X-Force: Beyond Omega

The rooftop buzzed with residual energy from Aron's Phoenix-powered avatar as he stood motionless, his eyes fixed on the spot where Wanda had winked at him moments ago. The air shimmered with tension, and a faint smile curled his lips.

"So," he muttered, his voice laced with amusement, "you've come to test me."

Before the words faded, a ripple of crimson energy surged through the air behind him. Wanda materialized, her red aura crackling like wildfire. Her stance was calm but brimming with precision, her eyes glowing with sharp intensity.

"You're not what I expected," she said, her tone even. "But then again, neither am I."

Aron turned slowly, his golden eyes locking onto hers. "Wanda. I wondered how long it would take for you to find me." His avatar radiated with raw Phoenix energy, a faint golden shimmer that clashed with her crimson aura. "But you're too eager. Did Magneto send you? Or is this personal?"

Wanda smirked, her fingers twitching as crimson hexes danced at her fingertips. "Let's just say I have my reasons. Now, are you going to make this easy, or do I have to drag you into submission?"

Aron raised an eyebrow, amused. "Submission? You really think you can take me down?" He spread his arms, inviting her to attack. "By all means, show me what you've got."

Wanda didn't hesitate. Her hands moved in a blur as she unleashed a volley of hexes, each one weaving through the air like a guided missile. Aron countered with a wave of golden energy, the Phoenix Force reshaping reality to dissolve her spells mid-flight.

The rooftop exploded into chaos as their powers collided, sending shards of stone and glass into the air. Wanda leaped into action, teleporting midair to avoid the debris while firing another barrage of spells. Aron deflected them with ease, his movements fluid and almost casual.

"Is that all?" he taunted, his voice echoing with the ethereal hum of the Phoenix Force.

Wanda's eyes narrowed. She thrust her hands forward, summoning a massive surge of chaos magic that warped the air around them. The rooftop seemed to twist and bend, reality itself becoming malleable under her influence. Aron felt the shift and grinned.

"Impressive," he admitted, "but predictable."

With a snap of his fingers, the Phoenix Force surged outward, stabilizing the twisted reality and countering her spell. In the same instant, he tapped into the Space Stone's power that he absorbed way back, creating a rift. The world shifted, and they were no longer on the rooftop. They stood in an isolated dimension, an endless world surrounded by open fields. Aron's avatar floated a few feet above the ground, his golden aura pulsing like a heartbeat.

"Here," he said, his tone serious now, "we won't risk tearing the city apart."

Wanda looked around, unfazed by the sudden shift. 'Teleportation?' Her mind was already calculating. She could feel the immense energy radiating from Aron—it was overwhelming, unlike anything she'd encountered before. Underestimating him wasn't an option. 'This will be fun.' This was the first time she faced such an overwhelming opponent and the thought of using her 100% against someone capable of withstanding her power made her even more excited.

"Convenient," she replied, her voice calm. "But this changes nothing."

With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a swarm of crimson blades, each one honed with chaotic precision. They darted toward Aron like a storm of razors. Aron extended a hand, the Phoenix Force forming a golden shield that absorbed the attack.

Wanda anticipated this. She teleported behind him, her hands glowing as she cast a spell that warped gravity itself.

"Gravity?" He just stood there without a hint of concern. "It's useless against me."

The ground below him erupted with chaos energy, followed by a massive explosion. Wanda didn't stop there and fired a series of hex bolts, each one exploding with enough force to pulverize a building.

Aron simply absorbed the kinetic energy from the explosion before releasing it in a single blast that disintegrated everything around them. Wanda stumbled back, but not before releasing invisible Hex Mines everywhere. She took advantage of the explosion, thinking he wouldn't notice. One step would trigger the trap and all the hundreds of mines would wrap the target in a web of magical energy followed by chain explosions. No matter how good one is, once caught up in it would be devastating.

'You can absorb kinetic energy, huh? Well, show me how much you can absorb. There has to be a limit.'

She grinned and sent out a dozen or so blasts, each one hitting Aron and exploding in his face.

"C'mon, fight back," She tried to taunt Aron into taking a step and activating the hidden trap.

Aron stood in the midst of the chaos, his golden aura shimmering against the onslaught of Wanda's relentless attacks. He remained calm and looked kinda amused. The ground around him was scorched and cracked, yet he hadn't taken a single step.

Wanda narrowed her eyes and tried to exploit every opening. Each explosion sent a ripple of power through the isolated dimension, yet Aron absorbed it effortlessly. She needed him to move... 'Just one step and the Hex Mines would do the rest.'

"You're holding back," she called, her voice cutting through the deafening echoes of destruction. "Don't tell me the great Phoenix-powered warrior is afraid of a little chaos magic."

Aron tilted his head, a faint smile curling his lips. "Afraid? Hardly. Amused? Perhaps." He raised a hand, the air around him thickening with golden energy. "But if you're eager to see me fight, who am I to deny you?"

With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a concentrated wave of Phoenix Force energy. It wasn't an attack—it was a disruption. The golden wave rippled outward, destabilizing the invisible magic mines Wanda had carefully planted. One by one, the traps detonated prematurely, filling the battlefield with fiery bursts of chaos magic.

Wanda shielded herself instinctively, her crimson aura flaring to deflect the sudden eruptions. 'Damn it!' She cursed under her breath, realizing her ploy had failed. 'But why isn't he moving from that place? Could it be that he can't move for some reason?'

"Predictable," Aron said, his voice echoing with the ethereal hum of the Phoenix Force. He floated higher, the golden energy around him intensifying like a burning sun. The Phoenix began to take shape around him. "Now, let me show you what true power looks like."

He extended his hands, and the ground beneath them began to quake. Aron's mastery over the Phoenix Force allowed him to reshape reality itself. The once-open fields transformed into a barren wasteland, the sky darkening with storm clouds of pure energy. Streams of molten lava erupted from the ground, forming rivers that crisscrossed the battlefield.

'Dang! Just what kind of freak is he?' Wanda's heart raced. She had faced powerful foes before, but Aron's control over the battlefield was unlike anything she had encountered. Still, she refused to back down.

"Show-off," she muttered, teleporting to higher ground. From her vantage point, she began weaving an intricate spell, her hands moving in a blur. Crimson runes appeared in the air around her, pulsating with raw chaos magic. The runes linked together, forming a massive sigil that hovered ominously above Aron.

Then six more appeared, covering the sky. Wanda concentrated them together into one.

"Let's see you counter this," she said, unleashing the spell. The sigil descended upon Aron, its crimson light bathing him in an oppressive glow. The spell wasn't just an attack—it was a binding hex designed to suppress his powers and lock him in place.

Aron glanced upward, his golden eyes narrowing. The sigil pressed down, its weight palpable even to him. He could feel the chaos magic seeping into his aura, attempting to disrupt his power. 'Interesting. I can't absorb her chaos magic for some reason. Is it because of that freaking Chthon? But I was able to absorb Lady Death's power. Ah! I see. Chaos magic corrupts and disturbs the balance while Phoenix and Death maintain the universal or cosmic balance. So, they won't let Chthon corrupt me... Or it could be the limitation of using an energy-made avatar.'

He tried to use Jubilee's explosion, but it didn't work. 'So, I can only use limited power in this form. Two alongside the Phoenix Force and once I use the first two, it remains fixed for the time being. I gotta train more and remove this weakness. Let's check, just to be sure.'

Aron once again focused his mind and used the Space Stone's power. And just as he thought, it worked. A wrap portal opened, absorbing Wanda's sigil before closing.

"Why don't we stop this meaningless fight? Maybe we can talk things out. You know you can't defeat me and I can't afford to waste any more time," He said, his tone even and devoid of hostility.

"Didn't I already say, I'll drag you to submission? Let's see how you deal with a creature from the underworld," Wanda replied, her tone confident and filled with a hint of excitement. She snapped her fingers and a small rift appeared, revealing a monstrous creature from the depths of the underworld.

Aron looked at the creature, which had the upper body of a muscular man and the lower half of a black scorpion. The beast was covered in thick, chitinous armor, and its six eyes burned with an unnatural green light. It hissed and lashed out at Aron with its barbed tail, but the strike was deflected by the Phoenix Force.

"A monster from the underworld," he murmured, raising an eyebrow. "Hahahahahaha. That worm?"

The ground beneath him cracked, and the sky grew darker as he let out a booming laugh. The sound echoed across the wasteland, sending tremors through the air.

"Disintegration ray!" Aron pointed his finger at the monster.

A concentrated bright beam shot out from his fingertip, turning the scorpion-like creature into ash in the blink of an eye.

"Do you have more, Wanda? If so, bring it on!"

"Sigh!" Wanda flew down and raised her hands. "I give up."

"Eh? Just like that?" He raised his eyebrow.

"Yes, just like that."

"But, you were so confident about dragging me to submission."

"I was, but now, I'm not so sure."

"Now I want to drag you into submission."

"What? You gonna spank me or something? You into BDSM?"

"Yes. And so are you."

"Eh, no. Not even close. I'm a perfectly normal girl with zero experience."

"Normal girls don't go around attacking people out of nowhere. So, what was that all about?" Aron asked.

"I need your help," Wanda admitted.

**[POWERSTONES & Reviews]***

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