Chapter 145: [144] : I’ve Come to Take You Back
More Sentinel robots descended from the sky, an unending stream that was both overwhelming and terrifying. It was clear that humanity was determined to annihilate the mutants hiding here.
But no matter how many Sentinels came, they could not break through the defensive line held by Roger alone.
These Sentinels had undergone several upgrades, and even without directly encountering mutants, they had access to abilities that mimicked mutant powers, such as transforming their bodies into steel or rock.
Yet, in front of Roger, these abilities were utterly useless. Whether steel or rock, their reinforced bodies shattered easily under his fists.
The strength of Superman was a devastating blow to the Sentinels. None of them could withstand a single punch from Roger.
"Is that all you've got?"
At first, Roger had thought this battle would be challenging. After all, the Sentinels could use multiple powers, making it feel like fighting an army of mini Apocalypses.
But the fight turned out to be absurdly easy. His super speed and super strength, combined with his nearly indestructible body, allowed him to hold back the onslaught without even using his heat vision. He single-handedly stopped the Sentinels in their tracks.
If this was the extent of their abilities, Phoenix-powered Jean Grey could have obliterated them all with ease.
However, remembering that this world's Phoenix had already fallen and the remaining mutants were struggling against the Sentinels, Roger focused on holding the line.
As Roger held off the Sentinels at the front, the X-Men stood behind him, watching in awe.
They had never seen such a powerful mutant. While the X-Men could handle Sentinels one-on-one, the true terror of Sentinels lay in their mass production and multiple abilities. No single mutant could face an army of Sentinels alone.
Yet, this stranger who appeared out of nowhere was doing exactly that. Not only was he fighting multiple Sentinels at once, but he also seemed completely at ease, as if the towering machines were nothing more than paper puppets.
The X-Men were stunned. After a while, Petra, a mutant with the power to control earth, turned to Iceman and asked:
"Do we... still need to keep retreating?"
With the Sentinels seemingly held at bay by one man, the mutants in the city might not need to evacuate anymore.
But Iceman, noticing the human fighter jets still approaching and the continued arrival of more Sentinels, turned back and said:
"Stick to the original plan. Even if the Sentinel threat is resolved, this place isn't safe."
"Understood."
Petra returned to urging the mutants to evacuate quickly, while Iceman turned to Tony Stark and Nebula, who had landed beside him, and asked:
"…I didn't catch it earlier, who are you?"
Tony, disappointed that he hadn't brought his Hulkbuster armor, finally addressed Iceman:
"It's a bit complicated, but to keep it simple: I'm Iron Man. And this is my alien friend, Nebula. We're here to help."
"Alien… friend?"
Iceman turned his attention to Nebula. At first, he had assumed she was a unique-looking mutant. After all, mutants came in all shapes and sizes, and blue-skinned mutants weren't uncommon, Mystique, Nightcrawler, and Beast in his transformed state were all blue.
But upon closer inspection, he noticed that Nebula's body seemed to be made of mechanical parts, something that didn't align with the usual traits of mutants.
While Tony conversed with Iceman, Roger crushed yet another Sentinel. Glancing at the continuous stream of Sentinels being deployed, he couldn't help but sigh.
"Is this really necessary? Did the mutants dig up humanity's ancestral graves or something? Why the extreme hatred?"
The unrelenting arrival of Sentinels was enough to make any mutant despair. Roger could guarantee that even if all the X-Men were here, given their on-screen capabilities, they'd struggle to handle the sheer numbers of Sentinels. And the current situation had only part of the X-Men present.
If Roger hadn't arrived today, he was certain half the mutants here would have perished, and the X-Men would have suffered devastating losses, possibly even total annihilation.
Roger couldn't understand humanity's deep-seated hatred for mutants. Was William Stryker, the notorious villain, in charge of their command?
Exhaling, Roger knew that fighting the Sentinels one by one was inefficient. It was time for a new strategy.
Flying into the air, Roger's Power Stone began to glow on his chest.
The Sentinels didn't target Roger. Even though he had destroyed countless of their "allies," they ignored him as long as he didn't attack them directly. This was because Roger didn't possess the X-Gene, and the Sentinels were programmed to only attack those with the gene.
This gave Roger ample time to prepare.
The Power Stone's violet energy surged across Roger's body, concentrating in his hands.
Scanning the rows of Sentinels, Roger let the energy build to its peak. Then, with both hands glowing brightly, he clapped them together and declared:
"Disappear!"
BOOM!
The energy from the Power Stone erupted, creating a powerful shockwave that rippled through the battlefield. The wave targeted only the Sentinels, causing every robot it touched to crumble into dust and scatter in the wind.
Even the unmanned fighter jets in the sky weren't spared. Roger's Power Stone obliterated every single one.
Fighting the Sentinels individually might have been troublesome, but the Power Stone made short work of them all.
Roger's possession of three Infinity Stones wasn't for show. When needed, he didn't hesitate to use their power to deal with tough opponents, even if the Stones' power only worked in this universe.
"Huh... maybe I should have said, 'How many floors does a bag of rice weigh?' Nah, wrong franchise. And I'm not using Planetary Devastation…"
Satisfied with the Power Stone's effectiveness, Roger scanned the area for any remaining Sentinels. Seeing none, he descended to rejoin the mutants.
When he landed, however, he noticed the mutants and even Tony were giving him strange looks.
"That… was the power of the Infinity Stones, wasn't it?" Tony asked, staring at the glowing gem on Roger's chest.
Roger nodded. "Yeah, the Power Stone. A little souvenir from saving Xandar. Why?"
"No reason. Just… keep it far from us. I'd rather not accidentally get snapped out of existence."
Tony took a symbolic step back as he spoke.
"Really?" Roger stared at Tony, tempted to make a sarcastic remark, but chose to let it go. Deactivating his armor, he stored it in his dimensional bracelet, making the Infinity Stones vanish with it.
Turning to the mutants, Roger smiled and introduced himself:
"Relax. I'm here to help. My name is Roger. I believe Jean might have mentioned me?"
❁❁❁❁
At the mutant academy, Jean Grey was sitting in a classroom, attending a lecture.
It was hard to imagine that in the midst of what felt like the apocalypse, the Phoenix herself, a full-fledged X-Man, a "time-space warrior" who had traversed three worlds, was stuck in class with other students.
She had joined Roger on this journey partially to escape having to attend lectures. How had things ended up like this?
This was, of course, Charles Xavier's doing.
Initially, Xavier had wanted Jean to teach, as the Phoenix in this world had been a teacher at the academy. But upon learning that this Jean was under twenty, Xavier decided against having her join the active X-Men and instead sent her to class with the students.
And so, Jean found herself in her current predicament: the legendary Phoenix attending college-level courses with younger mutants.
Sighing, Jean doodled absentmindedly in her notebook.
She missed Roger. Though they'd only been apart for two weeks, she couldn't help but think about him and wonder where he was now.
After class, Jean headed to her assigned dorm, which had once belonged to this world's Phoenix. However, before she could reach it, she heard Xavier's voice in her mind:
"Jean, come to my office."
By now, Jean was used to Xavier's telepathic communication and didn't mind. Curious about what he wanted, she changed direction and headed for his office.
"Charles, what's going, "
Jean opened the door, about to ask what Xavier wanted, but stopped mid-sentence.
Standing beside Xavier was a familiar figure.
"…Roger?"
Jean stared at him in shock, calling his name.
Roger, mid-conversation with Xavier, turned to her with a warm smile and said:
"Jean, it's been a while. I've come to take you home."
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