There's Nothing to Fear Anymore

"The ship is preparing to land. 3, 2, boom!" The vessel shuddered and abruptly splashed down into the water.

"Sorry." Cyclops said, a bit embarrassed.

"Your piloting is absolute garbage." Logan shot Cyclops a contemptuous glance, then unbuckled his seatbelt and turned toward the hatch. The group waded through the water, successfully made it onto Liberty Island, and entered the Statue of Liberty.

The base of the Statue of Liberty was actually a museum, spacious inside, with an elevator leading to the top.

"I've wanted to visit this Statue of Liberty museum for a long time, but the tickets were always too expensive. Now I finally get a chance to look around." Lu Yifang walked ahead, eagerly taking in the museum. A free tour like this—how could he pass it up? Why not take advantage of a freebie?

"Yifang, stay alert." Storm warned as she watched him wander around like a regular tourist.

"I've been plenty alert." Lu Yifang turned and smiled at the group. He might have looked completely relaxed, but his Reflection ability was always active. If someone jumped out right now and opened fire with a Gatling Gun, that person would end up shredded by their own bullets.

"Not so sure about that. I smell enemies." Logan had already extended his claws and stepped ahead of Lu Yifang, sniffing the air intently.

"You can actually track by scent? What a bloodhound!" Lu Yifang said, surprised.

"Correction—it's a wolf!" Logan suddenly raised his claws and stabbed them back toward Lu Yifang.

"Logan, what are you doing?" Storm screamed at the sight. The others were frozen in shock. Before a bewildered Lu Yifang could react, Logan's claws had already struck his shoulder.

The fabric where Wolverine's claws touched dented slightly... and then nothing. The force behind Logan's strike traveled through Lu Yifang's clothes to his skin, then reflected back along the same path.

Wolverine's claws were incredibly sharp, but no matter how sharp a weapon, without applied force, it couldn't even break skin. In fact, if Logan had put even more strength into it, he would have been sent flying by his own power.

"Uncle Logan, I admit I misspoke earlier, but did you really have to respond so enthusiastically?" Lu Yifang raised an eyebrow. This was too much. If it had been anyone else standing here, they'd already be bleeding out on the floor, completely incapacitated.

"Logan." Storm grabbed Wolverine's hand, her face furious.

"I didn't mean to. I just..." Logan seemed to snap back to reality, looking utterly confused.

Cyclops's expression turned serious. "Logan, what the hell were you... Damn it, go to hell!"

Just as he seemed about to question Logan, Cyclops's face twisted with rage, and he activated his visor-like glasses, unleashing his power.

A red optic blast shot out, engulfing both Storm and Logan.

"Damn it!" Lu Yifang's expression shifted. He stepped forward and placed himself in front of Storm. As energy, the optic blast was something he could manipulate with vector reflection.

But he didn't dare use it lightly. If his reflected beam collided with Cyclops's ongoing blast, an explosion could result. And if Cyclops suddenly stopped firing, the rebounding blast might kill him.

"Get out of the way!" With no other choice, Lu Yifang reached out and swung his hand hard.

The moment the optic beam touched his hand, the direction of all that energy was altered. The red blast, like a jet of water, was deflected away by his swing, scattering into various parts of the museum.

"Scott!" Jean acted instantly, tackling Cyclops to the ground. His optic blast finally ceased.

"You okay?" Lu Yifang let out a breath of relief and turned to the stunned Storm.

"I'm fine."

"I'm not fine!" As Storm spoke, Logan, still on the ground, groaned. One of the deflected beams had hit him square in the abdomen, punching a small hole through it.

"Sorry, Uncle Logan. I was in a hurry and didn't pay attention. I wasn't trying to get back at you." Lu Yifang quickly extended a hand to Logan.

"Kid, saying that just makes you look more suspicious." Despite his words, Logan grabbed Lu Yifang's hand. With his healing factor, taking a hit himself was far better than letting Storm get hurt. Lu Yifang's priority in protecting her was clearly the right call.

"I'm sorry. I suddenly saw Mystique transform into Magneto and ambush Storm, killing her. That's why I lashed out... I didn't realize..." Cyclops, now clear-headed, began apologizing in guilt.

"Scott, it's not your fault. I can sense a psychic controller here. Their power is immense." Jean spoke up.

The moment she finished, Lu Yifang felt as if someone had tapped him on the forehead, or like the buzzing of countless mosquitoes filled his ears, making him irritable.

This sensation was all too familiar. Before his ability had fully awakened, **Professor X had harassed him with this for days, giving him nightmares. Mental power was a fascinating ability to Lu Yifang. Though it couldn't invade his body, the reflection process always produced this peculiar feeling.

Of course, Lu Yifang didn't enjoy it.

"Get the hell out here!" By tracking the rebound of the mental power, Lu Yifang pinpointed the person's location. Without hesitation, he grabbed a shard of glass from a display stand and hurled it.

"Bang!" The glass shard was caught by a hand that suddenly appeared. By adjusting the vector, the force behind that shard was enough to punch through a wall, yet the person caught it easily. A woman made entirely of diamond stepped out.

"I have to admit, I underestimated you. Especially you." The diamond woman pointed at Lu Yifang.

"It's you, White Queen!" Storm shouted as she recognized the woman's form.

"Hmm... Did this scene with White Queen appear in the original story?" Lu Yifang's expression darkened. Had he misremembered, or was the plot itself off?

In truth, the X-Men film series spanned a long time and had plenty of contradictions, especially after the timeline reboot. Lu Yifang clearly remembered that in X-Men: First Class, White Queen joined Magneto's Brotherhood, but afterward, this powerful Level 4 Mutant never appeared again.

But this was the real Marvel world. Had these plot holes been filled by the world's will? Or, looking at it from another angle, since this world already had Tony Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D., as a complete Marvel universe, White Queen's presence wasn't strange at all.

Besides, this wasn't the time to dwell on it. Lu Yifang was glad he had come. If White Queen had launched a surprise attack, she could have wiped out Cyclops and the others single-handedly.

Once he figured that out, Lu Yifang charged at White Queen without hesitation. He had to keep her occupied, or soon all his allies behind him would turn against him. A 5v5 team fight would become a one-versus-many gauntlet.

After all, White Queen's mental power was second only to Professor X. Aside from Jean, who could resist a little, the others would be taken out instantly.

Seeing Lu Yifang rush at her, White Queen charged fearlessly as well. Her diamond-body mutation was one of the strongest Enhancement-type abilities.

With her strength vastly amplified and her body's durability off the charts, she had nothing to fear.

"Boom!" Lu Yifang and White Queen collided.

"Crash!" White Queen was sent flying backward, smashing through a wall.

"Leave White Queen to me. You all go stop Magneto. I'll catch up." With that, Lu Yifang dashed out through the hole in the wall.