Body Possession (Seeking Collection)

She was a beautiful young woman with long hair cascading over her shoulders, her features exquisitely delicate, yet beneath the calm surface lurked a hint of madness in her brow. She wore a red dress, and atop her head sat a red headpiece with two pointed horns.

Scarlet Witch!

Pietro instantly recognized her identity. Back when Scarlet Witch had betrayed the Avengers and turned state witness, it had shaken half of America. Pietro never dreamed he'd see her here.

Likewise, Pietro couldn't understand why that black officer had called Scarlet Witch "President X."

Scarlet Witch gazed coldly at her subordinate, whom she'd nearly crippled with a single blow. She lightly raised her left hand, and a surge of crimson energy enveloped the black man's body, like an invisible giant hand gripping him and yanking him back from outside the factory.

"You're saying there's a traitor in my army?" Scarlet Witch's voice was pleasant, like a lark singing—anyone hearing it would involuntarily smile—but her tone was icily sharp, carrying a harsh sense of rupture.

"I, I, don't know, sir," the black man stammered, clearly enduring immense pain.

"You are the elites I handpicked," Scarlet Witch said. "Each of you I deemed worthy. You pathetic humans, I was proud of you. I gave you only one task: protect my safety until I fully control this body!"

"But what did you do? You let those Avengers remnants find this place. I should execute all of you."

As she spoke, Scarlet Witch suddenly clenched her fist. The next moment, the black man's body was compressed into a sphere by the red energy. He couldn't even scream before he was reduced to an unrecognizable state.

Seeing the black officer's fate, the surrounding soldiers silently lowered their heads, none daring to make a sound, afraid of drawing President X's attention and becoming his next "toy."

Scarlet Witch looked at her handiwork, a hint of pleasure flickering in her eyes for the first time. "Look at this power—how wonderful, how miraculous. It will be the key to my rule over this planet. I can't even fully control it yet."

Just then, Scarlet Witch furrowed her brow slightly, as if sensing something. She raised her hand, and a wisp of crimson energy danced at her fingertips. Soon, as if confirming something, she whipped her head around.

Her gaze landed on the very spot where Pietro was hiding. One look from Scarlet Witch nearly scared the soul out of Pietro.

He reacted instantly. Though he didn't know how he'd been exposed, Pietro knew that if he didn't flee now, he'd die. So he lightly tapped his feet and covered a hundred meters in an instant—a speed even Scarlet Witch couldn't match.

Just as he was bolting through the hole Scarlet Witch had blasted earlier—

Suddenly, Pietro's right leg snapped as if someone had twisted it off, emitting a crisp sound only he could hear. The next moment, he lost his balance, crashed to the ground, and rolled out from the momentum until he slammed into a mound of industrial waste.

"Hiss—!" Pietro clutched his leg, gritting his teeth to stifle a scream, but the pain kept hammering his mind, forcing tears from his eyes.

Scarlet Witch looked at Pietro's position, tilting her head slightly.

"Interesting. I remember you. You were a prisoner in the Mutant Prison too. Your helmet is fascinating—it actually blocks my telepathy. No wonder I didn't sense you. It reminds me of an old friend, but he should be long dead by now."

But Pietro had no time to reply to Scarlet Witch. He was using every ounce of strength to suppress the agony in his leg.

After all, his leg had been forcibly snapped by Chaos Magic. That kind of pain would have killed most people outright.

"So you've allied with the Avengers remnants? No matter. With this power, no one can stop me anymore. And I should thank you for the gift—I'll take this helmet."

As she spoke, Scarlet Witch raised her hand again, crimson energy enveloping Pietro's head. Clearly, she wasn't just taking the helmet—she intended to take Pietro's head along with it.

At that moment, a laser blasted toward Scarlet Witch at incredible speed.

Scarlet Witch's raised hand made no extra motion; with a slight flick of her wrist, the Particle Beam curved midair and shot into the night sky.

Then, just as Scarlet Witch prepared to unleash a powerful telepathic wave to find and control the attacker, a burst of blue smoke exploded before her. A sharp claw sliced through the smoke, thrusting out from within, aimed straight at Scarlet Witch's throat.

Without hesitation, crimson energy surged, blasting the attacker away. But before she could catch her breath, a blue monster swung a massive stone pillar at her.

Scarlet Witch barely raised her hands before she was sent flying, crashing into a white shipping container with an explosion.

The mutant prisoners had charged in.

The soldiers on site immediately engaged them, but how could ordinary humans fight these monsters? And without their humanity, the monsters' strength hadn't dropped—it had actually increased.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ye let out a heavy breath.

To be honest, firing a Repulsor Ray at Scarlet Witch had been a gamble. Zhang Ye had indeed seen the mutants charging through, but he feared that before they could reach him, his mind would already be invaded.

Yes, Zhang Ye had realized that the Scarlet Witch before him was actually President X—or rather, that this Scarlet Witch had been "Body Possessed" by President X through telepathy.

And the key to leaving this universe was Pietro. Without Pietro, Zhang Ye couldn't find President X's secret chamber.

Likewise, worried that Zhang Ye might deceive him, Pietro had never revealed the chamber's location.

So Zhang Ye absolutely couldn't let Pietro die here.

The result wasn't bad—his gamble paid off. President X's ability wasn't as unbeatable as he'd imagined. This was a big advantage.