A week soon passed. Li Yue stood in his room, looking at metal pieces strewn on the table. Some were fist-sized lumps, some were smaller—there was even a silver dagger the size of a palm.
According to Charles, those metal pieces were the hardest metal that he could find in the city. Some were resistant to high temperatures, some to corrosion, and some to deformation.
The star of the pile, however, was the dagger. Li Yue would've inspected the metals one by one had he not heard that the dagger was made from Adamantium Alloy.
The dagger wasn't made from pure Adamantium—it was just a secondary alloy, but Li Yue was happy enough with that.
The strongest metals in Marvel's and related universes were Adamantium and Vibranium. Adamantium was the same metal that was injected into uncle Wolverine's body, though that experiment used a special alloy designed to not interfere with Wolverine's self-healing factor.
Vibranium was used in Captain America's shield and Black Panther's armor. Vibranium's special characteristic was its ability to absorb energy, which gave Captain America an edge to stand equal among the others.
But speaking of hardness and durability alone, Adamantium was stronger than Vibranium. Li Yue recalled that Wolverine had pierced Captain America's shield in the comic.
Li Yue was really happy that Charles had unexpectedly found a piece of Adamantium. Despite its low purity as an alloy, it was still much stronger than any ordinary metal.
Li Yue swept aside the other pieces of metal and put the dagger in the center of the table. He closed his eyes and used his sixth sense to closely inspect the material. It took an hour before he opened his eyes again—he was drenched in sweat, but there was a hint of joy in his eyes.
"As expected of Adamantium. I had to analyze it for a long time before I could understand its structure. Fortunately, I succeeded."
Li Yue stretched out his right hand. His index finger visibly transformed into silver-white metal, but it didn't stop there. Slowly, his entire right hand and palm had turned into the same silver-white metal.
Li Yue clenched his fist; it let out a metallic clang. Li Yue picked up the silver dagger on the table. He gently dragged its edge along his transformed palm, but he didn't feel anything. He gradually increased his strength, but even at full force, he couldn't scratch his metal hand.
Li Yue was overjoyed. He then thought of something and raised his index and middle finger. Suddenly, the fingers fused, and they slowly turned into a dagger.
Li Yue poked the table with his finger-dagger. They sank to their base effortlessly. Li Yue then tried the same with the metal pieces. He felt some resistance, but they still cut rather easily.
"I could only turn my palm into Adamantium right now. I probably need to train for a while until I can transform my entire body," Li Yue thought. He repeatedly switched his hand between normal and Adamantium state.
Through continuous practice, Li Yue soon learned to control his power freely and transformed his Adamantium body parts into various shapes.
Li Yue imagined a future where he would have Vibranium skin impervious to any damage, and Adamantium weapons transformed from his hands to pierce through anything.
...
The mutant team training had progressed accordingly. After a near-death situation, Banshee succeeded in achieving sound-powered flight. Alex had been able to precisely control his power with Charles and Beast's help. Angel had improved her flight speed and the accuracy of her acid bolts.
Charles helped Erik to recall a childhood memory with Erik's mother, which greatly improved Erik's power.
The black driver Darwin was the one with the least progress. His ability needed to be cultivated slowly, but Charles told him that the ability might eventually give him an immortal body.
...
A short time later, the President of the United States made a speech regarding the Soviet Union ships that repeatedly crossed the blockade. The United States promised that they would attack on further violations.
There was only one night left for the mutant team, and many things happened that night.
Hank created two serums based on Mystique's genes, designed to eliminate visible mutations. He showed the serum to Mystique, but he refused to give them to her.
Hank instead returned to the lab and injected the serum into himself. The result was almost immediate: his feet returned to the same structure as ordinary people's. However, just as he celebrated his success, the side effects of the serum emerged. His whole body grew and transformed into a hairy blue-skinned monster.
...
The professor and Magneto discussed their disagreement over a chess game. Charles was only trying to stop Sebastian Shaw and prevent the war that Sebastian tried to trigger.
Magneto, on the other hand, wanted to kill Sebastian. Magneto reminded the professor to be careful of humans; because the strength of the mutants would incite fear within humans, turning them genocidal. Reality would prove that Magneto's point of view was correct.
Magneto foresaw that he would part ways with the professor due to this disagreement. He even came to Li Yue to ask who Li Yue would follow between them.
Li Yue felt like a child that was trapped between two divorcing parents. He simply told Magneto that he would consider it carefully.
The professor also came to a disagreement with Mystique. Mystique accused that the professor wouldn't change the status quo because the professor didn't need change to conform to society, unlike Mystique with her appearance.
While Magneto wanted to let Mystique reveal her true self and bravely display her blue skin.
...
The night passed quickly, despite the events that happened. Everyone except Hank gathered early the next morning around the note pasted on the laboratory door.
"I will go ahead of you to the airbase. Remember to bring the box marked X."
"What happened here?"
Charles opened the door of the laboratory and found the place trashed as if a wild beast had rampaged in it. When they found and opened the box marked X, they found that it contained special combat suits for everyone.
"It seems that Hank's been busy!" The professor sighed.
"Are we really going to wear this?"
"Well, most of us aren't bulletproof, so it's probably better to wear them."
...
Li Yue and his group wore the suit and stood next to a very advanced fighter jet—well, advanced relative to its era.
"Where did Hank go?"
"I'm here!"
The source of the voice was not the Hank they were familiar with. For one, the figure had blue skin and hair all over his body. He looked like a humanoid lion.
"The serum didn't eliminate my mutations; it strengthened them. I failed," Hank said.
"You didn't fail. This is the true you. You don't need to hide it," Mystique comforted.
"You are great! Friend," Erik chimed in.
Unlike his calm reaction to Mystique, Hank the Beast grabbed Erik's neck. Li Yue felt the sight was a little funny.
"Put him down, Hank," Charles scolded.
"Don't mock me."
"I am telling the truth!" Erik protested
.
"Hank! It's time."
"Can you fly a plane?" Banshee asked curiously to Hank.
"I made this plane!"