Amid Deadpool's cheers, Axel grabbed the Human Torch by the hair and gave a sharp tug, tearing free his spine. The brittle clatter of bone shattered the silence around them.
Facing the stunned crowd, Axel casually tossed the head and spine aside, then raised a hand with an easy grin.
"Buddies!"
His voice carried across the battlefield.
"What are you waiting for?"
"Ah!!!"
Before his words even settled, Juggernaut charged, leading with his helmet in a full-force assault.
At the same time, Psylocke formed her psionic blade, but instead of attacking, she turned sharply toward Arc Light and Negasonic Teenage Warhead behind her.
"Run! This guy is not someone we can handle. Only Cassandra, or maybe a Sentinel, stands a chance against him!"
The three of them wasted no time. They jumped into a Fantastic Four hovercar and sped off, the vehicle lifting into the air with a sharp hum.
Nearby, Azazel stood beside their own vehicle, his expression tense.
"Go," he ordered Nightcrawler, who sat behind the wheel.
Nightcrawler started the engine immediately, but before the car could move, Azazel punched him hard across the head.
"Idiot! This is not the time to drive!"
In the next instant, Azazel grabbed him and vanished in a swirl of black and red smoke.
Despite the chaos, only those two groups fled. The rest hesitated, fear rooting them in place.
Then Lady Deathstrike stepped forward.
"Don't even think about running," she shouted. "No one escapes Cassandra. Not Sentinel, not Thanos, not Captain Marvel, not even Professor X. She has killed too many already. She is the strongest one here."
She took a breath, her voice hardening.
"If we run, we either spend our lives hiding from her or die anyway. We are dead no matter what, so we might as well fight this damn monster like Juggernaut!"
With that, she raised her voice and cheered.
"Go!"
Encouraged, Juggernaut slammed toward Axel.
Axel watched the massive helmet rushing closer and smiled.
"I told you," he said, glancing at Deadpool, "I'm best at bullying the weak."
He raised one hand and stopped Juggernaut's charge cold.
Then he kicked him in the waist, launching the giant hundreds of meters away. Before Juggernaut could even recover, Axel caught up in an instant and drove his fist straight into his chest.
A tearing sound echoed.
Juggernaut's body kept flying, but his heart remained behind, clenched in Axel's hand.
"Woohoo!"
Axel held it up high, posing like a basketball player lining up a shot.
"Go, my long-range three-pointer!"
He tossed the heart toward Wade.
Deadpool reacted instantly, pulling a blade from his back and skewering the heart midair.
He held it up proudly and turned toward Johnny, who was struggling to stand nearby.
"Hey, fake Captain America with the real Johnny face, how about some fire?"
He grinned.
"We haven't eaten, and someone was kind enough to send us fresh ingredients. Only problem is, we have to cook it ourselves. Good thing I picked up some skills from Hannibal on TV. Give me some flames and I will make the best Juggernaut skewers you have ever seen."
Johnny gave a strained smile, then silently rolled onto his stomach and buried his face in the dirt.
Nearby, Wolverine watched, unimpressed.
"I have only known Wade for a short time, but I already know exactly what kind of bastard he is. Johnny, sticking your backside out in front of him takes real courage."
He shook his head and turned away.
Deadpool, of course, walked straight over and slapped Johnny on the rear.
"Ooh, nice and round."
He casually dropped Juggernaut's heart beside him.
Johnny shifted to lie on his side, clutching himself in misery.
Meanwhile, Axel finished the rest.
There had never been many enemies to begin with. Their group came for Johnny, and running into Wade and Logan had been an accident. With only a handful of vehicles and less than thirty fighters, and some already fleeing, fewer than twenty remained.
Axel wiped them out in under half a minute.
Holding the severed Adamantium claw of Lady Deathstrike, he walked back and tossed it toward Logan.
Logan kicked it aside without interest.
"If it were me, I could do that too."
"Really?"
Axel smirked, raising a finger in mock challenge. Then he walked to one of the abandoned vehicles, the one Toad had been driving earlier.
After a quick inspection, he pressed a few controls.
A low mechanical hum filled the air.
The moment Logan saw the device activating, his expression changed.
"Shit!"
A powerful magnetic field surged to life. Before Logan could react, his metal skeleton locked him in place as he was yanked onto the machine.
Pinned and immobile.
Johnny, who had finally forced himself back up, let out a weak laugh.
"Nice. Turns out you have a weakness too. I did not expect them to bring a magnetic trap this time."
He looked at Axel with curiosity.
"By the way, who are you? I have never heard of you before."
Axel chuckled and pointed at Wade.
Deadpool puffed up immediately and stepped forward.
"Standing before you is the strongest villain in the DC Universe. The ruler of Gotham, day and night. Batman's worst nightmare. A man even Superman avoids."
He spread his arms dramatically.
"The killer of Doctor Fate and the nightmare of every hero out there. And you, you guy with Steve's face playing superhero, should call him…"
He paused for effect.
"Godfather Axel."
Axel raised his hand, clearly pleased.
"Having someone speak for you really is great."
"If it is that great, then keep helping me save my broken universe," Wade shot back. "You would not want to lose me, your favorite red partner, right?"
He slapped Johnny again for emphasis.
Johnny flinched hard, then gestured at the surrounding wreckage.
"This is not the time for jokes. Especially you, Wade. Just because you found someone strong does not mean you can run wild here."
His tone turned serious.
"This is the Void, a dumping ground for broken timelines. Everything here is discarded. Anyone who ends up here either gets eaten by Alioth or becomes Cassandra's plaything."
____
Patreon = _Zeph