Chapter 9
"Charles, we're close to the kid named Gage now. Can't you use your psychic abilities to locate him?" Piotr asked, following closely behind Charles with a hint of impatience.
"Piotr, you need to understand that telepathy isn't omnipotent. Gage is an extremely unique case—my psychic communication doesn't work on him. I can't even establish a link, let alone track him," Charles said with a sigh. He hated to admit it, but this was one of the few times his abilities had completely failed him. More frustratingly, he didn't know why.
"A baby can block your powers? That's insane."
"Insane or not, it's reality," Charles replied. "We're fortunate that he transformed into a giant ape. His footprints make it easier to track him. Otherwise, we'd be searching blindly."
As he spoke, Charles knelt and pressed his fingers to the dirt, examining the enormous footprints embedded in the ground. The size alone was staggering—each print was almost as long as Piotr was tall. The sheer depth of the impression suggested an overwhelming weight and strength.
"We shouldn't be far now," Charles continued, brushing dirt from his hands. "Even though he's just a baby, Piotr, don't underestimate him. He's—"
"Yeah, yeah, you're always so cautious," Piotr interrupted, rolling his eyes. "If you weren't such a worrier, I swear half the women at the school would be all over you."
Charles gave him a flat look. "And if you weren't so reckless, we wouldn't need to have this conversation in the first place."
---
Meanwhile, the transformed Li Ji was rampaging through the forest with wild abandon. His massive form tore through trees as if they were nothing more than twigs. With a guttural roar, he grabbed a towering tree that stretched over ten meters high, yanked it from the ground, and hurled it behind him. The thick trunk shattered upon impact, sending splinters flying in all directions.
The devastation around him was enormous. The once-dense woodland had been reduced to a battlefield of uprooted trees, cratered earth, and torn foliage.
"ROOOOAR!"
His deafening cry echoed across the forest, the sheer volume shaking birds from their perches and sending wildlife fleeing in terror. Even Charles and Piotr, still a kilometer away, heard the beast's furious bellow.
"Piotr, did you catch that direction?" Charles asked, his voice low.
"Thirty-five degrees west-southwest," Piotr answered immediately, though he still sounded rattled. He hadn't even seen Li Ji yet, but he already had a bad feeling. The sheer force behind that roar was enough to make his gut tighten.
"Good. Adjust course and move in," Charles instructed.
Piotr nodded, but in the back of his mind, he was beginning to wonder—was he really about to fight this thing?
---
As they closed the distance, a shadow suddenly loomed over them. Without warning, a massive log came hurtling through the air.
"Move!" Charles shouted.
The two barely managed to dodge as the log crashed into the ground behind them, sending a shockwave through the earth. Dirt and debris exploded into the air, forcing them to shield their eyes.
Piotr looked up, heart pounding, and finally saw him.
The giant ape stood tall in the distance, its broad chest rising and falling with each breath. Blood-red eyes gleamed as it studied them, almost as if weighing their worth. Even from afar, its sheer size was staggering.
"Uh, Charles?" Piotr asked, his voice suddenly lacking the bravado it had earlier. "Are we absolutely sure we can't hurt him?"
"Try not to. If we harm him, we might as well kiss our funding goodbye," Charles muttered, rubbing his temples. "Howard practically bankrolls the school, and that overgrown baby is his favorite son."
"Great. No pressure, then," Piotr grumbled, cracking his knuckles.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped forward and called out, "Hey, big guy! Can you understand me?"
Charles pinched the bridge of his nose. *Idiot.*
"Come with me if you can. Let's fight somewhere else. Stop wrecking the environment—global warming's bad enough already!" Piotr continued.
As he spoke, his body began to change. His skin hardened, taking on a metallic sheen, and within seconds, he had fully transformed into Colossus. His entire form gleamed under the sunlight, silver-gray and unyielding.
To Charles' surprise, the giant ape actually hesitated.
Whether it was curiosity or something else, Li Ji took a slow step forward, then another. Soon, he was following Piotr toward a more open area, away from the dense trees.
Piotr glanced at Charles, smirking. "See? He's not so bad."
Charles said nothing, but his expression made it clear—he wasn't convinced.
---
"Alright, big guy, let's see what you've got!"
Piotr barely had time to brace himself before Li Ji's massive fist came crashing down.
Reacting on pure instinct, Piotr threw his arms up to block. But the sheer force of the strike was overwhelming—his feet sank several inches into the ground from the impact.
*Damn. No wonder Charles kept warning me.*
Struggling free, Piotr leapt backward just in time to dodge another devastating swipe.
"Hey, man, I'm not a soccer ball! Stop trying to kick me!" he yelled.
But Li Ji seemed amused. Every time Piotr rolled away, the giant ape followed up with another kick, forcing him to keep moving like a tumbling rock.
The ape let out a series of grunts, the tone almost playful.
Piotr's eye twitched. *He's... making fun of me?*
*No, no, he's just a baby. Don't get worked up.* But that didn't make it any less irritating.
Diving into a narrow rock crevice, Piotr took a moment to breathe. Li Ji's foot was too large to reach in, and the ape stomped in frustration.
"He fights purely on instinct," Piotr muttered. "If I use proper technique, I might actually have an edge."
With renewed focus, Piotr launched himself from the crack, dodging another wild kick.
"Alright, little guy, time to show you what real fighting looks like!"
Sidestepping another attack, he maneuvered behind the ape and grabbed its supporting leg, yanking hard.
Li Ji staggered—only for his other foot to whip forward, kicking himself free and sending Piotr flying into the air.
The last thing Piotr saw before impact was the ground rushing up to meet him.
*********
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