As in X-Men: First Class, Eric was knocked into the water. He seized the ship's anchor, attacking wildly. His unleashed power was terrifying.
Janos reacted fast, summoning tornadoes in his palms. He glared at Eric in the water, ready to unleash the storm.
No matter how strong Eric's powers were, he couldn't focus if Emma's telepathy disrupted his mind.
A flame shot toward Janos, blazing fast. He dodged, startled, as it struck the cruise ship, leaving a fist-sized crater. A direct hit could shatter bones.
Janos looked up, spotting Angel and Sean soaring above. He hurled a tornado at them, the hurricane destabilizing their flight.
"Our little Eric has friends?" Shaw said, surprised, eyeing the skyward mutants. He'd studied young Eric and thought his lone nature ruled out allies, yet here were mutants aiding his revenge.
"We need to leave," Emma said. Her telepathy read Angel and Sean's minds, revealing Charles, Alex, and a mutant-CIA team approaching. She glanced at the police boat. "They have a mind-reader too."
"Retreat," Shaw decided, wary of the numbers and the CIA.
A submarine surfaced beneath the cruise ship, then dove. Eric, sensitive to metal, sensed it instantly. Recalling Charles's advice—his power peaked at the balance of anger and calm—he steadied himself, extended his palm, and pulled the submarine upward with all his might.
"We're rising," Janos reported, shocked, as he piloted the submarine. "It's not diving."
"Eric's power? It's grown this much?" Shaw said, stunned, as the submarine broke the water's surface.
"They're closing in. We're surrounded," Emma warned, sensing the nearing team.
The police boat arrived, and the sight of a submarine levitating under Eric's control left the CIA agents and even Lucas stunned. Eric's power was jaw-dropping.
"You won't escape!" Eric shouted, arms trembling but face alight with triumph as he held the submarine aloft.
"When will I get that strong?" Alex muttered, envying Eric. He could only lift ten pounds of metal—nothing compared to this.
The mutant team and armed CIA agents approached the floating submarine. Eric lowered it to the water, and they forced their way inside.
But the submarine was empty. Shaw, Emma, and Janos had vanished.
In a city bar's secret room, space flickered. Azazel appeared, having teleported Shaw and his team to safety.
"I underestimated Eric," Shaw said, frustrated, back at the Hellfire Club. "We needed Azazel to escape."
"I sensed a strange mutant with Eric—Alex," Emma said, sharing her telepathic findings. "He's said to predict the future."
"A mutant who can future? Alex?" Shaw's eyes narrowed, intrigued.
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"Impossible! How could they vanish?" Eric shouted, his excitement fading. He leaped into the submarine, searching every corner, even checking drawers, but found no trace of Shaw or his team.
Eric couldn't believe it. He'd lifted the entire submarine—Shaw should've been trapped. How had they escaped?
"It's Azazel," Charles said, thinking. "Only his teleportation could do this."
"Azazel? What's that mean?" Eric asked, staring at Charles.
"You left so fast, you didn't hear," Charles explained. "When Alex learned you went alone, he urged us to save you. He also described the Hellfire Club's mutants, including Azazel, who can teleport anyone."
Eric's face darkened. He hadn't known about Azazel. He'd thought his new strength was enough for revenge, but Emma's telepathy had nearly stopped him, and now Azazel's power had foiled him. If he'd known, he wouldn't have rushed in.
"We should head back and plan carefully," Alex said. "Shaw escaped, but now he's tipped off. He'll be ready for us next time."
Moira, from the CIA, sighed. These mutants were tough to catch. Escaping such a trap made them even harder to beat later.
Bang! Eric, furious, slammed his fist into the submarine's steel, splitting the skin on his hand. Blood dripped, but he didn't care, lost in regret. Knowing about Azazel, he'd have waited.
"Eric, let's go back," Charles said gently. "We'll get another shot. Alex predicted your success, right? This setback's just a bump in the road."
Charles's comforting words worked. Eric felt better. Alex's predictions had all come true so far, so Shaw's defeat was certain.
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Back at X Academy, the mutant team grumbled about Eric's solo move. But seeing his gloom, they stayed quiet. Charles's support helped Eric calm down.
Then Alex spoke, his words heavy: "We need to prep for a fight. Shaw might ambush us."
"Ambush?" The team froze. No one had considered it, but Alex's words carried weight.
"If they come, we'll be ready and stop them!" Eric said, his earlier gloom replaced by fire.
"We know their powers now," Charles added quietly. "If they attack, we can plan ahead."
Emma's telepathy was strong, but Charles could counter her. Janos's tornadoes were tough, but Lucas, Sean, and Hank could handle him. Shaw absorbed energy, but physical attacks—like Hank's punches or Eric's steel—couldn't be absorbed. Azazel's teleportation was tricky, but Alex explained its flaw: grabbing him during a teleport dragged you along.
"Azazel's like that? Eric, you take him," Charles said after a pause, trusting Eric's metal control to counter teleportation.
The team made plans, using CIA resources to set up battle props. They trained harder, boosting their strength daily.
Alex kept up, noticing muscles forming. His stamina grew, and his powers strengthened.
At the Hellfire Club, Shaw met with Azazel, Janos, and Emma. "Eric's mutant friends and the CIA are a threat," he said. "We'll strike first and take them out one by one."
Janos and Azazel nodded, loyal to Shaw. But Emma frowned. "We should be careful. Alex, who predicts the future, might have them ready for us."
"I've thought of that," Shaw said confidently. He gave Emma a special task.
"A task? Without me, how do you block Charles's mind-reading?" Emma asked, worried.
Shaw grinned, grabbing a box. He pulled out a helmet and put it on. "Try reading my mind now."
Emma tried, then shook her head, shocked. "I can't sense anything."
"This helmet blocks mind-readers," Shaw said, pleased.
"Even so, if they're prepared, we won't take them down easily," Emma cautioned.
"Killing them's ideal," Shaw replied, eyes glinting. "But if they're ready, I want Alex. His prediction power is too valuable."
Shaw's real goal was to capture Alex, the mutant who can saw future.
Seeing future is a big deal. Even in the risky X-Men world, or back in Alex's world before the zombie apocalypse, fortune tellers were highly valued. If their predictions were spot-on, people gladly paid a fortune.
So, when Shaw learned about Alex, he wanted him on his side. But first, he needed to test if Alex's foresight was real.
This raid was the perfect chance. If Alex's predictions were accurate, they'd have an ambush waiting. If not, his power wasn't that impressive, and Shaw could crush Eric and the team easily.