The shadows in the room started to shift as Selene emerged from the darkness like a wrath and struck Ultimate Big Chill from the back with a wave of her hand. The Evolved Alien went flying from the force and slammed against the wall.
The stone cracked from the impact as Ult Big Chill groaned. Before he could even drop from the wall, the stone suddenly surged forward, flowing like water as they wrapped around him body and bound him tightly.
The Alien Teen groaned, then gasped as a stone tentacle wrapped around his neck and squeezed.
He looked down as Selene approached him, her former beauty restored, including her dress. Only he couldn't tell where her dress ended, and the shadows begin. It's like she'd merged with the darkness entirely.
Selene grinned as she clenched her hand and the force binding Ult Big Chill increased.
"A shame. I was hoping to savour your delicious life energy for as long as possible. But now, I'll drain every last drop of your life in one go. And I'll enjoy every second of it." She said with malicious intent.
The look in her eyes and the aura she was giving off. The Alien Shapeshifter never felt anything like it. Before, she felt dangerous, but in the sense of a Shark in an aquarium. Intimidating, but not threatening. But now she's broken down the barriers that held her back. She wasn't a mere shark, she was a Megalodon, and he was in open water without a boat.
Unfortunately for her, he was no minnow for her to sink her teeth into.
The Young Hero smirked, causing her to stop in her tracks. "I gotta say." He said in a cocky tone. "Of everyone that's ever threatened me. You are certainly the prettiest."
Selene could help but smirk. Her vanity taking hold of her rational mind. "Don't think that flattery will save you. I've heard every compliment; mankind has ever used."
"And I thought I was cold." The Evolved Alien quipped in response.
"Soon, you'll be eternally cold." The Black Queen stated as she raised her hands and dark energy started to swirl around her and gathered around her appendages. "You should have never underestimated me, child. Not that you could've killed me anyway. Many have tried over the millennium's, none have succeeded."
"Ok I get it, you're old." Ult. Big Chill groaned. "I've been avoiding the old jokes since your first 'subtle' mention of it. Cause I'm a gentleman like that. But if you're gonna keep bringing it up, fine you win. Why don't you tell me what it was like when fire was invented?"
Selene smirked as she focused the power and prepared to attack. "You cannot fathom how old I am."
"Try me. I know the dude who's gonna outlive time." He responded before turning intangible and phasing out of her grip. just as the fired her dark blast.
Normally, the Moth-Alien would allow the beam to pass through him, being an intangible being, no attack should touch him. But he'd already underestimated this woman before, he wasn't about to take any chances.
Dropping the temperature around his body, Ult Big Chill generated a perfect ice sculpture of himself. Ult. Big Chill flew back leaving his ice sculpture as a decoy.
The dark beam hit the ice double and shattered it into mist. A beat of his wings, sent the mist flowing around her, limiting her view.
"Your attempts are fruitless." Selene said as she calmly allowed the mist to wash over her. "Sooner or later, you will tire. And when you do, your life will be mine. If you surrender now, I may just keep you as my pet. Be a shame to waste that delicious life-energy of yours."
"You keep mentioning my life-energy. And I gotta say, it's getting real weird." Ult Big Chill's voice echoed around her.
The Black Queen's head swivelled around as she tried to find him. But she couldn't seem to detect him. Like her senses were being blocked as she felt a kind of static in her brain.
"Funny thing about the cold." The chilling voice spoke from all directions. "It has a way of creeping up on you. Even on a sunny day, a cold chill can catch you off guard."
Selene grinned as she conjured more dark power around herself. "If this is how you plan to intimidate me. Think again."
"Oh, I know." The Alien responded. "You can't die, right? So why would you be afraid?"
The temperature dropped faster as Selene's breath steamed from cold air.
"Little word of advice. If you're fighting a hero. You might wanna keep that kind of info to yourself. Cause guys like me, hold back a lot. But if you can't die, then why would I hold back?"
The cold winds picked up as Ultimate Big Chill appeared right behind Selene as he leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Remember the Ice Age? This should be nostalgic."
Selene whipped around, her powers flaring as she prepared to attack.
The air went quiet, the temperature dropped, and Ultimate Big Chill flared his wings….
"Flash Freeze!"
A blinding flash of light and a sudden pop as the air pressure drastically changed.
Had there not been a battle going on all around them, everyone would've noticed Ultimate Big Chill, standing before a new ice sculpture.
By Focusing his power and unleashing it all at her. The Evolved Alien instantly froze every cell within the Black Queens body. The freezing was so fast, her body looked perfectly preserved in a thick layer of blue ice.
The Evolved Alien stood in front of the frozen villain. Looking right into her eyes. This is the purest state of his power unleashed. He's never used this technique on any living being before. As it would instantly kill anyone who wasn't some ultra-powerful, immortal being.
If all that boasting from Selene wasn't just her blowing hot air. Then she certainly survived the attack. It'll just take her a while to recover from it.
With her taken care of, the Alien Avenger turned his attention to the rest of the villains.
His attention instantly went to X-23 as she was still keeping Leland and Peirce off balance. However, their combined teamwork had managed to keep her at bay. Despite her superior skills, the room didn't offer much in the sense of cover and both her opponents had abilities that could keep her at bay. Meaning it was a standoff until someone made a mistake.
Being unaware of one's surroundings was the mistake both High-Class mutants made. As Ult. Big Chill quickly flew over to them and froze their feet with his ice-flames. Pinning both to the ground, catching them both off guard.
Wasting no time, Ult. Big Chill unleashed a wave of ice-flames at them, consuming both in the inferno. As the flames subsided, both villains where encased in a thick block of ice, with only their heads unfrozen. The Alien Teen ensured that they could still breath and at worst get a bad case of the common cold later.
He then turned his attention to the final member of the Hellfire Club Shaw as he engaged with Emma Frost.
However, to his surprise, he found Shaw on his knees with Emma Frost standing over him. She had shifted out of her diamond form and was using her telepathy on him. Apparently, his so-called resistance had a limit.
Still not willing to risk it, Ult. Big Chill froze him the same as the others. Shaw grunted and struggled against the ice prison he was now in.
"Don't bother." Ult. Big Chill said as he landed on the ground, folding his wings into a cloak. "Thing about ice is, it absorbs energy too. Heat energy, technically, but it still means it doesn't have any to feed you."
Shaw gritted his teeth at the Alien Teen and the Telepath.
"You think you've won? Against the power of the Phoenix, you are all nothing." He claimed in a threatening tone. He then turned to Emma with a disappointed expression. "To think, I had such high hopes for you Emma. I always knew you had potential, but I never thought you'd waste it on such meaningless endeavours."
Emma clenched her jaw as she turned away from Shaw, her body shaking from the emotions she felt. She turned back to him, fighting back tears as she looked him in the eye.
"I can't believe I wasted so many years devoted to you. You used me! And what's even worse, I allowed you to use them as well." She said gesturing to the Five Girls, who still concentrated on Jean.
Shaw smirked. "It's true what they say. Best to tighten the leash while they're still young. That way, they learn to obey their Master."
Emma's eyes were enraged as she prepared to tear his mind to pieces. Only for X-23 to suddenly appear in a flash and strike Shaw in the face at full force. Her sudden attack caught Shaw off guard, but his powers still absorbed the blow.
But he never got the chance to use that power as Ult. Big Chill phased his hand right into the man's head. His eyes went wide, before rolling back into his head and went limp.
Emma blinked in shock at the actions of the pair, both looked furious at the Slimy Creep. The Alien Teen panting so hard that ice flames started flowing from his mouth. Even the stoic X-23 looked like she wanted to skin the Energy Absorbing Mutant alive.
"What… What did you do to him?" Emma finally asked, composing herself.
"Pinched his brain stem." Ult Big Chill responded. "Easy way to knock someone out. Takes a bit of practice though, hit the wrong part of the brain and you could have someone lose all bodily control."
Emma thought to ask how the Alien Teen practiced, but she felt that wasn't appropriate at the moment.
"So, what now?" He asked as he turned towards Jean and the Cuckoos. The girls where still struggling to hold Jean as she thrashed on the table.
"I do what I intended from the start. Destroy the Phoenix Force by releasing it into the atmosphere." Emma stated.
"Are you certain that this will work?" Laura asked, sceptically. "Was it not the Hellfire Club who created this plan on the false narrative in order to fulfil their goal? How can you be certain that this plan is not another of their lies?"
Emma narrowed her eyes at the Young X-Man, who returned the glare.
"Shaw and the others may have manipulated me. But I spent years researching the Phoenix Force on my own volition. I am certain that this plan will work. I just need to ensure the girls don't carry out Shaw's plan." Emma replied confidently.
"You sure you can stop them? There's five of them and one of you." Ult Big Chill pointed out.
"I taught them everything they know." Emma replied. "There isn't a thing they can do that I haven't already mastered."
Ult. Big Chill looked to the girls and narrowed his eyes at the girls before turning back to Emma.
"What if I just freeze them now? Break the connection and wake Jean up?" He asked.
Emma shook her head. "At this stage, severing the connection now would result in the Phoenix Force breaking free and spreading its inferno across the world." She explained.
"I need to finish what we started or else everything will be lost." She said grimly as she started to walk over. Not before stopping and turning back to the Evolved Alien.
"You, on the other hand, need to be elsewhere."
"Huh?" The Alien Avenger asked, confused.
"Scott. As long as he's in danger, Jean will keep fighting." Emma explained.
The Alien Teen grew sceptical. After everything that's happened, things seemed so close to being over. And now he's given another side-quest to finish before the main objective.
What if he left now and Emma fails? Who would stop this Cosmic Firebird if he wasn't there?
He was about to object when Laura grabbed his hand stopping him.
"You have to help them." She said, looking him in the eyes.
"But, Laura..." He started to say.
"I will stay here and guard her." She interrupted. "Right now, we are the only ones that know what is happening here. Everyone else is focused on Magneto and his invasion. If we fail, no one will know about the Phoenix until it is too late. You are the only one that can warn them in time and warn them and stop Magneto."
He wanted to argue, but he knew she was right. There's too much at stake to start second guessing things now. He needed to trust Emma and Laura to take care of Jean. There wasn't much he could do for Jean here anyway.
He gripped Laura's hand tightly and gave her a serious look. "The moment something feels off."
"I will not hesitate to call you first." Laura said perfectly mimicking his signature smirk.
Ultimate Big Chill smiled as he reached up tapped the Ultimatrix dial. A flash of light and he turned back into Big Chill, before tapping again, turning into Jetray and flying through the hole that his car made when it broke through the building and outside.
Once he got his bearings, he shot towards the city. All the while thoughts brewed in the back of his mind, hoping he wasn't making a mistake.
Storm panted as she concentrated on controlling the winds to keep the bridge stable. So far, she and the others have saved eleven bridges around the city. Each time, just barely able to prevent casualties and holding them together to allow the people to get to safety.
The sheer strain of using her powers to this extent was starting to take its toll. Storm had to physically wipe the sweet from her brow as she concentrated on controlling the elements. Soon it'll reach the point where she won't even be able to support herself in the air while she controls her power.
With the bridges becoming more and more unstable, the objective changed to civilian safety over securing the bridges. The bridges can be rebuilt in time, but the people are what they cannot allow to be lost.
Storm arrived at her bridge not too long ago. Her bridge was one of the most unstable as she was one of the most versatile members of the team. She used her powers to hold the bridge together to allow civilians to get off the bridge. But despite her incredible power, she was still human. Her stamina is limited, as much as people have called her a goddess, she is far from one.
A wave of nausea washed over her. Her vision got blurry, she lost her balance and stumbled. Her focus dropped as she reacted to catch herself.
With her mind distracted, she no longer used her powers to hold the bridge together. The entire middle section of the bridges concrete crumbled, sending cars and trucks plummeting into the ocean below. Most where empty, save for one.
A young man, trapped in his car as the bridge collapsed. His car's front tires dangling over the edge as the car rocked while he tried to pry his seatbelt free. His panicked actions only causing the car to sway more violently.
Storm saw him and she immediately rushed to save him. Flying down to the bridge, almost tripping as she landed. She tried to reach out but the car tipped further over the edge.
Suddenly a pair of silver, metal arrows shot out of the sky, pulling a pair of cables behind them, flew out of the sky and struck the steel beams below the car. The cables caught the car and prevented it from falling into the ocean below.
Another cable arrow imbedded itself into the pavement behind the car.
Storm looked up to see Hawkeye repelling down and landing on the ground. The Archer then drew another arrow from his quiver and fired it into the car's door. The trick arrow detonated with a small explosive, strong enough to blow the door off without harming the passenger.
Hawkeye ran over to the car and helped the man out of his car and directed him to safety.
Looking down to see Storm, he held out his hand to her. "Don't worry, Babe. The cavalry is here."
Storm took his hand as he helped her up, just as Thunder boomed overhead. The White-Haired mutant looked up in surprise. This was not her thunder; she did not command the weather to do so.
Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of Thor, flying overhead.
But not just him. From the storm clouds the Thunder God summoned, emerged the giant form of the SHIELD Helicarrier. The giant flying base hovered above the city catching the attention of many who were not running for their lives.
Standing atop of the aircraft, was Iron Man and Black Panther, their damaged Quinjet just sitting a few meters behind them.
The Armored Avenger looked out over the city from their platform.
"What a mess." He commented. Looking at the chaos below them.
Black Panther crouched over the ledge as his eyes narrowed. The advanced tech built into his cowl allowed him to scan the area.
"I am detecting magnetic fluctuations around the bridges. Most likely Magnetos doing." Panther stated.
"Metal head wants to have as many casualties as possible." Iron Man added to the Wakandan Kings assessment.
Panther nodded. "We need to rescue as many civilians as we can."
"Leave that to us." A familiar voice spoke up, grabbing the men's attention.
They turned to see Maria Hill, Acting Director of SHIELD walking towards them. "You need to focus on stopping Magneto and those Sentinels. The sooner you stop them, the sooner we can stop the war before things escalate."
Iron Man nodded in agreement. "Thanks again for the save, Hill."
"Don't thank me yet, Stark." Hill responded coldly. "Be glad we had eyes on Genoshian airspace the moment we got word of an unauthorised launch of Sentinels against the nation."
"Still, appreciate the help." Iron Man insisted. "Guess you're finally starting to warm up to us."
He chuckled slightly as Panther stood up. Maria Hill merely glared at him in response. "Nothing has changed between us, Stark. I helped you because, despite what you may think of me, I work to save as many people as I can. Even if it's narcissistic billionaire playboys."
Iron Man smirked behind the mask. That may be the highest praise he's ever received from her.
"I've sent the data of the bridge's conditions to your computers. We'll take on Magneto while you deal with them."
"I know how to do my job Stark. Just make sure you do yours." Hill responded.
Iron Man and Panther nodded as the pair jumped off the side of the Helicarrier and descended to the city below.
On Hills orders, multiple aircraft launched from the ship and headed towards the bridges. Among the aircraft where several humanoid beings that leaped from the SHIELD HQ and either flew, glided or simply dropped down to the skyline unaided and split off in different directions to help save civilians.
With Spider Man, the web slinger just reached his closest bridge, moving as fast as he could. But he only managed to web up three cars before the entire structure collapsed.
Just as the Spider Hero was about to make a vein attempt to save the bridge, the waters below suddenly bubbled and churned before a massive column of sand erupted from the river, catching several cars and debris with it. Several more sand columns burst from the water as well, aligning themselves under the bridge, acting as extra support to hold the entire structure together.
Spider Man was stunned by the sight as he looked to the beach to see a mound of sand form together before taking shape into a familiar figure.
"Sandy! You saved the bridge?" He asked in sheer disbelief.
Sandman frowned as he crossed his arms. "Don't act so surprised, Web Creep. You're the one that suggested I use my powers to help people."
"Well… Yeah. But no one's ever really followed through with it." Spidey admitted, slightly embarrassed as he scratched the back of his head. "I mean, last time I teamed up with one of my enemies, Rhino tried to squash me the second we won the first fight."
The Former Criminal chuckled as he recalled his old partner. "Yeah, O'Hirn never was one to let go of a grudge. To be fair though, you are a real pain in the neck."
"Only to those who deserve it." Spidey quipped back.
"So, what's your excuse now?" Sandman shot back with a smirk.
Spider Man chuckled nervously. This was certainly odd territory for him. He's never had a friendly banter like this with one of his enemies. Even more crazy is that this is a reformed enemy. It's certainly strange turn of events for him.
Commotion on the bridge caught both their attention as Sandman turned to the Web Head. "You just gonna keep crouching there or are you just gonna make me do all the heroics today?"
Spider Man chuckled as he shot a webline and swung up to the bridge. "Watch and learn, Sandy. Play your cards right and maybe I'll consider you to be my sidekick."
Sandman chuckled as he gathered more sand around him and launched after the Spider Hero.
Across the city, SHIELD Agents and MRD troops worked together to help people at the bridges. With SHIELD's Super Agents helping at each one. Agent Venom and Mania used their respective symbiote abilities to web up the bridges similar to Spider Man's methods to stabilise the bridges.
Those that couldn't stabilise bridges like Mockingbird and Spider Woman, worked to help evacuate people to safety.
Other forces went to help the Avengers and X-Men already on site.
This greatly increased the rescue effort, but it still wasn't enough. As one bridge was on the verge of collapse. A bus full of people were about to plummet into the ocean, when suddenly the vehicle stopped in its tracks and was lifted back to safety. The people looked outside to see the large Orange Rocky figure of the Thing.
The Blue-Eyed Muscle of the Fantastic Four smiled at the people as he moved onto rescue another car that was about to fall off the bridge.
Near him the flaming figure of the Human Torch flew down and assisted cars and trucks that were pinned or crushed by debris. The flame hero focused his powers to generate a concentrated beam of fire, acting as a plasma cutter that sliced the metal to free trapped civilians.
Those who were too injured to move or couldn't move fast enough, got surrounded by transparent energy and lifted into the air, carried to safety, courtesy of a woman, who wore a light blue and black bodysuit with the same number 4 logo that Thing and Human Torch wore. She had flowing blonde hair and blue eyes. Her name is Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman.
At the far end of the bridge, the entire structure was being held together by what appeared to be blue and black rubber bands that had extended and wrapped around key structural points across the bridge to keep it stable.
However, on closer inspection, one would notice that suspended in the centre of the bridge, above them, is a human torso, which had been stretched out like a piece of taffy. The same 4 logo presented for all to see. With the head of a man with short brown hair with grey around the sides and brown eyes. This is the leader of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richard aka Mr Fantastic.
The super team worked around the clock to help people on their bridge.
Around the city, various vigilantes also played their part in helping.
One bridge had a woman be saved by a man swinging on a cable, wearing a red suit with the two letter D's on his chest and what looked like devil horns on his mask.
Another part of the city, a woman with long brown hair, wearing civilian clothes, lifted a car over her head to free a man who was trapped in gridlock.
In Harlem, a man wearing a yellow mask, a dragon tattoo on his chest and a glowing fist, effortlessly punched a section of debris away to make room for a tall Black Man with a bald head and wearing a yellow hoodie and black pants to walk through as he carried six people in his arms to safety.
Another bridge saw a man, clade in a white cloak, shaped like a crescent moon, fire a cable at a steal beam and used the leverage from the bridges suspension frame to lift it up to let civilians through.
No matter who they are or what their values were. In this moment, every single hero in New York was dedicated to one purpose. Protecting its people from this attack.
With the bridges covered, the Avengers and X-Men could focus on the Sentinel and Magneto.
The Master of Magnetism was growing tired of these interruptions. The efforts of the Heroes were delaying his advancement on the populace. Captain America and Wolverine would normally be no issue for him. One uses a weapon made of metal and the other has a skeleton completely covered in it.
A simple flick of his wrist and they would be done for.
However, it was the addition of Cyclops and the small nuisance known as the Wasp that prevented him from disposing of the two.
The combination of their energy attacks continued to knock him off balance the moment he would try to dispose of the others.
Captain America threw his shield at Magneto, to which the Master of Magnetism easily caught the metal disc with his power.
Acting fast, Magento quickly erected his magnetic field around himself to block Cyclops's optic blast. The crimson beam bouncing off his energy barrier causing the mutant villain to smirk.
Suddenly, a blast of Yellow Energy struck him in the back of the neck, stunning the Magnetic Mutant, causing him to lose focus and drop the shield. The Size Changing Heroine had managed to use her size to stay out of Magnetos line of sight and snuck past his barrier before it was fully closed.
Magneto managed to narrowly avoid being hit by the crimson beam from Cyclops, only for Captain America to leap off the building he was on and punch him right in the face, grabbing his shield in the process and falling to the ground.
The Super Soldier manoeuvred his body as he fell so that his shield would be below him and tucked his body behind it.
He impacted against the ground and skidded across the ground like a sled before coming to a stop. It's fortunate for him that part of the metal that makes up his shield is Vibranium, allowing it to absorb the impact of the fall to prevent any injury when he landed.
Captain America got to his feet and quickly got his bearings. Cyclops and Wasp were still keeping Magneto off balance with their energy attacks, while Wolverine was scaling the building behind the Villain prepared to attack from behind.
Beast and Forge were down the street, a block away, engaged with a Sentinel. When their commandeered MRD chopper crashed, the two Brainiacs used their abilities in tandem to face the Robot. With Beast using his ape-like physique to swing around the Machine keeping its attention while the skinny technopath tried to disable the machine himself.
To his right, The Super Soldier could see Rogue and Shadowcat engaging two Sentinels at the same time. The former having used her powers to copy her teammates, allowing them both to phase through the robot's attacks and mess with them from the inside.
The rest of the Sentinels were making their way across the city, towards the civilians.
Fortunately, when he saw the Helicarrier arrive along with the arrival of the storm, he knew things would be well in hand. Allowing the Man out of Time to give his full attention to the primary threat.
Running up to a nearby car, Captain America used it as a springboard to jump to the ledge of a nearby building and proceeded to jump towards the fire escape and scale up until he was level with the Master of Magnetism.
Magneto meanwhile eventually found enough focus to call upon slivers of metal that wrapped around Wasp, tying her up and bringing her to his face.
The Tiny Heroine struggled in her bonds as Magneto narrowed his eyes at her.
"A pity. Had you been a mutant, I would have welcomed you into my ranks." He said as he looked upon her with disgust. "But you are just another pathetic human, envious of the power that we mutants possess and so try to replicate our gifts for yourself."
Wasp grunted as she struggled in her restraints. "Geeze, and I thought Tony had a big ego. Not everything is about you, Bucket Head." She mocked.
"Except for right now. But that's only cause you're trying to end the world. For a guy who wants to make a better world for mutants. Destroying the world seems really counterproductive."
Magneto grew tired of the Insect themed Heroines insults as he prepared to crush the life out of her.
Only for Crimson beam of energy to strike him in the back. Magneto quickly switched his focus to shield himself from the beam as he dropped Wasp. Who broke out of her bonds easily. Despite her size, she was still as strong as she would be at her normal size, so a single strip of metal wire was nothing to her.
Cyclops and Magneto clashed with their powers as the One-Eyed Mutant unleashed his eye beams at full force. Causing Magneto to push back with all his might to counter him.
However, the Master of Magnetism had more than just raw power on his side. But technique as well. As the pipes from the building Cyclops was standing on, to burst from the rooftop and wrap around the X-Man's arms, pulling them down to his sides.
With his arms restrained, Cyclops could no longer control his visor, therefore cutting off his beam. The Crimson Eyed Mutant struggled in his bonds, but they wouldn't budge.
Forcing him to look up at Magneto in frustration.
Just outside the city, Jetray shot through the air at blinding speeds. His one focus was to find Cyclops and get him out of harm's way. Or maybe grab Scott and take him back to Jean, so he can be there to help Emma and Laura if things go bad.
He just wanted to get back to them as soon as possible. In the broad scope of things, an Ancient Destructive Cosmic Firebird was a little higher on the Totem Pole than an old man who controls metal and his robot army.
It pained the Young Hero to find something like that so mediocre these days.
With the city in sight, Jetray locked down where Magneto would likely be. Find Magneto, then he may just find Cyclops there too.
Sure enough, he managed to see a section of the city with damaged buildings and cars imbedded into them.
That had to be where Magneto is fighting. So, the Alien Avenger beelined it to that location. Only for the Ultimatrix dial to start beeping.
"Nononono! Not now!" Jetray shouted panicking. All this time and the watch chose now to time out.
He quickly descended down to the nearest rooftop and tapped the dial, turning back to human.
Ben found that turning back before the watch timed out, prevented the watch from going into recharge mode. However, that didn't automatically recharge the watch, it just meant he could still use the controls. The Ultimatrix still needed 5 minutes to fully recharge, so if he transformed now, he'd have less time to stay alien before timing out again.
The Shapeshifting Teen grunted as he dusted himself off from the landing, he peaked over the edge of the rooftop and saw the chaos happening below.
He could see Sentinels marching through the city, attacking anything that moved. Fortunately, most of the city seemed to be empty. Ben could see large concentrations of people around the bridges. Meaning the Sentinels where heading towards them.
The remaining machines engaged with any Avengers and X-Men in the area.
The Teen only managed to scan the area for brief moment before a flash of crimson light caught his eye. He turned to see Magneto, floating above the buildings, using his powers to restrain Cyclops with metal pipes.
Ben then noticed Wolverine and Captain America climbing the two buildings behind the Metal Manipulating Mutant. The pair moved like they've been fighting together for years, even though he had never introduced either to each other.
The pair launched themselves at Magneto, intending the catch him off guard. However, Magneto quickly spun around, raised his hands and caught both of them in mid-air with his power. No doubt, using his powers to control the adamantium covering Wolverines bones and the metal parts of Cap's uniform.
He held the pair close to each other. No doubt monologing to them about something, but Ben couldn't make it out.
Then Magneto shifted his hand and Wolverines left arm lifted up, with his fist pointed right at Captain Americas throat. Another flick and Wolverines claws extended from his knuckles. The Master of Magnetism then said something to the two, before moving his hands together and Clawed Mutant and Super Soldier moved in synch with the hands. Both struggling in Magnetos grip.
Bens eyes widened as he saw Logans claws approach Steve's neck. A few more seconds and Cap will be impaled.
He needed to act fast, he had to save him.
Knowing ever precious second counted, Ben activated the Ultimatrix without a second thought, he didn't bother selecting, he just needed to go hero as fast as he can.
"Come on, Ultimatrix." He said under his breath. "Gimme someone. Anyone that'll let me save them. I don't care who it is. Just as long as they're useful."
With that he slammed the dial down and transformed in a flash of green light.
Checking his hands, the moment the transformation was completed, and he groaned in frustration.
"Lodestar?" He said in annoyance. "Does this really seem like the time for jokes?"
He glared at the Ultimatrix dial on his chest, the devices sick sense of humour finally pushing him to his limits. Any other day, he would revile the chance to push his aliens to the limits testing them against someone with a similar powerset.
But in this case, the stakes were way too high for him to be playing games. He remembered what happened last time Lodestar went up against Magneto. The Master of Magnetism had him outclassed due to his years of experience. Despite his best efforts in the training room, Lodestar was still a long way off from being anywhere near his level.
Just as he was about to tape the dial and change forms, Lodestar paused. An odd sensation flowed around his body. Like the feeling of wind on his skin, only different. It was like a mixture of wind and water, washing across his body and all around him.
Lodestar looked up and he saw the air shimmer, invisible waves seemed to dance around him. Slowly, like the veil was being pulled back before his eyes, those waves became colourful. The waves flowing around him became purple, while the waves the were further away, where blue.
The purple waves, flowed around the whole city. Several of them encircled the bridges around the city. But the largest concentration being around Magneto himself. Like strings, the purple waves flowed around Magnetos body and several of them wrapped around Wolverine and Captain America.
The closer Lodestar looked, the more he saw. His eyes drifted to the edge of the city as he saw several of the blue waves, flowing into the city, turn purple when the entered.
Reaching out, Lodestar focused his power and green waves extended from his claws and interacted with the purple waves, turning them green as they flowed to his will.
That's when he realised what he was looking at. This is the Earth's magnetic field.