novelIdeaMax Chapter 4746 X Royal Newcomer (25)
Chapter 4746 X Royal Newcomer (25)
Chapter 4746 X Royal Family: New Life (Twenty-Five)
To see just how much of a sense of crisis superheroes and mutants can have, and how quickly they've honed their on-the-spot reaction skills amidst all sorts of disasters, we only need to look at what's happening now.
Without any warning, and while most people were enjoying the comfort of the hot spring, Matt suddenly yelled, and everyone jumped up in a flash, ignoring that they were still shirtless. Some even took off the towels they were wearing around their lower bodies and rushed out in a panic.
Unlike those disaster movies where someone warns you and everyone freezes in shock, every superhero and mutant, as if they'd rehearsed countless times, executed a perfect heroic exit with the speed of their entrance. With a few swift movements, the sinkhole was instantly emptied.
Despite not being fully recovered from Stark's illness, his reaction was ridiculously fast. Before Matt could even finish speaking, he was instantly armed with his mech, Steve in his left arm and Bucky in his right. As they passed Natasha, Bucky tugged at her, and Natasha instinctively grabbed Schiller, who, worried about Matt, pulled him along as well. The people from the central universe were sent flying like a string of candied hawthorns, right outside the sinkhole.
The Avengers in the main universe weren't bad either. Iron Man picked up Spider-Man, Spider-Man used his webs to stick Captain America to him, Doctor Strange pulled Black Widow and Banner along, and Thor carried Hawkeye on his back for a big leap. The only flaw was that Captain America and Thor's bathrobes fell off. Luckily, it was dark up there, so no one could see it.
The local Avengers reacted a little slower, and because they were socializing with the mutants, they separated. Spider-Man shot a web and pulled himself up, while Black Widow used her grappling hook. Iron Man wanted to help, but the mutants didn't need his help, so he flew up on his own. Winter Soldier, Captain America, Hawkeye, and others were all brought up by the mutants they were talking to.
The remaining mutants each used their own unique methods, basically one leading a large group. Polaris alone brought more than twenty mutants, all of whom arrived at the top of the sinkhole.
In just a second or two, the ground began to shake. And it wasn't just swaying horizontally, but rather bouncing up and down like a ladle being tossed around. The shaking was so intense that even a cyborg like Captain America couldn't stand steadily and was almost thrown into the air.
"No!" Stark stepped forward first. "These tremors are too regular; it can't be a natural phenomenon. Something is... a volcano! Something is triggering a volcanic eruption!!!"
Everyone's expression changed. This volcano on Krakia Island was an active one, with extremely frequent geological activity. If it erupted, the entire island would likely be buried under volcanic ash. Even without casualties, all the construction work Krakia had done over the years would have been for nothing.
Moreover, they're so close to the volcano now, they might not have enough time to escape. Besides superheroes and mutants, there are also a bunch of ordinary people here. In addition to the ordinary scientists from before, there are also people from S.H.I.E.L.D. and Wakanda. There are also ambassadors from some small countries that have good relations with the mutants. If all these people are to perish here, the mutants will have no choice but to leave Earth overnight.
Stark was about to jump before he could finish speaking, but Steve quickly grabbed him. "What are you doing!"
"I have to go down and dismantle that thing!" Stark shouted, raising his voice. "The eruption isn't that fast, there's still time!!!"
Upon hearing this, the mutants realized what he meant. Iceman and Fireman immediately rushed forward, and the other young mutants also gathered around.
“I’ll go with you!” said the Iceman. “Whatever it is, I can freeze it. If all else fails, I can even freeze lava!”
“That’s right!” Polaris said. “I can stabilize the underground magnetic field and buy you time. We absolutely cannot let the volcano erupt!”
Stark took two steps back. "Stephen!"
“No,” Strange stepped forward and said. “I don’t know the specific structure underground. If I open a portal, it might throw you directly into the lava. And the explosion might damage the portal, and then you won’t be able to come back!”
“There’s no time,” Stark said through gritted teeth. “We have to fly down!”
Several figures swiftly flew downwards into the sinkhole. At that moment, another figure caught up with him. Stark looked back as he flew, only to discover it was the local Iron Man. The man pulled off his mask and roared, "I designed the underground water system! I have to get there!"
Stark said nothing, but he knew that anything capable of causing such regular earthquakes must be man-made, and the only man-made device currently underground was the water system. This must be related to the design of the local Iron Man.
Although there were too many suspicious points, Stark had to be cautious. When he flew into the cave, he deliberately blocked the view of the local Iron Man. The other man keenly noticed this and tried to say something, but there was no time to lose. Stark vanished in a flash, giving him no chance to explain.
“The rest of you come with me to the crater,” Eric said. “If the volcano is destined to erupt, we can only try to guide the lava. Captain, you take the rest of you to safety.”
“Come underwater,” Namor suddenly said. “I’ve built a temporary bubble chamber in the deep sea beneath the island. Even if a volcano erupts, it won’t be affected. Follow me.”
Veterans like Captain America and the Winter Soldier didn't need to communicate; they spontaneously formed a formation. A few led the way, others brought up the rear, maintaining the formation like sheepdogs as they retreated at high speed towards their destination. Ordinary people without superpowers and weaker mutants could only grit their teeth and keep up.
In the blink of an eye, they had reached the lakeshore. Namor swam to the center of the lake, swung his trident, and an underwater tunnel opened. The mutants with superpowers began leading the ordinary people down into the water. Because there was no seawater along the way, and no need to adapt to pressure changes, they easily arrived at the deep-sea refuge Namor had described.
“You can see here a rising water flow that leads straight to the center of the lake,” Namor said. “I was planning to build a high-speed waterway between Atlantis and Krakia, and it was only halfway done when this happened.”
“I’m still worried,” Apocalypse said. “I’m not afraid of a volcanic eruption. You all wait here; I have to go check it out.”
After saying that, he flew back up. The other powerful mutants did the same; they couldn't hide in the shelter like ordinary people, so after delivering the person, they all flew up.
However, everyone had gone to the crater to find Eric, and they dared not go down easily. They didn't understand the underground structure, nor did they know what was causing the tremors; going down would only cause more trouble. If it really exploded, it would be difficult to escape.
However, Strange and Schiller, from the central universe, were not only highly skilled and daring, but also extremely worried about Stark, who was still recovering from his illness. The two flew into the cave at top speed; the temperature there was far higher than before.
Previously, it was just unsuitable for ordinary people to live in; now it's becoming somewhat unsuitable for superpowered individuals. As soon as Strange entered, he cast several layers of shields on himself and said, "Even the lava river in Mephisto's hell isn't this hot. Can Tony's Jaeger withstand it?"
“They also brought Iceman and Polaris, so there shouldn’t be any problems.” Schiller said this, but the gray fog had already spread, and they began searching for Stark throughout the cave.
Gray Mist did indeed dislike hot places, but that was merely psychological; in reality, temperature had no effect on external gods. Or rather, most things in the real world were completely unaffected by it. Moreover, Gray Mist and Little Morgan were good friends, and Little Morgan's father might be in danger, so he was too anxious to care about the heat and immediately unleashed his full power.
"Found them!" Gray Mist suddenly shouted. "Wait a minute, I need to control my power, otherwise it will affect their mental state..."
Schiller materialized into human form, startling several mutants who nearly attacked. The Iceman's ice spikes had already been launched, but thankfully they hadn't affected Schiller.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I..."
Schiller quickly gestured for him to be quiet, because the two Iron Men were currently studying the engine of the water diversion system. It was this thing that was constantly releasing shockwaves, triggering underground heat and threatening to cause a volcanic eruption.
The Ice Man, growing increasingly anxious, gritted his teeth and said, "Can't we just freeze this thing solid? The volcano has really erupted!"
This was no joke. The tremors were intensifying, the entire cave was collapsing, and half of the path on the left had already collapsed. Even more terrifying, the ground was beginning to crack, meaning that lava might be surging up.
Fireman, who is very sensitive to heat, suddenly shouted, "Get out of the way!"
Polaris pulled back in an instant, carrying all the mutants and two Iron Man members backward at top speed. Strange, who had just arrived, immediately erected a shield. Less than ten meters from the engine, a massive fissure spewed forth lava.
Thankfully, they retreated quickly and had shields to protect them; otherwise, they might have been hit by the lava by now. Being able to withstand the heat is one thing, being directly hit by lava is quite another. It's like working near the sun versus entering it directly; Stark's nanotech suit is too thin and might not be able to withstand it.
"The engines have to be shut down!" Stark shouted. "You guys stop the lava, I'm going to check again!"
He then turned to fly away, and Strange gritted his teeth, trying to pull him back, but he couldn't. Seeing him fly out, the mutants had no choice but to grit their teeth and fly away as well. Polaris gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, creating a huge vortex in the magnetic storm, which directly pushed the magma in the crack back in.
The Ice Man immediately took control, and an ice blanket spread out from beneath his feet, instantly sealing the crack. But the Fire Man said, "No, the accumulated magma will find another weak point to erupt; this doesn't solve the fundamental problem!"
“Where’s the next point?!” Polaris asked, turning around.
The fire-man sensed the change in heat and pointed ahead: "There!"
No sooner said than done, a crack appeared where the Fire Man pointed. Polaris waved his hand, and a magnetic arrow shot out, but this time it failed to stop the erupting lava, only weakening its momentum. The Ice Man took a deep breath, and when he exhaled, a thick mist of ice spewed out, instantly lowering the temperature of the entire space by more than ten degrees, barely freezing the crack shut.
“You’re right, this isn’t a solution.” Polaris looked at the cracks that were still throbbing, but she didn’t have a better idea. Restricted by Clarkia, their abilities couldn’t be fully utilized, and they had to be extremely careful, fearing they might destroy the entire Clarkia Island; they could only barely manage to keep up.
“Something is howling,” Schiller suddenly said. “Can you hear it?”