For soone like Logan, who had always relied on his healing ability, Deathstroke's words hit like the end of the world.
He wouldn't bleed out easily. Even if the wound was hard to heal, his body could still produce blood. That function wouldn't shut down from a single injury.
But this ti, the spot he'd been stabbed in was his heart.
If it didn't recover quickly, the cells in his body would begin to die. And once his brain shut down from a lack of oxygen, even the idea of healing would be lost. Not even he could survive that.
"I..."
Logan struggled to get up and fight back, but his oxygen-starved body couldn't summon enough strength.
His movent did nothing to threaten Deathstroke. Instead, he collapsed face-first onto the ground.
"Well, this works out. I can finish two tasks in one go," the rcenary said coldly.
He stepped toward Logan, planning to kill both mutants and deliver their corpses to Reid and William.
"You idiot! Charging in like that didn't help at all!" Ororo shouted, frustration and pain in her voice. Still, she forced herself to stand between Logan and Deathstroke, shielding him with her broken body.
Under Charles' teachings, maybe these X-n never truly saw humans as important. But when it ca to their own kind, they still showed unwavering loyalty and courage. If the world were made up only of mutants, people like them would surely be famous heroes—selfless and admired.
But unfortunately, this world still belonged to humans.
Just as Deathstroke raised his blade to finish off both Logan and Ororo, a powerful invisible shockwave blasted in from the forest's edge and slamd into him, hurling him backward.
"Ugh..."
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his chest caved in from the impact.
"An enemy...?" Gasping for breath, he steadied himself. Then dropped to one knee, waiting for his body to slowly recover. His eyes locked onto the newcor standing beside Ororo and Logan—Jean.
Floating beside her was a young teenage girl.
Also sent to Canada by Charles, Jean had finally made her move at the critical mont.
...
The ti shifted back to the mont when Deathstroke launched his ambush on Ororo.
Not far away, along a quiet street, Jean had also found her target.
She was the real objective of this mission, the one Charles had truly sent her to retrieve: a mutant known as Rogue, whose real na was Marie.
Ever since Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants had been nearly wiped out, Charles had intensified his efforts to find every remaining mutant across the globe. He knew clearly that the only true advantage they had over humans was their unique abilities. Mutant powers were the one thing that truly belonged to them.
Technology could never be a reliable advantage. Not only were they already lagging behind in that area, but even if they managed to take the lead, the mont their efforts were exposed, humans would catch up in no ti.
That's why his only real solution was to find more mutants across the world. It was the only way forward.
And Rogue, with her ability to absorb life energy through physical touch, was exactly the kind of weapon that could turn the tide.
"Stop running!"
Of course, Rogue had no intention of leaving with a stranger who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She imdiately turned and bolted in the opposite direction.
But how could she possibly escape under Jean's watch?
With a simple wave of her hand, the mutant unleashed her telekinesis. An invisible force locked onto Rogue, freezing her in place, leaving her unable to move even an inch.
"You... what are you trying to do?" Rogue asked, her voice trembling as she realized the only thing she could do was speak.
Jean, however, had no interest in answering. When Rogue opened her mouth, she just frowned in irritation.
"I knew it. You really should stay quiet."
As she spoke, Jean used her telepathic powers to invade Rogue's mind, forcing her into unconsciousness. But during the process, sothing unexpected happened. Jean discovered sothing unique about her.
Or rather, she saw through Rogue's mories exactly how she had unintentionally hurt her own boyfriend, how she was rejected by her family, and how she eventually ran away from ho.
"She drained her boyfriend's life? Charles must've known about her power. Then why didn't he tell ..."
Jean's thoughts spun. She focused solely on her own perspective, imdiately questioning the professor's decision to withhold this information.
But before she could think further, another voice answered her.
"If I hadn't blocked Charles' telepathic ability, you probably wouldn't have even realized you could read this girl's mories with your powers."
From the nearby bushes, Reid stepped out slowly.
It turned out that Rogue wasn't just being watched by Charles.
Reid couldn't say for certain whether this world would follow the path he rembered, but it was easy enough to keep an eye on a few key nas. In fact, ever since LexCorp had fully established its footing, Rogue's family in Canada had already been under his surveillance.
"You're... Reid..."
Due to Charles' interference, Jean's mories about Reid had been buried deep within her mind. Now, her impression of him was no different from Ororo's—just a human with special abilities and a genius-level intellect.
"I can tell you think I look familiar," Reid said calmly.
Though he hadn't invaded Jean's mind, he could already guess what had happened. Knowing that Charles had finally tampered with her mories, a flicker of excitent stirred in his heart.
Charles only saw Jean as soone with power that surpassed even Oga-level mutants. But Reid knew better. Her abilities couldn't be defined that simply. They were far more dangerous, far more unpredictable.
He had been struggling to find a way to ignite this ticking ti bomb. And now, to his surprise, Charles had delivered the fuse right to his door.
Jean gave a slight nod. "You're right, there is sothing familiar about you. But... I just can't recall. You know the truth, don't you?"
mories buried in the subconscious never truly disappeared. That lingering sense of recognition was sothing even Charles couldn't erase.
Jean had been exploring and mastering herself for years. A single year of subtle psychic interference wasn't enough to wipe everything clean.
"For mories you've lost, I believe it's better if you recover them on your own," Reid replied, his gaze shifting to the unconscious Rogue. "And that mutant girl you're controlling, she's the key."
It may be difficult for him to judge other versions, but at the very least, he was certain that the original plot of X-n 1 would be nearly impossible to unfold here.
There was a crucial reason for that. Under William's influence, the current President of the United States already saw mutants as a serious threat.
There would be no global summit. No opportunity for mutants to transform the world's leaders into their own kind.
And in this situation, Rogue's value beca sothing worth thinking about.
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