"My God, you have no idea how brutal that lizard man was..."
"I heard he killed everyone in the whole base by himself. And a whole bunch of researchers were tortured so badly they were mutilated beyond recognition. They didn't even still look human. In the end, nobody could tell who was who anymore."
The other soldier suddenly shivered. "That bad?"
"Why would I lie to you? I saw it with my own eyes. There was so much blood on the ground it was practically covered..."
The moment those words fell, both men stiffened at the same time. They shut their mouths in unison and lowered their heads to continue recording data.
Inside the reactor chamber, Fenris's face turned cold as he listened to their conversation.
William Stryker.
Because his son Jason had killed his wife when his mutant powers awakened, Stryker hated mutants with a fanatical intensity and saw them as humanity's ultimate enemy.
He had the Adamantium bonded to Logan's body, creating the Wolverine that existed now. He had also sewn Wade Wilson's mouth shut and turned him into a living weapon with multiple powers.
At the same time, he had built several secret mutant research facilities to support his work. The Alkali Lake research facility Fenris had been held in before was one of them.
The rustling noises outside drifted into his ears. If he had guessed right, there should be another squad up on the surface.
"They all deserve to die."
Fenris growled under his breath and tightened his grip on the Sling Ring. With a sweep of his right hand, a dimensional portal opened.
"What was that sound?"
One of the soldiers outside seemed to catch the faint crackle of sparks behind him. His ear twitched, and he turned his head in confusion.
A pair of inhuman eyes abruptly filled his vision, cold light swirling in them. The soldier's pupils dilated violently. Before he could even cry out, a pair of icy claws had already closed around his throat.
"The man here to take your life."
Two sharp cracks rang out in succession. Fenris casually let go, then picked up the soldier's communicator.
Amid the hiss of static, a middle-aged man's voice came through. "What happened? Do you have something to report?"
"Tell Stryker he'd better make sure he stays hidden."
"Otherwise, he can wash his neck and wait for me. His good days are over."
"Who is this? What are you?"
Crack.
Fenris crushed the little device in his hand with ease, then lifted his cold gaze toward the surface again.
...
At the same time, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
One of the top museums in the world, it sat in the heart of Fifth Avenue in New York. Inside, a group of students stood quietly outside one of the exhibition halls. The youngest were only a few years old, while the oldest were already in their twenties.
"Class, look over here."
Ororo pointed at a statue of an ancient human and explained, "For a long time, we believed Neanderthals were wiped out in conflict with a more highly evolved branch of humanity, namely Cro-Magnons, but..."
"Jean, what's wrong?"
Not far away, Scott looked at the distracted Jean Grey with concern written all over his face.
"I'm okay."
Jean looked dazed. In her eyes, the figures around her began to blur and overlap, while all kinds of thoughts poured into her mind like a tidal wave.
Recently, for some reason, she had been having the same dream over and over. Everything in it was a deep, endless red, yet no matter how hard she tried, she could never see it clearly.
"I just have a headache."
Jean drew in a slow breath and answered in a deliberately light tone. "It feels like something's a little off with my telepathy. I'll just ask the Professor about it."
"Jean, ever since we came back from Liberty Island, you haven't been the same."
Scott rubbed her shoulder, his expression full of worry. "Before, you couldn't even lift a table easily. But now, every time you have a nightmare, our whole bedroom shakes."
"Sorry, I..."
Jean pressed a hand to her forehead in pain.
Just as she was about to say more, an immense psychic force suddenly swept across the entire museum, cutting off the conversation between them.
"What's going on?"
Scott looked around. The bustling museum had gone unnaturally silent. Every tourist nearby seemed frozen in place, completely motionless.
"Professor?"
Jean immediately looked toward the food court next door. At some point, a figure in a wheelchair had appeared there.
"The next time you feel like using your powers on ordinary people, find a way to stop yourself."
The Professor looked at John with clear displeasure, then at Bobby beside him.
"Our school is small. We can't help every mutant. You wield powerful abilities, but using them recklessly in public will only make life harder for the weaker mutants out there."
"I'm sorry, Professor." Bobby immediately admitted his mistake and apologized. "I shouldn't have let a small argument turn into..."
But John clearly wasn't listening. His gaze flickered away.
"What happened, Professor?"
Scott walked over with Jean and Ororo.
"Nothing serious. Just childish temper. They'll understand one day."
Professor X smiled faintly.
His powers let him see more clearly than anyone how vastly different people's thoughts could be, so he had never expected to change everyone.
"All right, the kids have had enough fun, and we..."
Just as Professor X was about to release his power, a sharp notification sound suddenly rang out from Scott.
"What is it?"
"Fenris is asking where we are right now. He wants me to send him a photo. He says he has something important to tell us."
Scott was confused, but he did it anyway.
Just as everyone was still wondering what this was about, the sound of firelight bursting open suddenly came from the exact spot where Scott had just taken the picture.
Everyone instinctively turned to look.
A huge dimensional portal blazing with golden firelight had already opened there.
"What is that?"
"Is that some kind of magic?"
"Fenris?"
Those curious looks did not last long. The moment the portal opened, a thick smell of blood hit them in the face, making everyone frown instinctively.
Fenris stepped straight from the research base into the museum. His clothes were completely clean. Other than being torn open from the strain, they were not stained with a single drop of blood.
"If you're about to tell me I'm cruel again, save it."
"These were Stryker's troops. If I don't kill them now, in two days they'll be at the school killing your students."
After the portal closed, Fenris spoke first and forced Scott to swallow back the words that had been on the tip of his tongue.
"Good."
Scott immediately changed course.
"Fenris, what do you mean by that?"
There was no time to care about when Fenris had learned spatial teleportation. Professor X was completely focused on what Fenris had just said.
"What do you mean Stryker is planning to attack our school in two days?"
Ororo and Jean both looked over as well.
"Just now, I killed a squad of Stryker's soldiers."
Fenris kept it brief and turned toward the Professor.
"What Stryker wants is the school's Cerebro. And he's already built a half-finished one of his own."
"His real target is you, Professor. He wants to use the Cerebro he built to make you kill every mutant in the world."
"What?"
The words hit like a thunderclap, instantly putting everyone on edge.
(End of Chapter)
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