The Golden Destroyer

Raven Rock sprawled in a hidden valley, concealed by jagged mountains and dense forests. At first glance, it might have been mistaken for just a rocky massif, but a trained eye would quickly spot the artificial, subtly hidden details.

Surveillance towers emerged from the treetops, their searchlights methodically scanning the surroundings. Drones flew in concentric circles, monitoring all movement. An electrified fence stretched for several miles, creating an impassable perimeter for intruders. At the center, a massive entrance carved directly into the rock served as the main access point, protected by reinforced doors and a contingent of heavily armed guards.

"Charming," Pyro murmured, contemplating the installation through his binoculars.

"Charming, but far from impregnable," Mystique replied, readjusting her equipment.

---

Three days later,

Mystique had infiltrated three days prior, usurping the identity of a security agent. With this information, we concocted a methodical and implacable plan, based on Magneto's master plan.

Avalanche's diversion: a fake explosion was to attract the guards' attention and force them to mobilize part of their forces outside the complex.

Neutralizing the security systems: Mystique, already inside, was to deactivate the defense protocols to allow intrusion.

The main team's assault: once the defenses were weakened, Pyro, Avalanche, and I were to infiltrate the complex via a secret maintenance tunnel indicated by Mystique.

---

The mission began with a dull rumble.

Avalanche, stationed on a nearby hill, triggered a massive rockslide that seemed to shake the entire valley. The drones moved away to assess the damage, and a strident alarm rang throughout the complex. Teams of soldiers piled into armored vehicles, heading towards the explosion zone.

"Now," Mystique murmured into our communicators.

At that moment, she deactivated the electrified fence and blocked the cameras in the south and west sections.

Pyro ignited a flame in his hand and made it dance impatiently. "Always the same thrill, huh?"

I didn't answer, much to his frustration. We were already moving, following a steep path that led us to a tunnel hidden beneath some rocks. Mystique had provided us with a code to unlock the entrance, and a metal door slid open silently, revealing a dark and narrow passage.

---

Inside, we progressed through the tunnel, silently. The smell of metal and dampness filled the air, and the dim emergency lighting cast dancing shadows on the walls.

"If we run into any soldiers, I'll burn them," Pyro murmured.

"If we run into any soldiers," I replied, "we remain discreet. This is a mission, not a pyrotechnic show. At worst, we'll knock them out."

He grimaced but said nothing more.

After several minutes of walking, we reached a grate that opened onto the main corridors of the complex. Mystique was waiting for us on the other side, her face as impassive as ever.

"Everything is ready," she announced. "The central room is on the third sub-level. But they'll soon notice that their security systems are offline. We have to be quick."

------------

The Raven Rock complex was not just a military bunker. It was a sanctuary of despair, a place where the cold metallic walls almost oozed cruelty. As we progressed through its dimly lit corridors, each step echoed like a death knell, heralding something worse around every corner.

Mystique led the way, her movements calculated, her eyes scanning every detail. She had the assurance of someone who knew these kinds of places—modern slaughterhouses where humanity had no place. Pyro, ever provocative, emitted a light whistle, his fingers distractedly playing with a dancing flame. Avalanche remained silent, his muscles tense like a spring ready to unleash.

As for me, I simply followed, outwardly impassive, but a strange nervousness was creeping over me. I was used to violence, but this place… there was something darker here. Not necessarily powerful, but downright disgusting.

A group of soldiers patrolled in front of a secured door. Their voices were calm, professional, but the tension was palpable in their gestures. Mystique, transformed into the perfect image of a superior officer, snapped at them as we hid.

"You're out of position. Return to sector 3 immediately."

Most obeyed, but a young soldier, more nervous than the others, hesitated. His gaze swept the area, searching for any clue. Before he could open his mouth, I let my power express itself.

In the blink of an eye, I positioned myself behind him. Time around him seemed to slow down as his eyes widened in horror. His hand, which was reaching for his weapon, stopped abruptly. Then he collapsed, unconscious, as if his mind had fled before his body could follow.

"Impressive," Pyro murmured, a smirk on his face.

I didn't respond. The weight of what we were about to discover made that kind of comment hollow. And frankly, the guy was annoying.

---

When we reached the lower levels, Avalanche pulverized a massive door. The resulting shockwave made the ground vibrate, revealing a laboratory lit by a sickly light. What I saw froze me on the spot.

Mutants, young and old, were attached to machines, their bodies twisted into grotesque positions. Tubes injected fluids into their veins, causing uncontrolled convulsions. Some were missing limbs, others bore deep scars, signs of repeated experimentation.

A teenager, his face barely out of childhood, raised a pleading gaze towards me. His chapped lips trembled, but no words came out. When I looked closely, she was in a vegetative state, only kept alive by machines.

Mystique, ever imperturbable, murmured, "This isn't the first time I've seen this. And it won't be the last."

But for me, it was a shock. These faces, these stifled cries… They were so human, so alive, despite the suffering they endured. I looked away, but the image was imprinted in my mind.

---

After minutes of walking. We progressed to a central room. There, a sphere of iridescent energy was suspended in a force field, surrounded by control consoles. Pyro whistled in admiration.

"There's the beast."

Turning to me, Mystique signaled me.

"Your turn, Jonathan."

I approached. My power extended, forcing the force field to disintegrate, the circuits to age prematurely. The energy crackled one last time before disappearing.

But, as I did this, my mind kept returning to those imprisoned, tortured mutants. Those faces, their gazes…

"You're hesitating," Mystique murmured in my ear. "Don't let those feelings hold you back. They're useless here."

I turned to her, my fists clenched. "Maybe that's the problem."

She raised an eyebrow, surprised, but didn't respond.

---

As we left the complex, our mission accomplished, a cry pierced the air behind us. I turned back, but Mystique placed a hand on my shoulder.

"We can't save them all. They're already condemned. Their physical conditions wouldn't allow them to travel with us," she said coldly.

I lowered my eyes to my hands. They were full of power, capable of defeating enemies, breaking barriers. And yet, at that very moment, I felt powerless.

This mission, supposed to be just a simple strategic objective, had awakened something in me. A conscience, perhaps. A recognition that, despite my ambitions, there were lines I couldn't cross without losing my humanity.

"What will happen to them now that we've destroyed the weapon and all the data?" I asked.

"The physical and living evidence will be eliminated since they have been compromised."

"I see," I replied.

-------------

As we left the complex, the howls of the mutants left behind still echoed in my mind. I walked in silence, an insidious weight accumulating in my chest. Mystique seemed indifferent, Pyro joked with Avalanche, and yet, my thoughts were elsewhere, drowned in an ocean of contradictions.

I had prepared for this, hadn't I? Since I had set foot in this world, I knew that morality, as I knew it, had no place here. Humans with power did not act like heroes. They became monsters, reveling in the cruelty to dominate and crush those they dominated, to crush those they considered inferior.

And yet, seeing the mutilated bodies, hearing the mute supplications, smelling the rancid odor of blood mixed with that of machines… The reality was different. It wasn't a fiction where the bad guys received their punishment and the innocents were saved at the last second. Here, the bad guys won, and the innocents died in oblivion, as if their suffering meant nothing.

I clenched my fists, a shiver of discomfort running through me. "Why should I preserve a part of humanity when those who consider themselves human act like monsters?"

My powers made me colossal, a being who surpassed these so-called elites, these leaders and scientists who played with lives like children with toys. And yet, in my grandeur, I was becoming too vast to dwell on every lost life, every stifled cry.

This was the paradox: wanting to preserve my humanity when humanity itself had abandoned all pretense of virtue. I had seen movies, read stories where this kind of atrocity was depicted. I thought I was prepared, telling myself that I wouldn't be affected. But fiction and reality were two different things.

In stories, there was always a glimmer of hope, a protagonist who defied the darkness. But in this world, the protagonist I was supposed to become was perhaps himself a shadow.

I stopped for a moment, staring at my hands. They were tools of destruction, weapons capable of razing cities. And maybe that was for the best. If the only law in this world was that of force and fear, then what was the point of pretending to be a man? Why not become a titan, a force that no one would dare defy?

These men, with their inhuman acts, had stolen from me any illusion of redemption. And in that morbid instant, I finally understood.

Being human in this world was not a virtue. It was an absurdity.

Before the others could even ask me what was happening, I violently pushed them towards the exit, as the area transformed into a sea of lightning. Where I emerged glorious, my jaws burning with lightning, tearing the place apart piece by piece.