NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13: Chapter 13: George's Final "Gift"
Since learning his mutant ability was capped at Level 2, George had been contemplating how to maximize its potential.
He couldn't perform feats like Magneto, such as stopping and deflecting countless bullets or missiles, lifting thousands of tons, flying via magnetic force, or altering the Earth's magnetic field.
But the way the lab instructors trained him to kill using knives? He found it utterly low-level.
'If you're using knives, you might as well use needles,' he thought. 'At least you could control more of them, and their speed would be much faster. Even if the damage is smaller, targeting vital points like the eyes or other critical areas should still be effective.'
After much deliberation, he concluded that the best way to unleash the full potential of his magnetic power would be to leverage firearms.
Bullets fired from guns were far superior in speed and damage compared to any blade he could control. With just a minor adjustment to a bullet's trajectory, he could become a sharpshooter surpassing human limits.
'Right now, it's just submachine guns,' he thought. 'But if my powers grow stronger, and I can control the trajectories of heavy machine gun bullets, that would be impressive.'
'One man standing against a thousand—unassailable. I could take down every guard in this entire base on my own.'
"Move!"
After emptying most of two magazines, every guard in the cafeteria was down. George waved at the stunned Gabriella and the confused little wolf girl.
"Laura, let's go."
Gabriella, snapping out of her shock, quickly pulled the wolf girl along as they ran toward George.
She knew Experiment No. 757, of course. Unlike the other mutant children, this fully grown mutant didn't require care from nurses like her but was handled by specialized personnel.
But since he was willing to help, he was clearly not an enemy.
Leading Gabriella and the wolf girl, they sprinted down the hall and soon caught up with the other children. But George remained cautious, knowing the lab's security was far more extensive than what they had encountered so far.
The guards were simply caught off-guard by the sudden situation and hadn't yet fully responded.
And there was always the possibility of them deploying more advanced and deadly weapons.
Though his earlier display seemed impressive—taking out a group of guards with two submachine guns in seconds—it had only worked because the wolf girl had drawn their fire, allowing him to launch a surprise attack.
'Honestly,' he mused, 'in my current state, even a sniper would be a big problem.'
Some specialized Barrett heavy sniper rifles, with high-penetration rounds, could pierce through thick concrete walls. If a sniper targeted him from afar, his magnetic power wouldn't be able to deflect the bullet in time—he might not even have time to react.
Now was not the time to relax.
Fortunately, the rest of their escape route was uneventful. No snipers, no Wolverine clones—just a clear path to the lab's exterior.
"Do you know where the base's most important labs and archives are located?"
After helping the children climb into the back of a truck, George didn't board immediately. Instead, he turned to Gabriella for information.
Though puzzled, Gabriella quickly pointed to two locations.
"Over there and there."
"Perfect. Let's leave them a little parting gift."
George opened his backpack, pulling out over a dozen grenades scavenged from the guards' corpses.
Aside from grenades, his bag also contained some cash he had grabbed for when they escaped—he didn't want to be penniless outside.
"Hope you enjoy this."
Using his powers, he sent the grenades precisely toward the two locations Gabriella had indicated. In midair, he pulled all the pins simultaneously.
Moments later, the deafening sound of explosions filled the air, and the targeted areas were engulfed in flames.
"Let's go!"
With his objective achieved, George climbed into the truck, leaving a dumbfounded Gabriella to follow.
His motive was simple. If the explosions killed any key personnel, great. If not, they would still create chaos, destroy critical research, and slow down the enemy's pursuit.
And his plan worked.
An hour later, a soot-covered Dr. Rice slapped Commander Donald across the face, yelling furiously: "Idiot! I told you to handle those pests, and now look at this mess! Most of the test subjects have escaped, and I've lost so much critical data! If X-24 wasn't intact, I'd throw you into the incinerator right now!"
"Boss, it was my failure. I didn't expect those nurses to help them escape."
Donald ignored the stinging pain on his cheek and bowed respectfully.
Dr. Rice took a deep breath, calming himself before issuing orders: "What's done is done. I don't want your excuses—I want results. Recapture those mutant children as quickly as possible and eliminate them. We can't let any other organizations find out about this."
As a prominent company with clandestine ties to many terrorist groups, he knew the world was anything but simple. Especially with a behemoth like S.H.I.E.L.D. lurking in the shadows.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered mutants still existed, they'd trace the mutants back to him—and that would be trouble.
Until he could mass-produce mutants, he wasn't ready to go up against S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Report to me on any updates. If necessary, I'll take X-24 and assist personally. It'll also be a good chance to test X-24 in combat."
"Yes, boss!"
Donald nodded and left the partially destroyed lab to gather his subordinates.
"What's the investigation report say?"
"Commander, based on our findings, it seems to have been caused by Experiment No. 757," a squad leader quickly summarized.
Donald frowned. "757? A mere Level 2 mutant managed to pull this off?"
As the one overseeing the earlier battle, he knew the situation well.
Though the mutant children had escaped with some help from the nurses, he had quickly deployed reinforcements to stabilize the situation.
By all accounts, they should have been able to trap the escapees in the cafeteria. But after a burst of gunfire, his team went silent.
He had been preparing to pursue with more reinforcements when the explosions forced him to return to the lab immediately.
"No mistake, sir. Captain Bis, who was tasked with handling 757, was killed. Although he destroyed all surveillance cameras along the way, our forensic experts traced his movements toward the cafeteria."
"Judging by the wounds on the corpses, most were killed by gunfire—nearly all fatal shots."
"A sharpshooter? But he shouldn't have that kind of ability…"
Donald frowned deeper. Mutants with sharpshooter potential typically had enhanced vision, dynamic tracking, or superior reflexes. From what he knew, 757's abilities were magnetic control and psychic powers.
"This… might be something for the boss to explain."
He wasn't knowledgeable about mutant abilities—that was Dr. Rice's domain.
But considering the boss's lingering anger, he decided against bringing it up.
'In any case, even a sharpshooter isn't much without proper training,' he thought dismissively.