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"No! The machine!"
Clark had defeated and captured Magneto, but the victory was hollow. The device was active, and there was no way to stop it.
BANG!
Clark shattered the machine with a single punch and pulled the nearly unconscious Rogue from its wreckage.
"Clark... Clark..." Rogue mumbled in his arms, as if sensing his presence. "It would be nice if you didn't leave... Clark..."
Hearing this, Clark felt a pang of unease. He couldn't stay at the Xavier Institute. It was a fact he had accepted—he wasn't a mutant, and he had his own family. But just as he thought Rogue's mumbling had ended, his super-hearing picked up a whisper.
"I... I like you, Clark..."
Clark was completely taken aback. He knew what "like" meant, but the thought was absurd. I'm only eight years old, and you're sixteen. If anyone knew about this, they'd call me a child molester, he thought. Of course, his well-developed body made him look at least twelve.
"What do we do? We destroyed the device, but the radiation will still be released. Magneto's plan is still going to happen."
Clark quickly pushed Rogue's confession aside. It was probably just a fleeting crush; he couldn't imagine her feelings were that deep after only a few days. And even if they were, he would have to wait until he was an adult to even think about it.
Right now, a more pressing problem loomed.
"Guys, I have a question."
The X-Men were in a panic. Even Jean, their most knowledgeable member, couldn't think of a way to stop the radiation. And as for Logan, what kind of professional advice could you expect from a man who had lost his memory and wandered for fifteen years?
Clark's question was strange. "What happens when the radiation hits mutants versus ordinary humans? Does it pass right through humans, or does it stay in their bodies?"
After a moment's thought, Jean answered him. "With mutants, the radiation energy is nearly identical to their own energy frequency, so it passes right through. For the radiation, a mutant is like a ghost. But for a human..." She recalled her examination of Senator Kelly. "The radiation stays in their body and modifies their genes until it forcibly activates or creates the X-gene."
"So, a human body can absorb this radiation energy, right?" Clark nodded slowly, then floated into the air, moving toward the glowing white orb on top of the shattered machine.
"Clark, what are you doing?!"
His question and subsequent actions finally made everyone realize what he was planning.
"That's too dangerous! We can find another way!"
"There's no time, guys..." Clark's simple words silenced them.
He was right. If they had enough time, they might find a way to safely shut down the machinery or neutralize the radiation. But the concentrated energy had reached a critical point.
"This is New York. My home is here. My family, my friends, my classmates—they all live here. I can't let disaster fall upon them."
He spread his arms and embraced the sphere of radiation. "I'm a Kryptonian. My biology is similar to humans, but I don't have the X-gene. I can absorb all of this."
As soon as he spoke, the energy exploded. Dazzling light bled from the spaces between his fingers, but the radiation, lethal to ordinary humans, could not escape. It was entirely blocked by Clark's body.
Unlike Senator Kelly, who only felt discomfort from the conflict of the X-gene, Clark could feel every change in his body. His five senses told him that the radiation was constantly destroying his cells and genes. At the same time, his cells fought back with extraordinary resilience, repairing themselves and resisting the transformation.
Time was meaningless in this struggle—it could have been a whole night or just an instant. The microscopic battle exhausted Clark's physical strength, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The deadly radiation energy was completely gone.
"Clark!" Logan rushed to his side and let out a sigh of relief, finding him merely unconscious.
Just then, a familiar stealth jet landed. Benjamin ran out, looked up, and shouted, "The agent named Coulson figured out the Professor's illusion, and they're coming!"
Everyone quickly left the ravaged Statue of Liberty, handing the unconscious Clark to Benjamin.
"Clark, is he...?"
"To protect New York, Clark used his body to absorb enough radiation to cover half the city. He's in a coma now."
"Damn it!" Benjamin cursed under his breath. There was no time to complain. "Please, we can't let them find him."
"Leave it to me." Storm stepped forward, waving her hand. A gust of wind swept up Benjamin and Clark. "I'll take you to Queens under the cover of night. After that, you're on your own."
"Thank you!" Benjamin nodded. It was the only way. His own powers weren't enough to get Clark away undetected.
As Benjamin and Clark disappeared into the dark sky, a different stealth jet landed, and Agent Coulson emerged, his face grim.
"Everyone, we've detected an unidentified flying object leaving Liberty Island. Can you explain? Your answer will determine our response."
The X-Men looked at each other, then all shrugged in unison.
"What are you talking about? We're all here. Who else could it be?" they said, as if in chorus.
"You..." Coulson's face grew even darker. He hadn't realized the X-Men were as evasive as his own agents. He reached for his pager to order a search, but Logan's sharp claws sliced it in half.
Logan gave him a defiant smirk. "What are you looking at? I have amnesia. My brain is messed up. I have this uncontrollable urge to slash pagers. Is that a problem?"
Meanwhile, in a park in Queens, Benjamin finally landed with Clark in his arms.
"We're home, my child."