The tense confrontation was over, but the air still hummed with potential energy.
While Scott Summers stood rigid, processing the conceptual defeat, a new alliance was already forming.
Kitty Pryde, buzzing with the energy of a near-death experience and the promise of new excitement, immediately gravitated toward the chaotic ninja.
"Wait, you can register people instantly? Seriously? That's insane! I'm Kitty, by the way, and I phase! Did you see how the big plant monster couldn't grab me?"
Yuffie Kisaragi, equally buoyant and perpetually focused on the biggest, flashiest idea in the room, clapped Kitty on the shoulder.
"Nice! I'm Yuffie! Of course you could phase! You need to ditch these guys and join the exciting side of the fight! And yes, I can totally sneak you in. It's way better than waiting."
Their personalities, both energetic and rule-bending, clicked instantly.
Scott Summers stepped in quickly, his hand raised.
"That's enough. We appreciate the offer, but I have to ask the Professor first. This isn't a game, and the Tower Dungeon is a serious commitment."
"Ugh, rules, rules, rules,"
Yuffie groaned, rolling her eyes.
Before the conversation could escalate, the whir of powerful, silent engines descended upon them.
An Invisible Jet shimmered into view, expertly landing on the scorched sand.
The hatch hissed open, and the famously gruff figure of Logan (Wolverine) emerged, his arms crossed.
"Alright, bubs,"
Logan growled, his gaze sweeping over the wreckage and the two strange girls.
"Pack it up. Xavier wants a debriefing."
Yuffie's eyes widened at the sight of the advanced tech.
"Ooh! A stealth jet! That is so cool! If you don't let me ride, then I will sneak in!"
Logan barely spared her a glance, dismissing her with the casual contempt of a hardened warrior spotting a noisy child.
"What are you even thinking? Telling it to my face, that wouldn't work."
He didn't pay attention to her anymore, convinced she was just a weird, loud kid who had tagged along with the Black Cat.
Felicia Hardy, having finished her cleanup and smelling an opportunity for leverage, approached Yuffie with a playful, predatory grin.
She tossed a containment sphere containing some leftover plant residue to Yuffie.
"I'm going home, partner,"
Felicia announced, adjusting her mask.
"And if Arthur asks me about your behavior—especially about trying to break into a high-security aircraft—I will tell him everything."
Yuffie felt a spooky chill run down her spine.
Arthur might be a little bit strict with her, but she instantly shrugged it off. Nothing her cuteness couldn't fix! she decided, confident in her legendary charm.
With the X-Men aboard their jet and Felicia gone, Yuffie was left alone with a newly registered containment sphere and a massive, exciting idea.
The Invisible Jet sliced silently through the night sky, its advanced stealth technology hiding the deep ideological conflict raging inside.
The conceptual force of Arthur's arrival still felt like a physical pressure in the cabin.
Scott sat in the cockpit, trying to maintain control.
He immediately opened a secured, telepathic communication channel to Professor Charles Xavier back at the Westchester mansion.
"Professor,"
Scott transmitted, his mental voice strained.
"We have a situation that demands your immediate attention. Arthur Stark—he's an Omega level now, and his power is... conceptual. He froze Magneto's attack mid-air. He just blinked the threat out of existence. It was absolute, immediate, and utterly terrifying."
From the mansion, the Professor's mental presence was immense but laced with a familiar sorrow.
"I see it, Scott. I felt the residual wave of energy—a true power beyond the meta-human scale. The power of a sovereign. I warned Nick Fury long ago that preventing Arthur from choosing his path might have consequences."
Charles didn't need to elaborate; the consequence was the world's most powerful being was loyal only to the Starks and the mysterious Tower Dungeon.
The tension spilled into the physical cabin.
Logan, perched grimly in a back seat, spoke first, his voice a low growl of respect and rage.
"Kid's a monster. Best one I've seen. But he's a loose cannon. He didn't even talk to us, he just showed up and told the whole damn world's most dangerous mutant he was irrelevant. We gotta deal with him, Chuck, before he decides we're irrelevant too."
Kitty Pryde, however, bristled at Logan's assessment, buoyed by the rush of Yuffie's friendship and the promise of forbidden adventure.
"He's not a cannon, Logan, he's a chance! Didn't you hear Yuffie? He's a Level 9 Dungeon Climber! That power didn't come from a mutation, it came from the Tower! We've been sitting here following the rules and fighting the same boring villains for years, and he just solved a dimensional crisis in six minutes. That's efficient! Maybe the Tower isn't a trap; maybe it's the evolutionary path we should be taking!"
Kurt Wagner nodded rapidly, his tail twitching with agreement.
"Ja, Scott, she is right! We are still seen as freaks, but the Dungeon Climbers are heroes! If we join the Tower, the world might finally accept us!"
Scott felt the immense weight of the decision. The traditional path—Xavier's dream of mutant/human coexistence achieved through peaceful effort—had just been conceptually overshadowed by Arthur's display.
Arthur offered a shortcut, a way to gain power and acceptance instantly, bypassing years of ideological struggle.
"Professor, Kitty brought up the offer,"
Scott transmitted.
"Yuffie, her friend—offered to register us directly. She claims she can bypass the entire waiting process. What do we do? If the Brotherhood goes into that Tower first, they will be unstoppable."
Charles's voice returned, heavy with caution.
"The Tower is a wildcard, Scott. It grants immense power, but at what cost? We do not know its price on the soul. Arthur has changed the game. You must investigate the offer. But you will not accept it immediately. You must observe, and you must know the full price."
Scott gripped the controls.
"Understood, Professor. We'll start digging into the Dungeon Climber registry immediately. Kitty, your relationship with Yuffie is now our most vital intelligence asset."
Kitty beamed, completely unaware of the pressure she was now under.
The X-Men had just put their most critical strategic decision—the future of the mutant race—into the hands of a sixteen-year-old and her chaotic ninja friend.
They didn't even know Yuffie was with them this whole time eating their snack at the back.
'Hehehe.'