In the X-Men universe, at this time, the Federation and the Soviets had been locked in a long Cold War.
But today, the situation that Shaw had single-handedly created could very well escalate the Cold War between the two superpowers into a nuclear war.
If that became reality, World War III would inevitably break out, and the entire world would be turned into hell by the war between the two superpowers.
At that point, Shaw's goal would be achieved.
Shaw believed that radiation could bring about more new humans, that is, mutants, and could also allow mutants to evolve to a more perfect level.
So he wanted to start a world war and let radiation blanket the world.
In the movie, he manipulated a senior official who threatened the Federation into casting the deciding vote, leading the Federation to deploy missiles in Turkey and threaten Soviet territory.
The Soviet side was manipulated by similar means, and in retaliation decided to deploy nuclear missiles in Cuba to threaten the Federation.
Under those circumstances, both superpowers were on edge. It would only take a single spark to ignite this massive war.
Alex already knew this plot by heart, so seeing the president's speech on the black-and-white television didn't surprise him.
But young people like Alex knew nothing about the truth. Hearing the president's speech, all of their expressions changed drastically.
After all, no one wanted a war.
Erik, who had been silent the whole time, said in a deep voice, "Shaw will definitely be near the blockade line."
Looking at the television, deep hatred flashed through the young Magneto's eyes, and he unconsciously clenched his fists.
This was the perfect chance for revenge.
If they failed to catch Shaw this time, the war might break out in full, and after that it would be much harder to catch him again.
Charles wore the same grave expression. He stood up, looked around at everyone in the room, and said, "Everyone, we've come together to stop Shaw's plot and prevent war from breaking out."
"We absolutely cannot let Shaw succeed. Absolutely not."
"Otherwise, everything we cherish will disappear."
"Do you want to see a future like that?"
The answer was, of course, no.
Charles said, "Then train harder. We need to be in our best condition when we fight!"
After that, the mutants continued training in the mansion.
Even Charles was training his telepathic abilities when the lock on his room door opened by itself, and Erik walked in.
He found the serum Hank had left in Charles's care.
Erik took another syringe from his pocket. It was identical to Hank's, and it also contained a pale green liquid.
He swapped the two syringes.
———
[The Next Day]
[At the Airport]
Inside a hangar, Alex(Havok) and the others, now wearing the X-Men's classic uniforms, looked up at the steel beast before them.
The Blackbird jet.
Alex looked at his blue-and-yellow uniform, "Do we really have to wear these?"
Charles smiled, "We don't have the ability to mutate into super-dense bodies or dodge bullets."
"So yes, I think it's necessary."
Just then, Hank, looking like a blue Beast, walked down from the Blackbird.
"How long are you planning to stare?"
The bespectacled Beast gestured toward the jet with his chin.
Alex asked uncertainly, "You can fly that thing?"
"Why not? I designed it," Hank shrugged.
Raven was the first to walk over and said to Hank, "The glasses look great."
"Thanks."
Then Hank noticed Alex.
Alex wasn't wearing the uniform.
Hank frowned, "Mr. John, I think you'd better wear the same uniform as the others."
"No need."
"I have this."
Alex raised the vibranium bracelet on his wrist.
Everyone looked confused.
Alex smiled and activated the bracelet.
Immediately, it transformed into a layer of black, flowing nanomaterial like liquid, rapidly covering his body. In the blink of an eye, it formed a majestic black battle suit.
Alex then took out the Cape of Justice and equipped the Bracers of Hercules, making himself look imposing.
Everyone stared at the scene in astonishment. After a moment, Raven sighed sincerely.
"That's so cool."
"Mr. John, how did you make that suit appear? Was it hidden inside those two little things?"
Alex smiled and nodded. Then he took out something else and tossed it to Erik.
"I think you might find this useful."
It was the helmet Shaw had left behind at the CIA facility, and one of Magneto's iconic symbols in the future.
Erik caught the helmet. Before he knew what it was for, he heard Alex's voice in his mind.
["This is a good thing."]
["Put it on, and I won't be able to talk inside your head anymore."]
Erik immediately understood what it was for. He glanced at Charles beside him, then put on the helmet.
The black man Darwin walked past Magneto and said, "Not bad. This way you won't have to worry about someone pointing a gun at your head."
"The only problem is, it looks kind of dumb."
Alex(Havok) and the other young people laughed and joked around, but once they boarded the Blackbird, they all became serious.
They put themselves in the right frame of mind and prepared for the decisive battle ahead.
Charles let out a long breath and patted Erik on the shoulder.
"Let's go."
Erik's eyes were cold, "Let's go!"
———
[At the Cuban Blockade Line]
The sea wind howled as enormous waves crashed against the steel giants.
Warships from the Federation and the Soviet Union cut through the waves and gradually approached the invisible line at sea.
As the two fleets faced each other across the blockade line, a military cargo ship carrying more than a dozen nuclear missiles sailed toward the blockade line between the two fleets in full view of everyone.
Once it crossed the blockade line, war would erupt in full, with no turning back.
Inside the command room of the Federation's flagship, the commander stared at the cargo ship in the distance and said in a deep voice,
"Sound the alarm!"
"Notify the entire fleet."
"If that cargo ship dares to cross the blockade line, hit it with everything you've got!"
At once, alarms rang out, and the entire fleet entered combat readiness.
History was about to unfold before their eyes. No one could help feeling tense.
The Soviet side wasn't idle either. They issued combat readiness orders over the radio as well.
Immediately, the two fleets stood on the brink of war.
While the fleets of the two superpowers confronted each other across the sea, deep beneath the surface, a nuclear submarine quietly arrived.
Inside the submarine, Shaw opened a room.
At the center of the mirror-lined chamber, a device rose up, and then its safety mechanism disengaged.
Two energy rods rose from the safety mechanism.
Shaw grasped the two energy rods and began absorbing nuclear energy.
He had already made up his mind. If the cargo ship ultimately failed to cross the blockade line, he would use the nuclear energy he had absorbed to unleash a massive burst of energy, destroy both fleets at once, and personally light the fuse that would ignite World War III.