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"Can you tell me what exactly these Inhumans are?" Magneto asked.
Since there was already someone present who knew about the subject—and since that person was one of Magneto's own people—Black Superman decided to be straightforward.
"About five thousand years ago, the Kree conducted experiments on humans. Their goal was to turn people whose mutant abilities hadn't awakened yet into controllable super soldiers.
"They succeeded, but the project was ultimately abandoned because of other flaws. The information I obtained is only part of the original research."
Naturally, he still held quite a bit back. Nobody could verify his claims anyway, and he certainly had no intention of handing over the complete data.
Magneto continued,
"What exactly do you mean by 'success' and 'flaws'?"
Black Superman explained:
"The genetically modified Inhumans require a substance called a Terrigen Crystal to undergo transformation.
"But just like mutants, the abilities they gain are random.
"Because of that unpredictability, they couldn't serve as a reliable source of soldiers. Later, some Inhumans with particularly powerful abilities launched rebellions, which was another reason the Kree abandoned the project."
After a moment's thought, Magneto asked,
"Can we make use of these Terrigen Crystals ourselves?"
Black Superman shook his head.
"According to the records, the Terrigen Crystals were artificial creations. To control the size of the Inhuman population and determine who gained powers, the Kree kept the supply deliberately limited and restricted access to a select few.
"More importantly, Terrigen Crystals are effectively poison to mutants whose powers have already awakened. Exposure is fatal.
"You can probably understand the reasoning.
"If you're trying to turn a species into a weapon, it's best to eliminate the uncontrollable variables to maintain purity.
"And it conveniently prevents others with equivalent power from becoming your enemies."
Magneto snorted.
"Always the same with people like that."
Then he asked:
"So your plan is to use the results of this research to achieve what I want?"
Black Superman nodded.
"Yes.
"I don't imagine you'd allow me to freely experiment on mutants.
"So the simplest solution is to take someone else's research, extract the parts we need, and adapt them to our purposes."
"Very well."
Magneto made his decision.
"Proceed. You'll have my support."
With everything now out in the open and official permission granted, Black Superman no longer had any reservations.
Just as he turned around to gather his materials and head into the laboratory for the night's work, several rough-looking men seated in the back row rose to their feet simultaneously.
One of them called out:
"Hold it."
Black Superman doubted that the group who had spent the entire presentation dozing off could ask anything particularly insightful.
Still, the entire point of today's meeting was to answer questions and avoid endless interruptions later.
So he set down the materials in his hands.
"Do you have something you'd like clarified?
"If you have questions, ask them today.
"I might not have time to explain everything individually later."
The speaker stepped forward.
"I've heard you're strong.
"I'm curious exactly how strong."
The man stood nearly two meters tall.
His eyes were amber.
Golden body hair covered his exposed skin.
His muscles made professional bodybuilders look modest by comparison.
His fingernails resembled claws, and when he spoke, a pair of prominent canine teeth were clearly visible.
Black Superman's first thought was:
Is this guy a vampire? Or some sort of vampire mutant?
"Sabretooth, don't cause trouble."
Magneto's voice grew stern.
"He isn't an opponent you can challenge."
Though Magneto clearly wasn't trying to provoke anyone, people with rebellious personalities often reacted badly to exactly that sort of statement.
Sabretooth?
So it was him.
The massive blond mutant grinned.
"Magneto, what if he's not actually strong enough?
"What if he drags us down?
"What if he leaks our information to the government?
"Words alone don't convince me."
Magneto looked like he wanted to say something further, but eventually gave up.
Then he turned to Henry.
"Although I'd rather avoid this situation, that idiot can't be killed.
"Teach him a lesson if necessary.
"It'll probably make future cooperation easier."
Black Superman smiled.
Can't be killed?
So there was room to be creative.
Whether it was the smile itself or simply Sabretooth's temperament, the giant mutant suddenly launched himself forward with astonishing speed.
His claws slashed toward Black Superman's chest.
The group of thugs surrounding him immediately broke into smug grins, clearly anticipating a show.
What none of them expected was that Black Superman activated superspeed.
In an instant, he seized Sabretooth by the back of the neck and slammed him face-first into the ground.
The impact thundered through the room.
Anyone hearing it would instinctively wince.
Then came the second strike.
Black Superman drove a knuckle directly into the base of Sabretooth's neck.
The result was a catastrophic shattering of his cervical spine.
The side effect?
Complete paralysis.
Stepping back, Black Superman casually asked:
"Well?
"Does that adequately demonstrate that I meet your requirements?"
Sabretooth's companions stared in disbelief.
Then they noticed the fallen mutant slowly pushing himself up from the floor.
The smug smiles returned immediately.
"You bastard..."
Sabretooth growled through gritted teeth.
Black Superman was genuinely surprised.
How much time had passed?
Ten seconds?
Maybe less?
A shattered spine had already healed.
His movements were still sluggish, indicating the recovery wasn't complete, but clearly only time separated him from full restoration.
"So you really can't be killed."
Black Superman smiled.
"Your mutant ability is regeneration, then?"
Sabretooth bared his teeth.
"Scared?
"I can keep this up all day."
Before he could finish speaking, Black Superman suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
His hand plunged into Sabretooth's chest.
A moment later, he withdrew a still-beating heart.
Then he opened the mouth section of his mask and exhaled freezing breath, instantly encasing the organ in ice.
The entire room froze.
Not just the spectators.
Sabretooth himself looked stunned.
His body, which had almost returned to standing, immediately collapsed to one knee.
Holding the frozen heart up like a trophy, Black Superman smiled.
"This counts as loot, right?
"I won't be returning it.
"Besides, it doesn't seem like you're using it."
While casually mocking him, he observed that Sabretooth's chest cavity had already begun regenerating.
The problem was that without a heart pumping blood throughout his body, the giant mutant couldn't generate any meaningful strength.
"I'll kill you!"
Sabretooth roared.
"I swear I'll kill you!"
"Oh?"
Black Superman didn't hesitate.
He reached into Sabretooth's chest again and pulled out a second newly formed heart.
Another blast of freezing breath.
Another frozen trophy.
"At this rate, it takes roughly one minute for your heart to regenerate.
"That's honestly impressive."
Sabretooth screamed in agony.
He had to lean against a nearby chair simply to remain upright.
This time, when he looked at Black Superman, something had changed.
The hostility remained.
But it was no longer the only thing in his eyes.
Black Superman crouched in front of him.
His eyes curved with amusement.
The sight only fueled Sabretooth's rage further.
This time, however, he didn't waste time with threats.
He simply glared.
The moment strength returned to his arm, he struck.
His claw smashed into Black Superman's head.
It felt like striking a solid steel sphere.
The Kryptonian's head didn't move so much as a millimeter.
Then Black Superman performed a third extraction.
Out came another heart.
Freeze.
Collect.
Admire.
"Two minutes.
"Complete cardiac regeneration.
"Do you really suffer no long-term losses?
"Have you ever considered becoming an organ donor?"
"Enough!"
Magneto and Mystique shouted simultaneously.
Meanwhile, Sabretooth's companions looked as though they had seen a ghost.
Any thoughts of provocation had long vanished.
Black Superman glanced toward Sabretooth.
"Can I test how long it takes him to regenerate after decapitation?"
"No!"
Again, Magneto and Mystique answered in perfect unison.
"Tch."
Black Superman clicked his tongue.
"Misers."
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