Shadow

Quicksilver wanted to stop, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t. As he watched the police station grow farther and farther away, he shouted unhappily in his mind, "Professor, are you controlling me again?"

"When did you get the illusion that I wasn’t controlling you? Pietro, you’ve actually been under my control the entire time."

The Professor smiled. "I really didn’t expect Erik to have such a grown son. I’ve wanted to have a chat with you for a long time."

The Professor also had a son, but that son was an enormous disaster waiting to happen—the kind that would destroy the world if released. His son was an Omega-Level Mutant, with one superpower per personality. Uh, his son had several thousand personalities.

Quicksilver shouted, "So you really have been spying on the Brotherhood. Just like that old man said, you’re a peeping tom."

"Aren’t you the same?"

The Professor smiled. "Whose room in the Brotherhood haven’t you snooped around these past few days? You even went to check whether Mystique had a wardrobe."

Quicksilver was instantly embarrassed. He defended himself, "I’m just more curious than most."

"You’re just too lonely, Pietro. You’re a good boy. The Brotherhood isn’t right for you. I sincerely invite you to join the Mutant Academy. We’ll have a lot in common."

As the Professor spoke, he used Cerebro. Half of it was for Human Torch, while the other half was for Quicksilver.

Quicksilver blinked. "A lot in common? You mean how we both like peeping?"

The smile on the Professor’s face stiffened slightly. He was beginning to understand why Magneto had been so furious. This really was a troublesome brat.

Leaving the Professor and Quicksilver aside for now, Astra was rather bewildered. Hadn’t Quicksilver taken action? Why was nothing happening on the X-Men’s side? That kid really is unreliable.

Astra cursed inwardly. At that moment, she saw Cyclops raise a hand to his glasses. She immediately altered her molecular density and sank into the ground. Cyclops snorted in displeasure and fired lasers at the others.

The Brotherhood mutants scattered to evade. One mutant hid in a corner and aimed his palm at Cyclops. A bone shot from his palm at astonishing speed, flying straight toward Cyclops.

Cyclops hurriedly dodged. The bone curved through the air and continued toward him. Just then, a sonic wave rang out, and the bone exploded in midair with a bang. Banshee had made his move.

The bone mutant was about to continue attacking when a bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck him. He screamed and collapsed to the ground.

"First one."

Storm was about to attack the others when an air blast slammed into her. She fell like a kite with its string cut.

"Storm, I told you long ago not to hover motionlessly in one spot. That’s no different from being a live target."

Banshee, dressed in a yellow flying-squirrel suit, quipped before using sonic waves to fly into the sky and launch successive sonic attacks at the Brotherhood mutants below.

The Brotherhood mutants dodged one after another. The spring mutant pushed off with both feet, leaped into the air, and grabbed Banshee. The two became entangled and fought fiercely in midair.

"The Brotherhood’s mutants are as troublesome as ever."

Cyclops was about to fire another laser when Astra leaped out of the ground, smashing both fists viciously toward him. Cyclops turned aside and dodged, then kicked Astra in the chest.

Astra did not budge. Then she thrust her chest forward, sending Cyclops flying backward into a wall—after altering her molecular density, Astra’s body was tougher than steel.

Astra pressed her advantage, relentlessly pursuing Cyclops and attacking without pause. Cyclops hurriedly twisted and dodged as Astra punched one hole after another through the walls.

"Astra!"

Inside the command room, Officer George looked rather grim. It seemed a massive repair bill was unavoidable.

One officer asked, "Captain, should we go out and help? Most mutants can’t stop bullets."

"They may not be able to stop bullets, but neither can we stop their superpowers. Let’s watch for now."

Officer George sighed and said, "Also, that super-fast mutant still hasn’t shown up. Stay alert. Don’t let your guard down."

"Yes, Captain."

The officers nodded one after another. They had no idea that a black shadow had already quietly infiltrated the police station—from beneath the ground. His ability was to turn into a shadow.

It was worth mentioning that this mutant who could turn into a shadow was not from the Mutant Brotherhood. He was Mutant Shadow, an elite-level mutant from the Hellfire Club. Black King had sent him to help free Human Torch.

Why had Black King done this? Naturally, it was to take revenge on Iron Man. Iron Man was powerful, and Black King wasn’t confident he could defeat him head-on. So, he planned to use Human Torch—or rather, the Brotherhood—to deal with Iron Man.

Human Torch hated Iron Man to the bone. Once free, he would definitely go after Iron Man. Since he belonged to the Brotherhood, the Brotherhood would surely help him when he acted. That way, the Brotherhood and Iron Man would clash head-on.

Once the Brotherhood and Iron Man officially went to war, Black King could reap the rewards. No matter which side lost, he would be delighted, because both sides were his enemies.

Black King was not some brute who only knew how to fight and kill. He was Brain Eater.

While the battle raged at the police station, Yukio of the X-Men was waiting for her flight in the departure lounge.

Yukio was from the island nation, with purple hair and a petite frame. At that moment, her brows were filled with worry. The reason was simple: the head of the Yashida Family, who had taken her in, had fallen gravely ill and was on the brink of death.

The family head has been searching for Wolverine. I hope my information will be useful to him.

Yukio thought to herself. She had joined the X-Men at the family head’s request. He had been searching for Wolverine for more than a decade. As for why, she did not know. She had only heard that Wolverine was the family head’s lifesaver.

Preoccupied with her worries, Yukio did not notice a figure quietly approach from behind. The figure raised a hand and stealthily drove a syringe toward the back of Yukio’s neck.

Yukio sensed something was wrong and tried to dodge, only to discover that she could not move. Then the long needle pierced her body, and her consciousness gradually blurred.

"Done. That was easy. We shouldn’t have attacked the Mutant Academy last time. This method is obviously much more effective."

Toad, draped in a cloak, smiled smugly. He then walked in front of Yukio, pretended to be her companion, and supported her as he led her outside. The mutant who had just immobilized Yukio’s shadow quietly followed behind them to protect them.

Leaving Yukio aside for now, Mutant Shadow quietly arrived at the holding cells inside the police station. Police officers were everywhere, watching Human Torch from every angle to prevent him from escaping.

"It’s useless. I’ll definitely gain my freedom. When that happens, I’ll burn every last one of you to death."

Human Torch John said with a savage expression, "No one can humiliate Human Torch without paying the price. No one!"

The officers said nothing. They merely watched Human Torch in silence, their gazes much like those of people humoring a mentally ill patient.

The officers’ looks enraged Human Torch even more. He shouted, "All you ordinary people deserve to die. The future world belongs to us mutants."

"Record that. Under the Mutant Affairs Department’s new regulations, intending to exterminate ordinary people constitutes a racial hate crime."

As a civilian officer took notes, he said, "Human Torch John, you were nearly going to be acquitted, but now, sorry, you’ll be spending at least a year in prison."

Human Torch was dumbfounded. What was this? Seeing his expression, the officers burst out laughing. So arrogant before, and now he had landed himself in trouble, hadn’t he?

"I’ll definitely kill you all!"

Human Torch roared. At that moment, he sensed something and abruptly turned toward a corner, where he saw a lit lighter.

Human Torch did not know who had placed the lighter there. He only knew that he could finally take revenge. With a wave of his hand, the flame atop the lighter swelled into a fireball and shot toward the officers.

"Where did that fire come from?"

"Get out of the way!"

The officers were horrified and hurriedly scattered. The next instant, the fireball exploded among them with a thunderous boom, blasting officers away and slamming them into the walls with bang after bang.

Some officers passed out on the spot, while others lay on the ground and wailed in agony.

"Hahaha! Go on, laugh at me! Can you still laugh now?"

Human Torch laughed wildly. He controlled the flames to burn through the iron lock on the cell bars, then stepped out of the cell, ready to burn all the officers to death.

Nightcrawler, who had received Officer George’s plea for help, suddenly appeared in the holding area. Seeing the scene, his expression changed. He hurriedly shouted at Human Torch, "John, don’t keep making mistakes. We’ve found evidence about your case. You’ll soon be released without charge."

"It’s too late, Nightcrawler. I don’t want to be a Super Hero anymore. Right now, I only want revenge."

Human Torch raised both hands, and the surrounding flames roared to life. Nightcrawler was shocked. He hurriedly grabbed Human Torch and teleported with him outside the police station.

"Let go of me!"

Human Torch clasped his hands together and pounded Nightcrawler’s back with all his strength. Nightcrawler was knocked to the ground. He controlled his tail to wrap around Human Torch’s neck and flip him over.

The moment Astra saw Human Torch appear, she immediately shouted to the others, "Save Human Torch!"

"Alright."

The air mutant pushed toward Nightcrawler from a distance. Nightcrawler screamed as the air blast sent him flying dozens of meters away.

Storm controlled a gale to sweep the air mutant into the sky. At the same time, she shouted, "Kurt, take Human Torch back to the academy."

"I don’t want to go back to the academy. I want to burn down this police station!"

Human Torch roared. With a wave of his right hand, the flames in the holding area flew out through the windows and spiraled through the sky. Then the flames rapidly swelled into a massive fireball.

"Quick, evacuate the police station!"

Officer George was horrified and shouted urgently. The officers were terrified out of their wits and quickly carried their injured companions outside.

"This Human Torch is really powerful."

Astra could not help but feel delighted. She shouted, "Human Torch, set the surroundings ablaze! We’ll use the chance to escape!"

"Why should we escape? I’m going to burn them to death."

Human Torch gave a savage smile and controlled the fireball to smash into the police station like a meteor. Just then, Nightcrawler charged over and rammed him away with his head.

Without Human Torch’s control, the fireball exploded in the air with a thunderous boom, scattering flames everywhere. Since the police station was too close, it gradually caught fire.

Kosha County, Texas. Through an eye, Greed watched the battle at the police station and could not help laughing. "What an intense fight. Wrath, we can begin. Remember what I told you—don’t reveal your identities."

"Don’t worry. I’m not stupid."

Wrath, who was the size of a child, gave a savage grin and led a group of believers he had subdued during this period out of the basement and into a busy district.

Looking at the crowds of pedestrians around him, Wrath was extremely excited. He lifted a nearby motorcycle and hurled it hard into the crowd. With a thunderous crash, more than a dozen people were sent flying, mangled beyond recognition and killed on the spot.

The civilians were stunned, staring at Wrath and the others in terror.

"For My God, destroy this small city!"

Wrath roared. The believers cheered loudly, pulled guns from their bags, and fired wildly into the crowd. Countless people screamed and fell.

The screams and blood excited the believers immensely. What delighted them even more was that each person they killed made them stronger. This was the reward their god had bestowed upon them.

"It’s a miracle! My God, I will definitely fulfill your mission."

The believers went mad, killing anyone they saw. Wrath laughed wildly, grabbed an iron bar, and rushed into the crowd, swinging it crazily. Pedestrians were sent flying one after another and died on the spot.

Amid the blood, Wrath’s body gradually grew larger. This meant that his injuries were recovering.

"This is wonderful. It seems God has been watching over us all along."

Greed held an AK with a fanatical expression. With such a powerful god backing them, what did they have to fear? It was not just Kosha County. Similar incidents occurred in dozens of locations across America, Great Canada, and Mexico. Evil Believers wielded weapons and massacred civilians in a frenzy, offering sacrifices to their god.

A group of such Evil Believers had also appeared in Bloom County, New York State. Their leader was a man in a wheelchair. An eye in the middle of his forehead continuously fired beams, each one taking one—or several—lives.

After killing twenty or thirty people, the wheelchair-bound man sensed something. Trembling, he rose from his wheelchair and tried to walk forward. At first, he nearly fell, but soon his steps became as steady as those of a normal person.

"Hahaha! Doomsday Master, you are the only god in this world. I will spread your glory across the entire world!"

The wheelchair-bound man laughed wildly. Three months ago, a car accident had paralyzed him. His girlfriend had abandoned him because of it, and he had fallen into complete despair.

Then he heard Greed’s speech. Having nothing left, he chose to kill his ex-girlfriend and worship Doomsday Master. Everything happening now proved that his choice had been right.

"My God is eternal."

Seeing the wheelchair-bound man stand up, the believers became even more fanatical. They fired desperately at the civilians, determined to offer sacrifices to their god.

At the New York Mutant Affairs Department headquarters, Hank called Wang Bert at once. "Bert, this is bad. The Evil Believers have launched their attack."

Wang Bert appeared beside Hank with Yuriko and said, "Give me the details."

Hank said, "We’ve received a large number of distress calls. People are being massacred in the streets. It should be those damned Evil Believers."

"How many places have Evil Believers appeared in?"

Wang Bert asked. At that moment, the phone rang. It was the Police Chief. "Bert, help! Evil Believers have appeared in three locations in New York State."

Wang Bert replied, "I understand. Send me the locations. I’ll head over immediately. Director, stay in command. Contact me at once if you need anything."

The Director said, "Alright, Iron Man. We’re counting on you."

After Wang Bert hung up, Hank said, "According to rough estimates, Evil Believers have appeared in around thirty or forty locations."