In front of the White House, two groups were locked in a standoff, each holding banners and shouting out their beliefs.
One group was shouting:
"The government is incompetent! You're wasting taxpayer money!"
"The plan to eliminate the White-Haired Mutant must be re-enacted! The White-Haired Mutant is the greatest threat to humanity!"
"No to the Mutant Liberation Act!"
The opposing group retorted:
"Liberate the mutants!"
"Mutants are no different from humans; they are part of humanity too!"
"Stop the pointless sacrifices! We can't possibly defeat the White-Haired Mutant!"
"The White-Haired Mutant can now withstand a nuclear blast, and he'll only get stronger. He is an angel descended from heaven, a god among us!"
"Continuing to oppose the White-Haired Mutant is the true path to extinction!"
To Alex's surprise, most of the people in the pro-mutant group had dyed their hair white and were wearing white coats similar to the one Alex had been reported wearing the first time he appeared. Some of the people imitating him bore a striking resemblance, with similar hairstyles, heights, and builds, even wearing blue contact lenses to mimic his eyes.
If not for his Six Eyes sensing slight differences, Alex might have thought some unknown force had created clones of him.
Moreover, through his Six Eyes, Alex could tell that many mutants had mingled with the pro-mutant crowd. In his energy vision, he even spotted Mystique among those resembling him, with other X-Men members positioned further on the outskirts.
What's going on? Isn't Mystique a member of the Brotherhood of Mutants? Why is she with the X-Men now? Did Professor X manage to persuade her again?
The more Alex thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Mystique wasn't like Magneto, who harbored deep hatred for humans. She was just disappointed in humanity, believing their promises were untrustworthy, which is why she had joined the Brotherhood of Mutants.
But perhaps now, with the government fearful of his retribution and planning to enact the Mutant Liberation Act, she had rejoined the X-Men.
But what's with all these imitators?
Alex didn't think his public image was particularly good, yet here he was, with so many supporters.
He walked up to one of the women cosplaying as him and asked, "Why are you all cosplaying as the White-Haired Mutant and supporting the Mutant Liberation Act?"
The woman turned around, her eyes lighting up. The man before her was the closest she'd seen to the real White-Haired Mutant—even his aura was nearly identical! The thought that this might be the real deal never even crossed her mind.
Since Alex was handsome and the question was a bit odd, she answered, "Because the White-Haired Mutant is cool!"
Her companions, noticing what was happening, also surrounded Alex, their faces lighting up as they looked at him. Hearing his question, they began rubbing their soft, white skin against him as they answered:
"The White-Haired Mutant is so cool, and he's incredibly charismatic!"
"Yeah, totally…"
'What the hell...'
Alex felt a headache coming on; this was typical fangirl behavior.
Discreetly using his Limitless technique to push away the fangirls trying to get too close, he continued to ask:
"Is there any other reason?"
A pimply-faced young man, enviously watching Alex surrounded by attractive women, chimed in:
"Of course, there's another reason! The White-Haired Mutant can now survive a nuclear blast. There's no way humans can destroy him anymore! If nothing changes, he'll rule the world someday. Given his personality, he's bound to eliminate anyone who opposed or attacked him! By supporting the White-Haired Mutant now, we might just survive when the purges come!"
Alex was speechless. Since when did he plan to rule the world? He didn't have the time or interest for that!
But he didn't bother to explain. He just nodded, smiled slightly, and kept walking forward. Ignoring the girls behind him asking for his contact information, he moved through the crowd toward the White House entrance.
As he advanced, the chattering girls fell silent, the surrounding noise of arguments faded, and in seconds, the bustling crowd was enveloped in silence. The Limitless technique spread out, pushing away the dense crowd, leaving no one able to get close.
Some of those pushed away turned to shout in anger, but before they could speak, they were thrown back by a terrifying force, crashing into other protestors.
More and more people noticed the unique white-haired man, and soon, he was no longer in an obscure corner but at the center of attention, drawing countless eyes.
The girls who had first talked to Alex began trembling, unsure if they were excited or scared. The girl Alex had questioned was especially stunned, too overwhelmed to say anything more than a mumble: "He really is the White-Haired Mutant… He really is the White-Haired Mutant!"
At the boundary between the two groups, the leaders of each side stopped their debates, watching the scene unfold. Whether they were supporters hoping to survive the future purges by backing the White-Haired Mutant, or opponents wanting to kill the demon and eliminate the threat, none of them dared to make a sound now.
Like the man who claimed to admire dragons but was terrified when one appeared, they had spoken freely before the White-Haired Mutant appeared. But now, faced with him in the flesh, they had no courage left and feared attracting even a bit of his attention.
One of the opposition leaders even wet himself, a dark stain spreading down his pants until an unknown liquid dripped to the ground.
Luckily for them, the White-Haired Mutant ignored everyone. Instead, he walked up to the front of the White House, where fully armed soldiers and dozens of Sentinel robots were gathered.
He slowly floated into the air, standing in the void, smiling mockingly as he looked down on everything before him—looking down on the political center of the country, and on both his supporters and opponents.
Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly tapped his forehead and smiled apologetically:
"Sorry, I forgot something. Give me a moment."
In the next instant, he vanished, reappearing in front of the opposition leader.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone present and the frantic shouts of the approaching X-Men, Alex reached out toward the trembling opposition leader.
A terrifying force, accompanied by black lightning, exploded, destroying everything in front of him. The opposition leader's body was the first to disintegrate into dust, followed by everything behind him. All the opposition voices, all differing opinions, slowly faded into red mist.
Just as Alex had once told Professor X, different opinions only exist when power is not absolute!
Having resolved everything, Alex used his repelling force to clear the blood splattered around him, staining a large area red and leaving the faces of his supporters and the arriving X-Men covered in crimson.
Alex ignored the terrified screams and the X-Men's loud questions behind him. He paid no attention to the lingering blood and returned to his original position, floating in the air. In the hellish background, he grinned wickedly and said:
"Sorry for the wait, Mr. President."
°°°
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