Romulus

"I knew that guy was trouble."

Hank cursed at the sound of the alarm and shouted, "Kurt, take all the X-Men and Guardians to Liberty Island. I’ll call Iron Man and report this."

After a pause, Hank warned, "Remember, Magneto is extremely dangerous. Don’t let your guard down. Be careful, then be even more careful. I don’t want to be signing your death certificates."

"Yes, Minister."

Everyone nodded. Then, holding hands, they Teleported to Liberty Island together with Kurt’s help.

"Bert, something happened."

After Kurt and the others left, Hank immediately called Wang Bert, who was discussing matters with President Richard at the White House. After hearing Hank out, Wang Bert said, "I’ll return to New York immediately. I’ll also send Wade and the others over as reinforcements."

"Alright."

Hank hesitated before saying, "Bert, there’s no need to hold back against Erik anymore. He’s gone completely mad."

Magneto abandoning Mystique had thoroughly enraged kind-hearted Hank. He no longer regarded the other man as a friend.

"I know."

Wang Bert nodded. He first called Wade and told him to lead people to support New York, then stood and said, "Mr. President, I need to return to New York first. This could become a major incident."

President Richard hurriedly said, "Bert, we’re counting on you. I’ll keep an eye on this. Just tell us whatever support you need."

"Evacuate Manhattan’s residents first. As for whether the military should enter the city, I’ll assess the situation before deciding."

After saying a few words, Wang Bert vanished from the White House.

On Liberty Island, Kurt and the others appeared out of thin air. Looking at the Statue of Liberty flying into the air, Kurt froze. "The Statue of Liberty came alive again?"

Shockwave glanced up and complained, "Damn, it really did come alive again. I said from the start that this thing shouldn’t have been rebuilt."

Kurt was about to say something else when a group of vicious-looking Red-Eye Mutants charged at them. After taking a closer look, Shockwave said in astonishment, "They’re civilians and tourists?"

"They should be under someone’s control. Try to take them down without killing them."

Storm flew into the air, whipping up fierce winds that sent the Red-Eye Mutants stumbling in every direction. At the same time, she shouted, "Kurt, go inspect the Statue of Liberty. Be careful."

"Alright."

Kurt nodded and suddenly appeared before the Statue of Liberty. On the Goddess Statue’s viewing platform stood a group of people, led by gray-skinned Apocalypse and an excited-looking Magneto.

"Nightcrawler."

Magneto sneered disdainfully and raised a hand. Several screws tore free from the Goddess Statue and shot toward Kurt.

Kurt was about to use Teleportation when Blink clapped her hands. A streak of purple light swept through the void, and Kurt immediately felt the surrounding space turn incomparably chaotic. He could no longer teleport.

Kurt was horrified. Just as the screws were about to hit him, two crimson lasers whistled up from below and destroyed them.

Magneto looked down and saw Wade standing on the Steel Bridge below. He snorted coldly. Iron Man’s lackey, a disgusting human experiment.

The spatial interference vanished at that moment, and Kurt quickly teleported back to Wade’s side. He said, "Wade, thank you. Be careful. One of them can interfere with space."

"Don’t worry. Leave it to me."

Wade nodded. Red light flared in his eyes as he fired at the glowing Statue of Liberty torch. Magneto controlled a slab of steel to block the lasers, then turned to Romulus and said, "That guy is called Wade. He’s troublesome. I’ll leave him to you."

"I like troublesome guys."

Romulus grinned and jumped directly from the Statue of Liberty, plummeting viciously toward Wade below.

At the same time, Blink opened a portal. A group of mutants who supported Magneto entered it and returned to Liberty Island to deal with the Security Company and the Mutant Guardians, determined to keep them pinned down here.

As for Magneto himself, he continued controlling the Statue of Liberty as it flew toward Manhattan Island. If he succeeded, Manhattan would suffer devastating damage.

At that moment, Apocalypse, whose eyes were slightly vacant, suddenly raised his head to look into the void. Then he smiled faintly and abruptly disappeared.

Not only did Magneto not panic when Apocalypse vanished, he actually sighed in relief. "The greatest obstacle has been removed."

Within a spatial fold, Wang Bert, who was in the middle of teleporting, was suddenly trapped inside a transparent spatial pyramid. Immediately afterward, Apocalypse appeared before him and said, "Iron Man, we meet again."

"Apocalypse!"

Wang Bert looked at Apocalypse and said, "The times have changed. This is now a civilized society, not the foolish and ignorant world you once knew. Your schemes are doomed to fail."

"Even the most civilized society is still ruled by the strong devouring the weak. It is no different from before."

Apocalypse said disdainfully, "Iron Man, as the mighty Creator God, why do you associate with ants?"

"You know I’m the Creator God? Is that why you refused to fight me directly?"

Wang Bert snorted. "Ants? I rose from being an ant to become the Creator God. Protecting them is my goal and responsibility. That is something you will never understand."

Apocalypse was greatly shocked. "You went from an ordinary human to the Creator God?"

"You’re not the main body?"

Wang Bert’s gaze sharpened, and he immediately charged toward the pyramid wall. A mere clone could not trap him.

Seeing this, Apocalypse’s main body hurriedly projected most of its power over. The spatial pyramid changed from transparent to solid, firmly trapping Wang Bert inside.

Seeing Apocalypse project over its power, Wang Bert stopped. Though he was trapped, Apocalypse was restrained as well. In that case, it was not a major problem.

As for Magneto, someone would deal with him.

Wang Bert turned around and said coldly, "Apocalypse, I will kill your clone and destroy your main body—unless you submit to me."

"You are the one who should submit."

Apocalypse snorted and asked, "Iron Man, don’t you want to talk?"

"There are two irreconcilable conflicts between us. There is nothing to discuss."

Wang Bert shook his head. "No matter how much we talk, we’ll still have to fight in the end."

Apocalypse asked with interest, "What are these two irreconcilable conflicts?"

"First, the Mutant God can only be me."

"Sorry, but there is only one Mutant God in this world, and that is me, Apocalypse."

"Second, humans are not slaves. They are free lives."

"Humans are slaves—slaves who once betrayed me. I will rule humanity again, and this time, I will not make the same mistake."

"So, we are destined to fight."

Red light lit up in Wang Bert’s eyes. "The victor becomes a god. The loser dies—or submits."

Apocalypse nodded and shouted, "Exactly what I wanted. Come."

Wang Bert said no more. Two laser beams pierced through the void and shot fiercely at Apocalypse.

Apocalypse spread his hands, and a Light Flame shield suddenly appeared to block the lasers. Then he gave a loud shout. Light Flame erupted, transforming into a massive fireball that blasted toward Wang Bert.

Wang Bert released vast amounts of icy air from his hands, freezing the fireball in midair. Then he struck the ice sphere with a bolt of lightning, shattering it into countless blades that densely shot toward Apocalypse.

Apocalypse summoned sand from thin air and formed it into a giant hand. The hand then slammed down with force, destroying all the Cold Ice in its path as it swept toward Wang Bert.

Wang Bert opened his mouth, and layers upon layers of Banshee howled out. The giant sand hand exploded in midair and vanished.

Apocalypse and Wang Bert stared expressionlessly at each other, sharing only one thought: That guy is so annoying.

Nothing hated its own kind more than another of its kind. Apocalypse had gained vast numbers of superpowers by constantly transferring his consciousness, while Wang Bert had analyzed mutant abilities and mastered the Mutant Source, gaining countless superpowers as well. They were natural mortal enemies.

Wang Bert sneered. "Let’s see just how many bodies you’ve changed and how many superpowers you possess."

"I also want to see how many superpowers the mighty Creator God has mastered."

Apocalypse snorted as well. Then, their complex battle of superpowers erupted once more.

Let us turn back time a little. Romulus descended from above, plummeting toward Wade. Wade gave an exaggerated cry and suddenly vanished.

Bang! Romulus crashed onto the Steel Bridge, directly caving in the bridge deck, yet he was completely unharmed.

At that moment, Wade appeared behind Romulus out of thin air and stabbed his sword toward Romulus’s back. Surprisingly, the instant Wade appeared, Romulus immediately turned around and kicked him heavily. Wade screamed as he flew out and fell into the sea.

"I’ve killed more teleporters like you than I can count."

Romulus looked at the sea contemptuously. "Honestly, among teleporters, you’re one of the inferior ones. You haven’t mastered this ability at all."

"I’ve finally met someone whose mouth is even fouler than mine."

Wade complained from the sea. Red light flared in his eyes, and he fired fiercely at Romulus. Romulus easily sidestepped the attack, then charged like lightning into the Security Company’s ranks.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Vomiting Boy and the others were no match for Romulus. They were sent flying one after another, spitting blood in midair.

"This guy’s close-combat ability is even more terrifying than Wolverine’s."

Wade was shocked and hurriedly teleported in front of Romulus. Then he swung his twin swords, slashing at Romulus in an endless stream.

Wade possessed high-speed reaction nerves. In close combat, he had never feared any opponent. But today, barehanded Romulus gave him a thorough lesson.

Romulus’s combat skills were practically flawless. He continuously dodged around Wade, and Wade could not hit him at all. After several exchanges, Wade became impatient and exposed an opening. Romulus seized the opportunity, striking like lightning. A hand chop pierced through Wade’s chest and emerged from his back.

Wade screamed, then grabbed Romulus’s arm and vanished with him.

When they reappeared, they were already ten thousand meters in the air. Wade then swung a blade toward Romulus’s arm.

Wade had assumed that suddenly teleporting to such a height would leave Romulus briefly dazed. Unfortunately, it did not. Romulus’s left hand accurately grabbed Wade’s forearm, and then he smashed his forehead into Wade’s. Wade felt as if he had been struck by a giant hammer, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

Fortunately, Wade was battle-hardened as well. He immediately released an electric current to interrupt Romulus’s attack. Romulus’s hair stood on end, and smoke rose from his body, but instead of screaming, he wore a satisfied smile.

Does this guy have some kind of special fetish?

After hesitating, Wade suddenly wrapped Romulus in a fierce embrace, even tangling his arms and legs around the other man. It was not because he had any special fetish—he simply wanted to take the other man down with him. After all, he had a healing factor.

Wade prayed silently, I hope this won’t hurt too much. Ten thousand meters up—I’ve never tried this before.

Romulus did not push Wade away. Instead, he hugged him back, like a pair of lovers heading to their deaths together.

"I’m not into that."

Wade suddenly wanted to give up, but he gritted his teeth and continued free-falling with Romulus.

At the edge of Manhattan Island, the two entwined figures crashed onto the highway with a thunderous boom, sending dust and chunks of concrete flying everywhere. When the dust settled, a massive crater had appeared in the road. Inside were two piles of mangled flesh and an alloy skeleton.

Terrifyingly, both piles of flesh were wriggling. A moment later, one pile regenerated into Wade’s head. He complained, "I hope no one took pictures just now, or my reputation is finished."

"That sounds discriminatory. Homosexuality is perfectly normal. It was very popular in Rome."

A voice sounded behind Wade. Wade turned around in horror and discovered that Romulus had already regenerated half his body. The remaining half was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Not only did this guy possess regeneration, his healing speed was even faster than Wade’s.

"Don’t be surprised. I’m Wolverine’s ancestor. Your healing ability came from Wolverine, so it’s only natural that I heal faster than you."

Romulus smiled. In a short time, he had fully recovered. Aside from his tattered clothes, he was no different from before.

"Wolverine’s ancestor?"

Wade was scared out of his wits. He put on a fawning smile and said, "I have Wolverine’s blood in me. That means you’re my ancestor too. We’re family."

"You sure have thick skin. Fine. From now on, you’re my grandson. By the way, I love playing with my descendants."

Romulus grinned and punched apart the flesh on Wade’s head, exposing Adamantium bone.

"Adamantium again."

Romulus shook his head. His fists rained down like a storm, smashing Wade’s newly regenerated body apart once more.

Wade went all out and unleashed a burst of electricity, blasting Romulus away. However, Romulus immediately returned to the crater and continued beating Wade.

"Thank you for letting me relive the joy of falling from the sky. When I wanted to kill myself in the past, I tried it more than ten times. Every time was delightful. Oh, and by the way, I even funded the Wright Brothers’ airplane research. Hahaha!"

Romulus laughed wildly as he attacked Wade with abandon. Wade could not fight back at all, and he cursed furiously in his heart. Where did this lunatic come from? At that moment, a Micro Missile descended from the sky and exploded against Romulus. Even Romulus was blown apart, blood, flesh, and severed limbs flying everywhere.

Yet Romulus still did not die. Within the raging flames, all the flesh simultaneously gathered toward his head. Then, a powerful body formed anew.