We're Not in the Same System

Kino stared at the veins gradually spreading across his arms, slightly taken aback.

This girl was...

Rogue?

Five minutes earlier.

The students of the school huddled quietly behind the glass under Colossus's protection, cautiously peering outside. None of these students had fully grown yet, including Pyro, Iceman, Shadowcat, Rogue, and the rest.

"Oh my God, Mr. Scott was taken down!"

"Why can't Teacher Storm use lightning anymore?"

"Oh, no!"

"Dammit!"

"They're completely outmatched. God, are we going to be killed today?"

"I'm not ready to die yet."

"Don't worry, the Professor is here. I've never seen a mutant more powerful than him!"

"Isn't that young man powerful?"

Rogue frowned slightly, then suddenly turned around and said seriously, "I have a plan. Who's strong enough to throw me over there?"

"Are you crazy?" Iceman, who had a bit of a crush on Rogue, could not understand. "You'd only be throwing your life away. We should wait for the Professor..."

Then he saw Professor X slump over in his wheelchair and fall silent with a croak.

What had happened?

All the students were dumbfounded.

Colossus shook his head and said honestly, "I've never seen a mutant more powerful than the Professor. In that instant of confrontation... the Professor lost. The other side probably has psychic abilities too, and they're stronger than the Professor's!"

"What? Then aren't we done for? Should we run?" Pyro said anxiously.

There was still a middle-aged man in the courtyard, but none of them thought he could defeat that unfamiliar young man. Besides, the middle-aged man was not even from the school. Scott and Storm had rescued him. Since he had already lost, they had no expectations of him at all.

"I have a way. You have to trust me!" Rogue said anxiously.

"Trust you? Why should I trust you?" Iceman snapped.

Rogue had only just arrived at the school. No one knew her well, and no one knew what her mutant ability was. Although she had not yet revealed it, it was obvious that everyone admitted to this school was a mutant.

Rogue was nearly in tears. She did not want to reveal her ability in front of everyone. It was not a good choice, but... she needed a reason to convince them.

Left with no choice, she grabbed Iceman's hand.

In an instant, veins spread rapidly across her skin, while Iceman's eyes widened in terror as though he had suffered a stroke.

He could not speak. He could not even breathe. All he could do was feel his life force constantly draining away. At the same time, his mutant ability was being drained as well.

Fortunately, the process lasted less than a second before Rogue let go.

Iceman quickly recovered. Mutants had powerful life force, after all. He was not like that unlucky guy at the beginning of X-Men 1, who had nearly died!

Yet that less-than-one-second experience terrified Iceman, and he quietly stepped away.

That very movement made Rogue's fragile heart crack apart once more. The small bit of goodwill she had felt upon arriving at the school instantly shattered to pieces.

Suppressing the stabbing pain in her heart, she forcibly turned away. "Through skin-to-skin contact, I can take someone's abilities and even their life. Under normal circumstances, the abilities I absorb disappear after a few minutes. During that time, the person I drain falls into a dazed state."

As she spoke, she flipped her hand, and a tiny ball of ice rose into the air... before quickly vanishing.

Hearing her words, the students who had not understood what had happened immediately backed away several steps in fright. They looked at Rogue as though she were a demon.

She was a cursed person!

Stay away from her!

That perfectly synchronized movement shattered Rogue's fragile heart once again.

Only Colossus remained still, as steady as a mountain.

He had been able to calmly preach love and righteousness to someone like Deadpool and had even wanted to recruit him. Compared to that guy, Rogue was nothing.

"Don't worry. As long as there's no skin-to-skin contact, there won't be a problem."

At that moment, Wolverine pounced!

Then enormous spiderweb cracks tore through the air, ripped open the ground, and shattered the school buildings!

Crack—!

Under the tremendous impact, the glass exploded into countless shards and shot toward the students hiding inside. The other students had backed away out of fear of Rogue, thereby avoiding most of the broken glass. Only Rogue received every shard hurtling toward her. If nothing unexpected happened, in 0.1 seconds... she would be completely disfigured, perhaps even killed.

Just then, a massive shadow blocked her.

It was Colossus!

Colossus possessed a unique mutant ability. He could transform all the tissues in his body into a substance similar to "steel," gaining superhuman strength and incredible defense as a result. However, that substance was not actually steel, but a carbon steel similar to "osmium."

Even with his formidable defense, his back was still pierced by shattered glass. The impact that followed churned his internal organs, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Colossus!"

"Cough, cough... Don't worry, I can still take it." Colossus wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said in a deep, gruff voice, "From the looks of it, it seems the only option really is the one you mentioned."

He looked up at the courtyard. X Squad was already sprawled on the ground, unable to rise.

"Throw me over there. Aim well!"

"No problem. I'm a football pitcher!"

"Huh?" Rogue froze. A football... pitcher?

"Uh... baseball!"

"I suddenly don't have much hope."

"Relax, girl!" With that, Colossus reached out and grabbed Rogue by the shoulder, gripping her clothes.

Rogue gave Iceman one last look. He wanted to say something, but... he could not bring himself to open his mouth. Intelligent as he was, he had already realized how foolish his earlier action had been. That movement had deeply hurt the girl he liked. But he had not meant to do it. It had been an unthinking instinct.

"No matter what happens after this, I'll leave this school. This place... is no longer suitable for me."

Iceman opened his mouth, but still could not say a single word.

"Get ready. Here you go!"

Colossus spun around fiercely, then exerted both arms and hurled Rogue out!

—Whoosh!

That was how Rogue had appeared.

Professor X was stunned when he saw this. Could Rogue be the key to turning the battle around?

There were no useless abilities, only people who did not know how to use them!

But he was soon stunned again.

"Are you throwing yourself into my arms? Then I won't hold back!"

With that, Kino lowered his body and fiercely kissed Rogue on the lips.

Her eyes immediately widened!

She was not shocked because he had forcibly kissed her. In truth, it was not even her first kiss, so it was not worth making a fuss over. She was shocked because her ability seemed to have encountered... an opponent?

She could not take Kino's ability, but she could take his life force. Yet the veins that appeared from draining his life force rapidly receded. Although they quickly appeared again, their rate of disappearance far exceeded their rate of growth.

After about five seconds, Kino pulled away and lowered Rogue, whom he had been holding by both arms, to the ground.

"Your ability is useless against me, because—we're not in the same system!"