Scott's full-power attack, when out of control, showed everyone just how terrifying it could be! That kind of power could easily level a hill in an instant. Yet, Lucci's face still wore an indifferent smile. He shook his head slightly. The laser eye attack, in essence, was a high-intensity directional energy shock originating from a particular alternate dimension. Its energy characteristics were quite similar to certain cosmic rays.
However, after Lucci's enlightenment and cultivation of the "Suppressing the Horse Will With Monkey Mind Method," the Hulk's body itself had become a miniature "gamma reactor." He could absorb, transform, and utilize all forms of gamma energy!
Scott's attack, deadly to others, was nothing to the Hulk...
It was at most a spicy appetizer before the meal—completely harmless.
But what Lucci cared about was something else. He didn't want his future subordinates to end up as blind men with burnt-out eyes. If Scott kept using his powers at full output, he could suffer permanent, irreparable damage to his eyes, nerves, and body functions.
"Really... Don't worry." Lucci sighed lightly.
Just as a fierce laser beam was about to strike Hulk's back, Lucci's figure flashed. In the next instant, he appeared as if teleporting, right in front of the fallen Cyclops, whose eyes were still wildly spewing energy! Cyclops, his face twisted in agony from losing control, stared at Lucci through the pure energy jets of his eyes.
"That's not how you use fire," Lucci said gently.
After speaking, Lucci used the "Great Universe Meditation Method." He pressed one hand directly onto Cyclops' face!
An unbelievable scene occurred! The laser beam, powerful enough to melt steel and vaporize rocks, touched Lucci's palm—and just like that, it was extinguished. Not blocked, not reflected, not even absorbed... but simply snuffed out, like a candle's flame!
The raging energy gushing from the source was forcibly "put out" by Lucci's "Origin True Fire Power"!
Cyclops felt a warm, dominant force pour into his eyes. The uncontrollable energy boiling inside him immediately calmed down, as if it had met a king, and then... fell silent. The red light in his eyes vanished completely. The world fell peaceful once more.
Cyclops stared at Lucci in utter shock, lying on the ground, covering his face with one hand. His mind went blank.
"My... my laser eyes? What happened... how did you destroy them?" he muttered in disbelief. He could feel the energy still inside him, but... he could no longer shoot it from his eyes! It was as if the "switch" had been forcibly turned off at the most fundamental level.
Lucci withdrew his hand and said coldly, "I'm saving you from destroying yourself. At least now you won't burn your eyes blind."
Just then, a roar echoed from the distance. Storm, who had been knocked away by Hulk, finally struggled to her feet from the crater. Her body was battered, but her eyes remained filled with fighting spirit. Seeing both Cyclops and Wolverine subdued, she began gathering wind and thunder to attack once more.
"Stop!" Professor X's majestic voice boomed across the lawn. "I am not being controlled! I made this decision for the mutants—for all our future!"
"Professor?" Storm, about to attack again, paused and looked at the familiar figure.
Cyclops, still dazed, quickly found his glasses and ran to Professor X's side. "Professor! Are you... really okay?"
They gazed into Professor X's eyes, checking his mental state. His eyes were filled with fatigue and a hint of bitterness, but they were clear and rational, with no sign of mind control. Professor X nodded and patted their hands, signaling he was safe.
Scott and Ororo exchanged looks, and the hostility and tension in their hearts finally faded.
Meanwhile, Lucci, seeing the situation under control, spoke lightly: "Hulk, let go."
"Yes, Teacher." Hulk obediently released Wolverine.
"Ugh... ugh..." Wolverine, finally free, sprang up from the ground, gasping for breath, his muscles still trembling from the terrifying strength he had just experienced. He looked up at Hulk; his former anger was gone, replaced by shock, frustration, and... deep disbelief.
What kind of monster was this green giant? His strength seemed bottomless! Wolverine's proud healing factor and adamantium bones were nothing but a joke in front of such absolute power!
"This isn't the place to talk," Professor X said, looking at the devastated lawn and the pale students nearby. "Ororo, Scott, Logan, and Prince Lucci, Mr. Hulk, Hank—please come with me to my office."
…
In the Principal's Office
A tense, strange atmosphere filled the room. Professor X sat behind his desk, Beast stood nearby, and Lucci lounged comfortably on the reception sofa, with Hulk standing behind him like a steadfast bodyguard. Wolverine, Storm, and Cyclops stood opposite, still shooting sharp glances at Lucci and Hulk.
Logan, rubbing his sore wrist and unable to shake off the lingering fear, finally broke the silence: "Professor, you'd better explain who these two really are... and what exactly they want with us?"
Professor X glanced at Lucci, then took a deep breath and began, "This is the Hulk, Dr. Bruce Banner, disciple of Prince Lucci." Pointing to Lucci, his tone grew solemn, even reverent: "And this is Prince Lucci—Heir to Asgard, successor to Odin, Protector of the Nine Realms, future King of the Gods... and the current Supreme Master of Kamar-Taj, the sacred magical sanctuary of Earth."
The office fell instantly silent.
Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops—all wore dumbfounded expressions. Their faces looked just like when they first heard these titles from the Professor and Beast: stunned and blank.
Asgard? Prince? Supreme Sorcerer? Was this some kind of fairy tale? Or had the Professor lost his mind?
"Is this... really real?" Scott, holding his glasses, muttered dazedly. Everything felt too bizarre and unreal.
"Of course it's real," Lucci replied calmly, picking up his tea and taking a cautious sip. "The so-called 'gods' aren't as mysterious as you think. I'm from Asgard, but in essence, I'm just a stronger and longer-lived being than you. You mutants are also a branch of human evolution, are you not?"
Professor X explained, "Logan, do you remember why I sent you to the Himalayas before? The global energy anomaly I asked you to investigate... was actually a magical net created by Prince Lucci."
The three were shocked! "Magical net?" Storm frowned. "What... what is that?"
Professor X relayed Lucci's grand "magical network" and its function—to monitor the world and defend against alien and dimensional threats.
Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops looked at each other in disbelief. Magic? Alien threats from the sky? Unknown dimensional threats? A global magical network? Each word clashed with the worldview they'd built since childhood!
"Is this... even possible?" Logan's face was full of skepticism. "How could anyone do that? That's... covering the whole planet!"
Lucci smiled indifferently. "What's impossible? Doesn't Professor X's psychic power cover the world?"
Logan shook his head. "That's different! The only reason the Professor can do global telepathy is with the help of the Cerebro amplifier. That's technology!"
Professor X's smile turned even more bitter. "Logan, you're right. But about Cerebro—it's already been upgraded and enhanced by Prince Lucci. And even more shockingly—he showed me, with my own eyes... the future of the mutant race."
He looked at the three, enunciating each word: "In a certain future timeline, mutants will be hunted by robots called Sentinels... on the brink of extinction!"
"What?" "The power of time? You can see the future?" "How is this possible?" Wolverine and the others were even more incredulous! This sounded even more unbelievable than "Prince of Asgard"!
Seeing their expressions of disbelief, Lucci finally put down his teacup and shook his head. Explaining the future to those who only believe what they see is a headache. In that case... let them see for themselves.
"There are too many possibilities in the future. Even if you see it, you might think it's an illusion. Then... let me show you your past."
With those words, he turned his palm over, and the Time Stone floated above it.
Buzz— Lucci directly invoked the power of time! Instead of peering into the fog of the future, he reached back and precisely captured the deepest fragments of memory from the three before him!
A curtain of emerald green light unfurled in the center of the office. Within the curtain, images appeared:
First up was a dark, damp, massive tank. A naked man, tubes attached all over, submerged in boiling liquid metal! He howled in beast-like agony. That was... Wolverine Logan, during Stryker's adamantium bonding experiment!
"This... this..." Logan's pupils shrank to pinpoints! The most painful memory of his life...
The scene changed. Now it was a crashing airplane. Two young boys, one of them a young Scott Summers with laser eyes! He hugged his brother and, in his last moments, used a parachute to give his younger sibling a chance to live...
"Alex..." Scott stared at the familiar yet alien figure in the light curtain, his lips trembling and eyes immediately welling up. This was the pain of his life!
Again, the scene shifted. A dusty street in Cairo, Egypt. A little girl with short white hair, dark skin, and ragged clothes, stealing a piece of bread from a passerby's pocket. Her eyes were full of vigilance and hardship beyond her years. That was... young, wandering Storm, Ororo!
Looking at their long-buried pasts, Storm trembled slightly. Lucci withdrew the power of time, and the curtain of light slowly faded.
The office fell silent once more.
Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm—all gazed at Lucci with awe and reverence, as if he were a god. Their deepest, most private memories—this man had replayed them like movies before everyone's eyes! This was completely beyond their understanding.
In this moment, all their doubts, disbelief, and uncontrollable emotions... were shattered before this undeniable "miracle"! They had nothing left to say.
Because they all knew one thing for certain—a person who could replay their "past" at will... and who spoke of the mutant race's urgent "future" against the Sentinels... everything he said must be true!
Thinking this, Wolverine Logan, Storm Ororo, and Cyclops Scott—any last traces of suspicion or resistance in their hearts disappeared. They stood there, deeply shocked, their worldview overturned.
After a long time, and many storms endured, Logan was the first to recover. He glanced at Lucci, then at Professor X, his eyes flashing with unprecedented solemnity... and relief.
He stepped forward and bowed deeply to Professor X. "Professor." Then turned to Lucci, his posture now respectful as that of a subordinate to a superior.
"Prince Lucci, I, Logan, am ready to follow the Professor's decision and fight for you!" His voice was low and determined, no longer hostile.
A being who could control time, foresee the future—a strong man whose warning about the Sentinels was now beyond doubt. For the sake of mutantkind's future, he was ready to lay aside all pride!
With Logan leading, Storm and Cyclops immediately followed.
"We're willing as well, Prince Lucci!" "For the future of mutantkind, we are ready to follow you!" they said solemnly.
Lucci looked at the three, now utterly loyal, and smiled, nodding slightly to accept their allegiance.
…
Bonus chapter at 300 PS
Read advanced chapters at patreon.com/AbsoluteCode