In Adam's experience, whenever mutants got involved, even the simplest situations had a way of becoming complicated.
Politics and social issues were only part of it. Even when judging purely by raw power, the mutant community had a few unpredictable troublemakers.
Omega-level mutants were the prime example... possessing near-infinite potential. The interesting part was that the same mutant could be Omega-level in this universe but completely mediocre in another parallel version.
The X-gene, derived from Deviants, was full of variables.
Juggernaut was exactly the kind of person who demanded attention. Strictly speaking, he wasn't even a mutant at all.
In most universes, Juggernaut's power came from an ancient and terrifying entity... the preeminent demon of the multiverse, ruler of the Crimson Cosmos beyond dimensional boundaries: Cyttorak.
Many of the powerful spells used by the masters of Kamar-Taj drew on Cyttorak's energy.
Whether Cyttorak had a special obsession with the Infinity Gems or simply possessed a twisted sense of humor, he rarely minded when others borrowed a sliver of his power. Instead, he enjoyed scattering his personally crafted Crimson Gems across the multiverse.
Each Crimson Gem served as an anchor point, establishing a direct link to Cyttorak and allowing the transmission of his immense power.
And in the vast majority of universes, the person who bore that power was none other than… Juggernaut.
---
"The Deviants have the ability to absorb the life force and genetic material of various life forms, then reshape themselves based on what they take in. You already knew that, right? I'm guessing quite a few of your people have been absorbed by them," Adam said.
Mystique sneered. "What does that prove? It's a vile ability, but it's nowhere near as bad as yours."
Adam shrugged. "Just keep a close eye on the Deviant leader that took Juggernaut. Care to guess why it went after him specifically instead of anyone else? If you're unlucky, it won't be long before you're facing an enemy of unimaginable strength."
"The Deviant that absorbed Juggernaut?" Magneto sounded skeptical.
He knew Juggernaut's power too well. At most, it would make the Deviant leader's body nearly indestructible... not something they couldn't handle.
Still, skepticism aside, Magneto had seen enough chaos in his life. He had absolute confidence in his own strength, but since the mysterious Adam had singled it out, he quietly raised his guard.
"Let's start the exchange," Adam said. "You asked one question. I answered. Now send over ten... no, five... Deviants. I still trust the reputation of one of the twin poles of mutantkind."
"What happened to that group of Eternals and Deviants twenty thousand years ago?" Magneto asked his question.
"They fought each other for control of Earth."
"And the result?"
"That's another question. Pay the deposit first."
"?"
"Don't go quiet on me. Even if I told you who won and who lost, you'd just ask what happened to both races afterward and why they disappeared from Earth. That information is worth far more than you realize," Adam replied.
When it came to the Celestials... beings who started at the level of cosmic gods... this kind of intelligence was easily worth several batches of Deviants.
...
The two sides ended the conversation.
Magneto never mentioned releasing Mystique, and both understood why. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't cripple their own communication channel right at the start of tentative cooperation.
As long as Mystique stayed alive, she could serve as a messenger for Adam while observing him up close. The moment she learned anything valuable, she could report back to Magneto immediately.
Adam stood up, stretched, and ordered the Xenomorphs to release her.
"Patch that up yourself," he said, glancing at the puncture wound on Mystique's shoulder.
Mystique's expression didn't change. She simply manipulated the muscle cells near the injury, causing them to writhe and shift until the wound was temporarily sealed.
"You look a little anxious. I don't think it's because of Erik... it's because of Juggernaut," Mystique observed, her gaze sharp.
Adam paused, then answered honestly. "Anxious? Maybe for a second. Like I said, you people don't understand Juggernaut at all, and you have no idea what might be coming."
"You mentioned luck. Bad luck is what it would take. I'm more curious about what makes Juggernaut so interesting to you."
An indestructible body? That kind of ability meant nothing in front of Magneto. All he'd have to do was bury Juggernaut underground under a mountain of metal. No matter how tough the body, it would be useless.
Adam gave a small smile but didn't answer. Instead, he took out a Xenomorph egg and placed it in front of Mystique.
"I've wanted to go underground and check things out for a while, but the Xenomorphs kept stopping me. This time it should be fine, right?" Mystique said, staring at the opening egg while pretending to stay calm.
The moment the facehugger leaped toward her face, Mystique... who was experiencing this for the first time... finally lost her composure. She instinctively raised her hand to swat it away.
Bang!
Adam's fist drove into her stomach. The single punch was enough to let the facehugger latch onto her face and complete the implantation.
Some time later, when Mystique regained consciousness, she immediately checked her body.
"So now I'm just like that woman beside you... a slave," she said.
Mystique moved with elegant poise, trying to approach Adam, but he cut her off before she could get far. "If you're thinking about slipping away somewhere to perform open-chest surgery and remove the Xenomorph, forget it. I won't give you the chance."
Mystique's face stiffened. Her smile slowly faded, and a fierce glint appeared in her eyes.
But there was nothing she could do. Every move she wanted to make had already been blocked by Adam.
"I need to increase my strength quickly… not just my personal power. I also need to build an army of sufficient scale in a short time."
Adam pondered. Rapidly expanding the Xenomorph numbers depended on two things.
First, the Queen's egg-laying rate. She produced roughly five to ten eggs a day, and the pace was steadily increasing. Adam suspected it was because this Queen had evolved from an ordinary Xenomorph and was inherently limited in reproductive capacity.
Second, he needed a stable and reliable source of hosts.
Parasitizing ordinary animals was pointless... the resulting Drone Xenomorphs would be too weak.
Parasitizing large numbers of humans? Adam was human himself, and doing something like that now would turn the entire world against him.
Using only death-row prisoners wouldn't yield meaningful scale either. So the option with the best cost-to-benefit ratio was the one whose strongholds and population distribution Adam had already mapped out…
Vampires.
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