Alex was growing tired of the game. Victor's abilities were unimpressive to him; all he could do was harden his body, which wasn't much of a threat.
"Well, Doctor Doom, your doom is here." Alex decided he'd had enough of this farce. To him, Victor was merely a minor annoyance.
Although Victor shared the name von Doom, he was just Victor—not Doom. With that name, he didn't qualify to inherit the title.
"My doom? No, it's yours!" Victor roared, unleashing a powerful electric current toward Alex.
"Hey! Tin Man, look over here!" Johnny swooped in, hurling a fireball straight at Victor's head.
The fireball caused Victor's electric attack to veer off course, smashing a police car to pieces.
"Wow, the Tin Man's pretty impressive," Johnny said as he landed, eyeing Victor with a serious expression.
"Johnny, I'm so glad you're okay," Susan said, breathing a sigh of relief. She had been worried about Johnny's safety.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Victor fumed, seeing the others talk and laugh as if he didn't matter.
Victor spread his arms wide, and countless flashes of lightning erupted in a several-meter radius around him. The lightning crackled wildly, causing pedestrians to scream and flee.
Before Mill could react, Johnny charged forward, igniting a flame of over five thousand degrees. The intense fire surrounded Victor, engulfing him completely.
Susan watched as the flames escaped, her expression changing. She extended her hand and restrained all the flames, enveloping only Victor in the protective barrier.
After a few minutes, Victor's metal body was covered in magma, but it didn't harm him; it merely made his body glow red.
Victor, who had been slightly melted by Johnny's supernova, looked disdainful. "Is this all you've got? It's just a little hot."
"Alright, let me handle this," Alex said, shaking his head. Alex raised his hand, and the invisible power lifted Victor directly.
"What's going on?" Victor struggled, but it was useless.
Most of Victor's body is metal, so Alex's magnetic control could manipulate him. Even if it wasn't metal, Alex's magnetic field control was so strong that it could still affect him.
With a snap of his fingers, Victor's body instantly shattered, turning into smoke and dissipating into the air.
Reed , Ben, Susan, and Johnny were stunned. After fighting for so long, the guy who seemed invincible was effortlessly killed The gap in their abilities was astounding.
"It's still early in the day. How about we go have some tea and catch a movie?" Alex smiled at Susan and extended his hand, inviting her.
"No problem." Susan placed her hand gently on Alex's.
"Haha, I'm going to find my true love," Ben laughed heartily as he transformed back into his human form and got dressed.
Without Debbie, he had found a better connection, a partner who accepted him as a stone man.
"I'll continue my research, but I've also changed my perspective on my abilities," Reed said, glancing at Victor, who had been devastated by humanity. He smiled helplessly.
"Well, Paradise welcomes you. If you have time, come visit. If I happen to miss the teacher, you'll be the only one left," Alex said, patting Reed on the shoulder with a smile.
"Me? Be a teacher? Sure," Reed said, pointing at himself in surprise. But then he smiled, thinking about his degree. Even if he hadn't received formal training, he could still teach college students.
"I'm bringing Alicia to Paradise. The king wouldn't turn us away, right?" Ben joked half-seriously.
"Not at all Paradise accommodates all mutants and supernatural beings ans their families as well," Alex replied with a smile.
...
After a few more days, both Reed and Ben moved to Paradise. As Mutants, they would not be affected by any changes and could live as they pleased. It was just a change of scenery for them.
"Rubber Man? Interesting," Logan said, puffing on a cigar as he looked at Reed , noting his white sideburns.
"Logan, drink less and don't spoil the students," Charles scolded him.
"Okay." Logan glanced at Charles, then put away the beer he had just taken out.
"Reed , Logan's like that; don't take it personally," Charles said with a smile.
"It's nothing. His character is very straightforward," Reed replied with an awkward smile. Indeed, his ability did make him resemble a rubber man.
"Your ability is due to the solar storm's radiation altering your DNA, correct?" Charles asked, having listened to Reed 's explanation.
"Yes, I can potentially make our abilities disappear by studying and simulating solar storms. I've already attempted this," Reed confirmed.
Charles nodded in understanding and said, "May I draw a little blood from you for study? There's no malice intended; I just want to check for the presence of the X gene."
Charles recalled Eric's actions during the New York radiation incident, when many Mutants awakened due to the X gene, causing significant damage and worsening the human-Mutant conflict.
"This is fine," Reed agreed without much hesitation, understanding the need for research.
Charles drew a small sample of blood and asked Scott to deliver it to Trisk, who was an expert on the X gene.
"The blood you provided contains the X gene. Though it's present in small amounts, it is there. It's likely that the solar storm's radiation allowed the acquisition of abilities and is probably linked to the X gene," Trisk reported.
Charles nodded in agreement. It was not surprising given the circumstances.
"The X genes in their bodies are in an activated state due to Eric's radiation machine and are extremely prone to mutation. Any radioactive source or radiation can trigger the X genes, resulting in either strong or weak abilities," Trisk explained.
"X gene?" Reed nodded, realizing that this was the underlying factor. After all, it wouldn't make sense to give people super abilities just because of radiation. Having a specific medium like the X gene made it easier to understand.
"Regarding my role…" Reed began, looking at Charles.
"There are many research rooms in this college that you can use as you wish. Your main role will be teaching students, which is what you're best at," Charles said with a smile.
"That's great," Reed said, smiling.
He enjoyed the atmosphere here. Compared to the outside world, there was more warmth and humanity. After all, as Eric said, mutants are a family. Reed lived here, and so did Ben.
...
Charles looked up. "Have you done any research?"
Eric walked in and asked, "Have you found anything?"
Both Eric and Charles placed great importance on the Reeds, who had been able to obtain mutant abilities.
"Yes," Charles began. "Initially they all had a small amount of the X gene in their bodies. It's was not enough for them to awaken their powers. However, your radiation machine activates the X gene in their bodies. Thus the radiation from the solar storm awakened their powers by simulating the X gene." Charles paused, then added, "But remember, these are just individual cases. We need a lot more data."
It's just an example with the Reeds; it doesn't mean everyone will react the same way. We'll need many more mutants to confirm this theory.
Charles felt reassured, though. After all, the radiation from Eric's machine had spread throughout New York, and that would be significant.
"So using the solar storms to create new mutants can't be done right now," Charles said, already anticipating his old friend's thoughts.
"Okay. I hope New York will see better days in the future," Eric replied with a smile.
(End of this chapter)