AN: This chapter skips around a bit, kinda like in a movie. I couldn't fit this into two. This chapter is dedicated to @LadyCaratona for voting on the stories :D Thank you so much!
Professor X took action and placed a clear psyonic shield around himself. The shield protected him from anyone trying to intrude his mind or his subconscious. With teammates flipping the script and attacking others, he couldn't take the chance of letting this villain take control of him. He watched the creature calmly, investigating every inch of him in order to figure out who, or what he was.
The creature had three long fingers and twitched every now and again. A long black coat covered most of his body, rips and tears along the cloth showed he was able to put up a fight. A black and white swirling portal covered his head and shoulders, which was the most unique thing about him. The creature tilted his head to the side as if he were studying the professor as well.
Xavier had seen many mutants and villains, even gods, but nothing like him. This creature was borderline extraordinary and extremely dangerous. The professor held his stare and raised an eyebrow. Xavier questioned, "Who are you?"
The creature didn't respond and inched closer. It moved its arms swiftly, but peacefully, almost as if it was doing some kind of Tai Chi. Their surroundings shifted and melted away, causing them to be in a dark gray space. There was nothing but dead trees and dull grass around them, and no noise could be heard but the Professor's soft breathing.
"You are in my world now," the creature answered in a low, gravelly voice. He set his arms to his sides and seemed to stare at the Professor. "I am Mortuu Contreas, the subconscious eternal."
Xavier slowly rolled his wheelchair closer. "What do you want with us?"
Mortuu stayed quiet for a second. That question was always asked by one of his victims, and he always gave the same answer. This time, however, the situation was different. This wasn't on his terms. "I am indebted to one of the people I work with. Once this war is over, I am able to roam the world freely again, without worries. I am here to get my life back."
"Is all of this really worth it? You are hurting other people and helping criminals. Does a debt really matter that much to you?"
Mortuu scowled and stepped towards the Professor with ferocity. "If I can be free, then yes."
"Then I have no other choice." Xavier closed his eyes and attempted to focus on getting into Mortuu's head. The place they were in melted away, and all they were left in was complete darkness.
Logan's body hit the wall and collapsed onto the ground. He scraped his claws against the floor in anger; the black goo showed prominently through his bulging veins. He growled lowly and snapped his head in my direction, his fierce eyes glaring at me with intensity. Logan pushed himself up before he lunged at me.
I quickly rolled to the side and took a second to breathe. Logan was using kill moves, and that was the scary part. If he's going all in, then Steve and Peter will too. I could hear Storm and Bobby calling out to each other, move after move, but sometimes cried out when they got hit.
I threw metal debris at him, only to have him dodge the other way. Logan launched his clawed fist and I blocked it with my own claws. He aimed a punch one after the other, only to have it blocked. He snagged my face a bit. Blood flew to the ground and I scowled at him. I went to kick him, but he caught my foot and flipped me onto the ground.
I winced; this fight was going nowhere. None of us were going to win or give up. No one was going to die. I moved out of the way as Logan forced his claws into the floor where my head used to be.
Wait...metal! I shuffled up and forced my hands his way, holding his claws in place. He struggled and growled, but nothing happened.
My hands began to shake as I held him steady. Metal? Not my strongest power. I may have saved Clint and I from a collapsed building, but it took all of the energy out of me. If I did that kind of exertion here, I'm sure Logan would kill me while I was down. Sweat dripped down my forehead and my muscles strained as I continued to hold him in place. Logan was a caged animal, thrashing erratically in order to escape.
One strong move he did shook my grasp and I tried to run.
Logan sunk his metal claws into my abdomen, so I did the same to him. We both cried out in sheer agony, but no one backed away. We kept our positions and maintained eye contact as we sank our claws deeper into each other's flesh.
Xavier opened his eyes to see Mortuu staring at a figments of Wolverine, Captain America, and Spider-Man. Mortuu turned his head in curiosity and brushed his fingers against their foreheads one-by-one. He whispered something in their ears and closed their eyes. They were blind to their actions, but listened to his commands.
The Professor's eyes widened. The way this creature's powers worked was...remarkable. He's never gone into another telepath's head and seen something like this. The figments were merely puppets to Mortuu, and that made everything much more interesting. When Xavier did something, it's always like a simple Jedi mind trick. Nothing like this.
Mortuu stopped what he was doing, but stood still. His voice echoed around them, "How did you manage to get here?"
"I am stronger than you think," Xavier answered as he focused in on Mortuu. Mortuu's limbs stretched out behind him, but he quickly broke the telepathic grasp and retaliated. He locked onto the Professor and attempted to turn him against himself. He focused with all of his might, but neither man won.
Mortuu twitched and his portal-like face spun faster. He quickly pointed at Xavier and yelled, "Get him!"
The figments rushed at Xavier, eyes closed and fists ready to fight. Xavier stood his ground and showed no fear. Wolverine took out his claws, slashed at him, but fell right through him and onto the other side in a daze. Peter and Steve double teamed and went in for punches and kicks, but suffered the same failure as Logan. Xavier stared at Mortuu triumphantly, calling out, "You forget where we are. You cannot hurt me here." Xavier shadowed the figments and made Mortuu only see one.
Himself.
Mortuu backed away at his own appearance, frightened, but also taken aback. Who knows if this was the first time he had seen himself, face and all. He stumbled and focused on the object. "You're not real!" He screamed, causing the figment to tear himself apart. His portal face peeled away like slices of peeled oranges, revealing nothing but darkness. He yelled and cried out as he watched his own fingers fall off and the rest of his body fall apart. In turn, what he was doing to the figment happened to him.
Slices of Mortuu Contreas fell off, one at a time. His coat fell off his thinning body, revealing a mass of pure black darkness. It faded away into the background of his mind as he destroyed himself. The pieces simmered against the dark ground, and slowly melted away.
Professor Xavier opened his blue eyes in reality and took in a short breath. His limbs felt weak and his mind ached, but he felt accomplished. The worst was over.
Logan grunted and yelled as he began to lift me into the air using his claws. Blood trickled down his hand and arm, falling all the way to his outfit. I screamed and tried to keep my feet on the ground, but only my tiptoes grazed the floor.
The black goo disappeared from Wolverine's veins and his eyes returned to its bright original color. My feet rooted to the ground, and I used the opportunity to flip him over my head and onto the ground. My claws retracted back into my knuckles and the blood that was on them now stained my knuckles. I clutched my abdomen and fell onto my knees next to Logan. "Son of a bitch. That stings," I hissed through my teeth.
Logan tried to calm his breathing and closed his eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows together before groaning, "What the hell happened?"
Blood fell through my fingertips and I put pressure on my wound in order to stop it before it healed. I shook my sweaty head and shrugged. "I don't know. We have to find the others. If you came out of your trance, they must have too."
Uncle Ben collapsed, clutching his abdomen in distress. Peter rushed over to him and touched his hand, only to have a piece of his skin fall off. He backed away quickly in disgust, eyes wide in fear. Peter's brown eyes landed on Uncle Ben's gun shot wound, the same one he died from in reality. Uncle Ben raised his hand to Peter and a chunk of his palm slopped to the floor. "Peter..." Uncle Ben called out softly. His lips slouched to one side and fell off of his face completely. More skin fell off, and it only terrified Peter.
Tears fell down Peter's face as he watched the life escape from his uncle's eyes for the second time in his life. Spider-Man let out a cry and covered his mouth with his hand to stop himself. Something wasn't right. This had happened before. But how was he here with two people he loved most? His eyes flickered to Gwen Stacy and he jolted up from the floor.
Gwen's head started to bleed from the crown and she winced when a chunk of her hair fell out. She peered at Peter with sad eyes and a frown settled on her pink lips. "What happened, Peter? Why couldn't you catch me?" Peter tried reaching for her, but his clouded vision misjudged how close she was. His hand fell forward, barely scraping by her cheek, taking some of her skin with it. "The Amazing Spider-Man isn't so amazing. Not if he can't save the ones he loves."
The Howling Commandos hit the table all at once. All flat lined, beer in one hand and bullet holes in their backs. Their crimson blood stained the table and mixed together, splattering each other's faces. Their skin slid off their faces and fell onto the plates they had, joining the unfinished meals. Steve cried out and yelled as he watched his dead comrades get torn apart, limb from limb. He spun around to face Peggy, desperate to find out what was happening.
Peggy's skin started tearing in different places and peeled off. Her face had a tear in it, and only increased in size. She tore a piece off and let it fall. She set her hand on his face, accidentally rubbing her blood on his clear skin. "You shouldn't have gone down in the ice."
"Peg, what's happening?" Steve panicked. Peggy closed her eyes and took her last breath. Steve caught her as she fell, her blood staining his whole outfit. He sucked in a breath and yelled, "No! I just got you back! Peggy!"
Steve's blue eyes shot open in reality and he took in his surroundings. His erratic breathing caused his chest to rise and fall at a fast rate. He got up from his knees and looked around.
I ran into the room and instantly ran to Peter, who had tears running down his face. He clutched his mask in one hand and wiped his tears with the other. Sweat clung to his skin as he sobbed loudly. I went to hug him, but he brushed me off and backed away. I stopped dead in my tracks. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion and I whispered, "Peter..." Peter walked into the other hall to cool down and avoided any contact with anyone.
I peered over at Steve, who appeared disoriented. He stumbled over to the wall and clung to it to keep himself up. I stepped towards him and asked, "Are you okay?" Steve didn't make eye contact with me and just peered off into the distance. He huffed a few times and brushed back his sweaty blond hair.
Logan put his hand on my shoulder and apologized once more for what had happened. He felt horrible for fighting and injuring me, even though they didn't last long. I shook my head and forgave him. He wasn't in his right mind. That was easily forgivable. Thinking about Steve and Peter's reactions, I asked Logan, "What did you see when you weren't in control?"
Logan looked down at the ground and tightened his grip on my shoulder. His breathing sped up a bit and he bit the inside of his cheek. "My pregnant wife."
My head snapped to look at him and I replied, "I didn't know you had a wife."
"Yeah well...our marriage didn't last long. The Winter Soldier killed her," Logan scowled and walked away from me. His hands curled up into fists and turned his knuckles ghostly white from the pressure.
My breath caught in my throat at his words. Not only did he have to relive seeing her, but he had to feel the disappointment of not being able to protect her. Steve's friend has killed dozens over the years, but why her? My hazel eyes flickered to Steve and tried to comprehend why Bucky would kill Logan's wife. What score did Hydra have to settle?
All of us walked towards the Black Bird in silence. Everyone was exhausted or shaken up. The team had taken a hit, and it was going to be sheer luck if they recovered from it.