American comics: Intercepting the female superhero, the symbiote is invincible

Trask stood before the central control console, the monitors displaying data on the genetic collapse of mutants worldwide. A morbid smile played on his lips: Perfect…too perfect…

Suddenly, the alarm blared.

Warning: Kamar-Taj magical fluctuations detected!

"Hmph, arcane mage." Trask waved his hand dismissively, activating an anti-magic pulse.

Chapter 159 The Intruders

Outside the mothership, Strange's magic circle, barely formed, was shattered by a crimson energy wave. He groaned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth: Sure enough… it fused advanced technology and dark magic.

But the next second, a black lightning bolt swept across the bottom of the mothership—Lorna, using Strange's levitation cloak, silently slipped into the mothership's maintenance tunnel.

Inside the passage, mechanical tentacles writhed like blood vessels, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of "257" disinfectant. Lorna moved forward close to the wall, when suddenly, she heard the grinding sound of mechanical joints coming from the shadows ahead.

Intruders discovered.

Three Sentinels emerged from the darkness, their faces no longer resembling Thanos's bionic structure, but directly replicating Red Skull's appearance.

Lorna gripped the dagger tightly, but her magnetic field abilities remained dormant.

Mutant ability: Ineffective. The Sentinel mechanically announced, "Execute the elimination."

The first Sentinel's arm transformed into a sharp blade and slashed down. Lorna dodged to the side, her dagger plunging deep into its joint. Sparks flew, but the other two Sentinels had already flanked it.

Just as she was about to be surrounded—

boom!

One Sentinel's head suddenly exploded. Immediately afterward, a second Sentinel was pierced through the chest by some unseen force. Lorna froze for a second, then reacted: Nina?

A broken, mechanical voice came through the headphones: I... hacked into their network... but it won't last long...

Without hesitation, Lorna rushed toward the elevator at the end of the passage.

Trask had his back to the entrance, his hands flying across the control panel.

It's a real shame that Magneto's key ended up in my hands. He muttered to himself, "Once it's fully deciphered, even ordinary humans will be able to control magnetic fields..."

That will probably disappoint you.

Trask whirled around, his pupils shrinking – Lorna’s dagger was already pressed against his throat.

You… He looked down in shock, discovering a tear in his protective suit. Impossible! My defense system—

"Your system can't defend against this." Lorna sneered, raising her left hand—where she held a beating mechanical heart, its surface engraved with the Hydra symbol, Nina's backup core, capable of interfering with all Hydra technology.

Trask's expression finally cracked: You have no idea what you're doing! If the Leviathan mothership goes out of control, the entire city will be engulfed by a genetic storm!

Then turn it off. ... Lorna tightened her dagger slightly, and beads of blood slid down Trask's neck.

"It can't be turned off!" Trask laughed hysterically. Red Skull had set a self-destruct protocol, unless—

His words stopped abruptly.

Because the mothership's alarm system suddenly switched to another frequency—

Biometric key detected... Magneto Protocol initiated...

The holographic screen flickered, and Magneto's image reappeared.

Trask, the image coldly proclaims, "Your biggest mistake was using my genes."

The next second, all the sentries froze simultaneously, their mechanical eyes turning from red to green 5.5, and they all turned toward Trask.

No…impossible! Trask staggered backward, “I clearly erased your consciousness backup!”

You've only cleared the surface data. Magneto's image raises his hand, and all the Sentinels simultaneously raise their weapons. The real key has always been in my blood.

Lorna's dagger fell to the ground.

Chapter 160 The Mysterious Vortex

She looked at her arm—the fluorescent patterns under her skin had lit up again, but this time, they formed a clear DNA strand pattern.

Father……

Magneto's image turned to her, his gaze softening for a rare moment:

Now, let's end all of this.

Lorna raised her hand, and the entire metal structure of the mothership groaned under her will.

Three hours later, the wreckage of the Leviathan mothership crashed into Hudson Bay.

Mutants around the world are gradually regaining their abilities, but no one knows exactly who stopped this disaster.

In the secret chamber of Kamar-Taj, Wendy and Nina lay on adjacent stone platforms, their arms connected by a glowing line of blood.

The genetic lock was stable. Wang breathed a sigh of relief, but the Red Skull's consciousness escaped.

Strange stood by the window, his gaze distant: No, he had simply changed hosts.

In the distance, on the rooftop of a tall building, a figure wearing a metal mask was watching all of this.

A faint green light flickered at his fingertips.

The metal mask gleamed coldly in the moonlight, and the new host of the Red Skull slowly raised his hand, the green light at his fingertips flickering.

He looked down toward Hudson Bay, where the wreckage of the Leviathan mothership was still burning, black smoke obscuring half the sky.

"What a brilliant performance, Magneto." He muttered to himself, his voice a synthesized hiss as it came through his mask. "It's a pity your daughter can't inherit your game."

The green light suddenly surged, illuminating the red markings spreading across his neck—exactly the same ones on Ron's body. He clenched his fist, the green light vanished, and he turned and disappeared into the shadows on the rooftop.

Lorna stood on the observatory in Kamar-Taj, the DNA patterns on her arm still glowing.

She tried to activate her powers, and the magnetic field responded more strongly than ever before, but the ensuing excruciating pain forced her to stop.

This is no ordinary gene activation. Strange's voice came from behind, his levitation cloak swaying gently in the night breeze. "The key is rewriting your DNA structure."

Lorna didn't turn around: How long has Father kept the key hidden in my blood?

From the day you were born. Strange walked to her side, golden magical runes flowing between his fingertips. Magneto had foreseen this war, and he had encoded a portion of his abilities into a biological key, which would only awaken under specific conditions.

For example, do mutants worldwide face extinction?

For example, his bloodline was on the verge of death. Strange corrected, "Key activation requires the host to be in a state of extreme stress. Trask's genetic weapons just happen to provide that stimulus."

Lorna suddenly grabbed the railing, a wave of dizziness washing over her. Black spots began to appear at the edges of her vision, and the light patterns beneath her skin flickered.

S257 Trange quickly formed hand seals, and a golden light entered the back of her neck: "The key fusion process will consume your life force. The king is consulting ancient texts; we must find a stable method."

There's no time left. Lorna gritted her teeth and pointed to the sky, looking over there.

Over New York, clouds in three different locations suddenly twisted, forming eerie vortexes. Even from this distance, flashing red traffic lights could be seen within them.

Hydra's backup mothership. Strange's expression changed drastically; Red Skull had indeed prepared a backup plan.

In the underground chamber, Nina suddenly sat up from the stone platform, her mechanical eyes emitting a blinding red light. The bloodline connecting her to Wendy snapped instantly, and the king was thrown to the ground by the shockwave.

Chapter 161 Followers

Command received. Nina's voice became completely mechanical; Phase Two protocol initiated.

Wendy weakly reached out to grab her, but was repelled by an invisible force field. Nina's mechanical arm deformed and reassembled, transforming into a high-frequency vibrating knife that stabbed straight at Wendy's chest.

At the critical moment, a dark shadow flashed by, and Ron used the remaining parts of his Xuanming Body's battle armor to block the attack. The black substance collided with the mechanical arm, sparks flying everywhere.

"Nina!" Ron roared, "Wake up!"

Nina's mechanical eyes flashed a few times, and human pupils briefly appeared: Ron... go quickly... he's in my head... Before she could finish speaking, red light once again filled her eye sockets, and the power of the vibrating knife suddenly increased.

The Xuanming Body armor creaked under its strain as Ron's left shoulder was pierced.

He groaned and slammed his right hand onto Nina's forehead. The black substance spread down his arm, temporarily enveloping her mechanical parts.

"Wang!" Ron yelled, "Sever her neural links!"

Wang scrambled to his feet, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. A beam of orange energy struck Nina on the back of the neck, and she collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. Ron caught her and noticed that the receiver at her temple was smoking.

Red Skull is controlling her remotely. Wang examines the burnt receiver; we must—.

An alarm suddenly blared throughout Kamar-Taj. Strange's voice echoed through the secret chamber via magical communication: Everyone evacuate immediately! A genetic bomb signal has been detected over the city!

Lorna stood on the roof of New York's tallest building, the wind tearing at her clothes.

Three small motherships hovered in a triangular formation above the city, with a constantly expanding green sphere of light gathered in the center.

"You've finally arrived, Lorna." A digitally altered voice came from behind.

She turned around and saw a man wearing a metal mask standing on the edge of the rooftop. He was calm and composed, holding a glowing controller in his right hand.

Red Skull. Lorna's fingers trembled slightly as she tried to activate her magnetic field abilities, but another wave of excruciating pain forced her to stop.

Don't bother. Red Skull tapped his mask. This new toy can interfere with all mutant abilities, including your lovely bio-key.

He took a step forward, the moonlight shining on his bare neck—the skin there was semi-mechanized, red lines spreading like circuit boards.

Do you like my new look? Thanks to Ron's Xuanming Body technology, I can jump between different hosts. He gave an exaggerated bow, of course, this body originally belonged to one of your most loyal followers.

Lorna's pupils constricted: Kyle

"Clever!" Red Skull laughed, "That silly boy who's always following you around. He was still worried about your safety when I invaded his consciousness."

Anger made Lorna temporarily forget the pain. She suddenly raised her hand, and the metal frame of the entire building began to tremble.

Red Skull simply pressed the controller, and the green orb immediately split into hundreds of rays, pointing towards various parts of the city.

(Li Zhao)

Each ray locked onto a mutant. Red Skull said gleefully, "If I press it again, New York will have hundreds more corpses. Want to try?"

Lorna's hand froze in mid-air.

Just then, a golden portal opened beside her, and Strange and Ron rushed out.

Ron's condition was clearly worse; only scattered fragments of his Xuanming Body Suit remained on his body, and his exposed skin was almost completely covered by red patterns.

Chapter 162 Gene Bomb

Ah, reinforcements have arrived. Red Skull tilted his head. Perfect, I need a Xuanming Body core to complete the final adjustments.

He suddenly charged at Ron with inhuman speed. Strange's magical shield was a step too late; the Red Skull's mechanical fingers had already pierced Ron's chest.

No! Lorna lunged forward, only to be thrown back by the explosive shockwave. She crashed into the railing and saw Ron kneeling on the ground, Red Skull clutching a pulsating black core.

Perfect. Red Skull pressed the core into his chest, and his body immediately began to mutate, the machinery and flesh fusing at a visible speed. Now, let's start the party.

He raised the controller high, and the green sphere of light suddenly expanded. Strange quickly formed the most complex defensive magic circle, but everyone in 257 knew it was far from enough.

Just as Red Skull was about to press the button, a small, thin figure rushed out of the portal and crashed into him.

Nina? Lorna exclaimed.

The girl's mechanical eyes flashed wildly as her human consciousness clashed fiercely with the programmed instructions: Lorna...now! She clung tightly to the Red Skull's arm; his mask...the weakness was in the mask!

Red Skull roared, trying to shake her off, but Nina used her last strength to insert her mechanical fingers into the gap in the mask. In a flash, the mask's locking mechanism loosened.

Lorna didn't hesitate. She picked up the broken steel bar from the ground and threw it with all her might. The steel bar sliced ​​through the air and accurately knocked off Red Skull's mask.

What was revealed was Kyle's face—but only half of it. The other half was mechanized, its single red eye spinning wildly.

You destroyed everything! The Red Skull's voice, no longer processed, became distorted and hoarse. The Leviathan Protocol was supposed to allow humanity to evolve!

That wasn't evolution. Lorna struggled to her feet; it was slaughter.

She concentrated all her willpower, and the bio-key surged within her veins. Amidst unprecedented pain, she felt her father's power awaken within her.

The metal hulls of the three motherships twisted and deformed simultaneously, and the green orbs of light began to flicker erratically.

Red Skull realized something was wrong and turned to flee. Strange's magical chains ensnared his feet in time, while Ron used his last strength to pounce and reclaim the Xuanming Body Core.

It was over. Lorna raised her hand, and all the metal shards rained down on Red Skull. But at the last moment, she changed their trajectory, pinning the shards only to his limbs.

Red Skull struggled on the ground, his mechanical parts beginning to overload and smoke. You think that's all? He grinned maliciously. The gene bomb has been activated; you can't stop it—

There was a gunshot.

A bloody hole suddenly appeared in Red Skull's forehead. Everyone turned around and saw Wendy standing at the rooftop entrance, holding a still-smoking gun. Her eyes had regained their light, but her expression was terrifyingly cold.