Harry sprinted forward, and at last he found a cluster of figures ahead.
"Mr Osborn." Storm looked drained, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. Hearing the sudden footsteps, she raised her head as Harry ran toward them.
"Yeah." Harry nodded, but didn't stop. He vaulted over the children and their heads, continuing to rush toward the brainwave enhancer.
But he was still a moment too late.
Boom!
The door of the brainwave enhancer slammed shut under an invisible magnetic force, making a heavy, muffled sound.
Standing before the door, Mystique watched Harry's sudden arrival with a serious stare, while Magneto had just finished whatever he intended to do.
"MMrOsborn, what a coincidence to meet you again." Magneto turned around, speaking cheerfully, the deep smile on his face completely genuine—like greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in years. But a friend? The one inside that door had already been discarded by him.
"Coincidence? I don't think so. No, hand back what I gave you." Harry pointed to the dark red helmet on Magneto's head as he stepped forward.
"MrMrsborn, that's unreasonable. This is mine. I'll gladly tell you where it came from." Magneto spread his hands and smiled.
"You seem to be in a good mood," Harry said as he closed in.
"It's quite—"
Before Magneto could finish, Harry instantly fired his spider-silk launcher.
A white, translucent strand shot from his wrist and stuck to Magneto's helmet. With a sharp pull, the helmet tore free from Magneto's head.
"Hmph!" The sudden ambush shattered Magneto's pleasant mood. He reacted at once, activating the magnetic field to pull the helmet back. Mystique, momentarily startled, immediately lashed out with a kick toward Harry.
Even with all his abilities, Harry still couldn't comfortably handle two very different fighters attacking him at the same time—so he had to deal with them one by one. Releasing the web in his left hand and allowing Magneto to reclaim the helmet, Harry ducked low, bowing his head under Mystique's sweeping leg. He dropped forward, bracing his hands on the ground and springing upward, both feet kicking squarely into her back and sending her flying.
Harry straightened, still closing in on Magneto. With a curl of his finger, his invisible construct placed the special dagger from his thigh holster directly into his palm.
His enhanced reflexes and inhuman physique made him fast, but three months of training with Felicia—who had once been a professional thief—meant that even without raw strength, Harry could now be considered a genuine combat expert.
"Hmph!" Seeing Mystique go down, Magneto snorted coldly. He activated his magnetic field again, tearing metal from the two walls of the passage and launching it toward Harry—while also pulling a metal plate before himself as protection.
Magneto had long guessed Harry was "one of his own," and had always treated him kindly. But now his goal and his ideal were moments from completion. Whether Harry was what he suspected or not, Magneto did not intend for him to walk out alive. If Harry were human, he deserved to die. If he were a mutant, then Magneto would simply be eliminating someone who might someday threaten his throne.
Magneto was a king.
Seeing the attack, Harry immediately opened a spherical shield. The walls bent and twisted under Magneto's manipulation, squeezing inward and completely encasing the sphere—forming a second metal shell around Harry.
Inside, Harry reinforced his barrier, but irritation crept across his face as sharp metal spikes continued to press inward.
Activating Magneto's own ability, Harry pushed back. Though he couldn't yet handle metal as effortlessly as Magneto, given time, he could still reach the same result.
As Harry exerted himself, Magneto—who was forcing the iron walls tighter—suddenly felt his grip over part of the metal slip. And then more. And then he saw what was happening.
Squeak—creak—
A slit opened in the metal sphere around Harry, facing Magneto. Jagged metal spikes pointed outward at Magneto, and the slit rapidly widened into a fully open section covering a sixth of the sphere, revealing Harry inside.
"Looks like your ability has declined with age," Harry said, stepping out of the metal shell and smirking.
"Hmph! Then try me." Magneto rose slowly, arms spreading wide.
Crack—crack—
Metal peeled from the walls instantly, fragmenting into countless sharp blades that surged toward Harry like a storm.
"Okay, I take that back." Harry retreated at once, unleashing his own magnetic field at full force, bracing against the oncoming flood.
The collision of their magnetic fields froze the metal fragments midair, holding them suspended in an eerie stalemate.
"You really do have the same power as me, Mr Mrborn." Magneto could no longer hide his astonishment. Until now, he had assumed Harry's ability was only a superior version of Rogue's—something borrowed, incomplete, far weaker than his own. But he had been wrong.
"It's not the same power as yours. It's yours—and stronger," Harry said, realrealisingh some surprise that his magnetic field was overpowering Magneto's. Age truly mattered.
Harry pushed harder, his magnetic force crashing toward Magneto. Magneto resisted with all his strength. Though diminished by age, he was still strong enough not to be pushed aside easily—not even by a novice with raw power like Harry.
The two opposing fields clashed violently, sending sparks and crackling currents bursting through the air.
"Ugh—"
In the midst of the struggle, a sharp pain stabbed through Harry's skull. His magnetic field collapsed instantly, and the suspended shards clattered to the floor.
"Professor X…?" Harry groaned, clutching his head, his barrier completely gone.
"Huh? Has he lost control? In that ca,e—" Magneto sensed the sudden disappearance of resistance. After a moment of confusion, he made a swift decision and launched the metal shards forward.
"It's Mr Osborn." A female voice called out from the far end of the passage.
Harry lifted his blurred gaze—and saw a burst of crimson light.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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