Richard didn't know the exact technical details behind what Shaw called the "pinnacle of genetic engineering," but he could make an educated guess.
These weren't simple clones.
They were optimized derivatives—mutant templates copied, edited, reinforced, then refined. Enhanced clones. Adjusted at the genetic level for combat efficiency and obedience.
Hunters.
"Isn't the Hellfire Club against the Mutant Restriction Act?" Richard asked evenly. "You oppose the Act while cooperating with the Mutant Affairs Department. That's impressively contradictory."
Despite failing to immobilize the Hunters telepathically, he remained composed.
Their mind isolation blocked direct psychic suppression. That was inconvenient, but not fatal.
Only two of them truly mattered.
Shaw.
And the Magneto clone.
The flame-wrapped Hunter and the water-formed Hunter were visually impressive, but fundamentally straightforward. Elemental projection. High output. Limited depth.
They weren't threats he couldn't manage.
Shaw smiled faintly.
"There are no eternal enemies. Only eternal interests."
He clasped his hands behind his back.
"Frankly, I should thank you. If you hadn't massacred the Los Angeles branch and exposed the weakness of Sentinel deployment, the Department would never have approached me for cooperation."
His gaze sharpened.
"You are strong. But an individual always has limits."
He paused deliberately.
"I don't care that you killed Azazel. For the sake of mutant unity, I'll give you one more chance. Join the Hellfire Club."
"The position of White King will be yours. Second only to me."
He added calmly, "On the condition that you remove whatever control you've placed on Emma."
He didn't know the mechanism. But he was certain something had been done.
Emma had been with them for years.
She wouldn't defect instantly unless compelled.
Richard chuckled.
"Generous. Very generous."
He tilted his head slightly.
"By the way, Emma told me something interesting this afternoon."
Shaw's expression didn't change.
"She said you've wanted her in your bed for years. But you're too cautious. Too calculating."
"You want her body and her loyalty. So you flatter her. Wait for her to climb in willingly."
Richard's lips curved faintly.
"Unfortunately for you, she never did."
He let the words hang.
"For someone so generous, I'll satisfy your curiosity."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Emma is… very moist."
The atmosphere froze.
Before Shaw could respond, Richard moved.
Masamune flashed.
Seven crescent-shaped slashes erupted outward—purple edges, white cores, each over a meter long.
They tore across the shattered restaurant toward Shaw and the Hunters.
Shaw reacted instantly.
Energy absorption activated.
The slashes disintegrated before reaching him, converting into raw energy that flooded into his body.
The remaining arcs sliced through Janos.
Riptide didn't even have time to raise wind barriers.
The blades passed cleanly through him.
He fell apart in sections.
Dead before his expression could change.
The rest of the slashes detonated against the Magneto clone's magnetic force field, exploding in concussive bursts.
Plunder activated automatically.
[New ability acquired: Whirlwind Control.]
[Whirlwind Control can enhance skill "Grand Wind." Enhance?]
"Yes."
[Grand Wind strengthened.]
A small gain. But optimization was cumulative.
Shaw's expression hardened.
He didn't sentimentalize subordinates.
But Riptide had been efficient.
Loyal.
Replaceable, perhaps.
But useful.
"You've chosen death," Shaw said coldly.
"You're not qualified to grant it," Richard replied.
Shaw's energy absorption was formidable—but not absolute.
If Richard refused close combat, Shaw couldn't force proximity.
Unless he also possessed teleportation.
Which he did not.
Shaw stopped speaking and issued orders instead.
"No. 7. No. 8. Stop him."
"No. 3. Feed me."
The three Hunters moved instantly.
Richard observed something subtle.
They didn't react emotionally.
No anger. No hesitation. No fear.
No. 7 burned.
No. 8 liquefied.
No. 3 raised his hand and generated an ultra-dense magnetic field around Shaw.
Shaw began absorbing it immediately.
Energy flooded into him in controlled waves.
Amplification.
So that was the model.
Hunter units weren't just weapons.
They were batteries.
Richard's mind flickered briefly to X-24 from Logan.
Artificial maturity. Incomplete emotional frameworks.
But even X-24 had rage.
These were quieter.
Hollow.
No. 7 thrust both arms forward.
Twin torrents of superheated flame erupted like industrial flamethrowers.
No. 8 surged forward as a spiraling water column, crashing in with crushing force.
Richard vanished.
Teleportation.
He reappeared on the sun deck outside.
His right hand rose.
A black sphere formed above his palm.
Dense.
Void-like.
Black Magic Crystal.
Shaw recognized it instantly.
"Evacuate the yacht!" he barked.
Too late.
Green light descended from the sky.
Above them—over a hundred meters high—a massive meteorite materialized midair.
Ten meters in diameter.
Wrapped in flame.
It dropped at over a hundred meters per second.
Impact.
The yacht split cleanly in half.
The explosion hurled steel, glass, and deck plating outward.
A tidal surge erupted—twenty, thirty meters high.
The marina convulsed.
Fire met water in violent steam bursts.
Shockwaves rolled across the bay.
Richard hovered in the air, silver hair untouched by debris.
Shaw erupted from the wreckage.
He was glowing faintly now—energy saturated.
The Magneto clone lifted twisted steel sections into orbiting shields.
No. 7 reassembled from flame.
No. 8 condensed from the ocean spray.
The Hunters were intact.
Shaw's eyes locked onto Richard.
"You want to test limits?" Shaw said quietly.
"Let's test yours."
Energy rippled across his body as he launched upward, propelled by absorbed force.
The Magneto clone followed, magnetic fields distorting the surrounding metal into spears and blades.
The remaining Hunters advanced in synchronized formation.
Richard watched them rise.
One versus four.
Now it was real.
He adjusted his grip on Masamune.
"Good," he murmured softly.
The night sky above Miami began to darken unnaturally.
Magic gathered again.
.....
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