Chapter 374: Game On — Target: Cassandra's Stronghold!
"They're here! Get ready!"
Juggernaut, up on watchtower duty, bellowed the alarm, and the rest of the mutants snapped instantly to alert.
Cassandra Nova, watching from a raised platform on the second level, barely spared the incoming van a glance before turning and heading back inside.
To her, Deadpool's little invasion was nothing but another round of the same tired game — no matter what happened, she was always going to be the one who walked away victorious.
This wasn't the first time some deluded hero had come charging in trying to bring her down. The same story played out over and over across this wasteland — hero versus dragon — and not once had the hero actually won.
As far as Cassandra was concerned, none of these people were heroes. They were ants. And she wasn't any dragon, either — she was simply unbeatable.
Everyone else had been dragged into the Void against their will. She'd chosen to stay here, entirely on purpose. Nowhere else could she act with total freedom, wield her power without restraint — the Void was, to her, the perfect playground.
"Let's see what surprises these two Wolverines have for me this time." With that, she turned, settled onto a couch, and waited for their arrival.
Meanwhile, the van carrying Deadpool's crew charged forward at full speed — Elektra stood up first, hauling out a rocket launcher, and put a round straight through the front gate of Cassandra's base.
BOOM! A deafening blast tore through the air, a burst of flame lighting up everything around it, the shockwave rattling the entire compound. The rocket's explosive force shredded the gate into pieces, dust and debris flying everywhere, blasting a clean opening for Deadpool's crew.
"Wait — hold on, hold on, what the hell, where'd you even GET a rocket launcher?!" Deadpool blurted, genuinely startled.
"Punisher's."
"Wait, wait, wait — Punisher? Which version? At this point there's basically a whole cinematic universe just for Punishers!" Deadpool's grumbling carried a mix of exasperation and genuine curiosity, though this clearly wasn't the moment for a deep dive.
"I wasn't even READY yet!!!"
In the chaos of flame and smoke, Deadpool's crew drove the van straight into the compound's interior, weaving skillfully through the narrow corridors before pulling off a perfect drift-stop in an open space deep inside the base.
The doors flew open, and every member of the team leaped out with near-cinematic precision, each in their own distinct combat gear, faces set with the same hunger for victory.
Across from them, the assembled mutant forces were already braced for the fight.
Deadpool's group numbered seven. No — eight, total.
The van's trunk suddenly popped open on its own.
Out climbed the one holdout — the Wolverine in the original team's classic yellow uniform, finally showing up after all.
Eight superheroes, striking dramatic poses on arrival — and across from them, the opposing mutants weren't exactly weak either, though nowhere near top-tier either.
Fair enough, since anyone genuinely powerful — Magneto-tier, Doctor Strange-tier — would never have submitted to Cassandra Nova's rule in the first place.
Wolverine spotted a handful of familiar faces in the crowd — Toad, Mystique, Pyro, Multiple Man.
Most of them were pulled from the Brotherhood, though a handful were alternate-universe X-Men variants too. Storm, from the Four Horsemen of Apocalypse continuity. Wolfsbane from the New Mutants. Even a villainous alternate version of Cyclops was standing in that crowd — and, notably, a few familiar villain faces from home-universe Hell's Kitchen itself.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa — this is basically a full mutant reunion tour. Man, I really want to join the X-Men after seeing this."
(The movie didn't have this many cameos, by the way — inviting all these people costs real money. Guess a novel's the only place I get to indulge properly. And hey, if I really can't help it, let's just throw Stephen and Superman-Wolverine into the mix too — I want to beat their asses black and blue.)
"Today, I — Gambit — am going to give the whole world a front-row seat to my brilliance!" His voice rang out with total, unshakable conviction, fingers gliding gently over his carefully prepared cards, each one charged with the weight of fate itself. He raised a hand slowly, and the air around him began to hum with a subtle, gathering energy.
"Finally — a proper curtain call." Elektra drew her twin sais.
"If I survive this fight, I might not mind joining you all for a drink back in Hell's Kitchen," Blade said, cold and steady.
Hell's Kitchen's own Logan lit up a cigar slowly, glancing at the other Wolverine in the classic yellow suit. "Let's see who racks up the higher kill count."
"Take care of yourself. Juggernaut's mine." Hell's Kitchen's Logan offered a quiet reassurance to the grim, silent X-23 beside him.
Even staring down an enemy force outnumbering them many times over, not one of them showed the slightest flicker of fear.
"This is it. THIS is the feeling — the tragic score, the slow-mo shots, everyone united under one shared cause! THIS is what Marvel's all about! THIS is what a real team feels like! I love this so much." The mainstream Deadpool was practically vibrating with excitement — god only knew how long he'd waited for a moment like this. He almost wanted to yell out Steve's classic line himself.
Hell's Deadpool threw an arm around him and said, "Bro, this is nothing. I've lost count of how many fights just like this I've been in already. This isn't even remotely swaggy enough — you gotta learn from the best."
The mainstream Deadpool watched him, genuinely curious what came next.
"Listen up, all you ugly, mediocre-looking mutants across the way! You've been surrounded by yours truly. Do me a favor and drop your weapons nice and easy, or once my backup gets here, you're all getting wrecked." With that, Hell's Deadpool struck a ridiculously cool pose, genuinely proud of himself, half-convinced he'd just channeled a solid chunk of Ethan's own swagger.
The mutants across from him, though, weren't remotely intimidated — if anything, they looked at him like he was an idiot. Then, as if on cue, they all opened fire on him simultaneously.
Hell's Deadpool got turned into a human colander in seconds flat.
And with that, the shooting officially kicked the whole battle into gear.
Yellow-suit Logan took point, charging straight up toward the second floor to find Cassandra, while the rest of the group engaged the mutant army head-on.
Hell's Kitchen's own Logan, meanwhile, went hunting for Juggernaut specifically — determined to take both his helmet and his head.
Gambit, Elektra, and Blade, despite being badly outnumbered, moved with the practiced ease of veterans, handling the larger force without much trouble at all.
The mainstream Deadpool had originally planned to follow the Wolverines up toward Cassandra, but ran straight into two familiar faces along the way instead — Ajax and Angel Dust, respective villains from the original Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films.
"Come on, seriously? You two? This is Deadpool 3, alright? Some Disney didn't even bother inviting you two back for this one. Do the smart thing and exit stage left — this is the mutants' turf now."
"How do you two even have the nerve to show up here? What, auditioning for background extras?"
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