"Do it! Fire at her! Remember—you're saving the world! You're saving mutantkind! Fire already! What are you waiting for?!"
Almost the instant Mystique finished speaking—
Peter's voice rang out, even louder.
To be fair, Scott hadn't been shaken by Mystique's words.
He wasn't the type to hesitate over trivialities.
The only reason he hadn't fired yet…
Was precision.
Blowing up the Statue of Liberty wasn't difficult.
But if he miscalculated the angle, and that several-hundred-ton copper structure collapsed onto them—
That would be a problem.
Still—
Peter's speech made Scott's mouth twitch uncontrollably.
His gaze drifted toward the endlessly noisy kid.
"Don't hesitate, Scott!" Peter roared, practically tearing his throat apart. "I know how hard this is! Yes—this is humanity's treasure! A vital symbol of history! Destroying her means you'll be forever nailed to the pillar of shame!"
He pointed dramatically at the statue.
"Look at her! Such a beautiful lady! The light of freedom shines so brilliantly upon her—it's intoxicating! But remember—"
He slammed his chest.
"—you are not alone!"
His voice rose to a crescendo.
"Behind you stand six billion humans and mutants alike! Take the shot, our hero!"
…
Down by the riverside, Wolverine had already stepped away from the battlefield.
Having handed Quicksilver over to Storm—who promptly electrocuted him into unconsciousness—Logan had found himself a quiet corner.
He had even unzipped his pants.
Mid-relief.
But hearing Peter's impassioned speech, he instinctively glanced downward at himself… then silently raised a thumb in approval.
"…This kid can really talk."
"Brilliant light, my ass… I can't even see my own damn—"
-----
Back on Liberty Island—
Everyone stared at Peter.
Stunned.
Frozen.
Every single face looked like a meme come to life.
Even Jean Grey—the most educated among them, holder of dual doctorates—
Had her entire vocabulary wiped clean.
All that remained in her mind were two simple words:
Holy. Sh*t.
As for Scott—
The supposed protagonist of this moment—
He stood there, completely dazed.
He looked at Peter.
Then at the Statue of Liberty.
Then back again.
After that speech…
He wasn't even sure if he should fire anymore.
It felt like—
If he fired, he'd become a villain.
No—wait.
He'd be a hero.
A savior of the world.
But then—
Why was this "hero" being nailed to a pillar of shame instead of immortalized in legend?
…
Unfortunately—
Scott didn't have time to solve this philosophical dilemma.
At the top of the statue—
The torch—
Exploded.
Fragments rained down from above, crashing heavily onto the ground.
And then—
A silvery magnetic field appeared, glowing with intense light.
It expanded rapidly.
Spreading outward.
"…Damn it. He's started."
Scott snapped back to reality instantly.
No more hesitation.
He twisted the dial on his visor—
Output: Maximum.
A crimson beam—thick as a thigh—tore through the night sky, blasting straight toward the Statue of Liberty over a hundred meters tall.
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted near the upper section of the statue.
But—
The beam, powerful enough to pierce the Earth itself—
Failed to sever the arm holding the torch.
"Ahhh—!"
At the top—
A young woman stood there.
Her figure was striking, her face youthful—barely older than Peter.
Both hands were thrust forward, as if pressing against an invisible wall.
And in front of her—
An unseen force field enveloped the torch.
Holding back Scott's full-powered optic blast.
—
"It's begun."
The ultimate spear—
And the ultimate shield—
Had finally clashed.
But Peter, watching closely, already knew the outcome.
The shield…
Would lose.
Not because she was weak.
But because she was too young.
And lacked the will to fight.
Peter knew everything about her.
Wanda Maximoff.
She and her brother had never truly stood on Magneto's side.
Even if they were bound by blood—
Magneto's extremist ideology was something they could never accept.
They wouldn't go all out for him.
They wouldn't unleash the full potential hidden within them.
Even though—
Wanda's power was terrifying.
Among everyone present, only the sealed Phoenix within Jean Grey could rival her.
And so—
Her defeat was inevitable.
And once the strongest shield fell—
Would Magneto stay idle?
Of course not.
In fact—
He moved faster than Peter had expected.
Because even from Liberty Island—
They could hear it.
Chaos.
Across the Hudson River, the G20 Summit had descended into complete panic.
A crimson beam splitting the night.
An anomaly atop the Statue of Liberty.
The world's leaders—
People whose lives were worth more than gold—
Were already being dragged away by their security teams.
Evacuated.
And that—
Was unacceptable.
Magneto was furious.
Years of planning—
From discovering the technology to orchestrating this operation—
All about to crumble.
No one could accept that.
And Erik Lehnsherr—
Least of all.
He would stop them.
Forcefully.
Trap them.
Turn them all into mutants—
Make them his people.
If subtlety failed—
Then so be it.
He would abandon schemes and deception—
And declare war openly.
But first—
He would remove the obstacles before him.
Those stubborn—
Relentless—
X-Men.
A cold snort echoed through the night.
"Charles…"
"Looks like you'll be heartbroken for a long time."
--------------
T/N:
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