The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics

The magenta energy-infused cards danced between Gambit's fingers, complementing his threatening tone in a way that seemed almost comical. Yet, anyone who had witnessed the earlier explosion wouldn't dare dismiss them.

Only Hyperion remained focused on another figure: Cyclops, his hand still on his visor. The optic blast he had unleashed earlier, though not at full power, was not something any Tom, Dick, or Harry could withstand.

Even among his teammates in the Supreme Squadron, only two or three could withstand such an attack, and none would do so with such ease.

Arcana used her magic to teleport Power Princess, embedded in the ground, to her side. Kneeling beside her, she asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"Huff!" Power Princess shook her head. "I'm fine, not even close to death. What's the situation?"

"Bad news," Arcana replied with a wry smile. "The enemy count has increased."

Power Princess stood up and surveyed the battlefield once more. The first thing she saw was Gambit playing with his cards, standing shoulder to shoulder with Cyclops. Behind them stood a plant-like humanoid figure, alongside a beautiful black woman with silver hair.

Adding them to the metal man who had thrown her to the ground and Illyana, their enemy count had suddenly increased to six—definitely bad news.

Illyana alone was already difficult to deal with, and adding five more made things seem impossible.

"We're only here to apprehend the murderer; bystanders, step aside," Doctor Spectrum said, waving his hand dismissively, earning only a disdainful laugh from Gambit.

"I think I made myself clear earlier, spandex-wearer."

With a flick of his wrist, Gambit made all the cards disappear except for one he held in his hand.

"Although I don't know why, as fellow freaks, you have such little tolerance, I guess intelligence isn't a major factor, right?"

He flipped the card over, revealing an ace with a mischievous joker, its mocking intent clear to the Supreme Squadron.

"Looks like there's nothing to talk about," Doctor Spectrum said, veins throbbing on his forehead. He had, of course, caught Gambit's sarcasm and immediately channeled energy toward him.

Faced with the overwhelming energy attack, Gambit laughed heartily, drawing a handful of cards to retaliate, but Cyclops beat him to it.

Red beams swept across the air, colliding with the spectral energy in a violent explosion, but none of the attacks managed to pass the line. Cyclops blocked them all.

"Hey, that was mine!" Gambit protested. "You're really spoiling the fun, Scott."

"We're not playing games, Gambit," Scott sighed wearily. "And please, call me Cyclops when we're on a mission, thank you."

"Alright, Bright Eyes," Gambit muttered, secretly flipping him off behind his back, before laughing and launching the cards in his hand.

Faced with so many explosives, Arcana dared not be careless, immediately unleashing her strongest shield magic. Doctor Spectrum reinforced it with a layer of spectral energy.

"Boom!"

A tremendous explosion erupted, and when the smoke cleared, the Supreme Squadron stood unharmed, launching a counterattack.

"Arcana, Doctor Spectrum, you're responsible for holding off those two in front," Hyperion said, adopting a stance. "Power Princess, you handle the two behind. If you're struggling, have Arcana and Doctor Spectrum support you. I'll grab our target; let's make this quick."

"Roger!" ×3.

As soon as Hyperion finished speaking, the Supreme Squadron moved. Doctor Spectrum gathered spectral energy, solidifying it into dozens of javelins. His task was to stall Cyclops and Gambit, so he chose to entangle them with a barrage of attacks.

Arcana thought the same, opening her hands and unleashing various low-level but quickly cast attack spells as if they were free. Faced with such a massive offensive, Cyclops and Gambit were truly unable to spare a hand to deal with Hyperion and Power Princess flying overhead.

Nor was it necessary, as two reliable teammates stood behind them.

Facing Hyperion and Power Princess, Ororo's eyes instantly filled with white energy. A gentle breeze lifted her, and thick clouds obscured the sky. Massive lightning snakes writhed within the clouds, eyeing their targets.

"Be gone!"

Ororo brought down her raised hands, and two thick lightning bolts struck from the sky, aimed directly at the flying Hyperion and Power Princess. Having noticed the sky's anomaly, the two dodged the lightning strikes, but that was not the end.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Having just dodged one bolt, dozens more of the same thickness fell from the sky. Ororo was like Zeus from Greek mythology, dominating the entire sky.

The net of dozens of lightning bolts made it difficult even for Hyperion and Power Princess to dodge, and they were constantly forced back by the lightning.

"Ah!"

Power Princess, who was somewhat weaker, struggled to dodge and was struck by lightning, followed by dozens more in quick succession. She was unable to defend or dodge.

In Power Princess's terrified gaze, Hyperion's burly back blocked the sky full of lightning. The strongest member of the Supreme Squadron finally chose not to hold back after seeing his teammate injured.

"You asked for this!"

Orange-yellow beams erupted from Hyperion's eyes, far surpassing the previously released atomic rays. They not only shattered the dozens of falling lightning bolts, but also annihilated the sky-covering clouds, as if blasting a hole in the sky.

After releasing the beams, Hyperion glared at Ororo. His body turned into a blur, rushing toward her at a speed far greater than before.

Ororo wanted to summon a gale to stop Hyperion's attack, but the thought of her teammates nearby made her abandon the idea. As she considered other options, Hyperion was already about to reach her.

However, before Hyperion could reach Ororo, a massive wall rose from the ground, blocking his path. Enraged, Hyperion would not care about the wall; if he wanted, he could blast a hole through vibranium.

"Boom!"

As expected, the green wall didn't even last a second before being shattered by Hyperion. However, after breaking through the wall, Hyperion didn't see Ororo, who should have been behind it.

Before he could search for her, thick vines wrapped around his entire body.