Seeing that his thrown rocks were blocked by Alex, the short biker grabbed a handful of gravel from the ground and infused it with energy.
"Let's see how you defend against this!"
The gravel flew from his hands, surrounding Alex in a deadly cloud.
Facing the explosive projectiles, Alex didn't hesitate. He released maximum-power energy blasts from both hands, sweeping them toward the flying gravel.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The charged gravel detonated, causing countless explosions in the air.
This time Alex wasn't just defending. After dealing with the gravel attack, he aimed both hands at his opponent and unleashed another volley of energy blasts.
Facing the red energy surge, the biker didn't try to block it. Instead, he darted to the side, easily avoiding the attack.
As he regained his footing, another barrage of gravel flew from his hands, colliding with Alex's energy blasts and causing continuous explosions.
While Alex was locked in this back-and-forth battle, Hank's situation was decidedly one-sided.
Although Hank's grasp of fighting techniques was quite good, against an opponent with such overwhelming strength, his own physical power seemed childlike in comparison.
Facing the tall biker's attacks, Hank could only retreat. Fortunately, his mutant ability made him much more agile than his opponent, allowing his flexible movements to easily evade the powerful blows.
"..."
Watching Hank's struggle, Marcus felt somewhat speechless. The two combatants looked like they were just playing a game of tag.
The tall mutant moved slowly, but each attack was devastatingly powerful. Every stomp or direct hit caused massive damage to the surroundings.
Though Hank was nimble, he could only circle his opponent, constantly evading attacks without landing any meaningful blow of his own.
Still, Marcus understood this was Hank's best option. Unable to match his opponent's strength, he was right to choose this evasive strategy.
"I need to limit his movements somehow," Hank thought while dodging another attack.
Swish!
The water pipes in the ruins suddenly burst, with large amounts of water gushing out. Seeing the spray, an idea instantly formed in Hank's mind.
"I've got it!"
Grinning to himself, Hank pivoted and rushed toward the broken water pipe. He had a plan to use the water to his advantage.
As he moved, the mutant chasing him followed straight into the water-soaked area.
"You can't escape!"
The tall biker swung his fist again, smashing the already damaged water pipe completely. A torrent of water erupted, soaking him from head to toe.
"Heh, I didn't come here to hide!"
Hank looked at his opponent with a smirk, grabbed a wooden stick, and used it to guide some exposed electrical wires from the ruins into the pooling water.
Electricity instantly spread throughout the puddle. The mutant, standing in the water and already soaked, began convulsing violently as current surged through his body.
Against electricity, his tremendous strength was useless. He could only stand there, his entire body twitching uncontrollably.
Seeing Hank cleverly using the environment, Marcus nodded with approval.
Just as he was appreciating Hank's tactics, the electrocuted mutant suddenly flew into the air, breaking contact with the water.
If the man's body hadn't still been twitching occasionally, Hank might have thought it was another mutant power. But Marcus, observing the fight, spotted the newcomers responsible.
Three young men had just arrived, dressed identically to the first two mutants—leather jackets covered with metal studs, like members of a biker gang. The one walking in front had clearly used his powers to save the electrocuted mutant.
"Looks like I'll have to get involved after all!"
The first two mutants were Hank and Alex's responsibility, but Marcus would need to handle these three newcomers himself.
The moment Marcus decided to act, the three new arrivals unleashed their abilities against Hank and Alex.
Earth and rocks rose from the ruins and hurtled toward Alex. Along with the debris came a barrage of steel balls, shooting at incredible speed toward both of them.
Assessing the attack, Marcus knew Alex couldn't possibly defend against so many projectiles—his energy blasts couldn't destroy them all.
In a flash, Marcus appeared in front of the steel balls. His virtual energy field instantly activated, reflecting all the flying projectiles in different directions.
"Let's have some fun!"
As he spoke, Marcus charged toward the trio, the Devil's Touch whip in hand. The three mutants seemed unconcerned about the approaching weapon, showing no worry that it might harm them.
Indeed, Marcus's initial attack proved ineffective. The whip didn't connect with any of them, instead striking an invisible shield surrounding them.
The ability of the third mutant was now revealed—a transparent spherical barrier that explained their confidence.
"So that's how it works. But you don't really think this little shield can stop me, do you?"
The Devil's Touch lashed out again. This time, Marcus infused it with void energy and struck hard at the three mutants.
Snap!
The enhanced whip penetrated the shield and knocked down the mutant who had been controlling objects with his mind.
"ARGH!" The man screamed in pain.
"Reed! Are you okay?" The mutant who had been firing steel balls looked anxiously at his fallen comrade. He couldn't understand how the whip had penetrated their shield when it was still visibly intact.
"I..." Reed struggled to his feet, grimacing. "My arm seems broken."
The searing pain convinced him this was no illusion. But their shield remained in place—how had the attacker reached him?
"Rorschach, kill him!!!"
With a roar, Rorschach hurled numerous steel balls at Marcus. His ability—kinetic acceleration—could multiply an object's base velocity several times.
Combined with the steel balls, this power effectively turned them into bullets. Even casually thrown, they possessed the impact force of a shotgun blast.
Facing an opponent of unknown capabilities, Rorschach held nothing back, throwing the steel balls with his full strength.
Their speed increased dramatically the moment they left his hand, streaking toward Marcus. But expectations rarely match reality.
The moment the steel balls struck Marcus's virtual energy field, they were reflected back, embedding themselves in the surrounding ground.
"Impressive ability. Shame it's useless against me!"
Marcus walked slowly toward the group. These mutants had formidable powers that might have overwhelmed ordinary opponents. Unfortunately for them, they faced Marcus, who could suppress their abilities. Against him, their powers were effectively neutralized.
As Marcus approached, the transparent shield flickered and vanished. The three mutants suddenly found their abilities gone.
Rorschach threw more steel balls, but they simply bounced off Marcus's body without their previous lethal velocity. Reed stretched out his hand to telekinetically attack with nearby objects, but nothing moved at his command.
"Don't waste your energy." Marcus kicked all three to the ground with swift leg sweeps. He pulled out a rope and began binding them. "Seriously? Can't you guys let me relax a little?"