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Jean's expression turned solemn. Iceman's cryokinesis, Angel's wings. Cyclops's optic blasts, Wolverine's adamantium claws, and Xavier's telepathy—the signature powers of almost every mutant in the X-Men within one person. If Anna Marie could optimally use her powers, Jean feared only Dante would be able to stop her.
Piotr's friendly smile vanished as he shifted fully back into his organic steel form, looking ready for a fight. "Jean, fall back. I'll keep her distracted."
He knew that Jean wasn't in any condition to fight, so he tried to take Anna Marie on his own to give Jean a chance to escape.
"No." Jean shook her head. "We'll defeat her."
It was wildly optimistic to believe they could take down someone with the strength of an entire team. But the alternative was leaving an ally to face Anna Marie alone—an alternative like that might as well not exist for Jean.
Piotr looked at her for a moment, then nodded heavily. "I'll try to overpower her. You find a way to get rid of her mind control."
"Watch out for her adamantium claws."
"I know. I've tasted their sharpness already."
Piotr charged at Anna Marie and threw a powerful punch with enough force to cave in a tank, yet she caught it effortlessly in her palm. The moment her skin touched his, her body began to shift. Organic steel rippled and flowed up her arm while Piotr started to lose his own.
Piotr groaned in pain and tried to pull his hand away, but Anna Marie didn't let him.
Jean recognized the threat and reached out to rescue Piotr with her telekinesis. However, her mind was blocked. Anna Marie—Prototype Zero—had raised a psionic field around herself, preventing any interruptions. Jean, who was drained and aching from the previous battle, simply lacked the strength to break the barrier.
This was Mister Sinister's plan from the start. To exhaust Jean and let Anna's own daughter finish them off.
The redhead watched helplessly as Piotr buckled and kneeled on the ground. "Stop it, Anna. You're killing him."
Anna Marie didn't listen, forcing Jean to pour more and more psychokinetic energy into the barrier. She threw her mind against it again and again, yet she couldn't break through.
Just as she was about to lose hope, a familiar disc portal opened and a sword struck Anna's steel arm. A loud clang echoed before Anna was sent skidding across the deck.
Illyana tossed her Soulsword aside and caught her brother's unconscious body before he hit the ground, cradling him against her. Her eyes, full of murderous rage, honed in on Anna. "What did you do to him?"
Anna Marie didn't bother answering. She turned around and took flight towards the city, disappearing in seconds. Illyana looked ready to give chase, but her plan changed when she looked at her unconscious brother. Her brother was a bigger priority than everything else happening in New York.
"…Fuck," Illyana muttered. "I can't believe I'm about to say this. But we need him more than ever right now."
As much as she hated to, Jean agreed completely. This wasn't an enemy they could handle. It felt like they had been dancing on Mister Sinister's palms from the very beginning. Every choice they made seemed to be within his expectations.
"Piotr's mind seems fine, but I don't know about his body."
Illyana took a deep breath. "I'm taking him to Dante."
***
Illyana's POV
Illyana stood up and threw Piotr over her shoulder. But just as she was about to activate her stepping disc, her senses screamed in warning. She kicked off the ground and dashed back, putting distance between herself and the spot she had just been standing in. Her eyes narrowed to slits behind the mask as she scanned the empty deck. There wasn't any threat to be found.
"Illyana?" Jean asked in a concerned voice. "Is something wrong?"
Illyana shook her head slowly. "It's nothing. We should—"
Once again, the same warning buzzed in her mind. "Do you sense anyone near me?"
"No." Jean's brow furrowed. "But I wouldn't put any trust in telepathy. Anna Marie had cloaked her mind to hide herself. If someone's here, I'd be the last to know."
Illyana reached out, making the Soulsword fly back in her grip. "Come out."
Suddenly, someone grabbed her ankles and pulled, tripping her on her back. She quickly cast a shield under her back to stop herself from falling on the back of her head. Once she got back to her feet, she stared at the empty ground. Whoever it was could've attempted to deal a lethal blow, but they had opted for the most childish attack.
"Grey, am I being haunted?"
Jean crossed her arms, eyeing the spot. "I think I saw hands come out of the ground. They looked like a girl's."
"A lady ghost," Illyana groaned. "Just what I needed—"
The hands began rising out of the concrete again, reaching to hold her ankles. She took a step back to avoid them. The whole thing reminded her of a girl from a different universe. A friend whom she couldn't meet.
"Kitty? Is that you?"
In her previous universe, Kitty Pride had tried pulling the same prank on her more times than she could count.
A young face slowly emerged from the ground, looking up at her with wide eyes. "How do you know my nickname?"
The face was a bit different from Illyana's memories, but the resemblance was undeniable. That bright, impish light in her eyes was perhaps a constant across all universes.
'I've been looking for you.'
Just the other day in Kamar-Taj, she had been on the verge of asking Dante to help her track down Kitty Pryde. They had never met in this universe, but she still wanted to confirm Kitty's safety in this anti-mutant SHIELD's era. She had hesitated, in the end, as it would've delayed his Egypt trip.
And now, as fate would have it, the girl had popped up out of the ground right in front of her.
"Kitty—"
"Stop doxxing me!" The girl scowled. "My codename is Shadow. Kindly use that!"
"Shadow? Not Shadowcat?"
"No. But Shadowcat does sound way cooler. I'm applying for a codename change next weekend."
That sounded just like the Kitty Pryde Illyana had been friends with.
"So, Shadow." Illyana kept her tone light and friendly even though she knew this Kitty was affiliated with Mister Sinister. There wasn't another reason for Kitty to be here at this time. "What brings you here?"
"Just doing my job. The usual stuff people do to put food on their table."
"And your job is?"
"Assassinating you." Kitty beamed a grin, a touch too bright for her words. "You happy?"
Illyana's eyebrows rose up in doubt. The sweet, hyperactive Kitty she had known would never have said the word assassination while smiling like that.
"Kitty, did Sinister mind-control you?"
Kitty rose until she was half out of the ground and crossed her arms over the pavement like it was a table. "I wouldn't call it mind control. He pays really well and he keeps the authorities from turning me into a lab rat. It's a benefits-package situation."
"He's the bad guy. You know that, right?"
"But I don't have a choice, sweetheart," Kitty purred softly. "Besides! This is my very first assassination contract. So, could you maybe just lie down? Let me stop your heart real quick? We can keep this civil and peaceful."
Illyana doubted that was the case. If Kitty truly wanted someone dead and she had the element of surprise, almost no one could stop her. Phasing made her untouchable, and as such, stopping a heart was as simple as a touch. So why was she talking, doing this cheerful theater, when she could have phased a hand into Illyana's chest and ended it instantly?
Illyana knew exactly why.
Katheryne Pryde, despite being working for Mister Sinister, was a big softie at heart. She still retained her kindness. This clever, energetic girl couldn't find it in her to kill Illyana.
"No." Illyana's grip on her Soulsword tightened. She knew Kitty's phasing ability made her nearly untouchable to most people, but her Soulsword still could hurt her. "I'm not in the mood for games."
"Awww. Your Russian accent is even cooler when you're mad."
"..."
"Illyana Rasputina, please, please, pleeease." Kitty clasped her hands together in a praying gesture, giving Illyana the biggest puppy-dog eyes she had ever seen. "Let me kill you."
Jean put a hand on Illyana's shoulder and conveyed her thoughts through telepathy, "She wants to distract you."
The redhead's reasoning was that Illyana was the biggest unexpected variable in Mister Sinister's plan. She could be anywhere in a blink, which was why he had sent Kitty to assassinate her.
"I'm—"
"Noooo, you can't leave!" Kitty drifted out from the ground and latched onto Illyana's leg in a panic. "My mom and dad will be gone if I fail! Illyana, big sis, please, you just have to stay, okay? Stay right here! I swear I'm not gonna attack you. Just don't go!"
The mask slipped right there. Under the cheery death threats was a terrified girl who had found the only path that kept her parents safe and her hands from being stained in blood, by stopping the unpredictable variable from being unpredictable. No killing was required as long as she could keep Illyana in one place.
Illyana pried Kitty's hands off her leg and shook her head firmly. "I'm going to Egypt to get my brother checked. You don't have to worry about my interference."
"He's fine, though!" Kitty pointed a finger at the unconscious Piotr. "Miss Quiet only took his powers. The rest of him's totally okay! So you don't even have to go, see?"
"I'm not risking it, Kitty."
This time Illyana didn't stop. She used her stepping-disc to disappear in an instant, leaving Jean and Kitty staring at one another.
***
Jean's POV
Jean extended a hand to Kitty, who just sat there, staring at the concrete. "Kitty."
Kitty gave out a sigh and helped herself to her feet. "I spared her life. Why is she so ungrateful?"
"She loves her brother."
Jean had a feeling Illyana would've stayed if it was anyone else. But, for Piotr, she wasn't willing to take a risk.
Kitty gave a pout. "You talk like I don't love my parents."
"You do?"
"'Course I do!" Kitty punched Jean's shoulder and sprang back, moving to sit on the hood of a car. "But I didn't compromise my ideology for them."
"I was right then."
Kitty nodded seriously. "I'm Shadow, the best assassin in the world. No man or woman lives if I want them to die!"
Jean gave a warm smile. "I know a man who can survive your assassination."
"Who? Skullfire?" Kitty snarled at Jean's nod. "I can kill him a billion times if I wanted to. I just… don't want to kill innocents."
The silence that followed was quite uncomfortable for Jean as Kitty folded her knees, hugging them to her chest. Despite being so cheerful, Jean knew Kitty carried heavy burdens. Jean wanted to comfort Kitty, but at the same time, she didn't fully trust this assassin sent by Mister Sinister.
"Kitty, Nathaniel Essex will die in a month."
"It's impossible," Kitty looked up and said in a serious voice. "He has too many backup clones."
"Those won't matter if death herself is looking to end him."
Jean turned and walked away, leaving that quiet, fragile hope for the girl at the bridge's edge.
***
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