After making the necessary arrangements for Reeva and the five Cuckoo sisters, Liam left the Hellfire Club's base with Thunderbird, escorting the Strucker family back to the underground mutant headquarters.
The atmosphere there was far calmer compared to what they had just left behind. It wasn't luxurious, but it was secure—hidden, protected, and filled with people who understood what it meant to be hunted.
Standing near the front hall, Liam held a glass of red wine, his posture relaxed as he turned to Reed beside him. "You can stay here for now," he said with an easy smile. "I'll contact Professor X soon. Once you're at the Mutant Academy, you'll be completely safe. Think of it as a fresh start."
Reed nodded, still processing everything that had happened. "Yeah… thank you. Really." He didn't have much else to say. Gratitude felt insufficient, but it was all he had.
Even after spending some time around Liam, there was still a subtle pressure when standing near him. It wasn't intentional, but it was there—an invisible weight that made it hard to treat him like an ordinary young man.
Liam noticed the tension and let out a small chuckle. "Relax. You don't need to be so stiff around me."
Reed gave a faint, awkward smile, but didn't respond.
Liam took a sip of his wine, then added casually, "By the way… if I'm not mistaken, you're a mutant too."
Reed blinked, caught completely off guard. "Me? That's not possible."
He shook his head immediately. He had lived his entire life without any sign of abilities. If he were a mutant, something would have shown up by now.
Liam didn't argue directly. Instead, he tilted his head slightly. "Think about it. Didn't your father give you regular injections when you were a kid?"
Reed froze.
The memory surfaced almost instantly. His father had indeed given him injections throughout his childhood. At the time, he had never questioned it.
Now, hearing it brought up like this…
His expression shifted.
"That drug," Liam continued, his tone steady, "was suppressing your mutant gene."
The words landed heavily.
"It keeps your abilities dormant," Liam explained, "but if your mutant gene ever activates on its own, it won't be stable. You won't be able to control it. In the worst case…" He paused briefly. "It could kill you."
Caitlin's face paled. "What? Then what are we supposed to do?"
Lauren stepped forward, more composed but clearly anxious. "You know how to fix this, right?"
Liam set his glass down, his expression calm. "Don't worry. It hasn't activated yet, so there's no immediate danger." He glanced at Reed. "Once you're at the Mutant Academy, Professor X will be able to help you stabilize it."
That was enough to ease some of the tension.
The Strucker family visibly relaxed, reassured by the certainty in his tone. For now, they had a direction—a solution.
As the night grew late, Liam returned to his room.
He lay back on the bed and opened his system panel.
[Host: Liam Hayes][Super Abilities: Vector Manipulation, Teleportation, Freeze Control, Pyrokinesis, Energy Absorption, Electromagnetism, Evolution, Mind Control][Ability Level: Lv.3 (Third-Level Mutant)][Experience: 1000/700]
Eight abilities.
And not a single weak one among them.
He only needed three more sign-ins to break through to Level 4.
A fourth-level mutant already stood near the top of the food chain in this world. And Liam wasn't just a fourth-level mutant—he would be one stacked with multiple high-tier abilities.
At that point, he would finally have real leverage in a world as dangerous as this one.
With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and rested.
…
Over the next few days, Liam completed two more sign-ins.
Reeva.
Rebecca.
From them, he gained two powerful abilities—Super Infrasound and Spatial Reversal.
The results were exactly what he expected.
Super Infrasound allowed him to emit low-frequency waves capable of incapacitating ordinary humans instantly. Even mutants caught in its range would struggle to use their abilities, their bodies disrupted at a fundamental level.
Spatial Reversal, however, was on an entirely different level.
It didn't just attack—it ignored conventional defense altogether. By inverting space itself, it could bypass nearly any physical protection. Against something like that, durability didn't matter.
Even Liam treated it with caution.
And yet, despite gaining these abilities, he wasn't overly excited.
Because the real breakthrough was still ahead.
One more sign-in.
That was all it would take.
For that final step, Liam had already chosen his target.
Reed Strucker.
From what he remembered, Reed's ability was extremely dangerous. When his mutant gene eventually activated in the original timeline, his hands would glow red—and anything he touched would collapse instantly.
It wasn't simple destruction.
It was molecular destabilization.
Objects didn't break—they disintegrated at the structural level.
That was the ability Liam wanted.
…
"Hey, Mr. Strucker. Settling in alright?"
A few days later, Liam found Reed in the living room, seated at a table with a glass of wine in hand.
Reed looked up and gave a small shrug. "Yeah. It's… not bad."
Over the past few days, the Strucker family had grown more comfortable here. They had started to adapt, slowly adjusting to their new reality.
And their gratitude toward Liam hadn't faded.
"Good to hear," Liam said with a light smile.
At the same time, he activated his system.
[Ding! Do you want to sign in with Mutant Reed Strucker?]
"Yes."
[Ding! Sign-in successful. Congratulations, host, for obtaining the superpower 'Atomic Collapse.' Experience +100.]
[Ding! Congratulations. Ability level has increased. Current level: Lv.4 (Fourth-Level Mutant).]
Liam's eyes narrowed slightly as the notifications echoed in his mind.
Atomic Collapse.
So that was the name.
The Strucker twins had been known for molecular manipulation. Reed, as their father, possessed a similar foundation—but his variation manifested as direct collapse of molecular structure.
Anything he touched…
Would disintegrate.
Liam exhaled slowly, a faint excitement rising in his chest.
This ability was devastating.
He recalled similar principles—energy beams that caused instantaneous structural breakdown. Anything caught in their path didn't explode or shatter.
It simply ceased to hold together.
And now—
He had it.
More importantly, his ability level had finally crossed the threshold.
Fourth-level mutant.
The shift wasn't just symbolic.
He could feel it.
Every ability in his system sharpened, deepened, expanded. Control improved. Output increased. Efficiency refined. It was as if every part of his power had been recalibrated to a higher standard.
Liam flexed his fingers slightly, a subtle smile forming.
Now—
He was no longer just climbing the power scale.
He was starting to dominate it.
....
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