Under the cover of night, four figures appeared silently beside the Alkali Lake Hydroelectric Station.
"Is this Stryker's last base?" Magneto asked, scanning the facility with a sharp gaze. "Liam, how are we getting in?"
What he really meant was obvious. Could they just teleport straight inside like before?
"Give me a second," Liam said calmly. "I'll find them first."
He closed his eyes slightly and extended his telepathy, searching for the minds of soldiers and researchers inside the station. His spatial movement could take him anywhere instantly—but only if he had a point of reference.
He couldn't see inside the base.
But that didn't matter.
With telepathy, he could borrow someone else's vision.
"Found it."
The next instant, all four of them vanished.
Inside one of the research rooms in the hydropower station, a soldier was dozing off, his head dipping lazily as he fought sleep.
Then suddenly—
Four figures appeared in front of him.
"This ability is way too convenient," Logan muttered, glancing around as if he still hadn't gotten used to it.
The soldier stirred awake, confused by the voice.
What greeted him next was a flash of claws.
"Where do we even start?" Mystique asked, looking around at the unfamiliar facility.
"No need," Liam said lightly. "Just wait."
The moment they arrived, he had already taken control of every mind inside the base. All the soldiers, all the researchers—every single one of them was now under his influence.
Telepathy was terrifying like that.
It was invisible. Intangible. Impossible to block without the right defenses.
Without resistance, people didn't even realize they had become puppets.
Magneto and Mystique both seemed to understand immediately.
Only Logan still looked impatient.
It didn't take long.
One by one, soldiers and researchers began walking into the room, their movements stiff and controlled. They gathered together silently until finally—
Colonel William Stryker himself appeared.
Liam snapped his fingers.
Everyone regained awareness, but their bodies remained frozen, locked in place by his mental commands.
"Colonel Stryker," Liam said with a faint smile. "Didn't expect to wake you up so late."
Stryker blinked, still dazed.
"Magneto…?" he said suddenly, his voice trembling as recognition hit. "Why are you here?"
"You almost killed Raven," Magneto said coldly, stepping forward. "I'm here to settle that account."
Stryker's entire body shook.
"What are you waiting for?" he shouted at the soldiers behind him. "Do something! Save me!"
No one moved.
They couldn't.
Every one of them was still trapped under Liam's telepathic control.
"Stryker," Logan growled, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off the ground. "Do you remember me?"
"You… you're Wolverine…"
Recognition dawned slowly in Stryker's eyes.
"Tell me," Logan snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "What did you do to me? And who the hell am I?"
Stryker laughed weakly. "You? You're just a failed experiment."
At that point, he had already given up. He knew there was no way out.
"You two have fun," Liam said casually. "I'll step out for a bit."
Without waiting for a response, he disappeared.
He had no interest in watching Logan vent his anger.
Right now, something else interested him far more.
Stryker's son—Jason.
A mutant with the ability to create powerful illusions.
Guided by telepathy, Liam moved quickly through the base until he reached a room that looked almost identical to Cerebro.
But it was empty.
Liam paused.
He had just sensed Jason here.
"An illusion?"
That thought crossed his mind instantly.
Without hesitation, he used telepathy to tear apart the false perception.
The illusion shattered.
The real room revealed itself, and at its center sat Jason, hooked into the system like a ghost trapped in machinery.
"So this is illusion…" Liam murmured, a faint smile forming.
Then he activated his system.
[Ding! Would the host like to check in with mutant Jason?]
"Yes."
[Ding! Check-in successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the super ability 'Illusion,' along with 100 experience points.]
Illusion.
An ability capable of creating large-scale hallucinations so real that victims wouldn't even realize they were trapped.
Telepathy could also create illusions, but Jason's power had once allowed him to manipulate Professor X himself with the help of drugs.
That alone proved just how terrifying it was.
In terms of illusion alone, it far surpassed standard telepathic tricks.
Liam's smile deepened.
Another powerful ability added to his arsenal.
Then he turned to leave—but before he did, he ended Jason's life.
Jason was a tragic figure.
His own father had turned him into a test subject, reducing him to something barely human. His mind was broken beyond repair, his existence little more than a living shell.
Even if he lived, it would only be as a hollow body.
For him, death was release.
When Liam returned, everything was already over.
The soldiers and researchers had been impaled by steel rods torn from the walls, their bodies lifeless. Stryker himself had been reduced to something barely recognizable under Logan's rage.
Liam glanced once and looked away.
He had no interest in seeing more.
"Let's go," he said. "We're done here."
"Alright," Magneto replied. "But let me finish one last thing."
He raised both hands.
The entire power station began to tremble violently.
"Okay," Magneto said a moment later, stepping back toward Liam. "Now we can go."
"What did you do?" Liam asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Just made a few adjustments," Magneto said casually.
Liam didn't need to ask further.
Magneto clearly intended to erase this place completely.
And honestly?
Good.
Places like this didn't deserve to exist.
Grabbing Logan, who still looked unsettled, Liam activated spatial movement.
The next moment, the four of them appeared outside the facility.
A deafening roar filled the air.
The entire hydropower station began collapsing in on itself, the structure breaking apart as water surged through it.
Within moments, the entire facility was swallowed by the flood.
The Alkali Lake Hydroelectric Station—standing for years—was gone.
Liam stretched lazily.
"Finally," he said. "Now we can go back and get some sleep."
"With your maid?" Mystique teased, glancing at him with a faint smirk.
Liam rolled his eyes.
"Liam," Magneto said suddenly, his voice serious. "I want you to take good care of Lorna. I… owe her that."
Liam froze for a second.
"…What?"
Was this guy seriously entrusting his daughter to him right now?
"I know you have a lot of energy," Magneto continued, completely serious. "But you need to treat her well."
Liam felt a headache coming on.
"Magneto… you really don't need to worry about that," he said, rubbing his temples.
"…Maybe I don't have the right to say it," Magneto added quietly.
There was a trace of loneliness in his expression.
No matter how much he tried to justify it, the truth remained.
He had abandoned his daughter.
....
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