65- Accumulation (5)

With a head in each hand, Mason walked through the hole Wolverine had left in the wall a while back. The blood on his right foot was enough said about Cobra’s ultimate fate.

Mason was not one for surprises, so he had already sensed the situation ahead. Fortunately, he had not arrived too late.

He found Wolverine and Danny still fighting, though things did not look so good for Danny. Strangely, Wolverine was still fighting using his sword, which was highly unusual for him. It was not that he was not skilled, on the contrary, he was probably better than even Dog Brother #1. But his true weapons were his claws. They were sharper than any blade, and he had been using them his whole life.

Something else that Mason found odd was the way Wolverine was fighting. The mutant was known for his feral style, yet here Mason found him almost reserved. He fought like a normal man, that is, someone afraid of being injured, and that simply did not make sense.

But even with these strange conditions, there was simply no win condition for Danny. Mason could guess he had hit Wolverine plenty of times, but the blunt blows could never even crack Wolverine’s Adamantium skeleton. As for flesh wounds, they were even less of a bother. Truly strange.

With Mason’s arrival, Danny rapidly retreated, and once more to surprise Mason, Wolverine did not follow. He simply stood there, blade at the ready but waiting.

Frowning, he asked the rapidly retreating Danny, "What’s up? Bit more than you could-"

He stopped with wide eyes as Danny suddenly turned around, his fist shining gold. Though taken by surprise, Mason’s reaction time was unparalleled, thanks to his powerful Spirit, and he sent a sudden kick at Danny, hitting him in the wrist.

Though Shou-Lao’s Chi made Danny’s punches extraordinarily powerful, it did not add any weight to them, so Danny’s glowing fist was safely sent shooting up, completely missing Mason as it dispersed into the air.

Despite his failed attempt, Danny still used that momentum to drive a flying knee at Mason, aiming for the face. Left with no time to think, Mason grabbed that knee and twisted it.

Mason used so much force that Danny’s leg was nearly torn in half. Fortunately for him, Mason was still measured, but he undoubtedly ruined the knee.

Danny fell to the ground with a painful wail, decidedly marking his case as different from the others, as they had never reacted to pain.

Thankfully, even with the horrendous pain, Danny still had the strength of will to shout, "There’s a second mutant! Fuck, my leg, you bastard!"

Mason ignored the insult, looking around with a tightened jaw, before he found a figure walking out from the shadows behind Wolverine. It was a black-haired woman of Asian descent, and she felt utterly wrong, yet somewhat familiar. She was dressed in a metallic purple leotard, a shade or two lighter than her hair, and black tights and gloves, leaving her upper arms and thighs exposed. She also had a red sash fastened around her belly.

It took Mason a moment to identify what that weirdness he felt about her was exactly, and when he did, it left him a little rattled.

She was a soul that had taken over someone else’s body. This went beyond possession, because possession was only the temporary override of a body by a soul. But this woman had her body completely taken over by that soul.

It was not a similar case to Mason, though, which was where that feeling of wrongness came from. Mason had crossed over at the very inception of his body, and while he had been forced into the backseat for the first part of his life, the body he was in was still compatible with his soul.

Whoever had taken over this body had done so at a later stage in life, though. This was a soul that had discarded its body and taken over a grown woman’s in exchange.

That alone told Mason he was facing a powerful telepath. But of course, he recognized the outfit. This was Psylocke, a mutant. Sadly, Mason did not know much about her. He knew her by sight because of her rather unique costume, and he had seen her in larger crossovers, but he had never read anything about her.

This made him wonder whether this was someone who had taken over Psylocke’s body, or if Psylocke had canonically stolen someone’s body. Although he was curious, it did not change anything, because he finally understood why Wolverine was so strange.

The Hand had apparently not killed Wolverine. Whether that was by choice or inability, they had used Psylocke to mind-control him instead. She was also the one behind Danny’s attack just now.

Her eyes were not red, but it was still the Beast’s voice that came out of her, "What a shame, and here I thought I would do you a favor by taking you out quick. Must you prolong your own suffering?"

Mason narrowed his eyes, asking, "What have you done?" There were too many strange things, it simply did not make sense for Danny to have survived this long if Psylocke could control him. The only exception would be if there were some special conditions to her mind control, but even then, Mason could feel that she had a powerful body, one at the peak of the Body Refinement Realm. Ignoring her mind tricks, simply joining in the fight alongside Wolverine should have been enough to kill Danny.

Psylocke gave him a twisted grin, the Beast apparently enjoying the situation. "I would tell you, but you have been an annoying pest with a tendency to ruin my plans. I think I’m going to leave it as a surprise for you. Now, since you like smashing your head through problems so damn much, meet my invincible warrior."

Wolverine slowly raised his blade, gripping it with both hands, his eyes hidden but watching Mason carefully.

Mason sent a look back at Danny, who was holding his leg and doing his best to stay quiet, and decided to do what he did best. Removing his haori, exposing a black undershirt that clung close enough to his skin to show every muscle, Mason raised both arms in a guard, grinning, "I’m gonna fuck you up."

Wolverine remained impassive, rushing in to attack silently like a ghost.

He was fast. Much faster than someone with an Adamantium skeleton should have any right to. But he was not as fast as Mason had expected. Tiger’s Most Beautiful Daughter had been faster.

Stepping forward to meet him, Mason slapped the side of the blade, sending it off-course, before slamming a palm into Wolverine’s face. He would have used a fist, but he did not fancy breaking his own bones.

Mason expected it to hurt, but he found Wolverine’s flesh to have softened the knock-back from the Adamantium skull. Although Mason clearly felt the hardness of the metal, Wolverine’s face almost worked like a boxing glove.

Wolverine took no damage from that, and yet, Mason was shocked to see him flinch right before he got hit.

The Wolverine. Flinched.

Two words that should never have been associated together. His smile wiped off, Mason dodged another swipe of the sword, staring at Psylocke now as he asked, "What the fuck is that? Are you controlling him yourself? Piss off, you’re fucking embarrassing."

The Beast kept grinning. "Oh, you must excuse me. I was never taught to fight. What, is that disappointment I hear in your voice? You should know your personal enjoyment is my number one priority."

Mason felt a simmering rage inside. The Beast did manage to hit a sore point. He had been presented with the perfect opponent, with an animal that should have been nearly unbeatable, only to find out it had been neutered, turned into a skill-less meat shield.

Wolverine did not stop, but Mason merely backhanded his sword hand, disarming him, before grabbing him and throwing him to the other side of the room. The Adamantium skeleton was heavy, but not heavy enough to make a difference.

Even without Wolverine in the way, Psylocke kept the same grin, saying, "Oh no, you’ve left my telepath defenseless. I certainly hope nothing bad happens to her. Unless that’s what I want you to do? Man, I wouldn’t like to be in your situation. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place."

While she said this, Wolverine did not stop attacking, but even disarmed, he did not bring out the claws. Instead, he threw punches that would embarrass even an amateur boxer. He kept the strength of his body, but it was like he was being controlled by an average person who had never fought in their life.

This time, Mason did not throw him away, but shoulder-threw him onto the floor before placing a foot between his shoulder blades, pinning him into place.

Seeing this, Psylocke started advancing, saying, "You know, this meat suit is actually quite powerful too. Well, her soul is, anyway. Took some major effort to turn her. I even learned a trick from her. It’s called a Mind Bomb."

Mason stopped himself from looking back at Danny, and Psylocke continued, "And don’t you dare steal the name away from me! I’ll take the proper precautions to get it copyrighted the moment I’m freed."

She pointed a finger at Danny and added teasingly, "So, what will it be, you simple-minded hammer? I put in a kill switch, so you’ve got a choice between letting me detonate the bomb, or killing me and detonating the bomb yourself. Honestly, it doesn’t really matter to me, I’ll get Shou-Lao Chi either way. And Daniel’s soul, of course. Not sure you were ever told that, but whoever I kill, they don’t get to the afterlife. They come to me."

Mason knew the Beast was trying to anger him, but that did not stop him from truly getting enraged. He asked through gritted teeth, "So what’s the plan now? Are you going to ask for my life in exchange for his or something equally insane?"

The Beast laughed, "Your life? Ah, good one, stupid hammer. But I think you are missing the point. I don’t want anything from you. And there’s not really anything you could do. I’ve already won, so your suffering is just a bonus. And I’ve got nothing but time, so I’m letting you choose. And you know what? Once you’re done, I’ll bring you to my grand opening. Ain’t I just gracious?"

Mason stared for a second more, feeling his rage only becoming greater, before closing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he visualized himself back at the top of Mount Everest, emptying his mind as he would with meditation.

Finally, he lightly breathed out, uttering evenly, "You call me a bull, a simple hammer, yet you gloat over outsmarting me. You think this is a victory? All you did was deprive me of a good fight. You think killing Danny means the door to the Eighth City will open? I barely count as one of its defenders, I’m more of a passerby. What you’ve done so far is meaningless if you don’t open that door."

Having said that, Mason struck Psylocke in the chest, shattering her heart. The Beast gave him a final twisted smile before her features turned to horror as she collapsed. Behind, Danny accompanied her in her fall, the dragon mark on his chest dissipating as his eyes lost their light.

Then, finally, the Wolverine stirred beneath Mason’s foot. He stared at Psylocke’s frozen, horrified expression like something had shattered inside him, and in that moment, Mason understood he had once more been played by the Beast.

"Kwannon!"