[21] Aquaman
On the harbor shore, Raven stared at Brian in the water with eyes wide open.
"Is this your ability, Brian?"
"It's so cool."
Looking at Brian, whose appearance changed rapidly after entering the water, Raven was shocked and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
At this moment, under the sparkling water, Brian, who had jumped into the water, had already completed his adaptive evolution.
His teeth had evolved into sharp, pointed shark teeth.
His skin was covered with golden scales, smooth and shining in the sun.
Underneath the golden scales were rapidly expanding, well-developed muscles.
Eight abdominal muscles loomed under the water, and the arm muscles were even more developed.
A sharp shark fin extended from each of his elbows.
On Brian's shoulders, three fine gills opened and closed, allowing him to breathe underwater effortlessly.
At this moment, Brian's appearance was a combination reminiscent of Hoshigaki Kisame from Naruto and DC's Aquaman. Rather than seeming out of place, his form was full of unique muscle-lined beauty.
Brian called this adapted form: the "fishman form."
After evolving into this form, Brian clenched his fist underwater. He could feel the terrifying explosive power coursing through his newly adapted body.
The golden scales covering his body enabled him to sense the slightest changes in the water's flow. In addition, his organs and five senses had been optimized for the aquatic environment, allowing him to see and speak freely underwater while also storing large amounts of air in his lungs to release in air bubbles when needed.
Brian had now become a new, evolved species.
"Now, the water is my home court," he thought, smiling.
With a gentle flick of his feet, mimicking the motion of a fish's tail, he propelled himself forward.
Whoosh.
Brian moved like a sleek, agile shark, darting through the water rapidly.
The golden scales on his body vibrated subtly as he swam, altering the direction of the water flow and reducing resistance, allowing the current to push him forward swiftly.
In the water, Brian became a blur of motion, cutting through the current like a force of nature.
His super-fast speed made him seem to dissolve into a thin line of water.
Splash.
Professor X, who was struggling to swim, heard the sound of rapid currents rushing past. In the next moment, a wave surged over him, almost submerging him entirely.
"What the.."
Struggling against the waves, Professor X finally stabilized himself. But when he looked ahead, he saw something that left him utterly shocked.
Beneath the surface, it seemed as if the water had been split by a sharp blade. Cutting through the water effortlessly was Brian, moving like an aquatic being in his element.
"Holy crap, is that Brian?" Professor X's eyes widened in disbelief, momentarily forgetting about Magneto, who was still sinking towards the bottom of the water.
Brian paid no attention to Professor X.
He was too immersed in experiencing the full power of his newly evolved fishman form.
His speed now far exceeded that of the fastest swordfish in the world, reaching an incredible 280 kilometers per hour.
No human-made ship could match Brian's speed underwater.
"Awesome.
Adaptive evolution truly is an Omega-level ability."
Brian spoke fluently while diving at breakneck speed, reveling in his newfound power.
After testing his speed, Brian twisted his body slightly, making a sharp turn in the water, and rushed toward Magneto, who was sinking to the bottom.
Two hundred meters away was now just a blink for Brian.
Seeing Magneto suffocating from drowning, Brian opened his mouth and released a large, two-meter-wide bubble, quickly enveloping Magneto as the water displaced around it.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you are not dead are you?" Brian muttered, surprised at Magneto's resilience, despite barely clinging to life.
He grabbed Magneto's collar with his right hand and swiftly swam toward the shore.
Splash.
In just a few moments, Brian dragged Magneto out of the water like a lifeless body. With a slight exertion of his right arm, he flung Magneto onto the shore, where he landed heavily in front of Raven.
As soon as they left the water, the air bubble surrounding Magneto popped, and the impact jolted him briefly awake.
He coughed violently, expelling water from his lungs before slipping back into unconsciousness.
"Brian, is he okay?"
On the shore, Raven looked at Magneto, covered in blood and bruises, with concern in her eyes.
Brian had just thrown Magneto onto the shore, aggravating his injuries and likely breaking a few ribs again.
"He shouldn't die," Brian said casually, floating on his back in the water, clearly unbothered.
He had used too much force. In his fish-man form, Brian's strength, endurance, and overall physical prowess had increased significantly.
His physical strength now was enough to rival two Captain Americas.
Combined with his speed in the water, his punch could be compared to the impact of a torpedo.
"Brian, are you sure you're only a level 3 Mutant?"
Professor X, who had just reached the shore and examined Magneto's injuries, looked at Brian in his evolved form with surprise.
Although Professor X was aware of Brian's powerful mutant ability, he hadn't expected him to be this strong.
The moment Brian entered the water, his body had adapted into this extraordinary state. And it seemed clear to Professor X that Brian's evolved form was incredibly powerful.
No matter how he analyzed it, Brian didn't seem like just a level 3 Mutant.
"As you can see, Professor X. Survival of the fittest makes my body evolve randomly. But since my body evolves autonomously, it's not something I can control.
So, I am indeed a level 3 Mutant," Brian said seriously, looking at Professor X.
Hearing this, Professor X was speechless.
According to the classification of Mutants given by Brian, a level 3 Mutant has some combat abilities but cannot fully control their mutant power. Due to the unique nature of Brian's adaptive evolution, it was clear that he truly couldn't control his abilities as he wished.
He really was a level 3 Mutant.
"Brian, we should leave here," Professor X said, shifting his focus. He glanced at the unconscious Magneto and urged Brian to move on.
"Professor X, I'm afraid we can't leave so easily," Brian replied, turning his gaze toward the cruise ship.
At that moment, on the deck of the luxury cruise ship, Sabastian Shaw also gazed back at Brian with a look of admiration.
"That young man possesses extraordinary abilities," Shaw said, not hiding his respect for Brian's powers.
"That's Brian," Emma said as she stood up from her sun lounger, looking toward the water.
"Emma, do you know him?" Shaw asked curiously.
Black King Shaw was taken aback for a moment, then asked White Queen Emma, "Yes?"
The White Queen nodded gently.
After seeing Emma's nod, Shaw smiled and said, "Great, Emma. Go and invite our Mutant brother Brian to the Hellfire Club."
Black King Shaw had the idea of recruiting Brian.
However, upon hearing this, Emma simply shook her head, declining the suggestion. In response to Black King Shaw's questioning gaze, Emma calmly replied, "Shaw, he's here to kill you."
Black King Shaw: "What?" Shaw was confused. "Why would he want to kill me? We don't even know each other."
"Brian said you killed his brother, Darwin."
"Who is Darwin?" Shaw looked even more puzzled.
"He's a Mutant who was against you," Emma clarified.
Shaw frowned. "I've killed so many over the years. How am I supposed to know which one was Darwin?"
After realizing that Darwin might have been one of the many children from his previous Concentration Camps who got killed by him, Shaw's face grew cold.
"In that case, Brian can only be our enemy."
Because of his Mutant supremacy ideology, Shaw was usually tolerant and eager to unite all Mutants, hoping to create a world exclusively for their kind. But this didn't mean he wouldn't kill Mutants who opposed him.
For those who couldn't be brought to his side, The Black King had never shown mercy.
"Riptide, Red Devil—kill this Brian."