"Mutants will never register!"
A group of masked men, waving toy guns and shouting slogans, burst into the venue, throwing the speech into chaos.
TV viewers were stunned; their first thought was that Mutants had attacked.
Their second thought: Mutants are this fierce?
Yet many quickly accepted it—after all, they're mutants; anything goes.
That shows what a mess the word "Mutant" has become in ordinary people's minds.
Senator Kelly froze; a gun pointed right at him wasn't in the script.
"Don't be rash—if you hurt anyone here, Mutant registration will become irreversible." He quickly muted the mic and whispered as the Ringleader approached.
Kelly seemed to be stopping a murder, but he was really stopping his own.
And he was right—if he died here, the registration bill would pass overnight.
Only at that point Senator Kelly himself would be beyond saving.
Registration was his campaign cry, but he had no wish to die for a slogan.
Dead, the credit would go to someone else… wait.
Kelly shuddered, eyeing the Ringleader in doubt.
"These guys are really Mutants?"
"Or did some bastard decide to sacrifice me and steal the prize?"
Kelly knew every senator's tricks—he was one, after all.
All of them shameless scum.
The Ringleader reopened the mic and roared at the live feed: "Mutants are the superior race—anyone pushing registration, watch this!"
He raised his gun straight at Senator Kelly.
Kelly paled—who trained this guy to skip the negotiation?
As Kelly braced to die, a red laser lanced out, drilling the gun barrel. The sky dimmed; thunder cracked.
Everyone watched a sleek sci-fi fighter touch down.
Out stepped X-Men field-leader Cyclops, deputy Storm, and member Jean Grey. In front stood the interim Commander—
Sebastian Shaw.
"You're not Mutants," Shaw said, strolling through the guns toward Kelly.
The Ringleader wavered; Kelly panicked harder.
Bro! Big bro!
Stop walking—they've still got guns!
Kelly cared for no one but himself, and his life mattered plenty.
The gunmen opened fire—aiming at Shaw, not Kelly.
"Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!"
Bullets slammed into Shaw, slowing him no more than raindrops.
"Click-click-click!"
Magazines emptied; Shaw reached the stage unharmed.
"Who are you, and why fake Mutants on camera?" he asked.
The Ringleader snorted. "Think you've won?"
He whipped out a pistol and aimed at Kelly—dead or alive, Mutants would be blamed.
Shaw merely smiled; energy surged from his feet, blasting the Ringleader and crew away.
"Won't talk? We have ways." He glanced at Jean Grey.
Red-haired Jean stepped up while Cyclops and Storm restrained the gunmen.
On camera, she laid her hand on the Ringleader's head.
"Speak the truth!" she ordered. "Who are you and what's your goal?"
Dazed, the man answered: "We're wanted killers, hired to pose as Mutants and murder the senator on live TV for a big payout."
Crowds on-site and at home erupted; no one saw that twist coming.
Criminals faking Mutants to kill an anti-Mutant senator—stopped by real Mutants.
The supporters in the crowd didn't know what to say.
Their anti-Mutant placards quietly dropped.
Sebastian Shaw sensed the mood shift at once.
He sighed inwardly—without the Vought World, entertainment value was sorely lacking.
What criminals? What Mastermind?
It was all a staged show by his own side.
He'd seen Fang Yuan pull the same trick long before they met.
Angel's heroic live rescue had made him a Superhero star; only later did Shaw learn Magneto had caused the disaster, with Fang Yuan pulling the strings.
This time was no different.
At this moment, Senator Kelly knew the situation was settled. Seeing the live broadcast still running, he realized he couldn't let the Mutants steal all the spotlight.
So he composed himself and, on camera, said to Shaw and Jean, "Although you are Mutants, as a senator I must thank you for stepping in to protect the safety of the people here."
His words sounded impeccable, showcasing his selflessness and earning him goodwill in front of the public.
But Shaw wasn't as easily fooled as the Mutants Kelly had met before, letting him rack up reputation for free.
"Frankly, I don't care about your safety—someone who's led people to blame Mutants without cause."
"But to keep anyone from exploiting this to stir conflict with Mutants, we have to keep you alive." Shaw dusted off his coat with disdain, ignoring Kelly's darkening face.
In the previous World, Fang Yuan would have staged a heroic show, but given the current hostility between humans and Mutants, that wasn't necessary.
Because the plot Fang Yuan had arranged had already begun.
Seeing Kelly try to retort and promote his agenda, Shaw cut straight to the Ringleader: "Who sent you?"
Kelly clamped his mouth shut again; he also wanted to know who dared use his life as a stepping-stone.
The crowd held their breath, desperate to learn the Mastermind's identity.
On live camera, the Ringleader "honestly" confessed—
"It was Trask Industries!"
"They've built robots designed to hunt Mutants. By framing Mutants and inflaming human-Mutant hatred, Trask Industries can rake in huge orders!"
Boom!
The revelation sent shockwaves through the on-site crowd and every viewer watching the broadcast.
Robots built to slaughter Mutants?
Just hearing it sounded like something out of hell.
Many instinctively recoiled at the idea.
Although Mutant prejudice was the social trend, most humans only wanted to restrict Mutants, not exterminate them.
After all, Mutants are living beings; dislike didn't mean wishing them dead, and hunting them felt excessive to most.
And with the revelation broadcast in public, anyone with such thoughts had to condemn it, at least outwardly.
Hearing this, Cyclops, Jean, and Storm paled, then burned with righteous fury.
They knew nothing of Fang Yuan and Professor X's plan—only the legendary villain Fox.
It was the first any of them had heard of Mutant-Hunting Robots, so their on-camera reactions were utterly genuine.
Dark clouds suddenly blanketed the sky overhead; the venue dimmed and thunder rumbled—Storm's rage manifesting.
Equipment around them trembled and floated—Jean's mind reeling from the shock.
Only Cyclops stayed relatively calm, avoiding Homelander-style behavior of laser-sweeping the crowd.
But he was clearly furious, demanding of the Ringleader, "Where is Trask Industries?"
The Ringleader spilled every detail about Trask Industries on air. Kelly, snapping out of his shock, sensed danger and quickly interrupted.
"This matter is extremely serious; the authorities will investigate thoroughly!" he declared, frantically waving security to haul the Ringleader away.
Kelly knew that, true or false, such news should never be broadcast live.
But Cyclops and Storm blocked security, refusing to let them take the Ringleader.
The news of Mutant-Hunting Robots was too grave; they wanted to investigate themselves rather than trust officials.
Kelly's face darkened. "Are you obstructing official duties?"
"Scott!"
Cyclops started to argue, but Jean's voice stopped him.
She gave Cyclops a nod; realizing Jean had already read the Ringleader's memories, he stepped aside.
"We can hand him over, but can the authorities guarantee a fair investigation?" Shaw asked, locking eyes with Kelly. "Can we trust you?"
"Of course!"
On live camera, Kelly couldn't show weakness.
"Good. Mutants have always respected the law; we trust you'll give us a proper account." Shaw spoke deliberately.
Though his tone was harsh, his stance won favor among neutral viewers, who felt Mutants weren't as terrifying as rumored—they followed the rules.
But Kelly wanted to wipe cold sweat from his brow and dump this hot potato as fast as possible.
He understood: Mutants would stay "law-abiding" only if the investigation was fair.
And would the authorities conduct a fair investigation?
You will get 90 chapter ahead for this fanfiction.
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