Back at the CIA base, everyone had witnessed firsthand just how terrifying the Black King was. His power had left them in awe, completely crushed by his overwhelming strength.
At that time, even Alex had used every trick up his sleeve and still couldn’t so much as scratch the Black King. In the end, all he could do was reluctantly lead everyone in retreat.
But now? It hadn’t even been that long—and the same Black King was lying there, beaten and battered by Alex?
"Erik, I'll hold him off—go help Charles!"
After narrowly dodging another strike from the Black King, Alex spoke in a low, steady voice to Erik beside him.
Following their earlier setback, Erik was a lot calmer now.
He understood clearly—the only real shot at taking down the Black King lay with Charles. Anything else would just get in the way.
"I'm counting on you, Alex!"
After casting a long look at the Black King, Erik gave Alex a nod and immed...
“Another Deadpool wannabe.”
Alex winced inwardly. The last thing he wanted to deal with right now was another so-called "martial arts expert."
People like that couldn't really hurt him, sure—but damn, they were slippery. Like cockroaches. Hard to hit, harder to pin down.
And Alex hated wasting time.
Still, the one in front of him right now…
Was a step below Deadpool. Maybe two.
The guy barely had room to breathe, completely overwhelmed fro...
As Windblade was battling Siryn, a sudden chill ran down his spine—he had the eerie feeling of being targeted by a wild beast.
“Havok, Siryn, Darwin—you three help Charles locate and destroy whatever’s blocking his psychic powers!”
“As for the rest, Erik and I can handle them!”
Alex issued commands as he walked forward, addressing the surrounding mutants.
In his eyes, none of these enemies were a real threat. With his current strength, taking ...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The grand hall was instantly thrown into chaos as two factions of mutants clashed in a ferocious battle.
Erik faced off against the ninja. The man with claws took on Darwin. The feral mutant fought the Havok. The siryn battled the wind-blade mutant. And Alex—he was up against the Windshifter.
Moira stayed close to Charles, guarding him just in case.
As for Charles and the opposing leader, Shaw—neither had made ...
"Shaw, this isn't some glorious new era—this is a shameful, unforgivable massacre!"
"What you're doing now is a hundred times worse than what that mustached tyrant did!"
Charles raised his head and launched into a merciless indictment of the Black King.
He had already read Emma Frost’s memories and knew about Shaw’s plan to trigger a nuclear war on Earth. So the fury he showed now was no act—it came from the depths of his soul.
"It seems you've chos...
“Charles, has Shaw found us?”
Raven’s voice rang out, her expression grim as she stared at Charles and asked in a low voice.
But Charles shook his head. “I didn’t sense any psychic probing. My powers are being blocked... Honestly, this is the first time I’ve ever encountered something like this. But I suspect—it’s not a telepath we’re dealing with.”
If a telepath had noticed Charles scanning the area, they would’ve immediately launched a coun...
"Alex, we're heading out to capture Shaw—immediately."
Charles' voice rang out, solemn and steady. He looked Alex straight in the eyes. “You need to understand, this mission won’t have the CIA’s support. Agent Moira is still suspended. This is an off-the-books operation—just us.”
“Whether you choose to come or not, I wanted to make that clear beforehand.”
Of course, beneath Charles' calm tone, there was a trace of anticipation in his eyes. He truly...
Hearing Alex's words, a faint smile of satisfaction crept onto Erik's face.
As expected, compared to Charles, Alex was far more aligned with his ideals.
Charles was just... too idealistic—so much so that it bordered on naive and detached from reality.
But could someone as smart as Charles truly not see that?
Erik didn’t think so.
After all, Charles had graduated from Harvard at sixteen and was recruited as a genetics professor by Oxford in his ea...
“When I was very young, I made a promise to myself—one day, I would make myself normal. It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember.”
“Alex, I don’t know if you can understand what that feels like. You look normal. When you walk down the street, no one stares at you like you’re some kind of freak.”
“But I’m different. I’ve had enough of that.”
Hank’s voice interrupted Alex’s thoughts.
“So, Hank, what exactly do you need fr...
"Yes, sir!"
The secretary responded crisply, then hurried off to carry out Howard Stark’s orders, contacting the other two senior S.H.I.E.L.D. executives without delay.
Howard paused for a moment in thought, then turned and headed toward a hidden laboratory within the base.
Before the others arrived, he was determined to see for himself—what exactly was that mechanical lifeform?
Ding!
After passing through the security checkpoint, Howard took the...
A mechanical lifeform?
Even for someone as forward-thinking as Howard Stark, that concept was a bit hard to swallow. After all, carbon-based life had been the norm for so long—it was practically ingrained in human understanding.
Silicon-based lifeforms? That was a whole different beast.
“Okay, Alex,” Howard asked, his brows furrowed, “Let’s assume what you're saying is true—that it is a mechanical lifeform. But how exactly did you figure that out?”
“Jesus Christ!”
“What the hell is that thing?!”
“Alex—this is what you meant by a mechanical… lifeform? God Almighty!”
…
When Howard Stark arrived on the scene and laid eyes on the towering figure of the dead Decepticon, his entire worldview practically shattered.
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Seriously, what era were they in right now? The very idea of robots was still a far-fetched concept!
Let alone actu...
"This isn't right—none of this makes sense!"
"There's no way your power is this strong!"
The Decepticon stood there in utter disbelief, completely stunned by the beating Alex had just given him.
Alex wasn’t sure if the guy had a working brain, but if he did, it had clearly short-circuited by now.
"I don’t believe it!"
With a furious roar, the Decepticon sprang up from the ground and charged at Alex once more, the earth rumbling beneath his feet...
“Sir, you want to dismantle this Cadillac?”
Old Jack was completely stunned. He thought he’d misheard.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this was a discontinued Cadillac V-16—a true collector’s gem.
Was this guy out of his mind?
“Yes. Tear it apart.”
Alex spoke with an unmistakably commanding tone. “Then reassemble it. You’re the best in the business, Jack. This shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?”
“Well, sure, I can do it......
Once Alex made up his mind, he didn’t hesitate for long.
Instead of wandering around outside, he drove straight back to Howard Stark’s mansion.
“How was it, Alex? Must’ve been quite the ride!”
Howard Stark had already come out to greet him, clearly in high spirits.
Truthfully, Alex wanted to say it was a pretty rough experience—this old car couldn’t compare to the vehicles of the future—but he just smiled and said, “Of course, Mr. Stark.”
"Alex, it seems you've taken quite a liking to this car. I didn't expect us to have such similar tastes."
Seeing Alex staring at the Cadillac without looking away, Howard Stark chuckled from the side.
With a twinkle in his eye, he made a suggestion. "Wanna take it for a spin? You know, after we finish dinner, I can let you drive it around for a bit—feel it for yourself."
"Really, Mr. Stark?"
"Of course! It's no big deal."
"That's great—I'm really...
By the time Alex arrived at Howard Stark's mansion, nearly two hours had passed.
He was a full hour late for their scheduled meeting.
"Has Howard Stark ever been stood up like this before?"
Alex couldn't help but think with a touch of mischief.
Then again, the sudden ambush from Stryker's men had caught him completely off guard. It really wasn't his fault.
Ding-dong.
Adjusting his mood, Alex reached out and pressed the doorbell at the entrance of ...
Whoosh!
Boom!
Just as a car crashed onto the scene, Alex soared through the air with a powerful leap, covering several meters in a single bound.
He landed like a god of war descending from the heavens.
With a single stomp, he crushed the chest of a nearby special agent.
Bang!
He casually threw a punch at another agent next to him, sending the man flying like a human cannonball straight into the wall.
A splatter of blood burst open.
T...
Wade: "..."
"You're right. This is totally unfair!"
Wade froze for a second, then immediately launched into a furious tirade against Alex.
But Alex didn't bother listening. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the base of a poplar tree, yanked the entire thing from the ground, smashing it down toward Wade.
Never mind how massive the tree looked—visually, it was downright ridiculous—but with Alex's current strength, wielding it felt as effortless as twirl...
"This is… not good!"
Wade's pupils shrank sharply.
Alex's eyes at that moment—weren't they exactly like that guy he'd captured recently, the one who could shoot lasers from his eyes?
Could this guy shoot lasers too?
Zzzzt!
The next second, two blazing beams of heat vision shot straight at Wade.
A chilling sense of death washed over him.
At such close range, he had no time to dodge.
But Wade wasn't just anyone—he was Stryker's t...
The tail had been following for three blocks now—neither too far nor too close. Honestly, the guy was good. Very good.
Without a trained eye for counter-surveillance, most people wouldn't have noticed a thing.
Take Jarvis, for example. He hadn't sensed anything wrong from start to finish.
Unfortunately for the tail, he never would've guessed that every move he made was already under Alex's watchful eye.
Alex had locked onto the man's heartbeat long ago.
"Mr. Alex!"
The moment Alex appeared, Jarvis—who had been waiting beside the car—immediately stepped forward to greet him with polite enthusiasm.
"Jarvis, I hope I didn't keep you waiting."
"I just arrived as well, sir. Please, get in. The dinner has already been arranged."
Jarvis circled around to the other side and opened the door for Alex with gentlemanly flair.
One had to admit, compared to Howard Stark himself, his butler Jarvis was far more...
"Charles, what's wrong?"
Erik walked up to him, his tone filled with curiosity.
"Moira's here."
Charles turned to both Erik and Alex. He had already sensed her arrival.
Erik's expression turned grim.
If Moira was here, then that meant the CIA had reached a conclusion.
The three exchanged glances. No words were needed—they headed to the door and brought Moira into Charles's room.
"It's just as we expected. The CIA has officially dissol...
At the rear gates of the Xavier estate.
Charles and Erik stood at the threshold, watching a black sedan slowly disappear into the distance, each with a different expression.
Charles looked somewhat conflicted.
No matter what, she was someone he had personally recruited. After spending so much time together, it was hard to believe he now had to be the one to send her away.
Erik, on the other hand, wore his usual cold expression—his face a mask that gave away n...
"Charles, what do we do now? Can we still go back to the CIA?"
Hank finally looked up and asked Charles.
Unlike the other mutants, Hank had originally been a CIA scientist. Even while working there, his mutant identity had never been exposed.
He had a deeper sense of belonging to the CIA than most. The agency had provided him with all the research resources he needed, and he genuinely enjoyed his work there.
"I'm sorry, Hank," Charles said after a moment of...
While Stryker and Lucien were busy scheming, a plane from the Soviet Union touched down in New York.
A car sped across the city, racing straight toward the nearly ruined CIA secret base.
"Jesus Christ, what the hell happened here?"
Charles stared at the broken walls and shattered structures. Even though the area had already been cleaned up, traces of blood still lingered everywhere. He was completely dumbfounded.
Beside him, Erik rubbed his forehead, looking ju...
"Goodbye, Mr. Alex."
"Later, Jarvis!"
At a crosswalk on 75th Street in New York, Alex waved back at the ever-polite Jarvis.
He glanced over his shoulder at a nearby car and let out a faint, scornful chuckle.
That car had been tailing him for a while now.
He knew exactly who sent them—Peggy Carter.
What surprised him was how intense her reaction was to his superhuman strength.
Sure, Alex wasn't a trained agent—he lacked any formal co...
"A fanatical scientist, huh?"
Howard didn't take it seriously at all. He just turned around, patted Alex on the shoulder, and motioned for him to keep moving.
"Mr. Stark, are you as crazy as he is?"
Alex fell into step beside him.
"No, I'm the exception. I'm one of the rare geniuses in the world—I don't need to go mad to prove it."
Howard Stark said smugly. He really wasn't that different from Tony Stark in this regard.
The two chatted idly ...
"Alex, what's going on out there?"
"Why was there such intense gunfire?"
After answering Alex's earlier question, Raven finally asked the thing that had been bugging her from the start.
"Raven, that's exactly what I was about to tell you."
Alex stopped in his tracks. Raven noticed and halted in front of him as well.
The two of them stood just outside the small door, neither making a move to step out.
"I may have accidentally gotten myself caug...