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*****
The Y-Weapons surrounded Stryker.
The situation had completely reversed. Stryker's expression was twisted with despair as he coughed violently, looking as though he might collapse at any moment.
At his side stood two special Y-Weapons, designed specifically as his personal guardians.
Through his long conflict with Charles, he had learned what abilities were most difficult to counter.
Thus, these two Y-Weapons were given defensive powers—protective barriers, telekinesis, and psychic shielding. When used together, their combined strength was even greater.
This was the main reason Stryker dared to appear before Logan and the others with such a frail body.
But now, those protective barriers were being put to their greatest test.
Watching the Y-Weapons attack, Charles gave Stryker a faint smile. "Sorry, but this is the only way to bring you out."
Stryker ignored him, his gaze fixed instead on the distant battlefield where Weapon Z fought.
As long as Weapon Z arrived in time, there was still hope for escape.
But…
Seeing Weapon Z being mercilessly pummeled by Mike, Stryker's face twitched.
Weapon Z couldn't break free, not even with teleportation.
He had miscalculated—he had never imagined Mike's strength would reach this level.
Moments later, when Mike appeared carrying the battered remains of Weapon Z—only a head left intact—and then incinerated it before Stryker's eyes with heat vision, Stryker let out a long sigh and said to Charles, "Tell them to stop."
He waved his hand, and the protective barrier shielding him vanished.
Staggering forward a step, his frail body nearly gave out.
Charles turned to Logan and said, "Take everyone back inside."
With a glance toward the surrounding Y-Weapons, Logan silently nodded.
He understood what Charles intended, and quickly led the children away.
"You too."
Mike nudged Gwen.
She pouted, dispelled her transformation, and left together with Laura.
A dozen seconds later, once Logan and the children had departed, a sharp glint flashed in Charles's eyes. His psychic power erupted, detonating within the minds of the Y-Weapons. One by one, their bodies collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Now, only Stryker remained standing, struggling to keep himself upright. Charles sighed and approached him.
"Didn't expect we'd meet again."
"Nor did I expect you to still be alive," Stryker rasped, his eyes flicking toward the corpse of the elderly Charles in the wheelchair. "And with a new body, no less. Did you… create one? A duplicate?"
But seeing the lifeless body had already given him the answer.
He paused, his face twisting with bitter unwillingness.
"I hate this!"
He had thought this battle would end with the mutants buried alongside him.
Regret, resentment, hatred, unwillingness…
Every emotion was written openly across Stryker's face.
"And yet… I am glad."
Charles smiled faintly.
The mutants now had hope again. He and Logan had found new purpose.
The two men looked at each other and sighed in unison.
In the end, one side had to lose.
While mutants had once flourished under the leadership of the X-Men, Stryker had lain in wait, nearly eradicating them. But at this final stage, Charles and Wolverine had each been reborn—one with a new body, the other with renewed youth.
Charles had no doubt they could lead the children to restore the glory of the X-Men and bring mutants back into the world.
Perhaps… this was fate.
A smile spread across Stryker's face as he extended his hand, like a dying ember reaching for reconciliation.
Charles clasped it briefly—then drove his psychic power straight into Stryker's mind, freezing him in place. "Leave with some dignity. I'll see to it you at least have a whole body."
Under his control, Stryker's other hand opened.
Clink…
A custom-built bomb dropped from his palm.
Stryker's eyes filled with regret as the last traces of warmth faded from him like an extinguished flame.
Watching him collapse, Charles glanced at the corpse and suddenly gave a dry laugh. "Blame it on having no good father."
Then, turning to Mike, he winked. "Don't you agree, Dad?"
Mike cleared his throat softly. "How did you know?"
He hadn't felt any psychic intrusion into his mind.
"Gwen," Charles admitted awkwardly. "This new body… I'm not fully attuned to my powers yet. When I controlled those Y-Weapons earlier, I accidentally brushed against others and… saw a few things."
Mike looked at him with an expression that clearly said, Who would believe that?
Charles scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
He had always wondered why Mike and Gwen treated him so kindly. After learning the truth, his doubts disappeared, and his fondness for them only grew.
Seeing Mike still staring silently at him, Charles forced a grin and suddenly declared, "Dad, I promise I won't do it again."
Mike shuddered. "Stop!"
For some reason, hearing this Charles say it—despite having the same face as his own world's Charles—made his skin crawl.
Perhaps it was because of that old face lying in the wheelchair.
Casting a glance at the corpse, Mike waved his hand and started walking toward the house. "Go deal with your own body."
Charles's smile stiffened. Handling his own corpse… that was indeed a complicated feeling.
Just then, Mike paused mid-step. "Oh, and by the way, you're only wearing a lab coat right now. If the wind blows… well, everything shows. Quite indecent, really. Tsk tsk."
Charles froze, body stiffening completely.
A breeze swept through, lifting the hem of his lab coat. The touch of the wind against his skin was almost intimate, but his lips twitched as he hastily pressed the fabric down.
The sight carried a strange resemblance to Monroe's famous pose.
Mike smirked, and just before stepping inside, he finally burst into hearty laughter.
Hearing the laughter, Charles's face remained rigid for a moment, then he too couldn't help but chuckle.
It seemed that in another world, Charles truly had a good father.
But now, staring at the two corpses, he found himself troubled.
Bury them? Too troublesome.
Better to cremate them—and have Logan…
"Charles, Dad sent me to help."
At that moment, Gwen walked out. She stopped before Charles and asked in an exaggeratedly cold tone, "So, do we need to dispose of the evidence?"
Charles nodded, then added helplessly, "Burning my own body hardly counts as destroying evidence."
"Oh, close enough!"
Waving her hand, Gwen summoned two blue flames that leapt onto the corpses.
Charles stepped back quickly, watching as both bodies crumbled into ash within moments. He gained a newfound respect for Gwen's power.
It was fortunate this little girl's heart was kind. In battle, she only disarmed enemies or melted their weapons. If she truly turned her fire against people…
Charles inhaled sharply at the thought.
(End of Chapter)