Three Mile Island.
Zzzzt!
After vaporizing the final lab, Alex finally retracted his heat vision.
He casually strolled out of the ruined facility and into one of the adjacent corridors.
There, waiting quietly, was a jeep.
Without saying a word, Alex slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.
It wasn't because he was lazy, or because he had a weird urge to steal a government vehicle.
No.
He just didn't feel like carrying the cargo by hand.
Because sitting in the back of the jeep was a very valuable load: adamantium—the ultra-hard metal even tougher than vibranium.
Alex wasn't interested in most of what this base had to offer, but adamantium?
Yeah. That was worth his time.
Stryker didn't have much of it—just enough to fill one jeep. But Alex wasn't greedy.
Even a little was enough. "A mosquito's leg is still meat," as the saying goes.
---
"Let's see where you all are…"
Starting up the vehicle, Alex activated his X-ray vision, scanning the island in an instant.
He quickly located the gathering point where all the rescued mutants were.
Turning the wheel, he stepped on the gas and shot off down the winding roads of the island.
Twisting through several corridors and navigating the curves of the island terrain, Alex finally pulled up at a helipad.
There, waiting, were Gambit, Wolverine, and a crowd of other mutants.
When the jeep rolled into view, several of them tensed up instinctively—until they saw who was driving.
Only then did they breathe a collective sigh of relief.
---
"Honestly, I thought you bailed on us," Wolverine muttered as Alex stepped out.
"And why would I do that?"
Alex raised an eyebrow. "You think I came all this way just to take out Stryker and leave?"
"Hell if I know. You were gone a while."
Wolverine lit a cigar and blew a slow puff of smoke.
---
"Wait—Alex, you're telling me you cleared out this entire base by yourself?"
Gambit stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Are you even human?"
No human could possibly be this strong!
Alex shrugged.
"If you really want to worship me as a god, I wouldn't stop you."
---
Gambit: "…"
No thanks. I was thinking more along the lines of monster.
---
"Hey, Alex—check out what I found!"
Gambit suddenly switched gears, grinning wide.
He pointed behind him toward a large, sleek military aircraft.
"A real beauty, huh? This big baby's mine. I found it, so don't even think about taking it from me. Got it?"
Alex raised an eyebrow.
He hadn't expected Gambit to find a new aircraft hidden in the ruins—looked way better than the junker they'd had earlier.
He gave it a quick once-over.
Military-grade.
Definitely a hot potato. No way they'd fly it under the radar.
Besides—Hank's Blackbird was ten times better than this thing.
Alex didn't care about it in the slightest.
---
"I only have one question," he said calmly,
"Since you could fly that piece-of-junk plane earlier, I assume you can fly this one too, right?"
---
"Are you kidding me?" Gambit straightened up, clearly offended.
"I can do barrel rolls and backflips if you want. I'll show you what real aerial finesse looks like."
---
Wolverine gave him the most disdainful look possible.
He hadn't known Gambit long, but it was already clear—
This guy was the definition of a show-off.
Anything that came out of his mouth had to be filtered through three layers of exaggeration.
---
"Pfft!"
Someone nearby burst out laughing.
A few of the younger rescued mutants chuckled, clearly entertained by the back-and-forth.
They knew the nightmare was over. The base was in ruins. Freedom was right there on the horizon.
For the first time in forever, the mood was light.
---
"Your crap is so bad even the kids aren't buying it," Wolverine said coolly, puffing another smoke ring.
---
"Oh, excuse me!" Gambit shot back.
"I forgot—you get nervous on planes."
He turned to the crowd of young mutants, raising his voice like a performer on stage.
"He may look cool and tough, but wait till you see him in the air—he turns into a kitten."
He even mimicked Wolverine's stiff, clenched-up pose mid-flight.
---
Laughter exploded again.
A burst of warm, unrestrained joy.
---
"Alright, flyboy."
Alex clapped his hands, cutting through the laughter.
"The sun's setting. Time to go."
The joking stopped as everyone began boarding the aircraft.
Alex parked the jeep—with its precious adamantium—inside the cargo bay and followed them in.
---
Fifteen minutes later, the plane lifted off from Three Mile Island, disappearing into the clouds above.
---
Inside the cabin, someone looked out the window at the open sky.
"We're… free."
"We're finally free…"
Watching the vast, endless sea of clouds roll past, their long-held tension finally melted away.
Smiles lit up faces that had only known fear.
Eyes brimmed with hope for a future they never thought they'd see.
---
A new life awaited.
But the question lingered in every heart—
Would they follow Alex, the powerful mutant who'd saved them?
Or forge a different path of their own?
Everyone remembered his words back on the island.
The choice was theirs to make.
---
Before they knew it, the plane had landed in a remote location outside New York City.
One by one, the mutants disembarked and gathered in an open clearing.
---
"My lord, the cars are ready."
Selena stepped forward, holding an umbrella and dressed in sharp formalwear. She stood in front of Alex and gave a crisp report.
Alex gave a small nod, saying nothing.
---
"Hey there, gorgeous."
Gambit's eyes lit up the moment he saw her.
He swaggered over, smiling his most charming smile.
"Name's Remy LeBeau."
Too bad Selena didn't even spare him a glance.
Didn't acknowledge him at all.
---
The others, at least, had some self-awareness.
They respectfully gathered around Alex, waiting for what came next.
---
"Everyone."
Alex spoke at last, his voice steady and commanding.
"By now, I trust you've all had time to think."
"Now, tell me your decision."
"Will you come with me?"
"Or walk your own path?"
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