Quick, Take Me Away

"Do I even need to look?"

Ron sneered in direct admission, retreating into the crowd and grabbing Mystique by the wrist.

Hm?

Raven looked puzzled, but before she could ask—

Bang!

Dragging Mystique along, he activated his psychic teleportation, leaving the CIA base and arriving in a dark alley.

The surroundings shifted abruptly—only the dim yellow light at the alley's entrance broke the darkness. Raven instinctively panicked, pressing close to him like a frightened cat.

"Ah! Ron, where is this?"

"A safe place."

He looked down at Mystique and said.

"That guy is way more trouble than the two I just killed."

Red Devil's ability was psychic teleportation, not instant movement. The teleport was actually slow, with a popping sound as a warning. Red Devil and Riptide never expected him to have that power, which was why they died so easily.

That trick wouldn't work on Black King.

Black King Sebastian Shaw could not only absorb and release energy freely, but also vastly enhance his strength, speed, and endurance—allowing him to go without sleep, achieve mild self-healing, and live forever.

His reaction speed far surpassed ordinary people, and his defense was so strong even missiles couldn't harm him.

"To keep you from getting hurt if a fight breaks out, I'm sending you here first."

An enraged Black King might do anything the next second—maybe stomp the ground and unleash energy to tear the whole room apart.

"Thank you, Ron."

Raven, who had nearly been on the verge of tears, looked at him with gratitude in her eyes, a strange flutter stirring in her heart.

With so many people in that room, Ron chose to send her here first. Could there be... another reason?

She wasn't the closest to him at the time, and there was another girl even nearer he could have prioritized protecting.

"I need to go back."

With that, Ron prepared to activate his ability and return.

Mystique was a treasure. The Sentinels that would one day exterminate mutants were developed based on her genes.

Anyone in that room could die—except Mystique.

"Ron, come back soon."

Hearing he was leaving, Mystique glanced at the dark, empty surroundings, still shaken. Like a pitiful, helpless little girl, she grabbed his arm, her voice trembling.

Having just survived a bloody, brutal attack, being left alone in a place like this made her unable to hold back her fear.

"What a hassle. The other side might already be a bloodbath, and she's still blabbering."

A flicker of impatience stirred inside him, but Ron turned his head back and softened his voice.

"I will."

What did he care if those people lived or died? If he didn't need to go back and record Black King's abilities—and try to kill him tonight if possible—he wouldn't bother returning.

"Wait here for me."

With one more instruction, he teleported back into the base's room.

Inside the room.

He'd expected Black King might have already started a fight, but no.

"...Your companions have abandoned you and fled.

I am about to usher in a new era on Earth—an era where mutants live like kings."

In the room, Black King was every bit the qualified leader. If his men were gone, he'd just recruit more. His voice was deep and compelling, forcing Alex and the others to make a choice.

"Will you embrace the new era, or die clinging to the old, rotten one? The choice is yours."

His gaze bore down on them with pressure.

Pop~

When Ron returned, he caught the sight of a majestic leader in the middle of an online recruitment pitch.

His appearance interrupted Black King's speech.

"How did you do that?!

Do you happen to have the same ability as Red Devil?"

Seeing Ron—who he thought had fled—reappear, Black King narrowed his eyes and pressed forward with a low, rapid interrogation.

After witnessing Ron use Red Devil's ability to take someone away, he stopped dwelling on Red Devil's death. Instead, he was far more eager to figure out what Ron's deal was.

If it wasn't a coincidence of having the same power—it was hard to imagine such a unique mutant existing in the world.

"That speech of yours is pretty compelling."

"Keep going. Don't mind me."

Ignoring his question, Ron placed a hand on Hank's shoulder, ready to activate his ability and leave.

"You think you can escape from me a second time?"

The Black King frowned, raised his palm, and a fireball packed with immense energy shot out with a bang.

"Your new era doesn't sound good at all."

Realizing Ron might be taking them away one by one, Darwin stepped forward, his body layered with black stone armor, blocking the fireball. The flames splattered, and he was sent flying.

"That speech of yours just reminded me of someone with a little mustache."

Twisting his body, Alex gathered his strength and fired an energy arc blade at the Black King.

"Nice energy. Here, have it back."

His palm easily caught the energy arc blade, absorbing it in an instant. The Black King praised the plasma-form energy Alex had unleashed, then opened his hand again.

Vwoom!

Alex was sent flying by a fist-thick energy beam.

"Stay here."

After taking Hank away, Ron teleported to the front of a bar, dropped a single sentence, and turned to leave. Hank was a talent—his mind was more important than his ability. As one of the smartest people in the X-Men universe, he had developed the Cerebro, the Blackbird jet, and other tech, providing the X-Men with equipment and support.

"The Black King wants to create a new era. Coincidentally, so do I."

His new era needed talents like this. As for how to get Hank to serve, controlling Mystique meant controlling Hank—Hank had always been Mystique's lapdog.

"Enough. My patience is limited. Submit or die!"

In the short time Ron was gone, the Black King had effortlessly taken down Siren and Angel, his voice laced with murderous intent echoing through the room. He stood like a silent volcano ready to erupt, instilling fear in everyone.

Thud. A familiar sound—Ron reappeared in the room.

"Quick, Ron, quick! Take me away!"

Angel, who had been about to surrender, changed her mind at the sight of Ron, rushing over like he was a lifeline, urging him frantically. The two weakest had been sent off one after another—surely it was her turn now, the only woman left.

"Leave? I just got that ability not long ago. I can't use it for long. That was the last time for a short while."

Glancing at the Mexican dark-skinned woman urging him, Ron's words shattered her hopes. In truth, the Template System not only let him copy others' abilities but also developed them to the level of the original owner. He could have taken everyone at once, but he still had things to do.

"What?"

Alex, Darwin, and the others, beaten to the ground, turned grim. They hadn't understood why Ron started evacuating people the moment he saw the Black King. Where was the Ron who had cleanly taken down two enemies? After clashing with the Black King, they realized the man was a monster—he had knocked them out effortlessly without even trying. Leaving was the right call, but now they couldn't even escape.