[79] Battle Starts

Quill turned his attention to an old woman sitting quietly in the corner of the room.

This was Gypsy, a witch named Phoebe, known for her eerie predictions.

"Grandma Phoebe, can you still see our deaths now?"

Quill asked, his voice brimming with confidence.

He was certain of his victory over the X-Men.

"I see that the aura of death surrounding us is still spreading uncontrollably.

Our deaths are inevitable,"

Phoebe replied calmly.

At 72 years old, the Gypsy witch had long accepted the inevitability of life and death.

Her ability to foresee death, awakened in her youth, had numbed her to the shock of such visions.

"They're just a bunch of insignificant X-Men.

I've already defeated them in my strategy,"

Quill scoffed, dismissing Phoebe's ominous prediction with disdain.

With unwavering confidence, he led the remaining eight Mutants out to ambush the X-Men.

Unbeknownst to Quill,

Every word of their conversation had been heard by Brian.

From his concealed position, Brian listened with a sly smile.

Several Mutant abilities in this base had caught his attention.

"Flight, perception, energy shield, super strength..."

Brian silently listed the powers he was determined to acquire.

"What kind of surprises will these Mutants bring me?~ Hehehe~"

Brian was looking forward to it.

In addition to the four mutant abilities that intrigued him, Brian wondered if the remaining Mutants might hold any surprises.

A minute later, the X-Men arrived at the building where the Mutants were hiding.

As they approached, Brian saw the 10 Mutants emerge from the building to confront them.

"Do it,"

Quill commanded, stepping forward as soon as he spotted the approaching X-Men.

Without hesitation, he gave the order to attack.

Behind Quill, Spider-Man extended sharp spikes from his fingertips.

He quickly scaled the outer wall of the building, his hands sticking firmly to the surface.

Reaching a position several meters above the ground, Spider-Man flipped his body upside down, adjusting himself before opening his mouth wide.

Swoosh!

A ball of sticky spider web shot out,

Covering Siryn's mouth and nose before he could react.

"Mmmph! Mmmph!"

Siryn struggled frantically as the suffocating sensation set in.

No matter how hard he fought, the spider web stuck firmly to his face, rendering his abilities useless.

The web retracted quickly, pulling Siryn's body toward Spider-Man.

Spider-Man's mouth opened at an exaggerated angle revealing rows of barbs densely packed along the inside.

Everything unfolded exactly as Quill had predicted.

Against Spider-Man, Siryn was completely overpowered.

Meanwhile, Brian stood calmly, watching the scene unfold without making a move.

Spider-Man was clearly only a Level 2 Mutant,

While Sean Cassidy was a Level 3 Mutant.

Yet, despite his apparent advantage, Siryn was utterly defeated in just one encounter.

This glaring disparity made it clear—Siryn's combat abilities were far from reliable.

While Brian stood by, observing without intervention, Professor X couldn't ignore the dire situation.

He glanced at Havok, silently signaling him to act.

Alex nodded firmly.

Boom.

Alex clenched his fists, and an energy shockwave erupted from his chest.

The surge of power struck Spider-Man on the outer wall directly.

Boom.

The blast echoed loudly, as a massive hole was blown through the building's outer wall.

However, despite the devastating shockwave, Spider-Man remained unharmed.

Hovering at the edge of the gaping hole, he was encased in a golden energy shield, completely unscathed.

Brian shifted his gaze to a blonde girl.

She stood calmly with her hands outstretched, golden light flickering in her palms.

It was clear that she was the one generating the energy shield protecting Spider-Man.

There is no doubt that this is the Mutant Cecilia who has the energy shield ability.

Brian observed her closely, noting that whenever she activated the energy shield,

A golden glow also surrounded her body.

"Armstrong."

Mutant Armstrong strode forward confidently,

A heavy tank hoisted in one hand.

With a powerful throw, the tank flew through the air like a cannonball, heading straight for the X-Men.

"These Mutants who joined Black King Shaw aren't bad,"

Magneto remarked with a hint of admiration as he watched the Mutants' display.

Raising his right hand Magneto stopped the tank mid-air with ease.

With a slight gesture, the heavy tank disintegrated instantly, breaking apart into countless pieces.

"Damn it, Armstrong! Who told you to throw the tank? Didn't I tell you to throw stones?"

Quill cursed angrily, his face dark with frustration.

He had explicitly instructed Armstrong to find stone sculptures or similar objects, anything that wouldn't give Magneto an advantage.

But Armstrong, in his recklessness, had gone for a metal tank instead,

Giving Magneto full control.

As Quill continued to fume, Magneto casually waved his hand.

The disintegrated tank fragments transformed into a swirling metal storm, instantly engulfing the 10 Mutants.

"Melt."

A black Mutant raised his hands, releasing invisible microwaves.

The rapidly approaching metal fragments began to dissolve and melt,

Neutralized by the heat waves emitted by the black Mutant.

Next to the black man, a Mutant's body trembled slightly,

And his two arms suddenly detached from his torso, floating freely in the air.

The Mutant shook his body again, sending his detached arms flying toward the X-Men.

Witnessing this, Quill's face twisted in fury.

"Damn it, Two-Armed Man! Who told you to attack?"

"I'm a Mutant too, I want to join the fight,"

The Two-Armed Man replied seriously, controlling his floating arms with a determined expression.

The Two-Armed Man's ability allowed him to detach and control his hands, but his attack was slow and unimpressive.

Watching the detached hands approach sluggishly, Brian couldn't hold back anymore.

With a casual wave of his hand, a stone shot forward at high speed,

Piercing through both of the Two-Armed Man's floating arms.

The Mutant collapsed to the ground, crying out in pain.

"This guy really is just a two-armed man,"

Brian remarked with amusement, watching the screaming Mutant.

As the Two-Armed Man continued to writhe and wail, Quill walked over to him.

Crouching down to gently cradle his head.

"Shhh, quiet, quiet,"

Quill said in an eerily calm voice.

But without warning,

The spikes on Quill's body suddenly extended.

Piercing through the Two-Armed Man's torso.

The Two-Armed Man was impaled by Quill's spikes and died instantly.

"X-Men, die!"

Mutant Armstrong bellowed, completely unfazed by the death of his comrade.

He strode toward the X-Men, aiming a powerful punch directly at Professor X,

Who stood calmly without a trace of fear.

Behind Professor X, Hank roared.

His body expanded rapidly, transforming from human form into a massive, blue-haired gorilla.

Hank clenched his right fist, launching a punch to counter Armstrong's attack.

"I have super strength!"

Armstrong roared as his muscles bulged grotesquely.

Boom.

The collision of their fists sent a shockwave through the air.

Beast Hank's right arm gave way under the immense force, breaking instantly, and Armstrong's blow sent Hank flying backward.

In pure strength, Beast was no match for Armstrong.

Buoyed by his success, Armstrong turned his attention to Brian.

"Homelander, die!"

He roared again, charging straight at Brian with unrelenting determination.

Psst.

A laser pierced through Armstrong's chest.

Leaving a gaping, charred hole.

Surprisingly, Brian hadn't moved.

The laser came from Cyclops Scott.

Scott stood with trembling hands, firmly pressing the button on his red quartz glasses.

It was his first battle, and his nervousness was palpable.

Armstrong looked down at the hole in his chest in disbelief, before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

Boom.

Alex was also determined to prove himself and released another energy shockwave from his chest.

The red energy blast surged toward the black Mutant.

A golden energy shield flickered into existence around the black man, courtesy of Cecilia.

But Alex's shockwave was too powerful.

The shield lasted only a few seconds before the blast pierced through, striking the Mutant in the chest and ending his life.

The X-Men had launched their counterattack.

In just a moment, the situation reversed, and the opponents had lost two members.

______

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