"No—!" Iceman screamed in anguish as he rushed toward the bisected corpses of Colossus and War Machine, but before he could reach them, Wolverine—ever the soldier in chaos—kicked him aside. The blow sent Iceman sprawling across the ice, just as Wolverine turned to meet Marcus's descending blade head-on.
Steel clashed with steel once more—adamantium claws versus adamantium-forged blade. Sparks scattered through the mist as Wolverine gritted his teeth, straining with both arms, but Marcus's strength was monstrous. The impact forced Wolverine back several steps, his boots grinding furrows into the concrete before Marcus's second strike came down and tore a deep gash across his abdomen.
But something felt wrong. Marcus drew back his weapon, inspecting it mid-stance—and frowned. Along the razor-sharp edge of his adamantium katana, he noticed small fractures, thin but spreading. Then, the realization struck him.
He recalled the weapon's description from the day he'd acquired it:
Name: Adamantium Katana
Material: Adamantium alloy (purity 54.7%), tempered cobalt steel
Length: 1.1 meters
Weight: 0.8 kilograms
Description: A sword forged from the leftover adamantium used in the Weapon X program, originally intended for Deadpool. Though less pure than Wolverine's full adamantium skeleton, it remains a weapon capable of slicing through diamond with ease.
Marcus narrowed his eyes. Of course—his sword wasn't made of pure adamantium. With only 54.7% purity, it could withstand nearly anything—except Wolverine's unblemished claws. Every time their weapons clashed, it was his blade that suffered.
If not for the high-tech modifications by Whiplash, the weapon would have shattered long ago. And without something stronger, breaking through Wolverine's skull—the fortress of his healing factor—was impossible.
His second weapon wasn't much better.
Name: Carbon-Steel Katana (Prototype)
Description: An experimental weapon designed after Deadpool's escape from the Weapon X facility. The metal suppresses regenerative factors, slowing healing dramatically. However, as an unfinished prototype, its effect on Deadpool was limited—it could only delay his healing, not stop it entirely.
If it barely slowed Deadpool, how could it possibly overcome the source of Deadpool's regeneration—Wolverine himself? Even the last strike that should've crippled him hadn't slowed his recovery at all.
Marcus tightened his grip. Killing Wolverine outright isn't possible. Not yet.
He'd have to immobilize him first, then deal with him another way. But that was easier said than done—with Iceman still in play.
Wolverine lunged again, and Marcus sidestepped, redirecting his attack toward the mourning Iceman. Before the young mutant could react, Marcus's blade flashed like lightning.
In a single stroke, he decapitated him.
Iceman's crystal head flew three meters into the air, shattering into shards as it hit the ground.
"Now, for you—" Marcus turned back toward Wolverine, only to freeze mid-motion.
The headless body behind him was still moving.
Iceman's decapitated form grabbed him from behind, locking both arms around Marcus's torso in a crushing embrace. From the ragged stump of his neck, ice began to crystallize upward again—slowly forming a new head. Within seconds, a freshly sculpted face emerged from the frost, eyes glowing an eerie blue.
"Bastard," he hissed. "I'll kill you myself!"
Freezing cold flooded through the air. The temperature plummeted so fast that Marcus's breath crystallized instantly. Ice spread up his arms, crawling toward his chest as Iceman's grip tightened, intent on freezing him solid before smashing him into pieces.
But Marcus had no intention of being a statue.
In an instant, Bloodflame erupted across his body. The flames roared to life, burning brighter and hotter than before. Steam exploded outward as the ice around him melted, cracking apart in glowing rivulets. Marcus tore himself free, pivoted sharply, and swung one of his swords in a blazing arc—
SHHK!
The strike cleaved Iceman in half at the waist.
For a brief moment, the two halves slid apart, collapsing into glittering fragments across the ground. But before Marcus could even take a breath, Wolverine came charging from behind once more. Marcus turned, parried the claws, and countered with a punch to Wolverine's jaw, sending him flying through a half-collapsed building.
By the time Marcus turned back, Iceman was whole again.
He had reformed completely, his body shimmering like blue diamond. This time, his regeneration was instantaneous.
'Damn it,' Marcus thought grimly. 'He's adapted.'
The death of his allies had clearly pushed Iceman past his limits. His power had evolved again. He no longer merely generated ice—he had become it.
His body was now pure elemental ice, impervious to physical damage. He could reform from a single frozen droplet, reshape himself using ambient moisture, and coat himself in layers of reinforced frost harder than steel.
Marcus's Bloodflame—the weapon that devoured everything—was nearly useless against him.
Iceman no longer had blood. No fuel for the flame. Once Marcus's Bloodflame consumed the limited blood residue on his blades, it would simply die out, unable to sustain itself.
That made Iceman his natural counter.
Marcus exhaled slowly, then dragged his blade across his palm. Blood spilled freely, coating the weapon. The crimson flames flared back to life, roaring up the steel like a blooming scarlet lotus.
"Then I'll just vaporize you completely," he muttered.
With a burst of speed, he charged again, flames trailing behind him like comet tails.
But just as the flaming blade was about to strike, Iceman vanished.
Marcus's eyes widened.
No—he hadn't disappeared.
The air behind him crackled with frost. Marcus pivoted instantly, slashing backward—but his blade cut only mist. A split second later, a razor edge of cold grazed his shoulder, drawing blood.
A thin layer of ice instantly spread from the wound.
Marcus staggered, feeling the chill seep into his veins. The cold was unnatural—it wasn't just temperature. It was something deeper, something that reached into the molecular structure of his body. The frost spread through his bloodstream, freezing him from within.
He gritted his teeth, forcing Bloodflame through his body, trying to burn it out—but it didn't help. The ice crawled faster, unaffected by heat, consuming the fire like a virus.
Teleportation. Cryokinesis. Molecular freezing.
Marcus's thoughts sharpened.
'Just how many abilities has he awakened?'
Iceman materialized several meters away, eyes glowing with the light of a frozen storm. His voice was cold enough to bite through steel.
"You killed them," he said softly, his tone trembling with fury. "Now I'll freeze you so deep—not even hell will thaw you out."
Marcus raised his blades once more, crimson fire clashing against blinding frost.
The blood and ice began to spiral together—two extremes colliding, the battlefield trembling beneath their power.