Chapter 90: Fighting Against the Odds
"Damn it, there really are clones of Erik here."
Wolverine gritted his teeth through the pain of the steel bars piercing his body and shouted out the window:
"Kid, aren't you going to do something?"
"Hold on, old man, I'll save you in a second."
High above in the sky outside the window, Iron Man's back opened to reveal a special gun barrel. With JARVIS locking onto the positions of the nine Magneto clones, nine non-metallic bullets were fired simultaneously.
"Perfect!"
The nine bullets struck the heads of the nine Magneto clones, killing them instantly.
Clones were still clones. While their combined magnetic powers might have been formidable, each one was still only a Level 2 mutant at best.
If the real Magneto were here, even if Iron Man were hiding at such a high altitude, Magneto could still control him, never giving him the chance to fire those non-metallic bullets.
Even if attacked, Magneto could instantly use his magnetic powers to gather steel and block the bullets.
It was like nine children combining their strength to match a strongman. But if those nine children tried to fight the strongman, they would stand no chance.
"How is this possible? What is that thing?"
Seeing on the tablet that all nine Magneto clones had been shot dead, and a robot-like figure entering the base through the window to free Wolverine from the steel bars, Rice was stunned.
But after a moment of thought, he calmed down.
Of course, Wolverine wouldn't be foolish enough to attack their base alone. He must have had help, and perhaps even Subject 757 was with him.
"Activate all mutant clones except Clone 101. Leave one of each type behind, and send the rest to kill Wolverine, Subject 757, and that robot!"
As the mutant clones rose from their nutrient pods and rushed toward Wolverine and Iron Man, George sneaked in through the rear of the base.
"Footprint Revealing Spell!"
"Full Body-Bind Curse!"
"Alohomora!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
After entering the base, George used a second tracking spell.
Unlike the previous spell that only showed direction, this one could display footprints, allowing George to precisely track his target's location.
When he encountered surveillance cameras, he used a Freezing Charm to temporarily freeze the footage.
When he came across high-tech fingerprint-locked doors, he used an Unlocking Charm to open them.
When he ran into base guards, he immobilized them with the Full Body-Bind Curse and then controlled a blade to slit their throats, leaving no survivors.
His path was virtually unimpeded, and without alerting anyone, he soon arrived at a massive hall larger than a warehouse. There, he saw Sandor Rice and Donald standing on a high platform.
"Bang!"
With a flick of his wrist, a bullet curved through the air and struck Donald's head with pinpoint accuracy.
George needed to extract Rice's memories to obtain all the research data, so Rice couldn't be killed yet. Donald, however, was fair game.
Poor Donald had been dreaming of leading an army of mutant clones to take revenge on George and his team, only to be shot dead before he even saw them.
"Hello, Dr. Rice!"
Spreading his wings, George flew up to the platform and greeted Rice with a smile.
"It's you! How do you have angelic abilities?"
Rice, terrified by Donald's sudden death, quickly retreated behind his guards.
He recognized Subject 757 and knew the guy could control bullets with magnetic powers, but he didn't remember adding angelic mutant genes to this subject.
"Kill him!"
Before George could answer, Rice ordered his guards to attack.
At this moment, the answer didn't matter. Once Subject 757 was dead, Rice could study his body and figure out what was going on.
Something about Subject 757 felt off. Rice had tried synthesizing mutants with Magneto and Professor X's genes again, but those subjects were brainless and nowhere near as powerful as Subject 757. They had all been incinerated.
The guards surrounding Rice quickly drew their guns and opened fire on George, but George was faster.
While killing Donald and flying up to the platform, George had already controlled several sharp blades to position themselves behind the guards. The moment the guards drew their guns, the blades struck.
"Slash! Slash! Slash!"
Blood sprayed from their necks as the guards protecting Rice fell to the ground.
However, at that moment, two thin red beams shot from the lower right, aiming straight for George's head.
His psychic warning and cat-like reflexes allowed George to perform a backbend, easily dodging the beams. He then turned to look toward the source.
"Quite cautious, leaving some behind."
Below him stood a group of naked mutant clones—younger versions of Magneto, Professor X, Phoenix, Storm, and others—left behind by Rice as a precaution.
The one who had attacked George was Cyclops, but compared to the real Cyclops' powerful optic blasts, this clone's beams were far weaker.
Turning back to Rice, George saw that he had been teleported behind the group of mutant clones by Nightcrawler.
"Subject 757, you're just a Level 2 mutant created from Magneto and Professor X's genes. These clones are nearly Level 3. Let's see how you survive!"
After being rescued by Nightcrawler, Rice looked at the mutant clones he had created, and his fear instantly vanished.
"Bring it on."
George remained calm.
This situation was within his expectations.
While Tony's diversion tactic was effective, Rice wasn't a fool. He would have kept some mutant clones to protect himself.
A battle was inevitable.
But George was confident.
Rice only knew about his Level 2 magnetic and psychic abilities, but George was fully aware of most mutants' powers.
Especially after Cyclops' attack, he realized these mutant clones were as weak as he had anticipated.
"Smokescreen Spell!"
With a wave of his hand, George filled the hall with thick smoke. He then fired a bullet toward Nightcrawler's location.
He needed to take out the teleporter first to prevent Rice from escaping, which would waste time.
Caught off guard by the sudden smoke, the mutant clones couldn't react in time. Nightcrawler fell to the ground, dead.
(End of Chapter)