"Zzz—"
"Clang! Clang! Clang—!"
A crimson blast of laser light shot from far away, and with a booming impact, it bored straight into the steel whirlwind sweeping toward Harry's head.
Boom!
The steel storm was punched straight through, blown open into a hollow tunnel by the sudden laser, and the beam continued tunneling deeper. The shattered iron filings rained down in a shower, and Magneto's attack was stopped cold.
"Ah—"
Harry's whole body went weak from the stabbing pain in his skull. Clutching his head, he collapsed to the floor. Professor X's psychic strike was truly unstoppable—at this moment, Harry felt as though thousands of needles were relentlessly piercing his brain.
"Jean! Quickly, save Mr. Osborne!" Storm shouted. As soon as she spoke, she turned her head upward. Her eyes turned completely white, and thunderclouds rolled into existence inside the cramped tunnel, blue lightning snakes writhing within them.
"Okay," Jean responded. Her telekinesis instantly wrapped around Harry's body, pulling him off the ground and into her arms.
Crack—!
The lightning Storm gathered and finally crashed downward, striking toward Magneto.
"Hmph!"
Assaulted by so many younger mutants at once, even Magneto struggled to endure. His metal plate could block Scott Summers' laser beams, and his helmet could resist Jean's telepathy—but in this moment, he could not defend against Storm's lightning.
Just before the lightning landed, Magneto instantly abandoned all defensive metal in front of him.
Boom!
A huge burst of smoke and dust roared down the entire passage, making it impossible for anyone to see.
"Cough—! Cough—!"
The X-Men and the children coughed and waved the smoke away. After a moment, the dust settled. The passage was no longer clean—scrap metal and debris were scattered everywhere.
"Where's Magneto?" Storm moved to the front and asked Scott.
"He ran." Cyclops glanced toward the end of the tunnel—Mystique had disappeared as well.
"Ah—!"
Harry curled up in Jean's arms, gripping his head. His face was twisted red with pain, and his knuckles turned white from how tightly he was clenching.
"Go stop the Professor! If we don't, he'll kill every ordinary human!" Jean had already sensed the shift in the brainwave enhancer's target. Still holding Harry, she shouted urgently to the others.
"Okay—everyone get back."
Cyclops lifted one arm and placed a hand on his visor, turning his head to warn the others.
"No, Scott. The Professor is connected to the brainwave enhancer right now. Opening the door will kill everyone linked to his mind." Jean stopped him immediately. Before Magneto interfered, she had already halted the Professor's purge of mutants and then gone inside.
"Wait—Kurt. I need you to teleport me in." Storm suddenly looked at the Blue Devil (Nightcrawler), who could teleport.
"Who is this guy? And who are you?"
Scott, frustrated and unable to get inside, glared sharply at Nightcrawler.
"I'm Kurt Wagner, and I—"
Nightcrawler raised his head, meeting Scott's stare.
"Wait! He can teleport." Storm cut in quickly to stop the rising conflict.
"Hurry up! I'm going to pass out—ah—!"
Seeing them argue at a time like this, Harry gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Mr. Osborne, let me relieve you," Jean said.
Harry nodded hard. Even though the pain still tore at his mind, he knew what might happen next. His mental power was strong, and he had learned to use some of it, but he was nothing compared to a master like Professor X., and right now, he was closest to the source of danger—if something unexpected happened, even he didn't know what would become of him.
"Then I'm starting."
Jean supported Harry's head with both hands, closed her eyes, and began resisting Professor X's psychic force together with him. But what no one saw was a faint flash of red light in Jean's eyes.
"As I said, if you can't see where you're going, you might materialize inside a wall," Nightcrawler murmured, shaking his head.
"I trust you."
Storm met his golden eyes, unwavering.
Nightcrawler hesitated—but when he looked into her eyes, he was moved, and finally nodded.
"Remember—don't believe anything you see once you're inside," Jean warned them.
"Father… may Your glory be with us. The kingdom of heaven is at hand…"
Nightcrawler placed both hands on Storm's arms and began to pray.
A cloud of blue smoke enveloped them, and when it cleared, both were gone.
"They're in." Cyclops turned to speak to Jean, but Jean Grey, still supporting Harry, didn't respond.
With Jean's help, Harry's pain had lessened—but he had completely passed out from mental exhaustion, lying limp in her arms.
Ding-dong.
"The host has been invaded by spiritual power. Convert?"
The system prompt sounded—but Harry was unconscious and couldn't hear it.
Inside Harry's spiritual world, a red glow quietly slipped in, drifting through the blue sea of consciousness. It took root unnoticed. No one sensed it.
So, Storm and Nightcrawler reappeared outside the door. The base began to shake violently. Nightcrawler vanished again, reappearing with Professor X in his grasp.
"Go!" Storm shouted.
The shaking grew worse. Debris began to fall from the ceiling of the battered tunnel.
Jean withdrew her mental link from Harry's mind, but her expression changed. She had sensed something slip from her own consciousness into Harry's through their psychic connection—and at the same time, she sensed something foreign had appeared in her mind. Yet she had no memory of how or when it got there.
For a moment, she felt just like Wolverine—fragmented, missing pieces of herself. The realization made her panic.
Storm's shout snapped her back. She steadied herself, lifted Harry, and hurried toward the exit.
As expected, Wolverine had ignored Harry's warning and escaped through the exit, and the Death Girl who had fought beside him earlier also emerged with everyone.
Everything afterward unfolded just like the original plot—but Harry no longer knew any of it.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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