Man.
Blackheart hammered Wolverine with a barrage of savage blows, forcing Logan backward step by step.
"Wolverine, heads up! That demon's amped!" Tony shouted, blasting a charging mutant away.
"Worry about yourself, tin can!" Mephistopheles snarled.
He cleaved Tony's next volley in half—and slashed straight across his armor.
The blow cracked through plating, sending sparks spraying.
A beam of condensed annihilation energy formed in the demon's hand.
He slammed it into Tony's chest.
Tony coughed black blood and was launched backward, smashing through a stone pillar.
"Old man…" Wolverine growled, struggling to break past Blackheart's claws.
"You just signed your death warrant."
Mephistopheles strode toward the downed Iron Man, claws raised for the killing blow—
The sky cracked.
A fiery streak plummeted downward.
"Touch him, and you're done."
Ryuuto—Red Mirage—hit the ground with the force of a meteor, the air screaming around him as shards of golden flame tore the battlefield open.