Chapter 380: Professor X — "Sister. We Meet Again."
Elektra murmured, half to herself, "Seems like Logan and the others really couldn't stop this after all... is this just how it ends for us?" Quiet as her voice was, it landed like a hammer blow on everyone within earshot.
Gambit let out a bitter half-smile at that, brushing the dust off his coat as he rose to his feet, a hard resolve settling in his eyes. "Yeah. Looks like they failed.
But hey — if this is the end, going out fighting alongside a crew like this, with the world remembering our names? That's a decent way to go. At least we died for something."
Blade, ever the quiet, steady one, gripped his blade a little tighter, unable to hold back a rare note of wistfulness. "Yeah. Was hoping to celebrate with the crew after this was all over. Guess that drink's never happening now." There was resignation in his voice, but more than that, a genuine, calm acceptance of whatever came next.
Hell's Kitchen's own Wolverine pulled X-23 in close beside him. "Don't worry. I've got you."
As Alioth closed in, the air itself started to feel suffocating.
The mainstream-universe Deadpool, watching the storm bear down on them, tried once more to hurry along the still-fighting Cassandra and the Dark Witch.
"Come ON, would you two quit it already? Can't you just open a portal and get us out of here? Keep this up and you're BOTH gonna die right along with the rest of us!"
Neither of them paid him any attention, though — if anything, the Dark Witch and Cassandra pushed their power even higher, each determined to finish the other off, white and black energy locked in a violent, grinding stalemate.
Deadpool gave up trying to intervene, hauled Wolverine — still down on the ground — up by the arm, and settled in to just watch the show unfold.
"Why aren't you running?" Wolverine watched the storm bearing down on the base, that swirling, monstrous cloud already devouring everything in its path, and couldn't help but ask Deadpool, urgency and confusion tangled in his voice.
"Relax. In this book, I'm just a cameo. Whenever things get this dire, that's exactly when the real protagonist shows up to save the day and drop some sick one-liners. I'm just a plot device."
A heavy, suffocating silence settled over everyone. Gambit and the others had already quietly made peace with what was coming, as though they could already see death's face staring back at them. Right at that razor's-edge moment, though, a faint spark flickered to life somewhere up in the sky.
Fizz—
Fizzzz—
The spark traced a massive circle through the air.
"Check it out — whoa, that's actually pretty cool," the mainstream Deadpool said, elbowing yellow-suit Wolverine.
"What is that?"
"You don't even know? That's THE Marvel signature portal move."
The golden ring of light stabilized, carving a mysterious doorway straight through the fabric of space.
Wolverine's face lit up with disbelief and delight as he spotted the figures stepping through it.
Before long, yellow-suit Wolverine's own face broke into the exact same expression, wide-eyed and stunned.
Because the ones stepping through the portal were none other than two very familiar faces: Magneto and Professor X.
Right behind them came Daredevil, and finally Ethan.
Ethan's brow furrowed the instant he took in the scene. The Void's an even bigger mess than I expected, he thought to himself.
He glanced around and spotted the massive storm cloud bearing down at frightening speed, threatening to swallow everything in its path.
Damn, this opening's a lot more intense than I signed up for, Ethan grumbled internally, though his hands moved without hesitation.
He activated his magic instantly — the Mirror Dimension — space warping open, a doorway of light appearing out of nowhere, pulling the storm cloud that had been about to reach the group entirely inside it. In an instant, the danger was gone.
Elektra opened her eyes to find a familiar figure standing in front of her — her dead ex-boyfriend, Daredevil.
His outfit looked different, but she recognized him instantly regardless.
"Is that you, Matthew?"
"Am I dead? Is this it — is it finally over? Am I finally seeing you again?"
Seeing Daredevil, Elektra assumed she'd died and this was the afterlife, the only explanation for how she could possibly be looking at him again.
Matt couldn't see Elektra, of course, but his Observation Haki and the familiar scent told him instantly exactly who was standing in front of him — the ex he'd never stopped thinking about, even knowing they weren't from the same timeline.
"No. You're alive. Everyone here is," Daredevil said, smiling gently.
At that, the whole group finally registered what had just happened — they'd survived, against all odds — and erupted into cheers.
"We made it!"
"Who saved us?"
"Was it that one, standing up in the sky?"
Gambit, Blade, and the rest looked up at Ethan, still hovering above them, and understood instantly: this man had saved them all.
Once Ethan touched down, gratitude poured out from every direction.
"Hey, everyone. Ethan, from Hell's Kitchen. I'm from the same universe as that slightly-more-handsome Deadpool and slightly-younger Wolverine standing over there," Ethan said, gesturing toward Wolverine, still with X-23.
"And you two must be the ones Deadpool told me about — the resistance fighting against Cassandra." Ethan looked toward Gambit and Blade.
Truthfully, Ethan already knew who they both were — he just played along, pretending not to. Still, seeing Blade in person left him with a genuine flicker of appreciation.
Blade, technically, predated even the original Spider-Man as a Marvel superhero on film — just never got the recognition he deserved for it.
Gambit had it even rougher. His solo movie had actually been in development a full decade ago, only for the studio behind it to collapse before it ever got made — leaving him waiting until literally right now to finally show up.
Honestly, Ethan figured Gambit's movie probably would've been pretty solid — a casino heist vibe mixed with superhero action sounded like a genuinely fun combination.
"Truly grateful to you. Looks like this isn't my final act after all." Gambit gave his cards a light spin between his fingers.
"Thank you. Guess I get to have that drink with the boys after all," Blade said, flat and cool as ever.
「Congratulations, Host! Blade has successfully added the Host as a friend!」
「Congratulations, Host! You've obtained: Regeneration!」
「Congratulations, Host! Remy Étienne LeBeau has successfully added the Host as a friend!」
「Congratulations, Host! You've obtained: Master Thievery!」
Ethan blinked at that last one. He'd almost forgotten — in the comics, Gambit had actually grown up a thief before eventually turning his life around.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the fight—
Cassandra had been steadily losing ground against the Dark Witch.
Then, out of nowhere, a familiar burst of energy struck the Dark Witch from behind, giving Cassandra the breathing room she desperately needed.
"Cassandra Nova Xavier. My sister. We meet again."
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Inkshaper
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you