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Arctic—Hydra Secret Base Perimeter

A blizzard raged, reducing visibility to less than five meters. The Blackbird hovered above a glacial crevasse, its engines' roar swallowed by the howling wind.

"Temperature: minus forty-five degrees Celsius. Wind speed: twenty meters per second." Beast's voice came through the comms. "Everyone, this isn't an ordinary blizzard—the base perimeter has weather-control equipment."

Wolverine clenched a cigar between his teeth and exhaled a cloud of white mist. "Who cares what kind of equipment it is? We'll just tear it apart."

Cyclops adjusted his visor. "Logan, don't act rashly. Charles said this operation had to be clean and efficient."

Ororo stood by the hatch, her golden eyes reflecting the endless snowstorm. "I can feel it... The electromagnetic field in this area has been artificially distorted."

Jean closed her eyes and reached out with her senses. "There are life signs in the base, but they're very weak... as if something is suppressing them."

"The operation begins." Charles's voice came through the telepathic link. "Remember, our top priority is rescuing our imprisoned mutant brethren."

The Blackbird slowly descended onto the glacier. The hatch opened, and biting cold wind instantly flooded the cabin.

Wolverine was the first to jump down, his Adamantium claws leaving deep tracks in the snow. "Stay close."

The outer defenses of the Hydra base appeared lax, but the X-Men all knew—it was the calm before the storm.

"Thermal scans show twelve guards at the main entrance," Beast reported quietly. "But strangely... their vital signs are abnormally steady. They're almost like robots."

Jean frowned. "Someone's controlling them?"

Electricity danced across Ororo's fingertips. "Want me to disable their communications first?"

"No, wait." Cyclops suddenly raised a hand. "Charles, can you sense what's happening inside the base?"

Far away at the Xavier Institute, Charles frowned deeply. "My telepathy is being interfered with... There's some kind of shielding device in the base."

Wolverine sneered. "Then we'll just smash our way in."

"No!" Jean grabbed him. "If we act recklessly, Hydra might destroy the test subjects!"

Just then, the base's main gate suddenly opened automatically with a hum.

The X-Men instantly entered combat mode—but there was no one behind the gate. Only a deep corridor stretched ahead, its lights flickering on and off.

"A trap?" Beast scanned their surroundings warily.

Jean's pupils faintly glowed red. "No... It's an invitation."

At the end of the corridor, a screen suddenly lit up—

"Welcome, X-Men."

On the screen, a blurry figure sat in the shadows. Its electronically distorted voice spoke. "You arrived twenty minutes later than expected."

Wolverine's claws snapped out. "Quit playing games!"

The projection continued. "If you want to save those mutants... keep moving forward. Remember, time is running out."

Before the voice faded, the projection abruptly switched to live surveillance footage—

Inside frozen experimental chambers, dozens of mutants were trapped in hibernation pods, their vital signs rapidly declining!

"Damn it!" Ororo shouted furiously, and a gale instantly swept through the corridor. "They're slaughtering our people!"

Cyclops immediately gave the order. "Jean, Ororo, go destroy the weather-control equipment! Logan, Hank, come with me to the experimental zone!"

The laboratory's metal door twisted out of shape with a deafening crash as Cyclops's energy beams punched precisely through two guards' riot helmets.

Beast let out a low roar, his claws tearing through the third guard's tactical armor. Blood splattered across the control console's screen.

"The life-support system is collapsing!" Beast's claws flew across the interface. "If it isn't restarted within thirty seconds, all the experimental chambers will enter permanent freezing mode!"

Wolverine's nostrils flared. The scent of blood was mixed with some pungent chemical. He spun around, Adamantium claws clanging against an incoming dagger—the blade was only three centimeters from his throat.

"Hydra's toy?" Logan grinned coldly, flexing his muscles as he hurled the attacker into the wall. The black figure flipped through the air and landed steadily, its face covered by a metal mask.

"Winter Soldier?" Beast's scanner sounded an alarm. "Bucky Barnes? No, not him. Another Winter Soldier."

A voice came from beneath the black figure's mask. "Command confirmed: execute the mutants."

At the same time, the metal dome of the top-floor weather-control room suddenly frosted over. Just as Ororo gathered lightning, the entire ceiling collapsed with a thunderous crash—

"Bobby?!" Ororo's cry was drowned out by a storm of ice crystals. Iceman floated amid shattered ice, his eyes glowing an eerie purple as freezing currents formed a hurricane around him.

Jean's red hair froze in the cold. She struggled to expand a psychic barrier. "It doesn't seem like brainwashing. I can't affect Bobby!"

Iceman slowly raised a hand, and countless ice spikes condensed in the air. Behind him, the weather-control room's emergency lights went out one by one.

Sokovia—Safe House

The projection before Chen Tian displayed the battle at the Arctic base in real time.

2B reported softly, "Master, the Winter Soldiers and Iceman have intervened."

Madara's figure emerged from the shadows. "Charles Xavier is attempting to break through the telepathic shield."

"Let him try." Chen Tian chuckled. "The metal we secretly planted in the Arctic base to block telepathy is no joke."

He looked toward another screen—Magneto had appeared at the Arctic border!

"Oh? Mr. Magneto has arrived already." Chen Tian sat up straighter. "This is getting interesting."

Frost formed over the metal walls in the extreme cold, while alarms from the experimental chambers shrieked sharply.

Three Winter Soldiers moved through the shadows like ghosts. Wolverine, who should have been the main force against them, was currently roaring from the ceiling.

"Strucker... you despicable bastard!" Logan roared as he struggled atop a massive electromagnet, every muscle bulging.

"Hank! Watch your left!" Cyclops shouted a warning, but it was too late.

Beast was slammed into the control console by a tremendous force, his back crashing against the metal panel as the instruments erupted in blinding sparks.

"Argh!" The normally gentle scholar cried out in pain. His glasses had already shattered in the fight, leaving him to rely solely on his beastly instincts as he tangled with two highly trained killers.

"Target locked: mutant specimen, codename Beast." One of the Winter Soldiers announced mechanically, driving a dagger at Beast's ribs from a vicious angle.

Hank barely twisted aside, but the second dagger had already sliced open his shoulder. Blood immediately soaked through his blue fur.

Cyclops was in an even worse situation. He kept adjusting his visor's energy output, yet could never find an opening to fire his optic blasts.

The Winter Soldier before him clung to him like a parasite. Every time he tried to create distance, his opponent closed in with an even fiercer assault.

Several gashes had been cut into Scott's tactical vest, and blood continued to seep from the wound at his temple.

"Charles... we need support..." Hank struggled to send through the telepathic link as he rolled aside from a lethal blow.

But the Winter Soldiers coordinated flawlessly. The instant he rose, a heavy mechanical fist came howling toward him.

Cyclops suddenly staggered, a long blade cutting a wound across his cheek.

"Scott!" Beast cried out, only to see his teammate knocked to his knees by an elbow strike.

The Winter Soldier's metal boot stomped heavily onto Cyclops's back, pressing his face into the icy floor.

"Vital-sign scan indicates the target has lost combat capability." A cold electronic voice delivered the verdict.

Hank watched helplessly as the third Winter Soldier raised his gun and aimed at Scott's back...

The entire laboratory suddenly shook violently, and the metal walls groaned under unbearable strain.

Boom!!!

The laboratory's alloy ceiling was ripped open by a terrifying force!

Cold wind and snow poured in as a figure in a dark red cape floated in midair, metal fragments orbiting him like soldiers submitting to their king.

Behind him were Iceman—Bobby, bound by countless strips of metal—and Jean and Ororo, both watching Erik warily.

Erik's gaze swept across the laboratory before settling on the huge screen.

"Hydra..." His voice suppressed towering fury. "You dared to recklessly... experiment on my people?"

He slowly raised a hand—

Crack!

The restraint device twisted out of shape instantly, and Wolverine crashed heavily to the floor.

Logan rolled to his feet, Adamantium claws snapping out. "Erik?! You motherf—"

"Shut up, Logan." Magneto cut him off coldly, curling a finger—

The mechanical arms of the three Winter Soldiers suddenly twisted out of control, clamping tightly around their own necks!

"Tell Strucker..." Magneto's cape snapped wildly in the wind. "The fury of mutants... has only just begun."

Chen Tian watched Magneto massacre his way through the projection, and the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened.

"Master," 2B reminded him softly, "Magneto's intervention was beyond our projections."

"No, this is perfect." Chen Tian slowly pulled open a can of cola. "The angrier Erik gets, the harder it will be for Charles to contain the situation."

He looked at another screen—a S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet was breaking through the clouds.

"Erik is a very good Adjudicator too."

Magneto's metal storm swept through the entire laboratory. The control console burst into sparks amid a shriek of electricity, and the life-support system finally stopped counting down.

The experimental chambers' emergency lights came back on, and the weak heartbeats of the trapped mutants gradually stabilized.

"The system has shut down!" Beast—Hank—gasped, clutching his bleeding shoulder. "But if we'd been ten seconds later, they would have—"

"Where's Strucker?" Wolverine—Logan—scanned the area irritably, his Adamantium claws cutting icy arcs through the air. "That bastard couldn't have just run away!"

Jean's telepathy swept through the entire base. "No life signs... He had an escape route prepared long ago."

Ororo supported Iceman—Bobby—who was still bound in metal. The purple glow in his eyes had faded, but he still looked dazed. "What did they do to him...?"

She did not notice that in Bobby's unfocused eyes, an almost imperceptible tomoe was completely fading away.

Magneto—Erik—floated in the air. "Hydra's scientists fled quickly... but they couldn't take everything."

Just then, engines roared outside the base.

"Someone's here." Cyclops—Scott—forced himself to stand, pressing a torn sleeve against the blood on his face. "Not Hydra aircraft..."

"It's S.H.I.E.L.D." Jean frowned. "Fury came in person."

Three S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjets landed on the blizzard-ravaged glacier. When their hatches opened, Fury's black trench coat snapped in the freezing wind.

His single eye swept over the base's outer wall, torn apart by Magneto, and his brow creased slightly. Coulson hurried after him with an energy detector in hand, reporting in a low voice, "Sir, the energy readings are abnormal. The X-Men and Magneto are both inside."

Fury snorted coldly. "Those old men at the World Security Council were right. The damage caused by mutants has indeed exceeded expectations." He pressed his communicator. "All units, stay alert. Proceed according to the plan."

When they entered the base corridor, they came face-to-face with the evacuating X-Men. Wolverine stood at the front, his claws still extended as he stared at Fury warily. "S.H.I.E.L.D.? This doesn't concern you."

"Under a special resolution by the World Security Council," Fury said without emotion, "all Hydra research materials concerning the Human Evolution Plan will be taken over by S.H.I.E.L.D."

Wolverine's claws snapped out again. "In your dreams! That's experimental data on mutant brethren!"

"Logan!" Beast grabbed his shoulder. "This was the agreement I reached with the United Nations Security Council before the operation." He lowered his voice. "Without that condition, we never would have received authorization for this mission."

Cyclops wiped the blood from his face, his visor flashing with dangerous red light. "Fury, those files concern the lives and safety of dozens of mutants."

Fury expressionlessly gestured, and more than a dozen fully armed agents behind him immediately spread out to collect the laboratory's data terminals. Coulson walked to the main console and inserted a data-extraction device.

"Don't worry, X-Men," Fury said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will conduct a humanitarian evaluation of this information."

None of the X-Men spoke. Fury's words were meaningless; no one believed him. But what could they do? Charles was determined to achieve peace between mutants and humans, even if it meant acting like the United Nations Security Council's loyal dog. As Charles's subordinates, could they stop him?

"Sir," Coulson's communicator suddenly emitted a piercing alarm, "highest-priority communication request from the World Security Council."

Fury's single eye narrowed slightly. After pressing the answer button, his expression darkened at a visible speed. When the communication ended, he slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping across every X-Man present.

"Attention, everyone." Fury's voice was like a frozen lake. "Emergency resolution from the World Security Council: arrest Erik Lehnsherr immediately. Charges include crimes against humanity, terrorism, and war crimes." He paused. "All X-Men are also ordered to cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D."

The entire laboratory instantly fell silent. Wolverine cursed, "Bullshit! Erik just saved our lives!"

The X-Men slowly shifted, placing themselves between Fury and Erik.

As the tension continued to rise, Charles's voice echoed in the X-Men's minds, heavy with exhaustion:

"Carry out the order."

Wolverine—Logan's—claws abruptly retracted. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, wondering if he had heard wrong.

"Charles?!" Beast—Hank—demanded through the telepathic link. "Erik just saved us! Those mutant children in the experimental chambers—"

"I know." Charles's voice was weak. "But if we resist now, S.H.I.E.L.D. will immediately classify the X-Men as hostile. Mutants can't withstand any more war."

Electricity flickered in Ororo's eyes as she stared at Fury, her voice suppressing her rage. "So we're just going to let them take Erik?"

"No." Charles's voice suddenly turned firm. "But we need time. Trust me. Everything... is for mutants."

"Bullshit!"

Logan violently threw his cigar onto the ground, Adamantium claws snapping out.

"Charles, I've hated this old magnet for a long time," he said, hunching forward like a beast ready to pounce, claws hanging at his sides, "but when have the X-Men ever repaid kindness with betrayal?"

The entire glacier fell into dead silence. Ororo's lightning stirred uneasily in the clouds, Beast's fur stood on end, and even Jean's eyes widened in shock—this was the first time Logan had publicly defied Charles's orders.

Magneto slowly turned his head, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Interesting."

"Shut up." Logan spat, his claws slicing through the air. "I'm not doing this for you."

His muscles tensed. "Listen, I'll help you kill your way out. After today, we're even!"

Fury's single eye narrowed dangerously. "Logan, you know the consequences of this."

"To hell with the consequences!" Wolverine suddenly lunged, all six claws stabbing toward the nearest Quinjet. Amid the deafening screech of tearing metal, he turned and roared at Magneto, "What are you standing around for? Waiting for me to carry you?!"

That roar was like thunder. Magneto suddenly burst into laughter, his cape snapping in the rapidly intensifying magnetic field. "Charles, your wolf cub is more interesting than you!"

All the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' weapons flew from their hands at once, twisting into scrap metal in midair.

"X-Men! If you don't stop them, the World Security Council will abolish the Superhuman Registration Act! Do you want Xavier and Hank's efforts all these years to become meaningless, and for you to become gutter rats hunted by the entire world again?" Fury shouted furiously. "If you don't care, then just stand there and watch those two idiots fight their way out!"

Fury's threat was like an arrow, viciously piercing every X-Man's heart.

"Charles..." Jean's voice trembled in the telepathic link. "Are we really going to do this?"

Professor X's voice was weary, but firm. "Trust me, Jean. This is the only way to protect the Xavier Institute."

Electricity flickered in Ororo's eyes. Slowly, she raised both hands as dark clouds gathered overhead. "Erik... I'm sorry..."

"Ororo." Magneto's voice was calm as metal fragments formed a defensive barrier around him. "Do what you want to do."

A bolt of lightning struck down, only to be deflected by the metal barrier. Ororo's voice trembled slightly. "I'm sorry, Erik. Everything is for mutants."

Cyclops—Scott—silently adjusted his visor. Beneath the ruby-quartz lenses, his eyes were full of pain. "Logan, move aside."

Wolverine stood before Magneto, claws crossed over his chest. "Come on, Four-Eyes! Let's see whether your lasers can pierce my bones!"

"Enough!" Charles's voice suddenly exploded in everyone's minds. The powerful telepathic shock made Logan stagger. In that instant of vulnerability—

Bang!

Beast—Hank—lunged from the side and slammed Logan violently into an ice wall. Adamantium claws carved deep furrows into the ice.

"Hank! Even you—" Logan's words were cut off by a heavy punch.

Beast's animal eyes flickered. "I'm sorry, old friend... for those children..."

The metal storm around Magneto grew increasingly violent, but his expression was strangely calm. "Charles... you finally made your choice."

He suddenly raised a hand, and the base's entire metal structure began to twist and deform. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents retreated in terror, and even Fury's expression changed.

Just as Magneto's metal storm was about to sweep across the entire base—

Whoosh!

A ghostly blue blade flash tore through the air, as though it had ripped reality itself apart. Then came a second, a third... countless blade flashes wove into a net within the metal storm, severing every deadly metal fragment.

A figure in a dark blue hooded trench coat appeared in the middle of the battlefield at some point. He wore a silver-white metal mask and held a strangely shaped katana in his right hand, its blade wrapped in eerie blue energy.

"Who are you?!" Wolverine Logan immediately assumed a fighting stance. His keen sense of smell could not catch any scent—this mysterious man seemed not to exist in this world.

The corner of the hooded man's mouth curled upward slightly. "The one here to save you."

Fury's single eye suddenly narrowed. "Everyone, fall back! That's—"

Before he could finish, Vergil had already swung his blade at empty space. A massive spatial rift opened before him, filled with distorted flickering light.

"Come with me." Without looking back, he stepped into the rift. "Unless you want to keep being the United Nations Security Council's lackeys."

Magneto Erik hovered in midair. He looked at the X-Men, then at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents gathering in the distance, before finally fixing his gaze on the spatial rift.

"Charles..." His voice was low and dangerous. "It seems someone understands mutant dignity better than you do."

With that, he flew into the rift without hesitation. Wolverine Logan spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and gave Cyclops the finger. "Tell Charles I'm done with this shit!" Then he leaped in after him.

The rift began to close slowly. Vergil stood at the entrance, his katana held across his chest. When Jean tried to stop him with telekinesis, the blade trembled lightly, and all telekinetic force was severed.

"Don't waste your effort," he said mockingly. "You will ultimately pay the price for your choices."

As the final blade flash passed, the spatial rift vanished completely, leaving only twisted metal fragments scattered across the ground and the stunned X-Men and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

Sokovia.

Chen Tian set the cola on the table, rose to his feet, and straightened his clothes. "Let's go. Let's meet our new members."

As he spoke, he picked up the trench coat on the table and headed out of the safe house, with 2B following close behind. "Master, you mean?"

"Yes, The Adjudicator's new members."