A portal opened, and Sebastian emerged, followed closely by Selene. Sebastian frowned slightly as he observed a man lying on the ground beside him. The man was dressed in a pitch-black combat uniform and bore an appearance identical to Scott Summers, though he looked significantly older.
Seeing Sebastian's expression, Selene immediately spoke. "My Lord, this is a cloned mutant created by Essex, a member of his Sinister Squad. This clone is based on Cyclops Scott from the X-Men."
"It seems Essex has cloned quite a few mutants."
"Essex is very selective about his cloning targets. He believes he should only clone those who are sufficiently powerful, so he refuses to clone mutants weaker than his targets. Most of the Sinister Squad clones come from the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants."
Selene's explanation was barely finished when two clouds of blue smoke appeared before them. Nightcrawler Kurt was pinned to the ground by a clone mutant in a pitch-black combat uniform with an identical appearance. The clone's tail, wrapped around a sharp dagger, aimed toward Kurt's throat.
Kurt instinctively attempted to teleport away, but before he could, a burst of yellow-green flame energy suddenly struck the clone. With a sharp sound, the clone's body flew backward as if scorched, instantly succumbing to the blow.
The clone disappeared from the spot after being hit, and Kurt immediately reappeared in the distance, looking extremely vigilant toward the direction from which the yellow-green energy came. When he saw that the visitors were Sebastian and Selene, Kurt was genuinely stunned for a moment. He looked at Sebastian with some wariness and shouted, "Mr. Sebastian, you... why are you with that woman?"
"What happened before was a misunderstanding, and it has been resolved. She will not do anything to us, nor will she help the people here. You can rest assured," Sebastian replied. "Let us not discuss this now. How are Tony, Reed, Charles and Eric?"
Kurt reluctantly accepted Sebastian's explanation. When he heard the question, he immediately shook his head. "I do not know how the professor and the others are doing. When we separated, we were immediately attacked by these clones. I found other people, and everyone's situation is similar, but I have not found the location of Mr. Stark and Mr. Richards, nor the professor and Magneto. They may be in the underground area where I cannot teleport."
"You cannot teleport in the underground area? What is happening?"
"I do not know either, but I believe it might be Jean's doing. The feeling I get from that area is very similar to Jean. It resembles how Jean felt when she used her abilities to help me before. However, her abilities are preventing me from entering the underground area, and combined with that clone's interference, I cannot get in."
After hearing Kurt's explanation, Sebastian now understood the situation clearly. It was unfortunate that Selene had not been interested in Essex's plans. She had not participated in them and had not asked many questions. Otherwise, Sebastian could have obtained the details directly and avoided this trouble.
"Kurt, tell the others what is happening. If possible, help them defeat their opponents. I will go help Charles and Eric."
"Okay, Mr. Sebastian."
With that reply, Kurt immediately disappeared and went to assist others elsewhere.
At this moment, Sebastian looked at Selene and suddenly asked, "Selene, do you know where Essex keeps his experimental data and samples?"
Hearing this, Selene smiled immediately. "Of course. I participated in his experiments to some extent, and I know the specific locations of those key experimental data and samples."
"Good. Go and take them. I will let you know when this is over. You do not need to participate in the remaining battles. Once you find what I need, you can leave here temporarily."
Selene, now bound to Sebastian by contract and happy to escape the Phoenix Force situation, immediately obeyed. She turned and retreated into the Warp. Without Sebastian's Space Stone power suppressing her, Selene's movements returned to their ghostly speed.
Seeing Selene depart, Sebastian did not hesitate. With a slight wave of his wand, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shifted like sand, revealing a massive hole. Sebastian jumped into it, passing through the building levels one after another until he arrived at the underground laboratory below.
Landing in the underground laboratory, Sebastian could clearly sense a powerful spiritual force permeating the area, mingled with the Phoenix Force and clearly emanating from Jean Grey.
Sensing the location of Tony, Reed, Charles and the others, Sebastian understood they were gathered together in combat. Sebastian took a step forward, transformed into black smoke and vanished. He ignored the obstruction of walls and passed through them, finally spotting Tony and the others engaged in battle.
Whoosh! Sebastian emerged from the swirling black smoke, his wand flaring with power. A dark green light emanated from it, striking directly at the pale, vampire-like man with only white eyes. Between his brows was a red crystal emitting a flame-like laser light. It was Essex, who had unleashed his abilities and called himself Mister Sinister.
Seeing the dark green light from Sebastian's wand, Mister Sinister instantly transformed into blue smoke and vanished. Clearly, Mister Sinister—once an ordinary man—had used advanced genetic technology to grant himself numerous abilities, making him worthy of being called a second Apocalypse.
Buzz! Mister Sinister appeared behind the group, and the crystal between his eyebrows emitted a burst of red light shooting toward them. This laser ability clearly came from Scott and his brothers.
Crunch... Eric did not hesitate. He was already wearing his helmet and ignored Mister Sinister's mental interference, forcibly tearing metal from the ground to form a shield that protected himself and Charles.
Meanwhile, Tony's armor's nanobots surged into action, transforming into two massive shields that blocked both him and Reed.
With a bang, Sebastian appeared beside Tony. "What is wrong with this man?"
"He is the owner of Essex Corporation. He was originally just an ordinary person, but he used his technology to empower himself with numerous mutant abilities. I never imagined such a twisted lunatic existed in this world. He is blocking us, and we cannot get in to check on Jean. But you can sense that Jean Grey is in serious trouble."
"I understand. Go find Jean. I will handle this."