Night fell over the academy, and the grounds beyond the school were swallowed by darkness. Hidden in the area surrounding Xavier's, Phil Coulson and dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had already taken up positions, lying in wait for the operation to begin.
"Locke, if we can handle the military ourselves, why do we need S.H.I.E.L.D. helping us at all?" Lorna asked, unable to hide her confusion as she stood beside him.
Locke couldn't help chuckling at that. "Using our powers to deal with the military is easy enough," he said, folding his arms as he looked ahead into the night. "But the moment mutants start killing soldiers, we'll never get another moment of peace."
His tone remained casual, but there was no humor in the logic behind it. If mutants and ordinary humans truly went to war, that conflict would never end. It would spiral until one side was wiped out or the whole world burned.
Maybe Locke did have the power to slaughter countless humans if he really wanted to.
But he would never choose that road.
"It's different if S.H.I.E.L.D. handles the soldiers," he continued. "They can give the whole thing an official explanation. A terrorist attack on a school, for example. By the time this is over, the academy grounds will look like they were hit by armed lunatics."
He smiled faintly, the plan already complete in his mind. "Add in some photos of dead children everywhere, and I think the president's going to lose his mind the moment he sees tomorrow's news."
"So that's your angle," Lorna said, finally understanding. She gave a slow nod, her eyes brightening as the logic clicked into place.
At that moment, Kitty, Rogue, and the others came over.
"Locke, what do you need us to do?" Kitty asked.
Locke rubbed his chin, then looked them over. "You're all going to play dead later," he said. "And the worse you look, the better."
Kitty and Rogue exchanged a look the instant they heard that, both of them clearly caught between amusement and disbelief.
"What about us?" Jean asked as she walked over with Logan at her side.
The two of them were standing close—close enough that the atmosphere between them felt a little too intimate. Since Scott had gone out on the mission with Storm, Jean and Logan had ended up spending time alone together.
Given the tension that had always existed between them, it wasn't surprising that something had started shifting.
Seeing that, Locke could only apologize to Scott in his heart.
He honestly hadn't meant to create the perfect opportunity for Jean and Logan to be alone. The only reason he hadn't sent Jean out on a mission was because she had just lost control of the Phoenix Force. If she was triggered somewhere outside the academy and erupted again, nobody there would be able to stop her.
Still, he had to admit, relationships here moved fast.
Jean and Scott had been together for years, and now she was already drifting back toward Logan the moment they got a little time alone. It wasn't any of his business, though, and he had absolutely no interest in involving himself in their love triangle.
"Uncle Logan, Professor Grey," Locke said, ignoring the strange tension between them, "I need you two to help coordinate makeup for the students."
If tomorrow's paper was going to sell the image of a school under terrorist attack, then the students needed to look the part. There had to be blood, ash, dirt, bruises, and enough convincing detail to turn staged photos into a political nightmare.
"Alright," Logan said.
Jean nodded as well, and the two of them turned to leave.
In truth, Phil Coulson had already arranged for professional makeup artists to assist. Logan and Jean weren't being asked to do the actual work so much as keep the younger students calm while it happened.
"Here they come," Locke said a moment later, lifting his gaze toward the sky.
The darkness didn't hinder his vision in the slightest. Thanks to Evolution, his body had long since surpassed ordinary human limits, and even at night he could still see objects thousands of meters away with eerie clarity.
This kind of enhancement was something Thunderbird's mutation also granted him, but Locke's Evolution had pushed that kind of physical adaptation even further.
Everyone around him instinctively followed his line of sight.
After a short while, several armed helicopters emerged in the distance, their dark outlines cutting through the night sky as they flew toward the academy.
"At least a few hundred men," Phil Coulson said, his expression becoming serious as he studied the incoming force.
This time, S.H.I.E.L.D. had also sent roughly a hundred agents. In terms of numbers, they weren't badly outmatched. But numbers weren't everything.
The military had better weapons, better vehicles, heavier equipment, and far more firepower.
If the two sides clashed head-on, it would likely end with both sides badly bloodied.
"Don't worry," Locke said calmly. "I'll help when it starts. None of your agents are going to die tonight."
When Coulson heard that promise, he finally let out the breath he'd been holding. "Good," he said. "That's good."
The helicopters eventually touched down in the open field outside the academy. The soldiers moved quickly and in silence, clearly intending to avoid drawing attention before they were ready.
One by one, the armed teams disembarked and assembled in orderly formation.
"Phil Coulson," Locke said, his gaze sharpening, "go."
The instant the words left his mouth, his eyes flashed faintly.
In the next moment, every soldier who had just landed froze under the invisible weight of his telepathic control.
From there, everything became simple.
All those troops had to do now was cooperate in a play.
Coulson gave a hand signal to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents behind him, and they moved immediately. Gunfire broke out at once, echoing through the grounds from outside the academy to deep inside the campus.
For a while, the entire school was consumed by the smell of gunpowder and the thunder of staged battle.
Locke watched the scene with complete satisfaction. Everything was unfolding exactly according to plan.
Standing beside him was a newspaper reporter who had already been brought under control. Every gunshot, every body, every scorched wall, every staged casualty—everything was being documented.
"Locke, what now?" Jean asked as she returned with Logan after helping settle the makeup arrangements.
Locke folded his arms and smiled. "Now the kids wash up and go to bed. Classes continue as normal tomorrow."
Jean and Logan both stared at him for a second after hearing that. Tonight's operation had gone perfectly, but one thing still bothered him.
Colonel Stryker hadn't shown up.
That was the only disappointment.
But it didn't matter much. All it meant was that Stryker got to keep breathing for a few more days.
At that point, Coulson walked over, his face carrying open admiration. "Mr. Locke, I have to say, this is a very good plan. I think when the president sees tomorrow's report…"
"He's going to explode," Locke said, cutting him off with a laugh. "He'll be furious."
Coulson couldn't help laughing too.
"Then I'll leave the S.H.I.E.L.D. side of it to you," Locke said.
"Don't worry," Coulson replied with a nod. "We'll handle the rest."
At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. was tied tightly enough to Xavier's School that there was no way for them to treat this casually. They had every reason to make sure the aftermath was dealt with cleanly.
After Coulson and his agents finished sweeping the scene and withdrew, Locke pulled out his phone and called Mystique.
Before warning him about the military's planned assault on the academy, Mystique had already intended to rescue Magneto. The problem was that Locke suddenly remembered something important.
Stryker had prepared a trap at the prison.
If Mystique walked into that place carelessly, there was a very real chance she'd already been captured.
The call rang.
And rang.
And rang.
No answer.
Locke's brows drew together.
"What's wrong?" Lorna asked the moment she noticed his expression change.
"Mystique isn't answering," Locke said flatly. "Something's gone wrong."
"You mean… Magneto?" Lorna's face tightened immediately, worry rising in her eyes.
"Yes," Locke said. "Looks like Stryker's already taken control of the prison. Mystique has probably fallen into his hands too."
At that moment, Professor X rolled out in his wheelchair.
"Locke," he said, his expression solemn, "I have a request."
"Go ahead, Professor."
"Although my old friend can be ruthless and reckless, he still fights for mutantkind in his own way." Professor X looked directly at him. "I want to ask you to save him."
"Of course," Locke answered without the slightest hesitation.
He had thought the request would be something more difficult. Even if Professor X hadn't asked, he had already planned to rescue Magneto.
Magneto wasn't just the leader of the Brotherhood.
He was also Lorna's father.
There was no way Locke was going to stand by and do nothing.
"I'm coming with you," Lorna said at once, stepping up beside him.
"And us," Clarice said.
Rogue, Kitty, and Lauren all moved forward as well, each one making it clear they intended to join.
Locke looked at them helplessly. "Honestly, I think all of you should be in bed right now."
"No," Rogue said firmly. "We know you're strong, but you can't carry everything by yourself forever. Sometimes we can help too."
"She's right," Kitty said immediately. "Our powers aren't weak."
"…Fine," Locke said after a moment, giving in with a sigh.
Since they were all this determined, there was no point refusing outright.
Before Jean or Logan could say anything else, Locke grabbed Lorna's arm. Then, with a flicker of spatial distortion, the two of them vanished on the spot.
Their destination—
the mountains.
....
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