บท 47: [47] Level 4 Mutant Beast
At night, on the streets of New York.
Brian walked quietly in the darkness.
The dark environment allowed Brian to adapt to his night vision ability. His eyes emitted a faint glow, making everything around him appear as bright as day.
Buzz.
As Brian walked, a sudden tingling at the back of his neck made him stop.
His danger sense was triggering a warning.
Brian turned his head.
He saw two men holding revolvers, both aiming at him.
"Hey, buddy, hand over the cash," one of them demanded in a threatening tone.
"You see this? It's a gun," the other man said, raising his revolver and spinning it in his hand before pointing it back at Brian.
"Is this really what my danger sense was warning me about?"
Brian frowned slightly, realizing the danger sense wasn't quite suited for minor threats like this.
Deciding it was unnecessary, he deactivated his danger sense and prepared to deal with the situation.
Although danger prediction is a passive ability, Brian realized he could turn it off when necessary.
Once deactivated, the danger sense would no longer issue warnings.
"Hey, kid, we're talking to you."
One of the men saw that Brian was ignoring them completely, feeling disrespected. He reached out, intending to press the gun's muzzle against Brian's head.
Boom.
With a single indifferent raise of his finger, Brian released a red energy shockwave, just as thick as a thumb, from the tip. The man who had just spoken was instantly pierced by Brian's shockwave.
The point of impact was scorched, the skin blackened by the shockwave's intense heat.
The man's eyes widened as he dropped to the ground.
"What… what kind of monster are you?"
The other man was so terrified that he screamed, frantically trying to pull the trigger.
But no matter how hard he tried, the trigger wouldn't budge.
Under his horrified gaze, the revolver slipped from his hand, rotated mid-air, and aimed directly back at him.
"The harbinger of your demise."
Bang, bang, bang.
With absolute control, Brian made the gun fire, emptying its magazine as the man stared in terror.
The man was left beaten with holes and motionless.
After acquiring Alex's ability, Brian could now release energy shockwaves at will. He could control the size of the shockwaves, even release them from any part of his body.
As a Level 5 Mutant, his energy shockwaves were more than ten times as powerful as a mid-range missile. Just one was enough to easily destroy a skyscraper.
"Next, it's time to meet Wolverine."
In 1962, Wolverine—Logan—had not yet been given his Adamantium alloy.
He still relied on his bone claws, making him a relatively weaker Level 3 Mutant. At this point, even his half-brother, Sabretooth (Victor), could overpower him.
It wouldn't be until 1979 that Logan would become the true Wolverine.
According to the information Professor X gathered with the brainwave amplifier, Wolverine was currently at a tavern called Eller.
With the help of Psychokinesis, Brian rose into the air, heading straight for the tavern to find Logan and conduct his version of "brain surgery."
However, just as Brian was about to make his move, he suddenly stopped.
He had just received a telepathic message from Professor X.
—"Brian, Hank is in trouble."—
Brian frowned slightly.
Professor X didn't know that Brian had left Xavier Manor; he had simply used telepathy to inform all the X-Men before cutting off the connection.
Hovering in mid-air, Brian glanced regretfully in the direction of the Eller Tavern.
"Looks like the hunt is over for tonight."
Since Hank was in trouble, and to avoid raising any suspicion from Professor X, Brian was forced to stop his pursuit of Mutants.
Still, he wasn't too worried. Logan wasn't going anywhere. As long as Logan hadn't been infused with Adamantium, Brian could always get to him and obtain his healing factor.
With a quick movement, four white wings unfurled behind Brian, and he soared back towards Xavier Manor.
Within a minute, Brian had returned to Xavier Manor.
As soon as he returned to Xavier Manor, Brian ran into Raven.
"Raven, what happened?" Brian walked over to her and asked in a serious tone.
"I don't know. Just now, I heard Hank scream. Then Charles notified us that Hank was in trouble," Raven replied, shaking her head. She had just woken up and was as clueless as Brian.
"Let's go, we'll check on Hank together," Brian said, nodding, and led Raven toward Hank's room.
At that moment, in front of Hank's room, Professor X, Magneto, and Father Asa were already gathered. Professor X was staring at the closed door with a worried expression.
"Charles, what happened to Hank?" Brian asked as he approached, glancing at the closed door before looking back at Professor X.
"Let's go in and discuss," Professor X replied with a sigh after seeing Brian and Raven arrive. He then nodded to Magneto.
Magneto raised his hand, and the lock on the door clicked open.
Brian took the lead and pushed the door open.
The X-Men looked in to see a room in complete disarray.
Hank had long since transformed his room into a laboratory. Now, countless experimental instruments lay overturned, various data sheets scattered across the floor, the sofa was broken into pieces, and tables and chairs were dismantled.
Everyone frowned at the chaotic scene.
"Hank, come out," Professor X called out, putting his right hand on his temple to calm Hank's emotions with his mental power.
At Professor X's prompting, a large, two-and-a-half-meter tall, blue-furred figure emerged from a corner of the room.
Seeing the blue-furred gorilla in front of him, Brian quickly understood. Hank had finally transformed into Beast.
"..Hi, I'm Hank," the blue-furred Hank said, pushing his glasses up with a self-deprecating grin.
"You're Hank? How did you end up like this?"
Raven looked at Beast Hank in surprise, her curiosity piqued.
"Remember I took a sample of your blood, Raven?" Hank asked, looking at her with a trace of regret.
Just a few days prior, after Hank had developed the brainwave amplification machine, he had approached Raven for a sample of her blood. From her blood, Hank managed to extract a unique substance.
Using this substance, Hank thought he'd found a way to suppress his mutant abilities and become an ordinary human again. Driven by this hope, he developed a mutant gene inhibitor.
However, instead of turning him back into a regular human, the inhibitor had a surprising effect. After Hank injected himself with it, he transformed into his current form.
"There were some...errors in my research," Hank explained helplessly.
"The shapeshifting genetic material I included in the mutant gene inhibitor didn't suppress my abilities. Instead, it stimulated my mutant gene even further."
"Hank, honestly, this body really suits you now," Magneto commented, looking at him seriously.
In response, Hank let out a powerful roar that shook the room, clearly not pleased with Magneto's observation.
With a furious roar, Hank's fingernails lengthened sharply, and his muscles tensed in an instant.
Clearly, he had taken Magneto's previous words as mockery, which only fueled his anger.
"What's with this sudden shift of emotion? Calm down, Hank," Brian said, raising his hand to restrain Hank with Psychokinesis as Beast Hank looked ready to charge.
Roar!
"Let me go, Brian! Let me go..." Beast Hank roared, struggling wildly against the invisible force.
At this moment, his blue fur bristled like quills, and his muscles expanded. His already impressive 2.5-meter frame seemed to grow even larger, his muscles rippling with raw, bestial power.
Crack, crack.
The floor beneath Hank's feet began to fracture, his long, powerful feet sinking deeply into the floorboards. The fact that he could shatter the stone floor so easily was a testament to the immense strength he now possessed.
Yet, no matter how hard he fought, Beast could not break free from Brian's Psychokinesis hold.
"Let me go, you motherfucker!" Beast snarled, baring his teeth in anger.
Brian's face darkened as he continued restraining Hank.
Boom.
With a light wave of his hand, Brian sent Beast Hank flying backward as though struck by a high-speed train. Hank's body smashed into the wall, and the force of the impact caused part of the wall to collapse, burying him under the rubble.
"Brian, that was a bit much," Professor X said, frowning as he looked at Hank.
"Don't worry, Professor. Hank's tougher now," Brian replied calmly, glancing at the pile of rubble.
Roar.
A fierce growl echoed from beneath the collapsed wall as Beast lifted the slabs off his body and leaped out of the debris. Aside from his blue fur being covered in dust and dirt, he appeared unscathed.
"See?"
Clearly, as Beast, Hank's strength, defense, agility, and other physical attributes had undergone a massive enhancement.
"Brian, I'm going to fucking kill you!" Beast Hank roared, his eyes turning red with fury as he charged forward.
Bang.
Beast Hank landed on all fours like a real beast, then used his limbs to launch himself, rushing toward Brian at high speed.
Once he got close, Beast Hank leaped, fists clenched together, and brought them down hard from above, aiming to smash Brian with all his strength.
"Hank, you're really not suited for fighting, even as a beast," Brian remarked, watching Hank's unrefined attack.
Without much effort, Brian slapped Beast Hank mid-air, sending him flying backward.
When Beast Hank got up from the ground, he looked at Brian with a mix of rage and fear. Under the gaze of everyone, he turned, dropped onto all fours, and bolted, running at top speed away from the group.
"Charles, Hank's taking off," Magneto pointed out, watching the fleeing Hank.
Professor X nodded, pressing his right hand to his temple. Using his telepathic power, he reached out, steadying Beast Hank's scrambled thoughts.
"Ah..?"
As he was running, Beast Hank suddenly slowed, looking down at his hands, regaining clarity. He stood up and turned back.
"All right there buddy? Don't go all Hulk mode like that." Brian commented with a harmless smile.
"That's Hulk?" Magneto asked to which Brian just shrugged.
"I.. I don't know how.. I'm sorry, Brian. That potion messed with my head for a bit," Hank said as he walked back, an apologetic look on his face.
Although the potion activated the mutant gene within him, pushing him from a Level 1 Mutant to a Level 4 Mutant—surpassing even Magneto—it also awakened Hank's primal Beast instincts.
Because of this, Beast Hank's mind became clouded with confusion, irritability, and impulsive urges. He was entirely different from the calm and composed Hank he once was.
"Thank you, Professor X," Beast Hank said, walking up to him with genuine gratitude.
Professor X had used his mental abilities to help Hank suppress the overwhelming Beast instincts and restore his clear-headedness.
Now, Hank's mind was no longer clouded, and his emotions had stabilized. Despite his transformation into a Beast, Hank could sense that he'd become even sharper mentally.
Problems that had once seemed complex now appeared straightforward.
"Hank, congratulations on becoming a Level 4 Mutant," Professor X said with a pleased smile.
Though Hank had always had a brilliant mind, he'd never possessed much physical power before.
But now, things were different.
After becoming a Level 4 Mutant in his Beast form, Hank possessed not only a brilliant mind but also super strength, super speed, and heightened Beast instincts.
"Alright, Hank, go take some time to get familiar with your new abilities," Brian said, patting Beast Hank on the shoulder.
"Will do, Brian," Beast Hank replied, nodding. Although he felt an incredible rush of energy in his Beast state, he knew he needed some time to fully understand and control his new powers.
Once they confirmed that Hank was stable, Professor X and the others returned to their rooms. Brian and Raven headed back to their room as well.
Because of the situation with Beast Hank, Brian decided to postpone his plans to track down Wolverine.
The night passed without further incident.
When dawn arrived, Professor X and Magneto prepared to set out to recruit new Mutants.
With the anticipated arrival of new recruits like Siryn and Alex, the X-Men knew the decisive showdown with the Hellfire Club was drawing closer.
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