William exited the Oval Office with a faint smile, leaving behind the frowning President deep in thought.
Truth be told, he wasn't too worried about the mutant issue anymore. If even LexCorp couldn't handle the problem, then the only path left was war. And should it come to that, everyone would be involved. The responsibility wouldn't fall on him alone.
Sitting alone inside his office, the President found himself thinking about something else.
Assuming nothing unexpected happened, the next president would win with LexCorp's support and serve two full terms. That meant, in the coming eight years, the company would continue to receive full government backing. With that bald man's capabilities, plus the foundation laid during his own administration, how far could LexCorp grow in over a decade?
Just that thought made his skin crawl. He could already picture it. Sooner or later, that company would become a monstrous force with influence on a national level.
And if Lex Luthor ever became President of the United States… what would happen to this country?
As his term drew to a close, after soaking in all the benefits and prestige of cooperation, he—once the first to partner with LexCorp—had begun to worry about America's future.
He was starting to wonder if, under LexCorp's influence, the country might change in a way no one could predict.
"But... what can I even do?"
The thought of resisting was barely formed before a cold chill crept down his spine. In an instant, sweat dampened the back of his shirt.
'What am I even thinking... this isn't something I should be worrying about.'
The president forced a bitter smile. The forces backing him weren't limited to just LexCorp, but if they truly wanted to force him out of office, it wouldn't be that difficult.
He'd served as president for eight years. But was it really worth risking his entire life just to protect the country's future?
He knew the answer.
If he truly cared that much about the future of the country, he wouldn't have allowed LexCorp to gain almost complete control over New York City during the past few years. The time to act had long passed.
Now, there was nothing left to do but ride out the remainder of his term. In January, he would step down gracefully, retire with honor and fade into the background.
As for the next president—a pitiful puppet who relied entirely on LexCorp—it wasn't his problem anymore.
...
After leaving the White House, William didn't head to the military base. Instead, he went to the LexCorp building.
From there, he mobilized a number of so-called security personnel. Once they were dressed in camouflage, they boarded stealth jets and flew straight toward the mutant academy in Westchester.
...
At the same time, on Liberty Island, Beast and the others found their path blocked by none other than Lex Luthor.
He was alone, but that was more than enough.
Clad in his armor suit, Luthor calmly raised his hand. A concentrated energy field flared into existence, and instantly blocked incoming laser blast.
"Hank! Get the device up there, now!" Havok shouted while increasing his energy output. His entire body started to glow a deep red. Unleashing his full laser power put enormous strain on him.
"I'm counting on you, Alex."
Beast didn't hesitate. He immediately picked up the device beside him and rushed toward the top of the Statue of Liberty.
Meanwhile, Alexander continued to hold Luthor back.
'A special device, huh? So all your hopes are pinned on that thing.'
In just a few seconds, Luthor had already scanned the equipment in Beast's hands. The result only showed that it was an energy converter, capable of transforming one type of energy into another. But combining that data with intel he'd received from Reid, he had a rough idea of what it was for.
It seemed that even though Magneto had died two years ago, the mutants had still managed to discover a method to forcibly activate dormant X-genes in humans using radiation. And from the looks of it, this technology no longer needed Magneto to function.
'Then who's the power source for this device?'
No energy could appear out of thin air. Even cosmic beings drew their energy from the vast web of parallel universes.
With Magneto gone, and Professor X confirmed to be absent, Luthor began thinking. Among the mutants present, who could possibly provide the immense energy needed to fuel that machine?
As he pondered, he casually waved his hand and shattered Havok's laser beam. The thrusters on his armor activated, and he blasted forward, smashing through everything on his way toward his opponent.
"Logan! Get out here and help!"
Havok's face had turned pale. He hadn't expected this. The devastating lasers that once struck fear into everyone, capable of melting through nearly anything a decade ago, were now easily countered by human technology.
Left with no other option, he kept dodging while calling out to Logan, who had been lurking in the shadows ever since Luthor arrived.
'First of all… it's definitely not him,' Luthor thought.
In his eyes, Havok's evasive movements were meaningless.
The computer inside his armor didn't make mistakes. At the very least, the mutant's current speed wasn't enough to cause any margin of error.
No matter how hard he tried, in the end, he was still caught by the throat.
This mutant, known as Alexander Summers, had long since been thoroughly studied, especially through his brother Scott's physical data. His laser blasts were powerful, but still far from strong enough to power the device.
At that moment, Logan finally made his move from the shadows.
It wasn't because he wanted to help Havok. He simply knew Luthor wouldn't let him off, whether he stepped in or not.
So he lunged from the dark, jamming his bone claws into the gaps between Luthor's armor joints. It briefly delayed Havok's neck from being broken.
It still didn't change the outcome, however.
A second later, Logan's bone claws were crushed by the shifting armor. Almost simultaneously, a sickening crunch echoed as the armoured gauntlet closed with brutal finality, snapping Havok's neck.
"Ahhhh!" Logan screamed in agony.
His claws were part of his skeleton. The sensation of having them crushed was no different from any other bone being shattered.
Fortunately, after years of fighting and injury, Logan had long developed a high tolerance for pain.
Realizing Havok was beyond saving, he kicked off Luthor's armor with both feet. Using the force, he pushed himself backward, flipped into the shadows, and ran in the direction Beast had taken.
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