"Ororo, go assist Eric," Professor X commanded.
He feared Magneto alone wouldn't be able to hold off the flood of sentry robots.
Storm nodded and moved to stand beside Magneto. Their abilities both specialized in large-scale, wide-range attacks; together, their power could be devastating.
Magneto didn't refuse—this was no time for pride. The survival of their kind was at stake, and extra security was needed.
"Everyone else, with me!"
The remaining mutants followed Professor X toward the thermal power plant.
Unlike nuclear power, thermal plants were relatively simple to operate. By burning coal to generate heat, they could be restarted with much less expertise. That was precisely why Professor X had chosen this facility.
Nuclear plants were a different matter entirely—dangerous and complex. Without trained professionals, they were impossible to bring online.
Blink noticed Fenric hadn't moved. "Aren't you going to help?" she asked.
Fenric shook his head calmly. "I'll stay here. It's better if I hold off the sentries."
Blink rolled her eyes. "Boastful as ever." Still, she said no more and followed the others inside.
Soon, only Magneto, Storm, and Fenric remained on the platform.
Time crept by. Hours passed. The sky darkened as dusk bled into the horizon.
Fenric, who had been sitting with eyes closed, suddenly opened them. His perception was sharp, his vision keener than most. Even from kilometers away, he saw movement on the sea's horizon.
"They're coming."
His voice cut the silence.
Magneto and Storm immediately tensed.
Not long after, both of them saw it—countless pyramid-shaped aircraft approaching.
An entire fleet.
Clearly, the sentries recognized the threat the mutants posed and had deployed nearly their whole army.
The sight made even Magneto's face turn grim. Storm's jaw tightened.
Even Fenric grew serious, gripping his trident tightly.
"How long?" he called toward the station.
"About two and a half hours!" Skynet's voice rang back.
"Make it faster."
"I'll try, Brother!"
Magneto and Storm exchanged glances.
"Storm!" Magneto barked.
Storm rose into the air, her eyes shifting as her powers awakened.
Dark clouds rolled across the heavens, blotting out the last rays of sunlight. Thunder growled overhead.
Wind roared. Waves heaved.
"Boom—!"
A jagged bolt of lightning split the sky, crashing down with destructive force.
Even before considering the damage, the sheer spectacle of Storm's powers was overwhelming.
Fenric raised an eyebrow. Not bad.
In truth, Storm's offensive capability ranked high among mutants. Unfortunately, her body itself was frail. Any normal soldier at close range could kill her with ease.
The storm intensified. Gusts battered the incoming aircraft, sending several spinning out of control before colliding and plummeting into the sea. Lightning crashed again, frying circuits and blowing apart hulls.
Yet the enemy's numbers were vast.
The few losses were nothing compared to the countless sentry robots still advancing.
Worse—adapting quickly, the sentries abandoned their bulky transports. One after another, they burst from their carriers, flying forward under their own power.
The sky darkened again, this time with thousands of black specks. Each speck—a sentry robot.
Storm paled. "There are too many…"
Her voice trembled. For the first time, she felt death closing in.
Magneto's expression hardened. Even he knew this horde was beyond his control. Still, he rose to act, his gaze locking onto their fighter plane.
He intended to use it as a bomb, tearing it apart and detonating it amidst the swarm.
But just as his power gathered, Fenric stepped forward and stopped him.
"Wait, Old Man. Blowing up a perfectly good plane would be a waste."
Magneto and Storm both froze, shocked at his interruption.
"Young man," Magneto began, "you may be strong, but against so many—"
His words caught in his throat. Storm's did too.
Because Fenric was no longer standing on the platform.
He strode out onto the sea itself.
The water surged up to meet him, lifting him gently, as though the waves themselves bowed to his presence.
Under the storm-darkened heavens, he stood high above the sea, trident in hand—like a god of the ocean.
Then, he moved.
Fenric raised the trident high, then slashed it down.
The sea answered.
At once, the calm surface erupted. Waves rose, swelled, and fused into a single monstrous wall of water. Higher and higher it climbed, until the horizon itself was consumed by a tsunami a hundred meters tall.
With a roar like the earth itself breaking, the tsunami surged forward.
The vanguard of sentries didn't even have time to scatter before they were swallowed whole, crushed, and dragged screaming into the abyss.
One strike—an entire army torn apart.
"…Impossible!"
Magneto's eyes widened, his composure shattered.
He had seen countless battles, but never such destructive might. Against that tsunami, even he admitted—he could not survive.
"Ric… are you even human?" Storm whispered, her voice trembling.
Watching Fenric standing atop the waves, she wondered if what she saw was no man at all, but a god who had descended from the heavens.