The sound of helicopters was already roaring overhead, and Wolverine had smelled the scent of danger. The other teachers quickly woke up too. Aside from the missing Cyclops and Professor X, Storm and Jean were present.
No one knew why helicopters would arrive in the middle of the night, but it was definitely not a good thing.
"Wake everyone up," Jean ordered.
It was the right call. The students had barely begun to rouse from their sleep when the attack began.
Missiles launched directly into the mansion grounds, injuring several children instantly.
More missiles followed, completely disregarding the lives inside. Stryker didn't care about casualties—he only wanted the Cerebro.
"Get everyone to the tunnels, now!" Jean shouted as terrified students screamed and followed the teachers.
"Storm, give us some cover!"
Storm looked out the window, her eyes glowing as she summoned thick clouds and powerful winds, causing helicopters to lose balance and spin out of control. The airborne units were temporarily grounded—now the ground troops moved in.
The mutant extermination unit, which had been lying in wait around the school, launched their assault. Ratatatata...
Anyone identified as a mutant was to be shot on sight. No mercy. Bullets tore through walls, grenades cleared rooms. Blood of the innocent mutants stained the hallways.
"No!" Wolverine couldn't believe there were people this deranged—willing to gun down children. He extended his six claws and charged headlong into the storm of bullets.
Storm was hit in the abdomen by stray fire and collapsed amidst the chaos.
Jean didn't even have time to use her powers to retaliate—she could only pull Storm to safety. Oh God, they were just kids. Many were crying, injured. And the attackers were using live ammo?!
"Protect the students!" Jean formed a telekinetic shield to block bullets and urged the children into the tunnels. "Hurry, go, don't look back—just keep running!"
Storm, clutching her wound, helped lead the children to the other end of the tunnel, leaving behind a trail of blood.
"Logan, get back!" Jean called out when she saw that the students had gotten away, but Wolverine was still fighting, surrounded by soldiers.
There were too many. All heavily armed. His jacket was in tatters, his body peppered with bullet wounds. Though he wouldn't die, the pain was overwhelming. He was close to collapsing.
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed from within the mansion—"ROARRRR—!" A massive white yeti charged out from the corridor, its hulking form filling the entire hallway. It barreled into the enemy, swinging its massive arms covered in jagged ice spikes and sending soldiers flying.
"Elsa?" Jean turned to look—and sure enough, Elsa had returned through the tunnel. The yeti was clearly under her control.
"Teacher, pull Wolverine back!" Elsa shouted.
Jean used her power to drag Logan, who was on the verge of passing out, back to them. He was covered in blood—some his, some not—but clearly had taken the worst of it. His jacket was shredded, his exposed skin full of fresh wounds, though much of it had just healed.
Everyone else had already evacuated. Fortunately, they had woken the children in time—otherwise, there would've been deaths. As it stood, having only injuries was considered lucky.
"Let's go!"
Jean shut the tunnel entrance. She and Elsa supported Wolverine as they quickly escaped, with Elsa freezing the passage behind them to prevent pursuit.
In less than two minutes, the Xavier Institute had fallen. The teachers didn't choose to fight—they chose to protect their students. Thanks to their quick reaction, no students were killed or captured.
The tunnel extended beyond the mansion grounds to a safer area, but no one knew where they could go next.
When Stryker and the Lady Deathstrike entered the mansion, the suppression was already over.
"Find the basement. I can't wait to open this gift."
The glasses on his face only made Stryker look colder and more sinister, not scholarly in the slightest. A man like this becoming Secretary of Defense meant that even without mutants, he would find some way to provoke war.
The soldiers quickly located the elevator leading into the base. At the very bottom was Professor X's Cerebro machine. As Stryker stared at the sealed door, a twisted smile finally spread across his face. It was the perfect gift. Soon, he'd purify the world.
"Professor X and Cyclops must've run into trouble," said Jean. "Right now, we need medical attention."
But they couldn't go to a hospital. The attackers were clearly military. That meant someone high up wanted to wipe out mutants. Hospitals weren't safe.
Boom—
A muffled explosion echoed in the distance. They were probably using explosives to destroy the underground headquarters of the X-Men.
"Who the hell are these people?" Logan asked, recovering a bit of his strength.
No one knew.
Elsa saw everyone was exhausted and the place wasn't safe, so she stepped forward. "Come with me. Let's go to my place."
"Big Sis Elsa," called Shadowcat, who had begun calling Elsa "sister" ever since working on the movie together. "Are you sure that's okay?"
"It's fine," Elsa replied firmly. "Let's move."
"Yes, let's go," Jean encouraged everyone. "Storm, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. I can hold on."
Wolverine helped Storm to her feet. They had to make it to the road and find a vehicle. With over thirty people, and only Jean and Logan old enough to drive, they needed a big ride.
It was a mess, but thankfully, everyone was still alive. Storm was in the worst shape. Her abdomen was still bleeding, and her lips were already pale.
Luckily, they found a vehicle—a school bus.
They drove it all the way to Liu A'dou's house.
Elsa, familiar with the place, opened the door with ease. But the house was empty. Still, it wasn't time to worry about where Liu A'dou had gone—maybe he'd gone off playing Kaitou Kid again. It wasn't unusual.
"Clear off the coffee table. We need a platform," Logan said when he noticed how bad Storm's condition was.
"Everyone else, go somewhere else. Stay out of the living room," Jean instructed. She and Logan watched Storm nervously. She'd already passed out, and her shirt was soaked in blood at the abdomen.
Logan pressed down on the wound while thinking how to extract the bullets.
"Jean, can you do surgery?" he asked.
Jean nodded, then shook her head. "We don't have the right tools. And Storm needs a transfusion. I'm not confident I can complete the surgery. She might bleed out halfway."
"Then let's take her to a hospital. I'll go. Worst case, they'll arrest me," Logan said without hesitation.
Jean was still thinking of other solutions.
Meanwhile, Elsa had taken the kids upstairs to rest and treat their wounds. Thankfully, most of them only had superficial injuries. They just needed a few stitches.
She warmed some milk in the kitchen and comforted the students. Having not been in modern society long, Elsa didn't know many skills, so she couldn't help Storm. The most she could do was look after the kids and try calling Liu A'dou.
Unfortunately, Liu A'dou's phone was off. After two days without charging, the battery had died.
Elsa could only hope he hadn't gone too far away and would come back soon.
She knew that Liu A'dou's Ripple could save Storm.