111. The Stone Giant
"You want me to leave? Impossible! My men can't have died in vain. I swear to God, I will give them justice!"
"I'm not only asking you to leave, but I also want you to keep your mouths shut about today's events. You are not to reveal a single thing about this island."
"What did you say?! I went through all this trouble to come here just for..." Landa walked over angrily.
Duke grabbed Landa by the throat and sneered, "I know what you want to do, but you have to be alive to go back."
After saying that, he tossed him aside and turned to look at Colonel Packard.
"You think you're getting revenge? You're just venting your anger. Look at him; his abdominal wound is so severe his intestines are about to spill out. What he needs right now is medical treatment, not to follow you through mountains and rivers looking for explosives."
"Look at him, his eyes are bloodshot. This is clearly the result of a parasite burrowing in. He needs treatment, or he'll become a breeding ground for insect eggs."
"Look at how the others died."
Duke manifested several short video clips again.
On the screens—
A soldier had his mouth pierced through by a giant spider; another was whipped away by a Skullcrawler's tail and exploded—well, he died from the force of the tail before he even exploded; several grunts were burned alive by flaming oil or swatted away by an arm; Steve the data analyst was crushed into paste by a single foot; Colonel Packard was hammered to death by a fist...
Nieves was snatched into the sky by a small pterosaur, sliced open, and eaten.
Seeing this, Nieves vomited immediately and cried out, "I should have left, I should have left! Please, send me back to New York, I want to go back. Even if I'm charged, I'll accept it. I won't reveal anything about this place!"
"Too late!" Duke kicked the guy away and looked directly at Colonel Packard. "These grunts died in vain because of your wrong decisions. Because of your anger, because of your stubbornness! It would be one thing if you got your revenge, but unfortunately... you didn't succeed."
Colonel Packard's face twisted with rage.
The rest of the grunts were even more dumbfounded.
They dared to challenge the powerful because they still held a glimmer of hope, but when they saw that the result of the challenge was certain death, their courage... began to wither away bit by bit.
"Seeing all this, do you still want to seek revenge?"
"..."
Their fighting spirit was lost; going forward would only be futile.
"Fine, fine." Seeing his subordinates gradually lose their will to fight, Colonel Packard let out a long sigh. "I can give up on revenge, but I have to find Chapman. He's one of my men. We spoke over the radio and he's still alive. I can't leave him behind."
"I can teleport him here. Where is he?"
"That direction, across the river, about three kilometers away."
After a brief magical perception of the surrounding life signs, Duke finally locked onto Chapman. Luckily, he was still alive. If he remembered correctly, the man should have had his head bitten off by a Skullcrawler.
Just as he was about to open the portal, he sensed another life form nearby, stirring restlessly.
A strange smile crossed the corner of his mouth.
Diana didn't see it, otherwise, she would have known Dukewas about to set someone up again.
However, Victor noticed, and a similarly wicked smile crossed his lips.
The portal opened, and 'coincidentally', it was facing Landa.
"Chapman, get in the portal!"
Meanwhile, Chapman had already sensed the danger. He discovered the giant monster behind him, scaring the living daylights out of him.
He ran like the wind, moving faster than even Usain Bolt.
Just then, a white door appeared five meters ahead. No matter what it was, there were human voices inside, and he was suddenly filled with a desire to live.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!"
Unfortunately!
Those destined to die will die after all.
How could a bipedal creature outrun... uh, how could he outrun a massive Skullcrawler? Even if you run for 10 seconds, it doesn't compare to a single pounce from that thing.
Duke intentionally made the door very large to make it easy for the Skullcrawler to pounce through.
It certainly didn't disappoint.
Everyone saw Chapman running toward them through the portal with a face full of terror, and in the next second... a spray of blood erupted from the portal. Before anyone could react, a massive creature crashed through the portal.
Landa was less than five meters from the portal, a distance not even a quarter of the Skullcrawler's length.
Then, everyone saw a dark shadow flash, and Landa was sent flying by the impact.
The young Black man next to him, Brooks, was also caught in the collision and sent flying sideways. A large part of his sternum collapsed; it was clear he wouldn't survive.
San patted her chest in relief. Luckily, she wasn't standing with Brooks and had run over to Duke's side. Otherwise, she would have died in that instant.
The situation changed so abruptly that Packard was stunned!
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat—tongues of fire spat out bullets, peppering the Skullcrawler's body!
The latter was still a bit dazed. How did the 'environment' change so suddenly? Before it could react, it was greeted by rows of bullets.
Enraged, it swept its massive tail, and several more unlucky souls were smashed to pieces.
Hehehehe, Duke laughed wickedly in his heart.
To be honest, the others were easy to deal with; he had ten thousand ways to prevent them from leaking the island's secrets, but Landa was different. Landa came to verify everything and then take the information back to have the island bombed into the sea to avenge his thousand comrades.
Therefore, Landa would never compromise.
It was truly strange; the one that destroyed the USS Lawton seemed to be 'Godzilla', so what did it have to do with Kong?
In his view, Landa was just like Colonel Packard—his desire to vent his anger was greater than his desire for revenge. Colonel Packard was slightly better, but this Landa had clearly lost his'sanity'.
He just wanted to kill, kill, kill, kill!
No matter what it was!
As long as it was a giant monster, he wanted to kill them all, wipe them out completely!
He recklessly collected evidence, even taking photos in the graveyard of Kong's parents. As a result, he attracted a Skullcrawler and was swallowed whole.
He was a character destined to be killed off by the authorities. If he didn't die, the information would be sent out according to the setting, and Skull Island would be bombed. For Kong to live, he had to kick the bucket.
Landa wouldn't compromise, so Duke could only take him out. But unfortunately, Diana was by his side and wouldn't allow him to kill. If he were a villain, it would be one thing, but at least on the surface, he wasn't a 'bad guy'.
This was quite awkward.
Duke could only take Landa out secretly.
He had originally planned to kill Landa in the Kong graveyard by manifesting a Skullcrawler amidst the chaos. But he didn't expect such a godsend opportunity: a juvenile Skullcrawler was hunting Chapman. So, he simply opened a door and sent the thing over.
Sure enough, the unlucky Landa was sent flying dozens of meters away by the impact and was dead for sure.
As for that unlucky Black youth, it serves you right. Who told you to have more screen time than our San?
If you don't die, who will?
Of course, now that the plan had succeeded, the next step was to send this little brat on its way.
Rumble rumble—boom!
Duke clenched his fists tightly, which emitted an earthy glow. The ground immediately shook violently, and then—
A massive stone arm tore through the ground, grabbed the Skullcrawler's mouth, and slammed it heavily into the earth.
112. Thought It Was a Giant Hedgehog
Ceasing fire almost simultaneously.
Everyone's expressions were like this—(?｀?Д?′)!!
With mouths wide open, they froze at almost the same time.
A twenty-meter Skullcrawler VS... an equally twenty-meter Stone Giant.
However, that Stone Giant was square-shaped, the same model as the Hulk, with arms nearly as thick as the Skullcrawler's body. Its massive palms directly grabbed the skeletal head, slamming it heavily onto the ground, and then... lifting and smashing, lifting and smashing again—thump, thump, it went.
Before long, the Skullcrawler was smashed into a dizzying daze.
However, the giant lizard was no pushover; its claws were also huge and sharp. The claw marks on Kong's chest had been caused by this very thing.
Reacting, the Skullcrawler whipped its tail, knocking the Stone Giant down, then climbed onto it, tearing and biting in every way possible. But unfortunately, the Stone Giant's body was condensed from hard rock. No matter how sharp its claws were, they could only leave a few scratches.
The Stone Giant grew angry, reaching out its large hand to grab the Skullcrawler's tail from behind, swinging it in a large circle before hurling it away.
The young Black man wasn't dead yet; he still had a breath left. But the intense vibrations of the ground jolted his wounds, and he passed away completely.
"Roar—"
The Skullcrawler was infuriated. These creatures seemed to be born without fear; anyone could see it was no match for the Stone Giant, yet it still charged forward, unafraid of death.
The Stone Giant raised its hand and gave the Skullcrawlerthe middle finger, but unfortunately, the giant lizard didn't understand what it meant. Then, it suddenly raised its thick arms and slammed them down heavily, striking the ground!
In this world, the elements reign supreme.
As the Stone Giant's arms struck the ground, countless spikes lined up and pierced toward the Skullcrawler, skewering it through the heart in the blink of an eye.
From a distance, one would have thought it was a giant hedgehog.
However, Duke had given instructions, so although the Skullcrawler looked miserable, it wasn't actually dead. It was just that its body, arms, and tail were pierced by earth spikes from below, pinning it firmly so it couldn't move.
Measuring carefully, Duke found the right spot, raised his hand with a forty-meter ice blade, and—slash!
The side of the abdomen was sliced open, and the stomach'splattered'... colorful things flowed all over the ground. Among them, a head rolled out, not yet digested but already corroded by stomach acid.
"Ugh—" San vomited on the spot, her little face turning deathly pale!
The remaining soldiers who were still alive looked as if they had lost their parents, each of them clenching their fists tightly.
Duke opened a portal: "Xiaoxiao."
Xiaoxiao was the Stone Giant's name.
"..." Xiaoxiao shook its big head, making the earth spikes dissipate, then grabbed the mangled mess of the Skullcrawler and threw it inside with force.
—Meanwhile, at Karazhan.
"Ugh... what is this? It's disgusting." Doutzen Kroes felt a bit nauseous.
"Had I known, I would have gone over there. It seems the battlefield on that side is quite exciting," Samir said with envy.
Beside them, Charles and beast were both dumbfounded. That's right, they were currently guests in Karazhan.
"This... these are those prehistoric beasts?" Charles was a bit stunned. "This size is just too big, over twenty meters, right?"
"According to the information sent back by the Boss, this is still in its juvenile stage," Samir replied.
"Juvenile? How big is an adult?" beast was also dumbfounded.
He called himself beast, but compared to the thing in front of him, he really wasn't much. No matter how many times his various functions exceeded a normal human's, he couldn't withstand a single claw from this thing. Sure enough, the 'Doomsday' Duke spoke of was probably real. If a few hundred of these things showed up, New Yorkwould likely be leveled.
The Professor was pondering—would his abilities be effective against this thing?
Fortunately, the one in front of them was about to die.
After wailing for a few seconds, the Skullcrawler finally let its head drop heavily and died.
With its stomach sliced open, how could it not die?
Then, following that, a purple, transparent 'soul body'—also about twenty meters long—floated out, looking around blankly and howling with some agitation.
But unfortunately, under the soul suppression of Karazhan, it couldn't escape at all. It could only wander around, howling in various tragic ways.
"Are we just going to leave it like that?" Charles asked curiously.
"Karazhan has soul suppression; they can't escape and can only wander within the barrier. Don't worry about them. Once the Boss returns, he'll train them properly," Samirsaid, then shouted toward the tower, "You can drop it down now."
Subsequently, Yan Lingji activated a Spell Formula barrier within the Karazhan tower, and a scene appeared that stunned Charles and beast once again. The place where the Skullcrawler had been lying turned into a lava hell in the blink of an eye. This wasn't fake; the Crawler's body was incinerated to ash within a dozen seconds.
"Hiss..."
"This is...?"
Samir smiled: "This is a trap. I don't understand the specific principles either. There are traps everywhere within the Karazhan barrier, so don't wander around aimlessly."
After saying that, Samir pulled out a magic item.
"Boss, the experiment was a success. These Skullcrawlers can indeed produce soul bodies."
"Hmm, that's good. I'll throw a few more over later!" Duke's voice came through.
"Understood, Boss!"
The voice vanished...
"When will Mr. Duke be back?" Charles asked. Could the plan on the Mutant side be started yet?
"The Boss didn't say, but it should be about today, right? It shouldn't exceed three days."
"Mm."
————
As it turned out, Duke didn't just throw in a few; in the subsequent half-day, he threw in dozens. He directly took out a Skullcrawler nest and then threw the 'beast King' in.
There was no need for Samir to lift a finger; once the traps within the barrier were activated, they could kill them.
If they weren't burned to ash, they were frozen into ice sculptures, or otherwise drowned, struck by lightning, crushed by giant rocks, and so on—all sorts of tragic ways to die.
Of course, in the end, they were all thrown into the lava hell and burned to ash.
Within this single day, Charles and beast truly had their eyes opened; their understanding was refreshed countless times!
That beast King of the Skullcrawlers was a full eighty meters long.
An adult Skullcrawler was roughly over forty meters, but 'adult' didn't mean it would stop growing.
...
Today, Wolverine and Brother Tiger were in a miserable state, being whipped away by various tails. If not that, they were sliced up by claws or repeatedly smashed into the water.
There was no other way; they had powerful physiques, but their attack power was truly lacking.
Brother Tiger's nails could hardly break their skin, and while Wolverine's bone claws could, they only stabbed into the muscle and couldn't cause substantial damage. Fortunately, after being whipped away an unknown number of times, the two finally teamed up to kill a juvenile one.
"Huff... huff... truly intense. I feel like my healing factor is almost unable to keep up," Victor said, panting heavily.
"I've realized the truth of a saying," Logan said.
"What saying?"
"Specialization in one's field!"
"Hahahahaha—"
Their abilities were truly not enough to deal with these big guys.
Then look at Duke.
The Stone Giant, Fire Giant, Wind Giant, and Water Giant—the scene of the four elemental giants pummeling the Skullcrawler beast King was truly more exciting than watching a movie!
113. Kong Wants a Wife
Colonel Packard and his group had already left.
Everyone present had signed a 'contract', agreeing not to disclose what they had seen on Skull Island to outsiders, nor to leave behind any information (including written records, audio, video, or any other means).
Otherwise, they would suffer the soul backlash of the contract!
This was a type of magic contract, using rune paper condensed from magic. After writing the 'terms' on it and dripping blood onto it, it would turn into light and merge into the contractor's body.
This was a form of Power of Rules.
Unless a late-stage Legendary mage helped them break it, they would never be able to tell anyone.
San, Weaver, and Tom Hiddleston had not yet left.
"Hey, don't you feel like this scene is very incongruous?" San said, pointing to Duke, who was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Kong on the edge of the cliff in the distance.
"If only I still had my camera!" Weaver sighed, saying she could have definitely captured this conversation of the century.
It would have been a cross-species conversation.
Unfortunately, the camera had been taken by Duke; apart from keeping the scenery of the island and some unimportant animal pictures, everything else had been deleted.
He would return it to her after returning to New York, which was the reason why she hadn't left yet.
"It is a bit incongruous!" Tom Hiddleston said, crossing his arms.
At this moment, Duke was sitting on the Stone Giant, with his arm around Kong's shoulder, looking like good buddies who valued loyalty.
Valuing loyalty!
Although it looked like... the Stone Giant was putting its arm around Kong.
Uh...
Duke had not wiped out all the Skullcrawlers on Skull Island.
He had detected with magic that there were a total of three monster dens on Skull Island, and the one he had wiped out was the largest.
Survival of the fittest; without enemies of the same rank, Kong would not grow any taller.
Skull Island was an independent ecosystem, with Kong and the Skullcrawlers constraining each other, natural enemies to one another!
Although there was only one Kong left, it grew relatively quickly.
And while there were many Skullcrawlers and they reproduced often, their growth was relatively much slower.
So the two sides kept each other in check!
But unfortunately, there was only one Kong left, and it would eventually die; when that happened, the Skullcrawlers would fill the entire island.
By then, the ecosystem of Skull Island would completely collapse.
However, the current Kong was still in its youth, not fully adult yet, and was still growing!
Duke planned to gradually transform Kong into a true 'Titan ape'.
But this was still just a plan for now, not necessarily to be implemented.
After chatting with Kong for an hour, Duke stood up to say goodbye and head home, bumping fists to signify 'friendship'.
"Roar, roar, roar, roar, roar!"
"Don't worry, I won't forget." Duke waved his hand behind his back.
"What did you talk to it about just now?" San immediately leaned in and asked curiously.
"It wants a wife."
Hearing this, San immediately bristled: "You're messing with me again!"
"I'm not lying to you. This time Kong really wants a wife, but don't worry, he doesn't want you... you can't carry on the lineage anyway." Duke scanned her up and down and said with disdain.
"What do you mean? Who said I can't carry on the lineage?" San bristled again.
"Oh? Don't tell me... you can carry on the lineage for Kong?" Duke rubbed his chin, scanned her up and down, "That's truly rare, you could actually handle it?"
"You—" San immediately blushed.
"Hahaha, I won't tease you anymore. Where are you going? I'll send you back." Duke said.
Kong had indeed talked about a 'wife' just now; after all, one person... one ape had lived on this island for over a decade and was very lonely.
No one talked to it, and this was the longest conversation it had ever had in history.
Of course, from the sound of it, it actually wanted a friend.
But it had to guard Skull Island, guard its home, so it needed a wife.
Duke was a bit conflicted; where was he supposed to find a 30-meter gorilla for it?
And it was more than thirty meters.
In another ten or several decades, it would grow to ninety meters.
The white gorilla in "Rampage" seemed to be only 12 meters, right?
It was nearly two-thirds shorter than the current Kong; what about when Kong grew to 90 meters?
Uh...
Oh right, that white gorilla seemed to be male.
Can't believe I have to find a wife for a monkey now, it's really enough.
"South Vietnam, I'm used to living there."
"Likewise, I still have things to finish."
"No need, you all come with me to Washington." San looked at Weaver and Tom Hiddleston with a smile.
"You... what do you mean?"
"Do you want to detain us?"
San shrugged and said happily: "You have already come into contact with secrets, do you still want to stay out of it? Join the 'Monarch Project', otherwise... I cannot guarantee whether your future days will be peaceful."
"You are threatening us." Tom Hiddleston frowned.
"No, this is advice."
"Aren't you worried that on the way to Washington, I might kill you? That way, no one would know about our business." Tom Hiddleston laughed.
"I won't! Since you said that, I'm not worried. Besides... actually, from the moment you boarded the ship, the information of every participant has already been reported." San smiled, "So, don't struggle."
"Shit!" Tom Hiddleston held his head with both hands and cursed.
"Our benefits are really good, five insurances and one housing fund, one month of annual leave. As for the specific salary, we can talk about that later." San continued to entice them.
"I believe you really are the 'King of Monsters'." Dukeglanced at her.
"Talking nonsense again."
"You're the one talking nonsense!"
Duke didn't want to talk, so he simply opened a portal and threw the three of them to Washington.
Then he returned the camera to Weaver and threw a 'gem' to San.
"This gem is for you. If you are in danger in the future, hold it and shout, and I will come to save you, but there is only one chance."
"..."
"Also, Tom Hiddleston... no, Mr. Conrad, keep working hard to live for another 40 years."
Tom Hiddleston had a face full of black lines.
He wanted to ask something, but unfortunately, the door closed.
"I still have property in South Vietnam."
————
"Is that woman very special?" Diana asked.
"What are you thinking? She just looks very similar to a big celebrity I once knew, they are not the same person." Dukeclarified the relationship in a few words and also opened a portal to return to Karazhan, "Professor, sorry to keep you waiting!"
"Not at all! We have really had our eyes opened today." Charles laughed.
"Oh right! Let's talk later, I'll go deal with that bunch of guys first." Saying this, Duke walked towards the window, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Everyone get down!"
Thump—everyone knelt down.
The Professor and beast had their eyes opened again; this truly was absolute willpower suppression!
"From today on, you are the guard dogs here. Patrol around Karazhan for me, and don't stop for a single moment! If I catch you slacking off, you will die a miserable death. Do you understand?"
The Skullcrawlers hurriedly nodded their big heads.
"GO——!!!"
114. Magneto Mysteriously Vanishes
Inside the Pentagon.
Erik, also known as 'Magneto', was sitting cross-legged in meditation.
Ever since he took out Kennedy, he had been meditating for ten whole years. It seemed like there wasn't much else he could do besides meditate!
One day after lunch, while in the middle of his meditation, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.
...He looked up.
He saw a crotch.
(￣.￣)
Why was there a crotch here, and right above his head?
"Eh, where is this? It's pitch black. Oh, sorry, I'm standing on your head." The newcomer scanned the surroundings and finally noticed Magneto beneath his feet.
"...?"
"Oh, sorry, looks like this place is soundproof." The newcomer tapped the glass beneath his feet, then waved his hand, and two portals appeared. One portal was outside, and the other was beneath the glass.
That's right, when a portal opens, it actually opens in 'pairs'.
One was in front of Duke, and the other was at the destination. For example, if a portal to the outskirts of New York was opened on Skull Island, and someone happened to be there, they would see a white 'light curtain'.
In reality, it's 'one' thing, but you could also say it's 'two'.
The newcomer was Duke, and he stepped through into the space beneath the glass!
Then...
He raised his hand, revealing a two-centimeter steel ball in his palm.
Magneto frowned and glanced at Duke, reaching out to control it, only to find that he couldn't command the steel ball at all.
"This isn't metal."
"No, it is metal, it's just that its surface is coated in something you can't see, so... you can't control it." Dukesmiled and gave a casual wave, making the steel ball disappear, which left Magneto somewhat surprised.
Then he became even more surprised.
This guy actually lay down, and not only did he lie down, he patted the spot next to him, implying that he should lie down too?
After a moment of hesitation, he lay down side-by-side.
"Who are you?"
"Duke, here to save you!"
"Why?"
"No reason. If I had to give one, it's that... you're much more pleasant to look at than the 'Ian McKellen' version of Magneto."
"What?" Erik frowned.
McKellen version? What did that mean? Was someone impersonating him while he was away?
Had a Mutant with similar powers to his appeared?
How could this be allowed?
That was a copyright infringement!
"By the way, I've always wanted to ask you a question."
"What question?"
"Did you kill 'Mu-Mu-Ken'?...,...,..."
The atmosphere became a bit awkward.
"Oh, sorry, I mean... Kennedy."
"The President? I didn't kill him." Erik shook his head.
"But I heard the bullet curved. Who else can control metal?" Duke asked curiously.
In just a few days, this guy would use a bullet to attack Raven on the day the treaty was signed in Paris, which seemed like a direct slap to Magneto's face.
"Because I was trying to save him, but I was taken down before I had the chance."
"Oh? Now I'm curious, why did you want to save him?"
"Because he was one of us," Erik said.
Clearly, he had preemptively assumed Duke was a Mutant. Of course, Duke didn't bother to explain anything.
"Oh? So Kennedy was also... what was his ability?"
"Telekinesis."
The man was already dead; there was no point in hiding anything now.
"The kind that controls people?"
"Yes."
"No wonder he had so many lovers." Duke was incomparably envious.
The most famous among them was Monroe, along with other high-profile beauties.
What a pity he couldn't cross paths with that iconic beauty, even if just to admire her figure.
Unfortunately, when he first arrived, Monroe hadn't even been born; his second sleep was in '45, when she wasn't an actress yet—she didn't go to Fox until '46; and by the time he woke up again, it was '73, and that stunning woman had already been gone for 11 years.
Should he go look for Mephisto?
Magneto rolled his eyes speechlessly. Kennedy's philandering had nothing to do with his power; it was mainly his family background. Wealth, power, and good looks—those were a girl's top choices for a partner. Of course, back when Kennedy was still a young man, he indeed used his powers to pick up girls.
"What are you after by saving me?" he asked.
"Mutants are on the verge of extinction."
"What?!"
Erik was so shocked he sat straight up, like a dying man suddenly bolting upright!
It had to be said that Magneto was actually a decent leader; he fought for the Mutant race. As for'selfishness', he certainly had it—he wasn't a saint. But that bit of selfishness was nothing compared to the survival of the race.
"You know about the sentinel program, right? Oh, I forgot you've been locked up." Duke shrugged. "These are two blueprints I stole."
They were design diagrams for the Sentinels, though of course, Duke had made most of it up.
He didn't know the specific design details, after all.
Erik frowned. With just one look, he knew how lethal this thing would be to Mutants.
"Of course, the current design diagrams should have improved quite a bit. But the key issue isn't this; it's Raven."
"Raven?" Erik frowned again. "What does it have to do with her?"
"Raven's DNA can allow the Sentinels to undergo corresponding changes to counter Mutant powers. They possess high intelligence, know how to cooperate, and know how to find a Mutant's weakness to attack. For example, when frozen, their bodies will emit high-temperature flames; when burned, they will similarly turn into freezing ice. Not only that, they can even copy Mutantabilities."
The more Duke spoke, the more Erik frowned, until his brow was knotted into the shape of the character for 'river'.
As he spoke, he played the video of Mutants being killed.
Erik was even more stunned. He turned and asked, "What exactly is your ability?"
Most Mutants only have one ability; having two is very rare. But Duke? Portals, making objects disappear, creating images—what other abilities was he hiding?
"My... my abilities are a bit miscellaneous, I guess? Uh, don't dwell on that. You just need to understand that once Raven is caught, this scene will play out."
"Is this footage from the future?" Erik finally realized. This guy could also see the future?
A Mutant with four abilities?
Mutants with more than one superpower were actually not common.
In 'X-Men: The Last Stand', a 'Superpower Sensor' appeared who could sense the abilities and levels of other Mutants. She also had another superpower, which was high-speed movement, though certainly not as fast as Quicksilver.
The White Queen had her diamond form and Telepathy.
Jean Grey possessed three high-level superpowers: Telekinesis, Telepathy, and then the Phoenix Force. Of course, strictly speaking, the Phoenix Force isn't a Mutantability.
Then there's Apocalypse, whose skill points were quite numerous.
For instance, Self-healing, controlling sand and soil, Telepathy, enhancing other Mutants' abilities, and so on.
As for why Apocalypse, with so many superpowers, was still killed by Jean Grey—perhaps it was because Apocalypse had too many skills and was a bit panicked at the time. While he was still hesitating over which skill to choose, he was insta-killed by Jean Grey.
This story tells us that being a jack-of-all-trades is not as good as mastering one specialty.
"Do we have to talk here?" Erik frowned.
"Oh, right."
Duke opened a portal, and the two of them disappeared.
About three hours later, when the guard came in to deliver dinner, he was shocked to find Magneto gone.
Consequently, alarms began to blare continuously throughout the Pentagon.
115. Logan Wants to Leave
Magneto felt a bit dizzy.
Actually, everyone who goes through a portal for the first time is like this; it gets better after two or three seconds.
Unfortunately, before he could recover, he was punched hard in the face!
"Charles?"
"..."
"Old friend, it's good to see you, and you're still walking." Magneto wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and stood up.
"Thanks to you."
"The last thing I expected today was to run into you!"
"Believe me, if I didn't have to, I would never have agreed to do this," Charles said angrily.
Duke clapped his hands, called for a pause, and then patted Charles on the shoulder: "Alright, you two handle the rest."
He signaled to Samir and left through a portal.
"He..." Magneto was a bit dazed.
"He has no combat ability; he could only save you. We'll handle the rest," Samir said.
He couldn't help but laugh inwardly as he said this. The Boss has no combat ability? He wondered if people who knew the Boss would die laughing if they heard this.
Then he saw Charles and beast looking at him with confused expressions.
Magneto, however, was a bit stunned. Looking at the abilities Duke had displayed, he really didn't seem like a 'combat type'.
"Who are you..."
"Samir."
"I know you, the boss of Hells Kitchen! I've heard of you but never seen you. I didn't expect to meet you today. What is your ability?" Magneto asked.
Samir pulled a pistol from his waist and fired two shots at Magneto.
The latter was stunned for a moment and raised his hand to control the incoming bullets, but the next instant he realized they weren't metal. So, with a wave of his hand, a cup from the table was sucked over and, at an extremely fast speed,'softened' into a shield to block in front of him.
Zzzzt—!
In the next instant, Magneto felt a numbing sensation, and the'shield' was blasted in half by lightning.
"Electricity?"
"Uh-huh." Samir nodded, not going into detail.
"Welcome to the team." Magneto clapped his hands. He could feel that there was no metal on Samir.
So he knew about his ability all along!
But it didn't matter; there was metal everywhere in this world that he could use.
"We need to find Raven first!" Charles glared at Magneto.
— — — — In Karazhan.
"What, you want to leave?" Duke was a bit dazed. Loganwas actually asking to leave, this...?
"I want to find her," Logan said.
"You're kidding, right?" Duke looked speechless.
"Exactly, he's like this; I've already tried to talk him out of it." Victor, standing to the side, was also speechless. It was just something that happened in the future, and it was all fake affection, so why go looking for her?
Because they were disjointed fragments, he hadn't seen that Silver Fox was actually falling for him. As the saying goes, affection grows over time. Perhaps it started with ulterior motives, but feelings had developed over the years of being together. However, Logan had still sensed something off in the glimpse of the ending.
"I understand how you feel, but I want to ask, do you like her face, her body, or...?" Duke asked curiously.
Although it was something that happened in the future, there was no way around the fact that she was his 'future wife'.
Let's put it this way...
If one day you met her somewhere, and she was someone else's girlfriend, what would you think and what would you do? Wouldn't you feel like you had been 'cuckolded'?
If you didn't know, it would be one thing, but you had seen the images of the future.
Even based on chauvinism, a man's possessiveness and desire for control, you must keep that woman firmly by your side.
Your own wife becoming someone else's wife, what kind of situation is that?
"Logan, I want to remind you that Silver Fox can control people's thoughts through touch, and thus control their actions. Actually... you don't necessarily like her," Dukesaid.
"I told you, you were controlled by her," Victor said.
Actually, that's not necessarily true.
Logan must have had feelings for Silver Fox; otherwise, why would he let a woman touch him! If a strange woman ran up to you and touched your face and held your hand, your first reaction would definitely be to step back.
(Who are you! ( ｀ Д ′ ))
Of course, if this woman is beautiful, it would turn out like this.
(Beautiful lady, don't touch me so casually. ( * ￣ 3 ￣ ) ╭ )
Since Logan let Silver Fox touch him, it means he definitely had feelings for Silver Fox. Whether it was being held by the hand right away, or after they were drinking and getting tipsy, there was 'affection'.
The first attraction between men and women definitely comes from appearances!
So, it's not strange that Logan saw a type he liked and wanted to find her.
Multiple reasons.
"If you want to go find her, feel free; I'm not stopping you. But... do you know where to look?" Duke asked.
"You don't know?"
"I do know. The future I saw was at a logging camp in the Canadian Rocky Mountains... but that is the future. And she was sent there by William Stryker. As for when she was sent, I don't know," Duke said, taking the coffee handed to him by Diana, "Thanks."
"Peering into the future is not an easy thing, nor is it that if you give me a photo, I can see her past, present, and future."
The Rocky Mountains, so big. Logan frowned and thought hard: "William Stryker has a secret experimental base for holding Mutants, right?"
"You want to go to that base to find her?" Duke frowned, "Logically speaking, there should be such a... research base, but I don't know where it is."
"Days of Future Past" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverineare at the same point in time, so William Stryker has been working with Mutants for 20 years; there should be a base.
But "X-Men Origins: Wolverine didn't state the exact location, only that it was an island.
"Even if I knew where that base was, I don't think Silver Fox has fallen into William Stryker's hands yet. Your future timeline should be around '85, at least twelve years from now. And Silver Fox's sister was only born a few years ago, so logically... she shouldn't be caught yet."
Mutants rarely awaken their abilities at birth; most of the time, their genes erupt after encountering disasters, illnesses, and so on.
Therefore, Silver Fox should not be in William Stryker's hands right now.
Logan sighed.
"If you really want to find that person, you can. After this matter is over, I will ask Charles for help. For now, you can just stay here," Duke said.
"Charles?" Logan asked, confused.
"A powerful psychic; his brain can search for any Mutant in this world," Duke said.
"That powerful?" Victor was stunned.
"Yes, 'psychic ability' is very formidable."
Logan nodded: "Alright."
116. There Is Still A Difference
"Yan Lingji, for this period, you are responsible for monitoring Logan until I return. If he makes any unusual moves, notify me immediately."
"Understood."
"Mm, you may go now."
Watching Yan Lingji's retreating figure, Diana was somewhat puzzled: "Why is that?"
"I am worried that the future Logan will return to the body of the present-day Logan!"
"What do you mean?" Diana was even more confused.
"In reality, the ending for the future Mutants has two timelines. One is the normal one, where they will be destroyed in the future. The other is their self-rescue strategy, which is sending Logan's consciousness back to the present at the very last moment before destruction, completely rewriting the tragic future of the Mutants and embarking on a relatively 'righteous' timeline."
Diana frowned: "There's such a thing?"
"Yes, but future events have nothing to do with us, and the impact on us isn't very large. Although I say that, there will still be some."
Heaven knows what will happen in this brand-new worldonce Sentinels appear?
In this world, what is the proportion of humans possessing the x-gene, and is it the same as in the pure X-Men world?
I suspect it probably isn't!
But the 'sentinel program' must still be nipped in the bud.
He definitely doesn't have the x-gene, but the people around him do, and what if he enters an astral journey when the Sentinels appear in the future?
Although this world is not a pure X-Men world, even without him, all kinds of heroes would surely emerge to take this thing down, but Duke still likes the feeling of having things under control.
"So you intended to change the miserable future of the Mutants from the very beginning."
"Yes."
"But, what is the point of this?" Diana asked curiously.
"Huh?" Duke was a bit confused, what did she mean?
"You said it yourself, if you don't intervene, the Mutants will turn the future around themselves. So, whether you intervene or not, the result is the same. And since you have already intervened, why do you need to keep watching Logan?" Diana asked.
"Uh... there is still a difference!" Duke shrugged.
"What difference?"
"If 'Logan' returns, then it proves my participation... has failed! Also... it's mainly about Logan." Duke said.
"Logan?" Diana was puzzled.
"Mm. Regardless of whether the timeline has changed or not, Logan's fate in both timelines... is very miserable. He is also an old friend of ours, isn't he? I want to help him." Duke said.
The misery of the old timeline goes without saying; the Silver Fox Kara he loved so deeply was actually arranged by William Stryker, and he was deceived for many years. Although he eventually knew that Kara actually still loved him, he lost his memory because he was shot in the head with an Adamantium bullet, forgetting even the name of his beloved, and even the corpse of his lover... could potentially be picked up and used for experiments again.
Although the base was destroyed, William Stryker did not die, and the base's researchers did not die, so this possibility exists.
In the twenty-plus years that followed, he didn't know his own name and searched everywhere for his memories.
As for the new timeline, Wolverine was thrown into the water by Magneto and was later saved (bloated), and the William Stryker at that time was impersonated by Mystique Raven. But in "Apocalypse," he was still turned into Weapon X by William Stryker and injected with Adamantium.
Mystique just left him alone after saving him?
Later, he was released by the new Jean Grey and recovered part of his memory. After Wolverine escaped, he disappeared without a trace. Presumably, he was found by the Professor later, right?
So, regardless of whether it's the new or old timeline, Wolverine is the most miserable one.
"So that's it, I understand. Does your plan require my participation?" Diana asked.
"It's good to take a trip there, so they don't mess anything up."
"Mm."
"Victor, do you feel like Duke is hiding something from us?" Logan suddenly whispered.
"I thought your perception had become dull." Victor smiled.
"Leave here?"
"Can you leave? Besides, don't you need that guy named Charles to help you?"
"..."
Logan was silent for a moment, then sat back down. He really needed the power of others to find Silver Fox Kara.
Time turned and twisted, and soon it was January 27th.
On January 27, 1973, the "Peace Treaty" was officially signed in Paris, the capital of France, and it was on this day that Mystique's assassination attempt came.
"What a bunch of losers. I already told them, and in nearly twenty days, they still couldn't find any trace of Mystique." Duke stood on the street next to the Paris venue, eating Häagen-Dazs while complaining.
Likewise, Diana was also eating Häagen-Dazs, and the two stood shoulder to shoulder.
"Stop talking about them, didn't you fail to find her too?" She rolled her eyes.
"Ahem, I'm not a Mutant." Duke expressed his embarrassment.
In fact, he had looked for her twice.
Once was at Trask Industries, where Mystique would turn into Bolivar Trask to sneak in and steal files.
But he didn't know which day it was, so his stakeout was in vain.
The second time was during the party, where she killed a South Vietnam general, disguised herself as him, and infiltrated the conference hall to kill Bolivar Trask. He had secretly tested it, but strangely, the general who was supposed to die was not a Mutant, so... Raven didn't turn into that general, she chose someone else?
I don't know why, has the situation changed?
In short, both attempts were in vain!
The final outcome is today, because today is when Bolivar Trask will enter the conference room to promote the sentinel program; only today can she kill him.
Don't think of her as omnipotent; Mystique is not all-powerful. She doesn't have a god's-eye view, so she cannot know Bolivar Trask's exact whereabouts; only today is the day the target is most likely to appear.
Therefore, Mystique chose to wait for the target today.
After finishing the Häagen-Dazs, Duke casually threw it into a trash can by the side of the road: "Let's go, my dear, it should be starting soon."
He saw Bolivar Trask's car arrive.
"Mm." Diana also threw the empty box into the trash can and then pointed to a car slowly driving in from the other side, "Oh, I've found them."
"I hope he won't let me down."
The team entering this time had Samir replacing Wolverine.
"This gene guidance system can locate the x-gene within half a kilometer, and it will only trigger when a target is confirmed. With this weapon, we will not harm the innocent. Even if I turn it on here, it will..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Bolivar Trask froze because the system had been activated, emitting red light and beeping sounds.
For a moment, everyone present was stunned.
"Unless... there is... a... Mutant here!"
The instrument finally pointed at the bald man.
"It's actually this guy?" Outside, Duke laughed until his stomach hurt.
He originally thought she had chosen the guy with the side-part and mustache, but he didn't expect that this time she had chosen the bald man who was with the mustache guy.
The bald man instantly turned blue, and Mystique struck!
117. Taking Mystique Away
Bolivar Trask was already dumbfounded. The instrument alarms were blaring incessantly with red lights. Were all of them present actually Mutants?
Oh, no, he wasn't, and neither was he...
She...
Forget it, better run for it quickly!
Magneto didn't notice this; he was already immersed in a painful dilemma. If he hadn't been, he certainly would have realized that Samir and Doutzen Kroes were not Mutants.
However, his'suffering' didn't last long; after a few seconds, he made his decision.
He was an 'ambitious hero' who chose to sacrifice a small group of people for the sake of the masses.
Interestingly, he made the same choice in both the old and new timelines.
In the old timeline, X-Men: The Last Stand, Mystique lost her powers after being hit by the serum, and Magnetochose to abandon her. In the new timeline, Magneto chose to kill Raven at this moment to eliminate the potential danger to Mutants.
It was quite rare.
Of course, in both timelines, Raven also fought back.
After being abandoned in the old timeline, she directly gave the information about Magneto's base to the the military. In the new timeline, she was even more direct, blowing a hole in Magneto's neck with a single shot and knocking the guy out with a kick.
They were also incomparably similar.
"Raven."
"Charles..."
"We've come to save you, Erik and I... together."
"I never thought I'd see you guys again."
...
Just then, after his internal struggle, Magneto made his final decision. He raised his hand, pulling the handgun from the table into his palm and pointing the muzzle at Raven.
For a moment, the atmosphere at the scene became eerie.
Both Samir and Doutzen Kroes were a bit stunned; this situation was somewhat unexpected. Of course, Duke's mission for them was simply to ensure Bolivar Traskwasn't killed. As for the life or death of this 'Mystique' Raven, the boss hadn't said anything.
In fact, besides the two methods to solve the Mutants' future that Duke told Charles, there was a third.
That was, just like Magneto, to kill Raven and cremate her body.
It wasn't that the ability vanished upon death; the ability was locked in the DNA, so the corpse was equally valuable. Of course, it still couldn't compare to a living one.
However, if this method were used, the Mutants would truly embark on a completely different path. First of all, Charles would not let Magneto off, which could trigger another internal war among Mutants.
"Erik?" Mystique was somewhat shocked.
"Erik, what are you doing!" Charles was also furious. He suddenly realized the meaning behind the'sorry' Erik had once said to him.
It turned out he had decided from the very beginning to kill Raven to end the trouble once and for all.
"To save our future, forgive me, Mystique! As long as you are alive, we will never have peace," Magneto sighed.
"Erik... Charles, use your power to stop him."
"He can't!"
Raven gritted her teeth and suddenly lunged toward the window. Just then, a shot rang out, and the bullet left the chamber, chasing after Mystique. beast pounced forward, but it was too late.
The sudden change left Samir a bit stunned, but Doutzen Kroes had already taken the lead. With a sudden stride forward, she swung her sword in a massive cleave.
Clang—
The bullet was split in two, and its direction was altered.
This stunned Magneto for a moment, but then his hand jerked, and the split bullets once again chased after the window-jumping Mystique, one after the other.
"Damn it!" Doutzen Kroes froze for a second, then lifted her foot to rush outside.
"Hey, calm down, calm down," Samir quickly pulled Doutzen Kroes back. "If you rush out like this, you'll be treated as an armed criminal."
Doutzen Kroes looked at her dual swords and turned to glare at Magneto with anger. She had only acted just now because she couldn't stand seeing a fellow woman like Raven being abandoned. She wasn't Duke's subordinate and wouldn't follow Duke's orders 100%.
Looking at Magneto again, he was already fighting with beast; she didn't need to teach that man how to behave for the time being.
————
Outside, Duke had already set his sights on Mystique.
"Honestly, acting so recklessly." Duke waved his hand, incinerating Mystique's dripping blood, and with another wave, he directly opened the 'Mirror Dimension'.
It was somewhat similar to Kamar-Taj's Mirror Dimension, but not exactly the same.
The running Raven froze for a moment and stopped her pace because she had just passed through someone. No, to be more precise, someone had bumped into her, but instead of knocking her down, they passed right through her body.
This made her sense that something was wrong.
She tried with other people in front of her, and she indeed passed through them.
"!!!"
Her vigilance was immediately raised.
"Who?"
"Who exactly is it?"
"Who's there!"
"...The person saving you!"
As the voice fell, she discovered two people standing not far away, a man and a woman. The woman was very beautiful, while the man... was very ordinary.
Cough, cough.
If Duke knew what Raven was thinking right now, he would probably walk away in a huff.
You're the one who's ordinary; your whole family is ordinary.
This is called 'handsome,' alright?
"'Healing'"
A faint green light rose from Mystique's wound, with fluttering leaves faintly visible within. Then, it felt a bit itchy, and Raven was surprised to find her wound healing rapidly.
In less than 5 seconds, the wound was gone.
"This is..."
This was a new card Duke had drawn: Archdruid. Druidism wasn't actually magic; it was natural energy, but the system judged it as 'nature magic.' Actually, the Archdruidcharacter was of the legendary realm, and the card should have been an S-rank based on its level, but after drawing it, he found it was an A-rank.
The reason was that it was only a 'Restoration Druid' card. It didn't have Guardian, Feral, or Balance forms—just Restoration.
No wonder a character of the legendary realm was only an A-rank card.
Duke opened a portal: "Let's go."
"You... who exactly are you?" Looking at the strange portal, Raven didn't enter but instead took a step back.
"Although we haven't met, we're somewhat old acquaintances. You used to run to my house quite often when you were little, along with little Charles, even though you guys never succeeded," Duke said.
"!" Then, Raven suddenly realized, "You... you're from the Karazhan side..."
"My name is Duke, the Master of Karazhan, and this is my wife, Diana. I notified Charles and had them come to save you, but unfortunately... it seems they messed up. Luckily, I wasn't at ease and came over to take a look." Duke smiled and invited with a hand gesture, "Let's go."
"You notified Charles?" Her suspicious nature didn't let Raven choose to believe him immediately.
"It was me."
"Then..."
"Why are you so troublesome!"
The thing Duke was least willing to deal with was troublesome women—one question after another, it was annoying. With a wave of his hand, the portal gave a Blinkand'swallowed' Raven.
By the time she recovered from the dizzying discomfort, Raven realized that what was in front of her... seemed to be a hotel suite.
118. Mystique Enters the Fray
Actually, to solve the Mutant trouble, there is a most direct way: control Bolivar Trask and have him cancel the 'sentinel program' himself.
For Duke, this isn't hard; a simple mental magic can achieve it.
And for Charles, it's probably not a difficult task either.
But this wouldn't solve the trouble once and for all.
Even if all the data regarding the 'sentinel program' is burned, and even if Bolivar Trask actively stops the project, what about all the scientific researchers involved in the process?
Kill them all, or control them all?
As long as one person inherits Bolivar Trask's legacy, the program will be restarted in the future.
The key isn't Bolivar Trask, nor the sentinel program, but the Mutants themselves. If you project the image of a 'villain,' people won't tolerate you. You have to make everyone feel that Mutants aren't bad people, but good people who can help society—at least, for the most part, 'good people'.
If Mutants truly want to be permitted by the world, they must do things that are beneficial to society.
Bit by bit, they will eventually be accepted.
————
"You mean, my assassination of Bolivar Trask today was originally going to result in me being caught?" Mystiquepaced back and forth anxiously.
"Yes! You should know someone knocked you out with electricity, right?" Duke said.
"That major!" Mystique realized.
"Not him. The one who knocks you out in the future is called William Stryker. He's also a major, but I've already killed him. In the original future, Charles and the others didn't rescue you; you were caught by this man, and then..."
William Stryker was dead, but a new major still appeared by Bolivar Trask's side, doing exactly what William Strykerhad done—using an electric gun to knock out Mystique.
"And then they performed experiments on me day and night?" Mystique interjected.
Duke nodded and said nothing, but he always felt that sentence sounded a bit strange.
"Did I die just like that?"
"No! You escaped later. It wasn't 20 years, but it was close, at least... 10 years," Duke said.
"10 years of torture." Mystique gritted her teeth tightly.
"Your brain tissue, spinal fluid, bone marrow, and so on, were all extracted by them."
"Enough!"
Mystique suddenly shouted, clutching her head in pain and crouching down. With her brain tissue being extracted, one could imagine how hellish and inhuman the situation must have been.
Diana also clenched her fists, wishing she could kill that man. Using humans for experiments was the most intolerable thing; even if she was a Mutant, she was still 'human'.
After a long while, Mystique finally stood up.
"So now, has the future been changed? It should be successful, since I wasn't caught."
"No! On the contrary, the situation will become even worse. From the look of things now, Erik doesn't just want to kill you to eliminate future troubles; he also wants to take out Bolivar Trask, the President, and even... incite Mutants to formally declare war on humanity, completely walking the path of a villain." Duke shook his head.
"How... how could it be like this?" Mystique staggered and collapsed onto the nearby sofa, as if the strength had been completely drained from her body. "Didn't they say they were coming to save me? You only needed to find me. Why did you release him? He's a thug, a maniac!"
"It seems your view is similar to Charles's." Duke smiled. "In fact, I looked for you twice, but unfortunately missed both times. Besides, the key isn't Bolivar Trask, nor the 'sentinel program,' nor the President, but Mutants yourselves."
Mystique frowned: "What do you mean?"
"How do you think the world sees you Mutants?"
"Terribly!"
"Then why is it so terrible?" Duke asked again.
"Because they fear our abilities; they are afraid of us."
Duke waved his hand: "No! At the very beginning, they were simply afraid of the way you look."
"What?" Mystique was a bit dazed.
"I divide Mutants into seven levels."
Mystique continued to frown.
"The seventh level means merely having Mutant potential, possessing the 'x-gene' in the body, with the possibility of becoming a true Mutant in the future... that category."
"The sixth level belongs to the weaklings among Mutants, those who awakened the 'x-gene' but have no abilities. Mutants at this level often have significant genetic defects, are exceptionally ugly, or don't look like normal people at first glance. Social panic and human hostility are mostly caused by this category."
It can't be helped; they look too ugly, like ghosts.
Going out would scare children, scare the flowers and grass; how could there not be panic and hostility?
For example, those who simply turned into falcons, or big fat guys who turned themselves into a mountain of flesh, or that 'Toad' in 'days of future past'.
If you put blue-skinned Mystique and Dr. Lizard together, who do you think is more terrifying?
Definitely Dr. Lizard!
"What about the fifth level?" Seeing Duke stop talking, Mystique asked curiously.
"Those aren't important!"
"So... it can't be changed?" Mystique fell silent.
She had traveled far and wide and knew very well that over sixty percent of Mutants were this'sixth level,' with strange and frightening appearances. They couldn't live under the sun like normal people and could only hide themselves in the dark. Once they showed their faces, they were met with a beating; even if they did nothing, they would be taken away and locked up by the police.
This was their fate, but... but we refuse to accept it!!!
"What do you think of him?" Duke flicked his hand, manifesting Hulk—a 2.2-meter square giant.
His expression was extremely ferocious, roaring!
This suddenly appearing giant gave Raven a fright. Just like in 'days of future past' when Wolverine was interrupted while waking up and suddenly saw a blue-haired guy, yelling—[What is this again?]
Raven was so scared she almost tumbled behind the sofa.
"Who is this?" Diana was also curious.
"A future 'Superhero'."
"Superhero, him? How is that possible!" Mystique was stunned; this guy was so ugly, it would be a blessing if he didn't scare someone to death, and he's a Superhero?
Of course, there wasn't a precise concept of a 'Superhero' yet, but Mystique understood what it meant.
A protagonist type.
"He was also a 'monster' at first, not tolerated by the world, chased, hunted, and pursued by the army, hiding everywhere."
As he spoke, Duke projected clips of Hulk fighting Abomination on the streets of New York, as well as resisting the Chitauri invasion alongside the Avengers.
"See? He also hid from the world's pursuit for several years, but ultimately chose to stand on the side of humanity to resist evil, eventually becoming a 'Superhero'."
Mystique watched, somewhat dazed.
Then came the scene from 'Avengers: Endgame' where Hulk was eating a large plate of eggs in a restaurant and taking photos with three children.
"Look, he is very popular with children."
Mystique was stunned once again; with such an ugly and terrifying appearance, there were actually children who liked him?
Had the aesthetics of the future changed like this?
For a long, long, long time... she asked in a daze: "Why... why is this?"
"Because this type of person is called a 'Superhero'. They uphold justice, step forward when there is danger, are full of responsibility, and do not require any reward. As long as you are kind and work hard for the world, even if you were once misunderstood, disliked, or feared... one day, you will be accepted just like him."
Mystique was... stunned!
She seemed to have understood something.
119. As Long As You Are a Positive Character
Mystique was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "I think I understand what you mean."
"Tell me."
"They don't fear our abilities; they fear our appearance. But we cannot feel inferior just because we look ugly, hide in the shadows, or spend our days complaining and blaming the innocent. We must step out and become people who contribute to society; that way, they will forget about our appearance."
"Exactly!"
Duke nodded. In reality, there was still some fear of their 'abilities'.
But it wasn't easy to say.
Look at Thor; he's even more powerful, constantly calling down thunder from the sky, yet people don't fear him. On the contrary, two female fans even took a picture with him in *thor: ragnarok*.
Superman has even more world-destroying power, but do they fear Superman?
No!
On the contrary, more people attended Superman's funeral than the President's.
As long as you are a positive character.
In Duke's view, it was actually more about 'jealousy'.
———— Everyone is human, so why is it that just because you are a Mutant, you get to have extraordinary power and reach the pinnacle of life, marrying a beautiful, wealthy woman? Why is it that I work so hard, slaving away without complaint, yet still only earn 1,000 U.S. dollars a month?
—Why!!!
When 'envy' reaches a certain level, it turns into 'jealousy', and 'jealousy' turns into 'disgust and hatred', and then... hatred leads to 'destruction'!
Who doesn't want the power to control the wind and rain? Who doesn't want to become a 'god'?
Since I am destined not to become a god, then I will destroy the gods!
"Those are things for later. What should we do now? Stop Erik?" Mystique asked.
"Yes, as long as you..."
Just as he was speaking, a news flash suddenly interrupted on the TV.
"Just today, the Paris Peace Conference was interrupted by the appearance of unknown attackers. The appearance of these creatures is unprecedented. The entire nation is plunged into continuous panic, with people asking, 'Where did they come from, and will they come back?' And the more important question is, 'Are they friend or foe'..."
Then—
"The President will issue a statement the day after tomorrow. Not only will he invite the Minister of Defense, Laird, to attend, but he is also seeking help from the famous scientist Bolivar Trask, who is the President's special advisor for dealing with the Mutant crisis."
Duke turned his head and smiled at Mystique: "They're reacting quite quickly!"
"You don't mean to let me sneak in..." Raven understood in a second.
"Yes! I need you to protect the President from being killed by Erik at the final moment. Furthermore, at the critical moment, you need to transform into the President to face Erik, and even shoot Erik..."
Mystique frowned.
"Of course, you don't need to kill him; you just need to incapacitate him."
"..."
"How about it, are you doing it?"
"I..."
"You must know that this is very dangerous. You are very likely to be detected by Bolivar Trask's equipment and subsequently caught. But I cannot protect you; on the contrary, I need you to be detected."
"Why?" Mystique asked, confused.
"I need you to clash with them, but you cannot kill anyone around the President, otherwise there will be no turning back. At this point, you are playing the role of the enemy, but once Erik appears, you must play the role of the savior to stop Erik. Finally, I want you to point your gun at Bolivar Trask."
Mystique was confused again: "Why? Didn't you say... I can't kill people?"
"I don't want you to kill anyone. At that moment, Charleswill definitely stop you. You just need to pretend to talk to him for a bit, put on a show, and finally put the gun down. Oh, right, don't forget to take Erik's helmet."
"I think I get it." Mystique nodded, "Will this stop the 'sentinel program'?"
"I can't be sure, but it's highly likely. Don't worry, if the 'Sentinel' really appears, I will stop it too, because it is anti-human. Moreover, you need to be positive characters, and when you win the hearts of the people... there won't be any more 'sentinel program' targeting Mutants." Duke said.
"I understand!"
Seeming to remember something, Duke added: "Oh, right, I won't tell Charles about this; you need to act it out yourself."
"Why?" Mystique asked, confused.
"Because Charles's acting is too bad; he'll easily ruin a good show!"
Mystique laughed: "He really doesn't have any acting skills."
"Also, that guy named Hank likes you. If he really knew this was a play, he probably wouldn't be able to act naturally."
Mystique shook her head and said nothing. She was well aware that Hank liked her, but she didn't like Hank.
"Alright, get ready. I'll be cheering for you from behind."
"..."
Mystique said nothing, turned around, and went to the bedroom to rest.
In fact, she had doubted Duke's words, but in the end, she chose to believe him. Because she could feel that it wouldn't be difficult for Duke to take down Erik. If he really had some ulterior motive against Erik, he wouldn't need her to do anything at all.
Just then, Samir and Doutzen Kroes returned.
"Boss, I failed to complete your instructions... wait, why is she here?"
Seeing Raven, Samir was instantly dumbfounded.
"What'she'? You guys messed up, so shouldn't I, the boss, clean up your mess?" Duke glared at Samir.
"You... so you are his subordinates." Mystique suddenly realized.
"Yes, the boss arranged for us to go over and help." Samirsaid.
"Correction, I am not his subordinate." Doutzen Kroes said.
Hmm, you are my sister. My name is Duke, and your name is Duchen.
"You guys go back first. The battle the day after tomorrow is the most important thing." Duke waved his hand.
"Okay!"
At this time, Charles's side also saw this report.
"If she were to kill Trask in such a situation... under global attention, then everything would be over." Charles let out a long sigh.
"..."
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Magneto pulled off a major move, moving an entire stadium over and surrounding the White House like a ring.
"I... damn! This bastard is genuinely strong." Seeing this scene, Samir was also dumbfounded.
He followed Charles closely, never leaving his side.
The task Duke gave him was to ensure the Professor's safety today.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Mystique, transformed into a secret service Agent, successfully snuck into the highest-security iron shell—a large cube. A 'cube' made of sturdy metal that could remain unscathed even under a nuclear bomb attack.
But did they forget one thing? Magneto controls metal; what's the point of hiding inside?
In the end, didn't Magneto just rip it out?
Inside the iron shell, Bolivar Trask's detection equipment sounded.
"There is a Mutant here!"
Remembering Duke's words, Mystique, having to play the role of an attacking enemy at this moment, immediately pulled out her gun. Unfortunately, a group of Agents quickly subdued her.
"Oh, NO, NO, NO... I need her alive."
Just then, Magneto unleashed his ultimate move, and the iron shell was no longer under control and flew away...
120 Hurry up and hold back Wonder Woman.
Samir was having a blast, chasing the robot and firing "pew pew pew pew..." at it. After hitting it a few dozen times, he finished off the first-generation Sentinel.
His mission was simple: first, protect the safety of Professor; second, blow up the robots.
Protecting the safety of Professor could be considered complete once the stadium had fully landed. As long as Professor hadn't been crushed to death, it was okay; he would basically be safe afterwards.
Then came the task of blowing up the robots. Following his boss's instruction to "feign weakness," Samir didn't use his full strength and even allowed himself to be chased by the robots away from the White House.
beast handled one.
Doutzen Kroes handled two.
There were eight prototypes in total, and Samir had to deal with five. Of course, since three had run off to control the surrounding battlefield, he only needed to handle two.
After blowing one up, with one remaining, he followed his boss's instruction to move away from the battlefield while fighting.
He pretended to be forced back by the robot's attacks.
Diana also really wanted to take action and was feeling a bit restless. She didn't want to go play with the robots; instead, she had her sights set on Magneto. This was a master, and it ignited the blood of the Goddess of War within her!
Duke hurriedly held back Wonder Woman: "Don't go out there and cause trouble. If you go out, wouldn't Erik just get blown away?"
"But..."
"We aren't here to compete with masters right now; we are here to quell future troubles. If you really want to fight, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to take action later," Duke advised.
"That big monster?"
"Not just that."
Diana was referring to Abomination, who was fighting Hulk.
"Fine, I won't go out then."
Magneto got ruthless and ripped out the iron shell. Taking advantage of the chaos inside, Raven found the Major who had stunned her, smashed his nasal bone with a single punch, and knocked him unconscious.
Although this wasn't the William Stryker from the original timeline who had captured her, he was still the culprit who had stunned her and intended to capture her. Coupled with the overlap of the two identities and the deep-seated hatred from having her brain tissue, spinal fluid, and bone marrow extracted, if it weren't for Duke's repeated instructions not to kill anyone, she would have certainly snapped his neck.
The large iron shell slammed heavily onto the ground, and in the next second, the iron door was violently torn open.
The Agents wanted to reach for their guns, but unfortunately, they were under Magneto's control.
Anyone would be afraid to move while having a pistol floating in mid-air pointed at their head.
Preparing to start the live broadcast.
Magneto turned his head and looked at the President: "You created these weapons to destroy us, why? Because you fear our gifts, because we are different. Humans always fear things that are different from themselves. So let me tell you, let me tell this world... you are right to fear us, we are the future!!!"
"We are the ones who will inherit this planet!"
Magneto improvised a speech.
"Anyone who stands in our way will suffer the same fate as these people before you."
"Today was supposed to be the day you showcased your abilities. Instead, I want to show you what kind of destruction our race can inflict upon you!"
"My Mutant brothers and sisters, you no longer need to hide, no longer need to suffer. You have lived in the shadows, in shame and fear, for too long. Come out. Join me, let us unite and fight together. A brand new tomorrow will begin today."
Just then, the President came out.
"You want to make a statement? Kill me, that's fine, but please spare the others."
Of course, this was Raven in disguise.
"Very heroic, Mr. President, but why didn't you think about sparing any of us before? The future of our race begins at this moment..."
...
"Hmm, it seems I need to give her some assistance. Samir, stop playing around, finish it, and then launch an attack towards Magneto. Careful... you must miss." Duke gave the order.
"Yes, boss."
Although he didn't understand why he had to shoot at Magneto but not hit him, Samir still executed the order. He blew up the Sentinel's chip with one shot and fired two lightning bullets towards Magneto.
"E—rik!"
Magneto was startled. He knew Samir's capabilities, so he hurriedly turned a pistol into a shield to block the incoming bullets.
Just then, the 'President' raised the special pistol, [Bang]—just like in the original, it pierced through from the side of the neck. Suddenly injured, Magneto's control instantly failed, and all the Sentinels went dead.
"Your marksmanship was much better before."
"Believe me, it still is!"
Mystique went up and delivered two kicks, and Erikpromptly fainted.
Then she turned around abruptly, pointing the special pistol at Bolivar Trask, but of course, she was immediately frozen by Charles!
"Get out of my head, Charles!" Raven roared in anger, her expression extremely ferocious.
Duke clapped his hands in the Mirror Dimension, clicking his tongue in wonder: "Oh my, I couldn't tell, Mystiqueactually has such good acting skills."
"Mystique?" Diana expressed confusion; could this person have a connection to him?
No, no, how could they?
"Heh heh heh, just a nickname."
"..." Diana rolled her eyes.
In reality, it wouldn't have been difficult for Duke to resolve the Mutant crisis; given his strength, there was completely another way. He didn't need to call Charles, nor did he need to rescue Magneto; he could have silently erased the sentinel program, but he still chose to follow the original route.
Why?
He felt that Mutant affairs were better left to Mutants to handle.
"Raven, I beg you, don't let us become the enemies of humanity," Charles said.
"Look around, they already are."
"Not entirely! Everything you have done so far has been to save the lives of these people; you can guide them toward a better path."
Raven's expression softened slightly, but soon became hard again: "No! All of this is because of him. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened; he is the culprit."
"Raven! From the first day I met you, I have always wanted to control you. Look at what has happened now?"
"..."
"Everything that is happening now, our future, lies in your hands."
"..."
"I have faith in you, Raven."
Mystique's expression was extremely tormented; struggle, hesitation, doubt, anxiety... even anger, all sorts of messy emotions were intertwined on her face.
Duke was about to applaud again; such great acting, this single shot could definitely compete for an Oscar for Best Actress.
Finally, Raven closed her eyes and sighed, loosened her hand, and the special pistol slowly fell to the ground.
The President glanced coldly at Bolivar Trask and breathed a sigh of relief.
"He is yours, Charles." Raven took off Magneto's helmet.
In the next instant, Magneto woke up.
However, this time, Charles wasn't pinned under a steel frame, but his wheelchair still overturned onto the grass.
Magneto glanced at his helmet, knowing he wouldn't get it back: "If you let them capture me, I'm a dead man... you know that."
"I know."
"Farewell, old friend."
"Farewell, Erik."
Magneto took one last look at Raven and flew away, manipulating magnetism.
"It seems it's over; I need to go handle the aftermath too. Dear, you go with Doutzen Kroes and the others to deal with the aftermath; I'll go chase him and resolve the final matters."
"Are you going to kill him?" Diana asked in surprise.
"How could I? I have a gift to give him." After saying this, Duke dispelled the Mirror Dimension and chased after Magneto.