Chapter 19: You’re the One, X-23!

"No!"

Donald immediately backed away, realizing what Wolverine had just injected. It was a serum that they had developed in the lab, specifically designed to temporarily enhance a mutant's powers.

If Wolverine injected it, he would regain his peak strength before the serum wore off.

And at his peak, Wolverine was the deadliest weapon imaginable.

"Sniper, target Wolverine!"

But the response from his radio was:

"X-23 and Subject 757 are approaching my position."

"Release X-24 to deal with them, and you keep targeting Wolverine," Donald commanded after ordering his men to hold their positions.

He didn't know how X-23 and Subject 757 had managed to escape their tight encirclement, but it didn't matter. As long as X-24 was deployed, they were as good as dead.

Based on the lab's data, X-23 wasn't a match for X-24, and even with Subject 757's sharpshooting skills, he couldn't harm X-24. They were simply at a disadvantage.

Right now, the biggest concern was the serum-powered Wolverine. In the span of these few seconds, amidst a barrage of gunfire and a heavy encirclement, Wolverine had already killed ten of Donald's elite operatives.

If they didn't use a sniper to contain Wolverine, he might very well take out every last one of them.

No wonder the boss had such a fascination with Wolverine.

"Copy that!"

A gunshot rang out, and Wolverine was hit, knocking him down. Instantly, Donald's men swarmed him, pinning him down with suppressive fire to keep him from getting up.

Meanwhile, George and Laura were sprinting toward the bus.

They hadn't broken out of the encirclement—they had actually left the factory before the enemy completely surrounded it and hidden behind nearby obstacles.

When the enemy's focus shifted entirely to Wolverine, they took the opportunity to sneak towards the vehicle holding X-24.

If they could eliminate X-24 in advance, the battle would be half won.

What George hadn't expected was how seriously the enemy regarded them. They even had a sniper, which hadn't been in the movie.

Fortunately, he had prepared for contingencies and brought the highly capable Laura.

If that sniper targeted him, well, he'd use Laura as a human shield.

After all, with Laura's healing factor, a sniper bullet wouldn't kill her.

It was a harsh plan, but if push came to shove, there was no choice.

This was a battle of life and death. If they failed, it wouldn't just be George who died—it would be everyone, including over thirty mutant children.

Laura's small frame couldn't protect all of George, but he could lift her to cover his upper body, where most of the vital organs were. His legs, which kept running, would be harder to hit.

With his wizard lineage, George had remarkable vitality. Even if he did get shot, as long as it wasn't fatal, he wouldn't die easily.

Once they got closer, George would be able to influence the sniper. He couldn't yet alter the trajectory of a sniper bullet, but he could make the gun itself unstable enough to throw off the sniper's aim.

In reality, things were going slightly better than expected. The sniper didn't shift his aim towards them, continuing instead to target Wolverine. Clearly, Wolverine had drawn enough attention to make him the primary target.

They hadn't entirely ignored George and Laura, though—instead, they unleashed a snarling X-24.

"Perfect timing!"

Seeing the bus's rear door swing open, revealing Wolverine's clone, X-24, leaping out and roaring as he charged towards them, George couldn't help but smile.

This move was exactly what he wanted.

Along with X-24, four elite soldiers exited the bus. They didn't follow X-24, however; instead, they set up a camera, seemingly intending to record X-24's combat.

In fact, these soldiers knew how terrifying X-24 was and didn't believe that X-23 and Subject 757 had any chance. Recording X-24's combat was the boss's request, as this was meant to be a live combat test for X-24, and they needed video footage for later analysis.

With X-24 getting closer, George grabbed Laura and pulled out his assault rifle, firing two shots at X-24.

He didn't use the Adamantium bullet right away—killing X-24 immediately would alert the sniper and draw everyone else's attention to him.

That would be dangerous.

If possible, George still preferred not to use Laura as a shield.

So for now, his plan was to get closer while the enemy was still underestimating them. Once they were within range of his abilities, his sniper skills would come into play.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two bullets flew straight toward X-24's eyes. The bullets wouldn't kill X-24, but damaging his eyes would buy some time while they regenerated.

Seeing the incoming shots, X-24 raised his arms to shield his face.

But George's bullets didn't fly in a straight line. They curved mid-air, evading X-24's block and hitting him square in the eyes.

X-24 let out a scream as his eyeballs burst, halting his advance.

The eyes could heal, but the pain was just as real.

"You're the one, Laura!"

Taking advantage of the time it took for X-24's eyes to heal, George hurled Laura with all his strength.

"Take out that sniper!"

Laura flew over X-24's head, landed with a tactical roll, and without a second thought, continued her charge toward the sniper and the four soldiers near the bus.

At this point, X-24's eyes had already healed, and he swiped at George with incredible speed, fast enough that George almost didn't react in time.

"Damn, you're vicious."

George breathed in sharply, unleashing his magnetic power fully, focusing it on X-24's arm.

He wasn't Magneto—he couldn't easily manipulate someone whose entire body was covered in Adamantium. But with dozens of kilograms of force acting on X-24's arm, it was enough to affect him.

Sure enough, under the magnetic influence, X-24's arm froze for a moment, giving George enough time to dodge the attack.

George didn't stay to fight. He slipped around X-24 and continued rushing toward the bus.

X-24, infuriated at being outmaneuvered, turned and chased George with blind rage.

George had no intention of facing him head-on. He knew he couldn't win. Instead, he kept using his magnetic powers to disrupt X-24's movements, deftly dodging attack after attack while inching closer to the bus.

The problem was that he hadn't had enough time to develop his powers. Even with the boost from his wizard bloodline, his abilities weren't fully developed yet.

Initially, his body's magnetic control limit was around a hundred kilograms of force. At first, he could only manage ten kilograms, but now, thanks to his wizard bloodline, he could handle several dozen.

Given a few more years, he might be able to exert several hundred kilograms of force.

With that kind of power, he could easily lift X-24 into the air and do whatever he wanted.

Or if he studied magic long enough, he could just knock X-24 out with a well-placed Stunning Spell.

In short, the future looked bright, but for now, he had to make do.