Chapter 837: Rescue Operation

Cyclops, who had been quietly talking with Storm nearby, pushed Professor X’s wheelchair toward the site of the mutant battle inside the dam base.

The bodies of the dead had already been cleared away, while the wounded had been gathered near the infirmary. Those for whom there were no beds had been given mattresses and left lying in the corridors, waiting for treatment.

The arrival of the X-Men’s reinforcements had significantly eased the pressure on the base’s medical staff.

In fact, if the Alkali base had been operating at full capacity, the mutant researchers could have been brought in to serve as orderlies and provide some basic first aid.

But the base had been activated rather hastily this time, and Colonel William Stryker had brought in more engineers than mutant researchers.

As a result, after the invasion, only the minimum medical staff assigned to the infirmary had been available to provide treatment.

The infirmary had originally existed merely to deal with minor ailments such as colds, diarrhea, scrapes, and sprains.

Who could have imagined that it would suddenly become a field hospital at the scene of a defeated army?

The doctors and nurses were completely overwhelmed.

The members of the Brotherhood of Mutants followed behind Professor X.

The U.S. soldiers moving through the base didn’t even glance at them, as though these wanted criminals didn’t exist.

When Professor X and the others arrived at the site of the mutant battle, everyone was stunned by the utter devastation.

There were plenty of traces of battle along the way.

The most common were bullet marks pocking the concrete walls.

But this open area was completely different.

It looked as though it had been shelled by artillery, with enormous spiderweb-like craters scattered everywhere.

There were also unidentified claw marks that had slashed through metal equipment, concrete walls, and floors.

Storm stared at the scene in shock.

“What happened here?”

“According to the survivors, this was where the base’s mutant team fought the intruder.

“There were ten people in total. Three were killed and six were seriously wounded. They’re all in the infirmary now, waiting for emergency treatment.”

“What about the other one?”

Professor X led everyone to a pile of metal debris stacked up like a small mountain.

“Erik, give me a hand. We have another one of our people trapped underneath this.

“And much of this heavy debris is too much for the soldiers to lift.

“Or rather, even if they could move it, they’d rather prioritize other, more urgent matters.”

Magneto had intended to refuse.

But then he saw the head of an Asian woman sticking out from the rubble.

He had assumed she had been crushed to death long ago, but that head suddenly blinked.

“Help me. Please.”

“Simply incredible.”

Magneto sighed in amazement before raising one hand.

The pile of metal debris on the ground immediately floated into the air like a balloon.

Without the slightest hesitation, he sent the debris crashing into an unoccupied area.

As piece after piece was moved aside, everyone became even more astonished by what lay beneath the pile.

It wasn’t merely that the Asian woman was barely clothed.

Her body was riddled with rebar, iron rods, and metal fragments that had pinned her firmly to the concrete floor.

An ordinary person would have been dead from injuries like these.

Looking at the scene, Magneto hesitated.

It was common knowledge that with penetrating injuries, one shouldn’t casually remove sharp objects or blades, lest the victim suffer massive blood loss.

Naturally, he didn’t dare simply pull everything out and rescue her.

But Lilyko Oyama, whose hands, feet, abdomen, and neck were all pinned down, didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

Once the heavy debris had been removed, she immediately tried moving her limbs.

When she realized she was still fixed to the floor, she said,

“Please remove these things. I’ll be fine.”

Magneto didn’t answer.

He simply glanced at Professor X in his wheelchair.

The X-Men leader, who had likewise begun to show the signs of age, nodded to indicate that it was fine.

Only then did Magneto activate his powers, pulling out every object that had pierced and pinned Lady Deathstrike’s body.

The amount of blood loss was far less than expected.

Naturally, there was no scene of blood spraying several feet into the air, either.

Once the objects holding her down were removed, the wounds rapidly healed before everyone’s eyes.

The sight left everyone clicking their tongues in amazement, though it was hardly unfamiliar to Wolverine.

Covering the important parts of her body, Lady Deathstrike stood up as though nothing had happened.

The men present couldn’t help whistling, as if they were hanging around a strip club.

After all, the Asian woman’s figure really was smoking hot, even with a layer of dirt and dust covering her.

The only one who wasn’t impressed was Cyclops, who had already suffered at Lady Deathstrike’s hands.

Knowing just how dangerous this woman was, he frowned and regarded her warily.

Storm, meanwhile, was displeased by the other men’s frivolous behavior.

She bared her teeth at several of the more exaggerated offenders in obvious disapproval.

She also took off her jacket and handed it to Lady Deathstrike.

Cyclops leaned down and whispered into Professor X’s ear.

“Professor, is it really okay to let her out?”

“Don’t worry, Scott.

“The effects of the drugs controlling her are already gone. There is no reason for there to be any conflict between us.”

Magneto’s vigilance was sharp enough that he immediately caught those words.

He fixed Professor X with a piercing gaze.

“What drugs are you talking about?”

At the same time, Wolverine approached Lady Deathstrike, asking the old man in the wheelchair as he went,

“Professor, you said the person we came here to rescue has a lot in common with me. How?”

In an instant, Lady Deathstrike extended her Adamantium claws, pressing them against Wolverine’s skin and stopping him from coming any closer.

“Logan, you and I have a score to settle.

“Stay away from me!”

As a man who also had Adamantium fused into his body, Wolverine was more familiar with the metal than anyone.

He recognized the material of Lady Deathstrike’s nearly thirty-centimeter-long metal claws at a glance.

Naturally, he had no intention of approaching and getting himself stabbed for no reason.

His wounds could heal, sure, but they still hurt.

He raised both hands.

“Whoa, easy there, girl.”

Wolverine took several steps back, then looked strangely at Mystique.

“Are all you women like this? The moment you see a man, you start saying you’ve got a score to settle.”

Mystique replied pointedly,

“Try remembering the things you’ve forgotten sooner.

“You owe people a lot more than you realize.”

“Charles, the drugs!”

Magneto repeated his question from the side, clearly displeased.

“Yes, the drugs!”

Professor X suddenly acted as though he’d just remembered.

“According to the information in the base, as well as testimony from the surviving mutants, Colonel William Stryker developed a drug capable of controlling the minds of mutants.

“Although the drug makes a mutant’s thoughts somewhat sluggish, it has no other side effects, and the control is extremely thorough.

“If there is one drawback, it’s that the drug has to be administered regularly to maintain the effect.”

Magneto immediately followed up.

“Then have you found where the drug is manufactured or what materials are used to make it?

“Were the formula and research data destroyed?

“Can an antidote be developed?”

This old man, who had spent nearly his entire life fighting for mutant rights, was naturally not thinking about using such a drug to control mutants.

He was thinking about preventing mutants from being controlled by it.

Professor X understood his old friend perfectly.

“Come with me.

“Scott, could you give me a hand?

“We’ll go somewhere else. I’ll explain along the way.”