All across New York, people stared helplessly at the blazing object tearing through the sky.
Everyone prayed for the same thing.
If the asteroid truly struck the city, the result would be catastrophic. Yet no one knew who might save them—or whether anyone could.
For the first time, millions of people shared the same desperate hope. They wanted someone to step forward, someone powerful enough to stop the disaster descending from the heavens.
Ironically, many of the same ordinary citizens who had once feared or hated mutants were now the ones praying most desperately for one of them to appear.
Life had a strange way of turning beliefs upside down.
From the top of the Empire State Building, Leon quietly watched everything unfold below. The city had descended into chaos in a matter of minutes.
Crowds of people were running through the streets.
Some were screaming.
Others stood frozen in shock.
And many simply collapsed in despair.
Leon slowly lifted his gaze toward the sky.
The asteroid was getting closer.
At this distance the descending mass created a roaring pressure wave that rippled through the atmosphere like thunder. The blazing object looked like a giant fireball falling straight out of space.
Its speed wasn't particularly extreme for a meteor.
Because of that, atmospheric friction had not burned it down significantly. The asteroid had originally measured thirty-six meters across, and after entering Earth's atmosphere it had only shrunk to about twenty-seven meters in diameter.
It was composed almost entirely of iron-nickel alloy.
A dense metallic structure like that meant the impact would be extremely destructive if it struck the ocean at full speed.
Of course, Leon had deliberately chosen this asteroid.
If he had selected a non-metallic object of similar size, most of it would have burned away through atmospheric friction long before reaching the ground. The impact effect would have been drastically reduced.
A metal asteroid, however, perfectly met his requirements.
At full velocity, the impact would produce explosive energy roughly equivalent to a five-megaton nuclear detonation offshore. The resulting shockwave and tsunami would devastate large sections of New York City.
Still, the destruction wouldn't wipe out the entire region.
At most, half of New York would suffer severe damage.
But ordinary civilians didn't know any of that.
As far as they were concerned, a giant asteroid was about to smash into their city. The fact that people hadn't already collapsed mentally under the pressure was almost impressive.
Leon continued observing calmly.
Then suddenly—
He noticed something strange.
The asteroid's descent was changing.
The object had originally been falling along a steep angle, accelerating toward the ocean. But now its velocity was slowly decreasing.
Within seconds its speed dropped by nearly one-third.
That kind of reduction was enormous.
A thirty-percent loss of velocity would reduce the final impact force by more than forty percent.
Leon's eyes narrowed slightly.
His telepathic perception expanded outward instantly, scanning the surrounding space.
Within moments he located the source.
An invisible force was acting on the iron-nickel asteroid, resisting its fall. The power wasn't strong enough to stop the object immediately, but it was steadily slowing the descent.
At this rate, the asteroid would be completely stabilized within ten seconds.
Leon immediately understood.
"Magneto."
Because the asteroid was metallic, there was only one person on Earth capable of exerting that level of control over it.
Even though Leon couldn't see Magneto's physical location, he already knew exactly who was responsible.
"Interesting," Leon murmured to himself.
"So he's already cooperating with the American government?"
Or perhaps Magneto had simply decided that Leon would eventually become his enemy no matter what.
Another possibility crossed Leon's mind.
Maybe Magneto had simply decided to act out of conscience.
Whatever the reason, the effect was clear.
The asteroid continued slowing as it descended. The closer it came to the ocean surface, the stronger the deceleration became.
When the object finally reached a height of only a few hundred meters above the water, it stopped completely.
The massive iron-nickel asteroid now hung motionless in mid-air.
Leon watched the scene thoughtfully.
"Well," he said quietly, "it seems Magneto's control over magnetic fields has improved again."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Maybe letting him go last time pushed him to train harder."
For Leon, the asteroid itself had always been nothing more than a warning shot to the entire world. Whether someone stepped in to stop it didn't really matter.
What mattered was the response.
And so far, the response was promising.
Just as he finished that thought, another presence appeared nearby.
A figure streaked through the sky toward the top of the Empire State Building.
At the same time, the previously clear sky began filling with dark storm clouds. Thunder rolled across the heavens, and flashes of lightning tore through the growing storm as if a massive downpour were about to begin.
The approaching figure was slender and graceful.
She wore a silver suit with a flowing cape, and her eyes shone with brilliant white light. Electric arcs gathered around her body as she flew forward, directing bolts of lightning toward Leon.
Storm had arrived.
Before Leon even had time to move, a crimson beam suddenly shot upward from the streets below.
The blazing red energy cut through the air like molten fire. The heat contained within the beam was strong enough to melt steel instantly.
Cyclops.
At almost the same moment, a powerful gust of wind surged behind Leon.
He turned his head slightly and saw a massive silver fist swinging toward the side of his skull.
Colossus.
At the exact same instant a flash of cold steel appeared near his throat.
A blade was already inches from cutting his neck.
Behind that blade was a dark blue arm belonging to a man with blue skin, strange markings across his face, and a long tail.
Nightcrawler.
And then—
A sudden stabbing pain exploded inside Leon's mind.
His vision spun violently, and the world seemed to tilt sideways as if he might collapse unconscious at any moment. The sensation was like a hammer smashing repeatedly against his skull, making it nearly impossible to focus.
Telepathic assault.
The lightning was about to strike his head.
The blade was already touching his throat.
The massive metal fist was inches from smashing his skull.
The red laser beam had reached his side.
Combined with the psychic attack assaulting his mind, the situation looked completely fatal.
At some point the X-Men had already arrived.
And now they were launching a full coordinated attack.
Leon frowned slightly.
"Hmm."
In the next instant he sealed off the psychic pain using his own telepathic power. At the same time, a layer of faint crimson light erupted across his body.
The Phoenix Force ignited.
The moment Storm's lightning struck the glowing barrier, the attack vanished instantly—like a stone sinking into the ocean without leaving a ripple.
Cyclops' optic blast slammed into the same barrier a moment later.
The beam dissipated immediately, producing nothing more than a small ripple across the pale red energy field.
Meanwhile, Colossus's enormous metal fist and Nightcrawler's blade both froze in mid-air.
Invisible telekinetic force locked their bodies in place.
Neither of them could move even a single inch closer.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly a furious shout echoed from above.
A figure dropped down from the sky with savage speed.
Each of his hands extended three razor-sharp claws, and his face was twisted with feral aggression as he slashed directly toward Leon's head.
Wolverine had appeared.
Leon simply raised one hand.
Instantly the ferocity on Wolverine's face froze.
His body stopped mid-attack, suspended motionless in the air. An invisible force wrapped around him completely, pinning him upright in the sky like a statue.
Wolverine struggled, but he couldn't move at all.
Leon looked calmly at the group surrounding him.
"So many people showed up," he said slowly.
"It seems your will to resist is stronger than I expected."
A faint smile appeared on his face again.
"That's good."
"I'm looking forward to seeing how far you can evolve under the pressure I create. That should make things very interesting."
Leon's eyes shifted slightly.
"You agree, don't you… Professor X?"
.....
Want to read ahead. Then Join my P@treon 60+ exclusive chapters that are waiting for you.
Free members can get 2 advanced chapters FOR FREE.
Link: ptreon.com/Lotus_Lover
Join Right Now