In a seaside villa on the California coast.
"Sir, my apologies for disturbing you."
Inside the enormous laboratory, which looked like absolute chaos, a gentle male mechanical voice suddenly rang out.
"JARVIS, haven't I told you not to interrupt me when I'm focused on my work?"
Tony Stark frowned and lifted his head from a pile of parts, his face full of irritation.
Not far from him, a red-and-gold Iron Man suit lay on the floor in utterly miserable condition.
It was covered in dents of all sizes, and even its once-polished paint job had been scraped beyond recognition. Countless fragments and components were scattered all over the ground.
"My apologies, sir."
JARVIS apologized obediently. "It is only that, according to your previous instructions, you should now be departing for Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
"You placed this matter at a higher priority than repairing the armor."
"Oh?"
The impatience in Tony Stark's eyes vanished instantly. He scrambled up from the floor at once. "Fenris is back?"
"Yes."
JARVIS answered simply.
"Didn't that mutant scientist build some kind of device that keeps satellites from seeing the real image inside the X-Mansion, so all they get is a fake overlay instead?"
Tony slapped the grease off his hands and casually tossed aside the filthy jacket he had been wearing.
"During the period when you were recovering at the school, you bribed quite a number of mutant children."
JARVIS reported everything honestly. "Just now, you received a message saying that Cyclops, Scott, has returned to the school."
"And although Fenris has not shown himself, if nothing unexpected has happened, he should also be at the school now."
"...Who would've thought those kids would be more useful than satellites."
Tony chuckled. Then he immediately ordered, "Get the spare Mark III ready. We're leaving now."
"I've been preparing for this long enough. It's time to give Fenris a one-of-a-kind Iron Man shock."
"You will certainly succeed, sir."
...
New York, X-Mansion.
Inside the training grounds reserved exclusively for the X-Men, a massive portal silently spun into existence.
As Magneto withdrew the force field surrounding the group, the light around them twisted briefly. In the next instant, dozens of figures appeared one after another and filed through the dimensional gate.
"Looks like we arrived at just the right time. Ororo and Logan are training the children."
Professor X immediately looked toward the field.
Inside the training grounds, dozens of Sentinel robots over three meters tall were firing at full capacity, unleashing every kind of attack they had against the X-Men without the slightest restraint.
After Hank repaired and modified them, a small number of nineteenth-generation Sentinels turned out to be ideal training tools, perfect for helping the students familiarize themselves with the combat patterns of these unusual machines.
As the battle reached its most intense stage, everyone inside was so focused that none of them noticed Fenris and the others arriving.
"Bobby, watch out!"
Three towering Sentinels were pressing in on Bobby step by step. Gritting his teeth, he poured out thick clouds of frost from his hands, struggling to slow them down.
In a blind spot he failed to notice, one of the steel-bodied Sentinels quietly extended a blade from its right arm and viciously thrust it toward him.
A small figure suddenly burst up from underground. Before Bobby could react at all, he was yanked straight below the surface, narrowly avoiding the strike by a hair's breadth.
"Thanks, Kitty."
When the two of them resurfaced some distance away, Bobby finally patted his chest in lingering fear.
"No problem."
The battlefield pressure was immense. Kitty Pryde only nodded before sinking back underground once more.
Bobby snapped back to attention. Before long, another five Sentinels were already closing in on him.
"I seriously don't know how Mr. Fenris managed to beat monsters like these."
Bobby let out a sigh. His powers flared again, sending out a sweeping blizzard of frost, while his arms gradually transformed into something like crystalline ice.
Within moments, the five Sentinels were completely frozen solid.
But before Iceman could even take a breath of relief, the outer shells of those Sentinels began burning at a visible rate. It was not long before the thick layers of ice quietly melted away.
"John! I am never teaming up with you against these things again!"
Seeing that, Bobby barked out a frustrated complaint while immediately raising his guard again.
"Bobby, don't make excuses for your own weakness."
A howling gust swept over Bobby's head, carrying a blast of scorching heat.
Two thick pillars of flame surged from Pyro's palms, propelling him rapidly through the air. Seven Sentinels, their bodies still coated in frost, were chasing close behind him.
But amid the roaring flames, the temperature kept rising higher and higher. One after another, the machines let out shrill metallic groans under the relentless heat, and before long, they all crashed to the ground.
"Bobby, the power you bring out of your abilities is way too limited. Is that because you've been too distracted by dating?"
Pyro descended from the air, looking teasingly toward Rogue, who was struggling to evade the encirclement of several Sentinels not far away.
"That's only because Mr. Fenris keeps giving you extra lessons."
Bobby clenched his teeth and held the line against the five Sentinels attacking him. "Why don't you hurry up and help?"
"You say that like he never taught you anything. I'm coming, I'm coming!"
...
"John's strength has been advancing by leaps and bounds lately. He'll soon become a powerful X-Man who can stand on his own."
Watching the battle in silence, Magneto nodded with satisfaction. "Charles, the teamwork between these children is very good."
With Storm and Wolverine covering from the rear, and with Hank's modifications ensuring these training Sentinels could not cause real harm, not only Iceman and Pyro but also Colossus, Nightcrawler, and the others were putting in excellent performances.
"This is the future we've been protecting all along."
Professor X smiled faintly. He was just as pleased inside, though his tone shifted as he continued, "The problem is that what they're facing now still isn't the strongest Sentinel in Bolivar's hands. That is something even Logan would have trouble dealing with."
"They still need some time to continue growing under our protection."
Magneto nodded, completely in agreement with his old friend.
"Come on. Better not disturb them."
After watching quietly for a while, Professor X turned around and left the training room first. "We gained quite a lot this time, and those people are carrying plenty of intelligence in their heads too..."
"So we'll need some time to properly digest these gains and plan the next phase."
"Fenris, do you want to come with me and do a few earthshaking things?"
Seeing Charles walk ahead alone with the captured criminals, Magneto's eyes shifted. He deliberately slowed his pace, pulled Fenris back a few steps, and asked in a low voice.
"Earthshaking things?"
Fenris rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. Looking at Magneto's mysteriously smug expression, he instinctively felt a bad premonition. "You're not planning to pull some kind of stunt again, are you?"
"No, no. Of course not. Don't worry."
Magneto waved both hands repeatedly in denial. "Do you remember those leads Nick Fury gave us last time about Bolivar's bases?"
"Of course I remember. Why?"
Halfway through the sentence, Fenris suddenly jolted.
"You want to use this chance to wipe out a few more sub-bases, don't you?"
(End of Chapter)
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