The Ice Demon killed Apocalypse. Even the ancestor of mutants fell before him.
Many twisted villains revealed sinister smiles, fixing their gazes on Oscorp Group.
"I hear the gene serums Oscorp developed are very mature."
"Hydra leaked information about successful multi-gene fusion paths."
"And Apocalypse, the First Mutant, was the ultimate synthesizer of multiple superpowers."
"If we can obtain gene secrets from Oscorp, it will be a great leap forward for us!!"
Ancient, evil entities finally placed their attention on Vincent Hall. They were finally taking this rising superhuman seriously. Previously, they thought his power was exaggerated—just bullying weaklings.
But Apocalypse had once created a global doomsday crisis decades ago. If not for the X-Men, the human world would already be ruled by mutants.
"Our Sentinel Program is sixty percent complete," General Ross stated, standing before a certain congressional heavyweight.
"The Ice Demon killed Apocalypse. His power exceeds our expectations. Before, we worried he might fight to the death if provoked, posing a sufficient threat," the senator said coldly.
General Ross looked grim.
"This isn't your fault. Your plan was good, but storms are unpredictable. We must prepare for the future. The Sentinel Program can copy any superpower. If we obtain the Ice Demon's cells, we can analyze his power, perhaps even claim it for ourselves," the senator comforted him.
"I will accelerate the Sentinel Program's development. But obtaining Vincent Hall's genes is extremely difficult. You know of Charles Xavier?"
"Our old friend." The senator smiled.
"Are you telling me the Ice Demon also possesses Charles's power?"
"Yes, Senator Kang." Ross lowered his head.
"That's a tricky ability. It makes me afraid to even step out of this room." Senator Kang revealed a playful smile. "I will have my scientists assist you in completing the Sentinel Program."
"Thank you for your generosity, Senator Kang!" Ross looked up with a satisfied smile.
"Don't disappoint me. I paid a heavy price to get the White House to agree to this. We've done our best with secrecy. The emergence of mutants is the trend of the era, but it is absolutely no reason for them to eliminate us, the rulers."
Black, shimmering skin. A wicked smile.
It made General Ross, a military big shot, tremble in fear.
"With you here, we never fail." Ross became fanatical.
"Yes, I think so too." Senator Kang looked satisfied. "I've carefully reviewed Vincent Hall's file. This Chinese man has a weakness. He cares deeply about those around him. But he's an orphan with no ties—how can that be?"
Kang suddenly asked a rhetorical question.
"If he cares about family, we can create a perfect home for him, binding his energy within the household. As family members increase, the Ice Demon's weaknesses will multiply."
General Ross fell into thought.
"So, doesn't he like beauties? Director Fury of SHIELD did well, sending Agent Hill and Natasha to him."
When mentioning SHIELD, Senator Kang showed an amused expression. Across long stretches of time, he had killed many Avengers. They would cause him trouble, but ultimately, they would all be conquered by him.
"I understand what to do. I believe the Ice Demon will have many heirs in the future." General Ross smiled brilliantly again.
The war had begun. He couldn't tolerate Vincent Hall's absolute power overriding American hegemony.
"Bonds are the best way to defeat the invincible," Kang said coldly.
His eyes seemed to pierce through spacetime, observing the cosmic development of this timeline.
But Kang understood clearly that among the countless timelines he had conquered, this specific one was unique. He came from the multiverse, returned to the past, and established his advantage.
But he discovered a fact: He was trapped in this spacetime.
All the plot points were the same. Yet everything appeared so different.
A terrifying force solidified the entire timeline. No one could interfere with it. It had a past, possessed a present, but had no future. The future was being founded by everything happening now.
The Ice Demon's influence was stronger than he imagined. Wandering the endless multiverse, he had never foreseen such an opponent. Nor had he encountered this mysterious superhuman existence.
Senator Kang didn't even dare appear before Vincent Hall. He knew his escape into this timeline had triggered a node, causing an accident. Just like the Beyonder born in some timeline universe. This universe was about to welcome another Beyonder.
This made Kang very uncomfortable.
"The Ten Rings have been found."
The only consolation for Kang the Conqueror was finding traces of the Ten Rings. But Wenwu was killed, and the Ten Rings were taken by the Ice Demon.
Possessing infinite energy, the Ten Rings were a core component of his spacetime machine. And now, they were someone else's trophy.
"No rush. In the long river of time, to achieve victory, one cannot be impatient."
"Patience is the most important quality for winning."
Kang chose to continue lurking. Having lost his spacetime machine, he needed to acquire other powerful forces to adorn his military might.
"The Battle of New York marks the beginning of a universal event—the Infinity Saga."
"This is my opportunity." Kang smiled brilliantly.
Vincent crossed the portal back to his Oscorp office.
Raven sat on the sofa, waiting anxiously. Psylocke sat bored in Vincent's boss chair, fidgeting constantly. They worried about Vincent's battle with Apocalypse. Him going alone kept their hearts suspended.
Seeing the familiar portal and the familiar man step through it, Raven and Psylocke finally released the heavy pressure in their hearts.
"Boss, did you find Apocalypse?" Raven asked concernedly.
The time between Vincent leaving and returning was too short.
"Apocalypse has been killed by me," Vincent said calmly.
Raven and Psylocke sighed in relief. Though shocked, they were happy this enemy was removed.
"Dawn is breaking. I need to get back to work." Raven stood up and left the office directly.
Psylocke licked her lips, looking at Vincent seductively. "Boss, I want to know how you defeated Apocalypse."
Vincent smiled knowingly. "Then you'd better be ready to take the hit."
"He isn't Robert. Just a husk Apocalypse left behind."
Wolverine dug out Iceman's body.
Beast sighed. "Hopeless. But this body still needs to be handled. After all, Apocalypse used him as a vessel—we must be careful."
Storm spoke coldly. She was deeply saddened, but to be safe, she had to do this.
"Burn it," Wolverine said, puffing his cigar.
More and more old friends were dying. He didn't even know if killing Jean was the right thing to do. If Jean were alive, Apocalypse might not have dared target Robert.
But words were useless now.
"Who?" Beast looked sharply at the entrance.
A red-clad female figure drifted down.
Wolverine's cigar fell to the ground. He looked emotional. Jean, the woman he loved but couldn't have. Now returned from hell.
Storm remained silent. This was different from what she expected.
"I sensed a powerful energy burst. I happened to be traveling nearby, so I rushed over," Jean Grey said calmly.
She looked at her old teammates. Forgetting them completely was impossible.
"Jean, you're alive? How? We buried you!!!" Beast said in shock.
Wolverine wanted to step forward and hug her, but a powerful telekinetic barrier stopped him.
"Jean, I'm sorry, I..."
"It wasn't your fault, Logan," Jean said coldly. "Beast, Storm, Nightcrawler. Long time no see."
"Yes. I'm still alive. Dug up from my coffin. Given life once more."
Jean looked at the battle traces around them. "It seems there's nothing for me to do here."
The appearance of the Phoenix Woman excited the few remaining X-Men. They knew Jean was the one who killed Charles. But that Jean had been corrupted. The Phoenix Force inside her was feared by all.
"Jean, the Ice Demon has already resolved Apocalypse."
Storm was the only one who knew Vincent resurrected Jean, so she showed no surprise. A simple mention was enough for Jean to understand.
"His power is as terrifying as ever. It makes me fearful," Jean complimented.
Previously, she could maintain an advantage over Vincent with the Phoenix Force. But looking at these battle traces, she knew Vincent now possessed power surpassing hers—unless she truly merged with and controlled the full Phoenix Force.
Wolverine finally came to his senses. He felt Jean's coldness, her resistance to his approach. This was different from before. A massive chasm lay between them. His heart was sensitive.
"Jean, you being alive is the best thing," Logan thought silently.
He also noticed Jean mentioned "him." The Ice Demon? When did Jean and the Ice Demon know each other?
"The Ice Demon is truly powerful. Apocalypse had no power to retaliate before being killed. His shields, super-healing, even teleportation—worthless before him," Storm praised.
"In that instant, we felt no flow of time. Our minds could see everything, but our bodies couldn't move. Like we were frozen, sealed eternally in the timeline." Beast shared his experience, warning Jean to be wary of this ambush technique.
Apocalypse died to this move. Vincent gave him no time to react.
Jean nodded, smiling. "This should be a clever use of the Ice Demon's freezing power. Robert had this potential, which is why Apocalypse targeted him. I apologize—I didn't know Apocalypse was alive. If I had, I would have found and killed him sooner."
Her gaze fell on Storm. Storm tensed immediately, fearing Jean would peek into her mind.
"Don't worry, Ororo. The Ice Demon isn't as evil as you imagine. He just disdains correcting his reputation."
Only Jean and Vincent knew their relationship. This made Jean understand Vincent's mindset well.
"I will keep my promise," Storm nodded seriously.
Jean smiled slightly. On this point, she could never love Vincent. She wouldn't allow herself to share a man. But after tasting Vincent, she couldn't look at other men.
"By the way, I appeared to tell you something serious," Jean said suddenly, her face grave.
"The Cure doesn't cure mutant abilities. It only temporarily suppresses them. They recover over time. Be prepared—I suspect this might be a conspiracy."
Storm, Wolverine, and Beast fell into thought. Nightcrawler's presence was faint.
"You mean the government might use this gimmick to make us lose our powers, then capture and imprison us?" Storm asked.
"Very likely. I found that many gifted mutants who took the Cure disappeared mysteriously. Someone is capturing these children," Jean warned.
"I understand. Jean, I'll find a way to investigate this," Beast said gravely. As a high-ranking government official and head of Mutant Affairs, he was the bridge between mutants and humans.
If what Jean said was true, mutants who took the Cure lost their resistance and couldn't fight back against certain government factions.
"The X-Men exist to give mutants a way out. But it seems your initial choice was wrong," Jean said coolly.
"We'll have our resistance destroyed and become lambs under the butcher's knife," Wolverine finally spoke, his heavy gravel voice vibrating in the pyramid.
"We need to recall the students who left the school. Our strength can still protect them for now. As for the other mutants... after Magneto's death, they have no power to resist," Storm said coldly.
The children were the priority.
"Then let's hurry back to New York. A day late means the children suffer more." Wolverine took the lead, leaving the pyramid.
The X-Men followed. Only Jean remained.
Suddenly, powerful energy erupted, destroying the pyramid and erasing all traces.
"That guy... never likes cleaning up his mess." Jean smiled brilliantly.
She didn't follow the X-Men but left on her own.
"Logan, don't mind Jean's resurrection," Storm said quietly.
Wolverine puffed his cigar, smiling. "Jean being alive is more important than anything, isn't it? Our people are fewer and fewer. Keep going like this, and the family will scatter."
Logan had the demeanor of a patriarch.
"Also... Charles's spirit is imperishable. His consciousness still exists in this world," Storm said suddenly.
"What?"
"What did you say?"
"The Professor isn't dead?"
"How is that possible?"
Gasps filled the X-Jet. To them, Professor X was their backbone.
"But resurrecting the Professor is difficult. Oscorp has agreed to research a clone for him, allowing his consciousness to return to a body. Only then can he truly live on."
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