"Lucien… I didn't expect you to be alive. Truly beyond my expectations."
"What you should really wonder is… why I still look this young," Lucien replied, his voice smooth but laced with steel.
Charles Magneto chuckled, unfazed. "I don't care. With modern cellular tech, there are plenty of ways to delay aging. And you're a mutant—so staying young isn't shocking. What puzzles me more is… why are you here at the school?"
"We're old friends, Charles. Is there ever a reason not to meet?" Lucien's gaze swept across the mutants and super-powered people standing behind Charles. "Thirty years, your team has grown enormously, yet here I remain. But numbers aren't everything. Quality matters. One reckless mutant, and even tens of thousands would fall. You know what I mean. Right?"
"Ryuuto," Charles said cautiously.
"Yes. It's him."
Because Ryuuto was still hunting Emma, and she wasn't around, Charles's unease deepened. "What… are you planning with Ryuuto?"
Lucien smirked. "Such a strong man… what could I do with him? Let Emma have a little fun."
Charles stiffened. Emma's mental attacks were beyond Ryuuto's defense. Recently, she'd already controlled multiple targets at once. "Lucien, Ryuuto is a very special mutant. He's responsible for keeping mutants and ordinary people in balance. Don't go too far."
Lucien shook his head, dismissive. "Mutants and humans can never coexist peacefully. I agree with Magneto. We invited Ryuuto to join the Hellfire Club—he refused. Fine, then Emma occupies his mind. Once she has him fully under control… who stands in his way? Hulk? Iron Man? Ant-Man? Fantastic Four? Ah, and look who's here… Invisible Woman herself."
Susan stormed forward. "Absolutely impossible! No one can beat Ryuuto!"
Lucien tilted his head, unbothered. "Ryuuto's physically strong, yes. But when it comes to mental combat… he's a rookie. Emma? She's a veteran. Ask Charles. Attack order matters. First strike? Emma wins. First strike? Ryuuto wins? Think carefully."
Charles opened his mouth… then closed it. Lucien's presence was already the answer. Sighing, he muttered, "You're not welcome here."
"I like that," Lucien said with a grin. "Makes tearing this place down much more satisfying."
He stepped forward—and Natasha Romanoff instinctively drew her pistol.
"Don't shoot!" Charles barked. "He absorbs energy!"
Natasha hesitated, lowering her weapon.
Steel charged, attempting to smash Lucien. Energy absorption didn't work on pure physical force, so brute steel might be the answer. Lucien was hit and slammed to the ground—but the fight was far from over.
Torrent—Riptide—used his variant power to whip up a localized hurricane around Steel. The 100-kilogram powerhouse was tossed upward, spinning helplessly. Lucien's partner, Arlo, joined in, manipulating wind with her own ability. The hurricane grew, a perfect chaos storm.
Susan immediately tried to intervene, erecting a force field. But the tornado obscured Riptide, blinding her. From within, torrents of calcified darts rained down, each sharp enough to pierce steel. The relentless barrage forced Susan to maintain her shield constantly, exhausting her energy.
Katie Dee sank into the ground for cover. Ten seconds later, she popped up beneath the hurricane, firing her gun at Torrent—but bullets were stopped by the flying calcifications. The torrent retaliated, darts pelting her like a storm, forcing her back underground. Every spot she occupied moments before was now pierced and littered with deadly projectiles.
Lucien and Torrent didn't just fight—they dominated the battlefield, a perfect storm of calculated chaos. And Ryuuto? Still out there, struggling against Emma's mental grip, unaware that the Hellfire Club's duo had just turned the tide of the school into a warzone.