Chapter 19

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(T/N: I also tried to improve on this fight differs a bit from the orginal work.)

The air crackled with tension as Cyclops' visor hummed to life, its ruby lens glowing like a predator's eye.

"There's no need for delay. I'll handle this myself."

Mark's voice was steel wrapped in silk calm, yet carrying the weight of impending violence. Before the last syllable faded, he moved.

Zzzzt! Zzzzt! Zzzzt!

(T/N: I don't know what sound to use TT)

Cyclops' fingers danced across his visor controls, unleashing a storm of crimson annihilation. The beams sliced through the air like scalding whips, each one capable of shearing through reinforced concrete. But Mark was already gone.

He didn't just dodge, he flowed.

His body twisted mid-stride, a serpentine evasion as the first beam seared past his shoulder, close enough to singe fabric. The second came faster, he pivoted on his heel, letting it graze the space where his ribs had been a millisecond before. The third? He leapt, tucking into a roll as the blast cratered the ground beneath him, spraying molten debris.

Mark wasn't just fast, he was unpredictable. His movements were a chaotic blur, yet every step was calculated. A feint left, a sudden reversal right, closing the gap like a shadow slipping through light.

Cyclops gritted his teeth. "Enough!"

At point-blank range, he fired.

The beam lanced forward, direct hit.

Except.....

It passed straight through Mark's skull.

No spray of blood. No impact. Just a shimmering afterimage, dissolving like smoke.

Cyclops' breath hitched. "A mirage?....."

"It's over."

The voice came from behind, soft, lethal.

Cyclops spun, but too late.

Mark's strike was surgical. A single knuckle driven into the pressure point at the base of his neck, where nerve met spine. The pain was instant, electric, a lightning bolt of paralysis.

Cyclops' knees buckled. His vision tunneled.

Silence.

The entire fight had lasted less than six seconds.

Storm's lips parted in shock. 

Mark exhaled, rolling his shoulders. The air still smelled of scorched metal and ozone.

Storm, still reeling from the speed and decisiveness of the exchange, could barely speak. "Incredible... he's quick"

Only now did she understand the full extent of Mark's combat prowess. Wolverine had praised his strength, but she had been skeptical. Seeing it firsthand, she realized those claims were not exaggeration but understatement. In close-range combat, she herself would be uncertain of victory against him. Mark possessed not only extraordinary physical ability but also tactical intelligence and unshakable calm.

Lifting the unconscious Cyclops effortlessly onto his shoulders, Mark jogged back to where they had started, calling out to Magneto and Mystique, who had only just begun moving down the corridor.

"It's handled. No need to rush. Let's go together."

 'Cyclops is not a weak adversary. His mutant ability allows him to absorb ambient energy and convert it into devastating concussive blasts channeled through his eyes. Without the visor to regulate this power, he essentially becomes a walking energy cannon, capable of leveling structures and eliminating foes with terrifying speed and destructive range. His only drawback is his physical vulnerability. While his energy output is phenomenal, his body is not enhanced to the same extent, leaving him exposed in hand-to-hand combat.' Mark thought 

Mark had used a well known technique in the DB universe an "Afterimage Strike," to create a decoy that misled Cyclops, while his real body maneuvered into position for the knockout blow.

Magneto watched this unfold with mixed feelings, part admiration, part exasperation. He respected Mark's combat skill, especially at such a young age, but he was also silently irritated. The plan to use Cyclops as a distraction to send the trio away had clearly failed.

Within two minutes, the group arrived at their destination, the heavily guarded chamber housing the Cerebro, a neural enhancement system designed to magnify Professor X's psychic abilities.

Magneto raised his hand once more. The elite soldiers guarding the entrance, despite their weapons and training, were no match for his power. With brutal efficiency, their own firearms turned against them, ending the standoff in seconds.

But just as the group prepared to move forward, a psychic attack erupted without warning.

Storm, Nightcrawler, Cyclops, and Mystique all collapsed simultaneously, clutching their heads and writhing in agony. Mark, immediately recognizing the source, mimicked their pain and fell to the ground as well.

He understood exactly what was happening. This was the work of Jason Stryker, the illusion-casting mutant son of Colonel William Stryker, who had now seized control of Professor X's mind, amplified by the cerebro to telepathy locate and destroy the minds of every mutant on the planet. Only Magneto, protected by his helmet designed to block psychic interference, remained unaffected.

Acting swiftly, Magneto extended both arms and used his mastery of magnetism to forcibly disable the Cerebro, cutting off the psychic broadcast. As the architect of the design, originally stolen from his own mind, he knew precisely how to shut it down without collateral damage.

With the cerebro offline, Professor X could no longer target mutants, rendering the remaining team members safe for the moment.

Yet Magneto had not abandoned his larger plan. The moment the cerebro was neutralized, he activated the chamber door and pulled Mystique inside. Before Storm and the others could recover, he began to close the door.

Reinforced with adamantium, the chamber's entrance was impervious to forced entry, and any attempt to break through would destabilize the entire system, potentially killing Professor X. Once sealed inside, Magneto intended to have Mystique transform into Stryker and issue a new command to Jason: not to kill all mutants, but to exterminate every non-mutant human on Earth.

But Mark was not finished.

"Triple Afterimage Strike!"

Moving with preternatural speed, Mark invoked his most advanced technique. Since he was not a mutant, Professor X's telepathic attack had no effect on him. Feigning weakness had simply been a ruse. Leaving two residual afterimages behind him, he dashed forward and slipped through the doorway just as it was closing.

"Foolish boy!" Magneto snarled.

Sensing Mark's aggressive intent, he responded instinctively. A coin shot from his pocket like a bullet, aimed directly at Mark's forehead with lethal precision. Magneto had no desire to kill the young man, but when it came to the survival of mutantkind, no sacrifice was too great.

But the coin passed harmlessly through Marks form. They were both illusions.

Crack!

The unmistakable sound of a neck snapping echoed through the cerebro chamber.

Magneto spun around, horror overtaking his face. He forced open the door, there he finds Mark behind Jason Stryker only holding him by his neck

"It's over," Mark said, releasing the lifeless body with cold precision. Then, with a calm smile, he added

"Of course, if you still wish to duel with me, I would be more than happy to oblige."