The Spider-Grind

The war room in the X-Mansion was eerily quiet except for the soft hum of the holographic map displaying the suspected location of one of Sinister's labs. Everyone stood in silence, absorbing the stakes. The site, an abandoned factory on the city's outskirts, pulsed with a sinister aura even in its rendered form.

"Sinister's latest playground,"Ethan leaned against the table, arms crossed. "Intel says Kingpin and Sinister are experimenting on mutant DNA, whatever they're creating won't stay contained for long. We have to shut it down."

Cyclops glanced at him skeptically. "You realize this isn't just some small-time operation, right? Sinister doesn't leave room for mistakes."

"I'm not planning on making any," Ethan shot back, his tone calm but firm.

Wolverine grunted. "Kid's got confidence. Let's see if he's got anything to back it up."

"I've got a plan," Ethan continued, ignoring Wolverine's jab. "We split into two teams. Logan, you take Cyclops, Jean, and Psylocke to cover the east entrance. We'll take the west. If things go sideways, regroup in the central chamber. "

Cyclops crossed his arms but nodded. "Fine. Just don't get yourself killed."

Ethan smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Peter gave him a sly grin. "Look at you, giving orders. Trying to take Cyclops' job, are we?"

"Let's just say I'm a lot easier to work with," Ethan quipped, earning a scoff from Cyclops.

"Focus," Psylocke said sharply, leaning against the wall as she studied Ethan. His confidence wasn't just bravado—it was rooted in an almost uncanny ability to think ahead.

"Let's move," Ethan said, his voice firm.

Ethan turned serious. "We've got one chance at this. Let's make it count."

---

The infiltration went smoother than expected at first.

"Split up as planned!", commanded Ethan. Ethan, Peter, and Gwen veered left, while Wolverine and his group took the right.

Moving through the shadows, Ethan's team disabled cameras and silently webbed unsuspecting guards.

Inside the lab, the sheer scale of Sinister's experiments was horrifying. Massive containment tanks stretched across the room, each filled with grotesque hybrids—mutants fused with symbiote material.

Gwen stepped closer to one of the tanks, her breath hitching. "These… these were people."

Ethan placed a hand on her shoulder, his voice steady. "Not anymore. We're going to make sure no one else ends up like this."

The sound of heavy boots and the clanging of metal doors broke the silence. Guards armed with advanced weaponry stormed in, and standing at the center of them were X-23 and Marrow.

Laura's sharp claws gleamed under the sterile light. "You should've stayed out of this," she said coldly.

"Yeah, well," Ethan said, stepping forward. "I've never been good at following advice."

Marrow cracked her knuckles, jagged bones protruding from her forearms. "You're gonna regret stepping foot in here."

X-23 lunged first, her claws slicing through the air with deadly precision. Ethan stepped forward, meeting her attack head-on. His strength, now bolstered to a staggering 18 tonnes, allowed him to catch her wrists mid-swing.

"Nice claws," Ethan said with a grin, kicking her with enough force to send her back, to a wall far behind. "But I've faced better."

Marrow attacked Gwen, hurling bone projectiles with alarming speed. Gwen dodged gracefully, webbing up the bones mid-flight.

"Hey, Marrow!" Gwen called out, flipping over her. "Ever heard of calcium supplements?"

Peter joined the fray, tangling the cloned guards in webs while dodging their plasma shots. "You guys seriously need to upgrade your aim!"

The fight was brutal but efficient. Simply said, X-23 was never a match for Ethan. "Don't take this personally," Ethan said, pinning her and her claws back to the wall. "It's just business."

Gwen darted in, her movements quick and calculated, firing webbing to immobilize Marrow's arms. "Looks like your bone shots were a rib-tickling failure!," Gwen replied with a smirk.

Marrow snarled, breaking free of the webbing with brute strength. "Keep talking, and I'll shut you all up permanently."

The trio's coordination, however, proved too much for their opponents. Peter distracted Marrow with his relentless taunts, while Gwen expertly bound her limbs with webbing. Ethan, meanwhile, tightened Laura's webbing again.

"Sorry about this," Ethan said. "But it's for your own good."

On the other side of the lab, Wolverine's team was locked in their own battle. Blockbuster's sheer size and strength made him a dangerous opponent, but Logan was relentless, slashing at the brute with calculated precision.

"Big, dumb, and ugly. My favorite kind." Wolverine muttered while ducking under a massive swing and countering with a devastating uppercut.

Cyclops, meanwhile, was keeping Scrambler at bay with well-aimed optic blasts. Jean used her telekinesis to hurl guards across the room, while Storm unleashed bursts of lightning to disable their weapons.

"Stay down," Cyclops ordered, firing another blast.

Psylocke moved with lethal grace, cutting through the guards with her psychic blades. She glanced at Wolverine. "Need help with your oversized chew toy?"

"Stay outta this, Betsy," Wolverine growled.

It was a brutal fight, but the X-Men eventually gained the upper hand.

Both teams converged in the central chamber, where they were met by Mister Sinister.

"You're too late," the he said, his voice dripping with disdain. "The experiments are already in motion."

Ethan stepped forward, his expression calm but intense. "You like hearing yourself talk, don't you?"

The fight was short but intense. Ethan coordinated the team with precision, exploiting the Sinister's arrogance and overconfidence. Psylocke's psychic blade pierced through his defenses, while Ethan delivered the finishing blow with a powerful strike that shattered the his chestplate.

"Just a clone," Psylocke muttered, her eyes narrowing. "Where's the real Sinister?"

With the lab destroyed, Ethan brought the webbed-up X-23 to Wolverine.

"Found something that belongs to you," Ethan said, dropping her gently at Logan's feet.

Logan crouched down, his expression softening in a way that surprised even his teammates. "Laura," he said quietly.

Laura looked up at him, her fierce demeanor faltering. "Logan? Is it really you?"

"It's me, kid," Logan said, his voice rough but filled with a tenderness rarely heard. "You don't have to run anymore."

For a moment, Laura's mask of indifference cracked. Her hands trembled, her claws retracting. "They… they made me do things," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I didn't have a choice."

Logan placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know, kid. I know. But you're not alone anymore. You've got a family now."

Laura hesitated, her gaze flicking between Logan and the others. Slowly, she nodded, tears glistening in her eyes.

The moment was quiet but profound. Even Cyclops, who often clashed with Wolverine, said nothing, recognizing the weight of the reunion.

As they left the ruins of the lab, Psylocke walked alongside Ethan, her expression unreadable. "You handled yourself well," she said finally.

Ethan smirked. "Was that a compliment? From you?"

"Don't get used to it," she replied, but there was a hint of warmth in her tone.

Ethan glanced back at Logan and Laura, the older mutant keeping a protective arm around the girl. "You think she'll be okay?"

"She's tough," Psylocke said. "Like someone else I know."

Ethan didn't respond, but her words lingered, just like her gaze.

This wasn't the end—it was only the beginning. Sinister and Kingpin were still out there, and the stakes were higher than ever. But for now, they had a small victory. And sometimes, that was enough.