Marvel: Dodging Bullets & Stealing Hearts

Lorna had seen plenty of Mutant abilities in her time, but whatever Max just pulled? That was some next-level, reality-breaking shit.

One moment, they were inside the wooden house, surrounded by Sentinel agents and those creepy-ass spider-like Sentinels. The next, Max had stepped through what looked like a shimmering, dark green doorway, and suddenly… nothing.

The agents, the Sentinels—hell, even the tear gas—moved right through them, as if they weren't even there. It was like they had become ghosts.

Lorna resisted the urge to wave her hand in front of one of the agents' faces, just to see if he'd react. Instead, she clenched her fists and focused on following Max, whose face remained as calm as ever.

"Alright, what the hell was that?" she muttered under her breath.

Max didn't answer. Instead, he kept walking, guiding them out of the forest, past the chaos of the raid. About ten minutes later, they reached a clearing where John and Sonia were anxiously waiting.

Max casually reached out and pulled open a door… in the side of a fucking tree.

Lorna's jaw nearly dropped.

She stepped out, glancing back at the tree like it had personally betrayed her understanding of reality.

John and Sonia stared at them like they'd just walked out of another dimension.

"Are you okay?" Sonia rushed toward Max, looking worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Max replied with a shrug.

John, ever the practical one, glanced back toward the forest. "We need to get out of here. Fast. They'll realize they've been tricked any second now."

"The car's over there," John said, leading them toward an SUV parked in the distance.

Everyone climbed in—John in the driver's seat, Lorna riding shotgun, while Max and Sonia took the back.

As John floored it, Sonia's gaze drifted over to Max.

"Your injuries… You never mentioned them before."

Max looked down at his arms. His torso, covered in scars and old wounds, was partially visible through the tear in his shirt. Bullet wounds, knife scars—his body was a roadmap of past battles.

"It's nothing," Max said, waving it off. "Old memories, that's all."

John glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "Those aren't just 'old memories.' Those are battlefield wounds. You a soldier?"

"Mercenary," Max corrected, still watching the scenery pass by outside the window.

John didn't say anything, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Max had seen some serious shit. The way he carried himself, the way he handled danger—this wasn't just some random Mutant on the run.

Sonia, however, didn't look convinced. "You've killed people before, haven't you?"

Max turned his head, meeting her gaze directly. His smile was easy, almost playful.

"Sweetheart, if I told you how many, you'd probably start checking the exits."

Sonia blinked.

Lorna, from the front seat, scoffed. "Oh, so now you're trying to be funny?"

Max grinned. "I'm always funny. Just depends on whether people appreciate my humor or not."

John muttered something under his breath about dealing with lunatics and kept driving.

They drove for over two hours, making sure to take a few detours to throw off any potential pursuers. Eventually, they reached an old, abandoned building.

"This used to be a bank," John explained as they got out of the SUV. "Not too long ago, there was a Mutant orphanage nearby. But after a kid lost control of their powers and wrecked the place, people stopped coming around here."

Lorna waved her hand, and the rusted barbed-wire gate groaned open. The car rolled in, and once they were inside, she closed it again with a flick of her fingers.

The building was old, its structure weathered by time and neglect.

John led them inside. "Besides me and Lorna, there's one other person here—Sage. She's got a perfect memory and can analyze information faster than anyone I know. She handles all our intel work, monitoring network communications to find Mutants who need help."

Just as he finished speaking, a woman stepped out from a corner room.

She was dressed simply—black hair, jeans, and a plain T-shirt—but there was a sharpness in her eyes that made it clear she was always thinking three steps ahead.

"You're back," she said, her voice level.

John nodded and gestured toward Max and Sonia. "This is Sage. Sage, this is Max and Sonia."

Sonia offered a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Sage replied. She turned to Max, scanning him with a calculating gaze.

Max smirked. "What's the verdict, doc? Do I look like trouble?"

Sage didn't blink. "You reek of trouble."

"Flattery will get you everywhere," Max quipped.

Lorna rolled her eyes. "Can we not flirt with the information specialist?"

"Hey, I flirt with everyone. Equal opportunity and all that," Max said with a wink.

Sage didn't react. If anything, she looked vaguely amused.

John cleared his throat. "Let's get you guys settled in. Follow me."

He led them downstairs into the basement.

The rooms were small, clearly repurposed storage spaces, but they had beds, and at this point, that was all that mattered.

John motioned toward one of them. "You can take this room."

Max gave the space a once-over. "Cozy. Feels like a prison cell, but without the charming company of serial killers."

"You are the serial killer," Lorna muttered.

Max grinned. "Aww, don't be jealous. I promise I'll still give you plenty of attention."

Lorna sighed and walked away before she lost the last of her patience.

John shook his head. "Alright, get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning."

With that, he left.

Max didn't go to bed immediately. Instead, he took a slow walk through the building, memorizing every hallway, every exit, every weak point in the structure.

Old habits died hard.

Eventually, he made his way back to his room. Sonia had already fallen asleep in the one next to his.

Max sat down on the edge of his bed and stretched.

"So," he muttered to himself, "Mutants are on the run, Sentinel Services is hunting us down, and I just broke into a secret hideout with a bunch of rebels."

He smirked.

"Sounds like my kind of fun."