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"First, Congressman Kelly is dead."
Jean's words caused a collective shift in the room. The news was somber. Though Congressman Kelly had been a vocal opponent of mutants, the animosity everyone felt for him faded in the face of death. No one present was the type to celebrate a person's passing; even in dislike, they respected the dead.
"I'm sorry we couldn't save him," Charles sighed. It was a true pity. Had a human leader who understood the mutant cause survived, it could have greatly eased future tensions.
"And the other thing?" he asked Jean.
She frowned. "An agent named Coulson is at the school gate asking for you, Professor Charles."
"That organization?" Charles immediately knew who Coulson represented. Benjamin's eyebrows rose, but he said nothing, preferring to keep the agency's attention away from Clark.
"It seems that because of the leaders' summit, the U.S. government wants us to stay quiet today, so they sent someone to monitor us."
Charles sighed, feeling a familiar disappointment. They had always sought peaceful coexistence, yet what they received in return was surveillance. Meanwhile, Magneto and his followers, who saw humans as enemies and killed without hesitation, were able to act with impunity. Sometimes Charles wondered if, despite Magneto's methods being wrong, his underlying philosophy was right.
There was no time for such thoughts. "It seems I can no longer provide you with support," Charles stated. "I will stay here and use my psychic powers to create an illusion that you are still at the school. Stopping Magneto is now entirely up to you."
"Don't worry, Professor. We will stop him." Cyclops immediately volunteered, and Logan, standing beside him, nodded in agreement, though his motives were split between saving Rogue and stopping Magneto.
Clark also affirmed his commitment. This was a critical mission, and the X-Men weren't going to turn down any help. To ensure victory, they needed every ounce of strength they could muster.
"Clark, wait."
As the group headed toward the hangar to take a stealth jet to Liberty Island, Benjamin stopped him. He pulled a familiar-looking suit from his pocket. The iconic "S" shield on the chest instantly told Clark its origin.
"This..."
"When you returned to this world, only this symbol was left on your body. Richard immediately sent it for analysis. Now, through material replication, we have successfully replicated the suit, though some of the material science issues are still unresolved. It belongs to Superman."
"Thank you, Dad."
While only the S-shield was truly original, the suit symbolized Clark's journey and friendships from another world. As he took the suit, he tapped the S-shield, which opened a special compartment. Inside was the Kryptonian tech USB drive that Lex Luthor had given him.
"This is Kryptonian technology, Dad. Use this knowledge to help more people."
Benjamin was surprised but nodded, accepting the drive. He watched as Clark walked to the stealth jet.
"You'll win, Superman!"
Liberty Island
Magneto and his team easily neutralized the security personnel on the island. Magneto took the device and the unconscious Rogue to the highest point of the Statue of Liberty, while the others remained below. Their mission was to delay the X-Men, whom they knew would come to stop them.
At the top of the statue, Magneto used his control over magnetism to assemble the radiation-generating device from its component parts, fixing it atop the crown. Rogue had just woken up, looking at him in terror.
"You... what are you going to do?" Her memory was still fuzzy from the sadness she'd felt when she left the school. She remembered Bobby, her friend, telling her that Professor X was feared and that she should leave the academy. Lost in fear and sadness, she had run away and then blacked out, only to wake up here.
"Child, I won't lie to you. I'll simply tell you the truth. I need your power." Magneto's voice was gentle. Though he had made the cold decision to sacrifice her, he was capable of a strange kindness toward his fellow mutants right up until the end.
"Everyone rejects you, but I won't, because we are the same kind. I would never harm a fellow mutant just to please humans."
Magneto sounded like a benevolent old man, and his words made Rogue lower her guard. "Now, we need your help. I want to make those humans who hurt us pay. I want them to pay in blood. Only then will they stop persecuting us!"
"Will you help us, child?"
Rogue realized something was wrong, but Magneto's gentle demeanor was what she had always craved. Unconsciously, she nodded. She wanted so desperately to be treated with kindness that she ignored the dangerous undercurrent in his voice.
"What a good child."
Magneto reached to pull Rogue into the machine. At that very moment, his metallic senses detected a massive, metallic object descending from the sky.
"Damn it! They're here so soon! That human spy organization is useless!" He had intentionally leaked information to Coulson's group, knowing that the humans would react like a scared cat and indiscriminately target the X-Men.
"Rogue! Don't believe him!"
A streak of red and blue burst from the stealth jet. Clark soared through the dark night, flying toward her.
"Clark?" Rogue looked on in surprise, but the next moment, Magneto threw her aside and bound her with twisted sheets of metal.
"Don't interfere, you brat!" he roared, controlling the magnetic field to tear apart the statue's outer shell, sending strips of metal flying toward Clark.