Chapter 92: Chapter 92 - New Plans?
Lily's retreat wasn't simply a matter of her being weaker than the reinforcements—rather, she believed that, for various reasons, it would be best not to directly engage in actions against the Brotherhood.
To list a few— she was unsure of the current fighting strength of the Brotherhood, but even in their earliest days they had quite the line-up of mutants that could pose a threat to her and her Hive.
Furthermore she knew the influence the Brotherhood held thanks to her knowledge about the Movies and the Comics— and from skimming through the Marvel Wiki.
The Brotherhood was powerful enough to influence politics and connections, with reach in almost every industry and country behind the scenes.
Even if this was still in their early days, she believed that they still had enough power to outclass someone such as herself, so it was an unnecessary risk.
But the main reason she didn't want to get involved with the Brotherhood yet was because of the mutants behind them.
The Brotherhood consisted of multiple Alpha-Level mutants and even had mutants that were skilled in forsight or deduction abilities— such abilities would prove to be heavily disadvatagous to her if they exposed her.
With those reasons as the leading contributor to her retreat— she believed she had made the right decision.
She needed not worry about her Hive Units, as the ones that were still alive followed closely behind her, leaving only one Scout behind to keep an eye on the situation.
The ones that had perished had their bodies turned to a dust-like substance that instantly evaporated into nothingness.
Lily wasn't sure the exact reasons behind why they did this, but it was somewhat like an instinctive defense mechanism that the Hive Units had built throughout her entire species.
They would turn to nothingness upon death— that way, they would leave behind no form of DNA or remains that could be used against them. In fact, this extended to Lily herself.
If Lily were to be injured, or matter of any form were to leave her body and her control— they would instantly evaporate. It was a natural defensive mechanism her species had evolved, but it was useful for cleanup.
With the night as a cloak, she quickly made her way through the lands and towards the Causeway that connected Bahrain to the mainland. Her decision was without hestiation— she would leave Bahrain.
She had already spent quite some time in Bahrain and caused a lot of mess here— now, with her inadvertently entangling herself with a faction as formidable as the Brotherhood, it was all the more reason to finally move on.
Granted, she did not plan to stop her attacks— in fact, with the new information she had gained, she had all the more reason to keep attacking bases connected to the Mutant Group.
Lily understood that in the grand chessboard of power, knowledge was a weapon— one that could be wielded with devastating effect by the weak or the strong.
With knowledge it didn't matter how strong she was because at least then she could hold her ground against some of the superpowers of the world.
By continuously attacking mutant bases connected to the Brotherhood— or others she came across— not only would she gain the genetic material provided by the slain mutants as immediate spoils of war, but she would gain information that she could extract from them.
With her abilities, she could pry into the minds of the people she defeated and learn everything they knew— the more power they had in the organization, the more knowledge she would gain.
A new plan had already taken shaped as Lily made her way through the city— a plan that would unfold over the course of the next few months.
But for now— having made considerable distance from the original location, she decided to stop at the outskirts of the city and devour the mutants she had collected.
As Lily settled down her mind buzzed with the information of the recent events, the Scout she left behind also gathered more information that expanded her sights.
But for now, she left that as a matter for another time and decided to first devour the mutants she had acquired.
Not including the mutant team she had fought that were quite skilled, she had collected a total of 15 bodies. Because she couldn't simple tell which ones were mutants and which weren't from their dead bodies alone, she had to collect all she could.
Either ways once she devoured them she would gain additional information— human or mutant they would be beneficial to her.
So, without hesitation, she quickly devoured all the bodies around her— even the mutants from the Ace Team were devoured, leaving only the mutants that had passed out behind.
She planned to use them to collect information before devouring them; that way, she could gain a deeper understanding of the group.
After devouring all the dead mutants, she had gained a total of 12 new mutant abilities— a large harvest that filled the lingering greed that rested in her mind.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ZeroX0666
ZeroX0666 Sorry, this chapter is a bit short and isn't really much; I have been a bit busy lately. I plan to do a few more chapters soon, and probably some small timeskips because I want to do a special chapter for 100.
Chapter 93: Chapter 93 - Big Gains
Lily quickly devoured the mutants before her, relishing the euphoria she felt as she consumed and gained each subsequent mutant ability.
Most of them were rather weak and useless, but at the end of the day, she would rather have them than not. Plus, as she has always said, abilities can be fused to be better.
At the end of it, she looked over the mutant abilities she had gained with mixed emotions.
Minor Teleportation XGene - The user has the ability to teleport short distances within sight, but with the side effect of severe nausea and disorientation upon arrival.
Paper Thin XGene - The user has the ability to make their skin become extremely thin and fragile, making them vulnerable to even minor physical impacts.
Psychic Static XGene - The user can emit a low-level psychic interference field that causes mild confusion and headaches in nearby individuals.
Glue Spit XGene - The user has the ability to produce a sticky adhesive from the mouth, but only in small quantities and within a limited range.
Static Shock XGene - The user can generate small static electric charges that can give mild shocks to anyone the user touches.
Marshmallow Mimicry XGene - The user's body can temporarily transform into a soft, squishy substance reminiscent of marshmallows, providing minimal protection against physical attacks.
Forgettable Face XGene - The user can passively emit a subtle aura that causes people to quickly forget the user's appearance and presence after encountering them, making it difficult for the user to leave a lasting impression or be recognized.
These were the abilities she gained from the normal mutants. For the most part, they weren't anything special— only a few of them really stood out to her.
The one she was most pleased with was Forgettable Face; this would make it much easier for her to blend in with the crowd and avoid being exposed.
Unfortunately, the downside was that it wasn't very good. It only worked on people who either didn't have a clear impression of her or didn't focus on her, so at best, it could work in passing.
It wouldn't work if someone specifically looked at her or paid attention to her— but she could improve it later on.
Psychic Static had actually fused with her overarching mental ability, and with it, she gained another useful trick she could use. The same could be said for Static Shock, which fused with the Electrostatic Discharge XGene and improved it further.
Other abilities, such as Paper Thin or Marshmellow Mimicry, weren't fused with anything. Both skills had very little or specific uses that weren't very useful to her right now.
Lesser Teleportation was useful but the fact that it caused nausea and disorentation was a massive downside. Furthermore it wasn't very long distance, so it had limited uses right now.
Regardless, she was much more pleased with the abilities she gained from the Ace Team, as they were specially trained mutants with useful abilities.
Self-Defensive Barrier XGene - The user is able to create a protective barrier around them that is able to provide solid defense against incoming attacks.
Energy Condensation XGene - The user is able to condense energy in their body and release it in the form of burst attacks; the more energy that is stored the larger the burst.
Enhanced Physical XGene - The user is much more physically fit than the average human, able to bend steel with ease, and more.
Earth Manipulation XGene - The user can control the Earth around then within a limited range at will, bending it and shaping it as they will. They are also more closely connected to the Earth.
Telekinetic Mind XGene - The user is able to use their mental power to create a transparent force that is able to move things around them within a limited range at will.
These abilities were great— Lily was beyond pleased with these gains, and they alone justified the attack against the Fortress for her.
Putting aside the Physical Enhancement XGene, which fused with her Superior Body ability and improved her physical capabilities even further, the other abilities were all impressive in their own ways.
Telekinetic Mind, having fused with her Mental Mastery ability had unlocked new heights— she could now move the objects around her within sight at ease.
Her mental capabilities were so strong that throwing a car with her mind wasn't even a struggle—and if used right, they could prove to be a massive bonus in combat or everyday life.
The Barrier provided her with something she much needed and lacked— defense. Previously her defensive capabilities were alright, but they were never great. Now however she was satsfied with her defense, and she wasn't even worried about guns anymore.
Earth Manipulation was a massive gain; it would allow her to control the battlefields going forward with ease— not only that, but it would also provide her with the means to travel around quicker or even build a base more easily.
Combined with the vibration sensing, it granted her an increased means of gathering information.
Energy Condensation was interesting in its own way— not only could she use it for attacks, movement, defense, or even controlling the fields, but she could also charge up the ability to cause a massive attack in one go.
It was a great suicide ability— and if used on Hive Units, she could essentially bomb anything she wanted.
Lily was pleased— and she wanted more.
"These gains are too much to give up on. It seems like going to the Savage Lands can wait— devouring the other bases will be worth it."
Originally, she was planning to go directly to the Savage Lands after minor travels, but with these gains, she now planned to attack all the bases she had learnt about from examining the minds of the people she had captured.
And she had learned much more than just the location of some bases.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ZeroX0666
ZeroX0666
Timeskip chapters coming soon.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
12 Power
stone 
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