"John! John, what is actually wrong with you?" Iceman Bobby asked, his voice laced with confusion and alarm. He stared at Fireman John, who was sprawled out on the floor—motionless, rigid, and completely paralyzed, yet physically unharmed. Beside him, Rogue (Anna) looked at Huang Wen with raw, unmasked suspicion.
Both Bobby and Rogue had witnessed this effect before, only once, but the memory was seared into their minds. It was when John had almost publicly lost control in the city, using his powers against an ordinary person.
In the next instant, the entire crowd—including John—had suddenly frozen solid. That had been Charles's telepathic power, a vast, invisible mental cage taking control of everyone's motor functions to prevent a disaster.
The visual similarity was uncanny. John the Fireman was motionless on the ground, just as he had been under Professor X's mental lock.
Therefore, Iceman Bobby and Rogue immediately and subconsciously jumped to the same conclusion: Huang Wen was a mutant, a psychic, and one with a power frighteningly similar to Professor X's.
"This isn't psychic manipulation, Banner. This is Kung Fu. It's a precision skill, known as the technique of dismantling plaster—isolating the flow of energy to specific points," Logan explained gruffly, sensing the fear and confusion radiating from the young mutants and Bruce.
Logan considered himself the expert here, the only one who truly grasped the depths of his Boss's unconventional power. "And no, he's not a mutant, no matter what he makes you think."
"Kung Fu? You're telling me that a non-mutant fighting style can generate that kind of instantaneous, total paralysis?" Bruce Banner challenged, his scientific mind instantly skeptical, even as he instinctively lowered his voice.
Bruce was an expert on gamma radiation and physics, not ancient Chinese mysticism. But when he glanced at Logan—the man who claimed to be two hundred years old—he fell silent. Maybe, just maybe, Logan's longevity meant he knew things that modern science hadn't yet quantified.
"Kid, out of all the people you could have messed with, you picked my current Boss? Didn't Charles teach you any basic manners?" Logan grumbled, dragging the stiff form of John the Fireman into the brightly lit martial arts gym and unceremoniously dropping him onto the canvas-covered floor.
"When the Boss decides to unfreeze your neck, you better apologize to him properly, or I'll be teaching you a lesson myself."
"What a regrettable shame," Huang Wen muttered to himself, shaking his head.
He truly felt a sting of disappointment. If he had been quicker and issued the Legendary Mission before the paralysis, he would have secured a Legendary Draw immediately. But alas, John the Fireman had been too annoying, too disrespectful, and Huang Wen's instinct to assert dominance had overridden his gambling nature.
In truth, John the Fireman was the perfect stereotype of an arrogant, restless teenager. Having only recently manifested his destructive abilities, he was absolutely at the peak of the "love-to-show-off" and "might-makes-right" stage.
The nurturing, philosophical style of Xavier's Academy, which focused on integration and control, was completely incompatible with John's rebellious nature. This inherent disconnect was the reason John would later abandon the X-Men's path of coexistence, seeking out Magneto's path of confrontation—because Magneto offered validation for his destructive power.
"Boss, give the kid a break and unlock him," Logan leaned closer to Huang Wen, whispering in a low, conspiratorial tone. "I know he deserved it, but I'm the one who hauled his sorry carcass all the way here, right? We need to keep the peace, for now."
"Very well." Huang Wen pondered for a moment and then nodded. He wasn't doing it for Logan, though. He fully believed that based on John the Fireman's arrogant behavior just moments ago, the moment he regained control, he would undoubtedly feel the need to lash out again to reclaim his pride. That would be the perfect moment to issue the mission.
Huang Wen's fingers blurred in a complex, almost balletic pattern, his movements so fast they were barely perceptible. With a sharp, internal flick of energy, he instantly freed Fireman John from a distance. He then subtly pulled up the mission page on his internal dashboard, ready to type out the mission command the second the teenager made a move.
"So… powerful!" John the Fireman gasped, immediately scrambling backward to a sitting position. His eyes were shining, a mix of lingering fear, profound awe, and an unsettling new admiration. He made absolutely no move to fight back.
My plan… it's broken. Huang Wen's mental preparation for a fight vanished in an instant. He hadn't counted on John the Fireman being a pure power worshipper, someone who instinctively recoiled from a superior force and instantly sought to join it.
Another crucial reason why Pyro John eventually became Magneto's devotee was precisely this: Magneto's sheer, visible, overwhelming power was so immense that John subconsciously developed an intense, almost religious sense of adoration for it.
"You don't need mutant abilities to be that strong? Then… can you teach me your style, sir?" John the Fireman asked, speaking quickly and urgently. His words weren't just non-provocative; they were laced with genuine respect, a sudden, desperate plea for tutelage.
"John! Are you serious?" Iceman Bobby became instantly agitated upon hearing his friend's words. He hissed a frantic warning, keeping his voice low but intense. "You are a student of Xavier's Academy! A soldier of the X-Men! You can't just turn your back on Professor X's teaching and beg for help from some outsider—some ordinary human—just because he pulled a parlor trick!"
"Is this the quality of student Charles Xavier is producing now?" Huang Wen's disappointment was genuine, and it bled into his voice. The impulsive, destructive nature of Fireman John was one thing, but Iceman Bobby's ideological rigidity—the absolute dismissal of non-mutant strength—was profoundly disturbing.
Bobby Drake was supposed to be a key successor to the X-Men, a figure with incredible, almost limitless, potential. Yet, with this mindset, this casual disdain for the capabilities of "ordinary people," how was he any different from the bigots who hated the mutants? He was mirroring the very prejudice he fought against.
It was a cold truth that the X-Men, despite their noble cause, had internal flaws. Cyclops, the designated leader, held a similar, subtle elitism toward baseline humanity, believing that mutants were simply superior. Perhaps Bobby had learned this attitude from his field leader.
"How dare you disrespect Professor Charles!"
The insult, the criticism of Charles's life work and his students, was the final trigger. Iceman Bobby's face flushed scarlet, his composure shattering. He saw a direct threat to their entire philosophy. He suddenly waved his hand toward Huang Wen, and a chilling, freezing force instantly spread through the air, causing the entire spacious gym to rapidly drop in temperature.
Huang Wen, however, was not angry. He was delighted. The mission he sought had finally presented itself, not from the rebellious John, but from the sanctimonious Bobby.
"Issue a mission: Defeat the Iceman," Huang Wen commanded internally, the mission page that had been pulled up moments ago finally finding its target.
"Quest being generated: Defeat Iceman Bobby Drake. Reward: One Legendary Skill Draw. Accept?"
"Accept!" Huang Wen mentally confirmed, the thrill of the Legendary reward overriding all other concerns. Just as he had hoped, Iceman Bobby's immense potential was enough to trigger a legendary-level bounty.
With a whisper of displaced air, Huang Wen executed his Light-Footed Skill, disappearing from his spot in an instant.
"Hmm? So fast!" Logan's eyes narrowed instantly, and his beast sense screamed a warning. Even with his accelerated vision and reflexes, Huang Wen's speed was so great that his physical form was barely a blur, almost an afterimage. Only the primal, heightened awareness of his senses allowed Logan to track the martial artist's precise location.
"Huh? Not good!" The moment Huang Wen vanished, Iceman Bobby's pupils constricted. He had reacted too late, realizing his aggressive move had invited an immediate, overwhelming response. With a desperate stomp of his foot on the wooden floor, he instantly enveloped himself in a protective shell—a four-walled, shimmering fortress of ultra-dense ice.
"Your reaction was quick, young man, but I haven't been idle during my time teaching the 'Boss,'" a smile of pure confidence appeared on Huang Wen's lips.
While he hadn't achieved massive breakthroughs in complex, magical abilities, his focus had been on refining the internal arts. Specifically, he had mastered the terrifying, advanced version of A Xing's ability: Hitting a Cow Through a Mountain.
With a sharp intake of breath, Huang Wen threw a punch. It wasn't a wild haymaker; it was a precise, controlled strike that slammed squarely into the surface of the ice wall.
"My ice wall is not so easily broken! Not unless you hit with the force of Mr. Hulk!" Iceman Bobby shouted from inside his crystalline bunker, his voice muffled but confident. He could feel the impact, but the ice hadn't cracked. He began to circulate his freezing energy, preparing his counterattack.
KRAK!
With a sudden, explosive sound, Iceman Bobby was instantly struck by an invisible, immense internal force. He hadn't been hit by the punch, but something inside his armor had shattered his defense. His body was launched violently sideways, smashing through the thick ice wall on the opposite side of the enclosure, sending shrapnel flying. He landed awkwardly on the gym's floor, skidding to a painful halt, his breathing ragged.
"What? How?" Iceman Bobby stared dumbfounded at the wall he had just created. There was clearly only a shallow indentation where Huang Wen's fist had landed; the ice hadn't been physically penetrated. So how had the force bypassed the solid medium and struck him directly? It was physically impossible for Huang Wen to have punched through the ice wall and hit him on the other side.
"What in the blazes kind of Kung Fu is that?" Even Logan was stunned into silence. He slowly scratched his head, his confusion evident. Huang Wen's strength was clearly growing at an exponential rate, and his methods were becoming increasingly mysterious, bridging the gap between superhuman ability and refined internal martial arts.
"That, young man, is the refinement of internal energy. We call it Gekong Da Niu—Hitting a Cow Across a Mountain," Huang Wen said with a faint, satisfied smile, looking down at the defeated Iceman Bobby lying on the canvas. He lowered his fist, which was completely unharmed.
"Now tell me, Iceman. Have you learned your lesson about the capabilities of a humble, non-mutant martial artist?"