Liam had been caught off guard for a split second when the psychic intrusion hit him. It was the first time he had ever experienced someone trying to force their way directly into his mind, and the sensation had been sharp enough to register before his defenses reacted. But that brief moment of surprise also gave him clarity.
It confirmed something important.
Back at the Mutant Academy, neither Professor X nor Jean had ever tried to manipulate him. If they had, he would have noticed. The realization settled quietly in the back of his mind, reinforcing a level of trust he hadn't consciously acknowledged before.
Now, though, his attention returned fully to the present.
He looked at Reeva, and the temperature in his gaze dropped to something lethal. What she had done, what she was trying to do—it had crossed a line he didn't tolerate. There was no room left for negotiation.
"Looks like we're done talking," Liam said coldly, his voice flat and final.
Reeva didn't seem shaken, though her eyes flicked briefly toward the three unconscious Stepford Cuckoos at her feet. "Your ability is… unusual," she admitted, studying him with renewed interest. "Even telepathy doesn't work on you."
There was a faint note of regret in her tone. A mutant like him, immune to mental control, possessing that level of power—he would have been invaluable.
But if he couldn't be used, then there was only one option left.
Reeva raised her hands and clapped lightly.
The sound echoed once through the hall.
In the next moment, figures began emerging from the surrounding shadows, stepping into the light one after another. Mutants—more than thirty of them—quickly surrounded Liam and his group, forming a loose but complete encirclement.
Liam's eyes narrowed slightly as he scanned them. Most of them looked familiar. He recognized several from the Garland Detention Center—the very people he had freed not long ago. He hadn't expected them to end up under Reeva's control so quickly.
Because he had been masked during that incident, none of them recognized him now.
He exhaled softly, unimpressed.
"So this is your big move?" he said with a dismissive shake of his head. "You're really betting on this crowd?"
It wasn't that he looked down on mutants in general. But to him, these people posed no real threat.
Reeva didn't react to the insult. Instead, her attention shifted to Polaris. "Lorna," she said, her tone softening slightly. "I see potential in you. Come to my side. Together, we can build a perfect world for mutants—a place where we don't have to hide anymore."
Polaris didn't hesitate for even a second. "No one's helping you with that. Give it up."
Reeva's expression didn't change, but her gaze moved again, this time to Thunderbird. "And you? As the leader of your group, you understand what we're fighting for. Join me, and I can—"
"Stop," Thunderbird cut her off sharply. His eyes were hard, unwavering. "Do you really think this is enough to stop us?"
There was no fear in his voice, only certainty.
Reeva let out a quiet sigh, as if disappointed by their refusal. "That's unfortunate."
She clapped her hands again.
This time, the change was immediate.
The space around them twisted.
It wasn't subtle. The air itself seemed to warp, as if the boundaries of the room were being pulled apart and rearranged. Surfaces bent in impossible ways, and for a moment, it felt like the inside and outside of the space were being flipped.
Liam's pupils contracted.
He recognized this.
Rebecca.
A mutant with one of the most destructive spatial abilities—she could invert dimensions, turning inside into outside and outside into inside. It wasn't just dangerous. It was catastrophic.
Even he wasn't completely certain his vector control could block something like that.
And even if he could…
Polaris, Thunderbird, Clarice—they definitely couldn't.
There was no time to hesitate.
Liam's perception snapped into focus, his mind scanning the crowd instantly. In less than a fraction of a second, he pinpointed Rebecca's position among the surrounding mutants.
Teleportation activated.
His figure vanished from where he stood and reappeared directly behind her.
Before she could react, his hand came down sharply against the back of her neck.
The strike was precise and controlled.
Rebecca's eyes rolled back as she collapsed, unconscious before she even understood what had happened.
The distortion in space stopped immediately.
Everything snapped back to normal as if nothing had happened.
Liam exhaled slowly, tension easing just a fraction. They had been dangerously close to getting wiped out in a single move.
He didn't waste another second.
With a flick of his will, his freezing ability spread outward.
In an instant, every mutant surrounding them locked in place. Their bodies froze mid-motion, unable to move even a finger. It wasn't ice—it was absolute control, halting their movement entirely.
The entire hall fell silent.
"It's over," Liam said, his voice calm but cold as he looked directly at Reeva.
"Is it?"
Reeva's lips curled into a faint smile.
She still had one card left.
Her mouth opened, and a low, inaudible vibration began to spread through the air. It couldn't be heard, but it could be felt—a deep, penetrating resonance that slipped past normal defenses.
Infrasound.
The effect was immediate.
The frozen mutants began to show signs of distress, their expressions twisting in pain despite their immobilized bodies. Polaris and the others reacted even more visibly, their hands flying to their ears as the invisible waves struck them.
The attack bypassed conventional barriers, targeting the body directly.
Liam remained completely unaffected.
He tilted his head slightly, almost bored. "Infrasound?" he said, unimpressed. "Doesn't work on me."
Before Reeva could adjust, he moved.
In a blink, he was in front of her.
His fist drove forward, seemingly simple, almost casual—but behind it, vector manipulation amplified every aspect of the motion.
The impact landed squarely in her abdomen.
The force transferred perfectly, bypassing resistance and striking deep.
Reeva's body folded instantly, the air knocked out of her as she was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground unconscious.
The entire fight ended in seconds.
Liam didn't kill her.
Not because she didn't deserve it—but because she was still useful.
Her infrasound ability had value, and he only had one sign-in opportunity left for the day.
But Rebecca's spatial inversion…
That was non-negotiable.
And then there were the Stepford Cuckoos.
"Right… mind control," Liam muttered, his eyes lighting slightly as the idea clicked into place.
Instead of eliminating them, he could take their abilities and use them. Control them. Turn them into assets.
That would give him leverage—and resources.
Without hesitation, he activated his system.
[Ding! Do you want to sign in with the three mutant cuckoo sisters?]
"Yes."
[Ding! Sign-in successful. Congratulations to the host for obtaining the superpower 'Mind Control.' Experience +100.]
Liam blinked once, mildly surprised.
The system had counted all three of them together.
That worked out better than expected.
As the information settled into his mind, he felt the scope of the ability expand rapidly. This wasn't just simple mind control—it was comprehensive.
Memory reading. Thought scanning. Telekinesis at a mental level. Thought suppression. Will reinforcement. Emotional manipulation. Memory alteration.
It was a complete package.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Now he had everything he needed.
"Weiss, what now?" Polaris asked as she and Clarice approached, both of them having stayed on the sidelines during most of the fight.
"They've hidden the Strucker family somewhere in this building," Liam said calmly. "Split up and search. I've got something else to handle."
Thunderbird nodded immediately. "Got it."
Polaris didn't argue either.
The group quickly split apart, moving to sweep through the building in different directions.
....
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