[Marvel: I Summon Heroes From Various Worlds] Chapter 24 (Patreon)

"Get out of my way!"

Frustrated by the relentless assault from Hawkins in his Great Ape form, Captain Marvel, who had been driven deep into the ground, finally erupted in anger.

She unleashed all her energy in one burst, breaking through Hawkins' suppression and sent him flying with a punch charged with an energy column.

"Roar!"

The attack only fueled Hawkins' rage, pushing the remnants of his sanity further under the veil of instinct.

His mouth fired energy waves recklessly at Captain Marvel, and his massive body leapt towards her again, launching another assault.

The two exchanged blows, the battle fiercely tearing the sky and earth apart.

Overall, Captain Marvel held the upper hand due to her ability to fly and smaller size, which allowed her to easily dodge Hawkins' attacks and made it difficult for him to hit her.

While in his Great Ape form, Hawkins' size made his movements somewhat cumbersome, presenting many openings in his attack.

However, the destructive power of Hawkins in this form was terrifying. As a Great Ape, it seemed he had no limit to his energy; energy blasts continued to shoot from his mouth effortlessly.

Crucially, he was also incredibly resilient; Captain Marvel's attacks, although painful, were not lethal.

It's also possible that Captain Marvel, knowing he was still a child, held back, not going to the lengths of ruthlessness that Nick Fury might.

Most importantly, Captain Marvel had to consider the safety of the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents nearby.

Although the battle had moved some distance from its starting point on the snowy field, Hawkins' energy blasts occasionally strayed towards them.

If she didn't intercept them, a single blast could annihilate all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents except for Captain Carter.

Honestly, if not for Hawkins' near-total loss of rationality, targeting Nick Fury and his group with energy blasts would have forced Captain Marvel to divert much of her effort to defense.

"Oh hell, Hawkins, I'll never call you 'little monkey' again!"

Watching the brutal form of Hawkins as a Great Ape, Wolverine, accompanied by Professor X and others, quickly retreated towards the X-Jet's location.

Before departing, Storm had mentioned Hawkins' potential for a secondary burst of power. If it became uncontrollable, they planned to have Nightcrawler teleport in and sever Hawkins' tail.

At the time, Wolverine hadn't taken it seriously, thinking it was an overreaction.

Now, he realized it wasn't an exaggeration; as a Great Ape, Hawkins' casual slaps caused the earth to crack, and the energy blasts from his mouth were terrifyingly powerful.

Since Hawkins transformed into the Great Ape and engaged Captain Marvel, they had been unable to continue fighting.

The ground trembled and broke apart under them, and the energy blasts Hawkins occasionally fired near them created giant craters, the shockwaves alone making it difficult to stand.

If one hit the dam, it would break, sweeping them all away.

It was fortunate that Stryker's base was built far from the city, in a desolate mountain range over a lake, or this would have been a major disaster.

Nick Fury also recognized this and stopped pursuing Professor X and others. Swearing under his breath, he led all agents towards their vehicles to retreat.

Originally, his plan had been to capture Magneto and Professor X without much cost.

He hadn't anticipated encountering a student like Hawkins, a natural disaster-level mutant capable of holding Captain Marvel at bay.

Continuing this destruction would be problematic even if they won in the end.

The X-Jet and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Quinjets took off almost simultaneously. However, they didn't leave but hovered above the battle between Captain Marvel and Hawkins, observing the situation below.

If Captain Marvel won, given her speed, the X-Jet would probably not be able to escape later.

If Hawkins won, the S.H.I.E.L.D. capture operation would only be a partial success, and the X-Men could retreat smoothly.

But from the current situation, Captain Marvel clearly had the upper hand.

"Professor, what do we do now?"

On the X-Jet, Storm, piloting the jet, turned to Professor X.

Hawkins, now transformed into the Great Ape and out of control, might not last long. They were uncertain whether to wait, escape, sever Hawkins' tail to restore him, or launch an attack to assist him in battle—all decisions resting on Professor X.

"See if you can connect to the other side's signal, I want to talk to the director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Professor X thought for a moment and then responded to Storm.

Severing Hawkins' tail wasn't an option now, and he couldn't just abandon Hawkins and flee. Launching an attack was even less advisable since S.H.I.E.L.D. would likely do the same.

He hoped to negotiate a settlement, as the situation was now different from before, at least being a stalemate.

Storm quickly connected their signal with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Quinjet.

"Director Fury, continuing this fight will only lead to mutual destruction. Do you really want to escalate this into a full-scale war between mutants and humans?

Moreover, if this battle continues, it's hard to ensure it won't spill over into the city, and the consequences of that are something neither side wants to see."

The other side didn't know about the time limit on Hawkins' power surge or his weakness, giving them an advantage in negotiations.

After a moment of silence, Nick Fury responded:

"I'm not looking to start a war with mutants; I just want to clarify the truth. It turned into this because you weren't cooperating."

He was somewhat at a loss.

As the fight between Hawkins and Captain Marvel intensified, several small mountains in the Rocky Mountains were flattened, and the forested ground was pitted everywhere. Continuing the battle could lead to dreadful consequences.

But he was reluctant to just give up.

"Here's the deal, Director Fury. When we return to New York, I'll bring Colonel Stryker and all the evidence to your S.H.I.E.L.D. office for an investigation. Please spare my students for now."

Professor X offered a way out, and Nick Fury was ready to take it.

His goal was to control the mutant threat and harness it as a power to face powerful extraterrestrial civilizations in the future, not to fight mutants to the death.

Although the outcome was not entirely satisfying, it was passable—at least they had captured the anti-human Magneto, and he could continue to negotiate with Professor X, a mutant who was friendly toward humans.

However, just as he was about to agree to Professor X's proposal, the situation on the battlefield changed.

In his Great Ape form, Hawkins suddenly shook and then began to rapidly shrink, returning to his child form.

"Professor Charles, I think it's best for you to come with me to S.H.I.E.L.D. for an investigation now!"

The change on the battlefield shifted the situation decisively in favor of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Nick Fury naturally no longer agreed to Professor X's proposal.

(End of Chapter)