Although the dagger had drawn Magneto's attention for a moment, Harry knew it wasn't nearly enough to make the man underestimate him.
"Let's go!" Harry shouted. He wrapped a thick layer of invisible force around Senator Kelly with one hand, clenched his other into a fist, and slammed it into the wall behind him.
Boom—!
The half-meter-thick reinforced wall was pierced through in an instant as Harry unleashed the power of his infinite rage.
"Haah!" Ignoring the sharp pain in his arm, Harry grabbed Senator Kelly and hurled him through the hole he had just created, flinging him out of the sealed room with a burst of positional energy.
"No!" Magneto turned at the sound of Harry's heavy blow just in time to see Kelly being thrown out. He shouted and reached toward the senator, trying to pull him back—but nothing happened.
"Don't bother," Harry said with a grim smile, shaking his sore arm. "Your magnetic field can't penetrate the barrier I made."
"Why?" Magneto's outstretched hand fell slowly. He looked at Harry, confusion written across his face. "Why are you doing this?"
"What do you mean, why?" Harry asked, genuinely puzzled by the question.
"As a mutant," Magneto said, his voice rising, "why are you helping humans against your own kind?"
Seeing Harry create barriers of energy, Magneto had assumed he was one of them—a mutant—but that only fueled his anger further.
Harry laughed. "You're mistaken. I'm not one of you. I'm not a mutant."
He began edging backward toward the hole in the wall. Though Harry was tempted by Magneto's abilities, he wasn't reckless enough to risk his life for them. Even with his own power, he knew he couldn't match a veteran level-four mutant like Magneto head-on.
"Trying to run? Hmph!" Magneto snorted coldly. He swept his hand across the room, tearing chunks of metal from the walls. The debris twisted and reformed into a massive hemisphere, which he hurled down toward Harry.
"Damn!" Harry cursed, abandoning his cautious retreat. He bent his knees and dove backward with explosive speed.
Boom—!
The metal dome slammed down where he had just stood, throwing up a dense cloud of dust.
"Hmph!" Magneto flicked his hand again. The massive hemisphere shot toward Harry a second time, while a storm of razor-sharp metal shards rained down like a deadly drizzle.
Though Harry was agile and resilient, facing such an attack left him no room to counter. He was forced to focus entirely on evasion, leaping and twisting through the air to avoid being shredded.
His spider-sense warned him of every strike just in time, allowing him to dodge the larger projectiles—but the fine iron fragments were too many. They sliced through his black combat suit, leaving shallow cuts and tears everywhere.
"Ah!" One sharp shard struck deep into his shoulder. Pain shot through his body as he fell hard to the floor.
"Ugh…" Gritting his teeth, Harry knelt on one knee, clutching his wounded shoulder. He reached with his other hand to pull the shard out—but before he could, an invisible force pinned him down, driving the metal piece even deeper into his flesh.
"Don't bother," Magneto said coolly, walking forward until he stood before Harry. "Once metal's inside your body—you've already lost."
"Really?" Harry looked up at him, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
Name: Erik Lehnsherr (Max Eisenhardt)
Age: 62 years old
Physical Condition: Healthy
Abilities: Magnetic Field Generation (80)
Item: Mind-Control Shielding Helmet (30)
"What? You don't believe me?" Magneto's tone hardened. To prove his point, he clenched his fist.
"Ahh!" Harry cried out, clutching his shoulder as blood poured freely through his fingers. The tight black fabric of his suit was soaked crimson. Under Magneto's power, the metal shard inside him twisted and writhed like a living snake, tearing through flesh and muscle.
"How about now? Do you believe me?" Magneto stood tall, looking down at him with cold detachment.
"Of course," Harry muttered, lowering his head. His voice was low and deliberate. "But…"
"But what?" Mystique snapped, suddenly uneasy. She stepped forward, her voice tense. "What are you planning?"
Harry slowly lifted his head. "Don't you think… you're standing a little too close?"
Magneto's face changed instantly. A chill ran through him. "Get back!" he shouted, springing away in alarm.
"It's too late!"
A translucent energy shell formed around Harry in an instant, sealing him within a shimmering barrier. Only one hand remained outside, crackling with bright blue electricity that illuminated the dark, ruined chamber.
Zzzzzz—!
The electricity flared wildly. In the next instant, Harry pulled his hand back inside the shield. The uncontrolled current exploded outward in all directions. Magneto reacted instantly, raising a metal wall in front of himself and Mystique to redirect the surge.
BOOM—!
To his surprise, none of the blue lightning struck his shield. Instead, it blasted through the floor and walls, shaking the entire base and throwing up clouds of smoke and dust.
"It's a trick!" Magneto roared, sweeping his cloak to clear the air. But when the dust settled—Harry was gone.
He turned toward the gaping hole in the wall. The sea wind howled in, cold and sharp. Far off in the distance, a glowing spherical barrier drifted away over the dark waves.
Magneto extended his hand, trying to pull at the metal lodged in Harry's shoulder—but nothing happened.
"Hmph!" He lowered his hand in frustration, his cloak whipping violently as he turned away.
"He… ran away," Mystique murmured blankly. Even as Magneto strode past her in silence, she stood there in disbelief. Someone had actually escaped from Magneto's grasp.
That was unthinkable.
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