"I've entered the Gatekeeper's mind—Shaw is absorbing the energy of the entire nuclear submarine. He's turning himself into a nuclear bomb!"
Charles's voice rang out, his expression grim. His gaze stayed fixed on the enemy mutants ahead as he addressed the group around him.
"We're running out of time! The Geiger counter is about to max out!" Moira added urgently from the side.
"Okay, first thing—we need to use the radio to notify both fleets to begin evacuation," Charles responded quickly to Moira.
"I'm going into the submarine to stop him," Erik declared decisively. His tone left no room for argument.
Strictly speaking, the one best suited to take down Shaw wasn't Erik, but Alex. Still, everyone understood the deep-seated grudge between Erik and Shaw, so no one was surprised by Erik's determination.
Alex didn't object either.
He figured that once he finished mopping up the cannon fodder outside, he could deal with Shaw himself—it wouldn't be too difficult.
Chances were, Erik would just get thoroughly beaten up in the meantime.
"Alex, Havok, Darwin—the rest of the mutants are yours," Charles said, fully aware that Erik's choice wasn't ideal. But he didn't press the matter and instead placed his trust in the others.
As for Raven and Hank… well, they were once again relegated to the sidelines.
Raven was still far from being combat-ready. She had improved since before, but she still had a long way to go before she could fight on par with the others—let alone the future version of her who could solo Wolverine.
Hank's situation had diverged from the original timeline.
Thanks to Alex's earlier interference, Hank had not enhanced his mutant abilities. At this point, he was still just a fast runner—nothing more.
Combat-wise, he couldn't offer much help.
Then again, everyone had their strengths. Every mutant had situations where their powers truly shined.
Raven and Hank simply weren't frontline fighters.
Sending them charging in like Ravager or Siren would've been a terrible idea.
"Let's do this!" Ravager was fired up and ready to go.
"Erik, once you're inside, follow my instructions. But I need you to clear the path for me!" Charles called out once more.
Erik gave a silent nod, then dashed straight toward the submarine.
"You're not getting away that easily!"
A cold snort echoed as the Winged Mutant launched into the air, wings spread wide, and swooped toward the team.
Smack!
The bald mutant raised his hand again—another "Hulk Smash" was unleashed.
Splash!
From the sea behind him, columns of water exploded outward, shooting toward the mutants like javelins.
These weren't ordinary waves—they were razor-sharp "water blades," imbued with power and shaped under the bald mutant's control.
Shhh! Shhh!
Havok sprang into action, his ability proving invaluable. With a swift flick of his arms, several circular energy blasts whooshed through the air, smashing the incoming water attacks apart.
Splash!
Suddenly, from beneath the waves, Sean burst forth, intercepting the airborne Winged Mutant.
Mouth open wide—
Buzz!
A sonic blast erupted from his throat, targeting the incoming foe.
But the Winged Mutant twisted in the air, narrowly dodging the sonic wave with graceful agility, and flew straight at Sean instead.
These two were the only flyers on either side—each with unique advantages and weaknesses.
Sean's edge was his ranged sonic attacks, letting hin strike from a distance. But his flight was more like gliding—clumsy and slow to maneuver.
The Winged Mutant, on the other hand, had true wings and incredible aerial agility. He lacked ranged attacks and had to get in close to fight, but in the air, he easily outpaced Sean.
In short: long range favored Sean, close quarters favored Winged Mutant.
And he clearly knew it, steadily advancing through Sean's attacks, trying to close the distance.
For now, the outcome of their duel remained uncertain.
Elsewhere, the rest of the mutants clashed in chaotic, all-out combat—each unleashing their powers in a spectacular battle that had finally erupted in full.
This was it—the first true war between mutants!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sound of tearing air echoed as the dreadlocked mutant's hair lashed out like living whips, striking furiously at Darwin.
A damn Medusa, really?
But Darwin had already transformed—his body fully steeled, shrugging off the whip strikes like they were nothing more than tickles.
His adaptive ability was as broken as ever—but also purely passive.
Unfortunately, the moment the external threat disappeared, so would his adaptation.
Otherwise, this guy would've been endgame-tier.
Then there was a man who looked perfectly ordinary—but could conjure raging winds. In fact, his powers were somewhat similar to Cyclone's.
He was Windman.
Windman's ability differed from Cyclone in one key way.
Cyclone created rotating tornadoes—vortex-style winds often combined with mist or moisture to form true "cyclones."
But Windman's gusts weren't rotational—they blasted in straight lines, and he couldn't merge them with water. Even so, the force was enough to send a car flying.
Dodging them wasn't easy.
Whooosh!
A massive gust surged from Windman's hands, sending the X-Men sprawling.
Erik took the brunt of it, slammed back violently by the gale.
This guy was easily the most troublesome—his wide-area attacks made him a serious threat.
Which was why Alex locked onto him immediately.
Zzt!
Alex's eyes suddenly burned red-hot.
Twin beams of searing heat blazed toward Windman.
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