While Magneto was fighting, Mystique had already slipped into the base amid the chaos.
With Stryker busy dealing with Magneto, Mystique took the opportunity to break into the control room. She shot the guards on sight and finally located the Cerebro chamber at the bottom of the dam. She also saw the footage of Magneto being poisoned and quickly turned back to find him.
At the same time, Stryker reached his son's chamber and gave the final order, "Find all mutants. Kill them."
He then turned to the guards stationed at the entrance. "Anyone who comes near—kill them. Even me."
This last phase couldn't afford even the slightest slip-up. Then he prepared to make his exit. As for his mutant son? He didn't care. He could always clone more.
Magneto was barely holding on. "Stop Charles. Hurry."
But Mystique only wanted to save him now. She rushed toward the exit, but just before making it out, an attack struck her from behind and sent her flying.
Her back was badly burned, and Magneto was also blasted away like a rag doll.
Mystique lay face-down in the snow, struggling to turn her head—only to see Cyclops standing there. He'd been injected with some kind of drug.
Stryker and Lady Deathstrike arrived right after. "You're both about to die anyway," Stryker said coldly. "I don't mind sending you to hell a little early. Cyclops, kill them."
Cyclops raised the setting on his visor to full power, aiming a lethal blast at Magneto and Mystique.
Mystique closed her eyes. It was over. The mutant race was finished—whether now or a little later didn't matter. So she shut her eyes and waited for death to come.
Magneto felt the same. In that moment, he seemed to age ten years. "We lost."
Vzzzzzz!
The hum of the laser beam charged the air.
Suddenly—
"Hyahh!"
A shout cut through the air like a warhorn, snapping everyone's attention toward the tree line.
From between the snow-laden pines burst five riders—three women and two men—charging across the frozen ground like gods descending from the heavens.
Liu A'dou's voice rang out: "Logan, protect Magneto!"
In the lead, Wolverine didn't hesitate. He leapt from the saddle at full speed, unsheathing his claws mid-air and landing just in time to block Cyclops's optic blast. Adamantium could take it.
"X-Men?" Mystique blinked in disbelief. She hadn't expected to be saved by them in the end.
Jean saw her current boyfriend under mind control and stayed behind to help. The others rode on at full speed, hooves pounding the frozen earth.
"They're trying to stop me?" Stryker scowled. Seeing that only Logan and Jean had stayed back, he realized what their goal was. "Lady Deathstrike, kill them." He couldn't allow any surprises at the last minute.
Lady Deathstrike shot forward like a missile.
"Elsa, freeze her!"
Elsa flung her arm back, and a wall of ice erupted behind them, instantly sealing Lady Deathstrike into the wall like an awkward, misplaced brick.
"No no no! I won't let them ruin everything I've built!" Stryker growled. He pulled a remote from his pocket. "I need more troops. I must purify this world."
He pressed the remote. Alarm sirens howled through the dam.
All soldiers were placed on maximum alert. Turrets and cannons emerged from the dam's surface—it instantly became a full-blown fortress.
Is there no concept of peace in this world? Liu A'dou hadn't even started swearing when the assault began. Weapons of all kinds rained down on them.
Exploding snow mixed with gunpowder smoke, filling the air with the sharp stench of battle. The horses were rattled, riders dismounted. But Elsa stood firm. With a push of both hands, a wave of snow surged skyward and slammed into the dam, freezing everything solid. Her magic was so strong that even the lake behind the dam iced over.
With no more interference, the trio charged into the dam, cutting through to the deepest level. No one could stop them. All they left in their wake were frozen statues—it looked like the Ice Age had returned.
Tracking life signs, Liu A'dou led them the right way. At last, they stood before a circular gate. Every guard there had been turned into a block of ice.
"Let the pro handle the door," Ada Wong gestured to Liu A'dou. "Be my guest."
Liu A'dou looked at the high-security retina-scanned electronic door. Normally, hacking into the system with a virus would be the way to go—but who had time for that now? So he raised his leg and kicked it.
The door was thick. One kick didn't break it.
Inside, Professor X had already located every mutant, and in his illusion, the little girl said, "Kill them. Kill them all."
Professor X unleashed a telepathic shockwave, and all the mutants suddenly felt like their brains were being eaten alive by swarms of invisible insects. Agonizing headaches wracked their minds.
"A'dou, hurry! I can feel Logan and Jean's life energy fluctuating. The professor has started his attack."
"I know." Liu A'dou ignited his Microcosmos and punched with all his might. "Break!"
Boom—
The door shattered from his blow, but it wasn't over yet.
"Where's the professor?" Everyone peered inside and saw only a little girl standing in the middle.
"It's an illusion. Burn your Microcosmos—burn it to the limit." The simplest way to break an illusion was to overwhelm the caster's power.
Liu A'dou and Ada Wong ignited their Microcosmos simultaneously. The scene before them twisted. On the suspended bridge, two bald men in wheelchairs appeared. Liu A'dou rushed forward and knocked out the younger-looking bald man with a quick strike, then removed the mental link helmet from Professor X's head.
Professor X passed out immediately.
"Whew, close one," Liu A'dou wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead. "We saved the mutants."
Ada Wong chuckled. "You don't seem too worried."
"I was worried back in the forest, afraid we wouldn't make it in time. But once we got to the dam, I knew we'd be fine," Liu A'dou said, then noticed Elsa standing outside the door, dazed. He waved a hand in front of her face. "Elsa? You okay?"
Elsa blinked, finally snapping out of it. "What happened?"
"You were caught in the illusion. Without a Microcosmos, you couldn't break free," Liu A'dou took the chance to lecture her. "See? You still need to train."
Elsa didn't respond. She was still shaken, as if she'd just returned to that lonely castle on the mountain peak—alone, forever.
"Enough talk. Let's get the professor out of here."
They pushed the two wheelchairs through the winding corridors until they finally got out. Outside, the love triangle fight had ended. Cyclops, who had taken two solid punches from Wolverine, was back to his senses. The three now stood awkwardly, avoiding eye contact.
The injured Mystique had Magneto resting on her lap but was too weak to help him further. At that moment, Liu A'dou's group emerged.
"Professor?!"
"He's fine, just unconscious. A little rest and he'll be back to normal." Liu A'dou looked over the battlefield and noticed someone missing. "Where's Stryker?"
Wolverine looked a bit awkward. "When all of us were hit with that psychic blast, we lost it for a moment... and Stryker ran."
Just then, the sound of rotor blades came from the forest. A helicopter slowly rose above the trees.
"That has to be Stryker." Cyclops was about to blast the chopper with his optic beam, but Liu A'dou stopped him.
"Let me handle it." Liu A'dou ran back into the dam. A moment later, he came out carrying an RPG launcher.
Everyone stared at him. Cyclops didn't lower his hands, just in case Liu A'dou missed and he had to follow up. But they waited… and Liu A'dou still didn't fire.
"Liu, if you don't shoot now, you'll miss your chance," Jean urged. "Do it!"
But Liu A'dou handed the RPG to Ada Wong. "Ada-jie, enchant this for me."
"Huh?" Ada looked confused, then suddenly understood. She leaned in and kissed the warhead, leaving a faint lipstick mark.
"Perfect." With Ada's blessing, Liu A'dou didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger.
The missile streaked through the air, trailing white smoke behind it—then struck the helicopter.
Boom—
Poor Secretary of Defense Stryker was blown to bits along with his escape vehicle.
And Liu A'dou and Ada Wong's not-so-subtle public display of affection had everyone around gagging. It was just too much. Seriously—using lipstick to enchant an RPG?
Only Liu A'dou looked satisfied. From now on, Ada-jie's kiss-sealed RPGs would belong to him and him alone. Hahaha—