X-Force: Beyond Omega

Nebula's sniper rifle gleamed under the sun, her black eyes locked onto me. She didn't move, her aim steady, even as I pointed directly at her, signaling my challenge.

The silence shattered as the ship's cannons roared to life.

The first volley of energy blasts tore through the air like meteors, glowing red-hot as they hurtled toward me. I stretched out my arms and summoned a massive wall of ice. It shot up from the ground with a deafening crack, a towering glacier that absorbed the blasts with shattering force. The heat from the attack melted a part of the wall, sending splashes of water and massive amounts of vapor into the air, only for it to freeze again in an endless cycle.

"That's all you've got?" I yelled, my voice carried by the icy winds.

Nebula's response was a volley of sniper rounds. Each bullet zipped through the air faster than sound. But I was faster. The air around me shimmered with freezing energy, forming a dense shield of frost that stopped the projectiles mid-flight. One by one, they hung in the air, tiny icicles suspended in time.

The robots moved next, their camouflage flickering as they emerged from hiding. Each was massive, easily ten feet tall, their frames bristling with weapons. They surrounded me in a perfect circle, their mechanical voices buzzing as they synchronized their attack.

They didn't stand a chance.

I knelt down, placing both hands on the snow. The ground trembled as my power surged. From deep beneath the surface, I called forth the frozen waters locked within the permafrost. A massive whirlpool of icy energy spiraled around me, growing larger with every second. I let it consume me, my form dissolving into pure ice as I merged with the storm. It was a weird and overwhelming feeling, but I was in control even at that atomic level as I fused. Everything around me felt as if they were a part of me.

When I stood again, I was no longer human.

I had become a freaking giant. Wait! Titan sounds better.

My body, now a towering figure of crystalline ice, reached toward the clouds. My legs were glaciers, my arms massive pillars of frost. The robots, once towering over me, now seemed like mere toys. I looked down at them. They looked like little bugs before me now. And from the water pooling near my feet, I could see my face... My eyes were glowing blue and I looked like one of those elemental golems from RPG games.

The robots opened fire, unleashing a barrage of missiles and energy blasts. I raised a single hand, and a massive wave of ice surged forward, engulfing the projectiles and freezing them mid-flight. The wave didn't stop; it crashed into the robots, encasing them in thick layers of ice. They struggled against their frozen prisons, but it was useless.

"Titan Slap!" With a single swipe of my colossal arm, I shattered them into pieces. Oh, yeah. Now, we are talking.

I turned toward Nebula...

Nebula made her move. From her hiding spot, she jumped down the cliff. As she fell, a swarm of tiny metallic nanobots erupted from her body, forming a massive, gleaming exoskeleton around her. In seconds, she was encased in a towering suit of alien armor, easily matching the size of my ice titan. Her blue skin and cybernetic enhancements were barely visible beneath the silver-black plating, which pulsed with a faint red glow.

[Booom!!] She landed on her feet.

The ground cracked beneath her weight, sending shockwaves through the ice. Her new form was monstrous, with massive claws, blade-tipped arms, and a faceplate glowing with red energy. A heavy cannon mounted on her shoulder whirred to life, its barrel aimed squarely at me. She jumped high up in the air and landed a few feet away from me, sending shockwaves and shattered ice everywhere.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Nebula said, her voice amplified and mechanical, booming across the battlefield. "You think your ice can stop me? Let's see how it fares against this."

Without warning, she charged.

Nebula moved with startling speed for something her size. Her massive claw swung toward me, cutting through the air with a deafening roar. I met her strike with my own, forming an enormous ice blade to parry the blow. The impact sent a shockwave rippling outward, toppling a nearby ice mountain and shaking the ground beneath us.

Her claw skidded off my blade, but she was relentless. She followed up with a downward strike, her other arm transforming into a massive hammer. I blocked with an ice shield, but the force of her attack sent cracks spidering through its surface.

"Hahahahaha! This is fucking fun!" I couldn't help but get excited. "Show me more."

I countered, swinging my blade in a wide arc, aiming for her waist. She sidestepped with surprising agility, her armor glowing as it shifted and adapted to her movements. She lashed out with one of her blade-tipped arms, aiming for my legs. I leaped back, the ground where I had stood exploding into shards of ice as her blade struck home.

"You're faster than I expected," I muttered, creating a new weapon—an enormous ice mace.

"And you're as predictable as I expected," she sneered, her voice dripping with disdain.

Nebula's armor was more than just a weapon—it was alive. Some kind of symbiotic nanite armor that is capable of adapting over time? As we fought, I noticed the way it adjusted to my attacks, shifting its composition to counter my moves. My weapon shattered against her armor's reinforced plating, and my ice shields cracked under the force of her strikes. It was like fighting an intelligent opponent within an evolving machine.

She activated the cannon on her shoulder, and a beam of searing red energy shot toward me. I raised an ice wall, but the beam melted through it like butter. I rolled to the side just as the ground behind me erupted in a plume of steam and molten snow. Dang! I could tell that was dangerous. Even though I can regenerate any damaged parts, I just had that feeling that the beam was dangerous. Call it an instinct.

"I can do this all day, Frosty," she taunted, her armor bristling with weapons. "But can you?"

"We'll just see about that..."

I slammed my hands into the ground, channeling my energy into the frozen landscape. The ground beneath Nebula cracked and shifted as massive spikes of ice shot up, trying to skewer her from below. She jumped, her massive frame propelled into the air by thrusters on her back, and fired another energy blast. I twisted my body, dodging just in time, and sent a wave of icy shards hurtling toward her.

The shards struck her armor, some bouncing off harmlessly, others lodging in the gaps between the plates. She faltered for a moment, giving me an opening. I lunged forward, swinging my ice mace with all my strength. The weapon connected with her shoulder cannon, shattering it in an explosion of sparks and twisted metal.

"DAMN YOU!" Nebula roared in fury, her armor shifting again. Her claws extended, glowing with energy, as she charged at me. This time, I didn't retreat. I met her head-on, summoning a storm of icy winds to cloak myself. The storm battered her armor, frost creeping across its surface as the temperature plummeted.

"Your fancy armor won't save you," I growled, driving my fist—encased in jagged ice—into her chest. The impact sent her staggering back, cracks forming in her armor.

She recovered quickly, her armor repairing itself with unnerving speed. "You're one annoying pest. I'll give you that. But you're out of your league."

Her armor surged with energy, and she unleashed a shockwave that sent me flying backward. I crashed on the ground, the ice beneath me shattering on impact.

"What the fuck?" I was surprised. A mere shockwave threw me back? How? Then I noticed that her armor was glowing brightly as if she was covered in molten lava. Ah! I see what's going on here. For a momentary power boost, she must be pushing the nanites in overdrive mode. Well, it was just a guess.

The ground trembled as I pushed myself to my feet, the frost around me swirling in an enraged vortex. Nebula's armor glowed brighter, the heat radiating from her enough to melt the ice for miles around if I let it. 

I slammed my fists together, my icy form resonating with a deafening crack. From the frozen earth, two towering figures began to rise, their forms coalescing out of the blizzard. Each was a massive replica of me, identical in every detail, down to the glowing blue eyes and jagged crystalline armor. I wanted to create a few more, but it was my limit for now. I had to split myself into those two, just to control them. Well, That sounds weird...

"Meet my boys," I said, grinning. "Ice Clone Alpha and Beta."

The titanic clones roared, the sound reverberating across the battlefield. They stood beside me, their colossal forms dwarfing even Nebula's nanite-enhanced armor. With a synchronized motion, the three of us turned to face her.

Nebula didn't hesitate. She activated the thrusters on her back, launching herself toward the nearest clone. Her claws slashed through the air, glowing with molten energy, and tore into Alpha's icy chest. The clone staggered but didn't fall, its body reforming almost instantly as the ice regenerated.

Alpha countered, swinging a massive arm in a wide arc. Nebula barely managed to dodge, the force of the swing sending shockwaves rippling through the ground. Beta joined in, slamming his fist down in an attempt to crush her. Nebula darted between the two, her movements blindingly fast for something so massive.

"Do you think bigger numbers will stop me?" she snarled, her voice distorted through her armor's speakers. "I'll tear them down, just like I'll tear you down."

"Nah! I don't think so..."

I lunged, closing the distance in an instant. My ice blade shimmered as I slashed at her, aiming for the glowing core of her armor. She blocked with her claws, the impact sending a burst of molten sparks and shards of ice into the air. My clones pressed the attack, forcing her to split her focus.

Alpha grabbed her arm, locking it in place with a vice-like grip. Beta followed, seizing her leg. Together, they pinned her down, their combined strength overwhelming her thrusters and armor adaptations.

"You've got nowhere to run now," I said, raising my ice mace high above my head. "This ends here!"

Nebula growled, her armor shifting again. The molten glow intensified, spreading across her entire frame. She was channeling an enormous amount of energy, enough to vaporize everything within a hundred yards.

"You'll regret underestimating me!" she roared.

"Beyond ZERO!" I let go of the giant form. The ice giants collapsed as I returned to my human form. The already icy world around me froze solid, instantly, including the air, moisture, and every tiny molecule around us. It was as if time itself froze around me. I wonder if time really stops in my domain. Nebula's nanites hummed, trying to adapt, but within seconds the entire suit stopped moving, including Nebula herself, encased in a block of ice.

I turned to icy dust and appeared before Nebula's frozen body.

"Well, that was fun. Thanks to you I got to test out my power. Now..." I used telekinesis and ice control to rip apart that armor piece by piece. Beneath the armor, Nebula's body looked fragile, her blue skin pale and frostbitten. She was still alive—barely—but completely immobilized. I held her frozen form aloft with telekinesis, studying her face. So weak and vulnerable. "...Onto the main show." I looked at her with a cold smile.

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[13 advance chapters] [No double billing] 

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