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The laboratory, formerly a US prison, was more than just a place to produce the cure; it was also the prison for the specific mutant, Jimmy, whose unique secretions were the key ingredient.
If Erik and his team could just kill Jimmy, they could stop the drug's production. While humans had mastered mass replication, they still needed a continuous supply of his secretions to keep up.
Eric was about to launch a full-scale assault, to break into the lab and eliminate the threat to mutantkind at its source. As soon as they arrived, they faced their first major obstacle. The lab was built on an isolated island in an inland sea, with no bridge.
The only way to get there was by plane or ship. Eric's notorious group obviously couldn't get their hands on such transport for so many mutants.
While a few mutants could cross the sea with their special powers, most of the weaker ones would be exhausted by the time they swam there, leaving them unable to fight. Eric's solution was simple, brutal, and utterly in character. He looked at the cross-sea bridge connecting two areas of the city.
"Charles always wanted to build a bridge between mutants and humans," he said, leading his followers onto the structure.
Then, he activated his magnetic powers. A massive section of the bridge was ripped from its supports, lifted into the air, and slowly turned toward the prison island. Civilians on the bridge panicked, abandoning their cars and leaping into the sea, uncertain if they would survive the fall but certain they wouldn't if they stayed.
And they were right. They didn't die. The X-Men had arrived. Bobby Drake, the Iceman, jumped from their plane and sprayed the sea with cold air, freezing the surface to create a stable foothold for the rescue effort.
"It looks like our friends have arrived, as well," Eric said, smiling without much concern.
As the bridge segment settled heavily, Eric had literally built a bridge between mutants and humans—a monument to his power and his final assault. "Let's go, everyone! For the future of mutants!" he shouted, leading his followers across the new bridge toward the lab.
Inside the lab, the stationed soldiers were ready. Sentry towers and machine gun nests were manned, armed with both conventional weapons and the non-metallic firearms designed to neutralize Eric and his team. At the same time, the X-Men landed on the lab's roof, descending into a tense standoff between the two groups.
Following Eric's order, the mutants charged. Bullets, each loaded with the cure, whizzed through the air. Any hit could neutralize a mutant instantly. But the lab was not a military base, and the number of soldiers was too small.
Under the chaotic assault of mutants with different abilities, the human line broke. The X-Men moved to the front line, defending the human soldiers.
The indestructible Piotr, the powerful Hank, the weather-controlling Storm, the unyielding Logan, and the laser-eyed Scott were each a force of nature. They were individually powerful enough to defeat a hundred lesser mutants.
On Eric's side, only the Juggernaut, Cain Marko, used his unstoppable momentum and brute force to charge directly into the lab, seeking out Jimmy. The other mutants were too busy fighting the X-Men and the remaining human soldiers.
"Kitty! Go protect Jimmy!" Piotr yelled after punching a bone-covered mutant away.
Kitty Pryde, the Shadowcat, nodded, making her body intangible as she phased through the walls and into the lab. She found the Juggernaut rampaging through the corridors and lunged, grabbing his legs. She phased him into the ground and then out again.
"How does that feel, big guy?" Kitty taunted.
"You don't think you can trap me like this?" the Juggernaut bellowed.
Kitty scoffed. "Everyone isn't like Clark, who can't be held by two earths, so just behave..."
Before she could finish, the Juggernaut pushed his limbs against the floor, shattering the concrete and leaping free. "How about that?" he mocked.
"Damn it!" Kitty cursed, instantly phasing and running away. "That's why I hate these big guys with so much power! Except for Clark..."
Kitty phased through the walls, searching for Jimmy's location. The Juggernaut, however, was much simpler and more brutal, smashing through the reinforced walls with ease. During the chase, Kitty finally reached the room where Jimmy was, just as the Juggernaut was about to smash through the last wall.
"You are…?" Jimmy asked, confused.
Before he could react, Kitty was in front of him. "No time to explain! We have to go!"
But as she reached out to pull him through the wall, her powers vanished. She was too close to Jimmy. She and Jimmy crashed into the wall as the Juggernaut broke through, standing before them.
"Haha! I found it!" The Juggernaut charged at Jimmy, following Eric's command. In the small room, there was no way to escape. Just as Jimmy believed he was about to die, Kitty stopped the Juggernaut's charge with one hand.
"What happened?" the Juggernaut asked, his face a mask of disbelief. This was the first time since he gained his powers that he had been stopped. His power was not just infinite strength; it was also unstoppable momentum. Once he started moving, nothing could block him. Yet, this small girl had stopped him with just one hand.