Adapting in Marvel

Washington, D.C., White House.

CIA Director Smith hurried into the President's Office.

"Mr. President, the Soviet Union is currently holding its inauguration ceremony.

According to information obtained by our spies, this ceremony will last for 14 hours.

At the end of it, Mutant Sebastian Shaw will officially become the first Mutant President of the Soviet Union,"

Director Smith said, handing over a piece of intelligence to Raven, who was sitting in the presidential chair, and reporting with a serious expression.

From her seat in the presidential chair, Raven glanced at the report with a bored expression, showing no urgency.

It was already a foregone conclusion that Sebastian Shaw would become the first Mutant President of the Soviet Union.

There was no changing that.

For Raven, the Soviet Union's ceremony held little interest.

What she truly cared about was the number of Mutants now allied with Shaw.

"Director Smith, has the CIA gathered any information about the Mutants in Shaw's camp?"

Raven asked calmly, her gaze fixed on the CIA director.

"I'm very sorry, Mr. President.

We have yet to receive any information about the Soviet Mutants,"

Director Smith replied, cold sweat forming on his forehead under Raven's gaze.

It wasn't the President, in the form of Raven disguised as Kennedy, who unnerved him.

It was the presence of Homelander standing silently behind her that filled him with fear.

Since obtaining Scott's Cyclops ability, Brian had come to the White House under the guise of protecting the President.

In reality, his true purpose was to help Raven eliminate dissidents and turn the White House into her one-man show.

With his super hearing, Brian could monitor the activities of every congressman in the White House.

He knew exactly which congressmen and politicians were loyal to Raven and which ones weren't.

For those who didn't comply—whether they were congressmen, politicians, or even military generals—Brian would "gently" persuade them to relinquish their power.

If they complied, they could continue working in their positions until retirement.

If they refused, Brian would "kindly" use his laser to eliminate them.

In just a few hours, the White House became a river of blood.

The top brass within the White House were panicked and on edge.

They had come to a stark realization: President Kennedy, who now wielded the power of the X-Men, had fully established herself as the true master of the White House.

Fortunately for them, there was one clear path to survival—Submit to the President!

As long as they aligned themselves with the President, they could escape his political purge unscathed.

This led the remaining officials to quickly coalesce into a new political faction:

The Presidential Party.

With this, Raven had achieved complete control over America.

Her orders now faced no opposition within the country.

"Director Smith, you can leave now,"

Raven said with a wave, dismissing the nervous Director.

Relieved as if granted a pardon, Director Smith quickly exited the presidential office.

Once he was gone, Raven instantly shifted back to her Mystique form, stretching lazily as her disguise faded away.

These days of playing the President had caused Raven to grow immensely.

She was no longer the fragile girl who needed protection.

Now, she could stand on her own.

Raven stretched her body and turned to Brian with a sly smile, inviting him to engage in a little White House "battle."

"Of course, President Raven,"

Brian replied with a grin.

What followed in the sacred and solemn halls of the White House was a private battle between Brian and Raven.

10 hours later.

The battle finally came to an end.

Brian snapped his fingers lightly, and both of them were instantly dressed neatly once more.

The power of psychokinesis proved to be very convenient.

—"Raven, Brian, come to Xavier Manor."—

Not long after the two had finished their time together, they received a telepathic message from Professor X in their minds.

While Brian and Raven had been enjoying their rare moments of relaxation, the rest of the X-Men had been hard at work.

Professor X had spent the time monitoring the Soviet Union's inauguration ceremony

Through the brainwave amplifier in the Cerebro enhancement room.

At the same time, Professor X was conducting a thorough search for the Mutants who had joined Sebastian Shaw's camp.

However, because Shaw had gained the Mutant Polly, who possessed mental protection abilities, Professor X's search proved extremely difficult.

He was unable to sense those Mutants directly.

This forced him to search bit by bit, using the eyes of Soviet citizens to piece together the information.

It took a full 10 hours of painstaking effort, but at last, he managed to uncover the traces of several Mutants in Shaw's camp.

"Let's go, Mr. President~. We're heading to Xavier Manor,"

Brian said, taking hold of Raven and flying out of the White House.

At incredible speed, he made his way to Xavier Manor.

Meanwhile, at Xavier Manor,

By the poolside, the X-Men had gathered.

Behind them stood a photographer and a reporter.

The reporter was broadcasting live.

"This is Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX). What you're seeing now is the world-renowned superhero team, the X-Men.

Today, the much-anticipated team of seven has welcomed a new superhero: Cyclops Scott.

While there has been some public skepticism about Scott's young age,

I believe the images you're about to see will put those doubts to rest,"

The white reporter declared passionately.

The camera panned over to the X-Men.

"Relax, Scott. Just pretend that reporter isn't there,"

Professor X said gently to Scott, who had his eyes closed, as they stood by the swimming pool.

Professor X was sitting in a wheelchair, not because he was paralyzed—at least, not yet.

The wheelchair had been Brian's suggestion.

Brian had argued that if Professor X stood, the public might not immediately recognize who the leader of the X-Men was.

By having Professor X sit while the others stood, it was clear at a glance who was in charge.

As for the wheelchair itself, Brian had offered this reasoning:

"Professor X, you'll end up in a wheelchair eventually.

It doesn't matter whether you sit in one now or not.

By using it now, people will know you're not paralyzed, just choosing to sit."

Brian's words had annoyed Professor X deeply.

'That motherfucker....'

He had strongly resisted the idea of sitting in a wheelchair,

But the other X-Men members agreed with Brian's logic.

Professor X's objections were overruled, and reluctantly, he accepted the wheelchair, albeit begrudgingly.

Despite his frustrations, he became the undisputed leader of the X-Men.

"Professor, is this really okay? ...I can't control my ability yet,"

The young Cyclops Scott asked nervously.

Scott had heard the voice of the FOX reporter and was acutely aware that he was being broadcast live to audiences around the world.

This realization made Scott, still a high school student, incredibly nervous.

"Relax, Scott. Your ability is very powerful.

According to Hank's tests, your eyes absorb the energy of the sun and convert it into a laser with an extremely high crystal density.

This makes your eyes almost indestructible,"

Professor X said gently, trying to calm Scott's nerves.

Encouraged by Professor X's words, Scott slowly opened his eyes.

Boom.

A brilliant red light erupted from his eyes, and two red lasers shot straight toward the swimming pool.

The pool was instantly split in two, its water vaporizing on contact with the intense heat of the laser.

"Professor X, I... I can't control it anymore!"

The force of the laser caused Scott's head to tilt back uncontrollably.

His gaze began to rise, the lasers carving a deep gash into the ground behind the pool.

A large tree planted by Professor X's grandfather stood in the path of the laser.

It was split in two instantly, the trunk catching fire as the beam continued.

The lasers showed no signs of stopping,

And behind the burning tree stood the main building of Xavier Manor.

The beam was dangerously close to hitting it.

Just as the lasers were about to strike the building, Brian descended from the sky holding Raven, positioning himself directly in the path of the beam.

Facing the incoming laser, Brian smiled calmly.

He narrowed his eyes slightly,

Sizzle~

And a dazzling red glow enveloped them.

Two powerful lasers shot out from Brian's eyes.

Boom.

Brian's lasers collided head-on with Scott's.

A blinding light spread across the area, momentarily overwhelming the X-Men's vision.

Then, under the astonished gazes of everyone present, Brian's lasers easily overpowered Scott's.

Scott's beams began to weaken, gradually retreating.

In mere seconds, the lasers were forced back into Scott's eyes, compressed entirely within.

Scott's eyes flashed red for a moment longer, but the lasers never managed to break through Brian's blockade.

Buzz.

The glow in Scott's eyes faded,

And his vision returned to normal.

As Scott's ability subsided, Brian retracted his lasers as well.

"Oh My God! Brian, you have laser eyes too?"

Scott asked, astonished.

For the first time, he could see clearly, instead of through the constant red haze.

He stared at Brian in surprise, never expecting him to also have the same ability.

"Scott, have you forgotten my codename?

I am Homelander of the X-Men,"

Brian said casually, his words making Scott suddenly realize.

Homelander Brian possessed abilities similar to Superman in the comics.

It was only natural for him to have the same kind of powers as Cyclops.

"Brian, you're back,"

Professor X, seated in his wheelchair, nodded toward Brian in acknowledgment.

Then, his gaze shifted to Raven.

His expression was complicated, a mix of pride and concern for her.

"Raven, you did a good job,"

Professor X finally said, his emotions giving way to a tone of affirmation.

Raven received his praise calmly.

She nodded to the other X-Men members before turning her attention to Scott.

"Scott, don't lose heart. You will become an excellent superhero,"

Raven said, walking up to Scott and patting him on the shoulder with affection, offering encouragement.

"Who are you?"

Scott asked, looking at Raven with a hint of confusion.

He was certain she wasn't one of the X-Men.

"She is our Mr. President,"

Professor X interjected, giving a brief introduction.

"Mr. President? Kennedy? Kennedy is a Mutant?"

Scott's mind reeled as he looked at the graceful Raven, struggling to process this revelation.

"You can understand it that way,"

Professor X replied, keeping his explanation vague.

He knew that the fewer people who knew about Raven's truth, the better.

As soon as Raven arrived, Professor X had already used his telepathic abilities to control the minds of the FOX reporters and photographers, temporarily halting their coverage.

"Cool, Kennedy is also a Mutant!"

Scott exclaimed excitedly, unable to hide his enthusiasm at the revelation that the President was a Mutant.

"Alright, Scott. Let's focus on your ability now,"

Professor X said, interrupting Scott's excitement.

He gave a nod to Hank.

Hank stepped forward and handed a pair of red glasses to Scott, who was still brimming with energy.

"Hank, what are these?"

Scott asked, holding the glasses and staring at them in confusion.

"Red quartz glasses," Hank explained. "This is a special pair of glasses I designed.

You can think of it as a laser regulator.

The red quartz lenses block the release of laser energy from your eyes.

This will help limit your laser and allow you to live like a normal person."

Hank gestured to the glasses as he continued, "There's a button on the side of the frame that lets you control the red quartz lens.

By adjusting the lens, you can regulate how much energy is released.

The degree of lens opening determines the power of the laser emitted."

Hank, now appearing as a normal person and wearing a white lab coat, spoke with the confidence of a scientist as he explained the function of the glasses.

The principle behind the red quartz glasses was simple:

The red quartz lenses would block Scott's lasers,

Preventing them from emitting unintentionally.

When Scott needed to release his lasers, he could rotate the button near his ear to retract the red quartz lenses and unleash the energy at controlled levels.

After hearing Beast Hank's explanation, Scott was thrilled.

He eagerly put on the red quartz glasses.

However, due to the clash between his ability and Brian's laser earlier, Scott's Cyclops ability was temporarily disabled.

As a result, he couldn't test the red quartz glasses immediately.

"Alright, Scott, you can test the red quartz glasses later,"

Professor X said reassuringly before turning his attention to Brian.

"Brian, I've located the Mutants who have joined Sebastian Shaw.

I've decided that while the Level 4 Mutants of the Hellfire Club are preoccupied with Shaw's inauguration ceremony, the X-Men will head to the Soviet Union to eliminate the new recruits."

Professor X laid out his carefully considered plan.

When it came to significant matters, the professor maintained his composure.

The Mutants who had aligned themselves with Shaw's camp were now enemies of the X-Men.

To protect his team and their cause, Professor X knew the only course of action was to deal with the enemy decisively,

While reducing their suffering as much as possible.

"Where are these Mutants?"

Brian asked, looking at Professor X with interest.

"Shaw has stationed them at a military base in Siberia,"

Professor X replied, quickly sharing the intelligence he had gathered.

"A military base? Perfect. It's the ideal stage for me to perform,"

Magneto said with excitement.

Magneto unconditionally supported any action that would weaken Sebastian Shaw.

Because of the professor's decision, Magneto's opinion of Professor X began to shift slightly.

"Well, let's not delay. Let's set off immediately,"

Professor X announced energetically, standing up from his wheelchair.

Professor X understood that Sebastian Shaw was preoccupied with his inauguration as the Soviet President and would not be able to intervene directly.

The powerful Mutants of the Hellfire Club had been stationed by Shaw's side, forming a military deterrent to keep dissenting Soviet citizens in check.

This arrangement meant that Shaw could not spare attention for the newly joined Mutants at the moment, creating a window of opportunity for the X-Men to strike.

"Raven, return to the White House and deliver a speech.

Announce that the superhero team, X-Men will conduct their first superhero operation.

Declare that the X-Men are targeting a Soviet military base to weaken the power of Black Emperor Shaw,"

Brian instructed Raven before their departure.

This would be the X-Men's first public mission!

And Brian was determined to make sure it captured everyone's attention.

__________

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